King Rat: Our Kingdom
Author Notes: Man, after updating two weeks in a row, I feel kind of like a loser for skipping a week! But this chapter took me forever to get done, to the point where I am now ignoring schoolwork to edit it! Aren't you all proud of me? (No, not really.) (Shut up.)
Review responses!
Dragon77: Don't worry, Jien will most certainly be around. The rest of his group, no doubt, will show up eventually.
RodiSquall: I'm sure Jien will be as careful as he wants to be. After all, he is a wanted criminal. And oh my yes is Gojyo taking a risk by not telling him about it. Sanzo's got enough trust issues as it is! Sanzo's already pushing his own boundaries by letting Gojyo and the boys get close to him, who knows what it'd come to if Gojyo started hiding things from Sanzo?
Kakashii'sWifey: Aww, you flatter me! Thank you! As for Hakkai, well, he's not doing anything "shady" per se, but he is definitely overworking himself. But this week is not the week to talk about that. This week, it's the boys' birthday!
Without further ado!
Disclaimer: I do not own and do not profit.
6: We Survived the Year!
"... And this is Uncle Ji." Gojyo set Eiji into Jien's open arm. Yohei was already awake and leaning on his other shoulder. Sanzo was away that night, and Gojyo had let Jien in a few hours before dawn, when he was changing the boys' diapers and had woken them anyway. Jien seemed amused with Gojyo's introduction.
"Uncle Ji, eh?"
"They ain't much for long words yet."
"Ca Ji?" Eiji took hold of Jien's ear, and he laughed.
"Ca Ji, kid. That's right." Jien wore a grin like a sideways moon as Eiji yanked on his ear. "And you're Eiji. And he's Yohei. You know your big brother's name yet?"
"Actually, he doesn't," Gojyo interjected, leaning against the bedroom wall and folding his arms as Jien shimmied the twins in his arms. "In fact, they can say anyone's name but each other's."
"Well, ain't that some shit." Jien cocked his head. "Do they know their own names?"
"Nah. They answer to them, but they don't say them yet." Gojyo shrugged his shoulders and took the spare moment to wipe off the changing table. "I'm surprised they pick up everyone else's name so fast, but their own escapes 'em."
"Well, kids are hard to predict. I remember when you were a baby, you'd start screaming every time I put your shoes on- and then when I took them off." Jien smirked at the memories, and Gojyo scoffed and turned away. "Oh, and then there was the time I took you to the park, and you looked at the little fountain they had there and started yelling 'bath, bath!' Of course, me and Dad told you no, but you threw yourself at the ground and started rolling around and screaming-"
"What, Dad was there?" Gojyo frowned, and Jien's face lost its excited animation.
"Ah, you were real little. Only a little older than they are now. It was before-"
"It was before people figured out what he'd done," Gojyo muttered, averting his eyes to hide his spite. He pushed himself off the wall and dug his fingers into Eiji's hair. "This one's only getting away with it because we told everyone we found him- and Yohei- abandoned. But ain't nobody pretending they like me."
"Bro, that ain't true-"
"Only adults I can talk to without getting the old side-eye are Hakkai, Sanzo, and Goku."
"You can talk to me-"
"At four in the morning, when nobody else is home."
"Shut up," Jien groaned. "Whose fault is that?" Yohei seemed to suddenly rouse and grabbed onto Jien's other ear, and he chuckled. "Not you, little guy."
"How can you expect my friends to be anywhere near willing to accept having you around? Besides that, you're kind of still a criminal. I bet Hakkai'd haul you in for both of your bounties in a second."
"Guess that means I'm not invited to the birthday party." Jien lifted Yohei to sit him on his shoulder and detach him from his ear.
"How'd you know their birthday was coming up?"
"You didn't figure it out?" Jien chuckled. "Guess it never came up. Well, aside from the fact that I can do math, I know a little more than you'd expect. Don't you remember, round this time four years ago, you and your buddies holed up in a little town for a few weeks straight to rest? How many times did they have to go off and take care of attackers?"
"I don't remember them having to fight at all- wait." Gojyo turned to Jien, eyebrows raised.
"Yup. Me, Kou, and Yaone tracked you there and gave out orders for our forces to give the place wide berth, reporting no signs of you bein' there and starting rumors that the place was home to a crew of crazy dangerous youkai hunters so they'd avoid it." Jien smirked proudly as Gojyo held his jaw shut. "And, if any idiot did wander a little bit too close, we took care of him for ya. Bro, I was walking a kilometer perimeter around that river the night your friends dragged you into it." Gojyo wrapped a strand of his hair around his finger, and Jien could see the wheels turning in his head.
"So, uh, you didn't see anything, did you?"
"Nah. We heard most of it, though. Yaone cried after she heard Eiji here start up." Jien rubbed his chin on Eiji's head. "We had no idea what you did with them after that. Kou said we'd wasted enough time on you all, we'd done our part, and we beat you to your next checkpoint, but all of us wondered where they'd gone."
"I had no idea." Gojyo laced his fingers into his hair. "I... damn. Thanks."
"What are big brothers for, right?" Jien grinned and set Yohei down. "Since I ain't gonna get no cake out of you guys, I might as well pass these on now." He picked up the satchel he'd dragged into the house with him and held it out to Gojyo. "For them."
Gojyo took the satchel and opened it. Two pair of shoes were inside, one red and gold, one black and blue. "Whoa." He took the shoes out. "These are nice!" He examined the tops and bottoms- the soles were soft, but firm enough to walk on. "These things must've been expensive."
"Not too bad, really."
"But they're gonna outgrow 'em in like, a month."
"Don't care. If they're on their feet- and they are- they need shoes." Jien watched as Yohei toddled from Jien's side to Gojyo and began to wander. He was more steady on his feet by the day, and he was getting better at climbing, too. "See? Needs shoes." Jien set Eiji down, and took the blue shoes from Gojyo. He got on his hands and knees and began to slide Eiji's feet into them. "Fit pretty good, too." He set Eiji on his feet again, and Eiji shook his feet curiously.
"Are they heavy on you?" Gojyo got on his knees as Eiji tottered unsteadily forth.
"He just ain't used to 'em." Jien smirked and lifted Eiji off his feet again, and took the shoes off. "Guess you'll have to hide them until their birthday."
"Yeah, I'll wrap them up. You care if I say I got them?"
"Nah, I don't care. As long as they get some good use out of them." Jien handed the shoes back to Gojyo, and took his empty satchel in hand. "I'd best be on my way. You be sure and sing double-loud for me when they get their cake."
October 11th arrived, and Sanzo arrived in the morning with Goku a few meters behind him. The latter was overloaded with parcels up to his eyeballs, while Sanzo carried a single box. He didn't even have to knock, as the door was flung open the moment they approached the door.
"There you are!" Gojyo beamed. Hakkai turned over his shoulder from the kitchen. "Man, look at all that stuff!"
"Yeah, Sanzo would'a bought out the whole store, but I couldn't carr-" Goku hissed as he caught up with Sanzo and Sanzo discreetly picked his foot up off Goku's.
"It seemed a modest offering would be appropriate," Sanzo explained as he stepped back and urged Goku into the house. "After all, they grow more day by day. I've brought clothes to last them the year."
"Excellent!" Gojyo clapped his hands together, as Goku gawked at the pile of presents already in the house.
"Sheesh, are these all from you?!" Goku started trying to count the boxes, and Gojyo snickered.
"Well, me and Hakkai."
"I've been budgeting this for months," Hakkai explained from his place over the stove. Goku promptly dumped the presents and rushed to see what he was doing, much to Sanzo's disgust. Gojyo snickered again and shut the door as Sanzo tried to straighten the tower of presents and checked to ensure none of them were dented.
"What'cha cookin'?" Goku asked as he peeked over Hakkai's shoulder and around his back.
"Birthday noodles." Hakkai demonstrated by stretching out the dough on the counter. "Extra-long for an extra-long life!"
"Whoa, can they eat that?" Goku gawked as Hakkai stretched the noodle to his arms' width.
"We might have to cut it up," Hakkai admitted sheepishly, still beaming proudly. "But we can eat ours."
"Awesome!" Goku's nose followed the path of the noodle in the air as Hakkai stretched and pulled the noodle longer and broader over his hands. "I'll take six!" Gojyo cuffed Goku across the head as he passed him to yank Yohei from peeking through the pantry.
"So, since we've got some time before lunch, what were we gonna do to celebrate?" He pulled Eiji out from under the table and flung the pair of them over his shoulders.
"I'm not sure." Sanzo looked Eiji up and down over Gojyo's shoulder, and Eiji looked him up and down in return, bobbing his head and giggling.
"Why don't you take them out of the neighborhood?" Hakkai suggested. "They've never left the area before, have they?"
"Hey, yeah, we could take 'em to town!" Gojyo grinned and snapped his fingers. Sanzo frowned, surprised, but Gojyo expounded, "Why don't we take 'em to a park or something? Isn't there a spot in town with, like, a petting zoo for kids?"
"I- I suppose there is." Sanzo drew his lips tight in thought. "But-"
"But what? Kids love animals and shit!"
"Watch it," Sanzo warned.
"Ah, come on, they'll have a great time!" Gojyo pleaded, and turned both boys to look at Sanzo. "Come on, guys, tell Papa- we wanna see the animals!"
"Anna-muls?" Eiji repeated, cocking his head.
"Annas!" Yohei chimed in.
"Fine, fine," Sanzo murmured, and rubbed his temples- he was getting a headache just thinking about it. "I suppose I know somewhere they can go to see animals." He looked at Goku, who had his nose hovering less than a centimeter over the edge of the steaming pot on the stove. "Do you want to come along?"
"Eh?" Goku looked up. "Me? Well, yeah!" He grinned. "Why would you think I wouldn't wanna come?"
"I dunno, maybe it's cause you're only thinking about lunch," Gojyo teased. "Awright- wait, one thing before we go!" He set the boys down and went to the pile of parcels, swiftly sorting through them. Sanzo took a moment to put his box in their icebox, then caught the boys and started putting their jackets on. Gojyo yanked out one of the boxes and put it down. "Let's open this one early!" Sanzo glanced at the box, shrugged, and released Yohei.
"Go on, look," he urged the two, and they toddled back towards Gojyo. He grinned at them.
"That's right, this is your first present, isn't it? Daddy'll show you how!" He grabbed the corner of the paper and tore it off. "See? You try."
Ten seconds later, the paper was gone and being used as a hat and scarf, and the boys were jumping and squealing as they threw shredded paper bits into the air. Gojyo laughed as Sanzo tried to get the two them back to Gojyo. "No, you look in the box!" He demonstrated by lifting the lid, and pulled out the shoes. "See, now your feet will be safe!"
"Actually, I can totally see where they're coming from on the pretty paper thing," Goku giggled, and Sanzo managed to wrangle the both of them closer to Gojyo and let him slide the shoes onto their feet.
"Good thinking. If they're going to walk around outside, their feet should be protected," Sanzo murmured thoughtfully. "Convenient, that you had these."
"Call it intuition," Gojyo joked, hiding a flop sweat behind a brazen grin.
"Intuition? Isn't that a lady-thing?" Goku wondered.
"Eat me." Gojyo finished tying Eiji's shoes, as Hakkai stifled a giggle into his fist, and Gojyo snarled over his shoulder, "What, you makin' fun of me too?"
"Oh, no, no," Hakkai dismissed sweetly, and he laid out the noodles across the counter. "Do ignore me. Have a nice time!"
"Did you want to come too, man?" Gojyo asked as he started tying Yohei's red and gold shoes.
"No, thank you. I think I'd rather rest. I haven't had a day to myself in a few months and all. You understand, don't you?" Hakkai continued to smile blithely, and Gojyo grinned uneasily back.
"Yeah, sure." He set Yohei down, and unfolded the stroller. "Well, let's head out!"
It was an awkward parade, but clearly a pleasant one. Gojyo led the way, pushing the boys in the stroller, and Goku followed close behind with the diaper back. Sanzo was a meter behind Goku, warily watching around the street. Gojyo and Goku were chatting with the twins, though they could only just respond with one or two-word interjections:
"See, buddy, look at all the houses! This is what the city looks like," Gojyo explained as they got onto the main road into the city.
"House!" Eiji exhorted. "See!"
"Yeah, houses and cities, and look, other kids!" Goku leaned in front of the stroller to point out another stroller, this one pushed by a woman with a parasol slung over her shoulder. "See, they got their own stroller, just like you!"
"Stoll?" Yohei looked up at Goku.
"Yeah, see, another stroller!" Goku pointed, and Yohei followed his gaze. "Wave hi!"
"Hi! Hi!" Both of the twins waved to the woman across the street, and Gojyo chuckled.
"Making friends, huh?" He looked over his shoulder at Sanzo. "So, where exactly are we going?"
"Take a left after three blocks," Sanzo murmured.
"Gotcha!" Gojyo grinned. "You knew that pretty quick. You been lookin' into stuff like this?"
"Shut up," Sanzo growled under his breath, and cast suspicious eyes around the street. It was a quiet morning, with few people around, but Sanzo could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as though he were being watched. Gojyo only chortled.
"You don't have to be embarrassed, y'know."
"You're one to talk," Sanzo rebuked, and glanced around once more. He could almost imagine the baby in the stroller across the street fixing him with a scrutinizing gaze.
The park was a short walk from the city limits, and Gojyo could follow the path there from the sound of children and goats alike. "Here we are," he announced to the boys, and unbuckled them from the stroller. "We're going for a walk!" He helped each of them from the stroller to their feet, and took each hand in one of his. However, this forced him to stoop to keep holding onto them, and he discovered when he stood upright that this lifted the boys some distance off the ground. He chuckled and picked Eiji up. "Okay, Yohei, follow me!" Yohei toddled behind Gojyo, and Sanzo folded up the stroller.
"Here." Sanzo took a strap out of the diaper bag and hooked it to the stroller, which he then loaded onto Goku's back. "You don't mind, of course."
"You're a jerk!" Goku complained, but he still hoisted up the stroller onto his back and followed Gojyo and Sanzo to the ticket booth.
"Two adults, three kids," Gojyo pointed to the group. The woman behind the counter looked them over.
"He looks like an adult to me," she said, squinting at Goku.
"Who said he was the third kid? I was talkin' about me!" Gojyo grinned, but put down the money for the proper ticket count. The clerk only rolled her eyes and waved them through, until she spotted Sanzo.
"Aren't you-" She stopped as he turned a stony glare at her. "Ah, never mind!" She laughed to herself and Sanzo hid a soft grumble as he passed her by, as the whole family passed the gates into the zoo.
"Hmph. It's not as..." Sanzo trailed off as Gojyo and Goku took the scene in- the area was lined with booths and signs pointing the way to different exhibits, and lots and lots of children with their parents. "It's terribly crowded, isn't it?"
"Yeah, pretty cool!" Gojyo beamed.
"Should we put the boys back in the stroller, just to keep a grip on them?" Sanzo suggested with a wary frown. He quickly grabbed Eiji as he tried to prove Sanzo's point by wandering towards a candy floss vendor.
"Nah, we could probably use the practice corralling them." Gojyo chuckled as he patted Yohei on the back. "Worst come to worst, we'll put 'em on leashes like a couple'a little dogs."
Sanzo scoffed as he guided Eiji back to the front of the group. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."
"Oh, are you really gonna pout about spending a day out with the kids?" Gojyo taunted Sanzo with a smirk.
"We're in public. Show some restraint," Sanzo warned, glowering around as he felt eyes on the back of his neck.
"Fine, fine," Gojyo grumbled, and pulled away from Sanzo, with the boys following at his side. "Let's go see the ducks!"
The duck pond was the first stop on the less crowded, counter-clockwise route through the park. Gojyo put down 3 yuan for a bag of cracked corn, and herded the boys to the water's edge.
"See the duckies? Ducks, yeah?" Gojyo pointed to the raft of ducks paddling lazily near the center of the pond. Sanzo watched, bemused, as the boys reinterpreted Gojyo's words with limited success. "Ducks! You'll think they're tasty someday. Let's give the duckies something yummy." He fiddled with the bag for a moment, trying to divide the corn equally in his hands, as Goku tugged Sanzo's sleeve.
"What is it?" Sanzo hissed.
"I want some corn too," Goku whispered.
"Hell no!" Sanzo snapped back. "You can't be that hungry."
"No, I wanna feed the ducks!"
"No."
"Fine." Goku trudged towards Gojyo. "Can I have a little to try?"
"Sure, whatever." Gojyo straightened up and put a pinch of the corn in Goku's hand, to Sanzo's disgust. However, he did not notice that Yohei had suddenly decided to get a closer look at the ducks.
"Duck duck!" He called, waving his hands and running into the water. Gojyo yelped and quickly yanked the boy out of the mud, causing the boy to erupt in wild laughter as Gojyo swung him back onto dry land. Eiji jumped up and down, laughing and throwing his corn into the air, pattering onto the ground all around him. The ducks' heads all whipped around at once at the noise.
"Damn it!" Gojyo swore as the ducks swarmed onto land and pecked at the corn around them. Sanzo seized Yohei from Gojyo and began to try and wring his pant legs out, as Eiji reached for the ducks to try and pet them. Goku doubled over laughing, and Gojyo quickly pulled Eiji away from the ducks before he could discover their fickle nature. "Next stop!" Goku tossed his handful of corn over his shoulder to keep the ducks distracted as the fivesome made their escape.
Sanzo managed to get Yohei's pants mostly clean and only just damp, and Gojyo examined Eiji up and down. "Not a scratch," he reported.
"Good. What's next?" Sanzo was already bracing himself in anticipation.
"Bunny rabbits!" Goku pointed eagerly at the sign. "Ooh, can we feed them?"
"Yeah, I'll bet they have carrots," Gojyo replied with a grin. "And how much trouble can we get in with bunny rabbits?"
There was indeed a stand selling cut carrots and shredded cabbage for feeding the rabbits. There were a few other families there, but though a few children were inside the fence trying to beckon the rabbits closer, the rabbits did not seem interested at all, only hopping away when nudged. "Okay, guys, we have to be nice to the bunnies," he explained as Goku managed to herd a particularly large, brown rabbit closer to their spot along the fence. He handed a leaf of cabbage to each boy. "Watch how Daddy does it." He hopped the fence and crouched near the twitching rabbit. It gave him a wearied look, but he chuckled and ignored it. He held his hand completely flat, a piece of cabbage on the edge of his fingers. Goku kept one hand along the side of the rabbit to keep it from fleeing, and the boys leaned against the fence.
"Dada-"
"Shhh," Sanzo hushed them, resting his hands on their shoulders. The rabbit sniffed Gojyo's hand, and Gojyo smirked.
"That's right, Mr. Bunny, take the tasty leaf-" The rabbit promptly swiped the leaf and boxed Gojyo's arm. "Jerk!" Goku tried to keep the rabbit close, but it jumped in a circle and bit down on his arm. Goku rolled back into the dirt as the rabbit hopped away, kicking dirt at them all the way. "Goddamn furry monsters!" The rest of the rabbits turned with wicked gleams in their button-like red and black eyes, and charged towards Goku and Gojyo. The twins burst out laughing, and the vegetable vendor jumped from behind the stall, screaming;
"What did you do to my rabbits?!"
"Run!" Gojyo grabbed Goku's arm and yanked him roughly over the fence, and Sanzo guided the boys away from the rampaging bunny rabbits as they began to try and chew the fence down.
"Goats. How much harm can goats be?" Gojyo laughed nervously as they came up on the goat pen. Sanzo sighed; he could still hear the uproar from the other families at the rabbit hutches.
"I dunno how much harm the animals are," Sanzo muttered as Gojyo approached the vendor to drop another 3 yuan on corn. "I think we're the h-"
"Hey, guys, let's feed the goats!" Gojyo urged the boys towards the goat pen. He lifted Eiji up first, and he held his handful of corn out to the goats. The goats jostled for position, and Eiji giggled as they vacuumed the corn from his palm. Gojyo put Eiji down and filled Yohei's palm. "Don't wiggle, okay?" He held Yohei out, and Yohei held his hand, palm convex, to let the goats nibble the corn from it. He laughed brightly, and Gojyo grinned, pleased. "Okay, now turn your hand like this," he instructed, and held his hand out, palm down and cupped, and stroked the top of the goats' head.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Sanzo interjected, taking a step forward.
"Of course! It's a petting zoo, right?" Gojyo held Yohei forward, and Yohei reached out and patted the goat atop the head. Yohei squealed as the goat bleated and sniffed his hand. Sanzo lowered his head and looked away, discreetly peering around at all the other families, the mothers and fathers with their young children. Meanwhile, Goku had dumped the stroller and bag next to Sanzo and went to lift up Eiji to give him a second chance with the goats.
"Oh, they're cute!" A woman blurted, and Sanzo turned to look at her. She smiled sweetly, though he still frowned. "Why, Lord Sanzo, are they yours?"
"They are my wards," he murmured, and looked away from the woman.
"They're precious!" She sidled close to him. "Why, from everything I'd heard about you, I'd not have thought you the type to come out to a place like this."
"It is for their benefit," Sanzo replied, maintaining a bored monotone.
"Papa, goa! Goa!" Eiji yelled to him as Gojyo handed him another handful of corn.
"Yes, I see," Sanzo answered, as the woman giggled.
"Oh, they call you Papa?"
"It was their idea," he muttered, wishing he could crawl out of his own skin.
"Hey, Sanzo, there's donkeys and stuff at the next stop!" Goku waved to him as Gojyo put Eiji down. "Come on, let's go!"
"Excuse me." Sanzo took up the diaper bag and skulked away from the giggling woman, and Gojyo happily led the way forward with the twins close behind. Goku only just remembered to grab the stroller and taking up the rear. The woman quickly turned to her husband, who was watching their children nearby.
"Dear, did you see that?"
"What, the High Priest?" Her husband glanced behind him at their retreating backs. "After all he and his companions went through, he's allowed his eccentricities. Let them be." No more was said between them, though the sentiment remained unresolved to other ears and minds. Sanzo's paranoia was not unfounded.
"Before we ride, you're gonna learn to say it right," Gojyo told Eiji and Yohei. They were sitting on his shoulders as they waited in line, tickets paid for and in hand. "Okay, so repeat after me: Don. Key."
"Donny!" Both boys replied with their usual happy chirps.
"Don KEY!" Gojyo repeated. Goku, who had stayed out of the line to get an ice cream for himself, looked around at the sound of Gojyo's voice, then dismissed the thought.
"Don!"
"Ni!" The boys blurted in chorus. Gojyo laughed to himself, as the boys laughed at each other.
"I'm startin' to think the both of you got my brains," he chuckled, and Sanzo pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I've been worried about that all along."
"Asshole." Gojyo prodded Sanzo in the ribs, and Sanzo smacked his hand away.
"Watch your language, there are children around."
"Please, none of them can understand me," Gojyo sneered back, ignoring the dirty looks he was receiving from some of the women near him in line as their children tugged on their sleeves with looks of intense curiosity painting their eyes. Sanzo only sighed deeply as they advanced to the front of the line. The tamer, a middle-aged youkai wearing a bright red vest, squinted as Sanzo lifted Eiji off of Gojyo's shoulder.
"Aren't you the-"
"I am. I just want to let my wards ride the donkey," Sanzo insisted quietly.
"Actually, this here's a mule." The horse tamer patted the large, dun-brown animals side proudly.
"Moo!" Eiji blurted, clearly excited as Sanzo placed him onto the saddle.
"'At's right, mule!" Gojyo beamed, then panicked as Eiji began to slide off. Both Sanzo and Gojyo reached out and caught him. "Ah, crap, they ain't gonna stay on, are they?"
"Not on their own- how about one of you ride with them?" The tamer offered, stepping aside. "Free of charge, of course- I know who you guys are."
"I'm grateful, but I don't like animals," Sanzo muttered.
"Animals don't like me," Gojyo added. The two traded a quiet look that said, 'And yet, here we are.'
"Janken?"
"Winner takes all, loser takes a ride," Gojyo agreed.
One paper and one rock later, Sanzo mounted the donkey, and Gojyo passed the boys up to him. "Relax, this'll be much easier than riding that white stallion to India!" The tamer joked as Sanzo managed to balance one baby on each knee.
"White stallion?" Sanzo drew his lips tight- this was nothing more than a reminder that he needed to work on his memoirs, as he was certain that was definitely not the case. "I believe the story you heard may have been somehow skewed-"
"Giddyap!" The horse tamer gave the mule a light swat on the bottom, and the beast lurched into motion. Sanzo pinned both boys to his knees as if his arms were a ten-point seatbelt, until he realized that having both children in his lap left him without a hand to hold onto the animal with. The tamer guided the mule by its harness at a mere trot, and the bouncing gait delighted the twins. Sanzo, however, could think of a thousand complaints, most of which involved the sensitive skin between his thighs and the rest of which involved his pitching stomach. However, he remained silent through the entire ride, even as the boys yanked on his robes and squealed excitedly. He couldn't even react when he saw Goku had broken out the camera.
"Did you guys have fun?" Gojyo asked as they arrived at the gate, where Sanzo passed Yohei down to him and dismounted.
"Define 'we.'" He held Eiji out at arm's length and carried him away from the ring with a spiteful glower in his eyes. Gojyo tipped the tamer with a 10 yuan coin.
"Thanks for the ride, man." Gojyo set Yohei down, and Yohei followed at his heels. Goku managed to scoop up the bag and shove the camera back in it as they chased Sanzo down the path.
"Hey, are you really that upset?" Gojyo asked as Sanzo released Eiji onto the ground again. "If you'd rather just wait at home, I won't get mad."
"How generous of you," Sanzo snarled back, his voice thick and sour with sarcasm. "This is humiliating."
"It's part of being a parent. Ain't nobody judging you for spending time with your wards." Gojyo hated the way the word felt in his mouth. "Look, if you wanna leave-"
"Papa, like moo?" Eiji interrupted from Sanzo's knee. Sanzo looked down at him, and knelt to speak on his level.
"Did Eiji like the mule?" Sanzo asked in return.
"Uh huh!" Eiji grinned his toothless grin, and Sanzo smoothed his scruffy hair back.
"Good. Onward." He led the party down the path, and Gojyo chuckled under his breath.
"Guess it ain't that big a deal," he said to himself, stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed Eiji and Yohei.
The path between the mule rides and the last attraction was interrupted by a clown blowing up balloons and tying them into shapes. His face was painted into a mock weep, but his own mouth was smiling widely. The effect was, to say the least, unnerving, as the clown turned his wide, unblinking eyes with exaggerated eyelashes towards them. Yohei and Eiji matched the looks of disgust on their fathers' faces.
"Nope," Gojyo decided aloud.
"No," Sanzo agreed.
"Hell no," the boys chimed in, and the party quickly moved on, even as Goku tried to linger.
"But- I wanna balloon!" He groaned and dashed after them, all as the clown continued hawking his wares without a second thought.
The last section on their path through the park was a small barnyard area, with a pen for chickens, a muddy sty for pigs that was somehow dirtier than Sanzo had imagined it could be, and even a cow chewing her cud. It seemed another good opportunity for the boys to try and feed the animals, but Sanzo realized they were slowing down. Eiji had only managed to keep up with Gojyo by grabbing onto his pant leg, and Yohei had sat down in the path and reached up for Sanzo. Now, as they surveyed the animals, Yohei was half-asleep against Sanzo's chest, his chin on his shoulder. Gojyo, however, was unrelenting.
"See, there's a cow! You know what the cow says, right?" Gojyo was carrying Eiji on his shoulders. Eiji yawned. "Aww, come on, we talked about this!"
"I think it's about nap time," Goku said as he waved his hand in front of Eiji's eyes. Eiji's gaze didn't follow his fingers, and he instead yawned and buried his face in Gojyo's jacket.
"But we didn't even get to show them everything," Gojyo whined, sounding childishly disappointed. Sanzo squinted at him as he sulked.
"They're only a year old, we can't expect them to go on long adventures like yet." Sanzo glanced down at the front of his robes, as he realized the mud stains on Yohei's pants had spread to his clothes too. "They're enough trouble as it is."
"Ah, you're right. I guess we ought'a pack up and head home." Gojyo's lips shifted into a forlorn smile, until Goku pulled out the camera.
"Wait, I didn't get any pictures of you and the kids! Let me get a picture with everyone!" Goku grinned, sharp canines bright in the afternoon sun. Somehow, Goku's smile was not nearly as pleasant as it used to be, and Gojyo took a surprised step back.
"Uh- yeah, sure!" He forced a cheerful smile, and yanked Sanzo by the sleeve. "Let's stand by the cow!"
The cow was all but disinterested in the two men and the infants in each of their arms, as Goku adjusted the camera. "Try and get them to face forward," Gojyo urged as he adjusted Eiji in his arms.
"He seems comfortable, I don't want to move him," Sanzo replied dully, and rubbed Yohei's back. He didn't want to tell Gojyo that he was loathe to spread the mud to the rest of his robe.
"Eh, fine," Gojyo sighed, and looked over to Goku. "We good yet?"
"Yeah, I think it's ready!" He held the camera up. "Smile!"
Sanzo did not know he was about to regret not turning Yohei around, as in the few moments he'd taken his eyes off of him, Yohei had woken just enough to see the cow's face fairly close to his. He, of course, reached for the cow and grabbed a handful of its short fur. The cow bellowed in rage and stomped off to the other side of the pasture, splattering Sanzo and Gojyo with what both decided to pretend was about 95 percent mud, and both of the children woke completely and started to cry right as Goku snapped the photograph.
"Got it!" He looked up, and his jaw hung open when he realized that the photo would probably include Gojyo trying to comfort Eiji while Sanzo stomped his feet and cursed under his breath. "Well, at least it'll be a unique picture," he chuckled nervously to himself, as Gojyo broke away from the fence, trying not to swear, and Sanzo skulked behind him, still bouncing Yohei on his arm in a bid to quiet him to little avail.
After that, they'd left the petting zoo in a hurry, unfolded the stroller, and Gojyo led them back out of the city. Yohei and Eiji were soundly asleep only a few minutes after Sanzo had buckled them in, and he now followed Gojyo a few paces behind him.
"Did you at least have fun?" Gojyo asked over his shoulder. Sanzo had no cogent reply, but Gojyo prodded onward; "I mean, they were kind of a pain, but we had fun."
"They enjoyed themselves," Sanzo conceded, folding his hands in his sleeves. "That will do."
"Listen to you," Gojyo sneered, and winked at Sanzo. "You don't gotta be so uptight. Not with me, at least."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Fine, fine," Gojyo sighed, and faced forward to keep an eye on the road. A few steps behind Sanzo, Goku yawned and stretched his arms over his head.
"Hey, Sanzo, do they make those stroller things in my size? Would you push me home too?"
Sanzo could not remember the last time he'd had to use the harisen. He did, however, quickly remember just how satisfying that slapping sound was.
The rest of the walk was quiet, with only the slightest noise of Gojyo humming to the boys along the way to liven up the breeze through the city streets and the nostalgic rustling of leaves on the path to the suburbs. Sanzo relished this peace, occasionally leaning forward to ensure that yes, the boys were still asleep, and they seemed to be smiling in their dreams.
The little party arrived back at Gojyo's house and Gojyo and Sanzo carried the boys into the house to let Goku fold and stow the stroller. Hakkai was asleep at the table, though it was hard to tell; his eyes were open, and he appeared to be smiling at the wall with his chin balanced on his folded hands. The noodles were covered on the counter with a tea towel, and the broth was on the stove over a very low flame. The size of the flame, however, was no comfort in comparison to its presence.
"Shit, he left the stove on," Gojyo groaned, and turned the stove off before going to set Eiji down in the crib. Sanzo had set himself to work changing Yohei's clothes. "Lemme go deal with Hakkai, he shouldn't sleep like that." Sanzo nodded, and Gojyo went back out to the kitchen. He hoisted Hakkai from the chair by his underarms, and Hakkai seemed to briefly flutter his eyelids to lucidity.
"Hmm?"
"Wake up, bro, it's time for bed," Gojyo teased, and hauled him over to the futon. Hakkai murmured something indistinct as Gojyo laid him out on his side across the unfolded mattress, tucked a pillow under his head, and yanked the boys' play mat on top of him. Hakkai's arm dangled over the edge, the sleeve bunched up to his elbow, and Gojyo noticed something as he went to tuck it back onto the mattress- a litany of scars that Gojyo did not remember seeing before, all in varied stages of healing, right up to an almost-freshly bandaged wound midway up his forearm. "Man, what have you been getting yourself into?" Gojyo wondered aloud, his lips pursing and eyebrows creasing.
While the boys napped, Gojyo put himself to work finishing dinner. 'It can't be too hard,' he reasoned with himself as he got the broth back up to a boil and started tossing noodles in. Goku wasn't there to object, as he'd laid down on the nursery floor to take a nap as well, and Sanzo knew as much about cooking as Gojyo and could only watch him over the top headline in the newspaper. When the boys woke from their nap, Sanzo changed and dressed them while Gojyo tried his damnedest to separate the stuck-together noodles, and sat them down with the rest of their presents. Gojyo immediately decided to ignore the gluey mess he'd made of Hakkai's noodles to watch them shred through the paper and yank the new toys and books from the boxes Hakkai had packed them in just to get at the empty spaces. Even Hakkai woke up at their squeals, then sat up to watch them, silently smiling with his chin in his palm.
"My, but they do grow up fast," he chuckled to himself. "Last year, they wouldn't have known what to do with a box if they'd tried."
"They didn't know what to do with anything," Gojyo replied, grinning proudly as Eiji compared the empty box with the colorful stacking rings Sanzo had selected. "Now, they're little geniuses." He smirked as Eiji shoved his head into the box. "At least, by comparison."
Hakkai managed to rescue most of the soup, but the adults let the boys try and feed themselves the first bite of it. This only ended with soup on the table, in their hair, and on the floor, and Gojyo chuckled as he took up Eiji's spoon. Sanzo seemed rather proud as Yohei gummed on his noodles as well. "Is it tasty?" He asked, and flicked a bit of noodle from Yohei's hair.
"Ahh!" Yohei opened his mouth wide.
"That sounds like a yes to me," Gojyo chuckled.
After the boys finished their meal, Goku got a shot to show them his hidden talent. "You said these were extra-long, right?" He asked as he found the end of his noodle with his chopsticks.
"Easily as long as I am tall," Hakkai confirmed as he started washing the dishes.
"Perfect! Okay, guys, watch this!" Goku tucked the end of his noodle into his mouth and began to slurp. Yohei and Eiji watched in wonder as flecks of broth splattered around his mouth, and the noodle began to vanish. In less than a minute, Goku had compressed the entire noodle into his cheeks. He chewed a few times, then swallowed and pumped his fists into the air. "Flawless victory!"
"That was gross," Gojyo moaned, but the twins laughed and raised little fists into the air.
"Since you seem to be enjoying dinner so much," Sanzo interrupted, looking away from the icebox momentarily to glare at Goku. "I suppose you won't want dessert." He pulled out the box he'd brought with him that morning and flipped it open. Gojyo stood up to get a look: it was a rather small cake, covered in a chocolate glaze with neat writing on top: "Happy Birthday, Yohei and Eiji."
"Shit, I totally forgot about getting a cake!" Gojyo laughed, as the irony hit him. "Man, all those times I wished we had a damn cake on this day, and I just forget it!"
"I had assumed you would," Sanzo shrugged and lifted the cake out of the box
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Gojyo cocked his eyebrows.
"Nothing. Here." He took a candle from out of the box. "Lighter?"
"Yup." Gojyo yanked his lighter from his back pocket as Sanzo planted the candle in the middle of the cake. "Should we put two?"
"I'll be satisfied if they can blow one out." Sanzo lit the candle and lifted it up. Gojyo shoved Goku under the table, knocking his third noodle from his mouth, and made room for Sanzo to put the cake down. The boys cooed and cocked their heads like a pair of confused Pekingese, and Gojyo crouched between them.
"Okay, guys, you gotta make a wish, and then we blow out the candle!"
"Wis?" Yohei cocked his head in the other direction.
"Somethin' you want. I'll make a wish for you, if you like." Gojyo closed his eyes. "I wish for..." Sanzo folded his arms as Gojyo thought, thinking of all the things he could wish for.
Good health. Intelligence. Shiny, new teeth, or ease with teething. Happiness. Any or all of the above.
"I wish for you two to get really tall this year!" Gojyo finally decided with a grin as Sanzo grimaced. He put his arm over both of the boys' shoulders. "Now, we blow the candle out!" He puffed his cheeks out and quickly shielded both of their mouths to keep them from spitting on the cake as he blew the candle out. "Happy birthday, guys." He turned and kissed each one on the forehead, before turning to get a knife. Sanzo hid his smile into his sleeve as both boys tried to reach out and grab the cake, Goku managed to get out from under the table to start whining at Gojyo, and Hakkai chuckled to himself as he got the plates out.
They had survived the first year. He and his strange, annoying little crowd had made it through alive. One down, and hopefully many, many more to go.
End Notes: D'awwwww.
Next time, some big changes are coming to our "happy" little household! Gojyo's had all he can take, and he can't takes no more! Until then!
