A week had passed since Kagome had first brought it up to Inuyasha that she thought Bankotsu wasn't as faithful as he appeared. A week and nothing. Honestly she'd expected some degree of anger from him on her behalf, but…Inuyasha did nothing. He'd grunted and frowned. She had waited, expecting some comment in response, but when none came she switched the conversation back to work. At first she thought that maybe he just needed to process it. Thought that maybe each day that followed he'd bring it back up. After a full week with no further mention of it she had to concede that he must not have felt that it was important.

Maybe she wasn't as important to him as she thought, either.

That hurt, but then…it's not like she had ever really been important to him, had she? She'd been hired on to straighten his ass out with work. They hadn't really been on good terms before she'd moved away, no matter that they'd grown up together. When she had told him that her family was moving away…it's like their friendship had become strained. They'd tried to remain close, but with the move looming over their heads nothing had felt right. Then they gradually lost contact by mail, and well…that had hurt more than right before she'd moved away.

Coming back as an adult, trying to understand the man he'd become, she thought they could at least return to being friends. He'd said that she was still his best friend, but would a best friend really just grunt as a response? Kagome knew she had to put her work first, and do it well, before anything else between them.

Not that there could be anything else.

She was engaged to another man. A man who she was almost certain was cheating on her.

Kagome would've been lying to herself if she said that she wasn't a little hurt. Bankotsu had put on a grand show of the proposal for his parents, presenting her with a big rock on a gold band that could've busted a face if she took a notion. It had come out of left field to boot. They'd only dated a month, but he'd decided that she was "it for him and no one would ever compare".

If she was incomparable, then why was she finding evidence that there was another woman on the side? Was it even one woman? How many was he really stringing along?

She'd caught whiffs of perfume that wasn't hers. Seen him grinning at his phone and hastily make comments that he was getting sent jokes from his coworkers. Been told that date nights would have to be rescheduled because he was working late at the office. Had weekend plans canceled because the department had organized a golfing excursion at the last minute and he needed to network.

Really. No reputable business decides to schedule a golf retreat at ten o'clock the night before. What kind of shit did he think he was trying to pull on her?

Kagome let him go about his merry way, thinking that he was being stealthy. She let him continue to smell like he'd walked through the ladies department at Sears. Continued to play along with the ruse that his coworkers had his personal number and would text at all hours of the night. Pretended that having made plans a week in advance, only to get canceled hours before, wasn't that big a hardship. She was going to let him do all these things, but she would not let him share her bed. She wouldn't.

If he really was catting around town she wasn't going to let him touch her and give her something that only penicillin could fix. She needed to be certain before she slept with him again.

If ever.

Her doubts were wanting to consume her the more she thought about it. Who was he getting off with? Did she know them? Was it someone she spoke to regularly? Was she better? Did she do things that Kagome didn't?

In her defense, he'd only been her second, and Hojo hadn't been anymore experienced than she'd been their first time. So yeah she was pretty vanilla on the scale – but that didn't mean she intended to stay that way! She was open to trying things…possibly.

Maybe.

Maybe with someone else.

Someone that wasn't Bankotsu.

Her cheeks got hot thinking about one particular person with soft ears and a sour disposition that she'd like to try things with. It was just too bad that he didn't give a damn.

Kagome had always found Inuyasha fascinating when they were kids. She loved watching the way his ears would swivel back and forth, picking up sounds of the kids on the playground that thought they were being sneaky during hide and seek. She loved how he could tell what the lunchroom would be serving that day before they even reached the cafeteria, all the way down to the specific sides being offered. It had gutted her to move away right at the start of high school, but it's where her parent's work took them. To come back to this town, to be hired on to be Inuyasha's personal assistant felt like a dream come true. She'd get to see her old friend again. Learn about what he'd been up to all these years.

That childhood fascination had developed into a crush without warning, and seeing him as a grown man every day was both a dream and a nightmare. Gone was the lanky build and in it's place was broad shoulders and raw strength. That silver hair he'd kept short though school had been left to grow wild, thick curls just above his shoulders. The sad excuse he had for facial hair in the ninth grade that one time was now a fine sheen of stubble on days when he claimed he was too lazy to shave.

Bankotsu had tried to leave stubble once. "Pash rash" was not a lie when he attempted to eat her out. She'd kicked him away and demanded that he shave before he came near her again.

Somehow she didn't think that Inuyasha's stubble would be as rough.

No, that she'd probably like tickling her thighs.

The woman groaned as she gripped the takeaway tray of coffee in her hands, waiting for the elevator to open. What the hell was she gonna do? She couldn't keep thinking about Inuyasha this way! She was going to be married!

In…two weeks.

To say her stomach did a flip like it was full of enchiladas on the Matterhorn was an understatement. So much of it was planned around her, instead of by her like it should have been. Her parents had little say for the majority of it aside from covering costs as per tradition, because they were out of the country for months. She had had to deal with the abrasiveness of Bankotsu's step mother, who had taken on the role of matriarch in the family far too easily. Keina had taken the reigns of the planning and became something of a bridezilla herself. Kagome had been directed to show up at places and gotten only the miniscule input of what she wanted for this wedding.

How was she supposed to march down the aisle on her father's arm to a band that she didn't want, in a dress she wasn't crazy about, with flowers in hand that she didn't get to pick, all to marry a man that she didn't really love?

Her stomach flipped again, but not nearly as unpleasant as the previous time. She didn't love Bankotsu, did she? Not…well…no. Not really. Kagome flipped through her memories as she stepped in the elevator and pressed buttons on instinct. He had his funny moments. In the beginning he was kind to her, sweet even. The sex was…okay well it wasn't the best, but she'd gotten satisfied. Well…later, once he had fallen asleep most times. It wasn't until recently that he had started acting this way. Was it something she could commit to, however? Could she be satisfied with a life of a husband getting pleasure outside of her bedroom, leaving her to wait for him obediently?

Hell no!

Kagome chewed her lip in thought as the elevator rose. She needed to make a decision; she only had two weeks to…what? Marry the liar? Call it off? Either way it felt like she was going to waste money that her parents had worked hard for. At the very least if it was called off she wanted to be able to enjoy the food and music later as an "I got away" celebration. But… deep down in her heart, she knew she couldn't call it quits. It wouldn't make her any better than Bankotsu's flair for their relationship around others, and that pissed her off. Why should he get to do what he wanted? Why did she have to be the one to fall in line? Something...something had to change. She'd said yes to his proposal, but she never got a say in what shewanted for her wedding.

"Oh my god," she mumbled as the metal box rumbled to a stop. That was it! Why couldn't she enjoy the food and music? She had two weeks – she could change anything she didn't want! The very idea had put a bounce in her step as she walked down the hallway to the large office at the end. Oh yes, she was going to get what she wanted in this, and she dared Bankotsu to say anything about it.

She shifted the take away tray in her hands so she could open the door and not dump it and the bag of donuts on her blouse. Kagome's thoughts were swimming with all the possibilities of how she could make things work in her favor that she almost didn't hear a gruff "What's got you in such a chipper mood this morning?" come from behind the desk.

Inuyasha had seen his personal assistant practically bound into the office with steaming coffee and a paper bag filled with food – and the biggest smile he'd seen on her face in months. His first thought was that if he were grinning that early in the morning he'd have gotten laid before he had to get ready for work. That was followed with a pang of jealousy knowing that if she had, it would've been with Bankotsu. Fuck, he'd have been more tolerable if she was dating Koga, but he was in a long term relationship with Ayame. She wouldn't have, his brain rationalized. The "couple" weren't even living together, and she was on time for work. Kagome would've had to go across town to spend the night with Bankotsu, and according to her that was too much effort to travel when work started early.

He still felt smug when he thought about that.

So what could've made her so happy then? Could…could she have gotten rid of the scumbag? Finally? Was she single? Did that mean…no. No, he couldn't get his hopes up. Even if Kagome did break up with Bankotsu he couldn't put all his hopes and dreams into the idea that she might love him. He couldn't be that lucky. He desperately wished he was, though.

"Hm?" Kagome blinked, still beaming. "Oh, good morning, Inuyasha! I was just thinking about the wedding!"

And just like that, his heart shattered.

Of course she was excited about the wedding. She was getting married. It was her right to be excited.

Before his brain could stop his mouth, the words "Thought you said he was cheating on you last week" came out. His eyes widened in panic, and she looked just as surprised.

"You remember that?" she asked softly.

"Keh. How could I forget my best friend telling me something like that! So what, he come clean and say that it's all a misunderstanding?" No, he wasn't being bitter. Okay he was, but he hoped it didn't sound like it. Kagome was the best assistant he'd ever had, and he didn't want to lose her because he was an ass about her fiancé.

He was already losing the opportunity with her. At least right now she was still working with him. Unless somewhere down the line Bankotsu expected her to leave her work? Fuck…

"Oh," Kagome shrugged as she carefully set the coffee on the empty space that Inuyasha had cleared for her. "That. Right. I'm pretty sure he is cheating on me."

He wanted to ask "And you're still going to marry this fucker?" but held his tongue. Instead Inuyasha said, "Maybe it's not what it seems." The scent of the donuts in the bag she passed to him smelled fucking delicious and he wanted to eat one but he really couldn't eat until he got this out. As much as he hated the man, a small part of him wanted to believe that Bankotsu wasn't unfaithful to Kagome. If only for her happiness, he wanted to cling to that hope. "It's what, two weeks to the wedding now? Maybe he's planning something that he doesn't want to reveal to you until the day of? Or…the evening?"

Push the bile down. Don't let it ruin your appetite. That's it. Just like that.

Kagome's face scrunched up in that adorable way he used to see her do as a kid. "I doubt that," she mused, reaching for her own coffee from the tray. "Bankotsu can't keep a secret all that great, and if he's going to do something lavish he's really not going to be able to keep his mouth shut."

Inuyasha frowned, watching her sit down in the chair across from him. "You say that so easily. You mean he's tried to surprise you in the past and it fell short?"

She nodded. "He…is terrible at surprises. Of any sort, actually. I mean…" Kagome blushed, realizing that she was about to divulge something private, but it was Inuyasha. They were friends. Friends that shared things like this casually. She knew he wouldn't tell. "…he uh… there was one time where he wanted to try a sixty-nine. He'd… made to grab me and flipped me around, but…" she sighed with a laugh, running her hand through her hair. "It only lasted until he finished."

"You didn't..?"

"Nope. Claimed he was too tired. And he fell asleep right after, too!"

He was about to call him a sorry son of a bitch, but when Kagome said that it was nothing new immediately after, he wanted to call him much worse. How dare this pecker get off without seeing to Kagome first? And it was a pattern? Fuck that. If it were him, his cock would turn blue before he got off. Kagome deserved so much more than what she was getting from Bankotsu, and he told her so.

"Maybe," she murmured, staring down at her coffee. "But…he's what I have. It really is nothing new, Inuyasha. I'm used to it."

Used to it.

No one should be "used to" that kind of treatment.

It was so hard not to growl then, he was amazed he hadn't dug his claws into the armrests of his chair. "He needs to do better. He should be giving you the world." Inuyasha cleared his throat before he kept going and started in on how he'd be so much better for her and really fucked things up. "Anyway… I wouldn't rule it out that he's trying to do exactly that. People can surprise you, Kagome."

"Maybe so." She could mull over what Inuyasha said and her plans later. It was time to work.