“Bye, Kagome. I love you.” He said, a small smile on his face, as he pecked his wife on the cheek. He slipped his feet inside his shoes, and stepped out of their home.

The perfect family, with the perfect loving wife, the perfect straight-A student children, and the perfect working class husband. The functional family. Nothing more and nothing less. With the blue sky and the perfect weather, Inuyasha walked up to his decent recently purchased car, not long after the wedding. He opened the door to his car, sitting inside and taking a deep breath. Life really has been perfect lately, he thought to himself. I’ve got it made.

The work day went reasonably well, also. Despite the fact it was work, he managed to stay happy. He went about his job, of answering calls, filling out paperwork and talking with coworkers.

--

“Here’s a little wedding gift.” He looked up and there was Sango, one of his coworkers. And in her hand was a basket of random household items, house-warming gifts. He smirked. “Heh, thanks.” He then looked back to his work. “I think Kagome would appreciate those more than I would, though.” She laughed lightly. “I know she would. But she’s on maternal leave, because you knocked her up.” Inuyasha then laughed. “You haven’t seen them yet, have you? They look like her. Don’t have much of me in them.” “And that’s a good thing.” Sango added, and punched Inuyasha in the arm. “You’ve been very happy lately. Not as cocky, or stubborn. And you actually do your job.” He nodded, and looked up at her. “Well, thank Kagome.” Sango then walked away, tending to her own business.

A few years ago, Inuyasha wasn’t doing so well. Though he was dating Kagome, which was a very good thing, nothing seemed complete in his life. He slacked in his job, and he pushed a lot of people away. What he truly needed was someone he wanted to settle down with, and could. Someone who could bring in happiness in ways that he had never experienced before. He’d had other girlfriends in his highschool career- but marrying Kagome topped it all off.

“Hey, wanna go out with us tonight?” Miroku then popped into the side of his cubicle. “A bunch of guys are going out drinking, and figured I’d invite you.” Inuyasha, for the second time, turned around, this time a little aggravated. “I’ve got a family, you know. Unlike you guys I have responsibilities outside of this building.” Miroku rolled his eyes, stepping further in. “You need a break! I know you just married her and all, but i’m sure you’d like to go out for a bit and get some fresh air.” Inuyasha sighed. “Ugh, fine. Just leave me alone right now, I’m trying to actually get some things done before lunch.” Miroku smiled, and nodded. “That’s what I thought. See you at the bar across the street, at 5:30!” And he walked away.

Inuyasha let out another sigh, before returning to his paperwork.

--

Five thirty had eventually come around, and Inuyasha was putting his jacket on and walking out. Waving to a few people who were staying a bit longer, he then opened the door. It had gotten a bit chilly, and his eyes squinted as the door shut behind him. He looked to his sides and then ran across the street, before reaching the window of the bar. He could see that Miroku and a few of the guys were there already, and had begun their first beer. He shook his head. Although he pretended to find them all immature and needing to grow up, sometimes he felt a little sting of jealousy for all of the freedom they still have, and how carefree their lives seemed to be.

He walked inside, greeted by cheers and greetings, as he went towards their table. The place was crowded, and people were yelling and laughing, the smell of alcohol floating through the air. “How long have you all been here already?” They all laughed. “About an hour, not that long.” Miroku said, and gestured to one of the seats.

“Come on, sit down already.” And as he sat down a waitress came up to the table, glancing back and forth between the men. “Any more drinks? You all aren’t done already, are you? You barely started.” Miroku looked up at her, and gestured towards him. “Get him a nice beer, will you?” The woman nodded and walked away.

Inuyasha shot an annoyed look at him. “Who said I was drinking?” He said coldly. “Why would you come to a bar and not drink?” Kouga said quizzically, who Inuyasha just noticed he was sitting next to. “Oh, Kouga, I haven’t seen you in awhile! How’s it been?” Kouga laughed and smirked slightly, taking a sip of his drink. “Good! I married that girl I was dating about a year ago.” Inuyasha gave him a puzzled look. “Who was it again? Amy? Anne?” “…Ayame.” Kouga finished for him, before laughing again and taking another drink. “Don’t worry about it.”

The whole table paused, as a beautiful girl walked by. Her long red hair swayed halfway down her body, and she had on a party dress; her large brown eyes lit up, and her smile was full and her teeth were white. “…Wow.” Miroku said, breaking the silence. “Excuse me.” He then got up and pursued the woman. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, and the woman set his beer down infront of him. “Thanks.” He said quietly, and took a sip.

“Some things never change.” Shippou said from across the table, who had just turned 21 a week ago. Inuyasha then looked over to him, just noticing him also. “Shippou? How old are you?” He laughed. “I’m 21, Inuyasha. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.” Inuyasha gave him a surprised look. “21? Wow, does time go fast! Goddamn, last time I talked to you, you just turned 19!” And he laughed, raised his drink in a toast-like way, and took a sip.

“So Inuyasha, how has it been?” Kouga said, interested. “None of us have heard from you in years!” Inuyasha smirked. “Well, you know…” “Tell us!” Shippou exclaimed.

“Well, I married Kagome, you know, the girl I dated after-” “-The Bitch.” Shippou finished, which raised laughter from everyone at the table. Inuyasha nodded, laughing lightly himself. “Yes, the bitch.” He then took another sip. “I always had a crush on Kagome,” Kouga said. “She’s really pretty. You’re a lucky guy.” Inuyasha smiled lightly, looking distantly through the windows. “Yeah. I know I am.”

“So, continue.” Kouga prompted, then ordered another beer.

“Well, after our wedding, I found out she was actually pregnant. And she had twins. Since then, life has been pretty damn good for me.” Inuyasha said confidently, glancing around the table, looking to see everyones reaction. But no one seemed jealous or anything, which disappointed him. “That’s cool, dude.” “Congratulations.” “That’s pretty sweet.” Was all he got, and he accepted that.

They continued their small talk, about the latest girl(s) they were seeing; about sports, their jobs, how things have changed so much since highschool. And out of anyone, Inuyasha had changed the most, they all agreed. Miroku eventually returned, with the girl’s number and a planned date. They all talked over beers with laughter and reminiscences.

And then he saw her.

His heart sped up immediately, as he nervously looked around the table. No one else was noticing his panic, which he was glad, but at the same time he wished someone would so they could calm him down. It wasn’t that he had feelings for her still, or that he was nervous about his first impression years later. It wasn’t that he wanted to get with her, or anything. He didn’t know why he was reacting like this. But he wanted to get away from the situation.

“Uh… how about we go somewhere else? Get some air? I can barely breathe in here.” He said, trying to mask his discomfort. “Its perfectly fine in here, Inuyasha. You’re just not used to the fun life anymore.” Kouga joked, nudging Inuyasha in the side. He slightly choked on his drink, as Miroku patted his back.

“You need to loosen up, bro. You’re completely tense.” Inuyasha shot a look at Miroku, before ignoring what he said and starting a new conversation.

“So, that girl. Did you get her number? Eh?”

Miroku smiled proudly. “I definitely did. I’ll be definitely gettin’ some-”

“Is that Inuyasha?”

No one else heard it but him. Because no one else knew she was here. From the corner of his eye, he saw exactly who he thought it was- Kikyou. She was pointing at him, and her friend nodded, and began talking. Probably about him. Kikyou was probably talking about how much of a jerk he was. How much he broke her heart. And any kind of complaint from their relationship years ago she could possibly dig up from the back of her mind.

Or, was it in the front? Maybe Kikyou missed him. Maybe that’s why she was so interested in whether it was him or not. Maybe she somehow knew he was coming tonight, and she decided to also. Maybe she was creating some secret plan to steal him away from Kagome.

Or maybe he was just going insane.

He looked down at his half-full glass, and just chugged it. If he was going to have any success in ‘taking a break’ and having ‘some fresh air’, he had to forget that Kikyou was there.

“Is there something wrong, man? Do you need to go home?” Shippou looked concerned, looking across the table at him. Inuyasha shook his head, and called the waitress over. “I-I’ll have another.” He said confidently, looking up at her. “Uhm… okay…” The waitress said uneasily, rushing towards the bar to fill the glass once more. Miroku raised his eyebrow at Inuyasha, but didn’t say anything.

Inuyasha glanced over again, and she was gone. He breathed a deep sigh of relief, as the waitress brought over his next drink. He took a pretty large sip, and the night continued of talking, joking around, and the occasional paranoid glance around the bar for the ex-girlfriend.

--

As his car drove up the driveway, and he set it in park, he glanced at the time. 1:30am. Kagome would be furious. “What is she gonna think? What do I tell her?” He said to himself, buzzed by a mix of alcohol and sleep deprivation. Lucky him, no cops had been on the road, to see him swerving through lanes. “I just tell her the truth. Cause there’s nothing wrong with it. I went out drinking with some friends.” He finally decided, as he took a deep breath.

Taking his keys out of the ignition, he stepped outside and towards the front door. He dug in his pocket for his keys, realizing he didn’t take them with him today. He let out a long, irritated sigh, as he rang the doorbell. “Way to go, Inuyasha. Piss her off even more.”

And sure enough, she showed up at the door, bags under her eyes, and in her pajamas.

“And where were you?” She said, with an irritated look on her face. “It’s one thirty in the morning.” “Can I come inside first?” He asked, with a crooked smile, and she let out an aggravated noise and stepped to the side to let him in. “Now will you answer my question?” She asked, refusing to let it drop. “I just caught up with some old friends at the bar,” He said truthfully. “Lost track of time.”

“Okay. Whatever.” Whether she believed him or not he didn’t know, but she just trudged upstairs, finally being able to go to bed without worrying. He let out a soft sigh, feeling bad for keeping her up so late. I could’ve called. He thought to himself. But, too late now.

After removing his shoes and jacket, he walked upstairs as well. Kagome had already fallen asleep on her side of the bed, snoring softly. He removed most of his clothes, down to his boxers, and crept in next to her. He layed on his back, looking straight up at the ceiling. And then he turned to Kagome.

She’s so beautiful. He thought to himself, studying her peaceful face. I’m sorry, Kagome. I’ll make it up to you.

And he swore to himself that he would, before his eyes closed and before he knew it he had drifted into a soft sleep, comfortable and warm.

--

“Inuyasha?” Kikyou asked, standing behind him. He turned around, revealing her beautiful calm face. “Kikyou?” He asked back to her.

“It’s been so long,” She started.”I’ve missed you.” She let a soft smile creep up her face, as she moved a little closer.

He shifted nervously,a flush coming up his face. He could feel the heat in his cheeks. “Ha, yeah, you’re right.” He didn’t step back from her figure coming towards him.

“Where have you been?” She asked innocently. “I never see you around anymore. Have some big professional job?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

She giggled. “You, a businessman? I can’t see it.” She moved even closer. “I must admit, I have been thinking about you a lot lately…” She was within inches of his face, and he made no attempt to move. The redness in his face increased, and his eyes slightly widened.

“Y-You have? Why, Kikyou?”

Her long, delicate fingers touched his tie, and tugged on it slightly. She bit her lip, and gazed deep into his eyes. His lips craved hers. But he wouldn’t let himself pursue her.

“Seeing you the other day, in the bar… got me thinking… about the past…”

“About the past? What about the-”

And he was cut off by her soft lips covering his. She pulled him closer and continued to kiss him, and they leaned into eachother.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you how much I want-”

--