Questions For Life
By Queen of Decadence
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
This is set after "To Be Clean" but you don't need to read it (or "Take Care") to understand this one.
There was a single moment that he wanted to turn around and stay at home. No questions asked, date canceled—despite the reservations to the restaurant that Kagome liked. It was not worth the jumping and twisting of his stomach. This was no regular date; tonight he was going to ask Kagome to...
Sesshoumaru never finished the thought as he rushed to the bathroom and got ride of the lunch he had forced himself to eat earlier. This entire night would be nerve wrecking, how the hell was he going to go through with it?
He brushed his teeth again and used mouthwash to help get ride of the after taste in his mouth. He also brushed his long hair again to make sure nothing had gotten out of place and then went back to his room to finish getting dressed. Currently, all he had decided on was his boxers and a under shit. It was a good starting point, right?
His room was a mess of clothes, and, with a sigh, he started picking them up when he came across a rather nice red silk shirt. Kagome once said he looked best in red, how did he forget that? Slipping it on, he shoved the other shirts in a drawer and looked over the pants. There was a nice pair of black slacks hanging off his bed near his pillows and he snagged them. He added a black jacked, socks and his nice shinny black shoes.
All he needed was something white...and changed is black socks for white. The pants were long enough that no one would notice unless they looked. Or he let them.
Gathering his wallet, keys and cell, he glanced at the door.
It was time to get Kagome.
He locked the door before remembering that he left the most important thing for the evening—aside Kagome—in side his apartment, and, unlocking the door, rushed to get it. He locked the door and headed for the parking lot, all the while scolding himself.
The drive to Kagome's apartment went uneventful; there was hardly any traffic on the streets. It would have seemed odd to Sesshoumaru if it had been any normal date. He was too high strung this evening to worry about the lack of traffic.
He parked in the visitor parking area of Kagome's building and went to her apartment. She answered half dressed when he knocked. She smiled, "Come on in! I'm almost done."
Sesshoumaru enjoyed her without a shirt on, but went in and shut the door behind him before sitting on the couch. Her apartment was a lot cleaner than the time she was sick—which was a nice memory, he never knew taking care of her would have been so much fun.
Kagome came back in a red skirt that went to her knees with matching red heels that added a few inches to her height—but Sesshoumaru knew that he was still the taller of the two by a good five inches. She had a white sleeveless silk shirt on, as well as a see-through red vest over it. Around her neck she wore a silver heard shaped locket—the one he gave her on their sixth month anniversary—and matching heart shaped earrings that had a small ruby in the middle. Lastly, her hair was loose about her shoulders.
To him, she was beautiful. There would never be another woman like her in the entire world.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked her, standing.
"Yep!" She grabbed her white purse and smiled. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," he replied, smirking when she pouted in response.
"Ah! Sesshoumaru, you didn't!" Kagome exclaimed as they pulled u to the valet of the European cuisine restaurant that she loved. It was an expensive, upscale, reservation only restaurant that served some of the best food—according to Kagome, at least. Sesshoumaru just enjoyed her reaction to the restaurant and food. She was always full of emotion and energy. She had the ability to keep him on his toes; there was no way for him to predict what she would do next.
In reply, Sesshoumaru gave a "hn," got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet and got his ticket. Taking Kagome's hand, they entered the restaurant and a moment later they were seated at their table.
Kagome's eyes were looking everywhere, the other tables, the candles, and the small crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, glittering in the soft light. "It is so beautiful. Thank—"
"It is an honor taking you here," Sesshoumaru cut her off, not looking up from his menu. He did not have to see her to know that she would pout and then smile. She knew him. "Do you want any wine?"
"Hm, is white okay?" She disliked the taste of red wine. "Non-alcoholic, too?"
"Its just fine."
When the waiter returned, he ordered a white wine from the wine list for them to share and they went back to looking through the menu. This was when the nervousness and worry returned to him. Some people put it in the wine glass at events like this, but he did not know what to do. Would that be a little clichéd? Would she appreciate it? What if someone accidentally swallowed it?
"Can you please excuse me a moment?" He asked, placing the menu down and at her nod, he went off to the restroom. Thankfully, he didn't have to puke again, but he did splash some water on his face and checked the contents of the box in his pocket. It sat there and shinned at him in the bathroom light. Beautiful. Perfect. It would fit her and only her.
Just how was he supposed to ask her?
Closing the box, he placed it back in his pocket and left.
Kagome was at he left her, worrying over what to order. Did she know that something was up? Did she suspect that anything was wrong? Sesshoumaru couldn't help but wonder, hoping that she thought this was a randomly nice dinner out at a special restaurant. Just a random treat to show her that he cared.
"I think I will get the shrimp Alfredo," Kagome said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. "What about you?"
"The steak," Sesshoumaru replied easily. "They serve a good steak here."
"You should have something different. You never try anything new," Kagome teased in a scolding tone.
"But it's a good steak. Never brothers me to eat it." He closed his menu and put it on the table a top of Kagome's. The waiter returned with their wine and glasses, pouring the drink before asking for their orders.
"Yes, I'll have the shrimp Alfredo."
"Side dish?"
"The green salad with blue cheese dressing please."
"And you sir?"
"The steak, medium rare."
"Potatoes or rice?"
"Potatoes."
"Anything else?"
"He'll have the salad, green, also," Kagome supplied smiling at Sesshoumaru innocently when he glared her way.
"What kind of dressing?" The waiter didn't know who to ask.
"None," Sesshoumaru said, giving in without blinking an eye. The waiter left Kagome gave me a full smile.
"You could use the salad," she said. "It will help you stay healthy."
"I wasn't the one who got sick first," Sesshoumaru teased.
"You still caught it!" He shrugged. "Did I ever thank you for helping me back then?"
"You thanked me enough by returning the favor." Kagome blushed a deep red and she looked away in embarrassment. "I will always remember those days you know. Being able to help you...even if it was forced at first..."
Sesshoumaru paused. He did not know hot to continue. This was kind of hard for him to do. Emotions. He felt for her, more than anyone else in the world. And it was very hard for him to admit to her his feelings. It was always been hard for him to do since he was a child.
"Taking care of you was fun, too. A complete pleasure as you where messy and whiny." Kagome leaned closer, her arms folded on the table as she did so. "It was a side of you so little get to see. I will always treasure that."
"Beautiful."
"What did you say?" Kagome blinked. She thought he just called her "beautiful." From his blink and slight cringe, she knew what she heard was right. She graced him with another smile.
"Only commenting on how wonderful you look tonight."
Kagome raised an eyebrow at his response; they both knew he saved himself with that one. She decided to let him slide with that one.
"I choose it out just for you. I know you like seeing me in your colors."
"You will never let me live those colors down, will you?"
She laughed and Sesshoumaru nearly smiled on the outside—on the inside he was grinning like a mad man eagerly waiting her response.
"Never! All through college I just had to look for the person wearing red and white and could easily locate you! Red and white will be what I associate with you even after the end of time."
Sesshoumaru just gave a grunt in reply.
"Two salads, one with dressing, one without. Your entrées will be a little while longer." The waiter placed two plates of salad in front of the couple his face wearing a smile before he left the table for another that had called for him.
Kagome got started with her salad quickly, covering it with the dressing before digging in. It took a small kick to the shin for Sesshoumaru to dig, slowly, into his own salad.
She was halfway through her salad when she asked him a something.
"Huh?" Sesshoumaru blinked and looked up at her. "Did you say something?" Had he been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear her say something to him?
"Is something on your mind? You're spacing out tonight."
"Spacing out?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "What makes you say that?"
"That's my secret," she replied with a wink. "But you just don't seem yourself tonight. Something is…amiss."
"Well…there is something I've been wanting to ask you."
"Ask me?" She sat up a little straighter in her chair. "What did you want to ask me?"
"Hum…well, that's my secret."
Kagome pouted.
Sesshoumaru smirked.
"Here you go." The waiter placed Sesshoumaru's steak and Kagome's pasta dish in front of them with a smile. "Have a good meal."
"This looks delicious," Kagome muttered as she twirled her fork in the noodles. It smelled delicious, too.
Sesshoumaru watched her take that first bite and decided that she looked much more delicious than the pasta she was eating. Not that he would tell her that in a public place.
He started into his steak and potato, hoping that she would not bring up what he was hiding again. He wanted to ask her on the spur of the moment, not because he was cornered into it.
"Hey, the lease on my apartment is coming up and I'm not sure if I'm going to renew it or not. The landowner is not that great, ya know. And it's far from my work…"
"You could move in with me." Kagome froze and stared at him in something that reminded him of shock. "It's closer, nicer, bigger. Wouldn't have to wait for me to come pick you up for dates either."
"You really want me to move in with you?"
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes as if she asked the most ridiculous question in the world. "Yes, I want you to move in with me. I want to wake up every morning to you by me side. I want to marry you. Have children with you. Be with you for everyday of our lives."
"You…you want to marry me?"
This time it was Sesshoumaru's turn to freeze in shock. His on thought was, 'did I just say what I think I said?' His hand wrapped around the box in his pocket. He supposed he had been rambling on (he would later blame it on his nerves), but he didn't know what she wanted to do. Did she know how much he cared for her? How much she meant to him? That it was only for her that he truly smiled?
"Yes," Sesshoumaru admitted. "Yes, I want you to marry me."
He took the box out of his pocket and placed it in front of her.
With shaking fingers, Kagome grasped the small soft box and opened it. She gasped as she looked at the beautiful ring inside it. "It's beautiful," she whispered. The band was of gold and white gold crisscrossing around, in between set diamonds, in the middle, however, was a lovely red gem that glittered in the soft light of the restaurant.
She looked up at him and then back to the ring, not knowing what to look at the moment. "Sesshoumaru…" she whispered looking up at him, tears resting in her eyes. He looked so nervous, and she knew that he was telling the truth. Sesshoumaru wanted her to be with him.
"Well, Kagome? Will you marry me?"
Kagome smiled. "Yes."
Well…that's like the last thing for this little three-one-shot-series. Unless I write a wedding day one, which might happen, if I feel like it. Two fragment sentences in a row, thank you Microsoft word for telling me so. Anyway, Sesshoumaru probably OOC, but hey, any one can be nervous when asking someone to marry them. Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and please, tell me what you think!