You've Got Something

Notes: Gojyo wasn't sure Hakkai meant it when he offered him a reward. Hakkai proves him wrong.

2: Sweets for the Sweet

"Gojyo!" Goku's voice rang and Gojyo had to remember not to sit up immediately, because he'd hit his head on the underside of a wheel assembly before and he didn't want to get his head X-rayed again. Besides, the axle was bent, and he couldn't risk his hard head making it worse. (Or keeping him from repairing it, either/or.) He slid out first and wiped the soot from his mouth.

"What?" He spat to the side and squinted towards the sunlight beaming in through the skylight, as Goku, his apprentice and assistant, hung in the doorway.

"You got a customer!" He grinned broadly – the kid never did things by half measures. "A cute one!"

"Oh?" Gojyo grinned and wiggled an eyebrow. "So, is this your kind of cute or my kind of cute?" He made a point of fixing his hair in its ponytail and smearing his face clean, as Goku guffawed and rolled his eyes.

"Both, duh. Everyone at the bakery down the street is super hot, y'know? I'm scared to even go in 'cause I just know I'm gonna make myself look stupid in front of the pretty girl at the cash register or the huge hot guy hauling cookies out of the oven." Goku snickered and stuffed his hands in his jumpsuit pockets. Goku was learning the trade as Gojyo's apprentice, and the kid was pretty handy, but their alternate cashier could only come in some days, meaning Goku spent most of his time at the counter unless Gojyo really wanted him to see something. He seemed proud to wear the uniform, anyway. Gojyo lumbered to the door, his steel-toed boots heavy on his feet, and mussed the kid's unkempt chestnut-brown hair.

"Yeah, monkeywrench like you would just screw it up." He gave his head a good, hard pat, and shuffled past him towards the shop. Goku spun around and chased him.

"Quit callin' me a monkeywrench!" He tackled Gojyo, and Gojyo, laughing, stumbled through the door to the shop while trying to pry him off.

The kid was only a little younger than Gojyo, but Gojyo hadn't had a little brother until someone assigned Goku here six months ago. He got lost in tussling with the little brat until someone cleared his throat, and what Goku said actually got through to Gojyo. 'The bakery down the street.'

"Gojyo?" Those tones, sweet like syrup, struck Gojyo like a chime, and Gojyo spun on his heel with Goku still hanging off his shoulders to see Hakkai waiting, a thin hand over his wide mouth and a box sitting on the counter. Gojyo's stomach fluttered as if his batteries had died and were trying to restart. He hadn't seen Hakkai since last week, when he'd restarted his little car, but he'd thought about him a lot. A lot. Seeing him for real took the elation he got at those fleeting memories and kicked it into overdrive.

"Hakkai! Glad to see ya!" He leaned into the counter as if Goku weren't pretending to strangle him. "How's the car?"

Hakkai smiled demurely, clearly following Gojyo's lead and ignoring Goku. "It's just fine, though I'd hoped to set up an appointment for you to put the correct spark plug in. I haven't yet received an invoice, however–"

"I didn't charge you." Gojyo set his hands on his hips, but Goku let go all at once and slammed his hip to the counter to lean over and glare up at him.

"Why not? We need the money, idiot!"

Gojyo placed his hand on Goku's head and torqued it towards Hakkai. "Goku, this is Hakkai. He owns that bakery down the street. Hakkai, this's my apprentice."

Goku took a long look at Hakkai, and stage-whispered, "He's really pretty," as if Hakkai couldn't hear him. From the rosy color that suddenly dusted over Hakkai's cheeks, he certainly had.

"Goku, the pleasure's mine." His focus shifted back to Gojyo as Gojyo shoved Goku back, but just as quickly to the floor at his feet. "And Gojyo, I really would like to see an invoice. You saved my business from what would likely have been a very nasty online review and my reputation from a one-way-ticket to the trashcan; paying you for your services is the least I can do." Hakkai patted the box in front of him. "That, and this." He indicated the box he'd brought, white with pink flowers like polka-dots printed in a scatter over the top around Hakkai's shop logo. Hakkai pushed it towards him, and Gojyo opened it up.

Treasure couldn't glow so golden, and certainly wouldn't smell so sweet. The box was loaded with muffins of all varieties, blueberry, cinnamon swirl, pistachio, each labeled with a toothpick holding a flag in ornate script, as well as a set of four cinnamon rolls. Hakkai giggled and indicated the cinnamon rolls. "I believe I noticed your apprentice's taste in confections last I was here. These don't contain sodium benzoate or xanthan gum."

Goku swiftly nipped around Gojyo again and grabbed two cinnamon rolls. "These look way better than the ones in the vending machine!" He shoved one in his mouth, and tears of joy came to his eyes. "Mey faste metter foo!"

Hakkai, ever the picture of class, stifled a giggle into the back of his hand. "I'm glad you're enjoy them. I had them specially baked this morning. In fact, everything in the box is freshly-baked today." He glanced up to Gojyo, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "Truthfully, I'm almost glad you didn't come for your reward. That helped me to make sure it was all as fresh as it could possibly be."

"Wow," was all Gojyo could say, and his stomach growled, as if to remind him he'd skipped lunch again. "I mean it, wow."

Hakkai was still blushing, and couldn't quite make eye contact. "Yes, when you said, last time I was here, you had nothing but coffee since six that morning, I wondered if you did that every day, and I thought you deserved nothing short of a calorie-rich treat."

"Holy cow, dude." Goku poked his head out from behind Gojyo again, his hands empty and flecks of frosting on his upper lip and cheek. "This is fantastic, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," Hakkai said, but Gojyo snorted.

"Kid, go take a look at that rear axle on the Mazda 3 in there, see if you can't get the bolt on the passenger side wheel loose while the adults talk shop."

Goku jumped a little, brushing crumbs from his lips as he jogged back into the garage. "You got it!" Gojyo waited for the kid to vanish down into the bay, before turning back to Hakkai with a charming grin. Hakkai, of course, was apprising Gojyo behind his glasses.

"So… he thinks I'm pretty."

"Yeah, kid's so pan he's a skillet, and in his head, he makes everyone hot." Gojyo smirked to himself; he'd had to fend Goku's crush off when they'd met – Gojyo wasn't interested in some twenty-year-old who acted like he was twelve half the time, teacher-student relationships were a real fast way to end their working relationship, and Goku had pretty quickly figured out their personalities would clash anyway. Hakkai, luckily, giggled at Gojyo's joke.

"I should be flattered." He then folded his hands on the counter, and his gaze followed them. "I… should ask why you never stopped by."

Gojyo felt the change in his demeanor, as if Hakkai had sucked some of the light from the windows. He looked like he'd deflated, like a shadow had overtaken him. "Uh. I honestly didn't know you meant it."

That was one way to put it. Gojyo hadn't thought Hakkai meant it, some people would say anything when they were desperate. There was also the terror that came with trying to talk to someone a second time when he'd found them so charming the first time. Hakkai, so attractive, so charming he could never screw up when talking to someone he really liked, now pouting in everything but expression, let his back slump.

"Oh, but I did." Hakkai turned back towards him, his hands wrung again. "I had hoped… I supposed I'd wanted to see you again. I do understand, of course."

"No, you know what? I'm the asshole here." Gojyo thumbed his chest. "You did invite me, I was the jerk who didn't show up. That's on me, and I'm way sorry. Believe me, I totally wanted your sweets." Gojyo reached for one of the muffins – lavender lemon, so the cute little flag said – and took a bite, chewed and swallowed. It was heaven on the tongue, the crumb loose and fluffy, the flavor coating his tongue and soothing his throat all the way down. Glory, heaven in a single sweet bite. "Aw, man, and it really would'a been worth my while if I had." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned. "It's fantastic. Thanks for bringing this by."

Hakkai had brightened, his expression warm as if bathed in summer sun. "Perhaps you could stop by in the mornings, when they're fresh out of the oven. We have coffee, as well. If you come in when I'm there, it's on the house."

Gojyo's stomach flipped, and he leaned over the counter towards him. "F'real?"

"Er, yes. Very much for real." The casual speech sounded uncanny from Hakkai's elegant mouth, but he smiled nonetheless. "You'll think me silly, but I'd rather like to see you again."

Gojyo felt a whirlpool churn in his chest, excitement beating against the confines of his ribcage like a field of butterflies frightened into motion by a single footstep into their view. "You don't say." He nervously rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin creeping into place. "I guess… would it be weird if I said I wanted to see you again too?"

Hakkai wrung his hands again. "Not at all."

Gojyo went for it, and leaned on his elbow, towards him. "And what if I said I thought you were good-looking, too?"

"I'd say I wouldn't mind, as long as you have nothing against skillets." Hakkai winked, and put a hand next to Gojyo's arm. Gojyo grinned, because damn, that was easily the least awkward "Hey, are you into dudes?" conversation he'd ever had.

"Nah, not at all." He lowered his arm as he leaned back, but his hand landed over Hakkai's on the counter. Hakkai didn't move away, no, he edged in a step closer and ran his thumb over the inside of Gojyo's hand. Gojyo felt the stupid smile come back, and lost himself in Hakkai's warm expression.

Then, Hakkai withdrew and yanked a kerchief from his pocket. "Do hold still." He rubbed the kerchief to Gojyo's cheek, and embarrassment flushed through Gojyo when he saw the grime that came away. It vanished when Hakkai leaned in and kissed him on the cheek instead, and he felt himself go all red, redder than his hair, hotter than the afternoon sun. Hakkai, still smiling, backed away again. "For breakfast pastries, muffins are fresh on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, croissants on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and I prepare an assortment of danishes every morning in addition to the daily cakes and sweets. Come and see me. I promise you won't regret it."

Gojyo, dumbstruck as Hakkai retreated another step, then turned around. His steps were a little floaty, and damn, Gojyo envied how he could hold down his excitement almost seamlessly. Breathless, he managed to call after him, "Hey, don't forget to bring your car in! I'm gonna special-order the factory spark plug for you right now, so, uh…" Hakkai glanced back, his glasses catching the light, and he beamed.

"I'll need an oil change, too. Promise you'll take care of me?"

Gojyo couldn't answer, he just kept his stupid smile and nodded a few times. Hakkai waved with his fingers, giggling behind his glasses, and let the door fall shut behind him. Gojyo found himself still grinning at the shop bell as it chimed, until Goku hopped back in, mopping his sweaty brow and smearing grease from his fingers.

"Got the screw loose. Nothing a good wrench and a lot of elbow grease couldn't fix." He grinned at Gojyo and grabbed another muffin out of the box. "So, uh, what'd you and Hakkai talk about?"

"Stuff. Things." Gojyo put his elbow on Goku's head, pinning him in place. He was still affixed to the last place he'd seen Hakkai. "I think I like that guy."

"Yeah," Goku chuckled, and took a huge bite out of the double-dutch chocolate chip muffin in his hand, as Gojyo brought his hand to rest on the one clean spot on his cheek and swore an oath to himself to never wash that spot again. "Me foo."