Early mornings

Seven in the morning, the sun has barely grazed the horizon and Bulma is woken by the slightest gleam through her window and the increasing and painful need to empty her bladder. To be awake at such early hours in the morning does not sit right with her as she has half the mind to just continue to lie in bed, bladder be damned. Thinking better of it she finds herself trudging down the halls, in no rush, despite the pressure in her lower abdomen. Yawning and rubbing her eyes she finds she bathroom and quickly relieves herself, her mind still stuck in a state of rest as she makes her trip back, passing by a window and glimpsing someone in the garden down below. Her foggy mind fails to process what had been seen for a moment as she continues, until her feet still and she turns back to the window. Blinking her vision clearer she peers down into her garden, recognizing that sleeveless shirt and those very boyish shorts as belonging to Durian. The girl bends her body in an almost impossible manner, causing a phantom pain to erupt on some part of Bulma's body as she watches. She's not too surprised to see her out and about so early in the morning. Durian had made it known that she wakes up before the sun and performs some stretches before the day fully starts. She was very displeased that she could not do that when she was bound to the wheelchair. As such, she was back to moving her body as soon as she was sure her body would no longer need extensive rest.

Watching her, Bulma couldn't help but wonder how she can get up so early in the morning, and with no alarm whatsoever. It seems impossible to her, the girl who sleeps well into the late morning. She yawns once more, reminded of her want to return to bed. Perhaps she should stop finding her bed in the early morning and actually sleep before night becomes morn. Perhaps then she could wake before the sun like Durian. Then again, Durian often keeps her company at night - in the morning when it's well past one - yet she wakes as early as she does and never appears tired. She must just be special, Bulma concludes, or inhuman - she's not sure.

"Maybe I should go down there" she suggests to herself, stretching as she considers starting her morning earlier than she usually does, despite having gone to sleep at three in the morning. She had been too invested in her studies of Kakarot's ship as they had made great progress in reverse-engineering the machinery. Durian has as much enthusiasm as her and had stayed up with her, not once appearing tired and her excitement not fading as she watched Bulma work. It's nice how she admires her genius and compliments her on the things she does. It feels far more flattering coming from her - someone who is capable of many inhuman and impressive feats compared to Bulma - though Bulma doesn't admit that to her face.

"It's way too early" she complains as she trudges her way back to her room, slightly irritated by this fact but still taking her towel as she makes her way back to the bathroom, this time to freshen up. She's already up, might as well start the day, take a page out of Durian's book.

Her shower doesn't take particularly long and getting into some fresh clothes takes even less time. It is fixing her hair that takes up most of her time as she always makes sure her hair is always beyond satisfactory.

Coming back to the window, Durian can still be found in the garden, once more performing an exercise that has Bulma wincing. Durian is extremely flexible it seems, another thing to add to the growing list of things Bulma had noticed about the odd girl. How many would this discovery make? She's not sure but it's very much on the list of things she has learned about Durian in the past ten days of her residence.

1. She's very neat.

2. She enjoys warm baths.

3. She has a sweet tooth.

4. She likes when things are in order.

5. She hates, absolutely hates, when people are arrogant.

6. She has a habit of flexing her left wrist when she's restless, her right when she's trying to contain excitement.

7. She likes games, particularly video games.

8. She has an impressive vocabulary that she uses when she's fascinated by one thing or another.

9. She attracts animals in a pleasant way as they all seem to like her.

Those are just a small amount of things she has learned about Durian in their short time together. Short it may be, they do spend a lot of time together simply because Bulma is often in the lab and Durian likes being in the lab.

Another thing learned; she likes being in the lab.

"Good morning" Bulma greets when she finds herself outside, not having paid much attention to her journey to Durian's side.

Her greeting is met with a somewhat blank expression as Durian straightens, head tilted just slightly, and blank expression morphing into one of surprise and interest.

"You're up earlier than usual," she remarks, flexing slightly as she pulls her arms above her head, stretching her body fully. "Very odd, but not entirely unpleasant"

"Trying to switch things up today," Bulma says shrugging, turning slightly away from Durian when she becomes aware of how much she likes the way her arms flex. She curses the girl for having such a body and she curses her for showing it off.

"That's good" she's dropped low, performing side lunches in fluid motions. "But, aren't you tired? We were up pretty late, or early - depending on how you see it"

"Yes, we," Bulma says, looking to Durian a bit in question and wonder. "Aren't you tired?"

"Not really no" she stands straight once more, rubbing her shoulder while tilting her neck slowly. "I'm used to waking up early in the morning no matter what time I go to sleep"

"Doesn't mean you won't be tired when you wake up"

Durian hums in agreement, though not showing any signs of exhaustion.

"What do you plan on doing now you're up so early?"

"I'm not sure, but breakfast sounds like a good start"

Durian nods, smiling a bit as she looks to the massive building Bulma calls a home.

"I'm done with my stretches" she announces. "This is when I go make myself some breakfast and since you're here I'll make you something as well"

"You did say you were a good cook" there's this curious frown on Bulma's face as Durian smiles even more at her words.

"Yes, I did, shall I prove my word?"

Bulma nods, quite interested in tasting Durian's cooking and to see if she is as good as she claims. She is far more confident in her cooking skills than she is with engineering and she has proven to be quite the engineer from what little Bulma had glimpsed of her. Using that logic it would only mean that she is indeed a skilled chef, perhaps far better than anything Bulma can imagine at the moment, and that thought has Bulma feeling quite hungry.

When they reach the kitchen Bulma is left to simply watch while Durian does her work in the kitchen. She produces the cloth she had used so long ago as a blindfold and wraps it around her forehead as a headband before finding an apron and chef's hat, smiling almost childishly when she gathers her ingredients. She washes her hands thoroughly before she gets a knife and sets to work.

"Why the headband?" Bulma has to wonder, as it seems rather useless in the kitchen

Durian expertly handles a knife, slicing an onion quickly and with exactitude, her technique almost graceful.

"My master has taught me many things and I have adopted some of his habits" she explains, never taking her eyes away from her task at hand. "He helped teach me to cook when I was younger and would always wear a headband. I'm not sure why he did it, he just likes it perhaps, but I assume there was more to it than that. Either way, I never asked and before I even knew it I was doing the same every time I prepare to work in the kitchen"

Bulma nods absently at her answer, too caught up in watching her to bother asking anything else anytime soon. Durian moves as easily in the kitchen as she does in fights and it's another thing to add to her growing list of things about Durian. Although she moves through her gathered vegetables quickly, she does it so effortlessly, those hands of hers far more skilled than Bulma had thought. She notices eggs set aside as well as the blinking of her rice cooker and she wonders when Durian had set aside rice. Had it been before she went to do her stretches? The light makes it known that it is ready so that only makes sense, doesn't it?

"Is there a reason you like cooking?"

"Not really" Durian answer without hesitation. "I had no interest in it before I learned to and it was only because of my very persistent and oftentimes annoying master that I took up cooking"

"Was it some sort of training?" That would be odd, but it's not like Bulma knows much about martial arts to be a judge of training methods.

"No, he just insisted I learned to cook, he was very, very adamant about it" Durian recalls with what could only be a giggle. Bulma never heard her giggle before - chuckle, yes - but giggle, never. "The way he insisted would make you think my very life may depend on my skills in the kitchen"

Bulma has heard quite a bit about this master of Durian and he sounds more and more like a grandfather when Durian speaks of him.

Their conversation continues as they talk about everything and nothing, Durian is quite the jester when she wants to be and some of the things she says make it very hard not to laugh, which seems to be the goal. She offers Bulma some concoction she had created by blending some frozen strawberries with very little water. It is thick, somewhat like slush, but not quite there. Curious, Bulma took a spoonful, surprised by the taste for some reason. It tastes like strawberries, but perhaps it is the consistency that makes it so different and so good.

"You like strawberries, yes?" It's more a statement than anything else, but Bulma nods, taking another spoonful of the cold sort of desert.

"Did I mention that?" She can't remember, but she could have with how many late nights she has had with Durian.

"Yes" is the answer to that question. "I'm not sure when, but you did"

"Hmm, you listen then"

"I'm quite good at it"

As she is at many things, Bulma muses to herself.

Durian's hair seems to have grown only the slightest bit since Bulma had last seen her all those months ago so she assumes she cuts her hair regularly for it to remain the length it has. Her hair is spiky in the most random way yet she makes it appear pretty neat on the daily. Bulma doesn't think she ever saw Durian tending to her hair, then again she doubts it takes her much time with how short it is.

She's not sure how long she sits and watches Durian cook but soon enough there is food in front of her. Rice, rolled omelets, soup, a bowl full of veggies, there's also some cookies she had quickly whipped up as well as the juice she took her time to prepare. She seems proud of herself as she sits herself opposite Bulma and mutters a silent prayer before she eats. Bulma follows her lead with a quick prayer and a thanks to the chef before diving in, going first for the rolled omelets and very much enjoying them.

"I guess you are a good cook" she admits halfway through her food. She knows good food, her mother makes amazing food and Durian's cooking tastes incredible.

"As I've said" a smirk, one playful as Durian stuffs her mouth once more.

"Maybe I should have you cook for me more often" Bulma jests. "You can think of it as showing your gratitude for me taking care of you and offering you a place to stay"

"Or you can simply tell me to cook for you as I am to do everything you say for a while," says Durian, reminding Bulma of her words back at the tournament

"Yeah, you're right" Bulma didn't think she would put it that way, and frankly she thought Durian forgot about it. "But I did say for a while and I don't imagine a while to be a few days long"

"A while can be any amount of time you want, really"

"Do you just want me to order you around?" Because that's what it looks like.

"I'm not a submissive person, so no, that is not what I want," Durian says casually. "Interesting if you like having control, though, it's worth noting"

Why does Bulma feel as if Durian's words have a double meaning?

"Okay," Bulma sighs, choosing to somewhat ignore Durian's words. "You'll be cooking for me then?"

"Yes"

"Because?"

"Because I like to cook and cooking for someone else means I get to cook more" is Durian's logic. "And it's nice to cook for people who enjoy your food. Your mother has been my only customer until now"

"You two sure get along" which makes sense since they both enjoy cooking.

"Hmm, she's a nice woman," says Durian. "She likes me a great deal"

"Oh Bulma dear, what a handsome young man you've brought home, is he perhaps your boyfriend" Bulma mocks in a higher-pitched voice attempting to sound like her mother. Across from her Durian lets her amusement known with a lopsided smirk as she contains her laughter.

"Really? That's what she thought?"

Bulma nods with a grin, telling Durian that there's more.

"A girl? Oh, well, I never thought you were interested in the feminine charm, sweetie, you certainly picked a good one to bring home, didn't you?"

Durian snorts, almost choking on her drink in the process, and has to clear her throat when the liquid attempts to go down the wrong way.

"You're mom is something else"

"Truly"

~~~~~~~~

It's nice to be out of that wheelchair and even nicer still now I can freely do what I want without concern. My muscles have healed well and I can finally lift heavy things, which makes me of use to Dr. Brief and Bulma - finally. Now I'm better I can do the heavy lifting for them and it also puts me closer to all the action. I even get to work on certain things now and that's joyous to me, something Bulma sometimes teases me about. Currently, I'm following Bulma around with some unknown piece of Kakarot's ship held carefully upon my shoulder, curious as to what Bulma could do with it. I put it down with her instructions, making sure to be very careful lest I accidentally hurt her with the thing. Couldn't have that happening.

She gets to work without prompting and I sit at her desk, fiddling with her computer and some sort of chip I had found within the ship's communication panel, at least it appeared to be one. I take it apart just enough to find a way to turn it into a sort of USB device that I then connect to the computer as I try to find any sort of information on it. You never know what could be found, after all, I could learn of millions of planets and species. And that seems like something within reach when letters and numbers start spilling down the screen, a code that can be deciphered with enough work. I can't help the chuckle I let out at my semi-success, happy to know that I'm still pretty good at computer stuff

I'm not too optimistic, however, because what little words I do find seem to be in a very foreign language as I cannot understand a single thing. Getting info out of this is going to take some time as I now also need to figure how to turn these letters into ones I can understand. More work to do then, no problem, I haven't struggled on a computer in a while.

"With everything you've done so far you can actually start building a ship like this, right?" I inquire, already knowing the answer to that question. I have been around for the entire process and know well enough already that Bulma and the Doc both understand the technology already, hell, even I get the gist of it.

"Yeah, and you can help, seems like you're a pretty good engineer after all," she says and I wonder when she had seen me display my skills. She looks at me and seems to understand my mental question because she shrugs. "Saw you working on a car that was basically scrapped and you got it hovering within an hour or two"

Oh, well, I wasn't aware she was watching. Seems I had been a bit too distracted to not notice her. I could use the excuse of her Ki being so low but that doesn't make things better because I have gotten used to sensing her ki and know it well enough to recognize it easily enough.

"Whatever happened to that zero-g sphere I gave you?" Asks Bulma all of a sudden and I laugh a tad bit nervously because I broke it, well not really but it had not been in one piece for some time.

"I took it apart"

I'm met with silence and a blank expression.

"Why did you take it apart?"

"To build it back up"

"And did you?"

"Yeah, now I'm building another one since I understand how this one works"

"Really?" She's surprised and I choose not to be offended.

"Yes, wanna see?"

"Yeah, I'd like to" she's interested now. "Did you try to make some changes?"

"Yeah, I'm planning on building one with the opposite effect, or at least I'm attempting, I might need you to do that for me" I don't see myself succeeding in that department.

At the mention of a device that increases gravity, Bulma seems thoughtful as if she sees no need for the device, and yeah, she would have no need for it, because why would you want such a machine. I assume she puts two and two together when she looks at me and sighs.

"Is this to train?"

"Yes"

Bulma rolls her eyes at me.

"Is that all you're going to be doing now that you're better?" She asks.

"No, of course not. I would like to keep working in the lab with you and your father and I very much enjoy helping your mother prepare food" I admit. Yes, I need to train, and I will, but training all day every day is not something I look forward to. That's more Kakarot's thing than it is mine as I know when to rest and take time to interact with others. I need to get stronger so I can meet Kami, for that I need to train, but since I do not plan on training as intensely as I had at master Roshi's I figure if I had a gravity machine to increase the gravity around me, I could get stronger faster.

"Good," she says, nodding in content.

"Good?"

"Good"

"Why is that good for you?"

"Why wouldn't it be good for me?" She says, answering my question with another question.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking" I can't read minds, Bulma, though if I could I would focus entirely on yours because you have a beautiful mind.

She says nothing, fully content with leaving me in the dark. Huffing I spin around in her chair, not satisfied with her lack of clarification, but not caring enough to press further. If my not training twenty-four seven is good for her then it's good. The only way it would be good for her would be because I would be around the lab more, which I enjoy a great deal.

"Could it be you like spending time with me?" I wonder because that seems to be the only logical reason at the moment.

From the way she frowns and pouts just slightly I'm assuming she doesn't like that I said that, but from her silence, I can say that I am right.

"You're nice" she admits.

"Oh well thanks"

"Yeah yeah, do I get a compliment?"

Oh, yeah, if that's what you want, I have many.

"You're smart"

"I hear that a lot" though she doesn't sound displeased.

"Well, it's the truth, so"

"You've got nothing else?"

"Yes I've got others but your smart and that's what I like most, I guess"

"Why?"

I shrug, I don't know. I just like that she's smart, why do I need to explain things further. She's smart and naturally curious, as any good scientists are, and I like curious minds.

"You're just really incredibly smart and I like it, that's all I can say"

There's silence as she stares at me, probably wondering if I'm being honest here or not.

"Could've just said I was pretty"

"You are" truly is, that much is obvious.

"And you're weird"

"Why am I weird for appreciating your mind more I do your appearance?" Make it make sense, please.

"I guess you're not weird for that" she acknowledges. "I'm just used to the "you're pretty" compliments"

"Too bad" she has a lot more going for her than just looks, but I suppose people don't take the time to know the super genius. Being as well known as she is, everyone would want to be her friend for the sake of it, and for that reason I doubt any of her friends actually know anything about her.

Bulma is staring at me again, brows furrowed in contemplation for a good ten seconds before she lets out a breath and goes back to what she was working on before starting a conversation with me.

"You're nice" she repeats her former statement.