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You were driving him mad.
Inuyasha stomped through the forest with his ears pressed flat against his skull, a growing pile of kindling clutched beneath his arm. He had already foraged enough to last your group through the night and then some, and yet the thought of returning to the fire - returning to you - stalled his feet.
You were amazing, Inuyasha.
The hanyou jerked to a stop, the memory of your words bringing a hot flush to his cheeks. You had said it with such fervor, your palm pressed to your chest as you caught your breath, as though he had moved a mountain rather just mowing down a couple dozen of Naraku’s insects with a well-timed Wind Scar - nothing that should have put such an awestruck look on your face!
Inuyasha blamed your overreaction on your inexperience - you had only been traveling with them for a short time, after all, sucked into the past a mere two months back - but no amount of repeated exposure to angry youkai falling beneath his blade seemed to dull your awe of him.
It was driving him crazy.
The sun had dipped low before he made his way back to camp, bereft of any further tasks to stall his return. Admitting that he was actively avoiding you, even if only to himself, made the hanyou grit his teeth. It felt too much like admitting fear, and what a ridiculous notion that was. He wasn’t afraid of you.
The others had settled into their bedrolls by the time he returned, though no one had drifted off to sleep just yet. You lingered by the crackling fire, staring pensively into the flames. You’d had some trouble sleeping those first few nights with them, jumping at every snapping of a twig or crunch of leaf beyond the circle of the fire, and despite himself, Inuyasha couldn’t help but to reassure you as he approached.
“You can sleep, ya know,” he muttered, dropping his bounty near the fire and tossing a few sticks into the flames before eyeing the canopy above, searching for a suitable perch to pass the night. “Nothin’s gonna get you while I’m keepin’ watch.”
You glanced up at him, lips twitching into a smile. “I know,” you murmured confidently, hugging your knees to your chest. “I always feel safe with you around, Inuyasha.”
The hanyou stilled as your words settled over the camp, knowing without even needing to glance at his companions that they’d heard it, too. He could practically feel Miroku’s smirk, his ears pricking at the soft huff of amusement from Kagome’s side of the fire and Shippo’s lousy attempt to smother a snort at her side. It all felt a bit too much, suddenly, your words from earlier coming back to knock him flat on his ass and without thinking twice about how obvious he was making himself, Inuyasha shot a glare in your direction and snapped, “Would ya cut that out?”
Your expression faltered and fell, and without stopping to examine why that dejected look made his chest grow tight, Inuyasha turned on his heel and stalked back into the forest.
He didn’t stop until he came across a stream and huffed down at his reflection in the water. His ears were on a swivel, twitching wildly atop his head, and his face had grown an alarming shade of red.
“What the fuck is wrong with me?” he growled, slumping to the ground and stuffing his hands into the sleeves of his haori. He couldn’t make heads nor tails of it - why your words had such a powerful effect on him. It wasn’t like he was used to being praised or anything, especially by a human, but this - the galloping of his pulse, the heat spilling into his cheeks, the breathless anticipation that trembled through his limbs whenever you complimented his strength or his prowess in battle - it was like nothing he had ever felt before.
His ears twitched at the soft shuffle of footsteps behind him, his brows furrowing as a quick sniff of the air brought a familiar scent to his nose. He waited, glaring down into the water, for you to say something, only to startle as your warmth settled against his back instead, your spine tucked snugly against his.
“I’m sorry,” you murmured gently. Inuyasha could hear your fingers fiddling with the torn fabric around your knees, and if he really strained his ears, he could probably pick up on the unhappy cadence of your pulse fluttering away inside your chest. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you back there.”
“I wasn’t embarrassed,” Inuyasha countered, even as the warmth flooded into his cheeks again. “I was just - “ He struggled for the right word, and eventually snorted as he realized he couldn’t find it. “Keh. Confused, I guess. You’re always saying things like that - butterin’ me up and shit. I just don’t get it.”
Silence on your end, followed by a soft breath. A laugh. “You don’t get it?”
“No!” Inuyasha blurted, ears flattening against his scalp. “Humans don’t exactly shower me with compliments, if you hadn’t noticed. And yet here you are, always yappin’ on about how strong I am, or fearless, or amazin’ - “
“‘Cause you are,” you murmured, and the rest of Inuyasha’s words dried up in his throat. Fuck. “Inuyasha,” you continued, your words stilted and a little hesitant, as though you were picking them carefully. “I’ve been terrified since the first day I arrived here. Did you know that? Absolutely out of my mind with fear. And you - you’ve kept me safe, even in the face of demons and creatures the likes of which I never knew existed. You make me feel safe when nothing else around me does.” Your breath stuck audibly in your throat, like you’d said too much, been too honest without realizing it, before you finished, “So, to me, you really are amazing.”
Inuyasha’s blood roared in his ears, his vision of the stream blurring as your words echoed in his head.
“Inuyasha?” His name spilled hesitantly from your tongue as the silence between you grew, your soft voice serving as the catalyst for Inuyasha’s body to twist, his claws catching against your shoulders. Your expression, when he tugged you to face him, was rife with confusion, your lips parting to sputter, “Ah - Inuyasha, what - ?” before the hanyou ducked down and pressed his lips to yours.
That shut you up, your lips falling slack in shock before you slumped against him with a soft sigh, mouth firming against his and fingers curling in his haori.
Inuyasha hadn’t thought much beyond what would happen once he pressed his lips to yours - hadn’t thought before he’d grabbed you in the first place, actually - but the weight of you in his arms, the soft huff of your breath against his lips and the muted thump of your heart racing in your chest felt too good - too right - to allow any doubts or misgivings about how this might all blow up in his face to intrude into the rising heat between you.
Besides, judging from the way you were clinging to him and the happy little whimper you released whenever he nipped at your bottom lip, Inuyasha doubted he had anything to worry about, anyway.