**I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters there-in**

"Small black coffee?" Kagome called out over the small crowd of people waiting for their orders in the lobby. A small, elderly lady came up with a smile and thanked her sweetly, handed her a dollar for a tip, took her coffee, and walked over to a over-stuffed chair near one of the large front windows. Kagome put the dollar in the group tip jar and kept things moving, grinding some more beans for the next espresso in the line-up of orders.

Ever since she had opened this place up about a year ago, it had been nearly non-stop business for the young entrepreneur. Which also meant she had not really had any time off in the last year, either. But there were a few redeeming factors in her job.

First, she owned her own business and she didn't have to answer to anyone else for the first time in her working life. It was amazing!

Second, she loved to see the smiles that her gourmet coffee creations could bring to someone's face, even if their day had been hell before they took that first sip.

And the third reason...was just walking through the front door. Kagome heard the chime and glanced up. He was hard to not notice, literally standing head and shoulders above most of her clientele. The man was at least 6 foot 4, all lean muscle, and had an air of mystique that sent her heart a flutter. Out of the stereotypical criteria of 'tall, dark, and handsome', he fit two of them. Tall, yes. Handsome, most definitely. Dark...not so much. He was, actually, very much to the contrary. He was light itself. His skin was pale and flawless, and had the longest, most impossibly natural silvery-white hair she had ever seen on someone under the age of 70!

She felt her face get warmer, and instinctively knew that she was blushing. She shook it off and grabbed a tall paper cup, quickly marking his usual order on it, adding it to the line-up, then proceeding to make the rest of the orders before it. Sure enough she had it ready right as he walked up to the counter, credit card in hand.

He had come in on the first day the coffee shop opened, and every day since. She knew his order by heart. She turned and smiled brightly to him, latte in hand.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Taisho. Here's your twisted mocha, extra shot." His smile back to her was soft and kind. "Thank you, Kagome. Of course, I suppose I have to remind you, again, that you do not need to keep calling me that. You can call me Sesshomaru."

Kagome nods and smiles sheepishly. She takes his card, rings up the order, and hands him the slip to sign. As he hands it back he keeps a couple of fingertips on the receipt, holding it to the counter so she couldn't move it, making her look up at him, questioningly.

"If you are able, I would like to speak with you for a few moments. I know this is an unusual request, but you would be doing me a favor." His cool, golden eyes had captured hers as he spoke, and all she could do was nod. "Okay. I can take a break. Have a seat and I will come find you in a minute." He nods and takes is coffee, wandering off in search of a place for them to sit.

Kagome was speechless for a good minute. Good thing there was no one else in line at the time or they would have seen the utter confusion on her face as she simply stared after him. She tried to gather her thoughts as she asked one of the other baristas to take over for a while. She washed her hands and grabbed herself a glass of water before wandering out into the lobby after Sesshomaru.

He had chosen a lovely corner seat, the light streaming in from the large windows cast him in a halo effect of sunlight. He looked almost angelic. Kagome could feel her heart stop for a moment and her breath catch in her throat. Gods, did he even know how he looked to her right now? What could a man like this possibly have to ask her as a favor? There was only one way to find out. She cleared her throat and sat down as gracefully as she could, set her glass of water down on the table between them, and waited.

The pause before he spoke seemed like an eternity. It was so nerve racking that she wondered if, maybe, she had hallucinated his request, and that she was sitting there for no reason at all. Just as she was thinking of standing up and walking away again, he turned and looked at her softly. His eyes caught her off-guard. They held a gentle awkwardness around the edges. She had never seen him as anything but completely confident. The way he held himself, the way he walked, spoke, and behaved. Nothing like this.

"Thank you for talking with me, Kagome. I know this is unusual, but I really do not know what else to do. I have a...problem," he began"and I am hoping you might be able to help me solve it."

She could only nod, hoping it was actually something she could help him with. She couldn't have imagined, even in her wildest dreams, what he was about to say next.

"My family is gathering together for my half brother's wedding this weekend. I am attending as well. Now, before I ask my favor, I must explain something to you. I was the first born son. As it is my younger brother getting married, my family has expressed concern that I am not in a relationship, myself. As modern as my parents try to be, some of their notions are still rather old-fashioned. This is one of them."

Kagome's heart began to ache a bit. She began to run through scenarios in her mind. He was going to ask her to house-sit for him, or worse...ask her if she had any friends she could introduce him to. Her train of thought immediately switched tracks to a mental list of friends. Sango was with Miroku. Rin was too young for him. Kagura...well, she was kind of a diva...but then he continued his speech.

"I know you have only ever known me as one of your regular customers here, but all the same, you were the first person who came to my mind when I was thinking about this issue." He took her hand in both of his and looked into her eyes, then down at the table. She realized, in shock, that he was nervous! What on earth...?

"Kagome, you would be doing me a huge favor, and honor me greatly, if you would agree to go with me to my brother's wedding...as my date."