Inuyasha could only detect the faint scent of the woman on the note almost a week after he'd received it. Which, at the heart of it, was disappointing.

He wasn't being weird!

It was the closest he'd ever gotten to her at that point, that was all.

…That sounded worse than it really was.

He wanted to get to know her. As a friend. She was fun to talk with, she gave as good as she got, and if there was a spark…he wasn't going to say no. He hated that their schedules never lined up, and when she did come to the diner to pick up her dinner, she'd leave before he could go on break. Inuyasha thought she was avoiding him for his half demon appearance – wouldn't be the first time he'd had that happen – but Kaede had said that she was incredibly shy when she asked if it was okay to leave the note with the older woman.

Shy.

She certainly wasn't shy when she paraded around her apartment in her panties.

Alright so maybe she was with an audience, and in her mind she probably didn't anticipate him seeing her that morning. Just like he didn't anticipate still seeing that memory so vividly on the bad days, but he wasn't about to complain. It was one of the few things that kept him going.

Another was that note that was sitting on the cleanest spot of his workspace.

He liked her handwriting. It was loopy in places, but it was neat. Of course he'd seen her handwriting on the white board, but this was different. It was written for him. She could've sent this message on the white board and gotten the same response from him, but she didn't. Kagome took the time to handwrite a note for him to look back on again and again.

Or at least until he wore the paper out, unfolding and folding it.

After all, how many times can you reread a recipe for deep fried pickles before you have it memorized?

The next time Kagome stepped into the diner, she almost expected to see Inuyasha come out from the kitchen and as her what the hell she'd been thinking. She still wondered what had possessed her to send him – a short order cook – a recipe. Not only that, but something he probably already knew how to make.

Truth be told, she wanted to write him a letter. She'd been up late the night before, unable to sleep, and knew she couldn't until she wrote him something. But the moment that she found her good paper and a pen, her mind froze. What was she going to say? She couldn't say what she wanted to say – that she liked the way he looked wet in a towel or how she wanted to touch his ears.

That'd be weird.

She didn't know if people wanting to touch his ears was a common question he got, and she really didn't want to make things awkward if it wasn't or annoy him if it was. Couldn't ask if people unfamiliar with demons thought his purple markings were tattoos either. Not because it was weird, but because if she did she'd ask if she could touch the ones on his hips too.

For…science.

Biology.

Kagome sighed. He was too handsome for his own good and she really wanted to gain his friendship, not scare the man away with impulse horniness. Though with how he was flirting…no. Just because they were both conveniently single, they lived across from each other, and had spoken by white board for a couple months did not mean that they had any compatibility. Would she be opposed if there were? Definitely not, but there wasn't enough between them to really know.

Her stomach growled, making her pick up her pace to the diner. Maybe one of these days she could go in and sit down and eat and not have to put in a carry out order because her department was setting a record for how late she could work to meet deadlines. First one of the team had been out for an illness, then another had to use their vacation time. But then it kept stacking, and it was always the person that needed to get their part done before it could move forward.

When everyone on the team had collectively pushed their work back to the last minute, it meant that she was the one that was spending her nights hunched over her keyboard with dinner. If they didn't get their project completed by the deadline, it'd be on her. The rest of them either didn't take that into account or didn't seem to care.

"Hello dear," Kaede called to her as she entered the diner.

"Hi," Kagome smiled. "You've been doing well today?"

"Always. I haven't seen you in a bit though. You're not having a spat with my cook, are you?"

"Uh, no! No, nothing like that!" she laughed. "Work has had me so busy that I've been eating instant noodles."

The older woman clicked her tongue in displeasure. "Instant noodles? Sweetheart you're going to give me nightmares!"

From a few tables over from the counter, Totosai spoke up. "You mean the food here doesn't?"

"Oi! Old man that joke's getting stale."

At the sound of that voice from the kitchen, Kagome felt her body tense up. Something about that voice, she knew it was Inuyasha. Even without knowing how many cooks were working today, she knew he was the one that Totosai was taking a jab at. Then she saw him appear on his side of the counter, placing two plates and a bagged order.

He was looking at her.

She needed to do something. Say something. Anything.

Hopefully it was a smile and not a look of physical pain she sent him.

When he winked at her, sending her a smile with a hint of fang, she hoped she didn't make a noise. But…rather to embarrass oneself making a whimpering sound than to try to climb over the counter after the cute half demon. Kagome was rather proud of how she kept her composure together as she paid for her meal and took the bag from Kaede's hand.

She held in the exuberant "oh my GOD" until she had made it outside the diner and at the first corner. It didn't matter that the guy in the suit she'd just passed gave her a funny look. All she could think about right then was that she'd stood about eight feet away from the man she'd been talking to for months. She hadn't combusted into ash, she hadn't died on the spot.

A rumble of thunder overhead with darkening skies said that if she didn't get home soon it wouldn't be social anxiety that would be her end.

The downpour of rain had her soaked in the three steps she had left to reach the cover of the awning in front of her building. Kagome wasn't going to let it deter her good mood though; she smashed the button for her floor and took whiffs from the bag of food she held, thinking about the man who had made it for her.

It wasn't always like this. She wasn't always shy. Her teachers in school always commented on how outspoken she was. Even her superiors at work would say something similar on occasion. In a social standing, however…she'd regressed unintentionally. Maybe some of it had to do with being in a new location entirely on her own. Her family was hours away. Visiting home wasn't something she could do on a whim during the week, and even on a weekend not without careful planning. Some of it definitely had to do with how she'd been burned in the past. It made her uneasy to want to open up to people, but Inuyasha…

Inuyasha had kicked down that door and made her want to try again.

As soon as she got in her apartment, Kagome unpacked the containers and placed them in the microwave. If her clothes hadn't been plastered to her and her sock wasn't sliding down in her shoe she would've paused to see why there were more containers than usual. She wasn't going to make a fuss. Maybe Inuyasha just decided to divide up the sides so they wouldn't get mixed up during the walk home. Maybe he was in a mood.

Whatever the reason, he cooked her meal for the night, and she wanted to enjoy it in dry clothes.

Not ten minutes later with the wet clothes in the bin and the bra hanging over the shower rod, Kagome returned to the kitchen in lounge shorts and a baggy t-shirt. Her hair was damp and stringy against her back, keeping the shirt moist where it sat, but she didn't care. She had a date with her food and the pings of her program processing data to keep her company while the storm continued on.

Laying each of the containers out across her desk, Kagome thought about the half demon. The diner would be closing soon, and he'd get caught in the rain too. If she was soaked coming home, she could only imagine what he must look like. How the shirt would cling to his chest and arms, wrapping around each curve. The thought of those dark pants gripping his hips like she wanted to –

Nope.

Don't think about the cute half demon getting caught in the storm.

Thinking about that will make her want to take him in like a lost puppy and warm him up. Only the "puppy" is a half dog demon, and she had an entirely different idea to warm him up that did not involve hot broth.

Maybe chocolate. If he could eat chocolate, that is – NO.

No thinking sexy thoughts. She had to focus on making sure the data matched up. But first…food.

Kagome popped open the largest container first, finding a gorgeous helping of friend chicken strips. Just that. She knew if she were to ask about it, he'd just say that he didn't want any extra to go to waste. He'd never admit that he was showing her favoritism when he could have just as easily taken extras home for himself. The next container was half the size, but just as filled with seasoned fries. Another was the okra she'd asked for, and when she located the slice of cake – because of course she needed that – it was taken to the fridge to stay cold.

That left one container, and she'd already unboxed everything that she'd ordered.

It was odd that it sat there, unmarked. She'd seen the order numbers scrawled on the others, a habit that was done to keep components separate during peak hours. Kagome couldn't imagine that Inuyasha would pack something from another order in with hers on accident. Especially since at the time of ordering, hers was the only one that was a carryout.

The curiosity was getting the better of her, and Kagome couldn't wait until she'd eaten her dinner to find out. She reached out and picked up the container, feeling the heat on the bottom as it sat in the palm of her hand. As soon as the lid was popped back, Kagome's nose met a familiar smell that had her grinning widely.

It was deep fried pickles.

She didn't care how hot it was as she bit into the sliced dill, feeling a surge of happiness reach her toes. The heat of the cayenne pepper, the tang of the pickle, the hint of Italian seasoning in the breading…it was perfect. It was also going to go real well with the rest of her fried frenzy.

As she set it back on the desk, stealing another as she looked for the container of dipping sauce for her chicken, she saw a sandwich bag tucked into the lid of the container. Inside there was a folded piece of paper, and for a brief moment Kagome was afraid that he'd sent the recipe back. But he wasn't like that. She had to keep reminding herself that not every man out there was just another iteration of a past bad relationship.

And really, he wouldn't have made her a batch of fried pickles if he was that callous, would he?

Her hands might have shook a little as she tore open the bag and removed the note. The moment that her fingers felt the paper, she knew it wasn't the one she'd sent to him. This felt like the paper from the receipt pad the diner used. Odd, but also a given considering, so what…

244-364-3366

Below that was a doodle of a pawprint.

Kagome read over the number, blindly reaching for a piece of chicken and not caring that she hadn't located the sauce container yet. She was afraid that if she looked away from the note for even a second that the writing would disappear.

Inuyasha had responded to her note with one of his own, and he'd taken it a step further. What did this mean? Was he looking for something specific? Did he just want to talk? it wouldn't be much different than their boards, of course. She'd get to hear his voice…and try not to turn into a puddle. Or make a puddle. Same difference.

That piece of paper sat on the thigh of her crossed legs as she ate her dinner, often glancing down at it and back up at the computer screen. The rainfall wasn't letting up and she had to wonder that he made it back home okay. Even if the balconies were covered by the level above, they were drenched. There was no going out to talk this evening, as much as she wished to. Kagome wanted to thank Inuyasha for the special treat, as well as ask about the note he left with it.

With dinner eaten and a stack of empties to toss in the garbage, Kagome rose from her seat and winced at the number of cracks her joints made. She'd been sitting too long again, and the thought of taking up yoga sounded good. But that was a decision that Future Kagome would have to make, as Present Kagome was unable to do much else while this program was running its course. The extent of her exercise was getting up and shaking her limbs about next to her seat to keep the circulation moving.

As she came back into the room to check on the progress, Kagome noticed that the lights were on at Inuyasha's apartment. Which meant that he had made it home. She walked up to her sliding doors and tried to glimpse through the rain, hoping she might catch sight of him to at least wave. It was too dark and raining too hard for her to really see much more than the overall glow, so Kagome turned away disappointed.

Unless…

The note he'd written still sat on her desk, reminding her that he could be reached. Kagome chewed her bottom lip, looking at her phone. Did she dare?