"I can't dance. "
Usually such an excuse would work fine. Whomever asked would go find someone else. At least, that's what Tien thought, but it seemed his friend was determined to prove him wrong.
"C'moooon Tien, there's no one else for me to ask." Yamcha complained. "The music is good, I'm not too drunk, and there's plenty of time."
"First of all, you are very drunk, don't deny it. Secondly, you could ask one of those girls." Tien countered, pointing to a gaggle of young women that Roshi had somehow brought with him to the party. Yamcha grimaced.
"But I wanna dance with yooou..." he whined. He reached out and grabbed Tien's hand. "I can teach you, okay?"
"No, you will not." Tien said firmly. Yamcha pouted and sat down in the closest chair.
"You know, you could use this as a way to tell him how you feel." Tien supressed a blush as he heard Chiaotzu's suggestion in his mind.
"I can handle this by myself." he thought back. It was true he'd realized recently that his feelings for Yamcha went beyond that of a friend, but he refused to bring it up, lest he ruin their relationship. Then again, Yamcha was acting unusually clingy, and still hadn't let go of Tien's hand yet.
"Are you ssssuuurrreee?" Yamcha slurred. Tien sighed. Yamcha was stubborn at the best of times, and drunk, he was worse. Either Tien danced with him or he'd never have a moments peace for the rest of the night.
"Fine." Tien said, standing. Yamcha grinned in a way that could only be called "doofy". He took charge and led Tien onto the dance floor. Tien couldn't help but notice that they were quickly becoming the center of attention. He tried not to blush and failed miserably.
"So, are you going to teach me how to dance or what?" he asked. Yamcha nodded with determination, took a deep breath, and nearly tripped over his own feet. Tien hastily supported him. Yamcha wobbled for a bit before remaining upright.
"Okay... fiiirrssstt, you step... this way!" he declared with confidence as he took a swinging step to the left. Tien followed the movement, albeit less exaggerated, and waited for the next instruction.
The rest of their ballroom debut continued in the same fashion. Yamcha would announce the next move, attempt to make it, and Tien would help on the follow through. After around three songs, Tien could tell that while his dancing may have gotten better, Yamcha was beginning to slip into "sad drunk" mode. He carefully led Yamcha off the dance floor and onto a chair.
"There, we danced, happy?" Tien said. Yamcha, despite his mood drop, still beamed.
"Thank yooouuu..." he mumbled, pulling Tien's hand to bring him in closer. "I gotta tell you something."
"What is it?" Tien asked, leaning in.
"You... are a really good dancer." Yamcha whispered, as if he was telling Tien a secret. Tien mentally berated himself for getting his hopes up for anything beyond drunken babble. He should have known it wasn't anything romantic.
"You're a good teacher." he replied. Yamcha smiled brightly.
"Aww, thanks! I'm so proud of you." he mumbled. "You're such a good friend..."
"Uh... Thank you." Tien said with a small blush. He hadn't expected Yamcha to hit his "emotional drunk" stage so soon. Yamcha continued smiling.
"Ya wanna know something?" he asked.
"What is it?"
"I reeeaalllyyy like you."
Tien could have sworn his heart skipped a couple of beats. He blushed darker and chose his next words carefully.
"I like you too. That's why we're friends, right?" he said tentatively. Yamcha pouted.
"Noooo, I mean... REALLY like you. As in, "I've been flirting with you for nearly ten years, but you didn't notice so I kinda gave up, but the feeling won't go away" kinda like you." Yamcha admitted. He looked down at the table dejectedly. "I mean, s'not like you feel the same way..."
"I do!" Tien exclaimed. Both of them fell silent and stared at each other for a moment. Tien internally screamed at himself for blurting it out like that. Yamcha was wide eyed, and much more alert, despite his drunkness.
"You... what?" he said quietly, eyes wide, as if Tien had suddenly declared he was a god or something. Tien ducked his head down and sunk into his chair, face redder then a cherry.
"I feel the same way you do... or at least very similarly. I've been trying to keep quiet about it because I didn't want to ruin our relationship. Just in case you didn't return my feelings, y'know? I should have spoken up, but..." He trailed off, not sure how else to put it, and fell silent again.
After a second or two, he felt a gentle hand brush his cheek, tipping his chin upwards. He raised his head to see Yamcha sitting right in front of him, face pink, and a vaguely familiar look in his eyes. Tien had seen that look before. Almost twenty years ago, when Yamcha had been dating Bulma, he often had the same expression. Affection? Attraction? Maybe love? What word best described it?
Tien's train of thought was cut off when he suddenly felt someone else's lips on his own. He was being kissed. By Yamcha. Not the direction he thought the night would go, but it was safe to say, he wasn't complaining.
"Listen, I - " he started to say once they parted, but Yamcha cut him off by going in for a kiss on the neck, earning him a surprised gasp from Tien.
"Shut up and let me kiss you, Crane bastard. " Yamcha mumbled. He wrapped his arms around Tien and pulled him closer.
Tien, meanwhile, was feeling quite close to a panic attack. Mainly because Yamcha felt the same as he did, Yamcha had kissed him, and was now kissing his neck and if he hadn't fallen for this man before he was definitely in deep now and hold on were those teeth he was feeling?
As it turns out, his panicked train of thought was right, as Yamcha steadily transitioned from "emotional drunk" to what could be described as "needy drunk". ( Or as others may call it, "Horny drunk" )
"As much as I appreciate you two finally admitting your feelings, you're starting to make a scene."
Tien pushed Yamcha back a little bit to see who was talking to them. ChiChi was standing a few feet away, arms crossed, but smiling. Tien blushed harder, if such a thing was possible, and and cleared his throut.
"Sorry, we'll stop, right Yamcha?" Tien said apologetically. Yamcha finally relenquished his hold on Tien and turned to face ChiChi.
"I've got a boooyfrieend." he declared happily. ChiChi laughed softly.
"I can see that. I'm glad you're happy. Just keep in mind that you're in public." she said. She gave them both a sly wink and walked off. Yamcha giggled a bit and cuddled his way back to Tien's side.
"You ARE my boyfriend, right?" he asked. Tien smiled and kissed his forehead softly.
"Yeah, I am." he reassured him. Yamcha grinned wider and relaxed his grip slightly.
The two stayed close to each other for the rest of the party, holding hands whenever they could, and Tien found that he had never been happier. Sure, there were things they'd need to talk about later, especially if Yamcha turned out to be a blackout drunk. For the moment, however, all thoughts of the future were put aside. All Tien wanted to do now was focus on the present, focus on the man he loved, as they danced in the moonlight.