Why Does it Have to be Like This?




Part 8






It took a few moments for Trunks' words to sink in. Juu-kun wasn't gay - he couldn't be! We had been together for so long, and he had never showed any sign that he wasn't attracted to me.

"H-how do you know that?" I managed to stammer, on the verge of tears.

"Told me himself. Okay, he said he's bi, not gay, but it's basically all the same, right?" Trunks replied. He didn't seem to care how upset I was by this, but Marron placed a hand over mine. "Remember how he went all distant on you for a while? He was just realizing then."

"But, how? Why? Is this my fault?"

"No, of course not, Bra!" Marron cried.

"You knew, too?"

Marron bit her lip and nodded. "Trunks told me a little while ago."

"Then why the fuck didn't you tell me!?" I snapped angrily. I had quickly gotten over the upset stage, and entered the irate stage. "And why hasn't he told me? I thought we were a little closer than that!"

"Because he would have assumed you'd react like this," Trunks answered, matter-of-factly. I wondered how he could act so coolly in a situation like this, but then I noticed the way he was fidgeting; a sure sign that he was uncomfortable or nervous. He took a deep breath. "Look, Bra, as your older brother, I want to look out for you, that's why I told you. I know Juunanagou should have, but I doubt that he will. We all know he's like that. My advice to you Bra: forget about him. If he's going to lie to you, he's not worth your worry. You've got Goten now anyway."

"What makes you think I ever wanted to get back with Juu-kun?" I asked. "Sure, there might have been a slight period when I thought about it, but the minute Goten and I hooked up, it was gone."

"That's the spirit, Bra-chan. Oh, and can you not let him know that we told you? He'd probably try to kill me. Marron's not supposed to know either."

"Trunks, remind me to never tell you any deep, dark secrets."

* * * * * *

Instead of going home from Marron's house, I decided that I wanted to go to Goten's. I'd really had enough of my brother that day in the short hour or so that I'd spent with him.

Goten noticed there was something wrong almost immediately - probably something to do with the way I was storming around and being generally cranky.

"Whoa, B-chan, calm down," he soothed, as I lost my temper with a particularly stubborn jar of peanut butter. He opened the jar for me, and made me sit down. "You've been on edge all day, babe. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I grumbled.

"Don't lie to me, Bra. I know something's wrong."

I sighed, and gave in. "I'm just in an angry-at-Juu-kun mood. Trunks…" I stopped for a moment. Should I be telling Goten? I quickly decided there was nothing wrong with telling Goten. I trusted him more than anyone, and doubted that he would blab. "Trunks told me today that he was gay."

"Pfft, no surprise there," Goten replied, misinterpreting what I said. (Goten and my brother, though they used to be the closest of friends, drifted apart since high school. They don't see each other all that often, and even when they do, it's not really the same anymore. Differing interests is my guess.)

"No, I mean Trunks told me that Juu-kun was. Well, bisexual, anyway."

"Really?"

"That's all you can say? 'Really'?" I was on the verge of tears again. I was so certain that this was all my fault. That somehow, being with me for so long had caused Juu-kun to lose interest in women. "I'm sorry, Goten. I didn't mean to snap like that. I'm just so confused."

"It's okay, princess." He wrapped his arms around me. "Stop blaming yourself."

"How did you know I was blaming myself?" I looked at him in amazement.

"Because you always blame yourself when something goes wrong. In my humble opinion, Juunana is an idiot." Goten smirked. "Or maybe he realized he'd never be able to find another girl to top you."

Goten had managed to make me laugh, which had seemed near impossible. I hugged him tighter. "Thank you, so much."

"Anytime, B-chan. Anytime."

* * * * * *

The final few weeks of my break seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, it was time for me to pack up my stuff and get ready to leave again. Goten came over to help me pack, but of course, that didn't happen. He hindered it more than anything, because we spent more time making out than packing.

"I'm gonna miss you, angel," Goten said, lightly stroking my hair.

"Why don't you come and visit me some time?" I suggested. "Marron is, later this term. You could stay in my room; there's plenty of space. And my college friends all wanted to meet you."

"Sounds like a great idea!"

There was a knock on my door, and Trunks called through, "Hey losers, dinner is ready!"

For once I actually wasn't annoyed at him. It was very considerate for him to knock. Of course, he always knocked now…ever since he had nearly caught Goten and I in the act. After the verbal attack I had given him, I'm sure he knocked on every door he came to from then on.

Goten and I went downstairs and sat at the table. Mother had prepared another three-course meal. I was thankful for the three Saiyans sitting at the table.

"Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Bulma-san," Goten politely said.

"Not a problem, Goten!" Mother replied. "You know it's always a pleasure having you over. I started to miss you when you stopped coming to visit Trunks."

I didn't like the look on my mother's face as she spoke to Goten. It had "son-in-law" and "grandchildren" written all over it. I think she had realised that Trunks was a career man, and would probably never settle down…and I know he won't settle down. 

"We're going to miss you, sweetheart." My mother was nearly crying as she spoke.

"I won't be gone for that long," I tried to laugh. But I knew that I was going to miss them all too, even Trunks.

"A toast for Bra," Trunks proposed.

They all raised their glasses for me, with Daddy mumbling something that sounded like, "Ridiculous earth tradition."

I had to smile at that. My father was always great for a laugh.

* * * * * *

"Back again for another term of torment," I sighed, placing my personal items (like photos of Goten) back into their places in my dorm.

"Come on, Bra," laughed Arkya. "It's not that bad." She and Uub had come to help me unpack.

"Yeah," Uub chimed. "You get to see us again!"

"And that's always been my reason for living," I giggled.

"Hey, who are these people?" Arkya was looking at one of my photos, a new one. It was from Marron's party during our first break: Pan, Kale, Trunks, Marron, Goten, Juu-kun, Paresu, Galactin, myself and a few others from the party. It was a great group shot, which were so hard to get…especially if Pan was involved.

"That's Paresu, Goten's bitchy ex girlfriend, and her new man Galactin," I answered.

"Ahh, so that's Paresu. What about this guy? He's not bad."

"My ex - Juunanagou, or Juu-kun as I like to call him."

"He tried to destroy the world once," Uub added.

"He did not!" I defended, more myself than Juu-kun. Seeing the very confused look on Arkya's face, and gave a lame little excuse, "He…uh…used to be an android."

Arkya blinked a couple of times, then said, "I don't think I even want to know."

"The blonde girl is Marron, Juu-kun's niece, and the guy with purple hair is my loser older brother."

"Wow, your brother is hot!" 

I laughed. "Yeah, well don't get your hopes up. He's married - to his work. He hardly ever takes time off."

"Well, what about your ex? Is he single?"

"Yeah, but he's bi…" I covered my mouth the minute I had spoke. I hadn't meant to say that. "I…uh…mean…ah fuck."

"Oh, wow!" cried Uub. "Scandalous! Is that why you guys broke up?"

I sighed. Damn my stupid big mouth. "No, we broke up cos I was moving away. I only found out that he was bi during Winter break. Trunks told me."

"How did he find out?"

"Juu-kun told him, apparently." Suddenly, doubt formed in my mind. Why would Juu-kun have told Trunks, of all people? "But…I guess he could have been lying to me. My brother is not always the most truthful of people…"

"Either way, it's still pretty funny," said Uub.

"For you, maybe. Oh well, I just hope Trunks was lying."

* * * * * *

"Coming, coming, coming!" I called to the person who was insistently banging on my door. I had been trying to study, which was rare for me, especially since I didn't have any exams coming up. The sudden knocking had startled me - my college friends never knocked; they just screamed at me to "open the fucking door, Bra!"

I tripped over a pair of shoes on my way to the door, cursing loudly. I wondered if I was going to scare whoever was outside away.

When I opened the door, and saw who it was, I was glad they hadn't been scared away.

"Hey, B-chan. Surprise!"