Before the Silence

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Written as a drabble challenge. The challenge was "Two awake, two asleep, and a late-night conversation." Slightly-more-than-hints of Goku/Sanzo. PG-15 for language.

As always, comments and criticisms are appreciated.

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"Ne, Sanzo. Sanzooo!"

"Shut up."

"Sanzo, heeey."

The priest said nothing, but his eyes twitched dangerously. A sure sign that his younger companion was nearing the Line.

Goku was never known as an observant person.

"Ne, Sanzo, I was wondering—" If he didn't remove his hand from Sanzo's sleeve right this second something was going to die.

"Saaanzooo."

"Dammit, monkey!" He pulled out his gun in one quick movement, pointing it right at Goku's face, but the annoying monkey only blinked. No yelling, no shouts, nothing that would wake the two sleeping forms on the small inn floor. Gojyo and Hakkai slept on, Hakuryuu curled beside his master's head, oblivious to the commotion going on around them. Which other worked to further piss Sanzo off, along with the fact he had to share a room with these three, and the fact that Goku wasn't already asleep.

"Ne, Sanzo. How long have you been sick?"

Sanzo didn't move, the gun still pointed between Goku's eyes. "The hell are you talking about, idiot?"

"Well, that," Goku said, quite uselessly. "You haven't been acting normal since we got near this town. So I was wondering how long you've been sick for."

"I'm not sick." He put the gun away and replaced it with a cigarette. His own lighter was on the table behind Goku, so he reached down and pilfered the kappa's.

"Maybe it was something you ate."

"I said I wasn't sick, now shut the hell up."

"You're usually only like this when it's raining…but it hasn't rained in weeks and it doesn't look like it's going to and—"

"Shut your mouth and go to sleep, you goddamned idiot monkey!"

Goku surprised him by leaning forward, invading the priest's personal space in the most idiotic display of stupidity the monk had seen it days.

"Why haven't you hit me yet?"

That statement was so full of "What the fuck?" inducing responses that Sanzo couldn't say a thing.

"Since we got near this town, you haven't hit me or Gojyo with the fan. And yeah, you almost shot me yesterday, but it wasn't like past times." The monkey blinked, refusing to back off. "So the only reason I can think of is that you're sick."

Sanzo scowled, rubbing his temple.

"Shut up and go to bed."

"But Sanzo—"

"Go! Now!"

Goku frowned, golden eyes reflecting the moonlight like a cat's. Sanzo met the gaze with a glare of his own, a look Goku had long since learned to recognize as "Keep fucking with me, I dare you." The monkey held his place for a full five seconds before he turned around and threw himself on the futon he'd made up for his bed.

Grateful to have some goddamned peace and quiet, Sanzo looked out the window, smoke from his cigarette clouding his vision. He could hear the sound of the river, the same noise he'd been hearing for the past few days. It didn't matter that he knew what it really was, but the sound of the waterfall was enough to remind him of rain, and was definitely enough to piss him off. Goku's inane questions hadn't helped any.

He let out a sigh with the last puff of his cigarette, flicking the butt out the window and watching it fall to the dirt road below. Let it burn—let it all burn. He was tired of this gods-forsaken, backwater piece of shit town and why the hell was the monkey still up?

"Goku! I said—"

Something soft but heavy landed on his head, covering his ears, and only when Goku fell back onto his futon fast asleep and pillowless did Sanzo realize what had happened.

Ear-muffs. The monkey had rigged his pillow to act like crude, makeshift ear-muffs.

Sanzo grunted and pulled another cigarette out as the pillow fell off his head to land beside him. Dawn, their exit from this town couldn't come soon enough. And that damn pillow had put a crick in his neck, even if it had blocked the sound of the river. He'd have to smack Goku in the morning for hurting his neck with that stupid thing. Maybe twice, for good measure.

The night continued on, completely, blessedly, silent.

He'd be damned if he ever told the stupid monkey that.