To Believe Is To Love: Taking Chances

Disclaimer: I don’t own DBZ, and if I did, I could think of doing things with certain saiyan characters that wouldn’t be put into the words of a fanfic.

Chapter 3

Laina’s mouth dropped open and her hand shakily covered it. Her eyes were still wide. It can’t be! It’s not possible! He’s a cartoon character for chrissakes! I have really lost it now! She reached out with her other hand and touched his chest. Feels solid. And warm, even through his clothes. She looked into his eyes again and could see the question there, because he arched an eyebrow at her and smirked. She knew that smirk anywhere. She removed her hands from her mouth and his chest.

“ A-Are you Trunks Briefs, by any chance?” she asked softly.
Now his eyes widened. “ How did you know my name?” he asked her.
“ I-I don’t know quite how to explain it to you.”
Trunks narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Try.” He said in a low and somewhat dangerous voice.
“ I know your name because of a television show here. You know what television is right?” she asked.
He frowned and gave her a look that said- You think I’m stupid or something?
She frowned back at him. She crossed her own arms over her chest.
“ It’s true. Why would I want to lie?” They glared at each other. The bell tones from the hall clock broke the staring match. Laina looked at the clock and saw that it was midnight. She got an idea.
“ Well, if you don’t want to believe me then I will prove it to you.” She stormed over to the t.v. and turned it on. Please let the cable be on now, she prayed. The familiar song started and she pointed to the t.v.. Trunks walked over to the living room, his eyes on the t.v.. The channel was rerunning the show that was on earlier. He stared at the screen, eyes widening at the dialogue. When the show ended he sank to the couch slowly. He looked up at her.
“ Why am I here?” he asked.
“ I was going to ask you the same thing.” Laina replied. She felt bad for him.
“ What’s the last thing you remember?”
Trunks ran a hand down his face, grimacing as he touched the cut over his eye.
“ I remember destroying the androids and killing Cell in my time and my mother dying in my arms. I had decided to go back to a time when everything was better than my own. But it was different than before. There was a flash and I was fighting the controls. Then I saw you.” He said softly and looked back at her, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
Laina went to her knees in front of him and took him in her arms. He held on with a tight embrace and she hugged him, rubbing his back, offering comfort. It seemed hours but only a few minutes had passed. She pulled away and looked at him. His eyes were still sad, but he seemed more in control.
She stood up and offered her hand to him. He looked at her hand then put his own in it and allowed her to pull him up from the couch. She started walking to the bathroom.
“ Let’s see if we can fix that cut up.”
She gently pushed him down onto the commode. She turned to the vanity and pulled out her first aid kit. She turned back to him, pushed his hair back from his forehead and took his chin in her hand as she gently cleaned the cut. She couldn’t help but react involuntarily to the feeling of standing between his outstretched thighs. He was radiating a very pleasant heat from his body and he smelled great.
She avoided looking into his eyes until she was done, afraid that he would notice her reaction to him. She took out a couple of butterfly stitch bandages and placed them on the cut. She smoothed his hair back and then looked him in the eyes. He had an unreadable expression on his handsome face. She wanted to lean into him and kiss him. Thoroughly. She slapped herself mentally. *Snap out of it woman! He’s like 21 or 22. Too young for you! *She blinked a couple of times before she spoke.
“ Umm, you’re all done. Would you like to take a shower? I’ll bring you some of my son’s clothes. You and he are about the same size. I’ll be right back.” She never gave him a chance to answer as she hurried out of the bathroom and ran to the laundry room. Once there, she took a few deep breaths to get her bearings back. That was sooo close! I almost kissed him! I am a pervert! She rummaged through the clean clothes that were in a basket on the dryer. She picked out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt for Trunks.
She went back to the bathroom. He was still sitting there and he arched his brow at her again. She blushed as she handed him the clothes.
“ Towels are in that cabinet”-she pointed to a cabinet behind her “ and everything you need, soap, shampoo, etc. are on a shelf in the stall. When you’re done, I’ll be in the living room. I’ll show you your room.” She stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door.
She heard the water running as she walked away to the living room. She sat on the couch very tense and barely in control. She kept trying not to picture his gorgeous body naked. When the door opened ten minutes later, she almost fell off the couch she was so strung.
Trunks wa int into the living room. He hadn’t put the t-shirt on yet, so she got an eyeful of his half-naked body. His chest was built, his arms corded with muscle and his abdominal muscles were rippled very nicely. Too nicely for her sanity. She ran her hand across her mouth, sure that she was drooling. She cleared her throat as she stood up and motioned for him to follow her, not trusting herself to speak yet.
She led him down a darkened hallway off the living room to the second door in the hall. It was the study slash guestroom. There was a futon in the room against one wall and opposite that was the computer desk complete with computer. She walked over to the futon and turned on the lamp that was on the table next to it. The light cast a warm glow in the room and defined Trunks’ body rather well. She could see the hollows of his stomach and chest. She turned away from him and pulled out the futon. She left the room to go to the closet in the hallway and pulled out some sheets, a comforter, and a couple of overstuffed pillows. She dropped the stuff on the futon and was surprised when Trunks helped her make his bed. They worked together in a companionable silence until they finished.
“ Now then. Umm, my son’s room is across the hall, and I have to warn you, he likes to listen to loud music, so he might wake you up in the morning. My daughter’s room is next to his, across the hall also. My room, is, ah, next door. You already know where the bathroom is, but I also have one in my room, just in case you can’t get into the other one. I guess I will see you in the morning. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I will be here all day. Good night Trunks.” She turned to leave, but his voice stopped her.
“ What is your name?” he asked.
*Shit! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She felt like smacking her head.* “ My name is Laina. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you before.”
He smiled at her and she almost fell down. “ No problem. Laina. Good night.”
She closed the door and went to her room on rubbery legs. She fell down into her bed, feeling like a teenager again. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.