Summary: Inuyasha absolutely hates Valentine's Day. There's no changing his mind about how much it sucks — but it might be possible to at least make it bearable. Warning for language. Modern, High school AU.

Word count: 2,045

The Letter

If there was one time of the year Inuyasha hated more than any other, it had to be Valentine's Day. He'd be lying if he said that it wasn't because he never received anything. That being said, Inuyasha was very good at lying to himself.

So, yeah, he didn't admit it. Certainly not out loud, but not really to himself, either. Because what could be more pathetic than that?

The half-breed, wanting someone to love him? He knew what people would say. He could even feel the bitter taste their laughter would leave on his tongue.

At least, now, he had an excuse for people not approaching him. Something he had forged for himself throughout the years, because it was better to think that people didn't like him because he was a dick than because of some things he had no control on. Then, he could pretend that if he changed his attitude, people would actually, y'know, like him.

The truth was though, that he didn't really believe it.

Screw that; he didn't believe it at all. But at least, he could pretend.

On Valentine's Day, though, he had to watch as all those people, who despised him for what he was, practically groveled in front of his brother, one year above him. The status of demons and half-demons was just that different, and it was as though people couldn't make a fucking connection between them. What did they all fucking think would happen, if Sesshomaru ever showed interest in a human?

Well, not Sesshomaru would or ever did. He kinda just accepted letters and gifts with a bored expression, but Inuyasha knew he threw them all away. Because yeah, apparently no one ever thought about how they were dogs and so they couldn't eat chocolate.

Inuyasha would have survived Valentine's Day much better if he could have just watched it from afar and thought of it as a moment of torture for Sesshomaru. But no, apparently he couldn't even have that. Would be no fun if he didn't suffer from that too, if he could get just one day of respite. One day when he wouldn't have to think about how much better than him Sesshomaru was and how no one apart from his family could take interest in him.

Yeah, because no one could make him believe that Sesshomaru's better behavior was why people took interest in him. The guy was pretty, but Inuyasha didn't exactly think he looked disgusting — mostly. He also had non-humans attribute, like his ears, and most importantly, he was a fucking asshole. He looked down on absolutely everyone and he despised humans. He didn't mind saying it out loud in front of them, and they still worshiped the ground he walked on.

That wasn't the worst though. That was infuriating, but again, Inuyasha could have easily gone through that while enjoying Sesshomaru's torture.

No, what he hated the most was that people fucking mistook them for each other. It happened every once in a while during the school year, but that day, it almost seemed like they did it on purpose.

Alright, sure, they both had long white hair, but that was it. They didn't have the same morphology at all, Sesshomaru being all thin and slender while he had broader shoulders and just an overall more muscular frame. Also — for fuck's sake, he had dog ears. He sometimes wore a bandana, when he didn't feel like facing the looks in the street, but the thing was still fucking red. It was obvious.

Maybe he should have tried to be understanding and all about how hard it was to declare one's love, but he wasn't exactly known for being understanding and honestly, fuck that. They made no efforts to be understanding about him.

He remembered the first time, the way his heart had missed a bit, how hoarse his voice was when he had said "Thank you". And then, the girl's horrified look while she snatched the letter away, apologized, and ran off to his brother.

He didn't remember her, hadn't gotten a good look, but he just couldn't forget her eyes. The horror and the shock in it when she had realized she had gotten the wrong Taisho boy.

He'd stood there wordlessly for a few seconds, trying to understand what was going on, his ears drooping on his head, betraying him even while he tried to keep a straight face. He had heard the laughs. He could still feel the burning in his chest.

He had only needed one time though; he'd adapted quickly, sending them away with a barked remark.

He refused to admit that it made him sad that he was always right.

So basically, he had been alone since as long as he could remember.

Unless you counted the Kikyo thing. Which, really, he didn't think you could. It had been brief, something like a month, when the girl had talked to him, because they had worked together on an assignment. Back then, he had felt like… Like there was something between them. He had followed her like a lost puppy for a while, and then he'd realized that no matter what she felt, no matter if there was something, nothing would ever happen.

Because he was a half-demon.

That was easily the worst betrayal he had ever gone through.

Until he saw Kagome Higurashi crossing the wall towards him, keeping her head down, clutching a pink letter in her hand all while trying not to crumple it.

Well, shit.

If there was one person he wouldn't have expected to do that, it was definitely her. Not just because she was just way too good for Sesshomaru. Also because he had never thought she could mistake them for each other.

While Inuyasha was a loner, Kagome Higurashi was much more social. She had a small group of close friends, but she could still easily talk to about anyone. And in her mind, that apparently included him. She was probably the person he'd had the most contact with recently, although, with her, came a monk, a girl from a demon slayer family, and a fox-demon.

Weirdest group ever, if you asked him.

Kagome was… She had that smile. Inuyasha had never been able to make people smile, except maybe his mother. But Kagome always smiled to him. She was kind. She had no way of knowing what it meant to him, everything she did, even if it was just saying hello, even if it was just nodding at him.

She was the one person he would rather pretend could like him, because the thought gave him some sort of feeling that he couldn't get anywhere else. But right now, as he watched her walk towards him, and he just knew that the one she wanted to talk to was Sesshomaru, he realized it had been a terrible mistake.

Kill all hope.

Soon enough, she was bowing in front of him, holding the letter out. He could tell how much she was blushing, and honestly, he wished it had been for him.

"Keh," he said. He wanted to be cold, biting, like he usually was, but he knew he sounded bitter and dejected. "Sesshomaru's over there, woman."

He pointed towards the tree under which Sesshomaru was standing, bored, waiting for the line of girls to hand him their letters.

Kagome looked up at him, then glanced at Sesshomaru, then back at him. She stood up, because her back was starting to hurt a little, and nervously readjusted her skirt.

"Erm, yes? Does… Does Sesshomaru take your letters?"

At this point, what Kagome meant should definitely have been obvious. But apparently, Inuyasha's brain couldn't handle the change in situation.

"Wha— No, he takes… What do you mean my letters?"

Kagome stared at him like he wasn't making any sense. She was wondering whether or not she should take the hint and assume he was just trying to save her the embarrassment, or if she should insist just a little more. She waved the letter in front of him again.

"Your letter. It's Valentine's Day. I… I didn't make you chocolate because I thought, well, you're a half-dog-demon, so maybe you can't digest it, but I thought I could treat you to some yakitori. I mean… I mean if you want to."

Inuyasha slowly reached out to take the letter, his clawed hands brushing against her small, soft, human ones for a brief instant. Even just that touch was enough to send a pleasant tingle in his arms, and he wondered what it would feel like if she ran her fingers on his skin.

"This is for me," he repeated. "Not for Sesshomaru."

"N—" Kagome rolled her eyes, raising her hands in a gesture of disbelief. "If I wanted to give it to Sesshomaru, why would I be here?"

"'s happened before," he mumbled, using one of his claws as a paper knife.

"You're going to read it now?"

Kagome sounded horrified, and he looked up quickly, ears drooping again, afraid he hadn't known how to respect procedure. But Kagome didn't look horrified, she was just blushing and embarrassed, fiddling with her hair, probably having not expected to get anything from him just now, and to be honest, the show was much more interesting than the letter.

"Well it's for me, isn't it?" he asked, a grin making its way on his face.

She looked up, visibly ready to yell at him that yes, and then noticed his expression. He…was teasing. This was new.

Also, was it just her, or was that grin actually hot?

"I mean, it is. I just… I wasn't expecting you to…"

She was absolutely fucking adorable, and he loved it. He wanted to keep doing that — keep teasing her and see how she would respond, studying every single one of her reactions. But… But if this was the sort of letter he thought it was (and honestly, why would she give another sort of letter on Valentine's Day?), he would have plenty of time for that.

"I can read it later," he said, hesitantly.

"Oh, well, you can read it now, I…"

"Maybe we can go, erm, try that restaurant you're talking about." Meat. God, that girl knew how to come for his heart.

Kagome shot him a bright, clearly relieved smile.

"Sure! And… And you can read it later, and, erm, you know, give me your answer later. At some point. If you want to."

He grinned again. Yeah, he could get used to watching her like this. Even if she was rambling, even if she was getting angry at him, he felt that he could just… watch her. For a really long time.

"I already have the answer," he said, his voice so low that she almost didn't hear him.

Kagome blinked quickly a couple times. She'd felt relieved, but now her heart rate was picking up again, and terror filled her again. Her tongue felt like lead, almost impossible to move when she tried to answer him.

"You… You do?"

He smiled. She didn't think she'd ever seen him smile before. Then, he held out his hand. He swallowed, feeling self-conscious at the gesture, knowing that he was displaying his claws, making them impossible to ignore but… But this was him. And if she had any interest in him, she would have to take both. The demon and the human.

Kagome didn't hesitate, barely even looked at his hand, just staring in his eyes, that weren't anymore human, before taking it. He wrapped his fingers around hers, amazed at how she felt, how small her hand was and how soft her skin.

This was real. This was actually happening.

"Let's go," she said, and Inuyasha was happy to let her lead the way.

He glanced at Sesshomaru, still standing under the tree, still receiving his declarations with a bored expression. Valentine's Day still sucked — and if you asked him, it absolutely was a fucking commercial tradition.

That being said, good things could still come out of it.

And he would endure again thousands of Valentine's Day, if in one of them, Kagome built up the courage to talk to him.

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