Trunks drew a deep breath in as he entered his home. "Okay, whatever you're making for dinner, I approve."

"Glad to hear it," Goten chuckled, "because you were going to be stuck eating it either way."

"Not true," Trunks countered. "I could have made my own food."

"History indicates otherwise."

The prince threw his jacket at his best friend. "Smart ass."

"Learned from the best of them!" the younger man laughed.

"Oh, are we getting into the pre-dinner show already?" Marron asked, appearing from her bedroom. "I can't believe I almost missed it! Tell me, have we gotten to the part yet where Goten threatens to put poison in Trunks food?"

Both men glared at her. "We're not that bad," Trunks pouted.

But Marron rolled her eyes. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you two were an old married couple. Seriously, you have a routine."

Goten smirked. "Jealous that I've lived with him longer than you have?"

"Hardly," Marron snorted.

"Sure." Goten turned his eyes back to the skillet, moving the food around as he asked, "So, do your families know the two of you are sleeping together yet?"

Trunks and Marron froze. "What are you talking about?" Marron asked with a nervous chuckle. "We're not sleeping together."

"Right, and I've lived a totally average life," Goten laughed. "But since you're still in the denying it phase, I assume you haven't broken the news to the parents yet?"

Marron opened her mouth to protest, but Trunks cut her off. "I told you he knew," he grimly told her.

"How the hell could he know?" she hissed back.

"Because I hear like a Saiyan and you two are not nearly as quiet as you think you are," Goten loudly interrupted them. "So, that being said, I should probably let you guys know I'm not the only one aware that you two are hooking up."

The couple felt the blood flee from their faces. "Who did you tell?" Marron softly asked.

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't tell anyone," Goten replied. He turned to Trunks with a smirk on his face. "By the way, you may be interested to know that your sister came by a few weeks ago to get back that thingamabob you 'borrowed' from her."

"No, no, no, no…" It was the only word Trunks could come up with. Of all the people in the world, why did Bra have to be the one to figure it out? "How did she even get in here?"

Goten could only laugh. "She knocked on the front door, you dumbass. And since you were occupied, I took the liberty of answering myself."

That blood that had fled her cheeks a moment earlier returned swiftly to Marron's cheeks. "You knew what we were doing, and you let her in?"

The dark haired man just continued to laugh at his friends. "No, you're right. I should have just shouted through the door that you two were getting busy in the back, and that she should come back first thing in the morning."

"You couldn't have come up with something?" the blonde yelled.

Goten simply shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I could have made something up, but you know Bra almost as well as I do. How often does lying to her work? And, more importantly, how does she react if she finds out you've lied to her?"

His friends could not argue the point. While normally she was fine, there was no denying that an enraged Bra Briefs could almost rival her father in aggression. "Touché," Trunks grimly agreed. Looking at the floor, he groaned, "Crap, this means…"

"That your dad probably already knows about it?" Goten supplied. "Yeah, that would be my guess. I mean, she hasn't flat out told me she's told him, but let's face it, she tells him basically everything, whether he wants to hear it or not. Oh, that reminds me." He left his post in the kitchen for a moment and pulled a well filled manila envelope from a desk drawer. "Here are Bra's notes on your wedding."

"Our what?" Trunks hollered.

"Yeah," his best friend casually spoke. "So, it's apparently going to be an early summer affair, and I think her invitation design is pretty cool, although…"

"We've only been going out for a few weeks!" Marron interrupted. "We haven't even told our families yet! We haven't even technically told you yet!"

Again, Goten shrugged. "So take it up with her." He was not surprised at all to watch his lifelong best friend whip out his phone and begin dialing. "Hey, when you demand that she gets her ass over here so that you can threaten her, let her know I made enough food for her to have dinner with us."

"You what?" Trunks hollered. "This is supposed to be a threat, not a dinner invitation!"

But Goten remained unfazed. "Yeah, but we all know what's going to happen, which was why I made sure we had enough food before I told you about this. And since you know damn well that if you don't invite her I will, you might as well pass the memo along."

The prince grumbled as he listened to his phone, waiting for his sister to pick up. "Why the hell am I friends with you?"

"Because I make your life more interesting!" the Son boy answered with a smile.

Beside him, Marron snorted. "Right, because I'm sure that before you moved in, that compound was full of nothing but peace and quiet."

"Well, my presence sure as hell didn't make it any calmer," Goten pointed out. To his side, Trunks was shouting furiously at his sister, but Goten let the man do his thing. "Now come on, it's not that bad that she knows," he told Marron. "She had to find out sooner or later, and if you two were hoping to have some sort of buffer zone before you told your parents, you're going to need all the friends you've got. Remember, I know what your parents are each pushing for."

Marron groaned. "I know, I know. Dad wants me to marry the son of the great Son Goku, savior of the world and his personal best friend, because he is the son of Son Goku. Mom wants me to marry Trunks for two words: trust and fund."

"And aren't you going to appreciate having friends with you to help deflect and defer when they start getting a little, shall we say, over excited at your romantic prospects?" Goten asked.

"Aren't you going to get annoyed when my dad pulls you aside and asks you why you're not the one with me?" Marron pushed back.

"Not really," Goten responded. "In fact, I've got a short list of reasons it makes sense for you to be with him instead of me, although to be honest, several of them were written more so for amusement." When Marron reluctantly asked for an example, Goten grinned and answered, "His bedroom was closer."

The blonde slapped her friend across the shoulder. "You are not allowed to tell my father that!" she commanded.

"Relax," a new voice called. "It's not like he's my dad."

While Trunks and Marron each shot a hard look to the newcomer, Goten simply answered, "Hi Bra! You made good time!"

"Wasn't hard," the fifteen year old casually said. "I only live a couple miles from here, and it's not like I don't fly. Now what the hell is the matter with these two? I mean, I carefully crafted a lovely wedding for the two of them, and all I get in return are death threats. Now I ask you, is that fair?"

"Not at all," Goten agreed, walking back for the kitchen. "You're just being a good sister."

"Oh, come on!" Trunks snapped. "Why the hell are you kissing her ass?"

Goten smirked. "A) I want to and B) it pisses you off, which brings us to C) that it's fun for me."

"Plus, he knows I'm right," Bra chimed in, walking over to her dark haired supporter again. "Considering the amount of power I wield with this handy little piece of information, you would think that you, dear brother, would be treading far more carefully around me."

With an eye roll, Trunks commented, "It's not that much power."

"Oh, but it is," his sister went on, "and you know it. If you didn't, you would not have taken the time to call me, let alone threaten me. You know as well as I do that this little tidbit of information is going to radically change your life if it ever gets out there. That gives me the power. And that, dear brother, is the fun."

Trunks glared at his sister. Whenever she started using dear brother when talking to him, his life got difficult. "What's the ransom?" he demanded through grit teeth.

"Ransom?" the girl chuckled. "Oh, sweet Trunks, do you really think you can pay your way out of this? Money is not an object I am lacking in."

"Bra," Marron pleaded, "please don't tell anyone. Trunks and I just aren't ready to get our parents involved yet."

The teenager let out a bored sigh. "Well, since you are my best friend, I suppose I won't ruin your life after all."

"Hey!" Goten interrupted. "I thought I was your best friend!"

"You are," the girl assured. "I care about both of you." She glared at her brother, her smirk never fading. "I only put up with you because I have to."

"I love you too," the prince sneered.

Goten laughed. "Ah, sibling love. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"It makes me thankful that I was an only child," Marron responded. "And speaking of siblings, how's yours? I haven't gotten an update on Gohan for a while."

The dark haired young man chuckled and shrugged one shoulder. "Gohan's still Gohan," he pointed out. "He's constantly trying to be better than he is, which is impossible since he's basically perfect anyway. But his latest paper was apparently extremely well received, and he actually just threw his hat in for an opening as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at his hospital."

"So what you're saying is that his obsession with cardiology is finally paying off?" Trunks asked. It had been a secret to no one that Gohan's interest in the subject had been born the day his mother had died. But what many saw as a deep interest with a solid career goal had always been seen by Trunks, and later Goten and the others, as a desperate obsession. The techniques Gohan had developed over the years to fix the human heart were nothing shy of remarkable, but sometimes it seemed as though he took his need to solve that problem too far.

Goten cringed. "He's not that bad," he weakly defended.

"Hn."

The younger of the two men looked down at the food he was preparing, suddenly no longer wishing to talk about his brother. Gohan was, as always, brilliant at all he tried. But especially over the past couple of years, the eldest Son boy had been so driven to succeed that it had caused him to miss out on certain opportunities, mostly ones involving his family. It was one of the reasons Goten did not bring him up in conversation unless asked.

Bra cracked a blow against her brother's shoulder, causing him to wince. She had long since developed a protective attitude over Goten, and on more than one occasion had shown that nature through physical force. The strength in her muscles always had, and always would, pale in comparison to Trunks. But she was conniving, and she could be vicious when provoked. One hit was a warning shot. The next offense, she would get serious. "So Goten," she said, still glaring at her brother, "what're you making? It smells great."

Goten smiled and looked up. "It's nothing fancy," he admitted, blushing slightly. "It's just a stir fry. My mom made this for us a few times. Actually, this is the first recipe where she let me use a knife when I was helping her prepare it. Before that, my job was stuck at 'batter mixer' and 'dish boy'."

"Well, I'm glad you learned how to cook," Marron chimed in. "If you hadn't, I think we would have starved to death years ago. You're the only person I hang out with who can actually, you know, make food more difficult than milk on cereal."

"Hey!" Trunks snapped. "I'm not that pathetic!"

The blonde laughed. "No, you're right. I've seen you make pancakes. And they were even edible!"

Trunks grumbled as he sat down. "Oh, shut up." Still frustrated, he shot a look at his younger sister. "You're staying, aren't you?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are out of town and I'm gone right now," the teenager responded. "Trust me, Mom and Dad don't want me home any time soon. I think they'll disinherit me if I show up right now. So yes, you're stuck with me." She pulled a capsule out of her pocket and held it up. "I even brought my overnight gear."

"Oh goody," Trunks groaned. "A sleepover with my baby sister."

The remainder of the evening went fairly smoothly, and after a few hours of dining, laughing, and entertainment, the four called it an evening and went to bed.

/

Goten made sure he was silent as he slid out of his bedroom. He left the lights off in the main room, not needing any to navigate around the furniture. Dark as it was, he could still make out where everything in the room was located.

"Forgot I was out here?"

The young man shook his head. "No," he quietly answered, "I remembered. I just thought I could make it to the kitchen without waking you up."

Bra brought her knee to her chest and rested an elbow over it. "A foolish thought," she chided. "First of all, you know how light a sleeper I am. And secondly, I wasn't asleep."

"Yeah, I have figured that part out," Goten chuckled.

The girl stretched out slightly, casually running her fingers through her long blue hair. "So what's the trouble?" she asked. "You aren't usually skulking around in the middle of the night."

"I am not skulking," Goten pointed out. "I was just heading to the kitchen for a midnight snack."

"That part I believe," Bra said, "but admit it, something is bothering you."

Goten sighed and sat on the couch next to his guest. "If I thought there was any way of winning, I'd argue against you."

"But you know it's pointless, so spill."

Shaking his head, the young man let out another sigh. "You're a pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?"

"Yep."

"And you are going to hold me hostage until I talk, aren't you?" When the response he got was a cocky smirk, he gave in. "I'm worried about my brother."

Bra raised a blue eyebrow. "What's wrong with Gohan?"

Another sigh. "It's hard to explain well," Goten admitted. "He's been, well, distant. A lot. I mean, he's been completely revolutionizing how we treat the human heart, and that knowledge has saved so many lives and is a great thing. But when I talk to him, he doesn't sound, you know, like a human."

"Not human?" the girl asked.

"Yeah. He's kind of robotic in his answers." He lowered his head, folding his hands in his lap as he did so. "Trying to get him to talk about anything real feels almost impossible. He's happy to talk about his work, but it's almost like he's forgetting how to deal with anything outside of that. And I'm not the only one who's noticed. Videl's talked to me a couple of times, asking if I could help her reach him. And poor Panny is trying to figure out what the hell is going on with her dad."

Bra frowned. "How long has this been going on?"

"Years," Goten admitted. "I mean, at first it seemed like he was just on the verge of a breakthrough and he needed a little extra focus to push through. So we all gave him his space. We figured that he'd finish with whatever the hell he was working on, and then he'd go back to normal. But after one idea came another, and another, and another. And when we've talked to him about it, all we get is some rant about how he has the tools to save lives, and that he can fix 'this'."

Her frown deepened. "What's this?" she asked.

He bowed his head lower. "That's the thing," Goten sighed. "We don't really know. He never gives a real answer." He looked over, desperation shining in his eyes. "I'm afraid for my brother, Bra. I'm afraid that I'm losing him, and that I can't do anything to help him."

Bra reached over and rested her hand on his broad shoulders. "Does Trunks know about this?"

"He knows that Gohan's been pushing himself too hard," Goten softly answered, "but I've never told him just how bad it is."

"Why not?" the princess asked. "Goten, we are your friends. We are here to help you."

"And Gohan is my brother," Goten countered. "I want to help him. But you and I both know how private Gohan is. He hides his problems and suppresses until it hurts. And Videl isn't any more open with struggle. With a problem like this, trying to preserve their family dignity is as important to both of them as fixing an actual problem. I was hoping to get through to him without anyone else knowing." His eyes softened. "You're the first one I've told."

Bra's frown stayed firmly in place. "Why tell me, then?" she asked. "Why not my brother?"

Goten shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, his playful nature trying to defer from the seriousness of the situation. "Well, you asked."

"Goten," she warned.

His head lowered again. "Honestly?" he responded. "I think I've officially hit that point where if I didn't get something off my chest, I was going to lose it."

The girl got on her knees and brought herself near him. With great tenderness she wrapped her arms around him. "You never have to keep this to yourself," she gently told him. "We are all here for you. Me, Trunks, Marron, we all love you. And no matter what your problems are, be they yours directly or someone you care about, we will help. We are all your family. You never have to hide these problems from us."

Goten smiled as he pat her arm. "Thank you." He looked her in the eye, and sincerely asked, "What am I going to do?"

"We'll think of something," she assured. "I promise you that. Someway, somehow, we will help Gohan."

Goten tightened his grip on her arm slightly as he nodded. He certainly hoped they could come up with something. The more time went on, the worse Gohan seemed to get. And the worse he got, the more it seemed they would never pull him out.

They had to help him. They had to save him. Goten would give anything to bring his brother back.

He did not think he could handle losing his brother. Not fully. Not completely.

That would be one step too far.