Preemptive A/N: This next part takes place soon after Kenren and Tenpou get roughed up by Li Touten and his goons, if you know the Gaiden. Both are basically healed, since they are gods, after all, but just so you know the time frame. Enjoy!
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Tenpou's back arches into the movement. He shivers and his head falls back to land softly on the pillow. His hands clutch at the sheets, twisting them further with every spasm of pleasure that shoots up his spine, climbing the curves of his body. His breaths are ragged and uneven, his eyes drawn tightly closed, and though his legs are lifted up towards his head, he couldn't be more comfortable.
"Uhnn...I could...stay like this...all morning..."
Kenren can't help grinning at those staggered words, his own tired eyes rolling back as he grinds his hips again, a hand beneath either of Tenpou's knees to keep the marshal in place. "Mmmm...you mean...ahh...like we did...all last night...?"
Smiling between moans, Tenpou struggles to look up and meet the taisho's gaze, finding it rather difficult to open his eyes, but managing it just enough to stare heavily into the sparkling blues of his favorite subordinate.
Their eyes meet briefly, but Tenpou's close soon after when Kenren delivers a particularly vicious blow.
"Ah!" the marshal cries, biting back an all out scream with as much dignity as he can cling to.
Kenren grins. "You know...I think...I like you best...when you're like this..."
Regarding Kenren with an unspoken question of curiosity, Tenpou forces an eye to peek open.
Grinning with a bit more mischief than before, Kenren dips down to kiss the brunette softly on the lips. "...you look best...just like this..." he breathes, his face held low, hovering above Tenpou's mouth. "...writhing...purring...and all the while...it's happening right...beneath...me..."
Tenpou opens his mouth to protest such blatant insubordination, but a moan to rival all those before it as Kenren increases their rhythm, driving the pinned marshal back towards the headboard, drowns the words out.
They are in Tenpou's quarters--a bedroom with an attached bath, connected to the brunette's beloved office through a small hallway. Kenren's place, on the other hand, is much more like a true apartment, located in the same living area as the soldiers under his command. For reasons of discretion, the pair almost always conducts their...affairs...in Tenpou's room and on Tenpou's bed. Or in his bathroom, in the shower, on the floor, against the wall in the small, connecting hallway, on top of Tenpou's desk...
You get the idea.
"Fuck...I could...wake up like this...every day..." Kenren sighs, rolling to his side of the bed after both had reached a very successful end to their encounter.
"You practically do...Taisho..."
Kenren releases a short laugh at that, turning exhaustedly to face the beauty beside him. Tenpou is staring back at him, looking so perfectly disheveled and slick with sweat. "Practically. Except when we're at my place and you have to run out before morning. Or when you have some damn meeting in your office the next day and I'm not allowed to stay over. Or when--"
"Really, Kenren, must you spoil the afterglow." Tenpou interrupts, reaching a hand to Kenren's face to swipe at a stray strand of black hair. "I hate it, too, but now is when we must be the most careful. Everyone knows. If we're ever caught, they'll all attack, whole-heartedly. Li Touten...already has."
"Yeah, but...that had nothing to do with us. He was pissed at me for trying to take his kid's job so the poor thing could catch a break for once. And he was only pissed at you for defending me, so...so...that probably didn't help us with the whole not trying to look obvious act, did it? Ah, fuck." Pushing himself up onto his elbows, Kenren shakes his head to clear it, causing Tenpou's lingering hand to fall away. "That prick! He was just looking for an excuse to stick it to us, wasn't he? So why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he..." Kenren trails off, turning to look down at Tenpou worriedly. "That son-of-a-bitch. He didn't touch you, did he?"
Tenpou smirks and gestures to his still fading bruises. "I thought that was obvious."
"You know what I mean."
Joining Kenren's higher advantage, Tenpou lifts himself to his elbows as well, and looks unabashedly into that furrowed expression. "No, he didn't touch me. He just...said a few things."
"About?"
"About...what a pretty wife I make."
Kenren's eyes narrow. "Bastard. Well...shows how much he knows, huh? If anyone's submissive in this relationship, I know damn well it's me."
Despite the smile Kenren throws Tenpou's direction, the marshal turns away at those words, settling for a moment back into the comfort of the bed. "Relationship? You should choose your words more carefully, Taisho. You know as well as I do what our arrangement truly is."
As much as Kenren wishes he could somehow feel differently, if only to bear moments like this a little easier, that comment stings. "Just a slip of the tongue." he mends, coiling an arm around Tenpou's waist from behind as he moves to form their bodies together. Both are on their sides, with Tenpou's back pressed into Kenren's chest. "You forgive me...don't you...Gensui?"
The thing is, for Tenpou, it stings a little, too. "Of course..."
"Listen...I've been thinking..." Kenren begins, trying his damnedest not to get hard again, which is considerably difficult when Tenpou's skin is in full contact with every inch of his own. "...I've been thinking...that...maybe our arrangement could use a little change."
Kenren instantly feels Tenpou tense against him, which does not help his little...situation...in the slightest.
"It's just...we've been doing this for...shit, longer than I can remember. And...it's been great. Really. We're together more often, so...we talk more. Work sure hasn't suffered. I mean...we do our jobs better after spending the night together. I just...I thought...maybe...at least...I think..."
"What, Kenren?" whispers Tenpou's smooth voice, sounding gruffer somehow-- turned on and anxious for...more than he may realize. Both men are obviously suffering the same problem now. All the same problems. "What is it, Kenren...?"
"Well...I think...I think that maybe...just maybe...I might...be in lo--"
"TEN-CHAN!! KEN-NIICHAN!!"
BOING.
The pair's heads lurch upwards on the bed, caused by the sudden weight of an unexpected and unwelcome guest who has just launched himself at their feet. Neither had even heard the bedroom door open; so much for playing it safe.
"What the fuck is going on!?" Kenren shouts angrily, shooting up in bed to stare down at his feet, and at the large weight now resting on top of them. Tenpou does the same, and as they stare at the figure that has just interrupted them, large gold eyes stare back at them.
Goku.
"You!" Kenren growls, uncaring to how the sheets have fallen rather low on his waist. "Where the hell'd you come from?"
"Kenren. A softer tone, please. I'm sure Goku wasn't aware he would walk in on us like this." Tenpou speaks calmly in Goku's defense. Unlike Kenren, he is very aware of the sheets, and pulls them up tightly around himself to cover any unsavory areas. He looks down at Goku then and smiles at the boy's silent and ignorantly blank expression. "Goku, you came here for a reason, I trust. Tell me, what is it you need from us so early in the morning?"
Goku looks very confused, sitting cross-legged between Kenren and Tenpou's outstretched legs. He tilts his head. "Ano...Konzen told me to come, Ten- chan, since I was up already and he still wanted to sleep. I thought we could practice reading if you were up, too. I didn't think you'd still be sleeping. I'm sorry I woke you and Ken-niichan."
The boy's lowered eyes and soft-toned voice make Kenren feel instantly ashamed for having reacted with such fury before. "It's okay, squirt. We weren't asleep. You just startled us a little, that's all."
Tenpou turns to smile at Kenren for being able to shift with such tender ease when dealing with the boisterous child.
Goku, too, smiles in gratitude, and hops a little on the bed, his spirits instantly raised. "Arigato, Ken-niichan!" he squeals. Then, after looking back and forth between the two men for a few too many awkward pauses, he turns to speak to Kenren again. "Ne...can I ask you something?"
"Errr...like what?" Kenren prompts warily, already pretty sure he knows what the boy is going to ask.
"Why are you sleeping in Tenpou's bed? Don't you have one of your own?"
Kenren tenses; sometimes he hates being right. On the other side of the bed, however, it is quite clear that Tenpou is finding this situation absolutely hilarious. "Well...ya see, Goku..." Kenren begins. "...I do have my own bed...and my own place...I just...prefer to sleep with Tenpou, is all."
"Oh. I understand. I'd sleep with Konzen if he let me." At that, Goku's eyes suddenly light up with a spark of genius. "Ne, Ken-niichan, tell me how to get Konzen to let me sleep with him!"
Tenpou's laughter almost erupts completely, barely able to be contained. "Yes...Ken-niichan...why don't you inform the boy on how to do that." the marshal grins, his face becoming a light shade of scarlet with the labor of keeping himself from breaking into giggles.
"Uhh...well...that's probably something you'll have to wait for til you're a bit older, okay, Goku?" Kenren mends, glaring at Tenpou out of the corner of his eyes.
"Oh...okay." Goku concedes, looking slightly crestfallen, though he once again bounces back with a vengeance. "Can we practice reading then? It's time to get up, ne? Please, please!"
"Sure, Goku." Tenpou consents with a smile. Kenren, however, looks clearly violated; there is no way he can finish what he had been about to say now.
Nevertheless, both men prepare to toss the covers back and get out of bed, when they suddenly realize that doing so would result in much needed therapy for a scarred Goku for at least the next few years. Goku, of course, is completely oblivious, and remains poised between them.
"Ano...Goku, could you go wait in my office so Kenren and I can get up?"
"Eh? Why? I don't mind if you're in your underwear."
Tenpou's smile twitches. "Well...it's just that...we're not in our underwear, Goku."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Well...you see...we...we're...we're--"
"We're not wearing anything!" Kenren blurts out, saving Tenpou the task of saying it. He is then suddenly much more aware of just how low the covers had been on his waist as he pulls them back up. "Tenpou and I are naked, okay? NAKED."
Goku tilts his head again, much more confused than before. "Naked? You sleep naked? Together? But...why would you..." Goku's eyes widen and he flinches back, nearly toppling off the end of the bed. "Gomen. Gomen, gomen. I didn't know you were...together like that."
"Whoa, hang on." Kenren jumps in, his dark eyes narrowing in accusation. "Together like that? You mean...you know about this kind of stuff?"
Slowly, Goku slips onto the floor, blushing furiously. "Sure." he shrugs, his gold eyes staring at his feet. "Konzen told me the basics a while ago. Said he was afraid someone else would give me the wrong idea. So...I know what it means when two people sleep together all night...naked. But...Konzen said those things happen coz a man and woman fall in love. Aren't you both men?"
Tenpou's smile returns broadly, pondering what else Konzen's G-rated explanation entailed. "Yes, we're both men, Goku, but sometimes people of the same gender do those things, too."
"Oh."
"And they aren't always in love."
"...oh."
Kenren scowls at Tenpou's addition, but says nothing.
"Do you understand now, Goku?"
"I think so, Ten-chan." Goku smiles, lifting his head just enough to catch the others' gaze. After sharing that smile a moment, the boy turns--content- -and bounds towards the door. "I'll wait in your office now, k? Don't take too long."
Laughing lightly to himself once Goku has keft, Tenpou pulls the covers back and gets up, heading to his closet to fetch a clean set of clothes. He dresses silently, as does Kenren, who is forced to pull on his clothes from the previous day. There is a tangible thickness in the air around them, as if what has been left unsaid would give anything to be given a voice.
Once both are dressed and Tenpou has managed to make his bed look a little less like a battlefield, the pair heads for the door. Tenpou smiles as their hands nearly touch, both reaching for the knob at the same time, but the expression falls when Kenren flinches away. Tenpou pulls back as well then, but decides to use this opportunity to turn his gaze up and catch the general's attention.
"You were about to say something when Goku came in." he mentions as offhandedly as possible, noting the instant tension that grips the general's shoulders as he speaks. "Tell me...what was it?"
Kenren swallows. "Nothing." he lies, reaching for the knob again and turning it to open the door in front of them. He can't bring himself to finish the confession when he is still so unsure what the response will be. "Nothing important." And with a rather weak smile, he steps out into the hallway, not waiting for Tenpou to follow.
Tenpou does follow, though fairly slowly, and closes the door behind them. "Nothing...of course..." he breathes, too light for Kenren to hear. He continues down the hallway at Kenren's heels, neither saying another word until reaching his office, where Goku awaits them and where they will have no choice but to act once again as if everything is just as it should be.
End Part 5
A/N: So sorry it has taken me so long, but I have been unbelievably busy. A friend returning home from Switzerland (who will be marrying a swiss boy at the end of the month), work like crazy, and just...too much else. So, sorry again, but I will try to be better. The next part will be the last as Kenren and Tenpou. After that, we switch into Gojyo and Hakkai. Hope you're still enjoying and please don't punish my lateness by not reviewing. :-) Love you all!
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