Chapter Twenty-one

Goten didn't understand what had happened. One minute he was having an intense conversation with Bra and the next he was kissing her . . . or she was kissing him . . . He wasn't sure who was all over who but he . . . couldn't think anymore . . .

Bra moaned against his mouth and raked her fingernails down his back. Oh god . . . she hadn't realized he was so built . . . the muscles she was feeling. She could feel his hand in her hair and his arm around her waist holding her close to him. She was lost in him and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to be found.

They froze as their sixth sense went off.

Eyes went wide as it downed on them who exactly they were kissing and where as well as who was coming.

With a sharp cry they separated.

Bra touched her lips, I was kissing Goten . . .

Goten could only blink at the blue-haired genius, how did . . . why . . .

"All right you guys," Trunks threw the door open, "That's enough! I . . ."

He trailed off as he was once again presented with a scene he didn't expect. He had thought he was going to find Bra chasing Goten around the office throwing things, it wouldn't have been the first time. Instead, they're standing on opposite sides of the room breathing hard with red faces.

"Guys?" Trunks glanced at his sister then his best friend, "What's going on?"

Bra tossed her head and stormed past her brother without a word.

"Wow," Trunks whistled, "She's mad. So what happened Goten?"

"We were arguing," Goten answered and almost winced at the half-truth.

"Ah, so nothing new eh?" Trunks chuckled, "I swear, you guys, need to bury the hatchet or something 'cause I just found out Pan accepted her role as Zarah's mate."

Trunks shuffled the papers on his desk.

"Yeah, I know," Goten replied numbly.

Trunks regarded his friend curiously. He had never heard his Goten talk in that tone of voice since . . . Majin Buu had killed his parents.

"Goten, is something wrong?"

Goten shook his head.

Trunks frowned, disturbed by his friend's silence.

"Are you sure?"

Goten forced a smile onto his face.

"What are you talking about Trunks?"

"This must have been one hell of an argument," Trunks concluded.

"Um . . . yeah," Goten turned to hide his blush, "I have to go."

"Go?" Trunks' brows shot up, "But you just got here."

Goten paused, "I promised my mom to help with the house today. You know how my mom is."

"Yeah, I know," Trunks was confused, knowing Goten was being exactly up front with him but not willing to push it.

"I'll see you later," Goten ducked out of the door.

"Yeah," Trunks sighed, "Later."

**

Ava sat outside leaning against a tree with a contented smile.

"I've never seen you smile like that outside our bedroom."

"Well, you always did have a big ego 17," Ava opened her eyes to find her husband crouching in front of her.

"Talk about mood swings," 17 tilted his head, "Yesterday you were a mess worrying about Zarah. Today as happy as a clam. Explain."

"He's fine now," she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, "and complete."

"Now you're being cryptic."

"He proved himself and won his mate. He is now probably on his way to mark her so she stays that way."

17 frowned as a thought came to him.

"Ava, about this marking thing-"

"Thing," her brow lifted, "It is not just a thing, 17, it will be what binds them together."

"Yeah, whatever," 17 smiled as his wife's expression became annoyed, "Did I mark you? I don't remember doing anything special and . . ."

Her amusement was clear when she opened her eyes.

"Yes, you marked me."

"But how? I know you marked me when you smeared blood on my cheek but I didn't do anything like that." 17 was mildly worried.

Her smiled turned teasing.

"Trust me, you marked me. You took my first blood."

"First blood?" 17 expression was quizical.

She leaned forward to nuzzle her mate.

"When you entered my body for the first time and changed it forever."

"Oh you mean . . ." 17 blushed, "That's how he has to mark her!"

"Yes," she licked his cheek, "You're cute when you blush."

"Wait," 17 stopped her wandering hands, "Why are the marks so far apart when they take place?"

"You and your son did things differently," Ava rolled her eyes, "Usually the marks take place right after each other. When a female enters a lunafair, she knows what risk she's taking and accepts the consequences when she loses. A male would not usually allow himself to be marked until he is in the process of marking himself."

"So you marked me right away," 17 turned the thought over, "and we could have completed the ritual right then and there."

"Yes," her expression darkened, "but you ran away. You rejected me."

"Not on purpose," 17 released her hands and pulled her closer to him, "I would have never left had I known."

Ava's lips twisted ruefully, "You almost made me cry."

"You really need to tell me about some of these customs. Jeez, to think I could have been with you so much sooner . . ."

Ava turned to the side before turning back to her mate.

"Your son is heading toward his cave with his mate."

"I just happy Gohan doesn't know about this marking process," 17 allowed his hands to wander.

"Yes, if he had he might have really tried to kill him," Ava noted solemnly.

"How come these marks are not more obvious?"

"In battle one could not afford to let it be known they had a mate, especially if captured," Ava kissed him, "That's why saiyans were thought to be a more loose race. No proof of unions were allowed."

"Then how did a male know if a female was free to marry?" 17 picked her up and headed to their own cave.

"I don't know . . .They just did."

"So my son is about to become a man," 17 stated proudly.

"More importantly a full-fledged warrior," Ava nibbled his neck, "This was his final test."

"What? To jump someone's bones?"

"No. To ensure his legacy."

**

Pan's breathe caught in her throat as they landed. He hadn't let go of her the whole way and as soon as they landed, again in the middle of nowhere, he had swept her into his arms.

"I thought you were hurt," her tone was accusing.

"I might have exaggerated a bit," he tightened his grip, "You were just so accommodating."

"I thought we were going to your house?"

"We are and here it is."

With a flourish he dropped off the edge of the cliff in an arch and into his cave.

Pan relinquished her death grip on her husband and willed her heart to stop pounding.

"Don't do that ever again," she glared at him.

He grinned at her, noticing she hadn't complained about the unique residence.

"We are one now," he kissed her.

Pan returned it without reserve and Zarah finally understood why his father liked to rile his mother up: It made her face light up.

Epilogue

Bardock glanced up as the wind changed direction. How appropriate, he muse as he continued his morning exercises.

Pan had moved out, that was expected, and seemed to be a different person. She no longer had a chip on her shoulder that she was dying for someone to knock off so she could prove herself. She moved with a new self-confidence and awareness of self that before had been sadly lacking. When she sparred with him, she no longer second guessed her every move and had come at him with new ones. Her mate's influence no doubt.

Zarah stopped spending all his extra time in the lab with his cousin to visit his mate. He had even almost convinced Trunks, and Pan, to let her be his secretary since she was the only one he would trust with his files. The only problem with that solution was Pan had no intention of becoming a secretary and Trunks, still being Zarah's boss, had decided that Pan would distract Zarah more from his work than help him with it. With a defeated sigh, the young inventor had retreated but still was scheming for a way for to make it so. Oh well, at least the boy had finally found a way to deal with the women in the building.

Bardock chuckled at the memory, Zarah had somehow managed to take a picture of himself and Pan kissing and sent it in a memo to every female employee with the word: This is my wife. I am married now.

Trunks hadn't been pleased with Zarah's misuse of company resources and even less pleased on the effect of the female staff. They left his cousin alone and went after him with even more determination.

The only thing Bardock didn't understand about the whole affair was the way his grandson Goten was acting. Goten had stopped his sporadic dating patterns and seemed to brood closer to home. His visits to Trunks had been cut down drastically and, he had heard from Pan, Bra rarely left her lab anymore.

Very interesting, Bardock paused to scent the air around him, if he didn't know better he would think something had happened between the two but knowing about their estrangement he doubted it. Still, their two bloodlines were known for doing the unpredictable and overcoming overwhelming odds.

"Pan, what are you doing here? I would have thought you would be with your mate," Bardock smiled, she had thought to catch him off guard.

"I . . ." Pan shook her head to organize her thoughts, "It occurred to me that we never finished my training."

Bardock allowed himself an amused snort.

"Of course we have."

"No, you said that after all my training I would have a final test," she insisted stubbornly, "You haven't given it to me."

"Pan," he placed his hands on her shoulders, "Your final test was to find a male and conquer him. You have done this already."

"You mean with Zarah?" Pan's eyes became thoughtful.

"You are now a warrior and everything you need to know you can learn from your mate."

"So that's it?" She tilts her head to the side.

"No, but it's the beginning."

"The beginning of what?"

"Your path as a warrior."

The End

AN: Sorry this is so late but I have been occupied with the holidays and whatnot. I want to thank all my reviewers for staying with me, especially the ones who have been with me since the beginning. Thanks again to those who volunteered their location to satisfy my dad's curiosity. He thinks it's cool that people are actually reading and reviewing my stories. So tell me you guys, do you want more? Two different stories have been circling and I'm not sure what is going to go first. A story where Goten and Bra find love or a dilemma with 17, with the new GT episodes coming out I have been appalled with what they did with his character and I have a hankering to change it. So let me know what you guys think and I'll see what I can do.