"Just Shy"

Written in response to a 'Different types of kisses' prompt: height difference

*set the day of Kagome's return to the Feudal Era

Kagome's heart beat a mile a minute as she watched her two friends walk off into the growing dusk, each holding the hand of a tiny little girl tottering alongside. Her own hand stayed raised beside her, waving them off silently even though they could no longer see it; she was too nervous to stop. The warmth of the body standing close at her side sent a rush of chills over her skin, and she dropped her hand before he could notice it shake. They'd been apart for so long, and yet there he was – solid and steady as if he'd never left her side and he never would again. She hoped he wouldn't. As scared as she was to be alone with him now, she didn't ever want to be without him again.

There was gentle pressure at her wrist, and Kagome's breath caught as Inuyasha grasped her hand and tugged her away under the cover of trees. "C'mon" was all he said as he led her away, and she made no protest. She'd follow him anywhere.

It didn't surprise her all that much when he stopped with his back to her just in front of the Sacred Tree, but all the same, she found herself unable to speak. For three years she'd come to this tree in her own time, telling it her deepest wishes and praying to whatever spirits it held that one day she'd find a way back to the past. Knowing she'd made it, that she was really here with the man she'd been longing to see so desperately all this time… her eyes stung, and she shut them tight. No way would she cry now and ruin this moment for them.

When her eyes peered open again in the soft blue of falling night, Inuyasha was facing her, his silver hair shining against the backdrop of the tree. There was a tiny smile on his face, one he'd been wearing all day. He seemed unable to get rid of it, even trying a few times when Shippo or Miroku had made especially annoying comments meant to rile him – but each time the scowl he set them with would dissolve into that smile again of its own accord, and his eyes and attention would settle on Kagome again like a moth drawn to flame, though it felt like she was the one that got burned. She'd been unable to hold that gaze for most of the day, and even now found herself glancing away to the grass with rosy cheeks.

"I-Inuyasha, I really missed yo-"

"Don't."

Her eyes snapped up to meet his barely shining in the low light, and his slight smile became a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I just… don't wanna talk about all that. Not now anyways." She nodded, understanding. These past three years must have been just as hard on him as on her… maybe even worse. Her heart ached all the more for him. "I uh…" his voice was low and uncertain, but his eyes were steady as he fastened his gaze on her face. "I just want to look at you."

Kagome released a shaky breath, and her face heated up even more under his now open scrutiny. Was… was he just going to stare at her all night? She didn't know what to do with herself, but then… the thought came to her, that if he got to stare, then maybe… so could she? It took her a moment to ignore the roving eyes taking in her features, but eventually she tuned out Inuyasha's staring and let herself get a good long look at the half-demon she was so in love with.

His face looked a little older than she remembered, a little more worn and angular, but perhaps her fading memories had just softened him over time. His whisping white hair fell over sharp cheekbones and a bony jaw. Although the exact brightness of his amber eyes was hard to see in the dim night, they shone in bright contrast against his black lashes, and his dark brows were gently sloping thick lines under the fringe of his bangs. Her eyes traced the bridge of his wide nose, his nostrils flaring as he took long, deep breaths every so often. Kagome's heart fluttered as she realized he was quite obviously breathing in her scent, and not caring at all if she noticed. Her gaze dropped then to his lips, and she let herself linger there for a moment. She'd always said he had a 'big mouth', and never stopped to give it much more thought than that, but now that she could really look, well… insults were the furthest thing from her mind. His lips were wide and full, curved up in a welcoming way by the gentle smile still tugging at his face. They were only a shade or two darker than his tan face, and looked to be a little chapped; Kagome knew he didn't always take care of himself like he should, and vowed that as long as she was around, those luscious lips would never be so neglected again. Honestly, what a shame to let them get that way….

She didn't realize she'd moved at all until her frame bumped lightly into a solid figure and warm cloth. Large hands steadied her as they grasped her shoulders and slid slightly to her back, holding her in place. Kagome didn't dare breathe. Her gaze flickered up from that enticing mouth to see gleaming yellow looking down on her in open amusement and those full lips turned up even more into a smirk that revealed a pearly fang. She wasn't sure just what it was he found so funny, but then his eyes dropped purposefully to her own lips and lingered there, before dragging up to meet hers once more.

Kagome flushed crimson. But she couldn't deny what she'd obviously been caught doing. And when she saw his eyes go half-lidded, and saw his head start to drop toward her, she wished she'd been caught staring sooner. Eagerly, her own eyes slid shut, and she tilted her head up to meet him, puckering her small lips slightly, anxious and excited and lost in a flurry of expectations. She waited for the feeling of those chapped lips to press against hers… and waited… and she strained her neck a little to close more distance… and waited still. After a moment she could feel his breath brushing across her lips, and she shivered delightedly, but that contact of flesh against flesh never came. Instead, she heard him laugh.

"Damn… you're really short."

Her eyes popped open, brows pinching in fury and mouth dropping in consternation. Why that stupid, rude little – her furious thoughts left off in a squeak of surprise as Inuyasha reached down and grasped her around the middle, hoisting her body up against his own. Her arms reached out to wrap around his neck as an instinctive support against falling, but there was no need; he was strong enough to hold her on his own and she knew it. The way he was looking at her though, his golden eyes darting from her storm-clouds to her pouting lips, she only tightened her hold. They were level now.

"Welcome back, Kagome" he breathed out huskily, and Kagome could almost feel the words like a caress on her lips before the distance between them was closed and all she could feel was the slight roughness of Inuyasha's kiss.