Merry Christmas, Mister Piccolo - fic

Merry Christmas, Mister Piccolo!

Silvery and soft in the shaded area surrounding the waterfall, snow settled gently upon the floating figure of a man. His long ears twitched, sending some flakes flying on their way. Down, down, down, to the ground below. Piccolo's breath, visible in the cold air, wafted around his face before being swallowed in the icy atmosphere. His nose crinkled against the cold. He could, of course, conjure himself more appropriate clothing, but that would mean giving in to the cold. And that just couldn't be done. No, it was like training in the desert. Only the polar opposite. He wondered briefly if the Kid was going to show up that day, already he was three hours later than usual. That probably meant 'no' Piccolo reasoned, slightly disappointed. Gohan had promised to come visit on "Tuesday, because it's a very special day, Piccolo!" He wasn't sure what made Tuesday, December 25th such a spectacular day, but any day spent with the Kid was a good day in his book. Oh he would never admit it. Better to let the boy think he was annoyed by his presence, than to admit that he relished each moment spent with him.
Piccolo sighed, no, the Kid would not come that day. Slowly he descended to the snow covered earth below. No point in waiting around for – His ears pricked. A ki signature was approaching. His heart rate sped up slightly, maybe it was… Upon further investigation, the ki signature proved to be familiar, but it was not his Gohan. Piccolo huffed quietly. Krillin was alright, he supposed, lips twitching in a frown. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to welcome the monk! Sitting stubbornly back down, this time only inches above the ground.
“Hey Piccolo!” Krillin hailed from above. The Namekian grunted, eyes flicking sideways for a nanosecond. The former monk had an obnoxiously wrapped package in his arms, blue with a huge purple bow. Piccolo’s nose crinkled. What on earth? He said nothing, merely grunting in reply. Krillin seemed unfazed, setting the massive box down in the snow. “Got something here for you, from Gohan.” His ears pricked at the boy’s name. Oh? “Chichi wouldn’t let him out of the house, so he had me give it to you.” Piccolo had to stop himself from asking the monk about the package. That would be embarrassing, admitting that he was ignorant. That would never do. Krillin stood awkwardly next to him and the blue and purple box for a moment, before muttering something in farewell and flying away.
Once he was certain that Krillin was long gone, Piccolo turned his attention to the brightly wrapped box. Curious, he sat down on the snow, ignoring the cold wetness of the stuff on his pants. He reached out tentative hands towards the box, pulling it up onto his lap. It was heavy. He noticed that it was actually a box and a lid, both wrapped separately. For easy opening? Piccolo fiddled with the lid, sliding it slowly off, only slightly, to peer inside.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS PICCOLO!” A scream erupted from the dark inside of the box, the lid exploded off. Piccolo yelped in surprise as he was hit in the chest by…Gohan, wearing a ridiculous red hat and jacket. Mittened hands wrapped around his neck, a pair of bony knees slamming into his abdomen. Gohan buried his face in Piccolo neck. “I love you so much, Mister Piccolo, and I didn’t know what to get you for Christmas and I don’t have any money, so I had to get creative…” Gohan babbled happily, “do you like your present, Piccolo? I really hope you do. I can give you the scarf Mom made me if you want a real present..” This Kid. He smiled, an hugged the boy close to his chest.
It didn’t matter that he had no idea what a “Merry Christmas” was, it only mattered that the Kid cared enough to want to celebrate whatever it was with him.

Merry Christmas!