Author's Update 2014: I had no idea that I would get this kind of reaction from my fic but I still receive emails up to now with notifications that someone has favorited this story. It makes me happy to know that it's enjoyed by even our newer friends!

= CHAPTER 4: A BRIEF SPAR AND TALK OF MARRIAGE =

When they arrived at the mall, neither of them knew where to start. As they went in and out of every store, Pan let Mirai Trunks more or less choose his own outfits, with the exception of a few that made him look too handsome to pass up. Pan usually hated when Bra used to take her shopping and Trunks always whined when Bra dragged him along as well, but with Mirai Trunks, it was actually fun to watch as he tried on outfit after outfit. They returned a couple hours later each with an armful of bags, exhausted but satisfied. Bulma saw the two as they trudged through the door with their cargo and asked if they needed any help.

"No, Bulma, but you could tell us where we can put all of this."

"I think you can put them in your old overnight room, Pan. You know where it is."

Pan nodded and instructed Mirai Trunks to follow her up the stairs to the guest bedroom. They entered the room and Pan saw that it hadn't been disturbed since the last time she had slept over. Pan used that room the most since Bra would have her spend the night as much as possible. Because of this, the room had become her home away from home. There were clothes in the closet and even pictures on the dresser. Mirai Trunks picked up one of the pictures and looked at it. It was of Pan, Bra and both of their entire families. Pan, who was 14 in the picture was pulling noodles out of her hair and everyone else had food of some sort on them, but they were all smiling except for Vegeta, of course, who stood off to the side with his arms crossed and frowning.

"What happened here?"

"Oh, that? That was taken quite a few years ago when Bulma decided to have this big picnic one weekend. I can't remember why, but a food fight broke out between Bra, Goten, Trunks and myself." Pan giggled as she remembered the moment and continued. "Grandpa Goku was yelling at us because we were wasting food but after a while everyone ended up joining in and slinging food at each other. I think even Vegeta ended up in the middle of that."

"Must be nice to have so many happy memories about people who care about you."

"They care about you too, you know. You're a part of a huge, extended family now."

Mirai Trunks shrugged and replaced the picture. Pan had moved all of her things from the room and encapsulated them so that Mirai Trunks would have plenty of space for his new wardrobe. It took quite a while to pack everything away. Once they finished, Bulma called them downstairs to have lunch. As they sat at the table while Bulma shared out the food, Trunks returned home with Marron in tow. Bulma invited them both to have lunch, so they sat side by side across from Pan and Mirai Trunks. They had all begun to eat when Bulma asked Trunks to try and fetch Vegeta from the gravity room.

"He usually hates eating together like this but I think this is a special occasion." Bulma looked towards Mirai Trunks.

Pan had been chewing a mouthful of food when Trunks returned. Before sitting down, he greeted Marron with a kiss, which caused Pan's ki to suddenly rise uncontrollably.

"Dammit."

She muttered under her breath as she tried to stare intently at her plate; however, when she glanced up, she noticed both men looking at her questioningly.

"Heh, I bit my tongue.", she laughed sheepishly

Silently cursing Saiyan hearing, she was rescued from further explanation when Vegeta entered the room and sat wordlessly at the table. Everyone ate in silence for about 5 minutes before Bulma decided to make conversation.

"So, how was the shopping trip, Pan? I know how much you hate it, but I appreciated you doing this."

"Everything went fine, Bulma. I think Mirai Trunks is very happy with what he got."

Vegeta suddenly interrupted with a loud snort.

"Well, if you two are quite finished discussing wardrobe matters, I would like to return to my training. Mirai Trunks and the brat are welcome to join me if they choose."

Vegeta got up from his seat and departed without another word. Pan looked to Mirai Trunks to see if he wanted to follow. He, in turn, looked at Bulma who nodded slightly. They both thanked her for lunch before they too left. As they entered the gravity room, they were immediately aware of two large energy blasts headed directly towards them. Pan counteracted the first one with a ki blast of her own and looked over to see Mirai Trunks standing directly in the path of the second without so much as a hint of fear on his face.

"Rai, watch out!" Pan witnessed the impending disaster.

She soon realized that he deliberately stood in the path of the blast and he was waiting for it to approach. At the very last moment, Mirai Trunks deflected the blast and it exploded behind him.

"Well done, brats. Now let's see you both take me on."

Vegeta powered up and took his stance in anticipation of an attack. They both flew at Vegeta with a myriad of punches, kicks and ki attacks. At first, their technique was clumsy and uncoordinated. But soon, they automatically synchronized their movements without one word of instruction spoken between them. They had to eventually power up in order to keep up with Vegeta, who was putting up one hell of a defense. The sparring continued for well over an hour until all three were completely exhausted. Everyone emerged from the gravity room with at least a dozen scratches, cuts, and burns. They stumbled past the living room - where Bulma, Trunks and Marron sat - on their way to the regeneration tanks.

"I will continue to train you two like this every Saturday." Vegeta commanded between grunts.

The three observers of this in the living room watched the weary fighters go by in amazement. Not because they all looked terrible, but because Pan and Mirai Trunks had managed to inflict as much damage on Vegeta as he had on them. Trunks suddenly felt a twinge of guilt when he realized how much he'd been neglecting his training recently. While in the regeneration tanks, neither Pan nor Mirai Trunks had any idea that each one was thinking about the other. Pan knew that she had just discovered the perfect sparring partner. It was incredible how the timing of their attacks seemed to suddenly coordinate themselves. It was almost as if they could read each other's minds. Meanwhile, Mirai Trunks was pondering the concept of a ΒΌ Saiyan female with a fighting skill and determination that equally matched his own. In his timeline, female Saiyans were nothing but legend, a fairytale of sorts. He never would have imagined that he would ever meet one, let alone train with one. Pan's tank began to drain and she awoke from her reverie. The door opened and she saw Mirai Trunks right outside of the tank waiting for her. Still looking at him, Pan tripped while trying to step out of the tank and fell against him. He instinctively put his arms around her to steady her as she scrambled out of the tank. She looked up and directly into his cerulean eyes. A slight blush appeared simultaneously across both their noses. Pan stood up straight and slightly backed away from him.

"How do you feel?" Mirai Trunks brushed a stray hair out of his face.

At that moment, both of their stomachs began to growl loudly. They both blushed furiously this time and Pan began to laugh.

"Hungry." She replied.

"And to think that we just ate.'

They both laughed and proceeded to the kitchen to find whatever food they could. Instead, they found Vegeta apparently on the same type of quest as they were.

"I'm assuming that at least one of you knows what to do with this stuff." The Saiyan Prince growled angrily at the variety of items in the refrigerator.

"Allow me."

Mirai Trunks stepped politely in front of Vegeta and began pulling various things from the fridge. Pan and Vegeta watched in silence as he chopped and stirred ingredients together in a large pan. It began to smell delicious, which made Pan's stomach gurgle even louder. She tried to mentally beg it to quiet down. Mirai Trunks finished the food rather quickly and evenly shared it out onto 3 plates. They all eagerly sat down to eat.

"Well, it appears that the woman has trained you well. The brat here could use a husband like you."

Mirai Trunks turned crimson and choked on his food.

"VEGETA-SAN!" Pan screamed in embarrassment.

"Do not raise your voice at me, brat. Besides now that I have two sons I might as well make sure that at least one of them chooses the right mate."

Mirai Trunks managed to swallow what he had been gagging on. Vegeta finished the rest of his food and left the table and the two young Saiyans speechless. Pan had also turned an unprecedented shade of red and looked at Mirai Trunks, her eyes wide with fear. He looked back and mirrored her expression. They both focused their attention fully on their food and attempted to avoid looking at each other. Pan finished her food and looked at the clock. She realized that she had to go to work in a couple of hours.

"I gotta go to work soon."

She was wondering how she could say goodbye to him without looking directly at him as she headed for the kitchen doorway.

"Hey, Pan?"

"Yes?" She saw the brooding expression on his face again.

"Are they hiring anyone else at your job?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Well, mom wants to get me into school and she says that she'll pay for it, but I'd like to make some of my own money."

"I know exactly what you mean. I'll talk to my boss tonight and see if anything is open. I hope you don't mind working in a restaurant."

"Not at all."

"Okay then. See you around, Rai." Pan waved goodbye as she left.

"Bye, Pan."

Pan flew home happily and greeted her parents as she walked through the door. Videl and Gohan looked at each other questioningly. They hadn't seen their daughter so happy since before Bra left for college. However, both had an inkling that Pan's happiness was somehow linked to the arrival of Mirai Trunks.