Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or the rest of the chars. Please, don’t rub it in anymore!

CLAIMS AND MEMORIES

*****
She was sleeping, her hair slightly disarrayed by their earlier activities, her small hands tucked up under her chin. He looked down on her lying in the bed beside him, the warmth of the fire behind his back giving enough light for it to reflect in her black hair, adding a slightly golden tint to it. To watch her sleep always had a calming effect on him, the way she seemed so relaxed, so… sure… of her own safety… He couldn’t understand why he felt the way he did as he watched her chest rise and sink with her even breaths, how all he wanted was to lie down beside her and watch her through the night, not moving at all.

Running his claws slowly through her hair, he watched as the golden deepened in the light, almost seeming to glow on its own. He loved her hair, the soft, silky texture, how it seemed to take on a life of its own as the light of the fire played with it…

Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her lips, and even in her sleep, she responded, bringing a rare smile to his lips. His mate… He folded the covers back to look at the shoulder where he had staked his claim earlier. It was already healing, a gift of his as well. He had opened his own wrist, mingling their blood. Not enough to hurt her, or make her a hanyou – not that, not yet – but enough for her to recieve certain… abilities as well.

He leaned down, licking the cut again, letting his saliva heal it. His mate… She had chosen tonight, the look in her eyes when she had accepted him so full of love and life that he had felt the longing and sorrow ease just by meeting them. She had that effect on him, ever since the first time they had met alone.

She had been frightened then, frightened and hurt by the useless excuse of a hanyou that was supposed to be his brother. He had found himself surprised by actually sympathizing with her, at first thinking it to be a slight admiration for the loyalty she always displayed, but as they met again and again, the admiration had changed into an obsession. He had wanted to know more about her, all her memories, her pains and joys. And she had given them to him, one by one, as she spellbound him with her emotions. She was so… innocent… The opposite of him. He was ice – she was fire. She was kind, always ready to show mercy, and he had ruled so long by brute strength that he had forgotten what mercy was.

And she hadn’t shown her fear for him, not even when he had made it clear that he knew about it. He had tried to get her to call his brother, to have the hanyou show up to watch him rip her apart, but as she had refused – out of love, she had claimed – the game had changed into something else. He had let her go, watched her as she had slowly made her way through the trees, not turning her back on him once, wondering what this thing called ’love’ was…

She sighed, the soft sound enough to draw his attention back to the present, and he watched her as she nuzzled closer to him. His tail was wrapped around her, securing her to him, covering her body in its soft folds. She liked it, loved to play with it and teased him when he tried to stop her. He liked it when she did that, but it wasn’t something he would ever admit to anyone. However, letting her play with it when they were alone was something he could put up with. Watching how her small face nuzzled into it even more, feeling her breath stirring the hairs, he couldn’t keep back the sigh that had been building in him. He had never felt so… content… Like the whole world outside was gone, as if it was only the two of them in the little cabin. He knew that it wasn’t any other youkai – or human, for that matter – close to it. He had put up a ward around it to keep them out as they had made their way over there in the falling snow. Winter had glided down faster than neither of them had wanted it to, the summer and autumn so quickly gone.

She and her friends had been traveling around all summer, finding the shards, but there was still so many of them left. He wondered what would happen when the jewel was back in one piece again, if she would be transported away from him, his claim not enough to keep her here… He would go to the gates of Hell to get her back if he had to then, battle the Devil himself… A possessive growl rumbled in his chest, finding itself out through his lips and he felt his eyes flash to red at the thought of her leaving.

Running a clawed hand down her small face, he turned it slightly upwards to him, watching how her delicate eyebrows drew together for a moment before relaxing again. She had been sleeping for almost the whole night, trusting him to keep her safe. And he would. He would kill anyone who tried to hurt her, to even lay a hand on her if she didn’t want it herself. His mate…

Her eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again, another of those soft sighs escaping her as she buried her face in his tail, rubbing her nose in it for a moment before a small smile played on her lips. She was still awake, just not wanting to let him know. He did, however, as he felt the slight change in her pulse again, the way her breathing quickened, just a little.

He lowered his head to her shoulder again, biting lightly. She squirmed a little, the smile on her lips widening as her eyes opened again, and he felt himself drowning in the blue depths. How he ever had thought her ’ugly’ was beyond him… She was the most beautiful creature had ever laid eyes on during the centuries he had roamed the earth. Her eyes, the way she smiled, how it lit up those sapphire depths as they met his…

Her hands rose to his hair, stroking the silky strands away from his face, and he closed his eyes, marveling at the touch. He loved it when she did that, somehow seeming to calm him down even as she made his blood stir of lust and longing. Her fingers danced down to his cheeks, following the stripes there before returning to his hair, and he nuzzled his face deeper into her embrace. A low purr broke the silence around them as he tightened his grip around her with his tail, and felt the slight change in her pulse again. He kissed the inside of her palms, the left one first – the one that was the closest to her heart, bringing a sigh from her.

Opening his eyes again, he regarded her silently, again drowning in her eyes and not caring. He had never felt this way, never been so content with life… Power was one thing, but without her, it was nothing. His mate…

"My mate…" she whispered, echoing his thoughts, and he smiled. She blushed, and drawing a claw along her jaw, up to her cheek, he watched fascinated as the blush seemed to follow his silent trail.

"Yours… As you are mine… Always, itoshii…" She gasped at the word, the first one he had ever uttered to really show his love, how much she meant to him… He had told her that he loved her, proved it too, but he had never said that word before… Beloved…

A tear suddenly fell down her cheek, and he brushed it away, slightly taken aback by it. He couldn’t understand why she cried, not when he hadn’t said anything to hurt her, and his eyebrows drew together as it was followed by another one.

"Why are you crying?" His voice was soft, his eyes as kind as they ever would be, and she smiled through the tears.

"Because you love me…" He blinked at that, trying to understand what she meant first, before brushing it off as another of those human emotions.

"Of course I love you… I wouldn’t have made you my mate if I didn’t…" The words seemed to have the desired effect as she smiled again, burying her hands in his hair.

"I know… I cry because I’m happy…" The puzzled look on his face then made her giggle.

"You cry… Because you’re happy?" He was so sweet when he was confused, and smiling, she pulled him down to kiss him.

"It’s something humans do, sometimes…" Her words were no more than a breath against his lips, but he heard them clear enough, and that explanation was enough for him, for now.

That was another thing that fascinated him, he decided as he kissed her slowly, the way that she seemed to have so much depth, so many layers that covered her core. Everytime he thought he had understood her, she showed him something new, turning the tables on him again.

He remembered their first kiss then, how he had found himself spellbound by her eyes, the portals to her soul. They had met each other in the forest, the one named after his brother, and she had been so frightened then. He had tried to show her that he meant no harm, but she had turned, running, desperately trying to get away from him. It had hurt him, hurt more than he had thought possible, to watch those blue depths freeze with fear, but he had steeled himself, playing with her as he hunted her down. She had stopped just in front of the old well – the one he had learned later was a portal to her world – stopped, and turned to face him again. Defiance and fear had shown in her eyes, worry that he would follow her, and the gentle smile she so often displayed hidden from him. He had stalked closer, ready to slash at her if she tried anything, but she had just stood there, watching him. He could still remember how he heard her heart beat, the pulse thick in her veins as her heart pumped her blood around in the eternal circle. The air had smelled of fear, of adrenaline and pain… The last one not a physical emotion, but something that came from within, from her soul. And then, how he suddenly had grabbed her chin in a gentle grip, how her eyes had gone wide, how she had gasped… And how he had leaned down, wanting to taste her lips, to taste all her jumbled emotions, to taste her…

His tail twitched, wounding itself around her and tickling her under her chin. She broke the kiss with a grin, gripping it and stroking it slowly, watched how he reacted. He did his usual pretending of not liking it, but couldn’t quite keep the grin off his own face as she played with it, nuzzling it and blowing her breath into the soft hairs, ruffling them. He growled playfully, watching her giggle again, the sound of her voice merging with his own darker one. Her smile lit up the darkness outside, taking away all his worries in the process. He would be content with just laying there and watch her all night, watch her sleep, watch her as she woke up…

"What are you looking at, my mate…?" Her voice was serious, but her eyes shone with laughter and he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"You, my mate…" He nuzzled her with his nose, bringing another of those soft giggles from her.

"Why?" Trying to meet his eyes straight on – but only succeeding in looking at him with her own crossed ones that made her look slightly like Jaken – she persisted.

"Because I can’t get enough of you… And now you have a slight similarity to Jaken as well…" The last was said with a smile, and she laughed out aloud.

"And because of that, you’ll dump me somewhere, not wanting anything to do with me, right?" He didn’t laugh at her, catching the sudden change again, the slight… hurt… note in her voice.

"No, but I’m not going to take Jaken as my mate either, so don’t look like that…" That really had her laughing, him echoing her to his own surprise.

"No, you’ve better not do that, because I have no wish to share you… With anyone." The last words were uttered with such seriousness that he couldn’t help but stare.

"You won’t have to. Unlike my father, I stay with my mate, not taking in another one." His voice became cold and distant, and she bit her lip. That was a subject they had never touched, not even when they had talked about his brother. She stroke his cheek again, bringing his gaze back to her own as she said those words he longed to hear, needed to feel in his heart as well.

"I love you, now and always… I will never leave you, not even when I die. We’re meant to be, the two of us. Not ever with someone else…" She brought him down, kissing him and wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling his sorrow and worries disappear in that kiss. She had first thought him cold and distant to his emotions, but she had learned otherwise as they had met again and again. He kept his emotions under control, true, but they were there, all she had to do was to bring them out.

The first time she had met him alone, he had frightened her as he kept on telling her to call for his brother. She had still been in love with Inuyasha then – her first love – and she had refused, thinking it was better for her to die now than watch him and Kikyo again. And then, how he had let her go, an odd look in those golden eyes. She had ran as soon as she was out of reach from them, ran as fast as she could, more trying to escape the light in them than the threat they had held earlier.

And how he had kissed her at the well, how that kiss had changed everything in her, rewriting her whole history with that silent moment. Then she had realized that she had fallen for him, fallen so deeply that there was nothing else she could do but keep on holding onto him…

She had learned about Rin, about the little human child he had adopted that was now going to be her own child as well, about how he had saved her using the Tenseiga. She had never thought him possible of mercy, but that action had completely changed her view of him, leaving her stunned at first. And then, she had seen the heart that was beating inside him, learned that it was really there, that he was alive… But dying, as his soul hadn’t found what it needed, till she came along.

He broke the kiss, nibbling down her neck instead, out to her marked shoulder. He swept away the covers again, watching it for a moment before leaning down and licking it. The feeling of his rough tongue sent shivers down her spine, drawing up the memory of their first time together, how they had both been so shy, not sure of what they were doing, and as unable to stop…

His claws stroke her shoulder lightly, bringing another shiver, before they continued out on her arm, tracing it down out to her hand again. He leaned his head on her chest, feeling her breathe, how her heart beat under her soft skin. Nuzzling closer, up under her chin, he felt her embrace him, how her hands entwined with his hair, massaging his scalp slowly. He closed his eyes then, just wanting to feel her soft skin, how her heart beat, hearing the light swish from her lungs as she breathed. He could stay like that forever, not moving ever again. She stroke his cheek again, her delicate fingers tracing down to his nose, tickling it lightly, and he purred again. The sound reverbrated out from his throat, connecting with her chest, and she smiled. This was the way it was supposed to be, just the two of them, sheltered like this from the rest of the world.

She felt him slowly relaxing again, safe in her embrace, and his tail twitched slightly, tickling her. She smiled again, knowing that he wasn’t asleep yet. He was always the one who stayed up, to watch over her as she slept the dreamless sleep of love.

He changed his position a little, placing his ear above her heart, wanting to hear the sound of it beating more clearly, and she plucked away the loose strands of his hair as it fell into his face again. She loved his hair, the soft, silky feeling of it made her slightly envious – and she knew women who would kill for it – and the way it seemed to live a life of its own. She had tried braiding it once – after bribing him with a box of chocolate, and dealt with the consequences of a dog-demon high on it – but it had slipped out of the braids almost at once. He had just looked at her with one of his ’I-told-you-so’-gazes that was so infuriating, watching how she had fumed before pulling her in to kiss her, all her anger suddenly forgotten.

Smiling, she relived the tender moments they had together, beginning during the early summer, and continued out through the autumn, and now, the winter. The snow was falling heavily outside now, bringing the bitter season with it, but the chill couldn’t reach them here, couldn’t settle in her heart when she was with him. Everything else was gone, forgotten, all the pains and worries disappeared as soon as she felt his arms around her, his soul connecting with her own…

He purred again as she stroke his hair, tucking it in behind his ear, touching his cheek. The sound made her feel so much at home, so safe and sheltered, just like everything else with him did. The way he leaned on her now told her that he felt safe with her as well, with the way she protected his soul.

"Sleep, itoshii… I’ll watch over you…" His eyes flickered open for a moment again, but as she continued stroking his hair, he felt himself relax more and more, the dreams claiming him. He tried to stay awake, to let her know that she didn’t have to do this, but her slow breaths, the way her heart beat, spellbound him, and he slipped away into the first real sleep he had had since he was a little pup in his mother’s arms. A mother… He wondered if she knew about the pup that was growing in her, if she had felt the change in her body yet… He knew that she would welcome it though, knew that she would take care of their pup, loving it with all her heart even though it was of two species. He had wondered at first how he himself would react to the fact that she was carrying the result of their love, but after a lot of considering, he knew now that it wouldn’t matter at all… It was going to be his pup, his and his mate’s… And no one could take that away from them, even if they tried. The vicious side of him twitched to life momentarily, almost hoping for someone who would try just so that he could rip them to shreds, and the low growl startled her.

"What’s wrong?" Her soft voice brought him back again, and he kissed her shoulder. She relaxed again, knowing that there wasn’t anything wrong with him as he fell back to sleep again. He had never felt so safe as with her, knowing that she would watch over him. At first, it had been slightly annoying to have to deal with those feelings, but now he reveled in them, exploring them with her as his guide… She had shown him what love meant, what the urge to protect someone really felt like… He had protected Rin, and recognized his feelings for her as love – the same love as he felt when he thought about the pup that would be born during the late spring or early summer – but it wasn’t the same furious surge that went through him when he thought of protecting his mate, if anyone would even dare to harm her…

Slowly admitting his defeat to sleep and the dreams that awaited him there, he embraced her a little more, needing to make sure that she was still there, and that she wouldn’t leave him, ever.

She lay there, hearing how his breathing calmed down, how he relaxed into sleep, and smiled. This was the life that awaited her, the life with her mate… Her thoughts brushed her companions for a moment, wondering how they would react when they found out, how Inuyasha would react to the fact that he was going to become an uncle… The pain returned for a moment when she thought of him, but was gone as soon again, brushed aside of the love she felt for the youkai sleeping over her heart. This was the way it would be, her first love now just a bittersweet memory that sometimes brought her back, sometimes forward, in time.

Stroking his cheek again, she closed her eyes, following him into the land of their dreams, into their future…







*****
Owari