Byakko recovered at the usual speed for a shikigami. Within a day he was back to his old self and mobile, with no lingering ill effects. Touda had contacted Tsuzuki to give him the news. His shinigami had been happy to hear that the white tiger would be okay.
In Touda's eyes though, nothing was okay. Byakko had nearly died. By the end of the day his mood had dropped and the tiger had noticed.
"Touda? Something wrong?" he asked.
"You were a fool to fight that devil!" he told the younger shikigami, anger still quite prominent in his voice.
For the hours he had sat watching Byakko sleep and heal, the had thought about all the scenarios. None had ended happily.
Byakko had nearly died.
Byakko scowled. "Tsuzuki called me. It was my duty."
"Not when you're sick!"
"We serve him, Touda. You would have done the same, even if you had to carry your head under one arm!"
He gazed into the determined, set features. Yes, he would do the same, whatever condition he was in. So why was he so upset about Byakko doing in?
Because he cared.
Because he had been worried.
Because he was currently very, very furious.
"You could have died!" he hissed instead of saying what he thought, what he felt.
"The devil wasn't that strong, really!" Byakko huffed. "No match for a God, even one with a cold."
"You could have died, you foolish fur ball! Your servants would nearly have scraped you off the ground!"
Byakko's eyes flared, his own temper reaching a dangerous point. "They didn't! So it's a moot point!" he snarled. "He Summoned me, I came! That's what we do! You answer him just the same as I do!"
Touda stepped forward, towering over Byakko despite them being almost the same size. Red feline eyes met visored ones.
"He didn't call me!" Touda grated out. "He called you! That's the point! I'm not the one who had a cold!"
"Tsuzuki could have died if I hadn't followed!" Byakko yelled, his tail whipping around dangerously. "You want that? You want me to be responsible for our master's death!"
Touda growled, baring his teeth.
"Of course not! So what's this all about? You're sworn to Tsuzuki! More than any single one of us! You would protect him! Discussing not following his Summoning is stupid! We all would follow, wherever we are, whatever condition we are in!"
Byakko closed the last distance between them, clearly pissed.
"Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, Touda? Did Suzaku tread on your toes? Or what the devil is wrong with you? We're not discussing our loyalty to Tsuzuki here, right? Just spill it, damnit! I'm sick and tired of playing your games!"
Touda didn't exactly see red, but his temper got the better of him. With a snarl he grabbed the annoying little tiger and pushed him against the next wall, holding him there with his body. Heated red eyes stared at him in anger, but suddenly there was something else glittering in them – and Touda found his mouth being thoroughly plundered… and holy, the tiger could kiss. That he already knew, and his body remembered all too closely, too.
Groaning he responded just as enthusiastically, pressing his body flush against the lighter one, hearing Byakko moan… oh yes, the tiger liked it. Eager hands roamed over his back, searching for bare skin, for more contact… Byakko pulled back, panting heavily.
"Touda," he whispered roughly, "want you…"
And who was Touda to disagree?
A fluid motion sent Byakko flying, letting the lithe body land on the large bed, and with a low growl Touda was after him, all but tearing the hindering clothes apart. And then there was only pure skin between them, and even that was too much. Byakko mewled into his kisses and arched into his touches...

Soft rays of sunlight illuminating the bed room, a cool breeze moving the curtains and the chirping sounds of birds in the trees outside slowly woke Touda, and he stretched lazily, finding himself in bed, closely snuggled against a living hot water bottle. Byakko made a soft sound when he moved, still deep in sleep, and Touda closed his arms around the slender form once again, letting his hand splay over the flat abdomen. Byakko moved again, his backside with the soft furry tail pushing against Touda's groin – and sending a rush of pleasure through his body.
The serpent let his hand wander deeper. Byakko mewled softly and stirred, red eyes fluttering open in confusion while his body was already reacting to Touda's ministrations.
Twitching slightly into his hand Byakko turned his head, looking at Touda from still sleep dazed eyes, and the serpent leaned in for a kiss. The tiger responded after a second, reaching around to weave his fingers into his hair. Touda sighed when Byakko pressed himself backwards, spreading his legs in the process.
Byakko inhaled sharply, head falling back and shivered when Touda found a slow but steady rhythm.

Harsh breathing filled the room and Touda stroked over the body in his arms, enjoying the feel of the heated, soft skin, the texture, the sensation of something living and breathing. He didn't try to arouse his lover once again, just calmed him with each stroke. Byakko moaned softly, hands clenched into the sheets.
Touda licked at the warm shoulder, delivering a little bite. Sunlight played over the silvery white hair, highlighting it, and Touda smiled at the rumbling purr his caresses drew. He felt pleasantly sated, at peace, and looking at his bed partner he detected the same satisfaction from Byakko.
Last night had been intense. This morning had been like a completion, and the attraction had only grown. He was in bed with the Protector of the West, had slept with him, not just a handjob, and he wanted nothing more than to stay like this, with this man in his arms.
"What a wake-up call," Byakko murmured, smiling lazily.
Oh yes. Quite a wake-up call. Very intense. Byakko hadn't been a virgin to male sex and neither had been Touda. Shikigami had no problems with gender-related issues, unlike humans, as Touda had found out in his time with Tsuzuki. His last encounter with any partner, male or female, had been quite some time ago, but his body had remembered. Oh yes, it had remembered.
Touda pushed away the long hair and kissed the inviting neck, drawing a pleased purr. He liked the sound. He wanted to hear it, he wanted to be the one to make Byakko purr… and cry out in pleasure, in need, he wanted to hear him cry his name as he came.
Oh hell, he had it bad.
"That was intense," the tiger said softly. "Very intense."
He turned in Touda's arms, red eyes filled with so many emotions, it made Touda swallow. He reached up and touched the other shikigami's face, finger tips skimming over the sides of the visor. The control mechanism sat snugly on the skin, leaving no room, and it had never bothered Touda as much as it did now. He wanted to look a this lover unimpaired.
"You were worried, right?" Byakko asked.
Touda didn't answer. He just couldn't.
"About me?"
He froze. Had he been worried? About the white tiger? Or had he been worried about Tsuzuki?
Both, was the disturbing answer.
"You were worried about me," Byakko answered his own question, voice full of wonder and awe.
He wanted to deny it. He wanted to call it a lie. But it wasn't. He cared about this hyper, annoying, energetic, irritating feline.
"Thank you," the tiger murmured, eyes so very serious.
Touda felt his whole body freeze as tender fingers brushed over his lips. When Byakko tugged at his neck, he found himself lean down, and then those lips were touched by Byakko's.
It was a loving contact, barely a kiss, really, but it did things to him that nothing had ever done.
"Thank you, Touda," Byakko whispered again.
And he had no reply for it. None at all.
Byakko apparently didn't expect one. He lay on his side, looking at the black shikigami, while Touda almost absent-mindedly caressed his side.
"Stay…? Please?" the tiger suddenly said.
Stay?
"How long?"
Today? Tonight? The week?
"As long as you want. It doesn't have to be in my room, I mean, you can get your own. I have a few you can decide on. I'm not using all of the palace. It's rather empty and I figure we can clean out one wing and you can have your own part. If you want to redecorated, just tell the servants. We can come up with something so you feel at home here. That is if you want to stay. If you don't want to, it's okay, really."
Touda shut up the runaway mouth the only way that was effective: he kissed him. When they parted, he looked into the slightly dazed red eyes.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Sure."
"Do you know what I did?" Touda clarified.
"I do."
Byakko's voice was quiet, serious, such a far cry from his cheerful mood. Of course the God knew who he was. Everyone did. Touda was the criminal who had killed thousand. Touda was a mass murderer. Touda had only been pardoned because of Tsuzuki.
"And you want me within these walls?"
"I think I said that."
Touda was silent for a moment. "People will talk."
"Let them."
"You're the Protector of the West."
"I know that."
"Sohryu will not be amused."
"Screw Sohryu."
Touda raised an eyebrow behind the visor. That had been rather clear.
"He's not my father. He doesn't run my life. I'm my own person and my decision stands."
Touda winced at that. Thank the powers he wasn't…
"Stay?" Byakko repeated the request.
Another silence, then Touda sighed. There was no going up against this stubborn individual. And part of him didn't really want to leave. He wanted to be close to this man, to explore their relationship and more. He wanted…more.
Byakko beamed. "I take that as a yes!"
And he was enveloped in a pair of strong arms and Byakko was kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

to be continued in Res Judicata