"Okay. You can do this."

During a short pause for a pity party while the coffee pot percolated, Kagome had let out the tears that she'd held in. Maybe her hormones were getting the better of her out of the blue, or maybe being stood up in public like she had had hurt her more than she realized. Maybe it was all of the kind things that Inuyasha had done that finally sunk in. Whatever it was, it had all come out, and she spent a good ten minutes after trying to blow her nose. The little sob fest had been cathartic, even if it did end with a stuffy head and nose. It had given her some clarity that she needed.

She was gonna do something.

Then the coffee pot stopped, and she decided to do something after a cup of courage and piece of cake. Maybe two cups.

"Just…pick up the phone… okay there you go. You got this."

She couldn't believe she was trying to pump herself up to make a phone call, and yet… here she was. Gripping her cell like a vice holding a grapefruit. Which was ironic because she felt like if she loosened her hold she'd smash the casing.

"Stop being a baby and just – unlock the screen. Okay. Now go to contacts. Alright. Scroll…scroll… there's his number. Hit – the – button."

Kagome let out a shuddering breath as her thumb tapped the call button, and she placed the phone to her ear. Silence, and then a moment later, it began to ring.

Oh god.

It was ringing.

Oh shit. Shit. Fuck –

"Hello?"

"I-Inuyasha?"

"Kagome." The way he said her name should not have made her body do that all over shiver. It was too early in the day for that. Okay it was about half past nine, but still…too early for that kind of tingly feeling. She was glad she hadn't been at the balcony when she called, as she visibly shivered. "How are you feeling?"

"I…uh…I'm…okay…"

"You can tell me the truth, you know."

She sighed, dropping into a flop on her couch. "I'm…not okay," she admitted finally. "I'm mad. I'm humiliated. I'm just…fed up." This was not at all how she was expecting this phone call to go. Then again, she didn't have a set plan that she was following, so maybe getting it out of her system like this right off was the best course of action. "I let my cousin know everything last night. Even how I was told by one of the owners of the diner that my date had called to pass the message along. Haven't heard anything back from her yet, so I can't decide if she's not read it yet or if she's blowing up her husband's friend's phone."

"That was a low thing for him to do. I'm sorry I couldn't catch him, Kagome –"

"You didn't know he was a waste of time," she pointed out, even if the thought of this faceless man getting a beat down by the half demon was appealing. Very appealing. "I don't know if it's better this way or if he'd actually come in and told me to my face that I was plain…"

"If he was a man he would've at least come in the diner to speak to you. I don't think the man even has two balls to rub together."

Kagome nearly choked on her spit from the laughter that came over her just then. She could hear Inuyasha panic and ask her if she was okay, but she was laughing and coughing so hard she couldn't breathe to say.

"You're gonna kill me," she wheezed, trying to take in air. "That image, I swear…"

Inuyasha could be heard sighing, and she tried not to let her mind drift to all the ways it could be taken wrong. "You needed that laugh," he said softly. "Scared me for a second there, though. Thought for a minute I was going to have to make a running leap for your balcony to check on you."

And there it was. The opening she needed. "Is that how you left the flowers and cake?"

"…It was…"

He sounded unsure, and she didn't like that. "I wasn't going to get out of the bed today," she admitted. "But something told me to get up, and I'm glad I did." Her bladder, but he didn't need to know that. "Thank you, Inuyasha. This was…this was the sweetest thing that any guy has ever done for me."

"There's got to be someone…"

"Why do you think I stopped dating?" she asked dryly. "Guys don't do nice things for me, not without an ulterior motive that benefits them."

Inuyasha sighed again, this time a bit more dramatically, so she knew he was about to make a joke. "Well shit, you caught me. I did have an ulterior motive in that I just wanted the pretty woman that lives across the road from me to smile."

"You got her to," Kagome blushed. She knew if she didn't do something soon, she was gonna miss her opportunity. "What is it that you look for?" she asked suddenly, hoping it didn't come off as abrupt. They were discussing relationships, after all. Even failed ones.

"What I look for?" he hummed, and Kagome's ears strained to pick up each note in his voice. Freaking hell, what was wrong with her? Did he lace that cake with some lust concoction or something? "A pulse, for starters," he laughed. "I guess saying 'pretty' would be vague, huh?"

This would probably bite her in the ass, but… "Do you have an image in your head of what you'd consider the one for you? I mean – I've heard that some people do that, that is. When they can't describe their interests generally they describe the qualities in a person they can see in their mind."

"Well… she'd have a pulse –"

"I sure as hell hope she does!" she snorted.

"Okay okay, I'll quit with that," he was practically grinning over the phone she just knew it. "She'd be shorter than me, not so much where I'd have to bend in half to kiss her, but just enough where I could rest my head on hers as I hold her. She'd fit against me like a puzzle piece. She'd be funny, and kind. Knows what she wants, even if she's hesitant to say so at times. A woman that isn't afraid of me being a half demon would be a plus…"

"What's wrong with you being a half demon?" she asked suddenly.

"The claws? The ears? The marks?"

Before she could stop herself Kagome said out loud "I don't see anything wrong with those."

"It doesn't bother you? Scare you?"

Once again, she was shaking her head during a phone call. "No," she replied, catching her idiotic mistake. "They're what make you you. Nothing about you scares me, Inuyasha."

"Y-you mean that…" she heard him mutter, followed by something incoherent, before she heard him swear under his breath. "Hey, uh… what do you think about dinner one night? That is, if you want to, of course. I don't want to pressure you or anything. I know last night didn't go well and I don't want you to think it's a pity thing or something –"

Was he…asking her out? On a date?

Oh god, was this happening? It sounded like it was happening.

Speak, Kagome!

"I'd love that!" she blurted out, effectively stopping his rambling. "If you'd like to, of course. I don't want you to feel like you have to or anything."

"Believe me, I'd love to," he sighed. "I…Kagome…"

"What's wrong?"

"I've…got another call," he sounded so disappointed. "I think it's work, I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. We can talk again later, it's okay Inuyasha." Kagome understood that all too well with her own job. That didn't mean that she wasn't disappointed. Especially since it was her day off, too. But then, it was their luck to not both have a day off at the same time.

As the call ended, Kagome leaned back against the couch with a sigh, feeling slightly better. She got to talk to Inuyasha. Had found out some of the qualities he looked for in a woman. He'd even asked her out to dinner sometime soon. Then she froze as it sunk in that he hadn't said "soon".

"What do you think about dinner one night?" had been the exact words.

He hadn't given a date to that proposition of a date.

The dark thoughts in her mind were trying to tell her that he did that on purpose so that he could ditch her like her blind date did. But as low as her self-esteem was, she couldn't believe he'd do that. Not after all of the things he'd done in the past. Not after bringing over flowers and a whole cake. Work was calling and probably wanted him to come in. Simple as that.

He'd call back when he knew of a day and time. She knew he would.

As good as the food from the diner was, Kagome forced herself to actually be a decent gremlin and cook herself something for dinner that night. She had some ingredients in the refrigerator that she needed to use before they went bad, and she could put the leftovers in the freezer. It was during her prep for her stir fry medley that Kikyo decided to give her phone a ring.

"Yes?"

"Okay, first off, I'm sorry."

Kagome snorted. "You're not the one that needs to apologize."

"Suikotsu is sorry too –"

"I didn't mean him either, but I don't expect an apology, to be honest."

"I swear I had no idea he'd be such an ass."

She tapped the phone to switch to speakerphone as she placed it on the counter. She wasn't in the mood to try to balance it on her shoulder as she chopped peppers. "I've told you before that being set up never works out for me." Each word became more punctuated as she dropped the knife harder through the pepper on the cutting board. "But did you listen? No, and now look what happened – I had one of the owners come tell me that my date wasn't showing up because he called the diner –"

"Kagome…"

"Do you have any idea how much I was humiliated by this middle school tactic, Kikyo? I'd have been less embarrassed to have been called plain to my face by this man!" The anger had come back in like a tidal surge, and Kagome slammed the knife down on the cutting board so she wouldn't take a finger off. "The way Kaede said this call happened had to mean that he was outside the diner looking in! And he still refused to be a man and speak to me!"

"I'm so sorry, Kagome."

"Whatever. It is what it is."

"I wanted to check on you," Kikyo tried again. "When I read that message…gods I was so mad. That wasn't right at all. Suikotsu has been furious. He won't even speak to him right now. But that's besides the point. I'm more concerned about you."

"I'll save you the therapy session," Kagome replied, picking out the bits of the pepper she'd decimated and junking them in the bin. "I called Inuyasha earlier today to thank him for the gift he left for me –"

"Wait what?"

"Flowers, a cake he made, and a note. He left them on my balcony table this morning. Wanted to cheer me up. I called him, we talked. He –" Did she really want to say more? Kagome chewed her lip, looking at the oil in the skillet that was starting to bubble. Fuck it. "He asked me out to dinner."

"Oh did he now?"

"Yes, he did."

"And you said yes, right?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I?"

Kikyo made a squawking noise into the phone. "You! You've danced around the fact that you've got the hots for this man for months! You can't just act all blasé about agreeing to dinner like that!"

"Well I can and I did!" she retorted. "If you must know, he was unsure about asking me because of everything. And…if he asked then that must mean that he's interested, so…if he's interested, and I know I'm interested, I want to try, you know?"

"No I don't know because I don't beat around the bush like you do."

"Maybe some of us haven't been as lucky in love as others," Kagome bit back in clipped tones. Her cousin had gotten lucky. Met her husband through a dating site, hit it off, was married a year later. Of course she'd gone to bed with the man after a month of dating, but she didn't go around saying that. She loved her cousin like a best friend and a sister, but she wanted to shake the shit out of her sometimes too. Just because Kikyo had gotten it easy, somehow she figured that everyone in the world must match up as well as her and Suikotsu did. No matter how many times that Kagome tried to explain that that wasn't the case, that it took some people longer to find that one, it went over her head.

This time however, she got the impression that it finally clicked.

"You'll find him," Kikyo assured her softly, and Kagome felt a bit of guilt for getting angry. Her cousin meant well; she knew that. "Though from how you speak of this half demon, I think you may have found him already."

"We'll see." She couldn't let herself get too hopeful.

"Have you thought about…I don't know…testing the waters?"

"How? Our schedules never line up. And what even are you talking about?"

"I don't know! Doing something to see what kind of reaction he gives you?"

There was no way she was telling her cousin about the time she flashed him her underwear. Or the time that she saw him deliberately drop his towel on the balcony to show her half his ass. Or the selfie he'd just taken out of the shower that he'd texted her. Or…well, he'd sent a few of those basically. Yeah, there was no way in hell that Kikyo would find out about those.

Fuck. She couldn't think about those. Not while she was cooking.

"You know what," she squeaked. "I'll…think of something. I always do."

It had been a few days since the call with Kikyo when Kagome had ventured back into the diner. She was still skittish about showing her face, even though there wasn't a big dramatic scene that had unfolded. If anyone had noticed how strange she or Kaede had acted, they didn't bring attention to it. She couldn't have been more grateful, and then she stepped inside the doors.

People waved to her. Spoke to her. Asked how work was going, did she have any plans for the holidays in mind, just…mundane things. There were no pitying looks, no words of comfort about how there's more fish in the sea, nothing that would make her feel less human.

Kaede was behind the counter when she approached, giving her a warm smile as always. "How have you been, dear? We've missed you these last few days."

Kagome couldn't lie to the older woman and laid it all out in hushed tones. "I know it's dumb," she explained. "But getting the brush off like that brought back some old history that wasn't great."

"Mm. But that's the wonderful thing about history. If we pay close enough attention we can prevent it from happening when it comes back around. Unfortunately fashion runs on some other kind of line, I fear. I heard that those "mom jeans" were showing up again."

"Oh gods no!" Kagome laughed. "I like my jeans to fit my shape, not make a new shape!"

From back in the kitchen the pair heard a male voice call out "I bet you someone else does too!" before a loud smack with something metal followed. Kaede had told whoever it was to be nice, and though Kagome didn't know who spoke, she couldn't shake the feeling that Inuyasha was the one that struck.

She wasn't going to blush. She would not. She already knew he appreciated her look, whoever said that was just meant to tease –

"Here you are," Kaede sat her bag of food on the counter.

Kagome blinked and reached for her pocketbook, briefly forgetting that she had ordered food. "By the way, I noticed something strange on my bank statement that next morning. I wanted to ask you about it the next time I came in…"

Why had Kaede gone so still? "Oh?"

"Yeah, I don't think my payment for the appetizer processed that night? I also owe you extra for the rest of the meal that was included."

"Oh dear, you don't have to –"

"I can't let it slide, Kaede. I thought maybe my account or my card had an issue, so I called the bank and my balance was correct. I even stopped at the convenience store and used the card, and it took the money from my account right then. I don't want you to get shortchanged because of me. It wouldn't be right –"

Kaede was shaking her head. "No, Kagome you misunderstand. Your meal was paid for. All of it." She stood with her back to the kitchen and subtly motioned with her hand at her chest to try to explain what really happened.

Fortunately for the old woman, Kagome was quick. "I…I see…" So Inuyasha had not only made her a whole cake, had chosen flowers, brought both over to her balcony, but he'd covered her appetizer and added on dinner. The floor wasn't really spinning, was it? Cause she felt pretty lightheaded at this piece of news. "So… I… hm. Did he… did he say anything?"

"Only that he didn't want you to know," Kaede laughed, feeling pleased that she didn't outright say anything so she could still deny everything. "He means well, dear. He knew you were nervous that night, and he didn't want you to have anymore to worry about than you had."

Of all the things to make her blush, the pure sweetness of Inuyasha's intentions that night was what did it. Kagome was flustered as she put her pocketbook away, only to take it back out when Kaede handed her the card back because she'd forgotten that she'd used it to pay for her dinner. And then out of the blue, she could hear Kikyo's voice just as clear as day.

"Have you thought about…I don't know…testing the waters?"

She might not have had a response during that phone call, but she had an idea that she could try now.

Inuyasha collapsed on his couch, toeing off his shoes, not giving a damn where they landed. Shippo had to call in and say he couldn't make his shift because one of his teachers had changed the exam schedule. Not being one to turn down an extra shift, and the kit could make it up to him in the future, Inuyasha volunteered. It meant he was pulling two shifts back to back, but he was a half demon. He could handle that.

He hadn't counted on Totosai's back going out, which was what prompted the call when he was speaking to Kagome. It wasn't anything major, but they were down a set of hands that could bus tables, and well… half demon. At least the double shifts had been one day. Bussing tables had been three, and it had been during lunch, when people could be at their hangriest. To make it all the more challenging, because whatever god existed clearly had it out for him that week, the double shift day had fallen right in the middle of his stint as a substitute waiter.

Was it against policies? Most likely, but he liked his bosses and he wasn't going to go bitching about it. By the end of that day, he'd gotten it down to a science, going from the kitchen to the tables with the food he'd just fixed, checking for refills over his domain, then returning with the next round of dishes and the pitchers.

A few of the regulars had asked if they needed an extra set of hands for the day, seeing how much he was taking on. He could do it. That was no problem.

It was that little old woman that tucked his tip into the back pocket of his jeans as he turned away that was the problem. Haraiya, he was pretty sure her name was, was a notorious flirt. He'd heard the stories, and up until then had been lucky to not have to be subjected to her "pleasure pats" as Totosai called them. Not only did she tuck the bills in the right back pocket, but she'd groped his ass.

He felt a little dirty and like he ought to have been wearing booty shorts with words on the ass. He didn't think "Juicy" suited him.

The good news was, he was now back to his old schedule. He had a set of vacation days that he was going to be forced to use coming up quick, and he knew how he wanted to make the best of his time off. The trick would be putting in for that time when he knew Kagome could get a day off.

Assuming that she wanted to spend time with him, of course.

Inuyasha groaned, getting up from the couch and making his way to his room. He had asked her out to dinner, and she'd said yes. So there was definitely interest. Why he hadn't set up a day was another matter, but work had left him so drained the last few days that he hadn't had the energy to put towards talking. Scheduling the first date wasn't something he wanted to do through a text.

The first…

He pulled off his shirt and tossed it across the room, aiming for the hamper. It missed, smacking the wall and sliding down into a pile. The socks landed with success, but he wasn't going to think about how sweaty they were and how that had aided in the trajectory. The jeans, once he got them unbuttoned and off his hips, almost landed in the hamper. They did that annoying thing where the weight shifted and slid of the edge, hitting the floor.

Fuck it. He'd pick them up later. Right then, he wanted a nap.

The half demon flopped onto his stomach, and had nearly fallen asleep if his phone hadn't buzzed. He didn't expect anyone to call him, and of his most recent contacts only one could make him turn over and reach for the device he left on the bedside table. Just as he suspected, it was a text from Kagome. Inuyasha turned over onto his back and sat up as he swiped at the screen to unlock it. That nap could wait a bit.

I wanted to thank you again, for everything you did Inuyasha. You don't know what that means to me –

'The hell? Kagome already said this,' he thought, thumbing the screen to scroll down the message. 'I guess she found out about Kaede using my card. Shit… I didn't want her to…to…to… holy fucking god…'

Inuyasha wasn't prepared for the photo that Kagome sent this time.

She wasn't sitting at her desk eating pickles that he had made. She was in her bed, looking like she was ready to be eaten. That red blouse he liked to see her in was unbuttoned most of the way down the front, pulled open to display the black lace bra underneath. She sat on her knees in the middle of the bed, giving him the barest glimpse of the matching panties. At least, he thought they were. They were black and nearly sheer. Her hair was a complete mess, and paired with that teasing smile across her lips, it's like she was calling him back to bed for another round.

He whined.

He was not proud of that sound, but if he hadn't been sitting when he opened her text, he'd have been on the floor.

Inuyasha tapped the photo, letting it fill the screen on his phone, and just stared. If this was Kagome trying to tell him something, then fuck he got the message! His cock was already aching, and the longer he looked at this picture, the more he knew a shower wasn't going to help. Getting his boxers off was a feat one handed, but he couldn't let the phone go. He didn't want to take the risk that it was all in his imagination. And if it was, well… he wanted to take care of something first.

"I can't believe I did that."

Kagome brushed through her tousled hair, trying to slow down the pounding of her heart. It was a risk, but she wasn't going to get anywhere without taking a few risks, was she? And if that meant taking her cousin's advice by sending her friend and neighbor a naughty photo, then that was… not the best approach but Inuyasha had sent her a lot of pictures that she couldn't show anyone else, so it was high time she returned the gesture. She'd wanted to show her appreciation for how sweet he'd been to her, and since he had gotten a reaction out of her…

But as the minutes ticked by she started to regret her idea. There was no way she could delete the photo. It was on his phone now. It was his. She knew he was home, knew how his schedule had been and chose to wait and send the text after he was in the safety of his apartment. The picture was for his eyes only, and that's how she wanted it to stay.

Somehow, she expected a text back? Some kind of response, because the message had gone from delivered to read almost instantly.

Did he…not like it? Did he think girls that took pictures like this as trashy? She'd made sure nothing was outright showing before she sent it. it was a tease of what she could offer. Was that not enough? Should she have gone without the blouse? Completely topless with an arm shielding her breasts? Had she done it wrong? She'd looked online for inspiration for posing herself, but a lot weren't possible without another person to take the picture – and if anyone were to take her picture like that, she'd have wanted him to do it.

It was insane but, she trusted Inuyasha. She couldn't explain it, but she did.

Kagome clutched her phone in her hands as she sat on the edge of her bed. She needed to get up and put on pajamas, but she didn't want to set her phone down. What if she missed his call? That would blow everything she'd hoped to get out of that text.

When that phone did ring minutes later, she nearly slung it across the room in surprise.

'Oh god. He's calling. He didn't text. Oh god.' Nervously, she tapped the screen to answer and held the device to her ear. She was too frozen in her thoughts to say hello first, and couldn't figure out why there was no sound on the other side.

Wait.

There was…something.

It was odd. And faint, but there was definitely sound. Kagome thought for a moment that Inuyasha might have been cooking and just set the phone down on the counter. It sounded a bit like something wet was being stirred.

"Oh fuck…" came a breathy moan.

'Huh –'

There was a hiss as that sound increased, then "Gods yes, Kagome. Just like that…"

'W-what –'

"So good… f-fuck…"

'What –'

"Ugh…Kagome…you take it so well…"

'WHAT?!'

The moaning became louder, and Inuyasha was telling Kagome to "take all of him in her" between grunts and the sound of – something she really was trying not to acknowledge in that moment. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was – he was –

"Fu-uck…gonna…gonna cum –!"

Kagome let out a squeak as she hit end call in a panic and tossed her phone on the bed. The room had gone silent but she could still hear the way Inuyasha panted in her ear as he touched himself. Why in the hell hadn't she hung up once she realized? Why did she continue to listen? There was no way that he had deliberately dialed her, right? He was too far gone…and why…oh god…

The realization that he'd been getting off to the picture she'd just sent was too much to process.

Inuyasha must have dialed her by accident, that had to be it. And, because she was going to believe it was an accident, the only way that had to happen was if he'd been looking at that picture. Maybe his hand slipped and hit the call button. He was certainly preoccupied and wouldn't have noticed.

'But he is going to notice,' the dark thoughts in her head pointed out, 'and he's going to see that you didn't immediately hang up. He's going to know that you listened to him touch himself.'

Oh god, she'd fucked up. All she had wanted to do was send him a sexy picture to see how he'd react. If he was really interested beyond a dinner date, that would've been the quickest way to find out without bluntly saying so. Well she'd gotten an earful – and learned he had a handful holy gods – while probably ruining any chance she had.

Maybe she needed to decline that dinner date. He hadn't asked her about a date yet, so maybe it would be for the best.

"I am a dead man."

Three days had passed since Inuyasha had gotten that picture from Kagome. Three days since he'd jacked off to said picture of Kagome. Three days since he'd talked to Kagome.

Those moments of bliss he'd felt after he'd shot his load were short lived once he located the phone he had been holding. The photo had remained on his screen, filling his mind with all sorts of delicious images of her looming over him. Touching him, teasing him, swallowing him – he was so far gone in his fantasies that he didn't recall letting go of the phone. Had no idea that his thumb had hit the call button as he set it down. It didn't occur to him that something was wrong until after he'd cum on himself. That distinct dial tone had drifted up to his ears, and any ounce of euphoria he was feeling in the moment had flown out the window once he realized a call had been placed.

Three days later, he still stared at the recently called list and couldn't believe he'd actually called Kagome in the middle of masturbating to her picture.

It was an accident! He'd admit right away that he had his dumb moments, and this took the top of the list of stupid shit he'd ever done. He was a man, and men could be completely boneheaded, even half demons. How he was going to explain that to Kagome…

Gods, he desperately wanted to call her. Send her a text, even a message on the white board like old times, but…well, he was terrified of what her reaction might be. This was a lot bigger than being blindsided by her flashing him in her apartment. He'd called out her name as he touched himself, so there were no doubts about what he had been envisioning.

She hadn't reached out to talk to him, not that he was surprised. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to speak to him ever again after this. He just wished that he could explain –

"Boy whatever is bothering you, talk to the girl," Totosai said as Inuyasha signed off his shift. "You've been a moping mess the last couple days and since we haven't seen that young lady come in here it's not hard to figure out what happened."

Inuyasha stiffened. Jesus he hadn't screamed Kagome's name out, had he? 'Please don't let me be that transparent,' he silently begged the gods above. 'All I need is for some rumors to start and Kagome will never speak to me again no matter how much I beg for forgiveness.' "What have you heard?" he asked carefully.

"Nothing, but you're a sour pickle and she's nowhere to be seen. Whatever you said, apologize. She's a sweet girl, she'll forgive you."

As he left the diner, Inuyasha found himself digging his phone out of his pocket. 'Shows what you know, old man. Some things are hard to forgive…' But still, he had to try. He held the phone up, listening to the ring and tried to think back to a few days before. How had he not heard Kagome answer? He knew how, but it should have registered on some level.

"Hello?" a soft – and shy – voice answered.

"K-Kagome…hey," he replied. "I…I wanted to…to call you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Fuck this was like pulling teeth from a shark that a bear had eaten. In the middle of the fall of Pompeii. With a pair of plastic pliers. "Been wanting to call you for a few days, actually… uh… shit, Kagome I'm sorry –"

"Sorry? Why?"

Why did she sound confused? He was trying to apologize for playing with himself! What part of that didn't she get? "What do you mean, why?"

"Why are you apologizing for the other day?" she tried again. "Did you not…you know…finish?"

Thank god he had stopped walking before the crosswalk or he might've been a smear on the street if he'd have kept going, because those words nearly had him stumbling. "W-what?" She'd just asked if he…if he…

"Or was it not what you hoped? Is that why you're apologizing?"

"Huh?!"

"Was it not good?"

"Which part?!"

"I don't know!" he could hear her shriek. "You tell me! You were the one doing it!"

Inuyasha jogged through the crosswalk once he had the signal to. He needed to put distance between him and the people around them, and the best way to do that was to get back to his apartment. "Yes I finished!" he hissed into the phone, feeling his face practically glow he was blushing so hard. "Everything about it was good up until I came to my senses and realized I'd called your phone –"

"Oh," he heard her reply. There was a pause before she asked, "That's it?"

He pulled open the doors to the apartment building and headed for the stairs. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have on the elevator. "What do you mean 'that's it'?"

"Never mind –"

"No – you don't get to say that, now tell me what you're talking about, Kagome."

"…don't laugh?"

"Only if it's funny," he replied, knowing that whatever she was going to say wouldn't be. Something was odd about her voice, like she was afraid to open up. Then again, given what had happened the last time she had… "Wait. Are you talking about..?"

"I thought… I thought… for a moment I thought the picture I sent wasn't good enough, alright? I thought I'd done something wrong, and when you called I was so sure you were going to call me pathetic and when I realized you were…well…"

Inuyasha cleared his throat, pausing at the current landing and leaning against the wall. "It was an accident," he said. "Me dialing you, I mean. I didn't even realize, didn't hear you speak… that's what I wanted to apologize to you for, Kagome. I was afraid you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me after that."

"I was surprised," she admitted shyly. "I guess I shouldn't be. You are a guy after all –"

"Hey now," he laughed. "The only other woman I've let in my apartment besides your pictures has been Mrs. Butterworth, and it's been that way for years." The half demon smiled as he heard her laugh, and he pushed off the wall to continue up the stairs. "You're not upset with me, are you?"

"Not if you're not with me," Kagome replied.

As he reached his floor, Inuyasha fished in his jeans for his keys. "Trust me, if I get upset with you about a picture like that, it's because you shared it with someone that wasn't me." Immediately he froze, realizing what he'd said and how it came off sounding like they were a thing. Her breathy laugh did little to calm his nerves, but hearing her say that she'd keep that in mind was maddening really. He needed to make it into his apartment before he was tenting his jeans, and here she was implying that she'd send him another picture like that in the future?

His voice might've cracked a bit when he told her to give him a minute because he'd reached his door. He frowned when the key wouldn't fit in the lock, thinking maybe it was because he was trying to unlock the door onehanded. Inuyasha wedged the phone between his shoulder and jawline as he grabbed the doorknob with one hand and tried to force the key in the hole. No matter what he did, he couldn't get the key to fit. He really didn't want to break it off in the lock, because he knew fuck all when a locksmith would come out to fix it.

Even if he could just go back downstairs, outside and around the corner, and scale the side to get in through the balcony, he was feeling lazy.

Inuyasha briefly heard Kagome say something about someone at her door, and he was growing so frustrated that he didn't mind that she'd put him on hold. He sighed, plucking the phone from his shoulder and stepped back from the door. The number was right – 503. This was his apartment number. So what the hell was going on with the lock?

"Hey, Kagome –" he was about to say that he'd call her back, when the door he was seconds from contemplating kicking down opened.

"Inuyasha?" She stood there in the doorway, phone in hand, wearing a tunic dress and looking like the complete opposite of the woman in the picture. There wasn't any seductive confidence in her features right then. Kagome looked like she wanted to hide behind her door.

He needed to say something. Anything.

He opened his mouth, but nothing would come out.

"Do you want to come in?"

'Say. Something. You. idiot.'

Only one more chapter to go!