Saiyuki: Blooming Reassurance
~Chapter Two~

"Hakkai!" Goku yelled.
"Damnit! Where did he run off to?" Sanzo asked, quite angrily.
"Where's Amerie? Maybe Hakkai's finally getting some." Gojyo said.
"What?! No. Not Amerie and Hakkai." Goku said.
"Why not, Monkey boy? It could happen." Gojyo said.
"Will you two cut it out?!" Sanzo yelled, hitting them with his fan.

They continued walking, until they saw Hakkai lying on his back. They knelt beside him. He lay there with his eyes closed reliving what just happened. Thinking of Amerie helped him want to live a happy life. But there was something that bothered him about the thought of actually being happy.

"Oh my God! Hakkai's dead!" Goku exclaimed.
"No, I'm not." Hakkai said, opening his eyes.
"Where's Amerie?" Sanzo asked.
"We were talking. Then, she walked away." Hakkai lied. He couldn't tell them about the kiss. He didn't want to tell them about the kiss. He stood up and the four of them walked back to the place they were staying.

******

Amerie stood in the kitchen. She noticed that it was clean. She looked at her right hand with a puzzled look. She felt stupid for kissing Hakkai. (Why did I do that? I should've known better.)

"Hey. How's the hand?"
"Damn! Is this a past time with the four of you? Geez. Send me to an early grave, would ya?" She said, looking at Gojyo.
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I jumped at you. I'm sorry." She said, looking at the floor.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. I know that it's not easy. You'll have to make a decision sometime soon. Make sure you make the right one." Gojyo said, walking away.
"The right decision?" She whispered. (Was he talking about Hakkai? Will I have to make a decision about Hakkai?)

She didn't want to think about that right now. She walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She stood at the window looking out. The sky was a beautiful mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows, as the late afternoon sun began to set. Then, there were a few knocks on her door.

"Come in." Amerie said, still looking out the window.
"Hey Amerie. You okay?" Sanzo said, standing beside her.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just thinking about something."
"We're leaving tomorrow. You can either come with us or take your own path. It's up to you." He said, turning around.
"I'll fix some supper in a few minutes."
"Alright." Sanzo said, opening the door. He walked out, but left the door open. She continued standing there. She could hear their conversations from the other room.
"Do you think that Amerie will come with us?" Goku asked.
"I don't know." She heard Gojyo say.
"I hope so. She's cool and a good cook too."
"It's her decision, Goku." Sanzo said.
"What do you think, Hakkai?" Gojyo asked.
"Huh? What? Sorry. I must have spaced out there."

No one said anything as Amerie walked into the room. She stood there for a minute, looking at them. She had grown very fond of them. She wished that they all could stay there forever. Seeing those four sitting at the table, filled her heart with an unexplained joy.

Amerie smiled and walked into the kitchen. She made them a huge supper. She set the table and began putting the food on the table. She sat down beside Hakkai. She watched as they began to put food on their plates. Then, she put some on her plate. Goku began stuffing his face.

"Man. Amerie, this is great." Goku said, between bites with his mouth full of food. The other chimed in too. She smiled and thanked them. After dinner, Hakkai offered to help with cleaning up. She accepted his help. Gojyo and Sanzo sat there smoking. Goku stood up and helped Hakkai and Amerie.

They finally got all the dishes cleaned. Amerie, Goku, and Hakkai sat back down at the table. Sanzo sat there with his read glasses on reading the newspaper. After a few minutes of Gojyo and Goku fussing at each other about something, Amerie stood and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Hakkai asked, looking at her.
"For a walk." She answered, walking out of the home.
"Amerie, wait!" Hakkai exclaimed, running after her. Hakkai caught up with the beautiful Amerie. His pace slowed and he walked beside her. He didn't say anything. He didn't want to disturb the peaceful moment.
"I'm sorry." Amerie said, looking at him as they walked.
"Why?"
"I shouldn't have kissed you. It's been so long since I've been near a man. There's something to you that makes me happy. It's a feeling that I haven't had in a long time."
"I know how you feel." He said, stopping and taking her by the hand. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "You have helped me. I know it sounds odd coming from someone like me. Thank you."
"You're welcome." She said, looking up at him and wrapping her arms around him. Her head rested on his chest. She could feel his heart beating. He kissed the top of her head, then rested his head there. They both felt at peace. It was a feeling that both of them lost long ago and both longed for. They stood there for a few minutes, not saying a word, not moving an inch. Then, they walked back to the house and into Amerie's room. The door closed and locked behind them.

About an hour goes by, Gojyo walked by with a beer in hand. He stopped at Amerie's door and looked at the wood door. He didn't hear anything. The house was completely silent, well, except for Goku's snoring. He walked into his room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He took a couple drinks of his beer, then laid down, and drifted off to sleep.

******

Inside, Amerie's room, Hakkai and Amerie laid in each other's arms. They felt safe in their embrace. Amerie looked into his beautiful green eyes. She could tell that he has experienced a lot of pain and suffering. She could see it in those perfect eyes. She touched his face with her hand. His skin was so warm. Tears fell from her eyes to the bed. He blinked slowly and saw that she was silently crying. He gently rubbed the tears away with his thumbs and leaned his face closer to hers. "Please, don't cry. You're safe with me." He whispered.

He kissed her softly on the cheek. As he was about to kiss her cheek again, Amerie slightly moved her head and their lips met. There was something about this kiss that was much better than the one before. Both Hakkai and Amerie meant it this time. There wasn't a second of hesitation between them. They shifted on the bed. Hakkai was now on top of Amerie. They haven't stopped kissing for one second.

Amerie closed her eyes only for a brief second. When she opened them, she saw Hakkai on top of her. His eyes asked "Are you sure?" She mutely nodded. She pulled his white shirt off of him and threw it to the floor. She knew about the scar on his stomach. He had told her that he had a scar days before. She didn't care. He was still handsome to her. He began trying to take Amerie's dark blue shirt off of her. He finally got it off and saw there were scars on the upper half of her arms and a diagonal scar across her midsection. This didn't bother him. It didn't make her any less beautiful to him.

With all their clothes disguarded, Hakkai began slowly and softly kissing Amerie's neck. His soft lips felt so warm to her. The warmth of his nude body against hers made her feel like she was being bathed by the sun. Hakkai kept his balance with one hand as he gently touched her face with the other. Then, he put his hand back on the bed where it was. He gently inserted his member inside her and slowly moved it in and out. Amerie gasped loudly. It took her a bit by surprise. They both moaned loudly as they both began to climax. Their lips met again, to quiet their moans. Beads of sweat trickled down their hot bodies. It's been so long since either one of them felt pleasure like this.

When they finished, neither could move. It was almost like they were paralyzed. Amerie's arms draped around Hakkai's neck and Hakkai's arms were wrapped around her. They laid there not regretting what just happened between them. They made a silent vow not to tell anyone about it. Although, Hakkai knew that Gojyo would know. Gojyo had a knack for knowing stuff like that. They closed their eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. A sleep that neither one has had in a few years.