The Snow Angel by SunsetMiko

The Waking

Chapter 40 - The Waking *Thunderclap* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge)

Kagome woke slowly, feeling safe and warm. Her head was fuzzy, and she dared not open her eyes,  instantly deciding to go back to sleep. Her arm tightened around Shippo, where he lay against her abdomen. Her lips curved up in a smile. The kitsune always seemed to lie there, instead of higher, where she could hold him properly.  She knew he always loved it when she curled her body around his. The miko assumed it was because of his parents. When in their true forms, they would have slept curled around him, much like a mother dog with her puppies. It was sweet and  holding him like that made her feel motherly.

Her fingers twitched, and she realized that someone was holding her hand. She tightened her grip, and the hand holding hers squeezed back. Now she was curious. She carefully took a mental inventory of her position and realized that her forehead was pressed against something firm and warm. She breathed in deeply and sighed in pleasure at the scent. It was like the forest during a rainstorm, and the miko could have sworn she smelled lightning. She inhaled again, the sight and sound of a lightning strike coming to mind. It was a masculine scent, and slowly it dawned on her that neither Inuyasha nor Miroku smelled like that.

Kagome's eyes popped open, forgetting all about going back to sleep. She felt a thumb brush across her knuckles, and she rolled slightly to look up at the person she was sleeping beside.

"Sesshoumaru?" She was surprised to find him sitting beside her.

The taiyoukai allowed a small smile to show on his face. She was beautiful, eyes slightly glazed with tiredness, her hair mussed from sleep. He had known the second she awoke, the change in her breathing and heart rate giving it away. He had worried that she would freak out and pull away from him, but she didn’t.  Instead, she was gazing at him in question.  He caressed her hand with his thumb again before speaking.

"You had a nightmare. Once you fell back sleep, I stayed with you,  in case you were to need me again."

"Need you?" she asked, searching her hazy mind for memories of the night before. She vaguely remembered bad dreams, and slowly it returned to her. Had Sesshoumaru been the one to hold and console her? She had assumed it was Inuyasha, though the hanyou had never been very good at that kind of thing. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, had been wonderful. He calmed her quickly with softly spoken words and assurances of her safety. She had felt so secure in his arms, and once she had fallen back to sleep, not one more dark thought had invaded her mind. He had stayed with her all night, protecting her from bad dreams.

Sesshoumaru watched as the miko smiled and put her head back down on her pillow. She pressed her forehead against his thigh once more and breathed in deeply. Her eyes fluttered closed as his smile widened, and then she nuzzled her face against him, snuggling closer. His heart was pounding so fast he thought it might explode. She hadn't gotten upset that she had slept beside him, holding his hand. In fact, she seemed perfectly comfortable being in such an intimate position with him. He wanted nothing more at that moment that to sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless, but he held back. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. Slow and steady was the best way, he decided. That was how she had crept her way into his heart, and that was how he planned on making his way into hers.