Spoilers for the Xenoverse 2 secret ending. When Trunks decided to finally do what he wanted, he hadn't expected his partner to find out. He expected what happened next even less.
"Looking for this?" Slowly drawing back to full height, Trunks turned from the scrolls to see his partner holding one on her hand, tapping it against the other like some kind of weapon. The longer he stared at it, the more he knew it was the one he had been searching for, that it was his timeline held within. Without saying a word, Trunks pulled his eyes from it, ready to defend himself against the challenge he knew Grainy would have in her eyes.
But there wasn't one. Instead Grainy, who had never hid her emotions from friends, was looking at him with pity. There was no fight in her body, and even though the passing of a solid week had her back to full form, Trunks knew that were he cruel or desperate enough to attack her for it, she would've let him.
Setting the scroll on the table, Grainy took a deliberate step back, her intent slowly sinking in. "You're just letting me go?"
"Isn't that what you want?" Her voice wobbled a bit, but otherwise stayed firm. "You were just about to leave without telling anyone."
Without telling me.
It was that part that hurt the most, the seeming lack of trust he had in Grainy. For the past two years, they had fought together, placing their lives in the others hands too many times to count. She had saved him from being erased from history, he had hunted down an antidote for her, having already pulled her from death's door without thinking about it. There had been more speculation about their relationship than any other, more days off spent together, and though they had secrets from each other, they were far and few between.
With her eyes on him, Trunks could look towards the scroll, let alone move towards it. He found himself wishing she would yell or scream at him, so he could fight back. That wasn't Grainy's style though. People like Towa and Mira the ones who saw her angry enough to shriek, and the results were never pretty. That, and she knew as well as he did that an argument would bring the Kais running, and if they didn't guess what was happening, Grainy would lie for him without a second thought. The plan to sneak away was going further downhill.
"I understand." Grainy finally said, ducking her gaze and grabbing her bracer. The action was starting to become more familiar to him, along with how she caught herself doing it. It was hard to forget the feeling of being powerless, he knew from experience. "Solin told me what happened while I was gone and I…I just don't think it's fair."
"Life rarely is." Trunks had heard his father say something along those lines often, and the echoing of it brought a frown to his partner's lips.
"I just meant-" Taking a deep breath, Grainy dropped her voice a level, "We fix history, that's true. But what's the point of having so many timelines if the same guy always loses? If you just made a case to Chronoa, instead of sneaking away like a criminal-"
"You're forgetting Grainy, if I change my timeline, the one that changed the whole course of time, then who knows what could happen?"
"Gohan lives and you still go back to give Goku the medicine. You get a happy ending for once, and all that changes is that there's one more branching path, one more scroll in the Vault." Her bottom lip visibly quivered for a second before her teeth pinched it, "You can still come home."
Trunks finally ducked her gaze, moving to look at the scroll. It wasn't like he hadn't given this some thought. The Time Patrol would be far from leaderless, not with Grainy and Solin around to train with the recruits and watch the main scrolls. There wasn't even a real threat for them to face any more, not with Mira defeated and the message to not to mess with time received loud and clear by the rest of the universe. And without him there, they wouldn't have to worry about him being in a timeline he wasn't supposed to be in, or the possibility of something erasing him again.
Without him realising, Grainy crept closer, enough that when he finally turned to look at her, she was close enough for him to see the tears beginning to gather on her lashes. Then, before he could say anything, she was balancing on the tips of her toes, gaining the inch that had previously separated them before softly kissing him.
It wasn't the first time he'd felt her lips. The previous Christmas, mistletoe had somehow appeared all around Conton City, the Time Patrol divided into those trying to avoid the plant, those who were waiting by it hopefully, and those tugging a sprig from its perch to go on the hunt. He'd been dodging the stuff for a while before the message caught on.
By the time the party was drawing to a close, it had just been the pair of them awake in the Nest, Solin having taken herself home an hour earlier, and the Supreme Kai yawning widely. She had told them to leave the cleaning until the morning, but they'd stuck around to at least stack the dishes, Grainy being slightly less helpful than usual thanks to the amount of punch she'd had. She wasn't the lightweight that a few of the gamblers had thought, but she was fairly tispy, enough that when she finally tried to fly home, her ki went haywire. It had only been a few inches to the ground, so once her confusion had passed, she was all giggles, taking the hand Trunks offered her gratefully before taking a more sedate walk back to her flat.
The cold air seemed to do her some good, sobering her just enough that when they were at the doorway to her flat, the leaves over her doorframe were easy enough to recognise. "Solin", she sighed with a shake of her head, sending him an apologetic look before reaching to pull it down.
Trunks wasn't sure why he had done it, but his own fingers were soon entwined with hers, pulling the hand back to her side, "We should at least follow the rules, right?" Looking back, his own punch intake probably hadn't helped the situation. Then again, maybe it was because he wanted to see if those rumours could actually have anything to them. Maybe it was because Grainy hadn't been chasing him with the stuff all night like some people. Or maybe it was just because the effort Grainy had put into her appearance for the party made her look quite pretty.
None of that mattered though, because the kiss was empty. Sure, Grainy pulled away a little breathless, and wearing a flush that could rival Trunks' own, but he felt nothing of her in it, and he doubted there had been any of him in it either.
Without much fanfare, the mistletoe was tugged down and the next day, clear headed and still blushing, they agreed to put it behind them. She spent the day kicking an overpowered Freeza out of the Cell Games, he spent the day tackling the cleaning, and by the time dinner rolled around, the matter had been forgotten.
This kiss only lasted a second, and it was on his cheek, but it was full of her, enough that when he snatched another as she moved away, it was still on her lips. Two years of being partners, two years of having each other's backs, and it was only when they were never going to see each other again that they realised what they were losing.
Still holding her with his lips, Trunks pulled her close enough to feel the tears streaking down her face, the warmth as horrible as he had known it would be. When she finally pulled her face away, it wasn't to sob like he feared, but to drop from her toes and rest her head on his shoulder, taking steady breaths. "You beat them." She commanded in a whisper, "Make them wish they were never activated."
"I will," He swore into her hair.
He felt her nod, head pressing down enough that looking over her shoulder like he was, Trunks could see the nape of her neck peeking out of her pilot suit. He stared hard at the spot, barely hearing her speak again, "I'll be right here watching. If you need help, you fucking call for it, got it?" He had never heard Grainy swear before. "Promise me you'll call."
If he did, she'd come running faster than time itself. She'd give him his happy ending before going back and facing whatever punishment the Kais laid out for her. She'd blindly walk into trouble, just like before with Demigra to save a friend, because, as Towa had so aptly guessed, next to the worry about her borrowed time running out, Grainy would do anything to avoid losing someone else in her life. Trunks knew all of this.
"Promise me." Grainy begged, feeling his hand move to rest between her shoulder blades, feeling every knob in her spine as it went. She didn't feel how he lingered every so often before continuing, so desperate was she for an answer. He had to know she wouldn't let him go unless he promised, right? The hand continued to rise, finally settling on the back of her neck. As was usual she tensed slightly before the soft stroking and rubbing made her relax, letting out a soft sigh at his non verbal reassurance. Just as he moved his hand away, Grainy pulled back a bit, trying to meet his eyes,
"Trunks, plea-" Her voice cut out the second the side of his hand met her neck again.
He'd kept his eyes closed while making the strike, his hand carefully counting the vertebrae before going for it. It seemed to be becoming something of a trend, knocking out the people you wanted to protect.
Trunks hadn't wanted to see her eyes go wide with betrayal, but there was no hiding the sharp intake of breath she gave before slumping against him. Her ear was close enough to his mouth for an apology she couldn't hear to be whispered, before he started the careful task of lowering her to the floor, clinging to her for as long as he could. The way her head turned to the side upon touching the floor made her resemble her own corpse, the sight of which he thought he'd hidden away with the scrolls. At least her eyes were closed this time.
Crouching near her for as long as he dared, counting her breaths, Trunks finally looked back at the scroll before unhooking his earpiece and tucking it into her hand. Taking a last look, he took the scroll from where it had been resting the whole time, closing his eyes and another chapter of his life.
Morning broke in the Time Nest with a horrified yell from Elder Kai and Solin flying in frantically, having woken up to find her sister missing again.
A few hours passed while they examined the scroll left open on the table, during which Grainy was allowed to go without questioning, everyone present being pretty sure they knew what had happened. As Solin found out when she came out of the Vault in a temper, she hadn't gone far. She only noticed her sister once she was at the base of the steps, having been preoccupied with her stream of curses, most of which were aimed at the Supreme Kai. What the point of holding a vote if you were just going to do what you wanted anyway? Finishing with a few expletives that would've made a sailor proud, Solin finally stopped dead at the sight by the pond, her anger swiftly changing targets.
Her sister was sat cross legged with her back to the Vault and by extension Solin. The red mark Solin knew was on her neck was easily hidden by her collar, where it would quickly fade if the gods wanted to grant Trunks any luck once Solin got her hands on him. Tokitoki was next to her, cooing softly at seeing his favourite so downtrodden, ignoring the hand Grainy was idly running through his feathers. When she continued to ignore him, he took the trailing edge of her sash in his beak, tugging on it to get her attention. The laugh it earned was fake through and through, but it was enough to fool the age old bird, who moved to sit in the space her legs created. It was obviously his turn to ignore her now, as he paid no attention to her joking demands that he move before he covered her skirt in feathers.
Watching the scene from afar, Solin felt her rage increase slightly. She had got to the Vault just as Elder Kai was helping her sister sit up again, the old man breathing in relief when he saw where the strike had hit. There would be no permanent damage, he had promised both girls, but it was the last part of his statement that Solin wanted to fix on, and probably would've had Supreme Kai not suggested Grainy might want to get some air. Then again, Solin wasn't stupid.
She had been in the class when Trunks demonstrated the strike, Grainy electing to miss that session rather than acting like his assistant as she usually did. He had impressed on them the importance of only using it if it was necessary, and only if they knew where to hit. Pointing to the different vertebrae they could just see on the saiyan who had volunteered, Trunks told them that hitting the wrong one, especially with the strength some of the Time Patrol had, could cause paralysis or death.
The mark had been well clear of that danger area, but Solin couldn't shake the thought of Trunks miscalculating his target and ending Grainy's defiance of fate. Regardless of what course of action Chronoa chose, had that happened, there would be nowhere in time that was safe for Trunks.
Giving a sniff at the route her thoughts had taken, Solin turned on her heel and stormed back up the Vault stairs, though she knew a decision couldn't possibly have been made yet.
Ignorant to what was happening behind her, Grainy slowly unclenched the fist her other hand had been in since she had awoken, Tokitoki looking at the revealed earpiece with curiosity. "He left it behind." She explained in a small voice, turning it over in her hands. As she did, a single tear sparkled in the Nest's eternal daytime, flying onto a blade of grass when she shook her head.
"At least he didn't promise."