Disclaimer - It's not mine, although I wish it was.

A/N - Hello everyone. I hope you are enjoying this story. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I love all of you people.

The Proposal

Sango picked up a few more pieces of clothing and threw them in the pile by the river's bank. She had been suckered into doing the laundry by her mother. She usually hated doing the washing, but she really did not mind today. Her mother had been grating on her nerves for the past few days, and she was at her breaking point. Add to that that fact the Miroku was off in another village doing an exorcism and was not due back for a few more days did not help her already frayed nerves. She sighed and shook her head. She missed the lecherous monk, and it was driving her nuts knowing that. Ever since he had left, she had wondered what he was doing and where he was. She finally realized that she was going to drive herself nuts if she kept on thinking about it, and quit.

"Humph. Lot of good that's done." she said mildly, looking up towards the East. He had been on her mind for days now. And it did not seem to be getting any easier.

The sun was out today, and it was quickly warming up. Sango bent down to retrieve another article of clothing when she heard the voice of her younger brother coming up behind her. She stood up from her washing and turned around to see Kohaku coming up towards the river, holding a basket. She squinted her eyes and looked beside him. Miroku was walking with him, holding another, bigger basket of bedding.

Her heart jumped for joy to see him again. He was safe and back in the village. A large smile came to her face, but she schooled her features to her normal expression, not really wanting the monk to know how much she had missed him during his week and a half leave of absence. 'It'll only make his ego worse if he knew I actually worried about him.' she thought. She suddenly frowned and shook her head as she realized how much more work they were bringing her to do. When the boys sat the baskets at her feet, she sighed.

"Sorry, sis." Kohaku said with a frown. "But mother wants all the bedding washed and cleaned. I tried to talk her out of it, but as you can see, it didn't work too well."

"It's alright, Kohaku." she said. "I'll get it done quickly enough." The little boy only shrugged and took back off down the path from the river. Sango waited until he was out of hearing range before turning to Miroku.

"You're back early." she said, kneeling down to pull some of the blankets out. "We weren't expecting you back for a few more days." Miroku only grinned and shrugged, quickly taking in the view of the one woman he loved. Something tugged at his brain though, she was acting different than when he had left. He shook it off and continued on with the conversation.

He had left to go to another village a few days away to perform an exorcism for a rather well-to-do family. It had not taken long, and on his way back he had come across a village that had a smith that specialized in the shaping of softer metals. He had come up with a sudden idea and asked the smith if he could make something for him. After giving the smith the specifications, Miroku had waited until the man had finished before continuing on his journey. He now looked down at Sango and smiled, knowing she would like the present he had in his pocket for her. But she was not going to get it now. He had a plan as to how he was going to give it to her, and all he had to do was be patient and wait.

"My work in the village was shorter than I had expected." he answered. He inconspicuously patted his pocket and smiled, but Sango was doing her best to concentrate on her work, and not on him. It was not working.

"Good." she said. "Since you don't seem to be too worn out, you can get down here and help me."

"But Sango, a man should not be seen doing a woman's work. It is unhonorable." He hid a smirk as he noticed her temper start to come out. Sango cut her eyes up at him and shook her head.

"Look, if you want a clean bed to sleep in tonight, I suggest you quit whining and get down here." she said firmly. "I see you've already put your traveling cloak and bedding in here."

"You know me well, Sango dear." he said, kneeling down next to her and gripping one fo the blankets she was working on.

"Sometimes too well, I think." she said. Miroku grinned and waited until they pulled the heavy blanket out of the river and twisted it dry before turning to her again. He had missed her, and now he was about to show her how much. Before she could reach down to get another blanket, he gathered her up and hugged her tightly.

"I missed you." he said quietly, pulling her hair out of the tie and letting it cascade down her back. "You don't realize how much I missed you."

The woman smiled and snuggled up to the monk, completely forgetting about the façade of indifference she was supposed to be upholding. No matter how much she told herself that he was trouble, or that he was a lecher, or that he was going to hurt her in the end, she could not help but love him. She was glad he was back, and safe within the village. She had missed him desperately for the past week and a half, but she had tried to hide it. Now that he was back, she sighed in contentment when she felt his hands run through her hair and down her spine.

"I missed you too, Miroku." she said quietly. "I'm glad you're back." The monk held her tighter and smiled. She was slowly letting him into her heart, and he could not have been happier.

"I'm happy to be back, love." he said. She only smiled and pulled out of his embrace after a while.

"As much as I'd love to stay like this all day," she said. "I'm afraid I've got work to finish."

"Yes, and it seems as though I've made your burden a tad heavier." he said with a grin.

"Don't worry about it." Sango said. "I'll get them finished before long. I've done mother and father's and mine already. Just yours and Kohaku's to do now." Miroku grinned and bent down to hand Sango her brother's clothing.

"Do Kohaku's first." he said lightly. Sango looked at him with a perplexed expression and cocked her head to one side.

"Why does it matter whose I do first?" she asked, wondering what the monk was getting at. Miroku gave her a lecherous grin and smirked.

"Well, I can always share your bed if the bedding is not cleaned yet." he said smoothly. Sango gave him a scandalous look which was tinged with a pink blush of her cheeks. He always knew how to push her buttons. Miroku chuckled and waited for her to lash out at him with a quick slap to his face. But it never came, he looked on in mild surprise as her expression softened into a grin.

"I should have seen that one coming." she said, kneeling down on the bank.

Miroku blinked rapidly. He usually got a good slap on the face for saying something like that to her. Sango had been rather testy after their last visit to Kaede's. When they had found out about Inuyasha and Kikyou, she had cursed the entire male side of the species for two days afterwards. Up until he had left a week and a half ago, Miroku had been trying his best to get her back to the old Sango. She had seemed colder towards him until then, and he knew it was because she was afraid of getting hurt, much like Kagome had.

But now, he was worried that something was wrong because she had not seemed as distant when he and Kohaku had come to the river. It was like her personality had done a one hundred and eighty degree turn around while he was gone. She was more receptive of him suddenly. He smiled, knowing that the thick walls that kept her strong emotions in check, the walls around her feelings and her heart, were beginning to crumble. 'And I've got just the thing to knock the last one down, love.' he though smugly.

"Sango, by the way, I was told to tell you that your mother and father are leaving for a meeting of village leaders in a few hours." Sango looked up and frowned. Her parents had not said anything about going to a village meeting. Miroku noticed the surprised look and continued on quickly. "They said that they would come to say goodbye before they left. You mother said you needed to finish the washing, and that she'd come get what you had finished with before they left so that you wouldn't have so much to carry back." Sango shrugged and went back to her washing.

"That's fine." she said warmly. Miroku nodded and picked his staff up from the tree. He turned to leave when Sango stopped him. She did not really want him to leave already, but he obviously had something to do, or he would have stayed near her.

"Where you going, Miroku? I could use some company down here." He grinned and walked over to her, pulling her up by her shoulders. Looking at her with nothing but love in his eyes he kissed her gently and let her go. Sango's face turned a little pink, but she did not do anything. She liked the attention he was giving her, so she was not about to do something to stop it.

"I'm sorry love, but your father has commissioned young Kohaku and I to make sure everything is secured before he leaves." Sango groaned but nodded. Her father could be paranoid at times.

"That's fine. Just tell mother that she can come get some of these baskets." she said with a smile.

"I will, love." he said gently. He gave her another quick kiss and turned to leave her. Sango was surprised at his boldness, but did not mind. When he left her, she kneeled back down and tried to concentrate on the washing in front of her. Unfortunately, the only thing her mind settled on was the picture of Miroku. 'Uhhh, crazy monk. Now that you're back, I'll never be able to get my mind back on what I need to do. I can't get my work done when you're here, and I can't get it done when you're gone.' she thought angrily. But inside, she smiled, knowing that it was not his fault she could not concentrate. Her hands unconsciously went to her lips. They were still tingling from the kiss he had given her. She shook her head. 'I've got it bad for that lecherous, hentai monk.' she thought. 'What am I thinking?' With a small smile on her lips, she continued to work, oblivious to everything around her.

Miroku walked a ways up the road and turned back around to look at the woman bent over the bank of the river. He patted his pocket and smiled. He had left her a note at the bottom of the biggest basket of dirty clothes. He wanted to give her the present he had had made for her. And after speaking briefly with Kohaku about what her mother and father would be doing this evening, his plan had come to him out of the blue. She would get her present, but she was going to have to work for it. 'Now, I just need to wait until you come to me.' he said with a grin.

*****Later that evening*****

Sango pulled the last piece of bedding from the basket and sighed. 'Finally, I'm finished.' she thought. She began to fold the quilt when a folded up piece of paper fluttered to the ground. She finished folding the blanket before stooping down to retrieve the paper. She opened it and glanced over the handwriting.

Sango, I've got something for you that I picked up on my last travel. Meet me in the clearing beyond the break of the tree line. Don't worry about Kohaku. He is staying with one of the village boys tonight and will not be home until tomorrow. Miroku

She looked down at the paper and frowned. He had something for her? 'What is he up to?' she thought. 'And why does he want me to meet him in the clearing past the tree line break. He knows what happened the last time we were there.' She shook her head and pulled the last basket up to her hip and began walking towards her home. The whole time, her mind was swimming with confusion. She did not want to go back to the clearing. The last time they had been there, she had almost done something she was going to regret later on.

*Flashback*

Sango pushed her way through the underbrush and into the clearing, looking behind her for the crazy monk that was chasing after her. She did not have much time to think, because a pair of strong arms wrapper around her and pinned her to a nearby tree.

"I got you." came Miroku's husky voice. "Now you're going to get your punishment for pushing me into that river." Sango grinned and waited, knowing he would not do anything to her….

It was late that evening when Sango and Miroku decided to take a walk. Sango was in a good mood, and it showed through to everyone. Miroku only smiled and caught up with the girl as they walked towards the main river outside of the village. They had been walking along the bank when he had said something stupid and she had pushed him into the water. Instead of moving away from the bank like any normal person would do, Sango stood there and smiled as a dripping wet Miroku came up from the water's surface.

"I hoped that cooled you off, Miroku." she said with a smile. He had only grinned and rushed out of the water quicker than she had expected, grabbing her and pulling her into the deeper part of the water. After dumping her in the still cool water, he got out and began wringing his robes out.

He looked out over the water and frowned after a few minutes. Sango hadn't come up yet. He watched as the ripples from their escapades faded into the running water of the river, and began to panic. She had not come up yet, and it had been over two minutes since he had gotten out. He waded back into the water and started calling her name when he heard the branch above him move. He looked up and shook his head. She had somehow gotten out of the water and climbed up the tree without him knowing. Sango grinned and jumped from the low lying branch, effectively knocking Miroku back into the water. She grinned and pulled her wet hair out of her face. Miroku came up spluttering.

"Sango!" he yelled out playfully. "Let me get my hands on you, and you're going back into the middle of this river!" Sango smiled and waved her hand at him.

"You've got to catch me first, monk." she said as she started running away from the river. It did not take long and Miroku was following her, shouting out what he was going to do when he got to her. Now, she was caught between a very wet Miroku and a huge tree.

Not a good place to be.

She shivered as the wind rushed across them, causing their wet clothing to cool against their skin. Both of them were breathing hard from the chase and Sango's back was pushed up against Miroku's chest. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. The run in wet clothing had tired her down, but she still had enough energy to play Miroku's little game.

"Well, now that you've caught me, monk, what are you going to do? Throw me back into the river?" she asked haughtily. He had only chuckled and turned her around so that her back was against the tree trunk. Sango looked up at him and noticed that glint was in his eyes again. The same one that told her that he was about to pull something on her.


"No. I've got a better idea." he said. Before she could get out another word, Miroku had grabbed her lips in a hungry kiss that left her breathless. Her mind had suddenly went blank, and her body tensed up. When he finally pulled away from her, Sango opened her eyes, only to find a smirking Miroku in front of her. "I think that was better than dumping you in the river again." he said. "Wouldn't you agree, Sango?"

Sango was too dazed to actually say much to him, so she just nodded in response, blinking her eyes to clear her vision of stars she was seeing. Miroku grinned and leaned down to resume his ministrations on her. Before she knew it, he had her pushed up against the tree trunk, her shirt open and exposing herself to him. Her head was swimming as the new and different feelings coursed through her. The bark against her back was rough, but Miroku was kissing her senseless; so she didn't really take notice of anything besides him. She reveled in the feel of Miroku up against her, but she realized that they were getting in deep. Almost too deep for her liking. But a sudden feeling came over her, and she did not care about anything anymore, only the man in front of her.

Unfortunately, someone decided to bring the tryst to an end right then and there. The sharp scratch of hearing someone clear their throat brought her our of her hazy stupor. She quickly looked to her left, as did Miroku and saw one of the other girls from the village standing at the edge of the clearing holding what looked like firewood. The girl raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

"So much for waiting until your married, huh Sango?" she asked, smirking at the two. Sango had turned beet red and the girl only turned around and ran off towards the village. It was in that moment that Sango suddenly became scared. She knew that if her father found out about this, she would be in deep trouble. It was not that her father did not like the monk, quite to the contrary really, but she did not want to have to face him with this. She had always believed in waiting until you were married before lying with a man. And she did not want to have to explain to her father why she was half naked and soaking wet in a clearing with Miroku holding her against a tree and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Miroku seemed to understand that also. After some quick apologies, they had disentangled themselves and went back to the village, neither one of them really sure of what had just happened just between them.

*End Flashback*

Sango smiled and shook her head as she deposited the basket at the entrance to her home. A few well placed threats and a glare or two had kept the other girl from blabbing about anything she had seen in the clearing that evening, consequently keeping Sango out of any real trouble with her family. She sighed and shook her head as Kirara padded up to her. She picked the neko youkai up and petted her absentmindedly.

"What could he possibly want now?" she asked the cat. The only response she got was a rough tongue on her fingers where Kiara was licking her hand. Sango smiled and set the neko down onto the floor. "Well, I'm only going to find out one way." she said. She pushed the basket out of the way and made her way outside and to the edge of the forest. The clearing was only a few minutes walk, and she would be there in no time.

Meanwhile, Miroku was trying not to have a nervous breakdown. He had been waiting for a while, now knowing as to whether Sango would come back to the clearing or not. He remembered the last time they were both here, and smiled. Everything had went fine until that village girl had shown up, effectively wrecking what he had been doing. After that, Sango had pulled the barriers up full force again. He fingered the little object in his pocket as he picked up on the light footsteps of someone coming. Pulling himself into the beginning shadows of the tree line, he waited for Sango to appear. He didn't have to wait long because two minutes later, she walked out into the clearing. He watched her intently as she looked around for him.

"Miroku?" she called out. "Were are you?" When she did not get an answer, she put her hands on her hips and frowned. "This better not be some kind of trick, monk!" Miroku laughed and Sango turned around to see him leaning up against a tree.

"It's no trick." he said. "I promise." Sango's posture relaxed a little, but she made no move to go any closer to him. He frowned and looked at her guarded expression. 'She's thinking about the last time we were here.' he thought.

"What do you want, Miroku?" she asked. "Is something wrong? Why'd you want me to meet you out here?" The monk smiled and walked out to her, pulling her into a loose hug.

"No, nothing is wrong. I've got something for you. And I didn't want to give it to you in front of the villagers incase you decided to hurt me afterwards." he said quietly. He felt her body stiffen up automatically and she pulled away from him with a serious expression on her face.

"Miroku? What's going on here?" she asked. The monk smiled and began to walk back towards the tree he had been leaning against only minutes before. Sango followed him and waiting until he was settled to continue on. "Why did you call me out here?"

Miroku looked out at the girl and smiled. She was so sweet and innocent, despite all the killing she had done and everything she had been through. There was still an aura of innocence that surrounded her through it all. He smiled and pulled her to him.

"Do you remember the last time we were here, together?" he asked, stroking her hair. Sango was really confused now, but the thought of that evening brought a blush to her face.

"How could I forget?" she asked quietly, not meeting his gaze. He smiled and held her closer. Sango just stood there, leaning against him and waiting to find out what this was all about.

"You enjoyed that evening, didn't you?" he asked, picking at her. "You liked what I was doing to you." Sango blushed profusely and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to talk about that. It was still embarrassing for her, although he didn't seem to mind it so much.

"Miroku…"

"Just answer me, Sango." he said quietly. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes." was the weak reply. He smiled and pulled away from the tree, turning them around and pushing her back to the trunk, exactly like they had been that evening a few weeks before. Sango looked up at him with wide eyes and shook her head. "Miroku… I can't ….. do that again."

"Why not?" he asked, playing with her hair. He could feel her heart rate speed up, and it was pushing him farther to the edge "I'm not going to hurt you, you know that."

"I promised my father I would wait until I was married. I don't want to go back on my word." she mumbled, turning her head away from him. "I'm sorry, but I just can't." Miroku smiled and pulled away from her.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." he said. Sango looked a little confused. 'What is this crazy monk talking about?' She watched as he pulled something out of one of his robes and took her hand. She felt something cool slip over the ring finger of her left hand and she gasped.

"Sango, will you marry me?" he asked, holding her hand. She looked up and blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to take in the question and its implications.

"What?" she asked, not sure she had heard him right. He smiled nervously, but it faltered when he looked at her again.

"Sango, I've loved you for a long time. Ever since we met, I knew there was something about you that was different. Something that made you special. I fell in love with you soon after I met you." he said quietly. "All through our travels, I watched and waited, hoping that you would let me near you."

"But…the other girls… and the ….groping.." she stuttered, remembering how he would hit on any of the girls he could find. Her head was spinning again.

"I was trying to get your attention, love." he said with a grin. "Trying to make you jealous." She looked at him and gave a half hearted smile.

"Well, it worked." she said. Miroku smiled and hugged her again.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?" he asked. Sango smiled and nodded.

"Yes." she said with a smile. "That's a yes." He smiled at her and bent down to kiss her again. Suddenly, her father's face popped into her head. She broke the kiss and stared up at him. "What about my father?" she asked. "Does he know…"

"Your father already knows, love." he said. "Both he and your mother gave me their consent and blessings to ask you. I asked them when I came back earlier today." He grinned and shook his head. "Even Kohaku said go ahead." Sango smiled and reached up to kiss him again. He obliged and they broke away after a few more minutes. Sango could not have been happier, and she had a feeling that Miroku was just as happy. After a while, they walked back to the village. When they got to the hut, Sango looked down at the ring on her finger. It was a simple silver band, but there were intricate carvings all around it. It reminded her of vines. She looked up at Miroku and smiled again. He gathered her up and held on to her.

He finally had the woman he loved, and he was going to keep her with him until the end of times. He had waited too long for her to open up to him to give it away to someone else. His love was in her. And it was going to stay like that for the rest of his natural life.

They spent the next few hours talking and just holding onto each other. Sometime in the night, Sango had fallen asleep on Miroku's lap, and he did nothing about it. He adjusted his hold on her and found a more comfortable sleeping position before pulling her close to him and falling asleep with her.

All night long, their dreams revolved around the one that held them in their arms, and who loved them beyond belief.

A/N - Some one hand me a toothbrush! Lord, I can't believe I just wrote that! I know that both Sango and Miroku are probably way, way, way, out of character. Sorry. I can't help it. Remember to leave me a review and tell me what you think. I'll appreciate it more than anything. Later.