A/N: This chapter was such a pain in the TUCKUS. It deleted not once! Not twiiiice! But SIX times!
But I'm so happy it's here! I hope you guys don't mind the frequent updates because wow, it's barely been a week and I have three chapters up when my original plan was to spread them out weekly—but since it is a slow start, who cares? Let's get this story going!
Disclaimer: But again, I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything related to the franchise. (Also before I get any comments, yes I do know Grandpa Gohan's house is part of the Son's house! But for this story, Chichi and Goku live near Ox King instead of Mount Paozu.)
- CHAPTER 3 -
Goten and Marron's engagement party moved from Chichi's humble abode to the Briefs' arborium as soon as the two older women got on the phone with each other, excitedly yelling. It was the first wedding since their beloved Gohan's nearly two and a half decades ago, and they were beginning to think none of the next generation cared that they were aging. Bulma invited even Seventeen to make appearance for his niece's happy announcement, and Chichi settled that this wedding would not be missed by anybody—training or not!
Though, despite the fact that everyone dropped what they were doing to head to the Briefs' compound, not all attendees were as enthusiastic to be at the party. Bra had only slept for an hour before the older version of her barged in her room, demanding she get dressed! Her eyes weren't even open when Bulma yanked out of bed and pushed her inside the bathroom.
So to the best of her ability, Bra took a quick shower, threw on her easiest and stylish outfit (sundresses never went out of season!), and made way to her family's own personal forest. She rounded the animals to their personal habitats, gave them two-day's worth of food, and then locked them inside the artificial homes her grandfather had spent practically his whole life making sure every detail was unique to the species of animal. She then hung the decorations her mother left for the robots who were busy setting up the tables, and made sure everything was up to par with her mother's definition of magical.
It was only when she hung up the banner that she realized who the guests of honor were. There was a strange sensation taking over her lips as she made sure the roll of fabric was perfect. She was frowning, unsure of her mixed feelings. It had only been a day since the proposal. Yet, she wanted to believe that they eloped, left her life, and were never heard from again. At least, until she sorted out her feelings and was possibly getting married herself.
When the clock struck noon, guests arrived little by little. The blue-haired beauty graciously made her greetings, offering to take people's coats and handing them glasses of whatever wine her mom left out. She dealt with the perverted men who were surprised at her growing body, crushing their fingers as she shook their hands with a smile to remind them she could easily destroy another flimsy muscle without much of an effort. She hugged the crying women (and Krillin) who were happy to be attending a wedding instead of dealing with another world ending, patting their backs as they smeared their lipstick on her exposed shoulders. She even served plates to guests who made her grab twenty plates at once without much complaint. Bra was being an honorable host, welcoming everyone to her home and making sure they were comfortable.
However, when they made their entrance, together holding hands, Bra only found herself standing still. Time stopped as everyone turned their heads and the happy couple flashed their bright smiles. A sudden drop in her stomach, and she lost the feeling of her legs as she was suspended in air.
Bulma then unknowingly gave Bra an excuse to leave as she saw that a few guests had yet to make an appearance. The older woman sighed as she poured a beverage next to her daughter, "Bra, honey, can you go get your father, Pan and Trunks from the GR? Make sure they're bandaged and not wearing armor because this is supposed to be a party!"
"Yeah sure, mom," she said handing Bulma the plates, not paying attention to the older one struggling. She pretended she didn't even notice the two as she brushed against Goten's shoulder. Bra floated back inside her house and made way to the backyard where the three were training. She heard screams and yells, but she thought none of it. She simply knocked, and when that wasn't enough, she opened the door and the three Saiyans flew to the ceiling.
"BRA!" Trunks yelled, rubbing his golden head. He was the first one to hit the ground as Vegeta and Pan simply levitated down. Pan had convinced him to train with her and his father after telling him to skip work. The older Briefs child huffed, "You know better than to open the door when we're training! The gravity machine automatically goes to 0 when it's exposed to natural air!"
The younger Brief folded her arms, much like her father's famous stance. She even scowled at her brother. "So?" she snarled.
"So!? We were training at 300G! You made fly us into the ceiling!" her brother scolded, but she was indifferent. She looked at the three fighters and saw the badly beaten Trunks, her father's spandex suit torn, and even Pan had a few scratches on her.
"Oh! It's fine, boy. A warrior has to be ready for any circumstance," Vegeta said, touching his feet to the ground. As damaged as his clothing had been, her father's ki was still relatively high. He didn't suffer as much damage as her brother. Pan joined them, rubbing her back.
"Who knew Bra could take me out faster than you two!" she laughed, scratching the back of her head and smiling the famous Son grin. She turned to Trunks, "You've been slacking on your training! I didn't think you were serious about 300 making you slow. I felt light like a feather!" Pan helped him up, and he only grimaced.
"She's right, boy. We weren't even fighting to our full capacity and you were already falling behind," he looked at his son before turning to his student. "Girl, give him the bands of your wrists so he gets used to the weight," Vegeta directed. Pan followed until her lavender hybrid friend spoke up.
"Her weights aren't heavy!" Trunks argued, squealing as Pan threw her breast plate's weight on his shoulder.
"Then you should wear that instead, you monkey!" the girl with dark hair huffed, folding her arms with her nose in the air.
Bra didn't care if they were ignoring her. The longer they were here, the better. However, her father's voice cut between her thoughts. "Bra, I suspect your mother sent you here for whatever festivities she let people use our home for this time," he grunted.
"Yeah, uh, it's Goten and Marron's engagement party," she mumbled. They barely made out what she said. Bra coughed and added volume to her voice, "But we're taking pictures and Mom doesn't want you guys to look like... well, this," she waved a hand at their battle-torn looks. Then she smiled at the task being made ready for her. "She told me to make sure you shower, patch up, and help you pick out your outfits!"
All three of them groaned.
"Your father can dress himself, Bra," Vegeta said with a flush of crimson took his cheeks. He flew away with his eyes closed. A single look would have him in sixteen different shirts he didn't even know he possessed, and he had been hungry for a snack after that warm-up.
Trunks then took the lead and grabbed Pan. "Listen, sis, Pan and I could help each other out with the bandages and clothes. Why don't you go enjoy the party? We'll be out in half an hour."
The Saiyan Princess stood in front of him. "I'm helping," she said firmly.
"No, we're fine!" Trunks said as friendly as he possibly could. Truthfully, she was annoying him a bit. He harden his grip on Pan's arm and walked out of the GR.
Bra, in layman's terms, was fed up. She flew over and grabbed her best friend's other arm, pulling it in her direction. "SHE'S MINE! GO DRESS YOURSELF!" she yelled at her brother.
"PAN DOESN'T NEED YOU TO PUT HER IN CLOTHES SHE HATES!" he snapped back, engaging in the tug of war.
"AND WHAT?! YOU'RE GOING TO LET HER WEAR YOUR CLOTHES? THREE WORDS, BIG BROTHER: OUT! OF! STYLE!"
The argument between the Briefs took course for another twenty minutes. Pan sighed, feeling like a rope between two dogs. She then pressed her hand against both of their chests and pushed them out of the way. The two siblings looked up at the red Pan who was clutching her fists, looking like she was ready to burst.
"I CAN DRESS MYSELF!" the youngest Son snapped. Her hair was now glowing and she felt her heart racing incredibly fast. She felt the wind graze the back of her neck and she looked up to see her hair was standing up. Pan blushed, powering down and awkwardly giggling. "Uh, oops! I mean, why do we have to fight about it?"
Trunks still looked at her in horror as Bra's face calmed before giving Pan a stern look. "Panna! We said NO Super Saiyan when I touch you!" The blue-haired girl folded her arms.
"I'll, uh, let you do whatever you want with me?" she said in a half-frightened and half-shy voice. Though technically Bra was younger, their friendship was reminiscent of her mother and Pan's grandfather. Any Son knew better than to get a Briefs woman angry.
Bra held up her head in satisfaction. "I want to... curl your hair," she paused before she declared, turning her head to smirk. Pan only rolled her eyes. She had inherited her father's wild and untamed hair, which Bra took as a challenge any time she could. She had always meant to brush it more often, but she usually chopped off her locks when it irritated her. Other than that, she would just wake up and go about her day. When she was younger, her mother took her to the salon to get her hair treated, but the chemicals never reacted the way they were supposed to. Plus, it had been some time since she even bothered to mess with it anyway. (Vegeta even told her that she looked like somebody named Raditz the other week—and by his tone, it was meant to be insulting.)
"But Bra! That's going to take hours. I'm hungry now!" Pan sighed in disappointment as she stretched her arms. Bra was always stronger than her, being the one with the given talent. It only took the Saiyan Princess a single week to catch up with everyone else at any given time. If she didn't love science as much as Bulma, then Pan always speculated that Bra would've been the ultimate fighter.
Growing up, the two girls always remarked how they were like each other's father and grandfather.
Like Goku, Bra was just a natural. She was born with quick instincts, and the ability to figure out anybody's weakness. Even though she didn't have the heart to fight, Bra was easily the toughest opponent Pan always had. She was gracious in her movements, and without a doubt, beyond intelligent than any other fighter she'd known. She could always figure out the older girl's next move before she even thought it!
Pan, on the other hand, was like Vegeta. They were calculated in their fighting skills, a bit stiff at times, and were always working hard to be the best even though that only got them so far. They would practically push themselves to near death to be beyond their limits, ignoring every thought in their head to quit. And like him, Pan always had something to prove even though no one was questioning her in the first place.
Pan may have been prodigy for being only five the first time she had a Saiyan transformation after so much training, but it was only a single push that forced the three-and-a-half-year-old Bra into super, furious that she had been touched. She recalled the little cerulean-headed girl calling her a boy because little Pan had cut her hair short for the world tournament. Then before anyone could even flinch, the two were up in their air, glowing and screaming at each other. They had fought until the both of them landed in the pond, rubbing their heads and laughing because they knocked each other's front tooth out. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but all the guests of Bulma's birthday party filled their faces with horror. Both their parents were only speechless until Piccolo picked the two toddlers up and made them promise to never fight at a party again. Bra had only agreed if Pan never went super when they argued, and the dark-haired little girl promised to do the same. That promise lasted for nearly eighteen years until today.
Bra only glared at Pan before the older girl gave into her whims. They didn't even notice Trunks had flew into the compound as they had their small moment. Bra only smiled as she dragged Pan inside her room to her shower.
- TRUNKS'S BATHROOM -
Trunks reached for a towel, groaning at his sore muscles. He had showered for so long that his hands had began to prune and the heat was drying his skin. He needed the hot water to massage his chest—but truly, at what cost? He was now late for the party. Not that he enjoyed parties, but his time to slip in without being noticed was almost up as well as his mother's patience.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He would have to wear a long-sleeve to cover his bruises and cuts, and figure out what to tell Ms. Olive when he went back to the office—but damn, did he look good.
Trunks's slight ego was impressed to have kept up with Pan and Vegeta today. He may have had the crap beaten out of him but when he recovered, he would only be stronger. He didn't realize how much training he had missed while he worked—but then again, those two were always working themselves to the bone when training. To keep up with them, even if not to their fullest extent, only jolted something inside of his blood. He loved and was proud of his work at Capsule Corp., but there would always be a part of him that would thirst for battle.
Trunks went through his drawers and laid out his outfit: a tight, black turtle neck with three-quarter sleeves (that resembled his mom's design for Saiyaman's outfit but looked much better on him); khaki slacks that were crease-free and fit him generously; a black belt and a matching black watch; and clean, black leather dress shoes. His clothes were definitely not "out of style."
He then looked at the full-length mirror hanging from his closet. He thought to bandage himself up before he got dressed. His mother would not let him hear the end of it if he looked roughed up in any pictures. Trunks threw on the black sport shorts close to him and made his way to the compound's infirmary.
Pan blushed as she sat on the high stool with several rollers in her head. She wore just her boyshorts and a t-shirt she expected to cover her torso but learned it was one of Bra's overly-cropped tops that barely covered her bust. She had decided to let the nurse robots stitch her scar, but they were too busy with humans in the infirmary. Bra then left her, and went to go get Dende. Apparently, there was a loose metal board that that stabbed her in the GR, but she didn't even notice until Bra yanked her out of the shower and screamed. She saw Trunks at the door, but just pretended that she didn't notice him.
Trunks tried to look anywhere else besides the distressed hem of her shirt. He knew of the small scripture tattooed on her upper rib-cage because of a picture Bra had showed him years ago. For her eighteenth birthday, Pan had secretly got 'limitless' inked onto her skin. It couldn't have been bigger than the size of his index finger, and was often hidden under the band of her sport bras and shirts. However, she wasn't wearing a bra. He knew that not only because of the tattoo, but because a slither of her chest was spilling out of the bottom of the shirt. Again, he tried to look anywhere else.
Pan decided to break the silence. Considering that she was one of the reasons he had come inside the room in the first place, she might as well be courteous.
"Did you need anything?" What a ridiculous question, she thought to herself. There was a bruise on his collarbone because she slapped him.
Trunks scratched his head. "Um, just need to cover up a few scars before my mom sees me," he explained.
Neither of them were looking at each other directly, only glancing and breaking contact every few seconds. She didn't want to gawk at his bare body as a pair of thin shorts hung at the edge of his hips. It was enough that his fuzzy violet happy trail had been peeking out, and her mind was wondering what lilac pubes looked like. He, on the other hand, already had been having trouble with her top half—so much so, that he didn't even notice how sculpted her legs were, and the way her thighs made her waist seem tighter. She had wide hips from squatting so much in the artificial gravity, and that somehow made her shorts disappear into her skin. The both blushed, realizing they were checking each other out.
They both tried to look at the direction opposite each other, trying to get the other out of their peripherals. It's not like they hadn't seen each other like this before, considering all the pool parties the Briefs threw and how much fish the Sons ate. They practically grew up with each other, but for some reason, the two couldn't help but turn pink.
Pan took a deep breath, disliking the fact that he still made her nervous. She practically swam naked and became one with nature when she lived at her Great-Grandpa Gohan's house! She didn't give an ounce of care then when any of the random villagers who lived on the mountain too stumbled upon her, and she shouldn't care now! He was only one person, and she was wearing clothes. Why did she need to feel shy?
"The robots are taking care of the people in the medical wing. There was a weird accident in the lab. So your sister went to go get Dende, but he was still at the lookout and hadn't made it to the party yet," she said rather quickly, but said nonetheless. She finally looked at him. "Are you going to sit down or what?"
Trunks mumbled something and then made his way to the blue medical bed behind her. He pulled the roll of wax paper until it covered the leather mattress and sat down. It only took a laugh for the tension to break.
"Got a wedgie there, Panny?" he joked and she swiftly spun around to kick him on the cheek. She crossed her arms and huffed.
"So rude!" She had intended to hurt him, but he caught her leg before it caused any more damage. Pan blushed at the compromising position they were in now. Her leg was in the air as he gripped her ankle. He took a hold of her other thigh to hold his balance as his knee held her stool between her legs. She was looking down at him as he was eye-level with her chest. One false move and they would've fell on top of each other.
"To be fair," he looked up at her, "you were about to kick me and I had to protect myself."
"To be fair, you didn't need to stare at my ass!" She snapped, wiggling her suspended leg from his grip.
"Well, to be fair," he stopped her foot from landing on his chest. He was starting to laugh even more now that he was the one dodging her hits. "PAN!" Trunks giggled as his voice became softer. "Hey! To be fair, it is a nice ass. You should be proud of it!"
Pan felt her mouth curving upwards when she still wanted to be angry with him. Between the compliment and the giggle, she could only roll her eyes as lick the bottom of her gums to stop herself from smiling. Trunks let go of her leg, allowing her to let her sit up straight. He still held his knee in the same spot between her thighs. He rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned back on the bed.
"You can't keep hurting me like this. The last person who did at least bought me a meal first," he smirked.
"Technically, I did buy you breakfast and lunch." She recalled this morning when Trunks had hyped her up for hours about the restaurant across from her building. It was a small, family-orientated bistro with checkered table cloths and fake roses tucked inside empty wine bottles at every table. Truthfully, she knew she could've made a better sauce when her pasta bowl came, but he had been so excited that they stayed there for three whole hours. She considered it to be his favorite place since everyone on staff—from the owner, the cooks, and even the waitresses on different shifts—knew him not as Trunks Briefs, but as Two Large Margarita Pizzas With Three Spaghetti Bowls and a Pan of Lasagna. He was their favorite customer, and she offered to take care of the check as he ate happily.
"True. That's the most I ever ate on a date," he sighed casually, realizing his slip two seconds later. He then coughed before she could even think question him. However, the sound of the word 'date' sparked her interest. He quickly began rambling to make his words feel casual again, "But yeah, um, you totally messed me up. I was in the shower until our water got cold and I didn't even think that happened!"
She laughed. "Serves you right for choosing work all the time." She wasn't even apologetic. Pan then hopped off the stool and stood in front of him. "But here, tell me where it hurts. I learned this trick when Korin used to smack me with his staff for not eating 'like a lady,'" she quoted with a chuckle, mocking the white cat's voice. Even being a quarter Saiyan, Pan's appetite was nearly as needy as all the guys. Bra was the only one with Saiyan blood who was smart and used science to create vitamins with calories so she wouldn't pig out at every meal like they did. However, none of them added the pill to their diet because it tasted like wet grass.
Trunks pointed to the bruise on his collarbone, and she moved closer to him. She stood between his legs and held the part of the mattress beside him to keep her balance. She then raised a hand over to the purple and red mark, and concentrated.
He felt a tingle on all the nerves of his body as her hand pressed against his chest. His heart was racing both steadily and rapidly as she stared at his skin. There was a warmth coming from his core, and he couldn't explain what was happening. It felt like his blood was rushing, but at the same time, his muscles relaxed. He was feeling a bit of adrenaline, but a hint of nervousness all at once. It was an interesting sensation and the slightest touch to any other part of him would've been sensitive to any touch, even dainty fingers that were pressed against him now.
Pan sighed in relief. It was the first time she used her ki so lightly on somebody else. She removed her hand and smiled proudly as his bruise was gone. Trunks looked down and saw his injury was no more. He was confused.
"What the heck?" he whispered to himself before looking at her. "What exactly just happened right now?" He moved his shoulders and it felt like nothing had ached him at all.
"Oh, it's just transferring energy. It's not like I have healing powers like Dende," she said simply. "Bruises, you see," her hand touched the bruise on his side, "they're just broken blood cells. As Saiyans, our bloodstream flow intensifies when we make our energy blasts or transform. It's nice, but our insides have become a little immune to it." His bruise was disappearing as she trailed her hand to his jaw. The sensation took over his body once again. "It's kind of a shame that our ancestors focused so much on destroying, but I guess it's not so bad considering we're can't get hurt from our own destructive attacks. We have so much power that things blow up with just the smallest fraction of the energy inside us."
Trunks followed her mouth and the sounds that came out of it. He wasn't really paying attention to the message, but there was a softness in her face that put him in a strange ease. He watched her eyes as they grazed over his healed, light brown skin. Pan cocked up the side of her lips in a half-smile and then she patted the spot on his jaw gently.
"See! Good as new," she laughed, but her hand didn't leave his face. She only trailed her finger around the ghost of the mark. "You just needed a little sparse of energy to get your blood flowing. Your new blood cells destroy the dead ones that make the mark and you're practically running good as new. All I did was speed up the healing process with my energy."
Her thumb settled where her finger once was before, and rubbed his jaw in soft, small strokes. His blue eyes trailed from her finger tips to her tangerine lips, feeling a need to press against them with his own. She paid him no mind though.
"It's a nice kind of cheat, like how we power up when we're drunk to sober up or dry off from the shower using our ki. It's not a big deal. You just have to control your energy enough so you don't accidentally blast yourself." She then abruptly went back to her stool, scooting away from him. He still felt her hands on his body and face.
"Wow," was all he could manage. He then looked down at his body. There were a few scratches and scars, but those would heal within the week. They weren't noticeable, except a few he could easily cover in band-aids.
Pan laughed at his whispered astonishment. "Yeah, your dad thinks I've turned invincible! I just learned how to heal faster," she sighed. "Though the hardest part is not concentrating my energy near my tattoo," she broke his concentration. He pretended to be confused at what she was talking about. However, she knew he knew about it. She was the one who told Bra to show it to him in the first place.
"What tattoo? When did you get a tattoo?" he tried to play it off. She was about to roll her eyes when she decided against it. She would simply show him.
Pan turned her seat, lifted her right arm, and used her left to hold down the hem of her shirt (if she could call it that at this point.) "See, right here," she directed with her finger.
A rosy blush came on his cheeks, but he told himself to work through it. It was a tattoo, just a simple small tattoo. Nothing more, nothing less. Who cares if he thought it was kind of hot? Plenty of people got tattoos. A lot of unattractive people got tattoos. He tried to imagine Pan as Buu as she showed him. Pink, soft—fine, he pictured Pan as Piccolo. Green. Just a whole bunch of green.
"I got it when I was eighteen," she laughed. She admitted it had been more of flirtatious giggle though. A part of her liked making him feel uncomfortable; maybe it was the part of her that still liked childish pranks, or it was the part that wanted to get back at him after all these years. Who knew? He was blushing and she liked it.
Trunks gulped. "That's, uh," he coughed. "It looks good. Did it hurt?"
"I think the idea of the needle hurt more than the needle itself," she shivered. It was ironic getting a tattoo and having a small fear of needles, but here she was, ending up getting it redone. "The first time I transferred energy on this part of my body, I was at Korin's. Uub and I went at it for a while and he punched me right on my rib cage. My bones didn't crack, but I had a bruise that I decided to try my little trick on. Completely destroyed the ink and all you could see were little dots."
"Wait," he paused, looking at her face now. "You got it done again?!"
"Yeah, when I came back," she said, putting her hand back down and sighing. "Why do you ask? Did you want me to invite you to get one too?"
Trunks cocked a smirk. "I would look pretty badass with a tattoo, wouldn't I?" he said confidently, slightly flexing.
"Nope, not really," she spoke without a thought. His face dropped, but she didn't seem to care. Then finally, the door open with Bra and Dende.
"Sorry, guys. It took a while to get here because, well—" Earth's guardian shot a nervous look to the cerulean-haired girl.
Bra crossed her arms. "He was scared of my flying! Can you believe tha—" she paused. "Trunks?" The younger Briefs walked over to her brother, lifted his arms and checked out his body. She could've sworn he looked the worst of them all. "Did you eat a senzu bean or something?"
"Uh," he looked at Pan who was encouraging him to lie. "Well, not a full bean. Just like half of a half."
Bra them turned to check out Pan's body. The younger girl huffed, "And you couldn't have shared that quarter piece with Pan! She's still bleeding for Dende's sake."
The Namekian blushed. Trunks guessed he wasn't really paying attention to her shoulder. Bra then sighed in relief as she looked at Pan's hair.
"It stayed!" she jumped in excitement. There were two rivals that always haunted Bra: Pan herself, and Pan's Kami's forsaken hair! The former, she had made her peace with—but the latter was at war with her constantly, teasing her to be undone with every loose strand. This time thankfully, she won.
"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot about that too," Pan laughed. "Trunks and I were talking the whole time."
"Well, next time he's being annoying," she looked towards her brother, "just punch him in the face! I grant you permission."
"You can't just give somebody permission to sock me in the face!" the older sibling interjected, but the Saiyan Princess simply waved her hand like she had made a decree to the land.
"Well, at least now I won't feel bad about it!" Pan bowed her head to Bra. The two girls giggled.
"Good," she nodded. "Dende, can you fix her up now? I still have to get her into clothes and I don't want blood staining anything. Do you know how hard it is to explain to a dry cleaner that your alien father beat up your quarter-alien friend because they're training just in case the world ends again?" Everyone laughed. "Trunks could escort you to the arborium after," she smiled. With that, Pan's scar was gone and so was she with Bra.
Trunks only sighed. That girl was something else.
He then walked Dende to the party before flying back to his room to change. He forgot to ask if he could be healed too—but then again, maybe he didn't need it.
- BRA'S ROOM -
Pan sighed as she stared at the ceiling, laying down on Bra's white bed. As a birthday present for her six-year-old best friend, the eight-year-old Pan had spent her whole birthday party putting up glow-in-the-dark stars as a surprise. Bra always had a thing for space, and both their parents were so happy at the thoughtful gift. However, every time the raven-haired girl had the chance to look up at her brilliant work, it only reminded her of an angry young Bra, holding up her small balled first because she missed her candle-blowing. She then laughed at the fact that not much had changed from then and now.
Bra threw out white lace shorts and a matching off-the-shoulder shirt with puffed sleeves. She pulled out brown boots and a matching brown hat. Since she grew some cleavage, Bra's favorite pastime was dressing Pan up like a favorite doll. She admired the older girl's body and though she would rarely admit it, Pan could pull off anything she wanted. Of course, that is if she bothered wearing anything but sweatpants—but heck, those looked good on her too. Bra's had dedicated a small portion of her closet for things she would never wear, but wanted Pan to. She then pulled out accessories as she heard a voice from the bed.
"Bra?" Pan grabbed a pillow and plopped her chin onto it, knowing she would get into trouble if she undid the rollers. She watched her best friend throw random things to the floor, and let out a loud sigh. "Bra?"
"Hold your panties. I heard you the first time," she replied, matching the metals of a necklace and a set of rings. She was going for a bohemian look for Pan.
"What do you think about me and Trunks?" the other girl asked plainly. If there was one thing she and Bra could do, it was be blunt. Neither of the two ever understood the stereotype in movies about girls being catty and never saying what they meant. All the women in their lives were pretty straightforward and honest, especially with each other. If anything, the ones that needed deciphering were their dads, uncles, grandfathers, brothers, and even friends.
Bra found cream wool socks that would go with the theme of the outfit. She sighed in contentment at the assemble of colors, taking her time with styling. She then turned to the girl on her bed. "I don't," she shrugged, getting longer boots. "Of course, unless there's an actual you, my best friend, and Trunks, my big brother, to think about."
"Well," the older of the two sat up, "I kissed him. That counts as something, right?" Bra grabbed what she could and flew to her.
"When in Dende's name was this!" she smiled widely, dropping everything in her hands to the foot of her bed and pushing the other girl on the shoulder ever so slightly.
"Relax. It was three years ago. The night of our sleepover," she answered.
"Oh, the one where you skipped out the next day without much of a goodbye?" Bra crossed her arms.
"Nope! You said you wouldn't be angry at that anymore. I practically lived with you for the next three months when I got back, so HA." She stuck her tongue out and then Bra crashed beside her.
"Fine. Then, answer me four things: who kissed who, did the other reciprocate, was there tongue, and—" she pushed her off the bed. "EW! That's my brother. How could you!?"
Pan caught herself before she landed on the floor, then floated back onto the bed. "I'll give you that one because it's your brother, but next time I'm punching back!" She rolled to her side and told Bra the facts: "I kissed him. He did kiss back. There was tongue for a second, and you know damn well I had a crush on him for so long."
"Ah! Had!" she pointed out, then the cerulean-haired beauty became confused. "Wait, a second? That's it? What happened?"
"He laughed." Again, she said bluntly. The Briefs girl only sat with her mouth opened, then closed, feeling pity for her friend.
"I'm sorry, Pan. That must've sucked... oh well, he's not good for you anyway," she finished, but Pan opted to laugh. She couldn't feel upset with Bra.
"It's fine, really," she assured. "I'm just asking because... well, do you think it would be weird if I asked him to be my date for the wedding?"
"Um, what wedding?" she snapped accidentally. Pan furrowed her eyebrows.
"You know, uh, after the engagement party, the couple usually tend to marry afterwards. It's kind of a thing. I was thinking about as—Bra, are you okay?"
It only took a single word for her to break. She had been keeping her composure still until she said marry. Her smile had broke into a frown, and she was laughing to pretend that she wasn't crying. Covering her face with her hands didn't help either. It only made her cry harder.
Pan did the only thing she could've done, and that's held the younger girl, stroking her hair as she wept. She didn't understand it, but she didn't need to. All she wanted to do was comfort her best friend.
Bra cried onto Pan's chest until her shirt was practically wet. Once she stopped, she cried another ten minutes until her eyes were dry, and then settled her head against Pan as they laid down. She wasn't ready to talk about it, but she knew Pan wouldn't push her to. She only laughed at the ridiculousness of them now cuddling.
"This is it. Now we've done everything," she barely managed a laugh, feeling her stomach still dropping. Bra got up and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to. Dende, I must've looked so pathetic. I cried in front of my dad this morning too, and I doubt he even knew what to do."
"Yeah, but your dad's pretty clueless about most things," Pan joked, hoping it would make her friend laugh. She only got a faint smile.
"Do you think I'm weak?" Bra asked, wiping off her smudged mascara. She knew she should've worn waterproof.
"Bra, I think, at a young age, we both decided not to ever cry because we wanted to look stronger than the boys. We didn't want anybody to think we were weak just because we were girls, who were half their size and actually liked having tea parties," Pan said. Bra only scrunched her eyebrows.
"So?" the other girl asked.
"So," Pan shrugged. "Kids are freaking idiots and should not be deciding life decisions."
With that, she managed to make her laugh. Pan then reached for her hand and rubbed it.
"You're not weak for feeling things either, got that? Look at me! I kissed your brother and got rejected so hard that I took off for a year. Now I'm thinking about asking him to be my date. If you want to see something pathetic, there you go." Bra laughed again.
"Yeah, that is kind of pathetic," she smiled.
"See! That's my girl. Now let's fix your makeup and get me into that outfit, alright?"
Bra furrowed her eyebrows and giggled, "Who are you? The Pan I know would've punched me until I stopped crying and burned that outfit until there was a hole in my floor!" That was actually true, but they both agreed to not talk about what happened at Christmas Eve when they were ten ever again.
"Damn, your Pan sounds like a real piece of work." She then rolled off the bed and looked at the pile of clothes Bra dropped. She picked up a sequined dress and red cowboy boots. "This kind of clashes with my hair, don't you think?"
The cerulean-haired beauty rolled her eyes and got off the bed. "It's honestly a disservice that your closet is three times the size of mine," she laughed, picking up the correct garments. "Now, change while I fix my face. Then we'll do something about yours."
"You have such a great way with words, my sweet best friend," Pan chimed sarcastically before heading to the bathroom. Bra then spoke up.
"Hey, you want to know what I think about you and Trunks? Honest to all the kais and Dende?"
"To all the kais and Dende."
"You're too good for him," Bra said plainly.
"You do realize he's your brother, and you're admitting that a Son is better than a Briefs," she joked. Kind of.
"I know what I said," Bra finished, turning to her vanity without another word. The two then hurried and got ready as they were now late.
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A/N: And we're done! (For now.)
I have a rough draft of the next chapter, but I'm going to move things around, add some more fluff and play around with some concepts before publishing. It's exclusively the engagement party and I'm pretty excited for it! It's just a really easy happy-go-lucky, calm-before-the-storm chapter that was nice to finish a session of nonstop writing. I'm kind of debating whether or not to leave this simply as a romance/normal life fic, or add in some of my favorite space monkeys. Personally, I would love to see King Vegeta give Trunks love advice, but that could be another story idea all together.
PenguinsHockey14: Thank you so much and I hope you continue to like the story! Thank you for reading and reviewing!
trunkspanlover89: Hi again! I really love your reviews because you're so honest about your opinions and they give me something to think about while I write. Thank you so much for reading and I promise I won't make Trunks suffer too much. In fact, I think he might be engaging a little teasing back! Haha! Also for the Bra/Goten/Marron situation, I always wanted Bra and Goten to get together because growing up I really loved Bulma/Goku when he came back in DB and she was checking him out before the world tournament. I really loved the idea that Goten/Bra were basically their mini-me's and have a chance to take up the opportunity they didn't! However, I think I just couldn't let them end up together in this story because it would just be too easy for me as a writer. I didn't really enjoy how I began Goten and Marron either, but I guess it's part of the challenge! Thank you so much for writing your reviews and keeping up with the story. I appreciate it so much.
Crystal Blue R: Thank you so much! That's the sweetest thing I ever heard about my writing and just lets me know I'm doing a good job at this! I hope you continue to like the story!
But anyway, this is when I go back to my thing and cross my fingers that the next chapter is just as good. Also when Bra said Pan was too good for Trunks, it was more of a compliment than her warning her to stay away from her brother. I think with her hurt feelings right now, she's not open to the idea of another happy couple but she does love Pan and her brother—and she's going to get to the bottom of who likes who! Well, until next time.
