It is in the quiet, defenseless hours of dawn that Goku first learns of beauty.

Last night, it was a word he did not yet quite know - there are many words still that he does not know, though he recognizes the concepts they are meant to portray. But here and now, beauty is an almost-tangible thing; it is a damp flavor in his mouth and an aching obstruction in his throat and these he understands very well.

On this sleepy, run-of-the-mill sort of morning, Goku discovers that Sanzo is beautiful.

The sound of soft movement next door rouses Goku to consciousness, for he has not yet learned that Sanzo is a perpetual early riser, that all monks are early risers whether they wish to be or not; and so Sanzo’s awakening is also his own. Goku slips from the warm cocoon of bed sheets, shivers briefly, and then pads out of his room.

The door of Sanzo’s own room is ajar, and he moves push it open a bit more. It gives easily and does not creak, and Goku is immediately grateful for it because he has the feeling he has come upon something profound, something he would have missed if Sanzo had known he was being watched.

There is nothing inherently remarkable about the sight of Sanzo at his morning repast; Goku has seen it umpteen times already, since being brought to this place. But today, he watches with new eyes.

He stands motionless as Sanzo sips his tea and reads the morning news, pausing to brush the hair from his face when it tumbles forward in a liquid golden mass. He looks on, fascinated, when Sanzo adjusts his glasses and squints down at the paper, his violet eyes clear and alert and sparkling with interest. Amusement, too, as the monk chances a small, rare smile at what he reads. The hair falls again, and Sanzo reaches up casually to tuck it behind his ears, bringing his high, pale cheekbones into stark relief.

The simple act is so very mundane… and this Goku dimly registers in the back of his mind. It is, instead, the actor which has captured his attention and is holding it fast.

And Goku’s very first memory of Sanzo collides with the one he sees now, and the two merge and he discovers that he now has a word for the dampness in his mouth and on his palms, and the ache in his throat.

Beautiful.

The word slides gracefully from Goku’s lips as he mouths it to himself, and the feeling it invokes in him brings him very close to tears, though he’s not sure why. He is still watching Sanzo, is lost in this perfect unguarded moment where nothing else exists but the tiny upward curl of the corners of Sanzo’s mouth, the hair falling in Sanzo’s eyes that brings out the color of his irises and highlights his startlingly long lashes…

In a split instant, the spell is broken. Goku’s heart begins to flutter erratically in his chest, the sound of it hammering in his ears, and he wonders if Sanzo can hear it. Quickly he steps away from the door, unsure of why he is breathless, and afraid of these unbidden sensations.

He retraces the steps to his room, eyes wide, thoughts racing. And though every step and moment takes him farther away, Goku sees nothing in his mind’s eye but Sanzo.

Beautiful.

There are other words to describe Sanzo, ones Goku will soon learn. Flawed. Frustrating. Cold. Aloof, unstable, angry, insecure. On the days when Sanzo seems determined to reject all that makes him human, Goku will curl up alone and remember this first morning, when beautiful was all Sanzo was, and he will be able to smile in spite of the rain pounding on the roof and the stench of heavy cigarette smoke emanating from the cracks of Sanzo’s tightly-locked door.

He will smile because he has learned that even if the purest of gold becomes corroded, it still sparkles below the surface; and if it is rubbed just the right way, for just long enough, it will shine brilliantly once again.