I Lava You

As soon as he had Kayen out of his sight and far enough away from him, Nero felt as though he could breathe properly again. The more time he had to properly take in the experience of being on Beppa— with his partner no less! Zhalla’s presence made this venture a lot more bearable overall, but spending some time with her in an exciting new place on an entirely different planet was sure to be beneficial.

Nero’s demeanor was noticeably more positive and upbeat now, he had trained in a similarly extreme series of environments when he was younger, sure, but that didn’t make a river of lava any less interesting! He smirked behind his helmet when Zhalla spoke up about her thoughts on the planet. “Oh is that right? You aren’t a planet, silly~” Nero chirped, casually holding his hands behind his head. “Are you sure it isn’t just you?” There he was! That’s the Nero Zhalla knows! “Hey, we can both dive bomb into the ocean to see who makes the coolest splash or something. You game? We can keep scores, make a little contest out of it!” He said, playfully jabbing Zhalla with an elbow. “As for the suits and such, I’m happy that they’re optimized correctly. I had to do quite a bit of guess-work to get things right, but I’unno...” Nero shrugged lightly, temperature regulation was something he researched greatly after rescuing Pankaa for obvious reasons, and he already had a handle on armor engineering; so it made sense to bring the two sets of knowledge together when he needed it. “I guess I just know my way around armor, huh?” There he went again, downplaying his kindness, the punk.

Seeing Zhalla take her helmet off Nero whistled as he moved to stand beside her. “Woohoo~, well hello there~”, Nero simply activated a mechanism that opened up his visor and faceplate, revealing a wink coming Zhalla’s way. “Oh, Pankaa? Yeah, I mean I’m sure he’d rather have me around over much else— I wasn’t going to bring him, obviously, for multiple reasons. One being that I’d have needed to check with Carro how extensive the temperature resistance treatment is, plus uh... Yanno.” He gestured to the city, wherein chaotic noises echoed throughout. “This is a place where pirates, criminals and troublemakers are in alarming abundance.” Which could make for a cool story, now that Zhalla mentioned having things to tell Pankaa when they got home. Nero would be lying if he said he didn’t want to go kick some ass if he was given the chance. “He’s a brainy lil guy, he understood that he couldn’t come— but uh, I did mention I was going basically exclusively for your sake and he got a little bit crabby. Not in a mean way mind you— he knows you make me very happy— but I’m his dad, and well... Let’s just say you’re responsible for my safety too.” Nero grinned, waggling a finger as if to warn Zhalla. “So don’t disappoint, huh? Believe me, Pankaa is a tough kid with a lot of potential, once I’m training with him more regularly he’ll be even tougher~!”

Nero’s expression soon dulled and became a bit negative with a slight frown. A few moments went by without any word from him as he simply looked onward towards the horizon. After about a minute of silence, Nero sighed and looked over to Zhalla remorsefully. “Sorry for the way I acted earlier by the way. We both know how Kayen infuriates me to no end with her nonsense and chicanery, and there’s no way in any hell that I’m apologizing to her, but with you it’s completely different. I could have seriously jeopardized your safety and what you’re actually here to do.” Nero moved to hold one of Zhalla’s hands. “What I’m trying to say is, you matter more to me than anyone could really imagine and I am going to keep you safe, no ifs ands or buts. I should just show that properly, for your sake.” With his other hand, Nero cupped the side of Zhalla’s face. “When I said you’re drop dead gorgeous and amazing and that I don’t need anyone to tell me that, I meant it.”

Nero gave Zhalla a double pistols (and wink behind his visor) gesture. “Zhalla~” As he walked, Nero put his hands on his hips and scoffed comically. “Well yeah, you can’t get rid of the Pancake King that easily.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Or really at all, I heard he’s incredibly stubborn.”

As for the competition that Nero suggested, Zhalla accepted it in stride. “Hell yeeeehhh~” Nero whooped, pumping one of his hands in the air. Zhalla’s assertion that she would have the advantage was interesting, Nero found it encouraging, oddly enough. She had a way of bringing out his own competitive side in an honest and compassionate way; because she knew he was more than he thought he was. “Is thaaaat so? Not that I mind your size at all, but,” Nero returned the hip bump with one of his own as well. “We’ll just have to see then, won’t we? Don’t get too cocky, my dear~”

Nero blinked in surprise at Zhalla when she piped up about his work on the armor the two were now wearing. He thought he was just being modest, but he quickly remembered how Zhalla was about this sort of thing. If she thought that he was even slightly putting himself down she was going to pull him up on it... Honestly, he appreciated it more than he could express a lot of the time. “Alright alriiiight, fiiiine~ I’m awesome and the armor I helped fix up is kickass.” Nero puffed out his chest a little as he walked. “and, nobody can tell me otherwise.”

After they had collectively dealt with their helmets, the topic of discussion turned to their lives back on Earth for a bit, and Nero found it funny that there was such a difference between how Zhalla regarded Pankaa and vice versa. “Yeah, of course— I wouldn’t say he’s bad at making friends exactly, I’d love to help him improve on it. Pankaa is a kindhearted kid after all, and from what he’s told me, and from what others that have been taking care of him have told me— he’s sort of in the middle on that front, I suppose? D’you have any advice on that?” All things considered, Zhalla was more than likely the perfect person to get advice from on this matter.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before but Carro and another Avali, Sulfur— they helped out with that whole procedure for Pankaa. So yeah, absolutely. I’d say Carro is pretty dependable as well… But...” Nero winced slightly, he didn’t know Carro all that well personally, but given their interaction and what he had heard from others and seen in action politically as Carro was the President as well... Nero let out a long sigh. “I think the poor guy overworks himself— and I know what you’re thinking, I know, I have a few jobs myself, but I take my vacation time. Hell, when I straight up made an appointment to go see Carro about Pankaa, the guy’s face practically lit up like a set of stadium floodlights, which leads me to believe that doesn’t happen often.” An obviously worried and somewhat annoyed look emerged on Nero’s face as he slightly shook his head. “Kinda worried about that honestly, but uh, if you don’t meet him somewhere casually by chance, opt for an appointment if you need tech support? I dunno. I’m sure you’ll get to chat with him eventually.”

Now the discussion went back to the children, Nero simply rolled his eyes regarding Kayen and chose not to address anything about her any further since he wasn’t in the mood. The kids in Zhalla’s care though? Infinitely more important to him, and Nero’s expression softened as he smiled at the mention of those loveable rascals. “So, how’d they take the news? I’m sure they’re at least used to you doing some pretty dangerous things if they know about ‘em? They don’t have to worry about your safety though since I’m around.” Nero said, puffing out his chest a second time in both a prideful and protective manner for just a moment. “Pankaa has nothing to worry about either, I know— but it’s... I dunno, really comforting that they care so much.”

When it came to Nero effectively pouring his heart out to Zhalla, he stopped her when she spoke up and made a quick aside within his speech to her. “I know, but it has to be said. I need you to hear it.” He would of course have said his piece soon enough, and he took a deep breath and exhaled calmly, glad to have that all off his chest. Nero gave Zhalla a big toothy grin. “So, yeah!” Now that she was free to speak her part on it, Nero waited patiently, but he was pleasantly surprised. Zhalla, being more a woman of actions most certainly acted. As soon as he was yoinked towards her, Nero raised his eyebrows. “Oh~? Well—” He gladly accepted her fiery smooch and closed his eyes just as she did. In fact, without even his own knowledge, his power slowly rose up and his aura gently ignited to encompass both himself and Zhalla. His tail on the other hand reflexively swooped to sort of hook and grab her falling helmet though, he wasn’t about to let it get ruined or structurally compromised.

Once the kiss was over though, Nero’s aura receded and his power lowered once again before the pair’s eyes opened. Nero kept the tip of his nose on Zhalla’s afterwards as well. “— Hello there~” He spoke softly, resting his forehead on hers now too. “So... Wanna go kick some ass? I’m sure there’s some chump out here that deserves to get roughed up.”

Nero shrugged somewhat sheepishly in regards to what happened at the landing. Of course, he would end up saying something about it, eventually. So instead he decided to address Zhalla’s confidence with the challenge he issued. “Ehehe~ would be a shame if someone took that win from under your nose honey.” Nero paused to think on how to approach the bet. “Hmm, I suppose being treated to a dinner is a fine prize, but we could spice that bet up some more, yeah? So treating the winner to dinner plus something else, maybe like another whole fully planned date... Do you have any ideas~?”

Showing a bit more of his playful side, Nero returned the gentle arm punch to Zhalla once again while having a hearty laugh at their combined antics. Now, Nero was generally an upbeat guy, but only a few people could get this sort of mood out of him. He calmed down soon enough of course, so that he could properly listen to Zhalla’s parenting advice in earnest. What she said made a lot of sense, and Nero nodded along with a lot of her points. He had a lot to think about and waited for her to finish before responding. “Yeah, I’d like to sort it out before it becomes a problem, for sure. He’s starting to get a bit more technologically inquisitive, which is a good sign from him in a development perspective, but I think that’s having an impact on how he might be making friends. I’ll have a heart to heart with him on this sometime after I’m settled back home— thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it, it’s good to hear some of what I’ve been thinking about myself but from a different perspective.”

Zhalla’s response to hearing about Avali again didn’t go unnoticed. Nero frowned a little while she was looking away. He could tell that maybe she had maybe figured something out since he had first mentioned the species itself. If it was for the sake of a child, Nero was sure Zhalla would be doing her research very thoroughly. Nero wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what he knew, and if she did in fact know, then it was likely obvious to her how hard a few of the challenges might already be, such as finding other Avali. Regardless, the both of them let that conversation thread go for now, and when Zhalla faced Nero again, his expression was already more or less neutral.

“Dude I can barely imagine how hard it is to fully run a business with a couple thousand employees let alone a planet, and I’m almost high enough on the management hierarchy just at Punchin’ Pancakes to be doing that, not to mention my other work positions, good grief...” Nero exhaled sharply and shook his head in a way that indicated he was quite impressed with the feat of running a whole planet. “Totally bonkers, that. But hey, look, I’m sure you’ll meet him some day.”

On the topic of those in Zhalla’s care, Nero was pleasantly surprised that the kids were in actuality quite excited for Zhalla! “Well I’ll have you know I intend to exceed their expectations! Hey, hows about I come along so we can both tell them about this trip of ours? It could be fuuuu~uuuun~” Nero cooed, wiggling his eyebrows. “Hahah, we could maybe make a sock puppet show out of it or something, that’d be super cute.”

With everything emotional laid out on the table so to speak, Nero and Zhalla were now both free of negative tension for the moment. Nero in particular feeling quite liberated, he boldly gave Zhalla a peck on the forehead. “Mwah~ I’m lovin’ that laugh, Firecracker, honored to be the one that makes it happen.” His lips curled into a mischievous little smirk too. “I dunno about looking for trouble... Conveniently finding it where it is in no doubt ample supply though? Absolutely.” The statement was essentially a cheeky dashing rogue’s way of saying ‘yes’ in this case.

Nero wrapped an arm around Zhalla’s shoulders just as she did so herself. “I think you’ve shown more than how much my presence means to you.” Nero smiled softly, brushing away a few strands of Zhalla’s hair so he could get better eye contact with her. “So ultimately, I’m happy to be here.” As for his stance on Kayen... “For you, I’ll give it a shot. As long as she doesn’t get invasive or overly chummy with me I think I can handle it, but do you have anything in mind that could help us out?” Looking around mostly towards the city itself, Nero pondered where exactly they could find something for the duo to entertain themselves with. “Also, just proper going into the city feels like it’d be a good enough start. Whaddya think?” He brought the suggestion to Zhalla for her consideration as he motioned forward so that they could get a move on.

“Right on, right on, so you want to see me win then, huh~?” Nero playfully poked his tongue out at Zhalla, keeping their little cheeky banter up for a while longer. He listened intently to what Zhalla had to say in terms of their ‘competition’, he smirked at the idea of one or the other choosing an outfit to be worn by the loser. Nero had the confidence to rock anything, and he figured Zhalla was much the same! “How about all of the above?” Nero chirped. “As an aside, what’s your preferred kind of ballroom dancing dress~? Tooootally unrelated to this whatsoeeeever~!”

Nero let out a sigh of relief, among the many people he knew, Zhalla was among the most knowledgeable in taking care of children. “Yanno, people do keep telling me that— or similar things, really. I should’ve probably started believing it earlier.” He gave off a snorting chuckle afterwards. “I’ll talk to him about it, but I don’t wanna put pressure on him and make him feel like he’s disappointed me. I’ll figure it out, heck, I’m pretty darn good at figuring things out~” When the conversation looped back over to Earth’s leader, Nero shrugged slightly. “Even the most stubborn of people need a reality check every once in a while, it happens.” He was one of those people every now and then too, especially regarding his sister. “Trust me, I’d know.” He added, pointing a thumb to himself.

Quite confident, Nero puffed his chest out just a little, not enough to be ridiculous about it though. “You know it, if our schedule’s permit once we get back to Earth; I’d definitely be down for that. If not immediately after we land, sometime later is also fine— more time to make the sock puppets~!” Nero said, smiling at Zhalla, even when she was taken aback by his eyebrow wiggling antics. Patient as always, Nero let Zhalla recollect herself before he spoke up once again. “I’m bound to be sweet, given what I do for a living. You’re pretty darn sweet yourself too yanno, remember that. The work you do with the kids is important.”

A grin curled around Nero’s lips? Him? Trouble? Nawww, surely not! “I dunnoooo~” Nero countered in a sing-songy tone before booping Zhalla’s nose.“I think I’ve found a sparking source of it myself~”

Regarding Kayen however, Nero took a deep breath. Zhalla had a point, he should be freeing himself from emotional baggage too. He was glad that Zhalla understood how hard that could be, or at least he felt that she did. “Yeah. It’s just not really all that easy. Not that much worth doing was easy I suppose.” Regardless, Nero still had his standards, he wasn’t going to fully omit them from the equation. “I.. Don’t like that I’m not surprised by what she’s been doing. The piracy, all that trouble she’s caused— the fact that it doesn’t surprise me at all, I don’t understand why she’s doing it, and the fact that she doesn't seem to understand that it could possibly be something that gets to me...” Nero shook his head. “It hurts.”

After a moment of pause Nero looked over to Zhalla. “Can I ask you something?” Nero paused, contemplative and curious in his tone of voice. “So, it was pretty spicy to hear that you do mercenary work— like wrrrow, what a troublemaker at first—, and sure, I might not like the idea of it or whatever... I know what you do it for. So... I guess my question is, why is someone pretty damn pretty and pretty damn outstanding— one of the most selfless, softest, kindest people I’ve ever met doing something potentially shady? I wanna hear your side of it, I just...” Nero idly held the back of his neck. “I think you’re capable of much more than that, yanno?” He added, momentarily tightening the arm that he had around her shoulder as a form of pseudo hug.

Looking out towards the city, Nero pondered Zhalla’s questions, chuckling at her jovial nature. “I dunno about you, but I think it would be prrrret-ty criminal of them not to have something like, I dunno, lava hotplate boiled pizza or grilled meats or something like that.” Nero exhaled sharply, the thought of food always got a Saiyan’s attention after all. So while the duo made their way into the city, Nero would be looking around for a local restaurant, yet still keeping his wits about him given where they were.

“Uhhh, yeeeeah.” Nero chuckled. “If you’re not careful I’ll do the same right back, my firecracker~” Their banter was something Nero had grown very fond of, and he was glad that Zhalla seemed confident enough to make a retort to his antics. “Okay, I got it. I’ll win and pick out a fantastic dress that you’ll absolutely rock. Everybody wins, really.” He already got some ideas, it would have to be something fiery and cool, that much he was absolutely certain of.

Nero nodded along to Zhalla’s advice. She essentially reinforced what he was already intending to do, which in turn made him feel a lot more calm and at peace regarding the topic. “Mhm, yeah, makes perfect sense. Talking to people is always better than talking at people just on general principle.”

“Both can work, though I suppose we will need to play it by ear, more or less.” Nero nodded. “One hundred percent doing the sock puppet show though either way~” Nero tapped his nose and raised a brow when Zhalla denied that she was sweet. “Hmm. That’s weird.” All of a sudden, Nero went for a peck on Zhalla’s forehead again. “Coulda sworn that’s sweet? I don’t think I’ve mixed anything up at all~” He added triumphantly, very clearly proud of himself.

While Nero could see where Zhalla was coming from, he was looking at it from a different angle. “I can tell why you’d think that, but... No. It’s because I expect better of her than—” He waved his free hand around a little. “— whatever it is she’s got in mind right now. I really feel like she can and should come to that conclusion herself.” Nero did crack a smile when Zhalla reassured him that they didn’t need to go any further into it if he didn’t want to. “Thanks, I uh, think I’m done for now; I’d rather leave it be for now.”

Nero figured that questioning her intentions with mercenary work wasn’t the easiest question for Zhalla, but he was a patient man. “You take your time, the floor is yours.” All Nero could give now was his undivided attention. He nodded here and there, but he decided to be silent until Zhalla had finished speaking in full. “See, I figured as much— I just wanted to hear it from you directly out of respect, so as to not base my opinion on assumptions— regardless of how correct they may ultimately be. Besides, beating the snot out of criminals and getting paid up front for it for one isn’t the worst thing in the world anyway. Plus, with some other employment options, you can even narrow down your mercenary contract picks a bit more to stuff that isn’t as morally or emotionally taxing. I’m proud of you for making the effort in broadening your horizons and moving away from it.”

“Exactly! It sounds like a great way to get food made, right?” Nero was also doing his best to not turn into a one man buffet destroyer just at the thought of such foods. While he was attentive to his surroundings, he followed Zhalla’s lead, and even before she pointed it out, he could smell something tasty was nearby. “Hmmm, smells pretty darn good! So I’m down— and sure, I sorted out stuff for our last date, so go right ahead; I’ll help if need be. Lead the way, dear~”

“Oh, well just be careful what you wish for, hmm?” Nero smirked, referring to both of Zhalla’s initial statements. Nero was a ‘do or do not, there is no try’ sort of guy, and most that knew him— even in passing— would understand him as such.

Seeing Zhalla’s expression become much softer than he would usually expect from her, Nero blushed quite visibly as his smirk turned into a goofy grin— it was of a similar vibe to Zhalla’s own expression. “You literally cannot convince me to change my mind on doing that puppet show now, I hope you knoooow thaaaat~” Nero jovially chirped in a sing-songy voice. Chuckling mischievously after Zhalla realized part of what he meant by calling her sweet moments before, he raised his eyebrows and he smiled warmly once again. “Hey, I really mean it though, in both ways.”

Glad to leave the topic of Kayen behind, Nero nodded as Zhalla explained her views on her own choices regarding mercenary work further. “Yeah, for sure, the fact that you consider your standards and morals at all despite the overall job is already a good sign.” Nero did think that there were better ways for Zhalla to provide for the shelter she managed, but it wasn’t as though she was outright denying the possibility of exploring better ways. As such, Nero had even less cause for concern. Nero scoffed lightly, shaking his head, he smiled at Zhalla once more. “I have good reason to be proud of that. You took his offer. You accepted help from someone who was genuinely offering without prompt— I can tell that isn’t a common thing with you. It took a great deal of courage to ask me to come with you on this mission.” His expression became quite serious and stern, yet rather encouraging. “That isn’t nothing. Got it?” He added, raising a finger for added emphasis. “I think I’ve made my concerns known pretty clearly. I think you’re capable of much more, and you deserve to think that of yourself too.”

Nero gave Zhalla a double finger-pistols gesture. “Right on, right on.” He happily followed Zhalla’s lead into the establishment she had discovered. This place had quite the unique aesthetic, which Nero found himself appreciating a great deal, they certainly had a solid theme going on. “Niiiiiice~” He said, nodding in approval, momentarily catching a glimpse of Zhalla’s silhouette illuminated by the giant lava lamps, to which he let out a sweet little sigh. He was quickly snapped back into attention when she spoke up and asked for a table. Taking his seat, Nero scooped up a menu and began reading through it. “Pfffft, whaaat? How could picking something to eat be that hard? If it’s a new place I just go for something that’s relatively close to another thing I already like— it’s worked out quite well for me so far! Not gonna lie, kiiiiinda keen for a burger myself, just gonna look through the options...”

Nero narrowed his eyes and pouted slightly. He didn’t seem to like that Zhalla was in denial that she was someone to be proud of. “Okay, it might seem ‘normal’ to you because you’ve been doing all of this work and caring for them for a long time— but listen.” Nero stopped walking, and moved to try and gently hold Zhalla’s face in order to hopefully get her focused on him and what he was saying to her. “It’s perfectly fine to take a step back and examine the results of your actions so far—” His tone and expression both softened considerably before he continued. “— and from my perspective, you’ve given a lot, far more than many others would give. You cannot possibly convince me that your sacrifices and dedication aren’t worth acknowledgement, especially my acknowledgement. You’re my partner after all.”

Having absolutely no shame, Nero only smiled when Zhalla noticed how he was admiring her beauty. “Oh? Whats the matter~?” Raising an eyebrow, Nero returned the favor by tracing Zhalla’s jawline with a finger and booping her nose for good measure. “Not a thing in the world, my Firecracker~ I just think a radiant glow suits you~” Nero gave Zhalla a playful wink as well. He definitely had a fantastic idea on what dress to pick out for her now.

“Man this place is pretty darn impressive…” Nero said, nodding in further approval of the aesthetics. “Solid design choices— excellent seating— this sorta thing would be a hit back home if set up properly. I can tell a lot about who owns this place on this alone— trust me, I got that kinda expert instinct~” Nero honestly figured that it was somewhat of a shame that such a nice place was stuck on a molten ball of criminals and gangsters, especially if he was right about the owner being decent.

Nero also agreed with Zhalla’s desire to try everything on the menu, it wasn’t something he did often, but Saiyan blood be damned if he didn’t go for it at least once. “Yeah, valid, I’ve had that urge before.” After Zhalla slumped onto the table, Nero reached out and brushed some hair out of her face with a free hand. “If there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s making decisions. So I’m gonna look at the burgers, see what I like... This sixty spices and herbs burger is looking like the one— six different meat patties, looks like it’ll be about as big as a truck tire, awww yeahhhh—” Nero too almost began drooling at the thought of such a hearty meal but was snapped back into attention after seeing Zhalla scramble to choose something for herself. What she found sounded mighty delicious! “Hey, that sounds awesome! You should absolutely go for it. I’ve had my share of that kinda meat, it’s one hell of a hunger buster. Stay focused though, you can’t eat it if you start daydreaming too much~” When a waiter made their way over, Nero placed his own order, and asked for a large orange-blueberry soda as his drink. The waiter looked to Zhalla and patiently awaited her side of the order and after she had given it, the waiter would politely nod and head off to start getting all of that sorted.

So, while waiting for their meal, Nero looked to Zhalla, seemingly deep in thought. “Hey, Zhalla?” He began, an inquisitive tone to his voice. “May I ask— what was your favorite contract to take up— yanno, as a mercenary?”