"His name is Bankotsu. We met a week ago, actually. At the grocery store. He asked me out to dinner this weekend. Sorry, I know that's not really news, seeing as everyone seems to be hooking up anymore. I'm just…surprised is all, I guess…"

In the days leading up to her first date with this faceless man named Bankotsu, Inuyasha couldn't shake the memory of her news no matter how much he tried.

How could she not think that was big news? Because everyone else and their brother was shacking up? Were her social media accounts also being saturated with the constant barrage of happy couples, to the point that not being attached was considered shameful? A first date was a big deal in his opinion. It was the start of something new, and sometimes that was scary. Sometimes it didn't work out, but until you take that leap, you just don't know.

Sort of like asking Kagome to be his date was taking a leap without knowing what to expect.

That night had been wonderful. All of the possible regrets aside, he'd enjoyed himself. It had felt natural, and he knew without a doubt that any other woman from that compatibility list wouldn't have had that. Kagome had made the evening special for him just by being herself. There weren't any outlandish ideas between them of expecting anything else. They were two friends on a platonic date at a wedding. That's all it was.

He wasn't sure if that's all he wanted it to be.

When he'd folded that stupid fortune teller, he'd wanted to see what she'd pick when the odds weren't forcibly stacked in his favor. Aside from him, he'd listed their other friends, even Shippo, despite being six years younger. It was only meant to be in fun anyway. Something they could laugh about like they did that night.

But…as he'd fought with the folds, starting over twice because his claws had sliced through the paper, he'd started thinking beyond it being a game. Started to wonder if maybe there was some higher power behind it all. She'd moved away, and he thought he'd never see her again. She comes back into town and gets hired on to work next to him. It was almost like getting a second chance, even though he'd never taken the first chance and blown it.

So for Kagome to tell him as he was about to deal out her fortune that she was going on a date with some man – it felt like if there was a higher power, they were laughing at him.

Especially since the fortune teller had revealed his name under the flap.

It sucked.

What sucked even more was Friday afternoon. He stood there, shoving his hands in his pockets as he tried his damndest to be sincere as he told her that he hoped she had a good time on her date. Inuyasha watched her walk out of his office with a smile, hating that it wasn't because of him.

It was stupid to even think that there could be more. She was his best friend, and he wasn't going to risk losing that too.

Monday couldn't have come fast enough.

Inuyasha hadn't been able to act reserved for long once Kagome arrived. Before she had even set the to go cup of coffee in front of him, he'd blurted out "How was your weekend?"

"Oh, it was nice. How about yours?"

Nice? It was just nice? "It was…kinda dull." No way was he going to say that he'd spent the weekend in a state of gorging on whiskey or junk food when he wasn't sleeping. Anything to not think about the date that his best friend was on. "Did your date go okay?"

Kagome settled into her chair across from him, dropping her elbows on the edge of the desk. "It did, actually."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Oh, I don't know…I don't want to bore you with it…"

"We're best friends, right? Don't we tell each other everything, even the boring stuff?" He wasn't going to pry if she really didn't want to talk about it, but if he had to, he was going to remind her that they had talked about their first times unprompted. There wasn't a whole lot that they didn't discuss at length.

"If you're sure."

"I am." He wanted to know if this man was good enough for her, after all.

"It was very nice," she said again. "Bankotsu picked me up and we went to a lovely restaurant for dinner, then he took me to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the theater. He drove me home afterwards."

"That's it?"

Kagome shrugged. "What do you want me to say? We talked through dinner. I found out he works in his parent's company; something to do with software but I'm not exactly sure. I didn't understand what the purpose was, other than that he said there was a market for improvements." She scrunched her nose up at that. "He's very kind, though."

"Uh huh. And as a red-blooded male, we're all going to be nice to get in your pants," he said dryly.

"You know what I mean," she sighed.

"I do, but I also know what men are like. The last thing I'd want to hear is that he took advantage of you and left you after he got what he was looking for."

She nodded. "I know. I don't think that's Bankotsu, however."

It was two weeks after that first date that Inuyasha heard words that he'd never wanted to hear.

"I'm kinda sore."

A few discreet sniffs in his assistant's direction told him more than he wanted to know. Kagome had slept with Bankotsu. He had been able to detect traces of the man's scent on Kagome's person before, but…this wasn't just on her anymore. As faint as it was, it was from within, and he felt sick.

"Sore?" he asked, trying to keep it casual. She knew he had a strong sense of smell, but he didn't want to let on that he knew as soon as she walked in the office either. "You do some kind of new exercise?"

Kagome had blushed, laughing. He wished he were the reason for that. "You could say that…" she trailed off, biting down on her lip. She had no idea what that did to him. "Bankotsu and I…well, we…took our relationship further last night."

"You slept with him."

"Yes," she groaned, stomping her foot in frustration. It was adorable. "I was trying not to be so blunt about it, Inuyasha!"

The hanyou shrugged. "Best friend, remember?" It was as much a reminder to himself as it was to her. "You don't have to hold back with me, Kagome." He waited a few beats before he said, "So?"

Kagome looked at him, confusion written all over her face.

"How was it?"

"Oh my god, Inuyasha!"

"What?" he asked. "It's a question!"

"Sure, if you ask one of your buddies over a case of beer!" Kagome slouched in her seat, spread her knees – thankfully, she was wearing slacks or he'd have died right there – and not only managed to force a blech but also scratched her stomach as she mimicked how a man might act with his friends. "So Dick, you get with that chick yet? You bang the fuck out of her or what?"

Inuyasha had howled with laughter at that imitation. Between the actions, the way she tried to make her voice go deep, and the horrible way she spoke, he thought he was going to crack a rib from laughing so hard. If this Bankotsu had seen what he had just seen, he'd have hightailed it as far away from Kagome as possible. All it did was make him want to ask her to do more terrible impressions, which said a lot in that moment. So much so that it scared the hell out of him.

He shouldn't be thinking about his friend this way. Especially since she was unavailable.

If Inuyasha thought that hearing the news that Kagome was having sex with another man was jarring, he really wasn't prepared to hear the big news that came a month into her new relationship.

Kagome had practically skipped into the office that day, humming a tune under her breath that he couldn't place. It had to be some pop group, because even before she'd moved away it was one of his irks. He didn't understand the appeal of some of those shrill girl and boy groups, then or now. She was too chipper that morning just from a cup of coffee, and before he could stop himself, he was asking if she'd gotten any.

"Nope," she said in a singsong voice. "We actually haven't in a few days."

Oh good. Just what he wanted to hear. That his best friend was getting laid more often than he was.

'It's not her fault you're the one that's been so picky even his own hand isn't good enough.' "And you told me weeks ago that I was being crass."

"Not true – I said that I wasn't trying to be blunt about it. I never said that you were crass, and I certainly didn't give details just now."

"Good, cause I don't want to imagine Bankotsu's bare ass up in the air."

She laughed. "What if I said that it wasn't his up in the air?" Kagome's gaze shot up from her purse to see Inuyasha coughing and sputtering. "Inuyasha!" She dropped her purse and ran around the desk, patting him on the back. "Are you alright?"

Inuyasha wheezed, pushing his coffee away from him. "Woman you're gonna kill me one of these days," he said finally. That wasn't an image he needed either, but he wasn't going to say that he didn't want it. But it was too late. It was already there, erasing Bankotsu from the scenario and leaving Kagome behind, on her hands and knees…telling him how much she needed him…begging him…

Fuck!

Not the time! At all!

He cleared his throat, ignoring how his voice cracked when he said, "So, what are you so happy about this early in the day?"

"You mean aside from all the plans for the company event being finalized in a few hours? Well… I…have news!"

Kagome was practically bouncing in her heels before she leaned against the edge of his desk and held her hand out. Inuyasha couldn't figure out why she was sticking her hand under his nose, and with the jarring movements she was making, he reached out with a clawed hand to grasp hers so he didn't get hit. The glint of the metal from the fluorescent lights overhead drew his attention down to her fingers, and the pieces started to come together.

Inuyasha swallowed. "You're…getting…married?"

"Yes!" she'd nearly squealed. "Bankotsu asked me last night. We were eating dinner at his parent's house, and I swear I had no idea he'd been planning it but –"

"Don't you think it's quick?" He braced himself for the backlash that he knew was about to come from that question, but his mouth wouldn't stop. "That's…a really big leap, isn't it? You've only been together a month."

There was a deafening silence that filled the room. He hadn't let go of Kagome's hand, but she wasn't pulling away, so… "It is," she admitted at last. "He told me that I was the only one for him, and that no other woman would compare."

"Do you love him?"

"What?" The hand in his tightened.

"You heard what I said, Kagome. Do you love him? You've dated a month. Is that enough time to feel comfortable enough to commit your life to him?" Inuyasha searched her eyes, looking for any sign of hope that maybe, just maybe she had doubts. If she did, maybe he could…what? Talk her out of her engagement? Extend it?

Her fingers relaxed a little, but it didn't give him the answer he wanted. "I do love him, Inuyasha. I...wasn't sure if I was…" Kagome shook her head. "You're gonna think this is stupid, but…I wasn't sure I was ever going to get married before last night."

"What? No, of course you would've, Kagome!" He took her other hand in his, for no other reason than to be selfish and have this opportunity to do so. "Out of anyone in the world, you deserve to be happy." Sure, he was throwing Kagura's words in a blender and regurgitating them, but he meant it.

Even though he desperately wished he were the one that was going to make her happy.

Kagome's fingers curled around his again, like she was using him for support. "You mean that?"

"With every fiber of my being." The hanyou took a breath, giving her hands a squeeze as he looked up at her again. What he said next was going to kill him, but she needed to hear it. "If this is what you really want, Kagome…I'm happy for you, and I will be there for you."

The watery smile she gave him as she squeezed his hands in return was one of happiness. She was happy. This was what she wanted.

"Don't write off your dreams. You deserve to be happy just as much as the rest of us in this world."

'You're wrong, Kagura,' he thought, watching Kagome return to work. 'The only person that could make me happy is in love with someone else.'

...okay before you all kill me - I have a plan. And it's been "finished" since November/December. Hired Help was never meant to be this super long thing, so that means time skips.

But I hear you seething at your screen "Carra, why the hell would you do this?! InuKag are endgame?!" Yes...but I never said in Doggie Bag or Howling Holy Terror that it was an easy path. So, we're taking a few back roads while I plan out more of Hired Help. It's gonna be a big leap in the timeline. I swear it'll make sense.

Next Tuesday will be the first chapter of Pretend You're Mine, which will be the period of time between chapters 5 and 6 of Hired Help. If you're a sucker for angst and smut, I think you'll like this? (It was the beginning of the brain-suck dump fics, just fyi)