the fuck happened? It should have worked. He should have been home. Cho Hakkai should have been dead. Tenpou's hands flew to the earcuffs. He wasn't even able to take them off.

"That was stupid of you." the monk grumbled before falling back and resting the gun on his knee, pointedly keeping it aimed towards Tenpou's heart. "Especially when you know there's one idiot here who would follow you to the ends of the earth."

Gojyo lay sleeping behind them, closer to the fire. He stirred, murmured something inaudible, then fell silent.

"Jumped in after you, dragged your sorry carcass out of the water, over a mile of snow, and brought you here." The blonde pretended to examine the shining silver of the gun, then gave Tenpou a sidelong glance. "Oh yeah, the village burned down while you two were out. Eight people were eaten alive. Thanks for backup."

"Oh will you shut up you phony monk! He didn't know!" Gojyo retorted angrily, pulling himself up into a sitting position on quaking arms.

"Ah, the husband's awake. Nice to know you don't die quickly." said Sanzo bitterly as he got up. "Hakuuryu's wing was frozen and broken during the attack. We'll be here for a while if we don't all die of cold first."

"Salt in an open wound, Sanzo. See to your pet and I'll see to my wife, okay?" Ruby red eyes narrowed in his direction, mirrored by equally scornful violet ones. With a "humph" Sanzo left the two and Gojyo's glance softened a bit, turning towards Tenpou who in turn was struck dumb by the term 'wife'.

"et about it. Sanzo's just bitching as usual. It wouldn't have made a difference if we were here or not."

A feeble lie far fromforting. Even in the way Gojyo said it, the marshal knew that the redhead didn't seem all too disposed towards iveness. Silence reigned after that. Every bit of him a Kenren. Kenren never asked questions. Kenren, who only needed silence to say, 'tell me'. Kenren, who gave and gave, never assuming. Who always smoked off a grudge beforeing back into your arms.

Tenpou sat, miserably watching as Gojyo's shaking hands lit a cigarette. The cold must have affected him more than it did Hakkai's body which was one-hundred percent youkai. Guessing on the hair and eye color- the shade of the sunset- Gojyo was only half-half. With half the resistance to cold that Tenpou now had.

Outside, the storm fiercely ravaged the sturdy canvas, and deep inside, the fallen god prayed that the standing buildings of the village would be enough to give shelter to the people now homeless- no thanks to him. The tent provided little warmth and the half-breed was inching as close to the fire as rationally possible, taking care not to get burned by the flying sparks. Granted, he was pushing his limits and every other minute, a piece of hot ash would fly into his skin. He'd curse. Profusely. And Tenpou would wince.

Neither talked. Tenpou, out of shame and Gojyo, he figured, out of disgust. Silence save for the high pitched whistling winds that came like screams through the night. Crept under the tent and gave sharp knives to the feverish half-youkai's badly healing wounds.

His hand shook violently and the cigarette met a hellish end in the fire. "Shit..."

"I'm sorry, Gojyo." Tenpou muttered after a long while of self-berating. "I should have-"

"People thinking in terms of 'should haves' don't live very long around here." Gojyo replied through clattering teeth, stretching out under the thin blanket and staring into the flames; envying it.

"Then what should I do?"

"First, drop your wall 'cause I'm too tired to give you the third degree. I'll wait till tomorrow, so think up some good reasons to give me. Second, leave a man in peace while he sleeps, Hakkai. But if you wanna do me a really big favor, go outside and fetch a pretty lady I can spend the night with. It's still cold in here." The words of a man who would probably die of hypothermia before the sunes back up.

/Yeah, and no better way to die than that way./

"Sorry. Can't."

"Figures."

A thoughtful pause. "Will I do?"

"What?!" Gojyo exclaimed, shooting straight up from his makeshift bed as Tenpou pulled off his white sash. Stared, open mouthed as he slowly undid the clasps of his green overshirt. Pulled that off and apanied it with the black one underneath until he waspletely bare from the waist up.

Hakkai looked at him. Quirked a wan smile. Gojyo paled.

Then came the belt...

"Hakkai! Wait!" No. No. Keep going please. "This...this..." This is about time. "This isn't right." Oh, but isn't it? "Look, aw shit, I know you feel bad, but you don't have to..." But it would be nice if you... "To do that. Not for me." Just for me. "I was kidding about the girl, really!" Of course.

Then came the belt. Off it went, casually as if Hakkai had done this for him a thousand times. No trace of shame or embarrassment in stripping before his best friend who suppressed every instinct to grab and ravage him right there and now.

A glint of amusement flickered in his one good eye. "You don't actually think I'm going to have sex with you, do you?" He undid the top button of his pants. "Strip please."

"The thought crossed my mind."

That's it, Gojyo concluded to himself with a bit of resignation as he took of his vest. There was no use talking to Hakkai when he was like this- especially when he felt like he had a debt to pay. But dammit, he has got to be the master of mixed messages...and a fucking tease. He's a fucking tease, he mentally grumbled, pulling the white tank top over his head and shrugging off his pants; leaving on the boxers.

"So what the fuck are you planning on doing?"

Equally dressed- or rather- undressed, Tenpou moved over beside him until the distance between them was nonexistent; Gojyo's chest against his back. "Now put your arms around me. You'll feel warmer that way."

It suddenly clicked. "Ah. So that's what you were getting at." Gojyo's skin was as cold as a corpse's. It made Tenpou's spine tingle when strong muscular arms wove their way around his body. Made him think of someone else who by now probably had his arms around someone else. Made him burn to death of jealousy.

&quotfortable?" Tenpou asked tentatively, pulling the blanket over the two of them.

"Yeah. More than I feel I should be."

"Still cold?"

"Not as much, but given the situation, I think we're doing good. Hey."

"Mmh?"

"What if the monk and the saru find us like this?"

"Let them."

"Sanzo'll bitch about it."

"Words are words, Gojyo. Rumors are rumors. They never bothered you before." Not that he was totally alluding to Gojyo at this point.

"Well yeah."

Two good-looking guys living together did stir up a mountain of gossip in their old village. Not that Gojyo gave a damn. Sure, Hakkai did act like a housewife most of the time- only without the jealous bitching whenever Gojyo went out for a night on the town. He'd find breakfast ready whenever he came back and fresh clothes on his bed- an implicit request that he take a shower before eating. He thought...and perhaps that thought held up until now...that Hakkai simply found it distasteful to smell like sex while at the table. But the fact that Hakkai was always at the table when he ate, intently evading any conversation that might allude to the half-breed's active sex-life...and the fact that there they were right now, in each other's arms at Hakkai's order...maybe it wasn't a matter of propriety, rather...

Maybe it was jealous bitching.

Gojyo bit his lip at the other's silence. He could only hear the wind, the fire, and their breathing- Hakkai's steady and forcibly focused while his own was ragged and irregular. He pulled closer, lulled tofort by the heat emanating from Hakkai's smooth back which was aplete contrast from the rough scar on his abdomen- something that Gojyo found himself unconsciously stroking; exploring like territory newly acquired. Hakkai's breath hitched, yet Gojyo didn't bother to stop. He was starting to like it and guessing from the soft moan that escaped Hakkai's lips, he was liking it too.

It stretched across him like a spider's web. Gojyo knew every inch from memory. Months of changing bandages have etched it forever in his mind. Now he traced its fine lines with featherlight touches that made the other tremble, he thought, with delight. "Gojyo..." Up a little first. Then a little higher where there was barely any scar, then down lower to the heart of the violent laceration. Then lower...

"Gojyo..."

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Tenpou wanted to cry out, but his body wouldn't let him. The body was willing, yet the mind was not. And it was probably the body's urgings that got him in this position in the first place. Self blame got the better of him. He wasn't thinking. The mind didn't want Gojyo; wanted Kenren. The body wanted Gojyo; who the hell was Kenren?

/Of all the idiotic things I have ever done.../

It was merciless torture and Tenpou squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep at bay the memories retained by this piece of once human flesh. Something about the scar...Gojyo's touch woke it up.

He saw blood; a lot of blood. God how he hated blood. Warm, covering him, biting. Acrid. Heard the cries of the tormented.

Saw demonic eyes flash before his own pair after pair after pair after pair. Bloody eyes. His own bloodied eye. Warmth racing to his hands, the blood this body spilt. The blood of others. The blood of a thousand.

Saw a girl with a knife, crying, whispering a thousand 'I'm sorrys' that were enough to kill a thousand souls whose power was a thousand times that of Tenpou because with just one tear she changed an entire land. Watered it with blood. Made bloody flowers grow. Made the rain turn to hellfire...burn burn burn and scream up to the heavens to those who shall never hear your pitiful cries for mercy...

"Hakkai!" Gojyo shook Tenpou violently as tears streamed from the corners of his closed eyes. The two of them were surrounded by bright green light. Warm, so warm. "You're energy's flooding out. Control it or you

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