Don't Leave
by bittersweetmemory
Insert standard disclaimers here
Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming x]
Chapter 5
Inuyasha sat at his office desk amidst the piles of vacation brochures. He was determined to pick out the perfect spot.
His marriage depended on it.
Idly, he wondered why Kagome decided to invite their friends along for the trip. Was it because she was trying to avoid being alone with him? Was she scared of him? Or did she really just feel like playing matchmaker?
Knowing Kagome, it was probably a combination of all three.
Suddenly, he was seized by another thought. He picked up his phone and dialed a very familiar number.
Three rings before he got his man.
Meanwhile, the girls were enjoying their weekly (until Ayame went away) movie fest at Kagome's comfortable three-story house. At the moment, they were enjoying the World War II love story, Pearl Harbor.
"Great job Ayame! You never told us these American actors were so hot!"
Her green-eyes crinkled as she gave them a wicked smile.
"A girl's gotta have her secrets right?"
Kagome sighed as Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale shared a tender moment on-screen. She wished her own marriage was like that…
An image of Inuyasha professing his love for with a deluge of flowery poetry and chocolate sprang to mind. No, her marriage would never be like the love stories she saw acted out on the big screen. She pushed away a twinge of regret. It was time she let Inuyasha prove his worth. She'd shed enough tears.
As the end credits flashed, she stood up, dusted off her silk pajamas and went to the kitchen to refill the popcorn bowl.
"Hey guys?"
Sango and Ayame looked up from their places on Kagome's extremely comfortable beige sofa.
"Yeah Kags?"
"What's up?"
"Where do you guys feel like going for the trip? Inuyasha and I are meeting tomorrow to plan out the details."
All three got silent, each thinking of their own ideas.
"Hey Kagome…", asked Sango, "why's you want us to come with you anyway?"
Kagome smiled.
"First off, I don't think I would be able to control my homicidal tendencies if I were around Inuyasha alone for a month. Second, I thought it would be a good chance for all of us to bond. Third, you'll have to wait and find out."
A mischievous smirk slowly turned her lips upward as she thought about the match-making opportunities.
Fortunately for her, Sango and Ayame had already gone back to thinking about possible vacation spots. They remained blissfully unaware.
If they only knew…
Sango spoke up then.
"How 'bout Paris?"
"Too cliché."
"Skiing?"
"Too cold."
Ayame perked up.
"Ranch?"
Sango and Kagome each raised a brow in her direction.
"How bout the beach?"
"…That works. But it's not just us deciding. Apparently Inuyasha and the boys get a say too."
Sango snorted.
"Well Miroku will definitely agree. Girls in bikinis… what's not to love?"
Even as she said this, Kagome and Ayame detected a touch of bitterness in her voice.
"You know Sango; you never got around to telling us what happened between you too in college."
"Oh that! Nothing. Absolutely nothing… Let's just put on the next movie."
Miroku lay alone in his bed, contemplating the past. Inuyasha wasn't the only one who got a second chance.
Seeing Sango again today, remembering how it used to be between them, and thinking about how it could've been between them.
It was enough to make the self-proclaimed "lover of all women" give it up.
She was the only one who knew exactly what he needed.
After what he did a year ago, or rather, what he didn't do, he couldn't blame Sango for being so distant.
She slapped him today, and oddly enough, that was what he had missed the most.
He didn't want to brag, but any other woman would have been flattered…
Ok not flattered, but they wouldn't have slapped him as hard as she did.
She was the only one that dared.
He'd loved her.
And he had screwed it all up by not saying the words she had wanted so much to hear.
Marry me?
He wouldn't mess this up. He'd make up for lost time.
Sango would never know what hit her.
The next day, Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku and Fluffy met Kagome, Ayame, Sango and Rin in the very same ice cream shop where it all started.
Surprisingly, Rin and Fluffy arrived at the same time.
In the same car.
Inuyasha broke the stunned silence.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Fluffy…er…Sesshoumaru raised an annoyed eyebrow at his younger half-sibling.
"You've obviously not developed any tact since I last saw you. I met Rin on the way to our meeting and decided to give her a ride here."
"…Oh."
After greeting Rin with a hug, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. She was clearly getting impatient.
"Inuyasha! We don't have all day here. Where and when?"
"Hold on wench!"
"Wench? What happened to being civil, Inuyasha?"
"Well if you hadn't been so impatient—"
"TIME OUT!"
Sango's voice startled the rest of the customers in the shop, but more importantly, it stopped the brewing arguement.
"Kagome, you calm down and sit down. Inuyasha, do shut up for once. Let's just talk this out like the mature adults you're trying to be."
Both looked away and huffed.
After they were seated in one of the shop's charming booths, they got down to business.
Sort of.
After everyone had finally finished placing their orders, then they got down to business.
Ice cream before romantic getaways. Always.
"So," Kagome said, taking a bite of her milk chocolate waffle cone, "the girls and I decided the beach was a pretty good place to be."
Inuyasha stopped licking at his own French vanilla cone and gave her an incredulous look.
"That may be, darling, but since I'm the one who offered the proposal, the boys and I get the final say."
"All right then Inuyasha. So where's it gonna be?"
"We don't know yet."
Kagome saw red.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW YET?"
Miroku decided to intervene.
Unfortunately, Kouga enjoyed seeing Inuyasha squirm.
"He did Miroku? When? I don't remember that conversation…"
After a few bumps (courtesy of Inuyasha) and slaps (courtesy of Sango), they finally decided.
From the first of August to the beginning of September, the eight of them would be vacationing at Paradise Cove.
It was all planned out. Inuyasha would be in charge of the tickets. Kagome called the hotel. Sango and Miroku took care of planning out what they would be doing. Kouga and Ayame took care of transportation and Rin and Sesshoumaru handled the rest of it.
This was gonna be one hell of a trip.
Thanks for the reviews!
Keep them coming!