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“That’s it !” Kouga shouted, dropping the bag he was designated to carry. Kagome knew he was upset the moment she asked him to bring Ginta and Hakkaku with him to carry her supply back to the den, but they were barely halfway there when his frustration erupted. She was hoping they would at least make it to the face of the mountain, but no such luck was on her side.
Rolling her eyes, Kagome dropped her own bag, and looked to their frightened companions.
“You guys go ahead,” she said, motioning with a hand for them to move on, and then using that hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. It was Ginta and Hakkaku’s habit to follow Kagome’s orders, but not without a cautionary glance to Kouga. It was only a year since she moved in and even less since their mating, and while her role in the pack was solid, it would still took some getting used to. She didn’t blame them, but what power she held, Kagome tried to use for the benefit of the entire pack.
Hence her large bags that day.
Ginta and Hakkaku made quick work of leaving the pair, and Kagome stared at her mate, expecting the oncoming storm. He spent weeks without her, and was probably not thrilled to be used as a pack mule at their first encounter. The fact that the area was experiencing an unprecedented heat wave wasn’t helping anything either. Distance also made Kagome miss him, but her resolve stayed firm, even during their time apart.
“What is this all about?” Kouga finally asked. Kagome wanted to smile and swoon at the way he controlled his temper; at the beginning of the oppressive heat wave, Kouga was more likely to flip a table than take a deep breath, and Kagome finally had to put her foot down. She explained that being uncomfortable was no excuse to get angry at other people, especially when everyone was experiencing the same discomfort. He saw her reasoning, but took his time admitting wrong, and in the few weeks they spent apart, Kagome could tell he was at least working on it. It still didn't help that the heat pressed in on them so constantly, and coupled with their time apart, she didn't really blame him for having such a short fuse.
Taking a deep breath herself, Kagome began. “I wanted a few things to make the caves feel more like home.”
Kouga sighed, and pressed a hand to the bridge of his nose. Kagome fussed at the leather cuff at her arm, the only outward symbol of his claim on her that she wore on her excursions home. Her furs were fine and impeccably made, but drew too much attention on the other side of the well, and the mark in the middle of her back was meant for only one pair of eyes.
“That’s fine, I...I understand. Sorry,” Kouga said as sheepishly as he knew how for a wolf.
“It’s okay; let’s get out of this heat.” Kagome hoisted her bag back on her shoulder and walked on. She could tell that Kouga wanted to lift the bag from her, but after explaining that she would ask for help when she needed it, she noticed he was less likely to take work from her without permission.
A bead of sweat made its path down the center of her back before Kouga spoke again.
“So, what is all this?”
“A surprise...for the pack,” is all she told him until they reached the mouth of the cave. The entrance was a thunderous waterfall, and by habit, Kagome’s voice went up to compensate for the sound around them. Turning to her mate, she caught his eye and motioned for him to drop her pack. “I do have something to ask you,” she began, backing up to avoid the spray. Kagome’s clothes already stuck to her uncomfortably, and she couldn’t wait to peel the offensive layers away.
In response, Kouga moved forward and slid an arm around her waist. The motion made Kagome's eyes close slowly; she missed his embrace, and longed for some time alone in their quarters. His lips found her neck, and, without thinking, Kagome took a deep breath in and her eyes widened in sharp focus.
Under the sweat, the scent of pine needles and damp earth, and the woodsy smell that she loved and missed, was... something . It nearly spoiled the lovely amalgam of scents that made up his musk. Turning her head away slightly, Kagome wrinkled her nose.
Noting her sudden aversion, Kouga kept her in his arms, but moved back to survey her face. "Of course, what's wrong?"
A deep breath and the span of a heart beat, later, Kagome gripped his biceps and spoke. "You know I love you, right ? You know that?"
"Of course, I do-"
"And I would never intentionally do or...say anything to hurt you, right?"
"Kagome, what is-"
"I love you," she repeated, shakily, already cringing. "But if I have to subject myself to your swampy undercarriage for one more night, I will be physically ill."
Kouga looked both confused and stunned. "What?!" he finally asked.
"You...the caves...the smell… " she tried to explain. She was already regretting her last statement, knowing it came out too quickly to be anything short of tactless.
"Do the caves smell... off ? Because, no insult to you, my love, our noses would pick it up much faster than-"
"Yes! Exactly !" Kagome could feel herself word vomiting, with no impulse to stop. "Your noses are so sensitive, and yet, you can't smell it!"
Kouga seemed to have calmed himself, even as Kagome continued into slight hysterics. The Eastern tribe prided themselves on strength and increased numbers in recent years, but they were nowhere near as established as the tribes to the North, who somehow engineered a rudimentary system of running water and woven clothes to stave off the cold. In comparison, his tribe was brutish and unrefined, though Kouga knew better than to think Kagome saw them as such. She was used to more conveniences, and the fact that she condescended to live in what could be considered squalor, for him, was an exercise in humility for someone not used to it.
"Are you trying to tell me that you're...unhappy?"
"Not at all; I'm just trying to adjust. And hygiene is something very...in my time, it's taken very seriously. Almost too seriously, sometimes. Trust me; I've enjoyed not having to shave my legs or pits, and not worrying about my skin all the time, but some things have been harder to deal with than others."
Kouga dropped his heavy pack, and invited Kagome to join him on the ground. She took her normal place, tucked under his arm, happy that her confession clearly wasn't too offensive. "What do you miss?"
" Baths ," Kagome sighed, answering faster than she meant to. There was a hot spring attached to the dens and caves, but after a recent collapse of rocks, it was deemed mostly unusable. Warmed water still sprang from the stone, but became more of a makeshift outdoor "shower", but only served one person at a time, and as the water came down from the mountain, it cooled considerably. It was worlds better than a cold dip in the nearby river, but not by much.
"I can fix that." Kouga's arms tightened around her middle, and Kagome leaned back into his embrace. "And what do you need from me?"
Kagome felt the familiar sting behind her eyes. She suddenly felt bad about her haul of soaps and scrubs. Aside from the delivery of an unexpected set of twins the month prior, she was the newest addition to the pack, and was among the few who yielded the most power. She knew she had to use her position delicately, and maybe barging in after weeks away, telling everyone that they smell wouldn't work in her favor.
"Noth-"
" Kagome ." His voice was stern in her ear as Kouga's hands pulled her hips closer to him. "I won't know if you don't tell me."
Whether or not Kouga knew it, Kagome knew part of her struggle was that she wanted him to do something she hadn't asked him to do yet. In so many other ways, their connection was stronger than any other she had. Kouga could tell when she was sad or tired or hungry by the shift in her scent. And while her senses weren't as heightened, it usually only took a few clipped words for Kagome to tell when one of the sentries upset Kouga, or the slope of his shoulders when one of the pups' fever didn't break. As connected as they were, Kouga was still no mind reader, and Kagome noted that she could curtail some of her frustrations by not expecting him to be.
"Could we fix the springs?" she offered, shifting over the cool rocks under them. "I think that would help me...cope. Or have somewhere to go when I need to."
"I'll get right on it. And I will try to wash a bit more regularly."
"Not too often…" Kagome suggested after a moment.
Kagome felt him stiffen behind her. "Oh, really ?"
"It's..your smell is not all bad, just-"
"I get it; the heat is oppressive this year. With so few of us going out to hunt, motivation to bathe has been...well, lacking."
"Gods, I sound so selfish…"
"It's not selfish to want to be comfortable. I know you've made sacrifices to be with me, and if keeping you here means I have to stand under the waterfall every few days, then so be it."
"Yeah, I thought about that too. Like, we live behind a waterfall, so coming and going is half a shower already…"
"Passing under the falls doesn't quite address my, what'd you call it? 'Swampy undercarriage'?"
Covering her face, Kagome ignored the rumbling laugh behind her. The chest at her back boomed as Kouga wrapped himself around Kagome, gently moving her hands from her reddened face.
"That was...I'm really sorry-it was the heat, and the-"
"Calm down; I'll have a meeting with the family heads later tonight, suggest some basic hygiene, with special attention on the 'swampy undercarriage'-"
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"Absolutely not," he responded. "I have an idea."
"Hmm?" Kagome asked, raising her eyebrows, even as her eyes grew heavy. She almost forgot how comforting his arms around her, coupled with his smell, could be.
"How about I fix the hot springs, and you can leave your...offerings", he began, gesturing to her forgotten bags. "...outside of the springs, and people can use them if they choose."
"That sounds nice…"
"And in the meantime," Kouga began, settling his nose in the juncture of her neck and jaw. It was one of the more sensitive areas he found in the past few months, and never passed on an opportunity to exploit it. "Maybe I can remind you how pleasant getting sweaty can be…"
Kagome released the lip she was biting to take in a sharp breath of air. "I could use a reminder…"
"Hey, Sis ?"
"Yeah?" Kagome stayed perfectly still, recognizing the voice calling to her just beyond the threshold of she and Kouga's room.
"Can I have another one of those sticky face...things?"
Her smile shifted the gelatinous mask over her face and Kagome gestured to the pack by the door. In the week since the repairs to the spring were made, the request was not unusual coming from someone or other in the pack. The sound of rummaging ended quickly, and was replaced by the sound of retreating footsteps. Kagome began to relax, when they came back, nervously.
"Hey, Sis?"
"Yeah?"
"So, some of us were wondering...this is an egg mask, and, um, does that mean-"
"No, Ginta, it is not edible."
Silence followed her statement, and she waited for a response.
"Okay, thanks!" The sound of running footsteps carried in the narrow cave hall, and voices echoed as they retreated. "Friggin' told ya !"
"Then why is it made of eggs ?!"
Kagome laughed, and lifted the corner of her mask to open an eye. "How you doin' over there?"
Kouga was as relaxed as she'd ever seen him, chest bare and legs extended out over their bed. He resisted some of Kagome's more unusual products, but the day was another long and hot one, and after a particularly difficult hunt, he relented, and allowed her to pamper him.
"The scrub was very nice," he began, smirking and remembering the bath she treated him to earlier. "And the green tea mask is growing on me..."
"Good-"
"...doesn't taste half bad either."
"Why do you all keep eating everything?!" Kagome laughed, replacing her mask.
"If I'm not supposed to eat it, why is it made of tea?"
Sighing deeply, Kagome rubbed her temples. "Baby steps", she changed to herself, quietly. "Baby steps…"