Chapter Ten
"Time to Show a Little Skinleg"
He was pretty sure that if he had a tail that it would be wagging.
It was Monday afternoon, and he just wanted time to hurry up so she could leave work, and then he'd wait—patiently—for Kagome to come help him finish unpacking.
Not that he couldn't have finished it himself already. In fact, he'd considered surprising her with
But then what excuse would he have for her to come visit?
Because he wanted her to visit. He liked having her over and in his space.
His phone dinged with the special sound that had him snatching it off the counter faster than he wanted to admit to anyone.
3:14pm
Kagome: Can I just change out of my work clothes at your place?
Something about the thought of Kagome—naked—in his apartment—made his muscles clench.
He really needed to tone it down.
Like a lot.
He was going to scare her off at this rate.
Dinner. He needed a plan for dinner.
He spent the next few minutes searching for something to eat, and then he wondered if she might want to go out?
Would that seem like a date?
Maybe he wanted it to seem like a date?
Did he want it to be a date?
Did she want it to be a date?
"Fuck!" He groaned, throwing his phone on the counter.
No, wait, he needed to answer her text.
What the fucking hell was wrong with him?
At which point he spent several minutes agonizing over what message to send because now all he could think about was—nakedness.
3:26pm
Inuyasha: Yeah.
He'd seen naked women before. It wasn't like this was new territory for him or anything, but there was something about it just being Kagome that made it somehow feel more—scandalous?
But they were just friends. Right? They were friends. That was a thing that they were.
And he would not breach that line—unless she wanted him to, and she hadn't given him any signs that she did or didn't, so neutral ground it was. He would be Switzerland in this whole fucking mess.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he leaned forward onto the cool granite countertop.
He really needed to get a grip on whatever was driving him to this.
First things first, dinner.
Maybe eating in was for the best. No one would be the wiser on her coming to visit, and no one would say anything about her being out and about with him.
He took a deep breath and grabbed his phone again and searching up nearby places that would deliver.
Fuck him, he didn't even know what she liked to eat.
3:28pm
Inuyasha: What do you want to eat for dinner?
There that was simple enough and he didn't sound like a fuckwad in the process.
She'd respond and then he'd have some idea of how to proceed for the rest of the evening.
Fuck! That sounded like he wanted to—well, he did—but not if she didn't want to.
Shit. He really needed to go do something productive. Like anything to distract himself from everything going on around him—or the lack thereof really.
He hadn't really done that much around his home. Maybe he could clean?
Kagome: Oh, it doesn't matter to me. Pick whatever.
"Fucking hell!" He growled, slamming his phone down on the counter.
Why was this woman so fucking infuriating? Why couldn't she just pick something so he didn't have to freak out about it?
Wait.
Why was he freaking out about it?
What was it about her that made his brain just go straight to extreme panic mode?
He's known her for all of—what?—A couple weeks?
He really needed to get a grip on himself and whatever this was.
Turning back to his apartment, he stared at it until he finally decided that he could go clean his bathroom to hopefully distract him from everything else.
He did pause to grab his phone off the counter and shove it into his back pocket. You know, just in case.
Kagome struggled to not murder the man sitting in front of her as he clearly ogled her while pretending to read the report that she wrote for him.
He'd given it to her yesterday to complete, and it had been a rush, because he'd forgotten to do it in the first place.
And he needed to have it for the meeting this evening—correction: the dinner meeting.
"Kagome," her boss drawled, spinning a pen between his fingers, before pointing it vaguely in her direction. She half-expected him to tell her that it needed to be completely redone. "This almost looks as good as if I'd done it myself."
She almost—almost—opened her mouth at the risk of ruining the halfway compliment, but she managed to find her sanity at the last moment and snap her mouth shut so quickly it clacked her teeth together.
He never wrote his own reports! For as long as she'd been there, he'd always made her write the reports to submit for the board meeting. And he never told her where she'd have adequate time to write them, instead he gave them a day—two if she was lucky—before it was due, so it was always crunch time. Always. She'd even tried to anticipate when the reports would be due, but she didn't know what the reports would entail and a couple times she'd done a lot of extra work, and when the time came, it was all useless.
"You're improving! And it's about time too!" He laughed, eyes drifting down to the her legs. "Just in time for your review that's coming up."
Kagome cleared her throat when his eyes lingered a little too long on her thighs, and his eyes darted up to her face as a grin broke out on his face, and he finally sat upright in his chair.
"Give me a few minutes, and I'll make my edits."
"Of course," she said with a nod as she turned towards the doorway.
There was a low whistle, and Kagome fought the urge to turn around and glare at him. It never did any good; half the time, it only seemed to make him do it more or encourage him.
While she waited for her boss to correct her work that he was going to take credit for, she was going to slip over and get some tea.
This sort of thing was the reason that she wanted to quit, and she understood Sango's point, but she was also saving up her money to ensure that she could find a decent place for when her lease was finally up.
To imagine, a place that had consistent running hot water, and a super that wasn't a creep.
"Miss Higurashi, I don't recall you having a break yet," the voice of her unofficial boss came from behind her. Her hair shifted as he ran his fingers through it.
She'd told him countless times to stop, and even gone so far as to take it to HR, and they said that they would deal with it, but nothing seemed to ever come of it.
"I'm not. Just making a quick cup of tea," she answered, quickly dunking her tea bag into her cup as she poured hot water over it. She quickly turned to head back to her desk to avoid any further interactions with her co-supervisor.
Dragging her chair out, she sat down as the phone rang.
"Kagome Higurashi," she answered, setting her cup of tea next to her monitor and out of her way.
"Come to my office," came the familiar voice, and she grimaced, not bothering to hide it.
She didn't want to go his office, and she whined internally about it as she stood up and walking down the hall to the doorway.
Knocking, she opened the door partway.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked, just leaning in and hoping that he didn't want anything to do with her after all and maybe he just wanted her to do some stupid errand instead.
Please let it be errands.
"Ah, yes," he said, motioning her inside the dim office, illuminated only by a desk lamp. "Have a seat."
Well, this wasn't a good sign.
This was literally never a good sign.
Never.
"Is there something you wanted help with?"
"You know that your annual review is coming up, and there have been some concerns about your attendance."
Kagome blinked.
"My attendance?" She asked.
When was the last time that she'd called out? Had she ever called out sick? She actually couldn't remember if she'd ever actually called out for a day. Her vacation time was always planned—weeks in advance usually. It wasn't like she was calling out on a weekly basis or anything.
"Yes," he nodded, his bald head reflecting the lamplight on his smooth skin.
It was a source of humiliation for him.
"You've been taking a lot of days in the past couple of weeks, and we did not want it to reflect badly on your review."
"How many days have I missed?" She asked him.
"Shouldn't you know that information?" He asked.
"Of course, but I haven't even used all my vacation days this year, so I don't see how it would be a concern."
"As I said, the past couple of weeks has show a trend in absenteeism and that is a concern between myself and my brother."
"But I've only missed three days, and I put in for those months ago. I just don't see how—"
"Just make sure that it doesn't become a habit," he said quickly.
"It won't," she started to say something else, but then literally bit her tongue.
"Good," he answered. "So, did you do anything fun on your time off?"
The mental whiplash she was enduring in this conversation was staggering.
"I was at a wedding," she answered, hesitantly since she was never sure what information would pop up later and be used against her.
"Oh," he said, clearly trying to sound upbeat but there was a clear despondent tone in his voice. "Yours?"
"No? It was a for a friend."
"Oh!" The tone shifted again, and she squinted at him as a smile spread across his face. "Well, that's good to hear! I'm glad that we've solved this little issue. Back to it then!" He smiled, almost shooing her out before turning back to his computer monitor.
Kagome hesitated for just a second before standing and leaving his office.
Because that entire conversation made little to no sense.
Would they really think that she'd only take three days for her own wedding?
Probably.
It had been a fight to get her three days just for Sango's wedding, and she knew that was going to cause her a problem come payday, but she wouldn't have missed it for the world.
And not just because she got to meet Inuyasha either. Her visit with him this evening was starting to become the highlight of her day.
Kagome got back to her desk, flopping down at her desk. Letting out a long breath, she looked at her monitor and then at her tea. She took out the teabag and dropped it into her trash can, taking a sip of the warm liquid.
It was terrible tea, but the coffee might actually be worse, and she wasn't quite sure how that was possible, but it was.
Staring at her computer monitor, she looked at the schedule for the day. Before seeing the email pop up in the corner notifying her that the edits were done for the report.
That wasn't good. That meant that he thought there were several large areas that needed to be fixed. She'd only been here for a few years. She knew how Hiten Kinoshita worked.
"Great," she muttered, clicking it open as her phone rang.
"Kagome Higurashi," she answered.
"Kagome, come to my office," he said, and then the line clicked.
Sighing to herself, she got up and walked the few steps to his office, stepping inside.
"Sir?" She asked.
"Did you see my email?" He asked, and she knew that her eyebrow twitched. She knew that it did.
"Yes, it just came through," she said, motioning to her desk outside his office.
He tossed the report on the edge of his desk, but it slid off and hit the floor scattering in every single direction.
"I'm so sorry. Would you get that?" He asked, and she smiled at him. "I'm clearly stronger than I realize."
"Of course," she answered, fake smile still plastered onto her face. She knelt down to pick up the papers that had spilled all over the floor, because clearly he hadn't bothered with a paper clip.
She heard his chair shift slightly, and she glanced over at him to see him leaning over the desk. He flashed her a smile, and she moved even quicker to avoid his leering eyes as she picked up the last of the papers.
She stood, making sure that she held her skirt down to keep it from rising up as she rose to her feet.
"I'll get these updated and back to you shortly."
His eyes didn't bother leaving her legs or her ass.
"You do that," he mumbled, and she quickly walked back to her desk, shutting the door behind her.
They paid her way more than the average, she reminded herself. It would take her years to make this much money at another job again. She just needed to spend a little bit longer here until she could save up some money for a better apartment.
Kagome looked at the sheets in her hand as she sat back down at her desk. They'd fallen in every which direction when he'd tossed them at her, and now she had to sort back through them.
And the more that she looked at the pages, the more that she wanted to throw the whole stupid thing at the wall.
Red marks littered the pages. He literally wrote "too vague" next to literal statistics that she'd gone through and pulled for him from previous reports.
Odds are if she submitted the exact same report with a few minor changes he probably wouldn't even notice.
Sometimes it seemed like he just doodled on stuff to make it seem like he looked at it and did something productive.
Staring at the reports, she started to look for things that actually needed to be changed.
By the time, she broke for lunch, she didn't even want to eat anymore. She honestly just wanted to slide off her heels and put her feet up and pretend for five minutes that at least one of her bosses wasn't actively trying to play a game of grabass with her.
And she was really rethinking changing at work, and walking out in the pair of leggings and the shirt that she'd packed.
She really didn't want to give anyone a chance to ogle her anymore than they already did. At least she wouldn't mind if Inuyasha glanced at her butt every now and then. Inuyasha was safe at least. He'd taken good care of her at the wedding. Even if he did brag about it later.
She took a deep breath, picking up her phone and sending off a quick text asking if changing at his place was okay. She didn't want to assume it was since she was already invading his space.
"Miss Higurashi, you know that phones are not allowed out on company time," came her boss's voice as he walked into the lunchroom.
"I'm at lunch," she answered, and he checked his watch, giving a shrug and then opening the fridge and rifling through it.
"Awfully late for lunch," Hiten murmured, opening a container, grimacing, and then put it back inside the fridge.
"Yes, well, you said you wanted the report before I went to lunch, so," she gestured towards the microwave currently heating up her pathetic excuse of a meal.
She really needed to go to the grocery store the moment she got paid.
"So the report is done?" He asked, picking up a bowl, pulling the lid off and then grabbing a spoon from the cup.
"Yes, the third and final copy you requested is on your desk with," she interrupted him as he opened his mouth full of pudding or something else chocolately looking, "the font change you asked for. I printed out two different font choices for you."
"And they're fun-looking?"
Kagome internally sighed.
"Yes," she answered.
"You know," Hiten said, leaning back in the lunch chair. "You should really consider coming with me to this dinner meeting. Give me something pretty to look when the old cronies start talking."
The microwave beeped, and she made a non-committal noise of nothing.
"Well, unfortunately, a friend needs help unpacking some moving boxes, so I'm unavailable."
"And if I got the meeting moved to tomorrow?"
She made a face. "Yeah, I've got meetings all this week. So unfortunate. I'm afraid that you'll have to go alone."
Hiten sighed, dropping the spoon back into the bowl.
"I suppose I'll have to make sure that you have an evening free next time."
Oh shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshit.
"Well, I do lead a pretty busy life outside of work, you know," she mentioned in a very causal manner considering her complete and inner freak out that was currently happening. "Pret-ty bus-y, you know?"
"Well, I suppose that most women your age are married, so it's probably best you keep yourself busy." Hiten leaned back, tossing the bowl on the counter before standing up. "I'll go look at those reports, make sure they're up to par." He gave her a small wave and sauntered back out towards his office.
Kagome let out a groan as her phone pinged.
She looked down, watching Inuyasha's message pop up, asking what she wanted for dinner. Glancing at her cup noodles that were practically flavorless even though she'd added the packet in appropriately, she was willing to eat whatever he wanted.
But she didn't want to sound desperate—even though she was completely desperate for a good meal with actual flavor—so she just went with the noncommittal 'whatever you want' response.
He didn't respond, and so Kagome stirred her noodles around a bit before just deciding that the flavorless blob just wasn't worth the calories.
She took a deep breath before chunking her noodles in the trash where they belonged and hoped that her day somehow got better. Smoothing her skirt, she took another deep breath and then forced her body to go back to her desk.
A couple more hours and then she could leave and go somewhere where she wasn't objectified.
Sitting back at her desk, she opened her email to see fourteen unread messages from both Hiten and Manten both asking her to do several assignments before the meeting this evening.
Sighing to herself, she really hoped that Inuyasha had a decent liquor cabinet.
Except that she drove herself to work that day.
And Inuyasha would be the type of jerk who cut her off and it was probably bad manners to drink right out of the bottle with a straw.
Bottle of wine when she got home it was then. She could just drink herself into oblivion and then sleep away her problems until she no longer cared that Hiten probably only kept her around because she was pretty.
Maybe in her dreams she could come up with better reasons that she couldn't accompany him on his stupid dinner board meetings, especially since her boss didn't seem like the dating kind of guy.
More like the hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy.
So slowly, bit by bit, Kagome began working through her impossibly long to-do list.
Kagome marched herself out to the parking garage, holding onto her purse and the tote containing a change of clothes. She didn't even bother to slip on her jacket. The moment she finished her list of tasks, she locked her computer and then practically bolted out of the building before anyone else could give her one more thing to do.
5:25pm
Kagome: Please tell me that you have an extra parking space for guests.
Kagome sent the text before plugging his address into her GPS to guide her to his apartment building.
The ping was almost instantaneous.
Inuyasha: Park next to my car. Both spaces are open.
Oh good. Parking. At least she wouldn't have to worry about that. One thing seemed to work out in her favor after all today.
She shoved her phone into the small pocket on her purse as she marched out to her car. Her footsteps echoed against the concrete in the garage; it was a familiar sound, but the hair on the back of her neck suddenly went on end, and she paused, slowly glancing over her shoulder where it felt like someone was watching her.
It was weird. It honestly felt like there was a pair of eyes staring, boring holes into her very person. She tucked her bags closer to her body, before turning and walking even quicker back to her car. She sped up her steps, her heels clacking on the ground louder than before. She walked as fast as she could in her heels, wishing that she'd actually just sucked it up and changed when she was in the building.
Glancing over her shoulder, she kept looking for the sight of anyone coming towards her. She felt her reiki swirl uncomfortably, and she squashed it back down. There was no time for it to flare up like this. Kagome tightened her grip on her bags, almost running at this point to get away from the feeling of long fingers brushing against her skin.
Her car was just up ahead, and she practically skidded to a stop in front of her driver door, fumbling in her purse for her keys. Her hands shook, making the keys jingle in the silence. Her fingers shook so hard that they kept pressing the lock button, and she could practically feel someone drifting closer and closer to her.
After a couple tries she managed to click the unlock button, snapping the door open and slamming it closed after her.
She took a deep breath, starting her car with trembling fingers, and she only exhaled when the engine came to life. She quickly shifted it into gear, checking her mirrors before jetting the car backwards into the lane. She glanced around, still feeling like she was being watched, but there was simply no one there.
Not another living creature was there.
Letting out a shiver, she put it in drive and then looked forward as she peeled away.
Inuyasha glared at his phone. She'd asked about parking, but then she hadn't said that she was leaving. So where the fuck was she?
Shit, he should've asked where she was coming from, so at least he'd know when to expect her.
He didn't want to go down to the parking garage and wait because the smells typically got to him after a while. He was fine for a few minutes, but any length of time then the fumes would give him a wicked headache and a bout of nausea and vertigo that he really didn't want. Not with Kagome on her way. He wanted to be awake and alert while she was here. Not an invalid that needed coddling because he had a sensitive nose.
5:46pm
Inuyasha: Tell me when you get here.
There. Then he'd at least know that she was here.
Then again, there was only one entrance and exit into the parking garage, and part of his balcony overlooked said entrance. He could just—you know—watch for her car.
It was an idea, and better than just sitting here waiting for his stupid phone to make a noise for her response.
It wasn't like he could do anything here anyway, or rather, he didn't want to do anything until she got here.
Walking out to the balcony, he perched himself on the edge, waiting for her car to show up.
6:02pm
Kagome: I'm here! You said either side was okay right?
Inuyasha was already moving, sliding across his floors as he grabbed his keys off the counter and sliding on an old and very worn pair of sneakers on his way out. He was pressing the elevator call button before he even heard his apartment door shut.
Thankfully it didn't take long, and the doors opened and he slipped inside, inserting the key and pressing the garage button.
Kagome: Do I need a card for the elevator?
Inuyasha: I'm on my way down.
He shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, bouncing on his toes as the elevator bypassed all the other floors, heading straight to the garage level and Kagome.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he tried to look as natural as someone could look, when they'd literally sprinted through their apartment before they'd even fully read the text message.
The elevator slowed and dinged at his exit, and he quickly pulled the key out of the elevator, shoving his keys into his pocket as the door opened.
He didn't need to step out of the elevator fully, because there she was waiting.
"That was fast," she answered, and he started to say something but the words died in his mouth.
Oh shit. Those were—that was a lot of bare skin leg. Leg skin. Thighs. Those were thighs.
"Uh," was about the only intelligent thing that he managed to squawk out. "I—uh—saw your texsage—I mean, text message," he stammered out.
"You okay?" She asked, stepping closer to him, and his mind went into a panic as she reached up to feel his forehead. "I can come over tomorrow if you're not feeling well."
"No!" He practically shouted at her, grabbing her wrist to keep her from feeling how sweaty he'd suddenly become.
What was he a hormonal teenager all over again?
"You sure? You don't have to tough it out just for me," she answered.
"I'm fine," he managed to get out at a normal volume.
"You're sure?" She asked, crinkling her brow at him.
"Just get in, would you?" He said, stepping aside for her to enter the elevator. His eyes followed her in, catching sight of the bag she was carrying.
He pressed the button for his floor and then reached for the straps of her tote.
"Here," he said, trying to tug it free.
"It's not heavy. I can carry it," she insisted, tugging the bag away from his fingers.
"I didn't say you couldn't," he argued, scowling at her as she twisted herself away from him. "Just give me the damn bag, woman."
"I can carry my own bag, Inuyasha!"
With a growl, he leaned into her space, reaching his much longer arm out for her bag.
She twisted around, clutching the bag to her chest, and he grabbed her wrist, trying to pry the bag away from her so he could carry it for her dammit.
Meanwhile, the brat was just laughing and giggling as she kept trying to shift the bag from hand to hand to keep it away from him.
"Let me be a fucking gentleman, would you?" He snarled, still trying to get the bag from her.
"No," she laughed out, trying to duck away. Like he'd let her get away from him.
The door binged, and his head turned towards the sound.
How did—oh fuck, he didn't put the key in to bypass the floors.
Fuck him and his getting distracted by some thigh.
It was some nice thigh though.
A man in a suit stood there, staring, eyes darting between the two of them.
"Oh," Kagome said, gathering her wits before he did. She started to stand upright, bumping into him in the process. "Sorry." She turned to face the man as Inuyasha righted himself and cleared his throat.
The man stepped inside without saying a word and pressed the button for his floor.
The man's eyes drifted to the mirrors lining the sides, and Inuyasha knew what he was looking at—or more specifically who he was looking at.
He caught sight of the man's gaze in the mirror, narrowing his eyes and baring a fang. The man faked a cough and then shifted to face forward.
The doors couldn't open soon enough as far as Inuyasha was concerned.
The elevator signaled his exit a few seconds later, and the man quickly took his exit from the small space.
"Fucker," Inuyasha muttered under his breath.
"Hmm?" Kagome asked.
"Nothin'," he told her as the elevator continued rising to his floor.
When the doors slid open next, Inuyasha motioned for her to go first and followed her out.
"You—uh—you said you came from work?" He asked, noting just how tight her skirt was.
Friends, he reminded himself. They were just friends. Nothing more than that.
And his dick really needed to get that message.
"Yeah, they have a really strict dress code, and I didn't know if walking out in casual clothes would be okay."
He blinked as he stuck his key into the lock.
"Why would it matter?" He asked as he opened the door for her.
"Dunno," she answered, stepping inside. "Oh wow, you got a lot done!"
"Still got a few boxes to do," he answered, fighting the blush the rose up on his face for whatever reason.
"Oh, right! Let me go change and then we'll get rid of them!" She stepped out of her heels and suddenly she was at chest level again.
He liked that too.
"Do you mind if I change in your bedroom?" She asked.
Naked Kagome.
His bedroom.
"Uh yeah, sure." He gestured lamely towards his bedroom door, like she hadn't been in there a few days ago.
Naked Kagome in his bedroom.
"Be right back!" She chirped, taking herself and her bag down the hallway to his bedroom and disappearing.
He groaned, rubbing his face with one hand.
At this rate, she probably thought he was having a stroke. Then again an aneurysm was probably going to be a blessing since he'd practically molested her in the elevator trying to steal her bag from her.
What the fucking hell was his problem?
He kicked off his own shoes, dumping his keys and phone on the counter.
Get a grip, he told himself.
And you, calm the fuck down, he told his dick.
The door to his bedroom opened, and Kagome stepped out and looking more like he was used to.
Leggings and a long T-shirt. She'd tucked her hair up in a ponytail, and she smiled at him.
"Thanks," she said, moving to set the bag beside the door. She shifted her heels into the bag and pulled out a pair of flats and set them beside his own worn sneakers.
"No problem," he answered, shoving his hands into his pockets and then taking them out. "You have any issues?"
"Getting here?" She asked and then shook her head.
"That's good," he finished lamely. "Dinner should be here about 7. That okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine," she said with a nod. "How much do I owe you?"
"Keh," he scoffed. "Nothing."
She frowned.
"You're going to make me shove money in your pocket when you're not looking, aren't you?"
Kagome's hands in his pockets.
Kagome's hands in his pants.
Nope, nope. Down boy.
Oh God.
Please.
Stay down.
"You're helping me unpack. I said I'd take care of dinner."
She huffed, clearly not happy with his answer, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
He was not going to give in to her on this. In fact, this was an easy thing for him to stand his ground on.
"Well, if you're going to be that way, fine. Let's at least unpack a box or two in the meantime."
She marched over to the boxes that he'd stacked in the living room just for this purpose.
He didn't know what he was going to do to encourage her to come over after they were done. He doubted that his stellar personality was going to be enough to bring her back here. And he wanted her to come back. He'd never thought that he'd actively want someone in his space, but here she was, digging through a box of knick knacks that he really didn't even care about in the grand scheme of things.
"Do you have some scissors or a knife to open these with?" She was looking up at him as he stood next to her. He took a claw and dragged it along the tape, deftly opening the box for her.
Kagome watched him in complete silence.
He quickly clenched his fists to hide the fact that he had claws instead of regular fingernails.
Great, she was probably terrified of him now.
"Well, I'm pretty dumb," she said with a laugh. "I didn't even think of that. You're like a Swiss Army knife!"
She—she wasn't afraid of his claws?
Kagome was already digging into the box, dragging the cardboard open, and starting to unwrap the first thing that she saw.
"How about we unwrap everything and then you can decide what you want where. How does that sound?"
"Sure, I guess," he said, and Kagome beamed up at him for just a moment before handing him the little statue that his mother had bought him years ago shortly after he'd first moved out.
He sat it down on the nearby end table and picked up another package and unwrapped it carefully.
"So," he started, trying to figure out how to draw up some form of conversation. "How was your day?"
"It was okay," she started, handing him a vase that he actually never remembered getting or having or using for that matter.
He'd buy his mother some flowers or something and take it to her.
"I mean, my boss was in a mood, but he always seems to be in one lately." She took another vase and rose to set it on the table next to the other, and he caught the wince on her face.
"What hurts?" He asked, rising to his feet.
"I'm fine," she said, settling back down on the floor. "My boss just made me run a lot of errands for him. And those heels aren't exactly comfortable, you know." She started to rise again, but Inuyasha cut her off, quickly grabbing the picture frame from her before she could do so.
"Then why do you wear them?"
"It's part of the uniform for my position."
His face must've reflected his disdain for that idea.
"It's fine," she shrugged. "I usually just put my feet up at the end of the day, and watch some television, and it makes things better."
"So what had your boss' panties in a twist?" He asked, taking another picture. it was a small one of Rin and his parents.
Kagome laughed at his question as he moved to put the picture on his console.
"He just gets like that sometimes." Kagome looked down at another picture. "Are these your parents?" She asked, looking at the picture in her hands. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw his father and mother sitting on the couch. It wasn't one of the professional photos, and it was one of the ones that he'd preferred of them. They always had photos taken year after year, especially when he'd been young. But this one Rin had actually taken when he'd let her play with his phone for a little bit. "You really look like your dad, but," she turned to stare at him, and he felt like she was stripping him bare as she stared at his face. "You really see your mom in there too. I bet you get your kindness from her, don't you?" She handed him the picture, and he stared at it.
Everyone always said that he looked like his father. For as much as he could as a hanyou. Sesshomaru was more like the spitting image of his father, and he was the full youkai anyway.
But no one ever really considered his mother when it came to him.
"Keh, like I'm nice."
He set the photo next to the other.
"You don't have a photo of your brother."
"Like I need a picture of that asshole to remember what he looks like. Not like I have to see his ugly face every day or anything."
"It still must be nice to work with family though. At least you get to see them everyday."
"Trust me, it's not all roses and shit. Just means that if there's a screw up, I get to hear about it after hours too." He made a face.
"What do you do exactly?"
"I'm in charge of the technology at my old man's place," he said. "I just make sure that we're up to date on all the latest technology and just make sure that we've got the budgets for anything new, and then pretty much anything else that my old man thinks I need to do."
"Sounds like we're both gophers, huh?" She said handing him another vase.
When did he get so many fucking vases?
And why did he need so many?
"Gophers?"
"Yeah, you know, 'go for this' and 'go for that.' A gopher."
Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, before his phone dinged where he'd left it on the counter, dragging his gaze away for just a moment.
"Is that the food?" She asked, and he quickly moved towards his phone. Because it would be the dinner that he'd ordered interrupting them.
The app showed that the driver was on his way, and he relayed the information to Kagome. He glanced up to see her on her feet as she set picture frame on the end table.
"What are you doing up?" He snapped at her.
"My feet hurt. It doesn't mean that I can't get up and do something." She moved back to the box. "When's the food supposed to be here?"
"Should just be a few minutes," he answered. "You okay if I go down and pick it up?"
"Yeah, of course!" She smiled at him again, and he took a deep breath as his heart was clearly going to give out. He nodded, grabbing his keys and heading for the door. He glanced back at Kagome, who was already in his kitchen getting down plates for them.
It strangely felt like she belonged here, and he shook his head and went down to meet the delivery guy with his food.
Kagome hummed a bit as she pulled down plates from the cabinet. It looked like he hadn't moved anything from where she'd put them.
Maybe he liked it?
Or maybe he'd just been busy.
He sounded like he had a hectic job.
She probably should google him like he'd said, but there was something about learning about him from him that seemed far more attractive.
Like dinner for instance.
She wasn't sure what they were getting, but she'd get to learn something about what he liked. And she wanted to learn about him. She wanted to know more about him. She set plates on the counter, fetching some silverware and glasses, trying to find some sense of purpose.
They didn't have that many boxes left, and she wondered if he would still want her here as much once they were done.
He didn't seem like the type to just send her on her way, but she was enjoying the budding relationship they had—no matter what it turned into, but she liked spending time with him.
The door opened, and she looked over to see him walking in with a couple bags of food.
"That's a lot of food," she commented, watching him carefully set them on the counter.
"Didn't know what you wanted," he commented, already digging into the containers, opening them up and setting them out in front of her. "Pick what you want."
"Inuyasha, there's like 8 orders of food here!"
"And? Pick one, hell pick two if you want."
"Inuyasha," she whined, and his ears flicked back. "This is too much!"
"Suck it up and pick something!"
"You pick first!" She said, taking a step back from the counter, and he glowered at her.
"Just pick something, Kagome!"
"No, what if I pick what you want?!"
"I want everything, so just pick something!"
Glancing between him and the boxes, and she picked one that was randomly closed. It felt light. That was a good sign.
"Not that one," he said, reaching for it, and she tugged it away from him.
"You said pick one!"
"Yeah, but that's the one with napkins and silverware," he pointed a clawed finger at her box of choice. "Chill out, would ya? It's not that big of deal."
But it was. Kagome had so little to offer him except companionship and even that was a weirdness that a lot of people took a bit to get used to. It wasn't that Kagome couldn't make friends, but more like she more often than not picked the wrong people to be friends with.
She'd done that with Kouga, and even though she knew it was over and the end was coming, it had still ripped her raw to come home to an empty apartment.
The fact that she hadn't been worth a goodbye was—well, gut punch wasn't a great word for it, but she didn't really know if there was a word for the gaping hole that it left in her that he didn't even care enough to say goodbye after two years of being together.
She picked up another closed box and slid it towards her, watching his face the entire time.
"You gonna look inside?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Maybe I like surprises."
"Maybe there's nothing but straight hot peppers in there."
Kagome rolled her eyes at that.
"Please, Miroku told me about the time that you accidentally ate some wasabi and cried for two days."
Inuyasha sputtered a series of sounds and words that were probably supposed to make sense, and she grinned up at him.
"So I highly doubt there's anything too spicy in here."
She opened up her box, seeing chicken and shrimp and stir fry and the ever-heavenly fries, and carefully re-plating the food as Inuyasha grabbed another mystery box and pulled it close.
"You gonna see what you picked?" She asked.
"I told you, I like everything." Her mouth suddenly felt dry under the intensity of his gaze.
She swallowed, trying not to break away.
"Except spicy," she noted, and he nudged her with his elbow as he looked away to dump everything onto the plate without much care.
"Come on," he said, picking up his plate and the box of condoms—condiments!
This was going to end badly if she misspoke like that in front of him. At least it was just in her brain this time.
Then again, he seemed to be okay with the fact that she tried to give herself brain damage on his floor a few days earlier.
"Here," he said, dragging her by the elbow towards the end of the island, where two barstools set under the overhanging counter.
He tugged one out by his foot for her before taking his own seat a slight pinking to his cheeks already.
"Ah, fuck," he mumbled. "What do you want to drink?" He rose up, already heading towards the fridge that was larger than hers by at least triple. He could store so many things in there. And not have to stack them. Like he'd never have to risk a egg carton tumble because he wanted the ranch dressing or mustard.
"Water?" She asked, and he returned with two bottles, setting one in front of her.
He seemed to be waiting on something, and she took a tentative bite of shrimp.
And it was so good. She hadn't had anything with shrimp in it—real shrimp, mind you—in such a long time. Most of what she got was shrimp-flavored like a can of cat food.
Inuyasha dug into his own plate, and she took that as permission to continue.
"This is so good," she said, taking up small bites of her food. Her mother had taught her manners.
She might not always follow them, but she knew what they were supposed to be.
If he fed her like this each time she came over, she was definitely going to get spoiled.
Going back to her apartment was definitely sounding more depressing.
"So when do you go back to work?" She asked after thoroughly chewing through a bite of food. She knew herself and her luck, and she knew that she'd spit a wad of cud back at him if she even attempted it.
"Another week or so," he answered, taking a bite of food.
"Are you looking forward to it?"
He shrugged at the question.
"It's a job, and I'll be working with Sesshomaru for part of it."
"Well, it would be nice to work with him and your father, wouldn't it?"
"You met Sesshomaru, right? He's got a stick up his ass over everything that's not Rin or Kagura related. And then the stick somehow goes higher."
"How is Rin?" Kagome asked.
"She's fine. She asked about you the other day."
"Aw, she's such a sweetheart!" Kagome cooed. Rin really was adorable.
"More like part-gremlin."
Kagome laughed because that description seemed scarily accurate for the small child. Like she was so cute and so sweet, but she could see how the little girl could easily be a terror too.
"This is really good," she commented as she continued to eat.
"There's more if you want something else," he offered, and she shook her head.
"This is going to be plenty!"
She looked up to see him scowling at the counter.
"What?"
"You don't eat enough," he mumbled taking another bite.
"I'll have you know I eat plenty!"
She shoved his shoulder when he rolled his eyes at her.
"Just because I don't have a youkai metabolism, doesn't mean that I don't eat enough."
He scoffed, and she ran her fingers along the condensation around her bottle of water and flicked it at his face. He flinched before deadpanning a look at her.
"Really?"
She flicked her fingers again for good measure, laughing as he pushed her bottle out of her reach.
"You're so rude!" She said, rising up to pull it back, but he kept the bottle just out of her reach, moving it farther and farther away from her fingers when she got close.
"Let me have my water," she whined.
"Are you going to stop splashing water on my face?"
"It was barely a little water droplet," she whined, reaching for it again. "I thought dogs liked water."
She looked up at his face, which was suddenly much closer than it had been a few seconds ago. She'd slid herself across the counter with the intent to grab her water bottle from him, but hadn't considered that it would put her face right next to his face. These were all things that probably should've blipped across her radar, but there was literally nothing but static running through her head.
Inuyasha wasn't saying anything, but his eyes were boring holes through the back of her head, and she swore neither of them was breathing.
There was a crackling, and Inuyasha swore looking over at his hand before rising up and taking the pierced bottle to the sink, muttering curses under his breath. Kagome inhaled slowly before rising up to grab a handful of napkins and mop up the water that had spilled out onto the counter.
"Uh, sorry," Inuyasha said, bringing her another bottle of water.
She noted that he kept his claws curled into his hands, hiding them from her, like she would be afraid of him.
"Accidents happen," she said, taking a deep breath and grabbing his fingers, uncurling them with her own.
He gave her a strange look, hesitating before allowing her to move his fingers.
"They're not supposed to," he mumbled, turning back towards his meal.
"Well, you're only human."
"Just half," he pointed out with this fork.
Kagome hummed in agreement as she took another bite.
"So just double the mistakes then."
Inuyasha choked for a second.
"How—how does that even work?"
"Well, half of you is human and it would probably mess with the youkai side of you so double the mistakes."
"That doesn't even make sense," he said, shifting on his barstool to look at her.
Kagome smiled as she picked up another bite of food.
She held up one finger in front of him.
"You're half-human, and," she held up another finger, "and you're half-youkai, so the human side is going to mess up both sides. So double the mistakes."
Inuyasha squinted at her.
"I don't even know how you're making that logic sound good inside your head."
"I don't have to make it sound good, it is good!"
"Okay, so do me a favor and explain your version of Kagome-math," he said, taking another bite of his meal. "Because that shit makes no sense."
"I already explained it! I thought techy people were supposed to be good with math?"
"Hey! I am good with math!" He said emphasizing his point with a jab of his chopsticks with a bite of whatever he was eating. She leaned forward the couple inches and snagged the bite with her teeth.
Inuyasha blinked as he withdrew empty chopsticks before snagging a piece of her chicken and eating it quickly as if that made them equal now.
Kagome could only laugh taking a drink of her fresh water bottle.
"I am good with numbers, you know," he mumbled after a moment. Kagome patted his arm.
"Of course you are," she said, taking another bite.
Inuyasha stared at her for a second before continuing to eat, and Kagome just smiled at him.
Once they were done eating, Kagome helped Inuyasha collect up the trash and put away the extra food.
"You really need some storage containers."
"It comes in storage containers."
"Yeah, but they don't keep the food fresh, and you can't really microwave those."
"Keh, watch me," Inuyasha scoffed, forcefully shoving them into a them onto a shelf in his fridge.
Kagome winced at the sound of styrofoam squeaking across the glass shelving.
He stood up shutting the door.
"What?"
"You are such a bachelor," she said, turning back towards the boxes.
She knelt down in front of the one they'd been working on, and Inuyasha huffed through his nose at her.
"What now?"
"Why don't you sit on the couch if your feet hurt so bad?"
"Because sitting on the floor doesn't hurt my feet either?"
Inuyasha looked away from her for a second before squatting down next to her.
"Why don't you open this box for me, and I'll let you put your vases away?"
"Let me, huh?" He asked, already dragging his claws across the tape. Kagome smiled up at him, and he rose to his feet. "Guess I'll go shove these into a closet somewhere."
"You should save one out and take your mother some flowers."
He gave her an odd look before setting one out on the counter. It was a very plain vase, and while it wasn't ugly, there were others that were prettier.
"That one? Really?"
Inuyasha looked at it and then at her.
"What? It holds flowers."
"Yeah, but it's not pretty enough for your mother."
"You haven't even met my mother."
"Yeah, but I know she likes flowers."
Inuyasha scowled at her, and then set all the vases on the table next to her.
"So which one then?"
It wasn't like it was a hard choice.
"I mean, she'll probably like anything you give her, because you were the one that gave it to her, but the third one," she said, pointing to it. It had a subtle geometric pattern, but there was something about it that made it pretty.
"Really?" Inuyasha asked, and Kagome nodded. "It's just shapes and shit."
"I know, but there's just something about it that's pretty. And if your mom is anything like my mom, she likes that classic geometric shape because it's a reliable pattern and works with almost anything."
Inuyasha looked at the vase, twisting it around in his hands. "Whatever," he said, picking up the other vases and heading off down the long hallway that disappeared into somewhere. She wondered what she would have to do to get a full tour of this place.
Kagome dragged the box flaps open, tugging when one didn't want to let go.
A black plastic bag was stuck to the tape, and by the time that she managed to get it open, the stupid trash bag tore wide open.
"Great," she muttered, trying to figure out how to get all the papers out without making a mess. She should probably just wait for Inuyasha.
She didn't want to be accused of digging through his things, even though he was the one who left her with the box, and he was the one who encouraged her to go through it.
Funny enough, it looked like some old photos.
There was a really pretty girl on top of the stack, and Kagome picked up the photo. She was tall, slender, with straight black hair that was probably much easier to manage than her own wild mane that bordered on swamp witch when the humidity got too high.
She was gorgeous, and she looked so happy. There was another photo of her and a clearly younger Inuyasha. His arm was around her waist, and she had a hand resting on his chest. They were clearly happy, and Kagome realized a second later that they were together-together. This was the perfect image of a happy couple.
Suddenly she couldn't remember if he was single. Inuyasha didn't seem like the type of cheat and have a side chick though.
No, Miroku had definitely told her that he was single. Or Sango. Or maybe both of them.
Though she couldn't fathom how no one had managed to wrangle him into a relationship.
Has no one seen the hotness of this man?
The ears alone were enough of a draw to make her want to talk to him.
But his face tended to make her brain do dumb things, so that had to be concrete proof of his hotness.
Sure, sometimes his mouth opened and for a second, he ruined that image, but he was really sweet and kind, and that was only another plus in the 'hot' column.
Because, damn, that man could shut off her brain faster than alcohol.
She tried lifting out the papers by gripping the edges of the bag, but she could feel it tearing under the weight, and when she let go, everything slid to the side as the entire stack shifted to fall.
There was a newspaper article underneath, and she'd only just started to lift off the other pieces of papers and photos to see what it said, when Inuyasha's voice snapped across the room.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if I haven't been responding to your reviews or messages. I didn't realize that FFN made you agree to have emails sent to you for updates, so I haven't seen anything in who knows how long. That's been fixed, so hopefully I won't miss anything else, but I hope everything has been well with you all!