Disclaimer: These guys belong to Minekura-sensei, not me. Pity, that.

A/N: Thanks to Befanini for the beta!

Come To Me

It had been a ridiculously hot day, even by this trip's standards. At least the desert had been dry, though the heat had been so extreme that Sanzo could swear he'd heard the sweat evaporating off of them. Here, the trees pressed in close and the heat pressed in closer. It felt like they were trapped in a goddamned sauna.

So when they found that the little trickle Jeep had been traveling beside widened out, and at one point deepened enough to actually swim, the day's travel was done. Never mind that it was barely three in the afternoon.

Goku nearly fell twice, stripping as he ran whooping to the water. Gojyo laughed, but Sanzo couldn't help but notice he took the time to help Hakkai unload things from the jeep, rather than rushing into the water himself. Why? He must have been miserably hot in that jacket. Well, whatever. He was getting in. He stripped down to his jeans, making sure the sutra was wrapped safely in his robe.

Hakkai sighed as he picked up Goku's scattered clothes. "Maa, maa, Goku. You're lucky we're here to make sure you don't lose something." He folded everything and set it to the side before meticulously folding his own clothes, wrapping his monocle in his headband and stepping into the water himself. Maybe he was so concerned with getting cool that he didn't notice, though Sanzo didn't think so. Did he know something about Gojyo that Sanzo didn't?

Because even now, Gojyo was taking his time, though he wasn't being as careful with his clothes as Hakkai or Sanzo. He carefully stepped into the water, but Sanzo's attention was distracted by Goku's annoyed voice.

"What the—" Goku held a hand to a bleeding nose. "Naaaaa, I didn't hit it or anything!"

Hakkai sighed and went back to the shore, where he'd left a handkerchief with his clothes. "That's why you shouldn't jump straight in, Goku. Quick temperature changes aren't good for you."

By the time Sanzo looked back to Gojyo, he was standing almost waist-deep in the water, pouring a handful of water over his head. "Damn. I thought that humidity was going to kill me."

Sanzo made a vague sound of agreement from where he floated on his back. Best to enjoy the lack of splashing while Goku tried to staunch his bleeding nose. "Wouldn't you cool down faster if you just dived under?"

"…Do you want to see me all wet, cherry-chan?" Sanzo didn't have to look to imagine the grin and the wink aimed his way.

He kicked a wall of water toward Gojyo, irritated. "Don't flatter yourself, kappa."

There was no more talking for a while. Blessed silence… but eventually, Goku came splashing back into the water, completely ignoring Hakkai's warning to take it a little slower this time around, and splashing Gojyo all over again. This of course started a fight between the two of them, never mind that they got in the water for the sole purpose of cooling down. Sanzo was still debating whether it was actually worth the effort to go back to shore to get his gun when he saw it again.

Goku had jumped onto Gojyo's back, using the momentum to send the kappa crashing underwater. There was the original splash, yes, but then there came a flurry of arms and legs flailing, and when Gojyo came back up, only a few seconds after falling, he was sputtering and gasping.

"Bakazaru!" He punched Goku in the arm, and Goku winced.

That small thing, a wrinkled nose, down-turned lips, confused eyes froze the moment. Goku and Gojyo fought all the time, and this certainly wasn't the first time one of them had socked the other. But they never really did it with the intent to hurt, and Gojyo had actually hurt the monkey this time, even in a small way, and he wasn't sorry. Not at all. And he shouldn't have been that angry over something stupid like getting dunked in swimming hole.

"Ow…that really hurt, you jerk!"

Gojyo grumbled something under his breath and stalked out of the water.

"Maa, Gojyo…"

"It's no big deal, Hakkai. 'M just gonna go get a smoke."

Goku hardly waited until Gojyo was out of hearing range—in fact, Sanzo was almost positive that he wasn't, not quite—until he blurted, "What's up with him?"

"It's been a long week for everyone. He's just reached the end of his rope, Goku, that's all."

"Well, he could have warned me or something, instead of being such a jerk."

"Stop whining," Sanzo aimed this splash at Goku.

Gojyo didn't come back to camp until dinner, what there is of it, was almost finished, though Hakkai had managed to save a plate for him. After a few awkward jibes and a round of smacks with the harisen, everything was back to normal. Though Sanzo noticed that Hakkai asked for Goku's help rather than Gojyo's to do the dishes, even though everyone knew that when Goku washed the dishes, Hakkai really ended up doing them all himself—Goku always left crusts of eggs, or slippery spots of not-quite-scrubbed-off grease, or forgot to rinse off all the soap. Everyone turned in early.

Sanzo tossed and turned for a while—damn, he hated sleeping on the ground—before he gave up. It was too hot, it was too humid, the ground was too bumpy, and the cool water was right there. He got up, considered putting on the damp jeans he'd worn earlier, decided against it. It was going to take them long enough to dry as it was.

So he just shucked off the ones he was wearing and walked into the pool naked, sighing quietly in relief at the cool water's touch. Despite the heat of the summer, the water was blessedly cool, the temperature borrowed from the still-frost-dusted mountains from which the creek sprang. He was so intent on just enjoying this time alone, that he almost missed the presence on the bank.

"What are you staring at?" He snarked, without bothering to turn around.

"What makes you think I'm looking at you, egotistical prick?"

"Well, it'd be pathetic even for you to be up in the middle of the night staring at the water like a scared little kid."

"Who said I was scared of it?"

"People who can swim don't freak out when a kid dunks them underwater."

"Ass."

"…Come here."

"…Why?"

"I'm only doing this once, idiot, so get over here already. And take off your clothes, unless you want 'em getting soaked." When Sanzo turned around, Gojyo was knee-deep in the water. He worked to hide his surprise—he hadn't thought Gojyo would actually get in the water again. He won't look at his crotch. He won't! He rolled his eyes instead.

"I said, come here."

"I did!"

"Do I look like I'm over there, nimrod?"

Gojyo made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, but he walked forward through the dark water. Sanzo could tell it made him nervous, but to his credit, he didn't stop his slow walk into the water. Sanzo took a few small steps backward, gliding more than walking, slower even than Gojyo moved toward him. Soon, the water was halfway up Gojyo's thighs, to Gojyo's waist. It was nearly to his chest before Gojyo stopped.

"Stop moving, you dick!"

"I'm not moving."

"Yes you are! You weren't in that deep before!"

The water was nearly to Sanzo's chin where he stood now, though he remembered from Goku's swimming earlier that the water was easily two meters deep in the very center. Still, the pool wasn't wide, so Sanzo took another step back, moving to his tiptoes to keep his mouth above water. "Come here."

It was a battle of wills for a long minute, but Gojyo eventually took another step forward. And Sanzo stepped backwards. He was treading water now. "Come here." Gojyo was up to his shoulders. "Come here."

"Damnit, I can't! I can't swim!"

"And you never will if you act like such a freaking chicken shit all the time. Come. Here." Sanzo held out his arms in front of him, and he refused to think about how much it looked like an invitation to embrace, refused to think of how much it reminded him of summers when he was small and someone who told him If it didn't drown you then, it certainly won't now. Catch me, and we'll go back to shore. "If you can touch my hands, we'll go back."

Gojyo took a deep breath and struck out into the water. He fumbled, he splashed. He reached out for Sanzo's hands. Sanzo swam backwards.

"You goddamned arrogant son of a…!"

"You're fine. You're not drowning. You're fine. All you have to do is touch my hands."

"Quit moving, then!"

"I'm not moving."

"Yes you are!"

They continued that way until Sanzo felt his feet squish into the mud. He hid his smile and took a few more steps backwards. "Come here."

"I am! Stupid baldy monk…" Gojyo's feet suddenly hit the mud. He stood still in shock, looked back at the opposite shore. Eight meters. Miles. He smiled down at the water still at his chest. "Huh."

"Oi, kappa. You're not done yet." Sanzo was still standing there, arms outstretched. "Can't get back to shore until you touch my hands."

The way back was still hard, but it was easier. Gojyo knew what to expect, knew what Sanzo was doing, knew his feet will touch the mud again. This time, Sanzo let Gojyo slap his palms in victory. He refused to think of how it was different from when he was small, when victory was landing in Master Koumyo's embrace, his own small feet just even with his master's submerged waist.

Gojyo punched the stream's surface. "Ha! Take that! Stupid water!" Sanzo's eyebrow twitched. Surely he was never this immature about learning to swim.

Note: On bloody noses in the swimming pool—I've done that. Go running around all over the place in 100+ degree weather and then go jump in the pool? You'll end up with a bloody nose. At least, if you're like me you will.

Also Note: This (minus the cursing, naturally) is actually how my father taught me how to swim. Always close enough to catch me, just in case I really went under, but always just out of my reach until we'd crossed the length of the pool. It's still one of my fondest memories.