Goten struggled to open his eyes. He couldn't recall the last time he was slightly hungover. The shots of champagne that he and Trunks took at his place were not the best idea. But Trunks wanted to celebrate the good news he told him when he was inebriated.
He knew it was the alcohol talking, but he admitted to Trunks that he wanted to start training for the title again. He had been thinking about it for the last week, but he wished he kept that to himself a bit longer. Hopefully, Trunks doesn't remember that from last night.
The hybrid grabbed his phone on his dresser, turned down the brightness, and proceeded to text Valese good morning. He was going to ask her to grab coffee one day this week to get to know her better. One of the perks of having his own business is that he could show up to work later than he would.
He was still surprised that she came up to him to give him her number. It didn't matter, he has her number. And he was thankful for that. The younger hybrid glanced over at Trunks as he heard him grunt a few times.
"Good lord, we can't be drinking like that anymore." Trunks groaned as he woke up from his slumber. He couldn't recall the last time he was hungover. He couldn't even remember the last time he got this drunk.
"Good morning to you too." Goten greeted as he threw his pillow at his best friend, "It was your idea to take shots when we got back to my place."
Trunks rolled his eyes at his best friend as he got off the air mattress that Goten had, "Yeah, well don't listen to me when I'm drunk." He hissed as he got up to go to the bathroom.
The younger hybrid couldn't help, but chuckle at his best friend. He forgot how grumpy Trunks gets when he drinks too much.
Goten checked his phone and smiled because Valese texted him back:
I'm free tomorrow, let's grab coffee at this cute cafe on 118th called Sunrise's. Wanna meet at 9? - Valese
Goten texted her back right away:
That works with me. Can't wait to see you
By now, Trunks returned and threw the pillow back at his best friend, "Who got you smiling like that?" Trunks sneered as he went to check his phone to see if he had any text messages from Marron.
"Valese." He smiled as he got up from his bed and walked to the kitchen. He felt hungry, so he wanted to grab something to eat. "We are going to get coffee tomorrow."
Trunks cheered as he followed his best friend to the kitchen, "I'm loving this! Marron is going to be so happy for you." Trunks exclaimed as they heard someone knock on the door. The pair of best friends looked at each other. "Are you expecting company?" He asked.
Goten shook his head no, "No, not today." He explained as he walked towards his front door.
He wasn't expecting any company and he was hoping that he and Trunks weren't too loud last night after their night of drinking. His downstairs neighbor complained a few times that he was "too loud", but Goten thought he was out to get him.
The younger hybrid was surprised to see his older brother and his niece when he opened the door. "Good morning Gohan and Pan." He greeted them as he invited both of them into his apartment.
"I'm sorry Goten, but is it possible that you can watch Pan today for a couple of hours?" He asked. "I know this is last minute and I don't want to show up like this, I'm sorry." He apologized.
Goten chuckled, "Yeah, I always got time for Pan. I was only going to kick it with Trunks all day." He said as Trunks waved at both of them.
Gohan sighed in relief, "You are a lifesaver little brother, I'll pick her up around 3:30 pm." He kissed his daughter on the forehead, "Behave for your Uncle!" He scolded her as she rolled her eyes at her dad and she whipped out her phone to text one of her friends.
Goten could feel the tension between the father and daughter. He leaned over to his older brother. "Is everything okay with her?" Goten whispered. Pan grunted and walked over and sat on her Uncle's couch typing away on her phone.
Gohan shrugged his shoulders. The younger hybrid assumed the girls at her school were still giving her problems. He also believes she hasn't told her parents about the real reason why she fought this girl named Skylar. Explaining the tension between the two of them.
"I have tried to get her to open up to me but she hasn't. Don't take it personally if she doesn't with you." Gohan explained to his little brother. He looked at his watch, "I have to go, thanks again Goten, bye sweetie."
Gohan left as Goten closed the door to his apartment and turned to face his niece, "Trunks, can you give us a minute?" He asked.
"I can get out of your hair, I have to help Marron plan for our housewarming party next Saturday." He admitted as Goten nodded his head. The twenty-eight-year-old grabbed his belongings from Goten's bedroom and left.
Goten sat down on the couch right next to his niece, "Pan, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked. He could tell that she was upset, most likely once again she was crying about something. He understands that Gohan and Videl are worried about her, but they also need to understand she deserves a safe space.
The younger son of Goku wasn't going to betray his niece, but he hoped that one day she would decide to tell her parents what was going on at school instead of just acting out and giving both of them attitude. It's not going to help the current situation.
It must be hard to go from being an only child to being an older sister. Goten knows Pan loves Wyatt, it will take some time to get used to having a baby in the house.
"Skylar is a grade-A pain in my ass, Uncle Goten." She cursed as she locked her phone. She wanted to give her Uncle her full attention, "Bra texted me all the rumors that she started about me."
"Besides beating Skylar up, what have you done to her?" Goten asked with a curious tone. There had to be a reason why this girl had an issue with his niece. He wanted to get to the bottom of it to help her out.
Pan sighed, "She's just a bully! She's a grade above me and just likes to boss people around." She began, "Bra was friends with her and I met her by association."
"Was?" Goten questioned, "Is Bra still friends with her now?"
The daughter of Gohan shook her head no, "Bra overheard her calling me some freak because I like to fight and be 'one of the guys'. Bra told her off and she hated me since." Goten rolled his eyes. "This definitely sounds like some shit that Marron had to deal with back in high school." Goten thought to himself as Pan explained her issues with Skylar.
"So that doesn't explain why she has an issue with you," Goten said as Pan folded her arms.
"Exactly! She's mad because Bra Briefs would rather be friends with me than her." She continued, "She was going to use Bra and not actually be her friend. It sucks going to school."
Goten hugged his niece. He hated the fact that she was going through this alone. He doubted Bra told Bulma and Vegeta because they would have been involved already and ended this petty high school drama.
No one deserves to go through this. Goten understands that Pan is a teenager, but in ten years she is going to sit back and laugh at this situation because of how stupid it is. For now, he will comfort her and be the shoulder she can cry on when she needs one. But he knew the only way to end this for good is to tell her parents.
"Pan, you need to tell your parents." Goten suggested, "I can keep my mouth shut until you feel comfortable, but you need to tell them."
Pan whined, "Uncle Goten, they won't understand! Papa is busy with his lectures, momma is busy with the baby!"
"They will make the time for you if you tell them you want to talk." Goten continued, "I don't want to see you sad and they can end this."
"How?" The teenager asked.
Goten sighed as he recalled the drama Marron went through in high school. The girls used to make fun of the blonde since she had no nose and wasn't pretty enough. She was adamant about telling her parents, but a lot changed when Trunks stood up for her. Honestly, that's probably when Marron developed her crush on him.
"They can talk with the principal and schedule a meeting with Skylar parent's." That was the first idea Goten thought of and he knew that it wasn't the best idea, but it was something. All he wanted was for his niece to cheer up. He doesn't like that she is being bullied.
Pan laughed, "That's so lame Uncle Goten." Goten rolled her eyes at that comment. "But I'll tell my parents about what's going on." Now that's the sentence that he wanted to hear.
"That's my girl, so what do you want to do today? I'm all yours." He asked.
"Uncle Goten, how are you doing after the whole issue at Grandma's house?" She asked him, changing the subject. It was a valid question and he meant to call his niece and tell her the truth about everything. She must have been worried sick about him.
He placed his hand on her knee and looked her in the eye, "Pan, I was extremely depressed recovering from my injury. Learning how to walk again was not fun and I mentally struggled." He began, "I spoke the truth and I have been feeling better."
"So, is this the anxiety you were talking about when you babysat me weeks ago?" She asked.
Goten nodded, "Yep. And you were right, the feeling passed. I'm feeling better, I promise." He reassured her because he knew she was going to ask him again.
"Pinky promise?" She asked as she held out her pinky finger. Goten chuckled a bit as he wrapped his pinky around hers. Pan takes pinky promises seriously.
As the pair let go of their pinky promise, a smile formed on her face. She was glad to hear that her Uncle was feeling better. It had only been a couple of months since their first talk about Skylar and anxiety. He has improved tremendously after he explained to his mother that he wished he died.
Goten wishes his dad was here. He needed his advice more than ever, but he had no idea when he was going to be back. He didn't understand why he couldn't have waited until after he woke up from his coma. Gohan tried to explain that Uub needed him now, so that's why he dropped everything and left.
"I'm glad you are feeling better!" She said as she gave him the biggest hug ever, "So what does this mean for you?"
He looked at her as they released from their hug, "I admitted to Trunks when I was drunk as hell that I want to start training for the title again." He announced. He knew Pan could keep his secret and if not, he would swear her to a pinky promise.
"Are you?" She questioned him, "I don't think Grandma will be happy about this."
He chuckled at her because he knew that she was right. Chi-Chi expressed her feelings about not wanting Goten back in that ring again after being in a coma and rehab. But it's something that she will never understand.
"I think so, but I want to give it some more time. I have been thinking about it." He confessed as he glanced over at her.
She nodded her head at her Uncle, "Whatever you decide to do, I'll support it!" She exclaimed causing her Uncle to smile.
He stuck out his pinky and she scoffed at him, "Hey, I promised I was better. You can promise not to tell anyone. They need to hear it from me." She wrapped her pinky finger around her Uncle's to ensure the promise would go into effect.
"Also, to answer your question, can we go to the amusement park?" She asked.
"Sure, I would love that," Goten said causing Pan to smile. "But I'm making breakfast because I'm starving." He announced causing his niece to laugh at looked forward to spending his day with Goten, but he understood that family comes first. His mother from time to time would ask him and Marron to watch Bra. She doesn't do it often anymore, but he sometimes misses babysitting his little sister.
The twenty-eight-year-old knew the teenager was going through something and it looked as if she was crying. Hopefully, his best friend calmed her down and found a way to cheer him up.
The lavender-haired man grabbed his access card and entered his penthouse building. "Hey, babe, I'm home!" He yelled into the house as he heard footsteps.
"Babe!" Marron greeted as she walked over to him to give him a kiss, "Kami you reek of alcohol."
Trunks chuckled, "Yeah, Goten and I drank a little more than we planned to."
"You're home early, I thought you were planning on spending the whole day with him." She said as she started to walk back into the kitchen. Trunks followed after the blonde.
"I was, but Gohan asked Goten to babysit Pan. I think Pan is going through some stuff." Trunks continued as he went into the pantry to find him something to eat.
The blonde nodded her head as she sipped on her coffee and ate her breakfast burrito, "I hope Pan is okay." Marron began, "Anyway since you are home early, I need your help with the housewarming party. I can't believe it's next Saturday."
Trunks chuckled, "I knew you were going to say something like that. But I'm all yours." He said as he sat down at the kitchen table next to his girlfriend.
"You're so good to me!" The blonde cheered as Trunks kissed her hand. "I'm so excited for this housewarming party, it's great for the next step in our relationship."
Trunks nodded his head as he continued to listen to his girlfriend talk about how excited she was for the party they were throwing. Little did she know, this was the same day that Trunks was planning on proposing to her.