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How the Ex-Monk Gained a Brother

A Sequel to By Any Other

By koinekid

Part One

Lazuli was perfect: intelligent, beautiful, courageous. Far better a girlfriend than a guy like Krillin deserved—although he would never tell her that. Self-deprecating humor tended to annoy her. More than once a comment of his sparked an irate response along the lines of Do you think I'd waste my time on someone unworthy of me? Such words always made him feel better, and then guilty for upsetting her.

It was funny how he could still think of Lazuli as fragile. She had suffered much in her young life, and though he admired her strength, he couldn't deny a part of him was happy she needed his support while rebuilding her life. That same part feared she would leave once she accomplished the task. He wouldn't have blamed her. After all that madman stole from her, Lazuli deserved to forge her own path on her own terms. Krillin even practiced his fake smile and the well wishes he would offer when she announced her departure.

But she never did.

Instead, she began visiting his room, lounging in his bed, little by little inviting him to share her life until that glorious day when she asked him to call her by her true name. When he sat beside her on the bed and took her hand, he thought he was about to have a heart attack.

Then the fantasies of a hundred nights coalesced as her perfect lips pressed against his. For an instant, he feared the kiss was motivated by gratitude or sympathy—the emotions he was used to from women. But the truth spoke in her actions. Lazuli wrapped her arms around him, pulled him close, held him, and she called his name with such passion that he knew she couldn't be lying.

His friends still pretended to be astonished that she would date him and joked about the day she would finally come to her senses. But if Lazuli hated Krillin belittling himself, jokes at his expense infuriated her. During the last Capsule Corp Christmas Party, Yamcha made the mistake of jesting that Krillin "must have used the dragon balls to wish for a date with Eighteen." The punch bowl she emptied over Yamcha's head meant he got off light. Six months earlier, she might have broken his arm.

Krillin attributed no malice to their jokes. All of the attached men in their group received similar ribbing. Even Goku when he was still with them was told he married out of his league. His wife ChiChi, hugging his arm, laughingly agreed. But only Krillin was teased about his appearance. He laughed it off, but it still hurt. It wasn't as if he asked to be short.

Before Lazuli, he dealt with such blows to his self-esteem by isolating himself and training until the physical exertion drained the negative emotions from his body. Now, all he needed to do was think back to their first night together and the hunger in her gaze as she looked at him. His girlfriend wanted him, lusted for him, and nothing anyone said could change that.

Nor could his own self-doubts, of which many remained. Until they stood in his bedroom, clothing strewn across the house in their haste to be together, he still assumed her love merely helped her look past his appearance. Sure, she called him handsome and complimented his looks, but girlfriends were supposed to do that.

He should have known better. From the start, Lazuli was honest to the point of tactlessness, and though she was learning to temper her words with kindness, her eyes had yet to master that trick.

Case in point: When the last summer storm stranded them on the island for two weeks with dwindling supplies, Krillin stopped shaving his head to conserve his few remaining razors. Though she said nothing, the look in Lazuli's eyes as a thin layer of hair sprouted from his scalp told him she was intrigued. (Her repeatedly dragging him to the bedroom during that time also clued him in.)

Once the storm broke and they were able to travel to a store on a nearby island, he tested the waters by dropping a set of Mach3s into their shopping cart and commenting that she'd once again be able to kiss him on the top of the head—a habit she'd picked up at some point during their relationship. The glare she directed at the blades and her monotone "I suppose so" confirmed it.

When he asked the clerk ringing them up to put the razors back on the shelf, Lazuli's eyes lit up, and it came as no surprise when, as soon as they arrived home, she commanded Oolong to put away the supplies while she and Krillin went upstairs. The pig groaned and asked them to try and keep it down this time. They didn't.

Krillin hadn't shaved his head since. He was actually starting to enjoy the feel of having hair again, or at least the feel of Lazuli running her fingers through it as she was now.

They were seated on the floor in front of the couch, ostensibly watching a movie but as usual paying more attention to one another than what was on screen. Her scalp massage made him drowsy, and if he weren't careful, he'd agree to something while half asleep that he'd think twice about while fully awake. Already, she'd used that trick to convince him to take her on a couple of extra shopping trips and to dinner at a restaurant they couldn't really afford. Still, she hadn't asked for anything too extravagant or, ha, dangerous like—

"Krillin, honey," she murmured, "Would you agree to meet my brother?"

"Hmm…okay," he said before dozing off.

TBC

Thanks for reading; reviews are appreciated.

Note: The title of this story is an homage to a novel-length Stargate: Atlantis fan fiction written by an old friend, DaniWilder, entitled How Jennifer Keller Gained a Sister. The plot of this story will bear little resemblance to that one, but I feel it only fair to give credit (to a great story) where it is due.