~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loss for words
It had been a day since Nikhya had an encounter with Piccolo. She had quickly backed off after the little 'incident' she and piccolo had... Then she had promptly told him that she would take the week off like he had told her. She had quickly agreed that she was tired and needed a lot of rest. Everything before that was a huge blur to her.
The moon light shone in her little hut through a small window by her bed. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes as she yawned. "Guess I better get up..." She slid out of bed and slipped on her fuzzy slippers. Walking over to the doorway of her hut, she sighed and took in another deep breath to awaken herself. "Geez, you'd think since I'm not training I would be getting BETTER sleep than I was before.." It was a nice night. Every night out in the forest was nice. Nikhya always loved waking up at night to the smell of dew on the grass and the fragrance of flowers that surrounded her hut and the lake. Tonight though, she was mostly preoccupied by her thoughts.
"What in the world am I going to do?" she thought aloud. "I mean, I can't just stop training all-together...I have to face Piccolo again sometime."
Nikhya decided to stop thinking about what had happened and start thinking about what she was going to do with her free week. Although, a few thoughts of Piccolo flashed in her mind every so often.
After thinking about what she was going to do the next day, she quickly shed her clothes and grabbed up a towel from her small box of clothing and other essentials. She wrapped the towel around herself and tightly clutched a washcloth in her hand. She poked her head out of the hut's doorway and looked around to make sure no one had come for a surprise visit. Last time that had happened, she had ended up in a bad situation...but she had to quit thinking about that.
She hurriedly walked toward the lake and gathered up her energy. She formed a ball of fire in her hand and shot it into the lake. In a few seconds, the whole lake was steaming with warmth. She smiled, threw her towel off, and jumped right in. "Ahh...just the right temperature." She sighed, then looked around casually, making sure no one was spying on her...and also made sure that no one was sneaking up on her...Although, she wished silently that Piccolo would come out of the bushes giving her that smug look he always gave her. "Piccolo..." She said softly. Of course, he wasn't there to hear her.
Meanwhile...deeper in the forest...
"I wonder if.... No...she wouldn't be....ah hell! What am I supposed to do?!" Piccolo slammed his fist against a tree trunk, making it fall over on top of another tree. "This isn't like me at all...How can a woman make me feel this way..." He looked over at the tree and sighed. "I'm coming for you Nikhya...Whether you like it or not, this has all got to end." Piccolo searched for Nikhya's energy level and quickly found it. He blasted off in the direction of the training spot he'd just left only a day ago. Thoughts clouded his mind as he came closer to the spot. "What exactly am I going to say...and why in the world am I trying to figure that out?! Do I really care what I say in front of her?!" He blasted off faster, even more furious. He would say anything he wanted! He was stronger, faster, and overall BETTER than she was! Surely he would say anything he liked... At least, that's what he had so hastily thought....
Back in the lake....
Nikhya stopped being so paranoid about perverted spies, and finally decided to stand up in the water instead of crouching down where the water would fully cover her. She gently smiled as she grabbed up a nearby flower and squeezed it's bud onto her washcloth. It emitted a wonderful scent as it's oils splashed onto the cloth. The fragrance quickly surrounded the area around Nikhya , making her take in a deep breath. She gently scrubbed her body with the washcloth as the sweet aroma found its way through the air.
Piccolo was finally near the training spot. He landed when he got close enough and started walking toward her hut. "Wait a second...last time I did this, I didn't find her at her hut...she was in the lake bathing." He thought for a moment. "Screw it, if she's bathing, I guess I'll have to deal with it." The only reason he was actually going through with it was because he thought he couldn't possibly catch her bathing again. "What are the odds?" he had thought silently. And if he did catch her, it wouldn't be too bad of an experience. He hadn't NOT enjoyed the first encounter. He quickened his pace as he neared her hut.
.......................
Nikhya dipped the cloth into the water and gently squeezed it over her head, wetting her hair a little. She sighed as she breathed in the scent that still filled the air. She dropped the cloth and dipped her head back into the water to soak it totally. But before her hair reached the water, she sensed a familiar power close by. She straightened up and looked around. "Damn it...it's close... how could I miss it as it was coming toward here?! Well, it seems to be familia--......" She stopped as she realized who it was. "Piccolo.." she breathed under her breath.
Piccolo gulped as he realized she wasn't in her hut. "She's probably noticed my power by now...She's probably actually looking out for powers this time..." He walked slowly over to the lake assuring himself she was probably just sitting by her favorite tree or something. As he neared the lake, he shivered a bit nervously as he thought about what had happened last time. He quickly shook the feeling off and kept walking straight to the lake.
"He's coming closer! Didn't he learn his lesson the first time?!" She looked around frantically, not knowing exactly how to pinpoint his energy. "Geez...how much more wonderful can this situation get?"
Piccolo quickly decided that if she was bathing, that he would jump right in with her. He wasn't going to be the vulnerable one again. If she was naked, he'd also be naked...well...half-naked...He threw his cape and his turban-like cap on the ground as he neared the lake. He slipped off his shirt and his shoes when he stopped at her favorite 'sitting' tree and didn't see her there. He kept his pants on. He wanted to get a point across...not scare her.. He lightly chuckled to himself as he neared the lake.
Nikhya heard a rustle and turned around to barely see Piccolo standing at the water's edge. Piccolo looked straight at her through the mist and decided he would jump in and come after her instead of her coming after him this time.
The steam around her didn't make it too hard to see, but it did impair the vision a bit at far distances...and she couldn't see Piccolo all that well from where she was bathing. If the moon hadn't been full, she wouldn't have been able to see him at all. She heard a loud splash and quickly crouched in the water to where she was covered up to her shoulders. Her chin lightly touched the water's surface as she watched Piccolo wade up to her. It was so quiet, she could hear herself breath. The only noises being made were the light splashes of Piccolo wading up to her and her breath on the water. She wanted to be bold and stand up like she had last time...she wanted to tell him off and make him leave...but she couldn't. She realized she didn't really want him to leave, and she wasn't going to get up to shoo him away anyway. For some reason she felt modesty sweep over her and assured no accidental chest baring by placing her arms over herself.
"Nikhya." Piccolo spoke finally. He spoke so harshly that it made Nikhya wince when she heard him say her name. He took a last step so he was only a few feet away from her. He dipped down into the water at shoulder level with her and looked at her blankly. "Nikhya." He spoke again, but more softly this time. Nikhya cocked her head gently as she heard the change in his voice. "Yes, Piccolo." She spoke softly as tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's only been one day" Piccolo spoke softly, "and I'm still thinking about what happened." He almost choked after the words came out of his mouth. "What in the hell?! Damn it, that's not what I wanted to say..." he thought as he struggled not to say something else he'd regret.
Nikhya let the tears fall from her eyes and run down her cheeks as she began to speak. "It was nothing...lets just forget about it." She became flushed as she realized she was saying the totally opposite of what she had really wanted. She didn't want him to forget, and she definitely didn't want to forget it herself. She really wanted Piccolo to hold her...to wrap his warm, strong arms around her and comfort her. She wanted so badly for him to purge her lips of their aching for his. Slowly, she backed away and was about to get out of the water.
She felt Piccolo grab her arm. She looked back at him, surprised that he didn't just agree with her and leave. When she looked back at him, she became almost mesmerized as she watched the water drip down his perfectly sculpted body. The moon light had shone off the beads of sweat on Piccolo's forehead and his chest, making him glisten with every little breath he took when he had been walking up to her. She'd not taken her eyes off him since he had started walking up to her and she really didn't want to stop looking at him now. "No, I'm not going to just forget about it. I mean....I can't just forget about that." He spoke reluctantly. He had wanted to persuade her to forget about it too, and now he refused to forget about it himself! "What am I doing?!" he thought. "This isn't what is supposed to be coming out of my mouth."
"Piccolo!" Nikhya sounded shocked and exasperated at the same time. He never acted this way. He was always secluded and was rather brief about discussions. She had expected him to just drop the situation after she had just 'dismissed' it. He let go of her arm and stood up.
"What?! What do you expect from me Nikhya?! You want me to just forget that you kissed me and then I actually kissed you back?! I can't figure it out myself if you were wondering. I don't know what in the world drove me to actually do it! I wrecked my brain all last night and all today, trying to figure out why I'd ever want to kiss you. Why I would want to feel your body against mine. Why in hell I'd want you so damned badly. I've never had these feelings before and you just ask me to totally disregard them?!.... Hell no..." Piccolo was breathing heavily after he finished speaking.
Nikhya was speechless. She didn't know what to say to that. She stood wide eyed and with her mouth half open in surprise. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and held her breath so she wouldn't let out the sobs she was holding inside.
Piccolo grabbed her arm again and pulled her close to him in one swift movement. She blushed as she was forced to stand up and hold her body against his. She looked up at him sadly as her eyes shone with tears. She let a few of them finally fall, as he held her closely.
Nikhya couldn't hold any of the feelings that had been swirling around in her inside any longer. She collapsed and buried her face in his chest as she cried. "Nikhya..." Piccolo said in surprise.
She kept crying, exhausted and flushed. She had been worrying too. She had been worrying all of the day before and last night, just as he had been. It had been so tiring. That's why she woke up so tired, but she had been too naïve to realize it.
Her world spun as she lifted her head to look up at Piccolo. Almost as soon as she looked up, she fell back. Luckily, Piccolo was holding onto her tightly when she did. He picked her up gently and hovered out of the water. He de-materialized above the lake and materialized back into her hut. He handled her as delicately as he would a fine piece of crystal. He carefully placed her in her bed and covered her with the thin comforter that had been lying next to her. He then debated whether to stay with her or just disappear again...
Morning rays of sunlight beamed through the window onto Nikhya's face... she smiled as she felt the warmth of the sunlight and then felt something squeeze her hand gently. She looked down at her hand and squeezed back as she met Piccolo's sleepy gaze. Nikhya turned over to face him. "You stayed here all night?"
"Yes...."
"I know you weren't comfortable on that floor all night..." she replied sleepily. She looked at him and saw him give a light shrug. She scooted over and pulled on Piccolo to get him to stand up. "Here," she said, patting the space beside her on the bed, "come and get some sleep."
Piccolo hadn't been totally uncomfortable during the night, and in fact, he had an all right night's rest...but he still didn't refuse the offer. He smiled as he eased into her bed and rolled over face her. She closed her eyes and put his arms around her as she snuggled in closer to his chest. He looked down at her, surprised that she was being so forward. "Crazy woman....doesn't even know what she's doing when she's awake, much less when she's half asleep." He thought to himself. He still held her though, and let her fall asleep in his arms as he slowly drifted off with her.......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The End!~
Yeah, yeah....I know she fainted at a really convenient time, but she was exhausted! I really didn't mean for it to be so convenient. Anywho, I hope you liked it. I am still learning how to be a bit more descriptive in my scenes so you can enjoy the story better, but for now, this will have to do. Lemon in the future? I dunno. This story almost did turn into a lemon...I really was seriously thinking about it. But I realized that is soooo not what I wanted. A lemon, if it does ever happen, will not happen until a few stories from now. What happened after Nikhya and Piccolo woke back up? Well, that's the whole point. To leave you hanging. Ever heard of "teasing the readers?". ^_^ Please leave me some comments! I'd like to hear any rants and raves, compliments, or critiques you have to give me. Thanks! I hope you enjoyed it!
