#thundere

Loud explosions wafted over the Lookout, the sky lighting up with large balls of purple and blue energy and vibrating underneath their power, but still Popo and Dende sat inside the building without a care, used to the side effects of Piccolo and yours’ training. It has been more than five years since you’ve crash landed on Earth and met the Z-Fighters’ hostile greetings, but of course, you could not blame them. Having been dressed in a Saiyan Warrior’s official uniform, your tail tightly wound around your middle, it was only natural for others to fear you, given the fact that you were a superior race, but after your prince, Vegeta, recognized you as the Saiyan who was once banished for refusing to kill for work, most of them trusted you instantly.  Unfortunately, the namekian was one of the few who were skeptical about your intentions towards Earth, but after numerous “sparring sessions,” he didn’t simply start to trust you – the two of you developed a routine of training together and even became friends.

“Too slow!” Piccolo bellowed as he sped across the heavens after you, “You’ve become sloppy!”

“Have not!” You merely laughed in return, dodging his attack with ease. And yet, something felt strange to you. Usually, for what felt like hours, the two of you subtly handed winning streaks to one another, pretending not to notice, but today, Piccolo threw his punches with everything he had – it worried you to the point where you finally had enough and stopped. With annoyance clear on your face, you hovered back down to the Lookout and begun to walk inside.

“Where are you going?” Piccolo asked as he landed behind you – it was clear that he was trying to sound calm, but the snap in his voice was obvious.

“Leaving.” You stated without waver, not stopping or so much as glancing his way, “You’re clearly in a bad mood and I’m not going to patronize you any longer.”

“But isn’t that what you’ve always done?”

Freezing in an instant, you turned back to the man and frowned in confusion, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I can sense things, Y/N.” He growled, crossed his arms, and turned away with an annoyed huff, just gazing up at the clouds without purpose, “So I know you’re holding back against me… and I can see things, too; for example, when I see you defeating Vegeta without so much as breaking a sweat, it is obvious!”

Realization instantly dropped in your stomach like a weight of guilt, your face growing pale while you were left to blink in disbelief. Two days ago – you could still recall how broken up Vegeta looked because of it – your prince challenged you, having had suspicions of your strength, and just like Piccolo had said, you won. You never even suspected Piccolo of all people to be standing nearby, watching you use a strength he never even knew you had. The only reason he begun to trust you in the first place was because he defeated you in battle, so he didn’t have to worry, but now he knew none of it was true.

“I can-“

“Explain?” He cut you off, “I don’t want that, Y/N, and quite honestly, I don’t need it. I know what you’re thinking,” he glanced your way over his shoulder, “and no, this doesn’t shatter the trust you’ve built with me over the last few years, but it does, however, make me think – why? I don’t see any reason why you would have wanted to fool me for this long.”

No denying it – you felt the urge to lie bubble up your throat like vomit. Lowering your gaze, your jaw clenching tightly, you glared down towards the white tiles at your feet in silence. Unfortunately, however, you knew there was no point to lie – you always sucked at lying – but you weren’t sure if that made the situation better or so much worse.

“At first, I pretended to be weaker than you so you would trust me.” You mumbled sincerely, your voice too low for any human to hear, but easy for the Namekian, “But then… after a while… it became habit. I read in an Earth book that men don’t like females defeating them or being more powerful. It makes them feel more masculine if they are stronger and like they can protect their ma- female, so I thought….”

“I don’t understand.” Piccolo stated obliviously, unwittingly forcing you to look back up at him in disbelief, “Why read Earth books if you ‘like’ someone instead of simply sparring normally? And… ‘their female?’ I feel more confused than before.”

All you could do was release an exasperated sigh, only then remembering how Namekians live – no romance, no female, no mates of any kind, and eggs. Of course he would not understand what you were trying to confess to him. “That’s not…” You grumbled under your breath, but quickly trailed off. How were you supposed to explain-?

‘Cruds.’

In an instant, the worst idea ever came to mind – yet, it was the only one you had. You completely forgot the fact that you were avoiding the truth earlier, suddenly driven to make him know the truth. And so, still a bit unsure about your own motives, you maneuvered yourself back in front of Piccolo, his confused eyes never leaving you, which didn’t exactly help your nerves. Taking a deep breath, you place your shaky hands on both sides of his neck, resting your palms on the purplish blue material of his GI, unable to resist noting the feeling of the strong muscles beneath.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, his frown deepening while his obliviousness continued.

“Explaining.” You stated, as blunt as ever, and felt his words somehow giving you more confidence for what you were about to do. After a few more moments of nauseating silence, you finally float from the ground and set your lips against Piccolo’s own. You merely placed your lips against his, your eyes falling shut, and you felt him flinch back at your seemingly odd actions, but still the warmth of the kiss made your heart smell. In the end, scared the organ would explode, you were forced to step back down and open your eyes, but alas, yet again, you were met with a face of annoyed dismay.

“How is that explaining? How is that anything?” He asked, but unlike what one would expect, you released a tired chuckle and dropped your head in defeat – why did you think that would work to show him your feelings?

“A kiss.” You sighed, your head still dangling wearily from your neck while your hands fell from Piccolo’s shoulders, “Just something dumb people do to show certain emotions.” Finally, you raise your head to send Picccolo a sheepish smile, but as soon as your eyes fell on glowing purple flesh and an expression that seemed nothing less than surprised, your face fell. As if almost startled out of your skin, you jumped back, your own blood rushing to your face in a murderous blush. “What the hell!?” You exclaim in horrified astonishment, “How is it that you know what a KISS is, but not everything else!?”

“Gohan…” Piccolo seemed to force out, still frozen by your bombshell of a confession, “I caught him and Videl and he felt the need to explain it to me. I didn’t realize you were doing the same- So then… you… that was why you…?”

You could only nod, however slow and brief. What was happening, you screamed inwardly.

“Ridiculous.” He stated suddenly, flatly, and looked away, his blush disappearing while your heart ripped from one simple word, but only a second later, a grin spread from one of your red cheeks to the other, “-those Earth books. How does faking weakness impress someone you have feelings for? It takes strength to impress another – strength like y-yours, even if you kept it h-hidden. Seems that way for me.”

As someone who just had your own innuendo go unseen, you easily recognized the deeper meaning behind his words, but still you couldn’t resist revenge. “I don’t understand.” You said, but being the terrible liar you are, the gentle smile you sent his way made the truth obvious, “What does my strength do for you?”

“Don’t make me say it!” He snapped in his usual, broody way, before he once again turned away – you’ve noticed a long time ago that he faces away from what makes him feel uncomfortable, but you didn’t care. The joy and relief that overflowed your mind, heart, and senses was all you needed. And so, unsurely, you stepped forward without a word and snuck your hands around his cape and around his waist, only burying your face into his strong back when he stiffened. “I won’t make you say it.” You promised and slowly felt him relax, as if your words allowed him to do so, “…but know that I’m overjoyed by those unsaid words.”

“Good.” You heard him grumble, the small smile in his voice unmistakable, despite him denying it later, “Now don’t ever go easy on me in a fight again.”

Again, all you could do was nod. After years of being exiled from your home planet, you could honestly say that this was the best day of your life.