About a month had passed and Piccolo had been visiting May about two to three times a week. May, having never been a very social person, loved having someone to talk with and it seemed to make her happier. Her editor even told her that her work was better than ever and he hoped she continued to write even more.
May was in the middle of writing a sequel to the book that had a Piccolo look-a-like on the cover. She hadn't told Piccolo yet, but she wanted it to be a surprise, and she hoped he would like it. He seemed to have liked the first one and she wanted to use this sequel to inform him about her feelings.
For the past few weeks, May had looked forward to Piccolo's visits even more, and was slightly depressed when he wasn't around. She wasn't sure if his species could love, but she sure wanted to try. Unfortunately, she was a very shy person, and wasn't sure if she could take the possible rejection.
Unknown to her, Piccolo was still a little confused about his emotions. He knew that he had some feelings of love for the woman, and he had been a little protective of her over the past few weeks. He visited often, not always letting her acknowledge his presence, and helped around her house with repairs or heavy lifting. She appeared to enjoy his presence, and she now knew more about himself than anyone else, with the exception of Gohan.
Today, Piccolo was going to surprise May with a little trip that he hoped she would enjoy. The way she had acted when he told her about knowing Bulma had made him think that maybe she would like to be introduced. Bulma wanted to meet her as well, and this trip might help her know more people. She had told him that the only people she really knew were her editor and him.
As he landed in her front yard, he saw that she was kneeling over in the garden, pulling out weeds and pruning her plants. If Piccolo was a different kind of man, he would have been turned on when he saw her but end up in the air like that, but he just wasn't that kind of man. He cleared his throat to get her attention.
May smiled at the sound, as she pulled one last weed and stood up, brushing her hands off on her jeans. "What brings you by so early Piccolo?" she asked, noticing by her watch that it was only ten in the morning.
Piccolo had used all morning to work up enough courage and it was now slowly slipping away. Before it could go completely, he said, "Do you want to go to the Z fighter's get-together today?"
May's eyes opened wide and a smile spread across her face, "You mean I get to meet all those people you talk about, especially Gohan?"
"Yes," he stated, smiling on the inside that he had made her so happy.
"You bet I want to go. What time does it start?"
"Noon," he answered, and watched as she looked down at herself.
May looked at the clothing she wore and almost yelled, "That only gives me about an hour and a half to get ready! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked, hurrying into the house to get ready.
Piccolo didn't get a chance to answer as she practically flew through her house. He followed at a more sedately pace, taking his usual meditative pose in the middle of the living room as he waited for her to finish. About half an hour later, he heard the water cut off and stood up.
He stood there for a moment, not really thinking about anything, and soon found himself standing outside of her bedroom door. The door was slightly ajar and he could see the back of her towel clad body as she rummaged through a dresser. The towel soon left her form and his jaw dropped at the beautiful body he beheld in his sight. As she was about to turn, he was gone in a flash, faster than Goku to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
May thought she saw something at the door, but when she looked there was nothing but the hall and empty air. She shrugged her shoulders, telling herself that it was nothing to worry about with Piccolo here, and continued to get dressed.
Piccolo waited another half hour before May came out, and that was plenty of time for him to get himself back under control. As she walked out, his jaw almost dropped again at the sight of the beauty standing before him. She wore a light peach/pink gown made of chiffon with a simple cut. It had strapped sleeves and the front had a gentle circle cut for the neck that hinted at cleavage but didn't show anything, and it was snug around her torso. The skirt went down to mid-thigh, and was very loose and airy with the hem crimped so it fluttered when she moved. She wore a pair of white sandals and a light white sweater to keep out the chill from the autumn wind. Her long strawberry blond hair was pulled back by a pail pink headband and the rest cascaded midway down her back.
Piccolo looked into her lovely blue eyes and almost lost himself until she spoke up. "How do I look?" She asked, twirling around once.
"You look fine," he said simply, no emotion in his voice.
May could see something in his eyes and was happy with his response as she looked at the clock. "Gosh, did I really take an hour and a half to get ready?"
"Yes, and we'd better get going now," he said, rousing himself from his preoccupied state. May picked up her wallet and keys from a table by the door and put them in a hidden pocket.
They stepped outside and May asked, "Are you going to fly me there?"
"That was the plan."
"All right, but mind my skirt. I don't want the wind to blow it up," she said, and took a step towards him.
Piccolo carefully picked her up, placing his arm behind her knees, making sure to hold the skirt in the back. His other hand went to her back and he rose, taking her along with him. May held the front of her skirt with one hand and put the other around Piccolo's neck, even though she knew Piccolo would never let her fall.
As they flew, Piccolo thought he should remind May of a few things. "Remember to ignore Vegeta, stay away from Roshi and Oolong, and get to the food before Goku."
May chuckled and said, "I remember what you've told me about them. They can't be that bad."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Piccolo could sense that several people had arrived already, and as they approached the large domed building, he began descending towards the ground. Several people looked up when they sensed him, and were surprised when it looked like he held someone in his arms.
As he landed, Gohan rushed up to him first, and said, "Hey Piccolo, great to see you again. Who's your friend?"
Piccolo set May down on her feet and was about to answer when Bulma rushed over to them and exclaimed, "Wow, aren't you M.K., the author?"
May smiled at the blue-haired woman and said, "Yes, that's me. You have read my books?"
"Read your books? You're my favorite author!"
May blushed and looked at the ground, suddenly very shy at the amount of praise she was receiving. When she looked up again, she asked, "You can call me May. Are you Bulma Briefs, the president of Capsule Corporation?"
"Yeah, that's me," she said, her head held high in a smug manner. She was very proud of her status, but she was very excited to meet May. "How come you're here with Piccolo?" She asked, suddenly wondering how Piccolo came to know such a famous person that Bulma didn't.
May looked back at Piccolo who was now conversing with a black-haired young man and said, "Piccolo invited me. I hope it's all right that I'm here."
"Of course it is!" Bulma exclaimed, then she leaned in close and whispered, "I'd rather have you here than some of the regulars that come."
They chuckled at that and May turned to Piccolo. Piccolo then said, "May, this is Gohan."
"Gohan," May said, shaking the boy's hand, "I've heard so much about you."
"Good things I hope," Gohan laughed, looking up at his former sensei.
"Of course," May chuckled politely. She liked Gohan immediately.
May followed Gohan as he returned to the group scattered around the backyard. He made her blush when he called out to everyone, "Hey everyone, this is Piccolo's friend May!"
Several people waved or said a polite hello or welcome. She continued to follow Gohan over to a woman with black hair held up in a bun, and a man with wild ebony hair. "May, this is my mom, Chi-chi, and my dad, Goku."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, May," Chi-chi greeted politely and shook her hand. Goku just waved a hand, which was quite amazing considering he didn't stop eating the whole time. Chi-chi just shook her head in embarrassment of her husband's bad manners. "Have a seat." She said, gesturing to the bench she sat upon.
"Thank you," May said, sitting down, and watched as Piccolo actually sat down next to her.
Everyone was very surprised at this because he usually just stood against a tree or building, or sat in meditation. May didn't think anything about it, she was just happy to have him nearby around all of these strangers. Bulma took a seat in a nearby chair.
"I love your work," Chi-chi complimented, "Bulma has lent me all your books. Is there another one coming out soon?"
"Well, I am in the middle of writing a new one," May said, hoping that they wouldn't ask her too much about it before she had a chance to tell Piccolo.
"Think you can give us a preview?" Bulma asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, you'll have to wait until it's published."
"Awe, that's all right," Chi-chi said, "I like to be surprised."
"Looks like the foods ready to come out. Let's get lunch," Bulma said, upon seeing her mother enter the backyard with a large tray laden with food.
"Yeah, let's hurry before the Saiyan's get to it," Chi-chi said, rising to help get the food out.
"Saiyans?" May asked to no one in particular, but Piccolo heard with his exceptional hearing.
After collecting her food, May returned to her seat beside Piccolo and smiled at him before beginning to eat her lunch. The others soon joined her and she watched, amazed, as Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, and Goten each brought at least enough food for ten people each, to the table and proceeded to wolf it down in record time.
Piccolo noticed her stares and leaned down to whisper, "Those are Saiyans."
"Oh," she said simply, and then noticed that someone was speaking to her.
"How exactly did you meet Piccolo?" Yamcha asked from his seat across from her.
The others, except the Saiyans, stopped in their conversations and eating to listen as she said, "He saved my life." She looked up at Piccolo, pride and love only for him, shining in her eyes.
Piccolo had his eyes closed and his arms folded, but he was hearing everything said about him. When May turned back to Yamcha, she continued, "I live in the forest a couple of miles from where he was, and some men broke into my house and I hit one of them in the head with a bat and knocked him unconscious, but the other one chased me through the woods. After a while, the man caught up with me, but Piccolo helped me, but I didn't see him, I just continued to run. But somehow, I ended up in a cave and it just happened to be his."
When she had finished her story, some of the others were looking in Piccolo's direction with amazement, but Gohan was looking at him with respect and pride. Piccolo didn't see any of this, for he still had his eyes closed, but his chest was puffed out just a little more.
"Wow, that's pretty amazing," Yamcha said, but May just cocked her head in confusion.
"Why is it amazing?" She asked.
"Well, this is Piccolo we're talking about. He's not exactly the sort of person that goes around saving people," he chuckled.
"Well, why not? I think he'd make a great hero. He's already got the cape," she said, half serious, half joking. She laughed a little at the cape part, along with several others.
Piccolo would have killed, or at least seriously harmed, anyone else that joked about him, but with her, his cheeks colored lightly and he turned his head away slightly, hoping no one would notice.