The mid-May morning glistened with dew and sounds of wayward birds looking for mates. The trees swayed gently in the breeze in the forested area that lead into a clearing of wildflowers and short grasses. Two teens touched down from flight causing a plume of wind to push grass and flower heads to bend out of the way.

"Come on, Goten. I don't have all day. I do have work, you know." A smile graced the man's face, his short lavender hair falling around his brow as he cocked his head to the side to observe the other. These sessions were hard to come by as both boys found it difficult to find the time.

"Right, just let me stretch, okay? We haven't sparred in a while." The dark haired man rolled his shoulders, hearing an audible pop, then relaxed. While bending down, he watched the other teen put his fists up, smirk and lunge. The younger teen smiled wickedly as well as an arm came up to block the incoming blow.

"Seriously Trunks, I needed to stretch." He pushed back at his friend with his forearm.

A kick nearly hits.

"I gave you a second. Not my fault you can't keep up." The older demi Saiyan grins as he pulled back his other leg for another kick. Goten grabbed the foot with gusto and hurled Trunks a few feet away, only to have him launch back with catlike reflexes at the younger Saiyan. This violent dance continued for another twenty minutes until a chime broke through the sounds of punches and grunts. Trunks stopped with Goten in a headlock to look over at the interrupting object. Seeing an opportunity at the distraction, Goten gave Trunks a well-deserved elbow to the gut, releasing his neck from the muscular arm, laughing at the doubled over Saiyan.

"Now who can't keep up."

"Shut up." He said through gritted teeth. Trunks strode over to the sound and picked up the device. "It's my phone alarm. I told you I didn't have much time. This is what you get for choosing a spot so far from my work. Took 20 minutes to get out here. Will take 20 minutes back."

Goten scoffed at his friend. Always the scheduled one, he thought with an eye roll. It irked Goten to no end that Trunks couldn't help but keep track of how long it took to get places. With being constantly harped to 'be here', 'go there', and 'quickly', the teen's life was nothing but a big program for his mother and father to edit and control. The younger halfling figured it would be blissful for Trunks to be finally out on his own and to make his own decisions, but nearly 18 and still under the purse strings of Bulma, Goten saw on multiple occasions that his older companion had to shut his mouth, grit his teeth and follow direction.

"Not if you go extra fast." Goten teased.

Trunks exhaled through a derisive smile and shook his head as he threw down a capsule. With a plume of smoke, a duffel bag with several bottled waters and towels were tucked inside.

Taking a water bottle each, they shortly reminisced about 'old times' and where the time had gone.

"Really, I have to go. My mom is being a ball buster with this meeting today. How about this weekend?" He put forth. The dark-haired hybrid wrinkled his nose. With a sigh, Trunks relented. "I know I've been really busy. Being groomed for CC takes every last bit of effort and time. I will give myself the weekend off. After Bulla's birthday, we can have a good spar, okay? And my dad will be there to probably give us pointers on how we are doing everything wrong." He added with a smirk.

Goten gave a loud scoff and shook his head. No matter how old the two teens got, Vegeta still had his ways of making them both feel like they were children; inexperienced, powerless and naïve. Couldn't take a joke and absolutely could not put up with any shenanigans that the boys could dish out over the years. Which actually made the hijinks more fun. When Vegeta was truly riled up, it was downright hilarious.

"That guy is too much. How old is Bulla now? 5?"

"4. Going on 16. I swear everything out of her mouth is like something my Dad would say. It's a fucking nightmare. At least I'm barely home to 'enjoy' it. Between the end of school and work, I'm actually happy sometimes to be out of the house." Bulla was the pride and joy of the Briefs household and as much as Trunks wanted to be jealous of all the attention his little sister received, Goten knew he loved the little smart-aleck of whom had a way of wrapping everyone around her finger with a well-placed look and a single tear.

"I'll check my schedule."

Encapsulating the duffel, the older Saiyan took off slowly into the air.

"See you later, Ten. Do your fucking essay, okay? I know that's really why you asked me out here." He chuckled as he hovered overhead.

A sheepish grin and a raised middle finger bid farewell to his friend, a gust of harsh wind in his wake.

With another scoff, Goten surveyed his surroundings and took a final drink from the bottle, emptying the contents. He had indeed opted to forget the paper, as a fight seemed more appealing. Reaching the end of his Junior year could not come soon enough. Summer was right around the corner and he planned on spending every day until his final year at the beach with a girl on his arm.

The day was actually nice weathered. Perfect blue sky and sunshine for days. He felt relaxed as the cool breeze ruffled his unruly black hair. The wind came and left a sublime stillness all around. However, after the empty bottle crinkled in his hand did Goten notice the birds had stopped singing and the air was still, the forest eerily quiet behind him.

It wasn't until two pairs of rough hands grabbed his arms, covered his mouth and dragged him swiftly into the darkened thicket, did he realise something was wrong. He had let his guard down and all that remained was the crushed bottle abandoned in the short grass.