Goten seethed as they walked through the cool night air. The harsh sulphur of the street lights threw his even features into jagged relief as they passed. Victoria felt like a different woman may be scared, but not her; she'd dealt with dangerous men. She felt she could sense his anger, and the power that came with it almost radiating from him, but she also knew there was no malice in him, although this was part intuition and part how she had heard Trunks talk about him, almost with pride.
After a while Goten began to notice the silence that had settled between them, and wondered briefly if he'd unsettled her, guiltily he chanced a sideways glance, she was walking as though it hadn't fazed her, and Goten felt himself reluctantly smile.
'Listen, sorry, I don't even know where you live, I assume if this wasn't the right way you'd have stopped me?'
She looked at him and smiled, 'Yeah, it's quite a way though, as I said I was banking on a ride'
He paused for a second thinking, finally deciding she didn't look like the type to scare easy, 'Well I wouldn't like you to go home disappointed..'
With that he picked her up and burst into the sky.
Back at the bar, Trunks had taken to staring into his drink, the girl Trunks had been neglecting had been stunned out of angrily tapping her foot, but remained arms folded, as the other looked at Trunks strangely, it was as though Goten's words still hung in the air.
Trunks had quickly stifled his shock and hurt at what his friend had said, and although he had rearranged his expression in record time, the girl had still seen shades of vulnerability flit across his face.
'What did he mean by a post-apocalyptic world?' She asked uneasily, after a time.
'I don't know.' He lied, watching the ice melt into the brown liquid.
She was sure she was sceptical but wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know what he'd actually meant. She shifted awkwardly in her seat, 'Um listen maybe we're gonna go, I have to be up tomorrow.' She glanced at her friend whose disgruntled expression morphed into relief.
'Up? Come on girls, come back to mine?
'I don't think so.' She laughed awkwardly, starting to get up. She paused a second and sat back down, seemingly unsure if she should go on 'I feel I should warn you, though,' she started carefully, 'just because your friend seems nice, he should be careful with Victoria.'
'Goten? Why? He's not that bothered anyway, and besides he can take care of himself'
'Maybe.' She said cryptically, before her and her friend collected their things and left Trunks alone to think on his actions and what they'd said.
Over the following weeks Trunks tried repeatedly to contact Goten; calls, texts, even showing up at his apartment and posting notes through the letterbox when he wouldn't answer had no effect.
Trunks couldn't say why, but the girl's parting words to him that night connected with an urge to protect his best friend that Trunks realised he had long forgotten.
Normally he would brush something like that off, someone with the strength and capability of Goten didn't need his help, but for some reason this time, Trunks really felt like he did. He had no proof, he had no information, he knew he couldn't explain it, but his gut believed it, and that felt like enough. He at the very least had to know if Goten had been seeing Victoria, Trunks had met what seemed like a thousand girls and now he thought about it, there was something about her, something he'd overlooked, and something someone as kind and giving (and if he was being truly honest naïve) as Goten would never see. At a loss for options, and feeling borderline desperate, Trunks resolved to seek help from the only person he could think of who might know anything about Goten's situation.
Knocking what he realised a little late was sort of feverishly, Trunks waited on Gohan's doorstep, hearing running and thudding and a child's laughter on the other side. 'Pan will you move out of the way and behave yourself for just like a minute while I get the door,' Gohan's harried and muffled voice came from the other side.
'Trunks!' Gohan said with poorly disguised surprised as he opened the door. 'Wow man, good to see you, what brings you here? Come in.'
Pan bolted forward to latch onto Trunks' leg.
'Hey Gohan, hey Panny, nothing major man just a flying visit I just wanted to ask you' he said, following Gohan down the hall to the kitchen, dragging the leg with Pan on slightly behind him as he did so, 'if you've heard from Goten?'
'Goten?' Gohan asked in surprise as they reached the small bright room, he indicated for Trunks to sit down and busied himself making drinks. 'Um not really, kind of, have you fallen out?'
'Fallen out? Nah man. Well maybe a bit, I'm just sort of worried.' Gohan glanced over and for the first time grasped the seriousness in the younger man's expression.
'Go play in the garden Pan,' Gohan told his daughter who had wriggled from the floor into Trunks' lap after hitching a ride to the kitchen. Begrudgingly, she scowled at her father as she traipsed outside muttering.
'Worried how?' Gohan continued after his daughter had closed the door.
'I dunno the last time I saw him he was with this girl' Trunks said, fidgeting.
Gohan raised an eyebrow, thinking he'd relegated his daughter for nothing '…You're worried that he got a girlfriend?'
Trunks stuttered at how stupid he sounded 'No Gohan you don't understand, this girl, I have a really bad feeling about her' he blurted out.
'I see, has she done something?' Gohan reasoned, trying his best to understand why the other felt the situation so dire.
'Well no. I don't know. Gohan this is serious I know it sounds ridiculous but he's so innocent and my gut just tells me it's not right.' He stopped and gathered his resolve 'Listen Gohan, I haven't been a great friend lately and I owe him this.'
Gohan suddenly felt like he was getting a better grasp on the situation 'Trunks,' he began as tactfully as possible, 'I'm sorry man, but it sounds to me like you're feeling guilty and looking to save him from something to compensate. Maybe he doesn't need saving buddy, maybe you'll just have to wait for him to come around.'
Trunks shook his head, 'I know it probably looks that way, and I know this sounds crazy I really do, but I honestly believe it,' Trunks looked up into Gohan's eyes, he realised how like his best friend he looked, like his best friend except harder, less carefree, he looked earnestly into them, 'Gohan, can you just tell me, do you know if he's been seeing anyone?'
Gohan sighed, seeing the strained look on Trunks' face 'Yeah, I actually think she might have moved in with him'
'MOVED IN? Gohan it's been like three weeks doesn't that strike you as odd?'
'Well yeah admittedly it's fast' He said, taking his glasses off and clearing the lenses on his t-shirt, 'But if it feels right then it feels right I suppose.'
Trunks let out a long breath 'I know I sound crazy, just-just keep an eye out for him, and if you can and you're willing, let me know, yeah?
Gohan looked at him for a long time before replying 'Yeah, of course.'
Trunks felt a small weight lift inside him, just a small one.
'Hey shouldn't you be at work?'
'Shouldn't you?'
'Touché.'
Aloha,
I hope this is proving an enjoyable read so far, for me it's proving difficult to arrive at the parts i want to arrive at, it's taking a lot of words to tell this one, please let me know if you like it, or if you don't, and why, if you want. I'm all about that stuff. (:(:(:
Chop
x
