Lost on Titan

{Part 33}

~Videl~

Kane held Videl and consoled her until her tears had dried, and she could feel the edges of her broken heart trying to sew themselves back together. He said that he wasn't going anywhere, and she trusted that he was telling the truth. She felt like she could trust him more than anyone. She didn't ask him to make a promise - she felt it in her soul that the promise had been made without her request.

"Thank you," Videl whispered against the hollow at the base of his throat. "For everything."

"Don't thank me," Kane grumbled, his words muffled by her hair.

Videl pulled back so she could look into his eyes meaningfully.

"I'll never stop thanking you," she said with a serious tone. She smiled at him, enjoying the way that he smirked at the challenge in her protest. "You've done so much for me."

Kane opened his mouth, like he wanted to argue, but then his holo-menu popped open between them - Dare was calling. Kane got up from the couch, seeming reluctant to let go of her.

"I'll be right back," Kane said, and he turned toward the door to take the call in the hallway.

The door slid open, and he stepped out as he accepted the call. Before the door slid shut behind him, she heard Dare's voice saying,

"Hey. Everything alright with V?"

Then, the door's lock clinked. This time, the sound didn't shatter her. She was not alone, with him right outside, and she only felt mildly embarrassed that Kane had felt the need to step out to talk with Dare. She wondered how much he would tell him, but she didn't allow herself to worry. Even if Kane told him everything, she doubted that Dare would treat her any differently. He had been there for her enough times for her to know that he was a great friend, and now that he was Kane's roommate, she was sure that he had become a steady fixture in her life, too.

As she waited for Kane to finish the call, she noticed a note on the table from Sienna. She read it with a smile on her face. Sienna had been a fixture in the real Videl's life, and now Videl was starting to trust that a cryo-pod malfunction could never have shaken the bond that they shared. Sienna would be there for the new Videl, no matter how hard things got. Sienna was her friend too, and she wasn't going to abandon her. Videl felt the weight that had hung from her shoulders since Cryo lift, knowing that she didn't need to be afraid anymore of tarnishing a friendship that wasn't hers to possess. Videl opened her holo-menu and typed out a message to her best friend.

[Thank you for the yummy breakfast. And for cleaning my room.]

[Maybe I should hire you as my maid? Haha]

It seemed like only seconds after she had hit "send" when Sienna's reply appeared. She didn't have time to worry if her joke was in bad taste.

[I will take waffles in lieu of payment.]

A winking smiley face accompanied the message, and Videl giggled, her heart swelling with love.