With a loud screech the Lucky Foods van came to a halt and Rori who was laying across the front seat would have rolled onto the floor had 17 not reached out and held her in place causing her to wake abruptly. Her eyes were still a bit hazy and she rubbed them muttering a quick thanks to the android with an arm still draped over her shoulder.
"So, we're there or did you get pulled over again?" When she removed her hands from her eyes, she realized from the palm trees and beachfront that they were parked in front of that neither option was correct.
"We're making another completely unnecessary stop because Tokyo Drift over here wants to take a pit stop so you can rest your non-engineered body." 18 answered from outside the rolled down passenger window.
"She's sleeping away the whole road trip experience, sis." 17 whined.
"Like she even cares. Did you forget she's trying to stop us from finding Goku?" 18 crossed her arms, trying to keep a calm appearance through her annoyance.
"It would be faster and more comfortable for all of us, including Goku's sister, if we fly there." 16 offered his suggestion again.
"Alright 16, think about it this way… We go kill Goku, 10 minutes max, we're done. Then what would you do?" 17 asked as he got out of the van, helping Rori slide out.
"10 minutes? That's a bit long. It would only take me 5 minutes to stop you…" Rori muttered, causing 17 to give her an amused smirk.
16 stood there in silence for a few moments, not knowing how to respond. Killing Goku was his only mission after all.
"Right, so just relax and enjoy the full experience. You know what they say, it's about the journey or something deep like that…" 17 shrugged as he led Rori toward the hotel he had stopped the van in front of, "We're not flying. Period."
18 shot 16 a skeptical look, pleading for him to take her side, but he resigned and followed the two to the hotel.
"Ugh, he just wants to get in her pants." 18 scoffed, but followed nonetheless, "This place better at least have a decent spa!"
Despite being in another middle of nowhere town, the hotel appeared to be quite fancy with all the furnishing of modern beach extravagance and the attitude of an upper class wait staff. At the reception a blue haired teen sat back behind the counter chair scrolling through her phone, chewing her gum at an obnoxious pace. When 17 and Rori reached the counter, the girl hadn't moved or even glanced in their direction and now had a finger twirling through a few strands of her hair. Though 17 cleared his throat, the girl merely held up one polished finger both acknowledging his presence at the same time as she ignored him while she finished typing a lengthy hashtag with her other hand.
"Okay, done!" she said putting her phone away and sat up staring at the couple in front of her. She arched her brow in curiosity at 17's stature and pale skin compared to Rori's elfish frame and sun kissed skin. She'd seen millions of couples come in the hotel and these two did not add up. As her eyes gave Rori a once over, the receptionist realized she'd seen her in some magazine next to Mr. Satan before. No, these two could not be a couple, she thought. Her critical gaze quickly disappeared once she saw 16 and 18 appear behind them.
"Two rooms. Make them your best, she can apparently afford it." 17 requested while dodging the elbow Rori had tried to hit him with for his remark.
The receptionist nodded and started typing on the computer, "Separate beds, I'm assuming."
"One bed for the two of us" 17 started masking his tone of annoyance as he motioned between himself and Rori with a jab at 18, "You sleepin' with 16, sis?"
18 now enraged pushed past him, "I've had enough of you today! You said we came here to 'rest' so we're resting. Girls in one room, boys in another."
The hostess looked up at the group squabble giving a pleasant smile, while mentally reaffirming her opinion about the couple, "So, separate beds it is."
Rori, ignoring the fighting twins, handed over her ID and credit card and in minutes they had their keys. The entire way up to the room 17 whined to his sister saying she was no fun and likened her to a Catholic schoolmarm as he mocked her with a devilish voice trying to tempt Rori to sneak out of her 'dormitory when the old nun falls asleep,' causing 18 to make 16 swear he'd keep an eye on 17 so he wouldn't sneak out. Though 17 tried one last stitch effort to get 18 to change her mind and let them switch rooms, she refused.
"Seriously, you two are like a couple of hormonal teenagers! I said we are resting!" 18 yelled, slamming the door in his face. When she turned around, she realized she was now stuck alone with the person she loathed the most on this trip. Oh well, at least she wasn't left with 16 staring at her outfit or talking about birds.
"So, what now?" Rori asked bouncing on her knees on one of the beds.
"What now? You sleep now. That's why we stopped." 18 replied as she raided the large suite, looking over the beauty products laid out and bath facilities with a critical eye.
"But…" Rori started, now jumping onto the larger bed, "I can sleep in the car. Honestly, I just want to eat and move around a bit. We haven't budged in two whole days."
"So, convince him to let us fly then if you want to move so badly. Maybe he'll listen to you." 18 remarked while looking in the mirror and rubbing some face cream onto her cheeks, before deciding she didn't like it and threw it in the trash.
Rori frowned at the idea. Goku still needed to recover, at least she thought he did. She hadn't checked in with Yamcha yet today, but as far as she knew he was a bit better, but still knocked out. No, it would be best if they stayed on this road trip, so she decided to change the subject and hopped off the bed next to 18, "Hey, do you wanna spar?"
18 looked back from the mirror to find Rori in front of her looking as excited as a kid at an amusement park. She frowned and brushed past her to the bathroom, "No."
"Okay… well we're right by the beach, how bout we go down there?" Rori suggested, following 18 who was starting to run the bath water.
"No. Just go watch tv or something." 18 replied not even looking at the Saiyan as she pushed her out of the bathroom closing the door behind her.
Rori sighed and went to the bedroom window pushing the drapes out of the way. 'What a shame' she thought as her eyes followed the sun setting in an orangey-blue sky, 'It's such a nice night too.' Her eyes traveled to the few buildings she could see in the small town, as the sun set lower in the sky, and the commercial signs began to light the streets, one sign stuck out, "P-I-Z-Z-A."
Rori ran back to the bathroom opening the door on 18 as she was getting into the bath tub, "What about some pizza? Aren't you at least hungry?"
18 quickly dropped down into the tub covering herself with her arms and bubbles and whatever she could find, "Rori! Get out!"
"Oh 18, we're both girls!"
"Get out!"
"Come on, I'm hungry!" Rori pleaded.
"Fine! Get us some pizza, just get out!" 18 screamed throwing shampoo bottles Rori's way, "And don't bring 17 with you!"
Rori smirked taking the extra key card to the room, before slipping out the door. She stood outside of the room for a few seconds almost contemplating listening to 18, since she felt bad about walking in on her naked but shrugged it off and skipped down the hall to 16 and 17's room, knocking on the door.
17 opened up arching his brow, "What took you so long?"
"Your sister's as stubborn as you are." She said pushing past him to see 16 sitting in front of the tv, "Will he be ok while we're gone? He's not going to go off and complete his mission on his own, will he?"
17 shook his head, "Nah, they have every channel here. I even found one that's 24-hour bird watching. He'll be set for a few hours."
"Look, 17!" the hulking red-headed android called over as he watched the screen in wonder, "There are some birds the size of dinosaurs!"
"There sure are, bud! You keep watching that and we'll be back in a couple of hours!" 17 called in a derisive tone as he motioned for Rori to follow him out the door.
Rori and 17 found themselves wandering around outside the hotel, aimless now that they actually had some time alone without having thought through what they would do with it. To make matters worse, they now seemed to have accumulated all the awkward makings of two teenagers not knowing how to communicate for fear of saying something stupid from all the build up to this moment. Though unable to verbally communicate in their speechlessness, their feet had managed to agree that they would lead the pair down to the limit between sea and sand.
"So, where do you want to go on our date?" 17 asked as he looked out into the horizon.
Rori turned to him, her curiosity peaked, "This is a date?"
"Isn't it?" he asked meeting her gaze with an that unreadable expression of his.
"I guess…" Rori replied shrugging her shoulders, watching 17 as he decided to drop down to the sand, laying out carelessly, his arms behind him, propping himself up so he could watch the waves. Rori dropped down next to him like a lifeless doll, before she started watching the tide as well. Being so close to the edge of a new beginning, she couldn't help but think back to her relationship with Piccolo. They had moved so quickly, maybe that had been their problem. They hadn't really known how different their lives were before they had tied the knot. She knew Piccolo had less moments of solitude when she was around. That had always been important to the Namekian, but she hadn't paid much attention to it because she never understood it. She didn't find solitude calming like he did, she wasn't Namekian after all. In all her time with Piccolo she was happy to be with him, yet somehow still felt like she was lonely. Maybe it was just impossible for Saiyans and Namekians, maybe their lifestyles and needs were just too different. Maybe, she was better suited with 17, "I've just… never been on a date is all. I'm not sure what we would even do."
"Funny… same goes for me." 17 confessed before he rolled over pinning her down into the sand beneath them, his hair falling over her face like a drape closing her off to her thoughts and the outside world, the tip of his nose touching hers as he came close enough to kiss her, but stopped just short, "I guess we'll have to wing it… or we could just skip the date and go right to the fun part."
Rori rolled her eyes, before sliding her leg up so she could use her foot to push him back slightly by his chest, "Is that what you want?"
"Well, we did get interrupted yesterday. I wouldn't mind an opportunity to fix that." 17 commented before he sat up running his hand through his hair to get it out of his face, "but you're right that would be too easy."
"Some of the girls I work with always tell me they go to bars or dancing with guys." Rori offered laying her head on his shoulder as she drew little zigzags on his back with her fingertips.
"Yeah, I think I've seen that in movies. We could-" 17 confirmed, before he was interrupted by the ferocious growl of the female Saiyan's stomach. Rori laughed embarrassed scratching the back of her head as she blushed. 17 turned to her amused, "or we could get you something to eat."
"I saw a pizza place!" Rori grinned and hopped up with enthusiasm while reaching down helping 17 back to his feet. As they started toward the restaurant, Rori realized that 17 hadn't eaten a thing since she met him, "and how am I the only one that's hungry? We haven't eaten in over a day!"
"Android, remember? I can eat, but why bother, I already have unlimited energy." 17 said sliding his arm around her lower back as she led them to the pizza place.
"Well I'm running on empty." She complained as they headed for the pizza shop.
_
Inside the almost deserted shop, 17 watched stupefied as Rori had devoured 10 pizzas, at this point. At first, he'd thought she was joking when she'd ordered one of each kind and then asked him what he wanted. The store owner had thought they were waiting on friends or buying for a party, but now also watched in amazement as she picked up the last slice, before pausing first, remembering they were supposedly on a date, "You sure you don't want anymore, 17?"
He laughed at this, "I wouldn't dream of taking that last piece from you. I'm afraid I might lose an arm."
"You know I can't help it. All Saiyans eat like this. If you weren't an android and were putting out the same amount of power as us you'd be hungry too." She protested before finishing off the last piece.
"I'm sure you'll put it to better use than I will." 17 commented before getting back on topic, "So…you said dancing or a bar."
"Those were my ideas… Don't you have something you want to do on a date—other than that!" Rori started to ask, but quickly corrected herself as she noticed the grin on 17's face, knowing exactly what his answer was.
"I'll let you know if I think of something, but for now I saw that they have a bar on the roof of the hotel. Let's go there."
The bar on the roof was much bigger than they'd expected, seeming to be the entire attraction for the small town. It had a pool, bar seating, scattered tables around full-grown trees and vegetation, a dance floor, and a stage where a few people were drunkenly singing karaoke. The place was more packed than expected, so much so that the two had a hard time finding a spot to sit by the rather large bar.
When they went to order their beers, Rori had decided to order a couple, figuring it would take a long time for the bartender to get back for a second round and she tended to drink much like she ate. After the bartender placed 4 pints in front of her and 17, she found the android staring at her again.
"What?" she asked shrugging as she sipped on her first drink.
"Can you even get drunk?" He asked after remembering how many pizzas it took for her to get full.
"Can you?" she shot back.
"Fair enough…" 17 picked up one of his own drinks, "I'm not sure. I've never tried. At least, not since… I've always stopped before 10."
"Same." She said as she finished one before looking at him mischievously, "I'd like to see what you're like drunk."
"That might be fun, but I'm sure by then you'd be too drunk yourself to remember it." He retorted slamming down his own finished beer competitively.
"Is that a challenge?" She asked as she started on the next one.
"No. It's a fact." He answered with indifference, starting on his second beer.
She stared at him, rage boiling up in her, almost biting before she just smiled at him sweetly, "first one drunk loses?"
He nodded and finished his second beer, "Yeah, but you have to keep up."
By the time the two had reached their previous breaking points of 10 beers, it hadn't seemed to faze either of them, so they ordered again. As they were waiting for the next round, Rori reminded 17 that there was supposed to be dancing on this date, not just drinking, so the two made their way to the dance floor. Just as the two had started to dance, Rori froze mid-motion hearing her name from one of the last people she would want to see at a time like this.
"Rori!" a blue haired girl followed by a group of similar looking girls called out her name with a high-pitched squeal, "What are you doing here?!"
"Tiffany…" Rori replied unenthusiastically.
The girl immediately inserted herself between Rori and 17 and started chatting Rori's ear off about this great spot having a great party next to her favorite photo shoot location. When 17 tried to insert himself into the conversation, the girl just stared at him for moment with a dull lifeless expression and went back to her story, but not before adding a quick jab to his confidence 'is that your manager or something?' Tiffany didn't seem at all interested in the answer to the question she'd asked, as she didn't wait for the response before launching herself into a whole list of reasons she would only be eating things that are orange at the moment.
"So, I don't know… I mean, mangos are orange, but mango vodka is still clear… I guess it's ok because water's clear and I still drink that though…" the girl sighed exhausted from her own lecture, but found her stride again once a new song came on, "I looooooove this song! It's been on the radio all week and I can't get it out of my head. It's so great they have karaoke here, don't you think? We should all dance to it."
Finally, having a moment to think Rori looked around suddenly noticing that 17 had disappeared, not that she could blame him. She was getting bored too. "Ummm… have you guys seen—" "Rori, look isn't that your manager singing?"
"Manager?" Rori questioned confused. She had tuned out most of Tiffany's conversation but looked up to the stage to find 17 with a microphone in his hands singing the song playing as if he'd known it his entire life. Yes, it was indeed her 'manager' as Tiffany had put it. Normally, Rori was down for whatever game 17 had thought up for them, but she suddenly felt a little self-conscious in front of her colleagues knowing what a wild card 17 was. A few years ago, Rori had committed to not letting anyone know she was a Saiyan or showing excessive strength, or flying, or most of what made her, well, her. Yamcha had always assured her life would be easier for her that way. Sure, she played with the lines here and there, but from what she knew of 17 he could blow her whole cover in 10 seconds.
Suddenly, as 17 jumped down from the stage, but not before flipping over the heads of a few of the spectators, landing in a crouched position, she knew she was right to be worried. 17 stood slowly as he continued the song and making his way towards her.
"He's really good!" Tiffany commented looking impressed.
"He is…" Rori had to admit, he didn't sound bad and he looked as comfortable as always, even though he was singing and dancing in front of more people than she cared to count.
When he reached her, 17 took her hand and pulling her to him, dancing with her as she'd earlier requested, while he continued the song. She had to admit he was going all out on this whole date thing. She tried to imagine Piccolo doing something like that, but she knew he would be way to self-conscious or think it was stupid. And it was stupid, but she couldn't help but smile wondering where 17 got all his confidence. Things were just easy with him, which somehow made it easy for her to let loose too.
"Let'em go. All the ones tryin' to get in the door. I will go where they all couldn't go," 17 sang as his hand tightened around her waist, hovering them off the ground, "And I know, we can get higher. There's levels to you love and I keep on climbing up."
Though—she almost took that thought back as soon as he started to lift them off the ground. She suddenly realized, he didn't care what anyone thought because the only reaction that mattered to him was hers. He had been so baffled earlier that she would just keep a low profile like Yamcha had told her to, he was trying to show her she didn't need to, it didn't matter. Nothing had happened earlier in that bar when 17 had shot a ki blast. There was no news story, no police, no consequences. Rori furrowed her brow deciding maybe she should just enjoy the ride and let themselves be who they were—two super normal people. The rest would come what may.
17 eventually touched them down on the stage dancing with her as he finished the song.
"Nice man!" The announcer said to him, when the music stopped. "You do stunts or something like that?"
"Something like that…" 17 confirmed giving Rori an impish smirk as if to say, 'see no one even cared.'
"That was Lapis singing!" The announcer said as he took the microphone back, "I don't know how he pulled off that flying trick, but he definitely found a way to sweep his girl off her feet tonight. Let's all give him a big hand, before we welcome Rika to the stage next!"
'Lapis?' Rori mouthed questioningly as 17 lead her down from the stage.
"Did you think I went by android 17 when I was a human?" He answered before leading them to a more secluded table trying to get back to some alone time with her again before her colleagues intervened. "So, you work with those girls?"
"Thankfully only sometimes." Rori laughed, "but back to you and the karaoke now… How did you even know that song?"
"It's been on every radio station the past few days while we were in the car…"
"Huh… guess I did sleep a lot." Rori shrugged, and leaned her elbow on the table, her chin in hand, "And the singing?"
"I couldn't do that before. Becoming an android makes things like that easier. You know I hate Dr. Gero, but since I have all these new abilities, why not use'm?" 17 responded, before his eyes grew dark, "In fact, there has been one thing I've been wanting to try out since I've changed."
"Well, thanks for rescuing me from those girls, but …" She planted a quick kiss on his cheek, before she started for the bar, "I think that's my cue to go grab our drinks! Be back in a sec!"
When Rori got back from picking up the next round of beer they'd ordered, Rori found 17 surrounded by her colleagues. Tiffany happened to be sitting next to him, talking his ear off until she noticed that Rori had returned.
"So, this is your new boyfriend, huh?"
Rori made eye contact with 17 not sure what to say, since they had never talked about it themselves, but he didn't appear to be of any help as he watched her with a sly grin, awaiting a response as well.
"Uhhh…" she bit her lip lower lip, was he her boyfriend? They were on a date and they had spent a few days together now, but that didn't really make him her boyfriend, did it? Kami, sometimes she thought life would've been much less complicated on planet Vegeta. You mate, that's it, you're together. End of story. Nothing to think about. "… Yeah… I suppose he is…"
Tiffany sized him up, "What happened to that guy, Yamcha, you're always hanging around?"
"I thought she was with Mr. Satan… Didn't he ask you out, Rori?" another girl questioned.
Tiffany nodded and turned back to 17, "No offense, Lapis. You were good at that song, but you don't really look like her type… I'm just surprised."
"I think he's cute in a lone wolf kind of way…" one of the other girls responded smiling.
"No one asked you, Becky" Tiffany scoffed, suddenly more interested in 17 after he sang her new favorite song. The girls all started asking 17 questions and while he managed to come up with believable answers for each one, Rori began to drink her beer much faster now, not for the competition, but hoping the alcohol would provide her with either a sunnier disposition while dealing with her colleagues or maybe she'd actually get drunk and pass out.
"So, you're not actually her manager then?" Tiffany asked.
"No, I'm a park ranger." 17 responded, but clarified when it appeared she had no clue what that was, "I protect animals from poachers in parks."
"Aww!" Becky giggled, "And he likes animals, you're so lucky Rori!"
Rori nodded but stood up forcefully now. After finishing the last round she had the not so surprising urge to run to the bathroom, "I'll be right back!"
When Rori came out of the bathroom, she looked down at her phone looking for any excuse not to rush back right away. Luckily, there were three missed messages blinking on her phone, all from Yamcha. She looked back to where 17 was sitting with the other models and he didn't seem to be put out by their presence anymore. She quickly walked over to the edge of the roof, leaning on the railing, since it was the quietest part of the rooftop and listened to her messages.
"Hey, so, Goku's stable… He's still out like a light, but the screaming has stopped…" Yamcha paused as Goku could be heard letting out an agonizing cry in the background before it quickly subsided, "… Mostly. Where are you anyway? I thought you were coming… Well, just call me back when you get this."
Rori sighed and just deleted the next two messages in an effort to assuage her guilt and called Yamcha directly.
"Rori?" Yamcha called from the other line.
While Rori was in the bathroom, the girls weren't letting up. 17 wasn't averse to the attention, but he'd been trying to get a moment alone with Rori all night and he was starting to think it was never going to happen. One thing was for sure, if these girls brought up that Yamcha-guy one more time, 17 was going lose his normally cool demeanor. Was that the guy Rori had dated and was avoiding from the group? It would be strange, the guy was the weakest of the bunch, but in the looks category… 17 could guess that Yamcha was probably on the upper tier, though he hadn't met him in person yet, Yamcha was still one of the Z fighters that came up in his database. 17 had zoned out, focusing on guessing who his competition was as he wondered if never getting a second alone with Rori was really all just bad luck or maybe she really was avoiding being alone with him. Anytime the two appeared to get close to any sense of intimacy something got in the way.
"Wow, so romantic, Steph!" One of the girls, Becky, he thought, cried as she looked at picture on the other girl's phone, "Where is that?"
"Oh, it's an island just a couple of miles from here. This guy took me on a date there last week. It was so secluded. We had the best time… actually we…" she paused before whispering in Becky's ear and the two giggled.
"Can I see?" 17 asked suddenly coming out of his thoughts when he overhead the girls' conversation. Steph blinked and handed him the phone filled with dimly lit pictures of her and her boyfriend jumping off waterfalls into a pool of water, "Sure… eh, just don't scroll left more than 8 pictures."
"What direction is this island from here?" 17 asked as he returned the phone.
"Ummm… I think it's north" Steph looked around before pointing to the right.
"That's west." Becky corrected.
"Right… but it's pretty far, I mean it'll take at least an hour boat trip because nothing big goes out that far. You have to canoe there." Steph explained, "You have to make plans in advance definitely, but it's nice since no one really knows about it."
"I see…" 17 stood up as he saw Rori come out of the bathroom, "Thanks for the info. I think we're going to head back to our rooms… we have a big day tomorrow."
17 wandered over to Rori, but when he realized she was on the phone, he stopped short.
"Yamcha?" Rori responded, with a bit of concern in her voice, before letting out a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. I was worried! Look, I know I said I was coming, but it's taking longer than I thought."
She paused and leaned her head back, scratching her forehead apparently feeling guilty about the lie she was about to tell, "No, I haven't seen the androids… I know, I'm being careful. I've been using cars, so no one can sense my energy, but you know you're not that close to where I started off from… Maybe they're not as bad as he said they were if other things have changed too."
Rori suddenly started laughing and covered her mouth as she grinned, "Krillin said that? … Yeah… Look I'll see you soon. Stop… you know you mean a lot to me. Don't be worried. I'll see you soon… Promise, cross my heart. Bye."
Rori hung up the phone and turned around to 17 staring at her with that same unreadable expression he wore earlier. She walked up to him and punched his shoulder playfully before smiling trying to break his stoic look, "Hey… you got away from them!"
"I did." 17 confirmed. And just like that things seemed to be back to normal, "and I've decided what I want to do on our date, but if we want to do that and keep the competition going, it involves making off with some beer."
"I don't like stealing…" Rori cringed at the thought.
"Look at it this way, we're living the teenage years out we never had." He said sliding his arms around her waist, pulling her to him, "We snuck out, we're drinking more than we should, possibly getting drunk for the first time, and now we'll steal something, just to say you've done it once."
Rori scrunched her nose up still, causing 17 to sigh, "Fine. I'll do the dirty work, you just provide the distraction."
That was how Rori found herself standing in front of the bartender ordering the most complex order she'd ever asked for.
"I'm sorry, but I think you're at your limit. I can't serve you anymore." The bartender said while drying a glass.
"What do you mean? I'm not drunk" Rori said incredulously. This was not how she planned on distracting the guy at all. The lengthy order was supposed to confuse him. Now she was mad.
"You have toilet paper on your shoe and you've had 20 beers that I've counted…" The bartender said putting the glass away, "I can't serve you anymore."
"Just because someone has toilet paper on their shoe doesn't mean they're drunk…" Rori looked down at her shoe and quickly scrapped off the toilet paper on the floor while blushing more out of anger than embarrassment, before she started to walk as straight of a line as she could along the grouting of the tile floor, "Look could a drunk person do this? Huh?"
The bartender watched her bemused, as she started touching her fingers to her nose.
"Come on drunky, let's get you home." 17 came up behind her and led her to the elevator.
"It's a good thing you're drunk, we can stop the competition now." 17 grinned picking up the two cases of beer he'd stolen under his left arm.
"Oh, you know I'm not!" She grumbled as they reached the lobby and headed out to the beach, "so what's the plan?"
"Well your friends—"
"Colleagues." Rori corrected.
"Colleagues…. informed me of deserted island not to far from here. We can just fly over. It'll only take a few minutes." 17 said lifting the cases of beer up over his head.
"So, your plan is we're going to spar?" Rori asked, remembering that Piccolo always took them to islands like that to train.
17 laughed and shook his head as he started to hover off the ground, "No. We're going to swim."
"Wait!" Rori called out, "I can't fly there. If I do one of the guys will sense it and come and see if I'm alright."
"Your brother?" 17 questioned.
"No, he's …busy at the moment, but someone else might and if you want it to just be us, that might ruin it, don't you think?" She asked, her brows knitting together.
"Alright, then." 17 conceded, touching back down. He set down the beer and held out his hand to her, "I'll carry you then."
Rori arched her brow in confusion but still placed her hand in his. He quickly hovered the two of them off the ground again, before he threw her up in the air causing her to yelp in surprise, before catching her bridal style. When she landed in his arms, her cheek was practically touching his like it had been earlier on the beach, causing her to blush and look away, unable to keep his intense gaze that always made her feel like he was trying to dissect her. He leaned down, "Can you grab the beer?"
She nodded and lifted the case before he flew off toward the west.
"So, Yamcha… That's the guy you were with, right?" 17 couldn't help but ask after the silence became uncomfortable. Rori didn't respond.
"You know I'm going to find out eventually" he said as he spotted the island and took his landing.
"Maybe." She said and followed him through a small patch of thick woods on the island to a clearing around the moonlit lake. When her eyes fell on the lake with the moonlight and the waterfall, it reminded her of her first time, and the romantic tone wasn't lost on her. This was suddenly becoming very real, very fast. She thought she was ready for this with 17, she liked him, but if she took this step there was no going back. It could possibly close off the door to her and Piccolo for good and that scared her. "Wow… this is really beautiful…"
17 heard the words he wanted to hear, but her voice betrayed her as it fell flat. Something was off, or maybe she was nervous. He did have his hunch that she'd been avoiding being alone with him, "Hey relax, we still have a few things to check off our teenage rebellious year lists."
Rori couldn't possibly think of what else he had in mind, "You mean you're weren't just going to put the moves on me?"
"Oh, I will, but we're not there yet." He smirked and pulled out a beer handing it her, "Ever played truth or dare?"
"I know you said we were going live out our teenage years but isn't that a bit childish?" she asked.
"What exactly were you doing when you were in your teens?" 17 questioned.
"I was… stuck on Frieza's ship learning his ideas of female etiquette…" Rori confessed muttering out of embarrassment, "All right we'll play, but I get to start."
17 lifted his bottle, tipping it to her as a sign he was allowing her to go, "Truth for the first."
After what seemed like an hour neither had dared to pick anything but truth. The truth streak had started on Rori's part because she wasn't quite ready to find out what kind of dare 17 might give her and on 17's part because he didn't want to move too quickly for her, but after a while they both found that it continued due to their mutual curiosity about each other's pasts. The more they found out, the more they realized that though they came from completely different planets, they had a similar past. Technically they were about the same age, and they were both older than the other had initially suspected. Rori had managed to find out that he had a very unusual childhood not unlike her own and by the time he was in his early twenties his sister and he had turned out to be nothing more than delinquents, which was what made it possible for Dr. Gero to kidnap them without raising any suspicion. He'd even imagined the people in the town they lived in were relieved to be rid of them.
"Should I call you Lapis then?" Rori questioned.
"There's no point in that now. It's not who I am anymore. I haven't gone by that name in years anyway." He laughed and laid back down on the sandy ground looking up at the stars.
"Do you want to be human again?" Rori asked suddenly as she took a sip of her beer, her curiosity peaked now.
"It's funny, I hate Dr. Gero for what he did to me… He destroyed my life, but when I think back on that life… I had no power over anything. I was so poor; my parents didn't give a shit about me or 18. When I was younger I would have given anything to have the kind of abilities we do now." He paused his eyes fixed on the sky, taking a sip of his drink, trying to find the right words, but it was difficult because his thoughts contradicted each other, "When I was older, I didn't think that way anymore. I just wanted a simple life. And now sometimes I think I'd give anything to really feel human again, while the kid in me tells me I should take advantage of my bad luck, do what I want for once, yah know?"
17 looked up at her, but shook his head, "I doubt it makes sense to you, you've always had these abilities."
"I have…" she conceded, "but you forget, where I come from, this is normal, and I was far from being able to do what I wanted. I can understand it."
He nodded, and as he always did when things got to heavy, he made a joke. "Yeah, so I figured I'd, you know, do all the things I couldn't before and at least make the most of this. Steal a car, pick a few fights with guys way stronger than me, get the kind of girl teenage me dreamed about but had no chance with."
'What a line' she thought rolling her eyes before she changed the subject.
"So, when you said park ranger earlier to those girls, were you serious? That's what you wanted to do?" Rori asked as she laid her head down next to his.
"It's not your turn anymore…" He scolded her, "You'll have to wait."
"… I guess another truth, then." She offered.
"Chicken."
"Hey, you haven't picked dare either."
"The rule is ladies first, Rori." He corrected her before her rolled over and so he was looking down at her and moved strand of hair off her face. Now that she'd forgotten about it, he decided to strike and asked the question he'd been waiting to ask her, "Was it Yamcha you were dating before?"
Rori sat up at his question, pushing him back, feeling a bit awkward about the answer. "No… it wasn't him. But I guess I should tell you… he has asked me out several times."
"Hmmm. Well that last parts not shocking. You're really leading him on." 17 scolded her.
"I am not!" She protested.
"You know you mean a lot to me." 17 repeated the words she said on the phone to him.
"Well, he does… he's my best friend. One of my only friends on this planet…" Rori defended herself before she repeated answer, "but no it's not him I'm avoiding."
"Then who is it?"
"I already answered your question." She replied sticking her tongue out "Now, leave it. It's your turn."
17 sighed and thought for a minute, "Truth."
"All right… you know the question." She said before laying her head back down.
"Yeah… I had hoped to be a park ranger someday." He answered while watching the stars, waiting for her to make her next choice, knowing she was backed into a corner now. If she chose the truth she probably was not really over whichever guy it was she was hung up on, and if she chose the dare, he knew, she knew he would take full advantage of it.
After what seemed like forever her voice small and barely above a whisper finally let out a soft, "Dare."
17 thought about this as he leaned up on his elbows looking out to the waterfall in the lake, "come swim with me."
Swimming. It seemed harmless enough. It was not what she'd expected him to say, "but my clothes will get wet."
"I guess you'll have to take them off."
'There it is,' she thought rolling her eyes. Without waiting for an answer, he stood up and started undoing his bandana and lifting his shirts over his head, when he saw her looking away and blushing, he laughed to himself. He knew she couldn't be a virgin and yet, she was acting as if she'd never seen a guy naked before. 17 stripped off the rest of his clothes before going into the water waist deep, "Come on, you chose after all!"
"Right…" she confirmed as she stood and pulled her shirt up over her head, letting her skirt hit the ground, but then paused when she noticed he was watching her and suddenly felt very naked in her undergarments, "Turn around…"
17 didn't move initially until she motioned for him to turn around and he finally acquiesced, turning from her. She waited a few moments to make sure he was not just doing a full circle. She felt a bit silly, she'd never been concerned about her body before or letting someone see it naked for that matter, but something about the hunger behind his eyes made her realize that she'd taken the first steps away from Piccolo and towards another man. It was the choice she felt like she wanted and needed to make but standing on the edge can sometimes be even more overwhelming than the consequences that come after jumping. She knew three years pining away after her mate was too long on all accounts, but the weight of it was heavier than she thought she could lift alone. When she'd gotten her last piece of clothing off she waded into the water and swam up to him, making sure she was hidden underneath.
When she reached 17 he gave her a curious look, before dropped into the water and swam out past her leaving her behind. He'd had so many opportunities to try and push her, but he hadn't. He just floated along with her, enjoying the ride, even if it wasn't what he had expected. 'This guy can't be real,' she thought.
Rori sighed looking up at the stars and she realized why she was so hesitant had nothing to do with letting Piccolo go, but letting go the comfort he had given her. 17 wasn't the only one who was struggling with the line between his humanity. She had never been human before, she had always been Saiyan, just as Piccolo had always been Namekian. They never tried to start a new life as humans here, they had both just tried to continue their old ones alongside each other. She might have had a normal Saiyan life with both of her brothers, possibly a Saiyan mate, which would have most likely, been Vegeta, but she chose to ignore that little detail. She might have had a mother to give her advice on matters of the heart and one day even had some kids of her own. The one thing that still tied her to those dreams had been Piccolo, sure he was not Saiyan, but he had played the part, taken her as his mate like she'd asked and acted as such for years. He had helped her to believe that maybe even if she was not home on her home planet, she could have her home planet on Earth. Letting go of her mate, meant giving up on that. It meant becoming human, and being human meant that that future would never happen.
"I might've had a normal life and home up there you know." She mused out loud now, unable to contain her thoughts, "If that asshole hadn't blown it up… I didn't even get to know it..."
17 was silent as he watched the stars, knowing what it meant to her because he'd watched his own future disappear on Earth. He stood again in the water closing some of the gap she had created between them, "That's in the past, just enjoy the ride."
Rori turned to him and stopped for a second as she admired him in the moonlight. She couldn't deny it, despite what people said that they didn't seem to look like a couple together, she was attracted to him. His lean figure had so much strength to it due simply to his posture. He portrayed this confidence that she admired, that she used to have in herself. There was something in his eyes that both had drawn her in and scared her from the first moment they met. It was like she'd known that he would be the one to break through all the walls she had put up in the past three years and clung to because she was just afraid that she would let herself give in and become lost all over again. 17 noticed her watching him and slowly moved closer as if being pulled to her like a magnet.
Trying to grab hold of any semblance of strength and confidence she used to possess, and perhaps borrow some of his, she stood tall now, no longer needing to use the water as a shield, as he pulled her body flush against his, "Do you think you would have really fit in there, anyway?"
Rori thought about it, it had been a nice dream, but it would've never been a reality. She was a phoenix, she would have been different in her own rite anyway, "Probably not…"
"Forget it, then." He suggested moving a strand of hair behind her ear, "Whatever home we make together will be way better than that anyway because we'll do it our way."
Rori furrowed her brow at this. Did he actually want a life with her? Yes, she could admit now that she really wanted 17, but she'd thought he was just playing with her. Then, there was the matter that he was on his way to kill her brother, how would this work? Then again, Piccolo had supposedly the same goals and not acted on them in years, "Pick truth."
"I thought we were done with—"
"Pick truth."
"Fine, truth." 17 conceded.
"What do you want out of all of this? From us?" Rori started, but saw he didn't quite understand and so she continued, "How do you expect this to end when we arrive at the finish line and we're back to the reality where you and I are enemies? Is this just one fun night to you?"
17 took a step back studying her expression amazed that she didn't know, before leaning his forehead against hers, letting their lips briefly meet parting for each other as if they had always known each other this way. When he pulled away he breathed her in before responding, "You think too much. Have some confidence in this… You felt what I felt yesterday when we met. I saw it on your face. What I want out of this, is you… completely. Enemies or not, you are my finish line."
Rori leaned her head on his shoulder as he responded, while letting her arms slink over his shoulders and her fingers get lost in his hair, but smiling nonetheless, "How would that even work, 17?"
"I don't know, your brother does have a reputation of making friends of his enemies, doesn't he?" 17 questioned.
Rori didn't respond. It was true. Maybe this wouldn't lead to losing someone, it had happened before, she could only hope that this was one of those times.
"I want our home." 17 asserted, feeling that she was the only one in the world that would get that, despite her hesitance, but he knew he had gone too deep, displayed too much of his emotion, not wanting to scare her he softened it, "And you, know… to range a park."
Rori laughed at him before planting a few kisses on his neck. "Those poachers won't know what him them."
Something about 17's reaction made her believe it was not just some line he would tell girls and she told the small voice in the back of her head that said otherwise that even if it was, she still needed this experience with him to break free. Suddenly, Rori was overwhelmed with the feeling to be brave and push past her fears. She hopped up into his arms, her thighs squeezing around his waist to hold herself up as she began to kiss him feverishly letting her finger tips trail down the expanse of his chest and over his back, her nails grazing his skin softly.
17 was caught off guard by her sudden change of stance. He'd thought maybe tonight would not be their night, but despite him wanting to continue where they had left off at the arcade, he could have waited if that was what she needed. Now, he was pleasantly surprised, but didn't let it show, quickly falling into sync with her as if he was not fazed, one of his hand sliding down her back side, gripping her firmly to hold her in place while the other slid between them and began to explore any part of her it could find inside and out.
Rori arched her back as he quickly began working on her core, taking his time, moving slowly, watching her every movement to find a spot that would make her sing. She leaned her head on top of his and arched her brow between soft sighs asking, "You've done this before?"
"A guy can learn a lot on the streets in his teens." he retorted causing her to laugh and roll her eyes partially from his comment and at the same time from what his fingers were doing to her. Before she felt herself go over the edge, she stopped him and let herself ebb back down a few levels, wanting to press onward to the main attraction, it had been too long for her to contain herself once she'd started. She ran her tongue and lips along his neck and shoulder while one of her hands ran below the water searching for what she was really after. As soon as she found it, she gave him a few strokes watching his face contort at her touch before sliding herself onto him. In seconds, she watched as the man who seemed to always have a remark at the ready, suddenly be at a loss for words as he melted beneath her slow languid movements, though he didn't remain silent for long. One of his hands slid up past her jaw around to the nape of her neck, fingers tangling in her hair as he pulled her so his tongue could meet hers, while his other hand squeezed around her ass trying to pull her closer and quicken her pace. As he thought he would become frantic trying to get deeper at an angle that would not allow it, he found a spot near the waterfall where he could lay her out before him, burying himself into his work, but giving himself enough distance and perspective to see what worked for her, every pant, sigh, and eye roll that he caused, he wanted to see it as she melted into a pool of need like she had done to him only moments ago. As 17 watched her hips urge him to speed up, he slowed his pace, wanting to drag this out longer, but sped up again as he heard her gasping protest. As he watched her shatter for the last time, he found himself falling over the edge he'd sent her over a few times already, collapsing into her, yet still trying to hold her closer if possible.
As he came down from his high, 17 rolled over, laying himself along the rocks next to her and watched the blissful completely spent look on Rori's face. He could see himself being with her like this, starting their own home, especially as he watched a devilish grin spread across her lips, while her eyes remained closed so that she could still bask in the afterglow, yet still unable to keep herself from teasing him, "Well, you were the best I've had in the last 3 years."
"Is that all it's been since you last did that?" he questioned amused that that seemed like a long time to her.
"Why how long has it been for you?" she asked turning to him. As her eyes studied him, he realized she suddenly looked like a different person, the fear was gone.
He laughed and sat back, "Around 10 years…"
"Well, you know…" She shrugged her shoulders, "If I didn't know you were 29 that might actually worry me."
The two had stayed up a bit later, finishing their bet, drinking until they were both drunk, even though Rori had claimed she held out longer.
_
"Oh… Shit… we did do something" The harder she thought about it the more the memories came flooding back to her in bits and pieces until she realized that 17 was right. Not only was he right, but he was serious about this. This was not just some game to him.
Piccolo watched her confused waiting for her to get rid of the android, tell him to leave, something, but instead her shoulders slumped, and she turned to him looking almost helpless. Rori knew she couldn't just tell 17 to leave now, not after remembering what they'd been through. He'd poured his heart out to her and she hadn't taken him seriously. The whole time she had been worried that 17 was just playing her heart and would eventually hurt her, so much so that she became the one who hurt him. Her eyes started to tear up as she took a deep breath, "I need a minute alone with him."
Piccolo's brow creased, wondering what she could possibly need to talk to 17 about alone, but she insisted, "It will just take a few minutes…"
Piccolo watched as she led the android to a more secluded corner of the club, now feeling less confident about the outcome of the situation.
"You should follow them." Yamcha said, suddenly at Piccolo's side, having come over after he watched the dispute from behind some people dancing, "I don't trust him."
Piccolo grunted but didn't budge. Yamcha looked disappointed until a thought struck him, "Oh! You're listening in on them, aren'tchya?!"
"I would be if you'd shut it." Piccolo grumbled, "There's already enough noise in here as it is."
"Right!" Yamcha confirmed and mouthed a quick sorry.
_
Meanwhile, Krillin had been dancing with Bulma for a few songs. They were old friends and Krillin had no problems dancing with her until he took note of Vegeta watching them, "Uhhh… Vegeta isn't going to follow me home later and murder me or anything for dancing with you is he?"
"Kami willing, he will." Bulma scoffed and noticed Krillin had started sweating nervously so she decided to correct herself, "No. He never seems to care, it would be nice if he showed some emotion for once."
"Phew!" Krillin wiped his forehead relieved.
"Hey, that girl over there looks familiar…" Bulma pointed out, staring at some girl behind him, "Isn't she one of the androids?"
Krillin's face turned bright red before he turned to see android 18 standing by the bar alone, ordering a drink. This is your chance… he thought to himself, "Uh, yeah. I wonder what she's doing here. Maybe I should go over and ask."
Bulma arched her brow, knowing that look on Krillin's face, "Maybe you should, but make sure you're done sweating like that first."
Krillin quickly rubbed his head off, grumbling under his breath as he made his way over to the bar with Bulma shouting a sincere, but teasing, good luck behind him.
By the time Krillin had reached the bar, there was already some young guy next to 18 trying to buy her a drink.
'Dammit.' Krillin thought to himself as he scratched his bald head, 'why does he have to have nice hair? Maybe I should grow mine back…'
"Hey, nice legs. What time do they open?" The guy with long hair and an open shirt looking like he came out of some bad 70's dance movie commented.
'Nevermind… maybe this guy needs the hair…' Krillin thought as he heard that line.
18 didn't even bother to look at him and already sounded exhausted with this guy, "I'm sure that line works on the worst 10% of the women you hit on, and the other 89% probably walk away, but I'm just going to give you one warning."
"Ooooh, kitty's got claws." The guy said reaching out to turn her, but she caught his hand with quick reflexes, almost crushing it with her own.
"Take another step closer or bother me again and I'll find another body part to hold on to." 18 threated now looking him in the eye, "Got that?"
The guy nodded and as she watched him rush away she noticed him push past someone familiar looking, Krillin. 18 stared at him expressionless, but her voice gave up almost a hint of something that didn't sound like distaste, "It's you…"
"Krillin…" he offered before he moved to the seat next to her ordering a drink, "You don't mind if I sit, here do you?"
18 shrugged her shoulders, "actually it might be a help to keep the assholes away while I watch the show."
"What show?" Krillin asked furrowing his brow.
"My brother's trying to pick up your friend." She explained nodding over to where 17 was dancing with Rori.
"Uh-oh…" Krillin let out as he watched the two now as well, his eyes scanning around for Piccolo, thinking this might break out into a fight.
"What, uh-oh?" 18 asked, still watching the two dancing.
"Well… don't shoot the messenger but… it's been a year for her since you and your brother… well, let's say since Cell's completion. Her and Piccolo are back together… she's even pregnant…"
"She's with, Piccolo? Huh… well that makes my life easier. Those two are the worst together." 18 laughed taking a sip of her drink, "I guess this really will turn into a show then, won't it?"
"You mean you don't want them to get together?" Krillin was surprised she wouldn't be on her brother's side.
18 turned to him, "Look I like her…"
Then 18 suddenly realized she'd confessed to not hating Rori and quickly corrected herself, "I mean, she has nice clothes and she lets me borrow them… and I want 17 to be happy, but… they act like a couple of teenagers together and they're both in their 30's. It's time to grow up already."
Krillin stared at her almost in awe. It was the most he'd ever heard her say to him. Then, what she said hit him suddenly. Did she say 17 was in his 30's. If they were twins that meant she was too. Krillin had never expected to have a shot with her, she looked young and yes, she had kissed him, once, but she'd just been teasing him, right? This made her seem at least slightly more attainable. They were around the same age at least. She hadn't sent him packing like that other guy yet, and yes he wasn't being creepy like that other guy, but 18 wasn't one to stick around and make small talk if she didn't want to. Maybe he should go for it.
"So you're 30?" he asked her, but immediately regretted it as she turned her head towards him with a murderous look slowly creeping into her eyes.
"I mean…" he coughed, "…but you look so young!"
She suddenly smiled and sighed, "Relax, baldy, I'm not going to hurt you… Besides, you corrected yourself."
Krillin sighed with relief. On a scale of bad to bad, this wasn't turning out terrible.
A few moments later, 18 hopped down from her bar stool when she saw 17 storm off, "Looks like I'd better go console him…"
"Right…" Krillin agreed, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.
18 turned to Krillin and stared at him for a moment, as if hesitating to say something. Finally she pursed her lips and gave in, "I guess it's going to be kind of awkward living with Rori now."
"Yeah, that must be." Krillin agreed, letting it go completely over his head that she was letting him know where she lived in case he wanted to see her.
18 stared at him for a long moment, arching her brow before she sighed and kissed the top of his head for the second time, hoping he might take the hint, even if it was delayed before heading off, "See ya, baldy!"
Krillin watched her go, before it finally dawned on him, 'I'll have to make an excuse to visit Rori now…'
"So… you remember? I guess you were pretty drunk after if you forgot…" 17 admitted before crossing his arms, "ready to admit the kid's mine?"
"I remember." She confirmed, but averted her gaze, "but it's not your kid, 17."
"There's at least a 50% chance even if you—"
"You don't understand!" Rori shook her head, "You're right. We did… What I'm trying to say is… if I hadn't gone in the time chamber after cell absorbed you, you might be right, but while you've only been gone for a few weeks, I was in the time chamber for a whole year. 17… for me it's been over a year since I've seen you. Since we… had that moment. I'm sorry, but you and I, it won't work."
"A year?" he shook his head unable to wrap his mind around it, "And so that's it then? Look, if you're worried about the kid… we can work something out. I'd raise it like my own. I don't care about that. I told you before, I wanted you, however you come."
Rori felt her heart breaking for him. She had felt something for him. 'Maybe, if I wasn't about to have a kid,' she stopped herself, 'No. I can't think like that now.'
Rori moved her hand to his shoulder, and instantly knew she should not have touched him. She had real feelings for him. They weren't the same as her feeling for Piccolo, but at one point she'd imagined a life with him, even if it was just something she thought of as a silly dream that would never become reality, "I'm so sorry 17, but I can't. Piccolo, he's my mate. I can't—"
"And he left you, remember." 17 pulled away now, not in a brash anger, but in a slow smoldering rage that came over him, "You're telling me you didn't feel what I did?"
Rori took a deep breath. Of course she had, but what was she supposed to do? She loved them both. She'd thought she lost 17 to Cell, she'd made amends with it. She'd consoled herself with the idea that he'd never really loved her anyway, and now she was going to have the baby of the man she would give anything for. From the moment she met him, she knew her time with 17 was limited, but it was something she needed to have. She had just always thought it would be cut short due to their being enemies, but not like this. She knew her life was with Piccolo, that fact was unwavering in her mind, but she didn't know what to do now because she did have love for 17. So, she took a deep breath and did what she thought would be best for him, so that he could move on, knowing she was not right for him, despite the fact that she still loved him, "No. I didn't. I was really upset, 17, that's all. I just thought we were having fun."
17 rolled his eyes and took a few steps back, "Pff, you think you can lie to me?"
Rori did her best and kept a firm look, knowing that if she showed any sign of self-doubt, he wouldn't give up. 17 sighed and looked over toward where Piccolo was standing, "Fine. I'll go, but for the record, I'm not buying it."
Rori watched as 17 left and waited for him to walk out the door before she could let out the breath she had been holding in. She looked over to Piccolo knowing he was listening to her, even with his back turned. She smiled realizing now the sacrifice he'd been making for her for the past three years, even if she didn't agree with his reasoning. Telling 17 she had no feelings for him was one of the hardest things she's ever had to do. She could only imagine how hard it must have been when Piccolo did the same to her.
"Piccolo… I can't say I didn't feel something for him…" she confessed, knowing that they were strong enough for him to know the truth. She watched as his ears twitched slightly, and he turned around to meet her gaze, "but I only have room for you in my world, I always have."
Piccolo started crossing the dance floor, pushing his way through the sea of people to get to her.
"You have to stop eavesdropping you know. When our daughter's a teenager she's going to hate you if you do that." Rori teased him once he'd reached her.
"You're trying to scare me by making me think it's a girl?" Piccolo questioned before his tone grew serious, "It could still be his you know. We don't know what affect the time chamber has on pregnancy… and you and I did have a hard time—"
"I'm not trying to scare you." She cut him off, linking her arm in his as she led him back over to their friends, "Dende told me after he healed me from the fight with Cell. There's no question about it. She… is yours."
"Half way! 15 more laps and you're done!" Rori yelled looking down at her stopwatch and flipped her long tied up hair over her shoulder, panting from having finished her laps first. It had been a long time since she had been to this island, she hadn't planned on coming here, but she had been in the area and thought like it looked like a good place to train. As she waited for her trainee, she took a seat on one of the boulders nearby and looked out at the waterfall leading into the lake. A long time ago, her brief relationship with 17 had made her feel guilty, but now that guilt was gone, partly because later she'd learned that during their time apart, even Piccolo had broken down and had a one night tryst with some driving instructor that hit on him because he had actually gotten used to human contact from years of living with Rori, but mostly because she knew their relationship was much stronger now.
"This is private property, you know." A familiar voice called to her, breaking her from her thoughts.
Rori jumped up from her seat, surprised to see 17 watching her from atop one of the trees before he hopped down landing in a crouched position in front of her. When he stood, the two ended up frozen in each other's gaze. It had been so many years, so much had changed now. Their past felt like a distant dream now to Rori. He hadn't changed, not really, but that wasn't to be expected, he was a cyborg after all. Though he looked familiar, she felt like she was standing before a stranger, years of distance between them. When the silence became unbearable, Rori knew she would have to be the one to speak first, he wasn't going to make this easy, nor should he, "So you own this place?"
17 shook his head and pointed to the orange ranger band he had around his arm. Rori smiled at this, glad that he got his dream job, "It suits you. You look good. Especially without that bandana."
She looked around remembering the last time they'd been there, and suddenly felt a bit sheepish that there was so much distance in her voice as she spoke. Even if had been a long time, he was still same person. Those feelings he had for her never completely disappeared and he suspected despite her tone that the same was true for her.
"I didn't expect to see you here…" Rori confessed, taking a small step back, wondering if it was alright to be even this close to him suddenly.
"It's fine, I know you're not here to take one of the animals, just try not to destroy anything. I know how you Saiyans like to do that." He broke the tension, unable to hold himself back from teasing her for too long.
"Hey, we're not that—"
Just as she was about contradict him she got knocked to the ground by the four-foot-nine ebony haired ball of energy that was her daughter, "All finished!"
"Do you have to jump on me every time you're finished, Pepper?" Rori sighed as she stood up dusting herself off.
"You do it to dad! If you don't want me to do it, then you should be a better example." Pepper shot back quoting Chichi from the last time she had scolded Rori, as she stood up with a smirk while straightening her ponytail. The young girl's eyes then fell upon 17 who was staring at her, studying her every feature, "who's that?"
17 laughed to himself as he watched the girl. He remembered he had always wondered if Rori had been completely sure that the child was Piccolo's. He had always thought she was lying, but now that he was staring the girl in the face there was no question. From head to toe, that girl was a mix of Namekian and Saiyan. Her long black hair flowed untamed like her mothers, though her locks were black like all the other Saiyan's he'd seen. Her skin was a more pastel form of green than her fathers, but it was bright green none the less. Her eyes were black with bushy lashes, and she had elf like features that no doubt came from the mix of her mother's graceful figure and the inheritance of her father's ears. The girl must have embraced it too because she wore red string woven into a pattern around one strand of her hair.
17 walked up to the girl, extending his hand while crouching down to her height, "I'm an old boyfriend of your mom's."
"Don't tell her that!" Rori yelled at him.
Pepper giggled and immediately took his hand, "You look like aunt 18."
"Well she is my sister. I'm uncle 17." He responded before ruffling the hair on her head. He made eye contact with Rori finally conceding now years later that the kid was indeed Piccolo's, but hiding it in an observation to keep the kid out of it, "She looks like Piccolo."
"Ugh!" Pepper scoffed before pretending to drop to the ground and die, "I don't want to look like a man! Yamcha will never love me then!"
"I've told you before to play with boys your own age." Rori sighed rolling her eyes, feeling a bit exasperated by motherhood at times.
"You can always set up a play date with my boys sometime." 17 offered.
"Your boys?" Rori arched her brow. So, he had found someone to be with. She smiled at this, happy to know he'd found someone and the life he'd wanted, but quickly covered it up, "If they're anything like you she's not going near them."
"I can't have been that bad, if you're here reminiscing over your lost love." He shot back, still knowing how to piss her off.
"I didn't even realize this was that place, we were just in the area." Rori countered.
"I'm training for the next martial arts tournament!" Pepper piped up, "I'm so gonna kick Trunks' and Goten's ass—"
"Pepper!"
"butts…" she corrected quickly.
Suddenly Rori's phone beeped and she checked the time. "Shit—I mean shoot" she looked down to Pepper who was grinning up at her having heard her slip up, "We have to go now, I have to get you to the city apartment to get you dressed for Trunks' birthday party."
"Aww, but can't we go do that at dad's place? I like it better." Pepper whined, always preferring to be away from the city.
"No, Yamcha's waiting to watch you. I have some errands to run."
"Let's go then!" Pepper jumped at the mention of Yamcha's name quickly grabbing her mother's hand tugging on it.
17 smirked at the girl. She was just like her mother, "Pepper, feel free to come back anytime you want to train and I'll tell you all the bad things your mom did when she was younger."
"Thanks, uncle 17!" Pepper grinned and started flying off towards town pulling her mother with her. Rori turned to 17 and stuck her tongue out at him as she followed her daughter.
"If you do I'll kick your…!" She turned to her daughter eying her before leaving the sentence unfinished, knowing he was more than capable of filling in the blank himself.
"Yamcha!" Pepper ran into her mother's house hoping up into his arms giving him a big hug.
"Uncle Yamcha!" Rori corrected as she followed her daughter in. She knew her daughter had a crush on Yamcha, but she didn't want her disrespecting him either.
"Hey kid!" Yamcha ruffled her hair and put her down after a quick hug, "How was training?"
"Great! I'm getting way better at Super Saiyan, wanna see?" Pepper chimed.
"Sure, but maybe not in the house." Yamcha mused, hiding his worried tone, not wanting her to blow up the room.
"I second that." Rori remarked before she walked over and fussed over her daughter's hair, "you should go get ready, Pepper. I'm going to head out and I'll see you two at the party."
"Right!" Pepper hopped off to her room and giggled to herself, "Yay! I get to go alone with him! It's like a date!"
"No, it's not!" Rori called after her, before looking at Yamcha skeptically, "Seriously, how do you rate?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me. All the girls I like reject me."
Rori sighed knowing he was taking a jab at her, "You really don't mind watching her? I know she can be a handful."
Yamcha shook his head smiling that she thought this was a chore for him. He didn't have any kids of his own and it didn't look like he was going to anytime soon. Goten and Trunks were around, but didn't really want much to do with him, he liked having Pepper around, "She's a good kid. I don't mind. Besides, you deserve some alone time."
"You're the best!" Rori said hugging him before she grabbed her packed backpack by the door left Yamcha to the task of getting Pepper to Bulma's place.
Meanwhile, Vegeta had been training in the gravity room, when he noticed the sound of the door slide open as two very slow shuffling feet due to the weight of the gravity made their way toward him. Knowing it must be Trunks, he continued his training.
"Dad?" Trunks let out, trying to keep from falling to the ground.
Vegeta slowly walked over to the controls and turned them off, giving his young son some relief and waited for whatever request his mother had sent the boy in to tell him, "out with it!"
"Mom says you need to get ready for my party now or you'll be late." Trunks said as he curiously walked around the room since technically he wasn't allowed in the gravity room until all his homework was finished.
"I'll be out in a minute." Vegeta confirmed and waited for the boy to leave, but he just stood there looking at his shoes. Vegeta sighed, "Is that all?"
"Well…" Trunks started looking a bit embarrassed. He couldn't talk to his mom about his problem, she would just fuss over him and embarrass him. He didn't think he could talk to his dad about it either, but he had to do something and his dad seemed like the lesser of the two evils, "… Pepper's coming to the party."
"It is a children's party…" Vegeta said, annoyed that Trunks was stating the obvious, "Get to the point."
"…I want her to be my girlfriend!" Trunks said quickly pushing the words out before he could chicken out.
Vegeta stared at his son, at first thinking he was too young to be worried about that, but then resigned thinking he had wished his father had been around to help him through something like that and started out of the gravity room, "You're Saiyan royalty, boy. I'm sure when you two are a bit older, she'll see you're her best option."
Trunks followed Vegeta moping slightly, "I mean… I guess… but it just sucks right now. All she can talk about is how when she grows up she's going to marry stupid Yamcha."
"Yamcha?" Vegeta stopped in his tracks suddenly fuming at his mate's ex-boyfriend, "what is it with these females' obsession with that weakling?!"
Vegeta turned around motioning for Trunks to follow him, "Come on. At the very least, we can keep you out of whatever pink shirt your mother will try to put you in."
"What… is he wearing…?" Bulma asked staring at her son playing in the yard with some kids he went to school with while wearing black battle armor similar to Vegeta's old one though this one was all one solid color, with some gold markings.
"Show some respect. It's Saiyan royal armor." Vegeta answered defensively, knowing she wouldn't get it, "He wants to impress Rori's daughter."
"Oh my god!" Bulma squealed, excited that her son had his first crush, "That is so cute! Does he have a crush on her?! I should go help!"
"Be quiet, woman! This is why he didn't tell you!" Vegeta grabbed her trying to keep her quiet.
"Sorry, sorry!" Bulma took a deep breath, "I'll be good. I promise!"
"He's apprehensive about it because she has a crush on Yamcha." Vegeta explained causing Bulma to give him a confused look.
"But he's like ten times her age!" Bulma screamed, before Vegeta silenced her again. When she thought about it though, she had had so many crushes on older rock stars, actors, scientists even, when she was younger, so she couldn't fault Pepper.
"Hey what's all the fuss about?" Yamcha asked walking up with two large wrapped gifts in his hand and Pepper riding on his back, earning death glares from both Bulma and Vegeta.
"Pepper go play with the kids, the adults need to talk." Bulma suggested firmly.
"Aww, but aunt Bulma, I want to stay with—"
"Go. Play. With. The. Kids." Vegeta commanded and she hopped down immediately from Yamcha's back and joined the kids. Vegeta smirked almost shocked she had followed his order, 'Huh, at least one of the little brats has some respect for their prince…'
Yamcha blinked at the two, now a bit worried, "What was that about?"
"Nothing…" Bulma lied before she looked around, "Where are the Sons? They're supposed to be here too."
"Rori gave me this present to give you." Yamcha handed her one of the gifts, "and the other's from me. The Son's should be on there way, well most of them, Rori and Piccolo are going to be a little late today, but she promised they'd be here."
"So we'll see them tomorrow…" Bulma corrected.
"Most likely." Yamcha laughed.
"Oh, I don't believe this!" Bulma said as she put the presents on the present table, looking out at the kids, "That armor of yours is actually working!"
Over with the kids, Pepper had initially pouted for a while, but then noticed Trunks had some really unusual clothes on. Pepper walked over and started knocking her fist against it "What are you wearing, Trunks?"
"Oh, my dad said this is royal armor and only our family gets to wear it and only when we're on our way to becoming a true warrior." Trunks said throwing a few punches to show it off a bit, "it's really light."
"Cool!" She said, easily impressed as 6 year olds usually are, "want to test out how good it is?"
"Definitely!"
"See!" Vegeta laughed at his wife, "I told you! You just don't get it."
"I guess it's a good thing, the girl he likes is a Saiyan too" Bulma sighed.
Out in the middle of nowhere, not to far from the Son residence, Goten was training his hardest doing pushups under the supervision of his uncle Radditz and his older brother's master, Piccolo. The youngest Saiyan held himself up in a side plank while watching as Radditz and Piccolo were sparring and arched his brow, "Can I stop doing this and spar with you guys now?"
Radditz and Piccolo paused their fight. Radditz was the first to pipe up, "Not until you've finished them all."
Since Goku had left, Rori had kept her promise and wished her older brother back to life. Despite getting off to a rocky start when Piccolo killed him the first time they met, Radditz and Piccolo had become almost friendly since Radditz's return. There was no doubt that since his initial death he'd not managed to catch up to the rest of the Saiyans' strength, so Piccolo had offered to help him. It made sense, since Rori, more often than not, spent her training time with Vegeta, who was on a closer level to her own. Radditz had also taken on his role as uncle seriously with Goku gone. Since Gohan was in school and studying hard like Chichi had wanted for her older son, she was more lenient with Goten, letting him train a few days a week with his uncle.
Piccolo suddenly appeared behind Goten, catching him off guard and picked him up by the back of his shirt holding him at eye level, "You still need some work before you can spar with us, Goten. If you're not on guard and can't dodge, you might get seriously hurt."
"Awww!" Goten wiggled around trying to get free, "but what if I'm not ready for the tournament next year! Trunks is already using the gravity room with Vegeta after school!"
"Sorry, kid." Radditz agreed while Piccolo let him down.
"What if I can take a hit from one of you? Maybe I'm bad at dodging, but I won't cry or nothin' if I get hit!" Goten offered.
Radditz laughed at this, but before he could answer Goten started powering up and the ground started shaking.
"He's not going to—" Piccolo's eyes widened as Goten turned Super Saiyan and held a defensive stance.
"Go on throw one at me." Goten offered again.
Piccolo shook his head and grinned impressed with the kid, before sped up a charged assault, letting his fist fly towards the young Saiyan who barely blocked him, before falling to the ground. He let Super Saiyan drop before hopping back up, "See! I can do it!"
"Alright." Piccolo laughed to himself, "we'll start training you seriously."
"Really?!" Goten asked excitedly.
"You did earn it" Radditz confirmed.
"Won't Pepper be mad that you're helping to train me though, Mr. Piccolo? She's entering the tournament too, isn't she?" Goten asked.
"Don't worry, Goten." Rori interrupted as she touched down, bag slung over her shoulder, "Pepper's got the best trainer around."
"Who's that, princess?" Radditz teased her.
"Me, of course!" she said punching her brother's shoulder as hard as she could without actually hurting him.
"I dunno… that punch was pretty weak. Maybe-" but before he could finish she'd kicked him to the ground.
"You were saying?" she asked dusting off her hands.
"Nothing…" Radditz muttered while pushing himself slowly back up.
Rori turned her attention to Piccolo arching her brow, "I know you're having fun with our nephew, but if you two don't start getting ready soon, Bulma and Chichi are going to be mad and blame it on me when we're late again."
"Alright. I'll take the kid back to his mom to get ready." Radditz slung Goten up over his shoulder, before he waved and started off into the forest as Goten shouted his goodbyes from his shoulders.
Rori and Piccolo watched them leave before turning to each other. Piccolo waited for her to tell him they needed to get ready, but she just slid her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder. Seeing 17 today had made her realize how much her and Piccolo's relationship had grown due to their time apart and how different yet stronger they were now because of it. Unable to contain herself much longer in her momentary freedom, she hopped up into his arms, "Thank god kami we're alone!"
"I thought you didn't want to be late?" Piccolo smirked at her as he held her against him, "Nah, I just said that to get my brother outta here. I asked Yamcha to take Bell Pepper ahead of us and to tell Bulma I needed a little break and that we'd be late. It's a special occasion for us too after all."
"What occasion is that?"
"The day we first met."
A/N: So... forgive me, forgive me, forgive me for taking so long. Sometimes life happens, like a lot (only good things, but still)! I had some struggles figuring out exactly how to execute this ending, along with a very full schedule over the past year. I really had no time for anything personal, but I was also really upset that I couldn't finish this.
Before the comments come out about the androids, I'll just say this: yes, I took some liberties with the androids back story, but that's what fics are for, right? 17 was initially meant to play a smaller role in this, but after his spot in the tournament of power I just couldn't-he's really such an underrated character... Please don't kill me... So, though it may be a bit rushed, I sat down once I had some free time and came up with this... Though it was suggested to me to put this out in segments... I think you guys have waited long enough. This fic has come to a close. When I have more time I may add a few one shots, as a I had a few ideas when I saw the video game Majin Piccolo story line. Warning though, I don't think that will be anytime soon. I'll post an update to this story if I do have time for the one shots. Thanks for all of you who stuck around for the ending. 3 Val