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To Live Again Chapter 3 - Introductions and Adjustments by Fair Drea Aiden slowly released her hold on Gohan and leaned back, pushing herself into the pillows while wishing with all of her might that she could just disappear. She suddenly felt very small. Cold ebony eyes stared at her, unnerving her. Her mind screamed out to her, telling her to run but she couldn't. Not in her weakened state. Gohan sensed the change and knew Vegeta was the reason for it. He could feel the Saiyan Prince's Ki signature by the doorway. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "Trust him," then pushed himself off the bed and left the room, nodding to Vegeta as he passed him. Aiden was horrified. Trust him? How could she trust a man she had never met? Especially one that was staring at her with such hard, distant eyes. He took a step forward and her heart lodged itself in her throat. Another step, another. He was walking slowly. She had no idea why. She knew he was walking to her, why didn't he just hurry up and do it already? Maybe he would hit her just like her mother had. More than likely. She readied herself for it, tensing her muscles for the jarring impact. It was a assurance that this was going to hurt much more than when her mother did it. Vegeta's brows lowered in confusion as he approached his daughter. Was she actually trembling? Why? What reason did she have to fear him? He slowed his steps, watching as she visibly retreated farther into the pillows. Stopping beside the bed his puzzlement grew as he saw the way her muscles tensed and her arms came up in a protective gesture over her chest. "What are you so afraid of?" he asked, his rough voice breaking the dense silence that filled the room. She winced. That he was not expecting. She reacted to his words as if he had struck her. "What did they do to you?" Aiden slowly opened her eyes. Bright orbs of intense blue stared up at him in bewilderment. "You...you're not going to hit me?" Vegeta's sighed. He should have known that she expected him to do such a thing. She'd been abused all her life. It was probably impossible for her to think that there were people out there who didn't hurt innocent children. He pulled up a chair and sat down, never taking his eyes from her. She, in turn, did not look away from him. Cautiously he reached out and placed a callused hand over hers. "I would never do anything like that Aiden. It's obvious that someone did though. Who was it?" The lavender-haired girl noticeably relaxed but the disbelieving look on here face remained. "My.my mother," she answered numbly. Fury flashed in his eyes and again she sank back, trying to get away from the anger she saw. Frustrated, Vegeta moved from the chair to the bed, sitting beside Aiden. "I told you, I would never hit you. I do want to show you something though." He reached down and grabbed her hand in his, bringing it up between them. "Do you feel that?" Aiden stared in wonder at her hand clasped tightly in his. A foreign sensation filled her, calming her. It was like a light had been turned on within her and its warmth was now slowly spreading through her being. "What is it?" she asked in awe. "The bond between a Saiyan and his child." Startled, Aiden regarded him with wide eyes. Then she shook her head, almost frantically. "I didn't come her expecting anything from you," she quickly muttered. "I don't want your money." Vegeta smirked, rolling his eyes. "I know that brat." "But-" "But nothing," Vegeta said, interrupting her. "You are my daughter. Even if I wanted to I couldn't deny it. Kakarott would never sleep with some woman he hardly knew and aside from him I'm the only other Saiyan that's old enough to have a daughter your age. You do know what happened, don't you?" Aiden leaned back against the pillows, her hand still in his grip. "All I've heard is my mother's side. I never believed it though." "Why not?" Vegeta asked, allowing their hands to drop between them. He loosened his hold but she kept her hand where it was. "I know what my mother is," she stated simply, her eyes growing dark. "She's a prostitute. Like she would ever stay with a man long enough for him to leave her." Vegeta's gaze lowered to her stomach pointedly. "She did this to you?" Aiden nodded. She all of a sudden wanted to tell him everything. It was unusual, but she trusted him. "She never wanted to have me. She made it very clear that I was nothing more than a servant in her house. I.I saw you on TV once. She grabbed me and screamed that you were my father. The father that had left us." "I didn't even know. I spent one night with your mother and that was only because she got me incredibly drunk first." The girl laughed but the sound was hollow, devoid of any actual humor. "Now that I believe." Her eyes dropped to her lap. "One night..she brought home one of her customers, some rich fat slob. He attacked me and tried to-" Her voice faltered and she took a steadying breath, feeling tears sting the back of her eyes. "He tried to rape me. When he was doing it his knee landed on my tail. It hurt so much and made me so angry. I hit him. I hit him hard. I never even knew I could hit someone like that. Then I ran away and came here. I just wanted to start over. I wanted to be away from there. I didn't want to impose on you." Vegeta forced back the blinding rage that had come from hearing his daughter say that some man had tried to force himself on her. If he ever found that man, oh.he would pay. He would pay dearly. But now she needed to know that she was welcome here. "Aiden, you are not imposing." The girl nodded, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. They were silent for a moment and then she raised her eyes to his. Tears spilled over her cheeks, glistening in the harsh florescent lighting. "Why? Why are you being so kind to me?" she whispered. Vegeta reached over and placed a hand lightly on her cheek. It was something he had only ever done to Bulma but his heart went out to this girl. She had lived too long in pain and abuse. She deserved to know that there was better. "Because you are my daughter. And because you should have a better life then the one you've had." "I..I." She never made it any further. Her stammering was cut off by the sob that tore from her throat. Vegeta immediately pulled her into his arms despite the uncomfortable feeling that came from human contact with anyone either then Bulma. His hand rubbed her back soothingly while she wept. He said nothing, just allowed her to cry out all of her pain. It seemed like hours had passed before the tears finally stopped coming and the sobs subsided to an occasional jerky breath. Aiden moved out of her father's embrace almost regretfully. It felt so good and so safe to be in those big warm arms. Almost as good as it felt to be in Gohan's. She nodded towards Vegeta's tear soaked shirt. "I'm sorry." The dark-haired man shrugged, biting back any smart-ass comments he was going to say regarding the opposite sex. She didn't now him well enough yet. He could just imagine how badly her already frail emotions would suffer from his usual callous manners. "Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone how nice I'm being," he grumbled, a smirk pulling at his lips. Aiden smiled and nodded. "I promise." Vegeta stood. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gazing down into her wide solemn eyes. "I know you had no intention of doing so, but I'm glad you ended up here. I hope you'll consider staying." He dropped his hand to his side, turning to leave. "I'll get Bulma in here to see if you're well enough to be transferred to a different room." He hesitated, not wanting to leave her side. Strange sensations twisted in his gut and he grimaced slightly. He was feeling strangely protective all of a sudden. She called out his name, stopping him from any further movements. "I..I really hope this isn't too much to ask but I was kind of wondering if you could also ask her for.ahh..some more food?" Vegeta smirked. Now that was definitely his daughter. "I'll see what I can do brat." He worded his sentence carefully, making sure that she knew his use of the word 'brat' was more of an endearment then anything else. Finally he left the room, walking down the hallway and into the kitchen where Bulma and Gohan were, sitting at the table and drinking steaming tea from large blue mugs. "What did you find out?" Bulma asked, setting aside her mug. Vegeta pulled up a chair and sat down next to her stretching his legs out underneath the table. "She just confirmed our suspicions. It was her mother that did all of that to her then fed her some bull shit story about how I left them." Their reactions to this information were entirely different. Gohan's gaze became dark and shuttered, focusing on the tabletop. His mouth thinned in anger but he remained silent. Bulma, on the other hand, became outraged. "Why that little bitch! What the hell kind of mother-" Her voice drifted off when she noticed Vegeta staring at her, one brow arched in amusement. "Calm down woman. Aiden's a smart girl." He said the last bit with a hint of pride. "She didn't believe a word of it." "Well, that's good." Bulma picked up her mug and took a sip after blowing on the liquid to cool it. "I suppose her mother is the reason she ran away to the city then." Fury flashed in the Saiyan Prince's eyes. "There were other reasons." His gaze traveled to Gohan. He knew what he was about to say would enrage the boy. Vegeta wasn't blind. He saw the way Kakarott's brat looked at Aiden. It was only going to be trouble for the kid, what with that Chichi want to be he was seeing. But maybe something would come from this. Besides, Videl was the daughter of Hercule. That in itself was a good enough reason to doubt the relationship. A hero of the earth dating the daughter of a man who had stolen his victory without even a hint of remorse, it was sickening. Vegeta shook his head and sighed. This was not going to be any fun. "One of her mother's "customers" tried to rape her." Gohan was up and out of the kitchen before Vegeta could even blink. "Damn it," the Prince muttered, forcefully pushing his chair back and going after the boy. He caught up with him in the hallway. He grabbed the collar of the young Saiyan's shirt and whipped him around, slamming him up against the wall. Gohan winced as his head connected with the hard plaster. "What the hell-" "Were you just going to walk in there and demand the girl tell you who did it?" Vegeta growled. "No.maybe. I don't know!" "When Aiden is ready to tell you, she will. Until then don't say a word to her about it." Gohan nodded, unwilling to argue further. It was pointless anyway. It wasn't like the most stubborn man he had ever met was actually going to give in and let him interrogate his daughter. So instead he focused on calming his anger. Vegeta's mood shifted suddenly and he chuckled, shaking his head. Gohan's eyes narrowed to an angry glare. "What's so funny?" "You're in way over your head boy," he stated simply, then turned and walked back to the kitchen. Gohan was lost. What exactly had Vegeta meant by that? He sighed, frustrated for more then one reason and ran his fingers through his short black hair. Whatever the older Saiyan had meant it didn't really matter. All that seemed to matter was Aiden. But that wasn't right, was it? He relaxed against the wall, head bent in thought. He should have been thinking about someone else, his girlfriend Videl. He should have, but he wasn't. "Gohan?" The young demi-Saiyan looked down the hallway to where his mother stood with a worried smile pulling at her lips. "Yeah mom?" "We're going home now. Will you go get your brother?" "Sure." He pushed off the wall and walked to the end of the hallway, pausing as he passed the door to Aiden's temporary room. He would say goodbye on his way down. He continued down the hall, taking the back way upstairs and taking each step slowly. Gohan stopped at the first door on the right, Trunks' room, and knocked. The lavender-haired teen opened it seconds later and nodded. "Hey Gohan." "Hey Trunks." He looked over Trunks' shoulder and saw Goten sitting on the floor looking up at him expectantly. They had been playing video games. The controllers sat forgotten amid the remains of microwave pizza and several empty pop cans. "Time to go." "Alright," Goten said, standing and brushing miniscule crumbs from his jeans. "Is Aiden awake yet?" Trunks asked anxiously. Gohan nodded once. "Yeah. She just woke up a while ago." "I'd like to meet her. Do you think she'd mind?" "No," Gohan said, smiling down at Trunks. "I think she might actually like to meet you." *~*~*~*~*~* Aiden took a healthy swallow from the tall glass of milk Bulma had brought her, using it to wash down a forkful of spicy chicken Lo Mien. As before, her stomach tried to reject sustenance. Thankfully her will was stronger and the nauseous feeling quickly eased. She set the empty plate aside feeling more full than she ever had in her life. Now all that was left to do was wait. Bulma had run a few tests when she had come with the food. Aiden had been vaguely uncomfortable in the woman's presence but found she was nice enough and silently allowed her to take what she needed. All the while Bulma had spoke in a soft, reassuring tone, explaining to her what she was doing and quickly promising that the blood tests were not being taken to check her DNA. She knew without a doubt, as well as everyone else who had seen Aiden, that the girl was Vegeta's daughter. So now all the lavender-haired Saiyan could do was sit and wait for Bulma to return with the results. Hopefully she would return with news that Aiden was ready to be moved to a more comfortable room. She never had liked hospitals and sure it may have been just a room in someone's house, but the smell and look was close enough to resembling a hospital room for her. The door abruptly whooshed open and Aiden's head jerked up. She was expecting Bulma but wasn't at all disappointed when Gohan walked in, two younger and very familiar looking men trailing behind him. "You never come empty handed do you?" Aiden joked lightly with a small, welcoming smile. "I just might someday. Don't be disappointed if I do," Gohan said, crossing the room to her bedside. He remained standing, not wanting to push his luck by sitting down on the bed and possibly startling her. "So how did it go?" Aiden stared up at him, raw emotions that she had only ever heard of before filling her. She didn't know what to do with them. She knew he caused most of them. How strange. Pushing aside for the moment at least, she smiled fondly, remembering her discussion with her father. "You were right Gohan," she murmured softly. "He is a very good man." "I'm glad to hear that." He turned to cast a quick glance back at the silent teens behind him. Poor Trunks. He looked nervous. But who could really blame him? Aiden had made him pretty nervous too. Especially with those wide, blue eyes and that warm, shy smile. Videl! He should be thinking about Videl. Once again he couldn't. Not even for a second. He looked back down at Aiden and his troubled thoughts left him as he lost himself in those deep pools of blue. "I just came to say goodbye." "You're leaving?" Aiden asked, surprised by the disappointment in her own voice. Gohan's smile deepened. She was upset that he was leaving. Oddly, it pleased him. "Yeah. But I can come back tomorrow if you'd like. I'll bring your homework." "Okay. Thank you Gohan." She blushed slightly and her eyes darkened with an unreadable emotion as she added, "For everything." Gohan swallowed hard. He had an overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and spend the night just holding her. As hard as it was, he resisted, knowing it was ridiculous to even think of such a thing. "Anytime." Going against his better judgment, he leaned close to Aiden, not surprised when she stiffened. He whispered, "That's your brother Trunks. He's a nice guy so don't be afraid of him." He backed away before he had a chance to follow through with his previous urge and took a step backwards. "I'll see you tomorrow." Aiden looked up at him, her eyes glowing and a blush crept into her pale cheeks. "Tomorrow then. Goodnight Gohan." The demi-Saiyan waved one last time and turned to leave, patting Trunks on the shoulder as he passed him and giving a few quick words of reassurance. Then the two were alone. Brother and sister, meeting for the first time. Silence hung in the room as they stared at each other, neither one sure of what exactly to say. Finally Trunks spoke up, his nerves causing his voice to shake slightly. "Gohan said you might like to meet me. If this isn't a good time I could.ahh..leave." "No!" Aiden quickly said, lifting a hand as if trying to stop him. "You don't have to leave. Gohan was right. I did want to meet you. Please." She indicated to the chair beside the bed and he walked hesitantly forward. He slowly sank into the chair, resting his hands on the cloth-covered arms. Again he wasn't sure what exactly to say. "I guess this is kind of strange for you," Aiden observed in a kind voice. "A little. I'm sure it's strange for you too though." Aiden shrugged. "It is. But I'm starting to think I don't mind it so much." Trunks looked up at her, truly seeing his sister for the first time. He could see the years of pain, the wariness to trust. She looked so tired. "Before you came here..was it really bad?" Aiden nodded slowly. It almost seemed like she was afraid to admit just how horrible her life had been. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her what had happened, but he didn't. He probably didn't even want to know. "So, um...are you going to be staying?" "I'm not sure. Everything keeps happening so fast." She lifted her gaze to meet his. "Would it be okay with you if I did?" "Yeah," Trunks replied without hesitation. "I've always thought having an older sister would be cool." "Really?" Trunks smiled at her expression of complete disbelief. "Sure. Just don't talk to me about your..um..girl problems." Aiden laughed softly and Trunks congratulated himself on the small victory. "Come Aiden, I'm serious!" he exclaimed with a pout, only making the girl laugh harder. "Promise you won't." Aiden forced her smile into a firm line but her eyes still sparkled with amusement. "Never Trunks. I promise." Trunks feigned a sigh of relief and slouched back into his chair. "Thank God!" Watching his new sister curiously he sobered, remembering the question he had been itching to ask her all night. "Hey Aiden. Earlier today, in the hall, did you-" "Feel something when your arm touched mine?" she finished for him. "Yes, I did. Maybe.." Her hand lifted from the blankets. She held it out to him, but only for a moment. Then she blushed furiously and let it drop back into her lap. Trunks already understood what she was doing though. "No. It's okay. Give me your hand," he said softly, raising his own in front of her. She was uncertain, maybe even a little scared but ever so slowly her hand came up. He clasped it gently and smiled as the same warm feeling from earlier filled him. Aiden's own full lips curved up in a tiny smile. "I thought it was only something between a Saiyan and his child. Well, that's what Vegeta said." "I thought so too." Trunks looked up at his sister, buried underneath the pile of blankets and his grin deepened. "You know, my mom used to use this bond all the time against my dad when I was a baby. Every time I would start screaming for no reason she's shove me at him and demand that he fix it. Never failed. Every time I got near him I'd calm down. Mom never gets tired of telling me that story, no matter how many times dad insists it's not true." Again Aiden laughed. It was a delightfully husky and contagious sound. Trunks found himself liking it and his sister very much. He suddenly felt very protective of her. Aiden may have been older but she still needed someone watching out for her. He gently squeezed her hand and said, "I'm glad you're here Aiden. I hope you decide to stay." She squeezed back. "I think I will. You've all been so nice. I never even knew kindness like this existed." Tears collected in her eyes and Aiden silently cursed herself, wondering if the weakness would ever end. Thankfully Bulma saved her by choosing that moment to come back into the room. "Oh! You two look so cute! I wish I had my camera on me." The blue-haired woman gushed as she entered, a manilla envelope tucked under her arm. Trunks smirked and released Aiden's hand, leaning back in his chair. "Hey mom. What's that?" "These," she said, pulling up a chair on the other side of the bed across from him and offering the pale girl a kind smile, "are Aiden's test results." She took several sheets of paper from the envelope and looked them over. "Everything came back fine. There were no infections, no diseases. Your Saiyan traits are starting to kick in. I'm not really sure why they didn't before but they are now, which means you'll heal quickly. Amazingly your muscular structure is still in tact. You had a small attack but the Saiyan in you is quickly taking care of that. All you really need now is some time to heal and feed yourself but all in all, you're healthy." "Healthy enough to move?" The girl asked hopefully. Bulma laughed and nodded. "Yes, healthy enough to move. I made up a room for you and left some clothes on the bed. They aren't much but they'll do until we can get some shopping done." Bulma stood and carefully removed the IV from Aiden's hand. With Trunks' help they got Aiden to her feet. "I've just got to put some things away real quick and we'll get you out of here, okay?" Aiden nodded and leaned heavily Against Trunks. She was weak and tired and she hated it, but what could she do? "Jeez, you weigh like..nothing," Trunks muttered. Aiden shot him a withering look and he smirked down at her. "Aww..don't be mad sis! We'll take care of it. Five square meals a day not including the snacks." "And he's not kidding about that," Bulma said, coming back to Aiden's side and cautiously wrapping an arm around her thin waist. They helped Aiden out of the lab and upstairs to a room colored in deep violets and greens. A queen-sized sleigh bed of polished oak with a thick down comforter and several pillows sat against the far left wall. Angled in the corner opposite the bed was a matching vanity. The circular mirror large and had delicate lilies etched along the curved bottom. But what Aiden loved most was the massive picture window. A dusty lavender sash had been draped over hooks in the corners that were made to look like clusters of silver veined leaves. The fabric pooled onto the soft green carpet in gentle puddles. The window, unmarred by paint chipped wood or rusted chicken wire, looked out onto a vast back yard with a smog free and, thankfully, building free horizon. Heaven. She had died and gone straight to heaven. "Oh my god," she breathed, taking an unsteady step forward. Bulma's arm dropped away and Trunks led her further into the room. "It-it's beautiful. Are you sure it's mine?" Bulma smiled fondly at the girl. "Yes. It's yours for however long you choose to stay. There's even a bathroom," she said, pointing to the door on the right. "We'll let you get settled and I'll send Trunks up later with a few things you might need. Maybe he'll make you one of his late night snacks." "Hey! It's a dessert. Not a snack!" Trunks said, looking offended. "I put a lot of work into those things." Bulma rolled her eyes. "Yes. So much work goes into pulling an ice cream sandwich out of the freezer, drizzling it with caramel and chocolate and topping it off with whipped cream. "It's the principle of the thing." Aiden smiled up at her new brother, already finding herself quite charmed by his carefree attitude. "That's okay Trunks. I'm not really hungry right now but I'll take a rain check for sure." "Is your stomach taking everything in okay?" Bulma asked, a worried frown creasing her brow. Aiden shrugged thin shoulders and tried to smile. "It will take some getting used to I guess." Bulma ran a critical eye over the young woman. She looked completely worn out. Poor girl. She had been through too much for someone her age. She needed a good mother figure in her life, someone to set straight the wrongs that had been done to her. Bulma just hoped that Aiden would allow her to be that person. Nothing hurt her more then to watch others suffer. "Trunks. Come on hun. Let's let Aiden get adjusted," she murmured softly. Trunks nodded and looked down at his sister. "You going to be okay on your own?" "Yeah." Aiden straightened, giving Trunks a brave smile as he dropped his arm. "I'll be fine." "Okay." Trunks backed away and started to follow his mom out of the room. "I'll be back in a bit." Aiden smiled and gave a quick nod, lifting her hand in a tiny wave as they left. She sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting down on it and clutching her stomach as a tiny cramp tightened the muscles. Hopefully her stomach would become used to food so that she would no longer have to deal with the pains of trying to keep it down. Pushing herself off the bed, she walked to the bathroom, flicking on the lights and closing the door softly behind her. She went to the sink and turned the cold water on, watching it as it rushed from the spout and into the porcelain basin. Cupping her hands, she held them under the running water and leaned forward, splashing the cool liquid on her face and willing the cramps in her stomach to stop. She turned the water off, grabbing a towel to dry her face with. 'Maybe a shower would make me feel better," she thought pulling off her bulky sweater and laying it on the counter. Slowly she raised her head and a horrified gasp lodged itself in her throat. Staring back at her with wounded azure eyes was someone she had not seen in a very, very long time. Herself. So this is what people saw when they looked at her. Bruised skin clung to every rib, making her look more like a walking skeleton then a human being. The lacerations crisscrossing her skin in angry reds made her feel like gagging. She could feel the bile rise along with her self disgust. They had seen her like this. Her father, that nice woman, they had seen exactly how ugly she was. Had Gohan seen this? She groaned, tightening her fingers over the counter edge until her knuckles were white. Anger that had been dwelling inside her for way to long clawed its way free and flowed through her veins. She started to shake uncontrollably, drowning in her own emotional turmoil. What must they think of her? Were they disgusted? They probably were, who wouldn't be? And her mother was probably laughing. Happy to be rid of the "freak" that was her daughter. Mind clouded by self-loathing and immense anger at herself and her mother, Aiden reached forward, her hand closing around a porcelain soap dispenser. She held the object in her trembling hand, staring at it as if she had never seen one before. Her thoughts ran in dangerous circles, sending her closer and closer to the edge. There was a moment of calm, of silence, then she snapped and the truth of what she was, what had happened to her came crashing down around her. With a desperate scream of denial, she pulled her hand back and sent the soap dispenser flying into the mirror. The shattering noise filled the room and sparkling shards fell like rain, scattering onto the counter and floor. Aiden moved back, the glass cutting into her bare feet. She couldn't think. The only thing she could feel was an utter desperation to be someone else. Anyone but herself. Tears fell over her cheeks as she crawled into the bathtub, curling up into the fetal position and pressing herself against the cold tile wall. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "So I'm taking it you like your sister then?" Bulma asked her son, leaning back against the kitchen counter and watching him throw together one of his "desserts." She had decided after talking about it that one of those calorie-infested things would probably do her some good right now. Trunks smile and looked up. "Yeah. She's really sweet. I think..I think we share a bond. Like the one dad and I have." Bulma cocked her head to the side. "What makes you say that?" "Well, when we first saw each other in the hallway at school, I kind of bumped into her arm, and there was this feeling." He paused, opening the refrigerator to grab the whipped cream and kicking it shut again. "We were just talking about it before you walked in. She felt the same thing. So we tried it out, same thing happened." "That's strange," Bulma said thoughtfully. Trunks shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I think it's kind of cool." He turned curious eyes to his mother. "Mom, why didn't Aiden's Saiyan traits kick in earlier?" Bulma sighed. She had been trying to figure that out herself. It was amazing how fast Aiden's body was healing itself now that her true heritage was helping her, but why had it not helped her before when she truly needed it? "If I knew the answer to that it would make things a hell of a lot easier to figure out hun." "So not a clue then, huh?" "Not one." Trunks nodded slowly and handed his finished creation to his mother. "Well," he said at length, "at least they're working now. The danger's past, right?" "Yeah," Bulma murmured, smiling at her son. "Here, why don't you take these things up to Aiden? It's late and I'm sure she wants to get some rest." She reached behind her and picked up the pile of things she had collected for Aiden laying on the counter. Mostly things she would need like a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, and a few other things. Trunks gave his mother a hug and kissed her cheek before taking the armload of necessities and leaving the kitchen. He walked up the stairs slowly, his booted footsteps muted by the carpet. Halfway up something in the back of his mind started nagging him. And uneasy feeling crept into his stomach and he frowned. What the hell was going on? It wasn't an enemy but something was wrong. Yeah, something was defiantly wrong. A shattering noise broke the silence and his heart fell. "Aiden." He ran the rest of the way, his heart lodged into his throat, each beat only increasing his fear. When he reached her door he threw it open, not caring if he broke the damn thing in the process. He crossed the floor to the bathroom and came to a dead stop. "What the hell?" he muttered, staring in disbelief at the jagged shards of glass scattered all over the floor. A plaintive whimper drew his attention to the bathtub and he swore softly. There, pressed against the wall of the tub, was his sister. The glass had obviously cut her bare feet. Bright red blood was smeared over the ledge of the tub and pooled around her feet, slowly creeping towards the drain. "Aiden?" He took a step forward, glass crunching beneath his boots. Aiden looked up, staring at him with wide, haunted eyes. When she spoke her voice was hardly above a whisper. It almost never made it to his ears. "We..didn't have mirrors in our house." "Jesus.." Trunks dropped the things his mom had given him on the floor and quickly walked to his sisters side, leaning over and taking her small body into his arms. He opened the closet next to the bathtub, grabbed a towel, and took Aiden back into the bedroom, setting her carefully onto the bed and brushing the clinging shards of glass free from her little feet. After he had wrapped the towel around her feet he took a good look at her. The fact that she was only in jeans and a bra did nothing to faze him. He'd seen plenty of women in bikinis so it was really nothing to him. What did shock him was the fact that her starved body was covered in bruises and scars. Stitches ran from underneath her breast down her side, ending right before the waistline of her jeans. Yet there were others, faded, indicating that this abuse had gone on for several years. She said there had been no mirrors. "Aiden, was this the first time you've ever seen-" He let the sentence hang, not feeling a need to elaborate. She nodded, her head hanging in defeat. "I'm so ugly. What must they think of me?" she whispered miserably. Trunks used his fingers to tilt her head up, brining identical orbs of sapphire to meet his gaze. "No they don't." "But-" "No Aiden. Mom and Dad don't judge people like that," he said softly, trying to make her understand. "What about..what about you Trunks?" she asked. Trunks smiled and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Aiden, you're beautiful. Hell, if you weren't my sister I'd probably be thinking of different ways to hit on you." She looked doubtful so he continued, determine help her put the past to rest. "Listen, what happened, happened. It's in the past. And it doesn't make you any less of a person. All of these things, the cuts and bruises, will heal. What matters now is that you have a family that adores you and your past will never change that. Never." He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "We'll always be here for you Aiden." "Oh Trunks." She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Trunks stroked a hand over her silky hair, offering her all the comfort he could give. "Don't mention it." He leaned back and ruffled her hair, bringing a smile to her full lips. "You need to get some sleep." She allowed him to take a look at her feet and wrap them in gauze that he had found in the closet. When that was done and she was changed into a baggy t-shirt and shorts, he tucked her in. "Rest now. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Aiden smirked, looking uncannily like Vegeta. "How are you going to do that? You have school in the morning." "I'm going to talk mom into letting me skip so that I can spend the day with my new sister," he said with a wink. Aiden smiled and curled up on her side, tucking the covers up under her chin. "I think she'll say yes to that." Trunks nodded, getting to his feet. "I know she will. Goodnight Aiden." "Goodnight Trunks." She watched her brother leave, the smile never leaving her face, even after her eyelids had drifted close and she fell into a blissful sleep. It was the first night in years the little Saiyan fell asleep truly happy. [ Previous | Next Chapter ] |