Disclaimer: Same old . . . I don't own DBZ, using characters w/out permission, please don't sue, and enjoy the 'fic.
And now, the continuation of . . .
"THREE-WAY TIE"
"Mirai Trunks!" Bulma exclaimed.
Her voice echoed through the house, and Bra and Trunks came racing down the stairs.
"Where's Mirai Trunks? I wanna see him!" Bra yelled exitedly, dodging in front of her mom. "Oh, wow! Kaasan was right! You DO have better fashion sense than Trunks!" she grinned.
"Hey!" Trunks protested. Then he noticed Mirai Trunks was holding Pan in his arms, and he sneered. "What'd you do to make her worn out? Did you jump her when she was walking?"
Mirai Trunks flushed. "Um . . . no . . . see, I-"
Trunks snorted. "I may be bad, but I don't go jumping my alternate self's best girl friend." He turned and stalked off, obviously mad.
"Trunks!" Bulma yelled. When she got no answer, she turned to Mirai Trunks. "I am so sorry . . . he just wasn't brought up like you. We spoiled him too much, I suppose."
"I think I'm going to have to get used to it," Mirai Trunks said quietly.
"How come, Mirai Trunks?" Bra asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
Suddenly he remembered the girl. "First, you have to heal her. Her ki's running extremely low, and there's no senzu beans and-"
"Oh, Kami!" Bra yelped. "Hurry." she ushered him down to the rejuvination tank. He placed the girl in there, as Bra set it all up.
Mirai Trunks peered into the tank. "Who is she?" he wondered aloud.
Bra laughed. "You like her, dontcha?" She grinned mischeiviously at him.
He blushed. "I . . . I don't know . . . she's so beautiful."
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to tell you a few things, and I want you to listen very, very carefully. Okay?" He nodded. "Good. Now, first of all, I'd stay out of her way for a few days. Trunks had just been extremely mean to her."
"How?" he interrupted. Then he realized, and softly said, "I'm sorry . . . please continue."
Bra grinned. "I like you alot better than Oniichan. You're alot nicer. Anyway, Trunks and Goten had gotten into this arguement, and Trunks called Goten-kun a 'Bakayarou'."
"Who's Goten?"
She blinked. "You . . . oh, that's right . . . Goku-san died before . . ." she shook her head. "Goten-kun is Goku-san's second child."
"Goku had another kid?" Mirai Trunks was amazed.
"Yep. He used to look just like Goku-san, only now he cut his hair and . . . well, you'll meet him soon. Anyway, she got mad and slapped Trunks, and said she couldn't beleive she'd ever liked a 'stuck-up jerk like him'." Bra giggled. "She was so mad . . . it was hilarious. Then Trunks said she'd better come to her senses, cuz she was stupid and ugly and all kinds of other stuff. It broke her heart, I guess, because she just jumped out of the van and flew off." Bra looked over at the tank. "She must've flown around the world one too many times again. She's done that before, but . . ." She frowned. "She's always had enough energy to at least get home and rest awhile."
"Poor girl . . ." Mirai Trunks said softly. "I mean . . . how could he . . . I . . . my other self be so mean to a gorgeous angel . . ." He stopped and blushed, realizing he was thinking aloud again.
She gave him an amused look. "You should tell her that sometime. She's always had a thing for strong guys with purple hair."
Mirai Trunks blushed again.
Bra laughed. "Listen, I'll help Kaasan make dinner, and you watch over Pan until we call you, k?" She turned and left.
Mirai Trunks touched the glass with one hand. "Pan." he murmured, sounding out the name. It was perfect, and it also felt perfect to say, "Pan-chan," he tried out. "Pan-chan . . ."
He stood there, mouthing her name. Watching her as she started to become more healthy. Not taking his eyes off of her. He wanted to wait until she opened her eyes. He wanted to be the first to see the color of her eyes.
And he wanted to be the first and only one to kiss those sweet lips.
He watched from the stairway. Watched as the new Trunks said the girl's name over and over. Watched as he murmured things aloud, like how beautiful Pan was. He almost snorted. Sure, Pan was beautiful. He admitted that. And she was smart, and she could fight. That girl really knew how to get what she wanted from just about anyone.
Thinking about what he had said earlier, he sighed. He didn't mean to say he would never like her . . . he had tried just to act surprised, but Goten had gotten him all upset. He'd said lots of things he didn't mean. *Next time I see her, I'll explain.* he thought.
With that in mind, he quietly walked back upstairs.
"Mirai-kun! Trunks-kun! Dinner's ready!" Bra hollered.
Trunks bolted down the stairs and was there in five seconds. Mirai Trunks wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"MIRAI-KUN!" she yelled louder.
A couple seconds later, he was there. "Gomen nasai . . ." he said sheepishly.
Bra smiled. "That's OK. Here, sit next to me!" she said, tugging on his arm.
Vegeta looked surprised to see Mirai Trunks, but he quickly hid it. "Are you here to stay, brat?" he sneered. He was silently hoping so, as he liked Mirai Trunks better. His own son was too . . . spoiled.
Mirai Trunks nodded, flashing his father a smirk very much like his.
Vegeta just snorted and they ate.
"Great. A me-look-alike." Trunks said, standing up. "I just have three things to tell you, MIRAI. Stay away from me, Goten is MY best friend, and stay away from my girl." With that he stalked off downstairs to check on Pan.
Bra blinked. "Kaasan, does Trunks have a new girlfriend?" she inquired. Bulma shrugged. Mirai's eyebrow's knitted together, thinking.
Vegeta snorted. "It's ridiculously obvious who Trunks likes, and only he," he gave Mirai Trunks a quick nod. "can figure it out. Pathetic humans," he muttered, standing up and walking back outside to train.
Bra and her mother turned to stare at Mirai Trunks. "Who is it?" Bra asked eagerly.
Mirai stood, up, obviously uncomfortable. "I'm going to . . . um . . . check on Pan-chan." he said quietly, excusing himself and darting down the stairs.
Trunks was walking up the stairs at the same moment, and they collided.
Trunks stood and dusted himself off. "Excuse you," he shot at Mirai Trunks. Mirai just shook his head and made his way down to see Pan.
Trunks shook his head in disgust and followed Mirai back down. "I thought I told you to stay away from my girl," he said, his voice clipped.
Mirai kept gazing into the tank. "Well, I wouldn't really call her 'your girl' considering what you told her about never liking her because she was 'ugly, stupid, and selfish'." he retorted quietly.
"Hey, I was in a bad mood." Trunks scowled. "I really like her, and know I at least know she likes or liked me, so back off."
Mirai seemed to be ignoring him. He just gazed into the tank, watching Pan's hair swirl in the liquid.
Suddenly a loud beeping signaled Pan was OK. Mirai messed around with it for a minute and the liquid drained out.
When Pan opened her eyes, Mirai Trunks was shocked.
They were a deep blue, but peircing and icey when they focused. She ripped the mouthpeice off and leapt out of the tank. She examined her arms and hands suspiciously, then turned an icey glare on him.
"Hello . . . TRUNKS."
He couldn't beleive it. Her voice, as cold as it was, was just as desirable as her eyes. Maybe more.
He bowed his head respectfully. "Hello, Pan."
She snorted. "Don't you give me respect after you called me-"
Bra bounded down the stairs. "Hey, Mirai-kun." she said cheerfully. Then she saw her brother. "Oh . . . hi, Trunks."
Now Pan looked confused. "Huh?"
Bra pointed to Mirai Trunks. "That Mirai Trunks. We all call him Mirai-kun, though. Except Tousan, of course."
Pan grinned, her voice and eyes warming. "Mirai Trunks? You're the one who saved Goku, huh? Wow! This is great!" She ran up to him and hugged him. "Thank you for expanding Grandpa's life!"
Mirai blinked. "Expand . . .?"
"Goku-san is dead," Bra said sadly. "Shenlong took him."
Mirai just looked confused.
"I'll explain later," Pan said cheerfully. "C'mon! I bet you wanna see Tousan!"
Mirai looked even more confused. He glanced over at Bra.
She laughed. "Pan's father is Gohan."
Mirai smiled in delight. "Seriously? That's awesome! Sensei . . ." he murmured, and a quick, sad look crossed his face.
"C'mon!" Pan said, tugging his arm. "Let's go, and you can meet up with Tousan again!"
Umm... e-mail me w/ comment, flames, and/or ideas. -Deidre