Disclaimer: Neither Dragon Ball nor it characters are mine.

Too much time of love

A fanfic by Apolonia

Today I turned seventy years, and I looked at my hands after washing my face and look at it in front of the mirror, and too many memories flooded my mind. Was I happy? I don't know, I think so.

That is why today I decided to relate on a piece of paper some of my memories, some of my life; so that it does not remain forgotten. I know that I don't have so many more years left ahead, and that perhaps in these words I will be able to relieve many years of uncertainty that invaded my mind... and my daughter's.

Not every morning when I look myself in the mirror I see the same face; despite the wrinkles, there are days when I am that sweet little woman who still enjoys pretentious and mushy things; but there are others when it's me, the real Lunch, the woman with golden hair, clarified by the gray, with the heavily marked factions on her face and with the spiritless look for having lost the man of her life.

Over the years, I have learned to merge my psyche, I learned to show my other self who I actually am, and she learned to understand me and to know me; and now, after so many years, not every day I wake up without remembering what I did while I was absent.

I have a daughter, yes, perhaps she would be the first to read this stupid confession that occurred to me to make because of my old age, she might not be the first person... but I will stay with the clear consciousness because I could have explained why I couldn't give a father to my daughter.

I am fortunate to be able to say that the man who fathered Dinner was the man who stole my heart. Ten Shin Han is the father of my daughter, a warrior filled with honor and courage, too eager to do good and rectify the mistakes of his youth.

Dinner is now an adult woman, married and she gave me three beautiful grandchildren; Jiku, Sheen and Dulka. Dinner is now forty years old and she still continues to believe that his father died shortly before I gave birth.

I don't regret for having lied, I know that when she reads these lines from an elderly raving woman, she will understand the reason of such a lie.

Ten Shin Han was a handsome and tenacious man, well, I guess he still is, as far as I know, he continues to live in the mountains with his inseparable friend Chaoz. Ten was a man able to soften my heart and he made me know what it meant to love; he was the only man who made me know what passion was, and a couple of years ago I learned that it happened the same thing to my other self with him; and I felt so sickly jealous, I could not help it.

Dinner always knew about my two personalities, and the blue-haired Lunch was always kind to her, and raised her as her own daughter when I wasn't there, because in the end, Dinner is the product of the love of Ten Shin Han and Lunch, no matter the psychic differences.

But Ten Shin Han could only be that, a handsome and tenacious man, good-hearted, because of guilt he could only live to redeem his mistakes; he could only live to save the world.

And that was his mission throughout his life. And it will remain so until his death.

Ten Shin Han was never able to love me in the way that I loved him, and I say me as a single person, including the other Lunch that lives inside me. I have no doubt that what he felt for me was not love, but it was not what I needed.

Then I realized this, too late.

We live together for over ten years, I followed him to all the mountains where he decided to train, and I lived for him. But I don't receive anything in return more than a few kisses at night, some passionate nights, and no word of affection. That was his way of loving me, his silence.

But today I no longer blame him, he is that way, and he will never change.

But after stalking him for ten years, of begging him love my way (it was not the sweetest but it was my way), or that the other Lunch begged him love in her own way (with care and tenderness), I discovered I was waiting a child, who was in my belly the legacy of our unspoken love.

When I found out the news, a wave of joy wrapped my soul, and I was running to tell him the good news.

But I saw him meditating, floating near a waterfall, with his three eyes closed, in full concentration.

I was me at that time, the blue haired Lunch was sleeping somewhere in my head, and I could not help contain a tear that escaped silently through my cheek. He would never be a good father for our child, he could never give to our offspring the love deserved, and I knew at that moment that my child did not deserve to have the nomadic life we had; my child deserved a better future, deserved a future.

It seems Ten Shin Han had heard my soul's agony, because when I cleaned that tear with the heel of my hand, he opened his third eye looking at where I was; but Ten Shin Han remained steady, hovering near the waterfall.

I looked at him for a moment, feeling that my heart was torn apart by the decision I was taking, and I saw him slightly trembling as if he had a feeling about the future. I turned around and I went to our house and began to mourn devastatedly when I opened a suitcase and saved the little clothing I had.

No more than ten minutes passed and I heard the door was opened. Ten Shin Han was standing there, looking at me fixedly unable to believe what I was doing.

He bowed his head, knowing clearly the reason of my departure... he could no longer give me what I needed, what he could offer me was no longer sufficient for me; and almost whispered to himself a soft "sorry".

My heart broke even more, but I could not turn back, I had to go and give my child a better future, a future.

I stopped mourning, and there I understood what he really felt, he really loved me, but he could not in any way give me what I needed; what I and my child needed.

A child he never knew.

I finished packing my belongings, cleaned the remaining traces of tears in my eyes, and took the large suitcase and the small box containing capsules which would serve me as transportation.

I walked with my head bowed, I tried not to look at him, but I couldn't help it, I had to look up and see him one last time.

I saw him cleaning a tear that fell on his cheek, and I saw him smiling. Why was he smiling at me?

I felt some anger, and my factions were hardened for a moment.

He looked at me fixedly, as if carefully saving a last remembrance of me. And then I knew that I could not hate him, nor feel anger for him.

The smile on his face blurred, and he simply said "I hope you can understand me".

I nodded, my frown loosening, and softening my factions.

I took my suitcase with more force, and saved the small box in my pocket. I approached him, I looked at him fixedly one last time, to not forget his face, and I told him "I already understand you completely, that's why I'm going." I didn't want to sound harsh, and he understood the true meaning of my words and took my face in his hands.

We say goodbye with one last kiss, both almost unable to contain our tears. A kiss that lasted ten minutes, a kiss that made me drop the suitcase and made vibrate every fiber of my being. A kiss that I never received again, and a kiss that I will never forget.

"Goodbye." We said in unison when we parted, hungry for the other, eager of not to split up, and torn apart because we knew this moment should have arrived sometime.

Ten Shin Han opened the door, I took the suitcase again, I went out and took out the little box in my pocket. I didn't turn around, because if I look back at him I knew I would stay, and that didn't have to happen. I opened the capsule which freed my scooter, and jumped on it as fast as I could, I stepped on the accelerator, and at that moment I felt resonated in my mind the phrase "I will never stop loving you." I thought that it was my other self who told him that to Ten Shin Han, but after a few days I realized he had somehow had put those words in my mind, those he could not utter aloud.

I would never cease to love him either. But we could not be together any longer, our relationship had come to an end.

When I was a thousand miles away, after a ten-hour trip without looking back, I thought about what I was going to do with my life to give my child a future; and I felt no response.

I thought about asking Bulma for help, but no, I had to do this alone. So I went to the nearest town, and I decided to settle there. Not any more as a criminal, but as a decent woman.

A few days later I got work as a messenger. And in the eight months later I gave birth to the light of my eyes, the reason for my existence. It was a little girl, I decided to name her Dinner. I knew Dinner would have a great future, and I was not wrong.

We fought together so many years, and it was extremely difficult when she began to grow up and ask me why all the children had a father and she didn't.

I had to lie, but it was better than the truth.

When she was a teenager she asked me why I didn't married again, and tried to restart my life, and I replied that my heart was just for a single man, and that man was her father. And had not lied in that; it was true.

Then Dinner finished her college career, and today she is a great doctor. She married a great guy who makes her very happy, and she has a beautiful family who comes to visit me twice a week.

At the time Dinner and her husband made me meet my first grandchild, I saw the eyes of Ten Shin Han in him, Jiku had an irrefutable resemblance to his grandfather, and that made me so happy. But I did not tell them, that was another secret I kept for myself.

Then my granddaughters came, Sheen and Dulka, they resembled Dinner, they were almost identical except they had two years between them.

I have faith that Dinner would forgive me for this unpardonable lie, because with my other self we made her a great person. I hope if Ten Shin Han is still alive he has the chance to be able to meet her; he would be proud of her, and she would be proud of him.

Without anything more to say, and without any additional weight to free my consciousness, I conclude these confessions of an elderly woman that only make my mind more sorry.

Lunch dropped the pen and put it on the desktop, and closed the notebook to be able to go to sleep with her, now, clean conscience; when the house's bell rang.

¿Who could be at this hours? The gray blond woman asked for herself, emerging from her room down the stairs to answer the knock.

On the way she donned a gown to shelter herself from the mild autumn breeze that was around in the air, and opened the door to receive her unexpected visit.

Her world came down and was re-built at the same time, when she saw standing next to the doorway of her house to the man who had stolen her heart and fifty-two years ago.

The time had not passed for either of them, and at that time the wrinkles had not changed the expression of love in their faces. She knew then that he always knew about her life, that he was always caring for her, in his own way. She also knew she would not have to explain to him the Dinner's existence, because she felt he already knew somehow. And also knew that he had been able to forgive himself for all his mistakes, and that finally they could love each other as they should do so.

She approached, still incredulous to see him in front of her, and he smiled, as he did forty-one years ago, but with a vestige of peace in his face, which was almost ethereal. He took a step forward, and he knew she would not step aside, and hugged her with incredible force.

This time he had the courage to shout his thoughts and not send them telepathically, and said softly to her "I can give you now what you need".

Lunch released a couple of tears and hugged him with all her might, forsaking him for forty-one years of absence, and for fifty-two years of unspoken love.

They stayed hugging themselves, in that position for so long that neither of them realized. And there they both knew, that love has no time or age, has no boundaries or barriers, and that no matter how long the time goes by, love is all that will endure.

Author Notes: I made this oneshot for a contest made on the page "Universo Central de Anime y Manga", and as of today, I would love to say that this oneshot is dedicated to my dear friend, Mutty, and to my beloved writters (and friend, of course) Eyr and GamestLink.

Hope you liked this one. Read you all soon.