The concept of love varies from person to person. It can be a beautiful thing that two people cherish for life, but it can also be the cause of some of the most horrible human behavior on the planet. It can manipulate, hurt and bewilder the mind beyond comprehension. This feeling only intensifies with saiyans.
Kole for example is a pure blooded saiyan. Lace often comments to him about his lack of empathy towards others. He feels like regret for bad decisions and mostly focuses on himself. Vegeta and Goku are similar in that they always train hard and better themselves, though they learned to be more heroic the more times Earth needed their help.
The concept of a mix-breed never existed until Goku married Chichi and had Gohan. Lace's uncle Gohan showed latent abilities that seemed impossible, but the more Bulma studied his genes, the clearer the reason became. Along with Goten, Bra and Trunks, the blood of a half-saiyan shows more S cells than any other type of cell. These cells are what creates the power to turn into a super saiyan, as well as the ability to be so strong in the first place.
When Lace was born, it felt like the whole world was falling apart. Bra was drugged and almost killed simply for the pleasure of a madman out to create a new race of warrior. These warriors wouldn't be burdened by human emotions nor would they be limited by the lack of interest in anything but fighting that pure blooded saiyans had. The new race was going to be perfect-or so they thought.
Lace and Cody are the only two to survive the horrific trials and experiments that so many saiyan children died from. Thanks to them, the entire facility was destroyed when Lace was just a baby. Her powers were undeniably greater than anything they had seen before, contrary to what Gohan showed them years earlier. The difference was that half of Lace's soul was split with Cody's. There powers were joined that day. As the fire rose up and consumed everything around them, Cody and Lace's tiny hands held on tightly for the first time and never really let go of each other. They were what the story books call "soulmates", regardless of their shared DNA. The cousin factor paled in comparison to all of the other problems headed their way.
Around Christmas time each year for as long as Lace could remember, the Son-Brief clan got together and celebrated not just the usual Christmas traditions, but their own, inhuman ones as well. The saiyan warriors that once dominated planets and killed for sport now sat under a huge, glittering tree reading stories to their quarter-blooded grandchildren. Their spouses chatted and laughed in the kitchen while the half-blood generation snuck in a few shots of who knows what in the dining room when one of them lost a bet to the other.
When she closed her eyes, she could see his staring back at her. The little boy she followed everywhere and learned everything from. Cody was deeply ingrained in her heart whether she wanted him there or not. She knew this. But things were different this year.
Lace looked around at the extravagant decorations lining the many halls of Brief Manor. The cascading staircases in the foyer were wrapped in garland and sparkling with white lights. The tree almost reached the ceiling, easily decorated by the grandchildren that could fly up to the very top by themselves. A gigantic chandelier hung only a few feet away from the tree topper, a beautiful, golden star. Lace was pretty positive that the star was, in fact, solid gold.
As the party around her began to grow busier, Lace wandered through the crowd awkwardly stealing drinks off of the party platters. She knew her father would be angry if he saw her, but she couldn't help herself. She was a nervous wreck. Not only had her mother insisted on inviting all of Lace, Keiko and Brie's friends, but bringing a date was required. It was part of the theme, Bra laughed, dismissing Lace's questions like she was crazy for even asking. This left a huge problem for Lace that her mother had no idea about.
Sidka was still furious with her.
Cody was around somewhere. He brought a girl with him, but Lace didn't recognize her. She felt happy for Cody, but she also felt just a little jealous. She was relieved that she wasn't picturing herself dancing in Cody's arms, but she still didn't want another girl doing it, either. She tried to dismiss her feelings and focus her attention elsewhere. Anywhere else besides that dreaded front door.
More guests began to arrive as the clock drew nearer to ten at night. Still, Lace's friends hadn't arrived. Keiko was pacing around in front of the tree looking angry. She was checking her phone constantly, but grumbled something about Ryo's phone being deader than a doornail. She, too seemed on edge, but Lace wasn't sure what was going on with them. In addition, Lace had no idea where her own sister was.
Over the past few weeks, Brie hadn't spoken more than a few words to her family. She'd grown secretive and reclusive, hiding in her room and whispering on the phone to Christopher every night. Sometimes, Lace could hear her crying, but it didn't seem like she was fighting with her boyfriend. She was still sneaking him through her window some nights. Lace found it funny, considering she'd learned that trick from Lace herself when Sidka was sneaking in almost every night.
It'd been months since he'd done that.
She sadly took a seat on one of the marble staircases and watched Keiko pacing. Her heart was sad, but her chest was heavy with anxiety. She realized Kole might be feeling the same way and looked around for his spikey Mohawk. To her surprise, he was standing with the girl he'd defended in the cafeteria that one time. Lomei? Lace giggled at the girl's nerdy glasses and plain gown. She'd clearly never been to a Brief soiree before. Lace's own gown was so sparkly it hurt her eyes to look at it. At least it came up to her collar bone this time, shielding her abnormally large chest from the eyes of onlookers with judgements to make.
As if on cue with the grandfather clock that began to chime loudly, the front door opened to reveal the teenaged group of friends that Keiko extended the fancy invitation to. First came Brie and Christopher, who smiled happily and seemed completely normal. Brie was wearing a stunning, knee length dress in blue and silver while Christopher wore a great sport coat, tan sweater and bright red pants. Lace chuckled. Christopher must have dressed for a Christmas party while Brie dressed for Hanukkah, each trying to include and impress the other.
Following closely behind them came Rez and Chai. Chai was locking arms with her friend Ava, who loosely had her fingers entangled with Jake's behind her. Curious, Lace thought. She could have sworn she'd never seen Jake and Ava talking before. He didn't even sit at their lunch table. When did they meet?
Brie and Christopher led the little group towards Kole, but Kole suddenly became rigid and had a look on his face that was unreadable. He looked angry, shocked and sad all at once. He started turning red before he completely ignored the whole group and led Lomei away from them. The anxiety must've been getting to him, Lace thought.
After Rez squeezed through the doorframe, Hakosu came into view. He looked a little pale and out of sorts compared to his usual self. Then Lace felt her heart stop beating.
His dark red hair was combed and styled, unlike anything she'd ever seen before. His pale blue button-down was slightly open at the top, disregarding the obvious need for a tie. His black pants were a little tight-fitting, but flattering and oh so attractive. She stood up on the stairs and held onto the railing for balance. That's when their eyes met.
Those smoldering, coal-colored eyes of his stared up into hers. He was still angry, that much she could tell, but his hardened expression softened slightly when she stood up and started to approach him. Hakosu patted Sidka on the back when she arrived, causing him to straighten up and turn to face her.
"Hey…" Lace breathed, staring at the little bit of chest peeking out of his shirt.
"Hi." He answered flatly, still looking directly into her eyes.
"I'm so glad you showed up…it's pretty lame, right? All these old people…" Lace laughed awkwardly, swinging her arms at her sides like a child.
"I think it's nice. A nice change of pace at least." Hakosu smiled, "I'm glad your family is throwing a Christmas party. It's not like we would have anything else going on, so this is great."
Lace looked around quickly and then tilted her head, "Where's Bibii?"
Hakosu turned white, like he'd seen a ghost. He swallowed and turned around, facing the huge windows beside the front door.
"Oh, she'll be h-here later…yeah…"
Sidka scoffed and rolled his eyes, "There's something going on with them. He won't tell me."
Lace felt surprised to hear Sidka admit such a thing. Hakosu was his go-to person for anything, especially girl problems. If Hakosu wasn't telling Sidka what was wrong, it had to be big. Lace was sure Hakosu already got more than one earful about her own relationship problems.
"Hey, Lacey!"
Lace froze in fear. She recognized the voice from behind her. Why? Why would he be talking to her now of all times? She didn't want to turn around, but he spoke again.
"Lacey, I want you to meet my friend here…"
She inhaled. Her nervous eyes slanted towards Sidka, who was staring angrily at the person behind Lace.
"Friend, huh? Okay…" Lace mumbled nervously, "H-hi…"
A tall, silver-haired woman with eyes the color of honey reached out to shake Lace's hand with a perfect smile. She was very pale and absolutely stunning. Lace felt like she was in a sort of trance as she locked hands with the woman, but a strange sensation startled her back to reality.
"H-hi!" Lace exclaimed, pulling her hand away quickly.
"I've heard so much about you! So great to finally put a face with the name…and who's this?"
She turned towards Sidka, who was boiling angry at this point. His face was red and his clenched fists didn't release. He only stared at Cody, who looked very uneasy. The girl persisted however and took Sidka's hand firmly in her own.
"I'm Ariana, so nice to meet you. Are you Sidka? Cody's told me about you, too. Aren't you two just the cutest couple ever? Goodness!"
Sidka's expression softened once more into a confused half-frown, half-smirk. He looked over at Lace, who shrugged and crossed her arms nervously.
"Nice to meet you, too. Hey uh, I'm gonna go get some food. Want anything?" Sidka asked Lace, partially ignoring Ariana and Cody.
"N-no..,I ate…" Lace lied, too nervous to even think about food.
"Whatever." He answered casually, sauntering off towards one of the tables full of food.
Ariana smiled and headed back towards the people Cody was originally talking to, leaving the two briefly on their own together. Lace felt the need to warn Cody now while she had the chance.
"Cody…Sidka really thinks that I was cheating on him with you that night…you just had to come up and talk to me tonight, didn't you?" She whispered angrily, smiling at an old couple that walked by them looking a little concerned.
"I'm sorry, Lacey. It's just that…well that night I wanted you to meet Ariana. I didn't mean to make it look like anything else. I guess it was stupid, but you forget…you used to be my best friend. Sometimes I just miss that…you know? That comradery…it's kinda hard. We're still the only two people of our kind on the whole planet. You remember that, right?"
Lace felt a little offended, "Of course I know that! I also know that what we had…what we did…Sidka isn't just jealous, okay? He's different…he's…he's…"
"He's a saiyan. You're more like his property than you are his girlfriend." Cody shrugged.
"That's so not true, you ass!" Lace growled, smacking his arm.
He reached up and grabbed her hand before it reached him and laughed playfully. Lace felt herself melt into a similar laugh, feeling nostalgic all of a sudden. She'd forgotten. Her training was exactly like his training. There was no way she could pull a move over on him.
"Just be careful and take care of yourself. I'm always there if you need me, but something tells me you've got it covered." Cody smiled, flicking her hair from her shoulder, "I love your hair down, by the way. You look beautiful."
He turned around and headed towards Ariana. Lace felt so embarrassed. She decided to turn her attention elsewhere to take some of the stress off of her shoulders. Chai and Ava were the perfect answer.
"Hey guys!" Lace said happily, "How's it going?"
Chai clapped her hands together, "This place is amazing! I had no idea your grandparents had a mansion like this! It totally puts Jake's to shame!"
Ava rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with a small pout on her face.
"Since when are you dating Jake?" Lace asked.
"What makes you think I'm dating him?" She snapped back in a defensive tone.
Lace laughed, "Um, I dunno…bringing him to my party holding hands?"
"I wasn't holding his hand. I was just letting him lead me inside…that's all…" She said quietly, looking around.
"Yeah well Jake asked her out last week. He really likes her. I think it's sweet, but Ava's got this thing against him. I don't get it." Chai shrugged.
"I don't have anything against him. I'm just…being cautious."
Lace understood then what she meant. She saw how Ava reacted when she overheard what Kole said at Jake's party. She was genuinely hurt. The usually flirty and happy-go-lucky Ava was broken that night. Lace looked around for Kole, curious all of a sudden.
"He's hiding." Ava said shortly.
"Hiding? Wait, who?" Lace asked.
"Kole. He's literally hiding from me."
Lace couldn't help but laugh. They didn't know Kole like she did.
"Ava…Kole always hides. He doesn't know what to do in social situations. You're gonna have to get used to that." She said, holding up her hands sympathetically.
"I don't have to accept his weirdo behavior towards me. I'm here with Jake and that's all that matters. I don't care what Kole's doing." Ava growled.
On the other side of the party, Lace caught sight of Keiko and Ryo arguing at a table. She looked completely bewildered and was gesturing with her hands like crazy, something she only does when she's very frustrated and can't get her point across. Ryo was dismissive and looking around like he could care less. What was wrong with these guys tonight?
Behind Ryo, Sidka and Hakosu arrived to save the day. They interrupted the conversation and seemed to be in agreeance with whatever Keiko was saying, much to her surprise. Ryo calmed down and gave in, but Keiko looked hurt. Soon enough, Lace's phone beeped. Lace wasn't even sure when she'd found a moment to text her, but it was definitely from Keiko.
"My boyfriend's an idiot. Have you seen Brie?"
Lace looked up at Keiko and smiled. She knew all too well what Keiko was talking about and sighed. She looked around, but Brie was nowhere to be found. She answered quickly.
"Nah, I haven't seen her since she got here."
Trying to mingle and act normal, Lace found Sidka and began to follow him around. She tried to reach for his hand a few times, but he didn't take it and moved away slightly. Things were really beginning to feel hopeless between them for Lace. She couldn't understand his logic. He knew her better than this. Finally, she knew she had no choice.
She waited for Sidka to get distracted by a conversation and grabbed Hakosu by the collar of his shirt. She dragged him away and threw him against a wall, promptly crossing her arms and frowning.
"Alright, what gives?" She growled angrily.
"Wha-what?" Hakosu stuttered, "What are you talking about?"
"Sidka! Why is he still so mad at me?" She answered, pointing a finger at Hakosu, "What is it that you're telling him to keep him mad?"
Hakosu laughed, "Lace, you know me better than that! Of course I'm not encouraging him! He's just a grumpy dude!"
She stared at Hakosu with intense eyes. With the dim lighting, she could see that her pupils were turning pinker by the second. He looked a little scared of her. She smirked, backing away and feeling a little better.
"What's wrong with him then? This can't be just about Cody…" Lace suggested, pouting slightly.
"It's not! Did you forget Ezra?" Hakosu laughed, straightening out his tie.
"Ezra? What? He really thinks that was my fault?" Lace demanded, "Did he tell you that?
Hakosu rolled his eyes with a smile, "Of course he did."
"I didn't want Ezra anywhere near me! I definitely didn't want to kiss him! That creep forced himself on me like some kind of rapey rapist! He should be in fucking jail or something!"
Hakosu lowered his eyes at her curiously.
"Why didn't you stop him then?"
She gasped in shock, "How could you possibly say that? That's…that's like…total victim shaming, you ass!"
"Victim? Really? You're the strongest being in the world…maybe even the universe! You're telling me you couldn't rip his head off if you really wanted to?" Hakosu answered, a little heated.
She couldn't answer right away. Her snippy attitude was cut very short. He was right. She hadn't thought about it that way before. Regardless of what he believed happened with Cody, he didn't see her kiss him like he did with Ezra. She could've pushed him away or beat the shit out of him, but she didn't. She let him kiss her.
"I…I gotta go…" Lace whispered.
"Hey, I'm sorry. You know I wasn't trying to be mean! I'm not that guy! Please, let's just enjoy the party. Sidka will get over it!" Hakosu pleaded, clearly worried by her reaction.
"No. No, you're right…you're so right…what's wrong with me? I can't…I can't believe I hadn't thought…"
Lace turned away from him and ran towards the back deck doors. She flung one side open and ran to the railing. Her head was spinning. This whole time Sidka hadn't been angry over the actual act. He was angry because she didn't stop him. But why hadn't she stopped him? Why hadn't she just done what her brain was telling her to do?
Ezra's emerald eyes flashed in her mind's eye. He was so clearly evil. She pictured his demonic form he revealed to her the night Kole and Lace saved Jake from him. He was something she couldn't fight. From the moment he touched her, she was paralyzed. Was she afraid of him? It didn't feel that way. Lace liked to think she wasn't scared of anything. But her feet felt like cement blocks that day under the staircase. Her body was a solid block of ice unable to melt and attack. What had he done to her?
"Hey."
Lace spun around. Sidka was standing in the doorway. Hakosu must've told him where she was. He looked concerned, but not angry like he did earlier. He was relaxed and looking like his old self.
"I'm…I'm so sorry." She gasped, "I think I understand now."
"Understand what exactly?" Sidka asked, dropping his crossed arms and approaching her.
"I know why you have been so angry. I get it. I'm a terrible, terrible girlfriend and I should've explained to you better…with Cody, I think you know, I didn't do anything with him. You have to believe me when I say that Cody and I are totally and completely over. I don't feel anything towards him. Please believe me." Lace pleaded, holding on to the railing behind her like she'd float away if she didn't.
"I do believe you."
"Um…okay well, Ezra. I don't have feelings for him, either. That day at school…it was like…like I was paralyzed. I couldn't move. It was terrifying and I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't. I didn't want to let it happen. I couldn't do anything about it…"
Ezra shook his head, knocking his spikey bangs to one side. He stood in front of Lace and inhaled slowly.
"I know that. I know what you mean…I've experienced the same. I get it and I know it wasn't your fault."
Lace gasped loudly in horror, "Ezra kissed you?"
"What? Fuck no! Are you…really? Lace!" Sidka shouted.
"Oh…Oh, okay. I was gonna say…"
"But Samara did."
Lace stopped breathing. Did she hear him correctly? Was he being literal?
"S-Samara? Ezra's friend? That…that girl with the purple hair? She…she did what?" Lace whispered slowly with her eyes as wide as they could open.
"Yeah, see…you feel that pain? You feel that in your heart, right? That's not even close to how I felt when I walked up on you making out with some fuckin dude against a wall for anyone to see. That's not nearly as bad as how confused and…and fucking angry I was."
"So what? Were you lying to get back at me?" Lace growled, growing angry.
"No, I wasn't lying. She really did kiss me. It was a couple of days after the Ezra thing…I dunno, I wasn't talking to you very much and I guess she saw an opportunity one day at school. I want to tell you that I pushed her away, but I couldn't. It was like I was under a spell or something. So…what I'm trying to say is that I get it."
Lace shook her head in disbelief. He reached out and placed one hand on each of her shoulders.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. You kept apologizing…I just…I wanted you to understand why I was mad but I didn't know how to tell you. I don't think I fully understood it, either. I…I um…I'm really sorry."
He looked ashamed. His expression was completely different from earlier. He seemed broken in a way Lace didn't know how to fix. Her own anger subsided quickly just watching him. She couldn't deny the fact that her love for him was unconditional, weird saiyan bond or not. She knew that she was born to love Sidka, no matter what.
"Let's just…move forward. I miss you too much to keep doing this. I just want you back." Lace admitted, placing her own hands on top of his.
"Let's do that." He answered, lowering his hands to her waist and pulling her into a tight embrace.
He rested his forehead on hers and nuzzled her nose softly. She felt that electric warmth in her gut spilling over like a waterfall. She heard him inhale like he was about to speak. He pushed away from her slightly and knelt down.
"What are you doing?" She giggled, a little confused.
"Lace…I've been mulling this over for weeks now. I know it's crazy and sudden and maybe a little naïve, but I realized that the only reason anyone could get between us like this is because I didn't tell you every single day how much you mean to me. That will never…I mean never happen again. So…I wanna ask you something."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Lace gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth.
"I will love you until the end of time. I will protect you from anything that comes our way…I will be the man you deserve. I love you so much. Will you please do me the honor of marrying me?"
Lace immediately started crying and pounced on top of him. He clung to the little box for dear life, holding it up as she squeezed him so hard she could have popped off his head.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Lace squealed, "Oh, my God!"
Sidka sat up with Lace still clutching his neck and laughed. He brought the box in front of her face and plucked the ring from its little pillow. Lace's eyes began to glow. The ring was huge! She couldn't believe her eyes. How had he ever afforded this?
"Can I put it on?" She asked enthusiastically.
"Of course you can. It's all yours now." He smiled.
She let him slide the ring onto her finger and watched it shimmer in the light. She covered her face and cried tears of joy into her hands. She felt him hug her tightly and kiss the side of her head with pride. There was one problem, though.
"Shit…how are we gonna tell my parents?" Lace asked.
"Well…judging by all the other crazy shit going on in your family, I doubt it'll be their biggest problem." Sidka shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Lace asked, totally confused.
"Your sister? The whole thing with Kole?" Sidka asked, looking equally confused that she didn't know what he was talking about.
Lace realized he could be talking about whatever it was that was going on between them.
"Um…what do you know? I know nothing so you could just tell me and then I'll be on the same page…"
Sidka laughed and got up from the ground. He walked over to the railing and looked out at the stunning mountains behind the manor. Bulma's pool was reflecting the full moon perfectly, making the scenery stand out even more. It was beautiful.
"I think you should ask her…" He sighed.
"What? No, tell me! Pleeease?" Lace cried, hopping up and joining him.
It was chilly outside. She was beginning to shiver a bit, unguarded by her short dress.
"Well apparently Kole walked in on them at Jake's. I guess he's been talking to Keiko about it and Keiko told Ryo who brought it up one day at practice."
"What? Kole told Keiko? Why?" Lace screeched.
"I don't know, but what I do know is Christopher has been totally freaking out and asking all kinds of weird sex questions at practice like every fuckin day. Somethings going on and I don't think it's good. Has Brie talked to you at all? Like asked anything weird?"
"No! No…I haven't seen much of her…" Lace admitted sadly.
"Exactly."
Lace looked up at the next floor and noticed the room she and Brie stayed in when they came to visit was occupied. The curtains were drawn but a light was on. She wondered if it was Brie and started inside. Sidka grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.
"I wanna go talk to her!" Lace complained, "What if somethings really wrong?"
"Let's talk to her later. For tonight…let's just…be together, okay?"
Lace smiled. She wanted so badly to share his sentiment, but something told her there was more to the story than he was letting on.
