AN. And here we have the aftermath of that first, terrible Kikoho. Poor Chiaotzu, he's in a right state! Please enjoy :)

Chapter Thirteen

Chiaotzu stared out the window, looking into the darkness of the night and up at the sliver of moon. He was exhausted, his body sagging against the windowsill, his cheek resting in one small white palm, his eyelids drooping. He couldn't sleep. Every time he tried his eyes would close for only a moment and then he would hear a sound, feel a stirring in the bed beside him, and he would be awake again. It always turned out to be his imagination. There was never a noise, or a movement.

He leaned his forehead against the cool glass, his gaze idly tracing patterns in the stars. If he was smarter he probably would have started counting them, but his grasp of numbers had never been great.

He felt his eyelids slip closed, the thin thread that connected his mind to his body snapped painlessly and he slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Then there was a soft noise, a quiet rustle of sheets. His mind and body reconnected with a snap and he jolted, his elbow slipping off the windowsill so his chin fell and connected with a sharp crack. He groaned and held his chin, the smarting pain bringing tears to his eyes. He gently rubbed the red spot under his chin (it matched his cheeks almost exactly, though he didn't realise it) and turned around.

Tien was lying on his side.

Chiaotzu froze, the tears in his eyes sliding down his cheeks. His heartbeat seemed to double, pounding in his ears and obscuring all other sound. He reached out one hand and gently rested it on the other boy's shoulder.

It had been two weeks since Tien had fired off the Kikoho for the first time. He hadn't moved since, lying on the edge of death, teetering on the brink. Chiaotzu had stayed at his side the whole time, watching and waiting to see which way he would fall. Would he wake up? Or would his ki sputter out and his brother be gone forever?

But he had been lying on his back that whole time, except when Chiaotzu moved him. He had not moved an inch of his own volition, never even opening his eyes.

"Tien? Are you awake?"

He had no idea how many times he had asked that question. He had carried out full conversations while Tien lay there, motionless, not responding, not giving a sign that he heard or understood what Chiaotzu was saying.

He felt the lean muscles under his hand stir slightly and his face split in a wide grin. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Tien as best he could, tears streaming down his face.

"Tien! You're okay!"

"Ch….Ch…"

Tien's hand lifted and rested over Chiaotzu's, gripping loosely. Chiaotzu's hand immediately turned and held tight, his short fingers feeling the tremors that ran through Tien's flesh.

"Chao…zu…?"

Chiaotzu backed off for a moment, allowing Tien to roll slowly onto his back. The telepath could only just see the vague shape of his brother's features in the dark, the fine detail shrouded in shadow. All three of his eyes were open though, the moon's dim light shining in them, and they were fixed on Chiaotzu.

Chiaotzu's smile wavered as he clasped his hands in front of him, tears still streaming down his face.

"Wha…hap…?"

"You're back," Chiaotzu said, and then dissolved into sobs, burying his face in his hands and shuddering with the intensity of his emotions. He couldn't imagine that for years and years before this boy came along he had been able to suppress every feeling to practically nothing, maintaining the appearance of a porcelain doll in his stillness. The depth of emotion Tien could inspire in him was unbelievable, something he couldn't bottle away.

He felt Tien's hand gently touch his forehead, lightly stroking the white skin, then trace down and under Chiaotzu's chin. He dropped his hands and lifted his face, aware that he was crying with no heed to how it was affecting his features. Tien was frowning slightly, confusion on his face, and those long thin fingers gently wiped at the tears on Chiaotzu's cheeks. This did nothing to clear them, of course, just smeared them sideways. Chiaotzu lifted his own hand, gripping Tien's, holding it against his cheek. It was warm, for the first time in two weeks.

"Back?" Tien's voice was slow and soft, like his early telepathy days, seeming to take a huge effort just to form the words. "Where…did I…go?"

Chiaotzu didn't know how to explain it so he just shook his head, trying to get control of himself again.

"I thought you were going to leave me," he said, whimpering through his tears. "I thought I was going to be alone again. You can't scare me like that."

Tien frowned, then pulled his hand from Chiaotzu's and grabbed the boy's shoulders, pulling him down and into his arms. He was still trembling, but the previously wavering flame of his ki was now blazing steadily and his heartbeat was strong against Chiaotzu's ear.

"I'll never leave…" Tien said. "I…promised…"

Chiaotzu continued to sob into Tien's chest, feeling safe and secure for the first time since Shen had summoned him to remove Tien from the training area. Tien had made this promise before, of course, and it seemed that he had kept it. This time at least. But now he knew he could do that attack and survive, albeit barely. Now he would train to hone the attack, to harness his energy in such a way that it would not be depleted completely.

The thought made his blood run cold and he lifted his head to look into Tien's eyes. The boy looked tired. He was still clearly recovering from the side effects.

"You can't use the Kikoho again," Chiaotzu said, his voice low and desperate. "It'll kill you."

"No…I don't think so." Tien smiled, and though it was small it was genuine. "I think I can do it properly, so it doesn't take so much."

"But…it'll shorten your life," Chiaotzu said. "Every time you use it your lifespan is used up."

Tien shrugged and his smile widened. Chiaotzu didn't return the smile. He understood suddenly how futile it was to use this warning against a child as young as Tien. The boy was only eleven, after all, and had no grasp of mortality or how precious life was. Chiaotzu, meanwhile, had been alive a long time and knew that as people neared death they fought against it with everything they had. The idea that this boy was shortening his time on earth just to learn a technique was maddening. But all he could do was warn and hope that somewhere, deep inside, the boy was taking his advice.

AN. Ah yes...Spoiler alert, Tien does live because what kind of terrible person would I be to negate all of his canon appearances. I mean, right? Really. For real. Unbelievable. What a bitch. Am I right? Anyway, I clearly didn't do that because he's awake. And how do you explain mortality to a child? I can't remember when I totally grasped what it meant to shorten your lifespan. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, will see you next time :)