Prompt #46: Wait
Title: Bet On It
Author: Griddlebone (eggplantlady)
Genre: Canon/Humor
Word Count: 815
Summary: Ordinarily, Miroku considered himself a patient man. Not today.
The waiting was going to kill him. He was sure of it.
The air was heavy with yearning, thick with fear that had been building for hours. And now Miroku was nearly at his wits’ end. Ordinarily he considered himself a patient man, but this was beyond enduring.
He ceased his pacing in front of the hut’s door, determined at last to go inside and confront his destiny; he nearly jumped out of his skin as Inuyasha dropped off the roof to stand beside him.
“You’re not going in there,” the hanyou said curtly. One clawed hand was a warning weight on Miroku’s shoulder, letting the monk know that he would be restrained by force if need be.
Miroku sighed, grudgingly accepting the necessity of more waiting.
He settled himself under a small tree not far from the hut and kept a miserable watch. The knot of villagers that had gradually accumulated outside the hut remained close at hand, unwilling to disperse, their agitation only adding to his own. Inuyasha disappeared, but Miroku had no doubt he was still lurking around somewhere, fulfilling his promise to Kaede: to keep Miroku out of trouble.
Well, and he was doing a damnably good job of it, too, Miroku thought sourly. All he wanted was one glimpse, one reassurance... Surely that was not so much to ask.
One look at the villagers told him it was too much to ask. He kept glancing subtly in their direction, watching for any lapse in attention directed his way, a lapse of which he might take advantage, but none was forthcoming. In fact, they seemed to find his predicament amusing. More than that, they were betting on it.
Over the past few months, it had become something of a village game. Miroku had come to the village with Inuyasha and Kagome and had quickly made a name for himself as a womanizing lecher. Soon enough, guesses were being hashed and wagers placed as to which charming young woman would draw his attention next. But then Sango had come hacking and chopping her way into the picture, knowingly and unknowingly curtailing his bad habits and sending him on a downward spiral toward willing monogamy.
The villagers had considered this unfolding drama to be too good to pass up. They had formed factions among themselves, some hoping for an eventual union between the monk and the demon slaying woman, some against the idea. Those that had doubted had merely assumed that a seasoned warrior like Sango would be a tough nut for any man to crack, although he had heard it said that if anyone could win her over, it was him. Some of the villagers considered Miroku to be the kind of womanizer that could successfully seduce anything with two legs and lady parts, without necessarily approving or disapproving of that ability, while others thought Sango was simply too strong willed to settle for a lecherous con-man (even if he was their lecherous con-man).
Of course, in the end those for a marriage between two of the village’s best-known celebrities won out, and today was the ultimate proof of that. Sango had gone into labor early in the morning, and soon their first child - his first child! - would be born.
And while the village men placed yet more bets - a boy or a girl? or was she big enough for two? - Miroku was left with nothing to do but wait forlornly outside the hut, straining to hear what might be going on inside, imagining his strong, beautiful wife enduring the pain of childbirth without him.
“Knock it off,” Inuyasha groused from somewhere close behind him; Miroku had not even noticed his presence. “You’re making everyone nervous.”
“My apologies,” Miroku muttered darkly. “I am merely worried about my wife’s wellbeing.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you made her promise to give you ten or twenty kids.”
For once in his life, Miroku was stunned into silence. When he had asked Sango that question... children and family had been merely a dream he had never hoped to truly experience. Now that his dream was becoming reality... he rather felt that perhaps only four or five would suffice. Depending, of course, on how Sango came out of this first birth.
“Next time Sango whelps,” Inuyasha threatened sternly, his tone actually rather frightening, “we’re going to find somewhere else for you to be.”
Miroku could only nod meekly and acknowledge that Inuyasha was (probably) right. It might be better for all involved if he could be elsewhere, with his mind on other things, the next time Sango gave birth.
The hanyou’s ears twitched a second before a feeble wail could be heard from within the hut. “Feh,” Inuyasha said, shoving Miroku toward the door. “The kid’s born. Go see to your woman.”
Miroku was only too happy to oblige.
Author: Griddlebone (eggplantlady)
Genre: Canon/Humor
Word Count: 815
Summary: Ordinarily, Miroku considered himself a patient man. Not today.
The waiting was going to kill him. He was sure of it.
The air was heavy with yearning, thick with fear that had been building for hours. And now Miroku was nearly at his wits’ end. Ordinarily he considered himself a patient man, but this was beyond enduring.
He ceased his pacing in front of the hut’s door, determined at last to go inside and confront his destiny; he nearly jumped out of his skin as Inuyasha dropped off the roof to stand beside him.
“You’re not going in there,” the hanyou said curtly. One clawed hand was a warning weight on Miroku’s shoulder, letting the monk know that he would be restrained by force if need be.
Miroku sighed, grudgingly accepting the necessity of more waiting.
He settled himself under a small tree not far from the hut and kept a miserable watch. The knot of villagers that had gradually accumulated outside the hut remained close at hand, unwilling to disperse, their agitation only adding to his own. Inuyasha disappeared, but Miroku had no doubt he was still lurking around somewhere, fulfilling his promise to Kaede: to keep Miroku out of trouble.
Well, and he was doing a damnably good job of it, too, Miroku thought sourly. All he wanted was one glimpse, one reassurance... Surely that was not so much to ask.
One look at the villagers told him it was too much to ask. He kept glancing subtly in their direction, watching for any lapse in attention directed his way, a lapse of which he might take advantage, but none was forthcoming. In fact, they seemed to find his predicament amusing. More than that, they were betting on it.
Over the past few months, it had become something of a village game. Miroku had come to the village with Inuyasha and Kagome and had quickly made a name for himself as a womanizing lecher. Soon enough, guesses were being hashed and wagers placed as to which charming young woman would draw his attention next. But then Sango had come hacking and chopping her way into the picture, knowingly and unknowingly curtailing his bad habits and sending him on a downward spiral toward willing monogamy.
The villagers had considered this unfolding drama to be too good to pass up. They had formed factions among themselves, some hoping for an eventual union between the monk and the demon slaying woman, some against the idea. Those that had doubted had merely assumed that a seasoned warrior like Sango would be a tough nut for any man to crack, although he had heard it said that if anyone could win her over, it was him. Some of the villagers considered Miroku to be the kind of womanizer that could successfully seduce anything with two legs and lady parts, without necessarily approving or disapproving of that ability, while others thought Sango was simply too strong willed to settle for a lecherous con-man (even if he was their lecherous con-man).
Of course, in the end those for a marriage between two of the village’s best-known celebrities won out, and today was the ultimate proof of that. Sango had gone into labor early in the morning, and soon their first child - his first child! - would be born.
And while the village men placed yet more bets - a boy or a girl? or was she big enough for two? - Miroku was left with nothing to do but wait forlornly outside the hut, straining to hear what might be going on inside, imagining his strong, beautiful wife enduring the pain of childbirth without him.
“Knock it off,” Inuyasha groused from somewhere close behind him; Miroku had not even noticed his presence. “You’re making everyone nervous.”
“My apologies,” Miroku muttered darkly. “I am merely worried about my wife’s wellbeing.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you made her promise to give you ten or twenty kids.”
For once in his life, Miroku was stunned into silence. When he had asked Sango that question... children and family had been merely a dream he had never hoped to truly experience. Now that his dream was becoming reality... he rather felt that perhaps only four or five would suffice. Depending, of course, on how Sango came out of this first birth.
“Next time Sango whelps,” Inuyasha threatened sternly, his tone actually rather frightening, “we’re going to find somewhere else for you to be.”
Miroku could only nod meekly and acknowledge that Inuyasha was (probably) right. It might be better for all involved if he could be elsewhere, with his mind on other things, the next time Sango gave birth.
The hanyou’s ears twitched a second before a feeble wail could be heard from within the hut. “Feh,” Inuyasha said, shoving Miroku toward the door. “The kid’s born. Go see to your woman.”
Miroku was only too happy to oblige.