Bonding Time – Part Five

AN: Warning: This fic contains fruit. Whether it's lemon or lime, you decide. Or maybe it'll be a nice strawberry for Miroku. ^_~ Bad pun, I'm sorry. This chapter is dedicated to Shannon, the word "bum", and all you nice parents who are reading this over your child's shoulder and not getting pissed at me... Feel free to take it out of their hides though. ^_^

Also I apologize in advance for comparing Sango to a parrot, it's so very wrong of me... but a funny mental image all the same. And I hope I don't write this not quite lemon too horribly. It's actually quite detailed. Here: WARNING: DESCRIPTIVE ALMOST SEX IN THIS CHAPTER. SAVE YOURSELF BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

Miroku was wrong. If anything, Sango's confusion could not get any worse. On the one hand, Miroku seemed content to stay bound to her, but that could all be an act. On the other hand was her own desire to be free and, oddly, a sudden desire _for_ Miroku.

She had had a rather vivid erotic dream about the houshi last night. She wondered idly as their breakfast cooked if sex actually felt anything like it had in her imagination, if he was any good, or if his hands were as skilled as they had been. Sango glanced at him and licked her lips.

Miroku noticed and joked, "I realize you're hungry, but I hope you're not planning to eat me for breakfast."

Sango flushed. "N-no, just thinking about a dream I had last night." Well, it was the truth...

"Oh?" Miroku leaned towards her, interested. "What about?"

Sango laughed, trying to seem nonchalant, only sounding nervous. "Oh, nothing really."

"Really?" Miroku looked unconvinced. "You were moaning an awful lot for it to be nothing. Nothing kept me up half the night."

Sango's flush deepened, and she averted her eyes. Great, she'd never thought the dream would manifest itself physically. "Um, well, you see..."

Miroku waved her silent. "Don't worry about it. I have those dreams occasionally too."

"Only occasionally?" Sango cursed mentally. She had not meant to ask that out loud. Talk about rude, he probably would not speak to her ever again after a question as personal as that.

Miroku though chuckled and hung his head. His answer was wry. "Yeah, kind of strange for someone like me to only have them some times. I don't know... maybe groping alleviates sexual tension?"

"So..." Sango's brow crinkled. She really did not know, and since he was the resident expert on this type of thing... "They only happen when you're," the blush had receded, but now was back in full force, "sexually tense?"

Miroku grinned as he watched the blush advance across her cheeks. He really was enjoying this too much. "Why? Are you?"

Sango was quiet for a long time. When she finally answered, it was a barely audible, "Yes."

Miroku nodded. "Thought so."

Sango twisted her hands in her yukata. "Miroku, why..." She paused to take a deep breath and gather her courage. "Why do you ask girls to bear your child? It's not to gain an heir, is it?"

"No. I am- was not mean-spirited enough to want to pass my curse on to the next generation. And now that it's gone, there's no reason to even keep up a façade of asking. Not many women would actually agree to it phrased how I did, 'Will you bear my child?' They'd have to be a complete and utter slut to answer yes to a question posed like that from some stranger."

"But there were some village girls..." Sango pointed out.

"Village girls are idiots! I asked them that to drive them away. Sango, I am completely aware that I am a very attractive man. I knew that if I didn't so something to get rid of them, they would flock to me everywhere. I don't want to be hounded by flighty girls with childish dreams of a perfect life. And it always worked. Yeah, so some flirted, playfully accepted, but it was a game.

"'Ooh, look, Midori,'" Miroku's voice gained a high pitch, "'I'm playing dangerous. I just accepted a proposal from a shady monk. Won't Kaasan be mad and all the girls will be so shocked!'" He stopped abruptly as if he wanted to say more, whether to continue his impersonation or carry on more seriously, but had changed his mind.

Sango bit her lip. It all made sense. Good reasons all of them. So he'd only been playing with them, forcing them away, but if so then why... "Why didn't you ever ask me?"

Miroku turned his head away. "I think that should be obvious." There was a catch in his voice.

That confirmed her suspicions. Only one course of action now. Sango rubbed her suddenly sweaty hands on her skirt and took a deep, steadying breath. She grasped his chin to guide his face back towards her and pressed her lips to his. It was an action quickly decided on and executed, and she pulled away before he could react, before it could even fully register in his brain.

Miroku stared, and Sango, growing uncomfortable under that unflinching gaze, swallowed nervously and stammered, "I-I... Gomen, that was-"

"Very good," Miroku murmured huskily and wrapped his arms around her, ducking his head to kiss her.

At some point during the liplock, Sango realized that their breakfast was burning. She turned her head to the side, gasping for air. This did not stop Miroku. While he moved his lips to her jaw and down he neck, Sango began, "The food..."

Miroku peeled his mouth away from her skin long enough to growl, "Frankly, I don't give a damn." Immediately, her neck was assailed by his kisses once more.

Sango ran a hand up into his hair, loosening his ponytail in the process. Miroku lifted his chin and planted a kiss behind her ear as his right hand slid down her back to her rear.

"Did I ever tell you that you have a nice ass?" He squeezed.

Sango automatically slapped his hand away. "That's not a very good compliment," she said in her defense when he looked at her, a hurt expression on his face.

A sly grin crossed his features then, and he pressed a kiss to her lips. "What makes a good compliment? Should I say something about your hair or your eyes?" he asked between kisses. "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed, drawing back, a light dancing in his eyes. "Your breasts! You seem awfully hung up over them!"

Sango groaned. "Not this again. We've already established that they're small."

"No, no no," Miroku corrected, waggling his finger in front of her nose. "We _assumed_ they were small. There was no studying done to ascertain that our assumption was correct."

Sango blinked. "So you're saying you want to see me naked?"

Miroku shrugged and pulled her against him again. "Sure," he answered simply and lowered his head to the joint of her shoulder and neck. His lips proceeded down to her shoulder as he anxiously tugged at any cloth that got in the way. When one shoulder was bare, he repeated the process on the other side, although he still held the front of her yukata closed and above her breasts.

"Sango," Miroku smiled. "I should probably tell you that you're beautiful. I don't think I've done that yet."

Sango did not really mind. She was too busy enjoying the feelings coursing through her veins. Miroku's left hand was stroking her one hand where it rested on the ground next to them; that combined with the shoulder kissing was sending little sparks of pleasure up and down her spine. Her pleasure-drowned mind slowly realized that Miroku had paused in his attentions, waiting for an answer. "Erg, thank you."

Miroku's lips quirked, and he let go of her yukata. Free to fall, it puddled around her waist. Miroku sucked in his breath through his teeth. He had seen Sango naked before, but it was usually during the night and only for a moment. Not once during their bondage to each other had he seen her. But this- this was more than he could have hoped for. Much to his delight, the bandages that held her breasts down were no where to be seen.

He peeled his stare from her chest to her face. "They're not bound," he stated the obvious for lack of anything better to say.

Sango snorted. "Of course not. I didn't have time before we got this," she shook the kubiwa-ai. "We were taking a bath, remember?"

Miroku nodded. An idea formed in his mind, and he pulled the top of her yukata back on to her shoulders. "Come on, we're moving camp."

Sango's voice betrayed her confusion. "But we're... busy."

Miroku kissed her as he stood and picked her up, supporting her butt as her legs wrapped around his waist. "And we'll resume as soon as we get to that lake we passed yesterday."

"Lake?"

"Yep." Miroku winked. "We're going for a swim."

The trip to the lake took a bit longer than Miroku had anticipated. What had only been half an hour's walk the day before became longer because Miroku was carrying the added burden of Sango and their packs. He really could not set the packs down without losing them, and he refused to let go of Sango. He did shift her to his back so that he had better control over where he was walking. (He had stumbled over a few deadfalls and into rabbit holes after being distracted by Sango's kisses which she had been liberally planting over his face and neck. Sango was still kissing him, but at least he could _see_ now.)

The lake's water reflecting the sunlight was a most welcome sight; and, with a great sigh of relief, Miroku dropped their oversized backpacks. Sango giggled as Miroku rolled his shoulders- or tried to anyway; it was a bit difficult to do with the demon huntress perched on his back like some overgrown parrot.

"I could have walked, you know," she said, playing with his earrings.

Miroku craned his head back to look at her. "I _like_ carrying you. Besides, I'll willingly be your mode of transport... until my back gives out anyway."

Sango laughed and hit his shoulder. "Glad for the offer, but I have Kirara. Speaking of which," she looked around for the cat demon, "where is she?"

Miroku lowered her to the ground and turned around to face her. "Somewhere that's not here." He kissed her and moved his hands to her yukata's tie. "She left some time during your 'nothing' dream. Went hunting I guess."

"But we have enough food..."

"Did I say she was hunting for food?" He tugged the bow loose, and Sango's yukata fell open again. "Beautiful," he breathed.

Sango tilted her head and asked, completely ignoring the fact that her entire front was bare to the world, "Then what is she hunting for?"

Miroku shook his head and let his hands wander beneath her open clothing. "Sango, can we talk about Kirara later?"

Sango jumped when his fingers brushed the side of her breast. "Um... but-"

"Sango, shut up." Miroku bent slightly as he kissed down the valley between her breasts. When his mouth latched on to her left nipple, Sango inhaled sharply, and her knees buckled, Miroku's arm around her waist the only thing keeping her from crashing to the ground.

"Miroku," she moaned, entwining her fingers in his hair. She felt his lips stretch in a smile against her breast before moving on to her other nipple. All too soon, Miroku pulled away. Sango tried to stifle the disappointed whimper that rose in her throat, but it still emerged.

Miroku chuckled and picked her up again, this time cradling her. "We have to go for a swim first, Sango."

Sango reached up and tugged at his robes, kissing any flesh she could reach. "How did you know?"

"Eh?" The question confused him.

"Bathing together is part of the kitsune mating ritual, right before the bite. You didn't know?"

Miroku shook his head. "When were you planning on telling me?"

Sango looked chagrined. "I-I don't know. It slipped my mind I guess. I've been busy."

"_You've_ been busy?" Miroku exclaimed, mock-insulted. "I've been doing all the work!"

The hand closer to her rear began to drift towards it. Sango caught his hand and interlaced their fingers. "Is it my turn then?"

Miroku reached the lake's edge and swung Sango back on to her feet. "Don't I get to finish undressing you?"

Sango shrugged out of her clothes, managing to get them all off except for her right sleeve. She stared at the problem, unable to think of a way to get her arm out of the sleeve since she and Miroku were bound together.

Miroku had a solution though. He grabbed opposite sides of the sleeve and pulled them apart. The heavy cloth and tight stitching resisted for a moment, but slowly with a kch tore in two. The remains of the sleeves drifted to the ground with the rest of her yukata.

Sango glared at him. "I hope you're planning to sew that back up!"

Miroku ripped his own sleeve apart to avoid having to do it later and smiled soothingly at her. "Later." He caressed her back and kissed her jaw. "Now you were going to do something to me, correct?"

Sango pursed her lips, considering just leaving him to suffer, but remembered that no matter where she went, he would follow, willing or no. She nudged his head backwards and kissed the underside of his jaw, moving down his throat to his clavicle and the top of his robe.

His robe was tied a lot more simply than hers had been and within moments, he stood naked before her. Sango had planned to do more than merely disrobe him, but she noticed exactly how aroused he was and looked away from him, blushing.

Not bothered by her reaction, Miroku grabbed her hands and walked backwards to the lake, urging her on with firm pressure on her hands and gentle voice.

Sango was hesitant, embarrassed, but once she got into the water, she sank gratefully into it up to her chin even though it was chillingly cold.

Miroku sighed, letting a slight bit of exasperation into his voice. "So you're hiding from me now? Sango, we've come this far..." He trailed off, not sure what he was trying to say.

Sango's eyes flicked up to meet his. "It's just... just happening really fast. We just learned that we have to have sex-"

"We don't have to," Miroku protested. "Just the biting."

"Are you sure it won't end up being sex? Will you, when we get to that point, be able to stop? Will I want you to?"

Miroku took a deep breath, held it while he thought, and exhaled. "I don't know. Ask me again when we get there." He knelt beside her and placed his hands on both sides of her face. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers and murmured, "I'll go slower if you want."

Sango was quiet for a long moment, than nodded. Miroku enfolded her once again in his arms, but refrained from caressing or kissing her. He simply held her, her head tucked beneath his chin, their bodies touching passively at the chest and knees.

Five minutes later, Sango's body cooled from both the gradual lessening of her frantic heartbeat and the water's temperature, and she shivered, never mind that Miroku was currently an excellent source of heat. She could hear his heart continue to pound, and she cuddled closer in an attempt to capture some of his warmth for herself.

Miroku kissed the top of her head. "Does this count as bathing?"

Sango shrugged. "We're naked; we're in the water; I don't see why not. Why?"

"Because," he tightened his hold on her and stood, water streaming off of them, "you're freezing."

He returned to their discarded clothing, setting her down on top of his robes and wrapping her back into her own. He gathered whatever sticks and branches that were in easy reach into a pile. Lighting the fire was a bit more difficult though since he had to move Sango, who was shivering much worse now, and search through the jumble of cloth that was his robe for the tiny pocket sewn inside the robe that held such necessities as a box of matches (which Kagome had brought from her world.)

The wood did not immediately catch, and Miroku was becoming desperate by the fourth match. Was it just his imagination, or were Sango's lips turning blue? Finally, a bit of smoke wound up from the end of one stick, and soon a small fire was burning happily.

Miroku sat beside Sango on his robes, glad that she had scooted over to give him room. He would not have begrudged Sango had she made him sit on the ground- after all, she _had_ nearly gotten hypothermia because of him- but, as there were quite a few pine cones strewn around, it would have been quite uncomfortable for his naked bum.

He was aware that Sango was embarrassed even now mostly dressed, so he was startled when her hand snaked out and pressed against the small of his back. He inhaled, arching slightly backwards as her fingers trailed up his spine and then back down.

"What are you doing, Sango?" He moaned. Oooh, he liked this.

She leaned over him, cheeks flaring pink again. "I didn't get to do anything to you while I undressed you." She kissed him and pushed him on to his back.

A small twinge of pain erupted in his side where a damnable pinecone poked him, but this was forgotten when Sango straddled his legs and bent forward to kiss his chest. She treated his nipples much the same way he had hers; but, where he had pulled away, she continued, running her tongue down to his stomach.

Miroku alternately twisted his hands in her yukata and gouged his fingers into the dirt while his stomach muscles rippled under her mouth. Her breasts brushed against his arousal, and he hissed, jerking his hips up and grabbing Sango's shoulders to pull her body back to its original position. He crushed his mouth to hers and twisted around so that she was beneath him. He pinned her arms on either side of her head and kissed down her throat.

Moaning his name, Sango lifted her chin and raised her hips to rub against his. Miroku bit her then, harder than he had intended, drawing blood. As soon as he noticed, he reared back. "Oh shit, Sango. I'm sorry!" He wiped away the blood with his left hand.

Sango watched his wrist and noticed that the kubiwa-ai, once tight against their skin, was now loose. Miroku followed her gaze and frowned when he realized both what had happened and what had not.

"Wasn't it supposed to disappear?"

Sango nodded. After a moment's thought, she pulled his head up and back by his hair. She bit him, a tiny nipping of the teeth, but it was enough to satisfy the kitsune magic. With a small chiming sound, the kubiwa-ai exploded in a cloud of gold dust.

Miroku looked at their wrists and grinned. "It's gone." He kissed her and sat up, rolling off of her.

Sango's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Well," Miroku spoke slowly, formulating something to say that would not insult her, "we got the kubiwa-ai off. I thought that was what we were doing."

Sango blanched. Whoops, wrong thing to say. "Y-you were just using me!"

"No." He grabbed her hands and brought them to his lips. "Never. Sango, I don not want you only for sex, and I don't want to force you into anything."

"You're not forcing me!"

"Think for a minute, Sango. Your virginity is important; you only have it once. Do you honestly want to lose it here right now with me?"

Sango pursed her lips. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Sango, are you sure? This is the only time I'm asking this."

Sango licked her lower lip and glanced down. "Yes," she answered with a slight quaver in her voice.

Miroku released her hands and stood. "No, you're not." He walked back towards the lake with the hope that it could cool his heated body unlike before.

Ten minutes later, Miroku's passion had only partially abated. Every time he thought he had conquered his desire, an image of a naked Sango would flash in his mind, negating all his efforts. Damn it all, why had he walked away?

To him, the answer was simple: Because she would hate him later.

A tiny voice in the back of his mind pointed out, She probably hates you now, stupid.

Miroku clenched his fists until his fingers ached. He knew. No matter what he did, she would hate him. Whether it was because they had sex or they had not, she would hate him. He was damned either way.

He glanced into the sky. It was a mockingly cheerful blue, not a cloud in the sky, the sun only now reaching zenith. The day wasn't close to being over yet? And to think, if he had not been such an idiot, he could have been making love to Sango now rather than sitting in cold water freezing his arse.

So _why_ had he left her? Oh yeah, she'd hate him later.

There was more to it than that however. He, although he hadn't admitted it to himself during his little- little?- makeout session with Sango, was not entirely sure of himself. Even though Sango was the only one who showed outward signs of nervousness, his insides had been roiling, knotted with worry and anticipation.

The anticipation was for obvious reasons, but the worry was a bit more subtle. What if, despite the way he made Sango react, he _wasn't_ a good lover? Wouldn't that be the ultimate irony? The pervert who couldn't perform... What was he thinking? He had never had any problems in that department. He'd been with women before. True, not very many, but it was enough... _They_ had seemed to enjoy it... or was it the money he'd spent for a night with them... Whatever, their reactions could not have been entirely feigned, and sure as hell, Sango's wasn't, so he _was_ good after all... maybe.

A soft sound broke into his thoughts. He cocked his head, listening as the sound became more distinct, slightly louder and harsher. He heard an intake of breath and then the harsh sound again like... sobs. Oh shit, Sango's crying.

Miroku cursed and punched the water, scraping his hand on the shallow bottom. Hissing, with more anger than pain, he brought his knuckles to his lips and sucked at the cuts, reminded of the bite he had inflicted on Sango. By youkai standards, Sango was his now. What little he had learned from Hachi about youkai mating was that bites declared ownership. He had made a claim on Sango... and walked away.

But, a more rational part of his brain argued, those are _youkai_ standards. You are no youkai. Thus, you have no obligation to Sango.

Miroku snorted. Sure. He didn't. He'd nearly fucked her that's all. No big deal. Happens every day in the life of a hentai houshi. He cared for her more than that. _That_ was the true reason why he had gotten up and left. So that Sango would not view herself as his whore, and no one else would either. So that when Sango eventually did find a man worthy of her- There is no such man! he screamed mentally- he would be able to walk up to her and say, "Congratulations, Sango. I wish you luck with life..."

Yeah right. So that he wouldn't be attached to her when _she_ left- a bit late for that. Damn it, he could not just let another man have her! She was his! Miroku stood and returned to Sango. He needed to talk to her, explain his actions, and then maybe she would forgive him and welcome him back with open arms. Maybe.

Sango stared after Miroku, completely lost for words. What had happened? One moment they had been enjoying each other thoroughly, and the next, he was running away. She wanted him badly, but the desire did seem reciprocated. But his body...

Sango shook her head, her eyes beginning to burn with unshed tears. She did not understand. She had told him she was ready, but he had not believed her. Yes, she had been hesitant; she was nervous. She had never done anything remotely like it before; she had every right to pause and think it through completely.

Miroku though... Sango bit her lip. Perhaps _he_ was the one who was not ready. He had left awfully quickly, almost before he heard her decision. Maybe... Maybe he simply did not want her. A tear trickled out of one eye. Soon, the trickle became a stream, and then a torrent. She bent in half, her body heaving with sobs. The first time they had been apart for weeks, and all she wanted was him near her.

Branches snapped behind her, and she turned and watched Miroku, wet from his bath and- she noticed with a blush- not entirely relieved of his aroused state, approach and settle on the ground across the fire from her.

Wiping her eyes, she angrily balled his robes up and lobbed them at him. He caught them automatically, barely looking up. He pulled the robes over his head, tying them only loosely and stared shame-faced at his hands.

A few minutes later, he coughed, clearing his throat, and met her gaze with remorseful eyes. "Sango," he began.

Sango turned her head away.

Miroku sighed, and Sango heard his robes rustle and leaves shift as he stood and came to her side. His fingers brushed her cheeks, still moist from crying. "Sango, don't hate me."

Sango whipped her head around to look at him. "Why should I hate you? I don't understand you enough to hate you! What do you want from me?"

Miroku dropped his hands to her shoulders. "I want you, Sango."

Sango rolled her eyes. "No, you don't. You just want someone to grope."

Miroku hesitated. To deny that would be a lie, but he wanted her for so much more. He took a deep breath and plunged headlong into his appeal. "I want to spend my future, now that I have one, with you. I want you to bear my children." His face lightened, a grin forming on his lips. "We can raise an entire army of demon hunters and perverts Or we can stay alone together. No kids, no interruptions. Just us."

When he stopped for breath, Sango jumped at the chance to ask, "So if this is what you wanted, why did you stop?"

Miroku swallowed. It was time to explain his actions. "If I hadn't, would you still want to be with me?"

Sango asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Afterwards, would you have wanted to be mine still? Not to steal from Kouga or anything, but you would be _my_ woman. Would you have wanted that? I would never be able to let you go. Hell, I don't know if I can now, but..."

He ran a hand through his hair which had fallen into his face. "Are you willing to be mine forever? I'm a very jealous person. Probably horrible to live with too, but there are worse men. And I- well, I think I love you, Sango."

Sango was quiet, hardly daring to breathe. Her hurt and anger had fled at some point, having been replaced with shock. In the sudden silence, she imagined the blood pounding in her head was the only sound audible for miles.

Miroku touched her cheek lightly. "Sango? Say something."

"Was- was that a proposal just now?"

Miroku smiled. "The beginning of one, yes."

"And," Sango bit her lip, her stomach busily performing flip-flops, "you love me?"

"I'm pretty sure I do. And if I don't, I should."

Sango smiled weakly, acknowledging his attempt at humor.

Miroku sobered and pressed his forehead to hers. "So what do you say, Sango? Will you be my wife?"