Wandering Souls

Chapter Two

by Contrail

Written for the June 2003 DBZAHQ Alternate Pairings Challenge

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z was created by Akira Toriyama. The American translation is done by Funimation. I am not either one of them.


The expected knock on the door of the apartment where Yamcha and Puar lived came at twelve minutes past ten o'clock that Saturday morning. The two inhabitants of the apartment had already gotten dressed (well, Yamcha had) and eaten breakfast. They had been killing time waiting for Launch to show up by watching cartoons on the TV. Yamcha was the one who got up from the couch to open the door.

"Good morning, Yamcha," Launch greeted him with a smile. She was in her blue-haired form and dressed casually in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. "Oh, I see you got your hair cut. I think it looks better this way."

"Yeah, well, it's easier to deal with it like this." Particularly since he wasn't spiking it up with gel anymore. The new cut was pretty short overall with somewhat longer bangs. Moving so he would no longer blocked the doorway, he continued, "Please come in."

Launch came inside the apartment, looking around the somewhat messy living room. Upon spotting Puar sitting on the couch, she made her way over there and picked up Puar in a gentle hug. "It's good to see you again, Puar. How have you been?"

"I've been well, thanks for asking, although I've been somewhat worried about Yamcha lately. I'm glad someone was able to convince Yamcha that he should go out somewhere."

"Speaking of going somewhere," Yamcha added, "what are your plans for today? And, uh, you weren't quite the one I was expecting to show up."

"We switched, I thought my other half had a good idea, so I came over this morning." Launch shrugged. "And I thought the three of us could take a drive out into the country. I brought a picnic basket so we could stop and eat lunch somewhere."

"Sounds nice and relaxing. Er, which one of you fixed...?"

Launch smiled as she figured out what Yamcha was getting at. "Oh, I'm the one that fixed the food for the picnic."

Yamcha breathed a sigh of relief. While in this form Launch was a fairly good cook, but her blonde-haired self could probably burn water. "Okay, so who should drive?"

"Could you drive please? I only have an airbike capsule and I don't really like driving it. I actually took a taxi to get here."

Yamcha always did have trouble resisting a pretty woman pleading with him. "Sure. But," he looked kind of sheepish as he said this, "all I have in the way of transportation at the moment is a jet and a motorcycle. And I don't think the jet's very conducive to what you had in mind. Will you be okay riding with me on the motorcycle, or should we think of something else to do?"

"I should be fine, I think. But are you sure that all of us can fit on it?" Launch asked with a small frown.

"We will, don't worry." Turning to Puar, he continued, "If you're ready to go, I guess we can go ahead and go."

"I'm all set," Puar responded.

Yamcha nodded and led the way out of the apartment and downstairs to the street below. He decapsulated his motorcycle and got on it, then helped settle Launch on the seat behind him. Even with both of them sitting on it, there was still enough room for Puar to perch on the end of the seat, digging her claws into it firmly. The number of claw marks on that part of the seat showed that this wasn't the first time the little cat-mouse had done this.

"Hold on tight and follow my lead, okay?" Yamcha recommended to Launch, looking back at her with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Launch nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist securely. He blushed a little as he felt her chest brush up against his back, but quickly refocused his attention on driving. He started the engine and set off down the street, accelerating quickly and causing Launch to "eeep!" and tighten her grasp on him.

It took them about half an hour to reach the city limits, and by that time Launch had relaxed some, although she still clung to him fairly tightly. As they left the buildings behind them, Yamcha settled into a comfortable pace that was fairly fast but still allowed them to look at the fields and trees they passed by. It felt good to just relax and enjoy the feel of the summer sun on his face and the wind in his hair.

Even now, years after he had left his home in the desert for what was probably the last time, the sheer abundance of water and green growing things in this area of the world fascinated him, so different from where he had grown up. Looking back to see how Launch was doing, Yamcha saw her taking in the scenery first on one side and then on the other, a soft smile on her face.

The sound of the wind rushing past them made it hard to talk, so they rode on in companionable silence as the farms gave way to forests and they began to head up into the foothills of the mountains north of West City. Yamcha pointed it out to his two passengers when a hawk flew out of the trees to their right and soared up into the sky.

It was around one o'clock when Launch spotted the sign that indicated there was a waterfall a couple of miles ahead and suggested that might be a good place to stop for lunch. They pulled off the road at the appropriate turnout and started up the path to the falls. Yamcha found that part of him (probably his hormones) was disappointed that Launch no longer needed to keep a tight hold on him. The path followed a large stream up hill, and was nicely shaded by some large trees on the right. By the time they reached the falls, Launch was a little out of breath.

The path opened out into a good-sized clearing at the foot of the falls. Water rushed down the moss and plant covered mountainside into a small pool that feed the stream that ran beside the path. Patches of sunlight dappled the grass of the clearing and glittered on the water. Small flowers dotted the edge of the pool with a profusion of red, blue, white, and yellow.

Launch decapsulated the picnic basket and proceeded to set out the food on a blue and white checkered cloth she spread on the ground. She had fixed sandwiches, potato salad, and macaroni salad as well as bringing some grapes and sliced cheese. She'd brought a bowl of tuna fish and set aside some of the cheese specifically for Puar, as well. The group dug into the food with enthusiasm, making small talk while they ate. After they all finished they packed the remains of their lunch back into the basket. Puar and Yamcha then followed Launch over to the pool, where she began picking some of the blue and white flowers to make into a wreath.

"Launch?" Yamcha asked after a minute or two. After she shifted her attention to him, he continued, "When we were talking in the bar, you asked about how Krillin was doing because I'd mentioned that he was feeling guilty, but I never mentioned that to you, only your other half. So how did you...?"

"Oh, that." Launch cast her gaze down at the flowers she was holding, looking serious. "We're not completely separate. There's a place in my mind where I can look and see her memories. It's not an automatic thing, I have to concentrate and it takes time. Most of the time it's easier to ask a friend what's going on when I switch. But I'm not totally in the dark about what my other half does."

"Huh. I had no idea that you could do that," Yamcha commented.

Launch seemed a little relieved at his reaction, and nodded in response. "It never really came up before..."

Yamcha waved away her somewhat apologetic explanation. "It's okay, you're hardly the only one who's kept somewhat quiet about their personal matters."

Launch nodded again and returned to working on her floral wreath with a smile. Yamcha leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head, looking up at the trees and the sky beyond. Puar laid down on her back beside him. "This is a beautiful day, isn't it?" she asked.

"It sure is, Puar," Yamcha answered, smiling up at the sky. Laying back like this with Puar beside him brought back memories of cold desert nights spent stargazing with Puar on top of their old hideout, stars blazing brightly against the blackness of the night. The stars had always seemed few and dim when he lived in the city by comparison, drowned out by the light generated by the millions of people who lived there, even at night.

Yamcha had even earlier memories of stargazing as well. He used to sit with his father outside their tent, gazing up at the night sky and learning the names of the constellations. His father had also taught him how to navigate using the stars, so he would always be able to find his way. Later he had passed his father's lessons on to Puar during their evenings of stargazing while they were both still bandits.

He sighed, and Puar asked, "Thinking about your father again?" Launch looked up from her almost finished wreath to listen.

"Yeah. There are time when I really miss him, or wonder what he'd think of how I've turned out..." Yamcha replied in a somewhat melancholy tone.

"Oh, Yamcha... I'm sure he'd be proud of you. Besides," Puar started to grin as she spoke, "you're not supposed to be worrying about anything today. So I'm going to tickle you until you're smiling again." With this, Puar leaped up from where she was laying and pounced on Yamcha, tickling him mercilessly.

Yamcha started laughing and making half-hearted attempts to stop the small creature. "Puar, cut it out!" Launch started chuckling at the two long-time friends' antics, earning an amused glare from Yamcha. "Let's see how *you* like it..." Yamcha lunged at Launch and started tickling her, making her shriek with laughter and drop her wreath in the process. All three of them ended up rolling around on the grass, engaged in an all-out tickling war that left them all lying on the grass breathless at the end.

Yamcha was the first one to get his breath back and stand up, brushing bits of grass off of his clothes. He offered a hand to Launch, who gladly accepted, and helped pull her to her feet. She swayed for a moment before finding her balance, and he reached out with his other hand to steady her. She looked up at him with a smile, and they stood there looking at each other for a long moment before they both looked away and he removed his hold on her.

"Thanks," Launch said in a quiet voice, a hint of pink on her cheeks, and began searching for the wreath she dropped. Miraculously, it was still intact, and she quickly put the last touches on it. She held it up to the light for a moment, admiring the finished product, then set the wreath on top of Yamcha's head.

Yamcha turned his eyes towards the wreath in amusement, then made an I'm-so-sexy pose he knew had to look completely ridiculous. Puar and Launch both burst out laughing. Yamcha dropped the pose and pulled the wreath of flowers off his head, holding it carefully while waiting for their laughter to stop.

"I think this would look better on someone who's beauty matches that of the flowers, though," he said with a gentle smile as he placed the wreath on Launch's head. The blue and white flowers in the wreath complemented her dark blue hair nicely, he saw, and she was blushing again at the compliment. 'She'd really make someone happy one day,' he thought, 'if she could just find someone who'd be able to love and appreciate both sides of her nature.'

"I'm not pretty enough for flowers, Yamcha?" Puar mock-pouted, breaking into his thoughts.

"Of course you are," Yamcha responded fondly, reaching out to scratch Puar behind the ears. "You're the cutest flying shapeshifter I know."

Puar giggled. "I'm the only flying shapeshifter you know, since pigs don't fly."

"That doesn't make you any less cute."

While the two of them were talking, Launch had removed the wreath from her hair and placed it inside the picnic basket for safekeeping. Now she encapsulated the basket and tucked it into a pocket while turning to face the other two. "We should probably start heading back to your apartment, Yamcha. It's starting to get late, and it took us a few hours to get here."

They slowly made their way back down the path to the side of the road. When they got back on his motorcycle, Launch once again wrapped her arms around Yamcha's waist and leaned in close to him, causing some more-than-friendly ideas and desires to start encroaching on his thoughts. Shoving the thoughts away, he wryly noted that Launch probably had no idea what kind of reaction her closeness was causing in him.

The drive back to Yamcha's apartment was enjoyable but for the most part uneventful. About an hour into their drive, Launch's wind-blown hair tickled her nose, causing her to sneeze. Yamcha tensed up after he heard her sneeze. This side of Launch had a habit of getting angry at any perceived attempt to get fresh with her. But she didn't seem to mind their current necessary closeness, to his relief. Glancing back, he saw that she had her eyes closed and was leaning into the wind generated by their passage, enjoying the feel of the air rushing past her face and through her hair.

Opening her eyes, Launch leaned forward and said into his ear, "Ya can go faster than this, can't ya?"

One corner of his mouth turned up as he replied, "Watch me." He quickly accelerated, bringing the motorcycle to a speed that was undoubtedly illegal. Launch grinned and let out a whoop, while Puar just hunkered down on the seat and tightened her grip, long familiar with her friend's love for fast driving. They were forced to slow down when they reached the outskirts of West City, but they still soon found themselves in front of Yamcha's apartment building.

"Well, I had fun today, and I think Puar did, too. Although I guess it's your other half that I should be thanking," Yamcha said, tossing the motorcycle capsule up with one hand and catching it again before pocketing it.

"I'll bet she took ya out on some boring picnic or somethin'," Launch snorted. "Well, if ya think that was fun, just wait 'til *I* take ya out. You ain't seen nothin' yet."

"So this wasn't just a one-time thing?" he asked curiously.

"Nope, I'm stickin' around 'til ya get your head together."

Yamcha ran a hand back and forth across the top of head, looking puzzled. "Um, well, thanks for the support, Launch, but why are you going out of your way to help me out? I consider you a friend, but I didn't think we were that close..."

Launch shrugged in a too-casual manner. "Got nothin' better to do at the moment." She missed the skeptical look he gave because she abruptly started searching for something in her pockets. Pulling out a piece of paper, she handed it to him. "Here, this where I'm staying right now. Feel free to get in touch."

He accepted the slip of paper and watched as she got ready to leave. "I guess I'll see you soon, then."

"Better believe it," she replied with a smile, then waved and took off on her airbike.

Yamcha lead the way up to their apartment, shaking his head along the way. After closing the apartment door behind them, Yamcha flopped down on the couch. "Well, I guess Launch had the right idea after all," he commented to Puar as she laid down on one of the couch pillows and started to gently knead it. "I do feel a bit better after having put what's been bothering me out of my mind for most of the day."

"That's good, Yamcha," Puar said with a smile. After a minute or two, she continued, "...What do you think of Launch?"

Yamcha blinked at her. "Erm, in what way?"

Puar twitched her tail, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well, you spent a lot of time looking at her today... You haven't seemed that interested in anyone since you dated that bimbo right after you broke up with Bulma."

Yamcha groaned a little at the thought of that ill-thought out and ill-fated relationship, then shrugged. "I do think she's physically attractive, in either form. I really enjoyed her blue self's company today, she's a real sweetheart. Her blonde half is more, um, abrasive, but being around her will certainly help keep my life from being boring," he answered with a thoughtful smile. "I don't know if I'd be interested in dating her, though, or if she would even be interested in me that way. Besides, I have more than enough stuff to deal with at the moment without adding a relationship to it."

Puar nodded, smiling to herself. It looked like Yamcha might finally be ready to move on. She knew the real reason Yamcha dated the bimbo was to try to show Bulma that he could be happy without her. It didn't work very well. But now he seemed to be seriously considering the possibility of loving someone else. Hopefully it would be someone who would treat him better than Bulma had!

"You can always wait and see what happens," Puar said aloud. "I'm pretty sure blonde Launch is going to make sure you see plenty of her." She stretched, then floated up into the air. "But I think that's enough thinking on an empty stomach. Why don't we see about dinner?"

"Sure, I'm hungry too." Yamcha followed Puar into the kitchen, embarking on the search for food.


Author's Note

Thanks to Maz, lynxlady, and brachan90 for their reviews.

I probably won't post another chapter of this story until I've posted chapters for the other two stories I'm also writing at the moment. I only neglected them to work on this story so I could get as much of this written as I could before the contest deadline.

As always, I'd love to hear any feedback about this story, either through FF.net's review system or e-mail.