Later that night, when most of the Son family slept, Goten and Trunks lay awake. Trunks, in a sleeping bag on the floor, couldn't stop replaying the day's events. He frowned and chewed his lip, fearing that his stay would be much longer than anticipated. Rolling to his side, he took comfort in his mother's abilities and ingenuity.

Turning his thoughts to a more pressing matter, he started to devise a plausible back-story of Goten and him. Who were their parents? Did they know anyone besides Bulma in the future? He already ruled out knowing the Sons, as he pretended not to recognize Goku. He groaned as the questions became more and more complex. Would they show any hint of their heritage? Could they fly? How strong were the two? How should they react to any Sayian-like sign?

"Trunks?" Goten whispered from the bed, interrupting Trunks's circle of thoughts. The lavender haired boy rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

"What?" He asked, mildly irritated that Goten called him by his real name. He doubted that anyone else could hear, as Gohan was asleep on the living room couch and Goku and Chi-Chi slumbered in their own quarters.

"I'm sorry." He replied, in a quieter tone.

Trunks frowned. "Go to sleep." He didn't want to think about 'what if's, which is exactly where the conversation would lead.

Goten sat up in protest. "C'mon, you can't be mad at me forever." He wore a half-hopeful smile.

"I'm not mad; I just don't see the point in talking about it."

"You seem mad." A pause. "You always seem mad."

"Well, I'm not. I'm just a little irritated."

"You know, your dad always seems mad too. I bet that's where you get it."

"Sure."

"Your mom just seems pissy sometimes. I'm not sure if Bra is old enough to seem pissy yet."

"…"

"I still think it's funny that your dad, the prince of all Sayians, can be afraid of your human mom."

"Goten?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

With that, Trunks rolled back onto his side and shut his blue eyes, attempting once again to drift into sleep. Trunks knew that Goten meant well, but his anxiousness of the situation was prominent in his blabbering. He felt a short sense of sympathy for Goten, as this couldn't be easy for him either.

"Goodnight." Trunks said.

"Goodnight."

"So, are Nameks common in your time?" Gohan asked, eating breakfast much slower than his father.

Trunks and Goten glanced at each other. "What?" asked Trunks, brow furrowed.

"Well, you didn't seem very surprised to see a green man yesterday," Gohan explained.

Trunks looked at Gohan in surprise. You didn't change much, Trunks thought, ridiculously observant.

"Uhh…" Goten replied intelligently.

"We umm…" Trunks started, attempting to answer the question more knowledgably, but failing. Instead, he decided to screw everything and put things bluntly. "Neither I nor Bikou want to mess up our own timeline, so we can't exactly give out specific information."

Gohan seemed to take that into consideration, and he nodded accordingly. Goku, on the other hand, probably didn't hear anything over the slurping sounds that came from eating food at such a ridiculous rate.

Just as Chi-Chi started to scold her husband, the phone rang. She answered with a smile. "Bulma, good morning!" She paused, and Trunks listened are closely as he could to the conversation. "Um, one sec. Saru, when was that thing built?"

Trunks racked his brain for a plausible answer. He actually didn't know why his mother built such a contraption; he assumed that she feared another catastrophe when the machine would be necessity. "About fifteen years from now," he answered.

Chi-Chi relayed the information and frowned at Bulma's next words. "She says the parts haven't been built yet, that they are too high-tech. She says that her technology is just a few steps away from being able to replace the damaged parts, but that it might take a couple of months."

Immediately, Goten's mouth dropped and Trunks's eyes bulged. "What?" Trunks breathed. He imagined staying a few days, maybe a couple of weeks at most. He grew up around his mother's brilliance, never doubting her abilities. But a couple of months? Trunks physically and mentally deflated.

"Bulma says she's sorry," Chi-Chi said after she hung up the phone. Too busy in shock, the boys just nodded.

Goten snapped back to reality first. "The house won't take long to fix…" He started, his face showing great uncertainty. "So, when we aren't making our keep…"

"Well," Chi-Chi replied, sensing the upcoming question, "I'm sure I can find a couple months worth of chores to keep you two busy."

Trunks, trying his hardest to concentrate more on the present conversation than his worries, attempted to keep himself on track. "That's extremely appreciated Mrs. Son." Flawless manners never escaped him.

"Are either of you into Martial Arts?" Goku asked, finally ceasing his food inhalation.

Again, the boys glanced at each other. Feeling too overwhelmed, Trunks stood up and let Goten handle that answer. "Sorry, I need some time to think," Trunks said, putting his dishes in the sink, "May I be excused?"

Chi-Chi looked sympathetically at the boy and nodded. "Of course, but don't be gone for too long."

Once out the door, Trunks walked to one of his favourite places near Goten's house. Gohan showed him when he was small, saying that he loved the peaceful atmosphere it gave. Trunks agreed as he sat on a long next to the clichéd waterfall.

"I'm so dead," Trunks said, watching the fish make ripples in the river. "A couple of months here? That's ridiculous." He felt the creeping sensation of homesickness start to settle on the back on his arms and back. He took a deep breath and did his best to push away his fears.

Dad would be pissed if he saw you so scared, he thought. Suddenly, a thought that only approached teenagers hit him. Do they even care that I'm gone?

The Brief household wasn't the most peaceful. Fights over grades, training, and comparisons over took most conversations. Often, M. Trunks got brought up some way or another. Having a carbon copy of a 'more level-headed, responsible young man' as his parents' card of choice proved stressful at least.

Frustration built in his stomach from the thoughts of being potentially unwanted and the pressing situation. If only I hadn't gone downstairs with you, damn it Goten! He thought, angrily. Naturally, his power level began to rise and he felt a violent need to release the pent up anger. Almost immediately, he created a ki ball in his palm and threw it at nearby rocks with a shout. Although that little of power didn't begin to give him the satisfaction that he longed for, all of his frustration seemed to vanish when he turned around…

To see a wide-eyed Gohan staring back at him.