Building Bridges - Gojyo and Hakuryuu - R (for language)
Title: Building Bridges
Author: TJ Dragonblade
Warnings: ...None. No spoilers, either.
Pairings: You might see a hint of 58-ish implication if you squint really hard...
Notes: 735 words. For prompt #1 (it's still Tues night in my timezone ^_^;). 50 min cumulative, not counting time taken to type it up after. Usually I polish things over the course of months weeks days, so I'm sure I'll regard this as utter crap before long. I already think the flow's a little choppy. Nonetheless. In the spirit of the exercise, and all. Concrit welcome.
"Yes, Gojyo, I realize I've never asked you to bathe Hakuryuu before but it's imperative I get the shopping done before the markets close this evening and it's not at all fair to make him wait until I return."
Hakkai was doing that thing he did, where his eyes and his voice went all soft and warm and perfectly fucking reasonable and made you feel like an ass if you told him no, and Gojyo heaved a sigh. "Alright, alright, you're right. Fine." He really wasn't keen on doing much of anything with a dragon who wasn't terribly fond of him, but the road had been downright nasty, what with all the recent rain, and even though Hakuryuu wasn't a jeep anymore he still looked pretty grimy. "I guess it's the least I can do. Come on." He held out his arm.
"Thank you, Gojyo," Hakkai beamed, handing over the little white dragon. "Please be sure to let him in the actual bath with you, and not just the cleansing beforehand. It's quite relaxing for him, and I'm sure you'll agree he deserves it."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Treat him like a king and bow to his every whim. Got it. But if he bites anything vital, all bets are off."
Hakkai's fake little laugh was the only answer as he headed down the hall past Sanzo and Goku's room.
Left alone with the dragon, Gojyo eyed Hakuryuu a little warily. "Now I know I'm not your favorite person or anything and we don't always get along and you'd rather bathe with Hakkai and all, but I'm doin' this as a favor to him so how about we both keep the claws to ourselves, eh?"
"Kyuu," said Hakuryuu, which told Gojyo absolutely nothing at all.
But the dragon apparently thought a bath was a better idea than harrassing Gojyo at the moment, and half an hour later found them both scrubbed clean and feeling mellow and soaking in the inn's big bath.
"Still think Hakkai oughtta be the one doing this--spoiling you rotten is his job, not mine." Gojyo dumped a handful of water over the dragon's head. "But I guess you're not so bad, all things considered."
Hakuryuu shook off the dunking and sneezed before splashing Gojyo in return with one wing.
Gojyo flicked another handful of water in retaliation, which the dragon avoided by diving under and surfacing further away, bobbing up and down in the warm water.
"Still, though, the guy does work awful hard to keep all of us running," Gojyo offered after a moment, and sighed. "And I'm lettin' him make me look bad again if I don't help out a little now and then."
"Kyuu," Hakuryuu said, and Gojyo couldn't be sure but it almost sounded like he was agreeing with him.
"And it's not like I don't owe you anything, either. I mean, he really does spoil you rotten but you're really good for Hakkai and I hafta admit this journey would be even more of a pain in the ass if we didn't have you around. Guess maybe I should say thank you, huh?"
"Kyuu?"
And that one definitely sounded surprised.
"Yeah, yeah, I know--not what you expect from me, eh?" Gojyo chuckled, a little self-conscious. "But what the hell. Thank you."
Hakuryuu stared at him, hard, treading water there in front of him, but it wasn't the sort of stare that said 'You're about to get a finger bit' or 'Kiss your last pack of cigarettes goodbye'. It was an awful lot like the look Hakkai got when he was thinking something over real careful, and Gojyo found himself staring back.
"Kyuu," said the dragon at last, and Gojyo really couldn't interpret it, but Hakuryuu ducked back under the water and swam up to cuddle against his chest.
It was wet and scaly but it was an actual cuddle, and Gojyo knew he'd gone a little bug-eyed.
Hakuryuu nuzzled at his jawbone, and then his little dragon tongue flicked out to lick across Gojyo's cheek. "Kyuu," he cooed, and then he was gone again, diving under the water to surface and splash all the way on the other side.
"...Huh." Gojyo blinked, and grinned his lopsided grin. He'd never actually expected any genuine sign of affection from the dragon, but there it was. "First time for everything, I guess..."
Author: TJ Dragonblade
Warnings: ...None. No spoilers, either.
Pairings: You might see a hint of 58-ish implication if you squint really hard...
Notes: 735 words. For prompt #1 (it's still Tues night in my timezone ^_^;). 50 min cumulative, not counting time taken to type it up after. Usually I polish things over the course of months weeks days, so I'm sure I'll regard this as utter crap before long. I already think the flow's a little choppy. Nonetheless. In the spirit of the exercise, and all. Concrit welcome.
"Yes, Gojyo, I realize I've never asked you to bathe Hakuryuu before but it's imperative I get the shopping done before the markets close this evening and it's not at all fair to make him wait until I return."
Hakkai was doing that thing he did, where his eyes and his voice went all soft and warm and perfectly fucking reasonable and made you feel like an ass if you told him no, and Gojyo heaved a sigh. "Alright, alright, you're right. Fine." He really wasn't keen on doing much of anything with a dragon who wasn't terribly fond of him, but the road had been downright nasty, what with all the recent rain, and even though Hakuryuu wasn't a jeep anymore he still looked pretty grimy. "I guess it's the least I can do. Come on." He held out his arm.
"Thank you, Gojyo," Hakkai beamed, handing over the little white dragon. "Please be sure to let him in the actual bath with you, and not just the cleansing beforehand. It's quite relaxing for him, and I'm sure you'll agree he deserves it."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Treat him like a king and bow to his every whim. Got it. But if he bites anything vital, all bets are off."
Hakkai's fake little laugh was the only answer as he headed down the hall past Sanzo and Goku's room.
Left alone with the dragon, Gojyo eyed Hakuryuu a little warily. "Now I know I'm not your favorite person or anything and we don't always get along and you'd rather bathe with Hakkai and all, but I'm doin' this as a favor to him so how about we both keep the claws to ourselves, eh?"
"Kyuu," said Hakuryuu, which told Gojyo absolutely nothing at all.
But the dragon apparently thought a bath was a better idea than harrassing Gojyo at the moment, and half an hour later found them both scrubbed clean and feeling mellow and soaking in the inn's big bath.
"Still think Hakkai oughtta be the one doing this--spoiling you rotten is his job, not mine." Gojyo dumped a handful of water over the dragon's head. "But I guess you're not so bad, all things considered."
Hakuryuu shook off the dunking and sneezed before splashing Gojyo in return with one wing.
Gojyo flicked another handful of water in retaliation, which the dragon avoided by diving under and surfacing further away, bobbing up and down in the warm water.
"Still, though, the guy does work awful hard to keep all of us running," Gojyo offered after a moment, and sighed. "And I'm lettin' him make me look bad again if I don't help out a little now and then."
"Kyuu," Hakuryuu said, and Gojyo couldn't be sure but it almost sounded like he was agreeing with him.
"And it's not like I don't owe you anything, either. I mean, he really does spoil you rotten but you're really good for Hakkai and I hafta admit this journey would be even more of a pain in the ass if we didn't have you around. Guess maybe I should say thank you, huh?"
"Kyuu?"
And that one definitely sounded surprised.
"Yeah, yeah, I know--not what you expect from me, eh?" Gojyo chuckled, a little self-conscious. "But what the hell. Thank you."
Hakuryuu stared at him, hard, treading water there in front of him, but it wasn't the sort of stare that said 'You're about to get a finger bit' or 'Kiss your last pack of cigarettes goodbye'. It was an awful lot like the look Hakkai got when he was thinking something over real careful, and Gojyo found himself staring back.
"Kyuu," said the dragon at last, and Gojyo really couldn't interpret it, but Hakuryuu ducked back under the water and swam up to cuddle against his chest.
It was wet and scaly but it was an actual cuddle, and Gojyo knew he'd gone a little bug-eyed.
Hakuryuu nuzzled at his jawbone, and then his little dragon tongue flicked out to lick across Gojyo's cheek. "Kyuu," he cooed, and then he was gone again, diving under the water to surface and splash all the way on the other side.
"...Huh." Gojyo blinked, and grinned his lopsided grin. He'd never actually expected any genuine sign of affection from the dragon, but there it was. "First time for everything, I guess..."