All Too Well by thetroll

Chapter 1

Sesshomaru stares at his latest project, frustration gripping him as he holds his chisel in hand. The wood has not been responding the way he had thought it would. He stares at the piece of Japanese maple as though he can will it to straighten out the bow and repair the splintering.

It is highly unlikely in its current state that it will be of much use for anything, let alone the furniture piece he'd been envisioning. His mate had repeatedly spoken of her desire for a rocking chair, but furniture for his mate must, at the very least, be stable.

A bowed piece of furniture has been stressed and lacks the strength necessary.

He continues to stare at the wood as he sorts through his options. Perhaps he should laminate it to another piece of wood, one that is straight. Or perhaps he should steam the wood and attempt to see if he can stabilize it that way. Alternatively, perhaps he should discard the piece altogether and use another one for the armrests and condemn this piece to the waste pile.

He runs one hand through his hair, mindless of the drying wood glue on it. It would not stick to his hair, anyway. This had been quite a beautiful piece of maple, but bowed as it is now—

"Sesshomaru?"

He turns at the sound of his mate's voice to see her lingering in the doorway to his shop. He lets out a breath. "This is not a good time, mate."

Kagome approaches his workbench, taking in the site of both his ear protection and his earbuds on the table beside them, and he knows the conclusion she's come to. "You've been thinking hard about something, huh?" she says gently. "What happened?"

He gives into his frustration. "It is bowed." He tosses his chisel down on the workbench without any real regard for the tool, though the silicone mat it falls upon ensures the blade won't chip. "It is impossibly bowed, mate."

Her brows raise as she takes in the sight of the wood. "Oh, wow, that's pretty bad," she agrees as some of the tension leaves him. "Do you have a plan for what to do with it yet?"

"I haven't settled upon one," he informs her, his ire biting into his words. "I hate wasting quality wood."

"Hmm." She eyes him for another moment and then suddenly smiles. "I hate wasting quality wood, too."

The direction of her hand, however, indicates she's not thinking of the bowed maple draped across his workbench. He gives her an aggrieved look. "Kagome—"

"I think I have the right tool for the job, too," she continues with that impudent smile he's come to love. Her hand slides into his pants and grips him, slowly working him up. "Why don't you let me handle this one?"

"It's not a good time," he growls. "My focus is on the wood—"

"So is mine." She winks at him as she begins luring him from the shop, gently encouraging him to follow her. "And what a hardwood it is."

When she brushes the stripes on his hips, Sesshomaru no longer even recalls that he had a problem to begin with. He picks up his mate and carries her off to their room, dropping her on the bed before he ensures she follows through on the promises set in his workshop.

At the moment, all that matters is his mate before him.

. 

. 

Much later, when Sesshomaru gets out of bed and returns to the shop, a determined look on his face tells her he's figured out his problem with the maple wood. No doubt by the time she pops into his shop later to bring him in for dinner, she'll find he's resolved the problem and is hard at work on finishing the rocking chair she's been dreaming of since he brought up making her a birthday present.

Kagome hums to herself as she makes her way to the bathroom to take a nice bubble bath. A good lay often helped him sort out his problems, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She's figured out that trick a few months ago and any time his yoki pulses with frustration in his shop, she takes care to sneak in and seduce him out of his ire.

Besides, she always has fun doing it. She smirks as she adds bubbles to the flowing bathwater. This time was especially fun. 

Sesshomaru had been so preoccupied with his problem that he hadn't even noticed she'd slipped in a few puns in her dirty talk.

Perhaps she'd have to lure him out of the shop more often.