Fic: Saiyuki (Hazel/Varahal/Hakkai) "Second Nature"
Title: Second Nature
Author: freeradical9
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Major spoilers for recent Zero Sum chapters. Snark, dub-con, mutual antagonism, explicit M/M.
Pairing: Hazel/Hakkai
Summary: Hakkai is discreet.
Author's Notes: This fic was really a challenge for me! About halfway through it I almost gave up, but by the end I was really having a blast with this idea. Written for xcerpted for the valentine_smut 2009 fic exchange. Beta'd by the most excellent avierra, with many thanks for the comments and grammar help. Sincere appreciation also goes out to the hardworking folks over at saiyuki_manga, without whom this wouldn't have been written. The prompt for this was "link".
Edit: ...And speaking of saiyuki_manga, the newest Zero Sum installment just went up. *Glee* Now I'm gonna be staring at those lovely (and intense) pictures aalllll night.... ^______^
It was absolutely no surprise that Bishop Hazel Grosse was staying in the presidential suite of the best hotel in town.
Hakkai surveyed the lavish room with some distaste. On any other day, the paintings and the rich-toned antique furniture might have been highly pleasing his aesthetic sense. Today, however, any interest he might have had in the sumptuous decor was killed by the presence of the room's current occupant. All that remained was annoyance at himself, for coming here against his better judgment.
Earlier, he had found Hazel's bodyguard Gat waiting for him in the hallway outside of his own inn room. To say that the visit was unexpected would have been a massive understatement. The last he knew, the bishop and his servant were supposed to have been headed east.
Hazel's not well, Gat had said.
It hadn't been difficult for the chi-healer to follow that statement to the logical conclusion. Still, he found it hard to believe that Hazel would ever seek aid from any of the non-human members of the Sanzo-ikkou. Did he actually ask to see me?
Gat's face had been impassive as he studied Hakkai with his heavy-lidded yellow eyes. No.
And yet, here he was, walking across the mirror-bright parquet floor towards the ornate four-poster bed at the center of the room. The figure occupying it was stripped down to shirtsleeves and tucked in beneath the fine silk sheets. A single glance was enough to see that Gat had been right to seek some kind of help. Hazel was clearly feverish. He clutched at the coverlet and tossed fitfully, droplets of sweat beaded on his pale skin.
Hakkai sensed Gat looming over his shoulder, and said without turning around, "Please arrange to have a basin of water brought up, and also a pot of tea."
He could almost hear the puzzled frown in the man's voice. "Hazel doesn't like tea."
Now Hakkai did turn to look at him. "Perhaps you are unaware that chi-healing requires focus and energy. A drink seems a small recompense."
Gat met his eyes, and then gravely inclined his head. "I'll see to it." He paused, then added, "Don't start anything until I get back."
The door clicked closed behind Hazel's servant. Hakkai took the opportunity to get Jeep settled on the window sill. He propped the sash open with enough clearance for the little dragon to go for help if this was some kind of double-cross. …Although truthfully Gat didn't seem the type.
With an unhappy sigh and returned to the edge of Hazel's bed.
Hakkai loathed Hazel with an intensity surprising even to himself. He did not want to do this, should have told Gat no from the very beginning. Now his stubborn pride wouldn't let him back down.
The sooner he got this over with, the better. It would be the most efficient use of time to assess Hazel's illness during the interval that Gat was gone. He could wait until the bodyguard had returned before making any overt attempt at healing. Hakkai summoned his chi. In the absence of any visible injury, he leaned forward and touched his fingertips lightly to Hazel's chest.
A surge of unexpected energy woke in response to that faint contact. Taken off-guard, Hakkai got a fleeting impression of conflict and chi that was wildly out of balance--just before Hazel's hand shot out and wrapped around his throat.
Hakkai had known that the bishop was fast, but the strength and speed behind this attack were almost superhuman. The healer's hands flew to Hazel's wrist, as the ungloved fingers threatened to crush his windpipe.
"Who," Hazel grated, his blue eyes as cold as ice, "dares to wake me?"
Hakkai made an inarticulate noise in response. He saw Hazel tilt his head slightly, a gleam of recognition lighting his expression. "Why," he said softly, "I do declare. It's Mister Spectacles. Don't y'all have anything better to do then break into innocent people's rooms in the middle of the day?"
You're not innocent, and I was invited, Hakkai thought indignantly, even as his fingers slid down along the priest's forearm towards the cluster of nerves along the outside of the elbow. With relish he dug his fingers in to force Hazel to loosen his hold.
Hazel did. As Hakkai stepped back out of immediate reach, the priest cradled his numb arm to his chest. Hazel glared daggers at him from his odd, crouched-over position on the bed. "I," he said, with visible effort, "am feelin' a mite poorly, and am not in the mood for dealin' with trespassers. I'm goin' to have to ask Gat to escort you to the door."
"There's no need," Hakkai replied coolly, raising a hand to touch the finger imprints on his throat. "Clearly, my visit has left you disturbed." Even more so than usual. "I can find my own way out."
Hakkai had thought he was standing a safe distance away, otherwise he never would have turned his back. Strong hands closed over his shoulders from behind. The room wrenched disorienting, and Hakkai found himself lying on the blue silk coverlet with his wrists pinned together and Hazel straddling his hips. The slight man was heavier than he looked.
"Now, now. I wasn't finished." Hazel's pale forelock was nearly brushing against Hakkai's face, and his blue eyes glittered menacingly. "Perhaps I should kill you for your insolence."
For a long moment, all Hakkai could do was stare up at the human priest. This was more than just the effects of fever and delirium. Hazel's expression and the words and the tone of voice were all wrong.
"How'd you get in here, I wonder. It's really quite intriguin' that you managed to get by that great oaf. He's usually the most steadfast of guardians." The last words were dripping with contempt, they were an insult rather than a compliment. The blue eyes suddenly sharpened. "...Or can it be that the coward went and got himself a sacrifice to take his place?"
Hakkai wished now that he had heeded Gat's advice to wait. Fighting back alarm at Hazel's words, he said carefully, "I think perhaps there's been a misunderstanding."
Hazel gave a low, malicious chuckle, a noise that didn't sound like himself at all. "You have no idea. How very unfortunate for you. Although…" Hazel rolled his hips against Hakkai's, and to the healer's shock and disgust, he felt the other man growing hard from the close contact. "I don't get out much, so this might just be your lucky day."
Hakkai drew in a deep breath to say something--anything at all. Then the air fled his lungs in a stunned rush, as the silver haired man dipped his head down the last few inches and nuzzled into the bruised flesh beneath Hakkai's jaw. Hakkai twitched involuntarily at being touched in such a vulnerable spot. The twitch became a full-fledged recoil a moment later, as the fastenings on his collar loosened, and a warm wetness brushed over his skin. "Ha… ah!"
He thought he heard Hazel purr from somewhere in the vicinity of his collarbone. "Mmm. Tastes good. You don't look like much, and I'm still not convinced that you have anythin' to offer, but seein's how you're here and all, I might as well take what you've got."
A surge of anger welled up at the offhand statement. Hakkai wasn't about to just let this… entity do as it pleased. Hazel had allowed himself to become carelessly off-balance. Hakkai gained some leverage and without hesitation he flipped them over on the wide bed so that their positions were now reversed.
Long-lashed blue eyes blinked up at him, looking momentarily dazed. Then sense flooded back into the slack expression. "Mister Spectacles," Hazel said in a scandalized tone, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were takin' advantage of the situation."
Hakkai looked at him in disbelief. You've got to be kidding me….
The return to clarity didn't last. Hazel's right hand wrenched free of restraint, and he made another grab for Hakkai's throat. This time the move was anticipated and harmlessly deflected. However, Hazel immediately countered by catching up a huge fistful of dark hair.
Hakkai caught his breath--not because of the brutal grip on his hair, but because Hazel's hand was now curled distressingly close to the edge of his left ear. He said sharply, "Don't."
"Oh?" The blue-eyed gaze tracked to the source of concern, as if noticing the silver bands of Hakkai's limiters for the very first time. The fist in his hair twisted abruptly, wrenching his head back. The pain of it wasn't quite enough to mask the pinch at the rim of his ear, as a well-manicured fingernail caught under one of Hakkai's limiters, and sent it skittering across the floor. He had time for a sharp "Ah!" of dismay as the small silver band vanished beneath a heavy teakwood bureau.
A shudder went through Hakkai, as his masked youkai nature clawed its way a little closer to the surface. His skin crawled as one-third of the vines of his youkai mark slithered into place beneath his clothes.
It was like emerging from a pool of water. Abruptly his senses sharpened, picking up the noise from the traffic on the street outside, slight shifts in temperature in the room's still air. With his heightened awareness, he also became intimately aware of Hazel's presence underneath him. His scent was soap and cologne, with the faintest hint of earthiness. And beneath it was something dark, something wild. Intrigued, before he thought to stop himself, he brought his nose in close to Hazel's forearm and inhaled.
Hazel was regarding him with interest. "Well I never. There really is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, little worm?" He used his grip on Hakkai's hair to tilt his head to the side, and blue eyes settled visibly on the remaining two ear cuffs perched on the rim of a now faintly pointed ear. "Seems a shame to hide the rest, doesn't it?"
Hakkai intercepted the reach of his other hand. "No."
Silver eyebrows rose. The muscles of Hazel's forearm bunched beneath Hakkai's fingertips. "No?"
Hakkai's grip dug in warningly. With one limiter gone, he could sense his own augmented strength, and thought it might be a fair match for whatever was mostly-possessing Hazel. "No," he repeated firmly.
"Pity." The words were spoken in an offhand tone, but there was an ugly note behind them. "I do feel the need to mention, I don't take well to rejection." He shifted, grinding up against Hakkai.
The action provoked a heady and wholly unexpected surge of heat. It was deeply ironic, that a person who could consume enough alcohol to flatten a small elephant without being visibly impaired had his principles and inhibitions evaporate in the absence of one flimsy piece of metal. Suddenly, allowing Hazel to have his way didn't seem like such a bad idea, after all.
Hakkai had become distracted. The room lurched abruptly, and the healer gave a startled exclamation as he landed on his back hanging part-way over the edge of the bed. Hazel was settled on top of him again, and he leered triumphantly as he felt the first stirrings of Hakkai's response. "Well, well, well."
As he clutched at Hazel's shoulders for balance, Hakkai's upside-down view of the room showed him Jeep perched anxiously by the open window. Rescue was there if he wanted it, all he had to do was give the signal. He wasn't beaten yet, either. If Hakkai put some effort into it, he was certain he could best Hazel, or at the very least stall him until Gat came back with the tea. As if sensing his thoughts, Hazel grinned sharply and moved against him, applying pressure and friction. Hakkai was forced to amend his list of choices with a third--to relent, and allow Hazel the release that he wanted.
The bishop clearly intended to top. Hakkai closed his eyes against the giddy flood of pleasure from where their clothed bodies rubbed against each other, and he briefly considered fighting him for it. However, Gat really would return soon. Hazel might not care, but Hakkai would just as soon not have the big man walk in on anything. Hakkai had enough silver left on his ear to choose practicality. He dropped his hands to Hazel's thighs and canted his body upwards into Hazel's dry thrusts.
The effect on Hazel was immediate. The breath left his lungs in a shuddering rush, eyes narrowing in an almost bestial blaze of lust. He caught at Hakkai's shoulder roughly, and the healer offered no resistance as he was rolled over onto his stomach. Hands fumbled belatedly at Hakkai's belt, accompanied by heated cursing. Hakkai gathered his knees under him and shifted to help, but was too late as he heard fabric split.
Annoyed, he reached back and sank longer-than-normal fingernails warningly into Hazel's leg. "You owe me a replacement pair of pants."
A rude snort answered the comment. "I couldn't care less." The superior tone was ruined by the undercurrent of need in the breathless words. Hakkai felt the shift of air on bared skin a moment before Hazel's hand cupped his ass.
"Looks tight," the priest murmured in anticipation. "Let's just see." Hakkai felt a moist fingertip wriggle against him, and forced back a moan as it slid in. "Oh, this should be good." The probing pressure vanished, and part of Hazel's weight settled against his back. Without any more preparation than that, Hazel lined himself up and then mounted in one long, deep stroke.
"Nnnnnhh…" Hazel wasn't wide, but he was long, and oh… he must have had lots of past experience because he had the angle just right. Pleasure coursed through Hakkai as that curved hardness pressed against his prostate, coaxing his body into an involuntary arch. His own erection quickened against the remains of his pants, and he braced himself on one elbow long enough to work his zipper open. Hazel paid absolutely no attention to Hakkai's cock. Instead a hand snaked around his waist, holding him steady even as the other guided Hakkai's knees farther apart, opening him up.
Hakkai submitted without protest to the manhandling, reaping the benefits as the pleasure of penetration intensified. Hazel began to ride him in earnest, and he found himself pushing back helplessly into the deep, full thrusts. Hazel was growling now, low in his chest, and Hakkai felt an answering noise start in his own throat. Some dark part of him took a perverse pleasure in how easy it was for both of them to become lost in blind lust. Ah yes, we are so very similar, aren't we?
"Mmm… Haah… More." Hazel's breath fanned wet heat against his ear. Hakkai consciously tightened his abdominal muscles, bearing down, and Hazel gave a bitten-off groan. His rhythm began to falter, but it was just as well since Hakkai himself was very close. He leaned back, taking as much of Hazel as he could, stroking himself as he felt his orgasm build and crest. As if sensing it, Hazel clutched at him and buried himself, his cock pulsing in erotic completion and releasing a deep flood of heat. The sensation of it tipped Hakkai over the edge into climax, and he spent himself onto the costly bedding with a full-throated moan.
It took a moment to come down from the intensity of it, and longer still to recover rational thought. As he reassessed the situation, he realized Hazel's body had turned into a dead weight draped over him. Hakkai carefully shifted, easing out from under the priest and lowering him down onto the bed.
"Nightmare," Hazel mumbled, as he subsided into sleep.
Hakkai let out a deep breath, staring down at the man. He didn't know which shocked him more--that he'd just had sex with Hazel, or that it had been really good.
Hazel's slumber appeared to be natural. Just to be cautious, Hakkai touched a clinical hand to Hazel's forehead. The priest's skin was already cooling, and Hakkai came to the startling realization that he had never been physically ill. The fever was caused entirely by whatever was inside of Hazel that was trying to break free.
A touch of chi allowed him to look deeper. The alien life force that shared Hazel's body was entangled with his spirit so completely that it was difficult to tell where one left off and the other began. It was feeding off Hazel's life energy like a great, disembodied parasite. Hakkai found it fascinating, and also utterly repulsive. Not unlike the man himself.
He also realized that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It would take someone with a delicate touch and a great deal of past experience to sever that link without causing damage. The sexual release had somehow served to bring Hazel's chi back into balance. Hakkai couldn't do anything further without disturbing the intricate network.
He straightened, and directed a miffed comment over his shoulder. "A warning would have been nice."
Gat stood just inside the doorway, taking in the rumpled bedclothes, the clothing ripped and in disarray. He immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head and pressing his fist to the floor. "I'm sorry. This wasn't what I intended."
Pulling the tails of his shirt over himself and gathering up the shreds of his dignity, Hakkai rose from the bed. He crossed to the teakwood bureau and retrieved the missing piece of his limiter, setting it firmly back in place. As the evidence of his youkai mark vanished, he said, "He doesn't need a healer, he needs an exorcist."
A faintly defeated look came over Gat's craggy face. "I've already tried."
Gat made no move to stop him as Hakkai removed his ruined khakis and donned a pair of Hazel's jeans from the bureau. Perhaps the bodyguard's silence was out of deference for the blow to Hakkai's self-respect. The healer could have told him it was nothing new. Hakkai lacked self-respect most of the time. Covering for the fact was second nature.
There was nothing more that he could do here. Hakkai retrieved a subdued Jeep from the windowsill and walked silently to the door. From behind him, Gat spoke up. "Neither of them will remember any of this."
As Hakkai let himself out, he thought it might be nice to be so lucky.
Author: freeradical9
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Major spoilers for recent Zero Sum chapters. Snark, dub-con, mutual antagonism, explicit M/M.
Pairing: Hazel/Hakkai
Summary: Hakkai is discreet.
Author's Notes: This fic was really a challenge for me! About halfway through it I almost gave up, but by the end I was really having a blast with this idea. Written for xcerpted for the valentine_smut 2009 fic exchange. Beta'd by the most excellent avierra, with many thanks for the comments and grammar help. Sincere appreciation also goes out to the hardworking folks over at saiyuki_manga, without whom this wouldn't have been written. The prompt for this was "link".
Edit: ...And speaking of saiyuki_manga, the newest Zero Sum installment just went up. *Glee* Now I'm gonna be staring at those lovely (and intense) pictures aalllll night.... ^______^
It was absolutely no surprise that Bishop Hazel Grosse was staying in the presidential suite of the best hotel in town.
Hakkai surveyed the lavish room with some distaste. On any other day, the paintings and the rich-toned antique furniture might have been highly pleasing his aesthetic sense. Today, however, any interest he might have had in the sumptuous decor was killed by the presence of the room's current occupant. All that remained was annoyance at himself, for coming here against his better judgment.
Earlier, he had found Hazel's bodyguard Gat waiting for him in the hallway outside of his own inn room. To say that the visit was unexpected would have been a massive understatement. The last he knew, the bishop and his servant were supposed to have been headed east.
Hazel's not well, Gat had said.
It hadn't been difficult for the chi-healer to follow that statement to the logical conclusion. Still, he found it hard to believe that Hazel would ever seek aid from any of the non-human members of the Sanzo-ikkou. Did he actually ask to see me?
Gat's face had been impassive as he studied Hakkai with his heavy-lidded yellow eyes. No.
And yet, here he was, walking across the mirror-bright parquet floor towards the ornate four-poster bed at the center of the room. The figure occupying it was stripped down to shirtsleeves and tucked in beneath the fine silk sheets. A single glance was enough to see that Gat had been right to seek some kind of help. Hazel was clearly feverish. He clutched at the coverlet and tossed fitfully, droplets of sweat beaded on his pale skin.
Hakkai sensed Gat looming over his shoulder, and said without turning around, "Please arrange to have a basin of water brought up, and also a pot of tea."
He could almost hear the puzzled frown in the man's voice. "Hazel doesn't like tea."
Now Hakkai did turn to look at him. "Perhaps you are unaware that chi-healing requires focus and energy. A drink seems a small recompense."
Gat met his eyes, and then gravely inclined his head. "I'll see to it." He paused, then added, "Don't start anything until I get back."
The door clicked closed behind Hazel's servant. Hakkai took the opportunity to get Jeep settled on the window sill. He propped the sash open with enough clearance for the little dragon to go for help if this was some kind of double-cross. …Although truthfully Gat didn't seem the type.
With an unhappy sigh and returned to the edge of Hazel's bed.
Hakkai loathed Hazel with an intensity surprising even to himself. He did not want to do this, should have told Gat no from the very beginning. Now his stubborn pride wouldn't let him back down.
The sooner he got this over with, the better. It would be the most efficient use of time to assess Hazel's illness during the interval that Gat was gone. He could wait until the bodyguard had returned before making any overt attempt at healing. Hakkai summoned his chi. In the absence of any visible injury, he leaned forward and touched his fingertips lightly to Hazel's chest.
A surge of unexpected energy woke in response to that faint contact. Taken off-guard, Hakkai got a fleeting impression of conflict and chi that was wildly out of balance--just before Hazel's hand shot out and wrapped around his throat.
Hakkai had known that the bishop was fast, but the strength and speed behind this attack were almost superhuman. The healer's hands flew to Hazel's wrist, as the ungloved fingers threatened to crush his windpipe.
"Who," Hazel grated, his blue eyes as cold as ice, "dares to wake me?"
Hakkai made an inarticulate noise in response. He saw Hazel tilt his head slightly, a gleam of recognition lighting his expression. "Why," he said softly, "I do declare. It's Mister Spectacles. Don't y'all have anything better to do then break into innocent people's rooms in the middle of the day?"
You're not innocent, and I was invited, Hakkai thought indignantly, even as his fingers slid down along the priest's forearm towards the cluster of nerves along the outside of the elbow. With relish he dug his fingers in to force Hazel to loosen his hold.
Hazel did. As Hakkai stepped back out of immediate reach, the priest cradled his numb arm to his chest. Hazel glared daggers at him from his odd, crouched-over position on the bed. "I," he said, with visible effort, "am feelin' a mite poorly, and am not in the mood for dealin' with trespassers. I'm goin' to have to ask Gat to escort you to the door."
"There's no need," Hakkai replied coolly, raising a hand to touch the finger imprints on his throat. "Clearly, my visit has left you disturbed." Even more so than usual. "I can find my own way out."
Hakkai had thought he was standing a safe distance away, otherwise he never would have turned his back. Strong hands closed over his shoulders from behind. The room wrenched disorienting, and Hakkai found himself lying on the blue silk coverlet with his wrists pinned together and Hazel straddling his hips. The slight man was heavier than he looked.
"Now, now. I wasn't finished." Hazel's pale forelock was nearly brushing against Hakkai's face, and his blue eyes glittered menacingly. "Perhaps I should kill you for your insolence."
For a long moment, all Hakkai could do was stare up at the human priest. This was more than just the effects of fever and delirium. Hazel's expression and the words and the tone of voice were all wrong.
"How'd you get in here, I wonder. It's really quite intriguin' that you managed to get by that great oaf. He's usually the most steadfast of guardians." The last words were dripping with contempt, they were an insult rather than a compliment. The blue eyes suddenly sharpened. "...Or can it be that the coward went and got himself a sacrifice to take his place?"
Hakkai wished now that he had heeded Gat's advice to wait. Fighting back alarm at Hazel's words, he said carefully, "I think perhaps there's been a misunderstanding."
Hazel gave a low, malicious chuckle, a noise that didn't sound like himself at all. "You have no idea. How very unfortunate for you. Although…" Hazel rolled his hips against Hakkai's, and to the healer's shock and disgust, he felt the other man growing hard from the close contact. "I don't get out much, so this might just be your lucky day."
Hakkai drew in a deep breath to say something--anything at all. Then the air fled his lungs in a stunned rush, as the silver haired man dipped his head down the last few inches and nuzzled into the bruised flesh beneath Hakkai's jaw. Hakkai twitched involuntarily at being touched in such a vulnerable spot. The twitch became a full-fledged recoil a moment later, as the fastenings on his collar loosened, and a warm wetness brushed over his skin. "Ha… ah!"
He thought he heard Hazel purr from somewhere in the vicinity of his collarbone. "Mmm. Tastes good. You don't look like much, and I'm still not convinced that you have anythin' to offer, but seein's how you're here and all, I might as well take what you've got."
A surge of anger welled up at the offhand statement. Hakkai wasn't about to just let this… entity do as it pleased. Hazel had allowed himself to become carelessly off-balance. Hakkai gained some leverage and without hesitation he flipped them over on the wide bed so that their positions were now reversed.
Long-lashed blue eyes blinked up at him, looking momentarily dazed. Then sense flooded back into the slack expression. "Mister Spectacles," Hazel said in a scandalized tone, "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were takin' advantage of the situation."
Hakkai looked at him in disbelief. You've got to be kidding me….
The return to clarity didn't last. Hazel's right hand wrenched free of restraint, and he made another grab for Hakkai's throat. This time the move was anticipated and harmlessly deflected. However, Hazel immediately countered by catching up a huge fistful of dark hair.
Hakkai caught his breath--not because of the brutal grip on his hair, but because Hazel's hand was now curled distressingly close to the edge of his left ear. He said sharply, "Don't."
"Oh?" The blue-eyed gaze tracked to the source of concern, as if noticing the silver bands of Hakkai's limiters for the very first time. The fist in his hair twisted abruptly, wrenching his head back. The pain of it wasn't quite enough to mask the pinch at the rim of his ear, as a well-manicured fingernail caught under one of Hakkai's limiters, and sent it skittering across the floor. He had time for a sharp "Ah!" of dismay as the small silver band vanished beneath a heavy teakwood bureau.
A shudder went through Hakkai, as his masked youkai nature clawed its way a little closer to the surface. His skin crawled as one-third of the vines of his youkai mark slithered into place beneath his clothes.
It was like emerging from a pool of water. Abruptly his senses sharpened, picking up the noise from the traffic on the street outside, slight shifts in temperature in the room's still air. With his heightened awareness, he also became intimately aware of Hazel's presence underneath him. His scent was soap and cologne, with the faintest hint of earthiness. And beneath it was something dark, something wild. Intrigued, before he thought to stop himself, he brought his nose in close to Hazel's forearm and inhaled.
Hazel was regarding him with interest. "Well I never. There really is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, little worm?" He used his grip on Hakkai's hair to tilt his head to the side, and blue eyes settled visibly on the remaining two ear cuffs perched on the rim of a now faintly pointed ear. "Seems a shame to hide the rest, doesn't it?"
Hakkai intercepted the reach of his other hand. "No."
Silver eyebrows rose. The muscles of Hazel's forearm bunched beneath Hakkai's fingertips. "No?"
Hakkai's grip dug in warningly. With one limiter gone, he could sense his own augmented strength, and thought it might be a fair match for whatever was mostly-possessing Hazel. "No," he repeated firmly.
"Pity." The words were spoken in an offhand tone, but there was an ugly note behind them. "I do feel the need to mention, I don't take well to rejection." He shifted, grinding up against Hakkai.
The action provoked a heady and wholly unexpected surge of heat. It was deeply ironic, that a person who could consume enough alcohol to flatten a small elephant without being visibly impaired had his principles and inhibitions evaporate in the absence of one flimsy piece of metal. Suddenly, allowing Hazel to have his way didn't seem like such a bad idea, after all.
Hakkai had become distracted. The room lurched abruptly, and the healer gave a startled exclamation as he landed on his back hanging part-way over the edge of the bed. Hazel was settled on top of him again, and he leered triumphantly as he felt the first stirrings of Hakkai's response. "Well, well, well."
As he clutched at Hazel's shoulders for balance, Hakkai's upside-down view of the room showed him Jeep perched anxiously by the open window. Rescue was there if he wanted it, all he had to do was give the signal. He wasn't beaten yet, either. If Hakkai put some effort into it, he was certain he could best Hazel, or at the very least stall him until Gat came back with the tea. As if sensing his thoughts, Hazel grinned sharply and moved against him, applying pressure and friction. Hakkai was forced to amend his list of choices with a third--to relent, and allow Hazel the release that he wanted.
The bishop clearly intended to top. Hakkai closed his eyes against the giddy flood of pleasure from where their clothed bodies rubbed against each other, and he briefly considered fighting him for it. However, Gat really would return soon. Hazel might not care, but Hakkai would just as soon not have the big man walk in on anything. Hakkai had enough silver left on his ear to choose practicality. He dropped his hands to Hazel's thighs and canted his body upwards into Hazel's dry thrusts.
The effect on Hazel was immediate. The breath left his lungs in a shuddering rush, eyes narrowing in an almost bestial blaze of lust. He caught at Hakkai's shoulder roughly, and the healer offered no resistance as he was rolled over onto his stomach. Hands fumbled belatedly at Hakkai's belt, accompanied by heated cursing. Hakkai gathered his knees under him and shifted to help, but was too late as he heard fabric split.
Annoyed, he reached back and sank longer-than-normal fingernails warningly into Hazel's leg. "You owe me a replacement pair of pants."
A rude snort answered the comment. "I couldn't care less." The superior tone was ruined by the undercurrent of need in the breathless words. Hakkai felt the shift of air on bared skin a moment before Hazel's hand cupped his ass.
"Looks tight," the priest murmured in anticipation. "Let's just see." Hakkai felt a moist fingertip wriggle against him, and forced back a moan as it slid in. "Oh, this should be good." The probing pressure vanished, and part of Hazel's weight settled against his back. Without any more preparation than that, Hazel lined himself up and then mounted in one long, deep stroke.
"Nnnnnhh…" Hazel wasn't wide, but he was long, and oh… he must have had lots of past experience because he had the angle just right. Pleasure coursed through Hakkai as that curved hardness pressed against his prostate, coaxing his body into an involuntary arch. His own erection quickened against the remains of his pants, and he braced himself on one elbow long enough to work his zipper open. Hazel paid absolutely no attention to Hakkai's cock. Instead a hand snaked around his waist, holding him steady even as the other guided Hakkai's knees farther apart, opening him up.
Hakkai submitted without protest to the manhandling, reaping the benefits as the pleasure of penetration intensified. Hazel began to ride him in earnest, and he found himself pushing back helplessly into the deep, full thrusts. Hazel was growling now, low in his chest, and Hakkai felt an answering noise start in his own throat. Some dark part of him took a perverse pleasure in how easy it was for both of them to become lost in blind lust. Ah yes, we are so very similar, aren't we?
"Mmm… Haah… More." Hazel's breath fanned wet heat against his ear. Hakkai consciously tightened his abdominal muscles, bearing down, and Hazel gave a bitten-off groan. His rhythm began to falter, but it was just as well since Hakkai himself was very close. He leaned back, taking as much of Hazel as he could, stroking himself as he felt his orgasm build and crest. As if sensing it, Hazel clutched at him and buried himself, his cock pulsing in erotic completion and releasing a deep flood of heat. The sensation of it tipped Hakkai over the edge into climax, and he spent himself onto the costly bedding with a full-throated moan.
It took a moment to come down from the intensity of it, and longer still to recover rational thought. As he reassessed the situation, he realized Hazel's body had turned into a dead weight draped over him. Hakkai carefully shifted, easing out from under the priest and lowering him down onto the bed.
"Nightmare," Hazel mumbled, as he subsided into sleep.
Hakkai let out a deep breath, staring down at the man. He didn't know which shocked him more--that he'd just had sex with Hazel, or that it had been really good.
Hazel's slumber appeared to be natural. Just to be cautious, Hakkai touched a clinical hand to Hazel's forehead. The priest's skin was already cooling, and Hakkai came to the startling realization that he had never been physically ill. The fever was caused entirely by whatever was inside of Hazel that was trying to break free.
A touch of chi allowed him to look deeper. The alien life force that shared Hazel's body was entangled with his spirit so completely that it was difficult to tell where one left off and the other began. It was feeding off Hazel's life energy like a great, disembodied parasite. Hakkai found it fascinating, and also utterly repulsive. Not unlike the man himself.
He also realized that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It would take someone with a delicate touch and a great deal of past experience to sever that link without causing damage. The sexual release had somehow served to bring Hazel's chi back into balance. Hakkai couldn't do anything further without disturbing the intricate network.
He straightened, and directed a miffed comment over his shoulder. "A warning would have been nice."
Gat stood just inside the doorway, taking in the rumpled bedclothes, the clothing ripped and in disarray. He immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head and pressing his fist to the floor. "I'm sorry. This wasn't what I intended."
Pulling the tails of his shirt over himself and gathering up the shreds of his dignity, Hakkai rose from the bed. He crossed to the teakwood bureau and retrieved the missing piece of his limiter, setting it firmly back in place. As the evidence of his youkai mark vanished, he said, "He doesn't need a healer, he needs an exorcist."
A faintly defeated look came over Gat's craggy face. "I've already tried."
Gat made no move to stop him as Hakkai removed his ruined khakis and donned a pair of Hazel's jeans from the bureau. Perhaps the bodyguard's silence was out of deference for the blow to Hakkai's self-respect. The healer could have told him it was nothing new. Hakkai lacked self-respect most of the time. Covering for the fact was second nature.
There was nothing more that he could do here. Hakkai retrieved a subdued Jeep from the windowsill and walked silently to the door. From behind him, Gat spoke up. "Neither of them will remember any of this."
As Hakkai let himself out, he thought it might be nice to be so lucky.