The Invitation

Hello, how are you all doing? Before I do anything else, I want to say that I don't own Dragon Ball Super or any of its characters, obviously. That right goes to Akira Toriyama.

Now then, this is going to be a semi-short romantic story (about ten chapters, at the most) between Lord Beerus and Lord Liquiir in Beerus' POV. If you don't know or remember who Liquiir is, he's the God of Destruction of the Eighth Universe and he looks like a Japanese kitsune, three tails and all (which can split into nine).

Anyway, without any further ado, enjoy!

While sitting with my legs crossed on a somewhat tall stump overlooking the lake on my planet, the usual place I sit when something bothers me and requires thinking, or simply when I need a place to escape, I quietly sighed in annoyance. At the moment I'm waiting for a celebration that I know isn't going to end well. Only six more hours to go. Damn, Bulma. What's with her? She throws so many parties. It's like every day is a holiday for her.

Normally, I wouldn't care, because parties this large mean a lot of food for me to eat. But she expects me to invite all of the other Gods of Destruction, including the ones we brought back with the Super Dragon Balls. I just got finished fighting them! Give me a break! I barely even like any of them! No, tolerate is a much better word. If they tolerate and barely like me, assuming they like me at all, why should I act all friendly with them?

I understand why I'm not generally liked by my peers. I fell asleep for a decent amount of time...fifty years...during the All-Universe Hide and Seek Tournament, an event held by Grand Zeno, the Omni-King. Understandably, he became furious, and the other Destroyers had to calm him down. Ever since then, everyone began or continued to dislike me. In my defense, I was tired, but I still should have attempted to stay awake. Or, at the very least, quit. I'm not sure the latter was a possible option, but I still should have asked. Hindsight's 20/20.

Anyway, after using my - excuse me, our - wish to revive everyone, I did gain a little more respect. I can't stress how little, though. In order to get Bulma's party guests, I had to make nice and invite everyone myself. In person. Her terrible idea. And some of them didn't make it easy! Champa, for one, because apparently "I owed him one." We brought his fat ass back! If I had it my way...! Damn it, Beerus, keep it together. Of course, Quitela was even more annoying. Like he always is. "Oh, sure, I can go. Just admit I'm better than you in every single aspect, then I might consider going." I was forced to swallow my pride, and by that I mean I ripped it out of myself, tore it up into a million pieces, and flushed it down the toilet.

Forget Goku, Bulma's the luckiest damn mortal in the multiverse! I swear, that human woman has a real choke hold on me. She knows how much I love her planet's delicious food and she happily abuses that fact. I'm clearly aware of this, but everything just tastes too amazing for me to actually do anything about it. Damn the irresistible allure of Earth's cuisines! Ugh, moving on, at least I did have more pleasant experiences with some of the other Destroyers. Lord Liquiir, especially.

Before we had a falling out because of the aforementioned Hide and Seek Tournament, we were pretty close. I'd even say we were friends. I always got along much better with him than any of my other peers. If my most recent memory of him is anything to go by, aside from the food, he's probably going to be the only good thing that happens at this party...

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck as I flew to Liquiir's planet in my Hexahedron. I then sat down with my legs crossed. Unlike with the others, I feel like I have to put a little more thought into this meeting. If I can, I really want to salvage whatever scrap of friendship I have left with him.

When I more or less invited everyone else, I just did everything off the cuff. "Hey, one of the mortals I know wants to have a celebration. If you want to come, I don't care. I'm just letting you know." I am not exaggerating. But I still should put more effort into his invitation.

What should I say, though? How do I approach it in a way that will help remedy our past companionship? I'm not exactly known for my tact, although he already knows this very well. Hm...well, he has always been an understanding and relaxed being. Jovial, even. He might not really care what I say or how I say it. With him, the thought might be enough. I just don't want to mess this up and this may be my last chance.

Actually, no. I'll stop trying so hard and just say what I've said to the others, but with a slight change of words. I stood up and stretched my arms and legs. I then took a look around the vehicle. It's times like this I wonder if Whis not being here is a good thing or a bad thing. He sometimes offers good advice, although most of the time it's annoying, boring, and too long.

There we go, I can see the reflection of my destination, prompting me to turn my head back to look at it more clearly. Liquiir's planet...it's been a long time since I've been here. Because it's the traditional spherical shape, unlike mine and many others, it's a lot bigger than my own. It also has an expansive forest and a very beautiful white sanded beach. I am the proud owner of a lake and a stretch of trees that can barely be qualified as woods. I also have ponds with fish in it and even an aquarium, as does literally everyone else. I'm living the dream!

Even so, there is one key difference between my planet and his: the lower part of mine has a shape similar to a square pyramid flipped upside-down and the top is made of a giant, thick dead tree with a number of buildings on it. That's pretty cool if you ask me. His humble abode is also within a huge tree, but it's actually alive and covered in leaves and flowers and vines and just about anything else you imagine one would have. Furthermore, there are several smaller but still large treetop buildings that make everything up in a nice hexagonal pattern. All of them are connected by wooden walkways and the main structure, his, is in the middle.

It's very impressive. However, its design is fairly common on his planet. His people, the Kitsunians, believe very strongly in nature, a trait that has been passed down to him and kept throughout all these years. I can appreciate nature, but my people, the Sphinxians, were never too big on it. Huh. From what I've heard, he still visits his home world every now and then. Neither I nor Champa has visited our own homeworld in...ever, now that I think about it. As soon as we took the offer to become Destroyers we took it and never looked back.

That's probably one of the reasons why he's loved throughout his universe and when civilizations are visited by him they normally don't think "Damn it, we're dead." He's still the same person he was as when he first became a God of Destruction. He still remembers his roots, no pun intended. Well, he does boast every now and then, but who doesn't every once in a while? Before I get homesick or something, I think it's time to land. There's a building with a landing pad atop of it, so should I go there? My gaze drifted toward the beach.

No, I have a strong feeling that he'll take advantage of the nice day. Now that I think about it, is there anything but a nice day on his planet? It is custom made for him, so I can't imagine that he would choose to have horrible weather like rain or snow or hail. No, if it's anything like mine, it will always be warm and sunny.

I slowed the vehicle down to a stop and proceeded to move backward. The nice thing about the Hexahedron is that it's powered and controlled by ki, allowing for extremely complex and fluid movements, movements no mortal craft can ever hope to achieve. Not that what I'm doing right now is amazing. Most vehicles can move backward. But can mortal transports stop instantly, almost as if all you need to do is blink to stop them? Can they target someone's ki signature and teleport to them? Are they capable of traveling to other universes? I think not. As long as you have ki, the possibilities of your mobility are limitless.

It looks like my assumption was correct: I can see Liquiir himself, lounging in a deep red and black colored beach chair underneath a large matching umbrella. He's reading a book it looks like. He hasn't shown that he's aware of my presence, but he must have sensed me coming from miles away.

Finally, after two hours or so of traveling through space with no breaks, outside contact, and only my thoughts, I made landfall on the soft glittering sand about fifteen feet away from his location. Still no visible reaction from him. I'm a different story.

As soon as I stepped out of the Hexahedron I took a deep breath. Immediately afterward I placed my right paw on my chest. Why is my heart beating faster than usual, even if it's only by a little? Am I really that nervous about this? Even if I am, I can't go back now. I've come too far. I walked toward him, my footsteps feeling heavier by the second.

It's not that I'm nervous, I just feel so awkward! I haven't talked to him in years. Maybe I really should have spent more time on what I'd say to him. The thought of all this tension, at least on my end, being in the air never once crossed my mind. I stopped about five feet away from Liquiir, who still hasn't acknowledged me in any way. Either he's reading the greatest book of all time or he doesn't want me here. I quietly sighed. I really have no idea what to do.

Lord Liquiir: "Hey, Beerus, I know I'm gorgeous, but do you think you could stop staring? You're making me blush," he suddenly said while putting his book down on a small table to his left. Oddly enough, it's between a second beach chair and there are two drinks on it as well. He turned his head and gave me a sly smile. I gave a small one in return. Heh. He's still the same cheeky bastard. Another trait that Kitsunians are notorious for having and has also been passed down to him is their mischievous and often times too playful nature. Still, I'll be damned if he can't get rid of tension.

Lord Beerus: "Of course. Forgive me." He shrugged and waved his right paw dismissively.

Lord Liquiir: "I assure you, I am not offended. So," he started while standing up to face me and crossing his arms with a questioning look, "what brings you here? I have a feeling you didn't show up just to frolic in the waves." Despite his arms being crossed, it's not in any way supposed to be threatening. Like I prefer to have my paws tucked behind my back, which they are right now, his posture of choice is having his arms folded in front of him. It's just how he usually stands.

Lord Beerus: "I-" I started, but no words came out. My original plan was to paraphrase what I said to everyone else, but now I'm having second thoughts. I don't think that it would be appropriate.

Lord Liquiir: "You...?" Liquiir gently pushed.

Lord Beerus: "I...I..." Damn it, when did this get so hard? I gulped and turned my head to the ocean with my eyes closed. Maybe it would be easier to say what I want to say if I'm not looking at him. "I'm...sorry," I said quietly in a kind of struggled voice. I'm not used to sincerely apologizing. I always feel so vulnerable and weak whenever I do.

Lord Liquiir: "Sorry for what?" he asked back. I opened my eyes and looked at him again.

Lord Beerus: "For almost getting all of the universes erased. It was a stupid decision on my part to take a nap in the middle of the tournament." He tilted his head a little to the right and gave a thoughtful hum.

Lord Liquiir: "Wow, you sound so remorseful. Who are you and what did you do with Lord Beerus?" I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his shoulder.

Lord Beerus: "Oh, shut up, you know I can be sorry when I want to be." He chuckled softly and placed his paws on his hips.

Lord Liquiir: "Yeah. When you want to be." I chuckled a little as well in response to that. "Anyway, as much as it annoyed me when that happened, it's not in my nature to hold a grudge for this long. You know that." He suddenly turned around and reached toward the table where his book is and grabbed both drinks from it. He handed one over to me and took a sip of his.

Lord Beerus: "Thank you," I said as I took my own sip. It tastes...very tropical and fruity. It perfectly fits this beach setting.

Lord Liquiir: "You're welcome. As I was saying, as easy as it would be to dislike you, which I could afford since neither of us are going to die anytime soon, what's the point? It feels a lot better to have friends than having enemies." I silently nodded. Even though Quitela doesn't really fall into that category at all, Liquiir does. "Besides," he continued, "you're one of my oldest friends. It would really be a shame to have our friendship ruined forever because of one event."

Lord Beerus: "Yeah, that's true," I agreed. He extended his right arm and raised his glass. I followed suit.

Lord Liquiir: "I'm glad you feel the same way. Cheers."

Lord Beerus: "Cheers." We gently hit our glass cups together.

Lord Liquiir: "Clink!" he said out loud. I smiled. Yeah, definitely still the same. Well, I might as well take another sip...oh, he's not done. "Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink…" He continuously repeated that word while he gently tapped my drink with his again and again. I laughed as I finally pulled my beverage away.

Lord Beerus: "Okay, I get it! Clink!" He joined in the laughter immediately afterward. As annoying as he can be, I've grown used to his antics. He never does them to hurt, only to playfully pester and have fun. That's just the kind of person he is and to be honest, I can't help but have fun with him. His cheerful demeanor is infectious like that. Once our laughter died down, he cleared his throat and motioned for me to have a seat in the chair next to the one he was originally at.

Lord Liquiir: "Would you like to have a seat?"

Lord Beerus: "Don't mind if I do." I eagerly moved to the chair and took my place. It feels good to be in the shade. He lied down alongside me in the opposite one and sighed contentedly.

Lord Liquiir: "Ah, just like old times." I sighed wistfully.

Lord Beerus: "Just like old times." I put my drink down on the table. He did the same. I then looked over at him. "Hey, Liquiir, did you have two of everything set up because you knew that I was coming?" He looked over at me and nodded.

Lord Liquiir: "Uh-huh," he simply answered. I turned my head to look at the sparkling blue ocean and nodded back.

Lord Beerus: "How considerate of you." I placed my paws behind my head, as did he, and sighed deeply. Now, I feel completely relaxed. Ah, yes, that's right. I have been enjoying reconnecting with Liquiir so much I nearly forgot the original reason as to why I came here. "Liquiir, there is another reason why I came here. My team - that is, the team that won the Tournament of Power - is having a party in two days. You're invited if you want to come." From the corner of my eye, I can see him smiling good-naturedly.

Lord Liquiir: "Oh, how little you understand me, even after all of the years we've known one another," he teased. "As if my answer would be anything but a resounding yes." I smiled back.

Lord Beerus: "That's good to hear." I'm glad that this meeting of ours went so well and hopefully, it's a good indication of what's to come.

These Author's Notes are most likely going to be a decent size because I usually have a lot to say and I love talking to people.

With that being said, there we go, I hope you enjoyed reading what can best be described as the prologue. As much as I wanted to add more, I really didn't think that it was necessary. After all, this was meant to ease you in and lay out the foundation.

It's funny because the thought of these two being together romantically just randomly popped into my head one day and I didn't think about it again until several months later. Honestly, I feel like if Lord Beerus was gay, Lord Liquiir would be the most logical boyfriend for him (much better than Whis, if you ask me).

Also, I hope you all like the personality I gave Liquiir, considering in the anime he doesn't have much at the moment. In the manga, he has an amiable nature and I wanted to incorporate that while also making him a bit of a playful smartass. As you know, he's based on a Japanese kitsune, and folklore tends to portray them as being mischievous and whatnot.

Enough of my rambling. Feel free to leave a review telling me your thoughts if you'd like, it would be greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism, positive feedback, any questions you may have, or maybe you even have a possible idea for me to incorporate into this story. Whatever it may be, don't feel shy! This is a positive community and you are always welcome here!

I hope you all enjoyed! Until the next chapter, D.F.T.B.A. (Don't Forget To Be Awesome!) Have an awesome day!