Don't Panic!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha!
A/N: I didn't come up with this idea, this idea belongs to keichanz! I hope I did her proud!
It was simple math really; go out for a couple of drinks with your best girlfriend you've had since kindergarten, hang out for a couple hours then go home - simple, right? But when you have a controlling asshat of a boyfriend demanding that you stay home, you fight, you go out anyway, and you have way more to drink than what you intended on having, you lose a shoe and your best friend halfway into your binge drinking, you continue drinking anyway, you black out and you find yourself in the position Kagome Higurashi was in right now.
*X*
A groan passed Kagome's lips as she flipped onto her back, brought up a hand to rub her forehead to ease the pounding headache and cracked her eyes opened.
A gasped escaped her throat that time as she shot up into a sitting position, her heart pounding in her chest as she took in the unfamiliar sight of her surroundings. She looked down and saw that she was wearing an unfamiliar white V-neck cotton shirt and a pair of blue basketball shorts, when did she change her clothes - who changed her clothes.
"Oh, no, no, no. I did not just sleep with some random stranger, did I?" Panic started to enter her chest as she looked on the nightstand intending on grabbing her phone to call someone to come get her, wherever here was. However, a piece of paper that had the words 'DON'T PANIC' in big capitalized red marker had her stopping and reaching for the paper instead, maybe this could tell her what happened/where the hell she was.
'Yeah, so, um - this has never happened to me before, so I don't really know what to do/say other than to explain what happened, my name is Inuyasha. Last night I went out with a friend to the bar, he ditched me for a chick, but I decided to stay. Good thing I did too because when I was leaving at last call, you were outside sitting by the wall of the bar with puke all over you. You were missing a shoe, which I looked for it but never found it - sorry - and you kept repeating the name Sango. I went to look in your contacts to call her, but you have your phone locked with a passcode, and you wouldn't give it to me - no matter what I said.
I couldn't just leave you there alone like that, there's sickos out there, so I tried to hail a taxi for you - however - when one came, you were very vehement that you was not getting in that taxi. Every time I tried to get you to get in, you'd place your feet on the door frame preventing me putting you in or you'd fight and wiggle around.
You kept calling me cute and hot, kept trying to play with my ears and begging me to take you home with me. With nothing left to do, I walked you to my car. You let me put you in after reassuring you five times that it was in fact my car. After I got buckled you in, I tried to get you to give me your address - which you repeatedly refused to give me as you continued to beg me to take you to my place - so, I had no choice but to bring you home with me.
I gave you some clean clothes to change into, which you were able to do by yourself, and put you into bed. The clothes you were wearing I washed for you, they're in the dryer. I swear nothing happened between you and I, even though you gave it your best effort; I'm not the type to sleep with overly drunk women so I slept on the couch.
I left Tylenol and a bottle of water on the nightstand for your headache. Bathroom is down the hall, last door on the right, washer and dryer is in there too - if you want you can take a shower before getting changed back into your clothes, there're towels in the closet in the bathroom.
Your phone should also be on the nightstand, I plugged it in for you last night so it wouldn't die on you.
I'm at work and won't be home until four.
There's food in the fridge if you're hungry, Wi-Fi password is on the Roku remote in the living room. If you'd like to watch some TV while you wait for your friend to come pick you up, I have Netflix, Hulu and Disney plus - for when my niece comes over. I left a letter on the coffee table in the living room with my address on it so you can give it to her. However, if you'd prefer to just leave without doing all of that, that's okay too, there's a bus stop a few blocks from here, just turn left once you walk out the door.
Oh, one more thing - I have a dog, his name is Bandit. He's friendly and love to play.'
As she finished reading, Kagome no longer felt as if she was about to die from a panic attack, no, now she felt as if she'd die of embarrassment as her face rivaled that of a tomato.
She did what!?
When did she become the type to beg a perfect stranger to take her home with him and then try to have sex with him!? And what did he mean by 'kept trying to play with my ears?' When did she acquire an ear fetish!? She then threw herself back and covered her face with a pillow out of pure embarrassment.
"I called him cute and hot!? I tried playing with his ears, who does that!? And tried to have sex with him!? Oh, my God! How embarrassing!" What the hell had she been drinking, she needed to know so she'd never drink it again! That wasn't like her at all to do things like that!
The plan was to drink away her anger at Hojo for being an asshole, then go spend the night with Sango so she'd be able to think - once she was sober again - of what she was going to do about her controlling boyfriend, because honestly, she had enough of his dick-a-tude. She was fed up with him trying to tell her what she could or couldn't do, where she could or couldn't go, who she could or couldn't see, what she could or couldn't wear. She was tired of everything!
The plan wasn't to wind up in some stranger's house, wearing his clothes and sleeping in his bed! Yet, here she was, in a stranger's house, wearing his clothes and waking up in his bed.
Now, that she was sober - even if she did have a major hangover - she was finally able to think with a clear head. She sighed as she threw the pillow off to the side before sitting back up, shaking out a couple headache pills into her hand throwing them in her mouth before gulping down the entire water bottle before grabbing her phone, she was going to finally end it with Hojo. However, when she woke her phone up, she saw that it was almost one in the afternoon and that she had thirty missed calls and just as many text messages from the person she never wanted to see again.
Sighing, she opened up her text messages and saw that Hojo was already one step ahead of her. He told her that she had by the end to the week to get her shit out of his house or he'd throw everything away.
"Okay, one less thing for me to do." She whispered with a shrug as she stood up to walk towards the bathroom.
She probably should've left after relieving herself, but the shower called to her promising that she'd feel much better after a nice hot shower - and she did have they mystery house owner's permission. So, with a mental shrug, she retrieved a towel and her clothes from the dryer before turning the hot water on and got undressed, tossing the dirty clothes in the hamper he kept in the bathroom. She turned the cold water up some before stepping in and just let the hot water hit her shoulders and neck for a few minutes before washing her hair and body with his 'Old Spice' shampoo and body wash.
"Okay, now I should probably get going." She told herself as she exited the bathroom only to walk into the living room to see a little dog that looked to her to be a Jack Russell, he was completely white but had a splash of black across his eyes that looked like he was wearing a mask. "You must be Bandit." Kagome said as she knelt down and held her hand out towards the dog.
Bandit jumped down from the couch, walked over to her before smelling her hand, he wagged his tell as he pushed his head into her hand begging for pets and loves.
Giggling, Kagome spent a few more minutes petting and playing with Bandit before standing up. "Okay, I for sure need to get going." She said before her stomach gave a really loud grumble indicating that she was just about starving, and again, she had this guy's permission. So, with a sigh she made a detour to the kitchen; she rummaged through his refrigerator and made her a sandwich with a side of chips and a can of Pepsi.
Once she finished eating, her phone started to vibrate in her pocket. Rolling her eyes as she fished it out of her pocket expecting it to be Hojo but was relieved when the name Sango flashed across the screen.
"And where did you sneak off to last night?" Kagome asked after hitting the green answer button and placing the phone to her ear.
"I'm so sorry, Kags! But there was this guy, this cute guy, and he offered to buy me a drink - you know I can never say no to a free drink, Kags!" Sango said, truly sounding like she was really deeply sorry for abandoning her.
"That doesn't explain where you went after that drink, I lost a shoe because you weren't there to pick up what I lose/drop!" Kagome said still a little irritated at Sango. She knew that losing her shoe wasn't Sango's fault but damn it those were her favorite shoes! And their rule was to watch out if one of them were to drop something then they'd pick it up for them and either give it back or hold onto it.
"I'm sorry! I'll buy you a new pair of shoes on our shopping trip this weekend, I promise!" Sango said.
"Damn right you will!" Kagome said with a nod of her head. "But, seriously, where did you go?"
"Well, after that hot guy bought me a drink we started talking, then he bought me another drink and then another one - and, well, one thing led to another, and I went home with him." Sango said sheepishly. "Did you make it home okay?"
"Well, I made it somewhere." Kagome said softly as she looked around her at the pictureless, blank walls. She sighed, disappointed that there didn't seem to be any pictures so she could see what this mystery man looked like.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sango asked confused.
"Um," Kagome muttered, her face turning bright red again, "I-I don't really know where I am or who I came home with. Only that his name is Inuyasha and that we didn't do anything last night, even though I apparently tried. He left me a note that said that I refused to get in a taxi, refused to give him my passcode on my phone and refused to give him my address. He said that I called him cute and hot and kept trying to play with his ears, I don't even have an ear fetish! And then proceeded to try to have sex with him! What the hell is wrong with me!?"
"Ooh, what does this guy look like? Is he hot?" Sango asked almost too excitedly.
"My drunk self sure thinks so but that's the thing, I have no idea what he looks like. He was gone when I woke up just a little bit ago and I can't remember much of anything from last night." Kagome said as she dragged her hand down her face. "The note said that he'd be home at four."
"That's like two hours away, are you going to wait for him to get home?" Sango asked suggestively.
"What!? No!" Kagome yelled horrified that Sango would even suggest her doing that. "Plus, I need to get home so I can talk with Hojo."
Sango scoffed and Kagome could just picture her rolling her eyes. "No, what you need to do is forget about Hojo and stay there to see if this dude really is hot like your drunk self thinks or not."
"No, I am not staying here!" Kagome said mortified at the idea. "What I did was too embarrassing to even think about staying here!"
"Oh, come on, Kagome!" Sango said and Kagome was sure she said it with another roll of her eyes. "Aren't you just a little bit curious of who took care of you last night? Plus, it's not like you not to say thank you for something like this."
"I-I can write him a note to tell him thank you!" Kagome argued as her face got redder.
"Look, Kagome, just stay and see what happens." Sango said with a sigh. "You never know, it might lead into something more. This guy has to be better than Hojo, right?"
"Sango." Kagome groaned with her own eye roll. "I can't! I'm going to send you the address and you're going to come pick me up! I cannot, will not stay here." With that Kagome hung up the phone to pull up her messages and clicked on Sango's thread before walking to the coffee table and grabbing the piece of mail he left there. But when she went to type the address, she hesitated. Sango was right, she was curious of who she stayed the night with. She was also very curious about this man's ears and why she seemed to have a fascination with them last night. Also, how cute this guy really was to make her beg him to take her home with him. She also wanted to say thank you properly and not in a note.
So, with that thought in mind, she made her way to sit on the couch next to Bandit, turned on the TV and found something to watch while she waited for this guy to come home. Once she found something suitable to watch, she got comfortable and absent-mindedly petting Bandit as she thought about the man that took her home with him.
'Is it even okay that I'm staying here?' She thought to herself. 'What if he doesn't want me here when he got back?' She worried her lip as she fought with herself on whether or not she should leave.
*X*
Inuyasha gave up on working on cars today, he couldn't focus - a certain drunk black hair and blue-eyed beauty kept popping into his mind making him nearly fuck up a car beyond repair because of it. He ordered Miroku, his right-hand man and co-owner the little mechanic shop, to take over for him before making his way into his office for the remainder of the day to 'work' on some paperwork.
So, now, there he was - sitting in his chair and staring blankly at his computer screen while he replayed the events from the night before.
Inuyasha wasn't drunk, not really, it'd take him a whole day of drinking the strongest human alcohol before he'd even feel a slight buzz, he's been there for about three hours at the most. He didn't really want to be there, however, when Miroku quite literally got down on his knees and begged him to go have a drink with him - he rolled his eyes and agreed, if only to get him to leave him the hell alone. 'Where is that lech anyway?' He thought as his eyes scanned the bar only to come up empty handed once again. 'Damn it, why did he have to drag me to here if he was just going to up and leave me here for some chick?' He growled to himself as he promised to never again come to the bar with the lecher. He didn't know why he didn't just leave, but something was telling him to just stay there.
"Last call!" Inuyasha heard one of the bar employees call out, trying to speak over all the noise.
He sighed as he downed the rest of his beer, paid his tab and walked out the door into the cool September air. 'Ugh, it smells like vomit out here.' He thought to himself as he scrunched up his nose in disgust.
"Sa-ango." He heard a voice hiccup. "Whe-ere did you goooo?"
"What the?" Inuyasha whispered to himself as he scanned his surroundings, not seeing anyone that would've said something like that he shrugged figuring that whoever said it must've already walked away to find their friend. He turned on his heel, intending to walk to his car and go home.
"San-ngo." He heard the voice groan once again. He turned around and this time saw as a small woman sitting on the sidewalk leaning up against the bar's brick wall. She was wearing skintight hip-hugger jeans with a black spaghetti strap shirt that showed just a touch of her stomach, he noticed that her outfit was completely covered in vomit, 'well, there's the source of the vomit smell.' He thought with a sigh as he knelt down to see if he could help. Hse wasn't just going to leave the poor woman that by herself - lord knows what might happen if he did. Her head was bowed, her hair acting like a curtain so he couldn't see her face.
"Miss, are you okay?" He asked trying to gain her attention. "Do you need help getting home?"
"Saangooo." The woman called out without lifting her head.
"Sango?" Inuyasha repeated, wanting to know if he heard the name right so he could look in the woman's phone for the number.
"Mmm," she groaned out, "wheeerrrre did she-e go-o?"
"I don't know where your friend went, but can I call you a taxi to help you get home?" He asked trying to make sure she made it home safely.
"Whe-re did she gooo?" The woman said with a whimper.
He looked down at her arm lying limply beside her leg and noticed that her phone was in her hand. "Is it okay if I look at your phone to get her number?"
"Mmm." The woman groaned and he took it as a 'yes' before taking her phone and waking up the screen.
"Shit." He muttered when he found out you needed a code to gain access. "Hey, what's your code?" He asked the woman as he patted her leg, trying to get her attention.
"Um." She muttered before lifting her head and finally looking at him. "You're cu-ute." She said with a big smile.
He could say the same thing about her, damn was she gorgeous! She had thick wavy black hair that went down to her midback, porcelain flawless skin and blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean. She damn near took his breath away, and she was sloshing drunk - he could only imagine the effect she'd have on him when she was sober and damn, he was a goner.
"Okay, focus woman, I need your passcode to get into your phone so I can call your friend." Inuyasha said a bit forcefully and he watched as her eyes traveled up to the top of his head, she gasped before her smile widened and her hand came up to try and grab one of his dog ears that were situated on top of his head, which he successfully dodged by moving his head and grabbing her wrist to place it back on the ground. "Hey, stop that." He growled. "I need the passcode to your phone."
"I'll ne-ever tell." She said with a giggle as she tried to reach up to play with an ear again, again he was able to thwart her advances.
"Damn it." He growled, she just had to find his fucking ears - he should've worn a hat. "I'm trying to get you home, help me help you."
"Nooo," she moaned as she launched herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck and knocking him off balanced, damn now he was covered in her vomit, "don't waaannnaa goo ho-ome. The-re's a me-eany theerre. Ta-ake me hoomme wit-th youuu."
"Oh, sorry, you can't come home with me." But did he ever want her to come home with him, shit if only she was sober, he didn't do drunk chicks - he felt as if he was taking advantage of them somehow. "What's your code so I can call your friend and have her come get you and take you wherever you wanna be." He said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him.
"Waannaa be-e with yooouuu." The woman said as she jutted out her bottom lip in a pout and all he wanted to do at that moment was take that lip between his teeth. "You're ho-ot. Li-ike youuur e-ears." She said as she went to grab at his ear once again, and once again he was able to stop her.
"Stop trying to mess with my ears damn it." He growled as he held both of her wrists on her thighs before sliding one arm around her waist and taking her arm closest to him with his other hand and slinging it around his shoulders before hoisting her up. "I'm going to hail a taxi for you, and you are going to take it and have them take you anywhere you wanna go."
"O-okay," she said with a giggle, "hey, wh-ere's yoouuur ho-ouse. Go-otta teelll the ta-axi where to ta-ake meeee." She giggled again as she tried to reach up and grab at his ear again, however, he was busy looking for a taxi and didn't see her hand coming towards his ear. She had shrieked in delight when she finally came in contact with his ear, and despite how trashed she was, her touch was gentle and sent a fire rushing through his veins.
He sighed as he gently shifted his head away from her hand and almost chuckled at how cute she looked when she pouted. "Okay, okay, you've got to touch my ear - now stop it so I can get you a taxi."
Once a taxi came, the man behind the wheel asked them where they wanted to go.
"Just take her wherever she wants to go." He had said before handing the man two-hundred dollars.
"Sure, thing pal." The taxi driver said with dollar signs in his eyes at the large tip that had been given to him. "Where do you want to go, Miss?"
"Wheee-er ever he is go-oing." She said with a giggle as she looked at him.
"No can do, woman, you have to go home." He said as he opened the back door. However, as he tried to help her in, she lifted one foot and put it on the door frame before lifting the other foot and placed it on the opposite side of the frame - preventing him from placing her in the back seat.
"Nooo!" She groaned as she fought and twisted her body every time he had tried to put her in the taxi. "Waannnaa gooo ho-ome with yoo-oouuu."
"Look bub, if she doesn't get in the car in the next second, I have to go with or without her." The taxi driver said.
He sighed and waved him on after getting his money back. "Now what am I going to do?" He asked himself as he still held the drunk as a skunk woman against his side afraid that if he were to let her go, she'd face plant on the sidewalk.
"ta-ake meee hom-me with yo-ouu." She suggested and he sighed.
He was tired and he had work tomorrow, he didn't have to go in until noon, but he still needed to get home and get to bed. "Okay, let's go." He said with a sigh tired of fighting with the woman.
After reassuring the woman five times that he was trying to get her into his car so they could go to his place, she finally allowed him to place her in the passenger side seat and got her buckled in after he had to dodge more attempts made by her to grab at his ears. Once they made it to his place, he helped her walk to his room and sat her on his bed so he could get her a change of clothes. However, when he made it back with said clothes, she practically tackled him causing him to lose his balance and end up on his back on the floor with her on top of him.
"Um, M-Miss, what'cha you doing?" He asked, his face as red as a tomato.
"Wa-ant youuu." She slurred as she tried to take his shirt off.
"Um," he muttered as he pulled his shirt back in place and gently untangled her hands from his shirt. Shit he needed to figure out a way to get her off him and in bed where she desperately needed to sleep it off. "Okay, how about we make a deal?" He asked coming up with a plan in his head, if he needed to lie to get her where she needed to be - in bed, asleep - then so be it. When she looked at him with her head tilted to the side like she was curious in what he had to say, he continued. "You get off me so I can go make you a glass of water, you get dressed in the clothes that I gave you and after you drink your water, we'll talk some more and see where the night leads us. How does that sound."
"Oka-ay." She chirped as she climbed off him.
He made himself scarce just in case she tried to jump him again, he didn't think he'd be able to deny her again because man, did he ever want her, but not like this - he wanted her sober, so she'd be able to have a clear head to be able to tell if she wanted him or not. He sighed as he walked into his kitchen, got a bottle of water before walking to the bathroom to grab the headache medicine before walking back to his bedroom door. Breathing in deep through his nose and letting it out through his mouth in a long-drawn-out sigh, he opened his door and poked his head in - breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that she had changed into the clothes that he gave her and was now curled up on his bed fast asleep. "Oh, thank God." He mumbled to himself as he snuck in and placed the bottle and pills on the nightstand before stooping down to gather her dirty clothes. He reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone before plugging it into his charger, he left the room to go throw her vomit ridden clothes along with his own clothes that had her vomit on them into the washer and started it after adding the soap and fabric softener.
He walked into his living room and paced back and forth trying to figure out what to do. He didn't want her waking up and panicking that she was in a stranger's house, wearing his clothes and waking up in his bed. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea, so what could he do? Thinking a letter would be a good enough choice, he walked to his computer, grabbed a piece of printer paper, a red Sharpie and a black pen before writing in red 'DON'T PANIC' in big, capitalized letters and the rest of the note in black pen.
Once he was done, he snuck back into his room again before placing the letter on the nightstand, sighed as he looked at her face again - relaxed and peaceful as she slept, "please, don't panic." He whispered before leaving the room, he couldn't understand why he cared so much as to write the letter, why he cared if she panicked or not, he hadn't cared about anyone's wellbeing since she left him - but he cared about the woman's that was sleeping in his bed right now, he just couldn't figure out why. He couldn't explain that pull in his chest that demanded him to go back in that room, wake her up and give her exactly what she begged him to do. Pushing that feeling aside, he got in the shower before stretching out on the couch and falling asleep.
As the memory faded, Inuyasha looked at the time, it was three-fifty. He shut his computer down, not really caring that he got zero percent of the paperwork done, 'it'd be there tomorrow,' he told himself as he bid his employees a goodbye and left his shop. On his way home, he couldn't help but to hope that his mysterious house guest was still at his house, he seriously doubted it, but he could still hope.
*X*
Kagome had just decided that it'd probably be best to leave right when she heard the front door open. She turned her wide eyes towards the door and saw a man that looked to be crafted by the Gods. He had bright golden eyes that if she wasn't careful enough - she'd get lost in them for sure, long silver hair that reached his waist that she just wanted to run her fingers through and two little adorable dog ears that was twitching on top of his head that she had too physically hold herself back from tackling him and rubbing his ears between her fingers.
'Well, I guess that explains my sudden ear fetish, his ears are adorable!' Kagome internally gushed as a blush dusted her cheeks.
"You're still here?" Inuyasha asked astounded and slightly hopeful that maybe they could start something between them.
"Oh, um, I hope it's okay." Kagome said as her cheeks grew redder and she looked down at the floor worrying her bottom lip between her teeth before looking back up into his eyes. "I can leave if you want me too, I just wanted to say thank you for last night as well as to apologize. I'm sorry for giving you a hard time and trying to play with your ears as well as trying to, um, h-have s-sex with you." she stuttered through her apology, utterly embarrassed by her actions. "I-I'm not usually like that. I don't ever get that drunk but I was pissed last night, and I guess I over did it." She said with a shrug.
Inuyasha sighed as he closed the door. "There's no need for you to apologize and you don't have to leave." He said as he moved to sit in the rocking chair. "What made you so mad that you over drank yourself?"
"Oh, um." Kagome mumbled as she looked down at the floor and chewed on her bottom lip.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Inuyasha reassured as he leaned down to try to regain her eye contact.
"No, it's okay." She said looking back up. "My best friend came back home after a year in a half of studying abroad and wanted to go out and have just a few drinks. I was so excited to finally get to see her again after so long, but when I let my controlling boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend as of last night, know he went all psycho on me and told me I wasn't allowed to go out. We fought for a long while before I just left and went out anyway, mad and wanting to forget about him. I told Sango what happened and said that I just wanted to forget him for just one night and figure out what I wanted to do while I was sober again. So, we both let loose and got lost in the alcohol. The last thing I remember, is looking for Sango and my other shoe before deeming neither more important than drinking even more to forget how mad I was." Kagome looked down at the floor as her cheeks darkened once again. "I, uh, guess my plan, um, worked because when I woke up this morning I just about panicked before looking at the nightstand and seeing the note you left - and instead of dying of a panic attack I thought I was going to die of embarrassment." She said as she looked up again. "Thank, Inuyasha, for taking care of me and washing my clothes for me. And I'm sorry again for my behavior."
"You're welcome." Inuyasha grunted out. "And quit apologizing, you don't have anything to be sorry about. Now, what about this controlling boyfriend?" He growled; his heart sank some when she mentioned that she had a boyfriend, damn it he wasn't jealous he just wanted a shot with her and now he felt like his chance was stollen from him.
"Ex-boyfriend. I was planning on breaking up with him today, but he beat me to the punch." Kagome corrected before looking through her phone and pulling up the last message that Hojo had sent her then turning it around so Inuyasha could see the message that read 'you have until the end of the fucking week to get your shit out of my fucking house or I'm throwing it all away!'
Inuyasha growled as Kagome sighed and laid her phone on his coffee table. "Now, I have to find a ride so I can go get my stuff." She said as she scratched Bandit behind the ears. "Sango is more than likely still shacked up with the guy she went home with last night, so she's out of the question."
"I have a truck; I could help you if you'd like." Inuyasha offered with a shrug.
"Really?" Kagome said as she sent a hopeful look in Inuyasha's direction. "That would actually be great! I also have to find a cheap hotel until I can figure out my next step if it's okay you take me to one. I don't get paid a whole lot; Hojo only approved of low paying jobs so I wouldn't have anyway of leaving him, so it'd have to be cheaper than cheap." She said with a one shoulder shrug.
"That's fine. However, if it'll help you out, I have an empty bedroom that we can make into your room to help you with money." Inuyasha suggested, hoping that he wasn't overstepping any boundaries.
Butterflies erupted in Kagome's stomach as her heart kicked up a notch. "That would be... very helpful actually, thank you." She said with a smile. "I wouldn't be putting you out though, will I?"
"Nah, so, uh, what's your name?" Inuyasha asked with a sheepish smile for not having asked her yet.
"Oh, it's Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said with a blush at forgetting her manners.
"Kagome." Inuyasha's lips curled up in a half smile, enjoying the way her name rolled off his tongue. "What do you say we go get your stuff?" He asked as he nodded his head toward the door.
"Okay." Kagome smiled as they stood up and she followed Inuyasha out of the house to his truck. She sent out a quick text to Hojo saying that she was on her way to pick her stuff up and shut her phone back off.
After Inuyasha teasing her a little bit Kagome finally gave him directions to her dick of a boyfriend's house, and they were on their way. He could tell that the closer they got to her old house, the faster her heartbeat got and the smaller she tried to make herself. He could smell the stench of absolute panic creep its way into her scent, which he could tell now that she wasn't covered in puke and alcohol that got spilt on her - her natural scent smelt like a babbling brook that was surrounded by a verity of flowers, she smelt heavenly to him.
"Don't panic." He said as he lifted a hand off the wheel and gave her thigh a comforting squeeze, surprised when Kagome had grabbed hold of his hand and held on to it as if her life depended on it. "I'll be there with you; I won't let nothing happen to you."
Pulling up to the house, they saw that Hojo was already waiting outside on the porch with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face.
"Should've known that you would've found another man's sheet to crawl under." Hojo scoffed. "Never thought you would've turn into such a little hoe after I left you."
Inuyasha growled and was about to say something but stopped when Kagome placed her hand on his arm.
"Shut up, Hojo! I'm just here to get my stuff, then I never want to see your face again." Kagome hissed through her teeth as she continued to walk up the steps of the porch with Inuyasha following close behind her. Before she could reach to open the door, Hojo stood in front of her.
"Take nothing but your clothes." He said in a dark warning seeping through both his tone and his eyes that had trepidation crawling up Kagome's spine, but a growl behind her made her remember that she wasn't there alone, and that she didn't need to panic.
"Fine, now move." Kagome demanded as she relaxed, knowing that Inuyasha had her back. It should've alarmed her how fast she got comfortable with him, how badly she wanted to stay by his side. However, she'd worry about that later, for now she needed to focus on packing her clothes and shoes.
It only took two duffel bags to fit everything that Kagome was allowed to take with her and about twenty minutes later they were walking out the door, Hojo still standing on the porch.
"She'll be back." Was the last thing they heard Hojo say before they closed the doors of the truck and drove away.
The further they drove away from her old life the more both Kagome and Inuyasha relaxed. They drove in comfortable silence until Kagome's phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached into her pocket and slide her phone out to look at the new text message that just came in.
"It's from Sango." Kagome said noticing how tightly Inuyasha was holding on the steering wheel, a small smile curling her lips when he automatically relaxed at knowing it wasn't her ex trying to torment her. She looked back down at her phone again and opened the new message.
'Still waiting on that address, hun. 😏'
She knew Sango was being a little shit, letting out a snort Kagome sent a quick reply that read; 'shut up'
Another notification ding sounded in the car as Sango sent another text message.
'How cute are his ears? 😏'
'Let's just say I now have an ear fetish 😍'
Kagome placed her phone back in her pocket and boldly took Inuyasha's hand off the steering wheel to hold in between hers and shot him with a truly gratifying look. He looked at her in shock before looking back at the road and pulling over so she could have his undivided attention.
"I just wanted to say thank you Inuyasha." Kagome said with a breath-taking smile that nearly blinded him and almost made him forget how to breathe. Damn, this woman was going to be the end of him, which should've worried him. How could he have so easily opened his home up for a woman that he had only just met last night? How could he already be wrapped around her little finger so tightly that if she were to ask for the moon on a rope, he'd make sure he wouldn't rest until he got her what she wanted. How did this tiny woman find her way into his heart in just a night? He already knew he was done for when she was covered in her own vomit but seeing her now - it felt like he would cease to exist were she to walk out of his life. Double damn.
"Keh, what're you thanking me for, wench?" Inuyasha scoffed lightly as he turned his hand to twine their fingers together.
"For everything." Kagome smiled and squeezed his hand with hers. "For helping me last night, for being the perfect gentleman, for washing my puke covered clothes, for putting that water bottle and headache medicine on the nightstand, for plugging my phone in, for making sure I had a safe place to sleep, for writing that 'don't panic' letter, for allowing me - a complete stranger use your shower, eat some of your food, use your Wi-Fi and watch your TV, for being there for me when I got my stuff from Hojo's house, for just being you - Inuyasha." She said with tears in her eyes and a watery smile curling her lips.
"Keh, course I'd take care of you, Kagome." Inuyasha said with a half-smile as he brought their hands up to his lips to brush a kiss on the back of her hand, loving the way her breath hitched in her throat. "I'll always take care of you."
Hope you enjoyed this one-shot! See you in the next story, bye!