BlueMoon Goddess: Alright I'm here with another exciting Inuyasha x Kagome fic! Since I'm practically done with my other my fics, I decided to get this new story I had in mind on the way. So I hope you enjoy this, so let's get it going.
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, its characters, or A.C. Arthur's book 'Second Chance, Baby' which this fic is based on
Summary: Except for one passion filled night after his father's funeral, Inuyasha and Kagome's marriage had been on the rocks for years. Now Kagome's pregnant and unwilling to bring a child into a home with a workaholic, absentee father. She wanted a divorce, but for the sake of their child, Inuyasha demanded she give their marriage a second chance...and he was not a man to be denied.
He couldn't get her out of his mind.
Inuyasha Takahashi walked along the bust street without paying a bit of attention to his surroundings. He'd lived in Japan all his life, so he wasn't amazed by the sights. Besides, his mind was usually too preoccupied with business to take in the scenery. Today, however, it wasn't business that plagued him.
Anyone who knew Inuyasha would be surprised by that fact alone.
At this moment there was just too much going on in his life. It was early October. The year was quickly coming to an end and he couldn't tell if he was glad or miserable about it. It was natural to lean more toward miserable since in the last nine months he'd had his wife walk out on him, his father die, his wife come back to him and then leave him again.
His father's death…Inuyasha was beyond devastated. His father, Inutaisho Takahashi had not only been an influential business man, but a devoted husband and father. Continuing his walk, Inuyasha turned the corner, vaguely noticing people going in and out of the shops that lined the street. It was a crisp fall day and he deeply inhaled the fresh air. With his hands deep within his pockets, he let himself remember one of the most painful nights of his life. The night he'd found out his father was dead.
His mother, Izayoi Takahashi, had been the one to call him well after midnight. He had just gotten into bed after working on a proposal for Yukio Lee of Lee Holdings. His mother hadn't given him much information except that a drunken driver had run the stop sign and hit his car causing him to hit his head against the window causing a blot clot. By the time the ambulance came and got him out of the car, his father was gone.
For days Inuyasha had functioned on sheer autopilot. His condo in the downtown area of Japan seemed bigger and emptier. Almost like a tomb. And only six months before, his wife of five years had moved out.
Kagome taught first grade at a local elementary school. She loved it and so Inuyasha tried not to press the issue about her staying home, no matter how much he wished she would. One evening he'd come home from work to find she was packed and gone. He'd talked to her a week later and she'd been adamant about the separation. Inuyasha had been flabbergasted. They'd been so happy one day then she was yelling and crying the next.
One thing he was absolutely certain of…he and Kagome were meant to be together. If she needed a few months to get over whatever it was she was going through, he was willing to give her that. Except he hadn't anticipated his father's death or the strange feelings and yearnings that would come as a result.
Kagome Higurashi Takahashi was compassionate and loyal. On the day of the funeral, when she had come walking back into his family home after six months of being away, he'd felt a soothing calm wash over him. Very little shock. It was like his body and soul had just been patiently waiting for her. She'd embraced him immediately and he had known without a doubt that with her here he could make it through this day and the next.
They'd returned to his penthouse after the last of the mourners had left the Takahashi estate. The ride back into the city was quiet as Inuyasha thought of the turn his life had taken in such a short span of time. He'd expected her to come back home with him and that they would get through this grief together. So when they'd walked into the house and he'd gone directly into the bedroom, it was natural for her to follow him there. What had thrown him was the way she'd sat on the edge of the bed, her hands in her lap, as if this were her first time there. Maybe she was having a moment. Inuyasha had experienced plenty of them in the last week. He'd be doing something normal or mundane and just like that, his thoughts would drift to his father and the loss would seem too profound for words.
His fingers shook a little as he unbuttoned his shirt and stripped it off, tossing it to the floor. Then he'd had to sit down as the memories came fast, turning his insides once again to a jittery mess. He'd felt her hand on his shoulder as she tried to comfort him. Then her arms were wrapped around him and he leaned into her embrace. It felt comfortable and different all at the same time. She had trembled in his then sniffled. He'd brushed his hands through her hair, whispering something about them getting through this together. Then the moment had shifted. Grief slipped aside, opening the door to a familiar rush of passion. His wife was in his arms, in his bed, a place she hadn't been in months and he loved it.
Inuyasha told himself that circumstances put them in this time and place that he shouldn't take advantage. Yet his hands moved down her back to cup her bottom. It was instinctive. Her arms were wrapped around his back, her nails digging in slightly as he touched her. In the next instant their mouths were joined, his lips moving over hers boldly, wickedly. She seemed to melt in his arms even as she stroked the intense heat building within him. Every touch, every moan, every movement felt right. It felt perfect. They didn't speak. Words were no longer necessary. Each touch was a memory renewed. When he'd lifted the edge of her nightgown, pulling it up and over her head, he was entranced by her beauty that had only matured with her over the years. Kagome was no longer the timid college girl he'd first taken to his bed. Now, she was an experienced lover, arching to his touch, moaning to kiss. Anticipation bubbled just beneath the surface of his skin and he licked his lips impatiently.
It had always been this way between them, this hot rush of desire that didn't calm until he was deeply embedded inside her and they were both completely sated. When she reached out, flattening her palms on his bare chest, Inuyasha's entire body stiffened, then warmed. He wanted this woman with a desperation he'd never known before, needed her like nothing he'd ever needed in his life. Leaning forward, he kissed her with all the emotion swirling inside of him. He was gentle at first, because his one priority had been to always love and cherish her. Then his lips grew more persistent, his tongue slipping past her lips, her teeth, to claim her fully. Her tongue snaked along his and the dam broke free. He kissed her with pent-up urgency, conveying the fierceness of his love for her, his devotion and vow to protect and take care of her.
They'd love each other in this way so many times before, it was second nature. When she lay naked on the bed, Inuyasha could only look down t her, his mind reeling with emotion, his body edgy with need. She had only to lift her arms in invitation before he was slipping between her legs, entering her with one long thrust…one satisfied moan. That moan was quickly replaced by tiny pants and heated growls as Inuyasha created a rhythm and Kagome lifted her hips to match it. This was the connection he'd come to rely on, the one constant in his life, his love for this woman.
The next morning he'd gone to the office at his usual time, five o'clock. He'd called home a couple of hours later to see Kagome had left for work and had received no answer. After several attempts on her cell, he figured he'd just see her later. But he was mistaken. This time, at least, she'd left him a note. She wasn't going to stay with him. The night before had been wonderful but it had been a mistake. He couldn't give her what she wanted, so a separation was the best solution.
Inuyasha had been livid. For the first time in years, he'd taken his frustration out on something besides the punching bag in his home gym. He'd burned the note then tossed a few choice pieces of artwork, watching them smash into the walls of the penthouse, enjoying the scene of them breaking. Just like his heart. That had been three months ago, Inuyasha hadn't seen nor heard from Kagome since then. He'd called her because he thought his marriage deserved that much. She'd refused his calls. He wasn't into begging, so the calls quickly stopped. For now…but in the weeks that passed he'd held on to the fact that he hadn't heard from any attorney on her behalf. That was a good sign, because Inuyasha had no intention of ever letting his wife go.
Kagome Takahashi's heart fluttered as she held the blanket up to her cheek. Burying her nose in it, she let its smell sift through the raging hormones in her body. Her eyes misted and she blinked to keep from making a complete fool of herself inside this quaint shop. One of her co-workers had hipped her to the place and Kagome was ecstatic to find the woman was absolutely right. This shop was comfortable, fabulous and had everything she would need and then some.
Gently laying her hand on her lower stomach, Kagome sighed.
Ten years ago when she'd first seen Inuyasha Takahashi walking across the campus of the University of Washington, she'd been enamored along with the rest of the female population of UW. Kagome prided herself on being one of the smartest of them all. Though she knew a man as good-looking and inherently successful as Inuyasha would never be interested in a shy, quiet girl from Nevada. So she hadn't even bothered with the games and ploys the other girls performed to get his attention. By day she focused on school and getting her degree. And by night, in privacy of her dorm room, she longed for him.
It was on a windy October night, days before Halloween. She'd been coming from a late study session in the library and he had bumped into her, knocking her and all her books to the ground. He'd been fooling around with some of his friends and not watching where he was going. She'd been so tired from late-night studying and the part-time job she was working at the school bookstore that she wouldn't have seen a Mack truck if it had come barreling at her.
Embarrassed, angry and still tired as hell, she'd scrambled on the ground to pick up her books. Inuyasha had been faster, collecting each textbook along with her notebook and her purse without a word. He'd offered her a hand up then because she was now on her knees wondering where the mess she'd dropped had gone. She looked up at him and could have sworn the sun was shining in a halo around him, except for the fact that it was close to midnight. Finally coming to her senses, she'd put her hand in his and let him help her up. As smart as she considered herself, she had no idea just how handsome he was close up. He was tall and towered above her meager five feet four inches. She looked up at him and was blinded by his smile. He was so fine it should've been a sin. He'd said something that snapped her out of her reverie and she remembered smiling and muttering a thank-you. She'd walked away so fast she would swear she was a blur in the wind.
The next morning he was waiting at her door of her dorm. And for the next two weeks he met her at each class and walked her home from her late-night studying at the library. Their meetings had been really casual. He talked of his family and everyday things while she, although still in awe, managed to talk about the same. A month later he asked her out on a real date. By the time Kagome had come to the conclusion that Inuyasha wasn't the untouchable bad boy sex symbol the girls on campus thought he was. Underneath the handsome and polished exterior, he was just an man who loved ramen, vintage cars, swords, and economics. And he was kind, focused and he truly seemed to care about her.
Inuyasha and Kagome found they had a lot in common and before either of them knew it they were an item, dating seriously and sending rumors flying around the campus. It wasn't the instant-fall-desperately-in-love like in some cheesy romances, it was more like an intense, heated drop into submission. Marriage was obviously on their horizon and the fairy-tale ceremony their shining moment in the spotlight. She loved that man like nothing and no one in her life. And in the five years of their marriage, she'd given him everything she had physically and mentally. She'd also sacrificed the one thing she'd wanted most because he wasn't ready. Until his excuses became the norm and she realized what he wasn't saying, but wholeheartedly meant, was that he didn't want children.
The hardest decision Kagome ever had to make was to walk away from her marriage, from the commitment she'd made before God and her family. But she'd done so to save herself. Inuyasha came from a very influential family. He was rich even before he made his first million. His father, Inutaisho, owned his own company, Takahashi Enterprising Inc. His mother, Izayoi, was a well-known doctor and a philanthropist who worked specifically with hospitals and children organizations. His older brother, Sesshomaru, was the vice president in Takahashi Enterprising and was the head in accounting. Inuyasha was the lone ranger in the family, even though he didn't hold a degree in business like his father and brother, he was still the epitome of ambition. For that very reason, her marriage had never stood a chance.
In the beginning, their marriage was strong, but soon his career and his quest for success proved more important than she'd ever been. Kagome had finally grown tired of the competition. Giving up wasn't usually in her nature, especially when it came to relationships. She was so heartbroken to know that she hadn't had what it took to make her marriage work. Still, she'd been strong the morning she packed her bags and left the penthouse she and Inuyasha had picked out and furnished together. She hadn't even left him a note that first time.
He was so smart, with his MBA degree and intuition he should've been able to figure it out. Especially since the day before they'd argued about starting a family. Her heart had ached until she'd thought about ripping it free to finally gain some peace. But later she'd received the news of Inutaisho's death. Kagome had grieved as if he were her own father, and despite the animosity she had toward Inuyasha, she wouldn't have wished that tragedy on anyone. So it was with that in mind that she'd returned to the Takahashi estate on the outskirts of Seattle.
Being with family again had been difficult, especially since she hadn't seen or spoken to any of them in more than six months. The moments she arrived, Inuyasha made a point of telling her that he hadn't mentioned her hiatus to his family. Kagome had been stung by the way he'd called her departure a hiatus, like she'd gone on some type of vacation or something. But that hadn't been the time to get into it. Besides, just seeing him again had her body and her emotions going haywire. A case in point was the passionate night they'd spent together after leaving the cemetery. Looking back now, she had to claim that as one of the best nights of her life.
But then the next morning, it looked to Kagome as if it was business as usual for Inuyasha, like he hadn't just buried his father. Like they hadn't made sweet tender love to one another. When she'd tried to talk to him, he'd brushed her off. He was officially unreachable, emotionally closed off just as he'd been the last few years.
Now, walking around the store, Kagome sighed over all the different designs and the racks of clothes in a pastel rainbow of colors. She heard the tiny bell that signaled a new customer entering the store, but didn't pay it much attention. But as she surveyed the outfits, her peripheral vision caught the suit and that confident swagger. Expensive and elegant, that's what it was, and when she raised her gaze a little higher, her heart pounded.
"Inuyasha!" She gasped. As if she had been caught stealing, she thrust her arms with the clothes in hand behind her back.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his golden eyes ranking over her with barely masked hunger.
"I, um, I'm shopping." Lord, she prayed he wouldn't ask what or who she was shopping for.
"I've been calling you."
Kagome licked her lips nervously. "I know."
"Why haven't you returned my calls?"
"Inuyasha, this is not the place to discuss this. I'll call you later."
His eyebrows drew close as he frowned. "I'm not inclined to believe that since you've been ducking me for about three months now."
Kagome shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze. Would she ever stop feeling like a love-struck college girl in his presence? She was grown and he'd hurt her, repeatedly, by ignoring her and denying what she wanted most in the world. By all normal standards, she should be able to walk away from him without a second thought. Yet, even now, she couldn't.
He took a step closer and touched a hand to her shoulder. "What's going on with you Kagome, why won't you just talk to me?"
She closed her eyes. His touch felt so good, but it was distracting her from the matter at hand. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. "I can't." She said, with all the strain and indecision she'd been feeling since leaving him the first time.
He rubbed her shoulder, an act she remembered all too well. "Yes you can. We've always been able to talk. We're best friends. Remember you told me that the night of our graduation. There's nothing we can't say to each other."
'That was then and this was now.' Kagome thought dismally. Still she was surprised he'd even remembered something like that. "Things have changed."
"Yea they have." He said then as if just noticing his surroundings, looked around the store and back at her. "What are you doing in a baby store?"
Even as the question left his lips, his hands moved around her back. He pulled her wrists around so that the clothes she was holding, two baby sleepers, were now hanging between them.
"What are these? A present for someone you know?" His gaze lifted from the sleepers and met hers. For all she wanted to pick up and run out of that store, she knew the moment she'd been dreading had finally come.
"They're for a baby." She took a steadying breath. "Our baby."
BlueMoon Goddess: Well what did you think of the first chapter? And before some say it in the review, I'm sorry I had Inutaisho die at the beginning of the story, I thought of changing it but I couldn't figure another way for Kagome and Inuyasha to get closer than from a tragedy. I had in mind about a friend of his dying, but I didn't think it'd been that emotional for the two of them to hook up. But anyway next chapter should be up when I get the chance, so until next time!