Author's Note: Day 7 of the 12 Days of Witchyness! I've been really excited to post this one. A huge thank you to Katyang for the prompt which, to not ruin the story, I will give below.
WARNING: This is, without a doubt 95% filled with sap, fluff and probably nauseating romance. BUT please note that this story contains major character death (...kind of?). You know that I am, at my core, a feel-good story writer and this definitely ends happily. However, this is the story I posted about on my blog with all the sobbing. If you have any questions or concerns, please drop me a line. Self-Care 2018!
For a Minute
Miroku Tsujitani throws one hell of a party. For a minute, Inuyasha had been worried. It's New Year's Eve though and even if most of the alcohol has been purchased at the literal last minute possible, no one knows. Everyone's having a great time; drinking away the last of what's generally acknowledged as a shitty year. Or, it's been a shitty year for Inuyasha, anyways. The last three years, frankly.
Miroku's already ditched him to go flirt with Sango. It's not surprising but Inuyasha's not exactly social. Not exactly the…chatty type. Miroku is outgoing and friendly and somehow seems to naturally draw the attention of people. The sheer number of guests at the party is a prime example.
Inuyasha, well. He knows his strengths and dealing with people isn't one of them. He's a copyeditor and it's a lot of work by himself that he enjoys more than he probably should. Sure, there's definitely group work involved at points, but Inuyasha can bear with it. Still, it's– He's not lonely, he doesn't think. Or doesn't want to think. Inuyasha is self-aware enough to know that he is purposely not looking into things closely on that front.
There are just times where Inuyasha–
Whatever. He doesn't know.
He's twisting off another beer bottle cap when he sees her. It's like– It's like finally getting the focus right on an image, like putting on glasses with lenses made just for you. Inuyasha blinks, feels the bottle cap slip out of his hand onto the floor.
She's beautiful. Inuyasha's no poet but the woman in front of him is, well, gorgeous. Long black hair and a short, curvy figure. She's wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a New Year's Eve party. She's smiling at something some other guy is saying and when she laughs, her whole face becomes so…
He's not a poet. But.
Inuyasha's staring, he knows he is, but it's really difficult to not look when your best friend is already engulfed in the crowd and there's nothing else to focus on. She hasn't noticed him yet anyways. He drinks his beer and continues his daring not-really-but-kind-of staring. Watching. Looking. Whatever.
He nearly has a heart attack when she makes a gesture in his direction – the direction of the booze table, don't be stupid Inuyasha – and leaves her group of friends. Oh god. Oh no. Shit. Inuyasha practically chokes on his beer the second her eyes land on him. She's smiling still but there's a hint of something there, something he can't read yet.
Yet.
"Drink?" The word blurts out of his mouth before he can stop it. Motherfucker.
The woman's smile gets slightly bigger and she nods. "Yeah, I think so." She shifts her glass to her other hand and then reaches out. "I'm Kagome."
"Inuyasha," he replies. Almost belatedly, he reaches out to shake her hand. The touch nearly startles him; she's hot to the touch, especially compared to his hands.
"It's nice to meet you," she says, head tilting upwards. She is short, Inuyasha was right. She's also beautiful, too. It's awful. But what he hadn't noticed, so far away, was the colour of her eyes. Maybe he is waxing poetic – maybe for her he'll become a damn poet – but her eyes are honeyed-brown, deep and rich and enticing. Her smile is sincere, expression friendly. But her eyes.
Her eyes are warm.
They chase away a bitter cold he never knew was inside of him.
[OOO]
He honestly doesn't know how he does it. Somehow between holding her hand for far too long and stuttering out an apology that was half-pleading, half-insulting– She stays. That's what's important. Kagome stays by the table, chatting with him about anything and everything. His voice doesn't hurt though a small part of Inuyasha's brain thinks that it should. He's never strung together so many words – so many sentences – in one evening before.
Or, you know. Ever.
Everything is getting louder and louder. The room around them is a mass of happy, sprawling bodies. He's only vaguely aware of it, far more intent on the woman before him. Kagome is talking animatedly about some friends of hers from when they were long ago in high school. It's something silly, something he's only half-following due to all the names. But she's so happy, talking freely. Every once and a while she reaches out to touch him on the arm, to emphasize a point or deliver a punchline. It makes him want to get closer, so much closer.
It's 11:58 PM.
The room is bright but somehow her dark, chocolate eyes are even brighter. It's mind-boggling.
The crowd around them is shouting and abruptly Kagome stops talking, looking around like she's just as shocked by the time. Jittery, excited laughter sounds out across the room and there's some kind of toast going on by the front door. So many people in one room celebrating, all connected one way or another. Inuyasha has edited a book about this, he's sure.
Some friend of Miroku's walks by and gives them a flute of champagne each, barely sparing them a glance before he races off to deliver more. Someone yells 'ten' and it only gets more hectic from there.
"I can't believe it's here," Kagome yells in his ear. Her eyes are big and bright and warm.
Any response to that seems stupid. Inuyasha doesn't know what to say – five – but he knows what he wants to do. Kagome's giving him this look, like she's waiting for something. Maybe they're waiting for the same thing.
The second the crowd yells 'one' and cheers erupt in the house, Inuyasha leans down. He closes his eyes, misses that warm chocolate almost immediately and kisses her. It's chaste, a brush of lips after a quickly made decision. He's a little scared to open his eyes.
He does though because he'd look really fucking stupid if he didn't. Kagome's face is the first thing he sees. She's not smiling, exactly, but she is. It's small, a quirk of her lips. Her brown eyes are boring into him and yeah, he still can't read her, not yet.
She raises both eyebrows. "Ask a girl first, why don't you?"
Uh. Oh shit. Shit. She was waiting for him to ask which makes a lot of sense because as of two hours ago they didn't know each other. Shit. Fuck. Inuyasha hates words; he's so bad with words. A flash of his mother's face, looking vaguely unimpressed, crosses his mind. You have to use your words, Inuyasha. I'm not a mind reader. She'd murder him, if she was still alive. Crap, she's probably going to haunt him from the great beyond tonight. He's an idiot.
"I'm sorry," he blurts. Then winces. He should have added a really in there, or at least a couple so's. He sucks. "Uh," he continues, trying to amend himself, hands up mid-air like he can apologize better by making intimidating movements at her.
Shit. His mother's internal look worsens. He sucks a lot.
"My mother raised me better, I swear." It – like everything else he's said so far – is out of his mouth before he can stop it, or at least word it better.
Kagome shrugs. "Oh yeah?"
"Really." This is where he says something to prove himself or does something to counteract all of…himself, basically.
"Alright," she says and now she's crossing her arms. "You've got sixty seconds. Impress me."
Sixty seconds isn't a long time. Inuyasha knows it and yet all he can do is blink, stunned. This is a turn of events all of his own doing but Inuyasha's always been great at digging his own grave. Getting out of it, not so much.
"You look terrified," Kagome points out. She turns to the table to fix herself another drink.
And now her back is to him. Well. It was nice while it lasted.
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha, jeez, there you are."
A totally different female voice attracts his attention. It's Sango Houko, Miroku's crush of the week. Or month. It's honestly hard to keep track when it comes to Miroku.
Said man pops his head out from the crowd, following Sango like a survivor desperate for water. Sango's his tall drink of the stuff, if you catch Inuyasha's drift and man. Woah. He frowns down at his beer bottle. Maybe he should slow down or the poetry thing may become a real problem. "Hey Sa–"
"Control him," Sango begs, clasping her hands together in mock prayer. "He won't stop flirting terribly and it's starting to piss me off."
"The flirting or the terribleness of it?"
"Sango, oh I'm so happy I found you!" Miroku cheers, wrapping an arm around her shoulders now that he's finally made it to their little huddle. "I have a question."
"Uh huh." Sango looks as excited by it as she sounds. Which is absolutely not at all. She may, in fact, stab him.
"'Id it… Did it hurt?"
Sango rolls her eyes but Inuyasha's confused enough to ask, "Did what hurt?"
"When she fell from heaven!" Miroku exclaims, grinning like a fool. Because he is one. A very large one.
Kagome's laughter startles him, drawing his attention back to her. "How drunk are you at your own party?" she asks.
He scoffs but Sango covers his face with her one hand and extends the other. "I don't think we've met, I'm Sango."
"Kagome."
"How do you know Inuyasha?" Sango asks and Inuyasha wonders if he can simply back away until the crowd swallows him whole.
Kagome only smiles though. "We just met. I actually work with Miroku."
"Should I feel sorry for you?"
"Hey!" Miroku protests before he does what all drunks do when offended and drinks some more.
Grinning, Kagome shakes her head. "Only on deadline days"
"Honestly, just call Inuyasha," Sango says with a sigh. "Literally the only person I know who can control him."
"That's an overstatement," Inuyasha argues, putting down his now empty drink. "The guy has the force of a hurricane when he wants something."
"Whatever," Sango replies and in one smooth move – or with magic, it's hard to tell – she takes Miroku's arm from her shoulders and transfers it to his. Great. Now he's being cuddled by the Drunken Carebear.
"I'd be impressed," Kagome says suddenly, dark eyes staring at him, "if you can, in fact, contain him."
Unable to stop himself, Inuyasha groans. "Still not possible," he presses, but something in that warm gaze has him asking, "And I thought I only had sixty seconds."
"One time offer," she says, sipping her drink. "Besides, anything that involves making Miroku easier to handle is probably worth it."
"I'll cheers to that," Sango laughs, thrusting her drink into the air. Kagome does the same and Inuyasha steals Miroku's glass but it's not like he needs it anyways.
It starts a whole new conversation and the four of them drink an incredible amount of booze over the next hour, with Miroku firmly stuck on water. Inuyasha thinks standing by the booze table the entire night is probably a bad idea. They don't move though and he keeps drinking. By 2 AM, they're all messes.
Miroku needs to go to bed, long past hitting the wall of drunken exhaustion. That means Inuyasha has to clean up and kick everyone out, despite the fact he's not exactly in the most sober state of mind. Sango's helping – bless her soul, that poor woman – and Kagome's at the food table, supposedly putting it away. She's not though so Inuyasha goes over, the last two unopened bottles of liquor in hand.
Kagome's grimacing when he arrives. "You okay?" he asks. Man, he's tired. He's going to crash on the couch for sure.
"I don't know," she replies, looking at him owlishly. "It's the smell of the food."
That's not a good sign. "Maybe you should–" Go lie down, is what he's planning on saying but then Kagome bolts, running to the bathroom.
Ah.
For a minute, he stares at the spot she'd once been, torn. Does he…go and make sure she's okay? Probably a good idea. At least knock and ask.
Inuyasha approaches the guest bathroom, belatedly waving bye at some people leaving, and realizes the door's not even properly shut. And she's throwing up. He can hear it. It's definitely gross but Inuyasha's drunk enough that he sympathizes. Without hesitation he opens the door a bit more and slides in, seeing Kagome on her knees in front of the toilet. Those are definitely wounded animal noises. She's desperately trying to hold back her hair.
Inuyasha feels that indecision again, the uncertainty of what he should do or say. The alcohol helps him to simply act though and before he's conscious of making a decision, he's gathering her hair for her, holding it back and out of the way.
"Thanks," she croaks and then promptly throws up again.
Inuyasha's staring at the ceiling because the longer he's in there, the more the sympathy pains become a lot more like something his body wants to do. And yeah, no. He hasn't puked since college. Doesn't want to kill that streak, please universe have mercy.
Eventually she's flushes the toilet and gets up, not looking at him as she fumbles in the vanity for something. She holds toothpaste in the air like it's a trophy.
"I'll get you water," he mumbles, slipping out.
Sango is near pushing the last of the guests out, rolling her eyes in Inuyasha's direction as he walks by to the kitchen. Water is easy enough to get and by the time he's headed back, the last guests are still hanging back. Assholes.
Kagome's spitting into the sink and rinsing her hands when he comes back. She takes the water and even though she doesn't say anything, Inuyasha can tell she's grateful. The secret drunken language of tiredness and sloppy head nods.
"Feeling okay?" he asks. She's leaning heavily on the vanity and her eye are half-closed, like she's seconds from sleeping.
"Yeah," Kagome murmurs just before she downs the rest of the water. She puts the cup down and then before Inuyasha knows it, she's leaning towards him, hands wrapping around his torso.
Inuyasha looks down at her face, buried in his Henley. This is unexpected. He likes it. More than he probably should. "Kagome?"
"I'm tired," she mumbles into his shirt. She looks up at him then, big brown orbs wide and imploring. "You've been really nice."
"Uh, well, I think anyone would–"
Kagome sighs like he's not even talking and continues, "You should come back with me."
He's positive – like ninety-eight percent positive – that she doesn't mean it sexually. She means so he can take care of her at home. Her home.
Probably.
Regardless, and despite every fibre of his being that says to not let her go, Inuyasha shakes his head ruefully. "You should probably just go home and sleep."
Kagome sighs again and nods, leaning even more heavily on him. It's lucky that Sango comes in that moment raising a brow at what's probably his panicked expression. "We need to get her home." We, not I. Inuyasha's a bit proud of himself for that.
"I've already called a cab. I can have her dropped off or she can stay in my room. My roommate's out for the weekend anyways."
Sango's too good for Miroku, who previously hit on anything with legs and a nice smile. Inuyasha thanks her and carefully brings Kagome to the living room, coaxing her into finding her things so they can leave when the cab arrives.
There's still that voice, the one that's begging him to keep contact. To keep Kagome in reach, with her quick smiles and genuine animation and warm, dark eyes. It's a voice that's in his mind but tugging forcefully on his lungs. It makes him do stupid, embarrassing things.
Kagome's on her phone, checking Instagram or something. In a moment of bravery – which he doesn't have – or stupidity – which he has a lot of – Inuyasha grabs it and goes into her contacts. He adds his name and number and then awkwardly hands it back when he's done. Kagome's just kind of smiling at him.
"In case you want to talk," Inuyasha explains, not looking directly at her. Miroku has really awful taste in couch pillows. "Or hang out. Or whatever."
She's still smiling, even when Sango gets a call and their cab has come. Inuyasha's not really sure what to do – with his hands or body or face – so he waits for Sango to hug him first and then tries not to linger when Kagome follows suit. He may or may not have succeeded. Sango's giving him a funny look.
Right before the door closes, Kagome turns to wave back. Smile still in place. Black hair whipping in the breeze. Dark, rich brown eyes intently focused on him.
[OOO]
Kagome opens her honey-browned eyes slowly, leisurely, right on time. For a minute, Inuyasha wonders if the whole plan would burst into flames. "Morning," he whispers, voice low and scratchy. His silver hair is surely sticking up everywhere and there's probably sleep in his eyes. But he did it. Finally.
"Mm, morning," Kagome whispers, stretching out her legs on the bed. "What time is it?"
"Eight," he replies. "And you don't have to worry."
Kagome smiles, that slow, genuine pull of her lips into something that's as familiar and breathtaking as the sunrise. "Oh?"
"It's your birthday so you're not allowed."
"Not allowed," she repeats, totally mocking. She buries deeper into the covers though and Inuyasha will take that as a win.
"We've got a surprise for you." And Inuyasha will say it was part of the plan the entire time, rather than the miracle it actually was, but just as those words come out the bedroom door opens.
"Happy birthday Mommy!" two littles voices shriek, bursting in. Inuyasha has to get off the bed to scramble at their hands, holding the large tray filled with breakfast food steady. It's nothing that'll make too much of a mess: pancakes and bacon, with syrup already in a tiny squeeze bottle. He learned after last year's disaster.
"Aw babies!" Kagome coos, pushing herself up to sit in bed. Izayoi, their youngest, launches up the bed and into her arms. Kaito stays on the ground but leans over, making a face. Hell, he already has Inuyasha's attitude.
"I'm not a baby," Kaito complains, looking like his world is seriously ending.
"Kaito, your mom can call you whatever she wants," Inuyasha states, carefully placing the tray over Kagome's lap. "It's her birthday."
"Excuse me," she retorts, drawing out the words. "I birthed them so I get to call them whatever I want whenever I want." She pokes Kaito on the nose. "Got it, mister?"
Izayoi giggles and squirms just enough Inuyasha fears the breakfast tray idea will fail before it truly begins. The kids are far too excited for 8 AM but it doesn't stop them from running around the bedroom while Kagome pours maple syrup on her pancakes.
"Here's your coffee," Inuyasha announces, placing it, too, on the tray.
Kagome smiles at him, grabs him by the t-shirt and hauls him in for a kiss. "Thanks love."
Inuyasha smirks and pushes a stray strand of hair from her face. "Thank you," he replies, stupidly. It's not like he's changed much over the thirteen years they've known each other. Ten years married.
"You know they have school in forty minutes, right?"
"Tons of time."
Kagome laughs a little, mostly under her breath while she chews on bacon.
"What?" Inuyasha asks.
"It takes twenty minutes to get to the school."
He knows this. Kagome usually drives them there but Inuyasha surely knows where his kids go to school.
"You think," Kagome continues, still grinning, "that you can get an eight and six year old dressed, fed and ready in twenty minutes?"
Ah. Math. It gets you.
"No problem," Inuyasha says anyways, bluffing all the way. "Easy."
"Really?"
In for a penny. "Yeah, totally."
Her eyes, big and dark and focused solely on him, are twinkling with amusement. It's a look she wears often. "Okay then. You've got sixty seconds. Impress me."
Maybe the dumbest decision of his life, but Inuyasha launches off the bed to grab Kaito and Izayoi. The next twenty minutes are filled with arguments, milk all over the floor and tearful pleading. Inuyasha is…exhausted. They're brushing their teeth as the last item on the to-do list. Inuyasha's wiping the kitchen table for the third time when Kagome walks in, coffee in hand, leaning on the doorframe.
"Our kids are nuts," Inuyasha states.
Kagome bursts out laughing. Sauntering over, she takes the washcloth out of his hands and pulls him closer. She's changed in the last thirteen years: the addition of some grey hairs, laugh lines starting around her eyes. She's still short and curvy and smiling and beautiful though, just like the night he first saw her.
And her eyes. Those would never change and Inuyasha's forever grateful for it.
"Good morning?"
"So far," she murmurs.
He wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her. It's the kiss of the languid, of the familiar. Inuyasha's kissed her thousands of times and he'll do so, over and over.
"You," Kagome starts, kissing him again, "are incredibly late."
Ugh. "Kaito! Izayoi! Get your butts down here!" He'll never live this down.
Kagome pats him on the arm consolingly, kisses him once more. The thundering hooves of buffalo coming down the stairs stops Inuyasha from chasing her lips further, but it's a close thing.
"For two tiny beings," Inuyasha starts, "you make so much noise."
Izayoi blinks at him with big, golden eyes and his soul melts. Children do awful things to your will.
"You got this?"
Inuyasha looks at his wife, at her honey-brown eyes. At her determination and amusement and warmth. "Yeah," he whispers, "I've got this."
[OOO]
He just wants to stop shivering. For a minute, it seems like the shakes would never end.
Hospitals are horrible things; sterile and bland and missing any life despite how packed with people it is. After a while, the nurses and doctors all look the same. Inuyasha can't tell but he honestly hasn't tried.
"Love."
Inuyasha blinks and his eyelids are heavy. It's so cold in his room and he just wants to go home.
"Inuyasha, love," Kagome says soothingly, grabbing his hand. There are so many wires and bandages covering needles. It used to be painful; now, it's not much of anything. "How are you feeling?"
He doesn't know. There are drugs in his system and he doesn't know. He doesn't know.
"Shh," Kagome whispers, thumb caressing the inside of his wrist. "Shh, darling, it's okay."
It's not okay. There are people crying in his room, a female voice that's so, so familiar. Pancakes and bacon, dolls in dollhouses, the cheer of victory on the fencing piste. Distant, almost, are the memories and they're so hard to hold onto. So hard because they hurt. It's so cold.
"Love. Inuyasha." And that's desperation in Kagome's voice, fierce and near overwhelming. "Look at me, love. Look at me."
She's in a bed just like he is, pressed so close only a small gap rests between their intertwined fingers. Her hair is grey and the wrinkles on her forehead are deep etches, starker than he's ever known. The laugh lines around her eyes tell a tale, one that Inuyasha once knew but can't quite recall, not right now.
"Look at me."
Kagome runs her free hand over his face, so gentle and soft. It makes the other noises in the room – the beeping, the whispers, the sobs – disappear. He stares into his greatest love, the one thing that hasn't changed in all the years they spent together.
Deep, rich and brown. Honeyed light and glimmering with a softness he's cherished the last few years.
"Inuyasha," Kagome whispers, a sweet lullaby meant only for him. "It's okay, love. I'm right here. I'm right here, just look at me."
Speaking hurts but he wants to anyways. He hasn't said a word in so long. "We should get out of here," he rasps. "Disappear."
The noise that bursts from her lips is suspiciously wet. "Oh yeah?"
He nods, a tiny thing. Fights down a wracking shiver, a wave of nausea. He's so, so cold.
"There are a lot of wires to remove," Kagome answers, thumb sweeping against his skin, over and over. "The nurses will stop us."
"I'll fight 'em," he slurs. His mouth is so dry. "We'll run away."
"Okay," Kagome acquiesces and that's a sob. There are streaks of tears sliding down her face but she's nodding fervently, agreeing to a plan both of them know can't be completed. "Okay, love. Okay. You've– You've got sixty seconds. Impress me."
Distantly, he hears a desperate, horrible cry but he's watching Kagome, watching the woman he's loved his entire life. It hurts to look at her sometimes, when he thinks about it, so he doesn't. Instead, he refuses to stop, cradled in her hands and caught in her gaze.
"I love you so much," Kagome whispers. So many tears. They keep spilling from her eyes, dripping sideways onto her pillow. Everything hurts but worse is the fact that he's causing her pain. Inuyasha doesn't want to look, doesn't want to know the truth. But it's in every single teardrop, it's in every single sob echoing in the hospital room. In all of his years, he has learned so much more than he ever thought he would, drinking beer alone at a New Year's Eve party. Yet here, in this hospital room, there's something more profound.
He loves his grandchildren, his children, his wife. He has loved so many things. He has loved.
Kagome takes a deep breath and the exhale is wet, shaky. Her grip on his face is still so gentle, the sweep of her thumb on his wrist a constant.
He wants to speak. He can't.
"So, so much," she continues. He thinks, always.
"Look at me, love. Just look at me. It's okay."
Inuyasha stares in the depths of her dark brown orbs, letting the warmth and familiarity and love soak into him, permeate every part of his being.
He looks and he looks and he looks.
And then, he's not so cold anymore.
[OOO]
"…Inuyasha? Are you okay?"
Inuyasha blinks, looking away from those warm brown eyes and focusing on something else. Anything else. Holy shit, what the fuck was that? What–
The room around them is a mass of happy, sprawling bodies. The clock reads 11:58 PM. It's New Year's Eve.
"Inuyasha?"
"Sorry," he says slowly, drawing out the word as he puts down his bottle of beer. "Just–" And what does someone say after that? After what…just happened? Felt like it happened? Dreamed? But Kagome is looking at him, earnest and a little worried so he opens his mouth, trying to find some words buried deep. "It's almost midnight."
"Oh," Kagome replies, a little shocked herself. She's looking around the room and no – no – Inuyasha can't let her leave. This isn't what happened last time. She hadn't noticed yet. It doesn't matter if what happened last time was real or fake or just a stupid daydream. His heart is a drum, beating quicker and quicker as Kagome looks over everything but him.
Use your words, his mother said. Shit, if even half of the life Kagome and Inuyasha had lived together was true, she would've been so fucking proud.
He's going to use his words this time.
"Can I kiss you?"
Oh Jesus. Maybe not like that. Inuyasha watches with growing horror as Kagome whips her head around, surprised. This definitely didn't happen last time. But she's gazing at him directly now, not at anyone else and for some reason it calms him. He's spent a lifetime with her. He knows her, even though that lifetime may be nothing more than two hours.
"That depends," she answers hesitantly, a tiny grin gracing her lips.
"Oh?"
"If you make a convincing argument." She checks the clock; they both do. 11:59 PM. "You've got sixty seconds. Impress me."
And it's that challenge, so baldly issued hundreds of times before, or possibly for just the first time. The first of many.
So he takes a precious moment to see the flecks of honey and dark, rich chocolate in her eyes. There's amusement there, and happiness, and something he knows deep in his bones.
There's enough warmth in those big orbs to keep the chill away for so, so long.
"Watch me," he whispers.
Prompt: A story based on the song "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur, made by Katyang.
HAPPY NEW YEARS, MY LOVELIES!
Witchy