'Text' – Flashbacks

Text' – Flashbacks.

" – I mean, he's not physically abusive, just … Controlling and THAT'S what pisses me off …" She had been going off venting to him for the past ten minutes but everything after that was a jumbled mass of words he paid no mind to. When her blabbering died down she looked at him expectantly.

'Oh… HELL NO.' If Inuyasha didn't like the guy before, he sure as hell didn't like him now.

He looked at her from his seat. She had rested both of her palms on the table across from him and leaned forward to speak above him. She stared down at him, brows together, eyes fixed on him, determined for him to give the answer to her grief. The afternoon sun beamed into the dining room behind her and gave her a golden silhouette. Her powder blue house coat was wrapped tightly around her thin frame, but oddly loose at the top, so when she leaned over he saw the tops of her breasts.

'What the hell is she wearing under that?'

Before he let his mind wander, he looked to her face again. He sighed and let all the information she let loose marinate in his head. She was right, the only reason he was there was to simply watch over her until her husband returned. Then again, he'd never spoken to him before, so her husband doesn't even know he's here watching his wife. He had to admit though, the guy does sound pretty lame; Married to a vixen, but not sexually attracted to her. That's like buying an expensive car, but not riding it. Just for show. It just didn't add up.

Inuyasha was called 3 months ago, by Kagome's grandfather, to come watch over her.

He had just walked in to his apartment at around 5 o'clock or so. Muscles sore from the day's work, he dumped his things onto the sofa and headed straight to the bathroom for a shower. On his way there the house phone began to ring. He growled and thought of not answering it until he read the caller ID.

He reached for it and answered it hesitantly.

"H-hello?"

"Hello boy, how are you?"

"I'm… okay…"

"That's good to hear. How is life treating you?"

"Um… good…"

"That's wonderful! See, praying everyday like I told you has brought you good fortune, hasn't it?"

"Uhh, yeah…" He suddenly looked over to his right at the book of prayers he was given to some time ago, powdered by dust. He suddenly felt bad for not using it.

"Well, to the point now, shall we? You remember my grand daughter Kagome right? Well her mother has left town and the poor girl is all alone. All I ask of you is to accompany her for a little while."

"Does it really have to be me? Doesn't she have any close friends?"

"Come on, boy. You are my last resort. You wouldn't want me to suffer a heart attack on my trek there would you?"

"Your last resort huh? Well that makes me feel special. There is nothing wrong with you old man, you're just too lazy to walk there everyday."

"I'M NOT OLD! And yes there is! I have recently developed arthritis in my knees…"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Inuyasha conversed about the conditions with the man for a little while longer and hung up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and put the phone back on its cradle. He hasn't seen Kagome since he was about 9. She was tall, skinny and annoying. And even so, he didn't really know her at the time. They've only met once or twice before. He doubted that she would remember him.

How hard will it be watching her anyway?

After his first job, Inuyasha went home and changed. After beginning an investigation to find that blasted paper with the directions on it, he picked up his hoodie and his keys to leave.

Surprisingly, she didn't live far from where he did, but in comparison to where the old man did, it was one hefty drive.

He pulled up outside a large white house, complete with a large lawn and white picket fence.

'What the hell? They couldn't afford a nanny?'

The house stood out like a sore thumb. It was the only house with a lawn and it was the biggest house on the street. The massive house took up about half of the land. He hated big houses.

Inuyasha walked up to the door and knocked. He surveyed the area and wrinkled his nose. Too pricey for his taste. But his opinion didn't matter. He was here to watch the girl. Nothing more.

Soon after, the door slowly opened to reveal a young woman, seemingly not that much younger than him, looking at him confused with the most beautiful brown eyes he'd ever seen.

"Can I help you?"

Her hand grabbed at the white robe she wore and he gulped. Maybe he got the wrong house. He stepped back and read the numbers on top of the door.

'No, this IS the house… maybe she's a friend…'

"Hi, I'm looking for Higurashi Kagome."

"Yeah, that's me."

"What? Are you sure?"

She paused and blinked at him. Did he just question her identity? And she thought SHE was going to go mad in that house.

"Well, last time I checked I was…"

'Damn, Kagome, you grew UP.'

He gulped down a lump in his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. She continued to stare at him and her brows momentarily united as she tried to decipher who he was. She bit her bottom lip softly as she gave him the once over.

"Do you work for Hiten?"

"Who? No, your grandfather called. He told me to keep you company."

Just then, her face lit up as she realized who she stood in front of. She smiled one of the most brilliant smiles he'd ever seen and instantly covered her mouth with her hands to suppress the fit of giggles that shook her thin frame.

Before he could even ask her what her problem was, she launched herself into his arms and her laughter seeped into his shirt. When she let go she could hardly contain herself as her smile stretched ear to ear and her hands clasped in front of her. She opened her mouth and sucked in a breath to calm down. The smile died a little into a knowing smirk that hung lopsided on her face as she placed her hands at her hips.

"Hey, Inuyasha. Long time no see."

He motioned for her to sit down again. She complied and tapped her foot eagerly. He cleared his throat and looked straight into her eyes. What could he tell her? 'Hey Kagome, dump your husband and give us a try?' He'll never say THAT out loud, although, the urge to spill it was there.

In all reality, he didn't know to express his sudden despise for the guy. He was a little envious of course… but to treat your wife in this kind of matter was serious.

"Look, Kagome, the obvious answer here, is yes. He does treat you bad. You should be unhappy. But there's also the fact that you put yourself through it by putting up with it."

He tried to find her eyes through her messy side-swept bangs but they stayed out of sight. Her body relaxed into the back of the chair and her fingers fidgeted with each other. If there was ever a time where Inuyasha ever regretted speaking his mind, it was now. His hand reached out and tried to grasp hers but she yanked her hands off the table into her lap so violently it even startled him. Her breath came out in short pants as she pursed her lips. He was beginning to worry now. She hadn't acted like this with him before.

"A-are you trying to say, that it's my fault?" Her whisper came out so broken that he feared saying anything would push her over into crying. That was the last thing he wanted. He hated women crying. It just felt so wrong to have a woman cry. He chewed on his tongue a little as he once again searched out for her eyes.

And this time, he did find them. Glossy: with a little bit of unshed angry tears. Eyes so brown when moistened he thought he could reach in and pluck out the brownest autumn leaves. Lashes so thick they kissed the tops of her cheeks.

Before he could say anything she stood up and hastily made her way to her room, leaving a confused Inuyasha in her wake. He stood up just as drastically and caught up to her in the hallway. His hand barely grasped her shoulder before she abruptly stopped and swiveled to face him. One of those tears already made it halfway down her face. His fingers burned to wipe it away.

Too bad her sleeve already beat his hand to the job. She sniffled lightly and tucked her hands in the pockets. For seconds that felt like centuries, they just stared at each other. She memorized the stitching on his cotton t-shirt and He was racking his brain for a quick save.

"Okay, look. I don't take back what I said." He began. Stretching his left arm, he rubbed his head to finally have it rest on the back of his neck. She exhaled a breath she had been holding and stared at him wide- eyed.

"Kagome…. To me it sounds like your situation is only getting worse. I know that if I were ever married to a jack ass that treated me like that, id give him a rude awakening."

Images of him married to a guy just suddenly flooded his mind. Pictures of him signing a gay marriage license brutally burned its way into his long term memory and instantly he wanted to scream and take that last sentence back.

Luckily he hadn't. She had looked down at her feet, and seemed to be pondering his words she shook her head.

"Is it really bad for me to want to try to fix this with my husband?"

"Kagome you have been trying that for how long? From here it seems as your relationship is at a standstill and obviously you hate the predicament you're in."

"But I'm not a quitter, Inuyasha!"

"The hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't want to just leave what I've put all my time into!"

"I said the same thing about the shitty dinner I tried to make myself last week! And do you know where it got me? Nowhere. I was unhappy and hungry. So I dropped it and ordered take out. Then everything was okay."

She wanted to rip her hair out. Was he really trying to compare her with food?

"That's different! I just don't want to leave all that I've established here!"

"Kagome, I can see it in your eyes. You don't give a damn about all this fancy-prancy-big-money bullshit and you know you don't. What's really stopping you from leaving?" He spoke the last sentence in a hush tone, taking a step towards her as she took a step back.

Finally backing her into a corner she huffed and tried to push past him, with no avail of course. She narrowed her eyes at him, realizing she had nowhere to run.

He smirked and lowered his head to level with hers.

"So what's tying you down?"

He was determined to get under this thick veil she was covering herself with. The answers were scattered all over her face, laced into her words, molded into her actions. All he wanted was for her to come clean about it all.

"Nothing is, Inuyasha, I just want-"

"Bullshit. I know why, just stop pussy-footing around Kagome."

"Inuyasha come on! All I asked was if it was wrong for me to be unhappy! I didn't expect this to-"

"Answer my question Kagome: What's stopping you?"

"- And now you're all on my case about it, like Mom, Grandpa, and Souta-"

"KAGOME-"

"IM SCARED! OKAY?" Her voice cracked a little. The tears came back full force. Her back pressed firmly into the wall behind her. She could feel the wave of sobs about to hit her and she has never felt this vulnerable, in front of a man other than her husband…

"I'm afraid, of the real world, all by myself. I've never had to do it all alone. Straight out of high school, everything was taken care of. I don't know what the world is like, as a true adult."

Her tears fell freely now. Absorbed by her housecoat as his deep amber eyes focused on hers.

'Now we're getting somewhere.'

"Kagome, you won't be alone. You have family, you have friends, and you have me."

She sniffled and buried her face in her hands.

"But why can't I stay here where it's safe?"

"Because it's not safe here Kagome! You're unhappy."

She looked up at him. Her pleading eyes etched deep into his skull. He was sure to dream about that look for nights to come.

"How do you know if I'm always unhappy?"

'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?' He wanted to scream out. He wanted to shake some sense into her. Her dangerous relationship with her husband was gonna be the death of her one day.

"I can tell."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You really wanna know?"

He didn't wait for her response; it was redundant. His lips came down on hers into a smooth languid kiss and she fell for it. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled him down to her. He smirked and brought his hands up to grasp her slim waist. The kiss was soft, at first. Merely wanting to test her. She took it to a whole other level of passion when she eagerly sucked on his bottom lip and pressed her body into him. He didn't know who confused him more. The woman who babbled on about trying to work it out with her husband or the vixen that didn't even know what she wanted.

He'd take the vixen. He was willing to try to understand her.

She let his lip go and looked up into his eyes. He looked down at her. Her semi-dry hair was a mess. But it was beautiful. Her house coat was disheveled from the prying hands of Inuyasha. But it was beautiful. Her eyes and nose were slightly red form crying, but she was beautiful.

And that's when it hit him. He wanted her. He was going to pursue her. He didn't care about her husband, that guy can go die for all he cared. Call him a home wrecker if you want, but it seems as though this home has been wrecked all by itself, and needed a new constructor. That's where he came in.

You can all kill me now.

I DID NOT forget about you guys or this fic. I actually wrote this chapter 28 times. 28!!

And it kept going in a different direction. It pissed me off for a bit so I took a 2 week break from it. Then I missed it soo much because I had visions of where I wanted it to go but this chapter kept being that nagging mother in law.

I CAN promise you guys one thing. The next chapter will be up within 2 weeks, maybe less.

And another chapter WILL NEVER be worth making you lovely people wait 5 months for. I could promise you that much.

Dirty Little Thoughts.