Garden (Say It Like Dat)
"Krillin," #18 exhaled as her and Krillin walked hand in hand down Iguana Street, "there's been something on my mind that I've been meaning to ask you about."
As #18 said every word in her sentence, Krillin looked at every part of her steady face with increasing fear.
"Ummmmmm," Krillin uttered, "is this something that we should sit down for?"
"Dude, relax. We're far from done with whatever we're doing. You're too good in the sack and I'm not trying to give that up anytime soon."
"Oh thank Dende!" The biggest breath escaped Krillin's mouth at that moment, allowing him to walk at a calmer pace than he was a few seconds ago.
"Wait now that I'm thinking about it," #18 continued, "if this is scaring you, why are we on Iguana Street? I'm at least 100% sure we're getting mugged before we get back to Kame House."
"You were made to be a bio-organic killing machine by Dr. Gero," Krillin declared, "and I'm technically the strongest human. Getting mugged is the last things I'm worried about."
"Are you sure about that?" #18 chuckled.
"What? The only two who can give me a run for my proverbial money are Tenshinhan and Yamcha."
"What about Mr. Satan?"
"What about Mr. Satan?"
"He was the one who saved billions of lives from Cell..."
Krillin scoffed and rolled his eyes. As he palmed the back of his head with his free hand, #18 grinned as she pecked his cheek. She let go of his hand and lifted off to the rooftop of the nearest building. Krillin chuckled as she perched herself above the sidewalk. Following her lead, both of them eventually sat on level with the city's tallest buildings.
Krillin and #18 sat in silence to admire the neon city's skyline in all of its urban beauty. #18 turned her head, seeing Krillin's eyes widen in awe of the once barren landscape before them. She saw warm light in his eyes, energized by the streetlights and leftover office lights in the buildings. She then turned away to scratch the back of her head, brushing her hair away from her piercing blue eyes. Krillin noticed this in the corner of his eyes and a blush appeared on his cheeks.
"Soooooooo," Krillin stammered, "what's on your mind Baeteen?"
"What I will do to you if you ever call me that again," #18 replied in disbelief.
"Awwww come on! You love when I call you that!"
"Ugh! First my parents name me Lazuli, then my abductor names me a number, and now this Baeteen shit. Why do I have the worst luck with names?"
"Well maybe your parents named you Lazuli because of your beautiful eyes..."
#18 pointed a bratty glare directly into Krillin's eyes, nearly piercing his soul. Krillin opened his mouth, shrugged his shoulders, and raised his eyebrows, cutting the tension in the process.
"You're so lucky you're cute," #18 groaned.
Krillin smiled with squared shoulders.
"Anyway," #18 continued, "Remember when we were on the lookout last month and you had Dende revive me?"
"Yeah..." Krillin sighed, "Definitely threw a lot at you at that moment."
"And let's not forget what set my limit."
Krillin looked away from #18 with disquiet. Her fixated eyes softened as he took another deep breath. She noticed his hand gripping the ledge of the rooftop and placed hers on top of it, lightly rubbing his veins with her fingers.
"Look," #18 explained, "out of all of the sweet things you've said and done for me, that was definitely up there. I just...like what did I even do that would even make you think about saying that?"
"Honestly?" Krillin replied.
"Mhm."
"Probably breaking Vegeta's arms."
#18 scoffed and pressed Krillin's hand as he started chuckling, "Yeah that was pretty badass."
"And not to mention," Krillin giggled, "I knew it was over as soon as Vegeta called you a cu–know what? Not even gonna risk finishing that."
"Smart," #18 responded in a low voice, "I was just about to get the strap."
"Okay you've been saying that all week. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"You sure you wanna know what I mean?"
"Absolutely not!"
"Hmm." #18 scratched her head as she looked up at the full moon. Krillin's cheeks went rosy as he looked on with a smile.
"And yeah I risked everyone's lives when I destroyed the detonation remote," Krillin confessed, "but I read your blueprints. None of this was your fault. It wasn't fair to take your life when you had a chance to take it back."
"Utilitarianism isn't your strongest suit, is it?" #18 joked.
"How was I supposed to know Vegeta would get played by Cell?"
"It is Vegeta..."
"He killed eight aliens on Namek with no mercy!"
"It's Vegeta."
"He carried Team Three Star to victory!"
"And not to mention, you must really suck with money if you were willing to gamble like that."
"Would you be mad if I told you that part of me kinda regrets not wishing for that billion zeni?"
"You already know I'm all over that dragon next year."
"Think you'll slide a couple million the Krill Master's way?"
"Ooof! Data not found."
"Huh?"
"Sorry. Something I talked about with #16..."
Sucking her teeth and sulking, #18 laid on the ledge with her hands behind her head. She crossed her legs and began to rest them on top of Krillin's lap. A jolt surged down Krillin's back as he looked at her reclining, but his eyes grew worried as she rolled hers and rubbed the back of her neck. He peered closer to see if tears began streaming down her face, none; at least not yet. He rubbed her legs with a wistful smile on his face.
"Don't worry," Krillin reassured, "I miss Brobot too."
"You called him Brobot?" #18 asked incredulously.
"We had a dope robromance while you were gone."
"Heh. That's cute...you're cute...stop being cute!"
#18 playfully kicked Krillin's chin. Krillin laughed as he rubbed it.
"This is what I'm talking about," Krillin continued, "Once people get to know you, it's hard not to see how amazing you are."
"It helps that I'm blonde, 5'7", and will look like this for at least fifty more years," #18 responded.
"And not to mention your big forehead..." Krillin muttered under his breath.
"Come again Baldy?"
"Imeanyouownitwithsomuchstyle! Yeah that's what I was saying."
"Style that I'll keep with me for the rest of...my life. Shit. I still gotta get used to this near immortality thing me and #17 got going on now."
"If you want, I can get Bulma to build another Shut Down Remote."
"That literally makes me into a RealDoll."
"I'll take that as a 'no' then?"
"Ehhhh I don't know? You might need her to. There's no telling what I'll do if I see Goku again. I mean have you seen his stupid face?"
"Shoulda seen it back when we were kids. Even stupider than he is nowada–you're being sarcastic right?"
18 giggled, "Bitch I might be."
"Eh, I'll take that risk. Worst-case scenario, we let you kill him to get it out your system and then wish him back with the Dragon Balls."
"You'd really let me kill your best friend just to make me happy?"
"We have two sets of Dragon Balls and Cell's dead! Death is barely anything to worry about."
#18 groaned as she kicked Krillin's chin again, still playfully but with more force. She heard his neck crack as his head shot up towards the sky. Holding back tears, he rubbed his chin with a louder laugh.
"I know you're short and all," #18 huffed as she sat up on Krillin's lap, "but I gave you an easy layup that you totally missed."
"Yeah, that was my B," Krillin mumbled.
"Just come here." #18 began rubbing Krillin's chin and the back his neck. He rotated his head around before meeting eyes with her, smiling as she rotated her fingers on his skin. She poked each of the dots on his forehead, his face lighting up after every poke.
Krillin closed his eyes as he brushed her hair away from her face, smiling assuredly. #18 saw this and gave him a smile back that he didn't need to see.
She pushed herself forward to press her lips against his, increasing her grip around his neck as he met her with more compression. Smiling in between kisses, he pulled her on top of him and started scratching her back. She let out a lustful sigh as he dug his nails into her back, straddling him after every kiss.
"I know I can't sense energy but I felt that." #18 moaned with a smile on her face.
"Clever girl," Krillin replied as he stroked her cheek.
After a few more moments of kissing #18 paused, getting lost in Krillin's eyes for a brief moment. She vaguely saw her reflection in his pupils, blinked then saw more light, blinked again, and somehow saw her and him hand in hand at an altar. She grunted, shook her head while getting off of his lap, and drove her fingers through her hair. She rubbed sweat trickling down her cheeks, uncertain if it was hers or his.
While she dangled her feet over the ledge, he looked on with a raised eyebrow. Pressure began forming around his cheeks. A new layer of tension set in between them on the rooftop.
"Did I...throw too much at you again?" Krillin hesitantly asked.
"Nah, I got caught off guard for a bit," #18 muttered.
Krillin's voice deepened with slight umbrage, "What's wrong with that?"
"No I just..." #18 found herself stammering and struggling to find her breath.
"#18 you can talk to me."
#18 took a couple of deep breaths before speaking, "Again, you're not the only one who's bad at this. I'm just not used to being bad at things."
"Well if it makes you feel better, I think you're pretty good at this relati–thing we have so far."
"You're just saying that 'cause I know how to rock your four foot world."
"Five foot world!"
"Whatever."
"And you already know that's not the only reason why I'm saying that."
A compulsive growl escaped #18's mouth when she heard Krillin.
"And here's another thing," Krillin continued, "I'm not expecting you, or even asking you, to feel the same way right now. I definitely hope you will, but you made it clear that you want to keep spending time with me, and dammit if that doesn't make me happy!"
"Making a lot of assumptions right now," #18 teased as she brushed her hair.
"Look at that, my cuteness is rubbing off on you."
"Yeah thanks, I hate it!"
"Maybe, but you won't hate this." Krillin dug into his pocket to take out a small jewelry box and held it out underneath her chin. #18 looked down and gasped, taking the box from Krillin's hands and opening it. Upon seeing what was inside, she bowed her head snickering and pinched the top of her nose.
"You are taking this lazuli thing further than anyone can even imagine," #18 exclaimed.
"It's what I like to call an inspired gift," Krillin replied with a modest grin forming on his face.
"You're in Ƶ500,000 debt! How can you afford these?"
"You know how easy it is to make earrings? All I needed to do was find the stones, slice and dice them, and go to an arts and crafts store to put them together. Really the hardest part was convincing Chi-Chi to let Gohan come with me to find them. You think her taste in clothes is bad? Try preventing her baby boy from studying for a day to g–"
#18 pulled Krillin underneath her arm and squeezed his shoulders as tight as she could without breaking them. She met her forehead with his and chuckled into his ear. His face turned rosy once again as he laughed along with her.
"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever gotten me," #18 expressed as she unclasped her gold hoops to try on her new lazuli earrings.
"So you don't hate them?" Krillin retorted.
"Hate is a strong word. So is dislike. Love's...actually looking a little weak right now."
"I aim to please."
#18 yawned, putting away the jewelry box in her jean pocket, and got up to stretch. Krillin followed suit and cracked his lower spine. They stood face to...chin. He looked up to see her new lazuli earrings reflect off of the moonlight, squinting as a twinkle in her eyes caught his.
"So, how do I look?" #18 asked in earnest.
"Absolutely beautiful," Krillin responded.
"Thanks dude. Thank you for everything."
"Anytime #18."
#18 let out another sigh as she extended out her hand to take Krillin's, caressing his fingers with her thumb.
"Y'know I can't shake the feeling that you're about to tell me you just wanna be friends," Krillin said.
"Again it's not that," #18 reassured, "I guess it's that you might've be right about something you said earlier..."
Krillin's eyes widened, "About what?"
"I do want to keep spending time with you. As a matter of fact, I...think I wanna be your girlfriend."
"Was that before or after I gave you the earrings?"
"What do you think, smartass?"
"I think I'm getting sassier from spending too much time with you."
"Funny, #16 said the same thing."
Krillin squeezed #18's hand tighter, "In any case, I also thin–wait, I know I wanna be your boyfriend."
A grin slowly but emphatically formed on #18's face when she heard Krillin say that.
"What do you think about that?" Krillin asked.
"I think I need to hear you say it again." #18 muttered sheepishly.
"Say what?"
"I hope by now you know what."
Krillin sighed and softly pulled #18 into his arms, "I love you #18."
"I...love you too Krillin."
The newly official couple shared another tender kiss. #18 pulled Krillin closer for deeper sensation. Even with closed eyes, both of them saw each other with clarity and warmth. Their tongues intertwined and their heartbeats synched up with each other. The moment turned into days, at least until they opened their eyes to see each other illuminated by moonlight.
#18 smiled, letting a hand free to rub Krillin's head. Krillin giggled as he took a step back, looking around to see the moonlit city.
"So..." Krillin started, "wanna go back to Kame House to consummate this relationship?"
"Ummmm," #18 hesitantly replied, "As cool as that'd be, I think I just wanna take it easy tonight."
"That's totally fine! We can just go back, watch a movie, listen to some music, and throw Roshi into the ocean if he tries anything funny again. That cool?"
"We have been meaning to watch that movie..."
"Sounds like a plan!" Krillin jumped off the rooftop to the street below. #18 shook her head and stepped off the rooftop to slowly descend next to Krillin.
"Y'know, even if I can withstand a hundred foot drop no problem," Krillin said rubbing his knees, "that doesn't mean my hammies are my biggest fans."
"So I guess this means we're walking home, then?" #18 wondered.
"At least for another hour? What's the rush?"
#18 chuckled to herself as she took Krillin's hand, "Know what? You're right."
"Heh. I can get used to being right."
With neon lights and cool breezes underscoring their warm silence, the couple walked hand in hand down Iguana Street once more. Krillin rubbed his head and #18 lean forward to give it a peck.
"Ever think about growing your hair out?" #18 asked.
"What is this 'hair' you speak of?" Krillin responded.
"It's that thing that keeps your head warm from summer breezes."
"I mean I could, but bald is my brand. And I like owning my brand."
"I thought your brand was quacking when you're scared."
"There are many parts of my brand, I'll have you know."
"I'm learning more and more ever-wait did you hear that?"
"Hear what? The breeze?"
"Probably? Sounded like it knocked over a trash can."
Krillin shrugged, as did #18 and kept walking. Then another, louder crash entered both of their eardrums, causing Krillin to look behind his shoulder.
"Okay I definitely heard that," Krillin declared, "and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the breeze."
"You sense any strong energies?" #18 asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. It's hard to parse out anything worth worrying about this early in the night...unless of cours-"
"Hey girl those pearls look dope around ya neck!" An unknown voice yelled out.
"You were right..." Krillin muttered to #18.
"I can get used to being right," #18 mocked under her breath.
#18 felt a tight grip on her shoulder attempt to turn her around. She rolled her eyes as she let go of Krillin's hand, slowly turning to glare down the mugger before her.
"Can I help you with something?" #18 asked.
"Did you hear me girl?" Mugger replied, "I said those pearls look dope around your neck."
"I know...that's why I got them."
"What you not gonna say thank you?"
"I mean I could thank you for wasting mine and my boyfriend's time. But I don't think you'd appreciate that, would you?"
Krillin snorted behind #18 and covered his mouth. A sly grin appeared on #18 face as the mugger grinded his teeth and clenched his fist.
"Oh you think this is funny Baldy?" Mugger hollered with bass in his voice.
"What can I say?" Krillin retorted, "My girlfriend is a gifted emasculator."
"Well you might wanna turn around and see if this is funny!"
Krillin complied to witness the mugger holding #18 in a chokehold with a gun to her head. His joyful smile turned blank. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Alright now buddy," Krillin said calmly, "Let's not do anything we'll regret in the morning."
"Apt choice of words," #18 thought.
"You're not gonna be around to regret anything if you don't give me everything you got right now!" Mugger yelled, cocking his pistol.
"If you would've came to us about an hour ago we probably would've had something to give you," Krillin responded, "But alas we are broke. Some of us more broke than others."
The mugger shook his head and sighed, "Well, that's a shame."
In an instant, the mugger pointed his pistol at Krillin and fired his entire clip directly at Krillin's face. Krillin swatted most of the bullets away, directing them towards the buildings surrounding him. The last bullet from the clip miraculously hit his left shoulder...only to bounce off of him and fall to the ground. Krillin looked down at the lone bullet for a moment; then looked up to glare at the mugger while grinning.
"Y'know I don't appreciate you shooting my boyfriend like that," #18 snickered as she released herself from the mugger's chokehold, "That makes me quite...nettled."
All the mugger could do was freeze in utter disbelief and fear.
"I still wonder what happened to Launch," Krillin lamented as walked over to #18.
"Who the hell is Launch?" #18 inquired.
"I'll tell you after we kick this guy's ass."
A/N: Huh would you look at that, I'm back. Shout out TeamFourStar :D