The Opposite Of Attraction – Part Nine: The Outing
Aamalie: Hey! Look who’s
back! Mom’s finally back off of vacation, so I should
have more time to write from now on… So long as I don’t run into anymore
chapters that I go blank on. Then again, I knew from chapter one that I was
going to have issues with this chapter, so whatever.
And as for the
primary reason I’m posting this:
CONGRATS
ON GRADUATING, CORISU-CHAN! Just remember, even if you will be going to
college soon, you are so not off of the hook. Mir/San is a way of life, m’dear. Always remember that. (heart)
Disclaimer: Nothing has changed.
Bah…
(-)
“Are you ready
yet?” Sango asked, poking her head into their mutual
bedroom. Miroku glanced over his shoulder as he
finished buttoning up his shirt, which happened to be a light blue-gray tone
that complemented his eyes nicely. Those same eyes trailed over Sango’s with bemusement.
“Why? Are you
in a hurry?” he countered, turning around fully to face her. When he saw Sango standing in the doorway, hands planted on her hips as
though she were about to scold him for not being ready to go ten minutes ago, a
smile stole its way onto Miroku’s face. While on
other girls, her no-nonsense attitude would be trying, if not aggravating, with
Sango it was like an endearing little quirk. It was
something that he could grow fond of.
‘Focus, Miroku. Focus.’
Sango sighed, moving her arms so that they were loosely crossed and her
face easing slightly. “A little bit,” she admitted. “After all, we’ve been
cooped up in this house for a while now. I think it’d be nice to get out and be
somewhere else.”
“What? But, Sango,” Miroku said, feigning
shock, “don’t tell me you’ve grown tired of me already!”
“I said no
such thing,” Sango replied, still smiling in spite of
his antic. “So, stop the drama.”
“Drama? Never.” With all due
seriousness, he strode forward to look her in the eye. She blinked back up at
him, plainly curious as to what he was up to. “Besides, with that attitude,
dear Sango, I’m disinclined to believe you.”
As expected,
she hardly bought it, though the shadow of a blush emerged on her cheeks when
he leaned closer. She played ignorance of its appearance well enough though. “Hm. Well, disbelieve all you want
then. I’ll be downstairs waiting.” Intending to do just that, she turned to go
back out the door. But before she had a chance to actually leave, Miroku decided he didn’t want her to go quite yet. After
all, he’d hardly gotten a chance to really get under her skin yet.
Seconds later,
Miroku had caught Sango by
linking his arms around her stomach, preventing her from escaping. He smirked,
maneuvering so that his mouth was near her ear. “Just
where do you think you’re going?”
There was a
heavy pause, and Miroku found himself wondering what
she was thinking. Usually, she would have reacted by now, right? He couldn’t
possibly be losing his touch! But, from the angle he was at, it almost looked
like Sango was frowning—not that he could see much of
her face. By the time he remedied that, loosening his hold on her and moving to
get a better look, she had turned her head towards him anyway. No frown.
“I just told
you, Miroku.”
He shrugged.
“I have selective hearing.”
“Don’t push
your luck,” she warned.
“What if it’s
worth it?”
“It’s not.”
Given the blush that suddenly reddened her cheeks, as well as the short glance
she sent towards the cameramen filming them, Miroku
drew his own conclusions as to what that could mean. Especially
after yesterday, and their little rendezvous (of sorts) in the spa.
Certainly, Sango wasn’t stupid, and she knew that she
had leverage over him with their little agreement.
More leverage
than she knew.
So, Miroku decided to play it safe. He wanted to stay on her
good side, after all. If she were to get mad at him, and block him out… It
wouldn’t be good. He placed a quick kiss on the apple of Sango’s
cheek and smiled at her.
“Meet you
downstairs then.”
(-)
“People are
staring.”
Miroku had lived up to his word, joining Sango
in the limousine less than five minutes after she’d departed from the bedroom.
The trip itself hadn’t taken long at all either, and the two soon found
themselves in a very tourist-oriented town. Souvenir shops were everywhere, as
were restaurants of all varieties. And, as Sango had
said, people were staring at them. A lot of people.
“Of course
they’re staring,” Miroku reasoned. “After all, we are
being tailed and filmed by men with cameras, and they’re not exactly
camcorders.”
Sango wasn’t convinced. “So? This is
He smiled
patiently. “Maybe they’re just tourists.”
“I guess that
would make us the newest attraction in the sight-seeing brochures.”
“Possibly.”
“Hm.” She didn’t speak again
until after they had maneuvered through a crowd of people waiting for an open
table at an outdoors bistro, a feat that drew the gazes of even more curious
bystanders. “Any chance they recognize us?”
“How would
they?” Miroku asked, only half-attentive to the
conversation as they continued down the sidewalk. The other fraction of his
attention was trained on the signs hanging above the many businesses on the
street. What he was looking for exactly, Sango wasn’t
sure.
“Well,” she
said, keeping pace with him, “we are on TV, aren’t we?”
“Not yet, no. Anything you’re hungry for in particular?”
The question
didn’t even register to his companion. “What do you mean, ‘not yet’?”
“I mean it
hasn’t premiered yet,” he said, sparing a glance towards her.
“When will it
premiere then?”
“After we leave. Now, you never answered my question about
lunch.”
“It doesn’t
matter,” Sango said, her
mind not even on the subject of food. Something was nagging at her thoughts,
and it had been for a while now. So, after a moment’s deliberation, she decided
to end the nagging once and for all and asked it. “How do you know about that?”
His step
faltered slightly, and only for a second. Long enough for Sango to notice.
“Know about
what?”
“Well, so much
about the show,” she said, watching Miroku from the
corner of her eye. Maybe she was being paranoid, or assumptive, or she was just
out of her mind, but it felt like there was more to Miroku
than what was obvious. Yet, his expression didn’t even flicker when she
continued. “You know things that I don’t remember being told about when they
chose me to come here, and I just wonder why.”
“Oh, that’s
all?” Miroku looked at her, his expression warm. At
that moment, he looked nothing short of the sort of man every young woman dreams
of meeting. Cheerful. Kind. Trustworthy. He reached over, taking her hand in his.
“I guess I just asked my own questions when I had the interview. Look before
you leap, right?”
Sango felt her cheeks warm as she nodded, but maybe it was just the
sun. Of course he had asked questions about how the show would be run. While
she had decided to come here for the spontaneity of it, Miroku
had probably acted much less impulsively. He wouldn’t have taken the time to
think it through. Assuming that there was some sort of hidden motive behind him
was just… silly of her. Right?
“Miroku?”
“Hmm?”
“You wouldn’t
hide anything important about being here from me, would you?”
His eyes met
hers again, and she could see a note of surprise there, but the look changed. Softened. Deepened into something she couldn’t read. His
fingers tightened around hers.
“Not if I
could help it.”
Reassured, Sango walked a little closer to Miroku.
(-)
After a quick
lunch from Subway, the couple (with cameramen in tow) spent a good
portion of the afternoon strolling around. A good number of tourist-targeted
stores were visited, and a good amount of money wasted on tourist goodies—plus
sunscreen, which both had forgotten to apply before leaving the mansion. (That,
of course, led to Miroku offering to ‘help’ Sango rub the lotion in with so many implicative words,
which in turn led to him getting smacked. Go figure.) They also found their way
to an arcade at one point, and there discovered that their DDR skills were
severely lacking.
After wasting
a good twenty dollars on the aforementioned game with little to no improvements
on their scores, Sango collapsed onto the floor next
to the dance pad with a breathless laugh. “All right,” she gasped. “I give up.
Getting anything higher than a D is impossible in this game.”
Miroku smirked, crouching down beside her. “In other words, you
forfeit?”
“Never,” Sango assured him. “I just figured we should give those who
have been waiting for us to finish a chance to play.”
Glancing
backwards at the two girls who had stepped up to the game as soon as they had
stepped off, Miroku chuckled. “Fair
enough.” He stood back up before reaching down to help Sango back to her own feet as well. As they made their way
out of the arcade, Miroku checked his watch. “It’s past
seven already. Want to head back?”
Sango raised an eyebrow his way, lips quirking as she did so. “Already? I’m surprised, Miroku. I
thought for sure you were the sort of guy to keep a girl out all night, far
past her curfew.”
“Sometimes,” Miroku admitted, moving closer so that he could slip his
arm around her waist. He leaned closer so that he could murmur into her ear,
telling her, “But, you know… I like having an early curfew of my own…”
Giving him a
warning nudge in the abdomen, Sango told him to behave.
“Anyway, after all of that jumping around, I’m sort of hungry again.”
Miroku snapped his fingers. “Great! I know the perfect place!”
“Miroku…” Sango sighed. “I don’t
think the place we passed with the live hula performances would be the best
idea.”
He seemed to
deflate. “Why not?”
“Because of
the same reason you need to move your hand off of my butt.”
“Er… It slipped?”
She smacked
him anyway.
(-)
Dinner was a
simple enough affair, especially after the hostess of
the restaurant Sango had picked noted their tagalong
camera and promptly led them to a table where a sign displaying the business’s
name was clearly visible in the background. Apparently, she was smart enough to
recognize free advertising when she saw it. Whether or not the show’s editors
would edit out the sign was another matter. She didn’t seem to mind though, and
the waiter was quick to take their order and return with their beverages.
Miroku quirked an eyebrow as Sango dropped a
straw into her drink, ignorant of his scrutiny until his voiced his thoughts. “Lemonade? With pasta?”
“What’s wrong
with that?” she asked, brushing her bangs from her eyes and mildly noting they
needed a trim.
He shook his
head. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to eat Italian food with wine?”
“No,” Sango replied, giving him a bemused look. “Why? You want to
try and get me drunk?”
Miroku backpedaled.
“Of course
not!” he exclaimed, the exuberance of his tone indicating that it had at least
crossed his mind, even though he was denying it. “It was just… a question.” He
paused. “Have you even ever had wine?”
“No, I don’t
think so,” Sango admitted, not the least ashamed. “In
fact, I’ve pretty much avoided all sorts of alcohol.”
“Why?” Miroku asked, honestly curious. Most girls Sango’s aged had at least tried drinking, and had probably
gotten drunk at least once; if not during a high school or college party, then
on their 21st birthday. He knew. He had seen it happen with his own
eyes, and a lot more than once at that. But Sango… She really was his opposite, wasn’t she?
She lifted her
shoulders into a brief shrug. “I suppose the fact that consuming alcohol shuts
off your brain was something of a deterrent. I’d rather have my inhibitions and
common sense than drink them all away.”
“Well, better reason
than most. Regardless, it’s essential you learn to drink wine.” He pushed his
own glass towards her. “Try it.”
“I like
lemonade.”
“You elbowed
me how many times today? Come on, Sango. It’s not
like we have to worry about driving home or anything.” Miroku
leaned closer to her, eyes sparkling daringly. “Live a little.”
“I may not
have to worry about getting home, but I do have to worry about being alone in
the same bed as you,” Sango countered.
“I have more
self-control than you think.”
“Even with alcohol in your system?”
“Sango,” he sighed, “you’re just trying to make excuses now.
Do you really not trust me that much?”
She flushed.
“Oh, all right.”
Taking a
breath, she set aside her lemonade, picked up the wineglass and took a deep
sip.
Bad idea.
She choked,
almost spilling the drink as she set it back down to clap her hand to her
mouth. “Oh God!” she gasped between coughs. “That was disgusting!”
Miroku was busy choking too. On his own laughter.
It didn’t shut
him up at all when Sango managed to crumple up a
paper napkin and pegged him in the forehead with it either. It just made it
worse, until she caught her breath and delivered a kick to his shin. “Not
funny,” she informed him, before taking a long draw from the straw in her
lemonade glass.
“Oww… And yes, it was. There’s a reason most people don’t
chug wine. That’s not how you’re supposed to drink it at all, Sango.”
She folded her
arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, clearly annoyed. “Oh? Then,
how am I supposed to do it?”
“I’ll
demonstrate,” Miroku told her, picking up the glass.
“You have to breathe in the scent first, to get your senses adjusted to the
taste.” He acted out his instructions to further his point.
A corner of Sango’s mouth twitched upwards. “So, your sense of smell
now doubles as your sense of taste?”
“Work with me,
please?” Miroku sighed.
“All right,
continue.”
“Gladly. Now, when you take a sip, it has to be just that. A sip. Not a gulp, or you’ll go
into another coughing fit. Don’t swallow it the moment it passes through your
lips either, but relish it, like you would a piece of your favorite candy. You
have to take it in moderation to enjoy it.” He set the glass back down in front
of her. “Your turn.”
A bit warily, Sango took the drink, and feeling a bit foolish, mimicked Miroku’s earlier actions.
“So?”
Genuinely
surprised, Sango smiled and dared another sip. “Not
bad. You may just know what you’re talking about, Miroku.”
They shared a
smile.
(-)
By the time
the couple returned to the mansion, it was nearly
As a matter of
fact, it seemed that she was occupying quite a few of his thoughts herself
lately.
And he wasn’t
sure what to think about that. Especially under the
circumstances…
Fortunately,
he didn’t have to muse over what to do about that, because that was when
the limo pulled into the driveway.
It was better
not to think of it anyway.
“Hey, Sango, wake up,” he murmured, touching her shoulder
lightly. She didn’t stir. Miroku frowned. How to wake
her up? He could just carry her, but their bedroom was upstairs. He doubted it would
be a good thing if she were to wake up then, while he was climbing those stairs
with her in his arms.
He thought.
And thought.
And then he
thought some more.
Finally, an
idea formed in his mind.
‘It’ll
be worth it…’
He groped her.
Indulgently.
She slapped
him before she’d even reached full consciousness.
Miroku smiled brightly at her, even as he rubbed his reddening cheek.
“We’re home!”
Sango glared. Menacingly. Enough
so to make Miroku wince. “You…”
“I didn’t know
how else to wake you up?
“Whatever,” Sango said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. “Let’s just
go on in. And don’t do that again.”
He gave her a
salute, which brought a small smile to her lips, before climbing out of the
limo and assisting Sango out as well. Once they were
inside, she paused, saying, “I need a drink, I’ll be right up.”
“Okay.” Miroku started for the steps,
sleep on the brain, until another idea popped up. “Wait, Sango.
There’s one thing.”
“Hm?”
Grinning, he
smoothly closed the distance between them so that he could place a soft kiss on
her lips that couldn’t exactly be described as brief, although that had been
his original intention. He couldn’t help it—he’d only shared a kiss with her
twice before, and he was addicted.
Even though he shouldn’t have been.
That was what
made him come back to himself and gently break the kiss, leaving Sango flushed and a little bit startled.
“What was that
for?”
He smiled,
placing another kiss on her forehead. “Just because.
I’m going to go to bed myself now. See you in a few minutes.”
She nodded,
and he headed back up for the stairs.
The only thing
was, she didn’t appear up there, even after a good fifteen minutes of mental
berating while waiting for her to arrive before going to sleep. It was amazing
how quickly concern could make those admonishments lose all importance, but it
happened anyway, and Miroku stole back downstairs to
see what Sango was up to.
He found her
back asleep on the couch, with her shoes still on and her hair still up and a
half-full glass of water on the coffee table, and he couldn’t help but smile.
Pulling a throw blanket off of the back of the couch, he quietly draped it over
her and pulled off her shoes, setting them on the floor. Murmuring a goodnight
in her ear and placing a kiss on her cheek, Miroku
turned off the light and headed back for the bedroom.
He needed to
think. Badly.
What was this?
(-)
Aamalie: Uh… Just a crapload of foreshadowing. Blah.
I’m abusing it mercilessly in this fic, aren’t I? And
I won’t even get started on the way I’m butchering the characters. :)
(-)
Starzki- Pull one off? Geez. Now I know what’s on your
mind, missy.
Siren of Erised- …v.v Stop telling me stuff is
cliché when it’s not! I’m paranoid of that, darn it! T.T Almost as badly as I’m
paranoid of bad characterization…
Sango0808- Well, I’m glad I
haven’t ruined it yet. But, as a warning, there will be a twist later on, but I
don’t think it’ll ruin the story much. At least, I hope not, considering
everything of substance in this story happens after the fact.
WindWitch- I’ve read Call Me Tomorrow, though not some
of the more recent updates. Maybe you’ll be happy to know that I have an idea
for a S/Kagu fic in the making though?
Fantasical Queen Ebony Black- Emotional drama is
heart. ;D
Iggy- No, she just whispered his name. The whole acting thing just ties
in with the agreement they made—they’re ‘pretending’ that their relationship is
closer than it should be at this point, and by introducing pretend-intimacy
they’re actually starting to fall for each other. That’s the idea behind it, at
least.
Spam-chan- Ooh, meet the parents? That’d be so fun to do, only it wouldn’t fit in with my plans for this story. Bahhh
(-)
I know it’s
been a while… XD But review anyway? Even if it is just to yell at me for not
being able to write when my mom is loitering around my room all of the time… v.v;