The It Couple
Chapter Five
Kagome was well and properly drunk. And it was fabulous. She couldn't remember the last time she had just let loose like this. Her shoes weren't working, though. Weird. She decided to just carry them and walk barefoot.
She climbed out of the cab and pressed the gate code. Why people in Bev Hills need driveways half a mile long I'll never know, she thought as she stumbled forward. Oh well, she needed the exercise. Work off some of those champagne calories.
When she finally reached the front door, she was careful to tiptoe in after punching the second security code.
No need to wake up-
"Nice of you to join us."
Shit.
Kagome turned around, knowing what a shitshow she must look like. Kikyou was standing there in all her glory, white satin robe, hair in a towel, arms crossed.
"I've been waiting for you to dry my hair all night," Kikyou said, her lips drawn into a thin line of fury.
Well, we know that's not true, her hair wouldn't still be wet. Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry," she said gently, "The time got away from me. I was just continuing the meeting with Sango and with Inuyasha's people-"
"You what!" Kikyou shrieked, eyes wide, "I've been trying to get in touch with you all night and you've been out partying? With him?"
"Kikyou, I just-"
"I can't believe you! What's wrong with you lately?" And there came the tears. Kikyou flung herself onto the white chaise lounge, which couldn't have been comfortable as it was sort of just for show.
"Kikyou-" Kagome said. No use.
"I just ask for your help and I tell you I can't do any of this on my own and you abandon me when I need you most!"
That's every single day. I get no days off, ever. I get no time to myself, ever. Kagome was trying not to boil over.
"To go suck up to my ex-fiance, no less! Talk about family loyalty! What if someone saw you?" Kikyou just couldn't let it rest.
Okay, Kagome was definitely drunk; Kikyou's yelling never got her angry unless she was.
"Good night, Kikyou," she said in a clipped tone, and stumbled toward her room.
"Where are you going?" Kikyou demanded, lifting her head up and calling down the hallway.
"I'm going to sleep!" Kagome snapped, opening the door and tossing her shoes to the floor. She was definitely going to hear about it in the morning, but right now she didn't care.
Her phone buzzed, and for a moment she thought it was Kikyou (it was almost always Kikyou). But it was Inuyasha's name that popped up, and she snatched it up and unlocked it to read the message.
"Missed you, kiddo. Glad to catch up tonight. Hope to see you at Blades of Blood and Glory premiere next weekend. Bring your sister. Or don't." And a smile emoji.
She tossed the phone onto her bedcovers.
Sliding out of her dress, she took a second to stare at herself in the mirror. All she saw looking back in the dim light of her lamp was Kikyou's face. Less chiseled, sure, less refined and aristocratic looking. Less like Hollywood royalty. Always the baby sister.
She turned off the lamp and threw herself into bed.
"You gonna be okay getting home?" Miroku said, "Or should we share a cab?"
"Are you kidding?" Sango slurred, "My brain's too full of ideas right now. Let's go to another bar."
She stumbled, knocking into him. "Damn shoes," she said, "Sorry about that. Let's go to another bar."
"You already said that," Miroku said.
"Well, I mean it."
"It's damn near 4 am, Sango. Bars usually close at some point."
"Then we'll go to your place," Sango said matter-of-factly, "We need to go over plans for the premiere next weekend. That movie. You know. What's it called-"
"-'Blades of Blood and Glory?'"
"That's the one," she said, "It's Inuyasha and Kikyou's first time on the same red carpet in months, and we have to make it count."
"You know," Miroku said, propping her up slightly as she was teetering on her heels, "We can discuss this in the morning when you've had some rest; it's not illegal."
"Don't be condescending. This can't wait. It's too important." She pulled away from him and stepped to the curb to hail a cab. "We'll go to your place. Got any junk food?"
I've created a goddamn monster, Miroku thought.
The house was so big and always seemed so empty whenever Inuyasha got home from the bar at night. Maybe that was why he avoided being alone at home whenever possible. Nazuna was long gone by now, as were the rest of the help, gone to the guest houses on the edge of the property.
The second he was inside, he did the traditional thing and went straight to the bar to pour another drink. Traditions were important, after all, even if they were only a few months old.
He poured himself two fingers of his ridiculously expensive whiskey (he supposed he could have done the cheaper stuff; after all, his senses were dulled enough by now that the taste wouldn't have changed much) and sat on his leather couch in his giant living room, surrounded by his expensive things.
He'd at least had the sense to throw out that old photo of him and Kikyou a few weeks ago before Miroku saw it. Okay, so he'd thrown it out after finally tossing it across the room like a fucking NFL quarterback in the middle of the night, but the point was the same. No one else had to see that he was still a pathetic mess about the situation. No one had to know but him.
The photo had been of them on their engagement day. He'd proposed to her almost two whole years ago, in front of a room full of partygoers at her 26th birthday party. They'd just finished their second of four films together and were on top of the world-the "It Couple," everyone called them, and he'd agreed with them.
And she'd accepted, making sure to get every angle possible of the ring in photos and acting like she was utterly thrilled.
Inuyasha buried his head in his hands. How could you want to be with someone and not even like them at the same time? It was all bullshit.
He glanced at his phone, downing the rest of his whiskey. Kagome had read his text about twenty minutes ago, but hadn't replied. Probably asleep by now, poor girl. Kikyou was sure to give her an earful when she found out where Kagome had been.
Kagome. Same as always, just half a year older. And somehow that had made all the difference. It was still hard to reconcile the sight of her in a dress and heels. Kagome was and had always been just Kagome, for all eight years he'd known her. Where Kikyou was complicated and dramatic and kept him crawling back for more, Kagome was just easy hugs and smiles and unconditional friendship.
At least he had that, he supposed.
He picked up the remote to his sound system. "Play Judas Priest, 'Victim of Changes,'" he said into the recorder, and the song began. He would go with Kagome's preference on this tonight, even though she was wrong about this album being superior.
"You're not listening to me," Sango said, looking up from her black planner where she was scribbling notes.
Miroku was rummaging around his record collection in the living room of his own spacious condo, perusing through the numerous titles looking for the perfect selection. "Gimme a second, jeez," he muttered.
"I'm saying we arrange a reunion. In front of the cameras. On the red carpet. They'll have to be on their best behavior! It's perfect."
"I hear you, I hear you." Would Marvin Gaye be a little too obvious right now? Miroku supposed so. Otis Redding was at least a little more subtle. He pulled the record from the sleeve and stuck it on the turntable. Perfect.
"Another drink, Sango?" he asked, heading to the kitchen.
"White wine, if you have it," she said, not looking up, "We need to coordinate their outfits to match for the photos, but subtly, like it was an accident."
"Were you always this mercenary?" Miroku asked, shaking his head and pouring the wine.
"Always," she said, "I was just on my best behavior til I got to work for myself."
Miroku shoved the cork back into the bottle. "Well, I'm happy to have obliged," he said, fighting to keep the bitter edge out of his voice.
She looked up, her eyes meeting his. "I really am sorry," she said softly.
"Wasn't your fault," he said, "I promise to stop bringing it up." He walked over to the coffee table where she sat and handed her the glass, then sat on the couch next to her.
"So what do you think? About the slightly coordinated outfits? Just different shades of a similar color, maybe?"
"A little too obvious," Miroku shook his head, "We play games with the press and they know it, but they don't like it rubbed in their faces, if you get my meaning.
"Honestly, at this point, why not have everyone arrive at the premiere together? A large group of five or six. We could call Kouga's people and have him bring a date."
"So that would be…" Sango started scribbling, her long brown hair falling forward over her bare shoulders, "Inuyasha, Kikyou, Naraku, Kouga, Kouga's plus one, and Kagome?"
"Not Kagome. She rides in the car, but she's there to hold Kikyou's dress for red carpets. She's not officially a guest; doesn't get dinner tickets or anything."
Sango tapped her pen on her mouth with a frown. She needed to cut that out, it was driving him crazy. "Doesn't seem fair, does it? She works just as hard as we do, and she's in the back with the waiters."
"It's Hollywood, babe. Nothing's fair unless you're at the top of the totem pole, and Kagome's there by proxy. Should be good enough for her that she gets the nice mansion digs and the expensive salary. I've never heard her complain."
"I suppose." Sango leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs, pen still in hand, "Well, I guess that covers everything for tonight. Guess I'll call a cab."
"Don't bother, I'll put you up in the spare bedroom."
Sango gave a knowing smile and stood up. "Thanks, but no thanks. I am well aware of your reputation, Houshi."
"Miroku."
"I just think we should keep things professional, okay?"
"I completely agree," Miroku said with a grin, "but if you ever change your mind let me know."
Sango rolled her eyes. "I think I'll just try to get a cab on my own, thanks. See you tomorrow, Houshi."
"Heyyyy."
Kagome's eyes shot open. She was buried under her covers, in her own room, wearing her own pajamas. That was good.
Who the hell was in bed with her? And then Kagome felt long slender arms wrap around her shoulders, inhaled the smell of Chanel, and she knew.
"I'm sorry if I was a little moody last night," Kikyou said, pressing her face into Kagome's shoulder blade, "You know how I get anxious without you."
"I know," Kagome said with a soft sigh and a smile despite herself, "It's okay."
"Did you have fun?"
"I did."
"How...how was Inuyasha?"
"Looks good, considering," Kagome murmured, keen to keep as much to herself as possible, "He asked after you. I told him you were happy."
Kikyou was quiet for a moment. "Did you spend that whole time at the club with him?"
"Yeah. We just sat there for hours, catching up."
"Did you dance with him?"
"Okay," Kagome sat up and turned to face her sister, "What is this?"
Kikyou looked singularly innocent, her eyes wide. "I'm just curious. You used to tell me everything and I feel like you're keeping things from me."
Kagome sighed. "I'm not, I promise. Satisfied?"
"Yep!" Kikyou's smile was bright. "Also, Kaede's here and she says she'll make scrambled eggs but I want you to do it. Yours are better."
Kagome fought back a groan and slid out of the covers. "Anything else you need?"
"Oh, a grapefruit, halved, and a glass of mineral water," Kikyou followed Kagome out of her own bedroom and continued into her own room across the hallway, "I'm going to lay down for a few more minutes; I'm just exhausted."
Inuyasha woke to the sound of Nazuna entering through the side entrance and gave a very unbecoming snort of surprise. He was still sitting upright on the couch. The music had long since turned itself off, but his final glass of whiskey was still sitting unfinished on the coffee table in front of him.
"Mr. Takahashi, sir, you should really learn to get yourself to bed on time," Nazuna said in her gently reprimanding way, "A good amount of sleep is necessary to function."
"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Inuyasha muttered, "I'm gonna take a shower. Has anyone called the house since last night?"
"Yes sir, you got a phone call from Miss Higurashi early this morning. It sounded urgent."
Kagome called?
Inuyasha immediately grabbed his phone, which was on around ten percent battery. He punched in her number and waited.
"...Hello?" He could hear what sounded like bacon frying in the background and supposed she was making breakfast.
"Hey," he said. Real suave there, he thought, great opening line. Maybe he should ask her to lunch today, just the two of them. An easier chance to catch up in a quieter place. A chance to get things between them back to the way they'd always been.
"Everything okay?" Kagome asked. She sounded confused.
"Everything's fine," he said, "I was just returning your call from this morning. Sorry, I was a little shitfaced and passed out. Sad state of affairs, huh?"
There was a pause on the other end. "Inuyasha, I didn't call you this morning. I knew you'd be asleep."
"Then who the hell-oh."
"I think you're looking for my sister. Better give her a call, you know she hates to be kept waiting. Have a good day." And she hung up.
What in the hell was going on.
Yep, Kikyou wants to talk to our boy. This should be interesting. Review please! Every response is appreciated! - meggz0rz