"So, did the person who you learned to massage for enjoy it?" Whis asked one afternoon as they sat by the lake, enjoying the latest creation Planet Catcholeo had to offer – chocolate that not only tasted like fruit, but was shaped like it too.

"Very much."

"Oh?" Whis seemed surprised. "I'm glad to hear it."

"What? You sounded like you expected me to say something else."

"I clearly haven't been paying enough attention, my lord," Whis admitted. "I was sure the person you were aiming to please was on Planet Sarkay, but as our visits have dried up recently I assumed it hadn't gone well."

Now was the moment. He just had to bite the bullet and play it cool. "Actually, it was you."

"Me?" Beerus could have sworn he'd seen a faint blush on Whis's cheeks. "I'm flattered, my lord."

"Yeah, well, I thought it'd be nice for me to do something for you for once." He felt he had to justify this immediately while he had a hold on the conversation.

"That is unexpectedly thoughtful of you – not to say I haven't noticed you being more thoughtful recently."

Beerus smiled, glad that Whis had taken note.

"But, despite all the effort you put into learning, you have yet to offer me another one."

"You should have asked if you wanted one so badly." He had been anticipating this, and had prepared answers in advance.

"I was under the impression you didn't want to. I was hoping to ask, but when you declined my last two offers to massage you I assumed you had tired of the whole thing."

Ah shit, so Whis had noticed. Until he was sure there wouldn't be a repeat of last time, he'd kept his distance, but luckily he had already thought ahead. "I don't like to have too much of a good thing, you know. You offered so soon after the last one that I didn't want to waste the offer."

"These things aren't stored like some kind of credit," Whis pointed out. "You can ask for my services any time – as you have done in the past."

"Well, so can you!"

Whis raised his brows. "Can I? Well that's good to know. You see, my lord, I am the attendant, and you the master, so it is generally not for me to ask for things for myself."

"You're always asking to eat this, try that," Beerus pointed out.

"I meant I do not ask for things from you. When we go out and do all these things, it is not you who provides them, so I feel at liberty to ask for whatever I please. I do believe this is the first thing you've been able to do for me that in no way benefits you."

Beerus tried to think of an example, but was coming up short.

"These small household things you've been doing to help me – like being more conscious of the mess you're creating and working to minimise it – these things, although highly appreciated, are all for your benefit in the end. I didn't ask you to pile the plates after dinner, but you did, and as it's your mess I could have asked you to do it. But the massage? I would never ask."

"But you said you wanted to ask."

Whis looked away. "Well, yes… I was going to ask indirectly by mentioning your lessons on Sarkay or something."

Beerus wanted to reach out and turn Whis's face back towards him and say something – but what? He clenched his fist, not yet ready for that kind of contact. "Did you want to finish up here and go somewhere a little more private?" He hadn't meant it to sound quite like that.

"You don't have to."

"I want to. I'm so stoked that you actually wanted me to give you another one that I'd quite like to right now." Beerus flexed his hands. "Wouldn't want to get rusty."

Why? Why did I get carried away? He wondered as they flew back inside. Was this not the one thing he'd been trying to avoid? Well, looks like he had to go through with it now. Perhaps he could find some earplugs or something before they started.

Fortunately a better idea came to him. Keep him talking. "So, Whis, why were you pining after my touch so badly?"

"You've got good technique for a beginner – something I'm sure will only improve over time. In fact, it's the prospect of you becoming so talented that made me want to keep your interest."

Oh, Whis, if only you knew…

"And I'm sure your nails will feel quite nice against my skin when you dare to use them."

Beerus gently scraped them down Whis's back, making the angel shiver and hum. Don't do that again. Excellent information, but he was trying to keep noises to a minimum here.

"Besides, my lord, I feel like this is something that will bring us closer together."

"You want that?" Beerus asked. He wanted it so badly.

"Of course I do! Are you really the universe's strongest pair if you're not mistaken for an old married couple?"

Beerus almost choked at the example. "Really?!"

"I think every angel hopes that that's the relationship they achieve with their destroyer. The idea that we are equals. Of course I am your attendant, but also your teacher, and to start it was very clear who was the superior depending on what we were doing. But the ideal is for us to be equals all the time, wouldn't you agree?"

"Sounds…like something I'd like."

Whis gave a pleased sigh. "I'm glad you agree. Sometimes destroyers want to keep things as they are – only ever deferring to their angel during training."

"I respect you more than that, Whis."

"That warms my heart."

"Whis, I…" This was the moment! Everything had been set up for it! And he didn't even have to look Whis in the eyes at this moment – could he ask for an easier ride? But he hadn't figured out how he was going to say it!

"Yes?"

He'd left it too long! Guess it was time to stop thinking and just let it come out naturally. "I…love the idea of being an old couple with you, and…" That's enough. He didn't need to say more. That was more than enough for now. He fiddled with the gold clasp on his ear, suddenly aware he'd stopped massaging Whis a while ago now.

"And?"

"Nothing."

Whis laughed as he turned to look at Beerus. "You're such a bad liar sometimes, my lord."

Beerus was glad he was ready for the appearance of sexy Whis, this time propped up on his elbows, nicely displaying his stomach – not as toned as one might think based on his combat skills, but perhaps eating that much did affect angels after all. "I'll finish my sentence when I'm ready." He turned to leave, worried that Whis would coax him into finishing it today.

"I'll be waiting, then."

"Yep, you do that." He had a sinking feeling Whis already knew.

Ooo

His planet didn't have seasons – something he'd discussed with Whis. They'd settled on a mild temperature that was comfortable for Beerus and his shirtless-ness during the day, but it still got quite chilly at night. Whis had offered to remove the day-night cycle, but Beerus liked the change in light; it kept him grounded. Now he sat, huddled in a blanket, at the very top of his castle, the top of the tree, where there was a viewing platform. He could see all the corners of his planet, and the smaller planets that orbited his own. He'd never asked where they'd come from or why they were here, but he liked them as decorations – something to make the skyline interesting to gaze at.

"I wondered where you'd got to," Whis said as his head popped up from the stairs. "I made us hot chocolate."

Beerus gratefully accepted the warm mug. "Thanks."

"What brings you here? I thought you'd be heading off to bed."

"Star-gazing." He strained his neck skyward. "You like it, right?"

"I do. I often spend time here while you sleep." Whis sat down on the floor next to Beerus. "Do you know any of the constellations?"

Beerus unwrapped himself from the blanket a little and awkwardly tried to hook it over Whis's shoulder, wishing that his robe wasn't so stiff."

"Oh, you don't have to, my lord, I'm quite at ease with this temperature."

"Accept the blanket, Whis."

The angel pulled at the front of his outer robe and it came off, disappearing in the process, then he edged closer to Beerus, pulling the blanket around him.

"No, I don't know the constellations," Beerus said.

Whis pointed up at the sky – Beerus wasn't sure where he was supposed to be looking exactly. "Those six stars are the Tavros constellation, representing a bull."

"Uh, which six?"

Whis took time to point out exactly where Beerus should be looking to get his bearings.

"Yeah, okay, that's supposed to be a bull?"

"Representative. Of course the stars aren't going to be drawing fantastic pictures in the sky."

The god of all the universes was a toddler. Why shouldn't he believe the stars can paint masterpieces? Whis took his hand and laid his palm out flat, drawing what he was supposed to be gaining from the stars. Whatever he was supposed to gain was completely lost on him as he focused entirely on the feel of Whis's fingertips and how his hand felt all tingly now.

"You see?" Whis asked.

Beerus nodded, pretending he'd paid attention to the symbol drawn. Whis continued on, naming another constellation and locating it for him. His mind was busy thinking about the fact that Whis was really close right now. Close enough to draw comfortably on his palm…actually, that was Whis's knee he could feel through the blanket too. It wouldn't take much at all…

"My lord?"

"Huh?"

Whis looked amused. "I know, it's easy to get lost among the stars. I asked if any had particularly caught your eye."

"Not particularly." He just liked the array as a whole, something about looking up at the night sky reminded him of home, perhaps because it looked so similar. The peachy tones of the daytime sky was so different to what he'd grown up with. He stole a glance at Whis, but quickly did a double-take as he realised his halo was faintly glowing. How had he never noticed that before? Did it have to be really dark? Or did you have to be really close? "Do you have a favourite?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Whis beamed as he looked up again, able to locate it in an instant. "Cankri! It looks like a crab!" Once more he pointed it out, and drew it with enthusiasm. "See, these are meant to be the pincers!"

Even if he understood nothing from tonight, he was at least glad to see that Whis was having fun. It was undeniably cute how excited Whis was about this crab constellation.

"You look underwhelmed," Whis said. "Were you expecting me to pick something more sophisticated?"

"No, of course not. A fun animal and something you can eat? It's the perfect choice for you. I was just…thinking how cute you were when you talked about it." He was going to try hard to remember this information.

The comment caught Whis off-guard and Beerus could see him flush in the dim light of his halo and the stars above them. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"Don't be sorry, I liked it – seeing another side of you." Somehow the darkness was giving him confidence to say these things. "How can we pretend to be an old couple if I don't even know your favourite constellation?" His body was ahead of him as he felt his tail wrap around Whis's waist and pull him closer. "I could listen to you all ni- uh, until I fall asleep, let's be real." All night was not going to happen no matter how much he liked Whis. He leant his head against Whis's shoulder. "Are there any food shaped constellations? That aren't just animals."

"Not that I know of in this universe, but we can make some up."

Beerus looked up. "Where's that square? That can be the bread constellation."

"Maybe that curved group can be a deep-fried prawn."

"Or a banana."

"Oh yes, that fits the shape better."

Beerus closed his eyes as he let himself lean into Whis. This was nice. He wanted to do this every night, if only they would never tire of it. He tried to supress a yawn, but Whis noticed, slipping a hand up to massage the back of his head.

"Is it bedtime, my lord?"

He downed the last of his now mildly warm hot chocolate. "I think so. I'd fall asleep on you, but I think it's a bit too cold for that." He untangled himself from the blanket, feeling the cool air washing over him. Carefully he wrapped Whis in the blankets and bent down to kiss his forehead before saying goodnight.

Once inside and warm again he let out a groan as he trudged to his room. He'd been so close! All he had to do was lean down a bit further and kiss Whis like he meant to. But he couldn't do it. In reality he'd been planning to lean in way before that, under the cover of darkness. But this was progress! It was better than nothing!

A/N: I'm so sorry, but I'm a filthy Homestuck. But you already knew that if you recognised those constellation names as trolls.