A/N: AU/Free day! Well, it's already an AU, but I also used the free day... so. BOTH!
College Life
7.
"Woah!"
The sound of the loud voice echoing through the room was enough to stir Kagome from her rest. Unfortunately for her, it meant that she was now plagued with the worst headache of her existence. She was unable to open her eyes due to the violent pounding in her head, and she fairly certain that the little bit of content in her stomach wanted to come up. Oh god. She lifted the blanket above her head, trying to shield her eyes from the light invading the room. When had it gotten so damn bright? Also, why in the world was Sango screaming? And what time was it? And where was she? Oh god. Alcohol. There was a reason why she had stayed away from that in the past. She did not want to be in this kind of state for something that was not even worth it in the first place… And yet, she had apparently done it without any limits last night.
"Sshhhh," was all she managed to say.
"Oy."
Wait - that was not Sangos' voice. This time she was forced to emerge herself out of the darkness she had enveloped herself in so that she could see who's voice it was. There was no way she had a brought a stranger in her room. She was not that stupid. Through her half open eyes, she managed to scan the vicinity. She could see her comforter all bundled up at the edge of the bed, and then hair - a long ponytail - dark hair. Oh. She knew that hair. She knew it a little too well.
"Kouga?"
Ow. Why did she say it so loud? She held the side of her head with her hand while closing her eyes once more. Too bright. Too loud. Too dead.
Meanwhile Kouga twisted his neck to the left and the right, hoping to get rid of his muscle spams. He arched his back, hearing it crack as he did so; that felt a little better. He might be a youkai but it did not mean that he enjoyed sleeping with his neck crooked all night. He was going to feel it today. He ran his large palm over his neck, rubbing it, before trying to scramble to his feet. When had he turned into such a moron? He had fucking fallen asleep on her floor. He had really meant to leave but then… his own tiredness had claimed him. Granted his alcohol tolerance was much better than hers but… he had pulled a few all nighters to be able to get his magical A. The one that granted him his lovely evening of yesterday. Still, now he had screwed it up. Fuck, that was going to be a fun one to explain.
"Mornin'," he answered with a raspy voice, forcing him to clear his throat.
"Sorry, didn't mean to… interrupt," Sango said with a smirk on her face.
Miroku was right behind her, his eyebrows raised. Sango had casually mentioned that Kagome might have someone new in her life, but he had been certainly of the truth of the statement. Now, he was forced to believe it with his own eyes. He did not think their innocent little Kagome could move so fast. Good for her. It was time that she moved on - after all, their friend Inuyasha had done it at an amazing speed.
"W-what! No."
Nothing had happened. Alright, her brain was killing her and her memory was a bit fuzzy - and oh god was she dehydrated - but she knew one thing for sure; she did not have sex with Kouga. First of all, she was not this kind of person and well he was not either. He might be a flirter and a charmer, but he was not this kind of person. She might not have known him for a long time, but she did not think he would take advantage of her. She was home after all. If he had wanted to try something, it would have been much easier to do so at his own place. He actually went through all the trouble of bringing her home.
"It ain't like that."
He knew her friend probably did not mean anything by it, but his honor was wounded. He was a better man than that and he would not take advantage of a drunk woman. It was not his style. He could get a sober woman if he wanted and it would be a lot more fun. Plus, he actually wanted something with Kagome. He would not waste his chance - a chance she had not even decided to give him yet - by trying something while she was drunk.
Kouga managed to make it to his feet, using the edge of her bed to raise himself up. "You were a little tipsy last night. I brought you home, and I fell asleep. Sorry 'bout that." He truly did not mean to do - but she had asked him to stay and - and then it had followed its natural path and he had fallen asleep like an idiot. He was fairly certain he would be getting a few comments from the guys on his way back as well. Great.
Through the pain, Kagome managed to offer him a little smile. "I'd thank ya if you were not responsible for the pounding in my head."
He chuckled. "That ain't on me." His goal had been to get her away from alcohol and to make her eat. It had not exactly worked according to plan but he had not purposefully gotten her drunk - the only exception was during their little game.
"I didn't-"
Did she drink? No, well. Maybe a little. Oh god.
"Do you guys have any aspirins?" he asked while looking at Sango.
"I do."
She was not a drunk by any means, but it had happened to her a few times that she had gone over her alcohol limit forcing her to nurse a painful hangover the next day. She could not believe that her little Kagome was finally having her first hangover. Of course, it was a bitch, but in her case it meant that she was actually doing some progress and Sango could not be any prouder. She also was pleasantly surprised that Kouga turned out to be a gentleman. She had not known that her best friend was going to a party. If she had known, she would have at least kept an eye on her and checked up to make sure she got home safely.
But now, Kagome had another person looking out for her.
She rushed to bathroom and returned with two little white pills along with a glass of water. "This should help."
"Is it going to put me in a coma until I feel better?" she whined as she took both items from Sango.
Oh god. Would it ever stop? Would she feel like this until the rest of her days? What if she never felt better? She could die in this moment. "Please. Please, everybody in this room needs to promise that they will never let me near alcohol again."
The laughter was produced in unison. "I don't know you're pretty funny when you're drunk." The actual word he wanted to say was affectionate, but he kept that to himself. He did not have to share everything.
Oh no. What did she do that she did not remember? "Kouga…"
"I kid, you didn't do anything." Except ask for a piggyback ride, ask him to stay… maybe a bit of snuggling.
"If I didn't already feel like I was dying, I would die."
Her insides were churning, her face was on fire and her entire body was drumming with a new level of pain that she was not familiar with until this very moment. Oh god. Wait, no it was going to get worse, a lot worse. She felt the bile rise up her throat, burning on its way up and she knew she only had a few seconds before it was too late. She tried to untangle herself from her blankets but it appeared a more difficult task than she initially anticipated. She leaned forward, ready to meet her imminent death - and welcoming it - when it was all stopped by a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her small waist.
"Kag?"
She pressed her palm to his chest, trying to stabilize herself as the whole world refused to stop spinning. Why would he not stop moving? Oh god, oh god. It was getting closer - she was going to puke her guts out at any moment now. "Bathroom," was all she managed to mumble.
Kouga understood immediately and once he helped her to her feet, he turned her in direction of the bathroom to at least make sure that she had a fighting chance. As soon as she was somewhat stable, she dashed as rapidly as her pounding head allowed her, and made a beeline for the bathroom. Once the door slammed closed, which was a sound she regretted, they heard the graceful sounds of her stomach emptying itself. And it did not sound as though it was about to stop any time soon.
Sango winced as she turned around to look at Kouga. "I really appreciate what you did for her, and I'm really happy you got her home safe and sound…"
"But?"
"But if you're still here after she's done puking, she's gonna hate me." Obviously, Kagome did not know this yet, but she was warming up to Kouga. Sango had noticed it from the first time she had encountered the two of them together. As her best friend, it was Sango's duty to protect her against future embarrassment and puking her guts out made the list.
Kouga could hardly help the smile that reached his lips. Yes, getting embarrassed did sound like something Kagome did a lot. Although he did want to stay and make sure she was alright, he could understand where Sango was coming from - plus he was not leaving Kagome alone; she would be with people who knew her and cared about her.
"Drop me a line so I know she's okay?"
"Sure."
-H-
Come on.
Kagome felt filled with desperation as she leaned into the wooden bench, giving up on life; today was not her day. It had begun with the worst headache that life could have plagued her with and it had ended with her remembering that she had promised her mom she would come over for a day. Ever since her arrival at the university, she had been able to return home. Most of it had to do with the fact that she did not know how to face her family after her breakup. Or - the fact that she had not told her family about the break up. They had been used to having Inuyasha around and telling them… she felt like it was a disappointment in the waiting.
Now, her promise had caught up to her and now she was here, waiting for the long bus to arrive to take her home to the shrine. The few hours she had spent hydrating and puking had not really helped much. Sango had gotten some greasy food in her and it had helped settled her stomach but the pain in her head and her state of sluggishness remained no matter what. It was good, it would be a constant reminder that she needed to stay away from alcohol. How did everybody managed to do that almost every day and go through life as though they were fine? She knew there was such a thing as building up a tolerance but… could someone truly ever get used to this?
And Kouga. She had looked like a complete moron in front of him. Ugh. She was never going to live that one down. She knew he would never tell her the full story, but she was sure there was something stupid that she did…
And where was that bus? It was already over twenty minutes late… at this point she was a little early for the next one. This was not good. She wanted to get the bumpy road over as quickly as possible; she had yet to regain full color in her cheeks. Maybe she could go ask? She did not want to arrive too late… then there would be no point in going. She tried to watch down the road, hoping she would spot the bus somewhere down there. But, unfortunately, she was not that lucky. A long sigh was drawn from her lips before she rose to her feet and headed in direction of the little kiosk. Her black suitcase with wheels was dragging behind her as she made it in front of the young lady attending the kiosk. She needed at least one good news today.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?"
"Do you know when the 112 will arrive?"
"Let me check."
Kagome smiled gratefully as the girl typed away, trying to locate the needed information.
"Oh."
"Oh?" Oh was not a good word.
"I'm sorry miss. There was an accident on the road, and all buses will be cancelled for tonight."
"What?"
"I'm really sorry."
The only positive side she could see to this was that she had not told her mother yet. She had planned to surprise her and make her happy - and at least it helped her save face. She sighed. "Thank you, anyway."
She turned around, her little wheels squeaking as she did so. And now what? She had done all this and she was right back to the beginning. She should have stayed in bed all day like she had originally planned to do. Time to go back to the room.
-H-
What was this living hell?
Kagome shook her head, resisting the urge to bang her head on the wooden door of the apartment. For crying out loud. There it was, staring at her; a black crunchy. She knew what that meant and she had a dreading feeling in the pit of her stomach. Great. Now she was feeling sick once again. Originally, Kagome had been innocent enough to not understand that there was a coding system - and she was happier back then. Sango had not thought about explain it to her. Of course, innocent little Kagome had walked in and… well her eyes had almost melted away. And black was bad stuff. Usually Sango did not keep her locked out… but Sango thought she was away for the weekend…and she was instead alerting other people of the situation. She could not possibly walk in… she did not want to throw bleach in her eyes.
But… well… maybe she could just… knock?
No, no. It would not be fair. She had told her that she was leaving and… honestly Kagome was always there. That meant that as a couple, Miroku and Sango did not have all the intimate moments that they wanted. The least she could do was offer them this moment together…
But then, where could she go?
-H-
She was here. Again. How in the world did she end up going all the way back to the scene of the crime? Why was she not running as fast as possible in the opposite direction? Nope, instead, she was here and she was knocking on that dreaded door.
And then it opened.
"Hey, sis."
Sis?
"Kouga, your woman is here!"
His woman?
"Wait!"
But it was too late. Before she could even react or process all of the information that had just been thrown at her, she could hear someone tumbling down the stairs at rapid speed. It took no time before she saw Kouga's face popping into the doorway, a huge grin on his face. His hair was up in a bun, dripping water on his white t-shirt. What was it about that boy and water? He was either wet or shirtless. And why was she thinking about his shirtless wet chest? God.
"Hey you're still alive," he teased. She still did not look a hundred percent like her regular self but she looked a lot better than she had in the morning. In his case, all he had needed was a quick shower and he had been good to go. His eyes finally traveled to her feet and that was when he noticed that she had a suitcase with her. Wait… "Hey, is everything okay?"
She arched an eyebrow, suddenly confused by the sudden concern in his face. Kagome had to follow his line sight to realize what he was looking at; oh. "Oh, no. I am — my bus was canceled. I was going home." She popped her lips. And now came the awkward part. "And I can't go back to my place."
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why, what happened?"
"Well, my roommate thinks that I'm out of town."
"So?"
"So…"
Her cheeks developed a slight red color as she forced herself to look away. Her mind was suddenly filled with very bad memories of when she had caught them together. She would be scarred for the rest of her life. Although, she could admit to one thing; Miroku was a very imaginative man. She shuddered.
Once the scent of embarrassment filled out the vicinity, Kouga understood. "Oh, her and her boyfriend are banging."
Well - that was the crude way to put it. "Yeah."
Kouga could not help but chuckle. "Wanna come in?"
"If - if it's okay. I don't wanna bother."
"Hey, you're my woman. You're always welcome here."
"Yeah about that…"
"Hey - I won. Remember?"
"I don't think anyone is here to see it."
"Practice makes perfect?"
She tilted her head to the left, disbelief all over her features. She knew he mostly did things to get a reaction out of her and it nearly worked every time. Despite knowing he was baiting her, she would react each time because - he knew how to get her.
"Can I at least ask what the whole sis thing was about?"
"Oh. Wait, who called you that?"
"Ginta."
He nodded. "It's a pack thing."
"A pack thing?"
"Yeah, we're just - if you're in the pack you're a brother or a sister."
That did nothing to clarify her confusion. "That's the thing - I'm not pack." Yes, she had opened up to Kouga a lot more than she had anticipated but… okay she was coming to him again but… but…well… just but.
He scoffed. "You? Not pack?"
"Kouga, I'm not actually your woman." There was a part of her that wondered sometimes if he actually knew that it was a mock up deal. He had succeeded in upping his grades, and she was letting him gloat but it would not go on forever.
"You don't have to be my woman to be pack you know. There's more to it than that."
He would not explain to her the entire complexity of the pack, but - even if he never got to know her better, she would be pack. The boys had accepted her from the beginning and that would not go away. He was not even sure she understood that it did not happen often. Yes, they had friends and acquaintances, but they did not simply welcome every person into their pack. Being part of the pack held a lot of meaning and usually it came with a lot of responsibilities. Obviously, they were not expecting all that of her. She had not requested a place in their pack, but they had welcomed her anyway. The boys were looking out for her on their own, and they enjoyed her presence.
How could they not?
There was something about her presence that would light up the whole room. She had warmth, laughter and kindness bubbling out of her. It was why he was so mad at Inutrasha for ruining parts of her. She did not deserve to be treated like that and eventually that mutt would pay.
"Now how 'bout we get you in?"
"Are you sure?" Now she felt bad. Inuyasha had explained the whole concept of pack to her but it had remained vague. Mostly because he did not feel much attachment to his own. Him and his brother barely talked…
"If you ask one more time, I'm gonna throw you over my shoulder."
And she knew he meant it.
"Alright then."
He grinned. "Good." He moved out of the way to let her in, and then turned his head to shout at the boys. "If anyone is not wearing pants, now is the time to put some on."
Oh boy.
-H-
How in the world did she end up? She truly needed to take some time to look over her recent life choices. First, she had gotten smashed drunk, then she had not bothered to valid that the bus was running. And if all of that was not enough, she had decided to take shelter at Kouga's fraternity house. And now? Now she was in his room. Kagome had desperately tried to call Sango, hoping to get an update or the sign that the coast was clear but life was not that kind to her. Instead, she was left in the void with no answer at all. It was not that late yet but her poor brain was buzzing inside of her skull and she needed to lay down. After quite a few comments from the boys, Kouga had offered up his bedroom. Obviously, she had refused it more than once. She was not about to touch that. She was not going there with him.
But then, time ticked away and even her brain cells were hurting.
So she caved in.
Of course, it was clear that she would be the only one in that bed.
But now… she felt like a jackass for insinuating that he was making assumptions. After all, he had gotten her home safely.
"Hey I - I didn't have a chance to say it. But thank you. For yesterday." She was fumbling like an idiot. Both her hands were clasped together, her fingers twitching as she stared at his wooden floor, a bit too ashamed to meet his gaze.
"Meh, you were right," he said as he walked in with a set of fresh sheets. "I shoulda stopped ya. You were a wild animal."
She narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't that bad."
"You don't remember climbing on top of me?"
"What!"
As he watched the red fill in her cheeks, he bent forward laughing. "I'm teasing." Well, she had climbed him but it was only so that he could give her a piggyback ride. It was much more innocent than whatever she had in mind now. "Seriously, I invited you. You were under my watch, so the least I could do was get you home."
"Kouga, I'm not your responsibility. I drank. My fault."
"Remember the whole pack thing?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you're part of the pack, you're the alpha's responsibility."
"Okay."
He thought he had explicitly told it, but perhaps he had not been obvious enough with her.
"Kagome… I'm the alpha." Perhaps it was his fault; he was used to being around youkais, or people who knew of his status. It could be felt in his aura.
Alright, she did not know everything about youkai dynamics, and packs - but she did know about alphas. "You're the what?"
"Alpha."
"Oh."
She almost wanted to be surprised but if she thought about it carefully… Yes, he had some priorities that differed from hers but…it did not mean they were wrong. He was a youkai, he used to have powerful legs… his focus had been on getting his team where it needed to be. But, he had been adjusting quite well to his new life. He did take responsibility, he was respectful… and of course, he came with a lot of cockiness. He did feel the profile of the Alpha.
"Did I score points or lose 'em?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"If it helps me, as my woman, it gives you a great status."
"Kouga…"
"I'm still gonna call ya my woman anyway."
"I figured."
"Anyways, here are some sheets."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Did you do something on these sheets that I should know about?"
"No." He threw the sheets on the bed before sitting beside her. "I was being polite."
"Really no adventures under the sheets?"
"Not since I meet you."
And there he was again. He was being brutally honest and he was taking her voice away. Why did he make her matter so much, why was he so blunt with her? Her throat clammed up, her mouth was dry and she was at loss for words. He held up her gaze with his blue eyes, forcing her to look at him. There was something burning beneath his eyes, something pulling her in. As she felt her heart rate pick up, she took a deep breath, shielding her eyes away from his piercing look. It was then that her eyes landed on his legs. He had originally been wearing long shorts which covered mid-way through tibia. However, in this sitting position, they were raised up, showing his legs all the way to this knees.
For the very first time, she saw the damage.
They talked about his legs, they said he was hurt and he had called himself an idiot, but she had never seen it herself. But there it was. Strikes of purples. They were going up his legs like veins, sometimes turning a blue color. What in the world had done that to him?
"Oh my god."
Fuck.
He jumped to his feet so fast that she saw nothing more than a blur. Instead of facing her, he had turned his back to her, trying to hide the shame that showed upon his features. He had not fucking thought about it. The purple lines were part of his legs now - it was how he knew that he was not doing any better. Whatever Naraku had done to him, it had scarred him. Whenever the purple lines appeared, there was pain. The doctors had not made it disappear and time had not taken care of them either. He was stuck. He was not getting worse but he was not getting any better either. The guys knew about it because they had seen it but he did not show this to the outside world. She was not the outside world… but she was Kagome. He did not need her to see his weaknesses.
"Kouga -" She did not know what to say. The flesh was abused, damaged - tainted. She knew he was a youkai but even he had to be in pain. Did it hurt him when he walked?
"It's fine."
But she ignored his words as she stood up and put her hand on his arm. Still, he did not turn to look at her. "Kouga - I didn't know." She had talked about Inuyasha. She had even called him after her little encounter from hell. He had always shown up for her. He had even let her use him when they first met. He had taken everything and he had never said anything. She had told him to stop avoiding the running time, she had never… she had never even considered him and his feelings. She had not even known the depth of his pain. She felt horrible. Her heart was stuck in her throat as she felt her eyes fill up with tears. Somehow, she could feel his pain.
For a moment, Kagome did not care that he offered her resistance. She moved until she was standing in front of him and before he could even react, she wrapped her arms around him. His body felt stiff for a second but then, he loosened up as his own arms came around her waist. He did not want to be weak. He had to keep his head straight for his team, for his pack, for her. He saw the pain in her eyes when she saw Inutrasha with his new girlfriend. She was in pain. She could recover from this. He was not sure if he could.
"I'm sorry."
He swallowed hard, trying to let her words fall on deaf ears. The embrace lasted for a moment before he felt her arms loose around him. Kouga took it as a sign that she was ready to pull away from him, so he did so first. However, he had not interpreted her actions quite correctly. As he pulled away, he found his face an inch from hers. An opportunity presented itself, and as he felt her warm breath tickle his lips, he gave into it. His lips were on hers before she even had a chance to intake a breath of air.
This time she was the one who stiffened.
His hands were squeezing her waist, much like he had the first time, his lips spreading fire to her entire body. She felt a nibble on her bottom lip, sending a tingle through every single one of her nerve endings. Oh god.
Then, there was a smack of the lips, and she was left with swollen, humid lips. Slowly, his grip on her loosened, freeing her from his large hands. His eyes only met hers for a brief moment and she was unable to find her voice. Wait.
"You can just put the old sheets in the basket. If you need anything I'll be in the room next day." He was a fucking moron. He was a fucking moron. He was a fucking moron.
He did not wait for her reply, instead, he exited the room, closing the door behind himself as he left. Shit. He just fucking blew it.
Kagome stood there, her arms still somewhat hovering in the air as her brain tried to process what had happened. The tips of her fingers touched her lips, feeling the warmth left behind. Her other hand palmed at her chest, fingers spreading like a palm. All she could feel was the pounding of her heart.
Oh no.
She was not going down that road.
She could not…
-H-