Chapter 6: Beerus Provides a Gift; Gods Begin To Resolve Tension

"Are you two just going to ignore each other?" Whis asked one day.

"We've spent millions of years mainly ignoring each other, so things are just going back to how they were."

Whis chuckled. "And yet you knew who I was asking about."

"Well, it sounded pretty obvious to me."

"Yes, several weeks after you last saw each other, he must surely be the one I'm talking about."

Beerus frowned, realising he couldn't back-track now. There weren't many people he could think of that fell into the 'ignored for millions of years' category. Besides, Whis was right, and he had been thinking a lot about this since it happened.

"I know, I need to be the one who apologises and all that. I hit him first, blah blah."

"If you realise this, why haven't you done it already?" Whis asked. "Is it not going to be more awkward the longer you leave it?"

"Yes," Beerus grumbled and closed his eyes as he massaged his temples. "I just, urgh, you know how bad I am with these things. To tell the truth, I'd rather just sleep for a few decades and hope he forgets about it."

"But you haven't," Whis pointed out. "So, what will you do?"

Beerus moaned incomprehensible words, trying to avoid this conversation.

"I'm feeling nice, so I'll help you. What would you do if the one you had to apologise to was me?"

Beerus paused and thought about it. "Say sorry, make sure you knew it was genuine. Maybe leave you more dessert than usual, and, you know, be more aware."

"You mean, how you fold your clothes neatly before getting in the bath rather than slinging them off in random directions? How you pile your plates nicely after dinner?"

"Shhh, you're not meant to realise…" Beerus said. "But I can't exactly use that method with Shin, can I?"

"You can start by apologising. Maybe gift him something to show you've thought about things."

"Sounds a lot like buying his acceptance of my apology to me," Beerus said.

"You never give him anything." Whis paused. "Perhaps this occasion isn't worth gifting after all. You might need the impact further down the line. You may see my suggestion as a bribe, but those of us who have known you for a long time, know you almost never give gifts personally like I'm suggesting. I think the Supreme Kai would be pleased with the thought put into it – assuming you think carefully about it."

"Well, you obviously think my words won't be enough, so I'll think about it."

"I never said that, but you did hit him, so it might take a bit more than last time."

He thought long and hard about things, and he came to a conclusion he was sure couldn't fail. Besides, he'd just spent how many days thinking about it? If Shin knew how much thought was in it, he'd surely be impressed!

ooo

"Lord Beerus."

"Supreme Kai."

Beerus looked around and motioned for Whis to disappear.

"Kibito, would you talk with me?" Whis asked, successfully drawing them both away.

"And the old one?" Beerus asked.

"Inside," Shin said. "What's the occasion today?"

"Ah, well, it's apology day again, I guess." He straightened up. "I didn't mean to hit you that day, you know."

"I know."

"And – huh? You do?"

Shin nodded. "You've made it quite clear that you'd never hurt me, or let me be hurt if you're there."

"O-oh, I have, huh?"

There was a small smirk on Shin's lips. "You did move me out of the way."

Beerus wanted to ask if Shin had been testing him, but he swallowed the question, not wanting to get distracted from the reason he was here. "Well, of course I did. But I'm not just apologising for hitting you. I also want to say sorry for fighting Buu in front of you."

That got him a look of surprise.

"I, uh, maybe I'm just assuming, but I figured that even seeing him there isn't very nice for you because…" He didn't need to spell it out. "Yeah, so I figured seeing him fight would be worse, and that's why I wasn't going to fight him for the muffins at first. But then…gods, he's just such a greedy pig! I've been wanting to smack him one like that since he let us down at the Tournament anyway. I just…realised I didn't want to do it with you watching. But you turned up anyway." Beerus finally showed the miniature bonsai tree he'd been hiding behind his back. "So, I'm sorry, and I got you this."

"So that's what you were hiding." Shin laughed, having been able to see some of the branches poking out, but not wanting to ask while Beerus was talking. "It's very cute."

"I know you like plants, and I wanted to find one you might not know about, so I found one the humans cultivated. I mean, you've probably made small trees and stuff before –"

"I love it," Shin said, taking it from him.

"Oh." This was going better than expected?

"One of the greatest joys of this job is to see people create their own things from what you've provided. Not that I personally made anything on Earth, but still. I really appreciate the thought that went into it."

Beerus was smiling softly, watching Shin carefully inspect the branches and leaves. At one point he'd thought maybe the tree hadn't been needed at all, but actually, Shin's reaction was something he hadn't realised he'd wanted to see.

Shin looked up, seeing the way Beerus watched him, and for a moment they both just gazed at each other until they realised how awkward it was.

"Well, thank you for this," Shin said.

"Er, yeah, sorry again."

"Actually, I wanted to say that I sort-of enjoyed the fight."

"Really?" It was the last thing Beerus had expected to hear.

"I've told you before that I think you're impressive to watch. And it's not like I get to see you display your skills that often, so yes, I did enjoy it. You…" Shin could feel his face heating up. Was he really thinking about telling Beerus precisely what he enjoyed about it?

"Yes?" Beerus had an expectant look now.

Shin sighed inwardly. Of course he was going to say it, and he knew Beerus was going to bathe in the joy of being told how great he was. "I liked seeing the way you controlled everything so that only that small area became your little arena, but at the same time I could see you were dealing the hardest blows you could, knowing Buu wouldn't break. It's obvious how skilled you are, and I like that you use your tail to your advantage."

Beerus stepped forward so his tail could wrap around Shin's waist and pull him close, only it wasn't as glamorous as one would imagine with a miniature tree stuck between them.

"Lord Beerus?"

"I couldn't resist. Look at your cute little face. I knew you'd go a deeper shade of red."

Shin pouted, deciding to pull Beerus off his high horse. "Well, as fun as it was to watch, I didn't appreciate you throwing me at Goku. I would have landed just fine if you'd thrown me elsewhere."

"Maybe I should have flexed harder and fought with you under one arm seeing as you enjoyed it so much."

"No, thank you. Are you going to let me go at some point today?"

"I quite enjoy protecting you, you know. Strange. I didn't think I was that kind of guy, but I guess it's different now there's only one of you."

Shin wanted to laugh, but restrained himself. "And it took you 5 million years to figure that out?"

"No, it took the last few years? For me to see you needed a bit more protecting than I thought, and for me to realise it is I who is best suited to it. You may not believe it, but I'm the only one in this universe who would do whatever it takes to keep you alive."

"Certainly difficult to believe at times, but of course I know that. I'd like to see you go – um, I mean…"

Beerus couldn't hide his grin. "Finish the sentence, Shin," he whispered.

Shin swallowed nervously, not quite sure why Beerus whispering like that made a shiver run down his spine. He certainly wished they weren't this close, but thank Grand Zeno for this tree separating them. "I'd like to see you go to the ends of the universe for me." Shin decided to return the favour, hovering so he was closer to Beerus's ear, gently whispering, "I'd like to see you go absolutely feral for my sake."

For once, Beerus was the one who seemed to be embarrassed by the situation, and he let go of his hold on Shin without thinking. "You!" Beerus had no idea what to say to that, shocked to hear Shin actually say something like that without much more prompting.

Shin was pretty pleased with having turned the tables like this, smirking to himself, but it didn't last long. The tree in his hands was swiped away and placed on the ground so that Beerus could do as he wished. Seconds later Shin found himself pinned to the ground.

"You want to see me go feral?"

Shin's voice came out higher than before. "Maybe not like this?"

"Not like what?" Beerus whispered right next to his ear. "Awfully sexy of you to whisper like that in my ear and not think this would be the end result. Don't you want me to ravish you, paying attention to only my most primal desires, so you can see me 'go feral for your sake'?"

"I was rather hoping you'd be fighting someone on my behalf. I'd probably be injured and cheering you on." Shin gave a hopeful smile.

"I pray that never happens, and that I'd never let it get that far." Beerus placed a finger on Shin's lips. "Don't bring up the past and my failings right now. I've learnt from those mistakes, so hopefully this will be all I can offer you."

"I – I think maybe I was wrong," Shin said. "I don't need to see you doing anything more than you already do for me. M-maybe someone can borrow me a time machine so I don't utter those words in front of you."

"But your stuttering is so incredibly cute. I'd hate to miss this."

Shin closed his eyes, trying to think of a solution to this – what could he say to get Beerus off him? His thoughts got absolutely nowhere when he felt Beerus's hand run down his arm and stop on his chest. And luckily it did stop, because Shin was moments away from ruining everything by calling for someone.

Beerus could feel the kai's heart beating fast. "Do you fear me?"

"Just a bit," Shin admitted.

"Even though you know I won't hurt you?"

"Maybe not physically, but I know you can hurt me in other ways."

Beerus's grin faded, his hold loosened, and then he let go.

"That's it?" Shin pulled his arms down and felt the tension in his body dissipating.

"Yeah? Look, I really thought you wanted something there, but were too shy to say. Clearly not." Beerus huffed. "I'm trying not to be an asshole these days, especially with you."

"Thank you." It seemed he could trust the destroyer more than he thought.

"I was tempted to try kissing you again, but I realised it wasn't fair when I had your hands pinned above your head and you couldn't stop me like last time." Still, Beerus felt it was time to broach the subject. "Say, would you let Gohan kiss you?"

Shin hated that Beerus wouldn't let go of the Gohan comparison after all this time. "Maybe, although I'm not sure it would be proper for a Supreme Kai to kiss a mortal. But if he kisses me…"

Beerus burst out laughing. "That's your excuse?! Wait, you're really serious?" He held his stomach as he laughed some more. "So, then, would it not be proper for a Supreme Kai to kiss a destroyer?"

Shin made sure not to look at Beerus when he replied. "I think that gods should be entitled to some sort of personal life, and it's their choice who they spend it with."

"But not mortals?"

"I think other gods are far more appropriate. So to answer your question, I think it's perfectly fine, as long as it doesn't affect their working relationship."

Beerus wanted to tell Shin what he thought about that with his face, but the kai was lying there staring up at the sky, looking rather lost in thought. "It all makes sense now. But, you see, there's nothing proper about me, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. I've done more than kiss mortals, and I've certainly crossed the line with a colleague. It's nothing to worry about."

He leaned over, blocking Shin's view, slowly coming closer, giving Shin the chance to stop him before he pressed his lips against the kai's. Yet even then he felt no resistance.

Beerus pulled back with a grin, seeing this as a victory. "Scary?"

"You really are an ass sometimes."

"I try."

Shin grabbed the regalia around Beerus's neck and pulled him down again, drawing him into a longer kiss.

"A few minutes ago you didn't even want to kiss!" Beerus said once Shin had let go.

"Well, if we're going to kiss, you might as well do it properly!" Shin sat up. "As I said that line about things not affecting a working relationship, I realised that actually, maybe ours was being affected. There's clearly a bit of unresolved tension between us, so, maybe we should just get it over with."

"You think a couple of kisses is going to resolve whatever is going on here?"

"No, I'm not that naïve, but I think it has helped to start diffusing the tension rather than add another layer."

Beerus nodded. "How else should we 'diffuse the tension'?" He was doing all he could to control his smirk.

"I decided on this course of action a couple of minutes ago, I don't have all the answers just yet."

"Fine. Did you enjoy it?"

"It was pleasant," Shin said in such a kai-like fashion.

"That's all? Just 'pleasant'?"

"What do you want me to say? It was the best thing I've ever experienced? I think it would have been better if I'd been wrapped in your arms or something."

Beerus pulled him close, tilting his chin up. "That can be arranged."

Shin sighed. "I'm not going to give you feedback on this one. Wait."

"Hm?"

"We're being watched."

Beerus shrugged. "You're already sitting in my lap like this. Are you afraid of Kibito knowing you've secretly wanted to kiss me for a while?"

"Um…" Obviously Beerus had hit the nail on the head. "Kibito and I don't ever talk about this sort of thing. If he sees us like this, I can easily say you initiated it and I was reluctant to push you away, but a kiss? I don't want to explain all this to Kibito while I'm still processing it myself. And I can't lie to him, or I'll have to pretend I was mad about it. Which, I suppose I was mad at first, but we needed to just get it over with. So, thanks for taking the initiative, I guess?"

"You know, today has gone wildly different to how I expected it to," Beerus admitted. "First you tell me you liked watching me fight Buu, now you're thanking me for kissing you just after you told me not to? Gods, maybe you really are that infatuated with me, huh?"

"If you left it to me, we would have been awkwardly just going along for thousands of years before I cracked and plucked up the courage to make a move on you. I'm really worried about changing our relationship, but… I guess it's been changing for a while now and something needed to be done."

Beerus ruffled his hair. "When we're on business, I'm going to treat you like none of this happened. You'll just be my colleague, my kai, my life-link. It's not hard to be professional when you need to be."

Shin thought that was hilarious considering who said it. "Let's go back, I think Whis is missing you."

"I think you'll find it's Kibito who's worried about you."

"Are you sure? I'm not the one who admitted to - what was it? - 'crossing a line with a colleague?'"

"How do you know I was referring to Whis and not another kai before you?"

Shin looked up at Beerus with an incredulous expression. "I have eyes. Do you really expect me to believe it was anyone else?"

"Alright, fine, I'll give you that one," Beerus said. "We do try and tone it down when we have guests."

"Uhhh…" Shin wasn't sure how to tell Beerus they weren't trying hard enough. "Maybe you should ask the saiyans if they've noticed? I mean, you two really do act like an old couple sometimes, but I think it's different when gods are around other gods?"

"I don't want to ask the saiyans and basically tell them Whis and I fuck sometimes."

Shin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Too much information, Lord Beerus."

"Oh, so it wasn't that obvious then?"

"My mind is simply not full of filth."

Beerus had a highly amusing thought as he released Shin from his grasp. In the end he couldn't help but ask, "Do kais think about pollinating trees then?"

Shin's face was a picture of confusion. "What?"

"Most kais I've met has been uninterested in sex to the point they come off as pure and innocent whenever it's mentioned. Some of them seem to just forget it's the number one important thing for populating planets."

"Well, we're asexual beings by design."

Beerus nodded. "Yeah, but you're still born. From trees. So, if kais were to have thoughts associated with reproducing, wouldn't you think about pollinating trees?"

Shin looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or ignore this ridiculous notion. "I… Lord Beerus, this is truly… I have never been asked such a question."

"So, that's a no, then? Well, now I know." He couldn't help the little snort that escaped. "Your face!"

"Once I'm over how confused I am, I think I'll tell Kibito and we'll laugh about it later."

"Good, because I'm going to tell Whis and see if he looks as baffled as you do."

Shin picked up his bonsai tree and waved over to the attendants who'd realised they'd been spotted and waited patiently. "Thank you again for this. Would you like to stay for something to eat?"

"No, no. I, uh, think we had something planned. We have plans, don't we, Whis?"

"We do?" Whis asked, still a few feet away.

"Yeah, dinner plans."

"We can always move plans if you need, my lord."

"Not necessary. But thank you for the offer, Shin."

"So polite today," Shin said, knowing that Beerus would usually tell him just what he thought of the usual meals kais dined on. "Perhaps I can offer you tea instead?"

"Eager for me to stay?"

"I wouldn't want you to say we didn't offer you anything during your visit."

Beerus moved to link arms with Whis. "I think I'll just head out. Dinner plans and all that."