InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Close Quarters ❯ Lets Talk ( Chapter 20 )

A/N: Finals are over and I am back! Thank you to all who sent me encouraging e-mails and still took time to review the story. Sorry for my long absence, I hate college.

 

 

><><><><><

 

“Okay, what's next? Howl's Moving Castle?” Miroku asked standing up putting `Princess Mononoke' back into its case. Kagome frowned; she didn't feel like watching that one yet. `Spirited Away' was her second favorite of Miyazaki's movies. She didn't have time to protest, however, the phone started ringing.

 

“Hello?” Kagome answered politely.

 

“Kagome, it's Ayame. How are you?” Ayame's voice was brisk but friendly. Kagome was startled to hear the younger girl's voice. She didn't even remember giving Ayame her phone number, but the day Ayame interned was very busy and she didn't remember half the things she had done, only that the commercial was made and was a success. “Oh, hi Ayame; I'm fine, how are you?”

 

“I'm very well, thank you. I'm helping my father bring more exposure to his businesses and decided that we need your advertising company to do it. He and I just got off the phone with your boss, and he was delighted when I requested that you run the project!” Kagome could hear the barely contained excitement in Ayame's voice.

 

“Well, thank you. That sounds wonderful. I had no idea that you were so involved in business.”

 

“I've actually just taken a shine to it recently, but Daddy says I'm a natural,” Kagome could almost hear the young girl's chest puffing up with pride. She almost laughed, but held it back. “Would it be okay if I came to your office on Monday and told you the ideas for project?” Kagome was apprehensive about Ayame showing up at the office again with Kouga around. Usually clients just sent over ideas over in e-mails along with their instructions when they were too busy to come themselves. She wanted to make this suggestion to Ayame, but she sounded so excited that Kagome couldn't refuse.

 

“Oh, yes, that's sounds great,” She said, a little uncertain.

 

“Wonderful, I'll see you then.” The line went dead, and Kagome was left staring at the phone in shock as if it had just said a nasty word. That sounded nothing like the little love-sick girl who interned under her just days before. This girl sounded more mature and quite professional. She vaguely wondered if Ayame was still trying to get close to Kouga with this project.

 

“Who was that, Kagome?” Sango was sitting next to her with a puzzling look on her face, absent-mindedly chewing a piece of toast.

 

“Do you remember when I told you that Kouga was engaged to some possessive girl that interned at the company?” Sango nodded. “Well that was her, and she's requesting I run a project for her father's business.”

 

“Really?” She asked, looking shocked. “Did she mention Kouga?”

 

“No, not once,” Kagome said, sounding a little stunned.

 

“Maybe she's just using this project as an excuse to see him,” Sango said, shrugging.

 

“That's what I was thinking, but I'm not so sure. Hey, Miroku,” "Hey, Miroku," she said in exasperation, returning to the conversation that was interrupted by the telephone. “I don't want to watch that one yet!”

 

Kagome tossed another movie case to him and sat back on the couch. She was completely lost in thought when the sound of jingling keys brought her back to the apartment. Her stomach gave a jump; it was like she was walking down stairs and missed a step. Her heartbeat increased, her breathing labored, and her palms were suddenly sweaty.

 

The human body is an amazing thing, she couldn't believe she felt all this in the three seconds it took for Inuyasha to open the front door. When he actually set foot in the apartment her muscles tightened with tension, and it felt like her blood was laced with adrenaline. Her body was doing all the things it needed to run away in fear, but her brain wouldn't give the order. So, she just sat there, waiting for the noise of her own blood rushing in her ears to stop drowning out all the other sounds in the room.

 

The room was quiet, but then again, actions speak louder than words.

 

Miroku looked calm as always. He was back on the floor again with the DVD remote in his hand waiting for the rest of the audience to come around. Sango was glaring at Inuyasha while he, on the other hand, seemed not to notice the look and just stared at them all as if he was suspecting that they were plotting against him. Kagome was as stiff as a board, and her cheeks were flushing so fast she looked like someone had just pour boiling hot water inside of her.

 

“So, Inuyasha, is everything alright at work?” Miroku could see that the thick silence needed to be broken and was left up to him to do it since Sango might explode into a barrage of insults and Kagome seemed to be fighting just to keep breathing.

 

“It was fine. I had to do an interview with some little reporter but it was no big deal. What are you two doing here?” he said, dropping the magazines on the coffee table.

 

“Kagome needed us-“ Sango began.

 

“Kagome needed us to come over and discuss the new project she and Sango will have at work.” Miroku had to cut his girlfriend off quickly. He could see that she was dying to start a fight with Inuyasha.

 

“So, you're ready to go back to work, then, Sango?” Inuyasha asked, distractedly.

 

“Yes!” Sango said it with such force that both Miroku and Kagome flinched.

 

“Sango, my pet, why don't we go and get some lunch?” he asked while standing up.

 

“Kagome, do you want to come with us?” The question was directed at Kagome, but Sango kept her eyes on Inuyasha. Luckily, Inuyasha was looking at Kagom,e and Kagome was looking at her lap.

 

“We'll come right back, Sango. We'll just run out and pick something up. After all,” Miroku said persuasively, “Inuyasha just got in, and Kagome shouldn't have to leave.”

 

“Okay, but we're coming right back,” she said, standing up quickly and walking over to the door.

 

“Of course, darling,” he said, practically pushing her out of the apartment. The uncomfortable silence was back, and made worse because now it was only the two of them.

 

The door was shut quietly, but Kagome thought she saw Inuyasha shiver when Sango passed him. But she was so worried and nervous about being alone with him, though, that she didn't question it further. He was just standing there. Not that she was doing any better.

 

It was almost like her butt had become part of the couch. When he finally caught her eyes, it was like an electric jolt went through her body, and, against its wishes, she pealed herself off the couch and started gathering up the plates that were on the coffee table.

 

She rushed herself into the kitchen, put the dishes in the sink, and turned the water on full blast, washing and rattling dishes around as loudly as she could. She was doing her best to make it seem like she was entirely too busy to talk.

 

Some of the plates weren't dirty and only required a rinse, but Kagome tried to take up time by pouring dish detergent into the compartment on a blue scrubber and washing then as hard and loudly as she could. She even entertained the idea of pulling clean pots out and washing them over again. She just needed more time; she needed to delay the conversation as long as possible.

 

The idea was crushed when she felt Inuyasha walk up behind her, and her scrubbing became more furious as she began to panic.

 

“So, I think we need to talk about last night.” There it was. He said it, and he wanted to talk about it. A plate nearly slipped from her hand.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, we should,” she said awkwardly.

 

“I didn't plan for that to happen,” he stuttered. “I know, I mean I could tell it was your first time.”

 

Kagome could feel her anger rising. Of course it was her first time! Did he think she was some loose little slut?

 

“Really?” She threw the clean dish into the drying rack and knew that if it wasn't broken, it almost certainly was chipped.

 

“But the only way I could tell was because of your-- I mean I felt-- and I had to kind of…um--but it was still really good. Damn good.” Now he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. When he walked into the apartment, he was shocked to see Miroku and Sango; but when he looked at her, it was like a brick of lead was sitting in his stomach, making it hard for him to function. Now, trying to talk to her about what they had done was like his body was hooked up the wrong way. His brain didn't seem to be connected to his mouth, but his foot obviously wanted to be.

 

Kagome was leaning heavily against the sink. When he said that last part it was like hyper, horny butterflies took off in her stomach. She became nervous and she felt the beginnings of arousal hit her, which made her sore areas hurt and her legs turn into jelly. She just could not turn to face him. Her legs were too weak for it, and she knew her face was bright red.

 

“Y-yes, well. Since neither of us planned it, we must have been holding in some pretty strong feelings for each other.” She was doing her best to sound casual and add to the conversation. She only hopped she wasn't as obvious as she thought she was. She was trying to lead him down the right road, give the right hint. She wanted to know how he felt about her.

 

Inuyasha smirked when remembered what she confessed in the middle of their passion, But then he became serious again. Yes, he was holding in strong feelings for her that he didn't even know about until he woke up this morning and looked down at her lying in his arms. He was overcome by urges to do things for her, which led to him sneaking out to get breakfast.

 

He had never paid so much for food in his life, not that he couldn't afford it. It was just ridiculous when he could have gotten pretty much the same thing for cheaper, somewhere else; but she was worth it. The price of Tazo's food was nothing compared to her. If he hadn't been worried about her waking up without him, he would have bought her a whole fucking jewelry store. He had never felt like this about anyone; he wanted to be there for her, take care of her, and protect her.

 

He was off to a rocky start already by stealing her virginity in a heated moment. He wanted to know how she felt about that but he couldn't ask. She wouldn't look at him, if he knew it would be worse if she did. He wanted to know if she was angry at him, and she wanted to leave him. Would she move out and refuse to see him again?

 

Then a thought rose from the back of his mind and carried with it a feeling like someone had poured cold water down his spin: She could be pregnant. He hadn't thought about it before; it should have been his first thought. She could be pregnant; she could be carrying his child right now.

 

He stared at her back as if trying to see throw to her stomach. He couldn't breath right anymore, his hands were clenching and unclenching, and he could feel his temperature rising. While she was standing there washing dishes and ignoring him, she could have a baby growing inside her. If she hated him, she would leave him. If she left him pregnant and refused to see him, she would have go through it on her own. Or she would meet someone else and have the baby them.

 

The thought of someone else having her and raising their -- his-- child was too much. Some other man sleeping with her and playing father to his baby; he already wanted to kill the bastard and he didn't even exist.

 

No, he had to fix this now; he was not going to let her leave. He didn't care how many times she hit him with the frying pan; he was keeping her right here; and if she was pregnant she was never leaving the apartment again. He would find them a house, a big house; and then move her there carefully himself. But first he had to fix the current situation.

 

“Kagome, I don't want you to hate me. If you do, I'll make it up to you; but you're not leaving me.”

 

It all seemed to rush out of his mouth and Kagome finally turned to look at him. She was shocked at what he said; it was sweet, but still a little high-handed. She was about to remind him that she was a grown woman and could leave if she felt like, but then he moved. He was suddenly right in front of her with his hands on her arms. He looked scared but determined, and that made her scared.

 

“Kagome, will you marry me?”

 

The blood was rushing to her face again. Inuyasha just asked her to marry him! Inuyasha wanted to marry her! Well that solves the `does he want to be with me' problem quite effectively. But -- she couldn't -- they hadn't been dating -- she barely knew him romantically. She'd only ever known him as her grumpy, irritating roommate. She couldn't marry him until she knew how differently she would be treated and if it would be for the better. She knew if she kept staring into those deep, beautiful eyes of his, though, that she would say “yes”.

 

She moved back quickly and turned back to the sink. He was still so close to her that she could feel his body heat, but at least she wasn't trapped in his gaze anymore.

 

“Inuyasha, I like you, a lot. But we only have last night to go off of, and that's not a good start for a marriage. I know last night happened kind of quick -- okay very quick-“

 

“But Kagome --” he started.

 

“But that's no reason for us to keep going at that pace. I think we should define our relationship as it stands right now before we even got into that-“

 

“Kagome listen, please --”

 

But she was on a roll now and would not stop until he understood her. She turned away from the sink quickly and stalked back into the living room, dripping water and foam all over the floor. He tried to follow her but by the time he got to the door she had already snatched up the tea mugs and pushed back past him. Her nervousness was getting the better of her and she was rambling now. Her face was still red and she began a fresh assault on the mugs as she continued to babble.

 

“I mean, we've only been roommates for a few months and most people date for triple the time we've known each other before even getting engaged to be married and then the engagement lasts for just as long or even longer!”

 

He was getting frustrated with her. He walked over to her and spun her around to face him. The shocked look on her face turned to anger; but before she could tell him off, he blurted it out.

 

“Kagome, we don't have that kind of time! What if you're pregnant?” It was like a gong went off inside her head. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.

 

She turned her back on him and started walking away, mumbling to herself as she went.

 

“Oh no, oh no, no, no, no. I forgot, didn't even think about it…” How could she be so stupid? She had spent all this time worrying that Inuyasha didn't want her and had forgotten that the biggest consequence of having sex was making babies. Her legs finally gave out, but Inuyasha was standing right behind her and caught her quickly. He scooped her up and carried her to the couch.

 

He sat down next to her without any clue of how to comfort her. She looked so panic stricken that he almost wished he hadn't told her.

 

`Pregnant…' The word ran through her mind like quicksilver. She just couldn't believe it.

 

That was how Miroku and Sango found them when they walked through the door. It took a second for them to absorb the scene.

 

“What did you do?” Sango demanded looking at Inuyasha and shoving the bag of food she was carrying into Miroku's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She didn't give Inuyasha any time to answer; not that he was trying, all his attention was on Kagome.

 

Sango came to kneel down in front of her friend and put a hand on her cheek. Kagome looked down as if she was only just noticing Sango was there. “Kagome?”

 

“Sango, what if I'm pregnant?” Kagome asked brokenly. Sango's eyes widened, and so did Miroku's. Kagome was looking at her as if she was supposed to actually answer.

 

“Oh, my, we never thought about that…” Sango looked helplessly at Miroku. He simply strode over and deposited the food on the coffee table and took a deep breath.

 

“Well, Kagome, you don't know for sure; so, don't panic,” Miroku said, and Sango could tell that he was trying to project a calm appearance.

 

“But what if I am?” Kagome asked again in a small voice.

 

“Well…?” Sango and Miroku both looked at Inuyasha. He looked so nervous, more agitated than Sango had ever seen him.

 

“I asked her to marry me,” was all he said. Sango for once didn't seem on the verge of persecuting him. Instead she gave him a concerned, caring look and patted him knee.

 

“See, Kagome-chan. Inuyasha will take care of you and the baby,” She said soothingly. “And we'll get to plan a wedding and a baby shower… Your mother will be so happy.”

 

Kagome only nodded and was only half aware that Sango had called her “chan”. That's what she would call her baby, isn't it?

 

“But we need to know for sure. Kagome, when is your next period?” Sango asked in the same soothing voice.

 

“In a few days actually…” Kagome sounded panicked again, and Sango patted her softly on the hand.

 

“Then we'll be able to know soon. Just try to relax and not worry about it. Here. Eat something.” She reached for the bags of food.

 

“I'm not hungry,” Kagome said quietly.

 

“Kagome, if you are pregnant, you'll need to eat,” Miroku said.

 

“Okay.”

 

She took the food handed to her, and they all sat down and tried to eat and act normal for her. She was grateful for their help but she just couldn't relax. She was so emotionally and physically drained. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn't help it. She just kept asking herself the same question over and over again in her mind.

 

`What if I'm pregnant?'

 

><><><><><

 

A/N: At first writing this chapter was like having mental constipation. Every sentence needed to be painfully pushed out. But after the first page it started to flow again. I want to thank PatchCat for offering to beta for me since I've lost my Heidi. No, she hasn't looked over this chapter yet but as soon as she does all mistakes will be fixed.

 

Also want to tell you guys that Laurell K. Hamilton has released the fifth book in the Merry Gentry series called “Mistral's Kiss”.