Five days. Five days of faux normalcy hiding exhilarating secret exchanges, a brush of a hand, a wayward suggestive smile, a brief kiss in the hallways, leading to nightfall where the two ended up in his bed without hesitation. She would maintain outward collected indifference towards him around the others and he would make an attempt at avoiding close proximity but inside, both craved more. The only request she asked was to not make their tryst known. Eventually, though, someone was bound to notice.
The half Saiyan's blue eyes squinted by temporarily blindness from the rays of sunlight with a new day. He sat up in bed, cleared his throat and smiled to himself. Pilfering through his closet, he found a dark grey sweater and jeans and headed downstairs.
At the bottom, his smile dropped as a rough yank at the back of his sweatshirt caused him to be face to face with his angry father.
"Let's have a little chat." He said with narrowed his eyes.
Trunks was pushed into the gravity room and thrown forcefully inside as the door slammed loudly behind him.
"What are you doing?" Vegeta crossed his arms tightly, approaching his son as Trunks tried to get his bearings. It had been quite a while since he had been under his scrutinizing radar. This was a side to his father he never really liked to see.
Trunks initial surprise appearance immediately changed to an oblivious composure. He was well versed in preventing self-incrimination through deflection. "You're gonna have to be more specific." He said evasively.
"Don't fuck with me, boy. I've smelled her scent on you all week." Vegeta warned menacingly.
Shit. Realizing this was not a conversation he could easily get out of, the halfling's mouth set to a hard line. He observed his irate father and felt like an 8-year-old again reprimanded for doing something he knew he shouldn't. He cleared his throat while keeping his eyes averted. "We're just having fun. It's nothing." He could handle his dad, it was Riane he was concerned about.
"Nothing. Initially, it was nothing. Your mother convinced me it was nothing. I see now it has spiralled dangerously close to something. I thought that you or she would have found a way to screw it up and it'd be finished. But it does not appear that way. So I'm going to ask again. I suggest you make a wiser choice this time with your answer. What are you doing?"
Trunks took a breath to collect his thoughts on how to respond. He knew the repercussions of lying. Especially directly to his face. "We're dating." He admitted.
"And?" Vegeta hissed through his teeth, waiting for a more particular answer.
"And sleeping together." He confessed with a mumble and slight muscle twitch in his cheek.
"Now that I've heard it directly from you." Vegeta phased in too quick for Trunks to block and punched him square in the jaw.
"Have you lost your fucking mind?! How could you be so selfish and irresponsible? You know what she is here to do. You know who she's with!"
"I tried, okay. I tried to ignore it. I thought we could just be friends. Besides, you knew. You knew I felt something for her." He retorted as he stood up to his full height, a hand on his face.
"That was before I knew you were fucking around. That is immensely worse." Trunks stared at his father as his ki raised, fists shaking. He may have been a head taller but the man was still precariously imposing. "This conversation has been put off long enough. You don't know her and her kind."
"I do, Dad. I know that she's not like the others. She's different from them. You must have seen it, too. Why did you let her stay with us in the beginning if she was such a threat?"
"I kept her around so I could keep tabs on her. She has become infinitely more revealing than she is even aware. But this is not about me, this is about you and the poor decisions you've made as of late. You are consorting with the enemy." He spat, his jaw tightening.
"No." He bore down with earnest. "She is not the enemy."
"She is feeding you lies. She is a poison leeching her way into you and you are blind to see it."
Trunks shook his head repeatedly. "No. I trust her. She has been nothing but honest with me."
"How are you so certain?" His eyes flashed with skepticism.
"I just know." Trunks insisted.
"She could turn on you in an instant. They could have planned this entire charade to manipulate you into letting your guard down." Vegeta seethed.
"I know she's telling the truth. I can feel it. I can feel her."
"She does not belong here. She is not like you." Vegeta said pointedly.
"I don't care." Trunks held his ground.
"I told you, in the beginning, to stay away from her."
"I guess I don't listen." His glare unwavering.
"Clearly." He responded through gritted teeth.
"I trust your judgment, Dad. I understand your concern over safety with Mom and Bulla. But I'm not going to let her go. I know she is a good person. She would never do anything to harm our family. I want to be with her. I would fight for her. And if that means fighting you," Trunks slightly hesitated at the thought observing his powerful, cross-armed, scowling father, "I will do it."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "You would fight me. For her."
Trunks clenched his fists as his ki raised in a determined challenge. "Yes."
Both men refused to falter.
Vegeta smirked with understanding to his son. "She's not the worst one you could have claimed."
Trunks eyes went round in bafflement at the statement. "What?" He asked to make sure he had heard correctly.
"I said she's not the worst one you could have claimed. I'm not going to repeat myself again."
Trunks lowered his ki slowly as he stood dumbfounded. "Are you… are you telling me… you approve of her?" He choked out.
"You infer what you want from what I said," Vegeta replied dismissively.
Trying to contain his sheer shock, a corner of his mouth turned up. "You approve. You like her."
"Don't push it." He warned.
"You were testing me?" He realized.
"It was a tactic. I wanted to determine if you were serious."
"I should have known." He shook his head in reflection. If he hadn't been so caught off guard with the yelling, he would have figured it out. "That punch you threw wasn't one of your normal ones. You held back."
Vegeta grunted. "I needed to get your attention."
"Do you really think she doesn't belong here?" He wondered aloud.
"If you are willing to defend her as you've just demonstrated, then my thoughts on that shouldn't matter. You protect what is yours." He sighed briskly through his nose. "Now get out."
Trunks shook his head with a small smile as engaged the door release. "I'm gonna go ice my face. You know, that punch was almost like a hug coming from you." He smirked.
"Get out." He demanded louder.
Trunks raced to her room and stood in the open threshold with a beaming smile. Riane stopped typing on the pad in front of her and gave him a small smile back. He stared for a few moments then walked quickly over, planting a prolonged kiss on her lips. Her initial surprise was replaced with deepening the kiss. He pulled away and lingered, his hand holding her cheek.
She chuckled at him shyly. "Well, hello."
"You deserve something nice." He said as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"Why? Like what?" She asked suspiciously.
"Ice cream. As much as you can eat." He said enthusiastically.
"That's oddly spontaneous but alright. I could go for some ice cream." She lifted herself from the bed and he immediately took her in his arms for a protective embrace.
She blushed through a smile. He took her hand as they headed downstairs.
The bell on the parlor door rang as it shut behind them. Riane licked her thumb and wiped off the remaining sticky sweet dessert with a napkin then tossed it in the trash. Trunks placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. He peered down at her face.
"You have chocolate sauce right-" he bent down and kissed the side of her mouth grazing her lip with his tongue, "there."
She pushed his face away playfully, wrinkling her nose. "I had chocolate on my face this whole time and you didn't tell me?" She wiped the wet mark he left with the back of her hand.
"I just did." He snickered.
"You think you are so funny." She coyly glared at him. Behind him, a short distance away, four younger females caught Riane's attention. One had a phone out and was pointed at them, the other three giggled into their hands. They made to approach.
Seeing her frown, Trunks turned with curiosity. He immediately groaned and rubbed his face.
Riane narrowed her eyes at the newcomers. "Who are they? Why are they coming over?"
"Fan club." He moaned into his palm.
Two blondes and a brunette with braces pushed a dark haired girl with pink streaks forward as they tittered to each other.
"Are you Trunks Briefs?" The bolder, volunteered one asked, pushing her wispy hair from her face and looking down in giddy excitement.
Trunks chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, I am."
His response created a collection of giggles and playful pushing among the other three as the girl in front of them bounced slightly on her heels.
"We just wanted to see if it was you." She choked out with a grin and bit her lower lip. "I really liked that article-" She started.
"Especially the one with you without your shirt." One of the emboldened blondes added loudly with glee.
Trunks plastered a smile to hide his mortification but felt Riane was doing worse. He ki was raising slowly in agitation and her face darkened to a dangerous looking scowl. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"I'm flattered. We're kinda busy. Thanks for coming to say hi." He started to back up, holding to Riane's tightening grip. The oblivious girl gave a wide smile as one of her friends skipped over and grabbed her arm to pull her away. The four practically ran in the opposite direction, cackling and laughing. The last things the two heard were mentions of Trunks' physique and what they would like to do to him.
"Have you had relations with those females?" Riane sat on a park bench with her legs crossed tightly, her tail cinched around her waist with the end flicking in irritation.
"Are you kidding? No. For one, they were way too young." He said with a disgusted sneer.
"They were probably all within beginning reproductive status." She reasoned insecurely.
"But physical and mental age makes a huge difference here. As I said, too young. They were practically children." He insisted.
"Then how do they know you?" She suspiciously looked at him.
Trunks cringed sheepishly. "It comes with my family being pretty well known. The company is popular so people want to know about the ones behind it. I get recognized sometimes. It means nothing."
"If it means nothing, then why let them see you naked?"
He gapped at her. "I was not naked, okay. It was one picture. I had my shirt off. That's it." He defended. "And it was like a year ago so it doesn't matter."
Riane adjusted moderately, clearly still uncomfortable. "What was the purpose? For humans to gawk at you?"
He smirked. "Some humans find me attractive. Besides, I'm with you. There's no reason to get jealous of them." He teased as he pushed his bicep into hers playfully.
"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of humans?" She scowled. "You're far too human in the first place." She added as a bite back at his mocking.
Riane got up and sauntered away, head held high, then viewed over her shoulder to see him still seated, apparently contemplating what she had just said.
"I'm not a human." He insisted, catching up to her.
She turned abruptly, noticing his agitation, and cocked her head with interest at his confused gaze. "You are a human." She corrected provokingly, hands on her hips.
"No, I'm not." His voice low and determined.
With an antagonizing smirk, she powered up and took off gracefully into the sky to hover far above him. "Prove it, then." She goaded and raced off at her full speed. Trunks followed suit quickly, a bitter resentment building at her accusation.
The two landed on a high cliff overlooking towering trees, miles from the city. He was still irritated by her judgement when she phased directly in front of him. She narrowed her eyes.
"You tell me you have a Saiyan side but I have yet to see it. All I see is a human, halfbreed." She pressed a finger forcefully into his chest. He growled at her but said nothing. She could feel his ki rise.
"I bet you can't even scream like a Saiyan." She took two steps from him, reeled her head back and screamed a prolong howl until she ran out of breath. Her chest rose and fell as she turned her face to his with a wicked, challenging gaze. His gaze darted, looking around with hesitation.
"What? Are you embarrassed?" She got in his face. "It is the battle cry of your ancestors. You are descended from a royal lineage. Make them hear you!" She raised her voice with the dare.
She saw his eyes narrow as he clenched his fists tight and screamed loudly into the sky. Her arms prickled at the sound.
"Again, hybrid!" She yelled at him and he threw his head back and screamed fiercely, a primal roar she could feel in her core.
His cry echoed in the distance when he finished. With a satisfied smirk, she turned her back to him but faked and threw a powerful punch instead. He blocked it swiftly with the side of his forearm, the forced air whipping his hair wildly, without losing his stance.
Riane bared her canines at his reaction. "Take me down, Saiyan." She goaded and phased quickly, her lithe form and speed just out of reach to his hunting hands. She vaulted into the sky with him in pursuit, phasing and shooting ki blasts to keep him at bay. Adrenaline rushed through her as she continued to be cunning prey to her hunter. A final phase on his part, and he gripped her around her forearms, holding them down at her sides and pulled her into the thicket of trees below.
Trunks landed first and continued his victorious hold, her feet dangling from the ground. She was seized facing him in his iron grip, staring up into fierce eyes. She stopped resisting and placed a slow, hot breathed kiss on his neck, grazing her teeth across the flesh. His grip loosened.
"How do you feel?" She asked huskily.
"Amazing." He replied breathlessly after a moment.
"What do you hear?" Her eyelids lazily open and shut and he loosened his arms more, her feet finally touching the ground.
"The wind, water nearby, your heartbeat." He stared down at her mimicking her languid blinking.
She could feel heat radiating from his body. She closed her eyes, taking in the warmth, breathing in his comforting scent. She took a hand and played with the top button of his jeans.
"And what do you smell?" Riane growled sensually.
"You." Trunks breathed out, letting her go and roughly seizing her hips as she plunged her own wandering hand into the waistband of his jeans, taking his erection in her grip.
"You asked me if I was jealous of humans?" She hissed seductively as she tightened her hold around him. He groaned, pushing his body into her hand. "Why be jealous? Could a human do what I can do?"
His eyes rolled back as she moved against him. "No."
"Can a human make you feel what I can make you feel?" She breathed as she ran her free hand up his torso, his abdominal muscles twitching under her touch.
"No." He replied through gritted teeth.
She placed a biting kiss on his lower lip as her tail tightly wrapped around his arm. "I am not jealous. I am possessive. You belong only to me, yes?"
"Yes." He whispered out lustfully.
"Show me how I only belong to you." She provocatively insisted.
"We should go." She said, catching her breath after. "I smell rain."
Riane hiked up her pants and rezipped them as he did the same. He nodded in agreement then tossed her shirt over.
Trunks knitted his brows a little while putting on his shoes. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
She chuckled as she took out her hair and rebraided it. She was positively ravaged. "No. I doubt there's much you could do to hurt me. I quite enjoyed that."
"I did, too. I've never done anything like that before." He smirked as he stood up.
"Neither have I." She replied, finished her plait and embracing him around his middle. "Although, next time, you hit back."
"Deal." He grunted through a smile, placing a kiss on the top of her head.