Leelee Dawson had never considered herself a vain person. She'd always been pretty, she knew that, but she never thought of herself as exceptional. She was tall and thin with big, dark eyes and black hair that she wore in dozens of long, tiny braids. She'd never given much thought to what she wore other than the fact that the color red looked fantastic on her and she had a fetish for stiletto heels. But all that had changed four months ago.

Leelee was now very conscious of the clothing she wore. She always made sure that she wore long pants and long-sleeved turtleneck shirts and she often found herself tucking her chin into the collar of the shirts, trying to hide. Because four months ago, Leelee had been in a terrible accident.

She'd never expected for her life to change so much when she left her home in Tennessee to travel to Japan for a year of study. She just wanted to see the world a bit before she graduated from high school. But in Japan, she befriended four other girls who had come to Japan from other parts of her country and they made a bond. A bond stronger than any of them had ever expected. Unknowingly, all five of these girls possessed an elemental power within them that they each eventually learned to bring to the surface, to use as a weapon, and fought of others of unimaginable power who sought to destroy their world. She found everything she'd ever wanted in Japan. She'd even found love in a very unexpected place with a very unusual man.

You see, she'd fallen in love with an Android named Seventeen. And he was everything to her. It was he who had saved her from that fire. He'd risked his own life to get to her. But by the time he untied the ropes and pulled her from the flames, it was too late.

She was healed by a Namek who was especially good at healing, but even he had been unable to undo all of the damage caused by the magickally-infused dragon's flame. The burns had healed over, but they left nasty scars in their wake. Shiny, wrinkled scars covered both of her shins and most of the left side of her body, all the way up the side of her neck, along her jaw to her ear. That was why she'd suddenly become so interested in clothes; she wanted to cover as much of those hideous burns as possible. She'd even gone so far as to stay in her apartment, making excuses to her friends about why she couldn't get out or go visit them. She didn't have to make many excuses these days. Catie was training like an animal day and night with her boyfriend Trunks and his father Vegeta. Jenny spent her every waking moment at Bulma's side, working on who knew what, but it was obviously important. Sabriena had returned to the states again and Lindsey was so busy spending time with Gohan before their baby arrived that no one had bothered Leelee much.

Seventeen had been taking such good care of her. He bought the groceries and paid the bills and did all of the errand running for her so she didn't have to get out in public. But the best thing about him was that he acted like nothing was different. He still kissed her and told her he loved her and that she was beautiful. But she didn't feel it.

She especially did not feel beautiful tonight. She stood in her bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. How had she ever let him talk her into this? Seventeen had practically begged her to wear the slinky red dress. It was his favorite and he wanted to take her out to dinner for Valentines Day. So she reluctantly put it on and stared miserably at the scars on her arms, shoulder and neck. She hated mirrors.

"Babe, are you ready? We're gonna lose our reservations if we don't hurry!" Seventeen called through the door.

"Just a second," she answered and pulled the matching red shawl over her arms. She sighed sadly and turned to the bathroom door and unlocked it.

Seventeen was leaning against the frame in his black dress shirt and pants, wearing a red tie with his silky black hair tied at the back of his neck. Her knees felt weak as she looked up at him. Ever since he'd transformed, she couldn't stop staring at him. He was so much taller now, his muscles bigger and well-defined…

"You look amazing," he grinned at her.

"Thanks," she muttered, looking at the floor, letting her braids fall to hide her face again.

"No," he said, grabbing her chin and tipping her face up to him. "We're not having any of that tonight. I want to see you."

She pressed her lips together, trying to keep them from trembling as he leaned closer and kissed her firmly, his hand sliding around the back of her neck. She kissed him back, closing her eyes tightly against the tears that threatened to fall.

Seventeen smiled as he pulled back from her. "See? You're all right. Let's go." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out of their apartment.

"Wow, this place is fancy" Leelee breathed, looking around the posh restaurant.

Seventeen sat back in his seat and smiled at her. "I hear they have the best lobster in all of West City."

Leelee flipped open the menu and blinked. "For that price, they better!"

Seventeen sighed and snatched the menu away from her. "Don't worry about the price."

A pretty waitress with long blonde hair approached their table and smiled. "What can I get you to drink?"

Seventeen was still staring at Leelee. "Chassagne-Montrachet, I think."

"And are you ready to order?"

"I'll have the butter poached lobster. She'll have the same," he said, never looking at the waitress, but holding out the menus to her between his index and middle fingers. He smiled at Leelee again.

The waitress glanced at Leelee, then took the menus from Seventeen and wound her way through the tables to the kitchen.

"I am so lucky to have you," Seventeen smiled.

Leelee snorted softly. "You're silly."

He leaned across the table towards her. "I can't help it. You're so goddamn beautiful."

Leelee could feel her face getting hot. "Well, at least you think so."

"I know so." He sat back in the chair as the waitress poured each of them a glass of wine and set the glasses on the table.

"Thank you," Leelee muttered.

The waitress turned to Seventeen, smiling sweetly at him again, ignoring Leelee. "Anything else I can get for you, sir?"

"Not at the moment," he answered, picking up his glass.

The tiniest of frowns pulled at her lips, but she nodded and sauntered away again. Leelee lifted her wineglass to her lips and watch the waitress over the rim. "She's flirting with you," she muttered before taking a sip.

"Who?" he asked, looking around.

"The waitress," Leelee answered.

"Nah," he said, wrinkling his nose. He took another sip of his wine as Leelee raised her eyebrows and gave her head a shake. He swallowed and said, "Doesn't matter anyway."

"You could have her, you know," Leelee said. "You could have any woman in this place."

He laughed openly at that. "You're crazy, Leelee. Honestly…"

She looked down at her lap, shaking her head again. He gently kicked her knee under the table with his toe.

"Come on," he chuckled. "You don't worry about her."

Leelee sighed. "Okay."

The waitress brought them their meals a short time later, accidentally dropping a pencil out of her pocket and bending way over towards Seventeen to retrieve it; she had undone the top couple of buttons of her blouse. Leelee rolled her eyes, but as the waitress stood and smiled again, Seventeen merely cocked an uninterested eyebrow at her.

Dinner was perfect; they talked quietly to each other as they ate slowly, holding hands across the table. For the first time in a long time, Leelee didn't feel self-conscious. They reminisced about the backpacking trip they'd taken across Europe the year before, about how they couldn't wait for the snow to clear so they could go camping and hiking again, about Leelee possibly enrolling in some online courses so she'd have something to keep her occupied, about researching more about magick and the Old Ways like Leelee had done before her accident…

The conversation broke off. Something panged in Seventeen's chest and he wished he hadn't brought the topic up.

Leelee stood. "I'll be right back. Restroom." And she hurried away from the table.

She slid the lock shut on the bathroom stall and sat down, covering her face with her hands. Fucking magick. That's what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She loved her powers, the way she felt when she transformed, so powerful and graceful. But right now, all she wanted was to be a normal girl who didn't have to worry about a coming war or the three Fates or dragons. She had just about gotten control of her breathing when she heard the bathroom door open and slam shut again and a familiar voice spoke.

It was the waitress, speaking to a co-worker.

"Oh my god, did you see the guy at table eight?" she gushed.

The second waitress spoke. "That gorgeous guy with the long black hair? OH – EM – GEE! Yes, I did!"

"He's mine."

"Shut up! What'd you do?"

"Nothing that's worked yet, but dinner's not over. You wait. I know he's interested."

"How can you tell?" the second waitress gasped.

"I just can. Oh my god, did you see what he dragged in here? What the hell is he thinking?"

"I didn't notice. She ugly?"

"Uh, yeah. You should see that scarred up nigger."

Leelee clapped her hands to her mouth, tears spilling down her cheeks. She'd been called a lot of things in her life, but never that.

"Stephanie!" the second waitress scolded.

"Well it's true! Seriously, it is nasty looking. Like crocodile skin. Oh, I thought I was going to puke when I saw him holding her hand. What on earth could a guy like that see in someone like her?"

"Still, Steph. You can't just say things like that."

"Why the hell not? That's just gross."

"She must've been in an accident or something," the second waitress said thoughtfully. "Poor thing."

"Poor thing is right. UGH! If something like that happened to me, I'd rather die than look like that. Fate would've been kinder to just kill her. Seriously."

"You're such a bitch."

The first waitress snorted with laughter. "You act like you didn't know that already." She sighed thoughtfully. "You wait. I'll slip him my number. Works like a charm every time."

"If you snag this one, I will worship the ground you walk on. Damn, he is hot."

The waitresses giggled together and left, letting the heavy door slam behind them.

Leelee couldn't hold back anymore. She sobbed as she hugged her arms to her stomach, leaning over her knees. Why? How could someone be so full of hatred towards someone they didn't even know? Judging her on her appearance… They didn't know her. She hated her scars more than ever as she bawled in that bathroom, the waitress's words echoing in her mind.

"That took you a minute," Seventeen snickered when she finally returned to the table. "You want some dessert?"

Leelee sniffled as she sat back down and pulled her shawl over her arms again. "Let's just go home."

"Hey," he said softly, leaning towards her. "You okay?"

She shook her head and looked down at her lap again, still fighting tears of embarrassment.

"Leelee, what happened?" he asked, concern showing on his face. He didn't understand what could have upset her so.

"That waitress," Leelee answered.

"Oh, she's just being a flirt," he answered. "Don't worry about her."

"She…" Leelee broke off as the waitress approached their table again.

"Anything else?" she asked. "Dessert, perhaps?"

"Just the check," Seventeen said. He waited until she had walked away. "Baby, tell me what's wrong. If you think I'm interested in her, you're so far off."

"She thinks she can steal you from me," Leelee answered quietly, still not looking up. "She said she was going to give you her number."

Seventeen snorted. "Oh, whatever."

Leelee looked up at him. "I heard her in the bathroom." Her eyes were brimming with tears. "You should'a heard what she called me."

He waited for her to continue.

"Seventeen," Leelee said in a shaking whisper as she leaned closer across the table. "She called me the n-word."

Seventeen's eyes narrowed and his stomach dropped. "Leelee," he said slowly, "are you absolutely sure that's what she said? You're sure she said it about you?"

She nodded her head earnestly. "She called me a scarred up…" she mouthed the last word.

Seventeen threw himself back against the chair, a fist pressed to his lips as he began to bounce his knee angrily. He squeezed his eyes shut tight for a minute and opened them again, glancing around the restaurant, unable to focus on anything. He tapped the fingers of his free hand on the tabletop impatiently. "I'll kill a bitch," he whispered dangerously against his fist.

"Seventeen, I…"

"You let me handle this," he stated firmly. His cold blue eyes burned into her dark brown ones for a moment before he squeezed them shut again. He snapped them back open, scanning the restaurant for the waitress. He was breathing deeply through his nose, trying to keep his temper in check.

The waitress returned to the table, smiling at him, and handed him the small black folder with the bill inside. He quickly flipped it open, his lips pressed to a hard line, and looked at it. Just as Leelee had said, the waitress had written her phone number across the bottom with little hearts around it.

"I'm sorry," Seventeen stated loudly, drawing the attention from the surrounding tables. "There seems to be a mistake."

"M-Mistake?" the waitress asked.

Seventeen nodded. "I thought this was a restaurant, not a whore house."

The waitress blinked at him in disbelief.

Seventeen stood and stared down his nose at the pretty waitress. "You have some nerve. I'm here with my girlfriend and even if I wasn't, I would never give a troll like you a second glance." He yanked the bill out of the envelope and held it up. "So how much do you charge per hour?" he asked loudly as the manager rushed over.

"Sir, is there a problem?" the manager asked nervously.

"You're damn right there's a problem," Seventeen said, his voice loud enough to carry across the entire restaurant, which had fallen completely silent at his outburst. "I don't appreciate being hit on while I'm out to dinner with my girl. And I especially don't appreciate her coming back to our table in tears because some prejudiced, bigoted waitress decided to talk shit about her." Seventeen coolly held the receipt above the flames of the candle on the table, setting it on fire. "And your establishment will not receive a penny of my money. You understand?"

The horror-struck manager nodded his head and glared daggers at the waitress, who looked almost as mortified as Leelee felt.

Seventeen tossed the curled, burnt receipt on the table and reached for Leelee's hand, pulling her from her seat. He looked back at the waitress once more. "You ever use a racial slur like that again, I'll break your goddamn face." And with that, he wrapped his arm around Leelee's shoulders and marched her out of the restaurant.

Seventeen and Leelee walked slowly down the icy sidewalk, neither saying a word. They were both so lost in their own thoughts of their ruined Valentine's Day. The snow was falling lightly as they walked, their shoes leaving wet tracks in the fresh powder.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Seventeen said softly.

Leelee shrugged. She couldn't get it out of her head. She physically hurt inside as she thought about the things the waitress said. The street was pretty deserted in the late evening cold. Only a couple young men stood on the sidewalk, smoking cigarettes with their coats pulled tight around them.

A strong wind picked up as Seventeen and Leelee neared the men and it caught her shawl, ripping it from her arms.

"I'll get it," Seventeen said and trotted back the way they'd come to retrieve it for her.

Leelee turned to watch him, rubbing her arms against the cold, her scars stinging. Cold really made them hurt.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" one of the men spoke, eyeing her scars.

Leelee looked at the sidewalk, her braids falling across her face again. "I got burned," she answered softly.

"Yeah, no shit!" he said. "Wow." He stepped closer and grabbed her arm, looking at her skin. "The fuck…"

"Hey! Get your hands off her!" Seventeen barked as he walked back to them, Leelee's red shawl in his hands.

The guy released his hold and held his hands up. "Sorry, dude. It's just not every day you get a peek at the freak show for free."

Seventeen's eyes were blazing with anger. He harshly handed the shawl to Leelee, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirtsleeves and rolling them up.

"You wanna brawl?" the guy challenged. He matched Seventeen in height and outweighed him by at least thirty pounds.

"Seventeen," Leelee said softly, but he ignored her, stepping closer to the guy who flipped his cigarette butt in Leelee's direction.

That did it. Seventeen snapped. He rushed the guy, punching him hard in his stomach, doubling him over. He quickly brought his elbow down on the guy's spine, slamming him to the cold cement. The guy's buddy jumped on Seventeen's back, but Seventeen spun around and threw himself backwards, crushing the guy between himself and the lamppost, which bent upon impact. Seventeen took a step forward and the second guy slid to the ground, his arms wrapped around his ribs.

"Pieces of shit," Seventeen spat. He smirked and looked up at Leelee, who was crying again. "Leelee?"

"It's always going to be like this," she whispered as he walked to her again. "I… I can't handle this."

"Don't worry about these people," Seventeen said, taking her shawl and draping it over her shoulders for her.

She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes again. He sighed deeply and hugged her to him. A knot formed in his throat. He just couldn't understand the stupidity and hatred some people carried. She was beautiful to him. It didn't matter if her body wasn't perfect. Leelee was the most forgiving, affectionate, loving person he'd ever known. And for people to treat her this way…

"You wanna go home?" he asked.

She shrugged. What she really wanted was someone to bitch to. Someone who would listen, who'd let her rage and cry. And not Seventeen. Men always have this overwhelming urge to fix things when their wives or girlfriends complain, when all they really need to do is shut up and listen.

He sighed. He knew what she wanted. "Go talk to them."

"I haven't seen any of them in months," Leelee answered, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"And that's why they'd be happy to see you," Seventeen said. "Go see Lindsey. She'd love to see you. She's been cooped up there on Mount Pazou for awhile anyway."

Leelee sniffled. "Okay," she agreed quietly. "What about you?"

Seventeen smirked. "I think I'll go ruin my sister's evening."

Leelee laughed lightly. "Okay. I'll meet you at home in a couple hours?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead, then her nose, finally kissing her fiercely on the lips. "I love you."

"Love you," she answered.

Goku was surprised to hear a knocking at the front door of his son's house. Gohan had taken Lindsey out for a Valentine's dinner that evening, leaving their house unattended. Goku had shown up just before they left, unaware that it was even a holiday, and he was still sitting on their couch when they headed out into the snow. And that's exactly where he was now, lounging on the couch, his bare feet propped up on the new coffee table, watching TV.

"It's open," he called. Goku never bothered with things like locking the door.

Leelee stepped through the door with a blast of cold air.

"Hey kiddo!" Goku grinned. "What are you doing here? Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Is Lindsey home?" she asked, hugging the shawl closer around her.

"No, she's out with Gohan. What's up?" he asked, still leaning far back into the couch cushions with his hands behind his head.

"Oh," Leelee said sadly. "It's… It's nothing. Tell her I said hi." She turned toward the door, but Goku clicked off the TV and sat up, dropping his feet to the floor.

"You okay?"

She paused and closed her eyes, sighing as she rested her fingers on the doorknob. "I'm…"

"Come talk to me," Goku said kindly. "Something's eating at you."

She let her fingers drop from the doorknob and turned to look at him again. He smiled and said, "I won't bite. Swear."

She crossed the room and sat on the couch next to him, pulling her shawl tight over her arms again. She'd never talked with Goku a whole lot, but she'd been around him enough to know he was a pretty understanding guy. Lindsey sure did adore him.

"So what's up?" Goku asked, turning on the couch to face her, propping one elbow up on the back of the couch.

"I just don't understand how some people can be so mean," she muttered miserably.

He tipped his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

She explained about the waitress and what she'd overheard the waitress say in the bathroom.

"Wait, she called you a what?" he asked.

Leelee drew a shuddering breath. "A nigger."

Goku screwed up his face in confusion. "I don't understand. Is that bad?"

She stared angrily at him. "Of course it's bad! What kind of a question is that? Don't you know how hurtful that is?!"

He held his hands up in front of his chest. "Whoa! Sorry! I've just… never heard that word before. I don't know what it means!"

She blinked at him, totally confused. "How can you not know what it means? EVERYONE knows what it means."

"Never heard it before," Goku said simply. "I guess I don't hang around people who talk like that."

She sat back against the couch, totally bewildered.

He waited a moment before he asked, "So can you explain it to me?"

"It's a derogatory term," she answered. She couldn't believe she had to explain this. "It's used towards people with black skin. People like me. Like having dark skin is shameful or dirty or worthless."

"What?" Goku gasped. "But, Leelee, there's nothing wrong with you. Who cares if you're black? I've never seen you as any different from the other girls. I mean, come on! Have you ever seen a more different group of people? Heck, I'm not even human! Piccolo's green for crying out loud. Can you imagine what people would say about him?" He snorted. "I've never heard of such a stupid thing in my life; treating someone different because of the color of their skin. What a ridiculous idea."

She chewed the corner of her mouth, trying not to cry again.

"Hey," he said softly, placing a comforting hand on her back. "Don't you ever let someone get you down because of that. You're smart. And you're fun to be around. And you're darn useful in a bad spot, too. If it hadn't been for you, we would never have been able to find Paige or prepare for that last battle. You are the one who did all of that for us. To hell with anyone who thinks you're less of a person because of the color of your skin."

She swallowed hard. "Thanks, Goku."

"Seventeen better have told her off," Goku said sternly.

"He did," she sniffled.

"Good. Cause I don't feel like getting out in the cold to do it myself."

She giggled at that.

"There ya go," he said. "You're much prettier when you smile."

Leelee felt her face go hot.

Goku sat back on the couch again and picked up the remote. "You wanna watch some TV with me?" He clicked the TV back on and lightly tossed the remote on the coffee table and propped his feet up again.

"What are you watching?"

"I'm laughing at old videos of Mr. Satan," he answered. "It's some kind of marathon they're running about him. It's pretty funny."

She shrugged. "Sure."

"It's warm in here," he said. "You can take that thing off your arms."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

Goku frowned at the TV. "You know, no one cares about your scars, either. No one has ever treated you different in the past and they're not going to start now."

She closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks.

"That's about as silly as that woman calling you names," he said.

"I just really hate the way they look," she whispered.

"It doesn't change who you are, Leelee."

She frowned and nodded, but pulled the shawl closer around her again.

He sighed. "All right. Suit yourself. But your friends still love you for who you are, not what you look like. You need to remember that."

He turned his attention back to the TV and dropped the subject. Leelee was grateful that he let it go that easily and she wiggled closer to the armrest of the couch to stare blankly at the idiot growling on TV as Goku's words rolled around in her mind.