Mocha Latte

-Kitty

Chapter 22: Confidant

"What's on your mind?"

He stiffened, the muscles in his shoulders bunching as his whole body reacted to the question. A familiar crushing anxiety twisted in his chest and curved his body forward, collapsing inward as something inside his gut shriveled up into a tight, parched ball.

He reached for the low coffee table, the brewed dark liquid scalding as he sipped too quickly in an effort to gain control over himself. The feelings swirling inside were getting harder to hide, a twitch on his face, a shift in his stance; the stubborn pride in him growled with embarrassment at the outward manifestations of his emotional state. He was going soft.

A calm, warm hand caressed his shoulder when he failed to respond to her inquiry. He froze, determined to hold himself together in stoic indifference. He didn't need to turn his head to know the expression on her face, but he feared seeing it would remove the dam on all the emotions he'd successfully bottled away until now.

But her mere presence pressed against him with an inexplicable ability to draw him out. How calculated were her actions? He felt her shift closer, his skin shivering to feel her heat. She breathed in deep and sighed. Little bit little, one muscle fiber at a time, he felt himself relax and the next time she breathed, he heaved with her, a long releasing sigh.

He'd seen her at work before so he should know better than to fall for her tricks. A slowly dimming voice in his head berated him for succumbing. But when he felt her cool, soft hair against his cheek, the weight of her head against his shoulder, he had to growl with annoyance as he finally gave up the fight.

"Meddling wench," he accused. The grumble seemed to delight her and she tilted her head back to laugh. She drew away from him and he bit down the urge to pull her back, the scowl pinching his forehead more for show than an actual expression of anger.

"Thought you said you wouldn't ask questions," he said dourly.

"Ha!" Kagome exclaimed, "I was trying to get you to relax! You looked ready to slit my throat!"

She reached up to toss his hair teasingly and he obliged her with an expression of outrage, pushing her hand aside weakly.

"And you don't have to tell me anything," she continued, shrugging her shoulders and sinking further into the couch beside him. The creak and groan of the abused, wounded couch, the deep gash from Sanyo's sword still unrepaired, brought his attention to his surroundings. The lucky cats on the shelf winked at him in the slanted light. The old kettle in the kitchen sighed with pride, peacefully returning to ambient temperature as the freshly brewed coffee steamed on the table in front of them. The couch under him seemed to embrace him. The charms on the windows and door seemed to hum, low and soft. It altogether exuded a serene sense of safety that loosened all the tight knots within him, from those located in his muscles, to those located in his mind.

He straightened slightly, jaw set, and took a sudden breath. Kagome watched him calmly, sensing his change in attitude and waited patiently for him to speak. He felt her eyes on him and he tried to comply, opening and closing useless jaws as he struggled to find the words to express his predicament, as well as the growing turmoil it triggered within him.

"I… it… well," he stuttered and his face burned as he struggled past both embarrassment and instinctive reluctance. He imagined her eyes burning holes into his skin as it flushed red up to his eyebrows. Finally, she shifted, sighed, and gently took his hand as she spoke.

"It's not so easy, is it?"

He sat silently beside her, feeling somehow defeated.

She was quiet for a breath, before standing abruptly. Inuyasha glanced up in confusion, momentarily distracted as she made hurried motions to gather a warm jacket from the closet. Unplugging the water kettle and closing the kitchen window, she finally turned to him with hands on hips.

"Up, Inuyasha! You need some exercise!"

He stared at her dumbfounded for a moment, eyebrows lopsided as his brain struggled to follow the sudden jump in subject matter. Before he realized it, Kagome was tugging him to stand and ushering him out the door.

With a hop that nearly threw him off balance, she laughed as he struggled to catch her legs while her arms wrapped around his neck. Riding piggyback, she kicked her feet to encourage him to leap and by now he'd caught on and after a few half hearted protests, finally took to the sky.

The run was centering, with each inhuman leap lifting the shadows hanging overhead just a little further. Without her gaze studying his face, he felt a wide smile pull at the ends of his lips as he raced from rooftop to treetop, remembering the sensation of airborne freedom. Kagome was right, he needed the exercise.

A short while later, returning to the oasis that was Kagome's apartment, Inuyasha surprised himself with how easily his hand slipped into his pocket to bring out the crumpled letter. It was an expensive piece of paper, thick and textured, with an embossed letterhead. He handed it to her with little ceremony and only the slightest droop in his ears belied his feelings on the matter.

"Ooh," Kagome said, switching to a mocking imperious tone as she read, "from the desk of this Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands."

He glanced aside but studied her face in his periphery. She met eyes with him and he was surprised to see the excited sparkle dancing in them.

"So he's finally making his move."