A/N: Glad everybody's still liking this. As I go, as is my nature, I fall in love with the characters that I have embarrassed. I can't help it. My goal was, and is, to show a little more humanity from the seemingly-perfect characters of Saiyuki. They are perfect, whether or not you think so, and I wanted to give them a few more real moments not drenched so deeply in angst. But I couldn't resist writing this chapter. The definitions below will make more sense once you've finished the chapter. Two more after this one. Enjoy.
Daffodils: respect; "the sun always shines when I am with you"
Hyacinth: "please forgive me"
Jonquil: desire for affection returned
Daisies: loyalty and innocence
Camellia: good luck gift for a man
...
For a few days, Hakkai watched Goku with a soft smile on his face and one perhaps a little more wry in his heart. The boy had apologized for surprising Sanzo when the monk had a potentially deadly object in close proximity to his jugular, but still Sanzo refused to accept it and still Goku moped about. It had gotten to the point where Goku had become desperate.
Hakkai and Gojyo sat together on the back porch of their current inn, a much nicer place than the last few stops they had made. Gojyo enjoyed a smoke and Hakkai's company, and they were murmuring to one another about inane things, just conversing because it was so easy. Every once in a while, Gojyo would laugh. Goku came and stood between their chairs, hands in his pockets.
"Hakkai?"
The brunette looked up and smiled at the intrusion. "Is there a problem?"
Goku frowned a little, looking away. "If...if someone's mad at you and you want to fix the problem, what do you do?"
Hakkai made a show of intense thought. Truly, he'd been ruminating on the question himself, feeling sympathy for Goku. "Well, if I've apologized and that didn't work, I'd perhaps try giving that person a present."
Gojyo grinned. "Flowers or candy. Both, even. Works with women all the time." The redhead craned his neck to look at Goku. "Might work in your case too."
Goku shook his head, too troubled to argue with Gojyo about entering the conversation without an invitation. "He...doesn't like sweet things."
"The flowers are always worth a try." Hakkai put his chin on his hand, looking out of the porch instead of at Goku or Gojyo. "Anything you might buy him, aside from perhaps a pack of cigarettes or food, he won't carry with him because it won't be useful. Sanzo is not a sentimental person when it comes to lugging heavy objects around that don't have some sort of purpose. But flowers, well, flowers show you spent some time thinking about him. And they're beautiful for the time being, but are impractical to carry with us because they will wilt in a few days anyway."
Gojyo nodded. "Aside from the pragmatic, he might like flowers." He rubbed his lips with callused fingertips, snatching the end of his cigarette and smashing it in a nearby ashtray. "People have funny soft spots like that."
They watched Goku go with grins on their faces, unable to resist showing appreciation and affection for the boy. "That stinking monk doesn't deserve him," Gojyo commented.
Hakkai shrugged. "They both have their moments."
...
Goku smiled happily and waved at the flower merchant as he left her stall. She wiped her hands on her apron and stared after him, unable to keep the grin from her features. The strapping lad had come to her looking for a bouquet "to make him not mad at me anymore." What she had given him might not have been especially beautiful, but the meanings of the flowers were sweet. And her customer had a certain taste for yellow. Yellow and violet.
The stems Goku clutched were handsome in their own right. They had been given to Goku in return for his helping out around the stall for that entire afternoon. While he inexpertly trimmed stems and sheared leaves, she had managed to impart a little wisdom to him. And she had learned more about unconditional love than she could have ever thought possible.
...
Goku was starving, but unwilling to go to dinner without first showing Hakkai. He found the brunette easily, in the kitchen preparing a meal for the four of them alone. It smelled fantastic. Goku poked Hakkai in the arm and held up the bouquet for inspection.
Hakkai smiled into it. "Goku, it's wonderful. I hope he likes it."
"I do too," agreed Goku, looking a little nervous but definitely pleased that Hakkai approved of his choices. "The lady at the flower stall told me they mean stuff."
Hakkai raised his eyebrows, turning back to his cooking but with both ears on Goku. "Oh, really?"
"Uh huh." Goku pointed to a daffodil. "Respect. And the sun shining. That one sounded like Sanzo."
Hakkai laughed. "Only you could equate Sanzo with a daffodil."
Goku grinned a little. He pointed to a cluster of lavender hyacinth. "These smelled really good. And um...they're...oh yeah! They're for forgiveness."
Hakkai swiped his little finger into the pot on the stove and stood with it contemplatively in his mouth. "Subtle," he remarked, unable to keep the grin out of his voice.
"This one," Goku continued, pointing to a flower that looked quite similar to a daffodil, "is a...a...thing. I forget. But it says something like 'don't hate me any more'."
Hakkai looked down at the flower. "Jonquil. I remember seeing those when I was younger."
Goku nodded. "Yeah that sounds about right. And I like daisies so I got some of those too. They didn't have any dandelions but daisies are kind of close. We have dandelions at the temple."
Hakkai laughed. "Goku, dandelions are considered weeds. They're supposedly harmful to grass and other plants. Daisies are a little friendlier."
Goku frowned. "Dandelions don't look like weeds. And then, then the lady at the stall gave me this one," Goku pointed to a large, beautiful, white camellia in the center of the handful of color. "She said it was lucky."
Hakkai smiled. "And if anybody could use a little luck on his side, it's Sanzo. Are you going to give those to him at dinner?" Hakkai looked down to his cooking. "Which, by the way, is ready?"
Goku's eyes grew large. "Great! I'm starving!"
Hakkai smiled. "Well, how about you find a table for us and leave those flowers at Sanzo's place?"
Goku nodded. "Okay! And then we can eat. I've been hungry all day."
Hakkai watched Goku leave with a laugh in his throat. "When is that anomalous?"
...
When Sanzo came to dinner, the other three were already seated at the table, though they had yet to start eating. "Been waiting for you," Gojyo greeted, jerking a thumb over toward Goku. "The saru's gonna implode."
"Am not! I'm just hungry!" Goku cried, shaking a fist at Gojyo. The redhead grinned and let Hakkai begin to serve.
Sanzo took a seat, his eyes brimming with tears. "Who..." he began, staring at the flowers at his place.
Hakkai nudged Goku. "Um, Sanzo? I...I know you're still mad at me so...so those are for you." Goku looked into his lap, blushing like a fire engine. "Don't be mad at me. I'm sorry." There was silence for a moment, but when Goku looked up tears were swimming in Sanzo's red-violet eyes.
And then, quite violently, Sanzo sneezed. He slid his chair back from the table and put his hands over his mouth. The monk couldn't choke out another word before the second sneeze came, and tears worked their way down his cheeks. "All...lergic! Pollen!" he explained, rubbing furiously at his nose.
"Oh, dear," said Hakkai. "There's a sink in the kitchen. Through the door to your right."
Sanzo nodded and was gone with another sneeze hunching his back. Goku looked even more miserable than before. Hakkai shook his head and went to remove the flowers, when Gojyo stopped him. The redhead took the bouquet and followed in Sanzo's footsteps, heading for the kitchen.
When he got there, he saw Sanzo hunched over the sink, splashing his face with cold water and wheezing into the basin. Gojyo, holding the flowers far from Sanzo, came up with a large glass. He bumped the monk with his hip. "Move, bouzu."
Sanzo glared, red-eyed, at him, but allowed Gojyo to fill the makeshift vase. The redhead untied the twine that bound the flowers together and allowed them to spread freely in the glass. Gojyo put it in the window, so light refracted through water and glass, sending rainbows through the kitchen. He looked down to Sanzo and shrugged.
"I just hate to see such care go to waste. It would be a shame, wouldn't it?"
Sanzo didn't watch him leave, but plunged his head into the sink once more.
...
"Now you know."
Goku scuffed his foot along the floor. "Sorry."
Sanzo frowned at the kid's persistence. He cuffed Goku behind the ear, and let his hand rest in the boy's hair for a fraction of a second. "There are more important things to think about. Go to bed."
Daffodils: respect; "the sun always shines when I am with you"
Hyacinth: "please forgive me"
Jonquil: desire for affection returned
Daisies: loyalty and innocence
Camellia: good luck gift for a man
...
For a few days, Hakkai watched Goku with a soft smile on his face and one perhaps a little more wry in his heart. The boy had apologized for surprising Sanzo when the monk had a potentially deadly object in close proximity to his jugular, but still Sanzo refused to accept it and still Goku moped about. It had gotten to the point where Goku had become desperate.
Hakkai and Gojyo sat together on the back porch of their current inn, a much nicer place than the last few stops they had made. Gojyo enjoyed a smoke and Hakkai's company, and they were murmuring to one another about inane things, just conversing because it was so easy. Every once in a while, Gojyo would laugh. Goku came and stood between their chairs, hands in his pockets.
"Hakkai?"
The brunette looked up and smiled at the intrusion. "Is there a problem?"
Goku frowned a little, looking away. "If...if someone's mad at you and you want to fix the problem, what do you do?"
Hakkai made a show of intense thought. Truly, he'd been ruminating on the question himself, feeling sympathy for Goku. "Well, if I've apologized and that didn't work, I'd perhaps try giving that person a present."
Gojyo grinned. "Flowers or candy. Both, even. Works with women all the time." The redhead craned his neck to look at Goku. "Might work in your case too."
Goku shook his head, too troubled to argue with Gojyo about entering the conversation without an invitation. "He...doesn't like sweet things."
"The flowers are always worth a try." Hakkai put his chin on his hand, looking out of the porch instead of at Goku or Gojyo. "Anything you might buy him, aside from perhaps a pack of cigarettes or food, he won't carry with him because it won't be useful. Sanzo is not a sentimental person when it comes to lugging heavy objects around that don't have some sort of purpose. But flowers, well, flowers show you spent some time thinking about him. And they're beautiful for the time being, but are impractical to carry with us because they will wilt in a few days anyway."
Gojyo nodded. "Aside from the pragmatic, he might like flowers." He rubbed his lips with callused fingertips, snatching the end of his cigarette and smashing it in a nearby ashtray. "People have funny soft spots like that."
They watched Goku go with grins on their faces, unable to resist showing appreciation and affection for the boy. "That stinking monk doesn't deserve him," Gojyo commented.
Hakkai shrugged. "They both have their moments."
...
Goku smiled happily and waved at the flower merchant as he left her stall. She wiped her hands on her apron and stared after him, unable to keep the grin from her features. The strapping lad had come to her looking for a bouquet "to make him not mad at me anymore." What she had given him might not have been especially beautiful, but the meanings of the flowers were sweet. And her customer had a certain taste for yellow. Yellow and violet.
The stems Goku clutched were handsome in their own right. They had been given to Goku in return for his helping out around the stall for that entire afternoon. While he inexpertly trimmed stems and sheared leaves, she had managed to impart a little wisdom to him. And she had learned more about unconditional love than she could have ever thought possible.
...
Goku was starving, but unwilling to go to dinner without first showing Hakkai. He found the brunette easily, in the kitchen preparing a meal for the four of them alone. It smelled fantastic. Goku poked Hakkai in the arm and held up the bouquet for inspection.
Hakkai smiled into it. "Goku, it's wonderful. I hope he likes it."
"I do too," agreed Goku, looking a little nervous but definitely pleased that Hakkai approved of his choices. "The lady at the flower stall told me they mean stuff."
Hakkai raised his eyebrows, turning back to his cooking but with both ears on Goku. "Oh, really?"
"Uh huh." Goku pointed to a daffodil. "Respect. And the sun shining. That one sounded like Sanzo."
Hakkai laughed. "Only you could equate Sanzo with a daffodil."
Goku grinned a little. He pointed to a cluster of lavender hyacinth. "These smelled really good. And um...they're...oh yeah! They're for forgiveness."
Hakkai swiped his little finger into the pot on the stove and stood with it contemplatively in his mouth. "Subtle," he remarked, unable to keep the grin out of his voice.
"This one," Goku continued, pointing to a flower that looked quite similar to a daffodil, "is a...a...thing. I forget. But it says something like 'don't hate me any more'."
Hakkai looked down at the flower. "Jonquil. I remember seeing those when I was younger."
Goku nodded. "Yeah that sounds about right. And I like daisies so I got some of those too. They didn't have any dandelions but daisies are kind of close. We have dandelions at the temple."
Hakkai laughed. "Goku, dandelions are considered weeds. They're supposedly harmful to grass and other plants. Daisies are a little friendlier."
Goku frowned. "Dandelions don't look like weeds. And then, then the lady at the stall gave me this one," Goku pointed to a large, beautiful, white camellia in the center of the handful of color. "She said it was lucky."
Hakkai smiled. "And if anybody could use a little luck on his side, it's Sanzo. Are you going to give those to him at dinner?" Hakkai looked down to his cooking. "Which, by the way, is ready?"
Goku's eyes grew large. "Great! I'm starving!"
Hakkai smiled. "Well, how about you find a table for us and leave those flowers at Sanzo's place?"
Goku nodded. "Okay! And then we can eat. I've been hungry all day."
Hakkai watched Goku leave with a laugh in his throat. "When is that anomalous?"
...
When Sanzo came to dinner, the other three were already seated at the table, though they had yet to start eating. "Been waiting for you," Gojyo greeted, jerking a thumb over toward Goku. "The saru's gonna implode."
"Am not! I'm just hungry!" Goku cried, shaking a fist at Gojyo. The redhead grinned and let Hakkai begin to serve.
Sanzo took a seat, his eyes brimming with tears. "Who..." he began, staring at the flowers at his place.
Hakkai nudged Goku. "Um, Sanzo? I...I know you're still mad at me so...so those are for you." Goku looked into his lap, blushing like a fire engine. "Don't be mad at me. I'm sorry." There was silence for a moment, but when Goku looked up tears were swimming in Sanzo's red-violet eyes.
And then, quite violently, Sanzo sneezed. He slid his chair back from the table and put his hands over his mouth. The monk couldn't choke out another word before the second sneeze came, and tears worked their way down his cheeks. "All...lergic! Pollen!" he explained, rubbing furiously at his nose.
"Oh, dear," said Hakkai. "There's a sink in the kitchen. Through the door to your right."
Sanzo nodded and was gone with another sneeze hunching his back. Goku looked even more miserable than before. Hakkai shook his head and went to remove the flowers, when Gojyo stopped him. The redhead took the bouquet and followed in Sanzo's footsteps, heading for the kitchen.
When he got there, he saw Sanzo hunched over the sink, splashing his face with cold water and wheezing into the basin. Gojyo, holding the flowers far from Sanzo, came up with a large glass. He bumped the monk with his hip. "Move, bouzu."
Sanzo glared, red-eyed, at him, but allowed Gojyo to fill the makeshift vase. The redhead untied the twine that bound the flowers together and allowed them to spread freely in the glass. Gojyo put it in the window, so light refracted through water and glass, sending rainbows through the kitchen. He looked down to Sanzo and shrugged.
"I just hate to see such care go to waste. It would be a shame, wouldn't it?"
Sanzo didn't watch him leave, but plunged his head into the sink once more.
...
"Now you know."
Goku scuffed his foot along the floor. "Sorry."
Sanzo frowned at the kid's persistence. He cuffed Goku behind the ear, and let his hand rest in the boy's hair for a fraction of a second. "There are more important things to think about. Go to bed."