AUTHOR'S NOTES: A little bit of a shorter chapter that can come across perhaps a little boring until the end but I just NEEDED some fluff ok? Last chapter was whooooo boyyyy a lot.
I hope you enjoy this lil baby chapter and look forward to the next one. Who knows...maybe it'll come out a week early.
Blurry vision was blinked away as Kagome began to return to the land of the wakeful. Expecting to see the sun peeking through the blinds, she found the broad back of her boyfriend in front of her. Going to move her arm, she realized that it was draped over his waist, their fingers interlocked and preventing her from moving. With her leg hitched and resting over his hip, she drew in a deep breath before releasing it and nuzzling her head into him. It felt good to wake up and know he'd stayed, that he didn't suddenly decide to make a break for it.
Pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade, she tried to take her hand back, only to feel his grip tighten. Pairing that with the sudden twitching of his ears told Kagome that he was awake, or at least on his way to being so. "My arm's asleep," she murmured in a light, though rather sleepy, tone.
"Yeah? Well, now you know how I feel when you sleep on mine all night," he countered in a familiar husky, sleep-filled voice that always seemed to hit her differently. It was surprising to Kagome to hear him speak more than their typical conversations. The ones where she would speak on full sentences and her boyfriend would reply in grunts and one word answers.
Her hanyou boyfriend.
Thoughts of the night before came flooding in and, as painful as they were, it had brought about something with so much more - a sense of growth within their relationship. With a breathy giggle, she tried to pull her hand away, only to feel Inuyasha squeeze tight once again, "Quit it," he scolded, Kagome's giggle continuing as she wiggled her fingers in his grasp.
"No. I want my hand back!" she playfully argued, only to feel a gentle nip against the tips of one of those wiggling fingers, "Ow!"
"I said quit it," he chided before finally moving to roll onto his opposite side, wanting to face her. Kagome adjusted as necessary, though it wasn't much, lifting her leg up to make it easier for him to move only to put it back hitched over his hip.
When their gazes met, Inuyasha felt breathless, relieved at the sight of her. He had half a mind to think that it was a dream and the reality of the situation was that they'd ended their relationship the night before. But there she was, sleepy-eyed and content with his presence, warm affection etched into her features in the form of a smile. It was only then that he let go of her hand, but only to adjust it to a more comfortable position, "How's it feel to be little spoon?" Kagome teased, pulling their intertwined hands against her chest.
"More like wearin' a jetpack, you tiny woman."
A warm laugh left her, enveloping the hanyou and soothing any of the open wounds that had lingered in his heart from the night before, "You like me being tiny," she countered, seeing her boyfriend's smile morph into a grin. She wasn't wrong; he loved having her tiny and easy to maneuver for reasons beyond the obvious.
Silence fell between them then, expressions softening as it seemed both of them began to think back to the night before.
Inuyasha had fallen asleep on the couch, Kagome allowing him to stay cuddled against her until late into the night. They'd both had an emotional day and she could only assume that type of day was much more draining for the man atop of her than any physically draining day would. Yet, when she felt her legs start to go numb, she looked at her phone to find it was two in the morning and decided it was time to wake him.
As heart wrenching as it was to pull him from such a peaceful state, she'd done so gently, adoring the look of sleepiness on his face as he let out a soft whine and tried to convince her to stay where they were.
They'd helped each other undress, Kagome taking the shirt he was wearing to pull over herself to sleep in. Inuyasha stripped down to nothing before taking a pair of sweats that he kept at her place and pulled them up over his hips. Once they made it back to bed, Kagome watched as he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. She didn't have long to wait before sleep claimed her, as well.
"How're you feeling?" she suddenly asked, scanning over his features. A part of him didn't understand the question, but a larger part knew exactly what she was asking. What had happened the night was outside of anything he'd ever done; he tore out his heart, cracks and all, and placed it before her to make the decision to take it. What Kagome had done was beyond what he'd expected, she took it in her hands and promised to take care of it, nurture it, "Y'know. About last night?"
What answer could he give? He'd promised to be honest with her and not keep things from her. Words were still a challenge, that wouldn't change overnight and the only reason he'd been able to tell her anything he had the night before was because everything had come to a head. His brain had gone into auto-pilot, driven by rage and frustration, and his mouth followed suit.
"Relieved?" he replied even though it seemed he was highly unsure of his answer. However, the more he sat on the word, the more and more it felt right. His chest felt less heavy, his shoulders holding less tension in them - she'd given him a sense of freedom he hadn't felt in any relationship. She knew the darkest parts of him now, and she stayed. In fact, she told him to stay with her. There was nothing left to hide, "Haven't scared you off, have I?"
With a soft giggle, she brought their hands to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand before shaking her head, "Takes a bit more than that to scare me off," she murmured against his hand, "In fact-" Releasing his hand, she inched herself closer to him so she could wrap her arm around his neck. Pressing her chest against his, the warm weight of his arm circling her waist brought her just that much closer to the point where their faces were a breath apart. Never did her gaze break from his, wanting him to understand the genuineness in her next words, "I think it brought us closer together, wouldn't you say?"
"Kagome," he started, taking his arm from her waist to cup her cheek, as if to ensure that she kept her gaze on his, "What I told you last night, I've never told anyone."
"Anyone?" she repeated, eyes widening slightly before they softened at the head shake he gave her, "Thank you for telling me," she murmured, pressing a gentle, chaste kiss to his lips, "Even if it was unconventional."
It hurt his heart to know he'd unloaded everything onto her the way he had, "I'm so sorry, Kagome..." he stated earnestly, brushing her bangs from her face and running his hand over the crown of her head until it rested at the nape of her neck, "I meant what I said when I told you I don't deserve you."
"And I told you that you don't get to tell me what I do and don't deserve," she replied instantly while pressing another kiss to his lips, "I meant what I said, too. I love you as a half-demon. I love you. You. As you are."
God. She was perfect. A woman who had managed to fall in love with him - him - flaws and all. No one had ever asked him to stay or told him they weren't going to let him leave. It had been a first for him and of course she'd been the one to do it.
"I love you, Kagome…" he replied, letting the words leave him effortlessly as he brought her head closer to his to capture her lips in a deep, languid kiss, "How I feel about you...I've never felt with anyone else." Kagome sank into the taste of him, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck as she drew herself tighter against him. The leg hitched on his hip slinked down to tangle itself with his own as she felt him flip them so he was on top of her.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, their kisses continued, each one slow and savoured as Kagome kept her arms wrapped around his neck in an effort to keep him as close to her as possible. Inuyasha's arm remained behind her head, letting her rest on it while his opposite hand ran down the length of her side and over her leg, gripping behind her thigh as encouragement for her to keep them there. They'd almost lost each other the night before, one wrong move leaving them with the absence of the other in their lives. It made both of them desperate to be closer. Even with how close they were in that moment, it still wasn't enough.
"I was so scared I'd lost you last night…" Kagome breathed, hips pressing upward against his, "I couldn't let you walk through that door."
"Fuck, Kagome…" he groaned against her, heart wrenching at the sound of those words. She'd made it seem like she would have been the reason he'd have left, "It would've been one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made," he replied while matching the motion of her hips. The whimper that had been drawn from her lips gave Inuyasha all he needed to know when it came to them being on the same page.
Dipping his head down, he trailed his kisses over her jawline and down her neck as Kagome tilted her head to the side to give him better access, "Inuyasha…" she whined, gentle and soft, pleading for more of him, "Please…"
It was desperate and needy, but at the same time tender and slow in pace as Inuyasha pushed down the front of his boxers while Kagome reached between them to push her underwear to the side. With their gazes locked he made sure the union was slow. Sheathing himself to the hilt, Kagome drew in a ragged gasp of contentment before releasing it with a high pitched moan. It felt like a relief to have him inside her, the two of them as close to one another as they possibly could be. Taking his free hand, he cupped her cheek as he started with a slow, deliberate roll of his hips, drawing another sweet gasp from the woman beneath him. Unwinding her arms, she placed her hands on his neck, wanting to keep his gaze as they basked in their union.
There was no rush to find a means to an end, each motion done with the journey in mind but no destination. Each motion was matched fluidly as the two of them shared slow, meaningful kisses and whispered sweet nothings to one another in between. It was completely unlike anything they'd done before, the action holding a different name than what they usually did. Kagome realized she'd never made love before, Inuyasha doing the same, but they both knew that was exactly what it was.
And when they did find their ends, it was together with lips locked and hearts open as both of them understood just how big of ìa step they'd taken in their relationship together.
It wasn't until late afternoon that Kagome finally felt she needed to get out of bed, Inuyasha trying to convince her otherwise but she knew she was getting hungry. It reminded her of their first morning after, cooking him late brunch while they two of them tried to maneuver the awkward conversations explaining their relationship between both of their friends.
Having remained dressed in his shirt, she climbed off the bed while grabbing her phone. A part of her thought it would be best to just ignore it, but when she turned it on and saw the amount of times Sango had tried to message her, she was glad she'd at least looked. Kagome wasn't surprised, as it had been Sango who had dropped the bomb on her and provided the catalyst for the fight that happened the night before.
Inuyasha struggled with letting her leave his arms, not wanting her out of his sight, let alone his touch. If he had it his way, he'd make sure they stayed at each other's place for the next week, if only to remind himself that she was still there and they'd made it through something he never thought would happen.
"Sure you don't wanna come down with me?"
Kagome lifted her head from her screen then, watching him climb off her side of the bed to end up standing in front of her. A soft smile pulled at her lips at how he asked with the intent to tease but let the true genuine nature of it slip through, "I'll still be here when you get back," she reassured, pushing herself up on her toes while Inuyasha met her half way by craning his head down to capture her lips in a slow, tender kiss.
When they broke away, Kagome back on her heels, she kept her head craned back to keep her attention on his face, "Besides, I gotta check through my socials before you distract me too much," she teased, feeling his lips press to her forehead lovingly. Closing her eyes, she basked in the feel of the kiss, smile warm and wide as she rested a hand on his chest. Kagome wasn't too keen on being apart from him, either but she needed food and he'd offered to go pick up from her favourite place around the block.
"When I get back, though," he started, pulling away to look down at the phone in her hands, "That is off for the rest of the day."
Gesturing to the phone in her hand, his words weren't posed as a question but a command. The authority in his voice had a shiver run up Kagome's spine, though she hid it as well as she could with a playful roll of her eyes, "Yes, sir." If it had been any other time, he would have made her fully understand that title; but now was not the time. They were still emotionally charged and drained at the same time, exhausted but on edge.
"Smartass," he chided as he pulled away to get changed, missing Kagome's tongue sticking out from her mouth at him, mocking childishly. It felt good to fool around with him in that light, bringing about a comfort that they would be back to how they were before soon enough. Well, if he kept up his end of the bargain.
"No more secrets. No more keeping things from me."
Pulling on his cap backward and tossing on his shirt, he left his joggers on with little attempt to make an effort when it came to his appearance. He'd be back within twenty minutes tops, he assumed, as it was later in the day when most people were at some form of nine to five. Walking out of the bedroom, Kagome followed suit, though in a much more casual fashion than he did. Arms were folded but more so against her ribs as the two of them walked towards the door.
The two of them paused in the kitchen, seeing the shattered mug and the hole in the wall. The tightness in Inuyasha's chest was imminent, attempting to swallow back the guilt that bubbled up in his throat. Kagome stopped as well, seeing the look on his face and placing a comforting hand on his arm, "I'll buy you a new mug," she heard him say, causing her to offer a reassuring smile.
"I didn't like it that much, anyway," she countered, wrapping her arms around his bicep and pressing a kiss to his shoulder, "You are paying to get the drywall fixed, though."
That had gone without saying, Inuyasha was embarrassed by committing such an aggressive action. Taking his free hand, he reached across his own chest to her head, hands cradling the back of it as he placed a kiss to the crown of it, "I'll fix it myself," he murmured against her hair, "I'll also clean it up when I get back."
The remorse in his tone was duly noted, pulling her head from him to peer up towards his face, "Foot rubs for a month," she suddenly started, having Inuyasha look down at her with confusion before it dawned on him, "Any time I want."
There was no rolling of his eyes, not scoff of disapproval, just a nod followed by a gentle kiss to her forehead, "You got it." At that point, he'd blindly do anything she asked of him with zero hesitation.
Unwrapping her arms and freeing him, they continued their path to the door. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she watched as he pulled on his shoes and tugged on his pull-over before making sure he had his wallet and keys, "Alright, I'll be back soon," he stated through a sigh, watching as Kagome took a step towards him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her lips, letting it linger for a few moments before managing to break away.
"Don't take too long," Kagome hummed, offering another one of her addictive smiles as he returned it with a lopsided smirk.
"Could always come with me," he countered, only to feel her gently push on his chest with a playful grin, "Fine," he conceded begrudgingly before pressing one more small kiss to her lips and pulling away from her completely, "Bye, babygirl."
"Bye, babe," she replied, watching as he stepped out the door and closed it behind him.
Damn. She missed him already.
She remained in the kitchen for the time being, moving to lean on the island as she called Sango, having seen the carefully worded texts of inquiry regarding the night before. Kagome didn't blame Sango for worrying, Kagome herself would have been in the same boat if Sango and Miroku were having similar issues.
"Kagome!" Sango stated exasperatedly, "How'd it go? Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Kagome explained immediately, "It got a little...heated," she hoped that was the right word that gave an appropriate impression, "But he explained some things and I-" Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose, "I know why he did what he did but, I made him promise to not keep things like that from me."
"I'm happy you two figured it out, even though I still think he's an idiot," Sango's tone was slightly edged by the end of the sentence, "Is he still over?"
"Just getting us breakfast. I had to go through some emails for work and figured it'd be a good time to do that so he wasn't bored." Pushing herself off the island, she folded her free arm across her chest, resting her hand in the knook of the bent elbow, the same hand holding the phone, "We're better than before, Sango," Kagome finally stated, the smile on her face translating in her words.
Sango felt a sense of relief, "Good. Tell me more later. I won't keep you."
"Will do," Kagome agreed before the two of them gave goodbyes and hung up.
Walking out of the kitchen, she made her way to her filming room before flopping down at her desk chair and opening up her laptop. If she wanted to get her work done quickly, she always stuck to her filming room, finding it to feel more like an 'office' than anywhere else in the house.
Making his way to her favourite cafe, Inuyasha suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket. Pulling it out, he expected to see Kagome's name, maybe asking for something additional to what she'd already told him, but saw Miroku's instead.
Jaw clenched as he swiped the green phone icon to right and placed it to where his ears would have been, should he be human, "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, Miroku," he immedately snarled against the phone, stopping in the middle of the rather empty sidewalk.
"I didn't do anything!" Miroku defended rather seriously, "In fact, I tried to get Sango to stop!" The last thing Miroku wanted was for Inuyasha to not trust him, even though what Inuyasha had been keeping from Kagome was rather untrustworthy on the hanyou's part. Inuyasha didn't even know why he was so angry - it had all worked out for the better in the end. Maybe it was just the principal of the matter, that Miroku was there at the time of the conversation between Kagome and Sango.
"Oh yeah, seems like you tried real hard!" Inuyasha countered, hearing a heavy sigh from Miroku on the other end of the phone.
"So, it didn't go well, I take it?"
Inuyasha backed off then, feeling rather stupid for his outburst when he gave his answer, "No, it went to shit but turned around and ended up better than I hoped," Inuyasha stated honestly, shoving his free hand into his jean pocket as he began his route towards the cafe once again.
Miroku was confused by that statement, needing a moment to try and understand but coming up short, "Wait. So, are you and Kagome…" he trailed off, letting Inuyasha finish the sentence and was, honestly, surprised by the answer.
"Good. Better than good," he admitted, the edge of his tone falling off as he continued, "I'm just pickin' us up some breakfast. I dunno what I did to convince her to keep me around but," he shrugged and, even though Miroku couldn't see him, he could mentally picture it.
"It's probably because you told her the truth," Miroku paused, leaning back in his office chair to peek outside of his cubicle, making sure no management was around to catch him talking on his personal phone, "You did tell her the truth, right?"
"Yeah, Miroku. I told her the truth, the whole truth and nothin' but the truth. What is this, some sort of trial?" Inuyasha snapped, trying his best to reel in his irritation knowing deep down that Miroku hadn't done anything to him, not really. It was Sango who had told Kagome, not Miroku.
"I just want to know if I need to keep my mouth shut or not," Miroku countered, holding his own slight edge, though still keeping his overall calm demeanor. Inuyasha felt a pang of guilt for that, releasing a deep sigh before carrying on his honesty from the night before.
"I told her more than I've even told you, if that says anything."
That almost had Miroku fall back in his chair, brows lifted with shock, "Pardon?"
"I didn't mean to. It just sorta...slipped out," trying to downplay the reality of him literally unloading his trauma onto her.
"Slipped out?"
Inuyasha ran his hand over his face out of frustration, "Look, 'm sorry I snapped at you. Kagome and I are fine. Y'don't needa pussyfoot around her anymore."
If Miroku was being honest, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, having never truly enjoyed the idea of keeping things from Kagome or watching what he said around her. It was even harder when it came to Sango and, thankfully, it had never come down to putting their relationship in jeopardy but there had been some heated discussions around Miroku not answering his girlfriend's questions outright.
"I'm happy for you, friend. She's good for you, makes you apologize. It's a nice surprise," Miroku teased, hearing the hanyou scoff on the other end of the phone.
"Don't get used to it," the hanyou muttered, though with a twinge of amusement behind his words.
Rounding the corner to the cafe, Inuyasha pulled the door open before stepping inside and heading to the front counter, "I gotta go."
Just as Inuyasha said that, Miroku could see his manager coming around the corner, "Same. See you Friday."
Opening up her email, she went through a few brand offers that her managers had sent over for her to approve or deny. Some were easy, with an instant approval or denial, but some she needed to ask for more information or make a counter offer. When she was halfway through her email, she stopped to check through her socials, starting with Instagram. Opening her recent notes, she could see someone had gone through and liked every single one of her photos. That wasn't necessarily strange, but uncommon. Moving to her DMs, she noticed the same person had sent a request to send her a message, his profile picture of a decently attractive man who seemed to present himself well.
The look of him had her thinking not much of it, only to open the message and find it rather cryptic. How many messages like these did she get in a month? Too many to count.
Rolling her eyes, she deleted the message and moved on through her inbox, replying casually through those she felt necessary before responding to comments. Moving through the rest of her socials, she finished off with YouTube, responding to comments on her latest video. Seemed like she'd made good time, as she was even able to go back to finishing her email inbox before feeling the familiar figure of her boyfriend standing behind her.
"Email that interesting that you didn't hear me come in?" The question was met with his arms wrapping around her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her neck. Humming contently, Kagome rested her hands on his forearms and caressed them with her thumbs.
"Sorry, just wanted to make sure I had nothing to distract me," she replied honestly, feeling his lips trail over her jawline before she turned her head towards him to give him a welcoming kiss.
"You're done though, right?" he asked against her lips, giving her one more peck before straightening and seeing her give an answering nod. It was then that she saw him hold out his hand, gesturing for her to give him something. Kagome gave a look of confusion, peering down to his hand then back up to his face as she climbed to her feet, "Gimme the phone."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Give it. You're not workin' anymore today," his voice held a very real seriousness to it, telling Kagome to obey his request. There was little she would deny him of at that point, placing the phone in his hand. She was rewarded with him reaching his free hand out to cup her chin, thumb running over her lower lip, "Good girl, baby." It wasn't meant to rile up but to give simple praise, seeing the desired effect on Kagome's face when her eyes went soft as she leaned into his touch, "Let's eat."
For the next week or so, the two of them didn't spend more than eight hours away from one another, and that was only because Inuyasha had to work. Even then, Kagome would drive him to and from work so it wouldn't keep them apart for longer than necessary. The very real possibility of having almost lost one another had them needing to be around each other, as if they could be taken from each other at any moment.
Today was no different, Kagome sitting in her Audi as she waited for her boyfriend to wrap up closing the shop for the night.
[SMS received from: MechDaddy ?] - come wait inside babe (seen ✔️)
[SMS sending to: MechDaddy ?] - i'm okay. u know i'd just distract u (seen ✔️)
[SMS received from: MechDaddy ?] - is that a problem? (seen ✔️)
[SMS sending to: MechDaddy ?] - not typically, but i wanna be in a warm bed right now. it's cold. (seen ✔️)
[SMS sending to: MechDaddy ?] - hurry up so you can gimme cuddles ? (seen ✔️)
[SMS sending to: MechDaddy ?] - and a foot rub (seen ✔️)
[SMS received from: MechDaddy ?] - there it is (seen ✔️)
[SMS received from: MechDaddy ?] - i'll be out in ten baby (seen ✔️)
[SMS sending to: MechDaddy ?] - i'm the cute girl in the audi. u cant miss me (seen ✔️)
Kagome smirked to herself at that last text, keeping the heat on in the car while she brought the collar of Inuyasha's hoodie up to her chin, hair up in a messy bun as she didn't intend to actually see anyone. Leaning back against the seat, she crossed her legs to get more comfortable while she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her socials. The hand that didn't hold her phone was covered by the oversized sleeve of the hoodie, continuing to hold the collar to make sure she stayed as warm as possible.
Bright lights had her squinting her eyes, the flash of them rebounding off her rearview mirror until a car pulled up beside her. It was a simple, red Honda Accord though obviously a newer model; it was a car Kagome didn't recognize being around the shop often.
Briefly, she could see a rather well-dressed woman climb out of the car, only able to see her dark hair and fair complexion before the interior lights turned off. Kagome straightened in her seat as she watched the woman in a white trench coat, heels and black wide-legged pants make her way towards the door. Her hair was long - longer than Sango's and that was saying a lot - and pin straight, not a hair out of place.
Seeing the woman rummaging through her purse, there was a knowing feeling in her gut, continuing to observe as the woman pulled out her phone. She paused at the front door, trying to pull on it to open but finding it locked. Kagome had half a mind to yell out the window and save the woman the trouble, but when she saw her phone pressed to her ear something told her to just sit back and wait.
The last text he received had him picking up the pace, making sure everything in order for the staff the next day. Payroll had finished, the schedule prepared for tomorrow and all necessary tools put in their rightful places. Closing didn't take long usually, but that particular day there had been some misses when it came to pay, which meant he took a few extra minutes to rectify the mistake.
Pulling off his jumpsuit, he packed it up in his bag to bring home for laundry before putting on a red zip up hoodie. He was just about to pull his bag over his shoulder and start checking to make sure everything was locked when he heard his phone go off. Not thinking much of it, he pulled his phone from his pocket and froze at the name that showed up on his screen. One ring. Then two. Then three.
Did he want to answer?
Curiosity got the better of him - or was it maybe just out of reflex? - accepting the call and pressing the phone to his face.
"Kikyo?"
"Hi. I'm out front."
"Out front? Whaddya mean out front?"
This wasn't happening. Why the hell was Kikyo out front?
"I mean out front of the shop. Can you unlock the door and let me in? It's cold."
Closing his eyes, his jaw clenched, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he remained in his office. He was sure Kagome was looking right at her, if she was in her usual parking spot, "Whaddya want, Kikyo?" He asked rather defensively, finding himself caught off guard with his defenses down. Of all times, she had to pick this week to waltz back into his life - the week of emotional discovery and repose, the week of finding a breakthrough in his current relationship. The best relationship he'd ever had.
"I want to talk."
"We ain't got nothin' to talk about," he dismissed, trying to peek his head around the office to try and see if he could get a view of her from where he was standing. He could see her leaning against the door frame, phone to her ear - she looked exactly the same as the day he left her.
"Please?"
"Are you fuckin' deaf? I said no."
There was silence on the other line, but he could see that she still had the phone to her ear, "I can see you," he heard, seeing her make eye contact with him, "Just let me in."
"I'm almost done closin' up. You wait out there."
There was no way in hell he'd let her in the shop, especially when Kagome was out front in her car waiting for him, "Why can't I just come inside?"
"Because my girlfriend is in that white Audi and I don't want her or you gettin' the wrong idea."
Hanging up his phone, he shoved it back into his pocket before shoving his beanie back on over his head. He'd planned to forgo it, as the only person who would have been seeing him was supposed to be Kagome. Now, with Kikyo outside, he couldn't help but feel the need to cover them.
Locking up the office and the register, he walked towards the front door, setting the alarm before unlocking the door and pushing it open with his shoulder. Hearing the three beeps saying the alarm was set properly, he closed the door and locked it back up before forcing himself to turn and face the person who'd left him more damaged than he'd been previously. Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, he got comfortable before folding his arms across his chest, "Well?"
There she was, standing in front of him in her typical overly professional get up. Seeing her face, he saw zero resemblance to Kagome, as he thought he'd seen some when they'd first met. Her eyes were colder, face more pensive and the overall aura of her was less welcoming.
Inuyasha wasn't surprised that the mention of his girlfriend being in a car nearby hadn't deterred her from having a conversation and taking up his time. Kikyo knew what she wanted and went for it, regardless of the consequences, "I just-" she started, "I wanted to explain myself."
"Explain yourself? Is that it? A year and a half late, don't you think?" Leaning towards her with brows lifted and head tilted, he kept his rather sarcastic tone. He was being exceptionally brash, abrasive and cold. This conversation was one he'd wanted at one point, but not now, not anymore. He wanted her to leave. He was fine without her.
So why didn't he just walk away and leave her in the dust?
"Inuyasha, would you just listen to me?!" Kikyo snapped, reaching out to grip his wrist with the intent to make him listen. Old habits seemed to die hard for her.
"No!"
The outburst made her flinch, taking a step back as Inuyasha pulled his arm out of her reach. He'd never outright denied her before - not like that, not with such authority.
"I don't know what the hell you're playin' at but I'm not buyin' into it. Go back to your fuck boy Suikotsu and leave me the fuck alone."
"So that's it? You're not even going to listen to what I have to say?!" Barely five minutes and they were back to their typical dynamic of speaking over each other. Though now, Inuyasha wasn't afraid of hurting her feelings.
Kikyo wasn't one to play mind games, in that aspect she was extremely authentic. A part of him knew she'd showed up for a legitimate purpose, whether it benefited her more than him was up for debate - one he didn't want to take part in. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Kagome sinking further into her seat, eyes wide and shoulders brought up her ears to try and make herself smaller, "No, I'm not! You cheated on me, Kikyo. I left you. Why the fuck would I wanna listen to what you have to say?"
"I found a cure!" She blurted, catching Inuyasha off guard, eyes wide and body frozen in place. Kikyo reached a hand to take his within her own, "You can be human…" she cooed, eyes hopeful as she took a step towards him.
"I love you as you are, as a half-demon."
Kagome's words rang in his head as he wrenched his hand from Kikyo's, snarling down at her, "I never wanted to be human - that's what you wanted." Kikyo's eyes widened, taking a step back from him once again, "Is this seriously why you came here? To tell me I could be human and somehow win me back?"
"I miss you," Kikyo whimpered, "I do. I miss you," she took a step towards him, trying to grasp at his hand once again.
"Miss me?! Are you-" Inuyasha lifted his hands to his temples before gesturing them forward, "Fucking kidding me?! Don't touch me!" He snapped, shaking his head at her before gesturing to her car with his whole arm, "You really think me that pathetic that I'd come crawlin' back to you just because you wanna change me into somethin' I'm not?!"
If it had been half a year ago, he would have. He would have crawled on hands and knees back into her arms if she told him he'd found a cure to make him human. He would have done anything to make sure she stayed; the cheating wouldn't have even been an issue, as deep down he'd thought it only natural for her to find what he couldn't give her.
Now, though, not a chance in hell would he be crawling back and it seemed Kikyo was genuinely shocked by that. Her stance was frozen, peering up at him in disbelief as he blatantly dismissed her advances, "Inuyasha-" she shook her head, "Puppy, please-"
"Don't fuckin' puppy me," he mocked, shaking his head at her with a narrowed gaze, "Don't know why you gave me that name anyways, since it's the part of me that disgusts you," the volume of his voice was lower but the tone of it was much darker.
"I-I wasn't disgusted. I just thought-" Kikyo drew in a shaky breath, swallowing back the threat of tears, "I thought it was what you wanted! To be accepted!"
Inuyasha remained quiet after that, straightening himself and letting his arms fall to his sides. Kikyo did the same, standing in front of him with a pleading look in her eyes as she lifted a hand to her chest.
"I am accepted," Inuyasha finally stated, keeping his tone low even as his gaze flickered towards Kagome's car, still seeing her staring at the scene before her with worry. He hated seeing her like that, but there wasn't much he could do until Kikyo left, "She accepts me," he emphasized before finding Kikyo's gaze once more, "I don't need you to feel acceptance."
It seemed like Kikyo had gained some of her resolve, straightening herself and letting her expression go cold, only side-eyeing the car that wasn't her own, "If you change your mind…" she began, voice even and monotone, "You know where to find me." Wordlessly, she lifted her chin, straightened her coat and walked past him towards her car.