luxken27 | Fragments | 3: A Change in Fortune

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Pairing: Miroku/Sango
Rating: T
Inspiration:

And thus, a revelation was born.

I've been struggling a bit with this story, trying to figure out how I was going to link "Another Time, Another Place" to the lemon that I'd originally planned for this song. And that's when it dawned on me: nobody said this had to be a long series...and suddenly, I was liking my possibilities very much.

By the very nature of the inspiration song, the anticipated lemon will not be sappy sweet and full of adorable, whispered nothings in each others' ears. Oh, no, quite the opposite ~ what else can you build around lyrics like all these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind / of the curl of your bodies like two perfect circles entwined / so you feel hopeless, and homeless, and lost in the haze of the wine?

I wasn't sure how or if I was even going to be able to use this prompt to further the fic along, but in keeping with the bar/alcohol theme, I decided to hunt up a blue-colored cocktail and see what I had to play with. That led me to this fabulous website, with recipes for every kind of mixed drink under the sun. I finally chose the "Blue Lagoon" because of the lemonade topper - the conversation that was building in my mind had Miroku musing wryly to himself that she [Akiko] was such an airhead that she probably couldn't hold her liquor.

I hit upon this idea of Miroku using Akiko's outrageous flirtations to his advantage, when he found that he couldn't draw Sango out of her increasingly-uncomfortable shell...and then it became a matter of steering the conversation. When I gave Sango a friend in the last chapter, I didn't know much about her, other than she was there to lend a bit of moral support - and that I didn't want to go down the tried and true road of having Kagome fill that role. This totally worked to my advantage, because with an original character, I could make her as silly as I wanted, and really further my own ambitions for this piece.

So, we have Sango, still feeling unsure about this whole deal - but obviously its affected her some way, as she's taken off her engagement ring, the symbol of all her current woes. Her friend has deduced that she's totally into this mysterious bartender and decides to check him out - thus, the empty-headed flirt routine. (And, well, who wouldn't want to flirt with someone as charming as Miroku? LOL.) I hope the readers understand that Akiko is not trying to be competition for her friend, but is instead sorta goading her into reacting - some way, any way. This is reflected in the fact that she's momentarily taken aback when Miroku suddenly shifts his attentions and starts quizzing her.

Miroku, for his part, feels drawn to Sango, though he's not quite sure why. It's hard to describe the feeling I was going for, but its that feeling you get when your significant other enters the room, and suddenly you're hyperaware of him/her and their movements, maybe a little proud to have them on your arm, or even possessive when you see the admiring glances in their direction. That sort of primal she's mine thing, only on a subconscious level. So there's that - and the fact that she's been haunting his dreams - and the fact that she's been standing outside his modest little bar ever since their last encounter - and the intrigue is too much for him to take in stride. He makes his interest known, but when he can't draw her out, he sees another route - her friend.

He formulates his questions in such a way that he gathers information about Sango without her volunteering it. This is just the sort of thoughtful/sneaky thing I think he'd do, and it was hard to really direct the conversation in that manner. Of all the IY characters, Miroku probably has the personality most diametrically opposite of mine. I have a rather dry/sarcastic sense of humor, so this sort of flirting does not come naturally to me...and I haven't had anybody practicing their smooth moves on me lately, so I don't even know what the hip language is, LOL :P Trying to wrap that around pertinent questions was a toughie - I know I rewrote that particular part of the scene quite a few times before finally feeling content with it.

The last part of the scene was the most crucial - I had to get the two of them alone again, somehow, and dismiss Akiko without tarring her good intentions. The line that sent him reeling - learning where she was staying - was intentional, and deserves some explanation. It was fun looking through the luxury hotels in the Tokyo area, trying to figure out which was most likely to draw someone of Kuranousuke's stature. And, well, this is the fun part of the research, going on fantastical trips through the imagination :P

I finally decided upon a suite [scroll to last listing] at The Prince Park Tower, based on internet pictures alone. Something about seeing the specs sent my fluffy smutty muse off, so yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees, now we have a totally glam setting for the lemon scene!

And...as I was posting the fic at the community, the bridge between A and B was built in my mind. I know how I'm going to bring them together, what the catalyst will be, and maybe even a bit of the infamous scene itself. After the lemon...we'll see. The last part of the song obviously leads to more questions than answers, but I haven't decided if I want to explore them just yet. Mostly right now I'm focused on getting to the lemon, and then planning it out. I don't like to reuse positions in my fic, and I've already marked a few that I know I want to use in Fleeting, plus what was used in Illicit, so I'll have to go searching for something that would be appropriate for the setting/mood/emotion I hope to evoke here.

Of course, that can be fun, too...