Ride With Me
Summary: An enormous dust storm forces Kagome to pull her motorcycle off the road and take shelter at a dingy roadside diner in the middle of the Arizona desert. Striking up a conversation with the gorgeous man sitting at the diner's bar, she discovers they're headed to the same city— but for very different reasons. Kag/Inu. AU. Short story, 4-5 chapters. Rated for language and adult situations.
A/N: This story mixes real locations in the U.S. with fictional ones; hopefully it's not too confusing. One other thing: I'm writing human Inuyasha for the first time, and I've never been able to figure out what his human eye color is supposed to be. In the anime, I've seen it look everything from brown to gray to sort of purple-ish (maybe partly depending on the computer monitor screen?). I like the idea of him having gray eyes though, so I'm gonna go with that color for the purposes of this story.
Also, what is a "haboob," you ask? Why, it's an Arabic word for a particular type of extremely intense dust storm that occurs during monsoon season in many different parts of the world, including the American southwest.
Haboob
Kagome raced down the nearly empty highway, the late afternoon desert sun beating down on her blue motorcycle jacket. The jacket was of poly construction and well ventilated, but the wind that rushed in off the black pavement was hot and dry and smelled of tar and asphalt. Sweat ran down her neck from her scalp, catching in raven colored hair that cascaded out from under her full-face helmet.
She scanned the western horizon over the windshield of her deep orange Kawasaki motorcycle. In the distance, she could see a rising line of reddish brown that seemed to shimmer and pull itself apart in the heat waves that danced where faraway thunderclouds met the ground. If only it were a mirage.
Kagome knew that ominous cloud would collide with her soon. She cursed as the headwind picked up, sending dust and sand and tumbleweeds scattering down the highway.
…
Inuyasha sat perched on one of the diner's red leather and chrome bar stools, drinking a cheap-ass light beer and munching on a plate of cheese fries. The cheese was sort of disgusting, he would admit— a violently orange queso dip that was probably more artificial chemicals than actual cheese— but he loved it. His older brother would have sneered in aristocratic distaste, both at the cheese and the tiny roadside diner with its black and (what used to be) white checkerboard floor where he ate.
"Keh," he snorted to himself, taking another bite and reveling in the hot, plastic-y texture that nearly burnt his tongue. His gray eyes strayed out the window at the far end of the diner. Despite the glass panes being covered in a layer of dust and who knows what else, he could clearly see the sign for the diner practically blowing perpendicular to the t-shaped pole it hung from.
"Dust storm comin' in," Inuyasha heard someone say.
He turned toward the sound of the voice. The aging bartender was also the owner of the grimy establishment, a rounded woman with slightly sunken eyes, bleached blonde hair that was showing gray at the roots, and a slash of vivid red lipstick.
He grunted in response. Being from the southwest himself, he could tell just as well as she that the approaching storm would be a doozy. It was early August, still squarely within the monsoon season. The thunderstorms and the walls of dust they produced were spectacular indeed, so long as you weren't unlucky enough to be caught outside.
The sky darkened, eliminating the glare that had shone off of the polished surface of his motorcycle parked outside. He frowned at it.
"You got somewhere I can store my bike while this storm blows through?" Inuyasha asked the woman. He really didn't want to leave his precious Harley out there.
She thought for a moment before nodding her head. "I got a shed out back, s'long as y' don't mind all t'other junk in there." She might be aging, and she might have never been particularly attractive, but living out in the middle of the desert taught hard lessons about relying on and helping others. In the desert, seemingly unimportant things could quickly become life-or-death. You never turned down a person in need if you could help it.
"That'll work," he said, getting up from his stool. He cursed as he hit his shin on the foot bar of the stool next to his. Damn, he wished the stupid things weren't bolted to the floor.
"I'll go unlock it," the blonde owner said, extracting a set of jingling keys from her dirty apron pocket.
"Thanks." He pushed open the diner door, catching it against the gust of wind that nearly threatened to take it off its hinges if he wasn't careful. Looking westward, the dust storm loomed only a few miles away, thunderclouds crackling with lightning just behind it.
…
Kagome slowed as she neared the oncoming storm. She needed to find shelter, and fast. She had been hoping to come across a gas station or rest stop as she rode, but only miles of empty desert greeted her. A flash of silver caught her eye down the road off to the right side and her heart leapt. Hoping it wasn't a trick of the desert heat, she accelerated.
Fortunately, instead of disappearing, the patch of silver became larger, solidifying into a tin-roofed building. The storm was almost on the tiny establishment. Steeling herself, she leaned over her bike and pushed her speedometer up over 100. Kagome knew she at least had to beat the storm to the parking lot, or she'd be toast.
…
The storm hit less than 30 seconds after Inuyasha came back inside from putting his bike in the shed behind the diner. Windowpanes rattled as debris smacked into them and the wind roared and rocked the building. He chewed his lip, beer and fries long forgotten as the view outside largely disappeared into swirling reddish dirt.
A faint flash of blue caught his attention. He strode over to the window and looked out, trying to discern what the blue object was. From what he could tell, it seemed to be moving around of its own accord rather than with the wind as the dust thinned and thickened as it blew around.
Is someone out there? Inuyasha thought incredulously. He wanted to get a better look, but the winds weren't listening to his wishes, and he didn't catch sight of the bobbing blue object again. He turned around to go back to his stool just as the diner door was thrown open and a cloud of dust blew in as the person struggled for a moment to pull the door shut against the howling wind.
The owner-bartender hurried over to the newcomer, asking if they were all right. The dust-covered person nodded, opening the visor of their full-face motorcycle helmet to reveal deep, coffee-brown eyes.
Inuyasha thought the individual might be a woman, but the bulky blue motorcycle jacket obscured their figure, and the full-face helmet was… well it was a full-face helmet, and all he could see was a set of exhausted eyes rimmed with dust that had somehow made it inside the helmet. He watched as the owner handed the motorcyclist a set of keys, and the unknown person pulled their helmet visor back down and walked back out into the storm.
He shook his head, long black hair shifting against his tight red t-shirt. He knew there was probably room for a second bike in that shed, but the idea of someone else getting near his cherished Harley in such close quarters made him nervous. He scowled. It wasn't like there was anything he could do about it.
A few minutes later, the mystery motorcyclist returned, bringing in another cloud of dust. The person made their way to the counter, handed the keys back to the owner, and removed their black motorcycle gloves before beginning to work on the nylon chinstrap of their motorcycle helmet.
"Hey," Inuyasha said, addressing the individual. "I hope you didn't scratch my bike." He was only half-joking.
The person snorted as they finally got the chinstrap loosened. "Ye of little faith," A distinctly sarcastic and feminine voice issued forth, partly muffled as she removed her helmet, unveiling a dust-covered complexion, hair that would have been black as night were it not for the reddish dirt caked in it, and frowning brown eyes.
Inuyasha could see she was gorgeous, even under the layers of dust that coated her from head to toe. He grinned. Being stuck here for several hours while the storm blew through didn't seem like such a terrible prospect anymore. "I'm kidding," he told her, pulling his leanly muscled and heavily tattooed arms above his head in a casual stretch. He smirked as he noticed her eyes rake up his abdomen, over his chest and shoulders, and along his outstretched arms.
She bit one dust-covered lip in appreciation, then scowled in sudden distaste. "Gross," she murmured, touching her lips, fingers coming away coated in dirt.
Inuyasha was confused for a moment. He was gross?
"I'm going to go wash my face," she grumbled, turning and making a beeline for the single bathroom.
Suddenly it clicked, and he chuckled to himself. She'd gotten a mouth full of dirt when her teeth had crested her lower lip. More than a little amused, he went back to his fries, which were now lukewarm with that thin, skin-like layer forming on the surface of the artificial cheese.
…
In the bathroom, Kagome scrubbed at the dirt caked on her face, flecks of reddish brown water spattering the white porcelain sink.
"Ugh," she muttered, realizing that her hair was in even worse shape than her face. Deciding all bets were off, she stuck her whole head under the faucet. Of course she had to meet one of the hottest guys she'd seen in a while right after being caught outside in a raging dust storm. Although if he thinks I'm attractive when I look like a mud creature… She snorted to herself as she scrubbed at her hair. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. He was some random guy at a diner in the middle of fucking nowhere. They'd make awkward chitchat for the duration of the storm, and then probably never see each other again.
She pulled her head out of the water and wrung her hair out, the water finally running clear. She glanced at her reflection in the cracked mirror and scowled. Better than before, but still less than great. Sliding a hair tie off her wrist, she quickly wrapped her sopping black mop into a bun at the back of her head. At least that way, the back of her shirt wouldn't turn into a wet muddy mess.
Reasonably satisfied, she plucked her motorcycle jacket off the tiled floor, leaving a small pile of dust behind, and walked back out of the bathroom to join the sexy Harley owner at the counter and order a beer.
Sliding onto the stool to the right of his, she addressed the bartender. "What kind of beer you got?" She asked.
The woman ticked off a few names on her fingers. "Bud, Bud Light, Bud Light Lime, PBR."
Internally, Kagome sighed. She'd gotten used to having all of the trendy micro-breweries around in her hometown. I guess I'm a little spoiled…
"I guess just a regular Bud then," she replied.
The blonde woman nodded and went to grab a glass bottle from the fridge behind the counter.
Kagome swiveled slightly on her stool to look at the man next to her, who was currently attempting to keep a large mound of slightly solidified cheese from sliding off his french-fry. Just as a glop started to fall, he stuck out his tongue to capture it and popped the fry into his mouth. He chewed for a moment and swallowed, licking the edge of his perfectly shaped lower lip. Gray eyes flicked toward her.
"What?" he asked, sounding a little harsh. In reality, he was biting back a grin.
Caught staring, Kagome felt herself flush faintly. "Er— nothing. I just expected— uh, nevermind..."
The bartender arrived in time to save her.
"There's y' beer, honey. I'm gonna head in back and wash some dishes, so you two just holler if y' need anythin.'" She disappeared through the black plastic door that led to the kitchen.
Kagome took a swig of her beer and pulled a face. "God this shit's disgusting."
Inuyasha snickered. "C'mon, it's not that bad. What, are you used to all that micro-brew crap or something?"
Kagome choked. Coughing for a moment to clear her lungs, she finally retorted, "Yeah, actually. My hometown has a lot of them."
"Keh! That shit's too damn pretentious for me."
Kagome eyed him for a moment before responding. The guy was clearly well-educated, if his word usage was any indication, but his tastes appeared to be… Lacking, she thought a little unkindly.
"Well who cares as long as it's delicious?" She countered, taking another swig from her bottle of Bud.
He shrugged. "Not four bucks extra delicious."
"Whatever," she dismissed. "Where are you headed anyway? Or are you from around here?" Honestly, she didn't know how the latter could be possible, given the utter lack of pretty much any civilization whatsoever. She wouldn't be surprised if the woman who ran the diner was the only person living in the area within twenty or thirty miles.
"On my way to Onera," he said, pushing the remnants of his cheese fries out of the way so he could lean on the black formica counter.
Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "In Nevada?" She asked.
"The one and only. Why, you know that city?"
She set her beer down. "Yeah. That's where my family lives. I'm going to visit them."
"Huh. I'm going there to get away from my family."
"What's wrong with your family?" She asked, then realized that it was a sort of personal question. "Er, I mean, you don't have to—"
"Nah, s'fine," he cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Mainly it's my older brother. He's a rich bastard with a stick up his ass so huge it's more like a tree trunk, he doesn't give a shit about anything besides his solar energy business, and he treats everyone like they're beneath him. I don't understand how anyone at his company puts up with him," Inuyasha finished a little breathlessly, surprised at his own venom in front of someone whose name he didn't even know. He glanced at her, attempting to gauge her reaction to his tiny tirade. She didn't appear to be phased.
"He sounds delightful," Kagome commented sarcastically.
Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief internally. Some people thought you shouldn't talk badly about your family, for no other reason than that they were kin. But it appeared that Kagome didn't care, which was good, because Inuyasha thought all of those people could go straight to hell.
"But surely the rest of your family can't be so bad?" She continued.
"Tch. The rest of my family is either dead or living back overseas in Japan."
"…Oh. Sorry to hear that."
He shrugged. "Not like I can change any of it. What about you?" He asked, directing the conversation away from himself.
"Huh?"
"Your family. They alright?"
"Oh. Yeah— they're a little weird, I guess, but I love them anyway." She smiled softly. "It's been a while since I've seen them."
"Must be nice," Inuyasha commented, "to have a whole family that gets along." He reached for a forlorn-looking French-fry, small and droopy with a blob of cheese weighing on it. A quiet, bitter laugh escaped him, thinking he had a lot in common with that sad little piece of greasy potato. When she didn't respond, he looked over at her, and he was surprised to see what might have been grief interred behind her eyes as she watched the dust swirl outside the diner window.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, tentatively reaching out to touch her wrist to get her attention. He still hadn't asked her name, but for whatever reason it bothered him to see her looking upset.
She pulled chocolate colored eyes back to him, meeting his stormy gray that were looking at her with a surprising amount of concern. Her mouth quirked up at the corner, banishing most of the sadness from her expression.
"Yeah. It's just that my family isn't really all that whole anymore. My dad died about ten years ago, but it's just something I've never really been able to completely move on from." She looked at her hands, turning them over so her palms faced up and exposing a single tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. She traced the black lettering with her index finger.
"What's it say?" He asked curiously, leaning into her space a little so he could see it. In slightly script-style italic letters, it read "GPZ500S." The year 1995 was written underneath, bookended by two curling text ornaments.
"It's the model of his motorcycle and the year he died," she explained, holding her wrist out. "He was killed in a motorcycle accident on that bike."
Inuyasha looked up at her questioningly, his face much closer to hers than he'd expected. His breath hitched a little before he asked, "And you still ride?"
"Of course," she said, brushing her still damp bangs out of her face. "It's my way of remembering him. He taught me to ride when I was seventeen, you know. Of course my mom wasn't very happy about it. Still isn't really," she laughed lightly. "But she understands."
"My dad died right after I was born," Inuyasha found himself telling her, as he sat back a little, leaning his elbow on the counter. "And my mom went when I was five. My brother raised me for the most part, though I never could understand why. He acted like he hated every minute of it."
"Maybe he felt like it was his familial duty?" Kagome asked. She was a little surprised they were even having this conversation. But perhaps the fact that they were strangers somehow made it easier.
Inuyasha snorted. "I doubt it, considering he threw me out the second I turned eighteen. He was probably legally obligated, being the only relative I had in the U.S. Either that, or my dad had willed it to be so if my mom ever kicked the bucket. Dad's will was the only thing Sesshoumaru ever listened to."
"Sesshoumaru, hm?" Kagome mused.
Inuyasha looked at her with confusion. "Huh?"
"Just that you've told me your brother's name now, but not yours." She swirled the last of her beer in the bottom of the glass bottle.
"Oh— I'm Inuyasha," he said, extending his hand towards her.
"Kagome," she replied, taking his proffered palm in hers. His handshake was warm and firm, but not too tight, and she felt a shiver of energy run through her at his touch. Her eyes met his, and she could feel that telltale clench in her chest as she took in his high cheekbones, strong jaw, and smirking lips that looked eminently kissable. After a moment, she realized they'd been gripping each other's hands too long, and she broke away abruptly, feeling heat rise up her neck.
A little disappointed at the loss of contact, he picked up his beer and swigged down the last few gulps. Damn, he thought to himself. He felt like this random woman he'd met at this shithole diner in the middle of the desert, and only because of something as unpredictable as a dust storm, might actually get him. He wasn't sure if the universe loved him or hated him, but he would be damned if he was going to squander this opportunity. They were even traveling to the same city, for Christ's sake.
"Hey," Inuyasha started, making up his mind, "I hope this doesn't sound weird or anything, but when this storm clears out, do you want to ride together up to Onera?"
Kagome gave him an appraising look. She had been considering the same idea, but wasn't sure if she should trust someone who was basically a stranger when she was alone and in the middle of the desert. On the other had, he seemed nice enough and a little vulnerable, despite his occasionally crass language, muscular appearance, and the full sleeves of tattoos that ran down his arms. She also found him unreasonably attractive, with that tight shirt of his that left so little to the imagination, and his long, straight black hair tied in a low ponytail that brushed the back pockets of his dark jeans.
Inuyasha waited with bated breath, wondering if he should have even asked such a forward question, as her eyes roamed over his seated figure.
Finally, she grinned. "Sure, why the hell not." If nothing else, it would be nice to have a companion on the lonely desert roads.
Inuyasha hid his relief, offering her a half smile and grunted, "Cool."
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this story! I decided to play up some of the more angsty aspects of Inuyasha's personality, but hopefully it wasn't too much. He had to seem a reasonable amount more personable at first in order for this plot to work (because really, Kagome taking off through the desert with some random guy is far-fetched enough as it is, even if they are heading to the same city), so you'll see a little bit more of the classic, loud, and slightly rude Inuyasha pop up later. Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought!
-ebj