A Namekian Affair, part 11

Great Explanations

Piccolo had flown a fair distance away from the Lookout. Though he knew he was probably overreacting a little about how he's been avoiding Dende lately, only this time it wasn't the real issue. It had just gotten too crowded for his taste for the moment being. Perhaps some other time he wouldn't have minded so much… A time, when he wasn't as heavily gravid and trying to meditate the same time, which had gotten only harder as time went on. Not to mention the smell of the tea, that had made him nauseated.  

He looked down at his now visibly rounded belly and raised a hand on it, while sitting on a rock.
"When are you going to come out, anyway?" He asked quietly. Not that he was anxious to having the kid around; he was just growing tired of not being able to meditate properly with his belly being always on the way these days. Plus, he didn't like the side effects the pregnancy was having on him. Any smells, especially those related to food, made him nauseated, as the tea had earlier. Also he didn't like the contractions he had every once in a while. And everything just seemed to get on his nerves, especially Dende. Yeah, especially Dende.

Piccolo didn't know why exactly, though, but for some weird reason the presence of his mate had grown almost unbearable. Basically every time he came near him, especially if the younger man happened to be on a romancing mood, Piccolo got this extremely strong urge to get and stay away from him. At times he actually felt like even attacking him, but had managed to keep himself at bay. In fact, those thoughts scared him in some level.

To make something clear, it wasn't as if Piccolo didn't love his mate anymore, or – he hated to admit this- didn't miss his touch and everything they had together prior to his current condition. Just that those things were not pleasurable for him anymore; more like the very opposite. Well, as for now anyway.  Secretly the Namek wished the baby would arrive soon, so maybe then he would become his old self again, and not this… fat and bitchy half-female he so often felt like.
He still tried to meditate some, but without much success. Every time he tried, the belly was either on the way, or if he tried some other position, it either gave him contractions or just felt uncomfortable some other way. After the sun began to set, Piccolo decided to call it a night. He found a comfortable and empty lair nearby and went to sleep.

Meanwhile on the Lookout, Dende was meditating inside his private quarters. He was in the process of trying to contacts the Great Elder Muuri of the Planet Namek. It took a while, but finally he managed to form a connection.

"Great Elder?" he asked in his mind.
"Dende? Is that you?" he heard the old Namek answer his question.
"Yes, it's me." Dende smiled while he said this. "How are things on Namek?"
"Oh, good, just good… The usual, you know." Muuri answered. "How's Earth treated you?"
"Just …great. Yeah, umm… Nothing could be better." he answered, a little hesitantly. The elder picked it up immediately.
"Is something bothering you, Dende?"
Dende sighed in his mind. "There's no way of hiding things from you, is there?" he formed a half smile.
"What's the matter, son?" Muuri asked.
Although relatively speaking Dende and Muuri were brothers, but due to their vast age difference and the fact that Muuri had been the biggest influence on his upbringing while he still lived on Namek, the old man was more of a father to him than their real father and former Great Elder, Guru (who's now been deceased for over ten Earth years) had ever been.
Dende was quiet for a while. "You better sit down for a while."
"I am sitting down, Dende. What is it?" Worry was apparent in the older man's voice.
"I need to talk to you about something… personal." Dende began, feeling suddenly more insecure than in a long time.
"I'm listening, child. You know you can tell me anything at all." The Great Elder assured him.
Dende thought for a short while how he should phrase what he was about to tell him.
"Well…" He chuckled a little, nervously. "The thing is… that…" He had a small break again.
"Well, I have some news for you, for one." Dende smiled, feeling uncomfortable.
"News?" The Great Elder asked, intrigued.
"Yeah… I, umm… Well, a lot has happened here since I last talked to you. Well, ehheh… Yeah. I'm fully grown-up now, and all that…"
"Yes? And?"
"Well, you know the only other Namekian that lives here is Piccolo… Well, him and I… We've grown close. Very close."
"Oh, well I'm happy to hear you're coming along well." Muuri smiled.
"Yes, but there's more than that." The younger man said.
"More? What you mean?"
"Well, you know how humans and so on… Bond with one another and become mates? Well…" He had a small pause. "That's what… happened… to us."
Muuri was silent for a good while.
"Really?" He asked, sounding surprised. "Oh, my goodness…"
"Are you mad at me?" Dende asked, feeling now very insecure.
"Mad? Why would I be? I just…" The older man began. "I just… I regret not being able to seeing this happening earlier. There are so many things I should've explained you… Oh, Guru, I'm such a fool for not realizing this before."
Now it was Dende's turn to be silent in wonder.
"What you mean?"
"Son… There are a lot of things neither you nor many of us know about our species. Let me explain you." he began.
"When Guru passed away, he gave me all his wisdom and memories.
Piccolo's father (when he was still united with Kami) was the only other survivor of the great cataclysm aside Guru. What the others do not know is that during the time before the cataclysm, many things were different. Back then, our kind consisted of many different tribes and families… And most families consisted of two mated individuals. Today, as we are all Guru's children and thus brothers, we are too closely related with one another to bond that way. But, Piccolo… He is another story." Muuri said, and sighed as he finished.
Dende was silent for a while. This was too good to be true.
"Wow… So are you saying that…? What we feel for one another… Is indeed the way our kind was supposed to?"
"That is exactly what I'm saying, Dende." Muuri smiled.
"I regret not being able to explain these things for you before this happened though… I'm sure it would have made things a lot easier for you. But I'm glad to see nature found its way on its own."
"You have no idea, oh Elder." Dende let out some happy tears while saying this. "You have no idea."
"You seem to be very relieved." The old man noticed.
"Oh, yes. Very much." the younger man replied.
"All this time… I was afraid that maybe what happened between us was something unheard of or sacrilege or something… You have no idea how happy this makes me."
"I understand." Muuri smiled. "And I bet you shall be even happier to learn that you can have children together if you so wish."
That made Dende halt still for a while, his smile widening even further.
"Well, actually…" he chuckled. "We already have one on the way."