The senior tour group had manned the microphone of the loudspeaker system and was playing bingo.Tortured smiling stewardesses handed out pens and pads.
<br />
To their right, a pensioner with delicate purple hair suddenly jumped up from her seat and shouted "Bingo, Bingo!", Waving her arms so hard that she almost knocked the glasses off her husband's nose.
<br />
Bulma wished they were flying through the Bermuda Triangle. She certainly wouldn't have objected to a little kidnapping now. But probably even little green men would not have found the flight home with this gang of pensioners particularly amusing.
<br />
"If I had a parachute, I would use it now." said the old man next to Bulma, but his smile didn't seem annoyed at all, just amused. He looked at his peers as if they were a horde of cocky schoolchildren.
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Her neighbor was becoming more personable to Bulma by the minute. "I would be satisfied with a bed sheet.", she claimed ironically. If it continued like this, she would probably soon be ready to jump off with a handkerchief.
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"May I ask what you do for a living?" the senior asked suddenly interested, but not intrusive.
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"You wouldn't take tour guide away from me, would you?" Bulma asked with a mischievous grin.
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"My guess is ... hmm ... Financial advisor? Policewoman? No, that's not it either," The pensioner tilted her head and looked at Bulma carefully, "Scientist?"
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Bulma was speechless for a moment. "Oh, are you clairvoyant then?" she guessed with a surprised smile.
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The lovely old man laughed. "No, that's just a hobby of mine. And? Do you like your job?" he inquired with genuine interest.
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Bulma nodded without hesitation. "I couldn't think of anything else."
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The 80 year old smiled. "Not even a husband and four children?" he asked teasingly.<br />
Suddenly Bulma didn't know what to answer. And it amazed her that she thought it necessary to answer at all. Normally she would have considered the conversation ended if a complete stranger asked her such a thing. But there was something in the older man's warm look and smile that made her feel like she was dealing with an old friend.
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"Maybe I want both, but maybe that's asking too much." Bulma said with a barely noticeable sigh. The Capsule Corporation, the impending battle with the cyborgs ... the future would certainly have some more brainless wannabe world rulers - she wasn't even sure if her relationship with Yamcha would continue next week. Who is thinking of starting a family?
<br />
For a brief moment the old man put his hand on Bulma's. "No, that's not asking too much. You deserve both." he said with an encouraging smile.<br />
Bulma swallowed. "How do you know? You don't even know me." she muttered.
<br />
"Oh but." replied the pensioner seriously. He didn't know why he said it himself, but he really had the feeling that he had known the younger woman for years. Maybe because he could see something of his own humor and fighting spirit in her blue eyes.
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<br />
Bulma ate the homemade cake that her new "friend" had offered her and was in such a good mood by now that it didn't even bother her too much when the senior group began to sing old hits. She was surprised that the old folks really knew all of the verses of "Moon River" by heart.
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"That would be something for my roommate!" she said laughing to her neighbor. Vegeta had loved this song since Son-Goku and Kuririn had sung it, about as much as the sound of fingernails scratching over a blackboard.
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"Roommate like in ... significant other?" the man with the silver hair asked interested.Again he smiled in a way that made it impossible for Bulma to resent the question.
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"Roommate as in colleague." she explained.
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“Ah, another scientist.” The old man smirked.
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"Another scientist?" Bulma considered how far she could go, "No, more like a ... a soldier, a fighter! And a good one on top of that. So if we decided to suddenly take hostages here on the plane , he'd box us out for sure. "Bulma smiled, but there was a little sadness in it.
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The older man by her side noticed and decided not to ask. "Sounds like your roommate is an interesting man."
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Bulma nodded and smiled.
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The old man looked at her carefully and his blue eyes sparkled serenely. "And you are really sure that it is only partner like in colleague?" he asked teasingly.
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"Trust me." Bulma said in a jokingly conspiratorial tone.<br />
"I do." replied the gray-haired man to her surprise.
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<br />
The stewardess came by with a drinks cart. "Would you like something to drink? Or can I offer you a snack?"
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Bulma and her neighbor both opted for a ham sandwich. They decided not to have another cup of coffee.
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The old gentleman folded down the little table in front of him and watched with satisfaction as Bulma took a hearty bite of her sandwich. "Finally someone who doesn't follow a permanent diet!" he said with a smile.
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Bulma looked at her questioningly as she swallowed another bite.
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"You should see my roommate! He is guaranteed to overshadow everything you have ever seen in your life," she explained to the senior with a good-natured sigh.
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"My daughter-in-law lives almost exclusively on lettuce and my grandson ... the boy is so thin that every time I visit I try to put a few more pounds on his ribs."<br />
"Oh, don't worry, that's for sure when he's a little older." replied Bulma reassuringly. She had been very thin herself as a teenager.
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The old man laughed. "I think that is unlikely. It was the same with my son and my wife, and they could hardly be brought to eat."
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The loving look with which he said this made Bulma wish she was with her family now. With her parents, with her granny and ....
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"Oh, I'm sorry if I cackle around here like an old senile rooster," the pensioner apologizes, "but you know how grandparents are like ..."
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"Yes." Bulma answered in monosyllables and bit her lower lip. The flight can't last that long ... then she was back with her family, with her granny, with ....
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Suddenly the thought shot through her mind that Vegeta was alone with her Granny longer than planned. 'He'd definitely not forgotten the infertility thing ...'grinned Bulma.
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"Please? Who hasn't forgotten what?" Repeated the man.
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Bulma swallowed. 'Did I say that out loud?'
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"Um ... my roommate - I'm afraid my Granny said something to him, which he probably resented."
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"Ah, I see! Is a rather unforgiving young man ...?"
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Bulma grinned at him. "You could say it like that! You'd think that he has a memory like an elephant in matters like this."
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The older gentleman smiled indulgently.
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"Seems like you know him pretty well, that 'roommate'!"
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Bulma's grin widened. Why couldn't she blame him for asking such intimate questions?
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Know Vegeta .... Her grin gradually faded and gave way to a furrowed forehead. Her gaze was fixed on the little peep window next to the gentleman and lost outside in the endless clouds.
<br />
To her own surprise, she had to admit that she knew next to nothing about Vegeta.Saiyan prince, warrior, freezer. She could count what she knew about him on one hand.
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"To be honest, he's not that talkative either," she defended herself. 'Why not? He was proud of his origins - why has he never said anything about it .... '
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"Quiet and unforgiving. Hm, not the very best combination, if you ask me.", He interrupted her with a smile.
<br />
Bulma looked at her new acquaintance in admiration. In his gentle eyes, Bulma believed he saw a wisdom that only someone who had really lived his life could have. This man probably had more answers about life than she could ask questions. Questions she'd asked herself over and over since her search for the Dragonballs. Today she was a grown, confident and intelligent woman. She knew now that you didn't need a man to be happy. She knew there was more to a relationship than talking on the phone once a week ... or ... or that you weren't other women ...<br />
"Have you ever really been in love?" She tried to distract. 'That was really not the time to worry about your own love life, if you could even call it a love life ...!'
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The older man looked at her a little confused before answering.
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"You mean with that strange twinkle in your eyes?"
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Bulma grinned at him and nodded.
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"When your face turns red as soon as you talk about your beloved?"
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Bulma nodded barely noticeably and practically hung on the man's lips.
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"When you're staring into the air, lost in thought? When you're trying to get back to your beloved as quickly as possible?"
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Bulma was fascinated by his words and his warm voice. She was really fond of Yamcha, but the older she got, the more she realized that that couldn't be all that love had to offer her. Somewhere in this world there was this feeling of floating on a cloud, of butterflies in your stomach.This silver haired man was living proof that these were no illusions ...
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"No, to be honest, I've never experienced that feeling so intense."
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Bulma felt her jaw give way to gravity.
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"Marrying my wife was solely the decision of our parents. I love my wife. I would do anything for her - but I only got to know this feeling much later. I believe in love at first sight , but with me she took a little more time ... too much time to be able to stare holes in the air or to be plagued with a constant tingling sensation ... ", he smiled at her.
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Bulma hesitated. She didn't know how to deal with this revelation and looked for the right words. Her fascination burst like a small soap bubble. She was confused enough as it was. Love She was a scientist; she knew about as much about