A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. You guys are so beyond cool. Well, just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that neither Kagome nor Inuyasha have any idea of who is on the responding end of their emails. Kagome doesn't know the mystery dude is Inuyasha, and Inuyasha still believes he's talking to Miss Kikyo. Ah.... misunderstandings. Where would romantic comedy be without them?
R&R my pretties....
"A Match Made in Heaven"Chapter 5: Clouds in My Coffee
"I'll have just plain espresso with cream, thanks. Oh yeah...and a bran muffin...." Kagome tapped her foot a little as she checked her watch. She was already running late. But, there was really no point in going to work at all if she didn't get her coffee. Too many upset clients and atomic waste would lie in her path, if she dared go without caffeine. Not really a good thing.
She shuffled off to the side of the counter, watching nosily as the college-aged boy capped off the Styrofoam coffee cup and slipped her muffin into a paper bag with tongs. Her mouth watered, the simmering smell of the hot beverage swirling under her nostrils. She practically snatched her breakfast from the boy's hands, and swiftly turned on her heel towards the glass doors of the shop.
She was about to rush out the door, when a familiar flash of white grabbed her attention. It was him again....that rude, confusing man from her building. Who knew that they went to the same coffee shop? Of course, it had seemed of late that Fate was very keen on placing the two together in the weirdest of locations.
Kagome paused for a moment, watched as he accepted his food from the server behind the counter. He looked so different than all the other businessmen and women in the shop. Sure, he was wearing a dark suit just like everyone else in the room...but no one else had that beautiful, strange white hair or the sharp eyes that seemed to pierce everything around him with fire.
She shook her head a little to clear her thoughts. I must drink coffee...it seems my brain is out of whack this early in the day. She hastily took a sip of the hot drink.
As Inuyasha headed towards her, she stood still at the door, hoping to catch his eye. Because, they hadn't talked for....well, at all, really. Sidelong glances and subtle jabs were the only thing they had exchanged in the past couple weeks. She had decided that if someone was going to start up a decent conversation, it might as well be her, since his stubbornness wasn't very close to giving way.
He glance up casually, and, as he neared the door, saw her standing there, giving him the strangest look. Inuyasha looked slightly confused, and checked around his shoulder for a moment to make sure she wasn't looking at anyone behind him. He approached her, a blankly surprised look blanketing his features.
"Uh.....you waiting for me?" He began, hesitantly.
Kagome nodded, smiling. "I thought we could walk to work together, seeing as we're both in the same building..."
"....Whatever..." he said, his eyes rolling casually, though he felt slightly flattered that she even wanted to spend time with him. After all, they were virtually strangers and had little to no connection.
They stepped out onto the busy sidewalk, the blaring of loud car horns and the smells of ash and exhaust coming to meet them. Inuyasha paused for a second as they left, opening the glass door wide so a mother with a stroller and a young girl in tow could push through to the sidewalk. The mother nodded in harried thanks to Inuyasha, who in turn gave a polite half-smile.
Switching his coffee into his other hand, he turned to see Kagome with a delighted smile on her face. Inuyasha raised a dark eyebrow, noting that she looked slightly crazy. "What's wrong with your face?" He asked, burying a snort in his cup of coffee.
Kagome rolled her eyes in defiance, but her face still shone. "I'm glad to see you can be polite. I didn't know you had it in you!"
Inuyasha frowned. "You act like I'm some kind of criminal. Anyway, I'm surprised I was able to run into you....without you running into me..." He raised an eyebrow suggestively, his lips twisting in a smirk.
Kagome colored, remembering their first collision in the parking garage. "That was only ONE time!" Her voice raised as she became embarrassed.
He laughed loudly, seeing her embarrassment. "Only joking...."
Inuyasha smiled to himself as they sped through a crosswalk, two blocks from the tall office building. Who would have thought that his solitary morning walk would be hijacked by the girl in his office building? It seemed as if surprises were everywhere of late. His weekend, in fact, had been littered with them.
Thoughts rushing through his brain, Inuyasha didn't care that his face had somewhat of a dopey grin plastered across it. There were reasons for it, though. He remembered how worried he had been last week over his pen-pal. Throughout their correspondence, she had sounded increasingly depressed and burdened by past demons. He had even worried about her safety. And...then, she wrote to him on Friday night, and all his fears had been assuaged.
It was as if she had become an entirely different person in the space of a day.
She had written a letter that was filled with all the qualities he enjoyed about her...and, yet, there had been more. There was an underlying humor and wit within her words, and she had sounded so much happier. Did this mean she was becoming more comfortable with Inuyasha? Perhaps he was the one that had been able to open up this new door within her. Perhaps even one day soon....she would want to meet him face-to-face.
The thought was altogether frightening and promising. She was such a beautiful person...he had no doubt that she would be beautiful on the outside too.
"So....what's your name?" Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear the girl's question. He thought for a moment, and then realized....he did not know her name either. They had functioned this long of animosity alone, and hadn't really had any need to call each other by anything but rude names.
He stuffed his free hand in his pocket, as they pushed their way up a hill. The morning breeze was heavier than normal, and whipped their hair around their faces. Her nose and cheeks turned pink under the raw, chilly wind, giving a sparkle to her eyes as she waited for his answer patiently. He had become surprised that he was feeling able to be civil to her. "Uhh....I'm Inuyasha...."
He stuck out one of his hands to meet her small one, and they shook hands while walking. "Kagome Higurashi."
Inuyasha nodded, storing it in his memory. "Kagome. So, Kagome, how often do you ask strangers to walk to work with you? Is it a daily habit, or am I just your first victim of stalking?"
Kagome frowned. "Haha, very funny. I don't stalk anybody. I should say the same for you, though. We seem to always be in the same place at the same time. How do I know that you aren't following me?" She stared at him inquisitively as she raised her eyebrows, though her eyes twinkled in teasing.
Inuyasha scoffed, as if the thought was preposterous. "Trust me, babe, I wouldn't have any reason to stalk you. I have far better things to do with my time!"
Irritation boiled up inside of her, as she shut her mouth like a trap. "Forget what I said about you knowing how to be polite. It must have been a trick of the eye."
"Touche!" He said, mockingly impressed. "My heart bleeds with the force of your words." He clutched his heart in a fake gesture of pain.
Kagome blushed again. "Ooooh I can't stand you!" Her eyebrow twitched a little, as she clutched onto her coffee, and turned her face against the wind. Of course, as she had found, not every man in the vicinity could be perfect....the only good man it seemed was the anonymous one on the other side of the email correspondence. Not every man could be perfect- like he was.
Inuyasha chuckled silently to himself, finding it amusing how her shoulders tightened up in frustration. He noticed they were approaching the office building, tall and shining with the hundreds of windows reflecting the light of the pale morning sun. They entered in through the front doors, Kagome a few paces ahead of him, wanting to keep her distance. They both darted towards the elevator doors, which were slowly inching their way closed.
Kagome sighed in relief as they made it on time, shuffling to the back. She glared up at him wryly, noticing that he was standing right next to her. "So, what was that about not following me around?" She asked, pointedly.
He over-exaggerated the roll of his eyes, and his voice came back, taunting and nasal like the first time they had met. "Unfortunately, we both ride this elevator."
The shaky elevator was about to start creaking up, when a sudden wave of riders decided to stampede on, as if it was their last escape from the world outside. That was when Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves in a rather uncomfortable position. One second, Kagome had been determined to ignore him for the rest of the ride by flipping through some papers in her briefcase...and the next....they were slammed up next to each other, body upon body, front to front.
She glared, turning her eyes up to look at the man crushed against her. It was difficult not to blush, considering his golden eyes hovered just inches above hers, and were staring back at her in annoyance. Not only that...but she could feel practically every muscle in his chest and his legs. It was far too intimate for a Monday morning...far too intimate with her newest rival who was shaping up to be quite handsome.
"What do you think you're doing?" His voice bit back at her, all of his lightness from their walk disappearing in the space of a few seconds.
Kagome flushed indignantly. "It isn't exactly my choice to be so close to you, you know!" she growled through clenched teeth.
Their body heat radiated together, as they stared each other down, and she wished with all her might that the elevator would rise faster to let them off.
Suddenly, Inuyasha glanced around at all the older men and women in the elevator, and he snickered gently to himself. "Kagome, stop groping me!" He whined, waiting for her reaction.
Her face now heated up to epic proportions, as every single person in the compartment raised an eyebrow.
"Jerk!"
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"....So then Kirara did the cutest thing...she jumped up onto my stomach and made the most adorable noise....Hey, Kagome, are you even listening?" Sango leaned forward to catch her friend's eyes, who had glaze over minutes before.
"What!? Oh....sorry....." Kagome blushed a little, realizing that she had drifted off into her own thoughts for the millionth time that day. It seemed like all she ever thought about anymore was the weird fantasies she kept having. Every word, every situation, and every couple she dealt with would remind her of the possible romance in her life. It was budding like a seed in her....made her giddy with happiness, and also a little regretful at her choice to pretend to be Kikyo.
Because...pretending to be someone else was treading on dangerous ground. It was something that could destroy the integrity of their company...yet it was almost like an attraction she couldn't run away from. If she stopped now, the man would realize what a despicable creature she really was...and she'd lose her chances forever.
"I'm sorry to bore you with my cat stories...I guess it's not as interesting when you're not there...."
Kagome laughed lightly. "No, no...it's not that. Kirara seems far more entertaining than Buyo. Buyo's just a lump of lard...he hasn't jumped at all in about ten years...."
Sango peered into Kagome's face. "You're Ok, then...nothing big happening I should know about?"
Kagome shook her head rapidly. "No...just tired, I guess," she lied.
Sango's face spread into a devious grin as she remembered something. "So, I noticed you've been tracking out favorite couple, lately, huh? Reading the correspondence...." She wagged her finger at Kagome playfully.
"Err....yeah....I guess I'm not supposed to do that, huh?"
Sango giggled. "Don't worry....I've done it before. You really took a liking to that mystery guy, didn't you? I'd say it's something of an addiction..." she winked.
Kagome blushed more than she wanted to, knowing that Sango had no idea that she was pretending to be one of their clients. "I'm not addicted to anything, Sango..." she muttered it, knowing that Sango was partly right.
"Sure, hon, sure.....Well, I've got to get more work done. You should too, if you want to get out of here on time!" She left Kagome blushing at her desk.
Kagome glanced across her desk at the mirror on the wall, seeing how dark her face had become. She placed a hand over her hot cheek. Everything was making her blush today.
She sighed to herself. Just a little bit longer...I'll enjoy this for just a few more days, and then I have to tell him the truth. I can't live in a lie like this any more.
She wished desperately that she could, though.
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A/N: Hoo boy Inuyasha and Kagome are so fun to write when they bicker. Kagome needs to get her act straight..otherwise, some bad things are going to happen. And, where is my lovely Miroku? He is the absolute most entertaining character to write, since he's so smooth. Hopefully we'll get some MonkAction! next chapter.
Oh, and if you all wouldn't mind terribly, it would be really cool if you could give my newest story, "Unforgiven," a read. It's much darker and deeper than any of my other stories, but I think it's really good. Plot twists, and such. Miroku and Sango have huge roles in it, and their relationship is slightly more developed than Inuyasha's and Kagome's. Plus, it'll be my fastest-updating story, since I have so much of it written already.
Review please!