Hakkai was starting to regret that night as well, among other things. In some way, he regretted that Gojyo had found him bleeding in the rain. Death would've been so much easier, after all.

When had the life of Cho Hakkai ever been easy?

.. no. One thing he'd been trying to learn was to live in the here and now. Life was too short and painful to expect things that one didn't deserve, and Hakkai hadn't deserved happiness in a long time. Maybe a night or two at a time, but never more than that. His life wasn't made to allow for happiness. It only made things harder.

Glancing over at the redhead, he kept his gaze as neutral as he could manage.

"I never thought I'd hear you say something like that after the time you found me in the library."