Title: PATTERNS IN THE SANDS OF TIME.

Author: Vamp

Pairing(s): Hakkai, Gojyo mentioned. Tenpou, Kenren, Gojun love triangle.

Rating: R.

Summary: Time can erase the mistakes of the past.

Notes: Set before the journey west.

Beta: Epiphanytiff

Warmth from the early sun filters through the window of the little house we have all lived in for the last few months. Today is our last day here. Today things will again change. Just another pool down the long river of life.

In my nest of bodies, heat from both of them and the sun make me drowsy again. Before sleep catches me in her soft embrace, I marvel how my once lovers look snuggled up together. Gojyo lays on his back, one arm thrown over his head while the other lays across Hakkai's shoulders, its hand weaving into the chocolate locks of his lover. Hakkai is on his front curled up on his red haired lover's chest, one leg twined possessivly around his; even in his sleep. I lay half on each body, a white heart surrounded by their flesh lines.

"How can you be so blind?" I question, thumping the books in my hands on the desk before me. All I get for a reply is a shrug and vague wave, but I will not be turned so easily. "Field Marshal!" I yell. Tenpou jumps, scowling at me and I begin to wonder if I have pushed him too far this time.

"I am neither blind nor deaf. If, however, you can't work out how many sides make up a triangle..." He trailed and storms out, the hurt on his face plain. Probably back to his library and General as well. I try not to grind my teeth at my rival's name.

This meeting was not meant to push my lover further away from me. But that is all I seem to have managed in a few short words. Walking down the halls to the walled garden I used for sword practice, I figure maybe I could lose myself in the flow of the movements, pretend for a little while this mess does not exist. For three hours solid, my body is protesting but I still feel the need to push it further. Like a punishment for not being able to keep that roving bastard off my man.

We still were seeing each other now and then. As I knew he was also seeing my rival and that hurt me more deeply than he could know. It was quite a surprise to feel hands cover my eyes and Tenpou's voice purr in my ear.

"You look so intense and hot." he breathed, the last word a soft and silken purr. I relax against him, the sword clattering to the ground. He now replaces his calloused hands with a cloth, tied at the back of my head and gently guides me to the baths. I want to voice the questions I have; to discover the reasons for this sudden change. But not really. Tenpou is known to change mood like the winds my people love to ride. It is part of why I love him so, why I will not lose him to that dark-haired flirt. "Relax, my love." he whispers to me as quick fingers undo my clothes.

"Am I your love?"

"One of them."

I stiffen at his reply, his hands now at the nape of my neck gently rubbing at the tension.

"Yes, along with peaches, a well formed battle plan and pleasure in all its forms." I pull away and lose my top in the process. Bloody man. Always so calculating. Blindly I turn to him and hear his intake of breath. My rage is evident to him now but he stills my hands as I reach for the cloth.

"Leave it please." he begs. It could have been the shock to hear him beg like that, like the times I have kept him on the edge waiting for release, that alone drains my rage. I can always save it for when Kenren and I next spar. The thought makes me smile and I am rewarded with a long kiss, tongues dancing. Hands relieve me of the last of my garments, softly teasing me with the slowness of their removal.

This bath promises to be very relaxing, maybe this will sway my lover back to me. We can become the couple we were before....

On waking again, I gently spread my wings to touch each man as I would have done back then had I not been so prideful.

"It needs three to be complete." If only I could tell you those words now. I finally understand what you were trying to do that day in the bathhouse; your question should have given me a hint. But I was so set on a battle that was never there to begin with.

In the warm water of the natural hotspring baths of heaven, I could have melted, with the hand on my hard cock and the same man kissing me deeply. Moaning softly, water moves and his mouth disappears, his hands back on my chest; exploring. I am relaxed and I trust my lover, but those hands have me struggling up out the water. More hands are applied to my chest and soft kisses round my ear as I fight.

"Relax, my love. You know I will not let anyone harm you."

Still I move against the two bodies I am now sandwiched between. The blindfold has slipped and I can see my worst fears are there, smiling softly at me. Those odd hands belong to Kenren! It was not that he did anything Tenpou had not done, but he has different callouses on his fingers. Both men see my panic and their smiles drop like stones. Space opens up as one withdraws and then the other; admittedly slower and with a more hurt expression.

Kenren gets out the water first, reaching for a towel to cover his rock-hard erection. I feel mine twitch at his aroused body.

"I told you we should have tied him up first." The raven-haired man says then pulls out a packet of smokes and lights up. Tenpou just shoots him a look and he winces like I had earlier that day. "Gojun..." My lover runs his hand through wet hair before offering it to me, both peace offering and invite.

Softly a cheep can be heard as more light creeps in to the room. Gojyo moves soft a hand to brush against my wing then Hakkai's finger draws languidly down my spine. Such joy they can bring me, even now, when our triangle has little hope of being true.

Angry words flow from my mouth, each one a blade to both their hearts. Thrice I stab with the blade of my pride. Once for one, once for the other and surprisingly once for myself. I could not see the love they had was also for me. I walked out the bathhouse and the warm embrace of my lovers. The day shifted, a perfect path never taken and the chance was lost.

Hakkai gently slips me off of Gojyo, but not before I can steal a licking kiss of his cheek. Turning in my present-day master's arms, I steal a kiss from him too."Let's get some coffee on, shall we?" All I can do is Kyuu my agreement. Today I will carry my lovers on a journey that could be their last, given the foul mood the monk is usually in. But I have a feeling that the Goddess has not finished playing with our lives. After all, she has bought all of us together again. Maybe we are not just a triangle but really one that is part of a pentacle. A part in many different shapes as the world changes about us.

Love after all is not just sex, it is the stillness in the night when your heart touches another's and feels the pulse of completeness. So as I look at them both eating at the table for a brief moment its like looking in the past. Kenren smoking while teasing Tenpou about the book he is reading. For a single moment, both of them look at me at the same time and my heart beats contentedly.

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