Healing Hands

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

Disclaimer: If I owned Saiyuki, then this kind of event would have happened, it's as simple as that. But Saiyuki belongs to the great Minekura-sensei, and not me. I also do not own the rights to Aloe Vera. The product's name is not mentioned but appears in this story.

Betas: Orenda and D-chan

--Written for Pervasive Threnody and AliasOfWestgate's "Summer Detour Challenge." For those of you who do not know what it is, you should check out the website posted in their user profiles to find out more about it. The pairing I challenged myself to do was Gojyo/Hakkai, and this was the result.--

::WARNING: Contains shounen ai, meaning two males having romantic feeling about each other. Also, parts of this fic can be considered to have a bit of citrus or very light lime. You have been warned.::

It really shouldn't have gotten to him. The weather had seemed to be more severe in several aspects that past year, and he knew that it wasn't his imagination. Heat never was a problem - it was the humidity. He, who was the son of a water sprite, had trouble with humidity. His roommate suggested that it was due to his human blood.

Damn humans.

Well, whatever the reason behind it, he couldn't sleep. He was tired enough to not head into the village. It was just… he needed to do something. Sighing to himself, he kicked aside the sheets that stuck to his body – his blankets having already been pushed aside in an attempt to find relief.

Gojyo grabbed the pair of formerly discarded shorts from the floor and slipped them on quickly. Yes this was his place and yes he did live slightly in the middle of nowhere, but it didn't give him license to walk around stark naked. Not since he got himself a roommate. Contrary to popular belief, Gojyo did have a little bit of modesty.

The window had been left open in an attempt to capture a breeze, but it appeared that he had no such luck. Very little moonlight made it in. Several large trees stood around the sill, creating a small canopy.

His toe caught the corner of a chair, making his foot smart.

"…the hell?" the chair was pushed in at the table – a place where it never seemed to be. He still wasn't used to living with someone who would put things away that they didn't put out of place themselves.

Actually… that got him thinking. Adjusting his path, he headed to check and see if his roommate faired any better in an attempt to get some shuteye.

The door of Hakkai's room was wide open, much to Gojyo's surprise. His roommate would often leave his door ajar on warm nights, but still valued his privacy. And indeed – he was not in his room.

Gojyo turned around and headed for his front door. He had a feeling that his demon companion had the same thoughts as he did. Wary of the chair now, he made it to the door without incident. Stepping out onto the practically nonexistent landing, he glanced to his left and saw a figure obscured by the darkness leaning against his house.

"Hakkai?" he almost whispered, loud noises just felt out of place at this time of night. Even if he were to have brought a woman home on a similar evening, they would usually be exhausted by now and sleeping. The combination of heat and humidity turned him off to the idea of being intimate with anyone anyways. Well, now if they could find a nice spot in the river…

The water sprite shook the thoughts from his head. Such thoughts would be beneficial if he actually had a date. Right now, he had Hakkai. A man – well, a demon – who's companionship was better than a multitude of one-night stands. A demon who seemed very preoccupied with something on his mind, so much that he did not respond to Gojyo's call.

As he had drawn close, he had realized that the demon was also shirtless like himself. Sitting on the ground, he had his knees pulled towards his chest, blocking from plain view the large scar Gojyo knew was there. Absentmindedly he touched his marred cheek, feeling the grooves carved into his skin that would never heal. But… Hakkai's was still fairly recent even if they were a year old. Maybe one day they'd be able to be scar-less (or it would fade to the point that only those who knew what to look for would see). He wished that for his friend. It was something that Gojyo knew that he himself would not be able to have.

"Hey, Hakkai-" walking over, the redhead reached out to touch the brunette's shoulder. At his touch the demon jerked suddenly away, emitting a sharp yelp that was tinged in pain. Instinctively drawing back, Gojyo wondered what he had done wrong. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – well, besides the fact Hakkai was shirtless and he seemed to never take off his clothes – but he wasn't depressed or anything. He wasn't even trying to hide something – that fake smile he wore when he locked his feelings away was gone too.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the demon apologized. "You just startled me, that's all."

"Really?" he answered skeptically. Somehow he had the feeling that wasn't the whole story. The demon was in a good mood, but he still wasn't saying everything.

Hakkai chuckled as Gojyo sat down in the spot next to his friend. "Yes, 'really.'" He looked the water sprite up and down as he made himself more comfortable. "You couldn't sleep either, I presume?"

"That's why I'm up," Gojyo said simply, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Damn humidity…"

They remained silent for a few moments, but the more he was out of bed the more Gojyo was getting restless. Eying Hakkai, he caught the demon giving him the same kinds of sideway glances. Both caught in the act, they immediately looked forward, trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

"How about you?" Gojyo said finally.

"Pardon?"

"Why are you up?"

"I… couldn't get comfortable." Hakkai kept his features carefully monitored, Gojyo could tell even in the minimal light. Well, it wasn't going to work on him. He would find some way to weasel it out of his friend.

The water sprite grinned. I'm glad I'm not the only one. You'd have to be fucking crazy to enjoy sleeping inside on nights like these."

"Yes, I know." Hakkai's expression softened. "I'm just not used to the heat. I grew up in an area that was pretty chilly all year. It would also snow fairly randomly…"

The redhead shivered at the thought of snow. He tried to live in warm areas for a reason. Cold plus Water Sprite did not equal A Happy Gojyo. He shook his head. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so damn picky.

Stretching out his limbs again, Gojyo pressed his back into the side of his house. Despite the hard ground, he was already becoming much more comfortable than he had been a short time ago. Deciding to try to steal a glance at the demon again, he realized that his friend had not been leaning back against his house like he had previously thought. Peering closer, he saw how lightly the demon rested his hands on his knees. Something wasn't right. "…you ok?" Gojyo asked, a slight tinge of concern in his voice.

This nightly encounter had been the first Gojyo had seen of his friend all day – the half-breed had had a favor to repay and was gone for the whole day. When he had got back, Hakkai had been gone. This wasn't unusual, but he had been surprised when he didn't see him before going to bed. They would usually talk over his evening cigarette or a drink or a card came (or some sort of combination of those choices), but he had missed that tonight. For once, he was not in the mood for a smoke or alcohol. Indulging in them would make him feel warmer, anyways. Of course, that left…

"Hey, are you up for a few hands?" he asked, good naturedly. He wanted to see how he'd fare against his friend tonight. Most likely he'd lose, yes, but Gojyo was never one to not keep trying. One day he'd beat Hakkai at cards, he just knew it.

There was a look of satisfaction behind the brunette's eyes. "As long as we leave the door open." He chuckled. "Maybe then we'll be able to get a breeze…"

More like a nonexistent one, Gojyo thought briefly. Oh well, the air wouldn't be so bad to deal with as long as he knew he wasn't the only one who had to suffer.

Finding their way inside, Gojyo flipped out his lighter to light the candle on their dining table. They didn't really need that much light, and if he turned on the main lights it would only make the house warmer. Rummaging in a drawer he found his dog-eared set of poker cards, and turned back to his opponent.

He blinked once, and then twice, not quite believing what he saw. Thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him, Gojyo waited until he had sat down before saying anything.

"Is something wrong?" Hakkai asked.

The half-breed sat down at the table and put the cards down on the surface. He made no move to shuffle them or anything – all he did was stare at Hakkai, as if he were trying to figure something out.

"Hakkai, am I seeing things or are you sunburned?" He queried in unsuppressed curiosity, with a hint of apprehension in his voice.

The demon chuckled nervously. "No, you're right. But it isn't that bad. Nothing to worry about."

Gojyo continued to give his friend a concerned look. "A burn is a burn, and you can't heal yourself like you could if I had gotten burned…" His hands had been inching towards the cards, but they suddenly stopped. "…I'll be right back."

On that note, he left Hakkai in a somewhat confused state (which was a feat in and of itself) while he went in pursuit of what he wanted.

His search lead him to the bathroom medicine cabinet. Briefly glancing in the mirror before opening the door, he ran a few fingers through his long hair in an attempt to make it behave somewhat better. It was a conditioned reaction, but he wondered idly why he cared at the moment. Hakkai had already seen his hair messy that night, and there had been many mornings that he woke up with a rat's nest. If it wasn't for the fact that he happened to like his hair long, he'd just chop it all off. It would be much easier to take care of.

The inside of the cabinet was emptier than he remembered it. Glancing at some of the expiration dates, he realized that none of them were outdated. It also proved how long it had been since he had had to actually go through it – obviously his roommate had gone through it somewhat recently.

Scanning the various bottles, Gojyo was glad that the one he wanted had not been thrown out. He grabbed it quickly and headed back to the table, where he found a poker hand dealt out for him facedown at his spot. Hakkai's own hand was facedown, waiting patiently for his opponent. However, instead of sitting down, Gojyo grabbed his chair and carried it around and sat it behind his partner.

"And here I thought you were subtle in your "strategies" to win. You aren't usually this obvious," Hakkai joked. "Or… tell me, is this some new version I've never seen before?"

"This is the "We're-not-playing-until-I-get-some-of-this-on-you" version. Now, turn your chair around so I can get to your back easier."

Gojyo could see that Hakkai wanted to protest, but when the demon realized that he wasn't going to back down, he obediently did as he was told.

"This stuff works wonders," Gojyo explained. "It'll keep you from drying up and it'll add some moisture to your skin."

"You sound like you just read the label," Hakkai pointed out.

"Nah, just repeated what my doctor friend told me about it."

"Isn't that just about the same thing?"

"I trust his word before any label." Squirting out some of the green gel from the bottle, he then set it down on the floor and paused.

"Let me know if I'm pressing too hard."

"Really, Gojyo, it doesn't hurt that bad – ahhhh!" The brunette cried out as the half-breed's hands touched his skin. Gojyo drew his hand back again, wary of the additional pain he was causing.

"'It doesn't hurt that bad…' Yeah right," he said decisively before his expression softened. "I'm sorry, though. But this is going to make you feel better later…" He brought his hand forward again – this time more cautiously. "I never wanted to hurt you…" he whispered in a voice that even he barely registered.

Hakkai's back arched slightly at the touch, recoiling lightly from the pain. This time, however, he only hissed, doing the best to hold in his noise.

About a quarter of the demon's back was covered before Gojyo broke the silence again.

"How the hell did you get such bad burns? I never remember you getting burned before…"

"Well, you know how hot it's been recently…" he began, "…and when I was on my way to town today there was an elderly couple that stopped me. They said that they had heard that I could do most anything," he laughed nervously, "and asked if they could buy my services for the day."

"How much money did they pay you?" That was his first concern. If he had gotten a lot, Gojyo would be able to take it easy when he went back to the card tables. He had a feeling, though, that they didn't get much.

"Enough for our next few grocery lists, assuming Sanzo and Goku don't stop by," he laughed. "Then I'd say we would barely have enough for one…"

"Stupid monkey trying to eat us out of house and home…" he squeezed more of the healing gel on his hands and then continued. "Anyways, what did they have you do?"

Hakkai paused for a moment to think. "Mostly just odd jobs here and there. Although I did have to pull some weeds and that's when I got burned – ow!"

"Sorry. The half-breed's touch lightened as he finished his friend's back. Getting an idea, he leaned forward and blew gently on the brunette's shoulder.

Hakkai started, and the redhead could tell he was shocked by the sudden coolness.

"Gojyo, what are you-"

The half-breed grinned and did it again. "Just drying your back," he said innocently. "It wouldn't be good for me to put this on you and then have it rub off immediately when you go to bed-"

"-But I thought we were going to play cards first."

"-Who said we weren't?" He blew against Hakkai's lower back, but this time his body did not jolt in reaction. He was growing used to it, but from what Gojyo could tell, his heart wasn't slowing down at all.

The candlelight flickered as the faint air currents from his breath traveled across the table. Their shadows flickered, but they were generally ignored by their keepers. Back now dry, the brunette wordlessly responded to his friend's request to turn around in his seat.

Now facing each other, Gojyo did not miss the look of confusion that was aimed at him. Mentally, he decided to rectify that. It wasn't like Hakkai to be confused. Casually touching his chest, he proceeded to do the exact same thing he had done a few minutes ago.

From the angle he was at, it appeared that the burn on Hakkai's chest was nowhere near as harsh as the one on his back. Only a light pink (at least in this light), much less gel was needed to coat the patient's chest. Gojyo took great care as he passed over the damaged skin – trying to take Hakkai's mind off of it with masseuse-like motions. It seemed like, for once, one of his nighttime hobbies actually had a practical use. Taking a finger that was still coated in gel; he dragged it down the brunette's neck and twirled it around his nipple. Deciding that his friend had been coated enough, he blew on that spot, and enjoyed seeing a sharp intake of breath be the result.

It wasn't until his own coated fingers had been caught by his breath that he realized that his skin had been heating. He had thought it was because of the accursed weather at first, but he had too much experience with this sensation to dismiss it as anything else. Cursing the fact that Hakkai was now coated, Gojyo wondered what he was supposed to do with his hands. He stared at them for a second before looking to meet his friend's gaze. That look of confusion was gone now – replaced by something Gojyo couldn't seem to name, but was still very much familiar with. All he knew was that his friend looked so much different right now – with the small flame of the candle flickering in the glossy wetness of his eyes. His eyes – that looked like the forest did right now. If he turned at just the right angle – his eyes looked black instead of green. Hakkai had looked at him like that only once before and last time he –

Gojyo was unable to finish that thought. While he had been busy trying to sort things out in his mind, his friend had leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. The half-breed decided to tell his mind to shut up for a minute, and turned his full attention to Hakkai. He pressed in a little harder, and found his partner returning his action with equal interest. However, it wasn't until Gojyo felt a slight twinge in Hakkai's reaction did he pull back.

"…aren't your lips sunburned too?" he asked, their mouths only inches apart.

"…not as bad as my back," Hakkai replied.

"But if they're burned, then why…" he was silenced as the demon brushed their lips together again. Gojyo knew he should have pulled back – Hakkai was still injured after all, but he found himself only encouraging the demon to do more. Before the kiss could become heated, however, Hakkai was the one to pull back. Gojyo mentally nodded. They could continue this another time – when Hakkai would be able to enjoy himself more. Seeing that the moment had ended, Gojyo picked up his chair and put it back in its normal spot and sat down.

Hakkai picked up his cards and smiled one of his true smiles. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Gojyo waved a hand at him, as if it were no problem. He picked up his cards to assess what he had when Hakkai spoke again.

"I think that I'm really beginning to feel better," he said nonchalantly. "Perhaps you could put more of that on for me tomorrow too?"

Gojyo just grinned. Of course he would.

I'm so happy, I finished my first Gojyo/Hakkai fic. ::smiles:: I hope you all enjoyed it, and comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated – especially since this is my first fic for this pairing.

-Iapetus