cigsandbeer | IC INBOX

By now Gojyo isn't surprised by the automatic door, and he steps inside, his free hand shoved in his pocket, shoulders slightly pulled in.

"Oh my, finally an opportunity for my incredibly refined palate to shine."

Heading inside the kitchen, Gojyo holds up the tray for inspection: "Hey. Not just the tray; the plate as well."

He even washed the plate! Probably not to Hakkai's standards, but even Gojyo recognises that leaving bacon grease to sit on Hakkai's plate for a week and returning it in that condition would be... well. Especially when he's trying to get along.

Edited 2025-07-11 21:03 (UTC)

"Thanks, man," Jedao tells him, and leans in on the other side to give Hakkai a little peck on the cheek.

It's far and away the most physical affection he's ever initiated in front of Gojyo, no matter how quick and wholesome. I know my loving you isn't the problem, he means by it; just because I'm step out doesn't mean I'm pushing myself to disappear.

"I'm going to go check on Justine for a bit. Have fun, don't spoil Jeep too much without me."

"We'll be sure to save some spoiling for you," Hakkai teases, and reaches out to catch their fingers together, giving Jedao's a quick little squeeze: message read and received, even if it does still upset Hakkai that Jedao doesn't feel like he can be in the same room as Gojyo without it being awkward.

He might be right, but that doesn't make it easier.

That done, he turns his attention to Gojyo with a cheerful smile -- not fully genuine, but mostly -- and reaches out to take the tray and plate. They have been washed, and even if there are some water marks left and he'll probably rinse them again, Hakkai can appreciate the effort.

"Thank you," he says to Gojyo, "and here--" He sets the tray down beside the sink, picks up a small spoon, and dips it in the dumpling sauce bowl on the table to hand it over. "For your educated palate. Is that too much ginger?"

Gojyo stares after Jedao-- WHAT THE FUCK, wasn't this about the two of them learning to tolerate each other's presence, why the FUCK is he LEAVING--

..........

..."Um." Yeah, sure, he can focus on Hakkai's cooking. Gojyo obediently tastes the spoonful on sauce. "--Nah, I don't think so? This is good. You're comparing this to a guy who cooks plain bacon and calls it a day."

It's not like he can miss being stared at like that; Jedao glances at Hakkai with one raised eyebrow - did you not tell him the plan? - and tries not to be paralyzed with indecision over whether he should explain or keep playing it cool.

"I'll catch you another time," he promises Gojyo, as if it were a normal social call.

Hakkai gives Jedao a small don't-worry-about-it wave -- all right, he might have not gone into as much detail as Jedao had about the plan -- and makes a thoughtful face about the sauce.

"Well, I suppose it'll do... anyway, there are some dumplings to go with it so we can form an educated opinion. Were you just dropping off the dishes or can you stay for a while?"

He'll let Jedao leave, and explain the other bits of the very elaborate plan to Gojyo.

... sometimes, Jedao's plans really are quite elaborate. But he's letting Jedao run this one. His own plan hadn't gone as well.

Gojyo wants to back right out the door and say he was just dropping the tray and plate off, but Jedao's already beaten him to fleeing the scene.

He stares at the closing door for a moment. "...I. I got no plans."

Then there's the impulse to snarl 'so much for fucking trying' -- Gojyo had the courage to walk right back into their cabin, was fucking prepared to hang out, and Jedao just--

He deliberatedly takes a deep breath before letting himself launch into some angry rant. And... reconsiders his assumption. He's quiet for a few moment, not answering Hakkai's comment about dumplings.

"...That bad, huh?"

Jedao's so hurt and humiliated he can't even stand to be in the same room as Gojyo, even when he invited him here?

"No, it's--" Hakkai pauses, looking at Gojyo seriously for a moment: he can see the tension curling through his friend's shoulders, the readiness to assume Jedao was running away from him. And Jedao's almost certainly the one who'd invited him to come today, too, considering.

"-- He has," Hakkai says at last, turning to get the tray and deliberately bumping his shoulder against Gojyo's in a way that's not quite as obvious as leaning on him, "a whole campaign planned. In which his first steps are letting you be comfortable in our room without him here, and then maybe he'll be in the other room doing something else, and then the same room, but still doing something else so you don't have to interact directly. I think he might be over-planning a little. But he's very fond of plans."

And this is Hakkai, himself a compulsive over-planner, saying that. Still: it's not about Jedao being too upset to trust being in the same room. It's just his opening move.

Gojyo bumps his shoulder back.

"What the--"

That makes no sense as a tactic!

"Am I feral dog he's trying not to spook now??"

"Well, it's a better strategy than insulting you on purpose so he knows why you're mad at him," Hakkai points out. He loves Jedao very much, but he has never yet let love stop him from being judgmental.

"But that's why he left. You can tell him he can skip stages, if you want."

"Still moronic.

Why'd he even tell me to come over if that's all he's gonna do?"

Okay, so Gojyo hadn't spontaneously decide to drop by for a week, but still.

"How long would you have waited if he didn't?"

It has been a week. Hakkai isn't giving Gojyo a pass from judgment, either.

"Um, I was about to--"

Urgh.

"--Okay: fair, I guess."

Hakkai flashes him a quick smile, covers the saucepan, and turns towards the living room.

"Well," he says briskly. "I'm glad you came. Would you like to try a video game? There's quite a variety pre-installed...."

"Betcha I can beat you on the first try."

"Maybe," Hakkai says brightly, pulling out two of the odd ergonomic white controllers and handing one to Gojyo. "What are you betting?"

After a moment's consideration, he's picking a fighting game.

"Loser cooks dinner", Gojyo determines just to be obnoxious. He can cook food that's edible, but he knows Hakkai would much prefer his own cooking.

As it turns out, video games (or maybe it's fighting games specifically) come easily to Gojyo: Hakkai is better initially, of course, but Gojyo catches up with impressive speed, and like every member of Team Sanzo, he plays to win. Like Hakkai predicted, he seems to be enjoying it quite a bit, quickly forgetting the tension with Jedao.

Some time passes and they play several rounds, and eventually...

Throwing up his hands!

"WHOO!! In your face!!"

Gojyo won!!

He doesn't plan it, but he paints with Justine for a few hours, and serendipitously returns to the celebration. He smiles at both of them as he strolls in, just a little bit of blue paint on one cheek where he accidentally touched it before cleaning his hands.

"Sounds like you two are having fun," he says warmly.

Edited 2025-07-17 20:56 (UTC)

"... well," Hakkai mutters, visibly still a little ruffled by his loss, "he did say the loser had to cook dinner."

No, he didn't lose on purpose: he'd been caught off guard by a special attack with a knockback effect. This is pure face-saving.

"I humbly request tenzaru soba", Gojyo says, grinning at Hakkai, obnoxiously pleased with being better than him at something. He knows perfectly well Hakkai would never lose on purpose.

Jedao coming back is Gojyo's cue to leave (well, so he assumes). He gets up and gives Jedao one of those macho upwards-nods.

"I have come to the conclusion I like video games", he tells Jedao.

Edited 2025-07-18 16:39 (UTC)

"A man of fine taste and good sense," Jedao declares, then raises an eyebrow. "Unless you mean to skip the dinner you just requested?"

Which would obviously be very silly.

Edited 2025-07-18 21:30 (UTC)

Terribly silly, indeed; Hakkai leaves that to Gojyo to answer, getting up from the couch and tucking his controller back in its place. On his way to the kitchen, he pauses to catch Jedao's hand and brush a welcome-home kiss against his cheek.

"I think I have some noodles in the pantry," he says instead, beginning to set out the ingredients. "How is Justine?"

Jedao and Gojyo both like her; it's a safe topic.

--Uh. But!! They've established that Jedao doesn't plan on being in the same room as Gojyo for the time being. Right?? Why do the rules keep changing??

...Gojyo isn't allergic to changes, though, and while he'd planned to confront Jedao about his ridiculously planned-steps plan... it seems like he won't need to. At least, not right now.

He pauses his escape: leans against a nearby wall instead.

"She on one of her painting sprees?"

"A bit, yes. She's teaching me about oil paints." Jedao feels very naughty about it, for unhinged cultural reasons.

"Has she done a portrait of you?"

Hakkai, smiling, leaves them to the conversation while he slices vegetables and mixes tempura batter.

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