I watch Trunks closely as we soar through the air. His long, lavender hair flails wildly in the wind. Why is he so cute?

"Goten, are you listening to me?" he calls. I boost my power level, shooting through the skies as fast as I can manage. Now I'm flying right beside my best friend, Trunks. "Seriously, Goten, are you that out of practice?"

"Mom's really been cracking down on me about my homework," I sigh. "I've barely had time to breathe, much less train."

"ChiChi really is a piece of work, isn't she?"

"Tell me about it," I laugh.

Trunks tenses, sensing a power level. "Dad's training again."

"Seriously?" I moan. "He'd better not ask us to train with him again...I'm still sore from last time!"

"Me too," Trunks sighs. "But he probably will want us to—"

A blast of energy interrupts Trunks' sentence. Trunks narrowly dodges the attack, spinning through the air and right into me. The two of us plummet from the sky, headed straight towards the Capsule Corp.

Trunks' body is pressed tightly against mine as we fall. I feel myself blushing, but restrain myself so I can save our lives. I grab Trunks by the collar of his shirt, focusing my energy under us to stop our fall. Trunks regains his composure, flying on his own.

Trunks' face is adorable as he angrily glares down at the Capsule Corp. "DAD!" he roars. Trunks turns into a Super Saiyan, and shoots down to the ground at blinding speeds. I fly after him.

Vegeta is leaned casually against the domed building, his arms crossed as always. "Well that was boring, you didn't even fight back."

"Not yet I haven't," Trunks growls. He goes to punch Vegeta, who simply jerks his head to dodge. Trunks punches a hole in the wall as big around as his fist.

"Why are you so slow, Trunks?" Vegeta asks. He throws a strong punch to Trunks' gut faster than I can even blink. "Pathetic."

That son of a bitch, hitting Trunks like that. He knows Trunks is out of practice, and still decided to hit him so hard. I'm sure my face is turning red with fury as I change into a Super Saiyan. "Take that back..."

"What was that, runt?" Vegeta snaps. "I wasn't looking for a match with Kakarot's weakest brat."

"I said take that back, you son of a bitch!" I roar. I launch myself at Vegeta, two spheres of energy locked between my fingers. I throw them at Vegeta, who swats them aside without batting an eyelash. He smirks at me, but only for a moment because just then I slam my fist across his cheek.

"Goten—" Trunks mutters.

"You'll pay for that," Vegeta grumbles. He swings his foot through the air, connecting it with my chin and flinging me into the air. I flip around in midair, holding my hands behind me. I feel my power shoot up like a comet.

"Kaaaaaaaa—meeeeeeee..." I roar, charging my energy between my fingers.. "Haaaaaaaa—meeeeeeee..."

"Goten, don't!" Trunks yells. Vegeta turns Super Saiyan, a devious grin on his face.

"HAA!" I scream. A blast of blue energy erupts from my palms, flying right towards Vegeta. Vegeta holds his hands in front of him, ready to block my attack.

"Goten, stop!" Trunks yells, but I can barely hear him over the Kamehameha and the blood pounding in my ears. Trunks tackles me out of the air, redirecting my blast away from Vegeta and into the sky. He pushes his hand against my chest with powerful force, breaking my rage and making me blush. I turn my face away, trying to get my racing thoughts under control. Why is he so damn cute when he's angry?

My power drops like a stone as I lose my Super Saiyan form. I drop out of the sky, landing nimbly my feet. I walk straight up to Vegeta, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling his face close to my own. "Take a cheap shot at Trunks again and you'll regret it," I growl. Vegeta's eyes are wide.

I turn to leave, but Trunks grabs me by my shoulder. I try to pull away from him (I don't want him to see me like this), but he insists. I give in, and follow him across the lawn and into the Capsule Corp.

Bulma waves as we walk through. I try to wave back, but Trunks gives me another tug and drags me into the hallway.

"Do you realize what you just did?" Trunks asks.

"I didn't mean to snap like that on your dad, I just—"

Trunks drops a heavy hand on the top of my head, laughing wildly as he runs his fingers through my hair playfully. "You're so dense, you know that? You went Super Saiyan 2, like our dads and Gohan can!"

"I—" I stutter. "I did?"

"Yeah, your power level was ridiculous," Trunks compliments. "You had electricity all around you, how did you not notice?"

"I was just really focused on killing your dad, I guess," I joke. Trunks roars with laughter, dropping back and landing on his bed.

"Can you do it again?" Trunks asks. I drop my gaze, ashamed. The only reason I was able to get so angry was because I like Trunks so much (not that he'll ever know that...he's straight).

"I don't think so," I admit. "I don't feel any different."

Trunks pouts to himself. "I guess it'll take some practice."

Trunks and I watch movies in his room all night long. The room is dark, but the TV illuminates the bowl of popcorn we've refilled four times now.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, rousing me from an unexpected sleep. How long have I been out?

I flip my phone open, seeing a new text from Mom (in all caps, big surprise there).

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, GOTEN? YOUR HOMEWORK HAS BEEN SORELY NEGLECTED FOR LONG ENOUGH! IF YOU AREN'T HOME IN FIFTEEN MINUTES, YOU ARE GROUNDED UNTIL THE DAY I DIE!

I snap my phone shut and curse under my breath. I try to stand, but feel an unexpected weight against my chest. Trunks, who had also fallen asleep, is curled up against my chest. His long, lavender hair droops onto my lap. He moans in his sleep a little, clearly beginning to wake.

I don't want this moment to end. For too long I've wanted him so close to me, to no avail, and now he's here. His eyes flicker open, so I close my eyes and pretend I'm still asleep. If he knew I was awake and didn't do anything, he'd know my secret.

It sucks I can't tell him. He's my best friend...but then again, the secret is about him.

"Goten...?" he says dreamily. I breathe heavily, pretending to be asleep. Trunks jerks back, realizing where he was lying.

"What's up, Trunks?" I ask as if I were still halfway asleep.

"Did you seriously not wake up?" Trunks asks hastily. "I was like...on you when we were asleep."

"Really? I didn't even notice," I lie. Trunks' face is bright red with embarrassment, which is both cute and hysterical.

I flip my phone open, as if I hadn't already read the text. "Fuck, I have to go," I say. I jump to my feet and run towards the door. "Mom's pissed, I still haven't done my homework."

"I'll go with you," Trunks says, getting to his feet. "You need as much help as you can get if you're going to pass Algebra."

"Nah, that's okay. I actually understand this assignment," I lie. I want nothing more than to hang out with Trunks right now, but if I come home with him, mom will kill me.

"Oh, okay then," he says calmly, flopping down on his bed. "Text me when you're done, and maybe we'll go see a movie or something."

I nod. I run through the halls of Capsule Corp., slowly letting my feet leave the ground as I lift into the air and towards the clouds. I turn to Super Saiyan form, rushing home as fast as Saiyanly possible.

I duck under the clouds as I approach home, slowly lowering myself to the ground. Mom is standing at the door with a stopwatch, her face getting redder by the second. I touch down and walk towards the door just as the watch reaches fifteen minutes.

"Oh, Goten," she growls. "YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE I COULD EXPLODE!"

She walks towards me, one hand raised high in the air, and slaps me across my face. She does so again and again, causing a sharp pain across my face. It hurts to see her so angry, especially at me, when I was just gone for one night. I do it at least three times a week, I don't know why she's so mad this time.

"I am so sick of you being such a ruffian!" she yells. "Your brother always told me when he was going somewhere, unlike YOU, who randomly vanishes at every opportunity!"

I catch her hand as she says that, stopping her from hitting me again. My eye is already swelling. "Don't compare me to Gohan. I hate when you do that."

She rips her hand away, and hastily throws it at me again. That one really hurts, so I cup my swollen eye with my palm.

"Don't you dare talk to me that way, Goten!" she yells. "You're almost seventeen. Grow up!"

I walk past her, ignoring her shouts as best as I can as I slam the door to my room behind me. Only one sentence manages to catch my attention.

"YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS TRUNKS!"