Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 10: The Dinner

Inuyasha was edgy the next day. He knew Miroku kept wanting to tease him about the frown he was sporting, but the hanyo had silenced his best friend with a few murderous glares before any stupid comments could be made.

He wondered if Kagome would come to the bakery that night or if he should just meet her at the store…

Will she even still want me to walk her home? he wondered as he took out a tray of buns from the oven. Did I weird her out too much? It's not like she can blame me for being worried. She's the one that's been acting strange.

When six rolled around and the bakery closed, Inuyasha stayed downstairs in the kitchen.

Shippo was still grounded so he hadn't worked that day, and Miroku had left a few minutes early to go see Sango.

Inuyasha had a sneaking suspicion that Miroku had planned it out to leave Kagome and Inuyasha alone in the bakery again.

Joke's on him, Inuyasha mused as he cleaned out the fridge. I don't even know if she's coming by.

Before he could decide if he should wait at the bakery until eight or meet her at the store, he heard a knock on the front door.

Ears perking up, Inuyasha closed the refrigerator and walked out into the store.

Kagome was standing outside the bakery with her hood up and sunglasses on.

It's barely six, Inuyasha thought to himself as he walked over to open the door. What's she doing here?

"Hi," Inuyasha greeted when he opened the door for her. "Sorry, I didn't think you would be coming...uh, right now."

Kagome walked into the store and half-smiled.

"I worked a different shift today."

Inuyasha was more than a little confused about...everything.

"Do you...want me to walk you home like usual?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes. I also want to cook you dinner."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "You want to...what?" Kagome pulled her hood down and slid her sunglasses up onto her head.

"I want to cook you dinner," she repeated. "I feel bad that I left so suddenly the other night and that you walked all the way to my apartment in the freezing cold because I worried you. I have some stuff at my apartment I can make for us and, well, I want to do this for you."

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment, taking in the nearly desperate look on her face as she waited for him to answer.

"Okay," he finally replied. "I would really like that."

Kagome finally gave him a true smile. "Great! Do you want to go now or do you have other stuff to do? I don't sense Miroku or Shippo here. Have they already left?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, they're gone. We can go now."

Kagome smiled brightly and waited for Inuyasha to grab his things.

As the hanyo grabbed his jacket and keys, he thought back on what Kagome had said.

"I don't sense Miroku or Shippo here…"

Inuyasha frowned as he put his jacket on.

She doesn't sense them? he repeated silently. Does that mean she can sense auras? That's...not a common power for humans to have.

He figured she wouldn't give him an answer if he asked, just like she hadn't about her aura, so Inuyasha pushed it from his mind and focused on the night ahead.

He was excited.

When he locked the door behind himself and Kagome, he felt that familiar clench in his heart as they walked next to each other.

"So was everything okay the other night?" he asked. "At the bakery..."

Kagome hesitated. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting the...flames, and the brightness gave me an instant migraine."

Inuyasha glanced at her, wondering if that was the whole truth.

"That sucks," he replied. "I should've warned you before I lit it. Most people haven't seen that kind of oven before and it can be a little intimidating at first."

Kagome shook her head. "It's alright, really. So how was your day?"

Inuyasha took the change in subject in stride, completely willing to try and forget about what had happened.

By the time they reached Kagome's apartment building, the wind had picked up and even Inuyasha was starting to feel the cold.

He was grateful for the sudden warmth of the apartment lobby as he and Kagome headed upstairs.

Inuyasha wasn't expecting the punch of her scent when he walked into her apartment.

Once he'd followed her inside, he was immediately surrounded by her coconut and floral scent. He had to physically keep himself from breathing in deeply. Instead, he focused on looking around him.

Her apartment was very small, with only a few pieces of furniture in the single room that was half-living space and half-kitchenette. He saw a loveseat, a coffee table, a small table that looked like it belonged on a patio, and one chair. The cabinets in her kitchen were transparent glass, so he could see that she didn't own many dishes.

There were two closed doors off the living space, which Inuyasha assumed were her bedroom and a bathroom. He barely noticed that, though.

What stuck out the most to him was how cold the apartment was.

It wasn't as chilly as outside and didn't bother Inuyasha, but the hanyo wondered how Kagome could possibly live comfortably in the apartment when it felt like there wasn't any heat flowing through it at all.

"It's a bit small," Kagome admitted. "But it's...cozy, I guess. I'll make some tea for us before I start cooking, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded and went to sit down at her small table.

"I can only cook one thing," Kagome admitted as she put the kettle on. "I hope you like omelettes."

Inuyasha chuckled, his attention quickly being pulled by his observations of the apartment.

"Omelettes are great," he assured her. Kagome smiled again as she started grabbing the things she'd need to cook.

"Where did you learn to make them?" Inuyasha asked.

"Uh," Kagome began as she started cracking eggs into a pan. "My mom taught me when I was little. I was...ten, maybe? It was the only thing I didn't hate to cook." Inuyasha chuckled.

"So your skills in the kitchen are lacking?" he teased lightly. Kagome laughed.

"Just a bit," she replied with a smirk. "We can't all be you."

The smell of the seasonings mixing with the omelettes wafted through the air, reminding Inuyasha of how hungry he was. Kagome had come before he could start making dinner, so he was grateful she'd offered to cook.

When the omelettes were done, Kagome put them onto plates before grabbing two cups to put the tea in.

"I only have one chair," she said awkwardly, "so we'll have to sit on the loveseat. Is that okay?" Inuyasha nodded and stood up.

"Sure," he replied as he took his plate and cup of tea. "Thanks."

They sat down on the loveseat, which was fairly small but still gave them enough room to sit comfortably with their food.

Inuyasha took a bite of the omelette and barely stifled a moan.

"This is the best omelette I've ever had," he complimented sincerely. "It's so good."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it. You make so much anpan for me, so it's the least I could do."

"I like making anpan," Inuyasha replied. "So...it's good that you like eating it." Kagome laughed lightly.

"I definitely do."

They finished eating while keeping up a steady conversation about the customers Inuyasha had seen today and how Shippo had gotten grounded.

"Oh, my goodness!" Kagome exclaimed, amused, when Inuyasha told her what happened with Shippo. "He really did that?"

Inuyasha nodded. "I know he seems like he's always a perfect kid, but he can be a little snot sometimes." Kagome burst out laughing.

"I'm glad I've only seen the good side, then," Kagome said. Inuyasha smiled.

"His birthday is actually coming up next week," Inuyasha explained. "I think that's why his mom didn't ground him longer."

Kagome's eyes lit up. "Are you baking a cake for him?" At Inuyasha's nod, she squealed quietly.

"Can I help you with it?"

Inuyasha nodded again. "Sure. You should come over when we celebrate with him. It's just going to be me, Miroku, and Shippo, but I'm sure he would love it if you could come." Inuyasha blushed. "Um...I would like it if you could come, too."

Kagome was sporting a very similar blush. "Sure, I'll come. What day?"

"Saturday," Inuyasha replied. "His actual birthday is next Friday, but we're celebrating on Saturday when he's off school and the bakery is closed. He'll be with his parents that night to have their own celebration, so that's when I'm making the cake so he won't see it. If you want to stay at the bakery to help for a while before we walk back here, that might be fun."

Kagome smiled excitedly. "That all sounds great. I'm so excited!" She reached out and took Inuyasha's hand. "Thank you for inviting me."

Inuyasha had to physically attempt to keep himself from blushing as he held Kagome's hand firmly in his.

"Of course we invited you, woman," he said. "We always want you around." Kagome's smile was small, but Inuyasha could tell how much his words meant to her.

o.O.o

A couple hours later after they'd washed the dishes and talked a while longer on the couch, Inuyasha decided he should head out.

Kagome walked with him to the door before smiling up at him after she'd opened it.

"This might be stupid because I haven't asked sooner," Inuyasha said before saying good night. "But could we swap phone numbers? I realized we haven't done that…"

Kagome nodded. "Of course. Do you have your phone? I can put my number in and you can just text me that it's you." Inuyasha pulled out his phone and opened the contacts app before handing it to Kagome.

She handed it back to him after putting her information in.

"Thanks," Inuyasha said as he put the phone back in his pocket. "See you tomorrow?" Kagome nodded.

"Tomorrow," she echoed.

The temptation was too great with her smiling at him like that, so Inuyasha reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Kagome hugged him back tightly, and Inuyasha remembered the first time they'd hugged after he gave her the coat.

He held her longer than he probably should have, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

When he finally let her go, he smiled.

"Good night," he said.

"Good night," she replied.

It was a long while before he stopped smiling.

o.O.o

Inuyasha should have expected that Miroku would be waiting for him when he got home, he really should have, but his best friend still managed to surprise him from his perch on the couch.

"How did it go with Kagome?" Miroku asked immediately.

Inuyasha frowned. "How do you even know that I was with her?"

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Sango has to work early tomorrow so we called it a night around nine. You weren't here when I got back, so I made some assumptions. Judging by the look on your face, I think it's safe to say you were with Kagome."

Inuyasha grimaced. "Yes, fine. I was with her. She cooked me dinner because she felt bad about leaving the other night."

Miroku grinned. "Uh-huh. So was it a date?"

Inuyasha froze. Was it? We didn't really label it, but after that hug...I think maybe it was.

"I'm not sure," Inuyasha admitted. "I kinda think it was...maybe? Anyway, she's going to come next Saturday to celebrate Shippo's birthday with us."

"That's great!" Miroku exclaimed. "I'm sure Shippo will love that."

"Yeah, I'm going to bed now."

Miroku chuckled as Inuyasha went to the bathroom to get ready for bed before heading into his bedroom.

When the door was shut, he pulled out his phone to text Kagome.

Hey, it's Inuyasha.

A moment later, his phone pinged.

Hey, it's Kagome.

Inuyasha chuckled.

Funny. Good night again.

Good night.

After setting his alarm for the next morning, Inuyasha plopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

It was a long while before he fell asleep with a certain pair of blue eyes shining in his mind.

O.o.O.o.O

Kagome was still buzzing long after Inuyasha left.

She wrapped herself in her coat and curled up under her blanket, the warmth of Inuyasha's embrace still permeating her body.

Was that a date? It definitely felt like a date...and I kind of meant it as one…

Regardless of whether it was a date or not, she knew she was in deep with him.

It scared her to open up to him, to let him get so close to her.

But she trusted him and Miroku and Shippo, and now that there was something real blooming between herself and Inuyasha, Kagome wanted to let herself be happy.

She was already getting there.

To be continued…

:)

Much love.