Y/N stood in front of the mirror, fastening the last clip into her hair when a familiar voice rang through her room.

"You're taking forever!" Goten whined, flopping onto her bed dramatically. "Trunks already left like an hour ago! Come on!"

"Shut up, Goten," Y/N grumbled, adjusting her top. "I'm almost done."

"You're always almost done," he complained, rolling onto his back. "Why do you still live here anyway? You're like, twenty. Shouldn't you have your own place by now?"

Y/N turned to him, narrowing her eyes. "And who's paying for that? Huh? You?"

Goten smirked. "You could get a boyfriend, move in with him."

Y/N let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, no thanks."

Goten sat up on his elbows, his grin widening. "Wait... have you ever even had a boyfriend?"

She scoffed. "Of course, I have."

"Liar!" Goten pointed at her accusingly. "I've never met anyone."

Y/N turned back to the mirror, fixing her earrings. "Yeah, and there's a reason for that."

"Oh, come on!" Goten rolled off the bed and leaned against the dresser. "Tell me! Was it serious? Did Dad scare him away? Did Mom threaten him? Or did you just suck at dating?"

Y/N picked up a hairbrush and lightly whacked him over the head. "Mind your own business, brat. Now get out."

Goten chuckled but retreated, rubbing his head. "Fine, fine. But I'm telling Trunks you had a secret boyfriend!"

"Do that, and I'll make sure to tell Mom you're slacking on your training," Y/N shot back.

Goten gasped. "You wouldn't!"

She smirked. "Try me."

Grumbling, Goten stomped out of the room, leaving Y/N to finally finish getting ready in peace.

 Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her jacket and headed toward the front door where her parents were already waiting.

Goku beamed at her as she approached. "You ready, kiddo?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Y/N replied.

Goku grinned at her as he scooped Chi-Chi into his arms. 

Y/N stretched her arms over her head, loosening her muscles in preparation to fly.

"Let's go, squirt," she muttered to Goten before the two of them took off into the sky.

Flying always felt freeing, but Goten ruined it almost immediately by shoving into her side mid-air. "Bet I can beat you there!"

"In your dreams, kid!"

They darted through the sky, shoving and knocking into each other, laughing the whole way. Below them, Goku carried Chi-Chi effortlessly, shaking his head with a grin as he watched his youngest two bicker in the air.

Within minutes, they landed in the backyard of Capsule Corp, greeted immediately by Bulma.

"Well, well, look who finally showed up," she teased with a smirk.

Goku laughed. "Hey, we're not late! We always show up at the perfect time!"

"You're literally the last ones here," she deadpanned, crossing her arms.

Y/N glanced around, noticing Vegeta and Trunks already there, along with Piccolo tending to the grill. Gohan and Videl stood off to the side, chatting with him. Inside, she could see Krillin, Android 18, Master Roshi, and Marron through the window.

"Gohan!" Goten called, running over to his brother.

Gohan smiled as he greeted him before turning his attention to Y/N. "Hey! It's good to see you."

Y/N returned the smile. "Yeah, you too."

Goten wasted no time, giving his older brother a quick greeting before dashing off with Trunks. Y/N rolled her eyes. "He barely said hi before running off."

Gohan chuckled. "You know how those two are."

Y/N sighed, standing beside her brother. Out of everyone in her family, she was the closest to Gohan. She admired him and often confided in him when things became overwhelming.

"So, how's school?" he asked as they found a quieter spot to talk.

Y/N exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "I have a test next week. I've been studying for days, but I still feel like I need more time."

"You probably should've taken a break sooner," Gohan pointed out. "Studying is important, but you need to live a little, too."

Y/N gave him a pointed look. "Says the guy who studied non-stop when he was my age."

Gohan laughed. "Okay, fair. But I still had distractions. You need to go out more."

Y/N shrugged. "I've never really had anything else to focus on. I wasn't allowed to train as much as you and Goten. When Cell came, I didn't get to help. When Buu showed up, I was completely left out until I was turned into candy along with Mom and Bulma. You guys have always had something. This is all I have."

Gohan frowned. "Y/N..."

She shook her head. "It's fine, really. I just want to get this test over with so I can start on my final project."

Gohan folded his arms. "Well, at least make some friends while you're at it. You can't just keep burying yourself in books."

Y/N scoffed. "I have friends!"

Gohan smirked. "Icarus doesn't count."

Y/N pouted. "He's more loyal than most people I know."

Gohan laughed. "That might be true, but you still need to socialize more."

Before Y/N could argue further, Bulma's voice rang out. "Dinner's ready!"

"Finally!" Goku cheered, immediately making a beeline for the table.

Y/N and Gohan chuckled as they followed the others inside, the smell of food filling the air. No matter how many complicated feelings she had, moments like these—surrounded by her family—were ones she wouldn't trade for anything.

~~~~~~~

The day before her test, Y/N found herself trapped in the monotonous cycle of studying. She had barely left her room for the past two days, emerging only for meals and necessary breaks. She felt like she was rereading the same nonsense over and over, but this test was the one thing in her life she had control over. She had to be the best—nothing less was acceptable.

Chi-Chi, however, was growing increasingly worried. She knew how important Y/N's studies were, but locking herself in her room for days on end wasn't healthy. With a determined sigh, she devised a grocery list and marched up to Y/N's door. Knocking sharply, she called out, "Y/N, honey, I need you to go to the store for me."

Y/N barely glanced up from her notes. "Mom, I really need to study. Can't Goten go?"

Chi-Chi crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, her voice carrying that no-nonsense tone that made even Goku nervous. "You've been holed up in here for two days straight. You need fresh air. Now, take this list and go."

Y/N sighed, rubbing her temples. "Mom—"

Chi-Chi's glare intensified. Y/N cracked instantly. "Fine, fine! I'll go."

Grumbling, she snatched the list and flew off toward the store. As she soared through the sky, her mind wandered to her test. She knew the material inside and out, but anxiety gnawed at her. If she failed, then what? This was the only thing she had—her studies, her future. She wasn't like Gohan or Goten. She wasn't allowed to train like them, so she had poured everything into this one thing.

Then, for some reason, she started thinking about relationships. As far as her parents knew, she had no interest in dating. Gohan, however, knew better. About a year ago, he had accidentally run into her on a date. He never ratted her out to their parents, but a week later, that relationship ended anyway. She had been too focused on her studies and animals. A few months ago, she had tried dating again, but that guy had turned out to be an arrogant jerk who thought he owned her just because she agreed to a date. Needless to say, that ended quickly.

Landing outside the store, she shook her head. No use dwelling on the past.

She grabbed a basket and started looking for the items on the list. She managed to find a few but soon ran into a problem. The fourth item on the list didn't seem to exist. She frowned. Was it out of stock? Moving on, she encountered the same issue with the next item. Then another. And another.

Chi-Chi wouldn't send her on a pointless errand... right?

Distracted, she rounded a corner and crashed into something—or rather, someone. She fell back onto her butt with a startled "oof!"

"H-hey, you okay?"

She looked up, rubbing her sore backside, and found herself staring. A man stood before her, tall and built like a rock. Midnight-black hair framed his sharp features, but what caught her attention were his eyes—crystal-clear blue, like ice on a winter lake. His dark green ranger shirt fit snugly on his broad shoulders, emphasizing his lean but muscular build.

For a moment, they both just stared at each other.

Then he offered her a hand. "Didn't see you there," he said, voice smooth but slightly amused.

Snapping out of her daze, she took his hand and let him pull her up. "Uh, yeah, I—I'm fine. Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't looking either."

She still felt flustered, unable to think of what to say. He watched her for a moment before tilting his head. "You look lost. Need help finding something?"

Realizing she was still holding her list, she sighed. "Yeah, actually. I've been looking for these things forever." She handed him the list.

He scanned it and immediately smirked, holding back a laugh as he handed it back. "Yeah, you're never gonna find these."

She blinked. "What? Why not?"

"Because," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "they don't exist."

Y/N froze before realization dawned on her. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me..." she groaned, shoving the list into her pocket. "She did this on purpose!"

"Your mom?" he guessed, amused.

She huffed. "Yeah. She probably just wanted to get me out of the house. I've been studying nonstop for days."

"Ah," he nodded. "Makes sense."

Y/N sighed and shook her head. "Sorry for wasting your time."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it." Then, glancing at his watch, he said, "I should get going. But hey..." He gave her a small smile. "Hope to see you around."

And just like that, he turned and walked away.

She watched him go, almost in a trance, before shaking her head. "You'll probably never see him again," she muttered to herself.

Still, she couldn't shake the weird flutter in her chest as she flew back home, fully prepared to yell at her mother.