Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unconditional Bonds (revamped) ❯ Explanations ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine: Explanations

The Northern breeze swept down from the mountains, rustling the dark foliage of the forest floor. Leisurely, the sun made its steady path unto the horizon, its golden rays hitting the face of the sleeping Namek as it made its ascent. Piccolo's eyes slowly opened.

The first thing he saw was the white foaming water of the falls. He perched himself on his shoulder and let his eyes sweep the horizon. Nothing of much interest to note; birds making their annoying noises in the trees, a fish making a vain attempt to eat a dragonfly that was hovering a few inches above the water, the wind rustling a nearby plant; all simply signs of an awakening forest. It then dawned on him that he was alone. His eyes quickly darted around the area. Vegeta was gone, as were his clothes.

Immediately, Piccolo snapped to attention. With a crackle of light his training gi was replaced and he was on his feet. A stab of dread pierced his chest. He fought the on-rushing wave of awareness of the past night's events and forced his mind to calm. Vegeta was gone. Either fled for whatever reason-and there were oh so many-or his grief engulfed him and he did something drastic.

Piccolo's first objective was to locate the Prince, so at least he knew which one of these options to torture himself over. However, there was no need for such a search. The tall warrior's acute hearing picked up the soft sounds of breathing from the south. The Namek slowly turned towards the noise. Unconsciously, he backed up a step at the sight before him.

In the darkness of the shadows about 25 feet in the distance, on an ancient stone, the prince knelt. One of his legs was crossed, while the other was tightly drawn to his chest. His powerful arms rested at either side of his body with his hands perched on the rock face as if he were ready to leap. But it was his eyes that unsettled the Namek. Set in the expressionless statue that was Vegeta's face; deep black orbs pierced through the tall warrior like staves. No longer clouded by grief and exhaustion, they shone like pools of ink, blacker than pitch. He said nothing, nor did he move.

Piccolo, regaining his composure, returned the Saiyan's stare with his own onyx eyes, his mouth set in a grim line.

Seconds passed that seemed like hours. Finally, the Saiyan opened his mouth to speak, the words spilling forth in a cold controlled voice, raining on the Namek like ice.

"What took place last night should not have happened, Piccolo."

The green warrior somehow managed to keep his facial expression as stony as before, but inside he felt his being twist with pain. He wasted no time on wondering why the statement hurt. He would fence with his petty emotions at a later time… if there was a later time.

When Vegeta received no answer or explanation, he bent forward intently, his eyes boring into the tall one before him. But Piccolo stood his ground, even though he knew Vegeta could and probably was going to kill him. Shivers ran up and down his spine, but he disregarded them, never tearing his ebony eyes away from the Prince's.

He stared him down, this Saiyan before him was the root of all the chaos that swam in his mind.... and his heart, making him feel things he didn't want to, didn't think himself capable of, and he hated him for it. The spite manifested in his expression as the muscle in his jaw twitched.

His fists clenched in fury. How dare he! How dare he ruin his perfect world, shatter his unsullied peace, and make him feel weak, useless emotions. Did he not come to his rescue? Did he not pick up his tattered body from the mire of the Earth? Heal his wounds, spoon feed him like an infant even? All so he wouldn't die, wouldn't leave. Did he not befriend him when the majority of the world turned their backs, out of spite, out of fear? Was he not there to listen to all his frustrations?

Countless times he assured him that he'd adapt to Earth. That although it sucked, he'd learn to live with it, maybe even grow to like it. Did he not do these things without thought or hesitation? Yes. He had done all of these things. So why did he deserve this?

Ungrateful bastard. Is this the thanks he gets? He does all he could possibly do to help the oh so mighty prince adapt to `this mud ball of a planet'- saves his life even. And in return?... He gets these damn emotions. These horrendous emotions that caused him to commit such a shameful act, that caused his soul to wrench in pain at the elite's statement of regret. The green man's eyes narrowed abruptly, anger boiling over within him.

Never seeing him look so ominous before, the prince blinked despite himself. He snorted and looked at the ground, then quickly looked back at the Namek. Unnervingly, his expression was still the same, but that didn't deter him.

"Why?"

It was a simple question, but one Piccolo wasn't prepared to answer. He didn't want to, and he couldn't. He couldn't even ask the question of himself. His anger vanished and was replaced with a deep feeling of disgrace. Pushing his feelings aside, he crossed his arms and turned his back to the Saiyan, an extremely bold move. Vegeta could kill him if he wished and he wouldn't raise a finger to stop him. In fact he felt that he more than deserved it. He raised his ki preparing to take flight.

"I need not explain my actions to you," he said sharply. "I do what I please to whom I please."

It was a phrase he hadn't uttered in years, long before his fusion with Kami or Nail. He began to float a few inches off the ground, he may die this day but he'd be damned if he would humiliate himself further. He looked over his shoulder and gave Vegeta an evil smile barring his sharp canines in the process. With venom-filled words he spoke;

"It's not my problem if you were too weak to stop me. If you didn't care for it you should have done something more than lay on your back like a placid little sop." An incongruous chuckle, "It's your own damn fault, princy."

He figured if he was going to go down it might as well be with a bang. He both heard and felt Vegeta's ki skyrocket. Ignoring the deadly Saiyan behind him, Piccolo took off in the air. A steel-like hand wrapped around his ankle and violently pulled him back towards the ground. Bright turquoise eyes met with his. Vegeta was inches from his face, he could feel the pulsating heat of his aura and he needn't look up to know Vegeta's once raven hair was now a shimmering shade of gold. They both floated closely above the ground, the Prince floating a foot or so higher, rage clearly etched on his face. Piccolo not being a coward stared boldly into his executioner's eyes, willing him to make his move. His mind quickly flashed back upon his life, his regrets and his victories, both evil and virtuous deeds. He briefly wondered where his soul would go.

A few days before, he thought he had done enough good in his life to override the amoral behavior of his youth, well he hoped. Now, he wasn't so sure. He was going to find out soon enough. Vegeta's eyes narrowed and Piccolo held his breath waiting for the death blow.

"Retarded Namek!" the prince bellowed. "That's not what I was talking about!"

Piccolo let out the breath, his eyes flying open.

"Huh?!?"

"You fucking idiot." Vegeta let out an exasperated sigh, his hair and eyes returning to their normal dark shade. He cocked his head studying the Namek, trying to decide whether or not he should explain himself, finally;

"What I meant was, was that last night shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have been able to..." neatly edging off at this point. "I'm bonded," he explained. "When Saiyans bond they physically can't be with someone other than their mate. It's impossible!" He shook his head in a mix of frustration and confusion. "It's complicated, but to make a long story short, I should not have been physically able to do anything with you last night."

"Could have fooled me."

Not the brightest statement in the world, but it was the only one Piccolo's overwhelmed brain could think of.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, and then shook his head attempting to gather his thoughts. They backed away opposite each other, silently contemplating, attempting to make sense of the situation. The Namek, finally regaining his wits, looked thoughtful.

Vegeta eyed him.

"What?"

"Well," he started, "If what you say is true, then explain Bulma's recent behavior."

They Saiyan's face darkened.

"Bulma's human. I thought that wouldn't matter. I thought that the bond would still hold between the both of us. But I guess it didn't pan out that way, turned out that it was one-sided."

Somewhat sorry he brought it up, Piccolo slightly steered the conversation in another direction.

"Bear with me here... Bonding?"

The prince looked at him in disbelief.

"Surely you've heard of it."

With an insulted look Piccolo sneered.

"No shit."

He landed on the ground, Vegeta following him. "Yes, I've heard of it." He conveniently left out that Nameks have their own form of bonding, "It's just that I've never understood it to cause individuals to be faithful to one another."

The Saiyan Prince, now assured, nodded.

"Yes. There is a psychic link from one person to another, tying them together. Desires for all others vanish. Even over long distances you can still feel your mate at all times."

"So what? Can you read each other's minds or something?" Piccolo asked, his curiosity piqued.

"No, its not like that…just get impressions, like if they're happy or sad. Emotional states, or if they're in danger." Then it dawned on him.

"Oh."

Piccolo looked questionably at the prince whose face went pale.

"What?"

Vegeta was speechless for a moment or two. He shook his head and leaned against a nearby tree.

"I haven't been able to feel her in the last 7 months. I just shrugged it off." He chuckled sourly. "Man, what an idiot I was. I thought that the bond was just taking its time re-establishing itself after I was revived from the battle with Buu. I never thought...I didn't think her capable of it." He leaned his head back against the bark behind him, "She had some sort of bond with me; she told me she felt it when I died, that she had a sharp pain, like she could literally feel my death. However, when I was revived, she was detached, distant, like I was a stranger. Was that pain she felt her weakened part of the bond ending? Dying at my passing?" He mulled over the question for a moment before continuing. "My part of the bond still held strong, then all of a sudden it just wasn't there anymore. One night, whoosh, it was gone. That must have been the night..." he trailed off, pain seeping into his voice. "That she was first with him," he finished with a vile snap. "But I ignored it like a fool. How could I have been so stupid?"

Piccolo shrugged.

"I agree, you are stupid."

This earned a glare.

The younger warrior quickly added to his statement.

"But not for that. You trusted her and loved her as you should have done. No one can blame you for that."

Vegeta crossed his arms.

"Would have made this easier if I hadn't." He went from leaning to sitting on the soft earth. "Yes, I loved her, very much so."

Whatever inspired Piccolo to ask the question he was about to ask was beyond him. He cursed himself for turning into such a sentimental fool. Yet, he could curse himself into a corner; it wasn't going to make a difference he still would ask.

"Loved? That's past tense."

Vegeta nodded.

"Yes, I know what I said. I did love her, but I can't forgive what she did. It's not in me. I admit I still care about her, and yesterday I would have sworn up and down that I would die without her. But now," he shrugged slightly, "it doesn't hurt so bad. I awoke this morning and the pain was nearly gone. It still aches," he admitted, "but I think I'll be able to move on." He shook his head at the thought.

"In the past two weeks I haven't even been able to function, it's like I just woke up and realized that what we had between us had died long ago. She wasn't happy, and to be honest, neither was I. Funny, I thought I was. I was never sure, but I thought so." He looked questionably at the tall warrior who stood before him.

"But this morning I woke up with a deep sense of ...peace, of all things."

Piccolo backed up, this was getting weird.

"You mean, this" he motioned between himself and the warrior, "doesn't bother you? That what happened between you and I doesn't freak you out in the least? That you had...that you," he became flustered, " `mated' with another guy?"

Vegeta looked stunned, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Without warning, he threw back his head and laughed.

Piccolo was not amused, not in the least. Shocked perhaps, but not amused.

The Prince's small frame shook with mirth he was laughing so hard. The Namek crossed his arms, soundly pissed off. Vegeta cracked open an eye and noticed his friend's demeanor. He managed to more or less control himself.

"Piccolo, you've been on Earth waaaaay too long."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

A few more chuckles.

"Admittedly, I do find this whole situation a bit strange, but not because of that."

The look on Piccolo's face was priceless; it nearly caused him to have another outburst of laughter.

"What?!?! You mean this whole time you've been gay?!?!"

That did it. Vegeta rolled to one side and went into hysterics. This was the funniest damn thing he had ever encountered and it had felt like a lifetime since he last had a good laugh.

Now Piccolo was full-blown angry.

"What the hell is so fucking funny?" he asked softly, too softly.

Vegeta wiped an eye and looked up at him, realizing just how angry the Namek was.

He straightened.

"Oh calm down." He suppressed a few more chuckles. "I'm sorry, it's just that I didn't think you so naive, that's all. Gay?" he asked lightly, "Keep in mind, Piccolo, that I was just recently `married' and I have a son from that union."

"So you're bi."

Vegeta bit his tongue.

"You really need to get off of this planet."

Again, Piccolo was not amused.

"What do you mean, Vegeta?" he growled in annoyance.

The Prince took a calming breath before beginning.

"Other than a few sparse places here and there, this is the only planet out of all the hundreds I have been to in my life that have such `rules' about who you can and cannot bond to. My very own home planet had a very low population of females, so bonds between males were a very common occurrence. Hell, I was even told that some of the females bonded with one another. It's not a big deal. As I said this is the only planet that seems to think it is." He grinned, "I have seen, over the passing of the years, that you've adopted this misgiving, as well as Earth's many other blunders." He laughed, "Man you really are an Earthling."

Piccolo shook his head in disbelief; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He leaned back against the rock Vegeta had been sitting on earlier, trying to absorb all that the Saiyan had said to him.

Vegeta watched him, then quirked an eyebrow.

"Now I have a question for you."

Piccolo looked at him.

"What?"

A smirk.

"If Nameks produce asexually, then why do you have one of those?" he said jabbing a finger in the direction of Piccolo's pants.

The green warrior rolled his eyes; it was going to be a very long day