"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"Changing the tone of your voice will not influence my answer."
"But you don't even need it!"
"That does not stop it from being mine."
Kagome glowered at the daiyoukai, the reflection off the newly fallen snow making him seem even more other than usual. They'd been camped out in some random cave all day, and while they were dry, the small fire Sesshoumaru had built wasn't enough.
And the stubborn youkai refused to give up his pelt.
"So you'd just let me freeze to death?"
He rolled his eyes, his head still facing the mouth of the cave. "You will not perish from a slight chill."
"Maybe not, but if I get sick, then you'll really have to take care of me."
"I am not 'taking care of you'"
"Explain the fire then."
"You required it to cook food."
Kagome crossed her arms, giving him a cheeky grin. "Still taking care of me."
"Silence, woman. If I allowed any harm to come to you, I would never hear the end of it."
Juggling closer to the fire, Kagome rubbed her hands together. "It would kind of ruin all the progress between you and Inuyasha."
A sound similar to a snort escaped his lips. "As if my brother's tantrum would bother me."
She frowned in confusion, turning to look at him once more. "Then why—"
"Rin has grown fond of you."
Her frown instantly switched to a smile, eyes lighting up in the darkness. It had only been two years since she'd returned to the feudal era, but Rin had been the light that kept the shadows away. Sometimes she reminded Kagome so much of Souta that her chest clenched, but it was wonderful to have someone around that felt like family.
"I'm glad."
"Hnn."
They were silent for a while, content to watch the snowfall as the landscape was stripped of all its colour and life. Kagome's gaze eventually slid back to Sesshoumaru, her pale protector, for she couldn't call him anything else. Even now, he sat between her and any possible threats, though he'd claimed it was to see when the storm subsided.
Kagome knew better.
There was a myriad of other caves around here, but he just happened to end up in the same one as her? It was an extraordinary coincidence. And one that he continued to deny.
"I'm still cold."
"The pile of kindling is fully stocked."
"Or…" Kagome stifled her laughter as the muscles in his jaw clenched. Why did she enjoy getting under his skin so much?
Mother Nature seemed to join in the fight; the wind shifted, frigid air cutting through their clothing and all but dowsing the fire. Shivers wracked her body as she tried to build it up again, the dying embers disappearing under tree bark and branches.
"If I do this, do you promise to stop harassing me?"
Trembling shoulders perked up, and she nodded vigorously.
Sesshoumaru unwrapped mokomoko from his body, his sigh of resignation turning into a startled gasp when she crawled into his lap.
"Miko, what are you—"
"There's no sense in us both being cold," she said, tucking the ends of his pelt around her body before settling against him. Muscles were taut with tension—hers due to the cold, his, she assumed, due to the audacity of her actions. Kagome didn't care. She refused to freeze just because he had issues with personal boundaries.
"I'll move once I'm warm if it bothers you so much." Lips pursed as eyes closed, and she snuggled closer to him. How he could be this warm while only dressed in silk and armour, she'd never know.
Another resigned sigh.
"Do as you please."
"I will." Her lips were curling up into a smile by the end of the second word, the image of his indignant glare clear in her mind's eye. Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed her face against his chest, willing the heat of his skin to transfer to hers.
"You push your luck, miko."
It was Kagome's turn to snort. "And yet I'm still in one piece. So, either I'm more tolerable than you let on, or you secretly like snuggles. I won't tell if it's the latter, but I'm not letting go." To prove her point, she squeezed him tighter, then frowned when he jerked in response. She sighed, slowly releasing him and preparing to stand up, but froze when she saw the blood on her hands.
"You're injured? Why didn't you say anything?"
"It is nothing."
"You're bleeding. You. Sesshoumaru. That alone is something."
A single eyebrow rose, and Kagome blinked as something akin to pride swirled in his eyes before his face became a blank slate once more.
"It is nothing for you to be bothered about, miko."
"Says you! Show me the injury!"
"To what end?"
She looked at him like he had two heads. "So I can help you."
Sesshoumaru's head cocked to the side, and his face was instantly youthened, childlike curiosity lighting up his features. "Why?"
Sputtering, Kagome turned around in his lap, getting tangled in his pelt. "What do you mean 'why'? Why wouldn't I help you?"
Curiosity shifted to disbelief, and her eyes widened. Finally pulling mokomoko from her shoulders, she looked up at him. The Lord of the West. The powerful daiyoukai. The brother of her best friend.
The one who'd tried to kill her on sight.
"Sesshoumaru… You know things are different now, right?"
She felt the tension in his muscles, saw the conflict in his eyes, felt the same things in her own body as instincts begged her to heal and comfort. Digging her nails into her palms, she pushed the urge away—at least for now—she'd already taken enough liberties with his person.
"Look, I may not be your favourite person, but I'd like to think that we're friends. I'll help you if you're hurt."
He raised an eyebrow at her, and the relief Kagome felt that he didn't just blow her off was immense. Maybe things were different.
A sigh escaped his lips, and he lay back against the cave wall. "It is of little consequence, miko. An inconvenience, nothing more."
"But don't you usually heal really quickly?"
"Reiki slows the process. A miscalculation on my part and the misunderstanding of a miko's apprentice."
Kagome's eyes widened. "She actually hit you?"
He gave her a pointed look. "It is not the first time it has happened."
Blushing, she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, well… You deserved it at the time."
"Indeed."
Noting his acceptance, she flashed him a genuine smile. "Glad we're on the same page. Now let me look at your wound."
"There is no point—"
"There is totally a point! You're hurt and I can help. Now show it to me, or I'm going to nag you until you do it anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin as she dared him to call her bluff.
Sighing again, he pulled mokomoko from her shoulders, and Kagome moved off his lap. Fur and armour fell to the ground before he pulled at the ties of his obi as well. Refusing to be embarrassed, she continued to watch as pale silks were replaced with pale skin, his haori and inner kimono falling to his waist before he turned away from her.
The stripes from his hips rose high over his sides, then tapered off into thin points, disappearing into the top of his hakama. At first, Kagome thought he had a second one on his right side, but then she realized the ugly, jagged mark trailing down his back was the place where he'd been hit with a holy arrow.
"Why didn't you say anything when you got here? It looks awful!"
"As I said before, the process is slow, but it will eventually—"
"Enough! Lie down. I'm pretty sure I've got some herbs in my bag." She scrambled to her feet, quickly searching through her travel bag until she found what she was looking for. Turning back to Sesshoumaru, she was surprised to find him already on his stomach. Something fluttered in her stomach at the realization that he trusted her enough to offer her his back.
Kneeling next to him, she applied a thin layer of salve to his skin, her reiki sliding over the swollen parts of the injury. Sesshoumaru hissed.
"Sorry. It'll sting a little bit, but I promise it'll make it better."
"I find it interesting you are using the same power that wounded me to heal me."
Kagome shrugged. "Guess I'm better than the person that shot you then."
He gazed at her over his shoulder, golden eyes assessing. Accepting. Agreeing. "Indeed."
For some reason, a blush crept up her neck and into her cheeks. It wasn't as if he'd outright complimented her, but the fact that Sesshoumaru wasn't disagreeing made her feel warmer than his pelt had.
"It will be a while before the storm dissipates, miko. You are welcome to mokomoko until then."
Kagome nodded, not trusting her own voice. She finished applying the salve, then reached over him to grab his pelt, it easily settling around her shoulders. Glancing towards the mouth of the cave, she toyed with the soft fur.
"You know… You can always come to me for help. I won't tell anyone that you asked."
She could feel his eyes on her, but she kept her gaze on the snow-covered landscape, the sound of her breathing seeming to get louder with every inhale.
"I shall hold you to that."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, the heat in her cheeks becoming a welcome sensation.
Perhaps being stuck in here with Sesshoumaru wouldn't be that bad.