I hope you guys like this, I didn't originally write it as a fanfiction, but as a kind of love story to an old friend of mine. Enjoy. =)

My eyes hurt as I opened them, my lashes clung to my cheeks from last night's tears. Wiping the backs of my hands across my eyes, I sat up and looked around my room. The crimson walls shone with the light of the morning that seeped through my unblinded window, giving them a lighter color in the spots where the light hit. I drug my feet off the side of the bed, picking my phone off the night stand as I did, and pulled myself off of the unkempt twin bed that had been thrown into disarray during the night before's rant.

As I walked into the bathroom adjoining my room, I peered at my reflection in the mirror that hung above the sink. Curly raven hair stuck out in different directions, causing the face in the middle of it to seem small and paled in comparison. Sighing, I drug my hair brush through it to try and give it some sort of order. After a few minutes of unsuccessful grooming, I turned my flat iron on and walked back into my room to try and find some clothes for the day ahead.

Returning back to the bathroom with a t-shirt and jeans slung across my arm, I dumped them on the floor and began to tame my hair with the now heated flat iron. Pulling the hot iron through my hair, I thought about what the new day would bring. Would I talk to him again today and have him play on my emotions like he did last night, or would I ignore that urge like I did most other days? Once the task of taming the beast was done, I threw off the clothes I slept in and pulled the black t-shirt over my supple breasts and lit it hang over my stomach that still contained some baby fat. My jeans pulled easily, for once, over my muscled legs and over my butt. I buttoned them at the top then slung a belt through the loops before buckling it. The finished product looking back at me in the mirror looked much more appealing than the rough draft I had started with.

The now straightened hair curved around my face, accenting the heart-shape of it, making my brown eyes pop. The t-shirt clung to my chest in a way that didn't seem hoochy, and my jeans clung tightly to my legs. I smiled back at the reflection and wiped away the tear stains with a wet wash cloth.

Just as I walked out of my room and into the hallway, the doorbell rang. Glancing down at my phone, I read the time as 9:00 a.m. 'Who would be here this early?' I asked myself silently. Shrugging to myself, I walked down the rest of the length of the hallway and opened the front door.

Catching my breath as I looked at the man on the other side of a bouquet, I asked the stupidest thing I could. "What are you doing here? Wasn't last night enough?"

"Fine, I guess I won't ask to come in then." He chuckled as he moved past me and set the flowers on the table sitting against the hall wall.

Closing the door, a marred expression crossed my facial features as I turned toward him. His intense blue eyes stared straight at me, his long arms crossed over his sculpted chest. At a height taller than mine, he looked down at me with a soft expression. "I figured you deserved at least this much." He said softly.

"For what?" I said a little more hateful than I intended, planting my hands on my hips.

"Maybe because I was an asshole last night." He mirrored the way I stood, a smile playing in his eyes. Almost making me want to melt, but almost isn't enough.

"Why are you here? Why not just call?" I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples with my index fingers.

"Maybe I just wanted to see your pretty face." He said tilting my face up with his hand, making me face him.

I jerked my head from his grasp. "Don't give me that bull." I glared daggers at him, but he just shrugged it off as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"Damn it, Kagome. Why do you have to be so difficult? You're name definitely fits your personality. Gorgeous on the outside, but all thorns around that hard heart of yours."

I smirked. "Should I thank you for that lovely insight of me? Or slap you? I would prefer the slapping personally." I laughed softly, earning a sigh from him.

Before I could react, his palm firmly cupped my neck, holding it in place. "You make getting close to you more difficult than it should be. Lucky for me, I love a challenge, and you're just what I'm looking for." Softly he kissed the side of my neck, earning a violent shove from me. As he began to fall, he tightened his grip on my neck, pulling me down with him. He chuckled as he looked up at me splayed across his chest, gripping his shirt, head curled onto his chest and eyes closed, preparing for impact. I looked up at him and the urge to wipe the pretty boy smirk off of his face, but I didn't have the chance to.

Instead, I ended up pinned to his chest. During the fall he had moved his hand from the back of my neck, to both arms wrapping around me tightly. Thus, pinning me to him.

I sent him a dirty look. "You don't play fair Inuyasha." That earned me a squeeze that pushed the breath out of me.

"How do I not play fair? You pushed me, I pulled you down with me, and now, now you're trapped against me." He chuckled. "I think it's perfectly fair."

I pounded my fists hard against his chest, much the way the aborigines pound on their canvas drums. This got me nowhere but pinned tighter to him. "You really should give up you know. I'm not letting you go. This is the closest I've gotten to getting to hold you in almost two years, there is now way in hell I'm going to pass this opportunity up." He smirked down at me.

"You are an ass Inuyasha Takahashi."

"You tell me that often Kagome Higurashi."

"And what do I have to say to you to get you to let me go?"

"I don't want to hear you say anything." He smirked.

"Then what do you want!" I almost screamed.

"It's really simple." His eyes met mine, an amused look in them.

"What is it…" I growled almost scared to ask.

"Kiss me."

That was it? He wanted a simple kiss? No, no, no. Inuyasha Takahashi is NOT that simple. Not during the year I dated him, not now, not ever. "Really? That's all you want from me?"

"Really. Would these eyes lie to you?" He said batting his lashes at me. I wanted to laugh from the gesture, but knew that would give him exactly what he wanted.

"What else do I have to do?"

"Nothing. That's what I want. Either kiss me or stay confined to my arms. I'm fine either way. If you stay in my arms I can do this though…" He ran his finger up my back earning a shiver from me, and my back arching into him, causing my body to press tighter to his. "Now which do you prefer, 'cause I think I might like this better." He smirked.

"You know I hate you, right?" I growled lowly, fighting the urge to give into him.

"Aw, come on Kagome. Kissing me can't be that bad, can it? You used to do it all the time when we dated, if I remember correctly. You said you loved the feeling of kissing me." He prodded, knowing it would get to me eventually. I resisted the urge to give him what he wanted, but it was, oh so, tempting to give into those supple lips of his.

"I will no-" My sentence was cut off by him running his finger up my spine again, pushing me further into him. 'That does it!' I couldn't stay trapped here in his arms anymore, I mean, not that it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but I couldn't have him playing with me like this!

Pulling myself up, I looked at him. He smirked wildly, amusement playing in his eyes. "Giving in so so-" I pressed my lips tightly to his, not wanting to hear his teasing anymore. He loosened his hold on my waist, giving me my cue to try and rip free, but his hands quickly shifted to grip my arms, pulling me up closer to him. He applied crushing pressure to my lips as he flipped me onto my back to where he was on top of me. Gently, he moved his hands up my arms to where he was cupping my face.

I pushed on his chest. This was not called for! Softly, I felt his tongue trace my lower lip, trying to find a way in. He opened his eyes, knowing somehow that I was glaring at him. He shot me a look that instantly shut my defenses down, it was strong and controlling, almost possessive. I couldn't fight it. As I relaxed in his grasp and applied a slight pressure again to his lips, he broke away. I looked up at him almost dejectedly. He looked down at me, his hands planted on either side of my body, leaning over me.

Slowly, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my neck, nipping my ear as he came back up. He pulled himself up to a standing position and looked down at me. "I told you all I wanted was a kiss." He said softly. He turned to leave, walking toward the front door.

"Inuyasha!" I yelled, looking back at him, expression full of hurt. He turned and faced me, his emotions unreadable.

"Kagome." He said softly, looking down at me. After a few moments of exchanging stares, he looked over at the bouquet he had brought. Silently he padded over to it and pulled out the only rose in the whole thing. "I brought you a bouquet with only one rose. Do you know why?" He twirled it in his hands, careful of the thorns on the stems.

I searched my brain for any reason that would explain why he brought me a rose in a bouquet of wild flowers. I looked up at him and shook my head. Softly, he knelt down on one knee in front of me, still twirling the rose in his hands. "Because out of all of the flowers in the bouquet, I can pick the rose out the easiest; it's the most beautiful out of all of them, yet also the most harmful." He brought the flower up to his nose and inhaled its scent. "You, Kagome, are this flower." He looked up at me with warm eyes from behind the flower. "You shield yourself so well, but some of us know how vulnerable you are underneath this strength you portray."

I looked at him, speechless. He lifted his arm and sat the rose on the table then cupped my face in one of his large hands. "You can't be stronger than the world forever, Kagome." He said softly.

God damn it, I could feel tears forming in my eyes, and from the look on his face he could see them. I really wanted to wipe the look off his face. It was sweet, yea, but he had hurt me before. I wasn't about to let him do it again.

Guess I wouldn't have the chance to tell myself that for long.

His lips met mine quickly, my arms snaking around his neck as tears started to stream from my eyes, my defenses dropping. He was gentle and soft, stroking my hair, running his hands down my neck and back up it, then running his thumbs over my cheeks. He pulled back and looked at me. "Kagome," His eyes darted back and forth trying to read the emotion in mine. ", please let me in. Please open up to me my dear Kagome." He softly brought my head down to his lips and kissed my forehead softly, stroking my hair.

I looked up at him, letting his hand slip down to rest over my hair on the base of my neck. I could feel the tears stinging at my eyes, no matter how much I tried to hold them back. "Why do you play with my emotions? Why can't you just open up and just tell me how you feel! You didn't openly do it when we were together, so why can't you do it now? I know you have a girlfriend at the moment, so why do we try?" I could feel the tears flowing faster. "Why do I try?" I looked down at my hand, at the ring on my left hand. "I'm engaged, but why do I love you?"

"Why are you here in this tiny apartment? Why are you sleeping on a twin bed alone every night Kagome? Why do you do this to yourself?" His hand slipped down from my neck and onto my shoulder. He brought his other hand up to my other one and shook me softly. "Why won't you let someone who really cares walk in!" A sob finally broke through my chest and I fell into him. His arms engulfed me in a second and began cooing soft things gently into my ear as he stroked my hair.

"Oh god Kagome, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have pushed you to kiss me, I-I." I could hear the sound of tears come up in his voice. He laid his head softly on top of mine and closed his eyes.

Slowly, I turned my head up and softly kissed his neck. "The day you walked into Miroku's apartment after you graduated from college…I forgot how to breathe again. When you saw me in the kitchen while you were hugging him, I-I didn't know what to do. The look in your eyes…" The sobs were starting to catch in my throat again. He hugged me tighter to him, shifting me so I was sitting on his lap, his back leaning against the wall. He cupped my neck to his chest, letting me cry into his chest.

"Kagome, oh sweet Kagome." He laid his head against mine. "I didn't know that you would be at his house. I figured that when I left you two wouldn't stay in contact. The fact that you were at his house when I came home, was an unexpected surprise to say the least. How much did you hear before I saw you?" His voice switch to one of worry and hurt.

"Everything," My voice caught before I pushed down the pain. "I heard you talk about me to him. I saw the look on his face when you brought me up. The look that said you were overstepping lines because he knew I could hear everything you were saying, but you didn't catch on. You were so into your story. Spilling out everything that had happened." The tears were coming again, but I wasn't going to cry again. I pulled away from his chest and looked up at him. Hurt filled my features. My hand came across his cheek in one swift motion. Tears fell down my face again, I couldn't hold them back. "That's for saying you didn't care anymore. For saying that I didn't matter, that you weren't going to talk to me again. The look on your face when I walked out of the kitchen said everything! It told me you lied to Miroku, that every single word of it was a bloody lie!"

He looked at me. "I deserved that." He said softly. "Sh though." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down to sit on his lap. "Do you know why I lied?" He said looking down at my face, emotions passing through his eyes. "Because I wanted to get over you. I heard you got engaged to Kouga and I, I didn't know what to do. It destroyed me inside! I repeated that same lie I told Miroku every single day to myself! Just so I could get over you! Oh beautiful Kagome! I loved you when I told Miroku everything I told him. I loved you that first night I called you at one in the morning, I didn't think you would answer, but you were up! I hung up the phone as soon as you said hello with that musical voice of yours! You called back the next morning, but I didn't answer, I knew you would know who it was as soon as you heard my answering machine, but I didn't care! Oh Kagome.."

I looked up at him. "Why couldn't you tell me any of this before you left? Why couldn't you have just said you loved me before you left, before I left? I waited on you to tell me how much you cared about me, to tell me that you cared. To show me how much you cared! Inuyasha, why couldn't YOU let down your guard enough to tell me?"

He cupped my face. "I'm sorry Kagome…Oh god I'm so sorry. I thought you left me because there was someone else. Miroku told me what you had told him," My eyes widened, "Yea, I figured I might get that response from you. He told me about how you talked about me all the time, how you said you missed me all the time, how you told him you still loved me one morning while you two drank coffee… He told me all of that the next day when I had lunch with him."

"I'm going to kill that bastard." I growled.

He laughed at me then kissed my head; gently he moved me off of his lap and went to stand.

"Inuyasha?" I asked worried.

"Kagome," His expression was pained. "What do you want me to do? If I leave now we can get back to our lives. Your life."

"I want you to stay." I surprised myself at that; I never thought I'd hear myself say it again.

"Really?" The shock on his face portrayed the shock that was inside of me.

I nodded softly, and was cut off mid nod by Inuyasha's arms wrapping under me and picking me up bridal style. I gasped and looked up at him. He had a smile from ear to ear. "I'm glad you said that." He kissed the top of my head, putting the rose on the table back into the vase with one hand.

"Let's watch a movie!" He said sauntering into the living room and plopping down on the couch with me still in his arms. I laughed and looked at him.

"I have a better idea."

"What's that?"

"This." I pressed my lips gently to his then pulled back when I felt him smiling back against mine.

"I like that." He chuckled. I smiled at him warmly.

"Good." I said softly as he brought his lips to mine.

End