One Up
Chapter Six: Hunter and Prey
A/N: I think this is getting too serious. The solution? A little humour chappeh to lighten things up. My therapy with Stalker!Gojun. Sorry Ken-chan. -grins-
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As stated before, Tenpou wasn't in his office to hide from Kenren.
He was in his office to hide from a certainother officer.
And he was almost doing a good job of it, until Kenren had picked his lock. After the Taisho had left, he forgot to relock it. Preying upon his absentmindedness, Gojun waited until Tenpou's security had been broken. Then he struck.
It was a surprise to the dragon officer, upon walking into the marshal's office only to find it devoid of sentient beings. He'd been staking out the office all day. Kenren had picked the lock and went in, talking to someone before he left. Tenpou hadn't left the room at all. So where was he now?
A book moved. Gojun's eyes darted to it, beside Tenpou's desk, on the floor. A large stack of books met his gaze. It was then he noticed that the majority of the shelves lining the walls were empty. All the books were set in stacks by the desk.
Gojun moved closer to the pile, inspecting it. It was there he found his quarry, sleeping amongst the literature. Smiling, he knelt beside the sleeping gensui, brushing s few stray bangs from his eyes.
Tenpou stirred. "Taisho?"
Gojun frowned. He had thought the incident in the hall had meant the end ofthat relationship. Old habits must die hard, he mused. "Not Kenren, Tenpou."
Realization set in at the unfamiliar voice, and Tenpou's eyes opened with a start. "Gojun!" he sat up, looking shocked and flustered, "Please, don't sneak up on me like that."
"My apologies."
Tenpou stood, stretching a bit. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Gojun had the decency to squash the impending innuendo. "…I was just wondering where you were. I haven't seen you since the…encounter…in the hallway this morning."
'I'd have liked it to stay that way,' Tenpou thought with a wince. "Oh, well, I've been a bit busy. Paperwork and all, and I'm reworking my shelving system as well."
"Do you need any help?" he asked politely.
Tenpou shook his head, gathering a few papers off his desk in a hurry. "I'm afraid not. I've just remembered a meeting I have. I'm a bit late because of my nap. Thank you for waking me, and I'm sorry I don't have time to talk, but I must be on my way."
"Shall I walk you there?"
He just wasn't giving up. "I couldn't put you through the trouble…"
Gojun offered to take the papers Tenpou had, which he reluctantly handed over. "It's no trouble at all. Who are you meeting?"
"Konzen!" he blurted the first name that came to mind…besides Kenren.
The silver-haired officer nodded. "Shall we go then? It's best not to keep him waiting."
Tenpou sighed in defeat, and allowed Gojun to open the door for him.
The field marshal tried his best to be on guard the entire trip. After it looked unlikely that Gojun would try anything, he let himself relax a little. They soon arrived at Konzen's door, where Gojun handed back his papers with a smile.
Tenpou, a little surprised, managed to mutter a soft "Thank you."
"Anytime. Though I do hope next time we might get more of a chance to talk. I'm looking forward to it."
Tenpou nodded absently, and watched the dragon officer retreat down the hall. Gojun never ceased to confuse him, with his constantly changing moods. Half the time, he found himself wanting to know more about the silver-haired man, and the other half wanting to avoid him entirely.
Shaking his head to clear it, he turned to Konzen's door. He was already here, he might as well visit his friend. If Goku was there he could play with the child as well.
As it turned out, Goku was not there, but Konzen was. He didn't look happy, his normal annoyance notwithstanding.
"What doyou want?"
Slightly taken aback, Tenpou blinked. "Why do you assume I'm not just here for a visit?"
Konzen looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You've been locked in your office all day, then suddenly show up at my door. You either want my advice on something stupid, or somewhere to hide."
Tenpou smiled wryly. "I believe it's more of the second one. I told Gojun I had a meeting, and he insisted on walking me."
The blond kami returned his focus to his work. "I'm not getting into your little love triangle, so as a prewarning, don't ask. I've already kicked Kenren out of here today, so don't push your limits."
"Kenren was here?"
Konzen nodded. "I got back from my meeting and found him staring out the window with his stupid shocked expression."
Tenpou felt momentarily guilty. This was soon replaced with a small spark of anger, remembering his conversation with Kenren in his office. "I won't stay long."
Konzen nodded, not saying anything. Tenpou took a seat at the window. Why was Kenren sitting here? What was he thinking about while he was here? Thinking about the conversation they'd had? Suddenly his stomach twisted, thinking about that conversation himself.
This was obviously some kind of game to Kenren. He'd never taken the relationship seriously. Nothing holding us back, that's what he'd said. But Tenpou'd realized that it was more than that, at least to him. What made him so angry at Tara, it was jealousy. He hated seeing Kenren with anyone else, he knew this now.
So he'd gotten a bit of revenge, by way of a dose of his own medicine. But it didn't mean anything to Kenren. A bit of an awkward situation, but not very upsetting. He didn't care, and probably never would. Tenpou was little more to him than a friend who would occasionally substitute for a lover.
Friend with benefits. Tenpou realized just then how much he despised that term.
Maybe he should just end the whole thing. It hurt him now, this uncaring. Maybe he should just disconnect with Kenren, and take his frustrations out on Gojun. Gods knew he seemed willing, and at least he cared.
He crushed that thought right after bringing it up. He knew for a fact that he couldn't stop seeing Kenren. He couldn't imagine it.
Something poked him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Konzen towering over him, arms crossed. "Your time's up. I've got work to do and a monkey to pick up."
Tenpou nodded, standing. "Thank you."
Konzen shrugged, turning away. "Not like I did anything."
The brunette left the office, no closer to a conclusion than he'd been upon entering. Walking down the hall, he let his thoughts wander once more. The ideal thing to do would be to confess everything to Kenren, get it all out in the open. But the pride in him refused to end up as another broken heart at the taisho's hands. He wouldn't be another statistic, another name on the list.
So how else could this be dealt with?
He didn't notice the person coming toward him until it was too late. Tenpou found himself slammed up against a wall, with Gojun leaning heavily against him.
"G-Gojun?"
The dragon's face was only inches from his. "We need to talk."
Surprised, the marshal nodded. "Alright. We can go back to my office—"
"No. Now."
Another mood change. This Gojun was different than the one he'd met earlier today. This was the brash, dangerous side that, on some levels, scared even Tenpou. And in his current position, this was one of those levels.
"What about?"
"I'm a little confused here. After what happened this morning, you'll not blame me for it, after I get the cold shoulder later on. What exactly is going on?"
Tenpou considered his words carefully. Saying the wrong thing could be disastrous right now. Whatever he'd been thinking instantly disappeared when he felt Gojun's hand on his side. He gasped slightly.
"Well, gensui? I'm very curious to hear your answer…"
Tenpou swallowed hard. The hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. Momentarily startled, Tenpou regained his composure. "I…I apologize. My behaviour this morning was wrong and unthoughtful. I hope you didn't get the wrong idea about us because of it."
"So what you're saying," Gojun hissed into the brunette's ear, "is that you were using me to hurt Kenren?"
Tenpou nodded, tensing.
Gojun's other hand grabbed a fistful of Tenpou's shirt, yanking him forward. "So it should be only fair, if I decide to useyou for the same purpose."
Before he could respond, Gojun forced their lips together, keeping a strong hold on his waist. Tenpou opened his mouth to protest, which only led to giving Gojun an opportunity to slip his tongue into the surprised gensui's mouth. The hand gripping his shirt now moved down his chest.
Tenpou shoved Gojun as hard as he could. This broke them apart, and before Gojun could do anything else, Tenpou aimed a punch at his jaw. Gojun was knocked back.
Tenpou took off running down the hall.
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OMAKE THEATER!
Kenren: I'm gonna wring that dragon's scaly neck!
Gojun: -taunting- Nya nya!
Tenpou: -hand covering his face- Oh gods…
Goku: What's going on? How come I wasn't in the story this time?
Konzen: Because you're not a hormonal lovestruck idiot.
Goku: But you were in it Kon-chan. Ne, does that make you one?
Konzen: -twitch-
Kenren: Please tell me I get to kick his ass!
Karu: -winks- Sore wa himitsu desu!
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And now review responses! -grins despite blunt objects being thrown-
Attiqah Gensui: Um...why scream at meh? -bats eyelashes innocently- Thankehs for all your LJ comments!
lilly & her kitty: -pets the kitty and gives it cheese- I mean limbo like the game, not the purgatory way. -winks-
thorned roses: Meep! Why's everyone so violent lately? I can do that about the punctuality, but cliffies are my specialty and won't beh going away anytime soon, I'm afraid.
I think I lost a lot of people during summer. Sadness...