Saiyuki (Sanzo/Gojyo)
Author: louiselux
Title: Burning
Rating: R for m/m sex
Warnings: none
Word count: 2340
Summary: Sanzo and Gojyo, a strange woman in the woods, her husband, and homebrew.
A/N: huge thanks to emungere for beta. The prompt for this story was: aphrodisiacs, "And you’re on fire/When he’s near you/You’re on fire/When he speaks/You’re on fire/Burning at these mysteries
"Gojyo, where's the shopping?"
"I dunno."
"Please remember. It was the food shopping that I asked you to pack into the back of Jeep."
There was a long pause. Sanzo kept his eyes shut and carried on pretending to be asleep. Assholes.
"Uh… "
"Gojyo, you shithead. You forgot it! There's no food."
The last word was a drawn out wail.
"No alcohol, or cigarettes, either. What a shame. You're down to your last one, aren't you, Gojyo?"
He heard Gojyo's hiss of frustration and the stomp of his boots on the ground.
"We passed a farm a few miles back. They'll let us have food," Goku said. "Hakkai, drive back."
"Oh. I see. What time did we set out this morning, Goku?"
"Uhh, early!"
"And what time is it now?"
"Um. Kinda late," Goku said.
"Who's been driving non-stop for all of that time?"
There was another pained silence.
"You can walk to the farm, Gojyo," Hakkai said.
"Why me?"
"I really can't believe you need me to spell it out," said Hakkai, and now his voice was sharp.
"I'll go too," Goku said.
"Except you'll eat all the food on the way back, chimpy," Gojyo said.
"Gojyo's right. Sanzo. Please stop pretending to sleep."
"No," Sanzo said, not opening his eyes.
"Gojyo will need you to pay for the provisions."
"No, I said. I'm not going anywhere with that shitty kappa."
Hakkai sighed. "Then we'll have to go hungry. We, your loyal followers-- "
"Hey, I'm not his follower."
" -- Who've served you day and night, tirelessly, for months on end-- "
"All fucking right," Sanzo snapped, opening his eyes. He climbed into Jeep's driving seat. "Gojyo, get in," he said.
"Except Jeep's tired too," Hakkai said. "Aren't you Jeep?"
A squeak and a warning shudder, and Sanzo only just had time to leap out before the stupid creature was fluttering to Hakkai's shoulder. Gojyo was grinning.
"Come on," Sanzo growled.
***
They followed a path that ran alongside a fast running stream, and its gurgle was the only voice in the darkness. Gojyo walked behind him. Sanzo refused to let it bother him, except that it did.
"Why're you hanging back?" he said, at last.
"Thought you said you didn’t want to go anywhere with me? Just pretend I ain't here," Gojyo said.
"What?"
Over his shoulder, Gojyo's face was a pale blur in the dark
"I'm imagining myself in bed with a hottie. Beats this."
Sanzo turned away. "Just. Don't walk behind me," he said.
He heard Gojyo's soft laugh and hated himself a little. Gojyo caught up and walked at his side and, after what seemed like hours, lights glimmered through the trees.
"Thank fuck," Gojyo said.
Sanzo could hear the fatigue in his voice. They all sounded like that, most of the time. Apart from Goku, whose energy levels surrounded them like vast crashing waves.
A woman opened the door. She was wide-eyed and pretty. Her dark hair curled around her face and she smiled when she saw them, her gaze moving from Sanzo to Gojyo, fixing on him. Sanzo frowned and jabbed Gojyo's ribs with his elbow.
"Don't," he muttered.
"Shut it," Gojyo muttered back. "Hi," he went on, in a much softer voice, and explained what they wanted with far too much smiling and laughing.
Sanzo gritted his teeth.
"You boys had better come in," she said, opening the door, standing close enough to let Gojyo brush by her. "I think I can give you what you need."
"I'm sure you can." Gojyo said, leering.
"Just get the food," Sanzo said. "It's not a social call."
She looked at him then, her gaze steady, then smiled like she thought Sanzo was amusing. He glared back.
"You look terribly thirsty," she said, and Sanzo realised he was.
She sat them on her sofa and handed them bottles of beer. Candles flickered, giving off a hazy yellow light that softened all the angles of the room. The beer was cold and sharp in his mouth. Next to him, Gojyo was sitting very still, grinning and talking, but not as relaxed a before. His muscles were tense and he was fidgeting a little.
"Hey," Gojyo whispered, when she'd gone off to the kitchen. "Sense anything weird about this?"
"Only your perverted lust," Sanzo said.
Gojyo blinked, mouth open. "What?"
"For her! Moron."
"Oh. Right."
Gojyo shook his head and drank, tipping his head back until the bottle was completely upended, his lips sucking at the neck. It was good beer, Sanzo thought, staring as Gojyo drank and drank. He was interrupted by a crashing sound in the kitchen and then a male voice, deep and loud and far too dramatic.
"You double-crossing witch! You've got men here."
"Ah! Ming! It's not what it looks like.
The man crashed into the parlour. He had a red face and an axe, and the woman followed him, tying up her robe.
"They came for food," she said, "that's all."
The man gazed at them, taking in Sanzo's robes. He opened his mouth, then grinned, then started laughing. Sanzo swore quietly to himself. More stupidity. It was everywhere.
"What's so fucking funny, pal?" Gojyo said.
"Good beer, huh, priest?"
Sanzo looked down. He was still clutching his mostly empty bottle.
"What about it?" he said, although suspicion was crawling around at the back of his mind. He felt odd. Not like himself at all. He looked over at Gojyo, who was pink in the face.
"She brews it herself," the man said. "S'got special additives."
"Additives?" Gojyo said, his voice slurring faintly.
"Gets you all hot and bothered. Gets you hard. Which is too bad, because she's not gonna be helping you out no more."
"No fucking way," Gojyo said, his eyes as big as saucers. "That beer was spiked?"
"Screw you, Ming. I won’t be helping you out, either."
"We should leave," Sanzo said, still staring down at his bottle.
Heat flushed over his skin. He knew he should be angry, but the thumping in his veins wasn't anger. His face was hot, like he'd been in the sun for too long. He heard the faint rattle of Gojyo's shakujou and had the sudden powerful urge to see Gojyo use it. He shook his head, wanting it clear.
"Back off," said Gojyo, and Sanzo looked up to realise he was speaking to them, not Sanzo. "Sanzo. Sanzo. You okay?"
"Um. Yes."
"We're leaving. You two, stand way over there. Sanzo, you walk ahead of me. C'mon. Now."
"Cocksuckers," the man yelled after them.
The door crashed shut after them and then Gojyo was grabbing his arm and hurrying them away, deep into the woods. The moon was nearly full and it floated high above the treetops. Sanzo's heart was beating like he'd been running flat out.
"Let go," he gasped, and wrenched his arm away. "Get the fuck off me."
"Gladly," Gojyo snapped.
They backed off from each other. Sanzo could hear Gojyo's breathing.
"Shit," Gojyo said. "You okay?"
"Stop asking me that," Sanzo said. "I'm fine."
Which was a lie, because he was sweating in the cool air. His skin was burning and nothing seemed quite real.
"Got a cigarette?" Gojyo said, after a pause.
"Not for you," Sanzo said.
"Fuck, please."
The need in Gojyo's voice was shocking, like a punch to the stomach. He sounded like he was begging. Begging for it, and wasn't that a good position to have the kappa in? On his knees, mouth open for him-- no. Sanzo swore, fumbled in his sleeves and drew out two, lit them both and threw one to Gojyo.
"Thanks," Gojyo said, in a small shaky voice.
The silence between them was so deep that Sanzo could hear the rustle of tiny creatures in the undergrowth. Gojyo wasn't saying anything else, probably keeping his mouth shut. Sanzo could see him clearly in the moonlight. His skin was silver and his eyes and mouth were just dark slashes.
"Fuck this shit," Sanzo said.
"Uh huh."
"We’d better get back."
"Yeah."
They walked along the winding path, Gojyo at his shoulder. Their arms brushed as they walked, too close. Their skin slid together, damp and hot.
"Don't," Sanzo hissed.
"Okay," Gojyo said, but he didn't move away and Sanzo couldn’t make himself ask a second time.
Gojyo was shaking, Sanzo realised. Heat poured off him. He walked, trying not to listen to Gojyo's harsh breathing, trying to concentrate on walking. His responses were all wrong. They weren't his own, he reminded himself. It was just the beer. He was sure.
"It might be worse for you," he said.
Gojyo didn’t answer straight away. "Why?" he whispered, eventually.
His voice was as soft as a touch. Sanzo shook his head again. This crap was getting stronger.
"Half breed physiology," he said, hearing his own voice at a distance. "Don't know how your body'll react. Might kill you."
"Fuck," Gojyo gasped. "Thanks a lot."
They walked, not talking, following the stream back the way they'd come. Gojyo stopped and Sanzo had to turn to look at him. He couldn't help himself. He'd been hard for so long he'd forgotten when it had started. It hurt, and Gojyo just made it worse.
Gojyo tore off his shirt and ran his hands over his chest, touching his nipples, scoring his own nails down his stomach, leaving a path of dark marks that Sanzo wanted to trace with his tongue.
"Stop looking at me like that," Gojyo groaned.
"I don't want to look," Sanzo said, his breath hitching. "You're dis-disgusting."
They stared at each other some more, before Gojyo bit his lip and moaned.
"Fuck. I gotta-- damn. I need to-- I'm burning up."
He turned and plunged into the stream, hitting the water with a splash and a cry. It closed over his head.
"Stupid," Sanzo muttered, moving automatically. "You're so stupid," he said, as he grabbed Gojyo's arm and dragged him back out.
Gojyo's skin was wet and slippery and they had trouble getting him onto the muddy bank. Sanzo knelt next to him, panting over him.
"Can’t swim. Forgot," Gojyo gasped, half laughing, gazing up at him. His hair was wet and clung to his face and neck, just like his jeans clung to his thighs, like his hands were wrapped around Sanzo's arm. Time seemed to stop entirely as their eyes locked and held. "Fuck you're pretty, Sanzo," he whispered. "Like a girl."
"I know," Sanzo said, wondering why he couldn't make the criminally stupid words stop coming out of his mouth.
"Yeah," Gojyo said, softly, and Sanzo could only watch as he slid a hand down over his wet stomach and pushed it into the waistband of his jeans. He moaned. "I bet you do. People tell you that a lot?"
"Used to, before I started shooting them."
Gojyo swallowed and his throat flexed. He was stretched out, his long neck very pale against the mud. The muscles in his chest and stomach shifted as he moved, tilting his hips
"I've gotta do it," he said, very softly. "Don't shoot me. Please."
Sanzo knelt back, shaking, and watched as Gojyo unzipped his jeans, one handed, then pushed them down just enough to get to his cock. He sighed faintly as he touched himself, eyes fluttering closed. His other hand was still locked around Sanzo's arm, twisting into his robes like he was still drowning.
The seconds fused together; Gojyo's dark hair spread out around his face, the cool scent and flow of water, hot skin and sweat as Gojyo touched himself, shameless, in front of Sanzo.
"Stop," Sanzo said, although he wasn't quite clear who the order was for, or why. He leaned forward, breathing in Gojyo's scent, heavy and musky. His lips were dry and he licked them, leaning down in until he could almost taste Gojyo's flesh in his mouth. He wanted it. Gojyo ran his thumb over the slick head of his cock and groaned, working himself harder.
"Fuck. Don't. You don't want to." His voice rose. "It's the drugs. Sanzo."
"Yeah," Sanzo breathed.
He reached out and slid his hand along Gojyo's leg, fingers catching on the wet denim as he curled his fingers around Gojyo's inner thigh, near his balls. Gojyo moaned and tossed his head, arching his neck.
"Touch me," Gojyo gasped, his hand moving faster. The sound of skin slapping on skin got louder. "Touch me," he said, his voice breaking. His thigh muscles tightened under Sanzo's palm. "Oh shit. Please. Fuck me."
Sanzo turned to look. Gojyo's eyes were as wide as his own must be, and Gojyo was shaking his head. He arched up off the ground, digging his heels into the earth, thrusting into his own hand until he froze, spurting over his own fingers. Flecks of it landed on Sanzo's lip. He licked them off, then fell back, watching Gojyo shudder and slump back down. The front of Sanzo's jeans was sticky where he'd come. He didn't even know when it'd happened.
Gojyo lay on his back, his hand over his eyes. Gradually, Sanzo heard his breathing slow.
"I didn't mean that," Gojyo said, after a long time.
"Shut up," Sanzo said.
He really didn’t want to talk about it. He got to his feet, feeling less shaky, and picked up Gojyo's shirt. It was damp and chilly, and they still had no food. He wondered how they were going to explain this to Hakkai and Goku. Maybe he'd leave that to Gojyo.
"Yeah," said Gojyo. "Okay."
He sat up and rubbed his face, then looked up at Sanzo. Sanzo stuck out his hand and helped him to his feet, then shoved his shirt at him.
"Put this on. We need to get back."
"Um. Thanks," Gojyo said.
"For what?" he said, turning away.
But Gojyo didn't reply. They headed back along the path as the moon dropped. Gojyo walked behind him all the way, a silent, steady presence, and this time Sanzo didn't mind.
Title: Burning
Rating: R for m/m sex
Warnings: none
Word count: 2340
Summary: Sanzo and Gojyo, a strange woman in the woods, her husband, and homebrew.
A/N: huge thanks to emungere for beta. The prompt for this story was: aphrodisiacs, "And you’re on fire/When he’s near you/You’re on fire/When he speaks/You’re on fire/Burning at these mysteries
"Gojyo, where's the shopping?"
"I dunno."
"Please remember. It was the food shopping that I asked you to pack into the back of Jeep."
There was a long pause. Sanzo kept his eyes shut and carried on pretending to be asleep. Assholes.
"Uh… "
"Gojyo, you shithead. You forgot it! There's no food."
The last word was a drawn out wail.
"No alcohol, or cigarettes, either. What a shame. You're down to your last one, aren't you, Gojyo?"
He heard Gojyo's hiss of frustration and the stomp of his boots on the ground.
"We passed a farm a few miles back. They'll let us have food," Goku said. "Hakkai, drive back."
"Oh. I see. What time did we set out this morning, Goku?"
"Uhh, early!"
"And what time is it now?"
"Um. Kinda late," Goku said.
"Who's been driving non-stop for all of that time?"
There was another pained silence.
"You can walk to the farm, Gojyo," Hakkai said.
"Why me?"
"I really can't believe you need me to spell it out," said Hakkai, and now his voice was sharp.
"I'll go too," Goku said.
"Except you'll eat all the food on the way back, chimpy," Gojyo said.
"Gojyo's right. Sanzo. Please stop pretending to sleep."
"No," Sanzo said, not opening his eyes.
"Gojyo will need you to pay for the provisions."
"No, I said. I'm not going anywhere with that shitty kappa."
Hakkai sighed. "Then we'll have to go hungry. We, your loyal followers-- "
"Hey, I'm not his follower."
" -- Who've served you day and night, tirelessly, for months on end-- "
"All fucking right," Sanzo snapped, opening his eyes. He climbed into Jeep's driving seat. "Gojyo, get in," he said.
"Except Jeep's tired too," Hakkai said. "Aren't you Jeep?"
A squeak and a warning shudder, and Sanzo only just had time to leap out before the stupid creature was fluttering to Hakkai's shoulder. Gojyo was grinning.
"Come on," Sanzo growled.
***
They followed a path that ran alongside a fast running stream, and its gurgle was the only voice in the darkness. Gojyo walked behind him. Sanzo refused to let it bother him, except that it did.
"Why're you hanging back?" he said, at last.
"Thought you said you didn’t want to go anywhere with me? Just pretend I ain't here," Gojyo said.
"What?"
Over his shoulder, Gojyo's face was a pale blur in the dark
"I'm imagining myself in bed with a hottie. Beats this."
Sanzo turned away. "Just. Don't walk behind me," he said.
He heard Gojyo's soft laugh and hated himself a little. Gojyo caught up and walked at his side and, after what seemed like hours, lights glimmered through the trees.
"Thank fuck," Gojyo said.
Sanzo could hear the fatigue in his voice. They all sounded like that, most of the time. Apart from Goku, whose energy levels surrounded them like vast crashing waves.
A woman opened the door. She was wide-eyed and pretty. Her dark hair curled around her face and she smiled when she saw them, her gaze moving from Sanzo to Gojyo, fixing on him. Sanzo frowned and jabbed Gojyo's ribs with his elbow.
"Don't," he muttered.
"Shut it," Gojyo muttered back. "Hi," he went on, in a much softer voice, and explained what they wanted with far too much smiling and laughing.
Sanzo gritted his teeth.
"You boys had better come in," she said, opening the door, standing close enough to let Gojyo brush by her. "I think I can give you what you need."
"I'm sure you can." Gojyo said, leering.
"Just get the food," Sanzo said. "It's not a social call."
She looked at him then, her gaze steady, then smiled like she thought Sanzo was amusing. He glared back.
"You look terribly thirsty," she said, and Sanzo realised he was.
She sat them on her sofa and handed them bottles of beer. Candles flickered, giving off a hazy yellow light that softened all the angles of the room. The beer was cold and sharp in his mouth. Next to him, Gojyo was sitting very still, grinning and talking, but not as relaxed a before. His muscles were tense and he was fidgeting a little.
"Hey," Gojyo whispered, when she'd gone off to the kitchen. "Sense anything weird about this?"
"Only your perverted lust," Sanzo said.
Gojyo blinked, mouth open. "What?"
"For her! Moron."
"Oh. Right."
Gojyo shook his head and drank, tipping his head back until the bottle was completely upended, his lips sucking at the neck. It was good beer, Sanzo thought, staring as Gojyo drank and drank. He was interrupted by a crashing sound in the kitchen and then a male voice, deep and loud and far too dramatic.
"You double-crossing witch! You've got men here."
"Ah! Ming! It's not what it looks like.
The man crashed into the parlour. He had a red face and an axe, and the woman followed him, tying up her robe.
"They came for food," she said, "that's all."
The man gazed at them, taking in Sanzo's robes. He opened his mouth, then grinned, then started laughing. Sanzo swore quietly to himself. More stupidity. It was everywhere.
"What's so fucking funny, pal?" Gojyo said.
"Good beer, huh, priest?"
Sanzo looked down. He was still clutching his mostly empty bottle.
"What about it?" he said, although suspicion was crawling around at the back of his mind. He felt odd. Not like himself at all. He looked over at Gojyo, who was pink in the face.
"She brews it herself," the man said. "S'got special additives."
"Additives?" Gojyo said, his voice slurring faintly.
"Gets you all hot and bothered. Gets you hard. Which is too bad, because she's not gonna be helping you out no more."
"No fucking way," Gojyo said, his eyes as big as saucers. "That beer was spiked?"
"Screw you, Ming. I won’t be helping you out, either."
"We should leave," Sanzo said, still staring down at his bottle.
Heat flushed over his skin. He knew he should be angry, but the thumping in his veins wasn't anger. His face was hot, like he'd been in the sun for too long. He heard the faint rattle of Gojyo's shakujou and had the sudden powerful urge to see Gojyo use it. He shook his head, wanting it clear.
"Back off," said Gojyo, and Sanzo looked up to realise he was speaking to them, not Sanzo. "Sanzo. Sanzo. You okay?"
"Um. Yes."
"We're leaving. You two, stand way over there. Sanzo, you walk ahead of me. C'mon. Now."
"Cocksuckers," the man yelled after them.
The door crashed shut after them and then Gojyo was grabbing his arm and hurrying them away, deep into the woods. The moon was nearly full and it floated high above the treetops. Sanzo's heart was beating like he'd been running flat out.
"Let go," he gasped, and wrenched his arm away. "Get the fuck off me."
"Gladly," Gojyo snapped.
They backed off from each other. Sanzo could hear Gojyo's breathing.
"Shit," Gojyo said. "You okay?"
"Stop asking me that," Sanzo said. "I'm fine."
Which was a lie, because he was sweating in the cool air. His skin was burning and nothing seemed quite real.
"Got a cigarette?" Gojyo said, after a pause.
"Not for you," Sanzo said.
"Fuck, please."
The need in Gojyo's voice was shocking, like a punch to the stomach. He sounded like he was begging. Begging for it, and wasn't that a good position to have the kappa in? On his knees, mouth open for him-- no. Sanzo swore, fumbled in his sleeves and drew out two, lit them both and threw one to Gojyo.
"Thanks," Gojyo said, in a small shaky voice.
The silence between them was so deep that Sanzo could hear the rustle of tiny creatures in the undergrowth. Gojyo wasn't saying anything else, probably keeping his mouth shut. Sanzo could see him clearly in the moonlight. His skin was silver and his eyes and mouth were just dark slashes.
"Fuck this shit," Sanzo said.
"Uh huh."
"We’d better get back."
"Yeah."
They walked along the winding path, Gojyo at his shoulder. Their arms brushed as they walked, too close. Their skin slid together, damp and hot.
"Don't," Sanzo hissed.
"Okay," Gojyo said, but he didn't move away and Sanzo couldn’t make himself ask a second time.
Gojyo was shaking, Sanzo realised. Heat poured off him. He walked, trying not to listen to Gojyo's harsh breathing, trying to concentrate on walking. His responses were all wrong. They weren't his own, he reminded himself. It was just the beer. He was sure.
"It might be worse for you," he said.
Gojyo didn’t answer straight away. "Why?" he whispered, eventually.
His voice was as soft as a touch. Sanzo shook his head again. This crap was getting stronger.
"Half breed physiology," he said, hearing his own voice at a distance. "Don't know how your body'll react. Might kill you."
"Fuck," Gojyo gasped. "Thanks a lot."
They walked, not talking, following the stream back the way they'd come. Gojyo stopped and Sanzo had to turn to look at him. He couldn't help himself. He'd been hard for so long he'd forgotten when it had started. It hurt, and Gojyo just made it worse.
Gojyo tore off his shirt and ran his hands over his chest, touching his nipples, scoring his own nails down his stomach, leaving a path of dark marks that Sanzo wanted to trace with his tongue.
"Stop looking at me like that," Gojyo groaned.
"I don't want to look," Sanzo said, his breath hitching. "You're dis-disgusting."
They stared at each other some more, before Gojyo bit his lip and moaned.
"Fuck. I gotta-- damn. I need to-- I'm burning up."
He turned and plunged into the stream, hitting the water with a splash and a cry. It closed over his head.
"Stupid," Sanzo muttered, moving automatically. "You're so stupid," he said, as he grabbed Gojyo's arm and dragged him back out.
Gojyo's skin was wet and slippery and they had trouble getting him onto the muddy bank. Sanzo knelt next to him, panting over him.
"Can’t swim. Forgot," Gojyo gasped, half laughing, gazing up at him. His hair was wet and clung to his face and neck, just like his jeans clung to his thighs, like his hands were wrapped around Sanzo's arm. Time seemed to stop entirely as their eyes locked and held. "Fuck you're pretty, Sanzo," he whispered. "Like a girl."
"I know," Sanzo said, wondering why he couldn't make the criminally stupid words stop coming out of his mouth.
"Yeah," Gojyo said, softly, and Sanzo could only watch as he slid a hand down over his wet stomach and pushed it into the waistband of his jeans. He moaned. "I bet you do. People tell you that a lot?"
"Used to, before I started shooting them."
Gojyo swallowed and his throat flexed. He was stretched out, his long neck very pale against the mud. The muscles in his chest and stomach shifted as he moved, tilting his hips
"I've gotta do it," he said, very softly. "Don't shoot me. Please."
Sanzo knelt back, shaking, and watched as Gojyo unzipped his jeans, one handed, then pushed them down just enough to get to his cock. He sighed faintly as he touched himself, eyes fluttering closed. His other hand was still locked around Sanzo's arm, twisting into his robes like he was still drowning.
The seconds fused together; Gojyo's dark hair spread out around his face, the cool scent and flow of water, hot skin and sweat as Gojyo touched himself, shameless, in front of Sanzo.
"Stop," Sanzo said, although he wasn't quite clear who the order was for, or why. He leaned forward, breathing in Gojyo's scent, heavy and musky. His lips were dry and he licked them, leaning down in until he could almost taste Gojyo's flesh in his mouth. He wanted it. Gojyo ran his thumb over the slick head of his cock and groaned, working himself harder.
"Fuck. Don't. You don't want to." His voice rose. "It's the drugs. Sanzo."
"Yeah," Sanzo breathed.
He reached out and slid his hand along Gojyo's leg, fingers catching on the wet denim as he curled his fingers around Gojyo's inner thigh, near his balls. Gojyo moaned and tossed his head, arching his neck.
"Touch me," Gojyo gasped, his hand moving faster. The sound of skin slapping on skin got louder. "Touch me," he said, his voice breaking. His thigh muscles tightened under Sanzo's palm. "Oh shit. Please. Fuck me."
Sanzo turned to look. Gojyo's eyes were as wide as his own must be, and Gojyo was shaking his head. He arched up off the ground, digging his heels into the earth, thrusting into his own hand until he froze, spurting over his own fingers. Flecks of it landed on Sanzo's lip. He licked them off, then fell back, watching Gojyo shudder and slump back down. The front of Sanzo's jeans was sticky where he'd come. He didn't even know when it'd happened.
Gojyo lay on his back, his hand over his eyes. Gradually, Sanzo heard his breathing slow.
"I didn't mean that," Gojyo said, after a long time.
"Shut up," Sanzo said.
He really didn’t want to talk about it. He got to his feet, feeling less shaky, and picked up Gojyo's shirt. It was damp and chilly, and they still had no food. He wondered how they were going to explain this to Hakkai and Goku. Maybe he'd leave that to Gojyo.
"Yeah," said Gojyo. "Okay."
He sat up and rubbed his face, then looked up at Sanzo. Sanzo stuck out his hand and helped him to his feet, then shoved his shirt at him.
"Put this on. We need to get back."
"Um. Thanks," Gojyo said.
"For what?" he said, turning away.
But Gojyo didn't reply. They headed back along the path as the moon dropped. Gojyo walked behind him all the way, a silent, steady presence, and this time Sanzo didn't mind.