Jien stared at his brother – his half-brother, really – and wondered how it was that those villagers could be such bastards to Gojyo. Everything about the man was beautiful, from his height to the silk curtain of hair that framed his smartass grin.
"Hey bro, could you not push so hard? That stings, you know." Gojyo laughed while Jien cleaned around a wound that would need stitching. Gojyo's friends were out securing peace in the wake of the riot they'd come upon, a riot that erupted because some people didn't understand the allure of red hair.
"Sorry." Jien pulled back and rewet the cotton swab with rubbing alcohol. "This should last you until your healer friend can fix it up."
Gojyo fished around his pocket for a cigarette. "Nah. He'll just let me suffer for a while so I learn my lesson." He lit up and took a long drag. "Guess that'll teach me to be a nice guy, eh?" He chuckled and the dryness of it made Jien's stomach twist. "Maybe I should just head back to that castle place with you and forget all this crap. It's not like we've got anything left to do around here." He stretched and let out a puff of smoke. "You know, I got a real shitty deal. The humans and the youkai can all play nice now, but neither of 'em wants me around."
Jien had always been bigger than Gojyo, wider and stronger, so lifting his brother out of the chair he was sitting in wasn't difficult, neither was setting Gojyo on the rug. The hard part was getting Gojyo to keep still while Jien kissed at his neck and ran a hand up and down his side. "I'll always want you," Jien said, pulling back to stare at surprised red eyes. "No matter what, I'll always be here for you."
He knew Gojyo was going to ask to be let up, so he covered sunburnt lips with his own and pinned Gojyo's arms with a large hand. Gojyo struggled, biting at Jien's tongue and kicking out with legs too wiry for Jien to properly contain.
He could taste the brandy Gojyo drank to excess just a an hour ago, coupled with the bitter aftertaste from the cigarette that was burning a hole in the carpet. "You should quit," he said as he nuzzled Gojyo's neck."
"I don't think me smoking is the problem. Get the fuck off of me." Gojyo tried to break free again but to no avail.
"Shhh." Jien's hand ran down Gojyo's chest and under the waistband of his jeans. "I'm distracting you from the pain until the others get here." He raked his teeth along the side of Gojyo's neck while his fingers continued downward. "You can distract me, too."
Gojyo winced as Jien's finger's wrapped around him. "Let go."
He kissed Gojyo again, hoping the protests would soon be gone. "You're too beautiful for me to ever let you go," he whispered. "Far, far too beautiful."