A/N: Just something that's been in my head for a while. I've pretty much written the whole thing already, but will be releasing them in chapters as little drabbles.

Apologies for the previous formatting. Not sure what went wrong there.

XX

He's never been a fan of the flashing lights and screaming crowds, he thinks as he tries to not squint in front of the murderous volume of cameras and paparazzi. He never really understood the concept of publicity, never quite grasped why the public would be so interested in someone like him.

He wrote music, he sang songs. Occasionally, those songs would win awards and that fluffed up his ego. But it wasn't like he did it everyday. Why would people be interested in what he had for breakfast? He doubted his daily bowl of oatmeal factored into his success. It wasn't like he was going to write a song about it.

Well, he could. But it wouldn't be good. And it certainly wouldn't win any Grammy nods.

"Your sweaty palm is going to make me cold later," Kagome grins up at him. His arm is around her, his palm laying innocently on her bare back, just above her waist. It's a typical red carpet pose–something his manager Miroku has drilled into him during the countless hours of press pose 101 sessions they've been having since his music debut all those years ago.

If anyone could distract him from the press hounds though, it's her.

Grinning, he bends down a bit to whisper in her ear, making sure to hide his face from the cameras. "I'd be happy to place my sweaty palm somewhere else, wench."

He feels her giggling and pulls himself back, wanting to see her brown eyes crinkling as she did so. Seeing that always made him feel warm, and right now, in front of cold-blooded headline hunters, he'd take all the warmth he could get.

They were dressed to the nines, as was expected of them at red carpet premieres. It's Kagome's first leading role and there's understandably a fuckton of press work that needed to be done. He isn't sure how his presence there would be taken yet, but he doesn't want to tarnish her night so he told himself he'd be on his best behavior ever.

His best friend is glowing, and it isn't just because of the gold-sequined, backless gown she has on. Her tan skin almost looks like it's shimmering, and the contrast that her loose raven hair provided has a terrific effect overall. She kept her makeup as light and natural as possible, letting her face be framed by her thick fringe, and he could just imagine the conversation that must've transpired between her and her stylist who had a thing for heavy eyeshadows and deep-red lipsticks.

When Sango, his stylist, asked if he had any preferences for tonight's look, all he said was that he didn't want to take any attention away from Kagome. So here he was, in a simple black and white Louis Vuitton tux, with his blindingly silver hair gathered in a tight braid. Still, it was obvious that she couldn't stop herself from adding a little sparkle by covering his ears with about seven different gold earrings, and shoving ring after golden ring onto his fingers. It doesn't feel over the top, which is nice, but he still felt like he was presentable enough to stand next to the star of the night.

Seriously though… how many pictures do they need to take?

She kisses his cheek and ruffles his hair with her free hand, pointedly ignoring the cameras as much as she could without seeming too standoff-ish. "It'll be over soon," she says amusedly, and he realizes that he actually said that last thought out loud. "You'd think after years of doing this you'd be a bit better at composing yourself."

"Nah. That's Miroku's job." he winks. "If I start doing that myself, I'd be robbing him of his life's purpose."

Kagome laughs at that, and he sighs quietly as some of the tension eases from his shoulders.

Once again, he feels very thankful that they decided to attend the premiere together. The press would probably have a field day with this in the next few days, but he couldn't give a rat's ass about that right now. If anyone gets too pushy with brand new dating rumors, he's sure Miroku and Sesshomaru would handle that easily enough - Kagome was, after all, starring in the movie; and he practically wrote the entire soundtrack for the film. He even sang a couple songs himself. So it's not like he has no reason to be here. Him going with Kagome actually made sense too, seeing as the whole damn world knows how close they are. Everyone knows they practically grew up together.

There was something about this film in particular that made him feel things (because he refuses to say tugged on his heartstrings like a goddamn pansy-assed motherfucker, thank you very much). He didn't plan on getting involved. But after seeing the look on her face in one of the scenes she'd sneakily sent him… He'd seen dailies before–had seen dailies with Kagome in it before; but there was something different there that he just couldn't put his finger on.

Him trying to figure that out led to three sleepless nights of beats and textures which eventually led to him impulsively sending everything he worked on to Sesshomaru to give exclusively to the film's director, Bankotsu. He didn't even tell Kagome. There wouldn't have been any point in doing so if Bankotsu didn't like it. How was he to know that they'd actually use everything he sent? Those were just supposed to be options.

Still, her giddy expression when she found out and Facetimed him was worth it.

"Inuyasha!" someone screams from the crowd. "Have you finally come to your senses? Are you and Kagome finally together?!"

"Was the song about Kagome or Kikyou?!" another obnoxiously shrill voice screams from somewhere in the back.

What the fuck.

He feels Kagome's hand clench the belt loop on his back that she was playfully tugging on earlier, and he briefly thanks the heavens that he left his suit unbuttoned. It's a thing they usually did to mildly annoy their stylists, but now became a habit they did for comfort. He'd keep her tucked closely to his side, and she'd loop her arm around his waist, hiding it under whatever coat he was wearing. It was usually for Inuyasha's benefit, though he can see now that she stands just as much to gain from it as he did.

Stopping himself from rolling his eyes, he catches Sesshomaru's eye and silently asks if they can get the fuck out of there before he loses his temper. A brief nod from the stern publicist indicates that yes, they can move, and Inuyasha quickly jumps on the opportunity to lead them both into the theater, raising his arm to rest on her shoulders as he did so.

"Motherfucking leeches," he mutters darkly, the seemingly easygoing grin he forced onto his face earlier fading away as quickly as ever.

Kagome, whose fingers were still playing with his belt loop, gives it a playful tug and raises her brows. She never could settle for just one gesture. "You should've known this would happen though. Sesshomaru wouldn't have let you face the wolves without at least a bit of warning."

"I mean yeah, but I didn't think they'd be that fucking tactless about it. It's disgusting."

"They just want to get a reaction out of you." she explains slowly, as though he were a petulant child–which, in all honesty, he is. "Remember when you punched Kouga? I heard Us Weekly's revenue from that week's issue alone matched three months' worth of sales."

He rolls his eyes. "He called you a whore."

"And you broke his nose."

"I don't know why people made such a big deal out of that. People break their noses every day."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "He's a model. You broke his nose in the middle of fashion week."

"Are you telling me you're okay with being called a whore?" he asks, annoyed at having to remember that slimy dickbag's tone when he described Kagome a year ago. He should've done more than break his nose. He should've fucking cut his tongue out. It's not like he'd need his goddamn tongue to walk down the runway.

"I'm saying you have to pick your battles." Kagome shrugs. "It was sweet of you to defend my honor like that, but I've been called worse and I will probably be called even worse."

He pauses then, putting a halt to their relatively quiet walk to their seats in the dimly lit theater. "Has anyone been hassling you? Why haven't you said anything?"

Sighing, the brown-eyed actress pushes herself off of him and considers the way his brows are scrunched together in annoyance. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something in the way she looked at him. He couldn't recognize it, couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was gone in a second, so he didn't think much of it.

Kagome reaches for his hand and tugs him along. "Come on, my ever-loyal guard dog. Turn back into a puppy and try not to bite anyone."

"Fuck you." he replies softly, not an inch of malice in his tone.

She chuckles as she leads him to their assigned seats in the middle of the theater, right by Bankotsu and her other co-stars. It was slow-going though because Kagome, being Kagome, just has to personally greet each and every member of the staff who are also in attendance. She knew he hated small talk and didn't expect him to participate any more than the casual handshake or nod. He was grateful for that, but he promised himself that he was going to make an effort today, so he pulls everything he can out of his ass and actually talks to the people they approach.

By the time they find their way to their seats and sit down, his awkwardly forced grin feels like it's now permanently frozen on his face.

"What's gotten into you tonight?" Kagome asks amusedly, casually leaning her head against his shoulder as though they were two teenagers in the multiplex as opposed to the glamorously-dressed, multi-award winning artists they are.

"What?"

She chuckles. "You actually talked to people who aren't on your payroll."

"You're not on my payroll."

"I've seen you naked so I don't count." Kagome points out. "Youhave to talk to me because you're scared I'll blackmail you."

"Okay, can you stop saying that like it means something though? I was seven and you were a pervy fucking five-year-old when that happened. Plus you peed in the pool we were both in, so if anyone's got leverage here, it's me."

"Mmhmm," she hums annoyingly. He hates that sound, and he hates it when she makes that sound. And she knows he hates it, which just makes it so much worse. "Is this part of a publicity strategy? Did Sesshomaru tell you to act more approachable?"

He pushes her off of his shoulder petulantly. "I'm trying to be nice for you. Fuck you for not appreciating it."

She turns and looks at him for a bit, her brows meeting in confusion. "What?"

"It's your first big movie-"

"I've been in several big movies", she interrupts, air-quoting the word 'big' as though they were local indies instead of multi-million blockbusters.

God, this woman. Pinching his nose, he continues, "It's the first movie you're leading in, and I'm trying to be supportive." he exhales.

Thankfully, the lights start to dim and Bankotsu moves to the front of the theater, just below the wide cinema screen. He delivers his opening remarks flawlessly, in Inuyasha's opinion, with just the right amount of charming humility and quiet pride at the two-year effort it took to bring the film to life.

Kagome stands when she's mentioned by name, and she waves bashfully at everyone around her. He'd clap his hands, but Kagome's grasping his right hand so tightly he could swear his rings would leave marks on his bones.

"It'll be fine," he whispers when she sits back down, leaning forward to kiss her cheek and push her head down to his shoulder. "You're always so nervous at these things but they always turn out great."

She squeezes his hand and snuggles down. The lights dim completely as the screen lights up with the opening credits, and he chuckles to himself as he feels her shuffling to kick her heels under the seat so she could lift her feet onto the seat comfortably. Nothing really changes with this girl, regardless of how expensive her outfit is. The minute she escapes the wild eyes of the press, she reverts back to that awkward theater geek who loves to use him as a human pillow.

"Comfortable?" he teases softly, putting his arm around her like he always does. Though this time he does so for practical reasons. The theater was freezing; and if he's cold, she's bound to be too.

"Shut up and watch the movie," she grunts back.

XX

The moment the end credits roll, she pulls away from him and starts slipping her feet into the strappy heels she was wearing. Some time into the movie, he felt her shivering despite having his arm around her, so he gave in and handed her his jacket. He didn't have the heart to take his eyes off the screen, so he did it wordlessly, leaving no room for conversation.

He probably should've taken that damn thing when he knew the movie was coming to a close, or he should've at least fucking composed himself before turning to look at her again. He knows he was still a little choked up from the ending when he reached for his jacket, but he didn't think a fucking tear would actually roll down his cheek.

"Oh my god," she whispers, her head bent to one side as she looks at him. "Are you crying?"

Inuyasha clears his throat and scowls at her. "Can you just shut the fuck up?"

"You're crying!" she leans forward gleefully.

"Because I'm not a robot!" he spits out.

She giggles and sits back, falling back into her seat with a light thump. "I don't think this has ever happened before."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" a new voice joins in from the seat next to Kagome's.

Bankotsu was leaning over to get a glimpse of what was going on. The lights were still off and would probably stay off until the whole stream of credits roll by. Inuyasha can hear one of the songs he wrote for the movie playing against the end-credits, and if he were anyone else, or maybe if it was any other time, he'd be amused. But right now, all he could feel is mortified.

He hastily wipes the offending tear away and shifts into his press mode, piling on the charm and smiling winningly at the director. "Yeah, you should. Kagome's right, this doesn't happen often." He reaches out to shake Bankotsu's hand and introduces himself, "Inuyasha, by the way. Thanks for using the stuff I sent you."

"I know who you are." Bankotsu says, the amused glimmer still clear in his eyes. "It's about time we met in person. Emails don't do you justice. And I should be thanking you. I was getting pretty stumped when your people got in touch with mine and everything was just perfect."

"Glad you think so." he says sincerely, always pleased at getting positive feedback for projects that mean a lot to him.

More words probably would've been said, but lights started filling the room as the credits finished. Knowing the drill at this point, Inuyasha happily sat back as he waited for Bankotsu to give his closing remarks.

He obviously wasn't the only one who was stunned by the film though, since people started clapping as soon as the director stood in front of them. Bankotsu hadn't even gotten a single word out when the applause started, which is an incredible response from the crowd of critics. Inuyasha watches as he soaks up the praise, looking pretty surprised himself, but keeping his cool and bowing graciously as cheers filled the entire theater.

Kagome sighs gratefully and joins in the applause, but when she was called to stand beside Bankotsu and the film's producer, the whole theater goes nuts. A fucking standing ovation.

Warmth bubbles in his chest as he joins the crowd, his eyes solidly on Kagome's so he can watch every minute expression on her face as she breathes in the moment. The typical nervousness was there, but it was compounded by sheer joy and a little bit of pride. It was beautiful to watch. She was beautiful to watch. And all of this was well-deserved.

Once again he feels the same regret he's been feeling for the last few weeks. He wishes he could've been there for her more during the grueling film shoot, wishes that he didn't throw so much time away on his doomed and short-lived relationship with Kikyou; wishes that he'd paid more attention when his friend needed him most. But that was behind them now. Kagome put it behind them both when she told him everything was okay, and that what counts is that he's here now.

How he deserved the unyielding loyalty of this beautiful, generous, loving woman, he will never understand. But she's right. He's here now, and he won't ever take that for granted again.

Kagome finds her way back to him as soon as the crowd dies down and they've all said their thanks. Smiling widely, he welcomes her with open arms and a huge bear hug that makes those in their immediate vicinity aww. He ignores them though, choosing instead to hold Kagome's face between his hands so he could place a resounding kiss on her forehead.

"I don't think I've ever been more proud of you." he says sincerely.

She looks up at him, her eyes sparkling and her lips tugged up in a brilliant, contagious smile. "Not even when I kicked Sesshomaru's balls in high school?"

He laughs, loud and full. "No, you dork. Not even then."

Kagome's smile grows larger, if that's even possible, and she pushes herself into him, holding him impossibly tight. He could feel her trembling as he returned her embrace, unable to stop himself from kissing the top of her head again and again.

The moment seemed too much. The ruckus around them was so surreal that he felt like he might just float away into nothingness. And if he was feeling all of these things, he has no doubt that the raven-haired woman in his arms was slowly feeling overwhelmed too.

He pries her off gently, noting the shimmer in her eyes as he gestures around them. "Your audience awaits, my lady."

She chuckles but takes her cue from him, intertwining their fingers as she turns away and looks for the nearest exit. Every step they take, they're accosted by someone wishing to offer their congratulations to not just Kagome, but to Inuyasha as well for the soulful music he wrote to score the movie. He expresses his gratitude but directs most of the praise to his best friend if only to keep seeing the blush on her face every time someone says she should be expecting awards to come her way soon.

It isn't until much, much later that they both get a chance to talk to each other again, after they've traded their fashionable evening wear in for unfashionable pajamas. Their skin's been rubbed raw of the premiere's glamor and they're lounging on his patio, waiting for the sun to rise and for the energy of the night to fully fade away.

"Did you ever think we'd end up here?" she asks him softly. She's staring out into the horizon, just like he is, as she takes slow sips of the red wine he brought out.

Inuyasha shrugs. "Not really, no. Though Sesshomaru thinks we're both stupid for thinking about that."

"Oh?"

"He's pretty much directed both of us our whole lives, no? Ever since he saw us in that stupid play we were forced to do in high school."

"I guess you're right." She chuckles. "He introduced me to Kagura. She got me that role in the Greta Gerwig film."

"And he introduced me to practically every music label in town."

She sighs and he turns to look at her. The funny feeling in his stomach is back, but he's too tired to give much of a shit right now. He watches her smile and lift her glass towards him, offering a quick toast. "To Sesshomaru then?"

He grins. There's no way in fuck's name his brother is ever going to hear about this, so he concedes. "Yeah, whatever. To Sesshomaru."

Their glasses clink and they drink, looking out at the slowly rising sun.

XX

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed this.