Somewhere, India – 5:45 a.m., on a Thursday
When Hakkai awoke, his body and mind were still humming from the night before. Gojyo was sprawled next to him, the sheets tangled around his long legs and his feet. Hakkai propped himself up on an elbow to survey Gojyo’s prone form in the first rays of morning light filtering through the window.
Gojyo was all lean muscle and glowing bronze skin, darker along the forearms and neck, where his clothes did not protect him from daily exposure to the desert sun. Hakkai allowed his hand to travel along Gojyo’s body, tracing it from shoulder to rump, letting it rest there. Memories from the previous evening played through his mind, causing him to shiver violently and goose-bumps to break out along his flesh in spite of the rapidly increasing heat of the beginning day. The past few weeks had been a nightmare, but if all that they’d been through had been leading up to last night, he would consider the cost to have been one well worth paying. He pressed his lips to Gojyo’s tanned shoulder and smiled into his warm flesh as Gojyo murmured Hakkai’s name in his sleep.
A noise in the kitchen – the opening and closing of the refrigerator door – alerted him to Goku’s presence. He must have come home later in the evening, after he and Gojyo had already fallen asleep, and taken up his usual spot on the small, rented apartment’s sofa. Carefully, so as not to wake Gojyo, Hakkai slid from the bed and dressed in just his pajama pants and a loose tee-shirt; he had no plans to be officially “up” for several more hours, in spite of the demands of the day ahead. He pulled the bedroom door softly shut behind him as Goku looked up from the icebox, an apple clenched in his teeth.
“Mmm mmph mm-mm!”
“Shush, Goku,” Hakkai said, making a small gesture in request of a lower tone.
“Sorry, Hakkai,” Goku said in a stage whisper, after ejecting his apple. He opened a drawer, pulling out a small but sharp paring knife, cutting the fruit into more manageable slices. “But doesn’t he hafta get up for work anyway?”
“Ah, about that…” Hakkai crossed the small space to the kitchenette/living room area. “I’m afraid Gojyo got fired yesterday. It seems he used his dubious charms on the wrong young lady.” Hakkai smiled as he said it, no longer able to muster the anger he’d felt upon first hearing the news last night. “Nature of the beast, I’m afraid. How did your day go?”
“Umm…” Goku was peeling the skin off his apple, more, Hakkai suspected, to make his snack last longer than for any other reason; he was devouring the parings as soon as they were cut free. His young face was currently as red as the fruit. “Not so good, I guess.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yeah, um… they didn’t explain about the cafeteria so good, and umm…”
“You helped yourself to the food for the customers, am I right?” Hakkai kept his tone light. After all, as he’d just said, ‘nature of the beast.’
Goku nodded miserably. “But I went out right after – I mean, after I wasn’t so full and could move good again – and looked for another job.”
“I see.” Hakkai pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off an impending headache. “And did you find one?”
“Not yet, but I’m gonna. And at least you’ve still got the job at that bar, right?”
Hakkai looked up again and gave Goku a rueful smile. “I’m afraid not. I think perhaps our reputations are going to precede us here after we’ve all made such spectacular showings. We may want to consider looking for a larger town, a place where our mistakes won’t haunt us to such an extent.” He trailed off, consulting the mental map in his head. There was a stretch of desert to cross if they hoped to reach the city he had in mind, a large place, built near an oasis, if his map was anything close to correct. Once there, work would be relatively easy to come by. “We won’t be able to afford to stay in this place much longer, I’m afraid.” They’d paid the first week’s rent on the tiny, furnished, two-room with an advance on wages they now would never actually earn, and couldn’t give back, but that week was up tomorrow.
“Uh, Hakkai,” Goku said, staring mournfully at the core of his apple – their last, if Hakkai recollected correctly. “How’d you lose your job?”
“I’m afraid I made my employer rather unhappy, Goku. Mr. Tenji confided to me his plans involving a young female patron and a potion of dubious origins. I fear,” Hakkai smiled with grim satisfaction, “that I thwarted those plans.”
“What’d he wanna poison her for?” Goku asked, in horrified fascination. “Was he gonna steal her money?”
“He was after something of value to her,” Hakkai confirmed, as he busied himself with the coffee maker that had come with the well-equipped kitchenette. “I swapped the potion with something a bit more innocuous the day before yesterday. The young lady came in last night and when he pressed his advantage she tossed her - very much undrugged - drink at him.” Hakkai couldn’t help but smile at the recollection of the enraged tavern owner’s face, dripping with apricot brandy; Hakkai had learned of his specific allergy to apricots and peaches on his first day. The man’s red-faced anger had done a lovely job of concealing the hives that had already begun to spring up along his features, but Hakkai had no doubt they’d be showing quite nicely by now.
“I may have made some comment that revealed my role in his failure,” Hakkai continued, tapping the switch that would set the coffee to brewing. He hadn’t been able to hide his smugness. And of course he’d had to reveal the man’s plans to his would-be-victim, otherwise, what would have stopped the sleazy tavern owner from trying again once Hakkai was safely out of the way? The same close-knit nature of the community that would doubtless prevent what was left of the “Sanzo Party” from finding employment in this town again would also ensure that the innkeeper’s nefarious stunt was well-known to all of it’s female denizens (and hopefully, their enraged male relatives) before another day was over. If the news hadn’t spread already.
It was a pity it had to have happened, however. Much to his surprise, Hakkai had enjoyed tending bar, conversing with the customers and listening to their small worries and larger fears, and he had excelled at handing out good advice. He promised himself he would look for a similar position once they reached the city at the oasis. Though he realized it was a bit too late to ask for a letter of recommendation.
“Hey, Hakkai?”
“Yes, Goku?”
“You seem in a pretty good mood for us having all got fired.”
“Yes,” Hakkai agreed, unable to keep a slight heat from rising to his face. Hoping Goku wouldn’t notice the blush, he turned to fetch a mug and rummaged through the cupboard until he felt the heat dissipate. “Yes, well, where there is life there is hope,” he continued. “I think, perhaps, I may sleep for a bit longer, though. We have paid through tomorrow, after all. And I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to at least enquire about further employment before moving on.”
“I was gonna go out and look some more now,” Goku offered. “The market’ll be just setting up. And they might have somethin’ to eat--” Hakkai gave Goku a warning look. “…and jobs too, I mean,” Goku finished hastily.
“That would be helpful, Goku. Just… just use restraint when food enters the picture, please. As I counseled Gojyo: stop and think, ‘what would Hakkai do?’ whenever faced with temptation.
Goku considered that for a moment. “I think I saw a poster like that once. Only it wasn’t ‘Hakkai.’ It was--”
“Yes, yes. Well, ah haha. As long as you stop and think, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Come back around noon and I’ll try to come up with something for lunch.”
Hakkai was back in the bedroom with a full cup of coffee (two sugars, no milk, exactly as Gojyo liked it) almost as soon as the front door had shut behind Goku. He approached the bed slowly and with some anticipation, setting Gojyo’s coffee mug gently on the table beside the bed. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes from Gojyo’s sleep-gentled features. Yes, there was work to do, but how could he not take time to savor this new development? It was one he had waited years for – since first he’d lain awake in Gojyo’s small house, waiting and watching as the hands of the clock proceeded to mark the time from late night to early morning and as his own common sense had informed him more loudly with each passing second, that friends, even good friends, were not so jealously protective of their just-friend’s time and attention.
Gojyo stirred and groaned, then sat up, clutching his head. Hakkai’s small smile vanished in concern. Surely Gojyo had not been drunk the night before?
“Are you all right, Gojyo?” Hakkai settled on the edge of the bed and began to reach toward Gojyo. When Gojyo looked up, the panic Hakkai saw in his eyes stilled the gesture. An unpleasant fear began to coil in the pit of his stomach.
“Fuck, Hakkai! What the fuck did we do? What did I…”
“Gojyo?” Hakkai whispered in miserable confusion. He averted his eyes from Gojyo’s searching look and his glance fell on the night-table, taking in a sight that caused the seed of fear growing in his stomach to blossom into full-scale panic. “Got it from some youkai potion maker,” the innkeeper’s voice echoed in Hakkai’s memory. “…an aphrodisiac that’ll have her begging for it, man. She won’t be able to say no.” Hakkai had been curious about the potion, hadn’t wanted to just pour it down the drain as he should have. So he’d saved it for further study. It might have had healing properties; so few drugs had only one use.
Hakkai rose and took a few steps back as words he’d uttered to Gojyo last night, in his initial anger, rose to confront him in all of their spectacular irony. “‘…and thus, the whirligig of time brings in his revenges,’” he whispered softly, staring at the bar-owner’s purloined apricot brandy bottle, where it lay, nearly empty, beside Gojyo’s cigarettes.
Eight hours earlier
The flush of victory at having thwarted Tenji’s evil plans was wearing off as Hakkai approached the door to their rented apartment, leaving him to ponder the reality of the situation they were now in. His mood darkened further when he realized that Gojyo was home and apparently already in bed. Though, of course, the man had to get up early for his job as sales clerk and may not have expected him for hours. Why should he wait up? Hakkai smiled wryly once again at the irony that had landed Hakkai behind a bar and Gojyo in a shop. Hopefully Gojyo was having more success than he himself was having.
Hakkai sighed and opened the bedroom door, intent on finding out.
Gojyo lay in a tangle of sheets – on the wrong bed, on Hakkai’s bed – his upper body exposed in the dim light from the street lamps outside the window.
“Gojyo?”
“H’kai,’ Gojyo mumbled thickly. “Hey, Hakkai. Lost my job today.”
“You what? Oh, Gojyo. How?”
“Hit on the wrong chick,” Gojyo mumbled, still not sitting up, though he thrashed his legs a bit and covered his face with one up flung arm.
Hakkai’s temper flared. “You… Gojyo, for heaven’s sake. This is not a game.” He began to fumble for the light switch. Where was the damned thing? “We face the very real threat of starvation here!”
A weak laugh came from the bed. “She wasn’t even hot. I was just tryin’ to make her feel better, ya know? Turns out she was makin’ it with the boss, though.”
“And thus, the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” Hakkai muttered, giving up on the light and dropping his hand from the wall.
“The whirli-whut?” Gojyo’s hand seemed to be moving rhythmically under the sheets. He wasn’t… Was he?
“We create our own downfalls, Gojyo,” Hakkai explained, moving a bit closer and peering at Gojyo’s form in the semi-darkness. “We make our beds and must therefore lie in them.”
“I am not,” Gojyo argued in a low mumble. “I am lying in your bed, and you made it. Hey, Hakkai?” He sounded almost pleading.
“What is wrong, Gojyo?” Hakkai asked, worry edging out his anger. “Have you been drinking?”
“We don’t have any more beer.” Before Hakkai could think of a response, Gojyo sat up in bed, shifting the sheet in the process and exposing his completely naked body to Hakkai’s view. He had been touching himself. His erection was entirely evident, swollen, thick, and upstanding. It took a moment for Hakkai to drag his eyes away from the sight.
Gojyo jerked off; of course he did. But, while he had never taken great pains to hide the activity, neither had he ever flaunted it. Hakkai’s gaze flicked up to meet Gojyo’s. He could feel the heat from his gaze like a physical thing and took a startled step back. Gojyo shot him a mildly sheepish grin, his eyes hooded with what looked like desire. It was not an expression Gojyo had aimed at Hakkai before. It was… entrancing. “I’ve been thinking about you, Hakkai.”
“You’ve…” Gojyo’s hand dropped back to his erection and Hakkai was unable to stop his eyes from following it. As Gojyo flopped back against the pillows, he began to slowly stroke himself, pushing his hips up ever so slightly with each languid downward move of his hand. “I…” Hakkai felt heat envelope him from head to toe.
This was happening. Finally, this was happening. Gojyo was propositioning him. The fact that it was a crude seduction, a presumptuous one, almost didn’t matter. When he’d fantasized about this – and fantasize about it he had – it had been an uncertain and tentative thing, a daydream based on Gojyo’s presumed utter lack of awareness of Hakkai’s own feelings on the matter. Well, clearly Gojyo had figured Hakkai’s feelings out. He had not been as clever at hiding them as he’d thought. Fine. The bottom line was, Gojyo was doing something about it and, while crude, there was no denying that his “something” was effective as hell. Hakkai was aroused, his erection pressing with force against the zip of his trousers as if seeking escape. Sanctuary.
“C’mere, Hakkai. I need your hands on me.” Gojyo released his hold on his dripping cock as he spoke, rubbing his hands roughly over his chest and thighs. Hakkai’s breath escaped in a gasp. He turned to shut the bedroom door – his last rational act before he abandoned reason and his clothing. Hands reached for him and the heat of those hands burned at his arms and chest. Off-balance, both inside and out, he all but collapsed onto Gojyo.
The shock of contact was severe. He felt like he was drowning as Gojyo’s arms pulled him in tight. Almost before he’d caught his breath, Gojyo’s mouth was on his own, and Hakkai was kissing back with, he feared, almost no skill and a frightening amount of enthusiasm. His nerve endings were all firing electric shocks to his system at every point of contact and Gojyo’s hands touched and grasped everywhere.
The sheer, frantic desperation emanating from the body beneath his had Hakkai nearly weeping from a combination of overpowering feelings that included gratitude and desire. He’d wanted this for so long. And it had been years since he’d been touched, been stroked, or kissed, or needed in this particular way.
He pulled back, creating a space between their bodies only with real effort. “Are you…?” It seemed a ridiculous question in the face of the evidence, but Hakkai had to ask. “Are you sure about this, Gojyo?”
“Please, Hakkai,” Gojyo breathed, closing his eyes. “It hurts. It really fucking hurts.”
“I imagine it does,” Hakkai whispered. “You’re in such a state.” Frankly, Hakkai was in awe that thoughts of him could contribute to that state in the slightest. He smiled down at Gojyo and stroked his burning cheek. Gojyo shut his eyes and pressed into the caress, breathing heavily. “Don’t worry, Gojyo. I’ll take care of you.”
“Yeah,” Gojyo breathed. “Okay.” He released a long, shaky breath and loosened his death-grip on Hakkai’s shoulders, bringing his arms down to lie at his sides, his body relaxing. Hakkai’s own cock was hard and throbbing, but seemed the secondary priority at the moment. The first was easing Gojyo’s frustration. It would probably take very little to bring Gojyo to climax, as ready as he seemed. Hakkai lightly traced Gojyo’s erection with his fingers, fascinated by the alternately silky and sticky feel of the hard, smooth flesh beneath his hand. He had never touched a penis that hadn’t been attached to him, and it was different being able to caress the organ without the distraction of being touched. He’d never, he realized, actually bothered to pay attention to the feel of his own dick against his fingers, the palm of his hand. Gojyo’s was hot and hard and lovely. It was--
“Fuck, Hakkai, please!!” The sheer hunger in Gojyo’s voice took Hakkai’s breath and muddled his mind.
“Oh! Yes. I’m sorry, Gojyo. You’re just so...” It was very frustrating being rushed; he would likely make mistakes as a result. “Next time, Gojyo, please don’t start without me.”
“Anything, Hakkai,” Gojyo moaned. “Just hurry up and fuck me.”
Oh. Hakkai hadn’t actually considered that option. It seemed very… advanced. He had assumed it was something they would maybe be working up to. But this was Gojyo, and maybe he didn’t consider it all that advanced. Hakkai stopped himself from asking again if Gojyo was sure and instead gave him what he wanted, what, in truth he wanted also – desperately.
He nearly came himself when he first thrust into Gojyo’s body. The tight heat and friction, intense even with the ointment he had used to ease the way, were mind-spinning, but it was the closeness, the intimacy, that was slowly unraveling him. He leaned over Gojyo, gripping a strong calf, pressing in as their tongues twined, pulling out while swallowing Gojyo’s small noises and the utterances that told him he had been doing —was doing—everything just right.
He lasted just long enough; when Gojyo came, pulsing his release into Hakkai’s stroking hand, he lost the tight control he’d been holding over his all-too-eager body. Sense and reason were washed away on a tide of sensation. “Do you remember?” he heard himself whisper through the roar of blood in his ears. He wasn’t sure if Gojyo answered but he thought he felt his yes, all the same.
“As long as you remember…” he murmured, his mind still spinning as they first pulled apart and then coiled back together. Gojyo was asleep within moments and, though he tried to stay awake to savor the welcome warmth of the body pressed against his, Hakkai wasn’t far behind.
6:15 a.m., the same Thursday
Gojyo was staring at him, his eyes still full of panicked confusion. Hakkai read no anger there, no blame. But Gojyo was looking to Hakkai for answers – expecting him to have them. Unfortunately, he did. Hakkai realized, almost instantly, that this was not a situation he could run from. He had to deal with it. Now. The next few minutes could very likely impact the future of the most important friendship of his life.
No matter how inadvertently, Hakkai had drugged his best friend. And then he’d taken advantage of his hideously impaired condition to obtain sexual gratification. In short, he was now a rapist. Hakkai wasn’t sure why this suddenly felt like the worst crime he’d ever committed. It wasn’t. Not by a long shot. He thrust his well-deserved feelings of guilt and self-loathing to the back of his mind, where they could marinate and be accessed later for future self-flagellation.
He retrieved the coffee mug and gently pressed it into Gojyo’s shaking hands. Then he drew a breath and sat down on the unoccupied bed. He folded his hands neatly in his lap and looked Gojyo straight in the face.
“How much do you remember?” he asked.
Gojyo flushed, his ears glowing with a color that almost matched his hair. “All of it,” he whispered. “I remember everything. Fuck, Hakkai, why didn’t you just fuckin’ punch me?” Gojyo’s tone was more incredulous than angry. “Sanzo would’ve fucking punched me!”
“Ah. Perhaps, yes,” Hakkai replied. He forced a smile. “But I am not Sanzo.”
“Yeah,” Gojyo muttered, dragging a hand through his very tangled hair and wincing when his fingers caught in a snarl. Hakkai rose smoothly and crossed over to stand behind Gojyo, lifting his comb from the dresser as he passed.
“Allow me,” he said lightly. Gojyo’s hands fell away from his head and he slid easily into long habit, allowing Hakkai to draw the comb and his fingers gently through red knotted strands. To Hakkai’s relief, instead of tensing under his hands, Gojyo relaxed into the touch. A good sign.
“Well,” Gojyo said, finally. “Thanks for not killin’ me, man.”
“Ha ha.” Hakkai ran the comb through Gojyo’s hair one last time and, with no further excuse to linger or touch, resumed his position on the bed. He wished distantly that he’d thought to bring another cup of coffee. When he’d filled the one mug, he’d assumed they would be sharing.
“I just don’t get it.” When Gojyo finally spoke again, his words came out haltingly. “I wasn’t drunk,” he reflected. “And even if I had been, I wouldn’t have… I mean. I’ve always just… Even when I want… I’ve never…”
“Never thought about me that way,” Hakkai finished, when it seemed Gojyo wasn’t going to continue casting about for words.
“No.” Gojyo looked frustrated. He seemed to be searching for something within his own mind or his coffee mug. “No. That’s not even i--" He started, and glanced quickly up at Hakkai, as if just remembering he was there. Now that was… interesting. “I mean, yeah. I didn’t… don’t. I…” Hakkai cocked an eyebrow at him and Gojyo flushed once again. “I don’t fuck dudes,” he finished flatly.
“No.”
“I just don’t get it.” Gojyo set his mug down and pressed his face into his palms. “After all this time, why would I suddenly give in to-- I mean. Fuck!” He looked up at Hakkai with an expression of pleading. “You know what I mean, Hakkai.”
No. No, Hakkai really didn’t. But he wanted to – there was something hiding in between those words and it might be something important. Nonetheless, it was time to come clean. Gojyo didn’t deserve this torture of self-doubt, no matter how intriguing Hakkai found it.
“Perhaps I can shed some light on the situation.”
Gojyo leaned forward, looking hopeful. Hakkai continued. He told Gojyo the story of Mr. Tenji and his young patron, explained his own act of sabotage and finally gestured with a tired smile to the nearly empty bottle on the bedside table between them.
“Fuck, Hakkai,” Gojyo said after letting the information sink in for a moment. Hakkai was learning to read Gojyo’s ‘Fuck, Hakkai’s at this point. None of them were, unfortunately, literal; this one spoke relief.
“Yes,” Hakkai said.
“Why didn’t you just throw the shit away?” Gojyo asked.
“It would have been for the best, in hindsight,” Hakkai replied.
“And so you felt responsible,” Gojyo reasoned slowly. “You thought it was your fault, so you…” Gojyo swallowed hard. He put down his coffee mug and leaned toward Hakkai. Far from angry, Gojyo looked almost… grateful. “You tried to fix it. You didn’t have to do that, Hakkai. It must have been… I mean, you don’t fuck guys, either. Right?”
“Yes,” Hakkai answered, not sure what he was agreeing too and more intent on the light of almost impressed affection in Gojyo’s eyes than on his words.
“Wait, you do?” Gojyo asked in surprise.
“I never had before,” Hakkai clarified.
“Right. S’what I meant.” Gojyo picked up the brandy bottle and held it in his hands, staring down at the innocuous apricots adorning the label. He scratched at one with his thumb. “Did you hate it?” he asked, his red face belying his offhand tone.
“Did I seem to?” It was Hakkai’s turn to be surprised.
Gojyo’s flush deepened. “Um, no,” he admitted. “But I guess, if you shut your eyes, you could kinda pretend. I mean, it’s probably pretty much the same as… As, you know.” Gojyo gestured vaguely.
“No.”
“No?”
“It was you. Impossible to pretend otherwise. I didn’t try.”
“Yeah, well.” Gojyo slid the bottle back onto the table and gave Hakkai a level look. “Thanks, Hakkai.”
Hakkai was floored, but realized he probably shouldn’t have been. As cynical and cavalier as Gojyo pretended to be, it was the wicked motive that constantly took him by surprise, not the benevolent. And Hakkai realized what Gojyo had also realized: there were people in Gojyo’s past who might not have helped Gojyo in any way at all – no matter how dubious the help – had they found him in the same situation. He’d known people who, at their kindest might have mocked and at their worst, hurt or exploited. People who didn’t care. And those people were the ones Hakkai was being compared to now. Hence the undeserved gratitude. Hakkai was pondering the wisdom of letting Gojyo know the truth – that Hakkai had not had a clue that Gojyo had been drugged – when Gojyo spoke again.
“It was… You’re really good at that. It’s kinda a waste that you don’t get around more.” Gojyo flashed him a grin that seemed only a little strained.
Hakkai let out a surprised laugh. It was his turn to blush, it seemed. “Thank you,” he said, earnestly. “That means a lot coming from a person of your experience.”
“Fuck.” Gojyo tapped out a cigarette and lit the end. “This trip just gets weirder every day.”
“Yes.” Hakkai agreed wholeheartedly. “Well, at least this time, no one was killed or injured.”
Gojyo shifted slightly and grimaced around his cigarette. “Speak for yourself.”
“Oh.” Hakkai was stricken.
“No, no,” Gojyo waved his free hand. “S’nothin’. Don’t worry about it.” He opened his mouth wide on an exaggerated exhalation of cigarette smoke. “I woulda done the same thing for you, too, ya know,” Gojyo said, matter-of-factly. “If it’d been you that drank the stuff.”
“Really? Would you have?” Hakkai didn’t even try to keep the note of gratified pleasure out of his voice.
Gojyo was looking anywhere but at Hakkai now. But Hakkai almost didn’t care. His heart, which had begun a rapid tempo at Gojyo’s unexpected compliment, now skipped a beat and began tapping out a crazy mambo in his chest. Foolish heart, clutching at such straws.
“Hell, yeah.” Exhale. Inhale. “I’ve risked my life for you, haven’t I? What’s sacrificing my gay-sex cherry compared to that?” Gojyo’s tone was casual, but his face was still slightly pink. Hakkai decided to show some mercy by not pushing the point at just that moment.
“Well,” he said instead. “You’d better get dressed. We have a long day of job hunting before us.” Hakkai picked up the now-empty coffee mug, the ashtray and the brandy bottle. He held the ashtray out for Gojyo, who ground out his cigarette and looked up at Hakkai with something like his usual cocky grin.
“Slave driver,” he slurred. He rose, pushing the covers aside in a swift motion. Hakkai quickly averted his eyes and headed for the kitchenette.
Hakkai emptied the ashtray into the kitchen waste basket and set the brandy bottle and coffee mug beside the sink.
He paused as he heard Gojyo curse from the bathroom and wondered if Gojyo was in much pain following their nocturnal activities. How could he have not known Gojyo wasn’t in his right mind? His wishful thinking had clouded his judgment; that much was obvious. And now Gojyo might be suffering. He wondered if Gojyo would let Hakkai use his chi to heal any hurts he’d inflicted. His rational mind answered that question in the negative. Hakkai did not want Gojyo’s lingering impression of their intimacy to be pain. He glanced at the potion bottle and considered.
If Gojyo were injured… Injured now, was he? Yes. If Gojyo were injured, he would be less likely to successfully land a job. He wouldn’t be at his best. Hakkai had to think of the team; he had to heal Gojyo, had to get Gojyo naked and back in that bed to do so.
He picked up the small knife Goku had been using and slowly carved a cut from the base of his thumb upward to the thin skin between his thumb and index finger. He didn’t wince as droplets of blood swelled and dripped in bright red plops to the countertop. With his other hand, Hakkai screwed the lid off of the brandy bottle. He swallowed the contents down in a rapid gulp; then with one downward swing, he smashed the bottle against the inside of the sink. He let out a small cry of surprise and turned, clutching his bleeding hand as Gojyo appeared in the bedroom doorway. He was wearing an expression of concern and a small towel.
“Hakkai?”
“Hello, Gojyo.” Hakkai smiled weakly, feeling only the tiniest bit sick with himself.
“What happened?” Gojyo asked, crossing quickly to Hakkai’s side.
“It’s only a cut,” Hakkai reassured. “I broke the bottle and… Oh, Gojyo-" He leaned in toward Gojyo, pressing his nose into the soft spot just beneath Gojyo’s ear and inhaling deeply. His skin was beginning to tingle.
“Hakkai?” Gojyo’s voice was startled, but Hakkai thought he could detect the low rumble of something else in the echo of his name.
“I think,” Hakkai drew a breath and pressed in closer; Gojyo’s arms came up and around him. “I suspect some of the potion may have entered my bloodstream through the cut.” He flashed panicked eyes at Gojyo, searching his face; the panic wasn’t pretense. His heart stood still for a moment, until Gojyo drew a breath and placed both hands on Hakkai’s shoulders. Hakkai saw resolve in his eyes, resolve and… anticipation?
“Okay,” he said. “It’s okay, Hakkai. I’m gonna take care of you.” Hakkai nodded as butterflies danced madness in his stomach. “I’ll make it better, just like you did for me,” Gojyo promised, as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hakkai’s. When they parted, minutes later, both of them were breathing heavily. Gojyo looked at Hakkai with heavy-lidded eyes and pulled him toward the bedroom. He spoke in a voice thick with lust. “Just come with me; it’s gonna be just fine.”
Hakkai followed, and knew Gojyo was right.
Fin