Trunks powered down, his hair falling from its Super Saiyan form, and returning back to its normal lavender color

Trunks powered down, his hair falling from its Super Saiyan form, and returning back to its normal lavender color. Then he returned to the building that he had left Megumi in.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks. Did you finish off the androids?" she replied. Trunks nodded. Suddenly Megumi blushed, noticing that she had no shirt on, only a bra. Quickly she covered her chest. Trunks turned away.

"Sorry…" he apologized, blushing as well. He removed his jacket and threw it to her.

"Thanks. You can turn back around now," she said.

"Come on, let's go back to Capsule Corporation and rest," said Trunks. He picked Megumi up and flew off with her in his arms.

"I can fly, you know," she said, giving him a strange look.

"Not with just a jacket on!" he replied with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, that's true," she agreed, smiling.

When they arrived at Capsule Corporation, Trunks found a shirt for Megumi, and then led her to a bedroom to rest. Afterwards he retreated to his own room and sighed as he hit the bed and instantly fell asleep.

He awoke to a hand, gently brushing his hair off of his face.

"Huh?" Slowly his vision came into focus. "Megumi." She smiled down at him.

"I can't tell you how thankful I am that you saved me from…from being…from what that android was trying to do to me," she said. Trunks smiled back at her. He then noticed the wet washcloth on his forehead.

"That's for your concussion. You must've taken quite a beating from those androids," explained Megumi.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired from that battle. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. You just concentrate on resting. You're going to come back with me right?" Megumi asked.

"I…don't know. I mean this is supposed to be where I belong… And you already have a Trunks in your time."

"But it's a different Trunks! You can't stay here alone, in a world that will take years to recover from what the androids did to it!"

"Let's talk about this later…"

"Okay…but since you're awake, let me get a look at you."

"You remind me so much of my Mom. Maybe that's because you've been around her a lot in the past," Trunks smiled, as he sat up.

"That's true. Okay, now take off your shirt."

Megumi blushed as she stared at Trunks' bare chest. Then immediately she got back on task and inspected for bruises.

"I bet your stomach area is a little sore from all those punches, huh?" she asked. He nodded. "Well you're just going to have to take it easy for awhile, then we'll return to the past."

Two days passed and Trunks was beginning to heal.

"So, do you think you'll be ready to go back tomorrow?" Megumi asked, after they had just eaten lunch.

"I could always come back to visit my mother's spot I suppose…" Trunks replied hesitantly.

"You don't need to, because she'll always be with you." Megumi put a hand on Trunks' shoulder. "Come on, you can't honestly say you want to stay in this kind of world." Trunks didn't reply. "We're friends, we should stick together." She knelt down, bringing her face directly in front of his. "Please, Trunks."

"I…uh…" Trunks attempted to change the subject and yanked out the chopstick that always kept Megumi's hair neatly up.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" she asked.

"Well…you…never wear your hair down!"

"Oh come on, stop trying to distract me!"

"It really does look nice when it's down," said Trunks.

"Thanks," Megumi blushed. Trunks reached out to touch her long, black hair.

"It's nice and soft," he smiled. She smiled back shyly.

They gazed into each other's eyes and slowly their faces moved closer to touch, their lips sharing an unexpected and soft, romantic kiss. They parted their faces an inch, still taken away by awe, and stared into each other's eyes again. Trunks' hand was gently holding Megumi's chin.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…I mean…you're probably still recovering from what happened in that building…" Trunks apologized.

"Yeah, and, w-we're friends," Megumi replied.

They scooted apart and Megumi placed the chopstick back into her hair again.

"So, anyways, back on the subject. Tomorrow we're going back right? You're going to come, aren't you?" she questioned Trunks once again. "I mean this world…you don't have any family and friends left. And in the past you have all of us as good friends. The androids are gone. That was easy for you, since during your fight with Cell you ascended…"

"Cell!!!" Trunks cried.

"What?! What about Cell?!" Megumi cried out in alarm.

"I've got to destroy the Cell from this time, before he can go to another past timeline and ruin that world!"

"That's true…but don't you think we should stop interfering with time? I mean how many different parallel timelines are there?" said Megumi.

"I may not be able to fix every time there is, but I have an option of fixing one. And no one should have to see the evil of a creature like Cell." Trunks' voice had a serious tone now. There was no objecting.

"Okay Trunks, we'll stay until you get rid of Cell. But, wait. How will we find Cell? Go searching for him like we did for the androids?"

"No. We stay right here. He'll come. He needs the time machine," said Trunks. "And now that we know Cell is out there and will eventually come here, we can't let each other out of sight."

That night, Megumi settled down in bed and Trunks settled on the floor of her room.

"Is this absolutely necessary?" she asked.

"Yes. I can sense Cell's power level. But if we're separated, I don't want to risk anything happening to you by the time I find you," he replied.

"I feel bad that you have to sleep on the floor though…"

"It's alright," said Trunks, giving her a reassuring smile.

Soon Megumi was asleep, but Trunks lay awake. He couldn't sleep with the thought of Cell sneaking up on them. However, eventually his eyes became too heavy and he fell asleep as well.

"TRUNKS!!!"

Trunks woke up from his sleeping spot on the floor of Megumi's room. Then he saw Cell sucking the life out of her on her bed. His tail was coiled around her to prevent her from escaping as it sucked.

"MEGUMI!!! NO!!!" In a second he was on his feet and shot Cell with an energy blast. Since Cell was busy with his tail coiled around Megumi, the blast distracted him and he released his hold on her. Trunks charged at him, going Super Saiyan, and punched him through the wall. Then before Cell could react he blasted him with his most powerful attack, destroying him just like the androids.

Quickly he hurried back to Megumi's side and held her in his arms.

"Megumi! Are you okay?!" he cried.

"T-trunks…" she said weakly. Then her body went limp.

"Megumi! Megumi! NO! Please wake up!" Tears came out of his eyes and he leaned down to place one last kiss on her soft lips…

"MEGUMI!!!"

"Trunks! What is it?! I'm right here!" she cried, shaking him awake. His eyes burst open and he sat up panting heavily. "Y-you're crying!" She put her arm around him. "Tell me what happened!"

"I-it was just a dream…Cell…he was…y-you were dead…" Trunks managed to say.

"It's okay, calm down." With her other hand she wiped the tears from his eyes. Her long, black hair framed her face. The only time she didn't have it up was at night. Trunks put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Come on, lay down. You need to get some rest," she urged. He obeyed and slowly lay back down. Megumi held his hand and lay down beside him. "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, to make sure you're okay."

In the morning Trunks awoke to find Megumi cuddled beside him. She must've fallen asleep while she waited for me to fall asleep. He thought. Gently, he reached out and brushed her long hair away from her face. She stirred and opened her eyes to see him gazing at her.

"Huh? I-I must've fallen asleep while making sure that you were asleep. Anymore bad dreams?" she inquired. Trunks shook his head.

"I'm glad it was just a dream," he said, still gently touching her hair. He stopped and put his hand to her cheek and knelt down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"Trunks…I…I thought we talked about this…"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that dream. It made me realize that I care for you so much. We've become so close. I think you're the person I'm closest to right now since my Mom and all my friends from this time are gone…I'm sorry…" Trunks apologized.

"It's okay. But I'm glad we're close friends," said Megumi. "Close friends that have unintentionally seen each other shirtless." She laughed jokingly, but at the same time a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. Trunks gave a small laugh and blushed too. There was an uneasy silence and the two exchanged nervous glances at each other.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower. So we'll have to let each other out of sight for about fifteen minutes," Megumi announced.

"That will be an exception to the rule," Trunks replied jokingly.

Soon Megumi emerged from the bathroom. She had of course changed out of her pajamas and her wet hair was held up with a chopstick as usual.

"You can use the shower now," she said.

After Trunks had finished, they both sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, having their usual small talk. Suddenly in the middle of their conversation Trunks tensed.

"Hey, are you listening?" asked Megumi, obliviously.

"Cell…"

"Huh? He's here?"

"Yes, I can sense his power." Trunks jumped out of his seat and ran outside to the front of Capsule Corporation. Megumi followed behind.

"There's nobody out here," she said, looking around.

"Yes there is! Right over ---" Trunks was interrupted, when from the direction he had been pointing to, Cell jumped out and grabbed Megumi with his tail.

"Hey, leave her out of this! It's me you want!" cried Trunks.

The creature smirked, as Megumi suffered from his tight grip, and then threw her aside, where she hit the ground and was knocked unconscious.

"Megumi!" Trunks looked back at Cell and glared furiously. "I'm not even going to give you a chance! After all, whatever people you've come across here, I know you didn't even give them a chance before you took their lives!"

"What? How do you know?" the creature asked in surprise.

Trunks just smirked and powered up to Super Saiyan in an instant. Then he sent Cell flying with an unexpected blast and prepared his burning attack.

"I won't let you ruin another world!!!" he cried, as he launched the attack. Cell was finished in an instant. Trunks had accomplished what he had returned to do. The androids as well as Cell were gone and could no longer wreak havoc anywhere.

He ran over to the unconscious Megumi, and breathed a sigh of relief that she was still alive. Carefully, he picked her up and took her back inside Capsule Corporation.

"Trunks?" Megumi awoke in her bed, with Trunks standing over her and a cold washcloth on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied.

"That was almost like the dream I had, except…except you're still here…" Megumi took his hand and clasped it in her own. With her free hand she removed the washcloth. Then she sat up and pulled Trunks next to her.

"Thanks. That's the second time you've helped me," she said.

"What are friends for?"

Megumi reached up and pulled the chopstick out of her hair, letting it flow down.

"Why did you do that?" Trunks asked.

"Because, I never wear it down," she replied with a smile. Then she brought her face to Trunks and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Megumi, I think you hit your head too hard. I thought you just wanted to be friends," said Trunks in surprise.

"Well…what you said…before…about how much you cared about me. I've thought about it and I care about you a lot too. And I think you're the person I'm closest to as well."

Trunks smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Then they both leaned into each other and shared a slow, deep and passionate kiss.

As they shared another kiss, Megumi's hands wandered down and untucked Trunks' shirt. Then they moved upwards, feeling his perfect chest. She brought one hand back out and guided Trunks' hand to her shirt. Hesitantly he untucked it and felt her stomach. He was too nervous and inexperienced to try going any further.

"I shouldn't…I mean…after what almost happened to you before…"

"But this time I'm not being forced against my will," she replied.

"Have you ever…" Trunks began. Megumi shook her head shyly.

"Have you?" she asked. Trunks blushed and shook his head.

The two looked at each other shyly for a few minutes and then started to kiss again. Trunks lay down on the bed with Megumi on top of him and felt her smooth back with his hands as she put her hands up his shirt, exploring his chest.

What had started out as a friendship became more, uniting two very different people from two separate worlds.

THE END