Gojyo had left him some unmeasured time previously, apparently deciding that, since it was the middle of the night, Hakkai was probably sleeping. He'd hardly left his charge's side all day. It was frustrating.
Hakkai could hear the shower running in the room next to his own, the one Gojyo had claimed so he could be near his 'patient'. The moment his caretaker had left the room, a strange restlessness had descended on the compact brunette. For hours, he'd lain in the bed, fuming about the watchful hanyou's constant observation. Now he was upset that the comforting annoyance was gone.
Unable to stay still any longer, Hakkai rose carefully and began to dress. Jeans, a loose white cotton shirt that he did not button up, in deference to his lacerated flesh, his monocle. Not knowing what else to do, he headed for Gojyo's room.
The redhead was still in the shower when Hakkai entered. A small snort escaped him as he spied the full ashtray on the table near the bed. Only Gojyo could manage to spend all his time somewhere else and still fill his own ashtray. Out of long habit, Hakkai took the offending piece of pottery to the garbage in the corner and emptied it. On his way back to the table, he absently picked up the clothes that Gojyo had left on the floor and laid them neatly across the end of the bed.
When he got back to the table, instead of putting the ashtray down, he instead picked up Gojyo's smoke pack and tapped one out. He lit it using the lighter from the table and padded across the room to sit on the sill of the open window. He had just lit the cigarette when he heard the water shut off in the bathroom, then the voice of its occupant raised in song. The sound put Hakkai in mind of the noise a kitten might make, were one to run it across a cheese grater a few times. He shook his head a little, his left eyebrow crept higher, and a smirk pulled at his generous mouth as he took a long draw from his smoke. Life with the indefatigable Sha Gojyo was never less than highly entertaining.
A few moments later, the bathroom diva was shimmying into the main room. Unnoticed at the window, Hakkai watched him, fascinated by the way Gojyo walked when he was barefoot. He sort of bounced on the balls of his feet, with his shoulders thrown back. Hakkai was not sure exactly why, but it never failed to get his attention. Gojyo continued to sing, albeit somewhat more quietly, as he dug in his bag for some clean clothes. The muscles in his back rippled and bunched as he moved, oblivious to the fact that the towel he had wrapped around his waist was sliding into a very precarious position.
Hakkai started counting down in his head. He had reached 'two' when the piece of cloth gave up and fell off the slim hips, landing in a heap on the floor. Gojyo didn't seem to notice. Had it been anyone else, Hakkai would have made his presence known immediately, but Gojyo wouldn't care. He never had any problem being naked around his counterparts. The fact that the majority of his counterparts had a problem with his being naked around them didn't hinder him in the slightest. Gojyo liked nakedness.
Gojyo had stayed in the shower until the water began to run cold. It was the first time he'd been able to relax since Hakkai had fallen, not quite three days ago. When he got out, he toweled his long red hair dry and wrapped a towel around his waist, then left the steamy bathroom for the relative cool of the main room.
As he crossed the floor, Gojyo indulged in a few dance steps to go with the tune he was singing. He made straight for his bag and began digging for something clean to wear. When his towel fell off, he ignored it in favor of obtaining clothing. It was a bit colder out here than he had thought. Where the hell was his black sleeveless shirt? He turned for a quick look behind him, in case he had moved it for some reason, and caught the figure sitting on the window sill, cigarette in hand.
"Oi, Sanzo, smoke your own damn cigarettes," Gojyo said irritably.
"I'm sorry, Gojyo. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I borrowed one," came the reply.
Gojyo stopped dead at the sound of the vice that was patently not Sanzo's. It was Hakkai. Hakkai had borrowed one of his cigarettes. Hakkai was currently smoking said cigarette. Hakkai…Was…Smoking.
Slowly Gojyo unfolded his lanky form and turned to face the other man. Yes, that was definitely a smoke in his hand. Yes, he was taking a pull off it now. Exhaling.
"Okaaaaay," he said, doubting his eyes, "who the hell are you and what have you done with the real Hakkai?" His tone was more stunned that sarcastic.
"I assure you it's me, Gojyo," Hakkai responded, amused. "Really, I hope you don't mind. By the way, are you aware that you're still naked?
At the reminder, the tall man glanced down the length of his own body. He was, indeed, very naked. Normally it wouldn't matter, but recently the sight of Hakkai had been doing things to him that he would prefer the other man not see. He turned away again and grabbed the first pair of pants he found, pulling them on with unusual alacrity.
He needed a smoke. The package was sitting on the table, right beside the – empty – ashtray. He could swear that Hakkai was physically incapable of not cleaning. It was beyond annoying, the way he would putter about tidying up, picking up empty beer cans, emptying ashtrays, and generally behaving like a mother hen. God, but Gojyo had missed it.
He allowed a tiny smile to play about his lips as he sat down and lit a cigarette of his own. "So, what's with the smoking?" "I don't know, really. Sometimes I get restless, and then sometimes I smoke. I always quit after a day or two. Is it okay that I borrowed one of yours?"
The brunette's gaze was searching as he met Gojyo's eyes, and his monocle flashed in the light. "Yeah, man. Help yourself, but you're going to have to put up with it freaking me out." Gojyo returned, proud that he had managed to keep the sudden quiver that his companion's look had caused out of his voice.
"Thank you," Hakkai replied, inclining his head slightly and licking his lips.
Gojyo watched him raise the cigarette to his mouth, wrapping his full lips around it, the lower one pouting out just a little and shining in the lamplight. The redhead had never seen anything so sensual in his life. There he was, the subject of Gojyo's most explicit recent fantasies, wearing nothing but jeans and an open shirt. A strip of toned flesh was visible under the crisp white cotton. Gojyo closed his eyes and took a deep breath to quell the emerging excitement that the sight elicited in his body. This was no time to be thinking that way. Hakkai had come to his room for a reason, and he needed to find out what that was.
"You shouldn't smoke, you know. I hear it's bad for you or something." Gojyo tried humor to open the door.
"So what?" Hakkai's voice could cut glass.
"So maybe you ought to be taking care of yourself right now,' deadly serious tone, now.
"It's none of your business, Gojyo. Besides, you get to preach when you've stopped killing yourself with them." The voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it that Gojyo had never heard him use toward one of the team.
A derisive snort escaped him. "Bullshit. I've been smoking for fucking years, Hakkai. I'm addicted. You're not. You're smarter than me, anyway. You've got no excuse."
"Of course. Please forgive me, sensei. What are you, my fucking mother?" Hakkai muttered in clipped tones dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm your friend, damn it! What you do affects me, not to mention the others. You've been rivaling the monk for 'asshole of the year' for weeks. I have right to know what the fuck is going on with you!" Unable to hold his temper any longer, Gojyo was almost yelling by the time he finished.
Hakkai turned and flicked his cigarette out the window. His face was as dark as the night sky behind him when he turned back. His lip curled in uncharacteristic anger as he spat back, "You have a right? What gives you the right to question me, my actions, my motives, anything? You have no jurisdiction over me, kappa. Fuck. Off."
Stunned, Gojyo couldn't think of anything to say for a moment. This was not the man that he knew. Even when he'd been seeking oblivion, Hakkai had always been the soul of politeness and discretion - to anyone who wasn't his enemy, anyway. He never swore. Could the death of that girl have affected him this much? It seemed unlikely, but that was the only explanation as far as the half-breed could see.
He decided to check it out. Pushing his long tresses back from his forehead, he stared directly into Hakkai's eyes and asked, "Was that girl really worth all this?"
Without warning, Hakkai launched himself across the room, slamming his fist down on the table in front of Gojyo. "How dare you! How dare you even suggest that? She was pregnant! What was I supposed to do? Just turn away, pretend that it wasn't happening, just let her kill herself and that baby?"
"Come on, Hakkai!. It wasn't a baby yet, so what does it matter? I mean, I know that it sucks, but it was just a bunch of cells, right? It didn't even know what was happening!" Gojyo brashly exclaimed.
"Bullshit it wasn't a baby! It spilled out of her belly right in front of me!! It was tiny, and misshapen, and, and…but it was alive, just like she was, before she did that! I felt it die!" Hakkai's voice was bordering on hysterical, now.
"Whatever. She's probably better off, anyway," Gojyo returned, knowing that this very well might get him hurt, but it would almost definitely get him an answer, "The kid, too. People don't take kindly to taboo children, believe me. I'm not going to just sit by and watch my…" he stopped short, unwilling to voice it, to go too far.
Hakkai's nails bit into the table. His breath was coming harsh and ragged, but he was still controlled enough to turn away. He walked slowly back to the wall that housed the window and leaned his back against it and let his head fall back. His slitted eyes glittered out at Gojyo from under long ebony lashes. "What? Come on, you're not going to sit by and watch what? I'm your what? Fuck you. I'm not your anything! I do not belong to you, Sha Gojyo." The brunette's tone was cold as ice.
Gojyo snapped. Before he was aware of his own actions, he had jumped out of his chair, thrown the table out of his way, and was striding toward Hakkai. Their bodies met full force as Hakkai attempted to evade the larger man and he slammed back, into the wall. A deep groan of pain came through gritted teeth as Hakkai's injury was aggravated by the contact.
Gojyo's instincts kicked in; he knew Hakkai, and his fighting style, though nothing would prevent a chi blast. He could only hope that eventuality would not come to pass. The redhead put his left hand against the wall beside the other man's head, while he had the advantage. Then, to prevent his opponent from moving sideways, Gojyo slid his right leg up between Hakkai's thighs. The contact sent a jolt through his body that he did his best to ignore as he flicked his cigarette butt out the window as well.
He did the unthinkable then, placing the palm of his right hand flat up against the jagged scar on Hakkai's belly. He leaned in, until their faces were scant inches apart, blood red eyes fixed on emerald green. "Fuck you. You may not belong to me, Hakkai, but this," increased pressure on the scar, "does. This binds us, you and me. And it means I have a right to give a shit!"
As Gojyo pressed once more against Hakkai's abdomen, his hand slipped sideways, fingers dipping slightly below the waistband of the smaller man's jeans. Hakkai sucked in his breath between clenched teeth. Gojyo froze, unsure what to do. The brunette's sharp hiss served only to stoke the embers of his emerging desire, not as a warning, as had undoubtedly been the intention.
They stood for some moments, pressed together, eyes locked. Their mingled breathing was the only thing audible in the room. Gojyo, sure that he was doing something he would regret, but unable to stop himself, leaned in and brushed his lips across Hakkai's. They were soft and warm, and Gojyo's stomach knotted at the contact. Hakkai's body stiffened, but he didn't pull away, so Gojyo once again grazed his mouth, and then pulled back.
The other man made a tiny sound in the back of his throat, and pushed forward slightly, following. Encouraged, Gojyo once again pressed his lips to his friend's, a little more aggressively this time. Another soft moue from Hakkai, and Gojyo's tongue darted out to flick along his slightly open mouth.
Hakkai's fist came out of nowhere, crashing into the right side of his face. It sent Gojyo reeling, to land heavily on the floor with his legs splayed out before him. He reached up and rubbed his face where the blow had landed. It was already hot and slightly swollen. Shit, that was going to bruise.
Gojyo raised his eyes, to match once again the gaze of the raven-haired man standing above him. Those gorgeous green eyes held a great deal of confusion, a slightly lower level of anger and, Gojyo hoped, some small amount of desire. Of course, he realized that he might be projecting on that last part. He couldn't keep the smile from his face entirely, and Hakkai seemed to bristle at it.
"I'm not one of your fucking barmaids, Gojyo." With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room, stooping along the way to scoop up Gojyo's cigarettes and lighter. Gojyo saw, and did not stop him. It might be very, very dangerous, indeed to interfere with Hakkai just now.
Gojyo chuckled, but his eyes were grave as he said to the empty doorway, "No, you're not."