I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi

The Bet

Miroku's violet eyes twinkled in the firelight. He had stripped off his regular robes after taking a warm bath and was lounging comfortably by the fire pit in a checked kosode of green and black, half leaning on a cushion. He sipped at a bowl of sake. Sango, dressed in a robe of pale blue, decorated with flowers, looked at him coyly, sneaking glances at him as she put away the dinner things and prepared for the evening.

"It's so quiet. I'm not sure of what to do," she said as she walked near where he was sitting, brushing against him.

He grabbed her wrist, inviting her to set down next to him. With no real resistance at all, she sat down gracefully and let herself be pulled into his arms. He offered her a drink from his cup, which she accepted, smiling at him.

"We have the house to ourselves, for the first time in a long time," he said. He kissed her, short and sweet, in a way that was an invitation for more. "I'm sure we could think of something or other for us to do to pass the time, my beautiful Sango."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his shoulder. "First, Miroku my beloved, tell me how you got InuYasha to agree to watch the children overnight."

He grinned widely. "I made a bet." His lips grazed the edge of her ear, causing her to shiver. His hand slid into the neckline of her kosode and began nudging it open. "And I won."

Kagome, dressed in her own sleeping kosode of green and blue, sat near her fire pit, rocking Sango's son Nao, who was almost, but not quite asleep. "So tell me again why we are baby-sitting for Sango and Miroku tonight?" she asked.

"Feh," InuYasha said, kneeling down next to a small pallet as he pulled the blanket up over the twins who had already fallen asleep. He absently rubbed an ear that was a little sore from being tugged on one time to many earlier in the evening as he went to sit next to his wife. "I felt sorry for him. He bet me that he could stay in that cold river longer than me. If I won, he'd owe me a favor, and if he won, we'd take the kids for a night. When his lips started turning blue and he still didn't budge, I figured he needed it more than me."

"Ah," Kagome said. She looked down at the little boy who had now finally given in and fallen asleep, and carefully got up.

"Eh, I had to let him win," he said as he watched her walk across the room. " I was pretty sure Sango might kill me if I brought back Miroku on ice. You should have seen how quickly he jumped out of the river once I got up. I thought he was gonna jump into the fire." InuYasha smiled wickedly at the memory.

Kagome laid Nao down in his bed, then went and sat next to her husband and leaned against his shoulder. "That was sweet, InuYasha. But next time you want to let Miroku win, don't make him stay in the water so long. Sango told me he was really a pain getting over that cold he picked up." She got up and moved over to their futon.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," he murmured, and went quietly across the room to join his wife.