They made a pact not to tell Eighteen about the episode, both keenly aware that to even hint about it would have disastrous and road-trip-ending consequences.

"But we should probably be more careful," Seventeen added, as he soldered another circuit board. It was the next morning, and Eighter was outside fixing their vehicles. It was time consuming, but ultimately an easy fix for everything that had been collateral damage from the trap. They'd met the perpetrator Dr. Frappe, a frail old man with a poof of white hair on his head, now living in Suno's guest bedroom. He had chatted weakly but contentedly to Marron, who he called Susie, and it had been almost impossible to be angry with someone so obviously senile. Actually, Seventeen had just been impressed he'd been physically able to set up as many traps as he had. "I think we've both been treating this like a vacation, and it's not really."

Marron made to protest, and then let out a noisy breath as she realized he spoke the truth.

"Yeah, a little, I guess," she admitted in a small voice. She handed Seventeen another piece of solder. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, you need your own gun, for one," Seventeen pronounced. Marron's jaw dropped and her face lit up like a sunrise.

"But I thought..."

Seventeen chuckled.

"I know I got mad back at Yamcha's, but I think you've learned your lesson. It's dangerous out here, and you need to be able to defend yourself if you have to. You just have to promise that you will only use it for self-defense if I'm not there, okay?"

Marron nodded so hard her pigtails bounced up and down.

"I promise," she said. Seventeen just hoped he wouldn't regret this decision.

"You'll probably have to leave it with me once we get home," he said. "I doubt your mom would be too thrilled with the idea."

Marron rolled her eyes in agreement. Seventeen flipped the calculator over and tested it.

"Good as new," he pronounced, replacing the backing and screwing it in place. "Hopefully Bulma will never find out we almost ruined all her stuff."

"I don't think she'll care," Marron said, pressing buttons on the now working calculator until it spelled 'hello' upside down.

"You're probably right." Seventeen stood and went to the door. "Hey, Eighter, how's it coming?"

He stepped outside and shut the door behind him, leaving Marron with the calculator and a slight headache. The cottage was quiet in a way Kame House never was. Aside from the near-constant noise the many occupants made shouting, cajoling, teasing or just chatting quietly, there was always the soft shush of waves on the shore in the background, even at night when everyone else was asleep. Out here the snow absorbed everything and made a silence so profound it felt like cotton balls were pressing on her ears.

Outside she heard Suno's voice, addressing Eighter and her uncle, and she got up and went to investigate.

"...so you'll understand if no one wants to help look for it," Suno was saying apologetically. Seventeen nodded.

"That's not a problem. Hey, squirt, do you have the dragon radar?"

Marron took it out and passed it to him, curious about the conversation she'd missed. He turned it on and zoomed out a bit.

"Yeah, looks like it isn't even in the village," he told Suno, "so no worries there. Besides, we're doing this for fun. No need to get anyone else involved."

"Still," Suno said, smiling and blushing a little, "it does feel a little rude to get you two mixed up in our business and then do nothing to help you. Are you sure there's nothing we can do?"

Seventeen gave a Suno a slow look Marron had no idea how to interpret. Then he smiled distantly, turning to look at Eighter.

"No, I think once this car's done we'll be on our way."

There was a charged moment during which Suno appeared to be waiting for something, and then, when whatever it was didn't happen, her face fell slightly, though she covered immediately by fluffing her apron and turning to Marron.

"Well!" she said brightly, smiling a little too widely. "At the very least I can send you on your way with something good to eat. I'll go make something."

And she bustled into the house.

Marron was completely at a loss. She looked at Eighter, who had been watching from underneath the car he was working on, but he seemed as confused as she was.

"What did you say to Suno?" Marron asked her uncle. He frowned at her as though she'd said something rude.

"I didn't say anything!" he said defensively. "Make sure you have all your stuff, bug, we're leaving soon."

And he opened the car door and got in, leaning down to work on the wiring. Marron rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration, lifting her hands to the sky and then dropping them as though appealing to the gods for help understanding her uncle, or maybe grownups in general. She followed Suno into the house, determined to help her with the cooking, since it was clear her uncle had done something, and she could at least try to make up for it if he wasn't going to.

It all slid into place once they had the dragon ball (buried in the snow a few miles north of town) and were eating the lunches Suno had made them. They were both delicious and packed with care and attention, but Seventeen's had hearts cut out of ham sitting on the rice, and Marron and he both stared at them blankly for a moment.

"Ohhhh, she likes you!" Marron exclaimed, pleased to have figured it out. Seventeen scowled at her and used his spoon to stir up the ham bits, burying the hearts deeply and taking a big bite. "Do you like her back?" she asked, though she was pretty sure the answer was no. Her uncle gave her a dark glare, made much less intimidating by his cheeks bulging from having taken such a huge bite. "Aww, why not?"

He swallowed.

"I just don't, okay?" he said defensively. But Marron wasn't about to let go of a game that promised to be as fun as this one did.

"But why? She's a good cook, and she's really pretty."

Her uncle sighed, stirring his ham and rice absently.

"I'm not..." he began, and Marron held her breath, not wanting to startle him out of whatever reflections he was currently having. After a moment, though, he came to himself, giving her an annoyed look. "I'm not discussing this with you."

He dug into his lunch with renewed vigor, and did not respond to any of Marron's entreaties. Eventually she exhausted herself on his silence and started pointedly ignoring him instead. He let this go on for a few hours, but by the time they had been traveling long enough to be back in a car he decided enough was enough.

They were driving down long mountain switchbacks, and on one of the straight-aways he swerved the car gently into the other lane and back, over and over again. When this elicited no response he made his turns more and more jerky until finally Marron laughed in spite of herself, and then immediately yelled at him.

"Stop making me laugh!"

"But I'm so good at it," he said, laughing. She had her arms crossed tightly over her chest, and she was attempting to glare, but the smile threatening to break through her mouth rather ruined the intended effect.

"I'm still mad at you," she said, but she didn't sound very mad.

"And why is that?"

"You never answered my question."

"Which question?"

She gave him a condescending look.

"Why don't you want a girlfriend?"

Seventeen sighed, giving himself until the next switch back to answer.

"What would I even do with a girlfriend?" he asked, mostly to stall. She shrugged.

"I don't know, aren't you just supposed to have one?"

Amused at this, he pretended to be offended.

"Oh, I'm supposed to, huh? So if I don't there's something wrong with me?"

She was clearly not as amused as himself.

"No, just… Isn't having a girlfriend or a boyfriend supposed to make you happy?"

His humor abruptly evaporated and he frowned.

"Falling in love does not automatically make you happy," he said sternly. As far as he could tell it was often rather the opposite. True, he hadn't ever been in love himself. But he had watched far too many people who were supposedly in love tear each other apart to ever buy in to the hype. Her own parents' marriage seemed to be an exception to the rule, bless them, but he hoped she took his words to heart anyway.

"How do you know? You said you'd never been in love."

Curse her and her impeccable memory. He had been considering letting her drive once they got to the bottom of the mountain, but that was definitely not happening now.

"That is one of the reasons why I haven't."

Her face puckered like she'd eaten a sour grape.

"Uncle, you're being confusing."

"It's complicated!"

"You always say that!"

He bit back something scathing and settled on,

"I'm a complicated person, bug. Both me and your mom are. Deal with it."

She huffed loudly in annoyance at the mention of her mother and turned away to look out the window, clearly dismissing him. For his part, he was happy to be dismissed. There was nothing about the topic of love he enjoyed discussing with anyone under any circumstances, but talking about it with someone so naively interested in his own love life in particular was nearly unbearable.

Once they got down out of the mountains, however, driving through long swathes of pine forest, he relented a bit.

"If you want to know why I'm not interested in Suno," he said, startling Marron out of a half doze, "she's just not my type. Okay?"

Marron sat up a little, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She sniffed a little and said,

"Sheesh, uncle, you could have just said that from the beginning."

He reached over and poked her hard in her ribs, prompting a squeal and retaliation in kind. The tickle war escalated, both parties laughing and threatening, until a ceasefire was called on account of a near miss with a tree.