Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Seasons ❯ An Accidental Embrace ( Chapter 2 )

It had been nearly a week since Piccolo and her daughter had left her. She remembered kissing Piccolo almost passionatly in the doorway as Neko pretended not to notice and stood at no great distance, waiting impaitently, the silky dark tail she'd inheirted from her real sire swishing back and forth like an angry cat's, her arms crossed under her breasts in an unconscience gesture remincint of Piccolo's.

She stood on the beach, having decided to stay in the beachfront cabin awhile longer and hopefully allow the warm sand and pulsating ocean waves soothe her troubled heart and mind. She flipped her golden ponytail over her narrow shoulder and stood straight, looking out across the waves, her eyes lifting of their own accord to the half moon swelling just above the surface of the silvery dark waters on the horizon.

She thought of her loved ones, her family, and wondered how they fared. She knew that Piccolo would not allow any harm to come to Neko, but she was worried non the less. She was worried about him as well as their girl, who seemed to think she was old enough, at sixteen, to take care of herself.

"It's nice here, isn't it?" She gasped at the voice, not expecting company, not, at least, this far from any type of civalization. This beach had been her parents', their secret getaway place before they'd perished and as far as she knew, only a select few even knew of it's exsistance. She turned, her eyes expressing the surprise she felt and smiled warmly at the man before her.

Gohan had found the island easily enough, it was just a matter of pinpointing Piccolo's faint residual energy and following it. He knew that his old friend was not going to be there since he'd seen him and Neko off last week. He thought that he should pay Alaura a visit and see how she was getting along all by herself.

He needn't even have bothered had Tae, the chasimatic and talented namek they had taken in several years ago, been back from one of his ballet troupe's tours. From what he understood, they were preforming Cinderella across the globe and it was already a huge success. The critics raved about Tae's ability to `step completely into character'. He danced the part of the Prince with a dark-skinned beauty as his `Lady of the Ashes'.

He shook thoughts of the namek ballet dancer from his mind as he approached Alaura, unheard by her, so it seemed. She looks so tired, He found himself thinking, as he studied her profile for a moment. The moon's wan light causing her flesh to glow like ivory and the silver streaks amid her long hair to shine like metal. She wore a silvery-dark chemise and a flimsy outer gown of matching hue which blew back on both sides of her in the cool early evening breeze.

She looks…beautiful. He shook his head savagly. Where had that thought come from? He scolded himself. She was Piccolo's woman. He no right even harboring such thoughts about her. Angry at himself he nearly flew off right then and there without even telling her why he'd come in the first place.

"Yes," She answered his initial query, stepping into easy comfort with the man she'd known for several years now, "Very. There's always been something about the sounds of the ocean's roar, as if it were speaking to me, that's always been so relaxing for me. I remember when my grandparents would keep me during the summers when school was out and my parents did not want me underfoot and we'd spend the days at the beach. I would walk along the shore or build sandcastles or collect shells.

Sometimes, if no one was watching, I would dance with the waves as they tickled my toes, pretending an elusive gentleman was my graceful partner. Perhaps it was which the sea itself that I danced." She blushed slightly, suddenly aware of how much she had been talking, She laughed nervously, uncertain why she was nervous in the first place, "Listen to me, jabbering on like this. You probably think I'm a nut."

"No, I don't." He said, placing his arm about her shoulders and drawing her closer. Standing beside her, he noticed, her head only reached his shoulder and she sighed and placed it there as if she'd always done so, "I don't think that at all about you, Alaura. In fact, I think your…"

He stopped himself mid-sentence and silently berated himself for his carelessness. He's been about to say that he thought she was beautiful, not nuts. Maybe I'm the one who's nuts! He thought, I should go. If Videl ever found out that I was alone on a romantic beach with a beautiful older woman she'd flip out! I'd be lucky to escape with my balls still attached! But, somehow, right then, none of that seemed to matter. Something inside Gohan sensed that this woman needed to be comforted and he could not rightfully deny her what she seemed to need.

He recalled the time he'd gone with her into her bedroom, years ago, at the request of both her and Piccolo, to aide in the creating of a child for them. Then, according to his mind's memory, it had been fast, rushed, to the point and get it overwith. He'd felt…almost used after it was over and hadn't been able to look either Alaura or Piccolo in the eye for days afterwards. Only after he'd held the little girl whose blood coursed with his own, in his arms and looked down into her perfect little face had the nagging thoughts of wondering if what he'd done was the right thing fade.

"What are you thinking, Gohan?" Alaura asked, lifting her head to turn upon a gracefully long and slender throat towards him, "Your eyes seem so far away."

"Too far," He agreed, absently rubbing his fingers down the skin of her bared shoulder, feeling the chill-caused gooseflesh rise up under his touch, "I was just remembering the night you…we…conceived Neko."

"What I remember of that night," She said, aware of his touch and of the strange ache within her that it was creating, "Was that it was more rushed than enjoyable. It felt…I don't know…pushed. Almost as if we felt that we needed to hurry and get it overwith before we were found out."

He nodded, watching the dark water before them, and said; "Exactly. I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers it that way."

"But, I still wouldn't change what we did, Gohan." She said, suddenly turned to face him, chin tilted upwards to look into his handsome face as he gazed down into her cerulean eyes which seemed to shine with the light of the moon and it's many starlit offspring sparkling in their dance all around it. "I wouldn't take back the moment that brought Neko into our lives for all the tea in china! I will always be beholden to you for that, Gohan, always."

He wasn't sure if it were the words or the sweetly honest and passionate way about them that make him react so, but before he knew exactly what was happening, he'd captured her small, slick mouth within his own, tasting the strawberry lip balm she used as he'd never been allowed to before, not even on that one night in the past, they'd had together.

She gasped at this sudden intrusion, her eyes going from half-closed to wide open as she absently drew the palms of her hands up his chest and over his broad shoulders, feeling a warmth between her legs that left her clinging to him and unable to let go lest her knees buckle and she fall to the sand below them. He pulled away and concern drew his brows together as he realized what he'd just done.

"Alaura…I…" He stumbled as she struggled to recover as well, guilt pounding reletlessly on the door to her heart, making her blood run cold, "I'm sorry! I don't know what…why I just…Please, forgive me!"

She did not have time to say anything to him as he took the sky and flew off, leaving her there, stranded with her own emotions and the horrible dread she felt rising within her. He had kissed her! She thought, shivering as she wrapped her arms about herself, More, she had returned that kiss. And enjoyed it! She closed her eyes as the wind picked up, delighting in tangling her hair within it's bound ponytail, whipping the strands against her flushed cheeks. Too much!