Ehehehe ^.^' It's been what? Three years since I've uploaded anything to this site and now here I am, in freaking Iraq by the why, posting my first Saiyuki fic. Try to treat it kindly folks. I haven't read the manga or watched the anime in while and neither of them are readily available to me right now.

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing!

-/-

At first he hadn't realized that she was doing it. They were lying on the grass next to each other beneath the shade of a giant tree. He was spread out on his back with his arms folded behind him so he could use his hands to pillow his head. It had been so quiet and peaceful just laying there in her presence that he had closed his eyes and began to doze. That's when she started doing it. He didn't notice at first because she'd started with his diadem. It wasn't actually a part of his body so it didn't really have a sense of touch. She'd run her hand over the front of it tracing every groove and design with a fingertip. Then her questing fingers were running along the curve of the band as it circled his head. It was when she inadvertently brushed his bangs aside to do this that Son Goku's eyes fluttered open and he sleepily peered at the young youkai girl hovering over him. "Lirin, what-?" She pressed a finger to his lips shushing him quietly as he continued to blink at her in confusion. When she was certain he wasn't going to speak again she removed her hand to resume her earlier exploration.

From his power limiter her hands journeyed to his ears, brushing along the shells and causing a shiver that wasn't at all too unpleasant to travel down his spine. He almost spoke again, but with one look at her determined eyes he managed to hold his questions in. From his ears she went to his neck, then down to his shoulders and the entire length of his arms. She had to tug his hands free from behind him and his head hit the ground with nothing more than a soft thump. She studied his palms with a concentration that would have put a fortune teller to shame. She stroked each of his long, thin fingers before touching each blunt fingertip with one of her own.

When she set his hands down Goku thought she was finished and he could finally ask her what was going on, but then Lirin surprised him yet again. Without the slightest bit of hesitation she moved to straddle his waist and leaned down close enough to touch noses with him. For a moment she did nothing. Her hands remained firmly planted on the ground to help her balance her weight over him and the only contact between them was with their noses and where she sat on his hips. He had to fight the urge to squirm as she stared into his eyes with an unblinking intensity that made him feel hot and cold all at once.

Enough was enough, Goku decided. He had to know what was going on in this girl's head. "Lir-mph!" Apparently she still wasn't ready to let him talk yet, but unlike the first time she hadn't shut him up with a finger.

Goku's eyes could not possibly get any bigger as he stared back at Lirin's own closed lids in surprise. She was kissing him and it wasn't even some chaste little peck of the lips either. She had taken full advantage of the fact that he'd been in the middle of speaking to shove her tongue into his mouth. It twined with his own for a few seconds before abandoning it to run along his teeth. As passionate as the kiss was, however, it ended with a soft smack before he could even think about kissing her back.

A flush rose to his cheeks as he watched her lick her smirking lips. Lirin sat up on his hips, seemingly satisfied with all that she had accomplished, and rested her palms against his stomach. Now he could speak.

"What the hell was that?" And speak he did.

She shrugged her shoulders and said as if it were an everyday occurrence for her to spontaneously decide to make out with her friend, "I was just appreciating your differences."

Appreciating his differences? Goku tried to get his muddled mind to think back to where it all began. It had started with his power limiter and from there it went to his round ears, his clawless fingers, and his fangless teeth. They were both youkai, but he was so much more different than her. Or maybe she was different from him. "Oh."

"Yeah." The silence that followed was beyond awkward and he didn't like it one bit. He abruptly sat up leaving Lirin with no choice but to lean into his chest or be sent tumbling off his lap. "Goku?"

A bright smile spread across his face as he asked, "So can I appreciate your differences now?" He didn't wait for a reply, but given how enthusiastically she was kissing him back Goku was positive that he had a fair idea of what her answer was.

-/-

Sha Gojyo didn't know how he had ended up here. He had come to the tavern with the sole intention of finding a warm and shapely body to warm his bed tonight. Somehow though he had found his self at the poker table getting his pockets cleaned out along with every other patron fool enough to think they could actually beat Cho Hakkai at a game of cards. "Isn't winning getting a little boring, Hakkai? You want to try loosing for a change?" And give him back his money too while he was at.

"But I'm not trying to win, Gojyo." Hakkai explained with his ever present smile. The next hand was dealt and minutes later the tavern was filled with cursing and disgruntled moans from the poker table as the monocled youkai set down yet another winning hand. "I'm sorry." He said as several players got up from the table claiming they couldn't afford to play with him anymore.

"Alright, I'm done." Gojyo pushed his chair back from the table deciding that if he continued he wouldn't have enough money left to buy another pack of smokes. The scarlet haired youkai leaned back in his chair, balancing it on its back legs as he lit up a cigarette. "You-"

A yell of, "GOJYO! HAKKAI!" startled him so bad he tipped right over.

"Is that the monkey?" Gojyo asked as he picked his self up off the floor.

A second yell of, "SANZO! HELP!" confirmed it.

The two youkai left the tavern to investigate and stepped out onto the street in time to see Goku rush by them so quickly his passing kicked up a breeze that sent their hair flying. As odd as it was to see the young monkey king running down the street screaming for help it was odder still for them when they noticed that Goku didn't have a shirt on. They were further surprised to notice that right on Goku's heels, yelling oaths and death threats, was Kougaiji. What really took the cake for them though was when they spotted Lirin trailing along behind her brother yelling at him to not hurt Goku. She was fully dressed, which Hakkai was very relieved to see, but her hair was undone and she looked more than a little flustered.

Goku raced passed them again just as Sanzo stepped outside with a newspaper in hand. "SANZO! HELP!" He yelled again as he ran up to the monk.

"You…" Sanzo began, rolling up the newspaper in his hands, "STUPID MONKEY!" It was amazing the amount of force he could put into that swing. The rolled up newspaper connected with the back of the young youkai's head and he hit the ground. Not to be deterred though Goku just scrambled behind Sanzo on his hands and knees, hiding behind the blond monk the way a child hides behind their parent. "What is it? What he's done this time?"

Kougaiji glared at him with murderous rage. "Keep that monkey away from my sister!"

Of course Gojyo was the first to realize what was going on. "Hell yeah, Goku! They finally dropped!" If anything that comment just made Lirin's brother angrier.

"You little fucker!"

"SANZO!"

fin

And that's a wrap. I was chewing on this idea for almost an entire year, but it wasn't until just now that I decided to finally sit down and write it.