Ton Up
By: The Hatter Theory
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Inu Yasha
A Note: IM NOT DEAD. And regular updates will be resuming as of now. Sorry guys, Hunter (laptop) died completely. BUT I did have time to write lots while I was internetless on the storage tower we use. So. Be prepared, and thank you for the reviews!
She packed a small bag and grabbed her helmet and jacket, stomach fluttering nervously as she went over everything in her head a second time.
Clothes?
Check.
Key card?
Check.
Book?
Check.
Common sense?
Crap.
"It's just-just-," She muttered, trying to figure out a word for it. Since the day had started her friends had all been as excited as she was. But the closer evening got, the more her excitement turned to anxiety. And now Yuka was shouting at her to hurry up, because they were already running late. As if a time had been set.
"Coming," She shouted, shouldering the bag and clutching her helmet to her chest, jacket over her arm, stiff and awkward. Pausing to go over her mental list again, she gave up halfway through, making a disgusted sound and rushing from her room.
The others seemed as jittery and excited as she was, each showing some sign of fidgeting as they rushed from the room, bags in hand and the door to their suite slamming behind them. Yuka hit the button for the elevator again and again, making frustrated noises as she did so.
"Yuka, the race isn't until tomorrow," Kagome pointed out when her friend got in and quickly began mashing the button for the lobby.
"I know," Yuka said, looking sullen but removing her hand from the button as the doors closed.
It was an almost palpable feeling, the frustration, when they had to stop twice more to let on other hotel guests, each of whom looked thoroughly taken aback at the dour expressions that greeted them. Kagome however, did not glower, she was too busy going through everything in her head. For several tense seconds she considered saying they needed to go back and get blankets before she discarded the idea as ludicrous.
'Just nervous, just nervous,' She kept muttering in the privacy of her own head. The others chattered, trying to pull her into conversation. But their own nervousness -and why they were nervous, she couldn't imagine- showed through, topics jumping at random and their voices pitched unevenly. When they finally got to the car she told herself that she did not need something to hold onto, even though she was reluctant to put the helmet in the trunk before getting in.
"Have you told him yet?" Ayumi asked, not for the first time since the night before.
"Told him what?"
"That you like him," The other girl said, as if it was obvious.
"No," She muttered, thinking back to the night before and what he had done.
"You haven't told him yet?" Yuka fairly shrieked, the car swerving when she turned her head around to glare at Kagome.
"Why are you guys so set on me telling him?" Kagome retorted defensively, unable to explain to her friends that she and Kouga had history, that he was different, and that he was probably being no more affectionate than wolf youkai were to people they had claimed as friends or pack.
"Because you like him and he obviously likes you," Eri told her firmly.
"He doesn't-"
"He likes you Kagome."
The rest of the car ride was nothing but her friends telling her that she was being blind and not looking at the signs, and she argued again and again that they were friends. By the time they reached the hotel she was more than willing to pull her hair out, and it was only sheer luck that the parking lot was crowded with bikes and trucks, diverting attention from her dilemma to the possibility of finding a spot to park.
Once they finally had, she was grateful to get out of the car and grab her things. Feeling strangely shy, she slowed as she got to the stairs and began walking up. Remembering vaguely where his room was, she searched door numbers until she got to 213.
She hesitated.
"Didn't he give you a key?" Ayumi asked. She waved it in response.
"You didn't forget the room number did you?" Yuka demanded.
"No," She muttered. But there was something strange about going to his hotel and into his room. Blowing her bangs out of her face with a frustrated sound, she slid the key through the lock and opened the door.
"Wha-"
Kouga stopped, eyes widening.
For a moment they were both paralyzed, staring at each other.
There was a lot to stare at, at least for her.
"I'm sorry!" She shouted, slamming the door back into place.
A titter escaped behind her, and then another, and another. Red faced, she turned to her friends, all of whom were blushing and covering their mouths with their hands.
"Real mature," She muttered.
"We're not the ones who stood there gawking."
Kagome doubted it.
"Well, feel lucky, not every girls gets a preview of-"
"Will you stop? It's not like that," She muttered, still blushing and trying not to think about a very naked Kouga still wet from the shower.
"After that you're still-"
"That's not the point," She retorted hotly.
The door behind her opened and whatever she had been about to say promptly fled her mind.
"I'm sorry, I thought-" He started.
"That we would knock, like we should have," She interrupted, turning and trying to look unaffected. "I thought you would be back late, and with the parking lot full of bikes we didn't see yours," She explained. He nodded, cheeks still dusted a light red.
"Got done early today," He said, still standing in the doorway. "Qualifying was over pretty quickly. I've got the second spot in the grid."
"The grid?" Eri asked.
"It's starting places. Umm, come on in," He told them, stepping back into the room and away from the door, as if he'd just realized that they had been waiting.
The room itself was neat, almost as if it hadn't been touched. The bed was slightly rumpled and there were three large duffel bags against a wall, but otherwise there was little sign that anyone had been staying there.
"The guys were grabbing a quick shower, hot as shit out there today," He added. "Most of the riders here are already at the pool, if you want to go join the party."
"Good thing we brought bathing suits," Yuka sing songed, voiced still pitched as she tried to smother a giggle beneath her words.
Kagome hoped her friend had brought a more modest swimsuit and not the revealing black thing that was supposedly a bathing suit.
"Here's a key, they've already got their stuff shifted to one room," He said, grabbing a card from his nightstand and handing it to Yuka, who accepted it and was out the door, dragging Eri behind.
"I'll just go with them," Ayumi said, smiling nervously before walking –almost skipping, Kagome noted sourly- out the door and letting it close behind her.
"Because they couldn't be anymore obvious," She muttered, setting her things down near the door.
"I'm sorry about that, I didn't hear you, everything's been so loud since the others showed up-"
"I should have knocked," She stated again. "My fault."
"We had that conversation didn't we?" He asked, obviously steering the conversation away from the topic.
"You said if I kept apologizing," She reminded him, latching onto the change like a lifeline.
"That sounded like an apology."
"It wasn't," She retorted, bending to go through her bag. She pulled out her swimsuit and stood, giving him a haughty glare. "I was just trying to explain that I wouldn't normally burst into someone's room," She added primly before walking over to the bathroom and closing the door.
The room was still filled with steam and the mirror had fogged over, reflecting only a dim, blurry shape as she walked in. A pair of pants and a shirt lay in a heap on the floor, and she dropped her clothes next to them as she undressed and put on her suit. Looking for a towel she saw none except for one hanging limply over the rack, still damp from being used.
Feeling naked despite the modest cut of her suit, she pulled her shirt back on and looked to the mirror, wiping it down and muttering to herself. She looked ridiculous and shy, and she told herself she was neither of those things. Pulling the shirt off, she searched her pants pocket for a ponytail holder and pulled her hair up into a messy bun.
When she stepped out, he was in his baggy black trunks, damp hair still falling down his shoulders.
"You ready?" He asked. She nodded, following him out. Her friends were already halfway down the stairs, and she called out to them, feeling slightly better now that she would be in their presence and hopefully the presence of a large crowd.
When they walked into the pool area however, she wished for her shirt again.
Some of the racers, at least she supposed some of them were racers, were scattered everywhere, but there were more men that could be in the race and so many women, most of which were wearing swimsuits that were made similar to Yuka's and Eri's, that she felt plain, almost dowdy.
The minute they were spotted however, several of those women were walking their way, shouting Kouga's other name.
"Yuuma!" One breathed, a beautiful woman that looked as if she could have been a runway model. "It's so good to see you-"
"Have you met my girlfriend?" Kouga asked, throwing an arm around Kagome's shoulder and pulling her close.
Wait.
What?
"Your girlfriend?" The model asked flatly, eyes only flicking to Kagome for a brief, dismissive moment before swinging back to Kouga's face.
"She came in all the way from Tokyo," He explained.
"You never told me you had a girlfriend," The woman pouted.
"Kagome and I go way back," He chuckled. "Before I even got a bike."
Lie. Truth. Truth. Truth.
"Highschool sweethearts?" The woman asked, brow raised. Obviously she either didn't believe the act or she didn't think much of their 'relationship'.
Suddenly Kagome didn't like her very much.
"Not really, we were friends back then, but he did try," She added with a sly smile, seeing his own smile widen. "I do believe back then the battle cry was 'my woman'. He's gotten better since then," She added, still not looking at the woman. A chuckle escaped, a warm sound that made her want to cuddle deeper into his one armed embrace, and given the circumstances, she felt she was allowed to. After all, he had started it.
"I see."
Whether she believed it or not, the woman walked away, she she looked up at Kouga, who had the look of a man that had barely escaped a tiger with his life.
"I'm guessing you know her," She stated quietly, just loudly enough for him to hear.
"Please do not leave me alone with these people," He muttered.
And for the first time she realized that while he loved his motorcycle, it wasn't just the track that he found off-putting about racing. She tried to get to the pool, just to sit at the side, but in the twenty feet it took to get there, they were stopped no less than seven times. Twice by what she assumed were other riders, once by a teenager that acted as if he was meeting a personal hero, and she lost track of the women that kept coming over to talk to him.
By the time they sat down and she dangled her legs in the cold water, she was sure an hour had passed.
"You don't seem to like this," She observed, blushing when he sat behind her and his legs dangled on each side of her own. His tawny skin wavered and rippled next to the pale flesh off her calves beneath the water, and she tried to focus on the image instead of how his arms wrapped around her middle or how he slouched so that his chin rested on her shoulder.
"I don't. They're too loud, too fake, too goddamn pushy," He muttered. "Most of them don't care about riding, they care about numbers or money or some other petty bullshit."
"Spoken like a real rider," A voice observed. Kagome turned and had to blink against the sunlight that was only partially blocked by the stranger.
"Muteki," Kouga greeted.
"Yuuma," He replied, sitting down next to them, but crossing his legs instead of draping them over the ledge and into the pool. "And who is this beauty?"
"My girlfriend, Kagome," Kouga said, not without a hint of warning, his arms tightening around Kagome's middle. Forcing herself to relax after the unexpected gesture, she leaned back into him, hoping she projected the image of a content, if curious, girlfriend.
"Easy, just curious," Muteki laughed, resting his weight on his palms as he stared at the overcrowded pool. A sort of wrestling match had erupted, women in small bikinis and monokinis on men's shoulders grappling at one another. Laughter and shouting echoed through the area, mixing with the sound of splashing and indignant screeching of the women as they fell into the water and splashed others.
"Muteki placed ahead of me on the grid," Kouga explained.
"You held back," Muteki retorted quickly, accusingly. Kouga scoffed, but she felt his arms tighten around her minutely. Muteki stared at them for a moment, and though she knew he was staring at Kouga, she felt as if she had been put on the spot as well.
"Don't do it again. If I win, I want to know it's because I'm the best on the track," He said, getting up and walking away.
Kouga was silent, but he had tensed, and Kagome couldn't help but ask.
"Was he telling the truth?"
Kouga nodded, but said nothing.
"Why?"
"Want to go for a walk? There's too many people here, too much noise," He said instead, standing and offering his hand. She took it, allowing him to help her to her feet. When people tried to stop them to talk, he walked past them as if he couldn't hear them at all, and she followed, her hand still in his as they left the pool area and back up the stairs to his room.
She was more concerned about his strange silence than the fact that they were in a small room with a bed in it, or even that he was holding her hand. He seemed almost perturbed, tense and straining. When the door closed his disguise faded and he let her hand go, claws lightly grazing the dip of her palm.
"He's good, he's really good," Kouga said, thumping onto the bed. "And he's human."
"What's that got to do with it?" Kagome asked as she sat next to him, eyes on his profile.
"I'm a youkai. I can afford to be more reckless, to take chances humans normally won't. But for him it's win it or bin it."
Still not understanding, she took a chance and took his hand in hers, too shy about the action to meet his gaze when he looked down at her.
"He deserves to have it. Even if he'll take chances, I'm still better. And I don't want to win. Tomorrow is more about showing off than it is about winning. People there are looking for sponsors. If Hayate hadn't asked, I wouldn't be out there. I don't need the sponsorship, I don't need to get my name out there as a jockey. I just wanted to get the bike out there, let people see it."
"What if it's not about that for him?" She murmured quietly. When her question was met with silence, she chanced a glance up at him. He looked confused by her remark, and she looked back down at their hands, needing a mental distance from that look before she continued. Taking a measure of comfort in the fact that he hadn't pulled away, she continued.
"You're not going to race as anything except a favor. Others are racing to get noticed, to make money or show off or whatever. But maybe he's doing it for himself, and he wants to know that he wasn't handed anything. If you were in his place, wouldn't you want that assurance? An earned second instead of being given first?"
He was quiet, and when he pulled his hand away she expected him to tell her she didn't understand, that she couldn't. But when his arm draped over her shoulder and tipped her towards him, she let out a relieved sigh and relaxed.
"You're too smart," He snorted.
"Someone has to be."
"Smart ass."
"You wouldn't want me any other way," She retorted, too late realizing what the comment had sounded like. But without missing a beat he was chuckling and squeezing her closer to him.
"You're right. Doesn't mean I'm not going to give you shit for it."
"Then promise you'll do your best tomorrow. If for no other reason than you wouldn't want something handed to you. Alright?"
"I promise," He said, nodding as he spoke. "Do I get anything if I win?" He asked, voice hinting at mirth, changing the tone of the conversation. She wondered if he was really going to give it his all, and decided to trust him.
"Besides a trophy?"
He made a noise that hinted at contempt.
"I don't care about trophies."
"Flowers?"
"Do I look like a woman?"
"Money?"
"Got enough of that, I'll get more once people see the new bike in action."
"Keys to the city?"
"How about not?"
"Wine, women and song?" She snorted, the suggestion rhetorical.
"I can deal with that," He chuckled.
"Like that one from the pool?" She asked, unable to contain her mirth when his grin turned to a frown and he shuddered theatrically.
"Not funny."
"But she seemed like she'd be rather amenable to it," She went on, barely able to keep from laughing, her chest tightening with the effort to hold it in. "I'm pretty sure we could get her and some of those other-"
The arm that had been around her shoulder moved until his hand was covering her mouth, and his flat look was enough to shatter her control and send her into peals of delighted laughter. Even though he looked amused after a moment, he didn't move his hand, muffling the sounds that escaped.
"You'd really throw me to them?" He asked, smirk tilting up one side of his mouth as he let his hand drop. She was quiet for a moment, trying to calm her breathing and fill her lungs after her almost spastic giggle fit. Wiping her eyes, she inhaled deeply and looked up at him, and summoned every ounce of determination and willpower she possessed.
"Yes," Kagome said, in the most serious voice she could muster. And given his expression when she said it, she realized her ruse had worked.
"I thought Naraku was evil," He muttered.
"Oh come on," She muttered, smacking his chest lightly with the back of her hand. "What do you take me for anyway? Some sort of masochist? There's no way I'd subject myself to watching women like that fawn all over you."
"You-" He started, then stopped, eyes narrowing and a smirk growing on his features.
"Me, what?" She asked, feeling the faint thrumming of warning before it happened.
The zap was annoying, but nothing more painful than that, and she stared at him, face a mask of indignant shock. Growling once, she let her energy flare, hoping it reached out to his arm. He yelped, leaning away from her and shaking his arm, eyes narrowing on her as his hand came up to rub his bicep.
"Smart ass and a pain in the ass."
"Well if I'm that annoying," She sighed dramatically, shrugging to emphasize her point before standing. She had only made it two steps away from the door before he was tugging her back, pulling hard enough that she fell into him, breathless laughter echoing in the small room as he growled impatiently.
"Crazy female," He muttered, falling back and holding onto her, forcing her to lay back with him.
It occurred to her then, that she was laying on a bed with him, and that they were both barely wearing anything. She could feel warm, smooth skin and muscle against her own, a strangely charged, thrilling sensation. Despite herself a delicate shiver ran down her spine, light but still noticeable, especially to him.
"Are you okay?" He asked, immediately stilling.
"Yeah, fine," She murmured, grateful he couldn't see her face, which felt ready to burst into flame at any moment. He shifted and turned, propping himself on his elbow to look down at her.
"You sure? You're-"
"Fine."
"We had a talk about that word."
She stuck out her tongue childishly, ignoring the strange grumbling noise he made before letting himself fall back to the bed.
Silence descended, although it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Unsure what to make of it, she felt her blush fade as she stared at the ceiling. Light sounds became apparent, like the sound of his breathing in counterpoint to her own. His arm under her back shifted until his hand brushed against her side lightly. When she didn't move, his hand moved, rested over the dipped curve lightly.
It was intentional, and for a moment she felt a trill of excitement, the contact foreign and welcome, strange but provoking, in a way. Then she quickly slammed a lid on those feelings, remembered what he had said before about wolf tribe customs. Familiar touching probably wasn't uncommon, and she had, no matter how many centuries before, been accepted as pack.
She continued staring at the ceiling, noticing that his hand stayed put, making no move to attempt further contact or shift away. Wondering what he was thinking, she tried to grasp for something, anything to say that would distract her from the slight tickle of his fingers against her skin.
"Do your arms fall asleep or anything, since you're a youkai?"
"Nope."
"Really?"
"Nope."
She turned her head and glared at him playfully before huffing and rolling her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"Maybe."
"You ready to go back down?"
"Not really," He said, not even turning to look at her when he said it. "By the way, what's your favorite color?"
"Purple," She admitted.
"Purple?"
"Mhmm. Why?"
"Just curious."
"Liar."
"Possibly."
The silence lost it's edge and settled back into something comfortable, familiar. More relaxed now, she allowed her thoughts to drift through various thoughts, steadfastly trying to ignore the light contact made on her side. But even with a hundred things to think about, she couldn't ignore it forever, and eventually she gave up trying at all.
"We should probably head back down," She finally sighed.
"Why?" He groaned, almost petulantly.
"Because they'll assume we're doing things we're not."
"Good."
"What?"
"Those crazy women will leave me alone," He muttered, face scrunching up in distaste.
"And my crazy friends won't," She reminded him, trying to ignore the embarrassed, almost mortified hurt that his easy dismissal had caused.
"They'll listen if you explain-"
"No, they won't," She rebutted, not giving him a chance to finish. "They won't listen, and I'm positive I'll never hear the end of it."
"Fine," He muttered, looking distinctly unhappy as he got up. She moved, freeing his arm. He was already back to his human guise when she turned to look at him, and she felt bad for him, that he was enduring so much to help a friend.
"We could always go for a ride," She offered.
And she knew that it was the right thing to say, because the glower vanished and he was smiling again, looking as if she had given him a gift instead of suggesting something simple.
"I'll go let the others know we're heading out, and we'll meet them for dinner somewhere," He said, looking excited and pleased as he walked past her, pausing for a moment as if he was going to say something, then shaking his head and continuing on.
Wondering what it was he had been about to say, she shook her head and walked back to the bathroom, quickly pulling on her pants and shirt, leaving her swimsuit on under it, unsure if they would end up back at the beach or not.
When he came back in, she was pulling on her shoes and he closed the door so forcefully it slammed, looking more than eager to be gone. He rushed past, grabbing a pair of jeans and closing the door to the bathroom with barely a word. Ignoring his abrupt behavior, she walked over to her bag and was grabbing her jacket when a knock sounded on the door.
Going over and opening it, she had been expecting one of her friends. Not the woman from the pool that had been so interested in Kouga and unimpressed with her.
"Hi," The woman started.
"Can I help you?"
"I was just here to talk to Yuuma," She began.
"He's getting dressed."
She didn't like the woman, and she knew that even had she not been interested in Kouga, she would have still disliked the woman. Her bathing suit was tiny and her hair, bleached to a shade of blonde that reminded Kagome of urine instead of something from a fashion magazine, looked hair sprayed into place. As it was, she did admit she liked Kouga, and she was willing to admit that she was, dare she say it, territorial?
"Look, he came back down to the pool looking excited and then ignored everyone-" The woman tried again, voice flat.
"Because we're going for a ride," Kagome interrupted. "We wanted some peace and quiet away from the crowd."
The bathroom door opened and she turned, watching Kouga step out in nothing but his jeans. His disguise as Yuuma was thankfully in place, but his torso was bare and the jeans hung low on his hips, exposing the muscled lines of his stomach and the thin line of hair she was having a damnably hard time ignoring.
"Kagome?" He asked.
She didn't blink, didn't apologize, in fact, didn't even care that she was being rude.
"We're busy," She told the blonde before shutting the door in her face.
For a moment there was utter silence, then the sound of angry screeching on the other side of the door. Kagome turned, surprised to see Kouga holding a hand over his mouth. Despite that, she was still able to see his eyes, which were narrowed and shining merrily.
Another indistinct sound and then a thump on the door and he was striding across the room and pulling her into a hug, twirling her and he laughed uproariously, not even trying to hide his mirth.
"Put me down," She tried, unable to stop her own laughter.
"No, that was amazing and you're going to let me enjoy it. That crazy bitch has been after me for almost a year now. Oh, you're fantastic and wonderful, and I owe you so big," He said, squeezing her once and continuing to laugh.
She was not going to admit that the woman's predatory gaze had inspired such actions, it was easier to let him believe that she was acting for his benefit. But she needed a little bit of distance, because he still hadn't donned and shirt and she could feel what she was sure was every muscle above the waist as he held her.
After a moment his laughter finally quieted and he let her slide down. She became uncomfortably aware of how close they were and stepped away quickly, laughing off the sudden awkward tension.
"Put on a shirt, heathen," She joked, going to grab her jacket.
"Once a wolf, always a wolf," He shot back, walking over to his bag. Kagome snuck a glance while he was shrugging a shirt on and told herself that she was being stupid for acting so childishly. Quickly shrugging her jacket on and zipping it up, she reached for her helmet and tried to ignore what felt like eyes boring into her back as she straightened.
"Seriously, thanks. That woman is crazy."
"No problem," She answered blithely, opening the door again and half hoping the bleach blonde was still there. She wasn't, and when Kouga stepped out, helmet in hand, she wasn't so sure going for a ride with him was such a good idea anymore. The closeness of the day and the charade, despite it's brevity, lingered.
She had enjoyed the closeness, and she was unsure of how to put distance between herself and the youkai without tipping off that she was doing it because what he probably saw as normal, wolfish affection felt like flirting to her.
"I told the others we'd meet them in an hour or so at the diner. Come on," He urged, tilting his head in the direction of the stairs. She followed, taking each step much more slowly than him. He turned back, his smirk back in place.
"If you don't hurry up I'm going to carry you to the bike," He threatened.
"Fine, fine," She muttered, faking exasperation. With the declaration she quickened her pace, following him through the sea of cars and motorcycles until they stopped where he and Ginta and Hakkaku had parked their bikes, sharing one space in the crowded lot. He kicked back the stand and wheeled it out before throwing his leg over and mounting it.
"Come on," He urged again. She grabbed his shoulder to pull herself up and realized that she was finding it easier to get on, that the position wasn't so awkward. Marveling at the difference a few days made, she pulled on her helmet and wrapped her arms around his waist, waiting for the inevitable vibrating thrum of the engine to begin.
When it did, she held a little tighter, looking at the world as the bike shot forward. Knowing he was anxious, that he was perhaps even dreading the next day, she held fast, expecting him to go as fast as he could as soon as he could.
But he surprised her by keeping an almost leisurely pace as they navigated through traffic. Still more people were pouring into the area, perhaps for the race the next day, and she watched them pause and point at her and Kouga, or maybe the bike. Never had she felt so self conscious, noticing the people speaking, although she could hear nothing.
Closing her eyes, she focused on the feel of the bike, on the air around them and the sun beating down on them. She thought of how it felt to be hugging Kouga and clinging to him for safety. Despite the difference in transport, she found it ironic that once again she was holding onto him to keep from falling and being dashed on on the rocks, or pavement, as the case of her current era was.
Once they moved away from the inner workings of the city, he accelerated, and she used the excuse to hold to him tighter, wondering all the while if she should tell him about her growing crush. Five hundred years ago he had been like her, awkward and clumsy. He wasn't anymore, at least not often. He seemed so much older now, so much more mature. Her own quickly growing infatuation might seem like nothing more than it was, a girlish crush, to someone like him. If he felt that way, it would be humiliating, she had no trouble admitting that to herself.
But if she got it out of the way, especially soon, she would get over it and they could be normal friends. The idea of dealing with another crush, one that she bottled up at all costs, was as intimidating, if not more so, than telling him the truth.
It was with that scenario clear in her mind, admittedly made even more dreadful by her memories of the similarities to her teenage crush on Inu Yasha, that she decided she would tell him. Although she would wait, just a little bit longer. With the way he was speeding down the road, she knew he was anxious, and she didn't want to do anything, say anything, that might prove to distract him from the race.
The tires of the bike ate up the distance, and he took off roads, well paved but mostly deserted. They rarely hit a red light and what few cars they encountered he smoothly navigated around, pulling in front of and leaving behind.
When he stopped and the bike puttered out beneath her, she opened her eyes again and was surprised to see that they were parking in front of a small diner. It hadn't felt like an hour had passed, and she was sad to see the ride end. But she could also see Ginta and Hakkaku's motorcycles parked near the entrance, and knew that they had to go in, even if she wasn't entirely sure she could face Kouga in the wake of her decision.
"You alright?" He asked, picking up on her mood as he dismounted the bike and pulled his helmet off. She was already trying to slide off of the bike when his hands spanned her waist and helped to keep her from stumbling backwards in her attempt.
"I'm alright, just thinking," She murmured quietly, tucking her helmet under her arm as she headed for the door.
"What about?"
"Tomorrow."
"Still worried?" He asked, falling into step beside her.
"No."
"You're worried about something," He retorted, obviously not believing her. "If it's about the race, I told you, I don't spill."
"Doumen did," She pointed out.
"Doumen is an idiot."
They were quiet as they got to the door, and she was thankful he had assumed something other than the truth. While she was worried about him, she trusted him not to take foolish chances. The thought that other riders might try to harm him occurred to her, but if the purpose of the race was too look good and gain sponsorships, she highly doubted anyone was going to do something like that.
When they walked in a booth was already filled with their friends, and sliding in proved a tight fit, one that had their arms brushing against each other with every movement. Her friends all asked about the race, how things would work and congratulating him on placing in second position. Questions flew and even Yuka complained about how some of the women from the pool had been acting.
Throughout their dinner laughter exploded and Ginta and Hakkaku proved themselves adept at impersonations, making her forget her troubles and join in. They settled into light conversation and stories with ease, as if they had always been a group of friends. Kagome was surprised, given Yuka's dislike of Kouga, at least initially, but pleased none the less.
Until her middle school 'love life' came up.
"I remember when you had, like, four guys after you at once," Eri recalled, smiling. "Inu Yasha, Hojo, and let me think, I can't remember, you said there was a brother and another guy, what were their names?"
"Brother?" Kouga choked, giving her a startled glance.
"No, no he was not after me," She muttered, groaning into her hands. "He hated me."
"He pretty much hated everyone if I remember correctly," Kouga snorted. "And I'm pretty sure he still does. So what about this other guy?"
"We told her she should think about it, since he brought her flowers and wasn't a two timing jerk," Yuka stated firmly.
"Flowers?" Kouga asked, eyes widening.
She tried not to remember the time he had brought her flowers, blushing and vaguely awkward. In fact, she tried not to think about anything but willing a hole to open up beneath her so that she could disappear.
"Say, didn't you get her flowers?" Ginta asked slyly.
"I'm pretty sure he did. Made Inu Yasha mad," Hakkaku added.
"I remember how embarrassed he was when he had them," Ginta told the other girls.
"Didn't want anyone to know he had a soft spot," Hakkaku smirked.
"Alright, that's enough," Kouga muttered, a light blush staining his tan skin. Kagome peeked a glance up at him, shocked to see that he looked awkward, as if the memory was more than just embarrassing, it was mortifying.
"You were the other guy?" Eri almost shrieked, eyes widening.
"Can I borrow your bike?" Kagome asked, refusing to look at him again.
"You don't know how to drive it, you'd kill yourself."
"That could be the point."
"You told them about me?"
"Ranted."
"You ranted about me?" He sounded even more surprised, even a little hurt, and she looked up at him again, too exasperated to feel badly for what had happened three years before.
"If you recall, circumstances at the time were not exactly conducive to relationships or flirting. I was stuck between an almost constantly irate idiot that had issues differentiating between me and his ex, and a pervert that couldn't keep his hands or his offers to himself."
"I never got why you didn't just give up and go with Hojo," Yuka admitted. "Although after meeting Yuuma and Inu Yasha, I can understand. He would have been too boring."
"Is there any way we can stop discussing adolescent love lives?" She finally asked.
"Thank you," Kouga muttered.
The topic veered away from their past, and she chose to not look at him for the remainder of dinner, which stretched well into the night. The diner, open twenty four hours, had ice cream, something the girls all availed themselves of. Kagome was shocked to see Ayumi sharing her banana split with both Ginta and Hakkaku, and Yuka and Eri both giggled and smiled slyly at one another.
She had a spoonful of her parfait halfway to her mouth when, quick as an arrow, it was in Kouga's mouth and he was giving her a wolfish grin.
Feigning exasperation, she pulled at the spoon and found that he was refusing to let go. Immediately she let go and shrugged her shoulders, then grabbed the parfait glass and, aping a dog, swiped her tongue along the top, getting a glob of ice cream and chocolate sauce on her tongue before swallowing and smiling cheekily at him.
"You know, I think I'll keep this," He said around the spoon, eyes dancing merrily. Determined not to give in to his prodding, she nodded and continued, ignoring him and talking to her friends as they tried to figure out plans for after the race.
It wasn't until most of it was gone that she had to tip her glass back, and when she sat it down she heard first one giggle, and then another.
Feeling silly, she crossed her eyes and tried to reach the spot of ice cream on her nose, making her friends laugh even harder.
"Your face might stick that way," Kouga chuckled. She turned to him, eyes still crossed and tongue reaching up, futilely trying to get the smear of ice cream.
"Smough?" She asked, mangling the word by refusing to put her tongue back in her mouth. For a second all she saw was a blur before she felt something warm and wet on her nose.
For a minute no one said anything, her eyes uncrossing as she saw Kouga pull away, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Ugh, drool," She muttered, wiping her nose clean as she tried to write off what he had just done.
"I don't drool."
"Could'a fooled me," She retorted, trying to keep herself from blushing and only making it worse.
"You two are idiots," Yuka laughed. Kagome shot her friend a dirty glare as Eri waved for the check. Kouga demanded that he let him pay it and they were filing out of the restaurant. For a moment she was tempted to join her friends in their car, but Yuka was already waving goodbye and Ayumi was quick to hop on Ginta's bike as it started. When Kouga finished paying and walked out, she was alone in the parking lot, holding her helmet and feeling a little lost and more than a little confused.
"Look, I'm sorry if I went too far back there," He started.
"It's fine," She murmured, already trying to get on his motorcycle and failing. His hands gripped her waist and helped her up, making her feel smaller than she already did.
"I know your friends are giving you a lot of shit, I didn't mean to make it worse."
"It's alright," She told him, looking up and forcing a smile even though she still had the urge to rub her nose. "Most people aren't used to people showing affection and they don't know you're a wolf youkai. They wouldn't understand, but it's alright."
For a moment he looked utterly confused and lost, as if she had spoken in another language. Then he shook his head and leaned down. For a breathless, almost panicked moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. But he paused before their lips touched, and his tongue darted out, the tip touching her nose before he was pulling back and shaking his head.
"Strange female."
She tugged on her helmet to hide her blush, glad for the shield that kept her hand from wandering to her face. He straddled the bike and leaned forward, and she wrapped her arms around his waist almost reluctantly, unsure why he had said what he said, or why he had done what he had done. Trying to explain it logically in her own head, she could only assume that it was some sort of familiarity in wolf packs, something she would have to talk to him about after the race.
When they got back to the hotel, she used his body to slip off of the bike and walked ahead of him, tugging off her helmet as she jogged up the stairs.
"Hey," He called out, making her stop even though she really didn't want to.
"Yeah?"
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Of course," She chimed brightly, smiling as widely as she could. He nodded, giving her a crooked sort of half smile. It was another flash of uncertainty, a side of him she wasn't used to seeing, and would probably never be able to correlate to the Kouga she had known. But, feeling badly for acting as if she had wanted to flee his presence -and she wouldn't lie, she desperately needed space before she did or said something that might give away her crush- she walked back down two steps and hugged him, taking care to keep her face tilted down.
"You're going to win, and everyone is going to see your motorcycle and want it," She announced before pulling back and giving him another smile, this one a little less fake, a little less forced than the one before.
"Thanks," He said, nodding once and watching her as she jogged up the stairs before following. She waved goodbye, not quite trusting her voice, and slipped into his room, closing the door quickly and quietly.
Only to be faced by her grinning friend, who had already changed into her pajamas.
"Kagome-"
"Please don't," She sighed, walking over to her bag and dropping her helmet. She quickly changed into her favorite purple pajama bottoms, chosen specifically for their lack of style, and a tank top before going and falling onto the bed.
"You should tell him."
"Tell him what?" She asked, hoping her friend would drop the subject.
A pillow thumped onto her face and when Ayumi pulled it away, she was glaring at her, a strange behavior for the once meek girl that Kagome was used to interacting with.
"You two are acting so stupid. It's obvious you like each other and it's like you're both waiting for the other to make the first move. If you keep doing this you're going to end up missing out."
"He doesn't-"
"He does. Trust me, he does. It's just as obvious you like him."
"Ayumi-"
"Just think about it, okay?" Her friend asked, voice softening. "Promise?"
"Fine," Kagome promised, sighing as she got up and pulled the blanket back before lying down. The moment she snuggled into the cover she realized two things.
One, that she was sleeping in the bed Kouga slept in. The second realization was that it smelled like him, and she was almost positive she was using his pillow. The scent that had lingered on his shirt before was stronger on the pillow and the blanket, and she turned onto her back, determined not to breathe it in.
"I am an idiot," She muttered.
"Only if you don't tell him," Her friend chuckled before turning off the light.
She mumbled blearily, feeling his presence more than seeing him. In the haze of sleep she felt a brush of warmth over her cheek, a light exhalation of breath. She cuddled deeper into the blanket, inhaling the sharp, earthy smell that had embedded in it and the pillow she was hugging.
"Wish me luck," He whispered quietly, so much so that she could barely hear it. Blinking again, she looked up into his curiously pale eyes and smiled sleepily.
"Good luck," She murmured tiredly, shifting and lifting her head. His hand stroked her hair lightly, and she would swear she heard him say something that was half lost in a rumbling sound. Mumbling something even she didn't understand, she turned her face into his palm and nuzzled her nose against the surface, inhaling and exhaling lightly against it.
"Be safe," She mumbled, closing her eyes and turning her cheek back to his palm and savoring it's warmth and the ridged, rough calluses.
"I will," He promised quietly. She nodded, satisfied with his answer, and let her head drop back down to the pillow. The blankets came back up around her neck and she buried her face in the pillow, inhaling again before falling back to sleep.
Because I can cute with the best of them. XD