"White Dogs on Blue Cotton"

Warnings: contains lots of fairly intimate kissing, hugging, and some underwear, but no nudity and nothing graphic or obscene or anything. Just some very happy reunited Inuyasha and Kagome getting carried away in the moment. :3

Kagome sighed into Inuyasha's mouth as they kissed at the base of the Goshinboku, their bodies just as tangled and twisted as the roots amongst which they sat. Between every meeting of lips and teeth and tongues, Kagome was filled with exhilarating disbelief that she was here, in the past, in his arms; but then his mouth would find hers again and her brain would momentarily cease to function. The cool evening air of late March swept through the small clearing around the ancient tree, but neither Kagome nor Inuyasha could feel the cold. His wandering hands set her aflame, and the thick weave of his fire-rat robe protected what her short skirt couldn't. Moving to straddle his waist, she pressed herself to every inch of him, determined to share the warmth he was giving her and make it so he'd never want to leave the circle of her arms.

Two days she'd been back; two days ago he'd pulled her from the well and held her like she'd been longing to be held for the past three years, and he hadn't left her side since. Last night, their first night reunited, they'd retreated to the Sacred Tree after everyone else had dispersed for home, and he'd cradled her to him under the boughs of the tree where they'd first met. They'd shared a few soft, tentative kisses, both of them so overcome with emotion and full of butterflies that they could hardly do more than stare at each other. The following day had been full of planning and talks; what would she do now that she was back? Where would she live? …Was she staying? At her affirmative and excited response of 'yes' to that particular question, Inuyasha had said with no room for argument that wherever she went he would go too, though at present he had no home to give her. Kaede saved them further trouble with an offer: there was an empty hut at one end of the village, fairly close to the forest, and once it had been cleaned out and fixed up, it was all theirs. Kagome would train to be a village priestess, and Inuyasha would protect her and the village, as he'd already been doing for years. Neither priestess nor half-demon had reason to complain, and work began that day to prepare their new home.

By the time night had fallen they had only just finished scouring the old structure, and with holes in the roof and rotting wood on the floor, it wasn't quite ready for habitation. Kaede had offered her home for the night, but the young couple declined, politely in Kagome's case and with unnecessary expletives in the case of Inuyasha. She couldn't get too mad at him though, because she understood perfectly; he wanted to be alone with her, and she was only too happy to acquiesce.

So there they sat by their special tree, lips locked and hands acquainting themselves with the other's body as though they'd never felt a living person. As Inuyasha broke away from her mouth to let her take a gasping breath and moved down to her jaw, Kagome took the brief moment of clarity to let her situation sink in. Three days ago she'd been a high school graduate, a vague and frightening future before her and no direction to offer even the hope of stability. She hadn't applied for university. She didn't even know what she wanted to do. She couldn't bear to leave the shrine, leave her family… leave the well and the sacred tree. Her mother… her patient, understanding, loving, accepting mother, had never pushed her to make such decisions. Perhaps the woman had known, or at least hoped as Kagome had, that another option would present itself. And oh, how it had! Her attention was drawn back to the present as she felt Inuyasha undo the top button of her sweater to kiss the base of her neck, and she sighed breathily at the sensation, her arms swathing around his neck to hold his head to her collar in an affectionate hug.

Three days ago, she hadn't had a clue that her reality could and would change so swiftly. This kind of thing only happened in her dreams, and such dreams were never welcome, because they only taunted her with what she knew she couldn't have. Even last night, as they'd clung to each other in silence, it had still felt like a dream. The timidity had been a natural defense against what would surely be a cruel awakening the next morning when they woke to find themselves alone once more. But when the next day dawned and they still had arms full of another person, the need for hesitance was gone. Reality was starting to sink in, and it gave Kagome the courage to say she would stay, and Inuyasha the courage to say she would stay with him. When Sango had pulled her aside later that day and explained to her that Inuyasha inviting her to share a home with him was as good as pronouncing them husband and wife, Kagome couldn't stop smiling.

She smiled again at the memory, then stifled a moan against his sweat-slicked forehead as he sucked on the soft skin of her neck. Noticing the flickering whiteness atop his head, Kagome raised herself on the knees still straddling him until she was face to face with his furry ears, and smiling widely, she pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to one of the surprisingly warm appendages. It flicked sharply against her cheek as Inuyasha let a canine-like whimper escape against the skin just above the hem of her camisole. She flushed as she realized where her position had put his teasing mouth, shivering as his cold wet nose brushed her collarbone. Sensation was drowning her again, but her mind grasped onto the memory of Sango's words, realizing that in her world, this would have been their wedding night. His calloused hands slipping the cardigan down her shoulders and off her arms interrupted her hold on him, but once it was off she grasped him around the neck again, holding him tightly to her chest as she buried her face in his snowy crown of downy hair and let her love for him overwhelm her.

His breath was warm against her skin as he pressed kisses into the top swell of her breast, but his wandering lips were halted as they reached her camisole, and Kagome was only too eager to help him pull the burgundy cloth up and out of the way. Just as she lifted her arms to pull the thin shirt over her head, Inuyasha paused, his hands holding the bunched cloth beneath her shoulders. Awkwardly, she lowered her arms over the uncomfortable roll of fabric and looked at her 'husband', as she had mentally started calling him, to see what on earth had made him stop. He was fixated on her bra-covered chest, with a strange look in his eyes that was almost… tender; a strange look indeed for a man to wear when staring at the nearly-naked form of his lover. Was he overcome by the moment? She knew they were each other's first and only, and maybe he was just realizing what the situation implied, but… honestly, she had thought they'd already crossed that threshold. Confusion overtaking her, she glanced down at herself – and held in a squeak as she noticed her choice of underwear.

She hadn't thought when she'd dressed that morning two days ago that anyone but herself would be seeing what lay beneath her blue skirt and pink cardigan. So she'd pulled a random bra and panty set from her collection and slipped them on without so much as a second glance. She had dozens of sets like this, and she was used to them. From the way he continued to stare at the baby-blue cotton fabric covered in a print of fluffy white pointy-eared puppies, evidently he was not.

Her hormonal haze from earlier all but gone, her mind whirred as she tried to think of an explanation. He didn't give her time however as suddenly he pulled her toward him, his neck craning over her shoulder and hands grasping and lifting her hips. She gasped at the contact, then at the cold night air ghosting over her bottom, until she realized what it was he was doing and her face exploded in a plume of red. Flimsy skirt now thrown up over her back, her matching puppy-covered panties were exposed to his inquisitive sight, and Kagome couldn't do more than grasp handfuls of his shirt as she waited on pins and needles for him to react. Despite the intent of their earlier actions, Kagome suddenly found herself all nerves at the thought of Inuyasha looking at her underwear. 'Married… we're married' she chanted to herself, 'feudal-age married!' as though the mantra could save her from her growing embarrassment. She felt his thumbs lightly trace the waistband, and a shiver ran through her that had her calming and getting excited all over again. He didn't do more though. Gently, he pulled her skirt back in place, pushing her away to look into her eyes again with an expression that could only be described as adoration. She all but melted the moment she saw it.

Leaning in to press his lips against hers in a feather-light kiss, he mumbled against her "Did you really miss me that much?" For the smallest moment she considered playing it off, pretending it was a fluke or that she'd actually thought they were cats or some other such nonsense, but what was the use? She wasn't a dog-lover, she just loved him, and when she'd bought the garments she had only done it because she liked to have a reminder of him against her skin. She'd only grown casual in wearing them because it had become second nature; every item in her underwear drawer was either dog-related or red. It had been her little secret – a way to think of him that no one else would know about. And she couldn't pretend that she hadn't considered the significance of those reminders covering her most intimate parts.

He must have realized it too, for his attentions had returned to her full-force, though now every kiss and every sweep of his tongue was more loving than heated. It still made her body quake though. Inuyasha returned to her chest, his kisses resuming where they had left off when their distraction had started, but he didn't make it much further down her skin before he paused again, catching the pale-blue and white print from the corner of his eye. He turned slightly to lay his cheek against her left breast, raising his hand to the other to lazily trace the edge of the cotton fabric with his claw. She shivered and hissed at the faint contact, but he didn't go further, only chuckled arrogantly at her reaction.

Kagome was flustered and frustrated at his slow attentions, but as she glanced down and caught his eye, the fire in her sunk down into heavy embers at the emotion brimming in his yellow eyes. As though hearing his thoughts, she suddenly understood what he was feeling: as strange as it sounded, he was truly touched by her choice of underwear. The desire to laugh swept through her, and she bit her lip to hold it in. It was a little silly, but… she had made the silly decision in the first place to purchase a drawer-full of puppy-themed undies.

Bare arms wrapped once more around his neck, holding him to her not so bare chest, and his arms wrapped around her middle in return. She sighed happily and nuzzled into the space between his dog-ears, more than satisfied at the moment to just hold him close and simply be with him. They had all the time in the world to move on to other things. She giggled softly against him, feeling his warmth seeping into her skin, realizing that never again would she need to rely on stupid printed fabric to remind her of the one she loved.

*Author's Note:

This kinda blind-sided me while I was out clothes shopping and wandered through the underwear department and saw all the patterned undies and thought '... I bet Kagome would wear underwear with dogs on them.' And voila. A little steamier than a lot of stuff I write, but still sweet enough that I like it. :P