Title: PATTERNS IN THE SANDS OF TIME.
Author: Vamp
Pairing(s): Hakkai, Gojyo mentioned. Tenpou, Kenren, Gojun love triangle.
Rating: R.
Summary: Time can erase the mistakes of the past.
Notes: Set before the journey west.
Beta: Epiphanytiff
PATTERNS IN THE SANDS OF TIME.
Warmth from the early sun filters through the window of the little house we have all lived in for the last few months. Today is our last day here. Today things will again change. Just another pool down the long river of life.
In my nest of bodies, heat from both of them and the sun make me drowsy again. Before sleep catches me in her soft embrace, I marvel how my once lovers look snuggled up together. Gojyo lays on his back, one arm thrown over his head while the other lays across Hakkai`s shoulders, its hand weaving into the chocolate locks of his lover. Hakkai is on his front curled up on his red haired lover's chest, one leg twined possessivly around his; even in his sleep. I lay half on each body, a white heart surrounded by their flesh lines.
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"How can you be so blind?" I question, thumping the books in my hands on the desk before me. All I get for a reply is a shrug and vague wave, but I will not be turned so easily. "Field Marshal!" I yell. Tenpou jumps, scowling at me and I begin to wonder if I have pushed him too far this time.
"I am neither blind nor deaf. If, however, you can`t work out how many sides make up a triangle..." He trailed and storms out, the hurt on his face plain. Probably back to his library and General as well. I try not to grind my teeth at my rival's name.
This meeting was not meant to push my lover further away from me. But that is all I seem to have managed in a few short words. Walking down the halls to the walled garden I used for sword practice, I figure maybe I could lose myself in the flow of the movements, pretend for a little while this mess does not exist. For three hours solid, my body is protesting but I still feel the need to push it further. Like a punishment for not being able to keep that roving bastard off my man.
We still were seeing each other now and then. As I knew he was also seeing my rival and that hurt me more deeply than he could know.
It was quite a surprise to feel hands cover my eyes and Tenpou`s voice purr in my ear. "You look so intense and hot." he breathed, the last word a soft and silken purr. I relax against him, the sword clattering to the ground. He now replaces his calloused hands with a cloth, tied at the back of my head and gently guides me to the baths.
I want to voice the questions I have; to discover the reasons for this sudden change. But not really. Tenpou is known to change mood like the winds my people love to ride. It is part of why I love him so, why I will not lose him to that dark-haired flirt. "Relax, my love." he whispers to me as quick fingers undo my clothes.
"Am I your love?"
"One of them." I stiffen at his reply, his hands now at the nape of my neck gently rubbing at the tension.
"Yes, along with peaches, a well formed battle plan and pleasure in all its forms." I pull away and lose my top in the process. Bloody man. Always so calculating. Blindly I turn to him and hear his intake of breath. My rage is evident to him now but he stills my hands as I reach for the cloth.
"Leave it please." he begs. It could have been the shock to hear him beg like that, like the times I have kept him on the edge waiting for release, that alone drains my rage. I can always save it for when Kenren and I next spar. The thought makes me smile and I am rewarded with a long kiss, tongues dancing. Hands relieve me of the last of my garments, softly teasing me with the slowness of their removal.
This bath promises to be very relaxing, maybe this will sway my lover back to me. We can become the couple we were before...
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On waking again, I gently spread my wings to touch each man as I would have done back then had I not been so prideful.
"It needs three to be complete." If only I could tell you those words now. I finally understand what you were trying to do that day in the bathhouse; your question should have given me a hint. But I was so set on a battle that was never there to begin with.
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In the warm water of the natural hotspring baths of heaven, I could have melted, with the hand on my hard cock and the same man kissing me deeply. Moaning softly, water moves and his mouth disappears, his hands back on my chest; exploring. I am relaxed and I trust my lover, but those hands have me struggling up out the water. More hands are applied to my chest and soft kisses round my ear as I fight.
"Relax, my love. You know I will not let anyone harm you."
Still I move against the two bodies I am now sandwiched between. The blindfold has slipped and I can see my worst fears are there, smiling softly at me. Those odd hands belong to Kenren! It was not that he did anything Tenpou had not done, but he has different callouses on his fingers. Both men see my panic and their smiles drop like stones. Space opens up as one withdraws and then the other; admittedly slower and with a more hurt expression.
Kenren gets out the water first, reaching for a towel to cover his rock-hard erection. I feel mine twitch at his aroused body.
"I told you we should have tied him up first." The raven-haired man says then pulls out a packet of smokes and lights up. Tenpou just shoots him a look and he winces like I had earlier that day.
"Gojun..." My lover runs his hand through wet hair before offering it to me, both peace offering and invite.
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Softly a cheep can be heard as more light creeps in to the room. Gojyo moves slowly a hand to brush against my wing then Hakkai's finger draws languidly down my spine. Such joy they can bring me, even now, when our triangle has little hope of being true.
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Angry words flow from my mouth, each one a blade to both their hearts. Thrice I stab with the blade of my pride. Once for one, once for the other and surprisingly once for myself. I could not see the love they had was also for me. I walked out the bathhouse and the warm embrace of my lovers. The day shifted, a perfect path never taken and the chance was lost.
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Hakkai gently slips me off of Gojyo, but not before I can steal a licking kiss of his cheek. Turning in my present-day master's arms, I steal a kiss from him too.
"Let's get some coffee on, shall we?" All I can do is Kyuu my agreement. Today I will carry my lovers on a journey that could be their last, given the foul mood the monk is usually in. But I have a feeling that the Goddess has not finished playing with our lives. After all, she has bought all of us together again. Maybe we are not just a triangle but really one that is part of a pentacle. A part in many different shapes as the world changes about us.
Love after all is not just sex, it is the stillness in the night when your heart touches another's and feels the pulse of completeness. So as I look at them both eating at the table for a brief moment its like looking in the past. Kenren smoking while teasing Tenpou about the book he is reading. For a single moment, both of them look at me at the same time and my heart beats contentedly.
The miles roll by under my wheels, broken only by the need to stop and allow my passengers out to deal with the next band of stupid youkai. They usually return whole, if blood splattered, and we start again.
I don't really hate my chosen form of transport for them – more the time spent in it for the sake of the journey. But there are compensations; Kai always apologizes if he crunches gears or has to drive me close to my limits and Gojyo will sneak a treat for me when he believes no one is looking and tends to keep his ash outside when we are on the move. It's on those endless miles I have taken to drifting off into memories of the past; some hurt, some bring joy, some the chance to reflect.
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Quiet words, spoken in such a tone that I can't hear what they are, but hear enough to know that they are private. By the thudding in my contracting chest I can't deny how it affects me. Turning, my hand drops from its readiness to knock – I will let my love have his sweet moment with the general. Strong powerful legs have me outside in mere moments so I can catch the winds and fly away, thoughts tumbling about my mind.
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A sudden hard jolt from my brakes slamming on, throwing my passengers about like tossed rice and bringing me back to the present. Soft apologies from Hakkai for his sudden case of lead foot and 'what a nice place to have a brake and a bite to eat'. Again he covers for me; I hope to push back memories of a past jealousy. I like my little dragon form; nothing like the mighty beast I used to be, but then in this one I can nuzzle soft chocolate locks, kiss the ear with silver cuffs – with Hakkai there is no fear of showing my affections. In heaven it would infuriate me how he never seemed satisfied with my more reserved advances, encouraging me to be bolder.
Like Kenren.
A side of me he saw fully only in the bedroom. Still, I felt like a shadow had been laid over us; one the general did not know he had left on all the places he and my lover had coupled in. My mane bristles anger and regret, soft fingers unthinkingly petting me to calmness. Cradled in Hakkai's lap, as Gojyo leans close, his fingers work magic on both our bodies. For a moment my red eyes see Kenren kneading Tenpou's back. A flash of sunlight and it is gone from my drowsy sight, warmth and his hands lulling me into a nap.
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"When have any of my plans ever led you astray? He gives me a calculating look over his glasses before carrying on: "If you don't like it…" A shrug. "…I've seen you looking at the general too."
I rise from behind my desk, perhaps a little too quickly, turning to look out the window to hide my embarrassment. I deflect.
"I was only trying to work out what he has to lure you away so often."
A small sigh issues from my dark haired lover as I talk about his other affections. I'm still shocked at the proposals he just outlined to me and I'm buying time. Clear green eyes look into mine; I know my field marshal can read every twitching muscle in my face. I roll the idea around in my mind once more. Despite myself, I burn with curiosity.
"Kenren won't know about me being in your room?" Is it a sign of weakness to ask such a thing? Tenpou knows I am self-conscious about out relationship – dragons are secretive, after all, and we tend to hoard our treasures rather than let them walk about bold as brass.
Looking back at him as I nod my consent, I was already wondering to myself what they would look like together. Did they share the role of uke?
Time moves fast, and it's not long before I find myself in place, nerves making my smallest dragon form quiver in its hiding place. A form I only agreed to take for Tenpou. Easy laughter filters through the door, heralding the arrival of both Kenren and Tenpou. Perched on the shelf I slouch down into the shadows, a hiding place my lover had chosen for me, even moving some books from the always-cluttered shelf. Even Tenpou's bedchamber was like a library – the flow of books covering the room like a growing weed, choking shelves, furniture and even the floor. At least now he keeps the bed free of volumes. An ornate scroll case I bought him had expressed how much displeasure I had for such things. I still marvel that he listened.
Finally, they both come where I can see them, relaxed and very aroused. Both gods shed the others clothes in a complicated dance amongst the books. I had feared Tenpou needed to ply the raven haired swords master with his treasured rice wine, but the strategic devil was right; all was progressing just as he had planned – an unseen choreography to the dance they made. Watching them undetected bought a flush to my scales, blood rushing through me. Mesmerized, I watch them naked on his bed, hungry mouths joined together, hands still dancing over one another, touching sensitive spots and swallowing the others moans. Their cocks rubbed together in a desperate yet sinuous attempt to release a little of the mounting tension.
Gentle words were passed between the two lovers before me – Tenpou acted as if he didn't know that this time there was an audience watching him. I had expected to feel burning jealousy, to feel sick at another touching so passionately what I thought of as mine but publicly had no right to voice, yet I was captivated by them. It was with a curious awe I watched my field marshal lay back at the head of the bed, spread legs inviting and a good view of his thick fully hard member already crying its beads of moisture. Then my view was blocked by Kenren kneeling between those legs I felt protective of – I watched as the troublesome general slowly prepped Tenpou for penetration. I had to admit the sight of them was erotic, and getting to me as aroused as they were, unexpected feelings stirring in my mind.
I don't know how I managed to control myself while I watched them; after being teased and stretched Tenpou had switched places with Kenren, who was now laying down, his cock looking like a spear of rock, soft black curls framing heavy balls. I found myself biting down on my lip to silence a groan at the sight of Tenpou taking that spear to the hilt in one move. The usual lusty cry trembling from him at feeling so full.
Suddenly, I found myself wanting to be there, to kiss down his exposed back, to suck on his ear and make him shiver while he rode Kenren. But then I also wished to feel myself pushing into Kenren's hidden joys, brush his sweet spot and watch him arch back in joy. With a smile I realise why Tenpou had been so insistent on this devious plan. Not for some personal kink as I had thought, but to get his point across – if he could love both a rebellious god and the Dragon King of the Western Seas equally then why could I not also love equally? As always, my wily lover had broken through my tough hide to shine the light of understanding.
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Hakkai's finger down my spine wakes me and brings me back to the present, the group waiting for me to continue on this journey of discovery the goddess almost seemed to have planned out; it cannot be mere fate that we are all once again in the same time place, nor serendipity providing the distractions on the way West. Little discoveries, chances to redeem past wrongs… well, it would have been if any of them remembed those days long since gone. Deep down I suspect there is some knowledge, some rememberance of past ties, other wise Sanzo would have shot the monkey king on their first meeting instead of letting him out to tag along as he so often complains about.
I shift form and become quickly packed by very experienced hands. Even the weight of all four of them is comforting to me as once again the miles roll by under my wheels.