A/N: Before I really start, I just wanted to thank Dr. Trunks Briefs, for inspiring me. I only just recently got back into the Dragon Ball Z fandom, though I saw every episode as a kid. Her story, As In Love With You As I Am is just amazing, and I really suggest you go read it. I've always shipped Gohan and M. Trunks, but she just sort of reignited the flame in me.

This is an AU. None of the characters can wield ki or fly, and Gohan, Trunks, Goku, and Vegeta aren't Saiyans. This is just a normal, every day, AU. So when I say Normal!AU, I don't mean the modern Dragon Ball Z world. There are no flying cars or anything. This is like every day life.

Also, I'm using M. Trunks (or Mirai Trunks, or Future Trunks) because that's how I want you to imagine him. Right now this story is under the Friendship category, but that'll change later.

As always, I do not share any views expressed by any characters in this story. And I own nothing in this story.

Okay, please read, review, and enjoy!

Trunks and Gohan had been best friends since the day that Bulma and Vegeta brought Trunks home from the hospital. Gohan was six then, and was all too eager to have a new playmate. He constantly insisted on staying over at the Briefs' home, so he could feed, bathe, and change baby Trunks. Bulma was happy to have the help, exhausted from the delivery, and not recieving much help from Vegeta.

Gohan only lived about twenty minutes away, by car, with his parents, Goku and Chi-Chi Son. Gohan had grown up referring to Bulma as Auntie Bulma since their families were so close. She and Goku had grown up together, and stayed in contact for the rest of their lives. Bulma was the Maid of Honor at Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding; Chi-Chi had been a bridesmaid, and Goku was an usher, at the wedding of Bulma and Vegeta.

Gohan and Trunks often had play dates. Their mothers would chit-chat and sip coffee, sometimes giggling at how cute their children were. Bulma was a mechanical engineer, and made great money, while Chi-Chi was the opposite, being a modest housewife. Her family was very rich, so they had more money than they knew what to do with. Even so, Goku tried to stay at work, doing odd jobs like repairs, carpentering, welding, and electrical work. Vegeta was a very non-personal, personal trainer.

As the years went by, the boys had to spend more and more time together. Every holiday, every weekend, and most days after Gohan got home from school. Trunks would cry when Gohan had to leave, usually so he could go home and study. Chi-Chi was very adamant that Gohan have straight A's, even in elementary school. When Trunks was four, he started preschool, but didn't adjust well. He still cried for Gohan, and it wasn't easy for the teachers to console him. Trunks bit one of the other children for making fun of him, so Bulma pulled him out. From then on, he would spend his days with Chi-Chi, who was happy to watch him. She was a born mother. Trunks liked it, too, because he would get to go with Chi-Chi when it was time to pick Gohan up from school.

Trunks eventually had to start kindergarten, and he hated it at first. There were no more incidents of biting, but Trunks did hit some of the children. He was often in time out, and Bulma had to meet with Trunks' teacher a few times. They finally made an arrangement so that Gohan could spend just a couple hours every day in Trunks' class, helping him color, do puzzles, or whatever else the class was going. Gohan wasn't embarrassed to do it; he liked spending extra time with his little buddy.

With some time, Trunks started to get along with the other children, especially one girl named Pan. Gohan stopped coming to sit with him during class, but Trunks didn't seem to mind. He and Pan were inseparable during school hours, but as soon as the final bell rang, Trunks was running off to find Gohan so they could ride home together. Bulma met Pan's mother when it was time for parent/teacher conferences, and they decided that the two should start having play dates of their own. They joked about how their babies made such a cute couple, but Trunks didn't understand what that meant yet. He liked playing with Pan, but he liked it a lot better when he got to spend his days with Gohan.

When Trunks started the first grade, he began staying the night with Gohan a lot, even on school nights. Gohan would help him with his homework, and then they would watch movies for a few hours before going to bed. Although Trunks always brought a sleeping bag, he demanded to sleep in Gohan's bed with him. Chi-Chi didn't mind, but they all kept it a secret from Bulma for as long as they could, whom they were sure would put a stop to that. She wanted Trunks to act mature, like Gohan had at his age. Crying unless he could sleep snuggled up to his best friend wasn't very mature behavior.

As they got older, Pan wanted to spend more time with Trunks. This meant sacrificing time with Gohan, which was not something that he wanted to do, but he didn't have much choice. Bulma argued that it wasn't fair to Pan for Trunks to spend every day with Gohan, and she wasn't wrong. But Pan started acting differently. She wanted to hold Trunks' hand and kiss him on the cheek, even when he told her it was gross. He kissed Gohan on the cheek sometimes, but that was different. At least she never spent the night. After she left for the day, Trunks would hurriedly finish his homework so that his mom would call Gohan. They would stay on the phone until it was time for Trunks to get ready for bed.

Trunks didn't understand why he had to stop spending the night at Gohan's house on the weekend. Chi-Chi said it was okay, but Bulma explained to Trunks that Gohan was becoming a man, so he needed alone time. Trunks didn't think Gohan was a man. He was a lot taller that Trunks, but he was still a kid, wasn't he? Did being fourteen make Gohan a man? Every once in a while, when Trunks begged with all his might, Bulma would let him spend the night at the Son home, but only if he promised to sleep in the living room. He didn't like not being able to sleep with Gohan, but at least they got to see each other first thing in the morning and have breakfast together. Chi-Chi made the best pancakes. Sometimes she did fun shapes, too.

When Gohan started high school, he didn't have a lot of time to play with Trunks anymore. He was always studying, getting ready for college and exams. Trunks knew that Gohan was super intelligent, so he didn't get why Gohan had to study every day. Couldn't he take just one day off? Just enough time for him and Trunks to go to the park?

In middle school, Pan asked Trunks to be her boyfriend. He didn't really understand what she meant at first. Weren't they already friends? He asked Gohan about it, assuming he had more experience with girls. He was seventeen, after all. Surprisingly, Gohan blushed, rubbing the back of his head, when Trunks asked if he had ever had a boyfriend. When Gohan asked where he heard that from, Trunks explained his dilemma, and Gohan told him all about how it worked when a boy and girl liked each other. They became boyfriend and girlfriend, and that meant Trunks wouldn't play with any other girls, and Pan wouldn't play with any other boys. Trunks argued that he and Pan already had that.

"Well, maybe she wants more from you, since you're starting to get older."

Trunks was a bright boy, but he could be dense sometimes. "What do you mean, Gohan? What does she want from me? I already see her every day, I buy her ice cream- sometimes I even let her hold my hand!"

Gohan chuckled. "Well maybe, she wants to like, kiss and stuff."

"You mean on the mouth?" Trunks sounded shocked. He'd seen his mom and dad kiss on the mouth, but he never imagined doing that with Pan. "But I don't wanna marry her!"

Waving his hands as a sign for Trunks to slow down a little, Gohan clarified. "You don't have to marry her, but I think Pan likes you, more than a friend. She probably wants to kiss, and maybe even cuddle, like you and I used to do."

Scrunching up his nose, Trunks quickly shook his head. "Yuck! But I don't want to do that with anyone but you. Why can't you be my boyfriend?"

Gohan was burning red in a few seconds, looking nervous for some reason. "Well, we're friends, Trunks. We don't love each other like that."

Trunks left the Son home even more confused than he had been before. He told Pan the next day that he wouldn't be her boyfriend, but that he did enjoy spending time with her. She seemed to be satisfied with that, for the time being.

When Gohan graduated high school, Bulma gifted him a new laptop, and a better cellphone - of course she would give him technological gifts. Gohan had little experience with computers, but had no idea how his new phone worked. Bulma was happy to show him, though. This way, he could stay in contact with everyone after he went away for college. While he had several offers, Gohan had decided on a school that was about four hours from his home on Mt. Paozu.

Trunks didn't like it, of course. He was happy for Gohan, but they hadn't gone more than a couple of days without seeing each other since Trunks was born. Gohan would come home for all the holidays, and sometimes on the weekend, if he didn't have an exam to study for. That wasn't enough to Trunks. He stayed over at the Son home the night before Gohan was set to leave. He'd been dutifully sleeping on their couch when he spent the night, but that night, he couldn't help himself. Trunks knew that he was too old for it, but he just had to sleep in Gohan's bed, one last time.

When he woke up the next morning, Gohan was pretty surprised to see Trunks snuggled up to his side. Even so, he smiled, wrapping an arm around Trunks' shoulders. Chi-Chi checked Gohan's room when she didn't find Trunks on the couch, and beamed when she saw the two snuggled up, deep in sleep. She decided to pretend like she didn't know. Bulma would've been pretty upset if she found out.

Trunks was very quiet during breakfast. Gohan seemed excited and nervous, going over a mental checklist of everything he'd packed. Chi-Chi was giddy, of course. Maybe it hadn't set in yet that her son would be living hours away in another city. When they were done eating, Goku helped Gohan pack up the car. That was when Chi-Chi started to cry. She said her goodbyes at home, not wanting to make a big fuss and embarrass him at his new school. Trunks rode with them as Goku drove Gohan the four hours to Orange Star City.

Gohan was full of energy, telling Trunks all about the classes he had picked. He wasn't sure what career he wanted yet, so he was getting some of his core classes out of the way his first semester. Trunks was pretty quiet, his stomach churning. He tried his hardest not to cry when they pulled up to Gohan's dorm. He helped Goku and Gohan carry his luggage up to the third floor, where Gohan's room was. Once he was moved in, Gohan gave a final hug to his father, then turned to Trunks.

His eyes were watering and stinging a little, but Trunks refused to let any tears spill over. "I'm gonna miss you, Gohan," he mumbled.

With a soft smile, the older man knelt down so that he could be at Trunk's level when they hugged. He couldn't help but chuckle when Trunks' fingers dug into his back, and he hid his face in Gohan's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be home before you know it," he reassured the boy shaking in his arms.

"I love you, Gohan."

It just sort of slipped out, and Trunks stopped breathing seconds after. Trunks hadn't said he loved Gohan since he was little. It was out of character, but not in a bad way. Gohan was quiet for a second, before replying, "I love you, too, Trunks," giving him a light squeeze.

Goku offered to let Trunks ride shotgun on the way home, but he passed, wanting to stay in the backseat. A few tears finally fell down his cheeks, but he quickly wiped them away, just in case Goku was watching him in the rear-view mirror. Trunks wanted so badly to just tuck and roll out of the car and go running back to Gohan, begging him to come home. Instead, he just stared out the window, trying not to think about how different things were going to be from now on.

The next few days were really hard for Trunks. Just a couple of weeks after he started the sixth grade, he got really sick, and had to stay home for a few days. Bulma wagered that a virus must be going around - this happened a lot at the beginning of the school year. In reality, Trunks was just so depressed from not seeing Gohan, he was starting to feel like a zombie.

Bulma decided to give Trunks his own cellphone once he started to feel a little better. Now he could text Gohan every day, and could call him any time. Trunks was overjoyed, texting Gohan immediately. Gohan sounded pretty thrilled, too, as far as Trunks could tell from his text. Apparently, Gohan hadn't made many friends yet, and he'd been feeling sort of lonely, so he was happy he'd have someone to talk to.

The rest of the semester went well. Gohan came home for a couple of days on Halloween and Thanksgiving, before getting two weeks off for Christmas. Trunks tried to spend as much time with Gohan as he could, but Bulma pulled him aside one day, explaining that Gohan might want to just spend some time with his parents. Trunks understood, but still bugged Gohan pretty often.

Spring rolled around, and Trunks signed up for the baseball team. Vegeta was a proud father, and was pretty open about it for the first time. He never missed any of Trunks' games. He didn't cheer very loudly, but he smiled and clapped, making Trunks' heart swell with confidence.

It turned out that Trunks was good at a lot of sports. He gained quite a bit of popularity, being the MVP in baseball, soccer, basketball, and wrestling. Even with his new status, Trunks remained a quiet kid. Pan was the only person he hung out with, other than his teammates. Everyone thought they were a couple, but Trunks always politely denied the accusations. He liked Pan a lot, but not like that.

Sometimes, Trunks would get caught texting in class, but most of the time, he was good at sneaking a few messages when the teacher's back was turned. He and Gohan texted constantly, and called each other on the nights that Trunks didn't have practice and Gohan wasn't too busy studying. Gohan had made a few friends in his classes, but he still devoted a lot of time to Trunks, which made the younger boy very happy.

The summer after Gohan's first year of college, he and Trunks spent almost every day together, just like when they were kids. When they were at Gohan's house, Trunks showed him how to play baseball and soccer. They had tried wrestling a few times, but Chi-Chi complained when Gohan got a few bruises. Instead, Gohan came to a lot of his matches, cheering Trunks on from the sidelines, not at all acting like the shy guy he usually was. Over at Trunks' house, he and Gohan stayed up all night playing video games and watching bad karate movies. After, they would pretend spar, making crazy noises like the people did in those old films. At least once during the night, Gohan would bust out singing "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting," and Trunks' defenses would fall because he was too busy laughing to block. They never slept in the same bed, but compromised. Trunks would roll out his sleeping bag on the floor by Gohan's bed, overjoyed that he wouldn't have to sleep in the living room anymore.

Trunks never wanted that summer to end.