"He needs some time alone."
"Then what the hell am I doing?" Yamcha grumbled to himself. He told Goku and the others to leave Tien be after his bout and yet here he was making his way to the medical tent to see him. What would he even say? It wasn't like he had a plan when he left. Just a feeling. One he'd rather repress for a later date. He didn't have much time to dwell on the topic as he nearly ran into someone who walked in front of him. Tien. Wonderful.
"Hey." Yamcha said, mentally backpedaling though half planned conversations he hadn't realized he had been making.
"Shouldn't you be watching the fights?" Tien said. Yamcha shrugged half heartedly.
"Yeah, probably. I just... wanted to make sure you were okay." he said. It was half true. He did want to confirm Tien was alright. That among other things.
"The wound wasn't very deep. There's no permanent damage besides a scar." Tien said, lightly touching the bandages.
"Maybe it'll make you look a cool as mine do." Yamcha said, teasing his friend lightly. Tien had no response. Yamcha shifted in place awkwardly. "So... I was wondering..."
"What?" Tien said curtly. Yamcha took a deep breath. He had to at least try.
"Do you want to talk to someone about what happened?" he asked. Tien was silent for a few moments.
"...Why?" he said quietly.
"Everyone needs to vent sometimes. I don't know exactly what your relationship was with those brothers besides teacher and student but it didn't look happy. I'm not asking you to tell me any of that, though, I just... thought you might want someone to listen." Yamcha explained. More silence. He sighed and turned to walk away. "Offer's open anytime. Just in case."
"Wait."
A hand reached out to grab his arm. Yamcha turned back to see Tien staring down at the ground.
"... I'll take you up on that offer." he said softly.
After debating a good place to sit they settled on one of the many rooftops. It was easy enough to get up to, for them at least, and was the most privacy one could get at a public event outside of a hotel room. The settled into place and kept the quiet for a few minutes. Eventually Tien spoke.
"I haven't told anyone about my past. The only person who I could talk to for a long time was Chiaotzu and he was in nearly the same position growing up. Not much to discuss." he said. "I suppose it could be a good thing to rant a bit."
"Go ahead, you don't have to share anything you're not comfortable with." Yamcha encouraged him. Tien nodded and fiddled a bit with his hands.
"Masters Tao and Shen took me in when I was very young. I don't remember much of my family from before I went with them... I like to think they were nice to me." he said quietly. "After that I was taught the ways of the Crane school. The training was..."
"It's alright, take your time." Yamcha said as he noticed Tien trailing off. Tien nodded again. Then his hands clenched into fists.
"It was horrible. They taught me everything they knew but no one should be taught the way I was. I was constantly losing battles that I had no chance of winning in the first place. I was beaten, bruised, and kicked into the mud every day. All I learned from that was fear. If I feared them then it meant they could control me." he rambled. Yamcha wisely decided not to speak up until Tien was done. He had never heard his friend talk this long or with such anger before. Tien took a second to breathe and then continued.
"I didn't know until after Chiaotzu and I left them just how wrong their training method was. I've tried to move on from it but during the fight... I couldn't help it. For a few seconds I wasn't fighting Tao in the ring. I was a sacred little kid tossed to the ground like nothing. It didn't last long but it threw me off." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I can't forget it no matter how hard I try."
"... that's okay. No one would expect you to put a past like that behind you entirely. It's not a bad thing if you remember it. What's important is that you don't let it control you." Yamcha said after a few moments of careful thought. "And you haven't. You've come so far. What happened today won't change who you've become."
"... I know." Tien said, his voice slightly muffled as he curled himself up even more. "It's the emotions that get to me. Being helpless and scared... I don't want to feel like that anymore."
"No one does. We can't stop it, but... we can be there to support each other." Yamcha said. He gave Tien a light pat on the back that he hoped came across as reassuring. Tien raised his head at last and sat up.
"Thank you. For listening." he said with a faint smile.
"Like I said earlier, offer's open anytime you need it." Yamcha said, returning the smile. "Look at you, talking about your feelings and emoting like a normal human being."
"You must be so proud." Tien said with a chuckle. Yamcha laughed with him.
"Of course I am. I discovered you're not made of stone." he said. "Seriously though, I'm glad you could talk to me about this."
"So am I." Tien said. He looked away for a moment and when he faced Yamcha again his complexion seemed pinker than before. "...Would it be too out of character to ask for a hug?"
"You? Most of the time, yeah, but if you want one... I won't complain." Yamcha said with a nervous laugh.
Mentally he was complaining a lot. He didn't think he'd hugged anybody in his life besides his parents and Bulma. Then there was the added problem of his stupid crush flaring up and the conversation he had overheard earlier. Of course he couldn't let Tien know about any of that so he put on his best supportive smile and extended his arms. For the first few seconds it was like hugging a rock. Tien was stiff and didn't seem to know what to do with his arms. After a while he seemed to sort it out and relaxed a bit.
"Feel better now?" Yamcha asked. Tien pulled him closer in response. Yamcha tried to keep his heart calm. He didn't think a single hug could last this long. By the time the two released each other Yamcha was about ready to leap off the roof so Tien wouldn't see him blushing.
"Thank you." Tien said. He looked away sheepishly. "I guess... I didn't know how much I needed that until it happened."
"I know what you mean." Yamcha said, remembering the first time he had hugged Bulma. He took what had to be his hundredth deep breath that hour and attempted to smirk. "If you ever need another just say so, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks again for... everything." Tien said. Yamcha stood up and stretched.
"No problem. Friends have to be there for each other, right?" he said. He reached out a hand to help Tien up. Tien took it and stood.
'Right." he agreed. Their hands stayed together for what Yamcha realized was much too long a time for just friends. They both let go and directed their gazes elsewhere.
"I'm gonna go watch the fights. You?" Yamcha asked.
"I don't have anything else to do." Tien said with a shrug. They got off the roof and made their way to the arena. Yamcha had to remind himself not to hold Tien's hand on the way there. He was also shocked he had to do that in the first place.
"This day can't end soon enough." he thought to himself as he rejoined the crowd.