Don't Leave
All standard disclaimers apply.
A Short Story by bittersweet-memory that was originally planned as a one shot but had too much to put into just one chapter.
Summary: AU, OOC. Regrets are hardest to bear when one realizes they could have been avoided. Now all they have left are awkward silences and memories of what was and the enticing possibilities of what MIGHT have been.
Couple: Read and find out
"italicized"=Kagome's two sides arguing
italicized= Kagome's thoughts
italicized in between the dividers=flashback
For you AmericanStarryKnight89, thanks for being my reviewer!! Since the last chapter was Inuyasha, this one will be in Kagome's side [[not point of view exactly... oh well you'll see what I mean]]
Chapter Two
This was the hardest thing she had ever had to do.
Going there, seeing him and knowing that when she got home tonight, there would only be the sound of silence.
Nothing was more deafening or damning as the silence in that empty house.
As vehemently as Kagome denied missing Inuyasha, she knew it wasn't true. But this would be the last time she saw him.
"And you should be thankful. God knows, he's never caused you anything but pain."
Kagome groaned inwardly. Inuyasha was also the only man who made her crazy enough to argue with herself. She waited for her sentimental side to rebuff her inner cynic.
"You're not giving him enough credit. It wasn't always ALL bad between you two. What about all the smiles and those moments he dropped the arrogant act and allowed himself to actually BE with you? That should count for something!"
Kagome stopped at that. There were good times. Times when she didn't regret the "arrangement" that brought them together.
Oh well. That was water under the bridge and there was no use drowning in it. And anyway, now that she looked back on it, Inuyasha had warned her that their marriage was in name only.
"No strings attached Kagome. No messy feeling shit. Just us. You'll be financially secure and I'll have my father's company. After two years we'll beover and you'll be set for your whole life."
For a split second, the lady in question looked up at him with something akin to regret.
"Inuyasha...there's more to marriage than money. I always pictured myself marrying for love."
His golden eyes widened and his lips parted in a not-so-deep chuckle.
"Baby, in this life there's no such thing. It's lust or friendship. Love is a trap. One that you and I would be better off not falling in."
She suppressed a sniffle as she walked to her Mercedes. The meeting time had been set at 2:30 and it was now 3:00 but she didn't care anymore. All she could think about were those words.
"Inuyasha made it quite clear that he didn't want anything beyond the physical. You're the one who expected too much. You're the one who made the mistake of falling in love."
"My inner cynic sure was being loud today", Kagome sighed irritably.
"Falling in love is never a mistake, her romantic persona countered. You can't stop it, and it sure as hell doesn't involve LOGIC. It's simply...feeling."
Funny. I find myself agreeing with the dreamer today. Because I really didn't mean to fall in love. It kind of just happened. In between the endless arguments and the laughter, I fell for his....everything.
His smile.
His laughter.
His eyes.
Even the grumpiness...
And I thought he loved me too. That's what hurt the most. Not Kikyo, not even Kagura before her. Just the disappointment I felt when I realized that the only one who wanted to make this marriage real was me.
"I did think that he would come to see me as something more than a hindrance. Even come to care for me a little. But he didn't. And it's my own fault I'm crying over something I never had", Kagome chided herself as she parked her car in the expanse of the private lot.
I knew he didn't want love but I didn't listen. He was fair and it was only my pride that made me think he felt something for me besides the obligatory modicum of affection that a husband feels for his wife.
Even as she said this, Kagome couldn't help but remember those times Inuyasha let her see his soft side. Those were the times that really made her wonder.
And then there was that night. When she had caought him with Kikyo. And he said all those terrible things. Things that still haunted her.
She asked herself now, what she would do if he decided that he wanted her back.
A silly thought of course, but hadn't he said it was a mistake? That he didn't remember making love with her?
Kagome had no doubt that, the way she was feeling now, she'd take him even before he finished asking for her back.
She was so caught up in her musing that she almost missed his door.
She raised her hand to knock—
And promptly connected her fist with a hard, warm surface that was definitely not the wood of the door.
Inuyasha...
In the next chapter, a confrontation .. and perhaps a resolution?
HAPPY 4th of JULY -=]