Epilogue

" Bulma told me you scowled at your personal therapist, again." Piccolo castigated, before delicately slicing a small chunk of chocolate cake with his fork

"It's because he told me, that maybe the reason I'm overly attached to you is because it was a coping mechanism I developed when I was 4" Gohan now 15 of age, frowned, feeling appalled at the memory

" … I can believe that." The Namekian nonchalantly agreed with said therapist before taking another chunk of the cake

"Why, it's preposterous!" The teen raised his hands dramatically

" It's not that far off " The green alien shrugged, chewing his cake, he has gotten a better hold of eating over the years of practicing and by the fact the teen kept bringing him edible sweets whenever he visits

And boy, does that boy visit often

Gohan looked so taken aback then dejected, Piccolo swears he got all that animated movement from his mother

"Look, I'm just saying, don't be so closed off to the idea entirely " The mentor consoled, before eating one more part of the pastry

The table began trembling, clanking can be heard from the fork hitting the plates as they shake along as the half Saiyan's temper rises

"Oh, what's next, he's going to tell me my feelings for you aren't real, and then you're just going to agree " Gohan seethed

The earth born namek, karate chopped the teen's head, which snapped him off his anger, the mentor was both worried and touched at how stubborn his friend was regarding the subject

"Calm down, find your center" he scolded, finishing his cake and putting the plate aside

Gohan, with flushed cheeks, eyes on the table, pouted while rubbing his head, his demeanor turned dispirited

The ex-demon inwardly groaned, feeling like crap at his friend's very apparent sadness

"You, make me feel giddy, you also make me feel at peace, you know? "

Piccolo felt cornered, oh no, here it comes, the mushy lovey-dovey stuff

"ok maybe I can admit, the way we met and how my feelings came to be was unorthodox, but so what, that doesn't mean my feelings are any less valid "

"if this therapist is trying to undermine that, then I don't want to go back there again "

"I- I don't want these strong feelings to go away, I don't want to not need you "

Gohan's eyes were glossy as tears began to form on the outer rim, sometimes he just couldn't help the nagging feeling that the world is still conspiring to take his Piccolo away

His most precious awkwardly reached for his hand and gave it an unsure squeeze

He should be used by the boy's openness by now, Piccolo thought to himself but he couldn't help being lost by it every once in a while, it's so, raw and honest, he still couldn't navigate it fully

The teen leaned on the table with his front face pressed against it, before pulling on Piccolo's hand, a gesture the Namekian knew means, Gohan wants to be petted

He gingerly complied, being exposed to loving gestures for a long time still made him a bit nauseous, but he pressed on, for Gohan

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything bad, you endured a lot of things in your young life and I'm sure this therapist is just trying to help "

And that therapist should! since he is being handsomely paid by Bulma, Piccolo chipped in too, it's unknown how he got money but there was something about farming, the whole concept of paying someone to fix your mental state felt weird for Piccolo but he picked up a book about it, courtesy of Dende and Kami, a few years ago attempting to understand it more, let's just say at this current time the mentor has a mix of books, pamphlets, notes, brochure, magazine topics and anything written on paper totaling in amount of 300-ish

Piccolo was now playfully ruffling the teen's hair, attempting to cheer him up

"Yeah" the half Saiyan sniffed "I guess" still wanting the ruffling of his hair to continue

"if it makes you feel better, as long as you want me around, I'll stay" The Namekian meant every word

"Yeah well I want you to, forever, so there" Gohan necessitate, his friend's promise did raise his spirits considerably, after a few moments the half Saiyan finished the cake that was on his plate

The two enjoyed the rest of Piccolo's 19th birthday