A Lesson in Romance Chapter 3, a saiyuki fanfic

Title: A Lesson in Romance
Author: quietviolence

Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai.

Pairing: 393 (references to previous 383)

Disclaimer: Well, I now am a proud owner of a $10 tiara that I got for my birthday, so I really must emphasize that I don't own Saiyuki, and therefore you cannot sue me.

Chapter 3:

Five minutes later the two of them ran out of apartment and got into the car, speeding off towards the high school. Neither of them looked up to their usual standards, both seemed to have had a long night without sleep. When they wandered into the classroom at the same time, eleven minutes late, Sanzo was greeted by the vice principal, who was very firm in telling Sanzo that he would see him and Goku in his office as soon as this class period was over.

With that meeting that was sure to be wonderful to look forward to, Sanzo rushed through an analysis of Feudalism in the Middle Ages and dismissed his class five minutes early to have a chance to speak with Goku.

"Goku, you realize just how this must look to the administration? You need to be careful with what you say," he told the boy. Though Sanzo wasn't extremely excited about his current teaching position, he felt no need to rush to lose his job.

Goku nodded solemnly. "I know, Sanzo. I'm not a little kid," he said, a bit heatedly, annoyed with having been treated as if he was totally incapable since he had met the man only seven days beforehand.

"Could've fooled me," Sanzo told him before heading towards the vice principals office where his fate rested.

He bowed respectfully when he entered. "Usugi-sama," he said, nodding to the other man. Goku followed his example a second later.

"Genjo Sanzo, Son Goku, you both know why you're here, don't you? The two of you left the school in a car together yesterday, and arrived looking worn out and late the next morning in the same car. Not to mention the repetition of Son Goku's clothes." The man said this all professionally. "You must realize how this looks from an administrative standpoint."

Sanzo stepped forward. "Usugi-sama, with all due respect, allow me to tell my story. Yes, I gave Goku a ride home last night, and yes, I gave him a ride to school this morning. When we arrived at his apartment the doors were blocked by a tough looking gang, and I had no choice but to take him back to my own home for the night. If you ask him, you will receive the exact same story."

"It's true, Usugi, sir," Goku said, nodding furtively. "Sanzo was just giving me a home for the night is all."

The principal nodded in understanding before looking at the two men before him. "Either way, I think the two of you should try to stay clear of each other outside of classes. The last thing this school needs is a rumor of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students." He paused to make sure they both took his words seriously. "Sanzo, may I speak to you alone now? Goku, you're permitted to go back to class."

Goku bowed once more on his way out the door and headed towards his next class, leaving Sanzo in the office.

"Sanzo, I think its best for you to know some things about Goku," the principal started the conversation. "Obviously you know that he's living on his own, since you've seen his neighborhood, but do you know why?"

The blonde teacher looked at the man in front of his, surprised. "I know exactly why Goku got kicked out unjustly, but I don't know why that matters."

"Don't you understand? A boy with a reputation for that… well, it wouldn't seem good for him to be too close to a young, attractive male teacher. Please keep your distance."

Sanzo stared his boss down. "What if I don't want to completely cut off contact with my students?" His distaste for authority that had always gotten him in trouble as a teenager was coming back, and he couldn't help from testing the limits of his superior. "I just don't see the difference between befriending Goku versus some straight kid."

"Please, Sanzo, don't press this. You're an excellent teacher and your students love you, I can't afford to fire you. Please don't make such drastic actions be necessary," he finished. Before Sanzo could respond to this he started up again. "I believe you're now three minutes late to teach your next class. I apologize. You are dismissed," he told Sanzo, in a condescending tone.

Biting back the witty comments that threatened to break free, Sanzo stormed out of the office and into his classroom, rushing through the days lesson and eventually telling his students to just work on their homework for the last half of class. Why was he getting so upset over this, he didn't understand. He despised relationships and other people, so why was he so emotionally attached to this cheerful young boy? These were the thoughts that occupied his mind as he drifted off into a restless slumber in his office between classes.

And so the two avoided each other outside of class for the next month, not because Sanzo had any respect for the head of the school, but because Goku didn't want to be the source of Sanzo's unemployment. It was a boring month for both of them and each knew why, though Sanzo would never have admitted that he missed the boy to anyone, including himself.

Despite Sanzo's inability to accept his feelings, Hakkai picked up almost instantly that his blonde friend was lonelier since his student had begun to avoid him. And that was the reason Hakkai had good news to tell Sanzo one Wednesday morning.

"Hakkai," Sanzo said, nodding in welcome.

Hakkai returned the greeting before explaining his presence in the other's office. "As you know, there's a camping trip for the seniors coming up next month," he started, unsure of how to break the news without being killed by his fellow teacher.

"Yes?" Sanzo asked as if irked, though really he was simply curious.

"Well, they needed chaperones and…" Hakkai drifted off, seeing the look on Sanzo's face and knowing there was nothing else he needed to say.

Sanzo tried to appear annoyed with the brunette, but he knew the other man meant well and found himself unable to gather much anger. Before he realized what he was saying, a question found its way to Sanzo's lips. "Is Goku going to be there?"

"Of course, he's a senior, isn't he?" Hakkai said, trying to downplay his amusement to prevent angering Sanzo.

And so that was that, thought the blonde teacher after Hakkai had left the room. He was going to spend a week camping with the seniors, which would of course be hell, but Goku was going to be there, and for some reason Sanzo felt more excited at than annoyed at that prospect. The instant Sanzo realized this, however, he forced his mind to focus once more on preparing next week's test.

A/N: I'm still working on longer chapters, since I'd written this one pretty much completely when I posted chapter 2. Sorry I forgot about it with the stress of school. It's my last week before I have exams, and I've got two concerts to go to this coming weekend (My friend has a gig! Yay! Sorry, I'm really happy for him) and then I have exams. So it may be a couple weeks till the next update. Sorry!! Anyway, thanks again to all my reviewers, it makes me feel really great to get those emails from botfanfiction.net with people talking about my story. So I really hope that I'm keeping up with your standards.