Warning: This chapter is M-rated.

Dearest Gohan,

You are the reason I have come to love the sunrise.

You are the reason I see it at all.

I am not sure I understand everything there is to understand about love, but I am certain there is no one else in the world I have felt it for.

I love you. I always have.

Thank you for letting me love you. And thank you for loving me.

Yours truly,
Piccolo

- 17-year-old Piccolo Daimaoh Jr's response to Gohan's letter (May 770)

Four years after Cell had been defeated…

Piccolo Daimaoh Jr waited with bated breath at the Kami no Shinden. His chest swelled as his friend's Ki steadily closed in and finally entered his field of vision. Before he could even open his mouth in greeting, Gohan was already bounding for him, satchel discarded to one side and both arms wrapped fiercely around his midsection.

"Piccolo-sama…! Piccolo-sama, I missed you so much!"

The demi-Saiyajin was a young man of fifteen now; and perhaps it was the two-year absence that brought about the passionate sentimental outpour, but it has been a long time since Piccolo had been made to feel Gohan's affection this way… He had almost forgotten how the boy made his heart want to catapult itself out of his chest.

"Gohan. I missed you too."

That soothing deep rumble that was so familiar to him plucked at Gohan's soul, making him grab onto the Namek fiercer than ever. Kamisama, how he missed that voice! Just being near Piccolo this way – feeling him speak, feeling him breathe! It was all so surreal all of a sudden, like he had taken everything about the man for granted all his life. But now, as he deeply inhaled that comforting scent that he missed terribly, finally! after two long years…

All was starting to feel right again with his world.

Gohan looked up at his friend beaming brightly, breathless with uncontainable happiness and cheeks blooming roses.

'*Tadaima.'

'*Okaerinasai,' Piccolo returned warmly into their mental link.

That singular elusive lopsided smirk ghosting over the Earth-born Namek's lips once again reminded Gohan of how rowdy the butterflies residing in his stomach could get (said butterflies have been in hibernation for most of his two-year hiatus from Piccolo). He leaned back into his companion's chest, sighing in contentment, secretly wishing time would stop.

The peaceful silence stretched on with only the sound of the rogue breeze in the distance and the rustling of leaves to compliment it. Gohan, pacified within unimposing arms, listening to Piccolo's trenchant heartbeat; and Piccolo, content to be trapped in Gohan's possessive embrace; both basking in the familiar steadfast vibrations of each other's Ki. They stayed that way for some minutes more—they knew they had so much to make up for. Now that the Earth was relatively at peace, they had time on their side.

"*Ne, Piccolo-san," Gohan finally spoke up. "I got taller, haven't I?"

"A lot taller."

The half-Saiyajin chuckled heartily; but pouted the next second. "You're still taller than me."

"I will always be taller than most everyone."

"I'm still growing!" Gohan found imperative to point out (utterly failing to sound not sulky).

"*Aa."

Piccolo never really understood the boy's obsession to gain on his height, but he humoured him nevertheless. It was kind of cute, in a silly childlike way. Then again, he secretly found everything that Gohan did endearing (though HFIL would freeze over before he readily admitted it).

"I'm really glad it's not just Piccolo-san's obi that I can reach now." Gohan shifted, fidgeting a bit. "I-I've waited so long for this day…"

Piccolo peered down at him, unsure if they were still on the same topic. But he wasn't kept in the dark for long…

Taking a deep breath, Gohan tiptoed as high as he could manage, reaching up to hook his arms around Piccolo's shoulders (feeling a stab of frustration that he still needed to crane his neck) to plant a chaste kiss—lips lingering longer than intended—upon the other's cheek. The unmistakable colour spreading across his mentor's cheeks was noteworthy (not to mention unbearably cute).

"The day I would be tall enough to do that…" Gohan breathed, "…without hovering."

It was a simple and fairly innocent gesture. Yet his pulse was skyrocketing, his cheeks burned bright and his lips buzzed with static; even his lungs were refusing to release the air it had taken in. Gohan pushed his breath out in a careful protracted puff in an effort to calm his nerves.

It's true whenever Piccolo's so-called birthday or "hatchday" came about, the Namek would be extra lenient and Gohan usually got away with more than what his master already allowed him—which was no small feat considering this was Piccolo, after all.

However, this year was promising to be very different from all past birthdays they've celebrated together. With everything that has happened between them… The poems, the *letters… And of course, there were the confessions… The prospect of romance promising to spice up their already special friendship brought about a sort of tension—a sexually charged energy suffused in the air.

"Happy Birthday, Piccolo-sama," Gohan said, sotto voce, elated when his master didn't flinch at the kiss or their current closeness but even kept those deep-blue eyes fixed on him, regarding him with attentive silence.

This was usually the part where Gohan unveiled his birthday present as part of their yearly ritual. If it wasn't a book, most of the time it would be something he made, like little wooden carvings, human garments, or *home-cooked food.

Gohan untangled himself from Piccolo's frame, arms aching as they forlornly dropped to his sides, instantly missing the contact. "I- I actually have… uhm… a very different present for you this year…"

"I told you," Piccolo huffed, "I don't need anything… As long as you're happy."

"Right… As long as I'm happy, huh…" Gohan rubbed his nape, feeling his face grow hot. Piccolo says the same thing every time, but it still always makes his heart do cartwheels. "W-what if… What if what would make me happy—happiest of all, even—might make you feel uncomfortable?"

"I don't quite follow," Piccolo said as Gohan looked away, index finger absent-mindedly scratching his cheek. "I think it's absurd that you would concern yourself too much with my discomfort now when you were less reserved about it as a child. Thanks to you, I've already habituated to all the ways you and your kind make me feel 'uncomfortable'."

The ebony-haired teenager gave a nervous bubble of a laugh. Of course, his lovesick mind couldn't help toying with the idea of Piccolo being used to that. He laughed again, earning him a slight lift of a green brow.

No matter how many simulations of this day Gohan ran in his head, it never got any easier. Confessing your long-standing feelings vis-à-vis to your childhood best friend and mentor who happened to be an alien of a different race, and also quite possibly, the most naïve eighteen-year-old grown man on the planet, simply wasn't easy… But he wasn't about to back down. Not anymore. Gohan loosened his shirt collar, sucked in a breath, and cleared his throat; mentally tearing at his hair and screaming at himself to quit stalling and get it on with already…

Ever since the letters, he had been bracing himself for the inevitability of the moment of truth. He promised himself that if he didn't feel the same anymore when that day finally came then he would simply forget. But if the opposite were to happen—if his secret feelings of undying first love for his mentor didn't fade away but burgeon into something so much more than just a stupid childhood crush or some manic adolescent phase… Then he would act on it like the mature young adult he was striving to be; and this day– was slated to be the culmination of all his efforts at "acting on it".

No, he couldn't afford to back down now.

"Well…" Gohan heaved as an incoming stampede of emotions threatened to inundate him. After Piccolo himself had made a conscious effort to reach out to him– no way he was going to let himself mess this up!

He was the only one who ever looked forward to—the only one who remembered without fail—this day which he himself had proclaimed: Piccolo's birthday. And yet, on this day, every year since, Piccolo would always say the same thing: That he didn't need anything. As long as Gohan was happy.

Why…?

Why was it still always his happiness on the forefront? That wasn't why he wanted his best friend to have a special day in the first place. Well, he wasn't having any of that this year, not anymore! He wanted to repay Piccolo for the all the kindness and friendship that he had so selflessly given all these years; for the one who always puts his friend's happiness before his own to be the one happy for a change…

He wanted more than anything to make Piccolo happy.

"What would make me happy is your happiness, Piccolo-san," he finally declared. "Which, I guess, leaves us in a loop, huh?"

Piccolo grinned wolfishly at that. And Gohan couldn't help but mirror it. They held each other's gaze for what seemed like time refusing to move forward; until the halfbreed teenager bent down to pull something out of his satchel…

"I think I've finally figured out a way to beat that loop." Green brows arched slightly. "There's something I've always wanted… For as long as I can remember—maybe even longer. But I never pursued it, thinking it might be against your happiness..."

Though visibly confused, Piccolo remained patiently waiting and all ears. Gohan took that chance to hold up a freshly picked tulip blossom clipped short at the stem, and lightly grazed it over Piccolo's lips.

"Do you trust me, Piccolo-san?"

Piccolo blinked somewhat sceptically, still staring at the boy, and then at the vermillion-coloured flower. "Aa. You know I do." There was no one he trusted more, really.

Balancing on tiptoes once again, Gohan ceremoniously lessened the distance between their faces. His hand moved with him to pin the tulip behind one of his Namek friend's big pointy ears… Then, finally finding Piccolo's lips with his own, he gently pressed into it…

Eyelids fluttered shut at the unexpected rush of pleasure. Piccolo's lips were… impossibly soft and supple—beyond anything he's experienced or ever dared imagine. The feeling of kneading delicately into such velvety smooth plumpness was addicting; breath hitching as those lips parted and soft gasps tickled his hyper-sensitized lips. All rational thought completely dissolved when he received tentative presses back.

Piccolo was kissing him… Dear Kamisama!

How long they indulged in the kiss was lost to them at that point; they couldn't stop. Soon, they were panting subtly, unable to process anything except the mind-numbing sensation of their joining lips. Piccolo reflexively bit down when Gohan pushed a little too forcefully, causing sharp fangs to snag and break skin – only then, did the halfbreed realize that his lungs were bursting from lack of oxygen. He gently withdrew, taking huge gulps of air; trying to blink away the dizziness to keep from crumpling to the floor in a weak-kneed heap. He didn't even remember that his lips were torn and bleeding… Piccolo-san kissed back! That was the only thing looping in his hazy love-struck mind.

They had barely gained on their pulses but a scorching desire to feel each other's kisses again and again had already been awakened in them and was proving far too great to resist. Gohan practically jumped his mentor and pulled him down to recapture his mouth. This time, he gave in to the urge to flick out his tongue when those sinful lips pressed and moved against his, parting ever-so-slightly. He was rewarded with a low moan which he readily interpreted as approval, obligingly forcing those lips to open wider to admit his intrusions deeper.

His hands which had considerably behaved up until that point (save for the languid caressing of Piccolo's nape), moved down to capture long elegant fingers – the touch so more electrifying than he anticipated… To be able to hold hands with Piccolo; it was easily among his most coveted fantasies. The last time he was given the pleasure was when he was a young child marooned in the wastelands, training for Earthkind's survival. It was hard to appreciate back then, when each instance Piccolo offered his hand for Gohan to take was usually preceded and quickly followed by a punch to the face…

Wasting no time in thoroughly exploiting the access he was being granted, his tongue traced and probed every nook and cranny that it could reach within that delightful cavern, fully intent on feeling and tasting more of Piccolo. Once again, time seemed non-existent. When they were finally forced to pulled apart, they were too overwhelmed to do much else than allow their lungs to replenish air and their minds to recalibrate.

Reeling as he was, Gohan didn't miss the chance to drink in the breath-taking sight of Piccolo's expression: one of dazed arousal and awakened need. And just like that, he found himself dying to see just how much more sublime the beautiful Namek could look when driven over the edge of sexual pleasure. It was like a Pandora's Box within him had burst open and all the pent-up want he had pushed down all these years had finally broken free. Every part of him ached so badly to touch Piccolo again and again…

Before he knew it, the tips of his fingers were petting Piccolo's lower lip. He watched for any sign of discomfort or unwillingness to continue as he indolently traced the shiny curves of that delicate mouth that he was going crazier for by the minute… Contrary to what a part of him expected, lust-fogged amethyst orbs bore into his hazy mud-browns, unfazed– brazenly communicating that there would be no backing down. If anything, it was soon made explicitly clear how badly those lips were begging to be kissed some more when a succulent purple tongue lapped at his fingers in response…

Gohan swallowed a shaky breath as electricity shot up his spine, nearly collapsing in shivers when the tip of his index finger is lightly suckled on. "P-Piccolo-san!" he choked out, belly tightening into a knot, toes curling inside his well-worn coal-black bit loafers. Pulling out his finger as gently as his impatience would allow, he hungrily recaptured Piccolo's mouth with his own, angling and anchoring to get in deeper; challenging the Namek's tongue to clash with his own—which more than willingly obliged.

His was much like a human tongue, only fuller, slightly more textured, and seemingly longer. Gohan shuddered every time it managed to slide all the way in, nudging the very back of his throat before pulling back out, making him feel full all at once and wanting the very next moment. With every squirming push and pull, tiny white lights exploded behind his eyelids and the world spun a bit faster… An incredible feeling, Gohan decided, wanting to see if he could make Piccolo feel it too. So when he managed to bait Piccolo's tongue halfway in again, he sucked. Hard.

He almost cried out as the Super Namek's fingers twitched and tightened around their still connected fingers with each furious suck. A particularly powerful squeeze shot lighting pain up his arm. Gohan cringed inwardly, chuckling into their kiss, thoroughly enjoying Piccolo's involuntary reactions along with the maddening combination of intense pain and building arousal that accompanied it. The demi-Saiyajin felt the strangest urge to swallow the entirety of that luscious tongue. The mere idea made his spine tingle.

Piccolo kept filling his mouth again and again, until he was gasping and groaning, eyeballs practically rolling off its sockets from the jolts of pleasure repeatedly being ignited in his loins. With each bout, the duration of their lip locks kept getting longer and longer. Finally, after having pushed their lungs to the very limit– they relented, panting hard and caught up in the magnetic pull of each other's flaring Ki. Neither of them had enough sense left to bother wiping the trail of mixed saliva and blood dribbling down their chins, bodies suddenly feverish and perspiring profusely.

Their kisses went from "innocent" to "anything but" so fast that Gohan was still having trouble trying to process what had happened (heck, he was too heady at the moment to even think straight at all!). He didn't dare imagine that things would progress so quickly even in the most optimistic scenarios in his mind. Since when did Piccolo get so bold when it came to romance? How in the world did the most oblivious individual he knew on the subject ever learn to kiss like that? Well, he himself learned mostly from books and television, and of course– his unending fantasies, but he doubted very much that Piccolo had any of those things as reference…

Gohan was almost afraid to ask.

'P-Piccolo-san... W-was that your first kiss…?'

'…Is that what it's called?' Piccolo sent back after a pregnant pause.

Could someone have taught Piccolo to kiss and… do other things?

He found himself feeling jealousy for the very first time in his entire life. Crumbs, he wasn't even sure yet if they were officially an item and he was being jealous already…?

'H- have you ever done this … with… anyone else before today?'

Another smaller pause. 'No.'

'Kamisama…'

'…Did I do it wrong?'

'Oh, holy HFIL, no! You were… That was– just… wow.'

When the Namek only regarded him with an uncomprehending stare, Gohan laughed out loud. If Piccolo was going entirely by instinct with that kiss, then it would seem that what he lacked in knowledge and experience, he made up for superbly with pure natural talent. The raven-haired teenager did not think it possible, but at that moment, he found himself even more utterly *gob-smitten with his life-long crush.

Staying there and kissing each other senseless was to Gohan, the perfectly perfect way to spend the entire day (and his entire life) with Piccolo. But he remembered that he had prepared a very special birthday surprise; and it was one surprise well worth momentarily putting off that perfectly perfect activity for. He grasped his mentor's gracefully long fingers tightly again and tugged. "Come with me, Piccolo-san!" Practically dragging the towering Namek over the edge of *Kami no Shinden, to be suspended in mid-air only for a second before blasting off in joined flight.

They travelled far and beyond the outskirts of town, a whole new thrill coursing through their being as they flew hand-in-hand for the very first time as a budding couple. Their lips were still thrumming and swollen – a blissful reminder of their first real kiss. Both of them chose to enjoy the silence for the entire flight, soaking in their newfound bliss.

After some minutes of flying at breakneck speed, they landed within the border of a familiar mountainous region. Gohan excitedly led Piccolo down the rocky cliff, through a series of winding grassy slopes, across a flowing brook, and just beyond a curtain of thickets and foliage…

As they emerged in a clearing, a nostalgic redolence met Piccolo's nose. Gohan halted and allowed Piccolo's fingers to slip free as the taller of them advanced forward several paces. As soon as his mind had taken it in, Piccolo knew from that moment that it was a sight he was never going to forget…

Sparkling golden sunbeams filtered through the highest treetops, perfectly illuminating the sprawling glade before them that was lush with flower beds that swayed in unison with the reckless breeze. A light sprinkle of colourful insect life (mostly spritely bright yellow butterflies) here and there completed the grand picturesque scenario…

For some moments, Piccolo remained mute and completely awestruck. Then slowly, his eyes grew wide in *recognition.

"Do you… Do you like it?" Gohan had stepped up to right beside him, a nervous blush ghosting over his fine features. When he got no answer, he peered up and found the answer written all over his companion's face. He didn't think he remembers any other time he's witnessed Piccolo gripped by such hushed wonderment.

"Gohan… How…? When did you…?" was all Piccolo managed when he was finally able to speak.

"I couldn't let leave it the way it was…" Gohan said wistfully, remembering the day he found the flowers burned to the ground. "I know how much you love this place. Especially the tulips." Gohan read about how to some Nameks certain flowers can be like what catnip is to cats; after he caught Piccolo in a rare albeit on the sly moment of "repose" amidst the flower beds, he immediately realized it. His master had a secret soft spot for tulips! A fact that he was very proud to know. Piccolo was not expressive of the things he liked, so whenever Gohan was lucky enough to learn of his master's predilections, he was sure to take it to heart.

The Earth-born Namek finally tore his gaze from the sight and turned to the boy next to him, cheeks faintly dusted purple and a secret smile at the corner of his lips…

"I like it… very much."

"Ahh, *yokatta!" Gohan allowed a pent-up sigh of relief to roll off his chest along with some jittery titters. "I'm so glad you do!"

"I feel…"

Gohan found himself holding his breath all over again. It wasn't everyday that his usually sullen friend began his sentences with 'I like…' or 'I feel…'.

"I think, I feel… happy. Thank you, Gohan."

The demi-Saiyajin searched Piccolo's eyes, and sure enough, there was an unmistakable glimmer of exhilaration there. It caused Gohan's heart to do elaborate somersaults and a big sunny smile to break across his face.

"Happy Hatchday, Piccolo-san!"

To Gohan's further astonishment, Piccolo leaned down and nudged his lips into a gentle kiss. It was brief. But enough to knock his head back into the clouds.

"Don't stop," Gohan murmured shyly as soon as he recovered his powers of speech. He draped his arms over broad shoulders and wrapped his legs around chiseled hips, locking Piccolo securely in a koala-hug.

Piccolo's arms which had reflexively moved up to support Gohan from the back, moved down to under his seat, lifting him up so that their mouths were at level. Their lips aligned and leisurely indulged in each other for as long as they could. Only when the planet felt like it was going to spin itself right off its orbit did they reluctantly pull apart, severely out of breath.

The lack of air proved no hindrance to Gohan's hands, as they quite impetuously hoisted the heavy mantle off Piccolo's shoulders, the weighted turban coming off with it. He buried his nose in the crook of the Namek's now exposed neck, revelling in the nostalgic clean nature-sweet smell of Piccolo that brought with it only the fondest, sweetest memories of his life. Now, the scent had become so much more… It was like a drug – a most potent aphrodisiac… And the more his senses became infused with it, the more he found the luxurious Namekian skin beckoning to him, possessed of an irresistible urge to taste and adorn that elegant neck with a choker of love bruises.

He took his time as he licked and sucked every inch of the lush green skin; the tantalizing noises rumbling from Piccolo's throat slowly becoming too seductive for Gohan to resist. Finally satisfied with how his Namek's neck looked even prettier with angry purple blotches all over, he found those lips once more and greedily helped himself, letting his tongue tease Piccolo's fangs for some moments—which he found to his delight were actually ticklish. His hands were likewise busy touching another ticklish area: the Namek's long antennae. His fingers tangled and fondled – diligently rubbing and pinching the base all the way to bulbous tip, purposefully stroking the length of it.

At that point, Piccolo was much too dazed to even notice the steady stream of pleasured groans and tremors racking his body. Tiny electric shocks fizzled up the length of his spine and molten heat repeatedly erupted in his core from how fiercely he was being kissed and how indecently those adroit fingers molested his antennae. Heated hands cupped his face, pulling him deeper into the searing kiss, his young lover's persistent tongue pressed daringly much farther in than it had ever done so far, making him see stars. He instinctively leaned in, wanting to feel more, but in the next minute, the world was flipped upside-down!

Petals and leaves (along with some disgruntled insects) flew high up and away from them as they crashed into the flower beds.

"G-Gohan!"

"Piccolo-san…"

"Are you alright?"

Light-headed giggles were expelled from Gohan's chest before he was able to look down at his friend's worried face atop him. The mid-afternoon's benevolent sunbeams and colourful tulip petals descending in slow motion around them gradually came back into focus, serving the perfect backdrop to Piccolo's stunning ethereal face.

"I'm more than alright," Gohan purred breathlessly, reaching up to bring his Namek's lips crashing down over his all over again. 'As long as you're with me.'

And this time, Piccolo easily met him with equal fervour.

-x-

They lay side by side among the flowers, staring up at the late afternoon's cloud-littered sky, bathed in each others reassuring Ki and lost in their own thoughts.

"Is… this what you wanted that you feared might cause me discomfort?"

Gohan turned to stare fondly at the face of what for him came to define what angels looked like. After so many sleepless nights of worrying about what the world and Piccolo himself would think; after all the doubts that threatened to crush the pure feelings he's always had in his heart; and despite all the chaos that was his life– Piccolo was always there for him. Their friendship was one made in heaven. And now, having Piccolo right beside him, clinging to his hand just as passionately as they crossed over to the next stage of their relationship…

Nothing had ever felt more right in his world.

"Mn. It's because I love you, Piccolo-san," Gohan replied, embarrassment staining his cheeks. "I can't help but want you."

"'Want me'…" Piccolo echoed, leaving the words suspended for some seconds.

Without a doubt, Piccolo's heart soared at the thought of being 'loved' and 'wanted' wholly by none other than Gohan. Yet, this romantic concept of love was something so completely new and unexpected to him. He was mildly confused, yes, but not altogether unhappy… All he understood up until that point was Gohan's happiness; he was still in the process of learning to distinguish his own.

"Do you mean that… you want to copulate with me?" Piccolo ventured.

Gohan blushed madly. Piccolo's guileless, unobtrusive manner was such a stark contrast to the unapologetically risqué words he had just uttered—it was so shocking that the halfbreed couldn't help it as he broke into a fit of uncontainable, high-strung laughter.

Piccolo waited patiently for the somewhat unnerving chortling to abate but was already feeling quite mortified that he might have gotten ahead of himself so opted to say nothing more, not quite ready to risk making a bigger fool of himself.

When the hybrid had finished laughing himself quite literally to tears, he finally looked his companion in the eye, a shy smile on his face. "I'm sorry for laughing, I just never expected you to say something like that… But to answer your question…" Gohan took a deep breath. Since his mentor was being straightforward and candid anyways, whattheheck, he might as well be too…

"Yes, Piccolo-san… I actually do."

It took some moments for it to sink in, but when it did, the Namek flushed. It was one think to ask it and another thing entirely to hear it affirmed.

"Of course, that's not the only thing I want from you! I'd be lying if I denied wanting to own your body as much as the rest of you, heart, mind, and soul. But you're beautiful, Piccolo-san! I didn't even know it, I just realized one day… That everything you are is constantly on my mind. So… do I want to have sex with you? How do I even answer that…? Honestly, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't—hell, I think it would be the greatest honour in the world!"

At that point, they both had to look away; too flustered to keep holding each other's intense stares.

"But…" Gohan smiled, unseeing eyes trained on clear skies high above them. "More than that… I want you to want it too, Piccolo-san. Because, well… I love you. Your happiness is so important to me. I want to make you happy—no, I want to be your happiness – if you would let me. And if you're going to say that your happiness is defined by my own… Then allow me to define very precisely what happiness is for me…"

Slightly wide ruby-tinged amethyst eyes met his as he sought it out.

"What would make me truly happy—happiest of all… is for us to be together, always. It doesn't have to be as lovers, if that's not what you want…" (A *involuntary wince in his left eye distracted him for a split second but he recovered quickly.) "As long as I'm with you, Piccolo-san."

Having become quite breathless from the impassioned proclamation, Gohan gave way to silence for the next minutes, letting the implications of his words sink in for both of them.

What is this? Piccolo didn't know why, but his heart was beating so fast and so hard that his ears were going deaf. It was so different from all the times he experienced the adrenaline-rush of battle—a whole other dimension of nervous excitement and emotional exuberance; yet another in the plethora of extraordinary sensations deep within him that he didn't even know he had or was capable of feeling… Feelings in him that only Gohan could ever stir.

If this is what being in love is… it's kind of nice.

Those were Piccolo's first coherent thoughts that surfaced then, which surprised even him. The sudden warmth spreading from where Gohan's hand had protectively wrapped around and affectionately squeezed all three of his four fingers made more curious tingling sensations linger in his chest to spread all over his body and nestle in his cheeks. It felt unnerving, but not at all unpleasant…

"Ne, Piccolo-san… When you said in your letter that you loved me too… was this what you had in mind? Is this what you wanted as well? Because if I were to go with the way you were kissing me…"

"I never imagined anything like this," Piccolo admitted when the sentence was left hanging. "But everything you said… I think…

"I want it too… very much."

Gohan turned just in time to catch Piccolo's gaze, one of absolute trust and open vulnerability. Smooth slender fingers broke out of burly calloused ones to entangle each of their fingers more securely together and give an emphatic heart-stopping squeeze.

"If being in love is what you said, then…" Piccolo's cheeks burned even brighter. "I believe… I am… in love with you too."

Gohan hiccupped. After some moments of shock wherein tears instantly flooded his eyes, he abruptly rolled over and propped himself up on his forearms to lean over and kiss the Namek with trembling lips. "Piccolo-san…! I'm so happy…! I love you…! I love you to death!"

"I love you too, Gohan," Piccolo replied, breathless, after his lips had finally been released.

The demi-Saiyajin closed his eyes as fragile beatitude washed over him literally breaking his heart in two and bringing an onslaught of delirious laughter and tears. When he felt gentle fingers daub at the wetness on his cheeks, he cradled the said hand and pressed Piccolo's soft palm against his face, kissing and leaning into it as more tears spilled forth. Gohan could almost feel a shift in the world… As though everything had always been perfect.

Piccolo-san loves me back! Piccolo-san loves me…! Kamisama, arigatou gozaimasu!

Gohan inched closer and Piccolo met him halfway. At first, feather-light touching of lips then tentative presses. Soon tongues were wooing each other as breathless mewls and soft smacks filled the air. Not long after, Gohan pushed himself off the ground to move atop and straddle his newfound mate properly, palms flattening over the neatly fastened obi around that enticingly narrow waist. In one smooth motion, he pulled up the tucked-in part of Piccolo's deep-purple gi top and slid strong hands underneath, feeling up the row of tight abdominal muscles to the sculpted chest.

Piccolo sucked in a breath, cheeks instantly tinting a shade darker; flinching slightly at the ticklish sensation but not breaking eye contact with his halfbreed lover. Gohan's cheeks weren't trying to be any more modest either as he allowed his hands the pleasure of caressing that body that was the object of his sweetest, most unrelenting fantasies.

The first time he saw it as a young teenager when they were bathing together, he affirmed what he had thought for the longest time: that Piccolo Daimaoh Jr was the most bedazzling creature he has ever seen! His many beautiful colours and contours, grooves and patterns constantly pervaded his dreams. He had always wanted to trace it with his fingers, longing to feel what it was like; an undisclosed curiosity that had possessed him, even as a little child.

Then as he grew older, he found himself haunted by the same—though greatly evolved—fantasies as he lay in bed staring out his window during many a sleepless night. His hand would lift up to trace imaginary constellations in the night sky, pretending they were the ridges and lines on his Namek friend's body, marvelling at the wonder of nature's flawless design… He imagined how delightful such multi-textured skin would feel on the palms of his hands—against his entire body… How it would taste…! He shivered with feverish want each time, trying his best to piece together in his mind– all the parts and pieces of Piccolo's design from what little glimpses of it he could remember from when they used to bathe together and his friend would be completely naked.

"You are so perfect," Gohan whispered, thirstily drinking in the enraptured expression on Piccolo's face that his exploration was causing. Unable to help himself any longer, he gripped the hem of his love's gi top and pulled it off completely. Piccolo was panting shallowly by then, chest rhythmically undulating, abdomen flexing and unflexing; the sight too mesmerizing for Gohan who felt his manhood stiffen further in total approval.

Piccolo's sylph-like clawed hands reached up to deftly loosen his lover's coal-grey necktie, making the white dress shirt underneath unbuttoned next. Gohan couldn't believe how turned on he was, as though his arousal was on fire and actually ascending to advanced levels of Super Saiyajin on its own. Once open all the way, he hurriedly pulled down his shirt and slid it off one wrist; not even having enough patience left to completely free his other arm in his haste to re-entwine their fingers and pin his lover's wrists out of the way on either side.

Piccolo fought the urge to resist the domination out of habit, not one accustomed to subjugation. A loud moan is ripped from his throat, scattering all other thoughts except the feel of Gohan's mouth on his chest and the weight and friction of that perfectly toned Saiyajin body pressing and moving over his. Each deliberate grind of the young man's skin against his own repeatedly ignited fantastic sparks in his veins until slowly but surely– his body felt like a blazing furnace; the resulting wildfire enough to short out all rational thought.

Both their Ki signatures were spiking drastically by then, and yet, so used to each other's energies emanating at high levels that in their current befuddled state they had overlooked the irregularity entirely. Their only saving grace being their current location which was quite a ways from where the rest of the Z-Senshi were, that at such a distance, it arrived to the others like faint energy spikes that could be easily associated with their usual intense sparring sessions.

And it was all good as well, because as the normally more sensible one of them lay there, all sensibility spiralling beyond his usually expert control from all the new sensations he was being made to feel, the younger of them was even more far gone to even be aware of how his hair was flickering with golden lightning or how flecks of luminous green were permeating his eyes the more he succumbed to his basal Super Saiyajin instincts.

Sure enough, almost purely primal and instinctual movements took over as Gohan's entire body became the living conductor of hybrid Super Saiyajin Ki currents. He barely even registered that he was thrusting his hips very slowly and deliberately into his mate's tight, smooth stomach muscles. His tongue had travelled north thoroughly anointing a pointy ear with licks and kisses, and was now flicking out all over Piccolo's antenna, suddenly finding the perky protrusion mouth-watering. Catching one, he easily popped it halfway in his mouth and sucked with gusto…

His reward was a very sexy unreserved moan from its owner. Deciding that he liked the sound very much, he made sure to stimulate more; unrelenting until his master was a sweaty, incoherent mess beneath him; his name, the only semi-coherent thing spilling from lovely green lips. Predictably, such provocative sights and sounds caused Gohan's "discomfort" to increase exponentially. His fingers grabbed and pulled at the still secure obi around his love's waist, desperately tearing at it—ruthlessly ripping it apart eventually, along with everything else that was in the way of his prize. Piccolo's quaking thighs are hastily moved out of the way and both groaned loudly as their aching groins brushed against one other.

Hungry Saiyajin lips claimed the Namek's mouth again, tongue plundering as far as it would go. Gohan revelled in the a sharp buck of hips beneath him when he managed to hit the very back of his mate's throat, so absorbed in finding that hidden gland that he knew was present in almost all Nameks that he didn't even feel it when talons dug into his shoulders and reflexively tried to push him away.

Piccolo's head jerked back involuntarily when his lover repeated the action with more speed and force. His eyes scrunched up and breathless grunts of discomfort pushed past his captive lips. He could do nothing but try to outlast the sensory overload as Gohan persisted in attacking that hypersensitive spot deep in his throat that he didn't even know he had. Drool ran copiously down his chin, mouth completely held hostage by the boy…

'G-Gohan!' Piccolo wheezed into their mind-link.

'Does it feel good, Piccolo-san?' Gohan queried with genuine concern despite the cold, unyielding tone his voice usually assumed when he was engulfed in his more advanced Super Saiyajin form. 'Do you want me to stop?'

'I-it feels good… but strange … It feels like … my body is going to explode …'

Gohan pulled back, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, giving them both the much-needed pause to catch their breaths—his Super Saiyajin second form unfaltering. 'It's kind of hard to explain…' he returned through their mental link, quite sure that explaining to his innocent lover that he was on the verge of what was most likely to be his very first orgasm wasn't going to ease his sexual unease. 'I think it would be better if I just showed you…'

"Trust me, Piccolo-san." Gohan susurrated confidently against Piccolo's slightly parted lips. "I promise, you'll be great." To which he received a furious blush and shaky nod in response.

The hybrid teenager resumed kissing him, starting out gentle, allowing Piccolo to actively kiss back. To his surprise, silken palms and clawed fingers moved over his chest, mirroring what was being done to him earlier. His breath hitched when those fingers snagged pert nipples, making the liquid fire in his belly churn much faster. His partner's kisses only grew more assertive, his caresses bolder by the minute… Gohan knew he would not be able to hold out for much longer.

His Namekian lover was an incredibly fast learner. Going by his own actions and reactions, his chest was palmed with sure strokes until his teeth chattered from how pebble-hard and tender his twin nubs had become. The halfbreed struggled to draw enough air into his lungs, the escalating tension in his veins threatened to burst. His Ki levels were nearing critical and he was just barely managing to keep it together… If he didn't do something quick, he would go over the edge before he could do Piccolo that honour! He vowed that he was going to put his beloved Namek's needs before his own for a change—there was no way in HFIL he was going to let it be the other way around again on Piccolo's special day!

Piccolo's hands are (ruefully) disengaged from his lover's chest and coaxed to keep his thighs where Gohan had pushed it – daringly far apart, fully baring his intimates. All the while, their lips struggled to stay connected—although it was more of arbitrary snaps and bites and swirling of tongues now—both of them too far gone to keep their concentration on the kiss; the painful throbbing in their groins much too distracting. The alien sensation of fingers slowly sliding into the moist sensitive slit in-between his legs forced a violent gasp from throat, lips parting and eyes widening in shock.

"Gohan!" Piccolo's eyes brimmed with wetness when his opening is forced to sheath more of those stout fingers.

"P-Piccolo-san!" Gohan grunted through clenched teeth, concentrating with all his might to keep from just plunging in right there and then with reckless abandon; his own need pulsed even harder in protest from being ignored for so long.

They clumsily found each other's lips again (though, it was more of Gohan who found Piccolo's to resume kissing because the Namek was unable to do much, other than whimper at that point). The spearing fingers had built into a steady pumping rhythm now, gradually increasing the depth of each calculated thrust; all the while, careful not to dive in too deep too fast. The halfbreed vigilantly gauged his lover's reactions while interspersing gentle rolling and twisting motions with each plunge, massaging Piccolo's pulsing inner walls until the Namek was soaked and shuddering senseless. Breathless moans and incoherent pleas spilled from bruised green lips as semblances of his Saiyajin lover's name melded in and out of the euphony.

At the very precipice of losing control, Gohan mustered all his will and concentration to keep himself from coming right there. He bit his lip hard as his bursting arousal continued to pulse wildly for attention and he silently begged it to hold out… just for… a little bit… more…

"Aaahhh-nngh!"

Piccolo's voice is ripped from his chest in a hard, drawn-out howl. Blinding white fireworks erupted in his vision when those fingers hit a hypersensitive nerve inside him; violent spasm after another shook his entirety from that one spot… Gohan aimed for that pleasure point again and again, and pressed hard. He watched with heavily hooded eyes as his mate's willowy frame arched off the ground perilously, just as his deeply impaled fingers are deliciously squeezed and clamped in place by that wonderfully wet heat. Wave upon wave of pleasure racked his lover's breathtaking body over and over again until all energy and resistance from it had been spent.

Piccolo collapsed back down, spineless and out of breath. Gohan was panting just as heavily, unable to stop the generous amount of precome he released just from witnessing and feeling his Namek climax hard around his fingers. He retracted ever-so-gently, his Super Saiyajin form cancelling out. He pursed his mouth slowly around his sodden digits and savoured the titillating taste of his master's nectar on his tongue, causing him to harden and throb and come a little more. He then leant up to plant tender kisses on lovely drool-stained lips, feeling a resurgence of warmth flood through his being when his gesture is reciprocated albeit weakly.

Piccolo-san… I love you…!

…

End of Part 1.
Continued in Intermission 1: "Our Destiny"…

Notes:

*Tadaima – (Japanese culture/expression) I'm home.

*Okaerinasai – (Japanese culture/expression) Welcome home.

*Ne – (Japanese culture/expression) When at the beginning of a sentence or name, roughly equivalent to "hey" or "uhm".

*Aa – (Japanese, informal usage) roughly equivalent to 'yeah'.

*love letters – From my "Eyes Only For You" story.

*home-cooked food – Heck, in the canon even at a very young age he is very neat and organized, he can sew his own clothes, do house chores well, repair machinery, and build things (like a raft) from scratch. Why not throw in cooking skills to the whole genius & perfect guy package? It's not such a stretch to imagine for me and my muse; his mother is an excellent cook after all. (We do think Gohan is the most perfect darling Saiyajin in this series.)

*gob-smitten – You won't find this in the dictionary, hehe.

*Kami no Shinden – God's Temple / Kami's Temple. I retained it because it's a play of words. 'Kami' is 'God' in Japanese, and (as you all surely already know) is also the name of Nameless' pure soul counterpart.

*recognition – The significance of the tulip beds will be explained in my future stories.

*yokatta – Roughly "thank goodness", or "that's great/good".

*involuntary wince – A headcanon from "Eyes Only For You". Gohan's "lying tic" if you will.