(ficlet) Bar Tricks
Aug. 2nd, 2006 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cicerAnother random bit of writing I did several weeks ago and just got around to editing and posting. Yay, procrastination! I had the urge to write some Gojyo/Sanzo flirtation.
The latest town proved to be a definite change from what they’d grown used to. Once they’d started to pass through the deserts, trees and grass had grown sparse, towns shrunk and were populated by farmers, and it became nearly impossible to find a good bar. Sanzo wasn’t bothered by that too much. The stores still stocked whiskey and beer and the gold card was still an accepted currency, so there really wasn’t a problem. He did miss the variety of drinks that could be found in a bar sometimes. But he didn’t miss it quite enough to be happy about the bar they’d just come across.
There were fucking neon lights. Music, and scantily clad bodies rubbing up against each other on the dance floor in front of the bar. It was disgusting, and Sanzo was really hoping for a horde of youkai to come bursting through the doors, anything to get him out of there. The only reason he stayed there at all, as opposed to stalking off to their rented rooms, was that the alcohol was the best he’d had in weeks, and it was pouring as freely as water at the bar. And that was a good thing, considering he was stuck in this hellhole with Gojyo of all people. He’d need as much liquor as he could get.
It couldn’t really be helped. It wasn’t the sort of place Goku belonged in, and Sanzo wouldn’t have let him come even if he’d wanted to. He didn’t, though, and Hakkai decided to stay with him in their rooms. It really wasn’t his sort of bar, he’d told Gojyo and Sanzo politely, but he was certain they would enjoy it, so they should go ahead. Sanzo sulked into his drink before taking another sip of the delicious scotch. Sure, it was the sort of place that Gojyo would enjoy, degenerate that he was. He’d already disappeared onto the dance floor, leaving Sanzo to nurse his drink and pretend he didn’t know the man grinding up against whoever was nearby, long hair whipping around his face.
But if there hadn’t been the abundance of booze, wild horses couldn’t have dragged Sanzo there. He was reminded why when Gojyo suddenly reappeared, slamming a fresh drink onto the table and stirring it happily. Sanzo stared at the beverage, slightly appalled.
“It’s fucking pink,” he said after a moment, watching the maraschino cherries bob merrily in the tinted liquid. It was an unnecessary observation, probably. Gojyo had surely noticed the shade of his drink, after all. But Sanzo felt it was necessary to register his disgust at the contamination of what had probably perfectly good alcohol at one point. Gojyo blinked at him, apparently failing to understand what Sanzo found so offensive, but recognizing his tone as irritable.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a sip of the drink. Sanzo considered explaining to Gojyo that alcohol shouldn’t be pink, just like bars should not be neon-lighted, but knew it would be a waste of breath. He took a swig of his own, non-colored drink, and glared at his surroundings.
He mentally cursed Hakkai for leaving them here. He couldn’t exactly blame him for not wanting to spend his evening in this dive, but he provided a buffer zone between Sanzo and Gojyo, and without anyone else between them, Sanzo felt even more sour-tempered toward the kappa. He comforted himself with another sip of his drink. One or two more, he told himself, and then he could leave. He was already looking forward to it. The loud, pulsing music was giving him a headache.
“Good music,” Gojyo said cheerfully, as if he could read Sanzo’s thoughts and was determined to annoy him. Sanzo threw him an irritated look and tried to ignore him, but Gojyo seemed to think aggravating Sanzo would be a good way to pass the time. He looked amused already as he fished a maraschino cherry out of his drink and sucked on it meaningfully, all but winking at Sanzo lasciviously.
Sanzo resisted the urge to throw his drink at him. It would be a waste of the best alcohol he’d had in a long time, he reminded himself. There were times when he found Gojyo almost tolerable, it was true, but there were also times when he wanted nothing more than to toss him to the ground and kick him in the head. It wasn’t just the lazy, exaggerated sexuality the exuded; Sanzo could put up with that. He could even deal with the vulgar, flirtatious comments thrown in his direction. He was used to that.
What irritated him most about Gojyo was his complete lack of self-preservational instincts. He not only threw himself into the line of fire for others, a habit that Sanzo found completely foolish, he seemed to delight in annoying people who were both willing and able to hurt him for it. Sanzo could easily imagine that as a child Gojyo was the sort that went around poking bee’s nests with sticks, just for the sake of stirring something up. He probably never learned when he got stung, either. He’d just do it again the next time he got bored. That pissed Sanzo off, for some reason.
Gojyo had been watching the people dancing while Sanzo sulked, but now he turned his attention back to their table. He was still playing with his drink, toying with the cherry stem left over. He rolled it between his fingers experimentally, before grinning up at Sanzo. “You know,” he said, and Sanzo sighed because he knew whatever was coming wouldn’t be anything he wanted to hear, “I can tie this in a knot with my tongue.” He actually did wink this time, and Sanzo briefly considered smacking him. The alcohol was just starting to give him a pleasant buzz though, smoothing the edge of unpleasant irritations, and he didn’t want to ruin it.
“You can’t,” he snapped at Gojyo, adding, “Shut up.” He thought better of it as soon as he said it, though. No doubt Gojyo would only take that as a challenge.
“Oh yeah?” Gojyo shot back predictably. He was still smirking though, as he deliberately placed the cherry stalk on his tongue, making the motion obviously sexual. Sanzo managed to glare at Gojyo and look away at the same time. He was rather pleased with that talent, certainly more useful than bar tricks involving cherry stems.
Still. Surely he couldn’t actually do it. Sanzo had seen enough drunken people attempt it to know that it was more or less impossible. He turned his attention back to Gojyo to make sure he didn’t have any bright ideas about swapping a pre-tied stem for the original one. He wouldn’t put it past him.
Gojyo held his palms up when Sanzo glanced at him, though, as if to say look, no hands! His lips were parted slightly, and Sanzo could see a flash of white teeth and pink tongue as it worked. He looked away again, but kept Gojyo in his peripheral vision, just in case.
It felt like several minutes, but it probably took less than thirty seconds. The odd, expectant silence made Sanzo oddly uncomfortable. Presently, though, Gojyo opened his mouth, plucked something from inside, and showed it to Sanzo. Sure enough, it was the cherry stem, with a neat little knot in the middle. Sanzo looked only long enough to confirm that, before casting a withering glance at Gojyo and looking aside again.
“Fantastic,” he snapped, unreasonably irritated. “I’m sure that’s a very marketable skill.” Gojyo looked amused, which only infuriated Sanzo more. He winked again, and this time Sanzo had to clutch his glass to keep from lashing out.
“Oh, you have no idea,” he said, his eyes already following the figure of some attractive, half-dressed reveler. He pushed the remains of his drink over to Sanzo and smirked again. He flicked the cherry stem in Sanzo’s direction and turned to the dance floor. “Don’t wait up,” he called over his shoulder.
Sanzo gripped the glass for several minutes before lifting it to his lips and swallowing the last of the liquid. As an afterthought, he reached out for Gojyo’s glass and drained it too. A cherry crunched dully between his teeth, almost nauseatingly sweet.
He left the cherry stem on the table and went back to their rooms.
The latest town proved to be a definite change from what they’d grown used to. Once they’d started to pass through the deserts, trees and grass had grown sparse, towns shrunk and were populated by farmers, and it became nearly impossible to find a good bar. Sanzo wasn’t bothered by that too much. The stores still stocked whiskey and beer and the gold card was still an accepted currency, so there really wasn’t a problem. He did miss the variety of drinks that could be found in a bar sometimes. But he didn’t miss it quite enough to be happy about the bar they’d just come across.
There were fucking neon lights. Music, and scantily clad bodies rubbing up against each other on the dance floor in front of the bar. It was disgusting, and Sanzo was really hoping for a horde of youkai to come bursting through the doors, anything to get him out of there. The only reason he stayed there at all, as opposed to stalking off to their rented rooms, was that the alcohol was the best he’d had in weeks, and it was pouring as freely as water at the bar. And that was a good thing, considering he was stuck in this hellhole with Gojyo of all people. He’d need as much liquor as he could get.
It couldn’t really be helped. It wasn’t the sort of place Goku belonged in, and Sanzo wouldn’t have let him come even if he’d wanted to. He didn’t, though, and Hakkai decided to stay with him in their rooms. It really wasn’t his sort of bar, he’d told Gojyo and Sanzo politely, but he was certain they would enjoy it, so they should go ahead. Sanzo sulked into his drink before taking another sip of the delicious scotch. Sure, it was the sort of place that Gojyo would enjoy, degenerate that he was. He’d already disappeared onto the dance floor, leaving Sanzo to nurse his drink and pretend he didn’t know the man grinding up against whoever was nearby, long hair whipping around his face.
But if there hadn’t been the abundance of booze, wild horses couldn’t have dragged Sanzo there. He was reminded why when Gojyo suddenly reappeared, slamming a fresh drink onto the table and stirring it happily. Sanzo stared at the beverage, slightly appalled.
“It’s fucking pink,” he said after a moment, watching the maraschino cherries bob merrily in the tinted liquid. It was an unnecessary observation, probably. Gojyo had surely noticed the shade of his drink, after all. But Sanzo felt it was necessary to register his disgust at the contamination of what had probably perfectly good alcohol at one point. Gojyo blinked at him, apparently failing to understand what Sanzo found so offensive, but recognizing his tone as irritable.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a sip of the drink. Sanzo considered explaining to Gojyo that alcohol shouldn’t be pink, just like bars should not be neon-lighted, but knew it would be a waste of breath. He took a swig of his own, non-colored drink, and glared at his surroundings.
He mentally cursed Hakkai for leaving them here. He couldn’t exactly blame him for not wanting to spend his evening in this dive, but he provided a buffer zone between Sanzo and Gojyo, and without anyone else between them, Sanzo felt even more sour-tempered toward the kappa. He comforted himself with another sip of his drink. One or two more, he told himself, and then he could leave. He was already looking forward to it. The loud, pulsing music was giving him a headache.
“Good music,” Gojyo said cheerfully, as if he could read Sanzo’s thoughts and was determined to annoy him. Sanzo threw him an irritated look and tried to ignore him, but Gojyo seemed to think aggravating Sanzo would be a good way to pass the time. He looked amused already as he fished a maraschino cherry out of his drink and sucked on it meaningfully, all but winking at Sanzo lasciviously.
Sanzo resisted the urge to throw his drink at him. It would be a waste of the best alcohol he’d had in a long time, he reminded himself. There were times when he found Gojyo almost tolerable, it was true, but there were also times when he wanted nothing more than to toss him to the ground and kick him in the head. It wasn’t just the lazy, exaggerated sexuality the exuded; Sanzo could put up with that. He could even deal with the vulgar, flirtatious comments thrown in his direction. He was used to that.
What irritated him most about Gojyo was his complete lack of self-preservational instincts. He not only threw himself into the line of fire for others, a habit that Sanzo found completely foolish, he seemed to delight in annoying people who were both willing and able to hurt him for it. Sanzo could easily imagine that as a child Gojyo was the sort that went around poking bee’s nests with sticks, just for the sake of stirring something up. He probably never learned when he got stung, either. He’d just do it again the next time he got bored. That pissed Sanzo off, for some reason.
Gojyo had been watching the people dancing while Sanzo sulked, but now he turned his attention back to their table. He was still playing with his drink, toying with the cherry stem left over. He rolled it between his fingers experimentally, before grinning up at Sanzo. “You know,” he said, and Sanzo sighed because he knew whatever was coming wouldn’t be anything he wanted to hear, “I can tie this in a knot with my tongue.” He actually did wink this time, and Sanzo briefly considered smacking him. The alcohol was just starting to give him a pleasant buzz though, smoothing the edge of unpleasant irritations, and he didn’t want to ruin it.
“You can’t,” he snapped at Gojyo, adding, “Shut up.” He thought better of it as soon as he said it, though. No doubt Gojyo would only take that as a challenge.
“Oh yeah?” Gojyo shot back predictably. He was still smirking though, as he deliberately placed the cherry stalk on his tongue, making the motion obviously sexual. Sanzo managed to glare at Gojyo and look away at the same time. He was rather pleased with that talent, certainly more useful than bar tricks involving cherry stems.
Still. Surely he couldn’t actually do it. Sanzo had seen enough drunken people attempt it to know that it was more or less impossible. He turned his attention back to Gojyo to make sure he didn’t have any bright ideas about swapping a pre-tied stem for the original one. He wouldn’t put it past him.
Gojyo held his palms up when Sanzo glanced at him, though, as if to say look, no hands! His lips were parted slightly, and Sanzo could see a flash of white teeth and pink tongue as it worked. He looked away again, but kept Gojyo in his peripheral vision, just in case.
It felt like several minutes, but it probably took less than thirty seconds. The odd, expectant silence made Sanzo oddly uncomfortable. Presently, though, Gojyo opened his mouth, plucked something from inside, and showed it to Sanzo. Sure enough, it was the cherry stem, with a neat little knot in the middle. Sanzo looked only long enough to confirm that, before casting a withering glance at Gojyo and looking aside again.
“Fantastic,” he snapped, unreasonably irritated. “I’m sure that’s a very marketable skill.” Gojyo looked amused, which only infuriated Sanzo more. He winked again, and this time Sanzo had to clutch his glass to keep from lashing out.
“Oh, you have no idea,” he said, his eyes already following the figure of some attractive, half-dressed reveler. He pushed the remains of his drink over to Sanzo and smirked again. He flicked the cherry stem in Sanzo’s direction and turned to the dance floor. “Don’t wait up,” he called over his shoulder.
Sanzo gripped the glass for several minutes before lifting it to his lips and swallowing the last of the liquid. As an afterthought, he reached out for Gojyo’s glass and drained it too. A cherry crunched dully between his teeth, almost nauseatingly sweet.
He left the cherry stem on the table and went back to their rooms.
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Date: 2006-08-06 11:15 pm (UTC)That just killed me! :) And also, I absolutely adored this fic! Mmmm. The way you so beautifully wrote the love-hate dynamics and glaringly obvious UST between Sanzo and Gojyo...and Sanzo's hilarious snark, and Gojyo's playful, second-nature flirting...yum. In short, I LOVED this. :)
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Date: 2006-08-10 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 08:57 pm (UTC)Thanks very much!
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Date: 2007-11-19 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 02:06 am (UTC)