Disclaimer: I don't own Nataku or Goku, sadly. Hell, I own nothing in the Saiyuki universe, period.

In His Heart

He sits under a tree, his head resting against the trunk and face upturned to the sky. His eyes are closed and he listens to the sounds around him. The songs of birds, the rush of the wind through the branches and leaves, the far off and distant murmur of people possibly looking for him. Then there is, of course, the soft and quiet hum of his companion sitting above him on a thick branch.

Now and then the sun's light is obscured against his closed eyes, Goku's shadow falling upon his face instead. Moments ago, Nataku would flinch as the warmth of the light was taken away and replaced by shadow. He's grown accustomed to it now, having memorized the time of his friend's slow swinging legs. There's a moment of light, two moments of darkness; Goku repeats this and doesn't seem about ready to stop any time soon. Nataku doesn't mind, not at all.

Nataku furrows his brow for a moment, the sun shining on him longer than it should have. There's movement above him and the humming's stopped, curiousity forces him to open his eyes. He blinks for a moment or so to focus, once his vision is cleared again he realizes Goku is not on the branch above him anymore. He furrows his brow, though has no chance to search the other branches for his friend; a soft thud beside him, followed by the rattling of shackles, tells Nataku all he needs to know.

The War Prince looks to his friend. Goku, once squated, now seats himself down beside Nataku, mimicking his posture. He folds his arms behind his head, using them as a makeshift pillow and returns Nataku's gaze, smiling. "This place is awesome."

Nataku takes a moment to return the smile. "Yeah, it is." Of all the places he's found, Nataku likes this place best of all. No one knows about this place except for him, and now Goku. It's a walk that only takes a few minutes from the palace, and the short walk is worth it. This place is a little piece of Heaven that looks almost as nice as Earth's glens and valleys. He labels it 'almost as nice' because this place is too perfect. Earth has faults and it's faults in nature make it all the more beautiful. But Nataku makes due with what he has and he appreciates it.

"How did you find it?" Goku asks, shifting and giving up the posture the Prince has to sit upright with his legs crossed.

Nataku grins wide and smug. "You'd be surprised if you knew half the places I find when I'm playing hookey from the palace." These places that are now safe havens for the young prince were once nothing more than hiding spots the gaurds would never find. He thanks the higher powers for having found every single one of them.

Goku snickers. "Just how often do you do that? I mean, you know so many secret places..." He can't even imagine what it must be like to be so free. He wears his chains and he's rarely ever allowed out of Konzen's sight. It was all thanks to Tenpou and Kenren that Goku was even able to be with his friend right now. They told Konzen they would be teaching today; a little white lie never hurt anyone now and then.

The War Prince grins all the more. "I've been sneaking off ever since I can remember," he snickers and then looks up at the sky. "It's just so much better than being stuck inside the palace, you know? There's nothing to do there, no one to talk to."

Goku furrows his brow and looks down at the ground. "It's kinda like when I'm with Konzen. 'Cept I can talk to him and stuff, he just hits me for it." He makes a face, obviously not caring for that little aspect of his relationship with the God. He doesn't care for the 'beatings' he receives, but he doesn't complain - it's was just one way Konzen kept him in line and out of trouble.

The other boy chuckles. He has never seen said beatings, but he's heard enough about them to imagine. It must be such a sight to see. "I bet it's nice to get away from that."

"Hey, Nataku?" Goku asks and Nataku looks at him, raising an eyebrow as he waits for his friend to continue. "Of all the places you've found, which one do you like best?"

Nataku furrows his brow. "Give me a minute to think about that," he says and looks down at the ground. He has found so many beautiful places during his short years. There's a small glen with a small pond; there's a valley full of trees; there's a place full of raseberry bushes and other shrubbery. There are so many beautiful places, it's hard for him to pick just one. He let's out a hum as he thinks even harder now, truly having a hard time.

The other heretic places a hand onto Nataku's shoulder and squints at him. "Nataku...?"

The raven-haired boy looks at his friend's hand on his shoulder and feels a faint blush claim his cheeks. Goku has been able to make him blush easily as of late. A touch, a word, sometimes even a glance would do the trick. Nataku had desperately tried to deny the feelings that were starting to become so much more than friendship. He averts his gaze so Goku doesn't notice the light pink staining his cheeks and clears his throat. "My favorite place?" He repeats the question, Goku nods and smiles, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

A wry smile claims the Prince's lips as he reaches up and puts his hand over Goku's. He won't tell Goku how he feels this moment, or how he's been feeling for a few days now. Nataku won't dare ruin what they have now for something as selfish as the beat of his own heart. What they have now is perfect and without flaw. What they have is a wonderful and beautiful thing that makes Nataku feel amazing. The place Nataku obviously has earned in Goku's heart is far better than any physical place he could ever hope to find.

"My favorite place..." he pauses for a moment to give Goku's hand a squeeze. Goku blinks and then huffs impatiently. Nataku chuckles as he pulls his hand away and shakes his head. "You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

-End