I'm not sure if this is going to be a one shot or not. Depends on what the reviewers say. All I know is that it's 2:00 am and I'm feeling a little down, so I felt like writing to get the feelings out. I just hope my incessant typing doesn't keep my roommates up, lol. This takes place after GT, but the ages are different. Goten is 28, but Bra is 23.
AN1: This was originally going to be a songfic, but I totally changed the story. Not a little bit of the story, but the WHOLE thing. Basically, I just liked the title.
AN2: Got an awesome story for you all to read. It's called Unraveling Truths by Sasami Trunkims. Read it now. It's long (33 chapters!) but it's definitely one of the best stories I've ever read. Check it out.
AN3: Two midterms this week, Calculus and East Asian Humanities. Took them, dunno how I did. I also had to write a script for theatre. It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday. Well, Thursday now, technically.
AN4: Did you know God had a wife? Yeah, her name was Chabi. Chabi Khan.
DISCLAIMER: "Coming Down, the world turned over. Angels fall without you there." – Goo Goo Dolls, Black Balloon.
Angels Falling
It was so much simpler when I was littler. Girls had cooties, and us guys got along just fine without them. But lately, it seems that all of that has gone down the shitter, and I am somewhat the victim of so many events, it's saddening.
First, my dad left. He just… disappeared. Gone forever. No one knows where he went. Then my mother died, a result of my father leaving. Just one day, I found her in her bed, not breathing. I took her in my arms and flew as fast as I could to Gohan's, but I had known long before that she was gone. That was two years ago. I'd never seen my brother cry before, and he had let the waterfalls go.
That's not to say that I didn't cry, either; I most definitely did. I miss my mom so much, and I couldn't find any comfort anywhere, not even in Gohan. He had offered me to stay with him and his family, since I had lived with Mom, but I declined politely. He later asked my why during one of our sparring matches, and I told him that he reminded me of Mom too much. I know that sounds odd, no one would ever think that my brother took after my mom, but there was something about him that made me not want to live with him.
Trunks also asked me to move into Capsule Corp, but I also declined that. For one, my brother would feel like I didn't love him if I had lived with my friend instead of him, and two, the third problem that's been plaguing my mind lately fell upon his sister. I have had a crush on her since my mother's funeral, as odd as it sounds. I had finally noticed that she was no longer the little chibi hanging onto my leg, and that she was now one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my life.
So I moved into my own apartment, right down the street from Capsule Corp, my current employer. Gohan had recently moved into the city, so he isn't far from me either.
At the funeral for my mom was when I started feeling those feelings for Bra. I first thought it was because my mom was gone and I was looking for comfort in the closest place possible. We had my mom buried next to the makeshift grave we made for my father, even though we all knew he wasn't lying underneath the soil. After the casket was lowered, I had walked away to be by myself, but Bra always being one to tag along, and always the one worried about someone, followed with me to make sure I wasn't going to do anything drastic. I made it two hundred yards to a giant oak tree. I stopped and put my hand up against it. I powered up a ki blast, and soon there was nothing left of the tree. She had been next to me, and I had tried to hold my tears in for so long that it was starting to hurt. I felt her hand enclose mine, her dainty fingers intertwining with mine, and I turned to look at her. She looked into my eyes, and it all left me; my will not to cry, my will to be strong, and especially my brotherly feeling for Bra.
I took her into my arms and held her tightly. She returned my embrace and I just started to bawl. I felt so helpless. We must've stayed like that for an hour; well it felt like it. I had fallen asleep from exhaustion, atop of where that great oak tree had stood, and Bra stayed with me the whole time.
I awoke to a blue sky and wondered how the hell the day could be so beautiful in such a horrible time. I felt a hand caress my forehead, and I felt at ease. I turned to look and found the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen. Sure, I'd seen them before, but it just clicked; they were the most amazing things I'd ever seen.
"You're awake, I see," Bra said, "I was hoping you'd wake up soon. I was worried about you, Goten." I smiled up to her.
"Well, hey," I said, "I'm all good. Still feeling down, but that's expected. I'm just glad I have someone here to help me through it." She smiled and looked back towards the gravesite.
"You know you have more people than me," Bra replied, "Gohan, my mom, Trunks, Pan. But I want you to know you'll always have me." That's when her face reddened, and I let out my first laugh since I found my mom dead.
"Well," I said, "I'm very glad I'll always have you." I had no idea why I had replied that way. Bra was like a sister to me. I'd never had romantic feelings towards her, and now all of a sudden it was as if I was in high school again. It was my turn to blush.
"Whenever you need me, Goten," she said, "Whenever you need to talk, about anything, I'll always be here for you." I sat up and hugged her.
"Thank you so much, Bra," I said, "You're probably the greatest person I know right now." I released her from my hug and stood up, staring off towards the gravesite. Bra stood as well, walking to my right.
"Want to say goodbye one more time?" She asked timidly, unsure if I would break down again. I turned to her and nodded. I was strong enough now, with her by me.
I said my final farewells, shared a few more tears, and Bra and I were off with the rest of my family and friends.
Now fastforward to two years later.
I can tell you that I still miss my mom, of course, but I regularly visit her's and my father's graves. I visit Gohan often for sparring, as well as Trunks, but the person I visit the most is of course Bra.
For two years I had been coming to her with my problems, and for two years I had been trying to hide the fact that I love her, but that's a tough thing to do. Sometimes when I'm with her, I'll blank out; just go into my own world. Of course I'll be thinking about her, but when she asks me what I'm thinking about, I just mumble and say it's nothing.
She smiles, telling me I can tell her anything, and I know that with all my heart. But I can't tell her this. I just can't.
All my life I've told her she was like the sister I never had, until two years ago. I never would've expected in my whole life that she would be the object of my affection. But she has turned into just that, and it hurts me so much that I can't tell her.
Do you know how great it is to know you have someone that loves you just as much as you love them? It's the greatest feeling in the world. I had it once, only once, and that I don't want to talk about. Don't want to add more wood to an already burning fire, if ya know what I mean.
I'm going to see her today. I want to see how she feels about me. My life, my self-esteem, and everything around me was in her hands today. And the sad part is, she might not know it. Hehe, we'll see, I guess.
-----------
I walked slowly up to the door, knowing she would meet me there before I even knocked. I usually call her before I go to see her, but whenever I don't, she seems to have the magical power to be able to know when I am here.
Bra opened the door, a broad smile on her beautiful face. I responded with a smile of my own, slipping my arms around her in a tight hug.
"Hey there," I said to her, "How are you today?" Bra rubbed her hands on my back.
"I'm great, now that you're here," she replied. I chuckled.
"Well, that's just perfect for me," I said back playfully, "I'm making the day for the most beautiful person I know!" She jumped up and gave me a kiss on my cheek before leading me into the house.
"Thanks for the compliment!" she chimed, "Now, whatcha wanna do today?" I thought long and hard, trying to figure out what was a good thing to do where I could tell her how I felt.
Ah, a movie! I thought, Those are always good mood setters!
"How bout a movie?" I asked, "Let's go rent one!" Bra giggled.
"Okay, but only if I get to pick it out!" She replied, "And we aren't getting any of those super high action packed pieces of shit I know you like!" I stuffed my hand behind my head and grinned.
"Well fine then," I replied. We walked to the door and out, jumping into the air towards the nearest video store.
-----------
A romantic comedy. They weren't my favorite, but I didn't mind them. Especially when I'm sitting next to Bra while I watch it. She's so cute when she watches them. She looks so absorbed that sometimes I wonder what she's thinking about. I've never asked her, afraid she'll give the same response that I give when she asks me what I'm thinking.
I plopped down on the big couch after putting the movie in, my arm subconsciously resting on the back. Bra soon came in with a big bowl of popcorn and took her position next to me, snuggling into my side.
"You're like a big teddy bear, Goten!" Bra said, rubbing her head into my side like a cat. I jumped.
"Aw come on Bra!" I said, holding my side to prevent any further rubbing, "that tickles like hell!" Bra grinned too much like her father and poked me in the side. Again, I jumped.
"Haha," She laughed, "Poor Goten is ticklish! I never knew that about you! Mr. Tough-Guy!" I falsely pouted, making her smile.
"Aw," she said, bringing a hand to my face, "Don't be said. I hate it when you're sad." Her caress on my freshly shaven face made me smile, and I brought my arm down from the back of the couch, encircling her. She smiled and turned her head towards the TV. The movie had started.
-----------
Once again, she was so absorbed that I wondered what she was thinking. We were about an hour into the movie when I noticed this, and this time I was gonna find out what she was thinking about.
"Hey Bra," I spoke, softly. Her head snapped up, looking at me.
"Sorry, what'd you say?" She asked, obviously not hearing. I mean, I had only said 'Hey Bra.'
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, half expecting an answer. She looked back up at me.
"How good this feels right now," she said, softly. I was unsure what she meant.
"The movie that good?" I asked, my father's side taking over. She chuckled.
"No, silly," she replied, "Me and you. It's so warm." Was I hearing this right?
"I like it too. It feels so great when I'm with you," I said. Now, was I hearing myself right? I'm losing it.
"Goten," Bra said, pausing the movie, "I have something to tell you. I don't think you're going to respond to the best of my liking, but I can't stand it anymore."
"Bra, what are yo—" I started, but she silenced me. Her eyes closed.
"Goten," She began, "Since your mom's funeral, I noticed a boy in you that needed someone. You needed someone to be there with you until you could grow strong. That's why I followed you. Not because of how I usually am with worrying about people, but because I felt that you needed it. I felt the pain you were feeling, and I wanted it all to go away. I wanted to wipe your emotional slate clean. I didn't know why I felt like this, but I felt it was something I should've done. And you know me, always going on my gut instinct, just like my dad." I didn't know what to say, so I let her continue.
"But after all the mourning passed," She said, "I thought you would've just returned to your normal self; your normal life. I felt like I was just going to be left behind. But I was surprised to see that you actually wanted to spend time with me. I didn't know you were such a good person." She turned away from me, looking at nothing in the air.
"You were always there for me," she said, "and I had hoped I was always there for you. I don't know where my feelings came from, but Goten, I love you. I love you so much. I have such a perfect feeling when I'm around you, like you're someone I need to be with to survive. I'm a little scared telling you all of this right now, since you've always said I was like the little sister you never had. I'm afraid of what might happen after I told you this. I was afraid before, but then I wondered what would happen if I didn't ever say that? That was more scary than what I'm doing right now."
I cringed when she said the 'little sister' thing. That was two years ago, but I wanted to tell her that it wasn't like that anymore. I went to go say that, but again, she silenced me and continued.
"So Goten," Bra said, "I'm laying my feelings on the line right now. I have a feeling that they're going to be demolished, but I just can't help it anymore." She turned back to the movie and pressed play. I just kept staring at her. She was avoiding my gaze. I don't think she was expecting a response, but I used my left hand to pull her chin towards my face.
"You know what's funny?" I asked her, to which I only received blinking. She had tears in her eyes. "When I got up this morning, I told myself I was going to tell you the same story pretty much. Looks like you beat me to it." I grinned at her, and her tears escaped. I wiped them away and kissed her on the forehead.
"So what are your feelings?" She asked, almost unsure of what I was saying.
I brought my lips to hers, giving her the sweetest, most passionate kiss I'd ever given anyone. A few seconds later, I broke it.
"Actions speak louder than words, ne?" I asked. She responded by kissing me again.
-----------
End Angels Falling
Okaaaay review now!