Disclaimer: Violence, adult themes, language, and HORMONES!
Chapter 13
A Tenor Disposition
"Speech" 'Telepathy' Thought "Dream"
"SONUVABITCH!"
Piccolo slammed the refrigerator door and snarled at it before stomping out of the kitchen and almost plowing over a wide-eyed Sofia. Staring down at her as she stared up at him from the floor, he bared his fangs and stepped over her, grumbling and muttering in intense agitation as he walked into the bathroom and slammed the wooden door shut.
Getting to her feet, Sofia raised her brows at the door before walking into the kitchen and finding out what the refrigerator did to offend him so. Opening the fridge, she rolled her eyes and slammed it shut. "Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ! He's the one going through all the bottled water and he has to have a fucking conniption when the fridge doesn't magically replenish it," she huffed to herself as she went into the pantry and retrieve more water. "Piccolo Manic Shit-fit is in full swing today. Jeez," she muttered as she stuck the warm bottles into the fridge until they took up two shelves. Slamming the door shut, she sighed and leant back on it. "Sprouting a dick isn't such a big deal. I mean, c'mon, he's got another person sharing his body! I think a dick is the least of his worries," she rationalized with herself as she pushed off the fridge and walked back into the main room.
While she went about stretching in preparation for the day's sparring, Piccolo was splashing cold water on his heated face and scowling murderously at his reflection in the mirror when the water wasn't soothing the perverse hormonal imbalance he was going through. He had spent the last week guzzling through twice as much water as he would in a month, and it just left him full but hot all over still. He leant petulantly against the wall, flexing his arms and trying to relieve the tension that had made him sore in places he was trying to ignore all together.
Growling at himself, he glared around the room that had become his sanctuary during the past week. Cold showers, laying on the always chilly tiles of the main room with bags of ice on his chest and forehead, and guzzling all the bottled water was exhausting as it was frustrating. Not to mention doing this while Sofia was asleep meant he got no rest himself. A week had gone by since the physiological incident, and he swore off sleep after many humiliating instances.
After chasing Sofia and not being able to incinerate her, Piccolo had stalked back to the palace and forced himself to sleep. He had a pounding headache and meditation was moot, so he pulled his weighted gear off and collapsed face first into the plush bed of the main room. After tossing and turning in his sleep, Piccolo snapped awake and sat bolt right up in bed, covered in sweat and flush-faced. What the hell was that?! He felt tense all over, and his body was burning up. When he shifted on the bed, his attention was brought to the erection tenting his gi leggings. Worried to be caught by Sofia, he ran to the bathroom and shut himself in.
Pacing and exasperated by the stubbornness of the appendage, Nail had suggested maybe a cold shower and creating a blank in his mind would help. He stayed under a cold shower spray until Sofia banged on the door to use the bathroom many hours later. He had managed to conceal his arousal, and swiftly lost it when she made a lewd comment about him needing to borrow some of Master Roshi's stag stash. The next instance had been even worse. He could remember the dream vividly. It was heated and primal, coming in flashes of erotic emotion and need. Sofia pinned under his weight; undressing him with haste; undressing her with lust. Piccolo had woken up reluctantly from the dream, only snapping himself fully awake when he realized he was bucking his hips slightly off the bed. He bolted up to sit with his back against the headboard, and was antagonized once again by his insistent erection bulging from his pants. That, and the wet spot that dampened his pants. This fucking thing LEAKS now?!
Needless to say, after burning the incriminating pants and sheets, and another stint under the freezing shower spray, he swore off sleep. Piccolo glared at himself in the mirror before walking over to the toilet, muttering sourly. Even attending to the asinine physiological need of urinating had become even more of an aggravation. His once sexless groin would simply slip his urethra out and he could urinate while standing over the toilet bowl, then simply merge back into his body when he was relieved. Now, he had to actually hold the damned appendage to pee into the toilet, a fact he learned the hard way the day after acquiring it. He huffed now with disgust as he freed his antagonist of the past week after lifting the toilet seat. Ok, aim straight and down, and don't piss on your shoes again, he mentally chided himself before relieving himself. Now shake it off before you put it back so it doesn't leave a stain, he instructed himself, feeling like a human child. He was annoyed when after many pissing mishaps he recollected the few times he had witnessed Gohan relieving himself during that first year of training before the Saiyans. He even remembered the first and last time he peed with the seat down in the Son house; a felony Son's harpy of a mate paid him back with a slight concussion from a heavy pan and the labor of having to wipe the seat off himself. He had made it a habit to lift the seat and put it back down after the incident.
After tucking himself back into his pants and adjusting his sash, Piccolo washed his hands sorely and exited the bathroom, only to be assaulted by the music that was echoing from Sofia's quarters. He walked over to the doorway and watched Sofia sway and dance to the music, obviously in the middle of her changing from her pajama shirt and hot pant underwear.
"aishite mo ii kai? yureru yoru ni
arugamama de ii yo motto fukaku
kuruoshii kurai ni nareta kuchibiru ga tokeau hodo ni
boku wa...kimi no...Vanilla"
Sofia sang and made wanton gestures to an imaginary spectator, her hairbrush in her hand acting as her microphone. The musical accompaniment went on, and she swayed her hips to the harmony.
Piccolo just watched her. He felt compelled to leave and just brood outside, but he was attracted by her fluid and sensual dance. Sofia giggled, turned to turn off the boombox, and was startled by him. He was scowling at her, so she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Ok, I'm turning it off now. Spare me the belly aching," she tersely chided and turned the music off.
"What was that," he remarked, referring to the music she had been dancing to.
"Oh," she was surprised he showed interest in the music, considering she played it before with no reaction. "Gackt. That song was 'Vanilla'—"
"And you have to dance like that?" He said in an odd tone.
Sofia stared at him warily before snapping herself into an outfit for the day. "It's the way the rhythm sways that told me to dance like that. Why do you care?" she said curiously as she tugged on a pair of Capsule Corp.-esque boots. When his only answer was to look at her tensely before stalking back to the kitchen, Sofia took notice and smiled. Was he checking me out?!
She hurriedly put her hair up and ran into the main room. She heard the fridge slam shut, and already knew he was chugging more water. She had noticed his moodiness and all-out hostility for the past week, and for the most part gave him his space. But training had begun to frustrate him as it had her when she had been like a bitch in heat the week before. She figured it was his aggravation with having to learn how to protect his new sensitive spot. She had no idea what the deal was with all the water, but joked that he was probably trying to piss his cock off. She snickered, and earned a moody grunt as Piccolo appeared from the kitchen.
"What's with the goofy shit lately," he grumbled, his features in a scowl.
She chuckled and sat on the bed. "Your mood swings are affecting me. Wanna talk about it?" she joked, earning a growl from him and a huffy exit out to the void. She grunted to herself, and figured she'd give them distance before following.
Piccolo stalked away from the palace, not sure if she was following, but not wanting to look over his shoulder to see if she was.
'Why don't you just relax and let your attraction for her become evident? You're probably making it much more difficult than it has to be,' Nail chimed softly to his counterpart.
'Nail, not now. Not ever, alright?!'
'Not now to making it evident, or not now to my speaking?' Nail inquired knowingly.
'Just shut UP! I don't want to hear your psycho-babble.'
'All I am saying is that you need to stop suppressing your feelings and let things happen—'
'Let what happen?! My mating with her? Is that it?!'
'…that would be a good start in the right direction.' Nail said in a shrugged tone.
Piccolo began to fume. 'Listen. I am not going to humor your idiotic and fanciful thoughts. Leave me alone.' Piccolo growled contumely.
"PICCOLO! Are we going to train or are you going to power walk into the distance?" he skidded to a halt in his stalking stride and faced her. She stopped as his surly scowl focused on her. "So…?" she inquired neutrally, not wanting an all-out shit fit to hit her.
"I'm not in the mood for taijutsu," he muttered gruffly. "So you're going to practice ki manipulation."
Sofia stood straighter and perked. "Really? It's about time!" she strode over to shorten the distance between them. "I thought you were going to continue kicking me like a puppy the whole time we were in here," she mused to see if she could alleviate his surliness.
"Just shut up and concentrate on powering up," he snapped gruffly at her.
So much for alleviating his mood, she muttered mentally and did as she was told. She concentrated and started building up the ki. The swirling heat of her energy started surging through her bloodstream. She willed it to flood every tissue, and pushed it to boil over until it seethed outward into her aura.
Piccolo watched dejectedly as she powered up. He crossed his arms when her crimson aura started licking outward, surging wildly like a burning mist. Sloppy. And she's taking forever to power up. If she was in a rage then she'd be powered up in 3 seconds flat, Piccolo surmised as he replayed all her flare ups over the few months, and figured she needed major work on harnessing her ki and manipulating it without having her emotions motivate her.
Sofia set her jaw as she felt the ki crackle over her skin and started baring down on her body, making her flex her arms to her sides, with her fists balled up until her knuckles were white. She pushed more and more, waiting for Piccolo to instruct her, but he only stared intensely at her, apathy and feigned boredom crossing his features. The ki was becoming harder to exert, and her muscles were straining under the fatigue and exertion. Her hair began to lift and dance languidly around her, having come undone from her bun. Sweat began to collect on her forehead, and she bared her fangs as she felt a hot flood of ki surge through every vein and saunter out into her aura.
Piccolo couldn't believe she was lagging so much. "By the time you power up in the middle of a battle, your opponent will have incinerated you with one blast," he muttered coarsely. "You need a lot of work, kid."
Sofia blinked at him and felt her aura cascade over her as her ki fizzled and the hot energy in her veins roared and weighed back into dormancy. She staggered and grabbed the pendant on her chest when the heat of the stone scolded her through her shirt. She was panting from the exertion, with Piccolo looking down at her cynically. "Charging up a ki blast doesn't take me long—"
"Did I ask you to charge a ki blast? No," he barked, crossing his arms with a commanding air. "You can't even hold your ki constant for more than 15 seconds. Your emotions have reign over your damned potential, and you need to learn how to tap into it without going irate!"
Sofia glared defiantly at him. "So you fight without emotion? I'm pretty sure you taught Gohan to tap into his emotions when he was in battle—"
"You are not Gohan, so don't compare yourself to him!" Sofia stared at him. Piccolo huffed and continued in a vexed tone, "The circumstances are different. Gohan was afraid of his own shadow back then. He had to be conditioned to use his anger to his advantage. It's the opposite with you; you feed off of it too much. You lose it and go blind with rage. I want you to power up at the drop of a hat, and keep it constant for an indefinite period of time."
Sofia just stared at him. Her features were in the trained iron mask she used to keep him out. The brown of her eyes looked black from how hard they were. A garnet glow illuminated the pendant that rested over her bust. Piccolo knew all too well what that meant.
However, he was surprised when she closed her eyes and the red glow subsided and went dormant again. She clenched her hands into fists and concentrated. Soon enough, the air around her kicked up and gusted around in all directions. Then, she suddenly shouted a cry and began powering up. The electricity broke out around her as her aura began to seethe hotter and redder. Piccolo stared at her with clenched jaw and narrowed gaze. Instead of the burning mist quality of before, her aura took on a tightly compacted flame-like quality around her. Her haired tossed sensually around her as she threw her head back and shouted as a rush of ki flooded her bloodstream and swirled into every tissue.
She had cut the power-up time in half, now all she had to do was keep it up. Piccolo crossed his arms and began circling around her. Sofia was baring her fangs from her efforts, her eyes tightly shut.
"Open your eyes and focus," he commanded in a monotone as he stood in front of her again. She opened them, but narrowed them as he frowned at her. "You can't let your rage take over you. If you do, you become blind and stupid in battle. Do you understand, kid?"
Sofia sneered. "Shut up, Namek!" she hissed between clenched teeth. Piccolo looked at her with a berating stare. "I'll fight as I please, and use whatever I have to do the job, so stop preaching out of your ass!" she ground between her teeth and dropped out of her powering up stance. Her ki was still tightly enveloping her, hair tossing around her languidly. Her skin seemed to glow from her aura. "I powered up, and I'm keeping it constant, so what now?" she tersely ground out at him.
Piccolo was interested to see where this would go. "Just move and don't get blasted," he said in his husky grunting tone before phasing out and reappearing several feet above her in the white sky. Instantly, he charged an attack and blasted it towards her. Sofia dodged it, only to come face to face with another gold blast heading towards her. Wide-eyed, she flipped out of the way. Both attacks crashed raucously in the distance, the boom echoing and reverberating across the ground. "You can move faster than that! Unless that aura of yours is slowing you down," Piccolo shouted from above her.
"Blow it out of your ass, Piccolo!" with that, a steady and rapid stream of energy balls and blasts were showered across her. Sofia dodged, maneuvered, flipped, and phased out of the way of each one, with her aura still scintillating around her. Landing on her feet from a haggard flip, her feet were blown out from under her by a nearby blast, making her fall on her back. She sensed Piccolo standing above her head, charging a blast aimed at her face. Turning and flipping, she got back on the defensive after swatting the attack away from her.
"Good, kid. Very good," Piccolo remarked passively as he tossed an energy ball up and down in his palm. Sofia powered her aura to flare outward before phasing out. Piccolo shook his head and turned just as Sofia phased behind him and thrust the energy into her face. Sofia skidded many yards away. She hissed at her burning forearms, having brought them up to protect her face almost too late. "Maybe you'll catch this one," Piccolo appeared off to her side and shot an intense blast that whirled towards her. Sofia faced the blinding light and shot her own blast to collide against it. The sonic boom that tore through the blasts canceled both of the energies out, but roared between Piccolo and Sofia so fiercely that it violently blew them back.
Piccolo landed and rolled onto his back, the right side of his face stinging from having collided against the white ground. The sonic waves rippled and died down, allowing him to sit up and grab his injured elbow. It was smarting sharply and he knew he cracked the joint bone. Sneering, he stood up and surveyed his surroundings, looking for Sofia.
Damn brat overdid it again, he ground in his mind as he finally caught sight of her about half a football field's distance away. He stalked towards her, annoyed that she was still sitting on her ass. His elbow was sore, but almost healed, so he let his arm fall back to his side. Sofia was sitting on the ground, trembling in rage when he came up behind her.
"Get off your ass and stop sulking," Piccolo muttered haughtily at her. Then he noticed she was cradling her left shoulder. "What did you do to your shoulder?"
Sofia snapped her burning gaze at him over her uninjured shoulder and snarled. "Like I purposely landed on my shoulder and dislocated it, you ass! God you're dense!"
Piccolo growled. "Watch your damned attitude! Let me see," he commanded after kneeling next to her.
Sofia jerked away and glared daggers of contempt at him. "I don't trust you," she growled like a caged tigress.
Piccolo inwardly frowned from her remark, and watched her protect her shoulder from his touch. Vexed, he grabbed her folded legs and jerked them towards him, forcing her to face him. Sofia stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just stay still and let me see," he grumbled austerely, adding, "I owe you from the last time I got injured…"
Sofia narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "Fine, But-don't-touch-it," she stated gruffly and pulled her hand away. It was hardly noticeable, but Piccolo could tell her shoulder had popped out of socket, since it was jutting forward more than it should.
Without touching it, he knew she hadn't torn any muscles or pinched any nerves; just a simple shove back into the socket and it would be good as new. "I have to align your shoulder and shove it back into place. It won't hurt too much, if I do it right," he stated in a relaxed tone and looked into her eyes. Sofia wasn't letting her emotional defenses fall. She gave a curt nod and allowed him to touch her shoulder.
He gently grabbed her shoulder and with his fingers felt out how he should pop the joint back into socket. He looked in her eyes again to silently tell her to relax, allowing his grip on her shoulder to become firmer. Just as he was about to force it back, Sofia stopped him. "Wait! You're going to force it back too hard from that angle. I have to brace myself against you so you don't jerk my arm too far."
"Suddenly an expert? Just relax," Piccolo muttered impatiently.
"I'll relax when you comply with my request, Namek," she shot back sourly.
Piccolo relented and grunted. He folded his legs as Sofia shuffled closer and threw her legs over his folded lap so she could brace her right side against his left shoulder. Her hand gripped his padded shoulder. "Ready?" he muttered. She shook her head yes. Doing a silent count to 3, he shoved her shoulder back into socket, earning a hissed inhale of breath from her.
She grabbed her shoulder and felt around it. Doesn't even feel sore, she said to herself and rotated the shoulder front and back. It was fine. She pulled her legs off his lap and stood up, allowing Piccolo to do the same. "Thanks," she said and gave him an intense stare. Piccolo shifted his gaze and grunted in acceptance. Sofia couldn't help herself, so she tugged on the front of his cape and pulled him down for a light peck on the lips.
Piccolo pulled away and glared murderously at her. "Do that again and I'll knock all your limbs out of their sockets!" he spat haughtily at her and pushed her out of the way, stalking back to the palace.
Sofia smiled and decided to do something that could make Piccolo even more intolerant of her affections. She ran at him and glomped him from behind, clinging to the back of his neck. "Baby, you can do more than that, if you promise to give me one peek of your little Shenron!" she said in a sultry tone and kissed the back of his ear.
"Little Shenron….OH DAMN YOU! GET THE HELL OFF MY BACK YOU PERVERT!"
"AW! BUT I WANNA SEE YOUR MAN MEAT! PLEASE! SHARE WITH ME!" Sofia shouted in a squeal, laughing and enjoying riding Piccolo's back like a dangerous rollercoaster just about to go off its tracks.
Piccolo tried to shake her and pull her off, but she was on him like a cat on a tree. Growing tense from having her so close to him, Piccolo pulled his shoulderpads and cape off in one swoop as a last ditch effort of removing her from his back. Sofia yelped and fell to the ground with the 80 plus pound-weighted gear on top of her. When he looked back at her, she had spirals in her eyes and was groaning from the weight planted on her torso. Piccolo glared down at her and growled menacingly. "You damned succubus! I have half of mind to leave you anchored here," he snarled down at her.
"Oh wow…I didn't know God was so hawt. Talk about dying and going to heaven! I can't wait to get my lips on those ears," Sofia wheezed and chuckled deviantly up at Piccolo and his blush-tinted cheeks.
"STAY OUT HERE AND SEE IF I GIVE A DAMN, YOU HORMONAL HARPY!" he shouted as he stalked back to the palace in an embarrassed huff, leaving Sofia out in the void under his heavy shoulderpads.
After a few seconds, Sofia tried shifting the weighted gear off of her. "Hah...it was worth it," she snickered and finally shoved the heavy gear off. Standing and stretching her stomach and back muscles, she gave the palace a Cheshire grin. "I wonder if he's taking a piss right now…"
Piccolo growled grumpily as he flushed and set the seat back down on the toilet bowl. He washed his hands and scowled murderously at himself in the mirror. What was he going to do about this damned appendage? He couldn't honesty continue cloaking his arousals, as well as spend indefinite periods of time barricaded in the bathroom under the artic shower stray. Not when Sofia wouldn't lay off of him and leave him be!
Turning the sink off, he yanked the sliding wooden door open and stepped out.
"How's little Shenron doing?" He froze as he stepped out into the main room, finding Sofia staring at him mischievously, elbows propped on the mattress with her hands cradling the sides of her face, her legs kicking up and down.
A tempered vein throbbed to life on his temple. He answered her flagrant comment with a searing glare, followed by grabbing the turban off his head and throwing it at her. Of course she simply stopped it with her telekinetic abilities, freezing it in front of her and letting it float down to the floor.
"I've had enough of your weighted shit attacking me today, thank you," she muttered with a sadistically narrowed gaze.
Piccolo huffed and ignored her, stalking over to sit on the floor at the end of the bed. He crossed his arms and went into the lotus position, feigning meditation in hopes that she would leave him in peace.
'She knows you're faking,' Nail remarked with ebbed humor in his tone.
Sure enough, he was proved right when Sofia rolled over to the end of the plush purple bed and whispered goofily, "Hi Nail…he's pretending to meditate, but his nostrils are flaring, so I know he's just being pissy."
Nail chuckled at his counterpart's expense. Turning his head to glare back at her, Piccolo growled between clenched teeth, "Shut-up."
Her expression turned into a mock quivering pout as she replied with a child-like tone, "Piccylow is being a grumpy meanie!"
Growling in mounting exasperation he turned away from her and said, "You both need to shut-up!"
Sofia blinked at him. "Why? Is Nail hitting on you too?" she asked with feigned curiosity.
'Ew...' Nail said with ebbed disgust at the implication.
"GAUGH! NO! He is NOT! At least he's not a damned pervert! I just wish he would shut his immaterial mouth! If I have to deal with bitching I'd prefer for it not to be in my head!" Piccolo barked in a snide tone as he stood up to try and compose himself.
'You make it seem like you really don't like having me in your confidence,' Nail quipped dryly, adding, 'You could appreciate the help I am; how else would you know about the mating ritual you want to initiate with your growing infatuation here.'
"Dammit Nail! I swear to Kami you better shut up right NOW!" Piccolo hissed out loud at his counterpart, causing Sofia to sit up and raise her eyebrows at him.
"Jeez. Why don't you just split from him for a couple of hours?" Sofia inquired simply and crossed her legs over the edge of the bed.
Piccolo's expression devolved into a thin line for a mouth and two little dots for eyes that stared at her cynically. "Oh. Why haven't I thought of that before? I wonder—Oh that's right— BECAUSE WE ARE PERMANENTLY FUSED TO EACH OTHER, YOU DITZ!" Piccolo's sarcastic chide turned into a hostile berate as he glowered at her like she was a retarded monkey.
Sofia returned his 'you-retarded-bastard' glare right back at him as she snapped matter-of-factly, "I didn't say unfuse from him, you horse's ass! I said split from him. Clean those freaking satellites of yours!"
Gripping the muscles of his upper arms tightly in his cross-armed stance, Piccolo shut his eyes as a wave of impatience threatened to send him off the handle. He couldn't believe anyone could infuriate him this much; she was giving Son a run for his damned money…or food, which ever.
Drawing his brows sharply together, he scoffed, "It's the same difference, brat! The semantics are interchangeable—"
"Jesus, Piccolo! Read a fucking book! Semantics are interchangeable—you sound like an asshole! You're telling me that every time you spar with a split form you're unfusing a part of your soul from your body? No! You're splitting a clone from yourself, hence split form, you ass! All you have to do is create a split form and let Nail insert his conscious into it; it's simple metaphysics! But of course you have your head so far up your ass the pressure doesn't allow for logical thought," she concluded her sharp rebuke by crossing her arms and giving him a contemptible glare.
Piccolo just stared blankly at her, his mind churning slowly to process whether or not he had actually tried splitting from Nail as opposed to unfusing. He drew a blank, and was exacerbated in his feeling of idiocy when Nail drawled, 'It's so ingenious that we either ignored it or were just too dense to think of it.'
"I figured you two were too busy blowing each other to think of something so simple," Sofia quipped sharply, snapping both Nameks out of their IQ determinations. "Jesus, all the bitching you two have probably done could've been solved with a few hours of isolation from each other."
Both Nameks humphed mentally at each other and were at a proverbial loss.
Growing impatient with Piccolo's 'too-stupid-to-react' silence, Sofia growled, "Do you need a kick in the ass to jump start you? Hurry up and try it so you can see how numb-nutted you two have been!"
Both were jolted by the possibility of being their own Namek again.
'So, you create the split form, but I merge myself into it, correct?' Nail sounded wary, earning a grunt from Piccolo.
'I ain't asking her.'
'Sigh…fine. I'm ready when you are.'
Piccolo closed his eyes and focused. His frame began to glow with an eerie aura. Sofia shielded her eyes as the glow turned into a stark blast of light. When the glow dissipated, she let her forearm drop from her face. Her jaw dropped as she stared from one figure to the other.
'Nail?' Piccolo received no answer, prompting him to look to his side at the clone that just split from him.
"Did it work?" The curious tenor of Nail's voice sounded strange to him, then he realized it was because he was actually speaking out loud. He looked down at his hands, flexing the muscles of his arms when he squeezed his hands into fists. Then he touched at his face, shutting his eyes as he relished the feel of corporeal flesh. He opened his eyes, blinking at Piccolo after he grunted curiously.
"It worked. You're even in your own clothes," Piccolo muttered with a monotone, crossing his arms and slightly smirking, thanks to the solitude he had in his mind.
Nail couldn't help but let the broad smile liven his expression as he chuckled, his tone a tenor rasp. Then both felt the glancing back and forth they were receiving from a mystified Sofia.
After minutes of staring back and forth, she stood on the bed and surveyed them closer, leaning into their personal spaces and staring at both as if they were oddities in a museum. Then Sofia focused her devolved expression on Nail, leaning even closer. Nail sweatdropped.
"…Nail…?" She finally piped, her features not wavering from its dotted gaze and oval-shaped mouth.
Raising a brow ridge, Nail replied, "Yes?"
He was swiftly glomped and tackled to the floor. Piccolo grunted with a surprised stare and watched as Sofia squealed happily and hugged Nail's neck, while his counterpart just stared blankly at him then at her.
"OHMYGODNAIL!" another squeal erupted from her as she swiftly grabbed his arm and began dragging him away towards the doorway leading into her quarters. Nail protested out of confusion, but didn't fight the iron grip that held his forearm nor tried to prevent her from dragging him like a heavy plaything.
"Hey—HEY!" Piccolo shouted, halting Sofia and cutting Nail's feeble protests off. They both stared at him like shocked children as he glowered at both of them. "Where the hell are you two going?"
Sofia blinked at him, then chirped, "I'm going to hug and squeeze Nail to pieces in private. Then I'm going to sit on his lap and stare up at him with googlely eyes while he talks to me, so I'll just be going—"
"Oh no you won't!" Piccolo curtly cut in, crossing his arms and focusing his now icy glare on Nail. "He and I have some business to attend to."
It was Nail's turn to blink at him. "And what business would that be?" he inquired wryly, not budging from his sprawled position on the floor.
"How many times have I told you that I would find a way to kick your ass?" the rhetorical question was punctured by his sinister tone.
"Oh, that kind of business," Nail chimed nonchalantly. He then look up at Sofia and said with an affable grin, "hug and squeeze me to pieces, ne? I'm all yours."
Sofia squealed and without batting an eye, she resumed dragging Nail away into her quarters before Piccolo could object. Growling, he stomped towards her room and looked in just as she rounded the corner of the arch entranceway, seeing Nail wave and laugh as he disappeared around the back of the palace.
He had been about to go after them, but stopped in his tracks and came to a realization. "Peace and quiet for the next two hours," he silently relished the possibility and dismissed going after them. "Ah, to hell with it. I need a break anyway."
Nail pressed his back on the golden-domed roof as he laughed jovially, while Sofia grinned at him from her perch on the edge of the ledge. They had easily spent their time chatting and joking genially with each other, a much-needed change from their one-on-one interaction with Piccolo.
"Well I shouldn't laugh. Gohan's mother gave Piccolo such a bad concussion that I was feeling dizzy for him," Nail quipped and chuckled as Sofia snickered.
"Damn, I would've ki blasted the hell out of him if he had done it too," she giggled. "You don't piss on the seat ever!" She then went into a fit of hysterical giggles, imagining the brooding and surly Namek spraying and scrubbing a toilet seat clean.
Nail shook his head wryly and contentedly sighed. "It's so nice to be in my own body, even if it is only for a definite period of time," he mused soberly and smiled.
Sofia huggled him in a flash. "I'm so stoked we finally got to meet and hang out. Piccolo is such an antisocial Green Bean," she joked, earning a short laugh from the social Namek.
"Imagine being stuck in his head. I end up irritating him on purpose just so I won't get bored," he mockingly frowned and cringed, adding, "the horror of going back to his boring head is just too awful."
Sofia laughed again, rolling to lay on her back against the domed roof. "Sigh, he's exhausting. Dealing with him and my freaky dreams are wearing me out. And that's not even factoring in the training and sparring," she pouted at Nail when he snorted.
"It's vice versa for him lately. He hasn't been able to meditate for months now. You're dancing on his nerves, I'm afraid," he snickered dryly, getting Sofia to gaze at him intensely. He blinked innocently at her. "What?"
She sat up on her side and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You're so different from how you were on Namek. You seemed like this reticent, stoic, and dutiful warrior. I don't think your voice even changed inflections, at least not until Frieza…" she trailed off as his expression sobered.
He sighed pensively, lacing his fingers together to rest his hands behind his head. "I had a lot of responsibilities then. For the last few years before Frieza's invasion, I volunteered to be Guru-sama's right hand. I still trained, took care of some of the hatchlings, and did whatever task needed of me. There wasn't much time to just enjoy, I guess," Nail remarked docilely, turning his head to look at her as he added, "after you come within an inch of your life you start to see what you never enjoyed."
Sofia nodded and gained a pensive look. She took in his appearance, which in her side of the void was that of a Michelangelo-esque physique; he was slender-but-muscularly built, with skin that looked more jade than Piccolo's emerald. His lips were more slender than Piccolo's and his eyes shone like a deep coal hue, but both could be mistaken for twins either way. Focusing on his words, she remarked, "Death can do a lot, especially when it keeps following you."
Nail sat up. "The priestess you were reincarnated from?" he inquired, receiving a nod from Sofia as she too sat up. "What are the dreams?"
She shrugged. "Moments of her life, mostly. At first they were really jumbled, but now they're falling into a type of chronology. I think they're trying to tell me who her killer is—er was, but it's like it's just out of my reach," she answered demurely, earning a hum from Nail.
A comfortable pause rested between them. That is, until Nail remarked, "At least we got off the subject of Piccolo."
Sofia contemplated the fact and realized that they had indeed spent most of the time talking and joking about Piccolo. She slightly blushed. "Oh, sorry. I guess I'm stuck on that track," she mumbled bashfully.
Nail hummed again. "It doesn't bother me. I'm used to it already," he replied nonchalantly.
"Oh." Sofia sighed, and Nail smiled, amused that she didn't pick up his veiled admittance. "I guess he bitches about me to you a lot." On second thought, she did pick up part of his meaning.
"He complains a lot, yes. But it is usually about how he can't ignore his akin feelings," he trailed off knowingly.
Sofia sighed dramatically. She chewed on her inner cheek as she pondered over his statement, but decided to let it rest. I gotta give the topic a rest…
A pleasant silence reigned between them, until Sofia got a mischievous look, and directed it at Nail.
"Nail…?"
"Yes…?"
"…since you're in a split form derived from Piccolo, did you happen to acquire anything you didn't have before?" she asked impishly and set her sly expression into mock curiosity.
Quirking a brow ridge curiously, he pondered out loud, "I don't think so. I feel like I am in my own body. Is there something you've noticed?"
Sofia stifled her impish expression when he looked at her. "Oh, well, I was just wondering if you got the faucet to go with the plumbing, if you know what I mean," she crooned slyly and sat closer to him.
Confusion quirking his cool expression, he grunted. "Why would my body have plumbing?"
Sofia's Cheshire grin couldn't be stifled as she beamed, "Do you have a little Shenron in your pants, Nail? Take a peek!"
His blank stare lit with realization and he stared down at his crotch. Sofia couldn't help but check out his exposed sculpted abs while he pulled his navy blue sash back and peeked into his white gi leggings. A pause came as he stared aloofly down at himself.
"Well…that's new," he finally quipped dryly.
Biting her lip, she practically pounced on him as she petitioned, "Let me see!"
"Wha-Why?!" Nail stuttered at her brazenness, shifting away from her as she advanced.
"Because Piccolo won't let me have a peek and I'm dying to see what it looks like! C'mon! Please? Let me see," she whined sorely.
Just as Nail was about to protest, she made and effort to pounce into his lap, so he swiftly got up and dove off the roof, landing in a graceful crouch before running into her quarters, with Sofia right on his heels. "I don't think that would be appropriate! Maybe if you're patient he'll flash you—ACK!" Nail's negotiated protest was thwarted as Sofia dove for his waist and grabbed his pants.
Trying to yank them low while he battled to keep them above his waist, they both rolled around the cool tile floor, shouting, giggling, and protesting to the other's thwarting actions. Finally getting free from her grip with a twist of his hips, Nail staggered up and dashed into the main room, with Sofia giggling and frolicking after him.
"Your hormones are getting the best of you! You don't really want to see me in the nude and you know it," he argued in between laughs as they unofficially grappled and dodged each other.
"Are you KIDDING? Nail! You're so hawt and charming, I can't help but throw myself at you," she sauntered in between her giggles and managed to grab a fist full of his dark blue sleeveless coat, making him skid in his retreat. He whipped around, yanking the hide coat out of her grasp and tried to run backwards, but ended up stumbling in his retreat, allowing her to glomp and cling to his chest as they fell to the ground.
They laid on the floor, laughing and giggling like platonic friends, Sofia resting on top of him with her hands around his neck and Nail circling her waist and hugging her to him.
They laughed until they couldn't breathe, then were brusquely cut off from resuming their peels of humor.
"A-hem!" Both froze in mid inhaled breath and looked up at the unamused Namek brooding over them with crossed arms and tapping foot.
Staring up at him innocently, both ended up looking at each other, and then burst into raucous laughter all over again.
Piccolo's brows knitted together as he sneered down at them. "What the hell is going on with you two?" he growled, only earning more peels of laughter.
Sofia buried her face into Nail's neck as she snorted loudly, spurring a bark of laughter from Nail that cut off his attempt at explaining.
Becoming fiercely irritated by their closeness and exclusion of him with the laughing, Piccolo growled almost in jealousy as he yanked Sofia up off of Nail by the seat of her pants, causing her to pause in her hysterics and look down at Nail, who just grinned up at her.
"NOOOO! I want to be with Neru-kun! I want Nail, not mean and grumpy Piccylow!" she shrilled like a finicky child being separated from her favorite toy, kicking and trying to wiggle out of his grasp.
Nail bit his lip to stifle the barks of laughter that wanted to burst out of him, and sat up to stare harmlessly at Piccolo as he cajoled, "Let her down and let her be with me. You always get to spend time with her."
Sofia added to the petition by protesting and whining in such an annoying way that Piccolo snarled and dropped her to the floor. "I knew leaving you two with each other was going to come back and bite me," he grumbled, watching with veiled agitation as Nail got up and took Sofia in his arms.
Carrying her with dramatic passion, he gave Sofia a conspiring wink, and both giggled as they wordlessly agreed to play up their mock infatuation in front of Piccolo.
"Oh Neru-kun. Keep me in your arms forever. I don't want to be separated from you," Sofia purred, nuzzling his neck for extra effect.
He chuckled deeply, replying in a sultry tone, "My delicate rose. I shall hold you to me with admiration and passion." He compounded the act by possessively tipping her chin up and letting his tenor go a level lower as he husked, "Don't look at no one other than me." Sofia's eyes turned into the dewy gloss of passion as she breathlessly sighed.
"Oh Neru-kun!"
"Oh Sofia-chan!"
"OH would you cut that shit out already!" Piccolo rumbled disdainfully as the two inched closer as if they were going to kiss; they paused and snickered at him.
Sofia giggled as Nail put her down. "I did warn you, Piccolo. If you didn't take advantage, I would," he teased ruggedly and crossed his arms, earning a gasp from Sofia.
"You would take advantage of me, my dear Neru-kun?" she protested with the inflection of a hurt lover, earning a mock gasp from Nail.
"I would never, my sweet Sofia-chan," they both turned with cheesy love-stricken expressions.
"Oh Neru-kun, I miss your chaste kisses already," she mewled, trying hard not to burst into silly giggles.
"And I already miss the fragrance of your hair, Sofia-chan," he stepped closer for emphasis, then whispered sultrily, "as well as the noises you make—"
"ALRIGHT! That's enough of that disgusting mush!" Piccolo bellowed and parted them from doing anything funny, adding, "time's almost up. Say your stupid goodbyes and hurry up and join back."
Now Sofia looked genuinely stricken, looking up at Nail as he smiled sorrowfully.
She clung to him for a hug. "I had a lot of fun, Nail. Don't be a stranger," she said as she squeezed his waist, earning a grunt.
"I won't, but I'm sure we will both have to dutifully remind Piccolo to the matter," he chuckled and brushed some hair out of her face.
Piccolo just watched the display with a scowl that he was trying desperately not to let become a pout. He would miss the solitude, but that wasn't the reason he was displeased at the moment.
Sighing, Nail went to stand next to Piccolo. "Might as well do it now," he remarked stoically, earning an affirmative grunt from Piccolo. As he began to concentrate for the merger, Nail winked at Sofia just as the glow over took his frame as well, quickly shouting, "Piccolo is in a rut and in need of your assistance so don't let me down!"
Then in a flash, Piccolo stood alone, grinding his teeth together from Nail's parting remark. "That sonuvabitch!" he tersely ground between clenched jaw.
Sofia just laughed until she couldn't breathe, grabbing hold of Piccolo's arm as she stumbled. "Hahahahaha—he always gets the last word-hahaha-hehe," she chimed in between her fit, earning a sulky grunt from him as he wretched his arm away and turned on his heel to stalk back inside the palace.
Sofia sighed, hiccuping from laughing so much, and just stared at Piccolo's back as he disappeared into the bathroom and angrily shut the door after himself.
"Sigh…oh Nail. Don't worry. I'll make it my mission in life to get that Namek out of his first hormonal rut," she stated out loud, chuckling deviantly and maniacally as she stretched her hands out and cracked her knuckles, going inside the palace with a sinuous strut in her hips and smut written on her expression.
THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!
I want to thank Mistress535, elvesdragon, Anasazi Darkmoon, Hiiragi Demon, Faintly Alarming, Lyndsey, Pikkorosan Daisuki, Dreams of Centaurs, and all the others who have gotten into the fic and into reviewing, as well as those who have stuck with me and my long bouts of non-updating XD THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT!
