A/N: I would waste everyone's time and energy by telling all of you how very sorry I am that I haven't updated in so long, but I will spare us all the misery. Enjoyy.
Now it was Piccolo's turn to be terrified. His composure did not change, the only sign of distress being his long and defying, green ears which started to blush with a tinge of purple at the tips. 'Be his?'
Make no mistake, the namekian was not so dense as to be completely ignorant to the meaning of the younger man's request. This request implied that the saiyan wanted a romantic relationship with him. Something that would change the course of their lives forever, no matter whether his answer was yes or no. Of course, the earth-born namek already knew after only a few moments of consideration that he would not be able to answer with the latter.
All of Gohan's strange behavior as of late had just now started to make sense to Piccolo. His friend had been avoiding him for the past few months as if he had the plague. Piccolo had tried to blame his student's strangeness on the new educational environment Gohan had been recently introduced to and all of the stress and friends it would bring him, but deep down, the Namekian knew it was about him. His demi saiyan companion used to rejoice at the thought of being able to spend time with his mentor and now he didn't stay even a minute after training was over.
He was beginning to worry that Gohan was ashamed of him. He knew that the saiyan hybrid had made a few new good friends while attending school and even got a girlfriend- Videl- which Piccolo approved of almost right off the bat. It seemed like the more Piccolo grew to approve of their relationship, the more uncomfortable Gohan got with the girl. Piccolo had figured maybe this girl just wasn't the one.
Now he understood that girls weren't exactly in Gohan's thoughts. Gohan's confession to him was passionate, heartfelt to the core. When Gohan and Videl had started dating, it was mostly the influence of their friends and family - with the exception of Chi Chi who had never approved of Videl in general.
'Oh. The harpie.' Piccolo thought, suddenly getting a bit more nervous. If Chi Chi hadn't approved of a fair-skinned, beautiful, wealthy, and talented young woman, then there was no way in hell that she was ever going to come close to approving of Piccolo with her son.
Gohan's mother has tried for all of Gohan's life to get him to stray from the namekian, constantly preaching about his supposed demonic origin and appearance. If she were to know about Gohan's feelings for Piccolo, Piccolo was sure that that would be her final breaking point. The namek wasn't sure if he should fear that thought or look forward to it.
'She just might have a heart attack.' Piccolo smirked as the scene ran through his mind.
Gohan would finally tell his mother his big secret and would reach for his new lover's green hand, squeezing lovingly. Chi Chi's face would turn completely red, then purple, and finally blue as she would struggle to let out a screech and finally passing out on to the floor, leaving Piccolo to feign grief and Gohan to - feel.. guilty as hell. Okay, maybe that wasn't the greatest thought.
Piccolo started to think about all of the weird interactions that had been taking place between him and his saiyan friend as of late and began to realize Gohan's mindless, flirtatious, flustered behavior. The past few months of training had been difficult with Gohan having to leave after only a half hour of sparring- if that. It seemed that Gohan's interest in Piccolo was not only romantic, but physical. The namek had to repress the heat threatening to spill onto his cheeks as he thought about what a physical relationship with Gohan would really consist of.
It was no surprise to Piccolo that he did indeed find the demi saiyan handsome, extremely so, and had found him attractive ever since he had hit his growth spurt. It didn't ever make Piccolo uncomfortable to admit that to himself as the two of them had a small age gap of four years and there was nothing predatory about the way that Piccolo thought of Gohan. In fact, if anyone were the predator, it would be the hybrid. It was no secret that Gohan had far more experience with relationships than his mentor.
The thought of that made Piccolo very insecure, while at the same time made him feel something he wasn't sure he quite understood, yet it was a feeling he was sure he would feel a lot in the future. A sort of deep gratification grew deep inside of the namekian as he thought about his former pupil showing him the mechanics of a relationship and what was supposed to happen in one. Gohan had never been one to take charge, but the very thought of it in the namekian's mind was enough for a slight shiver to run down his spine.
'Where did this come from?' Piccolo thought as he tried to suppress the heated thoughts trying to pop up in his mind. The namek had never imagined himself in a romantic relationship with anyone before, but now that Gohan opened the doors, it seemed almost easy. Of course, imagination was not reality and reality was often times much harsher than the former.
Gohan was starting to grow very worried when he heard no response after at least 15 minutes, especially when he had seen the tiniest smirk on Piccolo's face. Piccolo was hardly ever mischievous these days, but when he was, Gohan was in for it. Gohan had watched as his mentor's face actually changed expressions. This would have been undetectable to anyone else but the demi saiyan who had been very close with him for most of his life.
Piccolo finally seemed to come out of his thoughts as he stared deeply into Gohan's chocolate orbs.
"I would like to try," said a nerve wracked Piccolo as he tried to maintain his unwavering image.
Gohan looked into his beloved Piccolo's obsidian depths and blinked a few times in apparent disbelief. He couldn't believe that Piccolo had even considered his words at all in the first place, but now it seemed that his sudden confidence actually.. worked.
Well, Piccolo always did say he appreciated Gohan's rare confidence. Piccolo always behaved more comfortably when Gohan fought bravely, when he boasted about his strength. Not to even mention how the namek felt when Gohan had trained with the supreme kai and faced Majin Buu. The look on his mentor's face was of awe and utter pride. Gohan would never forget the way Piccolo had regarded him that day, with a look of immense approval and appreciation as he raked his eyes up and down the teen's body.
Piccolo always gave Gohan a special smile when the teen finally managed to bring his opponents to defeat. He smiled even more when the saiyan managed to outsmart him. His private smile. A private smile that Gohan craved for every second of his life.
Kami, he was in deep.
'You wish.' Gohan blushed intensely as the back of his mind started to give him terrible thoughts. 'Let's not get too confident. Like that would ever happen..' Gohan chided his inner conscience. Though, Gohan did think that none of this would ever happen, so maybe, just maybe he had a good chance.
"I was going to ask "really?" but I can't risk you changing your mind right now." The demi saiyan joked, chuckling softly, nervously. He was overjoyed, but was afraid he might blow it if he got too giddy.
"I wouldn't change my mind, but you might when you get the harpie's reaction," Piccolo challenged in all seriousness, lifting a bit of his lip up in a form of slight disgust.
Gohan grimaced as he began to imagine the many violent outcomes that would occur after he told his mother about his and Piccolo's new relationship.
'Oh Kami, I'm dating Piccolo. The Piccolo.' Gohan thought suddenly, with great fondness. He would bravely withstand any reaction he received in response to his proclamation, as long as he finally got to be with his beloved Piccolo.
"I would never," Gohan declared strongly, placing his hand on top of his mentor's. Piccolo's hands were always so smooth, so beautiful, so green. Gohan could go on for days with a list of thousands more compliments.
Piccolo opened his eyes a bit wider at Gohan's bold display of affection for him. Sure, when they were younger, Gohan would always be touchy-feely, but as soon as he hit puberty he started to keep his hands to himself. Piccolo could remember himself faintly missing it when it happened. Now that they were older though, Piccolo would only allow Gohan rare instances of affection, otherwise the namekian felt himself losing his strong grip as a sensei.
It's true that Gohan's great fondness for him made him soft. Their training had begun at a very harsh pace, leaving Gohan alone to fend for himself in the wilderness for half a year was brutal and somewhat heartless. The namek didn't understand why he had felt increasingly guilty at the time. His sire's memories held nothing like mercy, only evil and destruction, complete hunger for power. Piccolo found that he himself didn't yearn for those things, instead, he grew more and more fascinated with humankind. Which was a curse really. Piccolo was doomed from the start because of his father's mark on the world before him and he would never be able to escape it. That filled the namekian with intense anger towards his sire and ugly jealousy for the human race. He would never have the sense of normalcy and love that they would have.
That's what he thought before he met Gohan, anyway.
"You don't have to be involved, Piccolo. I'll take care of it, I promi-"
"I do have to be involved, Gohan. If we're going to do this, we have to do it correctly," Piccolo said softly, but sternly as he cut the saiyan off. The namekian wanted to be involved in every bit of process, he was no coward and there was no way in hell he was going to let Gohan take all of the heat.
Gohan smiled a toothy grin and his eyes became dreamy as he gazed into his company's eyes. 'Is this even real? Or have I finally died and gone to heaven?'
"Thank you, Piccolo." Gohan was filled with graciousness at Piccolo's desire to want to stand by him, even if it meant dealing with his unpredictable, violent, loud, and disapproving mother.
Piccolo ran his thumb slightly accross Gohan's hand in response and looked to Gohan to continue.
Gohan's eyes widened slightly as he blushed and cleared his throat. 'It's just hand contact, get it together man.'
"So, when are you free then?" Gohan asked the smirking namek.
"You know damn well that I don't have a schedule." Piccolo said, with one hairless brow raised.
Gohan laughed nervously and raised a hand behind his head, rubbing at his neck.
"I was just making sure, Piccolo. Is tomorrow night good for you?" It sure did feel weird to not use an honorific name when talking to the namek, but he knew now that Piccolo would only want him to consider him as equal. It was weird, sure, but oddly satisfying.
"Hn." Piccolo approved with a slight nod as he gulped silently, but nervously. He had no idea what he was in for, but he knew it wasn't good.
"I'll see you later then." Piccolo said in an almost questioning tone. For some reason his chest was tightening and his head was lightening the more he sat with Gohan.
The namek stood and held his hand out towards his new significant other to help him up. Gohan eagerly took Piccolo's perfectly sculpted hand in his and stood.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Piccolo. I look forward to it," Gohan said fondly as he brought the namekian's hand to his lips and kissed it quickly. Blushing, Gohan walked a few steps away and took off into the air towards the city.
Piccolo stood there as he watched Gohan fly away. He couldn't stop the growing heat from rising to his face in a slight purple blush as he remembered the brief contact of the demi saiyan's lips against his hand. His heart beat almost painfully in his chest as he tried to control his breathing and his slight annoyance.
For Piccolo, it was hard to believe that little things like a quick kiss on the hand would make him feel like passing out. The fluttering sensation going throughout his body was confusing, yet quite pleasant at the same time. It seemed that Gohan's confession had led to everything changing in a moment, but had it really changed that much? Piccolo had always loved the teen from when they were both younger to the extent that he had sacrificed his own life just for him.
The only thing that had really changed was the way Piccolo allowed himself to think of Gohan. It was surreal to think that his pupil had ever thought of him in this romantic way, that Gohan thought he was attractive.
'Well, he has been prescribed glasses.' Piccolo thought with a smirk, trying to cover up his own bashfulness. He just couldn't see what Gohan did and he probably never would.
Gohan - Piccolo knew- was a "catch" by earthling standards. Of course, Piccolo didn't need a human's opinion to make one for himself - Gohan's body was a feast for the eyes. The namek grew warm as he began to picture Gohan's statuesque physique in his mind and trace every muscle and vein with his mind's eye. Yes, he always knew that the teen was attractive, but really, Gohan was perfection in every sense of the word.
Not only was Gohan extremely good-looking, he was selfless, compassionate, and protective of all that he loved. So yes, it was hard for Piccolo to wrap their new relationship around his mind and let it sink in, but the namekian wanted nothing more than to dwell on the thought of it, on the future and development of it.
Piccolo wanted nothing more but to daydream in that moment. How ridiculous it felt for him to want to think of his and Gohan's future now that they stood as equals. Yes, he felt ridiculous and yes, daydream he would.
A/N: Next chapter we get to face Chi Chi and I can't flipping wait. Hope you guys liked! Next one will be longer, I promise.