Once again, this chapter has been beta-readt by The Dagger Dripping in Ink. More than 10 chapters and still there. What can I say ? Think about her if you like the story.

And thanks to the readers who are still there too.

Thanks for the reviews, I hope you'll like what's coming next. Just for you to know, there are 31 chapters (who screamed out of horror?), so it won't be only lemon. And that is if my beta-reader is willing to follow me in such a huge work.

Another think I wanted to say to NebilimK : I'm so sorry I don't speak a word spanish and yes, Google translator is a mess, so thank you very much for your review but I was just able to understand the main idea.^^

Sorry that double spacing shit didn't work again.

Chapter 11

Trunks was watching the water that was flowing away through the shower's drain. He was mesmerized by its movement and its appearance, seeking further evidence of what he had just done. But he'd been standing there for over half an hour now, and his body was absolutely clean. He swept away absently his dripping strands of hair and eventually turned off the tap.

He grabbed a towel but, as he was about to wipe his face with it, he suddenly froze his gesture. He had instantaneously identified Goten's scent that was permeated in the fabric. Since Trunks had moved almost a month ago, he didn't have any of his stuff in the house and Goten's scent had naturally taken possession of the whole place.

Trunks sighed and dried himself completely, also remembering that he had no clothes either. He stood in front of the sink and casually wiped the steam that had fogged the mirror in order to stare at his slightly blurred reflection. He had almost expected to look different, but his alter ego just stared back at him, returning to him the same questioning gaze. He was still true to himself.

Nevertheless, he was still surprised to have accepted Goten's wish and, most of all, to have enjoyed it so much. To be fair, he couldn't remember when he last had felt such an ecstasy. Trunks had always loved sex, it was no mystery to him. He had lived accordingly to this liking since he was a teenager and it had been easy since Kami had granted him some talents as a seducer. He was also an adventurer and he had tried many possibilities with many partners in bed. Nonetheless, he had never thought that he would be able to be driven so far by curiosity. Certainly, if anyone else had been in Goten's place, Trunks wouldn't have even considered the offer but, oddly, this was maybe what bothered him the most: it was Goten.

- Damn, he grumbled to the mirror in front of him.

He heard Goten's voice shouting something from the ground floor. Trunks didn't answer and merely turned his eyes toward the bathroom's door. After a minute, the house door slammed and he understood that Goten had gone to work, like Trunks had suggested.

Trunks blushed suddenly at the idea that any of Goten's colleagues could suspect what his friend had done just before joining them. Trunks had obviously no doubt that Goten wouldn't tell anything, but this idea knotted his stomach anyway. I think I'm in love with you. Goten's words echoed in Trunks' mind. What an idiot.

- Moron ! Trunks growled again.

He went out of the bathroom and headed toward Goten's room in search for some clothes. The room was an unbelievable mess and Trunks could hardly sort through the clean and the dirty laundry. He'd eventually, more or less, succeeded in composing a complete outfit, and so he dressed himself. He glanced at his reflection in the window's glass and smiled weakly, finding himself sort of disguised as Goten.

The house was empty and silent, and it generated a strange feeling in Trunks. Yet, this was what he had sought when he had sent Goten to work. Trunks definitely needed some peace.

Since he had moved, he'd had the feeling to live with the constant phone ringing as a background sound and he hadn't rested a minute. He had really screwed up and he knew it. In the end, he had wanted to force himself to forget his growing attraction for Goten; he had truly wanted to divert his mind from this concern and, in the vacuum of his social life, he'd had no choice but to seek his salvation in the Capsule's vortex.

Trunks could still see the scared face of the guy who had been with him in the office when he'd been overwhelmed by his unexplainable rage. Trunks wasn't able to remember exactly why he had suddenly felt so infuriated. He just remembered he'd broken his desk in half with a single strike.

His usual fascination for might hadn't been enough to chase away his demons, and they had eventually caught up with him. To be honest, they had downright swooped down on him and Trunks had been torpedoed in mid-flight.

When Goten had hugged him, in a move that could have been a simple gesture of comfort, Trunks' confusing obsessions for his friend had resurfaced with heightened power. He had really not expected Goten to kiss him and maybe, if he hadn't, Trunks wouldn't have yielded to his urging, invasive need. Nevertheless, Goten had. Goten never thought about anything, and he had kissed him.

Trunks tried to chase away his embarrassing memories and started to make some tea. He also explored the kitchen looking for anything that was likely to fulfill his demanding stomach. As he wanted to search in the cupboards, he froze his movement noticing the photos.

When Trunks had moved in, Goten had decided it would be a good idea to demarcate each one's territory in the kitchen, and specifically each one's food cabinet. So he had stuck pictures on the doors, as if Trunks and him were really able to confuse their food and cupboards. In fact, to be true, Goten would have been able to do so, especially during his drinking sessions. However, instead of writing their names on labels, like any sensible adult, Goten had preferred to scotchtape photos of themselves when they were kids. He had considered the process much more explicit and he had carefuly chosen the most stupid photos Bulma had been able to find.

Trunks smiled and couldn't help but notice that Goten hadn't removed his picture although Trunks had left more than three weeks ago. Anyway, the rule of the separated cupboards hadn't last very long. They had quickly pooled all the food, as they were relieved to be able to fill their stomach whenever they needed, regardless of the food's ownership. Still holding the cabinet's door half-way open, Trunks was staring at a little Goten on glossy paper who had a funny toothless smile after having lost several teeth at once.

It reminded Trunks of all the ways they had come together and suddenly he remembered the first time he had desired Goten. He had been about nineteen or so at the time. Trunks had really been caught off guard and he had felt a deep shame and confusion.

They had gone camping with friends. Trunks couldn't even remember the exact location, he merely knew it was the holidays. Trunks's girlfriend had dropped them at the last minute and Goten was single. The weather was quite rotten during their little trip and in the evening, the group of friends hadn't been really willing to hang around the fire. It was not raining but it was cold.

In the end, Trunks and Goten had been the only ones to meet the challenge of sleeping under the stars. The others had been fleeing one by one in the darkness to seek refuge in their tents, until the two friends had been the only ones remaining, wrapped up in their sleeping bags. Trunks was tired and wanted to sleep. Goten was slightly drunk and wanted to talk. He always talked too much when he was drunk. Even sober, indeed. And as Trunks was laying quietly, waiting to slip snugly into his drowsiness, he had heard Goten coming closer to him, rolling comically in his sleeping bag like a big worm.

Remembering those details afterwards, Trunks realized how much the situation had been far from sensual at first, and this made the whole incident even more unexplainable and unexpected to him. As Goten was unable to gauge exactly the distance and couldn't control his movements, he had half crushed himself on Trunks and Trunks had pushed him back with a disgrunted growl.

However, Goten hadn't felt offended at all. He had no desire to sleep and was in a talkative mood. In the first place, Trunks had thought that maybe, if he didn't answer, Goten would eventually leave him alone. He had overestimated Goten's discernment a lot at that moment. In fact, Goten had began to whisper in his ear to avoid to disturb their friends sleeping in the tents. He had talked almost incessantly, which had finally left few space for Trunks' silence.

What had he been talking about? He'd spoken about the stars he recognized, about the moon that was full above them, about its impact on the climate, and about a whole bunch of other craps Trunks had quickly stopped to listen to. Goten had pressed himself to Trunks to make sure his friend could hear what he was saying. Trunks could feel the warmth of his body through the quilted fabric of the sleeping bags, and his friend's scent had gradually overwhelmed him. He could perceive the curves of Goten's body against his. The muffled sound of Goten's voice, the vague smell of beer over his natural scent, the prickle of his hair on Trunks' skin ... All these innocent feelings had guided Trunks' mind toward the urge to slip into Goten's sleeping bag.

Trunks didn't know how this idea had suddenly germinated in his brain, but it had firmly taken root in his mind. Gradually and to his great confusion, Trunks couldn't think of anything else.

All the while Goten had been talking, Trunks had awkwardly tried to move a little further away from him but Goten had instinctively followed him, worried that he wouldn't get his precious speech. This movement had actually triggled a little more trouble in Trunks, and when he'd become aware of the uncontrollable effect it produced on his body, Trunks ended up screaming suddenly. "Shut the fuck up, Goten! Let me sleep now. " Goten had raised his eyebrows with surprise and finally moved away with a groan about the sadness of this camp. Trunks had rejected him with a little more anger than necessary, but he had felt fully helpless and unable to chase away his heady embarassing thoughts that had invaded his mind and were pressuring his body.

This memory had haunted him for a long time. He had tried to reassure himself by jumping on his girlfriend as soon as he was home, but he had still spent months being upset and ashamed before feeling better. It had never happened with any other boy than Goten and Trunks was wondering now if this desire had ever really left his mind, or if maybe he had simply repressed it to the point of taking so much pleasure this morning.

Trunks was also wondering how Goten had come to the same idea as him. Trunks hadn't really suspected it. In the end, it was easier when Trunks believed he was the only one to have these intrusive feelings. If Goten hadn't been attracted to him, there would have been no option : Trunks would have had to find a solution to put an end to this obsession. Now, the situation was different: he had a choice. Somehow. The reality was that he could torment himself for hours, alone in front of his cup of tea, but when Goten was there, Trunks' hesitation vanished in a blink. He had understood that very clearly from their experience this morning.

When Trunks had satisfied his stomach, he didn't even bother to put away his meal's leftovers and he went up to his room with a weary step. He was still feeling exhausted, despite the shower, and he wanted to call the Capsule. Have to call the secretary. He wasn't able to think much though.

Upon entering the room, the picture of the unmade bed and dirty sheets annoyed him immediately and made him forget his concern for his job. He rubbed his eyes. As if Goten could have had the idea to clean anything. Trunks noticed a bottle on the nightstand. He recognized the smell straight away, it wasn't even closed. Solar Oil. Awesome. Trunks swung the bottle on the bed and pulled off the sheets sharply. He only wanted to sleep. He wanted to forget the whole thing. He wanted peace. He merely threw the dirty laundry in the corridor and dressed the bed with clean sheets. He had given up the idea of searching for his cell phone to call his secretary and just laid down to sleep again.

As he'd arrived at Capsule Corp, Goten had slightlly feared an icy welcome. The day before, he had deserted his post without any explanation. He had even left his papers in the copier. He walked by the reception desk hastily, trying to ignore the receptionists' unanimous, cold glares, which were a gift from Shaze.

Before returning to his desk, he stopped at his manager's office. As usual, since Trunks had appeared in the department to talk to Goten, the manager gave him a cheerful smile. Goten was going to mumble some pathetic excuse he had cobbled together on his way from home, but, at the last minute, Goten remained silent as he realized his boss already knew what had happened the day before.

Goten's boss was a wise man and, most of all, he was very concerned about his promotion. So he had carefully got information from the top floor before considering any sanctions about Goten's behavior.

- Goten, you're back! ... I hope your little problem is solved... Anyway, if you need another day off, don't hesitate ... We'll arrange that ... with the top floor, uh?

Goten could feel his boss' discomfort, which equaled his own. Any other employee would have been immediately disciplined for what Goten had done. Beside this, Goten could guess that his privacy was no longer a mystery to this man and he hated it. He wondered if his manager was able to imagine for a brief moment what was really going on between Trunks and him. Goten couldn't fight his awkward feeling that everything was written in highlighted letters on his forehead. "GOT LAID BY THE BOSS".

- Thank you, everything's fine for now, Goten mumbled pathetically.

He hurried out and sat down at his desk. He was unable to focus on the screen in front of him.

- Where were you yesterday? We've been looking for you everywhere, asked one of his colleagues.

- Personal mess, Goten answered quickly.

Goten immediately bowed his head on his papers pretending to be absorbed by his work. Fortunately, his coworker didn't insist and left him alone. It was odd. Goten had loved what he'd done with Trunks and he'd fully claimed his choice in comparison with Trunks'reserve. Therefore, here, in the middle of the crowd, in the daylight, Goten was feeling an incredible shame. I think I'm in love with you. He suddenly remembered these words he had uttered and he instantly wanted to bury himself alive. Why had he said that? How could he be so moronic? It was clearly the worst thing to say to Trunks, and most importantly, Goten wasn't sure at all that he really had such feelings for Trunks.

In fact, Goten was sure of nothing. All he knew was that he couldn't stand his life without Trunks, but in the end, it wasn't exactly something new. Trunks had always been his best friend, even when their relationship had been distant as Goten was with Valese. However, there was a lot of people who mattered in Goten's life. All of them were precious to him and Goten wasn't in love with them so far.

Those thoughts were looping in Goten's mind as he was seating in front of his screen and feigning intense concentration. Then, all of a sudden, he realized that his boss was standing in front of him. Goten looked up at him and noticed that all the workers around him had become unusually silent. They were glancing at Goten discreetly and trying to guess what was going on. The boss had a forced smile on his face. This detail increased Goten's discomfort, he would have preferred being yelled at in front of everyone, but he had understood that it was not going to happen.

- Goten, someone needs you on the top floor. Could you go up there, please? The manager asked.

Goten nodded and stood up clumsily. He was deeply confused and could feel the puzzled looks around him, tinged with prejudice of all kind. As he was walking away from his chair, his boss caught his sleeve and handed him his jacket.

- Once again, if you need your day off, do not hesitate, it won't be a problem, the manager added with an exaggerated kindness.

Goten mechanically grabbed his jacket and let his eyes drift over the room where he worked every day. All his colleagues were now attentive and had suspended their work, so that everyone could hear the discussion. At this very instant, Goten's preferential treatment had been officially annouced to anyone who could have doubted it. Goten's throat tightened and he rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment. "Thank you," he grumbled as he left the room with a resigned step.

Goten had no desire to have his day off. He would even have preferred to get lost in a colossal amount of work which would have absorbed all his questioning and would give him the illusion that nothing had changed between yesterday and today. However, the atmosphere had become suddenly stifling, and Goten wasn't sure he would feel like coming back to his desk after his little visit to the top floor.

Trunks' secretary was waiting for him in front of the lift's doors. She was standing straight with her arms crossed and staring at him impassively. The impression that everyone could guess what he did with Trunks overwhelmed Goten yet again and he couldn't help but to feel suddenly naked.

- How is he? she asked merely.

Goten understood that she was of course referring to Trunks.

- Tired. (Or not that much, in fact), Goten mumbled, He sleeps... (When allowed to sleep)

She was still gazing at Goten and seemed to perceive his discomfort. Nevertheless, she just nodded her head without a comment.

- Follow me, she ordered.

He complied obediently, head down, like a schoolboy summoned in the headmaster's office. On his way, employees were pretending to focus on their business but Goten felt their faint agitation, as if he had been a foreigner entering a tiny village. The secretary was walking ahead, paying no attention to the people around and apparently accustomed to their reactions. Goten realized she was certainly privy to many secret parts of Trunks' life, if not to his whole life. Surely, she had been working for him for a long time. Goten could estimate her age was between Trunks' and Bulma's. She was a beautiful woman but she made sure to look severe enough so that no one would linger too much on this detail.

She didn't utter a word before her office's door was cautiously closed behind them. She motioned for Goten to follow her into Trunks' office. The room had been miraculously restored and was now immaculate again. The desk had been replaced by another one, as sumptuous as the previous one, and the papers, that had been scattered on the floor the day before, had been carefully collected, sorted and arranged in neat piles.

The secretary took an object of her jacket pocket and handed it to Goten. It was Trunks' cell phone.

- I absolutely need to talk to him. I need it today, she announced.

Goten picked up the phone and realized that without this tiny device, the link between Trunks and the Capsule Corp was broken. He also noticed that the secretary's concern had quickly slipped from How is he? to How do I reach him? That detail in particular arose slightly Goten's irritation.

- It's impossible, Goten hissed in a challenging tone he hadn't expected from himself.

The secretary raised her eyebrows. She looked surprised by this reaction. Goten didn't give her the opportunity to reply.

- You're gonna kill him with this work! He needs a break, he needs a vacation! he added firmly.

- Huh. A vacation? Are you still talking about Mr Briefs taking a whole month of vacation? she responded coldly.

He could feel a hint of defiance in her voice and pinched his lips without answering.

- Remind me who you are, Mr. Son? she asked viciously, because I had to really look down in the company's hierarchy to find your name …

- I am Trunks' friend and I tell you he needs to rest, that's all that matters, he creaked.

He began to feel a little uncomfortable in front of the secretary's self-confidence. However, she finally smiled at him and seemed to soften a bit.

- Sure, it's important that he gets some rest... But, to say the least, Mr. Son, I've never seen you before last month and ... hmm ... I've never even heard of you before, indeed. So, I do not doubt what you say is true, but let me talk to Mr. Briefs to lighten things up a bit.

Goten had a faint start. The secretary's speech made him realize that he had no official existence in Trunks' life. He was a friend. Nothing more. He was neither his father nor his brother, not even a family member and, after all, Trunks hadn't asked him anything. Trunks had lived without him for years, actually. Now, Goten had no real legitimacy to play bodyguard as he did, or to make decisions for his friend. It was oddly painful to discover that point the secretary had just reminded him. Not mentioning that she seemed to enjoy his embarrassment.

- Don't take it bad, Mr. Son, but your friendship with him gives you no right to interfer in the company's business or to make resolutions in Mr. Briefs' place, she resumed.

- Don't you understand that he needs to breathe? How many desks do you think he needs to destroy before ending up in an insane asylum? Goten exclaimed with a growing anger.

- As many desks as he feels like, as long as I haven't spoken to him. Where is he now? She replied coldly.

Goten dropped wearily on the couch and rubbed his face with his hand, aware that the secretary wouldn't give up. Her last question bothered him especially. He was embarrassed to say that Trunks was at his home, as if it would have been a confession of what had happened between them. Nevertheless, the relentlessness of Trunks' merciless world was awaking in Goten a mighty need to protect his friend from all this ruthlessness. An idea arose in his mind suddenly.

- Give me his home's key, Goten groaned.

- His home's key ? Why would I do that? she asked with an astonished face.

- Because he needs his sutff, and you need to know where he is and talk to him.

The secretary made a disdainful pout.

- You take it for a game, don't you?

- You want me to give him this? Give me his home's keys and address, Goten repeated waving the phone mischievously.

- This is ridiculous, I cannot do what you ask. Besides, if you're his friend, I am surprised that you don't know his address, she answered with a disgruntled voice.

Goten smiled casually and stood up, thrusting the phone in his pocket. He walked away toward the door and waved merely at her as he was leaving the room. She watched him go out for an instant but eventually called him back. Goten smirked as he heard his name.

- It's a hotel, she muttered, scribbling an address on a block of paper.

She angrily tore the piece of paper and handed it to him with a key. Goten was about to grab the items but she pulled them out of reach to get his attention again.

- Be careful, Mr. Son. Things can become poisonous around Mr. Briefs, she moaned.

- Huh?

- If you don't feel up to it, you should leave him alone.

- I don't understand what you're saying, Goten muttered between his teeth, catching sharply the key and the paper.

He went out with a quick, irritated step, leaving the silent secretary behind.

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