And Time Again - Sketch #1
Rating : G

[Ficlet, a fanfic of my fanfic ‘And Time Again’, not based in any time in particular, and very, very, Sanzo/Hakkai-ish. Not really a serious fanfic at all, so don’t mind the lack of a proper beginning, ending, etc.]

Sanzo’s room smelt of birch. It might have been the desk, Hakkai reflected, or the floor. They matched, bleached and polished to exactly the same shade of brown, varying only in the subtle whirls and patterns of the wood.

It smelt of birch, Hakkai reflected, because there wasn’t much of anything else in the room besides the furniture. The tabletop was swept clean, except for a white post-it pad near the telephone. There wasn’t any paper, and all the books had their own home and place on the shelves.

So unlike my own, he thought, recalling piles of paper everywhere, except where they had been replaced with piles of books. And where they were interspersed with "islands of neatness", as Sanzo had put it -- namely, that little 2 by 1 foot space on his table where he actually worked...

"My workplace expands," he’d told Sanzo, and indeed it did -- papers that started out on his table were simply brushed to the side as they became irrelevant. Books he no longer read were discarded in stacks and piles, with tattered bookmarks still sticking out of them. He was neat in his own way -- but only in his immediate vicinity. It took too much effort to ensure that the rest of the room stayed neat, especially when there was always a new book or paper to read...

Idly, Hakkai pulled open a drawer that stood beside the desk. It was a filing cabinet, with the latest documents in front and the older ones behind. Sorted by subject, then date, then alphabetical order. The next drawer contained files, each with their own label -- ‘utility bills’, ‘banking statements’, ‘miscellaneous’. The topmost drawer held stationery, carefully portioned into individual compartments. Three pens, two the fine blue-inked refillable ones that Sanzo favored, and one in black. Three refills exactly, in the same distribution. Two mechnical pencils, two erasers, two rulers. One set for use, one set as a backup.

"I can’t find a blinking pen!" was Sanzo’s standard complaint when he came over. And Hakkai would rummage through the piles and pull up some long discarded ballpoint, only to find that it no longer worked. Undaunted, he’d search again, finding some pencil sharpened to a stump, or an inky pen that, left uncapped, had soaked a sheaf of papers blue. Finally, he’d unearth one of those strange glossy pens that someone had given him as a present some bygone years ago. It was always amusing to watch Sanzo wince at the color, then grudgingly proceed to fill his paper with shiny pink or fern green lettering.

There was one more pen in the drawer, stowed in its own compartment. Hakkai glanced at it and smiled.

He’d remembered later that Sanzo had been sitting for an exam that morning. He’d remembered the directives on all standard exam papers : Please use a blue or black pen. And he’d winced.

"Looking at something?" a familiar voice asked from the doorway.

Hakkai held the pen up. "Was it useful, in the end?"

"Oh yes," Sanzo replied. "Of course, I had to write them an extra paper on how black ink fades to purple when exposed to ultraviolet. Breakdown of dyes due to excitement by high energy particles -- solid nonsense, of course. They probably passed me on sheer entertainment value." He paused. "Did you have any other pen that day?"

"Two, as a matter of fact. One black and one blue."

"So do you want this one back?"

"Keep it. It matches the color of your eyes."

"Thank you."

Sanzo’s room smelt of birch, Hakkai noted. But right now, with Sanzo standing in the doorway, holding a mug...

...well, all students’ rooms smelt like this, at some time or another.

"Have any extra coffee?"

"In the kitchen. Help yourself."

--
End
--

Mmmmmm. Coffee... I’ve had all of one cup in the past month.
Just because I like this setting, like this pairing (...Sankai?...), and have been wondering about the differences in style...
Based on the Gaiden rooms, of course.

And because Hakkai is evil like that. [Unwittingly or otherwise.]