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zombryz · 3 years

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★ needy ★ a Frieza story

This is based on a request I got from an Anon - “ Do you think you can do a Frieza X Reader where Frieza feels more comfortable about being around the reader so much that he gets a bit clingy towards the reader?“

This will be a multi-part series. Oh how I do love Lord Frieza ♡

TW - mentions of anxiety, kidnapping

“Yo!” You hear a familiar voice from behind you. You spin on your heel to find none other than the tall and hunky saiyan himself, Goku.

“Hi Goku! How are you?” You smiled sweetly at him. He’s been your friend for quite some time now and you’ve gotten used to having him around. His face always lights up when he sees you, as you have a way with people, in this case saiyans. Both him and Vegeta had a soft spot for you and they never really understood why. They eventually just gave in and would do whatever you asked of them, being completely wrapped around your finger.

“I’m great! You ready to do this?” He smirked, making a hmph noise before cracking his knuckles and furrowing his eyebrows downward showing that he meant business. You had invited him over today because you were moving into capsule Corp. He was in charge of moving all your big, heavy furniture. Bulma requested you move in a few months ago but after the whole ‘Beerus almost destroying the world’ thing you decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and finally move in. That way you would always be kept in the loop. You were Bulma’s best friend and you were always babysitting the boys anyways so why not just move in?

“Where do you want this?” Goku questioned holding your whole couch under one arm.

“Um, you can just put it in the loft! Thanks, Goku!” You replied with a kind smile causing his cheeks to turn rosy. You knew that he would do anything for you so you decided to return the favor by always being sweet to him. Everyone around here always called him an idiot and you didn’t feel that he was deserving of that.

He had moved everything into your apartment so quickly without even breaking a sweat. Goku walked back down the stairs dusting off his hands as if it was the easiest task the saiyan has ever had to do. You were so thankful to have him in your life.

“Gosh, thanks Goku. What would I do without you?” You reached up to ruffle his hair causing him to chuckle while he scratched the back of his neck.

“Don’t mention it! I’ll see you at dinner then?” He waved goodbye and took off using instant transmission. You were so excited to have a new place within Capsule Corp. Now if you needed Bulma, you could just walk down the hall instead of having to call her up. You sat on your couch and decided to get a nap in before dinner that evening.

Later that evening, everyone gathered for dinner on the rooftop of Capsule Corp. It was honestly quite cute to have everyone sit together like a big family. You sat with Lord Beerus and Whis to your right and Trunks and Goten to your left. Lord Beerus also took a liking to you, which you figured it couldn’t hurt to have a destroyer on your side. He took the time to actually learn your name which didn’t seem to be a regular occurrence with him and mortals. After dinner you were playing hide and seek with Trunks and Goten, they always outsmarted you by flying or fusing together. You told them that if you were going to play, flying or fusing was against the rules. They weren't too excited about this but they would go along with it because they were always happy to just be playing with you. You were their favorite.

After a tiresome game of hide and seek and finding the boys stuck in a tree you decided to head back to get some sleep. You yawned walking back inside Capsule Corp, that's when you ran into Bulma roaming the halls. She looked a teensy bit nervous and you felt the need to ask her what was wrong.

“Everything ok Bulms?” You approached her slowly placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down a bit without spooking her.

“Oh! Hey, Y/N. Y-Yeah, I’ll be okay.” Her words came off a bit on edge and you couldn’t help but think she was trying to withhold information.

“You sure? You don’t seem okay, you seem a bit anxious..”

“O-okay fine, you got me.” She shakily put her hands up in surrender and you finally let go of her shoulder to cross your arms together. You raised your brow curious to what she was going to say next. “Both Goku and Vegeta left. They went to train with Whis on Beerus' planet..” she paused. You felt as though there was something else she was leaving out. Your brow remained raised, unsure of where this was going. “….we have no way of staying in contact with them, I-I feel a little… unprotected I guess.” she shrugged as if saying it aloud sounded silly. Your eyes widened. A skip in your heart, earth’s greatest protectors - gone? What does this mean? Is there even a threat to earth? Is there going to be a threat? Your head spun a bit when you realized Bulma was still staring at you, she clearly needed comfort from her friend and not a freak out session.

“Come here Bulms, it’s going to be okay” you grabbed one of her arms and pulled her into a tight embrace. “We still have Piccolo and Gohan with us. Oh! And the boys. We’ll be fine if anything happens we’ll just call up Tien and 18.” You unconfidently replied, breaking off the hug you held her shoulders in place so that she could see your trying sincere smile. Her anxiety seemed to knock down a few clicks as you helped calm her down.

“You’re right, It’s going to be okay.” She inhaled and exhaled loudly calming her nerves, “Thanks Y/N. Well, I guess I’ll try to get some sleep now. If you need anything please don’t hesitate to come get me, after all I’m only down the hall now!” She winked as she removed your hands from her shoulders and gave you a swift smile and wave before turning back down the hall towards her place. Finally, you can go back to your new apartment and relax. It had been a long day.

You unlocked the door to your apartment and your living room was pitch black, the only light was emitting from your loft porch. Humming to yourself you walk around your dark room looking for the light switch, it was your first night in your new place and you cursed yourself for not knowing the layout of the room before it had gotten dark. You shuffled around reaching both arms out to feel around the walls for the light switch. At this point you were becoming annoyed, “Ugh” you grunted out loud. You pause for a moment to take a breather and that's when you see them. A pair of what looked like glowing red eyes in the far corner of your living room, they were locked on you and looked like they were coming from behind a lamp that Goku had placed there earlier in the day. You hesitate to scream, figuring maybe it was just an outlet or maybe the boys playing a prank on you. They started to move as if whomever they belonged to began standing up at their full height. That's when you started shaking and you could feel your palms becoming clammy with fear. Whatever it was was charging a ball of energy, the color matching their terrifying eyes. Now would be a good time to scream you thought to yourself, but you were frozen like a deer in headlights.

Shit, shit, shit.

Finally, you let out a gut wrenching scream hoping Goku or Vegeta would barge in and save you from whoever let themselves in your apartment. The being disappears from in front of you, in a frenzy you panic and look around not sure where it went.

“Ah, ah, ah puny earthling.” The unknown creature was now behind you and clapped its large scaly hand over your mouth forcing no more noise out of you. “We don’t want the big bad monkey’s to know that I am here.” It tsked. You were stuck. Trying to calm your breathing you gave in, there was no way you could fight it off. Okay, what now? Still shaking you bring your arms down to your sides not realizing you grasped the hand that was placed tightly over your mouth. “Try that again and I will not hesitate to eliminate you right where you stand, under any normal circumstances you would already be dead at my hands, but unfortunately for the both of us,” a pause, almost as if it was annoyed to say the next part, “I need you to stay alive… for now.”

An understanding, you nodded your head in acceptance and it freed your mouth. All of a sudden the lights came on, blinding you. You covered your eyes trying to get the burn to go away when you finally opened them and saw it, well him? For a lizard man, he was oddly beautiful. He stood taller than you and had ivory skin with amethyst like crystal domes on his head, shoulders, and chest. His figure was rather slender but muscular. Flicking behind him was a long, ivory tail to match. It appeared to be made of pure muscle. He stood with one foot in front of the other showing off his three toed limbs. Wow. You had seen alien creatures before but never one quite like this.

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” you cleared your throat and pulled at your shirt, fixing your appearance unconsciously.

“Rather compliant aren’t we?” he questioned while letting his head hang low, twisting his mouth to form a menacing and twisted smirk. “I will spare you the mechanics of my grand plan,” He raised his head to look you in the eyes while he spoke, “I have been watching you for quite some time, human.” This caused you to raise your brow in curiosity. Why was he watching you? “The monkeys left, and you see.. That will just not do, will it?” he started playing with his nails as if this conversation was boring him.

You decided it was best for you not speak unless he asked you to and so he continued on.

“For now, you will be my hostage. My pawn, if you will. I need those infuriating baboons to come back to earth, I will not continue chasing them around the galaxy just to get my revenge.” He clutched his hand into a fist, anger seething through his teeth.

It finally clicked, standing only a few feet away was the ruthless and power hungry emperor, Lord Frieza. You swallowed your fear, not sure how you got here or why but you weren’t going to fight back in any way risking him to deem you no longer worthy to be in his presence. Goku and Vegeta have told you war stories about him. How did he come back? A single tear began rolling down your cheek causing you to sniffle quietly. Frieza must’ve noticed because he reached out and grabbed your face almost crushing your jaw with the action.

“Oh, do not grow worried little one. I will not hurt you…” a beat. “Today.” He chuckled evilly releasing your face. Great, you remembered Bulma telling you that there would be no contact with Goku or Vegeta. How long would you be Frieza’s prisoner? A panic sweeping over you, your head spinning and just like that your world went dark. You were knocked unconscious, Frieza had forced you to sleep.

-----------------------

“Mom! Mom, wake up!”

Bulma wiped the sleep away from her eyes. She sat up, yawning not sure if what was happening was a dream or not. Finally, fully awake, her eyes focus on Trunks who is hovering over her in a panic.

“It’s Y/N! I heard her scream, I went to check on her and her door was cracked open and there was no sign of her!” The worry in his voice caused Bulma to jump out of bed.

“Trunks, I need you to go get Piccolo and the others. I am afraid something bad is happening.” Bulma tried her best to hide the worry in her voice.

Trunks left and Bulma started pacing her dark room, she had an itch of who might be involved. “Frieza.” she said to herself sternly, slamming her fist into her other hand. She thought to herself, how the hell am I going to get a hold of Goku and Vegeta?

#frieza #lord frieza #dragon ball #dbz #dbs #dbs vegeta #dbs goku #bulma #whis #beerus #fan fiction #frieza imagine #bryannawrites #needy #friezaneedyfic

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vhsrights · 3 years

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prompt perhaps? jj and henry are and emily has to take care of them but its really soft and lovey?

ahh, I love this idea :)

SOUP AND LOVE - Momily and Jemily

WC: 947

“Careful baby, it’s still really hot. I don’t want you burning your tongue okay?” Emily watched closely as Henry went in for a spoonful of the soup.

“Mmm Emmy, I love it! Mommy’s gonna love it too!” His words were stunted by short, sharp coughs as he turned away from the pot.

Emily cooed after the young boy, wrapping his fleece blanket with the large, emblazoned Lightning McQueen tighter on him. She ran her hand gently through his matted hair and picked him up. His semi-long blonde locks drooped into his eyes in the front and flew in every direction in the back. He shined a large, loving smile at the brunette and made sure to show all of his teeth. It was how he had smiled ever since Emily had done it with him at the dentist, helping him getting a checkup like a big boy. Emily grinned back at the child and then brought her nose close enough to brush his, playfully joking with the boy. Henry giggled and then set his head gently against Emily’s shoulder.

Her heart melted at his display of utter trust. She had still not gotten over how she had moved in 2 months ago, taking her new life entirely in stride. Henry was a large part of her world, and she knew that she would do anything to protect him and his heart. The boy had gone quiet against her, but Emily remembered the hot spoon still in his grasp.

She pulled the spoon away from him slowly, making sure not to stir the obviously exhausted boy. He had come down with a rather nasty cold and managed to give it JJ the next day. All of that had left Emily the head caretaker in charge. She wanted to do everything well, knowing that this first time would set the precedent, and Emily would be damned if she let anything slip past her.

She gently stirred the soup, one that she had learned from watching cooks in her childhood that was reserved for her sick days, and wafted its engulfing aroma. The nostalgic scents of chicken broth, various spices, and tomatoes filled the kitchen. Emily smiled at her success and prepared to pour the soup out. Pressing a kiss into Henry’s hot forehead, she set the boy down. He whined slightly in his half-awake state but didn’t do much more than that. Emily made quick work of setting aside the food she had prepared, deftly pouring soup into bowls and arranging small sandwiches beside them.

Just as Emily was about to wake Henry up to help him upstairs, a cacophonous sound echoed through the baby monitor. JJ’s harsh coughs and weak grunts sounded in the kitchen and awoke the little boy. Emily could hear the restlessness in JJ’s voice and picked up speed. She gathered everything on a tray and ushered Henry upstairs ahead of her.

The boy pattered up the stairs softly to not disturb his mother and due to his lack of energy. He carefully pushed the bedroom door open, making sure that Emily could make it through. The pair spotted the blonde laying under a heap of covers with her nightstand covered in tissues. JJ’s body shivered before she let out a loud sneeze.

“Mommy!” Henry caught a look from Emily and drastically turned down his volume. “Mommy, Emmy and I brought you soup! It smells and tastes so yummy! The soup is gonna make you feel all better, Mommy! I pwomise! Emmy said so!”

Henry spoke quickly to his mother who had made the effort to become more attentive. She looked paler than normal with her eyes sunken, but her two favorite people easily brought some of that light and excitement back. JJ pulled her covers back to let Henry scramble in beside her and threw Emily a loving glance.

“Careful baby, you and your mom are still sick, okay? I brought you guys soup and bread butter sandwiches to eat.” She set the tray down on the nightstand and waited for JJ and Henry to get situated.

JJ leaned towards her for a delirious kiss and Emily laughed.

“Babe, I can’t kiss you. You’re sick! Trust me, I really want to but I can’t risk all of us going down. Someone’s gotta hold the fort down!”

“Mmm, no. I want a kiss from my girlfriend, so come here.” JJ coaxed the brunette over and pulled her in for a short kiss. They only pulled apart when Henry spotted them and started acting all grossed out.

“Okay, okay. Here is your food, guys. Piccolo, what do you want to watch?” She grabbed the remote from the far side of the room and made her way back to the bed.

“Oh, oh Emmy sit next to me! Umm, how about Cars? I know Mommy really likes it, so I think we should watch it because she’s sick too.” Emily laughed at the boy’s request and nodded before playing the movie from Netflix.

She wrapped her arm around the two blondes and watched her family eat their food with thankful grins plastered on their faces. They had been no less than amazing in welcoming her into their lives and she would be forever grateful.

“I know what you’re thinking, and I love you too babe. You absolutely crushed this, and I don’t think Henry has ever had a better sick day. You’re perfect, Em. Thank you, for being you and everything else.” JJ turned slightly to the brunette and noticed a sliver of a tear in her eye.

“Jayje, I love you guys too. You two are my family; my forever actually. Today has been just perfect.”

#jemily #momily #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #henry lamontagne #prompts #mc content hours

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darklymelanatedstories · 3 years

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Just a dumb idea I had after watching SSJ9Ks video : Piccolo had a good day. I do not recommend that vid for Dende fans. It's weird. Not my best work but had fun with it.

I had a good ass day (ft Piccolo)

The sunlight kissed Piccolo's face good morning. It was a nice quiet morning, just how he liked it. Waking up nice and bright, in Goku's bed with the woman of the hour in his arms. He felt a smile form his lips when she rested her pretty little head on his bare chest. At that moment, everything came flooding in from that night.

His smile grew as he recalled all the things they did last night, the things he did, the things he made her say. That was a good night.

He was about to close his eyes and snuggle with her a few more hours when he remembered, he had to babysit Pan. So he crept out of the bed and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower...'cause boy, did she work him last night. He needed that shower.

After that, he came back into the room to find Chi Chi still snoozing like an angel. Guess he worked her hard too. After putting his clothes on he decided to make her a quick breakfast. He knew she'd appreciate because although he loved to make her scream, he also loved making her feel appreciated.

He quickly placed the breakfast tray next to the bed and let the aroma ease her awake. As she started waking, Piccolo took that as his cue and flew out the window before she could see him.

Landing at the large pink mansion, the Namek was quickly tackled by the little saiyan toddler. He swears she gets older everytime he sees her.

Gohan went out to apologize and gave thanks to him for babysitting before leaving with Videl. As soon as they left, a plan formed in Piccolo's mind.

"Hey kid, wanna go to the theme park? A new ride just opened."

The little Saiyan jumped up with Piccolo's finger tightly in her grip and he took that as a yes.

As they neared the theme park, Piccolo quickly abruptly stopped.

When Pan looked at him in confusion he just smirked and summoned the power of the clothes beam on himself to be dressed in his father's attire. The attire of Daimao. Demon King.

"Why'd you change Piccolo?",she asked innocently.

"I just wanted to take you to every ride without having to wait in line.",he responded.

They finally landed in the middle of the carnival and immediately all eyes were on them. Or Piccolo that is.

"It's the Demon King!!", someone yelled ending the eerie silence and causing everyone to panic.

Piccolo chuckled. Sure he could've scared them in his usual turban and cape back then but they've all grown accustomed to seeing Piccolo and knew he's a hero. Although they could never tell the difference between him and his father without the turban and with the symbol. Piccolo found that still idiotic.

Once the park was cleared he turned back to Pan who gave him a slight look of disapproval.

"What? It worked didn't it?"

Her frown turned into a smile and she skipped to the rollercoaster. A kid just being a kid.

"Come on Mr. Piccolo!"

After a nice no-lines day at the park, Piccolo decided to bring here back home. He changed back to his original attire and they took off.

Once they reached Gohan's house they were greeted by looks of disapproval.

"Great, it runs in the family.",he thought sorely.

Chi Chi was there too but he sent her a look that both excited her and scared her at the same time.

"Piccolo did you–"

"Nope."

"Then who was that on the news.",Gohan siad pointing to the TV that showed a laughing Piccolo in all the commotion with a toddler Pan on his shoulders to prevent the panicking people from taking her.

Piccolo shrugged. "I'm not sure. Guess my father came back from the dead."

"How, when you're he's reincarnation?",Gohan struck back using his logic.

"Dragonballs are powerful my friend.",was all Piccolo responded with.

"Impossible.",Videl added crossing her arms.

Piccolo smirked. Nothing could bring him down today. He's terrible lying even bettered by 100%.

"It always seems impossible until it's done. Do you know who said that?"

"Nelson Mandela?"

"Nope. I just did." And with that he turned to leave. As he reached the door,

"Chi Chi, do you need a ride home?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes to seem uninterested. "I suppose. Just don't drop me!",she yelled to make it more believable.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He opened the door for her and closed it behind him leaving Videl and Gohan dumbfounded by the uncharacteristic actions.

Without warning he lifted her up bridal style and took her home. She snuggle up to his chest and enjoyed the ride.

As they reached her house, he asked,

"Remember that look you gave me earlier?"

She took a moment before answering. "Yeah."

"And since when do you look at me like that?",he whispered into her ear.

It's–its just I–i d–didn't..",she stuttered.

"Y–you d–didn't what?",he teased.

The reached her house and as soon as he landed he tossed her over his shoulder a little less than gentle.

"You could've made my heart drop.",he said dramatically placing his hand on his chest. "Now I'm gonna make that ass drop."

Piccolo dropped on the bed, breathing heavily sweat making his body glisten.

Chi chi climbed onto him and rested her messy haired head on his chest.

"How was that?",he asked.

"That was–"

Before she could answer, a large beam of light formed in the sky. That only meant one thing.

"Goku's back."

Chi Chi immediately got up and ran into the bathroom. Piccolo who was uncharacteristically calm, stood and looked out the window before thinking,

"I think I'll join her."

He got into the shower with Chi Chi despite her protest but soon she stopped complaining. Heaven only knows why.

They got out of the shower and got dressed before Piccolo headed towards the Saiyan's energy. Bulma's house.

The angel and God of Destruction were stuffing their faces with Goku. Piccolo let out a breath of relief. He was kinda worried about Goku finding him with his wife. Kind of.

"Hey Piccolo!", Goku waved over to him.

"Hey Goku."

"So how was your day going?",he asked before taking another bite of food.

Piccolo shrugged with a grin. "You could say I had a good ass day."

#ssj9k #piccolo had a good day #Piccolo #chiccolo #weird

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ravnlghtft · 3 years

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Alvin Ailey born on January 5th 1931, in Rogers, Texas, at the height of the Great Depression in the violently racist and segregated south, during his youth Ailey was barred from interacting with mainstream society. Abandoned by his father when he was three months old, Ailey and his mother were forced to work in cotton fields and as domestics in white homes—the only employment available to them. As an escape, Ailey found refuge in the church, sneaking out at night to watch adults dance, and in writing a journal, a practice that he maintained his entire life. Even this could not shield him from a shiftless childhood spent moving from town to town as his mother sought employment, being abandoned with relatives whenever she took off on her own, or watching her get raped at the hands of a white man when he was five years old.

Looking for greater job prospects, Ailey’s mother departed for Los Angeles in 1941. He arrived a year later, enrolling at George Washington Carver Junior High School, and then graduating into Thomas Jefferson High School. In 1946 he had his first experience with concert dance when he saw the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo perform at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium. This awakened an until then unknown spark of joy within him, though he did not become serious about dance until 1949 when his classmate and friend Carmen De Lavallade dragged him to the Melrose Avenue studio of Lester Horton.

Ailey studied a wide range of dance styles and techniques—from ballet to Native American inspired movement studies—at Horton’s school, which was one of the first racially integrated dance schools in the United States. Though Horton became his mentor, Ailey did not commit to dancing full-time; instead he pursued academic courses, studying romance languages and writing at UCLA. He continued these studies at San Francisco State in 1951. Living in San Francisco he met Maya Angelou, then known as Marguerite Johnson, with whom he formed a nightclub act called “Al and Rita”. Eventually, he returned to study dance with Horton in Los Angeles.

He joined Horton’s dance company in 1953, making his debut in Horton’s Revue Le Bal Caribe. Horton died suddenly that same year in November from a heart attack, leaving the company without leadership. In order to complete the organization’s pressing professional engagements, and because no one else was willing to, Ailey took over as artistic director and choreographer.

In 1954 De Lavallade and Ailey were recruited by Herbert Ross to join the Broadway show, House of Flowers. Ross had been hired to replace George Balanchine as the show’s choreographer and he wanted to use the pair, who had become known as a famous dance team in Los Angeles, as featured dancers. The show’s book was written and adapted by Truman Capote from one of his novellas with music from Harold Arlen and starred Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll. Ailey and De Lavallade met Geoffrey Holder, who performed alongside them in the chorus, during the production. Holder married De Lavallade and became a life-long artistic collaborator with Ailey. After House of Flowers closed, Ailey appeared in Harry Belafonte’s touring revue Sing, Man, Sing with Mary Hinkson as his dance partner, and the 1957 Broadway musical Jamaica, which starred Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalbán. Drawn to dance, but unable to find a choreographer whose work fulfilled him, Ailey started gathering dancers to perform his own unique vision of dance.

Alvin Ailey, a.k.a. Alvin Ailey Jr., founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Ailey School as havens for nurturing black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. His work fused theatre, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of black life in America. Ailey’s choreographic masterpiece Revelations is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. In this work he blended primitive, modern and jazz elements of dance with a concern for black rural America. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a “vital American cultural ambassador to the World.” That same year, in recognition of AAADT’s 50th anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 “Alvin Ailey Day” in New York City while then Governor David Paterson honoured the organization on behalf of New York State.

Ailey loathed the label “black choreographer” and preferred being known simply as a choreographer. He was notoriously private about his life. Though gay, he kept his romantic affairs in the closet. Following the death of his friend Joyce Trisler, a failed relationship, and bouts of heavy drinking and cocaine use, Ailey suffered a mental breakdown in 1980. He was diagnosed as manic depressive, known today as bipolar disorder. During his rehabilitation, Judith Jamison served as co-director of AAADT.

Ailey died from an AIDS related illness on December 1, 1989, at the age of 58. He asked his doctor to announce that his death was caused by terminal blood dyscrasia in order to shield his mother from the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

Choreography

Cinco Latinos, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann Concert Hall, New York City, 1958.

Blues Suite (also see below), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1958.

Revelations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann ConcertHall, 1960

Three for Now, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Clark Center, New York City, 1960.

Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Clark Center, 1960.

(With Carmen De Lavallade) Roots of the Blues, Lewisohn Stadium, New York City, 1961.

Hermit Songs, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1963.

Ariadne, Harkness Ballet, Opera Comique, Paris, 1965.

Macumba, Harkness Ballet, Gran Teatro del Liceo, Barcelona, Spain,1966, then produced as Yemanja, Chicago Opera House, 1967.

Quintet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Church Hill Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, 1968, then Billy Rose Theatre, New York City, 1969.

Masekela Langage, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Dance Festival, New London, Connecticut, 1969, then Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, 1969.

Streams, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 1970.

Gymnopedies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 1970.

The River, American Ballet Theatre, New York State Theater, 1970.

Flowers, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, ANTA Theatre, 1971.

Myth, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Choral Dances, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Cry, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Mingus Dances, Robert Joffrey Company, New York City Center, 1971.

Mary Lou’s Mass, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Song for You, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1972.

The Lark Ascending, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1972.

Love Songs, Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater, New York City Center, 1972.

Shaken Angels, 10th New York Dance Festival, Delacorte Theatre, New York City, 1972.

Sea Change, American Ballet Theatre, Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington, D.C., 1972, then New York City Center, 1973.

Hidden Rites, Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater, New York City Center, 1973.

Archipelago, 1971,

The Mooche, 1975,

Night Creature, 1975,

Pas de “Duke”, 1976,

Memoria, 1979,

Phases, 1980

Landscape, 1981.

Stage

Acting and dancing

(Broadway debut) House of Flowers, Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1954 – Actor and dancer.

The Carefree Tree, 1955 – Actor and dancer.

Sing, Man, Sing, 1956 – Actor and dancer.

Show Boat, Marine Theatre, Jones Beach, New York, 1957 – Actor and dancer.

Jamaica, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1957 – Actor and lead dance.

Call Me By My Rightful Name, One Sheridan Square Theatre, 1961 – Paul.

Ding Dong Bell, Westport Country Playhouse, 1961 – Negro Political Leader.

Blackstone Boulevard, Talking to You, produced as double-bill in 2 by Saroyan, East End Theatre, New York City, 1961-62.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, Booth Theatre, 1962 – Clarence Morris.

Stage choreography

Carmen Jones, Theatre in the Park, 1959.

Jamaica, Music Circus, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1959.

Dark of the Moon, Lenox Hill Playhouse, 1960.

(And director) African Holiday (musical), Apollo Theatre, New York City, 1960, then produced at Howard Theatre, Washington, D.C., 1960.

Feast of Ashes (ballet), Robert Joffrey Company, Teatro San Carlos, Lisbon, Portugal, 1962, then produced at New York City Center, 1971.

Antony and Cleopatra (opera), Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City, 1966.

La Strada, first produced at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1969.

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, Metropolitan Opera House, 1972, then John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia Academy of Music, both 1972.

Carmen, Metropolitan Opera, 1972.

Choreographed ballet, Lord Byron (opera; also see below), Juilliard School of Music, New York City, 1972.

Four Saints in Three Acts, Piccolo Met, New York City, 1973.

Director

(With William Hairston) Jerico-Jim Crow, The Sanctuary, New York City, 1964, then Greenwich Mews Theatre, 1968.

In 1968 Ailey was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada. In 1977 he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, was inducted into the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame in 1992, inducted into the Legacy Walk in 2012, and posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2014.

In August 2019, Ailey was one of the honorees inducted in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood noting LGBTQ people who have “made significant contributions in their fields.”

A crater on Mercury was named in his honor in 2012.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#Alvin Ailey #dance #BLM #blm art

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carnal-lnstinct · 4 years

Text

Conton City Lockdown

Summary: Time patrollers have returned from missions carrying an unknown disease and infecting others denizens of Conton City with it, forcing Trunks and Supreme Kai of Time to shut down most operations and training around the City and drastically limit missions for a while until they can get everything under control. Everyone is instructed to stay inside their assigned domiciles until further notice. “Who knows what that could do to the timeline if Patrollers pass it on during a mission?!” Supreme Kai of Time urges Conton. The Conton City Hero has also been quarantined with her current Master, Goku much to both their dismay as there was still so much training left. What other shenanigans can the two saiyans get themselves into while being all cooped up.

Word Count: 2,164 (Chapter 2) AO3 Rating: Mature Warning: ( explicit language ) A/N: Did I yadda yadda some saiyan lore around a story line where anything can happen and be logically possible when time travelling and universe hopping exist on a regular basis? You bet your sweet monkey tail having arse. This one was a little shorter, but the Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya returns next chapter.

Chapter 2

You're not too keen on traveling to the other world of your own free will just yet. It was barely a pleasant experience travelling to Hell to correct the hitch in the timeline before. Not to mention the Parallel Quests assigned to you to investigate. For a place so colorful and vast...it was Hell. No need to see more of it or anything like it for a while. Your Training Master making the suggestion to travel with him to King Kai's is immediately met with a hard pass. Yes, you had eventually brought out the tracksuit he left behind a while ago as a spare pair of clothing for him. And as predicted he recalled the dead Kai's humble planet. "No one goes there but me, anyways" He pointed out as a matter of fact, "There was no way a dead Kai was going to get sick". As quickly as he could put on the clothes after cleaning up from your passionate moments, he bid you farewell for now and was gone. Leaving you with just the phantom traces of his rough hands abusing your skin and sloppy kisses all over your face and neck. It had only been hours following the powerful experience and you couldn't believe how much you missed his presence already. It would go against your nature to have begged him to stay simply because you wanted to stay close to him a little longer. Maybe the time separated was needed to give you some time to think it over. Goku was your Trainer, after all. Not only yours, either. But he had always praised you as his star pupil. Never have you felt selfish of another person before and blamed it all on still being caught up in the heat of the moment.

As the time passed on and the new day surely came to its expected end, right as you were ready to accept that you were going to be here alone for a while, Goku's energy instantly fills the space and he reappears in front of you. His skin sweaty and tracksuit filthy from his work out, but with that delighted smile of his. Your heart fluttered, not expecting him to return so soon. In his hand was a bundle of boxed food made by the North Kai. What you assumed was some portion of food he saved for himself for later was brought specifically for you. Without warning, you climbed the larger Saiyan with a single leap when he said it, crashing your mouth onto his and practically mounted him right then, his sore muscles and all. Nothing sharing the lunch he brought afterwards didn't fix.

The few days following Goku's awakening into this "new hobby" has been a very informative bonding experience for the two of you. And now you were sure he was trying to kill you with it. Of course, you bring it on yourself having to be the initiator, the latter still not quite able to pick up on your cues or innuendos to jump start a good time. You'd make it clear to him in your frustration after you toss playing coy out the window and spell it out to him. That aggressive tone you embody that would put off anyone else yet it only seemed to make the Saiyan feel embarrassed for his short-comings in the whole thing, but thrilled for the shared pleasure. Goku's gentleness in his approach to it sometimes leaves you somewhat unsatisfied, not that he never made up for in the long run, and boy does he, but he was never just right when you needed him to be.

Granted, your wild fantasy stems from the raunchy mangas you have filled your spare time with, you know the Earthly Saiyan has it in him. He just missuses it. When you want him to challenge your forwardness and press his hard, trained body against yours, squeeze your smaller frame to fit to his and stare you down with his feral eyes, he's tenderly rubbing into the curves of your back and tail, and placing these little warm kisses into your face and neck. But when you want to take it slower after being driven into at different angles and your body aches from the constant stimulation, he does not relent nor does your burning saiyan blood and sex-drunk mind carry the sense to yield even when the azure color fills his eyes and the golden hue vibrates across the outline of his body threatening to revitalize him for another go. You just wanted to see that savage vigor from beginning to end, and then the gentleness can follow.

It was the closest thing the two of you had to training together these days, a challenge of endurance and control. Still, not a day went by you weren't longing for Supreme Kai of Time or the Elder Kai to summon you back to the Time Nest for another special mission. With all the going on of the disease and that creep Fu on the loose as well, work was going to be non-stop to catch up when it was finally okay to head out again and you were looking forward to scratching that fighting itch once more. The worry settling in your bones and the daily complaint of your "cell mate" begging for the same release were beginning to make you stir-crazy. You had to distract him for your sake and his. One more 'It's already been "so-and-so" days, when's it gonna be over?' and you were going to put him through a wall.

Being saiyans on opposite ends of the spectrum did well to draw attention away from the quarantine, as well. You found yourself more intrigued with this version's history that lead him to the man he is today. You know the basics, all the scouted Time Patrollers do, but this variant of the Z Warrior lead a life not too similar with the story and still comes out more powerful than ever. You pressed him for answers, idle chat through the "parrying" game you came up with to keep your focus sharp. Goku sits in front of you with both his hands held up as you try to punch your fists pass them. There was no concern you would land anything. The way he misdirects your fists with hardly a flinch in his posture was pure instinct. As you sat across from him, fists up as you try to think 3 steps ahead and contemplate which one to throw at him, you finally asked.

"What's it like? Living with Earthlings? " Hoping your sudden question would give you the opening you need, throwing a right hook only to be swatted to his right. You recoil back into your stance, continuing. "I didn't grow up on Planet Vegeta either, but I was still raised around other saiyans."

"Really? I thought all of you were coming from another Planet Vegeta in the time-space holes you guys are always working on. I'd love to see what kind of strong warriors you got there, especially if they're as strong as you!" Another success block as you come at him from the right again. "As for Earth, it's pretty amazing! We don't have many saiyans, but we got a pretty strong batch of fighters. If not for guys like Piccolo, Raditz or Vegeta, we would never know how much stronger we could become. But when we're not fighting to get stronger and everything's at peace, it can be pretty beautiful. A little too quiet for me, but I wouldn't want to have it any other way so long as I can always get a good fight in every once in a while. Not to mention all the awesome food!"

Agreed, Earth definitely had some of the best food you ever had in your whole life and was grateful for its abundance here in Conton City. There was so much flavor, and the different consistencies all coming together to make something you couldn't hardly put it into words. It made your mouth water just thinking about it. "What about you, (y/n)?" The Saiyan asks.

"In my timeline, I grew up on Planet Stock. A sub colony of Saiyans our King Vegeta colonized in secret from King Cold as a gift to the Young Prince who would one day rise as a formidable foe to that tyrant Cold and his heirs. Then he would rule over Stock as his own kingdom while Planet Vegeta acted as our hub world. Or... at least that was the plan. One day our planet suddenly stopped getting responses from Planet Vegeta, not even the best scouters could detect it anywhere. Like it disappeared. It was only after I became a Time Patroller I found out Frieza destroyed it." Your fists visibly clench tighter as you opt for a left punch this time. Rather than parrying it this time, Goku catches it in his hand.

"Frieza always prides himself on that. I'm sorry." Your Master offers looking down at you with a softer gaze. You look up from your focal point to see his stare and look away.

"It doesn't matter. Knowing what I know now, even if Planet Vegeta and Stock had hundreds and hundreds of our best warriors there to defend against Frieza's attack, we would be worse for it. I've seen it.. " You withdraw your fist from his hold and roll your shoulders. "And Lord Beerus will destroy us all for it." You lower your stance and release your tensed hands. It's not easy to think that letting one monster destroy the home world of your people was better than the God of Destruction wiping out both worlds. Besides, the scroll of time deemed it the most accurate that Frieza gets to do it. You're still pushing against the Elder Kai and Supreme Kai of Time to use the Dragon Balls to restore Planet Vegeta.

"It's never easy to make decisions like that. There's not a moment I don't think back on the times when I was at my limit and felt like I was gambling with the lives of my friends and the people of earth in order to win a fight. But I always find a way to push through and save everyone. I even thought letting Cell blow me up would spare everyone. " He laughs, but it sounded a little more morose than his usual joy, making you turn your gaze back towards him. "I was foolish, when I had fought Cell we were evenly matched until I used my Kaioken attack and managed to knock Android 18 of him. I gave him a chance to give up and leave the planet and instead I put everyone else in danger.. I even thought if I stayed in the Other World, Earth would be a better place. We still had Piccolo to keep an eye on everything, and Vegeta too. Oh, and Trunks, too! He was going to grow up someday and be a strong warrior just like his father. Everyone else could live the life they wanted."

Goku extends his large hand and cups your small cheek into its curve, you leaning into the warm touch, "Your heart's in the right place. I see why everyone puts so much faith in you to do your best." His smile grows and your cheeks glisten with a pink hue. You avert your eyes as your insides flutter up again to avoid his knowing eyes.

"--W-Whatever, don't go getting all sentimental on me." You shrug trying to fight off your own smile. You raise your fist and give him a playfully nudge on his chin. "See, you're leaving yourself wide open. Keep this up and I'll surpass you in no time." Goku's bright laughter comes full force and he takes your first in his hand again.

"So long as you keep training, I'm sure you will." He brushes your fist pass his lips and delicately places a kiss to your battle-hardened knuckles. "I'll be sure to get stronger, too."

That sounded romantic coming from him, the blush on your face spreading but you keep trying to play it off. A little soft touch...actually does a lot to you. Your chest and your belly are bouncing such a warmth back and forth but it's different from wanting him to pin you down with all his strength and bury himself to the hilt inside you. Just his hand on your cheek and wrapped around your fingers as his lips caressed them was so...fulfilling. Even his laugh, once this goofy sound to your ears was now a blissful tone to your very soul. The Savior of Earth, this immortalized hero across the timelines made you feel like you were blooming. The sensation was only shaken by the sudden growl of his stomach, prompting him to laugh nervously "Whoops, guess I'm hungry again."

You laugh too and shake your head. "Fine, but dishes are on you this time."

#goku x reader #goku imagine #goku dbz #goku dbs #xenoverse 2 #dragon ball z #dragon ball super #my writing

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warriorteam1924 · 4 years

Note

Hi hun I hope you don't mind getting my message here, I really want to send you another big hug 💕💜💕💖 I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm sure your lovies are now running happily among the stars, I wonder if they'll meet all my cats and bunnies up there 💕 They were beautiful puppies and in you they had the best mom ever! I really hope you'll feel better soon, meanwhile take care of u and take all the time you need. 💜 Ti voglio bene Kate, I send you a big big hug 💕💕💕

Ohhh Rach, my sweetheart. You’re so kind, of course I don’t mind you coming here. I’m just sorry it takes me so long to reply.... (I’m adding a cut in case some really don’t care and don’t want to scroll through all of this, which I would totally understand....)

Yes, my babies are happily messing around altogether now. Well, if they do meet your cats and bunnies in heaven, I hope they are fast because my lovies would love to chase them ahaha....

I really tried to be the best auntie/mom ever.... As I told previously, I’ve put myself aside for them, not doing some things because they were here. But again, so worth it, the love they give is just incredible.

As for now, I do try to take care of myself, but my natural feature is to take care of the others still. My sister first. My parents. I’ve never seen my dad, who is such a rock, cry this way.

Kiki, my wonderful Kiki, prepared me for this it seems. I’ve called the crematorium today, to prepare everything for them. We’ve got an appointment for the two of them tomorrow. This way, they will come back home very soon. And it is a relief....

Maybe I still don’t really realize, I’m acting in zombie mode it seems. My body is in robot mode, doing the tasks very randomly and with some kind of automatism.... I have not slept for days but I’m still there, keeping on moving, keeping on going.

I’m still so afraid of what will happen next. So far, I was doing thing according to my dogs, for a while mainly Brook since he was living with me. Going somewhere, but thinking he had to come with me. Walking slowly in the house since he was following me. Checking for the places where the dogs would be allowed.

The question that constantly comes to mind again and again and again. What am I going to do now? I have no idea.

Anyways, enough of me bothering you with my state of mind. I hope you are all okay. Thanks you so much again for all the sweet messages, some of you I’ve even never talked to before. It means really a lot and gets my heart a little warmer, fixing its breaks a little.

Rach, grazie mille, mio piccolo raggio di sole, Ti voglio bene anche 💖💜

#warriorteam1924 got asked and answered #from @eileen-crys #💖💜💖💜💖💜thank you so much love 💖💜

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graygreygreys · 5 years

Text

Listen.

This has also been posted in Ao3 under Superfruties_08 with the same title, enjoy!

^^^^^

Levi Schmitt was used to a lot of things. He was used to his hair not willing to cooperate in the mornings before his shift. He was used to having to walk just a little bit faster after the attendings while he briefed them on their patients. He was even used to tripping over himself in the OR whenever he was offered a chance to do more than suction. So you could say that he’s used to changing for the people who surround him, rather than those people changing for him.

Or at least he used to be like that, up until a few weeks ago when he stopped ignoring his true self. Until he had Nico.

The weeks after the windstorm and the ambulance were some of the best weeks of Levi’s life. He and Nico went on cute, late night dates and early morning breakfasts even when one of them didn't have to be on call. He essentially got to take the lead on Dr.Hunt’s paralytic mishap in the OR. He was also finally able to put his contacts in without help (after weeks of Taryn or Nico helping him.) So Levi guessed it was inevitable that he had a bad day sometime soon, and today happened to be the day.

He’d spent the last couple of nights at Nico’s since the fellow was closer to the hospital than his Mom’s was and he had three straight days of early shifts. Today was day three of three and Levi’s alarm shrieked loudly into his ears, disrupting him from an otherwise peaceful sleep. Nico’s hold on the smaller man tightens and made it even harder for Levi to move.

“Nico, I have to get up. If not for work, then for my bladder.” Levi rasps out, trying to lift the arm that’s currently wrapped around his chest off. Nico grunts and obliges, albeit very reluctantly if the pout Levi receives when he returns has anything to do with it. He sent a sympathetic smile Nico’s way as he pulled his hoodie on and tried to fix his hair to look somewhat presentable.

“Do you think the person who makes our schedules hates us?” Nico asked while lifting himself up off the bed to watch Levi get ready. It’s not like he has anything better to do since he’s off today. He thinks he could probably go for a run when Levi leaves though, which gives him the perfect reason to be up this early in the morning. Levi laughs at that, and Nico watches in adoration as his head falls back and his bright smile takes over his features. It definitely wasn’t the funniest thing ever, but considering Jo Karev makes the intern's schedules and Link makes Nico’s. He could easily imagine the two of them plotting while making purposefully conflicting schedules.

“As much fun as that is to imagine, I highly doubt that. I’m on my way out, and then I’ll probably stop at my place before coming over. We’re still on for breakfast before your shift?” Levi asks, grabbing his keys and glasses slipping the latter onto his face. He’ll put his contacts on later at work, he couldn’t be bothered right now. Nico hummed an affirmative to his question and puckered his lips for an obligatory goodbye kiss.

Levi leaned one knee onto the bed and pecked Nico quickly and tried to pull away, but Nico grabbed the front of his hoodie and deepened the kiss slightly before pulling away so their foreheads rested against each other.

“See you later, piccolo,” Nico whispered to him, the blush blooming on Levi’s cheeks making him feel accomplished. He still couldn’t believe that he got to be with this man every day.

Levi kissed him again quickly before actually leaving and heading to Grey-Sloan. He was probably going to be late, but how could he care when he thought about the reasoning?

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Levi wished his shift could have emulated his morning because it was not going well. He was only halfway through and he’d had to deal with a major three-car accident involving a teenager that had stolen a car. His patient had suffered severely from having been in the middle car. Every time Levi thought she was in the clear for a while she started seizing so he was on Sheperd’s instruction to monitor her closely for the rest of the night. Which meant he was probably going to have to postpone his plans with Nico in the morning.

Levi checked her vitals and updated her chart before stepping out towards the nurse’s station and pulling out his phone to send Nico a text.

hey, I don’t think I’ll be able to do breakfast tomorrow :( raincheck?

sure but why not? is there a trauma coming in? am I gonna get paged?

no, not a trauma. shepherd wants me to observe a patient overnight.

damn, okay babe. we’ll just have to reschedule, want me to bring you some food for dinner?

would you? I doubt I’m gonna have time to grab anything.

of course, I’ll stop by in like an hour. <3

Levi was justs about to reply when he heard his patient’s heart monitor begin to beep rapidly. He pushed his phone into his pocket and quickly ran into the room. Nurses began to flood into the room, one pushing a crash cart.

“Can someone page Shepherd?! She’s seizing again!” Levi exclaim while he pushed one of epinephrine. He finished just as Shepard ran into the room.

“What are you doing, who gave you the authority to push one of epi!” Amelia yelled while she pushed Levi out of the way. He stumbled and his back hit the wall behind him. He huffed and got himself upright again. He knew it was the right choice, Amelia had taken at least two minutes to get here if he hadn’t he patient would've started losing too much oxygen to her brain.

“Dr.Shepherd I-”

“You obviously think you know more about this than I do. Go get me OR 2 and page Helm, you’re off my service.” Amelia snapped, raising the guards in the bed and beginning to roll the patient out towards the elevator.

Levi couldn’t even breathe, let alone stand up for himself because Amelia didn’t give him the opportunity.

He made his way to the stairway while his anger continued to build up. He knew it was the right decision, he knew it was what Amelia would’ve done if she had been there. Where the hell does she get off just yelling at him for no reason? She’s the one who told him to watch the patient!

As he made his way to the pit, paging Helm to OR 2, he ran into someone. He knew that chest anywhere, it was Nico.

“Oh hey, I was just looking for you! I brought you a sandwich and some soup since it’s chilly in here. I know how- hey babe? What’s wrong?”

Levi huffed out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. All his anger seeped out and he was left exhausted and in his exhausted and frustrated state, he could feel a tear make its way down his face. Nico pulled the intern into the nearest empty room and shut the door behind them.

“What happened? Why are you crying, Levi?” Nico asked, his tone laced with concern. He placed their dinner on the bedside table and pulled Levi into a comforting embrace. The intern hugged him so tightly, his face buried in Nico’s chest. The taller man could feel Levi body shaking with what he could only assume was sadness.

“Baby, what happened? Talk to me.” Nico pleaded, running his hand down the back of Levi’s head and placing a kiss to his forehead. Eventually, Levi pulled away and wrapped his arms around Nico’s neck instead.

He explained what happened with Shepherd, and told Nico that he was more upset by the fact that he knew he did the right thing. He felt like he wasn’t being taken seriously at this hospital despite knowing that he was one of the best interns in their program right now. He wanted them to show him a little more respect. He would never have done it if he wasn’t 100% sure. Nico listened attentively and felt for his boyfriend. He knew how hard it was being an intern, and things like this made it hard for interns to be respected.

“I can go talk to her for you? Tell her that you know what you’re doing?” Nico suggested, thinking that maybe Levi just needed someone higher up to back him up.

And it would be really sweet to Levi if it didn’t feel like Nico wasn’t hearing what he was saying. The intern rolled his eyes and backed out of Nico’s embrace.

“Are you listening to me, Nico? Like actually hearing what I’m saying? I don’t want or need anyone to vouch for me. I want them to realize that just because I’m an intern doesn’t mean they can treat me like shit. Especially if I’m not wrong.” He explained getting frustrated that Nico didn’t quite get him. Nico’s face exuded confusion. Levi et out his third frustrated sigh and was about to explain what he meant when he got paged to the pit.

“I have to go, another trauma’s coming in. Thanks for dinner you can just like put it in the intern locker room fridge, I’ll get to it eventually.” Levi said as he left, giving Nico a small, fake smile as he went.

Nico shook his head as he stood in the room. He and Levi were going to have to talk about this again eventually.

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Levi couldn’t be happier to get off this shift. Since he was no longer on Shepherd's service he was able to leave on time. He texted his mom as he got dressed, letting her know he was going to stop by and asking if she needed anything. He was closing his locker when he spotted Amelia walking towards him into the intern lounge.

“Hey Schmitt, I know you’re heading out but I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I have some personal things going on and that’s not an excuse to yell at you for something that wasn't even a mistake. This is a teaching hospital, so the fact that you felt comfortable in doing the procedure that you know I would have done if I’d been present means I’m doing my job right. I just wanted to apologize again.” Amelia said to him, placing a light hand on his shoulder.

Levi was stunned because the attendings didn’t usually apologize to interns. He knew she was in the wrong, but he never expected her to apologize.

“Uh, yeah it’s fine. Thank you for apologizing.” Levi sputtered out in shock. Amelia nodded and was on her way out.

“Wait, Dr.Shepherd! Did you happen to talk to Dr.Kim today?” Levi asked cautiously because as much as he loved Nico’s protective spirit, this isn’t what he wanted.

“No, he wasn’t even here today. I just realized that I was being an ass. Have a good night.” She said in genuine confusion towards his question. She left and Levi was shocked for a few minutes before he smiled to himself slightly. Maybe his day was starting to look up just a little bit.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

After stopping at his mom’s to get some clean clothes and dropping off some groceries she’d asked for, Levi arrived at Nico’s. As he walked into the building he was thinking of all the ways he could properly apologize for his misplaced anger towards his boyfriend. He used the key Nico gave him (for emergencies, or so the fellow had said,) and opened the apartment.

He was instantly hit with the sight of Nico sitting on the couch, watching The Office with his blanket thrown off his legs. He was just nodding off when Levi walked in.

“Hey, I tried waiting up for you but I’m obviously weak. How’d the rest of your shift go? Get any easier?” Nico pressed, opening his arms up for the younger man. Levi settled into Nico’s lap and laid against his chest.

“Thank you, I’m sorry,” Levi whispered to him, squeezing tighter when Nico chuckled a bit.

“Why’re you thanking me for something you asked me not to do? Also, how’d you know?” Nico asked while cuddling his boy.

“Well, Shepherd never apologizes so I figured you had something to do with it. But she seemed genuine which made it okay.” Levi explained his reasoning. He knew his boyfriend wasn’t going to be able to resist. And Nico always meant well so Levi never really actually minded.

“Damn, I’m getting predictable. I’m losing my mysterious charm.” Nico teased reveling in the giggle that escaped from Levi’s lips. He gave the boy a longing kiss since they hadn’t been able to since that morning.

The kiss intensified and soon Levi was straddling Nico’s legs on the couch his arms wound around the taller man’s shoulders and his hands pulling the hairs at the base of his neck. Levi mumbled something between kisses that Nico couldn’t understand.

“What do you want baby?” He asked while they rested against each other catching their breaths.

“I said, If I asked you to fuck me on this couch right now would you listen?” Levi repeated, looking down to watch Nico’s reaction.

Nic just smirked as he lifted Levi and laid him in his back. This boy was going to be the absolute death of him and he really wouldn’t want it any other way.

#greysanatomy #greys #schmico #levi schmitt #nico kim #comfort #fanfic

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scarletraven1001 · 5 years

Text

Retribution

[Book 1] [Chapter 1]

Summary: Raised in the shadows, Vegeta’s sole purpose in life was to avenge the destruction of his family. The key to his victory laid in the hands of Bulma, the daughter of the enemy, and not even the strange connection he feels with her will keep him from raining his furious retribution upon all who had dared cross his bloodline.

A Vegebul Mafia AU Fic, for the @vegebulocracy Big Bang Challenge, 2018

Story Rating: E

Chapter Warnings: Violence, Swearing

Also on Ao3

All Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

8-8-8-8-8

Notes: Hello! Welcome to my contribution to the Vegebulocracy (VBO) Big Bang! This has been super fun (though at times rather difficult) to write and I am so excited to share this with all of you today! This story is complete, and I will be posting all chapters until the 24th of December. I would like to thank the incredible, amazing @blacksheep1105 for her help as a Beta for this story, as without her help, this fic would not be anywhere near the story that it is right now! Thank you, girl! And to all of you, please check out Blacksheep's stories! With that, please do let me know what you think, for this first chapter of Retribution: Book 1!

8-8-8-8-8

Chapter 1

8-8-8-8-8

The coffee was fantastic.

He was no connoisseur – far from it, in fact – but he could definitely see that the tiny coffee shop that he had been sitting at for the past hour had the potential to become a big business if it kept making coffee this good.

The aroma of it was exquisite. The taste, liquid gold on his tongue, both soothed and kept him alert at the same time.

And Vegeta Saiyan needed to be alert, for what he was about to do.

He straightened his suit, adjusting his tie and checking his coat as he watched his target stroll leisurely up the street.

She was without a care in the world, her blue hair in a loose ponytail that flowed whimsically down her back. Her brilliant blue eyes shone like the most precious of sapphires, and her full pink lips beckoned like the petals of the rarest blossoms.

Her pale skin, vibrant even in the dying light of the twilight sun, was a clear indication of her wealthy upbringing.

Her family’s wealth… that should have been his.

That carefree manner, and the easy life that had given her all the things her heart had desired… those should have been his.

Resentment bubbled up from the deepest pits of his hardened heart, and he straightened as he watched her take her clueless steps into the comfortable apartment building where she resided.

He seethed, his hands clutching convulsively around his coffee mug, teeth grinding in his rage and excitement.

She was probably not even aware of the fact that she had been part of the conspiracy that had brought about the destruction of his family, the horrendous murders that had taken away everything that he had known and loved.

Oh, but she will know.

If all went well, before the night gives way to the next dawn, he will begin his revenge.

8-8-8-8-8

Bulma sighed as she dropped her purse onto a small table at her apartment’s entryway, cursing slightly as the contents spilled out from its broken zipper.

She really ought to replace that bag.

But she didn’t have the will to, as it was one of the little knick knacks left behind by her mother, Panchy, after she passed away a few years ago.

It had already been rather well-used before Bulma had received it, as Panchy had been very fond of it as well. Bulma had hinted at liking the design, and her mother had promptly gifted it to her the next day.

The yellow leather bag was starting to grow too worn for use, and if Bulma were being honest to herself, the bag really was broken already.

Yet, broken or not, the one thing that she can never let go of, was the small, handwritten note that her mother had scribbled onto the main pocket inside.

Live well and stay beautiful, my baby girl.

Bulma had already lost so many people from her life, that she really didn’t want to start losing their mementos, as well.

She had left her home town of West City behind, as it had given her too many painful memories. To cope with her losses, she had moved to East City, where she began to work as a free contractor for rebuilding houses and infrastructure damaged by a recent earthquake that destroyed most of the downtown city proper. She received only food and transportation allowances, and was more than happy to keep it that way.

It wasn’t that she was generous… Working for next to nothing was her way of atoning for the sins that she knew that her family had been involved in for several generations.

She possessed a brilliant mind, and it did not take much for her to realize that her mother’s family, and now her own father, were involved in the workings of a crime syndicate.

Her father, Dr. Trunks Briefs, was a scientist who had occasionally dabbled in politics, under the stern and watchful influence of the West City Syndicate.

This was another reason why she had left West: To escape the syndicate. It was a convoluted group of corrupt officials and crime lords who had been in and out of the Briefs household since before the moment she had drawn her first breath.

Releasing a wide yawn, Bulma headed for her bedroom, intent on changing out of the denim jeans and simple white shirt that she had worn to work.

She was barely out of the living room when she heard her mobile phone ringing, and it took less than a moment for the ringtone to register in her mind and fire adrenaline through her veins.

It was a unique ringer tone that she had set for a private number that no one but her and her father knew about. He never used it, unless there was an absolute emergency.

She lunged forward, tripping over her own feet in her haste, and immediately answered.

“Hello,” she greeted, breathless from the panic that now surged within her body.

“Bulma!”

He sounded stressed, ragged… he was a little breathless, from what Bulma could tell, and she immediately knew something major had come up.

“Dad? Is everything alright?”

“No, baby,” he said, and Bulma’s hand flew to her chest, trying to still her now erratic heartbeats.

“What happened? Are you ok?” she asked.

“Yes, but you won’t be!” he said urgently. “I need you to get out of your apartment, right now. I have received intel that some people are after you. You need to get out, now!”

Her panic dwindled slightly at the sheer ridiculousness of her father’s claim.

However, his words made her take a glance around the room, her eyes that had been raised in the heart of danger making a quick sweep of her surroundings and quickly noting the locked doors and reinforced windows.

“Dad, that’s impossible,” she said brightly into the receiver, even while her brows furrowed in concern. “This flat isn’t even named after me. I’m not using my real name here!”

“That doesn’t matter! Leave, now!” he yelled, his desperation bleeding into his shouted words. “Go into the woods, whatever. I am sending men to fetch you right now.”

This was not the first time that her father had been so paranoid, and Bulma was skeptical.

“Dad, really, I don’t think-”

Bulma cut herself off with a shrill little scream, when the lights in her room suddenly turned off, plunging her into pitch blackness.

“A power outage?” she thought in confusion.

“Bulma!” her father screamed.

“Dad, I’m fine!” she placated. “The lights just went out all of a sudden. Lemme grab my flashlight-”

“No!” Dr. Briefs yelled. “Don’t! If the lights went out, that means they are there, Bulma! You need to go! Walk in the shadows… draw no attention to yourself. Get out of there, now!”

This time, she believed him, and did not need to be told twice.

“I will call you when I get to safety,” she said, turning off the call.

She grabbed her bag, felt around for her keys and wallet, and she stuffed those and her phone into her pockets before she made a break for the door.

8-8-8-8-8

The phone vibrating in his hand was their signal.

The power had been cut, and it was time to make their move.

Vegeta stood in the lobby of the apartment building, watching the small bit of panic on the patrons’ faces as the lights went down.

They needn’t worry… it was not them that he was coming for.

The public addressed system pinged, and a clear voice rang out to address the residents.

“All residents, please vacate the building,” it called. “We are experiencing technical difficulties in the electrical circuitry. We are now working to restore the power. We advise you to vacate to ensure your safety. ”

The same message was repeated twice more as the small communication link in his ear beeped.

“We’re in, big brother ,” a voice said in his ear, almost cheerful-sounding in spite of the serious nature of events. “Emergency lines are down, as well.”

“Good job, Kakarot,” Vegeta said, his deeper baritone humming into the line. “Lapiz? Are you ready?”

“Of course,” a smooth, calm voice called in. “Piccolo and I are underground. Waiting for your move, Prince.”

“Don’t call me that,” he growled as he began to walk in the opposite direction of all the tenants rushing to leave the building.

A staff member was ushering people out, telling them to vacate due to a short circuit in the building, and Vegeta smirked as he recognized the guy as one of the people he had paid off to help let them into the maintenance rooms.

He smirked as he made his way to a side room, leading into the emergency maintenance stairwell. He calmly climbed the stairs, his dark eyes narrowed in concentration as he approached the correct floor.

She was still there. He could practically feel her.

A flow of people greeted him as he alighted on the fifth floor, their excited chatter annoying him, the beams from their flashlights blinding him as they flashed across his face while they moved.

Vegeta knew that Briefs would tell her not to use a flashlight. The old man was predictable, that way.

A small movement off to his left alerted him to a slight, dark silhouette trying to make its way through the darkness.

He pulled his night vision glasses out of his coat pocket even though honestly, he didn’t truly need them quite yet.

Even in the pitch-black halls, he would recognize that strangely-colored fall of hair, anywhere.

With a devilish smirk, he begins the chase.

8-8-8-8-8

Trying to navigate the halls in the dark was hell.

She took tiny, measured steps, hands feeling along the walls as she did her hardest to not trip over anything.

It had been easier to move around when she was still among the people who had their lighting implements on, but as she strode further away from the flow, she realized that she may have made a mistake.

She had thought, if people were after her, they would probably try to find her among the sea of people. Nobody would have guessed that she would try to make her way out using the smaller stairwell in the maintenance areas.

“For a genius, I could be really dumb sometimes,” she muttered, feeling a small wave of relief wash over her as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness.

She could make out the faint outline of a door, and knew from the blueprints that she had of the building that this was the main entryway to the maintenance areas.

Slowly, she turned the knob, not making a sound.

She closed the door behind her, taking a deep breath before she leaned back against the wall beside the door.

Bulma looked around, realizing with trepidation that something was… off.

This was the maintenance area. She had expected the maintenance men to be swarming this place, trying to fix the broken circuits so they could restore power to the building.

Why then… was it empty?

Not a sound, not a soul in sight.

Her heart beat harshly within her chest, as she began to suspect that, in her over-thinking her escape, she may have screwed herself, instead.

The soft click of the door behind her, followed by the soft sound of hushed footsteps that like her, remained unguided by light, confirmed her suspicions.

Suppressing a gasp, Bulma tried to find a place to hide, feeling around for any apparatus large enough for her to plaster herself against.

To her horror, the silhouette of the intruder started walking closer.

She took off in a panic, trying her best to run in the pitch black darkness, holding in her panting breaths as she fought to clear her mind, to think…

She was Bulma Briefs, and she refused to acknowledge that she somehow may have been outsmarted by one of her father’s thuggish rivals.

Her keys jingled softly in her pocket, but in the absolute stillness of the dark, the sound seemed as loud as sirens to her terrified ears.

As if hearing her distress, the person chasing her mocked her by stomping once, a little loudly, almost making her shriek.

Her hands groped in the darkness before her, and on impulse, she felt around her pocket, grasping at the tiny charm that held her noisy keys together.

Her lucky charm. An old, round spaceship toy that she had turned into a keychain as a memento of her dearest friend that she had lost when they were just children. For all the years after he had died, having the toy with her made her feel like he was still right there, and with her heart in her throat, she begged the heavens for him to keep her safe once again.

She hoped against hope, that he was still watching over her, right at that moment.

Her footsteps sounded too loud and heavy to her ears, and she was sure that the person chasing her could find her on the sound of her footfalls alone.

She turned a corner, and she let out a loud, desperate gasp when her hands pushed forward…

And found a solid, brick wall.

She was trapped.

The despair went through her just as she felt the thick, large hands grab hold of her shoulders, and she finally let out a scream as she tried to struggle away from her captor.

“Kyaaa!” she yelled “No! Don’t touch me!”

The person let out a snicker, a low, man’s voice that sent terrified shivers up her spine, before he effortlessly pulled her by the waist with a single arm, and with the other hand, she felt him lift a cold metal cylinder to her head.

A gun.

Her screaming subsided with a choke, her hands helplessly flying towards her chest to still the erratic beating of her heart.

“Please,” she whispered, “Don’t shoot.”

She felt him pull her closer, pressing her against an unyielding body, as a chuckle vibrated across his chest that was right against her back.

From what she could tell, he was not too tall, but was made of a thick wall of pure muscle that she, in her frailness, had no hope of getting away from.

She felt the gun leisurely caress her cheek, until it pressed up against the side of her throat, followed by the hot sensation of a gust of his breath against the back of her neck.

“Now, why would I want to go and kill you now, Ms. Briefs?”

His voice, low and throaty, terrified her…

And for some reason, brought a strange twinge of familiarity to twitch at the back of her mind.

“Who are you?” she demanded, trying and almost succeeding at keeping her voice from trembling.

“That does not matter,” he answered. “What is imperative right now, Princess, is that you cooperate with me. And we shall start by walking back the way you came, into your apartment, so we can make a little call.”

She sucked in a breath.

“And if you know what is good for you,” he hissed, “you will not make a sound.”

She pushed at him slightly, before she hissed back.

“Do not call me Princess.”

8-8-8-8-8

Ah, so she still had that fight within her, after all.

“Very well,” Vegeta answered, taking a discrete whiff of her hair as he pulled her more tightly against him.

She smelled glorious.

Even more so than he remembered.

Then again, his memories of her scent were always mixed with the smell of grass, the scent of sweat, sunshine and childish delight.

She was definitely no longer a child, now.

As quickly and gently as he could, he forced her to walk back the way they had come, his small night vision glasses helping him see perfectly in the darkness.

He had to admit, that toying with her, giving her hope that she had even a slim chance of getting away when he could clearly see her struggling to take her tiny steps, was rather enjoyable.

The whole area was still dark as they trudged down the hall leading to her room.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, her voice strong and demanding even in her compromised state. “Are you gonna rob me? Kill me? Rape me?”

He chuckled darkly at that. “Oh believe me, Ms. Briefs… If I were to decide to fuck you, it would not be rape. You would be begging for it.”

She scoffed, pulling a smirk from his lips.

“I highly doubt that, you brute.”

He could see the door. They were almost there.

“Who are you?” she asked again. “Do I know you?”

Amidst her question, he sensed an underlying note of genuine curiosity.

She knew. Or at least, a part of her did.

She had always been too smart, even for him.

“You are in no position to be demanding answers, Ms. Briefs,” he said simply.

He finally pushed his way into her apartment, and found his men waiting for them in the living room.

“Lapiz,” he called out, pulling off his night vision glasses, sticking them into his jacket pocket. “The lights.”

A small halo of light appeared from a single lamp in the middle of the room, giving off a faint illumination that was just enough to see by.

“Piccolo,” he called.

“Yes, boss,” a tall, thin man with a tall nose and a white turban round his head stepped forward, holding the ropes, just as planned.

He felt Bulma gasp against him as Piccolo came forward, quickly tying her hands together, before he knelt down to bind her legs while Vegeta held her steady.

After Piccolo was done tying her up, Vegeta ushered her down onto a chair, patting her pockets, and pulling out her phone, wallet, and keys.

It was as he was placing her things down onto a table to leave them behind that the small trinket dangling from her keys, hanging beside a tiny flash drive, caught his eye.

He paused, lifting it closer to his face, disbelieving…

The small, white toy, a miniature alien spacepod from a silly television show he had watched as a kid, cheerfully taunted him, causing him to gasp inaudibly.

He turned it over, and saw exactly what he had hoped, or perhaps dreaded, staring back at him.

A tiny “V”, carved onto the back of the toy.

A marker, carved onto the trinket with a small kitchen knife.

He glanced surreptitiously at the woman who was glaring at his men.

She had kept it.

All those years…

Vegeta cleared his throat, steeling himself.

It was not the time for sentimentality.

However, unable to help himself, he found himself surreptitiously putting the woman’s keys into his own pocket instead of leaving them behind.

Before him, Lapiz was already setting up the small netbook, loading up the video call that would connect them to the man who had helped destroy his family.

The cheerful sound made by the application was like an alarm, fully pulling him into the moment, reminding him of his long overdue revenge.

He cracked his knuckles, situating himself behind Bulma’s chair, both of them directly in front of the small computer that was currently placing a video call request to none other than Dr. Trunks Briefs.

Lapiz took his position behind the computer, his short black hair falling primly behind his ears as he aimed a gun at the woman, just as Vegeta had instructed.

Vegeta was trembling from his excitement, but he reined it back, forcing on a placid expression as the face of the man finally appeared on the screen.

“Hello?” the older man called into the screen.

“Dad!” Bulma called, on cue.

Vegeta’s smirk widened.

“Bulma? Bulma, it’s dark. Did you make it out?”

“Dad-”

“No, Dr. Briefs. She did not make it out,” Vegeta finally called out, and he watched in glee as the scientist’s eyes widened, first in fear, and then, in horrified recognition.

“You…?” he choked out. “The Dark Prince…”

He almost sneered at the tile.

Oh, how he hated it.

At the moment though, he relished in the terrified reverence that he heard in Briefs’ voice as he stared in petrified horror at him through the computer screen.

“Yes, me. Surprised, doctor?” he taunted, placing a hand on Bulma’s shoulder for show.

“My daughter! Please, don’t hurt my daughter-”

“Does she look to be in pain, doctor?” he asked. “She will remain unscathed, if you tell me exactly what I need to know.”

8-8-8-8-8

Bulma blanched as she saw her father’s eyes widen on the screen.

He had been looking at her, but then his eyes became riveted on her abductor, standing guard right behind her.

“I knew it,” she thought to herself. “Something about him is familiar. My father knows him…”

The man behind her began talking again, and Bulma strained her mind, trying in vain to think of where, where and when, she had heard that voice before.

It was not entirely familiar… like an echo of a long-forgotten memory that had been distorted by time, but she had known from the start, from the very first time that he had spoken to her, that she knew that voice…

“I will ask you, only once, Briefs,” he snarled. “Where is the third?”

Her father looked shell-shocked. “The third… you have found the second?”

“As I have said to your daughter… you are in no position to be demanding answers from me,” the man bit out. “Answer my question, Briefs.”

Bulma watched her father through the camera…

He was tight-lipped, his eyes wide in terror and agony… and she realized with a sinking feeling that she knew that look.

It was the face he made whenever he had to keep a terrible secret from her and her mother… his face whenever he knew that the syndicate’s business was far more important than anything he had on his plate.

At once, she came to the startling realization that whatever it was that her kidnapper was asking about, her father knew exactly what the answer was.

And yet, even with her sitting there in mortal danger, he would not talk.

She was absolutely sure.

The horrifying thought raged inside her head, and she understood that whatever it was, was bigger, more important, than her.

She began to despair as she watched the emotions run amok on her father’s face.

She closed her eyes as she heard her father speak the words that would spell her doom.

“I am sorry, young man. I do not know,” he answered, and she heard his plea through his softly-whispered words.

I am sorry, Bulma.

She shook her head in disbelief.

Her father had just sold her out… to keep a secret for the syndicate.

“Tch,” the man behind her spat. “Yes you do, Briefs. I am rather disappointed that you would allow your own daughter to die for a secret that we can unfold soon, anyway. I had just been hoping that you could make the search easier.”

Bulma felt his hold on her shoulders tighten, and she peeked, seeing the thin, severe-looking man behind the netbook still pointing his gun at her in warning.

“I know you do not think much of your existence, Briefs,” the man said, “but let me see how well you hold out when I have your daughter with me.”

With that, he gave her shoulder a sharp, painful squeeze.

“Aah!” she cried out, trying to hold back tears at the unwelcome sensation.

“Bulma!” Dr. Briefs cried.

“You had your chance, Briefs!” he said again. “And if you value your daughter’s life, even a little… make sure that the details of this little chat never reaches Frieza.”

“What do you plan to do with Bulma?” Dr. Briefs asked.

The man simply walked away from her, and with a menacing smirk, answered:

“We will be in touch.”

He then reached down, and disconnected the call.

He turned to the other two, who simply nodded and began packing up their computer and lights, as he approached her again, and before the lights went out, she finally caught a decent glimpse of the man who had been holding her captive.

Bulma’s breath caught in her throat as the sense of recognition began to relentless nag at her mind.

Her eyes took in the broad shoulders that made up for a rather compact stature, his hair a dark, controlled flame above his head. His large hands lifted to conceal his eyes behind what seemed like a set of high-tech night vision lenses.

She shook in denial. It couldn’t possibly be…

His eyes… she needed to see his eyes.

She didn’t even fight him when he untied her legs, then forcefully pulled her up with him, a gun to her side as he made her walk briskly beside him and his men.

It seemed like a small eternity, but soon, she felt the breeze of the cold autumn night on her cheeks, and she had barely realized that she was out of the building before she felt herself being pushed into a sleek, black car.

The man followed immediately behind her.

“Drive,” he growled, and a blond seated at the driver’s seat nodded, speeding them off into the night.

Bulma looked around, noting another dark car following closely behind them, and she took a deep breath, gathering her will before she turned to face her abductor.

Now, in the sparse lights of the few streetlamps littering what looked to be a back street, she gazed at his face, turned sharply towards her while his gun remained trained on her.

“Please,” she tried to reason with him again. “Why are you doing this? My father already told you that he doesn’t know anything.”

He smirked, an eerily familiar expression that made her chest constrict.

She needed to see his eyes!

“Come now, woman. Did you honestly believe that he was being truthful?” he asked, and Bulma viciously pushed her tears back, as desperation filled her.

She tried to discreetly move her hands, hoping to loosen the binds.

“I would not attempt to escape if I were you, Bulma.”

She stilled.

It can’t be…

She looked at him again, her heart hammering in her chest…

The way he said her name… it was unmistakable.

A slightly teasing cadence, the “u” sound deeper and a little longer than necessary.

There was only one person who had ever spoken her name that way…

“My name… why did you say my name that way?” she whispered.

He pointedly looked away.

Bulma felt her lower lip tremble. “Please… may I… will you let me see your eyes?”

He glanced at her, and with a hesitant sigh, lifted his free hand, and pulled off his dark glasses.

Her very breath stopped, and she stared.

Those eyes… narrowed, slanted, with thick brows… the darkest eyes she had ever seen.

The sight of those eyes transported her mind back to her youth, to happier times, before all the complications began, and she finally felt the tears fall unbidden down her cheeks.

She would know those eyes anywhere.

Bulma choked, her emotions too much, running too high…

It should not have been possible. But she couldn’t possibly be wrong…

“Ve… Vegeta?”

His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and that miniscule affirmation was all that it took to make her tears fall harder.

“Oh God… you’re alive?”

8-8-8-8-8

To be continued…

43 notes · View notes

nerddface · 6 years

Text

After Midnight

Characters: Federico Auditore, female!reader

Warnings: None

Notes: Marble one of three :)

Based off of this (or these): (x)

Word Count: 1502

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A warm Italian breeze drifted through the window and meandered over Y/N’s skin. She sighed at the page she had been staring at for the last half hour. Her eyes had gone through the motions of reading what was written on it a dozen times, but her mind was worlds away.

She let her chin fall into her palm, and gave up reading altogether. Her gaze was drawn to the moon, casting its silvery light across her bedsheets and then to where it mingled with the warm yellow glow of her candles on the floor.

A knock at her window startled her, and she jumped, looking to the noise to see a familiar grin shining at her through the glass panes.

Heaving a breath to calm her suddenly racing heart, she strode to the window and swung it open.

“Federico!” she scolded in a harsh whisper. He beamed up at her and hauled himself up and over the windowsill.

“Ciao, madonna mia,” he greeted as his feet hit her bedroom rug. “How are you on this lovely evening?”

“Paranoid, now, thanks to you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “My father will never allow you to see me again if he catches you in here like this.”

“Like what?” Federico looks as innocent as ever, but the sparkle of his teeth in the candlelight convinced her otherwise.

Y/N snorted and plopped back down in her desk chair.

“I hope you didn't come here for help with your studies,” she lamented, “for I haven't the mind for any of it right now.”

“The brightest woman I know, unamused by her books?” Federico placed a hand over his heart in faux shock. “Dios mio. What has happened to you?”

“I don't know,” she sighed, resting her elbow on her desk and her cheek in her hand again. Federico leaned his hip against the edge of the table, peering over the scattered literature.

There was a moment’s pause and Y/N stared mindlessly at a flickering candle flame before Federico piped up again.

“Ah, now I know.”

“What?” Y/N blinked and met his brown-amber eyes.

“You have been staring at pages for far too long, amica. I believe you need a change of pace.”

She quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what he might propose. God only knew with the Auditore boys. She resisted wincing when she remembered the time an afternoon stroll turned into a right trample across the countryside on horseback, and ended with Federico in a sling after he missed catching a beam leaping from his horse’s saddle and dislocated his shoulder. Luckily there was a doctor literally just around the corner to set it back in place, and after a scolding, a handful of small pills pressed into her palm, and the advice to “keep your husband out of trouble,” they walked (on foot) back to the palazzo. Needless to say, his father was not very pleased, and Y/N really didn’t need to deal with that again.

“Don't worry, my dear Y/N.” Federico brought her from her momentary reverie. “You won’t cease learning, but I believe experience is the best teacher.”

He held out a hand, bowed sweepingly, and looked up at her through his dark bangs. He must have noticed her hesitant gaze, because he stood straight again.

“Have I ever lied to you, tesoro?”

He guided her hands away from her desk with his, and leaned in to press a successfully distracting kiss to her mouth.

“I suppose not,” she sighed, and stood.

“Come, then,” Federico beckoned, picking up one of her light coats and guiding her to her door.

Their stroll started slowly enough, simply wandering with no apparent purpose, and chatting about the slightly frazzled tendencies of Y/N’s tutor. But then Federico eyed something across the street and strode over the cobblestone to stand before a weighted scaffold pulley system.

“Where are we going?” Y/N asked, but the only response she got was a grin. He stepped onto the platform, and reached with one hand up to the rope and for her waist with the other.

“Hold on tight,” he hummed in her ear before she could protest, and in a moment they were shooting up onto the rooftop. Her feet made the tile clink, and she feared falling, but Federico’s arm was steadying her shoulder.

“Bene?” he asked, and she nodded, unable to find anything to say.

“I enjoy the rooftops at night,” he commented as they strolled to an edge. “You can see so much of the sky, and less people bother you the higher you go.”

The pigeons that had gathered on the tile scattered as they drew closer, and Y/N was drawn forward by Federico’s strong arm as she began to linger.

“What are we doing?”

“Learning,” Federico responded. “Remember? It’s a simple jump.”

“You plan to jump?!” she exclaimed, and he nodded, pointing to a haystack on the grass below them.

“My father taught me. It’s perfectly safe.”

“Your father is mad. There’s no way I’m going to jump off a building, break my neck, and die. Who is supposed to finish my essay when I’m dead?”

Federico extended an arm to the ledge and took a short step. “I will show you.”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not! I won’t have you breaking your neck and dying to prove some silly--” before she could finish, though, he’d taken another step and leapt, arms wide. She held her hands to her chest and peered over the roof to see him step calmly from the haystack after a moment, grin at her when she barked his name, and scale the building back up to her.

“See?” He turned for her to see every aspect of him was unscathed. “Perfectly safe.”

“What if I crush you?” she asked, taking a step back.

He laughed, stepping forward to keep the space between them close. “Piccolo uccello, do you really think you can crush me?”

“What if you crush me?!”

His hands rested gently on her arms, and he studied her eyes with a sincerity that wasn't there a moment prior.

“I promise you will be safe.”

She looked at him for a moment, knowing that he spoke truthfully, but still unsure about the whole thing. Slowly, his arms reached around her arms and her middle, and he pulled her into his chest as he stepped closer to the edge, and--

A strand of straw poked her cheek, and her heart thudded against her ribs, in time with her companion’s against her chest. As she blinked and breathed in the warm, musty air, a smile stole her lips. A laugh bubbled up in her chest, and escalated quickly.

Giggling madly, she clambered out of his arms and the haystack, clasping her hands at her chest. “That was exhilarating! Let’s go again!”

She rushed to the ladder again, but a chuckling Federico caught her waist and pulled her back. She whirled on him, ready to pry his hands free and jump herself, when he pointed to the rooftops. She followed his finger to see a guard stepping from a further rooftop to the building they’d just leapt off.

“Looks like that is over for today.”

Y/N deflated. “Back to the books, then.”

“Hold on just a moment, young lady, I didn’t say all was over!” he slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her in the opposite direction. “There are plenty more places to find fun, and with you here, it isn’t more than a look away.”

Her cheeks flushed, and suddenly she was very aware of the weight over her shoulders. “Nothing good ever happens after nightfall,” Y/N recited. “That’s what mother says.”

Federico clicked his tongue. “That is where I have to disagree with you, bella. There are plenty of good things that occur after dark. Or did your parents never speak with you about what happens when two people find--”

Y/N cut him off with a noise of disgust. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, they did, and no, you don’t need to reiterate!”

Federico’s laugh echoed off the slowly emptying cobblestone street. She tried to shrink away, but that only drew him closer.

“I am only teasing,” he chuckled, and she crossed her arms over her chest indignantly, peering into his eyes, turned silvery by the moon. “Come, I meant what I said earlier. Simply point me in a direction and I will make sure you enjoy yourself.”

Despite the tendency he had to get her into ridiculous (and sometimes considerably compromising) situations, she knew he told the truth when he said she’d enjoy the experience. Everywhere she went with him, be it a short trip to an artist’s booth down the street to her house or a day-long excursion outside the walls of Firenze, she came home with a warm heart and a smile.

Maybe good things did happen after midnight.

#federico auditore #federico x reader #federico auditore x reader #af fanfic

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magicalgirlartist · 7 years

Text

All Will Be Well Part 6/?: Our Souls Ignite

It’s been 3000 years..........

Fandom: Dragon Ball Z Summary: A few revelations are had, training continues with some new participants, and Piccolo is the Salt Machine. Word Count: 5402

[AO3 link]

Trunks sat crosslegged on his bed, turning the blue ring over in his fingers. Ever since the incident with the other Gohan’s ring, it had been silent. It hadn’t spoken again--to him or his mother--it didn’t even glow. There was a faint buzz of energy about it as he ran a thumb over the symbol engraved into it, but nothing Trunks could pin down or harness.

He scowled. At first he'd thought the ring might be something that could help him against the androids. Maybe it had information on them, plans or blueprints or something. But for a week now it had just been a piece of jewelry.

His mother hadn't been able to find out much, either. According to her, it was definitely technology, but there was no way of opening it up to take a look at its machinery without destroying it beyond repair (or at least beyond her repair). She also hadn't found anything in her research about it, and it was frustrating her. “For all I know,” she'd huffed, “there was a mountain of research done on these things before the apocalypse. But if there was, it's either gone or inaccessible now.”

Trunks had considered actually wearing it properly, thinking that maybe that was the key to making it do something, anything. But Goku had said his wouldn't come off once it was on, and Trunks wasn't sure he wanted to take that chance. What if it never came off, and it somehow hindered his ability to fight? A chill ran down his spine as a thought occurred to him--what if Goku’s ring kept him from fighting at full capacity? They couldn't afford that. This whole thing would only work if Goku was in top form--if everyone was in top form. If the rings were going to cause a problem--

A soft glow suddenly shone forth from the ring’s symbol. Trunks’s breath caught and a warm wave of calm washed over him. His eyes closed and his breath evened out. Despite himself, a smile spread across his face. Do not worry, Trunks Briefs of Earth. The words rang clearly in his mind. It was the same voice that had spoken to him when his ring was next to Gohan’s, ringing just as clearly in his mind as the first time. But instead of panicking him as it had the first time, the voice soothed him, filled him with peace and hope. All will be well.

Trunks’s eyes blinked open slowly. The blue light had faded and the voice was gone, but there was something of them left behind--he could feel it in his heart. It was a strange, odd feeling, warm and calming. It was from the ring, Trunks knew that--he didn’t know how, but he did. He turned the ring over in his fingers, studying it again. So far, all it seemed to do was reassure him. Under most circumstances, that kind of superpower wasn’t much help. It certainly wouldn’t help him in a fight.

But Trunks’s circumstances weren’t most circumstances, and sometimes it was nice to just have someone tell him everything would be alright. His hands shook as he guided the ring onto his left middle finger and he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for something miraculous to happen.

After a long moment of nothing, he cracked one eye open to squint at the ring. It sat on his finger, soft light pulsing gently, but otherwise doing nothing. Trunks sighed. He was getting all worked up over nothing, as usual. He flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He really should stop all this moping about with the ring and get back to training. But if he was going to be any help against the other timeline’s androids, he needed to be in top form, and that included taking breaks when he needed to. His mother insisted that he take a rest day every so often, though whether it was more for his benefit or so she wasn’t alone in the lab as often was anyone’s guess.

There was a knock at the door, and his mother’s head appeared around the doorframe. “Hi, honey,” she said, grinning. She wasn’t smoking--she’d agreed a long time ago never to smoke in his room--but he could smell that she’d just put a cigarette out before she came in. “I’ve been working on a way to improve the fuel cells for the house’s defense systems. Want to see?”

“Sure.” Trunks sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand. Maybe she’d let him putter around in the lab for a while, build a little contraption to get his mind off things.

“Think you’ll be ready to go back when the machine’s set?” she asked as she led the way down the hallway to her makeshift lab. “It should only be a few days now.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Trunks found himself playing with the ring on his finger and forced his hands back to his sides. “I’m not sure you can ever really be ready for something like this.”

She laughed. “True enough.” She typed a passcode into a hidden panel, deactivating the force field blocking the lab door. “Come on, let’s build some shit.”

Chi-Chi rubbed her eyes. She had’t slept well the night before. With everything that had happened with the Star Sapphires, she was exhausted enough that she’d thought she would sleep well. But she’d tossed and turned most of the night, sleep eluding her until the early morning. She kept wondering if she’d done the right thing. Yes, she had, of course she had. But what if she hadn’t? What if she’d caused more problems by saying no than she would have by saying yes?

“Mom?”

Gohan gripped the front of her dress, looking up at her with bright, worried eyes. “Dad says we’re gonna go train now. We’ll come back in for lunch.”

She ruffled his hair. “Alright. Be safe, have fun, don’t break the house, and if it gets too much you come right on back.” She always said the same thing before Gohan went off to train. It made her feel better, if nothing else.

“Well, um.” Gohan fidgeted, his eyes flicking to her pocket. Chi-Chi tensed. She hoped he wasn’t about to ask what she thought he was. “You’ve got a ring now, too.”

“Yes.” This was going where she thought it was. She decided to head him off at the pass. “I’m not training with you, Gohan.”

“Come on, Mom,” Gohan begged, “it’ll be fun! Dad said you used to be a martial artist, and I can show you how our rings work! Please, Mom?”

“Sweetie.” Chi-Chi knelt so she was eye level with her son. “Your heart’s in the right place. But I want to forget yesterday happened, okay? If the Star Sapphires somehow got wind of the fact that I’m actually using their ring, they might come back and try to make me their queen again. If they do that, people might get hurt. I don’t want that.”

Gohan looked down, fidgeting. “By people, you mean me, don’t you.”

He was more perceptive than she’d thought. “It’s not just that,” she added. “That outfit I had yesterday? I...when I was a kid I used to wear clothes like that.” Gohan’s nose wrinkled and she sighed. “I liked them at the time! It was one of my favourite outfits, nonrestrictive, easy to clean, and I thought the cape was cute. But now…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It’s not something I’m comfortable wearing just...around. I feel too exposed. So I’m not wearing that outfit, and I’m definitely not training in it.”

He tapped his thumbs together, thinking, and she thought that was the end of it. Chi-Chi stood up. “I appreciate the offer, honey. But I’m not--”

“I can show you.” Gohan looked up at her hopefully again. “If I can change my outfit, you should be able to too!”

“Sweetie, that’s really not--”

A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and Goku rested his chin on her shoulder. “Come on, Chi, it’ll be like old times! Remember how we used to spar just after we got married? That was fun, right?”

Chi-Chi elbowed him off of her and turned to face both of them, arms folded. “Maybe,” she admitted. It had been fun. But it had also been nearly ten years now--she certainly couldn’t spar while she was pregnant, and after Gohan was born she hadn’t had the time. A part of her missed it, but the other part… “I’m out of practise, I’m not a fighter, and if I don’t take care of this house then no one will,” she said.

Gohan clasped his hands together. “Pleeeease?” he begged, his eyes wide and pleading.

Chi-Chi faltered. Oh, she’d always had a hard time shooting Gohan down when he pulled that face. “W-well.” She looked around at their house. The breakfast dishes were washed and put away, it was too early to start lunch, the laundry was done and Yamcha had run a vacuum for her two days ago. She’d planned on washing the windows today, but maybe that could wait. She looked at Goku, hands on his hips and grinning casually at her, and Gohan, his eyes full of hope. Chi-Chi sighed. “Just for a little while, alright? I’m coming back in early to make lunch.”

Gohan absolutely beamed at her, hands clenched in excited fists in front of him. “Awesome! Come on, Mom, come outside!” He grabbed her hand with both of his and started pulling her towards the door.

Piccolo glowered at the rest of the group from his position next to the Son house. “This is taking too long,” he growled. He was ignored, and he fought back a snarl. If he didn’t get a sparring partner in the next five minutes he was going to start throwing punches.

This was what he got for training with people who gave a shit about other things. When Gohan had told him that his mother would be joining them for practise this morning, he’d just nodded and agreed to wait while she got her uniform figured out. Piccolo remembered how fierce she’d been at the tournament where they’d first met almost ten years ago. He’d never had the chance to square off against her, and he relished the idea of a new challenge.

But it was taking so long for her to get her act in gear. Apparently, the outfit her ring gave her was unsatisfactory or something. It was just an outfit. Honestly. She’d seemed so embarrassed by it the day before, but Piccolo didn’t really see what the big deal was. Chi-Chi called it “undignified,” but he didn’t see how. It showed off her muscles. What was so undignified about a display of strength?

Gohan had been trying to show her how to use her ring powers to modify her uniform for the last half hour, and either Star Sapphire rings worked differently from Green Lantern rings or Chi-Chi was just terrible at it. She had pants on now, formfitting magenta things that also covered her feet, but her top was still the same small armor piece from the day before. Gohan thought this was great progress, apparently.

Piccolo drummed his fingers on his arm and wondered how Tenshinhan was doing. It had been a while since he’d seen him and Chiaotzu, despite what they’d said about sparring together when Goku first came back. If time wasters like these were going to become a common occurrence, he’d probably seek him out sooner rather than later.

Not that he was only going to see Tenshinhan because of how fed up he was with the Sons and Yamcha, of course. Tenshinhan wasn’t the strongest fighter of the group, but he was different, certainly. And sometimes that was what Piccolo wanted: a sparring partner that he hadn’t spent all his time studying and working to defeat for most of his life. Tenshinhan surprised him when they sparred, which wasn’t often, but hopefully that would change soon. Yes, a visit to Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu seemed like a very good idea.

Chi-Chi gasped as her cape vanished and turned into one of those dress things she liked so much. Piccolo squinted. It looked a lot like the outfit she’d worn back in the tournament he’d first seen her and Goku (and Yamcha and Tenshinhan, now that he thought about it) at. It was pink and purple instead of blue and red, but aside from colour and the fact that her pants were tight to her legs, it was basically the same. Goku grinned at her and flashed a thumbs up. “Looks good, Chi!” he declared. “You ready to start yet?”

She looked herself over, manifested a pair of pink elbow-length gloves, and nodded. “This will do nicely, yes.”

Yamcha had spent the whole ordeal with his back to the three Sons, staring pointedly at the woods. Something about “modesty.” He turned to look when Chi-Chi declared she was ready and smiled weakly. “Nice,” he said. “You look good.” Goku nodded, and Chi-Chi smiled and looked at the ground bashfully.

Yes, Piccolo was definitely going to visit Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu soon. This was just annoying now.

Chi-Chi crashed to the ground, yelping in pain. Yamcha flew at her, aiming a foot at her stomach, but she caught him by the ankle and threw him off. He stumbled back, crashing into someone and tumbling to the ground. Almost immediately, Chi-Chi was on top of him, pinning both Yamcha and whoever he’d landed on to the ground with the help of a giant pink hand she’d conjured. Yamcha squirmed, and there were hands on his shoulders trying to push him off, and he suddenly realised he was pinned between Chi-Chi and Goku and wriggling awkwardly between them. He gulped and shoved at Chi-Chi. This wasn’t a position he wanted to be in.

Glancing behind him at Goku, he remembered what had happened the day before when they fought together. He grabbed Goku’s hand, the one with the ring, and made a construct hand of his own.

It burst forth with a brilliant, almost white light, sending Chi-Chi flying and banishing her construct. Yamcha rolled off Goku and started to stand, but Goku yanked him back and tried to pull him into a hold. He grinned. Wrestling, huh? Fine, it had been a while. Shoving Goku’s shoulder, Yamcha tried to pin him down, but Goku overpowered him and slammed Yamcha back first into the ground. Suddenly he was looking up at Goku with his arms pinned by his sides and Goku’s grinning face not far from his own, and he definitely wasn’t thinking about it. His arms were pinned but his legs were free, and he hooked them around Goku’s waist to give himself enough leverage to flip their positions, throwing his whole body into it. Goku’s eyes widened as he tipped over with an undignified shriek.

Now Yamcha was on top and grinning, sitting on Goku’s legs and struggling to get Goku’s arms under control too. Suddenly something grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him up, and Yamcha was face to face with Chi-Chi again. She had a puffy cheek that Yamcha didn’t have time to feel bad for before she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a tree. His head knocked back against it and he was disoriented for a moment. When he could think again, his hands were pinned over his head by pink energy and his feet dangled off the ground. Chi-Chi looked very pleased with herself as he struggled.

His chest heaved and he was dizzy. On the one hand, he was almost (sadly) used to his sparring matches ending with him on the ground or pinned to something. On the other, there was something extra embarrassing at having his defeat get handed to him by the husband and wife team. A short burst of ki freed him from his bonds and he dropped to the ground, a hand up. “Okay,” he panted, “I’m done for today. I know when I’m beat.”

Goku offered him a hand up. “Good going today, Yamcha!” He beamed at Yamcha as he pulled him to his feet. “You’ve got some really good moves!”

Yamcha gave a tight smile. “Thanks. I’m pretty beat now, though. Is it okay if I quit for now? I could go make lunch.”

“I’ll go with you,” Chi-Chi immediately offered. She powered her ring down and it melted back into the sleeveless dress and pants she’d had on before. “I think I’m done for now, too.” She had a look in her eye that Yamcha wasn’t sure he liked, a critical glint directed his way. He had a feeling she was offering to go with him for reasons other than just lunch.

Goku didn’t seem to pick up on any of it. He just grinned and gave the two of them a thumbs up. “Okay! I’m going to train with Piccolo and Gohan for a while then. Have fun!” He took off towards where Piccolo was instructing Gohan with basic drills.

Yamcha powered his own ring down and started walking towards the house. “What should we make for lunch?” he asked Chi-Chi as she fell into step alongside him.

“Something simple, I think.” Chi-Chi pushed the door open and headed for the kitchen. “I don’t have the energy to make anything too fancy right now.”

“Fair enough.” Yamcha washed his hands and started peeling carrots when he was directed to. He loved cooking and was (he thought) pretty good at it, but out of respect he always defaulted to Chi-Chi when they cooked in her kitchen. It was hers, after all, and he was just a guest. Although there had been one time where she’d asked him to show her how to make something, and there had been a few times where he did all the cooking on his own.

“Yamcha, can we talk?” Chi-Chi sat at the table beside him, turned towards him. She looked unusually serious, and he tried to keep his eyes focused on his carrots. “I’ve been, well, experimenting with the ring a little.” He glanced up at her. She was twisting it around her finger, still staring intently at him. It made him nervous, and he returned his attention to his hands. “Yamcha, something Dashiri said the other day...the ring lets me know you. That’s what she said. I don’t think she was making that up.”

“Mhm.” Yamcha put one carrot down and picked up another one, eyes focused on his task. “That’s cool.”

“Yamcha.” Her voice turned hard and he looked at her again. She was frowning. “I want to know what happened with Bulma.”

He swallowed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Please.” She put her hand over his and he stopped moving, not wanting to slice her fingers by accident. “I want to help you work through it. You’ve got so much pain and sadness tied up in love that it’s impossible to tell where one stops and another starts. What did she do?” She squeezed his hand. “How did she hurt you?”

His eyes stung. “I-I--she didn’t mean to.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Chi-Chi took one hand in both of hers, squeezing it reassuringly. “Talk to me, Yamcha. I might be able to help.”

He laughed bitterly. “No, it’s pretty much past help. She’s seen to that.”

“I don’t mean help your relationship,” she said dismissively. “I’m not so good a person as to care about that. I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want to help you, not you and Bulma.”

“Oh.” Yamcha looked down at their hands. “Don’t you like her?”

“Whether I like Bulma or not isn’t important. She’s fine, I guess, but I like you more.” Chi-Chi shrugged. “You like her, and she’s important to you. So talk to me.”

Yamcha bit his lip as he tried to figure out what to say. “It’s...complicated,” he started. “We had another fight a little while ago. We broke up and I went off to train with Tien and Chiaotzu.” He squeezed her hands tighter. “Then when I went back to try and talk to her about it after we’d cooled down she...she and Vegeta…”

Chi-Chi’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“And they weren’t together or anything,” he added, and now that the words were out they wouldn’t stop coming. “But they’d definitely been sleeping together, at least once, because she’s p-pregnant and--and she wants to keep it and I’m just--I’m so mad but I don’t really have any right to be mad because we weren’t even together at that point and I’m being selfish but I--”

“You still love her,” Chi-Chi said gently. She opened her arms and pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay to be upset. Being upset means you care.”

“A little too much,” Yamcha mumbled.

“None of that now.” Chi-Chi patted his back and pulled away. “You should talk to her again. Even if your romantic relationship is beyond repair, you two have known each other for too long to not be friends anymore.”

Yamcha shrugged and wiped his eyes on the heels of his hands. “It’s not that easy. Not everyone can have as easy a relationship as you and Goku.” He knew he sounded bitter, but at this point he didn’t know how not to.

“Me and Goku?” To his surprise, Chi-Chi laughed and stood up. “You’ve seen us fight. Our relationship isn’t easy.”

“Easier than mine and Bulma’s.”

She paused. “You have a point.” Hesitantly, she patted his shoulder. “Listen, if you ever want to talk about it, my ring and I are here for you.”

He picked up his carrot and paring knife. “Thanks.” He wouldn’t.

The ring did come off when Trunks pulled on it, which was a relief and a half. He didn’t bother taking it off most of the time. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable wearing it and gripping his sword at the same time as he’d thought it would be. Most nights he didn’t even bother taking it off before bed. It helped relax him, and with the world going to shit as much as it was, he could use all the help with that he could get.

He kept finding himself fidgeting with it when his mind started to wander. It was oddly comforting. Trunks still didn’t know anything about its purpose, but he was a little less wary of it. Maybe it was a mistake to let his guard down about anything this late in the game, but being constantly cautious about everything was exhausting. Just having this one little thing to not worry about helped. Not much, but it did.

Trunks and his mother had performed several experiments with it, but their results had all been inconclusive. The ring seemed to need something else to function at full capacity, but they didn’t know what. (His mother hypothesized that it was something to do with Gohan’s ring, but they’d have to wait until Trunks went back in time again to test the theory.) Trunks could sense immense power coming from it sometimes, but not always, and it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It wasn’t “organic” like ki (for lack of a better term), but it wasn’t like the androids’ energy signatures either--he couldn’t sense those at all. And the fact that it fluctuated constantly was bizarre in and of itself.

Their most recent breakthrough, such as it was, determined that it was probably a communication device of some kind. Sometimes a fuzzy sort of faint static would come out of it. His mom thought it was some kind of residual white noise from distant communications. Trunks wasn’t sure what to make of that. Most communicators went two directions, unless it was some kind of bug. Had someone on the other side of the world--or universe--been listening in on him and his mom and their struggles? On the other hand, if they had heard about their problems, why hadn’t they come to help?

He sat on his bed, legs crossed, staring intently at the ring. It sat innocently on his finger, gently pulsing with soft blue light. Usually, watching its light for long enough helped bring his anxiety under control, but today it wasn’t working. The time machine would be ready soon, and that combined with the new information about the possible communication function of his ring, he was too keyed up. In two days he’d be going back to the past again. He’d help fight the androids in any way he could, and hopefully it would be a quick ordeal with Goku fighting on their side this time. But he was still anxious, and the closer it got to being time to leave, the more anxious he became.

Trunks absently rubbed his thumb over the ring’s symbol. If the ring was some kind of communication device...maybe he could use it. He lifted it to his face, glancing around nervously. There was no one around to hear him if it didn’t work and he sounded like an idiot.

He cleared his throat. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

No response. Trunks sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected. But the ring had talked to him twice before. He’d try one more time before he gave up the idea entirely.

“This is Trunks Briefs of Earth,” he said, speaking directly into the ring. “If anyone’s listening, Earth could really use your help. Please. I need--we need all the help we can get. Our people are being systematically wiped out by a biomechanical menace and there aren’t many of us left. If you’re able to--”

Trunks Briefs of Earth. The ring’s voice echoed in his mind, soothing and calm as always. His breath caught and he stopped talking, waiting for it to speak again. All will be well. You will have the help you need, but it will have to come from within you. You are the only Blue Lantern left in this timeline.

Icy fear gripped his heart. No. No, no, not another one. He was already the last of the Saiyans, the last fighter, the last hope for the planet. He couldn’t be the last of his kind again, even if he didn’t know what he was actually the last of this time. What was a Blue Lantern?

Don’t be afraid, the ring said. You will have help. But it will not come from this timeline. Keep hope in your heart and the power will come to you.

“How?” he asked, but the voice was gone. Trunks flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Well. That wasn’t helpful at all.

It was late. He should get some sleep. He had one more full day of training and then it was time to go back. Trunks tossed his jacket into a corner of the room and rolled over, trying not to think too hard about the ring for now. All it would do was keep him up at night.

He left it on, though.

“Are you leaving?”

Yamcha froze at Goku’s voice. Slowly, he turned to see his friend standing in the doorway leading from the kitchen to the living room. He offered him a weak grin. “Just for a while.”

“But you only just got here,” Goku whined. He wandered into the living room, hands in his pockets. Yamcha squirmed and went back to reorganising the contents of his backpack. “We were just getting used to having you around! And me and Gohan love training with you. You should stay.”

“I don’t want to impose,” Yamcha said. His eyes stayed resolutely glued to his task, refusing to look up at Goku.

“You’re not imposing.” Goku slung an arm around his shoulder and Yamcha swallowed. “We like having you here.”

Yamcha shrugged him off. “Th-that’s nice...I mean, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“So stay!” Goku grabbed Yamcha’s shoulders and turned him to face him. He was grinning. “I know Chi-Chi likes having you here too. She keeps talking about how it’s nice to have a guy who likes cooking and stuff around to help her out cuz I’m always off training Gohan.”

Yamcha shook his head with a wry smile. “That’s her dropping hints about you helping around the house more.”

“I help out,” Goku said defensively. “I get food and go fishing and look after Gohan and chop wood and fix stuff. Mostly.” He looked vaguely guilty and Yamcha had to suppress a grin at the memory of Goku trying to fix their leaky roof. “But we like having you here. Why do you have to go?”

He shrugged. “I just do. You guys have this big happy family thing going here and the longer I stay the more I feel like I’m intruding.”

“You’re not.” Goku gripped his shoulders tighter and stared at him intently. Yamcha’s mouth went dry. Goku didn’t often look intense about anything outside of a fight or a challenge. Although maybe he thought of getting Yamcha to stay as a challenge. Hell if he knew what went on in that head. “Yamcha, stay.”

Yamcha gently removed Goku’s hands from his shoulders. “I can’t. I won’t. Puar and I are leaving.”

“But why?” Goku whined.

He hesitated. What should he say? He couldn’t tell Goku that Chi-Chi kept trying to fix his love life, or that the longer he stayed and watched them grow the more he felt like he was falling behind, or about the annoyed looks Piccolo kept giving him. He couldn’t tell him that even with his extra Green Lantern powers he was still inadequate, still not good enough. He couldn’t tell him that maybe he just needed a little time to scream into the forest without all three of them descending on him to ask what was wrong. He needed to be with someone who wouldn’t ask questions, like Tien.

Worst of all, though, was that he couldn’t tell Goku that maybe, just maybe, he’d been spending just a little too much time with him and his wife lately and it was messing with his head. He was still upset over Bulma, he couldn’t totally forgive her yet, and he thought that was fair. What wasn’t fair was how jealous he’d started getting of Goku and Chi-Chi’s relationship. And it wasn’t the same kind of jealous as he’d been before, where he was jealous of their relationship in general. No, now he was jealous of both of them for being in a relationship with each other.

It didn’t make sense to him. Goku and Chi-Chi had been married for nearly ten years now, and he’d never been upset about it before, not like this. He didn’t just want what they had, he wanted what they had with them. It was weird, and it scared him, and the longer he was in this house with them treating him like one of the family, the worse it got. He wasn’t going to let it continue.

But he couldn’t tell Goku all of that. At best, he’d be laughed at. At worst, he’d get punched in the face.

“I need to go check on the apartment,” he lied. He’d sublet his apartment when he found out he’d be spending most of the next three years training. “And I should show my face in town a little so the tabloids stop printing articles about how I’ve died or something.” That was true. He’d found one at the supermarket the last time he helped Chi-Chi with groceries. It had been hilarious, but he didn’t want any more weird rumours like that to spread. “And nobody’s heard anything from Tien and Chiaotzu in a while. I figure someone’d better go check on them.” He tried to flash a witty grin, but it felt weird on his face. “You know how they are.”

Goku laughed. “Yeah, they like to keep to themselves.” He clapped Yamcha on the shoulder again. “Well, we’re all going to miss you. Make sure you say goodbye to everyone before you leave, okay?”

Yamcha’s awkward grin turned into a sad smile as he turned back to his backpack. “Sure. No problem.”

#dbz #dragon ball z #green lantern au #writing #fanfiction #all will be well

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demoniclovedbz · 7 years

Text

Taiko’s Mother’s Day

A/N:

This is just a little scene I made... @xchellmoonchild had an OC Taiko whose baby died before he hatched, and after reading/seeing a lot of sad posts on their tumblr I decided to write a reunion. Just in time for Mother's Day as well ^_^ Yes I didn't miss the deadline!! Anyway, I hope it's okay... I cried while I was writing it. *Also yes I used Viola. I couldn't think of any other way to bring Helidon back. She's a good person sometimes :)

“Viola… if I show you something, do you promise to keep it just between us?”

“Listen to me, Viola. This is important. You absolutely cannot let your father know I’m showing you this – he’s a better person than he was, but he’s still a bad person. He’ll use them for evil.” “I know that! Don’t worry Grandpa, I won’t tell him.” “Good… and remember, they’re only for emergencies. You can’t use them for selfish things, that’s how I got banned from using them.” “Okay, I get it! Just show me.” “Do you promise you’ll use them properly?” “Grandpa… if you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t even be showing me how to make them, right?” “… Right.” Katas smiled at Viola. “Just checking.” He chuckled. “Okay… first of all, focus your energy into the dragon. Try to imagine it growing – as if you’re building a ki attack, but visualise the dragonballs instead.” “Okay…” Viola mumbled. She stared at the small model dragon she had made in front of her, and concentrated. “Visualise the dragon coming to life, focus as much energy into it as you can.” Katas said. “Remember the more energy you give it, the greater the wishes it can grant.” “Mm…” Viola uttered, her eyes closed in concentration. She felt her energy leave her body; she felt herself become drained… Then she opened her eyes, and smiled.

There were dragonballs. Seven of them, scattered around the dragon. It was glowing slightly, as if it had its own life force. She could feel it; it was real! But then… “Wha?” Viola blinked, disheartened when the dragon’s energy disappeared, and the dragonballs faded away. She looked at Katas, confused. “What happened?” Viola frowned. “Don’t worry.” Katas waved a hand. “Not everyone can do it right away – and your powers have probably been weakened by your icejin blood.” He smiled. “But it’s okay, you’ll get it. Try again.” “Okay.” Viola sighed, and once again focused her energy into the dragon.

“I’m putting my trust into you. The dragonballs are not toys, they are a gift. Never use them for selfish reasons, and never unless you absolutely have to. They’re for you to protect yourself and your family, understand? If you use them for bad reasons, I’ll know – and I’ll come for you!” “Haha. Okay Grandpa, I get it. I won’t abuse them. I promise.”

Viola stared dreamily into the street, at a gift store opposite her favourite café. She was relaxing with a coffee, after shopping for Frikiza’s Mother’s Day present. The store was promoting Mother’s Day. Everywhere Viola looked there seemed to be signs and promotions for it. It always made her remember… him. The person that had taught her to create dragonballs. He was her grandfather… Or at least he had been, for a short while. She hadn’t known him long. He was her grandmother too though, technically. He was the sole parent of her father, someone he’d been separated from for hundreds of years. Viola never forgot how happy he’d been to meet her father. He’d spent so long waiting for a chance… even if it was only for such a short time, he’d been grateful for every second he got with his child. Viola couldn’t imagine what it was like. She wasn’t a mother herself, but she’d been happy for him all the same. Parents should be with their kids, right? Even though most of the people in Viola’s life had difficult families. Maybe she was just lucky to have had both of her parents with her all the time – even her own brother couldn’t say that. Viola was the only child of Piccolo Daimao that had grown up in a normal home, and even then it wasn’t all that normal compared to most families. Still, though… it was normal enough to appreciate that parents should be with their children on Mother’s Day. Or Father’s Day, or Christmas… pretty much any day you could buy a card for. Any day that reminded her of Katas. She smiled slightly, setting down her coffee. She’d been thinking about this idea for a while… Would Katas be mad at her if she used the dragonballs? It wasn’t exactly an emergency, and she didn’t need to do it. It was a good thing, though… and it was nice to do good things, right? Maybe Viola wouldn’t normally bother, but she’d seen so many Mother’s Day posters today it kind of felt like a sign that she should. So yeah, maybe she should. If Katas had a problem with it he could always send some angel down to take her dragon powers, right? It was kind of a miracle that she even had them at all. … Whatever. Viola wanted to, and she had a habit of doing whatever she wanted. She’d have to wait until tonight though, when her family were sleeping. The last thing she wanted was for her father to find out she could make dragonballs.

~~~~~

It was late at night, in a forest far away from her home and civilisation. Viola stopped in a clearing, certain that nobody would see her here. She looked around, just to make sure… yeah. Nobody was here. She couldn’t sense anybody for miles. Okay. She reached into her bag, and pulled out seven dragonballs, dropping them onto the ground. She squatted down beside them and whispered, “Iggy. Come out quietly.”

The creature didn’t obey. With a great beam of light Viola’s dragon shot out of the dragonballs, taking up a good portion of the sky above them. “Iggy!” Viola hissed. “Come down! I don’t want anybody to see you!” “Shouldn’t I be here…?” The dragon spoke, lowering herself below the trees. “I’m not sure. My grandpa told me to only use you in emergencies.” Viola giggled. “So I guess we’re breaking the rules a little… but it’s for a good cause. You’re okay with that, right?” “Yes.” Iggy nodded. “But it’s late. I’m tired. Speak your wish now please.” “Okay.” Viola sighed. Seriously? The dragon had been sleeping for years! “Whatever. Listen – I want you to do something good in honour of Mother’s Day. Reunite a parent and child that have been separated.” “Which parent and child?” Iggy questioned. “Doesn’t matter.” Viola shrugged. “It doesn’t even have to be someone from Earth. Just pick someone that deserves it, I don’t care who you choose. Oh!” She looked at Iggy sternly. “But – if one of them died because of sickness, cure them. Don’t just bring them back to life for them to die again later.” “Oh…” Iggy uttered. “That’ll take up a lot of my power, to fix them as well. You won’t be able to make any more wishes for a year.” “That’s fine. I’m not even supposed to make this one.” Viola replied. “Do it.” “As you command.” Iggy’s ki rose briefly, and her body glowed. “… It is done. Farewell.” “Wha –” Viola began to cry out, but before she could stop her Iggy disappeared, along with the dragonballs that had turned to stone as soon as their wish was granted. Viola let out a sigh. Damn. She’d at least wanted Iggy to tell her who she’d chosen. … Meh. Whatever. She trusted Iggy’s judgement. One more mother was seeing their baby again. “Sorry, Grandpa.” Viola giggled, glancing up at the sky. “You’re not the only one that gets a second chance.” She jumped into the air, and flew back home.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, on the distant Planet Namek, the gilled Namekian Taiko let out a sigh as he lay in bed. He couldn’t sleep. He took another drag of his cigarette, hoping it would relax him. … Nah. He didn’t feel any different. He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. This was so frustrating. He had a busy day at school tomorrow; his students were having their assessments. He needed to sleep… Dammit. This was pissing him off.

Crack. Taiko frowned as a sound came from somewhere nearby. What the hell was that…? Crack. Again. What? He sat up, his ears poking upright in alarm, and he stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray at his bedside. What was that noise? Crack. It sounded like it was coming from inside the house… he could feel a small energy all of a sudden. Did an animal get in here? Taiko rose from his bed, and stepped out into the corridor.

Crack! The sound grew louder. Taiko jerked his head towards it, and he stopped. It was coming from… the spare room. It was – … it used to be a nursery. A long time ago. The door was closed. Nothing could get in. Still, though… the sound was coming from inside. Taiko became unnerved. This energy felt familiar. It felt like… No. No, that was impossible. What the hell was going on? What was making that sound? Crack! “Waaa…”

Taiko’s entire body froze. He tensed and gasped, his breath catching in his lungs at that sound. It sounded like… But that was impossible. He knew it was impossible. It wasn’t just the sound, though. The energy was stronger. That energy… “Waa!” “H…” Taiko choked, his body shaking. He stared at the door with wide eyes, his breathing becoming frantic. No… No no no – “Aaaaaa!” “Helidon!” Taiko screamed, and raced towards the door. He opened it clumsily and burst into the room, convinced he wouldn’t really see – … Kami.

Taiko panted breathlessly, his heart pounding at the vision he saw before him. It was… an egg. A cracked egg, with a crying baby sitting in the remnants of its shell. His baby… No. No way. This was impossible. He’d gone crazy! He’d lost it! Taiko let out a loud cry, scrunching his eyes shut in an attempt to block out what he was convinced was an illusion. No. He could still hear the baby, wailing loudly. No! In floods of tears Taiko grabbed hold of his ears and ripped them off, destroying his ear drums. The room fell silent, but when he opened his eyes the baby was still there. Why was he there! Kami… was this real? Was this - - no way! Taiko threw his claws into his own eyes, screaming in pain as he tore them out. Okay! Okay this couldn’t be real, and if this wasn’t real then the baby would definitely not still be there when – shit but Taiko could still feel his ki! He screamed again, regenerating his eyes and ears, and as soon as he did his drums became flooded with the sound of the baby crying. The image of him came back; he was still there as clear as day, sitting in his egg and crying. His ki was strong. He was healthy… “Helidon!” Taiko cried.

He raced over to him, and he stopped dead. He was terrified to touch him in case he disappeared. How? How was this happening? “Helidon!” Taiko sobbed. He grabbed hold of his own antennae, tugging on them in his anxiety, adrenaline rushing through his veins. How? How was this real? Was it really…? “H…” Taiko gasped, and extended his hand out. Slowly, slowly… “Nrrg!” He cried out when the baby grabbed it. It was real. Taiko could feel him. His hands were warm. Taiko could feel his energy. It was real! “Baby!” Frantic, Taiko grabbed hold of the baby and pulled him up into his arms. “It’s you!” He wailed. “It’s you!” He buried his face against Helidon’s head, sobbing loudly. Tears streaming down his face, he held onto Helidon as tight as he could, terrified to let go in case he went away. “Ssh, ssh.” He soothed him desperately, bouncing the tiny screaming body as calmly as he could. He couldn’t do it calmly; he was a wreck. He bounced the baby softly but unevenly, his entire body trembling. “It’s okay it’s okay it’s okay.” He spoke shakily. His heart was racing; he didn’t even know if he believed the words. Yes. Yes, he did. Of course he did. Everything was okay. Everything would forever be okay, nothing would ever not be okay again. His baby was here… his baby was here! “It’s okay!” Taiko exclaimed, laughing through his tears. “Helidon, how – how are you –” He lifted the baby up, causing Helidon’s cries to soften. Helidon stared down into Taiko’s eyes, and Taiko suddenly didn’t care why he was here. What did it matter. What the hell did anything matter now! “Th…” Taiko choked, mesmerised by the most beautiful sight in the world. He’d never seen Helidon’s eyes before. They were… wow. “Those are your eyes.” Taiko laughed, a wide smile fixed permanently onto his face. It wouldn’t ever, ever leave. “Same as mine – my baby!” He pulled Helidon against him again, hugging him. “I’m your daddy. It’s okay, I’m your daddy. Ssh. Ssh.” He rocked back and forth, his face buried against Heildon’s skull once more. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of Helidon’s breathing. He wasn’t crying anymore. He was grunting, and gargling, and tugging on Taiko’s clothes. Taiko laughed, causing more tears to spill from his eyes. “Thank you…” He whispered, to whoever or whatever the hell made this happen. “Thank you.”

#viola #taiko #helidon #oc #xchellmoonchild #demonic love #king piccolo #frikiza #piccolo daimao #fanfic #mother's day #reblog

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nerddface-has-moved · 7 years

Text

After Midnight

Characters: Federico Auditore, female!reader

Warnings: None

Notes: Marble one of three :)

Based off of this (or these): (x)

Word Count: 1502

A knock at her window startled her, and she jumped, looking to the noise to see a familiar grin shining at her through the glass panes.

Heaving a breath to calm her suddenly racing heart, she strode to the window and swung it open.

“Federico!” she scolded in a harsh whisper. He beamed up at her and hauled himself up and over the windowsill.

“Ciao, madonna mia,” he greeted as his feet hit her bedroom rug. “How are you on this lovely evening?”

“Paranoid, now, thanks to you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “My father will never allow you to see me again if he catches you in here like this.”

“Like what?” Federico looks as innocent as ever, but the sparkle of his teeth in the candlelight convinced her otherwise.

Y/N snorted and plopped back down in her desk chair.

“I hope you didn't come here for help with your studies,” she lamented, “for I haven't the mind for any of it right now.”

“The brightest woman I know, unamused by her books?” Federico placed a hand over his heart in faux shock. “Dios mio. What has happened to you?”

“I don't know,” she sighed, resting her elbow on her desk and her cheek in her hand again. Federico leaned his hip against the edge of the table, peering over the scattered literature.

There was a moment’s pause and Y/N stared mindlessly at a flickering candle flame before Federico piped up again.

“Ah, now I know.”

“What?” Y/N blinked and met his brown-amber eyes.

“You have been staring at pages for far too long, amica. I believe you need a change of pace.”

“Don't worry, my dear Y/N.” Federico brought her from her momentary reverie. “You won’t cease learning, but I believe experience is the best teacher.”

He held out a hand, bowed sweepingly, and looked up at her through his dark bangs. He must have noticed her hesitant gaze, because he stood straight again.

“Have I ever lied to you, tesoro?”

He guided her hands away from her desk with his, and leaned in to press a successfully distracting kiss to her mouth.

“I suppose not,” she sighed, and stood.

“Come, then,” Federico beckoned, picking up one of her light coats and guiding her to her door.

“Where are we going?” Y/N asked, but the only response she got was a grin. He stepped onto the platform, and reached with one hand up to the rope and for her waist with the other.

“Bene?” he asked, and she nodded, unable to find anything to say.

“I enjoy the rooftops at night,” he commented as they strolled to an edge. “You can see so much of the sky, and less people bother you the higher you go.”

The pigeons that had gathered on the tile scattered as they drew closer, and Y/N was drawn forward by Federico’s strong arm as she began to linger.

“What are we doing?”

“Learning,” Federico responded. “Remember? It’s a simple jump.”

“You plan to jump?!” she exclaimed, and he nodded, pointing to a haystack on the grass below them.

“My father taught me. It’s perfectly safe.”

“Your father is mad. There’s no way I’m going to jump off a building, break my neck, and die. Who is supposed to finish my essay when I’m dead?”

Federico extended an arm to the ledge and took a short step. “I will show you.”

“See?” He turned for her to see every aspect of him was unscathed. “Perfectly safe.”

“What if I crush you?” she asked, taking a step back.

He laughed, stepping forward to keep the space between them close. “Piccolo uccello, do you really think you can crush me?”

“What if you crush me?!”

His hands rested gently on her arms, and he studied her eyes with a sincerity that wasn't there a moment prior.

“I promise you will be safe.”

Giggling madly, she clambered out of his arms and the haystack, clasping her hands at her chest. “That was exhilarating! Let’s go again!”

“Looks like that is over for today.”

Y/N deflated. “Back to the books, then.”

Her cheeks flushed, and suddenly she was very aware of the weight over her shoulders. “Nothing good ever happens after nightfall,” Y/N recited. “That’s what mother says.”

Y/N cut him off with a noise of disgust. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, they did, and no, you don’t need to reiterate!”

Federico’s laugh echoed off the slowly emptying cobblestone street. She tried to shrink away, but that only drew him closer.

Maybe good things did happen after midnight.

#federico x reader #federico auditore x reader #federico auditore #federico auditore defense committee

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] The Long Way (1/1)

Disclaimer: This story features characters featured in Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. this is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story is set soon after the events of Episode 125 of Dragon Ball Z, “Goku’s Ordeal”, but well before the arrival of the androids in Episode 126. In terms of the manga, this would be very early in the three year period between Chapter 336 (”A Risky Decision) and 337 (“The Super Warriors Gather”).

[4 September, Age 764. Earth]

He was back aboard the Attack Ball. Behind him lay the remains of what was once planet Namek. Frieza's ruined corpse was floating in the debris field somewhere. Only Frieza wasn't dead at all, was he? No, Frieza survived the battle that day, and came back to menace the Earth.

And it wasn't an Attack Ball he was sitting in, not exactly. The controls were different, and the seat cushion was angled all wrong. He looked out the viewport and saw the blackness of space ahead of him. And... white lines. He had to stay in the lines.

It was at this point he realized he was dreaming, but he couldn't quite dismiss the importance of what he was doing. The tiny space pod was supposed to be locked onto its course. It was programmed to take him to Yardrat, although he wasn't supposed to know that yet. But for some reason the ship kept threatening to veer off course, and if he didn't keep it between the lines, he'd run off the road, and then what would he do? They didn't have tow trucks in space, did they? Hitchhiking was out of the question. Set one foot outside the ship and he'd suffocate.

He couldn't dare take his eyes off the viewport. If he lost focus, even for a moment, he'd never make it to Yardrat, and then he'd never make it back to Earth, and then he'd never be able to train for the androids. Or were they cyborgs? Was Frieza a cyborg? No, that hadn't happened yet. He could still hear Frieza. His cries of pain, his hateful screeching, his arrogant, mirthless laughter--

No! He had to stay focused! But he couldn't stop thinking about all that pain and misery and death. He had won, but his body still wanted to keep fighting, to explode with a golden power that would tear his little ship apart if he let it. He could keep it under control, but could he guide the ship at the same time?

Then he felt a familiar thump, and he realized he'd hit a traffic cone again. He tried to steer away from it, but he overcompensated and ended up veering off to the other side and hit another. And another. He was losing control. He searched desperately for the white line to guide him, but it was gone. He tried asking the onboard computer for help, but all it did was report on the news and weather. He was lost, and somehow he kept hitting more traffic cones.

And then he realized he'd lost control of his power too. He was engulfed in yellow light, and his heart was racing. He could hear the hull buckling. He had to calm down! He had to--

********

"Wake up."

Son Goku's eyes snapped open and he saw nothing. For a split second, he thought he was still in space, but his senses told him otherwise. His seven-year-old son was sleeping in the next room. Further away, Piccolo was deep in meditation. Beside Goku, his wife was nudging his arm.

"What happened?" Goku asked.

"You were having a nightmare, Goku," Chi-Chi said.

"Huh. I guess I was," Goku said. He scratched his head thoughtfully as he tried to make sense of the dream. "I didn't hit ya or anything, did I?"

"No, but all that tossing and turning woke me up," Chi-Chi said. "I thought you might have come down with that heart virus you told me about."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

He heard her sigh in the darkness. "Don't be sorry, Goku. You're allowed to have bad dreams. I'm just glad you're having them here, instead of off somewhere far away." She lay beside him and rested her head on his bare chest. "I got a little too used to having this bed all to myself."

He had been away for far too long. First, he had died in battle, and spent a full year training in the afterlife. The Dragon Balls had revived him, but then he had to head off into space for an even more dangerous mission. It had only taken him six days to reach the Planet Namek, but twenty months to return. There were reasons for this, and she understood them, but it didn't make the situation any less frustrating.

Upon his return, he had received a dire warning from the future. He would die of an incurable disease, and soon afterwards, a pair of mechanical men would appear and slaughter everyone he cared about. Fortunately his visitor from the future had given him medicine that wouldn't be invented for years to come. He would survive the fated heart virus, which only left the androids to worry about. He had three years to prepare.

At first, it seemed like a dream come true. He could spend his days training at home with his family. Even if they lost, they could be together right up to the end. But simply being here wasn't enough. Chi-Chi needed him to do things to support the household, and it was a fair point. In a way, it had been easier training in the afterlife or in space. At least then there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'm sorry, Chi-Chi," he said.

"I just said--"

"No, I mean about gettin' my license," Goku said. "I did my best, but the instructor failed me anyway."

"I can have Dad give me a ride in his car," Chi-Chi said.

"Aw, that won't work," Goku said. "Ox-King's got his own stuff to do."

She put her arm over him and patted him on the ribs. "We've managed this long without a car, Goku. It'll be okay."

"I want ya to call the institute in town. Try and get 'em to let me take the course again."

"Goku, they expelled you. How am I going to convince them to--?"

"Heh. You'll manage. You're pretty good at gettin' your own way."

"Are you sure you're not coming down with that virus you told me about?"

He put his arm around her and chuckled.

********

"You heard me, guys. You'll just have to train without me for a little while."

Piccolo crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Goku with a skeptical glare. "Oh, I heard you all right. It's just that I don't accept what you're saying. I've wasted enough time humoring your wife as it is, Son. And frankly, so have you. Remember what that guy from the future told us. Those androids will be here in three years whether we're ready for them or not."

"I ain't takin' 'em lightly," Goku said. "But I promised Chi-Chi I'd stop training until I got my license, and that's what I'm gonna do. I'll just have to make up for lost time when I'm finished."

The three of them were assembled at the mountainside they had been using as a training ground. Piccolo and Gohan were dressed in matching purple dogis with brown leather shoes. Normally, Goku wore orange gear of a similar style, but today he was dressed in street clothes.

"Dad," Gohan said, "are you sure about this? I mean, shouldn't this wait until after we deal with the androids?"

Goku knelt down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, which was higher up than he was used to. At the rate things were going, the boy would soon be talller than him soon. "I'm sure, son. Your mom's helpin' us train, after all. We wouldn't get very far without her cookin' and cleanin' up after us. Not to mention how she makes sure you keep up with your schoolwork. It's only fair if I do something to help her out, right?"

Gohan looked up at Piccolo, then back at his father. "I... I guess so," he finally said.

"You'll understand when you're older, son," Goku said. He stood up and put his hand on Gohan's head, then mussed his hair. "And when you do, I hope you'll explain it to me," he laughed.

He waved farewell to them, then leaped up into the air and flew off.

"I hope he knows what he's doing," Piccolo muttered.

"Well, maybe that guy from the future told him he'd need a driver's license for some reason," Gohan suggested. "You know, the same way he'll eventually need the medicine."

"He said no such thing," Piccolo growled. "Well, I don't know what your dad is up to, kid, but wondering about it won't do us any good. Let's get to work."

"Right!"

*******

The only real landmarks in the Diablo Desert were strange rock formations that loomed over the sandy expanses like giant stone elephants. Travelers would cross these wastes out of necessity, but they never spent any more time than they had to. Deep in the heart of the region, there were almost no signs of life at all. Only a fool would venture this far into the wilderness. There was simply nothing there to justify the risk.

A single hovercar streaked across the salt flats, kicking up a cloud of niter crystals in its wake.

"How'm I doin'?" Goku asked.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Hang a left at this next rock. Remember to slow down going into the turn, then speed up."

"Got it. Here goes!"

The man sitting in the passenger seat was wearing grey slacks and a matching sportscoat over a white T-shirt. He had the seat leaned back, and rested his head on his hands as Goku executed the turn. The car was traveling in excess of 150 kilometers per hour, but he simply looked up into the cloudless sky through his dark sunglasses, and smiled contentedly.

"So how does it feel?" he asked. "You seem to be getting used to it."

Goku was practically giddy. "Yeah, this is actually pretty fun. It sure beats steerin' around all those traffic cones. Thanks for letting me use your car to practice, Yamcha!"

"Hey, no problem," Yamcha said. "And that's the whole idea: to have fun. I wouldn't own a sweet ride like this if I couldn't enjoy it once in a while. Nice thing about cruising through the desert is you've got the whole place to yourself. No traffic jams, no parking tickets, no speed traps. Nothing but open space as far as the eye can see."

"Yeah, well I still wanna try driving through Mushroom Forest," Goku said. "I need to get used to moving around obstacles."

"Sure thing, bro," Yamcha said. "Anything you want. We got plenty of time. I left Puar back at Bulma's place, and I'm taking a break from training. Gotta rest up once in a while, y'know?"

"I hear ya," Goku said. "So how's it going? You think you'll be ready for those androids three years from now?"

Yamcha snorted and made a wide grin. "Goku, my man, the real question is whether those androids are gonna be ready for me. You just watch. I'll take those guys on by myself when the big day arrives, and we'll wonder why we ever worried about them in the first place."

"Ha! I like the sound of that," Goku said. "Well, just promise you'll let me have a crack at 'em."

"I'll see what I can do," Yamcha laughed. "So how's your training going? I heard you had Piccolo staying at your place. Some houseguest, but I guess he makes a pretty good sparring partner."

"Yeah, but I'm holdin' off on that for now," Goku said. "He's really helpin' Gohan along, though. It's amazing how much stronger he's gotten while I've been away."

"What's this all about, Goku?" Yamcha asked. "You're always welcome to hang out, but why's this driver's ed thing so important?"

"Chi-Chi wants me to drive her into town to go shopping," Goku explained. "It's a long way on foot, especially carryin' all that stuff on the way back."

"Sure, but you can fly," Yamcha said.

"Yeah, but Chi-Chi doesn't like me showin' off around the neighbors," Goku said.

"Oh. Guess that rules out the Flying Nimbus, huh?"

"Yup."

"Why doesn't Chi-Chi just get her own driver's license?" Yamcha asked. "I thought Bulma told me she had a car already."

"Huh? Oh, that's Ox-King's car," Goku said. "He lets her drive it sometimes."

"Well, there you go," Yamcha said. "If she's got a license, all you guys need is your own car."

"Nah, that won't work," Goku said. "Trust me, this is something I have to do myself."

They rode in silence for a while, and then Yamcha sat upright and snapped his fingers.

"Of course! I get it now!" he said.

"Get what?" Goku asked.

"You old rascal, I should have known!" Yamcha said. "It's not about shopping. Chi-Chi wants you to drive her around because it's romantic. Yeah, a Sunday drive in a cherry red hovercar, and then on the way back, you 'accidentally' run out of gas... Classic!"

Goku glanced at him curiously. "I guess Chi-Chi wouldn't mind flying back home," he said. "I mean if it was an emergency and all..."

"You... don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Yamcha asked.

"Sure I do!" Goku said cheerfully. "I gotta remember to check the fuel gauge once in a while!"

*******

"Anyway, we got to talking about cars, and I remembered that Capsule Corp owns the driving school. So can you get 'em to let me take the course again?"

Among Goku's circle of friends, Bulma had known him the longest. She was also one of the few with no martial arts background whatsoever. She came from a family of genius inventors whose miniaturization technology had made them the richest humans on the planet. In spite of their vast fortune, they continued to do their own research. When Goku had arrived at the Capsule Corp. Headquarters where Bulma lived, he found her in one of her workshops, fussing over the circuit board to some gadget.

Bulma slapped her soldering iron onto the workbench and swiveled her stool around to face him. "You've got some nerve asking me for help!" she shouted.

Goku slouched and made a hangdog expression. "What are you mad about now? he asked.

"Those androids will be here in three years, remember?! We could beat them in a matter of days if we just used the Dragon Balls to ask Shenron where they're being built! But noooooooo! We can't do that, because you muscle-headed jerks think this is some kind of game!"

"Aw, c'mon!" Goku said. "We've been over this already..."

"Oh, I remember!" Bulma snarled. "Vegeta threatened to kill me if I so much as tried to use the Dragon Radar. I have an excellent memory when it comes to threats, Goku! You all decided you'd train for three years, right? Then why are you and Yamcha taking joyrides in the desert? Why are you and Piccolo enrolled in traffic school? Why are you trying to enroll in traffic school again after failing the first time?!"

"I told you," Goku said. "This is really important to Chi-Chi and..."

"Living is important, Goku!" Bulma said. "Look at me! I'm too beautiful to get killed by a gang of androids!"

"You ain't gettin' killed," Goku assured her. "That guy from the future said you were the one who built the time machine he used to warn us, remember? You’re safe no matter what happens."

"Right, and that's so much better isn't it?!" Bulma fumed. "The last woman on Earth! Goku! Why!? Aren't!? You!? Training!?"

"I promised Chi-Chi I'd put my training on hold until I finished this," he said. "Hey, there's plenty of time left."

"How did you fail the class in the first place?!" Bulma demanded.

"Well, I got distracted one time, and there was this avalanche, see..."

"You're an alien, Goku! You came to Earth in a spaceship! You left and came back the same way! How is driving a car so difficult? You must be the only Saiyan in history who can't parallel park!"

"Huh. I guess you’ve got somethin' there. Does Vegeta have a driver's license?" Goku wondered aloud.

"HOW WOULD I KNOW?!"

Just when it looked like Bulma might pull out her blue hair in frustration, she suddenly composed herself and walked over to a cabinet on the other side of the shop. Though calmer, she still had a resentful look on her face, and Goku decided it was best not to ask what she was doing.

"Fortunately, I have a perfect solution for this," she said. Bulma then withdrew a small capsule from the top drawer and held it up for display. It bore the number "43" on the side. There was a button on one end, and after she pressed it with her thumb, she tossed it to the floor, where it exploded. When the smoke cleared, a compact hovercar now stood in the middle of the shop, bearing the number "43" on the side to match the capsule from which it came.

"Self-driving cars," Bulma said testily. "Voice activated, cutting edge artificial intelligence. You just tell it where you want to go, and our company's GPS network does the rest."

"Gosh..." Goku said as he admired the rear bumper. "Ain't that something..."

The compliment seemed to do wonders for Bulma's mood. "I know, right? Dad did most of the programming, but I worked on the voice interface. Go on, try it out."

"Uh... Hey, car!" Goku said as he leaned over the hood. "This is Goku! Can you take me to... huh, let's see... Yeah, I know! Can you take me to Bulma's house?"

"Calculatng..." the car replied in a tinny voice that vaguely resembled Bulma's.

The real Bulma was less than pleased. "We're already in my house, Goku," she fumed.

Goku looked back at her and held up his finger to his lips. "Not so loud! I know where we are, but I'm testin' it!"

"Destination located," the car announced. "Arrival at Capsule Corp. Building in approximately zero seconds. Arrival. You are now at the Capsule Corp. Building. Have a nice day."

"Hey, not bad!" Goku said. "The voice on this thing sounds kind of annoying, but it doesn't miss a trick, does it?" He patted the hood with approval. "Good boy, car!"

"We're rolling out this model next year, but I'll let you have this prototype today," Bulma said. "Then you can get back to training, and hopefully that'll settle everything."

Goku stepped back and regarded the car as he considered her offer carefully. "Nope," he said. "Thanks and all, but I can't take it. Not yet, anyway."

"But why not?" Bulma demanded. "This would solve everything!"

"That's what Dr. Gero probably thinks about those androids he's workin' on," Goku said with a smirk. "The Red Ribbon Army couldn't beat me, so he's tryin' to build a fighter who can. Maybe he's right, but we'll find out, wont we? Personally, I think he's makin' the same mistake as all those guys we fought in space."

"What's that got to do with--?"

"I got sent here as a baby, remember?" Goku said. "I don't even remember the trip, but I bet I didn't even have to push a button, 'cause the ship was all automated, just like this car. The ship I used to get back here last month, it was the same way. It took me straight to Yardrat 'cause it was programmed that way. Once the Yardratti figured out how to reset it to take me to Earth, I didn't have to do much."

"Fine, but--"

"And don't forget those scouters Frieza's men used. They had some really strong guys on their team, but none of 'em could sense ki, not even Frieza," Goku went on. "But Vegeta figured out how from seein' me do it. It ain't that hard, after all. He just never knew to try, 'cause everyone had those gizmos on their ears."

He reached for the dashboard of the car and found a recessed button under the steering wheel. When he pressed it, the entire vehicle imploded, leaving behind the same capsule from which it came. It hung in midair for a second, and Goku snatched it before it had a chance to fall.

"It couldn't have always been that way," Goku said as he handed the capsule back to Bulma. "I mean, maybe if all the Saiyans from a long time ago were really weak, like Raditz, or me when I was a little kid, then sure, they never woulda learned to sense *ki*. But Vegeta said there used to be other Super Saiyans before I came along. Those old timers had to know how to sense energy, right? They'd have to be at least as good as me or Vegeta, you know?"

"Goku, what the hell are you talking about?" Bulma asked.

There was a very pensive look on his face, but only for a moment, and then he went back to his usual carefree chuckle. "Ah, never mind. Look, sorry to take up so much of your time, but I really gotta get that license. So can you help me?"

Bulma sighed. "Fine, I'll call the Mt. Paozu school and ask them to reinstate you."

"Woo-hoo! Thanks, Bulma! You're the best!"

"But that's it, mister! I've got better things to do than helping you waste time. If you can't pass this time around, you'll just have to forget about it, you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear!" Goku said happily. "Boy, you're gonna make a great mom, Bulma! See ya!"

"What--?" Bulma asked. Before she could finish her question, Goku put his fingers on his forehead, frowned for a moment, and then vanished from sight.

*******

[September 10, Age 764. Earth]

"Goku? Are you still at it?"

Chi-Chi found him in their bedroom, sitting on the bed and surrounded by various pamphlets and sheets of paper. Most of them were adorned with at least one diagram of a traffic sign. He crumpled one of them into a ball and tossed it into the wastebasket on the far side of the room. Then he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Yeah, I guess so," he muttered. "I'm just not gettin' the hang of this written test. The last time I took the course, I never even got this far."

"Why don't you call it a night?" Chi-Chi offered.

"Nah, you told me to keep at it, so I'm keepin' at it," Goku said.

She walked over to the bed and ran her fingers through his unkempt black hair. "You were the one who wanted me to drill you on the exam, dear," she said. "I think your exact words were 'Chi-Chi, I wantcha to make me study as hard as Gohan! That way I'll pass for sure!'"

He laughed. "I like it when ya talk like me," he said. "It sounds funny."

"The point is we finished over two hours ago," Chi-Chi said. "I don't push Gohan nearly as hard as you're pushing yourself."

"It's important," Goku said.

"You're doing just fine, Goku," Chi-Chi said. "You don't have to take the exam for two more days, and you only need eight right answers out of ten to pass."

"I know, but I ain't leavin’ anything to chance," Goku said. He picked up a sheet of paper and tapped it with his finger. "How come you gotta stop at an intersection when there's no signs?"

Chi-Chi shoved some of the clutter aside so she could get in bed beside him. "It's because there's no signs," she said. "What would happen if you didn't stop, and there was another driver coming from the other way and he didn't stop either?"

"Huh," Goku said. "But why not just put up stop signs, then?"

Chi-Chi shrugged. "I don't know. Not everyone can afford them, I guess. Besides, life doesn't always give you a warning, Goku. You have to be ready for anything."

"I guess so," Goku said.

"I think that's what's holding you back here," Chi-Chi said. "Most of these traffic laws are about preventing accidents. For most people, a car wreck could be deadly, but you're so strong you're not really in any danger. It's harder for you to see the reasoning behind it."

"At least I've gotten better at handlin' the wheel," Goku said. "Yamcha's been lettin' me practice with his car. That's helped a lot."

She took his arm and leaned in closer to him, but he pulled away. "Cut it out," he said. "I'm tryin' to study..."

"Goku, why are you taking this so seriously?" Chi-Chi asked. "This isn't like you."

He looked at her for a while, as though unsure whether to give her an answer. Then he set aside his papers and stood up. "Grab your jacket," he said. "I wanna show you somethin'."

*******

Some distance away from their home, kilometers from any other inhabited areas, was a crater. The only signs of recent activity were some tread tracks left behind by heavy machinery, left behind about two years earlier. Goku and Chi-Chi stood at the rim of the crater, while he pointed a flashlight down at the center.

"Bulma's dad, Dr. Briefs, managed to find the landing site, and he had his guys recover the ship," he said. "It wasn't in great shape, but it was enough for him to build that bigger spaceship I used to get to Namek. This was where Grandpa found me."

He had explained much of this to her before he had left for Namek. That he was actually an alien from another world, sent to conquer the Earth. She had never been especially concerned about it, but now that she was standing at the crash site, picturing a kindly old man investigating the ship, the reality of it seemed to hit home.

"How could anyone put a baby in a ship and send him to another planet?!" she asked incredulously. "You could have been eaten by wolves or something! And what if nobody had found you? You might have died from exposure!"

She clung to his arm sympathetically, as if trying to make up for the affection he had been denied nearly thirty years beforehand.

"Aw, I probably woulda been okay," Goku said.

"But who would do something like this?!" Chi-Chi demanded.

"My parents, I guess," Goku said. He hadn't given the matter much thought until now, but it made sense.

"Oh, Goku..."

"I told you before about how Saiyans can turn into giant apes under the full moon, right?" Goku asked. "Gohan could do it too, at least when he's got a tail."

"But we don't have to worry about that anymore," Chi-Chi said. "It won't grow back, and even if it did, he knows how dangerous it can be."

"Yeah, but it's not always gonna be that simple," Goku said. "I found that out on Namek."

He slipped his arm free of her embrace and leaped out into the crater, taking up a position in the center, where his Attack Ball had once been. Once he was satisfied that Chi-Chi wouldn't rush after him, he raised his fists to waist-height and concentrated.

There was a flash of light, and in the next moment he stood transformed. His black hair was now bright yellow, and it stood up on his scalp as though being pulled by some unseen force. A golden aura crashed and pulsed around his body, and when he looked up at his wife, it was with eyes of an unearthly green color.

"I've seen that before," Chi-Chi said, quite unimpressed. "Quit fooling around and come back here."

In spite of the restlessness he felt as a Super Saiyan, Goku couldn't help but smile. He had changed so drastically in the last few years, but she still looked at him the same way she had when they were children.

"I can turn this on and off at will," Goku said, "but it took me a while to figure it out. That's why I had to be away for so long."

"Oh, for goodness sake," Chi-Chi muttered. She took a few steps back from the rim of the crater and made a running leap towards him.

"Hey!" Goku cried out. As she descended, he quickly shut off his Super Saiyan form and reverted to normal. Then he reached out his arms and resolved to catch her as gently as he could...

And he succeeded. As she closed in, he managed to grab her by the waist just as she threw out her arms to wrap around his neck. He swung around a few times to roll with her momentum, and then he set her down, looking more than a little irritated.

"What're you tryin' to pull?" he asked. "I coulda hurt you, like I did before!"

The memory of that reunion still bothered him. He had tried to give her a playful pat on the back, only he wound up knocking her clear out of the house. She wasn't badly injured from the experience, but it was a grim reminder that he hadn't fully mastered his newfound strength.

"I may not be a space alien," Chi-Chi said, "but I'm tougher than the average lady. Anyway, why'd you turn into that monster if you're so worried about it?"

"Sheesh, girls sure are hard to talk to," Goku said in exasperation. "I'm tryin' to tell you it wasn't up to me. One minute I'm fightin' Frieza, and the next, poof! And I ain't got any more tails to cut off, so I'm stuck with it."

"Goku, what's all this got to do with driving?" Chi-Chi asked.

He took a deep breath and put his hands on her shoulders. "I think Gohan might turn into a Super Saiyan himself one of these days."

She frowned at him. "I told you, you can train him for three years and that's it," she said. "He's going to get an education--"

"Yeah, I'm not arguin' with that," Goku said. "But he's already a lot stronger than I was when I left Earth. He might not even have to try to turn Super Saiyan. It could just... happen."

"What makes you so sure?" Chi-Chi demanded.

"There used to be more Super Saiyans," Goku said. "A long time ago. And the guy from the future, the one who gave me the heart medicine? He was a Super Saiyan. He didn't spell it out for me, but I think in his future, Gohan might have shown him how to do it. Anyway, it's possible, and I gotta make sure he's ready."

"Ready for what?" Chi-Chi asked.

He pointed at the ground, where his ship had once been. "I never knew my real parents. Maybe if they had been around, they could have shown me how to control myself while I was a giant ape. And... maybe grandpa'd still be alive."

"Goku, that was an accident," Chi-Chi insisted.

"Vegeta could control it," Goku said. "I bet another Saiyan showed him how. I don't know anything about the last Super Saiyan before me. I wish he'd been around to give me some pointers, but that old timer must have kicked the bucket a long time ago. At least Gohan won't have that problem. I'll see to that."

"By getting your driver's license?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Sure!" Goku said. "I didn't see the point of it at first, but then I realized it's good mental discipline." He held up his hands and started moving them like he was steering an invisible wheel. "You gotta control the car without usin' your full strength, just the steering wheel and the pedals. And if I can do it well enough to pass the class, then Gohan oughta have no trouble when he's old enough!"

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" Chi-Chi asked. "You still have to pass yourself before you can even think about teaching Gohan how to drive."

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Heck, I just want to prove it's possible. If I can get my license, then I'll know for sure Gohan won't have any trouble handling his powers when he's older. I know I'm kind of a misfit, but he doesn't have to be..."

*******

[September 13, 764 Age.]

In the wilderness, Piccolo and Gohan had finished their training session for the day. The half-Saiyan boy was eating from a bento box his mother had prepared for him, while the Namekian drank from a water bottle.

"So your dad finally passed, huh?" Piccolo asked.

"He sure did!" Gohan said. "I knew he'd make it eventually."

"I still don't see why this was worth putting off his training," Piccolo grumbled. "Why doesn't your mother just drive herself?"

"She can't," Gohan said. "Mom got her license revoked a long time ago. She's driven Grandpa's car a few times, but only out where she won't get caught."

"Revoked?" Piccolo said, nearly yelling. "How did she--?"

"Grandpa told me she got a lot of parking tickets when she was younger, and she didn't pay them on time. When she and dad got married, she wanted to drive to their honeymoon, but then she got pulled over, and when they ran her license..."

"I think I get the picture, kid," Piccolo said.

"She's still kind of embarrassed about the whole thing," Gohan said. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

"So that explains why your dad's not joining us today," Piccolo concluded. "He must have taken your mom to town to buy groceries."

"I guess," Gohan said. "But I think we still have plenty of food left at the house. Actually, I'm not sure where they went today..."

*******

"Chi-Chi, let go of my arm! I'm tryin' to concentrate!"

They had been riding in and around the town for about two hours, then they drove to the next town some forty kilometers away. After stopping in a restaurant, they noticed it was getting dark, and decided to head back.

"There's no one else on the road, silly," Chi-Chi said happily. "You don't have to be so tense."

"I'm not bein' tense, I'm stayin' sharp," Goku insisted. He kept a firm grip on the wheel with both hands, and he glanced at his mirrors every few seconds. "Even if I did pass, I still gotta be careful, don't I?"

"You could just let the computer take over," Chi-Chi said. "Bulma said this model could drive itself, right?"

Goku smirked. "Yeah, but I only wanted it because in case you needed to go somewhere when I'm not around to drive you," he said. "And it's a pretty nice, even if the voice is kinda weird."

He patted the dashboard affectionately, then caught himself and quickly put his hand back on the wheel.

"Anyway," he said, "I don't want my skills to get rusty, that's all."

"So I suppose you'll be going back to training tomorrow," Chi-Chi said.

"You bet!" Goku said. "But if you wanna go into town sometime, just lemme know, okay? I need the practice."

"Practice, my foot. You just want to go to that steakhouse we passed by," Chi-Chi said wryly.

"Guess I can't fool you, huh?" he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, what about gas?" Chi-Chi asked. "We've been riding around for a while now."

"Aw, don't worry about that," Goku said confidently. "I've been keepin' an eye on it. We'll be fine."

They sat in silence for a while taking in the final moments of twilight. The planet Venus was visible in the darkening sky, and Chi-Chi pointed it out. Goku was interested, but he only glanced at it for a moment before locking his attention back on the road.

"You know, this reminds me of our trip after we got married," Goku said.

"Oh don’t bring that up," Chi-Chi said.

"Aw, come on! It wasn’t all bad!"

"You weren’t the one getting a lecture from the sheriff," Chi-Chi said.

"Well, I wasn’t talkin’ about that," Goku said. "I just liked riding around with you."

"You hated it," Chi-Chi said. "You wanted to go everywhere on the Flying Nimbus!"

"Yeah, at first," Goku said. "But after a while, I started to like it. I was pretty used to travellin’ all by myself, and you don’t see a lot of other people up in the sky. I liked lookin’ out and seein’ all the other cars on the road. A lot of ’em were couple just like us."

"Of course," Chi-Chi said. "It’s a popular spot for honeymooners."

"It was kind of crowded," Goku said, "but I liked being in a car along with everybody else. Like I belonged. I thought about that a lot while I was in outer space all by myself last year. It’s kinda pretty way up there, but it sure gets boring. Lonely too."

"Well maybe we should go back someday," Chi-Chi said.

"Maybe," Goku said. "We got three years before those androids show up. We ought make ’em count."

"I thought you wanted to train," Chi-Chi said.

"Sure I do, but I gotta rest now and then, don’t I? Might as well do it someplace fun. Uh-oh."

"'Uh-oh'?"

The car's engine began to struggle and sputter. A red light on the dashboard had been blinking for the past several minutes, and now it was blinking faster. "Hang on," Goku said.

He activated the turn signal and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. Once he came to a complete stop, he shifted into park, shut off the engine, and made a satisfied nod.

"Goku, what happened?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Don’t worry," he said. "It's no big deal. We just ran out of gas."

"I thought you said we had enough to make it back!"

"Nah, I never said that," he replied. "I said I was keepin’ an eye on it. I thought we'd run out sooner, really. Man, Bulma wasn’t kiddin’ around about the fuel economy on this thing."

"How are we supposed to get home?!"

"We’ll just put the car back in its capsule, and I’ll fly you back," he said innocently.

"Goku..." she groaned.

He leaned back in the seat and stretched his arms, making sure to put one around Chi-Chi’s shoulder as he lowered them. "Or we can use Instant Transmission. "You know, if you’re in a hurry."

She was about to ask him if he had planned this all along, but then he leaned in to kiss her on the lips, and she decided that was a good enough answer. Suddenly, she wasn’t in such a rush to get back after all...

#dragon ball #fanfiction #son goku #chi chi #also featuring:#gohan #yamcha #piccolo #bulma #i'm to the point where i can't tell if this story sucks or not and that probably means its time to post it #i'm trying to no-prize all this drivers license continuity #i can accomplish this in a shitty fic just as easily as a good one #go ahead #flip that coin

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