AN: If you need a disclaimer, read the first chapter. If you haven't realised yet, then this story is shounen-ai. Please enjoy.

Chapter Nine – Much Less Your Love

His stance changes: one arm shifting slightly higher and one leg twisting slightly back so that he is completely poised and balanced. No opponent will catch him off guard when he is like this; not even you.

You change your own stance to match his, feeling your heart begin to race as you do so. There is more than a small amount of anticipation welling up inside you. You know what is about to happen, and you hunger for it; for the excitement, the contact and that raw feeling that erupts inside you and lets you know you are alive.

You tell people that you don't like to fight, but that isn't quite right. You don't like to kill, you hate hurting others, but sparring sessions such as this one are absolute bliss.

You launch yourself at each other at the same time, and meet in a flurry of traded blows. Sometimes he overdoes it, and you know that here and there are spots on your skin that might turn into bruises tomorrow, but otherwise his attacks are timed and judged to absolute perfection. If he is fighting as he prefers, then most of the blows will only sting for a moment, leaving only warmth as a reminder of where his skin has come in contact with your own. Other touches only just brush against your skin, sending flutters up and down your whole body.

If you're not careful then you will become too distracted by the fluid movements of his body; become too enraptured by this sweet performance he is giving for you and you alone.

If someone could slow down your movements they would see how well you move around one another, how your bodies know each other's movements so well that at times they mirror one another as though you are nothing more than each others reflections; opposite, yet complementing one another perfectly.

Limbs weave over and around one another in this perfect dance, leaving teasing touches where you sometimes accidentally, more often deliberately, brush against one another.

Green meets beige. Saiya-jin meets Namek.

And if anyone were to come against the two of you, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Because when together, like you are now, you are perfect.

Sierra grinned wickedly as her bodyguards moved in to protect her. I could tell that she thought she was going to win this fight. She obviously didn't know much about fighting. Her guards certainly weren't weak by any standards, and they were both huge, towering over even you by at least two feet. Sierra obviously hadn't heard that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Both brutes grinned at me. Even if they could sense my power level they would think this was going to be an easy fight. The inhabitants of this world would never be able to tell that I was suppressing my power.

Your power flared up immediately, and I knew you had been doing the same thing. Your arm reached up to pull your one tonne armour off your shoulders and swiftly throw it to the ground in a movement that was distinctly Piccolo. Your turban quickly followed it, falling to the floor with a 'thump' that broke the stone tiles beneath.

I sized our opponents up quickly. One of them was incredibly bulky, almost as wide as he was tall, and was covered in a scaly orange skin. Two small horns were situated above his small, beady eyes and wide mouth. A pair of bat-like wings stretched out from his back.

The other was slightly less bulky, but not by much. This one seemed to be at least partly Sentilese, with bushy black hair that went all the way down to his feet. Both of them were wearing scouters and an elaborate black and silver fighting uniform.

I grinned over at you, shifted to a fighting stance and powered up to super Saiya-jin level. The two brutes looked shocked as their scouters exploded. Sierra scowled and ran for the spacecraft hangar as soon as she realised how strong I truly was. I made a move to chase after her, but the guards moved closer together, blocking the way.

"Fine," I snapped. "If you want to fight then we will fight."

The orange guard opened with a kick that caught me by surprise. I was out of practise. The Sentilese attempted to follow with a quick energy blast, but I dodged it just in time.

I jumped back to stand beside you. The two teams took a couple of seconds to size each other up again.

"Do you need help?" Kakarot asked. I looked up to discover that his scouter had not broken. Kakumbus had obviously made a few improvements to the invention if it could read power levels as large as mine was at that point in time.

"No," I shouted back at him.

This was all the time it took for our opponents to try and take advantage of the situation, and the two of them charged at me again. You stopped the Sentilese with a kick to the knee, and I jumped back once again to avoid being hit by the orange being.

"You take care of the King!" I called up to Kakarot. The man nodded at me and began to move Vegeta away from the area, just as I dodged another blow from my opponent. I retaliated with a swift kick to the head which sent my opponent flying across the hallway. He got back up to his feet and sent a scowl in my direction.

"Yer gonna pay for that!" the orange creature slurred. "I'm gonna crus…"

The creature was interrupted as his comrade was sent flying into him thanks to one of your attacks.

I smiled at you, and we moved so that we were standing side by side. Our two opponents took a couple of seconds to get back on their feet, and that was more than enough for the two of us to ready ourselves for the next attack. The two guards flew at us at the same time. The orange guard threw an energy blast at us, which I deflected easily back at his comrade.

The Sentilese warrior screamed. He moved his hands to his face and pulled them back to discover that they were covered in the green blood that was typical of Sentilese. The orange warrior crashed between the two of us, receiving a blow from both of us as his reward. The Sentilese joined in the fray, and the fight was on for real.

Punches and kicks were aimed at me faster than I could dodge them. Sierra's two guards seemed to be teaming up to try and take me out first. I have to admit that their teamwork was almost as good as ours.

Almost.

During the long journeys we had made to Sentil and back I had refamiliarised myself with your fighting style, learning every trick and attack that this Piccolo used. Half of them I knew from you, but I was quite disappointed to learn that the other half were completely new to me. I attempted to adjust my own fighting to match yours once more, and it seemed that our teamwork was now as good as it had been back in our world.

Or so I thought.

I moved to kick just as you did; our feet meet each other instead of the enemy. I had expected you to block. Our mistake was made apparent as the Sentilese guard managed to make contact with your gut, sending his fist flying up into your stomach with a stomach curdling snap.

I think I screamed. It's hard to tell. When that raw power that's inside of me finds its way to the surface I have troubles remembering exactly what happens. All I know was that they had hurt you. You were coughing blood, and if there's one thing I can't stand, it's when the people I care about are hurt.

I lost it, throwing my everything into defeating our opponents, and when I was fully aware of myself once more there was blood all over the cracked floor. Green spots and pale blue were splashed over the white tiles in some sort of parody of an artwork. I checked quickly to make sure that none of it was your deep purple or my red.

I gazed over at your body, lying almost deathly still amongst the carnage. My feet guided me over to you before my brain had told them to, and I knelt down beside you, taking your head in my hands.

"Are you all right?" I asked. I felt so guilty that I thought my stomach was about to explode. If I hadn't made a mistake then you wouldn't have been so seriously injured.

"I'll be fine," you murmured, although from the pained expression on your face you seemed anything but fine.

"Take him to the healing tanks," Kakumbus told me, reminding me that the older Saiya-jin had seen the entire battle. He looked rather pale and shaken to say the least.

With a nod to Kakumbus I carefully picked you up and began to follow him down the corridor. For a long while neither of us was game to speak to one another. I was too worried about you, and found myself checking your energy level every couple of seconds. I think Kakumbus might have still been slightly in shock after everything that had happened.

"I… I just wanted to say," Kakumbus finally spoke. I looked over at the other man, surprised to find that he was almost in tears. "You were right. I apologise."

At any other time I might have accepted Kakumbus's apology, asked him if he was okay and tried to find out more about the puzzle that was Kakumbus. After all, the sudden sorrow on his face was completely unexpected, and seemed completely out of place with what else I knew of him. However, you were hurt, and ensuring your safety came first. I was also worried, tired and perhaps a little too snappy.

"You apologise now," I sighed, shaking my head. "What is it with you Kakumbus?"

The elder Saiya-jin made a small sort of growling noise deep in his throat, his tail lashing backwards and forwards behind him. The elder Saiya-jin confused me to say the least; still confuses me. Beneath that arrogant façade there is another person lurking beneath; one that is very rarely shown to the outside world. I sometimes wonder what could have happened to turn him into the enigma that he is now.

But I'm getting away from the topic again, aren't I?

We eventually reached the room that contained the ship's medical facilities, after what seemed forever because of the silence between us. The door to the room slid open as the three of us approached, revealing the pristine white and silver medical facilities inside.

"What's wrong?" a voice asked. I looked over to discover that Kabaj was in the room and watching your broken body with concern.

"A couple of Sierra's guards had some fun," I answered. Kabaj looked shocked, as though I had just told her that the guards were coming for her next. "Don't worry," I assured her. "What's left of them is a smoking heap near the fountain."

"Give him here," Kabaj told me.

"Why?" I asked, immediately suspicious of anyone around you after your being captured by the Saiya-jins and then Sierra's attempts to claim you as her own.

"Because I'm going to heal him, damn it!" Kabaj yelled at me.

So my distant cousin was a doctor? Well, that certainly explained what she was doing in the ship's medical room in the middle of the night.

I very hesitantly and very carefully handed you over to her, surprised when she took your full weight without so much as flinching. She punched a couple of buttons on one of the healing tanks and the door swished open.

"See you when I get out," you told me, just before Kabaj pulled a mask over your mouth and closed the tank once more. I just nodded and smiled at you, hoping my eyes could express more than I could through words at that moment.

Kabaj's attention then turned to Kakumbus and me.

"You're not injured, are you?" she asked me, quickly checking me for injuries.

She spotted a patch of green blood on my shirt and raised an eyebrow.

"Not mine," I explained. Kabaj frowned and moved on to Kakumbus.

"I'm fine," Kakumbus told her before she could even take a look at him, shrugging her concern aside.

Kabaj looked Kakumbus directly in the eye and saw what I had when he had tried to apologise earlier. His eyes were red and dark bangs hung beneath them as though he had been crying.

"I seriously doubt you are as well as you claim to be Kakumbus," Kabaj snapped. "You and I both know it's ridiculous for you to be worrying all alone. Why the hell don't you finally tell us what the fuck you've hiding? If it turns out that you're working for Queen Sierra then damn it, I'll blow a hole right through your chest."

"I'm not working for Sierra!" Kakumbus snapped. "And I never will be. I know none of you think so, but I am loyal to this empire, and I will be until the day I die!"

Kakumbus suddenly turned on me. "Yes Gohan; contrary to what some people believe, I know where my priorities lie, and sometimes I wonder if they mightn't be just as noble as you seem to think yours are."

With that he stormed out of the room, leaving you, Kabaj and myself in the room.

"Don't mind him," Kabaj told me. "He gets like this sometimes."

"Why?"

"I wish I knew," Kabaj admitted as she examined some readouts from the machine you were in. "You can leave now," she told me. "You can come back in about five hours. Your slave's wounds should be healed by then."

"That's okay," I sent my cousin a smile. "I'd rather stay here if you don't mind."

"Suit yourself."

Five hours can seem like an eternity when your best friend is hurt and right in front of your eyes, especially when you know you can't do anything more for them then wait for the healing tank to do its job.

So instead of waiting and worrying needlessly, I tried to concentrate. I wanted so badly to talk to you, to make sure that you were okay in there, and I know that back in the old universe we were able to communicate using your telepathy and sensitive hearing, so I began to wonder.

"Is the tank sound proof?" I asked Kabaj.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "The casing certainly isn't, but communicating through the liquid will be extremely difficult. You are asking me so that you can communicate with him, aren't you?"

I nodded. Maybe it was worth a try, but who really knew. Would this Piccolo even be capable of telepathy?

"Look," Kabaj addressed me, probably noticing how focussed I was on this one small problem. "Give up on it okay?"

That did it. I now absolutely had to find out whether you would be able to hear me. I walked over to your healing tank and placed a hand on the glass.

"Piccolo," I whispered. "Piccolo, can you hear me?"

"This is ridiculous," Kabaj stated. "Even if he could hear you, how do you expect him to respond?"

"Piccolo," I whispered, a little louder this time.

One of your eyebrows rose, almost as if you had heard me.

"How is it in there?" I asked. "You doing okay?"

Your mouth was covered, but I didn't need to see it to gauge your reactions. You've never shown emotion though your mouth. No-one else realises it, but you show all of your emotions through the subtlest movements around your eyes. They assume you're cold and emotionless. I know better.

The muscles around your eyes tightened a little. If you were human you'd be smiling beneath your mask. It made me grin.

"You'll have to tell me about it when you get out."

Your muscles moved a little, turning into a frown. I think you wanted to tell me something, but knew that you couldn't.

I sighed, and let my forehead and hands press against the tank.

"Don't worry," I whispered. "You'll be out of there soon. I'm sorry for putting you in here Piccolo."

"You honestly think he heard any of that?" Kabaj sneered.

"Of course he did," I told her, surprised that she hadn't seen the reactions on your face.

The door soon swished open, and Letus arrived in the healing room, a rather familiar looking Sentilese in tow.

"Hey," he acknowledged his wife, before approaching me.

"Do you know this girl?" Letus asked me, pointing to his charge. "Sierra left her behind while making her escape, and the girl said that I should probably give her to you."

I looked down at the shy brunette woman in front of me. She tried to smile at me, but failed.

"Kestra," I breathed, surprised to see the Sentilese slave.

"Why didn't you just kill her?" Kabaj asked her husband. "The Sentilese are supposed to be our enemies now."

"She begged for her life," Letus announced. "I figured she could probably help us. Who knows; she might know a bit about the Sentilese that would help with the war."

"I have a feeling she knows a lot," I said. "She was Sierra's personal hand-maiden."

With that Letus and Kabaj stopped bickering and turned to stare at the small figure of Kestra with a new awe.

"Gohan, sir," Kestra squeaked. "You're not going to let them kill me, are you?"

"Oh no," Kabaj said. "We're definitely not killing you. Tell me; did you like Queen Sierra much?"

"You're not going to punish me?"

"Don't worry Kestra," I said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No-one is going to hurt you."

"Thank you sir," Kestra said, wrapping her arms around me in a thankful embrace. "I knew you were kind."

If I had looked around at that moment, I would have undoubtedly seen your facial muscles tightened in a frown so large Kabaj couldn't have possibly missed it.

A nagging sensation started to grow in my brain. It felt so familiar; almost like when you…

"Gohan, STOP!" a voice in my head screamed.

I withdrew my hand from Kestra's shoulder quickly. The girl stared up at me with hurt eyes, but I knew that I had to let go.

I turned back to the tank to discover confusion written all over your face.

"Piccolo," I whispered. I wanted to apologise, but the door opened once more.

"Oh my," Kabaj somehow managed to make her polite manner seem sarcastic as Kakumbus walked into the room. "You're just having so many visitors tonight, aren't you?"

"I thought I'd just drop by and see how the patient…" Kakumbus stopped short as he saw Kestra.

"Sierra took off without her," Letus explained. "She's apparently Gohan's slave now."

Your eye muscles knitted together into a rather pronounced frown, and I knew you didn't like the idea.

"What?" I objected to Letus's comment. "She's not mine exactly."

Now Kestra looked hurt.

"Kakumbus, why don't you take her?" I suggested, remembering how much the older Saiya-jin had seemed to like the Sentilese. "I mean, I already have one slave."

Kestra looked petrified by the idea.

"As long as you're nice to her, of course," I told the shocked Kakumbus.

"Of course," the elder Saiya-jin seemed taken aback. "My dear boy; I am no Sierra. A flower such as this will be treated with the respect it deserves."

"Right," I sighed, wondering how the night had gotten so complicated. It must have been almost daylight outside, and none of us had gotten any sleep yet.

"Listen Kestra," I told the Sentilese, who was still looking a little unsure about the situation. "If he does anything to you, tell me."

Kestra gave me a shy little nod, and then moved to Kakumbus's side.

"Well," the Saiya-jin said, not really sounding at all sure of himself. "I suppose I should get you settled in then, shall I?"

With that Kakumbus exited the room, Kestra no more than two steps behind him. Kakumbus had apparently forgotten why it was he had come to the healing room in the first place.

"Well," Letus said, breaking the silence. He reached his hands up to the air, stretching his muscles. His tail followed suit, extending all the way behind him, snapping a little as a couple of joints fell back into place. "I don't know about you three, but I'm exhausted. The next time Vegeta decides to court someone other than Kakarot what do you say we knock some sense into him."

"Letus!" Kabaj snapped.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," I added.

"Come on guys," Letus grinned. "You've got to admit it would be easier than going through this shit again. I don't see why he doesn't just pronounce Kakarot and then Kabaj as next in line for the throne and get it over and done with. Everyone knows that's what going to happen anyway."

"Letus!" Kabaj growled, her tail flicking angrily behind her.

"You've got to admit that she'd make a great Queen," Letus continued, winking at me.

"That's it!" Kabaj yelled. "Get out of my healing room, now!"

"See what I mean," Letus said, grinning at me as his wife literally pushed him out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Kabaj let out a loud yawn as soon as her husband had gone.

"Why don't you join him?" I suggested.

"Can't," Kabaj growled. "My shift doesn't end for another three hours. Besides, don't you want me to get your loverboy here out once he's finished?"

"Isn't it automatic?"

"Yes, but," Kabaj threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Bah! How do you know so much about Saiya-jin technology anyway?"

"My secret," I told her.

I sat down at the base of your healing tank. Curling up against the glass almost made me feel like I was a child again, curling up at your feet after a long day of training. I yawned, and realised how tired the night's events had made me. I soon fell asleep to the gentle hum made by your healing tank.

"Gohan." The rich tone of your voice calling my name was the first thing I heard when I awoke. "Gohan," you repeated gently.

I opened one sleep-blurred eye, then the other and blinked until your face came into focus.

"Piccolo," I greeted you, stretching my arms and legs out to get rid of the cramps that had formed while sleeping on the cold hard floor. "When did you get out?"

"Just now."

"It's good to see you're okay," I said. "I'm sorry for slipping up."

"I heard you," you told me, "and you don't have anything to apologise for, so stop it right now."

There was that indescribable quality to your voice that made me realise how serious you were about this. You let out a long low growl before continuing.

"Something happened to me in there," you told me. "When you… touched Kestra, I just felt like killing something, then suddenly…"

"Telepathy," I explained. "We could communicate via telepathy back home as well. I guess that's how strong our bond had always been."

You reached out a helping hand and I took it. You pulled me to my feet and we exited the room together, leaving, I noticed, a sleeping Kabaj in the room's only chair.

We wandered back out to the fountain together, content to stay silent, although I could tell there was something that you wanted to talk to me about. I noticed that the tiles were white again; proving the efficiency of the ship's cleaning staff.

"Your armour," I spoke, noting that the cleaning staff had taken them away somewhere.

"Its fine," you spoke. "I'll just make another one. It was probably covered in blood anyway."

I stared across at the fountain, watching little droplets of waters as they fell to bottom of the marble structure. You closed your eyes for a few moments, enjoying the soft sound of water on the stone.

"I'm not him," you finally said, startling me a little.

"What?" I asked you, not sure if I had heard you correctly.

"I'm not the man you think I am Gohan," you whispered, your eyes fluttering open and turning to stare at me.

"We've been through this Piccolo," I sighed. "Sure, you may not have the same past, but you're still the man I fell in love with."

"Would you please stop saying that," you hissed. "I would love to be your Piccolo, but I'm not. I'm no more your Piccolo than Kakarot is your father. I've done nothing to deserve your trust, much less your love…"

I couldn't take it any more. You were broken and full of sorrow while you were talking about this and that was something I couldn't stand to see. I quickly closed the distance between us and pressed myself against you.

Your words immediately stopped as you felt my arms wrap around your neck. Before I could think about what I was doing, I closed the short distance between our faces, bringing our lips together.

I had only meant for the kiss to be short, but as soon as our lips touched I found myself in a perfect world in which every single moment dragged on blissfully into eternity. After what seemed to be forever you gently began to kiss back, and just when I was getting used to this paradise, we pulled apart.

It was true, I thought. The kiss had only lasted a moment, but it seemed so much longer. It was only a moment, but while our lips were together, it was perfect.