Author's Note: Thanks to the following reviewers: TorankusuGohan, Thomas Drovin, Godzilla2, Garowyn, and sexy-jess! I'm extremely grateful!

July 6, 2009: Tweaking the story's plot means removing some aspects of the tale and replacing them with new ones! Yes, this chapter is a completely new one. Figured Goten and Trunks deserved an interesting situation together; it makes for great character development. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with anything associated with DBZ.

Chapter 13: A Day at the Café

A few days later…

"I'm telling you, man… Your sister is crazy."

Trunks chuckled a bit at his friend's surprisingly mild choice in words. He swirled a plastic stirrer in his cup of black coffee, blue eyes staring intently into the other boy's dark ones. "I'm sure you wanted to say something worse, Goten."

The Son boy shrugged once, as if to show that he didn't really care much about the topic at hand; his eyes, however, shone mischievously, telling an entirely different story. "Maybe."

Trunks laughed once more, then reclined a bit in his chair. Due to new responsibilities (as Bulma Briefs' eldest child, he had had to start his preparations to someday inherit her corporation rather quickly) keeping him occupied, he hadn't seen his best friend in several years. Time had aged their bodies a bit, but the twenty-three-year-old boy was glad to see that it hadn't changed their friendship one bit. "You haven't seen her at her worst. That's all I'm going to say."

"It's weird how genetics work. She looks exactly like Bulma, but her personality's all Vegeta." Goten took a bite of a blueberry pastry and chewed meditatively. "I wonder how your mom deals with that."

"They fight all the time, actually. And you can bet Dad takes Bra's side every single time. But enough about that," Trunks changed the subject, taking a few sips from his bitter coffee. "How's Valese?"

Goten was thankful for the shift in topics, especially since it now concerned his girlfriend. "Just hung out with her yesterday, actually. It was the first time since I got over that whole allergy thing." He grinned sincerely and leaned back into his chair, interlacing his fingers behind his head. "She's really awesome, Trunks."

Trunks cocked an eyebrow. "And?"

Goten grinned at the prompt. "And totally hot."

"Nice." Trunks picked up his cup once more, letting the hot, bitter liquid slip down his throat. It was a nice, cool day here in the city, and the pleasant weather accordingly attracted throngs of tourists. It was perfect for people-watching, something the lavender-haired prince enjoyed doing whenever he wasn't bogged down with stressful Capsule Corporation tasks.

"You should meet her some time, actually," Goten continued. He glanced up as one of the waitresses of the café they were currently situated at stopped by their table again, coffeepot in hand. He shook his head to tell her they were fine, then smirked upon seeing the flirty smile she gave his friend before leaving. "Ha, ha, she's totally been giving you the eye, Trunks."

"Not interested," he replied, picking up his copy of The West City Tribune, West City's most popular newspaper. "You know redheads aren't my type."

"Aw, c'mon! She was a cute one," Goten faked a pout, then frowned at the cup of coffee that sat next to an untouched platter of chocolate-chip biscotti. "Why do you even drink that stuff so much? You don't put any milk or sugar in it at all. Completely gross."

"After having to experience countless all-nighters, you kinda get used to it." Trunks turned the page he was glancing at to read news on the economy. His brows furrowed in deep concentration. "You ready for the trip?"

Goten sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be." Truth be told, he now looked at the entire space adventure halfheartedly; after all, it was taking him away from something he was actually enjoying: his relationship with his girlfriend. He remembered all those years he'd spent wishing for more action in his life, and wondered why things had to have such bad timing, when he had just begun to accept a more laidback lifestyle. Why had his father chosen now to become pint-sized? 'Well, it wouldn't be Dad if it were planned…'

The sounds of Trunks flipping through more pages of stole him from his reverie. "Hey, are you going to eat those?"

"Go ahead," the older boy mumbled, eyes scanning the Sports section quickly. He pushed the tray of cookies towards Goten, then added, "Huh, Yamcha still plays for the Titans. I'll have to tell Mom about that."

Goten was too busy wolfing down the treats his friend had just given him permission to have to answer. He finally swallowed, and then washed his sugary meal down with his cup of mango juice. "You know, this is really nice."

"What's nice?"

"This. It's just nice to be able to see you again," Goten smiled.

Trunks scowled at that comment, showing his disgust at the way his friend had phrased his current feelings, but the teasing tone of his voice told otherwise. "What, are you getting soft now, Goten? Gimme a break."

"Dude, I'm the one with the girlfriend. Maybe you should, I don't know, keep up?"

"Goten," Trunks replied smoothly, not missing a beat, "I could totally get that girl's number if I wanted." He jerked his head towards a slim brunette who sat in the corner of the café area, head completely buried within a novel. "Hers and that redheaded waitress's."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Trunks smirked, showing that he'd inherited his father's cocky, competitive personality.

Goten matched the smirk easily with his own and held out his watch. "Alright, you have five minutes." He watched with amusement as Trunks eased himself out of his chair almost promptly and ambled confidently towards the first girl, who lifted her face from behind the pages of her book as though she'd sensed him approaching.

He was happy some things hadn't changed. His relationship with his best friend would probably never change, though, and he was glad some years apart hadn't dissolved their bond. Observing the Capsule Corporation heir move swiftly from brunette to redhead effortlessly, the Son boy had to admit: life was pretty darn good.

Trunks grinned boldly as he came back three and a half minutes later, two pieces of paper held snugly within his right hand. "Just like old times, yeah?"

Meanwhile…

Halfway through the tale she was reading, Bra shut her book and stuffed it back under her bed. "Wha..." This wasn't a romance novel! It was just some documentary about some rich, stuck-up girl. She seemed so nasty, spoiled, and pompous... And green hair? How was that gorgeous?

She now lay on her back; turquoise hair sprawled out, giving her the appearance of an ethereal angel. Closing her eyes, she thought about the events of the story. So far, the protagonist was in a relationship with a very loving boy, but was secretly seeing someone else, as well. 'It might be a smart thing, though…' A man on the side? Hmm. It actually did make some sort of sense. Maybe she would find someone at the mall in a few days (a weekly pastime of hers and her mother's). Of course, she'd have to wait until after she saw Goku and the others out to space in a few days.

Besides, it would be sort of fun, right?

Author's Note: The end of the chapter! It's a lot shorter than most of my chapters, and I apologize for that; it's very hard to include a new scene to replace something that was already established. Hopefully everything flows well. Stay tuned, and find out what happens next, in the next chapter: Chapter 14: Time to Go on the Spaceship!

Ladii-Chocolate