Author's Note: It has been a while my friends. I unfortunately am so busy that I don't even have time to visit my family. I will write a chapter whenever I have a chance (hopefully it won't take so long next time). I hope that people are still reading this and enjoying! Reviews make quicker updates more likely.

Updated: May. 27, 2013

Prompt: Abandoned

'There are times when life tosses you thoughts that you don't know what to do with. They can be pleasant, a flight of fancy, or even a memory. There is the possibility of a blending of two or more thoughts, and even if you remember you may not be able to place them.'

"Well that's a bit fanciful, don't you think?" Miroku looked over his shoulder. Sango smiled wide and pleasantly, leaning back from him and standing straight.

"True, but isn't there always a place for fancy?" He retorted lightly. Sango laughed and stepped around him, picking a spot to lay her bag and sitting to his left. He smiled as he took her in. Her hair was getting longer: it was past her shoulders now. Her face was not quite as tired as it had been only a month before, which was a relief. Her smile was sincere and bright, and so were the eyes that shined so playfully across at him.

"I suppose an argument could be made along those lines," she quipped, "but then again, when you are surrounded by the fanciful all the time, mere words tend to seem a bit more like fluff."

"Oh, you wound me. Calling my work fluff." He painted a pained expression onto his expressive face, but after a moment could not ignore the need to smile. "You are sounding extra verbose and intellectual today, if I may say so."

"Ah, yes. Well, practicing Shakespeare fir hours can do that to you."

"That does make sense. How is the play going anyways?"

"Good," Sango stretched out her arms and sighed. "And nearly done."

"Is that a relief, or are you disappointed?" Miroku wondered quietly.

"It could be a little of both. We perform next week, if you wanted to come."

Miroku was pleased by the invitation and smiled, "I would love to attend your play. Which evenings is it on next week?"

"Tuesday, through Thursday."

"Then I will make an effort to have a free evening in the middle of the week. After all, I can't pass up a chance to see the lovely Sango dressed in the garb of the day and spouting filmy words of phrase to some undeserving lout." He grinned teasingly, before continuing, "Besides, what friend doesn't go and support his lovely leading lady friend?"

"The one who doesn't get invited," a sullen voice grumbled from behind him. Sango giggled and Miroku turned to see Shippo sulking in a corner. "Seriously, Sango, how could you not have told me?! Your favorite brother! I'm so shocked and appalled."

"Well if you came to visit more often, I wouldn't have to take so long to let you know. I feel as if you've forgotten that you are the one that hasn't really been available, not me," Sango remarked.

"Oh, but a rose does have its thorns, does it not? And what rose could be as sweet as one just beginning to bloom. Oh, Sango, your thorns leave welcome wounds, if it means that you will grow by my side forever."

"Save it for Sayuri. If she enjoys blatant flattery, that is," Sango commented with a victorious smirk. Shippo laughed and leaned against the wall. "Of course you're invited. InuYasha was supposed to let you know. I asked him if he would yesterday."

"That lily-livered, yellow-bellied, son of a one eyed prairie dog!"

"You've been watching too many children's movies again, haven't you?" Miroku felt lost, and it obviously showed, because Sango added, "it's a line from Stuart Little."

"That mouse movie?"

"Yes, that one."

"Never seen it. It never really interested me. Then again, I was a strange kid, I guess."

"Why do you say that?" Sango titled her head at an adorable angle. The light caught her hair in such a way that she appeared even more radiant then she had before. He found himself transfixed for a moment before he could answer.

He cleared his throat, "well, when my mom left I felt pretty abandoned, and it I changed quite a bit. I'm not saying that I was a mopey little child or anything, but I spent more time reading books then I did playing outside. My classmates referred to me as 'freak', because I tended to be overly creative in my assignments and speech. It was an interesting experience, and I realize now that it had a big hand in making me who I am today."

"What did you say to those kids when they teased you?" Sango wondered. Miroku shrugged.

"Nothing really. By the time high school rolled around, I knew that I would work hard to go far, and that they would all be behind, lost in my dust. I've had certain girls that I once knew walk up to me at signings and remind me that we were in the same class in high school, and I actually don't remember them. I like to call it selective memory."

"That's a good way to look at it," Sango replied. Miroku noticed Shippo slip out of the door, and smiled.

"I like to think so." He reached out and took her hand in his, and she smiled questioningly. "If I hadn't been the 'freak' I once was, I may never have become an author. That means none of my smutty books, and definitely no book signings. It also means that I would never have met you. That, at least, makes it worth it."

Sango blushed, but the smile didn't disappear. If anything it grew a bit, and she reached to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Those high school girls didn't know what they were missing out on."

"I hope that you were thinking, their loss your gain."

"The thought may have crossed my mind."