Disclaimer:I do not own DBZ or any characters mentioned except for Panda :)

A/N: Thank you for you reviews! You're amazing: Rockel, pen name is, mizqt, wolfewolfman, and just a girl. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Christmas Ball: Bra's Savior

:*: Pan :*:

Saturday December 18th. The day of Capsule Corporation's annual Christmas Charity Ball. This event is considered to be a large event in Japan, anybody who's anybody attends to get a good reputation as one who is generous enough to donate to charities and to show off their wealth by wearing the best dress or tux and bringing the hottest dates. Shutterbug's come to take pictures of whoever they can which is then printed in upcoming magazines in articles of best dressed and gossip tales as to who's dating who. Since the Brief's are the founders of CC, they get a lot of attention in the magazines, so Bulma's always strict on all of us to be on our best behavior and dress appropriately.

I woke up that morning feeling tired and groggy. Outside my window the wind insisted on blowing the tree branch against the glass, creating quite an annoyance. I stared outside for a brief moment, thinking about the day ahead. Kain would be picking me up here for the ball, something I wasn't looking forward to anymore. I accepted his invitation to the ball out of spite because of the Trunks and Marron situation, and now it's all back firing on me. He's a chill person to hang out with, but that kiss and the way he's been looking at me lately is not how friends should act.

Around four thirty, my mom and I began preparing for the charity event. Usually I'd get ready at Bra's house, but I thought it best if Kain picked me up here instead of searching for the Brief's home. My mom took advantage of this and insisted on helping me with my hair and makeup. Bra was always my stylist for previous events so I was happy to have my mom there to assist me.

"Oh, Pan you are so beautiful." She gushed as she held my face, forcing me to look at myself in the mirror as she applied some powder stuff to my cheeks. "You've got your dad's eyes, my nose and lips, and your father's intimidating pride. You'll make one hell of a wife."

I snorted a laugh. "That's if I can hold a relationship longer than three months."

"Ah. I figured you have commitment issues. As scary as it may seem, having a boyfriend is not such a bad thing. The longer you know them, the more fun it is. You start memorizing each other's habits and favorite stuff, then the holidays roll around and they struggle to find you that perfect gift. And as the months or years flow by, your love for them deepens more and more. You stare into each other's eyes, not wanting to ever look away, and your heart always flutters when he enters the room or touches your hand."

"Okay mom, come back to earth." I laughed, noticing she had been mixing the same batch of powder during the whole speech.

She shook her head and smiled back. "Whoops, sorry. Let me ask you this: Was there anybody you were picturing during my little moment there?"

She got her answer as my cheeks rushed to a different color, causing me to look away from the mirror. "Mom!"

"You don't have to tell me who! It's just good to know that my daughter's not totally hopeless. Kami Pan, your father and I have been making bets on guys for months now. Pick one already!" She joked again.

:*: Trunks :*:

Uh, the Christmas charity is tonight, an event filled with business conversations with my mother's partners and associates and kissing ass to desired candidates for future partnerships. Considering I'll be joining my mother on CC's administration in a year and a half, she was especially strict on me to dress appropriately and to 'always be in business mode'. I adjusted my tie as I headed to the living room of my and Goten's house, only to find him sucking down another shot of jager.

"Goten, we havn't even gotten to the party yet, you may want to ease up there buddy."

He set the bottle on the coffee table and made a sour face as he swallowed. "Just trying to get in my happy place. After having Valese and Jezelyn here last night my ears are still ringing from their high pitched laughing. God damn girls just about drank all my beer.

I shook my head and smiled. "Try not to have too much fun with her tonight." He rolled his eyes and picked up the bottle again, only to have it snatched by me. "No more, you're probably going to need it for after the ball."

He nodded. "Yeah you're probably right." He stood up now, taking a moment to smooth out his hair and adjust his tie. "How do I look?"

I looked him up and down, nodding in approval. "Pretty good for a drunk. Just stay away from my mom, you won't be able to fool her."

:*: Bra :*:

Coming down the road towards capsule corporation's charity hall was an amazing sight. From a distance, you could see the flood of lights outside the building, welcoming the hundreds of guests scheduled to arrive. Since my mom had arranged me a date, I went ahead and rode with her and my father. I was surprised as to how well he cleaned up for tonight. He looked especially more smug with the goatee he's been growing out for weeks. One could tell he took pride in it since he occasionally smoothed his hand around it, scowling at those around him.

To escape the papparazzi, we drove around and went through the back entrance.

Before entering, my mom stopped us for a lecture on how we should behave once more. "Remember to always shake hands and smile, Bra, Vegeta I know that's a hopeless cause for you." He grunted in response. "Point people to the donation tables and the buffet and do say good stuff about your brother. He'll be running the place before you know it and our clients need to be able to trust him."

"Riiight..." I answered. "Can you give me some tips on what good stuff to say about him?"

"Bra, at least try to act as if you worship your brother."

I giggled at her choice of words. "Ok, can we go in now it's freezing out here!"

My mother and I slapped on our gleaming white smiles as we entered the large building. The tall ceilings echoed the music the band played on the lifted stage to the far left. Green, red, and white decorations flooded to perimeter of the large room, with formally fit white clothed tables conveniently stationed away from the dance floor. I could see her looking to see if Trunks was here yet, but he of course would be fashionably late as always.

I heard my mom call my name and looked to see her already chatting with a group of people. "Bra, honey, this is your date tonight."

I gazed over to the male she referred me to. He took my hand and kissed it gently, introducing himself as Irvine Romsu."Oh mother, you shouldn't have!" I said coyly. 'Really mom, you shouldn't have.' To be blunt, the man looked like a panda. His shaggy black hair was all over the place, followed by abnormally long sideburns that reached down into a small beard. From there it just got worse. He was much too chubby for my taste, AND was the most awkward thing I have ever danced with in my life! I could have gotten more rhythm from a broom.

"Ouch!" I shrieked for the umpth time that evening. He apologized for stepping on my feet AGAIN. It was about an hour into the party and I wasn't even able to leave this bastard for a moment to say hi to my friends.

"Excuse me," I felt a tap on my shoulder, causing the Panda and I to both stop dancing. "May I cut in?" I looked up to the heaven's at that moment. There is a god.

:*: Goten :*:

I followed behind Trunks as we made our way into town and to the back entrance of the hall. Since I insisted on driving my truck, he wanted to make sure I made it there safely without crashing into civilians along the way. Valese was there to chat my fucking ear off the entire time, who couldn't be alert when hearing her voice?

We walked arm in arm through the doors, listening to the girls cries of excitement. "Oh, it's so beautiful!" Valese squeezed my and Jezelyn's arm who was also in awe. It was only 7:39, meaning we were about fourty minutes late. I could see Bulma coming to scrutinize her son, so I thought it best to pull Valese away and head off to find some familiar faces.

"Panno!" My niece whirled around and greeted me with open arms.

"Hi Goten! It looks great in here, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does. Hi, you're Kain right?"

The brunette male nodded and lightly shook my hand. His eyes darted all over the place.

"Is he okay?" I asked Pan humorously.

She shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, he's fine." She looked up at him and back to me, her eyes emitting a wave of denial. I made a mental note to keep an eye on the two of them tonight.

"Goten, hi!" Marron approached us, her date lagging behind. "You look very snazzy tonight." She smiled, flowing her red dress in her fingertips as I complimented her gorgeous appearance.

The three of us carried a conversation while our dates awkwardly stood there either bored or thinking about other things. I felt Valese tug on my arm after a few minutes. "Goten, my parents are here!" She shrieked excitedly and dragged me away.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Karuben." I shook their hands firmly and put on the finest smirk I could manage.

"Hello there boy. I see you've been taking good care of my girl." He patted her on the head. "When should we start planning the wedding?" The three of them boomed in laughter while I stood there, frozen with nothing but hell no! screaming in my mind. I chimed in with my quiet nervous laughter towards the end. "Just remember now, I'm keeping that position open for you for when you graduate. I think you'll make a fine architect at Karuben Construction."

I nodded and said something to carry on the conversation. The three of them babbled about the future while I stared around the room. Was this it for me? Because of an irresistible job offer, am I going to throw my life away? Is there something else for me to wait for? My eyes landed on a familiar figure, causing a sudden thread of adrenaline to rush through me.

"Can you excuse me for a moment? I have to... drink. Er- get drinks, you guys want drinks? Great I'll get you one!" Without allowing them to answer I pulled away from Valese's grip and made a wide route to the dance floor to lose Valese's following eyes. After making my way through the groups of people talking or dancing, I finally set my eyes on the familiar figure. She was slowly swaying back and forth in her long white gown, while some man's chubby hand explored her exposed back. I slowly approached her and tapped her on the back. "Excuse me," she whirled around, her big blue eyes looking from me and to the ceiling as she mouthed the words 'thank you' to some presence unbenownst to me. "May I cut in?"

Her curled hair danced around her face as she bit her tongue and smiled her goofy grin. "You don't mind, do you Panda- I mean Mr... um... damn" she mumbled. "Mr. Romsu!" Realization struck her as she shouted the name.

I chuckled at the first name she had referred to him as. The man shrugged and stepped aside.

"I'll be back." He kissed her hand and left the floor.

Once he was gone, she wiped the back of her hand on my blazer in disgust. "He insists on kissing my hand."

I chuckled again. "Panda huh?" I put my hand on her waist and the other hand cupped hers as we began to sway to the jazz music.

"He dances like one too." I saw her wince suddenly.

"Are you okay?"

She giggled. "Oh, yeah, that's usually the part where he steps on my foot. Have you been drinking?" Her eyes scolded me in that playful fashion of hers.

I pursed my lips in thought. "Just a little..." Looking to my left I saw a certain brunette merging through the crowd. "Let's go outside for a sec." Without her say, I dragged her behind me, heading towards the nearest stairway taking us to the balcony. I could feel her tense up as the chilling air hit her. "Here." I shrugged my jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks. Goten, are you okay?" We both leaned on the rail. I looked out to the city around us, trying to avoid her penetrating stare.

"I..." I stopped myself, feeling the need for another drink.

"Goten, I'm your friend, you can tell me anything. You smell like you've already hit the heavy liquor and you're avoiding somebody in there. Please, tell me what's wrong."

She cupped my shoulder with her hand, turning me to face her.

"I can't break up with Valese. Her dad is the head of the architect department at our school and he owns Karuben Construction. If I dump her I'll never get a job after college, he'll make sure of it. I'm fucking screwed!" I banged the rail with my fist, causing a dent to appear. She took a moment to absorb what I had just said.

"So that's why..." She whispered to herself.

"Yeah, that's why I'm still with her. That day at the restaurant, I wanted to fucking strangle her for talking to you like that."

She traced her hand down my shoulder and to my hand, warming it in her palms. "I know my mom's associated with them, but she won't let that happen to you. He needs her business. If he fucks with you, he fucks with capsule corporation and that is something a business man does not want to do."

I smiled down at her, she looked so cute when she said the f word.

A/N: While typing, I realized this chapter would be extremely long so I'm dividing it into 2-3 chapters. I'm almost done with the next one so remember to review and I'll get the next one up soon ::Insert smiley face::