Disclaimer: I own nothing… poor me. Seriously, I own nothing. Dude, I'm broke-ass poor. :(

AU- of course.

I. Tequila-talk

It was not unusual for Sanosuke to come home bruised, battered or drunk at ungodly hours of the day. What was unusual was him coming home without a drop of blood or alcohol in or on him. Change was good, he told himself. Besides, Megumi had been exceedingly busy the past few weeks because of the upcoming finals and he knew that disturbing her during her precious time of study would lead to his excruciatingly painful death.

He kicked a stray bottle cap as he made his way to his shabby apartment.

He couldn't quite remember when the last time he'd been to Megumi's apartment was. A couple of weeks, a month at most, he thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, because he did. After all, agitating her had become his most favorite hobby, but he knew she was busy and he had to respect that. So he stopped- stopped drinking, stopped fighting, stopped getting injured because he had to give her a break.

I'm considerate, ain't I kitsune?

When he was only a foot away from his apartment door, he noticed something slightly amiss- the door was slightly ajar.

Right… like there's anything remotely valuable in there.

He walked in cautiously, keeping in mind that whoever broke in could still be inside. He did a quick scan of his rather shabby apartment. Although he couldn't see very well in the dark, from what he could make out, the things that were most important to him were still in place.

Couch, t.v… Check.

He readied himself for a fight as soon as he heard a rather loud and manly groan. Sano walked over to the couch, to where he figured the noise was coming from and was greeted by a surprising and altogether unexpected sight. There, on his couch, in front of his t.v, in his shabby apartment, was Megumi. Even as she was sprawled gracelessly on his couch, her face buried in a pillow, he knew it was her.

Sano took a step back and blinked several times to make sure what he was seeing was real. No matter how many times he blinked, she was still there- sleeping on his couch, with her dress riding up, with messy hair and wearing only one shoe.

"Kitsune?" He shook her shoulder, trying to gently wake her up. "Oi… Megumi…"

Megumi rolled onto her back and groaned yet again.

He could see her clearly now- her face was flustered and she reeked of alcohol.

The hell? You're drunk?

He continued to shake her, but when it was clear that his gentle approach didn't work, he opted for a different approach.

In his short but eventful life, Sano knew that a drunk man was not to be trifled with. He crouched by Megumi's head and noted, with an amused grin, that a drunk man would be nothing compared to a drunk Megumi. He had been in fights with drunk men before, he had also been in several fights with a sober Megumi. Now, he wanted to know what a drunk and agitated Megumi was like- so he poked her nose.

She sleepily batted his finger away and glared at him with red, half-lidded eyes. "Toriatama…" She testily groaned.

Sano triumphantly smiled. He got her to wake up and he agitated her- hitting two birds with one stone. "Mornin' sunshine."

Megumi tried, but helplessly failed to get up, so she settled for a semi-sitting position. "Where's Jose?" She mumbled.

Sano had a bewildered look on his face. Apparently, Megumi was a stupid drunk. "Jose?"

"Yes, Jose!"

He looked around, wondering if she really did bring someone to his apartment. Sano got up and did a quick search for Megumi's 'Jose'. He returned empty handed and with a frustrated look on his face. "Kitsune, you're drunk stupid." He incoherently mumbled.

"Oh! That's right!" She perked up. Megumi suddenly sat up and bent over the side of the couch and retrieved a half-empty golden glass bottle.

Sano rushed to the couch as soon as he saw Megumi bend over the side.

Damn it, you're going to hurt yourself.

"Look!" She raised the glass bottle proudly and smiled. "I found Jose!"

Sano then realized that Megumi's 'Jose' was once his full and unopened bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila. He felt his heart, and empty wallet shatter. He never really liked tequila- he was a man content with simple sake and beer but he had bought the rather expensive gold tequila in hopes of drinking it when something special came up. He spent a good amount of money on that bottle and he had done everything in his power to hide it from his inquisitive and alcoholic friends.

How the hell did you find it?

He looked at the half-empty bottle and then Megumi. A small smile formed at his lips. Even when his precious, supposedly secret and personal stash was consumed, he couldn't help but be amused at Megumi- disheveled, drunk and all.

"Come on, kitsune, let's get you to a real bed." He took the bottle from her hands and helped her up. Her limbs have somehow become jelly because as soon as she got up, she lost her footing and fell to the floor. Sano immediately joined her on the floor. "Oi, are you okay?"

"You!" She pointed and accusing finger at him, "You don't come for weeks… what'supwiththat?"

Fortunately, Sano had mastered the fine art of drunken talk and easily deciphered what Megumi had said. He knew she probably won't even remember their conversation the next day but he responded anyway, "It's finals week, kitsune. You needed to study."

She pouted, squinted her eyes and inched her head closer to his. "It got lonely without you." With that she quickly fell asleep.

He smiled at her drunk admission. He didn't know if it was the alcohol talking or not, but he was glad nevertheless. Knowing the she wasn't able to stand, he picked her up and carried her once again sleeping form to his bedroom. Sano laid her on the bed and removed her one remaining shoe.

"It got lonely without you too, kitsune."

TBC

AN

This is a two-part fic. I just wanted something light and alcohol-related. lol

Yey… more Sano/Meg. Again, I apologize for the lack of fluff and whatnot. I cannot handle sweetness- and I refuse to. :D It's just not me.

Anyhoos, Yeah, Jose Ceurvo does not belong to me- if it did, my face would be on every bottle. :P

Next and final chap 'The Morning After'.

And no,no… never mess with drunk people- they be scary shit!

EDIT: Some minor edits... missing words/letter.

EDIt 2: This is sort of a continuation to Rendezvous with a Fox.