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hiraeth - part one hundred-four

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       Bulma had far too much money on her hands. Y/n thought she would stop after the first couple of stores, but no. They had spent the entire day filling up Bulma's car with stuff that would likely never see the light of day again, tucked away into Y/n's closet. Or perhaps she would wear the clothes, only out of guilt for making Bulma buy them. Y/n had tried to tell her that she didn't need, or even want any of it, but Bulma insisted. As far as Y/n knew, Bulma had no reason other than just wanting to spend money, because she never gave Y/n a good reason for spending all of that money on her. Y/n was suddenly unsure if Bulma was the right person to take advice about reasons for living from.

Stepping out of the elevator, Y/n let out an exasperated sigh as she dropped the mountain of bags onto the floor in the middle of the hall that led into the common room. Somehow, despite all of her strength, shopping with Bulma had really taken it out of Y/n.

"Today was fun, we'll have to do that again sometime soon," Bulma said as she walked past Y/n with a smile. Y/n gave her a wide eyed look, dreading the idea. "I'll start working on dinner, you should rest."

Where Bulma got that energy, Y/n would never know. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she followed after Bulma, deciding to just leave putting up her things for later. It wasn't like anyone else lived here for the time being, aside from Bulma and the kids. And a particular person that kept slipping from Y/n's mind.

"Oh, Gohan, you're home," Bulma greeted as she walked into the common room, spotting said man sitting at the couch, the coffee table covered in books and papers. Gohan perked up at the sound of Bulma's voice, pushing his glasses up his nose as he looked up to her with a smile.

"Hey, Bulma. Where were you?" Gohan asked as he watched Bulma walk by, headed towards the kitchen.

"I took Y/n shopping," Bulma jabbed her thumb behind herself, pointing at Y/n. Just as Bulma passed him, she looked down at him in confusion, an eyebrow raised. "What are you wearing?"

Gohan looked down at his clothes, a battle outfit that was identical to Piccolo's down to the cape and shoulder pads. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Piccolo says I should be training even when I'm resting, so he made me wear these weighted clothes."

Bulma shrugged, walking past as she mentioned going to cook dinner to Gohan. And with that, Bulma left, leaving both Gohan and Y/n to themselves. Gohan peered up at Y/n for a second, as if thinking on something to say. Y/n gave him a polite smile, turning to go grab her pile of things she had left in the hall. Suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea to just leave her stuff lying in the hall.

"Hey," Gohan's voice called out, stopping Y/n in her tracks. Even though her back was facing him, it was obvious to him that she was nervous. He cleared his throat, his voice struggling to form words for a moment. "How are you?"

There was no doubt in Y/n's mind he was asking this because Goku left. It didn't take a genius to see that his leaving had an impact on Y/n. Though he wouldn't ever truly know the impact it was having on her. She still felt sick to her stomach about not getting to say she loved him back.

"I'm fine, just tired. Shopping is tiring." Y/n looked back with a smile, one that she hoped he would accept. Gohan was the last person she wanted to talk to about her feelings. Though she figured he might offer her better advice on her predicament than Bulma, they just weren't close enough for it. He may have forgiven her, but Y/n hasn't forgiven herself. And until she does, she won't allow herself to get close to him again.