Yo. Set during the Snow Drop story arc of Reload (the manga) or of Gunlock (the anime), and you're probably going to be wondering what the f&k's with all the kids if you haven't seen/read it.

That being said, it was such a truly heart-wrenching story, I wonder if I am desecrating something sacred with this PWP, but then the whole thing revolves around the First Night, and no-one was to know what would happen the Next Night, so really my projected fixation with Gojyo's hair (the style, not the colour) is all in light-hearted fun, an experiment/exercise in voice, almost-smut and Hakkai as seme, cause I like to think he is, at least some of the time.

PG-13 for:

Language (Gojyo's)
Hands where they shouldn't be (Hakkai's)
and
my bloody awful title but I really couldn't think of something better. Polls are open to suggestions.

All the usual disclaimers apply. Oh and if you haven't already guessed, 85 manlerv implied (heavily, you could say). Don't like, yomanai yo (don't read. duh).

PS Extra marks for anyone who gets the Pirates reference! ;) Also, is it just me, or does Gojyo sound somewhat like Tokitoh...? I think Timmonsgray's characterisations are getting to me (in a good way! A good way!)

1555 words. Oneshot.

Strawberry Twist

Gojyo was almost asleep when he felt the blankets he had wrapped himself up in tugged at the edges, letting cold air in despite the fire banked low in the center of the cave. The snowstorm continued to scream by outside, smothering the sounds of the couple of dozen sleepers inside kept surprisingly snug by a heavy rug over the opening and the combined warmth of bodies. They'd been lucky. Yakumo and the kids were all holed up a little further inside, past another rug dividing the cave into outer and inner portions, so the four of them had the living space to themselves.

Only some rugrat must have woken up, stumbled out and found him a lump huddled under a pile of blankets roughly the same size as it's guardian. Just his luck.

"Shit." He managed to mutter under his breath and then louder. "'m not Yakumo, kid. Go back to bed." They really had taken more of a liking to him than he liked. It had taken him an hour to get his hair out of those pigtails. He still wasn't ready to forgive them for that. Not even the girls.

"But Uncle Gojyo-san…" came the whispered voice. Uncle? Damn it, hadn't he told them to call him Big Brother? He wasn't old enough to be an uncle.

"Look, you-" And then he came properly awake. That wasn't a kid's voice.

And that wasn't a kid's arm sliding around his waist either.

"Hakkai! What the hell are you doing?" It was really hard to sound shocked without raising his voice, but what with Hakkai squirming underneath the covers behind him and using that arm around his waist to spoon their bodies flush against each other, waking up half the place by yelling would probably have scarred anyone in the immediate vicinity under the age of ten.

"Oh, my apologies Gojyo." Came the hushed voice close to his ear, and he could bloody well hear the smile in it. "I was cold on the other side of the room, and you looked so warm over here…"

Gojyo, scowled into the almost-darkness and caught the hand that was traveling south before it could get anywhere near where it seemed to be heading. He was right enough; it was warm under the blanket, and getting warmer, but that was absolutely no reason-

"Are you fucking insane?" he hissed, trying to shoulder the other body away, only to succeed in pressing himself back into the solid length behind him – and consequently noticing for the first time the solid length behind him – since all Hakkai did was roll with him rather than resist. "There're kids in the next room!"

"Oh yes, I know." Hakkai's cheerful voice did nothing to alleviate his concerns as he rocked them back to flush again. "Weren't they just adorable? They took such a liking to you! I was almost jealous."

Gojyo scowled again. "Oh very fucking funny Hakkai. Jealous of a couple of six year-olds? Yeah right. Now, how about you – Get your hand off! – how about you just go back to your bed like a good little boy and-"

And what had he been about to say? Hakkai's tongue was in his ear, and he kind of forgot.

"But I want to play with you, Gojyo-niisan."

Now that was just wrong, and even Gojyo knew it. Nobody ought to be able to mimic a six year old that well. Not when their breath was freezing wetness trailed around the shell of his ear.

"Cut that out!" he ordered, but actually it sounded more like a gasp than a demand. "You're cold, fine, then stay. But we are not-"

"I want to fuck you."

Gojyo's breath froze in his chest and his heart turned over with a frightening 'flop'. "What? Fuck, no. No way. Not here. Are you insane? Yakumo would-" He'd tear them limb from limb, that's what he'd do. Shit, Gojyo knew an overprotective father when he saw one (not from direct personal experience, but still) and he was not about to do anything that was going to piss that great, towering, smiling, fucking scary youkai off, especially if it involved unsolicited sex education lessons for which none of them would be even remotely prepared.

But Hakkai was not being the active listener.

"I want to tie your hair in pigtails" he started again, his voice low and thick and hot, "and fuck you until you can't breathe."

"What?!" Gojyo jerked, and in his surprise he completely forgot to mind that hand… "Ah! Shit, Hakkai! No! You can't!"

"No? Why not?"

It was all Gojyo could do to keep that hand from moving. How the hell Hakkai managed to get it in his pants so fast Gojyo never knew. The man was a master of misdirection. And once misdirected, Gojyo was usually a slave to somebody's desires. Hakkai's fingers, firm around him in the confines of his pants, made it feel like the pulse traveling through him went all the way to his toes. In another few moments, it was going to be all Gojyo could do to not help that hand to move, and then it'd be all over because moving would require moving back and Hakkai was hard against him in exactly the right spot.

Well, almost.

No. No, no, no, he couldn't think about that. That was a Bad Idea.

"Because, you crazy, kinky bastard," and he actually managed to sound pissed, even whispering, "I cannot be that quiet. Fuck, if Yakumo doesn't kill us Sanzo will. And he'll blame me. You know I fucking hate that. I can get myself into enough trouble, thanks, without you to help."

"But Gojyo…"

Shit. Not with the…thing. The voice. Hakkai played goddamn dirty pool. It was not right.

"Not now."

For a moment, neither of them moved, and then Hakkai's hand finally slid out of his pants, without bringing anything out with it. Gojyo released a sigh of relief and hoped to hell Hakkai couldn't feel him shiver.

"Alright then. When?"

Gojyo would have slapped a hand over his face, had that hand not been busy trying to get his clothes back into order. Not that that ever seemed much of a barrier.

"Later. Shit, when we get to the next pitstop, alright?" He could feel Hakkai smiling again as he nuzzled into the hair at the back of his head. "Providing we can get a room to ourselves." It was always a good idea to add provisions. Hakkai was notoriously literal when it came to parley.

"I'll manage." He said confidently, and then his arm was back around his chest and his body was back to being flush against his back. "But I'd like to stay anyway. I promise to behave myself and be back in my blankets before any of the children are up and about."

Gojyo considered it. He considered exactly how much he could trust Hakkai. He concluded: hardly at all, but hell, if that had ever stopped him in the past he wouldn't be in this predicament now. "Fine. I told you fine before, didn't I? Sheesh, you freak. Pigtails? What the hell was so great about my hair in pigtails?"

Hakkai snuggled in against him, sighing happily as he insinuated a knee between Gojyo's legs underneath the blankets.

"Oh," he murmured, "I just…liked it, that's all."

Gojyo wanted to shake his head. 'Liked it'. Man, that must be some serious 'like'.

And everyone thought he was the perv.

Gojyo woke to a crisp, clear morning, a list of chores and half the population already up and about. Actually, he woke to a four year old with a teddy bear bouncing on his chest, but that was by the by. By mid-morning he was chopping and carting wood, paying out on Goku, dodging random glomps around his legs and glaring at Hakkai whenever he got the chance. Hakkai, of course, smiled obliviously. Sanzo sat on a nearby log, smoking and not deigning to get his hands soiled with manual labour. Yakumo wandered over and they talked for a little while. Gojyo wondered what about.

Just before the snowball fight broke out, he caught the sound of Hakkai's laugh dancing across the snow. He turned – he always turned, it didn't matter what he was doing – only to find his friend a ways off, crouched on his haunches, talking with a couple of the youkai girls, the ones that had been crawling all over him yesterday in fact. They were nodding their heads and laughing at what Hakkai was saying, and their small hands were pressing something into Hakkai's larger ones. Hakkai beamed a smile at them like they had just gotten all their math right, and then he stood up and wandered away from them, back to the woodpile. He looked so damned pleased with himself, Gojyo would have laid large, sure bets something was up.

"Alright, spill it Teacher." He demanded as soon as Hakkai was within hearing range. "You, taking bribes over there or something?"

Hakkai looked at him and smiled coolly. "Not at all." He assured smoothly. "I only asked to borrow some hair ties."

Gojyo opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and Hakkai only grinned and strolled past him, humming a tune to himself.

Well, Gojyo thought, he probably ought to learn how to plait.