Edited 12/6/14

:*:The Brief's:*:

"What do you have planned for Trunks' birthday?" Pan asked as she stuffed a double layered whopper into her mouth.

At least Goten waited to swallow before he answered. "I don't know. I know Bulma will plan a party, she does every year. He and I will probably sneak out towards the end and do whatever."

"I can't believe he's turning nineteen. I still remember when he turned thirteen. He would always boss us around because he was a teenager. You remember that?"

Goten laughed. "How could I forget? He and I would spend hours talking about teenage girls and I was so jealous of him because he was a teen and I was only twelve. I remember when you turned thirteen. You were the last one to enter the teen realm so we all bought you diapers." The two burst out in laughter. "Hey! look who it is."

Pan looked over her left shoulder, then whirled her head back towards Goten. "It's Bra and Trunks! Should we go join them?"

Goten observed them for a moment. "No, maybe we shouldn't. They're not like me and you, they don't hang out together a lot. Maybe this will give them good bonding time."

"Alright! Fast food for our first day out!" Bra exclaimed sarcastically, yet happily, as she slid into her seat in the dining area.

"I can't believe you only ordered a burger and fries. Something must be wrong with you." She flashed a quick smile as she read through her receipt, anxiously waiting for her number to be called. "So, what're you pouting over this time? Don't tell me you're pregnant..." His tone was jokingly at first, but when she gave him no response he began to panic. "Bra?!"

Her eyes shot towards his at the sudden raise in his voice. She was so interested in her receipt she hadn't thought to respond. "No Trunks, I'm not pregnant. Jeez that of all things!" She laughed as she watched her brother relax once again.

"Then what is it?"

"Order number two seventy three!"

She stood from her seat and skipped to the counter, accepting her bag thankfully and returned to her seat. Trunks watched impatiently as she squirted ketchup on a napkin and arranged her fries in an orderly line from tallest to shortest, humming a familiar tune her and her friends listen to.

"Bra, I don't have all day!"

She jumped at his voice and took a moment to pull herself back together. "I know, quit yelling!" She took another moment to clear her throat and smooth out her jacket. "So, umm... Mom and Dad. They've been fighting a lot lately, huh."

Trunks rose an eyebrow. "Yeeeah I guess. What's your point?" He observed his sister as she closed her eyes and released a sigh. The serious atmosphere was unusual for a conversation with her.

"Mom and Dad are getting a divorce." She opened her eyes to view his expression, only to see mixed emotions of confusion and anger.

"What makes you say that?" He asked as if she was making this up.

"Last night, I was walking by their room, sorta eavesdropping. Mom said-" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat before she continued. "Mom said 'I can't wait for our next visit to that divorce lawyer.'. I didn't want to believe it, but now I find myself wondering why I hadn't guessed it before. They're never home, they're not away together, and when they are home they fight." Bra rested her forehead on the palm of her hand, closing her eyes to gather her thoughts.

Trunks didn't speak. He never looked into their parent's relationship as much as his sister did, he realized. He watched his sister bury her head in her palms, wiping her eyes. No tears, she was rubbing them away if there were. "Trunks, I don't want our parents to hate each other. I don't want them to get a divorce, they'll both be miserable, I can already see it."

Trunks caught a brief glance at her eyes as she returned them to her downcast position. They were red, glossy, her cheeks were moist, and she was sniffling. His sister was crying. He hadn't had to comfort her since her breakup with one of his classmates years ago. Comfort and revenge of course. He now remembered how much he hated seeing her like this, except this time there was no boy he had to beat up for her. He had no control of his parents relationship.

It frightened him how helpless it felt to have no control.

"I'm gonna step outside for a sec." He needed fresh air, he needed to not see his distraught sister. He needed to process the secret she's been harboring all this time. He pushed his seat back, attracting attention because of the chair legs scraping against the tile, and combed his fingers through his lavender hair as he headed towards the door.

"Goten! You stole my fries!" Pan scolded her uncle. His attention was now on something else. "What are you-" A loud scraping sound filled the building. Pan twisted her body to her left where her uncle was looking, and saw Trunks leaving, Bra remained at the table. She immediately noticed two things: Trunks only combs his fingers through his hair when he's irritated. Number two: Her best friend was crying.

Without either saying a word, they both stood up and headed to where they needed to be.

Pan sat in Trunk's chair and rubbed Bra's arm that was hiding her face. "Bra? What happened?" She asked in a gentle voice. Her heart pained as she noticed her flushed cheeks and silent tears washed over them. "Let's go outside, you need some air." She helped her stand up and kept her arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the restaurant, leaving their food behind.

"Trunks." Goten called as his friend rushed out the door. He stopped in his tracks and waited for Goten to catch up. Without saying anything, they both found a brick wall to sit on near the far end of the parking lot. "What happened?"

Trunks avoided his eyes and stared into the cloudy sky. "Bra says our parents are getting a divorce."

Goten's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Sometimes people get mad and just shout stuff like that."

"She overheard them and they said something about taking another visit to the divorce lawyer. Bra never cries, Goten. You know that as much as I do."

Goten nodded in agreement. Both of their eyes steered to their right as two figures left the restaurant. Pan and Bra sat against the wall of the restaurant.

Trunks leered his eyes away from them. "I can't stand to see my sister like this."

Goten smiled. "That just makes you a good brother."

Trunks shook his head. "No. This morning, she came into my room, trying to talk to me but I just kept telling her to get out. It took me too long to see the sadness in her eyes. She even thought that I was shutting her 'out of my life' since I never talk to her."

Goten put his hand on his friends shoulder. "What matters is that she knew she could talk to you about this. Am I right, or am I right?"

Trunks smiled at his friend's new-found intelligence. "Thanks Goten."

"No problem. Now, instead of sulking over the issue, let's do something about it." He rubbed his hands together like a mad scientist as a clever idea had come to mind.

'Oh no.' Trunks thought. 'Another one of Goten's plans...'

After several words of reassurance, Pan wasn't sure if she had finally gotten through to Bra, or if she just wouldn't let herself cry anymore. They both sat with their knees at their chest staring into the sky. Pan's eyes drifted to the two boys she recognized on the brick wall. 'Trunks seems to be in a better mood. They're both laughing, that's a good sign.' Before she knew it, they were off the wall and heading towards them.

As Bra stared into the sky, she thought of things to get her mind off of the divorce. She tried thinking about school, the Christmas charity ball, and her friends coming over tonight. Nothing seemed to work. She could feel her eyes swelling up again until a figure blocked her view and kneeled in front of her. He extended both hands, waiting patiently for her to take hold of them.

She held back a smile that was trying so desperately to grace her lips. Once they were on their feet, Goten put a casual arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. The four of them stood in a circle as Goten discussed his plan. "I call this one Operation Vorce."

"Vorce?" Pan seemed skeptical.

"Well, yeah. Divorse means to break up, so if you take out the di, then you have vorce."

The three teens laughed.

"Fine, we'll name it later. Anyway, here's what we are going to do..."