Piccolo stood on the edge of the landing field at the spaceport on New Namek, watching as a gargantuan ship lowered itself slowly down to the ground. His cape whipped behind him from the force of the landing jets, even though he was standing well away from where it was touching down. It still amazed him how fast everything was being built up. It had only been a month or two since Sasei had come back – it was hard to get a handle of the time on another planet, so he wasn't sure exactly how long – yet so much progress seemed to have been made on the new home world in preparation for welcoming the long-separated members of the species. He supposed this spaceport itself had been constructed in the time before Sasei had come back, but even so it must have only just opened. That large ship on the landing field was just the first to arrive since the Namekian Council of Elders first made contact with the survivors of the Dragon Clan.
"Still hard to believe, isn't it?" came a gruff, older voice from Piccolo's right. Elder Muri stood next to the Namekian from Earth, watching the landing with equal interest. "After all these years, to think there were so many other Namekians out there, scattered among the stars. We thought we were the only ones. Hell, that ship there is bringing more of our people than our entire clan has left anymore, and that's just the start."
"You're not afraid they're going to come and change everything?" Piccolo asked, to which Muri let out a chuckle, shaking his head.
"Not at all. We've been separated from our own culture for so long, it would be interesting to get back a little bit of what we lost, if anything. Great Elder Guru was only a boy when he survived the disaster on Namek, so he didn't know all there was to our society before it happened. Much of our culture died before many of us were born. These Namekians from space still have their heritage intact, though. They'll be able to help fill in the gaps."
Piccolo already knew that much was true. It was clear from how much Sasei had considered common knowledge for their kind that no one on New Namek had the slightest clue about. It made him feel a bit better, at least. He wasn't the only one that had been thrown completely out of the loop as a child.
The people on the ship where disembarking now. Piccolo could see a half-orderly line of green-skinned men file out of the ship and towards the terminal. Even from this distance, he could see a few distinguishing features that he'd been told to pay attention to. Many of the Namekians arriving on this ship seemed to have tattoos of red, tribal-style snakes coiled around their necks, while several others had blue tortoise shells on their right cheek. They were clan markings, Sasei had explained to him once when he'd asked about his very prominent tattoo of a black bird that covered most of his face. His signified that he was of the Condor Clan. The tattooing was an older tradition that was normally only carried out by the seven main clans. The tradition resurfaced after the Exodus, from Namekians who had grown homesick and wanted something of their past to cling to.
He'd asked what the different animals represented, and the answer surprised him somewhat.
"They're representations of the old Gods." Sasei had explained. "Each of the seven Gods had an animal form that they were rumored to take to interact with mortals, and these animals became sacred to those who worshiped the Gods. Each of the seven Gods is represented by one of the seven Great Clans, and so our symbols are taken from the animal that represents our patron deity. The Condor Clan, for example, represents Danirn, the God of the Dead."
"So, each clan has a different animal tattoo they use?"
"Yeah, exactly. They're all different, and usually all on the head or neck, places you can't regenerate. The only two that look the same are the one for the Condor Clan and the Crane Clan, only the tattoo for the Crane Clan is white instead of black."
"Why are those the only two that look the same?" Piccolo had asked, looking a bit confused. He had remembered the story of the cranes that Sasei had told him before, how they were messengers of the God of Life, Leishu. It seemed odd that the only two that were so similar should represent such opposite concepts as life and death.
"Well, folklore has it that Danirn and Leishu are twin Gods. They're brothers, two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Both of them are represented by birds. Leishu has his cranes, and Danirn has the condors. The lore behind the condors is probably pretty obvious. They eat the carcasses of the dead, so they were said to deliver the souls of the dead to Danirn in the Void. Danirn would, in turn, give the old souls to his brother to be reborn into the mortal realm."
Piccolo's attention slowly drifted back to the present, where he watched the distant members of the Turtle Clan and the Snake Clan make their way off the ship and onto their new home world. He watched as a few members of the Dragon Clan, distinguishable because of a specific lack of facial markings, greeted the new arrivals with open arms and endless hospitality.
Piccolo jumped slightly in surprise when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind.
"Hey there. You two enjoying the sights?" Sasei asked, resting his chin on Piccolo's shoulder. His reply was a smile and a gentle hue of purple on the cheeks. Piccolo was getting better with public displays of affection, but there was a note of slight unease that he didn't think would ever subside. Old habits were hard to break, after all.
"When did you get down here? I didn't see your ship land." Elder Muri commented, unable to hide a pleased smile at seeing the two together like this. He was truly happy, and quite relieved, to see that Piccolo had finally found someone for himself.
"I landed at the next field over and flew over myself. My patrol actually ended an hour ago, but I wanted to make sure the ship made it down okay. It was a pretty big undertaking, transferring a few thousand people at a time, but I'm glad it's over. Well… Until this time next year, at least."
"So, you're free until then?" Piccolo asked somewhat hesitantly, trying not to sound like he was implying anything while they were in the Elder's presence.
"Yep. I've got a good long vacation for the next few months. Unless there's an emergency, I'm all yours." Sasei replied with a light smirk, seeming to enjoy making his mate blush in public. "I'd like to stay here and rest for a night before we head back to Earth. Sound okay to you?"
"S-sure, that suits me just fine."
Elder Muri said his goodbyes and the two of them returned to the small round house that had served as their home while they had been staying on New Namek. It wasn't there's, more of a guest house set up in the main village for dignitaries visiting from the Federation or other Namekian colonies. Piccolo, ever the introvert, normally felt more relaxed once they escaped the outside and could truly be alone, but that didn't seem to be the case today. He still seemed a bit tense as he took off his cape and turban, setting them aside. It didn't seem to go beyond Sasei's notice.
"You alright? Something on your mind?" he asked, watching as Piccolo flinched ever so slightly. He did indeed have something on his mind, but he had no idea how he should explain himself.
The two of them had grown considerably closer since Sasei had come back. They were finally able to admit to one another how they felt, and Piccolo was actually more comfortable with Sasei now that he knew about his 'quirks' of character. He'd always been afraid that would drive him away, but the other was always so understanding about whatever unusual things seemed to make Piccolo uncomfortable. He supposed that's why it took him so long to buck up the courage to discuss the one subject he was most apprehensive about.
This trip to New Namek to help the new settlers from other worlds had seemed like the perfect opportunity. It was away from all the humans, and they'd even been given this house to stay in while they were there. They had perfect privacy in which to do whatever it is they wanted, yet Piccolo had stopped himself just short of asking on every occasion he managed to find. Now this was their last day on New Namek, the last day they truly had to themselves before they'd be back on the Lookout with Dende and Mr. Popo and whoever else decided to turn up. This was his last chance. They'd been sleeping together since Sasei had come back to Earth, but not once had they had sex.
"I-I was wondering if…" Piccolo began, but his sentence was choked off by a sudden welling up of fear. It was the fear of looking like an utter fool, of asking for something so intimate without having any clue what to do. How did one go about asking for something like that? It had seemed so easy for the humans. Yes, he'd looked in on the more intimate parts of their lives. One didn't watch over all of Earth with omnipotent eyes and not peek into the bedroom once or twice. Still, he wasn't better off now for having observed another species in the act.
Luckily, Sasei seemed to have read his mind and taken mercy on the poor fellow. He pulled Piccolo into a gentle embrace, wrapping his arms around the other and letting their foreheads touch.
"You know I'd be more than happy to, but only if you think you're ready. I don't want you to force yourself into it. I know you've been through a lot." He said in a soft, soothing tone, an almost concerned look in his eyes. Piccolo drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a relinquishing sigh.
"I'm ready." He insisted. Then, with an embarrassed smirk, added, "So long as you show me what to do."
Sasei couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Don't worry. I'll give you the easy part. All you have to do is lay back and relax."
He then led Piccolo over to the bed, loosening his belt and tossing it aside. Piccolo hesitated, but did the same, untying his sash and letting it fall to the ground. He could already feel his face burning with embarrassment as he removed his shirt. He'd never once appeared naked in front of anyone, having been made extremely self-conscious about his body from living among humans his whole life. He told himself that it was foolish to be ashamed of his anatomy, as Sasei's was exactly the same.
As his hands fumbled with the tie that held his pants at his waist, Sasei's own clasped over them to cease their trembling. He then took Piccolo's lips against his own, locking them into a deep, passionate kiss. He could feel Piccolo relax at the familiar intimacy, letting go of a bit of his unease. Sasei's hands moved to the other's waist, sliding them slowly, caressingly down his sides and over the gentle curve of his hips. Piccolo shivered lightly at the touch, and had been so engrossed by the new sensation that he hardly noticed at all when his pants slid lightly off his hips.
Neither did Piccolo notice that he was being gently pushed back onto the bed until he felt the cool sheets against his bare back. He pulled his lips away for a moment to look up at his mate. The other held himself up so that their chests didn't quite touch, and his breath caught in his throat when he realized that his legs were spread and Sasei had positioned himself between them.
"If, at any point, you want me to stop, just let me know." He offered in the same soothing tone as before. Piccolo merely shook his head, unwilling to speak for fear of how his voice might sound in the state he was in. Sasei looked a tad unconvinced, but merely took it as a sign to proceed slowly.
The tattooed Namekian leaned down to gently brush his lips across the corner of Piccolo's jaw, placing soft kisses down the length of his neck as he let himself lower down on top of the other. Piccolo's heart raced as he felt Sasei's warm skin press against his own. He'd never been touched like this, never imagined that something so simple could make him feel this way. His skin seemed to tingle wherever he was touched, sending tiny shivers of pleasure coursing through him every now and then. Even as the goosebumps rose on his skin, he could feel a warmth growing in him, and a desire for more.
Piccolo gasped lightly when he felt something press against him between his legs, causing him to spasmodically clutch at the sheets of the bed. Sasei's hand moved gently to loosen his grasp, threading their fingers together and giving the other's hand a light squeeze.
"Just relax… I don't want to hurt you…" Sasei whispered, his voice coming out a tad more huskily this time. Piccolo tried his best to do as he said, but his grip on the other's hand surely gave him away.
When Sasei finally pressed in, Piccolo couldn't suppress the raspy moan that escaped his throat, his hand gripping at the other's tightly. He hadn't expected it to feel so big inside him. If he was being perfectly honest, he hadn't known what to expect at all. He had no idea what was average for the typical Namekian. Slowly, gently, Sasei began moving himself back and forth, in and out. As he did, the tightness gradually gave way to an indescribable feeling Piccolo could only guess was that ever sought for feeling of pure ecstasy.
"S-Sasei…" he breathed out between badly-stifled groans of pleasure, his chest rising and falling with each quickened, gasping breath. He could feel an intense warmth gathering into a heat inside him, and he desperately wanted it to grow hotter still. He arched his back up from against the mattress, rolling his hips in time to meet Sasei's thrusts. He was a bit proud that he managed to pull a moan from his mate at that, feeling the hot breaths against his neck. If there was any apprehension left in him, it had melted away once the sounds of absolute bliss began escaping his partner's mouth.
Suddenly, Piccolo's eyes widened as he felt a surge of warmth gush forward inside him. The realization of what it must have been was all it took to push him over the edge. His entire body trembled as he climaxed, a wave of intense euphoria washing over him. Sasei's lips caught his in another gentle kiss as the ecstasy faded slowly into a feeling of misty well-being, parting only after several moments of not wanting it all to end. They were reluctant to untangle themselves from each other, wanting instead to remain entwined together like that for as long as they could retain consciousness.
Piccolo awoke the next morning with Sasei's arms still wrapped loosely around him, his head resting on the other's shoulder. He was amazed at how good he still felt after it all, even after sleeping through the night. He glanced up at his mate to find that he was already awake – or at least marginally so – and gave him a warm smile.
"Morning. I bet you slept well, because I know I was dead to the world at least." He greeted groggily, though he didn't seem too eager to let the other out of his grasp. Piccolo didn't mind one bit.
"I hope that doesn't mean I bored you." He replied, clearly teasing. Sasei let out a chuckle at that, shaking his head.
"Not at all. In fact, you did pretty damn good, if that really was your first time. You're a fast learner."
Piccolo couldn't help but give his mate a small smirk.
"Well damn, and here I was hoping for some more practice."