Sweet Tooth – Part Five: Dashboard Confessionals

Important: Wow! This has to be the fastest update for this fic yet! ^_^; Took me forever to copy out of my notebook… Blah. x.x; Oh well! ^.~ It was fun to write nonetheless! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, I’d have enough money to buy myself some new jeans. As it is, I’m down to two pairs, and on the verge of one if that hole gets any larger… So, I’ll ask you… Do you think I own Inuyasha? Come on! Implicit questions aren’t that difficult!

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Sango groaned in self-loathing, bumping her head repeatedly against the hood of her car. How could she be so stupid? Honestly, she didn’t deserve the brain cells that she had. She had never left her purse, much less her keys, in a car before!

"You know, that’s a pretty good way to kill brain cells. And, as your client, my dear Sango, I’d rather that you didn’t forget how to perform a root canal."

Sango shot Miroku an irritated glare before continuing to hit her head against her vehicle.

"Why should I?" she said between ‘thunk’s. "It’s not like you need one."

"I may in the future," he said, arms crossing as he watched her.

"So? I can relearn." Miroku simply sighed.

"Please stop hitting yourself?"

"No."

"Ah, well... Fine. If you won’t stop yourself..." he trailed off as he closed the short distance between them, smoothly slipping and arm across her waist and pulling her away from her car. "...Then I will."

"H-Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!" Sango cried as she realized that she had been pulled back against a grinning Miroku. He chuckled, tucking his chin over her shoulder so that she could see his face out of the corner of her eye.

"You were purposely hurting yourself-"

"-Hardly! I was just-"

He effectively silenced her when he tightened his hold around her, drawing her just a bit closer. Smiling, he turned his head a bit so that he could speak directly into her ear.

"As minor as you think it may have been, I still saw it fit to stop you. Besides, you can’t think straight when you’re constantly bashing your head against a car."

"That’s more or less the point," Sango muttered, squirming a bit. The fact was that she was really quite comfortable in this "arrangement", and she wasn’t too keen on letting Miroku figure out that teensy bit of information. Unfortunately (or was it), Miroku didn’t relinquish his hold when she moved. From all appearances, he too was happy with this current position.

"Mmm..." was his noncommittal response to that. "Anyway, do you have a spare set of keys?" Sango wrinkled her nose in thought. If hitting herself was supposed to be distracting, just what did Miroku think this was? At least, for some reason, she wasn’t blushing...

"I do at home," she said, continuing quickly. "And don’t you dare suggest I take a bus there. I despise getting packed into those things like a sardine, or something. And if you think I’m going to ask Koharu for a ride, you’re severely mistaken." This earned her a laugh.

"Well, you’re in luck. I wasn’t about to suggest either of those."

"Oh?"

"Seeing as how your only other options are walking home or calling a lock pick..." Both ideas brought a look of distaste to the dentist’s face. "So, why don’t I give you a ride there and back instead?"

Sango hesitated, weighing the idea in her mind. A ride? But, that would mean he would know where she lived! Did she want that, of all things? Then again, compared to the other suggestions, it was a lot more appetizing. Hmmm... Walking versus lock pick versus a ride...

Ah, decisions, decisions.

She shifted in his grasp, turning enough so she could look him in the eye.

"If you start stalking me, I will get that restraining order."

"I presume that’s your way of accepting my offer? Very well, you won’t catch me stalking you any time soon. Now, shall we be off?"

"That would require you releasing him and showing me where your car is," Sango said crisply, apparently believing she had the upper hand in this matter.

Boy, was she about to get shot down...

"Not necessarily."

"Huh?"

Miroku chose to let his actions explain for him. Clearly amused, he relaxed the arm around her waist, removing the other hand that had somehow found its way to her hip during the conversation. Easily maneuvering with an easy step, he grinned down at Sango, who now found herself with an arm draped casually around her back.

"Good God, how many dating handbooks have you read?" she asked dryly as he began to walk at a sociable pace. She easily kept up, privately enjoying their cozy proximity.

"Who is to say that I haven’t written one or two myself?" Sango arched an eyebrow.

"Have you?"

"Nope."

"You’re impossible..."

"And you’re complaining?" he teased as he unlocked his car on the passenger side, finally withdrawing his arm in order to open the door for Sango. She pointedly exaggerated rolling her eyes as she slid into the sedan.

"Charmer," she accused. Miroku winked.

"Glad you agree."

*

Koharu squealed as she watched Miroku’s car drive out of the parking lot. It looked like the plan had worked! Grinning, she picked up the office phone.

It was time to spread the word! And the first person on her list?

Kagome.

*

"Turn right at the next light," Sango instructed lightly. Miroku nodded, moving into the far-right lane. Since they had started on their way, conversation had all but faded, save for Sango’s occasional directions. It wasn’t an awkward silence. Rather, it was the warm sort, allowing time for unhurried thought.

‘Hmm... This isn’t so bad,’ Sango reflected, glancing towards Miroku wonderingly. ‘I mean, he hasn’t groped me yet today. He’s pretty fun to talk with... I wonder what might have happened if Koharu hadn’t walked in when she did...’ She had to bite her lip to keep from grinning. ‘Maybe we’d be making out on one of those new dentist chairs I bought... Or maybe in the X-ray room.’

What? A girl’s entitled to daydream sometimes!

"Uh... Sango? We’ve been driving down this road for quite a while. Care to tell me when I should be turning?"

"Eh?" Sango blinked as she came back to planet Earth. "Oh. We’re..." She peered out of the window, trying to get her bearings. "We were supposed to turn, umm... About a mile back?" He gave her a curious look as he shifted lanes again, intending to make a U-turn.

"What are you thinking about that’s making you so distracted?" The signature blush that then tap-danced its way onto Sango’s face seemed more intense than usual.

"It’s nothing!"

"Ah. So it’s about me?"

"Not everything is about you, you know!"

"But this is."

"I never said it was!"

"You never said it wasn’t."

"Humph." Yes. He was just raking in the points today. And now for the bonus…

"Now, where am I turning?" The glare he then received could have wilted flowers. No, forget the flowers. A tree is more like it.

"A left in three blocks."

"A left?"

"Right.."

"But didn’t you just say left?"

"…Yes…"

"But now we’re going right?"

"Somei-san---!" she said dangerously.

"I’m just teasing." Sango simply crossed her arms, staring ahead moodily. "…And now you’re annoyed with me." The dentist blew her bangs out of her eyes in exasperation.

"It’s not so much that as it is that, sometimes, I just don’t get you," she admitted after a moment’s quiet. "I mean, three hundred dozen roses. Red roses. I don’t know what to do with that sort of gift. I… I’ve been in relationships before, don’t get me wrong. And, I did get gifts, but nothing as… as… extravagant! We’re not even in anything official. We’ve met, what? Three times? And I’ve been absolutely horrible to you all along, and you’ve still always been so… so… So sweet. I just… I don’t know…" she whispered, bowing her head in something like shame.

"You’re forgetting the groping," Miroku reminded her lightly. She quickly grew flustered.

"Well, there is that, but it isn’t what I’m getting at…"

"I know," Miroku said, with a sense of finality in his tone. They fell back into silence, this time an uneasy one.

"…It’s up here… The blue-gray house with the white trim," Sango murmured a while later, when they turned a final corner. The only sign Miroku gave that he had heard her was the way the car cruised to a crisp stop. "I’ll go get my keys." Sango’s hand flew to unbuckle her seatbelt, but it was halted a second after a ‘click’ announced that the buckle had been freed. Caught off-guard, Sango looked down at her hand, which had been enveloped in another.

Seeing where she was, that other hand could only belong to one other person.

Nervously, Sango raised her eyes to meet Miroku’s, her forehead furrowing. He wore a thoughtful visage as he held her gaze.

"You know, you worry too much," he said, grinning cheekily at her. "I’m not mad at you for anything, and to be honest, I probably deserved each slap I got. You don’t have to get upset over that, because I believe you acted as you thought was right when I let my hand get the best of me. Pardon, the best of you." Sango gave a soft, embarrassed laugh, a smile softening her face.

"Idiot," she said, with no trace of seriousness.

"As if you would have me in any other way?" Her smile simply widened a fraction. "And as for the gifts… I know they’re a bit more than one would deem normal. But, for some reason, I think would give up every last yen in my bank account if it were to mean that I could get you to smile."

"You don’t mean that," Sango chided, a bit unsettled. Miroku squeezed her hand gently, raising it to place a kiss upon it, much to the young woman’s abashment.

"Of course I do. I haven’t really figured out why, but for some reason… I love your smile." She stared at him as though she were unsure of what to say, before a mischievous smirk slowly lit up her face.

"You know, Somei-san, I don’t believe Koharu can walk in on us here."

Miroku was literally dumbfounded, and remained that way for almost a minute before he smirked in a similar way.

"That she can’t…"

"Then what do you say? Want to come in and have some dinner before we go back to the office?"

"Care to bribe me?" She looked vaguely surprised for a moment, then quickly leaned forward to press her lips against his briefly, pulling away before he could do much with what he had. Laughing at his pout, she slid out of the car with a wink, and he quickly followed suit.

"So, Somei-kun. What sort of food do you like?"

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Aamalie: Ah… That ending of the chapter fit MUCH better than the original one did. This one is more true to the characters, or at least I think so… And what I say goes! XP

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Queenizzay- Snapple? Where? *looks around* Eh heh… Obsessed? Me? …Nevah…

LiL psYchO- ^_^; Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went. Anyway, here’s your update!

Lily Thorne- Well, I updated! Not in the same week, unfortunately… But in the same month, and that’s something new, right!? ^___~

Wakdori Ramen- Hee… I think he loaned out a hand or two in this chapter, right? XD It ended differently than expected, just because I felt this plot would be more… Let’s just say, "productive" in the long run. ^.^

Zero27- x.x Actually, before all of the reviews I got, I never even considered the idea that Miroku could know how to pick locks.

Killer Goldfish- LMAO! I love the way you put it! ^.^ *glomps you and showers you with pocky*

Corisu Li- ^-^ Yesh. Margo is perfect, is she not? *preens in front of a mirror* Fear my masterful beta-ness…

Lady Neteri- ^^; Yesh… Awkward situations are fun, aren’t they?

Aprill May- Heh… XD I think Sango would probably kill Miroku, or anyone else for that matter, if they broke her window when it wasn’t a last resort. I know I would. ^.^ And don’t worry about crashing ff.net. Personally, I’ve submitted MUCH longer reviews… *cough*Flames*cough*

Vampire-Elf- Aww, are you kidding me? Rantings are the best! ^.^ Besides, I rant to Lonnie and Corisu all the time… ^^; One of these days, I’m gonna have to drag you into one of our chats and expose you to the sheer insanity… Hee. XD

S@n-Ch@n- Ah! Glad to see you’re still kicking, Miss Never-on-FF.net-much-anymore… ^^ Here’s the next chapter, my horrendously busy, cheerleading friend!

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And that’s all I’m going to bother to respond to right now… I’m lazy, and I’ve still got to finish typing out Splintered Coral. Yes peeps, I’m on page three of it now, which means that if I work, it should be up by tomorrow. Sunday, latest. Or Monday, if I get grounded or something.

Please leave a review!!!