Ten: Odaxelagnia
Things were tense between her and Kikyo now. The hopeful smiles she'd send her way even while she was teaching made Kagome uncomfortable and anxious. Her classmates were even avoiding sitting near her now, having picked up on the level of intimacy she shared with their professor. Maybe they didn't know exactly how close they were, but that she was the favorite was painfully obvious. The notes she took were stained with tears she tried to keep hidden. Hell, if Kikyo wasn't so "generous" with her grading, she'd probably be on her way to failing. As much as she tried to study for the final (which was freaking cumulative, because of course) that was in just a few days, her mind was too filled with thoughts of Inuyasha and Kikyo buzzing around and making the atmosphere too harsh for facts and dates about philosophers and kings.
When the time drew near for class to be over, Kikyo grew noticeably agitated, knocking over her empty mug and fumbling with it a few times before finally righting it. There were no scattered giggles, since this lack of composure from the woman whose picture was next to it in the dictionary was a little more than unsettling. Kagome sighed and packed her things. Inuyasha was waiting for her outside. It was time for their next date. Without looking back at Kikyo, she walked out the door.
He picked her up in an old truck, a far cry from Kikyo's sleek tiny foreign one. But she wasn't afraid to lean back in this one, to relax, even to put her feet up on the dashboard if she felt like it. Now was not the time for that, however. Inuyasha seemed on edge. His jaw was clenched, his spine was rigidly straight, and his hands gripped the steering wheel so hard she was afraid he'd break it. His nervousness made her nervous and soon she was taking sharp, sudden breaths through her nose, eyes darting about, sweating like crazy. So unsexy.
The carnival he drove them to contrasted sharply with his sullen, bitchy mood. Feeling encouraged by the sight of people running around and having a good time, she took in a big lungful of evening air and grabbed his hand.
"So, uh, did you eat?" she attempted.
He grunted.
"…Is that a 'yes' noise or a 'no' noise?"
He grunted.
Sighing, she looked at the girls standing in front of the totally rigged games with their probably not married boyfriends who were trying to impress them, dishing out dozens of dollars in an attempt to win a ratty toy that smelled like mold and would fall apart before the end of the month. A carnie who was tugging at the crotch of his pants while chewing a giant mouthful of tobacco winked at her. Gods, she bet even he'd try and be more romantic than Inuyasha.
"How's your week been? Kikyo's been tutoring me constantly lately, so I haven't seen you much."
They'd had to reschedule the date three times already because of Kikyo's insistence that Kagome needed to memorize certain things and had not yet done so adequately. She felt incredibly guilty, though. At first, Inuyasha had been peeved but understanding, but then somewhere along the line he'd become the way he was tonight.
"Been fine."
Feeling braver now that he had responded in actual real words, Kagome snuck her hand into his. She flinched when he tried to pull back, the bitter look on his face making her heart hurt. Still, she persisted, hoping he'd come around soon.
"MOMMYYYYYY!"
The screech was so jarring she actually gasped. Her first thought was of Inuyasha and how his sensitive ears were faring, but other than his scowl being a little more pronounced, he seemed unaffected. Kagome knew he hid his pain well.
"What's wrong, kid?" Inuyasha said, his gruff voice unusually soft. She'd only ever heard it like that during some of their late night talks.
The little boy in question was obviously a kitsune and very upset. He was bawling, incoherently spilling out words along with tears, but Inuyasha didn't get angry. The half-demon took a sniff right above the boy's scalp, grabbed him by the wrist, and started off in the opposite direction of where they had been wandering aimlessly. A woman with a similar coloring to the boy was looking around anxiously, eyes watering and lip trembling.
Inuyasha thrust the boy into his mother's arms without a word, turning back on his heel, yelling over his shoulder, "You foxes don't have good noses, do ya? Stick to your tricks."
Now seemingly loosened up, he put an arm around Kagome, drawing her close, sharing his warmth. Feeling a thrill of happiness run through her, she snuggled into him, smiling into the fabric of his shirt. Inuyasha was a jerk, true, but she knew he'd be a wonderful father. He may not always say the right things, but he'd be full of love and do beyond his best for his family. Gods, she was getting ahead of herself, thinking about children. Inuyasha hadn't offered her the commitment Kikyo had. He hadn't even put a label on anything, leaving it all up to her. Kagome supposed he thought he was doing what she'd want, but it made her nervous and her anxiety was already through the roof.
Kikyo had made it clear she didn't want children, though. Sure, maybe over the years she could wear her down, but she wanted something real and natural. She wanted them to want the same things. Ever since she was little, she'd pictured her home life more than her wedding, something her friends didn't understand. But that was where the real romance was to her. In her daydreams, her spouse had always been male and their children were theirs, but that didn't mean it had to be that way.
"Get on," Inuyasha muttered.
Blinking, Kagome realized they were at the foot of the ferris wheel. It wasn't a very impressive one, something that looked like it was made in the fifties and had received little upkeep. Instead of gondolas, this one had enclosed pods with much more space. Unsure, keeping one hand on Inuyasha's shoulder as she gingerly stepped inside, she released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when it didn't immediately all crumble to pieces. Inuyasha jumped in after her, nowhere near as cautious as she had been. He sat across from her even though there was plenty of room beside her and she began to feel all her anxiety about the future come rushing back.
The seconds ticked by without him saying anything or doing anything other than staring at his shoelaces. She finally broke.
"Why did you even bring me here?" she asked in a tight voice. "At least Kikyo tried! You really do just want to stop your wife from getting what she wants. This has nothing to do with how you feel about me, you just want revenge."
Inuyasha's glare was so fierce her voice died in her throat and all words fled.
"Do you think this is a fucking game, Kagome?" He wasn't quite yelling, but it felt like it to her. "Am I not allowed to be unsure, to have doubts? I fell in love once and married a lesbian. Am I doing it again? Do you even have feelings for me? Are you just using me because I'm the one that can keep you in a certain lifestyle? You're young, maybe you don't even want this and you're just going with the flow, enjoying the attention. Maybe you're scared we'll reconcile and kick you out. You could only be doing this without caring about me or her because you're afraid of ending up on the street again."
Kagome's face flushed crimson at his theories. "I was never really interested in women until Kikyo, Inuyasha, and I don't think I could feel this way about another woman, so no, I'm not gay. And what do you mean about a 'lifestyle'?! I love your cooking but I could do without it. There's no way I'd be leading you on just to keep having a maid who has sex with me."
His expression morphed into one of confusion before he leaned back, amused. "You really don't know?"
She crossed her arms and mimicked his earlier glare with twice the fire. "Know what?"
"Who makes the money in our house, Kagome? Who brings home the bacon?"
Suddenly nervous, she looked away. "I've never been interested in your guys' finances. You're always at home, so I kind of just assumed..."
"What?"
"That Kikyo was supporting you."
"Are you fucking kidding me? She's a goddamn history professor. She hasn't even been working there that long. Fuck, she wouldn't even have that job if it weren't for me."
"All right, Mr. Monopoly Man, what is it you do for a living? Play video games? Bake cookies? Sell flowers by the freeway? But that last one would require you to leave the house."
Instead of upsetting him like she had intended, he merely laughed, looking genuinely happy. "I work from home. My dad left me his business so he could go on cruise after cruise with my mom. I go into the office once every week or so and make sure everything's all right, but they don't need me. Things are good. We went national a few years ago and we're thinking of expanding even further within the next decade."
Kagome's hands clenched into fists. "I don't know anything about you," she whispered, trying to keep the tears away. "I don't know anything about either of you."
"You know more than anyone, Kagome. You know who I really am. I thought Kikyo told you more about me, about us, before you came here. But now I'm glad. You like me even though you spent this entire time thinking I was just some guy playing house stuck in a state of perpetual adolescence. That doesn't mean I'm not, but you would be secure with me." His brow wrinkled and he drew closer to her, making her look up at him. "I work hard. I bought the house, got Kikyo that job. I'm the one paying your tuition and everything and I like it that way. Everything Kikyo's given you has come from me."
The ride stopped its agonizingly slow, creaky ascent. They were at the top. Kagome stared out the glass, her head swimming with this revelation. The sunset was beautiful, a bloody red with hints of lavender. Dimly, she could hear the beginning of a song Inuyasha had played pretty regularly while he cooked breakfast. Only for You by the Heartless Bastards. The speakers down below which had just been playing some 80's pop song were now projecting the song that made her heart beat faster and faster. She thought of their mornings together and their nights. Of course, he had arranged this. Kagome just knew it.
"Why can't we ever have a conversation without one of us getting upset?"
Inuyasha sighed and sat down next to her. "Was your date with Kikyo better?"
Kagome smiled without realizing it. "We had a really wonderful time. It was…nice."
"Nicer than this?"
She gasped as his lips touched hers and he swallowed her protests, kissing her resistance away.
"We can't, I promised—"
Inuyasha pulled her onto his lap and gave her a hard kiss. "That bitch isn't going to dictate when I can and cannot touch you. You're going to be mine when this over, Kagome, understand? I didn't go into this planning on losing. Who do you think recommended her for that job in Spain?"
His hands pushed her hips down onto him and she felt how hard he was, moaning without meaning to. Being so close to him like this after what felt like forever had her responding immediately, all thoughts of Kikyo and promises pushed away by desire. Together they fumbled to undo his pants and push aside her panties, and she sank down on him inch by inch, taking his thick length slowly. He hadn't felt this big the last time. How long had it been, again? How had she found the will to stay away from him, from this?
Inuyasha widened his legs and thrust up into her with a growl, impatient. She cried out at the sudden fullness and gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into the cotton of his shirt. Adjusting to his ferocity again took only half a second and soon she was clawing at his clothes, managing to rip a couple buttons off, not really noticing or caring. All she wanted was to taste his skin, to have more of him fill her. Kagome bit his shoulder as she ran her palms up his abdomen and chest, sanity returning to her when he went still beneath her.
"What is it?" she asked, wondering if somehow she'd managed to hurt him.
"Fuck," he hissed, his hold on her hips tightening. "Don't move. Fuck."
The roughness of his voice had her quivering around him and she deliberately disobeyed his order, rocking her hips and squeezing him, kissing along his jaw. Before she could realize what was happening, she was on her back on the floor with Inuyasha still inside of her. The wind had been knocked out of her but that hardly dimmed her lust. Inuyasha seemed furious and larger than life, his eyes flashing red. With longer, sharper, deadlier claws, he tugged down her tank top until her breasts were exposed, ripping the fabric in the process. Pinching her nipple, he ran his fangs along her throat, his tongue snaking out to lick a hot trail of sin.
"I could bite you, too. Right here. Make you mine. Forever."
Kagome groaned. "Do whatever you want, but fuck me first!"
He started to laugh but it soon turned into a moan. Seeming to have himself under control (though just barely), he started to thrust again, hard and deep, going slower than he had earlier, building up until they were the same as before. His longer claws and fangs still hadn't completely receded back to normal. Inuyasha hid his face in the crook of her shoulder. She didn't realize what he was doing at first, but her suspicions were confirmed when she tugged him up by the hair and he refused to meet her eyes. Rolling her own, she brought him down for a kiss. They stayed like that, trading kisses until they were finished.
Afterward, Inuyasha was flat on his back recovering while Kagome continued pressing her lips to his skin, everywhere she could reach, over and over. Now that they had cooled down and could think again, she wondered how she had been so stupid as to fuck him in the decaying metal monstrosity that looked like it would collapse if the wind blew the wrong way.
"This was a bad idea," he said lazily, stroking her hair. "Never wanna move…"
"Glad I brought a sweater. My shirt's ripped to shreds."
Despite that, neither of them could stop smiling.
Not even when they left the ride and Inuyasha handed the leering carnie a handful of bills. She glared at him briefly, but then he laughed and kissed her hand, holding it as they walked away, and she decided to just let it go.
"I'm guessing Kikyo took you to that place out by the school?" Inuyasha asked as they approached a food truck. "I bought her that as a wedding present. She loves fixer-uppers." His expression turned grim.
"That much is obvious," she said teasingly, hoping she didn't reveal how desperately she wanted to bring him away from thoughts of his wife.
He smirked at her. "Well, we're getting burgers."
"And fries! I'm not a cheap date. I deserve a little extra for letting you get your way in the ferris wheel."
He ordered for them without even looking at the cashier, not releasing the hold he had on her hand even to fish his wallet out of his back pocket. Once their food was done, they carried it to a nearby bench. Drunk on lust or love or whatever it was she was feeling, Kagome briefly pictured the two of them feeding each other. No, she doubted they'd ever get to that point of ooey gooey lovey dovey madness.
"Why'd you bite me?" he asked abruptly just as she bit down into her burger.
Her face colored. "Uh, heat of the moment? I just wanted to…feel you like that."
He nodded. "I thought it was a little too soon…"
"Too soon for what?"
Inuyasha put down his food and studied her face for a few seconds like she was a piece of art on display and he was a student that had to read into her to get a good grade.
"Mating. Ever heard of it?"
She shook her head in the negative.
"It's a secret demons don't talk about unless they're absolutely certain they've found the right partner."
Kagome's heart began to beat faster than she believed was healthy, anxiety and anticipation and hope swirling together into one undecipherable, borderline painful mess.
"What is it?"
"Would you be open to being with me forever?"
She didn't think that it was too soon. She didn't think about Kikyo. She didn't think about her family or school or what it would mean to completely change everything and live with him, for him, forever. She only thought of his eyes and his rare smiles.
"How?"
"It's a bite, like what almost happened back there." His own face flushed a little as he seemed to recall how he'd responded to her teeth on his skin. "There's a whole bunch of magic and blood and whatever, but when it's over we would never be apart, not even in death. It's permanent. No take backs."
"Is it like vampires? Will biting me make me into you? Or will I still be human?"
The sound that escaped him was somewhere between a laugh and a snort. "It just connects our souls. Even more than they already are."
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why haven't you done this with Kikyo?"
Inuyasha sighed and twirled his fry in ketchup until it was completely coated before looking up at her. "I was working up the courage to ask her when she sprung the whole threesome thing on me. Looking back, I know it means that we were never supposed to make it that far."
"Well, what took you so long? Weren't you in love? Weren't you sure?" She wanted him to say he was never really in love with Kikyo, that the feelings he had for his wife were nothing like the ones he now had for her. Gods, she wanted him to say it.
"It's way more of a serious commitment than marriage. You can undo a marriage, you can't undo a mating. I needed to be completely sure she was it."
Kagome's eyes narrowed into a glare. "We've hardly known each other a fraction of the time you've known Kikyo. What makes this different?" Suspicion reared its ugly head again. What was she to them but a toy they each tried to take away from the other just to cause frustration? She was their trophy. Whoever she chose "won". Could she trust a single word that came out of his mouth? And what about Kikyo? Did she really intend to live with her, to marry her?
Inuyasha shrugged, annoyance crossing his features before they blanked. "Take it or leave it."
Balling up her napkin, she threw it to the center of the table, needing to move, to do something. "Stop acting so nonchalant about something so serious! It's like you only want to be with me because she hurt you and this is how you save face. I'm a person, Inuyasha. I'm not a thing. Don't use me."
In an instant, he was on the bench beside her, and all she could see was his face before her eyes closed of their own accord and his lips took hers, telling her things he didn't have the words to say. It lasted for only a moment, but it was so intense she couldn't breathe even after they parted.
"All I fucking want," he started, voice hoarse, pupils dilated. His forehead rested against hers and his hands came up to cup her cheeks. "All I fucking want is a normal life. With a normal wife and ten normal kids and a bunch of fucking pets and everything I never had and always wanted. Ever since I first saw you, something in your face told me you wanted that, too. And you want me in that perfect life, right there by your side, just like I want you."
Kagome didn't even know she was crying until his fingers brushed away her tears. Not trusting her voice at the moment, she kissed the palm of his hand and hid her face in his shoulder. For a while, they stayed like that, snuggled up on the bench in the middle of the quickly closing carnival.
"Your brother," she murmured after a long while. "Is he mated?"
"Nope. I don't know if he'll ever really settle down, but if he did, it would be with Rin. Kagura's already got a long lifespan. I think he likes Rin better, anyway. He'd never admit it, though. Bastard."
"Is it bad that I think their situation is weird when we're pretty much doing the same thing?"
Inuyasha laughed. "Nah, I think it's weird and I grew up like that."
Now that was interesting. It wasn't often he talked about his past. "What was that like?"
The corner of one side of his mouth turned down in a grimace. "Difficult. My dad had two wives, my mom and Sesshomaru's mom. It's pretty common in demon culture, especially if one is mated to a human. They feel obligated to have a full-demon partner in order to continue the bloodline. But I hated that bitch and she hated me. Caused a lot of problems. I think I was the reason she left. Sesshomaru hated me for that, but it changed once he met Rin."
"Wow." She couldn't think of anything to say, just shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"That's why I didn't like the idea of sharing Kikyo with someone else. I know how it causes problems. When intimate feelings like that are shared…they mean less." He sat up straighter and looked a little bit over her head, not meeting her eyes. "If you chose me, would it be hard? Not having Kikyo."
"Not if you made it worth my while," she said teasingly. The warmth of his body had done something to her and she wondered if the parking lot security would bother them should their car start a-rockin'.
Inuyasha's grin was easy but his eyes were burning with intensity. "I'm gonna make you feel like the only woman on the fucking planet. I'll be yours and you'll be mine."
Suddenly struck breathless again, it was almost like Kagome couldn't help kissing him, one long, chaste touch of her lips to his. The air was electric and she swore she heard bells. Suddenly scared of her feelings, she pulled away, a smile on her mouth when she saw the dazed look in his crossed eyes.
"It's getting late."
He nodded and they held hands all the way home.
Note: That was so sappy. I'm sorry this is brief and all, but it reached a point where I realized it was either gonna be this way or it wouldn't ever get done. Anyhoooo, like I mentioned before, I'm working on another story that I'll hopefully start posting right after this one, and it's gonna be AWESOME. Since I'm back in school and everything and I'm minoring in writing, I'll probably have some original works, too, and I may share my other pen name if I think anyone would be interested. Happy Thanksgiving! THIS YEAR WENT BY TOO FAST OMG.