Tayhei looked up from the kitchen stove as her guests filed into the room. They all looked rested except for Trunks, who looked unusually grumpy and angry this morning. She shook her head and looked back down at bowl of pancake mix, stirring in quick, frustrated movements. If he was in a bad mood, it was going to be even harder for her to be nice and refrain from insulting him today. Usually when he had that certain look on his face, he was just outright nasty to her for no reason. And when she was insulted, it was impossibly hard not for her to snap back with a smart remark. She had promised Goten that she would be nicer to Trunks, but she was only so strong. If he started badgering her and insulting her in front of their guests, she would have no choice but to defend herself. She wanted to be nice, but she wasn’t about to let him get away with something like that. She wanted to make a good impression on these people.

She looked up again and watched Mirai Trunks take a seat at the table. She smiled at him, but he avoided looking at her. She couldn’t help but be curious about that. She had run into him earlier that morning in the hallway and he had done his best to avoid her then as well, though she didn’t know why. For some reason, she sensed that he was hiding something from her. There was something awful that he wasn’t telling her, but she had no idea what it could be. She studied his face thoughtfully as she flipped over the pancake that was cooking. He was handsome, just as handsome as the Trunks that she knew from this timeline. But he had other qualities that made him stand out as something different than the younger version of him. For one, she hated the way that his eyes looked so hollow and sad. She knew that he must have been through an awful lot in the future world, but there was no need to display emotion so openly like that. He didn’t appear to be as confident and arrogant as Trunks, either. He was more quiet and subdued, as if he preferred to be an outsider. The Trunks she knew had an absolute fit if he wasn’t the center of attention. It was strange how the same person could be so different in another dimension.

Briefly, she thought about what she might have been like in the future world. It sounded as if she had been brave. Mirai Trunks told her that she had been following the jinzouningen, which she gathered were very dangerous. And he had also implied that she had tried to fight them when they tried to attack his city. Other than that though, he hadn’t given away much. She wondered if she were completely different in the other timeline, just as Mirai Trunks and her own Trunks were. It was strange to think of herself looking as sad and pained as Mirai Trunks. She could never imagine herself displaying that much emotion in her eyes. She also wondered if she had gotten along with the Trunks of the future timeline. She and Trunks were awful to each other here; it would be amazing if they had actually gotten along in a different time line.

As Bra took her seat at the table, another thought occurred to her: Her sister. She had died in this timeline. Had she survived in the other? She had wanted to ask Mirai Trunks about it last night, but couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She didn’t know if she could ask something like that and keep emotion out of her voice. True, she had had almost a year to get rid of the grief, but she hadn’t given herself any time to deal with it. She had just rushed on with her life and tried to forget that it ever happened. If she asked Mirai Trunks about it, she wasn’t so sure that she could keep herself from falling apart, and she certainly didn’t want to do that.

Besides, she thought as she gazed at him again. It doesn’t seem as if the future warrior is interested in talking to me anymore.

Mirai Bulma sat at the kitchen table with her hands resting in her lap. She had slept hard last night; didn’t even have a single dream. She hadn’t been able to sleep like that (without the influence of alcohol, anyway) in years. More often than not, she fell asleep in the lab or in her workshop, her head resting on a stack of files and her hand still stubbornly gripping her coffee cup. It felt good to wake up in a familiar bed, well-rested and full of energy. She would need energy for the day that she was going to have. The young Trunks had suggested that they visit the Son House today, for Bulma had not seen Gokuu in years. She was excited to see Son-kun of course, but a larger part of her just wanted to stay hiding in the house. She was still partly scared to see all of her old friends, mostly just because she hadn’t been around them in so long. It would be good to see them, of course, but a small part of her would just be content to stay at Capsule Corporation and get to know her children from this timeline.

She liked the young Trunks already. The more and more she studied him, the more she found him to be his father. There were a lot of differences between her son and this other boy; both physical differences and personality differences. Her son’s hair was a bit longer and more unruly; it seems as though the Trunks of this timeline was fanatical about taking care of his hair. It was neatly cut and fell perfectly on either side of his part --- not one hair was out of place. The younger Trunks was not quite as muscular and his face was not quite as chiseled, most likely things that would be changed as he grew older. The biggest physical difference however, was in the eyes. Her own son’s eyes were darker and held more secrets and sadness. He had seen too many things in his lifetime to keep the innocence in his eyes. Even when he was happy, those eyes still seemed to remain sad. The younger Trunks’s eyes were bright though, and full of energy and mischief. In certain moments, too, Bulma could see the arrogance and pride of Vejiita seeping in through his sky blue eyes. He was truly his father’s son. Even the way that he held himself reflected how full of pride and he was. She imagined he had quite a way with the ladies and had already broken a few hearts in his lifetime.

She looked over at his younger sister then --- the daughter she would never have, and watched her with a smile on her face. It was absolutely uncanny how much Bra looked like her. From the large, deep blue eyes to the shiny turquoise hair, the little girl was an exact copy of Bulma at a young age. In fact, when she was younger, she even used to wear her hair in the same fashion: in a ponytail on the top of her head. And just like this little girl, young Bulma had been dressed in the finest clothing. Her mother would doll her up in designer dresses, expensive shoes, matching tights and gloves and underclothes. It only took a few short years before she started to gather a bit of fashion sense and be able to pick out her own outfits. Bra looked as though she might become even more stylish and classy than she herself had ever been. The young girl was much more refined and mature. Mirai Bulma was certain that part of that had to do with the death of her mother, but nevertheless, she was still very mature for her age. She waited for Tayhei to serve her the pancakes with her hands folded lightly in her lap, a pleasant smile on her pretty little face. She had been avoiding Bulma’s eyes all morning, though she was shooting curious glances at the future version of her brother. Whatever Tayhei had said to her last night must have worked. At least she was no longer in tears or frightened about the situation. But Bulma knew that it would take the little girl a while before she warmed up and was able to talk to accept her and talk to her.

“Banana pancakes.” Tayhei said suddenly, spinning around with a couple of plates in her hands and a wide smile on her face. She nodded towards everyone seated at the table and walked towards them, sashaying around the counter island. “My special recipe. I don’t make these very often, but I figured it was a special occasion.”

Mirai Bulma watched as the young girl served breakfast to them, her heart jumping lightly as green eyes looked up to meet her gaze. It was so strange to see her here. After years and years of knowing that Mirai Tayhei was dead, after knowing that she would never see the girl’s sweet face again, here she was. She wasn’t the same, of course, but she was still here. It was amusing to see the way that she held herself, much more confident and sexy than the Tayhei that Bulma knew had ever been. She moved around the kitchen in a high heels and a short white skirt, never slipping up in her movements or appearing embarrassed at showing so much skin. She was so different, just the way that the Trunks of this timeline was different. For some reason their personalities had both changed greatly through the boundaries of time. It was interesting to see Tayhei talking so freely and laughing so readily, serving pancakes to her with a flourish.

She gave the young girl a smile and tried desperately to withhold the emotion that she felt when Tayhei’s face lit up in a returning smile. She had only seen the Tayhei of the future world smile a handful of times. The Tayhei that she knew had been like a daughter to her in the future timeline. When she died, it felt like someone had taken what was left of her aging heart and stomped all over it. It wasn’t just the fact that the two of them had been close and that she cared for the girl, it was her son’s reaction that devastated her as well. Trunks had never been the same after that. Through all of the anguish and trouble her son had been through, she had never seen him so pained and frustrated. There had been a short time afterward when she was frightened that he might give up on life, but he had pulled himself out of it and concentrated on nothing but making the world a better place.

Years after she had died, another young woman took up an interest in Trunks. She had encouraged her son to marry and have children, encouraged him to move on with his life and forget about the girl that he had loved so much. He had grown resentful though, and accused her of being a hypocrite. He told her in no uncertain terms that he would never forget and that he would never let himself love anyone else. It was the only real fight the two of them had ever had. They rarely spoke about Tayhei after that.

Her eyes fell upon him now and watched him as he slowly cut his pancakes. She wondered how he might be feeling about all of this. Much like she had the young Bra, her dead self, and a missing Vejiita to deal with, Trunks was also struggling. He was faced with the love of his life and had to watch her fall in love with another version of himself, unable to touch her. She knew that this was going to hurt him deeply. He would probably fall into another one of his quiet, resentful moods as soon as they returned home from this adventure. She had to admit that it would be hard for her to be in his position. As sad as she was that the Bulma of this timeline had died, she was a little relieved that she would not have to watch her and Vejiita together. It would have been almost too painful to bear.

“How are the pancakes, everyone?” Tayhei asked suddenly, smiling. Her eyes shifted over to the younger Trunks, who was seated at the front of the table. “I know how much you like my special pancakes, Trunks.”

He glared at her harshly and spoke with a voice that was dripping with sarcasm. “Why, I like everything that you make, Tayhei. You’re such a great cook. And such a wonderful hostess. Why, you’re just the perfect girl, Tayhei. And so modest, too.”

She smiled tightly at him. Because Bulma had known the Tayhei of her own world so well, she could tell that the girl was holding back. Her mouth never opened, but Bulma could feel that an insult was right on the tip of the girl’s tongue. Instead of replying however, she simply picked up her glass of orange juice and took a sip, her green eyes never leaving Trunks’s. The younger version of her son glared back at her openly, his handsome face drawn into a pouting scowl. He had made it no secret from the very first moment that they met that he did not enjoy Tayhei’s company. But again, because Bulma knew her own son so well, she could tell that he was merely putting on a show.

She pondered this behavior thoughtfully. They appeared to dislike each other, even hate each other….but there was something else hidden underneath that. She wasn’t exactly a psychologist and couldn’t begin to decipher what was going on in their young minds, but she suspected that there was an attraction there. However, it appeared as though neither one of them was going to act on it. Much like she and Vejiita had blatantly professed their hatred for each other, these two were purposefully avoiding things. Unlike her and Vejiita though, it didn’t appear that these two were ever going to admit an attraction. True, she didn’t know either of them very well, but she could already see that both of them had stubborn streaks that ran bone deep. That left things open for change. If there wasn’t a set relationship or even the beginnings of a set relationship, anything could happen.

Mirai Bulma’s eyes traveled to her son again and watched him watching the girl as she stood up to get more syrup. If the Tayhei and Trunks of this timeline seemingly hated each other, perhaps her own son would still have a chance. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him and therefore couldn’t be sure what his intentions were, but she had a feeling that at least part of him had hoped to find Tayhei here. He must have assumed that the other Trunks would get in the way, but it appeared as though the other Trunks might not be an obstacle. So, here was the love of his life right before him, with nothing stopping him from taking him into his arms again.

As soon as the idea fell into her mind, she thought of Vejiita again. He was widowed. There was no other Bulma that he was attached to.

So what was stopping her from doing the same?

After their conversation in the kitchen last night, Mirai Trunks wasn’t quite sure how to act around her. He felt a little stupid for conveying as much emotion as he did. Honestly, he shouldn’t have mentioned the other Tayhei at all. He certainly shouldn’t have given her so much information about it or brought up subjects that still hurt him to talk about. It was just a stupid move for him to make and he just hoped that she didn’t think he was strange now. He could tell that she was curious about him. She kept shooting him small smiles and looking as though she wanted to talk to him. So far this morning, she had tried to invite him into conversation more than a few times. But he had refrained, still unable to think of anything that he could say. Instead he just gave one word answers to her questions and tried to avoid looking at her. He was probably hurting her feelings a bit, but he just wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. After their talk in the kitchen last night, he had spent nearly three hours just trying to calm himself down and stop the tears that kept threatening to fall. If he was going to fall apart like that every time that he held a conversation with her, he might as well not even talk to her at all.

He allowed himself to take a peek at her as she turned her back on him and went back to the stove. He had to admit that he was puzzled by her appearance and perhaps part of him was just a little annoyed. His Tayhei had never bothered with makeup or putting together outfits. Truthfully, she didn’t have that many clothes, but he was pretty sure that even if she did, she would not be this meticulous about her appearance. Her long blond hair had always been beautiful as well, but she had never done anything more than brush it in the morning. This Tayhei looked as though she had gone all out, however. Just looking at her in that impossibly short skirt made him want to run into the Capsule Corporation supply room and grab her a part of big, baggy pants. No girl should be showing that much skin, especially his girl. Not that this Tayhei was his, but it was close enough to make him cringe. He was a little frightened of what would happen if he saw anyone looking at her in the wrong way. And since they were actually going to venture outside of Capsule Corporation today, he was certain that many admiring eyes would be on her. It made him feel a little more than jealous and very protective, even though he had barely known the girl for more than a day. If his own Tayhei had tried to go out wearing something like that, he would been horrified. He would have spent the entire day just trying to nonchalantly cover up her legs.

Things were different in this timeline though, and he would just have to accept that. In this timeline, Tayhei dressed differently. She acted differently. He just had to remember that underneath all of that, she was the same girl that he had fallen in love with so long ago. They had the same heart; he would just have to dig a bit deeper to see that. Of course, he wasn’t going to see anything if he couldn’t bring himself to speak to her.

His main intention was to find out if there was any possibility of a relationship between her and the younger version of himself. If there was, he would just have to accept it and go back to the future world alone. If there wasn’t a chance though, he needed to someone let her know what had happened between them in the future timeline and convince her to go back with him. He was running out of time, too. If his mother planned to go back by the end of the week, then he had an awful lot of work to do.