Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Vodka ❯ Shopping! ( Chapter 7 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Disclaimer: Not going there.
A/N: This was supposed to be one chapter, but mm.org made me break it down further. Sorry about any inconvenience.
"Here it is!" Bra tugged excited on Trunks's hand. "It's my favorite store eva!"
"Cute as a Button?" Marron shrugged. "At least it's clothes. This could be a lot worse."
Considering Marron's words, Trunks nodded. "Yeah. It could be a lot worse, like toys."
"C'mon!" Bra drug the reluctant teen on their newest excursion.
Following at a much less boisterous pace were Pan and Goten. "I thought you wanted to come here, too," Goten commented softly to his niece.
Pan made a face, displaying her consternation. "No! I hate shopping! This one is all Bra's."
The instant Bra entered the shop, she began excitedly exclaiming over every outfit on display, ordering Trunks and Marron and Goten to carry the ones she loved most – pretty much everything in the shop – into the back of the store where the dressing rooms where located.
Fifteen minutes found two exhausted demi-Saiyans slumped into chairs before a growing mound of Bra's rejected article, which Marron helped Bra manage in a satiny pink dressing room behind their seats.
"Remind me to never agree to shop with Bra again," Goten complained.
"You think this is bad?" Trunks sighed. "You should see my mom shopping. She makes the entire staff and Father wait on her, or at least she did until Dad figured out he'd best disappear on shopping day." Trunks chuckled his amusement. "Of course, then Mom stopped telling him beforehand. Now she just interrupts him in his training and drags him with her."
Goten gave smile at the thought of Bulma interrupting Vegeta in the Gravity Room to announce they were going clothing shopping, now. "Mom makes most of her own clothes, and Gohan says clothes shopping with Videl and Pan isn't much of a chore."
"Lucky," Trunks sighed at his misfortune as another outfit dropped to the ground. "So, Goten," Trunks looked around the boys, once more as he noticed something peculiar, "where's Pan?"
"She's right-" Goten quickly surveyed their rosy surroundings. "She was here just a minute ago!" He leapt to his feet. "I thought you were keeping an eye on her!"
A yellow, pleated skirt dropped to land on Goten's head.
"She's your niece; I thought you were watching her," Trunks countered as a pair of cerise shorts hit him on his head.
Goten quickly shook his head, holding up his hands in a calming gesture. "It doesn't matter. Either way, we have to find her or Mom's gonna kill me!"
"Not to mention Videl and Gohan," Trunks added then raised his voice to be heard into the next room, "Hey, Marron?"
Marron continued to assist Bra in buttoning a pale pink skirt with appliqued daises on the front right bottom, frowning as she focused on the task at hand. "Yeah? What do you need, Trunks?"
"Goten and I are going to look for Pan," Trunks explained, motioning for Goten to remain calm.
While Bra spun after having her skirt buttoned completely, making the skirt flower around herself, Marron stood, feeling the muscles in her back scream at the day's abuse. "You lost Pan? Do you need my help finding her?" Marron's heart was racing almost as quickly as Goten's as she watched Bra unbutton the skirt on her own.
"No." Trunks shook his head from habit though Marron could not see him. "Just stay with Bra. We can't lose her, too. Goten and I will find Pan."
"Okay," Marron replied as Bra shimmied from the skirt and tossed it to the older girl with a cheerful, "Keep!"
"Let's go." Trunks nodded to Goten. "Keep your eyes open and try to think like a six-year-old girl."
With a nod, Goten immediately began looking under all the clothing racks with the hopes of seeing one small pair of canvas shoes attached to his young tomboyish niece.
Rather than search the store alone, Trunks decided to employ the assistance of a pretty green-haired sales assistant. "Excuse me," he asked as she finished folding a leopard-faced ribbed tank top. Pretty aqua eyes raised to meet his.
"Yes, sir," the young woman acknowledged Trunks with a smile. "Can I assist you?" She batted her eyes flirtatiously.
"Um, yeah. I sure hope so." Trunks smiled in return, confident he made the correct choice in approaching the woman for recruitment in finding Pan. The lost girl would be found in no time at all, and if he was lucky, so would the worker's phone number. "See, I'm looking for a little girl."
"A little girl?" the greenette questioned in mimicry.
"Yeah!" Trunks gave his most winning smile. "Let's see...about this tall," Trunks gestured Pan's approximate height, "black hair and-..." he paused to think of another descriptor, "dark eyes."
While Trunks described Pan, the lady's eyes had begun to widen in horror until her brows slammed low on her eyes, and her mouth pursed in anger. "Look, buddy, this is a store for little girls to shop for clothes! I don't know why you perverts think it's for you," the woman poked Trunks in his chest, "to shop for little girls!"
"Whoa!" Trunks quickly raised his hands in surprise, both palms facing his attacker in an attempt to show he meant no one any harm. "You've got it all wrong!"
"I don't think so! No, you get out of here, and don't come back!" The infuriated employee pointed toward the glassed store front.
"Wait! You've got this all wrong!"
"Get out now, before I call the police!" got Trunks to hurrying toward the exit as he pondered how things could have gone so awry.
Meanwhile, Goten searched underneath at least ten racks of clothing, finding two pairs of muddy sneakers and one pair of strapped sandals – along with a die cast toy truck and a used diaper – before spotting a bright red pair of canvas shoes, which surely were attached to his quarry. Moving quickly, lest Pan should have time to escape him, Goten reached between the hanging cotton nightgowns and retrieved – a blonde little girl with copious curls in a red sundress. The girl and Goten stared at one another in shock for the longest ten seconds of Goten's life before the child emitted the highest pitched, most ear piercing wail the young man ever had the misfortune to hear.
"Put down my girl!" an obese woman with unruly curls and wearing a dress identical to the child in Goten's hands, demanded a moment before her heavily ladened purse collided with the backside of Goten's head.
In response to the onslaught, Goten did the only sensible thing. He dropped the girl and covered his head while begging for mercy. "I'm sorry! My niece has her shoes! I made a mistake!" Goten quickly left the furious mother to comfort her daughter while he nursed several new lumps on the back of his skull.
While the boys were searching for the missing youngster, Marron was fighting to contain the shopping diva known as Bra, struggling against the growing mound of clothing in her "keep" pile. "Bra, sweetie, are you sure you need that vest, too? You all ready have it in blue, orange and green."
Bra turned to eye Marron, who had removed the garment from its pile and was displaying it for further inspection. This show of insubordination was intolerable! The tyke placed her hands on slender hips clad in yellow athletic shorts and leaned toward Marron, a glower on her face, the spitting image of her mother when provoked. "I said keep and that means keep!"
Blinking in surprise, Marron turned toward the growing mound of clothing and added the vest. She was about to straighten when an odd noise caught her attention, the sound difficult to decipher over over Bra's continuous monologue of fashion comments. "Hey, Bra. Be quiet for a second. I'm trying to hear something."
Curious about what had stolen Marron's attention, Bra paused her speech and listened. "Where it come fum?"
Marron shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's coming from this way." She pointed toward the other stalls. "Bra, I'm gonna check it out and see what that noise is. You coming?"
"Yeah." Bra nodded affirmation with a smile as she took Marron's hand, and they exited the stall to follow their strange diversion.
As they passed each room in the long hallway, Marron paused to ensure the noise was emanating from beyond than their current location. At the end of the hallway, Marron determined the sound's origin was within the stall to the girls' left. Slowly, so as not to interrupt the source, Marron opened the stall's pink, slatted door, then allowed her eyes to search within, landing on a curled human form within the darkness beneath a bench. "Pan? Is that you? What are you doing in here?" She stepped forward and crouched beside the bench and gently shook the girl's shoulder.
Rolling to face Marron rather than the shadows, Pan yawned largely and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her fists.
Barely containing a sigh of frustration, Marron helped Pan to her feet. "Let's help Bra decide on the last of her clothes. Then we can get out of here, and you can nap." Marron led the girls toward Bra's dressing room.
"Hey, Marron?" Goten stuck his head around the corner, disheartened and prepared to tell Marron about his failed exploits. Instead, his eyes widened with relief as he spotted his ward. "Pan! We were looking all over for you! Where were you?" He rushed forward – despite being in the hallway of the dressing room – to hug Pan, confirming what his eyes witnessed.
"Can you actually keep an eye on her this time while I try to get Bra through the last of her clothes?" Marron gave Goten an exacerbated expression.
"Yeah. No problem." Goten rose to his full height, holding Pan's hand. "We'll be sitting in the chairs beside Bra's room."
"Okay." Marron was pulled back into their stall by an impatient Bra, whom was overly eager to change into her next outfit.
Finally able to retake his seat, Goten heaved a sigh. This outing could not end soon enough to suit him. Shopping had never been one of his favorite activities, and all the females he saw in this store had children. He scrunched his face at the thought of dating a woman with children. He could not even waste time by ogling females. He liked kids and wanted a family one day, just not that much, yet.
"Uncle Goten?" Pan tugged on her uncle's sleeve.
Goten answered distractedly, "What is it, Pan?" before returning to his thoughts of females – his own age and without children.
"I don't feel so good," Pan complained, crawling into Goten's lap.
The teen sighed heavily. "Where do you feel bad?" This was precisely why he was not interested in someone with kids. They were always so needy!
"I feel-...my tummy."
Before Goten could respond, Pan looked up at him and vomited ice cream all over his shirt. "Pan! No!" Goten was horrified!
Marron paused in surprise at Goten's uncharacteristic outburst. "Is everything okay, Goten?"
"Pan's sick! Hurry up! We need to go!" Goten explained as he once more lifted Pan, his hands under her armpits and holding her at arms' length lest she become sick again. Rising to his feet, Goten rushed to the men's room, pushed open the door to check for someone at a urinal, and seeing no one, rushed inside. Once within, he claimed a stall and placed Pan on the floor facing the toilet. "Throw up there! Not on me!"
Pan stared into the pristine bowl as her stomach attempted to decide if it was done being upset or not, passing the time by looking at her reflection within the water. After a few minutes, Pan decided she okay and looked at Goten. "I feel better now. We can go."
Goten struggled to resist sighing. "Let's go," he spoke through clenched teeth. He took Pan's hand and led her from the restroom straight to the store's exit where he was startled to see Trunks leaning against the building's brick exterior, capitalizing on the shade of an awning.
"It took you long enough to come looking for me," Trunks muttered. "Marron's phone is either on vibrate or silent, and you forgot to pay your bill again."
With a sheepish grin, Goten scratched the sudden itch on the back of his head as he tried to remember whatever had become of his bill. "Yeah. I guess I did. Sorry, Trunks. So, why are you out here, anyway?"
"I was kicked out," Trunks growled. "At least you found Pan." He sighed before noticing Goten's shirt. "Is that-...vomit?"
"Yeah, well, Pan got sick. That's why we came out here."
"She's not getting back in my car if she's sick!"
"She said she feels better now," Goten explained with Pan nodding agreement. "I did tell Marron to hurry up. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home."
Trunks nodded. "Yeah. Me, too."

"C'mon, Bra. Pan's sick. We need to go." Marron exhaled in exhaustion as she carried the voluminous pile of clothes Bra had selected to the register, dragging Bra behind her as the girl tried to keep looking at more clothing, as if there was an article she had not previously inspected.
"Can I help you with something, Miss?" a clerk at the register smiled brightly at Marron.
"No, we're ready to check out." Marron laid the clothes on a counter near the register.
The clerk continued to smile as she recited her rehearsed lines as her red curls bounced in enthusiasm. "Did you find everything you needed?"
"All we needed and more," Marron moaned as the clerk rang their purchase.
"Do you have a credit account with us?"
"No." Marron sighed inwardly.
"Would you like to open one today?" The clerk was impervious to Marron's irritation.
"No. I hope today is the last time I have to come in here."
The clerk simply smiled again. "Very, well. But I will let you know, if you open an account with us today, you receive twenty percent off your entire purchase!"
Marron felt her eyes narrow in response. "I don't want an account. I just want the total."
"Certainly!" the cashier continued her bright smiling. "Here is your total," she chirped, motioning to a screen.
As Marron spotted the total, her eyes opened impossibly wide. "That much for some kids' clothes?!"
"Now, miss, we don't sell just any children's clothing but only the latest in children's high fashion!"
"I-...fine!" Marron growled in frustration and put her purse on the counter to find her phone. She dialed Trunks's number and turned her back to the cashier.
"Hey, Marron. You just about done in there?" Trunks answered his phone after checking the caller identification feature.
"Well, we've found everything Bra's getting, but how are we paying? I sure don't have that kind of cash! And where are you anyway?"
Trunks winced at both Marron's frustrated volume and the memory of his exile from the store. "I was kicked out – long story. Look, I'll send Goten in with Mom's charge card she sent."
"Fine, whatever. Just, hurry!" Marron snapped her phone closed and dropped it into her purse.
"Excuse me, but will that be cash or credit?" the cashier was no longer smiling.
"Credit." Marron sighed. "My friend is bringing the card in a minute."
The call of, "Hey, Marron! I'm here!" from Goten had Marron turning from the clerk to her friend. "Thanks for bringing the card." She took the plastic rectangle and handed it to the cashier as she eyed the stain on Goten's shirt. "What is that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose with disgust.
Once more feeling an itch on the back of his head, Goten replied, "Ice cream. Pan got sick. That's why I went outside and found Trunks."
"Okay, it looks like you're ready to go, Mrs. Brief," the cashier interrupted Goten and Marron, handing the boxes to the young man.
"Let's go," Marron took the offered card, picked up her purse and grabbed Bra's hand before marching toward the exit, more eager than ever before to be free of the suffocatingly colorful surroundings.
Hurrying to keep up, Goten was startled when the store's alarm sounded as Marron tried to exit.
"Well, well. What do we have hear?" a large black bear security guard spoke from beside the doors. "It appears to be a shoplifter." He grinned menacingly.
"Shoplifter?! What are you talking about?!" Marron demanded. "I just paid for everything!"
"Not everything. Why don't you check your bag?" The bear smiled as he pointed to Marron's purse.
Marron sighed in irritation as she released Bra's hand and moved her bag to open it for inspection. "Like, I said before, I paid for-..." Marron's sky blue eyes widened in shock as she spotted a costume tiara and several necklace, earring and bracelet sets. "Where did those come from?!"
The guard chuckled. "Someone put them in there, of course."
"Seriously?!" Marron glared at the guard as her mother's influence threatened to control her completely.
"Hey, you still have the card," Goten mentioned, struggling under the cumbersomeness of his load. "Bra wants them, so why don't you just go pay for them? Then we can get out of here!"
"You might want to do as he says, or I'll have to call your parents," the guard mentioned in his deep voice.
"Fine! Whatever!" Marron handed Bra to Goten and stomped back to the counter to pay.
"Have a good day," the guard smiled as he held the door wide for Goten and Bra.
"Thanks! You, too!" Goten gave him the legendary Son grin.
"Hey, Bra. Let's get in the car; Pan's waiting for you," Trunks reached for his sister's hand as she exited the store.
"Okay, Trunks," Bra climbed into the backseat with Pan, and they immediately began chatting cheerfully.
"Let's put those in the trunk," Trunks commented to Goten and popped open the storage compartment for his buddy. "Where's Marron? Is she coming?"
Goten shuffled the boxes until they fit into the small space. "She had to pay for some jewelry Bra wanted. She'll be out soon; I'm sure." He straightened his back as everything was finally situated then closed the back-end of the hover-car.
"Here she comes," Trunks commented as he nodded toward Marron leaving the store's doors. "Hey! Ready to go?"
"Get in the car," Marron demanded, a scowl on her pixie face as she slid into the front passenger seat and slammed the door before yanking the seatbelt four times before forcing herself to calm enough to belt herself.
"Let's just go," Goten suggested as he crawled into the backseat with the girls.
"Sure thing." Trunks got behind the wheel and drove everyone home with a sense of triumph, having overcome their latest adventure, vowing to discover a way to overcome his little sister and her friend's blackmail.
Stupid pictures.
A/N: So, how was it? Was it worth the wait? Well, as always, I would really like some feedback, especially constructive criticism. I am always looking to grow as a writer and your nitpicking really helps! I hope to read your review soon! Until the next chapter, Peace and Out!