Chapter 14
Oops.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"SQUAWK!"
Kagome's sleeping form jumped awake, and she opened her eyes to a curious seagull. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and she shut it, looking around, her eyebrows drawn together seriously.
She grunted, and the seagull squawked loudly again, and flew away. She moved to push herself up off the ground, but there was something warm and heavy draped across her middle.
Well. Waking up on a beach certainly proved to be interesting.
Just when Kagome thought things couldn't get more interesting, she turned her head to see Sesshoumaru sleeping peacefully beside her. Closely beside her.
Her sore head tried to remember the night before. 'Let's see. . . I'm fully clothed,' she looked down the length of Sesshoumaru's body, 'and so is he. . . I have a hangover. . . and a bad one, too. I only had a little wine. . . ' she tried to sit up again, but her head swam and ached in protest. 'Well, maybe I had more than I thought. . . '
Sesshoumaru stirred, interrupting Kagome's thoughts. She watched his eyes, a slit of gold appearing, and she smiled at him.
Now she remembered.
He looked up at her, his breathing still heavy and deep. Then he took his arm from around her, and looked around. His eyes widened a little. "What the. . . "
Kagome couldn't help herself. Her head went back and hit the soft sand, and she laughed loudly.
Sesshoumaru smirked at her. "You find this funny."
She nodded, clutching her sides. "Yes, I do," she said, still laughing.
"We got drunk and fell asleep on a beach."
This just caused Kagome to laugh even harder. "I know!" Delighted.
Sesshoumaru watched her, but soon, and smile tugged at his lips, and he chuckled a little.
When she recovered, Kagome wiped her teary eyes. "I'm sorry. . . it's just funny."
When Sesshoumaru didn't reply, Kagome sighed. "At least it's Sunday. The last time I woke up with a man, it was a Monday."
"Hm." Sesshoumaru sat up, and was immediately rubbing his temples. He groaned. "I haven't had a hangover in months."
"I know! What the hell did they put in that wine?!" Kagome sat up beside him.
Their pant legs were soaked, and they were both wiping sand off of their faces.
Kagome ran her tongue over he teeth. "Mmm. . . I need a toothbrush."
Sesshoumaru was silent. She couldn't see his face. Slowly, he shook his head, and when he turned to her, he was smirking. The look on his face was one of bewilderment.
"What?" she asked, a little worried.
His smirk grew a little. "Nothing," he said, getting up, then offering her a hand.
When Kagome reached his side, they stood there, close together for a moment, and Kagome smiled up at him. "You realize we *have* to be friends now that we slept together on a beach, right?"
He laughed a little, and, wait - did he blush? "Yeah," he replied.
She looked at him for a moment, and he looked back at her, until she grabbed his hand and pulled him back up the beach.
He followed, and when they passed the little restaurant, a waiter flagged them down. He told them to wait, and then disappeared into the white building. When he came back out, he had Sesshoumaru's coat, and Kagome's purse and jacket.
The waiter smiled at them knowingly as they thanked him, and Kagome blushed.
She and Sesshoumaru wiped the sand off themselves the best they could, and then got in the car for the drive back.
They talked the entire way to Kagome's apartment, about small things, the movie, Rin, and such, and when they reached her building, Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Hmm. . . What time is it?"
"About 8:30."
"Good. Miroku will still be asleep. Hey. . ."
"Hm?"
"Sango and Miroku's engagement party is Wednesday. Wanna come with me?"
"I don't really know them. . . "
"That doesn't matter! 'The more, the merrier,' we always say! And besides. . . you'll get a chance to show Sango you're not really a jerk."
Sesshoumaru's eyes crinkled sweetly, and he smiled a little. "All right. I'll go."
Kagome smiled. "Good. I had fun last night. Well, the headache was worth it, anyway."
"Yeah. Bye."
"See ya. Call me."
Sesshoumaru nodded, and waved as he pulled away. Kagome stood for a moment and smiled contentedly, her jacket hung over her arm and her purse on her shoulder. With a flip of her hair, she turned around and went inside.
It was only when she got inside that her major mistake hit her.
She had just invited Sesshoumaru to the engagement party. . . a party that InuYasha was going to be at, as well.
"Boy," she grumbled, "I've sure fixed myself up, this time."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sesshoumaru reached his own home about fifteen minutes later, and was ready to get a shower and go back to sleep, when the phone rang.
"Tokunawa."
"Sesshoumaru? Where are you? We were supposed to meet at 7:30 so we could start getting Rin's things over to your place! Where have you been?!"
"Oh! Kikyou, I'm sor-"
"I should've met my new author a half hour ago! I told you - this new book is important to me!"
"Kikyou, I'm sorry. I'll be right over, just wait there, I won't be long."
Sesshoumaru threw his coat over the back of the couch and rushed right back out the door again.
When he reached Kikyou's apartment, she was waiting outside, with Rin.
Rin immediately jumped to him and hugged him around his legs. "Good Morning, Daddy! Why are you all sandy?"
Kikyou shot him a bemused look, and handed him Rin's school bag. "She'll help you get everything inside. And she's right - you have sand all over your face. . . "
"It's nothing." he said shortly. "Rin? Are you ready to move in with me?"
"Yes, yes! Let's go!" Rin jumped up and down and ran back into the apartment.
"Kikyou?" Sesshoumaru knew he was going to give himself away, but his headache was splitting. "Do you have an aspirin?" he asked as she turned to leave.
She shot him the bemused expression again, and snorted. "You don't have a hangover, do you?"
He glared at her. "No."
"That explains the sand," she said, totally unconvinced. "Here." she gave him an aspirin from out of her purse. "See ya."
Sesshoumaru stared at her departing figure, and ran a hand through his hair. He was making a face at the sound of sand sprinkling from his hair and onto his shoulder when Rin reappeared.
"Daddy! Come *on*!"
"I'm coming, Rin."
He got her things; suitcases and a large dollhouse, and Kikyou had told him ahead of time to leave the mattress and bedframe when he offered to buy Rin a new one.
When they were settled and in the car, he buckled Rin up, and she swung her feet happily beside him, smiling and humming to herself.
"Ready to go?"
"Just go, Daddy!"
Sesshoumaru smirked and pulled off, and "Don't Look Back" by Boston was playing on the radio. When they reached a stoplight, Sesshoumaru reached his hand out to the radio dial. "I'm sorry Rin; you probably don't want to listen to this old geezer music," he joked.
"Leave it, leave it! I like it!"
Sesshoumaru shrugged and put his hand back down. "Okay."
"This is a very old song, isn't it?"
Sesshoumaru couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. It came out in 1978, when I was four years old."
With his eyes on the road, he couldn't see it, but if he knew Rin, her eyes were the size of quarters. Her voice verified his guess. "Wow. . . that was a very long time ago."
"Twenty-five years."
"Wow!"
"I know, prehistoric, huh?"
He took a glance over at Rin, and she was nodding her head. He had to laugh again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kagome was all clean, now, and was relaxing on the couch when Miroku stumbled into the living room around 9:30.
"Morning, Beautiful." she teased. His hair was a complete disaster, but he looked cute, like a little boy. All he was missing was a teddy bear.
"Shut up." He rubbed his eyes, then yawned and looked over at her. "What are you doing up? And dressed? On a Sunday? Did you even come home last night?"
"You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who's half-asleep. No, I didn't come home last night. Sesshoumaru and I got drunk and fell asleep on a beach."
Miroku glared at her. "You don't have to be sarcastic, it's just a simple question."
"I'm not being sarcastic." Dead serious.
Silence. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Nope."
Any evidence that Miroku had been half asleep now vanished. "What?! Let me get this straight - you both got drunk -"
"Uh-huh."
"And fell asleep on a beach? "
"Yes."
"Why on earth did you do that?"
"We were drunk, Miroku," she said flatly.
He eyed her as if he were afraid. "That's not like you, Kagome."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, *I* thought it was funny."
He shrugged a little and headed into the kitchen, "Did you at least have good time?"
Kagome sighed dreamily. ". . . yeah."
Miroku stopped dead in the middle of opening the refrigerator. "Uh-oh."
"What?"
"Sounds like you've got it bad."
"No, I don't! Sesshoumaru may be hot, but he's not for me."
"What makes you say that?"
"He's too perfect. And besides, he's got a kid. . . "
"So? You love kids."
"Yeah, but he's this big-time editor, and I'm just a fresh-out-of-high- school little girl. We're just friends, and I can't see it turning into anything more."
By this time, Miroku was joining her with a glass of orange juice. "You may be surprised. "he told her.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, exasperated.
"Why did he ask you to lunch yesterday?"
Kagome blushed a little, and looked at her roommate. "He told me. . . well, he wanted to celebrate because he was just granted custody of his daughter. And he told me that I'm the only person he knows that would care."
"He must not know very many people."
"No, he doesn't. Besides his ex-wife and his assistant editor, who were never his friends to begin with, and his brother, who he hates, and maybe some business people, but that's just business. . . and then there's me and his daughter. Wow. . . I guess I really am the only one who cares. Aw. . . " something in Kagome's chest twisted when she figured it out.
"Wouldn't have guessed he has a kid." Miroku took a sip of his orange juice.
"Yeah."
"But you know something," he said next, lowering his glass, "now that I think about it, I could see him with a kid. . . there's something kind about him, I could tell yesterday when we met. He even congratulated me on the engagement!"
Kagome gasped. "The engagement! Oh. . . " she groaned.
"What? What about it?"
"I. . . kind of invited him to the engagement party. . . "
"That's fine with me. The more the merrier!"
"No, not the merrier."
"Why?"
"InuYasha."
"Holy crap."
"See?"
"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do, then."
"What's that?"
"Keep them away from each other."
"It won't work."
"Why not?"
"Because they're both hotheaded. . . but I guess it would definitely be worth a try."
Miroku nodded his agreement.
"I don't want the party to be ruined." Kagome said.
"It won't be," Miroku answered confidently. "If I'm right about Sesshoumaru, he can keep himself calm and not make a scene. It's just InuYasha we'll have to worry about."
"Speaking of InuYasha. . . " Kagome was curious about something. "Has he talked to you at all about anything?"
"Like what?"
"Well. . . me? I haven't been listening to him at all lately, and. . . well, I guess I'm starting to feel kind of guilty. It's not like I hate him. . . I'm just upset with him. Oh, no. . . and then there's the party. Gah! Everything's gonna be so awkward!"
"Don't worry, Kagome. You know what? I'm gonna help you. I owe it to you."
"You owe it to me?"
"Yes. If you hadn't talked to Sango that day, there wouldn't even be a party."
Kagome smiled at him through her frustration. "Thanks. Yeah, I guess you're right."
"We'll figure everything out," her roommate reassured her. "And the party will not be ruined. I will see to that personally."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed the Chappie! Now, while you're waiting on Ch. 15, go check out this fic:
"Just This Once" by Elementsofmine
Great and worth the read! Bug her so she'll update!
Oh, and THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed chapter 13! I've never gotten 36 messages in a day, before. . . o.O
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"SQUAWK!"
Kagome's sleeping form jumped awake, and she opened her eyes to a curious seagull. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and she shut it, looking around, her eyebrows drawn together seriously.
She grunted, and the seagull squawked loudly again, and flew away. She moved to push herself up off the ground, but there was something warm and heavy draped across her middle.
Well. Waking up on a beach certainly proved to be interesting.
Just when Kagome thought things couldn't get more interesting, she turned her head to see Sesshoumaru sleeping peacefully beside her. Closely beside her.
Her sore head tried to remember the night before. 'Let's see. . . I'm fully clothed,' she looked down the length of Sesshoumaru's body, 'and so is he. . . I have a hangover. . . and a bad one, too. I only had a little wine. . . ' she tried to sit up again, but her head swam and ached in protest. 'Well, maybe I had more than I thought. . . '
Sesshoumaru stirred, interrupting Kagome's thoughts. She watched his eyes, a slit of gold appearing, and she smiled at him.
Now she remembered.
He looked up at her, his breathing still heavy and deep. Then he took his arm from around her, and looked around. His eyes widened a little. "What the. . . "
Kagome couldn't help herself. Her head went back and hit the soft sand, and she laughed loudly.
Sesshoumaru smirked at her. "You find this funny."
She nodded, clutching her sides. "Yes, I do," she said, still laughing.
"We got drunk and fell asleep on a beach."
This just caused Kagome to laugh even harder. "I know!" Delighted.
Sesshoumaru watched her, but soon, and smile tugged at his lips, and he chuckled a little.
When she recovered, Kagome wiped her teary eyes. "I'm sorry. . . it's just funny."
When Sesshoumaru didn't reply, Kagome sighed. "At least it's Sunday. The last time I woke up with a man, it was a Monday."
"Hm." Sesshoumaru sat up, and was immediately rubbing his temples. He groaned. "I haven't had a hangover in months."
"I know! What the hell did they put in that wine?!" Kagome sat up beside him.
Their pant legs were soaked, and they were both wiping sand off of their faces.
Kagome ran her tongue over he teeth. "Mmm. . . I need a toothbrush."
Sesshoumaru was silent. She couldn't see his face. Slowly, he shook his head, and when he turned to her, he was smirking. The look on his face was one of bewilderment.
"What?" she asked, a little worried.
His smirk grew a little. "Nothing," he said, getting up, then offering her a hand.
When Kagome reached his side, they stood there, close together for a moment, and Kagome smiled up at him. "You realize we *have* to be friends now that we slept together on a beach, right?"
He laughed a little, and, wait - did he blush? "Yeah," he replied.
She looked at him for a moment, and he looked back at her, until she grabbed his hand and pulled him back up the beach.
He followed, and when they passed the little restaurant, a waiter flagged them down. He told them to wait, and then disappeared into the white building. When he came back out, he had Sesshoumaru's coat, and Kagome's purse and jacket.
The waiter smiled at them knowingly as they thanked him, and Kagome blushed.
She and Sesshoumaru wiped the sand off themselves the best they could, and then got in the car for the drive back.
They talked the entire way to Kagome's apartment, about small things, the movie, Rin, and such, and when they reached her building, Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Hmm. . . What time is it?"
"About 8:30."
"Good. Miroku will still be asleep. Hey. . ."
"Hm?"
"Sango and Miroku's engagement party is Wednesday. Wanna come with me?"
"I don't really know them. . . "
"That doesn't matter! 'The more, the merrier,' we always say! And besides. . . you'll get a chance to show Sango you're not really a jerk."
Sesshoumaru's eyes crinkled sweetly, and he smiled a little. "All right. I'll go."
Kagome smiled. "Good. I had fun last night. Well, the headache was worth it, anyway."
"Yeah. Bye."
"See ya. Call me."
Sesshoumaru nodded, and waved as he pulled away. Kagome stood for a moment and smiled contentedly, her jacket hung over her arm and her purse on her shoulder. With a flip of her hair, she turned around and went inside.
It was only when she got inside that her major mistake hit her.
She had just invited Sesshoumaru to the engagement party. . . a party that InuYasha was going to be at, as well.
"Boy," she grumbled, "I've sure fixed myself up, this time."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sesshoumaru reached his own home about fifteen minutes later, and was ready to get a shower and go back to sleep, when the phone rang.
"Tokunawa."
"Sesshoumaru? Where are you? We were supposed to meet at 7:30 so we could start getting Rin's things over to your place! Where have you been?!"
"Oh! Kikyou, I'm sor-"
"I should've met my new author a half hour ago! I told you - this new book is important to me!"
"Kikyou, I'm sorry. I'll be right over, just wait there, I won't be long."
Sesshoumaru threw his coat over the back of the couch and rushed right back out the door again.
When he reached Kikyou's apartment, she was waiting outside, with Rin.
Rin immediately jumped to him and hugged him around his legs. "Good Morning, Daddy! Why are you all sandy?"
Kikyou shot him a bemused look, and handed him Rin's school bag. "She'll help you get everything inside. And she's right - you have sand all over your face. . . "
"It's nothing." he said shortly. "Rin? Are you ready to move in with me?"
"Yes, yes! Let's go!" Rin jumped up and down and ran back into the apartment.
"Kikyou?" Sesshoumaru knew he was going to give himself away, but his headache was splitting. "Do you have an aspirin?" he asked as she turned to leave.
She shot him the bemused expression again, and snorted. "You don't have a hangover, do you?"
He glared at her. "No."
"That explains the sand," she said, totally unconvinced. "Here." she gave him an aspirin from out of her purse. "See ya."
Sesshoumaru stared at her departing figure, and ran a hand through his hair. He was making a face at the sound of sand sprinkling from his hair and onto his shoulder when Rin reappeared.
"Daddy! Come *on*!"
"I'm coming, Rin."
He got her things; suitcases and a large dollhouse, and Kikyou had told him ahead of time to leave the mattress and bedframe when he offered to buy Rin a new one.
When they were settled and in the car, he buckled Rin up, and she swung her feet happily beside him, smiling and humming to herself.
"Ready to go?"
"Just go, Daddy!"
Sesshoumaru smirked and pulled off, and "Don't Look Back" by Boston was playing on the radio. When they reached a stoplight, Sesshoumaru reached his hand out to the radio dial. "I'm sorry Rin; you probably don't want to listen to this old geezer music," he joked.
"Leave it, leave it! I like it!"
Sesshoumaru shrugged and put his hand back down. "Okay."
"This is a very old song, isn't it?"
Sesshoumaru couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. It came out in 1978, when I was four years old."
With his eyes on the road, he couldn't see it, but if he knew Rin, her eyes were the size of quarters. Her voice verified his guess. "Wow. . . that was a very long time ago."
"Twenty-five years."
"Wow!"
"I know, prehistoric, huh?"
He took a glance over at Rin, and she was nodding her head. He had to laugh again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kagome was all clean, now, and was relaxing on the couch when Miroku stumbled into the living room around 9:30.
"Morning, Beautiful." she teased. His hair was a complete disaster, but he looked cute, like a little boy. All he was missing was a teddy bear.
"Shut up." He rubbed his eyes, then yawned and looked over at her. "What are you doing up? And dressed? On a Sunday? Did you even come home last night?"
"You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who's half-asleep. No, I didn't come home last night. Sesshoumaru and I got drunk and fell asleep on a beach."
Miroku glared at her. "You don't have to be sarcastic, it's just a simple question."
"I'm not being sarcastic." Dead serious.
Silence. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Nope."
Any evidence that Miroku had been half asleep now vanished. "What?! Let me get this straight - you both got drunk -"
"Uh-huh."
"And fell asleep on a beach? "
"Yes."
"Why on earth did you do that?"
"We were drunk, Miroku," she said flatly.
He eyed her as if he were afraid. "That's not like you, Kagome."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, *I* thought it was funny."
He shrugged a little and headed into the kitchen, "Did you at least have good time?"
Kagome sighed dreamily. ". . . yeah."
Miroku stopped dead in the middle of opening the refrigerator. "Uh-oh."
"What?"
"Sounds like you've got it bad."
"No, I don't! Sesshoumaru may be hot, but he's not for me."
"What makes you say that?"
"He's too perfect. And besides, he's got a kid. . . "
"So? You love kids."
"Yeah, but he's this big-time editor, and I'm just a fresh-out-of-high- school little girl. We're just friends, and I can't see it turning into anything more."
By this time, Miroku was joining her with a glass of orange juice. "You may be surprised. "he told her.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, exasperated.
"Why did he ask you to lunch yesterday?"
Kagome blushed a little, and looked at her roommate. "He told me. . . well, he wanted to celebrate because he was just granted custody of his daughter. And he told me that I'm the only person he knows that would care."
"He must not know very many people."
"No, he doesn't. Besides his ex-wife and his assistant editor, who were never his friends to begin with, and his brother, who he hates, and maybe some business people, but that's just business. . . and then there's me and his daughter. Wow. . . I guess I really am the only one who cares. Aw. . . " something in Kagome's chest twisted when she figured it out.
"Wouldn't have guessed he has a kid." Miroku took a sip of his orange juice.
"Yeah."
"But you know something," he said next, lowering his glass, "now that I think about it, I could see him with a kid. . . there's something kind about him, I could tell yesterday when we met. He even congratulated me on the engagement!"
Kagome gasped. "The engagement! Oh. . . " she groaned.
"What? What about it?"
"I. . . kind of invited him to the engagement party. . . "
"That's fine with me. The more the merrier!"
"No, not the merrier."
"Why?"
"InuYasha."
"Holy crap."
"See?"
"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do, then."
"What's that?"
"Keep them away from each other."
"It won't work."
"Why not?"
"Because they're both hotheaded. . . but I guess it would definitely be worth a try."
Miroku nodded his agreement.
"I don't want the party to be ruined." Kagome said.
"It won't be," Miroku answered confidently. "If I'm right about Sesshoumaru, he can keep himself calm and not make a scene. It's just InuYasha we'll have to worry about."
"Speaking of InuYasha. . . " Kagome was curious about something. "Has he talked to you at all about anything?"
"Like what?"
"Well. . . me? I haven't been listening to him at all lately, and. . . well, I guess I'm starting to feel kind of guilty. It's not like I hate him. . . I'm just upset with him. Oh, no. . . and then there's the party. Gah! Everything's gonna be so awkward!"
"Don't worry, Kagome. You know what? I'm gonna help you. I owe it to you."
"You owe it to me?"
"Yes. If you hadn't talked to Sango that day, there wouldn't even be a party."
Kagome smiled at him through her frustration. "Thanks. Yeah, I guess you're right."
"We'll figure everything out," her roommate reassured her. "And the party will not be ruined. I will see to that personally."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed the Chappie! Now, while you're waiting on Ch. 15, go check out this fic:
"Just This Once" by Elementsofmine
Great and worth the read! Bug her so she'll update!
Oh, and THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed chapter 13! I've never gotten 36 messages in a day, before. . . o.O