thenearshore | won't you take me

Entry tags:

won't you take me

Who: The Li Tieguai clusterfuck
What: Well, we're out of a shitty haunted forest, who wants dinner?
When: November 16, evening
Where: Li Tieguai's Temple

Usually, when there's some big nonsense in Heaven, Chikusa can be found out cold or "away" in his own head for most of the following couple of days afterwards... but that apparently only counts for event which involve people. Spending an entire day trekking through a possessed forest filled with violent plant-life and cultists is manageable.... somehow.

No matter how exhausted or injured anyone in the temple is, food still has to be made, and Hakka is in no condition to make it. Thus, dinner is being arranged by the other cook in the house, and invitations have been sent out to the relevant people Chikusa thinks care- namely Nanako and Ayumu, along with anyone they seek to bring. That doesn't mean people checking in on the Li Tieguai temple can't just waltz right into the dinner as well....

There's a lot to do in the time leading up to dinner, after all, depending on when people show up (or, you know, realize there's smells coming from the kitchen). Bon, the resident enormous Tibetan Mastiff, demands attention in the form of bodily flinging himself at people. There's a goat in the garden, tied away from all the important medical herbs. At least four different nekomata wander in and out of the temple ground whenever they please, including Pookie, the most permanent resident, and never shut up.... Not to mention that a Kung-Fu movie has been put on the television for people to watch.

There's also a sign on all entrances to the kitchen that says: CHO HAKKAI IS NOT ALLOWED TO COOK. Presumably Chikusa put it up while making direct eye contact with him.

Either way, mess around until dinner, have dinner, crash in the living room where another kung-fu movie has been put on again... Have fun.

Oh, and before it can be forgotten.... The dinner menu for the night is fritto misto, meaty Amatriciana sauce with bucatini noodles, and all the garlic bread in the world apparently. For dessert? Cannoli again. That... might be all he knows how to make on the dessert front.

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[How about both Hakkai and some random person on the internet? Chikusa is a smart kid who checks multiple sources, whether those sources like it or not.]

[Things his sources might not like: the next topic Chikusa is going to bring up. It doesn't come immediately, however. Instead, he waits it out as well, leaning back against the fridge in a more relaxed pose, and waits until it seems like Hakkai isn't holding anything breakable.]

....Is it fine if I invited Ayumu?

[She's been rather quiet, and there hasn't been any tension yet, but.... Still...]

[The spatula in Hakkai's hands isn't breakable, but he doesn't flinch at the question regardless. He does rinse it, and set it on the counter, before answering.

It takes some time to think about the question. He doesn't mind, as such. Ayumu likely needs the distraction from her goddess's disappearance. He may still be upset about what she'd said to him when he returned her scarf, but she'd said it because she cared about Gojyo, after all. It's hard to be angry that her concern for Gojyo leads her to recommend something different than Hakkai's own, no matter how difficult it had been to hear.]

It's fine. She's welcome here.

Alright.

[It's hard to tell, with Hakkai and Ayumu sometimes. He can't tell if they care for each other, or if Ayumu wants to finish off the job that is Hakkai's nose and ribcage. It's especially difficult when...]

You left her scarf around for a while. [Which him and Ken moved to Hakkai's room, when it became clear that Gojyo would be staying.]

Yes. I noticed you moved it to my room....

I was giving her a little space, but it seemed that wasn't necessary in the end. [Or, if it was, she'd covered for it well when he did return the scarf.]

Mm. Yeah.

[Another awkward pause as Chikusa shifts his spot against the fridge.]

Is that going to happen again?

No. It was just...

[He trails off, feeling suddenly awkward at the idea of defining exactly what it had been. Somewhat more, he has to admit, than the "just one night" agreement that they'd made; he'd agreed out of loneliness, but he wonders, knowing that Ayumu had had someone, if she'd offered entirely from the same motives.]

... it doesn't change anything between us. It was just the once.

That's.... probably for the best.

[There's a lot of reasons that could be said. Perhaps it's because they're both too volatile. Or the complications of other people in their lives. Or that it's simply not the right time, with them being as they are.]

[Chikusa's reason is practical.]

We heard you when you came back, so...

From Sanzang's temple? [Hakkai's expression is blank. Had he made any particular noise? It had been midday, and he'd been in a foul mood, but he'd thought he'd kept it quiet enough.]

Ah, no.... I mean, I guess.... Just flat out when you 'came' at all.

[Now is not the time for jokes. And yet, that sure was said, in pefect deadpan.]

[It's lucky that Hakkai hadn't picked anything else back up before Chikusa had said that. The silence stretches for a few awkward seconds.]

I admit, I'd hoped you had been out a little later than that.

[He also wishes Ayumu weren't quite so loud.]

We didn't know you'd have her over.

....Or do that.

[If that had been the case, after all, Chikusa knows that he would have made sure to keep Ken all to himself for a good while longer. There's plenty of ways to distract a dog.... especially when the dog is now your boyfriend.]

[It could, in some contexts, have been a backhanded apology. Just after Chikusa'd complained that Hakkai wasn't properly telling them relevant information, though, it feels a little bit more like an accusation. Hakkai frowns.]

I asked her over because I wanted to talk to someone. Sharak had just disappeared.

[And he certainly hadn't been planning on anything but talking.]

[Funny, how a change of tone could have possibly cleared up what Chikusa's intent was. As it is, besides a rise or fall in volume, well...]

Okay. [That same plain tone as always, one which never fails to sound at least a little tired no matter what's happening. That does have Chikusa wondering something else, however.]

...Am I... not old enough for that, then? [A beat.] Not the sex part.

[You're not his type, sorry, Hakkai.]

You're not my type, when it comes to that.

[And, also, Chikusa is definitely not old enough for that with Hakkai.

That's not what Chikusa was asking, though. He shakes his head.]

And I didn't want to tell you to stay around and keep me company. You had plans with Ken.

Yeah, and he ranks higher than you...

[Boyfriends before gods- the new saying from the Chikusa Kakimoto corner. Still, it might be as much higher a ranking than Hakkai thinks, because-]

After. That... would have been alright.

I'll keep that in mind. At the time, I didn't want-- [he grimaces slightly, embarrassed] to ruin your night.

It's not as if talking to Ayumu was something I didn't want to do, either.

The way Ken makes me feels is more than anything you could do.

[Which is really rather impressive, honestly, and Chikusa doesn't regret saying it.]

....But we'll talk, from now on. Right?

[Hakkai laughs, dryly, under his breath.]

In other words, I couldn't ruin your day even if I tried? I see.

[He shakes his head.]

But yes. That doesn't mean I won't talk to anyone else, but I'll talk to you, too, from now on.

....Good.

[Which isn't the best way to express gratitude for this step, but, well. Chikusa doesn't really know many other ways to go about this.]

[He only knows the one way, which he reveals as he pushes away from the fridge so that he can properly turn around. There's a jar on top that only his horrifically lankly limbs can reach, which he pulls down. Removing the top, he shuffles over to Hakkai to reveal the bounty: some more cannoli that has been wrapped up in plastic and hidden away.]

....Also, is Goku staying, because I'm going to start booby trapping the kitchen if he is....

[He had to tell him about your sex life to make him cook in peace, Hakkai.]

Goku doesn't do well living on his own.

[He can cope without Sanzo, which is a good thing, since Hakkai has no idea where Sanzo is or how to get him back. He can't cope in his temple with no one but a soulless shinki there with him.]

And all he has right now is a soulless shinki, so it might be better if he stays with us.

Oh, you can booby-trap the kitchen if you have to. You might catch Ken, though.

[Chikusa loves Ken. They've been with one another for their entire lives, going up against the entire world that discarded them, and there's nothing that could happen that Ken's presence alone couldn't drag Chikusa's misery away...]

[But.]

Good.

[He will have no remorse nor pity if his dumb dog boyfriend gets caught in a booby trap because he was trying to raid the kitchen.]

[Chikusa nudges the jar against Hakkai's arm a little.]

[Is that an offer? Hakkai dries his hands on the now-damp dishtowel, and reaches to pick one of the cannoli out of the jar.

He figures that anyone who can't handle Chikusa's booby traps deserves whatever they get, and he doubts Chikusa'd make anything anywhere near fatal if there's the possibility that Ken would be caught in them. So, in other words, it'll be educational.]

Incidentally... did you have to tell Goku about me and Gojyo?

[It's definitely an offering, because how else are you supposed to show appreciation besides food offerings? Using your words? Ha ha, he doesn't think so.]

Ah... I didn't think it would be that big a deal... if he knew you both... If it makes you feel better, I only said you'd been intimate...

[Not that him and Gojyou couldn't apparently keep their hands off of each other in a public place... or that Hakkai got a hand shoved down his pants... Chikusa will spare others that knowledge.]

That isn't something that he knew about us.

[Which is, if Chikusa gets a better idea of Goku's observational skills, tantamount to saying, We weren't intimate before. At the moment, though, it's not only safe to say, but Hakkai suspects Goku's probably told him the same thing.

He takes a bite of the cannoli, chews, swallows, and wipes a speck of cream off his bottom lip.]

I, ah... did mention that I don't talk about personal things.

[Whether or not that was something in the past, well, things have obviously changed now... but that doesn't really matter. Chikusa just gives a single nod.]

...I don't plan on saying anything else to him. It just came up since he said Gojyo would be better at getting you into bed.

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when you blank and make a typo lmao

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