"Inuyasha?" He heard her call to him again. "What were you going to say?"

Yeah, what was he going to say? He couldn't very well say "You have me", could he? They hadn't even said two words to each other within feet of each other. She would likely laugh at him, or worse – ask what he meant by that.

"I…uh…" he cleared his throat. "I…I don't…"

"Yes?"

"Idon'twantyoutogo," he blurted out quickly, staring at the floor of his balcony in shame. For being so confident most hours of the day, how is it that Kagome could bring him down a peg – or twenty? There was a pause before she asked him to repeat himself, and begrudgingly he explained. "I don't want you to go. You said it yourself, you don't want to do this. You shouldn't have to."

"I don't but…" She could be heard sighing again. "My schedule is changing. I'll have more free time than I have the last few months. Maybe…maybe even if this date is a flop, it'll be the kick in the ass I need to start looking again on my own."

Inuyasha's ears drooped low at that thought. He was glad that she was getting more of a life, but…that meant he'd get to talk to her less and less. And if she started to date…guys typically didn't take too well to their girlfriends having guy friends. Explaining their situation? The guy would be all too eager to cut that lifeline, because in his view, not having an in-person friendship would be easier to forget.

He could deal with a lot of things, but he couldn't handle the thought of Kagome forgetting about him.

"What if this guy's some creep?"

"He's a friend of my cousin's husband. Kikyo told me that he's pleasant company."

"And you said it's a blind date? He has no idea what you look like?"

"No?"

"Then it's settled! I'll put on the dress and meet him myself if I have to! He's not gonna know the difference, and I don't let them get to third base on the first date –"

Kagome could be heard laughing on the other end. She wasn't laughing at him, he knew, but rather the image he gave her. "I don't think you'd fit in anything I own," she giggled. "I'm not even going to dress super fancy anyway."

"Wow, way to put yourself out there," he teased. He was thrilled she wasn't going to go all out at least. "Where are you meeting?"

"The diner, actually…Kikyo told me that I should wear my hair up with a red ribbon. That'll be how he knows who I am."

Inuyasha frowned. "Why do you have to be the sitting duck?" He didn't like that at all. Her cousin couldn't be bothered to tell her what her date would dress in? No way of picking him out of the crowd?

"She had already told him when she set the date up to look for a red hair ribbon. If I'd gotten a say –"

"Would you have said no?" God did he sound as desperate as he thought he did?

"…yes," she replied softly. "I don't like being set up, and Kikyo knows this. Past relationships were all set up in some way, and they…didn't end well. It put me off dating for a long time."

Inuyasha felt his heart sink. She wasn't interested in dating? But…she was going on this date, which had to mean that she'd changed her mind somewhere in the last few months. Even if it wasn't her choice, she was still planning to do it. So she was considering dating then. His head fell back against the chair he sat in, looking up at the sky. He wasn't doing anything but spinning his wheels at this point. Kagome had a blind date. She was going to go through with it. He couldn't convince her to change her mind because he didn't have any valid reason. He had a list of them as long as his arm, but…

"When is your date?"

"Oh – it's this Friday. Why?" Kagome's voice sounded surprised. Did she expect him to keep fighting her on this?

"Good. I'll be working that evening –" technically he wasn't yet, but the local schools were having homecoming and an extra set of hands was always needed on those weekends. They wouldn't even have to pay him overtime. He just needed to be there to keep an eye out for her. "I know it's not your choice but…try to enjoy it? You've been working so hard, you need to do something for you."

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I'll…I'll try…"

As their conversation switched to other topics, Inuyasha reminded himself that everything leading up to this moment was his doing. He'd had an interest beyond friendship. He had multiple opportunities to just ask her, and he didn't take them. She was going on that date, and what would be, would be.

The last days felt tense talking to Inuyasha.

Kagome knew that it was because of the blind date. She knew he didn't want her to do this, and the only reason she hadn't backed out was because…well, maybe it was time to start looking again. She already had a feeling that this was nothing more than a courtesy dinner, and she was fine with that. It was a causal date in a casual diner, and there were no expectations beyond that arrangement.

But knowing that Inuyasha was upset about it? That upset her, and she had no idea how to fix it.

He told her he didn't want her to go. That simple sentence felt so…complicated, and she couldn't get it out of her head ever since. What did he mean by that? Was there more to it? Could there have been? He seemed hellbent on talking her out of it, if he was suggesting dressing in drag to sit in her place. But then he just…stopped, which was weird.

Like he'd given up the fight.

That bothered her. A lot. She knew enough about him to know that he was stubborn as hell and didn't back down.

She crossed her arms over her chest, holding the folds of the oversized knit cardigan closed. The autumn wind had picked up, but otherwise it was a pleasant afternoon. When she'd told Inuyasha she was dressing casually, she meant it. Underneath the cardigan she wore a plain white tee with her darkest wash jeans and her favorite boots. The bright red ribbon was tied into her hair, making her regret going for a ponytail with the way the breeze tickled the back of her neck.

It was too late to go back and change it, anyway. She was already at the diner.

"Hello dear!" Kaede greeted her as she walked through the door. "I've got just the table for you today," she added, guiding the younger woman across the floor.

"He told you I have a date today, didn't he?"

When Kaede hesitated, she knew. Of course he'd tell his boss. Kaede could only respond with, "He wanted you to have a good spot. That's all he told me."

Kagome nodded, looking down at the menu. Without thinking too much on it, she picked out her drink and an appetizer, even though she wasn't especially hungry. She was too nervous, but she'd pick off her nail polish if she didn't keep her hands busy.

As Kaede left, Kagome continued to look around the diner. There was a lot of teenagers filling up booths, snapping pictures of each other. It had to have been homecoming week. There were various states of face paint and streaks of hair color that coordinated with the nearby high school. It was nostalgic seeing them so happy and without a care. Well, beyond part time jobs, college prospects, and dating basically. She'd done all three and then some, but she was pretty sure that they stressed out over dates less than she was currently.

Kaede didn't even get to pin the paper to the overhead spindle before a clawed hand made a grab for it. "You could wait all of a few seconds," she teased the half demon. "She only asked for a sweet tea and a basket of fries."

Inuyasha reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Yeah? Well whatever Kagome orders tonight, I'm covering it."

"If I tell her that –"

"Then don't," he replied, like it was the simplest solution. "Act like you charged her, just use my card instead." He placed the plastic card in the older woman's hand before she could protest. "She's nervous. If she catches on, just tell her I wanted her to have one less thing to worry about."

Kaede shot him a look but didn't reply. At least, she didn't until she thought he was out of earshot. That's when he heard her mutter about how asinine this whole situation was, and if she were Kagome's age and single she'd have jumped a guy that went out of his way like Inuyasha was. He really didn't need that image in his head, but he had to agree with her about the rest. It was asinine. He'd had multiple opportunities to take a shot and ask if she might be interesting in dinner, and the best he could do on that front was making a game of getting to know her and cooking her dinner at the diner. He couldn't blame anyone but him–

"I've got it!"

Inuyasha didn't think he'd ever seen Kaede move so fast to get to the phone. He shot a look over at Totosai, who had stopped to get the latest orders. Even he didn't know why his wife shot through the kitchen like a rocket for the office. It didn't take long to find out what, as the old woman made it known to the whole kitchen staff her thoughts on the conversation.

"You absolutely rotten excuse for a human being! How dare you – Don't 'ma'am' me you wilted turnip!"

There was a few colorful words that had Inuyasha's brows nearly hit his hairline as the receiver was slammed down on the desk in the office. He'd heard her swear before, but nothing like "ungrateful pissy little fucker". Once she emerged from the office, he just had to hear the drama.

Was it his business? No, but he was a nosy sonofabitch and whatever garnered that outburst had to be good.

"I'm not telling you –"

"Please –"

"Inuyasha now is not the time –"

"You might as well tell the boy," her husband called to her. "He ain't gonna leave you be until you do."

Kaede fidgeted in place, and the gleeful curiosity that Inuyasha had been feeling was quickly dissipating. "What's wrong?"

"…I was asked to deliver a message…"

"Kaede…"

"The man that was meant to meet Kagome has decided that he's changed his mind."

What? Inuyasha had to have gone deaf, because he did not just hear what he thought he had. Kaede must have been pulling his leg. He hoped she was, even at the expense of his heart breaking, but that expression…

That bastard had stood Kagome up, and he didn't even have the decency to meet her first to tell her.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're not going after him," Kaede warned him. "You don't even know what he looks like."

"An asshole. Should be easy to spot –"

"I said no." She grabbed him by the elbow and led the half demon to the furthest parts of the kitchen, worried that his outburst would carry across the diner. "He called and asked me if I could leave a message for the woman with the red ribbon, and that's what's going to happen. He wants me to tell Kagome that he's sorry but he's not interested, that her cousin never said she'd be plain, and to not keep looking for him."

"Plain?!" he hissed. "What the fuck does he know about 'plain'?! How the fuck would he even be able to say that if – that fucker –"

Kaede shook her finger under Inuyasha's nose. "I'm only going to say it one more time, boy. You are not to do anything. It's bad enough that I have to go tell that sweet girl that she's been led along. I don't need you leaving blood splatters on the pavement outside of the diner. Do you want Kagome to hear that news from one of your outbursts? Do you have any idea how humiliated she would be? The diner is full."

Just because she was right didn't mean he still didn't want to go beat this fucker to pulp. How he had the audacity to call the diner when he was likely looking through the window at Kagome – sitting there waiting for him and trying to make the best of a situation she didn't want to be in – and just… his head was going to explode. He was sure of it. Inuyasha had to take deep breaths just so he wouldn't yell; the other employees were giving him wary looks, not even knowing the whole story.

Inuyasha stood out of sight, watching as Kaede walked to Kagome's table to give her the news. He could see the hurt flash across her face when she asked the older woman why her date wasn't showing up. He couldn't hear her voice, but he could see that she wasn't showing how she was really feeling. When she came back to the counter, he didn't bother trying to pretend that he hadn't been watching.

"Could you put it in a container to go?" Kaede asked softly. "She doesn't want to stay tonight."

The half demon nodded, going to collect a container. It was eating him up that he couldn't go out there and just… do something. Say something. If he did, it'd get awkward, and Kaede was right; there were a lot of people dining in. One of the younger employees met him halfway, handing him a container that was nearly filled. He started to tell the kid that he just needed a container for an appetizer, but was cut off. "There's room," the kid insisted, pushing it towards him. "Get another one if you feel you need to, but take this too. It's not cool that your friend got ditched like that, and she needs to eat."

"Thanks, Shippo."

Inuyasha bagged the containers up and brought them back to Kaede. She rang them up, going through the motions and using his card like he'd asked. Before she handed him back his card, she said, "If you want to leave early, it'll be fine. Work off that anger, get some rest."

"I don't –"

"You weren't even penciled in tonight," Totosai reminded him. "I just said I'd write you in because you said that lady friend of yours had that date."

"Oi, you said I'd get a little overtime!"

"I did?" the old man rubbed his chin, pretending not to remember that very discussion a few days ago. "Well, I suppose since you ain't killed the kit you deserve something…"

Kaede turned away and got back to work. Inuyasha would dip out, or he wouldn't. She didn't have time to listen to her husband and him argue like a couple of teenagers. Not when the diner was full of hungry ones.

The next morning, Kagome rolled over and wished she could stay in bed all day.

What was the point? The half demon she felt like she had a connection to hadn't expressed interest, and the blind date that she didn't want had expressed his disinterest quite plainly.

Plain.

She'd never thought of herself as "plain" before, but it had gutted her. The way that Kaede had watched her as she gave her the message, like she was waiting for the meltdown. She passed it along so discreetly, bringing her drink over as usual. She was so understanding when Kagome had asked to get her order to go. The atmosphere felt too cheerful, and she didn't want to taint it with her sour mood.

When she got home, she unloaded on her cousin through text, telling her everything and to pass the message along to her husband so he can find out what kind of scum his friend really is.

The takeout bag sat waiting for her when she was through venting to Kikyo, and Kagome regretted only ordering fries. Silly of her to think she was going to be ordering dinner and didn't want to get filled up beforehand. Her energy was too low to muster up the energy to cook, so she resigned herself to eating room temperature French fries as a meal.

All of the anger, all of the hurt and the frustration with the failed date, none of that had made her cry. Seeing that Inuyasha had packed one of the night's specials in with her appetizer? That had broken her.

Why was it that her luck with men sucked? Any endeavors as far as dating was met with no shows and sour emotions months later, and the one time that a guy is sweet and caring towards her, she didn't have the balls to ask him what he looked for in a partner.

So why should she get out of bed again?

Aside from her bladder saying "get up bitch I'm about to pop"?

She grunted, throwing back the covers and slumped her way to the bathroom. Even after relieving herself she still felt…mindless, but now she was more awake. She didn't want to be awake. She wanted to sleep until she could forget her problems.

The only blessing that Kagome could see was the fact that it was her day off. She wasn't even going to put on a bra. Just…be a hermit in her pajamas all day. No one expected to see her. No one was visiting. She had no reason to get dressed, so she wasn't.

But just because she was going to be a hermit didn't mean she wanted to shut out the light. She was a contradictory hermit like that. Kagome combed her fingers through her hair as she ambled to the curtains in the living room, pushing them back to let the sun shine in through the sliding doors.

"What…the hell..?"

The sun was kind of bright that morning but it was doing a number on her vision, because she swore she saw something sitting on her balcony table.

A vase of flowers sat in the center, next to a gift bag.

'Shit. I can't leave that out there,' she thought. 'Alright. I'll bring it in, and then I'll start my weekend as a hermit and hide in shame.'

Too bad her curiosity got the better of her, cause as soon as she shut the door again, she was bringing the bag and the vase to her kitchen table so she could see what was inside. The first thing she found was a note with a familiar handwriting she didn't expect to see.

Never think that you are anything but amazing. If someone tells you otherwise, they're too stupid to see the beauty that I do.

'He… he'd written…' Kagome's hands started to shake and her vision started the blur. Inuyasha had called her beautiful. Said that she was amazing. It wasn't fair! Why could he say that and – and – and make her a fucking chocolate cake holy shit. She set the container on the table next to the now-empty bag and just stood there, trying to wrap her head around everything.

'Inuyasha makes no sense. He says all these things, he does these things, and they're so sweet…but he's never told me that he was interested like that. What does this mean to him? I know what I wish it meant, but…' She crossed her arms over her chest, struggling to understand. 'He knows I was upset last night. He doesn't want me to be sad? Maybe…maybe that's all it is, right? Just Inuyasha being Inuyasha. I doubt he'd try to make a pass anyway…

But I need to let him know that I appreciate what he did. Cooking's out, cause I know nothing I'd cook would compare…and I'm too chicken shit to take it to him.'

Kagome turned to start a pot of coffee. That would help get her thoughts in order, and she couldn't let that wonderful treat he made go to waste. She was an adult. She was allowed to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. It went wonderfully with coffee, and it'd allow her to consider her options with a clear head.