It has indeed been a long time since I've updated. Summer is over and now I might be in possession of more free time.
Under One Sky
Chapter 11
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Once a month Kouga invited all his buddies over for a tasting of the new products from his laboratory. Many strange disasters have been avoided. For instance, two months ago they were trying out a glow in the dark vodka. At first it seemed like a great idea; perfect for clubs. That was until they realized that when consumed in large amounts your pee would glow in the dark as well. Naturally they were all excited about that as well, but the FDA disapproved.
This time around Kouga brought a new tequila they were working to market towards the premium market. A strong showing reflected the excitement in the air. This was going to be the best boys night to date.
"Ok you all know the rules, if you want to drink you must surrender your car keys, and your phones." Kouga was very strict when it came to mixing drinking and driving. A good friend of his in university hit a deer while driving home drunk with Kouga in the car. It served as a reminder of the dangers of the road. Surrendering the phones became a tradition soon after they began their tasting parties. On several occasion members of their group would wake up the next day with no recollection only to realize that they drunk called or texted somebody. So they cut the problem off at the source.
One by one the guys went about placing their possessions in a basket. When the turn came to Miroku he dropped his keys and passed the basket to Inuyasha.
"Come on man! Not again." Exclaimed Inuyasha, "You do this every damned time."
"I have important clients that need me at all times of the day. There is no way I can surrender my phone." Protested Miroku.
"Look at it this way." Reasoned Kouga, "What use are you going to be to them drunk. Even if you answer your phone all they will get is you yelling at them for being idiots."
At that moment Miroku's phone began ringing. He jumped up and picked it up after digging it out of his pocket. "Miroku speaking." After a moment of listening to the person on the other line his face became serious. "I understand. Where exactly are you? Ok, I'm on my way."
He hung up and turned to Kouga. "Looks like the fun is over." Miroku went over to the basket with the keys and phones and picked his keys up. "Inuyasha, Kouga, you guys might want to tag along. I promise you are going to laugh for a very long time."
… … …
The rest of their lunch went uninterrupted. Kagome got to clear up some questions regarding the direction that Sesshoumaru wanted the mural to go, and he in turn got a preview of the work.
They now were back in the lobby waiting for the valet to bring around Sesshoumaru's car.
"Do you just leave it here like that all the time?" Asked Kagome. It struck her as odd that they took a taxi here. She was not surprised to find out that he indeed did drive.
"No. There was a benefit here last night." Sesshoumaru answered, his tone a lot less sarcastic after their business meeting. "After a few drinks I decided that it would be wiser for me to take a club car home."
"I'd have thought a fancy place like this would send someone to take you home in your car." To Kagome it seemed so logical, but apparently not to him. He gave her a side glare and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you go and try to make me seem like a snob. It takes a lot of hard work to enjoy such luxuries." He turned away from her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If you continue to pretend to hate my bourgeois ways then I won't bother giving you a ride back to the site."
She put her hands up and shook her head. "Geeze, just trying to make conversation. No need to bite my head off for an offhand comment."
A silver Mercedes G500 rounded the bend. The driver pulled up, hopped out and with a bow motioned for Sesshoumaru to take the wheel. Another valet attendant appeared to open the passenger side door for Kagome.
She slid into the car and squealed. Her hands began roaming around the interior. Nothing escaped her touch. Every surface got caressed, every button her fingers could reach got pressed, and every compartment got inspected by her. She twisted in her seat to look at the back of the vehicle. Sesshoumaru immediately realized what was the matter. He was just as excited when he first got the car. Only difference was that he held his excitement long enough to revel in the wonders of the car all alone.
"Sit down woman. Buckle yourself in." She settled into the seat but continued to fiddle with the buttons. He gently smacked her hand as she was reaching for the onboard computer. "Must I remind you to keep your hands off my car?" She instantly brought her hands to her chest. To get on his good side she put on a puppy face, lower lip in a pout.
Ignoring her he shifted the car to drive. "The site is on my way back to the office, so I'll drop you off there."
"That works." She said, still a little sore from getting scolded. They drove in silence. Sesshoumaru did not bother to turn on the radio to drown out the silence with its droning. Kagome's hands were itching to touch something, anything. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. She had done the same thing many times with Bankotsu. After an argument, with the radio off, she would act as if she was absolutely fine and relaxed. Assuming that they were the only one tense, the other person would become a tense, nervous wreck. The silence of the car acted as an accelerant to fuel the fire of their unease.
There was no way she was going to let him get the best of her. A plan of action came into her head. "Stop! Stop, stop!" her sudden yelling rang out in the quietness of the car. "Pull over! Right now!" She frantically pointed to the curb.
Sesshoumaru was a little surprised at her outburst and immediately complied with her command. "What happened?" He appeared concerned. She received a once over from him. Nothing seemed out of place with her, at least as far as he could tell. "Is something wrong?"
Kagome shrugged, unbuckled herself and shook her head, "No, we just almost passed a Starbucks." She opened her car door, but didn't get out. "I really need my mint tea. Hope you don't mind stopping by on the way. Too late too ask since you already stopped."
"Christ woman! I thought something was wrong." He exclaimed, "I thought I ran over a squirrel or something. Control your reactions a bit."
"You've run over a squirrel before?!" She pretended to be appalled. When she got her first car, on her way home from work at night, she ran over a raccoon. She cried for two days. Nobody to this day knew about the incident, and she wanted to keep it that way. It didn't stop her from pulling Sesshoumaru's leg. "How cruel. I know that youkai are cold blooded killers, but an innocent squirrel. What did it ever do to you?" She scratched the back of her head, knit her brows together, and glanced at him accusingly "Wait, it sounds like it has happened more that once." She stretched a silence and shot him a dirty look. "Are you a squirrel serial killer?"
The best way to describe how Sesshoumaru felt at the moment was astonished. He sat in his seat looking at her the entire time she went on about squirrels. It was difficult to the tell whether she really was upset. All this could have been another one of her games. She seemed to have many, so he chose to play along.
"Yes, it is a secret hobby of mine." To make his point he tossed her a wink and placed his finger upon his lips as if sharing a top secret. "Oh and while you are at Starbucks, get me a tall soy americano. I'll be waiting here."
Kagome winked back, realizing that he caught on to her. "I knew it. I'll be back in a flash." She reached into the car and snatched his cell phone from its resting place beside him. "And that is so that you don't drive off without me."
With a shake of his head Sesshoumaru watched her run back down the street towards the coffee shop. True to her word, he caught sight of her in the rearview mirror, walking with the drinks soon after. She placed a cup on the roof of the car as she opened the door. In what he now realized was her typical fashion, she left it up there as she closed the door.
"Here is your tall soy americano." Kagome handed him his drink. She then proceeded to scratch her head and look around. She blew out a frustrated sigh, "I swear I bought myself a drink and brought it to the car. I must be going crazy." Her arms flew up in frustration. The urge to step on the gas and show her where she left her drink behind was only defeated by Sesshoumaru's deep love for his car. As much fun as it would be to see her mortified, he would not do it as to keep his precious baby clean.
"You left it on the roof of the car." His words came out sounding banal. As if it was the most obvious thing.
"Oh shit." Kagome made swift work retrieving it.
"Aha." He started the car again and shifted it into drive. The air in the car seemed much calmer and more relaxed now that Kagome has her tea to hind behind. She saw a squirrel out the window in the park.
At the top of her lungs she screamed, "Squirrel!" Her arm shot out to point at the squirrel in the park, which was to the left of the car. This caused Sesshoumaru to jerk his arm away and in a flash hot liquid was soaking into the front of his shirt and pants.
Instantly Sesshoumaru pressed swerved the car and slammed the break. The heat was searing his skin. To add to his distress, the was suddenly strongly hit from behind, followed by another shove.
… … …
Did not have time to read this over.
I have a feeling I moved their relationship a little too fast, but they did need to get in some trouble. Dun dun dun.
Please don't hesitate to leave a review if you had any opinion about it at all.
