Our Peaceful Days
Summary: Thirty-nine prompts for the 39 pairing. Six years before the Journey started, Sanzo does his begrudging best at keeping his newfound pet properly fed and taken care of, and little Goku tries his eager best at making his newfound owner happy.
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XXXVIII. Obligation
Sanzo brings Goku with him during his short trips around Chang'an. Sometimes, they are away from Keiun for a few hours, sometimes a few days, but this is the first time that they have been away from Keiun for almost two weeks.
The rain has yet to cease.
"Sanzo, the innkeeper gave us a tray of food for the night," Goku jests out with a whoop of joy. He rolls the tray of food in the room, and forces himself to smile at the sight of Sanzo frowning at the rain outside. "Sanzo, you need food."
"Leave it there," the monk grumbles, his eyes not leaving the storm outside the window.
Goku frowns, but brings him a plate of green tea rice, anyway. Earlier, he had told the cook of what Sanzo normally eats, and had requested a plate of green tea rice just for Sanzo. The golden-eyed boy places the plate of green tea rice, fried fish, and chicken liver in front of the frowning blond, blocking Sanzo's view of the rain outside, and grins. "I tasted it earlier, it's exactly the same in Keiun. Come on, eat up!"
Sanzo closes his eyes and sighs. So much for brooding. "Goku, I'm not hung—umf!"
"There you go, you're eating!" Goku laughs out, and picks away the bits of rice and fish from Sanzo's lips with the chopsticks. "You've been sulking for days and it's not like you. You need to eat."
Sanzo glares at Goku's grinning face as he chews on the mouthful of rice and fish. Once he gulps it down, he growls, "What the fuck was that for, you stupid—"
All insults die at the tip of his tongue as Goku looks down at him with narrowed eyes and a deep frown—an expression that Sanzo has only seen through Seiten Taisei.
"You need to eat. You've barely eaten anything lately, and that's bad. I couldn't even last a day without a good meal and I don't even need to really, really eat—but you do. Plus, since you took me in, you never once let the sun go down without me not getting a decent meal. You even sacrificed some of your meals for me to eat. So now—" Goku kneels down in front of the priest, and offers him the chopsticks full of rice and fish. Gone are his narrowed eyes, and they revert back to bright, round orbs; and his frown morphs to that of a small smile, "—I must do the same. So please," he holds out the food to Sanzo's lips once more, holding back a sniffle and tears pooling from his golden eyes. "Please eat up, Sanzo."
Sanzo glowers at the boy's wide, pleading eyes, then at the chopsticks filled with his preferred meal, and frowns as a single grain of rice falls back to the plate. He opens his mouth and takes the proffered food, and takes the chopsticks from Goku's hand.
"You're a persistent monkey, you know that," Sanzo huffs out once he has swallowed the mouthful of food, and tries not to make a sound of satisfaction from tasting the flavors of his favorite meal. He closes his eyes as he eats, fully aware of Goku watching him with a sigh of relief and a content smile.
Sanzo's stomach grumbles as he chews on the fish and the stir-fried chicken liver on the side, and for the first time in days, he eats everything on his plate—and when he has finished, he is not surprised when Goku wraps his lithe arms around his waist, and places his ear to Sanzo's abdomen.
"A full Sanzo is a happy Sanzo," Goku breathes out with a giggle, and the monk looks away from the little demon's cheerful expression.
"Nonsense," Sanzo mutters with a jutting of his lower lip.
Goku snickers once more, and sighs in contentment as he feels Sanzo's fingers ruffle and slide down his thick hair. Sanzo keeps this up until the brunet calms down into a peaceful slumber—
—Sanzo smiles at the little demon's pleased expression even in sleep, and he closes his eyes as he strokes the brown locks.
All the while, he remains unaware that the rain outside has now stopped.