"The coordination meeting's coming up soon," Whis said.

"What?!" Had it been that long?

"Well, you still have just shy of two centuries, but a few things you still need to finish off before you report back to the Supreme Kais."

"More than enough time." He thought Whis had meant within the month.

"Well, with the ever increasing length of some of your naps, I thought it best to give you a little more warning."

His year-long naps had become a great source of procrastination, but he had been hoping that he'd wake up feeling differently about some things. Unfortunately when he woke up it was as if he'd only slept for a night. The only difference being that Whis often had a list of new places that had popped up during his slumber, and a more depressing list of places that had closed down.

He wondered if Whis missed him when he was asleep, and if, by being allowed to sleep for so long, he was missing quality time with the angel. And yet he felt silly asking Whis to wake him up so he could go on these trips with him.

"So, are we working today?" Beerus asked.

"If you want to."

"Yeah, come on, let's go out destroying and then you can show me somewhere nice as a reward."

Finishing the work the kais had left him was not his only goal between now and the next century. He had to talk to Whis about his feelings. Things had spiralled since he'd realised there was more to this whole thing. Now he wanted to hug Whis, kiss Whis, tell Whis things he didn't even want to think about because it embarrassed him. He'd always hated watching couples walk down the street hand in hand, but now he wanted that! He was ashamed of himself.

But so far he hadn't allowed himself to indulge in such things. He kept strictly to the boundaries set before he'd realised all of this, meaning the closest he usually allowed himself was to lay in Whis's lap while they were on the sofa. And still, he paid close attention to when he did this, making sure that he always kept the instances several days apart. Whis mirrored him, much to Beerus's annoyance. He had hoped that Whis would lead the way a little more, but it was as if they were back to square one.

Hadn't that forehead kiss been a good enough signal? Whis had never mentioned it. And he'd never repeated the gesture. Maybe that's where he'd gone wrong? Had Whis seen it as a mistake made because he was tired? He'd have to rectify that.

Today!

Or tomorrow! Or next week… Ah, this was how he'd let years pass. Even if he'd been asleep for most of it. Destroyers had to take what they wanted, right? Destroyers weren't timid and shy like this, right? He had to speak up. And he had to do it today!

Ooo

Today's destruction job was a more specific request: destroy the trees.

"The life in the oceans is progressing well, but the trees are creating a toxic environment on land."

"But it's safe for us?" Beerus asked, wondering if he should stop breathing.

"Of course. Any toxins that enter your body will be metabolised and expelled – part of the gift of life from Grand Zeno."

Beerus frowned. "Alcohol is a toxin technically, right?"

Whis nodded.

"And yet, I still get drunk. So, will these toxins make me feel shit for a few hours or something?"

Whis picked up a fallen leaf. "Shall we find out?" He waved the leaf in Beerus's direction.

"No, let's not. I want to be feeling good come dinner time. So, it's not airborne?"

"No, it's a secretion. And as you can see, it's hindering any other kind of other fauna from growing. Ocean life cannot live on the surface unless it were to suddenly adapt immunity."

Beerus trod very carefully over the leaves. "I can't believe I've been sent to destroy an army of killer tiny trees." They only came up to his waist – not exactly what he'd call a tree. "Let's get to work."

Whis was busy staring up at the sky, admiring the shape of the clouds that formed here. Beerus took him by the hand, leading him towards the forest in the distance.

Over the course of the day Whis taught Beerus a few tricks to make his destruction more controlled – how to destroy one tree at a time rather than just blasting them away willy-nilly, and how to destroy just the tree without leaving evidence on the ground (apart from the dust). It was all very interesting and useful, but he'd been hoping for an easy job so he could blast through and get back to his other problems. Not that he wasn't enjoying spending quality time with Whis like this; it just wasn't as romantic as other things they could have been doing.

Romantic? Since when was that the word he used for this? Of course it was entirely the right one, he realised. When was the last time he'd felt romantic? Maybe when he thought he'd fallen in love with the girl who lived down the street. There was nothing he particularly remembered about her, other than the fact she clearly had rich parents. They moved away from the area pretty quick and he never heard from her again. He wondered what happened to her… Of course she was dead by now. Still, he'd decided any infatuation he thought he'd had was purely due to her perceived wealth.

"I think we should break for lunch," Whis announced on seeing Beerus spacing out a bit more than usual.

"You brought lunch?"

"Did you think I'd let you starve?"

Beerus shrugged. "Didn't think we'd still be here."

"Well I knew what we were in for today." From his staff came a picnic blanket and a basket which Beerus honestly thought was too small to serve two.

When Beerus tried to peek inside his hand was slapped away; Whis wasn't finished with this yet. There was the tap of his staff and the basket began to let off steam, the contents having been heated by the action. As soon as Whis lifted the lid Beerus knew he was in for a treat. And yes, this would be enough for two.

The plate of buns handed to him looked quite modest compared to the usual fare, but the rich roast pork and slightly sweet bread would satisfy him quicker than most foods. Neither of them spoke as they tucked in, too focused on how delicious these buns were. A cold, sweet tea was then produced, and Whis sipped slowly, as if it were hot tea.

"We should come back here in the future and see what effects your work today has."

"Have you got a calendar or something? One that goes on for thousands of years?"

"Of course."

"Then let's come back in…uh… What's a good amount of time?" He had no idea how long it took for life to progress.

"Shall we say two thousand years? The Supreme Kais are clearly keeping an eye, so it could be one to watch. Then we can choose another date depending on how things are going."

"Two thousand years? Is that all?"

"Now, now, life takes millions of years to evolve. I'm merely suggesting the Supreme Kais may have a hand in speeding things up. Besides, they made it sound as if life is more than ready to make the jump to land."

Millions of years… Would he still be alive? If he was, how would things be different? Would he change much?

"This is fun! I've never had something to look forward to so far in the future. I can't wait." He laughed at the strangeness of it all. "You know, when I was a mortal I would have been horrified if someone told me I had to wait ten years or something. And here I am looking forward to two thousand years passing!"

"Well, very few mortals would live long enough to see whatever's at the end of a two thousand year wait."

"I bet it'll feel like a week to you."

"It could do. Depends how interesting the next two millennia turn out to be."

Beerus wrapped his arms around Whis's waist. "Thanks for the lunch. I'll try and make it a good two millennia for you."

Whis raised a brow. "I could have sworn there was no alcohol in that tea…"

"Hey! Can't a god be grateful?"

"Of course, it was just unexpected." Whis decided not to point out that Beerus was only usually affectionate when he was tired, or it was dark, or they were in the comfort of their own home.

"Anyway, what is the deal with letting us get drunk?" He'd discovered that the trees here actually smelt really good, so of course he'd munched on a leaf knowing he wasn't going to die from it. There had yet to be a bad side effect from his actions.

"It's just Grand Zeno having some fun. What would be the point of naming you all after alcohol if you can't get drunk?"

"Look who's talking, Whiskey." Beerus had to stifle a laugh, as it sounded to him as if he was using Whis's full name or something to that effect.

"I think Grand Zeno was annoyed that we lacked the capability, so he purposefully left it in-tact in the mortals he turned to gods."

"What about the kais? How come they don't get a funny name?"

"Do you even know the names of the current Supreme Kais?"

Beerus stopped short. "Well, duh. Grand, North, South, East, and West."

Whis rolled his eyes. "I noticed that you never asked."

"Yeah, well it's too late now, and they don't even call each other by their real names."

"Well, just so you know, they aren't named by Grand Zeno. I suppose their divinity grants them that much."

"But you're divine," Beerus pointed out. "Or are you telling me Whis is your original name?"

"I was born to serve destroyers. I had no need of a name other than the one Grand Zeno gave to me."

"That's…" It sounded like a sad existence. "Whis, do you…" How did he ask such a horrible question? Did Whis hate his existence? Did he crave release from the role he was born to play? Could Beerus offer something like that by saying he no longer required an angel? Or would that just result in the higher ups killing Whis seeing as he'd served his purpose? "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For the fact you have to be my angel."

Whis smiled, having figured out what Beerus had been thinking. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about his own existence and meaning in the past. "I enjoy it, my lord. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Really? You're not just saying that."

"Of course not. If I wanted to stop doing this, I very easily could."

"Really? Can you just resign?"

"Oh no," Whis laughed. "But if I wanted to stop, I could. Just one breach of the rules and I could have myself destroyed by Grand Zeno."

"The rules? Like what?" He had, for some reason, been under the impression that angels could do no wrong.

"We could easily run riot with the time ring the Supreme Kais have."

"Oh, so you have thought about it?" Beerus looked concerned.

"I feel like there isn't much I haven't thought about. But because I have had so much time to reflect, I am very much content with my role in the universe. I wouldn't trade what I have for a mortal life."

"Would you trade it for my job?"

"As much as I'd like to be the one waited on occasionally, I quite like the fact that I'm very much the one in control."

Beerus took Whis's hand and began walking towards the next patch of trees in the distance. "Maybe if you let me use the kitchen, I'll wait on you for once. Just for fun."

"Remember that time you tried to make toast in a frying pan?" Whis asked.

Beerus grimaced, hoping that by now that particular incident had been forgotten.

"Well, I'm still not letting you use the kitchen for that alone. Maybe you can just sneakily buy me something sweet that requires no cooking and I might let you use a plate to present it on."

Ooo

The day had been exhausting, but dinner had been worth it. A buffet that included dessert in the 'all-you-can-eat' part? He would make sure Whis wouldn't forget about it. Now he lay with his head on Whis's thigh as he tried to stay awake after a tough day and a heavy stomach. Above him Whis was reading, book in one hand, the other gently caressing him between the ears. How better to finish the day?

But he wasn't finished. He still had one thing left to do. At the start of the day he had envisioned himself saying something. A little speech of sorts. But over the course of the day he hadn't come up with any good words, and at this moment he wasn't up for what would likely end up being a tired, drawn-out ramble. Actions speak louder than words. That's what they always said, right? So obviously, there was only one action it could be. Now he just had to choose the moment.

"Still not asleep?" Whis mused. "Usually you'd be dozing properly by now."

He had a habit of falling asleep under Whis's touch, and he liked that fact. He figured that if he ever were to start having trouble sleeping he knew where to go – providing the trouble was not to do with the angel himself. "How do you know I'm not dozing properly?" His eyes were closed, and his breathing regular.

"Your ki feels different when you're truly unconscious."

He'd have to work on that. Not that it would be easy seeing as he couldn't observe himself asleep.

"Is something bothering you, my lord?"

Fuck it. "Yeah, it is." He sat up and looked at Whis, steeling himself for the moment. Then he reached up, tilting Whis's chin, and leaned in to press his lips gently against the angel's.

Beerus briefly caught the surprised look on Whis's face, but he quickly turned away and made for the door in what he hoped was a composed manner.

Once in the hallway he stopped to calm his pounding heart, and to celebrate the success of going through with the plan. But now he reflected, he realised he'd panicked at the end. He had meant to wait for Whis to respond and maybe say something, but he hadn't given the angel time before making a swift exit. Did he go back now? Did he wait to see if Whis would find him? Wait until morning? Could he wait that long?

Whis wouldn't come looking for him. The angel would have seen his exit as a cue not to follow. He understood enough about Whis now to make these kinds of predictions. Besides, it's not as if Beerus could go anywhere without him.

"Hey!" Beerus yelled as he edged back to what he now called the reading room, only to find Whis sitting there reading as if nothing had happened.

"What's wrong?"

Beerus pointed accusingly. "You! I just -!" Well, he hadn't bared his soul, but it sure felt like it. "Can't you sit there staring at the ceiling or something for five minutes?" Perhaps it wasn't the sort of thing Whis would do, but he would have.

"For what reason?" Of course he didn't understand.

Beerus gave a frustrated growl and plonked himself back on the sofa next to Whis with a pout. "Well?"

"'Well' what?"

"The…the kiss…" How was he the one getting all embarrassed?

"Ah, yes. Very sweet of you, my lord," Whis said it as if it hadn't taken hours of convincing to do.

It left Beerus speechless. Where did he go from here? What was his next move? Maybe he should have been more patient and tried to predict more outcomes. He'd never really thought about what would happen after. "That's it?"

"Well, I suppose I should ask why that was your response to the question 'is something bothering you?' Am I bothering you?"

God he wished he had a cushion – why hadn't he replaced them? – that he could scream into. Wasn't it obvious? "Yeah."

"You should tell me, then. But your choice of a kiss rather than a punch is quite a new one, especially from a destroyer."

"Well, I'm telling you now!"

"Telling me what exactly?"

Beerus wished he was being quicker by not letting Whis get a word in edgeways, but he was so bad at this. "I…I want to kiss your face!" Not according to plan. He shouldn't open his mouth without rehearsing several times.

"You're welcome to do so."

"Good!" That came out a bit more aggressive than intended. "I mean, thank you." There was a moment's pause and he quickly decided to reach up and peck Whis's cheek. It only seemed right.

"Is there anything else, my lord?"

There was both so much more and yet none at all. They'd already both agreed to being an old married couple, right? What else needed to be said? No, Beerus had to make it clear what kind of couple he wanted to be.

"I like you, Whis." He just couldn't find the courage to commit to the other L-word. "I like like you." As if saying it twice in succession amplified the meaning.

"And I like you too." Whis smiled. "Ever since I first laid eyes on you so many moons ago."

Now what? What else did he say? Did Whis understand? Was he also unwilling to use more hardcore words? His thoughts were interrupted by Whis kissing his temple.

"And I like kisses. They're such a cute gesture!"

"Whis…do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" Beerus asked in all seriousness.

Whis's expression mirrored Beerus's and he gently traced the destroyer's jaw. "Yes, my lord. But unfortunately I am still your attendant and teacher, so I can't play the role of a lover every hour of every day."

"I know. I just…needed to say something. To tell you I didn't want to just pretend to be the old couple. I want it to be real."

"You should have said something earlier."

"I was trying. It's hard, you know – this feelings stuff."

Whis put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand. You look tired, my lord. Perhaps you should sleep?"

"Can I sleep in your lap?"

"I think you'd benefit more from your own bed, but if you insist."

Just for tonight he did.