InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Smoke in Your Eyes ❯ Smoke in Your Eyes ( Chapter 1 )

Smoke in Your Eyes

An Inuyasha Fanfiction by Aino

Disclaimer: Kagome and Inuyasha belong to each other, and more comprehensively they are copyright of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan Comics, Bandai and Viz Communications.
Dedication: To rianax, with the solemn promise that this fic does not involve Kagome in heat.
Rating: NC-17 for explicit sexual content. As in adult material, darlings. If you're not a major person, kindly refrain from reading until you are one. If you simply do not care for lemon, why on earth are you here?
Timeline: Hypothetical post-series universe, manga version, following Ghosts in the Snow.
Category/Genre/Pairing: one-shot, waff, lemon, near PWP -- no plot to speak of :)
A Spell of Lunacy: I am certain someone will chase me with a bazooka for writing this story. Just lay off already. That I write smut once in my life does not mean I'll never write anything else again. God.
Let the above not concern you should you be here for this story: without further ado, gentle reader, here you are.
In the Background: Close Your Eyes by Christopher Beck

o O o

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The fire crackled and sputtered, the damp wood reluctant to burn steadily. Yesterday's rainfall had already evaporated from the grass and leaves, but the dead wood littering the forest floor was slower to dry. Inuyasha brushed his raven hair out of his eyes and blew on a reluctant, orange-blue flicker of fire to fan it. The sudden sound of footsteps would normally have brought the sword out of the scabbard at his hip, but this time, two things impended such a course of action: it was new moon, and the Fang would not transform; and, more importantly, he knew this particular gait better than any other.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome ducked beneath the curtain of weeping willows that hemmed the campsite; it was one of their old hideaways, upstream along the forest creek before it spread into the irrigation canals of the village.

"Took you long enough," he remarked. "The sun set two hours ago."

"Sorry I'm so late. There was a lot more to do than I'd thought." Kagome made a face. "I never thought running a shrine could be so much work; I should know."

"It's not like I was gonna sleep," Inuyasha said, continuing to poke at the fire. Old habits died hard; even in the safe haven of Kaede's village, he could not let go of the wariness that years of protecting his secret had ingrained in him. When the moon was dark, he remained alert. Having Kagome there with her arrows and holy magic assuaged his worry, but did not entirely remove it.

"I know." She made a tender hum in her throat. "But that's why I'm here, right? We can sleep in tomorrow." Kagome dropped her bow and quiver of arrows to the ground and untied the carrying cloth from around her shoulders. She unfurled her old sleeping bag; it was worn, but lovingly mended, and she vowed upon its handiness even though there was hardly a trace of a chill in the mellow spring night. It was just one of her little quirks; one he had learned to ignore, and even found endearing.

"Right now, that water looks wonderful." She peered at the stream visible through the trees, reflecting the faint stars as pinpoints of pale blue. "How cold is it?"

"For you, pretty cold."

"I'm still taking a dip. The air's warm anyway, and we have the fire. You coming?"

"Nah, I went already. I'll just get this damn fire going properly so you won't freeze to death." He ignored her unambiguous huff.

"I won't be long."

"I know." Teasing her was just too much fun, and even more so when he had not seen her all day.

With a glare of defiance, she removed her clothes, took the towel she had brought with her, and disappeared between the willows.

Inuyasha listened to the swash of the water, and began to count.

He had got to seven when there was the splash of a surfacing swimmer and a scream.

"It's a strong current, it stays cold," he said as he heard her scrambling up from the stream, with a tint of "I-told-you-so" in his timbre, loudly enough for her to hear.

Emerging into the firelight, Kagome snorted in a rather un-priestess-like manner and went to pin her hair into a knot with a pair of chopsticks. She had tied the towel around herself, but it left quite much less to the imagination than the attire of a miko that she usually wore. It was just as well that the fire was finally burning steadily, for she was infinitely more intriguing a focus for his attention.

"Okay, I could catch my death in that," she sighed with a conciliatory laugh. "You were right. I guess I'd better get something dry on, though." Before she could suit action to thought, Inuyasha had risen and come up to her, lest he miss his opportunity.

"I like you like this, too," he whispered into her neck, hugging her round the waist. He almost berated himself for how addle-brained he sounded, but it was true. Besides, Kagome seemed to like it when he talked things he himself thought the height of all that was mushy and needless in the world. It was a small price to pay for the reward of her closeness. His hand cupped her bare shoulder, then feathered down her arm. She leaned into him appreciately -- and suddenly laughed, wincing as he caressed the inside of her arm. "Hey -- that tickles!"

Inuyasha's eyes twinkled. "Fine by me." He freed his other hand for the purpose, too, and his fingers danced across her ribs and arms. A smile stole across his features as she giggled helplessly, the sound like golden bells on the breeze.

"I-I'm gonna --" Kagome's words drowned into a burst of chuckles, and her hands fisted in his hair.

"You're going to what?" He lowered himself into a sitting position, lifting her into his lap, and trailed soft kisses down to her collarbone, then up the other side. Kagome whimpered as she turned her head so that he could access the tender skin below her ear.

"Nothing", she breathed. She nestled her head into the crook of his neck and tried to calm her pouding heart. "Except this", she added with a dash of wickedness, and her hands darted at his unprotected middle, roaming over his stomach and sides.

Inuyasha doubled over at her assault, a throaty laugh-growl escaping him before he seized her wrists and gently forced her hands away. As soon as he let go, Kagome pulled his head to hers, for an instant delighting in his small yelp. Deepening the kiss, she leaned into him until he gave in, falling down onto his back. They almost managed to tumble onto the bedroll she had spread beside the fire, but her error in co-ordination was swiftly corrected: Inuyasha reversed their positions, looking down at her as she drew her head back.

"Kagome?" He was slightly short of breath and aflush in feeling.

"I promised I'd keep you company, right?" Her smile would have been bashful had it not been so obviously puckish.

Inuyasha hoped she did not realise the full depth of how irresistible she was. Damn her, she had him bridled more surely than when he had still had the old hag's accursed prayer beads around his neck -- and he did not want to do a thing to alter the situation.

The way Kagome was busily untucking his shirt spoke volumes of her frame of mind. It had to be said to her credit that she managed to yank the ends of both his kariginu and shirt from his hakama before he freed her of the towel. She twisted under him and dragged the left sleeves off his arm; he laughed and let her have her way. Tossing the bundle of fabric to the side, she proceeded to cut his laughter with a kiss.

Kagome could taste his need; she answered with equal yearning. Oh, this was familiar and yet not: he was still the same Inuyasha, but instead of being somewhat coarse to the touch, his hair felt almost downy now as she threaded her hands through it. The movement of his hands, peregrinating over her stomach was much more free than usually, in contrast to how he would constantly heed the piercing sharpness of his claws. He was either playful or impatient, from what she could tell; either was fine by her. She had just missed him, and for tonight, they had all the peace beneath the sky.

Impatient, she decided as his lips nipped a trail up the swell of her left breast, then veered towards the right one, never leaving her skin. She fumbled until she found the knots of his hakama, determined to undo them before he shooed all such concerns from her mind. Undoubtedly impatient, she corrected herself as he stopped to assist her, kicking the garment out of the way.

She allowed her hands to rove as they would, feathering over his nipples and eliciting a breath of appreciation out of him, returning to the lines of his back that she so loved to map, familiar though they were. However she had determined his mood to be, Inuyasha was taking his time, stroking his hands over her skin that was beginning to bead with perspiration. Meticulously, he took her nipple between his teeth and let his tongue caress it with swift, moist licks; his fingers rolled the other puckered peak between them with relishing slowness.

Dear gods, he was getting good. The splayed fingers of his hand floated down her taut side as she thrust her back into an arch, willing herself not to cry aloud. Choked moans were as close to quiet as she could manage as his hand traced the soft inside of her thigh. He nudged her legs apart, and she knew she was in for it now when he knelt on top of her thighs. She was open and his to play with as he pleased.

He pinched and twisted her nipple, suckled on the other one. Kagome seized his head with a gasp that became a ragged sound of pleasure as he slid one finger into her slick opening. His soft fingertips ghosted over the moistness of her heat, in teasingly closing circles. Knowing how wild he could drive her by simply prolonging the anticipation, he hemmed her core without haste. One finger dipped deeper into her; she whimpered. Another digit joined the first, curling along the tender inner passage; she screamed, short and sharp. His touch darted in and out of her, first slowly, then alternately with rapid motions that would have been jabs if not for their unfaltering gentleness.

His thumb skimmed the hooded nub and she was ready to scream again when he finally began stroking it, causing her to toss and writhe beneath his ministrations. Consumed with feeling, she could not muster enough willpower to focus on returning his caresses, but she hazily supposed it was forgivable. His mouth and free hand were not idle, either. He was exploring the sweet spots of her body: the underside of her jaw, the place where her hip met her side, the corners of her mouth upon which his lips briefly alighted.

"Closer," she whispered against his mouth, in near anxiety. "Closer." Her palms moulded to the angles of his shoulder blades, to the muscles of his back. He looked her squarely into the eyes then, their shade the colour of rising smoke in a still spring evening.

She placed a hand on his cheek as if to confirm that yes, she meant what he thought she did.

Inuyasha braced himself on his hands and shuffled awkwardly until he was between her knees, somewhat comfortably. Even if her features were blurry in the feeble light, he could perceive the unease mingling with Kagome's small smile. He did not feel too steady himself; he had learned staggeringly much about her in the moons since their first night together, but this was still unbreached ground. She smiled dim and warm now, more widely, nodding to him with certainty that he envied her for.

He entered her with painstaking slowness, and she rested as relaxed as she could, her breathing shallow with need. It did not hurt, but she felt him intensely, settling inside her, nudging her into awareness of sensations that made her squirm against her better intentions. She gripped his hips, not quite certain if she wanted him to withdraw or remain.

Inuyasha sensed Kagome's weaving movement, briefly wondering whether it was a good thing. She was tight and soft and a part of him wanted to just let go and thrust into her, without restraint.

"You all right?" Even as he whispered the question, he felt stupid, but he had to know. She might have been beyond familiar, but this was still new and strange.

"Yes, I think so." Her words seemed to float in a spell of stillness within their lovemaking, a threshold of some sort. "I think... you can move. Please do." The last words were a breathless chuckle.

So he moved, pulling back. It was as if all he could concentrate upon were the heady, smooth slide of his flesh against hers. The cry that escaped Kagome succinctly said that she was not averse to it either. He thrust again, still hesitant, but the answering arching of her hips was reassurance enough. His motions grew more certain, and Kagome's hands seemed to burrow through his skin with the force of her hold. Raising his head from her shoulder, he caught her mouth in a kiss that stifled her moan as he dared to push a little deeper into her.

They were still kissing, punctuated by gasps neither of them could rein in, when Inuyasha reached down to grasp her hands. His weight swayed into her for a moment; but he rose again, lacing his fingers through hers even as he pinned her hands to the sleeping bag, above her head. His eyes glittered in a way she might have described as rascally.

He had found his rhythm, albeit incipient, but she was beyond caring as his length brushed her most sensitive parts, again, again, again, rocking her towards an imminent peak. His grip on her hands intensified to near crushing as his breaths grew tattered.

The sentence escaped her as a breathy groan. "Let-let me -- ahh --"

"Let you what?" he whispered only marginally more steadily, not halting.

"Please -- I want -- oh, gods that's --"

"Kagome?" With a shudder of focusing, Inuyasha withdrew and dropped his elbows into the blanket on either side of her, his heaving upper body settling lightly over hers.

"Hold you. I... want to hold you. Please?" She tugged at their linked hands, her fingers slipped away from his now that his weight no longer added to the pressure of his grasp.

He chuckled then, softly. "Suit yourself."

Kagome pinched his nose all of a sudden, earning an indignant sound from the hanyou. "Whadda you doig?"

"'Suit yourself?'" She let out a disbelieving chortle.

"Well, yeah." He shrugged as best he could, given his current position. "If you want to..."

"You're impossible. What kind of thing is that to say to a girl at a time like this?" she huffed. "So help me, if you still had that rosary --"

"Kagome, that wouldn't exactly be wise. Not right now."

"Smartass." She took what enjoyment she could in using vocabulary of which he had no inkling.

"Doesn't hurt much when I've no idea what you're calling me," Inuyasha remarked with uncustomary amiability. "Idiot." The gentleness with which he took her head between his hands, tipping her face upwards quite took the sting off the insult. The warmth of his breath on her jaw brought it back to her that there were other things they could have been doing beside bickering.

"We can go on forever, you know," she sighed in mock resignation. "So could we just --"

"Stop talking?"

The intended "Yes" left her mouth as a "mmhh" as he kissed her with something approaching reverence, eyes shut, his lips shaping to hers, unhurried but fervent. She shifted her hips as if to remind him of precisely where they had been, restlessness mounting.

Without breaking the kiss, Inuyasha met her movement. Her toes balled upon themselves and, now free, her arms clenched across his upper back as she grasped his shoulders. Kagome hooked her ankles together across Inuyasha's lower back, wanting to gather him as close as possible. She burned with want so bright and wonderful it was almost painful -- and at the same time, too good to hurt. Inuyasha slid into her again; she abandoned all pretense of holding back her cries at the sensation.

And then they were twisting and twining, joining and coming apart, finding their way with each other once again. All she could do was clutch on to him and feel as the world was washed away into flat whiteness. He was still moving inside her, in quick strokes, his breathing pregnant with half-formed words that might have been her name.

There were no words for the sweetness of her. His thrusts became glides, almost frictionless, blissful, as she tightened around him. Grazing her neck and shoulder with kisses to curb his own noises, he timidly held her head. He came with a shudder that tore through his whole body, burying his head into Kagome's neck as the pleasure crested with convulsive force.

"Whoa." Dreamily blinking up at the shimmering forest canopy, Kagome let her arms slacken, only now perceiving the beginnings of little aches all over her muscles. "Whoa."

"Mhm," Inuyasha said from beside her ear, tracing the shell of it with a finger. Kagome shooed the wisps of their tangled hair -- black and black, uncommonly -- from her face. They shared a slow, content kiss as he pulled away, then settled beside her. Not wanting to move -- for the next several hours, if at all possible -- Kagome languorously draped an arm around him. She was glowingly happy right where she was, sore, but with a smile on her face that she knew was seriously courting her ears for closer acquiantance. Inuyasha was still idly nuzzling her ear and neck, the tempo of his movements mirroring her satisfaction.

In the back of her head drifted a sensible voice telling her that she should speak to Sango, and to Kaede. She had been half expecting that this would happen sooner or later, but up until now, they had been vague considerations without much ground. Now, a tad abruptly, they were immediate concerns. She loved Inuyasha, and knew she wanted no parting from him, but getting pregnant was still far too immense a prospect for her to even think about.

At the moment, this new, unfolding step was more than enough to occupy her.

"I suppose we're in for another splash in the creek now," Inuyasha said from beside her, with some chagrin.

"You're right, but I can't move a limb," Kagome wailed, knowing the full extent of her overdramaticality.

"I don't see how that's a problem," he answered readily, rising to squat beside her sprawling form. Perceiving the telltale glint in his eyes that she had learned to be leery of, she made to roll away, but he scooped her up before she could even get onto her side.

"Let go!" Kagome gave him a light whack on the head, laughter bubbling up her throat in spite of her irritation. "I just got warm again!"

"That's not a problem, either," Inuyasha remarked, decidedly suggestive.

"Does all this amount to the fact that I will no longer sleep when it's new moon?"

"Only when it's new moon?" He looked almost worried, although the timbre of his voice remained light.

Kagome sobered, lifting a hand to his face. "No, baka. I've told you, and I'll tell you again. I don't care if you're hanyou or human. You're my Inuyasha either way."

He bent his head into her shoulder, clutching her closer, not speaking. She mussed his hair gently, the only purpose of the gesture to emphasise what she had said. The playful moment had evaporated, and they stood beneath the silvery willows, a silent tableau of fragile bindings. Even with the heat of one another's skin on their own, the musk of their joining lingering in the air, the night wavered for both half-blooded youth and time-lost girl.

She carefully put her fingers beneath his chin, trying to tilt his face towards hers. He resisted, keeping his visage hidden into the side of her neck.

"Inuyasha?" She knew she breached a sacred silence, and she could not help the way her voice threatened to break, but the possibility of a misunderstanding, whatever the source, loomed in her mind. That was the last thing she had wanted to cause with her words.

He drew as deep a breath as his lungs would hold; she held hers in.

"I love you." Inuyasha practically spoke into her skin.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and held on to him, trying to quell a rogue tinkle of laughter. It was her turn to be speechless, with elation and delight.

"You know," she began at length, nudging his temple with her nose. Their faces were so close that her eyes could not quite focus on his features even as he raised his head. "I don't think... that you've ever --"

Inuyasha scoffed minutely as he interrupted her. No one else in the world, Kagome was positive, could sound conciliatory and indignant at the same time. "Yeah, so it took me a while. Would you -- should I --" He was suddenly lost.

She brushed at his mouth with a fingertip. "Inuyasha, I know. I know. Stop fretting, please?"

"I'm not fretting," he said, almost sulkily.

Kagome smiled. "Alright then. You're not fretting, I'll accept that. Love you, too." It was amazing how easily the words came to her; she had been the first one of them to speak them, when they had still explored each other and what was between them, but they had not surfaced very often in the course of their relationship. The moment seemed rare and precious.

"Thank you," she said, timorous. "I, I know it's sort of hard for you. So just... take your time... and tell me whenever you want to, okay? I can wait."

"I'll try... not to keep you waiting. For very long."

He gathered her near and she hugged him back, closing their circle of warm touch and thought. As he finally loosened his embrace, Inuyasha's face had eased into a calm half-smile, and some of the twinkle was back in his eyes.

"As to your earlier question -- I could think of a few ways to keep you awake," he said, nodding his forehead against hers. He slid his arms from the crook of Kagome's knees and under her shoulders to the backs of her thighs; he staggered a little as she clasped her arms around his shoulders and her legs to his waist. Glad that his seriousness was abating, she peeked down at him through her lashes. However, he resumed walking towards the stream. The hanging limbs of the willows, tender with young foliage, swept at their heads and shoulders as he wove past them.

"I hope too many of them don't involve dunking me in cold water," Kagome said, the words tinged with intimation and entreaty in equal measure. She knew kicking and screaming would bear no result: in hanyou form or human, he was stronger than her. He was also distractingly warm against her, and her tired body began to have definite second thoughts about sleep.

Inuyasha halted, inclining his back to a willow trunk. "Maybe, but not just yet." His eyes shone with love and caprice; and Kagome was more than happy to be lost in his gaze and his arms for a while longer, in the clement spring night already ripe with the promise of summer.

Fin

o O o

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baka: "silly", "stupid"; a mild insult that can have an affectionate undertone
hakama: wide skirt-pants; they are either worn loose, like Kikyou, or cinched around the ankles, like Inuyasha
hanyou: half human, half youkai; youkai means a creature of occult or magical nature. "Demon" is an apt, but not exact, English translation.
kariginu: a samurai hunting jacket; the proper term for Inuyasha's red coat -- I believe. Haori is erroneous, and anachronistic, that much I can say for certain. Other theories are being investigated.
miko: literally, "god-child"; priestess, shrine maiden of the Shinto faith

Oh, the mush. I need to go write something dark and gloomy now. For the record, this is the second fic I have ever written that has the infamous three word phrase (and the first one in which it is actually vocalised). But it seemed fitting.

A heartfelt thank you to Midoriko-sama for the comments on Inuyasha and his issues. The ending is better for them. "Peregrinate" is a tip of the hat to ChTuhnu, absent friend and beloved partner in crime. If you don't know what it means, check a dictionary.

I know this is a fluffily happy fic. So sue me. If you want angst, go read Waters of the Night. Comments and critique are welcomed with much delight. :)

First draft November 22, 2004
Originally published November 22, 2004
Revised December 9, 2004
Aino
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