The stormy night continues..............

Chapter 2 - Solitaire

Gojyo had watched Goku stomp off with a small sigh of relief. Now that the irritating boy was gone, he could concentrate on the matter at hand, namely setting up an evening with the delightful Evette. Gojyo agreed to meet her in the lobby when her shift ended. That way they could share an umbrella, and Evette could show him the way to the Tavern. It had been a while since Gojyo had spent the evening with a member of the opposite sex, and he found he was looking forward to the night. As he picked up Hakkai's meal to take it up, a slight feeling of guilt washed over him. He did not feel quite right leaving his friend to wallow in his misery, but he knew that no matter what he said to him, nothing was going to reach his friend tonight. A night on the town would sure as hell be a lot better than sitting alone in a dark hotel room! Gojyo made his way up to Hakkai's room and knocked softly on the door. He heard Hakkai mumble a low, "Come in," and he entered the room. The room was dark and a bit cold. Hakkai was sitting on the bed, his knees bent and arms wrapped around them.

Gojyo set the meal on the small table in the room. "I brought you something to eat. I figured we should order it now in case the kitchen doesn't stay open all night."

"Thanks," Hakaki said, attempting to smile at Gojyo and failing miserably. "I'm not really hungry right now, but...maybe later."

"Yeah, hey, listen, Hakkai. I'm going to the local tavern with one of the waitresses from downstairs. Why don't you come with us? It'll do you good. You know......get you out of this funk." Gojyo knew Hakkai was not going to leave this room tonight, but he just could not let it go without trying.

"No," Hakkai said with that pained voice he used when the rain brought out his wounded memories. "I'm afraid I wouldn't be good company tonight. But thanks anyway."

Gojyo stared at him for a moment, trying to think of some way to get through to his friend. "This isn't healthy, Hakkai," Gojyo said, letting the anger seep into his voice. "Every time it rains, you just sit in the dark and agonize over everything that happened. Let it go. It's over with. You can't change it. What's done is done. You have a new life now. Let the past stay where it belongs...in the past."

"Look, Gojyo, I know you are trying to help" Hakkai said quietly, "but really I'll be fine. I just..." His voice trailed off, not knowing what else he could say. He knew his friend only wanted to help him, but Hakkai could not stop this painful introspective of his past even if he tried. And God knows he had tried... tried, oh, so many times before.

For a moment, Gojyo debated going over and punching him. He wondered if physical pain might banish the surreal pain that was eating away at Hakkai. The thought vanished as soon as it entered his mind. No, he was not going to do that. Probably would not help anyway. With a wry look on his face, Gojyo just shook his head and walked out the door.

Hakkai watched him leave and, if anything, the pained look on his face increased. It's not bad enough that I have to make myself miserable, he thought, but now I'm dragging my friends down with me. He knew that by tomorrow, when the sun came out, he would banish these agonizing memories that refused to leave him alone, but that was not helping him much right now. Sighing a ragged breath, he bent his head back down now that he was alone again and withdrew into himself.

Gojyo made his way down to the lobby, surprised to see Evette already waiting for him. "Well this is a surprise!" he laughed. "I'm usually the one waiting, not the one being waited for!"

Evette laughed as well and spoke her words with a strong hint of intention. "I think you'll find I'm full of surprises, Gojyo!"

Well, that strong-willed 'knows what she wants and just how to get it' type of woman was just the kind Gojyo liked, and the evening promised to be one that would leave a very satisfied half-demon in its wake. Stepping outside with the umbrella held over them to stave off the elements, the two made their way down the street and into the local tavern. The strong smell of cigarettes and liquor and all the usual bar smells filled the air. They quickly located Evette's friends and Gojyo found himself introduced to two other young women and three men. They were all as friendly as Evette and Gojyo quickly found himself embroiled in a lively game of pool. There was quite a bit of good-natured joking, and Gojyo was surprised at how comfortable he felt with a group of people he had only met this evening. As the evening wore on, however, Gojyo's thoughts kept returning to his friend, sitting alone in a cold dark room with only a set of harrowing, torturous memories to keep him company.

"Where's Maki?" Gojyo heard Evette inquire. One of her friends pointed over to the corner of the bar where a pretty brunette was sitting at a corner table across from a slender man who looked as though he had just lost his last friend.

"Daisuke's girlfriend dumped him and you know Maki. Always there to try and console everyone."

Evette watched them for a few minutes and then shook her head. "Ah, she's got more patience than me. Daisuke's been dumped a hundred times, and a hundred times Maki's cheered him up."

"Him and every other poor soul who needs a shoulder to cry on!" said one of the other men, laughing. "You know, Yuki, if I didn't know how much Maki loved you, I'd be jealous if I were you!!" he said.

Yuki laughed and turned a love-filled glance at his sympathetic girlfriend, who looked up and smiled at him before turning her head back to the distraught young man at her table. "Don't you be picking on my Maki now!! She's got a soft heart, that girl. It's one of the things I love about her. No matter how bad she feels herself, she can never turn away from someone in need." They all laughed at that, and the attention was returned to the game at hand.

Kind of like Hakkai, Gojyo thought. Always there whenever we need him. That was when a disturbing thought entered Gojyo's mind. But who's there for him?  Whose shoulder is there for Hakkai to lean on? Who picks him back up when he falls down? Gojyo didn't like that nagging feeling that said It should have been you, but it wasn't. You just left him there in his misery and ran off to have some fun. He tried to rationalize his actions by telling himself that it would not have done any good to have stayed there. He would not have been able to do anything anyway. Hakkai did not want to be helped right now. That's not the point, now is it? he asked himself. If you were really being truthful with yourself, you would admit that you want him to be miserable because you were jealous that it wasn't you who could bring him out of his depression. The truth could be ugly sometimes and right about now, Gojyo was feeling about as ugly as a man could feel. He might be able to lie and connive his way around other people, but he was never one to lie to himself, and he knew that thought was a lot closer to the truth than he wanted to concede.

"Helloooo...earth to Gojyo. Are you in there?" Somewhat embarrassed to realize Evette had been trying to get his attention for more than just a few seconds, Gojyo smiled and turned to apologize. "I'm sorry, Evette. What were you saying?"

"Your mind isn't really here, is it, Gojyo?? Are you worried about your friend? The one you got the food for?" Evette asked, startling Gojyo with her perceptiveness.

Gojyo smiled ruefully. "I must be losing my touch. I used to be able to keep my inner thoughts completely hidden when in the presence of such a beautiful woman. I'm really sorry. After all your kindness in inviting me here and allowing me to join you and your friends, I must seem like a real cad. Please forgive me."

"Flatterer," she laughed. "Don't worry, you didn't hurt my feelings! I think though, that maybe your friend might need you a bit more at the moment than I do."

Relieved that Evette was not going to be hurt or angry, Gojyo lifted her hands to his lips. "Thank you, Evette. You truly are a special woman. I really hope that one day you find someone worthy of such a treasure."

Blushing at his compliments, Evette tried to laugh them off. "Aww, you're just saying that cuz you hope I'll let you take the umbrella with you. No such luck, hot shot. You're on your own now."

Clutching his hand to his heart, Gojyo smiled. "I guess I can't pull the wool over your eyes, can I? I can see I'll just have to slink away in shame. The wolf in sheep's clothing, exposed for the world to see. Ah, the shame of it all! But seriously,"he said, all kidding aside, "I really did enjoy myself, and I want to thank you for being so kind and understanding."

"You really are sweet, Gojyo. I hope your friend realizes this. Now go on," Evette said pushing him away from her. "You're cramping my style. How am I supposed to get any of those nice gentlemen at the bar to notice me if you keep standing around talking to me?"

Gojyo smiled and walked to the door, peeking outside. It was still raining pretty heavily, and he did not relish the thought of walking all the way back to the inn right in the middle of the storm with no umbrella. "Oh, the things I do for you, Hakkai. Evette's right. I sure hope you appreciate this." Sparing one last glance into the tavern, Gojyo noticed that Evette was already surrounded by a bevy of admirers vying for her undivided attention. Glad to know that he had not ruined her evening, he gingerly made his way out into the pouring rain and ran back to the hotel as fast as he could. Stopping in his room long enough to clean up and get into some dry clothes, Gojyo located an old pack of playing cards and headed to Hakkai's room.

Gojyo knocked on Hakkai's door, and without even waiting for an answer, walked in and sat down at a small table that held two chairs in the corner of the room. The room was still shrouded in darkness and had managed to get even colder than it had been when he had brought the tray up. The tray was still sitting right where he had left it. The table was situated next to the only window in the room; Gojyo could see the storm still had not let up, and if anything, was getting stronger. He switched on the lamp above the table and proceeded to open up the cards and start spreading them out in the familiar solitaire pattern, not saying anything at all.

A somewhat surprised and slightly puzzled Hakkai watched Gojyo for a few minutes before asking him, "Gojyo, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to the tavern."

"Yeah, well, I did pop down there, but you know, I kept having to beat the women off with a stick. They just wouldn't leave me alone. Well, I told them, there is only so much Gojyo to spread around, so I had to leave before they tore me apart. It's a shame really to have this much charm and good looks. The babes just can't get enough, so I figured I'd hide from them up here in your room. I was sure you wouldn't mind helping a friend out! Right?"

Hakkai tried to smile again but as he had earlier in the evening, failed just as miserably. "Gojyo..."

"Listen, Hakkai." Gojyo finally turned to look at him. "I realized tonight that I wanted you to come to terms with your grief in my way, and not your own. If I'm truly your friend, I just need to wait for you to find your own path in dealing with your past and not the one I would choose. I'm your friend. You take whatever time you need, and if you need me to be there, fine. If not now, then that's fine too. I'll just wait. You'll come around sooner or later and I'll be here when you do."

"When you were recovering at my house, I began to notice that when I was out of the room you were restless. Kicking off the blankets and tossing and turning. But if I was in the room, you were calmer and quieter. Hmmph, it was probably my own vanity, but I liked to think I was a...I don't know...a rock...a port in a storm if you will. Something to hang on to. I'd never had anyone need me for anything before. What a laugh, Gojyo the taker finally giving something back." Gojyo paused for a moment before smiling. "I liked it. You didn't need to hear me, just sense I was there and you would be calm. I would just sit there for hours playing hands of solitaire while you slept. You want to know what the funniest part was? I didn't even miss my nights at the bars. It just felt good to do something for someone else instead of only thinking of myself. I guess in the end it comes down to friendship. You take each other the way you are. So now I'm going to just sit here and play solitaire, and when you decide you need to talk, or even if you don't decide that, I'll be here."

Hakkai stared at the half-demon. "Gojyo, I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything at all. Just lie down and get some sleep. You're gonna need it. You know that monk will want to leave early tomorrow, and he hates it when anyone else but you drives. I can always sleep in the back!"

Gojyo continued playing, watching Hakkai surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. Hakkai had finally laid down, and within a short time, Gojyo heard the even breathing that let him know his friend was resting quietly at last. Grabbing an extra blanket off of the end of the bed, Gojyo made himself as comfortable as he could in the chair by the table. His last thought before drifting off was that Goku had better not eat all the food before he got down there, or he was gonna have to kill him.

keistje: Big Hugs back! Thanks so much for all your help and support. I couldn't ask for a better Beta!!!

iamzuul: It is especially nice to get a review from someone who's work you admire. I can hardly wait for the next chapter on your "Fear Itself" story!  I am glad you liked my portrayal of Gojyo and hope I was able to do an equally good job in this chapter.