"Once Upon a Time” Lasts Forever

Title: Return: 950 CE
Author: opalmatrix
Fandom: Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Warnings: nothing much
Rating: PG for passing mention of adult issues
Pairing(s): n/a, although Amram/Zelikman could be assumed
Spoilers: hints about the ending of the novel
Word Count: 727
Notes: written for nextian for purimgifts 2010, Day 2. Beta by the inspirational smillaraaq.
Summary: Amram and Zelikman discover that their adventures in Khazaria may not be over.

Zelikman toyed morosely with the bread crust on his platter and waited for Amram ... .

Title: Like Likes Like
Author: opalmatrix
Rating: PG-ish
Warnings: hints of a few adult themes
Prompt: : XXXholic/Pet Shop of Horrors, Yuuko and Count D: a chance encounter - "Four cubes of sugar in my tea, please." Word count: : 2015
Summary: This time, it's not a spirit that follows Watanuki home.
A/N: written for springkink VIII. Beta by the marvelous avierra and the perceptive smillaraaq . Includes vague references to the end of the original Petshop series.

Himawari had a very serious expression on her face as she tasted the pastry ...

Title: In Loco Parentis
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Sanzo's mouth
Pairing(s): n/a, really
Spoilers: Sanzo's history; Sanzo and Goku's first days
Notes: written for saiyuki_time, Challenge #55, a story in dialogue only; time allowed: 40 minutes; time taken: 35 minutes. Go team!
Summary: Goku has a lot of questions.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep, Monkey ... ?"

Title: Growing Season
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Schmoop! And a few curses, because it's Gojyo.
Pairing(s): very early Hakkai/Gojyo
Spoilers: nothing much
Notes: Set maybe 6 months after the Banri Incident. Written for saiyuki_time, Challenge #46, Seeds; time allowed: 45 minutes; time taken: 60 minutes. Oops.
Summary: All Gojyo can do is plant 'em and hope.

Gojyo knows that Hakkai is not quite right, even after all these months ... .

Title: A Quiet Place
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: very brief nudity (in a dream); possible nascent m/m feelings if you read it that way
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: Kindrie's family tree and situation through Book 3, Seeker's Mask
Notes: The subject of this story is very near to my heart, and I have to thank the recipient for giving me a chance to write about one of my favorite fandoms. Unbeta'ed, I must confess. I'd actually thought about this scene several times in the past, but it changed as I started to write it down.
Summary: Kindrie finds that booklearning isn't the only sort of education a person can get at Mount Alban.

Kindrie didn't realize how tired he had become ...

Title: Written on the Water
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: A couple of curse words, and some adult concepts.
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: Gojyo's history
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #34: Letters to the Dead. Time allowed: 1 hour minutes. Time taken: maybe 5 minutes over. This is pretty loose and rough - I just let it pour out. Probably inspired by a bit of conversation smillaraaq and I were having about how little we know about youkai culture, and how Jien and Gojyo didn't know much more, because they seem to have been cut off from their community as kids - or all that rotten stuff wouldn't have happened.

Hey ... Dad?

Title: Hungry
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: very, very mild m/m
Pairing(s): Goku/Sanzo
Spoilers: nothing
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #26, the same scene from two viewpoints. Time allowed: 45 minutes. Time taken: about that
Summary: Sanzo thinks Goku could use a few more pork buns. But that's not want Goku really needs.

It was almost quiet in the private dining room ...

Title: Dona Nobis Pacem
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: a couple of swearwords
Pairing(s): perhaps microscruples of 393, but essentially gen
Spoilers: The earliest part of Goku and Sanzo's history together.
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #18, Random Words. Time allowed: 40 minutes. Required words: steel, bargain, joke, beginners, memory. Time taken: 45 or 50, in little chunks. Takes place within 6 months of Goku's arrival at the Temple. This came out a little mushier than I usually like to make Sanzo, and I wasn't clear enough with the final line - it's meant to point out that there was more than one boy who needed help getting to sleep ...
Summary: Sanzo's a little surprised by his reactions to Goku's troubles.

A cigarette, and solitude. I don't really ask for much, thought Sanzo ... .

Title: Loving-Kindness
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: nothing, really
Rating: PG
Pairing(s): A breath of 10K, if you listen hard.
Spoilers: nothing much - PG solely for mention of 10K and a curseword
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #10: Kenren. Time allowed: 45 minutes. Time taken: a little more than 50 minutes, plus 5 to look up a definition for the intro theme. This ended up being about all four of them really, but Kenren's at the center. (Is there a word for all 4 of them in Gaiden? Because they aren't the Sanzo Ikkou yet ... .)
Summary: Kenren has warmth enough to spare.

Konzen, hurrying through the gardens in the late afternoon with a sheaf of reports for the Bosatsu, nearly passes him by ... .

Title: Apparitions
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: brief mention of child abuse
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: through vol. 3 of Saiyuki: Gojyo's history
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #7: Ghosts. Time given: 25 minutes. Time taken: just about that. Yay!
Summary: He was only trading one sorrow for another ... but somehow it felt a lot better.

It had been the better part of ten years since Sha Jien had abandoned his baby brother ... .