Title: Good Morning Hakkai, Sketch 2
Author: Sariyuki
Note: Done for the Sanzo/Hakkai Interlude SSP 2005.
Note 2: For those who's been waiting for me to write new stuff, I want to apologise from the deepest of my heart. I haven't completely given up on writing, it's just that it's a bit hard to find the time to do it these days. Please forgive me and thank you for your very kind appreciation.

Hakkai woke up and looked out of the window. Thankfully, the sky was blue and the weather looked promising. A smile slowly appeared on his face. This looked like a good start for the day. Stretching himself to release the muscles of his body from stiffness, he started to do his morning exercise. Every morning whenever he could, he always made time to do this little exercise - to prepare his body for the assault of the long journey in the vehicle. A body could only take so much after all and Hakkai was the kind of person who cared about his wellbeing.

He didn't have the habit of non-stop smoking, nor drinking alcoholic beverages excessively, nor eating any old thing he could lay his hand on.

Unlike some people...

Another kind of smile appeared on his face as he turned around to place his gaze upon the sleeping figure on the bed. Is it time to wake him up? Hakkai mused and decided that he'd give the man ten more minutes of peace. The other two must still be snoring into glory anyway, thought Hakkai.

Sometimes he wondered how he could end up like this. Even in his wildest imagination, he had never dreamt of meeting such people, having this kind of adventure, undertaking such mission, seeing the world as he was seeing now. Kanan would have laughed at him if he had. She used to tease him that he'd read too many books as it was.

Sighing the memory away, Hakkai got on with his preparation for the day. Sometimes he felt grateful to have these mundane tasks that he had to do. They took his mind off things that he shouldn't have thought of. The chores made it seem that he had a normal life too, just like everyone else. It wasn't true, Hakkai knew this, but people needed an anchor in their lives, an illusion of that secure feeling, a glimpse of that promise land, to stop them being too insane, to assure them that, yes, everything would get better. This wasn't really true either. As far as Hakkai was concerned, nothing that he could see had got better. He still felt like his old sinful self.

"Are you done yet?"

Hakkai turned around. "Sanzo, I didn't notice you're up already."

Sanzo gave him the usual 'ch'. "If you haven't been daydreaming too much, you might have noticed."

Hakkai smiled at the remark, "Do I really daydream that much?"

The monk scowled, "You dream when you're awake more than when you're asleep."

Hakkai strode towards the bed he was sharing with the monk, "I didn't know you were keeping watch on me."

Sanzo scowled once more but no more remarks were coming.

Hakkai leaned closer and claimed the monk's lips in a gentle kiss. His lips tugged Sanzo's lower lip before parting slowly. "I'm still the same old sinful me. Falling from an unforgivable sin to another unforgivable sin. What am I to do, Sanzo?"

Sanzo shrugged his slender uncovered shoulders, "How should I know?"

"You're the monk in this vicinity," replied Hakkai smoothly. "You should know about these things, shouldn't you?"

"Stop asking me stupid questions, Hakkai," warned the monk wearily. "So fucking early in the morning too!"

"Alright," said Hakkai and gave Sanzo his little smile. "What about a non-stupid question?"

Sanzo tried his best glare on Hakkai. He knew it never worked and it never would work on this particular man but he tried anyway. "What is it?" he grunted, trying to maintain his gruffy-trademark. This took some effort around Hakkai, but only around him.

"What do you think would happen to us when we died?" Hakkai said slowly, as if it really mattered. "Tell me, Sanzo."

"What the hell," Sanzo snapped. "What kind of an idiotic question is that?"

But Hakkai didn't seem to care about Sanzo's lack of interest on the subject. "I suppose I'll become an animal in my next life. On account of my so-many-unforgivable-sins. What do you think, Sanzo?"

"Damn right," answered the monk impatiently. "An idiotic animal. A pig, maybe."

Hakkai chuckled. "Do you really think so?"

"Yeah," Sanzo smirked. "With big nose and big ear and big fatty legs. An improvement of your current state, I say."

Hakkai chuckled some more. "I think I like it. I only get to eat and sleep all day. What a wonderful life it would be."

"Ch," snorted Sanzo. "And I'd smack your lazy ass with the biggest stick I could find."

"Oh, yes?" Hakkai leaned closer again, his nose was almost touching Sanzo's. "Is that what you have in mind at this moment?"

"Nah," smirked the monk somewhat seductively. "Something similar but not that."

Hakkai maintained his position while his lips were itching to kiss the monk's again. "I don't mind. You could be a pig too to keep me company..."

"Well, let's see," replied Sanzo before he closed the distance between them. "If it's worth it..."