Overnight Showers

"You're going to have to tell him eventually, you know."

Kagome stilled in response, the towel she'd been rubbing through her wet locks paused and fingers left dangling in the air above the doorknob to her room. She frowned, expression one of confusion as she turned to face the girl leaning against the doorway that led to the kitchen in their tiny apartment.

"Huh?"

The demon slayer quirked a suspicious brow, crossing her arms. "Don't play dumb, Kagome," she chastised lightly. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

The priestess laughed nervously and resumed drying her hair though she didn't turn away.

"I don't really see what there is to tell," Kagome replied innocently. "We're just talking, Sango."

"You're showering an awful lot for someone just talking," the demon slayer observed pointedly.

Kagome flushed hard, embarrassed at the implication. "It's not like that!"

"I didn't say it was," Sango replied, aware of what her friend thought she intended. "I'm just saying, it's 2 a.m. and the first thing you do is run home to shower when you've got a class in the morning. That's the third time this week. Either you've suddenly taken up showering in the middle of the night – which you and I both know isn't true – or you're afraid Inuyasha is going to show up and smell him on you."

"You're up at 2 a.m.," Kagome muttered, dropping the towel to rest on her shoulder. She picked absently at the fabric beginning to fray slightly on the sleeve of her robe and noted again just how thin the exterminator appeared lately. "Have you slept at all, Sango?"

"I sleep enough; do you?" she dismissed, turning the conversation back around neatly.

Kagome glowered, aggravated at the girl's persistence in something she obviously wasn't ready to discuss. She brushed by Sango, tossing her towel into the hamper in the hall closet before she made her way into the kitchen and began rifling through cabinets for a quick snack. She couldn't say if she was actually hungry or just nervous, but it gave her something else on which to focus.

She pulled a box of Shippou's favorite junk cereal from the cabinet and held it up in question. "Hungry?"

The demon slayer exhaled, pushing off the door frame to take a seat across the bar that separated the kitchen space from the rest of the living area. "No thanks, that stuff is pure sugar."

"I know," Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Isn't it great?"

Sango grinned a little but dug right back in. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine," she said. "It's your business. But he's going to find out sooner or later. He might be an ass sometimes, but he deserves to hear it from you."

Kagome pushed the spoon back and forth through her cereal, watching as the milk turned a sugary pink. "I know," she said quietly. "It's just … It's complicated.

"Kurama is a perfect gentleman," she continued. "He's polite and kind. He listens to me …"

"But?" the demon slayer probed.

Kagome furrowed her brow, sorting through the puzzle of her emotions. "But I can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something."

"You mean other than the fact that he's a demon?" Sango quipped. "Pretty sure the cat's already out of the bag on that one."

"No, that's no secret between us," Kagome said with a soft smile. "I just feel like there's something more there that he's guarding."

Sango wasn't one to mince words. "To be fair, Kagome," she said pointedly. "Aren't you also keeping things close? Or have you talked to him about Inuyasha yet?"

The priestess grimaced. "… Well, not exactly," she admitted. "It hasn't really come up."

Sango arched a knowing brow and studied Kagome's face for a moment. "You're waiting to see if it even should," she observed keenly.

Kagome looked decidedly guilty. It wasn't exactly an easy topic to broach over coffee. I have this friend who might still be in love with my past life. Did I mention he's a half demon from the Feudal Era, and he and my friends are trapped here? It was a lot to unpack even without getting into all the bizarre details. If their acquaintance wasn't going anywhere real, why disclose anything that could lead to harm for him or them?

But, if it was going somewhere …

Kagome gave an exaggerated sigh. Maybe that was the real issue. It was bad enough that she couldn't sort out her own weird relationship with Inuyasha; dragging Kurama into it would only make things worse. Honestly, she shouldn't be entertaining the idea of pursuing anything with anyone.

So why did she keep calling him? Why couldn't she stop herself from answering his texts?

"Ugh, Sango," she groaned, dropping her head to the counter with a pronounced thwack. "What do I do?"

The demon slayer took her palm to the other girl's forehead, pushing up so that Kagome's head rose just enough to meet her gaze. She blew her bangs from her eyes with a steady stream of air and propped her chin on her fist, and Sango leaned back.

"I don't know if I'm the best person to ask," she admitted, expression turning soft. Sango herself was the poster child for detachment, knowing exactly how risky it could be to open up to another. Their lives were complicated. Dangerous. But Sango and Kagome were two entirely different creatures, each with their own needs. "Ultimately, I think you're going to have to ask yourself what it is you truly want from this. Then, you'll know.

"… But, I think maybe you should cut back on the 2 a.m. showers and just keep it to lunch dates until you do," she suggested. "Inuyasha may be thick, but he's going to put two and two together at some point."

Kagome shuddered; gods, she didn't even want to think about it.

"I guess that's fair enough," she replied, knowing her friend wasn't wrong. She yawned, putting her bowl in the sink and watching as Sango retrieved her favorite coat from the back of the barstool.

"It's late," Kagome mothered, though she didn't seem surprised that the demon slayer was leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Just out for a walk," Sango offered, securing a blade to the inside of her jacket and at the small of her back. "I'm not really tired."

A lie, Kagome thought, if the dark circles were any indication. "You should take Kirara at least," the priestess worried.

"No, I don't want to wake her," she replied, giving a placating smile that Kagome thought didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll be back soon. Promise.

"And Kagome?" She added, pausing at the door and purposely sidestepping any further protest. "Don't overthink it. Life is short; you deserve to be happy."

She sighed, shaking her head when the exterminator slipped out the door. She would have told her the same thing if she thought Sango would listen. Looking at the clock, she realized it would have to be a problem for another day. If she overslept for her 8 a.m. class again, she might as well just set her books on fire.

Maybe Kurama would be up for coffee. Really strong coffee.