Krillin shifted uncomfortably as he waited in front of the intercom. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, pulling the jacket more tightly over his short frame. Years seemed to pass by with him staring at his feet before his blue-haired friend finally opened the door, baby on her hips.

"Hey! Krillin!" Bulma had a wide smile on her face, and her blue eyes were shining at her friend. Baby Trunks was tugging at a fistful of her short blue hair.

"Hey Bulma!" Krillin smiled back at her, her friendly face calming his nerves.

"Come on in!"

The two friends made their way through the sprawling main house of Capsule Corporation, entering one of the smaller family rooms and settling comfortably next to each other on a couch. A week had passed since Cell was killed, and with the androids no longer a threat things were finally starting to settle down.

Bulma settled Trunks in her lap. "I'm so happy you came by. It's been ages since we've hung out."

"Yeah, it has," Krillin said. His discomfort was coming back again, and he dug his foot into the carpet.

"What's up Krillin?" Bulma bent forward a little, a concerned look on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"No, Bulma, I…," his lips pursed as he met his friend's gaze. "Why didn't you tell us about him?" he asked, his gaze shooting towards the baby in her arms. "Why didn't you tell me about him? We're friends Bulma!" His dark eyes widened into that sad puppy look that was his only non-martial arts-related weapon. "I would tell you if I had a baby!"

Bulma laughed in spite of herself.

Krillin glared. "I mean it Bulma. You should have told me."

Bulma sighed heavily, shifting Trunks in her arms as he fussed against her, his tiny fists waving in the air. "I-I'm sorry Krillin. I really am. I just, I honestly didn't even know what to say to you."

"You knew what to say to Yamcha," he said accusingly.

"No, I didn't." Bulma sighed again. "Yamcha just showed up one day, and I was pregnant and eating an entire tub of Triple Chocolate Fudge ice cream, and it all just came pouring out." She shook her head, leaning heavily against the couch cushions, her head resting against her palm. "I-I honestly didn't think I could tell you. I mean, you guys are getting ready to face your deaths and I'm…I'm…"

"Bulma…"

"No, it's…look, I don't regret Trunks. I love him," she smiled down at her baby, and he waved his fists at her. "And I don't regret Vegeta either. But he left as soon as I told him about Trunks and I didn't know if he was coming back. I felt so stupid, and I just couldn't bring myself to confess what had happened."

"It's okay, Bulma," Krillin placed a gentle hand on his friend's knee. "I just want you to know that you can tell me anything. You're one of my oldest friends Bulma, and now that Goku's gone…"

"I know," Bulma said softly, and the two exchanged sad, understanding smiles.

"Can I hold him?" Krillin stretched his arms out, smiling again, and Bulma pushed her son into his lap.

"Hey Trunks!" Krillin laughed as he bounced the baby on his knees. Trunks giggled and gurgled at the bald man. "Hey little guy!"

Bulma smiled at them.

"I think this going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Trunks laughed some more.

"So," Bulma said, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position, "have you heard the news? Chi Chi's pregnant."

"WHAT?" Krillin's eyes widened in shock. "How?!"

"Well Krillin," Bulma leaned in and lowered her voice teasingly, "when a man and a woman love each other…

"Ha ha, very funny," Krillin interrupted, glaring as his friend began to laugh again. "I mean when did they have the time to, you know, I mean with everything that's been going on…"

"I'll ask Chi Chi to send you over a copy of their sex schedule."

"Bulma!" Krillin quickly put his hands to Trunks' ears. "Don't say the 'S' word in front of the baby!"

"Seriously Krillin, the 'S' word?" Bulma shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, well, you spend some time at Chi Chi's and we'll see how you talk. I'm pretty sure Gohan still thinks babies come from the stork," he retorted. Pausing for a moment, he added, "Do you really think Chi Chi had Goku on some kind of…," he lowered his voice a bit, "special schedule?"

"Krillin, as someone who has given a lot of thought to Goku's sex life, I'm telling you, you don't want to go down this path."

Krillin considered this for a moment. "He was pretty clueless," he said finally, smiling down at baby Trunks.

"I miss him," Bulma said quietly.

Krillin gave her a sad smile, then turned back to the baby he was holding. Thinking about Goku hurt too much. He felt like such a failure. When they were kids Goku had left everything behind and risked his life to avenge his death and bring him back, and when he'd died again on Namek Goku had been driven to a new level of power. Now Goku was dead, and what had Krillin done for his best friend, his brother in everything but blood? Nothing.

The small fighter felt tears form in his eyes. Pushing them back, he focused his gaze on the sweet child sitting in his lap, contentedly sucking on Krillin's shirt. Suddenly, he noticed something…

"What happened to his cute little kitten hat?"

"Vegeta threw it away! He said it wasn't dignified, can you believe it?!"

"Aww," Krillin tickled Trunks' chin. "It's okay little guy, he's just jealous 'cause he can't wear hats. You know," he turned back to Bulma and gestured with his free hand, "'cause of the hair."

"He's not so bad, you know," Bulma said, her face uncharacteristically earnest. "He's just scared to show how he really feels. Everyone he's ever cared about was taken from him when he was just a little kid. But I know he loves us."

Krillin nodded. "I know he's had a hard life, Bulma. I was on Namek…"

"I was on Namek too, you know!" She gave him a dirty look. "Not that you'd remember, the way you ignored me the whole time! I could have died!"

"Jeez, Bulma, you're not still on about that, are you? That was like five years ago almost! And we were kinda busy with Frieza, remember him?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…"

"What I was trying to say, is that if you say he's a good guy then I believe you. Your judgement is as good as gold to me."

Bulma gave him a wide smile. "Thank you Krillin! It's about time you appreciated my genius."

"I mean," he continued, "you do have terrible taste in men, but…"

"EXCUSE YOU!"

"Well it's true!" Krillin protested. "Remember General Blue? That psycho Red Ribbon guy?"

"Oh come on!" Bulma huffed. "I was, what, seventeen then?"

"Okay, what about the green guy on Namek? The one Vegeta killed?"

"I didn't know he could turn into a giant lizard monster!"

"That's not really my point Bulma."

"Whatever, Krillin." The blue-haired genius flipped her hair back. "At least I'm not in love with a robot."

A warm flushed covered Krillin's face as he sputtered at the accusation. "I-I never said – aww damn it, who told you?!"

"Gohan. And Yamcha."

Krillin frowned. Picking up Trunks so that they were eye-level, he complained to the baby, "Man, I have the worst friends."

"You're lucky to have me in your life mister!" Bulma smiled at her friend. "Wanna stay in the night? It's a long way back to Kame House."

"You think Vegeta will be okay with that?"

"Sure!"

Krillin gave her a skeptical look. He doubted that Vegeta was a particularly gracious host. On the other hand, it was a long flight back to Kame House, and Mrs. Briefs' breakfast buffets were a thing of legend.

Mind made up, Krillin stood, handing her the baby. "I'll go give Master Roshi a call so he doesn't worry about me."

"Great! We'll make popcorn and talk about the desolate wasteland that is your love life."

Rolling his eyes, Krillin made for the house phone. It wasn't, sadly, an inaccurate metaphor, but a good one for Bulma's would be "active volcano."