(A/N: Sorry for the wait on this one. I got a new job so there's that to deal with. Still the same info, I don't own DBZ, yes this is Pan/Piccolo and yes there will be Gohan/Vegeta. At any rate there won't be any creepiness in here so don't worry about that okay folks? I should also like you to know that I am working out a way to do a sequel though I can't tell you what about because that would spoil everything else. On with the show!)

Chapter 9—All Out

"Kid…Gohan, I can't turn her away. I couldn't possibly, and I mean that, even if you hated the idea, I wouldn't be able to deny her. I've been lying to myself for a long time now, it's that she…"

"She controls you. I know that she holds your heart in her hands, and she holds it tightly. She made sure that she was yours Piccolo, I mean; she was practically born that way. You think that Namekians suddenly being able to Bond, adopt genders was a coincidence? I don't think so. And I don't think it was a mistake. I think it was fate Piccolo. Fate, something that even we don't have any say in. You may not have paid it any mind, but I did. I came to terms with it all quite some time ago, before I was even sure…But now that I know, all I can ask is for you to give her the love that she needs when she needs it," Gohan said, going slightly short of breath as he tried to spit it out quickly. Piccolo gave an accepting nod, concerned that his former student was in shock. When he placed a reassuring hand on Gohan's shoulder he did not mean for it to end with the half-Saiyan hugging him, but it did.

It was a bit strange, after all, it had been several years since Gohan had hugged him, and he was pretty sure that the younger man was crying on him. So he remained quiet and patted Gohan's spiky hair, hooking an arm around his back when it felt like he couldn't support himself anymore. Having next to no experience with emotion Piccolo could not tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"I promise to take care of her, no matter what she needs. I will take care of her. And if one day you decide that I'm not good enough for her, then please break the Bond. She deserves the best," Piccolo breathed, though deep down he didn't want that to happen in the least. He would strive to be the best that he could be for that child. He would be a second father; he would train her, teach her, respect her and love her. His life was hers and he knew it. Whether or not he chose to be so emotional he could not tell, but it was she that did it to him.

"No. I told you. I simply can't do that to you both. Vegeta tells me that this isn't unlike arranged marriages in Saiyan culture, that were I born there I would have been doing exactly this for her. It's just; I want her to share in your lifespan. I don't want you to have to linger here without her and I don't want her to have to wait for you on the other side. Call me sentimental but if I were Bonded to someone I wouldn't want them to…" Gohan whimpered and pulled away slightly, seeming to realize that he had been clinging entirely too tightly to his former Master. "For now be her second father, take care of her. I don't want to worry about what comes later when she is still so young," Gohan said in what could best be described as a civil tone, his voice noticeably clipped by tears. It was his little girl's birthday, and he didn't want to cry for her. He hadn't actually wanted to have the conversation, but he was glad to be done with it.

"I said yes to her Gohan, the least I can do is make her happy," Piccolo whispered and wiped the tears from the shorter man's face. Gohan just smiled.

When Videl brought Pan back to the house for the party the girl was wearing a little puffy dress with her roguish hair pulled up in bows, she wore the sourest of expressions on her face. To her the party and the clothes were torture; event the requisite singing of 'Happy Birthday' and the gift giving could not restore her smile. It all rubbed her the wrong way, and Piccolo understood that it was because of her boyish nature that she hated having to be so prim and proper at such goings on. By the end of the day, wheedled into it by her complaining, the Namekian had given her an outfit that resembled his own. It was the very same thing that he had done for Gohan so many years before, but everyone still found it cute. That much bothered Piccolo, how cute would most of them find it if they know the truth of the situation?

(A/N: Well that's it for now. Next chapter is 'Nostalgic' and I really do hope to have it typed in the next couple days. Reviews are love ^_^)