CHAPTER ELEVEN

“It was good to see you again, Mirai Trunks,” Goku said, shaking the young man’s hand as he climbed into the time machine.
 “You, too.  ’Bye everyone.”
 Bra did not let herself cry. _He’s my brother he’s my brother he’s my brother_, she repeated over and over.
 Mirai Trunks pushed the buttons.  He lifted his hand in a wave as he disappeared.

 Bra let her breath out.  He was gone.  Gone forever, and she would never see him again.  She turned and ran for the house.
 “Bra, please open the door,” Bulma said.
 “Kaasan, please, no.  I don’t want to talk about it.  I realize this is all for the best, so please just let me cry.  Alone.”
 Bulma sighed and left.  Trunks got the same response.  Vegeta didn’t even bother to try, stating that he knew when the right time would be.  Bulma barely fought off the temptation to snap something remarkably smart-mouthed at him.
 Bra cried herself to sleep that night.
 “How’s she doing?” Goten asked Trunks about a week later.
 “She wakes up, goes to school, comes home, does her homework, eats dinner, and goes to bed.”
 “No better?”
 Trunks shook his head. “She won’t talk.  I’m serious.  She does not say a word.  To anyone.  Not me, not Marron, not Tousan, not Kaasan.  Can you try?  Maybe she’ll talk to you.”
 “Why would she talk to me when she won’t talk to her own family?”
 “I think that we’re too close to the situation.  It can’t hurt to _try_.  Please, Goten?  _Pleeease_.” Trunks gave his best friend his best puppy-dog look.
 “Arrgh!  Don’t do that to me!  I’ll go, I’ll go.  But she won’t talk to me.  I guarantee it.”
 “Thank you, Goten.  I owe you.”
 “You still owe me from that time when we were six and I—”
 “Oh, whoop, look at the time, gotta get to work!  See you later, Goten.” Trunks hurried out the door.
 “Oh-ho, that was cute.  Very cute,” Goten muttered as he walked in.  Bra was sitting on the couch watching TV.  That had to be a good sign.  TV could take away any problem. “Hey, B-chan.”
 Her eyes flicked over to him and she nodded.
 “What are you watching?” He figured she’d have to talk to answer him.
 She gestured to the screen with the remote. “Oh.  VH1.” He tapped his fingers against the coffee table.
 She sighed.
 “B-chan, can I help you with anything?” Goten asked.
 She looked down and shook her head.
 “No, I’m serious.” He took her hand in both of his. “You’re hurting, and I do know why, and it’s not good.”
 Her eyes narrowed. “What do you know?” she growled angrily. “ ‘It’s not good’?  What do you know about my relationship?”
 _Well, at least she’s talking_ “I didn’t mean your relationship wasn’t good.  I meant all this depression.  Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth.”
 She smiled briefly. “Yeah, sometimes you do.”
 “So, I’m serious.  Can I help you at all?”
 Bra looked away. “No.” It was barely loud enough to be heard.
 “B-chan.  This is Goten you’re talking to.  Now, I may be as thick as a brick—hey, that rhymes—but I’m not stupid all the time.  You know you can tell me anything, and I won’t tell anyone you don’t want told.”
 She muttered something.
 “What?  I couldn’t hear that.”
 She looked up at him. “I miss him.”
 “Well, I do, too.  He’s a great guy.  But, as clichéd as this is, you’ll find another guy, and he’ll make you just as happy as Mirai Trunks did.”
 “But I don’t want to!  I promised him I would, but I just don’t want to.  I’ve thought about it, looked at guys at school that I used to have crushes on, and—” She stopped and looked away.
 “Well, he’s only been gone a week.”
 She continued like she hadn’t heard him. “And I the worst part is that I can feel myself getting over him.  I looked at this guy and I thought, ‘I could go out with him.’  And he’s only been gone a week.  What kind of person am I?”

 Goten took her face in his hands. “Normal,” he said tenderly. “B-chan, listen to me.  I don’t know everything, but I know you, and I know as soon as you found out he was … could’ve been related to you, you began detaching yourself from him.  So you’ve been getting over him for about two weeks now.  And, based on what I’ve heard, it wasn’t that serious a relationship.”
 Bra looked up and him. “It was my first semi-serious relationship,” she whispered. “I don’t want it to be over.”
 “B-chan, most first relationships end.  Well, I guess all of them do, eventually, don’t they?”

 She smiled a bit at that. “I guess you’re right.  It’s just …” And she flung herself at him and began crying.
 “Oh, ah, there, there,” Goten fumbled, feeling incredibly stupid. “There, there.” He patted her back awkwardly.
 Bra raised her face. “Oh, dear, I’m sorry.  I got your shirt all wet…oh, and Paris will kill you!”
 “Oh, don’t worry about her.  We broke up while you were gone.  And even if we were still together, well, I wouldn’t care if she got mad.”
 “Thank you,” Bra said, and began crying again.
 “I’ll take it from here.”
 Goten looked up and felt the blood drain from his face. “Oh, ah, Vegeta-san,” he stammered.
 “Don’t worry.” Vegeta looked amused. “I’m not going to kill you or anything.  Not now.”
 “Oh, ah, th—that’s good.  Um, I’ll just be … be going now.  Uh, b—bye, B-chan, Vegeta-san.” He hastily exited.
 Vegeta sat next to his daughter. “I have a question.”
 Bra sniffled and nodded. “What is it, Tousan?”
 “Is Mirai Trunks your mate?”
 Bra’s mouth dropped. “Tousan!” she exclaimed, blushing. “Of course not!”
 “Listen to the question,” Vegeta said impatiently. “I did not ask if you _mated_ with him.  I asked if he is your _mate_.”
 Bra thought back to that day when Marron had been kidnapped by 23.  Trunks had almost gone insane.  It hurt to let go of Mirai Trunks, but … “No, Tousan.  He is not.”
 Vegeta nodded. “Then this is your human side.” He sounded infinitely relieved. “Good.”
 “What do you mean, Tousan?” Bra asked, confused.
 “Saiyajins love only once, Bra.  Once that relationship ends, by death, or by separation, such as this … if he had been your mate, you would not have gotten over him, as humans seem to so easily.  Remember what I told your brother.”
 “Oh, that’s right.” Bra didn’t know whether to be relieved or hurt.  She was glad to know that she would find someone else, someone who would be her lifemate, but to be told her relationship with Mirai Trunks meant nothing was a bit offensive. “Um, well, thank you, Tousan,” she said uncertainly.
 “Well now.  Don’t sound so heartfelt.  All that emotion is embarrassing,” Vegeta said dryly.
 “Oh, Tousan.” Bra grinned at him and felt a cloud rise from over her heart.  With that simple action, Mirai Trunks was demoted from the painful position of first love she was still mourning to the bittersweet position of first love she was over.  Her smile widened and she gave her father a sugary smile. “Oh, Tousan?  Want to take me to the mall?”
 Vegeta raised an eyebrow and snorted. “You achieved Super-Saiyajin.  Now make use of it and carry your own packages.”
 Bra laughed and nodded. “Yes, Tousan,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and heading for the door.
 

THE END
Haruko: Make sure you guys read "The First Wedding and Other Disasters" after you finished with this one!! ^_^ Sankyuu!
 
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