TITLE: The Perfect Gift
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: Sanzo's attempt at romance on Valentine's Day. Shonen-ai. Sanzo x Hakkai pairing. 38-83
Written for Sanzo x Hakkai ML 2005 V-Day Challenge
It was an accident.
He didn't mean to be a part of it.
How he had decided to do this was anyone's guess.
It was that damned paper he read everyday without fail. It was one of the few things he did religiously because he was anything but.
It was during this daily regimen he encountered it.
Those annoying snippets boldly announcing the coming of a certain day that contaminated his peaceful morning read.
Even in black and white print, he couldn't miss the sight of hearts-a-floating and doves-a-cooing in the form of gaudy advertisements announcing the most unnecessary day of the year.
This secular, corporation induced holiday profiting from the sales of flowers, chocolates and sonnet littered cards.
Ugh.
But what irritated him the most was the fact that he was paying attention to it.
And unwanted thoughts began creeping into his mind as the advertisements began reaching out to him through media hypnosis.
And he tried and tried to ignore it through the internal swears, meditations, and even makai tenjo-ing his thoughts (which failed miserably) as hostile resistance gave way to slackened resignation for what he was about to do.
Like a moth to a flame, his conscience systemically moved him to do something that he would never do for any one or any thing.
Except for Hakkai.
After all, the monk begrudgingly admitted, this was a small sacrifice to pay in return for all the nice things the good natured youkai had done for him. And he knew Hakkai would appreciate this as Sanzo rarely allowed himself to express his feelings in this fashion.
So the day before the big event, Sanzo covertly sneaked away from the group to purchase a limited edition box of chocolate truffles and a helium filled balloon in the shape of a smiley face. Despite the salesperson's insistence, he adamantly refused to purchase a heart shaped balloon. There were just some things, even for Hakkai, that Sanzo was not willing to do. Besides, the balloon he bought held a considerable likeness to a certain someone.
He then covertly returned to hide the presents in a secure location.
The following morning found a nerve wracked monk tiredly dragging himself to the secret hiding place, determined to get the embarrassing moment over with. He approached the entrance to the room and was about to turn the handle of the door as he dead stopped to the sounds of a squeaky laugh.
He burst in to a haphazard scene of Goku eagerly flipping the last piece of the truffle into his chocolate smeared mouth.
Goku looked up at Sanzo and lifted up the now empty box as he spoke out in an unusually high tone, "Hey Sanzo, look what I found!"
Not noticing the veins popping out of the monk's forehead, Goku continued in a squeaky rant, "I also found this," He pointed to a deflated balloon that now sat in a crumpled state with a considerably less likeness to the youkai. "Gojyo once told me that if you suck the air from a floating balloon, your voice gets higher."
It took all of ten seconds for Sanzo to scare the life out of the young brunette with a few marked hits of the harisen and a round of the shoreijyuu capped off with a series of colorful expletives.
Sanzo then left his ward in a crumpled heap, not unlike the balloon, as he sped outside with an alternate plan.
He wandered aimlessly throughout the town searching for the same gifts. He discovered in utter disappointment that not a chocolate piece was left nor a balloon floating. In fact, not even a flower petal nor a card remained in this dinky hick of a town that seemed to have depleted itself of all Valentine related paraphernalia.
He wished to be back not having to trouble himself with all this. If he had his way at all, he would be reading a newspaper right about now enjoying his cigarettes.
But this was not the time to be sulking over the selfish needs of his daily routine
He decidedly looked for something else. After hours of tiring search, he finally returned with a bag in hand wondering if the gift would be well received.
He walked into a room where Hakkai sat reading a book.
"Welcome back Sanzo. Should I pour you some tea?"
Sanzo nodded and sat down.
A few minutes passed until Hakkai broke the silence. "It seems as though you had a hectic morning."
Sanzo stared into his cup and counted the tea leaves. "Hn."
He at last placed the bag on the table and slid it towards his partner.
Hakkai smiled upon seeing the paper bag. "For me?"
"Ch. You know it is."
Hakkai pulled the content out of the bag as his smile grew wider.
"Wow. No one has ever given me something like this. It's wonderful."
A potted basil plant sat at the palm of his hand.
"You use basil for cooking."
"Yes I do. And it's small enough that I can easily transport it throughout our travels. This is truly the best gift I've ever received. Thank you, Sanzo."
Sanzo couldn't help but to allow a corner of his mouth to turn upward in a satisfied smirk.
"I found an injured Goku downstairs and he told me everything. It seems as though you went through quite a lot of trouble. I hope you know that I would love anything you got me, Sanzo. But I must say, I think I like this best."
Hakkai lifted his fingers to feel the blonde's cheek in an affectionate caress. "Now it's my turn to give you your Valentine's gift."
Entranced by his gentle touch, the monk blushed slightly and nodded in response.
"I'm afraid I wasn't as creative as you were Sanzo. All I got for you was today's paper and a carton of cigarettes…"
Sanzo sighed in relief and pleasure. A rarely expressed smile graced his features, admiring Hakkai's talent to truly understand the simple needs of the complex monk.
"-and a bottle of your favorite sake…"
And damn it, if he wasn't turned on by the youkai's sensible nature.
"-and a can of spray whipped cream. I got the low-fat kind, of course, for its obvious benefit and… it glides better on the skin."
Really, really turned on.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
A/N – Low-fat whipped cream is more epidermally friendly than its full calorie counterpart. It's true. I read it in the paper...