Work Text:
This was the third building they had taken over in the past few days, and Vegeta was getting frustrated.
“Swear to god, they’re worse than cockroaches.” Vegeta snarled, pulling his ax out of a walker’s head, throwing brain matter all over the wall. Piccolo chopped into the side of another walker’s neck with his machete, and then swung it down into the top of its squishy head, watching it fall to the floor with little interest.
“Cockroaches don’t die so easily.” Piccolo said, going through the walker’s pockets for anything of value. Vegeta did the same with his walker, finding a pocket knife but nothing more.
“So there’s a positive side to it.” Piccolo continued, cleaning his machete with a rag. Vegeta grunted, wiping his ax off on the walker’s pant leg.
They carried on through the building, cutting down the walkers that they came across and looting what they could from them. They settled in for the night in a room on the fourth floor. It used to be a nice apartment, but now it was in shambles. At least the bed was still decent. Vegeta threw himself upon it with enthusiasm, sighing and closing his eyes.
“You couldn’t take your disgusting clothes off first? First clean bed in weeks and you just smeared walker guts all over it.” Piccolo said from the doorway, smiling when Vegeta opened his eyes. The smaller man rolled his eyes as he sat up, pulling off his overcoat and tossing it on the floor. It wasn’t that dirty… Piccolo picked up Vegeta’s backpack from where he had dropped it, and carried it over to the bed, putting his next to it on the floor. He took off his own coat and put that on the floor as well, joining Vegeta on the bed.
He went to lay his machete across his lap but Vegeta shifted over and put his head there, so Piccolo laid it down next to his leg instead. As he ran his fingers through his partner’s thick black hair, he thought back to when he and Vegeta had first met.
The disaster had happened a few months before, and Piccolo was on his own. He and his godson, Gohan, had gotten separated in all the chaos. Vegeta lost his family–a wife, a son, and a daughter–to walkers in the weeks that followed the disaster. Piccolo believed that Gohan was still out there, somewhere, and had been looking for him when he stumbled across Vegeta.
The older man had been covered in gore and filth, walking aimlessly through the woods, surrounded by walkers. They hardly noticed him due to his bloody camouflage (Piccolo still wasn’t sure about whether it was intentional or not), but Piccolo picked him out of the crowd right away.
He attacked the horde without thinking, getting most of them away from Vegeta before grabbing his arm, dragging him through the forest. Vegeta didn’t even put up a fight until they reached safety, seeming to come back to himself and jerking his arm from Piccolo’s grasp. There had been an argument, some fists were thrown, and Piccolo had left Vegeta there in the middle of the highway, telling him that if he wanted to join him, his camp was a few miles down the road off the highway.
He waited for two days before deciding to move on without the other man, which was of course when Vegeta came into the camp, backpack on his shoulder and his head low. Piccolo didn’t say anything about what had happened, simply said he was heading for the next city, looking for his godson, and that they had a better chance of survival if they stuck together. Vegeta was silent for a good long while before his story came out.
The romantic relationship came later. It happened slowly, little moments and gestures from both of them that grew into bigger ones. Killing a walker the other man didn’t see, saving him from a fatal bite. Preparing food for both of them, instead of just for himself. Offering to take watch first because “you need to rest.” Bandaging cuts and scrapes without being asked, smoothing the tape over with gentle hands. A meeting of eyes that lasted longer than usual. Sitting closer than they needed to near the fire. Sleeping bags set closer together, close enough to touch.
Their first kiss was a particularly fond memory.
The sounds of the walkers out in the woods were making it impossible for them to sleep, so Piccolo and Vegeta were sitting next to the fire quietly, nibbling on some jerky they had made from a rabbit earlier. Piccolo watched Vegeta take a bite and look around, take a bite and look around, take a bite and look around, for a couple minutes before he finally put his hand on Vegeta’s arm. The smaller man jumped a bit and looked at him, instead of staring into the dark of the woods.
“You can relax for a little while you know. We’re safe for the moment.” Piccolo said. Vegeta snorted, shaking his head and looking at the fire again.
“Out here, safe doesn’t exist.” He said gruffly. “Safe doesn’t exist anymore at all.”
Piccolo squeezed Vegeta’s arm, making him look at him again.
“We’re safe when we’re together. Even if it’s just for the night, we are safe.”
Vegeta looked at him for a moment longer before knitting his eyebrows together.
“I think I’m going to kiss you, Piccolo.” He said bluntly. “I’ve wanted to for a while.”
Piccolo nodded.
“Alright.”
When Vegeta kissed him, he tasted like the rabbit jerky they were eating, but it didn’t matter to Piccolo. Truth be told, he had wanted to kiss Vegeta for a while as well, but had still been working up the nerve to do it. Having Vegeta suggest it was much easier. Vegeta pulled away and smiled, and Piccolo smiled back, and they went back to eating, with Vegeta leaning against Piccolo comfortably.
Everything else had fallen into place from there. Piccolo looked out the window of the apartment at the night sky as Vegeta lay sleeping in his lap. He knew the walkers were out there, milling around in the streets, waiting for some poor soul to cross their path. This building wasn’t safe, so they couldn’t stay, couldn’t make a life here, but Piccolo was determined to find somewhere for them. He’d find Gohan, make sure he was safe, and then he’d find somewhere to stay with Vegeta.
He wanted the two people he cared about most to be safe, and nothing else mattered. He ran his fingers through Vegeta’s hair again before gently touching his face, smiling down at him. The apocalypse wasn’t as terrible when you had someone you loved with you.