Another day closer to the wedding, and another parade of the "happy" couple at one of his parent's corporate gatherings. Kagome grit her teeth as she toed off the heels she'd spent the evening standing in, with the dumbest false smile plastered on her face. Even her cheeks hurt. There really had been no reason for her to be there aside from being stuck next to Bankotsu's side as the blushing bride-to-be, or as many of the guests would say "the one that managed to tie him down finally".

Yeah, right. She was growing more convinced by the day that he'd chewed through that rope. Not that he was into being tied up anyway. Had to do everything his way. Didn't like for her to even suggest trying something different. She was supposed to lay still underneath him until he told her otherwise. Made her feel like a dead fish some nights.

Her thoughts were running off the rails. Probably because she was exhausted from the evening, but there was some irritation and definitely some degree of being horny that she'd been ignoring for weeks.

She had gone because she was expected to. Not by her fiancé, but by his parents as the representative of the Higurashi family. No one spoke to her. They spoke at her, as though she didn't have interests or hobbies, or even a job outside of what her parents did. The entire time Bankotsu stood next to her and let it happen, even going so far as to speak on her behalf before she could even open her mouth. It had gotten more grating as the evening wore on, and by the time they were getting ready to leave she was partially thankful that he was speaking for her because her patience was a frayed thread about to snap.

Kagome hobbled over to her couch and sat down, pulling her feet up onto the plush cushions to massage them. Her orthopedic inserts could only do so much, and while she loved those pumps she wanted to retire them to a bookcase as a sculpture piece. She had a plan, she decided. Once Bankotsu was on his merry way back to his place, she was going to soak in a hot bath. Maybe after that, she'd retire to bed early with a trashy book and think about –

"You could've been a better guest tonight."

The abrupt statement had her eyebrows raising in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

Bankotsu had loosened his neck tie as he walked around her living room. "All you did was stand there! I had to answer for you all night, Kagome! I felt like a damn ventriloquist! Had to nudge you to even talk-"

Did he really just suggest – "I did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

That thread of patience was getting more frayed by the second. "I talked!" she defended. "It's not my fault that your parent's guests have no other interests besides making money!"

"Hello – it was a corporate party! People talk business at those!"

"Then you can see why I kept my mouth shut! What I earn in a year is no one's business but my own, and I don't think it's the end-all be-all that should be discussed at a party! People are supposed to have fun and enjoy themselves at a party, Bankotsu – not talk about how their earnings have skyrocketed in the last quarter!"

"Newsflash, Kagome – that's what happens at a corporate party! People get sloshed and spill all sorts of secrets at these things! If they can hold their liquor it's still the prime opportunity to network and build better contracts. I can't believe you're going to stand there and get mad at me because I was speaking on your behalf! Did you ever think that it's because you're awful at organizing business negotiations!" Bankotsu blurted out, spinning on his heel to look at her. He must have felt the energy in the room change, because immediately after he started to backtrack. "That's not what I meant, Kagome. I was trying to say that because you're a personal assistant to that dog that you're out of practice-"

That thread of patience had snapped at "dog". Kagome didn't give a damn if her feet were bleeding and raw – no one insulted Inuyasha like that – and certainly not within her ear shot. "Who do you think you are?" she ground out, stalking towards him like he was prey. He had enough sense to start backing up towards the door, at least. "You really don't know what I do in a day if you think that I can't handle negotiations, especially when it comes to old men who squander their money on yachts. If it wasn't for me those men would be the captain of tugboats if they were lucky!

And furthermore – I've done my best at all of these events you drag me to. I try my damndest to be civil when talking about subjects I don't agree with because it's for your parents. You know this, so don't you dare stand there and yell at me because you don't think I try!"

"I never said that you didn't try! I said –"

"You were headed there," she glared, crossing her arms. "You need to leave."

Bankotsu frowned, and she could see the thoughts rolling in his head. "Don't be like that, Kag… I thought that maybe we might…"

Oh she knew where he was headed with that. "I'm not in the mood," she interrupted. She really wasn't, and until she knew for certain about him she wasn't going to be. She had toys, two hands, and the ability to order batteries with two-day delivery. She'd be fine.

His frown fell into a scowl, like she'd denied him something he felt he was entitled to. "You're never in the mood lately. What's wrong with you?"

"Leave. Now." The tone in her voice didn't leave room for argument, and he knew it. He thought she wasn't capable of making a grown man back up? She did it on a regular basis. Maybe if he'd pay more attention to her life he'd see that. She opened the door for him and he left without another word, and somehow that pissed her off more than if he'd said anything. The door might've been shut with more force than necessary, but she didn't care.

Kagome turned and hobbled to her kitchen. She had a little bit of wine left in her fridge, and she filled her stemless glass with it. It was going to be her companion as she went to soak in the bath. After that argument she felt justified in it, much like how she'd decided to make changes to her wedding the other day. She hadn't told anyone about what she intended to do, at least not yet. The fewer that knew the better, and she was only going to tell the ones that she could trust to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. She fully intended to marry Bankotsu but she wanted to enjoy something at this wedding that was supposed to be hers.

An hour later, when her feet were wrinkled more than the box of raisins in her kitchen, she padded to her bedroom and slipped under the covers. She didn't feel like getting dressed anyway, not when she had a date with her favorite toy in her bedside table.

Just because she wasn't in the mood to let Bankotsu touch her didn't mean she didn't have needs to take care of. They just so happened to involve rechargeable batteries and the taboo thoughts of someone with silver hair and fuzzy ears tickling her thighs.

It was wrong, and she knew it, but she didn't care. It was a fantasy that would never happen anyway, so why couldn't she indulge herself?

The next morning she was woken to the knocking on her front door by a delivery. A bouquet of flowers in a vase waited for her when she opened the door, with a note attached in the middle. Kagome frowned as she looked over the assortment. They weren't her favorites by a long shot, and even before she opened the note card she knew who it was from. Did Bankotsu even really know anything about her? She brought the bouquet into the apartment and set them on the table, plucking the note from it's holder and flipping it open.

I'm sorry, Kagome. I didn't mean to imply that you weren't good at what you do. You're a fantastic worker, and you know your stuff. Let me take you to dinner tonight? Wherever you want to go!

Maybe… maybe this was him trying? Kagome sighed, setting the note next to the flowers. She needed to get some coffee in her system and get ready for work. It would be something to chew on later when she had time.

The day had gone well enough and with a blur. Kagome went home and changed clothes, choosing a simple dress and slides for the dinner date with Bankotsu. She didn't want to go to some upscale restaurant; they had done that too often and it never sat well on her stomach. Instead, she told him when he came around in his pressed slacks and dress shirt that she wished to have dinner at one of her preferred family-friendly restaurants. He'd looked taken aback for a second, until he took in the more casual dress and nodded. "If that's what you'd like, Kagome, we'll go there," he'd said with a smile. Bankotsu shrugged off his blazer and left it in the car, unbuttoning and rolling up his dress shirt sleeves before they had gone in.

The restaurant wasn't anything particularly fancy, but for families it was probably considered a place to eat on special occasions. No arcades, no attached playgrounds, but there were sections that were often roped off for birthdays or graduation celebrations. They didn't have to wait long to be seated, and as soon as the waiter disappeared with their drink orders her fiancé had asked her how her day at work had been.

That…that was a surprise. Bankotsu never asked how work went; she always had to bring it up, and that was after asking how his day was. Kagome blinked, feeling foolish for not answering quickly. "It…it was good, actually. Everything went pretty smoothly for once. I'm almost nervous about going in tomorrow and finding out that all the files I entered into the system were deleted with an outage or something."

Bankotsu grinned at her joke. She had mentioned in the past how that had happened and wouldn't have been surprised if it did again. "All the best tech in production and the tiniest thing can make it crash," he mused. His face dropped a second later. "I'm sorry about what I said last night," he said. "It was late, and we were both tired. I shouldn't have insinuated that you weren't good at your job. I know you're good at what you do. Shoot, your college history is proof of that! You were made to be a leader."

A tiny blush rose in her cheeks. Was that the first time he'd ever complimented her work ethic? Maybe? Her chest tighten a bit as it occurred to her that this was probably the first real compliment that he'd ever payed her – period. Most of them she'd heard in the past were laced with some kind of connection to her family, her schooling, or just false enthusiasm for something he had no interest in. "T-thank you. I don't know about being a leader per se, but if something needs to be done I'm not going to wait for someone else to do it if I can."

"You're too modest, Kag. You need to own up to your abilities. You did get them honest, after all."

Yeah…that's something she had heard a lot growing up. She took after both her parents in that department. Determination, compassion, go-getter attitude. While it was always meant in kindness from anyone who said it, it had gotten old. Bankotsu didn't know that though. Just like he didn't know that she wanted to be known for her efforts that weren't an immediate link back to her parents. She'd let it slide this time, not wanting to kill the moment. She could always mention it in passing in the future. The mood was too light to ruin it with a petty argument, and they were going to have their lives ahead of them to learn these things.

And Bankotsu was in a surprisingly good mood too. His attention was focused on entirely on her, and not in a was that felt forced. His eyes watched her with fondness, a content smile on his face as she talked. There was even a moment when she commented on another woman's outfit as she passed by their table. She thought for sure that his gaze would linger on her figure - even she couldn't help but stare - and yet, he didn't. He gave the woman the briefest of a passing thought before focusing on her once again.

"Maybe it's not what it seems. 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?"

Kagome reflected on Inuyasha's words as the waiter approached with their food. She had been so distracted by being Bankotsu's focus that she'd forgotten they had even ordered. Perhaps Inuyasha wasn't far off in that idea? All of the changed and canceled plans may well have been a poorly orchestrated surprise. She didn't expect anything of course, but the fact he was trying so hard on her behalf was endearing.

It almost made her want to come clean about her intentions with the wedding plans. Almost. Somehow his mother would take offense and guilt her into changing everything back that she didn't like in the first place. Kagome wanted to have everything to her liking, and that meant she'd have to keep it secret from Bankotsu just a little longer.

The entire dinner did make her question his recent moods, especially the night before. He'd been expecting sex last night, and this evening he'd claimed that he had been tired. Maybe he was doing it to save his battered ego, but still... it was odd.

"People can surprise you, Kagome."

Yes, yes they could. As Kagome ate her dinner, listening to her fiancé regale her on some inner office drama involving a secretary, the floor janitor, and someone from the IT department ending in a fight over honeybuns in the break room, she focused more on his tone and actions. He sounded giddy as he described the explosion of snack foods that coated the walls. It lit his face up like a little boy, almost. She couldn't recall a moment recently where he looked and sounded this happy.

It made her feel guilty.

She was his fiancé. She was supposed to be able to make him smile like that, to laugh like that. It made her question if they were engaged too quickly, but he had asked... and...how could she tell him no? She wasn't getting younger, and one never knew if an opportunity would present itself again in this world. 'It feels like I'm settling, and maybe I am. I do think that with time, that we could make each other this happy. Sure it's sudden, but not all engagements last a year, right? There have even been people that eloped immediately and have had strong marriages.'

Kagome reached for her drink and took a tentative sip. Inuyasha had to be right about this. People could change. She had accepted his proposal, and no matter how soon the wedding date had been set, she was going to make the best of it. She was going to set the plans right, enjoy her day when she said her vows to Bankotsu in front of their friends and family. After that, they were going to find a way to make it work. Couples were always learning about each other, even after decades together.

Yeah.

It was going to be fine.

Dropping a note to say that I *will* respond to comments once I can get ahead on work, but know I'm reading each of them ❤