Down Here

1.

Lovely firm body bouncing underneath him, lovely round breasts bouncing against his chest, wet warm softness all around his cock, grabbing at him oh yeah pulling at him oh yeah it was starting oh yeah gonna gonna gonna make him go that lovely slick wetness sucking- around- not- suck- huh?- where?-

And Gojou was awake, arms around his pillow, cock red and aching with frustration. Ohhh noooo... he begged, eyes screwed shut. Come back-- It wasn't going to come back. The promised climax had danced out of sight, gone with the wetdream lover who'd brought it on in the first place. Why me, God? And knew the answer to that one too, somewhere below the level of words. He sat up, grunting, and put his head in his hands briefly. Heard Gokuu's low snores in the bed beside him. Didn't have to- could just jerk off and go back to sleep. Could. But. He was awake now, and some part of his mind was nagging at him and tugging his sleeve, kind of, if he'd had sleeves, which he didn't. Better do it. Otherwise it'd just happen again. His mouth crooked in unwilling amusement. Not much different from getting out of bed in the cold night to go take a leak. Pleasanter than that, at least.

He eased the door of the other room open and slipped inside. In the dimness he saw Hakkai sit up in his bed. They looked at each other. Too dark to see Hakkai's expression clearly, but he didn't have to. Three years living together and he knew what was in Hakkai's mind the way Hakkai knew what was in his own. Hakkai gave a minute nod, yahari here-you-are. Slid out of bed and walked catfooted past him to the door. Gojou didn't know if he heard the soundless 'Tanomimashita yo' with his ears or just inside his head. The door clicked shut.

Yup, leave it to me. He walked over to where Sanzou was lying on his side, turned towards the wall.

"Gojou," the dry voice said.

"Mnh." He stripped off his shorts and pulled the cover off of Sanzou. Heard his sigh. Lay down on the narrow edge of mattress Sanzou had left free. "C'mon, get this off ya." Whisper of silk as Sanzou reached amongst the folds of his robe, belted now about his waist, and undid the black band that held it all together. The soft white stuff slid off him. In the dark there was no telling the whiteness of Sanzou's hips and legs from the whiteness of the silk they lay on top of. Sanzou pulled the robe out from under him and let it slide rustling to the floor. Shifted closer to the wall to give Gojou more room.

Gojou pushed Sanzou farther over onto his face. He liked his partners active, but that wasn't Sanzou's style. "No cream," he warned him.

"So what?" Sanzou said to the mattress.

Yeah. He'd been right to come. He took a mouthful of spit and got it on his cock. Parted Sanzou's hard muscled buns, found where he wanted to be by feel, and began to push in. Sanzou panted and gasped at each small thrust into him. Slowly, yeah, slooowly, that was the way, every time tight and careful like a virgin. The only real pain about doing it with guys, this need to be so careful. Women didn't split but then- women weren't- his mind was beginning to lose itself in what his cock was feeling- not as- tight as- this...

Instinct more than thought got his hand around Sanzou's cock. Steady stroke, steady, up down Sanzou's hard cock, in out of Sanzou's hot ass. Soft inside, Sanzou's ass. Not a bad way- not a bad way- Sanzou making little grunting nh sounds in his throat, Gojou's own breath rasping into his lungs- not a bad way to lose a hardon at all---

Gojou's cock burning inside him, pumping in and out of his asshole. Hurt but didn't hurt, only made his head swim in the half-sick dizziness of arousal. Gojou's hand hot and big grabbing at him, there-gone there-gone in the spot it felt best. Darkness churned Sanzou's insides. His lungs, his belly, his gut full of muddy feeling and confusion. Unease, an unplaceable almost-misery, the heavy shadow of a memory he couldn't remember, all mixed up with the pounding of his heart and the sense of imminent catastrophe as orgasm began its workings somewhere deep inside him. And then the fuse was lit and it was going to happen, no stopping it, give in as he was borne rushing over the cliff's edge and towards the thundering river-- The spasm ran through him. His hands clawed at nothing and he bent backwards like a bow against the body that held him encaged in its arms. He drew his lungs full of air and let it go along with everything else inside. Drew another breath and felt his insides rearranging themselves, settling down where they ought to be and running smoothly now like an oiled machine. Drew a third breath of satisfaction and relief. Felt the burning in his asshole as his nerves changed their programming back to 'daily use' and the ache inside registered as pain and not arousal. Felt Gojou's large hand still around him, a nice place for his cock to be with Gojou's solid flesh-and-bone keeping it warm. Felt Gojou's chest, furnace hot, up against his back still, and Gojou's pelvis still shoved into his ass. Not bad, for the moment, just to be a body at ease in the embrace of another body, just an animal with its needs all met and the world no longer troubling it.

"Ne," Gojou said, invisible voice at his back. "Don't let it get to you. What that Kami guy and his pals said."

"Like I would."

"You would. You been stewing about it for a week."

"You're seeing things."

"Yeah, I am. Same things I saw when I first met Hakkai."

Sanzou looked at the dark, suddenly still.

"You can tell when people are near rock bottom. There's a look they get, like it's too much trouble to go on breathing and any minute they might stop. And I'm just saying, don't do it. Hakkai 'n I are OK, but you'd break the chimp's heart."

"Thanks for the lecture," Sanzou said. "I'm not planning on dying any time soon. Sorry."

"That's good," Gojou said. "Just wanted to make sure. If you're OK, I'll be getting back to bed."

"Hakkai's there. You're here now, you might as well stay."

"Anh," Gojou said, monosyllabic, whose heavy relaxed body had never shown any signs of leaving. "Guess I can stand sharing a guy's bed just once, then."

"Force yourself," Sanzou said dryly. He propped himself up on an arm, found the cover and pulled it up over him. Gojou got the edge around himself.

"Night, Sanzou."

"Night." Closed his eyes in the sweaty sex-smelling warmth, and found the easy darkness.

2.

The campfire burned high. Fifth night of their stay in Under Heaven. The stars were very bright in the dark sky and the woods around them rustled constantly in the little night breeze.

Shien got to his feet. "Good-night, Homura, Zenon. I'll take the southern side."

"Anhh, turning in?" Zenon asked. "Night, then."

Homura gave Shien a sideways look from where he stood, and a small smile. Shien disappeared around the other side of the fire. Zenon, leaning at ease against his tree trunk well back from the blaze, watched Homura as Homura watched the night. Homura turned his head, sensing Zenon's eyes on him. Came over and sat down by his side.

"Houtoujou tomorrow," Zenon said. "The Seiten sutra. Step one."

"Going well," Homura affirmed.

"Free," Zenon said. "Still hard to believe, somehow."

"Annh," Homura said deeply. "Free."

"So--" Zenon noddded at Homura's wrists. "When you gonna take those off?"

"When I need to."

"Afraid?"

"Take your eyepatch off and then ask me that," Homura said, watching the fire.

"Mnh," Zenon grunted. "Warii." He checked out Homura's expression, mouth twitching in a sardonic grin. "Forgetting my place."

"If you want it that way, yes." Homura's mismatched eyes looked back at him, bright and disturbing as always.

"Not my choice. You're the battle god. I'm just an ordinary grunt in your service."

"Service." Homura's voice added a cadence to the word. Zenon's head went back, wary.

"Homura--?"

"Night service as well?"

Zenon took a deep breath. Shifted on his butt. "You telling me to?"

"If you want an order-- yes," Homura said.

"OK. Order me."

"Stand up," Homura said. "Drop your pants." He smiled without amusement. "Take hold of this tree and bend over."

"No."

Homura shrugged and leaned back against the tree trunk.

Zenon got to his feet. "Move. You're in the way." Homura shifted a metre off to the right. Zenon unshouldered his gun and placed it on the ground. Looked at Homura and undid his fly. Homura sat and watched, mouth lengthening in that cat-like way of his. Zenon pulled his jeans off him and stood, half-naked, in front of Homura, who came at last to his feet. Homura shrugged his coat from his shoulders and began to undo his fly.

Zenon didn't wait to see. He turned around and put his hands against the tree trunk at waist height. Took a deep breath and bent.

Homura's hand was on his hip. Homura's chain slid against his leg and banged a little against the back of his calves. Zenon took another breath, trying to be ready for when it happened, but he couldn't be ready. It was like nothing he'd ever known. He screwed his face up and held on tighter to the tree. Something trying to make its way through a hole too small for it. Something forcing its way into the inside of him. From nowhere at all he saw Mirei's face as she birthed their son, mouth twisted with pain and effort, gripping his hands so tight that the marks of her nails had stayed there for weeks. He held on to the memory and held on to the tree as Homura's cock gouged into him like an awl into wood. I chose this, I choose this, *I* chose it---

Homura hands tightened on his waist. Homura's nails were digging into his skin. Homura thrust one last time, making a stifled cry deep in his throat like a man strangling. Zenon bit the inside of his mouth. Over soon, just a little longer. A hand on his shoulder pulled him up. Homura's two arms came around his chest like iron bands, squeezing the air out of him. Homura's chain pressed between them as Homura panted his final spasm into Zenon's neck. Arms that had never held anyone for five hundred years, around him who'd never been held for five hundred years. Homura... Only a moment, then Homura let him go. Zenon drew a deep breath, reached for his pants and got them on.

"Son of a bitch," he said.

"Kami," Homura said, with the odd mad light in his eyes.

"Same thing. Don't think we're doing this again."

"Alright. I don't think we're doing this again."

Zenon got out a cigarette. His ass ached. A new sensation, after all those centuries of nothing new ever. Flicked his lighter at the cigarette's end.

"I'll take the east side. Night, Homura."

"Good night, Zenon."

He moved to the left side of the fire. There'd be other nights and other forests, other unknown places he'd follow Homura into as he'd followed him out of heaven and into rebellion. Places like the one he'd just been in, now that they were down here on earth where he was free and anything at all was possible.

MJJ

July 2001