"Enjoying the party?" A grin covered Nail's face as he slid into an empty chair at the table.

Piccolo rolled his eyes in response to the question. "Everyone is loud and they are getting drunk which means they will only get louder." His ears twitched in a phantom pain at the torture he knew would come.

"Maybe we should just get louder than them first, hm?"

"I think that would only encourage them." Turning as he spoke, Piccolo recoiled in surprise as he noticed how close Nail had become to him. He discreetly scooted to the opposite edge of his seat and looked back at the frightening sight of the Saiyans starting a drinking competition.

It seemed that Nail had followed his gaze. "That can't end well. Do you want to get out of here before the bomb explodes?"

There was a soft chuckle following the words that made Piccolo's stomach feel weird so he stood and strode out into the night in search of cool, fresh air. Crossing his arms, he noticed with a frown that Nail was only a few seconds behind him. Someone other than Gohan being so nearby unnerved him, putting him on edge as if an attack could come at any moment. He rolled his shoulders, let out a deep breath, and gazed upwards, trying to expel the nervous energy from his body. For so long he had prided himself on being calm and unwavering, but—

"A beautiful sight."

Piccolo's head snapped back to Nail and his cheeks tinged purple at the realization he was somewhat expecting Nail to be looking at him instead of the stars. Letting out a small, uncomfortable cough, he turned his eyes to the sky again.

"Do you miss Namek?" He felt stupid for asking but even worse for standing in silence.

"No. It was a good home, but I've found something better here."

"A challenge?" That's what drove Piccolo after all.

"You could say that." Lips slid into a sly smirk and laughing eyes trained themselves on Piccolo. "A real tough one."

"Hmph. If you're trying to best Goku then I suggest you give up now. It's better to accept your limitations than to drive yourself insane trying to keep up with him." A hard pill to swallow as they said, but that didn't mean that Piccolo would give up on training—just his goal had changed, priorities shifted, mindset realigned.

"It's not Goku that I want the best of." Nail turned to fully face Piccolo now, eyelids slightly closed, the stare more intense than amused now. "But maybe I'm already insane to be chasing after you."

Taking a step back, Piccolo's stomach felt cold. Did he? Had he? No. With an imperceptible shake of his head, he drove the thoughts from his mind. Clearly Nail was implying that he was trying to keep up in strength with Piccolo. Not something else that had nothing to do with fighting. And Piccolo certainly didn't want it to mean anything else.

The quickness of his pulse meant he was looking forward to having a sparring partner of equal strength and that was all. Swallowing, ignoring the slight throb in his throat, Piccolo pushed his shoulders back again, regaining his lost composure.

"Keep training if you want to take me on." It was vaguely challenging. An appropriate response to someone wanting to outmatch you in strength, right?

"I'll do whatever it takes, Piccolo."

It was hard for Piccolo to discern the ways of humans sometimes and the double meanings in the words they spoke. Why was he getting that same feeling with the way Nail talked in a deeper pitch than normal, stared at him harder than normal, and stood closer than normal. He had felt cold before but now he felt overheated underneath his cape. Nail was to blame. With those piercing eyes and curved lips—the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and the way his head cocked in a slightly teasing way to the left. Piccolo didn't like it. Did not like it all. Things should be clear, conversations plain, and interactions straightforward.

He took a step backwards again to reassess the situation. Surely he was reading too much into the words. But what if he wasn't? And why did he want to?

"I'm ready if you are."

"You want to fight now?" Another step back. He knew he was stronger than Nail, but the instinct to flee was overwhelming his rational side.

"Only if I get a make-up kiss. You're getting dangerously close to that mistletoe and I believe it's tradition on this planet to kiss underneath it."

Piccolo's face was in a full blush and he quickly turned to see the small sprig of green leaves that Nail was referring to. Hiding his face was just an extra benefit of the action. Shaking, in fear, in excitement, he stared at the mistletoe with a blank expression. He had been right and he couldn't decide if he should congratulate himself on picking up on the cues correctly or ashamed for wanting to read into the situation in the first place. He blinked slowly.

He had wanted it.

He had wanted Nail to mean something behind his banter. He had wanted Nail.

A warmth was at his back and a trace of breath blew past his ear. Piccolo closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind as the burning in his throat intensified.

"What I'm saying is I've grown quite attracted to you, Piccolo. I want more than a kinship, but if you're not interested then I won't force the issue."

If his pulse was fast before it was racing now. His blood tingled as it pumped in his veins, driving an arc of electricity through his whole body. Piccolo's eyes slipped closed and he smirked to himself. More than a kinship? It sounded like an interesting distraction, a new challenge. Something he would have never sought after, but the more he thought about it the more enticing the idea seemed. Nail was strong, honorable, and—his throat was becoming even more uncomfortable now—pleasant on the eyes so to speak.

Nail was willing to try, willing to initiate the conversation. There wasn't anyone else he could think of pursuing this type of relationship with and that should mean something, shouldn't it? Taking a long stride forward, Piccolo ended under the hanging branch and turned to Nail with a whisper of a grin on his face. Win or lose, he was willing to take on this fight.

"I was never much for traditions, but I'm open to trying something new."

Large eyes blinked a few times, then Nail broke out of his stupor and rushed forward to Piccolo. They stared at each other for a few moments before Piccolo felt hands lightly brushing against his biceps. Nail was smiling at him, wavering back and forth slowly in a way that compelled Piccolo to take the lead. Running his tongue over dry lips, he leaned in for a kiss and mentally grinned when Nail pressed forward to close the distance between them.

The contact tingled, sending a shiver of excitement through Piccolo and he wrapped his arms around Nail's shoulders to hold onto the feeling. Awkward and amazing, needy and restrained, their lips melded together in a twisting of exploration and expression. Fingernails were digging into his arms and yet it only made him desire more instead of wanting to pull away. Then fangs were gently tugging at his lower lip and he couldn't contain the soft moan that made its way out of his throat.

A soft pressure was at his lips, something wet seeking entrance and Piccolo complied. Now it was Nail's turn to groan as their slick tongues slid over each other and coiled together. Piccolo's body was on fire, trembling as he pulled Nail closer. Never wanting it to stop, needing more, he almost whimpered when Nail broke away and heaved for air. His eyes were glued to the trail of saliva hanging from those plump lips. Temptation too much to resist, he leaned in to suck at Nail's lip one last time before pulling back.

Nail was softly panting and grinning at him with twinkling eyes. The look made his face burn again, ashamed of how easily he had let himself get carried away. But it had been wonderful. Forget embarrassment—he already wanted to pull Nail back into his arms and continue the kiss all night. This time he showed restraint though. He smiled back at Nail, brushing a fist over his wet mouth. He could tell there would be a lot more where that came from in the future.

"No regrets?"

"None." He could see the last remaining tensions leave Nail's body.

"I have one."

Piccolo raised a brow in amusement, already expecting some sort of cheeky retort.

"That we didn't do that sooner." Nail laughed at his own joke, endearing in a way that Piccolo had never noticed before.

"I change my answer then. I agree we should have done it sooner." He leaned in, wanting to taste Nail again, savor the experience, when an earth-shaking roar erupted from inside the house and Vegeta's energy sparked into overdrive with Goku's following closely behind. Nail jerked back and looked wide-eyed at the house.

A vein throbbed in Piccolo's forehead as he grimaced at their horrible timing to have a drunken pissing match. "Those two don't know when to quit. We better head back in before they bring the whole compound down. I'm sure Bulma would never let us hear the end of it." He sighed wearily and let go of their embrace.

"We have to be the babysitters? That doesn't sound like a fun Christmas." Nail laughed but there was a definite disappointment in his tone.

"But the babysitter always gets a reward." With a wink, Piccolo turned and opened the door to walk back inside. He heard Nail mumble how the reward should match the effort needed to keep two drunken Saiyans in check and Piccolo's face cracked into a toothy grin. If they survived the night without anyone needing senzu beans then he'd definitely make sure to amply reward his partner.