AN: Well, here's the epilogue.
WARNING: I had to change the rating to R. Sexual situations ahead. There is a...er....bedroom tussle. This is lime central people(bordering on lemony) and I don't need ff.net breathing down my neck. But don't worry, there's nothing too bad, and all the clothing stays on.
*
*
*
*
It Takes Two to Tango
Epilogue
*
*
*
*
*
She came awake in layers. First there was the darkness that completely surrounded her, just beginning to edge away. Then she became aware of some kind of warmth at her side. She moaned when she felt a soft wind blowing from near her ear, tickling her neck. Slowly the drowsiness ebbed away bringing with it a comforting entity and her eyes drifted open. She saw unusual dark gray lines in her line of vision and wondered what could cause that, then she noticed that she hadn't completely opened her eyes. Her eyelashes were stuck together and in her view. Opening them completely she almost immediately found the source of warmth. Inuyasha.
He wasn't wearing a shirt and her soft comforter covered him from the waist down. If she hadn't been dressed in a baby tee and sweats she might have been worried about her barely intact virginity. Not that she didn't remember what had happened last night. SHE remembered the party. It was Inuyasha she was worried about. Why he had participated in that silly drinking game, she would never know.
She heard a disgruntled groan escape the man beside her's lips and she wondered how much he had drunk. As a hanyou, he had to have drunk quite a lot if had a hangover. Just how badly had he lost that game? Stupid Sango with her stupid twenty-first birthday. No, she could possibly blame Sango or her birthday for this. Sango hadn't even wanted the big party. She had wanted to a small get-together with close friends and family, but had been talked into a big party by Miroku. Stupid Miroku and his stupid drinking game.
She was probably over at his dorm room right now. She'd have to remember to check up on Sango later to see if anything had happened between her and Miroku. Not to mention kick Miroku somewhere where the Sun doesn't shine.
Those two. They had been so on and off since they had gotten together in highschool that Kagome sometimes thought they were only together out of comfort. However, when she would catch one of Miroku's heated gazes directed at Sango, or the girl's reaction-which was usually to turn the same shade as a tomatoe-she would promptly discard the idea. Those two were in love, even if they weren't quite ready to admit it to each other, though she was sure they had at least admitted it to themselves.
Miroku was studying to become a financial lawyer and Sango was excelling in her dance and choreography classes, while at the same time studying interior design. For all her tomboyish quirks, that girl certainly had a knack for design. Currently, the two had been "on" for the past four months and Kagome thought this time it might actually last. During their last "off" time, Miroku hadn't dated or groped any other mother. Though, he had hit on that Koharu girl.....
A rough moan, not unlike the previous groan, brought her attention back to the man laying beside her and she looked up into his face. When he made no more sounds, her gaze drifted up to the white triangles on his head and before she knew what she was doing, her hand had slipped up and she lightly traced her fingertips along the base. Despite his recent (since he had entered university) desire to always wear a hat or bandana over them, he always let his ears free when it was just the two of them. She thought it was because he liked it when she touched his ears-if those rumbling purrs were anything to go by-even though he would never admit to something like that.
"K'geme," he mumbled in his sleep and, knowing he probably had a throbbing headache, she stifled her giggle. However, she could tell it didn't work very well when his ears flattened against his skull. Well, if he could hear her soft giggles from across a room, then it only stood to reason that a small sound like that would make him feel like ears were bleeding when he had a hang-over.
She ran her finger over one of the ears, trying to coax it out of its dejected position, and frowned when it only twitched lightly. She went over both ears, one after the ear, and only got slightly more prominent twitches. She propped herself up on the pillow, ignoring the headrush it gave her as she ran her finger over the edge of one ear. It twitched faintly.
Now, determined to get his ears back to a normal position, for some unknown reason, she got up on her knees. Holding onto the headboard, she straddled his stomach and sat up, reaching forward to lightly massage the base of one ear. She was spurred onward when his head leaned into her touch. But the ear still stayed in their flattened position and that seemed odd to her. Putting weight onto one hand that lay braced on the bed by his shoulder, she scratched and massaged the ear until it began to relax and return to its natural position. Kissing the tip lightly, she moved to the next ear, giving it the same treatment until too returned to its former state.
Well, she had done what she had set off to do, so what was left? Well, play with his ears some more of course. She took the wieght of her arm and brought up both her hands, massaging the furry triangles, the insides giving off a slight squeaking sound. She was so engrossed in scratching, massaging and kissing his ears that she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a low, "What are you doing?" from beneath her.
She looked down, her hands still on his ears, and saw the hanyou smiling up at her. She felt his hands come up to her waist and slide down to rest on her hips before he said, "You gonna anser or do I have to tickle it out of you?"
She removed her hands and was about to answer when he asked, "Why'd you stop? I didn't say stop,"
"Well...I....you....I just thought....."
Holding back a chuckle at the blush that now stained her cheeks he said, "You know, this is a really nice sight to wake up to. If this is how you always plan on waking me up, I think I'll sleep over more often,"
"But then who will protect your precious baseball card collection?" she said, a smile adorning her face.
"This, is much more important," he said, before he suddenly rolled over, pressing her hips to his stomach as he went so that he was now ontop of her with her legs hugging his sides. "As much as I liked the previous view, this position is much better,"
She scowled up at him, trying to force the amusement from her eyes as she drawled, "Really, and why, praytell, is that?"
"Because you are under my control this way. You can't get away little girl," he said, running a light circle around her navel.
"Should I be afraid?" she asked
"Oh yes, be afraid. Be afraid," he said fingering the hem of her baby tee, "When I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk straight for a week,"
"Is that a threat?" she asked playfully, resting her arms up around his neck.
"No, it's a promise," he said before he pushed her shirt up to her collar bone.
"Inuyasha!!" she cried, letting go of him and pushing her shirt back down as he chuckled lightly, still propping himself up on his hands. She slapped his shoulder and said, "What's your problem?" in a scolding manner.
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," he pointed out.
"Yeah....well.....you....shut up."
"Heh. I thought so,"
"Aren't you supposed to have a hang-over?"
"First, it takes alot more alcohol than that to get to the Great Inuyasha. Second, you think a little headache is gonna slow me down?"
"The Great Inuyasha? Are you high as well as drunk,"
"Kagome, I'm not drunk any more....and usually a buzz doesn't last this long,"
"Inuyasha!" she cried, apparently scandalized.
"I'm kidding! You know I don't do that stuff," he said as he got into a more comfortable position, one knee between her thighs and propped up on forearms before he kissed her neck. She slid her hand down his side and was relieved when she felt the soft fabric of his boxers under her fingers. If he hadn't been wearing any clothes, who knows where this could have escalated.
She immediately withdrew the thought when she felt his hands at the waist band of her sweatpants. Not an unfamiliar feeling, but she really didn't have time to be playing around. She had to get to the cafe, and then she had to pick up something for dinner at her mother's. If he didn't stop slipping his hand into her pants, her whole schedule would be off.
Schedules and dinners flew out of her head when she felt his hand slip into her shirt the other tugging at her panties. "Inuyasha..." she moaned. He replied with a nip to her ear and brought his hand up to graze the underside of her bossom. "Inuyasha....don't...."
"You want me to stop?" he asked her collarbone as his hand moved back down to smooth over her stomach.
His hands felt warm against her skin and she couldn't help but notice when he started drawing unseen picture on her stomach with his claws. "I....you....um....what was the question?"
He smirked and resumed his nibbles the hand in her pants slipping underneath to cup her backside. When his other hand cupped her other cheek and ground her hips into his, she let out a guttural moan that wierdly sounded like, "Wait, stop." The wierd thing was, the arms around his neck had tightened as she said it.
He looked down at her and smiled, slipping his hands out of her pants and kissing her on the cheek. "Okay," he said as he rolled back to the other side of the bed.
"What the hell do you think your doing?"
"Stopping," he said turning on his side and propping his head up in his hand to look at her, "Like you told me to,"
"And you listen to me? What do I know?" she said as she propped her torso up on her forearms and looked over at him.
"You seemed pretty adamant that I stop,"
She narrowed her eyes at him and said, "If you don't get your ass over here you'll never get under my shirt again,"
He smirked and crawled back over to her. "Yes ma'am," he said as he straddled her legs and immediately started kissing her belly as his hands slipped into her shirt. He had started tugging at the waistband of her sweatpants again when she once again remembered her...responsibilities for the day.
"Inuyasha," she said, trying to keep the huskiness from her voice.
"Hmm..." he hummed as he pulled her pants down.
"I....you have to.....don't do that,"
"Don't do what?" he said against her calf as he kissed his way up on leg.
"Don't do that....I mean, you have to stop,"
He glanced up, giving her an incredulous look. She was kidding right? Either she was being a tease or she had finally lost it. He propped himself up on his hands and said, "Can you repeat that?"
"You have to stop," she said again, managing to keep the squeak out of her voice.
"You want me to stop?" he repeated his earlier question, knowing it wouldn't have the same effect as before. She just wanted to not be confused anymore.
She nodded, not being able to give him a verbal answer, and he gave her a calculating look. Her once again straddled her legs and said once again, "Okay." But this time, he lifted the band of her panties and blew hot air in before rolling off her. He smirked when she shuddered, biting her lip to keep in the moan and looked over him. The grin vanished from his face and was replaced with an innocent smile that looked unnatural combined with his mischievous eyes.
"Inuyasha," she said
"Yes, Kago-" he didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying as Kagome suddenly pounced on him, straddling his hips and kissing the juncture from his neck to his shoulder before moving down to his chest as her hips once again ground into his. He was the one to let out the moan now when she started to rock back and forth and his hands instinctively went up to her hips. His hand slipped higher and he fondled her breasts through her shirt, before moving them under the baterial to do the same thing. His hand had only just slipped out of her shirt and to the band of her panties when the door opened.
"Kagome, Kaede called and said that....you.....er...."
"Sango!" Kagome shrieked, jumping away from Inuyasha and grabbing the blanket to cover her already clothed body. Inuyasha dropped his head back to the bed and growled softly. Life was so unfair.....
Sango, over her initial shock at walking in on her roommate in such a.....intimate position, smiled as the humour settled into her eyes. "So....I'm guessing I caught you at a bad time,"
Kagome glared at her best friend and said, "Shut up before I impale you,"
"Looks like Inu-baby over there was about to impale you,"
Kagome turned beet red and shrieked, "Shut up!"
Inuyasha, despite himself, started to chuckle as he pulled himself into a sitting postion, leaning against the headboard. "You know Sango, I couldn't have said it better myself," he said, ducking his head to avoid the pillow that had just been sent his way. He laughed outright and sent her that proud smirk that she could never stay mad at.
'Is there a reason you came in here?" Kagome asked.
"I know you were busy, but Kaede called and said she wants you in an hour earlier today."
Her eyes bugged out. An hour early! With out another word, she went flying out the room to get ready for her day. When she was gone, Sango turned to Inuyasha and frowned at him, "I thought you wanted today to go smoothly?"
"I do. Today has to be perfect," he stated
"Well, how is that supposed to happen if you can't stick to the plan? If she hadn't gone to work today to stay and foul around with you, where would you be then, hm?" she said, her eyebrow quirking up.
"Screwed....in more ways than one,"
"You're disgusting," she said. Then a thought entered her head and she said hesitantly, "You guys haven't done it....have you?"
"Why? You afraid you and Miroku are lagging behind?" He let out a short laugh when her face flamed and said, "No, we have not done that, exactly. Her maidenhood is still intact. How about you? You let the lech get into your pants yet?"
She fixed him with a peircing glare that clearly stated "You disgust me so much I can't believe you don't disgust or self"....or something along those lines. "I'm not at liberty to discuss that," she said and turned to leave. When she heard loud laughing at her back she said, "By the way, nice boxers," over her shoulder and shut the door behind her.
He looked down at his boxers and frowned. They were white with small kittens holding hearts on them. He looked back up at the door and called out, "What's wrong with my boxers?"
*_*
"Bye Kaede!" Kagome said as she passed the counter the woman was currently wiping.
Kaede looked up and gave the young woman an affectionate smile before saying, "You don't have to come in tomorrow. Just hae fun at your mother's, okay?"
"Thanks, I will!" she called, disappearing behind the cafe doors. Kagome somehow managed to pulled her keys out of her purse without dropping the pick bakery box in her arms. She had gotten a box of treats from the cafe, eliminating the need to go to another store to pick something up. Now she could just do a few errands that she had been putting off for a while and then go to her mother's. And she'd have to call Inuyasha to let him know that she wouldn't be able to see him tonight.
Ooh, that might be hard, being away from him for a whole day......oh well, she could probably live through it.
She opened the driver's side door and leaned over the seat, placing the box of pastries on the passenger seat. When she stood back up, about to pick up the purse she had dropped on the floor, she suddenly felt something wet burst against her back. She turned around and something hit her chest before she got the chance to figure out what was going on. She saw the remnants of bursted balloons on the floor and looked up to find the perpetrators, only to find three more balloons flying her way. She tried to dodge out of the way, but two still managed to hit her, one in the leg and the other in her side.
She looked around widely, tryig to figure out who was doing thing, but saw nothing but parking lot cement and cars.....It was probably just a bunch of bored teenagers.
She sighed, turning her head to look at the damage caused by the water balloons......
Wait, since when did water balloons leave red and blue slashes. Why those little-they had thrown water balloons filled with paint at her, ruining her white blouse and blue jeans! Some of the paint had even splashed into her hair. What the hell was the world coming to when anyone walking down the street, minding their own goddamn business was suddenly attacked by paint wielding teenagers!
She snatched up her purse and threw it into the back seat and turned a furtive glance back over the parking lot before screaming, "If I ever catch any of you mongrels, I swear you'll be in jail faster than you can say misdemeanor! After I beat the snot out of you!" before jumping into her car and driving off.
Crouching against a car, Miroku turned a glance towards Sango and said, "You don't think she really meant that, do you?" as he slipped a balloon into the now open car door.
"She's just mad. Besides, who says she ever figures out it was us?" she said as he pulled her into an embrace.
"Inuyasha might tell her."
"Then I will be forced to beat him to a bloody pulp, now won't I?"
It really, wasn't a question.
^_^
Kagome stepped out of her shower, whipping her wet hair back as she wrapped the towel around her body. She stepped up to the fogged mirror and cleared away a circle for her to se herself. Once she was satisfied that she had gotten every fleck of paint off of her she stepped out into her room.
She quickly dried her hair and wiped the water from her body before walking to the dresser and swinging it open to find a nice shirt and pants to wear to her mother's house. Somehow Sango had convinced her to wear pants more often, but she still perferred a skirt to a pair of chaffing pants.
However, when she opened her dresser drawers, she found nothing. Deja vu hit her like a Mac truck and she rummaged through all her drawers before moving to the slid out drawer attached to her bed. She found nothing, which she really didn't know wether that was good or bad. She had been expecting another tape....
She strode over to her closet, almost afraid to open it for what she might find. If Inuyasha had destroyed her clothes again, she was going to be going to jail for homicide very soon. 'Or maybe I'll be able to get away with it," she mused as she placed her hand on the closets knob. Pulling it open, her breath caught in her throat. Hanging in the otherwise bare closet was a dress she had never seen before in her life.
It was a long backless black evening gown, with a hanging neck that looked like it would show an ample amount of cleavage. It also had a slit that came up the back of the dress, stopping around calf level. She pulled the dress from her hangars and placed it carefully on her bed, staring at it in awe. She turned back to the closet and found a white box sitting on the floor, just under where the dress had just been hanging. She brought that to the bed to and bit her lip as she placed it on the bed next to the dress.
Lifting off the lid, she found an envelope sitting at the very top. There was very obviously something underneath it, but when she picked it up, all she saw was white tissue paper. She slid a folded paice of paper out of the envelope and unfolded it to find.....a list of instructions. "O~kay," she said to herself as she read the first thing on the list.
1) Put on underwear.
That was just to wierd. First of all, she didn't have any underwear because all her clohes had been stolen. Secondly, did Inuyasha, or whoever had typed this, really think she didn't know how to get dressed? Oh...there was more to number one.....
1) Put on underwear. You'll find them unde the tissue paper.
She flipped the paper back and found herself staring at a pair of black lace panties that she had never seen before. Not only that, but they were quite obviously new, since whoever had put them in here had forgotten to take the tag out. She rummaged further through the box and took out a pair of black slip back pumps, a small velvet box and a video tape. No bra.....interesting.
Resisting the urge to open the velvet box before she was told to, she pulled the tags out of the panties and examined them closer. Whoever had got these knew her tastes. If it had been Sango, she would have gotten a pair cut in that shorts-style. If it had been Miroku *shudder* he probably would have gotten a thong or g-string. Anyone else would have just gotten regular panties, but these were bikini bottom underwear. But they hadn't gotten her a bra too? What was up with that.
Shrugging, she pulled the panties on and turned back to the instructions.
2) Put on dress. No explanation needed, I hope
Well, that was interesting. She was positive she knew had set this up and a smile was beginning to tug at her lips as she pulled on the dress, careful not to rip or pull at anything. She sat down on the bed to pull on the shoes and stood up, founding that she was abit wobbl in the new shoes. She took a few steps away from the bed to make sure she could actually walk int them, then walked back and picked up the peice of paper.
3) Put on shoes.
Well, that was already taken care of. She walked to her mirror and gave herself a once over. Her still slightly damp hair gave her a slightly rumpled look, but the drees hugged her body nicely. Tight in all the right places and loose in all the right places. She smiled, this was turning out to be pretty fun. She had already gotten a new dress, shoes and panties out of it. If she got to keep them she'd be happy, and she couldn't wait to be able to show Inuyasha. Speaking of which, when was he gonna show up to take credit for his little prank.
She walked back to the bed and once again picked up the paper, reading number four on the list.
4) Pick up jewellery box, but do not open. You'll be in big trouble if you do.
"I'm so scared," she said to herself as she picked up the velvet box. Of course, she still didn't open it, despite her desire to see what was inside.
5) Pop video tape into VCR and take a seat to watch.
She smiled, picking up the videotape as she walked out to her livingroom and popped in the tape, taking seat on the couch after she pressed play. On the screen, an image of Inuyasha, dressed in a black tuxedo and staring at something beyond the camera appeared. "You got it Miro-," a hissing cut offhis sentence and Inuyasha chuckled lightly, remembrance flitting across his eyes before he turned to look directly at the camera. "Well, hello Kagome. If your watching this then that means your dressed in the black dress I got for you. I bet you look beautiful in it. You always do." Kagome blushed, "You're probably wondering what's going on. And let me assure you right now, your clothes are perfectly fine and folded up at my house. Don't worry.
"Now for the actual purpose for this unorthodox greeting. Kagome, we have been dating since highschool and when we graduated I never thought I could possibly love someone as much as I loved you. But I was so wrong," his eyes sparkled but hers widened as she held her breath, "My feelings for you grow more and more every single day and it got to the point where I thought I would die if you weren't constantly near me. You're my obsession Kagome, my addiction. But you're also the woman that I am in love with.
"I don't know much, but I know this. If you're not by my side when I fall asleep, I can't get a good night's rest and if you aren't there when I wake up, I can only wonder where you are and hope that you come to me soon. I'm always thinking about you and your always in my dreams. After five years, I thought my feelings for you would lessen or at least dull, but they haven't. My love for you only grows stronger and I can't possibly imagine not spending the rest of my days without you. And that is probably one of the more poetic things I've ever said.
"I know I can't give you everything you want. I can't promise that I'll say or do the right thing, I can't give you the gifts that you deserve and I can't give you the romantic words you want. I'm just not capable of it. What I can give you is me, my love, my body, my mind, and my soul. All I have is a promise to you that I will never break. I promise to always be good to you. I promise to always take care of you. And I promise to always love you. Kagome......open the box," and he stopped, just staring at the screen, a genuine smile on his lips.
She looked down at the box tightly clenched in her hand and slowly opened it. She found herself staring at a large, clear diamond that was surrounded by smaller, red diamonds. The red seemed to surround the hwite in an almost protective hug, and they were crafted onto a small band of white gold. She gasped as she stared at the ring in a disjointed stupor.
"I guess that means you like it,"
She looked up at the screen at the sound of Inuyasha's voice, but the tape had run out and the screen was now casting a blue light over its surroundings. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Inuyasha smiling down at her. He walked around the couch so that he was standing in front of her and she could see that he was dressed in the same suit as the videotape. He took the box out of her hand and knelt before her holding it out to her. "Kagome, You know that I love you, that I'm in love with you....that, oh hell, they have to come up with a new word for what I feel for you. I need to know...." then he stopped, like he was afraid that if he said it out loud he would lose her somehow.
They had never before discussed their future together. He knew the basics of marriage and he had explained to her the finer points of mating. Sure, both knew that the other wanted to be with the other, but for how long, what kind of commitment? Kagome brought a hand to his cheek in a comforting manner and when he saw her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, her hand slipped down to his neck. He needed no further encouragements. "Kagome, will you be my mate? Will you marry me?"
She smiled, taking a deep breath to quelch the happy tears brimming on the edge of her eyes. She openedher mouth to respond, but found that she had momentarily lost her voice. She tried again and a squeak escaped. She saw the fear build inhis eyes and decided that words woldn't properly display how she felt at the moment. She leaned down at captured his hips, kissing him passionately as she poured all her feeling for him ino that kiss.
Inuyasha's hands came up around her waist and pulled her onto the flor infront of him, seizing her chin with one head to tilt her head to his liking and running a hand over her bare back. Her hands clenched his jacket as she pressed her body into his, trying to show him how she felt through her action. When they finally broke apart, she was gasping and panting and he was breathing heavily. He smiled down at her and said, "So, was that a yes or a no?"
"You are just so funny. I think I may die from laughter," she said, brushing her lips against his. He ent in for a longer but chaste kiss and she mumbled, "Yes," against his lips.
"What?" he said, pulling away slightly
"Yes, I will. I want to be with you as long as possible Inuyasha. You make me happy,"
He buried his face in her hair and said, "I love you,"
"I love you to. So much," she said, turning her head slightly to kiss his cheek. He pulled back and picked her up and sat down on the couch, positioning her in his lap. 'So.....do I get to keep the dress?"
"Absolutely. You look great in it,"
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, but it would look better around your ankles,"
She punched him lightly, as he seized her hand and pulled the ring out of it's box. He quickly slipped it onto her ring finger and kissed the tip of her finger. When he loked back up to her face to find that a single tear had made it's way down her cheek. "Kagome? Why are you crying?"
She looked at him incredulously. How dense could one guy get?
"Do....do you.....not want to be with me?"
"What? Of course I do. I love you, you idiot. I'm crying because I'm happy,"
"Why would you cry if your happy?"
"They're happy tears.....I'm happy."
".....oh......" Then he smiled and captured her lips in a slow sensual kiss that slowly made it's way to it's toes back up again.
When they broke away, Kagome was the first to talk. "So, what's the deal with the dress? Did you just want to butter me up first, or try to guilt me into saying yes?" she said, though the teasing tone in her voice made it obvious she wasn't serious.
"Actually, Sango told me once that girls don't wear bras when the wear backless dresses. I figured it was the perfect excuse to be able to do this." He said, cupping one breast in his hand while the other slipped into her dress though the back and grazed the other breast. He slipped the thick strap down her shoulder and rolled the peak in is fingers.
"....oh....okay, that's a really good reason," she said, burying her face into his chest. Removing the hand and putting her strap back up he continued to play with the other breast he held through the dress, amazed at how much of her he could feel through the thin fabric. She managed to push his jacket off and loosened the first two buttons on his white shirt. She felt his hand travel down her back, in her dress, and further down to cup her butt, moving further to light graze his fingers across her over-heated, panty-covered core. "Inuyasha....." she moaned, even as she removed his hand from her person. "If you want to do that, we should probably take this into the bedroom,"
"Hmm.....no, I think I'm content to just sit here with you. I don't want to move," he said as he removed his hand from her breast and wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around him and settled into a comfortable position against his chest. She smiled when he brought one of her hands away from his neck and intertwined their fingers. Looking down at their fingers, a warm feeling wrapped around her and she had no doubts that the both of them would have a happy future together.
They would be doing their own tango for a long time..
*
AN: Well, it's done. You may not be happy with the epilogue, but I am, I like the endng more than I like the way I wrote the story....which isn't saying muhc. Okay, well, if you liked this, check out my story "Plain Sight". It is currently my favourite story and I'll probably be continuously writing it for a while.
WARNING: I had to change the rating to R. Sexual situations ahead. There is a...er....bedroom tussle. This is lime central people(bordering on lemony) and I don't need ff.net breathing down my neck. But don't worry, there's nothing too bad, and all the clothing stays on.
*
*
*
*
It Takes Two to Tango
Epilogue
*
*
*
*
*
She came awake in layers. First there was the darkness that completely surrounded her, just beginning to edge away. Then she became aware of some kind of warmth at her side. She moaned when she felt a soft wind blowing from near her ear, tickling her neck. Slowly the drowsiness ebbed away bringing with it a comforting entity and her eyes drifted open. She saw unusual dark gray lines in her line of vision and wondered what could cause that, then she noticed that she hadn't completely opened her eyes. Her eyelashes were stuck together and in her view. Opening them completely she almost immediately found the source of warmth. Inuyasha.
He wasn't wearing a shirt and her soft comforter covered him from the waist down. If she hadn't been dressed in a baby tee and sweats she might have been worried about her barely intact virginity. Not that she didn't remember what had happened last night. SHE remembered the party. It was Inuyasha she was worried about. Why he had participated in that silly drinking game, she would never know.
She heard a disgruntled groan escape the man beside her's lips and she wondered how much he had drunk. As a hanyou, he had to have drunk quite a lot if had a hangover. Just how badly had he lost that game? Stupid Sango with her stupid twenty-first birthday. No, she could possibly blame Sango or her birthday for this. Sango hadn't even wanted the big party. She had wanted to a small get-together with close friends and family, but had been talked into a big party by Miroku. Stupid Miroku and his stupid drinking game.
She was probably over at his dorm room right now. She'd have to remember to check up on Sango later to see if anything had happened between her and Miroku. Not to mention kick Miroku somewhere where the Sun doesn't shine.
Those two. They had been so on and off since they had gotten together in highschool that Kagome sometimes thought they were only together out of comfort. However, when she would catch one of Miroku's heated gazes directed at Sango, or the girl's reaction-which was usually to turn the same shade as a tomatoe-she would promptly discard the idea. Those two were in love, even if they weren't quite ready to admit it to each other, though she was sure they had at least admitted it to themselves.
Miroku was studying to become a financial lawyer and Sango was excelling in her dance and choreography classes, while at the same time studying interior design. For all her tomboyish quirks, that girl certainly had a knack for design. Currently, the two had been "on" for the past four months and Kagome thought this time it might actually last. During their last "off" time, Miroku hadn't dated or groped any other mother. Though, he had hit on that Koharu girl.....
A rough moan, not unlike the previous groan, brought her attention back to the man laying beside her and she looked up into his face. When he made no more sounds, her gaze drifted up to the white triangles on his head and before she knew what she was doing, her hand had slipped up and she lightly traced her fingertips along the base. Despite his recent (since he had entered university) desire to always wear a hat or bandana over them, he always let his ears free when it was just the two of them. She thought it was because he liked it when she touched his ears-if those rumbling purrs were anything to go by-even though he would never admit to something like that.
"K'geme," he mumbled in his sleep and, knowing he probably had a throbbing headache, she stifled her giggle. However, she could tell it didn't work very well when his ears flattened against his skull. Well, if he could hear her soft giggles from across a room, then it only stood to reason that a small sound like that would make him feel like ears were bleeding when he had a hang-over.
She ran her finger over one of the ears, trying to coax it out of its dejected position, and frowned when it only twitched lightly. She went over both ears, one after the ear, and only got slightly more prominent twitches. She propped herself up on the pillow, ignoring the headrush it gave her as she ran her finger over the edge of one ear. It twitched faintly.
Now, determined to get his ears back to a normal position, for some unknown reason, she got up on her knees. Holding onto the headboard, she straddled his stomach and sat up, reaching forward to lightly massage the base of one ear. She was spurred onward when his head leaned into her touch. But the ear still stayed in their flattened position and that seemed odd to her. Putting weight onto one hand that lay braced on the bed by his shoulder, she scratched and massaged the ear until it began to relax and return to its natural position. Kissing the tip lightly, she moved to the next ear, giving it the same treatment until too returned to its former state.
Well, she had done what she had set off to do, so what was left? Well, play with his ears some more of course. She took the wieght of her arm and brought up both her hands, massaging the furry triangles, the insides giving off a slight squeaking sound. She was so engrossed in scratching, massaging and kissing his ears that she almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a low, "What are you doing?" from beneath her.
She looked down, her hands still on his ears, and saw the hanyou smiling up at her. She felt his hands come up to her waist and slide down to rest on her hips before he said, "You gonna anser or do I have to tickle it out of you?"
She removed her hands and was about to answer when he asked, "Why'd you stop? I didn't say stop,"
"Well...I....you....I just thought....."
Holding back a chuckle at the blush that now stained her cheeks he said, "You know, this is a really nice sight to wake up to. If this is how you always plan on waking me up, I think I'll sleep over more often,"
"But then who will protect your precious baseball card collection?" she said, a smile adorning her face.
"This, is much more important," he said, before he suddenly rolled over, pressing her hips to his stomach as he went so that he was now ontop of her with her legs hugging his sides. "As much as I liked the previous view, this position is much better,"
She scowled up at him, trying to force the amusement from her eyes as she drawled, "Really, and why, praytell, is that?"
"Because you are under my control this way. You can't get away little girl," he said, running a light circle around her navel.
"Should I be afraid?" she asked
"Oh yes, be afraid. Be afraid," he said fingering the hem of her baby tee, "When I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk straight for a week,"
"Is that a threat?" she asked playfully, resting her arms up around his neck.
"No, it's a promise," he said before he pushed her shirt up to her collar bone.
"Inuyasha!!" she cried, letting go of him and pushing her shirt back down as he chuckled lightly, still propping himself up on his hands. She slapped his shoulder and said, "What's your problem?" in a scolding manner.
"It's nothing I haven't seen before," he pointed out.
"Yeah....well.....you....shut up."
"Heh. I thought so,"
"Aren't you supposed to have a hang-over?"
"First, it takes alot more alcohol than that to get to the Great Inuyasha. Second, you think a little headache is gonna slow me down?"
"The Great Inuyasha? Are you high as well as drunk,"
"Kagome, I'm not drunk any more....and usually a buzz doesn't last this long,"
"Inuyasha!" she cried, apparently scandalized.
"I'm kidding! You know I don't do that stuff," he said as he got into a more comfortable position, one knee between her thighs and propped up on forearms before he kissed her neck. She slid her hand down his side and was relieved when she felt the soft fabric of his boxers under her fingers. If he hadn't been wearing any clothes, who knows where this could have escalated.
She immediately withdrew the thought when she felt his hands at the waist band of her sweatpants. Not an unfamiliar feeling, but she really didn't have time to be playing around. She had to get to the cafe, and then she had to pick up something for dinner at her mother's. If he didn't stop slipping his hand into her pants, her whole schedule would be off.
Schedules and dinners flew out of her head when she felt his hand slip into her shirt the other tugging at her panties. "Inuyasha..." she moaned. He replied with a nip to her ear and brought his hand up to graze the underside of her bossom. "Inuyasha....don't...."
"You want me to stop?" he asked her collarbone as his hand moved back down to smooth over her stomach.
His hands felt warm against her skin and she couldn't help but notice when he started drawing unseen picture on her stomach with his claws. "I....you....um....what was the question?"
He smirked and resumed his nibbles the hand in her pants slipping underneath to cup her backside. When his other hand cupped her other cheek and ground her hips into his, she let out a guttural moan that wierdly sounded like, "Wait, stop." The wierd thing was, the arms around his neck had tightened as she said it.
He looked down at her and smiled, slipping his hands out of her pants and kissing her on the cheek. "Okay," he said as he rolled back to the other side of the bed.
"What the hell do you think your doing?"
"Stopping," he said turning on his side and propping his head up in his hand to look at her, "Like you told me to,"
"And you listen to me? What do I know?" she said as she propped her torso up on her forearms and looked over at him.
"You seemed pretty adamant that I stop,"
She narrowed her eyes at him and said, "If you don't get your ass over here you'll never get under my shirt again,"
He smirked and crawled back over to her. "Yes ma'am," he said as he straddled her legs and immediately started kissing her belly as his hands slipped into her shirt. He had started tugging at the waistband of her sweatpants again when she once again remembered her...responsibilities for the day.
"Inuyasha," she said, trying to keep the huskiness from her voice.
"Hmm..." he hummed as he pulled her pants down.
"I....you have to.....don't do that,"
"Don't do what?" he said against her calf as he kissed his way up on leg.
"Don't do that....I mean, you have to stop,"
He glanced up, giving her an incredulous look. She was kidding right? Either she was being a tease or she had finally lost it. He propped himself up on his hands and said, "Can you repeat that?"
"You have to stop," she said again, managing to keep the squeak out of her voice.
"You want me to stop?" he repeated his earlier question, knowing it wouldn't have the same effect as before. She just wanted to not be confused anymore.
She nodded, not being able to give him a verbal answer, and he gave her a calculating look. Her once again straddled her legs and said once again, "Okay." But this time, he lifted the band of her panties and blew hot air in before rolling off her. He smirked when she shuddered, biting her lip to keep in the moan and looked over him. The grin vanished from his face and was replaced with an innocent smile that looked unnatural combined with his mischievous eyes.
"Inuyasha," she said
"Yes, Kago-" he didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying as Kagome suddenly pounced on him, straddling his hips and kissing the juncture from his neck to his shoulder before moving down to his chest as her hips once again ground into his. He was the one to let out the moan now when she started to rock back and forth and his hands instinctively went up to her hips. His hand slipped higher and he fondled her breasts through her shirt, before moving them under the baterial to do the same thing. His hand had only just slipped out of her shirt and to the band of her panties when the door opened.
"Kagome, Kaede called and said that....you.....er...."
"Sango!" Kagome shrieked, jumping away from Inuyasha and grabbing the blanket to cover her already clothed body. Inuyasha dropped his head back to the bed and growled softly. Life was so unfair.....
Sango, over her initial shock at walking in on her roommate in such a.....intimate position, smiled as the humour settled into her eyes. "So....I'm guessing I caught you at a bad time,"
Kagome glared at her best friend and said, "Shut up before I impale you,"
"Looks like Inu-baby over there was about to impale you,"
Kagome turned beet red and shrieked, "Shut up!"
Inuyasha, despite himself, started to chuckle as he pulled himself into a sitting postion, leaning against the headboard. "You know Sango, I couldn't have said it better myself," he said, ducking his head to avoid the pillow that had just been sent his way. He laughed outright and sent her that proud smirk that she could never stay mad at.
'Is there a reason you came in here?" Kagome asked.
"I know you were busy, but Kaede called and said she wants you in an hour earlier today."
Her eyes bugged out. An hour early! With out another word, she went flying out the room to get ready for her day. When she was gone, Sango turned to Inuyasha and frowned at him, "I thought you wanted today to go smoothly?"
"I do. Today has to be perfect," he stated
"Well, how is that supposed to happen if you can't stick to the plan? If she hadn't gone to work today to stay and foul around with you, where would you be then, hm?" she said, her eyebrow quirking up.
"Screwed....in more ways than one,"
"You're disgusting," she said. Then a thought entered her head and she said hesitantly, "You guys haven't done it....have you?"
"Why? You afraid you and Miroku are lagging behind?" He let out a short laugh when her face flamed and said, "No, we have not done that, exactly. Her maidenhood is still intact. How about you? You let the lech get into your pants yet?"
She fixed him with a peircing glare that clearly stated "You disgust me so much I can't believe you don't disgust or self"....or something along those lines. "I'm not at liberty to discuss that," she said and turned to leave. When she heard loud laughing at her back she said, "By the way, nice boxers," over her shoulder and shut the door behind her.
He looked down at his boxers and frowned. They were white with small kittens holding hearts on them. He looked back up at the door and called out, "What's wrong with my boxers?"
*_*
"Bye Kaede!" Kagome said as she passed the counter the woman was currently wiping.
Kaede looked up and gave the young woman an affectionate smile before saying, "You don't have to come in tomorrow. Just hae fun at your mother's, okay?"
"Thanks, I will!" she called, disappearing behind the cafe doors. Kagome somehow managed to pulled her keys out of her purse without dropping the pick bakery box in her arms. She had gotten a box of treats from the cafe, eliminating the need to go to another store to pick something up. Now she could just do a few errands that she had been putting off for a while and then go to her mother's. And she'd have to call Inuyasha to let him know that she wouldn't be able to see him tonight.
Ooh, that might be hard, being away from him for a whole day......oh well, she could probably live through it.
She opened the driver's side door and leaned over the seat, placing the box of pastries on the passenger seat. When she stood back up, about to pick up the purse she had dropped on the floor, she suddenly felt something wet burst against her back. She turned around and something hit her chest before she got the chance to figure out what was going on. She saw the remnants of bursted balloons on the floor and looked up to find the perpetrators, only to find three more balloons flying her way. She tried to dodge out of the way, but two still managed to hit her, one in the leg and the other in her side.
She looked around widely, tryig to figure out who was doing thing, but saw nothing but parking lot cement and cars.....It was probably just a bunch of bored teenagers.
She sighed, turning her head to look at the damage caused by the water balloons......
Wait, since when did water balloons leave red and blue slashes. Why those little-they had thrown water balloons filled with paint at her, ruining her white blouse and blue jeans! Some of the paint had even splashed into her hair. What the hell was the world coming to when anyone walking down the street, minding their own goddamn business was suddenly attacked by paint wielding teenagers!
She snatched up her purse and threw it into the back seat and turned a furtive glance back over the parking lot before screaming, "If I ever catch any of you mongrels, I swear you'll be in jail faster than you can say misdemeanor! After I beat the snot out of you!" before jumping into her car and driving off.
Crouching against a car, Miroku turned a glance towards Sango and said, "You don't think she really meant that, do you?" as he slipped a balloon into the now open car door.
"She's just mad. Besides, who says she ever figures out it was us?" she said as he pulled her into an embrace.
"Inuyasha might tell her."
"Then I will be forced to beat him to a bloody pulp, now won't I?"
It really, wasn't a question.
^_^
Kagome stepped out of her shower, whipping her wet hair back as she wrapped the towel around her body. She stepped up to the fogged mirror and cleared away a circle for her to se herself. Once she was satisfied that she had gotten every fleck of paint off of her she stepped out into her room.
She quickly dried her hair and wiped the water from her body before walking to the dresser and swinging it open to find a nice shirt and pants to wear to her mother's house. Somehow Sango had convinced her to wear pants more often, but she still perferred a skirt to a pair of chaffing pants.
However, when she opened her dresser drawers, she found nothing. Deja vu hit her like a Mac truck and she rummaged through all her drawers before moving to the slid out drawer attached to her bed. She found nothing, which she really didn't know wether that was good or bad. She had been expecting another tape....
She strode over to her closet, almost afraid to open it for what she might find. If Inuyasha had destroyed her clothes again, she was going to be going to jail for homicide very soon. 'Or maybe I'll be able to get away with it," she mused as she placed her hand on the closets knob. Pulling it open, her breath caught in her throat. Hanging in the otherwise bare closet was a dress she had never seen before in her life.
It was a long backless black evening gown, with a hanging neck that looked like it would show an ample amount of cleavage. It also had a slit that came up the back of the dress, stopping around calf level. She pulled the dress from her hangars and placed it carefully on her bed, staring at it in awe. She turned back to the closet and found a white box sitting on the floor, just under where the dress had just been hanging. She brought that to the bed to and bit her lip as she placed it on the bed next to the dress.
Lifting off the lid, she found an envelope sitting at the very top. There was very obviously something underneath it, but when she picked it up, all she saw was white tissue paper. She slid a folded paice of paper out of the envelope and unfolded it to find.....a list of instructions. "O~kay," she said to herself as she read the first thing on the list.
1) Put on underwear.
That was just to wierd. First of all, she didn't have any underwear because all her clohes had been stolen. Secondly, did Inuyasha, or whoever had typed this, really think she didn't know how to get dressed? Oh...there was more to number one.....
1) Put on underwear. You'll find them unde the tissue paper.
She flipped the paper back and found herself staring at a pair of black lace panties that she had never seen before. Not only that, but they were quite obviously new, since whoever had put them in here had forgotten to take the tag out. She rummaged further through the box and took out a pair of black slip back pumps, a small velvet box and a video tape. No bra.....interesting.
Resisting the urge to open the velvet box before she was told to, she pulled the tags out of the panties and examined them closer. Whoever had got these knew her tastes. If it had been Sango, she would have gotten a pair cut in that shorts-style. If it had been Miroku *shudder* he probably would have gotten a thong or g-string. Anyone else would have just gotten regular panties, but these were bikini bottom underwear. But they hadn't gotten her a bra too? What was up with that.
Shrugging, she pulled the panties on and turned back to the instructions.
2) Put on dress. No explanation needed, I hope
Well, that was interesting. She was positive she knew had set this up and a smile was beginning to tug at her lips as she pulled on the dress, careful not to rip or pull at anything. She sat down on the bed to pull on the shoes and stood up, founding that she was abit wobbl in the new shoes. She took a few steps away from the bed to make sure she could actually walk int them, then walked back and picked up the peice of paper.
3) Put on shoes.
Well, that was already taken care of. She walked to her mirror and gave herself a once over. Her still slightly damp hair gave her a slightly rumpled look, but the drees hugged her body nicely. Tight in all the right places and loose in all the right places. She smiled, this was turning out to be pretty fun. She had already gotten a new dress, shoes and panties out of it. If she got to keep them she'd be happy, and she couldn't wait to be able to show Inuyasha. Speaking of which, when was he gonna show up to take credit for his little prank.
She walked back to the bed and once again picked up the paper, reading number four on the list.
4) Pick up jewellery box, but do not open. You'll be in big trouble if you do.
"I'm so scared," she said to herself as she picked up the velvet box. Of course, she still didn't open it, despite her desire to see what was inside.
5) Pop video tape into VCR and take a seat to watch.
She smiled, picking up the videotape as she walked out to her livingroom and popped in the tape, taking seat on the couch after she pressed play. On the screen, an image of Inuyasha, dressed in a black tuxedo and staring at something beyond the camera appeared. "You got it Miro-," a hissing cut offhis sentence and Inuyasha chuckled lightly, remembrance flitting across his eyes before he turned to look directly at the camera. "Well, hello Kagome. If your watching this then that means your dressed in the black dress I got for you. I bet you look beautiful in it. You always do." Kagome blushed, "You're probably wondering what's going on. And let me assure you right now, your clothes are perfectly fine and folded up at my house. Don't worry.
"Now for the actual purpose for this unorthodox greeting. Kagome, we have been dating since highschool and when we graduated I never thought I could possibly love someone as much as I loved you. But I was so wrong," his eyes sparkled but hers widened as she held her breath, "My feelings for you grow more and more every single day and it got to the point where I thought I would die if you weren't constantly near me. You're my obsession Kagome, my addiction. But you're also the woman that I am in love with.
"I don't know much, but I know this. If you're not by my side when I fall asleep, I can't get a good night's rest and if you aren't there when I wake up, I can only wonder where you are and hope that you come to me soon. I'm always thinking about you and your always in my dreams. After five years, I thought my feelings for you would lessen or at least dull, but they haven't. My love for you only grows stronger and I can't possibly imagine not spending the rest of my days without you. And that is probably one of the more poetic things I've ever said.
"I know I can't give you everything you want. I can't promise that I'll say or do the right thing, I can't give you the gifts that you deserve and I can't give you the romantic words you want. I'm just not capable of it. What I can give you is me, my love, my body, my mind, and my soul. All I have is a promise to you that I will never break. I promise to always be good to you. I promise to always take care of you. And I promise to always love you. Kagome......open the box," and he stopped, just staring at the screen, a genuine smile on his lips.
She looked down at the box tightly clenched in her hand and slowly opened it. She found herself staring at a large, clear diamond that was surrounded by smaller, red diamonds. The red seemed to surround the hwite in an almost protective hug, and they were crafted onto a small band of white gold. She gasped as she stared at the ring in a disjointed stupor.
"I guess that means you like it,"
She looked up at the screen at the sound of Inuyasha's voice, but the tape had run out and the screen was now casting a blue light over its surroundings. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Inuyasha smiling down at her. He walked around the couch so that he was standing in front of her and she could see that he was dressed in the same suit as the videotape. He took the box out of her hand and knelt before her holding it out to her. "Kagome, You know that I love you, that I'm in love with you....that, oh hell, they have to come up with a new word for what I feel for you. I need to know...." then he stopped, like he was afraid that if he said it out loud he would lose her somehow.
They had never before discussed their future together. He knew the basics of marriage and he had explained to her the finer points of mating. Sure, both knew that the other wanted to be with the other, but for how long, what kind of commitment? Kagome brought a hand to his cheek in a comforting manner and when he saw her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, her hand slipped down to his neck. He needed no further encouragements. "Kagome, will you be my mate? Will you marry me?"
She smiled, taking a deep breath to quelch the happy tears brimming on the edge of her eyes. She openedher mouth to respond, but found that she had momentarily lost her voice. She tried again and a squeak escaped. She saw the fear build inhis eyes and decided that words woldn't properly display how she felt at the moment. She leaned down at captured his hips, kissing him passionately as she poured all her feeling for him ino that kiss.
Inuyasha's hands came up around her waist and pulled her onto the flor infront of him, seizing her chin with one head to tilt her head to his liking and running a hand over her bare back. Her hands clenched his jacket as she pressed her body into his, trying to show him how she felt through her action. When they finally broke apart, she was gasping and panting and he was breathing heavily. He smiled down at her and said, "So, was that a yes or a no?"
"You are just so funny. I think I may die from laughter," she said, brushing her lips against his. He ent in for a longer but chaste kiss and she mumbled, "Yes," against his lips.
"What?" he said, pulling away slightly
"Yes, I will. I want to be with you as long as possible Inuyasha. You make me happy,"
He buried his face in her hair and said, "I love you,"
"I love you to. So much," she said, turning her head slightly to kiss his cheek. He pulled back and picked her up and sat down on the couch, positioning her in his lap. 'So.....do I get to keep the dress?"
"Absolutely. You look great in it,"
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, but it would look better around your ankles,"
She punched him lightly, as he seized her hand and pulled the ring out of it's box. He quickly slipped it onto her ring finger and kissed the tip of her finger. When he loked back up to her face to find that a single tear had made it's way down her cheek. "Kagome? Why are you crying?"
She looked at him incredulously. How dense could one guy get?
"Do....do you.....not want to be with me?"
"What? Of course I do. I love you, you idiot. I'm crying because I'm happy,"
"Why would you cry if your happy?"
"They're happy tears.....I'm happy."
".....oh......" Then he smiled and captured her lips in a slow sensual kiss that slowly made it's way to it's toes back up again.
When they broke away, Kagome was the first to talk. "So, what's the deal with the dress? Did you just want to butter me up first, or try to guilt me into saying yes?" she said, though the teasing tone in her voice made it obvious she wasn't serious.
"Actually, Sango told me once that girls don't wear bras when the wear backless dresses. I figured it was the perfect excuse to be able to do this." He said, cupping one breast in his hand while the other slipped into her dress though the back and grazed the other breast. He slipped the thick strap down her shoulder and rolled the peak in is fingers.
"....oh....okay, that's a really good reason," she said, burying her face into his chest. Removing the hand and putting her strap back up he continued to play with the other breast he held through the dress, amazed at how much of her he could feel through the thin fabric. She managed to push his jacket off and loosened the first two buttons on his white shirt. She felt his hand travel down her back, in her dress, and further down to cup her butt, moving further to light graze his fingers across her over-heated, panty-covered core. "Inuyasha....." she moaned, even as she removed his hand from her person. "If you want to do that, we should probably take this into the bedroom,"
"Hmm.....no, I think I'm content to just sit here with you. I don't want to move," he said as he removed his hand from her breast and wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around him and settled into a comfortable position against his chest. She smiled when he brought one of her hands away from his neck and intertwined their fingers. Looking down at their fingers, a warm feeling wrapped around her and she had no doubts that the both of them would have a happy future together.
They would be doing their own tango for a long time..
*
AN: Well, it's done. You may not be happy with the epilogue, but I am, I like the endng more than I like the way I wrote the story....which isn't saying muhc. Okay, well, if you liked this, check out my story "Plain Sight". It is currently my favourite story and I'll probably be continuously writing it for a while.