Time After Time by Priestess Skye

Chapter 1

Title: Time After Time

Author: Priestess Skye

Prompt: Agroof - To fall on one's face

Partner: Madison

Word Count: 4077

Categories: Romance, Humour

Universe: AU

Summary: So she wasn’t the most graceful woman in the world… but why did she always fall ‘head over heels’ in front of HIM?

Note: This is my entry for Tangerine Dream's second annual fanfiction tournament. My partner is Madison. Be sure to read her fic as well and then send Tangy a PM letting her know your favourite of the two. Huge hugs and thanks to Wiccan for the beta!

‘This carpet is soft,’ was the first thought that popped into her head as she laid face first in it. The second was that over three hundred sets of eyes were on her as she lay upon the floor, contemplating the quality of the carpet fibres pressing against her cheek. It all came to a halt when she heard the clicking of cameras and saw their flashes out of the corner of her eye.

She was absolutely mortified.

What was sad was that this had come to be commonplace over the years. She and the floor were well acquainted. She had just hoped that they could spend today, of all days, apart.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

Amber eyes found hers as her partner kneeled before her, checking to see if she was okay. “How many of our guests are taking pictures?” she asked, hoping that it was only one or two inconsiderate members. Sesshoumaru could easily have them removed and this story would soon be nothing more than that, a humourous anecdote that may be true, but couldn’t necessarily be proven.

“About half of them,” he murmured, his eyes softening for just a moment. She still saw the glimmer of amusement behind them. While he refused to laugh aloud, she knew that, on the inside, he was in hysterics. The corners of his mouth quirked upward just a bit. “I’ve ensured that the photographer has taken a good shot.”

“This is highly appropriate, isn’t it,” she mused, slowly lifting herself onto her knees. She refused to look at the crowd. She refused to look at her attendants, or his. She only wanted to see him. He wouldn’t judge her. He had already judged her years ago and yet, there he was, standing before her. “I seem to be spending a lot of time on the ground staring at your feet.”

“You’re taking this well,” he commented, pulling her to her feet before touching an errant strand of her hair. “Where is my Kagome hiding?”

“Oh, she’s here,” she played along. “She just refuses to look like a fool in front of so many guests.” Running her hands along the white satin of her gown, she smoothed out the new wrinkles before standing next to her groom. It amused her to no end knowing that, as perfect as he was, she was the exact opposite.

“It’s too late for that.”

She briefly stuck her tongue out at him before facing the front. He was right, and he knew it. She just refused to inflate his ego further. But she had looked the fool from the moment she met him. And still, despite it all, she ended up here. She couldn’t be all that foolish.

~*~*~*~

The first time, she had been in middle school, and had just begun dating his brother. Inuyasha was everything she wanted at that age. He was popular, he was rude, and he paid attention to her. She swore, when she met him, that she would marry him. How foolish she was to think that then but, at thirteen, every girl’s world revolved around the guy she was dating.

They had agreed to spend the evening at his place watching a movie. For a thirteen year old couple, that was the ultimate date; a night at home, alone, with a good movie. She had spent hours primping herself; brushing her hair, finding the perfect dress and putting on makeup. She was in high school next year. She needed to be ready.  She was already ahead of her friends; after all, none of them had a boyfriend. She was the envy of many, and would be the envy of many more if she had her way by the end of the night.

Her first kiss.

Every girl’s big dream.

He had held her hand as he escorted her down the stairs to the family room in the basement. He had spent the week boasting about their new big screen TV and he was excited to show it off. Like every dutiful girlfriend, she had hung upon his every word. She spent the week boasting to her friends about Inuyasha’s TV. “What movie are we going to watch?” she asked, no longer able to contain her excitement.

“It’s a surprise. I raided Sesshoumaru’s movie shelf and snatched one of his videos. It’s not like he was going to watch it tonight,” he bragged. She squeaked as she saw a flash of silver at the bottom of the stairs. His brother scared the daylights out of her. Popular high school senior Sesshoumaru was nobody to mess with. His cold eyes were enough to send any girl running the other way.

“Inuyasha,” she heard the deep, baritone voice intone. Missing a step, she felt her foot slip from beneath her as she tumbled down the stairs before landing face first at Sesshoumaru’s feet. She noticed his sneakers first, then his designer jeans. Unimpressed eyes looked down at her before looking back up at his brother. “Hn.”

That was the last time she had stepped foot into Inuyasha’s house.

~*~*~*~

She met him again just as she was graduating high school. He had come to watch Inuyasha receive his diploma, something Sesshoumaru swore would never happen. It just so happened that she was in his graduating class, and had maintained a friendship with him despite the failed relationship.

That was, if you could call a few lunches together, and one disastrous date in his basement, a relationship.

Over the years he had mellowed out, and she had found herself. She had met a few guys she had dated off and on through the years, but spent most of the time focusing on her school work. Math killed her. She and numbers did not have a good relationship and she spent years trying to make everything work. Somehow she had succeeded and she managed to earn the honour of graduating with her peers.

“I didn’t know Inuyasha had a brother,” Sango whispered as they sat through the valedictorian speech. She gestured to Sesshoumaru, several rows behind them sitting next to the aisle. His silver hair was striking against the black of his suit, and stood out amongst the others in the crowd. Kagome wanted to slump and fall in her seat. Her humiliation at her last run-in with him hadn’t dissipated over the years. In fact, it felt renewed.

“That’s Sesshoumaru, otherwise known as ‘the bastard.’ He moved out for university and has his own apartment downtown. He and Inuyasha don’t get along very well,” she whispered back. Despite her mortification Kagome couldn’t help but notice what kind of man Sesshoumaru had become. The youthful look he once held had faded and he now looked like somebody ready to enter the workforce. His body, while lean, still appeared to hold some muscle. She wondered if his eyes were as intense as they used to be. “I’m surprised he’s here. This isn’t his scene, especially as it concerns Inuyasha.”

“You speak as if you know him.”

“I don’t, but Inuyasha speaks about him often enough that sometimes I feel as if I do. He’s an arrogant ass. I met him once and he left a bad taste in my mouth.”

“That’s too bad,” Sango sighed. “He’s even nicer looking than Inuyasha, and probably a lot more mature. He’s had his eye on you off and on throughout the evening. You’d have made a nice couple.”

“As if,” Kagome scoffed. Even if he wasn’t an ass, she had made a fool of herself in front of him. One did not easily forget that.

Hearing her name soon after, she rose from her seat and made her way across the stage. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, she had coached herself, ensuring that one foot fell in front of the other as she walked. There would be no accidents today, certainly not in front of him. Her classmates didn’t really matter, they had seen her trip several times over the years and had become accustomed to it, but she was determined to make up for a poor first impression.

Joy and jubilation filled her as she made her way across the stage successfully, and back down toward the aisle. She nearly skipped with joy and stuck her tongue out at him as she passed him by. Today, Kagome 1, Sesshoumaru 1. She would surpass him yet.

Until her tongue met the carpet once more. Black shoes, she noted. He was wearing black shoes. Daring to look up, she saw amused gold eyes.

Sesshoumaru 2, Kagome 0.

~*~*~*~

To say that Kagome was nervous was an understatement. She was absolutely terrified at the thought of spending a weekend with Inuyasha’s family at their lakeside house. He had invited her cousin as a date, but Kikyou refused to go without her. Somehow she had become a third wheel, and then she became obsolete. Kikyou and Inuyasha were off on a boat ride, and had ignored her for several hours earlier. She was too far to call a cab and go home, so she kept herself entertained.

Inuyasha’s mother was so sweet, and reminded her a lot of her own. She baked cookies, provided fresh food, and often inquired into the moods of her children and their guests. She spoke to Kagome regarding her university courses and degree. She offered insight into some of the theories Kagome had been studying and offered up plenty of titles as reference material for her thesis. She spoke of Inuyasha’s childhood and what a reckless boy he was, compared to Sesshoumaru who took such pride and care in everything he did.

Inuyasha’s father appeared stern on the outside, much like Sesshoumaru, but his personality was very much like Inuyasha’s. There was a bit of the devil in him, a twinkle in the gold eyes that was so similar to those of his sons. Kagome suspected he might have been a bit of a playboy in his younger years.

Then there was Sesshoumaru. Twice she had met him, and twice she had humiliated herself. So far so good this weekend, she thought, as she sat across from him on the deck. Her text books were open in front of her though, admittedly, she wasn’t absorbing much from them. Sesshoumaru’s presence appeared to be larger than life in many ways. There were moments when thoughts of him consumed her and she had to take a mental step backward.

This was Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha’s brother, the bastard.

“The way you allow my brother to dote upon your cousin, while he leaves you by yourself, is disgraceful,” he stated, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

“This was my choice. I was well aware of what could happen when I agreed to tag along. Hence, my homework,” she gestured. “I hold no illusions about Inuyasha and how he acts once he sets his mind to something. He’s like a dog with a bone.”

The answering chuckle surprised her, since Sesshoumaru struck her as somebody without a sense of humour. Certainly that was the picture her best friend had painted of him. She quirked her head to the side and really studied him for a moment. Perhaps brotherly love between them did run only that deep and there was more to him than either she or Inuyasha knew.

“How often do you come out to the lake house?” she asked, changing the subject. This was a safe topic, and it’d be interesting to learn more about the elder brother.

“Rarely.”

“Why? It’s beautiful here.”

She caught him looking at his brother and new girlfriend, his gold eyes going blank as they turned back to her. The changes in his expression were minute, but they were beginning to fascinate her. In the course of one weekend, she had seen him laugh, she had seen amusement at her antics, she had seen disdain toward his brother, wariness with regards to his father, and no emotion whatsoever toward his step mother. All of these changes were imperceptible to the naked eye unless you watched real closely. Realizing her thoughts, she turned her head away and blushed. She wasn’t that interested in him. She certainly didn’t spend her time staring at him, she convinced herself. She had completed other tasks this weekend...

“When they are here, I do not wish to be. When they are not here, I am busy.”

“If you don’t wish to be, then why are you here this time? Clearly you are not enjoying yourself. You look irritated almost every moment of the day. The rest of the time you look like you can’t be bothered.”

“Perhaps there is something interesting here this time.” He levelled a stare at her before walking toward the dock floating in the water. Her heart began racing under the weight of his gaze and she found she couldn’t look away. He was so much like Inuyasha, but yet so different on so many levels.

And he was dangerous.

If Sesshoumaru could make her feel like she did in just an instant, he was much too dangerous for her. He would be somebody with whom she’d have to guard her heart, especially since she needed to focus on her studies right now. A man was the last thing she needed in her life. She had just gotten rid of one when he demanded so much of her time that she was putting one of her more difficult courses in jeopardy.

Sesshoumaru stripped off his shirt and she nearly dropped her jaw. Nearly. She didn’t want to give too much away, but damn, was he a sight to look at! Text books forgotten, she admired as he dove into the water, his body sliding through the waves easily. He had a swimmer’s body, she noted. Tall, lean, muscular. It was obvious he enjoyed swimming. Getting up, she walked to the edge of the dock and stared into the depths. The water looked cold.

A single hand reached out and clasped itself around her ankle. She didn’t even have time to squeak as she was pulled forward and found herself falling face first into the water. Kicking and thrashing, she pulled herself to the surface, taking deep breaths at the shock of the cold. He lifted his head, looking at her impassively, and she’d swear he was innocent if it weren’t for the slight mischievous glint in the corner of his eye. This was a new side to him; a side Inuyasha swore didn’t exist.

“Jerk,” she muttered as her teeth chattered.

Sesshoumaru 3, Kagome 0.

~*~*~*~

It had been a few years, she noted, as she watched him weave through the crowds. She had heard very little about any of them, as Inuyasha spent most of his time now with her cousin, happily engaged. Kagome herself had very little reason to visit his family. Still, she hadn’t forgotten about him, or the heated stare sent her way that day at the lake house. He had pulled her into the water, and then pulled her under. In moments she had found him wrapped around her, his mouth pressed against hers, and she clung to him under his delicious assault. Her lips tingled in memory of that day. In all of one moment she had felt herself downing in his touch, and yet floating through air at the same time. She wanted more, needed more, then. Shuddering, Kagome pushed those thoughts away. That was the one and only time Sesshoumaru had ever kissed her and they were memories best locked away.

They were different people now.

Still, he looked good in the black suit. His silver hair had grown and now hung past his waist. While not a fashionable look for most men, it somehow made him look elegant and sophisticated. She was dying to run her fingers through it just once. She recalled how soft Inuyasha’s was so long ago, and his brother’s looked much softer. Grabbing a glass of champagne, she set itchy fingers aside and manoeuvred around the room. The Taisho’s New Years Eve party was beyond all thought. She had received invitations every year since university, but this was the first year she was able to attend. It was like something straight out of a movie.

The food was phenomenal, the drink was flowing freely, and everybody was dressed to the nines, herself included. She ran a hand down the black silk of her fitted dress, and inwardly cringed at the thought of her January credit card bill. It wasn’t beyond her means, but it certainly wasn’t within her budget either.

“I want those shoes,” she heard her friend say and turned to see Sango standing next to her, champagne flute in hand, staring at her shoes. Blushing, she tried to brush it aside. Really, these were her guilty pleasure; red three inch pumps that seemed to make her legs stretch for miles. Working with younger children, she had no reason to ever wear these shoes again, but they screamed at her when she passed them by on the shelf. “Whose attention are you trying to get?” a sly eye was turned in her direction.

Kagome was sure her face matched her shoes. “Nobody’s,” she mumbled before walking again. The red shoes probably weren’t the best purchase she’d made, she thought as she teetered, but then there was nothing else that would suit just as well. Finding a vacant chair, she sat herself down, sighing as she took the pressure off her feet.

“I don’t know why women insist upon wearing shoes that kill their feet,” she heard the baritone murmur before she saw him sit before her. Old memories continued to rise to the surface and she found it difficult to reply. She merely stared at him, enjoying the picture he presented. Why was it that Inuyasha’s brother had the ability to make her nervous and excited at the same time? He leaned over and picked up one of her feet, sliding the red shoe off before dropping the heel of her foot into his lap. She just stared at him dumbfounded as she felt strong fingers begin to massage the arch. It took everything she had not to moan at this.

“You kiss me once, then don’t call me for years,” she stated, demanding an answer to the silent why she had asked.

“I searched for your number, you’re unlisted.”

“Since when has that ever stopped the great Sesshoumaru Taisho? Your father tells me you’re some sort of media tycoon. I’m sure you could have found it if you truly wished for it.”

“Not without disrespecting your right to privacy.” His fingers moved downward, rubbing circles on her heels. His hands were like magic. She wanted them elsewhere on her body. “I knew we’d see each other again. We’re fated to meet each other again.”

“Uh huh, like I’m going to believe that.” She reached for, and received, a second glass of champagne from the nearby waiter, wishing for the alcohol to kick in and kill her shyness. Fingers found their way up her calf and she let the small moan slip. Hands that skilled should be illegal, she thought, and blushed as he smirked. Had she said that out loud?

“Stay with me tonight,” she heard him murmur as he leaned forward, his hot breath brushing her ear as he spoke.

“I don’t sleep with men I don’t know,” she replied, licking her lips. But, oh, god did she want to.

“Then get to know me first. You’re already half way there.”

“Why?”

He pulled back a moment, golden eyes confused at her question. “Why?” he repeated.

“Yes, why? Why all of a sudden? We’ve had all of five conversations over the last ten years. Why do you just now want to sleep with me?”

He didn’t answer as he placed her shoe back on her foot, before pulling her to stand upright. Distantly she could hear the crowd count down, though none of it registered in her head. The only thing she could see was him, and the only thing she could feel was his hands as they slowly made their way up her back. “I’ve always had my eye on you, Kagome,” he whispered, before leaning down for the kill. Hot breath mingled with hers and all reason was lost. There was nothing there but her, and him, and the driving need to taste and know every little bit of him. Capturing her lower lip, she felt him nip before coaxing her mouth open and sliding his tongue inside.

This was no ordinary kiss, she thought as she clung to him for dear life. She had kissed men before. She had done more than that, and yet, not once had any of them left her as breathless as this one did. She took deep breaths as he let her go and stepped backward. Losing all strength in her legs, she slipped to the ground unceremoniously, earning a chuckle from her partner before he kneeled before her. “Now this is the best compliment a man could get.”

Sesshoumaru 4, Kagome 0.

But she was sure that, if he had his way tonight and they ended up in his bed, the score would probably even out in the end.

~*~*~*~

Kagome was ready to peel off the dress and fall into bed, preferably with her new husband beside her. She had staggered off the elevator and made her way down the hall to the honeymoon suite. Sesshoumaru had spared no expense when he booked the place, and she didn’t miss the silver bucket with champagne in it next to the bed earlier.

Now she wondered if she’d be awake long enough to have a single glass.

Other than her small mishap, the ceremony had been beautiful, Sesshoumaru had been striking, and their guests appeared to be having a great time. “Kikyou looked radiant standing next to Inuyasha earlier,” she giggled as she fiddled with the lock of the door.

Sesshoumaru took the keycard from her hand and slipped it through the lock easily, a feat she could not accomplish on her own. “I do not wish to talk about my brother on my wedding night,” he chastised, opening the door for her.

“I’m not talking about your brother. I’m talking about his wife. She’s glowing. I didn’t know that pregnancy could make you glow like that. I wonder if I’ll look like that when I’m pregnant. People often say that she and I look alike.”

A hand fell upon her shoulder, tugging her backward into a hard chest; another wrapped itself around her abdomen, his fingers splayed across the front. “Give me just one night and you’ll see,” he teased, half-growling at the thought. He was decidedly possessive, she thought with a grin. He was already picturing her seven months pregnant, with a baby bump of her own carrying their son and it was driving him wild. Teeth fell upon her shoulders as he nipped at the skin of her neck. Oh yes, she inwardly preened. He was way too far gone.

It had been five years since that News Year Eve when he had propositioned her. She was still unsure as to what it was that drew him to her. He must have thought her the biggest klutz alive, and yet he still kept coming back. “You’re mine now, Sesshoumaru Taisho,” she sang, turning around in his arms so she faced him. “It’s too late to turn back. You had your chance earlier.”

“Hn. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Oh yes,” his hands worked the buttons at the back of her dress, slowly undoing one after another. “And, if I didn’t, it became apparent once again when you tripped on your way down the aisle.”

“Jerk,” she teased, playing with the buttons of his shirt. Stepping backwards her knees hit the edge of the couch, causing her to topple back and land on the floor, pulling him down with her.

“Now who’s got who,” he whispered, hands running down her sides. “It’s only appropriate that we end up here. After all, it’s familiar territory to you.”

Growling she pushed at him, only giving in when she realized that he wouldn’t budge. Looking up at him, she saw golden eyes looking back down upon her lovingly. This is what it came down to, she thought, leaning into him.

The score was finally even.