(Damn I need a cigarette.) Gojyo chants irritably, turning one of the many mazelike corners on his way back to his and Hakkai's room. (I've never been this nervous in my entire life. Am I losing my touch? The great Sha Gojyo has bedded some of the feistiest women in Shangri La; what's one man?) Pausing in his step, Gojyo almost bursts out laughing. (One man? Heh. One man is worth the whole world when that man is Cho Hakkai. Oh, gods, if you're really up there, and if you give even the slightest damn about this fool down here, please don't let me screw this up...)
With the last corner quickly turned, the room is soon in sight, and long before Gojyo has composed himself enough to enter, his hand is on the doorknob and he knocks lightly before slipping inside.
Hakkai greets him with a genuine and obviously relieved smile. He is no longer in his bathhouse robe as Gojyo is, but wears his thin pants and black nightshirt, having just finished setting up a bed for Hakuryuu on the windowsill. "No luck finding any gum?" he asks, noting Gojyo's empty hands.
"Nah. Should have thought of it earlier." Gojyo replies, sauntering across the carpet slowly, still a little unsure what his next move should be. "It's not that big a deal, I just feel a little on edge, ya know? My hands keep twitching and my mouth feels all...I don't know...like it's missin' somethin'."
"Ah. I see." Hakkai comments languidly, standing from his seat on the bed, and regarding Gojyo with an odd glint at the corners of his eyes. "Well, then, it sounds as if you should be putting it to some use, don't you think?"
Gojyo blanches. The hot tub had been one thing, but to be honest, he really hadn't thought about how things would go to the next level.
"Or...perhaps..." Hakkai begins softly, deliberately halting his words as he crosses closer to where Gojyo is standing. "...perhaps I should be putting mine to use instead."
"Okay, hang on a sec." Gojyo jumps in, holding up his hands as if to fend Hakkai off, while taking a timid step back. "I'm really enjoying this side of you and all, but...I gotta say...frisky-Hakkai is scaring the hell out of me. You sure you're not possessed or something, coz...this seems a little too easy after all I went through to get here. Not that I'm calling you easy! I just meant...I mean...ah shit...I...well..."
"Gojyo." Hakkai breaks in, happily coming to Gojyo's rescue. He has stopped his advancing at about three feet from his companion, and wears his smile easily, finding Gojyo's fumbling for words more charming than anything. "I understand your difficulty in coming to grips with my...more amorous qualities. It's just...I only...well, I just thought...why waste any more time when we have wasted so much already? You say you've loved me for years, and I realize, the more I think of it, I have shared your feelings for just as long. Only...I couldn't see what was right in front of my face. You know what they say, 'Todai motto kurashi.' Ne?"
"So...you're calling me a lighthouse?"
Hakkai's familiar ring of laughter fills the room, so light and melodic since it is so rarely genuine. "Gojyo, in all honesty, I am portraying a sense of ease stronger than what I am feeling. But why should we let our apprehensions get in the way of what we want? I rather enjoyed our time in the hot tub, and I was hoping to continue where we were interrupted. Starting with making up for my tardiness in recognizing how much you have to offer."
Arms shooting out, Hakkai roughly grabs Gojyo's shoulders, jerking him forward into an abrupt kiss. Gojyo's breath is instantly gone, caught by thrilled surprise as he surrenders to the pressure of Hakkai's lips and searching tongue.
Amorous qualities indeed. It must be rather trying keeping up such a calm and asexual façade. No wonder Hakkai's kiss is so desperate, so passionate, that it is almost bruising.
When at last Hakkai releases Gojyo's lips, his grip on the kappa's shoulders remains, as if afraid Gojyo will suddenly disappear and prove to be an illusion.
Flushed with color, Gojyo grins crookedly, having forgotten his previous reservations. "So...is that what you meant by putting your mouth to use?" he leers, licking his lips slowly--deliberately.
"Not quite. Lay down on the bed...and I'll show you."
Gojyo is not a man to be told twice.
Chuckling softly, Hakkai removes his monocle and sets it aside, casting a fleeting glance at Hakuryuu in the window to be sure the dragon is fast asleep. When he turns back, Gojyo is lounging back on the bed, smiling widely as he waits to be joined. The collar of his robe is open to expose his tanned chest, and enough of his legs are visible for Hakkai to be quite certain Gojyo is wearing nothing underneath.
Hakkai crawls up from the foot of the bed, prowling, with a leg on either side of Gojyo when he reaches high enough to once again capture the redhead's lips. It is brief, though thoroughly arousing, and when Hakkai pulls back, the smirk he offers Gojyo is enough to send the kappa into fits of expectant shivers.
Slithering his hands down Gojyo's body, Hakkai undoes the tie to his companion's robe, smoothing it open with his hands gliding across the skin of Gojyo's chest. He does not remove Gojyo's arms from the sleeves, but opens the robe wide, revealing the entirety of the hanyou's rapidly flushing body.
Hakkai's suspicions prove to be correct; Gojyo is not wearing anything beneath the robe, and he is already quite excited by Hakkai's advancements.
"Hmmm...you really are a redhead, aren't you?" he winks, casting a low-level glance. "I bet there are some very jealous women out there right now, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah...but they ain't jealous of you." Gojyo grins back, finding it nearly impossible to keep the fluttering in his stomach at bay. Try as he might, he can't help being nervous. After all, this isn't one of those random women from the past; this is someone who matters.
Hakkai.
Grinning madly and flushed a little himself now, Hakkai lightly pecks Gojyo's lips again, before beginning a descending trail down the kappa's neck and torso, until coming deliciously close to the sensitive areas below his waist.
Gojyo's breath catches in his throat. Is Hakkai really about to do what he thinks he is? It certainly seems so as Hakkai's tongue darts out the lower he reaches, increasing Gojyo's tortuous suspense. It is too perfect. Too wonderful. But most of all...it is really happening.
Tossing up a final, devilish glance at Gojyo's heated and expectant face, Hakkai's tongue darts out a few moments more before he slowly, eagerly takes Gojyo into his mouth.
Something in Gojyo instantly explodes, and he nearly bucks upwards, completely floored. Staring down at that enticingly sexy image--Hakkai working him with such impossible care and attention--is more than his nerves can take. It is something so consuming with warmth and teasing pressure, all offered by the man he loves more than he has loved anything his entire life.
Again, Gojyo can't help thinking that it is too perfect, too wonderful. But it isn't. It is perfect and wonderful because it is. They have both waited long enough to find true intimacy with another. Centuries longer, in fact, than either of them realize...
"...holy...shit...!" Gojyo gasps, clutching back at the sheets on either side. "How...the hell...are you so...fucking...good at this...?!"
Hakkai's light laugh murmurs against Gojyo's skin, sending a chilling vibration up his body. Every part of him feels aflame, brought to life, as if Hakkai IS his life and is giving it to him, inch by glorious inch.
"Shit...ah, fuck...Hakkai...you have to stop..." Gojyo pleads after a few agonizingly perfect minutes, reaching a shaking hand to run through Hakkai's soft, brown hair. "...any more and...I'm gonna...break apart...and...we wouldn't want to...spoil things...before we even...get started, right...?"
Respectfully obeying, Hakkai slowly pulls away, running a tired tongue over his dampened lips as he crawls back up. "A bit too much for you?" he teases, adoring the heavy labor of Gojyo's breathing.
"Fuck you." Gojyo grins, swallowing down the rapid pounding of his pulse.
Hakkai chuckles, sliding a hand down Gojyo's chest until reaching far enough to grip the kappa's still excited extremity. "Actually, I think I'll fuck you."
Despite the recent level of blood that has rushed to Gojyo's face, he manages to pale, biting back a yelp in response to that throbbing, perfect grip. "Why do I feel I've gotten in over my head?"
Hakkai's grin widens and he kindly removes his hand, trailing it back up Gojyo's hips and chest, just light enough to send pleasant chills throughout Gojyo's body. "It's only fair, you know? I offered you something, now you offer something to me. On your stomach, please."
"Whoa! Hang on here. Can't we...talk about this...?"
"You wish to protest?"
"Well, I...I just thought...I mean...this is me we're talking about. I don't play uke for anyone."
"No?" Hakkai questions, wearing something almost like a pout, which adorably plays up his mock-disappointment. "So, you expected I'd play the woman?"
"No! I...wait. Isn't that what you're expecting of me?"
Hakkai's smile returns, though with a certain serious twist, and he dips down, his nose nearly making contact with Gojyo's. "No. I'm expected equal opportunity. I know I will be willing to play submissive when the time comes, but I need to be certain you will, too. Neither of us is the woman, Gojyo. Don't forget that."
Stripped of authority and power, Gojyo finds himself oddly content, and grins back in reply, admiring Hakkai's position, as well as his tactics for getting it across. "I won't. I promise. You're the only factor that matters in this. Top or bottom doesn't make a shred of difference, as long as you're part of the equation. So...on with the dominatrix act, Hakkai-san. Ravage me." he adds in a husky whisper.
"Oh, believe me...I will."
Deeply, Hakkai captures Gojyo's lips again, running his hands down the front of Gojyo's chest. Carefully, he begins to slip Gojyo's arms from the sleeves of his robe, but just as he is about to command Gojyo to undress him, he suddenly stops and pulls away.
Gojyo looks up at him, expecting, yet at the same time, concerned.
"Gomen...it's just...we need..." Hakkai trails off, raising his eyebrows to stress the point, knowing Gojyo will understand.
"Shit, I didn't even think of that!" Gojyo exclaims. The moment is unfairly broken and Hakkai's lips and hands are no longer on his body. Needless to say, Gojyo is not a happy half-breed.
"I don't suppose you have any?" Hakkai asks hopefully.
"It's been a while, remember? Besides, I didn't usually bother with women and you're the first and only man, so...I guess we're gonna have to find something."
"Well, we are in a bathhouse, ne? There are a number of things they keep around places like this that could act as substitution."
"And I know just where to find them!" Gojyo shouts, struck by a perfectly-timed moment of genius. "I got a good look around when I was searching for gum and saw where they keep all the massage oils. I'm sure I can find something...suitable." Grudgingly, though nodding in relief, Hakkai rolls off to the side, allowing Gojyo to get up and retie his robe before heading out. "Think you can hang in there long enough for me to run grab something?"
Carefully contemplating this as Gojyo treks to the door, Hakkai teasingly smirks when the redhead pauses to look back. "I suppose so. But take too long and I'll have you making it up to me well into morning."
With a farewell wink, Gojyo signals his promise to be swift, and slips out into the hallway, dead set on completing this mission in record time.
(Okay...two left turns, hang a sharp right, and then it's the third door on my...wait. Was that the supply closet or the laundry room? Ah shit. Okay, it was a sharp right, then two lefts, and the second door on my...I have no idea. Maybe one of the attendants is still up and a--) Gojyo's internal monologue abruptly cuts off, and he spins around, struck by the faint sound of shuffling behind him. (What was that?)
Advancing a few steps to the end of the hallway, Gojyo approaches the corner with caution, trained to be on edge after the slightest of unexpected disturbances. Creeping closer and closer, he hugs the wall, and with his fists raised to fight, he suddenly jumps out into the open around the corner, coming face to face with...nothing.
(Che. This journey west is making me paranoid.) he sneers, hands falling back to his sides. (Now, where was I...?) Meaning to head the other direction, believing his destination to be somewhere in that general area of the bathhouse, Gojyo turns back, only to be met instantly by something hard against his jaw.
Gojyo crumbles to the ground, caught off guard, and stares up with dazed eyes to make out five or six figures in black, seemingly coming out of the woodwork to surround him. He really must be distracted tonight, he scolds, ashamed at being taken down so unaware.
Before he has recovered himself enough to react, he is able to make out the familiar crest on one of the men's sleeves as what looks to be a damp cloth is brought down towards his face.
"Hak--!" he tries, barely squeaking out a syllable before that cloth is pressed firm against his nose and mouth, choking off his air. He tries to breath, but finds the air to be sour and coarse inside the cloth. He realizes too late that he should have been trying NOT to breathe, feeling a strange dizziness overtake him as the darkened hallway fades to black.
(No...not now...not...now...)
"Get him up." one of the men in black commands. "I want us back at headquarters before any of his friends catch wise. Move out!"
-----
In the room next to Gojyo and Hakkai's, Sanzo and Goku continue sleeping peacefully, still curled together tightly, though now Goku's arms are sprawled over Sanzo's chest and his legs are wrapped possessively around the monk, as well. Somehow, Sanzo is not disturbed in the slightest by the sudden--and frequent--kick or jerk from the monkey beside him. Even Goku's soft whimpers or occasional light snores are more a lullaby to Sanzo than a nuisance. After all, he has had more than enough time to get used to Goku's abnormal sleeping style.
No frightening dreams haunt either of their sleeps tonight, but there would be no need. The greatest nightmare is at this very moment occurring in the waking world, though they are not yet aware...
"Sanzo! Goku! Okite, kudasai!"
Sanzo stirs, drawn out of slumber by the harsh knocking and frantic cries of Hakkai on the other side of their door. He has just enough time to realize that Goku is blinking awake, as well, when Hakkai's patience wears out, and the panicked brunette bursts through into the room.
"Sanzo! Goku! Ano...sumimasen." he shifts suddenly, his cries dropping to a polite, apologetic tone upon seeing his friends' current positions.
Suddenly, his coiled closeness to Goku becomes anything but comfortable, and Sanzo kicks the boy away, pushing him to the other side of the bed. "What is it?" he barks, casting his castoff pet a sideways look that begs him not to make a scene over this. Goku scowls, but reluctantly obeys; he understands that Sanzo is the least vocal among them when it comes to affection, and it will take some time before he is willing to admit their relationship to the others.
"It's Gojyo." Hakkai begins, desperate emotion written over every pale feature as he easily forgets the sight he had first walked in on. "He went to get something and never came back. At first, I thought he'd only gotten lost, but it's been over 20 minutes now and I can't find him anywhere."
Sanzo rolls his eyes in frustration, thoroughly convinced now that he has been roused for nothing. "So what? He probably just found some girl to run off with. What do you care?"
"No, Sanzo." Hakkai replies evenly. "He wanted to get back to the room. Trust me."
Goku looks to his friends in worry, easily picking up on Hakkai's meaning and knowing the older brunette has to be correct; nothing would stand in Gojyo's way if getting back to the room meant spending 'quality time' with Hakkai. As much as Sanzo wishes he didn't get it, he, too, recognizes what Hakkai is saying.
Simultaneously getting out of bed, Sanzo and Goku approach Hakkai in the center of the room, all three readying themselves for what may prove to be a very long night.
"If someone's taken him, where the hell are we supposed to start? It's the middle of the night." Sanzo grumbles, his concern stated as it always is--through his sharp tongue and annoyed expression.
"I sent Hakuryuu out to look around." Hakkai explains, walking over to the window and opening it wide, which releases a swift, cooling breeze into the room. "He should be back soon."
"And if he hasn't found anything?"
"I...I don't know..."
"Kyuu!!" interrupts Hakuryuu's well-timed call, as he flies into the window Hakkai has just propped open. "Kyuu! Kyuu!"
Hakkai reaches up to catch Hakuryuu on his arm as the others close in around him, all waiting expectantly to discover what has been found out. "Did you find him, Hakuryuu? Any signs at all?"
"Kyu! Kyu!" the little dragon nods, and continues fluttering madly as he chirps out his tale to Hakkai, who--to everyone's continued, awed surprise--always knows what his pet is saying.
"He found a trail that leads out of town into a nearby wood. He says it smells like Gojyo. No traces of blood, as far as he could tell. That's good."
"Let's go." Sanzo commands, reaching for his long ago discarded robe. "And pray that idiot's hide is as thick as we think it is."
tbc...
A/N: First off, thank you Battle Mynt for the quote! I loved it from the start and just needed to find the right time to use it. For those who don't know, Hakkai's phrase "Todai motto kurashi," means 'there is no light at the base of a lighthouse.' Or, it's hard to see things that are close to you.
Sorchafyre, a special thanks for your wonderful review, and yes, I did enjoy the convention.
On that note, I am so sorry I missed you, Chibi Assassin! I looked too, but the only person I saw in Asuka's yellow party dress said she wasn't you when I asked. If you watched the cosplay I was in a group of 4 girls dressed like final fantasy characters. I was Paine, with silver sprayed hair that was up, but maybe looked short, in a black and red, somewhat revealing costume.
To everyone else, especially those so wonderfully loyal about keeping me so motivated, thank you so much. Some of you always have something poignant to say, even if it's criticism, and I really appreciate it. Okay, on with the next chapter soon, which will be rather heart-wrenching, but all part of my master plan. Love ya, minna!
Crim