There were loud knocks on the door followed by the sound of it opening. "Hey, are you awake yet? It's six fif- eh?" a voice called out, shocking Val out of her deep slumber.
She opened her eyes so fast, but not fast enough to comprehend the sight of Bulma holding a tray laden with food, stopped in the half open doorway, staring at her. She tried to jump up, but the grip on her wrist tightened. She kipped around it, getting free and sitting herself up. She yanked the blanket over her exposed chest. She heard grunting and movement behind her. She felt her shoulders slouch nervously. She glanced behind her at Piccolo and then back over at Bulma, whose eyebrows were raised.
Bulma hummed, "Well..." She carried the tray and sat it down on the desk, shoving her battle armor out of the way. "I'm going to go get Trunks. I'll be back in ten to fifteen minutes. Plenty of time for you to get yourselves decent." She left the room after that, looking quite amused.
Val turned around, shifting to face Piccolo. "I guess I'll see you in a few hours?" she asked, bending towards him to kiss swiftly.
She got up and went to get dressed. She could hear him moving and getting dressed as well. "Why did she come to your room so early?"
"She's going to help me get ready for the fight. Braid my hair Aviarian style, so it is out of my face today," she answered.
"So early?" he repeated.
"She's an early riser. Being a mother and all," Val explained. She stared down at the food on the plate. It contained more than she would usually eat for breakfast, but she did feel kind of hungry under all the nerves and surprise from this morning. She started to eat at it while they talked.
He grunted at that. "Today, close your feelings off," he advised. She looked back at him, seeing him dressed, but settled back down on her bed. He was not leaving. He clicked his fingers, his cape and head gear suddenly back on. She found herself a bit envious at that piece of magic.
"What? Why?" she asked, not voicing the third question she had.
"Close yourself away from the emotional connection between the two of us. Don't let that or other emotions cloud your judgement today," he explained, somewhat still vague.
"Of course, I'll see you there," she said again.
He did not move from his settled spot on the bed. "Why are you dressed like Vegeta?" he asked, looking her over.
"It's battle armor. It's practical for today. Bulma and I made some sets at his suggestion. Earth managed to have strong enough and flexible enough material for us," she explained. She moved around to show it off. "It's based off the Litts' design, but Saiyans did often use it because of how it practical it is. Them and other battle ready races."
He studied her in it, with her partly liking the look he was giving her. "Would you prefer something else? Something Namekian?" she asked, throwing in some flirtation. "I still have the set from the Lookout buried in my closet somewhere.
He raised an eyebrow up at her, a smug smirk on his face. He suddenly shifted his gaze away from her and to the door.
"Okay, there we go," Bulma said, coming back in the room. This time she had Trunks in her arms. "Well, you're in a better state than you were before," Bulma said to her. "Oh, you're still here?" she commented over at Piccolo. "In that case," she preempted before sitting Trunks down in the middle of the bed near him. "You can watch him." Val watched the two of them exchange a quick conspiratorial look, but got no sense off of him. Bulma gestured over to her. "Eat up. You said you wanted to get up early so you could have a big breakfast."
Val pursed her lips, sat down at her desk and started methodically eating more of the meal, not quite tasting it. She was unsure how she would be able to slip away from both of them now to go early. Bulma reached over and picked up her hairbrush. She leaned down and whispered in her ear, asking, "so did you also have a very good night last night?" Val felt herself blush, especially when she heard Bulma loose a small giggle. Bulma started brushing Val's hair as she ate, partly distracted by it. "Two braids at the top that merge into one down your back, right?" Bulma asked as she kept brushing. "Eat, while I work, it's fine," she encouraged. "Your hairs texture," she mused. "It's not quite what I was expecting. A bit coarse, but still quite beautiful."
Val took one more bite and pushed the rest of the food away. "I think I'm full," she answered, not wanting to push herself to eat too much.
Bulma looked down at her tray. She sat the hair brush down near it. "Huh, thought you would be ravenous after last night," she teased as she started at the left of Val's head, beginning the French braid as close as she could to her forehead. "Do you want anything? Water? Hydrangea tea or something?" Bulma asked, looking over at Piccolo.
Val looked at him over in the mirror. He grunted and shook his head. He looked down at Trunks, who was just laying in the middle of the bed, picking at the blanket with infantile interest. Val flicked her gaze over at Bulma in the mirror, the braid seeming to come along nicely.
Yet then Bulma's hand slipped. "Oh, shoot, I guess I will have to start over," she sighed out, tone a bit off. Val saw her throw another look at Piccolo in the mirror, but neither of them said anything.
Val bit back her impatience when the braids got messed up and had to be redone a few more times. It ate into the time she wanted to use to get herself to the Southern Capital area early. She did not say anything though, not wanting to complain about what she could not manage to do herself.
Eventually the two French braids ringing her head from her forehead to the base of her skull met and were combined into one braid down her back. Val looked at the time, not liking how long it had taken, but liking the result. She smiled at that, turning back to look at her, and said, "thank you."
"You're welcome," she said, smoothing one of the braids.
Val felt an unexpected sob rise up in her throat and a desire to hug her. Yet she suppressed, remembering herself of Piccolo's cautioning to check her emotions today.
Bulma looked down at her phone. "So hey, you fly pretty fast, so you still have some time to kill," she commented. "Sure you don't want to finish that meal?" she nodded over to the untouched food.
Val shook her head. "I think I'm okay," she answered, waiting to see how long before both of them left her so she could just go already.
"Well, in that case, why don't you fly in my transport to the Southern Capital with Trunks and me?" Bulma suggested, looking oddly triumphant. "It will take us some time to get there, so you can save your energy and go with us."
Val gaped at her. "What, but, you can't go there. Not with Trunks. It's not safe," she insisted.
Bulma shrugged. "I want to see the androids, same as I did when Frieza came," she explained.
Val shook her head. "It isn't safe," she repeated.
Bulma gripped her on the shoulder and then turned and went over to the bed to pick up Trunks. She spoke while she moved. "Why not? You'll be with us. The whole time. Until it gets time to fight, then we ought to leave of course." Val stared up at her, not sure what to do or say. Bulma turned to look at Piccolo. "You're welcome to join us, too of course," she offered.
He shook his head. "I'll meet the three of you there," he said as he stood up. Val felt her temper silently flare up knowing she was not going to be able to give Bulma the slip now. "Remember to check your emotions today. Don't go anywhere alone, nor stray too far from anyone intentionally," he said, nodding down at her. She could just barely read a hint of triumph and amusement in his tone to match Bulma's.
"Right. Of course," she said through gritted teeth. She watched him leave through the balcony windows, shutting the doors after him.
"Okay, let's go," Bulma cheered. She tapped her on the shoulder before heading out the door with Trunks on one hip.