The Broken Road

Cynergy—She *will* appear more in the story! Actually, not this one so much, but the sequel. Which by the way, will definitely include a trip to Ibiza :D I knew I was going to send them on vacation, but I didn’t know where and Ibiza is PER-FECT. Thank you! I’ll give you all the credit. And there will indeed be heaps of island fun. And drama. Of course ? Oh, she didn’t react to Trunks admitting he’s Saiyan because she doesn’t believe him lol. She thinks he’s totally nuts. I guess I should have made that more clear…

m.—Thank you so much for what you said. It made my whole day. So sweet... I’m glad that you understand what makes them tick. Sorry to keep you guessing about Trunks and Gohan. I think you’ll have a better idea what’s in their future after this chapter. I wonder if you are still checking the website every day, considering this update took so long.

marc—You’re so very mean to me and yet I’m the soulless one? I have nothing to say to you, except…there is no us! Deal with that :-P

Macha—Thank you, dear! You’ll find out what the plan is momentarily. I wonder if it will be worth the wait, lol.

The Angry Buddha—You make me laugh ? It *was* irritating to the 10th! I must say, when that was over, I was full of righteous anger at Gohan on Trunks’s behalf. If he ever wants to get Trunks back, well, he’ll have his work cut out for him. I agree that it was an act of cowardice. In fact, in my first draft, Trunks said something like, “I hope Goten appreciates the sacrifices you make for him. Because I think it just makes you a coward.” But he already called Gohan out on being scared back in Chapter 8 and, heh, it didn’t go over too well ;) Anyway, way to read between the lines ?

Shikaru—Brilliant, lol, just brilliant. Though I have to admit, I’m surprised you still feel Trunks needs to have a visit with Mirai. Most people say he is growing up, but I guess you’re right. He still has quite a ways to go. And he’ll never be perfect like Mirai. Mirai, Mirai…*taps fingers* I have my doubts as to how well they would get along. Especially if Gohan had crazy monkey sex with him! For shame… Then again, who’s to say Trunks wouldn’t end up “finding himself” in an entirely different way than you had in mind ;-P Goten does need to work on his Saiyan issues. But I think Goku needs to meet him halfway.

Camui—I’m glad you didn’t forget me! I so look forward to reading your schizophrenic reviews lol. Omg, I get the feeling you’re gonna kill me if you I force feed you any more development without the promise of mind-numbing sex. Patience, my darling, patience. It’s the development that makes the sex mind-numbing, no? :) Anyway, I promise, I will make it worth the wait. Verrry interesting about you and your gf. I wonder what that says about your relationship? *ponders* So which one is which, hmm?

Lunamaru—Aww, yes, Gohan is very self-sacrificing. Though maybe there are some other motivations at work there, too, as Trunks has pointed out to him. Just like Goku, huh? I have to wonder how self-sacrificing Goku’s motives are. But then again I can’t figure that guy out. Goku continues to elude me…. A scene where they comfort each other, eh? I’ve read your stories *pokes ribs* I know what kind of moment you’re thinking about ^_~ Lol. Ah, Soncest…it’s so yummy. But I’m really glad you’re proud of Trunks and think Truhan = cute beyond reason. Gohan fans unite! Thank you for your compliment on him. It’s gratifying because he’s the one I have to put the most work into. Poor Goten, indeed :) Boy has issues. I’m glad that he and Gohan made it through this okay, but as much as Gohan’s a good surrogate father, he needs his real one too :-/

Velvet—Thank you, sweetie :) I’m glad you understand why it’s going to take awhile. Thanks for sticking with me.

VixenzxMasqueradex—Gohan does deserve a good slap upside the head. I love how excited you are ^_^ I’m sorry I didn’t include the conversation between Gohan and Vegeta lol. If it makes you feel any better, I tried, and it just came out so repetitive it would have been boring to read. Believe me, I included all the good parts in Gohan’s mental recap. Although, he may have been oblivious to some dirty looks on Vegeta’s part. I can’t help but wonder how the Prince of all Saiyans feels about his relationship with Trunks. I suppose he grudgingly accepts that Trunks is an adult and will stay out of his personal business so long as it doesn’t interfere with his training lol but if I was Gohan, I think I’d watch my back the next time I was in GR with Vegeta….

Tisha—I hope you’re having better luck this week, hun. After I got your review, I really double-timed it. I know how much little things like that can mean when you’re feeling down. That’s how I feel about you guys’ reviews :) Eh but it still took forever, damn chapter. Anyway, this one’s for you ?

Author’s Note: I just had to tell you guys that the funniest thing happened to me this week. I know you authors out there will appreciate this. First off, I started an absolutely insane job where I work like 80 million hours a week. But the funny part is as follows (copied from an email I wrote)….

So today i'm freaking out working for the 23rd straight hour on this research project that's driving me crazy. And I get an email from one of the partners entitled "Venture Capital letters," and the body reads, "I plan to send a letter to the state’s top venture capital firms to introduce our corporate practice. Can you put something together for me?" And I was like, "wait . . . am i completely delirious? Have i finally slipped into my own fictional world and become lost there for good? Have i cracked?" But alas, it's real. I have my very own venture capital project, just like Trunks lol.

Oh and then the guy comes down to my office and he's going, "I don't know if you know anything about these venture capitalists but they're really aggressive and kind of obnoxious..." and I'm trying so hard to listen to him but all I can think is, "Man, I totally nailed that presentation scene..." hahah

Aaanyway, thank Dende for life’s little amusements. Er, I mean . . . .

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Chapter 16

“Black star dragon balls?” Trunks asked sardonically, crinkling his nose. “That doesn’t even sound like a real thing.”

“Yeah,” Goten piped in from across the cavernous lab. “If these things are really so powerful, then how come we’ve never heard of them before?”

“And how did someone else manage to find them if we didn’t even know where they were?”

Piccolo’s head turned from left to right and back again as the two youngest demis interrogated him. He had shown up at Mount Paozu an hour earlier and quite literally dragged Goten and his father to Capsule Corp., explaining that he had important news to share with everyone. Now the assembled group of Z-fighters stood in Bulma’s private laboratory; Goku nestled between Goten and Vegeta, Gohan leaning against a metal workbench on the opposite wall from his father, and Bulma fastidiously working, bent over some gadget right next to him.

Trunks stayed near the doorway where they’d entered, leaning back against the cinderblock wall just inside the room. He had momentarily frozen there when he walked into the lab and unexpectedly locked eyes with the very demi-Saiyan he and Gohan had been arguing about. And considering the way his last meeting with Goten ended, he decided not to venture any closer. He didn’t particularly feel like spending another perfectly good afternoon in a regeneration tank.

Goten, meanwhile, had watched the other demis’ entrance closely. Although Trunks and Gohan had walked in together, they silently separated and moved to different parts of the room immediately. The younger boy didn’t have much time to wonder what it meant since as soon as the two late arrivals showed up, Piccolo started in on his explanation.

Though it wasn’t going over very well.

“Who was it, anyway, Piccolo?”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard of any new threats on this planet. So did a couple of kids get to them? Don’t you have any security up there?”

“Where was Mr. Popo when all this happened?”

“What did they wish for?”

“Look!” the Namek shot back, bad memories of training Gotenks causing him to lose his patience even faster than usual. “None of those details are important and we don’t have time to get into them right now. The point is—.”

“The point,” the royal demi examined his nails with disinterest, “is that you should’ve seen this coming when you made something with so much destructive power. Seems pretty stupid if you ask me.”

The guardian shot a scowl at Vegeta who, in turn, grunted angrily.

Gohan and Piccolo had an entire week to come up with a plan and this was the best they could do? Black star dragon balls? Huh! He should have known better than to leave anything up to that incompetent Namek and his half-breed protégé. Not to mention Trunks was too damned smart for his own good and if he didn’t stop asking questions he’d ruin everything. Vegeta turned to him, cracking his knuckles purposefully. “One more word, Trunks. Please, I welcome the exercise.”

“So, Piccolo . . . .” Goku spoke up from alongside Vegeta, a note of excitement creeping into his voice. “You say the earth will be destroyed by negative energy in one year if the balls aren’t all brought back together?” He shifted his weight quickly from one foot to the other, giving the impression that he was about to start jumping up and down or running in place. One would think he’d just received the best news ever.

“That’s right, Goku,” Piccolo answered with a graveness that matched the Saiyan’s exuberance. “And the bad news is—.”

“You haven’t even gotten to the bad news yet?” Trunks stared at him with incredulity. In the last ten minutes, he’d been dumped in an elevator then found out the earth was in its last year of existence, and apparently, the worst was yet to come. “Can we hurry this up? I have a dinner date!” The demi-Saiyan crossed his arms over his midsection as casually as he could; aware of two sets of dark eyes settling on him. Technically it was a rain check on the drink Kim had promised him. And he didn’t think she really counted as a date. But Gohan and Goten didn’t know that and it was none of their business anyway.

“As I was saying,” Piccolo continued, ignoring the interruption, “these dragon balls don’t just scatter across the earth.” He paused dramatically, staring at each one of them in turn. “They scatter across the entire galaxy.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Trunks dropped his head back against the cinderblock wall with a dull thud and stared at the ceiling.

Bulma gasped. “Someone is in a mood!”

“And I’ve got just the remedy,” Vegeta growled.

“Hey, cheer up, you guys. That means we get to go into space!” Goku’s eyes were brightening with every revelation. “I bet you’re looking for a crew to go with you, huh, Piccolo?”

“Not exactly, Goku. I need to stay here. In case we’re unable to track down the black star balls, Dende’s going to need all the help he can get with this planet.”

“Well in that case, whaddaya say, Vegeta?” Goku jabbed the smaller Saiyan in the ribs good-naturedly. “You wanna go? Think about how many strong fighters there must be out there. The whole galaxy,” he breathed. “Wow.”

“Please,” the prince spat. “Like any of them would even pose a challenge to me. But by all means, have yourself a blast, Kakarott. Send me a postcard.”

“Aw, c’mon, Vegeta!” Goku called out behind him as the royal Saiyan strode towards the door of the lab with his nose in the air.

“Forget about him,” Piccolo ordered. “Goten, why don’t you join your father?”

Goten’s eyes widened as he glanced from Piccolo to his dad and back again. “Ah—but—I have school,” he attempted lamely. “Mom’ll kill me if I miss any more!”

“Oh, yeah.” Goku scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, a look of consternation coming over his features. “And I suppose Chichi does get kind of upset when I leave.”

“Like that ever stopped you before,” Goten grumbled under his breath.

“We don’t have time for this senseless bickering,” Piccolo admonished, emphasizing his words with a stern look at the two youngest demis. “If someone doesn’t get those dragon balls back here, and I mean now, there won’t be any school for you to go to. Or any more dinner dates either. I thought I could count on you two to help, but I guess I didn’t realize the Z-fighters had become so self-absorbed.”

The disappointment in his tone was enough to make both Trunks and Goten drop their gazes to the floor.

“Bulma,” he continued after a moment, turning to a more receptive audience, “did you say you had a ship that could make the voyage?”

“Well, of course, silly,” she said, as though it was obvious. “Capsule’s only been making them since my dad built the ship that took Goku to Namek twenty years ago! And I’ve even been able to alter the dragon radar to pick up the frequency of the black star balls!” She proudly held up a piece of equipment that vaguely resembled the dragon radar but with a number of wires hanging down to her workbench where they connected to a large metal grate.

She turned to Goten and Goku. “I just have to run a simple algorithm and then I’ll be able to integrate it with the mainframe of the computer that runs the ship’s navigational systems. All it’ll need then is to isolate the unique molecular structure of the balls and—.” She stopped abruptly as two sets of vacant brown eyes stared back at her, blinking. “And this model has a gravity training room and a full kitchen, too.” She shot them a winning smile and winked.

“Aw, man, Bulma! You’re the best. Wow, just like when I went to Namek. Those were the days.” Goku’s smile faded only slightly as he turned to his son. “Hey, we’ll have a great time, Goten.”

“Uh, but . . . .” Goten held his father’s expectant stare as he wracked his brain for another excuse, wishing that in all their years of friendship some of Trunks’s ability to think on his feet had rubbed off. “I . . . uh . . . . But Bulma!” He turned back to her. “We have no idea how to fly something like that. Maybe Gohan should go in my place.”

“Sorry, kiddo. I need your brother here. Just in case the world doesn’t end in a year, I’ll need my top scientist around to keep things running.”

“Don’t worry, Goten,” Goku placed a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need to know anything about mechanics. These ships fly themselves.”

“Actually this one won’t,” Piccolo interjected again. “Unlike the one you took to my home planet, this one has no set destination.”

The blue-haired woman nodded. “That’s right. The ship won’t set a course until it’s located the first dragon ball and that could be anywhere! Until then, you’ll need to know how to navigate. I can probably teach you, but it’ll take some time—.”

The Saiyan prince broke into a caustic laugh from where he was now standing near the door. “Kakarott’s a clown, not an astronaut. We don’t have the kind of time that lesson would take.” His laughter died off as black eyes settled on one ungrateful purple-haired princeling. Vegeta slapped a hand to the back of Trunks’s neck, causing him to take a few unplanned steps forward. “Trunks will take you.”

“Father!” the teenager hissed as he turned to look at Vegeta. But he was quickly immobilized as the hand beneath his hairline squeezed harder. How Vegeta could practically paralyze him and simultaneously cut off his air supply with one hand he had no idea. But the pureblood had quickly learned the trick when, in his mid-teens, Trunks had grown too tall to easily grab by the hair.

“If you don’t get your over-used ass on that spaceship, boy,” the Saiyan prince threatened so that only Trunks could hear, “then you’ll have me to deal with. And I promise you,” he tightened his grip along with his jaw so that he was now speaking through clenched teeth, “it won’t be a walk in the park like it was last time.”

Trunks grunted in acknowledgment. If the last time had been Vegeta’s idea of going easy on him, he didn’t want to know what the alternative was. Vegeta pushed him across the lab towards Goku. “Now, tell Kakarott how excited you are to escort him and the brat on this little trip.”

The teen cast a sidelong glance at Goten before turning his eyes back to Goku. Vegeta finally let go and Trunks rubbed his throat. “It’ll be great.”

Goku nodded in agreement then turned to the other pureblood. “He’s right, Vegeta. Sure you don’t wanna come?”

“I can’t imagine anything less appealing than being stuck in that ship with you. Forget about me, Kakarott, and spend some time with your son.” Goku blinked then looked back over his shoulder at Goten. Vegeta’s eyes came to rest on the youngest demi as well.

“And you,” he addressed Goten deliberately. “Spend some time with mine.”

***

A fucking setup! Trunks fumed as he changed into one of the sleek black space suits Bulma had provided them. That’s what this was. He was sure of it. Some kind of hair-brained scheme thought up by the others to try and get him and Goten to talk. Well, it wasn’t going to work. If they thought they were doing the boys a favor by shoving them onto a tiny pod and sending them into the depths of blackest space they were sorely mistaken. It was a recipe for disaster.

Trunks began to seriously contemplate taking his chances with Vegeta. But while it was clear that the crew of this little mission had been very purposefully chosen, there was a slim possibility that the premise was real. It sounded ridiculous, but he couldn’t be sure. And he didn’t want the destruction of the world on his shoulders all because he couldn’t get along with his ex-boyfriend.

So there he was, trading in his Armani for a space suit and mentally preparing for the worst. Trunks was happy to see that at least his mother’s fashion sense had improved since she’d designed that horrific Saiyaman costume all those years ago. He held one arm out, examining the lightweight material. It seemed to be a sort of thin, modern rubber polymer that made it look as if the three of them had been coated up to the neck in black paint.

Since the moment they had agreed to take this trip, Trunks had tried to keep Goku between himself and Goten at all times, the older Saiyan being as much of a buffer zone as he could hope for. Now he watched the pureblood pull the protective material over his torso and zip the front of the suit, stretching it taut around his well-toned muscles. The almost wet-looking black fabric matched his hair and eyes and made his pale skin seem all the more radiant by comparison. The outfit clung to every crease and curve and Trunks thought it was easy to see where the younger Sons had gotten their incredible genes.

Goku put on a matching pair of boots then stood up straight, his features taking on a purposeful expression as he picked up a helmet. “Alright, boys. Let’s go.” The other two followed him out of the hangar, albeit less enthusiastically, and into the bright noontime sun. The spherical ship that had become a Capsule Corp. trademark over the years stood ready for takeoff at the center of the complex.

Bulma approached her son. “Sweetie, the new radar is built right into the ship. Once it locates the first ball, autopilot will take over. If you have any questions, I’m just a tele-monitor away.” To Trunks’s surprise, she wiped away a stray tear from her cheek then leaned in to kiss his hair. “Be careful,” she whispered, and the teen pulled back to study his mother’s face. She knew he’d been flying ships like this since he was practically a child, helping her and Doctor Briefs test out their new designs.

“It’s okay, Mom,” he reassured her. “It’s no big deal.”

Bulma pressed her lips together, nodding, then trotted quickly away to stand with Vegeta. She clung to his arm and her tearful farewell gave the royal demi pause as he boarded the craft. He and Goten watched their friends and family members disappear from view as the hatch closed. He only noticed at the last second that Gohan did not join the send-off party.

“Wooh yeah!” Both turned around at the muffled whoop that came from inside the ship and Goten threw the small duffel bag he’d packed over his shoulder with a sigh.

“Guess that means Goku found the kitchen.”

***

It didn’t take long before the revamped radar picked up a signal from the first ball. They were nearing the edge of the solar system and, now that there were no nearby planets to create interference, the radar’s range appeared to have increased dramatically. A tiny white dot was blinking at the outer edge of the navigational screen and Trunks quickly calculated its distance. It was far away but at the high rate of speed they were travelling, they could cover a lot of ground.

“About twelve hours ‘til we reach the first ball,” he announced to no one in particular. Goten looked up from where he was sitting a short distance away. His feet were pulled up onto the seat so that his chin rested on his knees. He let go of the lock of raven hair he’d been threading between his fingers and the crescent-shaped spike bounced back to its normal position above his head. It was the only indication he gave that he heard the announcement. So far he and Trunks had managed not to speak directly to each other. The royal demi stood up and stretched his legs then turned to observe their surroundings. “Might as well make ourselves at home.”

The main level of the ship contained the cockpit and living areas, and judging from the beeline Goku made to the lift as soon as it was safe to unfasten their seatbelts, Trunks knew the kitchen was below. That would mean the gravity room was on the upper level.

He approached the first door on the left and it opened automatically to reveal a bathroom. To his surprise, the second door led to a recreation room with a flat screen T.V. on one wall with several plush-looking chairs in front of it. There was a video game console that Trunks didn’t think was even on the market yet and he smiled, thankful for his mother’s foresight. But his grin faded as he turned to face the opposite wall.

There were only two doors on the other side of the ship.

That meant . . . .

“Only two bedrooms,” he mourned, staring despondently at the wall. Trunks didn’t even realize he’d spoken aloud but the youngest Saiyan perked up at the words.

As if this entire trip wasn’t already his worst nightmare come true, now Goten learned he would be stuck with either Trunks or Goku as a bunkmate. And, truthfully, he couldn’t decide which one he’d rather room with less. He picked up his bag just as his father re-entered the main level with an armful of food he was happily munching.

“I’ll take my own,” the teenager said decisively, stalking into the nearest bedroom and dropping onto a bed. “Dad, you can bunk with Trunks. Who knows? Maybe he can make it a trifecta.”

Trunks’s mouth dropped open. The blood rushing beneath the surface of his skin made his face flush for a second. Then, forgetting his embarrassment, he pushed past the older Saiyan and approached the open door. “Oh, yeah, Goten,” he snapped, “because I’m the one who just jumps into bed with the nearest warm body.”

“Only if they’re related to me,” Goten shrugged.

“Well at least this time I’ll be expecting the complete abandonment that comes afterward!”

Goten growled through clenched teeth and Trunks balled his own fists at his sides, snarling just as loudly.

“Boys, boys!” Goku slapped a greasy palm to Trunks’s chest and held a turkey leg out at Goten. “We’re all going to have to learn to get along. We can’t let our personal differences affect this mission. Remember,” his voice softened, “there are a lot of people counting on us.”

The two stared at him defiantly for a moment before reluctantly backing down.

“You’re right, Goku.”

“Sorry, Dad.”

The pureblood patted the demi-Saiyan prince on the shoulder and flashed a smile at Goten. “Now that’s better.”

After Goku turned to leave, Trunks wasted no time making the wanker sign at Goten to which he responded by crossing his arms over his groin and mouthing “suck it”.

Eyes flashing, the royal demi stepped into the room only far enough to snatch a pillow from the empty bed near the door before heading back to the control seat.

This was going to be a long trip.

***

“You don’t mind that I took off, do you, Bulma?” Gohan asked into the mouthpiece of his cell phone as he walked across the lobby of his old apartment building. “I wanna try and get my things packed up while Trunks is gone. You know, just to avoid a scene.”

He listened to her speak as he rode up to the fourteenth floor on the elevator and she was still talking by the time he pushed open their door. He made sure to throw in a “yeah” or an “uh-huh” every few seconds so she would think he was listening. In truth, he was distracted and not even the sound of her rather shrill voice in his ear could stop his mind from wandering. The meeting with Trunks earlier had left him shaken and he was having a hard time writing off the younger demi’s words as insignificant. Nothing spoken with so much sincerity could be completely void of meaning, could it?

Gohan took a sweeping look around the main room. It was strange for him to be in the apartment again. Not even a week had passed but it somehow felt like forever since he’d been there. With Bulma’s nervous chatter like background music in his ear, he fished a capsule out of his pocket and tossed it onto the living room floor. It burst into a pile of moving boxes and, as he grabbed one off the top, Gohan realized that the cardboard mess he’d just made was the only thing out of place in the entire apartment. In fact, it was so spotless that he would have assumed Trunks had been staying with his parents. But then he remembered the teen’s own words. He had been there all week.

“Uh—I’m sorry, what?” He realized Bulma had stopped talking and was apparently expecting him to say something. “Oh, yeah, I know. I’ll be there. This shouldn’t take too long.”

Gohan made his way down the hall and into his bedroom. Right away he noticed the faded SCC tee sitting laundered and neatly folded on the edge of his bed. It tugged at his heartstrings to see it there, so deliberately placed. As if it was waiting for him to come home. Though, of course, it wasn’t the shirt that he’d deserted. Rather, it was the person who’d placed it there.

But Trunks was a smart boy. How could he not have seen this coming? Sure he was willful; and it was true that he got his way most of the time. But even Trunks would have to acknowledge the obstacles – indeed the glaring obstacle – that stood in their way. And if he had ever expected Gohan to write off his brother’s feelings to be with him, then he didn’t know the eldest Son at all.

“Yeah, okay,” Gohan said as he lifted the shirt from the bed and placed it in the box he was holding. “I’ll see you then. And don’t worry, Bulma. I’m sure that we did the right thing.”

He flipped his phone closed and put it in his pocket, realizing with little joy that he was getting better at that whole lying thing.

***

Goten awoke in the middle of the night. Pitch blackness surrounded him and he was aware of the sensation that he was moving. Alarmed, he sat up in bed and pushed the covers off his legs, planting his feet on the floor. But as soon as he remembered where he was he wished he hadn’t. Glancing at the bed across from him, he found it empty. It looked like Trunks had decided to sleep with Goku after all.

Becoming aware of the pressure in his bladder, Goten realized what it was that woke him up. He stood and stumbled across the common area to the bathroom. The automatic doors made it a much less noisy trip than it might have been. Once he had relieved himself, he started back the way he came, pausing to look out the large dome-like windshield to his right. All he could see were the brightest stars for millions of miles in every direction. He had never been in space before and even in his sleepy daze the sight was breathtaking. Most people would go their whole lives without ever laying eyes on something like this.

In his awed silence, Goten soon became aware of the sound of even breathing nearby. His eyes had adjusted to the dark by now and he could see Trunks asleep on the floor near the far wall. His head was supported by the duffel bag he’d packed and the pillow he’d taken from Goten’s room was tucked snugly between his right arm and his torso. His left arm was draped across his face, half hiding it from view. It was a sight that was at once familiar and disconcerting to Goten.

Before he could think on it any longer, an automated voice echoed from the control panel informing him that they were approaching the location of the first dragon ball. “Landing in T-minus three minutes,” it stated in a soothing monotone.

Goten glanced at the sleeping demi again. Maybe Trunks would want to be awake for the landing. He didn’t need to pilot the ship, as far as Goten knew, but he sure would love this view. And besides, Goten felt pretty bad that Trunks was sleeping on the floor. He probably shouldn’t have said what he did about Goku.

Chewing his bottom lip, the teenager approached his old friend. He knelt down alongside him but thought twice before touching him. Trunks might be startled when he woke up and Goten wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. But as if it was part of his muscle memory his hand reached out for Trunks’s shoulder without his brain’s permission. How many times had he knelt above Trunks just like this; making his friend walk him to the bathroom in the middle of the night back when Capsule’s high and sprawling hallways had seemed impossibly scary?

Goten squeezed lightly. “Trunks,” he whispered. “Hey, Trunks, wake up.” The royal demi took a loud breath and groaned as he shifted his weight on the floor. His hand came down on top of Goten’s.

“Hmm . . .” he murmured in his sleep, putting a small amount of pressure on the fingers. “Gohan?”

The youngest Son pulled his hand away as though it had been burned. The sudden movement brought Trunks around and he pushed himself up on one arm, blinking drowsily. “What?” he asked, apparently oblivious to the offense he’d just committed. “What is it?” There was a note of irritation in his voice.

Goten stood up, wiping his hand on his pants where Trunks had touched it and turned with a huff toward his bedroom. He was surprised when a bright red light illuminated the cabin.

“Warning, warning.” The voice was louder now, and no longer soothing. “Landing sequence malfunction. Landing sequence failed to initiate.”

Goten spun back in the direction of the voice. He saw Trunks jump to his feet and approach the control panel. Several parts of it were blinking and it didn’t look like it could mean anything good. The Capsule heir ducked under the control panel and resurfaced with what looked like a phone book. Goten quickly realized, however, as Trunks began flipping through it and pressing buttons on the console, that it was an instruction manual. He seemed to be running through some sort of a checklist. But whatever he was doing didn’t quiet the female voice that now blared warnings at them in rapid succession.

“Landing gear failure,” she informed them and the royal demi swore, fisting one hand in his hair. The landing gear was the least of his problems! He couldn’t even get the ship to decelerate. Trunks had tried overriding the autopilot but it wouldn’t recognize any of his commands and they were still barreling through space at full speed.

“Trunks?” Goten inched closer to the other boy. “What’s happening?”

“Go get your dad, Goten.” Trunks kept his voice as calm as possible. “This is going to be a rough landing.”

“’Kay.” With that he scurried off. When the older Saiyan came out of his room, rubbing his eyes and yawning, Trunks barked at him.

“Get in your seat and strap in!”

Both Sons did as directed. But the royal demi doubted how much buckling up would help any of them. At the rate the ship was heading towards the rapidly growing profile of the planet, there would be nothing left of it when it hit the surface.

“Whoa, Trunks, what’s going on?” a more alert Goku asked.

“I don’t get it,” the teen admitted as he ran through the override sequence yet again. There were multiple fail-safes built into every Capsule ship. For nothing to work, for the computer to fail to respond to any of his commands seemed almost impossible. It was more than just a simple manufacturing flaw. System after backup system would have to fail. How unlucky could they possibly be?

Abandoning the manual, he began to think through their alternatives. They could blow up the planet. But what if it was inhabited? And in case he didn’t manage to fix the ship, they couldn’t just blow up every planet that got in their way until the damn thing ran out of fuel.

“Trunks.” Goten’s tone was slightly frantic. The youngest Son sat strapped in to the chair next to the control seat which was glaringly empty. They were close enough to the planet now that he could see what looked like vast forests covering the surface of the brownish landmass. The ship began to shake as it entered the atmosphere.

“Trunks, quit it now.” Goku chimed in with an identical plea. “We’re going to have to brace ourselves.”

But there was one last thing that might work and the teen pulled up on the steering column with all his strength, ignoring his shipmate’s entreaties. Since he didn’t seem to be able to slow them down, he figured if he could change the ship’s course, they might at least have a chance. Skimming the surface of the planet would doubtless be better than smashing directly into it.

The teen kept his eyes on the console and the rapidly approaching ground. He could see that the surface was made up of a red-brown sort of mud. The forests were full of tall, twisted trees not at all like the ones on Earth. They were leafless and looked dead. He realized that at the speed they were travelling, there was no way the ship could pull up in time to avoid impact. And Capsule ships, though based on the Saiyan model, weren’t meant to slam into the faces of planets like an asteroid on a collision course. Whatever element it was that made Saiyan pods able to withstand that kind of pressure did not exist on Earth. That’s why a Capsule ship’s landing system was supposed to be state of the art.

“Trunks!” Goten screamed his name this time, but his voice just barely overcame the rattling of the ship’s parts, doing their best to hold together despite the atmospheric onslaught. The Capsule heir made a mental note to Final Flash the asshole who had assembled this piece of junk if he ever made it back to Earth. Then he turned to Goten, locking onto him with his eyes in the midst of the clamor. The younger demi’s fearful stare turned to one of surprise as Trunks lunged at him, wrapped his arms around Goten’s chair, closed his eyes, and gathered as much energy as he possibly could.

***

Goten looked at the sky. The millions of stars he had been admiring twinkled above him like so many white lights on a black canopy. They were even brighter here than they were on a clear night at Mount Pouzu. He felt inexplicably tired and closed his eyes to go back to sleep, but the pain in his left arm wouldn’t let him. Moaning, he rolled over to alleviate the unnatural angle at which it was bent and found himself face down in chalky dirt. Choking on the dust, he sat up and glanced to the left and right. All he could see for miles was reddish brown earth.

No, wait. Not Earth. This was the alien planet they’d crashed into. There had been an accident. And not far away on the ground lay an unmoving pile of black and purple.

“Trunks!” The teenager dashed across the dry ground before falling to his knees near the other demi. “Trunks! Wake up,” he begged, gathering the unconscious boy’s upper half in his arms and shaking him as violently as his own injury would allow. At first the lilac head only rolled back and forth unresponsively. But finally, to the youngest Son’s great relief, cloudy blue eyes blinked open.

“Goten?” Trunks’s eyes grow clearer as he looked around, struggling to remember what had happened. Suddenly he turned to Goten and grabbed both of his arms, as if trying to reassure himself the other boy was real. Goten winced at the contact.

“It worked,” he exclaimed. “The shield—it worked! We’re okay!” Goten nodded but he didn’t share Trunks’s enthusiasm. They had made it through the crash landing in one piece, but that was only the beginning of their problems. Over Trunks’s shoulder he could see the wreckage of the ship and there was hardly anything left of it. Raising his gaze, he realized they were in the middle of an enormous crater.

Trunks’s eyes followed his and the same realizations began to dawn on him. To his surprise, though, he realized they were having no trouble breathing. By some astronomical coincidence, they had landed on a planet with an atmosphere similar to their own. He turned to Goten to voice the observation, but now that the two boys faced each other, he could feel Goten’s breath on his skin. The younger Son was still holding onto him but let go abruptly when he realized how close they were.

Both pushed themselves to their feet.

“What kind of place is this?” Goten wondered, looking up into the sky again. They couldn’t see much else from the bottom of the hole they were in.

“I guess we’ll find out.” Trunks had already started climbing the steep wall that led to the surface. He pulled himself over the lip of the crater and planted two feet on the planet’s dusty crust. It was dark at the moment, but the place likely had a sun because there were things growing there. The bizarre, leafless trees he had seen on their approach twined together to make a surprisingly dense forest off to his right. There was no grass anywhere and the whole planet seemed to consist of dry dirt.

Besides Goten, who had just joined him on the surface, there wasn’t another living soul around. It was eerily silent except for the wind whistling through the nearby trees and the sizzling sound of steel cooling at the bottom of the crater.

“Hey, Trunks.” The younger boy did a slow three-sixty. “Where’s my dad?”

The teen prince gasped. In his relief at surviving the crash, he had completely forgotten that there were supposed to be three in their party. He joined his friend in scanning the area with his eyes. Then, with a feeling of dread, he followed Goten as the younger boy floated back down towards the wreckage. They hovered above the twisted metal that had once been their transport and looked for any sign that the older Saiyan was among the debris.

“He’s . . . not here.” Trunks’s tone was relieved but the revelation only left him more confused.

In a flash of light, his companion disappeared into the sky to gain a better vantage point. “Dad!” he yelled from high above. “Dad, where are you?” But Goten knew better than to expect an answer. There were no signs of life in this place and he couldn’t sense his father at all. Not even faintly.

He touched down next to Trunks at the edge of the dead forest. “I—I don’t understand,” the younger teen said, squinting as he peered into the trees. “He should be here with us.”

“Well, maybe . . . .” Trunks avoided Goten’s searching eyes as a disturbing thought occurred to him.

“What is it?”

“Well, I—.” He paused, not quite knowing what to say. Goku was the strongest person he knew in the entire universe. It had never occurred to him that he might need any help. “You see, I . . . I only shielded the two of us.”

“You . . . .” Goten blinked. “What?”

“I couldn’t make it any bigger or it wouldn’t have been strong enough to protect us!”

The younger demi looked pale as his eyes darted involuntarily to the nearby hole in the ground. There was still smoke pouring out of it.

“Dad!” he shouted desperately, taking off at a run towards the ship again.

“Goten, wait!” Trunks caught up to him quickly, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy’s waist from behind and stopping him in his tracks. “Wait,” he repeated more forcefully. He was quite sure that Goku wasn’t in that crater and if he was, well . . . . This was no time to let Goten get hysterical.

“Let go of me!” The other twisted and struggled and Trunks was forced to squeeze him tighter to stop him from flailing.

“Calm down.” The voice was at once soothing and authoritative and Goten momentarily quieted. “He probably IT’d somewhere.” Gohan had learned how to teleport in relation to other power levels rather than directly to them. If he could do it, then surely Goku could, too.

“He probably disintegrated!” Goten offered his own hypothesis.

“Don’t say that. Your dad is stronger than both of us put together. If we survived, he did, too.”

Goten raised his power enough to break free from Trunks’s grasp then spun to face him. “We only survived because of you. Why didn’t you shield him?”

The royal demi tried to keep his cool but it was hard not to get defensive when Goten practically accused him of killing Goku. “I told you I couldn’t make it that big. I could only help one of you—.”

“Why didn’t you choose him then?” Goten demanded, grabbing for the front of the other boy’s space suit. Trunks just didn’t make sense to him sometimes. If he’d have gone for Goku instead, then everyone would be happier. The universe would still have its hero and Trunks’s dream of a world without Goten would come true. The younger Son struggled to catch the slippery material between his fingers and Trunks kept him at bay with a forearm pressed to his chest. “If you could only save one of us,” Goten spat, “why would you even bother with me!?”

“Be-cause.” Trunks gritted his teeth, pushing back harder against the other. The sounds of their struggle echoed in the dark forest.

“Because why, Trunks?” Goten mocked the older demi. “You’d trade with Mirai to be rid of me. You said so yourself.”

“I know what I said!” Goten’s back hit the tree behind him.

“So you had your chance,” he panted, dropping his head against the bark but still holding Trunks’s gaze. “Why not take it if you hate me so much.”

“I don’t hate you, you stupid ass!” Trunks shouted in his face. “I—.”

He stopped abruptly, eyes flashing in the dark. “Shit,” he swore, and the hand that wasn’t pinning Goten to the tree smashed into the wood near his head.

“You what?” the younger boy challenged hopelessly. There was a time when he would have feared a hurtful answer, but after so many weeks of fighting, he only felt numb. And if they were going to die here on this god-forsaken planet, they might as well just get it off their chests.

“I love you, you goddamn idiot!” Trunks threw his arms out to the sides. He turned away from the shocked look on Goten’s face and scowled at the cracked and dusty landscape. “Don’t look so surprised. You fucking well know I do.”

On the contrary, it was the one answer the younger demi hadn’t been expecting. Not after all of the things the teen prince had said and done to him. Even before they’d parted ways, he often felt more like one of Trunks’s possessions than his closest friend. Goten took a shuddering breath. “And just how would I know that, Trunks?”

The Capsule heir stared across the landscape for a long time. The bright stars in this planet’s midnight sky illuminated half of his face and left the other half shrouded in shadow. “You hurt me,” he said finally, accentuating each syllable so that Goten might comprehend the severity of his transgression. “You hurt me in ways I never thought you could.”

“Trunks—.”

“Wait. I’m not finished.”

He turned to face Goten again and when he next spoke, his tone didn’t have such a hard edge. Gone was the cold, apathetic exterior Goten had grown so used to.

“You can’t imagine what it was like, those first few days without you.” Trunks shook his head when it looked like the younger boy was going to protest. “No. You have no idea. You don’t know what I went through and you can’t possibly know what your brother went through to help me.”

Goten stared at him mutely now, his wide eyes blinking as he took in the words.

“But it did force me to take a good look at myself. And in the end, I eventually came to understand why it was that you left. But it didn’t make it any easier to deal with the fact that you were gone.”

Trunks looked at the ground and his bangs fell in front of his eyes. He lifted one hand to push them off his face.

“You and me never talked about what was going on between us, Goten. Hell, we never talked to anyone about it.” Trunks shrugged remorsefully. “I guess I can’t really blame you for being confused. I know I treated you like a doormat most of the time and yet acted like I was doing you a big favor. Not to mention . . . . Well, we were just kids when everything started.”

Both were silent and Goten wasn’t sure how long he listened to the whistling of the wind before Trunks continued. “Sometimes I think we shouldn’t have let it go so far, ya know? Because it was always going to come to this.” He looked up to glance at their surroundings. Of course he couldn’t have predicted they’d end up having this conversation here on some forgotten planet. But he was sure that, from those first few experimental caresses, the only way it could have ended was in flames.

“To the extent that it complicated everything, Goten, I’m sorry that it happened. And if I could go back and do things differently, I would. Because I did love you. And despite everything that’s happened, I always will. That’s why I saved you. Okay?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head, embarrassed at his own display of emotion. “Who’d’ve guessed it, huh? I always prided myself on being the stronger one.”

But Goten, too, had to bite his bottom lip to keep it from trembling. He wanted to tell Trunks about everything he had learned, as well, in the weeks without him. How close he had come to drowning and that – if anything – instead of finding the answers he’d been seeking, in leaving he had lost a vital part of himself.

He wanted to say that he was sorry. But most of all, he just wanted his best friend back. Because, despite his antagonistic behavior, inside the teen was aching to let go of the grudges they’d been holding. Perhaps the most important thing he had learned was that the burden of prolonged separation was the worst pain either could inflict on the other.

He was nowhere near as good as Trunks at expressing those kinds of things. Lucky that the royal demi could read him like a book, anyway.

At long last, Goten gave in to the magnetic pull between them and embraced his old friend. “I missed you,” he exhaled forcefully as his chest was crushed against the other boy’s. Goten thought he might suffocate Trunks if he squeezed him any harder. But he could feel Trunks’s nails digging into his back as he fisted the thin fabric of the space suit. The lavender-haired demi was shaking and Goten imagined the same waves of relief that were crashing over him were the likely cause. He tightened his grip and it was only then that he again became aware of the aching in his shoulder. Ignoring it, he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want this moment to end.

But he could feel Trunks withdrawing from the embrace and after a moment he grudgingly let go.

“What’s wrong with it?” the older teen inquired, collecting himself.

“I dunno,” Goten admitted, reaching up to massage the injured appendage. “It just hurts.”

Trunks gave him a knowing look and began pulling the zipper down on Goten’s space suit. He peeled back the fabric only far enough to see his shoulder. The exposed skin was bruised and red in comparison to the milky whiteness of his chest.

“It’s only dislocated, you baby.” This was practically a daily injury when one lived with Vegeta. The young prince slid one hand down the back of Goten’s suit to his shoulder blade. He pressed the front of his chest with the other.

“Ow,” Goten complained after they heard a loud pop.

“Good as new.”

“Thanks.”

Trunks withdrew his hand from the younger boy’s suit and zipped it up again.

“You’re welcome.”

Their lips met before Trunks really knew what was happening. For a moment it felt like they were back in his bedroom again, as though nothing that had happened these past few weeks was real. But he noticed with surprise that this kiss felt different. It wasn’t poisoned with expectations, demands, or judgment. It wasn’t tainted by the taste of tears like so many of their intimate moments had been over the years. Trunks realized it wasn’t really like their last kiss at all.

No, it was more like the first one.

Back when things had been simple. And this time, Trunks thought, it’d be better to keep them that way.

Goten reached up to touch his cheek and the two separated. Without having to say anything, he knew the younger boy had come to the same conclusion. Trunks wanted a relationship, and not just kids’ stuff. It wasn’t enough for him anymore and, quite honestly, it hadn’t been for awhile. He wanted a commitment and it wasn’t something that Goten could give. Maybe the other boy had been able to sense it weeks ago, even before Trunks had known it himself.

Goten smiled and his whole face brightened. That was the smile that Trunks had fallen in love with. How ironic that he had seen it so rarely since then. He caught his best friend’s hand in his own.

“So, how did the search for ‘Goten’ ever turn out, anyway? Was the real you hiding somewhere under Tiffany’s clothes as you had suspected?”

“Shut up,” Goten blushed, embarrassed at his own naiveté in retrospect. “No, he wasn’t. And you’d never believe the stuff that was under there, Trunks.” He lowered his voice considerably, as if anyone could hear them. “You have no idea what I had to deal with!”

The royal demi laughed in earnest then. “You know who’s gonna be sorry to hear that?” He raised one eyebrow. “Our mutual friend, Kim. She totally wants your cock.” Trunks jumped out of the way as Goten swung at him and the two quickly disentangled. “I’m serious, Goten!”

The younger teen put a hand behind his head. “She’s great, ya know? But I think I’m gonna stay single for awhile. I mean . . . I’m just getting out of an eighteen-year relationship with this really high-maintenance guy.” Now it was Trunks’s turn to jab his friend in the ribs. “Anyway, I don’t wanna jump into anything new.”

“It’s a good idea.” Trunks’s smile slowly faded. His tone was unconvincing as he kicked up some dirt with the toe of his boot. “It’s about time we give the single life a try, right?”

“Ah! But—.” Goten tilted his head, uncomprehending. “But what about Gohan?”

“Oh,” Trunks waved his hand with practiced nonchalance. “It’s not gonna work out.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz he told me so, okay?” Trunks couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice. He turned away from his friend when he noticed the other staring at him discerningly. “And the five minutes it took him to tell me that were the most he’s spoken to me all week. So, believe me, he made it pretty clear that he’s not interested.”

“You mean you guys aren’t still living together?”

“Not even close.” Trunks made a face. “I have no idea where he’s been. In fact, I figured he was back at Mount Paozu.” Goten shook his head in the negative. “Look, whatever. It’s no big deal, okay? So just drop it.”

“Hmm . . . .” Goten chewed on his thumb nail. “’Kay,” he acquiesced finally.

“So . . . you’re not mad then?” The Capsule heir pushed a few unruly strands of hair behind his ear while he waited for Goten’s answer.

“Well, if you really cared about him,” the younger Son reasoned, “then it’s not so easy to be angry anymore. I mean, how can I fault you for loving Gohan? I love him, too.”

The royal demi realized his father was right about this family. They didn’t think the way other people did. It was one of the things that made them so utterly remarkable.

Well, that and their fantastic glutes.

Trunks took his friend’s hand again. “I guess we’d better figure out how we’re gonna get off this rock, huh?” He stared at the landscape over Goten’s shoulder as he went over their limited options in his head.

“I wish my Dad was here. He’d know what to do.” The younger boy sighed and Trunks focused his eyes on him with concern. It had been a long time since he’d heard Goten refer to Goku with affection, not to mention wistfulness. “The last time we talked, Trunks, I said some things . . . .”

Goten squeezed his eyes shut and when he didn’t go on, the royal demi pulled him close again and pinned his friend’s tired head to his shoulder.

“I just don’t wanna lose him again,” Goten admitted.

Trunks petted his jet-black hair and with every stroke, the soft spikes bounced up to tickle his cheek. Considering it was something he never thought he’d feel again, each fleck was like a gift for which he was grateful. It was funny how near-death experiences could change everything so quickly, and he couldn’t help but think back to the story Vegeta told him about Mirai.

“You’ll get another chance to tell him how you feel, Go-chan, I promise. My father says it’s never too late to make up for your mistakes. And do you know what?” he whispered, gazing up at the stars above them. “After today, I know for sure that it’s true.”