Kisuke snuck another glance at Griffin as the man concentrated on eating; he looked younger, softer, without his uniform or mask to draw the eye and add a hunter’s sharpness to his features. Not that his golden eyes and narrow eyebrows weren’t enough, but…

Griffin had down feathers on his chest, visible through the gap in Kisuke’s jinbei that Tessai had given the man to wear, and his hair looked fluffy, sticking up every which way as if Griffin hadn’t even bothered trying to tame it. Kisuke’s fingers itched to touch, to see if everything was as soft as it looked, but he didn’t dare.

(Waking up with Griffin sprawled across him was something he’d treasure forever, but it didn’t mean Griffin would put up with him doing whatever he wanted.)

(Oh how he wished it did!)

Kisuke shook the distracting thoughts free and took another few bites of food; he needed to stop reacting so blatantly to the man if he wanted this partnership to work out. Their alliance was fragile enough without Kisuke’s unwelcome advances getting in the way.

(It was okay.)

(He was used to it.)

Still, he could help another brief glance at the man, wanting to memorize the sight of Griffin in Kisuke’s clothing. It was unlikely that he’d ever get the chance again—

(Something wasn’t right.)

He paused. Reassessed. Tried to tease out what his subconscious had noticed.

Griffin took another bite, a bit clumsy but clearly having learned how to use chopsticks at some point. His bowl was still half-full, evidence that he was unused to the practice and—

His eyes, Kisuke noted grimly, had the slightly pinched look of someone in pain.

Kisuke slanted a glance at Tessai, wondering if his friend had noticed it as well. Tessai met his gaze and nodded, concern clear in his expression, and it made something heavy settle in Kisuke’s chest; they’d healed Griffin of his wounds, he knew they had, so why was he in pain?

Curious, Kisuke served himself some of the noodle dish that Tessai had made and took a bite, but that didn’t tell him anything; it wasn’t spicy, wasn’t sour, didn’t seem to have anything objectionable about it, so what in the world…?

“Fox?” Griffin asked suddenly, head tilted and ears pricked forward. “Is there… something wrong?”

“Ah, well, I…” Kisuke hesitated, wondering if asking was too forward, before blurting out, “Are you hurt? I mean, it’s just… you’re not eating much, and you look like you’re in pain…”

Griffin blinked in confusion, then glanced down at his bowl and back up at Kisuke. “The food’s just fine,” he said, as if that answered anything at all.

“Griffin,” Kisuke rumbled, feeling his ears flatten and his tails twitch in frustration. “If you’re injured—”

“I’m not,” Griffin said with a huff, feathers rustling as he shot Kisuke a scowl. “I have problems eating sometimes, it’s nothing you caused and nothing you can fix.”

Kisuke shared a wary look with Tessai, not liking the sound of a hero having issues eating, then cautiously asked, “Will you let Tessai check? If he can’t find anything to heal then we’ll leave you be, but if he can…”

(Magic took its toll on the body, and a transformation was magic at its purest.)

(If Griffin couldn’t easily replace the calories he was spending…)

Griffin hesitated, tail-tip twitching and his lion ears folding down in discomfort, then slowly set his bowl down and straightened up. “I… suppose,” he said with clear reluctance, his hands balling into fists. “So long as you promise to leave me be after this.”

“Of course,” Tessai agreed as he set his own bowl down and carefully moved around the table and into Griffin’s personal space.

“You don’t have to treat me like a frightened fledgling,” Griffin spat, baring his teeth at Tessai and rattling his feathers in a familiar threat display. “Just get on with your damn check.”

Tessai gave Griffin an unimpressed look and leaned in, one hand lighting green as he pressed it to Griffin’s stomach. His brows almost immediately furrowed and his hand slid a few inches to the side, clearly hunting down something that he meant to fix.

Griffin’s expression smoothed out into a mask of blankness, even as his eyes widened enough for Kisuke to easily see his whites; shock, Kisuke suspected, along with a feeling of relief that Griffin didn’t dare trust.

(Tessai must have found the problem, just like Kisuke knew he would.)

Tessai allowed the healing spell to fade from his hand and straightened up, pulling away from Griffin as he did. “How’s that?”

“I… thank you?” Griffin murmured in surprise as he pressed a hand to his stomach, an edge of wonder coloring his expression.

“You’re welcome,” Tessai said with satisfaction, moving back to his spot and picking up his bowl again to resume eating. “If your stomach begins to bother you again, let me know.”

Griffin blinked once, long and slow like Yoruichi did if Kisuke surprised her, then inclined his head. “Of course,” he murmured, though Kisuke was certain the man had no intention of following through.

(The fact that Griffin had allowed them to try was astonishing enough.)

(It would take time to truly earn the man’s trust, if they even could after so long as enemies…)

Tessai’s gaze slanted towards Kisuke, exasperation tinging his expression; wise man that he was, Tessai clearly disbelieved Griffin’s words as well.

Which was fine.

They’d just have to keep an eye out and do their best to earn the man’s trust.

Speaking of…

“Let Tessai know what you need and he’ll get it for you,” Kisuke said, wanting to assure Griffin that they weren’t going to force him to deal with borrowed clothing for the foreseeable future. “Whether it be changes of clothing or something else, just ask and we’ll see what we can get.”

Griffin gave Kisuke another long, slow blink, then glanced down at the food in his bowl and focused on it for a moment, clearly gathering his thoughts. “Thank you,” he offered after a moment. “I… mmm… no, it’s fine. I don’t particularly need anything, though the chance to wash my clothing wouldn’t go amiss.”

“That’s not a problem,” Tessai said with a nod. “Just give them to me after dinner and I’ll see to it.”

“Thank you.” Griffin picked at his food a bit more, then set the bowl back down and took a drink of his tea. He settled back, wings tucking into his sides a bit more, and fixed Kisuke with a considering look. “Shall we discuss our options now?”

Kisuke hesitated a moment, wanting to protest how little Griffin had eaten, then nodded sharply in agreement; he wasn’t going to endanger their tentative truce over something so trivial. “Yes, that sounds good.”

Now that they had another person — another former hero — on their side, he could see so many potential solutions. It would be hard, it would be frustrating, but…

They had a chance.

(Finally!)