Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

Risks

Mature Content Warning! :)

"Are you sure you aren't part rabbit youkai?" Kagome joked, lazily twirling a lock of InuYasha's hair around her finger as the two of them lay tangled together on her futon.

"Keh," he mumbled his trademark scoff against her throat, "you already made that joke before."

"Oh, I have?" she released a loud yawn, followed by a sleepy giggle. "Hmm. I need to come up with some new material then."

"You need to go to sleep, is what you need to do."

She shook her head. "I don't want to fall asleep."

"Yeah, ya do."

"No, I don't," she firmly protested and InuYasha lifted his head in response, propping it on his elbow and giving her a puzzled look. "Because I know what will happen the second I do," she continued, wrapping her arms around him and pulling herself tight against his chest. "And I don't want you to leave."

Kagome had grown quite accustomed to their routine over the last couple of months. After the last lantern in the village was snuffed out for the night, InuYasha would slip into her hut under cover of darkness. They would make love, or talk, or simply 'cuddle', as Kagome liked to call it. But more often than not they'd end up going at it like a couple of bunny rabbits. Then, she would fall asleep, and sometime before the chirping of crickets gave way to birdsong, InuYasha would slip quietly out into the night, and she would wake up alone.

"You know I have to," he said regretfully as he combed her bangs from her forehead with his fingers and placed a soft kiss there. "If I wait too long somebody might see me."

"So?" she pouted.

"So, it'd be a fucking scandal. The whole village would probably know by midday."

"I don't doubt that," she agreed, knowing all too well how gossip seemed to be the only form of entertainment among the villagers. "But why do you think they would be against us?"

"They're always against me, Kagome. Humans tolerate me when they have something to gain, but I can guarantee you they wouldn't be so tolerant if they thought I was corrupting the future miko of this village. And that is exactly what they would think, too. Trust me, I would know. I've been dealing with this my whole life."

"So what will happen if I get pregnant?" she asked, although at the rate they were going, she was certain it was more a question of 'when' than 'if'.

"I won't get you pregnant. I promise," he assured her, and Kagome rolled her eyes at his misguided confidence, knowing full well that his chosen method of birth control wasn't even remotely as foolproof as he seemed to think it was.

"Well...what if I wanted you to?" she questioned, her voice turning uncharacteristically meek.

InuYasha shook his head and gave a heavy hearted sigh. "I don't ever want you to have to go through what my mother went through. And I don't want you to have to live as an outcast like Jinenji or Shiori and their mothers either. I want you to have a normal life."

"And this is what you call normal? Sneaking around like we're doing something wrong just by loving each other? Well fuck normal, then!" she balled her hand into a fist and pounded it against his chest in frustration. "If I had wanted an ordinary life I would have stayed on the other side of the well!"

InuYasha's eyes widened in surprise at her colorful language. She'd clearly been spending entirely too much time around him... "You're not being realistic. This may be the most accepting village around, but even they are gonna draw the line somewhere."

"Then let them! I didn't come back for them, I came back for you." She poked a finger into his chest.

"And you have me, Kagome," he pleaded with her to understand, grabbing her hand and lacing her fingers with his.

"I have what tiny bit you are willing to give me, but I'm tired of settling for the bare minimum, InuYasha. I want all of you. If they have a problem with that, then we'll just leave. It would be their loss anyway. Besides, it wouldn't be the same as Jinenji and Shiori's mother's because you're alive. I wouldn't be alone."

InuYasha gave her hand a squeeze. "But what if something were to happen to me? This is a dangerous world for people like me, Kagome, and the last thing I want is to get you exiled from civilization and then leave you all alone with a kid to raise. I just want what's best for you."

Kagome knew that he was being sincere. That he believed wholeheartedly what he was doing was in her best interest; she knew that, as always, her protection was his top priority. While InuYasha was a risk-taker at heart, taking risks was something he absolutely avoided where it concerned her. When they had first crossed the line from friends to lovers, he had told her in no uncertain terms that it wasn't something that could ever happen again. At the time, the two of them were journeying to a neighboring village to perform a demon extermination. Kagome had volunteered to accompany the hanyou in Miroku's stead, allowing the monk time at home with his recently expanded family. It was the first time since Kagome's return to the feudal era that the two of them had privacy for any extended amount of time, and unsurprisingly it didn't take very long for one thing to lead to another. They had barely set up camp the first night of their journey before they found themselves lost in a haze of passion. Later, when they were picking the leaves from their hair and gathering their clothing that had been strewn haphazardly about the forest floor, InuYasha had laid down the ground rules. He assured her that while he didn't regret what they'd shared, it was absolutely, without exception, a one-time thing.

However, his resolve had broken in record time.

It was only the very next night that Kagome was awakened by him slipping under the blanket behind her, his bare chest curling around her back as he pulled her close. For InuYasha it was as if that one thin, fraying thread of his control had finally snapped. He'd been waging an internal battle with himself all evening, more daunting than any tangible enemy he'd ever faced. In the end he found that he couldn't deny her, or himself. He was addicted. And for the first time in his life he found himself flagrantly breaking a personal vow without regret.

"I know you do, InuYasha, and I understand your concerns. They are completely normal fears to have. Everyone has them, but those are risks you just have to take if you want to be happy, and I'm not happy with the status quo," Kagome told him, and she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't entirely sure what that meant. "The way things are now…" she clarified, "this is not how I imagined...or hoped things would be when I came back. Don't you want to be happy, InuYasha?"

"I am happy. I've never been happier in my life," he answered sincerely.

Kagome sighed and stroked her hand up and down his side in a comforting gesture. "Well, do you want me to be happy?"

"Of course!" he said, grabbing her chin and lifting her face to meet his eyes. "I'd do anything to make you happy!"

"Marry me, then," she calmly stated, never breaking their eye contact.

Clearly caught off guard by her proposition, InuYasha did a rather convincing impersonation of a deer caught in the headlights. "K-Kagome, I-"

"Tomorrow," she cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips before he could attempt to dissuade her. "As soon as the sun comes up. We'll go to the headman's house and have it recorded."

"And then what happens when they kick us out?"

"They won't," she said with conviction.

"But what if they do?"

"Then we'll leave...together."

"Kagome-" InuYasha hesitated, letting out a conflicted whine. "You know I want to, but-"

"Yes or no," she cut him off, pressing a kiss against his lips and leaning her forehead against his she pleaded, "and please don't say no."

InuYasha pulled away from her and sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees, silently considering for a moment before asking, "If I said no, would you...would it mean that we would break up?"

"No." She sat up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and rubbing her hand over his bare back reassuringly. "This isn't an ultimatum. If you say no...well, then I guess things would just stay like this." She didn't even try to hide the disappointment in her voice at the thought.

"What if we had to live in a cave?" he asked clearly trying to gauge her determination.

She smiled. "I don't care. We'd be together, so I'd be happy."

"What if we had to live in a tree?"

She shrugged. "I've never been afraid of heights."

"Well, what if we-"

"I don't care if we had to live in a cardboard box, InuYasha! It doesn't matter to me!" she cut him off, and she could tell he understood the implication, even if he clearly had no clue what a cardboard box was. He was quite used to her foreign terms by now.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering, "Okay," in a voice almost too low for her to hear.

"Okay, as in yes?" she asked for clarification, not daring to get her hopes up just yet.

He turned to look her in the eyes. "Yes."

She clasped her hands together and gave him a wide smile. "Do you promise?" she asked excitedly, needing a confirmation that he wouldn't go back on his word in the morning when he wasn't all loved-up and agreeable.

He sighed and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into his lap. "How could I deny you anything?" he said, kissing her cheek.

"Say it," she commanded. "Say: 'I promise I will marry you tomorrow'."

He leaned his forehead to hers, locking eyes with her before repeating, "I promise I will marry you tomorrow."

Kagome let out a squeal as she threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around him and kissing her way across his cheek to his lips.

"Shh!" he shushed her. "Do you want to wake up the whole damn country?" he mumbled against her lips.

Instead of responding with words, Kagome kissed her way along his jaw, back down to his throat, before pressing her hands against his chest and rather roughly pushing him flat onto his back. Straddling his hips and leaning down over him until her lips just brushed against an ear, she whispered, "You will be the one waking the whole damn country if I have anything to say about it," before pulling back and giving a smirk that could rival the hanyou beneath her.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but uhh...aren't you tired?" InuYasha asked her as she showered his neck and shoulders with kisses and playful nibbles.

"I'm too excited to sleep," she responded without pausing her ministrations.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. He had to agree, he was getting rather excited himself, but for an entirely different reason. He raised his arms above his head, resting his head in his interlaced fingers as he enjoyed the attentions of his...his wife. He couldn't help the genuine smile that spread across his face, despite the fact that he was as utterly terrified as he was excited at the thought...but he supposed all the most exciting things in life were terrifying to some degree. The risks, as Kagome had called them, he'd probably never stop worrying about them, somewhere in the back of his mind, at least. But she was right. Dammit, she was always right (which was something he would admit only to himself). For Kagome to live the life she dreamed of, and for her to be happy...those things were worth the risks.

"I guess I'll just have to wear you out then," he said as he quickly sat forward and flipped them over to reverse their positions. He lowered his mouth back to hers, the initially gentle kiss rapidly evolving into an urgent, messy tangle of tongues and teeth and lips. InuYasha felt her hips rise against his, sliding his now fully revived erection along her slick folds, nearly succeeding in slipping him inside before he pulled away. As admittedly appealing as the prospect of that instant gratification was, he'd learned from experience that he never regretted taking his time, and he was sure the same could be said for Kagome. Although, there was no more difficult test of his self control than to resist her when she was practically begging to be fucked, but he'd be damned if he ever passed up the opportunity to taste her. There was nothing quite like it. No attack he'd ever gained, nor enemy he'd ever defeated could even come close to the raw power he felt when he made her come apart underneath him using only the practiced skill of his tongue. She was, after all, the most powerful being he'd ever encountered by far, and he felt fortunate to have her as an ally—among other things…

Kagome let out a pouty little whine of disappointment when her plan was thwarted by his hips pulling away from hers, but it was quickly replaced with a moan of pleasure as his mouth worked its way down her body without delay and settled between her thighs. The sensation of his tongue sweeping over her sensitive, swollen lips, provided a wholly different, yet equally fulfilling sort of compensation.

InuYasha had found out rather recently, (thanks to a certain overly-divulgent and lecherous monk) that this activity was not something that he himself had invented. He'd had to hide his disappointment at the fact that he wasn't quite as innovative as he had previously thought, but it was no matter. Just because he wasn't the only person that did it, didn't mean he couldn't be the best at it, and if the sounds currently coming from Kagome were any indication, he was certain he had to be pretty high up in the ranks.

Many times over the years InuYasha had heard Kagome use the phrase "The gods' gift to women", usually in reference to some exceedingly vain or arrogant man (i.e. Miroku). The saying, which he assumed to be facetious (although he was never particularly good at deciphering such expressions), never made a great deal of sense to him. Especially now that he had discovered for himself just exactly what the gods' gift to women actually was. Well, he supposed he couldn't claim to know exactly what it was, as he had no earthly idea how it worked or what the hell it was called. But he had very little doubt—as he wriggled his tongue against that little, pink bead of flesh and listened to the moans of pleasure coming from the writhing woman beneath him—that it could be anything less than divine.

InuYasha's concentration was broken by the feel of Kagome's fingers threading into his hair on either side of his face and giving a gentle tug. He pulled his mouth from her and looked to her face, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Did you come already?"

She shook her head. "I need you inside me."

At that, InuYasha gave her an undoubtedly goofy grin, and without any additional fanfare he crept back up her body, hooking her legs into the crook of his elbows, and opening her further to him as he slipped inside with practiced ease. He started pumping into her slowly—more for his own control than for her comfort, as by now he knew all too well that she could take anything he could dish out—but the second she started gasping out demands of "Faster" and "Harder", he was helpless to deny her. He sped up the pace of his hips, pounding into her with abandon and cursing his weakness as he immediately felt the unmistakable tightness in his balls that signified an imminent climax. This was surprising, seeing as how, by their second time on any given night, he was usually good to hold out nearly indefinitely. But he accepted (reluctantly, and only to himself) that sometimes his human emotions took more control over his body than his brain. Without slowing his movements, he lowered his head to her chest, sliding his tongue up the valley between her bouncing breasts before moving to the side and capturing a nipple between his lips.

Between panting breaths, Kagome released a whimper of approval and gripped tightly to his shoulders as he went to work, teasing and stimulating the pebbled flesh with his tongue. This action was enough to not only provide a distraction for him, but quickly bring her to the edge with him. He nearly let out a cheer of victory when she abruptly arched against him, and he heard her gasp the broken syllables of his name. As he felt her tight sheath grip him hard and begin to pulse around him, he gave a few more shallow thrusts before joining her, locking his hips tightly to hers as—to her evident surprise, as well as his own—he emptied himself inside her.

Lowering his arms, he released her legs, allowing her feet to drop to the floor as he eased himself down against her, burying his face in the crook of her neck as the both took a moment to catch their breath.

"Look." Kagome whispered, and he lifted his head to find her nodding toward the window where the dim light of predawn was just beginning cast its glow into her hut...their hut. "It's almost morning," she said, her tone reflecting her anticipatory excitement.

"You've got a little while yet," he responded, dropping a kiss against her forehead and moving to settle alongside her. "Get some sleep."

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked.

"I'll always be here when you wake up."

Kagome lifted her head and arched an eyebrow at him skeptically, to which he amended, "From now on."

It wasn't exactly what she would call a proper marriage vow, but it was everything she had hoped to hear. It was all she needed to hear. She smiled and snuggled into his chest, letting the rhythmic thump of his heart lull her into a deep sleep within minutes.

As InuYasha listened to her breathing slowly even out as she lost consciousness, he felt a sense of peace. That regardless of what the future held for the two of them, they'd face it side by side.