Sunflower Fields

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I really don't! I just own my clothes, and my good for nothing dog… Oh, well. Don't sue, please!

Warning: Yaoi. If you dislike this genre, please turn back. Otherwise, I'd easily think you were retarded beyond belief.

Plot Cockroach: I don't think I'd explain why plot COCKROACH and not BUNNY. It's an icky story. Anyway, here's the storyline – there isn't any! XD Okay, yeah, maybe there is, but somehow, I think this is pretty much without plot. I just wanted to bring in more of the rare pairings. I've busted quite some of my time looking for them, and sadly, I couldn't find many. I went crazy, pulled my hair, and sat down to write this… this… piece of contraption. And, since I'm evil, I created a triangle. XD Here's the pairing, if that's all you're in for: Um, let's see… Hakkai x Goku + Gojyo. YAY!

Note: This is actually a one-shot, hosted in my site, but for Fanfiction.net, I have decided to break it up into three different pieces, to enable a faster loading time.

PS: I've read some Sanzo x Goku stories, I'm sorry I hadn't any time to give feedback! I'll try to get to it!

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== 1: Sun-drenched Dreams ==

The entire party had driven far, and now they were crossing a plain in which the sun was full. The sight was scenic – the sun hung still in the air, radiating with bright, white light, tinted with a soft halo of yellow gold, and around them towered sunflowers, large as life itself, in the straight-cultivated fields that seemed to stretch on to the ends of the earth.

Goku gaped at the flowers, having never really seen such great, spectacular blossoms before. They weren't really too easy to find in the sweet, temperate climate of China, nonetheless it had become quite cultivated in this area. The atmosphere was scented by its greenish, crisp perfume, and it smelled simply delicious. The excited boy took in great gulps of the air.

"Oi, stupid monkey!" Gojyo interrupted his doings. "You sound like you're having an asthmatic attack!"

"No, I'm not!" he snapped, turning back. "You sound like you're a retard!"

"Say what?"

"What?"

But their speed of words would never be able to beat the speed of an angry monk armed with a fan solely used for knocking some good sense into argumentative people's heads. In a thrice, both Goku and Gojyo found themselves reeling back from the impact of the thing heaviest next to two tons of Cuprum Oxide – that being Sanzo's paper fan.

Ah, peace at last.

Sanzo settled back, lazily looking at the golden surroundings. The two sat up, and huffily rubbed their heads. Hakkai rolled on the wheel, seeming to bounce happily. It really did seem to them that he was enjoying himself, and was oblivious to their little scuffle in the backseat. Plants did indeed have a healing effect on people!

It was a while before Goku decided to try his luck in words again. He poked Sanzo timidly, causing the blond to grumble. "What do you want?"

"… Could we… stay a while here?"

"Why?"

"The sun's very nice, and…"

"The flowers are wonderful. I think we'll stop and give Hakuryu a break for today." The dark haired man finished Goku's sentence and slammed on the brakes very suddenly, trying to hide a big grin that was forming on his mouth as he saw the others almost flung out of their seats, looking both confused and shocked. Pathetic, really.

Goku recovered rather quickly. He skipped out of the jeep and ran around in circles, yelling. After a while, he stopped, and returned to help the others unpack. It was a rare occasion for them to stop moving in the middle of nowhere while the sun was still high up, but this was a rare one. The flowers danced in the gentle breeze, offering them a comfortable stay under their cool shadows.

Sanzo grumbled inaudibly for a while, but it did not seem like he was going to argue this time. The others struck camp, after choosing a shaded spot under a thick patch of giant sunflowers. They settled down, and Hakkai unpacked what he called the 'special picnic tidbits' that he had saved for such occasions. It was no wonder why Goku adored him from the bottom of his furry little heart!

The afternoon passed without much event. It was a time to relax, after all, and to enjoy themselves while they could. Goku and Hakuryu spent the time chasing the large yellow butterflies that haunted the area, Goku laughing gaily as they went. It seemed to them that although he had lost some of his childhood when traveling with them, he still retained some, showing the most of it now. Hakkai smiled as he watched the blond monk eying his pet, alert for danger. The dark haired man knew that, though he never admitted it, the monk harbored a deep caring for the creature he had saved from a punishment worse than death, and he had grown very fond of him. The same could be said of Goku, ever loyal, impish, but perfectly obedient when times were pressing.

Hakkai went on dreaming; there were some things he knew about himself, and how much he had change throughout the times, his loss and gains meshing to create a so-called normal life with both its ups and downs. There were tears, and there were laughter, and there was love, and there was heartbreak. There was pain, and offered solace where deep inside, he knew that he had learnt to let faith heal, and learnt the key to life's secrets.

Hakkai had learnt to love again.

Learnt to leave pain behind, and look forward to what life had to offer. He had learnt all this secretly, and to love secretly from afar, never really wishing for it to be let known, understood and requited. As long as he loved, he was contented. It was enough for him to see the happiness of the one he loved from afar, rather than tearing it apart and making them suffer together.

Though, there were also some things that were unknown to him. His own best friend, too, harbored the same sentiments to his very same object of affection, but he had been more careful, and had never breathed a word, going all the way out to make the other's life miserable, through his cheek and taunts. This, Hakkai never knew, and he took for granted that Gojyo, deep down inside, regarded the monkey as an honorary brother, a sword brother, a comrade in arms.

He smiled. The sun shone brightly in the high, blue sky.

To Be Continued