Author's Notes: This story is owed to the OED for the nice definition of the word "Green" that takes up half a page and K-chan for requesting there be more green on this page.

Disclaimer: Saiyuki and the characters thereof are not mine.

Warnings: Shonen-ai, fluffiness

Sanzo sat up in his bed, leaning forward so he could see out the window. The full moon was blocked by a splash of dark green deciduous leaves that almost glowed with the light from the moon. It was a shame he couldn't sleep. There was no way he was staying in this awful town any longer than he had to. But, at least, by staying up, he could watch the wind gently rustle through the glowing green leaves and have a moment of peace.

A well deserved moment of peace, at that.

Sanzo glanced over at the other bed in the room and the smallest hint of a smile touched his lips. Choosing roommates had been the fiasco it always was, ending in quite the headache for Sanzo. Reluctantly, Goku and Gojyo had finally agreed to room together when Sanzo had put his gun to Gojyo's head and stared him down. Let it never be said that Sanzo didn't have a knack for being rash. Though, ultimately, his rash nature paid off, because it was how he ended up in a room with Hakkai who simply read for a few minutes and then went to sleep peacefully unlike the other two who caused all kinds of problems in the middle of the night.

Hakkai was rolled on his side, facing the window, and the blanket that was between his arm and his torso gently rose and fell with his deep breaths. Hakuryu was curled up against the small of his back in a very small ball, also breathing peacefully in perfect time with his master. Sanzo regarded them carefully for a long moment, doing his best to be sure that he would not wake them, and then swung his feet out from under the blanket and stood, going over to the window as quietly as possible so he could get a better look outside.

The leaves had turned slightly so that what should have been the "bottom" of the leaf was facing skyward. Sanzo didn't know quite why the trees behaved like that, but he didn't really care. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed his cigarettes and tapped one out of the package. He put it in his mouth with the intention of lighting it when suddenly he felt something nip at his ear. A moment later there was a weight at his shoulder. Sanzo turned slightly so that he could see Hakuryu through the corner of his eye. "What, I'm not allowed to smoke?"

The dragon made a small disdainful noise. Normally, Sanzo knew, he was the type that would have simply ignored the dragon and had the cigarette anyway. Unfortunately, something nagged at his conscience when he tried to do just that, and he ended up just putting the cigarette back in his pocket instead. Hakuryu watched him closely the whole time, like a mother watches a child apologize to someone they've been rude to, and finally cooed happily when the cigarette was gone for good.

"Well, I'm glad you're happy," Sanzo grumbled. Though, admittedly, it was very hard to stay angry with a cute little dragon that made those blasted adorable noises.

Sanzo turned his attention back to the scenery, sighing heavily as he did so. The town was quaint and hospitable, but they had, as many did, begged Sanzo to lecture them and let the others dance around and do whatever they wanted in the meantime. Goku had taken advantage of this, eating all of their food. Gojyo had tried to take advantage, but as it turned out, most of the women in the town were more than a little spunky, and he just ended up slapped around. Hakkai, as usual, sampled the local sake, and then stocked up on supplies while all the shop owners were still willing to give the Sanzo party a discount on anything just for being the Sanzo party.

Sanzo started as there was a sudden sharp sound from outside. After a moment, he realized it was the sound of rain on the leaves, which really was a soothing sound once it started... for anyone but Sanzo. Sanzo hated the rain. He closed the shutters of the window and went back to the bed, Hakuryu still along for the ride on his shoulder, and sat down, looking at Hakkai. "I wonder if he still gets upset every time it rains, too."

Hakuryu climbed up on top of Sanzo's head and looped it's neck down so that it could look at Sanzo from inches away from his face. Sanzo was not amused, but he didn't bother to move the dragon. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He tilted his head to the side a little and felt the dragon's footing slip in his hair. The dragon ended up spread eagle on his head, which was less comfortable for both of them. "I don't know why Hakkai likes you so much."

The dragon gave him a put off look that probably meant, "Because I'm the smartest one out of the company he's in". Or possibly, "you wanna go, you bastard? I can take you!"

"Hmpf," Sanzo snorted, his eyes closing and a smirk reaching his lips. "I guess Hakkai really is the angel out of all of us... and the likable one. The other two idiots are nothing but loud and obnoxious. Hakkai... has a heart, somewhere in him. He says he doesn't, but I think he's the only one of us that could walk away now and have a normal life if he wanted to." Sanzo then opened his eyes and fixed a cool glare on Hakuryu. "Why am I telling you this?"

With no warning, Sanzo flopped back into the bed, causing the poor dragon on his head to flutter its wings desperately for a moment to avoid being crushed. Very put off, the dragon marched up the pillow and bit Sanzo on the nose. A long silence followed while the dragon was still clinging to Sanzo's nose, and the monk was just glaring violet ice right back at it. "Ow, damnit," Sanzo finally said flatly, plucking the dragon off of the pillow and cradling it against his chest. "You are nothing but trouble, you know?" If he didn't know better, Sanzo would swear to the Merciful Goddess that the dragon blew him a raspberry.

Sanzo turned his head to look back at Hakkai. The man was still faced away, breathing evenly with sleep. "You know, I bet a lot of people would mistake him for some sort of tree demon with eyes like his. They are almost the exact same color as those leaves were outside." Sanzo's eyes went back to the window where he could see the shadows of the trees moving in the wind through the openings in the shutters. "Your master is a good man, Hakuryu... a better man than any of us."

Sanzo eventually drifted off to sleep like that, Hakuryu politely snoring on his stomach. As such, he never saw Hakkai roll over to look at him, a very touched smile on his face. He had grown used to pretending to sleep when he couldn't sleep. He had never, though, in the many times that he had done this, heard Sanzo list off a string of compliments about him as a result. Most of the time, Hakkai felt that Sanzo really didn't appreciate him, much less actually stop and think about him in a pleasant way.

Hakkai had never entertained the thought that he was in Sanzo's heart, before.

"...with clear blue eyes and that light blonde hair... sitting there, he looked more like something else...."

Hakkai sighed. Green fell somewhere between blue and yellow.... that much had just been made clear.

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