Oh, and if you want to understand some references I make later in the chapter, I strongly recommend you read Confessions of a Believer I and II by Piccolo's Love Slave. I kinda tied my fic into hers a little bit ;) *waves to Ami* I'm not the only one going on wild adventures!
And no, this isn't the last
chapter. People jumped the gun with my last fic, so I figured I'd tell
you now :P
These Dreams
Part Twenty-Five
"...and people who were previously comatose are starting to wake up. Many of them have no memory of what happened. The cities will be be cleaning up for the next several months, but the nightmare is over! Order will soon be restored..."
I ignored the news on TV. My attention was focused only on one thing.
Sitting on the table before me was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It rose at least a foot tall and gleamed with shiny brown goo running down the sides. I leaned over and inhaled its intoxicating aroma. My mind twirled in happy circles and my mouth watered. Every inch of myself pulled towards it. I needed it like a drug. It was my life.
"Oh I missed you..." I said lovingly to the chocolate mud-pie.
Freeza's chair creaked. He leaned over until his sharp black horn nearly poked my ear. Out came the accented voice I missed the whole time we fought Void, "Don't gawk at your chokkie, 'luv. Bog in. Otherwise I might be tempted to nab it."
I laughed, "Get your own! Hey, where's my spoon? Oh who cares!" I grabbed a handful of the gooey chocolate mess and crammed it into my mouth. More landed on my face than in my mouth. I didn't care. Ohhhhhhhh God it was bliss! Rich sweetness melting in my mouth and dripping down my throat! Chocolate, how I missed thee!
"Never come between Cyndi and her chocolate," Piccolo advised with a snicker.
"Humph!" Added Vegeta.
I ignored everyone and everything. There was only the sweet taste of my chocolate!
I'd eaten half of it when Freeza cut in, "'ere, lemme 'elp you with that." He pushed my face into the pie! Ka-SPLAT!
Straightening, I blinked. Sticky chocolate clung all over my face and in my hair. Freeza just about died laughing. Then I 'helped' him with his pie too. SPLAT! Now two chocolate-covered faces hovered above the kitchen table. We cracked up and wiped the fudge mess off on each others' clothes.
"FOOD FIGHT!"
Uh oh.
Next thing I knew, chocolate wads were flying everywhere. At first it started out with just Freeza and I flinging food at each other. It escalated to an all-out assault on Piccolo and Vegeta. Within seconds we'd started catapulting different edible items at one another. Noodles, meatballs, chocolate fudge pieces, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, peas...I nearly died laughing when Freeza doused Vegeta in spaghetti sauce!
"How dare you!"
"'avagoyermug!" Freeza said back. More Aussie slang that I didn't understand.
"Fool!" SPLAT! Freeza now wore a mask of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Piccolo just stood there and stared up at the ceiling while different food items landed on him. He had a noodle hanging off his ear, fudge dripping down his face salad dressing oozing down his shirt. He didn't even blink when a spaghetti bowl landed upside down on his turban, spilling wet strands and sauce all down his face and body. He looked like a green hippie!
I pointed and laughed, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"
"Ugh," Vegeta lifted his hands, shaking them off. Spaghetti sauce, fudge and peas sloshed off his face and clothes. "You peons! How dare you ruin my meal! Who started this?!"
Freeza(with noodle-festooned horns) and I pointed at each other. Busted up laughing. Piccolo and Vegeta just picked the food off themselves and grumbled about childish foolishness.
Needless to say, clean-up
took hours! Oh but it was worth it.
I finished showering and went about filling the tub up with hot water. Time to relax for a while. Haven't gotten much chance since we all got back from fighting Void.
Funny - everybody else just used their ki to clean up. For some reason I just don't feel clean unless I use soap and water. 'Nuff said. The only complaint I have is that Saiyajin hair takes up a lot of shampoo and conditioner. Even then it's almost unmanageable! Each strand has the same texture and stiffness as a piece of tiny copper wire inside an electric cord.
Anyway, I'd just settled down into the warm water when someone tapped on the door. I covered myself with the shower curtain and called, "Yeah?"
"Just me," Piccolo's scratchy bass voice answered.
"Hi, Me." I kidded, "You can come in if you want. I'm just taking a bath in here."
A quiet rumble-sigh. The door swished open and clicked shut. Aside from a few faint stains and the scents of different foods on his clothes, you'd never know Piccolo was caught in the crossfire of a food fight. He came over and stood next to the tub, looking down at me with those fierce black eyes. "I'm glad the nightmare's over."
"Me too. Hey, this is a big tub. Take off your clothes and come join me. You did say you'd take a rain-check on our first bath back in the Time Chamber."
Piccolo shrugged his broad shoulders. "I guess a little warm water won't kill me."
He slipped his turban off, his antennae flopping down with a gentle swish. Off went the heavy cape and shoulderpads. He slipped his shoes off and reached for his belt. I watched him undress, my heart pounding as more and more of his wonderful body was revealed to me.
Turns out Piccolo has nothing there. The pink patch on his stomach stopped just above his crotch and the skin below it was smooth like his face, chest and hands. I've always wondered what he had down there...so how the heck did he pee? Hm, I guess some things are meant to be unknown. But regardless of what he didn't have, he was still gorgeous to me.
Piccolo slid down to sit across from me in the tub. His long legs slipped past mine and his narrow feet halted on either side of my butt. He settled back and sighed contentedly. See naked green god. See naked green god take his royal bath. Hehe! Our combined mass displaced the water so much that some overflowed onto the tile floor. Woops.
I sat up. Crawled forward and settled down on my side next to Piccolo, my head coming to rest on his shoulder. My wild hair floated over to cover his chest. My brown looked good against his green. I pushed my hair away so I could lay my hand on his hard pecs. "I wish I could stay in this world with you. Nobody fully understands me back in my Reality. At least here I know you do."
"You can't stay here, Cyndi. You don't belong in this Reality any more than I belong in yours." Piccolo stated bluntly without missing a beat. The tile room made his voice seem even deeper.
"Why not? I don't belong in my dimension either."
Piccolo shifted a bit. Water sloshed from his movements. I didn't realize what part of him moved until I slipped down and felt his strong arm wrap around my shoulders. His soft voice was almost right in my ear. "Sure you do, kid. There's a place for everybody. The trick is you have to find it."
"And what if my place is here?" I said back.
"It isn't. All crossing between our dimensions does is throw the universe slightly off-balance. You belong in your world and I belong in mine. I don't know if you know this or not, but the Lookout and your home exist in the same spot in space...just in different realms. But that's not the point." He sighed through his nose and went on. "If we want to keep both universes balanced, we can't have both necklaces existing in the same dimension for any length of time. Not without having one sealed away, and that's too dangerous. I don't even want to think about what could happen if a necklace fell into the wrong hands."
"So my place is keeping my necklace safe?"
The corner of his mouth upturned slightly, "Possibly."
"Yeah, well..." My throat welled up. I avoided his eyes. "I'm just afraid that one day I'll meet a man in my Reality...we'll fall in love and get married and have kids. Then I'll have to leave you behind. I don't want that to happen, Piccolo. There's something called 'true love', you know. I think you're mine. Doesn't that mean we're supposed to stay together forever?"
"Only in mushy fairytales and bad romance movies," Piccolo smirked wryly. Then he touched my chin with his long index finger, "Cyndi, look at me."
I met his gaze.
"Marrying someone else doesn't mean you have to stop thinking about me. You don't have to stop Believing. As for the future you worry about...if and when that time comes, just put the necklace in its box and hide it in a place where nobody can find it. That way you can take it out from time to time and remember..." He faltered, then added, "us."
Piccolo always did know how to make me feel better. He wasn't the greatest at solving his own problems, but he was damn good at solving someone else's.
"Love you," I told him gently. He responded with a small grunt. Typical, but he did part his lips for me when I leaned over and kissed him.
"Hold your breath."
"Why?"
He rolled his eyes. "Just do it."
I giggled, taking a deep breath. Piccolo turned over and pushed me flat on my back - and twelve inches underwater. I saw his face, a green blur, coming down towards mine. Our lips met, then our tongues. It was utterly silent under the water. Nothing to interrupt us. The rest of the universe didn't exist. Only his soft mouth mingling with mine.
I couldn't stop thinking of the song Take My Breath Away by Berlin...it just fit with the moment - literally and figuratively.
Our kiss ended after a blissful eternity. Piccolo pulled me back to the surface where I swallowed lung-fulls of air. My heart throbbed like a machine gun in my chest. Piccolo wordlessly cupped my cheek in his palm and climbed from the tub. One energy wave later, he was dry and putting his clothes back on. I watched him the entire time. My heart swelled with feelings for him.
Piccolo walked to the door and paused with his hand on the knob. Looked over his shoulder at me.
He winked!
Next thing I knew the door had clicked shut and he was gone. Leaving me in my own little bliss.
I was so sorry to climb out of the tub after that nice warm bath. A quick energy wave had me all dry too. As I dressed myself I couldn't help the curiousness coming over me. I powered up in front of the bathroom mirror and watched myself turn Super Saiyajin. Since I'd done it once, it was easy to do again. You'd think my Yajirobe-style hair would do something cool, right?
...I looked like Super Saiyajin Three Gotenks! Argh! No wonder Piccolo thought I looked funny. How come all the other Super Saiyajins get to look so cool?
Whatever. I finished dressing,
powered down and headed out.
It's been years since I was last able to sit on a beach. Warm sand between my toes, hot sunlight beating down, the sound of waves crashing into the shore and spraying me with cool mist. I marveled at all the different shades of white, blue and brown all around. Piccolo didn't seem to be appreciating the view much. He just meditated quietly. Silly, considering Freeza and I INSISTED he wear a pair of swim-trunks!
I don't know which view was better. The beach or Piccolo!
And Vegeta? Haven't seen him since he borrowed one of the necklaces and took off. Chasing him down was fun, he popped out in an Anime convention and threw my necklace back at me! That was pretty funny! Especially since someone made him work a counter selling DBZ figures. When I last saw him he seemed busy having a conversation with a young woman holding a Vegeta figurine.
Vegeta looked just as fierce as the last time I saw him turn Real. Except his hair was swept back more and very dark. His eyes were a shade of brown so dark they looked black. Only bright light would reveal the truth. Funny, considering Piccolo's eyes are just as black in the Anime realm, yet in Reality you can easily see the dark gray surrounding his pupils in normal light. Dim light makes them black.
Strange.
Anyhow, the convention was fun until Piccolo got tired of people poking at his cape. He's not into being touchy-feely. So we took off. On the way out I saw the same girl again. She watched us intently. So I told her to Believe, winked and headed off with Piccolo and Vegeta. Vegeta wanted to go right home. Freeza and I wanted to hang out one more time before he had to go. Piccolo didn't care either way, so we dragged him along!
Now here we are, at the beach catching some sun.
I've also learned something else. Never let Freeza loose when the waves are good.
"WHOAAAAAAAAAA!"
I watched the petite alien stand up on the shiny purple surfboard and bend his knees to ride a huge wave. He made it look so easy. However I don't think he remembered to compensate for his tail and lack of two extra toes per foot. He did a huge backflip and toppled in a spectacular wipeout. The surfboard popped up. Freeza's shiny head surfaced seconds later. A huge grin twisted his black lips upwards. "C'mon, give it a go!"
"Noooooo thank you. I don't want my top falling off!"
Yes I was worried about that. At the moment I wore one of Bulma's old, old, oooooold bathing suits. A black bikini with a strapless top that tied in the back. Of course she had more boobage than me when she was a teenager. So the top was a little loose. Tying it tight was the only reason it didn't slip down to my hips. I didn't want it coming untied. With the waves I saw it would get washed out to sea and I'd never see it again.
"Awww c'mon...surfin's no fun without a - " Another wave dunked him before he could finish. He came up laughing, "Damn ocean! Quit beatin' me up."
So much for surfing.
Freeza came ashore with his board under one arm. He tossed it down and flopped onto the towel next to mine. Water sloshed off his body, sand clinging to his feet and tail. "What's with Piccolo over there? The bloke 'asn't moved since 'e sat down."
Piccolo ignored him.
"I think he's just sour because we dragged him out here."
"Feh." Was all Piccolo had to say. "I hate saltwater."
Freeza jackknifed into a sitting position. He smiled at something silly. "Bah, all this surfin' and I almost forgot I've gotta get 'ome. Cathy and Lexy are waitin' for me. I've got meat pies to cook and a bar to run."
"Aww, leaving so soon?"
Piccolo finally picked his head up. Poof! his regular clothes materialized in a cloud of white smoke. He got to his full imposing height without a word.
"Yeah, 'fraid so." Freeza gave my shoulder a pat and moved his hand down around to my back. His red eyes always carried a smile. "C'mon, let's all get cleaned up again and 'ead back to the Lookout place."
Little did I realize he was up to something.
Then my top fell off.
My hands flew to cover myself. Not that I had anything to cover. "FREEZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I scream as shrill as I could manage. It made Piccolo wince.
Freeza laughed and threw the meager garment at Piccolo. "Catch!"
Piccolo chuckled. He caught the top and tossed it back to Freeza. I couldn't do anything without moving my hands. And if I moved my hands I'd be on display!
"Grr!" But then I got an idea. I used my hair as cover and chased Freeza all the way down to the end of the beach. Calling him a pervert, a butthead and a peeping Tom the whole way. He just laughed and laughed!
I got even when I caught up to him. How, you ask?
I yanked his board shorts down. Alllllllll the way down(not easy, considering his tail...). I smacked his bare butt. "Nice ass, Freeza!"
"Oy!" Freeza instantly grabbed his crotch to cover up. As soon as he surrendered my top, I shoved him into the surf. He fixed his shorts and mock-glared at me. I tied my top back on, glaring back at him. Then we both cracked up like a couple of idiots.
Piccolo just walked off, shaking his head at our antics. Freeza and I watched him go and gave each other a high-five.
What a day...
I hate goodbyes. They feel so final. Even if they're not forever.
The cleanup, getting dressed and packing didn't carry the usual banter. Everyone was quiet. Somber. We all knew our time together would end eventually. I guess it always comes sooner than you feel like it should be. At least that's how I see it. Freeza's so fun to hang around with. He had the same sense of humor as I do. Trust me, if we got a second alone we'd swap dirty jokes and snicker amongst ourselves.
Freeza popped his duffle bag into its capsule. He zipped up his red boomerang jacket and smiled. "I'm all set. Let's 'ope Cathy and Lexy aren't gettin' too worried 'bout me."
"Nah. Time passes different here. I wouldn't be surprised if little to no time passed back in the Real world."
"I see."
"Oh!" I stole a piece of paper from a tablet on a nearby table and wrote down the address for where I live now. "Here, so you can write to me if you want to. Mr. Aferez," I chuckled. "What gave you the idea to scramble up your name and use it as your surname?"
Freeza took the paper in his delicate hand and tucked it into his jacket pocket. His black lips smiled, "Dunno. Guess I just wanted to keep some part of my past self as a reminder." He glanced my way, "'ey, don't get all clucky just cuz I'm goin' away. We can still chew the fat through letters, right?"
I felt my cheeks warm up. "Yeah."
"There, see?" He brightened, "It'll be apples, 'luv."
"So you're leaving."
Both of us spun towards the rough voice. There stood Vegeta in the doorway - wearing a pair of jeans and a black flannel shirt with all the buttons undone. He appeared groggy as if he just woke up after dozing off in front of the TV. To prove my point he wiped a hand across his eyes to remove the sleepy goo leftover from his nap.
Freeza's horned head tilted, "Yeah. Gotta take care of the cook and my baby girl."
Vegeta's thick eyebrows went up. "How did you manage to live in the twig girl's Reality when you look like that? I didn't exactly see anyone naturally born with horns. Then again...who knows. Some of the costumes I saw were ridiculous. One fool tried to be Trunks, but had the jacket all wrong. Pathetic."
I stifled a giggle fit. Vegeta had no clue!
"I guess it's my little secret," The small Icejin winked one eye and elbowed me hard in the ribs. I just about fell over laughing. Poor Vegeta, he didn't have any idea what I found so funny.
That was also the moment my tail grew back. I felt a little pop on my tailbone and there it was, waving at me! "AHH! Stupid tail!"
"Foolish girl." Vegeta snorted rudely, turning his nose up at me. "Well anyway, I must go now. More important matters to attend to than you two clowns."
I giggled some more, "Aww, is the little Princy-poo cranky?"
"Grrr....SHUT UP!" And with that, Vegeta left. So much for saying goodbye to him. He'd be a great guy if he wasn't such a JERK to me all the time!
"Maybe you should take your meds." Freeza pointed to my pill bottle, which was sitting on a tray near the bed.
I popped a pill, grumbling as I stuffed the bottle into my pocket. Right next to the Capsule containing my stuff. "Almost forgot, as usual."
I ran out of things to say after that. Freeza waited over by the window with both fists clasped behind his back. Not even years of living in the human world could erase that pose. "Ya know, 'avin' Vegeta finally see the light took a lotta' weight offa' my shoulders. That guy's a bloody pain in the arse to get 'long with."
"Yeah, I know."
A shadow passed the window. Freeza glanced over his shoulder, "'ere comes Piccolo. Go meet 'im 'alfway. I gotta use the loo before we buzz off."
Without saying anything, I followed Freeza out of the room. He ducked into the bathroom while I continued straight ahead into the living room. There stood Piccolo - tall and imposing as ever. Standing by the wall was...I had to look again...it looked like that girl Vegeta was talking to at the convention. No, wait, it really was her!
Heh, well, well, well, this was the first time I ever met a Believer face to face!
I hope it won't be the last.
"Here," Piccolo handed me my necklace, "You do the honors. She needs to go home just like you do."
I took the necklace by the chain. The stars on the orange bauble glittered hopefully as it swung gently below my fist. "Okay, sure."
Now I hope she doesn't hold this against me later, but I have no recollection of what I said to her on the way to the nearest mirror. Except that I told her to write about her adventure. Sometimes my mind blanks out on me like that. I hope she writes a fantastic tale. The world needs to Believe.
A toilet flushed and Freeza popped out of the bathroom. He fanned the air behind his butt. It took the smell a while to waft in my direction. I instantly covered my nose with a hand. And I thought I took nasty dumps! "Ugh! Did you poop out a dead animal or something?!"
"It was the beans," Freeza said sheepishly. "They give me troubles."
I grinned, "Beans, beans, the magical fruit!"
Freeza joined in, "The magical fruit that makes you toot!"
Piccolo appeared ready to
say something. Then he rolled his eyes. It obviously wasn't worth it. "....feh."
Nobody spoke as Piccolo, Freeza and myself landed out in the middle of the desert. Piccolo pulled a Capsule from his belt and tossed it. Out came a full-length mirror on a stand. Through it I saw images of a black leather sofa, a high-definition TV and a few toys littering the wooden floor. Beyond that, a window with a wonderful view of Sydney, Australia.
"Ahhh, 'ome sweet 'ome." Freeza smiled. "Well, mates, I guess this is it."
Piccolo nodded to him. "It was good to see you again. Take care of yourself and your family."
"Sure thing." Then Freeza turned to me. I noticed his eyes were a tiny bit moist.
I teared up a bit too. "I hate goodbyes..."
The Icejin sniffled, rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Come to think of it, so do I. But they gotta be done. Oh just come 'ere." He caught me up in a bear hug that I quickly returned. He's a squeezer when he hugs people! "Just be'ave yourself."
"No way!"
We both chuckled. Even while sad we still came up with funny smart-ass comments.
"I 'ad a bonzer time 'ere. Just wanted to let you know." Freeza stopped hugging first. We exchanged what I call a 'friendly kiss', where we twist our lips sideways and kiss each other's cheek at the same time. Then he stepped back and sighed. "I guess we can't put this off anymore. I gotta buzz off...already 'ad to chuck a sickie once this week." He didn't explain why, but I'm guessing he went surfing. " Any'ow mate, 'ooroo!"
Piccolo snickered under his breath. I guess Freeza's humor even rubbed off on him after awhile. "Go on and cook your pies."
I saw Freeza grin like a cheshire cat. He about-faced and hopped through the mirror. His body disappeared in a shimmer, reappearing again as a slightly-taller human man. Same dark Matt Hardy hairstyle and narrow brown eyes. Cathy was a lucky woman - Freeza makes an adorable human!
Freeza waved over his shoulder and vanished into his living room. The mirror stopped rippling. He was gone. Back to his home and his family.
The mirror poofed back into a Capsule.
"Are you okay, kid?"
"Yeah...I'm fine."
Piccolo's large hand brushed
over the top of my head. A huge gust of wind blew past, stirring up Piccolo's
cape and my hair. Clouds of sand rose in the distance. He sneered at it,
"C'mon, let's head back to the Lookout before that sandstorm gets here."
Being in the Anime world for so long made my own still-dark room seem strange to me. Kind of like a movie you've forgotten, but you remember it as it happens. My familiar pink-roses-on-a-white-background bedspread, my computer and everything else. It all came back in a rush. I do recall it being about one-thirty in the morning when I first left. The clock now said five o'clock sharp. It probably would've been earlier if I didn't lose two hours chasing Vegeta down at the convention. Or maybe it was five a.m. on a different day. I flicked the TV on and checked the date on the digital cable menu. Yeah, a day did go by. Not bad, considering the length of time I was gone. I shut the TV off again.
Utter weirdness. I'm picking my life up where I left off.
I climbed over my bed and picked up my flashlight. On the end it had a normal light. The side contained a black light. Sheer curiosity made me flick the black light on. Suddenly my bedspread, curtains and Piccolo's cape glowed neon white. Piccolo curled his lip, showing a hint of fang. It glowed too! Really eerie, seeing as the light turned his skin black!
"Hey Piccolo, grin for me."
Piccolo did what I said. He flashed a very mean-looking grin with glowing fangs. Awesome. "Happy now?"
"Heh, yeah," I quickly grew bored with the black light and turned it off. A brief check out the window revealed my dad's silver car was missing from the driveway. Mom's junky brown Honda still sat there, the windows fogged up with dew. "I wonder if my parents ever noticed I was gone when they woke up. Probably not, seeing as my dad's car is gone. He gets up way too early to go to work. Mom obviously went back to bed...I can hear her snoring with the door shut." My poor mom, she had a sinus infection. Normally she'd never snore so loud.
I lifted the hard-bristled hairbrush off my dresser and started absently brushing my hair. Thinking to myself that it was probably better if my parents didn't remember any of this.
"Maybe it's best they don't remember what happened. Too much to explain." Piccolo stated exactly what just went through my mind. He stood there for the longest time, watching me brush my hair.
His gaze made me blush. What was he staring at? "Ever brushed a woman's hair before?"
Piccolo made a non-committal noise. As usual he answered without using words.
"Hm, well there's a first for everything." I grabbed his right hand and slapped the handle of the brush onto his palm.
"You enjoy embarrassing me." He said flatly - making me giggle. Poor guy, I always put him on the spot, don't I?
Piccolo looked down at the brush, cleared his throat and sat down on the edge of my bed. His weight made the whole mattress sag on one side. "Are you sure I won't just yank it out?"
"Piccolo...don't worry. I'll say something if you pull too hard. Just brush slower if you find a tangle, that's all. Not much to it otherwise." I smiled shyly at him and turned around, presenting him with my knee-length mane. "C'mon, what are you gonna do if you wind up babysitting Pan and have to brush her hair?"
"Her hair's considerably shorter than yours, kid." Piccolo sounded amused. A second later I felt the long plastic bristles touch my scalp and slide down with a soft swishing noise. It happened again. And again. I enjoy brushing my hair a lot, but I looooove it when someone else does it for me. It has a calming effect one me. Similar to the contentment a cat displays while being stroked. At the same time I felt myself filling with desire. It just...I dunno...seemed so intimate. I don't let just 'anyone' touch my hair.
Piccolo's breaths came slightly louder than before. He placed the brush back on my dresser. Gentle fingers closed around my hair and held it like a ponytail, then let it go. "How long do you plan on letting it grow?"
"To my ankles. I'm pretty sure it'll get that long...considering how long it is now. It may take me ten years, but I'm patient." I smirked, "I like to joke around by saying 'everything about me is short except for my hair'."
"Heh, heh. Sounds like a perfect description of you." The mattress creaked.
Without looking I knew Piccolo was standing up again. Something hard poked me in the back. When I turned around and realized what it was, I blushed. "Goodness, Piccolo! You enjoyed that didn't you?"
Piccolo looked down at himself. Purple gradually collected in his cheeks and ears. His teardrop nose wrinkled. He didn't say anything.
"Aww, you're so cute!" I climbed onto my bed to equalize our heights and hugged him tightly. So tight that I heard him release a little puff of air. His ear was in perfect reach...I tickled it with my tongue. Dunno why, sometimes I'm impulsive like that. Piccolo gasped and wrapped an arm tightly around my waist, crushing me against his chest. I felt his heart throbbing. He stared fiercely at me with dilating eyes. Clearly at war with his emotions. Back in his world those feelings are trapped with no way out. But in my world it was possible for him to release the tension.
It would be the perfect way to say goodbye. To remind him just how much I loved him.
I grasped the front of his abundant collar and yanked him forward for another kiss. Piccolo responded with a tiny "oof!" just before our lips smashed together. I slid my fingers up and massaged the sensitive skin behind his ears. His body temperature instantly went up. He breathed deeper. Our kisses grew more desperate. Piccolo's hands slithered up the back of my head, long fingers entangling themselves in my hair.
"Okay..." the handsome green man drew back, breathless. "...you've convinced me. I'll stay awhile."
"Good..." long kiss, "I'm glad I'm so..." another kiss, "...persuasive."
He smiled at me - a real smile - easily visible in the darkness of my room.
Next thing I knew we were naked and between the sheets. Making love to each other in the same bed I sleep in every night. I rode Piccolo just like I did in my dream while in the Time Chamber. He laid there beneath me...eyes glazed and mouth partly open. So precious and vulnerable. When his moment came, Piccolo moaned hoarsely and arched into me, strong arms pulling me tight against his heaving chest. Then he sank back with a sigh. The power of our joining reached me a few moments later.
"Piccolo," I leaned up and showered his face in kisses. Then I sank against his strong body, surrounded by the dusty desert scent that clung to his skin like natural cologne. "I love you..."
As usual, Piccolo didn't reply with words. There was only the soft warmth of his lips touching the top of my head and a gentle hand squeezing my shoulder. He was still hugging me when he fell asleep.
I drifted off as well - praying that he'd still be there when I woke up.