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Shifting in the spot he had laid for hours, the earth underneath him warm from his broad body, Tien tried to hang on to his last thread of unconsciousness- He wasn’t certain why but something was gnawing at his contented sleep, almost as though a silent hand was being waved over his sleeping face- Opening his third eye, he was met by clear dark skies, stretching as far as the eye could see. No looming buildings with bright lights- Just a quiet darkness, the only thing suppressing his view of the stars being the overhanging brush of the old growth trees that lined the small clearing they’d set up camp in- The night was oddly still, winter finally quieting the many bugs that had sung him and his companions to sleep throughout the long summer. Now it was simply peaceful. And yet he still found something in his consciousness tugging him awake.
Cracking all of his eyes open he turned his head to check on Chiaotzu, a habit as natural as blinking for him by this point- Typically when he got these feelings it involved Chiaotzu- But this time he was simply met with the image of his small friend peacefully asleep, a hand raised above his capped head, the other resting on his little belly- His face slack with sleep. Krillin appeared to be just as peaceful alongside Chiaotzu, the small monk curled into a neat ball beside the remnants of the long-gone fire. That only left Yamcha-
Rolling to his right, Tien braced an elbow as he peered at the man laying a few feet away from him- At first he believed Yamcha was asleep too, eyes closed and body still but as he watched his friend- the way he tightly braced his arms across his chest, his eyes were squeezed unnaturally tight- it suggested anything but a peaceful sleep.
“Yamcha?” Tien spoke lowly, voice still thick with sleep, barely a whisper in the night.
He watched as Yamcha turned toward him, his eyes opening as he met Tien’s gaze across their short distance-
“Tien?” He answered, not a hint of sleep in his quiet voice.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” They’d be getting up in a mere few hours-
“It’s too cold.” Yamcha answered quietly-
Suddenly Yamcha’s posture, the way he braced his arms tightly across his chest- made sense, he was trying to warm himself. Mulling this over in his mind, Tien found himself speaking without really thinking- His deep voice addressing Yamcha, “Well go to sleep and then you won’t be cold.” He spoke matter-of-factly.
“I can’t-” Yamcha answered instantly, moving a hand to swipe the dark hair from his forehead- “I’ve been trying for hours-” There was a certain hopelessness to Yamcha’s voice that Tien couldn’t help but to note as he watched his sleepless companions face- the down turn of his mouth, the way his dark eyes still shined in the night as they stared up into the dark sky- Though he didn’t know everything about Yamcha’s past, he had learnt of Yamcha’s youth in the desert- Puar regaling them all with tales of the great Lord Yamcha and his time amongst the dunes of Diablo desert-
“I suppose you’re not used to the cold, being from the desert and all.” Tien spoke slowly as he re-positioned himself to be more comfortably laying on his side, eyes trained on Yamcha as they so naturally seemed inclined to be- He hated to admit it, but he often found himself getting lost when he looked at Yamcha- at the way his dark hair had the slightest chocolate tinge under the sunlight, the tanned glow of his sun kissed skin, how Yamcha’s eyes crinkled in such a way when he smiled up at Tien, lighting up his whole face- It was all very distracting.
Yamcha spoke again, though his eyes still stared upward, allowing Tien to watch him unencumbered-
“No- It would actually get freezing at night in the desert. A kind of cold that-” Yamcha pursed his lips, clearly deciding on how to explain- “It’s this kind of cold that's so piercing it sinks down into your bones. Honestly I think the cold nights probably killed more lost travelers than the searing heat- But maybe that’s just because I’m partial to the sun- I always tend to side with it.” He trailed off, a small smile playing at the edge of his mouth, his eyes glanced over Tien, though his gaze was far away- “But I shouldn’t keep you up just because I can’t sleep.” Yamcha’s voice had the slightest air of guilt-
It was something Tien had noticed about him, the way he would apologize or pull himself up, as though someone was going to scold him for being too chipper- For speaking. “It’s fine, Yamcha.” Tien tried to imbue his voice with warmth, something that Yamcha seemed to do naturally- In all honesty he was more than happy to lose sleep if it meant learning a little more about Yamcha- Not that he’d readily admit such a thing- Tao and Shen had always told him the less he knew the better, not to get attached- It was a hard lesson to shake. Though he was trying.
“Go on-” He waved a hand breezily, encouraging Yamcha to keep talking.
“We used to get these wild sunsets sometimes, usually if there was a dust storm off in the distance. I always called them blood sunsets when I was a little kid-” There was a wistful smile on Yamcha’s face as he raised a hand, almost as though he was tracing the memory of the sunset in his mind- “The sky would be almost blood red and I would lay out on these big stones that were set into the earth and just absorb the last of the days warmth as the sky slowly trailed away into black- And just when it seemed so dark that it would almost feel as though there’d never be light again, the stars would come out- That’s the thing about my desert, you could always see the stars.” Yamcha smiled in earnest as his hand continued tracing something Tien couldn’t see- “I would try to map the constellations.” Yamcha’s eyes peered up through the overgrowth, looking toward the low shine of the stars above and Tien couldn’t help but to imagine him- A small boy, his dark hair wild- a front tooth missing as he laid out on a flat rock like a lizard, absorbing the warmth of the day- A small blue cat laying by his side as they tried to map the stars above. Even he couldn’t help but to smile at the image.
“I’m sure you and Puar were a handful-” Tien’s voice was mirthful as he spoke-
“Puar?” Yamcha quirked a brow, looking toward Tien- “This was long before Puar.” He smiled- “I was just a kid.”
“I thought you two-” Tien supposed he’d just assumed they’d been together for at least as long as he and Chiaotzu had been together. “Grew up together.”
“Well I suppose we have, I think I was 14 when I found Puar- Before that though…” He trailed off, absently rubbing his arms as though hit with a sudden chill- “It was just me, really.” Yamcha pursed his lips again, the smile slipping from his face.
“Do you… have family?” Tien hadn’t meant to speak his thoughts out loud- though the question was certainly permeating his mind- He himself didn’t know much of his younger years, the memories slipping away as surely as sand slips through an hourglass. Though Tao and Shen were unforgiving masters Tien had never regretted being raised under their tutelage, for that was how he came to know Chiaotzu- Chiaotzu was his anchor, his companion- Tien was never truly alone, not when he had his brother by his side. He still couldn’t help but to wonder about Yamcha...
“Not really- I mean I consider Puar to be my family now and…” His voice stopped short, clearly uncertain in whatever words he’d been about to speak- “Panchy and Dr. Briefs have been very kind.” He finished awkwardly- “But as for a family of my own? No, I never had one. There was an orphanage in the city just south of Diablo desert, I lived there when I was small but they weren’t… It wasn’t a family- We were street kids and they treated us as such- Not that there were many of us to begin with-” Bringing a hand up to run through his hair Yamcha continued on, almost as if he was choosing his words carefully- “It wasn’t a kind place to say the least…”
Tien felt lost for words, momentarily incapable of speaking as he watched Yamcha’s handsome face, the happy mask slipping to reveal a deep loneliness he’d never quite seen in his friend before- He was also so easy with his smiles- So kind and giving… Tien had never stopped to consider that may have been born from a deep set loneliness... Though he supposed that would make sense for Yamcha- Of all the people he’d known, Yamcha would be the one to take heartache and turn it into a bright spark he used to help warm the others around him, only to be left laying awake in the cold of night- Alone.
He couldn’t help but to imagine Yamcha, just as he had before- Tiny and wild haired, dirt and sand etched into his tanned skin- a mammoth desert shrouding his tiny body in darkness as he lay alone, tracing the stars in the night sky as the heat of the stone beneath him slowly dissipated, the cool night air sinking into his bones as the boy simply continued tracing the stars, knowing that no one would be calling him in for supper or telling him to grab a coat- The image made Tien feel as chilled to the bone as Yamcha had surely been feeling all those years ago- Tien knew he should say something. That he should speak words of comfort to his friend- To ask if he was okay or if there was anything Tien could do for him. But he simply laid still watching as a shiver rippled down Yamcha’s body- His companion staring blankly up at the night sky, lost in a memory Tien could never truly know.
“I-” Words wouldn't come and it made his stomach twist- how many times had Yamcha offered him comfort? Even mere days after he had brutally broken his leg- Yet Tien couldn’t open his mouth to talk with his friend, to ask if he was okay- He watched as Yamcha turned to face him, a weak smile on his lips-
“It’s alright Tien- you don’t have to say anything.” Even now, in this moment of vulnerability Yamcha was still checking on him. Comforting him.
He watched as another shiver wracked Yamcha’s body, the hairs on his bare arms standing on end- Doing the only thing he could think to do, Tien reached an arm out toward Yamcha- “Here.”
“Hmm?” Yamcha’s head drifted to look at Tien, quirking a brow at his outstretched arm- He sat up against his elbow, watching Tien with a perplexed look-
“What?” He asked, staring down at Tien’s open arms.
Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Tien could feel his cheeks heat as he slowly opened his mouth, making his offer clear-
“Just until you get warm.” He answered Yamcha’s question, opening his arms further- An invitation.
Yamcha watched him for a moment, teeth pressing into his soft bottom lip- All too distracting as far as Tien was concerned-
“Just till I’m warm?” He reiterated- Tien simply grunted, nodding his head.
“C’mon, I’m tired- You must be too.” He finished gruffly, arms still reaching out to man beside him-
Tentatively Yamcha sat up, shuffling toward him, though it was hard to tell Tien was quite sure Yamcha had a blush to match his own- Which somehow only made his own blush feel hotter. He could only hope Yamch didn’t notice. Stopping short for a moment, Tien worried Yamcha was going to say no to his offer after all, but it soon became clear that he was gaging how he should lay.
The notion of Yamcha in his arms, face to face had his heart pounding- He wasn’t quite sure he could handle such an intimate embrace, the image of Yamcha’s teeth against his bottom lip from a moment ago still seared behind his eyelids. Fortunately once he was within arms length, Yamcha turned his back to Tien, slipping between the embrace of his arms as he laid on his side-
Yamcha’s body was pressed flush to his own- His back against Tien’s stomach, Tien’s knees resting against the crook of Yamcha’s own as he lightly wrapped his arms around Yamcha’s waist, barely holding him in place- Two cold hands shyly reached for his own, wrapping themselves around his hands, pulling them further up the rough material of Yamcha's gi until they met bare skin- Tien could feel the heavy thrum of the heart that laid beneath his hands- Lightly he pressed his nose to the crown of Yamcha’s head, taking in the woodsy scent of his hair-
He could offer this much.