Better Late

by ManiacallyLoveable

A story of love, loss, and reconciliation in two halves. Sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right. Sometimes it takes a fresh start.

19. Chapter 19

The long, green grass of the open field was waving in a cool breeze, taking the edge off the steep heat of the sunny afternoon. It had been a great day for a family picnic and was shaping up to be the perfect afternoon for a little outside exercise – once lunch had digested, and his sons had their energy back. Their voices carried in the wind, excited and happy, as they normally were, filling his ears like music as he watched them from a short distance. He already regretted the fact that these days would be too short. Some of his time with Trunks Jr. had been stolen by grief, and he got a late start with Bo; before long, his boys would be busy with their own lives and interests, as was the natural part of growing up. He wished he could stretch this one afternoon into a few days, forget about work, school, and any other distraction for a while so they could make up for just a little lost time.

The aftermath of a huge meal was spread out on the picnic table in front of him. There were a lot of leftovers, but he knew they'd be gone before too long. Feeding four Saiyans, two of whom were nearly teenagers, was no small task, especially considering how much exercise they'd all been doing recently. He'd even made a point of shopping for and bringing most of the food himself and toting it out to the rural area outside of Satan City, legitimately concerned the smaller grocery stores in the area wouldn't have enough supplies if Pan did everything herself. He was glad he did. Trunks and Pan both had a healthy supply of funds behind them, but the cost of this one meal actually surpassed the number of zeni bills in his wallet. He had to break out the credit card, but the tremendous spread hadn't gone unappreciated.

The boys were in the fields outside of the Son house with Pan. They were training, but not in their traditional, explosive manner that usually resulted in changes to the nearby landscape. Bo and Pan were running over some of the basic formal moves with Trunks Jr. that he would need to know for his first classes at the dojo. It was all new to him, but very simple, and probably seemed like a huge step backwards for someone who had just achieved the power of a god. However, the young boy was attentive, patient, and was doing his best to legitimately learn from his two teachers. More importantly, he was having fun.

Amid his fondness for the scene in front of him, Trunks was also relieved. After Trunks Jr.'s explosion the week before, the boy had managed a measurable change in a short amount of time. He seemed calmer. Trunks realized it was probably largely due to processing a huge chunk of grief as well as some unjustified self-resentment all at once. Whatever had happened, he was now much more confident in his son's ability to control himself with the normal kids he'd encounter in the dojo classes. Especially with Pan there to monitor and guide him, and Bo there to help calm him down when things got heated.

Bo and Trunks Jr. repeated the moves out in the rolling grass, Bo helping adjust his brother's form, when necessary, although he was picking it all up quickly. Pan had been looking on and supervising, but decided to let Bo take the reins of the training. He seemed to be doing a good enough job alone as an instructor, and she wasn't really needed at this point. She could tell they were starting to get restless anyway, and the moment the food in their stomachs digested a little, they were going to request a real spar - all four of them in a match against each other using their elevated states. The kids had already warned the adults about their wishes when this family day was scheduled. Trunks and Pan covertly planned a joint offensive as a little challenging surprise for their young opponents and were ready to go as soon as they asked for it.

She made her way back over to the picnic table and filled her plate with a few sugary odds-and-ends to bump up her energy a little for the impending match. Her return wasn't really acknowledged as Trunks was focused on the screen of the phone in his hands. She was nearly ready to give him grief about working when she realized he was just taking pictures of his sons. She smiled, grabbing a large strawberry from the nearby tray and biting into it as she watched the kids. She turned to ask Trunks a question, but it died in her throat when she saw his camera was now pointed elsewhere.

She scoffed as her expression changed to one of incredulity, asking him a question with her single raised eyebrow that she didn't know how to phrase out loud.

He checked his phone to review the pictures he'd taken, a self-satisfied smirk forming on his face as he approved of what he saw. The juice from the red strawberry had created a pink shine on her smiling lips, and there was a sparkle in her eyes as she watched the boys. Her short hair had been blown around by the wind, but the messy look fit well with the whole image he had of her. She was relaxed and happy under the sun of the afternoon, a pleasant look on her face he didn't want to take for granted. He was glad he'd thought of temporarily changing the aim of his lens before she'd noticed she was his target.

"Just trying to build memories," he responded, answering her silent question. "And you're a part of the day."

She snorted lightly and rolled her eyes, a pink hue appearing on her cheeks to match her lips. He caught himself staring a little too long, wondering when he'd find the time to talk with her when the boys weren't within earshot. He knew the stars might not align that day, but it'd be a little disappointing if they didn't. Their hearts were light now that their past had been resolved, the boys were having fun, and everything else was pointing to an exciting afternoon once they were ready to really dig into training.

Why not add one more good thing to the day's agenda?

'Good' - if she feels the same way, he reminded himself in an effort to temper his expectations.

She could very easily remind him of all the reasons it might be a bad idea. Rationally, it wasn't a smart risk to take, especially after their ill-fated first try. But the more he thought about the day when his sons grew too old to hang out with their father, the more he realized that meant she would be gone too. As it stood now, Bo was their biggest common element, after all. For several reasons, not all of which had anything to do with their son – he didn't want that.

He knew they could never go back to exactly what they'd had in the past. Too much had happened, both between them and apart from one another. He wasn't even sure he was entirely the same person he'd been back then; there were some subtle and some not-so-subtle differences he'd noticed in her too. But maybe they could rekindle something like what they'd shared, a flavor of the connection they'd had that had been so exciting, he'd been willing to put his most important relationships in jeopardy.

If all else failed and she wasn't interested in the idea, maybe they could at least establish a friendship independent from the boys and without needing the excuse of their presence. They could both use someone else they could be themselves in front of, and they'd only originally lost that closeness because he let too many years slip through his fingers. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

"So – still want to team up against them?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Absolutely," he said without hesitation, a devious smirk slowly spreading on his face.

She smiled brightly. She'd been looking forward to it the moment he'd suggested the plan. It wasn't often she had the chance to surprise Bo in the sparring ring since he knew so much about her style. "It almost seems kind of mean."

He twisted his lips and shrugged before the grin reappeared. "No – it's just a lesson in sensing deception and working against a group," he said sarcastically.

"That's no excuse for playing a trick," she said with a laugh, "and they'll see straight through it."

"I hope so. My kids should be smarter than that."

"You know – they've been working together a lot lately," she said, raising an eyebrow in doubt of their plan. "And we haven't. There's a more than slight chance they'll be able to beat us now that Trunks can go super."

"Maybe," he said, looking out at them contemplatively. "They're stronger than they think. But I'm still hoping I have a couple of years left before I stop being a challenge."

Pan sighed wistfully, knowing what Trunks meant. The day Bo had to go easy on her was one she was dreading, even if it was an eventuality. Her son was less diluted and had met certain benchmarks much earlier than she had; she knew beyond a doubt it was around the corner.

"At least you have another card in your deck," she said.

"Yeah – one I can't hold for very long, even after all the training I've been putting in. Sparring in it would be difficult. It would only be good in a pinch – for ending a fight quickly."

"Hmm, so that was why you used it..." she started. She looked up at him slowly, a peculiar look on her face. "…when you wanted to end our last spar quickly."

A slow smile spread across Trunks' face despite the discomfort surrounding that subject. He cleared his throat, adjusting his posture on the bench he was sitting on before steeling himself to meet her eyes. It wasn't difficult to figure out what she was implying. Since the day she'd walked back into his life, the episode in the gravity room had returned fresh to his memory. It didn't help that she still looked almost the same as she had that day, carrying the unchanging features that had caused his moments of insanity.

"Was that – really the last time we trained together?" he needlessly whispered. There was no one else nearby.

She nodded, appreciating his apparent discomfort and the red on his face.

"I find that hard to believe," he argued, a skeptical expression on his face contrasting the smile that still formed on his lips. "That's kind of your thing – and we saw a lot of each other after the gravity room."

She looked away, unable to keep his gaze as she gave her response. It was positively karmic that she would be the one feeling uncomfortable now, given that she'd started this topic. "Well - we burned our energy in other ways after that. We didn't have a lot left - for training."

He dropped the issue for the moment, seeing the strange look in her eyes in reaction to the reminder. The smirk from earlier remained, though it had grown more subtle. Burning energy with her was never a problem back then.

"I think they're ready for us," she noted, poorly hiding her desire to change the subject. The boys had finished practicing the beginning forms and were now on their way over to the table. She was suddenly beginning to feel a little restless herself; she wanted to get her blood moving.

"You sure it'll be alright to fight out here? We could use the gravity room…"

"Not if you want to win," she argued. "We can't use our plan in a tight space. Besides," she continued, standing up and starting some preliminary stretches to warm up her muscles, "it won't bother anyone. The locals are pretty used to it."

He raised an eyebrow. "You have an audience out here?"

She shrugged. "They've seen the light shows." The grass around her swayed violently for a second as light flashed around her. Her swirling hair grew suddenly stiff as it glowed golden. "I've heard some of them think my property is possessed by Amaterasu."

Trunks' throat ran dry as a proud smile played on her lips, and she met his gaze with her emerald eyes. The familiar flame of excitement was flaring within her depths, growing brighter as her energy climbed.

"I can see why," he said softly.

Her smile faded for just a moment, but before he could worry that he'd said something wrong, it came back – along with the blush she'd earlier worn, visible even despite her golden veil. She shook her head as though she dismissed the compliment as a joke and left him to meet the boys in the field.

. . .

When the match started, it became quickly obvious to the younger fighters that this wasn't going to be the free-for-all they had been expecting. Trunks and Pan's preplanning had been revealed early in the bout; their parents were conspiring against them as a team. They weren't prepared for the strategy they'd developed against them either. Bo and Trunks Jr. were dismayed, but also excited about the development once they figured it out. All four of them were able to power up now, and despite the surprise alliance against them, the brothers matched a pair of cocky smiles and didn't hesitate to play by the unexpected rules.

Pan was as fast as the wind, but Trunks was the stronger opponent. These were both good qualities to have, but also came with their own downsides. For instance, when Pan was her fastest, she was also on the weaker side since she didn't have time to focus power into her attacks. When Trunks really put power into his swings and ki attacks, it slowed him down. Combined as a team, the downsides were notably mitigated. As long as Trunks and Pan were able to communicate and coordinate, their adversaries were helpless against them. Despite the years it had been since they had been in the ring together, they were doing very well with it.

Bo thought he knew his mother and her typical movements enough to predict where she was going, so he went after her while Trunks Jr. chased after their dad. True to Bo's prediction, she zigged and zagged in the same way he'd seen many times before, phasing in and out of the visual spectrum as she did so, appearing like a blinking, golden light in the sky, even to his enhanced vision. He sent a volley of ki blasts in the direction he thought she'd appear in next, but to his frustration, none of them hit. He watched her pattern again, chasing, but not engaging her, reserving his energy as he tried his best to study her movements for patterns.

What Bo didn't know is that Trunks Jr. had been faring even worse. He'd landed a few hits, but Trunks was able to block them completely, or didn't seem phased by them. His son attacked immediately after finally landing one punch, making sure he could land another one quickly while Trunks recovered. The man smiled to himself regarding his son's resolve, but that same tenacity about attacking had left a hole in the more inexperienced fighter's defense. Trunks took a breath, reminded himself one more time not to underestimate his maturing opponent, powered up both fists, and sent his right one into his son's gut.

Trunks Jr.'s eyes grew wide, and he fell back, willing the pain away and the breath back into his lungs the best he could while already planning a counter. He didn't get a chance.

Nearly simultaneously, as Bo was watching his mother and Trunks Jr. was falling through the air, Trunks and Pan made a switch. Trunks had powered up both fists but had only spent the charge in his right one. The extra seconds gave him just that much more time to charge his left; he released that charge – directly into the back of an unsuspecting Bo. Even though it had come from a distance, Bo never had time to turn around and register it before it slammed into him.

In that same moment, Pan powered up her speed even further and phased out of sight, appearing hovering just a few feet above the falling Trunks Jr. The boy had barely had enough time to take a single breath after his father's punch to the gut – before she released a ki blast directly into his chest.

The air around Pan's house had been chaotically noisy for a while up to that point, but all at once fell completely silent. Seconds later, there were two heavy and loud *thuds*. One of them was Bo falling onto his face on the grass below. The other was Trunks Jr. falling on his back a short distance away.

The parents gave each other a silent, congratulatory look. Both of their children were relatively unscathed. They might've been taking the fight a little more seriously than normal, but they were still powered down to a reasonable sparring level. Bo and Trunks Jr. each were groaning from their spot on the ground, but soon recovered enough to stand up slowly. Trunks Jr. lamented the burnt hole in the front of his tunic, and Bo realized he had a matching one on his back.

"Can we have a time out?" Bo yelled up to his parents, who were still floating in the sky.

"No," Pan answered firmly.

"Maybe – just a minute," Trunks argued, feeling a little guilty about their surprise.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Just a minute," she conceded.

Bo jogged over to his brother as quickly as possible and they started whispering lowly, but fell silent shortly afterwards, even though it was obvious they were still communicating. Trunks laughed, realizing exactly what was happening.

"No fair using your gift, Spark!" Pan shouted, although there was humor in her tone. She'd seen it too. "Conspire out loud!"

"This – might've been a bad idea," Trunks admitted.

"No shit," she said with a dry chuckle. "Remember you're the one who wanted to give them a break."

He sighed uneasily. "Okay, enough," he yelled down to them. "Time's up!"

The boys separated with a high-five and smiles on their faces that were way too big to avoid drawing suspicion. They jumped up in the air again, setting their forms in a ready position. Trunks looked worriedly at Pan; she was already planning her "I told you so" speech.

The light show started once more, both parents quickly realizing the kids weren't going to fall for the same tricks again. Instead of Bo and Trunks Jr. handling their own fights separately, they were now working as a team as well. The added coordination was obvious, as was the way Bo was utilizing his gift to work against them.

In one moment, Trunks went from fighting his young copy hand-to-hand to finding himself alone. Trunks Jr. had vanished. He quickly reached out with his senses and realized that Trunks Jr. had managed to zip himself over to where Bo was chasing his mother in the air. Her focus was on her son, and Trunks could barely get the beginning of a warning out before the other one showed up right behind her, delivering a swift kick to her side. Trunks Jr. had used their own trick against them, utilizing her focus on his teammate to attack. Had she not been powered up, that would've easily broken a rib, but he knew her. She'd be more disappointed in herself than angry, injury or not.

Without hesitation, he flew over to defend her against an additional attack, but the boys seemed ready to focus on him next anyway. He powered up a ki blast and lobbed it towards Bo, but Bo managed to swerve and avoid it as he flew right towards his father's head. Both boys were now on the offensive against Trunks, which was smart. Pan was taking a little longer to come back; maybe that kick had been harder than it looked.

The brothers fought against him alone until they'd worked him backwards a bit. They gave him no time to move and very little space to defend himself, but he was holding his own the best he could. They were not holding back, and the impacts of their limbs against his body were starting to take their toll. Just as he was about to switch up his strategy, Pan flew up behind them, surprising Trunks by going after Trunks Jr. instead of Bo. She probably figured Bo knew her too well for her to make headway. Trunks didn't mind if he only had to fight one of them for a while; he needed to recharge his energy a little.

Pan had tried her vanishing trick a few times, but Trunks Jr. didn't seem to be taking the bait. He held back, watching her carefully as Bo had, but made no move to follow her. She finally got tired of trying to lure him away from his brother, and decided to switch to a more offensive role, almost instantaneously materializing in front of him with a curled fist. She used her speed to throw punch after punch, trying to sneak in the occasional close quarters ki blast. She was hitting him, and those impacts were affecting him, but he stubbornly refused to do anything but defend – until he was back-to-back with Bo.

Once the boys were next to each other, it truly became a two-on-two fight. Limbs blurred into streaks as the thuds and grunts from their efforts filled the air around them. The light from the four golden figures blurred into one glowing ball from the perspective of the ground. Unless you were in the middle of the chaos, you'd never be able to distinguish one body from another.

The end of this round had happened so quickly, Trunks still wasn't quite sure what they'd done to win, even after the bout was finished.

In a flash, Trunks Jr. had landed a hit on Pan's chest, sending her back a few feet, followed by a quick energy attack that sent her even further. The little bit of additional space only granted him a second or two, but it was enough to charge a very large, very familiar ki blast. Trunks thought it was intended for her and was distracted by his concern for a brief flash of time. In that one small window of opportunity, Bo managed to land a hard kick to his chest. Trunks had a barely the time to have a conscious thought before that charged attack he thought was aiming for Pan – came directly towards him instead.

Between the force of the stream of ki his son had released and gravity itself, he didn't stand a chance. Like a flaming meteor, he was sent directly towards the ground, forming a small crater when he landed on his back. After he crashed, he tried to jump up, but found his limbs to be useless. His vision blurred, and he ultimately decided it was probably better to lie still for a couple of minutes and watch the fight from his spot on the ground.

As soon as Trunks was taken out, she knew she was in trouble. But Pan being Pan, she wasn't going to give up that easily. She put her arms up anyway, prepared for the boys to attack. They didn't disappoint her. Bo went on the offensive first, but Trunks Jr. was the one who finished it. The moment Bo had moved just enough to give him a little bit of space, Trunks Jr. spun around, landing his right knee directly in her left cheek. It caught her unprepared and completely open.

She registered the sensation of falling as her vision developed a gray checkerboard pattern around the edges. She was tumbling through the air, and as her eyes finally cleared, she realized there was an object in her path, between her and the earth below.

She knew Trunks' intentions were good, but she would've rather directly hit the ground. At least the grass was soft and muddy due to the recent storms. Trunks caught her in mid-tumble a few feet from landing but hadn't had the time to really plan what to do about the impact of his heroic catch. He underestimated her momentum and overestimated the amount of strength he'd regained. The moment they crashed together the impact sent both of them straight back into the crater he'd just managed to escape. Landing on Trunks' chest was like landing on a lumpy rock. She sat up slowly, holding her left cheek gingerly as the ringing in her head grew slowly quieter.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked as soon as his breath came back into his lungs, staring up at her with a grimace on his face, undoubtedly due to the extra pain caused by a woman colliding with him in the sky.

She groaned but nodded. "Yeah – I think so."

He looked past her to the boys, who were congratulating each other and cheering in the sky. "Can you get off of me then?"

She blinked the final bit of fuzz out of her eyes and realized she was sitting on his stomach with her legs on either side of his chest. "Sorry," she mumbled. It took her much longer than it should've to get off him, given her sore ribs, increasing the awkwardness of the situation as she finally maneuvered her tired body to the ground next to him.

He sat up as soon as she was off his lap, and she couldn't tell if his face was flush due to their precarious position or being sent to the ground as a smoking heap. Maybe a little bit of both, she wondered.

"The last time that happened, we made a kid," he said with an uneasy chuckle. It was a terrible attempt at a joke. He winced at himself, regretting the words at the same time they left his mouth – that was, until she laughed softly in response.

Despite a red, swollen cheek, a smile was present on her lips and within her emerald eyes. He sighed in relief. Nerves meant awkwardness and bad attempts to be funny. All these years, and he hadn't figured out how to avoid it, or how to make it less obvious. He was glad it hadn't spoiled the moment.

"I really got my bell rung," she complained, although the light tone in her voice indicated she was only mad at herself for letting it happen. Her eyes and hair darkened as she let herself slip down to her normal form, conserving some of the energy she would need for the healing process.

He pursed his lips, looking at her with light concern. Concussions were not a huge deal to their breed, and this didn't even look as bad as that. Still, head injuries were usually worth a pause.

"You need a break," he assumed.

She nodded in agreement. "I hate to say it, but yeah – for a little while. I told you they'd surprise us."

He smiled, looking back at his children proudly. "You were right."

Suddenly, something caught the attention of everyone at the same time. A familiar, warm ki appeared on the horizon, quickly approaching their location. The boys both cheered in the distance, calling his name in welcome as he landed at the lip of the crater to look disapprovingly down at his niece and best friend.

"Don't tell me you're letting a couple of kids walk all over you," he said with a laugh.

Trunks let himself power down, realizing the fight really was over for a moment now that Goten was there.

"Uncle!" Pan protested defensively. "You haven't sparred with Bo in years. You have no idea how much stronger he is. And now there are two of them!"

He offered his hand and she accepted, allowing him to help her up and out of the muddy crater. She frowned, noting the fact that her skin and clothes were now streaked with brown dirt. Trunks' clothes were even worse. His entire backside was covered in the earth that had been pushed down and out of the way by his double crash landings.

"Uncle!" both of the boys yelled simultaneously, dropping down to the ground and running over to him. He hugged them both tightly around the shoulders, feigning the act of putting them both in simultaneous choke holds while he rubbed their heads.

"Look at you guys, finally together," he said with a chuckle. "I knew you'd be buds."

Trunks Jr. and Bo looked at him with slight confusion, but wrote off the odd statement. They were just happy to see him. "Are you here to spar?" Bo asked.

He flashed a cheesy grin and scratched the back of his head, confidently aware he couldn't keep up with the four energies he'd sensed on his way there. Family life had slowed him down, and improving his weakening state wasn't his biggest priority at the moment. "I thought I'd come by and watch," he said, "but I guess I missed the action."

Trunks Jr. eagerly started recounting what had happened for him as the quieter Bo nodded happily along with his story. Before he could get too far, Trunks interjected, "There are lunch leftovers if you want some."

Goten's eyes lit up. You never had to twist his arm with an offer for food.

Trunks Jr. finished spinning the tale of their spar to his uncle while he ate, embellishing certain moments a little. Neither Trunks nor Pan corrected him; the boys deserved to brag a little. They'd worked hard for it. Plus, the excited boy's string of words was so consistent, it gave Goten time to stuff his face without having to respond with anything more than a nod.

After Trunks Jr. was finally satisfied with his story, the attention shifted towards Goten. He'd been an absent figure in all their lives recently, busy with his family and a long work schedule. It was obvious that everyone was happy to see him, but also surprised.

"I'm glad you're here, Uncle, but – what made you decide to visit today? We haven't seen you in a while," Pan asked. She was holding a bag of frozen peas to the side of her face and picking at some of the crumbs still on the plate in front of her.

"I sensed the whole group of you together out here," he started, "I guess I looked distracted enough that Anzu picked up on it too. It's my first day off in weeks, but she was the one who suggested some time with the rest of the family. The kids are getting a little older and they're getting easier for her to manage with her sister's help most of the time. So – I took her up on it."

Pan nodded, feeling sympathy for the woman who decided to have three Saiyan children within close proximity. Knowing what Bo had been like as a baby, it couldn't be easy for a normal human, even with some family assistance.

"Are you still working with the same shipping company?" Trunks asked, focusing on his aforementioned "rare" day off.

Goten looked a little uncomfortable with the question but didn't hide an answer. "Yeah – and I have a couple of others I work for now too. Mostly just physical stuff. My day job has me at a desk though, so at least that's a break."

Trunks and Pan shared a glance of equal concern. His parents hadn't left Goten anything but the house and a little land on Paozu. There was very little left of the windfall they'd gotten from Hercule by the time Chichi passed away and Goku had "opted" to visit the kais again. Even though Anzu's family was well-off, Goten didn't want to rely on them, so he worked his tail off.

"You know – my offer still stands," Trunks said. "We still need someone, especially now that everything's finally getting off the ground."

Pan looked between them quizzically, wondering what information she was missing.

Trunks could read the question on her face and decided to fill her in. Maybe she could help convince her uncle it was a smart choice. "Do you remember talking about the old animal conservatory?"

She nodded. It had been years since he'd told her about it, but surprisingly, she did remember a little. She couldn't recall the details, but she remembered noting the lack of animals that used to fill up that room in the center of the Capsule dome when Dr. Briefs had been alive, and some mention of a desire to honor his grandfather's legacy with animal conservation.

"A few years ago, I decided to restart my grandfather's old project," he confirmed. "It's been nothing but a money pit so far, but I've finally got the infrastructure up and most of the support staff in place. I just need someone to run it," he said, looking at Goten. "You'd be working hands on with the animals, procuring funding…"

"Uncle," she interrupted, surprised by the offer. Coming from anyone else, it would've sounded too good to be true. "You love animals. Why not?"

Goten chortled wryly and shook his head. "I don't really want to talk about work. I came to hang out and…"

"I'm not letting you off the hook that easily," Trunks argued.

Goten sighed defeatedly, realizing that was true. "I'd be starting over. And I'd have to go back for another degree. With the kids and everything…"

"I told him Capsule would pay for school," he told Pan. "It's already in the benefits package. At worst, he'd be working a normal work week with maybe a few extra hours of fundraising. He'd actually have more time at home, even during school. And – once he had the degree, he could set his own salary."

Goten twisted his lips and looked down at his fingers as though he was afraid to admit what he was going to say next. "I don't want to owe Capsule favors."

Trunks chortled. "You might've missed the part where we'd expect you to do a job. It's not the same as taking a handout," he insisted.

"There are plenty of people out there who already have the degree you need. And - I don't really know much about fundraising and I've never had so many people under me," he argued without hesitation.

"There's no one else I can trust with something this important to me. Besides, you're great with the things you care about," Trunks argued back. Plus, you're good with people. Most of it will come easy for you. I bet Gohan would be happy to help with school stuff, too."

"Yeah, well – speaking of... You know the whole thing with my brother and Bulma…"

"Dad would be happy for you," Pan abruptly insisted, "and so would Bulma. You're the only one everybody's gotten along with this whole time."

"She's right," Trunks said with a shrug.

He put his hands up in surrender. "If you're going to gang up on me, I'll – think about it," he promised.

Trunks smiled. That was further than he'd gotten yet, but it had been a long time since he'd last made the argument. Maybe a few more months of difficult and long hours made him reconsider his first answer.

"Hey – when did you get a haircut?" Goten asked, finally noticing his "unofficial" nephew's new look.

"Pan gave it to me," he answered proudly, "on the night I went Super Saiyan."

Goten pulled lightly at the shorter hairs on the top of his head, much like Trunks had. "I like it!" he exclaimed, looking at Pan. "He looks less like his old man."

Trunks Jr. laughed, taking that as a compliment and ignoring the slightly insulted look on his father's face. "Me too!"

"Hey," Goten started excitedly, as though he'd just gotten a great idea. "Now that they can both go super, we should teach the boys fusion!"

Trunks' expression dropped even further. "No," he said adamantly.

"Why not? They'd be perfect for it!"

"What's fusion?" Trunks Jr. asked. He was smart enough to know the literal definition, but this was obviously something a little different, based on the context.

"Maybe, but still no," Trunks said again, momentarily avoiding his son's question. "Gotenks is a jackass. It's bad enough sharing a head with him; I don't want to be the parent responsible for making sure he doesn't blow up the planet. Maybe when they're older and the fused personality would be more mature, but not now."

"We were even younger than they are – and Gotenks' jackassedness was all from your half anyway," Goten retorted. "Borunks… Brunks… Tro…" he mumbled thoughtfully. "We should at least show them Gotenks – let them make up their own minds."

Trunks looked nervously over at Pan, who seemed perturbed, but wasn't expressing an opinion. She shrugged, realizing he was looking for some feedback. "I only ever saw Gotenks as an adult," she said. "He did seem a little – excitable, but - it was a huge power bump. The boys might like to see him at least. Uncle's right; they can decide from there."

He cleared his throat, realizing he wasn't going to get the support he was hoping for from her. "I don't think I'm in the mood to share a mind with you right now," he argued truthfully. He'd been mulling over his position with Pan all day; surely, there'd be a stray thought or a memory from his side that might land him in some trouble. It didn't always work like that, but with his luck, it would this time.

Goten opened his mouth to counter, but Bo interrupted him.

"Dad, who's Gotenks?" Bo innocently asked, looking directly at Trunks for a response.

Bo had been calling Trunks "Dad" for long enough at that point, that the name didn't even register as something abnormal. Pan was oblivious to the issue as well and continued to nibble at bites from her plate. Goten, however, had picked up on the seemingly out-of-place moniker uncharacteristically quickly.

Trunks was working on formulating a simple answer to Bo's question when he finally noticed the confounded look on Goten's face, and the fact that he was looking between his friend and his grandnephew like the boy had said something offensive. Goten's lips were stuck in an uneasy smile, as though he was unsure whether to feel humored or slightly afraid.

Trunks raised an eyebrow at his friend. Something was obviously wrong.

"Why – why did Bo call you 'Dad'?" Goten asked with a nervous laugh, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the fact that Trunks was still not correcting him. "Did he - get hit too hard on the head or something?"

Even in the afternoon sun, Goten could see Trunks' face suddenly grow three shades paler as his eyes went wide. Trunks looked abruptly over at Pan who had completely frozen with her mouth open. She met Trunks' stare and shook her head.

"He doesn't…"

"We never…"

They spoke at the same time, trailing off when they realized they were both about to say the same thing.

"Uncle," Trunks Jr. said with a laugh, believing this to be a strange joke. "Why wouldn't he?"

"Boys," Trunks said with an odd and sudden note of panic in his voice. "Why don't you give us some room for a minute? The adults need to talk."

Trunks Jr. and Bo looked at their father in confusion. This was a weird request and the suddenly stricken appearance on his face was one they'd never really seen before. He almost looked like he was about to be sick. Still, they obeyed, taking their full plates and hesitantly walking further into the field with them so they could leave the three of them alone.

"What's going on?" Goten asked, concern lacing his normally bright face. His eyes were now locked on his lifelong best friend and Trunks noted uneasily that he hadn't blinked in an inordinate amount of time.

Pan opened her mouth to start, but Trunks shot her a quick look that stunted her first attempt to find the words. "Maybe – you should join the boys." She had a retort in her eyes, but she didn't immediately argue. "I just feel like this is something I should do," he said.

Pan gave her uncle a warning look before she agreed, standing up and reluctantly granting them some space as well. Trunks could feel his heart racing in his chest as his anxiety levels soared through the roof. He'd planned to have this conversation over ten years ago on Mount Paozu, but those plans had been quashed, and Goten never met the "mystery girl" he knew Trunks had been seeing. There was no point in telling him the truth after that day; Goten had never pushed him for additional information either.

"Tell me this is a bad prank," Goten said. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at Trunks.

"Not a prank," Trunks started, taking a deep breath and trying very hard to regain eye contact. "Pan and I went through - something a while ago and…" he started explaining, trailing off when Goten's face stiffened even further. He sighed, resigning to the idea of keeping it short and simple. "Bo is… Bo's mine."

He swallowed hard, not knowing what else to say. It was a concise admission, but there wasn't much more to reveal right then and there. He could tell him that he'd had real feelings for her and that it wasn't the empty fling others seemed to think it was, but he wasn't sure it would help. Goten had seen Pan during their ten-year gap apart. He already knew the worst half of the story, and now knowing that the mysterious other half of the equation was him would likely spur all the anger Trunks had been so afraid of years before when he and Pan agreed to hide things.

Trunks took a deep breath during the silence that had seemingly stretched for an eternity, searching for something to break the tension in the air. His efforts were too late. Goten didn't give him the chance to find it.

Despite the lack of formal training as of late, Goten's speed hadn't diminished a single bit. The moment Trunks registered his climbing energy and before he could speak again, he was being dragged by his throat to the ground, his powered-up friend hovering over him threateningly. But despite Goten's strong reaction, and the look in his now green eyes, Trunks could tell he was holding back. He was powered-up enough to transform, but not much more than that; his hand was around his neck, but although it was locked and as hard as steel, he wasn't squeezing. Trunks could breathe fine; he just couldn't move.

. . .

"Pan, why is Uncle…?" Trunks Jr. started. Both boys were looking surprised and slightly worried by the distant image of a Super Saiyan Goten holding their non-powered-up father to the ground.

Pan rolled her eyes at the machismo on display, wishing Trunks had let her be there to break the news better than he surely just did. "It's fine," she said. "They're just – messing around."

Trunks seemed to buy her excuse, going back to the food in front of him. Bo, on the other hand, didn't completely believe her.

"Spark," she said. "I can see that look in your eye. Leave them alone."

Bo twisted his lips in dissatisfaction but did what he was told and pulled his mental focus away from his uncle and father. Once the boys had resumed eating, Pan tried to find a distraction as well, reminding herself that Trunks was probably considerably stronger than Goten after all the practice he'd been getting with both boys and wasn't likely in any real danger.

. . .

"I'm not laughing," Goten said pointedly.

"I'm not joking," Trunks said. "It was over in a couple of months and…"

He was going to go further, but Goten interrupted. "She talked about Bo's father like he was the biggest goddamn bastard on the planet. That was you?"

"She wasn't – completely off base," he admitted.

"You really messed with her head. She was so angry, even for her – for months," he said. "If you would've seen her..."

"I know," Trunks said quietly.

Goten sighed at the regret in Trunks' expression and took his hand off his friend's neck. He powered down, but the narrowness of his eyes and the uncharacteristic frown remained. He stood up, turning towards the boys and Pan as he looked out at them.

"What – what happened?" he asked hesitantly, although he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know.

Trunks stood as well, realizing the empty threat was over, but his brow furrowed as he scratched his head nervously regarding the question. His mouth opened several times before his brain would funnel an answer through. He might've had an answer ready if he'd thought this topic was going to come up, but part of him honestly didn't think about the possibility that there was still someone in the dark. That had been a silly thought, he realized. There was no reason to think Goten had been enlightened in the last few months. If he had been, he would've paid Trunks a visit to have this conversation earlier.

Goten was frustrated with the stretched silence, but in a way, he understood. This was probably a long story, but he was certain he'd only want the cliff notes.

"Just - why didn't you tell me?" he asked, taking some of the pressure from Trunks by giving him a place to start. "I know I haven't been around, but… I've got to be the last to know – right?"

He looked back at Trunks. The initially angry expression had gone, replaced by one that resembled disappointment and hurt. Trunks wondered if his strong reaction was less about being the protective uncle and more about being kept out of the loop in the lives of two people who were extremely important to him. This discussion should've happened earlier; he should've gone to him himself. Trunks could feel the weight of guilt for that settle on his shoulders.

"If it's any consolation, I was the second-to-the-last to know," he said. "And - that was only a few months ago."

Goten's face changed to one of surprise for a moment before recollection took hold and he nodded. "Yeah, she'd mentioned keeping it quiet. I didn't realize she meant that quiet. What – what the hell did you do to her?"

The tone of the accusation didn't carry the weight that his earlier reaction had. His face had relaxed, and the anxiety started lifting from Trunks' shoulders. The hardest part seemed to be over.

"I fucked up," he said.

"Obviously," Goten said with a scoff.

"And…" he added, "…so did Pan. It's mostly water under the bridge now, but it's taken us a while to get from there to here."

"I'm sure this was mostly your fault somehow," Goten said flatly. He was not letting Trunks off the hook, despite his claim of shared responsibility.

There was some sarcasm in the flavor of that comment, but Trunks also knew he at least partially believed that. Trunks laughed softly despite it. "You're taking this better than I thought you would," Trunks admitted. "Are you – okay?" He knew the question probably seemed a little patronizing, but he wasn't sure how else to put it. Goten had always been easy-going and happy, but this was a big surprise, and it was coming from out of nowhere.

"No!" he answered abruptly. "This is fucking weird, Trunks! I never thought…" He interrupted himself with a deep sigh. "Look, someday I'm going to ask for the full story," Goten warned, "but – I've got to work on digesting what I already know. I don't think I can handle the rest of it today."

Trunks nodded. He could deal with that, and in the meantime, he would work on a version of the details that wouldn't inspire a repeat of his initial reaction.

"It sort of makes sense now," Goten said, beginning to walk towards where his niece and the boys were; Trunks followed. "Bo has always had a look to him. I just assumed that was Pan's natural temper coming through, not – you know, your side's."

"He can show off the Vegeta in him when he wants to," Trunks agreed. The permanent scowl was almost like a genetic birthmark.

"Shit – my nephew is part Vegeta. And you…" he shook his head and took a deep breath. It was all still soaking in. "How's Bo dealing with this – and Trunks?" Goten asked.

"Uh – they were excited to learn they share some blood. Pan and I hit some bumps along the way to finding peace, but – they're inseparable, so it was important that we did."

"And Pan?"

"She's fine – I think," he said. He hoped to learn a little more later. "Trunks loves her. He's actually going to be taking classes at her dojo soon."

Goten looked at him critically out of the side of his eye. "Why is he bothering with that?"

"He wants to catch up," Trunks answered. Goten looked confused by that statement, so he elaborated. "I mean, Gohan and I had our dads, you had the experience of Chichi's formal training, Pan had all of it, plus Videl's training… Vegeta put Trunks' training on me, but I was piss-poor at it, so – he's been at a disadvantage for a while, and he knows it. He's got the power; he just needs to put it into focus. The dojo spends a lot of time on form and technique that can help with that."

"But at Mr. Satan's dojo…?" Goten complained.

"What's wrong with my dojo?!" Pan snapped, hearing him well now that they'd mostly closed the gap between them.

Goten swallowed a little harder than normal. She was staring at him with angry, brown eyes and her arms crossed. Even with a swollen cheek, Pan as an adult reminded him of his mother a little too much sometimes. He smiled nervously back at her.

"Nothing," he insisted. "I meant that as a good thing! It's great – Trunks is getting to study under you."

Pan's expression didn't relax. She didn't believe him.

"Can we spar again?" Bo asked, already recharged from the short rest and ready to go.

Trunks sighed, but he had enough energy for another round. He didn't want to disappoint them, and it would get him away from having to answer more of Goten's questions for a little while. "Okay."

"Mom?"

Pan put up her hands. "I think I'm sitting out until my head gets better."

"Sorry," Trunks Jr. said meekly.

She smiled and rubbed the top of his head. "It was a good hit! I just need to heal up a little."

"Uncle?" Bo asked.

"Uh…" Goten started hesitantly. "I think I'll sit out a round until I know if I can keep up. You guys go ahead – and get nice and tired. Maybe I'll jump in in a minute."

The boys seemed happy enough with this response. They took off to their battleground in the sky, Trunks following in tow. Three golden stars appeared again only to vanish in a blur of movement while Pan and Goten watched from the ground.

"So," Goten started, briefly looking at his niece, "What were you thinking?"

Pan felt heat rise to her cheeks. "There wasn't really a lot of that going on," she answered honestly.

"And he's the one who broke your heart?" he asked. He remembered that time well. Even accounting for the effect of pregnancy hormones, she was carrying an aura of rage around her for months that Goten could practically feel radiating from her body. She snapped out of it eventually, thanks to Bo and the distractions of her students and a new, promising relationship, but he could tell things were dark for her for a while. "And you – were the unknown girl he would never tell me about?"

She nodded and bit her lip. "Yep," she simply answered without an attempt at denying the fact that he had broken her heart. Maybe back then she'd tried to pretend, to play tough and apathetic like she thought a strong Saiyan was supposed to be, but her entire family would've had to have been extremely blind to have missed the fact that she'd been utterly crushed. Even Goten, with his occasional cluelessness and the distractions of his own life, knew it. They just gave her the emotional space she needed and wanted.

"You know – I could've warned you about him, if you would've been honest with me," he said.

She was surprised to hear him say something with such a negative connotation behind it towards his lifelong best friend. She opened her mouth to ask for elaboration but stopped herself. She could already guess what his advice would've been. He would've seen Trunks' decision coming a mile away and would've tried to warn her to cut her losses early.

"I wouldn't have listened," she said.

Goten sighed softly, resuming his gaze at the sky, watching the bright dots and sensing their attacks so he could determine what was going on.

"You didn't seem angry – for long," she said. "I've always been worried you'd react the worst of anyone in some ways. It's – part of why we didn't want to tell you."

Goten shrugged as he continued to watch the boys. "It might've been different back then," he admitted, "but my grandnephew's a big silver lining out of the whole thing. And, I don't know, it seems like a waste of energy to be angry over something that happened so long ago."

She smiled at her uncle's ever-present positivity, wishing everyone could feel that way.

. . .

The day grew older quickly once Goten jumped into the fray. The boys loved having their uncle around, even if he did tend to mess around and wrestle more than fight. He made the day a little brighter with his smile, inherited from someone Pan missed very much. Trunks was thankful that there were no more secrets, and that reaction he'd feared the worst of - turned out to be nothing to worry about at all.

Pan felt the bittersweet sensation of nostalgia watching the two of them mess around with the boys. Their afternoon carried similarities to some of the happiest memories from her childhood, but it was different as well, missing some very large, important pieces. She half expected to hear Chichi yelling at the kids any moment for getting so muddy while they sparred and goofed off.

The afternoon went by like a quick breeze for all of them. Goten stayed until the sun touched the horizon, before he finally had to admit that he needed to go back home. There were three kids to put into a bath and then send to bed, and he had a wife he owed a big "thanks" to for encouraging him to take a rare day for himself.

Bo and Trunks Jr. wanted to keep going into the night, but Pan shut the idea down. As much as she hated being the one to break things up, she wanted to take care of muddy laundry before she fell asleep, and Trunks wanted them bathed before they tracked dirt all over the place. Loaded with fresh promises of doing this again soon, the boys reluctantly agreed.

The four of them rotated shifts in the two showers in her house as the laundry was washed. Pan was the last one in and the last one out. She walked out of the bathroom running a towel through her hair, expecting to scrounge up another snack for three hungry men before they all decided they were tired enough to sleep. She was afraid Trunks would've already left for Metro West while she was in the shower, but was pleasantly surprised to find him still there, towel around his neck as he sat at her kitchen table. He was still damp himself; he must've just gotten out too.

"Where are the boys?" she asked, recognizing the distinct lack of chaotic energy in the vicinity.

"They were already getting dressed when I got out," he said. "They said something about camping outside."

"Camping?" she said with a groan. "I just got them clean. They're just going to come back dirty again."

"That's your fault for thinking you could keep them in that state," he said playfully. "A pre-teenage boy is going to smell good for half an hour at most. After that, you've got to chase them around with a deodorant stick and hope they raise their arms at the right time."

She smiled. They fell silent for a moment. Pan sat on the edge of the table, ruffling her hair with her hands to get the excessive water out of it. It made her short hair look as messy as it had in the breeze of the fields that day, echoing her carefree nature. It also sent more droplets down her neck and under her tank top, which was still slightly clinging to her due to the moisture of her recent shower.

He cleared his throat, willing those thoughts away for the time being. Not right now, he told himself.

"I know we were late to the game, but – I'm glad I got a chance to talk to Goten about Bo," he said. "I'm surprised he managed to remain in the dark this long. He can be perceptive when he wants to be."

Her face turned downwards slightly. "My parents and I agreed that we didn't want this to come between you two," she explained. "As angry as I was, I – didn't want to drag him into the middle. We were careful. We didn't want him to know until you did, at least."

His eyes softened. He really appreciated that. While the younger Saiyan rarely held a grudge, these were circumstances that might have stretched his benevolent nature to its limits. Goten had been a major support during a very difficult time in his life. He wasn't sure he would've come out of it as well as he had if his best friend hadn't been there, and there was no predicting how Goten would've reacted to this news at the time. Losing the one person he could really open up to would've been like losing a limb during that part of his history. He wasn't sure he would've coped very well.

"Plus, he's terrible at keeping secrets," she added.

He chortled. "No argument there. But - then why didn't you tell him once Bo and I knew? It seems like it's common knowledge now, so - he really was the last one."

Pan bit her lip and a guilty look appeared in her eyes. "I didn't tell him for the same reason you didn't tell him."

Trunks tried to hide the embarrassment in his own expression. "We – forgot, didn't we?" he asked with a wince.

Pan nodded. "I feel awful about it – but he's been completely tied up lately. It's harder to get time with him than it is with you – and even if we could've found the time to go speak with him, it might've felt even more out of the blue than it was this afternoon. Maybe this was actually for the best."

"Maybe," he said, feeling guilty about it himself, especially remembering the look on his face when he realized he was the last to hear that news. For the second time that day, he was scolding himself over not talking to Goten earlier. He should've been more of a priority.

"And - I realize Bo and Trunks have known each other for a while now, but the last few months have all gone by in such a blur, I..." she trailed off, planning her next words. "It's been one surprise after another, good and bad. I'm happy to be where we are, but life is a lot different now, and it's all been so sudden, I haven't been able to get used to it yet. I'm not surprised I lost track of time."

He sighed deeply, but not for the reason she probably thought. He stood from his seat and walked over to the sink, helping himself to a glass of water as he considered her words. "I'm happy to be where we are… I haven't been able to get used to it yet." Maybe this wasn't the time to try and make other changes; asking for anything more might be pushing his luck.

Goten's appearance had made it clear that they still had a mess to clean-up, and though they were making progress, there were a few big skeletons that needed to be thrown out of the closet before they could really move on from it. Here he was worried about Step 4 or 5, when they hadn't even cleared Step 1 yet. Pumping the brakes might not be such a bad idea.

"Trunks," Pan started, sounding a little cautious in her tone. He turned to see a sad smile on her face. "We need to find a way to get your mom and my dad in the same room together."

"Yeah, we do," he agreed, "but where's that coming from?"

She shrugged. "It was a good day. We have a great thing going and now that everyone knows everything - it's just making their feud seem…"

"…pointless?" he finished for her.

She nodded.

"It's barely a 'feud', from what I know. Mom knew a long time ago that she'd overstepped, and Gohan…"

"He hasn't felt actively angry about it in a while," she said. "And what resentment he does still feel… A little bit of mutually expressed regret would go a long way."

"You think?" he asked. Gohan had always seemed the most rational of all the Sons, but there was a lot of baggage to unpack, considering everything that had happened with Bo and the undiscussed use of the fragile dragonballs.

She nodded. "He wouldn't admit it to me, but my mom said he was pretty crushed to hear Bulma was sick. She thought he was going to give in and go see her a few times, but he never managed to make it."

Trunks was taken aback by that information. Bulma was convinced he hadn't even signed her card himself. "Why not?"

"Maybe he doesn't know where to start the conversation," she said. She looked away, twisting her lips as her shoulders sank slightly. "I didn't help. I think I made everything a lot harder on him than it needed to be by keeping things hidden and putting pressure on him to do the same. But it's all different now… I don't know; I think it's time to try."

"Maybe I should go talk to him first?" he asked hesitantly. It was just about the last thing in the world he wanted to do, but it was undeniably on the list of obligations he still had. "It feels – like that's something overdue. He needs to know how strongly I feel about Bo – and what we're doing to balance his life between houses. If Gohan and I can work through it, then my mom won't have an excuse not to try."

Pan smiled and nodded in affirmation of his proposal. Trunks wasn't the type to make such an offer out of a simple need to be chivalrous. He'd always looked up to Gohan and she knew he missed her parents, even if they were more in the background of his adult life than they had been when he was a child. It could help salvage things between them and Bo would have a reunited family.

She swore she saw him turn a little green at that moment as he accepted his fate, but she didn't draw attention to it. It wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to happening either, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was time to clear that particular hurdle as well.

"So," he started, "I'll start summoning up the courage to talk to Gohan – and if things go relatively smoothly – we'll talk about my mom."

Pan nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Quiet stretched between them again as Trunks breathed deeply, willing himself back into a relaxed state again to no avail. Tension knotted in his shoulders for reasons he didn't entirely understand. The day had been great, and his muscles were pleasantly sore from the exercise, but not in way that would disable him for days afterward, like recent training sessions had. The idea of talking to Gohan was terrifying in some ways, but he didn't feel like that was the reason for his sudden apprehension.

He'd planned on talking to Pan, to get some things off his chest, and to find out where she stood on the idea of burying the hatchet in multiple ways. The smoldering embers of his old feelings had begun to glow a while ago, but the events of the last few weeks had fanned the flames. Even his mother had suggested the hope of a second chance, and at the time, he'd been almost immediately convinced she was right. His little doubts he still had seemed more and more trivial as time passed.

He'd been a little anxious about broaching the subject since then, but the excitement overwhelmed the nerves in his stomach. He was well aware of what they risked if they failed again, but if it worked…

"I'm happy to be where we are…" had been like a splash of cold water, but maybe the knots he was experiencing were just cognitive dissonance because he didn't really feel like being patient. It was sensible to wait, to give the situation more time to marinate before taking a chance, but he knew he was still perfectly capable of making rash and stupid decisions when he wanted to.

Besides, when – since that day at Capsule – have you ever done the sensible thing when it comes to Pan? he countered his own thoughts. He made a very convincing argument.

"Your workout clothes are probably done drying," she said. He'd brought a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into after their spar, but since his gi had gotten muddy and wet, he decided to throw it in with the boy's stuff. "I know it can be a long flight when you're tired, so..."

"Are you throwing me out?" he interrupted facetiously.

She paused briefly, looking up to see a half-smile cross his features as his blue eyes searched hers. She found his cocky grin to be cheesy most of the time, but in combination with the way he was looking at her, it was catching her differently this time. It felt a little familiar.

"No," she answered firmly.

That was the truth. She didn't want him to go, leaving her to an empty, quiet house. She liked being around him. There was only one time in history when she didn't find his presence comfortable and safe, and those hard feelings had vanished surprisingly quickly once he came back into her life. She just didn't know how to keep him there. Her house had little to offer compared to what his did.

"I didn't have any exciting plans for the night," she said, breaking their eye contact to fuss with her hair again. "Are you hungry? Speaking of food - I don't know why the boys took off like that without a snack or something. I thought they'd be ready to eat again by now."

Trunks took a deep breath and confessed, "Pan, I'm - the one who sent them away."

"Why?" she asked, cocking her head in confusion. "Did you want to go camping too?"

"No. I wanted to speak with you - alone," he said, "and I thought maybe this was the time for it."

Her eyes snapped back up to his. A small, quiet alarm went off in the back of her mind and her smile dropped as a result. Conversations that started the way this one had always seemed to precipitate change. What could he possibly want to change? Today was one of many flawless days they'd had recently - but maybe he didn't feel the same way she did.

"About our parents?" she asked, unable to deny that was what she hoped it was.

"Not our parents, I…"

He interrupted himself with a sigh directed at his own lack of courage and took another drink, hoping to stall long enough to gather his words. He was taking too long. Pan's brow furrowed as her patience ran thin. He'd given her no clues, and the longer he waited, the worse she assumed this conversation would go.

Did he want more time with Bo? She wasn't ready for an empty nest, but maybe she could spend time at Capsule with them. It wouldn't be the worst direction for this to go.

Did he want less time with Bo? No, that wasn't it. He was crazy about him, and she knew he'd sacrificed his once steady weekend work schedule and long evening hours to be there for both boys more often.

Did he want less time with her? She pursed her lips, ignoring the unpleasant ache in her stomach when the thought crossed her mind. Maybe they were over-doing these family days, and maybe he hadn't worked through his anger with her as thoroughly as he'd let on.

Maybe he's seeing someone again, she wondered. It wasn't out of the question, and acknowledging so caused the ache in her stomach to double.

After a few procrastination sips, he finished the rest of the water in one gulp. She tried to read his face as he put his glass in the sink and turned back in her direction. He met her eyes and smiled softly, but that didn't seem to help. Her face grew warm as he walked back over to the table, and instead of stopping at the comfortably-distant chair next to her, he shattered her personal space.

He stopped just in front of her to look her in the eye as she sat on the edge of the table. He wasn't going to chicken out of this, and in fact, based on the confounded look on her face, it might've been too late to. Now he owed her an explanation.

"Is the Rio's around here still open?" he asked, confident he looked a lot more nervous than he should for the question he'd just asked.

She blinked, surprised by the seemingly random question. She was very aware of how close he was, and the fact that his eyes were fixed on hers in a manner that made her feel as though she couldn't look away. The heat was radiating off his skin from his hot shower and making her feel warmer from it. Her face hadn't relaxed, but it had grown pinker.

"It's still open," she answered. "But – we need to call a few days ahead of time."

"We should go."

She opened her mouth to argue, swallowing hard as he seemed to get closer. The warmth spread to her chest, making her wonder if her entire body was red. She knew he had to have noticed. Was he doing this on purpose?

"They… They probably couldn't handle all four of us."

"No – just the two of us."

Her breath caught in her throat. She had a sudden sense she knew where he was going with this. She hated the bubble of hope that suddenly floated from her toes to her chest; it didn't mix well with the dread that seemed to creep in at the same time.

"And when we go, we should talk about setting you up something at Capsule – so you don't have to fly home every time we have a late family night. You could just stay there. Like how it is with Bo - another home."

That brought a smile to her face she couldn't resist, even amidst the apprehension in her shoulders. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You need your time with the boys, and…"

He shook his head and opened his mouth before she could finish, ready with a counterargument against it. She let him interrupt her in favor of hearing what he had to say.

"The day we just had – I can't imagine ever wanting to do anything else with my time," he said. It came out of his mouth very quickly, even to his own ears. It probably wasn't the clear message he'd hoped it would be. "And it's not about the exercise, or the fresh air, it's – how much I love being around the people I really care about, and how much better life is when I am."

She smiled again and cleared her throat, wishing he would take a small step back as her mind rushed with conflicting thoughts. After a moment of finding her voice, she started speaking, but he didn't let her finish. "The boys…"

"I love the boys," he said with a chuckle of frustration, hoping that it was just the Son Goku in her missing the obvious point, and that she wasn't trying to give him an excuse to back out of this before it was too late. He elaborated anyway, risking the chance the latter scenario was true. "I'm – not talking about them right now."

"Trunks…" she tried to argue, but his name was apparently the only thing willing to make it past her tongue. His sapphire eyes remained fixed on her as the space between them seemed to close further. She wanted to argue, but all the rational thoughts seemed to have melted from her mind in the presence of the heat coming off his body.

"Why?" she finally asked quietly. It was an unmistakable request for clarity. A misunderstanding at this point wouldn't just be humiliating, it would put their new and wonderful dynamic in danger. She needed to be sure - without ambiguity.

"Because I…" he trailed off. He knew of the risks; he knew of the pros versus the cons. He'd already weighed them a thousand times. He just didn't know how to say it to her in a way that would get her to understand the weeks of thought that he'd put in this moment.

His stare finally broke from hers as his confidence waned; she could see the doubt in his expression as he struggled to respond. Her eyes softened in understanding anyway. After a few false starts, he seemed to get frustrated enough with his dithering attempts at an answer and sighed. Instead of answering her, he reached up and lightly touched her face, trailing his fingers along her jawline until they rested below her chin.

Part of her wanted to pull away, but the memory of the last time their lips had touched buried the desire to resist. She allowed him to tilt her chin upwards towards him, and met him half-way, even snaking her hand behind his head to pull him closer.

She remembered that taste. She missed his smell, and the softness of his lips. She loved the way his energy wrapped around her like a cozy blanket and the strength she could feel in his arms as they pulled her closer. This was all so familiar to her, as though they had done the very thing only a few days ago instead of years. Their bodies didn't seem to register the gap in time either. For a moment, neither of them had a thought that wasn't burnt off by the heat between them.

Only for the sake of a breath did they finally separate. Her fingers released the tendrils of his purple hair and slid down his arms, but she stayed firmly in his embrace. A wide grin crossed his lips as relief washed over him; she'd understood.

Their chests heaved in an almost matching rhythm as they caught their breath. Ten years hadn't taught them a lick of patience when it came to this aspect of their relationship. But then again, that was one of the reasons they'd gotten together in the first place, and an element that had worked very well back then. Their mutual excitement was already obvious to her. She wanted to drag him into the bedroom so they could refamiliarize themselves with each other, knowing without a doubt it would be morning before they slept. The idea sent another wave of heat through her core as she wondered if he remembered what she liked, or if he would notice the subtle differences in her form caused by carrying a baby.

His baby… Bo…

The domino effect of those few half-thoughts and their trail to the reminder of their current circumstances brought her soberly back to the present. He could see the change in her expression as they processed. His grin faded as a knot formed in his stomach, but before he could formulate a question, she had nearly given him the answer.

She smiled sadly up at him, gently pulling his arms from around her waist and pushing him away with a feather touch. She wasn't angry, that much was clear, but that little piece of information didn't help assuage his deep and sudden concern that he'd done something very wrong.

"Pan…?" he asked, his voice rough from the blood that had been coursing quickly through his veins just a moment before.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, and the lack of a clear explanation did nothing but frustrate them both. She jumped off the table, turned her back to him, then walked out of the room, through her living room and out her front door.

For that moment, he wasn't able to even consider following her. Bewilderment had short-circuited his mind; his body had gone numb with surprise. It was a stark and abrupt contrast to the fire she'd been spreading throughout every inch of his body only a minute ago. He reached out with his senses to feel her ki, to see if he could get a clue as to what she was feeling based on her level, but it only confused him even more. Her energy was almost perfectly quashed; she hadn't run or flown off, since her signature was still very close by; and there was no anger spiking its level.

Part of him didn't want to know. Part of him wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend he hadn't just potentially wrecked a good thing for feelings that she apparently didn't reciprocate, given her reaction. But – he also realized that if she didn't feel something he never would've been able to kiss her. She was Pan. She was not afraid to curl up her fists if she thought he needed some sense knocked into him. She'd kissed him too.

He took a deep breath and threw his towel on the table, slipping his shoes on before hesitantly following her out the door. She hadn't gone far at all. She was near the table where they'd eaten their picnic, a short way from her house. Her back was still facing him, but he could see her silhouette in the faint starlight, looking up at the sky with her arms crossed.

After steeling himself again, he slowly approached behind her. He'd made noise in the tall grass so she would know he was coming, but she hadn't acknowledged him or moved away. In the dim light, he could see her face. Her cheeks were red, but not from anger. She wasn't crying. If anything, she looked very stoic. He had no idea of how to read the situation, and the words weren't coming to mind easily to ask her. He could only tell that something wasn't quite right.

"I love you," she said after some silence. His eyes widened and he verbally stammered, but before he could say anything that resembled an actual word, she put a hand up, effectively telling him to stay quiet. "Don't say anything. I'm not looking for that." The request deepened his frustration with the situation as a million thoughts ran through his head, but he obeyed, and nodded for her to continue. "I don't think that's changed. Even when I hated you too, I still loved you, so it's probably not going to go away any time soon."

The knot that had formed in his stomach earlier seemed to flip, reminding him that it was still there. He sensed a big "but" coming. He wasn't wrong.

"But I don't think you ever felt that way for me."

He immediately and adamantly shook his head. "Pan – I was never given the chance…"

She interrupted him before he could continue. "Don't pretend that was the fault of fate or something," she said with a dry chortle. "We didn't have enough time because you didn't want to give us more."

Despite the harshness of her words, her voice remained soft. She wasn't trying to throw the whole incident back in his face, as if to beat a long-dead horse. It seemed almost like a gentle reminder. He shook his head again; she could see the argument in his blue eyes, but he remained silent aside from a quiet sigh of frustration.

"I was always in second place," she started, "and if you felt anything close to what I felt for you, I wouldn't have been there." Once again, her voice somehow remained steady with no hint of malice or anger. It was enough proof for him that she really had accepted their past, but she'd done so without really understanding what he'd gone through back then. He thought he'd made it clear during their conversation at her house during the night of the storm, but maybe she just hadn't believed him.

"That's not true," he said.

Despite this simple claim, his voice carried a depth that only happened when he was very serious and in times of sincerity. His tone had made his argument. Her mouth opened slightly, and she took a breath, but nothing came out. Her eyes locked onto his, filling with a sense of sadness as a question played on her lips that she wasn't able to ask. His stare wouldn't fall from hers, and for a moment, she swore she could hear her own heart pounding in her chest.

She cleared her throat, finally looking away. "I know I was angry for a long time but considering everything that's changed in the last few months, I've started to understand. I know you've always cared about me, but I was just a placeholder – and the fact that she's gone is the only reason why you're even looking at me and…"

"Pan…" he began.

She cut him off again. Much to his own frustration with himself, he let her. "No, it's okay," she assured him, although the way her voice wavered wasn't convincing either of them. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad for being happy. Believe it or not, I'm not even mad about it anymore."

"I don't believe it – and that was never how I felt about you," he finally said. "You knew that, right? That was the reason I wanted to tell everyone we were with each other. The reason I wanted the secret out of the way - so it would stop slowing us down. I know I was too chickenshit to say it at the time, but I lo…"

"Don't," she interrupted sharply.

He sighed once more. He didn't want to pressure her in the wrong way and end up pushing her away forever. He put his hands in his pockets, letting her take control of their exchange again.

"Trunks," she said, uneasily plastering a disingenuous smile on her lips as she tried to ignore the word that had almost escaped from his mouth. "We had a kid together. We're bonded for life whether we like it or not and we're stuck with each other now." She laughed weakly. Her attempt at sarcasm wasn't misunderstood, but it wasn't working as the levity she'd hoped it would be. "We shouldn't mess with what we have. I'm fine – with where we are."

His eyes softened. "I'm not," he said honestly. "We were good, Pan. I know we can't go back to exactly what we had – but maybe we can make this version of it even better."

Her false smile fell as she looked back towards the sky. He didn't miss her quivering brow, or the way her eyes appeared a little extra shiny in the starlight; the darkness wasn't the veil she was hoping it would be.

A wave of melancholy washed over her at that moment, combined with a jarring spark of joy she wanted desperately to ignore. He was tearing her in two, and she honestly had no idea which direction she wanted to go. She still had feelings for him, but there was an undeniable part of her that wanted nothing to do with the idea of giving it a second chance.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" he surmised. "I thought, after everything – I'd managed to win back at least a little of it."

"I trust you with Bo," she argued, remembering how important that had been to him during their last big discussion.

"That's not what I meant."

She bit her lip and looked down at the ground in front of her, watching the long grass sway in the wind like gentle waves of water. Sometimes the rhythm of the scene managed to calm her down. It was one of the reasons she'd enjoyed training in these fields, and a reason she'd built a house there for her and Bo after he was born. She only wished it was working now.

"I don't want to go through that again," she said honestly.

He'd taken in what she said, but any retort he might've had wouldn't come. He gave the moment its time, waiting silently as he thought of possible answers that might match the weight of what she'd said, hoping she would look up and meet his eyes again. After a while, she did, wondering why he wasn't immediately arguing back.

"Me neither," he simply said. Although she'd given him plenty of space to finally make the counterpoints she'd been shutting down, it was the only thing he thought to say that seemed right.

Her eyes had adjusted more to the dark now that they'd been outside for a while. She could see the details of his angular face and his pointed brow that might've looked like a scowl of anger to someone who didn't know him as well as she did. There was that tone again, but as effective as the voice was, his unceasing stare was sending the message this time.

They'd already talked about this. She'd listened to him argue how painful that day had been for him. She'd heard the words from his mouth, but part of her never believed it as profoundly as he'd professed it. Because he had made the choice, and had made it so quickly, she'd never truly believed he'd felt anything more than guilt for hurting her feelings. When he'd said the decision had been difficult, that's all it meant, right? That he didn't want to hurt her? Maybe – or maybe she'd underestimated him this entire time.

"Are you telling me no?" he asked.

The battle raged on inside her head, preventing her from providing him with a straight answer as quickly as she would've liked to. Just as her response approached the tip of her tongue, a subtle boom sounded from the distance, echoing off the tall towers of rocks in the distance. The energies of the two boys had flared back up; after a short rest, they were at it again, even after a day full of exhausting training.

Trunks chuckled quietly, likely noticing the same, and for a moment, they both paused to read the two familiar kis of the brothers as they sparred in the distance.

Brothers... They were already so fundamentally linked with one another. She could see why Trunks wanted to resolve their history. The idea of forging a whole family was attractive. The idea of forgetting their past and jumping him right out in the middle of the field was attractive too, but every time her mind drifted towards that pleasant possibility, the memories of the butte came back as clear as day. She wasn't sure she'd gotten over it, and as this conversation was proving, she wasn't sure if she ever would.

"I've never had it in me to say no to you," she said. "I just - can't say yes either."

His wrinkled brow slowly relaxed as a half-smile spread across his lips. A twinkle returned to his eyes that she'd almost call pride, if it didn't seem so out of place in this context.

"That wasn't the answer I was hoping for, but I'll take it."

She twisted her head in confusion, baffled by his mysteriously coy expression and his suddenly lighter tone. "Trunks…?"

"I told myself I was done wasting time, and that I wanted you to know how I feel. I've accomplished that – mostly," he said. "I can wait, if you need more time to decide what to do with that information."

It was her turn to stammer. She had obviously not made herself clear enough. "I'm not sure I can give this a second try," she said, hoping to be more direct. "And I don't expect you to just – hang around while I make up my mind. It's better to move on with someone who can give you what you want right now instead of making you wait for a decision that might never come. You have…"

He shrugged casually, causing her to trail off. "I tried moving on with someone else already. It only made me realize that what I want – isn't out there. It was here, today," he explained. Red creeped to her face for the umpteenth time that night. "I know we both made mistakes, but – that doesn't mean we'll repeat them. We'd be going into this with the lessons we learned from back then and – there'd be no secrets this time. Like I said before, it would be different; we're different. I can't see that as a bad thing."

She took a deep breath in, absorbing the points he'd made and unable to immediately contest them. "It might be a while," she said. "It might still be a no. It's not just us, you know. It's Bo, too." She wasn't taking that last part lightly. That's why it had taken her so long to marry Aràn. She'd entered into enough relationships recklessly. Muda, Trunks, everyone she'd been with before she turned 18… Once Bo was in the picture, she knew she had to be more careful. Just because he was nearly a teenager didn't mean those rules had changed and she didn't want him to end up as collateral damage to having her heart broken again. Trunks being his father didn't ameliorate that risk either; in a way, it made it worse.

"I've thought a lot about Bo," he assured her. "I wouldn't even be suggesting this if I hadn't. If you trust me with Bo, then trust me when I say I'd do everything to make sure our relationship with each other doesn't impact his with us."

It was a simple promise, but she believed him. Everything he'd done to show his love for his son was evidence to his word.

He watched as the features of her expression relaxed noticeably, illustrating that he'd won at least part of his case. His half-smile became a whole one as he looked up at the stars. "Pan, I rushed a big decision a long time ago that ended up changing both of our lives. I disregarded your feelings back then and I'm not going to do the same tonight just because I'm a little impatient. Take some time. If you still want to stay right where we are, then tell me. In the meantime, I'll be around."

"Trunks…"

"Don't worry, I'll give you all the space you want," he said, "but I am building you that room at Capsule. I meant what I said earlier and – it had nothing to do with the rest of what we've talked about. You can decide how often you want to use it."

Her smile came back. "I would like that."

Silence returned between them for a moment. In the distance, another series of explosions could be heard faintly as Trunks Jr.'s energy bloomed. She fought the temptation to join them, but her body and the bruise on her cheek were telling her she needed her rest.

"You're really going to just wait around for me to decide?" she asked again, unable to wrap her head around the idea. He wanted to be with her that much?

He nodded confidently. "We've got two kids who will take up plenty of our free time on their own. I'm fine with the idea of being patient while you think about it. I'd rather it happens later and for you to be happy than rush it and make you doubt the decision."

"Why…?" she started, unable to complete the question.

Despite the simplicity of her question, he inferred its true intention. He looked back down at her, his eyes fixing on her for an almost uncomfortable amount of time before he spoke. His face still held his soft smile, but despite his transparency with her, she wondered if he was still holding back.

"I – tried to say it before and you stopped me," he said. "When you're ready to hear the answer, I'll tell you."

His words took a moment to process, but when they did, her breath hitched in her throat. She was glad he hadn't said it to her at that moment, or at any time that night. But, as her heart fluttered in her chest, she began to hope she would hear it from him eventually.

The shine returned to her eyes, but the warm smile and pink hue on her face told Trunks the source wasn't unpleasant.

"I think I'm going to join the boys," he said, figuring it was time to leave her to consider what he'd said. He'd been feeling the same temptation she had to join their kids in yet another round of training, but he hadn't gotten the head injury she had, and the tension of the night was creating a strange energy in his blood he felt the need to spend before bed.

She watched as he took off into the night sky. He'd forgotten his clothes, but that was fine. They saw each other so often that she'd get them to him soon enough. She looked up toward the direction he'd flown off in, realizing that the smile she'd been wearing hadn't faded and seemed stuck in its place. She'd been right – they were already a family of a strange sort; her decision would never change that, even if she decided to move on with someone else. But the more she thought about it, the more she saw Trunks' side; she couldn't imagine wanting anything different than what she'd had that day either.

She sighed and turned to slowly walk back into her now empty house. Images of the butte came back into her memory, including the raw feelings that had caused her to crack the mountain under her. She'd relived that day a thousand times since it had happened, but for some reason – it seemed a little further away and blurrier than it had before.