AN. So we are back! I hope you enjoy!

Massive shout out again to CommanderAIK for helping me to read through this chapter. It's hugely appreciated, you're the best :D

Chapter Thirty

He was alive.

He lay awake in the dark, his red-rimmed, oval eyes staring up at the shadow shrouded ceiling. The ocean crashed against the shore outside, a gentle roar accompanied by the rattling of palm fronds in the wind. The sky was dark and moonless outside the window despite the multitude of glimmering stars.

He didn't want to sleep. Whenever he slept he had nightmares, horrible visions of monsters and demons and violence. Whenever he had slept in the previous days he had done so reluctantly, sleep claiming him without his consent and sinking him so deep that despite the terror he couldn't claw himself back to consciousness. He hated that feeling, that helplessness, and so stayed awake as long as he could.

They were still in Kame House. Master Roshi had agreed whole-heartedly to let them stay a few days to recuperate before they departed for Karin Tower. After that they would go their separate ways in preparation for the tournament in three years. Goku would be at that tournament. He'd finish training with Kami and then Chiaotzu could thank him. Thank him for bringing back the dragon. Thank him for making it possible for Tien and the others to resurrect him.

The thought of his resurrection made him think of his death, and the memory made him shudder and clutch the blanket close to his chest. He remembered the pain, the malevolent green face looking at him with shock and rage. He could remember being dead. The darkness and the pain and the red points of eyes surrounding him. He had been convinced he was in hell; that he was being punished for his crimes.

Then the resurrection. Waking up, staring at the dark roiling clouds and the coiled green dragon, and wondering if the void had been a dream. Then he'd become aware of the irregular fluttering of his heart, the cold that had sunk into his bones, and made him shiver and shudder in an attempt to feel warm again. He remembered Tien's soft voice, his name murmured in a tone of joy and disbelief. As he had sat up in his coffin Tien had crouched down, putting an almost impossibly warm hand on his small cold head, a wide relieved grin splitting his face in two. The sight of that grin had warmed him to the core.

He moved his face slightly, listening now to Tien's deep breathing as it mingled with the roar of the ocean. Nausea was twisting through him. He needed to get up, to get some fresh air for just a moment.

He carefully eased himself from beneath the covers. He and Tien were sharing a double bed. Roshi had insisted on giving them this room, despite the double bed, and though Chiaotzu had offered to sleep on the floor Tien had shrugged and said he didn't mind, there was plenty of room for the pair of them.

He padded silently from the room and then from the house, creeping past the sleeping figures on the couches. He stood on the beach in his bare feet, close enough that he could feel the first surge of the wave on his toes. These sensations were wonderful, glorious, and he drank them in with his eyes fixed on the twinkling stars. He filled his lungs with cold ocean air, his hands gripping tight to the opposite elbows to ward against the chill.

The nausea settled. The anxiety settled. For a moment he was completely at peace, his eyes sliding closed and his lips curling up in a gentle smile. Then he felt something, a slight fluctuation in the energy behind him, something so subtle he might have missed it if he had been thinking about anything else.

"Tien," he breathed. Suddenly the anxiety was back, making his heartbeat thrum high in his throat. His feet moved of their own accord, turning and sprinting back into the little, pink house. He didn't bother trying to be silent as he ran up the stairs and into their room.

Tien was sitting up in the bed, his hand outstretched and his face an anguished mask. Tears shone on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, even in the limited light, and a low despairing moan was emanating from his throat.

Chiaotzu jumped on the bed, feeling the chill of the night air lingering on his skin, and murmured, "What happened? Tien? Are you okay?"

The pain and sorrow on Tien's face immediately morphed into a deep relief, his tense features relaxing, and he scooped the telepath into his arms. Chiaotzu hugged him back, caught by surprise by this sudden show of affection. After that first relieved hug Tien had been slightly distant towards him, particularly in front of the others, and while he hadn't been surprised it had been hard as well.

"You were asleep, I'm gone less than five minutes and you're a wreck! What happened?"

"I had a dream…a nightmare," Tien said, his voice choked and soft and full of shame. He had, not that long ago, dismissed nightmares as something only children suffered, that he was too old for them. "I keep seeing him… I see him…k-kill you. But you're usually here when I wake up, and you weren't and I couldn't remember if…if you were really alive or if the Eternal Dragon was just a dream…"

Chiaotzu's stomach twisted into a knot. After killing him Piccolo Daimao had killed the dragon. It was only because of Son Goku, of his trek to the Sanctuary at the top of the world to convince Kami himself to restore the dragon and his friends. "I'm alive. I'm here."

"Don't go…"

"I won't."

"Don't…"

Tien burrowed his face into Chiaotzu's shoulder, leaving the boy to reach his arms around the triclops' neck and rubbing his back gently with one hand. He didn't know how to comfort him, this man who had in his own way rejected him for so long, who had denied him the very reassurance that he now craved. He was, once again, the big brother. He felt the prickle of tears in his eyes and clenched them shut for a moment, willing them away.

When he felt he was under control again he pulled away slightly, unable to flatten his worried frown to nothing. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm alive. Piccolo Daimao is dead. Son Goku killed him. Son Goku brought be back."

He saw the glimmer of tears in Tien's eyes, the sorrow and fear on his face, and was surprised when the triclops murmured, "I'll die if you leave me again…"

Ice rushed through his veins with the beat of his heart, making him shiver suddenly as he shook his head. "I wouldn't, not to that…"

"It might be different," Tien said, cutting across him. "Not being…killed that way…" The icy chill washed over Chiaotzu again. He hadn't told Tien about his afterlife, about being trapped in hell. How did the triclops know? "Promise you won't leave again."

His tone was desperate, his plea that of a frightened child's. Chiaotzu slowly shook his head, searching for the words. "I…I can't promise that, Tien. Everyone dies. You know that."

"But…"

"We'll always be together," Chiaotzu murmured gently as he leaned his head on Tien's shoulder. He felt so safe here, nestled in the tight embrace of his brother. Even talking about dying didn't really frighten him. "Even if I die I'll be with you, always."

"You weren't with me this time."

Tien's voice was flat, empty in a way that caused Chiaotzu's arms to tighten around his neck.

"You don't know that…"

"I do. I couldn't feel you anywhere. Your mind was gone. Just…gone…" Tien's grip tightened fractionally, enough to underline the sorrow in his tone without hurting the small telepath.

"Well… Like you said, maybe it'll be different."

"I'll follow you."

"Tien, you wouldn't…"

"I would." Tien pulled Chiaotzu away, staring at him intently. "You're my brother, I need to make sure you're okay, that you're not hurt." A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Combined with the sadness in his eyes it was a sight that made Chiaotzu's heart break just a little bit. "That you're not lonely…"

Chiaotzu lifted one hand and gently wiped away the tears on Tien's face. "Okay, okay…" He blinked and the tears welling in his eyes spilled down his cheeks. "You win… I won't try to stop you…"

"Good." Tien surprised Chiaotzu by leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to the boy's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Chiaotzu. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better."

Chiaotzu clenched his eyes shut, his face screwing up tight. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to break down. All his years of training under Shen were clamouring at him now, telling him to suppress the emotions, to hide the feelings, to squash that huge surge of relief and gratitude to nothing. The dam holding his tears back didn't break, but it cracked substantially and he was vaguely aware of tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Thank you, Tien…"

"It's okay, Chiaotzu… I don't know if I can sleep," Tien said softly.

Chiaotzu took in a short hiccupping breath that was almost a laugh. "You'll be able to. Now that I'm here…"

Tien let him go and Chiaotzu, suddenly cold, slipped under the blankets on his side of the covers. He was completely emotionally drained, and yet so relieved and happy that he felt he would burst. Tien looked at him for a moment then also lay down, pulling the covers up and curling on his side, the way he had when he was a very small child.

Chiaotzu resumed staring at the ceiling. His vision was fading at the edges again and the reminder of his death made his stomach sink and his eyes widen. Then Tien's hand covered his, long strong fingers curling around to cradle his hand. A wide smile broke out on his small face. He blinked away the tears that tried to form, and closed his eyes. For the first time since he had been brought back to life he managed to fall into an easy sleep. His dreams were no longer filled with violent snarls and suffocating blasts, but of the wide relieved smile of his big brother as he'd sat up in his coffin, and the warm embrace as he had been lifted from it.

AN. So he's alive again! Now we'll have a few chaps of the three-year training interval before the next tournament. I'm going to cover DB, I've decided. Hopefully you'll stick with me :) Thank you all so much for reading, will see you next chap! :D