Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Time ❯ Waking Up ( Chapter 12 )

 

Sometime during the early morning hours Tenpou woke, blinking in the darkness and not remembering where he was for a few moments. <i>Gods, how much did I drink?</i> he wondered, before it all came rushing back to him. The party, Shi-ne in that dress, Goku getting beaten up, proof that Shi could control thunder wasn't just a rumor, coming to her house with Konzen and Kenren, the fact that he was on a futon in the middle of her library floor. He shook his head and was ready to turn over and go back to sleep when he heard something odd. A high pitched keening then quiet, snuffling sounds and finally, lowered voices. He got up and wrapped the covers around him, then went to find the source.

 

He paused just outside of Shi's bedroom door, wondering if he should knock or not when the door flew open. Shi was standing in the doorway dressed in an old sweatshirt that was about five sizes too big for her and pajama pants.

 

“Oh, good. I don't have to wake you up,” Shi said. “He wants you. He says he keeps having nightmares about you, Kenren and I covered in blood.”

 

“Considering what we do, that isn't surprising.”

 

“He says he's pretty sure it's our own blood. That seems to be the major point of what's upsetting him. Tonight you just happened to win the prize,” she said, stepping aside to let him into the room. She stayed by the door and watched as Tenpou made his way to sit on her bed next to Goku, who immediately tried to burrow himself into his side.

 

The soldiers really had worked the poor kid over, Tenpou thought. He knew he'd be in their CO's office as soon as he cleared a few things away in the morning demanding something be done to or about them. Providing Shi-ne didn't take matters into her own hands and just slaughter the lot first. He turned to Goku and focused on the task at hand. Between Goku's hiccups and sobs, Tenpou managed to get the majority of the nightmare out of him.

 

“An' you were just layin' there but your eyes were open an' it looked like they were made of glass,” Goku said.

 

Tenpou and Shi shot one another a look. They had both seen that expression before; the cold, glassy look that came too quickly into dead eyes. Shi pressed her back to the door to suppress a shudder that threatened to go through her. It was only a child's dream, after all. But Goku was certainly no ordinary child.

 

“It's okay, Goku. I don't plan on dying any time soon and neither do Shi-ne or Kenren,” Tenpou said, disengaging himself from Goku. “Try to get some more sleep. Okay?”

 

“Don't go, Ten-chan. Please!”

 

“Goku, Shi-ne and I have to get some rest. We have things to do tomorrow.” <i>Like eviscerating the ones who did this to you and reading their entrails.</i>

 

“I know but th' bed's big enough for all three. Just sleep here.”

 

“That . . . isn't my decision to make, Goku,” Tenpou said, his eyes going to Shi-ne, who was still standing by the door.

 

“That's fine, Goku. I'll go sleep in the library,” she said, turning to leave when Goku bounced off of the bed to stop her.

 

“No. I want both of you here. Please, Shi-ne. C'mon,” he was holding on to her arm, big, golden eyes wide and pleading. “Ten-chan doesn't snore or anything like Konzen does. Please, Shi-ne. I'd feel a lot better if Ken-ni was here too but I don't think four'll fit in the bed.”

 

Shi sighed and rubbed his hair, looking into the bruised little face she couldn't find it in her heart to deny him. Regardless of how much she did <i>not</i> want to be sharing a bed with Tenpou no matter what the circumstances were. She found it mildly annoying that just a few hours ago she might have killed for that opportunity. It was damn odd that since she had consciously decided to avoid him, something he would probably have agreed with wholeheartedly, he had been constantly underfoot.

 

“Okay, which side of the bed do you want, Tenpou?” she asked. Dear gods, she didn't think she'd ever be asking him that question under any circumstances.

 

“Yippie!”

 

She allowed herself to be dragged to the bed by the arm, shaking her head the whole way. Tenpou slid to the far side of the bed and laughed a little as Goku bounced in beside him. Shi leaned down and kissed Goku on the forehead just below the diadem before turning off the light and climbing into bed herself. Goku immediately rolled and flopped across her, settling his head onto her shoulder.

 

“Thanks, Shi-ne, Tenpou,” Goku said.

 

“It's okay, dumpling, just go to sleep,” Shi said, petting his hair.

 

***

 

Tenpou woke just before dawn. Not due to some internal alarm telling him that he needed to wake up but because something kept tickling his nose. It was also odd that he felt warmth and weight settled against him. His eyes shot open and several things registered to his sleep fuzzed mind. One: that Goku, who had been sleeping next to him, had managed to wallow himself off of the bed. All Tenpou could see was one foot hanging onto the mattress, the rest of him was on the floor. Two: that if Goku was on the floor it left one other occupant in bed with him and that was Shi. Three: it was in fact Shi's hair under his nose that had woken him. Four: it was Shi's body that he felt against him. Her back was pressed to his chest; he had one arm thrown around her waist, hips and legs aligned against hers. Five: Gods, she smelled good. Six: he felt absolutely no inclination whatsoever to move from that position.