Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the characters therein.

A/N: I do so hate Author Notes, they're distracting. So I'll say this only once and be done with it: This is a Piccolo/ChiChi romance, rated pg-13 for some adult content and questionable situations. You, the reader, have been officially informed.

The story starts during the three years of training, after Trunks destroys Frieza and warns the Z-senshi of the upcoming Android threat.

Chapter 1

Chichi looked up from her kitchen sink and scanned the entirety of her yard, but still there was no sign of them. She sighed and continued scrubbing one single pot so diligently that she cracked the handle with her strength. She growled and let go of the object, letting it fall into the metal sink with a loud 'clank'. She knew nothing of what her family and that demon did for the hours upon hours they were away supposedly training. Not once had she ever asked, aside from questioning Gohan about having a good time.

God knows she'd put up a fight from the very beginning when Goku suggested Piccolo train with the two Sons. Chichi didn't want it, she even came so close as to boot her own husband out the door for suggesting such a thing. Yet her initial anger had worn down considerably once Goku, accident though it may be, hit her hard enough to send her flying across the yard. She knew then, at that moment, that Goku had become something completely different. He was no longer the lovably ignorant young man she'd married, nor was he the all-knowing savior of the planet.

So she had agreed to allow Gohan and Goku to train, if for nothing else than to ease her husband's complaining -which she knew was inevitable- and allow Gohan much needed quality time with his father. The man had been gone for a year so why not let the two get to know each other again. Then, on the first day of their training, the demon showed up on their front lawn. Chichi turned red with anger, her own family had tricked her into agreeing for it to spend time at her home.

"Why me?" She asked herself.

She and the demon had barely glanced at each other at first, certainly he felt the same tension she was sensing. But should he have felt it, he never showed it. In truth, she never saw a reaction of any type out of him except, rare as it was, if he was talking to Gohan. The one time she'd seen anything close to a smile was once, months ago, when Gohan had impersonated the villain Frieza. But the hint of a smile was gone as quickly as it had come, making Chichi wonder if she'd even seen it at all.

Chichi smiled to herself and picked the pot up again. Her Gohan was one of a kind, and she had to admit the demon seemed to know that too. Shaking her head and beginning to hum, the house-wife resumed her scrubbing of dirty dishes.

Supper was on the table when the boys returned home, and Chichi was anxious for them to finish so Gohan could begin his studies. She opened the door wide and watched the first two figures come through, and kept the door open long enough to watch the third, much larger person, linger a good distance from the open door.

"Well? Coming in or not?" She asked, her tone a forced nonchalant. In honesty, she didn't want him to come inside. Being comfortable in his training with her boys was one thing, inviting him inside to join them for supper was something completely different. But, to her surprise, after a moment's silence he half nodded and took a step forward.

"Weights off." She scolded.

He stopped short and gave a quick grunt, apparently irritated that he had to do so. He practically slung his weighted turban and shoulder pads to the side of the house, walking coolly past Chichi after doing so. Not once did he question wear to sit, what they were eating or direct a single word toward anyone. He took the empty seat next to Gohan, sitting quiet and still for the better part of twenty minutes.

Chichi had finished all that she intended to eat and looked over at the demon. He'd eaten nothing and drunk two glasses of water. Her temper rose at the thought of his being "high-and-mighty", too good to eat any food she'd made. He'd not said so -he'd not said anything- but Chichi had the feeling that he didn't trust her, probably in the same way she didn't trust him.

"Something the matter with my cooking?" She asked, a biting edge to her words.

Piccolo looked up at her for the first time all evening, his eyes hard and dark while his forehead creased into a scowl. The corner of his mouth twitched just once, like he was tightening a muscle rarely used, but he didn't answer. He used one taloned finger to skim over the top of his glass and then slowly slipped his hand under the table.

"Well?" Chichi asked, crossing her arms at him.

"Mom," Gohan started. "Piccolo's a Namek and they only drink water. They never eat…you're food's really good, we like it a lot."

Chichi simmered down quickly, and was on the verge of feeling embarrassed. She shrugged it off visibly and looked to the demon.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" She asked him. "I thought you didn't want to eat anything because of me."

Piccolo looked up at her and she noted that his scowl lines where mostly gone, but his eyes were as cold as ever.

"Piccolo-san wouldn't do that. He likes you just fine." Gohan chirped, turning his innocent eyes to Piccolo. "Don't you?"

It wasn't a question, really. It was more a statement that Gohan expected Piccolo to positively follow through with. Piccolo made a face and looked at Gohan for, what seemed to be, some means of escape. Gohan was clueless to his mentor's plight and nodded at his green friend. Piccolo huffed and made a noise that sounded much like a muffled "Sure." Gohan's face beamed again and he took another bite of his turkey.

When dinner finished Chichi took up all the plates and silverware to wash, watching through the window as her boys said goodbye to the demon. Piccolo had donned his weights again and waited stoically for Goku and Gohan to say their peace and bid him goodnight. Goku mostly just waved and walked around to the side of the house to chop firewood. Gohan, though, clung to Piccolo's left knee cap and yelled that he would miss seeing him tomorrow.

Piccolo grunted and finally pried the playful boy off his leg, quickly ruffling the boy's spiky hair before he straightened himself and took off to the west. Chichi looked down at her dishes and sighed, it was becoming very obvious to her that Piccolo liked her son very much. Not only did he like him, but she'd been told he had died for him. That struck a cord, made her feel badly about disliking the green giant. But she couldn't help it, the demon had done so many terrible things it made her worry he wasn't sincere.

Gohan seemed convinced, though, but that wasn't enough for her. Chichi watched her son enter the house and sprint up the stairs to his room, softly shutting the door behind him. She knew he was suppose to be studying up there, so after ten minutes of relative silence she went to check on him. Indeed he was studying, writing answers to math problems Chichi herself probably couldn't master.

"So," She started. "How was training today?"

Gohan stopped writing and looked around at his mother. "Fine."

She leaned again the door frame and nodded. "Okay."

"Piccolo-san said if I keep it up, I could be a Super Saiyan someday soon." Gohan smiled. "Dad thinks so too."

"Well, so long as it doesn't interfere with your school work, I guess I don't mind too much."

Gohan smiled at her and she believed she could almost feel her heart warming at the sight of it. She walked away from the door and began picking up dirty laundry from his bout of training. She uncovered his gi and held it at arm's length, giving a snide smirk as she remembered it was a tiny version of the demon's.

"What did you mean when you said you would miss Piccolo tomorrow?" She asked.

Gohan didn't take his eyes off his book and answered "It's going to rain, so we won't train."

"How do you know that? There's not a cloud in the sky." She said.

"Piccolo-san knows. He can always tell when it's going to rain or somethin'…he's really smart."

"I'll bet." She whispered. "Anyway, that means studying for you all day tomorrow."

"Mostly, but Piccolo-san says I need to do some meditating too. He says your mind is your biggest muscle so you have to train it just as hard as anything else."

Chichi quirked an eyebrow and frowned. "Piccolo said that?"

Gohan turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, he mediates a whole lot. That's why he's so smart and can beat people stronger than him. He says the strongest person doesn't always win a fight, a lot of times it's the smartest one."

"Well, I never thought I'd say this but Piccolo's right. That's why you have to study, so you can be well educated and get into a good college, then have a good career."

Gohan's smile lessened a little and he shrugged. "If you say so, mom."

Chichi patted her son's head and nodded. "I say so."

Chichi lay awake long after Goku had begun to snore right next to her, and she finally stood and walked down stairs. She took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it up the cold water, drinking nearly the entire glass with two gulps. She could see the dew on the window and she opened the door to take a better look. To her amusement it was foggy and misting outside, though it was too dark to see just how much. So the demon had been right, it was going to rain today.

A light breeze caught Chichi by surprise and she quickly shut the door, rubbing her bare arms in an attempt to get warm. She thought about her husband and son just a few feet away and smiled in spite of the cold. These Androids that were suppose to show up wouldn't stand a chance against them, not after all this training time. She even bet the demon would be too much for those metal things to handle.

Chichi yawned and began to make her way back to her bedroom, laying in the bed next to her warm husband. She tried to coax his sleeping arms to go around her but it didn't work, as usual. Goku was a good man, there was no denying that. But trying to get any affection out of him -save for when he, himself, was in a rare romantic mood- was about as likely as Master Roshi giving up his dirty magazines.

So Chichi lay on her side and slightly hugged her pillow, trying to get warm. She was glad Goku was back, she never did enjoy being alone. She became used to having a warm body lying next to her in bed, and when that was gone for years at a time she didn't quite feel right being by herself.

Then a strange thought came to her as she neared sleep. What did Piccolo do at night, when he was all alone at - wherever it was he went to? Meditate, like Gohan said; did he train for hours by himselfthen fall asleep? Where did he sleep anyway, she knew he didn't have a house to speak of?

These questions left her mind soon after she fell asleep, but one thing had changed this day and she was certain it would be for the best. She didn't think of Piccolo as the monstrous demon that plagued her nightmares. He was a friend to her son, if nothing else. She'd have to try to keep from losing her temper at him, she suddenly felt intrigued by his elusiveness. Why was he so backward and stoic? Why did he show little-to-no emotional reaction to anything?

Why did he seem so…alone?

Then, Chichi fell asleep and forgot about the puzzle that was Piccolo. He was no concern of hers, she just couldn't help wondering. She was clueless about his past, apart from his bitter hatred for her husband -obvious at the World's Martial Arts Tournament- and training her son. It bugged her though, just what made him act the way he did? Someday, she decided, she would have to find out.