The normally peaceful air of the Scherbakov mansion was filled with the sound of children's laughter and the arrhythmic thumping of little feet as they ran through the halls. Yamcha kept an ear out for the sound of anything breaking, but beyond that he couldn't hardly muster the energy to do anything aside from slump exhaustedly on the couch.

Over the past few months, all of the parents among their group of friends had made a pact of sorts; one weekend out of the month, each couple would take turns watching all of the children together. Of course, the only real 'couple' doing this were Piccolo and Yamcha, since Vegeta tended to leave the duty of childcare solely to Bulma, and Chi Chi was still very much a widow. Krillin and Android 18 had already agreed to join in on it once their daughter was born, but, as 18 was still heavily pregnant, they were allowed to skip their weekend for the time being.

It was a decent idea, at least in theory. The hope was that it would give each pair of parents at least a few days out of the month with no children around. Whether they used that time for more intimate pursuits or simply to take a grateful moment to relax was entirely up to each of them, of course. For whoever's turn it was to watch the younglings, however, it was absolute chaos. The task of watching over two young half-Saiyan boys was a handful in itself, but the normally-calm Yuri seemed to come out of his shell when around the other two and fully embraced Goten's and Trunks' antics.

Of course, Gohan came along on these weekend excursions as well, but he tended to keep mostly to himself, taking the opportunity to catch up on his studies. It would come as little surprise, then, that the Saiyan teen sought refuge from the chaos of his younger compatriots in the mansion's impressive library, where Piccolo was standing ready to tutor his young protégé in mathematics, physics, history, and – occasionally – a bit of martial arts training whenever the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, that left Yamcha to look after the younger ones practically by himself.

Everything was going smoothly for the time being. The three young boys had decided to amuse themselves with a game of tag, using the vast, winding corridors of the ancient mansion as a playing field. Trunks, being the oldest, clearly had the advantage in speed over the other two. Yuri held home-field advantage, however, knowing countless hiding spots and old servants' passages that the other two would never imagine were there. What the two half-Saiyans had in power and speed, the little half-Namekian had in cunning and stealth. Yamcha couldn't help but let a proud smirk spread across his lips at that thought. Honestly, he preferred it that way. Saiyans could be powerful monsters all they wanted, but as long as his son could hold his own by being sly and intelligent, that was more than enough for him.

Soon enough, however, the seemingly even match-up was broken when a loud shriek of distress echoed throughout the halls.

"Owwie!" came the familiar squeak of Yuri's voice from somewhere in the surrounding halls. "N-no fair! You're not supposed to pull hair! That's against the rules!"

"Hey, it's your own fault for not getting a haircut!" came the smoky retort from Trunks. "Mommy says only lazy bums have long hair!"

"Nuh uh! My Daddy has long hair too, and Papa says it's sexy on him! So there!" Yuri shot back, to which Yamcha couldn't help but blush in utter embarrassment. Goddammit, sometimes he'd forgotten that his son had inherited Piccolo's impossibly sharp hearing. Of course he'd end up overhearing some of the conversations his parents had in private…

"Alright, break it up, you two," Yamcha called out as he reluctantly lifted himself off the couch and made his way out into the hall. Yuri, Goten, and Trunks were all there – aged three, four, and five respectively – and the oldest of them still had a firm grasp on a handful of the youngest's long black hair. Yuri let out a distressed whine, trying desperately to yank his hair from Trunks' grasp, but to no avail. As soon as the half-Saiyan spotted Yamcha rounding the corner, however, he immediately let go and hid his hands behind his back, trying to pretend that he wasn't doing anything wrong. Yuri went tumbling forward once he was free, and once he picked himself up off the floor he shot Trunks a sharp glare.

"C'mon, guys, it's getting a little too late to play around like this. Time to go get ready for bed, okay?" Yamcha said, to which he received a chorus of disappointed groans from the three boys.

"But we're not tired yet!" Goten whined, at which point the other two immediately voiced their agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds like a you problem," the former bandit replied with a smirk.

"But Mommy always reads me a bedtime story. You can't send us to bed until we get a story!" Trunks retorted, drawing an elated gasp from Yuri.

"Yeah! I wanna hear a bedtime story too!"

Yamcha couldn't do anything but let out a resigned sigh. There was no resisting that eager, hopeful look in his son's eyes. It got him every time.

"Alright, alright… Go get changed into your pajamas. I'll be right up," he replied, to which the three young boys let out a cheer and scrambled upstairs to Yuri's room. Well, at least that would buy him a few minutes to come up with a story to tell…


Yamcha delayed for as long as he felt he could get away with before heading upstairs himself. Dammit, Trunks… Why'd the little brat have to go and mention bedtime stories? Now that he was under pressure to tell one, he couldn't remember any of the ones he'd heard before. He supposed that meant he'd have to make one up on the spot.

The three young boys were already waiting up in Yuri's room by the time Yamcha made his way up there. They sat in the large mass of blankets and pillows that had been gathered on the floor for them to sleep in. Piccolo had previously offered to make the other two their own beds, but they seemed to enjoy building pillow forts and curling up in a giant nest of blankets, so they just let them do as they wished. Yamcha settled himself down on a particularly large cushion in front of the three boys, trying to ignore how they were all staring up at him expectantly.

"Okay, so, uhhh… What kind of story do you want to hear?" he asked, hoping maybe they could give him a little hint on what he was supposed to do.

"Ooh! I know!" Goten chimed in immediately, "Tell us a story with animals in it! All of Grandpa's stories have animals!"

"A story with animals, huh?" Yamcha repeated mostly to himself. Yeah, he could work with that. "Alright, let's see… Once upon a time, there was a… a wolf! Yeah, a wolf, that works. The wolf was very sad and lonely, so one night he—"

"Why was the wolf sad and lonely?" Trunks interrupted before he hardly got the chance to get the story started. Yamcha let out a little grumble of annoyance, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Because the wolf's poodle girlfriend left him for some spikey-haired chihuahua. Now do you want me to tell the story or not?"

Trunks immediately covered his mouth with his hands as though to physically stop himself from interrupting again, nodding his head to indicate that he wanted the story to continue.

"Good. Anyway… One night, the wolf climbed up a very tall mountain so that he could get as close to the moon as he could. He howled up at the moon, asking it to grant him three wishes: he wanted a mate to love him, a family he could love in return, and to feel like he'd done something meaningful in his life. He howled all night long until his throat hurt, but the moon never answered him back. The wolf left the mountain, convinced he'd never get his wishes. As he made the climb down, he slipped on the icy rocks and fell down a deep gorge."

The three boys each gasped at that.

"What happened to the wolf?! Did he die?!" Yuri asked, clearly worried for this fictional wolf.

"That's lame! You can't kill off the main character in the beginning of the story!" Trunks added with a small pout. Yamcha let out a small chuckle at that. Well, at least they seemed invested in the story so far. He must have been doing something right.

"Don't worry, the wolf didn't die. Just before he hit the ground, a great dragon flew out of the sky and caught him."

"A dragon?! Like a for real dragon?!" Goten asked, leaning forward a bit as he listened. Yamcha gave him a small nod.

"Yep! The dragon took the wolf back to his den, and soon the two of them became very good friends. Still, the wolf felt like he owed the dragon a debt for saving his life, and he asked if there was any way he could repay him. The dragon then told the wolf of a problem that had been plaguing him for a long time.

"Many years before, a very powerful and ancient wizard used his magic to steal the dragon's memories. The wizard then sealed the memories in small crystal balls, and he gave them to two demons to guard. The wolf decided that he would go fight the two demons and get the dragon's lost memories back, and so he left to do just that.

"The first demon was a giant eagle that ruled over a huge forest. The eagle had the power to start fires with its wings, and it terrorized the other animals living in the forest. The eagle hated anything that wasn't an eagle just like itself, and it hunted down all the other animals and burned them with its magic fire. The wolf confronted the eagle, demanding the dragon's memories back, but the eagle refused. It flapped its massive wings and sent a wall of fire towards the wolf. The wolf was scared, but he knew he had to be brave if he wanted to help his friend. He jumped up as high as he could, leaping straight through the flames and aiming his fangs for the eagle's neck."

Yamcha paused for a slight moment, suddenly afraid that he might be making the story a little too dark for such young children. Upon looking down at them to see if they were getting scared, however, he found that all three of them were staring up at him with rapt attention, practically on the edge of their seats.

"Oh, c'mon! You can't stop there!" Trunks whined.

"Yeah! You gotta keep going! Did the wolf defeat the eagle?" Yuri asked, practically bouncing in anticipation for what came next. Goten nodded his head in agreement, equally as excited as the other two.

"Uhh… Yeah, he did! The wolf tackled the eagle to the ground, and stole the crystal ball it had hanging from its neck."

The three boys have happy cheers at hearing that, clapping their hands for the brave wolf. Yamcha couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face at their reaction.

"The wolf wasn't done yet, though. There was still one more demon for him to defeat. The second demon was a gigantic bear who ruled over the mountains where the dragon lived. The bear demanded that the animals of the mountains bring him all of the food they gathered, keeping it all for himself and sharing none of it. Any animal that refused would be frozen solid by the bear's ice powers.

"The wolf approached the bear and gave it the same chance he gave the eagle, but the bear refused to hand over the dragon's memories. It then slammed its paw to the ground, sending a wave of icicles hurtling towards the wolf. The wolf dodged as much he could, charging at the bear. The bear was ready for him, expecting the wolf to attack, but the wolf was sneaky. He slid under the bear and snatched the crystal ball it held, running away to safety with all the stolen memories.

"The wolf returned to the dragon's den, presenting his friend with his lost memories. The dragon saw the wolf's injuries, how his fur was singed and his body cut and bruised from the icicles, and knew how hard he must have fought for his sake. He thanked the wolf before devouring the crystal balls, regaining his memories once more.

"But…" Yamcha paused, faltering for a moment. "But the dragon soon realized that the memories that had been stolen from him were all sad memories. The wizard hadn't taken away his memories because he was evil, but because they hurt the dragon to remember. The wolf suddenly felt very guilty for getting back those awful memories. He'd come to realize that he loved the dragon, and he couldn't bear the thought of making him so sad.

"To make up for his mistake, the wolf told the dragon that he would stay by his side, and that he wanted to help make enough happy memories with him that the sad ones didn't hurt so bad. The dragon saw the wolf's sincerity, and he accepted.

"The two of them stayed with each other for a long time, making happy memories together every day. One day, the dragon used his magic powers to make an egg, and he gave that egg to the wolf. When it hatched, the wolf was surprised to find that the little dragon that was inside looked like it was part wolf itself! It was then that the wolf realized that the moon had listened to his wishes after all, and the dragon had been sent to grant them. The wolf had everything he'd ever wanted, and the three of them lived happily ever after. The end!"

"Wow, that was so cool!" Goten commented, still staring up at Yamcha in wonder.

"Yeah, that was way cooler than the stories Mommy tells! She doesn't tell the ones where stuff fights other stuff!" Trunks added with a grin.

"Daddy, can you tell another one? I wanna hear more stories like that!" Yuri chimed in. His father replied to that with a light chuckle, scratching at the back of his head.

"Maybe some other time, kiddo. I told you guys a story like I promised, so now it's time for bed."

To that, the three young boys groaned in disappointment, but they eventually complied, each picking their favorite spot in the mass of blankets to curl up in. Yamcha took the opportunity to finally slip out of there, wishing the boys a good night and flicking off the main light of the room.

"Interesting story. Can't help but feel I've heard it before."

Yamcha jumped slightly when the familiar voice addressed him seemingly out of nowhere. He looked around, soon spotting Piccolo as he stood against a nearby wall. He gave his husband a nervous laugh, a bright blush spreading across his cheeks. Dammit, he should have known better than to assume Piccolo wouldn't overhear all that...

"Y-yeah, sorry… It was the only thing I could think of at the time," he explained meekly. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No, not at all. You did it tastefully enough," Piccolo replied, giving his partner a soft smile. He took a step forward and draped his arms loosely around the former bandit's neck, and Yamcha in turn wrapped his arms around his husband's waist. "I only have one complaint, though… You seem to have left out one of the most important details of the story."

"I-I did?" Yamcha stammered out, blinking in confusion. What could he have possibly left out. Piccolo, clearly amused at his reaction, let a small smirk cross his lips. He leaned down until their foreheads touched and pulled the shorter man close against his body.

"The argument could be made that it was not the dragon that was sent to grant the wolf's wishes, but the wolf who came to grant the dragon's wishes."

Yamcha drew in a sharp gasp upon hearing that. Did Piccolo really mean that? One look into his husband's eyes was enough to tell him that it was no joke. His hold on the other man tightened, and he stood up on his toes to close those last few inches between their lips.

"Oh, yuck! Yuri, your dads are kissing!" came Trunks' voice from somewhere behind him.

"Eew! Grown-ups are so gross!" Goten added.

"D-Daddy! Papa! Y-you're embarrassing me in front of my friends!"

Yamcha's face turned bright red upon hearing all this, instinctively breaking away from their kiss and turning to see the three boys poking their head out of the bedroom door to spy on them.

"G-goddammit, you're supposed to be in bed!" he retorted without thinking, to which Trunks drew in an exaggerated gasp.

"Imma tell Mommy you cursed!"

Yamcha couldn't help but let out an exasperated groan. He just couldn't catch a break today, could he? Piccolo, to his credit, was more amused than anything, letting out a chuckle as he leaned down to whisper in his husband's ear.

"Don't worry so much about it. It's Bulma's turn to watch them next week. If you'll take a rain check on that kiss, I promise I'll make the wait more than worth it…"

Yamcha almost couldn't stop the pleasant shiver that ran up his spine at that, the deep, sultry tone of the Namekian's voice practically making him melt in his arms. A giddy grin spread across his face, and he completely forgot about the embarrassment he'd felt a moment ago.

"I'll hold you to that!"