A/N: Happy new year, everyone!
By the time Kress had awoken from her fitful sleep in the morning, the sun was barely over the horizon and the sky was still a pretty flush of pink and orange and blue. The stars had faded from sight, the moon long gone, and wispy white clouds floated lazily past. She could hear birds chirping, calling to each other merrily in the approaching dawn.
She stared into the skies, chest tight, mind reeling. Her pulse raced with anticipation.
How many worlds had this kind of view? In every outpost, every moon, every planet, many of them had been cold, rocky or dusty, husks of little. Their alien lifeforms went about their lives as they always had, either unaware or uncaring that their little worlds were so devoid of this kind of life. It was always a treat when she came across a planet with more than just dust - there had been some with grass, but they had been humid, unbearably so. Namek came to mind; from what she'd heard, it had a richness and an atmosphere much like Earth's - except for their three suns, it seemed the next best place to go. As long as the locals didn't kick up a fuss, anyway.
Pressing her hand against the window pane, she looked just a little longer before moving away, making her way to the closet. As she opened the door her eyes fell first onto her furs, folded as neatly as they could be on the floor. She reached for them, hesitantly, but then shook her head and went for a tank top. She dressed quickly, pausing to admire her new garments in the mirror before heading for the kitchen.
The hallway was less bright than she was expecting, which was a relief - her head was still throbbing and the thick, bitter scent of coffee from the first floor was making her mouth begin to water.
When she entered the kitchen, she wasn't alone.
"Oh, Kress," Bulma greeted, spooning some more apple mash into Bulla's mouth.
"G'mornin'," she yawned widely, sharp canines peeking out of her mouth as she scratched her stomach. "Nobody else up yet?"
"Well, Mom and Dad are up. I'm sure Vegeta will be up shortly…" She smiled when the baby showed off her teeth in a big grin, patting her hands on the table.
Nodding, the younger of the two poured herself a cup of coffee and made her way back to the table.
"So. I saw that you fixed up a few things yesterday."
"And last night." She confirmed, taking a long, slow sip of the hot liquid. With a satisfied sigh, she added, "It was hard to step away from it. I'd have worked until now if I could, but I figured I needed sleep more."
Bulma huffed a laugh at that. "Tell me about it."
The two sat in relative silence for a little while, Bulla's babbling and Bulma's cooing voice filling the gaps. Once all of the baby food was gone, the year-old's face was dabbed with a napkin and her mother headed for the sink. Bulla watched, fascinated, as the dark-haired woman before her sat down with a bowl comically full of granola and milk, chowing down on the pile of cereal voraciously.
Getting out the pan, Bulma brought out some eggs, bacon, and a huge sack of rice - as well as pulling out a rice cooker that, up until this point, had looked like a big round jar on the counter.
She must have realized she was being stared at, because she chuckled. "Once you're done with that bowl, you can have some eggs and bacon."
Kress almost replied with a thank-you, but realized at the last moment that her mouth was full of granola and milk. Swallowing, she ducked her head in a nod. "Thanks."
"This ought to wake up Trunks," the woman murmured to herself as the meat began to sizzle from the heat.
Honestly, she was surprised the boy was the only one still sleeping. In a family of early risers, it was weird to see even the baby up before the teenager. As she gulped down the last bit of milk from the bowl, she decided to ignore it - and licked her lips before getting up to get a fork from the drawer.
"Happy birthday!"
The cheer went up in the grounds like a beacon, beckoning even more of the couple's friends and family to the festivities.
It was overwhelming. She'd hardly been around so many unfamiliar Earthlings at once like this, save for their trip to the mall. Many of them regarded her with wary politeness when she was introduced, especially the older ones who caught glimpses of her tail. They were afraid of her. She should've expected that, but it still felt like getting zapped with an electric iron.
One of them in particular seemed to take Vegeta's curt behavior, a large green man with gigantic shoulders - er, gigantic shoulder pads.
"This is Piccolo," Gohan introduced to her with a grin. "He's one of my best friends!"
"Hello," she greeted warily, extending a hand. "And… you are… an Earthling…?"
"Yes," he answered, eyeing her hand yet not offering his own. "I'm a Namekian, though I am Earth-born."
"A Namekian…" Intriguing. "I've never seen one of your kind before."
"Really?" Gohan tilted his head.
"I mean, I've heard of you, but… wow, you are so much taller than I was expecting." She craned her neck a bit to look up at him. The flicker of amusement in his face must've been a good sign.
"There's another Namekian here too, but unfortunately he couldn't make it," the half-human explained.
"A shame. I'd have liked to meet another."
"The Guardian of Earth can't leave very much, I'm afraid." Piccolo looked across the crowd until something caught his eye. "If you'll excuse me."
Both of them watched as he swept away, cape billowing gracefully as he made his way through the crowd of chattering people. Gohan smiled when he noticed a woman talking happily with the Namekian, a squirming baby in her arms.
"I should've known he'd go see Pan," he commented with a huff of a laugh.
"Pan?" Kress glanced at the girl before turning back to the young man. "Ah. Your daughter."
"I have no idea how, but he's become really attached to her… it's refreshing to see." Gohan ducked his head with a half-smile. "When we met, I was just a snot-nosed kid… I was a real crybaby. He didn't care much for me, or so I thought; not until Vegeta and his cohort came to Earth, anyway."
She wondered at the sight of the giant man holding such a tiny thing so gently, the barest of smiles on his face. "And… you're close to him."
"He's my best friend, well, save for my wife and Dende."
"And let me guess…" Tearing her eyes away from the heartwarming sight, she raised a brow at the man. "... did he kidnap you too?"
Gohan's face lit up with embarrassment, and he cupped a hand to the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.
Kress sent him a flat look before heaving a sigh. "I'd ask why you, but considering who your father is…"
"It makes sense from that viewpoint," he finished. "Though it hasn't happened for a long time. Not since Piccolo trained me up."
"Too many new faces to kidnap," she snarked, and it earned her a laugh.
"What's this about kidnapping?" A hand thumped down on Gohan's shoulder, and he turned with a grin as Goku appeared.
"Just talking about how unlucky I was that villains actually had brains." He joked.
"You have a horrible track record with getting kidnapped." Kress deadpanned.
"It's not all bad," Goku hummed in thought. "There was that time with Garlic Jr., then that time with my brother, then that time with Piccolo…" Trailing off, he shook his head. "Wow, yeah, we do have a bad track record. Well, that was all before Vegeta came along, right?"
"I'm sure Mom was grateful for that. Er, me not being targeted all the time, not that Vegeta attacked the planet."
"Eh, he's chilled out. She doesn't hate him anymore."
"What brought that on? Trunks?" She sarcastically quipped.
"Actually, yeah." Goku smiled fondly at the memory. "See, she and Bulma are pretty good friends - I mean, you've probably noticed that - but for a while there she was really mad that Trunks had a Saiyan for a parent, let alone that he wasn't gonna know his own dad."
Gohan winced almost invisibly.
"It took her a while to accept that Vegeta wasn't gonna try and kill anyone anymore, but I guess somewhere she accepted that he's changed for the better. And… I guess she's accepted that this is normal now." Scratching the back of his neck, he laughed, "I'm sure Goten was a big part of that, though. I mean, those two are joined at the hip!"
"They really are…" Speaking of them, she noticed them standing together with plates heaping with food, Chi-Chi apparently in the middle of scolding her youngest for taking so much and leaving him with a few napkins. The sight of the man before her looking at his sons with so much softness and adoration made something churn in her gut, something deep and confusing.
"Oh, hey, Yamcha's here!" Thankfully Gohan broke the silence, waving to someone off in the distance. "I wonder if he's still got that girlfriend."
Turning, she stared, surprised, at a dark-haired man with long unruly hair held back in a ponytail. "Is… is he a Saiyan too?"
"Nah, he's human," Goku confirmed. "One of my oldest friends, actually!"
"He has the look of one…" With a hum of thought, her eyes narrowed. A rumbling in her stomach interrupted whatever train of thought she might have had, and she looked around for the buffet table. "Man, I'm starving. I'm gonna get some food."
"I'll join you then!" Goku walked with her, clapping Gohan on the shoulder before leaving.
"Mm? Ah, is that…?"
Bulma looked up to where Whis was looking, and she smiled. "I'm glad she's making new friends besides Chi-Chi and me."
"What's that? Another Saiyan?" Beerus opened his eyes, yawning into his paw as Bulla entertained herself with his tail.
"I was so sure there were no more in this universe. How curious." Whis smiled as he took another bite of gelato.
"Luckily she's not another Vegeta." Turning her attention back to her list, she hummed. "Is Tien not coming? I was sure he and Chiaotzu were planning on it…"
"So you mean to tell me this isn't the only universe out there?" Kress demanded, eyes wide. "You met people from other universes?!"
"It was exciting!" Goku admitted, taking another bite of his meat skewer.
"Wow… there could be another me out there somewhere…" huffing a breath, she tried to imagine it. "I wonder if that me is… still on Kypa…"
"Kypa may not exist in other universes," he pointed out.
"But there are Earths, right? So Kypa must be there somewhere. And that means… there must still a Master Gear on it…"
He studied her face for a few seconds, recognizing that expression from somewhere. It was something desperate, something strangely relieved. It reminded him of…
"Goku!"
Both of them looked over to see Chi-Chi making her way towards them, face bright. She was smiling at her husband, and when her eyes fell on the woman beside him she gave her a nod. "How are you enjoying the party so far?"
"I dunno about all these people, but the food is great." She lifted an elote, admiring the way the butter dribbled down the side. "I've never had- what is this?"
"Corn," the princess supplied.
"I've never had corn before." Kress looked at the vegetable in wonder for a second before putting it back on the plate. "And this quality of meat? You can't get that everywhere in the galaxy. And these mashed… what do you call them?"
"Potatoes," Goku added.
"Huh. On Udara Outpost we called these Odun."
"You have potatoes in space?" Chi-Chi watched the Saiyan with interest as she spooned some of them into her mouth, gravy saucing the corner of her lips.
"Sure do! But grasses and shrubs are easier on terrestrial planets." With a hum of thought, she added, "I dunno what you call that dark leafy stuff, but I'm used to that."
"Dark leafy 'stuff'... spinach?"
"Is that what that is?" Eyeing the greens on her plate, she stuffed a forkful in her mouth. "Spenat is what I know."
"I had no idea our food grew on other planets," Goku marveled.
"Well of course! Earth ain't the only place with leaves! Besides, we can't just have meat all the time." Kress barked a laugh. "Though our bodies are able to digest meats better than other species due to our calorie and protein needs, we still need other foods to maintain balance."
The woman looked to her husband, new intrigue in her expression. "That… makes a lot of sense. I always just thought because you grew up in the mountains…"
The Kypan shrugged. "That's what I was taught, anyway. A lot of other species know more about our kind than I ever did. Turns out we're really infamous for intermingling!"
"Inter- what?"
"When we aren't conquering planets we're settling on them." Another big bite of braised pork, and she raised her brows. "Like you did."
"If you really are an... opportunistic race, shall we say, then aren't there more Saiyan hybrids on other planets?" Chi-Chi pondered aloud.
Kress shrugged loosely. "I dunno. I'm kinda surprised you're the first Saiyan I've met since…" she trailed off, expression tightening.
An uncomfortable air settled between them, and Goku stopped chewing long enough to look over where the others were and comment, "Oh, have you met the future Trunks yet?"
"... Future? Huh?"
"He's the reason we're all here now," Goku explained, face brightening as he made his way over to them. "Without him coming back to warn us of future threats, I don't think you would've even made it here."
A huff of surprise left her lips, and she stared in wonder at the blue-tressed young man. He looked so much like his father as a child, but even moreso as an adult - though that hair was all Bulma's. Still…
"Why's it blue?" She asked out loud.
"Timeline changes," Chi-Chi supplied, turning to Future Trunks with a bright smile. "How nice to see you. Are you well?"
"Yes, thank you, ma'am." He bowed politely before turning to the newcomer with a furrowed brow. "And… I've never met you before."
"Name's Kress, I'm a Kypan," she answered, holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you- er, your… future… self? I had no idea time travel was even possible. Well, I didn't even know there were other universes before this week, so…"
Future Trunks laughed, taking her hand and firmly shaking it. "Whoa, you've got a grip. Am I correct to guess that you're a Saiyan, then?"
"Yep, born, not raised." With a toothy grin, Kress tightened her grip on his hand. "You're pretty strong, yourself. Startin' to think I'm the odd one out here."
"You'll get used to it. A lot of things happen around this group." Chi-Chi bumped her husband's side with her elbow gently, and he chuckled, pulling her in.
"So that's another Saiyan, huh?" Future Trunks mentioned to Gohan later, curiously watching as she shoved an entire chicken leg into her mouth while listening to Yamcha talk. His eyes widened a bit when the bone came back clean of meat. Even the warrior stumbled in his conversation, gaping at her for a few moments before she gestured for him to continue.
"Yeah, crazy right?" Gohan chuckled with a shake of his head. "None of us expected them to still be out there, but I suppose it makes sense. Vegeta's always been awfully defensive of their adaptability - there are probably way more out there who are half-Saiyan, like us, who never left their home planets."
The young man hummed in thought, amusement coloring his face when he saw her reach for another skewer of meat and vegetables, offering one. A bit taken aback, Yamcha accepted it. "Well, she has the appetite of one."
"You should've heard Mom when she was there for lunch - she ate ten big bowls of soba in one sitting and was still hungry."
That earned a genuine bark of laughter from the time traveler. "Poor Mrs. Son."
A/N: Bonus points if you can guess the root languages (ha, root) that I got 'Spenat' and 'Odun' from!