And here's 21. I think you'll find it rather… interesting.

Things got easier after February. It had been a year after Goten had left, and I was slowly realizing that this was my life. There was no more waiting around for Goten to realize how much he loved me. It was concentrate on taking care of Kira and me time.

Kira turned one in April. She was walking and saying incoherent sentences. And looking more and more like her father. Ironically, her first word was 'daddy'. The only possible answer for this question was that she heard me use the term. Or, that's what I let myself believe.

On my twenty-sixth birthday, I woke up, wondering why my alarm clock hadn't gone off to wake me up from work. When I looked at the clock and saw it was nine-thirty, I jumped out of bed. But a note caught my eye.

" 'I called in sick for you today, don't worry about Kira, either, she's with my mom. You're meeting your parents for lunch at noon, and me for dinner at six-thirty. I'll send a limo for you. Happy 26th'," I read aloud. "Damn you Briefs, you always know exactly how to put everything together."

It was so nice to wake up and not have to worry about getting Kira up, or feeding her breakfast, or any mother things like that. Don't get me wrong; I love Kira more than anything in this world. She's just so exhausting; it was nice to have a break from all of it.

I took my time in the shower and getting dressed and eating breakfast. But since I had no idea where I was supposed to meet my parents for lunch, I had no choice but to call Trunks. And I wanted to make sure my daughter wasn't being tortured by Vegeta.

"Capsule Corp. Trunks Briefs."

"Briefs, where the hell did you get this idea?" I asked.

He laughed. "Just a little thing I cooked up during one of these long hours of my fun job. Your daughter's not in any harm, if that's what you called for. In fact, she's sitting on my knee at this very moment."

"You brought Kira to work with you? Doesn't that get a little annoying?" I mused.

"It's definitely more interesting than what usually goes on here." I heard him say something to Kira, who shouted, "Mommy!"

I smiled softly to myself. "Tell her I love her. Where am I meeting my parents for lunch?" I asked, remembering the reason for my call.

"They are picking you up and taking you back to Kame House. Lunch has been catered and your dinner dress is in your old bedroom. The limo comes for you at six thirty sharp. Don't be late. Must dash darling," he drawled in a British accent. "Happy birthday, babe."

~

Lunch was amazing. When I was little, my parents always made me this huge meal on my birthdays. But those were like appetizers compared to what Trunks set up for us.

Soups, salads, meats, vegetables. I had not idea how or why he did it, but it was good. And the dress he left me! That dress was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It was a pale pink, spaghetti strapped, ankle-length gown with all this wild strappy stuff going on in the back. At first, I thought I wouldn't fit into it because of the weight I had gained from the pregnancy. But Trunks must have been going through the tags on my clothes; it fit like a glove.

I did this loopy curly thing with my hair, threw some make-up on, found some silver shoes, and was ready with the limo by six-thirty. The chauffer opened the door for me and ushered me into the empty limo.

"Where's Trunks?" I asked.

"Mr. Briefs will meet you at the restaurant, Mrs. Son," he answered with a smile.

~

We drove through the cities until we got to this tall building. The limo stopped and the door was opened. I was quickly ushered into the lobby of the restaurant. The hostess smiled and flicked her hand to her right.

"Mr. Briefs is waiting upstairs for you. Up those stairs right there and to the left is the room," she said lightly.

I nodded my thanks and hurried up the stairs. I was curious of his reasoning for this whole 'birthday surprise'. He kidnapped my daughter, catered this whole lunch thing, bought me this amazing dress, and made mysterious dinner reservations. I knew it couldn't be just because I was his best friend. He had never done anything like that before.

I have seen Trunks dressed up more times than I can probably count. But I don't care who says what; he is just so fine in a tux. So very, very fine. And with that annoying but cute piece of hair that always flopped in front of his face no matter what he did to it, he was just-- he was just no Goten. I almost slapped myself for that thought.

Trunks smiled when he noticed me and stood up from the table he was sitting at. "Good, I'm glad that dress fits you. I didn't know exactly what size you were."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Why? Briefs, tell me the truth."

"Sit down," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his. "You've been through a lot of shit in the past year or so. I just wanted you to have a good time and not have to worry about all the stuff you usually have to."

I twirled a piece of hair around my finger. "Well, that's really sweet of you, Briefs. I've had a great day. One of the best birthday presents ever."

He tapped my wedding ring. "Still wearing Goten's ring? Have you given any thought to replacing it with someone else's?"

"Actually, Trunks, I'm going to say something. And I want you to listen. No interrupting, no commenting, nothing. Just listen to me." I drew in a deep breath. This was Trunks I was talking to. How could I think of starting something up with Trunks? Well, it was easy. I thought of how much I actually wanted it.

"I'm not in love with you. But that doesn't mean that I will never be. I don't want you to tell me you love me. I will give you a chance, like we were when we first went out. If things get complicated, I want out, and no shit from you. Is that clear?"

Trunks' eyes grew wide. "What? Wait, just say that for me again," he said in disbelief.

I smiled and leaned in. "I want to be with you," I whispered.

"I think that can be arranged," he returned softly, leaning forward to kiss me.

It was the best birthday ever.