Chapter 12:
Pizza was perhaps the most interesting food Inuyasha had ever had. Almost, but not quite better than ramen. There was no fumbling with unfamiliar cutlery: pizza was eaten with the hands. Fawn had ordered in several different kinds, since everyone had their own preferences. Inuyasha was encouraged to try each type.
And best of all, he was able to hold Breanna in one arm while he ate. Inuyasha still had his hair in the braid that Kagome had made for him that morning, so he had tossed it over his shoulder for the baby to hold on to and play with. He was becoming quite attached to the sunny-dispositioned infant. Both Fawn and Nancy Frances were glad of the break.
Inuyasha would look up from making silly sounds at Breanna to find Tamisé smiling at him indulgently and Kagome staring at him with something in her eyes that made him feel warm and tranquil. It seemed that she had forgiven him for the scene with Sharon, at least for the moment.
Suddenly, he wrinkled his nose. Phew!
"Okay," Fawn said, laughing. "I know that look. I guess the baby has to be changed." She held out her arms for her daughter, and Inuyasha handed Breanna over. "Since you're so good with babies, maybe I should teach you to change a diaper."
Inuyasha gave a slightly panicked yip and slid under the table. "Anything but that," he said.
"Anything? Oh ho, you'll be sorry," Fawn said. "How about I change her and then you sing her to sleep."
"Okay!" Inuyasha crawled out from beneath the table. "That I can handle."
OoOoOo
By the time the baby had been put to bed, Jonathan had come over to pick up the members of his household. He informed them that Kirsten was sleeping and on no account should she be awakened.
The moment Inuyasha went in Jonathan's back door, he knew that he could not sleep there that night. The scent of the two of them seemed to be everywhere, although there were places where it was stronger. Inuyasha gave the kitchen island a wide berth, raising an eyebrow at Jonathan as he passed.
Jonathan grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
The livingroom was no better. And the dining room!
"Oh – that's just wrong!" Inuyasha tried to stalk upstairs, but tripped and found himself crawling up the flight of stairs at a speed that astonished the others. Even shutting the door to his room and heaving open the window did not help. With a sigh, he clambered out the window and into the tree. In a few minutes, he had made his way down to the huge old willow, where he found a suitable branch and settled in for the night.
OoOoOo
"Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha opened one eye blearily and unfolded himself on the tree limb.
"Inuyasha? Where are you?"
It was Kirsten calling him. She was on the path in the park, her hands on her hips and looking rather distraught.
Inuyasha paused to admire the small mutant for a moment. She was wearing shorts and a snug-fitting t-shirt with her hair loose about her shoulders. As she turned her head, Inuyasha could see the Weaponsmaster braid in her blue hair. Kirsten looked a little tired, but other than that, none the worse for wear, as far as he could tell. When her calling began to have a panicky note to it, he swung himself down from the tree and strode over.
"I'm here. What's the problem?"
"Oh thank God! Don't do that to me, dear. Why did you sleep down here, anyway?"
She tried to hug him, but he shrugged away and folded his arms. Her scent told him she was still in heat and it could be dangerous to get too close if Jonathan should happen to be around. He glared at her from the corner of his eyes. "Do I have to answer that and embarrass you?"
"Oh. I'm so sorry, Inuyasha. We just didn't think."
"Naw… you were busy doing something else," he drawled. "Keh!"
Now Kirsten was blushing. He decided to take pity on her and took her hands in his.
"Tam explained to me why you didn't come in and told me about the miscarriage you had. I hope… I hope things work out this time."
Kirsten's face crumpled. "I wish he hadn't said anything."
"Why not? C'mere."
Before Kirsten could react, Inuyasha had his arm about her waist and had jumped them both into the willow. He settled her on a branch, pleased that she caught her balance immediately and did not have to cling to him like Kagome. Well, he didn't actually mind Kagome clinging to him. But it would not go well with him if Jonathan should come looking for his mate and find her in Inuyasha's arms. Especially since she was still in heat.
"If you're to be my sensei, there should be a certain amount of trust between us, right? There were a lot of things we told each other on the jet – and some of the things I spoke of I've never said to another living being. Not even to Kagome."
Tears were falling down Kirsten's cheeks. "Inuyasha, you have a very soft heart underneath all the brusqueness."
He brushed her tears away with his thumb. "Yeah, yeah. I just don't want to get into a fight with Jon if he thinks I've made you cry. Why are you with him, anyway? You seem to be stronger, more dominant than he is."
Kirsten gave a hiccuping laugh. "Don't let his demeanour fool you. Jon is plenty alpha male when he wants to be. It's just I've been Cobra longer than he's been Dragon, and have more experience at what we do. So there are certain situations where he defers to me and other situations where he is team leader. As for why I'm with him…" She glanced over at Inuyasha and smiled. "I love him, plain and simple, and he loves me. He fell in love with me the way I am, scales and all, and made me feel human again. He made me feel like I wasn't some kind of freak, some aberration of nature."
"Kagome makes me feel the same way." Inuyasha stood up on the branch and braced himself against the trunk of the tree. "Did she tell you she's going out tonight?"
"Yeah. With David. I'm not sure I like that."
"Something wrong with David?"
"Well… there's the age difference for one thing. And David has a certain reputation…"
Inuyasha swung his head around and glared. "What kind of reputation?"
Kirsten bit her lip. "Forget I said anything, dear. She'll be okay with him, I'm sure. Are you jealous?"
"A little." He shifted his feet. "Okay, a lot. But, as I said, I have no claim on her and she can do as she wills. And if I need to make her jealous, there's always Sharon."
Kirsten stared at him. "Sharon?"
Inuyasha grinned. "She invited me for dinner… and other things. I'm not sure just exactly what she had in mind, but I'm sure that Kagome wouldn't like it."
He sat down again and took Kirsten's hand. Inhaling deeply, he began to tell her what had happened yesterday, reminding himself that trust also went both ways.
"I'll have her fired on Monday," Kirsten said.
"You're going to set her on fire – for that?" Inuyasha was aghast.
"No, no, dear. I will tell her that she can't work for me any longer. That she has to leave the company."
"Oh." Inuyasha's ears flattened. "Please don't do anything to her, Kirsty. She was trying to help at first and it did feel really nice. But if I didn't want her touching me, I should have said something immediately. So, it's as much my fault as it is hers."
"There are rules of conduct, Inuyasha."
"Which I notice that people tend to ignore when it suits them."
Kirsten snorted. "Unfortunately, you've got a point there. Do you want me to have a talk with her?'
He shook his head. "No. Leave it be, Kirsty. I think I can handle one amorous wench."
Kirsten looked at her watch. "Dang it! Jon will be looking for me soon. We have to go shopping for groceries. Do you want to come? There may be certain things that you'd like to have to eat."
"All right. I'll help you down."
"You, boy, forget who and what I am," she said with a grin.
Before he could move, Kirsten dived off the branch and landed gracefully on the ground.
"I'll race you home!" she called up to him and dashed off.
"Hey, wench! That's not fair!"
OoOoOo
Inuyasha watched from the high boughs of a tree as Kagome got into David's car and was driven off, away from him. She had looked so pretty in the short flowered sundress she had chosen to wear. Why didn't she dress like that for him? Was she afraid that he'd accidentally tear her nice things with his claws?
He slumped back against the trunk and sulked. The day had not gone well from the beginning and it looked like it would not end well either.
The half-demon had spent as little time in the house as he could, since it still smelled of Jonathan and Kirsten. Kirsten had spent part of the morning washing down odd places and spraying things into the air to at least mask the mating smell, but it did not help much. Windows had been left open wherever possible to allow fresh air to blow through. Inuyasha thought that even with these measures, he'd be spending the night again in the willow.
Tamisé and Jonathan had joked with him earlier about spending the night in the tree. Inuyasha had growled that he had been up and down more often than an elevator yesterday because of the scent. It had not been a smart comment to make, for he had ended up in Tamisé's study with the two men, having a far too frank discussion about mating.
But in retrospect, the discussion had been most enlightening. Tamisé's people had a very relaxed attitude toward sex and did not frown on young people's experimentation the way that Jonathan's society did. Tamisé was relieved that Inuyasha had at least some knowledge of where babies came from. Jonathan had laughed out loud when Inuyasha told them that Mrs. Higurashi had explained all that to him. But she had been vague on the subject of mating. Tamisé was not. In the end, Inuyasha had a far better idea of what went on between a man and a woman, although he was still not entirely clear on several points.
It also seemed that Tamisé was not happy about Kagome going out with David either, and not just because of the age difference. When Inuyasha asked why he had permitted it, Tamisé had shrugged and said:
"If I had expressed any displeasure about David, Kagome would have been even more determined to go out with him. Let her go, lad, and let her have her fun. But mark my words, it won't be too long before she discovers that David is a big mistake. It's then, my lad, that you should be there for her. So – hold your tongue and bide your time, no matter how hard it is. She'll come back to you soon enough."
"Are you sure?"
Tamisé had winked. "Positive. You see, I know David all too well."
Inuyasha's reverie was interrupted by a sudden, piercing whistle. He pricked up his ears and looked down. Tamisé was standing beneath the tree, looking up at him with some amusement.
"Come on down, lad. No use moping. We're all taking the children down to the park and Jon and I have a frisbee to toss around. Come with us."
Inuyasha had no idea what a frisbee was, but anything that Jonathan and Tamisé were going to toss sounded like fun. He had been itching all day for something physical to do and had been disappointed when Kirsten had told him they were not going into the office that day.
Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and joined the rest of the group in the trek down to the park. He allowed Ryan and Colin on his back as he jumped across the creek. The boys thought it was great fun and would have been happy to have Inuyasha jump them back and forth for the rest of the evening. In the end, the half-demon managed to distract them into a game of tag until they tired out.
In the meantime, Tamisé and Jonathan were throwing the frisbee back and forth between them, vying to see who could make the most outrageous catch. Inuyasha watched with a great deal of interest, as the saucer seemed to glide between the two men with a mind of its own. If he had had a tail, it would have been beating the ground with eagerness to join in.
Suddenly, the frisbee made an abrupt change in direction and was headed towards Inuyasha. He galloped forward and leaped into the air after it, catching it in one hand as he somersaulted in mid-air, then landed on his feet.
"I got it!" he called excitedly.
Jonathan folded his arms and looked amused. "Well – at least he didn't catch it in his teeth."
"Throw it over here, lad," Tamisé called.
Inuyasha tried to toss the frisbee the way he had observed, but it would not cooperate. It nose-dived and rolled on its rim to Tamisé's feet. Inuyasha's ears drooped.
"How come it didn't work?"
"You didn't have it angled right. Here, let me show you."
Tamisé demonstrated the correct way to throw the frisbee. When Jonathan sent it skimming back, the tall alien handed it to Inuyasha.
"Try again."
This time, Inuyasha was able to send it sailing on the breeze, although it curved away from Jonathan, who had to dash after it before it landed in the creek.
"I did it!"
Tamisé clapped him on the shoulder and motioned him away, so they formed a triangle. They began to toss the frisbee to each other with a great deal of laughter and jokes until Fawn called a halt.
"It's cooling down, Tam. We need to get the children inside to bed."
"Of course, sweeting. Right away."
Inuyasha carried Colin and Ryan again, jogging them up and down to make them squeal. He pretended that he was going to drop them in the creek, and laughed at their protests. He tipped Colin off at his back door, then jogged Ryan into his house and up the stairs to his room.
"Into bed!"
He dumped the giggling child onto his bed and began to tickle him. Kirsten watched indulgently from the door.
"All right. That's enough," she said finally. "Time for bed, Ryan."
Inuyasha let the small boy kiss him good night and went downstairs while Kirsten got her son into bed. Jonathan was putting the kettle on in the kitchen.
"Tea, Yasha?"
"Please. " He looked up at the kitchen clock. "Isn't Kagome late?"
Jonathan chuckled. "She won't be home for hours yet. Relax."
Inuyasha chewed at a nail. "Can't."
"Tam's right, you know. About David."
"If he touches her…"
"You'll do what? Trust me, you're better off waiting until Kagome discovers for herself what David's like. In the meantime, it sounds like Sharon's anxious to keep you busy."
Inuyasha blushed. "I told Kirsty I could handle her, but now I'm not so sure."
Jonathan laughed. "Sharon's probably biting her nails right now, wondering if you've told Kirsty. She could get herself fired over this, quite easily, if you wanted to make a complaint."
Inuyasha shook his head. "No. Maybe if I sat down and explained that I would like to be just friends? That I love someone else?"
"That might work." Jonathan grinned from ear to ear. "You didn't believe Kirsty when she told you how attractive you were, didja? Sharon might be just the first of many who'll fling themselves at you."
Inuyasha sighed. "I hope not. I'm more used to them running away, screaming. Why do they think I'm handsome?"
"Me, I think they're just going for your sexy body… Ouch!" Jonathan laughed as Inuyasha bopped him on the head. "But then… it could be the long hair, or even those eyes of yours. It sure isn't your charming personality and sparkling wit… Ouch! Dammit! Stop that before I start pulling your ears!"
Inuyasha chortled and backflipped away from Jonathan, who had made a lunge for his ears. The two of them circled each other for a moment, before Jonathan made a feint and ended up with a handful of Inuyasha's hair. He tugged the half-demon's head towards him and gave the closest ear a playful twist. Inuyasha snapped his teeth at him and bared his teeth in a feral grin.
"All right, you two. Stand down."
Kirsten stood in the doorway, with a grin on her face. She understood that they were only play-fighting, although to anyone else, it may not have looked that way.
"Yes Ma'am, ma'am!" Jonathan threw his wife a mock salute and stood at attention.
Inuyasha mimicked him. Both men tried unsuccessfully to keep a straight face as Kirsten stalked around them, hands clasped behind her back, in imitation of a very displeased superior officer. When Inuyasha let out a strangled laugh, Kirsten came around in front of him.
"Well, mister, since you seem to have so much energy, I'm going to work you until you drop tomorrow. I'll take you into the office, and you can demonstrate the powers of that sword of yours. See if you can impress me."
Inuyasha put his hand on the Tetsusaiga's hilt. "As Jon would say, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Ma'am."
"Hmmm. That remains to be seen. Will somebody get that kettle before it boils dry?"
