It took Trunks quite a while to soar all the way to Capsule Corporation. It took him a while, but not too long. It would take a whole lot longer to walk there. Trunks softly landed on the ground and stretched a bit before walking into his house.
His mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug full of coffee. She was staring silently into it before she looked up and saw her son. She smiled, showing a bit of relief and quickly wiping it away.
"Good evening mom," he greeted as he came in and sat beside her. He smiled warmly. "How are you feeling?"
Bulma smiled weakly back. "A little tired. I guess that’s just my old age kicking in." She laughed and finished with a sigh. "Where did you disappear to so late?"
"I just went for my nightly fly," he replied, pouring himself some coffee. He liked tea better, but coffee was there for him now so he drank that instead. He shivered a little. The furnace hadn't wanted to work lately.
His world was miserable, but it was a poor happiness that many took for granted.
"Aww, honey, if you're cold, you should go get a blanket or something. It's almost winter and that damned furnace isn't working... We're gonna turn into icicles."
Trunks smiled, humoring his mother. "I'm sure we'll survive. A little cold weather should be nothing compared to what we've been through."
"No, it's more like cold weather will be much more than that of which we've ever been through."
"You're so pessimistic."
Bulma laughed, stopping to take a sip of coffee. "At least we have warm water. That should keep us going for a while." She sighed and rested her head on the top of the chair. "Trunks, can you look through the cupboards for me and see what we need for groceries?"
"Sure, mom." Trunks abandoned his coffee and got up to root through the kitchen. He took a pad of paper and a pen from the counter and threw it onto the table where his mother was sitting. She gave him a thumbs-up.
Trunks started at the fridge. "Alright, we need juice, butter, milk, I think the cheese will last us to next grocery day. We have a few apples left, but we're pretty shot for fruits and veggies. We should also get some hot-dogs. We're running a bit low, but I think there's some in the freezer." Trunks closed the fridge and opened the freezer. "Okay, forget the hot-dogs. We should get a few of those TV dinners for when we're too tired to cook. And we should get some hamburger." He closed the freezer and went to the cupboards. "We're running low on peanut butter and jelly. Lets get strawberry jam this time. We should get more rice and maybe some munchies like cookies and chips." He closed the cupboards and sat down next to his mother again. "That’s it."
"Thank you, Trunks. I'll go get them tomorrow."
"Nah, I'll go get them. You sleep in tomorrow. You need your rest, mom. You can't just go on forever with no breaks."
"I know, I've been learning that the hard way." Bulma laughed before choking into a cough that made Trunks' face crease with worry. She raised a hand to signify she was fine. "I'll be fine on my own. I'm not that old. I'm just not very healthy. I need to start working out and gain my youth back."
Trunks smirked. There was no way he could change his mother's mind, so he came up with another idea. "How about we go together? Spend a night on the town, that sort of thing."
Bulma's eyes lit up with a silent pride. "I'd love to. You always come up with the best ideas."
They sat there for a moment in silence before Bulma got to her feet. "I'm heading off to bed." She stretched. "Don't stay up to late, Trunks. We have a big day tomorrow."
"I know, mom."
She smiled with that pride again. "I love you, Trunks. You're my only reason to live in this world."
Trunks blushed, not really sure how to reply. "Mom... Go to bed..."
She giggled at her son. "You're so handsome. You're going to make a girl very happy someday."
"Yeah. Someday..." Trunks watched his mother scale the stairs and smiled. He remembered her past form. The Bulma from the past had fussed over her so much; he thought it was to make his father jealous. Trunks stifled a laugh and wondered if it worked.
"I hope they're happy..."
A shiver rocked Trunk’s body as a breeze flowed through a broken window. He realized how tired he was and he retreated to his room to hit the hay himself.