A/N: Wow, I actually wrote more. Guess I'll just see where I can take this, right? Anyway, I figured it was meant to be, because while I was writing this chapter the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" came on my computer XD Hopefully I've gotten the characterization down in this chapter. If I haven't, feel free to verbally harass me.

Disclaimer: As much as I want to, I do not own Saiyuki or its characters. So there.

Chapter 2

If Hakkai or Goku noticed that there was a certain awkwardness present at the breakfast table, they both hid it very well. Neither chose not to address the burning glares that Sanzo would occasionally throw in Gojyo's direction, and the same could be said for the red-head's sheepish looks and sighs. Goku continued to fawn over the food while Hakkai went over a map of the area, sometimes bringing his head up to ask Sanzo a question.

Said monk was sitting rigidly in his chair, still trying to figure out what exactly had happened last night. A good portion of his sleepless night had been determining whether his awkward encounter with Gojyo in the hallway was a dream or not, but when he eventually came to the conclusion that it had been too real to be a figment of his mind—like he would even think of something like that to begin with—he had been so wrapped up in his anger that he had not properly delved into the reasoning behind it. But now he was burning a hole into the top of Gojyo's bowed head, trying to answer a stream of questions that would not leave him alone.

Why would that pervert try something on me? I could tell he was drunk, but he's never done anything like that before even when drinking. His violet eyes narrowed. And now he's daring to act humiliated? This kappa really has it coming to him.

"-zo? I asked if you were ready to get going."

He quickly switched his gaze from red to green, giving a little nod. Goku whined about wanting more food, but Sanzo merely whacked him once with the harisen to shut him up. They got up from the table after paying with the gold card and headed outside so that Jeep could transform.

Sanzo discreetly stole a glance to see what the stupid kappa was doing. That look was still on his face—a mixture of confusion and trepidation.

He should be scared, he thought smugly. One word escapes him and he won't be recognizable from all the bullet holes.

"Hakkai, Gojyo still looks weird," he heard Goku mutter to the group's healer as they walked around the now-transformed Jeep to get to their respective places. "And he didn't really eat this morning either."

"I did notice," Hakkai confessed. He shot his friend a worried look before turning to climb into the driver's seat. "I'll talk to him later, I suppose."

Goku nodded before jumping into the back seat. Gojyo followed a little slower, still very careful not to look anywhere near Sanzo's direction. Sanzo gazed at him for a moment, those questions still flying madly through his head, before focusing on Hakkai and telling him to drive.

The ride to the next town wasn't what one would call relaxed. There was tension running through the air that every member of the Sanzo-ikkou could feel, and it all emanated from Sanzo and Gojyo. Both seemed to talk to one another in a strained manner—the few words they dared to say all day—drawing a slight frown from Hakkai and furrowed brows from Goku. They both knew that the red-head and the blond didn't favor each other's company much anyway, and argued constantly, but there was something different about this distance that made them so wary. What made it worse was that Sanzo could tell what they were thinking, but couldn't say a word about it.

I'm not about to admit that the erogappa made a move on me, he told himself more than once. Even that thought made his fists clench in suppressed agitation that he couldn't simply reach back and punch the kappa until he was unconscious, or better yet, dead. He found himself longing for one of Goku and Gojyo's usual arguments to spring up just so he could take out some of his irritation on them with the harisen, but hardly a word sounded from the back seat. So Sanzo was left to sit and brood all the way to the next town, which they arrived in by sundown.

He noticed that Hakkai stopped Gojyo before entering the inn they had chosen and muttered something to him, to which the latter nodded. Sanzo, telling himself that it was probably a "friend" thing, dismissed it and walked through the door into the building.

"You all right, Sanzo?"

He blinked down at Goku, who was hovering at his right elbow. He scowled.

"Bakasaru."

"That's not even an answer!" Goku protested, tugging on a sleeve of his robes even as he made his way to the innkeeper to get rooms. "Just say 'yes' or 'no', like a normal person!"

"Tch. Like any of us are normal," he mumbled with a slight glance towards Gojyo. Goku caught this and whipped his head towards the red-head, who was already chatting it up with a pretty, young maid, though he didn't seem to be too adamant about it.

"Is Gojyo giving you trouble?" Goku murmured low enough only for Sanzo to hear, his golden eyes narrowed. The tone in those words sounded so strange coming from Goku that Sanzo nearly choked.

"Just leave it alone, saru. He's only a perverted cockroach." He had drawn emphasis on the word "perverted," making it loud enough for the topic of the discussion to hear. He noted Gojyo's visible flinch with some satisfaction and turned towards the innkeeper again.

Damn prissy monk, Gojyo thought with a little smile to the maid he had been flirting with. She blushed and excused herself, claiming she had work to take care of. Gojyo wished he could vanish so easily.

That entire day had been nothing but hell for him. He had woken up with a searing headache, which Hakkai had wearily taken upon himself to heal the worst of, which made him feel a little guilty; he hated it when his friend used his chi for petty reasons, because it only sapped his energy. After vowing to never drink so much again—a vow that would soon be broken, knowing himself all too well—he had been visited by random images of the previous night. He could remember nearly falling down some stairs, and then there had been blond hair . . . Sanzo, apparently. He had reached out and felt it, and he could even recall the soft strands through his fingers, the skin of Sanzo's neck tingling under his touch.

And then the monk had gotten angry. Oh yeah, no doubt about that—there had been fire raging in those eyes. But when he had thought it over during breakfast, he figured he couldn't blame Sanzo; after all, the man always had perverts after him, only taking in his good looks and trying to harass him in some way. Gojyo probably wasn't any different.

The monk's piercing glare had been on him nearly the entire time it took for Goku to stuff every bit of food down his throat. He couldn't meet it, he just couldn't . . . He knew that he was still confused about this—this—whatever the fuck it was inside his head, messing with him every second of the day. And then the ride today, where hardly anything was said, had been pure torture. He had simply given Sanzo a wide berth, which Hakkai and Goku had caught onto, because Hakkai had stopped him before they had gone into the inn and asked him to talk to him later. Whatever that meant.

But he knew that the monk was still upset, could tell from the rigidness in his posture that his anger had not abated in the least over the course of the day. So he had felt his hair; so what? That shouldn't have been anything at all, especially since he was drunk and therefore not in total control of his actions . . . But he shook his head at that, knowing full well that he would have done it eventually, under the influence or not. There was this damn fascination he had developed, and Gods be good, it would not let him alone. The maid he had been trying to flirt with didn't even arouse him anymore. The only thing he could fully concentrate on was the intensity of Sanzo's glare, the heat radiating off of his body, that stupid—blond—hair swaying with his movements.

How did this happen? he asked himself pitifully. And why did it happen? How can I reverse it?

There was no reversing it, he knew. There was probably even nothing to make the situation better. Gojyo had a horrible feeling that things would only turn worse from here, a prospect that made him groan out loud. Hakkai gave him that look, which was his customary concerned expression for all matters related to Gojyo.

"Would you like me to get you more cigarettes while Goku and I do the shopping?" Hakkai asked him. Gojyo started.

"You . . . Wha? You're gonna let me stay at the inn this time?"

"Well, you're acting rather peculiar, and I personally don't want to be exposed to this strange mood of yours any longer than I have to." The slightly shorter man gave him a smile, to which Gojyo gave a short laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah . . . sorry. Guess I'm kinda out of it still."

Hakkai seemed to hesitate, glancing over to where the other two members of their party were still talking to the portly innkeeper, before asking, "This has something to do with you and Sanzo, doesn't it?"

The red-head jerked. "Me and the monk? There's nothing to talk about," he said, hoping his sudden nervousness didn't reveal itself in his voice. "He's a prick, end of story. Nothing different than usual."

His friend examined him closely. Gojyo tried not to fidget. "Don't lie to me, please. Did something happen yesterday that I'm not aware of?"

Gojyo snorted. "Aside from me getting drunk? I don't think so."

"Yes, well, you do have a tendency to do impulsive things when you drink, isn't that right?"

Gojyo stared at Hakkai, wondering just how much the other man knew of his topsy-turvy emotions. Had he been too obvious? Had he talked in his sleep, let something slip while unconscious? Sanzo and Goku returned in the midst of his newest panic attack, claiming that they would all have the luxury of four separate rooms that night. 

Gojyo breathed a sigh of relief at this, knowing that he would have cracked if he had been forced to share a room with Sanzo or Hakkai. Even the monkey was giving him these weird looks, as if to say "You come close to Sanzo and I'll bite you." Gojyo shook his head at the insanity around him and followed the innkeeper, who showed them where their rooms were.

It wasn't until Hakkai and Goku had left to do the shopping and find a restaurant—Sanzo and Gojyo claiming to not be hungry and telling the other two to eat without them—when Gojyo let his guard down for the first time that day. His mind was still buzzing with the usual chaos he'd been cursed with lately, but other than that he was actually alone for once, no need to be shoved in the face of that monk or to be put under scrutiny by Hakkai.

"Man, I need a smoke," he said to the blissfully empty room. He fished out a cigarette before he remembered hearing that this was a no-smoking inn. Cursing, he got up to make his way to the inn's balcony that was on the second floor—where their rooms were—and was grateful at least for the prosperity of the inn for having one so that he wouldn't have to stand out in the street.

His luck, however, apparently refused return no matter how hard he tried to coax it back. As soon as he stepped onto the balcony he immediately caught the attention of its only other inhabitant: a certain less-than-pleased monk. Their eyes met for the first time since last night, fiery amethyst against startled crimson, and Gojyo could feel the hand holding his cigarette begin to tremble.

Fuck, stop that! he tried telling his body. It's just one little monk, what can he do? Well, he could push Gojyo off the balcony, or shoot him, or even use the sutra to dispose of him once and for all . . .

Attempting to act nonchalant, Gojyo put the cigarette to his lips and lit up, surveying the view. The balcony was above a back street, meaning that there was no other person in sight. Sanzo took a long drag from his own cigarette and pretended that Gojyo simply didn't exist.

Well, that's fine with me, he thought with a small exhalation. No need to make it any more awkward . . .

But the silence was promising just that. He leaned on the railing of the balcony, gazing out at the town but not taking a single detail in. He continued to re-imagine his fingers through golden strands, the shudder he had felt through skin and blood and flesh, the heat that sparked so indefatigably from those condescending eyes. Gojyo closed his eyes and feebly tried to make himself stop, tried to back off of these alien feelings he would have been just fine not getting to know so intimately.

"Listen, kappa."

Shit, he is gonna talk, he thought miserably. His eyes still closed, he turned his head a little in the direction of Sanzo's voice, letting him know that he was listening.

"What you did last night will never happen again. I don't care if you were drunk. The next time, you'll get a bullet between the eyes. Got it?"

Gojyo took a drag and let it out slowly. "Are you implying that there is going to be a next time?"

A startled silence followed. Sanzo made a strange choking noise that Gojyo simply had to grin at.

"Of course I wasn't, asshole! I don't want you touching me. Ever. I'm not one of those whores you like to spend so much time with. Don't even think about trying to—"

"Trying to what, exactly?" Gojyo finally opened his eyes, shifting his body so that he could glance back at the seething monk. "I'm just a touchy-feely sort of guy. Yeah, I was drunk, there is that . . . Who's to say I didn't do it simply because I wanted to mess with you? Did you just automatically assume that it was something, I dunno, sexual?"

Sanzo looked like he was about to whip out the gun at any moment. A faint tinge of red was spreading across his cheeks, which made something flip over in Gojyo's stomach; had he ever seen Sanzo blushing before? Or perhaps that was the coloring of indignation.

"You—fucking—bast—"

"You know," he interrupted yet again, detaching himself from the railing and snuffing out his cigarette. "I think you jump to conclusions, cherry-chan. Maybe you wanted it to be sexual. Hm?" He didn't know what was possessing him to go this far, knowing what would happen if he poked the bear too much, but at this point he felt like he was going to go crazy from all of this mess building up inside of him, all of the words not being spoken and his confusion and desperation getting the better of him. He moved closer to Sanzo, who was glaring at him in all of his Sanzo-like ways, trying to get him to back off. Gojyo chuckled.

"I don't think you even know the meaning of 'sexual'," he continued in a lower voice. "But I think you want to know."

"You don't know what you're fucking talking about," Sanzo hissed, taking a step back from Gojyo's advancing form.

"Mm. Maybe I don't. However . . ." He leaned towards the blond, a sly smile in place. "I think I can show you the difference."

And then his mouth was on Sanzo's.

A/N: So, should I continue? Dunno. Reviews are appreciated!