🌙 Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Who: Genjyo Sanzo, Koumyou Sanzo, Amberdrake.
What: OP & thread 1: Koumyou Sanzo visits his son in the middle of the night. Thread 2: Drake and Sanzo talk about Koumyou and briefly about what went down in thread 1. Thread 3: Koumyou and Sanzo talking some more.
Where: Drake and Sanzo's house in Attleton.
When: OP & thread 1: The same night as Singles Night, after Koumyou eventually leaves. Thread 2: Around noon, the day after. Thread 3: Evening of the same day as thread 2.
Warnings: FEELS. Angst, suicide mention, probably Warm And Fuzzy Feelings, y'know, the whole gamut.

It was very late at night when Koumyou glanced up to find himself having wandered to his son's house. The intense moonlight lit the cozy little cottage enough to make it impossible to not know where he was.

But, it was far too late at night.

He wouldn't knock.

Koumyou sat down on the wide, circular short step before the door, and sighed quietly. He tucked his legs half-under him, and wondered what he was doing, just sitting out here on the cold stone. In the morning, he could call Kouryuu from his apartment, hear his voice. Right now? There was nothing to do but lurk, and wallow in his own sadness.

Between the other night at the shrine with the little golden dragon, and several more instances tonight, he'd spoken of his death and the burden it had left on his young son many times, recently. Too many times...

He was no therapist, like Amberdrake. Ripping open his own wounds constantly wore on him far faster than it did the kestra'chern. Right now, he just wanted to be near his son. And so here he sat, breath fogging in the cold air.

The sun would rise when the sun would rise. And perhaps the moon would still be out when he did.

Comments

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo woke to bright moonlight filtering through the gap in bedroom curtains and a deep sadness that wasn't just his own. Since Koumyou's arrival, his nightmares about the death of his master had resurfaced with a vengeance. At first, he thought the moonlight seemed so bright to mock him for still wallowing in that old pain. Yet-

Sanzo sat up and looked over, Drake was fast asleep. Mm. He slid out of bed and shuffled to the closet to tug a sweater off a hanger and pull it over his head.

When he opened the front door, it took him a second to realize that Koumyou was really there, not a figment of his half-asleep mind. Sadness radiated off the older Sanzo and he felt the ache in his chest sharpen in sympathy.

"Master?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Oh, Kouryuu," Koumyou half-twisted -- very stiffly -- to glance back and up at the younger priest. "I didn't want to wake you..."

[badly_behaved_priest]

"Too late for that." Sanzo stared down at Koumyou, amazed, again, by how much smaller he seemed. And how much more vulnerable. His master had been unshakable, invulnerable, up until he wasn't. That moment Sanzo forever blamed himself for, guilt gnawing at his insides even as he looked down at a living, breathing Koumyou.

"It's cold. Come inside." Sanzo stepped back to make room.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Sorrow continued to gnaw away at Koumyou from the inside like an acid. But he got up, slowly because it was really cold. He'd managed to smile even while dying, when it had happened... but right now he wasn't.

Still, he made his way inside while rubbing his own arms and shivering dramatically. He'd never liked the cold! And traditional Sanzo robes weren't the warmest things, as Genjyo surely knew by now.

"Were you already up?" Kouryuu had never been much for being awake late, but perhaps that had changed.

[badly_behaved_priest]

"Yes." Koumyou's presence is likely what pulled him out of that nightmare, but it was true enough. Sanzo noticed the lack of smile and his frown grew grimmer. It was so odd to be in a place to offer comfort to the man that had always been above him, in wisdom, power, and stability.

He yanked a blanket off the couch and offered it to Koumyou.

"Have you eaten?" It was strange but comforting to slip, momentarily, into the role he'd filled as Kouryuu; making sure his master remembered this or that, bringing him meals or supplies when needed.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou accepted the blanket with a puzzled look, but then wrapped it around his shoulders and bundled up in it. The house was warmer than he was, and thus so was the blanket. It would get warmer as he wore it, of course, but it did offer some immediate relief. A tiny smile made its way onto his face, however briefly. Kouryuu had gotten so big, but he was still just as fussy!

"I..." had he eaten? No. He'd drank a cup of apple cider and smoked his pipe, and that had been the extent of his interaction with the party aside from talking. "No, I haven't."

[badly_behaved_priest]

"Sit down," he said, jabbing his thumb at the breakfast table. A folded newspaper, a closed laptop, and a small pile of cracked beads were already on the table. Otherwise, it was quite clean.

Sanzo disappeared into the kitchen without checking to see if Koumyou had down what he said. There was the sound of the fridge opening, the clink of a plate, and, after a pause, the microwave whirling to life. He reemerged shortly afterward and leaned against the side of the doorway back into the living room.

"What happened?" Something had happened, Koumyou was not so easily shaken.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou sat where his bossy son indicated, bemused. He was immediately distracted by the pile of cracked beads. He was poking at them with a finger when Kouryuu re-emerged into visibility.

"Ah... nothing serious," Koumyou said, while prodding at the beads. His eyes were open. "What's all this about?"

[badly_behaved_priest]

"They're Amberdrake's, I was trying to repair them," he replied, sounding bored at the idea. It wasn't to help Drake, no, it was just because he had nothing better to do! A few of the beads had dried glue stuck to them, seems Sanzo wasn't very successful so far.

"What happened?" he repeated. This all felt very surreal to him.

[badly_behaved_priest]

As usual, Sanzo was awake before Amberdrake and too bored to reread the newspaper again. He'd washed the dishes from last night, folded the blanket and placed it back on the couch, and scooped the damaged beads into a small bowl. Koumyou had left the spare room tidy, so there was nothing to tend to there. The birds ate up some time and a considerable amount of fruit.

He could've left the house a while but he had something to discuss with Amberdake, so he waited, browsing various articles on his laptop. There was a lot to be learned about different breeds of magical and non-magical birds it turned out.

[amberdrake]

Amberdrake came downstairs at around his usual time, tying a final feather into place in his hair as he did so. He smiled at Sanzo, and attempted to take a peek at what he was reading up on this time.

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo leaned back to let him look, seems he was reading about some very colorful finches. He looked up at Drake, his usual scowl not yet in full force and a wariness to his guarded emotions that suggested something was on his mind.

"Koumyou Sanzo stayed here last night," he said, tone mild. No big deal that his father had shown up without warning, right?

[amberdrake]

Amberdrake smiled over Sanzo's shoulder at the monk's research topic. How cute! He turned his attention properly to Sanzo at his words, however.

"Oh? Did something happen?"

As was always the case these days, the unspoken question was... had Ukoku done something?

[badly_behaved_priest]

"Nothing serious." No, it wasn't the raven. "He wasn't happy, I thought it'd be best if he stayed the night. There's... more I need to talk about. Get food first."

Get breakfast before he suggests something potentially stupid, Drake.

[amberdrake]

"...Oh dear," Amberdrake went to the kitchen to do as suggested, and came back a while later with his food of choice, sitting down at the table. Then, he folded his hands together and waited expectantly. He got his food, now talk.

[badly_behaved_priest]

And now his sour look was active as he gave Drake a mean look. Drake knew Sanzo was trying to put off talking about this for longer and wasn't going to let him. Nosy piece of shit, this is what Sanzo got for being involved with a therapist.

"Several people have gotten him to talk about-" Sanzo sighed, pausing to consider his words. "Talk about the night he died. He came here afterwards."

Even talking so vaguely about that horrible night made Sanzo's stomach twinge.

[amberdrake]

Amberdrake nodded slowly, "I can see why that may upset you both..."

But that clearly wasn't the whole story, or Sanzo wouldn't have brought it up.

[its_dad_sanzo]

It was early evening when Koumyou came 'round again, though at least this time he'd been invited! He'd dropped Mr. Wiggles off at his apartment first, of course.

Knock-knock, knock-knock-knock!

[badly_behaved_priest]

Sanzo opened the door promptly, he'd be reading a book on the couch as he waited. He didn't say anything at first and stepped aside for Koumyou to enter. It was late enough that he was dressed down like Koumyou had last seen him. When he was out of the house around Koumyou, he preferred to be in his robes, not so much when at home.

[its_dad_sanzo]

The day Sanzo saw Koumyou in anything but his traditional robes and whatever they'd slept in at the temple, would probably be a very surreal day for the younger priest. It would happen eventually. Maybe sooner rather than later.

But not right now. Koumyou gave his son one of his usual squinty smiles and stepped inside. It didn't matter that he'd just seen him this morning! Koumyou was always glad to see his cranky kid.

"Kouryuu," he said in greeting.

[badly_behaved_priest]

As little as Sanzo showed it, he was always, on some level, pleased to see Koumyou. Or relieved, to know he still existed for another day. It was too easy for Sanzo to imagine the day he would find Koumyou gone again.

"Master." He couldn't bring himself to call Koumyou anything else. "Sit down. Or do whatever you like, it doesn't matter."

Sanzo closed the door behind Koumyou and went on, "It can wait a while, but there's something I wanted to ask you."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Ooh, this is so dramatic! And just a smidge foreboding," Koumyou sat down on the couch, folding his hands into his opposite sleeves as he was prone to do.

[badly_behaved_priest]

"It's neither." Irritation was already creeping into his voice. Some things were just easier to talk about in person rather than over the phone!

Sanzo sat in a nearby chair and looked over at Koumyou.

"I talked to Drake about last night," he said, deciding he might as well get this over with quickly. "I wanted to ask if you'd want to live here, instead of that apartment?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Oh? That won't make it awkward for you two?" Oh yes, Koumyou had figured out exactly what kind of 'roommates' they were. His smile was all innocence.

[badly_behaved_priest]

"Shut up." Not even Koumyou was spared Sanzo's usual response to annoyance. "No. It won't."