Day 105

Piccolo awoke, his eyes sliding open, and taking in the soft white canopy above him. Tessa was curled into his right side, her right leg thrown over his own and head of tousled hair on his shoulder. He sighed, holding her closer.

Despite his best intensions yesterday, they hadn't really talked, not about anything. After gaining entry to the bathroom he'd busied himself with stitching and wrapping her arm. She had sat quietly on the countertop watching some moments and looking off into the far end of the room in others. Neither of them seemed to know where to start.

Instead, they spent the time silently going on about their business, each taking time to shower and change, and tend to whatever wounds required it. By about nine for that evening Tessa was placing her used dishes in the sink and Piccolo could tell she was dead tired.

Walking into the kitchen, he scooped her up bridal style, her arms wrapping around his neck as he turned in the direction of the beds. The surprise that he had behaved this way was evident on her face and she sighed leaning against his freshly washed skin. "I…I'm sorry."

As his dark gaze met her own, he deposited her onto the bed. "So am I." He straightened. "Rest, we'll figure the rest out tomorrow."

Piccolo had just turned from her when Tessa's hand captured his left wrist, drawing his attention back to her; there were tears in her eyes again. "Stay."

A single word was enough for him to betray his instincts and join her. Throughout the night he had held her, watched her sleep, and eventually fallen asleep himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when she begun to stir, blue eyes opening to stare unbelievingly at the fact that he had remained the entire time. "Piccolo?"

A sad smirk spread across his face. 'She doesn't realize…' Meeting her sleepy gaze he rolled slightly so that they were face to face, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. "Come, we shouldn't put this off any longer."

Nodding, she followed him from the bed to the kitchen where he prepared their tea while she poured cereal for herself and fruit for them to share. Once sat, he met her gaze again. "This isn't going to be an easy for either of us."

Tessa didn't doubt the truth of that, she knew it odds were better than not that it would be a gut-wrenching conversation. With her hope already almost lost, her eyes found the table. "I know."

"I care about you."

The words were nearly enough to mow her down. Despite being together once for nearly a year, and in each other's company for longer than that, she'd never thought those words would come from him. Tears slipped from her eyes as they snapped back to meet his dark gaze again. "I care about you, too."

He sighed. "The way in which I handled my frustrations yesterday was inexcusable, but it did come from what I feel for you."

She nodded. "You weren't the only one out of line."

His right hand reached across the table and took her left. "This place has given me a delusion of what our live could be…"

Tessa suddenly felt like Napa was sitting on her chest. "A delusion…"

He sighed, his hand squeezing her own. "Yes, a delusion of a happy, safe life together. That's not the world we have to face outside this room."

A tear slipped from her. "So where do we go from here?"

Piccolo's face was a mirror of her own, devastated and crumbling. "I think you know, Tessa."

1 year ago…

Tessa had left the Son home about eighteen hours behind Piccolo, retreating to a patch of forest with a freshwater pond. The looks on ChiChi and Goku's faces through out the evening meal were almost too much for her to bare. They had tried to be in higher spirits this morning, but they were just too discouraged by Piccolo's reaction and for her.

Striping down to nothing, she waded across the pond to the deepest spot, where the water barely reached her shoulders if she stood. Needing desperately to destress, she sank down until the water reached her ears and closed her tired eyes. 'Oh, Piccolo.'

A few miles away, Gohan had finally managed to track down his favorite Namekian, meditation by an open grove. Piccolo sensing his presence spoke first. "Whatever you're after kid, my answer is no."

Gohan sighed, but was undeterred, he had prepared for his stubbornness. "You're a real jerk, you know that Piccolo?"

The Namek's eyes snapped open. Had anyone but Gohan said such a thing. "What's your point, Gohan?"

His student sat beside him, although facing in front. "You really hurt Tessa yesterday. She took off a while ago and no one knows where."

Piccolo's brow rose. "Your dad could find her if he really wanted to."

Gohan shook his head. "Nope, dad says she's blocking her energy."

"She'll be fine, kid, Tessa can protect herself."

The young Saiyan shrugged. "Maybe, but she was really upset about the way you took off, even if she wouldn't say why." He huffed, laying on his back. "You adults can really be stupid, you know that?"

Piccolo cut his dark eyes at his student. "What do you mean by that?"

Gohan smiled. "All this happened because you and Tessa like each other and were hiding it." He watched Piccolo start to say something. "I'm not stupid." Piccolo's jaw clicked shut. Looking up he met Piccolo's gaze. "Do you love her?"

Piccolo sat beside him concerning the question for several minutes before sighing. "I don't know Gohan, I never cared for anyone before you."

The boy that had opened his heart sat up and appeared thoughtful before leaning against his mentor's side. "Well, wouldn't friendship be better than nothing at this point?"

Piccolo sighed, resisting the urge to push Gohan off his side. "She already has that."

Gohan poked him in the side, causing Piccolo to look directly at him. "I'm not sure she knows that now."

Present time…

Tessa sighed. "Somehow, we keep running in circles, don't we?"

Piccolo shrugged, releasing her hand to sit straight in the chair. "Seems that way."

With nothing else to say, they stood with Tessa moving to clean up and Piccolo making his way out into the void. Despite herself, Tessa's mind returned to a conversation they'd had at that pond as she began to wash her dishes.

Flashback, same day as before, at the pond…

Tessa sighed assuming that she been in the water for at least an hour and thirty minutes, her sore and tired muscles felt much better. Looking to the sky, she knew that ChiChi would be busy in the kitchen by now preparing a fest for her expanded family.

Piccolo entered her mind with that though and it saddened her. She shook her head. "No, I won't let him depress me again."

Determined to return in a better mood, she began walking towards the edge of the pond. She was about waist deep when an energy signature registered, her arms covering her breasts. Looking over her shoulder in the direction of the ki, she frowned. "It isn't polite to peak."

Piccolo stood from the tree he'd been leaning against for the last twenty minutes, though he kept his back turned. "I wasn't trying to peak."

She sighed and continued to climb from the water. Raising her ki was enough to dry her body and allow Tessa to dress in relative comfort before turning towards him. "Then what do you want?"

He turned and floated over the pond, coming to stand in front of her. "To apologize, you didn't deserve the way I treated you."

Feeling a weight had been lifted, Tessa smiled sadly. "I appreciate that." She sighed. "I'm sorry it came out like the way it has."

Piccolo nodded, his fists clenched. "I need things to go back…"

She returned his nod. "Complicated isn't something we do very well, is it?"

He chuckled. "No."

Tessa sighed and held out her hand. "Okay, still friends?"

For the first time in over a day, she saw him smile as he took her hand. "Yeah, still friends."