Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Boatworking Skills or Lack Thereof ❯ Repercussions ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: If DBZ wasn't already owned by someone else, do you think I would be writing these stories?

Author's notes: I'm back, though I must say that my mood has shifted completely. Fortunately, I've found that nothing can keep me from writing and I won't be stopping any time soon. Anyway, I've done some research on this whole thing and I've found that coffee shops are notorious for making you want to come back every day. Coffee is good, caffeine is good, I am addicted to coffee.





Chapter Six: Repercussion…





"So, how long have you lived here in…Gloucester?" Stirring her coffee absently with one of those nifty stirrers, Bulma looked up at her quiet table companion to find that he appeared deep in thought about something. "Hey…are you listening?"

Turning his gaze to her, he nodded then sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "For as long as I can remember…probably all of my life."

"Is it always this…frantic around here?"

"No, you just happened to move in during the fast time of the year. It will calm down for the next six months until the Guinea Jubilee. Lot's of people come to see it…although the last one was very…patriotic."

"Yeah…that whole bad thing."

Laughing softly, he studied her from beneath lowered lashes then set his cup on the table. "What made you move here?"

"I needed time away from home…it was always hectic around there."

"So I guess that means you aren't staying here for very long?"

Shaking her head, she sighed then ran her fingers through her long blue hair. "I've got to go back because my father…needs me to take over for him when he retires."

"I get the feeling you don't want to go back."

Laughing softly then meeting his gaze, she felt her cheeks burning in embarrassment when she saw the longing in his eyes. "If I didn't go back then I would let down my family."

"Honor…you do this for honor?"

"Yeah, in honor of a promise I made to myself a very long time ago."

"What kind of promise was that?"

"Never let a good thing slip through my fingers again."

Nodding at her comment, he stared into his coffee cup, deep in thought.

"What about you? Do you have any promises you need to keep to yourself?"

"Yeah…I made a promise once."

"Have you kept it?"

"Until today I thought that I had kept it."

"Why until today?"

He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, never moving his gaze from his, now empty, coffee cup. "Don't worry about it." Getting up, he paid for the coffees, his mind whirling with a myriad of thoughts.

Watching him, she sighed inwardly before getting up as well and walking to her car. She needed time to dissect his reaction to her question and formulate a plan to get him to open up more for her.

Slamming the tailgate of his truck shut, he grabbed his keys from the hood and jogged up to the backdoor of his friend's trailer. He knocked several times before hearing someone moving around inside then watched as the door creaked open. "Kathi…"

"Go home Vegeta."

"But…"

Peering out the door, she met his tired gaze then sighed and walked out with a tissue crumpled in her fingers. "You are a pain in the ass, I hope you know that."

Grinning slightly, he hugged her with one arm then sat down on the steps with her. "I'm sorry he did that to you."

"Don't be, you got in a nice punch."

"I know, it hurt too."

"Well…he is a rather solid guy."

"It comes from working on the water all day."

"But you wouldn't know about that would you?"

"Nope, I spent most of my time clearing trees and putting up new houses for people…when I wasn't working at the fish house."

"Liar, you've never worked in the fish house." Smiling weakly, she leaned against his steady shoulder and stared, absently, out at the field behind where she lived. "I think I might get some horses."

"Why?"

"So I can talk to someone taller than you and stronger than you."

Laughing, he nudged her gently with his elbow then stood up and walked around her back porch. "I think you could do some good with a few horses around here."

Watching him, she frowned then leaned forward on her arms, her eyes flicking back and forth with every step he took. "What about you? Haven't you found someone to add a female touch to your place?"

"No, and I would rather not see any `female' touches around my house anytime soon."

"You sure?"

"Positively sure."

"If you say so, but I think that Bulma would like it if you gave her a chance."

Stopping his circuit of her porch, he stared off at the field she'd been studying earlier then looked back at her. "Women cause me too much pain."

"And men cause me pain. Life's like that you know."

"I wish I didn't know that…and I wish you never had to find that out."

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"That's what you said last year and you ended up getting a cast put on because you fell out of that tree when you were helping me."

"Shh…that's a secret, no one was supposed to know about that either."

"Come on Kathi, everyone knew how it happened, everyone in the yard saw you fall."

"I know…but…" She sighed again and hid her face in her arms. "Leave me alone for awhile, I need time to think and…you should go out with Bulma…I don't need her around to worry about me either."

"Why me?"

"Because she likes you more than she likes my other friends."

"Fine, but only because you want me to."

"Whatever you say Vegeta."

"Don't start with that now."

"Go home Vegeta."

"Are you even listening to me…darn you." Staring at her closed door, he sighed then rubbed the back of his neck before heading to his truck once more. He had a call to make and a date to get ready for…what in the world was he going to wear?