***

 Something was bothering Goten.  He tried to deny it—tried to keep himself in the safe world of slumber.  But it wouldn’t stop.  He sat up, yawned, and stretched.
 He was practically buried in his clothes.
 He was instantly awake as he caught a glance of his reflection in his window.
 “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” he screamed, and flew out his window before anyone else could come in.

***

 They practically ran into each other. “Bra!  What’s going—are you—I can’t believe—”
 “Goten, shh.  I think I woke my family up and I don’t want them to find me, not like this!”
 Goten looked at her.  Like him, she was still in her nightshirt.  Of course, the thing even more noticeable than that was that they looked like they were about six years old. “Right,” he agreed. “Right.  Um, where can we go?”
 “I don’t know!” she said, her voice high. “We need to hide…where can we hide?  We can’t fly much longer—our fathers will be able to pick up our kis.  Where can we go?  Where can we go?”
 “Bra, Bra, Bra.  Calm down.  Calm down.  Relax.  Are you relaxed?”
 “Relax?” she screamed. “I’m six years old and you want me to relax?”
 “Look, I’m six, too, and screaming won’t get us anywhere.”
 “Okay.  Okay.  Okay.  You’re right.  You’re right.  Yes.  Okay.  Do you know somewhere we can hide?”
 Goten thought about it. “Trunks and I used to play in a cave not far from here.  I doubt he would think to look there,” he suggested.
 “Okay, that’s good.  Come on, let’s go.”
 Goten took her hand and led her in the right direction. “Is it…hard for you…to fly?” he panted.
 “Yes,” Bra gasped. “But it shouldn’t be…should it?”
 Goten shook his head. “It shouldn’t, but then,” he chuckled, “we shouldn’t be little kids, either.”
 “Yeah.  You’re right.”
 Goten started to descend. “Okay, here’s the cave.  Come on.”
 They ran as fast as their small legs would allow them. “Oh, it’s c—c—c—cold,” Bra shivered.
 Goten put an arm around her.  She jerked away. “We might be the same age, but you’re still ten years older than me, right?” she asked frostily.
 “B-chan…” he started.
 “Just shush.  Try to figure out why this could’ve happened.”
 They sat in silence, then both jumped up.
 “The lady!” they exclaimed. “Shh,” they shushed each other.
 “Why would she do this?” Goten asked. “We helped her!”
 “She must not have wanted help,” Bra said. “But was does doing this prove?”
 Goten shrugged.
 “Okay.  Well, we’re going to have to go home eventually, right?”
 “Yes.”
 “What are we going to tell them?”
 “I wish I knew.”
 Bra laid her head on her knees. “Oh, this is so bad.  So bad.”
 Goten rested a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be okay,” he said.
 She looked up at him. “How can this be okay?” she demanded. “I was done growing up.  I was sixteen, people were starting to take me seriously, I was having a good life…now this.”
 “Look, B-chan,” he started, and she started giggling. “What?” he asked.
 She laughed. “Your voice.  It’s so high.  I’m sorry—I shouldn’t be laughing.  Sorry.”
 “Yeah, well, you…your voice…”
 She sighed. “This has got to be a dream.  This can’t be real, can it?”
 “I think it might be.”
 “But it can’t!”
 He hesitantly put his arm around her again.  She didn’t shrug it off. “B-chan…I wish this hadn’t happened.”
 “Yeah.” She leaned into him and yawned. “I’m tired,” she said in surprise. “I shouldn’t be…” She yawned again.
 “Me, too,” he said. “But…we can’t…fall asleep…”
 “No…that would worry…”

***

 “She’s been gone all morning.  She screamed and she was gone,” Bulma said as she paced back and forth. “And you guys can’t find her.  Why can’t you find her?”
 “She’s not using her ki, Kaasan,” Trunks told her.
 “I don’t care!” Bulma snapped. “This is my daughter we’re talking about here.  Find her!”
 “Kaasan?” an uncertain voice said from the shadows.
 “Bra-chan?  Is that you?”
 The little figure nodded. “I’m sorry, Kaasan.  I fell asleep.”
 “Well, where have you been?” Bulma demanded.
 The girl started crying. “Oh, Kaasan,” Bra said, and ran into her mother’s arms.
 They all stared at her. “Imoto,” Trunks said, “what on Chikyuu happened to you?”
 “I…I don’t know,” she sniffled. “Goten and I, we went out to get his tux for the wedding.  He hadn’t gotten it yet.  Then, on the way back, some lady was getting beat up, so we drove the guys off and she was really mad and she said she wanted to thank us.  And I woke up like this!”
 Vegeta began muttering darkly and left the room.
 “Where are you going, Tousan?” Bra asked.
 “I’m going to go ask Baba what kind of magic could do this,” he snapped. “You do want to get turned back, don’t you?”
 “Y—yes.  Sorry, Tousan.”
 Vegeta left without acknowledging that.
 “Why don’t I go see if any of your old clothes are in the attic?” Bulma suggested, and left the room.
 Trunks and Chibi Bra stared at each other.
 “Um, Bra-chan?”
 “Yes?”
 “I need to call Marron real quick, then I need to talk to you.”
 “Okay.”
 Within minutes, Marron was at their house.  She gasped when she saw Chibi Bra. “Oh, my!” she said. “How awful.  But that is a good idea, Trunks.”
 “I thought so.  Why don’t I go get Goten and we can ask?”
 “You do that.” Marron smiled at Chibi Bra as Trunks left. “So, a little girl.  How terrible for you.”
 “What do you want?” Chibi Bra asked suspiciously.
 “Want?”
 “Just tell me.”
 “When Goten gets here,” Marron promised.
 Trunks came in carrying a kicking Chibi Goten. “When I get my age back, you are so dead!  So dead!” Goten yelled. “You ever carry me anywhere again, and you will regret it!”
 “Trunks, that isn’t the way to get them to do what we want.  Apologize.”
 “Oh, all right.  I’m sorry, Chibi Goten.”
 “Chibi Goten?”
 “Er, Goten.”
 “That’s better.”
 “Anyway,” Marron said, “I have a big favor to ask you guys.  The wedding is in two weeks, as you know, and, if you guys are still…little, I was wondering if you would consent to being, instead of the maid of honor and best man, the flower girl and ring bearer.”
 Chibi Goten and Chibi Bra stared at them.  Finally, Chibi Bra spoke. “You are, of course, joking.”
 “Well, no.”
 “I believe they’re mocking our situation,” Chibi Goten said.
 “Yes, I’m sensing a definite amount of mockery happening,” Chibi Bra agreed.
 “I can’t believe they would be so cruel.”
 “I didn’t think they had it in them.”
 “I guess everyone does, it just needs an outlet.  I mean, if it’s in my good friend Trunks and his fiancée Marron, I guess it’s in everyone.”
 “Hard to believe, yet it must be true.”
 “Indeed.”
 “But what do we answer for this preposterous request?”
 “I think, since they’re treating us like little children, a childish response is called for.”
 “Raspberries, then?”
 “Why not?”
 “Okay, okay,” Trunks cut in. “We get the point.  No raspberries.  That wasn’t said very diplomatically.  The only reason we asked is because we don’t know any little children and if you could do this for us, it would be such an awesome favor.”
 Chibi Goten and Chibi Bra looked at each other again. “Do you think we should?” she asked.
 “I don’t know…”
 “It would be nice…”
 “Very nice.”
 “But it’s so degrading…”
 “Very degrading.”
 “They’d take pictures…”
 “Lots of pictures.”
 “Of course, we might find that cute one day…”
 “We might.”
 “Should we?”
 “I think so.”
 “All right, we will,” Chibi Bra said. “Just don’t you forget you owe us so big.   So big.”
 “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Marron cried, jumping up and giving them hugs. “You guys are the sweetest children.”
 “Children?” Chibi Goten repeated.
 “Wrong word.  So totally wrong word.”
 “Better be.”
 “It was.  You guys are way cool.  So cool.  Thank you so much.”
 They left.
 “Did we make a mistake?” Chibi Bra asked.
 “I think just maybe,” Chibi Goten said.
 “Just so we know.”

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