It was dark.

Trunks didn't like the dark very much. You could never be sure what was lurking in the darkness. Being in the dark made you feel lost. Helpless. Trunks hated feeling helpless. Helplessness was weakness, his father always said.

And he was not weak.

With a sigh, he rolled over in bed. Goten was asleep at his side, his hair having fallen over his face so it was concealed from Trunks' line of vision. He looked so peaceful, Trunks thought to himself. Then again, Goten always looked peaceful. That's just the kind of person he was. Goten was peace, and Trunks knew how desperately he needed that peace in his life.

Jeez, when had he gotten so sentimental and brooding? That was his father's job. He grimaced at the thought of his father, shifting away and returning to his previous position. He lied on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It wasn't as if he hated his father. He could never hate him. But lately things had been different between the two of them. It was thanks to Bulla that Trunks' father hated him. If she hadn't been born, he would still be the favorite. If she hadn't started training with their father, he wouldn't have been forgotten. If she hadn't been a little -

"Trunks?"

He let out a deep breath, loosening his tense muscles. Turning his head to the side, he saw that Goten had woken up. The dark-haired saiyan looked concerned and a bit irritated. "You were shaking the bed," he mumbled groggily.

Was he? He hadn't even realized it. Maybe he was more upset about this than he'd initially thought.

"What time is it, anyway?" Goten continued, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Is it morning or are you just having a midnight angst session?"

Propping himself up on his elbows, Trunks glanced over at the alarm clock beside his bed. "It's, uh, twenty after midnight. Guess I lost track of time."

"No kidding. Now I'm not even tired anymore," Goten said, negating his claim with a yawn.

Trunks nodded slowly as a smile began to spread across his face. Leave it to Goten to chase his problems away with ease. He took this time to examine his friend, immediately noticing how messy his hair was. He used to have the same haircut as Goku, except his hair grew due to his human DNA or something scientific like that so it had gotten longer than his dad's. As a result, he wore it in a ponytail most of the time .The only reason Goku kept the hairstyle for so long was because true saiyan hair doesn't grow - unless you count facial hair. Trunks had been trying to get his own father to grow a mustache for years now, but to no avail. He could still dream, though.

Goten's voice sliced through his thoughts like a knife through butter. "Trunks? You're zoning out a little bit there, buddy."

He hadn't realized he'd been grinning at the thought of his father with a mustache. Blushing, he slowly sat upright, his back cracking loudly as he did so, earning him a chuckle from Goten.

"Old man," he said in a quiet, playful voice, gently elbowing Trunks in the side with his elbow. The tenderness of this act caused butterflies to erupt in Trunks' stomach.

He wondered why.

As Goten turned his attention away from him and started to stretch out his arms, Trunks couldn't help but notice how much he'd changed since they were little kids. Sure, he was still the same naive toddler he'd been back then, but in a taller, more attractive shell. No, Goten wasn't attractive. That was to put it nicely. He was...what was the word he was looking for? There was one word that captured Goten perfectly, but Trunks couldn't figure it out to save his life. Oh well. It wasn't important. What was important was the fact that they were awake and a certain someone wasn't.

"My dad's probably still asleep," Trunks pointed out. He hoped Goten would take the hint he was ever so carefully laying out before him.

When he looked over at him, the eager smile let him know that the meaning behind his words had been understood.

"So what's the plan?" Goten whispered from behind Trunks.

Trunks immediately shushed him, freezing in place as they were about to round a corner into the kitchen. He peered around, making sure no one else was around. Once he was certain that the kitchen was empty, he motioned for Goten to follow him as he darted in and proceeded to somersault across the floor like a wannabe ninja. This did not go as well as he'd intended it to go, however, as he ended up on his beck groaning in pain. When he opened his eyes, Goten was standing over him with an obnoxious grin planted on his face.

The sound of his laughter caused Trunks' face to heat up. He hated being laughed at. It made him feel weak. Pathetic. He wasn't weak. He wasn't pathetic. The shame he felt morphed into a cold, dark feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew this feeling all too well. And as much as he hated it, he welcomed it.

Before Goten could get a word out, Trunks scrambled to his feet and shot one last glare at his friend before walking away. "You saw nothing," he said over his shoulder.

"But I did see-"

"It's an expression, dipshit," Trunks interrupted, each word dripping with annoyance. "It makes sense that you'd have your dad's haircut, since you're a moron just like him."

The conversation ended there. He knew Goten hated being compared to his dad. He wasn't sure why, but he knew it pissed him off. Trunks rolled his eyes. What a baby. At least his dad was a good person. His own father, meanwhile, was self-entitled and...angry. So angry.

Trunks would rather die than end up like him, and yet...

He didn't want to think about it anymore. Instead, he yanked the refrigerator open and began to rifle through the shelves, not caring if he was making any noise at this point. It seemed to slip his mind that he was supposed to be discrete about this endeavor. All he cared about was sweet revenge. And speaking of sweet...

"Looking for this?"

Trunks spun around and smirked when he saw what Goten was dangling in front of him. It was a can of whipped cream, half empty but still suitable for their mission.

Trunks snatched it from Goten, shaking it before motioning for Goten to walk ahead of him. "It's go time, my friend."

Trunks walked through the long hallway. He heard Goten's quiet footsteps behind him, and he couldn't help but feel guilty about what he'd said earlier. Trunks had known that his words would hurt him, but Goten always laughed it off and let it go. He didn't normally let things get to him, so Trunks figured it wasn't a big deal. He set aside the guilt and focused on the task at hand.

"Do you wanna do the honors or should I?" Goten blurted.

"I never even told you the actual plan," Trunks pointed out matter-of-factly, stopping to turn around and face his friend. "You don't even know what I'm gonna do with this stuff."

Goten rolled his eyes as Trunks gave the can a few more brisk shakes. "Whipped cream. Parents asleep. Narrows it down a lot, don't you think?"

"Shut up," Trunks said with a grin as he entered his parents' bedroom.

The pair was cautious with each step as they grew closer and closer to the bed in which Trunks' parents slept. His father's snoring grew louder with each passing moment, and that sound alone was almost enough to send Trunks running back to his room.

He glanced over his shoulder at Goten, who had his hands over his ears to drown out the dreadful sound of snores. He mouthed something, and it took Trunks a moment to gather that the message he'd tried to convey was 'make it stop', to which Trunks replied with a nod and an eye roll.

When they finally reached Trunks' sleeping father, Goten took a step back and watched with wide eyes as Trunks carefully grabbed his father's hand. It was cold. No surprise there, Trunks thought bitterly. He lifted it, then handed Goten the whipped cream can and mouthed 'do it'. Goten trembled slightly - Trunks wasn't entirely sure whether it was due to fear or excitement - as he took it from Trunks and squirted it into the palm of the snoring man's hand. Once a large swirl had formed, Goten drew back, breathing heavily as if he'd just run a marathon. Trunks hesitated for a moment, then noticed that his father's face was twitching.

"He's waking up," he whispered.

Goten was at his side, but his voice sounded miles away when he spoke as Trunks' father began to stir. "What was that?"

Trunks knew his father all too well. This prank didn't seem like a big deal, but he knew for a fact that any form of humiliation - even if it was nothing more than a little joke - would send his father into a blind rage. And all that anger, that terrifying anger, would be directed at him.

In a mad frenzy, Trunks grabbed Goten's hand and broke into a run. They darted through the halls of the house and as soon as they reached Trunks' bedroom, Trunks shoved Goten onto the bed and locked the door.

"Did he wake u-" Goten was silenced when Trunks clamped his hand over his mouth. The two of them remained perfectly still, and that was when a bloodcurdling shout was heard.

"TRUUUUUUNKS!"

A variety of creative plays on swears streamed out of Trunks' mouth as he looked around the room for an escape route. His eyes lit up when he saw an open window. "Perfect!"

He grabbed Goten's hand once more and stood up, hurriedly guiding him over to their freedom from the impending doom that awaited them on the other side of the bedroom door. Loud footsteps were heard from across the house, and Trunks knew it was only a matter of time before his father reached them.

"Goten, come on!" Trunks insisted, pulling on his friend's hand.

Goten was standing still, a look of confusing etched on his face. "Who opened that window, anyway?" he mused aloud.

"Now's not the time to ask questions, let's just go!"

"But Trunks -"

"Come on! We don't have a lot of time 'til he gets here!"

Something had begun pounding against the bedroom door, and Trunks let out a frightened yelp. There was no other option now. The window was his only hope of salvation. "Goten, please! I don't wanna get in trouble and I'm not just gonna leave you in here or else you'll get in trouble too!"

"But if that window's open, and neither of us opened it, d'ya think - BEHIND YOU!"

His mouth hanging open in shock, Goten pointed a finger at whatever was behind Trunks. Frowning, he turned around, but he could only catch a glimpse of blue before something cold and hard made contact with his neck and the world went black and he fell and