“Have you ever been in love, Piccolo?” Gohan asked. The two of them had been sparring, but were now sat under the shade of a tree resting.
Piccolo frowned, unsure where this random line of questioning was coming from. “No.”
Gohan was an adult now and, Piccolo supposed, he must have interest in romantic pursuits with humans, like Videl Satan. Piccolo couldn’t say he shared those interests.
“Aww, no pretty lady namekians to catch your eyes?”
Piccolo sighed. He wasn’t getting out of this conversation easily, it seemed.
“Namekians don’t have the same binary concept of gender as humans do, so no. I have not seen any pretty lady namekians,” Piccolo said, using a deadpan tone on the last part. “Furthermore, namekians do not desire companionship in the same capacity as you humans do.”
Gohan was silent and when Piccolo glanced at him he noticed the man had his hand on his chin, thinking hard. “I don’t believe you. There must be someone out there you love or have loved.”
“Fighting is my love,” Piccolo said simply.
“But that’s more like a passion, a hobby. That’s not a person. What about humans? Are you sure no human ladies have captivated you?”
Piccolo gave Gohan a long, tired look. But Gohan looked like he was trying his hardest to refrain from laughing. Piccolo clenched his jaw. He should’ve known better. Gohan was just messing with him. Trust him to do that.
“Brat,” Piccolo said, but there was no heat to the insult. Gohan grinned.
Maybe he could mess with Gohan back. Of what he knew of humans, they thought in binary and heteronormative patterns, especially the men. And given they all used male pronouns for Piccolo and considered him more similar to a man rather than woman, he knew exactly what to say.
“But for what it’s worth, I think human men capture my interest more than women.”
Gohan, who had been taking a drink from his water bottle, spluttered. Spilling water all down his training top. Piccolo smirked.
“Round two?” Gohan suggested, though Piccolo noted the man’s cheeks were a vibrant red. Fascinating.
Piccolo nodded. Fighting was his love, after all.