Chapter 25:
Inuyasha heaved a sigh and stared commisersatingly at Jonathan over the heads of two quietly weeping women. Jonathan grinned and shrugged. The half-demon began to look around the pretty little church, fascinated as always by the colourful windows. Inuyasha had been in this particular church a few times, but this was the first time for a wedding.
Kirsten attended services here when she wasn't too busy, and both Ryan and Colin had been baptized at this church. Inuyasha had been introduced to the minister, Reverend Keane, who was a particular friend of Kirsten's and knew her in both her personas. He liked the man, felt comfortable with him, and laughed at the minister's jokes about converting him to Christianity. The half-demon had come with Kirsten to services out of curiosity; he had no real interest in a religion of any type. To his surprise, he'd liked it – at least the singing part. He found the hymns soothing, and when the service was more traditional and mostly sung, something spoke to him in a language without words. It was similar to whatever it was he had felt the night he had danced. Whatever it had been, it remained tantalizingly just beyond his reach.
Tamisé and Fawn sat in the row just before them. It had been Tamisé's job to give away the bride, as her father had passed away. The redhaired alien sat quietly with a happy smile on his face, as if congratulating himself on a job well done. Indeed, he had been instrumental in introducing the couple being wed.
Inuyasha thought back to the stag party he had attended with Jonathan and Tamisé two nights ago. A group of the men had arranged for the party to be held at a strip club. Tamisé had volunteered Leo and the stretch limo, knowing as he did how these parties could get just a tad rambunctious. Jonathan was to bring his own car to help ferry any left-overs. The ladies had not been happy about the venue for the party, and Inuyasha had not understood why until he'd been ushered through the door. He had almost ushered himself right back out again to sit with Leo in the car.
It had been…educational, to say the least. It was a good thing it was fairly dark in the room so the other men could not see how red his face was, otherwise he would have been teased unmercifully. It certainly did not help when one of the dancers decided to pretend she liked him. He knew she was not interested – her scent was a dead giveaway – to her, it was just a job and she was hoping for large tips. Tamisé had pressed a bill into his hand for him to give to the dancer, but there was no way he was going to put it where she had indicated! He had caught her hand and tucked the folded bill between two of her fingers, then had kissed her knuckles as a sort of apology. She had given him the first true smile she'd had on her face since she had come out on the stage.
Now, the main part of the wedding ceremony was over, and Tamisé was going up to the front to sing the "Wedding Song", as he had been asked to do. Inuyasha had heard him practising the song and had liked it immensely. Beside him, Kagome gave a renewed sob and clutched at his hand. Inuyasha squeezed her fingers gently and smiled down at her tear-stained face as he listened to the words of the song. Perhaps, one day, he could ask Tamisé to sing that song for him and Kagome. If the gods were kind.
Inuyasha was looking forward to the reception with a vague sense of dread. Tamisé and his band were going to be playing and Tamisé had gotten Inuyasha to agree to sing with them. Well, to be truthful, Tamisé had put him in a headlock until he had agreed. They had been practising for two weeks, and Inuyasha was sure that he would be stricken with stage fright and unable to produce anything more than an agonized croak. At least, most of the time, he'd be with the back-up singers where he could hide behind the two ladies. If they'd let him.
Then, far too suddenly, it was three hours later and Inuyasha's nice prime rib dinner was threatening to exit in a most unpleasant manner. Tamisé checked the half-demon's appearance once last time before the band would begin to play. The tall alien tugged on the quilted wrap jacket Inuyasha was wearing to make sure it was sitting correctly across his shoulders, and made sure his long silver hair had been suitably brushed and confined in a loose ponytail. Inuyasha was a vision in black and silver in contrast to Tamisé's black and gold. The rest of the band members were also in black, and the back-up singers wore formal black gowns.
"Are we ready, then, Charlie?" Tamisé asked his lead guitarist, who also functioned as band manager.
"I think so. Yasha's not gonna hurl on us is he? He looks kinda pale."
"Inuyasha…" Tamisé gripped him by the back of the neck and touched his forehead to the half-demon's. "Deep breaths, lad. You'll do fine. Just stay with Bonnie and Deanna. Hold Bonnie's hand if you have to – I'm sure she won't mind."
Bonnie smiled and winked at Inuyasha. "Not at all, luv. He'll be fine, Tam, once we get going."
"Alright then. We're on."
Bonnie proved to be correct: Inuyasha did feel better once he was actually singing. When it came time for him to sing "Never Been to Spain", he had bounced out to the front after Bonnie had squeezed his hand in encouragement. Tamisé had chosen the song for him to show off his voice a little. He did blush, however, when Kirsten and Kagome whistled and shouted from the middle of the guests and got the other ladies shouting too.
Inuyasha was relieved when their gig was done and the DJ took over again. Best of all, that meant that he could grab Kagome for the next waltz and show her that he did know how to dance after all, thank you very much.
When he had found out that they were invited to this wedding, he had enlisted aid in learning how to waltz and doing some of the round dances that Tayne was so fond of. He planned on showing Kagome that he could do more than just shuffle around in a circle.
And it was fun. He danced with a number of women, not just Kagome, and felt he had acquitted himself well. Okay – he wasn't the superb dancer that Tamisé was, but none of the ladies had gotten their toes trod on.
When it came time for the bride and groom to leave, Inuyasha watched as the bride tossed her bouquet over her shoulder to the group of squealing single females. The tradition had been explained to both him and Kagome, and of course Kagome would participate with the others. And of course, it had to be Kagome who caught the mass of flowers, shrieking with excitement. Inuyasha smacked his forehead in mock consternation, while Jonathan and Tamisé both laughed at him.
"You know she'll not let me forget this," he said to them.
"Aw now, lad, it's not that bad is it?" Tamisé clapped him on the shoulder, laughing. "Don't know how it's done where you come from – but I'll give the bride away, if you like."
Inuyasha gave a rueful laugh. "I can't think of marriage just yet, Tam. There's Naraku to deal with first. And then – I have to think how I can support a family."
OoOoOo
It grew hot again, but at least the air conditioner in the Windrow home did not break down again. The Windrows and O'Connors decided that a strategic retreat to Tayne's retreat in the north was in order.
Tayne would not be using it for a few weeks. Her husband's mother had finally passed away, and Tayne and her children would be going to join Milan to attend the funeral and to help get things settled again. Inuyasha had expressed his condolences to Tayne and Lintet in what he hoped had been a suitable manner.
Inuyasha enjoyed the trip up to the retreat and loved the house on sight. No simple cottage, this was a huge house with six bedrooms. A porch ran around three sides of the building and was littered with chairs, benches and a swing. Inside, many of the downstairs rooms were panelled and full of comfortable, homey furniture. The kitchen was unabashedly modern, but the dining area boasted an old wood stove in a corner and was dominated by a huge trestle table that looked like it could seat twenty comfortably.
Inuyasha was given his own room, and although it was small, he was very comfortable there. Kagome had her own room as well, next to his.
He slung a duffel bag full of clothes onto the bed, kicked off his shoes, then had leaped over the railing into the livingroom below to begin exploring. Kirsten had shouted after him not to give the kids any ideas about shortcuts, and he had grinned up at her and waved.
Outside… oh, to be among forest again! There were well established trails, but Inuyasha ignored them all, leaping into the trees and jumping from one to another, nearly drunk with joy. The park at home was all very fine and good, but he couldn't travel like this there. After an hour or so, he could hear Kagome calling him from one of the trails, and doubled back to join her.
"There you are," she said, not even twitching when he dropped down in front of her suddenly. "Kirsty says to be careful - there's poison ivy in the deep woods. She showed me what it looks like so we can avoid it."
Inuyasha danced around in a circle, laughing, his arms spread wide. "I was beginning to think there were no more places like this in your world, Kagome."
"There are, but they're few and far between. You like it here?"
"Keh! Of course, I like it here. I love it here!"
"Well, you'll have to come back to the house. Kirsty wants us to clean up. Apparently, every Saturday night, there's a potluck at the Reservation we passed through, and they expect us to come."
"What's potluck?"
"Oh – Kirsty says everybody brings something to eat, and since you don't know what will be brought, you have to take pot luck. Or something like that. It sounds like fun. And they always have dancing after."
"Do I have to go?"
"Inuyasha, it'd be rude not to. You saw how friendly everyone was when we passed through." Kagome slipped her arms around his neck and cuddled close. "Besides, don't you want to dance with me again?"
"Mmm." He put his arms about her, then hoisted her up and swung her in a circle, laughing at her shriek. "Minx. There are several things I can think of to do with you."
"Really?"
"Really. And I think I'll start with this…"
Kagome shrieked again as she was tossed over Inuyasha's shoulder. He marched down the trail towards the house, ignoring the fists that beat against his back. When he came within sight of the house, he patted her rump and set her down.
"I'm beginning to see why Miroku likes to do that so much," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"What – are you becoming a lech too?"
"Maybe. I noticed, however, that you didn't insist on being put down."
Kagome put her hands on her hips. "I certainly did."
"You don't fool me one bit, wench. If you wanted down, you would have yelled 'sit'."
Kagome opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed her mouth again.
OoOoOo
Inuyasha adored being at the retreat. The only downside was that Tamisé and Fawn were on his other side and they were… well, not loud… but Colin had been right: they did do that a lot. No matter how quiet they tried to be, Inuyasha knew. To make matters even worse, he could also hear Jonathan and Kirsten down the other end of the hall. All of this loving going on with himself not getting any was driving him slightly crazy. Kagome was completely oblivious to it all, since her hearing was no where near as acute as his.
But there was no way Inuyasha would even hint to Kagome that he wanted to be intimate. To be truthful, he was not sure he was ready either, no matter what his body said.
Tamisé noticed his antsiness and interpreted it correctly. This resulted in Inuyasha taking a 'fishing trip' with Jonathan and Tamisé, so they could have another chat with him in private. Inuyasha was thankful that he had two adult men to look up to as he went through these somewhat uncomfortable changes. Tamisé was just so matter-of-fact about it all that Inuyasha often forgot to be embarrassed. Jonathan, while sympathetic, was having a bit of trouble getting past the age thing, no matter how Tamisé told him to lighten up. When Jonathan was finally goaded into telling the two of them how old he'd been the first time, Tamisé had laughed uproariously and announced that he'd been a whole year older and considered a late bloomer and so Jonathan could have nothing to say on the subject.
However, Inuyasha began to take his courting of Kagome seriously. It was one thing to announce his intentions to claim her, but quite another thing entirely to carry through. He had been hoping that her birthday gift would also be a betrothal gift, but there was still a lot of ground to cover before that would be.
Tamisé had pointed out a small island to him while they were out in one of the retreat's boats, and had told him it was a great place to spend an afternoon alone together. Since there were abundant raspberry bushes on this particular island, he suggested that Inuyasha take Kagome there under the pretense of picking berries, then sit her down and have a good, private talk.
It was not hard to convince Kagome to go with him. However, she insisted on packing a picnic and the books they were reading. He gave in without a ruckus, even though he vowed he had no intention of reading.
He waited until after they had eaten before he began his discussion. Kagome had just settled back on the blanket they had spread out on the ground and had picked up her book.
"Kagome…"
"Hmm? What?" She was flipping through the book to find her page.
"Kagome… what will you do after we get Naraku?"
"After… huh? I… don't know. Hadn't really thought about it."
Inuyasha sat down cross-legged and took up one of her hands. "Kagome – if we'd never met, what would you be doing now?"
"Not having this conversation with a half-demon, that's for sure."
"No – seriously. What would you be doing? What do you want to do with your life?"
Kagome shrank back a little from the serious look in his eyes. "What brought this on?"
"Well, it's just…" He heaved a sigh. "You're right, you know. Sometimes it's all about me. Even this trip to Canada is all about me. I haven't stopped to ask myself what you want. What you need."
Kagome put her book down and touched his cheek. "Inuyasha, you're not totally selfish, you know. I said I would come to keep you company, so you wouldn't feel so out of place. But this trip has been good for me, too."
Inuyasha captured both of her hands and pressed his lips to their backs. "Kagome, I need you to tell me what you want. What your hopes and dreams are for the future."
She frowned at him. "Inuyasha…"
"Just tell me."
"Okay." She took a deep breath. "Working with Kaede, for example, has given me an interest in medicine. I'd like to study to be a naturopath, I think."
"More school," Inuyasha groaned.
"Hey! You wanted to know – and for the next little while, it's gonna be all about me. Okay?"
He smiled. "Go ahead."
So for the next few hours, they talked. Kagome went first. She started hesitantly at first, since she expected Inuyasha to explode with irritation at almost everything she said. But he didn't. He sat and listened seriously and asked questions.
Then the talk turned to what they might do to stay together. Inuyasha suggested that if she were interested in herbal medicines and the like, it might not be a bad idea for them to live either with or near Jinenji, the half-demon herbalist. He pointed out that Jinenji's mother was elderly and soon would not be able to help with the farm. And perhaps Miroku and Sango could live near them as well. He and Sango could take on demon-slaying jobs and Miroku could help with the farm.
Kagome's eyes grew wide at this. "You've really been thinking about this, haven't you?"
He nodded. "I'm not sure what I can do to make a living for us in this world, Kagome. Tamisé would see that we're okay, but I don't want to depend on his charity forever. Kirsty and Sharon seem to think I could have a career as a model for a friend of Kirsty's, but would that be enough to raise a family on?"
"Modelling?" Kagome did not want to think of the other word he'd used. Family? Was he thinking of…
"Well, yeah. The girls all seem to think that I look good enough. Kirsty was joking that my picture would sell a lot of jeans. Not sure how that works, though."
Kagome got a mental picture of Inuyasha in jeans and not much else and swallowed hard, trying to ignore the heat that rose in her.
"Kagome?" He leaned forward, peering at her. "You've got the strangest look on your face."
"Do I?" She blushed.
"Yeah…" He sniffed, then let a slow grin spread over his face. "Why… Kagome!"
"Oh!" She flung her book at him, which he dodged easily. "Stop it!"
Inuyasha laughed, then growled softly. He went onto his hands and knees and crawled slowly over to her, smiling ferally as she backed away. Before she could scramble to her feet, he pounced. He smelt a short stab of fear from her as he pushed her down onto the blanket, looming over her.
"Don't worry, koibito," he leaned down to whisper, licking her ear. "I'd never force you. But your body sings to me, you know. And it's getting harder to resist. Kiss me, lady mine."
Kagome was more than happy to comply.
OoOoOo
Okay, here's the music. Some of you may have to ask your parents who these people are. If you're really lucky, they'll still have the records around somewhere – and if you're really, really lucky, something to play them on.
Wedding Song (There is Love) – Peter, Paul & Mary
Never Been to Spain – Three Dog Night
I Can't Help Myself – Four Tops
