Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Frivolous Lovers ❯ Chapter 3

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Abelle

Not quite NC-17, but not quite R too. :)

Frivolous Lovers

Gensomaden Saiyuki

Chapter Three

Sanzo had taken his morning stroll, after a long moment of warming the bench, and brushing imaginary lint off his robes, and worked his muscles loose; he was smoking his third cigarette in an hour.

He found cigarettes to be somewhat gratifying. They were handy at times of troubles, and using them for anger management was surprisingly benefiting. Just a quick drag of his cigarette, and it would slightly soothe whatever had pissed him off. He was not, by nature, like those mild-tempered geezers back in the temple, preaching about the splendors of life and other sickening particulars when they themselves hadn't the slightest idea what they were talking about. Sanzo was frustratingly hard to please - and even frustratingly easier to fly off the handle. God have mercy to those around Sanzo at times when his cigarette supply ran out.

He glanced up the sky as he walked. It certainly wasn't sunny, but at least the dark clouds that invaded the skies earlier had dissipated. Torrential rain had poured down continuously all night - he could see rainwater mingled with hard soil layering the lane. Across from him, street cleaners were furiously trying to work out those little problems.

Czechuan Town was not a bad place at all, he had to admit - aside from the alarmingly substantial amount of lilac petals flailing around everywhere he went, and it gave him a sense of `liberation', ambling around the large area of the town. But it was also easy to obtain drawbacks upon oneself in that open space, which makes large cities like these potentially dangerous to live in. It was a small annoyance on his part too, seeing that he had to walk every inch of the area in silent pursuit of his young companion, Goku. He accepted the exercise entirely - he would like to think of it as a way to waste idle time. Finding Goku was another story. It was basically impossible to tear apart every building and residence looking for him, but since Sanzo wasn't that eager to hunt him down, he felt only a small flicker of annoyance before he deliberately relaxed his frame, finding it somewhat ridiculous to get worked up at over an insignificant thing. As much as the novelty of `pursuing' amused him to no end, he could always resign himself back to the hotel, minus one briskly boy in tow.

Thinking about exercise and last night, Sanzo recalled the meeting that took place just several hours ago, Goku's bizarre behavior, and that final `click'. He had wondered, out of mere curiosity, where Goku had spent the night then, seeing that he did not return after Sanzo had. His curiosity almost got the better of him, before it was firmly shut off like a switch and slept through the hours. A walk straight to the park the next morning confirmed those suspicions - Goku hadn't returned because he was out there spending the night with the lamppost. Not exactly thrilling, he thought.

If not the discotheque, then were would Goku head to, seeing that his tracks had abruptly stopped just at the entrance - and quickly dashed to the direct opposite route, where there were buildings and construction sites to aid him? Sanzo remained sitting, uncertain between irritation and grim amusement at Goku's clear attempts at ditching him. Already, the day was quickly growing weary, and he would've liked to return back to the hotel for an all-you-can-eat breakfast his credit card could bring him. There'll also be the finest liquor there, as well as cuisine nothing short of the best.

Sanzo liked exclusive things.

Briefly, in amusement, he wondered his credit card was all it took for Goku to come running back like the insatiable idiot he was.

He got up, cracked a few knuckles, and shaking his head, began to pursue Goku's trail. After a short while, it was beginning to become clearer that he was traveling in circles, and a tour guide would have to be called in. Having no need for little pointless complications, Sanzo gave himself a full hour to pinpoint Goku's locations, otherwise, to hell with him. Did Goku honestly think Sanzo would take the time to run mindlessly around and tearing the city apart looking for him?

<You're not making this easy, are you?>

<I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a fool.>

Due to unexpected torrential rain pouring down the streets, the whole morning considerably soured, and so did Sanzo's mood. Rain had that effect on him, where it unconsciously drew up unwanted memories from the back doors of his mind, only to have sporadic images swarming in his head until he realized it too late. Many a time he had successfully purged those detestable recollections back to where they belonged with only three or more glasses of wine. There was something he found intriguing about hurling curses and insults at a blank wall staring right back at you.

A decidedly awful headache and a sudden craving for cigarettes caused him to make a quick return back to the hotel, where he greeted the innkeeper's cordial smile with a curt nod. It was somewhat comical, to see the young lady - of no older than eighteen? - falling all over her feet trying every single technique to catch his interest - all the while trying not to blow her cover while she was doing so. It took no more than a mere flirtatious smile and the fluttering of eyelashes to stir his interest mildly - before he deliberately creased it away and shoved his ever-willing friend, Gojyo, over to her. His life was complete with vast troubles, bombastic, plump women unquestionably included.

Gojyo was fiddling around with a pack of cards he probably stole from Hakkai's pockets, and Sanzo entered the room quietly. Of course, both of them were fully aware of Sanzo's temperamental behavior whenever it rained, as it did now, and for once, he was thankfully ignored, letting silence reign freely. Gojyo could be a lot of things, but obtuse wasn't one of them. Sanzo had to give him points for that.

Paying no heed to Gojyo's presence, Sanzo positioned himself comfortably on his own bed, where he began to hold out his hands - and blanked out awareness. If there was one thing he liked about mornings, it was the reassuring ambiance that easily counteracted the pressure settling around his aura like a bleak shadow. Easing his mind into nothingness and exploring the eccentricity of meditation, especially when his mood threatened to run rampant at the present, moreover, has its points. Equanimity would rule his body into complete immobility in order to strengthen his mentality, where no obstructive emotions would reign freely and get in his way of reasoning.

"So, did you find Goku yet?" Gojyo's voice broke through the silence.

So he'd finally taken the first move.

Sanzo paused. "Not that it's disconcerting for you, but it'll have to take slightly longer to find the idiot. Of course, you're welcome to take my place if you want." It was somewhat pleasing to note that his body had already worked its way into stationary state. It had taken less time than previously. He opened his eyes, satiated.

Gojyo had flung the cards over his shoulder. "Well, damn, the least you could do is to sound worried about the guy. I'm no innocent party myself, but I do oughta let you know that it's a little upsetting for him to run around at this kind of weather," the idiot redhead drawled, draping an arm over his chair. "Even if he does drive me up the wall sometimes, I wouldn't be letting him slip through my fingers if I were you."

Sanzo's temper nearly erupted, and it was only through quick reasoning that he steadily calmed down. "But you're not me, so live with it. Shut the fuck up or I'll shoot your mouth off."

"That's not a nice way to speak to your friend," he drawled easily. Cold irritation seemed to dawn upon his eyes, however. "Then again, with the things that you're capable of nowadays, I suppose this is one of your new traits?"

"Got a cigarette?"

Gojyo stretched his arms wide. "I'm out."

Deliberately, Sanzo raised his eyebrows and glanced mockingly at Gojyo, who had immediately launched into a tirade, something about the immoralities and flawed quirks Sanzo supposedly carried. The fool of all fools - Gojyo had single-handedly whipped up the title. What the hell kind of power had granted Gojyo to sprout absolute nonsense out of his mouth, criticizing him from every damn angle there was - when Gojyo himself possessed the very flaws he had declared vile? Hypocrisy was one of the many things Sanzo never tolerated, especially from the people he was traveling with.

At this moment, he found it more than repulsing to come even four feet within Gojyo's distance.

For the hundredth time, he found himself wondering just what it was that possessed him to choose Gojyo, out of a million people, to vent his sexual frustrations on. Given the circumstances that happened prior to that, he was partially blameless since the fight with Goku had led to a session of negative emotions, causing irrational actions. He wouldn't say it was irrational, actually, because, with Gojyo, it provided him an opportunity to release his inner frustrations as well. Many things would make him annoyed, yes. Very few things would lure him into an actual fit of temper. It was just a pure stroke of luck that Gojyo happened to be there at the right time, the right place for Sanzo to work out his stress on. It was yet to be decided whether that luck was good - or bad.

Sanzo stood up to his full height, shutting Gojyo up instantly. He should've known it was a bad idea to return back to the hotel after all - the last thing he needed was more complications piling up on top of one another, when he already had in his hands the dreadful task of searching for his other companion at the moment, who seemed to take a liking to running around and playing hide-and-seek. It wasn't even amusing anymore, and by this time, all that was left was bored annoyance, and he wanted to get it over with as early as possible.

"I'm out of here," he bit out harsher than he intended, placing his hand on the doorknob. What he would do for a drink right now. "Do try and-"

He'd seen it coming, yet his body proved to be entirely too slow to respond to the urges his brain was frantically calling out. Sanzo's back slammed against the door, and Gojyo's enraged eyes stared back, with one hand clutching Sanzo's throat. A finger pressed dangerously on Sanzo's vital spot - it took nearly all of Sanzo's restraint not to draw out his gun at that instant and shoot the man dead for even daring to position Sanzo like this. Well, he would restrain himself for a second anyway, listen to what Gojyo had to say - and shoot him. To hell with companionship.

"It's your mistake not to believe how serious I am about this," Gojyo said lightly. "Do listen to what I've to say here?"

There was amusement first. It was strange, how it seemed everything would cause him to be amused lately. Then, considering his situation right now, there was a little spark - just slightly - and Sanzo pondered over it briefly, before he realized that it was actually genuine anger that he was experiencing right now. It was a little unfamiliar, but he could recognize it nevertheless. So it was real anger that caused the tightening of his throat.

Gojyo had managed to make him earnestly livid.

"...acting like some first-class bastard, with the way you're going," Gojyo was saying. "Goku's out there all alone, so at the very least, you could try and find him? It's pouring out there, for crying out loud."

"And so? Why don't you take my place instead?" Sanzo carefully watched Gojyo's expression, that turned from surprise to bemusement.

"Of course not. He'll probably hang on to something for dear life even if I do try and pull him back by his legs, the idiot kid. But I'll bet anything that he'll listen to you, since that's the way it goes, anyway."

"I see," Sanzo nodded calmly. His fingers trailed leisurely over his gun. Strange enough, Gojyo seemed to sense what Sanzo was about to do, and slowly backed away.

So the guy had been pushing his luck.

"Hell, at least act like you care about him," muttered Gojyo, glancing irritably at him. "It was a mistake not to think about how ridiculously fragile he is when it comes to stuff like this - sure, it's also my fault too, since I didn't think about how Goku's seeing all this." Then Gojyo seemed to harden. "Why the hell am I wasting time telling you all this, I don't know. Fine, suit yourself. Get the hell out of here." He threw up his hands. "I don't think I'm even reaching you."

"You should know by know that anything that flies out of your mouth is pure rubbish," Sanzo calmly stated, shutting the door behind him. The silence was pacifying.

<Yes, tell that to someone who cares.>

Sanzo had stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Gojyo shook his head and went to the side of the couch, looking down at the sleeping Hakkai. He lay soundlessly on the dilapidated coach - a pathetic, round furniture stuffed with fillings practically decorating the hotel room all over, and served no purpose other than something that attempted to glorify the bleak shadowy space that was the living room. An afternoon intentionally spent on the books had apparently gone off course, due to the fact that even Hakkai probably wouldn't have stomached extremely tedious books even for the whole morning. His chest heaved up and down slowly, releasing an occasional snore under the thick paperback obscuring his face. His body shifted in complaint and, he scratched his chin, but other than that, he was unquestionably out for the moment.

"Damn, but only you are capable of sleeping even through an earthquake," Gojyo murmured in amazement. Hakkai hadn't even stirred from the commotion. "You should've been awake to join our argument. For some reason, I've always lost against the guy. He's a bastard, I know that, but I'm one too, I guess. Maybe I should've gone out and find Goku, instead of staying here."

Yes, it was true that somewhere along the way, Gojyo had inexplicably fallen for that handsome face, seriously fallen. He fought against it at first - being a person who did not go around falling for men, let alone his best male friend, Gojyo tried every tactic he knew to erase those unwanted feelings out of himself, from viciously chasing the skirts of other available females, to drinking himself to oblivion. His desperation to keep up the balance between him and Hakkai caused him to stay away, even snapping and occasionally releasing harsh comments to him, some harsher than intended. The feelings of guilt hung heavily on his shoulders, but it was a small price to pay if he wanted to rinse himself out of those feelings.

<Yeah, it worked for a while.>

<Hell, his smile could light up an entire tree.>

Gojyo's fingers went unconsciously to touch the sides of Hakkai's face, gently smoothing fingertips over a cheek. Soft and lacking of stubble - sometimes it caused Gojyo jealousy whenever he thought of it. Hakkai was born a natural beauty. Gojyo's hand brushed over Hakkai's brown bangs, then trailed down to his jaw, where he stared - captivated - with the smoothness of Hakkai's throat. He should stop, Gojyo mused. He should definitely stop, before he went over the edge. This was Hakkai he was touching, and Hakkai was completely off-limits. Yet, Gojyo didn't. His other hand lingered on Hakkai's knee. Damn, he was feeling tight now.

He didn't want just sex with Hakkai, if he ever managed to accomplish that, he thought as he brought his face a mere breath away from Hakkai's. It had to be special, unlike his other conquests where he would just bed them - and discard them away like unwanted trash. It had taken him several weeks just to realize that. Women were supposed to fill the void in him - at least, for a period of time - and the further his past memories were placed in the back of his mind, the better. He liked women, but he thought he could never love them. His past made sure of that. With Hakkai, he wasn't so sure.

It had taken him several weeks and drinks to realize that it wasn't unethical to love Hakkai.

<It's a little troubling - these feelings - but do you expect me to ignore them?>

<That's all right. I enjoy obstacles.>

Then he leaned down, touching Hakkai's face, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He could feel Hakkai stirring slightly, the slightest of movements of his lips under his own and Gojyo was surprised that he didn't move away. Perhaps he had wanted this too long, that his physical urges caused his mind to automatically shut down. It had been that way previously. Hakkai could wake up at any minute, so why didn't he pull away and scamper off to the nearest corner of the room, pretending that nothing had happened.

"This is Hakkai," Gojyo murmured as he slipped the blanket away from Hakkai's body and slowly untied the front of Hakkai's zipper. "I'm just satisfying this slightly overwhelming lust I have for Hakkai. Pure, and simple fascination. I'll tell Hakkai someday, and we could even laugh about it together - if he doesn't shoot me first."

Keeping his lips pressed against Hakkai's, he let his free hand wander underneath until his fingers touched Hakkai's cock. Gojyo's blood raced, and he opened one eye, to see Hakkai still sleeping with that passive look on his face. Gojyo's hand encircled it, feeling and stroking, touching and cupping it, all the while making sure he didn't do anything that would cause Hakkai out of his deep slumber. Occasionally, Hakkai's body shifted a little, and his forehead creased, but he didn't wake. Gojyo continued fondling it, his mind void of anything but to touch Hakkai at the moment.

To touch every inch of skin.

Impulsively, Gojyo knelt down, bringing his face in level with Hakkai's cock. Feeling bold, he opened his mouth, touched his tongue to it, and quickly glancing up to see the man's reaction. There was none. Relieved - and quite hard now, Gojyo paused, and quickly slid it into his mouth. Just a moment longer - just a second longer. He took in Hakkai's entire length, coated it with his saliva and sucked it, tasting saltiness. Outside, Mother Nature took that moment to strike thunder in the skies, as if warning Gojyo of the impiety of his actions.

Hakkai could definitely wake up any minute. He was just fulfilling his needs. He'll touch Hakkai quickly, and he would never know. Later on, he would dash out of the hotel, go to the nearest tavern and bed some willing girl. Hakkai won't have the slightest idea what had happened. It was practically flawless.

Hakkai's fingers began to twitch, and his body finally stirred, but Gojyo was in a state of panic. He quickly zipped up Hakkai's pants, his own included. With shaking hands, he pulled the blankets up and laid it over Hakkai's body with exaggerated care as his mind literally fell into a state of chaos. Why did he do it, Gojyo wondered. What the hell possessed him to do it? He had just surreptitiously violated Hakkai, and damn if Hakkai was actually faking sleep!

"No, Hakkai wouldn't do something like that," rasped Gojyo. "If he knew, he would've waked and start throwing a tantrum or something - anything to stop what I... Damn!"

Gojyo looked up, trying to catch his breath and comprehend what exactly he was doing here. He tried to sort out the clutter of thoughts swarming in his mind - his eyes confused, and thoughtful, and trying to figure out the best solutions to the problem. Instead, he saw Goku standing in the doorway, hand frozen on the doorknob and face an alarming shade of pale white as he stared at Gojyo, then at Hakkai.

A sickening dread dawned upon Gojyo, as he stared back at Goku with equal shock.

Then Goku collapsed.

@~@~@~@~@

Sanzo stood between the bed and the window, shadows of light of the gloomy afternoon streaming through. He watched his unconscious companion. Aside from the pills that were given to him, Goku's eyes were still moving behind their eyelids, his fingers twisting the bedspreads - seemingly fighting against whatever nightmares he was experiencing through at the moment.

The stupid brat got himself bed-ridden after mindlessly walking in the rain. He should've known it was a road trip straight to a very unpleasant cold.

Sanzo uncrossed his arms and walked over to him, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He shouldn't be waking Goku up. And yet, glancing at that face brought fresh questions to his head, and he wanted answers. No, he should let Goku rest first.

Then he'll start whacking the boy.

It was indeed a surprise, when he was about to exit the hotel, only to have none other than Gojyo yelling after him, something about obtuse brats occupying the floor of their hotel room. He hadn't paid much attention then, having drinks and cigarettes firmly on his mind, until his ears picked up the words of Goku's name. The fool was out cold, probably from exhaustion.

<What's the matter, Goku?>

<Honestly...>

He pinched Goku's knee gently, who almost instantly emitted groans and began to stir. Sanzo looked away, so Goku couldn't entirely see his face when he woke up. He looked out the window casually, though he kept a sharp scrutiny on the brat from the corner of his eye.

Goku's eyes wavered open, rapidly blinking as if to get used to his surroundings. He looked around the room, still looking dazed, and tried to shift his body, looking unquestionably bewildered - and uneasy. Apparently taking into account that he wasn't where he thought he would be, Goku pushed himself upwards, his eyes trailing across the room, the rutted wallpapers, and his surroundings.

And Sanzo.

Goku's gaze rested on him, seemingly hovering on the fine line between dreams and reality.

Sanzo turned his head and faced Goku fully, his lips turning upwards into a small smirk.

There was a tense silence.

"No!" gasped out Goku, scrambling onto his feet.

Sanzo cocked his head. Goku was obviously not happy to see him.

Sanzo fought back a smile and said," You're awake." Hell, he was actually amused.

Goku's stormy eyes darted around the room, obviously looking for an escape.

"It seems you fainted when you came back," Sanzo continued, his eyes narrowing. "That's what you get when you ran around under this kind of weather." Goku tried to scram from the bed and to the door. Even before Sanzo's mind registered it, he held out his arm immediately, and Goku recoiled from it and fell flat on his face on the floor.

"Gojyo made me watch over you, so..."

At a complete loss, Goku tried to scramble upright to his two feet. Sanzo elegantly rose from the bed, and while he was doing it, he kicked Goku's legs out from under him in an offhanded manner. Needless to say, Goku went tumbling back to the floor.

"Since I've got nothing do, why not?"

Goku positioned himself back into a sitting stance.

"It's best for you to stay here."

The look Goku shot him blended of fury and hysteria. Sanzo restricted himself to keep from smiling. Then again, he shouldn't be smiling a lot. It made the face ache.

They glared at each other in silence.

<Right.>

<I'm curious as to find out how he's going to react now.>

<Won't be pleasant...>