Sorry for the long absence. I've been teaching.
Piccolo jolted out of his meditation at the sound of sheets rustling and Vegeta's angry, but tired voice.
"You know, I'm pretty damn sure I told you both I did not want to come here."
"Wasn't my decision. Now be quiet, Gohan's asleep."
Vegeta huffed. "And now, I have dirty human blood running through my veins."
"Last I checked, you have mated with a dirty human."
"That's different. She's...different."
"Sure. Anyways, that isn't human blood. Well, it is partially. It's Gohan's blood. Your blood isn't compatible with full human blood."
"Hmph."
Silence overcame the room again, save for light snores coming from Gohan. Piccolo glanced at the clock. Six in the morning. Two hours more until Bulma came.
"How weak do you feel still?" Piccolo asked lowly.
Vegeta didn't answer for a long time. "Not as weak as yesterday," he finally answered, somewhat begrudgingly.
"I don't know why you're so upset. You almost died."
"Yeah? And that's not a good reason to be upset? That stupid bug almost killed me."
"You're a Saiyan. Think about the implications and get back to me once you've figured that out."
"You're an assho- Oh. OH." Vegeta began to laugh triumphantly, somewhat weakly still, but loud enough to rouse Gohan. The boy groaned, pulled the pillow over his head, thrust his hand in Vegeta's direction, and let loose a weak blast, hitting the Saiyan in the shoulder. Vegeta promptly stopped laughing, angrily rubbing his shoulder, the hospital gown scorched.
"What the fuck was that for you annoying little imbecile?" he spat.
"You woke him up. Gohan's not a huge morning person, and now he's extra tired from yesterday. Be glad he aimed for your shoulder and not your head. Otherwise you may have been staying here an extra night," Piccolo said smugly.
"He ever aim at you, oh father of the year?" Vegeta shot back.
"No. Not even at the cat."
"Shut up."
Gohan growled, this time aiming for Piccolo, who caught the small blast, discreetly shaking his hands from the sting.
"Hey, absolutely not!" Piccolo snapped, hyper extending his arm and snatching the pillow from the boy's head while Vegeta snorted in laughter.
Under the pillow, Gohan's hair was golden and eyes blue as he glared at the Namekian.
"Gohan?"
Gohan sat back up and snatched the pillow back from his guardian, recovering his face. Piccolo glanced over at Vegeta who just frowned at him and shrugged.
"Kid? You okay?" Piccolo asked, taking the pillow once more. Gohan's eyes met his and Piccolo finally recognized the look in them. "Hard to control?" Gohan nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"Go through my hair?" Gohan asked in a strained voice.
"Sure," Piccolo said, standing and going to the head of the bed. Gohan made room for him to sit and then laid his head in his lap. Piccolo hummed a low note deep in his chest and began to run his hand though the boy's hair, the ki in it crackling with each stroke. Gohan sighed and closed his eyes, starting to relax.
"Uh, what the hell is happening?" Vegeta asked.
Piccolo stopped the hum and turned his head to face Vegeta. "Sometimes when he jumps power levels, he has a hard time controlling it after the initial exhaustion of attaining it wears off. His body just tries to jump right back into it. He's so young, and small, that it's hard on him. Physically and emotionally. He's only nine, Vegeta. I think sometimes we forget. Neither you nor I have ever made such jumps in power."
"I have."
"You have not. You've always been very near the tipping point before your next ascension. Gohan's come from deep within him. Forced out, not when he's ready to be gently tipped like you have."
"I have never done anything gently!" Vegeta said indignantly.
"Calling bullshit on that one."
"You-"
"As happy as I am that you two are making friends, I'm trying to sleep," Gohan cut in tiredly. He had still not descended.
"Think you can lower to base? If a nurse comes in, I don't think she'll be all that understanding if you're suddenly blonde and blue eyed," Piccolo said.
"That's what I've been working on. It's hard to do when all my body wants is to swing the other way. Can I have some of your ki? Maybe that will work."
"How in the hell-" Vegeta began, but was cut off as Piccolo gathered a minute amount of ki in his hand so that it glowed and rested it on Gohan's forehead. The boy breathed in deeply, accepting the energy, and the descended almost effortlessly into base form.
"Explain," Vegeta snapped. "Giving him energy should have swung him into his ascended state, not the other way around."
"It would have if I had given him energized ki. But I didn't. I gave him just enough ki to strengthen the part of him that wanted to descend," Piccolo explained, his eyes on Gohan now, who had already slipped back into peaceful sleep. He lowered his voice so as not to wake him. "He's a danger at first. He'd never hurt you on purpose, but his ascensions bring out his anger, and he's very powerful."
"Why wasn't this a problem yesterday?" Vegeta asked skeptically.
"He was beyond exhausted. I don't think he could have ascended, even if he tried. He gave you a lot of his blood, Vegeta. He didn't have to. Would you have given him yours?"
"In case you forgot, I got a hole blasted in my stomach and still used the last of my ki to help him," he retorted snippily.
"And we all appreciate that very much," came a soft, feminine voice. The Namekian and Saiyan whipped their heads forward to see Tsuki standing at the edge of Gohan's bed, Shin holding her hand. She moved to sit on the edge of Gohan's bed, sighing heavily.
"Are you well enough to be here?" Piccolo asked.
"As well as I can be. East is supplying me with a steady supply of his ki, though we can't stay long."
"Shin, m'lady. I stopped being East when that monster killed the others," Shin said softly.
"Oh come now, we can drop the formalities. They know me as Tsuki, you know me as Tsuki. Titles are not needed among friends. And you will always be East to me, my dearest friend."
"No need to get mushy-gushy. What's wrong now?" Vegeta snapped.
"Nothing's wrong. I merely came to help you all. Cell was my brother's and as I understand, the senzus only did so much, yes?"
"That's correct," Piccolo responded. "But what can you do to help?"
"East and I will give you a mix of our ki. You'll be right back to normal."
"Is that... wise?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"You're d-" Tsuki cut him off with a sharp glance. "You're unwell still," he amended.
"Well, that may be true, but I'll only be giving a minor amount. Most will come from East. Mine will be just enough to push past Amat's anti-healing factor."
"This is all stupidly confusing," Vegeta muttered.
"I've had this happening for five years now. How do you think I feel?" Piccolo jabbed.
Tsuki chuckled and held her other hand out to Shin, who handed her a small glowing ball of ki. It grew marginally when she added a touch of her own, and then she stood, making her way to Vegeta. She pressed it to his chest and it absorbed. In an instant, the Saiyan perked up, practically jumping out of the bed.
"Finally. I am going to find my armor. I refuse to wear these rags any longer." He began to storm out of the room before stopping at the door, turning and bowing to the goddess and mumbling thanks.
Tsuki chuckled. "His mother taught him well. Alright Piccolo, your turn," she said, doing the same for him. He instantly felt energized. "And now for Gohan. East, some ki please."
He didn't respond, or even offer his hand. All he did was stare at Gohan.
"East?"
"He could've been ours, you know," he said softly.
"East, you know that's forbidden," Tsuki admonished.
"We'd have been good parents. We'd never have tried to kill him. None of this would have happened. The others, they'd all still be alive. Lord Amat wouldn't be-"
"Psychotic?" Piccolo supplied.
"Good word choice."
"I try."
"Enough you two. East, nothing would have changed. Even if Gohan was ours, he would've been borne of Chi-Chi and Goku. And my father would have still gone mad. Me have an illicit child? I think he would have gone even more overboard than he had with Amat. I know what you feel, my friend. I do. You want everything to be at peace, but there's nothing we could have done differently to change this fate. Cell has been killed. Hopefully my brother instilled enough of his own ki into that monster of his that the death has wounded him..."
"What do you mean, you threw it out?" Vegeta's angry voice came from down the hall.
"Sir, you really shouldn't be out of bed. Your garments were beyond repair..."
"You idiot, that armor is recyclable! I could have remade another with it! Now I'll have to reinvent it! You imbecilic..."
Tsuki sighed and flung her hand towards the door, shutting it with a gentle wave of ki. "So maybe not all of the manners stuck with him from his mother," she said.
"You said Amat could be wounded. Can you find him? Banish him to the...what did you call it before... the Darkness?"
Tsuki shook her head. "I'm still much too weak, Piccolo. Even if he is wounded, his power is still greater than mine at the moment, and he's very well hidden himself. He won't want to be found until he's well again. And I still haven't figured out how to banish him, or at the very least make him mortal. Dark magic does not come easily to me," she lamented. Her head snapped up. "A human is coming. East, please, the ki." Shin handed her his ki and she placed it on Gohan's chest. As it absorbed, she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Sleep well, young Saiyan," she whispered. She pulled away and sat up straight, smiling at Piccolo, before disappearing with Shin.
The door burst open.
"I'm fine," Vegeta snapped at the fussing nurse, who was bustling around him.
"You should not be up already! Back to bed with you! Your discharge is not yet for another hour!"
"I'm ready to go now!"
Gohan stirred and finally sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I feel much better," he said, stretching. "Oh, good morning," he added, spotting the nurse.
The nurse looked at him and smiled before returning to stare down the prince. "Mr. Briefs, please..."
"Mr. WHAT?" Vegeta practically shrieked. Gohan giggled. "It's Prince Vegeta, thank you very much, and nothing else."
To her credit, the nurse said nothing to this, merely crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him. "Regardless, sir, please, have a seat. Your wife will be here shortly to sign you out, and then you may go home."
"My wife!" Vegeta exclaimed.
"Sir, I have told you everything you need to know. You will be leaving soon enough. Please, have a seat. Watch television if you like. You'll be out of here soon enough," she said smartly, before bustling out of the room.
"Unbelievable," Vegeta growled, sitting on his bed angrily.
"Bulma will be here soon, Vegeta," Gohan said lightly, getting out of bed. "Hey, how come we're all better?" he asked in confusion.
"Tsuki and Shin came and healed us," Piccolo explained, getting up himself. "Let's get you out of this ridiculous outfit," he said, placing his hand over the boy's head and changing him out of his hospital garb into a new gi.
"Thanks, Mr. Piccolo."
"The woman had better bring me clothes," Vegeta muttered.
"I did, you jerk," Bulma said, coming into the room with Trunks in her arms and tossing a bag to him.
"Took your damn time in getting here!" he snapped.
"Your discharge is at eight. It's eight. The only thing slowing you down from leaving is getting dressed, so hurry up, oh spoiled prince," she shot back, adjusting Trunks on her hip.
"And did you have to bring the brat?"
"Yes, I did. He's your son too, you know. Mom and Dad are still sleeping. Come on, I'm sure you and Gohan are hungry. I'll take you to a breakfast buffet if you stop complaining for five minutes."
Vegeta snorted indignantly, pulling on the red shirt and jeans Bulma had brought for him and toeing on the shoes. "Fine. I'm starving."
Twenty minutes later found the group seated at a table in a restaurant. Gohan and Vegeta had plates piled high with pancakes, bacon, and eggs, shoveling it into their mouths like mad. Bulma had a more dignified portion in front of her that she nibbled on in between feeding Trunks smalls bits of egg and pancake. Piccolo stood behind Gohan's chair, drinking a glass of water. Both Saiyans abruptly stood up.
"Getting seconds," they muttered, bee-lining for the buffet again.
"Ugh, it's always so embarrassing going out with him," Bulma moaned.
"Gohan and I don't go out."
"I avoid it whenever possible. He always makes such a scene... Well, you know. Gohan must eat you guys out of house and home."
"He does all his own hunting and gathering."
"Huh. Maybe I should make Vegeta do that. Our food bill is ridiculously high. I dread the day this little one starts eating that much. How old was Gohan when he started?"
"...forever?"
"Yeah, I guess you did only know him from when he was four." Bulma sighed. "It's times like this I miss Chi-Chi. She would've been so much help during this, having Gohan and all. I don't know what to expect with this little one. If he were completely human, Mom could help, but he's not. And he's not all Saiyan, so Vegeta's not certain about anything either. And you didn't know Gohan as a baby and toddler. I'm on my own in this. When will he stand, when will he walk? What about flying and dear god, when does he tap into his ki? How do we keep him from destroying the house on accident? It's all very confusing."
"Gohan didn't fly until I taught him. And as for ki, I guess just watch out for angry outbursts? Gohan didn't learn until he was five, and that's because I taught him. Though he definitely had random outbursts before that, usually when he was angry."
Bulma smiled at him and rested her chin in her hand. "You know, Piccolo, I had my doubts at first. I really did. But you've become a great father. You really have."
Piccolo blushed slightly and lowered his head. "I try," he mumbled.
Gohan and Piccolo were goaded into staying the day at Capsule Corp before finally heading home in the evening. Gohan held his cat close as they entered the small mountain home, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
"Oh Jade, kitty kitty, I missed you, yes I did!" Gohan chirped, finally putting the cat down. "I was so worried that was going to be the last time I saw you," he rambled, walking into his bedroom with the cat twisting around his feet.
"You know, she was at Capsule Corp. with us all day," Piccolo mused.
"Yeah, but she was playing with Scratch. Now I have her all to myself!" he said as he put on his pajamas.
"Hey, you need to brush your teeth."
"Aw, Mr. Piccolo, I'll do it in the morning," Gohan said, already crawling into bed.
"No, now."
"But, Mr. Piccolo, I'm already tucked in and everything. I haven't been in my own bed in so long..."
And so Piccolo gave up that fight.
He wasn't going to win it.