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Streaks of yellow and red broke through the otherwise muted grey-blue sunrise that greeted Tien’s eyes as he finished his morning meditation- Light reflecting off the gentle waves that lapped at the small shores of Kame house, a cool morning breeze prickling his skin as he slowly sunk back down to earth, his bare feet crunching against the sand as he made his way toward the small pink house’s door.
He presumed everyone else would still be asleep, just as he had left them- Quietly pushing the door open he found he was mostly correct, Chiaotzu and Krillin were still cuddled up, a light snore coming from Krillin. They both looked more like piles of blankets than people dotted around the living room floor, both so small- Though the spot where Yamcha had taken up camp the night before sat empty, only a single blanket left strewn, a pillow next to it.
It wasn’t difficult for him to locate his companion, his eyes landing on crumpled blue and white striped pajamas and mussed dark hair as Yamcha made a cup of coffee, his back to Tien at the kitchen bench. This was becoming sort of a routine between them, Yamcha waking up before the others, the two sharing quiet moments as the sun slowly rose up in the sky, their only companion as they shared breakfast and some quiet words. He found himself tip-toeing towards his new friend. Friend. That term still felt so foreign to him- Chiaotzu was his family, his brother. There was no choice for him when it came to Chiaotzu.
But with Yamcha it was different- He found himself drawn to Yamcha in a way he’d never quite experienced before, he couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly, he just knew that he found himself looking forward to these quiet moments more and more everyday. Times when the others were sparring or sleeping and he had Yamcha wholly to himself, even if it were only for five minutes- Some selfish part of his heart couldn’t help but to hope that maybe the reason Yamcha had seemed to be waking up earlier everyday was because he wanted more of those quiet moments with Tien, too… Though he knew he shouldn’t think such things, they were rivals and competitors… Not to mention the Bulma situation. But still Tien found himself leaning against the kitchen counter, balancing his chin on the palm of his hand as he watched Yamcha sweetly hum to himself as he dumped some sugar into his mug of hot coffee, hissing as some of the boiling liquid struck the skin of his hand- The low chuckle that slipped from between his lips finally alerting Yamcha to his presence. Yamcha’s dark eyes were wide as he turned to face Tien, a white mug adorned with two cats in one hand and a sleepy smile on his lips as he rubbed at his eye-
“Good morning, Tien.” his voice was raspy as he crossed to Tien, the bench standing between them. Small strips of sunlight were breaking through the blinds of the living room, making Yamcha’s black hair look glossy in the morning light, indentations still striped one side of his face from where he had slept against the pillow. The first few buttons of his pajamas were undone, showing more of his chest than he likely realized as he smiled up to Tien, bringing the mug to his soft looking lips. Before he could even register what he was saying, Tien heard himself respond-
“Good morning, handsome.” His voice sounded dreamier than he’d ever heard it before as his words finally sunk in, his cheeks turning red as he watched Yamcha’s face- The mug stilled against his lips as his eyebrows rose at Tien’s words, clearly surprised. His heart thrummed in his chest with embarrassment as he waited for Yamcha to respond. After a painfully long moment Yamcha pulled the mug away from his lips, setting it lightly against the counter top-
“So how was your meditation this morning, handsome ?” There was humor in his voice as he grinned at Tien, a boyish smile so filled with mirth Tien couldn’t help but to smile back, any embarrassment draining away as he met Yamcha’s eyes- Only Yamcha could make him feel so at ease with a simple look.
Only Yamcha... “Same as always.”