"In You, I Find Love"

A Dragonball Z Fanfiction by Morrie

((Characters © Akira Toriyama))

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Krillin tugged on Android 18's hand gently, pulling her over to the water. The blonde smiled and reluctantly followed, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't help but feel shy for some reason. There was something about the way Krillin was smiling at her that was making her feel somehow embarrassed.

They sat in the sand by the water's edge together, as the sun began to set over the horizon. It was almost the fall, and the temperatures were cooling down, so the two of them huddled together closely. Krillin leaned his head on Eighteen's shoulder and sighed deeply.

About three years had gone by since the Cell Games, two since they had been together. Krillin knew in his heart that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, but a lump in his throat and his nerves were making it hard for him to really say what he felt. Eighteen wasn't the kind of girl who let a lot of people in; she was surprisingly shy and guarded (the opposite of her twin, Seventeen). Krillin was lucky, or so he thought, because he was one of the few who truly knew her.

Krillin felt Eighteen's hand grip his own, tightly. He looked up and saw her looking out at the ocean, her face showing discomfort. "What's wrong?" he whispered. She turned her head slightly and looked at him. "I feel...tense. As if you're trying to tell me something." she answered. Krillin gulped. "Well, yeah...actually." he murmured.

Eighteen felt her heart pounding in her chest. She hated surprises, and she hated secrets...she hated to be caught off guard. What was Krillin going to say. She knew he wasn't going to break up with her; at least she hoped he wasn't. Besides her brother, Krillin was the dearest thing to her, and the thought of losing him hurt her more then any attack ever could. "What, then?" she said, hating how defensive her voice sounded.

Krillin sighed; it was now or never. "Eighteen...since we've been together...I've been happy. The happiest I've been in my life. I'm truly thankful that I've found you. You're...you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." he started. Eighteen sighed and smiled, relaxing slightly. She was still a little guarded, but she knew now that it was nothing bad; a break-up couldn't possibly start with a declaration like that. Krillin saw her tension there still, and decided to try to take care of it himself. He sat in front of her, grasping her hands in his and looking directly into her pale blue eyes.

"...in you, I found love. I found out things about myself I either didn't know about myself or denied all my life because of insecurity. In a way, you saved me from myself. And I know that I've done a lot of healing for you, too. You used to be so withdrawn and cold, but you've really come out and warmed up...to me, at the very least." Krillin paused to look down for a moment, then looked back up at Eighteen, whose face was glowing red. And at least she was smiling now.

"Eighteen...I love you. I love you with every fiber of my being and I'd do anything to spend the rest of my life with you." he finished, squeezing her hands in his unconsciously as he said it. Eighteen leaned close to Krillin and kissed him gently where his nose should've been. "I love you too, Krillin." was all she could manage to say.

Krillin couldn't help himself anymore and pressed his lips against Eighteen's feverishly, locking with hers in a deep, passionate kiss. The kiss lasted about a minute before Krillin needed to breathe, having no nose and whatnot. "Eighteen, will you marry me?" he whispered, his forehead pressed into hers.

Eighteen's eyes widened. "You...want to...marry me?" she asked. Krillin nodded. Eighteen sat in silence for a moment, her face redder then Krillin had ever seen it. Once the moment passed, as Krillin was beginning to think that he shouldn't have proposed so...bluntly, she wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him close to her. "Of course, I'll marry you." she whimpered, not being able to help the tears that came into her eyes.

The two of them sat in their embrace for a good couple of minutes, now engaged and crying happily into each other. That's when a third person joined in their hug, wrapping his arms around them both from behind Eighteen. "So, you're gonna be my brother-in-law, then?" Seventeen murmured to Krillin. Eighteen laughed softly and Krillin's face went red like his fiancé's had moments ago.

As the sunset ended and the stars began to come out, the three of them walked back to Kame House together, Eighteen and Krillin hand-in-hand. Seventeen smiled at his sister, not being able to remember her being happier then she was at this moment. And he was happy that she had found someone who could make her this happy; even if he and Krillin had gotten off to an awfully rough start, he had come to actually like the short human.

Seventeen went inside ahead of the two, who stood outside the door for a moment, looking up at the stars together. Eighteen squeezed Krillin's hand in hers, and they looked at each other. He could've sworn that he saw forever in her eyes at that very moment.

--fin--

A/N: Here it is, my first K18 fanfiction. In years, anyway. I wanted to write fanfiction about them for years; they're, by far, my favorite DBZ pairing. Hopefully, I'll get to write even more. I guess this is slightly AU, because Seventeen is there. I never really liked how he kind of got the shaft and disappeared after the Cell Games. He and Eighteen are twins, for crying out loud. Twins should be closer then that! XD

I might back track and do a prequel to this. As I've hinted, of course, Seventeen isn't going to make winning Eighteen's heart easy for Krillin. I might also develop my crack ship with Seventeen (see my DA for who with), just for kicks. Stay tuned.

-Morrie-