Yay! Chapter 11! Sorry for the slight wait. I've had this chapter written for a while, but I like to stay ahead of the game by at least one chapter at all times in case I get a writer's block or something. In this chapter, Gala and Songi have some adorable banter. Seriously, these two... xD

Chapter 11

Without waiting for invitation, Gala pushed open the door to Songi's room and walked in. He hadn't really known what to expect to see, but Songi sitting up on his bed, clutching a bloody steak to his eye and looking somewhere between terrified and furious certainly hadn't been it. And seeing him so clumsily trying to treat his wound only awoke new feelings of guilt.

"Why were you yelling?" Gala asked, walking into the room and up to the bed. His voice could've almost passed for gentle if he hadn't been looking at the red-head in such a skeptical way.

Songi relaxed slightly, though not much. Gala's presence had dispelled that awful, throbbing silence, but still... Gala was Gala.

"I was having a nightmare," he lied curtly. There was no way in hell he'd be telling Gala the truth on this.

Gala almost looked amused.

"So even when you're asleep, you're telling people to shut up."

"How do you think I got so good at it?" Songi said humorlessly. "Shut up, Gala."

"Nice to know I'm 'Gala' again."

"What?"

Songi raised the eyebrow of his good eye - he was pressing the steak too tightly to his injured one to raise anything around there.

"Well, ever since I brought you to Zalan's, you've seemed to have this vendetta against using my name. For the last few days, when I wasn't 'bastard,' 'muscle-bound oaf' or 'idiot,' I was just 'you.'"

"Those words suit you better than 'Gala' or 'Master Teacher' though," Songi said, shrugging. "I'm just trying to be honest here."

Gala, despite himself, almost smiled. How long had it been since they'd bantered like this, without all the malice and bitterness? Sure, there was still some of that now, but nowhere near as much as he was used to.

"You didn't like having to call me 'Master Teacher' either, did you?" Gala asked, still fighting the urge to smile. Songi seemed to be trying to suppress a similar urge, but that might just have been Gala's imagination.

"Hated it."

'And me?' Gala wanted to ask. 'Did you hate me, Songi?'

But he didn't have the courage to ask that question now, even though the answer should've been pretty obvious. Asking if Songi had disliked addressing him as 'Master Teacher, as he'd been forced to do whenever Master Zopu was around, had been pointless too; Gala had seen the way Songi's jaw had tightened upon forming the word, the way his eyes had burned with utter hatred and jealousy.

Instead, Gala gave a small sigh and reluctantly said what he'd come into the room to say.

"Anyway, as I tried to say earlier before you cut me off, I'm sorry I hit you."

"Which time do you mean?" Songi asked dryly. "The time in my face last night, the time in my eye before, or the time in my stomach when I tried to fight back?"

This time, Gala didn't just feel like smiling; he actually smiled. The muscles around the sides of his mouth felt stiff with misuse. Such a Songi-like thing to say...

"All three, I guess. Anger is no excuse for unprovoked violence, as the rules of Biron say."

"Great. Except that I don't believe in Biron anymore."

Gala's smile faded, but he supposed what Songi had said shouldn't come as a huge shock to him. The guy had never shown any real interest in the philosophy of Biron beyond becoming stronger. Besides, a truly dedicated believer of Biron couldn't have done some of the things he had done.

"Don't look at me like that," Songi said, irritated. "No god would've allowed what happened to our village, would they? I don't see why-"

"Gods don't work like that, Songi," Gala said wearily. "Bad things still happen. It's just... Oh, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to try to change your mind. I know from experience how hard that is."

"You know, you suck at apologizing."

"At least I do apologize," Gala retorted, although there was no real anger in his voice. "And what on earth are you doing with that steak? Your face is covered in blood from it, you know."

"Meh."

"You should put some water on it, or it'll get a lot worse. Wait here a moment."

Without waiting for an answer, as he knew Songi would only argue anyway, Gala left the room. He went outside and around to the tiny backyard the house had, where, as he'd expected, he found a small well. It was full to the brim from a combination of recent heavy rain and misuse, so Gala didn't even need to operate the mechanism that would lower the bucket into the water. Instead he just grabbed it and scooped out half a bucket-full from the top of the well.

The bucket under his left arm, Gala walked back around to the front of the house and went inside. He found a cloth in one of the kitchen's cupboards after some rummaging and took it out. It was probably a bit more coarse than was ideal, but it would have to do. He made his way back to Songi's room.

When he got there, Songi was sitting in exactly the same place he'd left him and, much to Gala's disgust, was still holding the bloody steak to his eye. Knowing Songi, part of the reason for this was likely because he knew it would annoy him.

Gala carefully set the bucket down on the side of the bed and dropped the cloth into Songi's lap. He didn't really want to hand anything directly to him, since that would almost certainly cause their hands to brush up against one another.

Without thanking him, although Gala hadn't expected him to, Songi dropped the steak beside him, picked up the cloth and dipped it carelessly into the bucket. He raised it, soaking, to his right eye, and pressed the cloth gingerly against the bruised skin.

Gala saw Songi's jaw tense as the cold water hit, but nothing else gave away the pain he must've been feeling. His body didn't stiffen, and he didn't flinch or whimper. Again, Gala felt an unpleasant, guilty lurch around his stomach, even though the places where Songi had hit him were quite sore too.

After a painful minute or so, Songi lowered the cloth. It was covered in blood, but most of that had likely come from the steak rather than the injury. Gala knew from experience that black eyes didn't usually bleed.

"If water's supposed to be so good and healthy, it shouldn't sting so damn much," Songi grumbled, glaring at the bucket as though it had insulted him.

"Maybe you could try some vinegar," Gala said. Much to his amazement, Songi actually half-smiled.

"Or lemon juice," he said. "I think I saw some when I went out to get food."

"I meant to ask," Gala said, remembering, "how did you buy all that food?"

Songi gave him a strange look.

"I... took the money and swapped it for food. Pretty complicated, I know, but-"

"No, I mean, how did you speak to the street vendors? Were you polite?"

Songi stopped smiling.

"Oh, so now you're going to lecture me on formality as well?"

So... defensive.

"No," Gala said. "I was just curious because I hardly ever hear you speak politely."

"Oh."

Songi looked slightly less annoyed and shrugged.

"Well, I was civil, if that's what you mean. I didn't curse at anyone."

"That's definitely an accomplishment for you," Gala said, grinning despite himself.

"No, wait," Songi said. The smile returned to his face, and with some foreboding, Gala recognized a familiar, devious air to it. "There was this one guy, but he wasn't selling anything. He was just some smart-ass on the street. He made a comment about how I was walking - you know, because of the bandage and all - so I slugged him."

Gala gaped at him.

"You didn't..."

"Sure I did!"

Songi looked more offended that Gala didn't believe him than he had when he'd thought he was going to be lectured about politeness.

"And then he ran off crying like a girl!" he added. "It was hilarious!"

"You're lucky you weren't arrested," Gala said.

He wanted to say more, namely about how stupid and careless Songi had been, but he didn't want to cause another fight. The last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to them than there already was. Plenty of people in Legaia, especially the ones living around the places that had been most terrorized by the Mist, would probably know Songi by sight, and if any of them were able to connect him to Cort and the other allies of the Mist...

Despite Gala's restraint, Songi still looked irritated. Maybe he'd been half-hoping the younger man would laugh with him, even congratulate him. He'd always loved praise, even from people he didn't particularly care for.

"I have no respect for guys who cry when they get hit. Crying is for girls and kids," Songi said, breaking the short silence that had fallen. He stopped, seemingly remembering, too late, that he himself had cried, and cried hard, not too long ago. Uncomfortable, Gala attempted a small smile and said:

"Well, I'm sure he's very sorry he met you."

"Good," Songi said shortly.

"Just..." Gala hesitated. "Just don't do something like that again, all right? I don't want you..." He trailed off. He'd almost been going to say, "I don't want you getting hurt," but that sounded far too... honest.

"Oh, so I'm allowed to go out again?" Songi asked, rolling his good eye.

"If you tell me before you do, and if you come back when you say you will," Gala said, well aware of how much like Maya he suddenly sounded. Not that Maya had ever let him or Songi go 'out' anywhere, but he still sounded a lot like her.

"And if I don't, you'll rat me out to someone in power, right?" Songi said.

Gala sighed again.

"I'm sorry," he said, and he meant it. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but..."

"Whatever," Songi interrupted him, dropping his gaze. Seeing his companion so sincere was clearly making him uncomfortable. "Here. Have this back."

He raised a hand and practically threw something at Gala, who only just managed to catch it before it collided with his face. It was the bag of money Songi had taken. Under the circumstances, Gala had almost completely forgotten about it. He supposed it was nice that he was getting it back though. Things would've been a lot more difficult without it.

"Thanks," he said, attaching it to his cloth-belt.

As usual, Songi didn't bother to respond to Gala's civility.

"Are there any other clothes in this house?" he said instead. "These ones are getting a bit... ripe."

'These ones' were a baggy shirt and pants Zalan had kindly given Songi, as his old clothes had been too stained with blood to save. Or, they would've been baggy on Zalan or Pepe. On Songi they fit pretty comfortably.

"And so are yours," he added.

Zalan had lent Gala some clothes too, just as baggy, and thus well-fitting for him, as Songi's. The former Master Teacher had no idea why Zalan had such oversized clothes in his house. Maybe his wife had been a little on the large side, or perhaps Zalan himself had been at some point. Gala was certainly never going to ask him. But Songi was right, as hard as it was to admit. Their clothes were in bad need of a wash.

"I'll go look," Gala said shortly, and walked out of the room again.

ZzZzZzZ

It didn't take very long for Gala to look through the house and realize it was as devoid of clothing as it was food. Undoubtedly because resources had been so limited and precious in the days of the Mist, most of the clothes had been taken to other houses.

When one thought about it, it was pretty lucky that anything remained in the house at all, although it was possible someone had restocked it since Legaia had been liberated. Unfortunately, whoever had done this had failed to provide any suitable clothes. Sighing, Gala made his way back to Songi's room.

ZzZzZzZ

"There's nothing here," he said testily as soon as he'd walked into the room. "I'm going to go and buy some." He tried to look at Songi as he spoke to him, but he hated seeing the reddened, swelling skin around his right eye.

"I guess I should've gotten some while I was out," Songi said. He was still sitting on his bed, but he looked restless. Being cooped up had never been his style, which had made the monastery a pretty miserable place for him to grow up in.

"No, if you'd taken any longer, I really think I might've come after you," Gala said, trying to keep his voice light even though he was being completely serious.

"That's a horrible thought," Songi said. Gala shrugged.

"Well, I'll go now. Songi..." He added the last word in a low, almost-pleading tone. "Please don't leave the house again."

Songi shot him a glance, casually fingering the steak he'd been using on his eye as he did so.

"Fine, fine," he said. "I'll wait here for you like a good boy. But damn it, Gala..."

Gala tensed. He felt oddly comforted when this man used his name; he'd been doing it so rarely as of late.

"I left you a note," Songi said. "I thought it'd at least stop you from throwing a fit this time."

"I know I probably overreacted," Gala said.

"Probably," Songi repeated sarcastically.

"But I..." Gala swallowed. "I was worried. If someone had recognized you..."

Songi looked as uncomfortable as Gala felt. He was likely very uneasy that someone he was supposed to be on bad terms with was showing him concern.

"Okay, okay!" he said, averting his gaze. "Just go. But remember, idiot, I'm taller than you, so make sure the pants you get are long enough. There's nothing I hate more than having the skin between my boots and pants exposed."

Gala held back a laugh and left the room, closing the door behind him because he knew Songi preferred it that way. He didn't feel angry anymore. The man he'd just spoken to seemed too much like the old Songi for that. Sarcastic, arrogant and snarky, yes, but not psychotic or evil. Not like he'd been when he'd...

Gala shook his head, dispelling those thoughts. He didn't want to think about that right now. He hadn't felt this carefree for quite a while, and he had no intentions of ruining that. For a long time, he didn't even allow himself to worry if Songi would keep his word about not leaving the house again.

AW! Jeez, you two, just start kissing already! ;D Actually, that won't be for several, several chapters, but still. We all know they want to, at least in this fic. They just don't know it yet. ^^ Now, will Songi keep his promise and not leave the house this time? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z- I-I mean, find out next time! :D