- Title: What You Earn, You Keep
- Author: meicdon13
- Pairing(s): Zakuro x Goku
- Rating: R
- Summary: Zakuro has something that Goku needs and agrees to give it to the brunet in exchange for something else. The question is; is Goku willing to pay the price?
- Website: http://meicdon13.livejournal.com/
- Warnings: Dub-con
- Notes: Written for yuletide_smut 2008.

WHAT YOU EARN, YOU KEEP

Zakuro sighed as he rubbed the power limiter around his wrist. It was disguised as a leather band and was chafing against his skin. Construction work under a hot sun wasn't his first choice for a temporary job, but it was the only one available at the moment. The sun was beating down in the town square where he was helping his current employer set up a stall.

"Oi! Pretty boy! C'mere!"

Zakuro winced at the nickname but dropped the plank of wood he was carrying under one arm. He walked over to where his 'boss' was standing with a few other guys working on the stall. Just because he wasn't as burly as the other workers or as…pungent…

"Hurry up, pretty boy!" his boss said good-naturedly. "I've got your pay right here."

The mention of money made Zakuro perk up and he crowded in closer along with the other men, ignoring their unwashed state and fidgeting as their boss counted out gold coins and distributed them.

Zakuro was surprised when he a got a double handful and he blinked up at his employer. "Sir?" Not that he was complaining about the pay, mind you. He was just curious as to what merited the extra money.

"You worked harder than a lot of these guys here, pretty boy," his boss said genially, clapping him on the back with a large beefy hand. In his human state, Zakuro stumbled a bit and tried not to fall over. "I think you deserve a little something more. 'Sides, you need some meat on your bones!" Another clap on the back as the much taller human began laughing heartily. Zakuro managed to keep upright. Really, the man was much too touchy-feely and loud. "Now go buy yourself something to eat!"

He thanked his boss and promised to come back later that afternoon to help out again before he went off. It was nearing lunchtime and if he wanted to beat the crowds, he'd need to find a restaurant and snag a table. He hummed happily as he walked, a hand patting his now full coin pouch in his pocket. If he didn't spend too much, he'd be able to make it last a long time. Maybe until he got to Houtou Castle. From what he heard, he was pretty close already. Only a few more days or so.

Zakuro spotted a small restaurant and entered. He sat down at a small table by a window and signaled a waitress over. A motherly-looking woman with an apron around her waist, she smiled as she handed him a menu. "I'll be over there when you're ready to order," she said, pointing to somewhere near the door that led to the kitchens. "Just wave me over when you know what you want."

"Thank you," Zakuro said, eyes scanning the menu for something that was cheap and would keep him filled for a while. As he was contemplating the pros and cons of simply ordering a sandwich and filling up on a lot of water, there was a loud bang from somewhere outside, like the sound of a gunshot.

The menu fell to the floor as he instinctively ducked and covered his head. When no more shots followed, Zakuro raised his head, the other patrons in the restaurant doing the same. He picked up the menu and looked out the window, seeing a rag-tag group of four people arguing outside.

A monk was waving a gun at a redhead and a golden-eyed brunet while a taller brunet tried to placate him. They were sitting in a green jeep parked in the middle of the road. Strange that a monk would have a gun. Zakuro's hand crept to his power limiter and he stroked it nervously. His illusions weren't quite that strong yet and he would definitely lose against the monk if they fought. Best to keep a low profile while that group was around.

Turning back to his menu, Zakuro decided what he wanted to order and signaled to his waitress. "Dangerous-looking bunch of young people, aren't they?" she said as she approached his table, pen poised over her pad to note down his order.

Zakuro looked at the group once more, noticing that the shorter brunet had the most amazing smile when he wasn't busy fighting with the redhead. "I suppose they are," he said. "Especially that armed monk."

"The redhead looks sleazy too," the waitress added. "Wouldn't let him come within ten feet of my daughter." She shook her head slightly, probably wondering what the youth of today were coming to and turned back to Zakuro. "Well, what'll it be, then?"

Zakuro placed his order and waited patiently while the waitress left to get his food. He found himself once more glancing outside, trying to catch a glimpse of the monk and his companions. The demon told himself that he wasn't annoyed when he couldn't see them anymore.

xxx

Goku bounced along beside Hakkai while the taller brunet looked at the goods that each stall was offering. They were on their way to buy some supplies for when they left town and Goku planned on convincing Hakkai to buy him a little something extra to eat on their way back to the inn.

They reached the town square, surrounded on all sides by merchants and vendors eager to sell their wares. "Why don't you go look around while I buy some fruit?" Hakkai suggested. "I'm sure Sanzo won't mind if you bought something for yourself." That was Hakkai-speak for, "Go buy a load of food to annoy Sanzo." The blond had forced the taller brunet to drive Hakuryuu through most of the previous night in an attempt to make good time. The little white dragon had been too tired to come along shopping with them and was sleeping back at the inn.

"Thanks, Hakkai!" Goku cheered, immediately turning around and racing off into the crowds. He moved swiftly through the afternoon crowds, trusting his nose to lead him to something good to eat.

Almost immediately, Goku's nose picked up the scent of fruit. The smell didn't seem to be coming from any of the stalls. Sniffing, Goku began to walk, trying to find where the enticing scent was coming from. He dodged other shoppers in the marketplace and quickly arrived at the center of the square. He took another deep breath. He was near; the smell was stronger.

Goku came to a halt near a large stall still under construction. There were three men at work, building it, while a fourth simply stood there with his arms crossed across his chest, watching them; probably a supervisor. There was a large sack on the ground beside yet another man. The smell was coming from there.

Stomach growling in anticipation, Goku walked forward and poked the shoulder of the man near the sack. "Hey, what's in the bag?" he asked, golden eyes slewing over to look at said bag. This near, the smell of sweet fruit was almost too strong to bear.

The slim man jumped a bit in surprise before looking over his shoulder to see Goku. The brunet took in the lavender hair and green eyes, blinking up at the stranger. "Excuse me?" the man said.

"What's in the bag?" Goku repeated. He was practically bouncing in place, waiting for an answer.

The stranger looked at the much larger man beside him. The taller man laughed and clapped a hand on Goku's shoulder. "Why don't you open it and see for yourself, kid?"

Goku eagerly squatted down and undid the cord tied around the sack's neck. He opened it and plunged a hand inside, expecting to encounter apples or maybe oranges. He didn't expect to come up with a handful of oddly-shaped chunks of wood. The brunet had been a hundred percent sure that the sack was filled with fruit so he ended up blinking at the wood while the burly man beside him laughed.

"What did you expect to find?" the supervisor asked genially. "There's nothing there but the extra wood from the planks we used."

Goku dropped the wood back into the sack and scratched at the back of his head. "Weird. I could've sworn I smelled some fruit."

"Maybe that was pretty boy Zakuro you caught a whiff of," the large man joked. He looped an arm around the slender lavender-haired man and laughed again. Goku couldn't help but smile; the supervisor seemed like a nice enough person.

"Sir," Zakuro said in exasperation, "that is not funny."

"'Course it is. You're just too uptight." The large man reached into a pocket and came up with some coins. "You go take the kid and buy some apples. Since he seems to be looking for something fruity to eat." He shoved the coins into Zakuro's hand, ignoring the protests coming from the lavender-haired man and giving him a shove to get him going.

Goku's eyes widened at his unexpected luck and he grinned. "Wow, thanks!" he cried. He turned to follow the slender man through the crowd, glancing back over his shoulder to wave at the burly supervisor.

xxx

Zakuro sighed as he waited for the vendor to finish bagging the apples he had bought for the bouncing brunet beside him. He chanced a glance at the brunet and once more found himself completely fascinated by his smile.

It was a smile full of life and happiness and joy. Zakuro found himself wishing that the smile would be directed at him. He pushed the silly thought out of his head—after all, he didn't even know the boy's name—and accepted the bag of fruit from the vendor. He dropped a few coins into the man's hand, turned to face the shorter male, and handed him the apples.

"Here you go, boy," he said.

The brunet beamed at him. "Thanks!"

Zakuro's breath came short as the full force of that smile was finally focused on him. He couldn't help but smile. He watched as the shorter male opened the paper bag and practically attacked the red fruit inside, making happy sounds as he ate.

As they slowly walked back, Zakuro was surprised when the brunet said, "Your name's Zakuro, right? Mine's Goku."

"It is nice meeting you, Goku," Zakuro replied.

xxx

Sanzo growled as he glared at the small white dragon that was currently lying down on a bed. "Hakkai, how many more days before he gets better?" the monk bit out.

"The last time he was this sick, Sanzo, he needed to rest for a week before he got better," Hakkai replied evenly. He sat down on the side of the bed and lifted a small bowl with water to Hakuryuu's snout. The dragon cheeped weakly and drank. "If you hadn't overworked him, we'd probably be gone by now."

Sanzo ignored the hidden barb and lit another cigarette, adding to the already large collection of them in the room's ashtray. He stalked over to his own bed on the opposite side of the large room and sat down, annoyance in his every movement.

"Where're the two idiots?" he asked after a while. If they weren't at the inn with him and Hakkai, they were probably somewhere in town causing even more trouble for them to deal with.

"Gojyo's doing some gambling. I think Goku's with his new friend, though I'm not sure where they went."

New friend. Sanzo huffed irritably. The little monkey had been running around town with some random construction worker or something that he'd picked up a few days ago. Goku spent most of the afternoons helping the guy on whatever job he was working on and whenever he came back to the inn, he was more or less covered with sawdust or dirt and sweat.

Sanzo stabbed out the cigarette on the nearby ashtray and told himself that he wasn't jealous that Goku wasn't paying as much attention to him as he usually did.

xxx

Zakuro wiped the sweat off his forehead, saw how dirty his handkerchief was, and grimaced. Great. Now he'd have a line of dirt on his face. He tucked the handkerchief back into his pocket and looked up from the roof tiles he was working on. Peering over the edge of the roof, he saw Goku talking to the woman whose roof they were repairing.

Zakuro had been hanging around town for the past few days, looking for odd jobs he could do. While he had been pretty sure he could make the money from the first one last for a long time, it didn't hurt to have a few extra coins just in case. After he fixed this roof, he'd probably have enough to take off and continue on his way to Houtou.

Goku laughed at something the woman said. Zakuro paused, a red roof tile in hand. That's right; if he left, he'd be leaving Goku behind. In the few days that he'd been around town, the brunet had grown closer to Zakuro; always hanging around and helping out with whatever he was doing. Lunch yesterday had cost Zakuro since he'd paid for Goku's food as well but the brunet's smile—which the demon had quickly grown addicted to—and sincere thanks had been enough to repay a few extra coins. They got along great, making each other laugh and enjoying each other's company. Zakuro would really miss Goku when he finally left.

Zakuro shook himself out of the sudden funk he found himself in. Why should he care that he'd be leaving Goku behind anyway? Just because the brunet was cute and funny and adorable and lively and…and he really needed to stop that train of thought right now. Just because he wanted to drag the brunet off somewhere and kiss him senseless, didn't mean that he needed to act on the desire to do so.

And besides; Goku was traveling with that monk. That meant he was an enemy—or would be one as soon as Zakuro got himself employed at Houtou Castle—and that he shouldn't become too close to the brunet. After all, how many demons had Goku killed? He and the rest of his group were enemies to all of demonkind and they needed to be exterminated.

It didn't really help that Goku was apparently completely enamored with the monk. Every time Zakuro and Goku met, the first thing that the brunet would say was almost always about the monk. Usually it was a complaint about how bitchy the blond was being but even then Zakuro could see the adoration shining in Goku's golden eyes.

The roof tile Zakuro was holding cracked and he blinked at it a couple of times before discarding it. He continued fixing the roof, listening to the snatches of conversation drifting up from Goku and the woman.

"Thanks for the lemonade!"

"I've got another glass here for your friend. Maybe you should go up there and convince him to take a break as well."

Zakuro poked his head over the edge of the roof again and called out. "I am almost done, madam. Just give me a few more minutes." He finished up quickly, put the tools back into the toolbox, and climbed down the ladder propped up against the side of the house. The woman took the toolbox from him and went back inside the house.

"Here," Goku said, handing him a glass of lemonade.

"Thank you," Zakuro replied, smiling back at the brunet.

xxx

Leaving hadn't been that hard. It helped that Goku didn't seem broken up about it. After all, Zakuro thought to himself, why would Goku be sad? It wasn't like they had anything special. They were just casual friends who had met one another by accident.

Goku had walked with him to the edge of the town, still chattering away about how Sanzo was being mean, how Hakkai was always fussing, how Gojyo was being a perverted kappa. It was mildly annoying that the brunet didn't seem to be broken up at all about Zakuro leaving.

xxx

As far as ambushes went, this one posed a slightly greater threat than the usual surprise attacks they encountered. The demons were more organized, a lot less stupid, and worked together. The fight went on longer than the ikkou expected, and though they weren't really having problems, the demons had managed to separate Sanzo from the other three.

Goku grinned as his Nyoi-bou connected solidly with a demon's head, sending him sprawling onto the ground. This was too easy! He dodged another demon's punch and kicked him, sending him flying and crashing into another would-be attacker.

This was what the brunet lived for; the adrenaline rush of battles, the pounding of the blood in his veins. It wasn't a fight so much as a game for Goku and he relished the opportunity to stretch out his muscles after a long day's ride in Hakuryuu.

He dodged another attack easily, seeing Hakkai and Gojyo out of the corner of his eye, and wondering where Sanzo was. A few minutes ago, he was just a few feet away from the rest of them. Clearing a wide space around him with his Nyoi-bou, Goku turned around, trying to spot the blond monk.

There! Sanzo was fending off the leader of the demon group. The demon took a swipe at Sanzo, managing to get past the blond's defenses. As his claws raked across the monk's chest, one of them snagged on the Maten Sutra and pulled it off of Sanzo's shoulders.

Time seemed to slow down as Goku watched Sanzo falling backwards, blood spurting out from the wound on his chest. The brunet ran towards Sanzo, ducking to avoid a kick from a demon. Goku killed him with one blow to the head and skidded to a stop beside Sanzo's body.

Hakkai was already there, healing the wound as Gojyo took care of what was left of their attackers. "Sanzo!" Goku shouted, grabbing the monk's shoulder, fear coursing through him. It didn't matter that Hakkai had already closed the wound or that Sanzo was already sitting up and probably getting ready to whack him upside the head for screaming into his ear. For one moment, Goku had thought that the monk was gone.

Sanzo looked around wildly. "Where's the sutra?"

xxx

"This is a completely frustrating," Zakuro mumbled, glaring at the tree in front of the rock he was sitting on. He doodled moodily on the ground with a stick. Earlier that day, while he'd been making his way through the forest, his mind kept straying to Goku at odd intervals. It had been extremely annoying and distracting and more than once, he found that he had strayed away from the path he was supposed to be following.

Sighing, he picked up his pack as he stood up, throwing the stick aside. He'd best get going instead of sitting and moping. Zakuro was just about to start walking again when someone burst out of the trees to his left and knocked him over. Said someone also fell on top of him.

"Watch where you're going, imbecile!" Zakuro snapped as he got up, brushing dirt off of his clothes. His arm throbbed from where he'd hit it on a rock and he glared at the person who'd run into him.

It was a demon, eyes wild and panicky as he clutched something to his chest. His hands were bloody and he was panting, his clothes soaked with sweat. "Are you alright?" Zakuro asked, immediately worried that maybe the strange demon was hurt. He took a step forward, reaching out, when the other demon suddenly seemed to notice him for the first time.

He snarled and took a swipe at Zakuro, his claws drawing lines of blood along the illusionist's arm. Zakuro jumped back, eyes narrowed. "You will pay for that," he growled. When the panicky demon looked into his eyes, Zakuro pounced, drawing him into his illusion.

It was ridiculously easy to eliminate the stranger, especially since he had already been afraid of whatever he had seemed to be running away from. Zakuro's illusions had been growing stronger with constant practice and now he knew that they were powerful enough to kill. Satisfied with his own prowess, Zakuro bent and picked up the thing that the now dead demon had been carrying with him.

It looked like a scroll of some sort but before he could unravel it, yet another figure came barreling out of the trees and knocked him over again. Glowering, Zakuro prepared to kill whoever it was lying on top of him and came face-to-face with Goku.

"Zakuro?" the brunet said, blinking golden eyes down on him. Then he seemed to realize that they were on the ground and instantly stood, pulling Zakuro up with him. "I'm sorry! Are you okay? I didn't see you—"

"I am fine, fine," Zakuro replied. He reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes and froze at Goku's next words.

"Hey! You're a demon!"

Zakuro cursed under his breath. He had taken off his power limiter once he'd been out of sight of the village, seeing no reason to pretend that he was a human the moment he was alone. Thinking quickly, he looked Goku straight in the eye and cast an illusion making himself look human again. "What do you mean, Goku?"

The brunet opened his mouth and closed it again, squinting at Zakuro. "You…a moment ago you had pointy ears."

"The fall must have made you a bit dizzy for a moment," Zakuro said smoothly. "I obviously do not have pointy ears or claws." He raised a hand in front of Goku's face and wiggled his fingers.

Suspicion was on Goku's features until he caught sight of the scroll in Zakuro's hands. "That's Sanzo's sutra! How did you get that?" He made a grab for it but Zakuro held onto it, stepping back to put it out of Goku's reach.

Sanzo again. Zakuro fought the urge to growl and answered Goku's query instead. "I got it from him," he replied, jerking his head towards where the dead demon lay on the ground. "He dared to attack me and I fended off his attempts to kill me. He was holding this in his hand."

"Give it to me!" Goku cried out, once again making a grab for the sutra. Zakuro held it up above his head and watched with amusement while the brunet jumped up and down, trying to get it.

"What will I get in return if I give this to you, boy?" Zakuro asked slyly. "This might fetch a tidy sum in the next village." He held the scroll just above Goku's reach, grinning at Goku's attempts to get it. The brunet swiped wildly at it and ended up pressed against the demon. Maybe he didn't have to content himself with daydreams if things went along smoothly.

"This isn't funny, Zakuro!" Goku said, frowning. "Just give it to me. It's really important!"

Zakuro made a show of thinking, secretly amused at the fuming brunet's expression. "Fine. I will give it to you…if you give me a kiss."

"What?" The shocked expression on Goku's face was made even more adorable by the color that swarmed up his cheeks. Zakuro smiled widely. Goku wouldn't blush if there wasn't something there. And the blush was simply adorable.

"Just a simple kiss," Zakuro said. "One kiss and I give this back to you."

There was a pause as Goku fidgeted, obviously thinking of what to do. "If I kiss you," he said slowly, "do you really promise to give it back to me?"

"Of course."

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Goku slowly leaned forward and paused, obviously expecting Zakuro to take the initiative and finish things. The demon tucked the sutra into the back pocket of his pants, placed his hands on Goku's shoulders, and leaned down to press his lips against the brunet's.

Goku made a muffled sound against Zakuro's lips and the demon fought the urge to grin. Instead, he snaked one hand into unruly brown hair, feeling the metal of Goku's coronet against his fingers. His other hand moved down to rest on the brunet's hip, pulling the shorter male forward against him.

The awkwardness that Goku displayed made Zakuro giddy. It was obvious that Goku had never kissed anyone else before, if the brunet's tightly closed lips were any indication. The idea that he was Goku's first kiss was unbelievably arousing and Zakuro's hold on the brunet's hair tightened as he tipped back Goku's head to get better access to his mouth.

Zakuro pulled back a bit and ran his tongue against the seam of Goku's lips before nipping the bottom one. The brunet's breathe hitched and his hands fisted in the material of Zakuro's coat. "I…" Goku swallowed thickly. "I thought it was just supposed to be a kiss."

Zakuro chuckled, thumb making small circles on Goku's hip. "It was. I haven't done anything else to you."

He thought he heard the brunet mutter something that sounded like, "Sure didn't feel like just a kiss…" He moved forward and pressed his chest against Goku's, his eyes half-lidded. The brunet's hands twitched where they were fisted in Zakuro's coat.

"Would you like to continue?" Zakuro asked, trying to sound innocent even as he licked his lips.

"No," Goku snapped nervously. Before he could free himself from Zakuro's hold on him, the demon brought his hypnotism into play once more. This time, he didn't make another illusion but instead inserted a subtle suggestion into Goku's mind.

"Are you sure?" Another gentle prod with his powers.

Zakuro smiled when he saw the resolve in the golden eyes falter. He checked to see that Goku still saw him as human before he bent his head and swiftly recaptured the brunet's lips. He slipped his tongue past Goku's parted lips and ran it over the roof of Goku's mouth, swallowing the brunet's surprised squeak.

Zakuro pulled back for a moment to assess their surroundings then bent his head and fastened his mouth against the pulse point in Goku's neck. He steered the both of them towards a nearby tree and pressed Goku up against it as he sucked a bruise out of the brunet's neck. There was a strangled sound somewhere above him and Zakuro gave the flesh under his lips a last lick as he undid the button and zipper on Goku's pants.

"What're you doing?" the brunet choked out, even as he thrust up into Zakuro's hand.

"Making you feel good." Zakuro quickly undid the front of his own pants and freed his own trapped arousal. He moved closer, settling between Goku's legs, and pressed their lengths together, hissing at the contact of hot skin against hot skin. Goku whimpered and the sound went straight to Zakuro's groin.

Moaning, he pressed his mouth against Goku's again, thrusting his tongue into the brunet's mouth. He wrapped one hand around their erections while the other one slipped under Goku's shirt and headed straight for a nipple. Zakuro ran his thumb over the hardened nub, rewarded by the sound of Goku's muffled groan against his lips.

Zakuro tightened the hold he had around both of their lengths and began moving his hand. Goku's hips immediately began thrusting into his hand, his hardness burning against Zakuro's. The demon moaned into the brunet's mouth, eyes screwing shut as waves of sensation threatened to overwhelm him.

The two of them moved together, mouths mating and tongues clashing, thrusting into the tight channel of Zakuro's hand. Goku's hands were tangled in Zakuro's hair, his fingernails scraping against the demon's skull. The brunet cried out as Zakuro ran his thumb across the tip of his erection, his outcry echoing in the forest. Zakuro bent his head and bit down on the side of Goku's neck.

Then Goku was coming, a dry sob escaping him as he did. A few more thrusts and Zakuro followed suit, burying his face against Goku's neck. Panting, the demon let go of both of them, his hand sticky with their mingled release. He glanced up at Goku's red face, seeing the large golden eyes closed, sweat glistening on the brunet's face.

Zakuro slowly straightened up and pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, using it to clean up the both of them. When he was done, he simply let the handkerchief fall to the ground and tucked both of them back in their pants. Goku was still a bit out of it and Zakuro couldn't help but smile and kiss the brunet's forehead. He took a step back and pulled the sutra out from his back pocket. He pressed it into Goku's hand.

"Here you are," Zakuro said softly.

Goku blinked and slowly straightened up, his loose hold on the sutra tightening. He looked at the sutra in his hand and then up at Zakuro. "Thanks," he replied. There was a small pause and then Goku quickly moved in and kissed Zakuro's cheek. Before the demon could do anything, the brunet quickly turned around and ran off into the trees.

Zakuro simply stood there for a moment, a bemused look on his face. Finally, he smiled and picked up his forgotten pack where it was laying on the ground. His smile broadened out into a grin as he began walking.

_____________
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