The Remedy

He knew he shouldn’t do it. Every fibre of his being told him he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn’t help himself. In his mind, he tried to justify it; it was the insomnia, it was the frustration of this seemingly endless journey, it was the fault of the vicious bastards who had left him mentally scarred and incapable of even admitting to his own sexual desires, anything but the truth. Anything but admit to being lonely and horny and unable to do anything about it while others satisfied their urges.

Genjo Sanzo was used to being unable to sleep. He napped, he dozed, he nodded off occasionally whilst travelling, but he rarely actually slept. Night after night he would lie awake in whatever run down little inn they managed to find, or – if they were particularly unlucky – in a drafty tent. Now and again Hakkai would offer a helpful suggestion or offer him some sort of herbal remedy to assist his rest. Sometimes he would drink himself into a stupor and pass out. These methods worked only for a few scant hours and soon enough he’d find himself staring at the ceiling, cursing the night. When morning came, he’d blame Goku’s snoring for the bags under his eyes and Goku would always look contrite, even though he knew he played no part in Sanzo’s sleeplessness. That was just the way the monk was. Always had been and always would be.

In the dead of night, sounds appeared to be amplified. Noises that would otherwise be disguised by the hustle and bustle of every day life, like the creaking of the roof as it settled after a warm day or the chirrup of insects, would seem so loud and annoying. He cursed them too. There was one sound however that Sanzo didn’t curse, no matter how loud it got.

Sanzo knew that Gojyo and Hakkai were lovers. It didn’t take much to work it out, especially when one heard them going at it, night after night after night. At first, the squeaking of bedsprings and barely suppressed gasps pissed him off but gradually, instead of grinding his teeth when the sound started up, he would find himself listening intently and anticipating the next moan. At first, it was entertainment. He would amuse himself by guessing which noise came from whom. Sometimes, he’d time them, trying to guess how long it would take them to reach their peak.

One night, almost of its own accord, his hand stole under the bedcovers and squeezed an erection he wasn’t even aware of having. Disgusted with himself, Sanzo withdrew the hand and covered his head with his pillow, attempting to drown out the noise. He wouldn’t do that – he couldn’t do that! It was a bad thing, not that Sanzo had much of a problem with the other bad things in his life, but masturbation was a particularly bad thing. It was almost an admission that he wasn’t in control of his body. Besides, he couldn’t do that while the monkey was in the room. The last thing he needed was the inevitable questions that would follow should Goku wake up to find him mid-jerk.

That was the thought that caused Sanzo to lose control of his body. Against his will – it had to be against his will because he would never actually consider doing this so it must be his body’s way of rebelling, the bastard – Sanzo snuck out of the room he shared with his charge and pressed his ear to the door of the room next door. The one that Hakkai shared with Gojyo. The one which just so happened to house two rutting demons, grinding against each other, whispering pleas for the other to go harder and faster. Sanzo listened as Gojyo’s begging became louder and Hakkai’s gasping became harsher and then, with two hoarse groans, it was over.

He told himself he had been sleepwalking and went back to bed.

Two nights later Sanzo found himself in the same position, only this time he told himself that he was going to knock on the door and tell them to shut the fuck up because they were keeping him awake. Only he didn’t. Instead he listened again, his hand twitching against his leg as if waiting for permission to do something else. Sanzo snorted softly when he imagined himself having an argument with his hand over whether he should be allowed to attain release. To forestall any further argument, he shoved both hands in his pockets, making them both into fists lest his fingers took on a life of their own and inched towards the ache in his groin.

Then, they camped out and Sanzo discovered an entirely new temptation; watching. After dinner, Hakkai announced that he would wash the pots and cups. Gojyo offered to help and followed a little too eagerly. Goku casually commented that since the other two had gone off to wash dishes, he was going to take advantage of the quiet by turning in early. Sanzo’s jaw dropped when Goku said what he hated most about camping out was that the tents offered no protection against the sounds of Hakkai and Gojyo screwing. Ignoring the horrified look on his master’s face, Goku wandered off in the direction of his and Sanzo’s tent.

Sanzo sat and smoked. The other two had been away for a longer time than was required for washing a few dishes. He should look for them, after all times were dangerous and who knew what trouble those two could find for themselves, wandering around a forest at night. He could hear Goku snoring and briefly considered following his charge’s lead and attempting to get some rest himself. But then his traitorous body pointed out that he might never get another chance like this and shouldn’t he at least satisfy his curiosity?

Body won and Sanzo traipsed through the undergrowth pretending to be pissed off despite the bubble of anticipation that welled in his stomach. It didn’t take long for him to track down Gojyo and Hakkai; the sounds of their lovemaking gave them away. Not having to curb the volume of their session meant Sanzo could easily follow the noise of Gojyo’s throaty groans and drawn out pleas. In fact, he was so busy listening that he almost stumbled into the clearing where they were, but managed to catch himself just in time.

Surprise outweighed his curiosity when he saw Gojyo on all fours with Hakkai ploughing into him. Sanzo had always imagined it to be the other way around and he couldn’t help the gasp of shock that escaped him when he realised he’d actually thought about who went where. He watched intently for any sign that he’d given his presence away, but the two demons in front of him didn’t once falter in their rhythm.

Gojyo tossed his head back. Sanzo watched as Hakkai latched his lips onto the long, pale neck and tried to imagine what it would be like to feel a pulse, beating rapidly under his tongue. That thought lead to another and soon, Sanzo found himself wondering whether he would prefer to be in Gojyo’s position or Hakkai’s.

Curiosity and arousal warred within his body until they reached a coup d’etat and the next thing Sanzo knew he was almost violently unfastening his jeans to reach inside and cup his erection. With the flesh on flesh contact, he shuddered, a breath leaving him that he was sure would have been overheard had the other two not been so focussed on themselves. Sanzo now turned his attention fully upon the spectacle in front of him. He no longer speculated on whether he’d like to fuck or be fucked; right then, he was happy to play the voyeur, vicariously getting off on the pleasure of others.

It was rare that Sanzo even acknowledged the needs of his body and rarer still that he indulged them, but in that moment of voyeuristic pleasure he couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t do it more often. Perhaps it was the prolonged period of abstinence or the fact that his own actions were mimicking Hakkai’s jerking of Gojyo’s erection but he knew he wouldn’t last long. In the clearing, the screwing pair were also nearing their climaxes, Hakkai’s hips snapping forward faster and faster. Gojyo’s hands clawed at the ground, trying to gain purchase as he rocked his hips backwards to meet Hakkai’s thrusts.

Gojyo came first and at the sight of his orgasm, Sanzo’s hand ceased its back and forth movement. Instead, he squeezed and flexed his fingers until his own orgasm overtook him. The sigh which accompanied his climax could surely not be missed, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He didn’t care that he’d spied upon the other two in their precious and private world nor did he care that he’d just done something which at any other time would have repulsed him. He felt satisfied, relaxed and very, very sleepy.

After wiping his hand on the grass and tucking himself away, Sanzo made his way back to camp and headed straight for his tent. He stretched himself out over the sleeping mat and almost immediately fell asleep. For the first time in as long as he could recall, Sanzo slept for more than just a few hours and awoke in a lighter than normal mood. The usual headache that accompanied the first rays of sun didn’t appear and the urge to take out his gun and shoot every single twittering bird was strangely overshadowed by a feeling of contentment. He glanced over towards his tent-mate’s mat and saw that Goku was gone.

Sanzo was the last to rise that morning, stepping out into the sunshine to see his three companions sitting on logs, enjoying a hearty breakfast. The cooking smells made his stomach growl and to the surprise of the others, instead of his usual breakfast of coffee and half a dozen cigarettes, Sanzo actually ate. After breakfast he declared it time to go and settled himself in Jeep to wait for the others.

“You look rested, Sanzo.” Hakkai cheerfully remarked, climbing into the vehicle, ready for the off.

“I slept reasonably well last night.”

“Ah good. I’m glad that you have found an effective remedy,” Hakkai glanced at Gojyo and Goku, slinging the last of their equipment into the back then leaned across and whispered, “Just please, try to keep the noise down in future.”

The end.