Author's Note: So, what started out as a 2k word gift to LiaSango for her birthday ended up being a 13k monster with a lot of feelings and some smut. Apparently, I can't write short stories.
Dedication: LiaSango, my absolute darling. Happy belated. You are a gift to this fandom and I would not be the writer I am without your constant encouragement. You truly are a gem and I adore you. I (desperately) hope you like this.
Warnings: smut, at the end. You can totally skip and it's pretty clear when that bit is happening. If you'd like clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Oh wait, and some random dude dies but he totally deserves it. Morally ambiguous killing code? I'll warn for that too.
Drowning in the Night
(Blinded by the Lights)
The night was dark.
Normally, this would have made Kagome Higurashi feel a sort of quietness and peace that she was rarely able to find. Between studying through an overloaded schedule and working shifts for the student council, the chance to breathe and take a moment for herself was never during the day. There was always something: classes, study groups, work, outings with friends, homework, calls with her family. It wasn't until the sun set and the sky darkened that everything began to settle.
Twice a week she had night classes, which meant a ten-minute walk from campus to her house after nine p.m. It was nice. The warm air, the sounds of closing as the town began to hide itself and prepare for the next day. It was a time that Kagome used to steady herself, to push aside the day-to-day worries and the stress and simply try to breathe.
But tonight was different.
Kagome tried hard not to look at the man behind her, though she quickened her pace and fumbled in her purse to find the house keys. It could be nothing. It probably was nothing. But for the last few blocks, the man had been walking a few paces away behind her. He hadn't said anything, hadn't done anything. But the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and Kagome could feel her heart racing.
It could be nothing, she reminded herself. It probably was nothing.
She just wanted to get home.
Sliding her keys into her hands, Kagome quickly darted across the street to the park. It was the fastest shortcut home, well-lit with an asphalt walkway. She bit at her bottom lip, nervously picking at it. Maybe the park wasn't such a great idea. Shouldn't she have stayed on the street, where help may have been more accessible?
Risking a glance back, Kagome saw a glimpse of the man, still tailing her. A hundred curses flit through her mind, but nothing could stop the thumping of her heart, hammering against her ribs like a chant. She clutched at her purse, hating herself for letting her phone's battery die in class. She hadn't thought to bring a charger and now it was dead, useless.
Praying on her last hope and walking as fast as she could, Kagome dug the phone out and hurriedly put it to her ear. "Hello?" she said, swallowing past the lump in her throat. She could pretend, right? That was what they—
A forceful shove from behind had her scrambling, phone leaving her hand as she struggled to stay upwards. Kagome barely had time to right herself, to run, to do anything when massive arms circled around her. A damp cloth was forced over her face and Kagome screamed, body instantly reacting. She kicked, arms flailing as much as possible. Would anyone hear her? Hadn't the park been completely empty?
Desperate, Kagome kicked her leg behind herself as she was lifted. It didn't feel like it did any good, but suddenly the arms around her loosened slightly, just enough that her one arm could find room to maneuver, to send the hand holding her keys into the face of her attacker. She tried once, twice, barely able to breathe for all that she was screaming—
Down, down, Kagome was thrown to the ground. Her hands and knees scraped against the asphalt. She couldn't breathe, the chemical scent of whatever had been on the cloth cloying and playing tricks. Coughing, Kagome tried to crawl forward before she collapsed, rolling to her side.
She had to get away. Run. She had to move.
And then, there was another, blood-curdling scream. It was that of a man, and Kagome forced her eyes open, pushing past the bleariness. The man who had attacked her was on his knees, mouth agape though no sound was coming out any longer. Every inch of him looked to be in pain.
Then she saw the other one. The other man. As confused as she was, it had taken a moment for Kagome to realize that her attacker was kneeling with another whose face was covered. All she could see was long silver hair and a dark coat, shrouding his frame. Hands – big hands, with claws – shoved at her attacker until he, too, was on the ground.
Kagome blinked. Claws? And wasn't that—
The man – her saviour? – looked at her then, kneeling on the pavement with blood leaking down his chin and protruding fangs on his lip. His eyes flashed – red, red, so red – before changing.
Changing to what? Kagome struggled to keep her eyes open but it was so hard. Too hard. She was going under and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"Shh."
Kagome forced opened her eyes, the task feeling as difficult as lifting a car. Her saviour was hovering over her now, his hand pressed against her cheek. When had he gotten there?
"Close your eyes," he whispered.
"Whuh—" Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, too heavy to form words. She struggled anyways. "What 'r—" Gold. Gold. All she could see was gold.
"Just close your eyes."
She didn't want to. Kagome moaned, frustrated, but it was too late. Her eyelids fell shut.
There was a moment.
A single moment, where reality blurred with a landscape filled with dreams and dark corners. There was little else but an inky blackness and a sense that she was being watched.
Opening her eyes, a man stood at her bedside. His eyes were golden and his hair was silver, a sharp contrast to his long black coat. He stared and Kagome thought she knew him. Not because of how he looked, because he was as much of a stranger to her as any doctor in the hospital, any nurse.
But there was a familiarity. An intensity.
Then the moment was gone and Kagome couldn't have said who the man was, why she was trapped in bed, or even if the man had ever really been there at all.
An animal attack.
They were calling it an animal attack because of bite marks found on the dead man's neck. Kagome didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, everything that she remembered about the attack was foggy at best. It was almost like a memory, in which every time she tried to recall it, the whispers of words and her place in the scene would fade away like a ghost. On the other, she knew deep down that it was wrong. There had been another man there. Another…monster.
If pressed, Kagome would give it a name. Maybe. She hadn't had the courage to try and say it, even in the privacy of her own head.
The hospital cleared her the next morning, after a few visits and her harried, distraught mother. The police had come by several times asking for statements, and a representative of the university had checked on her, probably wanting to judge if she would attempt to sue.
Turned out the man following her was the same man that had been sexually assaulting women all over the city for the last month. They hadn't been able to catch him, until now.
Kagome didn't give herself the courage to think about that either.
She simply went home and spent the day in bed. Her roommates came in to check on her and to bring up her takeout, but otherwise, she was alone.
Never before had she minded being alone. It was always long-awaited time for herself and so Kagome never complained, never hated it. Like she had said: it was a time used to become steadier, to push aside worries and stress and just breathe.
But for the first time, Kagome felt like being alone wasn't exactly what she wanted after all.
That very first night, she dreamed.
She was in the park, lying on the hard asphalt and struggling to get up. She couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. There was a scream, horrific in its fear. The sound took up every thought in her head – every desire to run – and silenced it. There was nothing left but stone-cold terror thrumming through her. She was a deer caught in the headlights, too afraid to move and knowing that no matter what direction she took it would all end the same.
It always ended the same.
She watched as the man who had attacked her fell backwards, limp. She watched as a man – a creature from nightmares, in her nightmare – kneeled before him, blood dripping down its chin. It looked at her then, this wild and monstrous thing, and it smirked. Its eyes changed from the colour of rubies to the colour of treasure.
There was a name for this.
It came to her, unbidden, gasping from her mouth like a prayer: vampire.
It was unavoidable.
She had to go back to her classes. Kagome wasn't hurting, wasn't really terrified. In all honesty, the night of the attack was barely more than a hazy sort of dream that she tried to forget. Rarely, she'd catch the worried looks of her roommates but mostly people lived on in their lives, completely ignorant to what had occurred.
At first, Kagome preferred it.
Then, Kagome hated it and she couldn't fathom why.
But classes were essential and Kagome promised her mother top grades to ease with the worry of being at school all alone. See Mom, I can make the Honour Roll, this is easy! I'm all good.
The lies people told to the people they loved.
On Friday, only a few days after the attack, Kagome had her last night class. It was the best class in the world in the worst timeslot of university history. Privately, she thought the professor requested Friday nights, if only to lessen the number of students within the class. It was one of those rather simple ones: as long as you enjoyed reading and did okay at multiple choice questions, you more or less received an A. There was a participation component, however, so Kagome bit her lip and sat through it, ignoring the nagging alarm that was rising within her.
She'd have to walk home in the dark, after this.
As the clock tick-tick-ticked along, Kagome charged her phone and thought of a plan. The university had an organized student group for walking people to their dorms or homes after six p.m. Kagome had never utilized the service before, but she had never felt unsafe before either. Walking with someone else would do her good, even if the conversation was a little awkward.
She most certainly wouldn't take the shortcut through the park.
Kagome never imagined needing to be walked home before, but things had changed. At that moment, she didn't know exactly how much.
But she would. Not yet, but soon.
Days went by. Weeks.
Her dreams were no longer filled with nightmares but instead were haunted by golden threads, wrapped around her fingers and tugging her to places dark and foreboding. Her days were hazy with school and work, but it was wrong now, somehow. Like everything was switched around, like waking up was falling back asleep.
Because even though the golden threads meant nothing to her, she knew what they were doing. They were leading her somewhere, to someone, to some truth.
But she always woke up before the darkness enveloped her.
Funny, how she was never once scared of that part.
An intervention was called a month later by her roommates.
They meant well, but Kagome couldn't explain it. Not in a way that made sense, that made her sound less crazy. It wasn't an animal attack. It wasn't sheer luck that she had escaped the clutches of some crazy predator trying to assault her. Life wasn't that strange, not to her, not before this.
Yuka, Eri and Ayumi looked so worried. They threatened to call her mom.
Kagome came up with the first lie that she could think of and then promised herself that she would do better, if only just to hide it.
The lies she told to the people she loved.
It took a month after the intervention for Kagome to feel like something resembling a human being again. Some days, the lie didn't even feel so fake. Her dreams still haunted her and her days still appeared hazy, but it was a desperation for the truth that would never come. Kagome had to accept it and so, grudgingly, she did. This was her new normal.
Eventually, with each baby step, she became comfortable on her own again, walking back and forth from campus. To be honest, she thought that was great progress. Most of her classes were early in the day – with the obvious exception of her night classes – and with the sun shining Kagome didn't feel so bad. She didn't take the stroll across the park, however.
Some things weren't meant to be adapted to.
"Kagome!" Eri called out through the door. "Are you almost ready?"
"Five minutes!" she shouted back, making a face in her bedroom mirror. She and her roommates were going to head out to one of the bars nearby. It was a pretty busy bar in a pretty sketchy area, but there was always some live band playing, the place as packed with bodies as it could get. Her friends Eri, Yuka and Ayumi had been planning this outing well before the attack and though Kagome knew she could get a pass… She wanted to go out. To do something different. It wasn't like she was going to be alone at any point.
Dressed and ready to go, IDs and cards in hand, the four of them waited for their rideshare outside of the house. Yuka was rubbing at her arms, trying to ward off the chill. "We should have called for it earlier."
"There was no guarantee Eri would be on time," Ayumi reminded her. "Or Kagome."
"Hey!" she argued. "I was on time."
Yuka raised a brow but ended up laughing. "With like two seconds to spare."
"That's still on time!"
"Not by my philosophy."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Your philosophy is if you're not early, you're late."
"Exactly." Yuka's smile was all teeth. She was distracted as headlights pulled onto their street, their car coming to pick them up. There was a lot of shuffling for them to fit, Eri claiming the front and peering around the seat to stare at them and force conversation. Ayumi and Yuka were all for it, geared up and excited for an outing. Exams were fast approaching and all of them had difficult majors. Within the week, none of them would be doing anything remotely fun for a while, unless it somehow included studying.
The bar was, as expected, packed. There was a line all the way around the building, girls and boys talking animatedly while leaning against crumbling red brick. Eri winked at them as she grabbed Kagome's and Ayumi's hands, dragging them to the front. "So you know that guy I hooked up with at Hojo's party a month ago?"
"No," Ayumi groaned. "Not him."
"Connections matter, my darling friend." Eri laughed wildly, near skipping as she brought them to the doors. "Also, I have it on good authority that Hojo will be here too." That part was said at Kagome, her friend's eyebrows waggling suggestively. "He's pretty cute."
Kagome tried to remember that night, wincing when it wasn't perfectly clear. There had been a bit too much alcohol. "Was he the one with dark hair?"
"Nope."
Well, that was all she had. "Hopefully I don't look like an idiot then."
"He's too nice to be offended," Eri promised. "Unlike my friend over here who will definitely not let us in if I ignore him. Excuse me."
Hands free, Kagome crossed her arms and tried to ignore the cold. She should have worn something warmer, but a tank top was the best option for a bar that was sure to be packed with hot and sweaty bodies. She nudged at Yuka, partly to get her attention and partly to try and gain some body heat. "I didn't even know Eri was seeing anyone."
Yuka snorted. "Depends on your definition of 'seeing.' You know her."
Eri did what Eri wanted to do, which was anything with anyone at any time. Kagome thought she was probably the coolest one of them all, but figured Yuka would definitely be offended by that. A few feet away, Eri whirled around and grinned at them, waving them forward. "Well, it certainly has its perks."
"I'll take it," Ayumi declared, speeding on ahead. "I don't think I can be outside much longer. It's too cold!"
"You'll be wishing for some air in like an hour," Yuka pointed out.
Ayumi was too nice to actually provide a retort, but Kagome figured her friend was simply too interested in getting inside to much care. Following her, the group slipped inside the narrow front door, a bored looking bouncer waiting with his hand already extended for IDs. Kagome tried not to squirm, the music flooding from inside the bar already extremely loud. Places like this really weren't her scene. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all.
As if sensing her thoughts, Eri slid her arm around Kagome's waist and nudged her with a hip. "Come on. It'll be a lot better with a drink in hand, I promise."
Whatever Kagome imagined the place to be, it certainly wasn't this. The narrow corridor opened into a massive floor with a bar set dead centre. There were people everywhere, wearing anything from dresses to ripped jeans to sweaters and beanies. The lights were dim with the exception of a lit stage on the far side of the room. The band was obviously on break though since the only music playing was pumping through the speakers, some top 40s song that Kagome thought was vaguely familiar with its retro electronic sound. Even as she was dragged towards the bar, she found herself strangely relaxing with every step. No one was looking at them and her friends were all around, laughing. Eri's arm, now latched onto her own, drove them forward.
"What are you going to get?" Yuka asked, already swinging her hips a little to the song. She was smiling, completely unselfconscious.
"I have no idea," Eri answered, humming. "A beer?"
"Weak," Yuka replied, but it was all in good fun. "Kagome?"
"Something easy," was all she said, shrugging. They had time: there was a fair crowd surrounding the bar. "Vodka and something, probably."
"Guys, come this way," Ayumi said suddenly and Kagome felt herself dragged to the side. There was an opening at the bar, a little further away, and the group of them gathered around. Now they just needed a bartender. "When do you think the band will play?"
"I don't even know what time it is," Eri admitted.
"Do you know who's playing?" Yuka asked.
Her friend shot her an incredulous glance. "How would I know that?"
"I don't know, isn't there like a listing on the website or something?"
"Who checks the website of a bar?"
Ayumi sighed heavily and Kagome couldn't help but laugh at their antics. "I'm pretty sure we'll be fine no matter who's playing."
"That's what you say now," Yuka warned, "but I once made out with the lead singer of… What was that band's name? We may have to hide."
"I'm sure the chances are small," Ayumi promised, always the kind one. "You'll be safe."
"He was so grabby."
"Attractive, though," Eri added.
Yuka sighed. "True."
"Do you girls need anything?" The question was asked in a sort of half-shout, half-rumble, making all of the girls turn to look at the bartender that had just arrived.
Kagome stopped breathing.
He was— Well, there was a lot to unpack. Visually, he was a masterpiece. Even in the grimy, dim bar lighting, the guy looked hot as hell. His hair was tied back in a bun but dishevelled, loose hairs framing his face. As one of the girls – Kagome couldn't focus, had no idea who was functioning well-enough to answer him – ordered drinks, the bartender leaned onto his elbows to hear better. His eyes were dark brown, almost black in the shadows, and his t-shirt was stupidly tight around his frame.
But that wasn't it. No, Kagome had seen many hot guys in the few years she'd been at university. None of them had ever stricken her nearly dumb, but that wasn't just what this was.
Because whoever was behind the bar was familiar. Kagome knew without a doubt she'd never seen him before, but she knew him. From somewhere. Something.
And then his eyes flew to her and just like that she could breathe again. Like a bolt of lightning struck her and restarted all of her systems. He looked just as startled, his brown eyes widening and lips parting in shock.
"Kagome," Ayumi's voice cut in, close to her ear, "what do you want to drink?"
"Vodka and cranberry," she answered, not necessarily what she wanted but the first thing that came to mind. She bit her lip, unable to look away from him.
The bartender nodded once and stood up, only taking his eyes off of her when he had to turn away to start their drinks.
How the hell did she know him?
"Damn," Yuka muttered, sidling up to her side. "What kind of weird sex magic was that?"
Groaning, Kagome tilted her head back. "Really?"
"It wasn't just me, right?"
"Nope," Eri cheerfully contributed, hip-checking her again before finally letting her arm go. "Those were some looks."
Kagome had really hoped she wasn't so obvious, but it was clearly a lost cause. "I think I know him from somewhere."
"A class?" Ayumi asked.
The instinctive no was too strong, but Kagome shrugged outwardly. "Maybe," she conceded.
"He's hot though," Yuka stated, clearly smug. "I'm almost proud."
Kagome tried to get another look at the bartender, but he had disappeared to the other side of it somewhere. She ignored the disappointment. "It's not like it matters. He's working."
Eri laughed. "Everyone gets a break. You should ask when his is!"
"I am not that brave," Kagome shot back, scandalized.
"I'll do it for you."
"Please don't. No, seriously, please don't."
Eri's laughter died down, but it was only because the bartender was back, someone else in tow. They placed down the four drinks, and Kagome was horribly distracted when he smirked at the other guy, making some kind of head motion that she didn't understand. He was too attractive and that was just horrible for her. He was even leaning down on the bar top again, card machine in hand. "How are you paying?"
Yuka burst out in giggles but Ayumi pushed her out of the way and started to pay for her drink. It took some organizing and Kagome desperately tried not to stare at him the whole time. It was just so frustrating because she knew that face. Or, well, kind of. It was a hard sensation to understand. He looked so familiar but only parts of him, like a puzzle put together with mismatched pieces from another box.
When it was Kagome's turn, she sidled up to the bar and flashed her credit card. She'd have to make sure that this was the only drink she ordered; she was only able to work a few hours each week, and multiple drinks this expensive were bound to make eating next week difficult.
"Just tap," he said, dark eyes focused on the bar top. Despite the expression on his face when he first saw her, Kagome realized with a pang that he was purposely not looking at her now. It wasn't helpful. It wasn't anything remotely helpful to answering her question of where she knew him. Her friends all had their drinks in hand, dancing distractedly behind her, so Kagome bit her lip again and counted to three.
The machine beeped with her approved transaction. She had mere seconds. "Do I know you?" Kagome blurted out, clutching her credit card to her chest like some sort of terrified maiden. This could only go poorly.
But the bartender looked up, brown eyes staring in her own for a moment before he shrugged. "I see a lot of people here."
"No, not here," Kagome pressed, feeling a strange sort of rush by it. "Somewhere else. I'm not really into this—" She waved at the generally bar area. "Thing."
Slowly, a tiny smirk crept onto his face. It wasn't anything like he'd given his co-worker, but it was real and there and Kagome felt thrilled by it. "What, dancing?"
Well, if you asked her roommates, they'd probably say fun. Kagome was pretty much always studying or working. The few times she did socialize was usually laid-back evenings in the living room of their shared house, watching reality TV and gossiping. "Not really," she hedged, not wanting to share that particular tidbit of information. "But I feel like I know you."
At that, the bartender's eyebrows rose, disappearing behind his thick bangs. "Is that a pick-up line?"
She was right. This was only going poorly. Kagome could feel the flush seeping up her neck, her heart running a staccato beat within her chest. "What? No! That's not—" The bartender only looked amused so Kagome decided that it was best to give up now. Biting her lip so hard that it bled, Kagome grabbed her drink and ignored the sting. "Thanks," she mumbled, unable to stop herself from daring to look up, to see that strange, familiar amused expression and wonder—
Gold.
Kagome blinked and couldn't believe what she was seeing. The bartender, leaning still so close, was staring at her with that same shocked expression as before, lips parted. But it was his eyes. His eyes were golden, flashing not because of lights or some sort of trick from the bar. She could see his irises and she knew, deep down like a tree rooted firmly in its belief, that she'd seen that gold before.
In flashes, it hit her:
The park.
The hospital.
"You," she breathed, and the sound of the word tasted like victory even if it was lost amongst the sounds of pounding electronic music. The bartender must have heard it anyways because he stood up abruptly, closing his eyes and shaking his head like he was trying to dislodge some sort of spell. But Kagome couldn't let him get away, even separated by the bar as they were. This was her chance. These were her answers. The man was there the night she was attacked. He was the one that saved her, that…
That killed her attacker. That did something that looked like an animal attack.
Swallowing, Kagome waited for the swell of panic to flood her system, but nothing came. She was simply stuck, rooted to the spot as the bartender walked away, thinking about how all of the answers to her questions disappeared along with him.
"What are you?" she yelled out, unable to stop herself. No one seemed to be paying attention, but the question was enough to have the man stop dead in his tracks and whip back around to face her, expression incredulous.
"What are you talking about?" he hissed, voice a rumble.
"Your eyes. I know you saved me," Kagome pressed, "and I know it was you at the hospital. You were the one—"
"Enough," he snapped, heaving out an exhale before shaking his head again. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I haven't had a sip of alcohol and I just got here so I'm perfectly sober," Kagome countered.
"That's not what I—" The bartender groaned and when someone tried to wave down his attention a little further along the bar, he snarled. "You're wrong."
"I'm not and I'm not leaving." Kagome put her drink down and glared. "I want answers."
He laughed, but it wasn't funny. "I can't give them to you."
"You don't understand. I need to know," she begged, hands clutching around her plastic glass. "I can't forget. I just can't."
"Fine. Just—" He glared at some guy who was loudly complaining about the service. "Midnight. Will you be here?"
Probably. It was a Friday and Kagome was sure her friends were planning to go hard. She nodded. "Yeah."
"I'll find you then."
How the hell was he going to do that, in a place as packed as this? Kagome opened her mouth to ask but like a speeding bullet, the bartender was gone to the other side of the bar, probably taking new orders.
Well, worst case she could wait around the bar.
Kagome swallowed a lump in her throat and forced a smile to her face when her friends pulled her back by the shoulders, demanding to know what they were talking about for so long.
Midnight, she thought to herself. She could wait until then.
The band was pretty good, if Kagome spared even a moment to really think about it. Instead, her thoughts were shifting puzzle pieces that refused to make any sense. Over the month, she'd gotten good at pretending that everything was okay so her friends didn't seem to notice. Kagome didn't fault them at all; she was relieved. How could she have explained this? It was just as hard – maybe even harder – than the intervention. To keep up appearances, she swayed to the upbeat tempo and laughed when they did, following cues which stemmed from things Kagome had no idea about.
Hyped up as she was, she couldn't repeatedly check her phone if she didn't want her friends to get suspicious. So she danced, and she laughed, and she played along until those moments where she could slyly check the time.
It felt like forever.
A hand touched the side of her waist and Kagome startled, spinning around to see who had dared. She couldn't have stopped her expression, even if she wanted to. There, so close to her, was the bartender; her mysterious man was mere inches away, jostled by the press of bodies surrounding them.
"I got off early," he said simply, lips a tense, thin line.
"It's as good a time as any." Kagome attempted a smile but whirled around to face her friends, unable to actually see if it had any kind of effect at all. Yuka was standing beside her so she nudged her and gestured towards the bartender. "We're going to step away."
"Okay," Yuka answered, voice overly loud to make up for the volume of the band. "But text me regularly, okay?"
Kagome nodded. The bartender was already stepping away so she scrambled to keep up, to not let the flow of bodies shake them apart. Someone squeezed between them and Kagome watched as the man glared at the ceiling before reaching out, letting his fingers wiggle in suggestion.
Oh.
Gingerly, she reached back, surprised by the coolness of his touch. Compared to the oppressive heat of the crowd, he was practically ice cold. It was a welcome relief and even more welcome when they were able to navigate through the crowd without issue. They went towards a back door with a sign that read 'employees only' and Kagome barely had a moment to take in the hustled surroundings of the back before he was leading her through yet another door, this one to the outside. It was clearly a sort of break area, with a couple of turned over crates, a handful of empty beer bottles and the pavement littered with cigarette butts.
Kagome took in a grateful breath, lifting her long black hair up to feel the air on her neck. "Wow, it's so hot in there."
The man grunted noncommittally. "I guess you really don't go to bars that often."
"Or out in general," Kagome let slip, regretting it the second it was out. She had wanted to keep that particular secret.
Shrugging, the bartender leaned against the brick wall, arms crossed. "Well, you're the one that wanted to talk."
"I want to understand," Kagome countered. "Because for two months I feel like I've been losing my mind. And I've had these dreams…" She shook her head. "I just need answers. I need peace of mind."
"Sorry to say, but you're not getting that shit from me," the bartender stated, voice a low rumble.
"You can't lie to me; I saw your eyes." At his unhappy expression, Kagome blew out a long breath. She needed a different tactic, a way to approach this softly. "What's your name?"
At her question, the bartender looked amused yet again, like he knew exactly what she was thinking about. "Inuyasha."
"I'm Kagome."
"Didn't ask."
"Don't care." She sighed again. If he was going to be this difficult, she wasn't going to get anywhere at all. "Look, Inuyasha. I just— I was attacked right outside of my home. I was terrified that I wasn't going to make it and then you showed up." Ignoring his expression, she pushed on, even when he opened his mouth to argue. "And you saved me. It wasn't an animal attack that killed him. It wasn't an animal who saved my life and stood at my bedside. Ever since that night, I've dreamed of it, over and over and over again. I see the colour gold in everything. I have to pretend that everything's alright because my friends thought I was losing my mind and threatened to call my mom. I know what I saw." Kagome lifted her chin and crossed her arms, feeling more defiant than she had in her entire life.
Inuyasha toed at the ground before exhaling heavily. "And what, exactly, did you see?"
"You."
"Be more specific."
"Golden eyes, silver hair. Red eyes, right after you let that guy collapse." Kagome tried to think back, for once trying to push through the haze rather than avoid it. "A lot of blood. You told me to close my eyes."
A bark of a laugh, but it was laced with deprecation. Kagome couldn't tell if it was directed towards himself or her. "No one ever remembers after they close their eyes."
"I do."
With a snort, Inuyasha grimaced. "Apparently."
"So are you going to tell me or do I have to say it?"
"You can say it all you like, but that doesn't mean I'm going to answer," Inuyasha maintained, defiant. "Probably because what you're about to say is crazy."
"Something that doesn't exist," Kagome admitted, watching him for a sign, any sign at all. But Inuyasha had clearly been keeping his secret tight to his chest for a long, long time. His face didn't give anything away other than mild annoyance and so she had to go with the nuclear option, the only thing that would make any kind of sense at all to someone as desperate as her. Turning around, she picked up one of the empty beer bottles left outside and smashed it against the wall.
"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled, startled. "What the hell are you—" But he couldn't get his question out, not before Kagome was spinning back around and pressing the tip of one ragged end to the swell of her forearm. It hurt like hell but before she could back off or press deeper, the broken bottle was flying out of her hands and Inuyasha was a wall before her, his hands on her arm as his golden eyes glared. "You are so fucking stupid—"
"You're a vampire." There, she had said it.
"And you just made yourself bleed in front of one," Inuyasha snapped. He glared at her arm like it was personally offending him. "You're so goddamn lucky that I—" He growled and then dropped her arm, throwing out a "wait there" while he stormed back inside of the bar.
For a long moment, there was only the echoes of the pounding music and the rustle of the cool night air. Kagome took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, sparing a glance at her arm. It wasn't that bad, not at all – more of a pinprick than a cut, which had been what she was going for. Still, Inuyasha's words came back at her full force and the entirety of the situation crashed into her.
That had, in hindsight, probably been very, very stupid. Nuclear options tended to be, after all, especially nuclear options that were invented on the spot with no planning at all.
Grabbing her phone, Kagome sent out a quick text to Yuka letting her know she was at the back entrance to the bar, and that she was still okay. Hopefully it stayed that way.
Inuyasha crashed right back through the door just as she was sliding her phone away into her pocket, that frown on his face worse. "Here," he huffed, pushing a bandage into her hand. "Hold this for a fucking second." Ripping open some kind of wipe, Kagome realized it was disinfectant when he grabbed her forearm and gently rubbed at the area that was bleeding. It took a bit to clear the blood away and Kagome wasn't sure if it was actually able to disinfect anything before he reached for the bandage and slapped that on, too.
Kagome blinked up at him, feeling a little sheepish. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," he growled out. "Don't do that again."
"You didn't exactly give me a choice," she argued.
Inuyasha inhaled before looking up at the sky. Even without being able to properly see his expression, she could tell that he was glaring at it. "If you want to know, then we can talk, but not here."
"Then take me somewhere."
The look he shot her was completely unreadable but Kagome felt, for the very first time, the haze of real life slowly drifting away.
X
They ended up at a 24-hour diner that was located only a block away. Kagome had texted her friends and even surprised Inuyasha into a horrible photo of his face to share with them just in case. He didn't seem to mind, although his expression wasn't particularly delighted either. That seemed to be his default expression around her, even while tossing her a worn leather jacket of his that he collected from the bar.
The vinyl booths were well-worn and faded, the luminescent lights pointing out all the cracks. Despite that, everything else about the place seemed to almost shine, like despite its age the diner had been cared for and loved.
Inuyasha didn't even look at the menu, just ordered a basket of fries and a water. Kagome asked for a coke and sat there, waiting for the server to leave.
"You're fidgeting."
"I'm…excited," she landed on finally, shrugging. "It's been two months of uncertainty, of feeling crazy. This is better than that."
There were only two others inside with them, minus the one server who was already in the back kitchen. Unless they spoke loudly, no one would hear a thing. Maybe that was why he took her there. She wondered, for the first time, if he'd ever done this before.
Inuyasha was leaning back into the red booth, body a long beautiful line of hard muscle and sharp features. Unlike at the bar, he was decidedly pushed away from her. "I don't know what it is, exactly, you want. You already answered your own question."
So that was it, then. He was confirming it without saying the words, but it was a confirmation nonetheless. It made her feel breathless, like the weights that were leaving her shoulders were taking her lungs, too. It was dizzying. "Really?"
Inuyasha scowled. "I'm not going to spell it out for you."
"But you are. A vampire, I mean."
Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha nodded once. A simple up and down, then a halt.
"Why do you look like that?" Kagome asked, asking the first question that bubbled into her mind, even though it wasn't the most pressing. "I remembered you differently."
"This is a glamour," Inuyasha answered, somewhat grudgingly. The fake relaxation pose on the booth seat wasn't helping him out. "A way to blend in. Eyes like mine don't exactly mesh."
"How can you do that, though?" she pressed. "I mean, to make everyone see you this way. I thought – well, from the movies and books, it almost seemed like it was a limited time effort."
"For a new vampire, yeah. But I'm far from new."
Kagome raised her eyebrows, her next question obvious.
Shrugging, Inuyasha looked off into the distance. "Five hundred years or so, give or take."
"Oh." Kagome tried to do the math on that and even though it was very basic arithmetic, the number just wouldn't pop up. It didn't matter anyways. "And do you…drink blood?"
"Obviously." The snarl in his voice was defensive. "You saw me."
"And when I…" She gestured towards her bandaged arm. "Was that difficult for you?"
Inuyasha scoffed. "No. I'm old. I'd have to be pretty desperate to attack someone like you, bleeding or not."
"Someone like me?" When he wasn't forthcoming with anything more, Kagome sucked on her bottom lip, considering. "You weren't following me that night, in the park."
He shook his head. "Right place, right time." Wincing then, he shrugged. "Or wrong place, wrong time. I should have gotten him earlier."
"Do you always kill them?" The question should have scared her, but Kagome was almost numb to it. Everything felt more real than it had in months and nothing was going to break that kind of high.
Inuyasha considered for a moment before sitting up, elbows on the table just like he had at the bar. He opened his mouth and paused, head tilting as the server came back with their drinks and basket of fries. He waited until they were gone, his body slowly etching out the tension that was locked away in his muscles. Kagome could only watch, fascinated.
He noticed her stare and frowned. "What?"
"You just look like you're ready to fight at any moment," she answered honestly. "And for a second there, you relaxed."
That seemed to make him tense up all the more, those brown eyes shining. "I forgot that the threat here isn't the server."
Kagome tried and failed not to be offended. "How is it me?"
"Secrets like these don't get out," Inuyasha said simply. "The only people who know about it are dead."
"Because you killed them?"
Inuyasha didn't even hesitate. "Yes."
Kagome considered that for a moment and then reached into the centre, grabbing a fry. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"There's still time." When she didn't react, Inuyasha growled. "Can you do something proper, for just one minute?"
Kagome frowned and grabbed another fry. They were delicious and she was, apparently, starving. "What are you talking about?"
"This isn't normal."
"You're a vampire," she pointed out. "What the hell is 'normal'? Besides, you saved my life. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it that night in the park. Or in the hospital. So again, why not kill me?"
"There's a code."
"A vampire code?"
"My code." Inuyasha shifted, expression tight. "Morally ambiguous but acceptable. Dying isn't an option unless I tell someone to stake me in the heart. Even if I stopped feeding on humans, the blood fever would eventually kick in, and far more people would die. That's why when I do feed, my eyes turn red. It's a sort of craze, a blood lust."
For a long moment, they sat in silence. Kagome continued to eat the fries, while Inuyasha picked at them and glared at anything besides her. Slowly, he seemed to relax again, his stares less heated and more confused, a little lost. She figured that he had no idea what to do. Even Kagome didn't really know what the next step was.
She had gotten her answers. That was what was important. What she did with it now though… What could she even do with the knowledge that vampires were real? Who would even believe her?
"Will you show me?" Kagome asked suddenly, careful to keep her voice low. "What you actually look like?"
Inuyasha scowled. "No."
"Why not? I've already seen you."
"Then you don't need to see again."
Kagome pouted, stirring the straw around her big glass of coke. "I was a little drugged then. It would be better to see you, like to actually see you. Without blood."
"So what?" Inuyasha demanded. "You can sleep better at night? Another mystery solved. Let me tell you: it won't help you sleep any better."
"No, that's not why," she argued. "I just thought… Never mind."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "That trick won't work on me."
Smiling, though it was a little sad, Kagome shook her head. "No trick. Thanks for the fries though." She munched on a few more, pulling out her phone when it started to ping. There were a couple messages from Ayumi, worried, and one from Yuka. They were heading back. "My roommates are heading home. I should join them." Taking a last big sip of her drink, Kagome opened up the rideshare app.
"That's it?"
The question startled her, enough that she ignored her phone completely to stare at the man across from her. "What?"
"You're going home." Inuyasha leaned in even further, the basket of fries sliding towards her with nowhere else to go. "Just like that."
"What else am I supposed to do?" Kagome asked, confused. "Scream? You're not going to kill me. Tell someone? Who would even believe me? You were right: I got my answers. Hopefully the dreams stop and my life can return to normal."
"Normal." The word was practically spat out. "You think it can return to normal, just like that?"
"Again, what else am I supposed to do?" Kagome frowned, feeling exasperation leeching into her words. "Why are you getting angry with me?"
"I'm not—" Inuyasha cut himself off and all she could do was watch, mystified. Inuyasha glared at the table some more before he sighed and twisted, waving towards the server for the bill. "I'll bring you home."
"Oh, thanks." Kagome exited the app and texted her friends that she'd be home soon. "You don't have to do that though, if you don't want."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal."
"I thought you'd want to get rid of me," Kagome admitted softly, shrugging. "Which would have been fine, obviously. But I can just order a car, it's not an issue—"
"Let me drive you," Inuyasha growled out, snatching the bill the second the server brought it over. Kagome offered her credit card but Inuyasha simply glared, pulling out some cash and sliding out of the booth. "Don't be ridiculous."
She was pretty sure, out of the two of them, that she was being the least ridiculous.
The night air was just as cold as the last time. Kagome huddled into the jacket Inuyasha gave her, preparing herself for the walk to the bar. She wanted, very badly, to ask if he would want to see her again. Since he was clearly not trying to immediately get rid of her, Kagome wondered if that meant he'd be okay hanging out occasionally. What was it like, to be alive for five hundred years? How many people had he watched die, unable to do so himself? The thought just made her sad and Kagome unconsciously swayed towards him, her arm brushing his.
"You okay?" he asked, rumbling voice barely more than a quiet whisper.
Kagome bit at her lip and made sure to walk a proper, straight line. She wasn't even drunk; there was no excuse. "Sorry. Just lost in thought, got distracted."
"From walking?"
"It's hard being human," she joked, sparing a glance at his face before looking immediately away. Kagome never could bear to witness what expression he may have had, just in case it was a bad one.
"I—" Cutting himself off, yet again, Kagome didn't think anything of it until his hand was on her arm, gentle. He stopped her, the two of them standing on the sidewalk in an otherwise quiet street. Kagome could hear the sounds of the partiers not too far away – the bar they went to was just one of many on the same street – and the streetlamps were lit, casting a dull glow around them. Inuyasha was staring at her, dark eyes intense and roaming around her face, like he was trying to evaluate her worth, her measure.
She wanted desperately to make that cut. "What?" she asked, voice barely more than a whisper.
"Why do you want to see me?" Inuyasha questioned and despite the softness of his voice, there was a steel underneath, waiting to be brought out. Waiting to be let down.
Kagome wasn't sure if her answer would be the right one, but she gave it to him anyways. "You said that everyone who had even seen the real you was dead," she murmured. His hand on her arm was a steady anchor, grounding in a night that otherwise seemed hyperreal. "I thought that maybe it would be nice to have someone see you and still be alive afterwards to remember."
Inuyasha didn't immediately react and Kagome felt her heartbeat start to race with each second that dragged on by. Had it been too forward, the wrong answer all along? Kagome bit at her lower lip, anxiety warring with her desire to remain calm and collected.
"You really need to stop doing that," Inuyasha chided her, and Kagome had to swallow back a gasp as he took a step closer to her, a solid line before her, strong and sure.
"I'm not bleeding this time."
Inuyasha scoffed, but his tone remained soft, almost gentle. "It has nothing to do with blood, idiot." She couldn't even figure out what to say to that, not when Inuyasha was taking another step forward, pressing against her, head tilted down to keep watching her. Those dark eyes roamed her face and all she desperately, desperately wanted was to see the gold.
"So if I bled you wouldn't—"
"Never."
It felt like there was no air in her lungs, yet even still she breathed out, words curling in the small space between them that seemed to get smaller and smaller. "That's good to know."
"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered. "Why do you trust me?"
"You're familiar," she replied, brutally honest, even if she didn't know why.
The answer seemed to cause him pain but he took a breath, warm eyes intent. "Close your eyes."
Without hesitation, she did. Everything came down to sensations: the hand on her arm, the press of his body against hers, his breath on her face, the cold night air. Slowly, his hand slipped away and Kagome made a sound of protest.
"You can open them," Inuyasha murmured.
When she did, Kagome saw gold. It was just like in her dreams but this time, it was very much real. She took in his eyes, his lips, the silver hair that shifted and twirled in the breeze around them. She couldn't hold back a smile.
Inuyasha made a sound, barely more than a rumble and Kagome knew it was going to happen only moments before it did. He leaned down, the barest fraction, still so close but not yet touching and Kagome couldn't wait any longer, not like this. She reached up, hands brushing across his cheeks to tangle in those long, silver locks. When their lips touched, the barest of brushes, Kagome let out a sound that was horribly embarrassing. Despite it, or maybe because of it, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and pulled her impossibly, indescribably closer.
In her life, she had had a few first kisses, a scattering of boys Kagome had been interested enough in to try. Some of them had been even more than just that – more than a cursory interest, an actual desire to be close and stay that way. But this— Nothing even came close to this.
Maybe it was because for the first time in months, everything felt real in a way it hadn't before. Maybe it was because Inuyasha was truly more than what he showed himself to be. But the heat that licked up her spine and ignited in her veins was an inferno, making her hands clutch that little bit harder, her body yearn towards him that much more. His teeth grazed at her lower lip, the skin tender from where she constantly abused it, and Kagome felt her knees actually threaten to give out.
She pulled away, sucking in a breath she didn't know was possible to get back. It took a moment to open her eyes again but when she did, Inuyasha's golden orbs were watching her. She couldn't read his expression – was it vulnerable, scared, confused? – but Kagome didn't want him to question this, not this. Leaning forward, Kagome brushed her lips against his, felt his intake of surprised breath. "Now what?"
His arms tightened around her slightly and Kagome couldn't help but smile a little. Five hundred years and clearly words weren't his particular forte.
"You can still drop me off at home." The words were barely more than a hush, a suggestion of true conversation. "Or we could go somewhere else."
Eri would be screaming in delight, and Yuka would probably be fainting. Kagome was never so brave, never like this, but of the two of them – a vampire and a human – someone had to be. She wasn't ready to let this go and she honestly believed he didn't want to either.
Inuyasha let his forehead drop to hers, eyes closing. "You are far more dangerous than I."
Before she could ask what that meant, she felt her body start to fall. Her hands clutched around his shoulders but security wrapped around her like a blanket in moments, his arms curling around the back of her knees and her waist, bridal-style. He smirked down at her and shrugged; her weight seemed effortless. "This will be faster."
Just like that, they were flying down the street. It caused laughter to bubble up her throat, hands trying to keep her hair from her face. Just as suddenly as they moved, they stopped, and Kagome felt the press of a car along her back. Somehow, she was pressed against it, shifted by Inuyasha's startling strength.
"Come here," she breathed, tugging at his t-shirt until he was against her once more, his arms a bracing weight on either side of her. She kissed him soundly, let her lips part under the gentle probing of his tongue. It felt like a claiming and Kagome deliriously hoped that it was, her hands unable to stop their roaming of his back, his arms, his stomach. If this wasn't claiming, then it was most certainly a drowning, swallowed up by the unstoppable force of the man in front of her, pulling her under.
Raucous laughter had them pulling apart and Kagome remembered exactly where they were. No one was around them but on the other side of the building was the crowd of bar-goers, smoking or simply craving cooler air. Inuyasha blinked stupidly at her before shaking his head, opening a car door that was right beside her. "Still want to get in?"
Kagome smiled, letting her actions answer for her.
The drive was almost agonizing. He had assured her that his place wasn't too far, but no matter how hard she tried to keep her glances to herself, it always seemed like Inuyasha was already staring at her, the same sort of lost expression on this face as back in the diner. Kagome desperately hoped he wasn't changing his mind. "You should watch the road a little more," she commented lightly, trying to keep a wrap on her smile.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Dangerous," he mumbled, but he didn't say anything more.
They finally – finally – pulled up to what looked like a nice house in the middle of a subdivision. It was a much nicer part of town, and Kagome wondered briefly how the hell he was able to afford something like this on a bartender's wage.
Then again, five hundred years of working may have paid off at some point.
The moment the car stopped, Inuyasha was getting out so Kagome followed suit. She paid only brief attention to the house number so she could send a text message to her friends.
Right, she had to let them know she probably wasn't coming home.
Kagome grinned. She rarely was the one sending those kinds of messages. Eri may actually scream. She sent it as soon as she could, following blindly as Inuyasha unlocked the front door and led them inside. She was just pressing send as he flipped a switch, bathing the entrance in light. Kagome blinked and then blinked again, stunned by a simple beauty of the place. "This is yours?"
"Yeah but it's—" Inuyasha made a face. "I could give you a tour?"
Yeah, right. Like she was going to delay anything. "Later, maybe." She let her hand stroke down his arm and Inuyasha seemed to relax the lower it got, muscles and tendons softening under the pads of her fingers. Their hands fit perfectly together and Kagome didn't want to think about this more than it needed, but a part of her was already thinking of tomorrow, of the day after, of the day after that. A dangerous line to be following so she tugged, silently spurring him into action. He led her through a hallway to a staircase, then up and up until they stumbled, half-laughing with giddy desire as they crashed into a dark room.
Kagome felt herself fall easily as she was pushed, collapsing onto a soft mattress. A soft light illuminated the room, Inuyasha turning on a lamp before standing just at the edge of the bed, staring at her. When it went on too long, enough to let those crazy thoughts back in, Kagome smiled at him. "What?" she asked softly.
Inuyasha hummed some sort of noise, and she couldn't for the life of her decipher what it meant. Still, he was kneeling on the bed, closer than before and that was a better progression than before. Kagome grabbed at the ends of her tank top, ready to pull it up when his hands stopped her, those golden eyes intense.
"Let me," he murmured, bending down to kiss her lips, her jaw, her collarbone. She couldn't hold back a thrilled little gasp, body tingling with a desire to be pressed up against him, to really feel him. One cool hand dragged up her stomach, the cotton sliding along with it up to her bra. He stopped kissing her only to pull her upwards, to sitting, her tank top lifting her hair and hiding him from view for a moment. Kagome let the material go away, let her dark eyes stare up at him with every intention leaking through.
"You're—" Inuyasha huffed, both hands encircling her neck, still slightly cool.
Kagome tugged at his t-shirt. "Off," she demanded, letting him take the fabric from her before she went for the button of his jeans. It popped open easily and she could, clear as day, the strain of his cock trying to press through, demanding release. Above her, Inuyasha made a low sort of growl, pushing her back down even though her bra was still on. His lips ravished hers, tongue dancing along the roof of her mouth, along the seam of her teeth, anywhere he could reach. Kagome keened, hands scrambling for purchase along his back while she let her hips buck upwards, closing the distance between them for only a brief second.
It worked though, her silent demand finally being actualized as Inuyasha collapsed down on top of her, his arms balanced on either side of her head. It felt fucking fantastic, and Kagome was never more thankful for reality crashing down on her, sweeping her into its matrix. If Inuyasha was the one that made her feel this way, made the haze go away, then he was going to have a fight on his hands getting rid of her.
His cock, covered barely by the thin layer of cotton and his mostly opened jeans, pressed down against her and Kagome begged then, in a way that she never had before.
"Shit," Inuyasha cursed, lifting himself despite her protestations to fumbled at her own pants, tugging and tugging the tight material down. When they were gone, Inuyasha wasted no time falling between her legs, kissing his way up her thighs to the soft swell of her stomach. Before she could ask – beg – for any sort of touch, his hands were sliding her underwear down, making her breaths barely more than short, anticipating pants. She had to bite her lip to stop the cry that tried to claw its way out of her throat at the first touch, the soft pads of his fingers tracing along the seam of her, tantalizingly slow.
"Oh god, please," she whispered, completely done with all of the teasing. Each kiss to her body had been like torture.
Inuyasha bit down on the flesh over her hip, sucking hard enough to have her gasping, one hand digging into the duvet below her while the other tangled in his hair. A single finger slid inside, making her groan as it pressed within and sent shocks of pleasure up along her spine. It was relentless, all-consuming, the way he touched her just right to have her whole body begging for more. She made the mistake of lifting her head to look at him, realizing too late that he was already watching her, golden eyes blown back in desire. Inuyasha lowered his head, poised to suck yet another mark into her pale skin, when he shifted down some more until he could barely be seen.
Her brain blanked at the implication and she was already too far gone to make a coherent sound when his tongue licked into her, finger sliding out of the way and up, up until the slick digit could slide along the seam to her clit. She was already too wired, too sensitive, inexplicably taken by every aspect of the man in bed with her. No keening whine or mumbled affirmation was enough, hips torn between wanting to move into the pleasure or shy away from it. Her struggle to decide meant nothing to him, his finger still sliding, electric and captivating, as each touch made her body curl more and more. Her mind was blank. There was nothing but sensation, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he licked his way to her clit and had her screaming in climax.
Kagome was pretty sure a part of her died, or at least floated somewhere. Distant. Not here. Her brain couldn't think of the words.
She curled in on herself, realizing that her partner was gone until she opened her eyes to see him, standing by the bed and shucking off his clothing with desperate movements. Kagome thought, maybe a little high, that vampires should probably be better at taking off their clothes. While he was undeniably sexy, she was pretty sure the image of him nearly face-planting into the duvet would never leave her.
"Take those off too," she murmured, toyed at the waistband of his underwear as he tried to crawl closer. "I want them off."
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment before making an inhuman sound, scrambling back to do as she wanted. It made her feel better than even the orgasm had, the way Inuyasha was so wrapped up in her that one word could take him apart. Slowly, she slid back further onto the bed, letting her head rest on pillows while he finally joined her, stunningly naked and clearly desperate for any further attention.
His cock was thick, shiny with precum and Kagome couldn't stop herself from licking her lips as she reached for it, let the heat of it fill her hand. Inuyasha groaned above her, reduced to nothing but sounds as she toyed with him, watching his expression. She could spend all night watching him, she thought. Without the haze of real life, everything seemed so much more than it was before. Even the clock, sitting on the nightstand reading 3:21 AM meant absolutely nothing. She wanted this, more than anything, and she would have it.
"Inuyasha," she murmured, letting the slick coat her hand as she pumped, wrapping his dick tightly until he keened. "Tell me what you want."
"Fucking dangerous," he spat, swatting her hand away and lying back down on top of her. His silver locks spilled around them, a curtain from the outside world. He kissed her until she couldn't breathe, lips finding a way further down to her neck. It made her gasp, made her tremble with emotions much more complex than fear.
She sighed, something positive but the actual word alluded her. Inuyasha kissed down her neck and she wanted to keep him there, wanted to drive him as wild as he drove her. Fisting a hand in his hair, Kagome pressed her closer, neck tilting to the side in clear permission. Whatever he wanted. Whatever that meant.
A nuclear option, but Kagome was very good at those.
Just look at where she ended up.
"Kagome," Inuyasha groaned, sitting up despite her effort to keep him there. "That's not what you're asking for."
He was going to make her talk. Lust drunk, Kagome brushed at the bangs over his golden eyes and sighed. "No. But it doesn't mean my neck's off-limits."
He bit her before she could process it, nothing deep or terrifying or particularly threatening, but the thought of it, the realization that it was Inuyasha, a vampire, on top of her and pinning her exactly where he wanted her was thrilling. It was more than that. Kagome moaned and tried to keep everything still, everything but her hips that pressed against him, trying desperately to feel his thick cock against her. Her hands pressed against his backside, hulling him closer until she felt him, teasing her entrance. Christ, but it was all she wanted.
Inuyasha looked completely wrecked. There was no other word for it as he pushed upwards, a hand pinning her down to the bed while he reached over to the nightstand. "You are too fucking tempting," he whispered, harsh in the otherwise silent house. "You are insane."
"I've never been called that before," she admitted honestly, watching the way he tore open the packet and rolled the condom on. "Usually I'm the one telling everyone to go home."
Inuyasha raised a brow at her, clearly incredulous. If it wasn't for the image of him stroking his cock, rolling down the latex with each slide, she may have taken him seriously.
"I'm telling the truth," she insisted. Kagome reached out for him; already he'd been away for far longer than she wanted.
"Oh no," Inuyasha chastised, seizing her wrists in his hands. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes and Kagome could feel herself flushing all over, thinking about what it would be like for him to trap her underneath, put his weight on her and just take. "You are far, far too much of a risk to stay that way," he murmured, bending his body to suck at the exposed line of her breast. Her bra was never removed and Kagome was counting that as a major oversight. "Roll over."
Whatever words she wanted to say wouldn't come. Couldn't, if she was being honest. She let him lead her part of the way and then when he released her she slid onto her stomach, feeling the cool duvet beneath her. She shoved at the pillows, pushing them aside to touch the firm wood of the headboard.
"You won't need that," Inuyasha whispered, voice dripping with intent along her spine. She could feel the ghost of him, a sensation prickling along her skin with every area that he almost but didn't quite touch. His one hand trapped her wrists, kept them locked, and Kagome could only moan and bury her face in the mattress as she tilted her hips up. There was only so much begging that she could do, only so much that could be said until Kagome felt that shameless was no more a word and suddenly a title.
It didn't fucking matter. His weight against her hips was a tease, his cock pressing up against her torture. And then before she could beg – because it didn't matter, she was crossing the line come hell or high fucking water – Kagome felt Inuyasha press inside, the slick of lubricant and latex nearly not enough for the girth of him. The sound she made wasn't real; it was only sensation, and desperation, and the need to spread her legs as wide as she could take him, take him, as much as she fucking could.
"So good," he hissed, his other hand like a brand on her hip, keeping her snug against him as she grinded against her. There was no other word for it. It was like he couldn't get deep enough, couldn't get enough of her. The feeling of him inside of her – thick and heavy and so fucking amazing – had her gasping, scrambling at the sheets. There was no purchase, no help, and when he pulled out to slam back in Kagome whined.
It wasn't going to last.
The hand at her hip was abandoned, pressed into the mattress to fuck her harder. Kagome had no leverage, no way to move into it. All she could do was take it, could spread her legs wider and tilt her hips and grip him tighter. She could feel him everywhere, covering her and surrounding her, and it was meant to be terrifying but was the hottest thing she could think of. Kagome was at her mercy, in every possible way, and the thought of him using every inch of her had her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he continued to slide, in and out, so fucking tantalizing.
His lips grazed her spine, and she could feel him nosing through her hair, getting to the skin. "Mark me," she demanded, or maybe it was a beg. All she wanted was to feel him, to feel him afterwards. To have his marks like badges of honour to press into and keen from when this was all over. Inuyasha gave her better, gave her more, sucking a bruise into her skin so hard that the sensation left the border of pleasure into pain, making her cry out, a stuttering sound with each thrust.
She was so close, so close Kagome could practically taste it. It felt so good, too good, and all she wanted to do was come while being fucked by him, having his thick cock inside of her as she screamed. Kagome shook her head, face pressed into the mattress. She needed more, fuck she needed more. "Let me—"
Inuyasha hummed, or maybe it was a growl. Kagome groaned just at the sound of it, at the vibrations from his chest rumbling into her spine and shaking her all over.
"Let me touch myself." It meant to sound like an order, like a demand. It came out more of a breathless request, shaky like a colt on untested legs. "Please let me—"
Inuyasha licked up her spine, just as his hand eased off of her wrists and allowed to pull one hand free. Kagome nearly sobbed as she touched herself, reached lower until her fingers could feel the thickness of his cock, the root of him that couldn't be sheathed. It caused Inuyasha to stop, heavy panting breaths above her that seeped into her skin, lit up her veins.
The slick and her own wetness coated her fingers and though she could barely reach that far down, she spread two fingers around the girth of him, felt the way Inuyasha slowly slid in and out of her, giving him something else to rut against. By the way Inuyasha was growling, words incoherent but sounding awfully fucking destroyed, she was on to something. Suddenly, the wrist bound by the headboard was no longer being held and Inuyasha was wrapping her up, pulling her so tightly against him that there was no separation, no space between their bodies. Fucking was no more than grinding, this thick cock filling her up until any more would have her screaming. She could feel it in the tight way he rocked into her, the stutter-stops that gave him away.
Kagome let her fingers slide away, let them drag up until they were pressed against her clit, a heavy pressure that was only made pleasurable by the slick. She needed more. She desperately needed more.
"God, Inuyasha, please—"
The next thrust slammed into her, forcing her body up the mattress even with him clinging to her frame. The shift made it easier to touch herself, to play with the most sensitive part of her until all she could think about was the feeling. The feeling of him inside her, thick and filling her up and pounding into her over and over. There was nothing but sparks, a warmth in her belly that spread to her spine, her veins, coating her blood until every single muscle was too tight, too much—
If there was a sound – if she screamed, or begged, or only said his name over and over like a prayer – Kagome couldn't remember it. Every part of her was so locked in orgasm that Inuyasha's groan of completion was practically second-hand. It was only when she could breathe again that she tilted her hips, let them rock in circles as Inuyasha gasped and clutched her closer, like the tighter he held her would dictate her stopping.
When the world came back, Kagome was still only dimly aware of the basics: there was a mattress in her face and a heavy weight on her back. She could feel him still inside of her and instinctively Kagome clamped down, hissing at the way it made him groan and made her own body twitch with too much.
Inuyasha rolled off of her and Kagome hummed into the space where a pillow would have been because that was all she was capable of managing. He was moving around the room, that much she knew, but she couldn't be bothered with more detail than that.
"Do you want a cloth?" Inuyasha's voice was husky to the point that it could barely qualify as more than a rumble. Kagome whole-heartedly approved with trying to make that happen as much as possible.
"Kleenex is fine," she muttered, wincing as she moved. Her thighs and groin muscles were going to murder her tomorrow. She was not as flexible as she attempted to be. Holding out her hand blindly, Kagome hummed again when she felt the tissue and cleaned up as best as possible, removing the access lube that always felt disgusting when she slept.
"Just give it to me."
Kagome opened her eyes, deciding that it was probably time to do so. Inuyasha was smirking down at her, that amusement clear in his expression. She desperately wanted to learn them all. "Thanks," she whispered, handing him the folded tissue and then rolling onto her back. "I think you broke me."
"Did I?" he asked, clearly not paying all that much attention to her as he left the room. There was an ensuite bathroom, she saw, and the sight of it made her a little bit jealous.
"You did," she reaffirmed, nodding. "I have all these other questions now."
Inuyasha poked his head out of the doorway, a frown on his face. "What?"
"So many questions," Kagome continued, waving her hand dismissively in the air. "More than you can answer tonight."
It took a second – a second in which Kagome debated just how quickly she could get dressed and run – but eventually Inuyasha came back to her. The expression on his face wasn't amused, but it was soft. She got the feeling that it rarely got used, and that in and of itself made her feel a tiny bit braver.
"You'll just have to answer them tomorrow."
Inuyasha scoffed but he pulled back the duvet cover and touched her, helping her slide underneath. "I guess I don't have a choice."
"None." Kagome yawned and realized, only then, that the pillow her head should be on was on the floor because she had enthusiastically shoved it there earlier. Somehow, another one materialized, Inuyasha's expression maybe even fond. "And probably tomorrow, after I ask the questions, I'll probably have more. You know what they say."
The lamp light turned off. "And what, exactly, do they say?"
Kagome sighed and draped herself against him, letting his arms wrap around and tangle in her hair.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, quiet. "What do they say?"
"Something," she decided, too far gone to even care. "We can figure it out tomorrow."
She could feel, just before Kagome dropped off to sleep, a kiss against her forehead. "So stupidly dangerous," Inuyasha whispered.
She made a note to ask him what that meant. Tomorrow.
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