Why Does it Have to Be Like This? Part 3 “Welcome home, sweetie!” my mother cried. I stood there while she hugged me. My father was leaning against the wall, looking at me with his perpetual frown. “ About time you came home, Brat,” he growled. “Missed you too, Daddy,” I said, laughing. Trunks entered the room at that point. He looked at me and said, “Oh, you’re back, are you?” “No, Trunks,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I’m not actually here right now. What you’re seeing is just a holographic image which is being beamed here from my room at college.” “Wow, isn’t technology amazing?” Sometimes my brother annoys me. A lot. I wasn’t able to get some time to myself until I had eaten the three-course dinner my mother had “specially prepared” for me. I finished, and wandered up to my room with a case of indigestion that bordered on severe. It was almost weird being home again. I picked up my phone, and dialled a number. “Hello?” “Hey Goten,” I said. “B-CHAN!” he cried. “When did you get back, babe?” “This afternoon. I would have called earlier, but I had to do the whole family thing.” “It’s cool, babe. So, how’ve you been?” “Pretty good. I swear I’m still buzzed from last night. Best party – even Kale got wasted!” “Serious? Ha, that would’ve been good to see. We all went clubbing again last week – that was pretty good. I didn’t get too drunk though. Paresu did – she’s got a new man.” “Really? Does that mean she’s gonna stop hating me?” “Probably not.” Goten laughed, then sighed. “I want to see you, Bra.” “I wanna see you, too. But I probably won’t be able tonight. Tomorrow should be cool though. Would that be okay with you?” “For sure! I’m free. You can come over here. I can’t wait!” * * * * * * I smiled as Goten opened the door of his apartment, slightly nervous. I wasn’t sure how far to go. After that night at his, we basically hadn’t touched each other – aside from me hugging him the night before I left – so I didn’t know what he’d be comfortable with. “Hi, gorgeous,” he greeted. I hugged him, not knowing what else to do. He kissed my forehead. I looked up at him, and he held my chin in his hand. We kissed gently. “Um…do you want to come inside?” Goten asked. “Yeah, that was sort of the idea wasn’t it?” I replied, giggling. “Sorry. You know I’m an idiot.” “No, you’re not!” I argued as he let me inside. I held up my bag. “Where can I dump this?” “Um…just in my room. Third door on the…” “I remember where it is.” Goten blushed. “Oh, okay. I…uh…just thought that maybe…oh, never mind.” I assumed that he’d thought I’d been too drunk to remember anything the last time I had been at his place. Even if that had been the case, I had left the bedroom in the morning, so I knew where I was going. I was amazed to see how tidy his room was. Had he cleaned it especially for me? Wasted effort if he had. I dumped my bag and returned to the living room. Goten had made himself comfortable in front of the TV…surprise, surprise. “Are you quite right there?” I asked, teasing. “Yeah, I am, as a matter of fact,” he replied with a grin. “Actually, something’s missing. Ah, I know.” He patted the spot next to him. “Sit down, babe.” I sat down and snuggled up to him. It felt great to have his arms around me again. He lightly kissed my cheek, and asked: “How’s college going?” “Not too bad. The work is pretty boring, but the social stuff is fun. I’ve made a heap of new friends. Oh, and you won’t believe who’s doing the same course as me, and lives in the same dorm as Kale!” “Who?” “Uub! I hang out with him a lot.” “Wow, that’s pretty sweet. As far as I can remember, Uub was cool. I haven’t seen him for ages but, so I don’t really remember.” “He’s still pretty cool. And then there’re our other friends, Arkya, Daruke and Liberty. They all do our course as well. Arkya reminds me of Pan a little, but not as tom-boy-ish. Daruke’s a bit of a weirdo, but he’s still cool. And Liberty is a real sweetie. He’s pretty cute too.” “Sounds like you like this Liberty guy,” Goten said in a teasing tone. “Pfft! As if. He’s not my type. Besides, Uub and I are trying to set him up with Arkya.” “College sounds like fun. Almost makes we wish I hadn’t dropped out! Marron stayed on, but I don’t remember her telling fun stories like yours.” “That’s because Marron would have spent the whole time studying. You know her better than I do! You should know that!” Pan and I had eternally heard the stories about Trunks, Goten and Marron in their teen years. At high school, Marron had been the conscientious student, while Trunks and Goten had probably spent more time in detention than in class. Marron, through her brilliant marks, had made it into the same college I’m at, with a whole heap of scholarships. Goten and Trunks had gone to a closer college. Trunks dropped out after six months, and became Vice President at Capsule Corp. Goten stayed on for a month longer. Then Trunks offered him a job with us, which he quickly accepted. Goten works as the head of our IT division. He has a knack with electrical stuff. “So, what do you want to do?” Goten asked. “I dunno. It’s your house – you decide,” I answered. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and it was more of a who, than a what. But I couldn’t exactly say that. “Apartment. And I’m not deciding! You’re the guest, it’s up to you.” “But I don’t know what there is to do!” I argued, hopelessly. Goten shook his head, in a way that meant: “Sorry, B-chan. That’s not gonna work.” I sighed, and gave in. “Oh, alright! Um…why don’t we watch a movie or something?” “Works for me. What movie?” I groaned and rolled my eyes. “I don’t know! What’s with all the deciding? I’m too lazy to make decisions!” Goten laughed. “You’re such a cutie. Alright then – I’ll choose a movie.” “Just as long as it’s not porn, I’ll be happy.” “Oh, damn!” We ended up watching “The Matrix”, which is Goten’s favourite movie. I got bored fairly quickly. It’s a good movie, but at the time, I had other things on my mind. I leant over and started lightly kissing his cheek. He arm tightened around my waist. Without looking at me, Goten remarked: “Hmm…you should have told me that you didn’t really want to watch a movie.” I blushed, and hid behind his shoulder. “Hey! I’m supposed to be the shy one.” He grinned. “But it’s alright, babe. I’ve seen “The Matrix” hundreds of times. Right now, I feel like doing something I’ve only done once, and not for a long time. If that’s okay with you that is.” “I hope you don’t mean trying to make nachos,” I replied with a smirk. His reply was to kiss me passionately. “Fuck I missed you, B-chan!” “I missed you too, Goten.” He lifted me up and carried me to his room. * * * * * * Typical Marron. Any excuse to have a party. I got a call five days after I came home. “Bra! Great to hear you, Pan and Kale are back. I’m having a party at mine for you guys this weekend. Wanna come?” “Marron, you know that’s a stupid question,” I replied. “Who else is coming?” “Well…um…my uncle will probably be there…and Paresu…if that’s what you mean. Which reminds me – you still with Goten?” “Yeah, mostly. I stayed at his a couple of nights ago. Day after I got home.” “That is so sweet! I mean seriously – fuck Juu-san and Paresu. Let them deal with it. You and Goten go so well together.” “Thanks Marron. So what time are you starting?” “Six, seven. Oh, and can you tell Trunks? Tell; don’t ask. He can take one night off work!” “For sure,” I laughed. “I’ll see you then!”