The It Couple

Chapter Four

Kagome fought back the urge to grin like a drooling idiot and run up to him. That was what silly idiot fangirls do, and she'd known this man since she was all of fifteen years old. He had been almost family at one point, almost…

Almost married to my sister.

With a slight shake of her head, Kagome did her best to keep her walk steady as she waited for the guard to unclip the velvet rope and let her and Sango into the VIP area.

"Kagome!" Miroku said, a cigarette dangling from his lip and five-o-clock stubble betraying him as a little disheveled. He stood and grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her a few inches off the ground. She laughed and hugged back. Inuyasha hadn't moved from his seat; he was just looking at her.

"Good to see you, Miroku," she said, "and I brought Sango to meet-Sango?"

Sango was still standing at the room's entrance, looking scandalized and embarrassed. Kagome had thought it was because she was in the presence of the great and perfect Inuyasha, but realized immediately that she was staring straight at Miroku.

"Oh great," Miroku said when his eyes followed Kagome's gaze, and he downed the rest of his drink.

"Houshi," Sango said, her voice steady and her face steely, "How about that company phone now that we've seen each other?" She strode up to the table and sat down. Amazing how her confidence can just flip like that when she's on a mission, Kagome thought.

"I, uh, don't have it on me," Miroku said, staring at his empty glass sheepishly.

"Well, this is awkward," Kagome said with a grin as she sat down, then she realized she'd just placed herself right next to Inuyasha, who as of yet hadn't said a word.

She placed both hands on the table and stared at her dark blue nail polish.

"Drink orders, ladies?" The cocktail waitress was scantily clad and staring at both men rather than at the women to whom she was speaking.

"Cuba Libre, please," Kagome said.

Sango raised a single eyebrow, her eyes still on Miroku. "How about a bottle of Dom?" she said, "On him?" She pointed at the black-haired man still standing across from her. Miroku grimaced, then looked to the waitress and nodded with a weak smile.

"That's for two?" the waitress asked expectantly.

"No, four. Full bottle service please," Miroku seemed to recover instantly and took it all in stride, "Sango's right. It's not a party without champagne!"

Kagome smiled; Sango did not.

"Inuyasha, aren't you going to say anything? You're being a real stick in the mud, man," Miroku eased his way back into the booth.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha to her left and found him looking right back at her, his face betraying a serene smile.

"How are you, Inuyasha?" Kagome began, and then he immediately grinned and grabbed her somewhat roughly around the shoulders, pulling her in for a side hug.

"Good to see you, kiddo," he said, and she fought the blush for what would be the first of many, many times this evening, no doubt.

Immediately, Miroku stood up and reached for Sango's hand, which she snatched back. "Sango, I suppose I should talk to you about getting you that contact info back. Come over to the second table and we'll discuss it."

Sango's eyes narrowed, then she looked at Kagome questioningly, then back at Miroku with a slightly less angry expression. "Okay, fine."

And they were alone at the table, Kagome sitting next to the man who had very nearly been her brother-in-law as of less than a year ago. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear demurely.

Inuyasha was watching the waitress prepare bottle service behind the bar, obviously appreciating her shapely frame. "How's your sister?"

Kagome jumped slightly. "Fine," she said, "Kikyou's just fine."

"Still with that asshat?"

"She is. He lives with us now."

The expression in Inuyasha's eyes darkened but the smile remained. "I read that in the papers, but I learned long ago to not put much stock in the papers." The hand closed around his drink tightened enough to quiver the ice cubes.

There was a pronounced silence despite the thrumming of the club music downstairs.

Finally Kagome could bear it no longer. "I'm sorry for not calling or texting," she cried, turning in her seat to properly face him, the words tumbling out in waves, "I should have been there for you during all this-"

"She's your sister, Kagome. You had no choice."

Kagome shook her head. "I did have a choice. You were my friend. I was going to text you, but by the time I worked up the courage it was already so long, and-"

"Hey," Inuyasha said, holding up a hand, "Stop it, already. Always trying to fix everybody, that's your problem. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. Don't worry about it."

Kagome's mouth closed gently, and she managed a meek smile. "I'm glad to see you now," she said. If only you knew how much.

"Likewise, kiddo," he said, ruffling her hair, then looking bemused at the texture, "What do you have in here, glue?"

"Hey!" she said, slapping his hand away, "This shit took forever! You try getting hair that's permanently wild to lie flat once in awhile!"

She felt her phone buzz through her purse. She ignored it.

"They seem to be back to normal," Miroku mused, holding his champagne glass aloft, his elbows on the table.

Sango took a sip from her own glass. "What's the story there?"

"You've got to be kidding me. Don't tell me you don't read gossip magazines; they're our bread and butter in this line of work."

"I mean, I know what happened with him and Kikyou Higurashi," Sango said, exasperated, "but I thought it was a fairly friendly breakup. I mean, there were the cheating rumors on her part, but there always are. I figured they just fizzled out."

Miroku laughed out loud. "Hoooo boy, hope you're ready for this."

He scooted around in the booth so he was sitting right next to her. Sango fought the urge to scoot away, but then he leaned in close conspiratorially. He smelled of expensive cologne and smoke and whiskey. Not altogether unpleasant, she thought. Focus, girl, he's your ex-boss and he's kind of a shit.

"So you know all about 'Kikyasha,'" Miroku began, "but what you don't know is just how long they were together. They were an item when both of them started in Hollywood. That was almost eight years ago, when they were both just twenty-year-old kids hungry for a career in showbiz.

"It was his agent that originally suggested it. They were fairly frequent costars even when their names didn't carry any weight, and what better way to get the buzz going than some dating rumors? But then it turned real, and for a long time they were-"

"-the It Couple," Sango interjected, "Everyone's relationship goals."

"Exactly," Miroku said, sipping his champagne, "but that's where it went wrong. Fame changes everybody in different ways, and that level of fame, with the awards and the private planes and the mansions, in a span of a few years...well suffice it to say, Inuyasha's pretty much still the same guy he always was. An idiot, but a cool idiot, you know?"

"And Kikyou's a rich bitch," Sango said tartly, "I had the pleasure of meeting her in person this afternoon."

"Piece of work, ain't she?" Miroku flashed her a grin, "And poor Kagome has been caught in the middle the whole time. Won't ever turn down an order Kikyou gives her; it's like she's been conditioned to act that way."

"I like her a lot," Sango confessed, "She's already been a ton of help with handling things on Kikyou's end of the scheduling."

"Kagome's a peach," Miroku said, "If she were a little older and a little more wild, I'd be all over that."

Sango glared at him. "Are you always this shallow, or am I just lucky to see this side of you?"

"I'm always like this, darlin. You should be flattered I like you enough to be frank with you."

Don't you dare blush, Sango told herself. "Well, I think she's lucky you aren't trying with her. She's got enough to deal with as it is."

Miroku grinned and poured another glass of champagne from the huge bottle. "I avoid pursuing Kagome not out of the goodness of my heart, but because someone would tear out my intestines if I did."

"That was a great trick, by the way," Kagome said, her blue eyes sparkling with laughter as she took a sip of the expensive champagne. She leaned back against the velvety surface of the booth, the drink obviously making her comfortable and at ease.

"What was?" Inuyasha asked, cigarette dangling from his lip. He was starting to feel drunker than he normally would at this point in the night, like maybe the booze was working better than usual to quiet his mind.

"The doorman," she replied, grinning, "with the Judas Priest. I still can't believe you actually agreed that 'Sad Wings of Destiny' was their best album. We've argued over this before."

"I didn't tell him that. Priest's best album always was and forever will be 'Painkiller.' I just told the guy, 'If the girl knows an answer, send her up, because she's obviously the one I'm looking for.'"

Her eyes narrowed in mock annoyance. They were lined with black tonight, with just a smidge of gold at the corners. She'd gone to a lot of trouble. It looked great.

"What if some random chick had happened to know a Priest album?" she said, faking shock.

"Then I may be interested in getting to know her better. And you'd have to settle for waiting outside with the paps."

"Oh, please," she said, "Admit it. You missed me, just a little."

This was bolder than she usually was; the champagne must be going to her head somewhat as well. Inuyasha inhaled another drag of his cigarette and went to ruffle her hair again.

"I did."

"And you're going to be happy I'm here," she said, slurring her words just a little as she took another gulp of champagne, "because you don't have to face Kikyou alone through awards season."

She just had to go there, didn't she? Inuyasha's smile faded.

"So," he said, eager to change the subject, "Any boyfriends since we last saw each other?"

Kagome coughed a little, looking almost puzzled, like the idea was foreign to her. Same old Kagome, no obvious interest in anyone, just work, work, work.

"Come onnnn," Inuyasha said, nudging her a little, "No production assistants on your sister's latest rom com to distract you?"

Kagome's face reddened and she looked away. "No."

Well, so much for changing the subject and making it less awkward.

"How's the photography stuff going?" Should have asked that first, you asshole. He could have kicked himself.

"I haven't had time lately," she said, brightening up a bit but still looking a little downtrodden, "Kikyou's had a lot of events."

God, why was this awkward? Not half a year ago they had been throwing popcorn at each other behind Kikyou's back during movie night on the sofa.

A lot of things had changed. Kagome had changed. She looked...older, somehow. Less a punk ass kid and more a young woman.

Inuyasha wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Does...Kikyou ever mention me?"

"She does," Kagome said, sipping her drink again and apparently refusing to elaborate. Her phone buzzed in her lap. She stared down at it, hesitated, and turned the ringer off.

"It will be weird to see her," he admitted, "I guess it's always weird when you think you're gonna spend the rest of your life with somebody, and…" He trailed off.

"Hey," she said, holding up her champagne glass and turning to face him again, "You're the most famous person in the history of, like, ever. You'll get through this. And you'll win a fucking Oscar."

"Watch your goddamn mouth," he grinned, "Let's at least get through the Globes first."

"So I'm sure you're thinking the obvious," Miroku said as Sango polished off her third (fourth?) glass of champagne.

"That you'll return my company phone to me as soon as possible?" She wiped her mouth delicately.

"That we should combine forces for the next few months. I want my client to win all the awards, and your resume would look great if you got the studio multiple wins in your first year as a head agent."

"Keep talking," Sango said, motioning for Miroku to refill her glass.

"With my connections and your, shall we say, fresh new take on the biz, I'd say we could pull a clean sweep this season."

"Speaking of which, have you even seen the movie?"

"No."

"Well I have, and it's not that great," Sango said, "This is just between us, but the studio's pulled it for a major hack job and recut. Apparently the performances are fine, but the plot's a big fucking mess."

"It's not important," Miroku said, lighting another cigarette, "All that's important is the marketing, and the rest is just-wait, you got to see the movie?"

"Yes," Sango blinked, "Last week."

"What the hell? And I wasn't even invited? I didn't know they were firing me until two days ago!" Miroku glared into the half-empty bottle of Dom on the table.

Sango awkwardly finished off her glass.

"Better slow down on that shit," Miroku said, his tone coming off more snappish than he intended. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Listen," Sango said, her words beginning to run together, "I know you got fucked over. I get it. But I still have a job to do. And I have a plan for Oscar season that leaves us all smelling like roses."

"Okay, you're touching me in my nice places. Let me have it."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Okay, so Kikyasha was the It Couple, right? Everyone obsessed with them, wanting to be them, et cetera?"

"Yeah."

"The press will care about this movie and so will the public if they think Kikyou and Inuyasha are getting back together."

Miroku choked on his drink. "Are you absolutely insane?"

"It just has to look like it might happen," Sango mused, ignoring his overreaction, "A shining, beautiful reunion in front of the cameras. Whispers abounding that maybe, just maybe, true love might prevail after all."

"So you want me to manipulate my client, one of my best friends of several years, into spending time with a woman whom we all know to be the spawn of Satan in hopes that she takes him back, all to promote a movie for awards season?"

Sango said nothing, just shrugged.

Miroku grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Babe," he said, "You are speaking my language."

The plot thickens... - meggz0rz