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"So, that'll be one chocolate milkshake?" the friendly waiter said, Tien glancing away nervously as Yamcha nodded.
"Sure will!" Yamcha said with a smile. "Oh, could you put two cherries on it instead of one? I like those."
The waiter chuckled. "Absolutely, sir. Anything for you, sir?" the waiter asked, motioned towards Tien.
"No, thank you," Tien said, voice firm but utterly obvious that he was embarassed at something the waiter couldn't see. Yamcha snickered.
"Don't worry about him. Thank you for takin' our order," Yamcha said with an ever-familiar grin. Tien hissed a 'shut up' at him at this, batting Yamcha's arm as he snickered. The waiter tried holding back a chuckle before nodding and moving back to the kitchen. Tien kept his stare up, frowning. Yamcha raised an eyebrow, amused as he rested his cheeks in his hands. "What's up, buttercup?" he said sarcastically, trying not to laugh as Tien's red-cheeked scowl deepened.
"I'm not a buttercup. And quit trying to embarass me," Tien said, looking away and voice huffy.
Yamcha sighed dramatically. "But it's fun to tease you! You get all puffy and snippy and.. and.. and ooh!" he said, whining and twiddling his fingers outward on the 'ooh' for visual emphasis. Tien's scowl broke, eyebrows furrowing as he snorted.
"'And ooh? " Tien snickered in confused amusement, three eyes glancing to Yamcha's face as he then began to laugh. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Yamcha giggled, shrugging a bit forcefully. "You get like, all pissy! That stupid little scowl you give!That's what 'ooh' is!" he laughed, having no better way to explain it. All three of Tien's eyes rolled as he put his head in his hands, giggling.
"And ooh. Remind me to ask Chiaotzu about that," Tien said deadpan, muffled from his hands even though Yamcha could hear that dumb damn grin on his face.
"Oh, c'mon! Don't you have a way to describe me in, like.. a way that doesn't involve spoken language?" Yamcha asked in amusement, laying his hands down over the table. Tien suddenly moved his hands away, eyebrows raised as he smirked to the right.
"Uh, well, I'd say that that's already been done," Tien said quietly, Yamcha able to tell that he wasn't lying.
"..Huh? When?" Yamcha asked, curious. Tien looked at him, deadpan.
"Does 'punishment game' ring a bell, dipshit?" Tien said blankly, Yamcha immediately jolting in his seat and going red.
"Not what I meant! Shut up, oh my god!" Yamcha said loudly, immediately swatting the air in front of Tien as the waiter came with one solitary milkshake. The waiter was blissfully unaware, at least, Yamcha hoped he was, of the conversation that just occured as he set the large, ice-cream-beverage filled glass down. As requested, there was swirls of store-bought spray cream and two maraschino cherries on top.
"Oo, cherries," Yamcha commented without thinking. Tien snorted.
"Here you go, sir. Enjoy your drink. If you need anything, let me know," the waiter said happily.
Yamcha, however, did need something.
"Uh, yeah-- actually, could I have another straw, please? I like having an extra one just in case. I'm weird," Yamcha said, wishing like hell he could wink at Tien as a joke. It'd give it away, though, so he refrained.
"Oh, uh, absolutely!" the waiter said politely, pulling out a packaged straw from their apron and setting it on the table. "Will that be it?"
"Looks great, thanks!" Yamcha chippered, the waiter smiling and nodding before moving back off to the kitchen.
As Yamcha turned to face Tien, he noticed such an.. embarrassed look on Tien's face. He was nearly sweating, the poor man, obviously literally facing something that he's definitely never done before. The awaited, very new moment; Two Idiots Share a Milkshake Like In the Movies!
"I'm fine," Tien said, almost too sure of himself as his cheeks still burned. Yamcha rolled his eyes, sighing a bit deeply in amusement.
"You were right when you said you never dated before. Jesus," Yamcha smirked, eyes drifting off to his left.
"Hey! Shut up!" Tien nearly yelled, Yamcha gently kicking his leg under the table.
"Take it easy, big guy, we're in public," Yamcha snickered, leaning in to whisper. Tien immediately blinked, those eyes suddenly softening in a way that Yamcha loved, before he took a deep breath in.
"Yeah. You're right. It's.. it's just a milkshake. The milkshake we talked about in heaven," Tien said, honestly more to himself than to Yamcha.
"The milkshake we talked about in heaven," Yamcha repeated with a comforting smile. Suddenly, Tien glanced up. His eyes were vulnerable and firm, and Yamcha realized just how long Tien had waited for this.
It was a stupid action for him, sure, yet.. it was all Tien had to look forward to on King Kai's. Aside from Chiaotzu, well, it wasn't like anyone was going to be waiting for him asides for maybe Launch. The man he cared about the most had disappeared to another realm of existence, far far away, and wasn't to be seen until a year of his life had withered away.
All for a milkshake.
Yamcha felt the hurt once more, almost an empty pang of the tinsel-blue void he felt when he had died. He slid his hand to Tien's, which was laying on the table, and softly held it.
"You wanna take first sip? I think you'll like it," Yamcha said quietly, smiling fondly into that unsure, gentle face.
Tien grinned, a soft chuckle bubbling from his chest.
"I'd love to."