This story is co-written by Orange Disco Ball and Timaelan.

As a warning, you should know it might turn yaoish, so now is the best time to run away if yaoi is not your thing.

As a second warning, we have to confess we are currently working without any beta-reading and it means you might find some freaky grammar/ spelling once in a while. Sorry for that.

What else? Well... Enjoy.

...ADRIFT...

1. Sadness is slow poison

…April, 27th – Western Capital might be blessed with a sunny day despite some rain to be expected in the early evening…

Trunks turned the radio's volume down and stared absently at his bowl of coffee. His blurry reflection was looking back from the brown liquid while the words were echoing in his blank mind – April, 27th - So, it had only been one month after all.

How could a month feel like a year? Did he ever spent a whole month without hearing from Goten, if not only on the phone? Surely he had, but he couldn't remember it. Fact was, Goten's presence in his life had always been so natural that he'd never really kept records of the time they'd spent together or of the number of times they'd called each other for no particular reasons.

Now, Goten was gone.

He'd been there a month ago but he was no longer. No more call, no more visit. No chance to find him out of the blue at any time of the day. He was just – well, gone. He wasn't dead, he wasn't far away, he simply didn't exist anymore. It sounded so absurd.

Since that night when he hadn't showed up at Mount Paozu like he was supposed to, everyone had been looking for him. It had lasted entire days and nights. They had turned the whole planet upside down and they had all focused so hard to spot his ki that they almost had their brains bleeding through their ears but there was nothing like Goten's ki on Earth anymore. They could have bowed to the evidence the very first day when Goku failed to locate him for Instant Transmission but they had needed to struggle further because all this sounded so senseless.

Then, they had decided to ask the Dragon. The Mighty Dragon. What a joke. Man, that Dragon had granted so many stupid wishes but the only important one had been out of reach for him – I can't bring him back because he's nowhere to be found. If the Dragon couldn't make it, if there was no rational explanation to give, then there was no hope to hang on anymore. The planet would have to spin without Goten.

Unnoticed from him, Trunks's fingers had clenched his spoon so tightly that the metal was slowly twisting. He felt a faint touch on the back of his hand and was snatched out of his meditation. He looked up and met his mother's soft eyes. "Honey, are you okay?" she asked.

As a reply, he kept quiet and pinched his lips. His mother didn't need any word to grasp the answer to her question anyway. She was sitting opposite from him and giving him a sorry gaze while patting his hand.

Trunks gave a brief sigh. "I'll move back to my apartment, there's no need for me to stay at the Capsule any longer since we're – done," he said. We're done – Kami, are we done looking for Goten? A restless voice was screaming in objection in his head but he ignored it.

"I'm sure we'll find something out, Trunks," Bulma stated.

She was looking strong-willed but Trunks knew it was mostly a comforting mask. As smart and genius as his mother was, she couldn't do better than the Dragon and the Dragon had said he was powerless.

"We're going to visit Goku and Chichi today, do you want to come with us?" she offered.

"No, thanks. I think I will just pack up my things and go back to my place. I haven't been there for a whole month and I got stuff to cope with," he replied while pulling his hand away from her touch.

He stood up and took his untouched bowl of coffee away. She watched him empty it in the sink and turn the tap on. "Maybe, it would do you some good to see them," she insisted, "you shouldn't stay on your own."

He washed off his bowl and rested it on the dish drainer. "I'm fine, Mum," he growled while whipping his hands. He turned to her and did his best to give her a half smile. "Don't worry for me. Chichi and Goku need your help, though."

She nodded but he knew she didn't believe him more than he had believed her when she'd said they would find something out. That was the way it would have to be from now on. They'd done anything possible to find Goten but it hadn't been enough. All of them had failed at understanding what was happening and truth was they were unable to change anything. The idea was so unbearable that the only thing they still had left now was to pretend they hadn't lost the game, yet. Should anyone admit the dreadful truth – there was nothing more they could do to have Goten back – they would all collapse. Even Chichi had stopped whining. Goten wasn't dead and he'll be back. No matter what happened to him, he'll make it and would come back on his own. Soon.

Trunks leaned on his mother and kissed her head. "Have a nice day, Mum. Call you."

He wasn't long to gather his few stuff and to stick them into his bag. Deep down his mind, he was relieved to leave his parent's place. His mother's constant worried face and his father's even more silent than usual mood were somewhat oppressing and pressure was the last thing Trunks needed.

When he left the house, his parents were already gone. The radio hadn't lied, the weather was sunny. Trunks felt like driving. He'd been flying on long distance on a regular basis during the past month and he craved to go back to a more human life. He needed normal things. No dragon, no ki's issues, no guys flying high in the sky. No friend disappearing all of a sudden.

His apartment was located downtown on the last floor of a neat and modern building where only rich and quiet people lived. When he entered it the breathtaking sight of the huge balcony overhanging the whole town caused him a thrill. Everything was exactly the same as when he left and this hopeless normality hit him. It was as if the world didn't give a damn that Goten wasn't part of it anymore. A lump formed in Trunks's throat and he swallowed it forcefully.

He dropped his bag and walked to the glass door to open it wide. A slight breeze welcomed him and rushed into the apartment. He stared at the quiet balcony and couldn't help but to wonder if Goten would ever visit him again by landing right here. He sighed and stepped back inside.

He glanced at the stack of uncared mail the cleaning lady had left on his coffee table. He took off his jacket as if on the verge of dealing with an exhausting chore and sat on the couch in front of the bunch of envelopes. As he grabbed randomly a first letter, his phone started to ring with furious vibrations on the table. Trunks froze his gesture and his heart skipped a beat. It's not Goten, his mind lectured on the go.

He didn't dare taking the device and merely looked down at the caller's name displayed on the screen. Cara. He had a second thought but eventually ignored the call. He kept staring at the silent phone for a minute and rather expectedly, it ended up tinkling to let him know he had a new message.

He felt somewhat guilty. Cara was – well, she was his girlfriend. How strange did that word sound right now? However, that was what she was and it was unfair to her to deny it. Five weeks ago, Trunks and her were still sleeping together and having fun on a weekly basis, and she was a cool girl. Now, Goten was gone, and Trunks hadn't seen her for about three weeks, but she was still a cool girl. If he'd been able to forget about Goten for a moment, Trunks would admit willingly that he liked her.

He ran his hand in his hair and leaned back against the couch's cushions. What could he tell her? "Hey, I don't forget you but my best friend has just evaporated in the air and I don't feel like going out and having fun right now. I'll call you back when he materializes again, which could be in ten years or never as far as I know."

Life wouldn't go back to normal so easily.

He grasped his phone and stood up. He walked to the kitchen. The fridge was obviously empty so he rummaged in his cupboard but the only bottle he could find was an old vodka. It was a bit early for such a strong thing. He had a second thought but shrugged and took the bottle. While pouring some alcohol in a glass, he found himself wondering if Goten had ever drunk any vodka from this exact bottle. He chased the question out of his head, all those questioning all the time wouldn't help a lot.

He dialed his voicemail's number and listened to Cara's hesitant voice. "Hi… You didn't call me back, so I was wondering if you were doing all right…I… I came by your apartment a couple days ago but you weren't back from your parents. I don't know what's going on but… Well, let me know and don't forget I still have your keys."

He had a weak smile. Listening to her message reminded him why he liked her. Yet, it also made clear that she wouldn't be able to comfort him. They'd been dating for almost three months and they had fun. They cared for each other, no doubt but they never considered things very seriously so far. How many times did Goten met her? Four times at the very most. Maybe five. Their relationship was definitely nothing very serious at this point. Yet, as she mentioned it, she still had his home's keys and this detail reminded him that he had to make things clear with her.

He took several sips from his glass and winced. Vodka was definitely not for him. He rested the glass and dialed Cara's number. She picked up at the first ring. "Trunks? The hell, I was starting to think you were dead, you little bastard!"

He grinned. "Did you miss me so much?"

"Screw you, where were you all the time, what's the fuck going on?"

"Familial issues, I'm sorry I didn't let you know. It really sucks. I just came back."

She sighed. "Okay. So, what's the plan now? You want me to come by? I'm not too far from your place – shopping indeed."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in a weary gesture for an instant. He didn't really felt like having any company but now was the right time. "If it's fine with you, it's fine with me."

"I'll be there in a minute."

He hung up and dropped his phone on the kitchen's counter. For some reason, he felt drained. Any interaction with people felt exhausting lately. He drank the bottom of his glass in one gulp and went back to his living room. The mail's stack was still waiting on the coffee table and he sat back on the couch.

Cara wasn't long to show up. When he opened the door, Trunks considered for an instant the red and blue tartan of her skirt along with her high heels red boots. She was a very tall girl and she was almost towering him with such shoes. She liked to draw attention on her and she always picked up clothes on that specific purpose. She was the eccentric type talking loud and funny.

She gave him a disapproving look. "Hey, invisible man's back?" she growled by kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry I-"

"Shhsh!" she interrupted him by raising an index. She stomped straight to the couch and slumped herself on the cushions, dropping her bags next to her in the process.

She was quite an exuberant personality but Trunks knew her enough to know that it was mostly a façade. She glanced at him. "Anything to drink?" she asked.

"Water from the tap – or Vodka."

She stared at him. "Wow. Both sound quite violent to me. Is the situation that desperate?"

He stepped closer to the sofa and stood next to her. "Things aren't looking too well to say the least. I – I think I'm going to take a break from College for this year."

She sat straight at that statement and raised an eyebrow. He had no idea why he'd said that but he found out he had made that decision unconsciously some days ago already. The prospect of resuming his carefree student's life sounded completely pointless.

Cara's face turned stern and she had a faint frown. "My, Trunks, Don't you want to tell me what it's all about?" she asked.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked away. "Don't take it bad, Cara. It's- personal."

She gazed at him with questioning eyes and reached for his hand. He felt her slight touch and looked down back at her. "Cara, there's nothing you can do about it, anyway. It's – I need some time on my own to deal with personal stuff and – "

He bowed his head and didn't finish his sentence, in lack of words. How lame was that for an explanation? What did he think he was doing right now? Trying to fool himself? Or trying to explain to Cara that the fun was over?

She stood up and hugged him gently. "I don't know what's going on but I know you enough to see it's something serious. Are you sure you don't want to talk to me?"

He remained unresponsive to her hug and merely shook his head. While his body was feeling her so close from him, he realized that his mind was unable to feel related to her. It was a terrible feeling because she was a cool girl - she really was - and he liked her - he knew he did. Yet, like everything else in that Goten-less world, her presence seemed pointless.

She grabbed his chin and forced him lift his head to meet her eyes. She kissed his lips. "Okay, I get it. I was hoping – well, nevermind," she said while thrusting his apartment's keys in his hand.

He clenched his fingers on them and gave her a smile. "Thanks"

She smiled back and gave him a last kiss. Then, she grabbed her purse and bags on the sofa and headed to the door. Just before exiting the apartment she turned back to him a last time. "Don't be sad too long. Sadness is slow poison. Bye Trunks, see you."

"Bye Cara," he whispered a few moments after she left.

He contemplated the sky through the glass door of the living room. Maybe Goten would appear and land on the balcony. If not now, maybe tomorrow, or the next day. Or maybe never.

Sadness is slow poison.