Fall Leaves and Candy Corn Smiles
by Aimless
Damn monkey, Sanzo thought as he walked through the marketplace. They had to leave soon and Goku was nowhere to be found. During their shopping trip, the young man had been his usual annoying self. Then out of desperation the monk had thrust a handful of money at him and told Goku to get lost. The golden eyed demon ran straight to a shop selling baked goods and sweets. He came out a moment later with a paper bag and ran right up to the monk. He stuck the bag right under Sanzo’s nose.
"Want some Sanzo?" he'd asked. Inside the bag were small triangular shaped candies. They smelled sickeningly sweet and were shaded light to dark orange in color.
Sanzo curled his lip and pushed it away.
The blond felt slightly nauseated as he watched Goku eat the candies by the handful. Now that he was fed, the chibi lost all interest in the quest for supplies. As he wandered off, Sanzo yelled at him to be back at the hotel and ready to leave in two hours.
The departure time had come and gone and now Sanzo was stuck looking for the missing young demon. He was irritated and ready to yell at Goku for being irresponsible again. Without even realizing he was doing it Sanzo headed unerringly to where Goku had disappeared. It always seemed as if the monk had an innate sense where the teen was concerned.
The path led Sanzo out of town and into the woods. Dry leaves crunched under his boots as he walked. But the beauty of his surroundings, of the myriad of trees cloaked in fall splendor, did not even register. He was not one to notice such things. It was just an indication that winter was coming. This made him all the more irritated since traveling that time of year was a pain in the ass.
He did, however, notice Goku lying fast asleep under a massive maple tree. Sanzo shook his head and was about to roughly toe the young man awake with his boot when the scene before him finally registered.
Goku lay on his back with his head pillowed on his hands that rested behind his head. The paper bag with the candy lay crumpled at his side. The demon’s rich cinnamon colored hair blew slightly in the breeze and he smiled slightly in his sleep. Leaves in an amazing array of red, gold and orange had drifted down and lay scattered on his body.
He looked…so peaceful. He looked… beautiful. A whispered "Sanzo" fell from Goku’s lips as his smile widened.
The young man was obviously dreaming. Those few words caused an ache in the monk’s chest and a wistful expression to soften his normally embittered face. Feelings that he tried to suppress bubbled to the surface. Longing, need and affection battled with the fear of getting hurt again. Of being left behind. Sanzo swore never to care for anyone again, never to leave himself vulnerable to more heartache.
But whenever those deep golden eyes full of utter trust turned his way he was almost helpless to look away. The monk had tried to keep Goku at arms length but the teen refused to stay away. Sanzo wasn't blind to the love and trust in those eyes. But he constantly chose to deny it. He felt the same way but was loathe to admit the truth.
But now with Goku so innocently asleep he let those emotions prompt his actions. The monk knelt down and traced Goku’s sun-warmed diadem, letting his fingertips run down the side of the demon’s face before cupping his cheek.
The ache grew and the urge to place his lips on that tawny skin became overwhelming. Sanzo drew in a deep shuddering breath and leaned forward.
He stopped and jerked back in surprise when two luminous amber colored eyes blinked sleepily up at him.
“S… Sanzo?”
Appalled at what he had been about to do the monk swiftly got to his feet and backed away. “Get Up! We need to leave. You disappeared and I spent over an hour looking for you. Damned useless monkey!” Sanzo turned away and did not see the hurt flash in those golden eyes.
The monk stomped off back towards the town. As usual Goku hurried to catch up.
“Sorry Sanzo. I just got tired and it was so peaceful here and I…” He was cut off mid tirade when the blond stopped in the path and turned around.
“Just be quiet and get back to the hotel.” This time the hurt in Goku’s face could not be ignored. Sanzo sighed. He couldn’t admit his feelings for the young man. Goku was not ready for that and frankly it scared the normally fearless monk half to death.
Sanzo reached out a hand and ruffled Goku’s soft hair. “Just get going and I’ll buy you some meat buns before we leave.” This was the only admission of affection that Sanzo was able to give.
“Really? Alright! Thanks Sanzo!” The chibi was almost hopping in place. Goku’s bright smile caused that now familiar tightening in Sanzo’s chest. The monk shrugged it off, lit a cigarette and followed the scampering teen back to the hotel.
Rueful feminine laughter and more than a few curses could be heard floating on the air. A thwarted voice said to no one in particular, “Damn almost had him…”