The It Couple
Chapter Thirty-Five
Miroku had barely hung up the phone when he heard the knock on his front door. He rushed to the door, took a breath to collect himself, then swung it open.
"Sango," he said suavely, moving to lean oh so flirtatiously against the doorframe, "What brings you here-"
He was cut off as she collided into him, throwing herself into his arms and kissing him so hard he swore he felt his lips actively bruising. She pawed at his clothes, pulling at the buttons of his shirt.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, trying to back away, but she just grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, burying her face in his neck and kissing his pulse point. They both collided with the couch and fell, Sango pulling herself onto his lap and resuming trying to pull his clothes off by sheer force.
"Not that I'm...complaining…" Miroku was starting to lose his train of thought as he used every amount of strength in his wrists to pull her off of him, "But what the hell's gotten into you?"
"Don't talk," she said, her eyes hidden by her bangs as she fought his grip around her forearms, "Just...just…"
She dissolved into quiet sobs and collapsed onto his chest, burying her face in his half-open shirt.
He immediately folded his arms around her and held her tightly, confused as all hell but more focused on letting her calm down.
"Sango," he said softly, leaning his cheek into the top of her head, "What's going on, babe?"
She just kept softly crying for a few moments before she looked up at him, her brown eyes shining with tears.
"Just...hold me for a little while?" Her cheeks flushed pink and he was pretty sure it wasn't just because they were streaming with tears.
"As long as you need," Miroku said softly, and when she leaned in to kiss him again, it was soft and gentle and tender.
"Hold still," Kagome muttered, running her fingers through Inuyasha's hair as she pulled it into a braid.
"You're pulling!" he griped, leaning his head awkwardly from his position in the driver's seat.
"It'll hurt worse if you keep trying to jerk away from me!" Kagome couldn't help the smile as she wove the silver strands. "Geez, your hair is soft. It's not fair. Mine is always a frizz fest."
"I use obscenely expensive shampoo. Head and Shoulders," he grumbled, but his tone had softened.
"I remember," she said softly, "Okay, finished!"
He replaced his baseball cap on his head and checked his own reflection in the rearview mirror. "Alright," he said, smirking at her, "Am I sufficiently incognito?"
Kagome realized she was staring for a second and blinked herself out of it. "I don't think you'll ever be incognito," she said, leaning back in her seat, knowing her face had to have the goofiest, dreamiest expression and not being able to do much about it, "Not with that hair, anyway."
He grinned at her and her heart seemed to swell to just about bursting.
"So where are we going?" she said quickly.
Inuyasha started the car and pulled out of the parking space. "Oh, I don't know," he said, "How about San Diego?"
Kagome blinked. "Inuyasha, that's a two-hour drive."
"Good thing we're starting early then, huh?" He tapped the clock on the dashboard, which read just past four o'clock.
Kagome couldn't help the smile this time.
"Oh, here," he said, reaching into the backseat with one hand while keeping his eyes trained on the road, "A snack to tide you over, if you want." He dropped a small plastic bag onto her thighs.
"You got me Gummi Bears?"
"Yep."
Kagome just stared into her lap. "Did Kikyou tell you these were my favorite, too?"
She swore she heard him audibly swallow. "No," he said insistently, "I already knew your favorites are Sour Patch Kids but they didn't have any at the gas station. Give me a little credit here, kiddo."
"Okay, okay," she said, "Sorry. But how did you know I'd even come with you? What if I'd refused to even talk to you?"
He pulled up to a stoplight, then turned to look at her. There was an almost sad look in his eyes for a second, his mouth in a straight line.
Then he gently grabbed her under the chin and pulled her mouth to his. She squeaked in surprise, then fell limp, leaning over the center console as the kiss deepened.
"HONK!"
They flew apart and Inuyasha screeched away from the green stoplight at breakneck speed.
Kagome laughed, running a hand through her wild hair. "Don't think every time I get mad at you that you can just kiss me and make it all better."
"Why not?" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, an obviously self-satisfied grin plastered all over his stupid face.
She rolled her eyes and opened the bag of Gummi Bears. "We still need to talk about...well, everything." She popped one into her mouth.
"I know, I know. But not now. Wait til we get there, okay?" Inuyasha punched a button on the radio. Heavy metal music roared into life.
"Wait…" Kagome said, immediately recognizing the guitar sound, "Is this their new album?"
Inuyasha just grinned, eyes on the road. "I may have called in a favor and gotten a copy before it's officially released."
Kagome's eyes widened and she immediately sat up, as if that would help her hear the music better.
He leaned over towards her and for a second she thought he might try to kiss her again, a prospect which wasn't wholly unwelcome, but, well, he was driving.
"Gimme a Gummi Bear," he said, opening his mouth.
She couldn't help it, she laughed again and obliged him by dropping one into his mouth.
"Thanks, gorgeous."
Okay, talk about fifty shades of red.
"So do you want to talk about it?" Miroku said, kissing the top of Sango's head. They were laying in his bed, the setting sun streaming through the crack in the curtains.
Sango just shrugged, her head laying on his chest. "Bad day, that's all."
"Sango, babe, it's me. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"Please stop asking me." She shifted in his arms uncomfortably, but seemed hesitant to break any skin-to-skin contact.
Miroku sighed and gently pushed her off of him, sitting up to swing his legs over the side of the bed. He reached for his cigarettes and lit one.
"What was it you were going to tell me yesterday at dinner?" Sango asked, her voice sounding somewhat meek.
"Inuyasha and Kagome had kind of a falling out over Kikyou. It seemed really bad, but then again, he just showed up and whisked her away to dinner, so maybe they're working things out in their own way."
"He what?" There was a rustling sound as she sat up behind him.
Miroku held up a hand without turning around. "I don't need any shit from you about this. I've made the decision. I'm letting nature take its course and not interfering anymore. That just leaves everyone hurting."
There was an uncomfortable silence. Had his tone been too snappish? Maybe. But he was feeling frustrated in more ways than one. If you won't open up to me, why should I do the same for you?
"So what was the fight about?" Sango said softly, sliding up next to him. Her motions were halting, almost hesitant.
"Kikyou."
"You already said that," she said quietly. Normally she'd have a biting or witty remark to follow up with, but she kept her eyes trained on the floor in front of the bed.
"Kikyou is apparently fine with Inuyasha and Kagome getting together. Encouraging them both. At least, that's what Inuyasha seems to believe. Kagome...well, let's just say she disagreed strongly."
"No shit, she disagreed strongly. Kagome knows more than most what Kikyou's capable of," Sango said, "Kikyou called me at the office the other day just to check that Kagome had signed the studio contract. That she's completely bound to her sister's side for the next few months."
"Not surprised," Miroku said, offering his smoke to her. She took it and handed it back after a single drag. "So Kagome's staying here for the foreseeable future. I think she just had to get out of that house."
Sango blinked. "Kagome's staying...here?" She looked around. "With you?"
"What's the matter, Sango?" Miroku asked, leaning back on his hands, cigarette dangling from his lips, "Jealous?"
Her eyes widened and a pink flush washed over her face. "Jealous? Hardly. You're the one who always calls her a kid."
"Oh, I don't know," Miroku said casually, "She's certainly blossomed over the past few weeks. I wouldn't mind giving that a try sometime."
"Houshi," Sango said, folding her arms, "Shut the fuck up." Her eyes were narrowed in a death glare.
Miroku couldn't help the grin that sprang to his face. "You are jealous!" he said, stubbing out the cigarette in the bedside ash tray and all but tackling her to the bed, "You like me. Admit it."
She struggled underneath him, fighting not to meet his eyes. Her face was completely red now.
"Just admit it," he said into her ear, "Admit that you like me. Admit that you missed me, even if just a little."
"I didn't," she said, head turned pointedly to the side, "I'm just using you for the sex."
He grabbed her chin and turned her to face him.
"You're a liar," he whispered against her mouth.
"Okay, do you want a burger or chicken nuggets?" Inuyasha rolled the window down as they pulled into the drive-thru.
"Uh, Inuyasha," Kagome said, propping up her head on her elbow, leaning against the passenger side window, "When you said you were taking me to dinner, I didn't think we'd be driving all the way to San Diego for some Wendy's."
"Why not? Don't you like cheeseburgers?" He put on his best pouty face.
She looked utterly confounded and he was loving every second of it. "Sure, sure I do…" she said, staring at him like she was worried he'd had a traumatic head injury.
"So burger or chicken nuggets?"
When they'd ordered and pulled up to the window to pay, the young fast-food worker did a double take when he saw Inuyasha.
As he handed them their bag of food and their two sodas, he seemed to work up the courage to speak up. "Does anyone ever tell you that you look just like-"
"Yeah," Inuyasha said with a grin, "I get that all the time. Comes in handy with the ladies. I just wish I had as much money as he does, you know?"
The kid's embarrassment fell away and he laughed. "You should do professional impersonations! Have a great night."
He pulled the car into the parking lot and began divvying out the burgers and fries.
"We're just eating in the car?" Kagome said, her mouth already full of french fries. No one could resist the pull of french fries.
"Yep. We've got about…" Inuyasha glanced at the dashboard clock again, "...twenty minutes to kill."
"Okay, you're officially weirding me out," she said, turning in her seat to face him even as she stuffed another fry into her mouth, "What are you up to?"
"No more questions," he said, "Just eat."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes and took a sip of her soda.
Once they were done and sufficiently stuffed, Kagome gathered their trash and immediately got out to toss it in a nearby bin, and then they were off again.
"Now what are we doing?" she asked.
He reached over and bonked her on the head gently.
"Hey!"
"Every time you keep asking that, you get another knock on the head."
"I'll knock you into next week."
"You probably could," he said, unable to keep his face from looking utterly gleeful.
They drove on for another twenty minutes or so, through brightly lit city streets, and then Inuyasha pulled them into a parking garage.
Inuyasha's phone buzzed in the center console. He picked it up and knew Kagome had seen who was calling just as easily as he had, because her eyes immediately hardened slightly. He turned the ringer off, looking straight into her eyes.
"Aren't you gonna answer that?" she said, looking crestfallen.
"If you think I'm gonna talk to her while I'm out with you," he said grumpily, "You haven't been paying much attention."
She didn't smile, only nodded.
Dammit, Kikyou, horrible timing as usual. I was just getting to the good part, too.
"Come on," he said, getting out of the car, and Kagome followed suit, letting herself stretch after so long in the passenger seat.
"Where are we going?" she asked as they started to walk to the parking garage elevator.
Bonk.
"Ow!"
Inuyasha smirked and linked his hand with hers.
They took the elevator down and he led her across the empty parking lot toward an inconspicuous black door. Above the door was a sign that said "Brick By Brick."
"Go ahead," he said, gently pushing her forward, "Go in."
"Inuyasha, this seems like some weird slasher film," she said as she gingerly pulled the door open and they stepped inside into a darkened hallway lit only by a single red bulb on the ceiling. Instantly, they both were hit with a loud wave of heavy rock music.
Kagome turned to him, realization suddenly dawning on her. Before she could open her mouth to speak, he gently pushed her forward again, urging her to keep walking.
They rounded a corner and Kagome almost collided into a barrel-chested bouncer in a black tee shirt with full sleeve tattoos. "Oh god, I'm sorry sir," she said, stepping back.
The bouncer looked at her gruffly, then his eyes went to Inuyasha and widened. "Oh, Mr. Takahashi, sir. Come on in." He turned and opened yet another door behind him and beckoned the two of them through. Inuyasha passed him a hundred dollar bill.
The room was dark but full of flashing stage lights. The noise from the guitars and drums was nearly deafening, but the good kind of deafening. And on the stage, playing to a moshing crowd, were-
"Holy SHIT!" Kagome screamed over the commotion, "You brought me to see System of a Down?"
Inuyasha felt very pleased with himself indeed. The look on her face was enough to make him want to grab her, bend her backwards, and kiss her til her knees went weak. But for now, he'd just settle for watching his favorite girl link arms with him and start headbanging to the music.
"Come on," he said, "I'll push us to the front of the crowd." He remembered she'd always loved being in the thick of the pit, even though her height gave her distinct disadvantages. But that was his Kagome. She'd always been a bit of a scrapper.
She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with what he knew were happy tears, and then grabbed him forcefully by the back of the neck, pulling him down for a kiss.
"Come on," she said, grinning wickedly at the no-doubt dazed look on his face when they parted, "Let's go scream til we're hoarse!"
"Double twins or single queen?" The motel clerk typed furiously into her computer.
"Single queen, please," Kagome said, her voice already starting to sound a little scratchy and croaky.
"Alright, you're all set, Miss...Higurashi." The clerk read off the name on the credit card and then suddenly looked up sharply to study Kagome's face. "Higurashi? Are you by any chance related to-"
Kagome took a leaf out of Inuyasha's book. "Oh no, not at all," she said, smiling and waving her hand, "I get that a lot though."
"You sort of resemble her."
"Yep, I get that a lot too." Kagome's lips pressed a little closer together.
"Well, anyway, Room 137 is free." The clerk handed her the card key. Kagome muttered a brief thanks and practically dashed back out the door to where Inuyasha was waiting in the car.
He was hot and sweaty and clearly on the verge of exhaustion, from the way he slumped back in the driver's seat. "All good to go?" he asked. His voice was going too.
"Yep. Room 137."
They pulled the car around to their room door and got out. "I don't have any spare clothes," Kagome said, her limbs feeling tired and sluggish, "You could have told me we were spending the night somewhere."
"If I had, would you have come in the first place?" He followed behind her, his voice almost a whisper.
She thought about it and hated that she wasn't sure if she would have.
"Never mind, don't tell me," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder as she unlocked the room door and they trudged inside the sparse, meager accommodations, "I probably don't want to know the answer to that."
"Inuyasha," she said, turning to him as they stood there beside the bed, "I wanted to apologize. For - for freaking out on you about Kikyou."
"Stop it," he said, "I'm the one who needs to apologize."
She put a hand over his mouth. "Will you just pipe down for a second and let me talk?" she smirked, "I'll admit, knowing she told you what flowers to get me made me hopping mad for a second there. Knowing you've been talking to her about me."
He opened his mouth behind her hand, but all that came out was a muffled sound.
"And," she said, looking up at him pointedly, "I guess with all that Kikyou's done, maybe one or two bouts of kindness aren't enough for me. I need you to understand that."
Inuyasha just furrowed his brow and nodded, looking at the floor.
"If you say she was being sincere, then okay, maybe she was. But I'm erring on the edge of caution here. That's all." She let her hand drop from his face. "Okay, your turn."
"She's trying to make amends," Inuyasha said, "She hasn't mentioned anything about - about her and I. Not at all. I just think she's in uncharted territory and trying to fix her mistakes."
"I wish I could believe in her like you do," Kagome said, fighting the urge to get angry again, "And I know you still have to play nice for the press. I will too. I'll even talk to her myself and try to mend the bridge. But please, don't tell her anything more about us, okay? I want at least a small part of you to myself, even just in theory."
Dammit, there go my eyes leaking again.
Inuyasha immediately grabbed her and pulled her tightly to him. "I promise."
She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you so much," she whispered, "Not just for that. For tonight. The whole thing was perfect. I actually think you might know me too well."
He chuckled softly. "Like the back of my hand, kiddo. Like the back of my hand."
"Ugh," she groaned, leaning her head back, a pained expression on her face, "I'd totally made up my mind to stay mad at you for a good long while, and then you show up with your adorable stupid face and your Wendy's and your concert tickets and your smooth lines and I'm just hopelessly in love once again."
Inuyasha bent and kissed her softly. "Am I allowed to respond to that yet? You told me I couldn't."
"Nope," she grinned, and he sighed. "Hey, it's not so bad! We've got two more months to get through. You have my sister to deal with, and I have Kouga."
He stepped back a bit. "What?" he asked flatly, a scowl forming on his face.
"Yeah," she said, feeling that old sheepish feeling, "At the interview with Yura today, she told me to name my celebrity crush."
"And you said Kouga?" Inuyasha slapped a hand over his eyes, though his other hand remained wrapped around her waist.
"Who else could I have said? She gave me like five seconds to answer and it just popped in my head! He's the only other celebrity I know at all!"
"You could have said me," he grumbled.
"Oh, great idea. Just tell the whole world. I thought the whole point of this entire convoluted plan was to avoid being the husband-stealing sister."
"Not husband," he said darkly, "I was never her husband."
"I know." She leaned her head onto his chest. "But anyway, that's what I'll be dealing with for the next few weeks."
"You know he's going to think he's got a new way in, right?" Inuyasha looked almost livid, but not necessarily with her. "You know he's going to try and steal you right from under me."
"A guy as charming as you? You're underestimating yourself, jerkface." She grinned. "Please don't worry about it. You know as well as I do that I can handle myself."
"Like the last time you went out with him?" He raised an eyebrow, still looking decidedly grumpy.
She reddened. "That was old Kagome," she said, "This is new Kagome. I'm done taking shit from anyone just to appease other people. I'm ready to fight for a happy ending this time."
Something undecipherable glowed in his eyes at these words.
"It's your fault, you know," she said, smiling and wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, "You're the first person who treated me like I was worth much of anything. Shoulda just kept treating me like the kid sister and we wouldn't be in this mess."
He smirked, gathered her up in his arms, and all but tackled her to the bed.
Yes I realize this chapter was basically all fluffy goodness but we've got more drama coming, don't you worry. OH MY GOD BOTH COUPLES ARE ON FAIRLY GOOD TERMS AT ONCE IT'S A FREAKING MIRACLE. Also I really do promise that the next chapter is the LA Critics Awards. For reals this time. No takesies backsies. Love you guys! Your reviews make me so happy and spur me to keep on rolling! - meggz0rz