Set about a year after "The Second Kiss, the First Time." Check the end of "Purple Eyes" for a quick brush-up on saiyan mating practices in this universe if you need one. ;)

Yamcha sighed happily and snuggled closer into Raditz's arms. His left shoulder ached and was probably still bleeding, but he could worry about that later. Right now his lov- his husband was purring and happy, and they were floating in a warm haze of shared afterglow.

Raditz shifted, wrapping his tail more securely around Yamcha's thigh. 'Sweet Monsan, how hard did it rain when I was born, that I got this lucky?'

Yamcha chuckled. "I dunno, babe, I'm feeling pretty lucky myself right now."

'…what?'

"I said you're not the only one feeling lucky right now." Yamcha frowned as Raditz stiffened under him and the warm, content feeling he was getting from his husband began to recede slightly.

'Yamcha?'

"Yeah?" the ex-bandit had been feeling a touch annoyed – he wanted to bask in the jumbled enjoyment of their newly-formed bond a bit longer before sorting out exactly how it worked. Raditz hadn't been sure the emotional bond would even take, since Yamcha wasn't saiyan, and it was kind of exciting that it had. And he didn't want these first moments of it to be muddled with old concerns or worries.

His fears were apparently unfounded, however, because the shock and stiffness were quickly fading to be replaced with something Yamcha couldn't identify yet, but which felt good.

'Yamcha, do me a favour – look at me?'

Rolling his eyes, Yamcha tilted his head so he could grin up at Raditz from where he lay on the saiyan's chest. "Yes, Raditz?"

'Hello, mate.'

Yamcha's eyes, which had been half-shut, snapped open and he sat up, the better to stare at the man under him. He had heard the words perfectly clearly, but Raditz's mouth hadn't moved. "Wha-"

Raditz laid a gentle finger on Yamcha's mouth, silencing him. 'Say it back, like this, on the inside.'

The ex-bandit floundered for a moment, unsure exactly how to comply with the request. Then something caught his attention, like a tiny glowing spot in his head that, as he focused on it more, seemed to be the place the foreign/familiar emotions and thoughts were coming from. It felt warm, and like Raditz. 'Oh… hello, mate.'

Raditz had been rumbling quietly for awhile now, but at Yamcha's wondering mental greeting, the saiyan's purring erupted into a full-out V8 roar, and he pulled his mate – his mate – down on top of him, burying his face in the crook of Yamcha's neck and curling around him, radiating surprised pleasure and rolling on his side slightly so Yamcha's face wouldn't be smooshed in the pillow.

'I- this is- wow,' the ex-bandit brought one hand up and began to absent-mindedly play with Raditz's hair as he examined their bond more closely. 'It feels like I should- but I don't- this is AMAZING!' "Did you know this would happen?" he asked aloud, speaking directly into the saiyan's ear to make sure he heard him.

Raditz rolled his head to the side, so he was still nuzzling Yamcha's shoulder but could also look at him. His eyes shone. 'Nope. I didn't know the empathic bond would take. This… I didn't think it was possible.' He grew tentative for a moment. 'I really hope you're not having second thoughts about this.'

Yamcha chuckled. "Nope. I mean, it'll take some getting used to, but…" 'Worth it.' The mental words echoed with satisfaction.

'Good,' Raditz buried his face in Yamcha's shoulder again, 'Because I had no intention of giving you back.'

And an image popped into Yamcha's head. It was himself (gloriously) naked, slightly tousled from sex, and grinning down at someone, stars and palm trees behind him.

"I'm going to steal your heart away. And nothing you do will stop me!" the image of Yamcha said, confident, cocky, and pleased with himself. After a moment, Yamcha realised it was part of a memory from Raditz's perspective – their first time together, on the beach, well over a year ago now. Blinking, he looked down at the top of Raditz's head and felt the saiyan smirking into his shoulder, along with a flash of almost impish glee.

'You've got me, bandit.'

Yamcha found himself grinning. 'Well then, I guess I'll have to keep you.'

'Guess you will.'

They lay there for awhile, gently exploring their new bond, mostly enjoying lying in each other's arms.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Traditionally, saiyans greet each other mentally after bonding, usually just 'hello, mate.' It's a very simple practice – most saiyan traditions are. Frieza crashed the party before they really had time to develop more complex ones as a cultural whole.

As usual, I am totally self-indulgent when it comes to writing shmoopy stuff about these two. I can't help it – they're adorable together, at least in my head. I'm not going to go into huge detail as to how the mating bond works – it's a concept I've enjoyed in other fics, and maybe I'll describe it somewhere else, but not right now. I know how I'm doing this well enough to write it, and it's not a huge part of the story, so it's not gonna matter, anyway. What happened just before we stepped into this scene (and a few minutes after we left) is left to your imagination and preference.