Sabriena plunged Tien's white shirt into the big metal tub of water again, then scrubbed it along the washboard. "Stupid, just effing stupid way of doing laundry," she grumbled. "Could have a washing machine, but noooooooo. SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE ELECTRICITY!"
Tien felt his eye twitch as he listened to Sabriena doing the laundry, gritting his teeth and cursing his injury. He was still livid from their fight the night before. "Maybe I should get a washing machine, at least that would be QUIETER." He swore under his breath. Her attitude was setting him on edge; he didn't like to see her doing all the work when he could normally have done it. He tested out his knee and winced when the sharp shooting pain ran through it. Nope, still no good. He tightened the brace and rolled his pants leg back down over it.
"You're lucky I'm here to make noise at all!" she shot back at him. "If it wasn't for me, this whole place would've gone to shit!"
He pressed his lips thin, "Language!"
She plunged the shirt into the water once more and scrubbed it harshly again. "Make me."
Tien sighed and looked up at the sky praying for strength. "You really want to push your luck. I may be injured but I can still teach you a lesson. Twenty pushups. Now."
Sabriena rung the shirt with her hands and snapped it through the air. "I'm sorry," she said, screwing up her face in the most awful fake smile Tien had ever seen. "I don't have time for that. I have chores to do." She stood and reached for the clothes line, pinning his shirt to it. "Fucking bullshit," she muttered, dropping down beside the tub again.
"Sabriena," He warned, "That's triple. Are you really sure you want to keep playing this game? My cabin, my rules still apply, doing chores or not. Not that the rules matter much to you. You made that abundantly clear last night. You know I would be helping you if I could. Me being grounded doesn't make a difference. You think these chores are rough, just wait until winter when you have to do the laundry and you have to run outside and get snow to melt in the tub. Or chopping wood when it's fifty below. I don't want to hear it."
"HA!" she laughed, looking over her shoulder at him. "You think I'm still gonna be here come winter? Oh no. No, no, no sir. Your leg will be healed by then and my training better be done before the snow flies. You've lost your cotton-pickin' mind if you think I'm gonna be out here all winter!"
Tien crossed his arms and leaned back looking at her. "At the rate you're going I'm half expecting you to be here until next summer. If you close your mouth and stop talking smack for a moment, then maybe we will see if we can get you shaped up before spring, but I doubt it."
"Well maybe if we spent a little more time on training and less time on pulling weeds I might be a little better off. Did you ever stop to think about that?!" She stood again to hang a pair of her jeans on the line. "Noooo. Gotta do the laundry, cook the meals, water the garden, wash the dishes, sweep the floor, chop the wood..." She was gesturing with her whole body as she spoke, her eyes wide with sarcasm.
His muscles twitched at that, his blood was starting to boil at that remark. "Maybe I was wrong. Seems like I'm going to be stuck with you for a longer time than I thought if that's your attitude. You haven't learned anything have you!? What do you think I've been trying to teach you? How to be a housewife? The chores teach you to have patience. Chopping wood builds your stamina and strength. If you haven't figured that out by now," he trailed off and rolled his eyes, reminding himself not to say anything too harsh while he was angry, but he couldn't help it. He didn't like this side of her and with him injured, it hurt his pride that he couldn't help her. It was his home and to have to rely completely on someone else to help him out was a huge blow to his ego.
Sabriena leaned her neck to the side, her hands up, gesturing still. "Housewife? Did I just hear the word 'housewife'?" She stood up straight and looked around, as if looking for an audience. "This man just said the word 'housewife' to me." She looked back at him, a look of disgust on her face. "What's in that tea you've been making? Cause you must be trippin'. Ain't nobody gonna make me a housewife."
Tien clenched his jaw and ground out the words, "I didn't say that. Open up your ears and actually listen for once." He shook his head, feeling his anger simmering and took a few deeper breaths. "Just finish the laundry and start weeding the garden. Hold off on those pushups, I think you're going to have quite a few more before the day's out at this rate."
"QUIT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" She screamed. "I AIN'T YOUR BITCH!"
Tien was up and hobbling towards her the second the words left her mouth, he bit through the pain and had her in his arms an instant later before dropping her into the dirty wash tub water. He picked up the soap from the ground and dropped it in there with her, watching her as she sputtered angrily, her face turning a dark shade of red. "Stay in there and wash out your mouth."
There were no words that could express her level of rage as she watched Tien collapse to the ground, his bad leg stuck out straight in the brace as he sat and stared at her. She screamed in frustration, slamming her fists into the water over and over as she kicked at the side of the tub. "TIEN SHINHAN, I OUGHTA MURDER YOU! This is the thanks I get for taking care of you for damn near four weeks?! After everything I've done for you! AAARRRGGGHHH!" She slapped the soapy water at him, still kicking her feet like a spoiled child. Her dirty white buttoned shirt was soaked, her dark green skirt was floating in the water, her half-wet hair sticking out at odd angles. Sabriena had never looked so disheveled in her life.
Tien was breathing heavily, his left leg stuck out straight as he crouched next to the wash tub. Couldn't she see that this was not going to work unless they worked together? He needed her. As much as he hated to admit it, he NEEDED her help. Something about the magick of that weapon they'd hit him with made him feel so weak all the time. He couldn't even fly to try to get his work done. All he managed to do was hobble around with that damn cane. Tien bit through the pain, watching her like this was painful. He moved a little closer, favoring his leg and grabbed her wrists, giving her a good shake. "I CANT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU." He stared at her, his intense gaze watching her, feeling the soapy water she had flung at him sliding down his face, his skin. She looked about as wild as he had ever seen her. He took a deep breath, imaging how he must have looked, too. The throbbing pain in his knee was starting to become too much and he shifted his weight to his good knee even more and looked at her again. "I can't do this on my own right now. I have never had to depend on another person before. This is just as hard for me as it is for you! I don't know how to live like this! I can't do this by myself! I need a partner! I... I need you..."
She was staring back, dirty and soaking wet, her hair in half-wet waves hanging in her face, her eyes furious. Gods, it almost hurt to have her look at him with so much loathing.
Sabriena went quiet, staring into Tien's fierce, dark eyes. She pressed her lips together, swallowing hard. She knew he needed her. That's why she'd moved in with him. She wanted to help him. She was just so tired. She'd done more housework in the past four weeks than she'd ever done in her whole life and the constant fighting was wearing her thin. But hearing him voice it - that he needed her - hit her like a ton of bricks. Her teacher was a proud man. She'd never heard him say something so vulnerable before. She opened her mouth to speak, but another voice spoke over her before the words could come out.
"Tien! Are you okay? I heard you were hurt!"
Tien barely noticed Goku's energy when he appeared in the yard, but flung Sabriena's wrists away from him as he fell back to a sitting position, shaking his head, his lips pressed together.
Goku almost went back where he came, the fury in Sabriena's eyes startling him. He'd never seen her looking so angry before. "Uh, hey guys! Am I, interrupting something?"
"No," Sabriena growled. "You're not interrupting anything." She hauled herself up out of the tub, sloshing water all over the ground and angrily kicked the tub across the yard, emptying it. She grabbed up the laundry, slapping it into a basket, muttering under her breath, her face still red. She threw both men a nasty look and headed for the river, the basket on her hip, kicking the tub down the path, ignoring the few pieces of clothing she left behind on the ground.
Tien groaned and rubbed at his face with his hands. "Hey Goku," he muttered in a dull tone. He groaned, "This girl is gonna be the death of me."
Goku watched Sabriena head down to the river, blinking after her, laughing, "She's a real firebrand, isn't she? Bet she keeps you on your toes!" His smile faded as he saw Tien's flat expression and the wince of pain as he moved to a more comfortable position. "You guys look a bit worn out. Anything I can do to help?"
"Nah," Tien answered. He looked up at his friend. "It's great to see you though." he paused. "Great to see anyone half-way sane..."
Goku laughed at that. "First time anyone's called me halfway sane. Chichi might challenge your opinion on that for sure." He sat down next to Tien like sitting in the middle of the yard was the most logical thing in the world, watching Sabriena as she walked down to the river side. He looked back at his best friend, "Trouble with the laundry? Usually chichi throws it at me when something goes wrong."
"It's not the laundry, it's her attitude," Tien grumbled, grabbing his leg and moving it to a more comfortable position. Gods, he hated that brace. It made his leg itch and sweat. He rubbed at his knee through the brace and tried not to cringe. "Argh, this is driving me nuts." He rolled up the leg of his pants, revealing the brace. He pulled at the bindings, untying them, and peeled it away, revealing huge, nasty bruises underneath. He couldn't stand it any longer. He had to give his leg some air; it was too hot to wear that thing and it made his whole leg feel stiff. He winced as he tried to bend his knee – dammit. It had been weeks and he didn't feel like he was healing at all.
Goku looked at Tiens busted leg, cringing at the bruises. "What did this to you? Did they come here?" he asked protectively. "Do I need to go and take care of them?" He couldn't explain why, he had to protect his friends, his loved ones; it was the one thing he was somewhat good at. He felt terrible that he hadn't been around to help.
"Nah, I ran into them when I went to that town over across the mountain ridge," Tien answered, nodding off towards the east. "They said they'd been having some guys causing problems so I thought I'd see if I could set 'em straight. They were more of Sigourney's followers. They had to be. They used magick and hit me with a club that was infused with it. I thought I could take 'em, but they got the best of me."
Goku's eyebrows went up at that. "Some guys did this to you?" He narrowed his eyes a second later, "You think they might be trouble for you later? I could go and have a word with them if you want."
Tien frowned. "They'd have gotten you too, Goku. They were using magick. If Sabriena hadn't stepped in, I don't know if I'd even be here to tell you about this. She came in the bar, saw them hit my knee with that club, and she went nuts. She powered up..." Tien's eyes went a little dreamy as he remembered the way she looked. "Her magick saved me." He shook his head. "SHE took care of them. I've never seen anything like it."
Goku blinked at Tien. He had seen that look on Tien's face before, a long time ago when he had been dating Launch, but even then it hadn't been like this. "She powered up? That's amazing! I wanna see!" He looked over to her, "and she handled the bad guys! She'll be ready for this war after all!" He paused for a minute, his expression turning serious again. "Magick? Sigourney's followers?" They weren't ready, he wasn't ready if they came back now. Lindsey's grandmother's words echoed in his head and he wondered what would happen to the future if he wasn't ready for what was to come. He shook his head. They were clearly not here to start something or it would have happened by now.
"Yeah, it was them," Tien answered. "I think they were trying to lay low. They were just doing a poor job of it. Sabriena took care of them, though." He huffed, his frustration reaching a boiling point as he thought about how utterly useless he felt. "I can't do anything! I can't take care of my garden or the laundry. Can't even help her with her stupid chickens..."
Goku's mind was still focused on Sigourney's followers. What if they found their way here while Tien was still injured? They might be better prepared for Sabriena, but if she took care of them once, maybe she could do it again. What was it the grandmother said? To trust in them? Something Tien said got his attention, "Chickens? You let her keep chickens here?" He looked around, spotting the chicken coop peeking out from behind the cabin, and he laughed, "Wow, never thought I'd see her wanting to keep chickens. Or garden... or do laundry... She's doing all this for you? Can't be easy for that girl to do much manual labor, especially if you usually help her." Goku couldn't imagine Sabriena doing any of those things. He'd known her ever since she first came to Japan and that was most definitely not the impression she'd given him over the years.
"I know it's not easy for her," Tien said, looking at the ground. "It's not easy for me, either. I'm not used to relying on someone. You know that." Tien looked down at the river where Sabriena was throwing the washtub around, kicking at the rocks. "This whole thing has gone way farther than I ever meant for it to."
Goku raised an eyebrow at that, "What do you mean by that? You mean you didn't mean for her to move in with you? To help you out around here?" His eyes were innocent, "It's obvious you care for her. I mean, teaching her all day long, it'd be hard to stay emotionally detached. These girls are something special. You just need to learn to accept help. Though with her being like that, I can see why that's a bit of a challenge. It's gotta be a big change for her too."
Tien frowned at the huge, green-tinged bruises on his leg. "I don't know what to think, Goku. There are times when she's so pleasant to be around. She's a hard worker and she's clever and funny..." His voice dropped quietly low, "Sometimes I can't picture my life her without her now."
Goku blinked at Tien, watching the expression that came over him before he looked to Sabriena. It was hard to wrap his head around what his friend was trying to say. Did Tien really care for Sabriena that much? He looked to Tien again, "you know she's hardly he girl we met all those years ago."
Tien chuckled. "You have noooo idea." He sighed, a frown pulling at his lips. "Why does she have to be so difficult? There are times I look at her and she's just this amazing, brilliant woman who's smart and funny and strong. And then, she can turn around and be the most self-centered brat I've ever dealt with in my life." He paused and looked at his friend. "Goku, I'm not kidding you. When she gets like this, Bulma and Chichi look tame in comparison." He growled in frustration, "I just... I wish... ah doesn't matter." Couldn't she see how much he wanted her there with him? This was beyond a need now. He wanted her there with him. He didn't know if he could go back to the way things were before she showed up.
Goku grinned knowingly; he hadn't really thought of Sabriena as anything else than one of his daughters friends, but he could see the look on his best friends face. It brought a warmth to his heart, making him feel all giddy to think that Tien might care for someone like that. "So have you told her?" At Tien's confused look he just laughed and added, "that you love her?"
"What?!" Tien cried in shock. "I... no! How did you..." Tien stammered and bowed his head, screwing up his face. "I can't. She and I... we're too different. I'm too old for her." He looked up, watching Sabriena down at the river as she continued to angrily throw the basket and the laundry around. "I can't give her the kind of life she's used to. She hates it out here. Sometimes I think she hates me. I can't let my emotions get in the way of training her. It's too important. If I said something and things went weird between us, it could ruin EVERYTHING we've worked for."
Goku just sat there, a big smile on his face. "Tien, she doesn't hate it out here. If she really hated you, she wouldn't be here, would she?" He leaned back, looking Tien over. Poor guy looked miserable. "Just tell her how you feel. I mean, what if not telling her makes things worse? You think about it all the time, it distracts you, then what?"
"Too late for that," Tien muttered. He chewed at his bottom lip, thinking about it. He hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone about how he felt, save for his conversation with Grandma, but that had been mostly her talking. "She IS all I think about. This is killing me. It's like... I HURT. And not this... damn... thing," he growled motioning to his knee. "I just don't know. How do you just one day find yourself all messed up because of one person? Even though she irritates you and makes you so mad you see red and then she can smile or laugh or hit another milestone in her training and those eyes just light up. And for one fleeting second you feel like your whole world is right. And she just consumes your every waking thought. You wake up and you know you were dreaming about her cause your ribs are bruised from thinkin' on her so hard..." He shook his head again and rubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand. "And one wrong word, one wrong gesture, and you could lose what you DO have. Ya know?"
Goku found himself hanging on every word, imagining something so great, so amazing; hearing him speak about Sabriena, the quiet of his voice, the way his eyes went distant, warming slightly. Heck even the way he spoke about her, it was with a tenderness Goku hadn't seen or felt in a while himself. He felt his chest hurting. He thought of his life with Chichi, thinking he should feel something like that, a love so great. But the only thing he felt was an ache, she was his mate and he was loyal to her, no matter how distant they seemed to have become. He would be true to her until the end of his days, even if he didn't get that butterfly feeling that Grandma Arthusia had talked about. "No," he admitted as he looked at Tien , "I don't know what that feels like."
"Ah, well, you and Chichi happened so fast," Tien said, still watching Sabriena. "I don't imagine you would know. Must be nice to already have what you want. You don't want to feel this, man. This is miserable." Tien leaned back on his elbows, but his arms shook from the effort and he gave in to just lying on his back. "Something's gotta change. If my knee would ever heal, maybe tension wouldn't be so bad here. But it just stays the same. It's been four weeks and my leg hasn't gotten any better. Maybe if she and I just had a couple good days together..." he trailed off again. He missed that. The training, laughing with her, working in the garden. Now all of it was done by her alone while he sat in the cabin or out here in the yard, doing nothing useful, feeling sorry for himself.
Goku put a hand to his chin, looking at Tien's knee. He was right, it looked as if he got the wound yesterday, but he had it for four weeks? "If this is what we are going to be up against, I hope Jenny and Bulma get that armor of theirs finished soon. I think we are going to need it."
Tien gave a small nod, looking up at the sky overhead. At this rate, he'd never even make it to the war. Either his knee or Sabriena was going to kill him.
"So why don't you just tell her?" Goku asked.
"How could I do that to her?" Tien countered, turning his head to look at his friend. "If, and that's a big if, she cared about me too, you know I'd die before she does. And then what? Leave her out here to fend for herself at the end of her life? I can't do that to her. That's not right." He growled and shook his head, looking up at the sky again. "I've just gotta figure out a way to get her out of my head. I was just supposed to be her teacher, nothing more. I can't keep looking at her like that. She's going to leave one day. I've got to get over it."
"Yeah, she might," Goku said. "Or she might stay. If you told her how you felt."
Tien scoffed at that. "What would a pretty girl like her see in an old man like me?"
Goku leaned over and bumped Tien with his elbow. "Hey, now, you're only a few years older than me. Don't start with that old man stuff," he laughed.
Tien fixed Goku with a harsh stare. "Your daughter-in-law, her friend, who is older than her, is about to give birth to your grandchild." He shook his head again. "I'm more than twice her age. I'm old enough to be her father!"
"Yeah, so? That just means you can't waste any time, can you, old man?" Goku laughed, almost enjoying watching Tien squirm. "Ah, don't worry about it, Tien. You're over thinking this way too much! Just tell her."
"I almost did," Tien admitted. "I... I tried to kiss her." He growled, "But then Yamcha showed up and she left. I thought, maybe, it was a sign that I shouldn't pursue it. But then, on Beltane..." he sighed, "She looked so beautiful. And that old woman, Lindsey's grandmother? I can't get what she said out of my head."
Goku chuckled, ignoring the way his heart ached, Tien really sounded like he was in love. Goku was having a hard time getting Grandma Arthusia's words out of his head too. He thought about Chichi and what it would be like to feel like that towards her, to have butterflies in his belly; he suddenly wanted it so bad. He started trying to think of some way to reignite that spark with his wife. "Funny, I just came from there. She had some interesting stuff to say. What did she tell you?"
"That age is just a number," Tien said. "I didn't even say anything! It's like she just knew." He scrubbed at his face with his hands. "Why do I care so much about her? I've been out here alone for over twenty years, Goku. Since before your son was even born. I haven't needed anyone before. Why is it now I can't imagine being alone? And why her? You've been around her longer than I have. You know how she is! Spoiled, materialistic, mouthy, stubborn…"
Goku knew what Tien was talking about. He'd seen it in Sabriena before. "I don't think she changed, Tien. She's just learning not to put up that front that she has. I think being out here with you is good for her. The difference is like night and day already if she's working as hard as you say she is. How can you think you aren't any good for her when you've brought out this? Save for the whole, you know, dumping her in the wash tub." He chuckled and shook his head at his friend's stubbornness. "You should really talk to her about this. You might miss out on something really great."
Tien sighed heavily, thinking about what the old woman had told him. 'An amazing romance.' Did he really have a shot at something like that? And could it really be with Sabriena? He wanted it to be true, but at that moment, he just couldn't see it happening.
Goku perked up and thumped Tien on his shoulder. "Hey! I know! Want me to talk to her for you?" he grinned.
Tien's eyes went wide. "No! Goku, please don't!" It was too late. Goku had grabbed up the laundry laying on the ground that Sabriena had left behind and was heading down towards the river.
Goku ignored Tien's protests and happily trotted down to the riverbank, watching Sabriena as she stomped around, muttering under her breath, looking furious. She kept throwing rocks into the river as hard as she could, nearly falling over with every swing of her arm. Goku almost stopped dead in his tracks; women that angry made him nervous, but he forced his legs to keep moving, a grin spreading on his face. "Hey, Sabriena!"
She whipped around, shouting, "WHAT?!" She blinked, her face softening just a bit. "Oh, Goku. It's you."
He tipped his head to the side, a concerned look on his face. "You okay?"
She nodded, rubbing at her eye with the back of her wrist.
"Are ya sure? Cause you look pretty rough right now."
She scowled at him. "Gee, thanks. Aren't you a charmer?"
Goku laughed nervously. "That's not what I meant! I just meant you look like you could use someone to talk to."
Sabriena shook her head, pressing her lips to a thin line. "Nah, I'm fine," she said, slapping the last of the wet, dirty laundry into her basket. "To hell with him."
He frowned at her. "You don't have to act so hard all the time."
She drew a sharp breath through her nose as she filled the wash basin with fresh river water and tugged it back up on the shore. "Yeah I do. There's work to be done. I don't have time for this emotional bullshit."
Goku dropped the laundry he was carrying into the basket with the other dirty clothes. "Do you need any help?" He wasn't giving up on her so easily, not after he'd seen how head-over-heels Tien was for her.
Sabriena turned, a fierce look on her face. "Why, yes, I do need some help. But SOMEBODY CAN'T SEEM TO MANAGE TO DO ANYTHING AROUND HERE!" She shouted in Tien's direction, making Goku cringe again. "Fucking unreal," she muttered to herself as she slammed the washboard into the tub. She came out here to train, not to become a maid or a housewife. Yes, she had voluntarily moved in to take care of Tien while his knee healed, but she had expected him to be back on his feet at this point. But the way things looked at the moment, he wasn't getting any better anytime soon. She rubbed at her eye with the back of her wrist again before she plunked herself down on the ground and grabbed up the bar of laundry soap to scrub at a pair of jeans. "Why do you give a damn about our laundry anyway?" Sabriena asked, even though she knew she shouldn't have been hateful with Goku. He wasn't the one she was irritated with.
Goku plopped down on the ground next to her, peering into the wash bucket for a moment before he looked back up at her. "Well, to tell the truth, I'm more interested in why Tien hasn't healed at all. Usually his herbs work really well and he's up and around within a few hours of getting hurt. Maybe he needs something different since it was a magick weapon that did the damage, you know, kiddo?" He frowned as she scrubbed away at the jeans furiously, "Careful now. You'll wear a hole in those." He sighed, thinking his words went unheard, "You know, its killing him as much as it is you to not be able to help you around the house. This is a big change for him, you know? He's used to being alone, not having anyone else to rely on."
Sabriena pushed the hair out of her face and looked at Goku out of the corner of her eye. "A big change for him? Has anyone considered the changes I've made? No, of course not," she snorted. She plunged the jeans back into the basin before grabbing Tien's white shirt. She frowned at it, her bottom lip barely trembled, and she began to scrub it clean. Of course no one would take the time to notice the changes she'd made. No one cared. A few months ago, there would've been no chance in hell that anyone would find her sleeping in a plain white t-shirt in a cabin in the woods, instead of in an expensive piece of lingerie in her big, fancy room back home. Even little things like that - no one would ever notice. "He's lucky I'm out here," she said. "He could be a little more appreciative. Stubborn old man."
Goku chuckled at her, "No, he's definitely noticed. I know it can't be easy for you either. Big city girl. You certainly aren't the person who showed up as the foreign exchange student from America I met a couple years ago. You know, I'm not sure if I or anyone really thanked you for what you did all those years ago. It's never easy to die. To make that decision - I think you started changing back then but it was just harder to see. Being out here is good for you. It's good for him. He appreciates it more than you know. He just isn't the best at expressing it." He noticed the way she scrubbed the shirt, more gently, tender almost.
"Well I suppose that makes two of us," she muttered. She certainly wasn't the best at expressing the way she felt, unless she was being funny or was pissed off. And lately, the only thing she'd been feeling was exactly that - pissed off. She couldn't understand why it was taking Tien so long to heal, but she was becoming so frustrated with the situation that she nearly blamed him for it, as if he had some sort of control over how fast or slow his body would heal. "I can't wait until he's healed up and I'm done with this training." She froze, staring hard at the shirt in her hands, a lump in her throat. "That's never going to happen," she whispered, the realization dawning on her. "I'm never going to be able to leave because I'm never going to get caught up! Because Catie and Jenny and Lindsey have been at this for years - I can't compete with that! I... oh just fuck it!" She threw the shirt back into the tub and covered her face with her hands.
"You know, you remind me of Chichi when she gets mad when you do that."
"Yeah, well, if you men didn't give us a reason to be so pissed, maybe we wouldn't go so psycho on your asses!" she snapped. She pushed her hair out of her face, rubbing at the back of her neck as she stared out over the river and shook her head.
He chuckled at her and offered over the clothing that had fallen behind, "Heh, he just likes to stay active. I think he's going a little stir crazy not being able to do stuff like he's used to. I don't think he's driving you nuts on purpose." Goku chewed the inside of his cheek for a minute. He didn't like seeing her so upset. "He told me you really got those guys who hurt him so badly. I'm impressed! You've come a long way in the past few months!"
Sabriena snorted. "Only because I panicked. I can't control it any better now than when I first came out here." She angrily kicked the side of the washtub again. "I haven't gained anything."
He tried to hide the involuntary flinch at her harsh action, but just smiled at her, "No, I know Tien thinks you've come a long way too." He tugged off his boots, setting them to the side and put his feet into the cool water with a sigh. He leaned back before looking at her, "You really dont think you've improved any?"
Sabriena shrugged. "I can fly now. I guess that's something."
Goku shook his head before flopping onto his back, folding his arms behind his head and looking up at the sky, "It's more than that. You still saved him. And if you hadn't improved, you probably wouldn't have been able to fight off those guys that hurt him so badly. Not too mention you stayed to take care of him and his house. The old Sabriena would have been long gone, right? And the chickens, I didn't know you liked chickens."
"I like to eat chicken," Sabriena corrected him. "And that new rooster's gonna go the same way the old one did if he comes at me with his spurs again."
He sat up, his stomach grumbling loudly at the thought of food. She wasn't giving him much to go off of. He would offer to help, but he might mess up some of their clothes or break something. He was a little too good at that and Chichi was always yelling at him that he never did anything right. "So been doing laundry since Tien got injured? I know he appreciates your help, Sabriena. I guess you haven't been able to vent your anger like you would when he's well. Did you want to spar or something? Or just talk. But I'm not too good with girl talk. Fair warning."
Sabriena pressed her lips together and crossed her arms. "I'm not good at girl talk either." She debated for a minute. It had been four weeks since she'd been able to spar and she was missing it. "I wouldn't mind sparring, though..." she eyed him for a minute, "Not sure if I can keep up with you."
Goku hopped up to his feet, feeling excitement bubbling up inside of him and he grinned at her, taking a few steps back and powering up, teasing her, "Well if you want, I could go easy on you."
Sabriena looked at him; there were no tears in her eyes or on her face as she arranged her features into a determined look. "It's about time I got to beat the shit out of something," she answered, getting to her feet. She knew there was no way she could actually hurt Goku, but it would feel good to let go of all the anger and frustration that had been building for the past couple weeks. She dropped back into a defensive stance just like Tien had taught her. She'd never sparred with anyone but Tien, except for that embarrassing match against Catie, and she was nervous. Goku was the best. And here she was in a half-buttoned shirt and a skirt, both of which were still wet. But she was so frustrated with Tien, with her situation, with everything in her life, that she just didn't care. "Ready when you are."
He grinned as he recognized the defensive pose as one of Tien's favorites. It was an incredibly hard pose to get around. "Not bad, lets see what you got." Goku debated going easy on her, but that wasn't really going to help her learn. It was best to see what she had in her and see how strong and fast she had become. He laughed, dropping down into his own stance. "Last time I saw that stance, I took off his belt in front of an entire martial arts tournament. I was surprised, I thought for sure he was going commando." He snickered at the look on her face and went at her, testing her strength, her speed, precision. She had come a long way, "Tien's fighting style suits you!" He called out, throwing a barrage of punches, getting progressively faster and faster and faster, watching how well she kept up. He sped up and feigned in front of her, appearing behind her, and aimed a low kick at her legs.
Sabriena jumped at just the right moment, surprised with herself. She spun mid-air and slammed her heel against his bicep. Ouch. That man was like a rock.
Goku's eyes widened, as she dodged the hit and he grinned grabbing her ankle in his hand and turned around in a circle hurling her away, before taking off after her, ducking as she threw a punch at him again, returning with one of his own towards her abdomen
Sabriena heaved as Goku's fist drove into her stomach. Good lord, he hit like a freight train. She stumbled back, her arms around her middle, trying to catch her breath. She sucked in a deep breath and rushed back at him, swinging her fist at his face.
His eyes went wide as she recovered more quickly than he anticipated and took the hit to his jaw. He turned his head enough to avoid a possible black eye, he could taste blood in his mouth and he dropped down, shouldering her and flipping her over onto the ground, aiming a kick for her side. She was faster than he'd expected.
She landed hard on her back, the rocks digging into her flesh. She struggled to catch her breath again. She rolled over and pushed herself to her feet, snarling at the smirk on Goku's face. "Son of a bitch," she growled and flew at him again. Oh gods, this felt good. Sabriena was surprised at how much she'd missed sparring. With every hit she took and every punch she managed to land, she could feel that anger just seeping out of her system. Damn, Goku was relentless in his attacks. She'd never sparred with a Saiyan before, but she found a new appreciation for the progress her friends had made. No wonder they were so much better than she was. And she had to assume that Vegeta was far worse than Goku.
His smirk only grew wider at her language and he couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up from his chest at that. She was funny and this was exhilarating. He found himself backing up from her as she threw a flurry of punches at him, all well executed and he worked on blocking them, matching her speed. She was so furious in her attack she even managed to work a few past his defenses, much to his surprise and delight. Really, if he powered up he could probably take her down in two hits, but this was sparring, not about the fastest win. This was about building up stamina, practicing the hits, if you did them wrong, you recovered and did it again and again and again. It was training to trust your body to do the right thing. He blocked another punch and returned with one of his own to her jaw. "Careful! You're getting sloppy, you have to keep your guard up at all times and your opponents are going to be waiting for it."
She turned her head and spat blood on the ground. She knew better than to leave herself open like that. How many times had Tien told her to keep her hands up? She smirked and stood defensively again. "Waiting for it? HA." She tried to hide the smirk on her lips as they sparred; if Goku was anticipating her moves based off Tien's style, then he wouldn't be expecting this. She leapt forward, throwing jabs with her right hand, waiting for just the right moment. She suddenly switched her technique and landed a good, hard left hook to Goku's jaw.
His eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he staggered backwards from the force of the hit, he could already start to feel it swelling. He held a hand to his jaw, working it around, feeling it pop back into place. "Oh, wow! That's gonna leave a bruise in the morning!" He grinned at her, "Nice punch! Do that again!" Goku could see Tien's movements mirrored through her. He'd done well. Her attacks came fast and powerful, still no match for Goku until she switched it up and quickly changed to left-hand fighting. He'd never seen someone do that so flawlessly before. And just as he adjusted to blocking those hits, she went back to right-handed attacks. He ducked her next swing at his face, grabbing her arm and tossing her up into the air and taking off after her, trying for what would be a very painful uppercut if he landed this while she was off guard.
He hit his mark, her head snapping back at the force of his punch. She screamed in anger and pain. His technique was so different from Tien's that she was having a hard time anticipating his movements. She hovered in midair, glowering at him, her anger overwhelming her. She could feel it again - that snapping, ripping sensation of her emotions that she couldn't stop and that only surfaced in times of anger or fear. She threw her head back, her hands clenched in fists, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her hair flashed to a brilliant golden light like the sun, her eyes glowing like stars.
Goku was stunned for a moment. He wasn't expecting her transformation. He hadn't really seen it before; not this up close anyway. She was breathtaking. He could definitely see why Tien admired her the way he did. She was a vision to behold. He didn't have much time to gawk as the next moment she had slammed into him, sending him hurtling back towards the ground. Goku tumbled head over heels until he was stopped by a tree rather forcefully, metallic taste overwhelming his senses he turned and spit out the blood in his mouth, grinning wildly at her. He pushed himself back up, grinning like a fool, a trickle of blood escaping out the corner of his mouth. "Atta girl! That's more like it!"
"SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" she shouted, diving after him, throwing a spinning heel kick to his jaw before he even had time to get back to his feet properly. "I don't need your encouragement! And I don't WANT IT!"
"Alright, lets see how you handle this." He clenched his fists to his sides, shouting out a warcry as he powered up, his hair lifting around his face, his aura around him turning bright gold to match Sabriena's. His hair turned blonde and he leveled his seafoam green eyes on her. He dropped into a defensive pose and crooked his finger at her, "Unless you're too afraid."
"Oh shit," Sabriena breathed, taking an involuntary step backwards. She was in for it now. 'Yeah, that's great,' she thought to herself, 'land one good punch and he turns super Saiyan. Fuck.'
"I ain't scared of you, bitch," she spat at him, her hands on her hips. 'Bluff him, bluff him, bluff him,' her mind screamed at her. She was NO match for a Super Saiyan and she knew it. Her only hope now was to keep him off guard, to keep switching it up, but she'd done that enough now she suspected he was expecting it. Tien hadn't taught her to throw energy blasts yet, so that was out of the question. Goddammit all. She tipped her head back slightly and threw him a big, cocky smile like the ones she'd seen Vegeta give opponents. She squared her shoulders and flew at him again, trying to hit him once more. He was too fast for her in this form. Her frustration was building, her training going out the window. She was losing her focus, which only made her angrier with herself, which made her lose even more focus. It was a downward spiral. This was infuriating. She felt something in her starting to slip... all of the tension that had built up, coupled with her growing irritation with Goku. She felt like she could snap at any moment.
Goku just laughed at her, "You're thinking too much. Your body knows what to do. Just trust it." He was loving this too much. She was a new opponent for him and he wasn't entirely sure what to expect from her. But she had bested him out when he was powered down, which was great. Tien had taught her well. He let his breath out slowly, remembering the charred remains of Loki on the battlefield, he did not want to become a smoldering pile of ash today, but what a way to go if he did.
"Come on! FOCUS! You think an enemy is going to go easy on you?! You think they will wait for you? This is what they will do!" he taunted. "COME ON HIT ME!" He was having way too much fun; he should come out more often and train with them. He could see the anger in her eyes, the frustration, four weeks of anger that needed to go before she and Tien could talk out what they needed to. Say the things that needed to be said and understand each other.
"I'M TRYING!" she shouted, her face getting red. She was putting all of her strength into her punches, her kicks, trying to move fast enough to catch him off guard. Nothing worked. She screamed in frustration again. No wonder everyone thought she was a worthless fighter. She couldn't keep up with him to save her soul. And now he was expecting her to switch it up, so even those attacks weren't working. She wished Tien had taught her how to throw energy waves. Maybe then she could surprise Goku. But she hadn't even attempted that yet. She lunged at him again, but missed.
"HA!" Goku moved towards her quickly, to the untrained and naked eye it would have appeared as though he vanished into thin air. He was behind her again. His hands clenched together, he slammed them into her back at the same moment she slammed her elbow into his nose. She hit the ground chest-first as he clutched his nose with both hands. He recovered quickly as she got back to her feet and rushed behind her once more to lock his arms under hers, pinning her back against his chest. That move infuriated Lindsey - he wondered if it did the same for Sabriena.
She screamed and kicked wildly into the air, trying to break his hold. "LET ME GO!" she screamed. She tried to break the hold, but he was as unmovable as stone. She tried to stomp on his foot, but he was too tall. She couldn't reach the ground. She raked her heel down his shin, but to no avail. She felt him tighten his grip on her, her shoulders screamed in protest. She couldn't move her arms. "LET ME GO!" she screamed again.
Goku laughed until one of her flailing legs kicked him hard in his shin and he swung his legs up and around her own holding her legs apart and still with his own. He leaned down his face near her ear, "Give up?"
"NOOOO!" she screamed, her energy rising higher. "I CAN'T GIVE UP!" After all the training, the time, the effort she'd put in. After everything Tien had taught her, the time HE'D put in... She knew he had to be watching. She was not going to let him down. She didn't like this feeling - completely restrained, at the mercy of a man. It was a feeling that was all too familiar to her. It made her skin crawl. She was tired of being underestimated, of feeling like something that could be easily overpowered and tossed aside without a second thought.
He chuckled as he held onto her as she thrashed even harder. He could taste blood in his mouth; it was probably running down his face. His heart was pounding and he had worked up a sweat. Tien had done a great job. He held her fast, his voice chillingly calm as he spoke to her. "Focus. Remember what you felt when you were fighting those guys who hurt Tien. How angry you were...how it felt when you transformed, the energy you used. You can do it again!" He turned his head, his lips brushing her ear, "How much do you want to hit me right now?" He grinned and pulled back, watching her struggle more, "But you can't, can you? I can do this all day long."
Sabriena was going insane. This... no. Being restrained like that drove her crazy. His calm, controlled voice, the way his lips brushed against her ear. It reminded her of Tumbler when he bruised her wrist, speaking calmly to her as she was raging mad, kissing her temple afterwards. "NOOO!" she screamed.
Something happened in that moment. Something snapped. Broke. She felt the magick surge through her body, the electricity ripping through the air. A bright light flooded the area, brighter than Goku's aura. With a snarl, Sabriena let the magick flow, her own aura rippling with little bolts of lightning. She screamed again, the pure electricity erupting from her, washing over Goku, shocking him to his core so hard it threw him backwards from her. She stumbled forward, turning to look at him where the shock had thrown him to the ground.
Goku blinked up at her, his eyes wide. Oh… oh wow. If he had thought her hair was amazing before, now it was phenomenal. It shone from with in; hell, all of her did. The power, the energy and the magick exuding from her was amazing. He grinned and jumped up on his feet, dropping down into his stance, watching as the magick just poured from her, bolts of electricity crackling in the air. It set him on edge, a new challenge, this changed everything. And it hurt. The lightning that hit him had coursed through him, setting him on fire from the inside out. "Let's do this." He launched himself at her, setting the same pace as before, watching carefully.
Something changed in that moment. Sabriena stopped thinking and just went for it. Trusting her instincts, her training, Tien's calm words of instruction echoing in her mind. She met Goku blow for blow. The transformation still felt weird, yet comfortable at the same time. Like this was just part of her that she had to find once again. She couldn't explain it. But she didn't have a lot of time to think about it as she and Goku fought one another.
Tien blinked from his place by the cabin, forcing himself to his feet to see better. Sabriena had transformed. He snorted. Leave it to Goku to bring it out in her the first time he sparred with her. But Tien couldn't deny the pride that surged through him. Gods, she was beautiful like that. He'd never seen her transformation before. He could stare at her all day long in her transformed state. He made a mental note to teach her the Solar Flare. That, coupled with her element of light, would be vicious in battle.
Sabriena was aching, her energy waning. She slipped up and Goku landed a punch, sending her flying backwards. She pushed herself back to her feet, but the next moment she collapsed to the ground, her hair and eyes returning to normal as she panted, "You hit like a freight train.
Goku dropped to the ground a moment later, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him and he gasped for air, leaning his hands on his knees. The electrical current was definitely not what he had been expecting, and it wore him out. "Oh wow!" He let himself relax and he powered down. "You know how to wear a guy out." He laughed, "How can you say you haven't learned a thing? That was amazing!"
Sabriena shook her head, fighting the tears in her eyes. She refused to cry in front of him. "WHY CAN'T I CONTROL IT?!" She shoved herself quickly to her feet, the small rocks clutched in her fingers. She threw them so hard into the river that she spun on the spot and stumbled. "So sick of this shit. So sick of getting the shit kicked outta me," she whined, leaning over her arms, the rocks digging painfully into her knees. She was furious. "Fucking men."
Goku blinked at her, thoroughly confused. He pushed himself up and went over next to her and plopped down onto the ground, looking at her with a curious expression, "What do you mean you can't control it? You mean you can't transform at will?"
She shook her head. "I can only do it when I'm pissed... or... or scared."
Goku tilted his head to the side crossing his arms and tapping his finger to his lips, "Hmm..." He moved, crossing his legs and facing her. "Come on sit like this and face me. Tell me about your transformation. What do you feel like when it triggers? Can you feel it...er...remember the sensation when it happened?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I REALLY don't like being told what to do," she huffed at him. She moved to sit like him, her knees touching his and crossed her arms tightly across her chest. Part of her wanted to storm away from him, but he was the best after all and she needed every ounce of help she could get. She sulked for a minute, looking away from him, thinking. What did it feel like? How did she put it into words? "It's like... like my heart is ripping. Just this rarrrrr in my chest. Like I want to kill someone. And I usually do. There's no stopping it and no telling how long I can hold onto it."
He scratched the back of head with a hand nodding at her words. "Yeah, I remember the first time I transformed to Super Saiyan. I was really angry too. I just got tired of watching everyone close to me die. I thought my skin was going to rip off, but I was so angry, I didn't care. Like a power," He took his hands and cupped them together, holding them at his chest and expanding it outwards, "just growing there, almost too much to handle. But it was like... Gosh...I 'm not sure... it was like turning a key in a door and there it was. You've already done that .It's just a matter of find the door and opening it again. "
She looked at him then, her eyes looking sad as she dropped her hands to her lap. "But how?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She seemed to deflate before him as if she was just absolutely defeated. She searched his eyes as if just looking into those dark pools would reveal the secret to transforming. He, like all the others, could do it effortlessly, even though their transformations came from different places. It had to be basically the same - the same mindset, the same feeling. Why was she the only one who couldn't do it?
He didn't like that look on her face, it didn't suit her. He reached out and tipped her chin up, "Hey now, none of that." He smiled at her, "It'll come to you when you are ready. Just because you can't get it right now, doesn't mean that you are any less of a skilled fighter or that you aren't good enough to fight with the rest of us." He let is finger drop down to hover over her heart and he lightly pushed there, "When you are ready, you'll feel it here, and it will be the most natural feeling in the world."
She swatted his hand away. "Don't patronize me, Goku." She narrowed her eyes at him again. "I'm not stupid. I know the others think I'm a joke." She pressed her lips to a thin line, drawing a shaking breath through her nose. She spoke again through clenched teeth, her lips barely moving as she stared at a rock to her side, "I just want to show them that they're wrong." She huffed, rolling her eyes up to look at the sky, "I just want someone to think I'm worth something!"
Goku frowned at her, crossing his arms. "I wasn't patronizing you. And the people who think you are worth something are right in front of your face. Do you think Tien would spent all this time with you if you weren't worth it? He can see it, I can see it. Why cant you?"
Her expression softened, looking sad again. "No one's ever seen it in me before..." She looked up at him again. "You really think I'm worth something?" Her voice sounded like it was on the edge of breaking.
He blinked down at her, a smile back on his face, his words soft and understanding, "Of course I do. Anyone who says otherwise is going to have to deal with me. And I know for a fact Tien sees something real special in you."
Her heart broke at that. She'd been so nasty to him lately. It wasn't his fault. He'd been trying to do the right thing when he got hurt. She owed him this much, didn't she? To help him recover, to take care of him and his home while he was unable to do so for himself? She closed her eyes as she thought about him. Poor Tien. So strong, so proud and now, unable to do all but the most basic things, things he loved to do like work in his garden. She wished there was something she could do to help him more, to make it up to him for breaking his rules. "Sorry I was bitchy to you earlier. I didn't mean to be that way," she said quietly, chewing on the inside corner of her mouth. "I'm just so frustrated. I don't like seeing him like this. I've been around Tien long enough now to know that this is killing him, too. I'm just so pissed off that I can't make it better for him. I... I don't like it when someone I care about is hurt."
Goku smiled at her warmly, "You are like me." He chuckled, these two...it was almost painfully obvious to him and yet they couldn't see it, "I think there's more you can do for him than you realize." He reached over, ruffling her hair, laughing when she gave him a look, "You two should be honest with each other. I suppose you can beat me up if you cant heal him up with that magick."
It was his voice that broke her thoughts, "Mind if I join you?"
Her head whipped around. He was standing on the bank, his injured leg stretched out slightly before him, leaning heavily on that cane that he hated so. He hopped forward on his good leg and lowered himself roughly to a sitting position next to Goku. Gods, even walking that distance wore him out. "Great. I've been trying to get her to that point for weeks and now here you show up and she transforms the first time she trains with you," he grumbled. He snorted at Goku's cheeky grin. "Show off," he muttered.
Goku chuckled, "She'd have busted your other leg, old man. She's got a wicked left hook."
Tien chuckled. "Don't I know it. She's got me with it before, too."
"Lotta damn good it'll do me if I can't power up," she pouted, resting her chin in her hand as she stared out over the river.
"The more you power up, the easier it will be to stay in that form longer. Think of it like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets and the easier it will be to reach that form next time." Goku rubbed at his jaw, feeling the ache settling in. "Not bad at all, not bad. I think I'll have to come around more often, make sure you and him aren't slacking off." He winked at her, "How are you feeling now?"
"Better," she muttered. She heaved a sigh and ran her hands through her hair. "A lot better, actually."
Tien shook his head. "You know better than that, Goku," he said with a slight chuckle. "When have you ever known me to slack off?" He cast a glance at Sabriena, not sure if he should speak to her or not, but added, "And she's a hard worker too."
"Maybe I should come over anyway. That way we could all spar together!" Goku grinned. His eyes were dancing as he looked at Sabriena. "Think you can take two of us on at once?"
She smiled at Goku, "You should totally come spar with us." She stuck her chest out a bit, looking haughty, "I know I could take both of you at the same time," she bragged, then laughed. "I'll even cook for you," she offered. "You haven't had my cooking yet."
Goku's eyes lit up at that, "Really?! I'd love to try some!" He looked a bit sheepish, "Do you... do you think you could make some fish? It's my favorite, but Chichi says I eat it too much." He tilted his head at her, "How long have you been cooking? You said you went to school for it, right?"
"I took two years of culinary school. But I kinda dropped out this last semester. I had other stuff going on." She sighed. "I've been cooking for a long time. Ever since... since mom died when I was little. Daddy's not much of a cook," she said with a slight laugh. "I wasn't very good at it at first, but then I started learning the basics and I got to experiment a lot. I really loved it. So I thought I'd take some classes." She shrugged. "Ah well, no big deal."
Goku chuckled, "don't give it up if it's what you love to do, kiddo." He stretched, the spar with her left his muscles aching in a good way. "You wore me out! I'm glad I could help out...a little bit... Though I guess I distracted you from the laundry. Is there anything else you want done? I don't know much, but if you tell me what to do, we can get those pesky chores done."
"You don't have to do that," Sabriena answered.
An awkward silence fell over them, Goku looking back and forth between Tien and Sabriena. He was so tempted to push her to sit next to Tien or to tell him to tell her how he felt. But he'd promised Tien he wouldn't, even though he couldn't help thinking that Tien was wasting precious time that he could spend with this amazing young woman. He looked at them both and shook his head, "You two need to talk some things out, or you are both going to drive each other insane." He smiled at them, "Anyway, if it's okay with you, Tien, I'll start coming out here to train. It'd be good if I could train against someone like her, with the magick and everything. I'll come back in a few days and check on you, see how you are doing. I know you don't like it, but you might have to suck it up and go ask Dende or Jenny to heal you."
"Nah, they're busy," Tien answered. "I'm not gonna bother them. But if you want to come out and train, that's fine with me. You're sure that's all right with you, Sabriena?" He looked over at her, a bit of nervousness in his stomach. Now that he'd had time to cool down, he felt bad for his outburst. He should never have thrown her into that tub that way. That was incredibly immature on his part, now that he thought about it.
"Yeah, that's fine," she muttered.
Tien swallowed, his voice softer, worried, "You still mad at me?"
Sabriena drew her knees up to her chest, folding her arms over them as she looked out at the river. "No," she answered, her voice just as soft as his. Without looking at him, she asked in a tiny voice, "You still mad at me?"
He shook his head. "No."
Goku smiled widely at Tien, at least they were speaking to each other. He got to his feet, walking over and mock punching him in the shoulder. "Did real good with her, made me transform. Keep it up." He turned and winked at Sabriena, "I don't guess it would be good for his health if I pushed him into the water huh?" He grinned and hopped out of the way as Tien took a swing at him with the cane, "Well, I can see I've over stayed my welcome. Unless you two need anything, I think I'm going to go pester someone else."
"Where are you going?" Tien asked, looking up at his friend.
He grinned, "Well, I think I've been slacking in my training. Too focused on the new baby; you know, he'll be here in a few weeks! I think I'm going to go to Capsule Corp and see what's up with the new armor. Maybe see if I can annoy Vegeta into a sparring session. Shouldn't be too hard to do that."
Tien chuckled lightly. "All right. Have fun, man." He looked over to Sabriena who still sat with her back to both of them and shook his head
Goku nodded. "Thanks for the spar Sabriena! I'll be back in a few days to check up on you guys. We'll have to go again when I get back." He waved at them, "Tien, I hope you are feeling better soon!" And with that, he pressed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.
Sabriena sighed and wiped her eyes. A tear had slipped from her eye as soon as Goku left. Jackass hadn't even given her a chance to say goodbye to him.
Sabriena drew her knees up to her chest, staring at the river. The argument from last night was still in her head - she'd really kicked his cane? Gods, that was so immature. No wonder no one wanted to be her friend. She drew a shaky breath and hid her face for a moment. "I'm such a bitch," she muttered to Tien. She felt horrible. She was supposed to be helping him, not making his life more miserable.
Tien wanted to say something, but he couldn't very well argue that fact. Still, Goku's words to be honest rang true in his head. He sighed, "I shouldn't have overreacted about the guns." He shook his head, looking over at her. "I haven't been the easiest to get along with this whole time, either. I'm sorry. It's just, this is all new to me, living with someone, not being able do my normal routine, my chores. I actually like them. It helps me keep my focus."
"I know you do," she said, turning her face to him, a sad frown on her lips. "Tien, this isn't easy for me either. I'm sorry I broke your rules. I didn't mean to - I already had the guns out here before I knew how much you hated them. I... I don't like seeing you in pain. I don't like who you are when you're hurting like this. I don't like who I am right now."
Tien managed a small laugh, easing his knee out, feeling the tender joint with his hands. "Guess we really are a pair." He sighed, "If I was better, things could go back the way they were. I mean, you know, despite all the trouble we've had it's been, well… sort'a nice to not be entirely alone out here all the time. If you wanted to... when I'm better... you could continue to spend the night. At least you'd get some extra sleep without the flight to Capsule Corp. I know how much you like to sleep," he chuckled, leaning down and rolling up his pants leg again, wincing as he exposed his knee to the air. He reached down and got some of the cold water and let it drip over the heated flesh.
"That would be good," she said in a small voice. "I do like sleep." She cringed as she saw his knee - still somewhat swollen, bruised. "I wish I could heal that for you." A sudden idea struck her. She had been able to power up just a little bit ago when she was sparring with Goku. Maybe she could use her magick. She got to her feet, turning to look at Tien. She slowly walked out into the water to stand before him. "Tien..." she said, her voice soft and quiet. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head, looking her over, checking to make sure she wasn't injured. Though he wasn't about to admit it, he had been slightly concerned for her when he felt them both powering up and even more concerned when he felt both of them go past that. He scooted closer to the river, hissing slightly as he lowered his leg into the cool water. It was the only relief he'd had for days. "No, I'm sorry too. And I wanted to thank you for helping me out. I know it's not easy for you, but I really appreciate all that you've done for me the past three weeks."
"Four weeks," she corrected him, then mentally slapped herself. Why couldn't she control her mouth?! She stared sadly at his knee. It still looked nastily painful. There had to be something she could do. She lowered herself to sit on her knees in the cold water, studying his knee. She drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The sound of the waterfall nearby mixed with the gentle singing of the birds in the trees. The water was cool and refreshing on her legs, the sun hot on her shoulders. She could feel something lightly bubbling up inside her. Magick wasn't always destructive and fierce. Sometimes it was gentle and healing. What the hell? She couldn't do any more damage than what had already been done to him. Carefully, she placed both of her hands on his injured knee, feeling him jump slightly at her touch.
Tien watched her carefully, curious as she put her hands on him. He couldn't stop the shiver that ran down his spine. He ignored the pain and just concentrated on the feeling of her cool hands on his skin. "What are you doing?" He murmured quietly, watching her with half closed eyes.
"You know, Jenny was able to heal Trunks on the battlefield using her magick. Do... do you want me to try to heal you? I don't know if I can, but... I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
Tien chuckled, "It couldn't hurt more than it already does...it has for the past few weeks, yeah?" He sighed and leaned back, "Sure give it a try girl." He watched her, frowning at her dirty clothes, the hippie skirt. "Sorry about the wash bin."
"Oh, you're gonna pay for the washbin," she muttered, looking him over. Gods, that knee looked painful. She calmed her mind, just like Tien had taught her. She concentrated on the world around her - the soft warm breeze, the cool water, the sounds of the birds. She concentrated, wanting nothing more than to fix him, to take that hurt away from him, to give him his dignity back. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, feeling a warmth flow down her arms. She didn't know what was happening or how it was happening. It just felt right. She wasn't powered up, there was no raw energy about it. It was just pure and warm as it flowed from her chest to her hands, a warmth growing steadily there. She opened her eyes and gasped. There was a soft yellowish light glowing around her hands. She tried to will the magick into his knee, but there was a resistance. "What in the world?" she growled, letting the light fade. She gently placed her hands on his knee, looking at it. There was something there, just under the skin. "Tien, what is that?"
Tien winced as he felt whatever that was pulse under her touch. "Ouch! Is that a splinter? I don't know. I guess it could be; the guy who hit me was holding a wooden club, you know and it was imbued with magick." He cringed as he looked down at his knee; it was angry concentrated around the splinter. "Can you get it out?"
Sabriena eyed it carefully before she lightly scraped her nail across his skin. She felt it catch on the splinter. "I think so," she said and tried to pinch it with her nails. It took a few tries to get a proper hold on it before she was able to pull it from his knee. The long sliver of wood still held a purplish glow and she flicked it far out into the river. "Okay, let's try this again," she said softly and concentrated, a bead of sweat forming on her temple. It was hard to draw energy this way, especially after she'd been working on bringing it out of herself, not drawing it in. Her hands began to glow again and ever so softly, she placed her hands on Tien's knee, carefully willing the healing energy into his injury.
Tien was watching her carefully, his eyes widening as he watched her work, the magick drawing up from the world around her, turning into a golden light and making her glow, her hair starting to shine. His eyes fell closed the next moment as that warmth seeped into his knee and he let out a deep sigh of relief as the pain eased. Oh by the gods that felt wonderful. He had been enduring that pain for weeks and then, just like that, she made it fade away. His eyes fluttered before he cracked them open again to look down at her, his voice practically purring with contentment, "Sabriena, that feels good."
Sabriena was shaking and sweating as she worked. This was much harder than Jenny had made it sound. She needed to practice this, to learn it better. But... she was using magick! And she wasn't frightened or angry - of her own free will, she was finally using magick. She tried to concentrate on how it felt, how it happened. She continued to press the energy into Tien's leg until it felt like there was a resistance again. She lowered her hands, revealing the unblemished skin. "I... I think... it worked," she panted. "See if you can bend it."
Tien hadn't felt this pain free in ages, he carefully bended his knee, expecting a jolt of pain but there was none, and he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He could feel his energy coming back. He smiled widely at her, and moved to stand up, putting his weight on the joint. "You healed it."
She glared up at him. "You're getting my bill."
He laughed as he lifted up into the air a moment before he sat back down again and smiled at her. "Look at that. Using your powers..." He reached down, offering his hand to her and pulling her up, "I suppose that makes up for you kicking my cane."
Sabriena tried to hide the smirk on her face, but was unsuccessful. "Yeah, well, maybe that'll teach you not to argue with me." She snickered, "And you have to admit, that was effing hilarious." She sighed and looked up at him, "Are we okay? I mean, do I still get to train with you? I'm sorry for everything. I just... I don't want to lose... You're a good friend, Tien. All I wanted was to help."
Tien felt his heart thump; she still wanted to stay with him, even after everything they'd been through. "Yeah, we're good. But I am going to really up your training," He ruffled her hair. "Why don't you get cleaned up? You're lookin' pretty rough, girl."
"You know, between you and Goku, I'm starting to think maybe I should go live under a bridge somewhere," she scowled. "He basically told me I look like hell, too."
Tien slowly shook his head, fearing another argument. "I just meant you deserve a break. I'll finish up the chores."
Sabriena groaned and looked at the river. "Yeah, okay," she sighed. She pouted, "I really miss hot showers."
"You know, I really couldn't have done this without you," he admitted quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "If I didn't have you, I'd probably be dead by now." He pressed his lips together, a small smile tugging at them for just a second as his eyes glowed with an appreciation and admiration for the young woman before him.
She looked up at him, the warm look he gave her eased her stress and made her want to hug him for some reason. 'Ah fuck it,' she thought and suddenly threw herself against his chest, giving him a tight squeeze. She pulled back and smiled up at him, "Your turn to do the chores while I relax." She thumped him on the chest, "And you get to cook supper tonight. I'm taking the day off."
Tien chuckled, an idea about hot showers sticking in his head. He shivered as he pictured her in a hot shower. 'No. No, Tien, stop it,' he mentally scolded himself.
Sabriena's smile was growing as she thought about what she'd just done. "I really did it," she said breathlessly. Her face was beaming. "I actually did something right!"
Tien breathed in sheer relief as he bent his knee over and over, completely pain free. It felt so good. He smiled down at her unable to keep himself from beaming back at her. "I knew you had it in you. Thank you. Really."
She laughed nervously. "I shouldn'ta done that. Now you're really gonna kick my a- butt," she corrected herself at the last second. She cast him a worried glance, biting her bottom lip.
He just laughed at her, smiling, he felt too good to worry about her language, "No...I think we've both suffered enough. Now come on. I have to make sure you didn't massacre the garden and you need to relax in the river for a bit."
Sabriena grinned. "Sounds good to me! I bet I can beat you to the garden!" she giggled and tore out across the ground, calling back to him, "Keep up, old man!"
He felt giddy almost as he took off after her. Oh blessedly pain free. It felt amazing to run again and he was half tempted to just keep running until he couldn't go any further. He snickered at her, gaining on her fast. "What did you call me?!" He laughed as he caught up to her and grabbed her up in his arms, throwing her over his shoulder.
She flailed, screaming and laughing. "Put me down! Careful - it might be your hip that goes next!"
He laughed with her. He couldn't get over how much better everything felt. This... this he could get used to. This person she was when no one else was around. When she let herself relax and be herself. If nothing else, she certainly made him feel younger. "I don't think so. You weigh about as much as a toothpick. Besides your secret is out now. I'll just make you heal me up."
She clenched her hands into fists and dramatically growled, "Dammit!" She gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, giggling. "I'm sorry! I can't stop myself today!"
Tien just laughed, "Fine. Since you caught me in a good mood ill let you off easy. And yeah, I'll cook dinner for you tonight. Be nice to me for a change and I might even make you dessert," he teased.
Sabriena wiggled in his grasp until her face was next to his. "I'll give ya dessert," she purred, her lips barely brushing his ear. She laughed out loud as Tien froze and dropped her to the ground.
He shook his head at her, his heart hammering in his chest at the innuendo. A healthy blush spreading across his face as he watched her jump up and trot into the cabin to get her towel and a change of clothes. "Tease," he growled under his breath and headed around the back of the cabin, anxious to get to work on his garden.
Author's Note: Thanks to JC 87 for writing with me once again! And thank you to Rinpup and Werlka for reviewing! And anyone else who has been reading, I'd love to hear from you! Yes, yes, I'm a review whore. Thanks everyone!
