Loving-Kindness (Challenge #10: Kenren; gen, PG)
Title: Loving-Kindness
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: nothing, really
Pairing(s): A breath of 10K, if you listen hard.
Spoilers: nothing much - PG solely for mention of 10K and a curseword
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #10: Kenren. Time allowed: 45 minutes. Time taken: a little more than 50 minutes, plus 5 to look up a definition for the intro theme. This ended up being about all four of them really, but Kenren's at the center. (Is there a word for all 4 of them in Gaiden? Because they aren't the Sanzo Ikkou yet ... .)
Summary: Kenren has warmth enough to spare.
"The world stands on three things: holy scripture, service to the divine, and acts of loving-kindness." - Jewish sacred text
Konzen, hurrying through the gardens in the late afternoon with a sheaf of reports for the Bosatsu, nearly passes by without seeing him. Then he stops, surprised, and turns back for a moment.
"General Kenren - Field Marshall Tenpou was looking for you."
Kenren is sitting on the ground at the base of one of the cherry trees, relaxed, his long legs and long leather coat stretched before him. His calmly contented expression flickers for a moment. "Ah, right," he says, quietly. " Supper with Tenpou. Oh, well. He'll understand." The General smiles and blows out a stream of cigarette smoke.
Konzen frowns, hugging the reports to his bony chest with one arm. "You're not going?"
"Well, I'm kind of pinned down here at the moment." And now Konzen can see what he'd missed before: Goku is tucked under the long skirts of the coat on one side, his head pillowed on the General's thigh. He looks to be dead asleep.
"We were doing a little catching practice. He's a scrappy little fielder. We sat down for a breather, and pow - out like a light."
"He shouldn't be keeping you from your business, General ... Goku!"
The boy stirs, just a little, and Kenren puts his large hand on the small, diadem-bound head. "Hey, there's no need for that, Konzen. Chill. Speaking of business, don't you have to take those papers someplace?"
Konzen's aggravated breath stirs the fronds of his golden hair. "That child is also my business."
"Look at him - he's not going anywhere for a while. I'll watch him."
Konzen inhales deeply through his finely-drawn nose, looks down at his papers, back at the General. Then he turns sharply and leaves, his white draperies wafting behind him. Kenren watches his departing back with amusement, then settles back against the tree trunk and closes his eyes.
* * * * * * * *
"There you are."
Tenpou's voice. The sun is lower, and it's a little cooler in the garden. Goku is still snoring lightly, although he's shifted a little and mostly uncovered himself. Kenren pulls the warm, soft leather back over the small, wiry body and smiles up at his adjutant. Tenpou smiles back.
"How like you. It's getting a little chilly, you know."
"Well, if the cold wakes him, then I won't have a problem anymore."
Tenpou has retrieved Kenren's jug, which had been left on a bench closer to the path. He uncorks it and offers it to his friend. They sit in the gathering dusk, sharing the liquor and watching the sleeping child. At last Konzen returns, no longer burdened by anything but his own anxieties. He stops and gazes at the changed tableau for a moment. Finally:
"If he's so soundly asleep, still, I guess I could carry him back to my rooms that way."
The other two exchange amused glances. "Let me help you with that," says Tenpou, kindly. He removes his own lab coat. Kenren uncovers Goku gently and Tenpou quickly has him bundled in the other garment, still warm from his own body. Goku frowns and turns his head as he's moved and lifted. His eyes flutter open for a moment as he's transferred to Konzen's waiting arms, but then he smiles and falls asleep again.
Konzen stands there for a moment, as though uncertain of whether he can move with this deadweight in his arms, but at last he walks off, slowly and carefully. Kenren rises and stretches, clearly stiff from his long vigil, and wraps one arm around Tenpou's shoulders, peering after Konzen. "He's pretty cute once he takes that stick out of his ass."
"Indeed." Tenpou, coatless, shivers in the cool evening breeze. Kenren instantly doffs his own long leather coat and presses it into service once again, wrapping it around his lover's shoulders. Tenpou tries to stop him and fails: as he knows all too well, Kenren is irresistible. "I'll be fine: I'm perfectly warm," the General says.
Tenpou looks into his eyes and smiles, his heart in his face. "Indeed, you are," he says.