The It Couple

Chapter Fifty

Inuyasha opened his eyes. He was laying on the floor, his head propped up against the wall, his limbs every which direction. He was covered in something heavy (Kagome's travel bags, no doubt), and a curtain of white blocked his entire view of the dimly lit room.

"Oh my god!" He heard that beautiful voice squeak in surprise, footsteps bounding toward him…

Two hands, the nails covered with black polish, parted his hair in front of him and put it back where it belonged. He blinked and looked up as one of said hands immediately went to the back of his head and helped to lift him into a sitting position.

"Jesus, Inuyasha, are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you! Whoa!" She slipped and braced herself on the floor with her free hand, tugging at his hair with her other. He winced, and she immediately exclaimed, "Shit, sorry!"

Her hair was down, spiraling around her shoulders. She was dressed in a very short tank top and boxer shorts, and her face was scrubbed clean and flushed with surprise. And oh, she smelled like heaven itself.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, and found himself feeling like a lovestruck middle schooler who couldn't bring himself to say a word to his dream girl.

And she certainly was his dream girl.

I've never seen a woman more beautiful than you are right now, he thought but didn't say. He swallowed, shoving himself upright, and by virtue of doing so pulled her even closer to him, as her hand was still tangled in his hair.

"Did you hit your head?" she said, prodding at the back of his skull for bruises, her eyes wide with concern.

"Yes," was the first word he was able to say to her after two weeks without her. Talk about sweeping a girl off her feet, idiot.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She held up three fingers.

"Kagome," he grunted, "I'm fine. Quit making a fuss."

"Hey!" She snapped her fingers, though he could see the hint of a smile playing at the corner of those perfect lips. "Focus here. How many?"

"Twelve," he deadpanned.

"Good, you're fine." And there the smile was. That glimmer of white teeth, those shining eyes, that adorable dimple. She stood up and held out her hand to help him up. He took it and grunted as she pulled him to his feet.

Looking at her, he was immediately a little dizzy, a little unsteady, but he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the bump on his head he'd so gracefully sustained just now.

"You're back," he said softly. Well done there, Captain Obvious. Whatever happened to being irresistible and charming? You've been thinking about this reunion with her...well...since she left in the first place. All those plans you've made to take her in your arms and tell her what you've wanted to tell her for months, and the moment comes and you can't even speak like you have more than a fourth-grade education.

"I am," she said, clasping her hands in front of her and letting them hang awkwardly.

"You look…" Amazing. Fantastic. Gorgeous. Wonderful. Perfect. "...good. You look good."

"Thank you," she said, still looking unsure of what to do with her hands, "So do you. Well, for a guy who just wiped out onto the floor, anyway."

"I didn't think you'd be back this soon," he said, honestly.

She shrugged, then did a muted version of jazz hands. "Surprise! Well, I was going to surprise you tomorrow at your place, but I guess you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Oh well. Here I am!"

"I'm glad you're back," he said quietly, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks, "I didn't know if you'd want to...you know, after all that happened." He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking down at his shoes.

"I mean, I still have a contract to fulfill, Inuyasha," Kagome said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow, "I had to be back by a certain point."

Inuyasha looked up at her, knowing his expression was likely that of a sullen child. "Is that the only reason you're back?"

Kagome put her hands on her hips and gave him what almost looked like a withering scowl. "You're an idiot if you think that's true," she said, and he opened his mouth to reply but she stopped him. "Wait, wait, wait, before we have any further discussion on that front, I have one thing to ask you."

He looked down at her mutely, pretty sure what it was.

"What's the situation with you and Kikyou?"

Inuyasha felt his entire body relax, and he let himself grin at her. "Amazing," he said.

Kagome looked a little crestfallen. "O-Oh," she said, seeming to back up a few steps as she folded her arms back around herself, "Well, that's good. Good for you guys. I mean, I did see a little of her acceptance speech last night, and I was just wondering...well...okay." She took a deep breath, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Oh, dammit, wait a second," he said, still grinning, as he took her hand, "That came out weird. What I meant was, the situation is amazing because it's completely over and done with. I told her off. Told her I wasn't signing that goddamn contract because it wasn't a good enough deal. She got mad as hell and stormed off. In the pouring rain, no less. It was a great scene. You shoulda seen it."

Kagome's guarded expression vanished, and she started to laugh, playfully headbutting him in the shoulder. "You asshole," she said through a flurry of giggles, "You almost had me there."

Inuyasha found himself laughing too. "Oh please," he said, taking her other hand and starting to pull her closer, "Like you didn't know exactly what would happen the second I had the fear of losing you forever put into my head. Like you didn't know I'd miss you so much my head would start spinning. Like you didn't know Kikyou would immediately try to take advantage and start acting like a bitch and I'd come to my senses."

There. Those were the sort of smooth lines Inuyasha had been rehearsing in his head for ages. And from the easy way Kagome let herself fold into his arms, they were working. Score one for the Hollywood heartthrob, he thought with a dopey smile as her hair brushed his chin.

"Well," she said, still laughing softly, "I had my suspicions that that would happen, but…" She trailed off, leaning her head back to look up at him, that wonderful grin taking over her entire face.

Inuyasha smirked, then took the sides of her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her, grunting in surprise when she leaped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"You know," he murmured into her mouth, trying to keep from sighing happily as she encircled his neck with her arms, "You're lucky you're tiny as fuck. Any other woman would have broken my spine right there."

She pulled away slightly, balancing herself in midair. Her blue eyes were clouded and dazed, but she smirked. "Shut the hell up, jerkface, and keep up with the kissing here."

"You think everything's okay in there?" Sango said from her position nestled in the crook of Miroku's arm.

They were laying in his bed, clothes scattered randomly about the room. How did my bra end up on the lampshade, she wondered mildly, then shrugged to herself and looked up at Miroku for an answer to her question.

"I think everything's just fine," Miroku said, a zenlike smile on his lips, his eyes on the TV. They were enjoying their afterglow with a little late-night (or early-morning, Sango supposed) Jerry Springer. "Long time coming, frankly."

Sango sighed happily and snuggled back onto his chest, and he closed his hand over her waist and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Good for them," she said, and meant it, "But we still do have to talk about how we're handling the Globes, and how we're putting a leash on Kikyou for the foreseeable future. If we don't, she's liable to burn the whole operation down just so she can see Inuyasha and Kagome covered in the ashes."

"You're right," Miroku said, "but I've already got a plan for the Globes. And once Oscar noms are announced that same night, what can Kikyou really do until the voting period closes?"

"Fair enough," Sango said, though she didn't feel as sure as she sounded, "What's your plan for the Globes?"

"Charity cases."

Sango raised her head up, balancing her chin on Miroku's chest. "Come again?"

"Ouch, woman, you have a pointy-ass chin." Miroku grimaced.

Sango's eyes narrowed and she dug her chin in further with a smirk. "What do you mean by charity cases?"

"Wounded vets, child cancer patients, whoever we want. Grab a few from the charities the studio sponsors and have them be the dates for our three main players. Make a big thing out of it. It will distract from the fact that Inuyasha and Kikyou are suddenly arriving to a huge red carpet event separately. And we can do our best to keep them apart the whole time so the press doesn't smell a rat."

"That includes Kagome, I'm guessing?" Sango looked away thoughtfully.

"She's one of the main players, isn't she? As happy as I am that she and Inuyasha have finally wisened up, the last thing we need on the final day of Oscar nom voting is a scandal or any sort of perceived drama. Now can you get your damn chin out of my collarbone?" His tone was annoyed, but his face wasn't.

"Hmmm," Sango said, finally relenting and turning her head to the side again, fighting back a chuckle.

"Know any sad, ill kids in need of a red carpet trip to cheer them up?" She heard the flick of a lighter above her as Miroku lit a cigarette, took a drag, then handed it down to her.

Sango felt a tightening in her chest, and she hesitated before shaking her head, returning the smoke to his hand, and pulling herself tighter into his arms.

"Yeah, me neither," Miroku said. "Tell you what, why don't you and Kagome go dress-shopping tomorrow and I'll figure out the rest?"

Sango nodded silently.

"You are buying a new dress this time, are you not?" She heard the slightly suspicious tone in his voice.

She nodded again.

"Am I allowed to finally ask why you haven't been trying out any new looks on the red carpet lately?"

"Please don't," she said, feeling a treacherous lump start to form in her throat. How could she tell him she hadn't bought any new dresses because her bank account was just now starting to return to normal? That would lead to a whole other round of questions as to where the money went. And frankly, Sango was ashamed of where it went.

She looked up at Miroku, who looked a little annoyed with her again. Dammit. Every time I think we're getting better, this shit comes back up.

But then he sighed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and searching them carefully. "Sango, babe," he said softly, cupping her cheek with his hand, "If you're in some kind of trouble, you can tell me. I can help."

All Sango could do was give him a weak smile and try to will the tears not to well up. "Not with this, you can't," she said quietly, her voice trembling a little, "Please believe me and trust me on this. I'm okay. I can take care of it on my own."

At the sight of her watering eyes, he sat up, ashed his cigarette in the ashtray, and pulled her upwards into his lap, kissing her softly, chastely. "Sango," he whispered, his brow knit together in concern, "What can I do?"

She paused for a moment, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, and threw her arms around his neck, planting her own kiss on his cheek and laying her head in the crook of his shoulder. "Love me," she half-murmured, half-choked into his ear, "Just love me tonight."

Miroku's arms hung at his sides, then slid up her hips before wrapping themselves around her so tightly she almost gasped. "Love you?" he said, looking down at her, his eyes more emotional than she'd ever seen them before, "I think I can do that."

"So this hair streak," Inuyasha ran it through his fingers and squinted at it in the yellow lamplight, "What color is it? I can't tell."

Kagome giggled from beneath him, still a little out of breath from their strenuous activities just moments ago. "It's purple. One of the bartenders did it for me."

"I like it," he said, "I think. I mean, you'll have to let me see it when it's light outside."

"Give it, what, another hour, at most?" Kagome grinned, "You certainly picked the weirdest time to come over and bug Miroku, didn't you?"

"Hey," Inuyasha grumbled, rolling off of her and onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow, "I couldn't sleep."

"So neither should anyone else, right?" She tweaked his nose before leaning up to plant a smiling kiss on his cheek, "Such a Hollywood diva you are."

He chuckled. "So help me, I missed that smart mouth of yours."

"You didn't even notice the best part!" Kagome said, sitting up and holding out her forearm.

"You got a tattoo," Inuyasha said, a little dazed, "Any weird piercings I should know about, while we're at it?"

"I think you would have noticed those just now, right?" Kagome smirked, "Read what it says!"

Inuyasha squinted again. "Uh, I can't."

"I know you can't. It's in Dutch." She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes.

"So tell me what it says, you impossible woman."

"Beter laat dan nooit," Kagome said, unable to help the cheese-eating grin as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, "It means, 'Better late than never.'"

She watched his eyes dawn with the realization of the full meaning, and the smile he gave her was enough to make her want to cry tears of joy.

He leaned down to kiss her in reply, but before he did, he brushed that lock of hair out of her eyes and stared her full in the face.

"I love you," he whispered, and then their lips met again.

So I must have had the dopiest, stupidest, silliest look on my face the whole time I was writing this chapter. After so much angst and misunderstanding and DRAMA, it's nice to just BRING ON THE FLUFF once in a while!

Only one song this time, because it applies to all parties.

"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran

SQUEEE! So much happy. Many good feels.

Love you guys and hope you love this chapter! - meggz0rz