Happy Birthday to Kalsies!

I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, nor do I receive any compensation for my stories.

"One large vanilla macchiato, the largest size you have, an extra shot of espresso if possible."

"Sure thing Kagome," the barista smiled as she rang up the petite raven-haired woman's order. "Long week with the campaign? This is the fifth one you've ordered this week, and it's only Wednesday."

"You could say that," Kagome Higurashi sighed as she lowered her phone and looked at the red-haired woman standing before her. Ayame Ookami and her husband Koga ran the Kos Kaffe, and Kagome had become a very frequent customer over the previous few months. "The election is today, and it's been a whirlwind trying to coordinate Get Out the Vote."

Ayame pursed her lips as she considered the woman standing before her, taking in the tired chocolate eyes with the signs of exhaustion not quite hidden under her concealer. Over the past three months, Kagome had been there so frequently that she was quickly becoming a friend.

"You want one of our granolas on the house?" Ayame's green eyes sparkled as Kagome began to sputter. "No no no; Koga and I discussed it, so consider it a frequent customer benefit."

Kagome sighed; the extra jar of coffee would help her get through the day, and she did have so damn much to do.

"I appreciate it, I really do." Kagome smiled as she handed Ayame her credit card, giving an exhausted smile as the wolf yokai handed it back to her with a large container of yogurt and granola.

Kagome heard the jingle of the bells by the door open as she closed her eyes, taking the first bite of the heavenly mixture, likely to be the only thing she ate that day other than an energy bar.

"Your usual?" Kagome heard Ayame ask, her mind focused on finishing her treat.

"Yeah, thanks Ayame. Better make it two; it's going to be a long day today."

Kagome's eyes shot open wide as she gasped; there was no mistaking that rich tenor. Unfortunately, she had gasped right after she tried to swallow the last bite, causing her to cough.

"Hey, easy there, Ka… Kagome?"

Kagome felt a hand striking her back to help, and she raised a hand up to show she was good.

"Wro… wrong pipe," she wheezed, keeping her back to the man, not wanting him to see her bright red face.

"You gonna be ok?" the man asked, his hand now rubbing her upper back.

She tried not to think about how good his hand felt, she really did, because it wasn't fucking fair. He couldn't be there, not really; not at her favorite coffee shop, it was far enough away from headquarters for him to be there. A quick glance back dashed that half-hearted hope, he really was there, in all his beautiful glory.

Inuyasha Takahashi, the silver-haired golden-eyed god with his adorable puppy ears. The man she had been crushing on since she started at the New York Campaign office.

"Yeah, I'm good." Her voice founded slightly steadier, well, as steady as it ever was around him.

"Here, this should help." He handed her a glass of water, holding it for her as she shot him a baleful glance and took a sip. "Thanks, Ayame," he stated, handing the woman back the glass when Kagome had finished it. His golden eyes watched her carefully.

"You gonna try and kill all our customers ya mutt?" Koga chuckled as he brought them their coffees, handing a bag to Inuyasha.

"Nah, just the pretty ones that I can make fall into my arms ya mangy wolf," Inuyasha shot back, watching as Kagome's face started to turn red again. "Are you sure you're ok Kagome?" His voice carried concern in it as he stood in front of her, tilting her head back so he could look at her.

"Yeah, just breathed wrong, I'll be fine Inuyasha, thanks."

"Okay," he said, watching her face before winking at her, "can't have my GOTV operator out of commission today."

Kagome groaned. Yeah, it was going to be a long day, and it was only 5:00 a.m.

"What are you doing here? I didn't realize you knew about this place?" Kagome asked.

"Keh, I've been coming here since they opened. I've been friends with Koga since we were kids, and when they opened this shop in my neighborhood, I started coming every day."

"Wait wait… you live around here?" Kagome stopped as she stared at him.

"Yeah, I live about five blocks away on Lincoln. I am surprised you're here, though."

"I live about three blocks from here."

Inuyasha flashed her a quick grin. "Figures we find out on the last day of the campaign that we live in the same area. We could have walked together if we knew."

Kagome felt her cheeks burning again at his words. Yeah, it probably was better that she hadn't known that, given how she felt about him.

Once the wind had caught his long hair, tied back at the nape of his neck, and the strands had danced over her hand, and she had been tempted, oh so tempted, to catch them. His hair had fascinated her from the moment she met him, shining like liquid moonlight around his face. Her eyes trailed to the two perfect ears perched atop his head, she longed to feel the soft downy fur that ran against them. She wanted the chance to feel them, even if only once, against her skin.

Her cheeks began to burn as she caught his amber gaze on her, and she quickly turned her eyes forward. He hadn't given her any indication that he saw her as more than just a colleague, someone he saw at work, but it didn't stop her from hoping that there could be a chance for more. She took a sip of her coffee, letting the jolt of caffeine strengthen her nerves. Ok, she was going to do it, she was going to ask him ou…

Before she knew it, they were standing in front of the campaign headquarters, and the moment was lost. She did have to admit that the walk to the headquarters seemed to be shorter as they talked, but every moment she spent near him seemed to fly, and there was never enough time. She bit the inside of her lip… it wasn't like she didn't have his phone number… maybe after the election they could…. She shook her head softly.

'Focus Kagome, get through today first,' she thought to herself, taking another bracing sip of coffee.

Inuyasha paused outside the door, looking through the glass at the bustling of activity inside, even though the sun was barely rising. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of Brooklyn: the slight salt of the river, the exhaust from the myriad of taxis, the vanilla and cherry scent of Kagome beside him.

"Let's do this. Let's win this election," Inuyasha stated, shooting a grin at Kagome as they threw open the doors and entered chaos.

Inuyasha took in the steady stream of movement and sound as he walked through the room. Two years of work had brought them to this point, this final day, and now that it was here, he didn't know how to handle it. He couldn't even tell you how he had gotten there, spearheading the New York office for the Totosai/Shiori campaign for President. They had been a longshot, a demon and a hanyo running for the highest office in the United States, and no one had expected them to get that far.

It had started off as a protest run, the policies of President Onigumo and Vice President Ungai had appeared to be popular, easily winning their first election four years prior when no one had thought they stood a chance. During the two years after they assumed office though, conditions around the country began to deteriorate for everyone.

And people got scared. They watched their savings dwindle, their jobs vanish as the corporations and big campaign donors had seen record profits. President Onigumo had made good on his promises during his campaign to his donors, restrictions eased, and labor protections disappeared through clever budget cuts and defunding of programs. The country had pulled out of all international agreements and alliances, focusing on "citizens first," but only certain citizens. If you were different, for any reason, you didn't count. And that included those like Inuyasha, half demon, half human, accepted by neither.

Totosai, a flame demon, had decided to step forward, putting his name into the hat to help people learn that different didn't mean bad, different meant opportunity. He had made his living working with metals, forging weapons, and jewelry; he was not a career politician, someone who had spent his life preparing for one office. He was the "every man," the one you wanted to sit down and have a beer with.

He had never expected how many people would stand by his side and support him. Inuyasha had been one of the first to volunteer, taking a leave of absence as a portfolio manager at a hedge fund to focus full-time on the campaign. He had traveled state to state, canvassing, running focus groups, questioning pollsters and begging people for money. He remembered the rush of Super Tuesday when they watched state after state called for Totosai, the man no one expected to be the nominee. And when Totosai had announced his running mate, Shiori, a bat hanyo… Inuyasha would have given anything to see them win, to turn things around.

When they had trusted the New York operation to him, a hanyo working on his first campaign, he had been stunned. He had told them flat out he didn't have the experience, the cred to run one of the biggest offices, but Totosai himself had insisted. Turns out that Totosai had known his father, and Inuyasha had impressed the man with his tenacity and ingenuity. And when your candidate asks you to serve, it's not exactly like you say no.

Inuyasha had thrown every waking moment he had into getting the campaign up and running, including moving the headquarters from a small office in Chelsea to a larger space in the Flatiron district of Brooklyn. He had brought his best friend Miroku, a Certified Public Accountant, as Finance Manager, and with him came his wife Sango, who Inuyasha put in charge of operations. Inuyasha was a very hands-on Campaign chair, and could be found putting together literature for lit drops as often as he was making calls to donors, asking for more money. He ate, drank and dreamed about the campaign, if you wanted to talk to him, it needed to be related or he would grunt at you and say "Find me in the middle of November." The campaign staff adored him, even though he could be gruff, because at the end of the day, they knew he would take care of them, and he would never ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself.

Then three months ago, Kagome Higurashi had stepped into the office, smelling of vanilla and cherries, and everything else had faded away. Inuyasha stared at the vision standing in the middle of the front door, forgetting where he was or why he was even there. The faint scent of vanilla and cherries, a combination new to the office, teased his nose, making his mouth water. God, she smelled fantastic, and she was still on the other side of the office. He had watched as the woman walked through the headquarters, stopping to talk to those around her, each pointing back through the office, back towards him.

"Hi, I'm your new ground team lead." Her voice had sounded like music to his ears as they twitched atop his head. He had seen her chocolate eyes shift upwards, and braced himself for the usual reactions—the scent of disgust, the dulling of the eyes—but instead her scent had become brighter and she had squealed, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god, they are adorable," she whispered before her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed. "Sorry, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that."

"No… no it's okay," he had stammered, his own cheeks going ruddy. She had given him a shy smile, her chocolate eyes meeting his, and once again, the entire world disappeared. He had no idea how long they had stayed there, their gazes locked, and he didn't care, he knew he would be happy to stay there with her forever, but the moment was interrupted when Miroku had called out for him. "Ah… I gotta go talk to him; let me introduce you to the operations manager, Sango, you'll be working with her for most of the campaign."

The bright smile she gave him as he ushered her out of the office was seared into his memory. No one had looked at him with that much happiness, that much acceptance, since his mother had passed in the 1950's. He had walked her through the office to Sango's desk, making the introductions, before reluctantly heading towards Miroku. The tall black-haired man had the horrible job of telling Inuyasha how much money they didn't have, but for the first time Inuyasha didn't get his normal sense of dread… hell he was actually only half paying attention to his friend; his eyes kept darting back to the raven-haired beauty next to Sango, her petite frame seemed so small against the tall brown-haired woman.

"Inuyasha," Miroku's joking voice shook him out of his trance, "maybe I should ask the new girl to stay nearby each time I give you a finance report." Inuyasha turned to see the smirk on his friend's face.

"Keh, tell me again."

Over the next three months they had become a well-oiled machine, the four of them staying late after the headquarters had closed to strategize, run over reports from the district offices, zoom calls with the national headquarters. Kagome had been hired on by Shiori directly, Kagome had been Shiori's research assistant at NYU, and the two had kept in touch after Kagome had graduated. However Kagome had gotten the job, she had proven to be an extremely effective ground team manager, identifying areas to target, coordinating canvass efforts across the state and scheduling appearances with local politicians at events for Totosai and Shiori.

She had fascinated him, drawing him in. Inuyasha couldn't remember being this attracted to anyone… ever. She made the world feel… more… just by being around. The more time he spent with her, the more he was drawn to her, her sarcastic wit, her temper. They bickered more often than not, but it was never heated, they were both passionate about what they were doing, and had different opinions on how to do it. Actually, they usually weren't all that different, and Sango would walk by and casually tell them they were both arguing the same thing from different ways. It always made Inuyasha flush, but he found himself doing it time after time, just to keep her talking to him, to watch her eyes sparkle as they debated. Watching her, he could almost pretend that she liked it just as much as he did, and he would always hope that it meant she was at least a little interested in him too.

When Kagome would go out into the field and visit regional offices, Inuyasha had found himself missing her, her scent, her smile, the brightness she brought to the office. Everything seemed duller when she wasn't there, as if something vital was missing. He would find himself calling her to debate some inane matter, just to hear her laughter as she called him an idiot. She made him laugh, she frustrated the hell out of him, then she made him smile.

He was crazy about her.

Now, finding out they lived so close to each other? Fuck. Part of him wished he had known —he would have loved to walk with her each day he could—but the other part of him was relieved he hadn't, because it would have made it that much harder to stay focused on the campaign and stay away from her apartment.

The three months had passed in a blur of activity as their days had gotten progressively longer, and suddenly, it was November 3. Everything, everything, led to this day: Election Day. Today was Kagome's game, coordinating transportation efforts and phone banking to remind people across the state to vote. The polls opened at 6, the buses rolled out from the district offices at 8, calls started at 9, and would end at 7:30, just before the polls closed. They had staggered when each member of the staff was going to go vote to make sure everyone did and to make sure they were covered.

And then… it was time to wait, and stress.

And pour over exit data as it came out. Inuyasha shot Kagome a glance, watching as she sped around the office, barking out orders, checking turnout numbers.

"The numbers out of Lake Pleasant seem low, get me the field coordinator for Hamilton County, now!" Inuyasha heard Kagome call out, a sheet of polling data in her hand, her brow knitted in concentration. "Sango, are you seeing what I'm seeing in Plattsburgh?"

"If you are seeing turnout up 10%, then yeah. Looks like the increased effort there paid off," Sango yelled back as she pulled another sheet off a fax. "Don't forget, the forecast calls for rain today in Eastern New York, that could impact the after-work voters."

"Inuyasha," his head snapped up as Kagome called out his name, "I need the current numbers out of Erie and Chautauqua counties, could you help me get those?"

By the time the polls closed at 8, all four of them were exhausted.

"How does it now seem… hollow?" Sango yawned, "like we should be doing something now, planning something, and we… aren't?"

"Yeah… so what do we do now?" Miroku asked, looking around the room at all the bleary-eyed volunteers.

"We wait," Inuyasha stated. "Get some rest if you can, it could be a long night if the exit polls are anything to go by."

Inuyasha's ears twitched as Kagome came to lean against the wall next to him. Her scent flooded his senses, and he closed his eyes, breathing it in. He was glad it was over so they could sleep, but with the campaign being over, it meant he didn't have a reason to see Kagome every day. He would miss her energy, her smile, hell, he would miss telling her the little inane stories about his asshole brother and niece. In the short time he had known her, she somehow replaced Miroku and Sango as the one he wanted to share things with, not just stories and jokes, but experiences. When he had walked back after casting his ballot he had just stopped and looked at the beauty of the city around them, and found himself wishing that she was there with him to see it too. He let his mind wander as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

"It's been an insane few months, hasn't it?" Kagome's voice was hoarse from talking all day.

"Keh. Craziest I've seen," Inuyasha agreed.

He should ask her, he knew he should, but now that the moment was here, he was nervous.

"What do you plan to do with your free time now?" He heard her ask, and he turned to her, seeing her with her head resting against the wall, her eyes closed.

"I haven't quite figured that out. Figured it would start with sleeping for a week, then figuring it out from there," he admitted. "You?"

"Mmmm, a hot bath, then sleeping for a week as well." Kagome yawned as she spoke, making him chuckle.

"I'm sure your boyfriend will be happy to have more time with you again." Shit, he hadn't meant to say that, he didn't want it to look like he was fishi…

"I'm sure he would, if I had one." She laughed. "Can't seem to find anyone crazy enough to take me on for long."

Inuyasha scoffed, "hell, I'm sure that's not true. There must be a line of guys waiting to have a chance with someone like you."

Kagome chuckled, "not as long a line as you may think. I usually can't get past a second date with anyone."

"Then you aren't going out with the right guys."

Kagome paused… her heart racing. He… he couldn't be hinting at what she thinks he is.. Could he?

She had watched him grow over the past few months, when she first walked after being hired for the campaign he had seemed a little lost, trying to keep his head above water as he looked around with determined eyes. She had noticed right away how gorgeous he was, hell, who wouldn't see it, and there was no denying how fucking adorable his ears were, but what had gotten her was those eyes.

The golden orbs that showed his soul, the sadness and hardships he had faced, the hope and determination that he still had despite everything. She had found herself wanting to do the best job she could, not just for Totosai and her friend Shiori, but for him, the hanyo desperate to prove himself.

As the time went on she watched him grow, both with regard to the campaign and himself. When she had started he questioned every decision, every move that they made, leading by consensus and double checking everything. As the campaign continued his leadership shifted, he was more direct, more sure, his face showing the confidence that had his entire team following him without question, working beside him and knowing they were on the right path.

The first time she had gotten the full impact of his confident gaze on her she had gone weak in the knees. That look, that one look had fueled many a dream, and she knew that no matter what happened, she would always remember his journey, remember him, as her favorite part of working on the campaign.

It was their last day working together, did she dare?

She opened an eye and turned her head to look at him, "why, know someone who wants to apply?"

She bit her lip, unsure of how he would respond to her question, and her breath caught as his eyes met hers. God, she could just drown in the amber color and die happy. She watched his gaze slowly sliding down her body and couldn't hold back a slight shiver. She didn't know if it was the exhaustion or just the opportunity to be this close to him, no one yelling for their time, no one demanding their attention, but whatever it was, she liked it. She watched his lips tilt into his trademark smirk and had to swallow down a whimper.

That smirk got her every damn time, the slight hint of fang peeking over his lip, the confident glint in his eyes. Was it wrong of her to wonder how those fangs would feel against her skin?

Ha… Had she really asked that? Inuyasha felt his brain short circuit, did she… He couldn't stop his eyes from trailing over her form, she was gorgeous. He took in a breath, cherishing the vanilla, cherry and a faint ginger as if wafted over him… wait…

Ginger? He had caught a hint of it several times before, but he had pushed it out of his thoughts as it was too distracting. Now though, now he knew where the source was and had an idea of what it meant. His lips curled into a smirk as he heard a soft sound from her throat.

"I just mi…"

"INUYASHA, KAGOME!" Miroku's excited voice interrupted them as he and Sango ran up to the two, stacks of papers in hand. Inuyasha growled as he turned his attention to his (now former) best friend. "You have to see the numbers… you won't fucking believe it."

Inuyasha pushed off the wall, his eyes meeting Kagome's again briefly before he took the offered papers.

"What the hell are you talking about Miro…" Inuyasha's voice trailed off as he saw the data on the papers. His head snapped towards Miroku and Sango, "this can't be right can it?"

"It is Yash." Sango was bouncing with excitement.

"What happened?" Kagome demanded, rushing off the wall to look at the papers. "Are… are you serious?"

"I can't believe this," Sango continued to bounce, "turnout is at an alltime high… and it's trending towards us in most of the states."

Inuyasha's hand clenched around the papers, a glint of determination and pride reflected in his eyes. "Buckle up, it's going to be a long fight."

If only he knew how prophetic those words were going to be. By the end of the first night only a handful of states were called. Onigumo had championed having states increase their vote by mail, sending a vote by mail to all registered voters to try and increase turnout. Political opponents had argued that the move would disproportionately favor him as he tried to increase the human turnout, but they were quickly silenced, in various levels of permanency. With the new initiative in place, polls were saying the vote should be a landslide for the incumbents, but Inuyasha had a feeling as he had watched the data come in.

The first night had been discouraging, as state after state had been shown to decisively lean towards President Onigumo. Around 2 am they had sent the volunteers and staff home, there was nothing more to do, everything was out of their hands. Only a handful of states had actually been called, the vote by mail had been more popular than anyone had expected, and the in-person votes had only counted for 20% of the actual voting numbers. The states that were called were ones that came as no surprise, the Northeast for Totosai, the center states for President Onigumo. Yet no one could declare victory, as neither had reached 270 in the electoral college. Some states, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Wyoming, had too many votes to be counted, and fuck… they were crucial.

Despite that, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel hopeful… it was close, fucking hell it was close. The team that many believed had no chance, the demon and the half demon, were in the fucking race. There was a chance, a real chance, that they could pull off a miracle.

Holy fuck.

For the next three days Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango had been glued to the news, watching as the race narrowed, as leads shrank. Kagome, Inuyasha and Sango went through the steps of closing the campaign headquarters, while Miroku was working out shifting funds from the New York accounts to the battleground states to fund the thousands of lawyers that had been brought in.

Inuyasha and Kagome found themselves huddled together at the headquarters, watching as results were updated. Inuyasha would see her watching him out of the corner of his eye, but if he turned to her she would flush and quickly refocus on the television. He found himself taking deep breaths, searching for that hint of ginger, his ears drooping each time he found it missing. He kept replaying their interrupted conversation in his head, cursing himself for not responding. It seemed like things had been awkward since then, but he wasn't sure if he should respond now, three days later, or try to find another way to ask her.

Friday night, they watched, awestruck as the AP called Arizona for Totosai, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Alaska, and North Carolina still listed as too close to call. Neither party had reached the magic number, but somehow, through some crazy twist of fate, Totosai was now ahead in the electoral college. President Onigumo's lead in Pennsylvania had shrunk to mere tens of thousands, down from five hundred thousand from that morning.

The two stood outside of Kos Kaffe, watching the activities around them in awe. People had taken to the streets, and there were prayer circles, drum lines, small dance parties, protests, and counter protests. Inuyasha knew that in all of his years, with every race he had lived through, he had never seen that many people actively involved or invested in the outcome of a presidential election.

"Hopefully we know tomorrow." Kagome's voice was almost lost in the noise that surrounded them.

"Did you ever imagine… seriously imagine… that it would go like this?" Inuyasha whispered, his ears twitching at each new sound.

"It's amazing right?"

Inuyasha's head turned to face her, his eyes glowing as he looked down at the petite woman standing next to him. "Yeah, amazing."

Kagome felt her cheeks go pink as she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Kagome I never answered your question..."

Kagome closed her eyes as a shiver went through her at the husky sound of his voice. "Oh that… heat of the moment thing right?"

She laughed, but the laughter sounded hollow to Inuyasha's ears. He turned to fully face her, one hand reaching out to touch her elbow.

"Kagome…" he began, stopping when she pulled back, her cheeks turning even more red as the scent of ginger once again teased his nose. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, drawing more of it in, memorizing its tantalizing aroma.

"I should get going, it's late." Inuyasha's eyes jerked open at Kagome's shaky words.

His eyes searched hers for a moment before she turned and ran from the store. Inuyasha stood outside his friends' shop, confused, what had just happened? Why had she run away? And wasn't her apartment the other direction?

Kagome stopped and ducked down a side Street, hoping she was out of Inuyasha's line of sight. She sighed as she tilted her head back, looking up at the stars through the haze of lights. If she had stayed, she would have kissed him, something she was sure she would have regretted later. She groaned; she should never have asked that stupid question. Slowly she made her way back to her apartment, taking the long way around rather than walk past Inuyasha and have to admit she had run the wrong way. Her heart was still racing from his touch, and she knew sleep would elude her; her thoughts were too full of golden eyes and fanged smirks.