“It was kinda in passing, but…”

”Hm?”  Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

”He just assumed we’d get married.”  Her gray-eyed gaze fell to the floor of the limousine.  “I don’t think he realized it slipped out but it was almost a proposal.”

The half-demon did his best not to show any sign of a physical reaction.  His stomach knotted as his head turned towards Kagome who was now lightly tapping her knees together, still staring down.  His eyes bore into her, searching desperately for some kind of emotion.  “Oh?”

Kagome’s eyes widened at that.  No usual scream of immediate protest?  What was he thinking?  She wanted to look at him, but was afraid of the look on his face.  “Um, yeah.”

Inuyasha gulped, his throat a little dry.  He bent forward to reach into the bar, retrieving an unopened bottle of champagne.  As he reached for a glass he paused to look over at his companion.  “Did you… want some?”

Inuyasha lowered his hand and straightened to look at Kagome.  When she finally raised her gaze to meet Inuyasha’s she knew that the champagne meant celebration.  This was his way of asking Kagome if she would accept.  They stared at each other meaningfully for a moment before Inuyasha broke eye contact, reaching for one glass.

“Maybe I’ll have some… a little while later, though,” Kagome blurted out.

Inuyasha started for a second.  The champagne glass that was already in his hand slipped out of his grip, flipping and hitting the edge of the bar.  All but the base and the stem were scattered in small shards all over the floor of the car.  In spite of the fact that he was happy that the broken glass eased the tension between them, he cursed.

“My God, be careful!  Let me help you out with that,” Kagome said, moving to the floor.  Inuyasha stopped her, grabbing her wrists as she reached to clean up the mess.  His abrupt movements made her jerk her hands away, fists clenching; one on the piece of glass already in her hand.  She yelped, immediately dropping everything to examine her cut.

”Shit!”  Running on pure instinct, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome’s hand and licked at her wound: a small cut in her left palm.  As soon as realization of what he was doing struck he paused akwardly, steeling himself to continue as if he meant to do it.  Kagome was well aware that it was a youkai thing, he figured, but that fact didn’t stop the blush from appearing on both of their faces.  He pressed his lips to her palm and sucked lightly, briefly swirling his tongue lightly over the cut.  Their breaths quickened at the contact and as he pulled away, he brushed the cut with his lips.

“Thanks.”  Kagome lightly held her hand to her chest.  “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

”Dammit, you need to be more careful.”  Inuyasha said, suddenly glaring and raising his voice. “What gave you the idea that I’d actually let you do something like pick up glass?”

Kagome was a little surprised at the abrupt change in his mood, but was a little thankful for it.  This felt familiar.  She stuck her tongue out at her manager, retorting quickly.   “And who do you think you are, treating me like I’m some kind of invalid?  Quit treating me like I can’t do anything for myself.”

“What do you mean, ‘for yourself?’  It’s not like you were the one who dropped the damn thing!”

Kagome scoffed indignantly.  “Ah, I take it all back then!  Thanks for reminding me that this whole thing is your fault, you stupid klutz!”

”Wh-WHAT did you call me, Woman?”  The hanyou was nearly yelling now  “Well--

”Hey guys.”  Before Inuyasha could retort Shippo had slid open the window between the driver’s and back seats.  “Looks like we’re gonna be in traffic for a really, really long time.  Sorry about that.”

”It’s not like it’s your fault, Shippo-chan.”  Kagome smiled as she spoke.

“Heh, I know.  But seriously, I think there’s been an accident or something, and a couple of streets are closed off.  We may be better off walking.”  With a smirk, Shippo slid the window shut.

“Punk,” Inuyasha laughed before staring at the roof of the car.

“You’re one to talk,” Kagome giggled.

“Keh.”

Shippo wasn’t kidding.  What was supposed to have been a thirty minute drive had easily elapsed into an hour.  Kagome had kicked off her shoes and tried to nap in the seat across from Inuyasha unsuccessfully.  As she lay tossing and turning on her side Inuyasha idly traced the curves of her hips with his eyes.  He knew he shouldn't have and tried to think of other things.  His reverie being broken by a frustrated groan from Kagome as she sat up.

"This sucks, I'm really tired, too."  Kagome groggily crawled across to where Inuyasha was, sitting with her back to him.  "You don't mind if I..."

"Hm?"  

With a long sigh, Kagome lay back, placing her head on his lap.  Again her attempts to fall asleep were in vain.  Finally resigning to her situation, Kagome blinked up at Inuyasha and smiled.  "Human pillow."  He returned her smile, brushing a little bit of hair from her face.  

"Ah.  So why can't you fall asleep if you're so tired, eh?"

"I'm just uncomfortable, I guess.  Are you bored?"

"Not really.  You're pretty entertaining to watch like this."  

"Ah," Kagome teased, "Taking joy in someone's misery."

"Maybe," he replied with a hint of absent-mindedness in his voice.  "Hey, you know what?  Turn on your side."

Kagome blinked, obliging her manager.  Before she could ask why she felt rough hands rubbing across the bare skin of her shoulders.  She was suddenly glad her dress was strapless.  "Oh my God," she sighed, exhaling contentedly.

Inuyasha rubbed vigorously around her shoulders and on the back of her neck.  She thanked him in soft sighs each time he did something she liked, until finally her voice quieted and her breathing evened out.  He smiled softly and watched her for a while, occassionally watching the afternoon sun sink languidly into the horizon.  The limousine lulled slowly through the streets, behind miles of cars.  A grin spread across Inuyasha's face when the car finally moved at a normal speed again.  They would be home soon.  Suddenly, he noticed a wet spot on his leg.  He stared down, surprised when he realized that Kagome was crying in her sleep.  A clawed hand moved to her upper arm, rousing her.

"What's the matter?  Kagome?"

"Hm?"  Her lashes fluttered open and she sniffled.

"Hey, are you crying?  Bad dream or something?"

"Huh?!"  Kagome sprung to a sitting position, alarmed as she wiped her face off.  "Uh... yeah.  I guess so."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.  "Well, as long as you're okay."

"Yeah."  Her reply was suddenly curt.  The pair sat in silence for a bit, Kagome not knowing what to say and Inuyasha wondering what he could say.  They hated this kind of silence.

"We're almost there," Inuyasha ventured.  He searched Kagome's eyes for a response but did not find any.

"Um."  Kagome's heartbeat quickened.  Still groggy from her brief nap, she felt a slight detachment from what she was doing.  "Can I try something?  I don't want you to read too much into it."

Again, Inuyasha's eyebrow raised.  "What do I have to do?"

"Just, uh.  Um.  Just sit.  And you don't have to do anything, just sit there."

What the hell?  Inuyasha's confusion was too evident, but all he could do was sit and stare at Kagome.  "Right.  Okay, this is me, sitting here."

"Shh!" Kagome commanded.  Inuyasha made no effort to hide the confusion on his face as she leaned closer to him, glaring into his eyes.  Suddenly holding her breath, she pressed one hand down into the seat to prop herself up while using the other to cup Inuyasha's face.  She let her eyes close.  Ignoring the nervousness that clamored in her stomach, she pressed her lips purposefully against Inuyasha's.  His eyes grew large in surprise and confusion; was he really supposed to just sit there?  When Kagome started to pull away Inuyasha had given up thinking and moved on instinct.  He slipped his arms around Kagome's shoulders, pulling her back towards him, returning her kiss with fevered brushes of his lips.  Kagome gasped into his mouth, allowing him to cover her own with  it, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.  She thought about how Inuyasha probably heard it too.  Their breathing became harder as they continued.  Inuyasha didn't quite understand why Kagome did this and wasn't in the mood to try to.  All that he understood was that he liked it too much to want to stop.  When Kagome heaved a small sigh and brought both arms up to encircle his neck Inuyasha loosened his grip to slip his hands along her sides.  Propping her torso up with his hands, he swirled his thumbs dangerously close to the sides of her breasts, elliciting a surprised moan.  He was answered with a barrage of soft kisses.  The tips of their tongues brushed lightly against each other, heightening the mood and making both want more.  Their kisses deepened, caresses growing more frantic with every moan.  As the couple lost themselves, Inuyasha moving his lips down Kagome's neck in a move to take things further, a familiar sliding sound knocked them back into reality.  

Kagome and Inuyasha froze at the sound, finding themselves face to face with a very stunned Shippo.  Kagome was the first to react, lowering her hands and slowly retreating to the empty spot next to Inuyasha.

"Um," Shippo broke the silence.  "We're here, guys."  He slid the door shut again, and Kagome barely caught the beginning of an "Oh my God" before the window clicked shut.

With even more apprehension than before, the two sat in silence, waiting for Shippo to come around and open the door for Kagome.

"Kagome, I'm sorry--"

"No, don't say that."  Kagome rest a hand on Inuyasha's knee.  "I... I don't know what's wrong with me, I love Hojo.  I guess I was just a little bit curious."

"Yeah."

Kagome made sure to lock eyes with Inuyasha as the door opened.  "Call me a bit before we go to Vegas."  She hesitated for a second but hugged her manager before she exited the car.  Shippo walked her to her front door and then poked his head into the back seat.

"Holy crap, man, what happened back here?"

"I.. don't know!"  Inuyasha answered, slightly flustered.  "She told me to just sit there, and one thing led to another, and..."

All Shippo could do was blink.  "Oh shit," he muttered before closing the door and heading back to the driver's seat.