Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy

Chapter 34 - Tension

Natalie woke slowly to the sensation of being held. She opened her eyes and looked around, focusing on her surroundings. Sure enough, Trunks was lying next to her, with his arms around her. They were still on the beach. An evening breeze whispered past, chilling her as it came in contact with her skin.

"Trunks." She whispered, shaking him gently. He just grunted in his sleep and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Trunks wake up." She repeated. He didn't move.

Natalie just relaxed again, allowing her head to rest on the sand. It wasn't that she minded the position she was in, but she had no idea of what time it was, and she didn't want the others to get suspicious.

Just then, Trunks stirred again. Natalie looked up at him and saw that he had opened his eyes, and he was blinking to readjust his retinas.

"Natalie?" he said.

"Yeah, Trunks?" she replied.

"Hey." He said, smiling. Natalie smiled back.

"Hey." She answered.

"How long have we been lying here?" he asked.

"I don't know, I was wondering the same thing." She replied. "You want to head back?"

"Yeah...probably." Trunks said. "I'm surprised the others haven't come looking for us yet."

"Yeah, me too." She commented, brushing her messy hair out of her face.

Trunks unwrapped his arms from around Natalie's back and waist and sat up, looking around.

Natalie was hit with a chill the moment his arms were gone. She had been so warm and safe, and it was hard readjusting to the normal temperature of the outside.

"Which way?" she asked, having no idea where they were.

"That way." Trunks answered, pointing to the west. "I can feel the ki's."

"Don't worry about them, Sirius, they can take care of themselves." Goten said as Sirius grew angry and worried.

"I'm not worried about them." He said. "I'm worried about Trunks."

"Why?" Reena asked. She and Goten were now sitting next to each other with their legs dangling off the bed.

"Look at the clock." Sirius said. "It's almost 1 am, and they're still not back. What do you suppose they're doing?"

"Probably talking, Sirius." Goten said. "You're just being paranoid."

Sirius just growled and looked away, forcing himself to think about something else. Then, he felt two ki's approaching. It must be them.

No more than thirty seconds later, Trunks and Natalie appeared in the window of the hotel. Sirius walked over and opened, allowing the two Saiya-jins to enter. As soon as they landed and walked into the room, Sirius shut the window and turned to them.

"Where have you two been?" he asked.

"Sirius you're not my father." Natalie said. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm all right."

"Is that so?" he asked, sniffing the air slightly.

Natalie eyed him suspiciously. Just what was he up to anyway?

"We had a long talk and we're doing fine now." Trunks added, also watching Sirius.

"Are you sure that's all you two were doing?" Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes. Goten immediately spoke up.

"Sirius give them a break." He said. "We need to all get some rest and forget about everything that happened today."

"I'm all for that." Natalie added in, walking toward the closet where her bag was hanging. She dug through and found a pair of pajamas to sleep in.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Reena said. "Natalie do you have anything for me to wear to sleep?"

Natalie nodded and continued searching.

"I hope I remembered to bring something to sleep in." Trunks said, scratching his head and kneeling down next to Natalie as he pulled his own bag out of the closet.

"What did you sleep in the first night we were here?" she asked.

"My clothes." Trunks said, laughing softly. Natalie cracked a smile and continued digging through her things.

"How are we all going to fit into these two beds?" Reena asked, looking at the king sized mattresses. Even though there was a lot of space, there were six people. She worried more about the boys, since she figured that she, Ceres, and Natalie would be able to fit in the bed without major problems.

"Some of us will have to sleep on the floor." Goten said, eyeing Sirius and Trunks.

Trunks, who had found something to sleep in, stood up and folded his arms.

"There's no way I'm sleeping in that bed with you Goten." He said. "Last time you pushed me to the edge and I nearly fell off."

"Gomen, I'm used to sleeping alone." Goten retorted. Trunks narrowed his eyes and turned red while Natalie started laughing.

"Oh is he talking about you and me?" she asked Trunks, standing as well. "Goten don't be jealous."

Goten facefaulted and Natalie winked as she headed to the bathroom to change clothes. Reena burst into laughter and pointed to an embarrassed Goten. Trunks and Ceres just snickered, and Sirius stood in the corner, looking out the window, obviously deep in thought.

"Hey Sirius what's the matter, huh?" Reena asked, looking over at the black-haired Sidra-jin. He blinked and looked back at her.

"Just thinking." He replied.

"Yeah we noticed." Goten said. "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Vegeta when you do that?"

"No..." Sirius said, walking over and sitting on the girls' bed.

"Well you do." Goten commented. "Now that I think about it, you kinda act like him too. Maybe it's a Saiya-jin royalty thing."

Sirius just shrugged. He didn't consider himself to be royalty.

"Yeah Goten I think you have a point." Trunks said. "Nat does it too, sometimes."

"Yes, but not as much as this guy." Goten said, pointing to Sirius.

Natalie walked out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a white "wife beater" and a pair of white cotton underwear. Trunks' left eye twitched.

"Here Reena." Natalie said, tossing the other set to her purple haired friend.

"N...nani?" Reena said. "You want me to wear these?"

"Yeah..." Natalie said slowly. "They're the same ones I have on."

"Exactly." Reena said. "I think I need more pajama for my money."

"Reena..." Natalie trailed off, smirking. "There no more revealing than the bodysuits we were wearing."

"YOURS was, but mine was normal." She retorted.

"Fine Reena, it's either that or nothing at all. Take your pic." Natalie said, shrugging. Reena sighed and trudged into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Natalie just snickered.

"I think I'm going to sleep in a big, baggy t-shirt." Ceres said, sweatdropping.

"Aww Ceres live a little, huh?" Natalie said, folding her arms. "Besides, this is really comfortable."

"Yeah, next to nothing looks really appealing to me." Ceres jeered.

"Like I said to Reena, it's not as bad as it looks, and it's really comfy." Natalie said. "Besides, it's way too hot to wear heavy pajama pants or long shirts."

Reena walked out of the bathroom, also dressed in the pajamas. This time, Goten's left eye twitched. Natalie jumped into the bed and dove under the covers, literally. She sat up, completely encircled by the comforter, with her head peeking out of the mound of blanket.

"Well let's go to bed, I'm tired." She said, trying to suppress a yawn. Reena jumped in bed next to her.

"What am I supposed to sleep in?" Ceres asked, still dressed in her day clothes.

"Just get something out of my bag, Ceres." Natalie said, lying on her back and placing her hands behind her head, resting on the pillow.

Trunks had also returned from the bathroom, dressed in boxers and a white tank top as well. Goten was the next one in.

"You know, six of us sharing one bathroom is really going to try our patience." Natalie commented, tilting her head to look over at Trunks and the bathroom door that Goten had just walked through. "When are we going home?"

"Hell if I know." Trunks replied. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. It depends on my parents." The purple haired Saiya-jin eyed the bed that he was supposed to be sleeping in.

"Trunks you know..." Natalie said, sitting up. "You can always sleep over here." She said, and patted the space next to her. Trunks blushed and shook his head, trying not to smirk, while Reena and Ceres, who had also joined them, looked at Natalie with one eyebrow raised each.

"What has gotten into you, Natalie?" Reena whispered. "I thought you were modest about that sort of thing."

"Yeah, yeah." Natalie said, shrugging her shoulders. "That's because I had Orion as my choice of mate. Who wants to go with him anyway, he's such an arrogant jerk."

Ceres just looked away and lay down on her side, her back facing Reena and Natalie.

"That's okay, Natalie." Reena said. "We marry young anyway."

Natalie leaned over and whispered something in Reena's ear, which caused the girl to giggle and blush. Just as she did this, Goten walked out, wearing a tight black t-shirt and long pajama pants. Natalie smirked as Reena laughed harder.

"Hey what's that?" Reena asked, noticing a glimmer of light from Natalie's hand. Natalie grinned proudly and showed off her new present.

"Trunks-kun gave it to me." She said, beaming. "Isn't it great?"

"Is it a wedding ring??" Reena asked, looking at Natalie.

"No, it's somewhat of an engagement ring." She said. "But it's technically called a promise ring."

Natalie looked over at Trunks and smiled, and the Saiya-jin returned that with one of his own.

"What's so funny you two?" Goten asked, looking at the two girls. They were both bundled up in the covers, laughing and talking.

"Nothing, Goten." Natalie assured. "We were just talking about my ring."

"Right." Goten said, shrugging. Sirius silently walked into the bathroom, carrying some clothes he had borrowed from Goten.

"Hey Ceres!" Natalie said. Ceres grunted in reply, not bothering to move. "What's the matter, huh? One minute you're fine, the next you're suddenly depressed. Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all." Ceres lied.

"Oh come on. You can tell me you know, I mean, if I said something." Natalie said, scooting closer to the blonde girl and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Carina just let me sleep, will you?" Ceres said irritably. Natalie withdrew meekly and shifted positions slightly, folding her arms and speaking in a monotone.

"It's Natalie, Ceres. Just Natalie."