"Hey everyone! Sorry about that," Goku said as he waved and approached the anxiously waiting group of friends.
Gohan ran up to his father without hesitation, yelling, "Daddy!" as the rest of the fighters gathered around their hero and the mysterious guest.
"Hey little guy," Gohan's father said, picking his son up in his arms, Saiyan armor and all, to give him a hug.
"So, I see you're still here," a harsh voice rasped at Trunks. He flinched, hating how much his father loathed him, but secretly hating more the fact that he let it get to him.
The rest of the Z fighters seemed to share Vegeta's sentiments, however, and Goku seemed to sense it. He set his son back on the ground and said, "Hey everyone. This is CK, Calvin Klein."
Trunks noticed that Piccolo had jerked slightly and raised an eyebrow ridge, as if in disbelief.
Goku continued, "He's from twenty years in the future and is going to be training with me for a while before going back to his own time."
The whole group gasped and muttered, Bulma exclaiming, "Wow! That's amazing! But how did you travel through time, CK? Is it one of your special abilities?"
Trunks smiled, not minding his young mother so much now for some odd reason. Maybe it was the trusting nature of Goku rubbing off on him all ready. There was no harm in showing them anyway. "No. Not an ability. I traveled back here in a time machine." Trunks pulled out the capsule pouch and released his ship in a cloud of smoke.
The group gasped again, all except for Bulma, who immediately walked up to the ship and started inspecting it like a professional. Good old Mom, Trunks thought with a chuckle.
"CK," Piccolo said, emphasizing the two words strangely. "Don't you have something to warn us about?"
Both Goku and Trunks froze, understanding coming to both of them. Either Piccolo had the best intuition ever heard of, or else… "You heard all that?!"
Piccolo smirked knowingly, "My ears do more than just frame my face, CK." He placed the odd emphasis on the false name again and said, "Don't worry. I know how to keep a secret and I know when to spill one, so tell us. I'd like to hear more details on these androids."
Trunks sighed with relief. For a second he was afraid Piccolo was about to tell his parents about the product of their passions. How could I have doubted Piccolo? I mean, Gohan had always loved him so much.
As concisely as he could, Trunks explained all the details he could think of about the androids. As he did so, it was not lost entirely on Trunks that the whole group warmed up considerably towards him upon hearing his story. Well, everyone except Vegeta, that is.
They listened intently, asking a lot of detail oriented questions. What day will they arrive? How many miles south again? Just the two?
It was as they were discussing who was going to train that Bulma rejoined the circle from inspecting the ship and said, "Why not just go and destroy Dr. Gero's lab? We could use the dragon balls to do it and avoid this whole mess. And CK." She turned to Trunks and gestured to the yellow ship. "Who made this time machine? It's incredible!"
Quickly deciding how much to tell, he said, "Actually, you did. About twenty years in the future."
Bulma punched a fist and said, "Ha! I knew it had to be a genius! So, you know me twenty years from now, huh? Do I keep my good looks as well as my intelligence? How do you know me?"
Trunks blushed. Good old Mom. Guess she didn't change that much after all. "Uh… Yeah. You did. I live in the remains of the Capsule Corporation building with you. So, we know each other pretty well."
"Out of all the people who survive, why did she have to be the one to make it? Fate must be cruel indeed. Glad I got killed early on or else I might have had to suffer the insufferable indigence of living under the same roof," Vegeta taunted.
"And just what's that supposed to mean!" Bulma turned on Vegeta and they began to fight as only two lovers could.
The others laughed, taking it as a sign of the world being back to normal. And Trunks smiled, watching his parents as they had once been.
Goku took the opportunity to turn to his son and ask, "Hey, Gohan. Do you mind if Trunks comes to stay with us for a while back home?"
The little boy frowned and said, "Who's Trunks?"
Piccolo and Trunks both twitched, the namekian recovering first and saying, "Nice nickname, Goku." He turned to Gohan and said, "Sorry kid. Your Dad has the memory of a swamp bug. Calvin Klein is a brand of trunks and all he remembered was the trunks part. What do you think?" He asked slyly, glancing over at the lilac haired human. "Do you mind if we just call you Trunks from now on?"
Man. He is good. The young man smirked. "Well, yeah. That's fine. I'd rather be called CK by most people, but if I'm staying with Goku, I'll go by Trunks."
The little boy smiled, "So, Mister CK, you'll be staying with us?"
Trunks nodded, noting that Vegeta and Bulma seemed to be cooling down a little bit. "Only if you drop the Mister. It makes me feel much older than I am."
"Really?" Gohan skipped into the air. "All right! I always wanted a big brother!"
Bulma turned back around to Trunks. Judging by the way Vegeta was so huffy, it seemed as though she had won this round. "Hey, CK. Do you mind if I borrow the time capsule while you train? I can reprogram it to go where you need to and everything, but I think I can improve the design a bit."
Trunks frowned, not liking the idea of the ship being out of his sight. Without thinking, Goku said, "Sure thing, Bulma."
And the teal haired, young woman did not wait for another invitation, but pressed the contract button and picked up the capsule. "Thanks."
"Well guys," Goku said, encompassing all of the Z fighters. "Let's meet back here at 9am in three years on May 12th, okay?" The group tensed and nodded, feeling the pressure. "Oh, and Bulma. We'll come visit you in a couple weeks to see how the ship work is going, okay?"
Bulma winked one bright blue eye and said, "Can't wait."
Goku asked his son to put one hand on his Gi while he rested one hand on Trunks' shoulder, saying, "Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I learned this really cool trick while I was in space. I call it Instant Transmission."
Vegeta looked back despite himself, intrigued. Everyone else perked up, excited.
"Well, here it goes," Goku said and put two fingers to his forehead, closing his eyes in concentration. Trunks frowned, not understanding what Goku was doing until Goku opened his eyes and said, "There."
Gohan jumped around, "Wow, Dad! We're home!" And Trunks looked around to see a place so beautiful that he would have never had the reference to even dream about it.
There were hills and hills, covered with tall, majestic trees. The grass was so green, Trunks looked down at the contrast with his sneakers. He had never realized that something could look so green, so alive, so perfect. The smell of wild mint hit him in the face along with pine and wood smoke from the house. All so wonderful and good.
He looked down the slope they stood on and saw the neat paths, the clean laundry, a sparkling blue thing that might even be water. The sky was so bright and the two houses he could see were intact and peaceful.
Trunks was struck with the colors he had always tried to imagine, the ones he knew had to have once existed before the androids came and destroyed the world. It was almost more than he could take. As if everything he had ever wished for was granted in one single moment.
Gohan was running down the hill, free and laughing, his black hair like a banner behind him. A Gohan that was free from pain… He had always imagined it, but nothing even came close to seeing that little boy, so full of life and joy.
"Well?" Goku whispered.
The lavender haired boy looked over in response, his eyes watering despite themselves. This was what life should have been like. What it could have been.
The wise man smiled, removing his hand from where it still rested on his friend's shoulder and simply said, "Welcome home, Trunks."
