The It Couple
Chapter Forty-Seven
"You sure you don't want to come back with me?" Kikyou said from underneath the outstretched umbrella some nameless employee was holding out for her, her face set in an adorable pout, "We have a lot to talk about."
Inuyasha sighed from beneath the awning above the alley door, tossing the remainder of his last cigarette of the night onto the damp pavement. Thank god for private nightclub alleyways where the prying public weren't allowed.
Said prying public were still down the way, of course, taking their constant photos and calling out Inuyasha's name, Kikyou's name, Inuyasha's name again. Even though several burly security guards (who honestly could have moonlighted as pro wrestlers in the eighties) and a few barricades were blocking the view. They were all standing there, in the pouring rain, holding camera phones over their heads just trying to catch a glimpse of their movie star idols.
Inuyasha could remember a time, long ago, when he might have been one of them, and the thought made him a little bit sad and very, very irritated. Nothing ever fucking turns out like you want it to.
Kikyou seemed to take his awkward silence as a definitive answer, and she gave a little whimper of frustration before speaking again.
"I just want you to know," she said sweetly, stepping up into his personal space and placing a hand on the side of his face as Hojo pulled into the alley with her car, "I'm so proud of you. You're everything I ever thought you could be and more."
"Yeah?" he said testily, looking down at her in the dim lamplight.
Her hair was starting to get a little damp in the rain, that long, straight, sleek black hair that had always been so soft to the touch. Her ruby red lips were curled into that same soft smile, the one like she knew too much and nothing at all at the same time. Her hand went from the side of his face into a lock of his hair, which she started to twirl gently in her fingers, keeping her eyes to his.
There was a banging sound as the metal door leading to the alley opened, and Sango stomped outside, stumbling on her clearly ruined and muddy skirt. She was soaked from the rain, her bangs flat against her forehead and hiding half of her gaze.
"You okay?" Inuyasha said to Sango as he stepped back from Kikyou, eager for the distance.
"Fine," Sango muttered, squeezing a good trickle of water from her ponytail, "Can I have a ride home, Inuyasha? I need a word. When you get a second, that is." She leaned out from under the awning, looking around with a bemused look at the gathered crowd, the bouncers, and poor Hojo standing there soaked and shivering with the car door open, waiting for Kikyou to get in the backseat.
Kikyou turned to Sango briefly, looking her up and down with clear distaste for her disheveled state, then seemed to glance at Hojo, register his presence, and ignore him. She turned back to Inuyasha, her face once again that beautiful mask of loving sweetness.
"When we sign those contracts," she said softly, "We're going to be amazing together. Back on top, honey. We did it!" Her smile widened into that same easygoing grin he'd always loved.
"Jerkface."
No, not the same one. There was no dimple on her cheek.
"I feel like high-fiving myself."
It wasn't the same.
"Let's go scream til we're hoarse!"
It was all wrong. It had always been wrong. And he'd known that. He'd known and he'd pretended he didn't. For nostalgia's sake, for weird misplaced memories, for the status quo he'd grown so used to over eight years.
"I'm trying to say that I love you, you moron."
Inuyasha took Kikyou's outstretched hand, which had been reaching for his face…
"You have some shit to figure out, Inuyasha."
Too fucking right, kiddo. And the answer had been staring him in the face the entire time.
He threw Kikyou's hand away so sharply that she gasped in surprise.
"I'm not signing shit," he said softly, his eyes boring directly into those of the woman he'd once fancied himself hopelessly and irrevocably in love with. Those eyes used to send him spiraling into a hazy, tongue-tied stupor. No more. Never again.
Never, ever again.
"What?" Kikyou had her best hurt face on.
"You heard me," Inuyasha hissed, "I'm not signing shit."
"You can't be serious,"
"As a heart attack."
"You don't want to be with me at all, do you?" She looked dejectedly up at him, her bottom lip trembling.
He sighed. "I don't. I'm sorry if I acted in any way that led you on, but I don't."
"Why am I not enough for you?" she wailed, burying her face in her hands.
Before this moment, he would have at least put a hand on her shoulder in some form of half-assed comfort. But that kind of behavior had led to this whole confusing situation. So Inuyasha stayed put.
"Even if you don't want me," Kikyou stammered, "It's a five picture deal! We'll be the King and Queen of Hollywood for the rest of our lives if we go through with this!"
"It's not worth losing Kagome. You and I had our run, Kikyou. And it ended in bullshit and damn near bloodshed. And I'm in love with your sister."
God, that felt good to say. He decided to repeat it a few times in his head for good measure. I'm in love with Kagome. I'm in love with Kagome. I'm so goddamn hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Kagome Higurashi that it's ridiculous. But the good kind of ridiculous. My favorite kind of ridiculous.
"But-" Kikyou's wide brown eyes filled with tears, and she seemed to be grasping at straws, her voice almost sputtering in protest, "Kagome knew about the contracts, Inuyasha. She knew what a career move this was for both of us. And she left. Has she even called you once? Or texted you? She's moved on, Inuyasha. To give the two of us another chance."
Inuyasha fought the urge to growl at the insinuation that Kagome wasn't interested anymore. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. There was only one way to find out, and that was talking to Kagome. Which he should have done every day since she left. Well, no one ever said I was a genius. All I do is stand in front of a camera and act for a living.
"Kagome knew about the contracts?" Inuyasha turned to Sango, who was about three feet away, leaning against the brick wall and clearly watching their conversation with undisguised interest.
Sango blinked at him, then nodded, like it was the most obvious fact in the world.
Inuyasha took the knowledge in, then turned back to Kikyou, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Wait a second," he whispered, and Kikyou seemed to instantly realized what she'd let slip, "You say Kagome knew beforehand. That means you did too. You knew about this sweet-ass deal the whole fucking time. Five years, eight figures, creative control, if we get back together, huh?"
Kikyou opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again. "It doesn't change the fact that I love you and I want to try again. I've missed you since-"
Inuyasha burst out laughing in her face. "Oh god, just stop," he said, doubling over, feeling both furious and wonderfully liberated at the same time, "All this talk about supporting Kagome, about being there for me, it was all for this goddamn contract! I thought you were acting weird, but I figured if it was a genuine change of heart...this is amazing. This is honestly amazing."
Kikyou moved again to grab his hand, and he sidestepped her, still laughing. "Nah, you can stop it now," he said, still laughing, his tone almost good-natured, "You made your bed, Kikyou. It was a nice try, though, really. Almost had me making a huge mistake there."
Kikyou's wounded look was turned up to eleven now. "Wh-what about the Globes? What about the Oscars, Inuyasha?" She looked genuinely panicked.
Inuyasha just burst into another round of laugher. Tears were starting to pour out of his eyes at the effort to keep himself together.
He looked up at Sango, who was staring at him wide-eyed, her eyebrow raised in what may have even been amusement. She was hiding it well.
His gaze returned to Kikyou, and he stepped in close to her. She seemed to visibly relax, clearly telling herself that he'd just been playing with her, that he wasn't serious about rejecting the deal…
"Kikyou," he said softly, placing a gentle hand on her bare shoulder. He leaned in over her ear, and she seemed to try and melt into his arms with a soft, relieved whisper of his name.
"I wouldn't worry about the awards," Inuyasha said, fighting to keep his voice from shaking with laughter again, "You'll land on your feet. Or your back. You always have, right?"
She shrieked in fury and shoved away from him, clearly too insulted and out-of-sorts to even form coherent words. Her glare flashed to Sango, then back to him, and she turned on her heel and stomped out toward her car, where Hojo was still holding the door and now appeared to be soaked through to the bone. Hojo quickly shut the door after she got in, and with a last, puzzled look at both Inuyasha and Sango, he gratefully jumped into the driver's seat and closed the car off from the rain before pulling off out of the alleyway, pausing only to let the bouncers move the barricades and crowds out of the way.
Inuyasha was still laughing under his breath as he turned to Sango.
She stepped up toward him, her arms folded, and shook her head. "You people," she muttered, though there was a hint of a smile on her face, "Why can't you ever make it easy for me?"
"Hey," Inuyasha shrugged, "If you ask Miroku, we're capable of much worse."
"I'm sure you are," she said, doing her best to look stern as she turned to address the nightclub employee who had been holding Kikyou's umbrella for her (who was standing there looking wonderfully confused and embarrassed to have been privy to such a heated conversation), "Hi there. I represent Sunrise Studios, and I'd like you to know how much we appreciate your help tonight."
She handed him her business card. "This is my contact information. I'd like you to give me a call in the morning to discuss your future. Have you ever wanted to work in the movies? As a production assistant, perhaps?"
The kid nodded, eyes like dinner plates.
Sango gave him a glowing smile and threw an arm around his shoulders, giving a quick squeeze before letting go. "Then it's settled! You just got your big break, pal. And all for being such a good umbrella-holder and for not telling any of your buddies what happened here tonight. They always say Hollywood is the land of dreams, right?"
The kid looked at her, at the card, and back at her, nodding emphatically, a huge smile on his face. "Th-thank you so much!"
"You're so welcome. And just so you know, that offer is null and void if I hear anything about what you just overheard in the press or in the gossip columns tomorrow. This business is all about knowing who your friends are. Lesson number one, kid. And you know who your friends are, don't you?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Sango shook his hand. "Perfect," she said, "Now run along. I'll be expecting your call tomorrow, okay?"
The kid nodded and disappeared back into the club in a starstruck daze.
Sango sighed, rubbing her temples, and turned back to Inuyasha.
"You realize you just pissed off your leading lady beyond all reason?"
"Yep." Inuyasha really couldn't help the dopey grin on his face. He felt like he'd wandered into a hot sauna and hung out in there too long. Light as a feather and goofy as hell.
"And you realize I'm going to have to spend the next few days pacifying her so she doesn't hire a hitman, right?"
"Look on the bright side. At least you've got some variety in your job description."
She smirked. "We've still got open Oscar voting. I'll have to figure something out for the Globes so there's not a huge breakup scandal right as people are casting their ballots."
"Do what you gotta do. You and Miroku. Whatever it is, I'm game. As long as it's not pretending to be in love with Kikyou Higurashi anymore."
Sango rolled her eyes and scoffed at the mention of Miroku, and it was Inuyasha's turn to raise a knowing eyebrow at her. She ignored it and looked away.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Inuyasha asked as the rented limo pulled up and the driver ran up with an umbrella to escort them to the backseat door.
She gathered her sopping wet skirts in her hand and unceremoniously clambered into the backseat. "I was going to ask you if you really wanted to go through with all this," she said, that half-smile returning to her lips, "But I guess you just answered my question pretty well."
Miroku sat reading his favorite tabloid (the cover of which had Inuyasha and Kikyou on it, locked in that fashion editorial embrace) and stifled a yawn. He leaned back in the uncomfortable seat and stretched his long legs in front of him.
He glanced at his watch. Three-thirty am. I should be asleep. Or drinking. Or asleep because of drinking. This is cutting into my valuable me-time. He clenched his jaw grumpily and resumed the article about which Hollywood actresses had been caught on the beach recently with (gasp) cellulite.
"Catching up on the classics, I see."
Ah, that sweet, sweet voice. Miroku broke into a grin without even looking up, threw down the magazine, and jumped up to throw his arms around a grinning Kagome.
She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt, black leggings, and her tried-and-true combat boots. Her hair was up in a loose bun (the dyed streak he'd wondered about was, in fact, dark purple) and her face was without a lick of makeup. Dressed like she was going to bed and the signs of jetlag all over her and Miroku knew he'd never seen a sight so adorable and welcome and perfect.
As he released her from the tight hug, which she'd returned enthusiastically, he said, "Missed you, darlin. You're a sight for sore eyes."
"Speaking of sore eyes," she said, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes, "I'm exhausted."
He took one of her duffel bags from her hand and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go home. I left your room just the same. Like a parent waiting for their prodigal child to return."
"If you expect me to start calling you dad…" she said, grinning and shaking her head as they started walking through the airport to the parking garage.
"Is that a tattoo?" Miroku asked, nodding at the inside of Kagome's left forearm.
"It is indeed," she said with a yawn, holding it out for him to see.
He squinted at it, then looked at her with a shrug. "You're gonna have to translate that for me. What does it mean?"
She told him, and he grinned and put his free arm around her shoulders, squeezing her affectionately. "You little minx," he said, and she elbowed him playfully.
"So do you want to hear all about it?" she asked when they got to the car and piled her luggage in the trunk.
"About Amsterdam? I want every single detail. The photos you took, the people you met, the hearts you broke."
"Shut up, Miroku," she said with a sleepy smile, tumbling into the passenger seat and fastening her seatbelt.
He had missed hearing that the last few weeks.
"I'll tell you everything," she couldn't seem to stop yawning as she curled against the car window, "Tomorrow morning. When I've gotten over some of this damn jetlag."
"I would have thought you'd want to go straight to see Inuyasha," Miroku said coyly, and she seemed to sit up a little straighter.
There was silence for a few moments as Kagome seemed to think it over. "No," she said with a shrug, flopping back into her comfortable position and letting her eyes close, "I'll think about all that tomorrow. Right now, I just need sleep."
Miroku smiled as they pulled out of the carport and headed toward the highway. His phone buzzed once on the center console. He glanced down. Sango. He reached down to answer it, then glanced over at Kagome, who had all but passed out sitting up.
He pulled his hand back and returned it to the steering wheel. Whatever Sango had to say, it could wait until Kagome was safely tucked in bed for the next, oh, twelve hours?
GAHHHHHH FINALLY. SO MUCH FINALLY. SO MANY DIFFERENT FINALLY.
She's baaaaack, baby! I missed her so much. She's like a tonic on my soul and a perfect little cinnamon roll and she should be cherished and I will never let her leave again ever I promise.
Also DAMN INUYASHA WELL FREAKING DONE JEEPERS TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH TO GET THE PICTURE BUB. Sango is just amused at this point, but she is right. She has a lot of phone calls to make in the morning. First of all to Miroku. They have some publicist-ing to do.
SONGS!
Kagome - "No Roots" by Alice Merton (I LOVE THIS SONG SO VERY MUCH AND I CAN FINALLY USE IT YAYYY)
Inuyasha - "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber ("Cause if you like the way you look that much, then baby you should go and love yourself...")
Miroku - "Happy" by Pharell Williams (no deep thoughts here hahaha)
Sango - "People Like Us" by Kelly Clarkson (she gettin better, y'all)
Thanks for being patient with my uploading schedule, everyone! Work's been getting a bit more crazy lately and I'm getting used to my new sleep schedule finally.
Hope you guys like this! It was a breath of fresh air to write, let me tell you, after all that damn angst and feeling-sorry-for-oneself in the last few chapters!
Reviews make my heart pitter patter so if you have the time, please let me know what you think. Love you guys! Thanks for sticking with me! - meggz0rz