A/N: Hello there! I thought I should try something different, this is my first DBZ fanfic so please don't be too harsh. I found that there weren't enough PiccoloXGohan out there and decided to type my own (if you want something done, it's best to do it yourself!) If the characters are OOC then try to ignore that for I haven't watched DBZ in over 11 years, though I've watched the abridged series and a few random episodes, I'm mostly going by the information from other fanfics-and no, I'm NOT stealing! Btw, I am currently working on a DBZ multi-chapter story, it won't be up anytime soon though, but I should have it finished by summer the latest, so please look out for that since it has the same pairing :) Okies, sorry for the long introduction, but please enjoy the story and review me on your thoughts!
PAIRING(S): PiccoloXGohan FLUFF! (if you prefer to see them as friends then that's fine with me)
DISCLAIMER: I only own the plot-bunny! (and what a cute little thing it is!) :)
"Curiosity Did NOT Kill The Boy"
It was a warm and sunny day, a small breeze had picked up from that morning and the birds were singing. It was the middle of spring.
"Hey Mr. Piccolo, can I ask you something?" A small boy named; Gohan was around the age of nine, stared up at his mentor, the green Namekian; Piccolo with wide, curious eyes.
"What now brat?" Piccolo snapped in reply, having once again been interrupted from his meditation by his pupil. Of course this was a regular occurrence, he should be used to it by now and yet, he weren't. The boy's questions were still annoying as they had been the day before.
The boy blinked a little, suddenly feeling a little nervous, kicking his feet against a rock on the ground, he couldn't help but wonder why Piccolo was always in such a bad mood; though he knew it weren't on purpose, he was always like that. But sometimes, he'd have an off-day and would be a little more talkative and polite; perhaps considerate of his pupils physical state and thoughts.
When the boy didn't speak, it only served to annoy the Namek further, before he finally spat "Spit it out brat or I'll leave you here on your own for the night."
The boy knew it weren't exactly a threat, for Piccolo had left him on his own plenty of times before, although the boy hated being on his own-especially at night, he'd realised over time that his mentor was terrible at communication and rather than make an effort to learn and no doubt embarrass himself, he opted to fly away and keep to his own thoughts before returning the next day as if nothing had transpired or warranted his leave. This had upset the boy a few times in the past; though he kept it well-hidden, it wouldn't serve for Piccolo to have the necessary ammo to fuel his punishments further, but the boy was always hurt by how cold the Namek could be with him.
He knew he weren't the perfect student or the best fighter, he had faults just like everyone did, but he didn't like it when his mentor would throw it in his face, reminding his constantly of how rubbish he was. The boy knew Piccolo was working with reverse psychology, it was to make him want to get stronger-to prove him wrong and although it'd served its purpose and had done what the Namek had expected it to do in the beginning, and the boy had made little-to no progress in the last few months. Almost as if he was refusing to get stronger.
The boy placed his hands behind his back, to hide his hands since they began fiddling with each other, he would be reprimanded for showing such childish nervousness in the presence of his teacher. He forced himself to look at his mentor and was surprised to see the Namek staring at him intensely; waiting for the question the boy wanted to ask.
"Well...I was wondering when your birthday was...?" The boy almost caved in when the Namek's eyes narrowed on him dangerously and the boy mentally prepared himself to be smacked upside the head for asking such pointless and personal questions.
Though nothing happened, save for an irritated sigh passing Piccolo's lips before replying "Why would you want to know something as pointless as that?"
Gohan blinked in surprise that his mentor would answer his question and humour his curiosity. Though he was more confused by how Piccolo worded his answer.
"Birthdays aren't pointless, Mr. Piccolo! It's supposed to be the best day of your life!" The boy grinned, figuring that if he talked long enough and convinced his mentor that this was true, then he would somehow wheedle the information out of him and then he would go onto plan B; buy his mentor a present.
A snort was his reply and Gohan felt his mood die down a little; he knew Piccolo weren't the happy-type of guy; he never got excited for anything and didn't have any hobbies whatsoever, so buying him a present would be hard, but he was sure he could do it; he'd known the Namek for five years now.
"Have you ever celebrated a birthday, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked, trying to keep the conversation going, though he already knew the answer.
"No, I have not, why are you so damn interested all of a sudden?" Piccolo snarled, getting up from his meditative position and stood upon the ground facing his student, crossing his arms across his chest firmly as he glared down at the boy that was stood a little away from him.
Gohan knew Piccolo was uncomfortable by the topic, Piccolo's father had been evil and had wanted world conquest-that much he'd heard of from his dad, so it was unlikely he even knew what a birthday was and why celebrating it was such a wonderful idea. The boy sighed and knew that there was little point in lying to his teacher; the Namek could read through his lies very easily, it was almost as if he were an open book.
"Because I want to celebrate your birthday!" Gohan stated with a small cheer, though it went unheard of by his mentor, he watched as Piccolo's eyes went from surprise, to curiosity then began twitching in annoyance.
"You brat! My birthday is not something to celebrate, I'm evil, don't forget that, I could kill you before you even blink!" His teacher snarled, his fangs glinting in the slight sunlight pooling through the canopies of the trees above.
Gohan weren't dissuaded, he knew Piccolo was arguing with him because he weren't used to feeling emotion, judging by the look of surprise earlier, the boy had a feeling that his mentor had probably felt a little happy knowing that someone finally plucked up the courage to ask him.
"Then why haven't you already? I...I know I'm not much of an asset to you...so why do you keep me around?" Gohan asked, genuinely out of curiosity, he'd always wondered why Piccolo put up with him so much when he could easily kill him from where he stood or send him back home and never see him again. Both of those concepts hurt the boy to even consider, but he figured he should weigh up the possibilities so that if they did happen he wouldn't be too shocked by it later.
Piccolo remained silent, becoming thoughtful once more, before turning away; keeping his back to the boy and it remained so for ten minutes, Gohan patiently stood still in his spot, half-expecting his mentor to attack him for answering back in his insolence. But it went unspoken between them and they both knew why Piccolo couldn't and wouldn't kill or send the boy away. It would mean the Namek would be all alone again; his world would become virtually silent and although the Namek preferred solitude to company, there was only so much of the silence that one could take before going insane.
"I...I don't know kid," Piccolo muttered almost too quietly for him to hear, but was curious and leaned in a little to hear better, though it wasn't needed for Piccolo spoke up louder this time "I haven't a clue as to when my birthday is...I can't remember."
His mentor almost sounded bitter at the thought and Gohan knew that if it weren't for having others around, he would never know how old he was or when he'd been born and the boy knew he too would be upset for not knowing both facts.
"I also don't understand what there is to celebrate, you don't understand brat, I'm not the world's nicest guy, and you should know that better than anyone..." Piccolo kept his back to the boy, his fists curling in on themselves for it was true. He'd never had anyone to celebrate the day of his birth with because he didn't know when it was and never had anyone to celebrate it with. Just another reminder of how alone he truly was in this world.
Gohan felt immensely sad for his mentor and friend, he knew that Piccolo was ostracised by everyone-including his mother because of how the Namek looked and no one had anything good to say about him. It angered the boy a little to think that no one appreciated everything that he'd done for them, albeit kidnapping a child and killing his dad, he'd actually redeemed himself by training Gohan and had even given his life up for him years ago. That was more than enough reason for the boy to think that Piccolo was good deep-down, he was just a little confused by Earth and its customs.
Gohan took a deep breath and silently trotted over to Piccolo's side, still unable to read the Namek's expression for his face was turned away from him, the boy braced himself and silently placed a hand over Piccolo's fist causing the Namek to freeze up entirely. His body rigid from the unusual and unexpected contact as he glanced down at the now smiling boy with wide eyes. No one had ever gotten this close to him or held his hand before...Gohan once told him humans did it to people they loved and it was then that he felt such a burst of warmth spread through his body, a heat rising to his cheeks at the thought of this boy...loving him.
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Piccolo; you can share my birthday if you want? We can celebrate it together and to be honest..." the boy blushed once more, looking away from his mentors penetrating gaze to look at his feet, he muttered "I think you're good Mr. Piccolo...no, you're the best!" The boy beamed up at him now with honest adoration in his eyes as he stated "You're just misunderstood and besides...everyone makes mistakes, if we can forgive Vegeta for all the horrible things he's done, then everyone else should be able to forgive you just as easily, I have."
It was touching, to hear those words spoken to him, to be complimented for once, for someone to show that they cared for him. He didn't know the best ways to react and was often quite cold and harsh on others since they weren't so accepting of him, but this boy...Gohan, he's special. He's different. And for the first time in his life, Piccolo found himself smiling; it wasn't huge, didn't flash off his fangs and didn't warp his face and create wrinkles, it was a small smile, one that spoke volumes of appreciation and happiness.
"Thanks kid, it means a lot to me to hear you say that." The Namek didn't care at that moment how pathetic he sounded, how unmanly it was to admit his feelings to the only boy that'd ever shown him love, happiness and acceptance; after all, tomorrow things would go back to normal, they would be teacher and student, but always friends.
The kid's eyes seemed to smile up at him as he stated "I'm glad Mr. Piccolo, cos I really like you!"
He watched the kid laugh and felt that warmth seep through him once again, making his body feel lighter than air itself, though he mentally frowned at how his mind was getting carried away, still, the feeling was nice and he felt truly free.
Piccolo wrapped the boy's hand in his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze, as he replied "Yeah, I like you too kid."
Whether it was just mere friendship or pure love he felt for the boy; he didn't know, he only told himself that time would tell and no matter what, he'd always be there for Gohan and he didn't need to ask the boy to know he'd do the same for him too.
...THE END...
A/N: I'm surprised I finished it today, but I really enjoyed typing it, like I said, keep an eye out for my multi-chapter story; it has the same pairings ;) otherwise, thank you for reading and please review!
!Reviews are appreciated!