January 8th, The Monk's Vice Pub and Bar, 9:46 p.m.

"Hey," said a familiar, pleasantly gravelly voice.

Kagome jumped slightly and looked up. She had been sitting at one of the tables by a frosted-over window rather than her usual stool at the bar, attempting to avoid the constant bar chit-chat. And here was Inuyasha, of all people, staring down at her with a small, lopsided smile on his face.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" He asked pleasantly, beginning to reach for the chair across from her.

"Uh—I guess you can," she agreed. Internally though, she was freaking out a little. Why does he have to show up now? She still couldn't remember if she'd kissed him at New Year's the week before, and it tied her in knots.

"Cool," he said, and dropped into the seat. She couldn't help but notice the way his white hair caught the glow of the yellow-gold pub lighting as he moved. It was like watching the flow of sunlight on water.

"So, um, how've you been?" Kagome asked, abruptly pulling her gaze away from Inuyasha's hair. He hadn't seemed to notice her staring.

"Alright. You know. Work stuff. My brother is a stuck-up asshole. The usual…" He trailed off.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't really in the mood for conversation, but it seemed like he expected her to make small talk. She scowled to herself.

One of the waiters came over to their table, having noted Inuyasha's arrival. "Can I get you anything to drink, sir?" He asked, shaking red bangs out of his face. "And Kagome, I can get you a refill, if you want." He gestured to her almost-empty beer glass.

"I think I'll be okay for now. Thanks, Shippou." She smiled at him, grateful for the small interruption.

"I'll have whatever Kagome is having," Inuyasha said.

"Schlafly Oatmeal Stout, then. You got it. I'll be back in a few." The waiter turned and went back to the bar.

"You really are a regular here, aren't you?" Inuyasha asked. "Do they give you a bulk-purchase discount?"

"I'm friends with the head bartender," Kagome grumbled, ignoring Inuyasha's joke.

"Keh, I'm just teasing," Inuyasha said, registering some of Kagome's displeasure.

"I know. I guess I'm just not in a great mood…"

"I can leave you alone if you want." He started to get up. "Everyone needs space sometimes—"

"No—" Kagome reached out and gripped his wrist, uncertain why but knowing very suddenly that she didn't want him to go. "I think— I think I could actually use some company right now."

"Uh—" He glanced down where her hand wrapped around his wrist with a surprising amount of force. "Okay." Then after a moment, "But you need to let go of me so I can sit down."

"Oh!" Kagome snatched her hand back, a look of profound embarrassment overtaking her features. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he said, sliding back into his chair. Inuyasha studied her face, how she was refusing to look at him, instead appearing to examine the patterns of ice that had formed on the window glass. Her long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, and thick bangs framed troubled, deep brown eyes.

"In case you were wondering, we didn't kiss," he blurted.

Kagome jumped, head snapping over so she could look at him. "What?"

"At New Year's. I thought you would want to know."

"I—I see…" She wasn't entirely sure what to do with the information. He was right that she had been wondering. It had been eating up her thoughts, actually. And, if she was honest with her self, she found his confession to be a little… disappointing.

"Well, uh… What did happen then?" She asked sheepishly.

Inuyasha's lopsided smile came back. "Actually, you passed out on me right at midnight. I almost spilled my champagne."

Well that certainly explained her memory lapse from that point forward. "Er, sorry about that…"

"It's okay. I was pretty drunk too. I passed out on the couch not too long after."

"I'm surprised your brother didn't kick us out," Kagome chuckled, starting to relax a little. They hadn't kissed. Things would be fine.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Occasionally, my brother finds it within himself to be charitable."

"From the party, it seemed more than occasional."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh, you're only saying that because you don't really know him. Also, I'm pretty sure he decided that he likes you."

Kagome's eyebrow shot up at that. "Likes me?"

"You did threaten to 'keep me in line,'" Inuyasha reminded her. "That counts for a lot in his mind."

A smile crept over the corners of Kagome's mouth. "That's an interesting standard for likability."

Inuyasha laughed, stretching his arms up and then resting his hands behind his head. "My brother is an 'interesting' person. He actually asked me the other day if I'd seen you since his party. I told him you hadn't called."

Kagome looked away. "Yeah, well…"

Their waiter, Shippou, chose that moment to appear with Inuyasha's beer. "Here you go. Sorry about the delay. We had a bit of a problem with one of the taps."

Inuyasha waved him off. "Thanks. It's no big deal." He dug around in his coat pocket for a moment before producing his wallet and pulling out a credit card. "Would you mind opening a tab for me?"

Shippou took the card. "Sure, no prob." He hustled off.

"Planning on sticking around a while?" Kagome asked.

"Think so," Inuyasha replied. "As long as you don't mind my company."

Kagome found she didn't mind at all.