Notes: 1.) Main pair is HanP (GohanxPiccolo), the others are side-pairings that are just mentioned or hinted at. 2.) Piccolo is 13 while Gohan is 15 (by DBZ standards, this is no longer considered underage-also 13 is the legal age of consent in Japan!-but I'm warning you in case you're queasy about it). 3.) Piccolo Daimaoh Jr's personality & appearance here is closer to his Ma Junior self. 4.) Again, for those who don't know: Piccolo-san is a hermaphrodite. This is canon. So even if it's yaoi, it's also hetero. 5.) And lastly, this is unbeta'd. Sorry. I edited a bazillion times, but I'm sure I missed errors, so I will be editing again as soon as my brain has gotten a breather. Cheers!

Warnings: Yaoi, Shounen-ai, Alternate Universe, High School, Fluff, Angst, Expletives, Kissing, Snogging, Lime, Lemony But Not Quite Lemon, Non-Graphic Oral Stimulation, Forced Orgasm, Possible OOCness, Interspecies Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Rape/Non-Con/Dub-Con Elements, Not GohanxVidel-Friendly, Uke Piccolo

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Z/GT/Xenoverse/Super/etc.belong to their respective owners. This story, however, is my derivative brainchild, created for my personal pleasure & sublimation. I own nothing except this derivative fanwork which I do not profit from.

Story #71:

"Your Kisses Are Mine"

(Sorry, literally dreamt of a title I liked better hence the retitling. f^.^;; Formerly "Kisses Speak Louder Than Words".)

"Piccolo! I finally found you!"

Said Namekian froze.

A hand on his wrist thwarted his plan to pretend he didn't hear and speedily walk away.

Yeah right, a Namek that didn't hear. Rock bottom, right there. Lame and completely uncool, yes. But better than a confrontation. Amnesia could probably work too, he was actually considering that as a last-ditch effort because really, right now, anything was better than a confrontation. He was never good with those. Especially with him.

"Piccolo, are you…" That pained look he hated so much was leaking into his peripheral vision. "…avoiding me?"

Silence flooded into all the spaces between them for some moments. The sound of his own guilty heartbeat began to bore little holes into his masochistic ears that seemed to suck in sound waves like a greedy black hole.

The hand clamped around his wrist tightened and tugged, forcing him to finally make eye contact.

"Look at me and answer my question, dammit!"

Piccolo inwardly flinched. Getting testy, are we?

"I'm just busy. I- I need to be somewhere else right now," he growled under his breath. "Let go."

"So, you are avoiding me."

"I said I wasn't! Now, let go, Human."

"Fuck you, Namek! As always, you are such a shitty liar!"

Piccolo tried freeing his arm once again, only to be dragged via that unyielding grip outside to some other place.

He supposed it was all good. He had been itching to bite off his companion's head to leave him the fuck alone anyway and it was hard to relay those sort of messages inside the library where you weren't allowed to raise your voice. Besides, this confrontation was bound to happen sooner or later, he told (more of tried to convince) himself, and now was as good a time as any. Though in all honesty, he still would have preferred never over any.

When they were alone in the rooftop, he was finally allowed to reclaim his arm which he chafed gingerly. Piccolo snorted at the cliché-ness of it, this place was their most popular campus "bickering spot" because of the limitless privacy it offered. For a moment he considered making a break for the exit. But there was no escape, his path to the door was blocked.

It was official. He was trapped. At least for the present. This confrontation was happening whether he was up for it or not.

And somehow, not having a choice in the matter made all the irritation and frustration that had been welling up, swishing and sloshing inside him for over a week now swell into a raging tsunami waiting to burst forth from his seething lips. Now that they weren't trying to have a heated argument in godforsaken hissed undertones, he could raise his voice and assert himself. Yes, that's what he was going to do. It was only right after all. Why should he take shit from anyone, least of all his insufferable human best friend? He may be an ignoramus when it came to asinine Earth things like relationships, emotions, and numerous other insignificant rubbish, but he was no fool.

"Why?"

The ball of furious invective he had been building up to unleash died like a snuffed out matchstick in his throat. His friend's eyes were blazing with anger but- also red-rimmed with oncoming tears. The boy wasn't on the warpath like he was –like he was expecting he would be- instead, he was just there, looking hurt. And without meaning to, without even being fully aware of how he had done it, he had somehow managed to exacerbate the situation.

This was exactly why he was bent on avoiding his best friend –his only friend, Gohan Son Jr. all week.

More often than not, Piccolo Daimaoh Jr's ineptitude for Earth's customs to do with human relations made his friend feel bad. He would have wanted more time to sort through his own shit before this happened. Because he didn't want to be asked that very question to which he didn't know the answer to himself. That fucking million zenny question that always made his head spin in circles, 'why?'. Why did humans need to know the reason for everything anyway? Confrontations, emotions, words! Communication! Ugh. Damn it all to HFIL!

"You're really mad at me…" Gohan murmured. "And you won't even tell me why…"

Piccolo looked away. He couldn't handle it whenever Gohan gave him that look. He was willing to bear it all and suffer in silence like he always did, just to avoid this. He didn't know why the boy would not just leave it alone and let him do his thing. Gohan never let him be, and though he secretly appreciated it a lot (even if it was annoying as fuck at first), there were times when he just didn't know how to deal.

They had been friends since they were in grade school and this was always the spark that ignited their disagreements. Disagreements that he hated so much. He hated being forced to come out in the open with his feelings- feelings to do with matters his mind had so much difficulty comprehending, much less translating into organized thought; much more into words! He wasn't a selfish friend, he knew as much. He just did things differently from the way Earth folk did them, that's all. He would rather shoulder all his pain and discomfort all by his lonesome than burden Gohan with it. That's how much he treasured their friendship; the only way he knew how to show it. That's how much Gohan meant to him, and yet…

"You're doing it again," he heard the boy say. The wounded accusation in that voice never failing to worm its way into his already pressurized chest. "You're keeping secrets from me. I told you, Piccolo. I hate that."

"And I've already told you a million times before!" Piccolo finally turned and allowed some of his frustration to escape. "What I think and feel is not important! The planet will continue to revolve without me vomiting it out!" But he deflated as soon as he met Gohan's eyes which were now overflowing with tears. "I told you…" he tried again (with much effort) considerably calmer. "It isn't worth worrying over, or- or having these stressful arguments about. I'm fine. And- and I'm not mad or avoiding you."

Gohan sniffled.

"I just want to be left alone right now, alright?"

"I hate you, Piccolo!" The Namek blinked up at the outburst. "You always do this! I thought we were friends but you never trust me with your feelings! It makes me so sad! So very sad! Why do you insist on making me sad? Do you hate me this much? Do you love making me sad?"

With every word, every sob and sniff, it was like a stab to his heart. He winced inwardly, trying not to falter, trying not to react for fear that he might end up saying or doing something to make Gohan feel worse. He felt so helpless. He was being swallowed by his bad habit of self-loathing all over again.

Maybe it was wrong to be friends with a half-human, someone who was so different from him. Gohan was pure passion and chaos and kindness, whereas he was just an awkward green mess of indifference. Gohan was all sunshine and smiles, while he was straight up gloom and doom. How in the world did they end up becoming friends in the first place? That was always a great source of amusement for everyone, including himself. It was all a one-sided effort at first, with Gohan just pestering him endlessly with his presence. Until he gave in at some point, tired of forcing himself not to be swayed by the boy's inexhaustible persistence. He never really understood the reasons behind their years of friendship. Gohan, on the other hand, never understood all the reasons anyone would doubt it…

And now, Piccolo was back in that dark little corner of his mind. Thinking how the half-breed might have been better off -happier, even- with someone who was closer to his kind.

A strangled cry caught in his throat as he realized Gohan had stepped onto the very ledge of the rooftop and his heart nearly jumped out of his throat as the boy teetered precariously for some seconds.

"Please," Piccolo was behind him in a flash and roughly pulling him away from the edge. "Don't…" He was going deaf from the relentless hammering of his heart. "…Do. That."

They panted for a while, wordlessly gathering their bearings. Until Gohan pushed himself away defiantly, his face drenched in exasperated tears.

"You bleeding half-witted imbecilic Human." Piccolo grit his teeth, "I hate it when you do that."

"Well, good!" The demi-Saiyajin snapped. "Now you know how you make me feel when you don't trust me as your friend, you fucking daft Namek!"

Again, the Earth-born Namek felt a punch to his heart, one only Gohan could deliver with such commendable precision. He began to feel his own eyes sting, it was becoming too much to bear. He really, truly, hated it when they fought like this. Even if they've done it a thousand times, it never got easier.

"I never meant to make you upset," Piccolo said, clenching his fists to control his displeasure. "I… I just really think this isn't… necessary. I just need some time to-"

"This is about Videl, isn't it?"

Piccolo's posture collapsed, jaw falling agape. Gohan didn't notice the divulging reaction.

"You're jealous."

"What?!" Piccolo sputtered, not understanding why the statement was striking every wrong chord in his heart simultaneously and making his fists ache to throw a sucker punch. "Why would I be-"

"I'm sorry," Gohan was wearing a sincere apologetic smile on his tear-stained face. "Because of her, we don't get to hang out as often anymore, and when we do, I get so preoccupied talking about her, I forget to ask how your day was… The truth is, I hadn't even noticed that I've been neglecting our friendship and ignoring you until I realized how badly I miss you… I know it and I apologize. I've been such a terrible friend."

There were a thousand words that wanted to be said but none of them were making it past the utter stupefaction clogging Piccolo's mind at the moment. Not that he would have been able to sort them out even if it did, anyway.

"That's just like you, Piccolo. You wouldn't tell me that I hurt you because you think it's not important…" Gohan carelessly wiped his tears on his sleeve before plucking out his a handkerchief.

Gohan moved near to daub his clean handkerchief on Piccolo's cheeks and eyes carefully. The Namek just remained shocked as the boy wiped his face dry, he hadn't even realized they were wet with tears.

"We're friends. Of course, your feelings are important to me. When will you believe me, Piccolo? Why won't you listen? Do you really hate having me as a friend that much?"

"Never."

Piccolo surprised even himself that the word managed to leave his lips so fast. He wanted to run away, wanted to make Gohan stop wiping his tears. Wanted to stop unintentionally hurting him! And yet… more hot wetness was pouring forth and he was helpless all over again, he couldn't even make his own tears stop. He felt hurt and abandoned by Gohan's inattention, that much was true. But he wasn't lying either, he truly didn't mind. He could endure it. As long as Gohan was happy…

So why the fuck was he crying? It was inane!

"Just because I think I like a girl, it doesn't mean we'll stop being friends, I'm sorry if I made you feel that way…"

"That's-" Piccolo tried to speak, but a finger sealed his lips.

"Can you please, promise me that you will never –ever again- think your feelings don't matter to me?" Gohan pleaded, his eyes still watery and red. "Friends are supposed to trust each other. Especially in times when one of them is being an idiot. Friends call each other out on things like that. That's what friends do. I need you to do that for me."

"Mm-I waffn't finking fhat," came Piccolo's muffled mumble.

Gohan slowly pulled his finger away from Piccolo's lips, peering up at brilliant lapis lazuli eyes. Then those mud-brown orbs travelled down very deliberately to his lips, and time seemed to stop.

Piccolo's heart lurched, for a moment utterly convinced that Gohan was going to kiss him.

Again.

Just like that day a week ago…

-x-

"G-Gohan,"

"Piccolo…"

Piccolo's chest heaved, eyes heavily lidded. Gohan's breath tickled his lips, their faces were so close their noses were still touching. Both of them panted softly, unable to do much but wait for the world to stop spinning and tipping to one side.

In the span of their lengthy friendship, what Piccolo lacked in affability he made up for with loyalty and devotion. He was always there for Gohan as much as his morose temperament allowed. He would always do whatever he could to the best of his abilities, to keep the boy happy, to comfort him, be what the boy needed, no matter what. The boy, in turn, did the same for him and much, much more. Although he never expected anything in return, he was sincerely grateful, and he hoped Gohan felt what he couldn't say.

Piccolo Daimaoh Jr never had any friends until he met Gohan Son Jr. Just having someone who liked him enough to want and demand his companionship was more than enough.

And just when he thought he had done every possible ridiculous, humiliating, and degrading Earthling thing under the sun for the boy's sake, he never imagined that his greatest challenge has yet to come…

-x-

"Piccolo…? I was wondering… Could you grant me this infinitesimal, microscopic favour…?"

The Namek snorted disdainfully. That usually meant what he was about to ask was giganormous- one of those 'true tests' of their friendship.

"As long as it doesn't involve each or both of us making complete idiots of ourselves in public." Really, he was being too kind and generous with the boy! Piccolo shuddered at the memory…

Of when Gohan asked to be accompanied to a 'masquerade' party only to end up being duped into wearing spandex, helmets, sunglasses, and a cape and doing the most soul-scarring buffoonery in front of a crowd of simple-minded onlookers. To this day, that experience shines out effortlessly as the one most irrefutable testimony of how he would do almost anything for Gohan. And he has! Oh, Kamisama's balls, he has.

"May I kiss you?"

Suddenly the spandex, the sunglasses, and all the degradation that came with it seemed like a walk in the park.

For a full minute, the merry chirping of birds outside and the mantelpiece clock's blasé ticking was all that could be heard.

Piccolo waited for Gohan to burst into laughter. Gohan waited for Piccolo's eyes to cease bulging.

"Holy hell. You're serious."

"Uh-huh."

Piccolo swallowed, with some difficulty, before thinking of an appropriate response. "Might I ask… why the devil's balls would you want to do that?"

Gohan flinched as his friend's question ended two octaves and several decibels higher. He sucked in a breath and watched his twiddling toes, as he slouched forward on his knees on top of the bed.

"Well… there's this girl in class, you know… Videl? She suddenly confessed that… she uh, err, liked me… the other day and…"

For some reason, Piccolo's pulse began to skyrocket and he became hyper-aware of a sudden awful rigidity gripping his body.

"I didn't know you two were friends."

"Not exactly," Gohan straightened up, allowing his gaze to meet Piccolo's from across the desk where the Namek had been pouring over homework. "We get grouped together in activities every now and then. I sometimes sit with her and her friends at lunch when you're busy… But I hardly know her."

Silence intervened for a couple of clock ticks.

"I think she seems nice," Gohan finally said.

"She looks pleasant, by human standards," Piccolo commented offhandedly, even if he really didn't know what possessed him to say something so uncharacteristic.

"Yeah, she's really pretty, isn't she?"

Gohan laughed lightly. Piccolo's insides twisted.

"So, is she your…" The Namek had to scour his memory for the right word, a word he never thought he'd ever use. "… 'girl mate' now?"

"'Girl mate'? Oh, you mean girlfriend!"

"Yeah, I that's what I meant," Piccolo grumbled before returning to his calculus problem, leaning closer to the book as he tried to make sense of the figures. He was usually excellent in mathematics. For some reason, he wasn't right now.

"Well, no. Not yet. Actually, I don't know if I like her on that level, you know, to do girlfriend stuff with… I just see her as a casual friend, but she's really nice… I really haven't thought about any girl that way. When I told her that, she said she didn't mind it if I needed time to give it some thought, and that she would wait for my final answer…"

"What does all that have to do with me?" Piccolo groused irately. He still couldn't make sense of his homework. He felt like setting the damned thing on fire. When no reply followed within the next few seconds, he was almost sure that Gohan had dozed off. He did that sometimes. Yes, even in the middle of utterly stupid and yet life-changing conversations such as these. It was a side-effect of his obsession with gaining knowledge combined with his horrid sleeping habits.

But Piccolo was shocked to find that the boy had actually been quietly staring at him all the while. (Well, at his back for the most of it.)

"I don't know… It's just that I've never kissed anyone on the lips before… I just don't want to be in the dark about it when the time comes, so I thought maybe you could help me… err, 'practice'? Just in case, I need to… or she expects me to, err… kiss her."

Piccolo couldn't believe his ears. He was well versed with Gohan's odd tendencies by now, but this had to be the most absurdly bonkers thing he's ever wanted to try, by far.

"You, want to kiss me for practice? Shouldn't you look to try that on a female?" Piccolo's scowl deepened, "One with more experience than me?"

"So… you mean… you haven't kissed anyone yet too?"

A vein began throbbing in the Namek's temple. "Do I look like I go around kissing people? I'd say I was flattered you think so 'human' of me, only I'm not."

"And… no one has kissed you before either?"

"No," Piccolo grit out. "In case you haven't noticed, humans usually keep their distance from fanged, pointy eared, green-skinned, and seven-foot-tall aliens. Not that I mind. We Nameks usually have better things to do than snog."

"I see. So… is that a 'no'?"

"Look," Piccolo finally swivelled his chair to fully face his friend sitting on top of his bed. "It's not a big deal to me, what you humans fancy doing. But if you want 'my humble opinion', I think you need a human female for that task, since you are, after all, doing it for the sake of one."

"So… is that a 'yes'?"

Piccolo almost regretted forcing that little lie off his tongue about it not being a big deal when he saw how Gohan's face lit up like New Year's Eve as he posed that question.

"I am not a human female, Gohan. Nameks don't kiss."

"I know. But you can, right? It makes no difference to me, humans, Nameks, Saiyajins, and so on and so forth… They say humans and Nameks shouldn't be friends either, but we are."

"What kind of warped logic is that…"

"Besides, you are part female." The corners of Gohan's mouth slowly went up as he said that. "And your lips look really soft and kissable."

Piccolo was having a full-blown psychosomatic headache now.

"What are you implying?"

"I just feel more comfortable trying it with you, more than anyone else." Gohan wiped the smirk off his face and sighed. "I know it's stupid and I know I'm putting you in a spot, but…"

"But… what?" Piccolo dreaded what would follow but he couldn't stop himself from asking. He didn't know why he was even allowing himself to consider the idea. His friendship with this half-breed was definitely making him funny in the head too.

"But it would mean a lot to me, of course, if it was you. I don't understand it like perfect science either, but somehow, I just know I'd feel a lot happier and wouldn't have any regrets if you were the first one I kissed…"

Piccolo was really confused now. Humans tended to do that to him a lot. Humans and their Kami forsaken rituals.

"You said you liked this girl-"

"I said 'I think' I like her. I'm not a hundred percent sure yet."

"Still…" And Piccolo was still trying to rationalize it. "I don't know much about romantic love between humans and half-humans, but… Wouldn't it be more natural –not to mention 'logical'- to want 'the girl you think you like' to be the first one you kissed, instead of your 'grouchy green-skinned alien best friend' whom you're sure you don't like that way?"

Gohan looked pained for some moments, thick dark brown eyebrows furrowing deeply. "I suppose, you could be right. But at this point, I'm pretty sure I still like you much better than her, so…"

"Come again?" The tea Piccolo had been sipping nearly spurted out of his nose.

The hybrid chuckled at his best friend's aghast expression before he swiped his handkerchief from his satchel and hopped over to wipe the traces of tea left dripping from Piccolo's nose and the corner of his lips.

"Even if I found out that I really liked her, romantically, I mean, enough to want to do all those things with her, I know I'd still like you more, Piccolo," Gohan said plainly and unaffectedly. "I think our friendship is on a whole new level like that. I feel that I can trust you with anything and everything." At that point, Piccolo was gaping like a fish stranded on land which made Gohan laugh again.

After some moments of charged silence, his demeanour became serious.

"Do you feel the same way about me, Piccolo?"

-x-

"W-was that enough?" Piccolo asked in a voice that sounded much tinier than he remembered his was.

"What…? No. Our lips barely even touched," Gohan muttered mopily. "That can hardly be counted as a proper kiss."

True, their lips only touched. Barely. But the chaos that ensued in Piccolo following that merest gesture was already screwing with his senses in ways he had never known possible. He wanted to back out on his word, run far away, and lock himself up in a place where no one will find him and meditate forever. But they were friends, and for Gohan's sake, he pushed down all the anxiety and apprehension he was feeling and concentrated instead on getting enough air into his lungs, hoping that it would help regulate his rampaging heart.

Piccolo closed his eyes and did his best to relax into the pillows piled against the headboard where he had been made to lie as Gohan bent over him. Luckily, his pride seemed to have been sedated by the wave of dizziness he was currently feeling. He knew that the sooner this was over with the better, so he had no plans of prolonging this any more than necessary. He braced himself for the boy's second attempt to 'use his lips for "proper kissing" practice'.

"Open your mouth," Gohan commanded gently when he had, after some moments, tried to knead against those mauve-stained green lips, coaxing it to admit his tongue to no avail.

Piccolo blinked, refrained from retorting, and obeyed, parting his lips ever so slightly. His body gave an involuntary jerk with the guttural moan that escaped his throat when Gohan shoved in his tongue. His hands reflexively flew up to push against the boy's shoulders, but the more that mouth and tongue moved over and inside him, the more he felt his energy melting away like roasting candlewax. Soon his shoulders slumped, limply sinking into the pillows, and his mind all but surrendered as the boy's fingers cupped and caressed his cheeks, while the searing albeit leisurely tongue-filled kisses persevered.

Everything was a mind-numbing haze after that. By the time Gohan pulled away from his mouth, he was too dazed and disorientated to move. In hindsight, he didn't understand why he didn't protest when the boy climbed the bed and mounted his torso to resume "practising", only this time, Gohan's mouth and tongue strayed from his lips from time to time, going from his cheeks to his ears to his antennae, even down to his chin and neck and clavicle. The scorching heat gripping his body and shrouding his mind felt ready to explode by the time his shirt was peeled up to expose his chest and navel, giving free reign to that mouth's hungry exploration of it…

-x-

"G-Gohan!"

Piccolo gasped weakly as he felt his jeans being pulled down. He was traipsing the edges of unconsciousness now, too overwhelmed with arousal to stay afloat for long after being made to feel too much. No one has ever been able to make him feel so vulnerable.

Panic was pumping in his veins by the time his jeans were discarded to one side and he whimpered as his legs were pushed away from each other. Intense shock and wave after another of blinding pleasure pervaded his mind as Gohan's mouth pressed down on his most intimate part, engulfing him, licking, and even breathing him in. When that tongue slipped inside his soft defences and breached his hidden opening, Piccolo's body involuntarily arched off the bed, throaty moans spilled from his quivering lips and tears sprung to his eyes.

"G-Guuuhh… haannggh!"

His nails dug into the sheets as his thighs were firmly anchored over strong shoulders, feeling that mouth and tongue repeatedly swipe and poke and suck until he was trembling from the tips of his curling toes to the ends of his erect antennae.

He wanted to tell Gohan to stop. Were friends supposed to be doing these things to each other? He didn't know the boundaries of human friendship, he had no idea if it was okay for him to give in (not that he had a choice at the moment). There were no special friendships or "best friends" on Namek because everyone always worked as a unit. There were no distinctions and certainly no complicated pseudo-romantic shenanigans. Nameks had a monastic bordering ascetic way of life.

But there was no discounting the fact that Nameks were also gifted with exceptional physical, mental, and mystical attributes that allowed them to be one of the most highly adaptable races in all the universe. So, did that make this act acceptable between them? But it was…

Too intimate.

Too much.

"Piccolo," Gohan susurrated into his ear when the Namek had come down from his high, still sweeping his chin and neck with indolent kisses.

Piccolo's entire body was thrumming. Gohan had stimulated both his female and male parts until his vision whited out and terrific screams had fought its way from his core. He only had enough sense left to manage to cover his mouth to stifle it, as a succession of orgasms racked his body with the force of a geyser. By the time the strongest tremors had subsided and he flopped back down onto the sheets, he was gasping from exhaustion, tendrils of sleep already clawing at the edges of his barely conscious mind.

-x-

The first slivers of gold had just begun to streak the horizon when he awoke, snugly tucked into the comforters, pyjamas had replaced his jeans and his shirt was taken off and left off (presumably because he was drenched in sweat).

Gohan greeted him at school like nothing out of the ordinary happened. Eventually, he decided to avoid Gohan all in all, as much as possible. Which wasn't as difficult as he anticipated, since the boy was spending more and more time with his crush Videl whenever they were in school anyway.

The experience left Piccolo more confused than ever when it came to human relationships. Even so, he knew that he should have been pissed- anything but accepting of what happened.

But he realized that he still trusted Gohan. And no matter what happened, he just couldn't bring himself not to.

Only- he didn't trust himself around Gohan anymore.

Because he confirmed what he had feared the most…

That he had fallen for the stupid Earthling boy.

And that he had wanted every bit of what Gohan did to him then (although, the boy's reasons for it were the worst). He never imagined that getting what he always longed for from the boy he adored would hurt so badly.

-x-

"You're still mad at me, but you won't admit it."

"I told you, I'm not!"

"Oookay. Well, if you aren't mad, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Piccolo halted in his tracks. He hadn't even realized he was moving towards the exit.

"Aren't you going to ask me how things went with Videl?"

All the naïveté in the world couldn't gloss over the fact that he was indubitably the world's dumbest "friend" for putting up with all the shit Gohan was putting him through. And now, as if the inundating bitterness it was causing him wasn't painful enough, he had to stand there and be the "supportive" friend, cheering on his secret love interest in finding a girlfriend.

Perhaps, this was how it was meant to be. All he can do; all he had to offer Gohan. What was he expecting anyway? Something more?

Piccolo almost scoffed out loud as his mind –for the pure unadulterated purpose of taunting him and nothing else- entertained the notion that Gohan's kisses were real. That they were meant for him.

And it worked, he was disgusted with himself. He straightened up and endeavoured to put all of his thoughts and feelings into their proper places. He knew that the more he accepted his fate, the less painful it would be.

"It didn't work out," Gohan said, a little too cheerily that it made Piccolo look, almost sure there would be tears marring his features again.

But there wasn't any. The demi-Saiyajin just stood there, lightly kicking at the ground, a small but genuine smile on his face.

"I finally figured how I feel about her, and I realized I wasn't interested in her that way. I just… thought you might want to know…"

A new set of emotions had surfaced, battling the ones that were already occupying Piccolo's mind before, scattering the few renegade ones that he had just strived to push down. Relief? That seemed to be on the forefront. Guilt? Which was there because he actually felt… happy. And he knew it was wrong, but was it, really?

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why?" Gohan chirped, meeting his gaze.

Why? Piccolo honestly didn't know. But that was the most appropriate thing to say when things didn't work out, right?

"Why are you sorry? I said I didn't like her after all."

"I don't know… what else is there to say…?" Piccolo confessed, truly nonplussed, he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore as Gohan stepped up closer to him until they were face-to-face. "I guess I really thought… I mean, after all the trouble you went through just to-"

"Trouble?" Gohan laughed. "You mean, the kiss we shared, and other things…?"

Piccolo could feel his face sizzling from the blood rush, mildly surprised that the boy's cheeks were fast dusting crimson as well.

"Really. That was my pleasure. I'd gladly do it again."

"What? W-what do you- never mind! I don't want to talk about it."

"That's the real reason you're mad, isn't it?"

"What? That you practically raped me? Hell no, why would I be mad because of that?" The words came out before he could stop himself, Gohan not bothering to hide his startlement. "Let's just forget about that, can we? And for the last time, I'm not-"

Two seconds too late.

Gohan's lips on his, his eyes shutting of their own accord, and a soft moan escaping his lips. It took him two full seconds to realize it all before sense kicked in and he remembered that he should push the boy away.

"No. We can't," Gohan breathed, obstinately grabbing his arm. "I don't want to forget it."

Piccolo gaped.

"She kissed me, you know. She asked me if I needed help in deciding my feelings for her and she kissed me…"

Gohan kissing a pretty, non-alien, perfectly acceptable Earthling female who looked perfect beside Gohan over him any day. He tried not to relish the images but his eyes were already burning with hot moisture, and they shut tight of their own volition. That was all he could do to defend himself against the onslaught of heartache because Gohan refused to let him break free.

"She said kissing someone can help you decide if you love them in a certain way. And she was right. When I kissed her, do you know what I kept thinking?"

Piccolo's breath hitched as Gohan inched closer, so close their hot breaths were mingling, but still, he could not bring himself to open his eyes.

"I kept thinking… That her lips were soft and nice, and she was very pretty… but she wasn't you."

A hollow laugh passed the hybrid's lips, hands tightening around Piccolo's wrist.

"I knew from that moment, that it wasn't her lips I was meant to be kissing."

Piccolo's eyes slowly fluttered open, and a single tear trailed down his cheek. Was he lucid? Did he hear it right?

Did Gohan just say-

"Do you know how long I've wanted to kiss you?" The demi-Saiyajin's shaky voice was barely a whisper. "Since the very first time I saw you sitting here, meditating in one corner… I thought it was funny, at first, but then, I couldn't take my eyes off you even if you weren't doing much, to begin with. Of course, you eventually caught me and I couldn't spy on you anymore so I knew I had to make you my friend. But when we finally became friends, I was so afraid that you'd hate me if you learned the truth. Until Zangya came into the picture and confessed her feelings to you…"

Zangya?

Piccolo faintly recalled how weird the experience had been. The Heranian classmate of his frequently teased and stared at him which mostly accomplished nothing more than annoy him. The last thing he expected from her was a profession of love.

"Even if you rejected her, I was so afraid you would eventually entertain the idea of being in a relationship… I couldn't bear the thought of you being in love with someone else, I thought I would lose my mind. I didn't know what to do; risk losing your love to someone else, or risk losing our friendship altogether.

"When Videl came along with her confession, I thought maybe it was a chance. That if I could fall in love with someone else, it would help me get over my feelings for you and that way, keep our friendship. The day she first confessed to me, she tried to kiss me, saying that it would help me figure out if I liked her to be my girlfriend or not… But I couldn't. I just couldn't bring myself to kiss anyone else before I kissed you. So I made up that stupid excuse… And I finally got what I've always dreamed of… I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I don't regret it, Piccolo.

"When she kissed me, time didn't stop the way it did when I was kissing you. I didn't feel like laughing, crying, dying, and living all at once, the way it did when your lips were against mine… I knew right away. I didn't have to keep guessing. Because thanks to you, I got to know what kissing someone I really loved felt like."

The Namek remained mute, still in disbelief over what he was hearing. It was like a dream, and he was quite sure he wasn't awake.

"I don't care anymore if you hate me for this… I just want you to know… that yeah… I lied. I did that… because…

"I've been in love with you, since forever."

Gohan's mud-brown eyes were swimming in tears, a sad –but real- smile on his face.

"You're the most wonderful friend anyone could ever have," Gohan's shoulder's heaved, voice laden with emotion. "I'm sorry if I took advantage of that and ruined everything," he hiccupped, more tears streaming down his rose-coloured cheeks. "But I'm not sorry for being in love with you… I love you… more than a friend-

"I love you, Piccolo!"

Piccolo closed his eyes as Gohan flung his arms around him and sobbed into his chest.

The endless space all around them and clear skies overhead; The gentle breeze that ruffled Gohan's hair and tickled his antennae; The crushed gravel beneath their feet, that shifted ever so slowly.

Piccolo felt everything and nothing all at once at that moment.

He had forgotten how to breathe; couldn't remember how to move. If he wasn't trapped in the boy's embrace, he was sure he would have swooned and lost his balance by now because-

Gohan was in love with him too? This half-human half-Saiyajin loved him? A Namek, of all people…?

And Piccolo decided there and then that even if he woke up the very next minute to find out it was all just a dream, it would still be…

The most beautiful dream he's ever had, in his entire life.

"D-do you… h-hate me now?" Gohan sniffed as he peered up at his best friend, looking every bit miserable and yet hopeful when Piccolo finally opened his eyes and regarded his hiccupping form.

The wind gets stolen from his lungs, as the sensation of supple lips with a hint of tongue and fang pressing over his mouth, filled and ignited his senses; unable to suppress a whine of protest when those lips leave him bereft the next moment.

"Is that a satisfactory reply?" Piccolo hummed huskily against those eager waiting lips.

"Very," Gohan squeaked breathless, before latching on to his best friend-slash-boyfriend's neck as they kissed some more, for as long as they pleased.

Until they were even more thoroughly convinced of what they knew all along.

End.

(First time I ever completed a one-shot in a day. I died.)
(03/25/2017 – 03/26/2017)

Original post: MariekoWest {AO3}

My Hetalia fics: LM_Artless {AO3} / lovemeartless {FFnet} / frukdilection {dA}

Blog/Works Archive: mariexfolie. {blog. fc2. com}
Chat & Journal: mewrsaidthecat {tumblr} / MewrSaidTheCat {dA}