Title: Shelter from the Storm
Genres: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: She didn't want him to forget his burden. Right now, she only wanted to comfort him.
Originally written for the "IY no Kakera" fic community at LiveJournal. The theme was "the sound of ease."
…
Sango was not one for flowery declarations. She preferred to keep things simple, grounded in reality. But in that moment, lying next to him, his breath warm against her chest, she longed to tell him how she wished they could stay like this forever.
It was just one of those things that Miroku did to her. She was calm and composed, but he made her erupt in passion both frustrating and exhilarating. She was a daughter overcome with mourning and a sister lost in uncertainty, but he made her simply a woman in love. She had been prepared to fall right back into the grave she had forced her way out of, yet he made her want to go on living.
Amidst the rage and passion and anxiety he put her through, he somehow managed to bring her a sense of peace, and she was determined to return the favor.
A light breeze caressed their skin like the contented breathing that tickled Sango just above her heart. She tried focusing on the stars overhead, but even their beauty could not distract her from the man who was now curled up against her, his head resting upon her breast while his strong arms held her to him firmly.
Sango ran her fingers through his hair, unbound for the first time that she had ever seen, slightly crimped in the area where it had been tied back for so long. The wavy tresses framing his sleeping face made him look younger, wilder, freer. She wondered briefly if he often allowed anyone else to see him thus.
Somehow, she doubted it, and the thought set her heart aflutter.
Miroku shifted in his sleep, pulling her closer, and Sango felt the press of smooth beads against her back. She could not see the glove and rosary, but she imagined they clashed sharply with the lovers' pale skin, disrupting the natural flow of two bodies joining, touching with all they had to give.
A shudder raced through her, and she clutched Miroku's shoulder involuntarily. A small, tired groan escaped him, and he slowly lifted his head to look at her. Through his grogginess, he could still see the worry that marred her face. He moved so that their faces were level, kissed her with a gentleness that belied the passion with which he had touched her but half an hour ago.
And then he smiled.
There he was. A humble monk, a playful lecher, a dying man, a lover and a friend – whatever role he took from moment to moment, he would always be her Houshi-sama, and he would always have a smile for her.
Beneath that calm exterior, a storm of sorrow and uncertainty was slowly building, the storm of a man whose time was running out. He hid it well, but she knew it had to be there – the fervor he had displayed that night was evidence enough of it. Touching her, kissing her, holding her, loving her as though he would never have that chance again.
Sango smiled back, knowing that neither her smile nor her love could make his burden disappear, and knowing that it didn't really matter. In time they would defeat Naraku and free Miroku from his curse; but for now, in this quiet moment, all she really wanted to do was bring him just a little bit of peace.
…
Author's Note: So often, we see Miroku comforting Sango, and I wanted to write a fic where Sango returns the favor. In doing so, I'm worried that I might've made her a bit OOC, but then again, I'm always paranoid about characterization.
And whether or not they would've had sex before Naraku was defeated and they were married is up for debate. I just did it here for the purposes of the story.
