Pan awoke to the strangeness of a nearly perfectly silent house. The only sounds were the subtle pops of its foundation and the birds fluttering outside of the window. It was already half-way through the morning; not only could she see the shorter shadows as evidence outside, but her body felt strangely relaxed and well-rested. Not too long ago, she would've been woken up at dawn by her hungry boy, who seemed to care more about getting an egregious amount of food into his stomach than he did his mother's rest. Recently, he'd become much more self-sufficient, but the banging noises he produced from the kitchen, loud video game sound effects, or the kiais from the yard still managed to wake his night owl mother much earlier than she would've preferred on the weekend.
She stretched hard, yawning loudly simply to break the silence. For the first few minutes of the day, she'd enjoyed having the house to herself, but now it was starting to get on her nerves. She'd moved to a modest-sized country house on a large plot of land on the outskirts of Satan City to get away from noise. Now everything was too quiet.
She pulled her phone from her nightstand. No notifications. She didn't expect he'd be back early. Trunks had said her son and his had made "fast friends", meaning they'd probably been having too much fun to have gone to sleep at a reasonable time.
Both of them are his, a little voice in her head spoke up to remind her. They're brothers.
The thought of them meeting each other before that little fact was known hadn't been in her wildest imagination before that day. Then again, she realized, waiting this long to tell Trunks hadn't exactly been in her plans either. This meeting was a good thing for everyone, she knew – but now thanks to both her intentional and unintentional procrastinations, coming clean was going to be even harder. The more time that passed, the more impossible it seemed. Her heart began beating intensely as anxiety flooded her from head to toe.
She pulled the sheet over her head as though she could hide from the world and closed her eyes tightly, feeling an unpleasant numbness in her chest as her stomach ached. Was that a physical manifestation of shame? Guilt? Probably all of it. She couldn't deny she deserved it. Nothing makes time slip through your fingers faster than having a child; she'd barely blinked and he'd changed from baby to a little man. She hadn't intended to keep him from Trunks for this long, but - here they were, years later and seeing each other for the first time, without even a clue of their real relationship.
This was all happening in the wrong order, and she had absolutely no one to blame but herself. Bulma might've shared some of the responsibility in the first year, but every moment afterwards was all on her.
She put it out of her mind temporarily, choosing to get up and make herself breakfast instead of staring at her ceiling and dwelling on it. She didn't want to interrupt the boys' time together, so she tried to distract herself with menial tasks. Bo was really good about calling and checking in normally, but as the morning went by, her phone remained silent. At one point, she tried calling, but there was no answer. She even tried calling Trunks - until she realized she'd deleted him from her phone a long time ago.
Finally, an hour or so after noon, her nerves got the better of her. She wanted to know what they were doing, what they were talking about, and if they got along as well as Trunks seemed to imply over the phone. Pan never thought she wouldn't be there when Trunks and Bo met; her curiosity was killing her. If she were honest with herself, she would admit fear was a factor as well. If Trunks was even half as angry with her as she was with herself, she was in trouble.
She put on an oversized sweater and took off towards the western sky, noting something in her subconscious was keeping her from getting there very fast. To the human eye, she was soaring, but she knew it was taking her much longer than it should. Trunks' ki had remained steadily quashed all day, which was the only thing bringing her undeserved comfort, but even just the idea of seeing his face in real life was enough to make her slow down even further.
Finally, the familiar business park came into view. Part of her never thought she'd see it again - and she'd been content with the idea. That was just denial of the inevitable though, she realized. This day had to happen eventually.
She landed in front of the main door to the yellow dome. They'd finally painted over the "Capsule" logo now that it was a full-time residence, but that was the only difference in it since the last time she'd been there. Otherwise, there it stood, just as it had always been since as far back as she could remember: an ever-present monument to what had once been hope, now a rotund monolith to regret.
She put her fist up to the door, pausing for a moment to take a deep breath before she knocked. She could feel the stare from the door's camera lens on her. He undoubtedly had seen her on his security as soon as she'd landed, and she wondered if he was stalling at opening the door. She couldn't blame him.
The door finally opened; an almost nervous-looking Trunks was on the other side. "Hi," he said simply. He didn't seem surprised to see her there.
She crossed her arms, resenting the emotion that was already building up inside of her at the very act of being this close, in sight of his blue eyes. She hated that she still felt angry with him despite the time that had passed, that she felt suddenly self-conscious with her appearance, and that just the idea of asking a simple question felt physically uncomfortable to her. Most of all, however, she resented how a small side of her actually felt happy to see him. He'd been a part of her life since she'd been a baby. She'd been stupid to think she was going to be able to build and maintain any sort of indifference to his presence.
"I was checking in on Bo," she said truthfully. "He's not answering his phone."
He smirked slightly. "I thought you might be by," he said, motioning for her to come inside and follow him. She entered, took off her shoes, and walked slightly behind him as he made his way down the hall to the residential quarters of the large building.
"I don't mind that he's been gone this long," she clarified as they approached his son's room, seeking to fill the silence and bring some sort of noise to the quiet hall.
"I really meant to send him home earlier," he explained, "and I would've if they'd been better about watching the time."
"It's just that - he hasn't even tried to call and I…"
He opened the door to Trunks' room so she could see inside. Trunks Jr. was on his bed, sprawled end-to-end on the mattress and snoring lightly. Bo was lying on the floor next to the bed. He'd pulled out a sleeping bag at some point, but instead of lying in or on it, was cuddling it like a body pillow. He was also dead asleep.
Despite the discomfort of the moment, Pan stifled a chortle and put her hand over her mouth to mute what noise she did make. "They look exhausted," she said, quietly noting several of the Mr. Satan posters on the bedroom wall, the alarm clock, the bedsheet set, and the action figures of several of his famous apprentices on a nearby shelf.
"They were making breakfast by the time I got up. I had a feeling their adrenaline was about to run out, so I made them take showers right after they ate. I think they finally crashed around eight this morning."
"They were up all night?" she asked.
"In 100Gs," he added.
She shook her head. "No wonder they passed out."
He chuckled and closed the door quietly, content to let them sleep for a little while longer. She didn't object, but part of that was because she knew how impossible it was to get Bo to wake up when he was that tired. He started walking back towards the kitchen. She debated on whether to just go home, wait for Bo for a little while, or break into the topic she knew was going to come up anyway. She was still uncomfortable, but now that the seal was broken, the situation didn't seem quite as impossible to deal with as it had a few minutes before.
"Did they say – how they met?" she asked curiously, following him into his kitchen. He briefly looked back at her as he turned off the burner on his stove. She had her back against the wall, her arms were still crossed in front of her, and her eyes seemed to be satisfied to be anywhere but on him. She couldn't have looked more tense.
"Trunks went out to train last night. I told him not to go too far, but – he did anyway," he said dryly. "Apparently he came close to transforming for the first time in your neck of the woods, and it caught Bo's attention."
Trunks poured two cups of hot water and handed her one of them. She could already smell the earthy scent of the green tea seeping into the air. He sat down and motioned at the chair across from his at the table and she paused for a moment, considering her options. She wasn't hiding her hesitation, but he didn't push or try to talk her into staying. He simply looked up at her, patiently waiting to continue their conversation when she sat down with her drink. She sighed and took her seat, cradling the warm cup in her cold hands until it was strong enough for her preference.
"So that's what I sensed," she said with a deep frown, "I felt the spike, but it was gone very quickly."
Trunks examined her expression. It had gotten darker, but he'd barely said anything to her yet. Where was his misstep? He was really hoping she wasn't going to express distaste over the boys' newfound friendship. They reminded him so much of himself and Goten as kids, and Trunks Jr. really, really needed that kind of friend right now.
"What's wrong?" he asked cautiously.
"Trunks is going to beat me to it by, like – 15 years. It took me forever and I had to work damn hard for it, and he's about to succeed before he even hits puberty," she whined jealously.
Trunks exhaled in relief. That was a typical "Pan" response. He could handle that. "Bo did it even earlier and he's even more diluted than you," he argued.
"No - that's different."
"How? Because he's yours?" he asked. His tone was light and casual; the question wasn't meant to have snark behind it. Still, she scoffed as though it had been a subtle slight against her.
"Yes," she simply answered, but your math is wrong. Bo's not nearly as diluted as I am.
"Well, he had a big reason to be angry. That probably helped," he said.
She cocked her head, looking questioningly at him. "Bad night?" she simply asked.
"Before Bo came, definitely," he answered succinctly.
Trunks sighed when he saw Pan's face, obviously expecting more clarification. It had been hard enough talking with Goten about it. Speaking with Pan seemed hopelessly difficult. But she probably didn't really know. She might've heard the general news from Goten, or from the media, who was tactless enough to plaster it all over television and in the papers the very next morning, but she hadn't come to the funeral, so he wasn't sure what she was aware of. He certainly hadn't kept up with her life due to everything going on in his own world. He'd never done a very good job of that though, even before everything had turned upside-down. It was a fair turnaround and understandable that she might be ignorant about his life as well.
"Trunks' mother died two years ago yesterday," he said.
Pan visibly recoiled in embarrassment, unprepared for the profound and deeply tragic answer. She wished she would've steered the subject differently, but it was too late. Her brow arched and she finally met his eyes for the first time, "I'd heard. I'm sorry," she said. The subtle shadow in her eyes softened a little. He smiled lightly in appreciation of her genuine remorse. "I didn't realize the date..."
"I wouldn't really expect anyone to remember it," he said.
"No wonder he was mad," she said. "That's worthy of some rage. Especially being a kid…"
Trunks felt some of his anxiety about their conversation melt away. She was being authentically sympathetic. He wasn't sure why he thought maybe she wouldn't be, but he'd miscalculated the empathy she would have despite the hard feelings that assuredly still existed.
A weighted silence spread between them for a moment as their tea cooled on the kitchen table. Pan's mind was a mess with how to continue the conversation. The fact that Bo was still asleep made her wonder if this wasn't the ideal time to break the news, but the words didn't want to come. She couldn't begin to guess as to whether it would be better to blurt it out, or explain herself first. Then again, was this really a good day for it being so close to such a heartbreaking anniversary?
Stop looking for reasons to put this off again, she scolded herself, feeling the self-resentment that had been there already grow even larger. Coward.
"It wasn't just the fact that she died," he started carefully. She remained quiet, but her brow arched again, encouraging him to continue. "It's that we thought the dragonballs would fix everything, but she just got sick again. When it came back – it was so fast, it caught us all by surprise. I think Trunks is angrier about that than anything. We thought she was fine – and then she was gone."
"The dragonballs didn't work?" she asked in some shock. "I've never – heard the full story." She knew another fast-moving illness had been the cause of his wife losing her life, but she'd always assumed it was a different illness than what had hit her the first time. The idea of the same disease coming back after a wish had never even occurred to her.
"They did – for a while. She was free of it for over three years, and then she just collapsed one day. Bra's running theory is that the dragon took the original tumor, but didn't cure the mutation that caused the cell growth in the first place. Maybe he didn't recognize it as being part of the disease since it's a natural occurrence. It's probably something we'll never have the answer to."
"Why didn't you summon the dragon again? Reword the wish?"
She said those words so casually, it left him to wonder if she knew anything about the skirmish that the original wish had caused between families. She had her own reasons for being angry with him, so maybe she just hadn't noticed that the Sons and the Briefs were no longer as close as they had been. His continued friendship with Goten might've helped disguise that fact too.
He almost asked her, but decided against it. In the end, it wouldn't have changed the outcome anyway. "I was going to, honestly. Goten even offered to help me gather them, but – she developed this belief that her second chance had come with a price tag, that she was at her natural end, and getting 'reset' didn't matter for fate. I think she was just tired and in pain, but – she asked me not to."
Trunks sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was done talking about it, especially to someone in the position in his life that Pan held. She was being kind and empathetic, but speaking so much about his late wife was hard, and talking about her with someone he'd had feelings for at one point was even more challenging.
'Getting 'reset' didn't matter for fate', his words echoed through her mind. She didn't understand that part of what he'd said at all, but she could hear the tightness in his voice already and didn't want to push for elaboration. Aside from when they cracked, she'd never heard of the dragonballs simply failing before, but he was right – they would probably never know exactly why they hadn't worked as intended.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to the funeral," she said sincerely, being at a loss for what else to say. Honestly looking back, she had been torn about whether to attend or not. She probably wouldn't have had the nerves to bring Bo, but she felt like she should've been there. Before she'd steeled herself enough to get the information from Goten about the event, she learned it was already over. She knew that would've been a good first step in mending things, but her anxiety over her own guilt had caused her to miss that opportunity, like many others that had come and gone in the years.
Trunks smiled softly, appreciating the sentiment anyway. "It was small and happened fast. I wanted to get it done before the location and time leaked to the press. Not many people were able to make it, but – thank you."
Her eyes dropped back to the table in front of her and her expression darkened once more. He wasn't sure how to read the constant fluctuation her features had held since she'd gotten there.
There was another silence that stretched between them for a while. Pan stared down at her cup, the pause giving her a moment to consider the timeline he'd laid out in her own context. While she hadn't been aware of some of the more heart-wrenching details of the story, or been aware of the surprising failure of a wish, she'd known the general events. It was at least part of what had driven her procrastination in telling him about Bo.
Pan had willingly lied to Trunks when he'd asked her if Bo was his. She'd made that choice, regretted it almost instantly, but had yet to resolve that mistake. She accepted her blame for it. He'd confronted her while he was literally on his honeymoon with his new bride and she couldn't grow the balls to do anything but carelessly throw out a half-composed and sloppy lie. Once Bo was born, she'd been intent on making things right, but wanted to adjust to motherhood for a few months first. Just as she was about ready, Bulma's confrontation had justified her own desire to keep things hidden, and motivated her to keep it secret for a while after that – at least until Trunks Jr. was safely born after what had been a tumultuous and risky pregnancy.
Afterward, things became even more muddled. Trunks Jr. had not only been given his father's name, but had been born looking like the spitting image of him – so much so that a few of the more deplorable news sites had been theorized rather loudly that Capsule was messing with clone technology. The rest of the news media couldn't get enough of the little carbon copy, and every time Pan looked down at Bo, she couldn't help but be concerned that Bo would be competing with his legitimate, half-brother, who was already being touted as the heir to the Briefs business and fortune. She didn't want that – for either child.
Time went on and Bo had gotten older. There were several times in his life that Pan had honestly considered telling Trunks, but then something happened. Pan had fallen in love again, this time with someone who was worthy of a real gamble. After a long and cautious dating relationship, they'd gotten married, and the last thing she wanted to do was disrupt that new dynamic by introducing Trunks into Bo's life, or have her new husband deal with trying to get used to step-fatherhood while simultaneously competing for Bo's attention. Just as she seemed to settle into marriage and find her stride in the new dynamic, Trunks' wife got sick for the first time. Pan didn't want to add the extra stress into the Briefs' lives at that point, and her, Bo, and Arán were doing well enough together.
After word spread of the "miraculous" cure, Trunks took a long sabbatical from work to focus on his family. It was all over the news. The moment he publicly asked for privacy, the media went into full stalking mode, reporting on every move and travel arrangement the family made. Again, Pan didn't want to add pressure to their situation, and the fact that the media was watching them like hungry hawks meant the public would likely find out about his other son the moment he did. Yet again, it didn't seem like an ideal time to reveal a huge secret about the world's wealthiest family.
Before Pan knew it, several years had gone by and just when she thought it was the right time, her marriage ran into an irreconcilable bump. She took some of the blame for that too, but that didn't mean she wasn't shaken, and dealing with this secret on top of everything else would've been overwhelming. Eventually, she made amicable peace with her ex and things had gotten better in her world, but then news of another illness spread and Pan once again found herself stepping back from the idea of revealing the truth any time soon. After Trunks buried his wife, Pan had come to realize it was time. But even though she'd run out of excuses, she had yet to gather her courage, and years once again slipped from her grasp.
The weight of her dishonesty had been feeling old and heavy for a long time already, but now that they'd all met each other, she recognized the pure insanity of keeping it to herself any longer. She knew her father's relationship with the Briefs had suffered for it. Gohan felt torn about hiding it too, but she had new promises cooked up every time he tried to confront her. Bo was old enough to process it, although he'd probably be angry with her for a little while. Trunks – well, he would be livid with her, but he was in a place in his life where finding out about another family member would be a good thing once the initial shock wore off.
She was content with the decision. The day was finally here and there was no getting around it. But now how to broach the subject…
"Can I ask you a question?" Trunks said, breaking through the long silence first. She nodded. "What's with 'Spark'?"
She smiled, much to his satisfaction. This was a good topic to change to. "It's a silly nickname I called Bo before I came up with a real name," she said. "His grandparents and I have tried to move past it, but - much to his dismay, it's still stuck."
He chuckled. "Where did it come from?"
She paused, taking a small sip of her tea as she thought about how to say it. "That's what he felt like to me at first," she explained. "I realized I was pregnant when I passed out from exhaustion one day and sensed his energy in my sleep. He was there in the background the whole time, but I didn't notice it for months."
"That must've been a surprise," he said.
"That's understating it," she said with a wry laugh. Just tell him now. Just spit it out. "Tru…"
"How…" they'd started at the same time.
"Sorry – you go," Trunks said.
"No – what were you going to say?" she insisted, her heart beating loudly in her chest.
"How did it go – for you? Was it a hard pregnancy?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean – if you want to share. You don't have to."
Her smile faded, her brow falling in concern. She knew why he was asking, but she wasn't sure what he wanted to hear. "To be honest – Bo sucked out every ounce of ki every time I tried to do anything. Flying, fighting, even making a small light ball, he ate it like he was a vacuum. But as long as I stayed calm, relaxed, and low-key, it wasn't bad. My mom says I got off easy. She's – actually pretty bitter about that considering what Goku and I did to her."
He nodded, his eyes falling from hers as he continued, "I know Saiyan pregnancies can be difficult. I was just curious how it would've been for you."
"I heard Trunks wasn't exactly an easy baby," she said sympathetically.
He looked up at her in mild surprise. He still couldn't get a firm grasp on what she knew and what she didn't. He was sure a lot of her information likely came from Goten though – and he might not have been the most reliably accurate source.
"No – he uh – gave us a lot of trouble. His mom didn't really want to go through that again, so… We knew he was going to be an only child early on," he explained. "Sometimes I get jealous of Goten and his full house, but – then I imagine going through all of that two more times and the envy fades quickly."
She sighed. There was all the confirmation she needed. It was almost as though the Kais themselves were guiding this fated conversation. He'd wanted more kids, and the answer to that desire was sleeping in his boxer shorts in the other room.
"I'm sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to drift right back to this topic, but it seemed like that was where his mind was stuck. It's just the day, he thought, attempting to cut himself a little slack. "I'm droning on again." He'd misunderstood her exasperated expression.
"No, that's not…" she shook her head emphatically. She pushed her mug to the side, forcing herself to look in his eyes. Knowing his real name would be a good first step. "'Bo' is actually a nickname too. But I couldn't bring myself to call him by his real one for more than a week, no matter how closely it fits the family brief." He looked at her quizzically, but didn't push an answer. "It's Bao."
He leaned back in his chair and laughed harder than the situation called for. "Pan…" he started, unsuccessfully trying to hide the pervasive smile on his lips. "How could you?"
"Naming your look-alike kid 'Trunks Jr.' makes for a very fragile glass house, Stone-Thrower," she said matter-of-factly. "Try and convince me he's happy about it."
He scratched his chin. "Fair. That was at my mother's insistence – and was his mother's attempt to appease her. He's experimented with five or six different nicknames, but none of them have stuck so far."
She laughed lightly, not doubting his story. She took a deep breath, resuming her slow crawl towards the resolution she was now content to end with. "I know he wasn't – planned for, but he's the best thing I've ever done. Bo's incredibly smart, strong, good at fighting and with technology…"
Like his father – just say it, Pan.
Trunks smiled, oblivious to where she was taking this, although she was being cryptic and sluggish about it. "That's something else the boys will have to talk about then. I'm sure he'll get the full tour of Capsule."
"What I'm trying to say…"
"Mom?" a sleepy voice asked from behind her.
Bo entered the kitchen with a big yawn, rubbing his eyes and looking at her as though her showing up was suspicious. He'd put on his clothes, but it was obvious he wasn't planning on staying awake for long. Her shoulders sank in frustration of the untimely interruption, but she went with the flow, convincing herself she would do it soon.
"Finally awake? Or are you awake at all?" she asked with a laugh, noting how exhausted he still looked.
"We were up late."
"So I heard! How do you feel?" she asked.
He twisted his lips and moved his arm around in a circle as though he was testing its range. "Sore!" he said in surprise. "I don't think I've ever been this sore."
"You got a good workout?"
"Yeah – Trunks is really strong and I can't always predict him like…" he stopped himself, afraid he was going to say something wrong.
"Like me?" she asked with a smile. "That's okay!" she reassured him. "You and I have been our only sparring partners for a while. I'm glad you got to work with someone who has a different style."
He grinned in relief, happy his mother wasn't jealous or angry. "He really does!" Bo said excitedly. His eyes grew wide as his sleepy head started remembering all some of the amazing things about the Briefs he'd wanted to share. "Mom! They have a gravity room! We were working out at like 100 times Earth's gravity! It's even better than wearing weights! You should see it!"
Pan chortled at her suddenly hyperactive son. "Oh, I've been in the gravity room."
Trunks was glad she wasn't looking in his direction when a line of pink crossed his cheeks. That was still a very potent memory, even considering the time that had passed. It was a long time before he could walk in and use it without his mind drifting back to that experience.
Bo was still going on about all the cool things in the house when Trunks Jr. walked in a moment later. He was tying up his awkwardly long hair into a messy ponytail, and Trunks was dismayed by how much of it was already falling loose around his face. Again, he swallowed the urge to force him to cut it. A few more weeks and it would look better – hopefully. The boy was staring weirdly at Pan the entire time, and Trunks was tempted to tell him to stop. It was starting to vicariously embarrass him.
Pan's eyes drifted off her son's and onto the other boy in the room. Her eyes grew slightly wider. She'd seen pictures of him on the news, but being a few feet away really brought to light just how much he resembled his father. He had the same lavender hair that had been Trunks' shade until he started spending his days in an office, the same crystal blue eyes that he shared with his brother, and that same semi-scowl that the sons of Vegeta were all cursed with. Bo wore it too unless he was actively smiling or laughing. Luckily, he was a very happy boy, so that tended to be more often than not.
"She's surprised how much you and your dad look alike," Bo said, answering the unspoken question regarding the look on Pan's face.
Her eyes snapped up at him, looking as though she were silently scolding him for something. "Sorry," Bo said in a whisper, biting his lip.
"Are you really Pan Satan?" the boy asked. Although he looked just like Trunks, his voice was higher-pitched and lacked the gravely roughness his father's voice sometimes held.
Trunks looked up at the interaction in confusion. "Pan Satan? Where did you get that?"
Pan smiled softly. "No one calls me that outside of the dojo – but yes." She looked towards Trunks to respond to his bewilderment. "Our marketing department thought that would remind people that the Satan dojos remained in the family."
He chuckled lightly. "At least they don't make you wear the belt."
She sighed in annoyance, as though he'd struck a nerve. "Only during tournament commercials…"
"Evidently, I need to start watching TV again," he said with a chortle.
"Bo said I could – tour the Satan City dojo with you sometime, and take some classes…"
"Trunks," his father interrupted, "don't be presumptuous. You have to ask first. And I thought we'd talked about taking classes when kids could get hurt."
Trunks Jr. frowned in disappointment, but Pan smiled, putting him at ease a little. "You guys can figure that part out between you, but we can show you around sometime. I noticed the old posters your wall. Maybe we can find you some new ones."
Trunks' face lit up and his father smiled warmly at Pan's offer. Surely, she was still angry with him, but she wasn't reflecting an ounce of it to his son. He was grateful for that.
Bo yawned again in the background, catching Pan's attention. "We need to get you home," she said. "I'll give you a break from chores, but you still have homework."
Bo's normally happy face fell. There was that perma-scowl. "Mom…" he protested. She shot him a look every parent and child knew very well, and his gripe died swiftly.
"Can – you come over again?" Trunks Jr. asked. He was technically asking Bo, but he was looking between Trunks and Pan, hoping they'd grant him permission.
Trunks shrugged lightly at his son and looked at Pan. She was the real decision-maker. She crossed her arms, realizing all three boys were now staring at her, awaiting a response. Of course, she had no room to say "no". She could see it in her son's eyes. Even if she tried to keep them apart, which would be a monstrous thing to try and do now, he was at the age when it would only invite rebellion.
"Why not?" she said casually. "But maybe you can keep a normal sleep schedule next time so I don't have to carry you home the next day."
Bo and Trunks Jr. smiled at each other happily. Pan finally managed to pull him out of the house shortly after, but only after a very slow progression to his shoes and the rest of his belongings. The boys already had a month's worth of plans in place by the time they finally made it outside to the lawn of the dome. The kids waved "goodbye" to each other and Trunks looked up to say the same to Pan, but although her eyes locked with his, she didn't acknowledge it.
Still angry, he realized.
Despite a surprisingly long and smooth conversation, she wasn't exactly ready to pretend what had happened ten years ago didn't. Not really surprising. He looked down at Trunks as the boy waved. His son's face was still bright and happy even as he watched his new friend fly away. He could deal with Pan hating him for the rest of his life as long as she remained as open-minded about their kids being friends as she had been so far. There were a lot of things Trunks would put up with just to see that smile on the face of his son once again.
. . .
Pan looked back subtly at the dome once they were in the air and underway. The same guilt that had permeated every inch of her body earlier that morning was still very present. She remained as angry at herself as she had been for the last ten years, but surprisingly, there was a small part of her that was also a little excited. Bo and Trunks Jr. really had made "fast friends" and Trunks seemed to have gotten to know him a little during their short visit too. Once the truth was out – he'd fit right in with the Briefs.
Her, on the other hand… Trunks was sure to feel more anger against her than he'd ever felt towards anyone and she deserved every ounce of it. Bo would be upset in his own way, too. She looked over at her son's face, still beaming with happiness despite the tiredness in his eyes. It would be worth it in the end.
Just give me a little while longer, Spark, she thought. I'll get it together soon, I promise.
Spin. Kick. Block. "Again." Spin. Kick. Block. "Again!" Spin. Kick. Block. Forward step. Right hook. "Okay!" Bo shouted, clutching his tender cheek. "That was dirty," he accused, although the laughter in his voice indicated that he wasn't as offended as he let on, "but I think you got it."
Trunks Jr. smiled proudly and bounced on his feet, preparing for another round. "I've been practicing the kata you taught me last Saturday all week. I'm getting better at switching between the sets quickly."
"The more you get used to shifting your weight, the faster and less predictable you'll be," Bo said. He was trying his best to mimic his mother's words. He was no master, but he knew enough to share some of the basics, and the other boy was excited about learning some of the "official" curriculum of the Satan dojos.
Trunks nodded in understanding and lowered his stance, coming in for Bo again. Despite their ages and relative inexperience, both of them were incredibly fast. Fists and feet flew like the wind, short *smacks* and *thumps* filling the air as various impacts were made, some of them landing successfully, but most of them being blocked by the near evenly-matched opponents.
Bo threw his right arm out in a punch, but it was blocked by Trunks, who grabbed the appendage while it was still extended and attempted to throw him to the ground. Unfortunately for Trunks, Bo had predicted the move and had managed to swing his body around in mid-air, landing on his feet. Trunks was momentarily stunned in surprise, so Bo spun on his heel, delivering a firm kick into Trunks' left side, sending him flying sideways into the wall, where he slid helplessly to the ground.
"Ouch," he groaned, wincing as he held a hand to his ribs. "How did you know I was going to do that? I thought I was fast enough."
"You need to stop thinking so hard about your big moves. It makes it too easy to see them coming," Bo said with a chuckle.
"Thinking?!" Trunks asked dubiously, weakly sitting up on the palms of his hands. Over-thinking was never something he'd never had issues with before. His dad was constantly telling him he was too brash, if anything, and needed to plan things out more carefully.
"Yeah, I…"
Bo was interrupted by the abrupt disengagement of the gravity system. The room suddenly felt a lot lighter, and the quick change was disorienting for a moment. The elder Trunks had bypassed the safety protocols on the outside of the room and opened the door. He entered with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, but the slight smile on his lips ruined the strict expression he was trying to keep. He was still elated that his son had found a friend, and seeing his gravity room occupied by two boys in black and lavender brought back a nostalgic warmth he couldn't keep from reflecting on his face.
He wanted to give them their space, but a large part of him also wished he could find an excuse to join them.
"You didn't answer the comm," he said, lightly scolding his son.
It was only then that both boys noticed the flashing red light and the steady beeping from the mechanism next to the door. Bo knew he got a free pass from trouble since he didn't realize what that was until it was pointed out to him, but he smiled apologetically anyway, mirroring Trunks Jr.'s face.
"Sorry," they said in unison.
The faint smile twitched even higher as he stifled a chuckle. They were so alike in some ways – it was no wonder they'd gotten along so quickly. "I was just letting you know it was time for lunch – and a water break. You've been in here all morning," Trunks said. He was prepared for an argument. His son tended to get too singularly-focused when he was working towards a goal, and hated losing momentum. It was a trait he'd shared when he was younger, having often realized he was accidently pulling all-nighters only when the chirping birds alerted him to the coming sunrise.
"We've been drinking!" his son protested.
"Okay, but we have a guest that I'm responsible for, and I need to make sure you're getting enough. Aren't you hungry by now anyway?"
Trunks Jr. looked at Bo who put his hand behind his head. "Sorta," Bo admitted sheepishly. "I just grabbed something quick on my way out this morning."
The other boy frowned in disappointment and conceded to the break, even knowing it would disrupt the progress they'd been making. It would take time to warm up again, and time to remember where they'd left off. Trunks could see the complaint in his eyes, but he only grabbed a towel and passed one to Bo without further groaning. Trunks was glad to see his son hold back from arguing more. The boy would have pushed back a little while ago, but his disposition had recently started changing, and it was no mystery as to why.
"So – what were you working on?" he asked, looking around at the curiously undamaged and scorch-free room. Vegeta usually had that place in pieces by lunch and had to take a break just to let the auto repair system catch up with him. He and Goten could do some real damage to it while they were kids, too.
"Bo's been teaching me new combinations and blocks – and combinations leading out of blocks so I can recover faster."
"Useful," Trunks said, genuinely grateful to know Trunks Jr. was getting a little education out of the day instead of just trying to power up more.
"Trunks is going to help me with my rapid ki-based attacks later," Bo said, a line of blush appearing over his nose. "I'm still kinda slow."
Trunks was taken aback by that admission. It didn't seem like Pan to let that kind of training slip. "What do you mean?" he asked, wondering if he was misunderstanding.
"I can form them quickly, and they're always powerful enough, but I can't fire them off fast. It's like they get stuck for a second." Bo raised his hand and showed him. Sure enough, the energy formed, then half a beat later, it finally left his hand. To the average eye, there was no delay at all, but to an opponent of the caliber Trunks had fought when he was that age, it was enough to gain an advantage against him.
"Huh," he said curiously. "What does Pan say?"
"She knows I need to get better at it, but we haven't been able to train at home in a while since she's so busy with the school – and when we spar at the dojo, we don't use ki. I've gotten a lot faster with practice on my own, but I don't think she realizes I'm still this slow," he said.
Trunks scratched his head and looked at his son. "Yeah – I know what it's like to get too busy with work and let things slip by. Don't I Trunks?"
His son looked up at him with mild surprise. He wasn't expecting him to admit that so casually, but it was true. For the last two years, every time his father felt a little down, he'd bury himself in work and stay in the office even later. That had happened a lot. Trunks Jr. smiled hesitantly and nodded.
Trunks closed the room door, but left the gravity down. He took off his t-shirt and positioned himself deeper within the room so he'd be a modest distance from Bo. "Give it a try now." Bo looked uneasily back and forth between both of the Briefs. "Don't worry, I'll dodge."
Bo did as instructed. The first spray of ki balls left his hand purposefully slow so he could give Trunks a little bit of a warning, but he quickly realized that it was unnecessary. Trunks blurred casually out of the way of each volley much more quickly than Bo could release them. There really was just a half a beat of time between when the blast would form and when he was able to propel it away. It was a unique problem, and it could very easily be the difference between life and death in a real fight. Which, he hoped, neither of these kids would ever have to see.
"Okay," he put his hand up. Bo stopped. "You're thinking too much about each attack. That's my guess, anyway."
"That's what you said about me," Trunks Jr. said with a chuckle.
"But that's because…" Bo trailed off, deciding the explanation should wait. He looked down at his hands quizzically. "I mean - I'm focusing on channeling my power."
"Bo, when did you first start learning how to focus your ki into a ball?" Trunks asked.
Bo shook his head. "I don't even remember. I think my mom started teaching me as soon as I could understand what she was saying."
"Right – so that part should be purely instinctive to you now – like muscle memory. You shouldn't have to think about it."
"But how…?"
"Do you think about every punch you throw?" Trunks asked.
Bo furrowed his brow in confusion, but humored the question. "I plan where and how hard I punch."
"Right, but do you think, 'now I'm going to make a fist and extend my arm,' or do you just do it?"
Bo's eyes immediately opened wide in realization. "Oh, I understand! But how do I do that with ki when you have to channel it?"
Trunks scratched the back of his head. "Yeah – it's probably easier said than done. I'm sure Pan would be better at explaining it than I would," he began, taking a deep breath as he elaborated. "Ki attacks use energy, just like you use for any ki discharges. You've been using gathered ki in one way or another for a long time now, whether for physical attacks, blasts, or even just flying and powering up; your body knows what to do with that energy by now. Strategize on power and aiming, like you do for normal punches, but just trust that your body will focus the energy in the way you need it to, like it does for punches, blocks and kicks. Obviously, big attacks will still take concentration and some time to channel, but the little ones should be ready to go almost as soon as you make up your mind to use them, even if you're using several of them in quick succession."
Bo nodded as though he understood and took a deep breath. He extended his hand and sent another round of energy balls to the opposite side of the room. That bunch was noticeably faster, but there was still a delay. Bo smiled softly. "I think I know what you mean now, but I'm still slow."
"It'll come with practice. Your mom might have some good advice for building on it too," Trunks said. "Try it on me again," he said with a wave of his arm.
Bo obeyed and gave Trunks a moment to get into a good place again. Once more, his first shot was a little delayed, but as Trunks dodged, he continued to throw new blasts at his disappearing and reappearing form. The more he threw, the faster they came, and the brighter his smile got.
Trunks phased in and out, giving Bo just enough of a line of sight to get a new attack out. The boy's face was lit up. There was some noticeable improvement now, although he still needed practice.
He's getting it, he mused, enjoying the game and the light exercise it was providing. I'll throw him a curveball and sneak up behind him. See if he has his mother's speed.
Trunks blurred out of vision one moment. The next, he was behind Bo, feeling the heat of a ki blast barely brush his ribs as he managed to bend just slightly out of its path. Bo had anticipated his little trick, and had turned to release the ball before Trunks had even appeared behind him. The problem was, Bo had expected him to appear at the same distance he'd been, but Trunks had phased in directly at his back. The result would've been Trunks taking a close-range blast directly to the chest, if he hadn't moved just in time.
"I'm sorry!" Bo said, holding his hand to his mouth when he realized he'd nearly hit him at a point-blank distance. Although it wouldn't have done any significant damage since Trunks was powered up, it still would've hurt, and would've done a lot more than simply singeing the hairs on his arm. The young Saiyan was mortified. The last thing he wanted was to wear out his welcome so quickly.
Trunks looked down at his side for damage. If he'd been wearing his shirt, it be ruined, but he'd managed to prevent it from hitting anywhere on his torso. "How did you know I was going to do that?"
"I sensed it," he quickly answered.
"Bullsh… Uh – no, I don't think so," Trunks said with skepticism. "You were ready for me."
"Instinct, I guess," Bo elaborated cautiously. He was fine telling Trunks Jr., but he wasn't entirely sure the older Trunks would react as well to knowing about his unique abilities. Kids always thought the small party tricks he performed for them were cool, but adults tended to become too suspicious and wary of his skills if he wasn't careful.
"Some instinct! You get your speed up a little with those ki attacks and you're going to be a force," he said. "I'm glad you weren't transformed. Between the speed and power bump - that would've sucked."
More pink appeared over Bo's face, but he smiled proudly.
"Okay well – that's definitely enough until after lunch. We can practice more later," Trunks said, putting his shirt back on and opening the door so he could usher the kids out of the stuffy room.
Trunks set them up outside on the green-carpeted deck on the second story. He didn't want his kitchen smelling of four-hour-old, pre-teenage sweat, and this would give them some fresh air. The boys didn't mind. It was a really nice day, and the grills they had going were almost keeping up with their appetite. He was pleased with himself for thinking of kababs. They were easy to make, and it was a lot easier to trick them into eating vegetables if they were flavored with charred meat. They seemed to go over well too.
They were all sitting at a patio table. Trunks Jr. was still regaling his father with some of the lessons he'd learned that morning, but Bo's attention was mostly fixated on the skyline and looking around at the bustle and traffic that was around them. There were a lot of tall buildings surrounding the yellow dome, and many of them had the Capsule "CC" logo adorning the tops.
"Are all of these Capsule Corp buildings?" he asked in awe.
"Yeah," Trunks Jr. answered with a full mouth, taking another bite off his skewer. "Dad owns a couple of blocks."
"Oh – right. You'd never been in Metro West before last week, right?" Trunks asked.
"No," Bo confirmed. "I'm in Satan City a lot, but my mom doesn't like me exploring other big cities very much. Metro West is one of the her least favorite, so she doesn't come often, and I've never been out with her."
"Why?" Trunks Jr. asked.
Bo shrugged. She never gave him a good excuse for it verbally, but her thoughts always trended towards the negative whenever the location came up. She seemed irritated when she thought too much about the city, but when she started thinking ofthe reason behind those feelings, she would always shut the thoughts down.
"I think she's afraid I'm going to fly or transform in front of a bunch of people or something. It never really made much sense to me, but – I guess she's okay with it now, since she let me come over today."
Trunks sighed quietly. He had a pretty good idea of why Pan didn't like Metro West. There were likely sour memories invoked by the familiar flight path of her once frequent commutes between their distant cities. The fact that Capsule now owned the major business center and had their logo on several of the tallest buildings definitely didn't help. For her, it was probably just as hard to enter Metro limits without thinking of the Briefs as it was to go to Satan City without thinking of Hercule.
"Well, you're getting old enough for some independence," Trunks said, keeping his theory to himself. "Maybe that rule was meant for when you were still little. Time – can really sneak by us adults sometimes."
"Maybe," Bo replied doubtfully.
Trunks went back to his food, but stared at the boy from the corner of his eye. He had some questions, but he hesitated to voice them. He didn't want it to get back to Pan that he was prodding, but curiosity was slowly winning over subtlety. "So – how have you and your mom been? I hadn't seen her for a long time."
Bo shrugged again. "Fine," he said. "Busy with the dojo."
"Right…." Trunks replied, taking another bite of his food. Just don't be too specific and he probably won't notice you're prying. "So, it's just you and your mom? Where are you living?"
"We have a small house and some land outside of Satan City," he answered. "And yeah, it's just me and Mom."
No boyfriends or partners then? He instantly reprimanded himself for allowing his thoughts to quickly wander down that path. That's the last thing you should be asking about. It stopped being your business years ago.
Bo raised a curious eyebrow. Trunks was angry with himself for merely thinking of asking the question, but he didn't see anything wrong with it.
"Uh – my mom was married, for a while," he said, elaborating even though Trunks' follow-up question had been silent, "but they're divorced now."
That seemed to get Trunks' attention. He put his skewer down on his plate and wiped his mouth and hands with a napkin as he carefully thought of his response. "Right. I remember hearing about that. I was – surprised," he said honestly. His life had been busy enough during those years without trying to keep up with the events in the lives of others, but that particular update had managed to wedge itself in his brain when Goten had brought it up in conversation. He'd wondered more than once what kind of man had managed to pin her down, and what terrible thing he'd done to fuck it up once he had her.
Couldn't have been worse than what I did. "What was he like?" Trunks asked, allowing his curiosity this one indulgence.
Bo debated on what to say. He liked Arán, but even though she never admitted it to him, he knew exactly how his mother felt during the end of their marriage and it was difficult for him to feign ignorance on the subject. He'd put himself in a difficult position thanks to his gift. He was still working on figuring out how to avoid that in the future.
"Nice. We still hang out occasionally and he sends me stuff on my birthday," Bo said. "He just – couldn't keep up with my mom." It was an oversimplification, but he wasn't sure Pan would appreciate him sharing what he really knew.
Trunks nodded in deeper understanding than Bo would ever know. Pan's energy had been unfaltering and, at times, nearly chaotic during their time together. Hell, she could be a handful when she was younger too. He could barely keep up with her; a normal person wouldn't stand much of a chance. He took another bite of food, considering what Bo had revealed. He was glad she'd had someone, at least for a while, but those answers only came with additional questions.
"He wasn't my father," Bo said, answering a question that hadn't been asked. Trunks looked up at him in surprise, but his expression softened again quickly. It was a coincidence, but it was close to the current topic, so he didn't suspect too much from it. "My mom doesn't like to talk about that, so I don't know anything about him. But Aràn definitely wasn't him."
She doesn't like to think about him either, Bo mentally added in disappointment. Pan was aware of the extra ability Bo had been born with. Whenever the subject of his father came up, or other topics she kept close to her chest, she silenced the narrative voice in her head so he wouldn't be able to read her. Luckily for her, he couldn't see images, so blocking him out was often as simple as thinking of song lyrics. He often got in trouble for "poking around in her head without her permission", as she put it – but that didn't stop him from occasionally trying.
Trunks narrowed his eyes, holding back another question. Bo realized he had come a little too close to suspicion with the last round, so he stayed quiet, allowing Trunks to choose whether or not to finally say it out loud. "Aràn uh – wasn't a professor, was he?"
Bo was puzzled. That was an odd question to ask. "A professor? No – he was an instructor at the dojo with Mom."
Trunks seemed relieved by that answer, although Bo wasn't exactly sure why.
"Yeah, she's single now though," Bo said, trying a little too hard to seem casual about stating that little factoid. "I don't think she's been on a date since I was - like, nine maybe? So - yeah, super single."
Bo silently nudged Trunks Jr. in the ribs, a move that confused the other boy and didn't go unnoticed by the man sitting across from them either. The action and its proximity to their topic was already smelling a little fishy to him, but when he saw a light turn on in his son's eyes and mischievous smile appear on Bo's mouth when the two boys shared a look, it all but confirmed it.
"She's so busy, it's hard to meet people too, so – maybe the next one would have to be someone she already knows," Bo said, looking down at his plate. "And – she needs someone more like her. On her level, I mean."
It might've been a long time since he was ten years old, but Trunks still understood how the brain worked at that age. He winced in embarrassment and laughed uneasily, scratching the back of his head as he debated on how to respond to it.
"Uh…" he started, "I don't think your mom would appreciate you advertising her like that," he said gently with a raised eyebrow, being subtle enough to address the issue without sounding as though he was trying to reprimand him for the perfectly transparent effort.
Bo blushed lightly. "I didn't mean to be weird, I just…"
"You were just pointing out the fact that your mom wasn't dating anybody," Trunk Jr. argued suddenly, being overdramatic about his words, which he did when he was trying to be sneaky about something and didn't realize that was the opposite of a good strategy. "And that she would probably be better off with someone who's more like her. I don't see anything weird about that."
"Trunks…" Trunks said in a somewhat scolding tone. The subtle, amused smile on his face betrayed its intention, however. It was difficult to feel too upset over such a sloppy conspiracy, but he still felt he needed to discourage the effort.
"What?" his son asked defensively, getting up from the table to get more food.
Trunks shook his head and chuckled, deciding ultimately to drop the argument and allow the boys to think they were getting away with it. Ten-year-olds who had as much prepubescent energy as they did likely didn't really understand the meaning of "subtlety," but they could've put a little more effort into it.
Somehow, I doubt this'll be their last try, but I'll let Pan decide whether or not to tell them how much she hates me, he thought.
He watched his son as he put more food on his plate, surprised by his participation in this albeit brief and impromptu scheme. He didn't know if he would be open to the idea of his father ever seeing someone else. If he was, Trunks thought for sure it would be years before he'd be okay with it. He'd actually expected it to be a point of contention in the future, if he ever felt like dating again, but Trunks Jr.'s sudden, poorly-hidden enthusiasm contradicted that prediction.
He's coming into his own, he realized. This won't be the last time he'll surprise you.
Then again, the fact that Pan was his hero's granddaughter probably helped provide a bit of a positive bias in his mind. That, and the fact that it would make his new best friend his brother, was probably more valuable to him than any hesitation he would have regarding his father moving on. He doubted his son would feel the same way about any other prospect so quickly.
The boys dropped the issue and moved on to other things, so Trunks did too, although the thought still remained, swimming in the back of his head. It probably made so much sense in their eyes. How simple the world seemed when you were ten. Fights weren't a big deal, grudges weren't held for more than a week, hurt feelings could be fixed with simple apologies. Adulthood was – complicated. The relationships were deeper and more meaningful, but the good ones were rare - and just that much harder to fix when things went wrong.
I really need to talk to her about what happened on the butte, he thought regretfully. As scary as that is, one awkward conversation over tea isn't going to cut it.
Bo was trying his best to listen to Trunks Jr. talk about some movie he'd recently seen, but he kept peaking in on his father's thoughts. He knew he shouldn't, but he'd heard just a little and couldn't ignore it. Why would his mom hate Trunks? He'd been really cool and kind to him so far. And why was he hesitant to talk to her if their families were old friends? Trunks' inner monologue wasn't answering the right questions, and he knew getting the information from his mother was going to be even harder; she was getting better at knowing when he was listening in.
Bo's phone rang, interrupting Trunks Jr.'s one-way conversation. It was Pan calling, as though her ears were burning. Bo knew she'd probably check on him after a while, but frowned when her call came in so early. It was barely the afternoon.
"Hello?"
"Hey Spark," Pan greeted. "You getting tired yet?"
"Uh – not really," he answered honestly. "Trunks made us stop for food and water, so we're eating lunch."
"Good," she said. "The gravity room can make you sweat a lot more than you normally would, so – you should definitely be drinking a lot."
"Is that Pan?" Trunks asked. Bo nodded. "Ask her if you can stay until dinner. I thought we'd practice those rapid attacks a little more."
Trunks Jr.'s face lit up in surprise. "You're going to train with us?"
"Yeah, why not?" he asked. "It's Saturday, so I can take the afternoon off. Maybe we can go two against one – really test Bo's speed."
His son grinned wildly and fist pumped the air. Trunks chuckled at the overreaction briefly, but then immediately felt a twinge of guilt. Had it been that long since they'd trained together? He'd offered during the anniversary, but his son was mourning and was not in the mood for company. Other than that, he couldn't remember the last time it had happened. Meaning, it was likely over a year ago. Trunks was suddenly very glad his son still wanted to spend time with him – and that the events of the past few years hadn't caused him to miss that precious window altogether.
"Mom, Trunks wants to know if…"
"I - I heard," she said with a sigh. "That's fine. So - you're getting along with the big Trunks too?" she asked.
"Uh huh," Bo said happily. "He showed me a trick for improving my rapid attacks and we're going to practice it."
"That – that's great," she said, cursing herself for the transparency in her disappointed voice. She was really hoping to train him on that herself. She just hadn't had the time. This is good. They're bonding, she told herself.
"Mom?" he asked. "You're still okay with Trunks Jr. coming to our house next week, right?"
"Sure!" she answered. It was actually going to be a relief to have them at her place for once. At least she didn't have to wonder what was being said, or torture herself with the idea of whether or not Trunks was finally seeing the resemblance between him and Bo that others, like her father, had noticed almost instantly.
"And we're going to show him the dojo?"
"Yeah – if you want to. We can drop by during the last classes of the day and then take him around."
"Mom?"
Pan sighed when he fell silent for a moment, knowing there was something at the tip of his tongue that he was reticent to spill. "What are you really trying to ask?" she said. Sometimes I can read your mind, too, she thought.
"Can Trunks come too? His dad – I mean. Can he come to the dojo with us?"
Trunks nearly choked on his water in the background. He'd actually been planning on a quiet afternoon that day and Bo hadn't even asked him – and he was absolutely sure Pan didn't want to have to entertain his ass for an entire afternoon. It was a miracle they'd managed to have tea together.
"Uh – I mean, he's already been there," she said. Bo could hear her reluctancy in her voice with the very thought of him tagging along. "Did he ask? Or – does he want to?" she asked dubiously.
Trunks nearly interrupted him to tell him "no thanks", but there was a hopeful look in Bo's eyes that was as irritatingly effective as his son's when it came to emotional manipulation. The smile of excitement was still on Trunks Jr.'s face from earlier, but he knew he'd want him to come along too.
This will give you a chance to talk to her, he told himself. He chose to remain quiet, and let Pan make the decision on whether or not she wanted him there.
"I haven't asked yet," Bo said truthfully.
Pan sighed again, knowing Trunks probably heard the whole conversation anyway. This put her in a tough position. Maybe this will give me a chance to talk to him, she thought. Although she couldn't imagine breaking the news in the middle of a dojo tour, it was better than continuing to procrastinate, and maybe they'd get some time afterward that would present the opportunity.
"Alright," she said. "I mean – if he wants to. It really hasn't changed since the last time he saw it and he's not exactly a fan of Grandpa Satan, but..."
Bo smiled in self-satisfaction. "Thanks Mom!"
"Okay – well, don't stay out too late. You still have that project for school to work on."
"I know," he said. "I'll be home after dinner. Love you!"
"Love you t…" the beep on the other end interrupted her.
She put her phone back on the charger in her kitchen and leaned heavily against the counter. This kid… she thought dryly. It wasn't his fault though. He had no idea how hard he was making this for her. It was for the better, or so she kept telling herself.
Videl smiled politely at the young woman sitting across from her, checking her watch once again. Taani mirrored the small gesture and checked her phone. Pan was late. Very late. Taani and Videl had enjoyed some casual conversations in the past, but neither knew much about the other, and cliché ice-breakers could only go so far when their common thread couldn't be bothered to show up to her own meeting. To make matters worse, Pan was bringing the materials for the project she'd requested help with, so they couldn't even start working without her.
Taani sighed, tapping her nails on the classroom desk she was sharing with her friend's mother in the quiet dojo. There were better ways to spend a Friday night – and if either of them brought up the weather again, it was going to drive them mutually crazy. She picked up her phone once more, this time dialing Pan's number. It went straight to voicemail.
"Oh – Pan," Taani said quietly. "I swear this is the last time I work for free."
Videl chuckled. "Does she talk you into helping with these little craft projects very often?"
"From time-to-time," Taani responded. "It's kind of the only time we get to catch up anymore."
Videl twisted her lips. "I know – she's been very busy lately. I've recommended that she outsource this task before. There are companies that will do this for her, but…"
"But my calligraphy 'is the best mix of legible and fancy for the kids'," she interrupted sarcastically, obviously reciting a line Pan had repeated to her a few times.
"It's my bow-making skills with ribbon," Videl said with a laugh. "Apparently, no one can beat them."
Taani smiled. "I'm going to start asking for a paycheck."
"Me too."
The two women were silent for a moment. Taani took off her coat and put her feet up on Pan's desk, making herself comfortable. "I don't really mind it usually," she continued after a few moments of quiet. "Gives me a chance to do something for the cute, little ones."
"Do you have kids of your own?" Videl asked, searching her memory for what Pan had told her about her college friend. Their friendship had spanned over a decade at this point, but Videl hadn't really learned much about the other woman. She just knew she'd been there for Pan during some very hard moments in her life. For that reason alone, she liked her.
Taani chuckled and brushed back some of her curly hair from her face. "No, I like them, it just never seemed to work out for us to have our own – and we decided we were okay with that."
"Well, a lot of people your age are opting out," Videl said. "I loved having a family, but – after having my second one later in life, I can see the appeal of living on your own schedule."
"Thank you!" she said emphatically as though Videl had been one of the rare people to see her side. "Besides, we like to travel, and since not everyone can do that at supersonic speeds under their own power, it takes time and money, even when it's just the two of us."
Videl raised an eyebrow. "How much – has she told you?"
"A lot," Taani said. "I honestly can't keep track of everything that girl has going on. Aliens, superpowers, baby drama… She's better than anything on TV."
Videl sighed. Taani was a close friend, sure, but those were a lot of family secrets she just summarized. She'd never told anyone outside of her father – but then again, with Gohan's sloppy cover stories, most of them had figured out at least part of the truth anyway.
"She's never been good at keeping secrets."
Taani paused, tapping her nails a few more times on the arms of her chair before continuing. "Well, she's been exceptionally good at keeping one, at least."
"Right…." Videl said, "the one I'd prefer she'd be honest about."
"I can't say I haven't tried to talk her into it," Taani said.
"Really?" Videl asked in surprise, leaning forward in her chair. "You too?" She was relieved to hear one of her daughter's closest friends was offering her constructive advice, and wasn't encouraging Pan's procrastination on this one extremely important task.
"Several times. Bo deserves to know it, and - I know she's good on money, but it's not like he couldn't provide support."
Videl smiled. "He would give it in a heartbeat, if she'd let him. Hell, he would give it to her, even if Bo wasn't his. If she asked, he wouldn't hesitate. But – she has a hard time admitting she needs help."
"Except when it comes to arts and crafts," Taani said dryly, earning a quiet laugh from the other woman. She paused again, and Videl could read the reticence on her face before she asked the question swimming in her thoughts. "The only information I know about Trunks is what I've heard on the news, or the little that Pan's shared. Is he…?"
"He's a good person," Videl cut in without hesitation, reading what she was really asking through her expression. Despite her own frustration with him, which had waned over the years anyway, that was never really in question.
"Pan said you've known him for a while?"
She nodded. "He was attached at the hip to my brother-in-law when they were kids, so he was part of the package deal when I started dating my husband. We shared a few of our own adventures as a result of it," she said with an expression of nostalgic fondness over her words. She missed those days. "I know he ripped the heart out of her chest and she's still furious over it, but… It's such a mess, and the amount of time that's passed has only made it worse." Videl was aware she was venting. Gohan had already heard it all a hundred times over. It was nice to be able to say it to a fresh face and not have to worry about breaking her daughter's trust.
"I can't believe she's managed to stall this long," Taani agreed. "She's done nothing but make it harder on herself."
"Exactly. I - I just don't know what they were thinking in the first place," she complained. "I love my grandson, but I wish Trunks would've found some other way to distract himself during his breakup."
Taani smiled softly. Videl could see a counterpoint in her eyes, but didn't have to wonder about the expression's mysterious meaning for long; Taani often wore her thoughts on her sleeve. "Pan didn't share too many of the dirty details with me, but for what it's worth, I think it ran a little deeper than that," she said. Videl looked up at her questioningly, so she elaborated. "She told me later he'd made plans to tell the family, but things turned ass-upwards before they could go through with it. I think – I think he was trying to make it clear that she wasn't just a side quest to his real life."
Videl reviewed what the younger woman had just said carefully. Pan hadn't shared a lot of details with her either; this was new information. "Did you ever believe he had real feelings for her?" she asked, knowing Taani probably saw a side of this story she was never a witness to.
"Yes," she answered directly. Videl couldn't see a hint of doubtfulness in her eyes or in her body language. "If you would've seen the way he looked at her when she brought him to the bar that first night… Well - you're married. I'm sure you know that look."
Videl smiled, remembering when a certain warm pair of brown eyes had focused on her like that for the first time. Bulma had once said she saw the same thing in her son's eyes when he looked at Pan. Despite the sour memory of Bulma's first visit with Bo, that part of it had stuck in her mind for years. Videl always thought that was likely a poorly aimed effort at supplying an ounce of comfort to Pan, and was meant to be nothing more than a superficial salve. Videl hadn't believed a word of it at the time.
"That might've been curiosity more than anything – maybe the 'forbidden fruit' effect, since it was such a big gamble," she said, justifying the doubt still in her mind.
Taani shook her head. "You said it yourself; you have a long family history. He wouldn't have placed that bet unless he was smitten. He seems smarter than that."
Videl sighed through her nose. A thoughtful "hmm" was her only reply as she considered Taani's words. She wished they would've had this conversation years ago. Maybe it would've put her at more ease, or – maybe it would've made the tumultuous ending just that much harder to watch from the sidelines.
She was so ready to write the whole relationship up to Saiyan over-excitement, curiosity, and bad decision making on Trunks' part. She never really allowed herself to consider that the feelings she knew her daughter felt for him were reciprocated at some point.
"Anyway," Taani said with a deep breath, standing up from her seat and grabbing her coat. "I'm not going to stop telling her what to do with her life, whether she likes it or not. But for tonight – I think I give up."
"I'm sorry," Videl said with an understanding nod, feeling the need to apologize for her daughter's tardiness. She was almost ready to leave too.
Taani smiled and shrugged. "Pan and I have a lot of years together. This isn't the first time," she said lightheartedly. "But I told her she owed me a battle of wine for this – now she owes me dinner."
Videl chuckled. "Don't go too easy on her. Get a few drinks – and dessert."
"I won't," she said with a laugh. "It was nice getting to talk with you."
"It really was," Videl agreed sincerely.
The women said their goodbyes and Videl sat in silence for a few minutes, looking around the empty room as she considered what to do. She wished she shared Gohan's sensitivity, so she could at least determine if Pan was on her way, or if she was still across town at her home. If she was any other person in the world, she'd be worried by now, but she knew there was nothing really wrong. It was just Pan's normal lack of time-keeping, even though this seemed like an exceptionally bad episode of it.
Twenty minutes went by. Videl had nearly given up herself when she finally heard the doors of the dojo open and shut again. Pan practically ran into the room, carrying a box of the supplies she'd brought. Her shoulders sank when she saw her mother sitting alone.
"Shit," she mumbled quietly, putting the box down on the desk and plopping down in the seat across from her mother before speaking. "I'm sorry," she said authentically, regret echoing through every feature on her face.
Videl smiled sympathetically, unable to help herself from softening to her daughter's sad face even though she'd been unhappy with her too. "Taani gave up a little while ago."
Pan groaned and ran a hand through her short hair. "I don't blame her. I just saw the wall of messages from her when I landed."
"Is everything okay?" Videl asked. "This is abnormally late, even for you."
Pan turned her focus to the box, taking out items slowly and putting them on the desk. Her eyes wouldn't meet her mother's for a moment while she considered her answer. Videl found that extremely telling.
"Yeah, everything's fine," she answered casually after an abnormally long silence. "I just fell asleep on my couch accidentally and my phone was too quiet to wake me up. I guess I didn't sleep well last night."
Videl twisted her lips and tilted her head. Pan could see the interrogation coming a mile away. Her mother had gotten back into some annoying habits since she'd been working with the police force again. It seemed "the Great Detective" was back.
"Really, it's fine. I'm sorry," she reiterated with a laugh. "So, did you and Taani get much of a chance to talk? I know it's been a while since you've seen her. It's been a while since I've seen her with the craziness going on here."
Videl recognized a misdirect when she saw one, but she went with it anyway. The night was still young. "Yeah, we did. I forgot how much I liked her," she said with a smile. "We mostly talked about you though."
Pan laughed again, although it seemed to have a nervous tint to it this time. "I hope it wasn't all bad."
"No," Videl said honestly. "Although she seemed to agree with me that it's time to outsource this kind of task. You have so much on your plate…"
"I know," Pan said, rolling her eyes subtly as she started carefully writing her students names on the certificates of completion she had pre-printed. She frowned at the first one. Taani's handwriting really was much better than hers; that wasn't an empty platitude. "I just like to have my hands on it. Make sure it's the best it can be."
Videl leaned over to look at her daughter's progress. A professional printer would do so much better. "Maybe if you had someone else do this, you'd have extra time to spend with people you care about without taking them for granted."
Pan's eyes shot up to her mother's in objection. "I know I screwed up, but that's a little harsh."
Videl nodded slightly in concession. Maybe it was. "Even you can't do everything Pan. You need to focus on what's important right now, and certificates that can be printed out in 30 seconds for a few Zeni aren't on the top of the list."
Pan put her pen down and crumpled the first certificate in frustration. It wasn't good enough. "Where is this coming from?" she asked.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" she said, disregarding her question entirely.
"Who says I'm not?" Pan scoffed.
"I can see it on your face. Energy has never been a problem for you except when you were pregnant, and neither has sleep," she said. "This isn't just a one-night thing, is it?"
Pan sighed deeply, wishing she could lie to her mother without it resulting in nothing more than a bigger argument. "No," she answered truthfully. "It's been a couple of weeks."
Videl raised an eyebrow. "Stress?" Pan nodded. "About the dojo, or…"
"Partially," she answered, looking down at her hands. It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the complete truth. "I've been really busy. And you're right, some of the items on my list should be delegated elsewhere, but I feel like that would be giving up in a small way."
"Isn't Aràn managing the student roster for a couple locations now? Maybe you should give him Satan City and focus on bigger-picture issues," Videl argued.
"I'm not giving Satan City to Aràn," she argued adamantly.
Videl knew there were some deeper layers to her feelings on the matter, even though she'd been largely successful at rebuilding a healthy working relationship with her ex-husband. It didn't help that Hercule's presence was everywhere in those halls. On second thought, it might've been a silly suggestion to make; Pan would never leave the Satan City location in the hands of anyone who wasn't blood. She was too possessive of it.
"He has South City and Metro West."
"Metro…? Pan, it must take him half the day just to get there," Videl argued. "I know why you wanted him to take it, but it doesn't make sense."
Pan crossed her arms defensively. Videl stopped one step short of suggesting she give up on teaching some of the classes herself. That would've been the end of the conversation; it was one of her real joys in this duty. She'd let herself go broke doing it for free, if she had to.
"I know this is a big job – and you sort of fell into it," Videl said, softening her tone. "I just want to be sure it's not taking over your whole life."
Pan sighed again, but the intensity of her expression melted into one of more disappointment than anything. "You're not wrong," she admitted, looking her mother in the eye again and assuring her that she was going to get an honest response. "I haven't been around to see you guys for a while; I've only seen Taani when I've needed her help with this stuff; and – I was supposed to train Bo on some of his ki attacks and now – he's figured it out without me. Everything's slipping by."
"Pan," Videl started sympathetically. "We can meet with Aràn and the board, and maybe identify another person or two who can manage rosters and curriculum. We'll help get some of this off your shoulders so you have more time. Maybe you could even take on more classes to teach; I know that's your favorite part of the job."
Videl thought that last part would've made Pan happier, but it didn't seem to work. Her lips were still downturned, and although she was still looking her mother in the eye, it seemed like there was something she was holding back.
"I'd rather not," she argued, though her voice was almost a whisper when she'd said it.
Videl scoffed quietly, but silenced the noise as quickly as she could. She stood, picking up her chair and moving it even closer to Pan until she was sitting directly in front of her. She put a supportive hand on her knee, but even though the gesture was meant to comfort her, her defensive posture didn't relax.
"You can't control everything, Pan," Videl said. "I know what this dojo means to you. It means a lot to me too, but – you have to let some things go."
Pan took a deep breath and opened her mouth and Videl braced for an onslaught of every reason why she could, indeed, control everything if she wanted to. She wasn't sure where her daughter's stubbornness came from, but she had a feeling she could only place so much blame on her Saiyan quarter. Every time she saw a picture of herself as a young woman, she realized how much her daughter had taken after her, and it wasn't just in her appearance.
The barrage of words never came. Pan's brow furrowed deeply and she looked at the ground. Videl's words had struck a nerve, although she didn't know how or why. After a moment, her face relaxed, the look of sadness she'd been wearing returning again.
"Bo…" she started slowly, hesitating with the second half of her sentence, "…met Trunks."
Videl sat up, her mouth falling slightly open as a thousand questions filled her eyes. She cleared her throat, searching for the right one to pick first. "Bo's met his father?" she asked, choosing to simply confirm she'd heard her daughter correctly before moving on. This was a very big deal.
Pan nodded. "He ran into Trunks Jr. first, but yeah – everyone's met everybody."
"So - you've told them?" Videl asked hopefully.
Pan shook her head as her expression twisted into one of guilt. "No," she started, resuming quickly before her mother could say the words that Pan already knew were working their way to her lips. "It happened almost accidentally, so I didn't have a lot of time… It's going to happen soon. I'm just trying to think of how. I know I made this bed myself, but – it's not easy to fix."
"No one claimed it would be," Videl said with a sardonic chortle. Again, she pulled back from arguing any further. Pan had already heard it all from her before. "So – does Bo like them?"
Pan smiled softly. Despite her current feelings, it was hard not to when she thought of the excited light in her son's eyes that had been there since meeting a boy his age who he shared something very important with. "Bo and Trunks Jr. are practically inseparable already, and – Bo really gets along with his father. Trunks has been great to him, even though he doesn't know…"
"Pan…"
"I know this is for the best," she said, interrupting her mother. Her eyes were perfectly dry, but her tone spoiled the strength of her feelings. "But I always thought I'd have a choice in how they met. That I'd be there. I didn't think I'd be at home learning through a phone call that Bo had run into his brother and were now burning the night away in the gravity room at Capsule Corp."
Videl didn't quite understand everything Pan had said, but she could infer the context. "You thought you'd have more control," she said, putting the pieces together as to why her earlier statement had triggered this conversation. Pan nodded. "But you stalled too long and the universe wasn't going to let it drag on any further than it already has."
"Apparently," she said, frowning deeply. Videl sighed and leaned back in her chair, debating on how to continue. Pan beat her to the chase. "I – I'm still so angry. I thought I'd be over it by now, but I'm – really not."
Videl nodded in surprising understanding. "Everything that happened with Aràn probably didn't help. It might've – stirred up some old feelings."
"Maybe, but that was also years ago," she said. Videl could see she was disappointed in herself for that; she didn't need additional lecturing. "I know my feelings don't really matter for this issue anyway. But – the fact that it's happening whether I like it or not makes it worse. And even though I'm still mad at Trunks, I can't look at him without feeling like a giant piece of shit too."
"There's only one way to fix this."
"I know."
A thick silence spread between them as Videl considered whether to say anything further. She was secretly extremely happy that the boys had met. She couldn't shake the mental picture she'd formed of them goofing around like another certain inseparable set of Saiyan boys. However, she also understood this was, though deservedly, difficult for her daughter to process, especially since seemed to have happened out of the blue. It was good for her to at least recognize the feelings she still had for her son's father; maybe admitting them would be the first step in moving past them so they could be functional parents together.
"So – is Trunks a good kid or is he spoiled?" Videl asked, breaking the silence with a slight change of topic so her daughter could get a break from feeling lectured. "The media seems to think he starts a lot of fights and gets in trouble at school. I didn't think that was too far off of his father, but they make it sound more serious."
Pan tilted her head in confusion. She hadn't heard those rumors, and he didn't seem like the type. "He seemed sweet to me. I heard he'd had some anger problems, but – he's been through hell in the last few years. I can't imagine anyone getting through that without losing their heads a few times."
"Maybe Bo will help him learn to deal with it a little better," Videl suggested. "I know how important training is to your mental health. Maybe Trunks just needs someone he can work out with and talk to who's closer to his age."
"I think so," Pan agreed. A small smile spread over her lips as she thought to share something she knew Videl would get a genuine kick out of hearing. "By the way, he's a huge fan of Grandpa's."
"I'm sure," Videl responded. "Goku was quite the legend…"
"No, I mean Grandpa Satan," she said, grinning as Videl widened her eyes in surprise. "He's got a bunch of posters, toys, an alarm clock… Bo said he's got some old fights downloaded."
"I'm surprised Trunks hasn't quashed his illusions. I know he came off looking pretty silly to the Briefs."
"Bo told me he's aware of the Cell Games, and the later tournaments," Pan explained. "He said he's a bigger fan of his early days anyway, when he was fighting normal opponents. I don't think he has any illusions to quash."
Videl developed a glint in her eye that matched a peculiar smile Pan rarely saw. Videl loved her father immensely. She didn't often get the opportunity these days to brag about him, especially to people who were fully in the know. Although his later career was mostly a farce, she was proud of him for many reasons. Compared to the family she married into, his rumored feats of strength were nothing, but that didn't mean he didn't have moments when his claim to his fame was legitimate. Back when his opponents were normal humans, he really was one of the strongest of them.
"Well, make sure he knows about Buu," she said, the proud smirk still on her face. "He did some real good there, and I don't think Trunks will have remembered, since he was dead at the time."
"I'll get the chance to tell him tomorrow," Pan started. "He and Trunks are stopping by the dojo for a tour."
"Oh – the older one too?" Videl asked with a raised eyebrow.
"At Bo's behest, yes," she said with a nod. "I don't think Trunks felt he had a choice. I sure didn't."
"Good," Videl said sincerely. "It'll give you a chance to get used to working with him as a team."
"Sure," Pan quietly, though reluctantly, agreed. She stared down at her pile of certificates that were awaiting names, and the failed first attempt crumpled next to the stack. She threw this whole blank pile back in the box, getting the distinct impression she wasn't going to get anything done on the project that night. It was already late.
"This might've actually been the best way for it to happen," she said, surprising even herself for being the one to break into the subject again. "I mean – they'll all get to know each other, and become friends – before they know the truth. It should make the transition smoother for them, right?" Her mother smiled comfortingly at her. "I know it won't make a difference between me and Trunks. He's going to hate me either way, so…"
"I think you two will figure that out someday. Bo is a walking, talking reminder of how much you cared for each other, after all," Videl said. She might not have believed her own words at the start of the night, but the conversation she'd had with Taani had been enlightening, granting her some important missing context outside of what Pan was previously willing to share with her mother. "But don't let the fear of how he might react at first get in the way of you doing what's best for Bo."
Despite the part of her that was still angry, there was an even larger portion that hoped Videl was right. It was already apparent Bo and the Briefs were going to be close; she didn't want to be left out of that equation. She smiled softly, although the words didn't entirely sooth the knot in her stomach that was growing larger by the hour. Getting there was probably going to take time.
Videl resisted the temptation to say more on the matter, choosing instead to stand up and put her purse over her shoulder. "There are a few shops around the area that could do specialized print jobs like this in a matter of hours," she said. "Find one and stop letting things like this make your life more complicated than it already is."
Pan sighed, looking forlornly at her box of supplies. "You're right," she conceded. "I'll start calling around for pricing."
Videl placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It can wait until next week. Go home and sleep. It sounds like you have a big day tomorrow."
"Yes Momma," she said obediently, looking up at her mother to assure her she would follow those instructions.
Videl smiled and kissed her on the forehead, leaving her behind in the empty dojo shortly afterward. Pan packed up slowly afterwards, going over what her mother had said. She was right. Bo was a reminder of everything positive that happened between them. Maybe that would be enough for them to find balance again someday. But first, there was a large hill to climb, and there was no way to start healing until they'd crested over the top of it. Things had to get worse before they could start getting better.
