It was an attempt at being cheeky. She really didn't think he'd freeze like a deer in headlights when she had asked what he was reading. Had the tone not gone over right? She turned the board back around and wrote another message.

Were you reading something dirty?

The way he relaxed as he read her board eased her mind a bit. Kagome really didn't want to run him off; he was too much fun to talk to like this. The view wasn't bad either, and if she missed out on seeing another "accidental" towel slip, she'd be sad.

That was as much an accident as the time she'd worn that low cut V-neck to the bakery before she moved to this town. Served that boy right that he walked into that door, but she'd worn it to get back at an ex to let him know what he was missing.

Seeing him write got her attention and held it, preventing her from going down any holes of past mistakes. What she read when he turned the board around, however, was not what she expected.

I was reading up on childbirth, so yes it was dirty.

Oh! Is it for your sister?

No sister, but if my brother was the one that got pregnant instead of his fiancé there'd be some explaining.

Oh. Um… Girlfriend?

The entire time she waited for his response, Kagome's stomach was forming knots. How bad would it have been if she found out that he was in a relationship then? She'd practically mooned him, he'd given her a few shows himself – and thrills for her, but that wasn't the point. If he was in a committed relationship, the odds were good she'd passed the woman in town. It was that small a town that she was starting to be familiar with people by their routines. Which not only ruined any one-in-a-million shot she might've had if she had the balls to do something about it, but it would prove that he was a grade-A skeezball.

She'd dated enough of those to know that if a man will do it once, he'll do it again.

Nope. Single.

Oh thank fuck – Fuck! She nearly said that out loud!

Instead she scribbled, You too? I'm shocked.

I find it hard to believe that you're single, he'd countered.

New in town. Or well…not "new" new, but… Kagome had to pause to wipe the board. How she could ramble in a text was amazing. I've been here about two months. My work led to my move, and now they've got us on the work from home schedule indefinitely.

I'm sorry?

Kagome shrugged as she turned the board around. I like the change. It has it's good moments, but…

You don't get out much, do you?

I think I'm reverting to a feral hermit already. She internally winced at how she'd presented herself to him the last few times they'd talked. While she was comfortable, it wasn't really proper. Or decent. Her own mother would be horrified to hear how she'd flashed her neighbor, once she quit laughing that is. And after she asked if he'd done the same, because of course her mother would.

I don't think you're a hermit.

You didn't discredit the feral part.

I wouldn't mind being bitten if it came to it.

She nearly dropped her white board over the balcony as it sunk in what he meant. There was no denying it either; that asshole was grinning like a cat that caught the canary. Bold words from someone across the street.

I could come over there and say them.

She fought down the blush at what that might mean if he did show up at her apartment. Which was presumptuous considering he just found out she was single – and apparently desperately horny but that could just be hormones screaming at her. Still, she wasn't about to just sit back and take it.

Wait. That was a bad choice of words.

Nice try, Inuyasha. You don't even know my apartment number.

I bet I could guess.

Oh? And if you're wrong?

If I'm wrong I'll own up to it. if I'm right, like I'm pretty confident I am, I want…

Kagome didn't care for how he was deliberately dragging out the rest of that sentence. There were so many things that he could say, and naturally her mind was listing of all the dirty ones first. Maybe she needed to check her calendar later, cause this was just –

I want to buy you dinner tonight.

Huh? She blinked, reading his board once again. You're working tonight, she pointed out.

I know, but let me treat you to dinner all the same?

That's if you win, and I don't see how that benefits you..? She should have known that fanged grin was up to something before he even turned the board around.

Simple. I get to go to sleep tonight with the knowledge that something of mine was in your mouth and satisfied you.

Kagome let out a squeak so loud that it muffled the crunch of the white board as the corner slammed into her toes. That comment should not have been dirty but dammit he was either being purposely perverted or he didn't realize how suggestive that sounded – and she knew it wasn't the later. Not with that smile. And knowing how well his eyesight was in the dark, she knew he could see how bright her face had become in the morning light.

Once she could compose herself, she hastily wrote out her question. No need to get flustered when he could very well be wrong, right? Alright mister, if you're so clever, what is my number?

A high C or moderate D from here –

MY APARTMENT NUMBER!

The laughter was impossible to stay angry at. There was something about him laughing that she really liked. It wasn't forced, and with how hard he was laughing, she had to wonder if he did it all that often. Having a lovely smile helped, because when he wasn't being suggestive, his smile had a boyish quality. So if it was at her expense, she couldn't be upset. And…in a way, it was payback for her putting him on the spot asking what he had been reading.

Her question was completely innocent though!

Okay. Your apartment number is… 503-B.

Kagome stared open mouthed at his board for a few solid minutes before she replied. There is no way you know that –

Course I do! It's simple!

How?!

Mine is 503-A.

That doesn't mean anything. Why was she even pouting about this? He was right – maybe that's what bugged her – and he was going to buy her dinner. Which meant, she didn't have to cook. Instead he was, and she knew his cooking was good.

Sure it does. These two apartment buildings are mirror copies of each other. The layout, anyway. I can't say I know about the interior of each one.

How do you even know this?!

Met the building owner at the diner a few years back and we got to talking. So you going to tell me what you'd like for dinner, or do I get to surprise you?

A couple weeks had passed since Inuyasha had pinpointed the number of her apartment, and Kagome…didn't seem to mind all that much. Once she got past the shock, she had to surmise that it made sense. It almost felt like cheating on his part, but…free dinner. A delicious free dinner. She would've stayed and eaten in the diner, but she was working later than normal that evening, and she had to get it to go.

To make up for not being able to pay him a compliment on the meal, she left her white board leaning against the window of her sliding door, a slightly lopsided heart that filled the writing space.

It wasn't the only time either.

Inuyasha seemed to enjoy wagering meals with games, it seemed. In two months he had not only figured out her apartment number, but he had been able to decipher parts of her life like a game of twenty questions. Each time he was right, he fixed her a special meal, even if it wasn't on the menu. If he guessed wrong, he admitted defeat. It only happened a couple times, but when it did Kagome felt bad. Not because of missing out on his cooking, but seeing him disappointed.

She'd tried suggesting her own version of his game, but he wouldn't hear of it. Of course she needed to actually come up with something, because she wasn't certain that her cooking would match his.

In the span of time where she grappled with the lack of ideas, along with her workload, Kagome had started to make the balcony more comfortable to relax in. It had started with pots of flowers for a pop of color. Then there was the small table and chairs she'd scored on a sale. Next came outdoor pillows to add to the plush seats. Before she knew it she was hanging solar fairy lights along the railing for the ambiance in the evenings when they'd sit out and talk.

The best part? By not coercing Inuyasha into a game of her own design, she'd still managed to get him to follow suit. Just like her, it was gradual changes – chair and table, couple plant stands with herbs. He'd even hung his own set of lights overhead so that she could see him better as the sun set.

Don't crow about it, he'd written on his board.

It had been faint with her eyesight, but she could detect the hint of a blush as he awkwardly stretched his legs out in front of him in the chair. So yeah, she was gonna crow about it.

Silently.

In her bedroom.

With an embarrassing dance.

"Order up!" Inuyasha called out, setting the plates on the pickup counter.

The day had drug on, as they tended to do, and he wanted nothing more than to go home, kick back on his balcony, and talk with Kagome. He didn't have much left of his shift, and since most of the evening bunch had filtered out, he could start closing up. Kaede and Totosai were equally tired and looked to go home too, so once one of them flipped around the sign to 'carry out only', he knew he could step out of the kitchen to help.

Kagome had come in earlier for a carry out order, he knew that much. He hadn't seen her, hadn't heard her voice, but somehow knew that the burger with all the fixings, double order of fries, and a slice of the triple chocolate pie he'd made that morning was hers.

He knew better to question why she was ordering all of it or even how she was going to put it all away.

"Hold up," Kaede huffed, reaching across the counter and grabbing him by the sleeve. "I have something for you."

"More work?"

"A message, but if you're going to get smart with me I won't give it to you. It'd be a shame; the one that wrote it was charming and delightful…"

An ear swiveled back, and the curiosity was getting the better of him. Charming and delightful? Was it..? Would she really have..?

"I'm sorry, Kaede. May I please see it?" It wasn't often that he felt like a pup again, and he knew the older woman was teasing. She'd become the grandmother figure he'd never had growing up. If she got onto him about something, he tried to do better to not make that mistake again. She treated him like a grandson, all the way down the nagging, the worrying, and the picking.

"Of course you can – this time," she grinned, passing him the note. "I dare say that the person that wrote to you must mean something important. You've never accepted notes at work before."

"Because I know what those all contained," he mumbled, turning back to the grill to watch the last batch of burgers. "Thanks Kaede!"

If his pseudo-grandmother didn't skin him for his slipping manners, he was pretty sure his mother would fly in just to lead him by the ear.

But his mind was too focused on the folded note in his hands, which Kaede knew and waved off. He'd received many notes in the past, mostly from younger girls fresh out of high school or just beginning college. Each time Kaede moved to hand him one of those – the bright stationary and glitter gel pen was a fucking clue – he declined it. They tended to accrue so quickly over the span of a month that he'd take a half hour after work and predict what each note contained. It had been amusing at first, but he was at least ten years older than these girls. He knew what they wanted, and even if they were old enough, he still couldn't give them that. It wasn't in him anymore.

Inuyasha looked around, making sure that no one would see before he lifted the paper to his nose and sniffed. Discretely! He was still at work! The natural scent of the writer was faint, but it was definitely her. The question was, what reason would Kagome have to write to him?