Ok... so I lied... I wrote another chapter of this.

I can't help it! I was bored and not hungry enough to eat... not inspired enough to work on my original stuff... Too bored to study...

And I just glanced at a Saiyuki manga... which didn't help.

So... enjoy another chapter of this fic. As you'll be able to tell by the ending, I'm indeed considering writing more... Next time I get bored enough...

And as with the last chapter, since I'm doing this for fun and without any grand goal in mind... please keep comments nice and criticisms absent.

And... Here you go!

-Chittering

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The accidental brush of contact, the passing look, the muttered words... They all had taken on a new meaning for Goku over the last few days. Sanzo was acting the same but he was different. Goku could tell. He could tell in the brush of contact, the passing look, the muttered words. His heart sang the golden haired monk's name as the wind rushed through his hair.

"Sanzo... sanzo..."

Gojyo chortled and grinned at Goku's dazed expression. "Hey Sanzo, I think the monkey is daydreaming about you. Sounds like you two are having a great ti-"

A click and a gun cocked to Gojyo's head silenced the kappa, the Glare of Death out in full force. "Another word and you die."

"Now now..." chided Hakkai, eyes merrily (and alarmingly) closed as he drove around a corner. "Isn't it a bit late for death threats?"

Sanzo twitchily turned to face forward, vein throbbing and eyes narrowed. "It's alw ays a good time for death threats." Hakkai only chuckled, so there was silence in the vehicle once more.

Until...

"Sanzooooooo..."

Sanzo's teeth grated but the sigh was just a little too lingering for him to bear. "DO YOU WANT TO DIE TOO?" He spun around, prepared to give Death to the monkey or at least some Intimidation and Fear.

Or, that was the plan.

Goku wasn't phased at all by Sanzo's outburst... in fact... it seemed to have had the opposite effect.

"Sanzo," murmured Goku, eyes half-lidded and a dreamy smile on his face.

Sanzo couldn't remember what he had been about to say.

He couldn't remember what emotion he was supposed to be feeling at the moment.

For an instant the world seemed to close in around him, narrowing down to nothing but the look in Goku's eyes and the pounding of his own heart.

He snapped out of it with a jolt and was facing forward again before Goku could even blink. "Stupid monkey!" Even to his own ears, Sanzo's voice sounded strange... A little contrived, even. "Next time I hear you say my name I'm going to pound your head in."

"All right," agreed Goku amiably. "No problem, Sa- Whoops!" He grinned sheepishly, but Sanzo wasn't watching anymore. He was resolutely looking forwards and hoping the heat in his cheeks didn't mean what he thought it meant. If anyone commented on it they would die. Death would be upon them. There would be pain and misery and woe if anyone dared to notice his peculiar mood.

Of course they noticed.

Gojyo was in shock. Something had happened to make the bitchy priest shut up. It was beyond surprising... it was nigh miraculous. That combined with Sanzo's rather pink ears could mean one of two things: 1. That Sanzo had contracted a deadly disease and was about to fall over dead. 2. That something had managed to get close enough to the block of ice that was Sanzo's heart to... make him feel something.

"Holy shit..." muttered Gojyo. He stared at the back of the priest's blond head, realization dawning on his face. "HAKKAI! DRIVE FASTER! SANZO'S GONNA DIE!"

Hakkai sped up by sheer virtue of someone shouting right next to his ear, leaving the other three passengers holding on for dear life.

"WHAT THE HELL?" shouted Sanzo over the roar of the wind. "Who said I'm dying?"

Gojyo pointed accusingly at his still pink face. "Look! You're feverish, man! We need to get you to a doctor!"

"I'm not going to a god-damned doctor! I'm fine!"

"They always say that right before they keel over!"

"Yeah? Well someone is going to die if you don't shut up!"

"Well it isn't gonna be me! I-" Gojyo cut himself off as he saw the monkey reaching forward, putting a hand curiously onto the raging monk's forehead.

"He feels fine to me..." said Goku before slumping back into his former position.

"See?" snarled Sanzo, piercing Gojyo with his most cutting glare. "I'm fine."

The car was still going fast, but not so much so that anyone could miss Goku's mumbled remark.

"Besides... if Sanzo was sick then I'd have gotten it too..."

Hakkai blinked. Gojyo grinned. Sanzo covered his face with his hands and moaned.

"Y-you and the monk?" gasped Gojyo, eyes alight with glee. "Seriously?"

Goku shrugged and blushed a little, but the meaning was clear. Gojyo cackled delightedly.

"Damn! I knew there was nothing he didn't do! You have to be the most corrupt priest in the world, Sanzo! I think tha-"

"SHUT UP!" The words tore from Sanzo's throat along with a hiss of suppressed rage. "Don't you dare talk about me like that. Whatever I do is MY business, and it will stay that way. Mention this again and this will be the journey of three to the west, got it?"

Gojyo nodded meekly and a silence heavy as rain fell upon the jeep. Goku was lost in guilt that he had inadvertently brought his sun pain. Hakkai was hoping that these outbursts didn't become a regular occurrence. Gojyo was bemoaning his loss in not only having to deal with a cranky monk but at being beaten to him by Goku. Sanzo was... thinking.

He shouldn't have let Goku touch him. He shouldn't have been in that mood in the first place. He wasn't that sort of monk. Killing? Yes. Swearing? Yes. Drinking? Smoking? Yes and yes. But inappropriate relations with his charge... He would have sworn vengeance on anyone who had even so much as suggested it in the past. Now, though, now he had become weak. He had given in and held something even though everything he was built upon told him not to.

He was bound, and now there was no escaping it.