Saiyuki fic - Years After
Dec. 24th, 2005 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
louiseluxWhatever festivities you celebrate, I wish you all a very happy holiday, and a very happy 2006 :) I won't have proper Internet access again until the 28th, so see you all then.
Fandom: Saiyuki
Title: Years After
Rating: worksafe
Notes: Some of you have read this already as I sent it in some of my cards this year.
Summary: Sanzo & Goku and being together.
Seven years after they first set out they came back, jouncing slowly along in Jeep, who was a lot less committed to his motorised form than he had been. Sometimes they had to wait for days for him to decide to change. Hakkai drove as erratically as ever. Sanzo pursed his lips.
They'd been quiet in the back now for such a long time that Sanzo craned round to look. Gojyo had his arm slung over Goku's shoulder.
Goku and Gojyo didn't fit so easily in the back together now, because Goku's legs were a foot longer and his shoulders were as broad as Gojyo's, but they sprawled against each other with the familiarity of people who knew everything about the other and had decided not to let what they knew bother them. Goku was saying something long and involved in Gojyo's ear, the words lost over the growl of Jeep's engine. Gojyo nodded now and then.
'It's nice to see them not bickering at last, isn't it, Sanzo?' Hakkai said. His don't-cause-me-any-trouble smile was plastered all over his face.
'It saves on the earache,' Sanzo said.
He slumped back against his seat and closed his eyes, still seeing Goku's face. He couldn't remember when they'd stopped shouting at each other and begun acting as if they liked each other. Sanzo had forgotten to notice.
Goku's hair was long and it was flickering madly in the wind when Sanzo turned to look at them again. He couldn't stop himself. They were still talking, leaning together just like friends did, Sanzo assumed. He didn't know much about it. Gojyo was busy making some gesture with his hands and talking quickly when he noticed Sanzo looking.
'What?' he said. 'Take a picture, it'll last longer.'
'Something wrong, Sanzo?' Goku said.
'No,' he muttered and turned away.
Goku was walking in front with Gojyo, carrying the shopping, and, surprisingly, the shopping list.
'Goku really is growing up, isn't he?' Hakkai said, with a little sigh.
He looked almost sad and Sanzo found himself inexplicably annoyed.
'What did you expect? He's not going to stay the same forever.'
'I'm well aware of that, Sanzo,' Hakkai said.
'Hey, you, don't forget my 200 Marlboro reds,' Sanzo called out.
'It's on my list, Sanzo,' Goku said.
He and Gojyo strode off, shoulder to shoulder in the crowd, matching steps and catching the smiles of pretty girls all along the street. One of them caught Goku round the waist and kissed him. The laughter of her friends rose above the crowd like the chatter of starlings and Sanzo's mouth opened in shock when Goku leant in to kiss her in return.
'Don't worry,' Hakkai said in his ear.
'Why the hell would I be worried?'
Hakkai nodded. 'A very sensible attitude. He's been managing all the shopping-- and other things-- for some time now, Sanzo,' Hakkai said, watching him. 'I assume that's what you wanted to know? It's true you've been too busy to notice, of course. I quite understand. I'm sure Goku does too.'
'That damn kappa's leading him astray.'
'On the contrary, I believe Gojyo has provided Goku with much invaluable advice on matters that perhaps you and I are not so, ah, well-versed in.'
Sanzo couldn't think of a single answer to that.
They only had two rooms at the inn, and Hakkai very quickly tugged Gojyo away with him, leaving Goku smiling a little nervously.
Sanzo expected him to wander off with Gojyo after dinner, but he didn't. Instead he came back to their room and lay on the bed while Sanzo smoked and read his newspaper. But Goku's silent presence crawled all over him and filled the room until he could hardly breathe. He slapped his paper down on the bed.
Sanzo?' Goku said, 'are you all right?'
'Don't ask idiot questions,' he said.
'Does that mean yes or no?'
Goku's eyes glinted with a sharp, adult humour that he couldn't recall seeing before.
'If you think I'm suddenly going to start acting like I'm your best friend, you're wrong,' Sanzo said.
'What? I never thought that.'
'Then what are you here for?' Sanzo said.
'I don't know what-- where else would I be?'
'Out there,' Sanzo said, gesturing with his head towards the window.
'Why?'
'You should be out there, not stuck in here with me, you moron. Go away. Go chasing girls with that damned kappa if that's what makes you happy.'
'I don't wanna do that,' Goku said, blinking.
They sat facing each other across the narrow gap between the beds. Sanzo's stomach clenched in on itself and his fingers were icy. He remembered Goku's childish face, round and plump as a meat bun, and how he'd sworn never to never abandon him. It was still true but now Goku was old enough to leave.
'I never asked you to stay with me,' Sanzo said. 'Just so you know, I never will.'
He heard Goku's sharp, indrawn breath and the sound in his throat as he swallowed.
'I'm not going anywhere,' Goku said. 'I promise,' he said, softly.
The words rang in the silence like he'd yelled them.
'Whatever. Make your own decision. You're not a child anymore.'
Goku stood up. This close, he loomed over Sanzo. Sanzo forced himself not to look up and then gasped in shock as arms wrapped round him, tight. His face was pressed into Goku's shoulder. He smelled soapy. He must've washed before dinner. It was hard to get free and his arms ended up wound around Goku's neck and he could hear the steady thud-thud of both their hearts. He wondered why his eyes were stinging.
'Thank you,' Goku whispered in his ear, and there was a warm puff of breath on his cheek and then the touch of lips there too, very briefly, so gentle he hardly could feel it. 'I'll come back,' Goku said, 'always,' and then he left.
Ten Years
In the spring, when the cherry trees in the temple compound were flowering, Goku climbed up and let himself be taken back to his childhood, centuries ago. He wasn't sure how merciful the Goddess had been, letting him remember Heaven when the others didn't. He'd never told them.
Konzen had been so beautiful. Goku remembered warm arms and the scent of rose water, gentler and colder than cigarette smoke and the stinging tip of a paper fan, although he hadn't felt the latter in years. Konzen was as different to Sanzo as a dried fig was to a ripe plum. He leant his head back against the rough bark and his mouth watered at the thought; Sanzo burned up the air around him. He soaked up earthly cares until he rang with them, feeling everything too strongly, even if he pretended not to. Konzen hadn't been like that, at least not until the last.
Goku tried to imagine Sanzo in the spotless lavender-coloured silk that Konzen had always worn and the idea made him smile. It would never suit him. When they put Sanzo in the ceremonial robes once a year, a many-layered festooning of green brocade, orange wool with red braid, and stiff white silk, Goku could hardly stand to watch Sanzo swathed in all that fake finery without reaching out to pull it off.
Sanzo flouted temple custom by giving him a room, even though it was on the other side of the grounds to Sanzo's. Often, when he wasn't off causing trouble, as Sanzo put it, he'd scrunch along the raked gravel paths in the evenings to sit with Sanzo on the wooden bench outside his rooms. Sanzo did that every night, even when it was cold.
'What are you staring at, monkey?' Sanzo said, one evening.
It had been a warm day but now the air was cooling. Small brown birds flitted in the shrubs and sang their last song before dark.
The rays of the setting sun were in Sanzo's eyes, making him squint a little. Rosy light made his face glow, smoothing out the fine lines that travelling had put there. There was no grey in his hair yet and his body was strong and lithe. He was thirty three.
'Mmmh?' Goku said, his chin in his hand. He smiled, but didn't take his gaze away. He drank in everything. It was never enough.
'You. Gawking at me. Stop it.'
Goku waited just long enough for Sanzo to be off his guard.
'I was just thinking about how pretty you used to be,' he said.
Sanzo looked up, slow and sharp.
'What? Like I care-- '
'But it's okay,' Goku cut him off, watching Sanzo's eyes darken and his lips fall open a little. 'Now, I've thought about it, you're not pretty at all.'
He hugged to himself the thought that Sanzo was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It glowed inside, keeping him warm.
Sanzo scowled, shook his head and turned away, but not before Goku saw the edges of his lips curling up in a smile. Goku sat back and grinned, wanting to laugh out loud for no reason but happiness. He could have this tomorrow and the day after, and every day after that, if he wanted. Life was here.
Fandom: Saiyuki
Title: Years After
Rating: worksafe
Notes: Some of you have read this already as I sent it in some of my cards this year.
Summary: Sanzo & Goku and being together.
Seven years after they first set out they came back, jouncing slowly along in Jeep, who was a lot less committed to his motorised form than he had been. Sometimes they had to wait for days for him to decide to change. Hakkai drove as erratically as ever. Sanzo pursed his lips.
They'd been quiet in the back now for such a long time that Sanzo craned round to look. Gojyo had his arm slung over Goku's shoulder.
Goku and Gojyo didn't fit so easily in the back together now, because Goku's legs were a foot longer and his shoulders were as broad as Gojyo's, but they sprawled against each other with the familiarity of people who knew everything about the other and had decided not to let what they knew bother them. Goku was saying something long and involved in Gojyo's ear, the words lost over the growl of Jeep's engine. Gojyo nodded now and then.
'It's nice to see them not bickering at last, isn't it, Sanzo?' Hakkai said. His don't-cause-me-any-trouble smile was plastered all over his face.
'It saves on the earache,' Sanzo said.
He slumped back against his seat and closed his eyes, still seeing Goku's face. He couldn't remember when they'd stopped shouting at each other and begun acting as if they liked each other. Sanzo had forgotten to notice.
Goku's hair was long and it was flickering madly in the wind when Sanzo turned to look at them again. He couldn't stop himself. They were still talking, leaning together just like friends did, Sanzo assumed. He didn't know much about it. Gojyo was busy making some gesture with his hands and talking quickly when he noticed Sanzo looking.
'What?' he said. 'Take a picture, it'll last longer.'
'Something wrong, Sanzo?' Goku said.
'No,' he muttered and turned away.
*
Goku was walking in front with Gojyo, carrying the shopping, and, surprisingly, the shopping list.
'Goku really is growing up, isn't he?' Hakkai said, with a little sigh.
He looked almost sad and Sanzo found himself inexplicably annoyed.
'What did you expect? He's not going to stay the same forever.'
'I'm well aware of that, Sanzo,' Hakkai said.
'Hey, you, don't forget my 200 Marlboro reds,' Sanzo called out.
'It's on my list, Sanzo,' Goku said.
He and Gojyo strode off, shoulder to shoulder in the crowd, matching steps and catching the smiles of pretty girls all along the street. One of them caught Goku round the waist and kissed him. The laughter of her friends rose above the crowd like the chatter of starlings and Sanzo's mouth opened in shock when Goku leant in to kiss her in return.
'Don't worry,' Hakkai said in his ear.
'Why the hell would I be worried?'
Hakkai nodded. 'A very sensible attitude. He's been managing all the shopping-- and other things-- for some time now, Sanzo,' Hakkai said, watching him. 'I assume that's what you wanted to know? It's true you've been too busy to notice, of course. I quite understand. I'm sure Goku does too.'
'That damn kappa's leading him astray.'
'On the contrary, I believe Gojyo has provided Goku with much invaluable advice on matters that perhaps you and I are not so, ah, well-versed in.'
Sanzo couldn't think of a single answer to that.
*
They only had two rooms at the inn, and Hakkai very quickly tugged Gojyo away with him, leaving Goku smiling a little nervously.
Sanzo expected him to wander off with Gojyo after dinner, but he didn't. Instead he came back to their room and lay on the bed while Sanzo smoked and read his newspaper. But Goku's silent presence crawled all over him and filled the room until he could hardly breathe. He slapped his paper down on the bed.
Sanzo?' Goku said, 'are you all right?'
'Don't ask idiot questions,' he said.
'Does that mean yes or no?'
Goku's eyes glinted with a sharp, adult humour that he couldn't recall seeing before.
'If you think I'm suddenly going to start acting like I'm your best friend, you're wrong,' Sanzo said.
'What? I never thought that.'
'Then what are you here for?' Sanzo said.
'I don't know what-- where else would I be?'
'Out there,' Sanzo said, gesturing with his head towards the window.
'Why?'
'You should be out there, not stuck in here with me, you moron. Go away. Go chasing girls with that damned kappa if that's what makes you happy.'
'I don't wanna do that,' Goku said, blinking.
They sat facing each other across the narrow gap between the beds. Sanzo's stomach clenched in on itself and his fingers were icy. He remembered Goku's childish face, round and plump as a meat bun, and how he'd sworn never to never abandon him. It was still true but now Goku was old enough to leave.
'I never asked you to stay with me,' Sanzo said. 'Just so you know, I never will.'
He heard Goku's sharp, indrawn breath and the sound in his throat as he swallowed.
'I'm not going anywhere,' Goku said. 'I promise,' he said, softly.
The words rang in the silence like he'd yelled them.
'Whatever. Make your own decision. You're not a child anymore.'
Goku stood up. This close, he loomed over Sanzo. Sanzo forced himself not to look up and then gasped in shock as arms wrapped round him, tight. His face was pressed into Goku's shoulder. He smelled soapy. He must've washed before dinner. It was hard to get free and his arms ended up wound around Goku's neck and he could hear the steady thud-thud of both their hearts. He wondered why his eyes were stinging.
'Thank you,' Goku whispered in his ear, and there was a warm puff of breath on his cheek and then the touch of lips there too, very briefly, so gentle he hardly could feel it. 'I'll come back,' Goku said, 'always,' and then he left.
Ten Years
In the spring, when the cherry trees in the temple compound were flowering, Goku climbed up and let himself be taken back to his childhood, centuries ago. He wasn't sure how merciful the Goddess had been, letting him remember Heaven when the others didn't. He'd never told them.
Konzen had been so beautiful. Goku remembered warm arms and the scent of rose water, gentler and colder than cigarette smoke and the stinging tip of a paper fan, although he hadn't felt the latter in years. Konzen was as different to Sanzo as a dried fig was to a ripe plum. He leant his head back against the rough bark and his mouth watered at the thought; Sanzo burned up the air around him. He soaked up earthly cares until he rang with them, feeling everything too strongly, even if he pretended not to. Konzen hadn't been like that, at least not until the last.
Goku tried to imagine Sanzo in the spotless lavender-coloured silk that Konzen had always worn and the idea made him smile. It would never suit him. When they put Sanzo in the ceremonial robes once a year, a many-layered festooning of green brocade, orange wool with red braid, and stiff white silk, Goku could hardly stand to watch Sanzo swathed in all that fake finery without reaching out to pull it off.
Sanzo flouted temple custom by giving him a room, even though it was on the other side of the grounds to Sanzo's. Often, when he wasn't off causing trouble, as Sanzo put it, he'd scrunch along the raked gravel paths in the evenings to sit with Sanzo on the wooden bench outside his rooms. Sanzo did that every night, even when it was cold.
'What are you staring at, monkey?' Sanzo said, one evening.
It had been a warm day but now the air was cooling. Small brown birds flitted in the shrubs and sang their last song before dark.
The rays of the setting sun were in Sanzo's eyes, making him squint a little. Rosy light made his face glow, smoothing out the fine lines that travelling had put there. There was no grey in his hair yet and his body was strong and lithe. He was thirty three.
'Mmmh?' Goku said, his chin in his hand. He smiled, but didn't take his gaze away. He drank in everything. It was never enough.
'You. Gawking at me. Stop it.'
Goku waited just long enough for Sanzo to be off his guard.
'I was just thinking about how pretty you used to be,' he said.
Sanzo looked up, slow and sharp.
'What? Like I care-- '
'But it's okay,' Goku cut him off, watching Sanzo's eyes darken and his lips fall open a little. 'Now, I've thought about it, you're not pretty at all.'
He hugged to himself the thought that Sanzo was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It glowed inside, keeping him warm.
Sanzo scowled, shook his head and turned away, but not before Goku saw the edges of his lips curling up in a smile. Goku sat back and grinned, wanting to laugh out loud for no reason but happiness. He could have this tomorrow and the day after, and every day after that, if he wanted. Life was here.
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Date: 2005-12-24 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-29 11:40 pm (UTC)