A/N: Okay. Finally, finally, this sucker is finished. The "Intimacy" trilogy is complete. I can honestly say, as much as I love reading this pair, I'm going to have to take a break from writing them, because this tiny little story was ridiculously difficult to get out. This is the edited version of Chapter 3. I have an unedited version over on ficwad, under the penname SafireGriffon. However, you have to have a ficwad account (it's free) to see mature content.

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.

Aftershocks—Chapter 3

"So…"

"So I think a new room arrangement is in order."

"Yeah, probably a good idea. The monkey's probably gotten himself in trouble by now."

Hakkai paused. "Wait. If you were telling me…"

Gojyo grinned. "Yeah, I wonder what Sanzo ended up telling him—I don't think Goku's ever even gotten 'the talk' or anything…" Gojyo started sputtering, imagining Sanzo reading from a cue card When two people love each other very much…

Hakkai must have been having similar thoughts because he started certainly-not-giggling again. "Oh dear. I hope Goku doesn't get too traumatized by this conversation. We'd better go save him."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks."

"What are friends for?"

Luckily for everyone involved, Goku hadn't asked too many difficult questions before Gojyo and Hakkai showed up at the door.

"Would it be alright if Gojyo switched with Goku for tonight? It seems Hakuryu and I have gotten rather used to a smoke-free environment."

"Okay!' Goku looked excited, for once, to be escaping Sanzo's presence, and rushed out the door with his bag. "Hey, Hakkai? Um…"

Gojyo shut the door behind them before he could hear the rest of Goku's question. Good luck with that, Hakkai.

Sanzo was just standing on the other side of the room, awkwardly embarrassed. "You happy now?" He grumped.

"Yup." Gojyo grinned impishly.

"Goddamn irritating sonuva…" Sanzo managed to get out before his Gojyo covered his mouth with a gentle kiss.

"Thank you. I don't know how much more of the secrecy I woulda been able to take."

"As much as I would have told you to," Sanzo growled impatiently against the kappa's lips.

Gojyo sighed good-naturedly, "Yeah."

Sanzo hadn't expected a real answer to a statement he'd thrown out so thoughtlessly, and looked at Gojyo incredulously.

"I mean it, Sanzo. If you'd have asked it, I'd have done it." He leaned his forehead against Sanzo's, "Wouldn't have been fun, but I sure as hell would have tried."

"Hn." Sanzo broke eye contact, a suspicious flush to his cheeks (he was not blushing, dammit). "I was tired of sneaking around anyway. This doesn't mean that you can start all that 'couple' bullshit in public or anything."

Gojyo kissed him again. "I know." Kiss. "I love you."

Sanzo didn't reply, but he put his arms around Gojyo, initiating a few kisses of his own. Gojyo's arms wrapped tightly around Sanzo almost of their own volition. He just needed to have this perfectly flawed being as close as he could possibly be. Closer. His fingers wriggled up that ridiculously tight black top Sanzo wore, trying to find more contact. Sanzo broke away to tear it off and started attacking Gojyo's clothing as well, tossing the vest, the shirt, and the headband to parts unknown. The touch of skin on skin was electric, as if it had been weeks instead of just hours since they were last together.

How do you do this to me? Sanzo thought, as he brought his lips back to Gojyo's. But out loud he muttered. "I can't believe you made me talk to Goku."

"I can't believe the saru didn't look more traumatized."

Sanzo nipped Gojyo's lip for that one. "What do I have to do to make you shut up?"

"Well, maybe I can find something else to occupy my mouth…" Gojyo drawled naughtily, brushing his hand against the front of Sanzo's jeans suggestively.

Sanzo's breath caught in his throat. Was Gojyo really going to…?

Gojyo's dexterous fingers popped open the button and lowered the zipper so carefully that Sanzo almost didn't realize what had happened until he was suddenly free of the constraining denim. Gojyo kissed the blond's lips softly, almost like a reassurance, before moving the kisses down over his throat, down his chest and stomach until Gojyo knelt just before his destination, sliding his hands over Sanzo's clothed thighs and naked stomach. The only thing faster than Sanzo's anxious breaths was the beating of his heart as his brain fought to reconcile its two sides—the one screaming for Gojyo to get on with it already, and the side that wanted Sanzo to leave the room as quickly as possible. Clearly, the first half was winning, but only by a narrow margin, and if Gojyo didn't do something soon…

"Fuck, Gojyo…"

Gojyo drew back, and winked cheekily at Sanzo, despite the noise of startled disbelief that escaped the blond's throat. "Good things come to those who wait," the kappa sing-songed. Before Sanzo could think of something appropriately scathing to say, Gojyo returned his attentions to where they belonged, continuing the slow pace. He knew, unfortunately, how difficult it was for Sanzo to simply receive attention, no matter how much the someone truly wanted to give it. Sanzo was crying out senselessly, making wordless noises of need as Gojyo sent him spiraling toward a peak that seemed always just out of reach. Dear gods the suction and the heat…

"Gojyo….Gojyo…!"

If his mouth hadn't been full, Gojyo would have smiled. Saved the best trick for last, baby. Sanzo nearly screamed in shocked pleasure as he entered the kappa's throat. Gojyo was trying so hard to keep the gag reflex down that he missed the next urgent words Sanzo said, though the monk's tone and the harsh tug on his hair let him get the gist of it. Sanzo screamed something which may or may not have contained words, and then his world exploded.

Sanzo was trembling so hard he could barely keep on his feet, but Gojyo took his time cleaning Sanzo before he stood, pulling Sanzo's shuddering body close and placing a tender kiss on the monk's lips, the fairly tame act becoming incredibly erotic because of the taste the blond could still discern in Gojyo's mouth. Sanzo made a high noise in the back of his throat, even while he relied on Gojyo to hold him upright. But even in his current boneless state, he was very aware of the kappa's as-yet-unfulfilled arousal poking his hip.

Gojyo started moving them over to the nearest bed, falling backwards onto it and pulling Sanzo on top of him. He pulled the unusually pliant blond down for another kiss, but one entirely different than the kiss he had just bestowed on Sanzo. This kiss was strong, hard, needy, and left both men moaning helplessly into each other's mouths, Gojyo's hips lifting to grind against Sanzo's.

Sanzo gasped, the movement sending sparks of pleasure straight to his groin. How did the kappa do this to him? Before the infuriating redhead, he could go weeks, sometimes even months, between releases, but here he was becoming hard just minutes after orgasm. Gojyo moved from Sanzo's mouth to nibble on the shell of his ear, snaking one hand between them to bring Sanzo back to full hardness. It was only moments before Gojyo heard, harshly whispered into his ear, "Now, Gojyo."

Gojyo gently pushed Sanzo off and went back to his bag to retrieve the lube. When he turned back, he groaned at the sight before him—Sanzo was on his hands and knees, the same position he'd adopted to allow Gojyo to get up, looking over his shoulder at the kappa with lust burning in his eyes. Gojyo went back to the bed, temporarily setting the lube down on the bed in favor of arching his body over the blond's, taking his chin in one hand to kiss him once more. Sanzo groaned into the kiss, feeling Gojyo's arousal at his cleft, rubbing and oh that teasing bastard…

However, even the legendary Sha Gojyo was beginning to lose his patience, so Sanzo didn't have to wait long before he felt Gojyo's fingers oh-so-carefully preparing him. Sanzo pushed back as hard as he could and heard the answering gasp from Gojyo.

"I'm not fucking china, Gojyo," Sanzo said, without bothering to look back at the redhead.

Unbeknownst to Sanzo, Gojyo shook his head, No, you're not. Even so, the kappa took his time, not wanting to hurt his lover. Sanzo made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, but when Gojyo hit that spot, Sanzo's head fell back in a silent cry. He started raining worshipful kisses over Sanzo's shoulders, listening to the blond's moans get louder and louder until he felt that he could wait no longer. He removed his fingers, hearing Sanzo's almost feral growl of protest, slicked himself, and paused.

"Turn over."

"Huh?" Sanzo answered intelligently.

"I want to see you."

Sanzo turned onto his back. Violet eyes looked into red, burning with a fevered light that had only a little to do with the lust rushing through their bodies.

I love this man. Gojyo thought, almost overcome with emotion as he finally entered his lover, their harsh groans sounding only as background noise to Gojyo's thoughts. This perfect, perfect thing. Although he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that, come tomorrow afternoon when he was being shot at and smacked with the harisen he would think Sanzo far from perfect, it didn't seem to make this moment, this perfection any less true. His thoughts refused to become any more organized and, indeed, ceased altogether as the world shrank to include only their two bodies. There was only that heat, the heat of his gaze, of his hands, of the long, red scratches Sanzo was leaving on his back, of the long, lean legs wrapped around him, the heel digging into the small of his back, pressed tightly all around him. He hit that spot within Sanzo again and the priest wailed at the sky as he savagely pushed his hips back against Gojyo's trying to drive him harder, faster, deeper inside. It lasted eternities or perhaps only a few minutes, time had lost meaning to these two, before Gojyo felt that tightening in his belly that signaled the coming orgasm. He took Sanzo in his hand.

"Come with me," he murmured against Sanzo's lips, taking him in one last desperate kiss, his tongue thrusting into Sanzo's mouth.

That was the last Sanzo's body could take before he came with a hoarse shout, so harsh and deep he almost didn't recognize it as his own voice. Gojyo grasped Sanzo's hips as the blond's clenching muscles tore an orgasm from the kappa as well.

It was a while before either of them was capable of moving, or speaking, but Gojyo eventually conquered this.

"Sweet Goddess of Mercy that was…gods…" Gojyo's limited vocabulary failed against the impossibility of describing what had just transpired between the two of them, so instead he told Sanzo what he did know how to say.

"I love you. Aishiteru." He punctuated each phrase with a kiss, "Love you, love you, love you."

Sanzo, barely managing to keep his eyes open, kissed the kappa's lips and gruffly murmured, "Aishiteru," before falling asleep, one arm flung over the kappa at his side.

Gojyo put his own arm around his corrupt, flawed, perfect Sanzo, and wrapped a leg possessively over a hip, pulling him close. He'd finally found it; a love that worked both ways. He loved Sanzo and Sanzo loved him. And no matter what may come after tonight, that wouldn't change. He nuzzled against the blonde hair, so soft, softer than he'd even imagined all those nights ago when he'd been afraid to even touch the monk in his sleep, and whispered one last time.

Aishiteru.