Disclaimer: Adult language, adult themes, sexual situations, and a ton of hormones~!
Chapter 21
Finding Fruition
"Speech" 'Telepathy' Thought
"Three years from now, on May 12th at 10 o'clock in the morning, on an island 9 miles off of South City, the two killer Androids will arrive…but I think we should all plan to be there no later than 9am in case the young man's information isn't 100% accurate. It could be a rough one—not for the faint of heart, so if you have any reservations or aren't up for it, then stay home. If these enemies are half as fearsome as described, every move we make will be critical – can't have anyone slowing us down."
After Trunks and his time capsule had vanished, the remaining Z Fighters argued about whether or not they should take the foretold warnings seriously, when Piccolo declared that not only would he be training, but that anyone who wasn't planning to would surely perish.
"Don't make me laugh. I don't remember putting you in charge of this operation, Namek. You're the one that's a liability, so if anyone should stay home, it's you," Vegeta cut in with a snarky smirk and crossed his arms cockily.
"Are you challenging me?! Don't cross me, Vegeta. You don't want to try me," Piccolo balefully snarled at the Saiyan, his tone dripping with venom as he punched the last sentence with a threatening edge; finally done stowing his temper towards the infuriating Saiyan.
"Whoa, c'mon guys. Relax," Goku interjected affably before sighing in relief when both imposing fighters dismissed each other.
"Hey – I got an idea!"
Everyone directed their attention to Bulma, who seemed rather confident in her rationale as she continued, "If we can find this Dr. Gero guy, we can stop him before he creates those Androids!" When everyone balked at her, the blue-haired maven forged on, "We don't even need to find him ourselves! We can use the dragon balls, find his location, show up at his door and stop him."
"Hey yeah—we don't even have to fight at all if we do that; the future Earth would be safe. That's a great idea, Bulma!" Krillin offered, before the jeering counter arguments began to rain down.
"If any of you even so much as think of doing something like that, you will pay dearly for it. Got that?!" Vegeta bellowed, spurning Bulma to shout right back at him and wail about the insanity of wanting to fight foes with such a huge chance of losing everything.
"Goku, please tell me you're on my side," Bulma pleaded with her oldest friend.
"Well…wow, I guess I gotta side with Vegeta. I actually kind of want to fight them too, to tell you the truth. And besides that – he hasn't invented anything yet, so there's no reason to hurt him; it'd be kinda drastic, don't you think?" Goku retorted soberly, earning Bulma to deflate down to the ground in mortification.
"I can't believe we're going to listen to these two crazy Saiyans! If you die this time, we won't be able to bring you back," she whined, becoming even more disheartened when Tien and Yamcha and even Krillin now began to turn towards accepting the flawed logic borne from a competitive, battle-obsessed drive. Whirling suddenly, she looked at Sofia, who was still standing behind Piccolo and watching the course of events, before she pleaded, "Wait, you can tell them they're being insane and narrow-minded, Sofia! Please, convince them that we should take the opportunity to strike before anything terrible happens now while we have the chance. Otherwise we're all doomed!"
Suddenly blinking, Goku looked over and seemed to notice Sofia for the first time. "Huh? Oh – sorry, I guess in all the excitement I didn't realize you guys brought a new friend along?" the affable Saiyan piped, earning a collective sweatdrop from everyone but Sofia, who now nervously laughed and stepped around from behind Piccolo.
"I swear, Goku. How can you be so absent-minded?!" Bulma barked before directing her gaze back at Sofia. "Now would you please just tell them to do things my way so we can skip all the folly—"
"Bulma, you're plan is a great one. I can't lie. But…we can't do it," Sofia interjected, taking the wind out of the other woman's sails. "Listen. While it would be the easy way out, it's not the right one. There are…things that need to happen in their proper course and time. Every one of you will experience growth and change as a result of preparing for this threat, and for better or worse, it must happen. I can't give you details—" she paused when she saw Vegeta begin to open his mouth, but quickly added, "I can't, so don't even start yelling at me about it, alright?! Just understand that you have three years to prepare, and there's no magic escape option that you can take without seriously jeopardizing not only your futures, but your entire timeline."
After a long sobering pause, Tien purposely stated, "Then that settles it. I'm going to train as well. I hope you guys do so too. I…have to know what I'm capable of. If I die saving Earth, then I die well."
"Ugh, fine…you bunch of savages don't know when to listen even when it's for your own good. Too bad I'm stuck with you…so I guess I'll help any way I can too," Bulma relented in a huff.
Sofia sighed in relief, before suddenly stiffening when Goku came up to lean in close and survey her with his curious and open expression. "Hey, that was a great speech. You seem to know a lot," he mused before adding, "Boy, you're tall for a girl. And kind of different-looking—"
"Goku! That's rude," Krillin protested and elbowed his friend.
"Aw, c'mon, I didn't mean anything by it! It's just I don't think I've met anyone that looks like her—I mean, like Sofia. It was Sofia, right?" the jovial fighter asked before extending his hand in greeting. "I'm Goku! It's nice to meet you, by the way."
Sofia sort of stared at his outstretched hand before shaking it almost reverently. At her current height, she was almost as tall as Goku; his hair still tipped him to have the higher stature, but she dully noted that as she stared at their shaking hands. The power he held was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. In awe, she squeezed his hand before smiling broadly up at him. "Wow…" she said, earning a good-natured and goofy laugh from the friendly yet powerful fighter. "It's an honor to shake your hand, Goku. I mean – seriously this is so cool!" she shouted and began shaking his hand eagerly and earnestly.
"Whoa—you got a strong grip! Hey so, how come I can't sense your power level at all?! Are you super cloaking it?" Goku curiously inquired before bringing their handshake up to eye level so he could inspect hers as if that would reveal an answer to him. Wow, super pointy nails too!
"Oh, stealth over here is from ANOTHER dimension, Kakarot. Supposedly she knows everything about us, isn't that right?" Vegeta cut in sarcastically, giving Goku an eye roll when the fighter glanced over at him with that open look of child-like wonder that so annoyed him.
"Wow, really?! That sounds awesome," Goku exclaimed and put his hands on his hips. "So, it's kind of like—" he stopped himself from saying Trunks's name, so he corrected clumsily, "I mean so you're here to help too? Make sure we don't do anything to throw stuff off from how it's supposed to happen?"
Everyone balked at Goku's ability to aloofly hit the nail right on the head with little prompting – a skill he rarely showcased except for tense times like these.
Nodding vigorously, Sofia mused, "That's right! It's a real long story, but that's the gist, Goku. And if it's all right with you…I'd like to train with you too? I want to help in any way I can!"
"Sure!" the Saiyan replied with gusto. "Krillin? Yamcha? You wanna come train too?"
"Uh, I think I'll pass," Krillin replied skittishly. "I'll have Master Roshi train me, at my own pace, of course."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'd be lying if I said I could keep up with your level of training, Goku," Yamcha offered lamely.
"Haha, that's okay. Hey, how about you, Piccolo? Train with us. Please? I need a sparring partner, and I know it'd make Gohan happy," Goku asked his old foe.
"Sure. Might as well," Piccolo responded, glancing over at Sofia as he added, "It'll be interesting to see how the two of you fair."
Gohan cheered, then added, "Oh yeah, that's right. You trained Sofia and me. It's gonna be fun to see how similar or different we are in our fighting styles."
"Whoa, you were trained by Piccolo too?" Goku stared at Sofia with wonder. "Boy – a lot's happened since I've been away, huh?" he exclaimed and scratched the back of his head. "Man, I can't wait! Oh," Goku paused and leaned over towards Sofia as he added, "You can stay with us, but I gotta warn you – my wife Chi-Chi can be really demanding and bossy, so just figured I'd warn you from now—"
"Dad. Sofia's met mom already," Gohan interrupted, earning a nervous laugh from Goku as he flinched into place and fidgeted at his faux pas.
"Oh yeah?! Heeheehee – then maybe don't tell her I said any of that, k?" the powerful fighter chortled in that trademark goofy yet self-aware way that made Sofia snicker.
"This is absurd!"
Everyone turned back towards Vegeta, who was fuming at the trivialities he was witnessing.
"Huh? What's up with you, Vegeta?" Goku inquired.
"Is that ridiculous outfit of yours cutting the circulation off to your tiny brain, Kakarot?! Did you forget about my promise to defeat you?! It might be postponed until after this imminent battle, but that still doesn't change that you and I have unfinished business. Now, if this girl," he spat in reference of Sofia, "Can cow you all into believing her story, that's one thing. But I refuse to be told what I can and cannot do, is that clear, stealth?"
Fucking bastard—! Piccolo's temper vein at his temple began to throb with fury, but just as he was about to challenge the Saiyan once more, Sofia broke off from the group to walk straight towards him, her hands dropping to her sides and her gaze stoic as she approached. Standing his ground, Vegeta didn't blink or get ruffled by her as she stood as close as he'd allow any of these fools to be without his permission. The others simply glanced at each other; some shrugging while others stared on. They all went silent, the wind howling by as she took a calm posture of leaning her weight on one hip and crossing her arms.
Staring guilelessly into the mercurial Prince's eyes, Sofia sighed. "When you were a small boy, your father once told you, "Vegeta. Some day, you'll be the strongest Saiyan in the universe…you come from a strong bloodline, and you possess the potential power to join the super elite of all Saiyans. Never forget where you're from, and train very hard, my son. Because, if you've proven yourself worthy, perhaps someday you will become a Super Saiyan." Now…" she paused when his thunderstruck expression froze and his raven eyes began to replay the very memory she'd recited. "I'm not saying you need anyone's help to accomplish that. Or that I'm a know-it-all that can tell you what you can and cannot do. Hell – I'm not even sure my involvement will be that much help anyway. But, I assure you, I don't intend to tell you anything that will do you or the others harm. I wish you luck on your journey to becoming a Super Saiyan…not that you'll need it."
When the Saiyan Prince just stared at her in awe, she gave him a final bow of deference – the same one she'd done when they met earlier in the day, and smiled before turning on her heel and walking away, offering a casual wave over her shoulder as she walked.
Vegeta's grunt caught in the back of his throat as he shook off his bemusement. His mind replayed that memory in stark detail. It was one of the fondest memories he had of he and his father. Not only that, it was a moment that had defined his ambition in life, and it was one he'd never shared with anyone, nor had anyone else been present to witness it. He could no longer question the validity of her claims.
At a loss for words, the Saiyan glared over at the others before shooting off into the sky, making a direct course for Capsule Corp. to begin his training.
"Whoa…I've never seen Vegeta so spooked, yet so quiet. What'd you say to him?" Goku asked Sofia when she approached.
Shrugging, she replied off-handedly, "Just some words of encouragement. Anyway, I want to apologize to you guys for my…curt attitude from before. I was just on edge—"
"That's one way to refer to it," Yamcha muttered under his breath, earning an eye roll from Bulma.
"Hey, it's water under the bridge. I see now you meant well. We were all pretty on edge too. No hard feelings," Tien responded, giving her an acknowledging nod before directing his gaze to Goku and the others. "We'll be leaving now. So, until we meet again," the triclops stated coolly as he and Chiaotzu waved in farewell before blasting off.
"Well, I think it's time we head home. I'm sure Chi-Chi's worried sick about you, Gohan," Goku said, ready to offer a parting wave at the others, when Bulma suddenly called out, as if remembering something.
"Oh wait! Sofia, before you go," the Capsule Corp. heiress began as she reached into a hidden pocket in her orange dress and found a capsule. She pressed the plunger and tossed it to the side. After the plume of smoke cleared, her helicopter from earlier was revealed. She hopped inside the cockpit, and retrieved Sofia's small backpack. "You forgot this back at my house. Figured I'd save you the trip," Bulma explained as she offered the possession to the red-eyed woman.
"Oh awesome! You always come in clutch, Bulma. Thanks so much," Sofia exclaimed as she swung the small backpack on and grinned.
"Don't mention it. I meant to ask you if you needed a place to stay or anything earlier, but I guess you'll be bunking up at Goku's, huh," the congenial woman said as she stood on the railing of the helicopter.
"Yep…well actually, if it's not too much trouble, I was going to ask if you had any spare batteries I could take off your hands?" Sofia meekly asked, feeling like a complete moocher.
"Wait. Batteries? For what?" Piccolo suddenly inquired judgmentally, but was ignored by the two bantering women.
"Oh, sure!" Bulma beamed as she snapped her fingers and went back to rummaging into a hidden compartment in the helicopter. Finding the small case, she turned and offered it to Sofia. "Here you go! These are supply capsules I've been packing and storing everywhere since we got back from Namek. It has everything you'd need in a pinch: all kinds of batteries, lanterns, sleeping bags, bedrolls, some food rations, camping necessities – the works!" she explained as Sofia opened the small case and inspected the capsules with grateful awe.
"You're the freaking BEST, Bulma! Thank you!" Sofia practically phased in and pulled the shorter woman in for a bear hug, being sure to mind her strength as she hugged her and beamed, "You're the MVP of the Z Fighters, you know that!"
"Hahaha, aw gosh, it's so nice to be appreciated for once," Bulma mused affably.
"Ahem?!" Sofia glanced over at Piccolo, who was now glowering judgingly at her, while Goku glanced back and forth in confusion. "What do you need batteries for, pray tell?" he groused, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.
"Oh, for my boombox, of course! I mean, hello – do you think I can go three years without listening to my tunes?" she exclaimed comically and wiggled her arms exaggeratedly. "It's just as important as anything else in life, Piccolo—"
"No it's not! That infernal thing is just a source of loud, brash and obnoxious chaos you call music. Definitely NOT a necessity—"
"Hey—if not for that boombox, we wouldn't even be here, ok?" Sofia interjected earnestly, adding in a faux analytical tone, "If not for my boombox running out of battery, I wouldn't have been bored, and I wouldn't have asked you to teach me how to meditate, and I wouldn't have been meditating when I saw my premonition, and we wouldn't have ended up leaving the chamber in time to be here for Frieza's arrival. So, really, my boombox saved the day."
Face-faulting to the ground, Piccolo sweatdropped as the insane logic actually made total sense. Gohan and Goku were scratching their heads in confusion, not able to follow the logic, while Yamcha and Krillin stared at each other in confusion. Bulma was the only one nodding along with Sofia while Puar trilled in slow understanding as well.
"Well I'm happy to help, regardless," the blue-haired woman remarked with a conspiratorial wink to Sofia. "Guys just don't get a woman's brilliant logic."
"Tell me about it," Sofia snorted and high fived Bulma as they both laughed.
Muttering under his breath, Piccolo stood up and relented, "Fine. Whatever. Just promise you'll keep the racket down to a minimum and only when we're not training all together, ok?"
"Oh all right, you musically hostile buzzkill," Sofia shot back goofily, earning an irreverent chuckle from Goku and a stifled giggle from Gohan.
Growling, Piccolo began to ascend to the air, a clear indication that his sense of humor was out to lunch as he hovered high above, impatiently waiting for them to join him in departing.
"Oh well. Time to go!" Goku announced, but just before the 3 of them blasted off to the air, he turned and said, "Oh hey, take care of that baby, will you, Bulma?"
"Huh?!"
They took to the air and jetted off before Bulma could react, leaving her to deal with a sardonic Yamcha and a perplexed Krillin and Puar.
They were jetting through the sky at a quick clip, eager to reach the Son residence after such a crazy day. Gohan and Goku were chatting idly as they flew, catching up on the myriad of topics and events that had occurred while the elder Saiyan had been absent.
Piccolo glanced at Sofia, who seemed lost in thought, and decided it was time they have a talk, in private. Zooming to fall in formation next to Goku, he told his old rival that he and Gohan should go ahead, and that they'd meet up with them later.
"Huh? Well, okay. See you guys later then," Goku offered and waved before gesturing for Gohan to follow him home.
Snapping out of her autopilot mode, Sofia came to a stop along with Piccolo and watched father and son fly home at a decent speed before she turned towards her twin star.
"Is something wrong?"
"We need to talk. Plus, I don't really want to be around when Chi-Chi starts hollering," Piccolo answered before gesturing over his shoulder. "There's a spot I know close by. We'll have privacy," he remarked before turning and flying in that direction.
Sofia followed closely, trying to fight the bubble of anxiety that was welling in her stomach. She wasn't ready to have that talk yet. Sure, the primary reason for them to remain together had come and gone, and now it was time to figure out what to do, but she just didn't want to deal with it yet. Frowning, she began to follow his descent into a cool and serene clearing in the forest. She could hear the rush of a river nearby as they landed in the soft lush grass. Following him as he walked towards an outcropping of rocks, Sofia started to dwell on her anxious thoughts.
'Sofia.'
Stopping, she glanced over at him and saw he'd stopped right before stepping around the outcropping. His hand was extended towards her as he gestured with a tilt of his head for her to come see something. Blinking at him, she took his hand and let him lead her around the outcropping.
When they cleared the precarious terrain and ducked under some lush vegetation, she looked across at the beautiful sprawling mountain ranges and valleys that made up Mt. Paozu. Gasping, she stared in awe at the lovely sight for a couple of seconds before glancing up at Piccolo.
"This is where I was before I'd decided to go visit Gohan. That was…hardly a day or so ago out here. Figured it'd be a good place to talk," the imposing warrior spoke, his stoic baritone soft as he sat in the lotus position close to the edge that overlooked the green and vibrant valley below.
Going to sit beside him, Sofia couldn't suppress the tension within herself. She was anticipating his inevitable assertion that it was time to potentially part ways, when he suddenly sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. The silence that greeted her was unnerving, making her tense even more as she kept expecting him to say something definitive and final, but it never came.
Piccolo was thinking on how to best approach things. It was alien for them to interact intimately and be unguarded outside of the privacy and isolation of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It already felt like ages since they'd been there, alone together. He began to…miss it.
"Don't make me say it."
Piccolo opened his eyes and looked down at her quizzically. She was stoically staring ahead, too afraid to look in his eyes.
"Say what?" he was staring searchingly at her, becoming aware of her tension, and feeling confused by it.
"Piccolo…I don't want to do this. I don't want to talk about...I—don't want to…" she started to become flustered, the sensation of the hot knot of tears catching in the back of her throat forcing her to take a sobering breath and gulp before the emotions could cause her eyes to well. "Just don't make me say it. I don't want to…"
Staring down at her for a moment, the usually unruffled warrior set his jaw before grumbling, "Why did you lie to me?"
"…What?" Sofia stared at him, completely taken off guard. "What do you mean?"
"You said we had to train to fight Frieza, but that was a lie. We were never meant to fight him at all; Trunks was. Yet, we spent all that time in the chamber training. I'm not mad…after all, it ended up not being all just about training, but…just wondering why you didn't tell me the truth earlier," he calmly mused, his earnest onyx orbs staring into her eyes as he added in a whisper, "I thought you trusted me better than that."
Feeling her heartstrings tug painfully at that, Sofia couldn't take it anymore.
Before he finished blinking, Sofia rushed into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Oh my god, I thought you were going to dump me!" she whined dramatically and gave him a crushing hug. "I'm so sorry, Piccolo. I do trust you! I just was so afraid you'd be pissed off and regret everything we'd been through because we committed to entering the time chamber based on my misrepresentation of what was to occur. I…I just didn't want you to…" she pulled back and searched his eyes, finding his guard was completely down. Biting back tears, Sofia mustered to keep her eyes from welling up again when she exhaled, "I don't want to lose you."
Her daunting admission hung in the air. She felt completely vulnerable, and could feel her guard slowly going up in that protective mechanism she'd fashioned after years of pain, rejection and isolation, when suddenly, Piccolo pulled her close.
His hand cupped her cheek as he leaned in and said in a gruff huff, "You're so neurotic! Quit jumping to conclusions and just talk to me next time, would yah?"
Stunned, Sofia's eyes went wide, completely at a loss for words.
Leaning in further, Piccolo brushed his lips against hers tenderly, causing the tension to melt out of her body as she kissed him back. When they parted, he encircled her waist and hugged her back, a rare and sweet gesture that made her feel effervescent and silly.
A comfortable pause fell between them.
"You were pretty…friendly with them," Piccolo suddenly mused.
Glancing at him, she tilted her head curiously. "With who?"
"That Trunks kid," he responded stoically at first, but his tone grew somewhat sullen when he groused, "And that jackass Vegeta."
Brows furrowing in wonder, Sofia's expression slowly turned conspiratorial as she gasped, "Are you jealous?"
"Of course not!" he snapped a little too forcefully than he'd intended, so he coughed and continued levelly, "I just noticed how you treated them versus how much guff you gave Yamcha—"
"Ugh, that's because Yamcha is sooooo annoying! I mean seriously – who gets taken out by a Saibamen and still walks around like he's such a fucking cool dude?! Bleh, I seriously can't even with him and his self-centered ass—"
"And Vegeta isn't self-centered?" he cut in mildly, adding snidely, "he's an egomaniacal, sociopathic sonuvabitch who thinks he's an untouchable genius we all should worship and pay homage to."
"…Doesn't that sound a little familiar to you?" she posed, a small smirk pulling at her lips.
Fixing her with a withering look, Piccolo was about to bark that he hated when she answered in riddles when it slowly started to dawn on him. "…Oh…"
Leaning forward to give him a wry look before pecking him on the cheek, she said, "Yep. I remember this dude going by Ma Junior who entered a certain World Martial Arts Tournament and acted very much like the big bad foe too. He came in all hot, talking about wanting to enslave the human race and have dominion over the Earth – after killing a certain easygoing fighter that was always one step ahead of him, of course. But, luckily for him, he had a lot of help finding that his ambitions weren't really his, and he decided to change," Sofia murmured serenely and smiled when he pressed his lips together and thoughtfully stared over in the direction of the Son residence. "You only got a glimpse of it on Namek, and trust me I know you probably were a little too preoccupied to notice it, but Vegeta has that same ability to change. It's buried deep, sure, but it's there. And it'll take more than it did for you, but that sonuvabitch has the capacity to become not only an ally, but dare I say, a friend," she mused, adding quickly, "And only a friend, ok? After all, he and Bulma are gonna be the parents to a bouncing baby Trunks in a couple of years."
Huffing a long exhale at that, Piccolo cocked a skeptical brow ridge at her when he muttered, "I distinctly remember you asking me if you could flirt with him—"
"Oh for the love of God! I was only trying to tease you and make you jealous, Piccolo," Sofia exclaimed, eyes narrowing impishly as she added, "and here I am finding out it totally worked."
Growling, he pulled her against him and husked, "Fine. Seeing you be so goddamned deferential and bantering with him all day pissed me off. And I didn't like how he stared at you—"
Blinking, Sofia chirped, "You were pissed?"
"Yes," he hissed, eyes narrowing as he remembered how the mercurial Saiyan roved his scathing gaze up and down her body at different times, reminding him of his impulse to crack the bastard in the jaw. "If he looked at you one more time…" he trailed off when Sofia caressed his cheek. He focused his gaze on hers, and saw how she was beaming with pride at him.
"Well trust me. All the dude and me will ever be are friends. He and Bulma…that's something special," she murmured sweetly, shrugging coolly as she added, "Not to mention you're my super sexy twin star and you're stuck with me!"
Snorting at that, Piccolo growled in that gravelly drawl she loved, "You got that right."
Snickering, Sofia leaned in and kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder with a fawning sigh.
They didn't talk for a while; cherishing the short time they had to be alone together before they'd have to trek back to the Son residence.
Playing with a fold of fabric on his shoulder pad, Sofia finally spoke up in a soft whisper, "I don't want to beat a dead horse—"
"Then don't. I know what you're worried about. Like we agreed before: this isn't a temporary thing. But…we don't have to figure it all out right now," he cut in firmly, getting lost in her gorgeous crimson eyes when she looked at him in that way that made him feel…loved.
Her smile softened suddenly when she realized that even after all the craziness and shocking reveals today, he still trusted her. It was something that caused relief and pride to swell in her, as well as her heart to brim over with love.
"You never cease to surprise me. I thought you were ready to read me the riot act, and here you are, being so damned lovable and sexy…" she purred at him, causing him to grunt goofily and blush.
"You're the one jumping to conclusions and getting yourself worked up! I just wanted to ask a simple question, and I end up with you all flustered having to be talked down from the ledge," he complained acerbically while she sweatdropped and laughed self-consciously.
"If it means getting sexy and sweet kisses from you, I might do it more often," she goofily mused and batted her lashes at him flirtatiously.
He rolled his eyes. "Keep dreaming. Now that I know your angle, I'll just let you spiral. Can't go around encouraging such behavior, after all," he joked, chuckling when she pouted disdainfully at him.
"Yeah-yeah, you love it when I get worked up. Don't even try to play off like you don't," she jeered comically, her expression not able to reach the level of seriousness she wanted.
"It's a good thing I succeeded in working you up then. It's gonna be a while before I can do it again," he mused, his voice hitting that gravelly baritone that caused butterflies to flutter in her belly.
"Oh god, don't even joke like that. Stop tempting me, you hunk, you," she growled at him before pouncing, earning a surprised grunt from him as they ended up sprawled on the ground.
"W-Wait! Not here, you crazy woman!" Piccolo protested, skittishly hopping away and taking flight to hover away from the cliff edge before she could pounce on him again.
"You're such a tease," she laughed before sighing dramatically. "Oh fine. We'll just have to carve out some one-on-one time very soon, understood?" she mused and winked affectionately at him before slowly ascending to join him.
Blushing, Piccolo huffed. "We're going to be training, Sofia," he muttered in an admonishing tone. "Now let's get to Son's. Hopefully the fireworks have passed by now."
Her turn to roll her eyes, Sofia took flight with him, but not before musing provocatively over their rapport, 'We can't train 24/7 for 3 years straight, babe. Trust me. You'll be wanting to have some alone time when you least expect it.'
Snorting, he glanced at her sidelong as he groused, 'Oh yeah? And how do you know for sure?'
'Because if I'm already craving getting you alone, I can't wait to see how long it'll take for you to want to have me all to yourself,' Sofia purred before smirking and blasting off at high speed towards the Son family residence.
Blinking as she jetted away, Piccolo gulped. As if on cue, his mind was already betraying him with a steady stream of sultry memories involving their 'alone time,' and he could feel the heat of anticipation warm his blood.
Dammit…it's gonna be a long and frustrating exercise in self-control at this rate…
They'd arrived after Goku had unintentionally sent Chi-Chi sailing through the wall and a tree outside to crash against a boulder on the other side of the house. Mercifully, by the time they decided to approach the premises, Chi-Chi had relented in her haranguing and had agreed to let Gohan train with them.
Knocking on the door, Sofia had poked her head in cautiously and greeted Chi-Chi, who even covered in bandages sprang up from her chair to gawk at her transformed appearance and badger her with tons of questions. Piccolo hung back outside while Sofia exchanged pleasantries for a bit and filled the raving raven-haired woman in on most of the past events since she'd last left the Son residence.
Once Goku explained that Sofia would also be training with them, he meekly asked his overbearing wife if it was okay for the inter-dimensional traveler to stay with them, and was floored when Chi-Chi enthusiastically agreed.
"Wow, really? You're not mad?" Goku gawked comically at his wife, who looked at him sharply before scoffing.
"Of course not! It'll be nice to have some company around here that doesn't have a Y chromosome for once. And anyway, Sofia's not from our realm – where else would she go?" Chi-Chi had rationalized before formally extending the invite. "We'd love to have you stay, Sofia. We don't have a lot of room, but you're more than welcome to spend time here when you're not beating each other up with all that training."
Feeling touched by the selfless offer, Sofia smiled genuinely at Chi-Chi, Goku and Gohan. "Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it. And no worries – I'll do chores, cook, clean, whatever you need; no mooching," she'd stated resolutely.
"Oh man, speaking of food…" Goku's stomach interrupted him as it raucously growled. "I'm starving!"
While Chi-Chi cooked dinner, Goku and Gohan took Sofia to the small little building that resided on the same property as their cottage. Nestled on the west side from their house, they came upon the humble little home that used to be Goku's childhood residence before he'd met Bulma and embarked on his first adventure for the dragon balls. Even after all this time, the small home was still preserved and taken care of, albeit a little dusty once the door was opened.
"Yeah, since we don't have a lot of storage space, I keep a lot of my old stuff in here," Goku explained as he carried his folded Yardratian outfit into the one-room home, followed meekly by Gohan – sans his Saiyan battle outfit and armor – and reverently by Sofia.
Staring around the room, Sofia walked cautiously around, almost afraid to disturb anything. "Oh wow…it's like you got to keep your bachelor pad, huh," she mused as Goku opened up a big trunk at the far side of the room before placing the folded clothes and breastplate in it.
"Hah, I guess so. It's great – sometimes I come in here when I think of my grandpa a lot. But in the last few years, it's sort of become more of my place to stash heirlooms and stuff," the jovial Saiyan remarked when Sofia came to stand next to him and peered into the large storage trunk.
Gasping, Sofia reached in – before realizing how impolite it was—pulled out something and held it in her hands in awe. "Whoa…is this your Power Pole?!"
Glancing at the staff, Goku replied, "Uh-huh! You know your stuff. I haven't used that in a while."
"It's so cool…" she held it up and wielded it, whirling it around skillfully in it's retracted state before smiling over at Goku.
"Take it for a spin!" he encouraged affably. "You know the magic words, right?"
Blinking in awe, she became skittish. "Oh man, I couldn't – I mean, hell, I don't think I've seen anyone but you use it. Would it even listen to me?"
"Sure! You just have to concentrate. The length it extends to depends on what you will it to be in your mind. It's pretty neat," Goku explained and began pulling her outside as he encouraged her to give it a try. "C'mon, don't be shy! Show us what you got."
"It's cool, Sofia. Dad doesn't mind, really," Gohan reassured as he joined in the encouraging.
"Haha, okay…I've always wanted to do this," she mused as she took a stance, holding the Power Pole perpendicular to the ground as she took a sobering breath and concentrated. "Power Pole: Extend!"
Piccolo watched from where he sat as Sofia held on to the magical staff as it shot off into the sky, smirking when he heard her 'yahoooo!' as she ascended.
Staring down at her friends as they laughed and waved at her, Sofia cackled goofily and hopped up to balance up on one foot at the top of the staff. "This is awesome! Woooo!"
Goku laughed, patting Gohan on the head as they continued to wave at Sofia.
"Power Pole: Retract!" she shouted, and flipped in the air to descend and grab the staff for it to keep pulling her down to the ground. "Wheeee!"
"Hahaha, you're a natural!" Goku cheered when she touched down on the ground and spun the staff around herself expertly before it finished retracting.
"Oh my god that was the coolest thing ever!" she exclaimed in an enthusiastic rush. "Thanks, Goku. You're the best," she piped as she reverently handed him back the magical staff.
"Aww, it's nothing," the happy go lucky man beamed. "I'm impressed, Sofia. I can tell that Piccolo trained you really well, but there's something about your style that's unique to you."
"Huh? Really? What do you mean?" Sofia blinked in surprise before she smiled ear to ear from the compliment. Whoa—Goku just gave me props?! So surreal~!
"Yeah! It's like you have a sort of grace and agility to your style that I haven't seen. It's pretty cool. Can't wait to see how you fight," Goku eagerly stated, always loving the glee of talking, thinking and breathing the anticipation for battle.
Sweatdropping, Sofia began to wave her hands in protest as she piped, "Hey now—I'm not crazy enough to seriously think I can square up against you, Goku. So please don't expect too much—"
"Nonsense."
Glancing over at Piccolo, who loped over to the rest of them, Sofia watched as he approached Goku and confidently added, "She's bluffing. All skittish now, but just wait until you get her in a spar; doesn't hold back, fiercely wants to win, even if it started as a friendly one-on-one. Not only that, if you think she's gonna pull punches, you'll only succeed in nursing a bruised jaw for a few days."
"Oh wow, really? That sounds great! Woo-hooo! Then I want to spar with her first, okay, Piccolo? Please?" Goku began to cheer excitedly, hopping back and forth and pestering the Namekian warrior with his pleading.
Gohan laughed as he watched his father hound his mentor, who rolled his eyes and finally had to bark at the shorter man that he didn't care who fought first.
Sofia found herself feeling an overwhelming sense of pride from the attention, and couldn't help flexing her muscle as she phased between the two fighters like a bolt of lighting and grabbed their forearms before shaking them enthusiastically. "I can't believe we're all gonna spend the next three years training! In this corner, I got Piccolo – the most calculating and expert fighter and dare I say one cool ass sensei, and in this corner, I got the one and only Goku – the greatest warrior and nicest freaking guy you'll ever meet! I'm so excited~!" she chirped and began to bounce between them, jerking them goofily back and forth along with her.
"Heeheeheehee! Aw that's just too nice of you to say," Goku chuckled in that goofy way of his while Piccolo sweatdropped and scowled comically.
"Enough praise! Just remember – both of you – that this training will be serious business, understood?" Piccolo groused, directing the latter half of his comment to both Gohan and Sofia. "As a matter of fact, what're we doing just goofing off?! Let's get some sparring in right now," he stated imposingly before muttering to Goku, "at least before your harpy wife gets wind and starts hollering."
Incapable of taking umbrage, Goku laughed and slapped Piccolo on the back good-naturedly, causing the Namek to slightly waver. "Hey, not a bad idea, Piccolo. Got anywhere in mind?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
Goku was beyond impressed. Sitting on the cold rock and staring up at the sparring session going on above in the air, he watched with fascination as his son and Sofia countered, grappled, and pummeled each other in hand-to-hand combat. He was pleased to see his son had progressed swimmingly in his fighting technique since Namek, and smiled when the boy expertly blocked a precise punch from Sofia that would've plowed him down to the snow-covered bluff, but ended up skidding backwards in the air from the skillful roundhouse kick she leveled as a counter that connected with his chin. Shaking the blow off, Gohan recovered quickly and was blasting off towards her and throwing a flurry of punch combos that she blocked, phased in and around of, then flipped away from to blast towards him and level her own round of punches and jabs.
Assessing her agility and speed, Goku realized she was holding back – keeping the spar fun.
"Hey – don't hold back on Gohan's account!"
Pausing in mid blow, Sofia turned in mid air to blink down at Goku. "I'm not—!"
"Yeah you are," Piccolo shouted from his meditating position on the incline across from Goku, opening one eye to glance up at her.
"Uh-huh, you are. I can tell you're faster than that. C'mon, don't hold back," Goku whined good-naturedly and practically vibrated with excitement as he added, "I wanna see what you can really do!"
Snickering at that, Sofia looked back at Gohan. "Is that a fact? Then wanna tag in for Gohan—"
Before she finished the statement, Goku was floating across from her, giggling merrily and clapping his hands together.
"Heeheeheehee, oh man, I'm so excited~!" he mused, his eyes cresting with happy mirth as Gohan laughed and touched back down on the ground to skip over to Piccolo.
"Good luck, Dad! She punches and kicks really hard," the demi-Saiyan offered as he plopped down next to Piccolo and rubbed his aching forearms that were knotted with welts from fending off her blows.
Leaning a forearm over his bent knee, Piccolo got ready to watch the show, feeling pride bubble in his chest while his features remained guarded.
"Goku, I gotta tell you something that's gonna sound super geeky…" Sofia stated genuinely as she grabbed her left torn sleeve and ripped it off clean from her arm before tossing it down to the ground and repeating the same action with her other sleeve. "But this is the raddest thing ever! I can't wait to go toe-to-toe with you~!" she chirped and flashed him a brilliant grin as she stretched her arms above her head.
Piccolo internally gulped, his eyes roving her bare arms and fixating on the swell of her cleavage when she slapped her arms back down against her sides before falling into her fighting stance. Damn…she looks good.
"Well then, give me your best shot!" Goku remarked affably, remaining in his casual pose and smiling over at her.
Hair fluttering in the arctic breeze that kicked up around them, Sofia smirked as she brushed some rogue strands behind her ear. "Alrighty!"
She moved so fast that if he'd blinked, he wouldn't have seen her coming at all. Dodging her punch, Goku's "Oooh," sounded impressed before he ducked from her next jab, evaded her kick and caught the punch that would've broken his nose. Blinking with wonder at her, the wide-eyed fighter saw the intensity in her crimson eyes as she pulled her fist away and practically zipped around him to kick him square in the back, sending him skidding in the air before he halted his descent and righted his position.
Snapping his gaze back at her, Sofia saw all the fun and wonder flint away from Goku's features to be replaced by that concentrated and guarded regard he wore when he was taking a battle seriously.
Staring incredulously up at the sparring opponents, Gohan's jaw continued to drop when they began to zoom and zip past each other, their colliding blows and blocks seeming like flashes and flares of light to the uninitiated. "Whoa…" the boy exhaled as he watched Sofia plant her boot into Goku's stomach before his father recovered and flipped her backward by the ankle to send her careening in the air before she blasted her ki and stopped herself from plummeting to the jagged icy tundra below.
Piccolo saw that competitive spark light in Sofia's eyes when Goku chuckled affably and patted his stomach goofily as he chortled, "That was good, but it just tickled mostly. Is that all you got, Sofia?"
"Big mistake," Piccolo huffed musingly and smirked.
"Is that a fact, Kakarot?! Then, get over here!" Sofia snarled and lifted her hand up at the fighter, but instead of the ki blast he expected, Goku was suddenly overcome by the eerie sensation of being pulled by an invisible force anchored like a harness around his chest to fly towards her, unbidden.
"Whoooaaaaa!" the fighter cried out in surprise as he careened towards her and watched as she phased out right before he collided with her to instead pummel him from all sides like she was a spinning top – leveling a flurry of kicks, punches, elbows and knees that he'd barely be able to recover from before the next blow sent him whirling about.
"Holy cow!" Gohan shouted and jumped up, watching as Sofia's combos disoriented the fighter long enough to give her time to appear high in the air above him with her arms glowing with her coalescing energy as she charged up her attack.
Shaking his head goofily to remove the spirals in his eyes, Goku dully looked up and saw Sofia was glowing with a vibrant red aura. "Heeheehee, that's pretty," he distractedly chuckled before finally snapping out of his stupor to concentrate. "Whoa now – I thought we were sticking to just sparring?!"
"You said you wanted me to give you my best shot and to show you what I got, so here it is! Can you handle it, Kakarot?!" she barked out competitively, the zeal of her battle flooring her further as she smirked confidently when she brought her glowing palms together and supercharged her attack before pointing them straight down at him and shouting, "Crimson Wave!"
The loud blast resounded across the arctic tundra after the dizzying attack detonated and flared sonic energy waves up to the gray sky; illuminating it in a myriad shades of red and burgundy before slowly returning back to normal.
Panting from the exertion and efforts of concentrating such a massive attack so quickly, Sofia stared down at the hazy vapor that fluttered and obscured where she'd targeted her blast. "Oh crap. Did I overdo it?!" she shouted down, sweatdropping when she finally heard Gohan coughing and began to see the silhouette of an unscathed Goku still floating in the same spot.
Piccolo was standing on the peak of a snowy hill adjacent to where their sparring site used to be, holding Gohan by the back of his shirt while the boy continued to sputter.
"Wow, Sofia! That was a great attack," she shook her head and glanced back at Goku, who was smiling ear to ear, hands at his hips as he giggled up at her. "I mean, we can't spar here anymore, but wow, that was good. If I had hair on my arms, I'm sure it would've singed them clear off!"
Face-faulting in the air, Sofia dropped down to hover next to the snow peak Piccolo and Gohan were on, hanging her head down in defeat. "Oh maaaaaaan. That's so lame! You're unreal, Goku, truly freaking unreal!" she pouted and crossed her arms haughtily. "That's one of my best attacks, and you just dodged it?!"
Phasing in to hover across from her, Goku scratched his chin. "Huh? What do you mean? I didn't dodge it. Just disarmed it with my own energy. Sure a lot of the brunt of the attack ended up splintering all around me, but I swear I didn't jump out of the way," the Saiyan soberly mused and watched as Sofia's jaw dropped.
Glancing around him, she looked down and realized that the site where her energy detonated was concave except for a sliver of rock that was oddly in the shape of Goku; spiky-haired outline was unmistakable.
"Holy shit…Goku…" she floated over to him and stared in awe into his confused features. "You are AWESOME! Do you even know how much power I put behind that?! I'm probably tapped out for the rest of the day, and you took it like it was a hot breeze. You gotta teach me how to do that!" Sofia enthusiastically retorted, zipping all around him as she gushed.
Grunting with humor, Piccolo shook his head and let Gohan down. "You two got carried away and now we gotta find somewhere else to spar," he admonished acerbically before glancing at Gohan. "Remind me to not let your father taunt Sofia like that again."
Laughing, Goku impishly reached his arms behind his head and grinned while Gohan chuckled and Sofia mockingly narrowed her eyes at that.
'Harr-dee-harr,' she sourly shot at him over their rapport, tossing her hair back and stretching before stopping when one of the belted shoulder straps holding up her top snapped off and came dangerously close to revealing her round and supple breast.
Piccolo face-faulted to the snowy rock while Goku and Gohan blinked over at him.
Snickering knowingly, Sofia distracted them by announcing, "Oh no, Piccolo must be totally dehydrated! Hey wait, isn't it about time we head back for dinner?"
"Huh? Oh yeah! Let's go eat. I'm staaaarving~!" Goku announced, huddling everyone to be pushed tightly together, wrapping an arm around them while he raised two fingers to his forehead. Using Instant Transmission, he teleported everyone back home to arrive in the middle of the kitchen, shocking Chi-Chi so bad she fell backwards out of her chair.
"Whoops! Sorry, hun," Goku nervously laughed.
Once they'd had dinner, Goku and Gohan went out back to share a hot bath in that big drum they used on such extended bathing occasions while Sofia helped Chi-Chi with the dishes. Sitting lotus style in the living room, Piccolo watched her interact with the raving woman, but his eyes weren't focused on Goku's wife at all. Instead, he was admiring Sofia's battle-worn appearance as she adjusted her top so it wouldn't slip too low and end up being a risqué peepshow. Brushing the rogue strands of hair out of her face, she laughed at something Chi-Chi said, continuing to dry the dinner plate in her hand before placing it in the cupboard and picking up another. Piccolo's mind flashed to the last time he'd seen her nude, and he had to fight the blush that threatened to heat his emerald features.
"Oh man – my button popped too!" Sofia lamented goofily as she stared down at the missing fastening and laughed with Chi-Chi. "You're cooking is gonna mess up this lithe belly I've worked so hard to flatten, girl."
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Piccolo's eyes roved her bare midriff as the hem of her now-cropped one-shoulder-strapped top rose further when she stretched to lean back against the counter and continued laughing. When Chi-Chi went back to the sink to continue scrubbing a stubborn pan, Sofia glanced over and caught Piccolo's gaze. Pressing his lips together until they made a thin line, the usually brooding Namek diverted his gaze knowingly away when she suppressed her alluring smile and winked at him.
"I'm going to take a quick shower and get out of these tattered clothes," Sofia announced, placing the rest of the dried plates into the cupboard with her telekinesis and loping past the living room to the hallway before pausing in her stride. 'Want to join me, stud?'
Glowering at her, Piccolo huffed, 'Stop being fresh. You know damn well that's not happening.'
Rolling her eyes dramatically, Sofia purred, 'You're the one staring at me with that 'come hither' look.' When he scowled and diverted his gaze broodingly, she added, 'Still don't want to get me all to yourself?'
Standing and heading for the open window, Piccolo looked back at her over his shoulder and mused before he exited and took flight, 'Meet me at the spot I showed you earlier.'
Smiling, Sofia glanced at Chi-Chi and saw she'd been too preoccupied to pick up on their private exchange.
God I love that Namek.
It'd been two weeks since the fighters had begun their training together, and so far their routines had fallen into a rhythm that was pleasant, gregarious and filled with camaraderie. After that first afternoon training in the sparse and frigid arctic, they had all bonded as a fighting unit. They encouraged each other to not only strive further, but to not hold back in their intensity. Fiercely training with a regiment that ran the gamut – from simple hand-to-hand combat, to energy attacks, and more, the foursome of fighters had developed a close-knit focus, learning from each other and challenging each other to be more dynamic in battle.
Sofia had never felt so welcomed and accepted before in her entire life. While the days were filled with grueling sparring and training sessions at different locations, once dusk came, the group would return to the small cottage in the valley and rest. Most nights after they'd all share a meal, Piccolo would remain around the perimeter of the home, sitting in calm meditation outside while the Son family and Sofia chatted and relaxed before going to bed. While the family slept, Sofia would spend hours talking to Piccolo telepathically while she laid on her bedroll on the living room floor, now too tall to sleep comfortably on the couch.
On certain occasions, she'd sneak out of the house and spend time with him. Mostly, they'd go back to that outcropping that overlooked the valley and watch the stars together; relishing the quiet moments they could share in simple intimacy. Plus, Piccolo couldn't be cajoled into doing anything beyond going to first base out in the middle of the forest, so Sofia avoided her pouting and frustration by just enjoying being near him. Truth be told, Piccolo did have to seriously convince himself to not succumb to his desires in those moments, but the thought that always sobered him was the awkward chance that they'd get carried away and be found in a very compromising position by either a dense Goku or a startled Gohan.
Still, sexual tension aside, they were able to conceal their intimate relationship from the others very successfully. It's only been 2 weeks though… Sofia suddenly mused to herself. She wryly doubted she could make it more than a month without ending up jumping Piccolo's bones, whether under the cover of night or right in front of a mortified Son family. Snickering at the mental image of Chi-Chi fainting at the sight while Goku and Gohan balked in shock, Sofia glanced over at father and son as they flew ahead holding their catch for dinner that night.
'This is the life, ain't it?' she mused telepathically to Piccolo, who was flying next to her on her right.
'Beats being dead, that's for sure,' he retorted, giving her a wry smirk when she shot a startled look at him.
'Jeez—so morose! And really, was being on King Kai's planet all that bad?' she joked, earning a grunt from the usually antisocial Namek.
'Feh. I don't know what was worse: Yamcha's constant bitching, or all the stupid jokes King Kai would try out on us. Oh wait – it was his annoying training steps,' Piccolo grumbled, but smiled despite himself when Sofia giggled softly over their rapport.
They landed in the front yard of the small cottage and hung back when Goku and Gohan went into the house with the catch of the day. Leaning against the tree closest to the front door, Piccolo crossed his arms while Sofia took the chance to stretch her muscles for a moment before she dipped down to her toes and glanced through the open front door. She saw Chi-Chi look frazzled and exhausted as she sat at the kitchen table with crumpled unpacked grocery bags on the tabletop. Father and son were going on and on about being bushed and needing a bath, and Sofia froze in mid stretch as she realized how familiar that was.
'Uh oh…' she sing-sung in her mind.
"Hmm?" Piccolo glanced at her before staring into the house and seeing Chi-Chi moodily glaring at him. 'Uh…why's she looking at me like that?'
Before Sofia could answer, Chi-Chi went into her tirade, yelling at husband and son for being inconsiderate dolts who expected her to cook and clean mindlessly while they soaked in a hot bath.
"—and it's all because we don't have a car!" she bellowed at everyone now, hitting the zenith of her exasperation.
"Uh, Chi-Chi, I'd drive you if I could. But, you know I don't have a driver's license yet," Goku cautiously retorted.
"Well it's time YOU GOT ONE! I don't know why you have to be the only man in this town who doesn't have a driver's license or a car!" she wailed vehemently.
Wincing, Sofia watched on as Goku turned to Piccolo. "You can't drive, can you?"
"LEAVE ME OUT OF THIS!" Piccolo barked hastily.
"I want BOTH of you to put your training on hold for now and go to driving school tomorrow," she shouted before lowering her tone as she added, "I think it's about time the two of you learn something useful for a change."
"Say WHAT?!" Piccolo comically balked.
"Aw, Chi-Chi, do we have to?"
"Listen, all I'm asking you two to do is get your driver's license. It's not like I'm asking you to save the world!" When the two warriors just sputtered in comic fashion, Chi-Chi added, "And if you don't, you'll have to cook your OWN meals from now on. Understand?!"
Stiffly grunting, gulping and nodding, Piccolo and Goku cringed inwardly while Gohan balked at the power his mother wielded while Sofia sighed tensely.
"Umm…hey Chi-Chi, take a load off and let me cook tonight? You've had a long day. And from now on, how 'bout letting me go get the groceries? It'll take me no time—" Sofia began to offer in appeasement when the raven-haired woman whirled around.
"Oh no, Sofia! You're a houseguest and will not take up the slack of managing this household, got it?! And don't try to run interference for these two! As adults, the LEAST they could do is get something as basic as a driver's license so I can get a car and not be running like a mad woman over mountains and across valleys to stock the pantry for them. Do I make myself clear?!" Chi-Chi snapped vehemently until she was red in the face and her fly away hairs stuck up further from her head.
Still leaning backwards on the balls of her feet, Sofia nodded, earning the approval of the fearsome woman before she turned and headed back down the hallway to freshen up before prepping dinner.
"Well then, guess you two are gonna have one hell of a day tomorrow," Sofia broke the tension by suddenly chirping comically while dancing between a disconcerted Piccolo and bemused Goku. "Ya'll are going to driving school~!"
Laughing nervously, Gohan mused, "It shouldn't be that challenging for them, right?"
Pausing in her two-step, Sofia made a goofy sound before moonwalking away and into the house. "Start prayin', fellas~!" she sing-sung back to them as they all looked at each other and sweatdropped.
Mmmmmmmm…oh my god, look at his butt~! Oh lord, give me the self-control to not pounce on this fine-ass Namek and rip his clothes off with my teeth—
Sofia was desperately trying not to let her eyes become comic anime hearts as she stared at Piccolo, who was currently standing crossed-armed and nursing one hell of a moody attitude while Goku was still getting ready inside.
'Would you stop staring?!' Piccolo growled self-consciously over at her.
Biting her lip and inhaling dramatically, she purred, 'Listen, you're lucky all I'm doing is staring, ok?! I mean…' she paused and glanced at his fantastic ass in those jeans, and sighed. 'Promise me you'll ask to keep the outfit—'
'These ridiculous clothes are not mine to keep, you pervy hentai!' Piccolo snapped, trying to repress the blush threatening to heat his emerald features.
Making a popping sound with her lips after licking them, Sofia glanced back into the house when she heard Goku still trying to bargain his way out of the situation with Chi-Chi and failing miserably at it. 'Hey…I'm curious. Did she give you a pair of Goku's boxers to wear too?' she piped musingly, and got a snide glance from Piccolo.
'Ugh—as if I'd be caught dead wearing his damned underwear too, Sofia!'
Snickering, Sofia conspiratorially glanced at him and with a Cheshire cat smile, drawling, 'So you're saying you're currently going commando in those jeans?'
'…I don't know what that means,' he honestly grumbled.
Letting the steam out of her shirt collar, Sofia purred, 'You're free balling in Goku's jeans, Piccolo! I don't think it'd be appropriate for you to return them after your yummy parts have been all up on them.'
Blinking comically at her and sweating with embarrassment, Piccolo stomped back over to the entrance of the small cottage and shouted, "Dammit, Goku! Let's just get this over with so we can get back to training!"
"Okay okay, I'm coming!" Goku shouted lamely back at him down from the end of the hallway before rushing out of the bedroom, waving goodbye to Gohan as he ran by his bedroom door, to then appear in the kitchen with a pout as he adjusted his orange Fred-Flintstone-inspired button down shirt.
"Looking sharp, Goku!" Sofia complimented and gave him a goofy gesture –pointing her fingers at him like they were guns and pretending to shoot them at him. "They better watch out – there's two lady killers coming to driving school~!"
Laughing with that iconic irreverent giggle of his, Goku scratched the back of his head as he stood in from of a now glowering Piccolo. "You're too much," he chuckled at Sofia. "Sorry, Piccolo. There's just no talking Chi-Chi out of it. We might as well go and do our best."
"Yeah, let's just get going. It's not too hard—" Sofia began before Piccolo cut her off with a berating glare.
"Oh no, you're staying right here. Don't need you coming along to laugh at our expense," he muttered sternly.
Sofia scowled at that. Giving them both a defiant once over, they expected her to go on her own tirade, when she suddenly shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Good luck, you too," she mused stoically and relented, walking away coolly back into the house.
That was way too easy… Piccolo frowned internally, but let the matter go once he and Goku took flight in direction of the driving school near East City. Just a couple of days of lessons, and this aggravating ordeal would be over.
This shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish…
"FAILED THE TEST?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FAILED THE TEST?!"
Piccolo and Goku stood and took the baleful barrage, sweating with embarrassment.
"You're telling me neither of you muscle heads got your license?!" Chi-Chi shouted, flabbergasted.
"Uh, yeah…" Goku responded meekly, while Piccolo grunted and nodded.
Overloaded, Chi-Chi fainted, but was caught from hitting the ground completely by Sofia, who used her telekinetic ability to levitate her from crashing to the wood floor. Since she was out cold, she levitated Chi-Chi to the couch to sleep off her consternation before coming back into the kitchen, her hands on her hips with an amused look on her face.
"Well, Gohan and I know how you guys tried. But really, next time you have to come prepared before taking actual driving lessons," she affably mused, earning a groan from Goku and a haughty glare from Piccolo.
"Oh c'mon! It was super hard," Goku whined, adding lamely, "Was there even a chance we were going to get our driver's licenses at all?"
Grunting in agreement, Piccolo pushed off the tree he was leaning against and crossed his arms. "Now that it's over, you can tell us, right?"
Humming as she rocked back goofily on her heels, Sofia put her hands behind her head as she chirped, "Nope! You guys were supposed to fail the first time around. But boy, was it freaking hilarious to watch you both literally crash and burn."
"First time around?!" Gohan repeated, blinking up at the adults before petting Icarus, who nudged him affectionately.
"There's no way I'm doing that again!" Piccolo snapped, scowling while Goku pouted and nodded in agreement.
Laughing, Sofia walked over and stood between the two fighters before tossing an arm around each of their shoulders and pulling them in for a huddle. "Don't be a brat, Postboy. And have a little more confidence, Goku! Gohan and I believe you can accomplish it next time; we saw the potential you both had. I mean, sure, you two completely sucked at driving, couldn't merge lanes, definitely didn't respect the rules of the road, and oh—were menaces to society while behind the wheel—"
"We get it already!" Piccolo growled, but wasn't able to completely derail Sofia.
"BUT! Like anything else, learning how to drive requires practice," she finished, squeezing her arms around their shoulders as she smiled, "And lucky for you, I've practiced some driving before back in my dimension. Sure it wasn't with a hover car, but with a little training, I think I can help you guys prepare for the next time."
"…WAIT. You KNEW how to drive this whole time, and you didn't say anything until now?! Why did you let us go and take those stupid lessons and waste our time when you knew we would fail miserably!?" Piccolo towered over her and began barking in flustered rage. Scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously, Goku slid away sideways so Sofia could lean to the side and brace herself against the Namek's tirade.
Once he took a pause, Sofia's eyes flared red when she poked him in the middle of his 'Postboy' shirt-clad chest. "BECAUSE NO ONE ASKED ME, NOW DID THEY?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN WANT ME TO TAG ALONG WITH YOU GUYS YESTERDAY, SO DON'T BE ALL SALTY NOW!" she bellowed right back at him, now towering over him as she harangued him fearlessly while Goku and Gohan watched – her barking tone so fearsome it spooked the demi-Saiyan's pet dragon to scamper out of the house and fly away.
When her red eyes stopped glowing with fury, Piccolo blinked at her and sweatdropped. Sofia's temper cooled just as quickly as it flared, especially when she realized she was yelling at her twin star while he was still in that adorably fashion-blind outfit – 'Gokuu' hat still on backwards on his head and everything. The utter ridiculousness of it diffused her.
"Whoa…and I thought Chi-Chi could yell…" Goku piped up with child-like wonder in his wide eyes and across his stunned expression. "Hey, hold on—you said you two saw the potential we both had. That can only be true if you guys saw us during our driving lesson, right?" Goku thoughtfully mused as he tapped his chin, almost as if the gesture helped him concentrate.
"…" Sofia and Gohan blinked and looked at each other, before they both nervously giggled.
Sure enough, during the previous day, both friends had snuck out of the house to watch the two fighters fail miserably in their driving lessons, having a good laugh at how utterly clueless the two were at basic driving 101. Gohan practically had to hold Sofia up while she cackled and guffawed with such intensity that she was left holding her sides, goofily breathless. They'd made it back to the house and snuck in unnoticed, feigning surprise when Goku and Piccolo arrived later with sullen expressions on their faces they managed to camouflage long enough to pass Chi-Chi's casual inquiry of how the first day of lessons had gone.
"Well, well, well. You two little tricksters just earned yourselves the most grueling sparring session ever!" Piccolo stated with a calculating edge to his gruff tone. "No mercy. Right, Goku?"
"Uh, sure!" the congenial Saiyan offered cheerily, earning an annoyed grunt from Piccolo.
"Dammit, can't you even try to be menacing?!" he snarled and stomped his sneaker-clad foot in exasperation.
Sofia and Gohan just laughed at that, while Goku shrugged and joined in on the laughter too.
Slapping his hand on his forehead and dragging it down his face, Piccolo grumbled, "These are my allies for the battle that will decide the course of the future. Great…"
I think it's an understatement to say how completely AWESOME my current circumstances were, but all right—I'll say it anyway: It's been totally AWESOME being friends and actually training with the one and only muthafucking Son Goku! I can't even do him justice—just the coolest and most amazingly genuine and generous fighter, mentor, and buddy ever! Since he welcomed me to his home and happily let me join his training for the battle against the Androids, Goku has been a friend unlike anyone or anything I could've ever imagined. He wasn't fazed by anything, and took such a child-like interest in getting to know me and understand me, even if he didn't totally grasp the magnitude of the things I recounted. However, this doesn't mean he's dumb. Goku is actually really bright; he just doesn't act or express it in conventional ways. He wasn't a bragger, or self-interested. If anything, he was the most selfless person I'd ever met. We spent many an occasion just talking and reminiscing about all his past adventures, but most of all, he'd always surprise me with some insightful throwaway thought he had about a certain situation or person. Sure, sometimes he could be so dense and daft that it'd exasperate me like nothing else, but there was no way you could stay mad at the guy. He was incapable of being mean or sarcastic, and he was simply not wired to take umbrage to anything. He'd just laugh it off and grin in the most genuinely effervescent way that you'd forget why you'd snapped or glared at him to begin with.
Okay, it's totally cliché, but I'll say it: Being friends with Goku was like having an older, caring brother. During the quiet moments when we'd be warming up or winding down from a long day of sparring, I would have to internally pinch myself at the surreal realization that I was in the presence of not only the greatest Super Saiyan ever, but that I was also surrounded and welcomed by his family in friendship. It was an…well, a novel feeling for me to be around such great, nurturing and congenial people who not only encouraged me, but also made me feel like I was equal to them—like I was always part of their circle.
I'd never felt such an intrinsic sense of belonging ever. I once told Piccolo as much, and he'd smirked in that sexy way of his and acerbically reminded me that he'd been in the same boat as me –isolated and not welcomed anywhere until Gohan came into his life and showed him that it didn't have to be that way. Still, I sometimes was overcome by the overwhelming contentment I felt. I relished every moment we'd all share. From the sparring, to the silliness that would always ensue after a too long period of seriousness, to the quieter moments of sharing simple experiences with Piccolo and the Son family.
The sense of inclusion was something I'd never known I'd yearned for my entire life. Being around Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Goku who all merrily included me in their lives made me realize what I'd missed; things I'd taken for granted because I'd never experienced in my realm…with my own family. It was something that I struggled to imagine no longer having or being part of, so often times I shoved those thoughts and worries away.
They were caring and warm people free of guile and illusion. Sure, they each had their quirks, but that's what made them the best. From Gohan's irreverent struggle between goofiness and nerdy conviction, to Chi-Chi's intense-yet-silly dominion over the family, to Goku's unending wonder and cheer in the face of anything – the family had become amazing friends to me and made me feel like an honorary member in all ways.
And let's not forget the amazingness of my super sexy and devilishly handsome twin star.
In quiet moments like these, I often had to check myself when I stared over at him. He was currently meditating under the tree in the yard, the sun's rays caressing his profile in such a way that I just couldn't help fawning internally. Seriously – it was always a struggle for me to fight off ending up with heart-eyes for him whenever I'd stare at him and let my lust and pining run wild. Luckily, I'd gotten plenty of practice in coaching my gaze and glances in ways that wouldn't give us away to the others.
Still…I seriously had to wrestle my lust for him and shove it away this particular morning, having gone weeks without being able to get seriously hot and heavy with my delectable stud muffin.
"Hey, Sofia! Whatcha thinkin' about?" Gohan suddenly chirped over my shoulder, causing me to face-fault into my butterfly stretch.
"Gah! Don't you know it's dangerous to interrupt someone thinking super hard!?" I jokingly groused at him as I got up and dusted myself off. His cheeky little grin was the spitting image of his father's, especially with his hands laced behind his head like that. "I was just thinkin' about the future…" in bed with Piccolo~!
"Sure you weren't thinking about something more specific? Or maybe someone more specific?" Gohan snickered goofily and started doing kata moves in which he'd keep pointing his gestures towards Piccolo.
Narrowing my eyes smugly at him, I huffed and drawled, "You know all this teasing you're doing is only gonna come back ten-fold on you when YOU get a girlfriend, right?"
Sweatdropping, Gohan grimaced and stuck his tongue out, "I'll never have a girlfriend, so no worries there, haha!"
I was about to grin malevolently at him when a ruckus from the house began to carry over to our spot next to the small stream that skirted the yard before it came outdoors. We'd been waiting for Goku to come out and warm up before heading off to a training site for the day when what I'd been anticipating for a while finally happened.
Well—to be more precise, it only took roughly three weeks before Chi-Chi was completely over the daily training regiment that left little time for Gohan to study or spend quality time with her, so when we were all stretching outside in preparation for the energy attack practice-heavy day ahead, she'd bellowed at Goku that we needed to scale back.
"Aw, c'mon, Chi-Chi! We have to train—"
"I'm not saying to stop training! I'm saying it's ridiculous to spend 7 days a week mindlessly training and stunting Gohan's studies even more," she'd raved before suddenly turning to sniffles as she added, "And I miss spending time with my baby. I don't want 3 years to fly by before you realize how much quality time we've all missed – I want to spend time with my family devoid of all this stupid training and fighting!"
'Oh, for crying out loud…' Piccolo had telepathically muttered to me, shooting me a huffy glance as he strode over to Gohan and I.
I offered him a shrug, which went unnoticed by Gohan, who was watching his parents' heated discourse. 'Well…she has a point.'
'C'mon…don't tell me Stockholm syndrome has set in—'
'I'm serious! I know you two don't get along, but shit, let's be real. She's been awfully understanding—dealing with her husband AND son gallivanting across the universe doing battle with crazy-ass villains and the like for the last couple of years. I don't think her request is that unreasonable—'
"I AM being reasonable! I just want a day dedicated solely to family time, do you hear me, Goku?!" Chi-Chi had bellowed, causing the guys to wince and cringe.
Before Goku opened his mouth and put his foot in it, I phased over between husband and wife so I could referee a bit. "You know, I agree with Chi-Chi."
Blinking in shock, Goku looked at me. "You do?"
"Yes," I curtly nodded, before continuing, "It'll be good for you guys to spend quality time together. I know training is important, but what's the sake of preparing for this battle if you take what you're going to battle for totally for granted?"
Falling silent, Chi-Chi gave a small smile and uncoiled from her demanding posturing.
"Dad," Gohan ran up and stood next to Goku as he added, "It'd just be 1 day a week. It would be nice to just relax at home with you and Mom."
"Well…" Goku hesitated, but once he looked into Gohan and Chi-Chi's raven eyes, shimmering with expectant love, he relented. "Okay."
They all happily cheered, hugging Goku as he laughed cheerily. I smiled and headed back towards Piccolo, who was now leaning against his favorite meditation tree waiting for me.
"Hey," Goku called over to us, so I glanced over my shoulder. "What about you guys? You're more than welcome to—"
"It's ok, Goku. I got my own training to do," Piccolo interrupted, finishing his gruff assurance by turning and walking away as he added over his shoulder, "I'll be around. We'll pick up training tomorrow morning."
Smiling at his back, I turned and walked back over to the others. "I'll just grab my backpack and head out too—"
"Oh Sofia, you don't have to go," Chi-Chi began, but I shook my head good-naturedly at her.
"No worries. It's cool, you guys. Your family time day will be the perfect opportunity for me to go explore," I replied and smiled, ruffling Gohan's hair. "And besides, I have to come up with my own super secret techniques in order to keep these two on their toes!"
"Heeheeheehee, oh man, I'm jealous! I guess it'll give Gohan and I more motivation to not be left behind in our training if you and Piccolo are working on your own battle techniques," Goku offered and slapped me jovially on the back, almost tipping me over.
Coughing, I playfully punched him in the shoulder and cackled, "That it better, Kakarot!"
Goku started laughing uncontrollably, totally loving whenever I did my Vegeta impression.
Once I'd gotten my small backpack and flung it on, I ran back out of the house and offered them a farewell wave before taking to the air and flying a direct course towards a certain delectably sexy Namek. Finally, we'll be alone and not have to worry about sneaking around~! I chirped merrily as I flew, easily pinging onto his location, but confused it wasn't in the direction I expected.
"Took you long enough."
Staring between the two Nameks once I'd landed in the meadow, I took off my backpack and tossed it down to the short grass before running over.
"Nail!" I shouted happily and jumped in the air, tackling the other Namek while Piccolo rolled his eyes and snorted.
"Ack! Oh, common now—I wasn't ready!" he rasped in that steely tenor of his, chuckling when I squealed and hugged him. "It's nice to see you too, Sofia."
Climbing off of the warrior-class Namek, I hopped over to Piccolo and tossed my arms around his neck.
"Ack-woman—!" he began before I smothered his complaint with the kiss I'd been dying to plant on his lips for what felt like ages.
Kissing me back, he pulled me against his frame and encircled my waist, anchoring me to him as I stood on my tippy toes and hummed into the deepening kiss.
"Awww, I do enjoy seeing love prevail," Nail mused in a fawning tone. Blushing, Piccolo ended the kiss and sweatdropped, glaring at his counterpart. I giggled and kissed his jaw as Nail continued, "I did tell Piccolo you'd probably want some alone time, but of course you know how he is."
"Shut it, Nail. We've got 2 hours to spar, so let's get started," the terse Namek mused as he let go of Sofia and smirked. "I personally think he's too rusty to actually give us any real trouble, but seeing as I still owe him that monumental ass whooping…" he trailed off his bravado-laced drawl when Nail scoffed knowingly.
"You wish, Piccolo. Now if you're through sweet talking us, let's get started," Nail challenged, that affable glint in his eyes remained as he stood and took his stance across from Piccolo and I.
Rolling my eyes, I loped over to take my own stance while Piccolo took his. "Nameks and their constant need to roughhouse…" I muttered to myself as I stretched and fell into position, glancing to Piccolo on my left and Nail at my right. "Winner gets a kiss on the cheek from the losers!"
Sweatdropping and face-faulting to the ground, the two Nameks groaned in bewilderment. "No!"
"Awww, c'mon!" I giggled and grinned. "Just let me win then if you're both too macho to give each other a smooch on the cheek."
"I'd rather do Goku's laundry than kiss Piccolo!" Nail shouted in protest, earning a disgusted grunt from the other Namek.
"I'll rip my own ears off before kissing Nail, or anyone else for that matter, you little perv!" Piccolo barked, now grumpily fuming while Nail shook his head and huffed.
"So you wouldn't want to kiss me no more?" I faux sniffled and made my eyes all big and glossy.
Relenting in his attitude, Nail blinked at me comically before nervously laughing at Piccolo, who threw his head back and exhaled in an exaggerated huff.
"You know what I mean, dammit. Now get your mind in the game already!" he grumbled at me. When I just pouted deeper, he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms moodily. "I only want and will ever kiss you, you unbelievably one-track-minded hentai…"
Phasing quickly in front of him, I poked him playfully in the chest as I purred, "Damn straight, you sexy and scrumptious-lipped pain," before giving him a peck on the lips. "Now…let's get nuts!" I said before expertly hopping and flipping in the air until I was back in my spot. "Show me what you got, fellas!"
Glancing sidelong at each other, Piccolo and Nail nodded, as if silently agreeing on a game plan before locking in and blasting off straight towards me.
"You asked for it!" they both shouted at the same time.
Mmmm…threeway time~!
"Ahh, just a little lower…oh no, right there…ahhh, that's perfect. Don't stop…"
"You're so tense. Perhaps we overdid it?"
"Hmmm? Oh no, not at all…I'm…tense cuz of…other reasons."
Nail paused in his shoulder massage to ponder, the quizzical look on his face remaining as he mused, "Oh, you mean lack of sexual gratification?"
Flinching and balking at the Namek, Sofia blushed furiously. "Nail!"
"What? It's not like I don't know you two 'get busy,' you know," he laughed good-heartedly until Sofia's blush deepened.
"Watch it, buster. Keep teasing me, and I'll pounce on you and get rid of some of this tension," she mused and turned the tables, leaving Nail to now look mortified.
"Oh come now. You don't want me, Sofia-chan. I don't even know how to kiss—"
"Nonsense! You just put your lips together, lean in, and let the smooching commence," Sofia giggled before playfully tossing herself backwards to lay on the ground as she pantomimed kissing an invisible love interest.
Nail burst into hearty laughter, falling backwards and laughing until Sofia snickered and joined in.
They'd spent most of the previous hour or so rigorously sparring – her, Piccolo and Nail – until they took a break to nurse some wounds and take a breather. While she sipped some water, Piccolo and Nail took up some simple hand-to-hand combat. All the challenging and arguing aside, they both seemed to enjoy the camaraderie they shared as the only two Namekian warriors – sharing different sparring techniques and even chatting in their native language after a short beat.
Sofia enjoyed seeing them unwind, and was more than happy to hang back and relax her tense muscles while watching the two handsome warriors do their thing. After a few minutes of them chatting while they grappled, they suddenly glanced over at her before resuming their conversation in a hushed tone. Just as Sofia was about to ask what was up, Nail nodded to Piccolo and came over to her, asking if she'd like to spar one-on-one. Smiling, she hopped up and said sure, rushing over to a not so beaten and battered spot in the large meadow to do some friendly sparring while Piccolo shouted over his shoulder that he'd be right back. Once Sofia asked for a time out to tie her shoe, she glanced around and realized Piccolo hadn't come back yet, but just before she could reach out with her mind to hone in on his energy signature, Nail pulled her over to lounge in the shade of a large tree and engaged her in idle chat. He even offered to massage her shoulders when she kept stretching and trying to pop the tension out of her aching back muscles.
Sighing as she stopped laughing, Sofia lay back next to Nail and stared up into the canopy of leaves overhead.
"I don't ever want this to end."
Glancing over at her, Nail snickered, "What, the sexual tension?"
"No!" she playfully swatted his arm, sitting up on her elbow. "I don't want to go back…"
Nail's expression sobered, taking on the stoic quality that he wore most of the time back when he'd been under the tutelage of Guru-sama. After a pause, Nail brought his hands up and laced his long fingers together before putting them behind his head. When she glanced self-consciously away, the bare-chested Namek stared at her thoughtfully.
"Then, don't."
Startled, she looked back at him, her red eyes dazzling under the shade.
Stretching out, Nail smiled up at her. "If you don't want to go back, you shouldn't. It might be the dimension you were born in, but clearly, it isn't the dimension you belong in. It's your choice," he mused sagaciously, but added sweetly, "Plus, I wouldn't want you to leave. I cherish our friendship. And, Kami knows, Piccolo would be a wreck."
Pulling her knees up, Sofia buried her face against them, using the jean fabric to whisk away some tears that escaped her eyes of their own accord before grunting with humor and smiling. "Thanks, Nail."
Sitting up, he smiled at her and shook her shoulder platonically. "Don't mention it."
She pulled him in for a hug then, and he exhaled, glad he sensed her grow at ease once more.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Glancing towards the source of the baritone voice, they looked goofily up at Piccolo, who was staring down at them with a raised brow ridge.
"Not at all. Nail was just trying to convince me to run away with him," Sofia dramatically sighed and batted her lashes at the other Namek.
Snorting, Nail played along. " Indeed. I was telling her of the romantic life we could have, filled with passion and unbridled desire—"
"Is that a fact," Piccolo cut in sarcastically.
Both nodding vigorously, they went back to hugging each other and exaggeratedly sighed fawningly.
"You both know that crap's annoying…" Piccolo grumbled, narrowing his eyes when Nail burst into laughter and Sofia giggled at his expense. "Anyway, it's almost time."
Frowning, Sofia let Nail help her stand. "Well, it was nice to be out and doing some sparring. Thanks for humoring me, you two," Nail remarked, smiling as he squeezed Sofia's shoulder affectionately before going to stand next to Piccolo.
"Bye," she quickly leaned in and gave the affable Namek a peck on the cheek. "And thanks for the advice."
Nodding, Nail began to glow along with Piccolo, and offered a casual wave before the glow flashed brightly and died down to reveal only one Namek standing before her now.
Closing the short distance between them, Sofia went over and hugged Piccolo. "You know I only have eyes for you, right?" she sighed affectionately against his chest.
Returning her hug, Piccolo buried his nose in the top of her hair, inhaling her scent as he closed his eyes and grunted in confirmation.
"And just where have you been this whole time?" she inquired and pulled back to look up skeptically at him. "Poor Nail had to work hard to keep me from wondering for too long. He even gave me a nice massage—"
"He did, did he?" Piccolo tried not to sound too jealous, but failed.
"Mmhmmmm," she drawled playfully, adding, "It was only a shoulder rub. Now, where have you been, hmm?"
Giving her a lopsided smirk, he gestured for her to follow him. "Come, I'll show you."
Blinking at him, she ran over and grabbed her backpack before rushing over to follow his lead. Taking flight, Piccolo flew northeast, ascending past clouds to glide across the beautiful blue sky. Staring at the glorious horizon with wonder, Sofia smiled and glanced over at Piccolo, who was smiling at her.
'It's not very far, but figured it'd be nice to see things from up here,' he murmured to her over their rapport, gliding over to fly closer to her.
'I adore it. It's so peaceful and lovely,' she mused, resisting her urge to reach for his hand and instead following his lead as they went through a fluffy cloud and barreled out the other side.
'This way,' he told her when the clouds fluttered by and revealed a sparsely vegetated wilderness spread across the landscape beneath them, filled with tall plateaus and bluffs that careened down to long swaths of desert.
Following along, she descended until they were now zipping along the sky above the wild and desolate landscape – a scenic area she found to be somewhat familiar. As Piccolo flew towards a cluster of plateaus on the more lush side of the wilderness, Sofia followed and watched as dinosaurs and predators stomped in packs in the far off distance. Oh wait. This is where Gohan and Piccolo trained before the Saiyans.
Descending over some jungle-like vegetation, Piccolo finally slowed and began to levitate down towards a large and tall plateau with a smooth flattened top. He hovered down towards a side of the rock face before spotting what he was looking for. Landing on the lip of the rock that jutted out, Piccolo waited for Sofia to descend and hover next to him. Offering her his hand, he guided her to a flatter spot on the jutting ledge before leading her along the side of the rock until they came to the hidden entrance of a cave not easily seen from the ground or high up in the air.
"Whoa…" Sofia mused with wonder as her preternatural red eyes stared into the seemingly dark cave, and realized it went deeper than it looked.
"Go in. I just need to take these off," Piccolo instructed as he took his turban off and tossed it over to a mossy patch just on the side of the cave's entrance before pulling off his wide shoulder pads and cape. When she glanced quizzically at him, he responded, "It's too narrow in there for me to move around with this stuff on."
"Oh," she said, still curious as to why he'd taken her to this spot.
Taking her hand, he led her into the cave, which had smooth rock surfaces that allowed for some light to filter in from the outside, however its ceiling was barely tall enough to accommodate Piccolo's imposing height; he could stand and still have about a foot between the top of his head and the ceiling, at least.
When Sofia walked ahead of him, she came upon a large and wide alcove that was the center of the cave, and stared about in awe. Along the backside of the alcove was a full bedroll with sheets and thermal blanket folded on it. In the center of the alcove there was a small little fire pit with kindling stacked neatly beside it and already arranged in the middle, a couple of sitting pillows, a jug of water with a matching basin and some other fireside camping gear.
Going towards the fire pit, Piccolo flicked a small spark of ki that instantly ignited the dry kindling in the middle, helping to better illuminate the cave.
"Piccolo…what is this?" Sofia asked, her voice echoing slightly. She was staring at him in wonder after she glanced about at the fire-illuminated space.
"It's where you can stay…where we can stay when it's just us," he murmured, his voice echoing as he watched her for her reaction.
Blinking at him in surprise, she glanced about again; slowly realizing the supplies were from the kit Bulma had given her. Taking off her backpack, she reached in and found the capsule case missing. When she looked back at the side of the bedroll, she saw the very case placed by it for safekeeping.
"You don't like it," Piccolo said, his expression revealing disappointment when her features hadn't changed from the shocked wonder she'd had since entering. Glancing back at him, her eyes were blazing like shimmering rubies at him from the firelight. They distracted him from seeing her loving smile slowly creep across her full lips. "Forget it. We can find somewhere else…" he grumbled and dropped down to sit moodily by the fire on one of the sitting pillows, his tone holding a perturbed edge as it echoed in the cave.
Going to sit on the other pillow across from him, Sofia stared at him over the fire, her heart doing summersaults in her chest as she watched him use one of the longer sticks to poke at the embers in the pit, his eyes shining like polished onyx from the flames as he distractedly scowled in thought.
That feeling of supreme love swelling inside of her again, she watched him until her mind's eye projected to her a memory of the small little hatchling he'd been, sitting in front of a fire and poking at it to keep it from dying out so he could stay warm. Suddenly overcome, Sofia wrung her hands together and breathed softly, "This is where you stayed when you were little!"
Blinking bemusedly, Piccolo glanced up at her, his expression unreadable as he tilted his head to the side, curiously. "How do you know that?" he murmured, his tone like velvet as it echoed. When he stared into her eyes, he saw her unconditional love blaze in those crimson spheres, her expression softening. Since leaving the chamber, he'd noticed how her red eyes would flare with a preternatural glow at times, either when she was furious or profoundly intrigued. He'd assumed the stark white of the time chamber obscured the peculiar trait, since the brilliant atmosphere even obscured the casting of shadows. Seeing those eyes glow at him now warmed his blood.
"I saw some of your memories. Back in the time chamber," she spoke serenely, watching as he tensed and gazed at her. "When you were just a little kid. You were all alone, fending for yourself…" she mused, her eyes growing glossy as they welled with unshed tears.
Feeling self-conscious, Piccolo looked away, hating to see that tumult of emotion shine in her eyes. A flurry of emotions she was feeling because of him…for him.
"It's no big deal. I hardly remember any of it. In any case, it made me stronger," he mused, his tone faraway as he stared back down into the fire. "I'm not the only one. You had to go through stuff too—"
He glanced up as she crawled over to be near him, her eyes gleaming alluring at him as she leaned close and stared into his surprised yet handsome features. When she caressed his cheek lovingly with her fingers, Piccolo stiffened, but didn't pull away. Instead, he found himself leaning into the hug she gave him before he even realized what was happening.
Pulling back, he stared into her beautiful features, cupping her cheek after brushing her hair behind her ear.
She breathed him in, feeling lured further by his rugged scent and tender-looking lips. Leaning in close, she stared into his onyx eyes.
"We're both strong, sure, but it doesn't change that I wish I could've hugged you back then and told you how much I love you. So…I'm doing it now," Sofia whispered at first, but definitively murmured the rest as she smiled, her guard completely down as she caressed his cheek and kissed him softly on his jaw before staring sultrily at him through her lashes.
Instead of gulping or blushing, or even diverting his gaze self-consciously, Piccolo's onyx stare changed. His guard melted away, showing open and serene wonder as her words stirred something overwhelmingly freeing to flutter within his heart as it beat against his ribcage.
I love her too.
Overcome with the realization, Piccolo pulled her close and kissed her, earning a soft mewl and gasp of relief to escape her lips before kissing him with gusto back. Clinging to his muscular shoulders, Sofia deepened the kiss, pressing against him as he pulled her onto his lap and caressed her body with his strong, eager hands. When said hands began to slip up the back of her shirt, Sofia sighed wistfully and dragged her palms down his clothed chest, breaking the kiss to stare hungrily in his eyes.
The hunger that shone back at her sent an excited flutter down to her womb. "Piccolo…" she breathed as he began trailing kisses down her throat before tangling a hand in the back of her thick dark hair while the other cupped the small of her back. Arching, she gasped sultrily when he suckled on the delicate spot of her neck and sighed when she felt his arousal press firmly against her through the confines of their clothes.
Her sweet and feminine scent was intoxicating him, stirring a primal need inside him to claim her as his. It was a yearning that emboldened him to cause delicious havoc on her voluptuous curves. Nuzzling her neck before tilting her head to the side so he could devour her with a passionate kiss, Piccolo could feel her soft skin grow warm with excitement – her nipples now taut even under the durable fabric of her sport bra through her shirt. Growling, he tightened his grip around her waist when she kissed her way along his jaw to nibble on his earlobe before suckling as she ground her hips down on his lap.
Getting up from the side of the fire to lead her over to the bedroll, Piccolo was about to pull her down so they could get entangled on the soft surface, but he was stopped when her hands gripped the sides of his gi shirt and tugged them free from the sash. Hands falling away to relinquish control, he let her pull his shirt up his torso and off of his head before watching her untie his blue sash and unravel it from his waist.
Sofia leaned forward and kissed his emerald chest, admiring the myriad of textures his warm and thick flesh had under her touch and lips. Fingertips gliding down his defined washboard abs, she felt his muscles tense in excitement as her fingers pulled on the waistband of his gi trousers.
Exhaling in mounting anticipation, Piccolo impatiently took her in his arms and began undressing her, pulling her shirt off and kissing her exposed shoulder and clavicle when her breath hitched in excitement and her hands gripped his arms.
After they hurriedly kicked their shoes off, Piccolo kneeled as he unfastened her tight jeans and began to pull them off of her hips, slowly baring her tight navel and supple legs to his hungry stare before he kissed his way back up her body.
Sofia's knees shook and threatened to buckle under her mounting excitement, but when he stood over her and began pulling her bra straps down her shoulders, she managed to keep her wits about her as she reached behind herself and unbuckled the intrusive garment and let it fall away while she stared up alluringly at him.
His hands began to caress her lovingly while he kissed her temple, groaning at the feeling of her gripping his back as she arched against him. It wasn't long until said hands had possessively caressed down her curves to pull the final intrusive garment off of her body, freeing her supple skin to the firelight and his heavy-lidded eyes. Standing in all her illuminated glory, Sofia looked otherworldly to him as the firelight caused her usually tanned skin to almost glow.
Taking his punch-drunk expression to her advantage, Sofia smiled up at him as she kissed him and pulled the last barrier between them off of his hips to pool at the ground. Her hands skimmed his hard muscles admiringly as she gazed up into his eyes with glimmering desire shining in hers. Piccolo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his strong nude form before claiming her lips in a tantalizing kiss that caused her to swoon and wrap her arms around his neck.
His antennae vacillated slightly when he lay on the edge of the bedroll and crawled backwards as he guided her down to loom above him, her hands caressing up his textured torso as she kissed her way up from his stomach to his chest before she smiled provocatively at him. Pulling her against him, Piccolo kissed a ravenous path from her collarbones to her breasts before pursing his warm mouth over one of her taut nipples and humming around the delicate flesh. Gasping, Sofia blushed softly before groaning when he tilted her sideways, leaned over, and kissed her as he pulled her against him. She kicked the folded blankets out of their way as they began to stretch out and entice each other, hands skimming along their bodies while their mouths kissed, suckled and caressed each other into groaning, gasping or murmuring sighs of passion.
Stroking his engorged manhood in her hand, Sofia kissed the side of his throat when he bit back his moan of pleasure. Not satisfied with his attempt to keep his reactions muted, she pressed her thumb over his sensitive tip once she stroked the straining appendage and timed it with the hard suckling of his erogenous spot on the side of his neck, just below his ear. Earning a hoarse gasp and a tremor to course through his frame, Sofia quickly found herself being rolled so Piccolo could cause havoc on her hypersensitive nerve endings in sensual retaliation, slipping his hand between her thighs so his expert and deft fingers could tease her soft and warm sex, curve of his palm pressing firmly against her clitoris as he kissed her ravenously. When her hands gripped him as she arched and cried out with pleasure, Piccolo watched her expression light up as a delicate blush heated her cheekbones.
Continuing his foreplay, Piccolo rubbed her warm and dampening womanhood until she arched into him and mewled, "Oh god!"
It drove him wild when she did that, but even though his need was throbbing wantonly to be inside her, he kept teasing her, wanting to watch her come undone with a hearty cry of ecstasy. However, growing desperate in her need for him, Sofia rolled them until she was straddling him, causing Piccolo to groan and grip her hips as she began to grind down on him in slow, delectably circular motions.
He possessively clutched her backside when she rolled her hips in such a way that it caused his manhood to press flush with her tight entrance, the sensation so exquisite it caused him to arch his back and curse under his breath.
"Fuck…" he growled sensually, panting as he caressed her torso while teasingly bucking his hips up and causing her to gasp and stare hungrily down at him. Her eyes were hooded and glowing crimson with desire for him as she hummed in pleasure and gripped his sculpted pectorals before leaning down to meet him for a hungry kiss. Their tongues twirled and caressed as he bucked his hips under her, beginning to enter her tight sheath and tease her hypersensitive flesh. When she arched above him with a pleased sigh, Piccolo gripped her thighs and watched her undulate her hips, grinding his throbbing manhood wantonly against her warm and tight core.
Unable to take it anymore, Piccolo rolled so he could be on top when he thrust deep inside her. Sofia cried out with relieved pleasure, gripping his shoulders as he began to make love to her with passionate and powerful strokes that drove him deeper into her trembling sheath. He kissed her skin, watching her arch and moan more and more as he quickened his pace, cock throbbing for release as her body contracted around him from her undulating pleasure. Rolling onto their sides, Piccolo gripped her waist and guided her bucking hips up and down his shaft, forcing her to cry out and cling to him as he pounded his thrusts in that angle he knew drove her wild. Whimpering, Sofia clutched at him when he pressed himself fully inside of her and stayed flush against her before he nudged her for a kiss.
Licking his lips first, she kissed him slow and hungrily, groaning when he rolled them yet again so he could loom over her and smile debonairly down at her. She could feel herself buzz with elation when he looked at her like that, especially when he began to roll his hips in a way that drove his thick throbbing sex to press deep inside of her before bucking his next thrust upwards. Arching against him, Sofia moaned and dug her fingers into his back, wrapping her long legs around his waist as he began to thrust in and out of her with expert abandon, groaning against her neck as he quickened his pace. When his next thrust pushed his manhood deep enough to hit that tender bundle of nerves nestled inside of her, Sofia cried out his name and whimpered before she grew taught and clung to him as she climaxed.
Prolonging her ecstasy, Piccolo kept thrusting his powerful strokes in and out of her trembling and tightening core until he gripped her thigh and groaned as his climax barreled through him full force, leaving him with his pulse rushing and body trembling minutely over hers. Panting, he pressed fully inside of her and felt the bliss of completion when her warm and curvaceous body relaxed under him and pulled him closer. He encircled his arms around her and held her as she lovingly caressed his back and affectionately nuzzled his cheek. Slowly recovering from the mind-blowing session of lovemaking, Piccolo leaned back so he could gaze at her with his arms resting on either side of her head, making sure not to pin her tussled hair as he leaned back down to kiss her passionately then.
As they lay in sensual repose for a quiet moment – only the fire's crackling filling the cave along with the soft echoing of their breathing – Sofia closed her eyes and smiled as she languidly stroked her lethal-yet-gentle fingers along his side, completely lost in the peace she felt being with him like this.
"You know I do too, right?"
Her eyes fluttering softly, Sofia stared up at him, her expression showing confusion but also glowing with sated desire for him. "What?"
Caressing her cheek with the backs of his knuckles, Piccolo exhaled, "What you said earlier…you know I feel the same…don't you?"
Smiling knowingly up at him, Sofia softly mused, "Oh, I'm not sure. Can you be more specific?"
Giving her a long huff through his nose, Piccolo raised a skeptical brow ridge at her. "You know I do."
"I do, but…it'd be nice to hear it, too…" she trailed off affectionately as she languidly traced her fingers along his arm, shrugging. "But if you're too macho—"
"I love you, ok?"
Blinking, Sofia stared up at him, dumbfounded and in awe. Regardless of the somewhat begrudging edge of his tone, she saw how his eyes softened as he'd said it, and her heart melted all over again. Smiling dazzlingly up at him, she caressed his cheek and felt pride swell in her when he leaned into her touch unselfconsciously.
Curling lovingly against him after he rolled onto his back and pulled her with him, Sofia practically beamed from the inside out, stars in her eyes as he pulled the discarded blanket over them and circled her waist with one arm while the other propped behind his pillow so he could stretch out and relax.
Leaning up to kiss him, Sofia pressed her forehead lovingly against his as she murmured softly, "I love you too."
"I know."
Snickering at that, she gave him another peck on the lips before settling back down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder as she cuddled against his side.
Lulled by the beating of their hearts falling into synchronization as they slowly relaxed, the twin stars fell asleep in each other's arms as the fire continued to crackle before it too dimmed and went into slumber.
THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!
Whew! That was a long and very satisfying chapter to finally have out of my head and for you guys to read. Hopefully my fellow Piccolo fangirls out there appreciated it!
-ROGUEFURY
