Disclaimer: I do not own any of DBZ or its characters :)

"aw shit, here we go again"

ok so one day i thought "dang gt really snaked goten" and i had a moment of inspiration and here we are and i have no clue what im writing.

whats gonna happen next chapter?

will there even be another chapter?

am i slowly losing my sanity?

find out next time on dbz :))))

edit: ok so this fic has gone a little bit crazy, and please don't think this is just some sappy romance fic, it does ramp up in action and drama,

i also take a lot of inspiration from gt, dw I've tried to do better in terms of plot and characterisation.

if you enjoy, please remember to fav or follow or review...all if you're feeling generous!

i give thank yous to everyone who leaves a review, detailed or not, and I am trying to do my best to return the favour...you could be seeing me reading a fic of yours or helping out

"Goten!" Chi-Chi yelled in his ear. "Ugh…you're just like your father!" She handed him a broom and dustpan. "Just clean this mess up and please try not to break any more of my good china plates with your clumsiness." His mother sighed and he rolled his eyes as he swept up the broken pieces of the plate he had accidentally knocked from the table.

Most tended to compare him to his father, especially with the looks. It began to bother him as he aged, so he decided to get a different hairstyle, one much less palm tree-like.

"And go get something else to wear! I don't want my boy looking like some delinquent, what kind of example would it set to Pan?!" She ordered him, as she frantically finished up what she was cooking, which as always, smelt delightful.

"Mom, calm down! It's only Gohan and Videl, it isn't like they care about what I'm wearing or about the fancy plates." He rolled his eyes again as he put the broom away and his mother admitted, "I know! It's just…Gohan always has us over, and everything is so lovely! I just thought it would be nice to put some effort in, we hardly have visitors, so why not?" She continued to cook her meal, and then told Goten to hurry, that they'd be here any minute.

He threw on something that was a bit more formal, though not enough to make Pan laugh at him. Goten always felt weird calling Pan his niece, the girl had no respect for him anyway, or for anyone for that matter.

The doorbell chimed, and Chi-Chi warmly welcomed her eldest son in by hugging him for much too long.

"Oh, Gohan, it's been so long, I thought you were forgetting your mommy!"

Gohan nervously chuckled, "Mom, I saw you a week ago…" Chi-Chi looked surprised, stating it felt like much longer. She greeted Videl and Pan, who Goten thought had equally loud, brash personalities, but never said that in front of them, for the fear of being greeted with a slap across the face.

"Wow, Grandma, this looks great!" Pan's eyes widened at the plethora of food set on the table.

"Thank you Chi-Chi, it looks delightful." Videl smiled at her mother-in-law. Goten was first to sit at the table, serving himself, ensuring his plate was piled up high.

THWACK!

"Ow! Mom, what was that for?!" Goten rubbed the back of his head where he had been struck, seemingly out of nowhere. "Guests first, Goten!"

Pan snickered as the food was snatched from Goten to be given to her. Even Gohan and Videl couldn't hide their laughter.

Eventually, they all had something on their plates, Goten being last. The family were rather cramped around the small wooden table, which had been in the house for many years.

"Mm! This is amazing! Grandma, can we have the recipe? We can have the servants make it, so we'll never miss your cooking!" Pan's rather annoying voice blared, and Chi-Chi offered, "Hey, you can come round any time, I'm not busy! Well…apart from nagging Goten to get a job." She sipped her drink and Goten held his tongue.

"Goten, I thought you were going to that interview?" Gohan asked, furthering the topic of conversation which Goten desperately wanted to move from.

"Well-" He began.

"Oh, honestly, you have time to date girls but not to find a decent line of work!?" Chi-Chi interrupted before he could have a chance to defend himself.

"What girl would wanna date you, anyway?!" Pan burst out, laughing again, at which Videl scolded her, though she too, wanted to laugh.

"One much nicer than you…" Goten muttered under his breath, before tearing a piece of meat from a leg of roasted chicken.

"Hey! I heard that!" Pan kicked him from under the table.

Goten decided to ignore her for a while, peacefully eating his food and staying out of conversation, until she kicked him again. He knew it was childish, but kicked her back. She yelped loudly, though Goten had hardly put any force in.

"Uncle Goten kicked me!" She pointed at him, playing the victim, a smirk on her face as everyone scolded Goten.

"She's your niece, what is with you?!" Videl gasped in shock at him.

"Goten, if you're going to act like a child, go to your room!" Chi-Chi shouted.

"What?! No way!" He protested but seeing the faces of his family, staring in disgust was enough to tell him he wasn't wanted.

He made his way upstairs, and threw on his comfy, 'delinquent' clothes, before sitting on his bed and grabbing his phone, distracting him from the sounds of joyous laughter downstairs, his own family, better off without him. On his phone, he had no notifications. 'Dang, these hoes ain't even gonna call back?' He thought, getting frustrated, feeling like he was the only one alone these days.

None of his relationships lasted very long, nor did any jobs he had. Recently, he had been working the land as his father once did, though those days felt like long ago now, selling the vegetables they had grown. Since Goku had left, he noticed the harvests getting less plentiful each year, and they hardly earned money from farming.

'Oh, Dad…I am really beginning to hate your absent ass.' He sighed, believing that not even his own father really wanted him. He couldn't be bothered to come back for him after Cell. Then, he went off again after the tournament, never had he been seen again. Goten had lost the hope of seeing him again, he hardly cared anymore, all his father became was the person he was most often compared to, of which there was a few.

The disgraced Saiyan-hybrid hadn't even realised how long he had been lost in his own thoughts, but eventually Videl and Pan were leaving. Gohan unexpectedly entered his room.

"Hey, bro." Gohan grinned, sitting himself on the egde of the bed.

"What?" Goten asked, sounding like he was accusing him of something.

"What do you mean, what? I just wanted to talk to my little brother, that's all!" Gohan maintained his warm smile, which tended to be a ray of sunshine to all, reassuring to him as a child, but now as obnoxious as his daughter.

"Goten, you really need to find some work!" Gohan tried to be helpful, as usual, kind and honest, though repeating something Goten already knew did nothing to aid him.

"You don't think I know that?" He rudely stated, though a part of him knew his brother didn't deserve that kind of treatment. "Look, I'm sorry Gohan, I didn't mean to snap at you, or be rude at dinner, but could you just leave me alone? I really don't want to hear it…" Goten stared out of the window, the beauty of the landscape intensified by the sunset.

"I understand that…but I have an idea." Goten turned to his brother. "Why don't you work at Capsule Corp?" Gohan suggested.

"What would I do there?" Goten shot down the idea.

"C'mon you haven't given it a chance! Trunks would love having you around! Speaking of Trunks, how is he? I've been meaning to catch up with him, but he's so busy! Well…I guess he is the company President…"

Gohan brought up his best friend, though as of late, they hadn't talked much.

"Trunks? Yeah, he's so busy…so busy in fact, he hasn't the time for his best friend!" Goten scoffed.

"What happened? Have you two fallen out again?" Gohan asked, playing big brother, just like he used to when Goten and Trunks would get into silly fights with each other and claim they hated one another, but would very soon change their minds.

"No, it's just that he hasn't the time to even fucking call me, yet he goes on dates with his girlfriend all the time!" Gohan sighed, not knowing how to help his brother.

"Please, just…interview with them tomorrow, it'll get Mom off your back if she knows you at least tried!"

"Fine…" He agreed and his brother made his goodbyes, along with his family, who were almost so perfect it was aggravating.

"Mom, I'm going now! I'll be back by 4!" Goten told her just as he opened the door.

"Wait!" She called out to him, running down the stairs and making sure he looked perfect for his interview.

"Mom…" He shook her off and she beamed,

"There, now you look smart and handsome, just like Gohan!" Goten fiddled with his suit.

"Ugh, it's so uncomfortable!" He complained as he walked out of their quaint home.

"Just like his father…" Chi-Chi said to herself as Goten flew off. He would have taken Nimbus, if only he was still pure enough.

The greenery subsided, replaced with roads and buildings. He landed and adjusted his suit again, before striding into the centre of West City, a town he knew very well. The buildings stretched up into the clouds, Capsule Corp Headquarters being the largest of them, further off into the distance.

'Maybe I'll visit Bulma later…' He thought, knowing their grand house was incredibly close to where their business was ran. 'I bet Trunks would never be late to work…'

He entered the office on the ground floor, where a rather gorgeous receptionist sat at her desk, typing into her computer. Goten smiled and told her about the interview.

"Take a seat for now, you're early." She answered and he sat on a chair in the office, taking notice of the other candidates. People often said life was like a competition, so Goten weighed up his chances of victory and remembered the many, many words of advice his mother frantically told him in the morning.

'Ok…all I have to do is smile, be polite and I should be fine.' He took a deep breath, shaking off all nervousness, though it came back when he was called in.

Another girl, prettier than the other, he decided, led him in and began to conduct the interview.

"So…your name is-" She began, flicking through files.

"Goten." He stated, and her eyes widened.

"Wait…you're Trunks' best friend, right?" She asked and he, slightly freaked out by how she knew, nodded.

"Oh, he talks so much about you, I was wondering when we would actually meet!"

Goten looked puzzled, and then she revealed, "Wait, you really don't know I'm Trunks' girlfriend?"

It was Goten's turn to be stunned now.

"You're Noudelle!?" She nodded to his question.

"Yeah, I can't believe he hasn't shown you a picture! Anyway, we can talk more about that later, I need to conduct this interview." She cleared her throat and got out a fancy ink pen, the type of pen Trunks would use.

"So, what makes you wanna work here?" She inquired.

Goten was slightly distracted by trying to understand what made Trunks fall for her. The raven hair, which was straight and fell just past her shoulders, dyed red at the bottom? Those dark onyx eyes, which had such a piercing gaze? Or perhaps…something beyond her appearance, which Goten thought wasn't the most professional, especially the drawings on her hand and those sparkling star shaped earrings, the kind a magical girl from an anime would wear?

"Hm? What brought you here then?" Noudelle asked again.

"Oh, sorry! Well, to be completely honest, I only wanted a job here because I thought it would be easy…what with my best friend being the boss, and all." He wasn't sure why he admitted that so casually.

"I just really need a job, I don't care what it is…anything to get my mom to shut up!" He felt rude for saying that and quickly apologised, saying he was just stressed, but instead she giggled and remarked, "Yeah, I know the feeling, that's why I moved to West City!" Goten sighed, relieved, and she continued, "You're lucky I'm interviewing you, the others employees who do this are so rude…and also, I don't think Trunks would like it if I kicked you to the kerb."

She kept on interviewing him, slightly changing his answers to make him seem more employable.

"So, you don't mind the type of job?" She scribbled down his answer to the previous question and he thought for a moment.

"I mean...as long as I'm getting paid, you know?" He shrugged and she agreed, "Yeah, fair enough…the good thing about dating your boss is-"

"You get a shit ton of money?" He rudely interrupted and she laughed again, "No! That makes me sound like I'm dating him for money! The good thing is, I got a promotion! I was just his secretary, now I do this too."

Goten thought again for a moment and joked, "Well, technically…you are getting more money because of it-"

"Oh, shut up!" She grinned and finished up writin g things down. "Well, Goten, I see a job for you here in the future…thanks to me and how nice I am."

"Of course." He chuckled.

"I hope to see you again soon, Goten, I can't wait to see the look on Trunks' face when I tell him about this!" They shook hands, still laughing slightly, and Goten exited in a much better mood.

"Hey, Ms. Briefs!" Goten smiled as Panchy opened the door, oven mitts on her hands. "Oh, hello Goten! Boy, has it been a long time! Come on in, I was just making cookies, they're nearly done." She led him in and examined his outfit. "I almost thought you were Gohan when you came in, what's with the suit? You on a date again?" She winked and Goten blushed.

"No, and since when do I wear a suit to a date?" He sat on a hovering chair by the kitchen counter.

"Since ladies like a man like that! Or at least they did in my day…oh goodness, look at me ramble on…I'm getting so old." She sighed, though Goten was confused as to why she would think that, when any signs of aging were unnoticeable on her face, just as always.

"So tell me then, why the suit?" She changed the subject as she took the cookies out of the oven.

"Well, you see-" He reached for a cookie which she set on the counter. "OW!" He exclaimed, and she warned him they were hot, though it was rather late for that after he had lightly burned his hand.

"Oh, hey Goten, what brings you here?" Bulma greeted him as she came down the stairs. "And what's with the suit?" She added. "Makes you look so handsome, like Trunks!" Before Goten could answer, she continued, "Oh, isn't my Trunks so lovely? He does such a good job running the business, and his girlfriend is great too, have you met her?"

"Well-" Just as he was about to tell them, Bulla opened the door, dramatically beginning to rant about her day at school.

"So you'll never believe it, I-" She saw Goten and howled with laughter. "Ok, nevermind, whatever's going on here is more important, clearly! What are you doing in that?! It's not like you ever work!"

"Don't laugh, I think he looks nice!" Panchy chimed in. "You see-" Goten began again but Vegeta waltzed in from the time chamber.

"Woman! Get me a drying cloth!" He demanded and Bulma reprimanded him, "Vegeta, not this again…"

He scoffed, folding his arms and turned to Goten.

"Don't tell me you're becoming like your brother? Never trains, yet he has so much potential." The Prince of Saiyans grumbled and Goten, who was becoming very fed up, tried to speak again, but Dr. Briefs came in.

"Oh, we have a visitor!" His cat, Scratch, mewled, as it clinged to his shoulder and whilst he pet it, the retired inventor asked, just like everyone else, "It's been a long time, Goten! What's with the-"

Goten had finally had enough and snapped before anyone else could speak over him, "I WENT FOR AN INTERVIEW AT CAPSULE CORP!" There was a moment of silence.

"Calm down honey, here have a cookie!" Panchy offered and as he munched on it, the sweetness making everything much more bearable, the family questioned him again.

"Your mom make you do it?" Bulma asked, knowing what Chi-Chi was like as she ate a cookie.

"It was Gohan's idea. I'm glad I did it though, the interview went well…I think." He wasn't sure how they'd react to the next part. "And…you'll never believe it, the girl interviewing me was Noudelle!"

"Ugh, she's so annoying! Couldn't Trunks have found a prettier girl? Or one that knows how to style her own hair at least!" Bulla complained and her mother admitted, after scolding her for being rude, "Well, ok, she's a little strange but she means the world to Trunks!"

"You really hadn't met her before?" Panchy was shocked that he hadn't, though it didn't stop her from handing out cookies to everyone, even the Prince, who surprisingly took one. Goten mentioned, "No, I haven't even seen Trunks since my birthday."

"The boy works hard!" Dr. Briefs defended his grandson as he put out his cigar. Goten wasn't sure whether to take the comment as an insult or as a prideful boast.

"Anyway, I thought she was nice…and I hope I get a job there…whatever it may be." He caught sight of the clock and told them he should be going.

"Aw, why, we hardly have you around anymore!" Bulma persuaded him to stay a while but Goten had to refuse. Eating a few more cookies wasn't worth facing his mother's wrath over.

"We'll tell Trunks to call you…when he isn't busy bending Noudelle over his desk." Bulla said, as she walked upstairs, the last part of her sentence inaudible, yet Goten was sure he heard it, though decided to shake that thought off.

"See ya!" He waved goodbye, finally leaving before he went insane. Goten wondered how Trunks put up with them every day.

"So, how did it go!?" Chi-Chi quizzed him the moment he opened the door. "Did you get the job!?"

"Uh…I don't know, they'll ring me, I guess." Goten went up to his room and practically threw himself on his bed. 'Socialising is exhausting.'

He must have fallen asleep, since it was almost sunset when he opened his eyes. His mother did scold him for being up so late at night, telling him of the repercussions, which she happened to be right about, on this occasion.

His ringtone blared. It was Trunks, finally, after so long. "Hey, Trunks!" He answered, forgetting he should be mad at him for being so distant.

"Sup' Goten!" Goten almost dropped his phone upon hearing it was Noudelle.

"Bet you didn't expect me, huh?"

"No, but I'll gladly accept it!" Goten stated, and Noudelle explained, "Trunks left his phone in his office, I'm going to give it to him."

"And…you decided to call me? On his phone?" Goten raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't see.

"Well, I dunno, I was bored and I wanted to see your reaction…well hear it anyway." She confessed awkwardly then gasped, "Hey, guess what?!"

"What?!"

"You got a job in the factory!" She congratulated him and Goten asked, "Wait, so what will I be doing?"

"Oh, you know, you're super strong like Trunks, so you'll probably be moving parts around."

'She probably has no idea about just how strong we really are…'

"Cool…so when do I start?" He grabbed a pen, ready to write it down on his hand, since he was awful with dates and times.

"Tomorrow at 9am sharp!" She revealed.

"Tomorrow?!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry about that…we are really understaffed, the company has taken a few hits in recent years…well that's what I heard Trunks saying in one of his meetings…which I most definitely was not eavesdropping on!" She blatantly lied but Goten didn't care. He thanked her and she hung up before she promised she would make Trunks call him, for real this time, of which he didn't, though Goten wasn't bothered, at least he had a job.

When he gave the good news to his mother, she seemed overjoyed, so much in fact, that she began to talk about Goten's future, deciding everything for him, as usual. Growing up, he was never sure on what to do with himself. Trunks had his future laid out for him from the start and Gohan was determined to be a scholar; his intelligence far above average since birth.

Goten knew his father wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. He couldn't believe it when his mother told him his father believed marriage was some sort of food. In a way, it made him feel better. Even if he wasn't some genius, at least he wasn't that idiotic. 'Misguided' or 'unambitious' were the words that many often used to describe him, especially in school.

It was hard seeing others suceed where he failed, and hurt when people compared him to them, though he did his best to be happy for others around him, even if they were doing much better than he could ever hope to achieve. He could only hope that now, instead of the constant downward spiral he had been on since he was 13, he could finally move up in the world, albeit in a different way his mother wanted.

"Oh, Goten, I can't wait for you to be married and have kids! Then both of my little boys will be happy…"

Chi-Chi sniffed, clasping her hands together and staring off into the darkened sky.

"Mom…"

"Hm?" She turned, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Nothing, I, uh, just wanted to tell you I start tomorrow." He gave up on what he was going to say instead.

"Oh. Good night, Goten."

"Night, mom." He went back to his room and did his best to sleep early, knowing it would be best to try and remedy his insufficient sleep schedule, which hadn't been normal since he had to go to school, and even then, he would be typically late.

"And here's your uniform!" A cute worker smiled at him, blushing at his visible muscles.

'Dang, Trunks got so many hotties working here!'

"Is that too tight?" She asked, feeling him up a little.

"Nah, I'll be ok…but if you like the feel of that, just wait 'til-"

"Hey Goten!" Noudelle came up to him and the other girl left, to Goten's dismay. 'I was really hoping to get her number…' He greeted her back and she asked if he was ready for his first job.

"Ok, you need to move those parts in loads and put them into the machine, you've been shown how to do it already, right?" He nodded and showed her, though to him the loads were light.

"Jeez, you really are strong!" She gasped. To impress her, he grabbed many large parts at a time and placed them all onto the conveyor belt, where they would be taken into the next stage of production.

"Woah! I'm glad we hired you, you'll do all of this in no time at all!" She praised him and he joked,

"You think I'll get a raise or a promotion like you? I do know Trunks very well too." He smugly stated and she laughed that cute laugh.

"Yeah, well I dunno about that. Also, that reminds me, Trunks wants to see you during your break…which should be in 2 hours." She looked at her watch and Goten sarcastically told her, "Oh, I'm so glad I get to talk to my best friend, who couldn't be bothered to call me, during my free time!"

"Don't be like that, it's hard for him!" She defended him. "Sure, it must be, being one of the richest people in existence! He could retire tomorrow if he wanted." Goten himself wasn't even sure where such bitterness came from, he supposed he always had it in him.

"Well…maybe you can see him more often now." She walked out, still a faint smile on her face. Goten got straight to work, the other employees impressed. It was menial labour, with some use of machinery. Goten was childishly hoping to do some more science related things, like seeing new inventions or something cool, but he supposed they hid their inventions so no-one would steal. The morning dragged on, but his break did eventually come and he was called up to Trunks' office.

Standing outside the door, an interesting feeling of nervousness went through him. It was strange, his best friend being such a serious, responsible man. He stopped dwelling on his thoughts surrounding him and opened the door…