Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe or any of the popular name brand apps, products, services, etc.
How did this happen?
Like. No. Seriously.
How the fuck did this happen?
She was staring up into the golden eyes of her best friend. Well. One of her best friends. The best friend her other best friend, Kagome, had been in love with. And they were panicked. Almost as panicked as hers were. And they were getting closer. Because he was going to kiss her. Because they had no choice. And they were all freaking out.
So.
How the hell had this happened again? And better yet. What the fuck was she going to do about it?
"Come on," she begged, showing them all her cellphone screen. "It will be fun."
"For who?" Inuyasha snorted, taking another swig of his beer. They were in a bar - their favorite local joint, watching the Saturday night game. They all enjoyed baseball. It might not have been quite as popular as it once was, with football taking over as "America's favorite past time", but it was still pretty popular. Especially if you were a group of broke as fuck college students. You could use your student ID to get discounted tickets to games...and said games were already pretty cheap...
The only thing was...They had never actually gone to a game. Because some of them - Inuyasha - was a bit cheaper than the others.
Ok. Fine. She wasn't being fair. Inuyasha, being half dog demon, just didn't like crowds in general. The smells and sounds were overpowering, but you'd think that he'd adapted by now. It wasn't like he was born yesterday...
"For all of us..." Sango insisted as the man at the base swung and hit a home run. They all paused, watching and hollering in excitement as he ran the bases before settling down in their seats at the bar again as the cheering slowly settled. "Look," Sango continued, showing her phone to Kagome, her best girl friend. They had known each other since they were ten. Had gone through most of elementary school together. Then middle. Then high school, where they had met Inuyasha and Miroku. Now, they were in college. And at some point...they had both begun to pine for the two men seated with them.
To be clear.
When she said they had started pining for the two men seated with them, she meant that Kagome had a thing for the half demon seated to her left. She couldn't blame her...He was attractive. Silver hair...golden eyes...twitching dog ears...
Yeah.
Sango could see it...But...
Inuyasha wasn't her taste. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with him...but...When you sat Inuyasha down next to a man like their other friend...
Miroku...
She internally sighed and tried to not let herself show her feelings for him as she glanced at said man. He wore his shoulder length hair down and lose tonight, and she swore he had a sixth sense about things...Because right at that exact moment, he decided to run his long, slender fingers through his hair as he looked at the phone she had just handed Kagome. The lone hoop earring in his lobe glinted in the dim bar lighting, and dirty thoughts of running her tongue along it entered her mind. The sinewy muscles of his arm popped and shifted as he moved that hand through his hair...the leather wrapped twine bracelet around his wrist drawing her eyes down his forearm - god, when had forearms become so sexy? - and to what they called the shmedium shirt he wore. Aka - a medium that was a tad too small. It was a deep purple. Almost eggplant. Just like his eyes...
Sango snapped herself out of it, and tried to focus on Kagome instead as she scrolled through the ticket information.
She didn't need to think about how she could smell Miroku's old spice body spray over the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke in the room.
Nope!
Nopenopenopenopenope!
Not at all.
"This is for next weekend?" Miroku commented, and she was determined to ignore the way his voice sent butterflies through her stomach.
"Yeah! Since it's a long weekend and all..."
Thank god for dim lighting. Because she was pretty sure she was blushing at the warm smile he just shot her. Her cheeks felt very hot. Annoyingly so. Like...She needed a bucket of ice water to douse herself with so she wouldn't set the whole damn place on fire hot. Annnnd she was freaking out now, because Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at her and took another sip of his beer.
COOL IT SANGO.
Get your shit together!
She snatched her beer off the table and took a sip from it, pointedly ignoring him when he mouthed 'ask him out' and tilted his head towards his friend, who was looking at the opposing team information.
'Ask him out,' she mimicked, scrunching her face together in a way to let him know just what she thought of that idea.
Aka.
No way in hell.
You see...For whatever reason...the three of them had kind of fallen into a bit of a...mutually agreed destruction situation. Because she knew for a fact that Inuyasha liked Kagome. And Kagome, as previously established, liked Inuyasha. And they both knew that she was really into Miroku...And apparently they were all stubborn fucks who went:
'You know what would be fun? Not telling anyone how we feel. Because we would rather be pining friends than happy couples.'
Smart, right?
It was amazing they were on the dean's list and in the honors program.
Truly.
'Go ask her out,' Sango mouthed back, and that shut him up as he took another swig of his beer. She watched him shift his eyes towards Kagome almost longingly, and she couldn't help but feel a little bad for them.
They were just so stupid.
And no, this isn't a pot and kettle situation, before you ask.
They clearly liked each other. Miroku...
Look. They could say that he was into her all they wanted, but at the end of the day...Miroku was just a giant flirt. He was into anything that wore a skirt, as the saying went.
"I don't know, I think it could be fun," Kagome shrugged, glancing up from the phone and at Inuyasha. "The prices aren't bad...there are some decent seats...Beers, hot dogs...day in the sun...Or we could get dinner at Newport before? It's right by Great American anyway? We could hit up Bar Louie? Oh! The nachooos..." she sighed in longing.
"You really want to go?" Inuyasha asked softly. Perhaps a little too softly...
"Yeah...But...If you don-"
"-Let's do it."
Well. That was easy.
Thank yooou Kagomeee!
"Miroku," she asked nervously. She was doing her best to hide the twisting in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn't sure it was working. "What about you?"
She watched him pensively lean back in his chair and cross his arms over his chest, seemingly mulling something over in his head.
"I have a paper due on Tuesday that week...But so long as I can get some help editing it from a friend..."
"Fuck off, I have my own paper to worry about," Inuyasha scowled, grabbing a wing from the center of the table.
"Like I'd really trust you to edit my paper," Miroku smirked. "Your spelling and grammar are abhorrent."
"Fuck you!"
"Looot of fucking happening tonight," Kagome teased as Miroku flicked him off.
"Not as much as I'd like," Miroku replied, shifting her eyes to her, and Sango swallowed. Was that...
Was that a pointed look?
No.
It couldn't have been. She should know better than that. He was a player and a flirt. She needed to remember that.
"Anyways, I meant Ashley. She's better at this stuff."
See?
Ashley.
Another notch in the bedpost, probably. If not now, then eventually.
"Teachers pet, is what she is. Anyways, are ya in or out?"
Miroku looked down at her phone and added the tickets to the cart.
"Oh. I'm in."
"Is this too much?" Kagome asked, looking herself over in the mirror. "The eyeshadow...too heavy?"
"Depends," Sango shrugged, running a straightener through her hair. She wanted to get it nice and smooth before she braided it.
"On?"
"On the look you're going for. Inuyasha likes it more natural..."
Kagome sputtered and dropped her eyeshadow brush.
"Who says I care what Inuyasha thinks?"
"You," Sango smirked, taking another section out of her hair clip and straightening it.
"I...No I didn't!"
"Yes you did," Sango sang, working on another section as the hot hair fell down to her shoulders. "When are you going to just ask him out?"
"When are you going to ask Miroku out?" Kagome countered, grabbing a makeup remover wipe and passing it across her lids.
"When you ask Inuyasha out."
She snorted.
"Oh. Yeah. Because that's going to happen."
"You at least have a chance with Inuyasha," Sango insisted. "You should see how hopeless he is around you. I swear, when you walk into a room, it's like the building could be on fire and he wouldn't care. Except he would. Because that would mean you would be in the burning building. I can just see him pushing people out of the way to grab you and jump out of a window," she demonstrated, pushing her hands together and parting them to illustrate the scene of him throwing people to the side to reach her.
"H-he does not," Kagome blushed, looking down at the counter and rummaging through her makeup back to find the nude urban decay pallet. The one she had purchased just because Inuyasha liked it. They had dragged the guys into Sephora once, and spent thirty minutes fucking around with the make up. Inuyasha had casually said "I think it looks good on you", and Kagome had bought it faster than you could even say "add to cart".
She was hopeless.
And no. She hadn't encouraged her friend to do it because Miroku had said the same thing about her and she could steal it whenever she wanted to.
Because that would be crazy.
Right?
RIGHT?!
Right.
That's what she thought.
"Uh huh," Kagome rolled her eyes, swiping a clean eyeshadow brush across the medium brown in the container. "So...You're telling me...that the time you got sick and he brought you your favorite Skyline chili from the other side of Cincinnati in West Side, that meant nothing?"
"It was a nice gesture. Who brings someone chili when they're sick though?"
Kagome just sighed dramatically.
"I swear sometimes you have your head shoved way too far up your ass for your own good."
"Back at ya Babe!"
"Do you want the last nacho?" Inuyasha asked Kagome sweetly, over the dull thrum of music and people. Sango watched as her friend blushed, playing with the stud in her earlobe. She was crushing so hard on him...
"Yeah - thanks."
They had all split certain appetizers with one another. Inuyasha had gone in on the nachos with Kagome while she split the battered fried pickles with Miroku.
Kagome took the last chip, her tongue peaking out between her lips to lick them and her fingers when she was done, and Sango watched Inuyasha watch the move with bated breath. Like he was totally enraptured with everything she was doing...And thinking some very raunchy things at that moment, given the way he swallowed.
Hard.
"When do you think they're finally going to do something about this?" Miroku murmured to her. The air around them was vibrating with enough noise to drown his words out so even Inuyasha wouldn't be able to hear them.
"Hopefully soon...It's getting ridiculous. He's practically drooling on her right now," Sango replied, rolling her eyes and picking up the paper wrapper from her straw. She absently played with it, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Because she had been drooling over Miroku earlier. But...
Ok.
It was hard not drooling over him! He was wearing the shirt she got him for Christmas. It was a handmade Joey Votto shirt she stumbled upon while browsing Etsy. The ink was faded and worn and textured like it was meant to look vintage. And the word "VOTTO'' stood boldly over a 19 in the same font. There was a black line on either side of it...and a red one directly below it. It was cute, but still masculine...and so much more attractive than the official ones off of the Reds website or the ones in the grocery store...
And listen.
Just...
Listen.
The shirt fit him perfectly, ok?! It clung to him in all the right ways...and with his hair pulled back like that in that half up half down thing...and the way those shorts hugged his damn ass...
Excuse her for enjoying what was next to her, alright? Was it a crime to appreciate it? He certainly didn't have an issue with appreciating people. Why couldn't she do the same?
"They practically have neon signs flashing over their heads that say 'I like you! Just kiss me already!' They're so bright, they can see it at the international space station."
"I'll say," Miroku chuckled, picking up his beer and taking a sip from it. "Do I have any signs like that?" he pressed casually.
Too casually.
"Do you want to be?"
She was so nervous about his answer. On the one hand, she knew what she wanted him to say. "Yes, Sango. I do. And it's for you." That's what she wanted to hear. But he could also say something else entirely. "No - not really interested in anyone right now. I was just curious."
The.
Utter.
Devastation.
She didn't know if she could handle it. But...looking into those deep, violet eyes...she found that she was having a hard time on focusing on anything else anyways. The whole room seemed to just...dull. The sounds. The smells. The colors. It was just her and him as he looked back at her with these eyes...These big, soft, deep purple eyes...eyes she could feel herself drowning in...Eyes that she swore were telling her everything she wanted to hear...
Eyes that were whispering, "I want you Sango...I have since the day I met you...Tell me you want me too..."
And then...He saw his jaw drop slightly. His lips part.
Her breath caught in her throat as she focused on him and only him. Sharing this moment with him. Completely ignoring the duo across from them. It was just her and Miroku, and time stood still for the briefest of moments...
...Until Inuyasha chose that moment to reach across the table and steal one of their fried pickles, completely ruining the moment.
Sango heard a thump under the table and Inuyasha made a yelp.
"Hey! What was that for! They had some of our nachos!"
"You're unbelievable," Kagome hissed.
It didn't matter though.
The moment was gone.
"Do you guys want a beer? I'm gonna grab a beer," Inuyasha informed them, casually stretching. The game was good so far. The Reds had a solid lead, but they had just struck out. Now was a good time to get refills.
"Sure - I'll take one if you're offering," Miroku nodded as Inuyasha stood. Sango found herself sandwiched between the men, with Kagome sitting on the end next to Inuyasha. Now that the sun had set, it was getting a little cold out, and Sango noticed that her friend was slowly inching closer and closer to him.
To stay warm, she was sure.
"Yeah, same, if you don't mind."
"Why don't I come with you?" Kagome volunteered, standing from her seat and stretching, making her shirt rise ever so slightly. "I mean if we're all getting beers, you could use the extra hands."
She watched as Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something - probably dumb - and then snapped it shut and just nodded his head.
"Yeah - that would be nice. Thanks," he smiled softly as he stood.
"Of course," she nodded, starting to move down the row towards the aisle. She tripped and began to fall forwards, but Inuyasha reached out and caught her.
"Hey...careful there. Don't want you getting hurt..."
The blush that spread across Kagome's face was priceless. Sango couldn't catch the rest of the exchange...but she did see that Inuyasha had a hard time letting go of her after that. He kept a hand on her waist the rest of the way down the aisle, and if Sango were being honest?
She was a little jealous.
Oh she was happy for Kagome, of course. Even if it was a small display of affection, it was still affection.
She wanted something like that from Miroku.
Who apparently was also watching the pair.
When they disappeared from view, she glanced over at him and noticed that he had a wistful look on his face.
She wanted to tell him she knew how he felt, but...Votto was up to bat, and that took precedent. It was the distraction she needed right now, frankly.
She started cheering for him alongside Miroku as he stepped up to the plate, cupping her hands around her lips to help the sound carry. He was clapping so loudly, she wasn't sure if she was hearing him or the thudding of her heart in her chest. Why was she so painfully aware of him tonight? Was it because of dinner?
They watched with rapt attention as Votto began doing his pre-batting dance. Shifting his stance. Adjusting his grip on the bat. Giving it a few tentative swings to test his positioning...and then.
He hunched over, waiting for the pitcher.
"Oh god...I don't know if I can watch," she breathed, unable to take her eyes off of the game. Inuyasha had chosen a hell of a moment to get beer...but then again.
She suspected he knew that Kagome would go with him, and he probably wanted a moment alone with her.
"Close your eyes."
"No! I don't want to miss it!"
Miroku chuckled at that, running his hand through his hair.
"You're something else Sango..."
"Contradictory and oxymoronic?"
"Just...Something else," he smiled mysteriously, and she turned to look at him. The look in his eye...it was so soft. Endearing. It made her feel like the only woman in the world, and for a second - the absolute briefest of seconds - she thought she saw his eyes lower to her lips.
A loud crack thundered through the stadium making her jump in surprise, and the crowd of people around them erupted.
It was a home run, and everyone was on their feet, clapping, shouting, high fiving. Music blared in the distance as the large LED boards in the back lit up with the home run graphics.
"Hell yeah!" Miroku roared, letting out a loud whoop beside her. She didn't know what was more brilliant - his smile or those LED boards.
It might have been his smile...
"Aw hell," Inuyasha grumbled, drawing her attention away from the game and back towards her friends as Votto rounded home. "We missed it?"
"Sure did," Miroku smirked. "But thanks for being our beer boy."
Inuyasha flipped him off, and Kagome giggled beside him as Inuyasha threatened to just drink all of the beer.
Sango just rolled her eyes and took the beer Kagome offered her as the two men began bickering, silently mouthing her thanks to Kagome. Her friend just shrugged and smiled back, placing a hand between Inuyasha's shoulder blades.
"Why don't I just give Miroku my beer then?"
"But...then you won't have one..."
"And?"
"Wha...What do you mean and?!"
Kagome rolled her eyes at him and just passed her other beer to Sango, who handed it to Miroku, who took a sip from it before Inuyasha could start complaining about it.
Even though he still did.
Loudly.
"How the hell is that fair?! You went with me to get them!"
"Well, maybe you can just share one of your two beers with me."
"I..." he blinked twice before his eyes narrowed at her. "You did that on purpose..."
"Caught me," she smirked, plucking the beer from his hands. "It tastes better since it was yours anyways," she shrugged dismissively, ignoring his sputtering and the blush that covered his cheeks.
God...they were so gross.
Another loud crack rang out and the ball popped up, making it easy to catch.
That marked the third out, and the start of a new inning.
And that...
That was when someone out there decided they hated her...because the graphics on the LED screens changed to show the kiss cam.
Oh it was fine at first. They started on a couple who was all too happy to give a small show for the crowd. As was the next couple.
"I hate the kiss cam," she heard Inuyasha mumble under his breath.
"Awww...what's the matter...scared of a itty bitty kiss?" Miroku taunted, and Inuyasha glared at him.
"Yeah! I am. There's so much pressure on the people who get picked to do it to kiss. What if they don't wanna?"
"You wouldn't want to?" Kagome asked quietly, trying to keep her voice even. Like she didn't want him to know she was disappointed, but Sango knew that look on her friend's face.
As did Inuyasha.
"I-" he began, panicked - realizing that he was putting himself in a difficult position.
Because everyone there but Kagome knew that if that cam landed on the two of them, he was totally going to take the opportunity to kiss her. If she didn't respond all that well...he'd blame it on the cam.
But if she responded positively to it…
Then he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and he would probably start making out with her.
And then...
Then everyone's worst nightmare happened.
The cam should have focused on Inuyasha and Kagome. She would have loved it if it focused on them...but instead...
Whoever the hell was working that thing decided they hated them.
Because the kiss cam focused on the wrong two people. She saw herself next to the half demon smack dab in the center of the heart...and the absolute terror on his face.
So...now Sango found herself in a position she never thought she would ever be in.
Staring up at the panicked face of her half demon best friend, while her other best friend tried to pretend that she was oblivious to everything happening.
Fuck!
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!
Either she and Inuyasha would need to kiss, hurting her best friends...Or they could do nothing, and then deal with the ridicule from the stadium.
No pressure.
God fucking dammit!
She honestly didn't know what to do anymore, but...as her eyes moved past Inuyasha to Kagome again, she knew that she couldn't do this to her friend.
She didn't want to deal with the drunken spectators around them either though...
That left her with only one thing she could do.
Kagome and Inuyasha didn't appreciate how much she loved them.
Sango spun around in her seat to grab Miroku's t-shirt, and she rose up from her seat a little to crash her lips into his. It was bruising, and she might have knocked the wind out of him. She wasn't really sure...Nor could she really hear the applause around her. She knew it was happening - she was absently aware of it. Just like she was absently aware of him dropping his beer...But, honestly...She couldn't focus on anything other than Miroku.
He was still beside her. Nearly statuesque...and it was beginning to make her panic.
She could explain this right?
It was all for Inuyasha and Kagome! He would be totally understanding, right?
RIGHT?!
But a part of her was still disappointed. The man was notorious for getting around, and yet...when she made a move, even if it was under different pretenses, he didn't...do anything. Was she somehow not enough? Was he repulsed? Was this all a mistake?
Oh god, had she just ruined their friendship by trying to save her friendship with Inuyasha and Kagome?
Miroku had to understand though! He had to!
She couldn't do this.
She just...
She couldn't...
She began to pull away from him when she felt him grab her shoulders, keeping her from moving anywhere...and she nearly sobbed as she felt him begin to return her kiss.
It was soft. Almost a little shy at first.
Like he was testing the waters. He clearly must have put two and two together after surprising the ever loving shit out of him...Which meant...He was taking the opportunity to explore something, just like she had thought Inuyasha should.
And it was fucking fantastic.
Now that she wasn't panicking and freaking the fuck out, she noticed that he tasted like the beer he had been drinking.
She decided then and there that it was her new favorite flavor.
His lips were so...Mmmmm...
Delicious...
They weren't too soft and mushy, but they also weren't too hard. They were perfect. And the way he kissed her...it was so soft and sweet. Like he was testing the waters, and also very aware of the fact that they were being watched by...Who even knew how many people? She didn't know how many people were at the game but...it was a lot.
And why the hell was she even thinking about that right now?
She should be thinking about the way she felt Miroku's hand wrap around the back of her neck to pull her a little closer. It made her heart burst with joy...because they could have easily parted by now. They'd kissed. Hell, even just a peck would have fulfilled the kiss cam requirements enough for them to part ways and be all blushy and start with the excuses to each other but, he wanted more. And she was willing to provide.
She felt him intensify the kiss, pressing his lips more firmly against hers, and she melted into him. Felt him take complete control of the situation, nipping her bottom lip, and she gasped.
He was making her mind turn to fuzz. The world around them was blurry...and she didn't care.
This was everything she had wanted for so long...and when they parted, her eyes were dilated and completely unfocused...and she couldn't hear anything but him.
"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?" he murmured, tilting her chin up to run the pad of his thumb along her bottom lip.
It took her a second to register his words. Her brain was still swimming in a fog.
"I..." she began as his words slowly registered.
It wasn't just her...He had wanted to do that too. He'd wanted her too...The realization made a smile burst across her face.
"Not nearly as long as I have."
The rest of the game had been...a blur. She knew that they won. She knew that Kagome and Inuyasha were shocked, but happy for them. And she knew that Inuyasha was jealous of them, but she had spent the rest of the game in their own little world. That was his problem though. She was too happy to care about what he was doing.
As they walked back to the car on the other side of the river, across the Purple People bridge to Newport, Sango watched Kagome absently rub her arms to stave off a chill. She found herself doing the same, and pulled Miroku's arm around her shoulders to stay a little warmer.
"So, now might not be the right time to ask this but..."
"Mmm?" she replied, turning her head to look at him in curiosity.
"We're together now, right?"
It was sweet - the way he wanted reassurance over what had happened between them. Like they hadn't basically spent the rest of the game making out and cuddling and just being...gross. Despite Inuyasha telling them to knock it off.
She'd have to thank Kagome for hitting him upside the head for that at some point.
Men.
"Yeah," she breathed, watching as Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his side. "We're together."
And also trend setters...Because tonight was the night of miracles.
Maybe it was because she and Miroku were finally together.
Maybe it was the jealousy and longing.
Or maybe they had just gotten their heads out of their asses...
But there, in the middle of the bridge leading back into Kentucky...
Inuyasha finally kissed Kagome.
She should really force people to go to baseball games more often.
A/N:
HAPPY MIR/SAN DAAAAAAAY!