What did she do? This was a complete stranger, and one that she'd seen nearly naked at that.
'Okay, think Kagome. You're an adult. Go with your gut. Does he scream "stranger danger" – okay no he screams "take me now" but that's besides the point…'
She chewed on her bottom lip, tasting the remains of her ice cream. Which was melting, so she needed to get a move on and make a decision. Looking back up, she saw him leaning on the railing with the marker in hand, white board sitting on the balcony next to his bare feet. With a sigh, she decided to say fuck it, just this once. What harm could come from giving him her name? It wasn't like he was one of the fae – he was a demon.
Bad comparison but the point stood that even if he were one of the fae she'd given her first born if he was the one that she got to do the deed with to close on the agreement. Hell she'd give him a hundred if she could. They'd walk out by the third or fourth dozen…
'Kagome. Focus. Hot Demon Man won't wait forever.'
In her haste to write, her print came out more loopy than normal. She grabbed the microfiber cloth and tucked it in her shorts pocket with the pen before collecting her ice cream and stepping out onto her balcony.
I'm Kagome.
The town lights were starting to come on, giving off a glow that the light from his apartment didn't provide. She could see the glint of a fang from where she stood.
He was smiling.
Kagome set down the pint and used the cloth to wipe her board before she was scribbling again. It was a cheeky thing to say, but the temptation was too great, and she was afraid if she used a movie reference he might not get it.
I showed you mine, now show me yours.
The bark of laughter had him reaching for his board. He was still grinning as he turned it around, and he looked pleased that she was humoring him.
I'm Inuyasha. Nice to meet you, Kagome.
Nice to meet you too.
Though…was it really meeting if they weren't talking out loud? It wasn't any different than people talking online, or penpals that had never met before in person. They were just…almost a street's width away from each other and using white boards instead of a chatroom to talk. And instead of some fake user profile picture they were getting to see the actual person…oh shit.
She was in her homely pajamas. No bra. Her makeup was smudged from rubbing at it ever since she got home with dinner. The bra had come off before she even unpacked her food.
It was okay. It was getting dark, he probably couldn't see her all that great, right?
Nice shorts, Wonder Woman.
Oh fuck he could see!
That was it, she was just going to die. Right there. Maybe she could fall off the balcony on the way. At least make it look like she hadn't just let herself go when she hit the pavement and the smudged eyeshadow that made her look like a deranged raccoon was because of the impact. Kagome swallowed, squinting out across the way. He was still smiling, and he didn't look like he was making fun of her. Was he just trying to get a conversation started? Okay. She could do that. She could. Pick up the pen and…
What the hell could she say? Nice pants?
That'd be weird. Couldn't do that.
Long day of work, and they're a favorite? She gave him a look that clearly said she didn't know how to follow that but she was trying her best.
That smile though. If it meant she said all sorts of stupid shit she wanted to keep seeing him smile.
You work in an office?
Not right now. She pointed through her sliding doors. My office is here now. Company wanted to try a new thing. You're a cook?
Yeah, it's a good deal. Hot as hell in the kitchen, but I like the owners.
Kagome was going to have to put in an order to get a bigger whiteboard. Her sentences were all stilted from the size, and she kept having to erase more often. The food is wonderful, so you know.
That seemed to make him stand a little straighter. Had she stroked his ego? I'm glad you like what I put in your mouth, Kagome.
It was partly her mistake to try to eat her ice cream as she talked, but really he should've worded that sentence better! The mouthful of ice cream she had she bit down on without thinking, making the parts of her that didn't freeze up at his words make up the difference. Pint of ice cream was left sitting on the floor as she started to pace the area, taking in breaths and trying to fan her face like it would do any good.
Well. At least it was cooling. And it was darker, so maybe he couldn't see just how red she'd gotten, even with his stronger eyesight.
Didn't mean to make you choke!
You know good and well what you did!
The bark of laughter that echoed across the gap had her smiling despite herself. The downside was that it was getting harder to see him, much less read what he was writing. But Inuyasha flipped his board around again, and Kagome thought her heart skipped a beat.
Can I talk to you more?
Like this?
Yeah. With better light, of course.
I'd like that, Inuyasha.
Even with the darkness trying to surround them and their meager lighting, she could still see Inuyasha's smile. Which made her smile, albeit in a goofy manner as she collected her things. He hadn't moved from his spot, and it puzzled her. It was dark. It was getting late. He had an early start to the day like she did.
Wait…was he… was he waiting for her to go inside first?
She was on her balcony. It's not like anyone could reach her and kidnap her. Except maybe Batman, and even then she'd have gotten stuck with Bale-Batman or worse, Batfleck. Wouldn't be lucky enough to get Keaton Batman…
Kagome set her hand on the door handle and looked back. That must have satisfied him, because Inuyasha was standing next to his sliding door, giving her a wave goodnight. Hers was returned, though a little awkward. It was really sweet that he did that, even if it was odd. She had to assume that his mom had raised him to be a gentleman.
Odds are his mom had no idea that her baby boy was air drying himself on his balcony each morning, knowing he had an audience of one.
The next morning Kagome had overslept. Totally not because she'd stayed awake late into the night thinking about her hot neighbor with the fuzzy ears. Of course not. That would be strange.
She flew into the office to get the computer booted up, because of all days that she could pound the snooze on her clock, it was the day that she was expected to have her weekly conference. Kagome was pretty sure if she had a guardian angel it was facepalming in shame. Her big toe pressed the power button with ease, and she began to move around the room, tidying up as she went.
What she should have done was put pants on. Or her pajama shorts, at least. She was so frazzled that she was only dressed from the waist up, a dark red button up blouse and light makeup. The hair could be finger combed. She wasn't too worried about that; it was the rest of her that'd be in view that she needed to do up.
Not once did it occur to her that her sliding glass doors weren't concealing her current state. It wasn't until she went to let the fresh air in from the balcony that she did realize that she had an audience.
The problem was, she couldn't tell if Inuyasha was shocked or terrified by her appearance. That mug of coffee was held in mid air, mouth parted open and staring.
Wanted to pop in real quick and say that this story is complete and I'll be posting updates weekly. If you're following Skinwalkers, that one will be every two weeks. If you're waiting on other fics (I know, I'm terrible I will get back to them I promise!), I will once I finish Skinwalkers. It's too hard to shift moods between the horror story and where the other plots are right now so I want to get this out while it's going strong. Thanks!