“Mom, Goten and I are going to the fair, okay?  ’Bye!”
 “Wait just a minute, Trunks!” Bulma called form her lab. “I want you to take Bra, too.”
 “Moooom,” Trunks whined.
 “No, no, no.  No argument.  I don’t want to hear it.  You’re taking her, and that’s final.  End of discussion.”
 Trunks glared at the door. “Fine.  Bra, come on.” Trunks went to the door and flew away without waiting for Bra’s response.
 “Wait!  Wait!  Niichan, I can’t fly!  Wait for me!” a five-year-old Bra called, running after him.  She sat down on the porch and began to cry.
 “Hey, B-chan, it’s okay.”
 Bra looked up at him inquisitively.
 “I’ll carry you.” He crouched. “Climb up on my back.”
 “Really?” She grinned and clambered up.  She twined her arms around his neck. “Sankyuu, Goten-san.”
 “Goten-san?” he repeated as he lifted off. “Nah, don’t call me that.  Call me…” He racked his brain for an appropriate nickname for himself. “Niichan Goten,” he settled.
 Her eyes widened. “You’re very nice, Goten-s—Niichan Goten,” she corrected.
 “That’s better,” he approved. “And I’m not really all that nice.”
 “Yes you are.”

 Trunks had heard them approaching.  When he saw them, he turned. “Why’d you bring her?” he demanded irritably. “We could’ve just said we forgot she couldn’t fly and that would have been the end of it.”
 “Trunks, that would have been really mean,” Goten reproached. “It’s not that bad, having B-chan here.”
 “Not that bad?  Okay, you watch her,” Trunks snapped.
 “All right, I will,” Goten said amicably. “I’ll hang with B-chan.  No problem.  It’ll be fun.”
 “Sure it will,” Trunks scoffed.
 “Really, Niichan Goten?  You’ll stay with me?” Bra asked.
 “I said I would, didn’t I?  Trunks will hit on any girl that passes, we’ll have fun on the rides.  How’s that?”
 Bra grinned and laid her head on his back. “Sankyuu, Niichan Goten,” she whispered, hugging him.
 “Hey, who wouldn’t want to spend time with a charming, beautiful, elegant lady such as yourself?”
 Bra giggled. Then, “Can we—can we go on the merry-go-round?” she asked timidly.
 Trunks snorted. “Yes, Goten.  Will you go on the merry-go-round with her?” he mocked.
 Goten forced a chuckle. “Well, eh,” he started.
 “It’s okay,” Bra said in a tiny voice. “Never mind.  It doesn’t matter.”
 Goten made a decision. “Hey, don’t say that,” he told her. “I love the merry-go-round.  Of course I’ll go on it with you.”
 “Really?” He could hear the delight in her voice.
 “I said I’d hang with you, didn’t I?  If you want to go on the merry-go-round, we’ll go on the merry-go-round.  I draw the line at the logs, though.  Sorry.”
 Bra giggled again. “Niichan Goten, the logs are for babies.”
 “Whoops.  So sorry.”
 “You’re very silly, Niichan Goten.”
 “I can’t help it.  It’s in my genes.  Look, there’s the fair.  What do you want to do first?  The merry-go-round?” He set her down.  Trunks ditched them almost immediately.
 She shook her head. “No, I like to save it for last, if that’s all right.”
 “Of course it is.” Goten paid for her and held the gate open. “After you, m’lady.”
 “You’re very silly!” she exclaimed.
 “I already told you it’s a medical condition, B-chan.  So, how about the roller coaster?”
 “Okay,” Bra agreed. “That will be fun.”
 “Good.  Let’s get in line before it gets too long.”
 Bra looked up and grinned. “Sankyuu, Niichan Goten.” She let him lead her across the fair to the roller coaster ride. “Merry-go-rounds are fun,” she confided, “but I just like to save them for the end of the day.”
 “I understand that.”
 “Excuse me, but the little girl is too young to ride the roller coaster,” the attendant said.
 Goten looked him up and down and stuck his nose in the air. “Are you aware that this little girl is Miss Bra Briefs, heiress to the Capsule Corp fortune?” he asked. “I think she should be allowed on the ride.”
 “Oh, er, um, well, maybe just this one exception,” the guy stammered.
 “I rather thought you’d see it that way.  Come along, Miss,” Goten said grandly.
 Bra couldn’t stop laughing as they climbed on. “Niichan Goten, that voice was so funny.”
 “What voice, Miss?” Goten asked.
 “That one.  You sound so…mean.  So…arrogant.”
 He slipped back into his normal voice. “Are you sure you’re okay on this ride?”
 “Uh-huh.  Don’t worry.  Papa takes me flying sometimes and throws me and stuff.  That’s tons scarier than riding on this.”
 “If you’re sure.”
 “Yeah…but if I get scared, will you hold my hand?”
 Goten looked down at her. “I don’t think you’ll get scared,” he said, “but if you do, feel free to hold on to me.”
 “Sankyuu, Niichan Goten.” Bra settled in with a grin.
 “No prob, B-chan.”
 Bra didn’t get scared on the roller coaster, nor the haunted house.  She did feel sick after the Tilt-A-Whirl, and asked to sit down.
 “Hey, B-chan, you gonna be okay?”
 She moaned and held her stomach. “I think so,” she groaned. “Let me just sit here for a minute.” She collapsed on a bench and held her head in her hands.  After a couple of minutes, she raised her head. “Look, the Ferris wheel!  Can we go on it?  Please?”
 “Sure.  I like Ferris wheels, too.” He picked her up and carried her over.
 “Niichan Goten, put me down.  I can walk!”
 He set her down. “Oh, sorry.”
 “It’s okay.”
 “Will it be just the two of you?” the attendant asked.
 “Yes, sir,” Goten answered.
 “All right.  Climb in.  Each of you on one side.”
 Bra squealed as they rose. “This is why I wish I could fly,” she said. “I love looking down from high up.  And it gives you a place to be by yourself.”
 “Do you like being by yourself?”
 “Not especially,” she admitted with a grin. “But I like having the option.”
 He grinned back. “Yeah, I know what you mean.  Do you want me to teach you to fly?”
 “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that.  But sankyuu.”
 “It’s no trouble.”
 “Yes, it would—” The Ferris wheel gave a sudden lurch and stopped. “Hey, what’s going on?”
 “I think it got stuck,” Goten said.
 “On what?” Bra demanded nervously.
 “I dunno.  Don’t worry.  If we’re stuck too long, I’ll just fly us down.”
 “Okay.” Bra settled back. “I hope it doesn’t fall,” she said.
 “Fall?  What makes you think it would fall?”
 “I heard about it happening once.  The little car thing just dropped off.  Boom!  There were three people in it and they just died, just like that.  But I bet Niichan would be happy if it fell.”
 “B-chan!  What makes you think a thing like that?”
 “Well, Niichan hates me.  You could fly away, but if it just fell, you might not catch me.  Then I’d be gone, and I wouldn’t be a bother.”
 Goten stared at her. “Trunks would never be happy if you died, B-chan.”
 “Yes, he would.  He always says what a pain I am and stuff.”
 “No.  You listen to me.  If you died, Trunks would be the saddest of everyone.  You don’t know how much he loves you.”
 Bra looked up at him. “I don’t know…”
 “No.  He does.  B-chan, I wouldn’t lie to you.  In fact, why don’t we go find Trunks right now and ask him?”
 “No, no, no.  He doesn’t like to be bothered.  Especially by me.”
 “Okay, that does it.  Come on.  We’re going.” He stood up.
 The cart began rocking. “Oh, no, no, no, Goten, stop!  Sit back down!”
 “B-chan, listen to me.  You need to know that Trunks does not hate you.”
 “I believe, you Niichan Goten.  Really.”
 Goten gave her a skeptical look.
 “Well, look, can we do this after the ride starts again?”
 “Well…”
 “Please,” she begged.
 “All right.”
 “Sankyuu, Niichan Goten.”
 The Ferris wheel started up again and they finished their ride. “All right, let’s go find Trunks,” Goten said, taking Bra’s hand.
 Bra kicked the ground. “I was kinda hoping you’d forget.”
 “Hey, I’m not that forgetful.”
 She sighed and allowed him to drag her over to her brother.
 “Okay, Trunks, we have a question that you have to answer completely honestly,” Goten said, dropping her hand.
 “What?” Trunks asked.
 “You don’t hate your sister, do you?”
 “Huh?”
 “B-chan’s convinced you hate her.  While the Ferris wheel was stuck, she said you’d be glad if ours fell down and she died.”
 Trunks paled. “She said that?  She doesn’t really believe that.”
 “She certainly sounded serious to me.”
 “Where is she, anyway?” Trunks asked.
 “She’s right—” Goten looked around. “Oh, shoot.  She was here just a second ago!”
 “Well, let’s go find her!” Trunks exclaimed. “Come on!”
 Goten nodded. “I’ll go this way, you go that way, okay?”
 “Fine, fine,” Trunks said impatiently. “Let’s go.” Trunks pushed some people aside, looking frantically for his little sister.  How could she think he hated her?  Or wanted her dead?  He hadn’t ever said anything like that—sure he said she was a pain, sometimes, but still…
 “Bra!” he called.  When was the last time he had called her anything but “her” or “she” or “the pest”?  Trunks felt waves of guilt pass over him.  He decided to call out something different. “Bra-chan!  Where are you?”
 “Nii—Niichan?” Trunks heard a little voice say.  He turned around.
 “Bra!” he said in relief.  He went down on one knee. “Bra-chan, come over here.”
 She didn’t move. “Yes?” she asked.
 “Bra…no, Imoto-chan, I don’t hate you.”
 “You…don’t?”
 “No, I never did.  Imoto-chan, how could you think I hate you?”
 She shrugged. “Well…you never want me around and you always say I’m a pain and stuff.”
 “Bra…Bra-chan…I sometimes think you are annoying.  I can’t say I don’t.  But no matter how annoying I might think you are, I never hate you.  I never did, never will.”
 She took a step forward. “Do you…like me?”
 He smiled and nodded. “Yes, Imoto-chan, I like you.”
 She stepped into his arms and hugged him. “Niichan, I love you.”
 He started.  The Briefs were not a very demonstrative family.  Trunks wasn’t sure he had ever heard “I love you” from anyone in his family. “I…love you, too,” he said.
 Her mouth dropped. “Really?”
 “Really.”
 “Well, I love you this much,” she said and flung her arms out wide. “I’m glad you don’t hate me, Niichan.”
 “Well, I’m glad you don’t, either.”
 “Niichan?”
 “Yes?”
 “Will you ride the merry-go-round with me and Niichan Goten?”
 Trunks grinned down at her. “Sure I will.  If you’re sure you want me.”
 “Of course I do!” Bra took his hand. “Come on.  The line is getting longer.  Let’s go.”
 

****
End
****

Ree: Yes, it is a bit sappy, but I’ve always wondered why Trunks and Bra seemed to have such a strong relationship, even when they’re yelling at each other.  Maybe some sort of bonding experience like this is why?
HaRUko: Yeap! And Goten was such a sweety......heheheheeeeeeee