A/N: Last chapter was a mite dramatic. Heh. I'm getting away from that with this one. And the finale will most definitely be my favorite chapter. However, this one's here to waste the time. Enjoy!

...

Gojyo stood in the kitchen, talking comfortably with Hakkai. The flowers in the window were slowly wilting, turning a gentle brown at the edges of some of the petals, but only the undersides. Gojyo ran his thumb over the petals of one of the daffodils as Hakkai spoke, for once being the listening end.

"Aa," he agreed. "Who would have thought?"

"It's not completely out of left field, of course," Hakkai added. "Hakuryuu refuses to come anywhere near those flowers."

Gojyo snorted. "Our car's got sinus problems. That explains why he backfires in fields."

Hakkai smiled, rinsing out a pot from breakfast. "Of course, that means I haven't gotten a chance to feed him. He's been catching mice and rats on his own for a while." When Gojyo made a face, Hakkai laughed a little. "I figured he might like a break from that. Are you coming?"

Gojyo shrugged and followed Hakkai without a word. They came to their room and found Hakuryuu curled beneath his own wings on Hakkai's bed. The brunette ran his hand down the dragon's back. Bright red eyes slowly opened, and Hakuryuu cooed in recognition. Hakkai held out a bit of leftover meat and the dragon chirped happily, taking the morsel between tiny, razor-sharp teeth. Hakuryuu swallowed and looked around, eyes settling on Gojyo, who was perched on his own bed. The dragon sniffed, wrinkled its nose, and convulsed in a sneeze that sent a fireball directly into Gojyo's face.

The redhead flailed his arms, crying out in surprise. The fire dissipated almost immediately, though not without burning much of Gojyo's forehead, including the beginning of his hairline and his freshly-grown eyebrows. "Ow! Stupid dragon!" Gojyo cried, advancing on Hakuryuu with intent to maim.

Hakkai got between the two of them, putting his hands on Gojyo's shoulders. "Now, now, it's just an allergy. You probably have pollen on you. Let's get you healed, alright?"

Gojyo snarled but sat back down on his bed, letting Hakkai put his hands over his burned skin. He winced at the sensation but knew Hakkai was doing him good. There was a moment of extreme discomfort, but then the skin went about restoring itself. Hakkai removed his hands and examined Gojyo's forehead. "I always hate having to heal burns," Hakkai murmured. "It takes a lot longer than anything else, even if these are minor. You'll have to regenerate the skin yourself. Until then, I'll put a bandage over that and then perhaps some ice."

Gojyo frowned. "It's still that warm?"

"I can't tell with my hands; that's always adulterated. However," Hakkai took Gojyo's shoulders under his hands and gently pressed his lips to the center of Gojyo's forehead. "Yes, we definitely need ice," he said when they both winced at the contact. "We wouldn't want your brain to boil," he added with a smile. "I'll be back in a moment. Hakuryuu should be fine with you."

The dragon in question huffed and tucked his nose back under his wing. Gojyo shot a glare at him, but then lay back and waited for Hakkai's return.

Hakkai found bandages and a waterbottle easily, filling it with icewater from the tap. He ran into Sanzo on his way back. "Oh, excuse me! I've got to get these to Gojyo as soon as possible, though."

Sanzo nodded. "Come back out for a while afterward."

Hakkai nodded without thinking, rushing back to Gojyo. The redhead was still sprawled on the bed, trying to look at his own forehead. Hakkai smiled. "Sit up," he ordered, taking a seat next to Gojyo. The kappa did as asked, and let Hakkai wrap the bandages about his head, though the contact stung.

"Why, exactly, can't you fix this faster?" Gojyo grunted, taking the waterbottle Hakkai handed him and pressing it to his forehead.

Hakkai shrugged. "Other healing is fusing what is already there together. Ruptured organs, broken skin, all of it has to do with closing a hole. This is a little different. It's like...well," Hakkai couldn't help but chuckle, "it's like growing back one's hair." Gojyo frowned at that, but it didn't last long. "You lay down and relax, poor victim. Hakuryuu won't bother you. I'll come back in a while because I know you'll get bored."

Gojyo grinned. "See you, then."

Hakkai left him, shutting the door behind his back, and went to find Sanzo. He encountered the monk at the same table they'd occupied the night before for dinner. "How's Gojyo?" asked Sanzo, not looking up.

Asking about the redhead was only mildly uncharacteristic. Hakkai raised his eyebrows but did not comment. "Hakuryuu sneezed at him. You two have the same allergies, it seems. He'll be fine, though."

"Damn." Sanzo waited until Hakkai took a seat across from him, and then looked him dead in the face. "I don't want any activities that may jeopardize the mission. Nothing."

Hakkai sat silent for a moment, taken aback. "Of course not! Why wouldn't you? We've always been in agreement about that, even if Gojyo doesn't like it sometimes. No flirting with innkeepers, no gambling..."

Sanzo shook his head. "He does those anyway. That's not my point, though. Hakkai, how many books would you say you read a month?"

Hakkai paused again, wondering what point exactly Sanzo was trying to make. "None that I finish, unfortunately. I always leave them behind. But maybe two or three that I at least get a start on."

"What was the title of the last one you read front to back?"

Oh. Oh. I see now. Hakkai went for being utterly honest but cheerfully dense to the real undertone of the conversation. "I believe it was a book involving careful study of human anatomy," he replied, mildly pleased at his own wit. Sanzo twitched. "I can't seem to place the title, though." Hakkai canted his head to the side. "What I want to know from you, Sanzo, is what you were doing going through my dirty laundry."

"For your information, it was mine. Forgot to grab my cigarettes. Hakkai..."

"Mm? Oh, Sanzo, do you think that could possibly be detrimental to our objectives in any way? Unless you let yourself get duly distracted, it's not been a problem for us this far. I'm a big boy who can control himself. Don't look at me like that."

Sanzo couldn't help it. Hakkai, at times, was too pragmatic even for him. "Ch."

Hakkai smiled. "After all, there's plenty of time to be awkward when there aren't more pressing matters. I'm not any different than I was before laundry day."

"I know that."

"Then we don't have a problem." Hakkai was cut off by a familiar howl from outside the room. "Oh, my, it appears Gojyo has antagonized Hakuryuu again. Are we finished here?"

Sanzo nodded, a mite dumbfounded. Hakkai gave him a bright, handsome smile, and went off in search of more bandages.