The scent of juicy ham, glazed potatoes, and sweet wine; idle chatter around him with content smiles; all of it was background noise to Gohan's thoughts. He was in probably damn near the best mood of his life until he stepped out of the washroom to see Piccolo swiftly leaving his bedroom. Of course, he tried to ask what was wrong or if he did anything, but he was immediately stopped by his mother right at his door asking if he was ready for dinner or if he still needed space. He answered before any thought that he was fine to go as he watched Piccolo march further away down the hall.
Gohan tried to fight the need to glance over the table and everyone on the opposing side to Piccolo behind them. He couldn't shake how concerning Piccolo's sudden change was. It was tempting to just stare him down if he wasn't so sure it would only worsen Piccolo's scowl. There weren't as many people as other dinners he'd attended, though consisting of Goku's friends and family it was still boisterous; granting Gohan a few easy peeks to his intended. Just in case maybe he glanced back at him as well. Perhaps a subtle cue that something else had come up in his thoughts or damn the thought that a nerve was touched, and Piccolo now had regretted his choice.
"Well, you've barely eaten. Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Kami whispered sitting right beside Gohan.
"I am, thank you." Gohan said, quick to give a polite smile. It wavered more to an embarrassed smirk when he noticed his plate was still quite full.
Kami gave a soft chuckle. "I see you've noticed Piccolo's mood, but do not worry. He wouldn't be upset with you this long. I'm the one who cast that sour look."
"What would make him upset with you?" Gohan asked, forcing himself to take a bite of anything before anyone else could call him out on his distraction.
"I made a request and though he agreed, he can't help but pout." Kami rose a brow playfully.
"That's a pout?" Gohan tried not to laugh nor look at Piccolo.
"It's in the way he crosses his arms. Tighter than usual, elbows a little higher, and both hands tucked away." Kami explained. "A nice change honestly. Almost makes me feel like a usual family."
"I don't think anyone here knows what the 'usual' family type really is." Gohan said in hopes to comfort him. To say he was relieved not to be the cause of the behavior, would be too easy.
"Maybe it's a myth." Kami chuckled.
"Soo..." Yamcha leaned over from beside Tien towards Gohan. "We all felt your energy going off earlier and saw the beams in the sky. You doing some training?"
Gohan stilled trying not to react at the what the training had led to. "Ah- a little bit yes."
"Hope Piccolo didn't throw you around too much." Yamcha joked. "Wouldn't want to scare you off from fighting. Goku would be too excited to hear you're taking up martial arts."
"He's not going to fight." Piccolo boomed from behind Yamcha and Tien, the latter who didn't even flinch from his tea and more than half expected such a response.
Yamcha turned in his chair. "But he's-"
"Not fighting." Piccolo finished the statement pressing his words even more.
"I think he can decide for himself." Yamcha insisted.
"He's right. I don't-" Gohan started to try and quell any argument, seeing Piccolo's eyes darken at the assumption; but Yamcha didn't listen and went on.
"Sure, you're smart and when it comes to his safety we listen but if he's training and wants to get into it, no one should stop him. Just because you practically raised him for a year, doesn't mean you get to demand how his life is run. He's no longer a child. He's not yours to control." Yamcha almost stood from his seat to challenge Piccolo at his height.
The room's life had died at the accusation; even Goten and Trunks stopped eating as everyone turned their heads. Piccolo took a deep breath, seething in his glare, before storming out of the room.
"Wait-!" Gohan tried to follow but felt a gentle hand on his arm.
"Don't bother. He's already-" Before Kami could finish, they all felt the burst of power as Piccolo had quickly flown away from the building. "Gone."
Gohan closed his eyes and sat back down. He didn't know what to do or say or if he even should.
Yamcha turned to Tien who thoroughly rubbed the sides of his forehead around his third eye. "What?"
"I cannot believe you." Tien muttered.
"I was only calling out the obvious." Yamcha defended.
"You were being an idiot." Vegeta declared before taking a large bite of meat.
Yamcha chose not to respond to Vegeta and went back to his plate.
The dinner took a while to return to any level of comfortable, but everyone eventually finished eating and tried to save whatever good mood they could. Gohan was one of the first to excuse himself and no one else batted an eye for it nor the cold food he left. He sat outside on one of the many porches. The sky had gone dark as he sighed and waited for Piccolo.
"He isn't back." Kami spoke up behind Gohan. "I'm sorry."
"It's not for you to apologize." Gohan gave a weak smile. "You said you may have annoyed him, but I know you wouldn't do something like that."
"True," Kami admitted. "But I believe he's gone off on my request. I don't know when he'll be back."
"What did you ask him to do?" Gohan asked as he patterned out the constellations in his head.
"I asked if he would assist Mr. Popo. I hadn't heard from him, and I was growing worried." Kami explained.
"Oh, right. He doesn't even know we left the church, does he?" Gohan blinked at the sky with a frown as he remembered how many of his father's friends were actually still out there helping in their own way.
"Korin is probably keeping track of events as well as he can, so Mr. Popo might know enough and predicted our actions, but I can't be sure." Kami said. He let out a soft sigh. "I just thought you should know in case Piccolo doesn't return tonight so you won't have to worry too much."
"Seems that's all I will ever do." Gohan chuckled as he stood. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. I know he would have told you if he hadn't gone off during dinner." Kami said. He gave a smile before returning inside the house.
Gohan had decided to head to the medical building. He only hesitated a moment when he passed a room full of lunch tables where Krillin and 18 sat chatting away about something. When he reached the office holding his father, he spotted Bulma peering through layers of lenses at a red splotch on glass.
"Sorry about dinner Gohan. That must have been as upsetting for you as it was for Piccolo." Bulma said, not even glancing up from the slide. "It was certainly painful for the rest of us to watch."
"Oh, it's fine. I'm sure he meant the best of intentions." Gohan rubbed his neck. I guess he was only just trying to make sure I had a say in the matter. I don't think he was expecting such a fast and definite rejection to the possible future of me becoming like all of them. "How did you know it was me?"
"Everyone is avoiding 18 so the building is silent enough that even I can hear nearly everything. Only ones most likely to stop right outside the door are you and Chichi and Chichi would rather keep busy watching the kids than spend all evening crying at Goku's bedside." Bulma explained before turning her eyes up with a smile. "What can I help you with?"
"Actually, I was hoping there was something I could do to help you." Gohan answered. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight anyway and it might help to keep my hands and head busy."
"I see. I have been there before." Bulma jotted down something on a notepad beside her before handing it to him. "Here. Give me a civilians opinion?"
"Of course." Gohan looked over the notes. He could recognize a few components listed but not why they would be compiled in the list altogether. "Civilian opinion indeed. Who would think to put all of these together? Shouldn't some of these cancel each other out?"
"Initially, yes. At least under normal conditions most people would have available to them. Also, that list is just everything that doesn't match what's in Goku's system. It doesn't include what put him in this state." Bulma said.
"Right. To narrow out what Gero used to wake them up." Gohan took a seat beside her. He pointed to a few marks beside certain names. "What are these for?"
"I wrote those to mark the ones that didn't look quite right. I'm positive I identified them right, but they had traits that differed from how they should look, like color or how it connected to other compounds." Bulma explained.
"Connected?" Gohan asked.
"Ah right. Look." Bulma leaned back and gestured to the lenses.
Gohan looked through and saw each individual spec floating through. "Wow."
"Welcome to the science of space. Well, it's just science but it's because of the collective knowledge of each alien race that we get to know and see the base structures of the universe. How each of us are built and thrive." Bulma stated. "Each of those specks has it's own qualities and structure and when certain ones bump to each other they can connect, making a whole new product."
"Do you think that's why some of them look different?" Gohan asked.
"Yes and no. I thought there would be more change or evidence of what was used to modify them but it's possible he's stressed them somehow. Maybe high heat or pressure." Bulma theorized.
"What do we know about how his place was set up?" Gohan asked.
"Not really much. No one's gone back since they got Goku out. We couldn't be sure they weren't using it as base or such and fighting both 17 and 18 have been exhausting enough." Bulma answered.
"With 18 and 16 here, 17 gone, and Gero wandering around… it might be worth a look." Gohan said as he leaned away from the lenses. "You might not have to synthesize it from scratch if he abandoned plenty there. Or at the very least research papers or what tools he used."
"That could save us massive amounts of time and effort. We'll have to wait until everyone feels better. Maybe if Tien's leg heals before I can crack this myself." Bulma said.
Gohan bit his cheek as he said, "Yamcha seemed to have enough energy."
Bulma laughed. "Yes, but as he proved earlier, he's a bit of an idiot so I'm not sure how much we can trust him to figure out what to bring back. It's a good idea so I'll talk it over with everyone and we'll figure something out. It's certainly worth it even if there isn't anything."
"Thank you." Gohan spoke softly with a sincere smile.
Bulma sighed with a nod. "You know, I think you'd enjoy those books on that shelf back there. To read and keep me company as I work through some more tests. Might help keep your head busy."
Gohan happily pulled a few books she had pointed out and spent the night doing what he did best. It finally felt like he could contribute without putting himself in danger.
Piccolo thumped his head back on the boulder he sat against. It was late into the night, and he decided to rest in the middle of a forest. Gero's hunting people so he's likely to stick to towns. Hopefully Popo picked a similar location to hide in. If he was able to hide…
He rubbed his shoulder, the cool air tensing the sore and partially torn muscles. Good, mostly healed. Though I should probably have thought it through before straining it earlier. Piccolo closed his eyes as the moment over Gohan's dresser played in his head. He both enjoyed the memory and felt apprehensive of it. Even a more so with what Yamcha had said.
It was foolish nonsense he knew that yet hearing that he had 'practically raised him for a year' stated aloud; was like a punch to the gut. If the others saw it that way, like he was just a second father figure to Gohan. He grimaced at the thought of what they would surely say when they found out their current status.
"You should talk to him."
Piccolo quickly sat straight and forced up the psychic wall he had in his own mind. The wall kept certain things away, thoughts he didn't know what to do with or things he swore to never touch. It had been faltering since the day before. When he was sure it had stabilized again, he considered what was said.
"Hmmm." After a grunt he focused and connected to Gohan.
"Hey." Gohan's voice rang clear and cheerful.
Piccolo couldn't help a small smile. "I'm sorry for just leaving."
"It's alright, I more than understand." Gohan replied. "Were you able to find Mr. Popo?"
"No. He had already left Korin's and he wasn't at Kami's either. I'm not sure how long it will take me. Will you be alright?" Piccolo asked.
"You're the one going out into danger. Don't worry about me." Gohan said. "I have plenty of books to occupy me."
"Is that why you're so cheery?" Piccolo teased.
"It does a very good job distracting me from worrying too much about you or dad, but I am also just relieved to hear from you." Gohan admitted.
Piccolo thought again about Yamcha's words. Do they bother Gohan like they do him? Will he be cornered to some kind of interrogation while he's gone? He tried to get himself to ask a burning thought but lost out to it.
"Oh, I also brought up an idea to search Gero's work space for any abandoned solution." Gohan said.
"What?" Piccolo tensed at the suggestion.
"I won't be going! Don't- don't worry, I'm keeping my promise." Gohan quickly amended. "I just had the idea was all. Bulma will try to get the others up to better health and energy before anyone tries to go."
Piccolo let out his held breath and thought about it further. "It's a smart plan."
"Thank you." Gohan said perking up again at the compliment.
"I'll try to return soon. Make sure to actually sleep." Piccolo said.
"I will." Gohan replied. "I… I love you."
Piccolo's heart stuttered as if it had tripped inside his chest. He felt calmer by the simple words, his worries temporarily conquered. "And I you."
"Goodnight." Gohan left him in warm silence.
Official apologies to Yamcha for making him 'that guy'... also for the delay
I will not get really into the science stuff; I'm bullshitting my way through.
Thank you for your patience and time stay shiny