Title: Andúil
Author:Aerith Queen of Cetra
Chapters: 1/1
Summary: One sip. Two sips. They'll never know.
Genre: Romance / Angst
Beta'd: Nu-uh!
Warnings: Shonen ai, Alcohol, (which I do NOT endorse! (Shifty eyes)), lies, Hakkai XD, me going against my OTP's (SanzoxGoku and GojyoxHakkai XD)
Disclaimer: What's the word I'm looking for (flips through Irish Dictionary)…úinéir! I am not the úinéir of Saiyuki! Kazuya Minekura is the úinéir! XD
Author's Comments: This began as a one-shot that I thought up in Economics class and now I decided to do a series of one-shots! On De-Merit Goods! Next up, Alcohol!
Andúil
Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness.
– Seneca -
Distraction. That was what he needed, although he'd never admit it.
Son Goku was only ever capable of two things; hunger for food and hunger for battle. At least, to Sanzo and Gojyo this was so.
Goku would never allow them to see anything else; deliberately or unintentionally was the true question here. The heretic wasn't sure which was the case.
But at that moment, with his hands languidly dangling by his sides and his back folded across a simple wooden chair, he would say it was unintentional.
His stomach was fit to burst apart from the large meal he had inhaled, and moving seemed an impossibility at that time but still, he managed to unlock one eye lid and leer towards the hallway to the far side of the inn where Genjyo Sanzo had disappeared down, most likely to drown himself in the lusty haze of tobacco.
Goku give a soft grunt and flopped over onto the table, flashing a brilliant grin towards Hakkai who cast a subtle smile at him from over the top of his drinking glass on the opposite side of the rectangular table.
An uncomfortable looking Gojyo soon followed the Priest's example and fled the dying remnants of conversation left there.
Hakkai and Goku were all that remained at the table, sipping a cool drink and staring at the other one, respectively.
"Is something the matter Goku?" Hakkai asked patiently, setting down the small glass onto the table with a soft tinkle.
Goku blinked in confusion and scratched the back of his head, "No, nothing's wrong Hakkai. I'm just thinking."
Hakkai's eyebrows arched kindly; a gentle contrast to the taunts of Gojyo or the would-be grunts of Sanzo. "About what, Goku?"
The heretic stared favourably at the glass on the table and the elder male gave an indiscernible frown as he tilted the tumbler gently towards the younger one, careful not spill any of the precious clear liquid inside.
"Why would you be wondering about this of all things, Goku?"
"Well…" Goku leaned closer to Hakkai, balancing his elbows on the table, "I was wondering… why you drink it."
"Why we drink it…" Hakkai pondered to himself, attempting to come up with a plausible and honest response. "Well, there are many reasons Goku. Peer pressure for example, or even simple curiosity but the one thing I'd say applies to a great many people would be…"
He lifted the glass in front of his face, holding it tightly like a fond friend. "… That it can prove to be a distraction… from all of the burdens of life. You can just forget about them, at least for a little while."
A melancholy expression shrouded the elder male's features as he moved to take another sip of his drink, only to find the direction of the glass suddenly shift to the opposite side. The dangerous liquid had fallen down the pursed lips of Son Goku.
Hakkai could only let out a short cry of the other's name as Goku fell back into his place on the seat, shaking his head and grimacing as the sharp substance skidded down his throat.
"Why did you do that Goku?" The simple statement was more of a command than a question.
Goku looked up and gave a slightly less than enthusiastic laugh, "Call it a mix of all the above reasons."
Hakkai thought for a simple moment, is eyes showing no mirth, "So, what do you need a distraction from, Goku?"
Goku lowered his head and mumbled, "Get me another and maybe I'll tell you."
Closing his eyes to the weight of the silence, Goku kept his head low, not expecting Hakkai to actually follow through; so he was surprised when two large bottles of alcohol thudded to a halt onto the table several moments later.
The younger man opened his eyes just in time to see a waitress stuffing a number of notes into her apron pocket as she walked away from Hakkai.
The green-clad man stood up steadily and picked up the two bottles, motioning for Goku to follow him upstairs to their rooms.
Both had considered the annoyance of their fellow party members at their sudden leave of absence but since it was late and they each had their own rooms, Hakkai and Goku decided that it didn't matter.
He followed Hakkai as the man opened the door to Goku's own room and invited him in first, which Goku immediately obliged to, opening himself to the soft heat of the space and settling himself down upon the edge of the bed.
Shutting the door behind him, Hakkai strolled towards the table at one side of the room and set down the two bottles.
Goku observed him warily as Hakkai broke the sealed caps off of the two bottles, pulled off the two complimentary glasses from the top and poured out two glasses of whatever the beverage was inside of them.
"They can't know about this, Goku. All right?" Hakkai told him as he handed over one of the glasses to Goku, who anxiously clutched it.
The heretic nodded mutely and shakily threw back the glass in one gulp, whilst Hakkai settled for smoothly sipping his.
The next glass between them was taken at a much calmer rate for the younger male, who was adjusting to the bitter taste more easily than he had first anticipated.
By the time they had finished the first bottle, Goku had already began to feel the effects kicking in. He lifted the virgin liquid of the second bottle to his lips and took a tiny sip before he turned to Hakkai to murmur the first words spoken since they had reached the room.
"I'm kinda shocked you'd actually do this Hakkai."
"Speak for yourself, Goku. I was quite surprised when you stole my drink."
Goku erupted into a fit of hysterics, struggling to keep the drink in the tumbler. "You know something? I was too! I dunno why I felt like doing it, I just…did…"
As Goku shrugged down the rest of the perilous glass, Hakkai poured himself his first glass of the second bottle; opting, for that moment, to hold it in his hands rather than take it.
"Are you ready to tell me what you need a distraction from Goku?"
The brunette made a pondering noise and shrugged, grabbing the first bottle and trying to squeeze a few drops from it, gaining a minor victory in that struggle before he discarded the bottle.
"I dunno Hakkai."
"I would like to know though, Goku."
"And I'm telling you that I don't know what I need a distraction from." Goku practically shouted as he made a motion towards the second bottle on the table and poured himself another glass.
"I just need one…don't ask me why…" Goku flung this glass roughly past his lips, cracking his teeth against the abused glass.
Hakkai smiled forlornly and tossed back his glass in one go, the first time he had done such a thing since their rendezvous began. "I see… the unknown reason… the best reason for a drink…"
Goku fell back against the wall that his bed rested against, dropping his glass onto the sheets beside the empty bottle. "Cos you know that reason too, Hakkai."
The elder man nodded hesitantly in reply. Truly, he should have been able to blame his lost love for his need of a distraction but he could no longer find himself completely blaming her for this. There was a tiny suspicion in the back of his mind that said it was something else, something he couldn't identify, something he may never even decipher…
Hakkai leaned forward, grabbing the short neck of the near-full bottle and shaking it, "You're right Goku, my unknown reason is a very small one indeed but yours…"
He turned his unguarded eye towards the boy who had seemingly drifted off into a land of slumber.
"…I can see that yours is just a little bit worse than mine. You're of a legal age to drink this anyway, but Sanzo and Gojyo would never be able to see that… you're still just a kid to them..."
Hakkai shook his head and pulled himself out of his overly comfortable seat, removing the empty bottle and used glass from the bed and setting it away before grabbing the boy by his shoulders and laying him down properly onto the bed.
The boy mumbled and blanched in his sleep and Hakkai took a moment to give him another poignant smile.
Even the youngest of their group wasn't exempt from the follies of the world.
Grabbing the base of the blankets, Hakkai pulled them up to Goku's chest as the boy fell into a momentary calm.
Placing a gentle hand onto the heretic's chest, Hakkai leaned down and placed a soft kiss onto the bitter gold of the diadem, watching it sneer at him in the dim lamplight.
Hakkai paused in his retreat and watched the tainted breath escape from Goku's mouth, his lips obediently curving to the will of his lungs.
Giving an elegant smirk, the man leaned down and enveloped those submissive lips in a light and delicate kiss, absorbing every taste of alcohol and Goku's own buried flavour.
It felt better than expected, and as Hakkai pulled back, and touched his wet lips with thin fingertips, he couldn't help but consider that he was, perhaps, slightly more intoxicated than he had first expected.
Sliding to the ground, his back against the side of the bed, he was quite reassured to have a lock in place on Goku's door.
Closing his eyes and pushing back any feelings of regret, he succumbed to the mercy of sleep alongside Goku.
In the morning, Hakkai would awaken to find Goku curled up next to him, after having fallen out of his bed in the midst of the night.
Goku would awaken to find Hakkai's arms curled contentedly around the younger man.
They would both awaken to the conclusion that alcohol was to blame for that situation.
But neither would awaken to any conclusion that they would soon give up that miraculous drink.
Hope you enjoyed this pointless crap! I wanted to rewrite it cos I don't quite like it but then I re-read it and decided "What the hell!"
Wow, second fic of the day with unconscious kisses... XD
I can't believe it but I ended up spelling Gojyo's name wrong in 'Aficionado'! Stupid automatic spell checking device which I programmed wrong! XD
'Andúil' means 'Addiction' in Irish. Kinda, the name of this series! (And don't flame me for putting an Irish name in a fic about alcohol! I'm Irish myself! XD)
Second Part of my 'Addiction' Series:
Part I: Aficionado - GojyoxSanzo
Part II: Andúil - HakkaixGoku