Chapter 19
Minako and Rei and their children moved in that night. They were late in getting back so they simply left all their things in the hallway and went to bed.
~~~~~~~~~
Usagi, after putting Chibi Usa to sleep showed them to their rooms. Salina slept with Chibi Usa while the other two boys had a room to themselves.
"You can sleep here Mina," Usagi said opening a room. "And yours is right next to her's Rei." She handed them the keys to the rooms. As she was turning to go Rei spoke up.
"Usagi, thank you again."
Usagi just smiled and nodded, leaving them to their rooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Setsuna was sitting at the table when Usagi came in. Waiting for her was a cup of tea. She shook her head as she sat down.
"You know me to well Setsuna," Usagi said as she took a sip of the hot liquid.
"I've been around you long enough. Plus with my job, I should."
"I am so happy to have her back, Setsuna. You just don't know how I have missed her. Kami, these past weeks have been hell," she said with a sigh.
"I know. But she's back where she belongs and that's what's important."
"That's true," she said taking another sip.
"SO what were you and Trunks talking about when he asked to talk to you privately," Setsuna asked. Usagi blushed slightly. Setsuna looked at her expectantly.
"Well he wants us to go for a vacation," Usagi said
"A vacation?"
Yes. He said that I needed to relax after being so high strung and emotional these few weeks. I must say that I agreed with him. I need some relaxation time. We are bringing the children of course."
"I thought I would never hear you say those words," Setsuna said teasingly.
"What? I do not work 24/7."
"Could have fooled me."
Usagi rolled her eyes and decided not to comment.
"So when and where are you going?"
"Well in a few days actually. We decided that we are going to Spain."
"Hm, sounds like a perfect place for a honeymoon."
Usagi looked at Setsuna incredulously. "I will ignore that." Setsuna didn't comment.
They stayed silent for a long while.
"Usagi, you love Trunks right?"
Usagi was taken aback by this. "Sure I do. What are you getting at?"
"Well you two are going on this trip. You'll be alone with him for 2 weeks. A lot can happen there and you have to be prepared."
Usagi looked at Setsuna slightly confused. Setsuna sighed slightly. "What I mean is that you guys are going to be away from here. Things happen and the topic of sex is going to come up. Now are you ready for that?"
"Setsuna, he's not the type of guy to do something like what Mamoru did. Besides this is a vacation for all of us, not just Trunks and I. The children are coming as well."
"You can't hide behind them. If you are as serious about him as you say then you will have to face that sooner or later. And trust me, you are going to have to be prepared."
"I know that Setsuna, but I…"
"Answer me this, do you want to forget about what Mamoru did to you completely?"
"Yes I do."
"Then you are going to have to face this. You are a young and beautiful woman. You deserve to have someone who loves you completely. And Trunks is willing to give you that. But a relationship is about give and take. If you take his love and affection, be prepared to give some in return. He doesn't seem to be the love 'em then leave 'em type. In fact he seems interested in settling down." Setsuna took her hand. "That's the type of man you need in your life Usagi. You have to begin thinking about your responsibilities back home. You can't stay single forever, and you have a man out there who is willing to be with you for the long haul. Don't blow it, don't push him away. I feel that you will live to regret it if you do." Setsuna let go of her hand and got up, leaving Usagi to think about what she had said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mina and Rei were awoken to the smell of food in the morning. After a quick shower, they headed down to find the Kids already at the table, eating blueberry pancakes. The food smelled heavenly and when they finally realized who the cook was, they were a bit shocked. Usagi was at the stove, cooking another batch of those delicious things. She was in a pair of long black pants and a white sleeveless shirt.
She cooked the pancakes expertly, each one being just right before removal. They sat down at the table themselves, still amazed.
Usagi turned around and smiled at them. "I'm glad to see you two awake. There is more than enough for you two," she said gesturing.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Rei asked.
"Oh, I am taking Setsuna's breakfast to her upstairs. She was up late last night. I think she's still asleep. I'm keeping her company for breakfast." Usagi said turning back to the stove. When she was done, she set aside hers and Setsuna's portions and gave the rest to them. After she left, Minako took a bite of the pancakes.
"Wow, she is a really good cook," she said, digging in. Rei agreed after her first bite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Setsuna woke up to a knock on her door. The door opened and Usagi poked her head in.
"Good morning Setsuna," she said in a pleasant voice.
"I have breakfast for you." She said as she came in. She put the food on the nightstand and sat on the bed.
"What's on your mind Usagi," Setsuna asked.
"I've been thinking about it and I decided that I am going to take your advice. I will open up to him. He's a good man, and has never shown any signs of hurting me."
"Good then. You'll feel better when you do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks was having his own problems at home.
"Heh, So two whole weeks alone in some far off place. Hm, I guess that you will be doing things other than touring the sites. Then again you would have a site to see in the bedroom," Chibi Trunks teased as he watched Trunks working in the lab. Bulma had stepped out briefly, giving him the perfect opportunity to grill into his older self.
Trunks, thoroughly irritated by him, turned sharply towards him. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, little boy?"
"Naw, I love to get on your nerves. You are fun to tease. Besides, who else would I do this to?"
"Leave, now." Trunks said sternly. He was beginning to regret ever telling them about the trip.
"Fine, I'm going. But the others will love to hear about this," he said, walking out of the room.
Trunks was irritated, yes, but he didn't go after the boy. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts. He didn't want Usagi to cancel it for any reason. He was actually looking forward to just being with her for the next two weeks. He wouldn't actually be alone with her but it was away from his overenthusiastic mom and the others who seemed a little too interested in his love life.
He was working on auto-pilot, having done this procedure a million times, all the while in deep thought.
~~~~~~~~~
He was still like that when Bulma came in. She didn't notice it at first, but when she kept asking him questions and getting a mono-syllable response, she had had enough. Besides, she needed to talk to him about a few things.
"Trunks?" she asked.
"Hm?" Bulma rolled her eyes.
"I need to talk to you."
"Sure, he said, putting his what he was working on down. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, the trip you two are taking. I know that this is a good idea, but there are some things we need to discuss."
"Like what?" he asked looking at her curiously.
"Well, your relationship. You two haven't had that much time to really get to know each other. I know that you guys are close and that she's shared all her most intimate details about her life with us, but have you done the same with her?"
Trunks thought about it. "Actually, I haven't told her all about my past."
"Well if you two are serious then you will need to. And another thing, we need to talk about sex."
Trunks rolled his eyes. "I was married before. I do know about that."
"No I'm not talking about the basics; I am talking about you two."
"Mom, I know that I shouldn't force her into it. And this trip isn't about that anyway. It's for stress relief. She needs to get away for a while, to simply relax and take it easy, all the while enjoying herself."
"I know but it will come up. You need to be gentle and understanding. You can't push her into it," when she saw his protest about to begin, she silenced him. "I know you aren't that type of man, but you need to be extra careful. She has gone through a lot, more than a typical woman. I can tell she's a little uncomfortable about intimacy and such, and she should be. You don't want to push her away, not after all this. Besides the wounds of what happened to her are still fresh."
"Mom, I know. I was with her a lot during these past few weeks. She's special to me and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, or drive her away."
"I know. Just remember to be gentle with her. She's fragile, even if she doesn't realize it," Bulma said. They thankfully dropped the subject after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usagi became more at ease with the other inners as time wore on. She would even go as far as to say that it was like old times again. But things were obviously different. They were older and Usagi wasn't in the mood to do anything like they did back then. She had left that part of her life behind her, they all did. Sure they shopped and everything but it wasn't like before.
Rei and Minako both learned a new respect for Usagi. They saw that she was way more responsible than before. But they admitted that they missed the old Usagi. The fun loving one who was the life of the party and had always had a smile for everyone. But now she was more subdued, and while she did smile, it was much less often and she was more serious now. Chibi Usa was more like her mother when she was younger.
They loved the little girl's sunny disposition. Slowly but surely, Usagi was beginning to trust them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preparations were made during the week for the trip in both households. New things were brought, like swimsuits and towels and other things. Regular clothes were also packed into the suitcases. They would leave on Saturday, so everything was packed and ready by the door on Friday night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Saturday, Everyone went to the airport. Rei and Minako and their children, Hotaru, Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru were there to see Usagi off, as were Gohan, Videl, Bulma and the rest, including Vegeta.
"Bye Aunt Usa! You too Chibi Usa and Annie!" Hotaru said to them. Usagi bent down to kiss the little girl. "Bye Hotaru. I'll bring you
something back ok?"
"Hai!" Hotaru said happily. Usagi always brought both her and Chibi Usa lovely presents.
"Your welcome sweetie. I'll see you when I come back ok?"
"Hai! Bai," she said giving her aunt a kiss. Usagi kissed her back.
~~~~~
Haruka was having her own discussion with Trunks.
"Now, if she gets hurt at all during this trip, I will make sure that I hunt you down and kill you." Haruka said sternly to Trunks, Michiru only rolled her eyes and sighed, trying to get Haruka to stop with the threats.
~~~~~
When the final call went out for them to board, they all went to se them off at the gate. They stayed to watch the plane go off.
Michiru turned towards Setsuna. "Do you think that anything will happen?" she asked.
Setsuna was silent for a long time. Just at the point when Michiru was going to give up waiting for an answer, Setsuna responded, "Only time will tell, Michiru."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minako and Rei and their children moved in that night. They were late in getting back so they simply left all their things in the hallway and went to bed.
~~~~~~~~~
Usagi, after putting Chibi Usa to sleep showed them to their rooms. Salina slept with Chibi Usa while the other two boys had a room to themselves.
"You can sleep here Mina," Usagi said opening a room. "And yours is right next to her's Rei." She handed them the keys to the rooms. As she was turning to go Rei spoke up.
"Usagi, thank you again."
Usagi just smiled and nodded, leaving them to their rooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Setsuna was sitting at the table when Usagi came in. Waiting for her was a cup of tea. She shook her head as she sat down.
"You know me to well Setsuna," Usagi said as she took a sip of the hot liquid.
"I've been around you long enough. Plus with my job, I should."
"I am so happy to have her back, Setsuna. You just don't know how I have missed her. Kami, these past weeks have been hell," she said with a sigh.
"I know. But she's back where she belongs and that's what's important."
"That's true," she said taking another sip.
"SO what were you and Trunks talking about when he asked to talk to you privately," Setsuna asked. Usagi blushed slightly. Setsuna looked at her expectantly.
"Well he wants us to go for a vacation," Usagi said
"A vacation?"
Yes. He said that I needed to relax after being so high strung and emotional these few weeks. I must say that I agreed with him. I need some relaxation time. We are bringing the children of course."
"I thought I would never hear you say those words," Setsuna said teasingly.
"What? I do not work 24/7."
"Could have fooled me."
Usagi rolled her eyes and decided not to comment.
"So when and where are you going?"
"Well in a few days actually. We decided that we are going to Spain."
"Hm, sounds like a perfect place for a honeymoon."
Usagi looked at Setsuna incredulously. "I will ignore that." Setsuna didn't comment.
They stayed silent for a long while.
"Usagi, you love Trunks right?"
Usagi was taken aback by this. "Sure I do. What are you getting at?"
"Well you two are going on this trip. You'll be alone with him for 2 weeks. A lot can happen there and you have to be prepared."
Usagi looked at Setsuna slightly confused. Setsuna sighed slightly. "What I mean is that you guys are going to be away from here. Things happen and the topic of sex is going to come up. Now are you ready for that?"
"Setsuna, he's not the type of guy to do something like what Mamoru did. Besides this is a vacation for all of us, not just Trunks and I. The children are coming as well."
"You can't hide behind them. If you are as serious about him as you say then you will have to face that sooner or later. And trust me, you are going to have to be prepared."
"I know that Setsuna, but I…"
"Answer me this, do you want to forget about what Mamoru did to you completely?"
"Yes I do."
"Then you are going to have to face this. You are a young and beautiful woman. You deserve to have someone who loves you completely. And Trunks is willing to give you that. But a relationship is about give and take. If you take his love and affection, be prepared to give some in return. He doesn't seem to be the love 'em then leave 'em type. In fact he seems interested in settling down." Setsuna took her hand. "That's the type of man you need in your life Usagi. You have to begin thinking about your responsibilities back home. You can't stay single forever, and you have a man out there who is willing to be with you for the long haul. Don't blow it, don't push him away. I feel that you will live to regret it if you do." Setsuna let go of her hand and got up, leaving Usagi to think about what she had said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mina and Rei were awoken to the smell of food in the morning. After a quick shower, they headed down to find the Kids already at the table, eating blueberry pancakes. The food smelled heavenly and when they finally realized who the cook was, they were a bit shocked. Usagi was at the stove, cooking another batch of those delicious things. She was in a pair of long black pants and a white sleeveless shirt.
She cooked the pancakes expertly, each one being just right before removal. They sat down at the table themselves, still amazed.
Usagi turned around and smiled at them. "I'm glad to see you two awake. There is more than enough for you two," she said gesturing.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Rei asked.
"Oh, I am taking Setsuna's breakfast to her upstairs. She was up late last night. I think she's still asleep. I'm keeping her company for breakfast." Usagi said turning back to the stove. When she was done, she set aside hers and Setsuna's portions and gave the rest to them. After she left, Minako took a bite of the pancakes.
"Wow, she is a really good cook," she said, digging in. Rei agreed after her first bite.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Setsuna woke up to a knock on her door. The door opened and Usagi poked her head in.
"Good morning Setsuna," she said in a pleasant voice.
"I have breakfast for you." She said as she came in. She put the food on the nightstand and sat on the bed.
"What's on your mind Usagi," Setsuna asked.
"I've been thinking about it and I decided that I am going to take your advice. I will open up to him. He's a good man, and has never shown any signs of hurting me."
"Good then. You'll feel better when you do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trunks was having his own problems at home.
"Heh, So two whole weeks alone in some far off place. Hm, I guess that you will be doing things other than touring the sites. Then again you would have a site to see in the bedroom," Chibi Trunks teased as he watched Trunks working in the lab. Bulma had stepped out briefly, giving him the perfect opportunity to grill into his older self.
Trunks, thoroughly irritated by him, turned sharply towards him. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, little boy?"
"Naw, I love to get on your nerves. You are fun to tease. Besides, who else would I do this to?"
"Leave, now." Trunks said sternly. He was beginning to regret ever telling them about the trip.
"Fine, I'm going. But the others will love to hear about this," he said, walking out of the room.
Trunks was irritated, yes, but he didn't go after the boy. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts. He didn't want Usagi to cancel it for any reason. He was actually looking forward to just being with her for the next two weeks. He wouldn't actually be alone with her but it was away from his overenthusiastic mom and the others who seemed a little too interested in his love life.
He was working on auto-pilot, having done this procedure a million times, all the while in deep thought.
~~~~~~~~~
He was still like that when Bulma came in. She didn't notice it at first, but when she kept asking him questions and getting a mono-syllable response, she had had enough. Besides, she needed to talk to him about a few things.
"Trunks?" she asked.
"Hm?" Bulma rolled her eyes.
"I need to talk to you."
"Sure, he said, putting his what he was working on down. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, the trip you two are taking. I know that this is a good idea, but there are some things we need to discuss."
"Like what?" he asked looking at her curiously.
"Well, your relationship. You two haven't had that much time to really get to know each other. I know that you guys are close and that she's shared all her most intimate details about her life with us, but have you done the same with her?"
Trunks thought about it. "Actually, I haven't told her all about my past."
"Well if you two are serious then you will need to. And another thing, we need to talk about sex."
Trunks rolled his eyes. "I was married before. I do know about that."
"No I'm not talking about the basics; I am talking about you two."
"Mom, I know that I shouldn't force her into it. And this trip isn't about that anyway. It's for stress relief. She needs to get away for a while, to simply relax and take it easy, all the while enjoying herself."
"I know but it will come up. You need to be gentle and understanding. You can't push her into it," when she saw his protest about to begin, she silenced him. "I know you aren't that type of man, but you need to be extra careful. She has gone through a lot, more than a typical woman. I can tell she's a little uncomfortable about intimacy and such, and she should be. You don't want to push her away, not after all this. Besides the wounds of what happened to her are still fresh."
"Mom, I know. I was with her a lot during these past few weeks. She's special to me and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, or drive her away."
"I know. Just remember to be gentle with her. She's fragile, even if she doesn't realize it," Bulma said. They thankfully dropped the subject after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usagi became more at ease with the other inners as time wore on. She would even go as far as to say that it was like old times again. But things were obviously different. They were older and Usagi wasn't in the mood to do anything like they did back then. She had left that part of her life behind her, they all did. Sure they shopped and everything but it wasn't like before.
Rei and Minako both learned a new respect for Usagi. They saw that she was way more responsible than before. But they admitted that they missed the old Usagi. The fun loving one who was the life of the party and had always had a smile for everyone. But now she was more subdued, and while she did smile, it was much less often and she was more serious now. Chibi Usa was more like her mother when she was younger.
They loved the little girl's sunny disposition. Slowly but surely, Usagi was beginning to trust them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preparations were made during the week for the trip in both households. New things were brought, like swimsuits and towels and other things. Regular clothes were also packed into the suitcases. They would leave on Saturday, so everything was packed and ready by the door on Friday night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Saturday, Everyone went to the airport. Rei and Minako and their children, Hotaru, Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru were there to see Usagi off, as were Gohan, Videl, Bulma and the rest, including Vegeta.
"Bye Aunt Usa! You too Chibi Usa and Annie!" Hotaru said to them. Usagi bent down to kiss the little girl. "Bye Hotaru. I'll bring you
something back ok?"
"Hai!" Hotaru said happily. Usagi always brought both her and Chibi Usa lovely presents.
"Your welcome sweetie. I'll see you when I come back ok?"
"Hai! Bai," she said giving her aunt a kiss. Usagi kissed her back.
~~~~~
Haruka was having her own discussion with Trunks.
"Now, if she gets hurt at all during this trip, I will make sure that I hunt you down and kill you." Haruka said sternly to Trunks, Michiru only rolled her eyes and sighed, trying to get Haruka to stop with the threats.
~~~~~
When the final call went out for them to board, they all went to se them off at the gate. They stayed to watch the plane go off.
Michiru turned towards Setsuna. "Do you think that anything will happen?" she asked.
Setsuna was silent for a long time. Just at the point when Michiru was going to give up waiting for an answer, Setsuna responded, "Only time will tell, Michiru."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~