A/N:
Hello there all Sorry for being WAY too late for Christmas my computer has been vengeful as of late! It's been a long time since I've written a story and although I'm sure no one on the internet has really missed my writings I myself have missed writing on the internet. So here is my humble effort to add to the repertoire of Piccolo and Gohan stories on this site. This was written in response to Jazyrha's Winter Story Contest on the "Piccolo and Gohan: Daisuke!" forum. Please be kind and remember to review.
Obligatory disclaimer: I don't in any way own Dragon Ball Z except for the five episodes that I bought on VHS when I was ten.
Piccolo had never really hated winter, in fact if anything it was preferable over the other seasons in his opinion. The temperature never got cold enough to cause him any great deal of discomfort or force him to change out of his customary training outfit. And when the animals began to leave the valley to go and hibernate it allowed him to meditate in a kind of surreal silence that granted him an amazing deal of concentration and self reflection. And despite not being overly concerned with the aesthetics of nature he often found himself admiring the way that the glistening snow clung to the branches of the bare trees that surrounded him.
The problem with this winter was that he was not in his valley meditating; the problem with this winter was that he was stuck in a small house with his former arch-rival, his domineering harpy of a wife, and a child that he cared for deeply but was beginning to wear on Piccolo's patience.
Sitting in the corner of their living room on a chair that was obviously not constructed with someone his height in mind, Piccolo was trying very hard to pretend not to overhear Chichi and Goku arguing over something completely trivial in the kitchen and watching Gohan reading a textbook on Advanced Functions and Graphing across from him on the dining room table.
Piccolo sighed and closed his eyes trying to block out Chichi's shrill voice as it strained his sensitive ears. He sighed again and rubbed his head, he could feel the beginnings of a headache forming in between his eyes.
Living with the Son family had always been a difficult experience, but these last few weeks had been especially trying. Piccolo was never quite sure what possessed him to outright accept Son Goku's invitation stay with him and train until the androids arrived. Perhaps it was his own fear of the death that the young man from the future had predicted, or perhaps it was his own determination to become an even stronger warrior, although, he admitted to himself with a wry smile, it probably had a lot to do with Gohan looking at him with that sad sort of pleading look he had mastered while Goku had asked him to train with them in preparation for the androids, Piccolo found himself entirely unable to say no to that face. Whatever the reason Piccolo has accepted the invitation for that last five months he had been living with Gohan, Goku and Chichi in their small home in the mountains.
At first Chichi had been vehemently opposed to the idea of him in her home at all let alone living with them for an extended period of time but eventually she accepted him as a strange addition to their family bit only after weeks of begging by both Goku and Gohan to let him stay with them. Piccolo still caught her giving him disapproving looks from time to time and she also seemed to feel the need to frequently remained him rather loudly that Gohan needed to study as well as train and that the year he had spent with Gohan in the wilderness preparing for the Saiyan's had caused him to fall too far behind in his school work and that she would not let that mistake be repeated this time.
The first month with the family had been rather rocky Piccolo admitted to himself, since he was not used to living in a confined area or around other people. But in the beginning of August after he had given into Chichi's ridicules whim and he and Goku had obtained their driving licences things had improved and he felt himself settling into his own niche within the family structure.
It was at the end of last month that things began to get difficult again. When the snow began to fall in mid November Chichi hadn't said much about them training outside in the cold although she did begin to call Gohan inside for more frequent breaks. Near the end of the month as the temperature continued to fall Chichi had finally put her foot down and stopped allowing Gohan to train outside fearing that he would, as she put it "catch his death of cold".
Piccolo chuckled silently to himself as he remembered Goku suggesting that he, Piccolo and Gohan fly down to Master Roshi's island for a few weeks to train since it was in a much warmer climate. Three hours later when Goku regained consciousness after being hit in the head by a frying pan that Piccolo swore Chichi pulled out of thin air, he gingerly touched his head and laughed before turning to Piccolo and saying "So I guess that means no."
Not having Gohan train with them for a few weeks was not the only problem he and Goku had encountered in their training. By early December it had gotten so cold that Goku was beginning to wear sweaters when they sparred, which slowed his reaction time significantly, they also tended to tear rather easily which frustrated Chichi to no end. All in all the atmosphere in the Son household has become unbearably tense these past few weeks and it was beginning to wear heavily on Piccolo's nerves and distract him from his training.
Piccolo stood up off the chair and stretched out his legs which were cramped from sitting in the too small chair for an extended period of time. He turned his head toward the door from the kitchen just as Goku emerged grinning happily as if he didn't just get yelled at by his spouse for the past hour and a half
"Hey Pic, what's the matter?" Goku inquired still smiling
Piccolo grunted, he didn't even bother to tell Goku not to call him 'Pic' anymore nothing could dissuade the man from addressing him by that idiotic nickname.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong Pic," Goku asked again sounding slightly concerned "you look like you've been thinking really hard about something."
Piccolo sighed "I've been considering going into the mountains to do some meditating for about a week"he admitted
"But Mr. Piccolo" Gohan began his voice sad
"I think it's a wonderful idea" Chichi interrupted coming through the kitchen door "Since Gohan and Goku aren't training Piccolo must be bored just sitting around the house."
"But," Gohan began again sounding even sadder
"It's only for a week darling" Chichi interrupted again "I'm sure Piccolo will enjoy it."
Gohan picked up his book sulkily knowing better then to argue with his mother when she had made up her mind on a subject.
The next morning Piccolo left for his week of training in the mountains. As he stepped out in the fresh snow he breathed a sigh of relief happy to get away from the tensions of the Son household.
When Piccolo landed outside the Son house a week later he was puzzled at the changes that had occurred to the decoration of the exterior in his absence. Outside the house along the roof were rows of small multicoloured light bulbs twinkling merrily in the sunset. On the front door was a thick pine tree branch warped into a circle and decorated with small glass bulbs and an obnoxiously large red bow. In the front window there was a large banner in the glass proclaiming 'Joy to The World.'
Piccolo stood outside the transformed house for a few moments not quite sure if he should knock or not wondering what had transpired in his week long absence. And what would possess Chichi to adorn her home in such gaudy decorations. As he was standing in the cold musing the door to the house opened and Gohan dressed in his pyjama's rushed out and attached himself to Piccolo's leg.
"Hey Mr. Piccolo do you like the Christmas lights me and Dad put them up yesterday and I hung the left side of the house all by myself this year!" he rambled while hugging Piccolo and gesturing to the roof lights.
"GOHAN!" Chichi yelled following her son out the door "Don't run outside in your pyjamas you'll get pneumonia!" Chichi then hauled Gohan back into the house. After Gohan had been led inside she turned to Piccolo and smiled "Welcome back Gohan's been excited all day about your return. I'm sorry I won't be able to greet you properly I have some last minute shopping to attend to before the big day."
Piccolo entered the house warily wondering again what had happened in his absence. His instinct told him not to trust Chichi when she smiled.
The inside of the Son residence was even more radically transformed then the outside. On the window ledge there was a display of a small village made of glass houses and lit up with light bulbs resting on a puffy surface of 'snow' made from cotton fluff, On the ledge of the fireplace were three large red sock like things each with a member of the households name printed on the top in large black letters, on the coffee table the usual lamp was replaced with one that looked like a light up snowman and a small painted wooden solider with a very square hinged jaw, finally in the corner stood a large fir tree which had every branch decorated with hanging ornaments and trinkets of varying sizes shapes and colours with a large golden star resting on the top. The largest change however was in the overall atmosphere of the household Piccolo he surveyed the hall and Gohan smiled to himself as Piccolo looked at the new décor. Everything felt so calm and serene it was such a stark contrast to the tense feeling that had predominated in the household the week before Piccolo began to wonder if the Son's had gone mad in his absence.
"Hey Pic Goku greeted walking into the hallway from the stairwell, "do you like the house? Chichi, Gohan and I spent days getting it just right for Christmas
Piccolo saw his opening to finally figure out what was going on "What's Christmas?" he asked keeping his voice as disinterested as possible
"Well," Gohan began affecting a scholarly tone, as Piccolo inwardly sighed and prepared himself for a long boring explanation of their odd behaviour
"Christmas it the best time of the year!" Goku interjected eyes shining with childlike enthusiasm "You decorate your house really nicely and you bake all kinds of yummy food and spend time with the people you love and then if that wasn't already cool enough on the twenty-fifth"
Goku paused here and looked at Gohan as if to assure that he had said the right date when Gohan nodded Goku continued full force
"THEN if that wasn't cool enough on the twenty-fifth of December you wake up in the morning and under you're Christmas tree and in your stockings"
Goku paused again to gesture to the pine tree in the corner and the socks along the fireplace
"And you find the presents left the night before by Santa!"
Piccolo had many questions after what Goku had just related to him but instead of asking them he instead repeated what he thought was key information "So Christmas is a celebration where you look forward to a man breaking into your house and leaving gifts"
"No, no, no" Goku said waving his hand as if to dismiss Piccolo's notion of what Christmas was "Santa doesn't break into your house!" Goku lowered his voice slightly like he was telling Piccolo a secret "He's magical."
Piccolo stared at Goku wondering how a grown man could act so idiotic sometimes and still not understanding exactly what Christmas was.
"So," Piccolo began trying to put the confusing holiday out of his mind "Are you ready to start training again Goku"
"Well Pic," Goku said sheepishly "I was sorta thinking that we could wait until the end of the holidays to start training again you know, since it's the season of Joy and all."
Piccolo felt his nails dig into his palms in silent anger. Hadn't their training had been interrupted enough thus far and Goku wanted to take even more time off to celebrate an asinine holiday, didn't he realise that the fate of the world depended on them being strong enough to defeat the androids that were coming in two short years?
"Season of joy?" Piccolo spat out "Season of Joy? Are you really that stupid Goku? Do you not realise how important our training is? Are you so weak that you wish to interrupt your training to celebrate a useless holiday?"
Goku winced as Piccolo's words sunk in and Gohan's eyes began to water
Piccolo noticed their discomfort but he was too angry to stop his tirade. "Do you want to die? Do you want the earth to be destroyed? This isn't a game Goku you can't just pick and choose when it's convenient for you to train, the threats that attack he earth aren't going to care about your holidays or your excuses. When did you become so soft?"
Piccolo finished and turned toward the door sharply, "when you're ready to be serious about your training came and find me, until then I'm severely disappointed in the both of you."
"Mr. Piccolo, wait please!" Gohan called after him trying to grab the end of his cape. Piccolo chose to ignore him and walked out the door and flew away.
Gohan stared at the door tears falling down his cheeks and onto the floor. Goku stood there also staring.
"Daddy was Mr. Piccolo right? Is it wrong not to train right now?" Gohan asked his father
"No son" Goku said as he placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring fatherly gesture "I don't think Piccolo really understands Christmas is and that makes him angry. I probably should have done a better job of explaining why it's so important to us."
"Will he be back?" asked Gohan trying his hardest to stop crying
"I'm sure he'll be back Gohan" Goku said smiling "now you'd better stop crying before your mother comes home from her shopping or well really be in trouble."
Piccolo sighed and for the hundredth time that day tried to successfully clear his mind so he could meditate. He shifted into a more comfortable position and began to focus on his breathing and he was again bothered by images of a tearful Gohan calling for him to wait. Piccolo finally admitted defeat and uncurled himself from the louts position he has been sitting in there would be no meditation for him today.
It had been just over four days since he had snapped at Gohan and Goku and left their house in a rage. Over those four days his initial indignation had subsided and although he was still angry and frustrated at their lack of commitment to their training regime he was more then a little embarrassed at his reaction.
He didn't quite know why the idea of Christmas bothered him so much. Although something about the idea of people spending time with their loved ones made something very ugly inside him appear, a loneliness he had long ignored. What bothered him even more was the reaction his tirade had produced in Gohan. Gohan had always taken special care to not cry in front of Piccolo, this was probably because during their days training for the arrival of the Saiyan's every time Gohan had begun to cry Piccolo had thrown him off a Plateau or into a cliff, and yet when Piccolo had begun his rant Gohan has started crying almost immediately.
Piccolo leaned back against the wall of the cave he had been occupying since he had left the Son house.
Does Christmas really mean that much to them? Piccolo mused. From Goku's explanation it seemed like a idiotic, meaningless celebration. Although Piccolo admitted to himself they seemed to put a lot of effort into decorating their house and the happy atmosphere that he had felt when he entered had been a pleasant contrast to the tension that had been stifling him when he had left for his solo training. The house had exuded a feeling of pleasant comfort and contentment hell even his brief encounter with Chichi on his return had been strangely civil. Perhaps there was more to this Christmas then Goku's juvenile explanation had let on.
Piccolo surveyed the dimly lit cave he was currently residing in. Yes he had the solitude he had longed for and yes he had the time to train that he felt he needed but strangely he missed the comfort of the Son household. He missed having Gohan and Goku around to spar with and to talk too, hell he even missed the verbal sparring matched he occasionally had with Chichi over the amount of time Gohan needed to stay holed up in his room studying.
"I must be losing my mind" Piccolo said out loud holing his head him his hands. How could he actually miss living with the Son's? He had obviously changed far more then he originally thought. "Soft" he grumbled to himself "I've gone soft, and I've started talking out loud to myself, this is worse then I originally thought. Goku's strange breed of insanity must be rubbing off on me."
Piccolo walked to the mouth of the cave and looked up at the star filled sky toward the mountain where the Son family resided. I need to go back he thought to himself. I've become accustomed to them, Piccolo thought as he took off into the night air, for better or for worse.
When Piccolo finally landed outside the house he was confused. The decorations that had adorned the exterior were still present but inside the house all the lights were extinguished and everything was deathly silent. Piccolo shook his head by his reckoning it was only around nine in the evening far too early for the family to be in bed.
Gohan's bedtime was nine-thirty and after hearing Gohan plead with his mother night after night to be allowed to stay up later he knew that it was highly unusual for Gohan to go to bed even one minute earlier then his assigned bed time. Goku usually went to bed around eleven and Chichi around ten when she finally finished cleaning the kitchen after dinner.
At first Piccolo wondered if the family had gone out but after a quick scan inside the home he found that Gohan, Goku and Chichi's chi's were present. Tentatively Piccolo knocked on the door, when no one answered he tried opening it and found it unlocked.
As soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness Piccolo entered the house silently wondering what the hell was going on and bracing himself in case this was some kind of insane trap. As Piccolo entered the living room he noticed there was a plate of milk and cookies lying on the coffee table.
What the hell? Piccolo thought to himself, why on earth would Goku just LEAVE cookies lying around something terrible must have happened here.
As Piccolo stared musing at the plate of cookies he heard whispers from the next room
"Dad do you think it's Santa?"
"It must be! Who else could it be"
"Shhhh pretend you don't hear him or he'll leave without leaving the presents!"
"WHAT Santa wouldn't do that would he?"
Piccolo was so distracted by this odd conversation that he completely missed that there was someone sneaking up behind him until he heard her yell "How dare you try to rob my house on Christmas Eve!"
Piccolo barley managed to duck as a frying pan was sung at him with lethal force. As Piccolo stuck out a hand to stop the frying pan as it was swung again the lights suddenly came on and he saw Gohan with one hand on the light switch and Goku standing beside him in the corner. Chichi lowered the frying pan she had been wielding and looked at Piccolo angrily.
"Mr. Piccolo you came back for Christmas!' Gohan said grinning from ear to ear "I knew you'd come back!"
"See I told you" Goku said beaming.
"Yeah I'm back" said Piccolo cautiously eying Chichi who was still gripping her frying pan.
"Welcome back Piccolo" Chichi said putting the frying pan on the floor "I'm glad you made it in time for Christmas."
"Thanks" Piccolo mumbled rather embarrassed at having such a warm welcome after he has yelled at the family only a few days ago "So," he said composing himself "Why are you all in bed so early it's not your customary behaviour."
"Were you worried about us" Chichi said stifling laughter
Piccolo glared at her.
"Well Mr Piccolo when you go to sleep early on Christmas Eve it makes it seem like Santa's going to come sooner." Gohan said while Goku nodded enthusiastically beside him.
"I see" said Piccolo not really understanding but glad that nothing bad had happened.
"So Mr. Piccolo" Gohan said sheepishly "are you going to stay here for Christmas."
"We'd love to have you" added Goku "Gohan's really missed having you around."
"It's not like I have to cook anything extra anyway" finished Chichi
'Sure" said Piccolo rather flippantly "I'm rather curious to see what this Christmas thing is about."
The next morning at the crack of dawn Piccolo was awoken by the sound of Gohan and Goku shrieking in delight.
"Mr Piccolo, Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan yelled bursting into the room where Piccolo had been resting "It's Christmas! It's Christmas Santa came! Come and see"
Warily Piccolo followed Gohan into the living room where the large decorated fir tree was standing. Under it were piles and piles of brightly wrapped boxes covered in bows. The socks by the chimney were stuffed with smaller versions of the boxes.
"Isn't it great Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said enthusiastically pointed toward the pile of boxes "Santa brought a ton of gifts for us this year!"
"So it would seem" Piccolo retorted finally understanding what Goku meant about 'Santa' leaving gifts.
A few minutes later Gohan, Piccolo, Chichi and Goku had assembled around the large fir tree and Goku began distributing gifts. Piccolo sat back and watched as Gohan tore through the paper on the presents with amazing amounts of energy and thanked his parents for the gifts, a large portion of which were rather thick encyclopaedias. Goku went through his presents in much the same fashion. When it was Chichi's turn to open her gifts she had a higher degree of self control and carefully unwrapped them folding the paper as she went. After they were all done there was still one small square present under the tree.
"Here you go Pic" Goku said as he held the present out.
Piccolo took the package gingerly wondering what in the world it could be. Opening it carefully he was surprised to find a small wooden picture frame that had edges decorated in acorns and small seashells. Inside the frame was a picture that had obviously been taken at one of Bulma's parties that Gohan had all but forced him to attend. It was a picture of him and Gohan sitting together under a tree and talking.
"Do you like it Mr Piccolo?" asked Gohan "I made it myself"
"It's nice kid" Piccolo replied ruffling Gohan's hair and wondering to himself what he was going to do with a picture frame once he went back to living in his cave.
After the presents were all opened Chichi went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast while Goku and Piccolo went outside to chop firewood, Gohan stayed in the living room to play with his new presents. Just before breakfast the Ox King showed up to join them with another armload of presents for everyone.
At the end of the day Goku and Piccolo were both outside taking the wrapping paper to the oil drum in the back of the house that the Son's used as a makeshift incinerator.
"Thanks for coming back for Christmas Piccolo" said Goku trying not to trip over a tree branch buried in the snow "It really meant a lot to Gohan."
Piccolo grunted in response
"I promise we'll start training again soon, besides I have a feeling everything will turn out alright with the androids" Goku continued regaining his footing in the snow. "Anyway all in all I think this was a pretty good Christmas, I bet you can't wait to celebrate it with us next year too!"
"Wait a second" Piccolo said disbelieving Goku "you mean to tell me you people do this every year?"
"Yup," Goku returned "every single year, next year you'll celebrate with us again right?"
"I suppose I will" Piccolo said, acting terribly put upon.
Although a small part of him was thankful for the knowledge that there were after all people in the world that he was important to, and also despite driving him insane sometimes were extremely important to him.
Ending Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed the story and I wish everyone who reads this Happy Holidays! I have an idea for another chapter of this story that deals with another Chirstmas that Piccolo has to go through. If your inteseted in it please remember to tell me in your review.