Chapter Twenty - Call It

Authors Note: I had originally planned for this chapter to be bigger, but am working on the next one currently. Hoping that will be the break between Part I and Part II of this story. I have the next week off from work, so hope to get quite a bit of progress.

Paresu sat with her head down on the car bench, nervously playing with the diamond ring that sat on her left hand. She had debated removing the ring before their meeting, but imagined that he knew of her engagement by now. Goten had chosen well, against her assumptions. A single princess cut diamond on a gold band. She always liked the simple, classic designs best.

She looked up and turned her head each way, but Trunks was nowhere to be seen. Paresu leaned back against the bench and closed her eyes, imaging what their reunion would be like. Trunks had texted her a few days ago asking if they could talk somewhere alone. Although she jumped at seeing his name on her phone, Paresu felt ashamed knowing what he was asking to meet.

"So I guess congratulations are in order, Mrs. Son?"

Paresu opened her eyes to see Trunks standing in front of her, with his hands protectively in his pockets. He wore a dark blue winter coat, with the Capsule Corporation logo on the arm, grey pants and his standard yellow boots. His hair, recently trimmed, blue in the cool winter wind.

"That's not my name," she looks at him carefully and patted the seat beside her, "At least not yet. Do you want to sit so we can talk?"

"In a minute," Trunks answered cooly, "You know my mom gave me the heads up, otherwise I don't know how I would've found out. Maybe a magazine article or social media?"

"It should have come from me," Paresu whispered, "Or Goten, since you two have known each other forever."

"Speaking of your fiance," Trunks took extra emphasis on that word as he took a seat next to the brunette, "He told me that you two got back together, like a week ago. I guess you two had a real heart to heart, followed by you spreading your legs for him."

Paresu narrowed her eyes at him as he continued, "He told me all the details, especially about how you have 'great tits' and are a screamer. I wondered if he suspected our little fling, because apparently you started to say another name while you two were going at it. Trey? Trent? He wasn't quite sure what you were saying."

The brunette crossed her arms, "Don't give yourself too much credit, Trunks. I didn't say your name."

"But you almost did," Trunks looked her right in the eyes and held her gaze until she looked away. He wasn't sure if she had a light blush on her cheeks or if she was angry, "Paresu, I know you love Goten. At least that's what you've been saying to me."

"What are you asking me?"

"Do you love me?" he whispered and gently put a hand on her shoulder. The park was empty minus a few families in the distance. The only sounds were the distant children playing and the soft winter wind. Paresu stayed quiet for what felt like an eternity to Trunks, before grabbing his hand and answering softly.

"You are a great guy Trunks. Any woman would be lucky to be with you."

"That's not what I asked you, 'Su," Trunks whispered. As Paresu began to pull her hand away he grabbed it tighter, not enough to hurt her but to keep her attention. The brunette took a deep inhale, preparing herself for what Trunks was going to say next.

"I love you, Paresu. Since that night I met you, I've been head over heels for you. Everyday that I was on that damn spaceship looking for the Dragon Balls I thought of you. And as you and Goten grew closer, I thought my chance with you was done. I know this is shitty to say, but when you broke up I was happy. Because I knew that maybe we could have a chance."

"Trunks I don't -"

"Please let me finish," he implored. She nodded her head and Trunks continued, "And then we spent that night on the island, and other nights together. It wasn't just the sex though, you are an amazing woman. Paresu, you are kind and caring and fun. I loved every minute we were together, because I love you. And I need to know if you love me."

The brunette didn't answer him at first, but her body language told Trunks her answer. She rubbed her lips nervously and couldn't make eye contact with him, instead focusing on the families in the distance at the playground. After a few moments she composed herself and grabbed her purse, standing up from the bench and looked down at Trunks sadly.

"I'm marrying Goten."

Trunks bowed his head and squeezed his eyes tightly to hold back the hot tears. He felt a cool hand on his face as Paresu kneeled to look him in the eyes, looking at him sadly with tears in her eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, lingering for a moment before standing up.

"I'm so sorry Trunks," she swallowed, "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Paresu didn't wait for him to answer and instead began walking towards the park entrance, rubbing her hands to keep warm from the cold. Trunks watched as her figure became smaller and smaller until she disappeared around a corner. Once she was gone, Trunks looked around to make sure no one was watching, before taking flight into the sky.

Chi-Chi stood and watched the snow fall from her kitchen window as she prepared a large portion of pork dumplings in the window. She had been up since the early hours of the morning to prepare a family dinner to celebrate Goten's engagement.

Her son had always loved the dumplings best, so she had made sure to make the dough fresh that morning as well as the pork mixture. In another pot she was simmering Turtle Soup and in the oven she was roasting dinosaur steaks, which Pan had hunted earlier that morning at her request. After all, she had three hungry saiyans to feed in addition to herself, Videl, and Paresu.

Chi-Chi sighed contently as she began to put the filling inside the dumplings. The older woman's mind wandered, thinking first of her meeting with Goku and then to the memories they had built together. So many wonderful moments, from exploring the world together to having their sons, Gohan and Goten, and later when Videl joined the family and Pan was born. But so many of those years were in fear of enemies coming from Goku, there were times she felt like there was nothing to celebrate.

Chi-Chi placed the first of the dumplings in the bamboo basket for streaming and continued on to the second batch. Goku was gone, but she still had a purpose in being the Son family matriarch. The older woman thought of what was to come, with Goten getting married and Pan going away for school in a few years. Although she didn't want Pan to be far from home, she was comforted in the thought of there being more grandchildren in a few years.

As she placed the second round of dumplings in the steamer, Chi-Chi tried to imagine what they would look like. Pan looked so much like her father, but Gohan and Goten both looked more like their father. She wondered if Goten and Paresu's children would have their mother's brown hair and eyes, or Goten's goofy grin. She chuckled to herself and shook her head.

It's too early to think about that now. They aren't even married yet!

Paresu opened the door to her sisters house carefully, expecting to be pummeled by her nieces or handed a screaming baby by her tired sister. For the last three months she had been staying at Cocoa's to help with her nephew and the girls, from dropping them off at school to helping with meals and the bedtime routine. She was pleasantly surprised to find the house calm and tiptoed around the corner to see her nieces engrossed in an afternoon movie. Sighing with relief, the brunette smiled to herself and ran up to the guest bedroom where she had been staying.

On the bed was her half packed suitcases, which she would be dropping off at Goten's later that day. Her fiance had asked her to move in with him now that they were engaged. Although she loved her family, she was ready to have her own space again.

A knock on the door brought her back to reality. Paresu turned to see her sister Cocoa standing in the door with a cup of tea.

"Hey sis, come in!" Paresu smiled brightly, "I hope I didn't wake you, I'm just finishing packing my stuff. Goten will pick me up later tonight, but I'll come by this weekend for dinner."

"You're fine," Cocoa reassured and sat in a chair next to the bed. The older brunette took a deep yawn and took a sip of her tea, "Where were you this morning?"

"I went to the park," Paresu answered nonchalantly before looking at Cocoa with a concerned expression, "Can you drink that while nursing?"

"It's my third kid, I think he'll be fine," Cocoa smirked, "What were you doing at the park?"

The model breathed in quickly before sheepishly smiling, "Trunks wanted to talk to me, so we met up for a bit."

Cocoa raised her eyes at this, "Did anything happen?"

"No, we just talked," she sighed as Cocoa maintained her stare. Paresu huffed and rolled her eyes, knowing that her sister would remain persistent "Fine, you win! Trunks told me he loves me and wanted to know if I felt the same way."

"Do you?"

"I'm marrying Goten."

"I know, there's a ring on your finger." her sister spoke gently, "That doesn't answer my question. Are you in love with Trunks, 'Su?"

Paresu toyed with the fabric on a shirt she was folding, contemplating her answer. Sighing, she finally turned to Cocoa and answered, "It doesn't matter. It's over between us, Cocoa. I need to finish packing, Goten will be here soon to pick me up. Can you give me some space?"

As Cocoa walked back to the door, she turned to watch her sister continue packing. The younger woman remained silent, folding and refolding her items in perfect concentration. Cocoa rapped her knuckles lightly on the doorframe to catch her sister's attention.

"Call it whatever you want, but you're in love. You should tell him."

Cocoa turned the corner, leaving Paresu alone in her bedroom. The younger woman sat on the bed staring at the ground until her eye focused on the diamond on her left ring finger. It's beautiful sparkle tortured her.