Warnings: This is rated "R" - please me mindful.

Legal: I don't own Inu-Yasha or any of the other stories or whatever... but deep in my heart... I know I wouldn't mind if I did. Oh well... (Sniffles)

Only They Know: Campfire Confrontation

By Gabreilla Moushigo

It… was hell. The elder Miroku thought as he sat by the campfire… with all the young ones casting their horrible stares of despair and torment into the flames. He knew upon entering the camp… that someone had seen them… or heard… what they were doing.

He first examined the younger Miroku and Kagome, he was barely older than they, but obviously they were very different. The two of them looked the worst of all, like their lives had just ended… and they were resigned to some horrid fate. That irked him, even though he knew he shouldn't take it personally, it was like they were saying that who he and his Kagome were…was just wrong. He wanted to jump up and tell them that it wasn't that bad… and he was never happier. Even with Sango in his younger times - did he ever feel as light of heart? Never, no one gave him peace like his Kagome. Of course… he would never tell them that! Why should he? It was their decision after all – and no one made his mind up for him. He didn't marry Kagome because she was the only one left… or because he felt obligated to… he married her because he loved her more than anyone else… plain and simple. He had a feeling, that even if Sango had lived and Inu-Yasha stayed… that they would have married anyway. He half smiled at the thought, it would have been hell… and they would've probably had to move to another country… but it would have been worth all the wonderful nights of passion and happiness they shared. Even the times they argued, screamed at each other were worth it.

He stared at them for longer, and finally noticed that the two looked so embarrassed, as if they had done the deed themselves… like some sort of twisted adulterers. Hell… they were the ones who walked in on him and his wife! Why should they be embarrassed? If anything Kagome should be squealing in mortification and him on the side of her tossing out perverted innuendos that would only make her angrier. Idiots.

To their sides, ridiculously removed from the rest of the group were Sango and Inu-Yasha. They too where buried deep in their own thoughts, but were not so deep in embarrassment as they were with other emotions. Inu-Yasha half looked like he wanted to kill Miroku… either one actually… the way his eyes twitched back and forth he was sizing up which one would be the easiest to pick off first. The other emotion was disgust for Kagome… either one again.

Kagome, his Kagome, his wife was the last person he looked on, she had this horrible guilty expression on her face. She silently knew that the two of them had somehow ruined the chemistry between the group. He knew that she also could make this situation right again, but was too embarrassed from what had happened earlier. To him, she was the only one acting normally. She looked up at him, with sad eyes, silently pleading with him to fix everything again, as he had always done in the past… as she had done for him. He would no let her down.

Miroku slapped his hand against his knee, startling everyone into looking at him. 'That got their attention' he thought callously. "What is wrong with you people?" He began, and after a moment of no one speaking he continued, albeit a bit more gently. "Why is everyone so upset?" He knew damn well what they were thinking, but he would be damned if they weren't going to at least try and tell him what was going on.

Then came the sea of "Inu-Yasha doesn't care for me anymore…" or "Are we supposed to get married now?" or "Now we'll never get married like we were supposed to." Or "that stupid wench etc…" bullshit that Miroku could barely tolerate. He listened patiently though, no matter how difficult it was to deal with.

At the end he waited until he could sort through the miasma of stupidity that seemed to be whirling around in their thick skulls. "Don't you all realize," he began. "That you are all acting like children?" Before they could protest he held up his hand. "No, listen to me." He looked at Kagome and Miroku from this time and place… and gave them a very stern look. "Why do you act like it's the end of the world?" 'Oh God… I promised myself I wasn't going to say this. "You know… getting married to each other isn't THAT bad… I've been married to Kagome for several years now and have never regretted it."

A gasp, a growl and choking sob were heard. "BUT," God… emotional dolts… no wonder he thought at first not to tell them. "You don't have to get married! No one is making you!" How irritating these people were, and to think that he had come here thinking that this time and space was much nicer… happier to see all their friends again. "Hell… you don't have to marry each other you know? Is it written down in stone that the four of you have to get married to each other? Have you ever thought of marrying someone else? Or not marrying anyone at all?" Didn't these people realize they had a choice in life? "Don't you realize that you can change things to the way you want them?" He looked at Sango then. "Don't you understand the things that haven't been said, but need to?" he looked at Inu-Yasha. "Don't you understand the things that you need to do? And that the worst thing you can do in a relationship… is to not commit yourself totally?"

His irritation had alleviated somewhat since they seemed to become aware of other options in life… gee… about damn time. He looked at the young Miroku and Kagome. "The same for you, if you feel a certain way… you should just tell them… life is hard enough… and if you don't say how you feel you might never get to say it." He paused for a moment, looking at himself. "And you don't have to settle for what you don't want."

Young Kagome nodded in agreement and the young Miroku looked somewhat crestfallen.

Kago-chan watched her husband eagerly, knowing that had he not been angry, he would have said things differently… and maybe thought differently too. She knew he was tired of defending their relationship. He was tired of it years ago, and just when they had found peace, he had to defend them again. 'But,' She smiled at the thought, 'At least this time everyone will understand… everyone will accept us.' She knew in her heart of hearts that her Miroku-chan knew this too, and his mind and actions would soon cool.

Sorry about this horribly short chapter! I just wanted to get that settled before I went into new territory.

Just a little warning for the chapters ahead: You're going to see a lot of word repetition – people saying things that they've said before etc, I am aware of it, just so you know. I thought it would be a neat effect.

Anyway, thank you for the positive feedback! It makes me very happy. I've actually got a game plan for this fic – while I didn't originally want to put too much angst or drama in it… I might very well do that. This story might not be the happiest fic either, so get ready for some gruesome stuff. I might change the humor tab to something else… but don't worry… I'll try to keep some scenes light and funny.

I'm going to try to get the next chapter out next week sometime – but no promises. I have finals coming up really soon… in two weeks I believe! (It's sad when you don't know when your own finals are, isn't it)? I'm really excited about this fic – and all the responses have really encouraged me to keep going.