Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion
Written by Erin Miller - nekochan016@aol.com

Chapter 4 - Night Out

	Natalie sat on the warm sand, looking out towards the horizon. 
Trunks and Goten sat near her, carrying on a conversation about school.
	"So do you have a better schedule this semester?" Goten asked
Trunks, who was lying on his back with his hands folded behind his head.
	"Yeah, pretty much.  That whole school is easy.  I'm glad I
convinced my parents to transfer me.  And just my luck!  They changed
the dress code this year.  No more uniforms." He replied, staring at the
sky.  Trunks had switched schools that year after giving his mother a
lecture on why it would be good for him (i.e. he wanted to go to the
same school as Natalie).  He always had to do that with Bulma.  Since it
was a private school, there was a monthly fee of 500 dollars.  Since
Natalie had no more family in the area, and her father had left before
she was born, Capsule Corp. paid for her fees as well.  Trunks knew that
she had a hard time dealing with her mother's death.  She tended to bury
things within herself, instead of accepting them and moving on.  He
glanced over to where she was sitting.  She was facing the ocean, her
arms wrapped around her knees, bringing them to her chest.  The sun was
starting to set, causing an array of brilliant pinks and purples to be
displayed in the cloudless sky.  There was a slight warm breeze, just
the perfect temperature for a day like this.  He watched her as the
breeze caressed her hair, causing it to brush her soft skin.  
	"Hey, what's up with you?" Goten said, snapping Trunks back to
reality.
	"Huh?  Oh, heh. Um, Goten...what were you saying?" Trunks said,
obviously embarrassed with the situation.  Goten smirked at his friend. 
He knew how Trunks felt about her.  Natalie looked over at the two boys
and caught Goten's eye.  
	"She isn't bad." He thought to himself.  "I can see why Trunks
has a thing for her."  Trunks flipped over on his stomach and then got
onto his knees.  
	"Hey let's go somewhere." Trunks said, getting up and brushing
the sand off his body.  
	"Where...?" Goten asked, cocking a brow.  They couldn't go far,
since dinner would be cooked in thirty minutes or so.  
	"I don't know.  What about you Natalie?" Trunks asked, looking
down at the girl.  She looked up at Trunks with a content expression on
her face.
	"Right here is fine." She said, and looked back at the sunset. 

	"Oh, come on Natalie.  You have always liked adventure...don't
you want to go?" Trunks said, reaching a hand down to help her up.  She
accepted it and stood up, followed by Goten.  They all headed back to
the cabin.  When they got there they discovered Vegita and Goku trying
to grill steaks while frying themselves in the process.  
	"No, Kakarott!  Don't press that button!" A loud explosion was
heard, followed by Vegita's shouts of frustration and anger.  The three
teenagers exploded into fits of laughter when they saw the singed saiyan
prince holding a spatula.  
	"Dinner's ready!" Bulma cried, and set a plate of steaks at the
table.  
	"Already?" Goten asked, walking towards the cabin.
	"Vegita lost his patience and ki blasted the things." She said,
sampling a bite.  "But he did cook them pretty good."  Goten, Trunks,
and Natalie all sat down in their respective places.  Soon, everyone
joined them, all still wearing nothing but swim suits.  Natalie observed
the mile-high pile of meat and produced a sweat drop. No sooner had
everyone sat down that the saiyans filled their plates with food.  Bra
and Pan did the same, since they too were saiyans, and just because they
were female didn't mean they ate any less.  When everyone had served his
or herself, they began to eat.
	"Hey Vegita, these are great.  What did you use?" Krillin said,
biting into a piece of meat.
	"If you don't shutup I'll use it one you, short man!" Vegita
grumbled.  Krillin muttered something under his breath and continued to
eat his food.
	After everyone had stuffed themselves to the point of satisfaction,
they cleaned up the plates and cups and thanked the "chefs" for dinner.
	"Everyone meet back here at ten." Bulma said.  Apparently, they
were all going to spend the night at the cabin.  Trunks, Goten, and
Natalie all walked towards the beach, filled with food.  They sat on the
sand again, this time closer to the water.  
	"Well I guess there's nothing better to do, huh?" Trunks sighed,
plopping down onto the warm sand.  The sun was halfway down the horizon.
 
	"We have the whole weekend ahead of us.  Just enjoy the sunset,
Trunks." Natalie said, lying down next to him.  Goten took a spot next
to Trunks and they all lay under the pink and purple sky.  
	Meanwhile, the rest of the group was inside talking amongst
themselves while the fire roared in the fireplace.  
	"Yeah, and then he knocked the jar off the counter and made ME
pick up the broken pieces!" Bulma said rather loudly to the group of
laughing people.  
	"Stop talking about me, woman!" Vegita shouted to his mate.  She had
learned to ignore his outbursts, as they were of his nature.  In face,
everyone pretty much had learned to disregard most of his flamboyant
comments.  That was merely his true disposition showing through,
although he had improved greatly since Namek.  Goku made a comment that
caused most of the group to erupt into laughter.  Vegita, however, was
as red as a tomato and looked as if he were about to explode.
	"Calm down Vegita!" Bulma cried, putting her arm around his
back.  He gritted his teeth and forced his blood pressure to lower.  
	"Stay calm...don't destroy Kakarott..." Vegita thought to himself. 
When that episode was over, everyone returned to his or her
conversations.  
	Natalie shifted positions in the warm sand.  The sun was getting
lower and lower in the sky.  She loved the way the sky looked right
before the sun would set over the horizon.  She looked over and saw
Goten leaning to one side with his eyes almost completely closed.  
	"Goten if you're so tired why don't you go to bed?" Natalie
said, breaking the silence and causing the two boys to jump in surprise.
	"Nah, I don't want to seem rude." He replied.  Natalie was actually
HOPING for him to leave so she could spend some time with Trunks, alone.
 
	"It's okay, Goten.  We'll understand if you want to leave."
Trunks said.  "Go on.  We'll see you tomorrow." 
	"Well...okay.  I'll see you guys in the morning." Goten said,
forcing himself onto his legs.  His body was worn out and just thinking
about lying in bed caused him to yawn.  He trudged back to the cabin and
up the stairs to one of the guestrooms that Bulma had laid out for him. 
Before he could even change out of his suit, he was out like a light. 
Back outside, Natalie and Trunks were enjoying the scenery.
	"Pretty, huh?" Natalie said, leaning against Trunks' warm body.
 His muscles were firm and his skin was warm and smooth.  He leaned his
head on hers and they sat, looking out over the ocean on the warm,
summer night.
	Inside, Chi-Chi went upstairs to check on her son while the rest of
the group sat in the living room.
	"Man I'm spent.  Thanks for having us over, Bulma." Krillin
said.  Bulma nodded while Vegita sat next to her, looking dazed.  
	"Hey, what's wrong with him?" Yamcha said out loud.  At hearing
this, Vegita's eyes opened and his head snapped up.
	"What was that Yamcha?" he said angrily.  
	"Vegita control your temper.  I don't know what happened, but
you've been on the edge lately." She said, running her hand down his
back soothingly.  Vegita couldn't yell at her, so he just slumped into
the sofa.  He wasn't used to letting his guard down easily but he
figured there was always a first for something.
	"Yeah.  Sorry." He muttered.  Bulma smiled and continued talking. 
Pretty soon, everyone was on the brink of falling asleep.
	"Well I guess we should head upstairs for bed." Bulma announced
to the half-awake group.  "Yamcha, Tien, Krillin, and Chaozu are in a
room.  Master Roshi, you are with Oolong.  Gohan, you're with your
family, and Bra can sleep with Pan if she wants.  Goku, you are with
Chi-Chi, and Trunks, Goten, and Natalie are together." She said,
directing everyone to his or her designated rooms.  When everyone had
had their turn in the bathroom, the group turned in for the night. 
Suddenly, Vegita remembered that Trunks and Natalie hadn't come in.
	"Where are the other kids?  I didn't see them come in." he
said, looking out the window at the dark sky.  
	"They must still be out.  They'll come in soon...I know Trunks."
Bulma said, slipping under the covers of the king sized bed.  Vegita
grumbled at the thought of them alone, but chose to keep his mouth shut
for then.  Soon, all of the lights were out in the cabin and everyone
was asleep.  
	Back on the beach, Natalie and Trunks had fallen asleep under
the stars.  There was a cool breeze blowing off the water, causing them
to huddle together subconsciously in their sleep.  Suddenly, something
caused Trunks to awaken.  He opened his eyes slowly, forgetting where he
was at first.  Then he looked down and saw Natalie leaning on him, fast
asleep.  He gently shook her awake.
	"Huh?  What?" she said groggily, rubbing her eyes.  "Oh man,
did we fall asleep?  What time is it?" she asked, looking at the night
sky.  "The stars are out tonight.  They are so pretty to look at without
the lights of the city interfering." 
	"Come on.  Let's head back inside." Trunks said.  They walked
up the shore and over the sand dunes, reaching the cabin after a few
minutes.  The saw that all of the lights were out, so they entered as
quietly as possible.  They searched for their room and found Goten,
sprawled out on his bed.  He was taking up all of the room, and his feet
were even hanging off the end.  Seeing that there was only one bed left,
Trunks offered it to Natalie.
	"Thanks.  You can sleep here too, just as long as you don't kick me
in your sleep!" she said, elbowing him in the side playfully.  
	"A-are you sure?  I can sleep on the floor." He said
considerately.
	"Of course I'm sure.  Come on." She said.  She had slipped on a
pair of Trunks' boxers over her suit and curled up under the covers. 
Trunks approached with caution, sleeping so close to the edge that he
would surely fall off if he breathed the wrong way.  "Trunks will you
turn off the light?" Natalie mumbled from under the covers.  He rolled
out of bed and flipped the switch on the far wall.  On his way back, he
tripped on the foot of the bed and landed on the unsuspecting Natalie.  
	"What the!?" she cried, sitting straight up.
	"Shhh!" Trunks said, putting his hand over her mouth.  He
rolled back to his side of the bed and threw the covers over his body. 
Within minutes, they were asleep.