A/N: This chapter's title is word-for-word from chapter 55 of Journey to the West, except replace 'destroyer' with 'Tang Priest.' I was cackling when I realised I could use this title because I never expected it would be Beerus I'd be referring to!

Chapter 13: The Destroyer is Tempted With Sex and Debauchery; Because His Nature is Upright He Resists Unharmed

"Oh great, they're here already." Beerus leaned back in his chair.

"Lord Beerus! Supreme Kai!" Goku rushed up to the table. "I brought you a bunch of different fruits that have only just come in season."

Beerus looked at them and nodded. "Very good. I forgot your planet has such a terrible flaw like seasons, but at least it means I haven't exhausted the list just yet."

"Give it another month and there'll be more!" Goku said with a grin.

"Yes, yes, off you go."

Goku turned to go, but spun back around. "Say, Lord Beerus, I see you and Supreme Kai together a lot these days… Is there something going on?"

"No. Nothing's going on."

Goku hummed and leaned forward, looking more at Shin to see if he'd buckle under the pressure. "Are you sure?"

Beerus got up and dragged Goku by the ear. "Don't look at him! I said there's nothing, so there's nothing!"

Goku whined in pain. "Alright, alright. But we're always willing to help if you need it, you know."

"I know that – you'd stick your fingers into any pie we put in front of you. Now off you go, or I'll tell Whis to take you back home."

Goku scampered off to where Vegeta was waiting for him with an eye roll.

Shin looked up at Beerus. "Did you really think Goku thought the 'something' was between us and not a universe problem we happened to be working on?"

"No," Beerus denied. "But Goku has noticed."

"Considering I never used to come here when he first started training, that doesn't come as a surprise. He does tend to notice important things after all."

"Yeah, but if he's noticed, that means Vegeta has noticed too, and he has sharper eyes."

Shin shrugged. "Even if Vegeta has noticed, why would it matter? He's not going to do anything with the information. I mean, if he's noticed anything between us, what do you think he's noticed between you and Whis? I think that's far more obvious."

Beerus held a finger up and waved it around as he tried to refute, in the end curling his hand into a fist and bumping it against his head. "Whatever. A god can do as he pleases, as you say. So, when I kiss you in a moment, you won't mind if they catch a glimpse?"

"Oh, are we back to kissing?"

"Well, I don't see why not." Beerus trailed a nail along Shin's jaw.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Would you like to find out?"

Shin stared up at him, not at all sure if he was bluffing. He relaxed his expression and titled his chin forward, offering.

Beerus flicked the kai's forehead. "You would have pulled away at the last moment."

"You weren't going to go in for the kiss anyway!" Shin accused. "I've come to know you too well, and I've learned you're rather shy when it comes to public displays of affection. Honestly, I've been surprised to find you won't even kiss me in front of Whis. Whis who sees pretty much everything else you do."

Beerus pulled the kai up and threw him over his shoulder. "It's weird, okay? You wouldn't understand because you don't kiss anyone else."

"Uh-huh, and you're carrying me away like this because…?"

"Because we need to be away from prying eyes and noisy monkeys."

Shin kicked his legs lightly. "I can walk."

"Can't have you this close if you walk."

"We can use the fact Goku has noticed something," Shin said as he watched the saiyans growing smaller in the distance. "You know, when we do that thing where we pretend to swap jobs."

"Oh? You remembered?" Beerus smirked. "I didn't think you would."

"I think it'll be highly amusing." He wanted to see Beerus act the part of a demure Supreme Kai. Perhaps it was all a fantasy, but he hoped Beerus would at least try.

"I thought you'd hope I'd forget about it so you didn't have to walk around so exposed. Surely you think my clothes make me half-naked?"

"I…uh, no? I'm actually more weirded out when I see the couple of destroyers who actually wear shirts. It's just how you all dress, after all. Grand Zeno-approved nakedness."

Beerus paused in his step as he had the very concerning thought: is Grand Zeno into that? He wished he never thought it, and he certainly wasn't going to say it aloud because he didn't want to hear if Shin had any thoughts on it.

"What?" Shin asked.

"Nothing," Beerus lied. "Whis once said the only destroyers who wear shirts are the ones that don't destroy them every five minutes, and yet he never offered me one." He stepped into the castle and pulled Shin down from his shoulder, instead carrying him bridal-style. "I missed this."

"You did?"

"I want to cuddle you like that time on Nyu'er Guo. You're quite the perfect little pillow, you know."

Shin was surprised that Beerus was able to let everything go back to how it was so quickly considering the petty grudges he held against others, but he supposed it was a testament to how much Beerus actually liked him. Right now he was going to give into Beerus's every whim as part of his apology, but it wasn't like he didn't also want this. That morning on Nyu'er Guo had been one of the most beautiful mornings he could remember and he had thought of it many times since.

"This isn't your room?" Shin looked around the strangely luxurious room they'd entered. Why wasn't this Beerus's main bedroom?

"No, this is a guest room."

"Not for the saiyans?"

Beerus laughed. "As if! Usually it's where Champa stays."

"Oh? So you and your brother do get along?" Shin asked.

"Uh, well, sometimes. It's not often, in fact it's a very rare occasion - what I meant was that he's been the most frequent guest in this room."

"You don't have to justify yourself," Shin said, "I think it's nice that you get along sometimes."

Beerus knelt on the bed and gently set Shin down. "See? It's quite plush. I think you'll prefer it to my bed."

Before Shin could consider if he wanted to reply, Beerus was kissing him and pushing him down into the soft duvet. The kisses were slow and deep, and they made Shin feel content. He still felt bad about offering their lives, and he worried a lot about how he'd damaged his relationship with Beerus, but the way the destroyer held him and kissed him now made him forget his worries. Every touch seemed to whisper that he was forgiven, and that Beerus still cared as much as he did before, perhaps even more, or was that just because Shin was paying closer attention now?

Shin relaxed into the embrace and let his hands roam a bit further than usual, taking the opportunity to feel that hard, well-trained body beneath his fingers. The muscles were so well-defined that he could easily trace them as he wondered how Beerus maintained such a physique with the way he liberally ate.

Beerus never stopped his wandering hands, kissing him until they were both breathless. When they parted the sounds made Shin flush, sounding lewder than they were.

"Enjoying yourself?" Beerus whispered close to his ear, his breath tickling Shin.

"I also missed this."

"Oh? I didn't think you cared much about physical displays of affection."

"I didn't think I did," Shin admitted. "But now I've experienced it, I understand why people are drawn to it. But don't mistake me – I don't crave to be kissed by anyone except you."

Beerus grinned and swooped in for another quick kiss. "Good." His eyes swept down to Shin's hands on his hips.

"Ah, sorry." Shin retracted his hands.

"No, go ahead," Beerus said, replacing them. "I like that you've become comfortable enough to touch me like this. Maybe next you'll call me by just my name."

"If that would please you, I can do that…Beerus."

Beerus feigned shock. "How impolite of you! I love it. But…" He trailed a hand down Shin's chest. "It's very terrible of you to touch me so freely when if I do so to you I get a slap on the wrist."

"You can touch too." Shin lowered his eyes so he didn't have to look at Beerus as he said, "I want you to."

Beerus grinned. "You do, do you?" His hand traced the side of Shin's waist and hip. "And how much can I touch before you complain?"

"I won't complain."

That was a pretty bold claim, Beerus thought, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to spoil the mood by testing how far he could push the kai. Still, with that permission he pulled Shin close and brought their lips together once more, this time with a lot more groping.

He really could get away with anything! When he ran a hand over Shin's ass, the kai didn't pull away. When he decided to go back and squeeze said ass, Shin didn't pull away. He even managed to slip a hand into Shin's robe, but that was incredibly disappointing because of course there was another layer underneath separating him from soft skin.

That was the moment Shin broke them apart, and Beerus thought that he'd finally found the line that shouldn't be crossed, but instead Shin removed his outer robe. Beerus was barely past his confusion when Shin undid the tie that held his inner shirt closed.

"Hey –" Beerus had no idea what to say. What the fuck is going on? He put the back of his hand against Shin's forehead. "You feeling alright?"

Shin took Beerus's hand and laced their fingers together. "I feel great."

"You…you liked me touching your ass?" He still wasn't over the fact he was allowed.

"I liked all of it," Shin said. He really didn't understand the fascination many mortals (and apparently Beerus) had with asses, but he hadn't disliked it. Time seemed to stop as Shin led Beerus's hand to the now partially-exposed flesh of his stomach.

As Beerus had imagined, the kai's skin was soft and inviting, but he retracted his hand after only a brief feel. "I… What are you up to?" He sat back, arms folded, as he regarded Shin and his state of undress.

Shin seemed rather confused by the turn of events. "What does it look like?"

"What it looks like to me and whatever you think this is is probably two different things," Beerus said. "If you were anyone else, I'd say you were looking for a good shag."

"And if I am?"

Beerus paused and blinked. "What. You…" For a moment he wondered if Shin understood what the word meant, but there really was no room for misunderstanding here. "No, no, no. You don't do sex. You don't even think about sex or pollinating or whatever. What the fuck?" Beerus muttered to himself.

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Shin said. "Recently I have been thinking about such things." He couldn't help but laugh at the way Beerus looked scandalised by the thought. "Am I not allowed to think about such things?"

"Oh fuck, I've fucking broken you or something, have I? Look, whatever I was thinking at the start of all this, it's all innocent now, I swear! I'm happy to just kiss and cuddle you, no more than that, even if I did throw in a teasing comment now and then."

Shin reached out to stroke his arm reassuringly. "Beerus, it's okay. We don't have to, I just thought you wanted to."

"What is going on?! You're not meant to be the one saying all this to me!" He massaged his brows with a forefinger and thumb, hiding his eyes for a moment as he recollected himself. "Look. Not today. If you listen real closely you can hear those pesky saiyans outside. Really can't be doing anything…like this. Today. So…" He re-tied Shin's shirt. "Sorry if I turned you on or something. Didn't think that was something I was capable of. Um…"

"You're rambling?"

"I am. Gotta fill this awkward air somehow."

Shin let Beerus help him put his outer robe back on. "But why try and slide your hand under my clothes in the first place if your goal wasn't…?"

"You get to touch my skin. It was merely in the interest of fairness."

"Of course."

"Shut up," Beerus mumbled. "You know I like to tease you a little, that's all. Wanted to see how far I could take your 'I won't complain' statement, but seems like it backfired on me."

"I must admit, I'm surprised," Shin said. "I really expected you to take up the offer immediately."

"Maybe some time ago I might. Things have changed." Deep down he knew it was for the best that he didn't just dive in with Shin, no matter where they were with their relationship. "You can't just be – be you – and suddenly come out with it like this! I want you to go home and think about this."

"I have thought about it," Shin interjected. "You said things have changed for you, but they have for me as well. I want to know what's so great about sex and why mortals have so much of it, and I've finally found someone I would like to experience it with."

"Fuck," Beerus sighed. "You sure know how to pile the pressure on, don't you?"

"Surely you consider yourself well-versed in such acts?" Shin asked, and Beerus noticed that all of the blushing and embarrassment wasn't present. He really had thought about this, huh? "I can't imagine it'll be disappointing."

This bastard was pushing all the right buttons to make Beerus reconsider. "If I fuck you and you find it disappointing, that's on you. But seriously, think about it. I find it strange that for millions of years you didn't care for anything like this…unless you have some hidden secrets I don't know about."

Shin was about to say something when they heard a familiar voice calling, "LORD BEERUS!" down the nearby stairway, echoing off the walls. "WHIS SAYS LUNCH IS READY IN A MINUTE!"

"Thank fuck, I need a drink. Are you staying for lunch?" Beerus asked as he got up.

"What do you think the saiyans will think when we appear together?"

"Dunno, maybe I'll ask. You know, while I can still say confidently that we're not fucking."

Shin smirked. "Well, I'll let you get on; I'm not a big eater anyway. I think I'll go home and think." He hovered up to kiss Beerus. "Oh, but you should think too. I don't want to pressure you into this either."

The thought was almost laughable to Beerus. He was sure it wouldn't be difficult to reset his thoughts about what was allowed and what wasn't. "Will do. See you." He walked out just as Goku began yelling again. "SHUT UP, I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!"