Seventh Chapter!!
Seeing you, Trunks sets the object on the bed and smiles. "I left you some clothes." he says, pointing to the folded heap of cloth. "They're mom's, but I think they'll fit." Nodding, you smile back. "Thanks." With a last nod, Trunks turns away and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. You pick up a few assorted articles from the pile on the bed and begin to look through them. Mostly plain tee shirts and jeans, nothing very interesting catches your eye, but they appear similar to your size. Throwing your towel aside, you extract a black shirt and pair of ripped jeans from the pile and slide them on. You run a brush through your hair one last time before lying back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in deep thought. Hm, you think. Trunks was partly human, and he was able to fly. Does that mean that you could learn to as well? You sigh, imagining how amazing it would feel to go sweeping effortlessly through the sky. Sitting up and pulling the slightly baggy pants back up to your waist, you pull open the door and walk out into the hall, determined to find Trunks and ask him if this was possible. Walking through the sitting room and into the kitchen, you see Bulma bending over the sink, washing a pile of dishes. "Hey Bulma," you greet her, leaning against the counter. "Hi ****." she says, not looking up from her work. "Need anything?" You brush a strand of hair out of your face. "Well, actually I was looking for Trunks." you say, glancing around. "Do you have any idea where he might be?" Bulma finishes with the dishes and turns around to face you. "I think he went out somewhere," she says, looking out of a window. "I saw him flying off a while ago. Not sure where he went, though. Sorry." You shrug. "That's okay." There is a silent moment before you decide to change the subject. "Hey, you look tired. Been working hard?" Eyelids drooping, Bulma nods. "Yeah. I've been doing housework all day. There's still more to do, too." Feeling sympathetic and needing for something to do, you walk over to her. "I can give you some help if you want." you offer, smiling. Bulma's face lights up and she grins back. "Oh, would you? I'd really appreciate it." Nodding, she smiles and begins to walk down the other hallway. "Follow me," she says, turning around and beckoning. Standing up straight and trailing behind her, you stop when she gets to a closed door near the end of the hallway. Turning the knob and pulling it open, she walks into the room. Although it is reasonably large, the space is packed tightly with desks, computers, and stacks of loose paperwork. A few wilting houseplants sit ignored in the corners. Sighing and sitting down at the desk closest, Bulma pulls out a stack of files from a drawer and hands them to you. "I need these sorted by date," she says, placing a pen on top of the stack. "And cross out the titles on the inner sides of the files." Nearly buckling under the weight, you nod and set the stack down on another desk, wondering what kind of mess you had just gotten yourself into.
Muffling a sigh, you sit down and begin to sort through the files. Most of them seem to contain types of blueprints and design tutorials, featuring complicated-looking machinery. Because you have never had any profound interest in this type of thing, the work goes remarkably slowly, only beginning to speed up when Bulma starts up a conversation. "So, ****." she says, looking up from her mound of paperwork. "Would you like to become a permanent guest here?" You look over in a mix of surprise and relief. It was very generous of her to allow you to remain at CC, but part of you had already assumed that you would stay; it already felt so much like home. Nodding happily, you look over at her. "Wow, Bulma, that'd be awesome." you say. She lets outs a small laugh and swivels her chair around. "Oh, don't thank me." she asks, waving her hand. "It was Trunks' idea." You cock an eyebrow. "Trunks?" "Yes. He told me you didn't have anywhere to go and asked if you could stay. Of course I told him you could." Smiling, you turn back to the dreaded stack of papers. "I'll have to remember to thank him, then," you say quietly, reaching for a file farther away from you on the desk. You feel your fingers touch something cool and soft and you pick up the file, looking underneath it. A small, leather-bound photo album lays back side up on the desk, shining dully in the light. Picking up the strange object, your eyes widen when you notice the small photo embedded in the front cover. A young woman with blue hair leans against a tree, the deep azure of the sky behind her nearly matching her eyes. She holds in her arms a small baby with a tuft of lavender hair upon its head. Staring at the picture, you turn back towards Bulma. "Hey Bulma, is this you?" you ask, pointing at the woman in the picture. Turning around and seeing the photo album, she lets out a high giggle. "Yes, that's me," she says, looking slightly embarrassed. Glancing down at the picture again, you gasp quietly when you begin to focus more closely on the infant in her arms. "Is-is this Trunks?" you ask in surprise. Bulma laughs again and begins to walk over to you. "Sure is. Wasn't he cute?" Bending down to look at the album, she opens it and flips to the first page. Your eyes widen as they travel over numerous pictures of Trunks as a baby and small child, bright eyed and happy-looking. Bulma begins to turn the page as your eye catches a particular photo and you stop her, turning back the page. In the background of this picture there is a short, muscular man with black hair leaning against what appears to be a wall. His arms are crossed and he wears a dark-blue body suit with white gloves and boots, an annoyed scowl on his face. Something about his features reminds you slightly of Trunks, and a sudden realization enters your mind. "Is that Vegeta?" you ask, pointing to the man. Bulma nods a bit sadly. "Yes, that's him. How'd you know?" "Trunks told me a little about him." you reply, still staring at the picture. "He looks like his father." Bulma opens her mouth to say something when you hear a voice from behind you.
Swiveling around in your chair, you see Trunks standing in the doorway, eyes wide. "Aw, mom!" he says, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "Don't tell me those are baby pictures!" Unable to restrain yourself, you let out a laugh as Bulma snaps the book closed and walks over to him. "Calm down, sweetie. They're only pictures." she says, smiling. Glancing briefly (Me: Haha, briefly, Brief, get it? *gets hit with vegetables for telling such a bad joke*) towards you before staring back at his mother, Trunks sighs and puts his hands in his pockets. Bulma walks back to you and looks at the stack of files. "Wow, you've done a lot of work, ****." she says happily. "You can stop now, I'll take care of the rest. Thanks for helping." Secretly happy to get out of the cramped office, you smile and stand up. "No problem, Bulma. I'll see you later." Waving, you turn towards the doorway and walk out into the hall, passing still- silent Trunks on the way. Once you reach the sitting room, you sit down in a comfy green chair and wave to Trunks. "Come on," you say, beckoning. "I have to ask you something." Walking into the room and sitting down on the couch, he looks towards you. "What is it?" he asks, appearing a bit relieved that you hadn't brought up the pictures. "Do you have to be a saiyan to fly?" you ask, strongly hoping that being of this race isn't a prerequisite. He shakes his head. "No. My friend Krillin was human, and he could fly." Excited, you lean towards him. "Wow, really? Could you teach me to fly, then?" Trunks nods and gives you a smile. "Sure. It might take awhile for you to learn, though, since you've never done it before. But I think you could do it." Grinning, you stand up. "Awesome! Could we start now?" Trunks glances towards the window, "It's a little late, don't you think?" Looking at the clock as well, you see that it reads 9:15 PM. Laughing at your own eagerness, you nod. "Yeah, I guess it is." you reply, standing up. "I could make you some food if you want." Trunks offers, raising himself and standing in front of you. "I'm not that great of a cook, but I can probably dig something up." Feeling the hunger you had forgotten in your previous excitement return, you nod quickly. "Sounds great." Smiling, Trunks begins to walk down the hallway towards the kitchen. "You can stay there, I'll bring your food when it's done." he calls back. He then turns the corner and disappears from sight, leaving you alone in the living room...........