A/N: Wow, it's been a while since I've written a one-shot that's not centered on an original fandom. O.o; Please, folks, contain your excitement. XD I kid... Anyway! This is a Sanzo/Goku fic, my first one. Hopefully it won't be the last, but we'll see. Yes, it is fluffy, because I like fluff. If you want angst, go read chapter seven of Entwined Destinies or The Softest Petals by Lady Lemonade. (Shameless plugging is fun! 8D) I WANT FLUFF DANGIT! -pant, heave-
Zander: -scoots away- Kyle-koi, she's scaring me...
Solange: What are you doing up! Can't you see I'm trying to write+ -hiss-
Zander: -between sobs- I'm so unloved... ;.;
Solange: Uhh... If you let me finish this, I'll give you plenty of love later...?
Zander: Ooh, dirty. XD
Solange: -rolls eyes- 'Platonic' means nothing to you anymore, does it?
Zander: Neheh... Kyle...
Solange: ...Right. For reference, 'saru' means 'monkey.'
Disclaimer: Genjyo Sanzo and Son Goku do not belong to me, and neither does Saiyuki.
Summary: This was inspired by and based on something Goku said in volume five of the Saiyuki manga: "Wow! She came all th' way here to eat a Sanzo? Sanzos must taste awesome." This fic is placed shortly after the Lian Li's castle – let's just pretend he/she didn't make a shish kabob out of Sanzo with his/her nails. Oo;
An Acquired Taste
By Solange MacLeod
"Time for bed."
Goku looked up from his game of Solitaire, and then stood up from the table, following Sanzo back to their room at the inn. It had two beds for once, so he didn't have to share one with the priest, nor was he forced to camp on the floor where perverted kappas drew on his leg when he was sleeping. It wasn't his fault he moved a lot! He was active – even in his dreams! Err, sleep... But there was still no reason to write on his stupid leg! He'd get that kappa... get him good! One solid swing with his Nyoi-Bo and—
"Get your eye to stop twitching, monkey. It's annoying."
"'S not my fault I move a lot in my sleep!"
Sanzo ignored the primate's chatter, opening the door to their room and sitting down on his bed to take off his sandals and socks. Soon enough Goku'd start jumping up and down and throwing excrement, if he kept on yelling like he was.
"An' I'm still hungry. Th' portions at this place aren't big enough," Goku finished, sitting down with a decisive thump on his own mattress and pouting at the wall.
"Shut up."
"Well they AREN'T! C'mon, Sanzo, they didn' give you enough food and you know it! Yer plate was empty in about a minute, an' you're a slow eater anyway!"
"That's because you ate half of my food before I could lift my fork." Sanzo shrugged off the upper parts of his robe, letting it hang below his waist, exposing the black tank top and arm warmers.
"It still wasn' enough!" Goku yelled, eyes clenched shut and fists flailing, but froze in the midst of the whine when his elder looked over his shoulder at him with two anger marks on his face. The Sanzo's eyes were hidden by golden bangs, which in turn made the brunette's pupils shrink in fear. He smiled sheepishly, making a 'eh heh' sound.
"I'm going to sleep now, and if you wake me up, there will be one less monkey walking the earth." Once he'd gotten the series of rapid nods, the priest climbed onto his mattress and pulled up the coarse covers. The last thing he heard was a sullen mutter of "Grumpy ol' geezer" and the rustlings of Goku making himself comfortable in his own bed. Then there was silence as sleep covered him, as easily and comfortably as the blanket.
Sanzo... hey, Sanzo...
"What?" the blonde growled, rolling over to look at the bed opposite his. Goku blinked, startled, gazing back at the elder, nonplussed.
"I didn't say nothin', Sanzo."
"Bullshit. You were calling me again. What do you want?"
Goku really hadn't spoken, but he figured he might as well answer the question.
"'M still hungry." Sanzo just stared for a moment, but as much as he'd like to, he couldn't just brush off the gaze of those asinine golden eyes that still made him lose every will to be violent. Dropping his upper torso off the bed, he fished through his belongings until he pulled his credit card from the neat folds of his upper robe, and tossed it at Goku. Still sitting cross-legged on the edge of his bed, he caught it with both hands, and a grin exploded over his mouth, showing his canines.
"If the restaurant's still open, get something. If not, come back and give me the card, and go the hell back to sleep and leave me alone."
Goku nodded, still beaming, and stood up and quietly pulled his shirt on. Standing there for a second, his eyes moved to look at the door, then to Sanzo's dozing form. He took a few steps away from his bed and turned decisively toward the human, walking to stand at the edge of the other's bed. He was hungry, yes, but not for anything that could be served on a plate. Perhaps it was hunger of the mind keeping him awake— ...well, according to his grumbling stomach, that wasn't quite all of it. A small twitch of Sanzo's mouth caught the gold eyes, and the curiosity nudging Goku's mind and body guiding him to kneel down and touch his mouth to the twenty-three year old's cheek. That action made his earlier observation spring to mind, and another question to fuel his interest: did Sanzos taste good?
This inquiry distracted him efficiently enough so he didn't notice the purple eyes crack open, or the way they widened when teeth gave his jawbone a nibble. He could feel the slight tug of the monkey's incisors as they pulled away, and he closed the eye closest to Goku's mouth as it tried the right side of his forehead, over his temple. The other eye slid shut when the other side of his brow was kissed, and both opened as he sensed the monkey pulling back. Thinking he was done, he shut them, trying to settle back into slumber.
However, they shot open as the mouth reappeared on his, and he sat up, forcing Goku back.
"What are you doing?" he asked, staring, and lifted his hand to rub at his lips. Not that it helped in erasing the tingling sensation, the imprint that remained, making him feel like the monkey was still kissing him.
"Was tryin' to figure out if Sanzos really do taste good," the monkey king explained, with an imprudent grin. Sanzo didn't have the strength to do anything but stare, marveling at how fine a job the gods had done at creating stupidity. Giving a long-suffering sigh, he ran the back of his hand across his eyes, closing them again.
"Well, do they?" Goku thought about this for a moment, and shrugged.
"Couldn' really tell." He brightened when he asked, "Can I try again?" Sanzo sighed exasperatedly, but motioned the monkey closer with a hand.
"Just get it over with so I can sleep without more interruptions." The brunette's eyes shone, and Sanzo was reminded for a moment of the sun. The sun that gave life, nourished, and sustained.
"Can I really, Sanzo!" Not bothering to hear the answer (if there was one to be heard), he pressed his lips to the priest's again, this time not as gentle as before. He would get the answer to his question! Pulling back, he licked his lips with a rough tongue, hunting for a distinctive taste. There was an acrid tang there – probably from those cigarettes the man was always smoking – but it was faint, not enough to satisfy him. He went forward again, this time asking for his tongue to be let in Sanzo's mouth.
The blonde complied, eyes still open and looking down at the monkey as the other's tongue gently rasped the inside of his mouth, playing along his own tongue. It felt strange, but not uncomfortable. When Goku pressed his mouth harder against his, he sighed and let his eyes shut. They could be here for a while. When the younger one put his hands on his shoulders, his own moved automatically to sit on the pajama-clothed waist. That baffled Sanzo more than anything had so far; when had that instinct set in? He needed to watch himself.
Goku pressed closer, determined to get all he could of that flavor. It wasn't what he was used to, but man, it was good. The cigarette taste was stronger, but so was the hint of Sanzo's stir-fried dinner (chicken with vegetables and soy sauce), alcohol (what Sanzo had drunk with the stir-fry) and something Goku couldn't place. It had the cigarette and stir-fry mixed in with it, but it was different from any food he'd had before – it wasn't really a food kind of taste. While he was trying to figure out just what it was, he accidentally nipped Sanzo's lip, and he heard the priest inhale sharply. He winced, awaiting the wallop of the fan, but when it never came, he grinned and nibbled it again, crawling up to sit on Sanzo. This time the hands on his waist tightened, and Goku snickered. He'd found a weakness, and it'd be a blast using it to—
"Dah!" His mouth was forced oh-so-rudely from Sanzo's, and his bumped on the other's chest. "Oww..." Grimacing, he rubbed the back of his head, sitting up again.
"What'd you do that for?" the saru demanded. "I was just gettin' a good taste!" He frowned up at the priest as he put away the fan, crossing his arms. In this weird half-dark, it seemed that there was some red on the other's cheeks. But Sanzo didn't blush. Did he?
"Because, idiot, we need to sleep."
"Crap," Goku muttered, looking off to the side for a moment. But then he perked up again, returning his eyes to Sanzo, all lit up like damn stars. "Can we do it again later?" Sanzo rolled his own violet eyes, and the monkey noticed for the first time just how long the priest's eyelashes were.
"In the morning, chimp." He lay down on his back again, and Goku paused, then followed suit, settling his head under Sanzo's chin. He gave a smile, remembering something, and said, "Sanzos do taste good. Well, you do, anyway."
The priest, at that, bit back what he had been about to say. Yeah, it was uncomfortable with someone's head right under yours, and it made it hard to move your own skull, but there were worse positions. So he settled for, "You could use a toothbrush." Lifting his hand, he put it on Goku's head, toying with the strands around the diadem, letting them run through his pointer and thumb, then picking them up again. It soothed the sting of insult, and Sanzo soon felt the gust of a sigh on his throat.
"Happy?" he muttered.
Goku gave a silly grin, and nodded. "Yeah."
Good. Maybe he could get some uninterrupted sleep, then. His hand slipped down to the saru's back when the brunette lifted his head, and he didn't bother to react when a kiss was placed clumsily on his cheek. But when the smaller one had lain down again, he placed the arm that had been stroking his hair over his shoulders in a kind of embrace.
"Y'know... y' do taste good, but somethin's weird about it. I can't find what it is, but... I really like it."
Sanzo waited till the other had stopped talking and was asleep, then let himself drift off, thinking maybe it was an acquired taste.
fin
