Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ All the Things We've Never Done ❯ One-Shot

Special thanks to Soulwindow for beta-ing!

"....." = speaking

'.....' = thought

Between ~~~ and ~~~ = song lyrics

~~~

They drank their anniversary glass,

A silent moment passed, then they kissed.

She knows there's something on his mind.

He'll tell her in due time what it is.

~~~

"Here ya go, babe," Krillin offered somewhat shyly to the tall blonde sitting on the small couch across from him. "Happy Anniversary."

Juuhachi's expression was completely unreadable, though after twenty years, Krillin knew that seeing nothing on the almost unnaturally beautiful features of the woman's face was a good sign. That, and that fact that her perfect fingers wrapped around the top of the thin champagne glass with no hesitation. She gave him a quick nod, but left her sky blue eyes lingering for a minute as she watched him take hold of his own glass. She noticed that he seemed to debate whether to sit down or not before finally opting to come to her side.

He did sit finally, making sure to twist his body as much as the small sofa allowed to face his wife. "Cheers!" he offered with comedic bravado even as his legs fidgeted as if they were possessed by demons all their own.

Taking the cue from her husband, Juuhachi brought her glass to touch his, making a soft, almost bell-like note that rang through the tiny room they were in, though it did seem a great deal bigger than normal as they were the only two people there. That was an almost non-existent occurrence considering the other occupants that Kami House sheltered. Marron, now all grown up, was out much more than she had been as a child, but the rest of the people who lived there, namely Master Roshi, Oolong, and a rather large turtle, never seemed to have anything better to do but sit in front of the television ogling any woman that crossed the screen or, on a great day, sit just outside the door and rant and rave at the old hentai's magazine collection.

The only reason that it was not the case that day was because Krillin had bribed Bulma to invite them all to Capsule Corporation for the evening, but unknown to his wife, Krillin was now in debt to his long time blue-haired friend... deeply. The problem was that even considering that fact, Krillin couldn't help but feel as though he wasn't giving his wife even close to what she deserved. He shook that thought from his mind to take a sip, hoping it would help distract him for Juuhachi's penetrating gaze. He didn't want her to know how he felt at times like these, times when he felt incredibly small compared to her... well, more so than usual, at least.

Juuhachi seemed to note all of this, and perhaps even a few things he didn't realize, so she respectfully dropped her eyes off of him to take a drink, forcing herself not to frown at the bitterness of the liquid in her mouth. She had never liked alcohol of any kind, though somehow that fact had never come up when he'd given it to her before. She never did have the heart to condemn anything he did for her when he tried so hard to please her or go out of his way for little occasions like these. She understood that the empty house and the small bottle sitting in a bucket of ice signified so much more than just baubles to impress her. Surely to call them tokens of his affections would be a grave insult. Despite his less than imposing stature and average attractiveness, Juuhachi knew that every inch of her husband was consumed by an enormous heart that permeated every one of the man's thoughts and actions. To Juuhachi, each look he gave, each word he spoke, each action he performed, anything and everything was, in a way, a piece of his heart given in the form of something material that could benefit the receiver. She also knew that the only person who didn't seem to realize how important Krillin was to everyone was Krillin himself.

And somehow she knew, though she wasn't quite sure how considering that feelings and intuition weren't her strongest skills, that the unnecessary guilt he carried had hit a high point recently. She had known he would finally admit it to her, so she had waited. This was by far the toughest battle of his life, she knew, for he'd first have to find the incredible, yet humble courage to admit it to her. Then, and only then, would they talk about it. Then she would somehow find the words to make him see how important he was to everyone he knew... especially to her.

Krillin silently thanked his wife for her understanding, though it did nothing for the feeling that he had a live wire in the pit of his stomach. He had made the decision several days before that this would be the day he would talk to her. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to give her that he never had. How could he say how sorry he was? How could he make her understand how much she meant to him when he had so little to offer? Still to this day, it amazed him that she was still with him. After all, he knew her better than anyone, and in that, he'd come to a single conclusion about the android he'd fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago. By all accounts within him, she was living perfection. How could he compete with that? Hell, how he had managed just to hang onto it for so long completely amazed him, but today... today he would let her know, or at least try to explain that he knew he'd failed her, and that he wanted to make up for it. He just needed to know how. Then, no matter what it was, he would do it. He would do absolutely anything...

~~~

He says "I've never built your mansion on a hill,

Or warmed you in the Spanish sun.

I simply blink my eye, and think as years fly by

Of all the things we've never done"

~~~

Krillin took a shaky breath. 'It's now or never,' he told himself as he once again looked into the crystal blue eyes of his wife, who had brought her impenetrable gaze back to his face. It was her way of inviting him to start whenever he was ready. He really didn't know if he would ever be ready for this, but Krillin knew he had no choice. She deserved that much, and so much more. If only he could keep the tears from building in his eyes...

The speech he had prepared within his mind was coming apart piece by piece as he looked at Juuhachi, her eyes intently searching his soul without even intending to do so. She never truly meant to intimidate him in that manner, it just always sort of... happened. Within moments, his resolve was following his words, fleeing at an alarming rate. Of course, like so many other obstacles the man had conquered, Krillin simply told himself once again that this had to be done. There was no other option.

He allowed himself just enough time to take one more slow and steadying breath before refusing to procrastinate any longer. "You know, we've been together a long time now...," he began, dropping his gaze and moving it to a seemingly interesting place on the floor. "I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to find someone like you, Juuhachi," he admitted softly as he rubbed his hands together nervously, "but I promised myself that if I ever did get that lucky, I'd do everything she dreamed of. You know," he went on with a nervous laugh, "treat her like a queen and all..."

He took a moment to sneak a glance at the woman sitting next to him, and he was surprised to see her watching him curiously, her head tilted to the side ever so slightly, her mouth turned down as her brow creased in thought. His eyes moved back to the floor quickly, and he shuffled his feet, digging the toe of his shoe into a blemish he found there.

"And here we are, celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary, and I haven't kept that promise," he explained slowly. "I mean, there's so much I want you to have... all those clothes you look at when we go to the mall, the jewelry, one of those big, fancy houses in the city..." His voice trailed off, but the list inside his mind went on and on and on some more. Kami, the list was so long! How had he let so many things go? How had he neglected her that much?

~~~

She smiles and takes his hand in hers

And says "It just occurred to me now -

The thought that brings you such regret,

What hasn't happened yet, makes me proud..."

~~~

"I haven't given you any of those things you want," Krillin stated dejectedly, his eyes filling once again with liquid grief. "Instead, you've got a room with almost no furniture in a house that's always full of people. You never get any of the peace and quiet I know you like so much, and you can't get out to do it because you're always so busy taking care of me and Marron. You don't have your own house or a car or anything..." he stated shakily, but his time the statement seemed to be more to himself than to Juuhachi. "Heck, anything you've ever gotten worth anything, you've gotten on your own!"

Juuhachi's eyebrow went up slightly. It was true that when it came to money, she did always seem to come up with a way to get it. Right now, they were living mostly off of a large sum she had rather forcefully collected from the World Martial Arts Champion, Mr. Satan, over fifteen years earlier.

"You've gotten everything for us... done everything for us, and here I am, just sitting here. I mean, it'd be different if I was handsome and smart and strong like Goku and Gohan and Trunks... even Vegeta, in an evil I'd-rather-kill-you-than-look-at-you sorta way..."

Juuhachi snorted. Krillin's brow creased for a moment before realizing why she'd reacted that way. "Oh... well, Goku's strong and handsome, at least. Hell, he doesn't have to be smart 'cause he can do nifty little things like save the universe and stuff." Krillin couldn't help but grin when he thought about that, but it soon faded as he got back to his original intent. "Gohan and Trunks both have steady jobs and make good money for their families. Compared to those guys, I'm nothing but a worthless bum!"

"That's not true," Juuhachi broke in solemnly as her pale azure eyes rested evenly on the mop of salt and pepper hair on top of his tilted head.

"Yeah, it is," Krillin argued vehemently. "You deserve to be with someone who can give you stuff like that. Honestly, I don't know how in Kami's name you've put up with me all these years!"

He'd finally said it, and it was as if those words were the dam that had held back his tormented emotions. As went the words, so went the barrier, and Krillin's face suddenly flushed as the first tears passed the brink and trickled slowly down his cheeks. He moved his face away from his wife to save her from the disgraceful display, all the while squeezing his eyes shut, forcing back any more embarrassing outward displays of his guilt. Unfortunately, she had other ideas. He realized this as he felt a slim finger come under his chin, turning it back to face the one he had fallen short for time and again. When their eyes met, he choked back a sob that threatened his voice. "I don't understand what you see in me," he managed out miserably.

"Then let me tell you what I see," Juuhachi offered steadily, her eyes softening, yet never wavering for a moment.

~~~

"You never walked away when I needed you to stay

Or made me feel I'm not the one.

There've been no broken vows, and the reason we're here now

Is all the things we've never done"

~~~

"First of all," Juuhachi began dryly, "I know that everyone thinks Goku's a real stand up kinda guy, and sure, he's probably the strongest fighter in the universe, but when it comes to being an attentive husband, he's a zero."

"Na... nani?" Krillin croaked out, completely and utterly shocked at his wife's opinion. "How can you say that?"

Juuhachi shrugged. "Simple. I've heard Chi-Chi talk about what his absences have done to her. They've been married over thirty years, and she hasn't even been able to spend half of them with him because he's either on the other side of the galaxy training, or he's dead... and still training," she added with a smirk, earning her a soft snort of agreement from the man beside her. "She lives every day that he actually is at home as if he could be gone again at any moment, because that's exactly what can happen. She's raised both of her children almost entirely on her own and still supports them to this day, and all of that, Krillin, all of it, is only for one reason. It's because her husband is too blinded by his love of fighting and his desire to protect everyone on the entire planet that he's too dense to notice that there's more to life than constantly preparing to save the world. There are specific people on this planet that need him more than the rest, even though he just doesn't see it that way."

"That's why I would never want you to be like him," Juuhachi continued. "What's the point of being married if your husband is never around? Not just for you, but for your children as well. Sure, he may be stronger than you and be a better fighter, but aside from the fact that he's not human and therefore you shouldn't try to compare yourself in the first place, look at what he's had to give in order to become what he is! I don't know about you, Krillin, but I prefer you be weaker and alive and home than strong and dead or gone so often you might as well be. Hn, I'm not widow material, thank you very much. Not yet, anyway."

As Juuhachi took a small break, Krillin took the opportunity to go over what she'd said so far. He supposed, in a way, he could see her point when looking at Goku from a relationship standpoint. He was a bit... careless... with his time with his wife. Being one of the people who had, on many occasions, fought beside the remarkable warrior, Krillin had never really considered Goku from the other side of the coin until now.

"As for Trunks and Gohan... they're boring," Juuhachi admitted flatly. "And I don't like being bored. Living here with you, I'm not."

"Really?"

Juuhachi nodded solemnly. "Really." Another long breath, but this time it was to prevent her from laughing her head off during a conversation that deserved to be taken seriously. "I still can't believe you said Vegeta..." she marveled under her breath, though it was still loud enough that Krillin heard and responded with a resigned shrug.

~~~

"We've never grown apart, you never broke my heart

With secrets that you've kept me from.

We've never been untrue, and I'm still here with you

Through all the things we've never done"

~~~

"I think that's a no-brainer," Juuhachi began as her mouth curved slightly upward. "First of all, he is always going on about being a Prince and his royal heritage. Hn, the only sign of royalty I've seen is that he's a royal pain in the ass. How Bulma puts up with him is beyond me. I mean, just the way he speaks to her... and in front of other people! Honestly, Krillin, if you ever spoke to me that way, I'd rip out your tongue and shove it so far up your ass you'd grow an inch taller, at least."

Krillin got a mental picture of his wife doing something like that to the proud Saiyajin and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Of course he himself would never dream of speaking to Juuhachi the way Vegeta did Bulma, he valued his life a bit too much for such careless antics.

Juuhachi smiled softly at his laugh. Good, it was working. He was looking much less despondent than he had earlier, so Juuhachi put on the finishing move by sliding over so that she was sitting flush against her husband.

"I love you for you. I know that I pick on you sometimes and I'm naturally intimidating, but the truth, Krillin," she went on as her fingers found his chin and began lightly tracing along the contours of his face, "is that I would have you no other way than how you are right now. You may not be the savior of the planet like Goku or a man of nobility like Vegeta, but you were the one that gave me my freedom. For that, you will always be my hero. You have always been honest and upfront with me, and I've never seen you so much as glance at another woman... even when you didn't know I was looking. You have been here for me and for your daughter no matter the circumstances, and you ask for nothing in return because you love me, despite the fact that I consider myself very hard to love. Perhaps... you are not perfect, but neither am I, or anyone else," she reminded him sternly. "But what really matters is that you are perfect for me." She leaned into him, pulling his face to meet hers. Their lips brushed lightly, but the kiss soon grew feverish and demanding, though neither could tell who was dominating.

Juuhachi pulled away only far enough to whisper against her devoted husband's lips. "I love you, Krillin."

"Oh Kami, Juuhachi, I love you, too!" Krillin exclaimed, both arms circling her with hungry possessiveness. "Kami, I wish you knew how much I love you..."

"I do, Krillin," Juuhachi assured him softly, her own arms staking claim of the body that held her. "I do."

And with that, Juuhachi pulled her husband up and led him down the hall to their bedroom, fully intent on the much more interesting part of the evening's show and tell. Time to show.

~Owari~