"Damn it!"
"What is it?" Bulma asked from the kitchen. Vegeta was in the living room. It was a week after he had been chosen as best man.
"I stabbed myself with this thing!"
"What thing?" She walked into the living room, and when she saw what her husband was holding she laughed as hard as she ever had in her life. "MY MOTHER'S SEWING KIT?"
"Yes, and the damn needle slipped." He noticed the expression on his wife's face. "What?"
"Do I really want to know why you're sewing?"
"Because I need something to pass the time until I can regain my throne."
"Not to mention your species...Well, I can think of some better things for you to try than sewing. Come with me." She took the sewing kit from him, set it on the floor, and led him toward the front door, where they almost literally ran into Jennifer.
"Hello Mr. Briefs, Mrs. Briefs. Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, we were just headed out. If you're looking for Mirai, he's not here," replied Bulma.
"Oh, I know. As a matter of fact, it was you two I was looking for. Mirai and I have agreed on something..."
***
As he turned the last corner, Mirai whistled in surprise as he saw Jennifer's parents' house. Her own house was rather modest; small, not much more than a "bachelorette pad" really. But her parents' house was...big. Not as big as Capsule Corporation of course. In fact, now that he looked at it again, it wasn't even very big compared to normal houses. It was just that it was bigger than he had expected, after Jennifer's house.
He pulled into their driveway and capsulized his aircar, then walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. As he waited, he began to think about how this had come about. A couple of days ago, he and Jennifer had been out on a date, and they'd decided that they needed to learn more about each other's parents. Which had led to this.
The door was opened by a middle-aged man, beginning to lose his hair and sporting a gray mustache. "May I help you?"
"Mr. Bengoshi?"
"That's right. What can I do for you, young man?"
"I'm Mirai Briefs. Jennifer may have mentioned me?"
"Oh, that's right. She said you'd be coming over. Come on in and take a seat, I'll get my wife."
Stepping through the doorway and into the living room, Mirai sat down in a chair near the corner of the room. He heard Mr. Bengoshi in the next room.
"Honey, Jennifer's boyfriend is here."
Unseen by them, the young man smiled slightly.
***
"That sounds like a fabulous idea!" Bulma said, clapping her hands together as Jennifer finished telling them about what she and Mirai had worked out. "Isn't that a good way to get to know her?" she asked Vegeta.
"Yes, fabulous," he said in a monotone. He was less than thrilled with this announcement; he'd wanted to minimize the number of people who saw him humiliated.
Either not noticing his disapproval or simply ignoring it, Bulma turned back to Jennifer. "You can come with us. We're trying to find him a hobby...something to pass the time. While we look, how about you tell us all about yourself?"
The lawyer shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
"Good. Well, let's go!" Bulma walked out the door. Vegeta shot a nasty look at Jennifer, who merely smiled in return.
***
"Mirai Briefs..." Mr. Bengoshi said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "You fought in the Tenka'ichi Budokai, didn't you?"
"Yes sir. I made it to the quarter-finals, where my father defeated me in a 4-3 judges' decision."
"That's where you met our daughter, right?" asked Mrs. Bengoshi, a slightly overweight woman who seemed very kind.
"Yes ma'am. After I'd lost, she handed me a towel to wipe myself off with, and there just seemed to be some kind of instant connection."
"And you've been dating ever since?"
He shook his head slightly. "Well...yes and no. We've been friends ever since then, for the past seven months or so, but we didn't actually officially become boyfriend and girlfriend until about a month ago."
"And how are things going?" asked the older man.
Mirai sighed pleasurably. "I can say in all honesty that this has been the happiest time of my life. So far everything between the two of us is great, and I sure hope it all stays that way."
***
"So, Jennifer, what law firm do you work for?" Bulma asked. She was driving an aircar down the City of the West's main street. Vegeta sat beside her, and their guest was in the back seat.
"I'm at Yarutemae, Taosukarera and Donnani. They said they might make me a partner in a few years."
"Congratulations. What kind of cases do you handle?"
"Business, mostly. If you guys wanted to sue another company, and had us take the case, they'd probably give it to me. That kind of thing."
"I see," said the scientist, filing the firm's name away. "Well, here we are, Vegeta. We should be able to find something for you to do at this hobby store."
***
Twenty minutes later, Mirai pulled into the Capsule Corporation parking lot, just ahead of his parents and girlfriend.
"Hi Mom. Hi Dad. Hey Jen," he said as they all got out of their cars. Vegeta grunted in his direction as he walked by, Bulma gave him a hug, and Jennifer kissed him on the cheek.
"Uh, Mom, why is Dad carrying some big books of crossword puzzles?"
She chuckled. "You don't want to know, you really don't."
Jennifer spoke up. "Hey Mirai, you wanna come home and have dinner with me?"
"Sure. What's to eat?"
"Leftovers. I got too many and if we don't eat them tonight they'll go bad. As you can see, I spare no expense for my guests."
***
"That was a great dinner," the time-traveller said two hours later. He lifted her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. "My compliments to the chef."
"Why sir, you flatter me." They laughed slightly.
"I wish I could spend more time with you," she continued, "But I got this damn paper I gotta type, and I'll have to bust my ass as it is to finish it by morning."
"Let me type it for you."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, my mother's taught me how to type fast. You can go ahead and get a few extra hours of sleep, and I'll type the paper and have it for you in the morning."
"If you say so." She handed him her source material, notes and rough written drafts, and gave him a basic outline of how long it should be and so-forth.
"Is that everything?" he asked when she was done.
"Yep. Good luck typing, and thanks a million for doing this."
"No thanks are necessary, I don't mind at all."
"Well, you're going to get some anyway." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Good night, Mirai. I love you."
"Love you too." She exited to her bedroom, and he began to type.
***
Most people awaken to the sound of either birds or alarm clocks, or in extreme cases snoring.
This morning Jennifer awoke to the sound of printers. She instantly snapped fully awake and ran into the kitchen.
She said, "Mirai, I forgot to tell you--" and stopped. He was loading some food onto a plate.
"Morning," he said, nodding to her. "I made you breakfast. And I got your paper printing."
"That's what I forgot to tell you. It needs to have some certain footers and things," she said, running her fingers through her red hair.
"I know. I took care of it."
"Huh?"
"Just go check it out," he said, grinning.
She walked into the room with the computer and printer, and checked out the paper that had just finished printing. Sure enough, he'd gotten everything right.
"How did you know?" she asked as she returned to the kitchen.
"I looked through a couple of your recent papers. Hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all," she said, shaking her head. "And thanks for breakfast."
"No problem." After they ate, she took a shower, got dressed, put on her makeup, and got ready to leave.
"Thanks so much for the help," she said.
"I didn't mind at all." He stifled a yawn. "But, um, do you mind if I spend the day here? Without any sleep, I don't really feel up to flying."
"Sure, you can stay. Go take a nap in my bed, it's certainly more comfortable than the couch. Well, I'm gonna run down to the office. Wanna stay the whole day and have dinner again when I get home?"
"OK, I'm up for that."
"Good. I'll see you tonight, my love." She pulled him close and kissed him deeply, then picked up her briefcase full of papers and left. Mirai smiled wistfully after her, then went to lie down in her bed for just a few minutes. Just a few minutes...
***
When Jennifer returned that evening, she could hear some light snoring coming from her bedroom. Walking in, she saw that he was asleep in her bed.
"Mirai, honey, I'm home." No response. She shook him lightly. Still he didn't wake.
Then she got an idea...
***
Mirai awoke to find that his arms were wrapped around someone.
"Hey Trunks," he muttered with his eyes still closed. His "younger brother" occasionally liked to crawl into bed with him. Then he remembered where he was.
And besides...Trunks, last time he checked, didn't have...those...
Hurriedly removing his arms, he opened his eyes and saw Jennifer curled up next to him. When she saw his eyes were open, she grinned. Then she pinned him down and gave him another, even more passionate kiss (he swore that for a moment he could feel her tongue). When she had finished, she chuckled and led him out of bed to the kitchen.
***
After dinner, they watched some TV, then they said their good-byes (as well as shared another kiss). Mirai flew back to Capsule Corp. Bulma and Vegeta were in the living room.
"Well, well, look who's back," said his father. "So, boy...how was she?"
"DAD!"
"Pay no attention to him. Did you have a good time at her house, or did you have a...good time...?"
"MOM!"
He walked to his room, shaking his head.
Parents...
"What is it?" Bulma asked from the kitchen. Vegeta was in the living room. It was a week after he had been chosen as best man.
"I stabbed myself with this thing!"
"What thing?" She walked into the living room, and when she saw what her husband was holding she laughed as hard as she ever had in her life. "MY MOTHER'S SEWING KIT?"
"Yes, and the damn needle slipped." He noticed the expression on his wife's face. "What?"
"Do I really want to know why you're sewing?"
"Because I need something to pass the time until I can regain my throne."
"Not to mention your species...Well, I can think of some better things for you to try than sewing. Come with me." She took the sewing kit from him, set it on the floor, and led him toward the front door, where they almost literally ran into Jennifer.
"Hello Mr. Briefs, Mrs. Briefs. Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, we were just headed out. If you're looking for Mirai, he's not here," replied Bulma.
"Oh, I know. As a matter of fact, it was you two I was looking for. Mirai and I have agreed on something..."
***
As he turned the last corner, Mirai whistled in surprise as he saw Jennifer's parents' house. Her own house was rather modest; small, not much more than a "bachelorette pad" really. But her parents' house was...big. Not as big as Capsule Corporation of course. In fact, now that he looked at it again, it wasn't even very big compared to normal houses. It was just that it was bigger than he had expected, after Jennifer's house.
He pulled into their driveway and capsulized his aircar, then walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. As he waited, he began to think about how this had come about. A couple of days ago, he and Jennifer had been out on a date, and they'd decided that they needed to learn more about each other's parents. Which had led to this.
The door was opened by a middle-aged man, beginning to lose his hair and sporting a gray mustache. "May I help you?"
"Mr. Bengoshi?"
"That's right. What can I do for you, young man?"
"I'm Mirai Briefs. Jennifer may have mentioned me?"
"Oh, that's right. She said you'd be coming over. Come on in and take a seat, I'll get my wife."
Stepping through the doorway and into the living room, Mirai sat down in a chair near the corner of the room. He heard Mr. Bengoshi in the next room.
"Honey, Jennifer's boyfriend is here."
Unseen by them, the young man smiled slightly.
***
"That sounds like a fabulous idea!" Bulma said, clapping her hands together as Jennifer finished telling them about what she and Mirai had worked out. "Isn't that a good way to get to know her?" she asked Vegeta.
"Yes, fabulous," he said in a monotone. He was less than thrilled with this announcement; he'd wanted to minimize the number of people who saw him humiliated.
Either not noticing his disapproval or simply ignoring it, Bulma turned back to Jennifer. "You can come with us. We're trying to find him a hobby...something to pass the time. While we look, how about you tell us all about yourself?"
The lawyer shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
"Good. Well, let's go!" Bulma walked out the door. Vegeta shot a nasty look at Jennifer, who merely smiled in return.
***
"Mirai Briefs..." Mr. Bengoshi said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "You fought in the Tenka'ichi Budokai, didn't you?"
"Yes sir. I made it to the quarter-finals, where my father defeated me in a 4-3 judges' decision."
"That's where you met our daughter, right?" asked Mrs. Bengoshi, a slightly overweight woman who seemed very kind.
"Yes ma'am. After I'd lost, she handed me a towel to wipe myself off with, and there just seemed to be some kind of instant connection."
"And you've been dating ever since?"
He shook his head slightly. "Well...yes and no. We've been friends ever since then, for the past seven months or so, but we didn't actually officially become boyfriend and girlfriend until about a month ago."
"And how are things going?" asked the older man.
Mirai sighed pleasurably. "I can say in all honesty that this has been the happiest time of my life. So far everything between the two of us is great, and I sure hope it all stays that way."
***
"So, Jennifer, what law firm do you work for?" Bulma asked. She was driving an aircar down the City of the West's main street. Vegeta sat beside her, and their guest was in the back seat.
"I'm at Yarutemae, Taosukarera and Donnani. They said they might make me a partner in a few years."
"Congratulations. What kind of cases do you handle?"
"Business, mostly. If you guys wanted to sue another company, and had us take the case, they'd probably give it to me. That kind of thing."
"I see," said the scientist, filing the firm's name away. "Well, here we are, Vegeta. We should be able to find something for you to do at this hobby store."
***
Twenty minutes later, Mirai pulled into the Capsule Corporation parking lot, just ahead of his parents and girlfriend.
"Hi Mom. Hi Dad. Hey Jen," he said as they all got out of their cars. Vegeta grunted in his direction as he walked by, Bulma gave him a hug, and Jennifer kissed him on the cheek.
"Uh, Mom, why is Dad carrying some big books of crossword puzzles?"
She chuckled. "You don't want to know, you really don't."
Jennifer spoke up. "Hey Mirai, you wanna come home and have dinner with me?"
"Sure. What's to eat?"
"Leftovers. I got too many and if we don't eat them tonight they'll go bad. As you can see, I spare no expense for my guests."
***
"That was a great dinner," the time-traveller said two hours later. He lifted her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. "My compliments to the chef."
"Why sir, you flatter me." They laughed slightly.
"I wish I could spend more time with you," she continued, "But I got this damn paper I gotta type, and I'll have to bust my ass as it is to finish it by morning."
"Let me type it for you."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, my mother's taught me how to type fast. You can go ahead and get a few extra hours of sleep, and I'll type the paper and have it for you in the morning."
"If you say so." She handed him her source material, notes and rough written drafts, and gave him a basic outline of how long it should be and so-forth.
"Is that everything?" he asked when she was done.
"Yep. Good luck typing, and thanks a million for doing this."
"No thanks are necessary, I don't mind at all."
"Well, you're going to get some anyway." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Good night, Mirai. I love you."
"Love you too." She exited to her bedroom, and he began to type.
***
Most people awaken to the sound of either birds or alarm clocks, or in extreme cases snoring.
This morning Jennifer awoke to the sound of printers. She instantly snapped fully awake and ran into the kitchen.
She said, "Mirai, I forgot to tell you--" and stopped. He was loading some food onto a plate.
"Morning," he said, nodding to her. "I made you breakfast. And I got your paper printing."
"That's what I forgot to tell you. It needs to have some certain footers and things," she said, running her fingers through her red hair.
"I know. I took care of it."
"Huh?"
"Just go check it out," he said, grinning.
She walked into the room with the computer and printer, and checked out the paper that had just finished printing. Sure enough, he'd gotten everything right.
"How did you know?" she asked as she returned to the kitchen.
"I looked through a couple of your recent papers. Hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all," she said, shaking her head. "And thanks for breakfast."
"No problem." After they ate, she took a shower, got dressed, put on her makeup, and got ready to leave.
"Thanks so much for the help," she said.
"I didn't mind at all." He stifled a yawn. "But, um, do you mind if I spend the day here? Without any sleep, I don't really feel up to flying."
"Sure, you can stay. Go take a nap in my bed, it's certainly more comfortable than the couch. Well, I'm gonna run down to the office. Wanna stay the whole day and have dinner again when I get home?"
"OK, I'm up for that."
"Good. I'll see you tonight, my love." She pulled him close and kissed him deeply, then picked up her briefcase full of papers and left. Mirai smiled wistfully after her, then went to lie down in her bed for just a few minutes. Just a few minutes...
***
When Jennifer returned that evening, she could hear some light snoring coming from her bedroom. Walking in, she saw that he was asleep in her bed.
"Mirai, honey, I'm home." No response. She shook him lightly. Still he didn't wake.
Then she got an idea...
***
Mirai awoke to find that his arms were wrapped around someone.
"Hey Trunks," he muttered with his eyes still closed. His "younger brother" occasionally liked to crawl into bed with him. Then he remembered where he was.
And besides...Trunks, last time he checked, didn't have...those...
Hurriedly removing his arms, he opened his eyes and saw Jennifer curled up next to him. When she saw his eyes were open, she grinned. Then she pinned him down and gave him another, even more passionate kiss (he swore that for a moment he could feel her tongue). When she had finished, she chuckled and led him out of bed to the kitchen.
***
After dinner, they watched some TV, then they said their good-byes (as well as shared another kiss). Mirai flew back to Capsule Corp. Bulma and Vegeta were in the living room.
"Well, well, look who's back," said his father. "So, boy...how was she?"
"DAD!"
"Pay no attention to him. Did you have a good time at her house, or did you have a...good time...?"
"MOM!"
He walked to his room, shaking his head.
Parents...