Written for LiveJournal's saiyukianonkink commentfic meme. Prompt: Tenpou/Konzen, Beauty in the eye of the beholder; Tenpou brings back a souvenir for Konzen from Down Below.

Below the Surface

"Here," Tenpou said as he handed Konzen a plant in a clay pot. "Something I got the last time I was Down Below. It reminded me of you."

Konzen fumbled and caught the pot just before it would have landed on the floor. "Damn it, Tenpou, warn me, why don't you? What is it?"

A sly look settled on Tenpou's face. "It's a plant."

Konzen examined it closely. It was oblong and lumpy, with needles sticking out of its sides. Purple flowers protruded from the top of each lump.

"Is this a cactus?" He'd seen pictures of a cactus native to the area near the Dimensional Gate, but this didn't much resemble that one. He felt slightly insulted that Tenpou said it reminded him of Konzen.

"Yes. The storekeeper told me it comes from a place far from where I bought it."

"How does it remind you of me?" Konzen put it down on his desk.

"It's prickly on the outside and hard to get close to, but soft on the inside. It's tougher than it looks. It can go a long time without water and still survive. I know it might have sounded like an insult, but it wasn't."

Konzen made a hard to decipher noise in acknowledgment. "There's one thing you haven't thought of, though. Where can I put it where Goku won't hurt himself with it?"

Tenpou looked around. There was no shelf or niche that wasn't within the boy's reach. "Maybe this is how Goku will learn that certain things need to be left alone."

Konzen harrumphed. "You're not the one who'll have to pull the needles out when they get stuck."

"Give it to him to hold and let him feel the needles gently. That might keep him from playing with it."

Konzen looked dubious. "I hope your idea works," he said as the door to his office opened and Goku barreled inside, followed closely by Kenren.

"Konzen!" Goku shouted joyfully. "Ten-chan!"

"Hello to you, too," Tenpou said, smiling and bending over for a hug. Kenren followed with a hand-slapping greeting they'd learned from their sojourns Down Below.

Konzen nodded a greeting and glowered when Goku wrapped his arms around his waist and squeezed. "It's not like you were gone that long," Konzen grumbled once he was able to breathe again.

"Ken-nii-chan and me had a great time!" Goku exclaimed as Kenren tossed a ball from one hand to another.

Tenpou looked at it closely. "That's a softball, isn't it?" Kenren nodded. "Those are difficult to catch without special gloves," Tenpou said, frowning. "Did you break any windows?"

At those words, Konzen wiped his forehead dramatically. "That's all I need," he said, "to have to pay some bigwig for a window Goku broke."

"Ah, not exactly," Kenren said.

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Konzen and Tenpou said in unison.

"He means," Goku crowed, "that he was the one who broke a window. An' it was Kanzeon's window, too."

"She was very gracious about it," Kenren added, defensively.

"I'll bet that she's deducting the cost of the window from your pay," Konzen said. Kenren grinned and shrugged, which was as good as an admission.

Goku pointed at the cactus. "What's this?"

"It's a plant Tenpou bought for me Down Below." He picked it up and pointed to the needles. "See those? They're sharp. If you get too close, they will pierce your skin and hurt, so steer clear, okay? Try not to run into it by accident or on purpose."

Goku reached for the plant. Konzen held onto it, but let Goku touch a needle with a finger. "Ouch," Goku said, and pulled away. "I get it," he told Konzen. "I'll try not to get too close."

Konzen clapped him on the shoulder. "See that you do. I don't want to have to pull one of those out of you with tweezers."

Tenpou crouched down to speak to Goku. "I've heard that there's even an animal called a porcupine that has great big quills."

"What's a quill, Ten-chan?"

"It's like these needles except it's thicker and sturdier, so the point is even more painful."

Goku's eyes were round. Konzen made a noise of protest and said, "Tenpou? Be quiet. You're not helping."

"I'm sorry." Tenpou stood up and hung his head in mock humility.

"No, you're not," Konzen said, elbowing him. "But thank you for saying so. And for the plant."

"Cactus."

"Whatever."

"Can we have dinner now?" Goku asked plaintively. Everyone laughed as they left to go eat.