Inukag Week, day 2: Moonlight
Barely squeezed it out but by God I posted before midnight
Day 1 is, apparently, going to take me all week. Because it gave me motivation (coughanexcusecough) to try and make an animatic I've wanted to do for a long time. I've already had to temper my expectations to just the last minute or so of the song to get it done at all, so we'll see how that goes!
In the meantime, have an incredibly self-indulgent drag au
Still Into You cover by Natewantstobattle and Amalee
@inukag-week
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Why Don't You Do Right?
Kagome giggled to herself as she finished her makeup, taking a moment to admire herself. Her hair was pinned up and back, covered by a brown felted fedora decorated with fluffy cat ears to hide the mass of it. Her cream button down shirt and crisp green waistcoat were perfectly fitted, falling nicely over her flattened chest. The matching green slacks were tailored to her exact centimeter, with cream spats fitted over brown oxfords she'd spent a week breaking in for this night.
“You excited?” She asked, glancing over to her partner with makeup-sharpened eyes.
“... Yeah,” he admitted, sounding just a little shy as he examined himself in the neighboring vanity. Satisfied with her own work, she watched him brush his fringe around until it lay just so in front of the felt dog ears pinned into his hair. His normally thick, dark brows had been glued down and painted over, leaving them thin and arched. His jaw had been softened by an expertly applied contour pallet, and dramatic eyeliner and mascara lent extra intensity to his golden eyes as he met her gaze. He smirked at her. “You planin’ on sittin’ there staring at me all night?”
“Hang on,” she insisted, leaning back and crossing her arms as she looked him over with a grin. “You know I love taking the time to appreciate what a beautiful woman you are.”
Inuyasha couldn't hide how his face flushed brightly at her words, with his usual long curtain of frost-white hair pulled back out of the way and curled into a beautifully coiffed ponytail. The pieces framing his face were similarly curled, giving him the aura of a magical princess, or perhaps a bride.
Standing from her seat, Kagome took an easy step forward, hands finding the arms of his chair as she leaned down to give him a kiss. She felt callused fingers on her cheek, and smiled into his mouth.
“Gonna ruin my lipstick,” he muttered between kisses, though he made no move to pull away. Emboldened by his enthusiasm and the character she played, Kagome nipped at his lower lip, drawing a gasp from her lover.
“It's never stopped you, why should it stop me?” She teased, recalling how much he'd enjoyed messing up her lipstick when she was already late for work earlier that week. “Besides, the crowd’ll love seeing how much I adore my ‘wife’.”
Inuyasha blushed so pretty, she thought, reaching over to pick up the tube of lipstick so she could touch it up for him. His eyes fluttered shut at the contact, and she smiled as his false eyelashes brushed his cheeks. He already had quite long eyelashes, which had come in handy when they were just dressing up casually, but stage performance required stage makeup, according to the woman who'd been working with them on their routine.
“What do you think the odds are that Kikyo and Koga’ll see us tonight?” He asked, flashing her a grin of his own as the tube left his lips.
“Infinitesimal. But it'd be funny; three years going on dates in crossdress to avoid them, and they finally ping us when we're on stage of all places?” she laughed, leaning back so she could see him properly.
For as much of a fuss as he made when she had first suggested it, there was a certain softness dressing up like this brought out in him that Kagome adored. Sure, he could be soft with her, when the two of them were alone. But under the make-up and pretty clothes, she found a different form of vulnerability he didn't portray when he wore the clothes of a man. And she hadn't been kidding - Inuyasha made for a beautiful woman.
The first time she had suggested dressing in drag, it was out of desperation for just one date to not get ruined by her stalker ex-coworker or his stalker ex-girlfriend. After a few tries, they didn't spot them anymore, but they figured they'd keep it up a bit longer “just to be safe”. Going to a drag show was just meant to be a fun date, relevant to how they'd been doing things; she hadn't expected to be so quickly welcomed into the community, or to get picked up by a professional drag queen who'd encouraged them to give the stage a shot.
“Kat? Shii?” A voice called, drawing their eyes away from one another to one of the assistants working backstage. “You have some visitors.”
“Hey you two!” Miroku called, followed by Sango to the little corner they'd taken up for their costume changes. The backstage area was bustling with queens and kings, she was surprised that they'd been allowed, nevermind that they'd gotten a guide.
“What're you guys doing here?”
“Figured we'd come show a little moral support, that's all!” Sango assured, pulling a bouquet of flowers from behind her back with a smile. “Just wanted to sneak in quick before you got on stage.”
“Oh my goodness, thank you!” Kagome beamed, standing to accept the flowers.
“Think you're ready? Big crowd out there,” nudging Inuyasha's shoulder, Miroku gave him a teasing grin. He was having an awfully good time for someone who'd gotten his shit rocked after groping Inuyasha in full drag without knowing it. Inuyasha - Shibuya - had slapped him so hard he'd briefly started speaking Korean.
Inuyasha rose to his feet, the stiletto heels he'd become expertly accustomed to putting him half a head taller than Miroku.
“Good. We've got a big show to put on,” he hummed, smiling when Kagome wrapped an arm around his slim waist, emphasized by the padding at his hips and backside. She knew she looked very much a manlet at his side, and there was a part of her that reveled in it - like Inuyasha became somewhat softer, Kagome became somewhat bolder when she was dressed for date night. She loved her skirts and dresses in day-to-day, but there was a wonderful feeling of power in fitted suits and nice men's shoes. She smiled up at him, and he returned the look, his hair turned into a glowing halo by an overhead light.
“Alright. We should get back out to the audience if we want to get drinks before you two go on,” Miroku smiled, taking Sango's hand in his. “Break a leg!”
“You're gonna do great!” Sango agreed, waving with her free hand. “And Kagome!”
She looked at her friend.
“You've got lipstick in your mustache,” she warned, giggling as she and Miroku disappeared back out front. Squeaking in surprise, Kagome turned to the mirror, ignoring Inuyasha's laughter as she snatched up a make-up wipe to carefully removed the red smudges without disturbing the thin mustache and whiskers she'd drawn on with eyeliner.
“Don't tell me you two are getting fans already? You haven't even gone on stage yet!”
Inuyasha turned back, grinning at Jakotsu.
“If friends count as fans, then sure,” he hummed as the older drag queen came into their little corner. He accepted Jakotsu’s hug graciously, surprisingly touchy when he was all dolled up.
“Well don't you look pretty as a peony! How's the dress, sweetheart? Good fit?”
“Great fit! Thanks for lending it to me.”
“You go ahead and keep it. It's totally your color, and it looks better on you than it ever looked on me,” she insisted, patting his cheek. Inuyasha looked like he wanted to argue, but Jakotsu was clearly having none of it. The red dress was flashier than anything he'd ever worn while crossdressing, with a high kimono-style collar and a short, ruffled skirt that showed off the strong shape of his already long legs. Kagome made a mental note to give Jakotsu an extra thank-you later - she would make sure Inuyasha got plenty of mileage out of that dress.
Kagome finally stood from fixing her face, turning to smile at Jakotsu and accept his hug with much more enthusiasm.
“Kagome darling, you look so good! I like the facial hair! Very macho,” he assured, gently brushing a thumb over the eyeliner-goatee.
“Thank you! I wasn't sure about it at first, but it felt right, y'know?”
“It was a good choice, Tom cat!” he nodded, hands coming to rest on her shoulders. “Now, the crowd’s already wound up a bit, so you get to walk into good energy! Don't get nervous on me!”
“Oh, we've been in way more nerve-wracking situations. A little crowd work’ll be a walk in the park,” Inuyasha waved off the warning, confident as ever. Squealing in excitement, Jakotsu jumped around a little, stopping only when another assistant tapped his shoulder, reminding him that the current performer was almost done. “Okay! Okay okay okay! You guys ready?”
“Ready as we'll ever be.”
“One sec,” Kagome gasped, turning to the bouquet that she'd set on the table. Finding a red carnation, Kagome broke it at the second node, lifting the bloom and tucking it into Inuyasha's hair tie so it sat at the base of his ponytail. Taking another moment to stand in awe of him, she smiled brightly and took his hand in hers. “Okay. Ready.”
“Ooooh, I could just eat you two up!” Jakotsu squealed, moving behind them to push them forward. “Alright, your music’s queued up, Iono’s almost finished. Just wait for me to introduce you, and you can come do your thing!”
“You can count on us!” Kagome assured, her arm sliding back around Inuyasha's waist as Jakotsu left them to take to the stage.
“Everybody give it up one more time for Iono Montoya!”
The crowd renewed its roars, and a woman in a curly wig and bedazzled fencing foil passed them, squeezing their shoulders and flashing a smile.
“Remember, folks! The quickest way to a man's heart? Is between the fourth and fifth rib!" Jakotsu laughed brightly along with the crowd, flapping the loose collar of her robe as if to give herself some air. “Now then! Our next performers are my own discovery; new to the Camelia Club stage! Better to look and not touch, my dears, because these puppy-lovers are equal parts bark and bite! Get ready for canine claws and feline fangs, and please welcome to the stage, Shibuya Inuyamato, and Tom-Katsuki Nekomata!”
With deep breaths, Inuyasha and Kagome faded, and Shibuya and Katsuki stepped out into the spotlights to the roar of the crowd. Shibuya spotted Miroku and Sango at one of the tables off to the side, and squeezed Katsuki’s hand while the other waved to the crowd. Katsuki waved as well, but he couldn't help how his eyes kept being drawn to his partner. Shibuya's face had fully lit up at the warm reception from the crowd, her expression open and excited. Jakotsu winked as she passed them, pressing the microphone into Katsuki's hand. With a confident smirk and a nod of thanks, he took hold of it, turning to the audience.
"What an incredible greeting!" he began, getting a few extra cheers. He had gotten quite good at deepening his voice with Jakotsu’s vocal training, and hearing it back from the speakers, even he was a little impressed with himself. "I don't think I've felt this welcome anywhere but the arms of my beautiful wife! What do you think, Shii?"
Shibuya reached up to wrap her hand around Katsuki's on the mic, long red nails tracing the length of his fingers.
"I think you just like making me blush in front of strangers, Kat,” she shot back, sweet falsetto sending a shock of warmth down his spine.
"Guilty as charged. Can't help myself sweetheart, not my fault you look so damn good in red, wouldn't you agree folks?"
The crowd went wild again, and Katsuki saw Shibuya's face go even darker at the applause.
"Careful, Kat! You keep laying it on that thick, we're all gonna choke on it."
"Give you something else to choke on later, pup.”
That got the crowd whooping, and Katsuki could distinctly make out Sango's familiar shriek of laughter. He gave her a wink, and Shibuya leaned down to laugh into his hair. Wrapping his arm firmly around Shibuya's waist, he let her take the mic and gestured to the audience.
"We're here to sing for these fine people! Try to hold off on the choking."
"Well! In that case we'd better get this rig rollin'," she hummed, twirling out of his arms to slide it into the mic stand. Their hands remained clasped, tethering them together, and when Shibuya turned to smirk at him, the guitar kicked in.
“Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together."
“I need the other one to hold you, make you feel, make you feel better.”
Katsuki found himself smiling even as he moved his mouth to the words.
The routine they had created for the song was an intricate one, allowing Kagome's attention to detail to guide Inuyasha's stronger, more physically adept body.
“It's not a walk in the park, to love each other.”
“But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're worth it.”
"Cause after all this time," she sang, arms sliding around Katsuki's neck, "I'm still into you~”
Katsuki scooped her up into his arms.
"I should be over all the Butterflies!" they spun, confetti butterflies raining from the celling. "But I'm into you." "I'm into you!”
"And baby even on our worst nights! I'm into you!"
"I'm into you!”
"Let 'em wonder how we got this far! Cause I don't really need to wonder at all! Yeah after all this time, I'm still, into you."
The pair moved together with an automatic ease. It had been there since before their relationship had turned romantic; dancing around each other almost from the moment they'd met. Where one went, the other followed. When one moved to strike, the other covered their blind spot. And this dance had been intentional, perfected by months of dedicated practice. Inuyasha and Kayome's natural synchronicity was only emphasized by Shibuya and Katsuki's flamboyant motions and unabashed need to be close to one another. They only separated briefly during the second verse and chorus to collect tips from excited viewers, but it was clear to everyone present how eager they were to return to each other's arms.
"Some things just, some things just make sense and one of those is you and I.”
Shibuya leaned back a little, so Katsuki had to look past her enhanced chest to meet her sultry gaze.
"Some things just, some things just make sense, and even after all this time. I'm into you~"
"Baby not a day goes by that I'm not not into you!"
Katsuki lifted one of Shibuya's legs to hitch it on his hip, supporting her weight with one hand on her back as he dipped her back, turning to display her for the audience.
"I should be over all the butterflies~!!"
"I'm into you!" "I'm into you!"
They leaned into each other in turn, spinning together to gain momentum. Kat turned his back to the crowd lifting his partner while she braced her hands on his shoulders.
"And baby even on our worst nights!”
"I'm into you!" "I'm into you!”
"Let 'em wonder how we got this far!" Her arms slid around his shoulders
"Cause I don't really need to wonder at all!" his hands found purchase on her hips.
"Yeah after all this time, I'm still into you,”
"I'm still into you," Kat turned, pulling Shibuya into another dip.
"I'm still, into-" Shii leaned up, ignoring the last lyric to pull Katsuki into a fierce kiss. Going willingly, the performers found themselves only vaguely aware that they were not alone. The applause died down as a figure passed them, but the pair only separated with an embarrassed gasp when someone tapped the mic.
"Wonderful show, you two!" Jakotsu cheered, turning to give them a cheeky smile. "And a wonderful opportunity to remind our audience; make certain to spay and neuter your pets."
Blushing brightly, the pair righted themselves, taking a final bow to the encouraging whoops whistles of the audience before absconding to the backstage area to pick up where they left off.
