You've Got Something

Summary: Sanzo was enjoying a quiet evening at his fathers' shop, but something unexpected is coming to dinner…

Notes: Kindly note that my knowledge of mah jongg is cursory at best, but I know this: while it can be played with three, it's supposedly much better with four. Enjoy!

10: A Table Set for Four

"Yes, yes." Sanzo grimaced as he heard Koumyou's voice through the vent, and he yanked his earphone out of his ear and paused the music on his CD player to listen a little more intently. He knew his father's preferred approach with big customers or large buys: take them into the "private office," which was directly next to his accounting office, so he could hear every word of the conversation. Koumyou was laughing, likely appearing his usual charming self and greasing up the client for the home run swing. "I do appreciate your patronage, of course, but you must understand, for a purchase such as this, we put much on the line. I'm going to have to call our banker, Mr. Genjo. We've put a significant sum on the line restoring that triptych, you see–"

The triptych. Sanzo dug his reading glasses out and pulled the file up on their computer, but he recalled Koumyou bargaining his way into an inexpensive restoration on an artifact recovered from a temple fire. The real expense had been the damage to the gold leaf on the piece; they'd had to take a small loan for the repairs on that, with the painting itself on the line. The client was already griping about the listed price, but Sanzo closed the vent just as his cellphone chirped out a jaunty tune. (Damn the thing, if only he knew how to change ring tones.) He scooped the phone up and answered, "Dad, if you let them have it for a penny less than eight-thousand, we're losing our shirts. The full investment on the thing came out to five thousand, and that interest is racking up."

"Ah," Koumyou managed a nervous laugh, "Mr. Genjo, in a pleasant mood, as always. The Tibetan triptych, you recall–"

"I recall. I've got the numbers in front of me." Sanzo settled back in his chair and clicked back to the other window he had open, Hakkai's ledger. Everything was coming down golden so far, but he had more work to do to be ready for the next quarter. "I don't have time to play your game. Eight thousand's the break-even. Try to get ten."

"Yes, our client is offering nine-point-five."

"Hn." Sanzo sighed, pressing his glasses against the bridge of his nose. "Push for ten. We could use the profit, but if they're firm on nine-five, then take it. I'd rather we not lose the chance to be rid of the thing. If it sits around, that interest will only compound. Call me when you're ready for me to put it all through."

Koumyou was obviously beaming on the other side of the wall, pleasantness exuding from his every word. "Understood. I'll call when I've discussed with our client. Thank you." He hung up, and Sanzo kicked the vent open again, turned his music back on, and returned to Hakkai's ledger.

It was usually such a quiet job. Sanzo preferred it that way, even if he did feel ridiculous pretending to be the one holding his father's leash and purse-strings. He was fine listening through the walls as his father genially, cordially negotiated deals with incredibly wealthy people, selling off their treasures. After all, Toudai's medicine got more expensive every year, and as Koumyou sometimes joked, "We certainly can't take it with us." Sanzo hated the joke. He didn't mind his role, though.

When evening came, Sanzo emerged from his office to find Koumyou peering out the front window. "Did you have an after-hours appointment?"

"Oh, no." Koumyou flapped a hand, but didn't turn from his spot. "Better."

"Better?" Sanzo raised an eyebrow.

"Company!" Koumyou chuckled to himself, but turned to smile at Sanzo. "Would you care to join us, Kouryuu? We'll have four for mah jongg if you do."

"Only if you promise not to call me Kouryuu in front of whoever it is." Sanzo's nostrils flared as he folded his glasses, loosened his tie, and pivoted towards the stairs. Koumyou sighed.

"My, you'd ask me to call you by your surname in front of a friend of yours?"

Sanzo halted in place. "Friend?"

There was a knock on the door, and Koumyou gasped and hurried to fling it open. "Goku! You're just on time!"

Sanzo felt heat blossom across his cheeks as Goku appeared on the threshold, a polka-dotted box balanced in his hand. "Of course, Mr. Sanzo! I'm never late for a meal!" Goku peered past Koumyou to Sanzo, and he grinned. "Hey! W-were you gonna stick around?"

"Yes, Kouryuu." Koumyou turned to him, grinning in his habitual foxlike way. "Toudai was making stew, you know."

Sanzo was struck dumb, a unique power only Koumyou had over him. "Father, you–"

"Well, you hadn't called Goku lately–"

"And how do you know that?" Sanzo demanded, his tone charged with static.

"I checked your call history, dear." Koumyou crossed his arms as Sanzo clenched his fists and ground his jaw. "But you hadn't called him, and gracious, someone has to flirt with the young man if I'm going to see grandchildren before I go completely gray." Goku smothered a giggle behind his hand as Sanzo smeared his palm down his face.

"I can conduct my own…" He struggled with words for a moment, before spitting out, "Acquaintanceships. You don't need to arrange play dates for me!"

"So," Goku interrupted timidly, extending a hand like a shy schoolboy, "Did you want me to go home, or can I come in?"

Koumyou whipped right back around to him to clasp and pat his hand. "Why, I invited you! Of course you can come in. After all, it's my home, and I'll invite over whosoever I want."

"Well, yeah," Goku hesitated, his gaze resting on Sanzo, then dropping to the floor. "But I'm still just Sanzo's customer, so if he–"

"Don't say stupid things." Sanzo pulled the buttons on his vest loose with a swift, practiced motion, and tossed it up the stairs as he sauntered towards the kitchen. "I'm off the clock. Take your shoes off and get comfortable."

Goku started, then grinned at Koumyou as Sanzo vanished into the next room.

"I, uh, I guess that went as well as expected. Thanks for inviting me."

"Don't mention it." Koumyou waved a hand and closed the door behind him. "Let me have your coat, I'll put it up. You seemed surprised that Sanzo was here."

"Well, I thought you invited me to see you!" Goku's cheeks were all pink already as he worked his arms loose from his jacket, keeping the box in his hand balanced as he switched it from palm to palm, but he chuckled to himself. "We talk a little, but I don't make eyes at him while he's on the clock. It's pretty hard, 'cause I get all tongue-tied when I do try to talk to him. It's kinda hard to tell if he likes stuff, y'know?"

"Ohh." Koumyou stifled a giggle as he threw Goku's coat onto a hook. "I think you'll find him a little easier to read than he lets on. Now, whatever is in the box?"

"This box?" Goku held the box up as he naturally moved to follow Koumyou on a careful path through the treasures and antiques in displays around the room, and as Koumyou dimmed the lamps as they passed through. "I asked Hakkai about stuff Sanzo had never bought or tried, and what he might like. He gave me some stuff for you and Mr. Toudai and Sanzo, only he made me promise I wouldn't let Mr. Toudai have too many."

"That sweet boy, minding my Momo by proxy! Don't you worry, I'll watch him." Koumyou paused, pursing his lips. "And you said you asked after Kouryuu, too?"

Goku's blush brightened. "Well, yeah, except he's still Sanzo to me, 'cause that's how he goes in the bakery. Hakkai says they're friends, and he still calls him that." He fidgeted, his fingers locking and fidgeting against one another. "I dunno, y'know? I guess I want him to have things the way he likes them. If he says he wants to be called that, I don't wanna tell him I won't."

"Oooh." Koumyou clicked his tongue and hit the final lightswitch as they reached the threshold. "You're going easy on him."

In the kitchen, Toudai was at the stove, stirring a pot, and Sanzo was setting the table for four: napkins, forks, and spoons. Toudai glanced away from his task for a scant moment to smile at Koumyou. "Kouryuu tells me we sold that triptych."

"For a neat profit, too." Koumyou sauntered over to him and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "How did your appointments go this morning?"

"Precisely as expected. We can discuss all that later." Toudai glanced back again as Koumyou backed away from him, pursing his lips with disappointment. Goku realized the big man was staring right at him, and swallowed. "Goku, wasn't it? I was told we were having company."

"Yes sir," Goku squeaked. As imposing of a figure Toudai was, he felt even smaller than usual. Toudai examined him like he might a truffle, then smirked.

"Not sure where you got the idea I was a 'sir.' Sit down, guest gets his choice of seat." Goku scampered to take the same seat he had last time, and Toudai tapped the counter. "Kouryuu, guest gets served first. I'll bring the last two over."

Sanzo grumbled but came and took two bowls from the counter as Toudai dished out, and he set the more full of the two bowls in front of Goku, and Goku gawked at the chunky stew, with visible lumps of carrot and lamb over pearl-bright couscous. "It's lamb tagine. Moroccan in origin. You would think he'd cook something more general in tastes for company, but he enjoys African cuisine." Sanzo clicked his tongue as he eased down into his chair. "This is just how he cooks."

"What does Mr. Koumyou usually make when it's his turn?"

"A giant mess," both Toudai and Koumyou volunteered, prompting a happy giggle from Koumyou and a snort from Toudai as they joined the table.

"Kouryuu and Toudai share cooking duties," Koumyou added, as Toudai grabbed his medicine bottles from the counter behind him and started sorting out pills. "But Kouryuu's tastes are lighter and simpler–"

"You can tell him I'm boring." Sanzo sneered into his bowl. "I make rice with green tea and cook chicken in the pan with a little salt and pepper. That's it."

"Rice with green tea sounds pretty good, actually." Goku grinned, bouncing where he sat. "I love trying new stuff! And this tagine smells fantastic!"

Toudai chuckled appreciatively, putting his bottles aside. "It gets the neighbors' attention if I leave the window open. I feel like I'm missing something from when I ate it in Libya, but I can keep trying to match it. Enjoy."

Goku dove in with enthusiasm, missing Koumyou's attempts to make small talk with Sanzo and Toudai's quiet chiding of Koumyou about the same.

"… Pestering him won't make his day any more interesting. The young man works with you half the day, for goodness' sake." Goku lifted his nose at this, and dabbed sauce from around his mouth before asking:

"How does that work, anyway?"

Sanzo opened his mouth, but Koumyou quickly, spiritedly answered, "Kouryuu works at the bakery from six until noon most days of the week, and then he comes home to help me. We close shop around six unless we have private appointments, which we occasionally do."

"Oh, it's kind of like Gojyo, with his crazy six-to-six schedule." Goku wrinkled his nose. "Y'know, I always give him grief about that, but…" He glanced cautiously to Sanzo. "If it works for ya, I guess it's okay."

"I like to keep busy," Sanzo muttered. "I'd be bored without something to do."

"Well, you could do stuff that's not crunching numbers and making coffee." Goku shrugged and shuffled his lamb around the bowl, coating it with little beads of couscous. "Gojyo likes jogging and working out on his day off, but I think exercising alone is boring. Me and Nataku play soccer with a rec league sometimes. Do you like soccer?"

"I detest sports, and who's Nataku?" Sanzo put his fork down. Goku, not quite seeing the danger in Sanzo's narrowed glare, chuckled.

"My roommate. I told you, remember? Me and him have known each other since forever. He's going to college for…" He realized Sanzo's cheeks were getting red. "Also, he's totally not into guys, so you got nothing to worry about if that's why you're making that face."

"Kouryuu, really." Koumyou prodded his side, as Sanzo bit his lip and his color went from flushed to an embarrassed pink. "You know, I have told Kouryuu he could cut back the time he spends here. I can handle most of it. We could hire a separate accountant, even, so you can devote all your time to the bakery and your own pursuits. You really do need some hobbies." Sanzo was starting to turn red now, and Goku had to say something.

"Mr. Koumyou, I think you're making him uncomfortable."

Koumyou put a hand to his lips, as Sanzo sighed with what sounded like relief. Toudai snorted, and Goku felt his big elbow against his forearm. "Koumyou, I've warned you not to push him."

"I know, but he's my little baby son, I can't help myself." Koumyou sighed, but his gaze settled on Goku. "You play soccer, do you? And your friend?"

"Yeah, it's sort of an informal thing. Nataku'd never get out if I didn't drag him, he's way too into his studies sometimes." Goku picked at his stew, chewing and swallowing as Koumyou observed him and ignored Sanzo's pointed glare. "Nataku wants to be a police detective, so he's getting a degree in forensics with a focus on criminal stuff. I don't remember all the details, only he studies a lot and then babbles a whole bunch of science stuff when I ask him about it. I don't understand a lot of it, but he's tellin' me about how he's gonna learn to catch the bad guys. I know he's good at that, but I worry, 'cause he's this super-shy, quiet sorta guy, and even though he wants to have friends, he has trouble just going out and talking. So I like to take him places." He rubbed the back of his head. "I feel a little bad, since we've both been busy, we haven't gone as much."

"How kind of you to include your introverted friend." Koumyou winked at Sanzo, but Toudai cleared his throat and pushed his empty bowl back.

"What about you, young man? What are you in school for?"

"I'm doing a mechanic apprenticeship program." Goku beamed with pride, as Toudai shot Koumyou a questioning look which he seemed to ignore. "It's a two-year program, and I'm in the full apprentice stage right now. Gojyo took me on in May after the first semester ended, so I work in his garage thirty hours a week, and me and him are a super good team! He's showing me how he runs his business and how he fixes stuff. He pays me for my work, too, and he says he'll hire me on full time when I get my certification."

"How nice!" Koumyou nodded to Toudai, who settled back into his chair with a small frown, "It's good to see a young man like yourself so eager to go into a career."

Goku shrugged and laced his fingers over his empty plate. "I like cars, and I like taking things apart and putting 'em back together. It made sense. I'm not so hot with books and facts. Practical stuff comes more natural to me."

"It's good work," Toudai muttered, and pushed his plate away. "Honest work. Someone will always need something or other fixed, and as long as you've got two hands to fix it with, you'll be busy."

"Yeah!" Goku could almost feel a sort of grudging respect from Toudai at that. He hopped up, taking his empty plate with him. "Would you like some help doing the dishes?"

"Oh, no, no, you're our guest!" Koumyou slid to a stand and gathered his empty dish, as well as Sanzo's (which was not empty, but Sanzo had stopped picking at it). "We'll handle the dishes in a little bit. Kouryuu, would you kindly wipe up the table? I'll fetch the tiles. Goku, have you played mah jongg before?"

"Oh, sure!" Goku let Koumyou take his plate and slowly lowered back down, fidgeting under the table. "In the foster home, we played sometimes. I wasn't great at it, but I still had fun."

Both Koumyou and Toudai had started then stilled when Goku said 'foster home.' Toudai twisted around in his seat, and Koumyou set the plates down to study Goku again. "We never did ask about your family, did we?"

"Nope. But it's no big." Goku keenly felt Sanzo's gaze settle on him. "Uh, I don't have one. I was kind of found when I was a kid, and grew up in foster care. If I had a family, I don't remember."

Koumyou suddenly looked incredibly hurt and angry, but he pushed it down to mere displeasure with a sigh. "You poor soul."

"Oh, it's never been a problem! Nataku was in foster care too, after something happened with his dad. I think he went to jail, I dunno. But all my friends were fosters, and I get along okay. It's not so easy now that I'm out of the system, 'cause the stipend the foster house gave us isn't much, but we're doing okay. Me and Nataku have a place together and there's usually enough to pay all the bills, unless something unexpected happens. It's actually super helpful that Gojyo's paying me, it's basically totally covered the little gap we had."

"That's not what he meant." Toudai's voice was a rumble, one that practically shook the room. Sanzo, however, scoffed.

"You two couldn't possibly adopt every foster baby in the city. Quit pitying him. He's doing just fine." He stepped up from the table. "Let me get the damn set."

Goku wasn't sure what else to do but sit back and wait for Koumyou to do the clearing-up, fidgeting and try not to stare at Toudai in the tense quiet, as Sanzo retrieved a wooden box of mah jongg tiles from the shop. "It's funny," Toudai remarked as Sanzo pulled off the lid, and nodded to Goku. "Those tiles? Take a look."

Sanzo clicked his tongue but passed a tile to Goku. They were cold to the touch, and the symbols were engraved and enameled rather than painted in. Goku didn't have to be appraiser to have an opinion: "They're super nice."

Sanzo scoffed at Goku's assessment, but Toudai looked oddly pleased. "They're genuine marble. I purchased them in Szechuan province when I was there for a competition."

"Ohh, wow!" Goku grinned, as Sanzo looked mildly disgusted and settled down in his chair again.

"Alright, what's in the box you brought?"

Goku remembered the pastries, and went for the box behind him. "Oh, yeah, here!" Toudai leaned in with interest as Goku retrieved the box from behind him and opened the lid. The scent of sweet sugar came first, but Sanzo gave them a cursory look and sniffed.

"Biscotti?"

"Hakkai said you'd never tried 'em or brought 'em home to your dads, so he said maybe you'd like to try something new!" Goku snapped up one of the long, thin cookies and wiggling it like a cigar. "He gave me the three most popular flavors, almond-vanilla, dark chocolate with frosted walnuts, and cinnamon swirl."

"My." Toudai's eyes gleamed, and he leaned in with a covetous expression, his gaze bouncing from cookie to cookie. "They all look delightful."

"Ah-ah!" Koumyou skidded back from the sink and hooked Toudai's collar in his finger. "If you're going to eat one, you need your insulin first." He tugged a few times. "Come here, come here." Toudai grumbled and hefted himself to a stand, trudging away to the sink as Koumyou went to fetch the medicine bottle and needles, and Goku held the biscotti in his hand out to Sanzo.

"Here, I asked him to give me these. They're his favorite, the lavender-lemon." He showed the light purple frosting drizzled across the smooth surface of the cookie. "It's like your eyes."

Sanzo raised an eyebrow. "I don't like sweets that much." Goku bit his lip and started to withdraw the cookie, but Sanzo sighed, caught Goku's wrist to bring his hand back towards him, and took a bite off of the end of the cookie. It had a crunchy, solid bite and a dense crumb, and though the lavender dressing was sweet, the lemony tang of the cookie made his mouth water. "Ah." He flicked his tongue across his lower lip to catch some of the crumbs, and Goku brightened and arched forward in his chair.

"You like Hakkai's sweets, though." Sanzo's eyebrows raised, and Goku could see embarrassment plain in his tightly-drawn mouth. "I don't blame ya! His are the absolute best."

"Right you are!" Toudai hustled back to the table, smearing a bandage over his arm and rolling his sleeve back down as he sat. "Pass me that box, young man, I'd love to try one of each."

"You will have one," Koumyou warned, his tone still sing-song as he finished drying his hands and settled into his chair. "Now, who's dealing first?"

"I will," Toudai volunteered, and he took the box of tiles back. "Pass me a biscotti, young man." Goku happily held the box out, and Toudai selected one, then gestured to the tiles. "Now, as I had been saying: These tiles there? They were the first gift I ever sent to Koumyou."

"The first of many," Koumyou added with a bright giggle, and Goku could feel his legs swinging under the table. "Momo and I were school friends, but he was always the big stoic oaf loitering in that chair there. He was always this great, big statue of a man." Koumyou outlined in the air around Toudai's shoulders, indicating how broad he had been. "Quiet and serious. But he didn't talk to me very often, not even when we were in college together." Sanzo looked utterly bored by his father's pleasant drivel, but Goku nudged his foot under the table, and when Sanzo looked, he wiggled an eyebrow at him and held out another cookie. "However," Koumyou went on, ignorant of Goku winking at Sanzo, "Before he signed up with the international track team, he insisted on taking my address!" Koumyou pressed both hands over his mouth, as Toudai shifted uncomfortably and turned his face towards the floor. Goku, meanwhile, edged the cookie stick closer to Sanzo's mouth. "Then, one day, packages start arriving at my door from overseas!" Sanzo bent down and took a bite of the cookie, as Koumyou swayed and gestured, "All with little notes attached, 'Thinking of you, this reminded me of you. This looks like something you'd like.' When he came home, I insisted on thanking him by taking him out to dinner, and things escalated from there."

"Things were different back in our youth." Toudai drummed his fingers on the table, his deep-set eyes lingering on Goku, who quickly drew his hand away from Sanzo. Sanzo turned his face away as he chewed. "We couldn't simply go up to someone we found attractive and woo them." He shot a glance to Koumyou, and Goku took the opportunity to hold the rest of the biscotti out to Sanzo. "Even if Koumyou seemed dreadfully obvious as to his preferences, one could never be certain. I had fancied him since we were young, but it wasn't until college I thought it could possibly be more. That he called me up the moment I returned to the country to thank me profusely for every gift I'd sent and invite me to dinner was a good sign."

"We were inseparable from there." Koumyou turned his face to Toudai, and it was never more obvious to Goku that he'd only ever had eyes for him. He looked more earnest when he was looking at Toudai. This worked neatly for Goku, because Sanzo was taking the other piece of the cookie from Goku, and Goku took the opportunity to let Sanzo lick the crumbs off of his fingers as Koumyou batted his eyelashes at Toudai. "We had to be very discreet, but we carried on carefully for, gracious, decades."

"Honestly," Sanzo muttered, "If I wanted to hear ancient history, I'd go to a lecture. Are we playing or not?"

"Ah, of course, you've heard our silly love story a dozen times." Koumyou giggled, and scooped up the tiles. "Wipe the crumbs off your face, and I'll deal."

Sanzo's ears turned bright red, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shot Goku a glare. Goku managed to keep his snicker silent, but he couldn't hide a victorious grin: Koumyou had been right. Sanzo was a lot easier to read than he'd thought.

Especially when the tiles were dealt, and Goku felt Sanzo's fingers tapping his thigh under the table. He caught Sanzo's eye, to see Sanzo had been watching him from behind his tiles, and he nodded towards the box again. Both elder Sanzos were busily arranging the tiles in their hand, and didn't seem to notice Goku selecting another biscotti from the box, breaking it in half, and offering the larger half to Sanzo. Sanzo ate it from his hand in one bite, and Goku watched, gratified, as he licked his lower lip clean. There was a trace of a smile on his face, and Goku's heart skipped a beat at that last flick of Sanzo's tongue across his lip.

He didn't even realized Koumyou was calling his name: "Goku, it's your turn."

"Oh! Uh." Goku turned his attention to the tiles in front of him, and realized that while he'd seen the symbols and everything before, he hadn't the first clue what any of them meant. His memory of the game wasn't nearly as good as he'd thought. "Oh man."

"Hm." Goku felt Sanzo's shadow touch his shoulder for an instant. "It looks like if he puts the tile fourth from the left on the North, it could cause some problems."

Goku quickly moved his tile, and Sanzo grabbed a piece of paper to mark Goku's score. "That's Pung. Well played."

"Of course, because you played it," Koumyou teased with a sly grin, and Toudai huffed.

"If you wanted to play teams, then say so."

"He himself said he hasn't played since he was younger, and he's playing against you old farts who've played so many times it's a wonder the tiles haven't worn out." Goku felt Sanzo's hand at his leg again, but this time, it was a sinewy palm pressed on his thigh. "It's not an easy game, especially against two veritable masters."

"You flatter me, dear." Kouymou giggled, then returned to the tiles in front of him. "But you're no rookie, either."

"We taught Kouryuu, growing up. It was one of the nicest parts of expanding our family." Toudai smiled wryly, but this elicited a sigh from Koumyou.

"We would have happily taught you, too."

"Father." Sanzo's tone held warning, but Koumyou blustered right through it as he tapped the table at Toudai's elbow.

"Go ahead, dear. And I won't lie. We really would have, had we only the chance." Koumyou turned his whole body to face Goku, his shoulders still loose and his face smiling, but something grave in his expression made Goku feel like he suddenly was talking to a very old man.

"Well, uh… I… appreciate… it?"

"We only were able to adopt Kouryuu by the slimmest of technicalities," Toudai muttered, bowing his head as if he were looking at his tiles, but Goku could see him instead studying his own palms. "It was illegal for a homosexual couple to adopt, and very tricky for a homosexual man posing as a lifelong bachelor. Koumyou was only approved because of his career, and therefore viewed as equipped to handle a child who came from… difficult circumstances." He heaved a sigh. "Koumyou wanted more children, especially because Kouryuu was such an easy child–" Sanzo barked a short laugh into his palm, then noticed that Goku was holding his hand out close to the table to show the other half of the biscotti while Toudai and Koumyou were looking down. Toudai sneered at the table, and Sanzo took the cookie, making sure to brush his fingers against the center of Goku's palm as he did. "It wasn't possible. Even when laws changed, we couldn't risk adopting again for fear that the officials would take a closer look at Kouryuu's adoption and decide it was invalid. A damned shame." He put his tiles down on the west. "That's Kong. Keeping score, Kouryuu?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sanzo quickly swallowed and marked the points down. "Got it."

"Excellent. Rebuild the walls."

The tiles went back to the center of the table, and Sanzo and Koumyou mixed them and distributed them. It gave Goku time to gather his thoughts under the clatter of stone against wood. "Y'know," he said, after a moment. "I think it's okay you didn't adopt me. Well, anyone, but especially not me."

"Oh?" Koumyou raised both eyebrows, smiling as he pushed his piles to the center to start building the walls. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, for me, it's 'cause I got to meet him now, and see how nice he is. We wouldn't be friends like we are if we were brothers."

"Friends, right," Toudai snorted, and Sanzo's ears turned pink again. Goku nudged his knee with his own, and turned back to Koumyou.

"As for adopting anyone else, it's cause Sanzo came out like he did, and he'd be different if he had a brother."

The room suddenly fell strangely silent, as all three Sanzos stared back at him without words. The silence was broken by the distant sound of the front door opening, and Koumyou jumped to his feet.

"Goodness, I was certain I'd locked that." He called into the shop: "Who's there?"

Goku heard a chilly, stiff laugh, and both Toudai and Sanzo rose, their fists clenched, as someone answered: "It's just me, Dad."

Koumyou took a step back as another man entered the room, someone Goku had never seen before. He wasn't as old as Koumyou or Toudai, but much older than Sanzo, and he held himself with a strange, careless sort of confidence. He slouched, but smirked behind his wire-rimmed glasses, and he brushed a streak of jet-black hair from his forehead and adjusted his jacket. "Honestly, you'd think you'd forgotten you had a son."

"Ken'yuu, I told you!" Toudai stormed a step forward, teeth gritted. "You are to call first. We have asked you to respect our boundaries."

"I thought I asked you to call me Nii." Nii crossed his arms and shook his head. "Or are you forgetting things now, too? Something else on your laundry list of ailments?"

Toudai's fist shook, and Goku realized Sanzo had positioned himself in front of him. Koumyou, however, spoke before Toudai could explode: "Nii, dear, let's not be rude. We really do prefer if you call first, and it's very late for a visit. Why don't I see you out, and perhaps we can talk tomorrow."

"Is it so weird for a man to drop in on his parents? You already seem to have company anyway. What's one more?" Nii draped himself into a chair, and motioned for Toudai and Koumyou to follow suit. "I don't need tea, though I will take one of those cookies." Nii reached for the box, but Sanzo shut it and held it out of his reach.

"What do you want?"

Nii's expression seemed to spark, from what Goku could see, and his smirk spread. "Kouryuu, really. You don't mind them making all this fuss over you?"

"That doesn't matter. They asked you to call and talk to them first." Sanzo put both hands on the table, but Goku saw his shoulders shaking. "They want to meet in neutral locations. They don't want you and I to talk. Get out."

Nii looked disappointed, but it was such a deliberate expression that Goku was sure he'd just practiced it while watching telenovelas. "But I wanted to talk to you. I've missed you, you know? After all, I've only got the one little brother."

Toudai lunged, but Koumyou held him back, whispering just in the periphery of Goku's hearing, "He's doing alright, give him a chance." Sanzo didn't budge, his elbows locked, and he shifted his weight forward.

"What do you want from me?"

"So harsh." Nii laced his fingers in front of him. "No 'how have you been,' or 'how is work?' I'm fine, by the way." He glanced back to the elder Sanzos. "Work's fine. College professors keep weird hours, you know, but I figured you'd still be awake after I got done for the day."

Sanzo's words came out like a knife to the chest: "Get to the point."

Nii tried to look hurt, but Goku could only see disgust in his curled lip, and he swiftly parried, "If I must. I've been trying to get in touch with Hakkai. I know you still see him. I've heard he was in trouble, and I'm concerned. I've had no luck contacting him, but I know you still associate with him."

This sent Toudai from Koumyou's grip, and he slammed his drawn fist on the table next to Nii. "The young man made his wishes clear! We taught you better than this!"

Nii turned his languid, insolent stare back towards Toudai. "You taught me to take care of those I care for, didn't you?" Toudai bit back rage, even as Koumyou took his arms and tried to hush him, and Nii twisted back around to Sanzo. "A working phone number. That's all I want."

"You won't get it from me." Sanzo crossed his arms, his back arching over the table. "Hakkai never wants to talk to you again. I intend to respect his wishes, even though you clearly don't."

"You're cruel, Kouryuu. And even in front of your…" His gaze flicked to Goku, then held like a flame catching the edge of a newspaper. "Oh. Oh, you didn't tell me you were seeing someone." Nii rose and extended a hand across the table towards Goku. "I'm Ukoku Nii, Kouryuu's older brother. Adopted, of course." He smirked for a second at Toudai, then cocked his head as he fixated on Goku, an archer towards a bullseye. "May I have the pleasure?"

Goku shoved up to stand next to Sanzo. "Son Goku." He kept his hands tight at his sides. "And I'm gettin' the feeling you ain't that much of a pleasure."

"You were talking to me," Sanzo growled, and drew himself up tall. "There's a damned good reason Hakkai doesn't want to talk to you, and you know it. Don't call the bakery. He won't answer. He's changed every other number he has. Leave him alone."

"Yeah!" Goku cheered, grinning past Sanzo's elbow. "He's with Gojyo now, and he wouldn't wanna touch a snarky, snobbish creepoid like you anyway!"

That sensation of dead silence filled the room again, and from the sudden expression of malicious delight that spread across Nii's face, Goku got the feeling he had done something very, very wrong.

"He's moved on, has he?" Nii chuckled into a cupped hand, then eased back from the table. "I suppose we'll see. If I'm really so unwelcome, then I won't stay."

"I'll see you out," Koumyou whispered, and he chased Nii as he sauntered back into the night-black shop. Sanzo exhaled a huge breath he'd been holding all at once, and shook his head.

"I need a cigarette."

"Outside," Toudai muttered. "If I can't smoke anymore, you can't smoke around me, but good God, do I wish I still could."

Sanzo promptly got up and brushed past Goku without sparing him a glance, dodging out the back door and digging into his pants pocket. Goku reached for him as the door shut, and Toudai released a sigh that settled like dust across an emptied home and sank into his seat.

"Go talk to him." Toudai put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm, but motioned to Goku from his lap. Goku shook his head.

"I feel like I really messed that one up." He fidgeted just to watch his fingertips and avoid Toudai's lead-heavy stare. "I… I guess I should ask… but I shouldn't."

"I adopted him." Toudai glanced down to the floor. "I was a minor celebrity, of sorts, opening my home to an 'unadoptable' teenager could be passed off as an act of charity. We adopted Ken'yuu when he was fourteen, and Koumyou adopted Kouryuu as a baby two years later. We raised them together, outwardly merely roommates, but our adopted sons were brothers. Their relationship went sour as Kouryuu got older, and when we realized the effect Ken'yuu was having on him, amongst–" Toudai wrinkled his nose– "Other things, we've had to cut him off." Toudai groaned, and now he was the one who looked especially old. "I admit I've rather given up on him. Koumyou, bless him, still sees the good in him."

"He… had an effect on him?" Goku glanced back to the door again. Toudai sucked his lower lip in, then crossed his arms.

"Kouryuu wasn't always this… he wasn't always as solitary as he is now. Somewhere in his teen years, he started insisting he didn't want to be called by his name because he was sick of the sound of it." Toudai sniffed derisively, then drummed his fingers on the table a few times. "Worse, every time he became… interested in anyone, Ken'yuu would swoop in and charm them away from him before he got the chance."

That sealed it. "I'll go talk to him. Thanks, Mr. Toudai." Goku pivoted and pushed his way out the back door.

The backyard was a neat little herb garden, kept in manicured rows, and Goku smelled basil first. He smelled cigarette smoke second. Sanzo was at the very back of the yard, propped against a little wooden shed by the fence. His face was dimly illuminated by the cigarette in his lips, catching every shadow long in the hollows under his eyes and his high cheekbones, and he looked as grim as if someone had just told him of a death in the family. Goku walked down the rows towards him, barely even noticing that he was fidgeting again. Sanzo didn't look at him, pretending to be fascinated by the cherry on his smoke. Goku waited, and put his hands tight on his hips. Sanzo finally dropped the spent butt into the dirt and crossed his arms. "You shouldn't have been here for that."

"Yeah, maybe." Goku turned on his heel and rested his shoulder blades on the wall next to Sanzo. "But I was. You couldn't help it. It happened, it's over now, and you and me are here now."

"Yeah," Sanzo muttered, and fished out another cigarette. "And you had no idea what went down between… You weren't around then. It's none of your business."

"I'm bettin' it wasn't good." Goku couldn't help but watch Sanzo's lips play around the cigarette, but swallowed his fascination and forced himself to stare at the ground and look contrite. "And I shouldn't'a blurted out that Hakkai has a new boyfriend to his slimejob ex."

Sanzo scoffed quietly. "Slimejob, huh."

"Mhm."

"You said creepoid, earlier." Goku snuck a glance up at Sanzo, and saw that he was smirking now. "Your choice of descriptive language is… apt. Not sure I've ever heard anyone describe Nii so accurately." Sanzo dropped his cigarette and unfolded one arm to lay it around Goku's shoulder. "You didn't mean any harm. And he probably already knew Hakkai had someone new. He might be stalking him. I don't think Hakkai knows yet."

"Oh, jeez. I had no idea." Goku cringed. "I won't tell Hakkai, unless you want me to."

"If Nii makes a move, he'll know. Hakkai's sharper than he looks." Sanzo exhaled one last cloud of smoke, then turned Goku to face him. "Don't think about him. I don't."

Goku looked up into Sanzo's face, into the dark pits of his eyes, and shook his head. "You're lying. He hurt you too, huh?" Sanzo didn't answer, instead sealing his lips into a thin line that most wouldn't dare cross. Goku, however, rested his palms on Sanzo's forearms. "I'm not gonna ask. You'll tell me if you wanna. But your Dad said he bullied ya and stole your boyfriends. I just wanted to let you know he's not gonna steal me." He slipped his hands up to Sanzo's shoulders, then around his neck. "S'like Gojyo says. I'm a monkeywrench. I ain't much for words or thinking big thoughts, but I get stuff done, I'm solid like steel, and I stick to stuff like the magnet on the wall. And right now, I'm a little stuck on you."

Sanzo let Goku hang there, impassive for a moment, before letting his expression slip into a smirk. "So, you're a magnetic monkeywrench." He let his arms raise to embrace Goku around the small of his back. "You're lucky. I usually don't give tools the time of day."

"Yeah, but you like me too much. I can tell." Goku chuckled into Sanzo's neck. "I got you eating out of the palm of my hand."

Sanzo, too, laughed, and pressed his forehead against Goku's. "Is that what you think? Eat this."

Goku felt him bow his head, and tilted his chin up to meet him as Sanzo pressed a kiss to his lips. It was quick, and Goku could feel his arms tighten around his waist and the tension and anxiety in Sanzo's jaw, masking a subtle fear that Goku might slip out of his grip at any second. When Sanzo backed off to breathe, their noses still touching, Goku shook his head again. "See, that's just it. I like you, Sanzo. That guy's not even cute. You're funny. I think it's funny how grouchy you are, and I think it's cool that you're so serious and tough but you got this sneaky sense of humor. I wanna get to know you better, so I can understand why you're like that and like that stuff even more. I hope that's okay with you, 'cause you, creepy glasses guy, even a brick wall couldn't keep me back."

"And what," Sanzo muttered, as he shifted his arm up Goku's back and pulled their mouths a little closer, "makes you think I'm going to let you close in the first place?"

"He says, as he leans in to kiss the monkeywrench again." Goku lunged up and pecked Sanzo across the lips, eliciting a little grunt of surprise. "Pretty sure it's already too late. You can stop pretending you don't like me. Maybe even make an effort to show me you do. 'Cause, I'm not sure your Dads like me enough to invite me over again."

"Are you kidding? Koumyou was wagging his tail at the door waiting for you. He's probably watching us now."

"Yeah, well, even so. I dunno if it's a good time to ask, but why didn't you call me?"

Sanzo scoffed, put rested his chin on Goku's shoulder. It took him a moment to muster up the will to answer: "I didn't want to take the chance you'd say no."

"Oh." Goku shrugged. "Guess I get that. Well, I promise I'll only say no if I have a really good reason, okay? Like homework, or the flu."

Sanzo sagged against him, his back sliding down the wall. "That's… reasonable." He slipped one hand up into Goku's hair, then carded his fingers through it. "You really are that simple, aren't you?"

"Yup." Goku smiled to himself, because he knew Sanzo couldn't see it, only hear how content he was to be where he was. Sanzo pushed Goku's hair from his face and tilted his head back, kissing him a little deeper, more intensely, and slipping his tongue between Goku's parted lips to brush the roof of his mouth. Goku tasted his cigarette first - not altogether unpleasant, but intensely bitter - then the puckering sour-and-sweet of lemon and lavender that still clung to his tongue. Goku had no idea how long they spent trading kisses, tasting one another, only that he only really stopped when he ran out of breath and Sanzo was still pecking at his lower lip as he withdrew, reluctant to stop.

"We," Sanzo murmured against Goku's teeth, "should do this at your place next time."

Goku laughed and took a step back, finally breaking his hold on Sanzo. "Just tell me when you're not busy. I'll make time for you."

Koumyou was waiting in the kitchen for Sanzo and Goku, sitting on the counter and pretending unconvincingly that he hadn't been watching them through the window. "I was just headed home, Mr. Sanzo. I have to work tomorrow."

"Koumyou's fine; there are far too many men who would answer to Sanzo in this house." Koumyou alighted to the ground and dusted his trousers off, still smiling cordially. "Thank you for coming. It was a delight to have two fine young men at our table tonight."

Sanzo and Koumyou escorted Goku to the door, and Koumyou shook Goku's hand with his final farewell, then turned around. "I'm not watching, boys."

Sanzo rolled his eyes, but kissed Goku on the cheek. "Thanks." Goku kissed him in return, quickly, chastely, but thinking about his tongue the whole time.

"I had fun! Thanks for having me over! I'll see ya!" Goku forced himself to turn and bolted down the road towards the bus stop. He couldn't stop, because he was sure if he lingered a moment longer, he'd do something really stupid like kiss Sanzo again and if he did that, he would never be able to leave.

Koumyou, for his part, sighed contently as Goku rushed off, and glanced back to Sanzo. "I'm so glad the evening turned out well. Perhaps we should–"

"I get it." Sanzo was already turning his back and moving towards the stairs. "I'll give him a chance. It can't go worse than any other … whatever I've had."

Koumyou frowned, but murmured, "Things can't stay like they are forever." Sanzo stopped on the step he stood on. "Kouryuu, you know Toudai and I won't be with you forever. We will run out of things to sell, this shop will close. We may need to sell our home and move somewhere more affordable when that day comes. Someday, and sooner than either of us would like to admit, the medicine will cease to help Toudai, and even my lifeline ends." Koumyou approached, but stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "You must change as the times do. Flow with the stream, of course, but Kouryuu, I'm very worried that you'll be lonely and listless when I'm gone. I am not saying marry this boy because you've met someone who is called to your heart, only give this relationship a chance to call you. Don't just let it pass you by. One who merely sits in the stream is a rock, and a life like that isn't a life at all." He sighed, but put his hands on his hips. "You've kept things simple until now. I'd like if you could, you know, live a little."

"Live a little." Sanzo repeated the words with obvious derision. "I'll live how I want. If I want to talk to someone new, so be it, but don't give me shit if it falls through." He tromped up the rest of the stairs, already digging for his earphones.

Sanzo preferred things quiet. He would never deny that. However, part of him knew the evening would have been worse if Goku, so bright, so loud, hadn't come and blasted back the darkness. Perhaps it was worth taking the chance.