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All the commotion and buzz surrounding the World Tournament’s grounds made it fairly easy to miss hearing or even seeing someone if they either weren’t directly next to you or didn’t have a boisterous megaphone to address everyone. Frankly, that wouldn’t be much of an issue all things considered; Yamcha was only really concerned with making sure Goku and Krillin didn’t get into any trouble while they waited. Other than that, he had nowhere else to wander off to, and because of that he stood by the entrance of the room as his two friends chatted amongst themselves.
Simply waiting for everyone to arrive and get settled so the matches could begin proved to be dull, Yamcha’s eyes occasionally drooping in some attempt to catch a quick nap before anything started. However, such an endeavor would never be achieved when he heard a sharp, loud whistle. Snapping his head up, he looked around briefly to find the source; by the sound of the whistle, someone was definitely trying to get the attention of someone. Maybe their dog wandered away from them, finding itself by the tournament ground now with a concerned owner looking for them.
That certainly would’ve been a much, much more preferable outcome than what actually proved to be the origin of the sound. Spending perhaps twenty minutes getting his legs moving to walk around would’ve been a great way to wake up a little, not to mention the feel-good bonus of helping someone out too.
No, instead, a grating and familiar laugh managed to creep its way out of the crowd of people as Yamcha came to realize the blood-boiling encounter he was about to have. Emerging from the concessions segment of the area with his preternatural pale pal right beside him, Tien was steadily making his way towards him, an aggravating grin plastered on his face. Not only that, but the duo seemed to have helped themselves each to a box of treats.
“I knew you had some weird obsession with dogs, but I didn’t think you’d actually respond like one!” While Tien seemed rather proud of his apparent joke gone right, Chiaotzu only tilted his head up at him, his blank stare doing little to reinforce his ego.
“What’d he do? He just looked at you,” he asked before reaching into the small biscuit box he held in his hand, pulling out a strawberry-frosted cookie as he began to nibble away at it.
At that, Tien’s confidence began to teeter as he looked down to his partner. “I’ll explain later…” he mumbled, quickly forgetting Yamcha’s presence.
“If you’re done with your lame stand-up act, is there an actual reason you wanted to bother me?” Readily resuscitating his arrogant aura, Tien straightened up and rattled the small red box in his hand. While it was just a tiny box of treats, for some reason Yamcha found himself feeling cautious. Then again, anytime Tien was around Yamcha would feel his muscles tense.
Taking bold steps to where Yamcha stood, Tien began removing the simple seal around the box’s top. “Calm down- you should be grateful I’m even bothering with a whelp like you. I just wanted to play a little game to pass the time.”
Already twenty seconds into seeing each other and Yamcha already wanted to knock Tien’s teeth in. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be worth a disqualification from the tournament to do that, so instead he gritted his own. “What makes you think I want to do anything with you?”
“Right- because standing around and taking naps is so much better.”
“You stalking me or something? Just leave me alone already.” Admittedly, Yamcha was a bit curious as to what the game Tien brought up was, and it surely couldn’t be too bad. Had it been literally anyone else however, Yamcha would’ve already jumped at the opportunity to do anything but take naps as Tien pointed out. But weighing the pros and cons didn’t help much: by playing whatever game awaited him, he’d kill time, sure. But then he’d have to spend more than a minute with Tien, and he was certain his patience could only be tested for so long.
Tien pulled out the white packet from within the box, ripping it open before producing a chocolate variant of Chiaotzu’s treat. “It’s not stalking when you’re sleeping right in front of the gate, stupid. Now are you going to play or not?”
Having the biscuit out, Yamcha’s confusion festered further. Curiosity was a death-gripping demon, it seemed, for he couldn’t stop himself from asking and inadvertently agreeing to participate. “Not until you tell me what kind of game needs a pretzel to play.”
“It’s not a pretzel, idiot,” Tien admonished as he tapped the treat on the tip of Yamcha’s nose. “Were you raised in the woods for you to not even be able to tell the difference between a pretzel and a biscuit?”
“Does it matter? Just tell me the rules so you can get out of my face.”
Somehow, the grin on Tien’s face seemed to widen and become more irritating to look at. “It’s pretty simple, I’m sure even you can understand.” Through with his insults for now, Tien placed a side of the biscuit in his mouth before continuing to explain around it. “We each put one end of the stick in our mouths and start eating. Whoever backs out first loses.”
Once Tien was done explaining, Yamcha immediately grimaced. “I said I wanted you out of my face, not two inches away from it! I’m not playing something as lame as that.”
“So you’re a chicken?”
“What!?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t speak chicken.” Tien cupped his hand around his ear, leaning further into Yamcha’s personal space. “Could you say that again?”
Yamcha felt his tolerance diminish, pushing Tien away with just enough force to keep him at a distance. “Shut up! I’m not a chicken!”
From his peripheral, Yamcha could see Chiaotzu shift his stance to better face him. Even if he was shorter, looking right at Chiaotzu’s eyes proved to be an intimidating feat. His stare was long and crushing- Yamcha wasn’t too sure why he was still looking when his business was with Tien.
He was just about to avert his gaze when Chiaotzu lifted a finger now free of any food to point directly at him, his expression unwavering. “Chicken.”
Yamcha’s shock was undoubtedly evident by the slack jaw and raised brows; the inability to get Tien’s first taunt led Yamcha to believe his friend would be better mannered- or at least he couldn’t comprehend jeers and wouldn’t egg him on. But instead, he was not only given the pleasure of being called a chicken by two freaks, but he was also given the pleasure of hearing one of those freak’s grating laughters again.
“What’d I tell you? You’re just a big ol’ chicken- not that I’m surprised, though.” Turning away, Tien began to walk off, stick still dangling from his mouth. “I’ll see you later then- unless you decide to wimp out of the tournament too.”
With his restraint finally snapped in half, Yamcha stumbled after Tien, grabbing him by the shoulder and jerking him around. “Ugh, just shut up already! Your voice is so annoying.”
“You’re playing, then?” With a heavy sigh, all Yamcha could do was nod. Pinching the other end of the biscuit, he stepped closer and brought it to his mouth.
Catching up to the two, Chiaotzu stood between them and looked up. Raising his arm, he held it in the air for a moment until a sufficient amount of time passed, then choosing to chop it downward. “Go!”
At Chiaotzu’s call, both boys began eating away at their respective sides, and with the passion to outdo the other they made quick work through the treat.
He’s going to stop any second now, Tien judged as the distance between them decreased. He better, anyway.
Chiaotzu’s voice found its way inside of Tien’s mind through his telepathy, beginning to voice his concern about the state of their competition. I don’t think he’s going to, Tien. He’s getting really close.
They couldn’t have been more than an inch away from each other at this point, neither players slowing down in their chewing.
No, watch. He’s just about to-
The idea that someone could stop thinking mid thought never crossed Tien’s mind, but that day he learned such a thing could happen as he felt Yamcha’s lips shamelessly press against his own in a vain attempt to eat more of the treat. Shock froze them both as their eyes widened and their cheeks flushed. Chiaotzu didn’t seem to understand the apparent severity of the situation and only looked between the two, attempting to deduce a winner.
“It’s a draw.”
Chiaotzu’s decision wrangled Tien and Yamcha back from whatever out-of-body experience they just had, Tien effectively shoving Yamcha onto the ground and away from him. The result of the contest proved to be meaningless at this point. “Gross! Why didn’t you back out!?”
From the ground, Yamcha rubbed his forearm against his mouth, mutual disgust strewn about his face. “I told you I wasn’t a chicken! Why didn’t you back out, huh!?”
Despite the raging disdain between each other, neither of them spoke any more nor made an attempt to leave the site. More so, their expressions softened the smallest bit, the atmosphere going from frustrating dubiety to mild embarrassment. Chiaotzu’s uncertainty broke the silence yet again. “Now what?”
Now what was a good question. The risk of trying to play again would be sharing another kiss, and Yamcha already felt guilty about the first accident. The alternative was coming to some agreement that they were on equal footing- an agreement both boys weren’t ready to fathom.
“Get up, we’re playing again. Neither of us are leaving until we have a winner!” Tien decided, already fishing out another stick and placing it in between his teeth.
Yamcha could practically feel the devil and angel of his consciousness spawn on his shoulders as he debated whether to accept or not. Even if it was just a kiss, the feeling of betrayal sweltered inside of him. On top of that, but the kiss was with Tien of all people. Then again, it was just a kiss- and it wasn’t even intentional. And it’s not like it would happen again, right? More importantly, Yamcha’s pride and dignity was on the line. If he couldn’t best Tien in a silly challenge like this, then how could he even look at himself without shame?
Happy- or at least content with his final choice, Yamcha stood up and brushed himself off as he once again approached Tien and placed the other end into his mouth.
The scene repeated with Chiaotzu raising his arm and permitting the start of the game, neither Tien or Yamcha allowing last round’s mistake to stall their speed.
It’s not going to happen again. It’s not going to happen again, Yamcha reassured himself as the two returned to being uncomfortably close to each other’s faces, belief in that the other would drop out being the only motivation for continuing.
Much to their dismay, the match concluded with the same results, only this time Tien’s lips pressed against Yamcha’s in earnest to be the winner. The separation was more natural this time, Tien and Yamcha slowly retracting before pointing accusingly at one another. “You… did it again…”
“It was a draw. Again.” Even if Chiaotzu’s tone seemed neutral, his befuddlement somehow made itself apparent. Instead of diving back into the box for another stick and preparing another round, Tien just stood there and stared at Yamcha.
Whatever hate-filled rivalry they had going on fizzled to the back of his mind. It wasn’t that he enjoyed kissing him, far from that. You couldn’t even call that a kiss: a peck was more appropriate. But it wasn’t the worst experience of his life- which wasn’t hard considering his upbringing at the Crane School. What was more significant was that it was technically the first kiss Tien's ever gotten, never mind the fact he never expected to get a first kiss at all.
His mind began to wander as he wondered if Yamcha had ever kissed anyone before too. Were they each other’s first kisses? Maybe not. Yamcha was fairly attractive, surely he’s had at least one partner in his life. No, “attractive” was a bad choice of words. Yamcha wasn’t ugly. That’s it: there wasn’t anything weird about saying someone wasn’t ugly. Saying someone was attractive? That was a whole different ball park. Yes, he was a loser in every department but the looks department. Even then, Tien was able to look at him without wanting to vomit. At least not because of his physical appearance.
“...You said we were going to keep playing until we got a winner right?” With the voice of his mind’s captor finally speaking up, Tien properly focused on Yamcha’s face to talk to him instead of evaluate him. From the looks of it, Yamcha didn’t look upset or bothered. He looked indifferent, actually- casual even about their circumstances.
Blinking the remnants of his thoughts away, Tien attempted to recover his patronizing personality, fingers dipping back into the box to start a third round. “Y-yeah. I’m surprised you were even able to understand what I said.”
The subsequent minutes were spent in a vicious cycle of ties, the pace of their mutual eating becoming slower with each stick. Their “competition” didn’t exude the same heated and ambitious energy it did at the start. Now the pair only seemed concerned with anticipating the other’s lips as they hopelessly ate away at the treat and expected a different outcome.
With the most recent round concluding, Tien attempted to grab another stick to start up one more game but found the box suddenly empty. Just to reassure the three of them, he turned the box upside down and tapped it, only crumbs dribbling out. “I guess we’re out.”
Yamcha muttered a quiet oh as he stood awkwardly, not sure of what to do next. The inevitable silence returned as no one thought of what to do next- at least until Chiaotzu rattled his own box and presented it to the two. “I have some left if you wanna go again.”
“No, Chiaotzu. That’s fine,” Tien quickly denied, beginning to usher Chiaotzu the other away. “That’s yours. Plus we’ve already wasted enough time with this bozo, right?”
“I thought you were having fun-”
“We’ll see you later! Don’t you go running away now, alright!?” Firmly interrupting Chiaotzu, his face becoming beat red, Tien exited the area with Chiaotzu, disappearing into the crowd and leaving Yamcha alone once more.
Now that Tien and Chiaotzu left, Yamcha wasn’t too aware of what to do with himself. However, if there was one thing he was aware of, however, it was that his time was spent much better than he originally thought it would be.