The final part of my mini-trilogy is titled "Start," which is kind of ironic, don't you think? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the conclusion for this mini-series! Updates after this one will go back to being normal oneshots, unless otherwise stated (but I don't think I wanna do a mini-series again).
UPDATE: Just skip to the next chapter. Thanks.
Theme #42: Start
(The Briefs' house the next day, early-afternoon)
Part 3: Day 3
Krillin was able to spend the night again by simply telling everyone that he didn't feel like leaving. After a long and awful phone conversation with Master Roshi, it was decided that he could stay once more. The master said he understood the struggle with women. But Bulma was kicking him out whenever the press arrived for a conference anyway, so it didn't make too much of a difference that he couldn't stay any longer than one night.
Krillin felt like crap though. And not just any average crap. Dog crap. Dog crap that had been sitting in the neighbor's lawn for ages because they were too disgusted to pick it up, which just caused it to get even grosser. He could tell that he had definitely come down with some sort of cold. Yesterday he hadn't been feeling great, but he was able to suck it up. Today he was absolutely miserable, and he blamed it on that rainy night with Android 18.
Just a little after 1 pm and after Bulma had spent a long night finishing up the energy storage tank for 18, the part was finally installed. Krillin waited in the living room for 18 to come out, and he could see how she was. An exhausted Bulma and an unhappy Android 18 walked out of the lab together.
"So the good news is that the new part is correctly installed and everything seems to be in check as far as energy supply goes," Bulma said, rubbing her tired eyes.
"What's the bad news?" Krillin asked, eyeballing the sickly looking android.
Android 18 sniffled. "It didn't make me feel any better. I feel like I might actually be sick."
"Because you are sick," the scientist said. "And it seems like Krillin is too. You guys just have a common cold, so it's not like you'll die or anything! But seriously, what did you guys do? Sit out in the rain together the other night?" She laughed as if she had made some sort of funny joke.
18 and Krillin shared a glance, then the android rubbed her red, stuffy nose. "This isn't fair! Androids don't get sick!"
The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes. "You're right. Androids don't, but humans do. And since you are still partially human, it was still possible for you to catch a cold. My guess is that the broken energy storage tank weakened your immune system or something."
Krillin grinned as best as he could even though he felt awful and rubbed the spot where his nose should've been. "Well, 18, looks like we can be sick and miserable together!"
She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be able to get sick. When I wasn't feeling good yesterday, I just assumed it was because of my storage tank, but apparently I had a cold."
Bulma suddenly looked down at her watch and gasped. "Shoot! I forgot all about that press conference! They'll be coming here in just a few minutes! It was nice to have you guys over, but you need to leave. And I need to go get cleaned up!" She ran her hands through her hair as she ran over to the stairs. "Bye! You really do need to leave now!"
Neither of them made a move. They just shared a strange glance. Bulma was very impatient. "I mean now! Seriously! Or I'll have Vegeta chase you out!"
They shared another glance, and the two realized that they did not want that man chasing them. Vegeta had actually chased Krillin during the last date Bulma set up for him, and that was enough for him to never want to repeat the experience. Quickly gathering their belongings, they both walked out of the house together and stood in the driveway, trying to figure out what to do next. Both of them were sick and gross after all.
"I guess I'll be flying back out to Kame house," Krillin told eher. "The best thing to do for a cold is to just take it easy and relax, so I'll be doing just that. What about you 18? Where are you going now?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. Somewhere where I can feel better, but I don't have any place in particular. I-" She furrowed her brows and stopped talking for some reason.
"What's wrong?" he asked with worry.
She blinked twice then looked around. "Never mind. I just don't like being 'sick,' okay?"
Krillin started flying into the air and 18 followed his lead. "Okay. If you say so. I guess...this is goodbye."
"Yeah," she agreed, looking at the earth below them. "I guess so."
The android began to get overcome with strange feelings and emotions. She didn't want to leave Krillin. She didn't want to face the world sick and alone. She knew that they would eventually have to part ways again, but now was not the time.
Before Krillin flew away, 18 was able to stop him. "Wait! Can I- Do you think-" She felt kind of embarrassed about asking this. "Would it be okay if I came with you? To Kame house? Just until I return to full health of course, but I need somewhere to stay."
He was overjoyed to hear her ask this. "Of course! I'm sure the old turtle hermit won't mind! You're always welcome to stay with us anytime you need a place though."
She smiled gratefully and followed his lead. It is good to fly again, she thought. She had missed the sensation of wind rushing through her hair and being able to look down at the world. The boost that came with flying was almost enough to make her feel better. Almost. And staying with Krillin seemed to help too for some reason.
When they arrived at Kame house, Master Roshi was surprised to find that 18 had come back with Krillin. They explained the situation. They were both sick and since 18 didn't have any place better to go, she would be resting here for a bit. The master, of course, was perfectly happy with having a female in the house again.
As they were figuring out sleeping arrangements for later, the phone began to ring. "I've got it!" Roshi shouted as he rushed over to the telephone. "Hello? Yeah, he's here." He held the phone out then shouted, "Krillin! It's for you!"
Then short man ran up to the phone. "Hello?"
"Krillin!" the voice cheered from the other end.
"Gohan? Is that you?"
"Yep! Are you okay? You sound kinda funny..."
He sighed. "I'm just a little sick. Nothing serious, it's just a cold. What's up?"
"Mom needs me out of the house," he said slowly. "It's been a while since I did any training, so when I tried to train again she got really upset with me. She said that she didn't need me bouncing around breaking things with the new baby in the house."
"That's right! I forgot about the little guy! How's your mom doing with the baby since Goku's whole...you know..."
"Fine, I guess. Grandpa's been staying with us to help out. I really want to come over and train with you!"
Krillin laughed. "I'm sorry, kid, but right now I'm in no condition to do anything that vigorous. Especially since you're a Super Saiyan now! But I'll tell you what. How about you come on over anyway, and just hang out here? It'll keep you out of the house at least."
"Sure thing!" he said excitedly. "I'll be over in just a bit!"
Krillin smiled as he hung up the phone. When he turned around 18 was standing there watching him, and he jumped 10 feet in the air out of surprise. "Oh, hey 18! You snuck up on me! Gohan is going to be coming over soon."
She nodded. "I heard. Will there be enough room for him too?"
Krillin gave a small, breathy laugh. "Oh, he's not spending the night or anything. He's just coming over for a short visit. He's a really good kid."
"Goku's son, right?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yep. He's the one who defeated Cell once and for all! If it weren't for him, you wouldn't even be here."
"I know. The boy could defeat him, and I couldn't." Perhaps she was still a tad bitter about that... She looked over at Master Roshi, who was watching something on the television now. "What's he doing?"
Roshi looked over at the lady. "It's called exercising! You can join me if you'd like! Heheh!"
She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brows. "That is not exercising. Even if I wasn't sick, there is no way I would ever want to 'exercise' with you."
Krillin rolled his eyes at his old master. "Just ignore him. Do you wanna get some fresh air with me? Sometimes that helps when you're sick."
18 shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do."
The two left the old man to his "exercising" inside and enjoyed the beautiful day that was out. They pulled up some chairs to sit in and listened to the waves crash in the background. It was peaceful and happy.
"I'm glad it's sunny out," she told him. She leaned back a little further in her chair. "I don't think I like the rain anymore. Not if it makes you sick..."
He laughed a little. "It's not that it always makes you sick, you were just sitting in it for a couple of hours."
She squinted her eyes as the sun was getting in them. "You got sick, and you weren't out for that long."
"Because I slept in my wet clothes. That probably wasn't very smart..." He shrugged it off and enjoyed the nice atmosphere.
Android 18 stood up out of her chair. "I'm gonna go back inside real quick. The sun's in my eyes, so I think I'll go grab my sunglasses out of my suitcase real quick."
She walked back inside as a different figure drew nearer and nearer in the distant sky. That figure rushed toward the ground quickly, and reveled themselves to be Gohan. His hair was a golden-yellow though, which meant that he was a Super Saiyan at the moment. He waved to Krillin as he landed.
"Super Saiyan?" Krillin asked with a smile. "You like it, don't you?"
The kid gave a small smile in return. "It's pretty neat, huh?" He powered down. "I mainly only did it so I could get here quickly."
The bald friend nodded. "You've also grown since the last time I've seen you! The next thing I know, you're gonna become a giant overnight!"
He laughed and shrugged. "I guess having a good diet, staying active, and using my brain helps a lot."
"Maybe that's where I went wrong," he said. "The brain part."
The two were able to laugh together happily until Android 18 stepped out of the house with her sunglasses on top of her head and a magazine in one hand. Gohan became serious. "Krillin, Android 18 is right behind you! We don't know what she wants, so be on guard!" He took a fighting stance and turned to face the woman. "Why are you here? My father is dead, so what do you want now? Is your brother with you?"
She rolled her eyes then pushed her sunglasses down to cover her them. She had also changed from what she was wearing earlier. Now she was wearing shorts and a simple t-shirt. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not here to hurt anybody."
"Then what do you want?" he asked as he held his stance.
She plopped down in her chair and flipped open the magazine. "Relax. Maybe I'm just here on vacation, okay?"
He dropped his stance out of confusion. "Krillin...she's sitting next to you! Aren't you worried? She sounds different than I remember her to be too! Maybe someone programmed her differently and she's come back for us!"
"I guess after seeing all the horrible things you've seen at such a young age, you're just used to expecting the worst," Krillin commented. "18 isn't here to 'come back for us' though. She's here because she's sick like me and needed a place to stay. That's also why she sounds funny."
Gohan blinked twice and relaxed a little more, but he was still somewhat tense. "Can an android get sick? Are you sure this isn't some sort of set up?"
18 sneezed then sniffled as if on cue. "I am sick. This isn't a set up. I'm partially human, okay?" She sneezed again.
The pre-teen raised a brow. "Doesn't that technically make you a cyborg...?"
She groaned and flipped a page of her magainze. "Yes. It does. It's difficult to explain."
Krillin put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "She's had a pretty complicated life, but I can guarantee you that she's not going to kill us. Like I said earlier, she needed a place to stay because she was sick, and I agreed that she could stay here." He looked over at the beautiful woman and gave her a smile.
Gohan glanced over at 18 then to Krillin then back at 18 and over to Krillin again. "Are- Are you guys dating?"
Android 18 shot straight up from where she was relaxing and tilted her sunglasses the same time Krillin violently shook his head and turned bright red. They shared a glance, then 18 spoke up first. "What gave you that idea?"
He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the two of them. "I mean, for starters, the way you shared that glance a second ago was oddly suspicious. Now your staying here with Krillin. You guys seem very comfortable in each other's company. I remember that he had a crush on you too! And then there's the fact that-"
"That's enough, Gohan," his friend cut him off through gritted teeth. His face gradually went back to its natural color.
A breeze blew Gohan's bangs in his eyes, but he pushed them back with a hand. "So do you still like her then?"
18 just smirked and returned to her reading as Krillin stood up and shooed the kid down closer to the shore with him. They walked along side of the water. "Gohan, what experience do you have with girls?"
"I mean, there's my mom, Bulma, Bulma's mom, Androi-"
"Girls your age, I mean."
"I don't understand what this has to do with-"
"Just answer the question. What experience do you have with girls your age?"
"Not much, I guess. I've only talked to a few whenever I've gone in town to help my mom out with the groceries. But I've read about them in books!"
"I don't think books count. You probably don't understand why this is embarrassing for me, do you?"
"No. Not really. Are you trying to date her? Is that it? I can give you some advice from books!"
The sigh that Krillin let out was covered up by the sounds of the sea crashing against the shore. "It's pretty complicated now, and I don't think some books are gonna be very helpful. I think she might actually be warming up to me, but I can't ask her outright to go on a date with me or to be my girlfriend or any of that."
"Why not?" Gohan didn't understand why he didn't at least try.
The wet sand felt good on Krillin's feet as he walked through it. "Are you kidding me? This is Android 18 we're talking about! She is so beautiful, but she's so intimidating at the same time! It was hard enough to even talk to her at first, so I'm surprised we've even come this far. She might even be somewhat into me, but I need to be sure to not screw anything up!"
Gohan kicked some of the sand into the sea. "I still don't see why you don't just ask her on a date or something simple like that. What's the worst that could happen?"
"She could definitely kill me. See, you don't really understand the situation. It's not that simple. You're too young." He crossed his arms over his chest.
The boy kicked some more sand. "I'm old enough! I do too understand!"
"Really? How?" he asked disbelievingly.
"I told you that I've read books! I know stuff!"
"Well, Chi-Chi's schooling is definitely doing you a lot of good now, so that you can give me advice on my love life from the books that you've read." He scoffed after his own sarcastic comment.
"Well, I was just offering my opinion. I'm just saying that-"
Krillin shrugged it off. "Forget about it. I'm done talking about 18. I think I'm just done talking in general for a bit. My throat hurts. I'm gonna go inside and get some hot tea to help it. Do you want some too?"
He agreed and they went inside. 18 stayed outside to soak in the sunlight though. Gohan and Krillin sat around the table and drank their tea together with the sound of Master Roshi's "exercise" tapes playing in the background. They talked casually about how Gohan's life was now, and how the family in general was, especially with the arrival of Goten without Goku.
They continued talking some more, and Krillin ended up explaining the entire story of how 18 ended up at his house. He even talked about the time they spent on the balcony together and why they were sick. He talked about after the movies when 18 kissed his cheek again, which had just been ignored by both of them. He could talk all day about the things that have happened, and he nearly did, but it was eventually time for Gohan to go home.
"Thanks for listening to me. And thanks for giving me hope about my relationship with Android 18," Krillin commented as he walked Gohan outside.
With a shrug he just said, "Sure." Then he turned around. "Well, I guess I'll be going now, but Krillin?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you to do something for me, okay?"
"Okay, sure."
"I'll admit that I don't have any experience with romance except for what I've read and seen in movies, but I think you should trust me on this one. Just ask Android 18 out on a date." They were a ways away from the android, so she couldn't hear this.
Krillin furrowed his brows as Gohan flew into the air. "I've already told you-"
"If this is anything like those books or some cliche chick flick, then I think you're right about her being interested in you," he explained.
"Chick flicks? Why are you watching those?" he asked in return. "Have you been spending time with Vegeta?"
The boy was confused. "Vege- What? No! Look, I just want you to try! You're not going to get anywhere by just sitting around all day complaining about your love life. I'm only 12, but I that's old enough to see that all you need to do is take the initiative to try and ask her out. Well, I need to get back soon, or else my mom will have my rear! See ya!"
Krillin stood alone for a while. Gohan sounded like Bulma, telling him to do something with his life. It'd been nice to catch up with him, but now it was time to face that love life again. Part of him wanted to take the advice that he was given and to just ask her out on a date, but the other part of him lived in reality. He kicked some of the sand before walking back inside the house.
Roshi was sitting by the window, drinking something. "I couldn't help but overhear."
"Oh Dende... Not you too!" He couldn't wait to hear what sort of dumb advice the old coot gave him now.
"I think you should listen to the kid."
"Of course." He let out a breathy sigh. "It's not as easy as everyone is making it seem. I'm ready for dinner. What's to eat?"
...
It was night time and dark outside now, and Krillin still wasn't sure what to do with his life. Gohan's advice just kept running over and over through his mind though. He thought he was going insane! Pigs will fly before he could work up the nerve to ask 18 out on an official date!
But pigs can fly! Oolong can always transform into something that can fly! He took a deep breath in and walked outside to where 18 was lying in the starlight with her eyes closed. She looked gorgeous. She'd gone from sunning in the daylight to soaking in the starlight. She seemed so relaxed and at peace, one would have never guessed that she was still miserable and sick.
"Hey," Krillin said, sitting in the chair next to her. "Are you awake?"
She opened her eyes and faced him. "I'm awake. I was just enjoying the outdoors."
He wasn't sure what to say now. It fely just like all those awkward conversations he'd had with her on the couch days earlier. "I noticed that you didn't really talk to Gohan."
She shrugged. "He's just a kid. Besides, I didn't want to get in the way of you too talking about me."
"Did you hear us?!"
"No. I just figured. How much did you guys talk about me anyway?"
The night air was suddenly a little chilly. Krillin shivered as he looked down awkwardly. "A...percentage of the time."
"What percentage?" She looked at him innocently. "I'm just curious."
"You know, I'm really bad at math. I'm kinda cold. Are you cold? It's chilly. Do you want me to get you a blanket?"
18 could tell that she was making him nervous and actually found it kind of cute. Kind of what...? "Um, yeah. A blanket would be nice."
Krillin quickly ran inside and grabbed a blanket from one of the closets then ran back out to deliver it to the blonde woman. She wrapped herself snugly in its warmth and smiled. He shivered again, reminding himself that he too was cold.
"Didn't you say that you were cold too?" she asked, noticing him shiver without a blanket of his own.
He try to play it cool. How punny. "Yeah, but real men don't need blankets or anything. We just get to tough it out and act strong."
She nodded and adjusted her blanket. "What kinds of things did you and Gohan talk about when you were discussing me anyway?"
"Are you really that curious?"
"I am!" And that was the truth. She wanted to know what he'd said about her. It wasn't quite clear to her why she wanted to know what he thought about her, but she did. She actually liked knowing that he had discussed her with Gohan. She liked that strange sensation that she got when he got all shy and embarrassed about his feelings toward her. It also made her question her own feelings toward him. At this point she recognized that something was definitely there, but she couldn't figure out how to describe it...
He tried to make it seem as casual of a conversation as possible. "Well, if you really wanna know, Gohan was trying to give me advice about...you. But the kid's 12! He doesn't know anything."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What kind of advice? What did he say?"
"Just some...ridiculous things..."
"Like?"
"Well, he told me to ask you on a date. It's almost kind of funny, isn't it?"
She rubbed her stuffy, itchy nose. "I don't know. I don't really think so."
He was taken by surprise by her initial response. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, maybe you should try it."
Krillin was dumbstruck. She was totally giving him a chance! And now that he could finally try to start something between them, he didn't know what to even say. "Uh, but what about the time we spent together yesterday. That was practically a date, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't official because when I asked if it was, you denied it. I'm beginning to think that you don't even want to go on a date with me anymore."
Like the grains of sand, she was slipping through his fingers. He couldn't screw it up this time. "Okay. 18, would you like to go on a date with me?"
A small smile fell upon her lips. "Sure."
"See?!" he exclaimed. "I knew that you'd turn me down! I knew this would happen! I knew it! For a second there, I thought you were leading me on, but I was a fool for being so naive! Gohan was wrong too!"
18 furrowed her brows in confusion. "I- I said sure..."
"You said wha-" He couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Sure. As in...yes."
He didn't really expect her to actually agree. He didn't even know what to do! "Um, well, um. I didn't think you would actually... I don't actually have anything in mind. I wasn't planning on asking you out, so now I'm kind of at a loss for what to do. And neither of us are feeling super great either so..."
She sat up a little taller. "How about a walk?"
"A- A walk? You want to go on a walk?"
"No, I want to go to Jupiter." She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Just by the shore over there. Come on."
18 stood up and so did Krillin. He followed her down to the seashore where they began to walk the perimeter of the island. It was still kind of chilly out, so she kept the blanket draped over her shoulders. Krillin now felt kind of silly for "being a man" and shivered in the wind.
Android 18 hugged the blanket closer to her body and wrinkled her itchy nose. "I've surprisingly enjoyed spending these past couple of days with you, Krillin. I've enjoyed them a lot."
He wasn't sure how to really act and felt kind of awkward knowing that this was now an official date. "I've enjoyed them too." He cleared the gunk out of his throat. "Even though we both managed to get sick."
She shrugged and the blanket started to droop down on one side. She adjusted it and continued walking. "I'll admit that having a cold hasn't been fun, but it allowed us to spend more time together, right?"
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Are you-" He didn't know how to word this. "Are you interested in me? Earlier I could have sworn that you hated me, but now..."
"I got to know you a little better, I guess," she answered. "The more I learned about you, the more I..." She let the wind carry the words away because she really didn't know where she was going with that. She felt a little out of character for even doing this.
"You didn't exactly answer my question," Krillin pointed out. "Let me reword it. How do you...feel about me?"
"Feel about you?"
"Yeah, you know, emotions and stuff. Bulma said that yours are a little screwy, or something along those lines, but I know you still feel things. So how do you feel about me?"
"It depends. How do you feel about me?"
His heart thudded in his chest. "You- You know how I feel. It's pretty obvious..."
The blanket wasn't the only thing keeping her warm and fuzzy. She wanted to hear Krillin speak. When he said those sweet things about her before, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside. "I want to hear you say it."
"It's hard to put in words," he admitted. "I remember from the very first moment I saw you, I was absolutely terrified of you. I still am too." She laughed softly, and he continued. "I first saw you in Dr. Gero's lab when you were with your brother. At first I thought, 'There's no way that those are the androids!' But you guys were. You looked so human, so beautiful, and I felt a little silly. I just ignored it and was determined to figure out how to beat you guys.
"Then there was that one day. You approached me and...you kissed my cheek. That was it. That was all you did. But it was from then on I knew that I wasn't going to be able to hurt you. Of course, Bulma then wanted me to be the one to shut you down and destroy you...but you saw how that ended up going. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I- I was so convinced... I still guess I am..."
18 noticed him getting a little distant. She was enjoying his story and wished for him to keep going. "What? What are you convinced of?"
"I love you." Mic drop. Silence. Silence. Cricket. Cricket. Now he had done it. He had screwed it up for sure. Those are exactly the three words that you should not tell someone on a first date! Especially when that someone is a deadly android! There was no recovering now.
"Okay," was all that she said in response.
"Okay," he said after she did. He messed up pretty badly, but he may as well go for broke and try some more. At this point, he had nothing to lose. "So I said it. Now it's your turn. How do you feel about me?"
Neither of them were walking anymore. 18 had been trying to dodge the question. She had hoped he would have forgotten about it once he started talking. She tried to find words for her feelings, but none came. She still didn't know how to even identify what those feelings were. Then she recalled the romantic bit in the movie they saw together yesterday. All she had ever done up to this point was kissing his cheek. Maybe now-
She quickly faced him and pressed her lips on to his. She didn't know that she was going to be kissing him tonight before now, but she did anyway. It was a strange sensation. She had never felt anything quite like it. It caused her heart to race and her skin to tingle. This. This was how she felt about Krillin. After dodging it for so long now, she knew it was true.
It was a fairly short kiss, so they both quickly pulled away, embarassed by what had just taken place. Krillin touched his lips in confusion, wondering if that really had just happened. "You know, it's a good thing that we're both sick."
18 needed to sit down, so she did. She stayed all bundled up in her blanket as she did so too. Suddenly she sneezed but smiled up to him afterward. "I'm just glad I didn't have to sneeze during that." That. She couldn't even refer to it as a kiss.
He laughed and sat down next to her. "It could've been worse. You could be Launch and have sneezed."
"I could've been who?" she asked slowly.
"She's just a person who used to be here a lot, but it was mainly just an old reference to throw into our dialogue for fun." He shivered in the chilly air again. "Okay. I admit it. I should've grabbed a blanket for myself."
18 unwrapped herself from the blanket she had been bundled in. Then she threw half of it over Krillin and half of it over herself. "There. We can share. It's a big blanket..."
"It is," he agreed, letting their shoulders barely touch. He looked out into the water and felt a dreamy smile fill his face. Should've asked Gohan for his advice sooner. "I think this might be the start of something wonderful, 18."
She let some sand fall through one of her hands, not knowing how to respond. "It does seem that way."
"Random question: Do you think I should grow my hair out?"
The mini-series is now over, HALLELUJAH! I'm sorry that it isn't my best writing. The kiss at the end seems a bit out of place, doesn't it? As well as Gohan's random appearance. Whatever. It's all over now! Thanks for reading!
-TOW
P.S. I feel like this Gohan is based somewhat off of Team Four Star's Gohan. Lol. Does anyone else watch their stuff?! I am obsessed!
P.P.S. Have you guys been catching the running gag about the chick flicks? What about the mini-running gag about Krillin's last date (once per chapter in this trilogy thing, someone mentions his last date and how awful it was because of Vegeta lol)? Little things, but I find them fun to throw in there!