Rated: T - MPAA Rated PG-13 - some strong language.

Warnings: AU, angst, language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story. The lyrics "Hello Lonely" by Theory of a Deadman are not mine either.

Hello Lonely

One-Shot

Hello lonely,

How're you doing today?

Hello sweet thing,

Why don't you walk this way?

He was sitting at the bus stop. The rain poured around him, soaking his silver mane and black jacket. The bus, already twenty minutes late, was the cause of his condition. He could already feel sickness lingering in his body, drenching his skin and freezing him…

And that's when he saw her. Beautiful in her short red jacket, racing down the street to catch up with a taxi, a young woman with raven hair waved. She didn't know that he was watching her, but she would've smacked him if she did. He had a car for goodness sake, but taking the bus was the only excuse he had to see her. It had only been a week, but he already regretted his hurtful words like a knife in his heart. He just wished that he could talk to her.

Hello you again,

How could you go and be so cold?

She said goodbye sad man,

Cause all this pain is getting old.

He got off of the bench, the bus be damned. It was already late anyways, so he would have to walk regardless. He watched the young woman stop, having missed the taxi and looking up and down the street for the next one. Without thinking, he ran across the busy lanes, nearly getting hit by three cars. Honks and shouts filled his ears but his mind wasn't listening. It was listening only to her…

She noticed him and startled brown eyes focused on his drenched body. He reached the opposing sidewalk and started making his way towards her. Reluctantly, she turned away, stomping her feet slightly as she walked away from him.

She was still hurt by his words. He could see it in her eyes.

"Kagome! Please, wait!"

She just kept walking away.

So why are you sad?

Don't you know that,

It's you that haunts my dreams

And seems to always come back?

She didn't understand how sorry he was. She just didn't see. Every night, he pictured her. Every night, he woke up, terrified because the spot beside him on the bed was empty. Every night, he went through the shitty things he said about her. Every night, he regretted every word he spoke.

"Kagome! Just talk to me, please?"

How do I live without you?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again.

"What do you want, Inuyasha?" Kagome demanded. "Do you want to point out how pathetic I look standing out in the rain, unable to get a cab? Do you want to yell at me again because the cab I was trying to hail had a male driver?"

"No, no!" Inuyasha panted, trying to catch up to her form. She was before him in seconds and his body relaxed, already at ease with her beside him. He needed her, wanted her… But she had left him after their argument. She had walked out of his life, promising to never come back.

How do I live without you?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this…

"Then what do you want?" Kagome's eyes were full of pain, regret and burning desire. She wanted him back too… But she wouldn't let her pride down, just like him.

"I want to… I'm sorry," Inuyasha blurted, unable to be formal. The rain poured around them, drowning out the sounds of street life and unhappy pedestrians. "I regret every single thing I said. I miss you. I'm sorry and if you could ever forgive me, please…"

"You want another chance?"

Hello lonely,

Now that you're gone I can move on.

Oh, goodbye sweet thing,

Just know that I've been here all along.

Her words were full of anguish. "I gave you another chance when you ex-girlfriend came back into your life. I gave you another chance when you chose work over me. When you became a different person–"

"I know and I'm sorry. Please Kagome, nothing's the same."

"Did you expect it to be?" Her words bit at him painfully.

So why are you sad?

Don't you know that,

It's you that haunts my dreams

And seems to always come back?

"In my own apartment, I see thousands of little things of yours, lying everywhere," she cried. "Every nook and cranny of that god forsaken room is full of memories of us! Laughing, crying, loving… I can't take it! You're everywhere! I wake up wondering why I'm so cold because there's no one beside me to keep me warm. I make too much food because I half-expect for you to burst through the doors. Everything I do is for you! Everything I did was for you!"

Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the rain.

Inuyasha reached out, thumbing away her tears. He wrapped his arms around her but she pushed him away.

How do I live without you?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again.

"Don't toy with me Inuyasha," she warned, sobbing. "Don't do this to me. Not now, not ever."

"But I need you," he whispered, trying to bring her into his arms. "Please, don't leave me. Don't walk away from me."

How do I live without you?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again.

"Fuck you!" Kagome screamed, her eyes red. "I'll do whatever the hell I want. You called me a wench, a whore, your fucking bitch. I know you were angry Inuyasha. You had just lost your job after working so hard for Naraku. Your mother is dead. But you took everything out on me. You took it out on me for weeks! Months! I snapped Inuyasha. I couldn't live my life like that."

"And I realized that I've lost more since you've walked away than I had before. When you left, everything was gone. There's nothing left to live for. I have another job. The funeral has past. I've done everything to put my life together in one week, to make it up to you, to make it up for us. Please, don't leave me. I need you Kagome. Forgive me and I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and keep you safe."

"Dammit Inuyasha!" Kagome sobbed, her head against her chest. Her body gave away and her full weight leaned on him.

"Please," he whispered.

He was startled by her fists pushing on either side of his chest. She punched him again and again and again.

Again…

"I can't live with you," she spat, punching him as hard as she could against his chest. She knew it didn't hurt him, he was too powerful. Still, as the tears poured and the sobs wracked, nothing felt better than violence.

Again…

"And fuck it, I can't live without you." The punching stopped and she looked up to see his face. "I love you Inuyasha, but please, if I take you back I can't be hurt. I'll lose it and leave and next time, I won't be in the same city. I'll be so far away that you'll never find me. Ever. Inuyasha, I can't. I just don't know…"

Inuyasha brought her as close to him as possible, his drenched silver hair mingling with her raven strands. "Kagome, if you take me back, I'll be so happy. I'll never push you away again. I'll never blame you again. I'll be everything you want me to be and more. Please, Kagome. Don't walk away from me."

All those things you

Waste on me

I just can't let you go…

He could tell the sobbing was starting to subside and as she brushed back her bangs, she gave him a weak smile. "You sound like love-struck puppy. What happened to the macho guard dog?"

Inuyasha's face watched hers intently, his amber eyes searching hers. He wanted to show her just how much he was willing to change. He wanted her to know that every word he said to her was no word of a lie. "Kagome, this past week has been the worst of my entire life. I need you. I want to be with you…forever."

So why are you sad?

Don't you know that,

It's you that haunts my dreams

And seems to always come back?

"Forever's a long time," she murmured. Her voice was sad as she lowered her eyes. "You can't promise me forever if it's not true. Inuyasha, that's too much, too soon."

"Is it?" he demanded. "Kagome, this past week I've done nothing but dream about you, think about you, talk about you. If this week has taught me anything, it's that I can't be without you. Ever."

How do I live without you?

How could I walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked, blinking as raindrops filled her lashes. "We can't just pretend it never happened."

"No, but we can use it to make us stronger," Inuyasha replied. He ran a claw through her soaking-wet hair. "Kagome, you have to be in my life. If you walked away, I don't know what I would do. My entire life is with you."

How do I live without you?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again.

"There you go again," Kagome said, staring at him with chocolate orbs. "Your entire life? Inuyasha, before you couldn't even promise me a date a week in advance. Now, all of a sudden, you're mentioning forever as if it's an hour away."

"It's not all of a sudden, Kags," he murmured. "I knew this a long time ago, I just couldn't… After Kikyo, and Mom, and the pain I watched myself put you through. I knew it would never work."

How could you walk away?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again…

"What would never work?" Kagome asked. "Inuyasha, stop talking in riddles. Tell me what's going on."

Inuyasha withdrew his hand and shoved it in his jacket pockets. "Kagome, you have to forgive me."

For a long moment, nothing could be heard between them. She was in thought, sorting her emotions, trying to figure out the best answer. Her heart screamed yes but her mind told her no. He was just going to hurt her again. She had already wasted three years. If he was going to hurt her again, would the few weeks she had with him be worth it?

The answer came to her surprisingly quick, and she knew, without a doubt what the answer was. She stared into his amber eyes, mesmerized by them like she had been the first time she met him. Everything in those amber flecks told her that he was begging her, pleading her to take him back. He really did regret everything that he had said…

"I…forgive you," she whispered.

Inuyasha took another step towards her, closing the already little distance between them. "What did you say?"

Kagome swallowed hard, feeling captivated by his intensity. "I forgive you," she repeated.

And that's when he lowered himself on one knee, in the sidewalk rain puddle and all. Out of his jacket, he pulled out a small royal blue box.

How could you walk away?

How could you walk away from this?

Just walk away from this again…

"Inuyasha, no," Kagome panted immediately. "You don't mean this. You're upset because I left. You want me back and I'm taking you back. Don't promise me something you don't mean. Don't promise me forever for only a few weeks. Please, don't do this." The last part came out in the whisper. Tears flowed again, easier this time than the last.

"Kagome," he started, grabbing her flailing hand in his. "I love you. I want to be with you forever. It took me years to figure it out and it took me this long to get the nerve to ask you. I'm not doing this because I regret what I said, even though I do. This isn't to make up for my past actions. This is something I'm doing because I want to do it. I want to wake up beside you every morning. I want to eat breakfast across that tiny two-person table with you. I want to kiss you before I go to work. I want to work, thinking about you every second of every minute of every painful hour that I'm there. I want to come home, only to see your face. I want to kiss you until you can't stop kissing me. And I want to go to bed knowing that tomorrow would be exactly the same."

Kagome smiled, regardless of the tears. "Inuyasha," she whispered. "I love you too."

"Then please, Kagome," he begged, opening the blue box to show her a beautiful diamond ring, glistening in the rain. "Marry me and don't walk away."

Kagome sobbed one last time, choking out of happiness rather than regret. She paused, only for a moment, before throwing herself on him, kneeling on the sidewalk with him. "Yes," she answered, beaming at him with her skirt in a puddle. "Yes Inuyasha, I will marry you."

Inuyasha smirked and pulled her close with his free hand, kissing her tenderly. "I'm so glad you didn't walk away," his muttered against her lips.

"It was never an option," she whispered back, and smiled once more before kissing his lips as he slid the delicate ring on her finger.

Author's Note: Do you want a full copy of this story to keep yourself? Go to my profile under "One Shots" and then "Hello Lonely." There is a download link where you can get it for free.

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