I DON'T OWN DRAGON BALL, If I did, that would be awesome and this would all actually happen. Also, this has gay content in it, so... if you don't like it, feel free to leave.
Most of the Italisized words are the thoughts.
Eighteen sighs as she dials her brother's number. I really hope he can come...
"Eighteen!" She turns around, seeing Bulma and ChiChi. "Did you manage to contact Seventeen?" Bulma asks.
"Not yet." Eighteen replies quietly. "It's been months since the tournament. I don't know if he'll even answer." She says.
ChiChi and Bulma exchange a look of confusion. "Listen," ChiChi starts, "I know he took off right after we won, but I'm sure he still wants to see you. Especially since it's your birthday today. Plus, Marron really wants to see him again. He can't turn her down."
Eighteen looks down thoughtfully. "I guess you're right... I'll give it a try. Could you ask everyone to quiet down out there please? I don't want to annoy him in less than a minute." She jokes.
"Yeah of course! I was planning on telling Vegeta to shut up anyway!" Bulma laughs. As they walk out, Eighteen sighs again.
It rings a few times, and Eighteen looks at her hands. They're sweating. She takes a deep breath. It's okay...you can handle this... how hard can it be? He's still Seventeen... only more mature... and harder to talk to... and always busy... Ugh, this is going to be so hard!
"Hello?"
Eighteen jumps. "Hey... Seventeen?"
"Oh, Eighteen! Having a good birthday?"
He sounds like he's in a pretty good mood... "Um, yeah. Except something is missing..."
"Really? What would that be? ...Did Krillin not get you a good present-?"
"No. Krillin got me a great present! It's just..." Eighteen finds herself unable to say it. I want to see you...
"He did? What was it?"
"It was a necklace, but... I... I really need to have something specific..."
"You've always wanted something expensive... Do you want a new house?" Seventeen jokes.
"No... well, yes, but not today. Not for our birthday." She tries to hint it to him, but he doesn't seem to notice.
"Huh. Ooh, I know. New clothes?"
"No..."
"What? Give me a hint."
"It... doesn't require any money..."
"Something you want doesn't require money?! What is it?"
"Here, try this. Look down."
"...You...want to be a Monster Island Ranger...?"
"You're getting closer, but not quite." Get your butt over here.
"...I don't know. More time with Marron?"
"...More time with somebody. You're getting there."
"Krillin?"
"Try again."
"...uh...Bulma or ChiChi?"
"Nope."
"Give me another hint."
"Okay... it's a guy..."
"...You're married still, aren't you?"
"...That I am blood-related to..."
"Wait but I'm the only blood relative you have-"
"Exactly! Seventeen, I want to see you!!"
"...Me?"
"Yes, you!" Eighteen yells, hearing the party quiet down after she raised her voice.
"Why didn't you say so? I'll come. I'm off work for a while. Where at?"
"You will?!" Eighteen clears her throat. "I mean... great! It's at Bulma's house. We're outside. Wait. I thought that you try to see your family when you're off."
Eighteen hears the other end go really quiet. "I mean," She backtracks, "You can bring them if you want. I don't mind... and..." She trails off. "Are you...still there?"
"Y-Yeah...It's just...we have a lot to t-talk about..."
Eighteen pauses. Something's off... "Is everything okay?"
"Y-yeah! Everything is good. A-Anyway, I'll be there soon, okay? See you."
Eighteen looks at the phone. He hung up. She sighs as she walks back outside. "Hey everybody!" Everyone looks over at her. "Seventeen is coming soon, okay? I don't want anyone fighting. Is that clear?"
"Yeah! No fighting! Got it!" Goku's cheerful voice speaks first. "We don't want to have anyone dying. Then we'd have to gather the dragon balls!"
"Uh... yeah. Nice way to put it... " Eighteen mumbles. She looks up as she hears a familiar voice. "Eighteen! Sorry I'm late!"
"Seventeen!" She runs over, and before she can even think, she pulls her brother into a tight hug. "Missed me?" He says, surprised.
"I missed you so much! Do you want to go inside and talk for a bit?" Eighteen says the last part quietly.
"Yeah sure."
"Alright. -Hey Everyone?! We'll be inside. Nobody bother us intentionally please, okay?"
Everyone nods and continues the party. "Okay, follow me." Eighteen says.
They walk inside and sit on the couch. "I see you're not wearing your Monster Island uniform." Eighteen starts, seeing that he's wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore before Cell. Even the same orange scarf.
"Yeah. You were right. Wearing the same clothes does get old... and gross." He replies quickly.
"... So what's going on? You're not yourself today... did something happen?"
He stays quiet for a good 5 minutes. "...yeah... I uh... Don't exactly... have a wife or any kids anymore..."
"WHAT?! Oh, I'm so sorry! Seventeen, what happened?!"
"...She said that I'm never around... I was just trying to make money to support our family... She said I don't love the kids, and she took them away. Soon after, they all died in a car accident and the police are questioning me." Eighteen realizes that his eyes are tearing up and she gasps quietly. He's crying...!
"The police blame me for their deaths... " He continues. "I would never do that! I... I loved her... and those kids... they were... they... "
"Were your whole world...?" Eighteen finishes. She couldn't possibly imagine Krillin leaving her and taking Marron. "The world is cruel. You and I know that very well... but this... I don't even know what to say..."
"... My world... Yes... Once they left... only a little bit of my whole world remains..." He looks up at Eighteen. "You, Krillin, and Marron are the ones that I think about all the time now. You guys are family. Not them anymore... "
"Seventeen... " She pulls him into another hug. Hearing her brother's quiet sobbing only made her squeeze him tighter. He doesn't deserve this...
After a good 15 minutes, he pulls away, drying his tears. "... I guess I needed that... I haven't cried about it until now. Thanks, Sis."
Eighteen was still incredibly worried about him. "Listen, I can see why you wouldn't want to go back to that house... maybe I can ask Krillin if you can stay with us for a while. Would that help?"
"... That would be nice... but would he really be okay with that? I mean... I'm not exactly easy to live with."
"I'll go ask him. I'm sure he won't mind. Krillin is a nice guy. C'mon. Let's go out and see."
The twins walk out together, looking for Krillin. Eighteen spots him talking to Yamcha and Puar by the snack table. "There he is. Hey Krillin!"
Krillin looks up. "Oh, hey Honey! Having a good time?"
Eighteen pulls Seventeen along with her. "Yeah. But I have a really important question." She looks at Seventeen, who nods. "Krillin, can Seventeen stay with us for a little while?"
"Huh? I mean, of course! You can tell me why later if you want, but you're always welcome, Brother!" He says to Seventeen.
Eighteen hears her brother gasp. "I... I'm always welcome...?"
"Yeah! Always! .. Mpf-!! " Krillin finds himself trapped in a hug. "Wow! I never knew you were a hugger!"
"Thanks, Krillin...! I promise I won't be a problem!" Seventeen says, feeling his eyes getting hot again.
"Of course!" Krillin says, now curious as to why Seventeen needs to stay over. I wonder if something happened... or if he's just lonely... or...
"You're wondering why, aren't you?" Seventeen asks, letting go of him. "And... Yamcha, right?" He adds, turning to the baseball player. "You can either stay here, I don't mind, or you can leave if it's too awkward."
Yamcha looks up. "Uh.. actually, Puar and I are heading to the punch. Want some?"
Seventeen smiles. "Sure. Thank you."
Yamcha runs off with Puar tailing behind. "Alright. I'll be right back!"
"So Krillin," Seventeen starts, earning the monk's full attention. "It's a bit of a long story, but to sum it all up, I'm no longer married, I no longer have children, and they're all dead and I'm being blamed for it. Kapeesh?"
"Uh... Oh man, I'm so sorry! Stay here as long as you need!" Krillin says, obviously awkward.
Eighteen finally speaks up. "Thanks Krillin." She kisses him on the cheek.
Seventeen smiles. Hm. Must be nice having a spouse like that... He shakes his head. What am I thinking?! I'm not that pathetic am I? Jealous of my sister's marriage and... how she's happy... and she has a kid and... DAMNIT! He shakes his head again, not noticing Krillin and Eighteen's looks of worry. Maybe I'm over thinking... it's not like... Images of his wife appear in his head. No... Then it fades to his three kids. They were...
... They're gone...
Flashback...
Seventeen walks back in the house after an exhausting day at work, only to smell another man in the house. He peeks through the doorway and sees his wife kissing another man. His eyes widen. No... I... This isn't real! It can't be...!She suddenly looks up. "Lapis! It's not what it looks like-!"
"DON'T CALL ME 'LAPIS'! IT'S SEVENTEEN TO YOU!"
"You don't understand Sweetie! He... He's forcing me to...!!"
The man speaks up. "YOU HAVE A HUSBAND?!" He quickly gets up and puts his pants on, looking at Seventeen. "Mister, I'm so sorry. She didn't tell me-"
"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Seventeen yells, earning a scream from his wife. The oldest kid runs in. "What's going on?! DAD?!"
"Sweetie, RUN! Your father's not in his right mind!"
"I'M NOT IN MY RIGHT MIND?! YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH ANOTHER MAN!"
She reaches down and pulls out a gun, aiming at Seventeen. He catches the bullet as soon as she shoots. She starts screaming, "MONSTER! MONSTER!"
Hearing this, the other two kids run in. "Mom? What's wrong?! DAD?!" They both yell in excitement.
The woman he once called "Honey" gets up and grabs the kids. "YOU DON'T EVEN LOVE US! WHY ARE YOU HERE?! COME ON KIDS, WE'RE LEAVING!"
The oldest speaks up. "MOM NO! Dad is only supporting us! He loves us more than anything!"
She growls and shoves all three of them in the car. "NO HE DOESN'T! We are leaving!"
Seventeen follows her. "You can leave, but let the kids decide their own future!"
All three of them reach out to their father. "DAD! WE WANT TO STAY WITH YOU!"
He looks down at them. "I know, Loves, I know." He soothes. "Daddy's right here for you okay?" They're all crying and screaming as their mother mashes on the gas. Seventeen flies after them and lands in front of the car. She doesn't stop and hits him head on. "DADDY!!" The young twins sob.
Seventeen gets up. "I'm okay, Loves! Everything will be okay!"
The former zoologist mashes on the gas again, going around him, but he only repeats the same process.
Nobody sees the other car coming at full speed, and when it hits, it instantly kills all of the passengers. Seventeen tried to stop it, but it was too late.
"NO!" He yells, breaking the car apart even more to get to his children. He gets blood all over his hands and clothes. Pulling the oldest out gently, he checks for a pulse... Nothing. Checking the twins, he finds the same result. "No... No... No... NO!" He sobs, holding all of them close. "It's okay, Daddy's here... Daddy's here, Loves... It's okay... " He looks at their lifeless faces. "Daddy failed to protect you... Daddy's sorry... Daddy's so sorry!"
He remains on the road with his children for hours. My children... They're dead... I can bring them back... but... they could never love me again... their mother... He looks at the driver's seat. "This isn't entirely your fault... it's mine too." He turns back to his children. "I failed all of you... I'm so sorry... "
End Flashback..
Seventeen doesn't even realize that he's on the ground sobbing. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry...!"
Eighteen kneels beside her brother. "Seventeen?! Hey!!" All he does is repeat the same sentence over and over again. The party realizes the commotion and runs over. "Is he alright?!" Goku asks.
"I... I don't know! He just started screaming and he fell on the ground and now this!" Eighteen replies, panicking. "Seventeen, snap out of it!"
Suddenly, they hear Yamcha in the crowd. "Wait! Touching him will only make it worse!"
Everyone looks at him and he continues. "I think he's remembering something that must've happened to him. He's traumatized by it...!"
"Well what do I do?!" Eighteen asks frantically.
Yamcha runs over to Seventeen and kneels down as well. "Seventeen, listen to me. Do you know where you're at...?"
Seventeen looks up slowly. "The road... my kids...!"
"No, you're at Capsule Corps. It's yours and Eighteen's birthday... remember?" Yamcha tries.
A look of recognition creeps onto Seventeen's face. "You... You're right... " He looks around at everyone staring at him with worry. "I... I'm sorry... I... "
Eighteen looks at her brother in the eyes. "What happened...? Seventeen, come on... " She leads him back to the house. "We'll be back."
Everyone looks at Yamcha after they leave. "Wow, good work Yamcha! You knew exactly what to do!" Bulma says, smiling.
"Well... I have a few people on the team with problems like that... so... " Yamcha says, embarrassed.
Eighteen walks back out. "He needs to be alone to compose himself. Yamcha, " She says, looking directly at him. "... Thank you. I had no idea what was wrong with him. If you weren't there, I don't know what I would've done."
Yamcha smiles. "It's cool. I hope he's gonna be alright. Did you find out what was wrong?"
"Yeah, and he said it's okay to tell all of you." She looks around, realizing she has everyone's attention. Even Vegeta is listening. "Well... his wife was cheating on him and he caught her. She tried to make him look like the bad guy but his kids already knew what was going on. She forced them to get in the car and tried to drive off, but they got hit head-on by another car. They all died. He said he was just reliving all of it... "
Everyone gasps. "Poor Seventeen... " Bulma whispers. "I couldn't imagine that... " Goku adds. "Losing your wife and your kids all at the same time... That would be torture." Vegeta says quietly.
"Well We will support him all we can! Right guys?" Krillin says, making everyone nod in agreement.
Suddenly, Seventeen walks back out. "Sorry about that everyone... I... "
"GROUP HUGGGGG!!! " Goten calls out. Everyone crowds around Seventeen and he yells out, "Woah woah! Okay then!"
Eighteen smiles. "We're all here for you... "