Her brown hair surrounded him. Heat from her skin seemed to set his own ablaze as he watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. She slept soundly next to him. Overwhelmed with emotion, Trunks reached out to stroke her cheek, but then, she began to disappear, slowly, as though she was nothing more than a mirage. Suddenly, he was pulled from his empty bed room to the middle of another world. Chaos enveloped the mysterious planet. Thunderstorms, tornados, volcanoes, covered the land as torrential rain poured down on Trunks. The world faded away again, but the rain continued. It took Trunks a moment to realize that he was now encased in a small glass room that was filling up with the strange rain. Somehow, even without clouds, it continued inside of this enclosed space. Trunks couldn't escape, but he saw her watching him from the outside, concern across her face.
The water continued to rise until it covered him from head to toe.
Trunks yelled out as he was finally shaken from his nightmare. Clutching at his throat, he stood up, heart pounding, at how real the dream had felt. 'It started out such a warm, peaceful dream...' He thought, remembering how real the feel of Gotu next to him had been as well. His heart ached. As much as he thought that he remembered her face well after all of these months, nothing compared to seeing her image encompass his mind the way it had in his dream.
He looked around, finally realizing that he had passed out during his training and was still in the gravity room. His body was covered in sweat, but he wasn't sure if it was due to his training or his dream. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and began walking out into the yard. His mother and father sat on the patio, laughing, as Krillin told an embarrassing story about Goku from their childhood. Their cheeks were all slightly flushed; empty wine glasses sat on the nearby table.
Trunks smiled for a moment as he thought about how much his father had changed over the years. The battle with Buu had given him a new appreciation for life and his family and friends. Vegeta, enjoying the company of his loved ones in this way, still didn't happen often, but when it did, both his father and mother looked as relaxed as Trunks had ever seen them.
"Hey, Trunks! What's goin' on, my man?" Krillin bellowed.
Trunks stifled a chuckle as Krillin wobbled over to him. "Come sit with us! There's some food and wine left! You must be starving!" Krillin grabbed a hold of Trunks' arm and began to guide him to the table.
"Uh… Sure, Krillin, thanks. I'll just eat though."
"Aw, come on! You never let loose anymore! Gotu has been having a blast these past months; you should too!"
Krillin's drunk words felt like a shot through Trunks' stomach. After his vivid dream, hearing her name was the last thing he had wanted. And what did he mean that she was 'having a blast?' Trunks eyed the bottle of wine for a moment as his pain intensified.
"Yeah, you know what? I'd love a glass, Krillin."
"Awesome!" Krillin sloppily poured a large glass of wine for Trunks and threw a plate of sandwiches his way. Bulma and Vegeta had been too engrossed in a conversation of their own to notice how much Trunks' was drinking. Glass after glass, Trunks continued to hope that the alcohol would numb his feelings. Unfortunately, it seemed to make her face more vivid, and his pain more unbearable.
As the sun began to set on the day, Krillin finally left, flying crookedly home. Trunks sat in the grass, unable to focus on anything. A soft giggle floated along the air from the nearby kitchen and reached Trunks' ears. He entered the house and saw his father and mother in an embrace, kissing each other passionately. Normally, he would make fun of his parents for being caught this way, but in his inebriated state, he couldn't handle seeing two people in love. His body began to shake as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.
Bulma and Vegeta broke from each other's kiss and Bulma turned her head to see her son, barely standing as he leaned against the door way, his eyes clenched shut.
"Trunks?" She breathed as she walked over to him and touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"OF COURSE NOT!" He yelled. "I don't know who I am anymore, mom. I have nightmares almost every night, and they're just becoming more and more real. Some nights they're about a great evil killing everyone I care about. Others, I'm haunted by what I've given up. And others, the chaos inside of me just threatens to rip my body in two. How am I supposed to be the best? No matter how much I train now, it seems to do nothing. Am I at the peak? If I can't surpass this, is it worth not being with her?" His words were slightly slurred as he leaned his head into his mother's shoulder.
Bulma smelled the alcohol on his breath and realized just how much her son must have had to drink. He would normally never speak about his emotions this way. He had retained the pride of his father in that way.
"Trunks, let's just get you to bed, sweety." She turned her head and glared at Vegeta, mouthing 'help me with him'. Vegeta rolled his eyes and complied with his wife's request. With Vegeta's help, it was easy to get Trunks into his bed. He fell asleep almost immediately as Bulma and Vegeta closed the door to his bedroom.
"I'm worried about him, Vegeta. He's been so silent for the last six months, and then all of a sudden he gets drunk and breaks like that?"
"Bulma, I told you… He needs to figure out what is important to him. He needs to understand that even with strength, there must be a balance. The mind and body must be perfectly in sync. The mind cannot reach its potential when he isn't being true to himself. He is coming to the point that he will realize where his real strength lies."
Bulma smiled briefly and caught eyes with her husband. "Like you did?"
Vegeta smirked and stomped down the hall towards their bed room.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
The next morning, Trunks' awoke, unable to remember the encounter he had with his parents the previous evening. His head throbbed as he sat up and saw that he was safely tucked into his bed. He shuffled down to the kitchen to get something for breakfast, and met his mother there.
"And how are you doing this morning, dear?" She asked.
"I've had… better days. I didn't do anything weird last night, did I? I don't really remember anything. Maybe I drank a little too much…" He laughed slightly.
Bulma eyed him carefully before speaking. "Nope, you were just stumbling around trying to dance with Krillin." She lied. She had decided last night that Vegeta was right, he needed to come to terms with his feelings on his own.
Bulma set a plate of eggs and sausage in front of Trunks as the phone rang. She ran to answer it in the next room.
"Hello…? …No, Gotu, tell them that we won't have the antidote available for mass production for another two weeks. There is absolutely no way to get around it. Some of the ingredients come from across the globe… How are you feeling?"
Trunks couldn't help but overhear as their conversation continued. Knowing Gotu was on the other side of the phone seemed to make his head throb harder; something that Trunks hadn't thought possible. Trunks heard his mother mention something about only "one more month". 'The baby…." He thought. His body felt tortured from the inside. 'Why am I doing this to us?'
