All DBZ characters portrayed are owned by Toei.

November 8th, Age 776

Kei Mizuno wasn't arrogant like her cousin Bulma, but she had her quarrelsome attitude. Cilan only found out about it a week later when she began to move items into the apartment. First Kei wanted to get new furniture as she found the existing ones to be old and tacky; Cilan didn't mind as they were free and functional. The second point of contention was over dinnerware, or more accurately, the lack of it.

Cilan was a typical bachelor, so he preferred just using paper plates and plastic cutlery. Kei had insisted that he buy proper dishes. Though that started another squabble as he wanted to just buy stainless steel plates, while he found the fancier china that she wanted were too fragile. Kei had won that battle again, when Cilan told her she could buy what she wanted, he figured she wouldn't have the spare cash and he'd win by default. He didn't count on Kei asking Bunny for the money.

After that, things settled down into a normal routine where each would try and wake up first to use the bathroom before the other. Both would normally be out of the apartment by around 7 am.

On this day however, Cilan was dressed and ready to go by 5. He would have left without Kei knowing, but the smell of the coffee he was making and the noise he made in the kitchen woke her up.

"Why are you up this early?" Kei was in pink pajamas and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Wanted to get an early start on my training," Cilan said after a sip from his mug. He conveniently left out the part of his nightmares waking him up extra early for the fourth day in a row.

She then noticed the bags under his eyes "Are you ok? You seem like you haven't gotten much sleep."

"I'm fine," he gulped down the rest of the scalding beverage and placed the mug in the sink before moving towards the balcony doors. "I'll see you later."

Cilan was in the gravity chamber, doing push-ups, while the gravity was set to 450G. The training bots were deactivated and lined up against the wall. The muscle shirt he wore was littered with scorch marks from ki blasts. He wasn't able to dodge the ki attack as his mind couldn't concentrate. The problem being that today was the 12 year anniversary of his mother's death.

In the GF he was usually in combat so he could push his thoughts away around that time. After retirement he was alone so he could mourn in solitude. He figured he could have taken the day off and mourned by himself; but with Kei around, all he could do was try and train the day away.

After performing his 10,000th push-up he turned around and laid on his back to look the ceiling. He contemplated on using the bots again, but knew he still wouldn't be able to dodge their attacks. After a moment further he stood up and went to turn off the gravity chamber. With his concentration shot, he knew he needed to be somewhere else to take his mind off his problems.

Pete's opened at 5 o'clock every weekday; Cilan showed up at 5 minutes after. The bartender was surprised to see him there that early. He was fascinating to the barman since he first showed up. Cilan had the 1000 yard stare but looked too young to have served long in the military, too young to have fought in the Cell crisis anyway.

"What can I do for you?" The bartender was polishing a tumbler.

"Bourbon," Cilan replied monotonously. When the glass was placed in front of him, he placed a 100 Zeni note on the counter and added, "Leave the bottle."

The barman looked at the money and then at Cilan's face. He recognized the look of a person seeking to drown his problems. If he was any other type of person he would have asked what was wrong, but as a bartender he made it a point to not get involved as it was bad for business.

He smirked at the casually dressed young man before he left the bottle and took the cash, then went to attend to other patrons. Cilan drained the tumbler in one gulp before he poured another.

One and a half bottles later, Cilan's mind was in an area where he was past buzzed, but not quite drunk yet. It gave his mind a kind of clarity about his situation. Mainly how fucked up his life was in the grand scheme of things. The first was that his creation was forced on his mother so some megalomaniac can raise an army to conquer the universe. The second was that his father was a sociopath that would have destroyed said universe.

Miraculously, his mother managed to escape from Paragus's clutches, but then decided to birth him instead of doing the sensible thing of getting rid of him. Then his mother died saving his life, only to be picked up by a military that just saw him as weapon for their war. The ironic part was that Milla was right; joining the Galactic Federation was his best possible outcome.

Thinking of her just made him bitter, as she and his mother were the only two people in the universe who loved him, who had actually saw him as a person and not some monster or a valuable war asset. But the universe saw fit to have them both killed and he couldn't have done anything to save either of them.

His mother loved him, her actions proved that and her death affected him greatly during his teen years. It fueled his rage and go on kill crazy rampages out on the battlefield in the first few years. By the time he met Milla he had toned down his rage, but his rep was sealed. Her death just reawakened that rage. After the war, he still held onto that anger, though it was mainly directed at himself. They never declared their love for each other, but he saw it in her eyes and he cursed himself for letting his pride not tell her how he felt.

Cilan never sought out anyone after that. There were flings with random women, but all it did was leave an empty feeling within.

'Abandonment issues,' he thought bitterly before knocking back another shot. His thoughts turned back to Candy, he knew if he sought her out it'd be another fling. With her being a blonde, all it would do was just substitute her for Milla and open old wounds again.

'Last thing I need now,' he told himself as he looked at the half empty bottle. He poured himself another double and knocked it back.

It was half-past eight and Kei sat on the couch dressed in pink pajamas, studying notes from her advanced physics class. She would look at the balcony doors every few minutes. Cilan hadn't shown himself all day and she was slightly worried.

After she came back from campus, she expected him to show up at night for dinner. When that didn't happen, she called Capsule Corp and found out from her aunt that he left there early.

It was almost 9 when Kei decided to call it a night; she put her books away and was going to head for her room when the balcony doors opened. Cilan stumbled in and nearly fell over the couch.

"Cilan! Are you ok?"

He looked at her bleary-eyed and slurred out an, "I'm…. Fine."

Kei stood at his side to make sure he didn't topple over; that was when she caught a whiff of his breath. "You've been drinking."

"A… little."

"Can you walk?"

Cilan stood up and stared straight ahead for a moment then looked at her, "No."

"Come on, let's get you to bed." She put an arm around him while he leaned into her for support and they staggered more than walked down to his room.

When they entered his room, Cilan went straight to his bed and fell face first onto it. Kei was ready to walk out when she took a look at the surroundings. This was the first time she had been in his room and was not surprised it was quite sparse, though orderly. The photos on the dresser caught her eye, before she scrutinized them, she saw the medals.

"Wow," was all she could say. There were various crosses, ribbons, and star shaped medals, all surrounding one that was a golden star that had an image of a spiral galaxy in the center. She looked back at Cilan only to find him snoring.

"He said he served in the military, but wow," when she placed the frame back, she picked up a picture frame. On it was an image of a black haired young woman dressed in a hospital gown sitting on a bed; her pale face was looking down sadly at a wailing baby she held in her arms. It was dated 10-17-754.

"His mother," she looked through the other photos, all showing his progression in age. Kei noted that they didn't seem to smile much. The last photo she saw was of them in a lobby overlooking space, and a delta shaped ship in the background. They both were wearing cloaks. That picture was dated 10-17-764.

The date jogged her memory from their conversation they had at the bar:

My mother was killed shortly after I turned ten.

'Would that mean she died around this time?' She asked herself. Cilan had been acting moody for the last few days and if it was due to his mother's death, that would explain it.

Kei looked back at him sadly; she wished he'd talk to her more about his problems, so she could help him. Promising herself she'd talk to him tomorrow, she helped him out of his jacket and shoes, then placed a blanket over him. It was then she heard him mumble in his sleep, "Mom… Milla… why?"

"Milla?" She looked at him to see if he would say anything else. When he didn't she turned off the light and closed the door behind her as she left his room.

November 9th, Age 776

Cilan felt like his head was in a vice when he woke up. He opened his eyes to find himself in his bed.

"How the hell did I get here?" His voice sounded like something died in it. The last thing he remembered was ordering a third bottle then blankness. He noticed his shoes were set beside his bed and his jacket was hanging on a coat rack. The last time he got hammered he woke up in a bathtub in some stranger's apartment.

Before he could figure out what happened, there was a knock at the door, which only worsened his headache. Kei poked her head through, "Good morning Cilan."

"Don't talk so loudly," he grabbed at the sides of his head.

"Sorry," she lowered her voice.

"What time did I get in?"

"It was 9 when you crashed here; you nearly fell over on the couch. You slept in the entire morning."

Cilan's eyes shot up then and looked at his watch. It was almost 11 in the morning, "Shit, I'm late."

"I already called my cousin and told her you're not feeling well," Kei said before he could get up. "She said you can take a few days off."

"Really?" He was surprised by that. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Be sure to wash up, I have breakfast ready."

Cilan nodded. After she closed the door, he laid back down and was going to go back to sleep until his bladder told him he needed to go to the bathroom.

After emptying a bladder full of alcohol, Cilan took a long shower. It did little to get rid of the hangover, but at least he smelled better. He changed out into a pair of slacks and a clean shirt. When he went into the kitchen he found a plate full of bacon and eggs, toast, coffee, and 4 aspirins. Kei was dressed in a white blouse and dark blue jeans, drinking coffee. He picked up the four white tablets to inspect them before downing them all with a gulp of coffee.

Cilan stood at the table while he waited for the coffee and the aspirin to do their work. After a few minutes he sat down and began to dig in; he hadn't eaten since the previous morning. Kei watched him as he ate, trying to figure out how to ask him about last night, but decided to be direct.

"About last night; did it have anything to do with your mother?" When he stopped mid-bite to look at her, she added quickly, "You mumbled about her in your sleep."

He put down the fork and looked at the scar on his hand, "It was 12 years yesterday when she died."

Kei had to stop herself from apologizing as he hated when she did that, but she did reach out and covered her hand with his, "If there's something bothering you, just talk to me, you don't have to go get drunk."

"I'll remember that," he looked at her hand frowning, thinking back to the last conversation he had with Milla.

"Didn't you ever have anyone to talk to before?" She noticed his frown.

"A girl named Milla."

Kei perked up at that, "Who was she?"

"She was my comrade in my unit, before we got close."

"Was she your girlfriend?"

Cilan shook his head then, "No, we were lovers; though she would have been eventually."

He kept referring to her in the past tense, which Kei picked up on and had a hunch, "What happened to her?"

"She was killed in action about 5 years ago."

Kei squeezed his hand, "Do you have a picture of her?"

He nodded and closed his eyes, she was wondering what he was doing until she saw a picture frame float to the table. She was told about his mental powers, but still wasn't used to them.

Cilan looked at the picture for a few moments before he handed it over. Kei glanced at it the night before, but now scrutinized it. It was a color photo set in what looked like the briefing room on Cilan's ship.

There were three people set before a large display, all wearing black jumpsuits. In the middle was a tall green alien with a smirk on his face, to his left was a young woman with blonde hair and dark brown skin. She had her hand on her hips and was shooting a mischievous look at the third person. That person stood off to the side with his arms crossed and wearing a black ski mask and goggles. The photo was dated 3-2-771.

"She was pretty," Kei said simply, Cilan nodded in reply.

"Was there anyone else after her?"

"No."

She frowned at that, but pressed on, "Who's the tall green guy in the middle?"

"Commander Armun, he used to be my superior office," he said plainly.

"Where is he now?"

"By the time I retired he was assigned to train new recruits for the GF."

She nodded, and then a small smile formed on her lips, "Is the last person you?"

He again nodded.

"Always anti-social, huh?" She handed the photo back.

"Yeah," he looked over the photo again and ran a thumb over the image of Milla.

"Why didn't you say you were a war hero?"

"What?"

"I saw the medals you earned."

"Oh," Cilan grabbed his fork again and went to finish his breakfast.

Kei raised an eyebrow, "You don't think of yourself as a hero?"

"No," he looked at her with a slight frown. "I'm just a soldier; the real heroes were the ones that never made it back."

"Well you saved me, so you're a hero in my book."

Cilan only grunted and went back to eating. She smiled before she finished her cup of coffee. After he was finished he sat back satisfied. He still didn't feel 100 percent but the hangover was passing.

"So what are you plans today?" Kei asked as he collected the dishes.

"I honestly don't know," this would be the first time Cilan took time off from training.

"Have you done any sightseeing here on Earth?"

"No," he scratched the back of his head; the only places he visited were Roshi's Island, Capsule Corp., or the desert.

"Well get changed so I can take you out to see the city."

"Don't you have classes today?"

Kei shook her head, "Campus is closed today because of a flex day for the professors."

"Ok," he shrugged before grabbing the picture frame and going back to his room.

November 21st, Age 776

Cilan was about to do it, the battle had been long, but he was getting close. The sparring match with Goku was stretching past an hour. It was their third for the day and so far Goku was 2-0, but Cilan was hopeful for this round.

Both saiyans were in their first super mode. Goku was in his orange gi, while Cilan was in his combat suit, minus the mask. Both were in their fighting stances waiting for the other to make the first move. It was the fifth pause in their match.

After a moment, Cilan made the first move. He disappeared and reappeared before the older saiyan and began with punches and kicks. Goku easily dodged them, and responded in kind. The younger saiyan was able to dodge and block them, then broke off and fired various ki blasts from his finger tips.

Goku dodged them, but noted that if he was slower they would have hit his face. He fired off his own blasts from his palms, which Cilan deflected away. Then he disappeared and launched another barrage of punches. Easily dodging them again, Goku went for a right hook, but instead of blocking it, Cilan ducked; then delivered a left-handed punch into Goku's kidneys.

It hurt him like hell, but he managed to drive an elbow into Cilan's head then kicked him away. The younger saiyan didn't fly far and charged at Goku again. This time he charged up a sphere of ki and held it in place. Cilan then flew up into the sky over him and dove in.

Goku wasn't sure what Cilan was planning but was about to charge up his own ki, when a rock flew into his face.

"What the…" Goku couldn't finish his sentence when another rock flew at him. He dodged it, but more and more were coming at him. Cilan was flying in with the blast in his hand and using the sun at his back to further obscure him.

The older saiyan could have used his teleportation technique but he needed time to concentrate, which the rocks weren't giving him. He needed to do something to stop Cilan and that was when he saw the sun behind the younger saiyan.

Cilan was close to unleashing his blast when he saw Goku place his hands in front of his face. He wasn't sure what Goku was going to do, but then heard him shout:

"Solar Flare!"

The area filled with a blinding white light and made CIlan's vision see nothing but pure whiteness. He crashed into the ground and thrashed about at his blindness.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Cilan was blinking his eyes rapidly as he sat up trying to get his bearings.

Goku was next to him grinning like a fool, "Guess I win the match."

"Of course you win, I'm fucking blind!" He yelled as he rubbed at his eyes. Panic was setting in as his mind was conjuring up what his life would be like sightless forever. No more fighting, he would no longer be a soldier, he wouldn't see the stars again, or look at Kei's face again.

'Wait, where did that come from?' Before his mind could answer that, he heard Goku laughing. "What's so fucking funny!?"

"It's only temporary," he replied as he held his sides.

"Really?" Cilan stilled and looked in the direction of Goku's voice.

"Yeah," he wiped a tear away. "Give it a few minutes."

After five minutes, Cilan's vision was returning and felt relieved when it did so. This only made Goku laugh again, "You should have seen your face! I can't wait to tell the others."

"Yeah, whatever," Cilan dusted himself off. "What was that attack called?"

"Solar flare."

"Solar flare, huh? How does it work?"

Goku was about to answer when his wife's voice filled the area.

"Lunch is ready!"

The two had been sparring not far from Goku's home. His stomach rumbled at the prospect of being fed, Cilan's gut made the same noise.

"How about I show you after lunch?" Goku scratched at the back of his head. Cilan only nodded.

Goku's kitchen was noisy from the sound of four saiyans gorging on rice, meat, and vegetables. The others had been told how the third match ended and were ribbing Cilan about it.

"You didn't know it was temporary?" Gohan chuckled between bites.

"No," he grunted. "So that attack doesn't work if you have sunglasses on?"

Goku nodded, "Or if you close your eyes."

Cilan filed that away for later, and making sure he wears his mask for their next fight.

"So Cilan, Bulma told me her cousin moved in with you," Goku asked after pushing away a third plate.

He nodded and was about to take another bite, but Gohan let out a whistle, "The red-head? Cilan you sly dog, you're barely here for less than a year and you're trying to marry into Bulma's family."

Cilan nearly dropped his chopsticks, "I'm just letting her stay at my place so she's closer to campus."

"Sure, that's what you say now," Gohan had been on the receiving end of the others jokes when he first started seeing Videl, so he felt the need to carry it on.

"She's just a friend," Cilan grumbled.

Chi Chi decided to speak up at that moment, "Now leave him alone Gohan."

She was mistrustful of Cilan when he first arrived, but unlike Vegeta, her judgment came from him possibly being a bad influence on her children. Though she softened her stance when she saw he was polite and respectful. Chi Chi had also overheard him saying that she reminded him of his mother.

Goku was busy chowing down on a fourth plate of rice, but was amused at seeing Cilan getting flustered. The younger saiyan always looked grim and serious, but he showed signs of emotions when it came to his personal life. In between bites he looked at Cilan, "Come on and finish up, we still got enough daylight for a few more matches."

Cilan nodded and dug into his own plate.

It was after dinner and Cilan was busy helping Chi Chi clean the dishes. When he was done eating, the others had mysteriously vanished leaving him behind when Chi Chi asked someone to help her clean up.

He had four more matches with Goku and lost every single one of them. Cilan was wondering if the Yardrat's had taught Goku instant miracle along with instant transmission.

"Cilan, what is going on between you and Kei?" Chi Chi asked after handing over a wet dish.

"Nothing is going on," he was busy drying the plate. After Kei took him on a tour of West City, they had gone back to their own lives. Cilan was busy mastering 500G and guarding Bulma. Kei was busy preparing for her finals; though she had mentioned that they should hang out more after she was done for the semester.

"Oh really?" Chi Chi raised an eyebrow. "Where I come from, when a man and a woman live together that means they're in a relationship."

"She's just my roommate," he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well you better reconsider; girls like her don't stay single for long." Chi Chi hid a smile; Bulma had told her about Bunny's plan and decided to go along with it. She herself had been trying to get Gohan to finally propose to Videl.

Cilan only rolled his eyes while he put away another dried plate. He was wondering why his personal life was so important to everyone else. As for Kei, she was attractive, but she was busy with her studies. They were friends and he felt that was enough. Besides, he figured he wasn't her type. She seemed to be attracted to sensitive skinny guys, based on the book covers of the cheesy romance novels he found laying around the apartment.

'Sparkling vampires,' he thought as he held back a snort.

December 3rd, Age 776

Android 18 and Cilan were on the deserted island for their weekly sparring match. The saiyan was in his super form, on the attack while the android was on the defense. She was flying backwards using her hands to deflect his ki blasts.

Cilan had mastered 500G a week before and the results of it were paying off. His speed was overwhelming 18, and all she could now was dodge his attacks. She also noticed that over the weeks that Cilan had been progressively becoming more relentless in his attack. His face took on such an emotionless mask that he almost looked like a machine.

He fired off a few more blasts then switched to firing beams of ki from his fingertips. 18 couldn't deflect those so she had to dodge them, and each one was dangerously close to hitting her. As it was, there were singe marks on her clothes.

18 fired off her own blasts from her palms. Cilan deflected each of them away, and responded in kind with his own. After dodging them again, the android tapped further into her power and fired off more blasts. This time Cilan didn't dodge, instead he held his palm out and the spheres of energy stopped in front of him. They stayed there until they moved back to attack 18, which she had to dodge.

Cilan fired off one more blast but instead of directing at her, it exploded at her feet, which kicked sand into her face. 18 tried to rub the sand particles from her eyes quickly, but Cilan took the opportunity to clothesline her to knock her down.

When she was finally able to see again, her vision was filled with a ki ball formed in Cilan's hand and pointed at her face.

"Yield," he commanded with no emotion in his voice.

18 blinked a few times before she nodded. The ki disappeared from Cilan's palm and held out his hand to help her up. She grabbed onto it and stood up.

"You ok?" Cilan asked.

18 shook the sand off and looked herself over, before replying bitterly, "Yeah, but my clothes are ruined."

Cilan smirked, "I'm sure you can afford new ones." He then pushed the button on his watch to change back into his normal clothes.

That raised an eyebrow from her, "You're calling it a day?"

He nodded, "Yeah, unless you feel up for another round?"

The android considered it, but she had lost each match today, "No."

"Let's go back," he powered down, but his hair was still golden. "I wanna see what Krillin's making for lunch."

18 could only smile at his appetite, before she took off for Roshi's island; Cilan followed suit.

Krillin decided on having a grill out; with the island being in the southern hemisphere, it was summer so it was nice sunny day out. 18 and Cilan arrived to find Krillin, Marron, Oolong, and Master Roshi lounging around on the beach.

"Hey guys!" Krillin called to them as they landed. He was in flip flops, red shorts, and a tacky blue aloha shirt. He was at the grille flipping steaks, "What are you doing here this early?"

"The bottomless pit wanted to eat," 18 muttered as she walked towards the house to change her clothes.

Cilan rolled his eyes at her before turning to the former monk, "Toss me a cold one."

Krillin pulled out a can of beer from a cooler and tossed it to Cilan. However when he caught it in his hand, the can was crushed in his grip and poured beer down his hand. Cilan looked at his hand and the crushed aluminum can. Oolong and Roshi were laughing, while the saiyan muttered a curse after throwing away the ruined can.

"Want another?" Krillin asked while holding back a laugh.

Cilan nodded, and used his telekinetic powers to float the can in the air. He grabbed it very lightly, and did his best not to apply too much pressure. Since he finished 500G, he had done what Goku told about staying in his super saiyan form until he could fully master it so it could feel natural like his base form. This meant he needed to make sure he didn't destroy things while doing normal tasks.

It took Goku and Gohan nearly a year in the hyperbolic time chamber and another week in the outside world for them to master their powers. Cilan didn't look forward to the time ahead, if it meant he couldn't eat and drink normally.

He took a long pull from the can when the front door of the house opened and nearly caused Cilan to spit it all out. He expected to see 18 walk out, but instead saw Kei at the threshold, dressed in a blue two-piece bikini. Cilan was not just surprised by her presence, but how she looked. He knew she was attractive, but this was the first time he saw her in such a state of dress. She wasn't petite like Milla, but her hourglass body was toned.

"Hey Cilan!" She walked down the steps and up to him. He tried to ignore the sway of her chest and hips.

Cilan shook his head quickly to get his mind cleared, "Kei, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Krillin invited me; he said he was having a party today."

"Did he now," he glanced at the man in question, who seemed to be busy with the grille.

'Krillin,' Cilan called out telepathically, learning the technique from Goku.

'Yeah?' he replied back.

'Why is Kei here?'

'I heard she was living with you, and I wanted to meet her. Any friend of yours can be a friend of ours,' replied Krillin cheerfully.

Cilan narrowed his eyes, 'You're lying.'

Before he could press further, Kei interrupted him, "Why aren't you wearing beach clothes?"

"Uh, what?" He was wearing a long sleeved white button shirt and blue jeans.

She raised an eyebrow while tucking her auburn hair behind an ear, "You aren't dressed properly for a beach party."

"I didn't know about the party, in fact I just came back from sparring with 18."

"Oh," she said simply, while she rubbed her chin and looked at him.

He fidgeted slightly under her gaze, "What?"

"I think you look better as a brunette, but I do like the eye color."

This only caused a sweat drop to appear on Cilan's forehead.

Krillin watched them from the grille and could see they were friendly with each other. He didn't know about Kei until he spoke with Bulma. Not surprisingly, Cilan never mentioned her.

It was easy enough to invite her over, but she nearly left when she saw that Master Roshi and Oolong lived on the island. He promised her that those two would behave; all it took was money to bribe them. As he was preparing the food, he was able to talk with her, mainly about Cilan.

He learned how they originally met in the park and he could only chuckle at how Cilan just disappeared after rescuing her. Krillin would have stuck around and hoped to have gotten a date. He also learned that Cilan had lied to him about having been in love before. Hearing that Milla died in combat explained why the young saiyan seemed to prefer to stay alone.

As Krillin put another raw steak on the grille, he frowned. He suffered from loneliness for many years before he met 18. His small stature and lack of nose made it hard for him to find love, but he never gave up. Cilan on the other hand seemed to have welcomed solitude.

Krillin smiled at the fact that Cilan had decided on living on Earth, so he could easily help him settle down. The former monk knew that Kei would be the key to that. Though that plan would have its speed bumps; one of which was going to be his mentor.

Master Roshi let out a whistle, "I can see why you've been avoiding Candy. She's nowhere near as hot as Kei."

"Candy?" Kei raised an eyebrow at the turtle hermit before looking back at Cilan.

Before he could answer Oolong jumped in, "Just this stripper that has the hots for soldier boy over here."

"Stripper? Where did you meet her?"

"Ms. Kitty gentleman's club," Cilan answered as he ran a hand down his face.

"What!?" Kei had her hands on her hips mimicking Bulma when she was angry. "You went to that scummy place!?

Cilan again wanted to speak his side but Roshi cut in, "Now hold on Kei. We took Cilan there when he was looking for a place to drink. All he did that night was drink at the bar; I had to convince him to get that lap dance…"

"Lap dance!?" She turned back to Cilan with her arms crossed and had a look of disgust, "You let a skank like her rub up on you?"

He was going to answer, but Kei turned around and went back into the house not bothering to listen to him, "I thought you were different Cilan."

Cilan sat against the wall of Roshi's house and looked at the ocean horizon with empty beer cans around him. He was ready to leave after Kei stormed off, but Krillin convinced him to stay or the food he cooked would go to waste.

He ate a few steaks then had retreated around the corner of the house taking along the beer cooler, and tried to enjoy the view of the ocean, though the earlier argument kept him from doing so. It angered him that Kei overreacted and wouldn't let him tell his side of the story. It also bothered him that he cared what she thought. Before when someone was angry with him, he just shrugged his shoulders and went on with his life.

Cilan was brought out of his thoughts, when he saw 18 and Marron waving at him from the water. He returned the gesture before he reached into the cooler for another beer. A shadow fell over him, looking up he saw Kei standing over him, still dressed in her bikini.

"Can I have one?" She asked quietly.

He scrutinized her for a moment before he handed her a beer, and grabbed another for himself. She sat next to him and looked out over the ocean. They sat there in silence, watching the wave's splash on the beach.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Kei finally spoke. After she had calmed down, she realized she was being silly, but something in her just made her mad about Cilan being close to some stripper.

Cilan took a sip of beer and still looked at the horizon, "Accepted."

They were quiet for a few more minutes, until Kei spoke again, "So how many times have you been to that club?"

"Just once," he replied.

She nodded, "And have you talked to Candy since?"

"No."

"That's good; a girl like her would be bad for you."

Cilan smirked, "I guess she would be."

She smiled then stared back out into the horizon. They were silent again and enjoyed their beers while they watched the view.

To be continued.