The seasons may have been shifting into the colder months, but that didn't stop Yamcha from sweating under the desert sun as he worked to change the flat tire on his camper van. It was in moments like these that he realized just how much he'd come to take the conveniences of city life for granted; having water available on tap instead of lugging around a limited supply, being able to escape the heat in an air conditioned building rather than sweat it out with only the shade of an occasional rock formation for marginal relief, having whatever food he wanted available at his fingertips rather than scrounging whatever he could find out in the wilds once his rations ran out. Yes, he'd forgotten just how hard his old life as a desert nomad had been, but it wasn't all bad.
After all, he'd also forgotten just how free it made him feel. For the first time in years, he slept under the stars without the city light pollution to blot most of them out. For the first time in years, he didn't have to temper his wants and needs to what the people around him or society dictated. For the first time in years, he answered to no one but himself. He was the Lone Wolf once more, the Bandit King with an empty kingdom as far as the eye could see.
As soon as he finished tightening the bolts on his fresh tire, he loaded up his tools and hopped into the driver's seat, starting the van up with an unhappy rumble. He was off again, rolling through the desert free as a bird… at least, until he heard a distinct pop coming from under his hood mere minutes later, white steam billowing up in front of the windshield. He let out a frustrated growl and came to a stop once more, getting out and throwing up the hood of the van only to be blasted in the face by yet more steam.
"Yowch!" he yelped out as he backpedaled away from the boiling geyser his engine had become, rubbing at his face and praying he didn't burn himself too badly. Once it was clear he was fine, he looked back over towards his van, steam still billowing out and water leaking from underneath. Yep, his radiator was toast.
"Ah, fuck me…" he grumbled to himself, running a hand through messy hair that was growing just long enough to start getting in his eyes. Well, that wasn't something he could fix out here in the middle of nowhere. It was at this moment that Puar floated over to him from her perch on the passenger seat.
"Lord Yamcha, with all due respect… this sucks!"
Yamcha merely let out a sigh, his shoulders wilting in defeat.
"I know, Puar, I know…" he conceded almost immediately. "But there's not much else we can do about it."
"Uhhh… Yeah there is. We could go back home!"
At the mention of returning home, Yamcha furiously shook his head.
"H-hell no! Not when Piccolo knows where I live!" he retorted, his voice cracking slightly in terror. Puar merely sighed at her Master's reaction. The way he was acting, you'd think he was on the run from the Mafia or something.
"For the last time, if he was gonna kill you, don't you think he'd have done it before you managed to get his pants off?"
Yamcha had, of course, told Puar the entire sordid tale from front to back. He was too much in shock after realizing it hadn't all been some crazy dream to not tell someone about it, and he knew his little changeling familiar was the safest ear to talk to. Of course, practically the instant he finished telling her, he'd hatched this brilliant scheme of going back to their previous nomadic lifestyle to avoid what he was sure would be a Demon King hell-bent on revenge for the unspeakable humiliation he'd brought upon him. Thus, he'd told the landlady he was going on an extended trip out of country, set his rent to automatically pay out of his savings, and booked it for the desert, keeping his ki concealed the entire time to hide from what he thought was certain death.
"L-look, if I knew what was going on in that head of his, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be in this mess to begin with," he stammered out in reply, starting to pace restlessly back and forth as he rambled on. "All I know is Piccolo is one of the scariest mother fuckers I've ever met in my life, and I totally overstepped, like… all of the boundaries when he just happened to come along one night. Wh-who knows, maybe he was just in so much disbelief that something like that happened that he didn't have sense enough to get mad right away, but I for one ain't about to give him the chance to make up for that hesitation!"
"Oooor…" the feline interjected hesitantly as her Master passed by in another dizzying circuit of pacing through the desert sand. "You two could settle this like adults and just talk about what happened."
"Y-you think I got a death wish?!" Yamcha snapped back immediately, ignoring the irony that it was a literal death wish that had made him brazen enough to try to have sex with Piccolo in the first place. "B-besides, what point is there in talking to him? I-it's not like I even want to get on good terms with a guy like that…"
"The way you moan his name in your sleep suggests otherwise…"
That little jab was enough to have Yamcha's face blaze a bright red in embarrassment. Dammit, he knew he'd been having some pretty explicit dreams involving Piccolo since that night — though sadly they seemed like more of a tease than what the real thing had been like — but he wasn't aware he'd been talking in his sleep during them. Puar took her Master's hesitance to answer as an opportunity to press on with her own argument.
"Besides, didn't you say he'd gone to train with Goku and his son? Do you really think Piccolo would try to hurt you with either of them nearby? If anyone could stop him from killing you, surely it would be Goku! With that kind of protection on your side, what harm is there in going to try and clear the air? Worst case scenario is we're just right back where we are right now!"
Yamcha listened to her reasoning, letting out a sigh of defeat at the end. She was right, after all. He was sure Goku would have his back even without knowing the whole story. And who knows? Maybe a miracle would happen and he'd end up on better terms with Piccolo than they'd been before? There was really only one way to find out, and since there was no real risk of dying if he played it just right…
His mind finally made up, he jogged back over to his broken camper van, hitting a button just on the inside of the door and letting it shrink instantaneously down into its capsule once more. After pocketing it, he waited for Puar to settle herself on his shoulder before he took off into the sky towards the East.
It was evening by the time Yamcha arrived at the Son residence, so he was not at all surprised to find that everyone was just settling down for dinner right when he landed outside the front door. A quick probe with his senses confirmed the presence of Goku, Gohan, and Chi Chi, but Piccolo seemed to be nowhere to be found. He let out the breath he'd been holding almost in relief. This might be a better situation anyway. At least now he'd be able to gather a little information on Piccolo's behavior since their night together, perhaps even make sure Goku knew he might need backup when he did finally talk to the Namekian face to face.
With only slightly more assurance in what he was doing, Yamcha stepped up to the front door and gave it a quick knock. It wasn't long before the door opened, Chi Chi staring up at him in mild surprise.
"Jeez, you're in desperate need of a bath and a shave, aren't you?" was her initial greeting, causing Yamcha to run a hand over the rough scruff that had grown in across the lower half of his face.
"Y-yeah, sorry about that. I've kinda been roughing it for a while…" he replied somewhat bashfully, flashing the woman an apologetic smile. "I promise I won't be long. You think Goku can tear himself away from dinner long enough to talk for a quick minute? If not, that's fine. I can just wait out here."
At his offer to stay outside, Chi Chi immediately waved away his concerns, instead turning to lead him inside.
"No, you're fine. It's not like Goku doesn't come home stinking to high heaven every night anyway," she replied casually as she made her way back towards their dining room table. Yamcha closed the door behind him before following after her. Much to no one's surprise, the rather large kitchen table was piled high with enough food to feed a banquet of fifty people at least, yet he knew this was just what a Saiyan's appetite demanded on a daily basis. Sure enough, Goku didn't even bother to swallow his current mouthful of food before giving his old friend a cheerful greeting.
"Hey Yamcha! What brings you out here?"
"O-oh, not much," Yamcha replied instinctively, trying his best to act casual. "Kinda just wondering how training is going for you guys. Making good progress?"
Much to his surprise, this completely innocuous bit of smalltalk seemed to sour Goku's normally good mood in an instant.
"We'd be making a lot more progress if Piccolo didn't just bail on us out of nowhere a couple weeks ago!"
"W-wait… He bailed on you?" Yamcha repeated, certainly not expecting that particular development. "Where'd he go off to?"
"Heck if I know," Goku replied, his childish pout deepening all the more. "He probably went off to go train with someone else again, same as he did back towards the end of August that one night…"
Unfortunately, the mention of that particular night caused Yamcha's cheeks to turn a bright red despite himself. He couldn't be talking about that night, could he? The dates sure added up, so he couldn't think of anything else Goku could be referring to. He must have been able to sense the two of them out there during their rather physical activities, and it was only by virtue of the oblivious warrior's sheer cluelessness that he jumped straight to it being a clandestine training session and not what it actually was.
"Oh God, Goku, stop acting like some jilted lover over it," Chi Chi scolded lightly from where she sat opposite him, though the specific wording she used caused Yamcha to flinch conspicuously. "Piccolo's a lot more introverted than you are, and you can be a bit much even to people who are normally social butterflies. Honestly, I'm surprised he lasted a whole two years before finally losing his temper with you. He probably just needs a break from you for a while. I'm sure he'll come back when he's good and ready."
"S-so, you guys got into some kinda fight..?" Yamcha asked hesitantly.
"I wish he'd fight me!" Goku retorted, taking a particularly vicious bite off a large drumstick and continuing with his mouth full again. "He stopped wanting to spar with us halfway through September and then blew up at me before taking off to who knows where! I really don't get that guy sometimes…"
Yamcha couldn't help but furrow his brows in confusion at that. Piccolo had just stopped training shortly after they slept together? That didn't seem right at all. If anything, he expected him to have come back to his sparring with Goku and Gohan with more fury than ever before, especially if he was holding onto resentment from that night. But to just stop altogether? What could possibly be behind that?
"Hey, I got an idea!" Goku announced suddenly, his abrupt return in enthusiasm catching Yamcha off guard once again. "Why don't you stick around and train with us instead? We could use an extra sparring partner while Piccolo's off doing whatever he's been doing. What do you say?"
"N-no!" he blurted out before even thinking, a sudden panic rising in him at the thought of Piccolo returning out of the blue and finding him there. He had the good sense to be embarrassed about giving such an emphatic rejection to the offer, reaching up to scratch bashfully at the back of his head. "I-I mean… Y-you're way too far outta my league, Goku. I doubt I'd even be able to catch up enough to be a proper challenge to you before we've gotta go off and fight the androids. I-it might be better for everyone if I just focus on training on my own for now and not slow you guys down."
Goku seemed to accept that explanation, merely giving the former bandit a shrug of his shoulders.
"Up to you. The offer stands if you ever get bored out there on your own."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Yamcha replied before turning to head towards the door. "I'll let you guys get back to dinner. I'd better get home myself and clean up a bit."
After a few friendly well-wishings, Yamcha left, but he seemed to have more questions than answers. From what Goku told him, it sounded like Piccolo wasn't really mad at him in particular — at least not mad enough to make it publicly known — which was a relief. But what was with all that other strange behavior he mentioned? Could it have something to do with that night at the lake, or was he just overthinking it? Either way, he supposed he was in the clear, at least for now, but enough that he felt no fear in flying back to his apartment proper.
Not all were satisfied with the conclusion of Yamcha's impromptu visit, however. Gohan had remained silent through the whole interaction as he ate his dinner, but that didn't mean the subject at hand wasn't poking at some nagging doubts in his own mind. He'd intended to give Piccolo his space, just as his mother was trying to convince his father to do, but two weeks was starting to feel like a very long time to not at least hear anything from his mentor, especially after the heated note he'd left on. He knew Piccolo was a notorious recluse, and he really didn't want to pry into his business too much, but he couldn't just sit and wonder anymore.
It was just after dusk when Gohan snuck away to the nearby waterfall he knew his mentor currently resided behind, the stars above just starting to show themselves. He flew over to that hidden landing that led behind the roaring curtain of water, only spotting the dim orange glow of fire once he stepped inside the mouth of the cave. That was enough to let him know that Piccolo was indeed here, though the fact that he couldn't sense him even at such a close proximity meant he was concealing his ki. The boy felt a little bad for coming to see him when it was clear he didn't want to see anyone, but he couldn't just turn back now. He headed deeper into the cave, turning off into the small alcove where the warm orange glow originated.
Piccolo was indeed there, sitting cross-legged on his bedroll and tending to a small campfire that had been lit in the pit at the center of the room. He glanced up from the task when Gohan entered, though he didn't seem at all surprised to see him. Or angry that he was there at all, for that matter. Mostly, he just seemed sort of tired, like he hadn't been sleeping all that well.
"Piccolo-san? Are you okay?" he asked, still hesitant to step inside without permission. Piccolo let out a small sigh at the boy's concerned tone, but gave a gesture with his head for him to enter.
"Everything's fine. Sorry if I worried you, kid. I just… I've had a lot to think about lately…"
Gohan settled himself on the ground in front of the fire, sitting directly across from his mentor and still looking up at him with that almost apologetic look on his face.
"Are you still upset about my dad? Is that why you've been staying away?"
"No, that's not it at all. Goku may be annoying at times, but he has nothing to do with this. It's not your fault either, so don't go feeling guilty over something you didn't do. I…" he paused, finding it difficult to find the right words to explain his rather unique situation. "I just have some personal matters I've got to sort out before I can come back to train with you. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."
Gohan gave a slight nod of understanding, but that explanation didn't ease his concerns one bit. He knew he wasn't owed a full explanation on whatever private matter Piccolo had going on in his life, but something in him just didn't want to leave it at that.
"You don't gotta tell me what it is, but… Is there any way I can help at least? Whatever it is, you don't have to go through it alone. I might just be a kid, but I'm always here if you need me."
Piccolo couldn't help but stare at Gohan in mild astonishment at that. The boy was only nine years old, yet it never failed to surprise him just how mature he could be, especially considering who his father was. It was one of the qualities he appreciated the most in his young student. In that case, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just tell him the truth of what was going on. After all, it might help ease some of his own stress — something Kami had implored him to do while in his current condition — to just tell someone about it, and he couldn't think of anyone in the world he trusted more than Gohan.
"I don't suppose you know how Namekians are born, do you?"
Gohan blinked in mild confusion at that, the question seemingly coming out of nowhere to him.
"Uhh, yeah. You guys hatch from eggs, right? Dende told us a little about it on Namek after Bulma asked why there were no female Namekians."
Piccolo nodded at that. Good. That saved him a lot of awkward explaining, at least. Of course, what he had to say next felt far more awkward than simply giving a brief explanation on the Namekian version of the Birds and the Bees talk.
"Well… I'm going to be having an egg of my own soon…"
It felt so strange to say out loud, but Gohan's face immediately lit up at the news, his mouth widening into a big happy smile.
"Really?! That's great, Piccolo-san! Congratulations!"
Piccolo was a bit taken aback by that reaction. There were no questions asked, no wondering how someone so outwardly male-looking could have a baby, just immediate acceptance and feeling happy for him. Despite himself, he actually felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips, feeling genuinely touched by the support Gohan showed already.
Of course, the initial celebratory mood wouldn't last. He watched as Gohan's expression fell back into one of concern, the reality — and more importantly, the timing — of the situation suddenly sinking in, evidenced by how the boy seemed to start quietly counting on his fingers.
"W-wait… So, when are you supposed to have the egg?"
"According to Nail's memories, it takes about six months for the egg to fully form, so it'd be due around the end of February. It would hatch around three months after that, so the end of May."
The mention of May seemed to deepen Gohan's worried expression, and Piccolo knew exactly why. It was the very thing he'd been losing sleep over himself in the past few weeks.
"B-but that guy from the future said the androids would attack on May 12th! Even if you only took a couple of weeks to recover after having your egg, you'd have less than two months left to train back up to where you are now!"
Piccolo nodded along with Gohan's assessment of the situation. Honestly, the only way this turn of events could have been less ideal would have been if he'd gotten pregnant any later than he already did. As it stood, he'd barely have enough time to fully recover from the birth before he had to head off with the others to fight what was promised to be an almost impossible battle. If he didn't manage to somehow get as strong as he could in that tiny window of time, there was a very real possibility he'd never be able to properly meet his child at all.
"Trust me, if I had intended for something like this to happen, I'd have waited until after the androids were dealt with, but… Well, it just happened, so I just have to work around it as best I can."
Gohan nodded at that, his face finally shifting from that worried expression to one of determination.
"R-right! And, in the meantime, if you need help with anything at all, just let me know and I'll be here right away!"
Piccolo couldn't help but smile at the boy at that offer. He truly hated to burden such a young kid with all this, but it filled him with more relief than he'd anticipated to have someone he truly trusted with his life there to offer a helping hand.
"Thanks, Gohan. That means a lot. For now, though, I'd mostly just like you to keep this between the two of us, understand? It's not the sort of thing I want getting spread around, especially to your father. He's the last person I need to have up my ass right now."
Gohan could only giggle lightly at that, but nodded in a silent promise to not tell anyone. Honestly, he probably would have kept it from his dad anyway, at least if that last explosive encounter was any indication of just how poorly Goku and Piccolo mixed when the latter was pregnant and moody. He doubted his father would behave himself properly even if he knew the truth.
Gohan stayed with Piccolo to talk a while more after that, but in all the excitement of hearing about how his mentor was expecting a baby, it never once occurred to him to mention Yamcha's visit earlier that evening.