A/N: I do not own DBZ, its characters or settings. Anything new is mine!

Thanks to Meilin76 for taking the time to review!

After the disastrous Zoo date, Goten didn't see Lorian again for a week. Not that he didn't want to, but he did have a job, although technically he had no need of one. He frequently worked at Capsule Corp, being Trunks' sounding board more or less. Anything Trunks wanted an honest opinion about, he discussed with Goten. While Goten was intelligent and perceptive, he was no genius like Trunks, but he tended to have the same thoughts on new ideas and products as the main stream populace Capsule Corp targeted for marketing, so his thoughts were actually quite valuable to the company.

His main job, however, was running a dojo in Orange City. Goten had bought the school not long after graduating college. Though he had earned a degree in marketing, his true love was fighting. He had spent years enduring the rigorous training of his master, Vegeta, who had no equal on Earth. Trunks and Gohan had once contained more raw power then the Prince of Saiyans, but now thanks to years of physical indolence, they were no match for Vegeta.

Goten had often taught his niece Pan the moves he was shown by Vegeta, as she was too intimidated to approach the Prince to ask him to instruct her, and Vegeta would not deign to teach anyone who was not brave enough to meet him face to face. Goten had enjoyed those training sessions with Pan, almost as much as he enjoyed battling with Vegeta, and it was then he decided he'd open his own martial arts school.

Vegeta had refused to teach at Goten's school, considering only other Saiyans worthy of his training. Of course, there were hardly any Saiyans left to train, but the proud Prince would not be dissuaded and so Goten was on his own. He didn't mind, because he made sure his classes were small and that there was only one at a time. He was not interested in mass producing average fighters; he was much more interested in developing a handful of intense, dedicated warriors.

The days at the dojo went by quickly, though the nights were another story. He made sure to call Lorian that week, to set up a date for the weekend. She had informed him she was now hopelessly addicted to Anime cartoons and had fallen in love with reading fan fiction stories on the internet.

On Wednesday, when he stopped in at Capsule Corp to visit Trunks, his friend looked up with a surprised expression when Goten walked into his office.

"Well, look who's back from the dead," Trunks murmured in his dry, sarcastic voice that Goten had long since grown immune to.

"It hasn't even been a week," Goten replied.

"True, but I usually see you every day. Have you been spending all your nights with this new girl of yours?"

Goten's eyes narrowed as he dropped into a seat near the enormous bay window in Trunks' office. "Very funny. Watch it. And for you information, no, I haven't seen Lorian since this weekend."

Trunks shook his head in mock sympathy. "Oh, did your date not go so well? Has her charm worn off?"

"Hardly," Goten assured him. "Although the date to the Zoo was a disaster. She freed some monkeys and we ended up having to outrun the zoo keepers to avoid getting in trouble."

Trunks arched an eyebrow in amusement. "She did what?"

"You heard me," Goten laughed. "I'd never seen anything like it. She just walked up to the cage and opened it, as calm as you please, and encouraged the monkeys to escape. Although I should have seen it coming, she was unhappy the moment we arrived at the Zoo and she saw the animals were confined."

"How odd," Trunks mused aloud.

"After that, I took her to get something to eat, because she seems to love food as much as I do, and the rest of the night went fine," Goten went on, a dreamy look in his eye as he recalled the second good night kiss he'd given to Lorian.

"Ugh, spare me," Trunks muttered, rolling his eyes at the dopey look on his friend's face. "So are you going to see her this weekend?"

"Yeah, I'm taking her to a movie," Goten absently answered, his gaze still vacant.

"Hello, focus!" Trunks shouted, startling Goten into looking over at him. "You're going to a movie, huh? How about we go on a double date? I told Belinda I'd take her out this weekend, and this way I'd get to meet your new lady friend as well."

"Uh, I don't know about that Trunks," Goten stuttered, eyeing his friend warily. Trunks was a loyal companion and a good man, but he tended to be blunt to the point of rudeness, and Lorian was so naïve Goten was certain she would rub Trunks the wrong way.

"Why not? We've gone on double dates in the past and I've met every one of your girlfriends," Trunks argued in a reasonable, calm voice.

Goten sighed, knowing how stubborn Trunks could be when he wanted something. "I know, but I haven't been seeing Lorian for very long and I'm not even sure if she'd be comfortable going on a double date with two complete strangers."

Trunks suddenly grinned, the smile turning his normally serious face into a mask of handsome mischief. "Well, then, have Lorian bring a friend of hers along as my date, and then I'll be the only new person she has to worry about meeting."

Goten groaned at the gleam in Trunks' eyes. The Briefs heir was a true playboy: wealthy, influential, and into short relationships. Belinda was his woman of the month, a very pretty red head who didn't happen to have much of a brain, but was gifted with a body Venus would envy. It seemed her charm must be wearing off if Trunks was considering taking someone else on the double date.

"That's very kind of you to offer up an alternative idea, but Lorian is new to Orange City and she doesn't have any friends yet."

"Huh, too bad," Trunks sighed leaning forward in his chair so that his elbows were braced on his desk. "It looks like I'll have to take Belinda after all."

"Will you at least let me ask Lorian how she feels about a double date before I just tell her we will be going on one," Goten pleaded.

"You act as if I would do the girl harm," Trunks exclaimed, though his expression was not nearly as innocent as his tone tried to proclaim him to be.

Besides, Goten knew him better then anyone else; there was little point in trying to fool him.

"It's not, it's just that Lorian is unlike any woman I've ever met," Goten replied. "She is very innocent and sheltered."

Trunks' practiced leer returned full force. "Worried I'll taint her?"

Goten shot him a murderous glare. "No, and you'd better not even try it."

Trunks held up his hand in a gesture of peace. "Oh fine, if you're that worried about it, we can go on a double date some other time. But I would like to meet this Lorian if you intend on spending your weekends with her."

"Fair enough," Goten conceded, relieved to have thwarted Trunks for the moment. "I'll bring her around the house to see you before we go to our movie."

"If that's Friday, I'll be working late at the office," Trunks informed him. "It's time for another audit and I hate leaving things to my accountants."

"Then I'll bring her to the office," Goten promised him before hastily moving to the door. "I'll see you later."

Trunks watched him leave, a speculative look on his face. He had known Goten their whole lives, and while it was true he was a playboy himself, Goten was generally not so steady in the boyfriend department either. While it was true he didn't change women as often as Trunks did, Goten had never displayed interest in a woman for long. Trunks wondered how long his infatuation with this new girl would last.

Lorian had done nothing but read and watch TV since her last outing with Goten. While she knew she should get out and see the town, she didn't have any idea where to start and Goten was the only friend she really had. There were places called chat rooms on the internet, and she had hoped people there might help her find out about interesting sights in the city, but all they seemed interested in doing was flirting or telling silly stories.

She took her BMW X5 out for a trip to the mall and nearly killed several people, and she hadn't driven since then. It had seemed so much easier the last time she'd done it, perhaps she could ask Goten to show her how to drive. He seemed to be an excellent driver. Of course, if she really wanted to get around she could always fly, but if anyone saw her they would undoubtedly freak out. Not to mention she had no true idea when her father would return from his trip to Tirame, and he would be able to sense it if she used her power.

She was stuck walking or driving, and driving was a much faster method of getting around.

Lorian was engrossed in yet another episode of Fruits Basket when her phone rang, causing her to shriek in alarm. She reached over and turned down the volume on the TV, a skill she was proud of having mastered, and then answered the phone with a frown, irritated to have her show interrupted.

"What?"

Goten blinked in surprise at the hostile sound of Lorian's voice. "Uh, hi Lorian, it's me, Goten. Is this not a good time? I can call you back later if you want."

Lorian's frown was immediately banished by a brilliant smile, though he couldn't see it, he could hear the difference in her voice when she said, "No, don't be silly. There's no need for you to call back, when you can talk to me right now. Sorry, I was watching a show and got a little cranky when the phone rang. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Goten gave a silent sigh of relief, no longer worried she was angry with him. "I get the same way when someone bothers me while I'm eating."

"I've noticed," she teased him, though he had never been short with her, he had growled at a waitress that had tried to clear their table off before he was finished eating.

He grinned and said, "I just wanted to ask you if we could stop by Capsule Corp before we go to the movie. My friend Trunks wants to meet you."

"That's fine," Lorian assured him, not even remotely nervous about meeting his friends since she didn't know how important such an event was. "How have you been?"

"Since yesterday," he joked. "Fine. I'm a little sore. Some of my students were a bit hard on me today."

"I'd love to see your school," Lorian mused.

Goten started to invite her, then thought about Lorian surrounded by a bunch of drooling young men and quickly changed his mind. "Maybe on a weekend, when I'm not teaching any classes. The students need to have all their attention focused on their lessons, and I think if you were there you might be a little…distracting since you are not normally present."

She was also exceptionally beautiful but there was no need to tell her that and have her getting a swelled head.

"I understand," Lorian murmured.

Just then, there was a knock on her door. She blinked in surprise and then raced to the door to look out the peephole. She could see the outline of a young woman close to her own age, and she said, "I have to go, Goten, but it was nice talking to you. I'll see you on Friday!"

Lorian opened the door as she was hanging up the phone. The stranger turned to her with a smile, her blue eyes bright and full of life. "Hi there, neighbor. I hate to bother you, but I'm out of sugar. Do you think I might be able to borrow some?"

Lorian had yet to go grocery shopping, as she had eaten out every day since she'd arrived on the surface. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any sugar."

"That's okay," the woman began to reply, but she was abruptly cut off by a second female voice.

"Well, that's a lie if I ever heard one," a second girl replied as she pushed aside the blond, her own blue eyes dark with irritation. "Who ever heard of someone not having sugar?"

Lorian had never been called a liar in her life. She glared up at the tall blond and said, "Well, it seems as if you do not have any sugar right now, either."

The blond paused and the other girl, obviously her sister, hurriedly said, "Oh, don't mind Zena, she's just a bit…um, well, that is to say…"

"Just spit it out, Ana," the grouchy blond growled. "I'm what?"

"Well, if you must know, you're rude," the kinder blond retorted. "This girl says she doesn't have any sugar, and for that you accuse her of lying."

Lorian held a hand up before Zena had a chance to reply. "Listen, why don't you just come inside and look in my kitchen if that will help you to believe I don't have any sugar."

Both blonds stopped speaking and turned to stare at her. It was then that Lorian realized the girls were twins. They were identical in every way except personality: both tall, slender, beautiful and blond.

"What did you say," the irritable blond that Lorian assumed was Zena demanded.

"I said you can come in and see for yourself," Lorian calmly repeated.

"Oh, there's no need for that," Ana assured her, even as Zena pushed her way into the apartment and marched over to the kitchen.

"Zena," Ana wailed, horrified at her sister's appalling lack of manners. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just doing what she suggested, Ana," Zena called out as she searched through Lorian's cabinets.

Ana sent Lorian an apologetic look. "You must forgive my sister, she's terribly forward."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended," Lorian kindly assured her.

Moments later, Zena marched back over to Lorian and glared down at her. "Do you realize you have nothing in your kitchen? Nothing at all. You're going to starve."

"I just moved in this week, and I've been eating out," Lorian explained, liking the girl despite her rude manner, or perhaps because of it. She had always admired spirit as much as kindness and intellect.

"Oh, are you new to the area?"

Lorian smiled at Ana and nodded, "Yes, I've never been to Orange City before."

"So you probably need someone to show you where the grocery stores are," Ana surmised.

"Well, I'm sure I could find one, if I knew how to drive better," Lorian replied. "I was never allowed to drive when I lived with my father, so I'm afraid I'm rather dangerous on the road."

The twins exchanged looks of disbelief, and then Zena suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. "Get your purse, girl, we're taking you to get some food and household supplies."

Lorian reached for the purse she had only recently bought on her one trip outside alone, and as she was dragged from the apartment, the grouchy blond frowned at her and said, "Name's Zena Marina, that's my sister Ana. What do we call you?"

"Lorian de Varr," she managed to get out as she was practically thrown into a sleek convertible.

"Nice to meet you, Lorian," Ana said with a smile. "If you haven't guessed by now, we're your neighbors. I'm so glad to have another girl our age in the building; everyone else is so…old. I just know we're going to be great friends!"