Nightmares you can't remember are sometimes worse than the ones you do. Rather than recalling exactly what you saw you awaken with a vague feeling of sadness and distress without knowing why. This feeling wasn't anything new to Yamcha. After everything he had been through in his life a few bad dreams were to be expected. It had never been this bad though. He'd woken up in a disoriented panic with no memory of why. It didn't help that he was in a cave for some reason. After a few seconds reality set in. He was in the cave because Tien had brought him there. Tien had brought him there because he found Yamcha wandering the mountains in the rain. Yamcha had been wandering the mountains because... right. Bulma. The fight. Yamcha slumped and put his head in his hands as everything came back to him. Then he raised it again. He might as well see where he was before anything important happened.

A quick look down revealed he was indeed on the floor of the cave. He was covered in what seemed to be a light blanket at first glance but upon a closer look it was a coat of some kind. He confirmed this as he lifted the fabric up and saw sleeves. He also saw the symbol sewn onto it. It was Tien's for sure. That meant the borrowed clothes he was wearing belonged to Tien as well. Yamcha ignored the warmth this fact brought to his cheeks and looked around the rest of the cave. His own clothes were drying on a nearby rock. There was evidence of a fire and still asleep close to it was Chiaotzu. The rest of the cavern was barren save for a few bags. He glanced down at his hand, sore from punching the cliff the day before, and noticed it was bandaged.

"You're awake."

Yamcha jumped slightly and quickly turned to look behind him. Tien was sitting a few feet away. No, not sitting, Yamcha realized. Levitating. Tien lowered himself back down to the ground and then stood up. "How are you feeling?"

"How do you think?" Yamcha grumbled. He hadn't meant to sound rude but he wasn't in the best of moods. Tien knelt down next to him. After a few seconds of silence between them Yamcha sighed. "... I'm better than last night. Not by much but I think getting some sleep helped."

"That's good to hear. You scared me, y'know." Tien said. Yamcha raised an eyebrow.

"I did?" he asked. Tien raised his own brow in response.

"I find one of my closest friends alone in the rain bloodied and crying in the middle of the mountains. How should I feel about that?" he said with the smallest hint of sarcasm. His expression shifted to a more serious one. "I know whatever happened to you wasn't good and I won't force you to tell me what it was. I just need to make sure that you're not hurt."

"Well, physically I'm fine." Yamcha said. He lifted his bandaged hand and attempted a smile. "You didn't do a half bad job with this."

"Is there anywhere else you're injured?" Tien asked. "I didn't see any obvious wounds yesterday but I wasn't sure."

"Just my hand." Yamcha told him. His weak smile got a little stronger. "That's what I get for punching rocks, right?"

"That would do it." Tien agreed. He paused a moment. "... do you need anything?"

"Right now or in general?" Yamcha said with a small laugh. His attempt at humor fell flat as Tien had no reaction beyond a concerned stare.

"Yamcha, don't joke around right now, okay?" Tien said quietly. "I want to help you. I can't do that if you don't tell me how. Even if it's just leaving you alone."

"No! I, uh, I mean..." Yamcha stammered, surprised at how loud his initial reaction was, "I... don't want to be alone."

"Alright. That's a start." Tien said. He smiled softly. "I'll keep you company."

"Thanks." Yamcha said. He looked down at his hands as his cheeks warmed again. Even at a time like this he still found Tien cute. Just his luck. He took a deep breath and mustered the courage to face Tien. "It... means a lot to me."

"... I know." Tien said after a few seconds. "You've always liked being around people. Judging by the way I found you last night... I'd say the last thing you need right now is solitude."

"You sure you're not psychic?" Yamcha teased him. He could feel a trickle of his old self start to come back to him. Bantering with Tien was definitely something he knew how to do. It also seemed to finally lift the mood as Tien smirked back.

"Turtle trash are easy to read." Tien remarked. Yamcha playfully punched his shoulder.

"Big talk for a bird brain." he said. "I can still take you on any time."

"I doubt that an out of practice puppy like you could do anything to me beyond causing a few laughs." Tien retorted.

"Oh please, you're just worried you can't remember how to counter me anymore. Who's the out of practice one here?" Yamcha said.

"It's still you." Tien pointed out. "I haven't seen you train properly for years."

"That's because I got a life outside of martial arts. You should try it sometime." Yamcha said. He felt his mood drop a little. This friendly back and forth was starting to turn a tad too personal. "I don't have time to be running around the mountains like a battle crazy hermit."

"Yet you were out here." Tien said. An awkward silence fell over the cave.

"... yeah, I was." Yamcha mumbled eventually. He had returned to looking at the ground.

"I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry." Tien apologized. "I know you don't want to talk about it."

"It's okay. You're gonna have to find out eventually but for now... I need some time to sort myself out." Yamcha said.

"I understand. Take all the time you need." Tien said. He stood up and started walking towards one of the bags. "I'm not as good of a cook as Chiaotzu is but I'm sure I can make you something edible."

"I'm not really that hungry but thanks." Yamcha said. Tien paused and walked back over.

"Are you sure? It's fairly late in the morning." he said. Yamcha shook his head.

"I'm just not feeling it. Maybe later." he said. He tried to smile again. "It'd probably be better to wait for Chiaotzu to wake up from what you've told me."

"You have a point." Tien said. "Is there anything else I can do for you? Other than being here?"

"I don't think so." Yamcha said. "I mean, if I HAD to complain about something then I am a little cold."

"I don't think we have anything warmer in way of blankets..." Tien mumbled, mainly to himself.

"It's fine, you don't have to -" Yamcha started to say but he was cut off when Tien suddenly sat down next to him and moved in close.

"It won't be dry enough outside to get supplies for another fire anytime soon. Until then I, uh, thought that, maybe, body heat would be the, uh, best option." Tien said while looking firmly in the direction furthest from Yamcha. He cleared his throat and matched Yamcha's stare for a second or two. "If that's okay with you."

"Uh..." Yamcha sat in stunned silence for a few moments more. He hadn't expected anything like this. Then some part of him gave up. Whatever was keeping him from taking Tien up on his offer left and he sighed as he leaned onto his friends shoulder. "Sure. Better than nothing."

"I suppose it would be." Tien agreed. He was as stiff as usual at first but soon relaxed. He gingerly reached out an arm and placed it around Yamcha. Yamcha continued to ignore the bit of his brain shouting at him to get off and curled up as close as he could. Soon he was resting most of his weight on Tien. Not surprisingly, Tien was right. He was decidedly much warmer than the cave floor. It wasn't too long before Yamcha found himself drifting off to sleep again.

There were no dreams this time, just a welcome darkness. When Yamcha opened his eyes he found himself back on the cave floor. However this time it seemed he had wrapped himself around Tien while he slept. Once his brain had fully registered the situation he immediately started to feel his face heating up as a blush rose upon it. He started to apologize and sit up but stopped when he saw that Tien had also fallen asleep. Yamcha took a moment to collect himself and slowly released his hold on Tien. After fully untangling himself he stood up. He then proceeded to nearly fall back down after be noticed Chiaotzu was awake.

"Did you sleep well?" Chiaotzu asked. He was sitting by a now live fire.

"Yup, super well. Never better." Yamcha rambled nervously. Chiaotzu had to have seen what happened, right? Would he say anything about it?

"I won't pry. Just sit down and have some food." Chiaotzu said. He prodded at a pot of something he was preparing and smiled. "I'm the psychic one, remember?"

"Yeah, guess so..." Yamcha said. He followed Chiaotzu's instructions and joined him next to the fire. He soon found himself holding a small bowl containing a soup of some kind. As usual with Chiaotzu's cooking it was delicious. The smell also served to alert Yamcha to how hungry he was. He opted out of conversation and focused on the food. Within minutes the bowl was empty and Yamcha was feeling considerably better than before. "Thanks for the meal, Chiaotzu."

"Don't mention it. You really needed it after all." Chiaotzu said. He filled another bowl and used his powers to float it behind Yamcha. He turned to see that at some point Tien had woken up. He almost wished he had a second bowl of his own to hide his face in. He settled for cozying up to the fire instead. As much as his crush was flaring up he didn't want to deal with it. He couldn't. Not with everything else he had going on internally today. He retreated into his thoughts as his friends tended to various clean-up duties around the cave.

Of course his internal monologue was mainly focused around Bulma. His relationship with her and their subsequent break up. The years he spent thinking for sure that she was the one. All the little things that he should have seen as red flags. The moments when he had considered leaving her, however brief they were. Hindsight is twenty twenty and Yamcha felt like he had binoculars on. Everything seemed so obvious now. There was also a small part of him, growing larger, that had been the catalyst for the fight. The idea that he wasn't a real man. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it the thought just wouldn't leave.

"... hey, Tien?" he said after a few minutes. He didn't need to look up to tell that Tien had turned to face him. "... you told me once that being trans didn't change who I am. That people who thought otherwise... it was just their opinion."

"I did. What about it?" Tien said. Yamcha pulled his legs closer to his chest and ducked his head down even more.

"What if... one of those people... was me?" he said quietly. "What if I felt like I wasn't... a real man?"

"Well..." Tien started as he sat down next to Yamcha and put an arm gently over his shoulders, "I'd say that someone must have shapeshifted into you to trick me because I know that's not true."

"But-"

"You're a man and always have been. The snarky, overconfident, turtle school brat I met six years ago was a man. Not a very strong man, mind you, but no one would question him about who he was." Tien continued. Yamcha laughed a little and saw Tien smiling at him.

"I suppose you have a point." Yamcha admitted. "About the man thing."

"I usually do." Tien said. They share another laugh and Yamcha found himself smiling.

"... thanks Tien. For everything." he said quietly. He leaned into Tien's side and rested his head against his neck. "I really needed to hear it."

"That's what I'm here for. We're eternal rivals, remember? I can't fight you if you're not around anymore. Remember that." Tien replied softly. There's a few seconds of silence again as the two of them simply enjoy each others company.

"If you two are done cuddling the rain has stopped. We can move camp now." Chiaotzu said from behind them. They both turn bright red and awkwardly seperate. Tien stands and offers a hand to Yamcha.

"Ready to face the world again?" he said with a small smile back on his face. Yamcha took his hand with a grin of his own.

"Ready as I'll ever be." he said. Tien helped him up and they walk towards the cave entrance where Chiaotzu is waiting.

"Uhh... Tien?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know I can't fly like you guys?" Yamcha said. The cave dropped off right away into a rather large cliff.

"You're also not dressed." Chiaotzu pointed out. Yamcha looked down at his borrowed attire and blushed.

"I don't think his clothes were dry yet, Chiaotzu." said Tien.

"I guess so." Chiaotzu said. "Anyways, just carry him out like you did on the way here."

"Uh... alright." Tien said. He held out his arms awkwardly.

"Truly, a five star transport method." Yamcha teased him as he situated himself in Tien's arms. "Okay. Let's get moving."

"Where to?" Tien asked. Yamcha sighed.

"Capsule Corp. I left my phone behind and Puar is probably freaking out." he grumbled.

Tien took note of his tone but made no comments. Instead he took off towards the city. Yamcha wrapped his arms tight around Tien's neck. As much as he trusted Tien he didn't trust flying quite yet. It didn't take long before Tien touched down on the Capsule Corp front lawn. He set down Yamcha gently and turned to leave.

"Wait." Yamcha said impulsively. He grabbed Tien's hand. "I... uh... don't want to go in there by myself."

"... okay. I'll stay with you." Tien said. Yamcha looked at him sheepishly.

"Really?" he asked. Tien smiled softly at him.

"Really. For as long as you need me." he said. Yamcha smiled back and then steeled his nerves.

He turned towards the doors and approached the building. Despite the need for it being gone he kept his grip on Tien's hand. It was a reminder, of sorts, that everything was going to be okay. The receptionist at the front desk recognized him and quickly contacted Bulma and Puar. Yamcha took a deep breath and felt Tien squeeze his hand gently. When he looked over at him he found a reassuring smile. A noise down the left hall caught his attention and he soon found himself with a bundle of blue fur and tears in his face as Puar happily greeted him. Tien let go of his hand but stayed next to him as a comforting presence as Yamcha tried to calm Puar down. Bulma stood at the end of the hallway and watched with crossed arms that were offset by a relief filled expression. Yamcha gave Puar a hug with one arm and waved to her with the other. This was going to be a long day.