Blood in the Honey

by Jirubee

The veil draped over the lines of friendship and love blur when long time room-mates, Kagome and Inuyasha, become shipwrecked by the questions in their relationship. One simple question submerged them into a leadless dance, leaving them in a back and forth tug-of-war for dominance over their feelings. All is fair in love and war, but the price may not be worth the stakes.

2. Offers

AN: I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I've been messing with it for about a week, and I'm still not 100 percent happy with it. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it, though! It was fun to write. Haha.

Thank you to my readers and reviewers!

Sarah Randall; Here you go, honey! There's bunches more! ;D

Lady Bliss; Thank you a million times. I read my reviews over and over and they motivate me so much to continue. Reading that meant so much to me. There are so many wonderful authors on here that it made want to try even harder.

k.a.a-inu; You know me too well. Haha. Things are always interesting and angsty. I don't know why I always make him the way he is, but I fancy him that way. Lol.

Soul Hunt; Thank you! :D

jinulover; It's all going to be human in this piece. Metaphoric demons, yes. ;D And thank you, I hope I can keep the flow going.

ninjamidori; I'M SORRY I KEPT YOU WAITING FOR LIKE A MONTH. XD

Say0mi Saki; Thank you as always, hon. People have told me my writing is too flowery, but if you feel what the characters feel and it takes you along in whimsy, then why not express it that way, you know? Fingers crossed that this chapter turned out alright!

Warm-Amber92; Girl, we've just tipped the angstberg. God, I am so lame.

Enjoy!

Love Jiru

The soft clack of lock turning over made InuYasha stir in his bed. It was still cool with the dreary twilight, which crept through his curtains like a ghost. Rubbing his sore eyes, he winced at the red numerals simultaneously flashing the rumored time.

Kagome must have already left for work, or left early just to get out of their humble home. He mentally cursed himself for waking only to think of the disappointment on her face. It was probably just as well that she didn't wake him up with coffee or a bowl of cereal, as she often did.

InuYasha would have probably just made more an ass out of himself by saying good morning. Sighing, he forced his feet to hit the chilly floor as he went about his business. Stumbling, he grabbed his clothing out of the closet; which she had so graciously hung up for him.

He was a dumbass, he decided, slipping on a pair of snug jeans he refused to part with. Reaching out, he pressed his fingers passed his curtains to guess the temperature outside through the window. It was a habit he had since he was a kid, and most people looked down up the fact that he simply wouldn't just open the damn thing.

As he pulled his white button up on, he became bemused by the fact that Kagome had done it as well. She, instead, pressed her cheek against it. A jaded grin fell on his gruff features as he put on his thin red tie and slid on his gray jacket.

Peering into the mirror, he tucked in the shirt, belted his skinny waist and tilted his reflection to the floor as he grabbed his apartment keys off his desk. It felt like he was going to school to nervously see his crush sitting at her desk, playing with her pen in the corner of her mouth.

It had been a long time since he felt like he was a school boy, but what could you do? He mused as he heard a familiar tune singing from his sheets. Rolling hisi eyes, he knelt down and ended up fighting his messy hair to see where the racket was being transmitted.

After he had demolished the entire bed, he found it laying on the corner of the nightstand where Kagome had left it. Sliding it open, he grabbed his glasses and slid them on to see who had called.

Pursing his lips, he bit the inside of his jaw jealously when he found a series of pleading texts pop up on the screen, as well as a few missed calls. They were all from him. "Well, I'm going to make sure she doesn't call you any time soon." He breathed, skimming through each one with some sort of godly prowess.

He never meddled in Kagome's affairs, as she stayed out of his, but he'd be damned if the wolf found his way back to the hen house. The girl would have probably killed him if she knew how many times he'd done this over the years.

Once he was satisfied, he paused at the illuminated screen. Cautiously, he mulled over an idea and began typing out a response to one of the many, "Please call me, Kagome. I'm in town and I never stopped loving you. I would love to see you and get some lunch." texts that he happened to be so fond of.

God, Koga was a douchebag.

InuYasha didn't have much room to accuse anyone else, but the fact that Kagome lived with him gave him some sort of right, even though he made it clear that he didn't want her.

No, he was a pathetic man that would date her best friend before he would date her. It was actually a juvenile thing to actually do, but he just couldn't accept it. After being gradified by pressing the send button, InuYasha skulked out of his room into the living room to still find a chair pulled out and a bowl of his favorite cereal poured.

Looking down at her phone, the man cowered and left his breakfast to congeal in a murky and colorful slush. Perhaps, Miroku would know how to handle this situation. Then again, as InuYasha shut the door, flurrying the jackets on the hook, he winced at the idea of taking advice from him.

Miroku wasn't exactly keyed for longevity.

He was a simple man, with simple desires and whims like a sixteen year old boy. In opposition, Miroku was a twenty-nine year old man that had never found what he was looking for in a person, so he chose to dabble in the paint until he found a color that closely resembled something with flair.

It was kind of depressing, InuYasha thought as he stepped into the creaky brass elevator. He was really no better, after all. If he had never taken him home with him after school that day... He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, trying to cope with the lack of nicotine circulating through his organs.

The sun was barely visible on the horizon as he headed out of the musty lobby. Tokyo seemed alive, all the same. It was hard enough to deal with the heaviness of his relationship with Kagome, but the prospect of scurrying across the street was becoming far more tedious.

He just hoped that he could make it through the day without dwelling on it. That was until the phone began crying in his jacket pocket, making his body tense in the cool autumn air. To hell with the rest of the world, he was going to keep his mind as clear as possible.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried, his brain was wired to Kagome.

Across town, the screams of taxis cut through Kagome's ears as the early morning rush of coffee enthusiasts burst through the doors. Most mornings were this filled with malciously ringing celluars and nonstop gab from the school girls taking about their crushes.

What was saddening was that, as she fumbled with the plastic cups and cardboard cozies, was that she was about to be twenty-four, had a platonic relationship, and worked at the busiest local chain of coffee shops.

The only thing good this morning was the smell. It burned away the aches and sleepless arms that had tauntingly embraced her. She could at least pretend to function like a normal human being, not worrying about the rejection that was stabbing her organs with fury.

Kagome wasn't sure how many wrinkled faces that passed through the door, all dressed in their finiest suits and ties, or exactly how many new paintings the owner sold from their creamy yellow walls. All that mattered was that her heart was sullen and crying for her to man up and pretend that these emotions were simply an offshoot of her loneliness.

If only all of those dark eyes could see past the fictious layered smiles... Her face was probably permenantly stuck that way, anyhow. She was pretty sure that smile-lines were well on their way that she would age gracefully with her apartment full of cats and doilies.

Just before dawn had smeared its daunting light across the windows, a tall, dark headed woman came barely in, ringing the "Welcoming Bell" on the door. Kagome instantly snapped up from her intrusive inspection of the marble counter at her registered post.

She almost said the usual greetings when she noticed it was Sango, all dressed up in her fitted black slacks and white button-down. It didn't take long for the woman to tie on her pink apron, adorned with Candy Candy buttons all down the sides.

Her curious eyes fell on her friend as Kagome eased away from the counter, leaving her last patron content with his steaming hot cup of Columbian Gold. "So, why do you seem so stressed out this morning?" Sango asked gingerly, flicking a piece of straw paper from Kagome's wavy hair.

Kagome scoffed and opened the side door leading around the spacious counter. "Sometimes, I dream of splashing someone in the face with hot coffee. I'd probably go to jail for assault, though. I don't think I'd like that."

Sango raised her thin brows and pulled her hair back high a top her head. "So, I called you about a thousand times." She quipped, grabbing a paper as she slid open the pastry display.

"I don't know where my phone is. I think I left it in InuYasha's room last night." Kagome shrugged, watching her friend searching longingly for the correct strudel.

Sango shot her a taunting look over her shoulder and grinned. "Have you guys finally you know..." She made a perverse gesture with her hand, still holding the unsuspecting sweet in between her pinky and thumb.

Kagome swatted at her hands, peeking around to see if anyone had come to the register. "You need to stop that!" She whispered ruefully. "And, no. That's a big fat negatory. I was rejected, so I'm not even going to talk about it anymore."

Sango's dark eyes wided as she hastily chewed her breakfast. "You have to be joking!" The woman bit, eyebrows furrowing in astonishment. "How did that even happen? You two have lived together and never anything?"

The girl in question slumped over with her elbows on the counter top, hiding behind the thickness of her bangs. "No, again. It was never like that. I don't know what changed. I don't know if I miss Koga, or if I really have feelings for InuYasha." She swallowed as the bell rang, reveling a short girl in a uniform.

Sango waved at Kagome as she tried to press on her best facade. "You just keep up the talking." She teased, taking the girl's order and buzzed around the station.

"I think that's inappropriate."

"Keywords, babe." Sango smiled as she drew a smily face on the cup, handing off to its rightful owner.

When she was done, her hand landed on her hip; the business position. Kagome was getting really tired of being stared at and it made her implode. "I honestly don't think this day could get any worse." She rasped, "I don't even want to think about it. I mean, how in hell did I end up with this monstrous beast on my back? Hell, I don't even know how I'm going to act normal."

Sango bit the corner of her lip and let out a puff of air. "Well, has this kind of thing ever happened before? Like, any time at all?"

Kagome's eyes fell half-lidded as she dredged up the furthest of memories. Her body language was pensive, hoping that there would be an answer buried beneath the layers of dust in the back of her mind. "You know, no."

Sango's mouth fell agape, trying to subtly find something to say. When nothing came to mind to make the situation any better, the one thing she could do was bite the bullet and expose a dirty little secret she had been keeping for months. "So, um," She cleared her throat and smiled warmly at the customers exiting the building. "I have a boyfriend thing. Maybe, kind of..."

Kagome arched a brow at the woman, dragging her nails along the counter as Sango's eyes wandered elsewhere. "Do I know him?"

"Well..." Sango hissed through her teeth. Praying to the heavens for mercy was pretty much out of the question at this point. After all, she had released the proverbial hounds and surely, they would have to hunt her down and maul her until she tattled.

"Oh no." Kagome blanched, sucking a dark sigh as she read the shame on her friend's soft features. "Please, Sango-chan, tell me that you didn't..."

The bloodied marsh that swamped her once porcelain skin was truth enough. Kagome made a serious of faces - none of which felt as though they expressed what she was feeling. "I'm going to kill him. You know I specifically told him, and I quote myself: Miroku, do not date my best friend. She is the only friend I have that you haven't preyed upon and it would be greatly appreciated if you don't spread your debauchery in, or around her vagina."

Sango rubbed her embarrassment away with her hands and prayed for a customer to walk in. "You took that a little far..." She replied gingerly, reaching over the counter for a bottled smoothie. "You make it sound like he hunted me down and tried to eat me."

Kagome merely rolled her eyes and fell back to her delimma. "I'm not mad at you," She sighed defeatedly. "I feel like I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life with InuYasha and my cat. Which, by the way, is missing."

"Yeah, it's hard to be a cat lady without a cat." Sango stared, trying to erase the image from her head. "I wonder if InuYasha killed him and used him to make his eyebrows thicker."

"That's entirely possible." Kagome said, tilting her head in unison as they tried to make sense of his ever growing facial hair. "He has been looking awfully manly lately. I think since he hasn't had a girlfriend that he lets his facial hair mutate. I mean, the other day I came home I could have sworn that the Mona Lisa was in there."

"You are so in love with him." Sango said blankly, sipping on her drink.

"You are the worst best friend. Now I don't feel bad that my brother is going to trample all over your heart."

"You really don't mean that." The woman blanched, "If you can find a work of art in his boyish stubble, I think that that there's one of two things to be said, and I'm saying the nicer of the two."

Kagome merely let out a sigh and walked away. There wasn't anything that she could do if she was right. Any excuse she could have made would have been a travesty. Any shroud of hope she had was shot down like a deer in the middle of the season.

Maybe it just hurt a little more because Sango's heart was tangled in Miroku's sweet smelling web of cologne and hair products. And it seemed that InuYasha and Miroku were as close as glue on paper. It was almost damning to know that it would all come to a roaring boil sooner or later. She just didn't want to watch the pot until it did.

The rest of her day was much the same. A few aches and pains covered with a layer of sweat and chapstick to keep her lips from ripping in half from the fallacious rounds of smiles. Sango gave her the early out, luckily. It would have been difficult to manage the rest of the day listening to how wonderful of a kisser her brother was, and how he definitely knew his way around a woman - correction; lots of womens - body.

Soon enough, keys clattered against a ceramic shell dish, in which Kagome had strategically placed near the slamming door. Her bleach stained shoes skidded across the screaming wood. She ached for this day to end. Her confidant's dreadfully hard hitting news basically negated any of her own problems to deal with the stupidity of her friend.

When she chose being a barista, she thought it would have been at least mildly relaxing to be around the pungent aroma of coffee and all of those festive trappings. So far, that had only served to induce the harsher stench of sterility akin to a hospital.

And, as she pulled off her decorated pink smock, Kagome kept her eyes away from InuYasha's door. She knew it was partially open, and heard his television scrambling for volume. The sheer amount of tension seemed to suffocate her beneath its weight. It wasn't supposed to feel like this.

Any bad news or anything they had done to injure their friendship had been easily recovered; after the intense explosions of emotions and almost apathetic apologies. The only thing their relationship needed was sex. Aformentioned sex, should she say, would have been completely warranted at the rate that her mind had formulated a million scenarios before her lunch break.

Coming home to this reality was becoming harder to sustain. Albeit, the puncture had been made last night. It wasn't as though it would have miraculously healed itself in the duration of time she'd spent away from home.

Sighing, Kagome pulled her hair down from the bind and let her curls spill over her back. She couldn't think of anything else, no matter how hard she tried. She barely recalled changing out of her work clothes and into her shirt and jeans.

Hell, the phone that caused all of this trouble was still in the bowels of hell, as she'd put it. Kagome would be damned if she willingly went into his room for a while. Why was this affecting her like this? She frowned, staring over her shoulder at the living room laying outside of her cocked door.

It rested like a shining shore, somewhere refreshing to the murky fathoms that she was drowning in. If her stomach hadn't of growled in time with her inspection of the small kitchen, she would have probably stayed put the rest of the night. Then again, whenever she was upset, the kitchen took the brunt of her forcefulness.

Lethargically, the woman relented and shuffled across the room and began to clink and clatter pots and pans. She rather angrily slammed them on the stove top as she flipped on the switch. InuYasha had peeked of his door, still wearing his hakama and an awkward t-shirt from his kendo instruction.

Part of her knew that he was watching her crack eggs into a bowl, whisking them until they were nearly foam. If she kept acting like this, he would have surely packed his bags and left her alone in her own misery.

How could that one sentence have caused this great divide? It felt like blurting out that thought was the equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb. Kagome let out a sigh as she brushed her bangs away from her eyes, "You can come out of your room, you know?" She said with a soft, belittling sigh that gouged at her pride.

InuYasha cleared his throat, hiding his lit cigarette behind his back. When he wove into the kitchen, he plopped down onto a skidding chair. It was all he could do to focus on anything but the back of her head as she danced from side to side as she cooked.

"How was your day?" The man finally mustered, receiving a faint glance from over the girl's shoulder.

"It was alright." Her shoulder shrugged as she jerked plates down from the black cabinets. "I did find out that my brother was encroaching on the last friend that I had in which he hadn't slept with. I guess that Sango finally caved. He really likes her, though."

InuYasha smirked as his fingers rolled the embers of his cigarette onto Kagome's decorative candle. He always had a knack of destroying her things, even if his mind was wandering in absence.

"Good for them. Maybe she'll be the one to tame him." He said as he fingered the melting wax and rolled it over his finger, enjoying the smooth texture. He hadn't seen the sheer disgust laden on Kagome's features, but he could feel whatever she wasn't rightfully exposing. "Oh, you got a letter from your mom today. The paper looks fancy."

Kagome snorted and rapped her spoon on the lip of the pot when she was done tasting her concotion. "You know what that means. We are to attend a family get together, or some pre-holiday even because my family has their heads stuck in the past."

InuYasha chewed at his lip in thought, raising his dark eyes to meet hers only briefly. There, written amongst those ashy irises, he saw an answer to a question that had been bothering him through the duration of the day. He wouldn't face her sister alone, but was it fair to her to use her as a decoy for his one insecurities? Straying away from the subject had only served a cold platter of disappointment thus far, and it made him feel inwardly ashamed for remotely indulging in the idea.

For a while longer, they were silent; still aching in the cloud of awkwardness that consumed their two-bedroom apartment. The smell of home thickened as the girl toyed with her utensils, spinning her emotions into the boiling soup pot. As she finished, the food became a display on the table, taking up all of the empty space with steaming spoils of her efforts.

If she did anything for herself, it was expunging her moods into food.

Sitting across from InuYasha, she steadied herself as she served herself some rice and broth over the white mound. "So, what are you thinking about?" She said, watching his less than graceful assault on the chicken.

A lanky arm rolled, "I'm just thinking about what you said last night and how I reacted. No need to beat around the bush, you know?" His voice was raspy, thick as it always was.

The woman dropped her silver and felt her skin prune with color. Her eyes fell on her plate as her appetite suddenly scurried away. "It was stupid and I'm sorry for even bringing it up. Sometimes I just wonder, and I should know my place in your life and within mine that this..." She gestured between their bodies and the disfigured candle, "This isn't something that can happen. I knew that a long time ago and you're my best friend, I don't think I could even do that to you."

InuYasha nodded as he sucked his lower lip into his mouth. On the exterior, he showed that he accepted the answer, but there was a war of temptestuous soldiers gearing his body to resolve the matter. How long would she suffer to have him close to her? "Listen," He said softly, body leaning towards the table, "I lied last night."

Kagome's eyes wavered with some sort of disbelief as her stomach became dizzied with nausea. "Wh-what?"

"I lied to you." InuYasha said darkly. Beneath the bright and buzzing kitchen light, they sat with flushed skin and searching eyes. "I do find you attractive. I've wondered myself. I don't think that you should lie about how you feel, or hold onto the idea that there's nothing here. We chose to be like this."

Kagome was quiet.

Her hands shook nervously within her loving palms and she couldn't quite find the weight to steady her tapping foot. She hid behind her long hair, hoping that he wouldn't see what she wanted to hide, but it was obvious. All of that embarrassment, loss of pride, and sense of innocence were belly up to his knife.

"I don't expect you to say anything, but I wanted to tell you that. Ups and downs, it's been you. It's always been you and me. I don't know if either of us could handle what would happen, honestly." InuYasha quipped, stalking his lap for his cigarettes.

"I don't know what to say." Kagome whispered. She was lost, now. How could one sentence complicate years of closeness?

It was just as well, wasn't it? Sighing, the woman shoved her plate across the table and grabbed a cigarette from his pack. He didn't stop her like he had before. She coughed and gagged as the nicotine hit her lungs. InuYasha casually slid her a glass of water and looked down at their mostly untouched dinner.

"Seems like I ruined tonight." He laughed half-heartedly, running a hand over the hakama covering his legs. His knuckles grazed Kagome's shin, and she looked up at him with fearful eyes and stiffened.

Both of them sat still as he InuYasha swallowed, hesitantly brushing his fingers over hers. The girl stared at him intently, holding her breath in as she let the cigarette ashes fell on the table. Blankly, she returned the gesture, feeling the callouses on his palms and the dampness of his nerves pooling in the worried lines.

A touch so simple turned into something violent. Each pass at the other's hand seemed like a fight for dominance and the girl clenched her jaw when she found the nooks and crannies of his knuckles. Just that taste of his soft skin made her body erupt with fervor and electricity.

Then again, reality seemed to have the upper hand and made her feel sick. Staring into those dark eyes of his did a number on her within that moment, and she skidded back in her chair. "You know, you're right. We did choose this." She stammered, grabbing her plate from the table. "What we need to do is have a mental harvest and dig up all those seeds that have been planted."

InuYasha rolled his eyes at her as his long arms fell over his chest. As he watched her walk to the sink, he smirked to himself, "What the hell, Kagome? Why not?" He shrugged.

The girl dropped the plate upon the floor, shattering it into tiny fragments. Her eyes met his briefly, before she let his words finally sink in. Was this an invitation or a test? She wondered, keeping her flopping mouth as close to closed as possible. "You know what, no."

"You were the one that started this whole thing." InuYasha barked, pointing out something that she was painfully aware of.

"I'm just going to pretend that this whole thing didn't happen and go get some dinner that doesn't taste like contempt. I was in a pretty bad mood when I cooked, so it might kill you." Kagome stammered, running her hands through her hair.

"Offers on the table if you change your mind." InuYasha said, tapping his knuckles on the table top, grabbing his plate of food and slid into his bedroom. A moment later, the woman's phone slid across the floor as it rang in repetition. "And, get that goddamn thing away from me. I never stops fucking ringing. I think you may be a prostitute, or a drug dealer or something."

Regardless of how deeply she was submerged by her emotions, she took the time to laugh and clutch the phone to her chest before walking into her room. "Why can't things ever be simple?" Kagome sighed as she plopped down at her desk, opening her phone to bad news.