The Game of Love

Title: The Game of Love
Author: Despina
Pairing: Gojyo x Hakkai, some Sanzo x Goku
Rating: NC 17 - just to cover all future possibilities *wink-wink*
Summary: A series of ‘moments’ between Gojyo and Hakkai. What are they to one another? Confusion, exploration and testing boundaries are necessary in order to find out.


Hello again – sorry I took so long. I finally have a beta and I feel much better about posting. The wonderful Aja has been gracious enough to take on my plethora of grammatical issues (as well as some problems concerning magical cigarettes.) She has made me much more presentable, I can’t thank her enough.

As always, I was the last one to touch it, so any mistakes belong to me.


The Game of Love

Chapter 5

Gojyo stood up from the battleground that was their evening meal, now a disaster of empty plates and food particles. He announced to the table, "Well, I'll be going out for a little while."

Sanzo looked up from his paper and over the rim of his glasses and glared at him.

Goku nodded and burped.

Hakkai had to dig deep in order to smile complacently as he said, "Will you?" It was all he could do not to grind his teeth with the sudden and dark emotion he was feeling.

"Yeah, but don't worry." Gojyo flashed that brilliant smile at his roommate and winked as he continued, "I promise not to be home late."

Watching Gojyo saunter from the room irritated the healer, especially since the two of them had finally reached a place of comfort once again. Yet, in spite of their road to relationship recovery, his roommate remained distant and continued his… whorish behavior. Hakkai sighed. What else could he have expected from Gojyo?

Sanzo lifted his head from his paper again and this time he glared at the healer. “Watching you brood is much more annoying than watching that stupid kappa brood.”

Before he could reign in his temper, Hakkai slammed down his hands on the table and pushed himself to his feet. Returning the glare, he said, “Very well. Then I will go elsewhere.”

“Good,” Sanzo answered evenly. “Save me from your pathetic drama.”

Goku stared after the retreating Hakkai, his eyes wide at the healer’s display of anger. Then he looked over at Sanzo. Before the smaller man could open his mouth Sanzo snapped, “I don’t want to hear about it.”

“But, Hakkai is…”

“Not one more word, Goku,” Sanzo hissed.

“Fine!” Goku stood up suddenly, knocking over his chair. As he stormed off he said, “Then be alone, Sanzo, since you seem to prefer it.”

He stared after his monkey as he reached for a cigarette and lit it. Inhaling the smoke deeply, he turned his eyes back to his paper as he muttered to himself, “Finally.”


A few hours later, Sanzo ran out of cigarettes. For a while, he hunted through their vast supplies of wine, beer, food, and maps, but there was no tobacco. He fumed with the certainty that Hakkai had forgotten cigarettes on purpose. It was just the type of passive-aggressive acting out the healer would do. He left his room, stomped down the hall, and pounded on Gojyo’s door. He didn't really like the kappa's brand, but they would do until morning.

There was no answer from inside the room. From the end of the dimly lit hall, he heard say, “If you are looking for Gojyo, he has not yet returned.”

“Waiting for him, are you?” Sanzo sneered.

Hakkai wrinkled his brow with worry as he said, “He is very late.”

Sanzo slipped his arms into the robe that hung loosely from his waist as he snarled, "It's not my problem if Gojyo has gotten himself killed."

"Then, where are you going?" Hakkai asked Sanzo's retreating form.

"Out to get cigarettes. While you were brooding, apparently you forgot to get more," the priest snapped. "The local bar should have some."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Sanzo stopped and turned, glaring into green eyes he said, "So you can see your boyfriend hitting on some chippy and then be in a pissy mood for the next two weeks? I don't fucking think so."

Hakkai watched the blond disappear down the stairs as he wondered who was really in the pissy mood. "Goku? Did you two have a falling out?"

"Nah," the smaller man emerged from hiding in the shadows with a sly, knowing smile on his face. "Not really. Sometimes he's just... Sanzo. He can't help it."

"Hmm," Hakkai accepted the explanation, but was also certain there was something Goku wasn’t saying. “Are you… ah, never mind.” Once again, the healer suspected he knew who exactly was in charge of Sanzo and Goku’s relationship – behind closed doors, of course.



Stupid disappearing kappa, Sanzo thought as the need for nicotine unraveled his already frayed nerves. Not to mention the stupid, indecisive healer and the stupid, withholding monkey, they were all sources of his displeasure. He came through the dark alley; perhaps not the wisest of moves but the anger and frustration exuding from Sanzo did not mark him as an easy target and at the moment, he would almost welcome a fight.

He took one more turn down the dimly lit, narrow alleyway, slowing his forward progress as stepped over a body. The wounds on the dead demon were the familiar and messy handiwork of a well-known, noisy redhead. Looking up, Sanzo saw a demon holding a sickle, poised for a deathblow aimed at a prone figure.

Well, this was all he fucking needed. Before he even considered what he was doing, a shot rang out and the dissemination of the would-be killer took place. Sanzo had to step over almost a half a dozen bodies before he made it to the kappa's side. Kneeling next to the redhead and quickly estimating the amount of blood in sight, he calmly reached into Gojyo's pocket and took out his cigarettes.

"Fucking priest," Gojyo could barely speak. "If the world was not so screwed up, it would have been Hakkai who saved me. Then he could’ve healed me."

Sanzo produced his own lighter and lit two cigarettes, sticking one in the water sprite's mouth. He inhaled deeply, feeling his body relax with the flood of nicotine. After a moment, he pocketed the nearly full pack in his robes before he said, "Then next time I won't interfere. I take it you're going to live."

"I'm not sure yet." Gojyo held the cigarette in his mouth. He seemed to be having trouble getting either hand to move.

“What happened?” Sanzo asked as he looked around.

"I’m don’t know. I didn't sense them at all."

"Looks like part of them were human."

"Human?" Gojyo croaked as he lifted his left hand. “Maybe that’s why I didn’t sense them.”

"Yeah." Studying the kappa, Sanzo realized he needed help getting the bigger man back to the inn. Gojyo was the workhorse of their team; he was able to take enormous amounts of physical damage before he went down in a fight. Sometimes Sanzo thought the redhead did it on purpose, jumping into the fray and risking the possibility of death for the certainty of having an injury that needed healing from Hakkai. None of them was blind to what happened when Hakkai healed Gojyo, Hakkai least of all.

It was obvious what Hakkai's feelings were for Gojyo when the healing process took place. Both would quickly reveal their true selves. The first time Sanzo had witnessed Hakkai’s healing of Gojyo, the monk found himself completely shocked by the overtly sexual edge the healing took. Now, however, he realized that what happened in those few moments between Gojyo and Hakkai was far more intimate than simple sex. Gojyo, the proclaimed king of seduction, submitted to Hakkai's touch like a well-heeled dog, grateful and loyal. Hakkai, once he was in full healing contact with Gojyo, would drop his impenetrable mask and reveal his true predatory and territorial nature. It was clear to all who saw it that Hakkai felt Gojyo belonged to him.

It was different when Hakkai healed Sanzo. The feeling was unnerving and odd for the blond, but it certainly didn't make him writhe and moan like a bitch in heat. The priest didn't get feelings of love or friendship from Hakkai's touch; instead, he received feelings of gratitude.

Goku informed Sanzo that Hakkai's healing touch with him gave him the feeling of family, as if Goku was a little brother. Considering what Hakkai used to do with his sister, Sanzo wasn't sure how he felt about the healer's 'brotherly love' for Goku.

He heard footsteps behind him and Sanzo turned with his gun in his hand to see two terrified townspeople.

The first man dropped the shovel he wielded with a loud clatter. He held up his hands as he shouted, “Don’t shoot us! We came to help.”

“Huh,” Sanzo answered, unconvinced. He stood up, letting the men see his robes with the gun still in his hand. “I need this man taken to the inn right away.”

“Nah,” Gojyo groaned as he rolled to his side. His weapon was still in his hand and as he used it to get to his feet, blood dripped down his arms. His jeans were dark with red wet.

“Stupid kappa,” Sanzo snarled as he ripped off Gojyo’s headband and wrapped it tightly around the half-demon’s damaged right arm. “You’ll bleed to death before we get there.”

“I doubt it,” he answered with a rasp as he spit out his bloody cigarette, grabbed the weapon as if it was a cane, and took a wobbly hop. “I won’t give you the satisfaction.”

Hakaryu took that moment to appear. He flew around the two men twice before settling down in front of Gojyo. The dragon’s many-faceted eyes whirled with concern.

“Where’d you come from?” Gojyo asked the dragon as the creature transformed into the jeep.

“Hakkai’s been pacing the halls waiting for you,” Sanzo informed his wounded companion.

“Has he?” The redhead asked smugly. Leaning forward he crooned, “Did he send you to find me, Hakaryru?”

The jeep squealed in answer.

Turning to the villagers Sanzo said, “I don’t think we’ll need your help now. You might want to alert the other townspeople of this.”

“But what about the bodies?” one of the shaken men asked.

Sanzo shrugged, stomped out his cigarette and got into the driver’s side of the jeep.

Gojyo stared warily at the monk behind the wheel. “You know, Sanzo, it might be better if I drove.”

The blond glared at the redhead.

“Fine, you evil bastard priest,” Gojyo snapped as he slipped into the passenger seat with a groan of pain. “You’ll probably kill us both anyway.”

“Don’t tempt me, kappa,” Sanzo hissed with anger.

“Oh, lighten up, will you? You’re so tense, maybe you need some monkey,” Gojyo smirked and then his smirk changed to a grimace as he clutched his side and closed his eyes.

Sanzo aimed the jeep towards the biggest hole in the road.

“Oww!” Gojyo’s eyes opened with the flare of pain and he nearly passed out. Once the worst of the agony passed, he turned his head to stare at the driver and accuse, “You did that on purpose!”

“Shut up and die already,” Sanzo fired back. “I swear, that’s the only way I can hope to get any peace these days.”

Seeing they were at the inn already, Sanzo stood on the brakes without using the clutch and the jeep lurched to a stop as Hakaryu cried out in protest over the abuse. The sudden jarring movement this time did cause Gojyo to lose consciousness and he fell from the vehicle to the ground with an audible thud.

The moment Sanzo stepped from the jeep, the small dragon reformed and flew inside the inn, chattering excitedly.

Sanzo moved to the kappa’s side, lit another of Gojyo’s cigarettes, and waited. It was only moments before Hakkai burst from the front door, Hakaryu flying near his head and Goku at his heels.

“Gojyo!” the healer shouted with far more emotion than Sanzo had ever heard. Hakkai fell to his knees at his friend’s side in order to survey the damage; the yellowish-green glow had already started when Gojyo’s left hand shot out and stilled Hakkai’s blossoming chi.

“Not here,” he croaked.

Knowing that Hakkai would take care of the kappa and not wishing to view the very personal scene that was about to take place, Sanzo opted to take the opportunity to step through the door of their lodging and explain the situation to the nervously hovering innkeeper and his wife. Sanzo was amused to see Goku take one look at the two on the ground, turn around and race after the monk.

“I have to do something, you can’t even walk.” Hakkai stared at his injured friend, still taking inventory of Gojyo’s wounds. “I won’t… I’ll try not to heal you the way I usually do. Maybe we can avoid what normally happens.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Gojyo grumbled as he once again rolled to his side and then to one knee with a hiss. “I love it when you heal me, don’t you dare change it.”

“Gojyo,” Hakkai’s breath caught as he looked at the blood. “I have to do something.”

“Yeah, you do. You can help me up,” he raised his less damaged left arm.

His heart constricted as he stared at his wounded damaged friend.

Gojyo crooned reassuringly, “Come on, ‘Kai, we both know I’ve survived worse than this.”

Nodding, Hakkai leaned down and helped lift Gojyo to his feet. Startled again by how much blood there was, he tried to remain calm, hoping that the majority of the blood belonged to someone else.

“I couldn’t sense them,” Gojyo explained. “They came out of nowhere and there was something strange about them.”

“How many of them?” Hakkai asked as he switched his brain almost unknowingly into tactics mode as he placed his arm around the taller man to assist him careful to avoid any overly sensitive spots. Thinking about the enemy helped to keep him focused and to pacify the demon inside.

The two limped slowly inside the inn and Hakkai found himself relived to see Sanzo speaking with the proprietor of the establishment. At least he wouldn’t have to make explanations while tending to Gojyo. By the owner’s disheveled appearance, it appeared the commotion from the Sanzo party had roused the man from his sleep. Luckily, the four of them were the only patrons at the inn, so Hakkai didn’t fear further interruptions. Once they were inside, the innkeeper took one glance at bloodied Gojyo and quickly steered his wife towards the back of the building.

Goku was unusually quiet as he sat on the stairs watching the events around him unfold. Hakkai noticed the many surreptitious glances Goku gave Gojyo. Was Goku concerned for Gojyo?

“Gojyo? How many were there?” Hakkai asked again as he looked at his blood-covered friend. “Stay with me on this.”

“I’m tryin’, ‘Kai,” Gojyo answered. “But it takes all the concentration I have to walk at the moment.”

“I always suspected you had trouble walking and talking at the same time,” Sanzo commented as he lit yet another of Gojyo’s cigarette.

“Fuck off, you shitty excuse for a priest,” Gojyo gasped out. Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Hey, aren’t those my smokes?”

Sanzo ignored Gojyo as he said to Hakkai, “There were about fifteen on the ground. I have no idea how many he ‘vaped. Some were human.”

“Human?” Hakkai frowned.

“Not bad, eh, monkey?” Gojyo said with bravado as he wavered forward.

“I dunno, Gojyo,” Goku chuckled as he studied the wobbling taller man. “Looks like you got your ass kicked to me.”

“Hey, there was a fuckload of them, monkey boy!” and then he spit out a bloody bit of salvia.

“If you say so,” Goku’s brow furrowed as he took a closer look at his battered friend. “Do you want some help?”

“Let Hakkai handle it, Goku,” Sanzo said.

Hakkai’s head snapped up at Sanzo’s unusually gentle tone, bringing the seriousness of Gojyo’s injuries to light. If Sanzo was concerned, there was a possibility... no. No, he would not allow himself to think that way. As he assisted his wounded friend toward the stairs, he looked over at Goku’s frown. “Goku, could you please get some water and some towels?”

Nodding, the smaller man scampered away.

“I must look pretty bad if you are all so grim,” Gojyo commented with a weak smile.

Hakkai literally dragged Gojyo toward their room. If the bigger man collapsed again, he would definitely heal him on the spot, regardless of his reaction. Besides, there was a good chance the redhead was about to lose consciousness and he wouldn’t know the difference, anyway. Perhaps that would be better.

The two stopped at the bottom of the staircase. Hakkai paused as he looked up the narrow wooden stairs and then he looked over his shoulder to see Sanzo staring at the bloody trail Gojyo left in his wake. Green eyes moved back to the stairs. There really weren’t that many of them but getting the redhead up them would be tough.

There was so much blood…

Gojyo slid to the floor just as Hakkai realized he could not allow this to continue. The thought of Gojyo dying filled him with anger and fear. Kneeling next to his friend, his chi responded to his summons and the chartreuse glow suddenly flared to life.

“No, wait!” The redhead forced himself to sit up as he reached for Hakkai’s hands.

“Be quiet, Gojyo!” Hakkai ordered as he easily blocked Gojyo’s weak attempt to grab him. Studying his pale companion through the emanating green light, he could see Gojyo’s surprised, yet complaisant expression at Hakkai’s uncharacteristic command.

“Crap,” the half-demon grumbled as his gaze pleaded with his friend. “Why do get the feeling this isn’t going to be any fun at all?”

The glow enveloped both of them and Hakkai immediately felt Gojyo’s agony as the injured man threw back his head and screamed. At first, the healer was only faintly aware that it wasn’t the redhead’s injuries causing his suffering, but as moments passed, Hakkai understood that something was fundamentally wrong. Gojyo was experiencing an extreme emotional pain that was also inexplicably affecting Hakkai. While he struggled not to lose himself entirely to Gojyo’s internal torment, Hakkai retained enough cognizance to heal his friend, knitting bone and flesh together almost by way of an afterthought. Reaching out in a daze, Hakkai cradled Gojyo’s head in his lap as the redhead slumped to the floor, succumbing to the overwhelming pain.

Hakkai was suddenly aware that through his desperate and careless attempt to heal his friend, he had clumsily tapped into something deeper, something more primal. He had inadvertently connected with Gojyo emotionally and Hakkai was horrified to realize he didn’t know how to stop it.

He frantically tried to back away from the all-consuming loneliness, but Hakkai found his normally ordered thoughts were in complete chaos, affectively skewed by Gojyo’s intense fear of rejection and his overwhelming need for love. It was too much for the healer to process and he knew that if he couldn’t figure out how to break the bond, they would both be lost. Instead of saving Gojyo, Hakkai would likely be responsible for killing him. He would fail Gojyo.

For some reason, red flowers flooded through his memory. The flowers were the source of horrible, excruciating pain and Hakkai inexplicitly grabbed at his cheek as Gojyo’s memories and his blurred into each other. He was unable to take the unrestrained, tumultuous whirlwind of memories that assaulted him, and finally, Hakkai’s thought processes finally short-circuited and shut down completely.

His final thought, just as the emotional darkness enveloped him, was that he had lost the battle, failed to save his love and that once again, there was only one way out.


Gojyo blinked his eyes and fought through his pain and his confusion. Something was wrong. He loved only one person as far as he knew and Hakkai was with him. Who was this other person in his memory?

He gained enough clarity to realize that his head was in Hakkai’s lap. He looked up at his roommate, he was more confused by the sight of Hakkai’s long hair. Long hair. He remembered when Hakkai had long hair but that was way back when he first stumbled on the healer. What in hell was happening?

“Hey, Hakkai, wha…” before he could finish his question, the anguish pulled him under again and this time he gasped with the open wound of fear as he watched his lover die, but he had never had a lover with long brown hair who placed a knife at her own throat and then…

“No,” was all he managed to choke out through the onslaught of pain as he pawed at his friend. Time seemed unnaturally slow to Gojyo as he watched the faint vines visibly pulse to the surface of Hakkai’s skin.

Gojyo also heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking.

“Stop, ‘Kai,” Gojyo groaned as another round of aching loss washed over him and he struggled to sit upright so that he was facing Hakkai. As he captured the healer’s taloned fingers; the glow started to fade but the vines remained. “I’m okay,” he reasoned as he positioned himself in-between the priest and Hakkai.

Demon eyes met his, but they held only a smattering of understanding. He grabbed Hakkai’s head with his bloody hands and pulled the demon’s face towards his; placing their foreheads together he said softly, “I feel better now, so you need to stop. By the way, I think you look smoking hot like this, ‘Kai, all feral and dangerous, but you are making Sanzo very, very nervous. You know what a fuckhead he is when he’s nervous.”

“Gojyo,” Sanzo said warningly.

“See? He’s very predictable,” Gojyo smiled as he moved his hand soothingly through his friend’s long hair. “Come on back now, Hakkai.”

Hakkai’s irises remained stubbornly elliptical.

“Back away, Gojyo.”

“Sanzo, relax would ya? I’ve got it under control,” Gojyo moved closer to Hakkai, partially straddling the healer’s folded knees in order to shield the confused, partially transformed demon.

“Get away from him, Gojyo,” Sanzo demanded.

“Fuck off, monk.”

“I’ll shoot you both,” was his reply.

“Sanzo, you really have no imagination. Could you come up with some better threats occasionally?” Gojyo chuckled, and then let himself fall into those intense green cat eyes, leaning closer and feeling Hakkai’s breath on his skin. “I hope you don’t take offense to this, ‘Kai, but maybe it will shock you out of your… mood.”

He brushed his lips against Hakkai’s in a soft, gentle caress, technically, not even considered a kiss in Gojyo’s book, but it would do for today. Drawing back, he assessed the healer’s reaction to his personal invasion. Those fascinating eyes continued to watch him almost dispassionately, they did not seem angry or offended by the intimate act, and in fact, they almost seemed curious.

His bravado blooming, Gojyo leaned forward again only to stop suddenly at the savage growl he heard. Interpreting the low sound to be a warning, he attempted to pull away from Hakkai, but the demon’s unnaturally strong arms wrapped around him and held him in place as Hakkai’s lips crashed onto his own. Moments later, Hakkai’s tongue pushed into his mouth and Gojyo, apart from his initial startlement, was content to allow the tongue entrance, even greeting the intruder with his own.

As their tongues tangled and danced, the room swirled unsteadily around the redhead and he struggled to remain cognizant, willing himself to ride the moment for as long as he could. The combination of blood loss and exhaustion from fighting so many opponents, coupled with the fact that he remained seriously injured, took its eventual toll on him and he slumped to the floor - unconscious.

Hakkai blinked, clearing his mind. As he looked around, he was mystified to find himself seated on the floor, with Gojyo’s bloody head in his lap. Sanzo stood close by, holding his gun in his hand and an unlit cigarette in the other as he studied Hakkai closely. Goku stood in the doorway to the common room, loaded down with towels and carrying a bucket of water, his mouth hung open as he stared at Hakkai.

“Did I…” He snapped his eyes back to the priest, as he asked in near panic, “What happened, Sanzo?”

“Huh,” he answered. He took his time putting away his trusty gun and lighting another pilfered cigarette before he said flatly, “I believe Gojyo just evened the score in your game.”

“What?” Hakkai sputtered. “He was half-dead a few minutes ago.”

“Regardless, he got you,” Sanzo’s eyes shifted to the monkey. “Goku?”

Laughing, the monkey replied, “Oh, yeah. Gojyo got you good, Hakkai, right on the lips!”

“On the…” Hakkai reached up and touched his bruised mouth, there was no doubt that he had recently been kissed. How could he not remember that? “But he was so injured and he is still in bad condition. How?”

“Goku, give me that stuff and help Hakkai get the kappa upstairs.” Sanzo looked at the stack of towels and then back to Goku. “You didn’t steal this did you?”

“I wouldn’t do that… hey, wait! Why do I gotta help with Gojyo?” Goku complained. “He’s really heavy.”

“Just do it, Goku.” Sanzo snapped as he took the towels and water from the monkey.

"He's all bloody," Goku replied. "I'll have to take a bath after."

The priest didn't say anything as he turned and took the first step upstairs.

"I'll need someone to scrub my back," Goku's eyes practically glittered with his words.

Sanzo snarled as he continued upstairs.

"Goku?" Hakkai asked softly. "I thought you said the two of you were not quarreling."

"We aren't," Goku grinned as his eyes followed his sun. "Sometimes I gotta do things that make Sanzo a little... tense. We have our own game, Hakkai. Just like you and Gojyo.

Hakkai was confused, but not enough to lose his denial. "Gojyo and I don't have a game."

"Yeah," Goku's grin widened. "I knew you'd say that."

"So did I," Gojyo grumbled as he struggled upright once again. "Help me up, monkey."

"Why me?" was the immediate challenge.

"Because that way you'll get bloody. You don’t want to blow your chance now that you have Sanzo at your mercy, do you?"

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot already,” Goku smiled as he slid under Gojyo’s arm and helped the taller man to his feet.

“Your attention span gets shorter everyday.” Gojyo shook his head clear as he steadied himself against Goku. "If it's possible, the shitty monk is more pissy than usual, could you stop holding out on him, please?"

"But it's really fun after awhile," Goku laughed as the two moved slowly up the stairs, one step at a time. "If I make him wait long enough he'll do just about anything. This one time he even let me..."

"Ugh! No details, monkey, I’m already wounded. Picturing you two going at it might kill me," the wounded man complained.

Hakkai felt as if he had entered another universe, as if he had missed certain current events. He watched in a daze as Goku helped Gojyo up the stairs, the two verbally sparing the whole way, openly talking about Sanzo and Goku begin a couple and Gojyo and...him. What was happening?

"Hey," Gojyo called out from the top of the stairwell. "I'm still injured here."

Upon hearing those words, Hakkai felt the wonderful anticipation coil tightly inside him. He stood up with a genuine smile as he moved towards the stairs. He was startled to hear the low, sultry quality to his own voice as he said, "Then perhaps you require additional healing. Although this time, I will endeavor to be more careful."

"I do prefer your normal approach to healing, although what you just did had it’s own pluses.” Gojyo smiled wickedly.

Hakkai stared at his friend as he attempted to remember what had happened. “Perhaps you will need to enlighten me on what I did. My memory, you see, is a bit faulty over the process.”

“Is it?” Gojyo’s eyebrow shot up as Hakkai’s statement. “Well, I for one will never forget it.”

“I see,” Hakkai answered. He was uncomfortable with the hole in his memory.

“Hakkai, Gojyo really liked what happened.” Goku chuckled. “I think you worry too much.”

“He does,” Gojyo agreed. “Come on, ‘Kai.”

“Very well,” Hakkai answered as he started to climb the stairs slowly.

“I suppose if you are going to heal me," Gojyo smiled knowingly at his friend. "I'd better get my cigarettes back from the monk. At least the bastard left me my lighter."

Shaking his head, Hakkai said, "No need to bother Sanzo. I have more cigarettes in my room."

The two stared at Hakkai.

"But Hakkai! You didn't say anything about having more when Sanzo complained about being out of cigarettes," Goku exclaimed.

"I didn't? Oh my, that was very thoughtless of me, wasn’t it?" Hakkai answered innocently.

Gojyo chuckled and said, “You are a mean, mean man, Hakkai.”

"Do you think so?” His smile was angelic as stared at the other two.

"Absolutely," crimson-colored eyes regained some sparkle as he added, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"That's reassuring to hear, Gojyo. With that knowledge, perhaps I will no longer hold myself back from you." Hakkai continued to smile, but there was something decidedly edgy in his demeanor.

Goku shivered next to Gojyo. "I kinda get the feeling that you'll need to behave from now on, Gojyo."

"Yeah," crimson eyes remained locked onto Hakkai's determined green ones. "Me, too."

"And you thought Sanzo was a lot to handle," the monkey whispered. "Hakkai's the really scary one.”

"He is really scary," Gojyo whispered back. "But he's also really, really sexy."

“You are a freak and a pervert,” Goku replied as they watched the healer step closer with his sinewy, predatory movements.

“Yes I am,” Gojyo answered as he transferred his weight from Goku to Hakkai.

Hakkai looked over his shoulder at the monkey. His irises elongated a little bit when he said, “And I would not have it any other way.”

The sexual spark between his two friends washed over him as he watched Hakkai lead the redhead to his room. Their affection for one another was contagious.

When the door closed behind Hakkai, Goku stood for a moment as he tried to process all that just happened. Then he practically ran the few steps down the hallway and unceremoniously burst into Sanzo’s room.

Sanzo sat on his bed reading, clad only in his glasses and jeans, without looking up he snapped, “What the hell do you want?”

Goku shut the door and leaned back against it. His breathing had turned ragged as he gazed lustfully at the beautiful, shirtless man.

Sanzo looked up at Goku calmly, his expression, as usual, revealed nothing. However, after the violet eyes studied his charge for a moment he hastily folded up his paper and removed his glasses. He finished just as the monkey growled and lunged for him. Sanzo put up the required amount of struggle, a lamp and the nightstand taking the brunt of their tussle until he was pinned to the bed.

Breathing hard and unable to move, he gazed into inhuman, golden eyes. As Goku leaned down and nipped at him, he said with a quiet sigh of relief, “It’s about fucking time, monkey.”


TBC