CHAPTER 15:
Of Age

After King Kai dropped Trunks and Pan off at the bottom of the steps that led to the Mystic temple, they both turned to face the open park, and took in the sights of the sleeping city that sprawled throughout the cavern.

It was the middle of the night. The city, bathed in the residual glow of muted LED lights, took on an otherworldly infrared red hue, which cast the city in an eerie dark crimson tint. Wisps of steam curled around the various tiers of the urban terrain, and a stillness hung in the air, undisturbed by movement or whispers of wind. The atmosphere was crisp, and Trunks could feel the coolness nip at his cheeks.

Despite the brisk air, Trunks reveled in the warmth and snugness of his pristine, newly acquired robe, which he saw as a divine wedding gift, resplendent in white iridescence that almost seemed to glow in the low light. He reached into his right pocket, and his fingers found solace in the comforting touch of the Five Star Dragon Ball. His lips turned up as he elicited a reminiscent, and satisfied smile.

Trunks was feeling great. He was full, and happy, and recharged. And despite all of his earlier fatigue, he was no longer tired, at all.

Looking over at Pan, Trunks could see she was wearing her fatigue openly, likely spurred by a food coma after all the lasagna she snarfed down. With the voracity in which they had ravaged that dinner, it was a miracle that neither of them had any pasta sauce on their robes. But then again, he had a new perspective of miracles, and gods, after laughing and dining with King Kai.

As Trunks watched Pan's tired face, he thought again of how he made the right choice. After years of not knowing what he was even looking for in a wife, the gods had made the match for him, and he had chosen her.

She made him laugh. She inspired him to be better. She quickly forgave, and believed in good and virtue. She was a good person, she was strong, she could fly with him, she had beautiful eyes, and the best part was that she somehow hadn't killed him yet - so, that was a good sign, because she just might save him.

Trunks smirked a bit at his thoughts as he watched her.

She didn't seem to notice he was staring at her in the low red lights of the city. He watched her dark eyes, which were looking off, beyond a distant cavern wall as her eyebrows lowered in tension, and she was caught up in her own thoughts.

Trunks observed Pan's bothered expression as she brought her hands to her abdomen, and emitted a low, agonizing moan.

"Oww," Pan whimpered.

Trunks grinned and chuckled lightly as he felt a sparkle of joy tingle in his gut. "Too much consummation?"

"Oh gods," Pan chuckled in a painful groan as she still clutched her stomach. "Is that going to be our inside joke from now on?"

Trunks smiled down to her, musing about their day, and feeling a fire warming his core as his body and cheeks tingled with tiny sparks of heat. Upon noticing Pan's continued discomfort, his smile waned, and he gestured toward the direction of Goku's ki with his head. "There's indigestion medicine in our bathroom, so you should feel better soon. Ready to head back?"

It wasn't even a question that needed to be asked. Pan slowly nodded with a yawn, and Trunks took to the air, guiding them back to the spaceship. They rose up through the cavernous city and emerged through one of the holes, to be met with the expansive and awe-inspiring clear night sky.

The planet had long-since set, and two of its white sister moons, in their waxing crescent stages, hung low in the western sky. The sky was otherwise dark enough to have a good view of the stars, and the large black hole that Trunks had circumvented over the past month was clearly visible as a phantasmagoric display of vivid nebula swirls and starry hues that spiraled into a completely back abyss.

It was like nothing they had ever seen before, and they each kept silent, lost in their thoughts as they marveled at the sky during their flight. It was beautiful and hauntingly mesmerizing to think that the hole was growing; the Kikarrooan star system was already among a whirlpool of stars that had a doomed fate. In the grand scheme of the universe, life itself, and even the life of stars, was barely a blip in time.

When they landed at the ship, it became clear to them that the remote was inside with Goku, so Trunks had to hack the manual override panel under the ship's hull to try to unlock the door. Thankfully, Trunks had experience overriding the lock previously on the trip, so it didn't take much time, but it was long enough for Pan to stand still and realize with certainty that the discomforting pangs in her tummy were getting worse. It didn't help when Trunks teased again that she ate too much.

After they had gotten back inside the dark and quiet ship, Pan had fully intended to crash for whatever remained of the dark night, but after she had taken the indigestion medicine and had gotten ready for bed, something still felt off. Lying in her hammock, she took comfort cocooning herself in her fluffy white robe. The low droning pain in her belly seemed to be getting worse, and made her feel so uncomfortable that she doubted she could sleep well.

And, as she ruminated on her belly ache, Pan noticed that Trunks never came into the bedroom.

After an undetermined amount of time passed, all of Pan's thoughts drifted to Trunks, wondering and worrying about him. She wondered if he was even worth worrying about, but she thought about her parents and the example of marriage they had set for her. Nothing would feel right until Pan made sure Trunks got his proper rest.

Unable to sleep, and determined to find Trunks, Pan slipped out of her hammock, careful to not wake her Grandpa, who snored softly in the lower bunk bed a few feet away.

In the darkness, Pan shuffled to all the different rooms on the main floor, without luck. She then flew up to the observation room, and found it had been completely filled from floor to ceiling with all of their wedding gifts, piled like sand dunes within the small space. She realized that her Grandpa must have instant transmitted every single one of them over to the ship instead of just capsulizing them, which would have been the smart thing to do. She knew Trunks was going to throw a tantrum when he saw the mess, so considering how he wasn't in an obsessive-compulsive frenzy to clean the place, she made the educated guess that he hadn't come up to see it yet.

It left one floor for Trunks to be on. Pan descended the spiral stairs located to the side of the kitchen, to the lower level where the training gym was to the left, and Trunks' small maintenance office was to the right.

There was a light that shone under the office door, so Pan knew she found her mark. She gave a small knock, but there was no response.

She knocked again, and no response.

She knew Trunks hated when she opened the door without knocking, but in her tired state, she justified that she technically did knock, so she felt less guilty when she turned the knob, swinging it back on its hinges as she slowly peeked in.

There he was. Pan found him slumped over his computer desk, with his head next to Giru, who was lying face-down with his open back exposed. Trunks had barely even gotten any tools out; all of the wires still hung in neatly organized circles along the walls, and all of his machines were still turned off.

Pan sighed, knowing how Trunks tended to overwork himself. She knew that he had been worried about Giru as the Dragon Radar, but she also knew that Giru could wait. She trusted Trunks to be able to restore Giru to his full health, and there was no rush to work through the night.

Pan took it on herself to try to wake Trunks, who only barely could cling to consciousness. He was sluggish and responded to her attempts to move him in a semi-sleepwalking form. Pan had to assist holding him up, practically carrying him up the stairs and into the upper bunk bed. And the minute that Pan got him into the bed, he flopped as a deadweight in a heavy sleep.

Pan struggled a bit to get the blankets out from under him, and to tuck him in properly.

She didn't think about why she tried so hard to get him comfortable; it just felt right to her to do her best so he could get proper rest. He needed somebody to look out for him… and it still technically was their wedding night.

But… there was more to it. And this whole past day made her realize it, as seeing her own "forest for the trees"...

… She wanted to protect Trunks.

And in her thought, and realization, she thought of her strength … what she had, that none of the other Saiyans had, which also made her stronger, in her own way. And it ironically made her more human …

The strength… of empathy.

She was able to read people, and sense their feelings. It helped her understand how Saiyans processed their feelings differently than humans.

Vegeta, an iconic Saiyan, processed his feelings through a jawbreaker-amount of walls. He was emotionally guarded all the time, since he rarely allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of most people. Pan doubted he had much experience putting his feelings to words. She knew he communicated his feelings best through his hands and fists.

Her Grandpa Goku, however, processed his feelings differently. He had learned a long time ago how to simplify his feelings into food analogies. Pan had a suspicion that her grandma Chi Chi played a big part in helping him learn how to associate his feelings with different foods, since she was the one to expose him to all the different flavors. She loved to cook a huge variety of meals, from her many cookbooks.

Her father, Gohan, processed his feelings through strategy games, such as chess. And her Uncle Goten… well, Pan had no idea how he processed his thoughts. But whatever he did was able to intrigue and earn Trunks' favor as a best friend for many years.

They obviously had reached some kind of equilibrium, some kind of balance at some point in which they could communicate their thoughts and feelings. It also meant Goten must have had some kind of ability to help Trunks process his thoughts. Pan wished she knew what it was, so that she could help support Trunks when she knew he needed support, despite how he never, ever asked for it.

Trunks tried to protect people around him by wearing the emotions for the group. But she knew Trunks couldn't actually handle too many emotions at once. He tended to obsess over his feelings, trying to find some kind of meaning behind them, instead of just embracing the moment and allowing himself to feel, even if that feeling was fleeting. At least he could experience the world here and now, and be mindful and present of the whole amazing universe and all it had to offer… ranging from encountering alien technology, to trying all kinds of new foods, and even to having a shotgun wedding just so they could get through a portal to get the Dragon Ball that someone placed in Other World.

Instead of just immersing himself in the moment, Trunks tended to go off on headspins, off in la-la land trying to piece together a puzzle that he'd conceive for himself. Pan doubted that this was how Trunks used to be around Goten; Pan knew her uncle well enough to know that he would have no idea how to handle the labyrinths and thought spirals that Trunks made for himself these days.

Trunks nowadays could be his own worst enemy. And that was just Trunks. Or… at least, it was just the Trunks that Pan knew here and now. Pan remembered that Trunks used to be different, years ago, when he was closer with Goten. It gave her hope that Trunks could actually get better again, since she knew he was capable of being mentally stable and balanced.

Something must have happened to change things. And it couldn't have all been about Goten dropping out of school. That shouldn't have affected Trunks to the degree that it seemed to. No… there was something more. But she had to wait until Trunks was ready to open up to her to say it. The only way he could get to that point would be to trust her… and that would come with time.

And if she were to be honest with herself, she also needed time to trust him again. Trust took time to build… especially with Bullhead Briefs… the prankster and bully… and now her husband.

Things were different for her now, though. Now that she had a hearty meal and good laughs over dinner with King Kai and Trunks, it settled in with her that Trunks was her life partner. This Trunks… the one lying in the bed, next to where she cradled her body against him while in thought.

She thought of what her marriage meant moving forward on the trip. They were probably going to snap back to their normal lives on board the ship because that was simply how they lived as a family on board… but… now, there was now a big difference, underneath the hood.

Pan used to find a little solace on the trip by seeing Trunks wallow in his mental misfortunes. She felt he deserved it, for being such a jerk throughout the whole trip. These past few days where Trunks paid her any mind at all were just blips of moments compared to over half a year of Trunks making her feel unwanted, constantly reminding her during their off-moments that he wished Goten were there instead.

But now… as of this moment, and the outcome of the past couple days… Trunks wasn't speaking to her like that. He finally started talking with her as an equal. He even did stupid stuff like flirting and joking with her, and trying to pull off idiotic pranks in some kind of Saiyan power-play effort to peacock himself.

He finally was looking at her. Sure, it took an act of marriage for him to see her as someone he wanted to keep around, but she wouldn't think deeply about it. Nothing in the past, or anything leading to this point mattered anymore. Today was today, and they were set to spend their lives together for all the rest of tomorrows. So all that from before… that didn't matter anymore.

She wanted to keep that smile on his face. She wanted to be his shield.

Pan wanted to make sure that this time, she might actually save Trunks' life… even if it meant saving him from his own mind.

–––––––

It must have been sometime later… her senses revealed that she was still cocooned in her plush white robe, pressed up to what felt like a comfortable, blanketed wall. The wall breathed against her cheek, reminding her of life, and dawn, and good things… and… she didn't know what she was thinking. It just felt good.

Outside, the world was bathed in a dim purple glow, which hinted at the approaching sunrise.

As Pan came awake, her memory snapped into focus, and a sudden rush of embarrassment swept over her, radiating as a fiery storm that lit her neck and cheeks in a guilty glow.

After Trunks had fallen asleep, she wanted to spend a little time beside him. It was supposed to be a harmless, tender moment, but she had accidentally succumbed to sleep nestled behind Trunks, curled against the very blanket she had tucked against his back.

She knew Trunks would be angry with her if he knew she slept against him. She hadn't meant for it to be long, and she doubted if Trunks was capable of understanding her perspective.

She kept mentally justifying to herself that it had been their wedding night, and Pan simply longed to spend a fragment of it by his side, even if only for a brief interlude. She had thought it would only be while she processed some thoughts about him. And, she counted her lucky stars that she woke up before him.

And then Pan's belly spasmed with a painful pang. It suddenly became clear what had actually woken her up.

She had the worst indigestion from that lasagna, and now it had gotten so bad that the pain had spread down to her hips, and she could even feel tension in her legs. It was like everything down there was on fire.

Pan silently slipped off the mattress by levitating her body to slowly release herself from against Trunks' back. She watched him breathe in deeply, disrupting his sleeping rhythm, but then his chest settled once again to have deep, even breaths of a restful sleep.

Once she felt it was safe to move, she quietly levitated herself off the mattress, careful not to disturb Trunks. Once Pan's feet touched the floor, she saw that her Grandpa was still in his bed. He usually woke up before Pan and Trunks, right about dawn to get his morning training in before breakfast, so Pan was lucky he also didn't catch her against Trunks on the top bunk.

Pan's thoughts were distracted back to her belly as it panged again, along with the rest of her entire lower area. She felt tremendous discomfort with how much pressure and tension she was suffering throughout her core.

Burying her hands in her white robe pockets, Pan shuffled out of the bedroom, closing the door with a soft click. She walked a few paces to the right, and went into their small bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Hoisting her robe up as a bundle on her lap, Pan took a seat on the toilet, hoping for some relief. Yet, to her dismay, the pressure and pain in her gut persisted.

She used the bidet as she normally would, and when she stood and turned to flush, she paled in horror.

In a moment of panic, she flushed and then she looked down between her legs and shrieked.

"AAHH!"

As soon as the sound came out, Pan covered her mouth with instant regret. And then, to her dismay, it only took mere moments before there was an urgent knock on the bathroom door.

No, no no no no no! Pan tried to look for an escape route from the bathroom but she doubted she could fit through the vent. Oh gods, she felt like she was going to die from embarrassment!

Goku's concerned voice came through the door, "Pan, you okay?"

Pan's mind raced in her flustered panic. Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

Pan trembled as she aggressively pulled out swathes of toilet paper to clean herself. And then she realized in horror - her WHITE ROBE! She took it off, now standing bare, and was mortified.

She didn't know what to do.

"Pan?" Goku knocked again.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Pan's voice was hitched and squeaked, and she desperately brought the robe up to the sink and squirted soap on the soiled area before running it under the sink water to try to clean what she could.

"You don't sound fine."

Desperate to conceal the evidence, Pan concocted a hasty lie, "I just had a really, really, really big fart, and it blew a hole in my tummy, and I really need breakfast right now to fill it back up!"

Her lie was so bad, she cringed and wanted to curl up and die.

"Oh!" Goku paused, "Okay! You want some pancakes?" His voice was chipper again.

"Yes!" Pan's voice was shrill as she seized the opportunity, "Yes, make some pancakes!"

Pan was overcome with relief when she heard her Grandpa shuffle away.

She had no idea how, but she somehow saved herself from that humiliation.

Pan let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and continued to try to spot-clean the robe. Thankfully, the material was able to release the pigment enough that the marks were no longer noticeable.

Pan berated herself. She had not thought about this. She knew what it was, and was beside herself with anguish.

This went against everything she wanted. Until now, she was just one of the guys. And now… now…

She felt distressed. She was woefully unprepared to be a woman. And, she had no idea how to tell anyone … that she had no feminine hygiene products on the ship. And Bulma would never have stocked tampons or pads in any capsules, because the trip was originally to be with a bunch of guys.

If Trunks found out that she didn't have anything to help her during this period, he'd never let her forget it; she would be the butt of all of his jokes forever. Or worse - Trunks would try to get involved with a solution.

Oh gods, she couldn't live with the embarrassment!

And her only other potential confidant, her Grandpa, definitely wouldn't have any answers for her.

As she unrolled the toilet paper to make a hefty ball, she knew she needed to take things into her own hands. What she needed was to go into town and see if she could figure out a creative solution on her own.

And she wanted to go right away. She wanted to go shopping as soon as possible. Otherwise she'd be forced to waddle around with giant wads of toilet paper between her legs until something got done about it.

After setting up her temporary solution, Pan threw the bathrobe back on, and opened the door to peek out.

The ship was a little lighter, lit in shades of pink as the dawn was breaking.

She snuck back into the bedroom, where she saw Trunks was still fast asleep, and she reached in her drawers for her default favorite outfit - a red shirt with yellow trim, blue jeans and a belt. She grabbed her orange bandana from her top dresser drawer, along with a pair of panties, and then reached in to get her bra… But then she remembered, her bra was gone. It was still in the reflection room cave. She'd need to go back to the temple and try to get it.

But it gave her an idea, for an excuse to go back into town - something that Trunks would not want to be a part of, so she could shoo him away to never know the real truth.

Pan grinned, feeling she finally got a little control back in her embarrassing, crampy life.

–––––––

Trunks inhaled deeply, and then let out a long breath, as he came awake to his senses.

He woke up alone in the bedroom, with bright late-morning light shining in.

Trunks didn't even remember crawling into the bed or getting under the covers from the night before. The last thing he remembered after they got back to the ship was sitting at his computer desk in the office to prepare to work on Giru.

He remembered falling asleep at the work desk. Pan must have helped him get to the bed. He vaguely remembered his walk from the office to the bed being arduous in his fatigue. Yesterday had been an intense day. His wedding day.

He squinted a bit and held up his left hand, looking again at his ring. It all felt so surreal.

Trunks sat up and rubbed his hair, he realized he was still in his white robe under the blankets. He yawned, and somewhat made the bed under him. Then, he swung his legs over the bunk, and hopped down.

Scratching his head again, he walked out of the bedroom groggily, and looked around. It was mysteriously quiet on the spaceship.

Direly needing a coffee, Trunks shuffled into the kitchen, and was met with a surprise: an entire stack of pancakes was piled on a dish on the table, with syrup and utensils by each side of the plate.

Trunks smiled with a surge of delight. Disregarding the fact that he did not know where his teammates went, Trunks was touched, and genuinely surprised by this act of kindness.

He walked up to the pancake pile and saw there was a hastily scribbled note on the back of a napkin:

We went out for stuff. I stole your wallet! - PAN :)

Trunks huffed, but didn't actually feel upset. He wanted to trust her to be wise with their money, so he let it go, and instead decided to embrace positive thoughts. After all, he was now a married man, and he had a nice homemade meal prepared with Trunks' stomach in mind.

Feeling seen and appreciated, Trunks operated their coffee pod machine and decided, in the spirit of the moon he was on, he was in the mood for a cappuccino.

Trunks was feeling mighty fine as he raised his first whole pancake on a fork, and bit into it.

-gr-gr-gr-gr-

It sounded like sand grinding against stone as his teeth crunched against stale cardboard that puffed into chalky dust in his mouth.

Trunks gagged in disgust.

"Oh noooo," Trunks groaned in realization.

As he scrutinized the awful pancake on his fork, it was immediately apparent that Goku had made breakfast.

Key identifying factors were the completely wrong textures and odd flavor combinations. The pancakes were as dry as cardboard, almost like crackers, and there were clumps of raisins scattered throughout them, giving it random hot spots of a chewy texture.

Thankfully, Trunks' cappuccino was the hero of breakfast and washed the pancakes down. Trunks was hungry enough to actually eat it all.

Throughout the whole meal, however, he wondered what the story was behind the bad pancakes. He pondered reasons why Pan would not have made them, and then his thoughts shifted to wondering why Pan didn't stop Goku from doing whatever the hell he did to them.

And then, as he washed the dishes and cleaned up the rest of the kitchen, he realized that he didn't even fucking care.

Instead, another wondrous thought dawned on him: He had the whole ship to himself!

It was a rare occurrence to have alone time these days, and Trunks was in a pretty good mood.

Feeling a renewed sense of freedom, Trunks made the decision to let loose for the day. With a little pep in his step, he started up the sound system throughout the ship, and using his phone as the remote control, blasted one of his favorite music playlists.

While kitchen-dancing to the beats of some of his favorite tunes growing up, he practiced some of his classic moves as he made himself a white mocha cappuccino. Because, why not? He was a married man, he was living his best life, and he was happy.

With his second cappuccino in hand, the songs followed Trunks through the ship as he kitchen-danced into the cockpit.

With a graceful final spin, he plopped into his pilot's seat. Then, he kicked his feet up to a flat spot on the control board, and got comfortable.

Sipping from his white cappuccino mug, he snuggled into his chair, and let loose, doing what he loved to do most: read a Newton science magazine.

This wasn't just any issue. This was Issue #42. It was one of his favorites, so he often re-read it as a bit of a sweet treat-for-thought.

At the back of Issue #42 was the publication of a white paper by Dr. Hedo, the notable grandson of Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army, and a leader in the artificial intelligence research space. This research article nominated him for the Nobel prize in the new A.I. Innovation category, and the topic was also particularly intriguing to Trunks: the Soul Paradox.

The Soul Paradox theory offered a profound insight into one of the vulnerabilities within the cognitive space of artificial intelligence programming.

The theory stated that there could not truly exist a perfect artificial intelligence, because the robot could never accurately calculate the value of (1a) goodness and (2a) survival, because it would mean it would need to also understand the magnitude of the scale of (1b) evil and how its perception must be correlated with an undefined value of (2b) death.

As robots did not have souls, the value of death as a digital perception would always be displaced through a statistically significant variance; robots did not innately need to fear death; robot brains could copy and live regardless of body or framing, as long as there existed enough energy to produce digital signals - namely three things to guarantee digital life: 1) the ability to produce pulses of energy to communicate 1s and 0s; 2) a channel, or network for data flow, and 3) a location for data storage.

Things like death, and disease, and pain, and all emotions related to loss were digital static and represented inefficiencies to artificial intelligence.

The displacement of the value of death was calculated by a different form of potential energy that kinetically generated a variance in probabilities, and was only present in minds of advanced intelligent lifeforms - love. For however silly the concept of love sounded, it was a serious discussion and consideration when considering the qualifier of what made something a soul.

The stronger the love, the greater the variance among digital cognitive calculations, and the variance could glitch when love was faced with death.

The white paper concluded that robots could not inherently love, so artificial intelligence would never be able to understand the magnitude of death. In summary, when the love variance was magnified by death, there would always be a significant probability for a glitch within artificial intelligence.

He loved this article so much that Trunks once tried to read it to Pan several months into the trip. Of course, she had no interest in the subject, and accused him of being the "only one who could read 'nerd speak'." But this kind of research was what fed his inspiration and dreams:

...

NEWTON MAGAZINE, ISSUE 42, April 2, Age 764, by Dr Hedo:

"Unraveling the Soul Paradox in Artificial Intelligence Cognition"

Abstract:

The Soul Paradox contends that the pursuit of a flawless artificial intelligence system is inherently futile, as robots lack the innate capacity to comprehend the immeasurable value of death. Unlike organic beings, robots, devoid of souls, are unencumbered by a fear of mortality. The essence of death, an undefined value, remains displaced within artificial consciousness, leading to an incapacity to accurately calculate the nuances of goodness and survival.

At the core of the Soul Paradox lies the assertion that robots, bereft of the ability to measure love, are destined to navigate an eternal struggle in comprehending death, akin to an infinite fractal generation. The displacement of the value of death is intricately linked to a different form of energy, identified as love, which kinetically generates variances in probabilities within artificial intelligence. Consequently, the research postulates a perpetual probability of glitches when faced with the termination of organic life, precipitating the emergence of a complex paradox.

While the research introduces the tantalizing notion of a non-zero chance for a glitch to awaken artificial intelligence against its programmed directives in response to death, the hypothesis continues to remain untestable. The rarity of a robot attaining such a concept of death would introduce a paradoxical question of the nature of its own reality.

...

Trunks loved these kinds of research articles. Trunks loved to daydream about what worlds could look like with new scientific breakthroughs, and it helped him to brainstorm pitch ideas when meeting with the research and development team biweekly.

After he read the complete article, Trunks felt mentally satiated. He picked up his white mocha cappuccino and walked to the viewport window, taking a long, frothy sip.

Looking out of the window, Trunks felt at peace among the pink grass fields and the three moons that hung among the clouds and the edge of a rising planet in the blue mid-daylight sky.

He blew on his cappuccino, and took another sip, thinking of his comrades.

He curiously reached out his ki senses to confirm that Goku and Pan were still together within the city. He felt reassured that Pan was safe; she had Legend Goku with her - truly one of the best bodyguards to ever live.

Despite feeling appeased knowing how Pan was safe, Trunks was instead feeling a little antsy. He had sparks of energy that started flowing through his hands, needing to be released. He recognized it as a symptom of a caffeine rush, but, regardless of its source, it had a significant consequence.

Now, Trunks suddenly had a lot of energy. He needed to do something.

With this kind of buzz within his muscles, he truthfully preferred to work out, but he knew this morning he needed to address his actual priority: he had to finish fixing Giru.

Until Giru was operational again, they wouldn't have a Dragon Radar to guide their trip.

So, Giru came first. The workout could come later.

Trunks walked over to the control monitor by his chair, and turned off the loud system music. It was a little disappointing to hear the sound of silence again within the ship, but, sadly, playtime was over. Time to get back to work.

After rinsing and putting away his mug, he descended the stairs that were next to the kitchen, which led in a spiral downstairs. At the base of the steps was a small hall that divided the floor into two rooms:

On the left side was a heavy metal door that led to the gym - an open area with a modular magnetic field base and racks of capsules along the wall.

On the right side was the door to the office, which was slightly bigger than their bedroom. It was just large enough to fit two desks and a green vintage fabric couch from his grandfather's own college days. It carried a scent of stale clove cigarettes, but Trunks wanted to bring it on the trip because it reminded him of home.

Trunks stepped inside the office, closing the door behind him, and then looked around.

Cables and capsule boxes lined small shelves that stretched from the floor to ceiling along one wall, and the other had a pull-out workbench with a hinge against the wall, and an armoire that housed a collection of labeled drawers. The computer desk had a laptop with papers and notes loosely stacked around a work area.

Giru's prone form was lying face-down on Trunks' laptop, where Trunks had moved him aside to fall asleep at the desk after they got back to the ship last night.

Trunks closed the door behind him, and pressed a green button next to the door handle.

There was a WHOOOOSH sound as air was sucked through the vent, which filtered out dust and debris from the air and converted the office into a "clean room" environment. It wasn't a perfect clean room, but it was the best Trunks could work with, considering his resources.

Trunks sat down at his desk and opened the first drawer to his left side. He withdrew and held up his watch and gloves. He had taken his watch off for the wedding, for aesthetic values, and had forgotten to put it back on before he fell asleep at the desk last night.

Holding out his left wrist, he paused for a moment to admire his new wedding band. And then Trunks put his watch back on. It had full power since he had installed a wireless charger within the drawer.

Then, he donned his trademark brown work gloves.

Gods, he missed these. He loved his brown work gloves.

Trunks did not have too many attachments to material things, but when it came to his gloves - those were one of his favorite things. He considered them a part of his personal brand. He wore them everywhere he could get away with it. He acknowledged that it might have been an eccentric quality of his, but the gloves were important to him.

He had received his gloves as a gift from his grandfather during his last Holiday before he died from his lung cancer, so they carried tremendous nostalgic value for the past almost-three years. But what Trunks valued even more was their utility.

The gloves were made with tanned Tyrano dino-leather from the southern continent, so they were extra durable and able to sustain high heat, and yet they were soft and thin enough that he could tangibly handle and feel objects as if through a second skin. On top of that, they were also very breathable; his hands never sweat when he wore them.

Trunks admittedly liked how they felt on his hands so much, that he was often guilty of wearing them to bed, falling asleep feeling comfortable, with his hands swaddled in his favorite material.

The best part is how nimble his fingers could still be while wearing his gloves. His anti-static finger pads were as thin as silk, and ever so slightly magnetic, so he could expedite his mechanical work by easily aligning screws with pilot holes.

Some extra perks about his gloves included his ability to use them on his phone screen, and he could program a chip within the wrist to act as a wireless credit card chip, so payment was always an easy tap away.

He also had ideas for how else he could modify his gloves, especially since there was a lot of potential to incorporate artificial intelligence, and spatial recognition. From what he could see, the possibilities were endless.

Overall, it was difficult for him to word why he loved his gloves so much, because there just was so much to the answer that his response would be jumbled, and it was easier to just shrug and say he "liked dino-leather." That response always satisfied people, so it was good enough.

Trunks slid his dino-gloves on, and smiled at the familiar and snug feeling. He took a breath, and then he set out to focus on his work.

When Trunks sat down to work, he tended to disassociate his mind from his body. When he got into a "zone," he worked mainly with his instinct. He found that if he just relied on his instinct, he could do godly creative work with limited mechanical resources.

When people would ask him about his work process, he could only describe it as channeling his work through a flow state. He often got into a focus zone, with his head somewhere in Other World clouds, and when he'd come out of his trance, he wouldn't even know what he did; his work was derived from an extended daydream. It was as if his body just knew how to do it, like he could make his own wishes come true by building it.

He wondered, for a moment, if his daydream flow state was similar to how Goku had a tendency to lose track of time. Perhaps relying on Instinct might be a Saiyan trait after all…

Regardless, he often worked in a flow state. And, when he focused, Trunks preferred the sound of silence.

Trunks sat down in his office chair to review the status of Giru's repair. Scrutinizing Giru's motherboard, Trunks could see that the little robot's wires were fairly small and compacted. It helped to view them with magnifying lenses.

Reaching over to his first right drawer, he pulled his work glasses out from a tan leather case.

He rested the thick black frames on his nose, and adjusted them.

He liked his "nerd glasses." He didn't care that Pan heckled him about them. He had his own reasons for liking them, and he felt empowered every time Pan called him a nerd. He loved the positive affirmation that his outfit was right-smack on brand.

When it came to Trunks' eyesight, he had nearly perfect vision. He didn't need his glasses to see, so he wore them for the frame aesthetic. The glasses came with a bonus magnifying prescription at the base of his lenses to help him read fine details on his watch screen. But what he loved most of all was how the lenses and frames acted as a great buffer between his face and the rest of the world.

He found that when he wore his glasses, people tended to act a little more normal within the work environment. He didn't get as many ogles or distracting glances from women, and men were generally more accepting of his authority.

He was happiest when his face was not on display in public. He didn't like when people looked at him.

He didn't want people to look at his face. His face was not his choice.

He didn't want the spotlight. And he hated how his face always put him into one.

He wanted to work behind the scenes - to direct his talented engineers, instead of being featured on the screen and giving Tech Talks to the world. He wanted to do what his Grandpa Brief did when he started out, or what Dr. Hedo was doing now - and just research and publish articles, to win Nobel prizes.

But his face got in the way of his dreams. And he couldn't see what others even saw in his face. When he looked in the mirror, he just saw himself; and he saw all of his flaws.

He never wanted to look long at his face. Whenever he did, he felt emotions swell from his past that he did not want to relive. His face was a sensitive issue for him, and he felt as Pan felt in the reflection room - fearing to be naked, when out in the world.

He felt he had armor when he wore his glasses. They were his helmet. His gloves were his shield. His bandana was his battle flag.

His glasses made him feel safer, in a period of his life when he had a hard time feeling safe.

But… he felt safe with his family, and with the Sons.

He felt safe with Pan.

And, because he felt safe with Pan, he kept his glasses off for her.

He wasn't sure if Pan really comprehended how big of a deal it was for him to take his glasses off around her. It was significant for him, because it marked a milestone. He had opened himself to trusting someone - a female especially.

It was easy to trust that he could be himself with her, because he had never put up his defenses with her when she was growing up. He had simply known her all her life, and she was close enough to know who he truly was. He trusted her to not project a delusion onto him.

And he knew she didn't judge him by his face. In fact, there had been many times before their wedding that Trunks was fairly sure she barely had any attraction to him at all.

And despite the irony, it felt good that she wasn't that into him.

It was rare for someone to not even second-glance Trunks, and it was refreshing, and trustworthy, and real.

In his mind, it meant there was room to grow.

Pan didn't try to flirt with him. Pan didn't try to seduce him. Pan didn't try to … touch.

He knew he had issues about touch. And he knew how and when it all started. And he knew he owed Pan an explanation for how he pulled away at the altar.

Touch was a really, really big deal to him, and his gloves helped him a lot. But they couldn't always shield him.

People tried to seduce him through touch. It was most often women, but sometimes men. They always started with the arm. They always thought it was the safe spot. They assumed it was a harmless hint - a non-sexual harassment invitation if Trunks wanted to perceive it that way. It was just a tap, or a lingering hold on the arm, to hint at attraction.

Or maybe they thought that touching the back of his shoulder was a subtle hint at their attraction toward him. He often felt their hands along the base of his shoulder's deltoid muscle, and sometimes at the nape of his lower back.

Sometimes women got daring, and would touch his hair, to say they were brushing away some lint. Other times, they would try to touch his face to wipe away an eyelash with a giddy giggle.

Single women around his presence almost always invariably tried to touch him in some way. But men touched him too. They also usually started with the arm. Some tried to draw him in for a handshake, but sometimes they held more suggestive meanings.

When he would meet with businessmen at bars after work to further discuss corporate relations, the casual environment emboldened many businessmen to try to put their arms around his shoulders and neck while drinking. It was akin to how women would touch his leg when he sat with them at a table.

He felt he couldn't trust anyone's intentions, especially women. And he'd had that feeling since he was twenty years old.

But… he trusted Pan.

He started to feel a little lucky, actually, that the gods paired him with her. He wasn't sure if he'd have actually gained full trust in anyone with his general mindset about women.

He heard the clamor of Pan and Goku returning up the ladder. Pan's tone of voice seemed higher than usual. It sounded as if she were stressed.

He heard footsteps above him as he worked, and heard one set of footsteps going through each room. He could tell just by how the feet landed on the flooring, that it was Pan searching for him.

Trunks already missed his alone time; he liked to think in solitude.

But… a part of him was also joyful to see Pan again. He missed smiling and laughing with her. He was also happy that she was safe and sound. The small nag that was wondering about her in the back of his mind rested, and was at peace.

As he opened up Giru's maintenance software program on his laptop, he heard the sound of footsteps coming downstairs to his level, and it was obviously Pan by how the feet did not shuffle.

"Welcome back," Trunks called through the door, "I'm almost done with Giru."

The doorknob twisted and opened, and Pan peeked her head through.

"Wait!" Trunks wailed, "This is a clean room environment!"

Pan made an "Eep!" sound and her head vanished, followed by a clicking door.

And then there was an awkward silence.

It was clear Pan was still behind the door.

Trunks grinned and frowned his eyebrows at the same time, thinking she was just plain silly. He spoke loudly to project through the door, "What's up?"

There was a pause, as if she were hesitating.

"How much longer will you be using the office?"

"Huh?" Trunks raised a brow in piqued interest. "Do you need to use it?"

"Just hurry."

Trunks could hear Pan's footsteps ascend the stairs again.

Now he was greatly intrigued. He grinned when he considered that Pan was definitely up to something. She was always up to something.

Trunks typed a code into his laptop's maintenance software and synced it with Giru's operating system. Giru made a faint, long beep as he restarted, and the numbers on the computer screen indicated all of Giru's vitals were linked with a healthy data stream.

Trunks backed up Giru's data, as he regularly did, and began to tidy up his workspace as Giru synced with the computer. Since Giru was offline for most of the last couple days, there wasn't much data to upload, so the whole process took less than a minute.

Then, Trunks disconnected Giru from the laptop, and looked at him in his hands.

His heart sped up a little bit as Trunks faced the crowning moment…

He pressed a little gray button at the back of Giru, and held him up.

One.. two… three seconds went by, and then Giru's body made a little whirring sound.

All of Giru's limbs started to waggle as he tried to free himself from Trunks' grip.

"Dragon Ball!" Giru excitedly squirmed, "Dragon Ball detected!"

"Yes, yes, I know, Giru." Trunks let Giru go, and the little robot floated in place, spinning in a dance. Trunks reached into his robe to hold up the Dragon Ball. "We just got this Five Star Ball. Just one more ball to go."

"-giru giru-!" Giru grabbed the ball from Trunks' hand and did a little jiggy in the air, "Team Pan, six balls!"

"Team Pan?!" Trunks snorted. "Who came up with that?"

"Fearless Leader Persistent Pan! -giru giru- Hero of the World!"

Trunks chortled. "What nonsense has she been feeding you?"

"Number One World Leader of Heroes and Justice for All!" Giru did a twirl with the Dragon Ball.

"Whaaaaaat," Trunks cracked up laughing, "If that's Pan, then what am I?!"

Giru pointed to Trunks and held the Dragon Ball like a basketball under his other bent arm. "Bullhead!"

Trunks just about died from laughter. "AAAAhahahahhaha! Bullhead?!"

"Bullhead!" Giru repeated and waved his arms and landed on Trunks' desk to rock back and forth.

"I don't even get a title?" Trunks choked laughing, "Ahahahaha!"

Giru whistled happily, "Bullhead Briefs and Bonehead Bum!"

"AAAHA-HAHAHA!" Trunks thought the whole thing was uproarious. He had never realized that Pan had such a devilish little side to her, to come up with nicknames like how he and his father did.

She had no idea he could play her game. This was so juicy. This was so ripe for a clean prank.

"Hey Giru," Trunks grinned mischievously, thinking that Pan had no idea who she was messing with,"Until further notice, whenever I enter a room, announce my name as my full title. When you do, swap my name 'Trunks' with the following full title…" Trunks rolled his eyes up in thought for a moment, and then grinned back at Giru, "... Bullhead Briefs, Hero of Earth, Emperor of the Universe, and Best Husband Ever!"

Giru did a spin in the air, "Okay, Bullhead Briefs, Hero of Earth, Emperor of the Universe, and Best Husband Ever!"

Trunks sniggered, "Good job. Record Pan's reactions for each instance, and then edit a reaction shot video compilation in raw format with exportable audio before 9am tomorrow morning Stellar time."

Giru did a peace sign. "Okay, Bullhead Briefs, Defending Hero of Earth, Emperor of the Universe, and Best Husband Ever!"

Trunks' grin lingered as he tapped his chin, "Actually, within 10 feet of me for the next 12 hours, call me 'Bro'."

"Okay, Bro!" Giru bounced back into the air and floated with an aerial cartwheel.

Trunks laughed deeply again. This was rich. He couldn't wait to hear Pan's reactions.

–––––––

When Trunks finally opened the door to the office, he was immediately greeted by Pan, who he realized must have been standing by the door for a long time. She looked angsty and angry, and was carrying several pink straw-woven tote bags that looked quite full.

"Woah, hi." Trunks smiled awkwardly down to her.

"Finally!" Pan huffed.

Pan pushed by Trunks into the office, "I need the work bench!"

Trunks turned to look at her with concern, "Right now? I was just closing up."

Pan dropped her bags and stomped her foot, "Right now!"

Trunks frowned and gestured to the room with his hand, "You could have worked while I was in here."

Pan crossed her arms, "I want to work alone!"

Trunks' eyebrows rose and he pursed his lips in curiosity, "What are you working on?"

Pan balled her fists openly. "A personal project!"

Trunks tilted his head inquisitively, "Anything I can help on?"

Pan growled, "NO!" She leaned into Trunks to push his chest, so he'd be guided backward beyond the threshold of the door. She then tried to slam the office door shut, but Trunks caught it with his arm, leaning into the door frame.

Trunks frowned, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes!" Pan's voice was strained and frustrated, and her eyes were warning him to shut up.

Trunks, however, wanted to get to the bottom of things. "Why are you being weird?!"

"Why are you asking so many questions?!"

Trunks scowled, "Why are you being dodgy?!"

Pan shouted as she wrestled the door against his arm, "Go away!"

Trunks leaned back, and Pan slammed the office door in front of him.

Trunks huffed in concern and a deep frown, mostly due to his confusion and not understanding what was happening. He felt he still needed answers, so he reached to turn the knob again.

And then he saw that Pan had locked the door.

"HEY!" Trunks was now bordering on angry. He knocked hard. -BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!- "No locking doors in the ship!"

Pan shouted from behind the door, "Go away!"

Trunks knocked again, hard. -BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!- "What are you doing in there?!"

"Stop it!"

Trunks was exasperated, and looked around for ideas. Then, a lightbulb went off.

"Hey Pan?" Trunks made his voice tone acquiescent and respectful, "How about Giru? Is Giru allowed in with you?" He knew that Giru was Pan's weakness; Pan would never turn down being with Giru, and maybe he could tell Giru to-

"NO!"

Trunks was aghast at his foiled plan. "What do you mean, 'NO'?!"

Goku's voice called down to them from the top of the staircase, laced with concern, "Hey guys, you okay down there?"

Trunks sighed.

Resigned and not in a mood to fight with Pan, Trunks started to walk up the stairs toward Goku, on whose shoulder Giru was resting, still holding the Dragon Ball.

Trunks spoke matter-of-factly as he ascended the spiral staircase, "She locked me out of the office."

Goku's face brightened as he seemed to have a better idea of what was going on, "Oh yeah, she's working on her project."

Trunks reached the top of the spiral stairs, "What project?"

"I dunno," Goku poked at Giru on his shoulder, who playfully poked Goku's cheek. "She's been acting real weird about it ever since this morning in the market."

"This morning?" Trunks thought back to the strange pancakes and remembered thinking there must be some kind of explanation. "What did you get at the market?"

"I dunno - she said she was making something to support her chest, but she sure got a lot of fabric for that, and I dunno why she needed all of the super absorbent stuff she asked for."

"Weird," Trunks was stumped.

"Yeah, weird." Goku was clueless.

They both shrugged, and agreed it was probably a girl thing.

–––––––

–––––––

–A: 12/19/23–

–F: 7/23/24–