[Generic Disclaimer: Saiyuki and all the affiliated
characters are copyright to Kazuya Minekura. No
profit has or will be made off of this fiction.]
===
~Child’s Touch~
Summary:
(Sanzo/Goku if you look
hard enough.) On a cool foggy evening, Sanzo
returns to his room. The first surprise was seeing Goku. The second was Goku's
reaction to his scars.
Warnings:
PG-13; mild language, pre-Gensomaden, mild hinted shounen ai, fluff
Notes:
This was an idea Nikki gave me while we were talking about
the various scars all the boys have (sans Goku). So… thank her for this fic. (She inspires a lot of fics,
doesn't she?)
===
It felt redundant to bathe when it was so foggy out. There was no rain,
thankfully, but it was cold and damp every time he stepped outside. Dew would
cling not only to the grass, but his robes and sandals as he walked out to the
empty bath house. No other monks around; they must have been asleep, like a
normal person would be after a full day of chores and work.
Sanzo,
however, felt stiff and sore. Not from his normal duties, assuredly. No, all
this tension came from a certain little brat that insisted on wearing his
already thin patience. A hot bath would at least ease his tense muscles; though
Sanzo knew what he really needed was a massage. He remembered his late master
occasionally doing that for him before he died, especially after a hard day's
martial arts session.
He
shook his head, not wanting to think about that now. The water was hot, almost
too hot for him to stand, but at least he was relaxing a bit. Really, sometimes
all he really needed was for that brat to just shut up and not cause trouble.
But
then, Goku wouldn't be Goku if he didn't attempt to cause Sanzo an aneurism at
least twice a day.
Sanzo
twitched slightly, deciding he didn't need to think about that right
now, either. All he wanted was a relaxing bath, and damn it, he was going to
enjoy it while he could.
For
a while he managed to make his mind blissfully blank, focusing only on washing
himself, then just leaning against the side of the bath and staring at the
wall. He thought of nothing until he realized the heat was gradually seeping
out of the water. He got out before it became too cold.
Sanzo
took his time drying himself off. In his haste to get away from Goku and to the
bath, he hadn't brought anything but a change of pants with him. He regretted
that now, because that meant he'd have to go back to his room and be cold until
he got the rest of his clothes.
Damn
the monkey.
Grumbling
to himself, Sanzo made quick work with his hair, toweling it, pushing the rest
of the strands from his eyes before he left. It was still chilly outside, and
he wasn't as tense as he had been earlier... but that didn't mean he was
completely relaxed, either.
And
he would still have to put up with the boy for dinner. Grimacing at the
thought, Sanzo quickened his footsteps back to his room.
He
hadn't counted on Goku being there when he got back. Goku actually had his own
room; it was a small place just across the hall from his own, and would have
made better use for a broom closet. The boy was hardly ever in there except to
sleep... and even then, he wasn't there that often. Sanzo would find Goku
curled up on his floor some mornings, blissfully asleep even if it was freezing
cold. Usually he gave Goku a good kick for that.
Goku
was at his window, peering outside when he slid the door open. He looked up
when he heard the man, grinning. "Hi, Sanzo," he said cheerfully.
"You done taking a bath? Is it my turn?"
Rolling
his eyes, Sanzo tossed the towel on his bed. "
"You
wait turns," Goku pointed out. "Because you hate
sharing the bath with the other idiots here. You said so yourself!"
"That
included you, too, you know," Sanzo replied, annoyed.
The
boy gave him a slight pout, looking sulky. "Well, I don't try to take a
bath with you," he muttered, looking outside again.
Scoffing,
Sanzo turned to find a shirt. For some reason the silence seemed to change,
though he couldn't place why. He had just picked up one of his typical black
tops before a sudden touch on his back made him stiffen automatically.
He
didn't turn just yet. "What the hell are you doing, monkey?"
The
fingers trailed over a short distance on his back, then moved to make another
short trail. "You got a lot of scars," the boy said softly.
"Here... and here... and here..."
Sanzo
jerked back, narrowing his eyes at his charge. "What business is it of
yours?" He honestly didn't even know the kid that well; he'd only
"rescued" him from
Already
Goku was prone to touching him. For some reason he could get away with it where
others couldn't. Sanzo couldn't explain why; he simply knew that he hated to be
touched, but Goku's touch didn't give him those small shudders of revulsion.
The
boy didn't look up at first, his eyes fixated on Sanzo's midsection. He
finally, slowly looked up, his wide, childish eyes unusually solemn. "Did
they hurt?"
What
a stupid question. "Probably," Sanzo said flatly, taking a step away
from the boy before pulling his skin-tight black top on over his head. "I
don't remember."
Goku
waited until he was done, but when Sanzo moved to grab his robes he quickly
grasped the man's arms, tugging him toward the bed. "I'll make them
better," he said simply.
Sanzo
gave him an incredulous look, one that quickly changed to disgust. "Didn't
I just tell you they don't hurt?"
"No,"
Goku replied, using surprising strength to pull Sanzo to the bed then moved his
legs to trip Sanzo. He stumbled and fell on the bed. Sanzo pushed himself up on
his hands quickly, but Goku stubbornly kept trying to push him down. "You gotta lie down or I can't make it better," he
insisted.
Sanzo
snarled softly. "I just told you twice: they don't hurt. Stop it!"
Goku
frowned, his cheeks puffed in childish frustration. Then, without warning, he
tackled the man. Taken by surprise, Sanzo could only make a muffled yelp as
Goku succeeded in pinning him to the mattress, wrists by his head and legs
straddling his keeper's waist.
"I'm
not gonna get off until you let me," he said
firmly, golden eyes narrowed. "And I won't do anythin'
stupid, Sanzo! Just let me fix it."
"What
you're doing right now is stupid," Sanzo snapped.
Goku
was unmoved. "Turn over on your tummy."
It
was more of a demand than a request, which only irked Sanzo further. He
scowled, matching Goku's stare. He wouldn't lose the staring contest; he never
had. Goku simply didn't have the patience to win.
And
once again, he couldn't. The boy finally squirmed, practically jumping on Sanzo
and making him even more uncomfortable. "Just turn over, Sanzoooo," he complained. "I'll stop if you don't
like it! I promise!"
That
only made it sound worse. Sanzo's eyebrow twitched, but he found himself doing
as told anyway, silently swearing to beat the idiot later. He stiffened when
Goku slid his hands under the man's shirt, but let the boy remove the item.
Goku
seemed happy now that he'd won. He raised himself enough for Sanzo to turn
over, but made himself comfortable straddling the man again. Sanzo shifted a
bit, glancing over his shoulder to glare at the boy.
Then
Goku's hands were on his back, small but firmer than most boys', like a
fighter's. He began to rub Sanzo's back firmly, and Sanzo realized he was
paying special attention to the areas he was now scarred in.
At
this point it simply felt nice enough for Sanzo not to complain. Instead, he
found his eyes lapsing shut. Goku's hands grew stronger, kneading into his
muscles. It was especially nice when the boy moved up to his shoulders, working
out the knotted tension there.
However,
once Sanzo's shoulders went lax, Goku moved his hands down his back again. He
would pause at times, just resting his fingers on the scars. After a few
blessedly silent minutes of this treatment the boy finally spoke, his voice
hushed as though not wanting to ruin the mood. "They don't hurt anymore,
right?"
"Didn't
in the first place," Sanzo said, his voice
muffled against his arms. Not once did his eyes open; he was dimly aware he was
enjoying the treatment far too much, but...
"Mm,"
Goku replied, still rubbing the man's back. "I don't got
any scars... guess I was just wonderin' if they still
hurt after they heal."
Sanzo
only shook his head, wishing Goku would shut up and continue what he was doing.
Goku
didn't seem content doing that; his touch lightened, fingers finding each scar
on Sanzo's back. "Hey, Sanzo?"
"What,
monkey?" he asked, his voice coming out a bit more annoyed.
"Don't
get hurt anymore. This... um..." Rolling his eyes, Sanzo lifted his head
to look back at the boy, who made quick motions in the air as though he were
still rubbing Sanzo's shoulders. "Um..."
"Massaging,"
he said flatly.
"Yeah. It hurts my hands," Goku said, sliding off
him. "So don't get anymore scars, okay?" Without waiting for an
answer -- and honestly, Sanzo wasn't sure how to reply to that -- Goku smiled
widely. "I'm gonna take my bath now," he
said unnecessarily before scampering out of the room.
Unsure whether to be annoyed that Goku kept talking or over his
stopping just when Sanzo was relaxing, the blonde rolled over on his back.
He idly brushed stray hair from his eyes, staring lazily at the ceiling for a
few minutes. When he finally felt like moving it was only to retrieve his shirt
and lie back down again.
"Stupid
monkey," he muttered, closing his eyes again. Goku must have done a better
job than he'd realized, or Sanzo must have been more tired than he'd thought,
because he drifted off almost immediately.
[~:.:~]
He fidgeted anxiously, glancing through the tiny crack of the doorway. For
the longest time it seemed like Sanzo would never go to sleep, but he finally
did. He breathed a soft sigh of relief, glad that the man was finally sleeping.
Sometimes he thought Sanzo's crankiness was due to lack of sleep.
At least they won't hurt him anymore, he thought, grinning to
himself. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten the idea from that scars left over
were supposed to hurt, but he did know that the cure to that was supposed to be
nice, gentle rubbing. Whether any of it was true or not, it seemed to have had
a good effect on Sanzo. So that made it all worth it.
Making sure the door was shut tightly, Goku hurried off to take
his bath.
[~:.:~]
[~owari~]