Born as heir to an alien throne as well as the largest corporation on Earth, there was nothing the young prince wanted that was out of his reach. His house alone was ridiculously large with a lab he could tinker in, a gravity room he could train in, and chefs at his beck and call. Even when he wanted a home cooked meal, he would just have to visit his grandmother or even go to his best friend's house. Oftentimes he would visit the Son's to gift his best friend some of his old toys. Sometimes even surprising the younger boy with newer toys that had yet to come out. That was just how important and influential his family was. Everything was within his grasp. All he had to do was want it.

As his grandfather had retired long ago, only one person sat at the top of this corporate empire: his mother, Bulma Briefs. The genius heiress had to be the smartest engineer in the entire world. She only had to poke around at alien technology briefly before she was able to replicate it. Sometimes even fixing it to work more efficiently. Some of the more dangerous missions to save Earth would have been impossible without her gadgets, and that alone deserved its own recognition. Never mind the corporation she ran single-handedly while still tinkering with her own personal projects. That was just who his mom was.

His father was unique in the way that it was still hard for him to understand what the man was thinking. The proud saiyan royal had long since formed a new home here on Earth, but his saiyan ways remained strong. There was a time when he refused to acknowledge his son, but the man had a hidden soft side and eventually his love for his family won out. Despite his prickly exterior. That was just who Vegeta was.

That was just who they were. The Briefs family consisted of the smartest woman on earth, the strongest fighter (though many tried to convince him otherwise), and a royal lineage that went past the human corporation on Earth. It also, unfortunately, carried a terrifying pride that led to a great deal of arrogance and sense of superiority.

Bulma was a prideful woman that would not be satisfied until bother her brilliance and her beauty were worshipped. Not unlike her husband, who refused to accept second place after "Kakarot". The saiyan name given to the patriarch of the Son household. Though, everyone else simply referred to him as "Goku", himself included. After all, it had long since been established that only Vegeta could call him by his given birth name.

Yes, it was that same family pride that caused the young heir to find himself digging his own grave countless of times. Including the time a single slip of the tongue had him in a relationship with a girl he had never met before.

"So cool!" The youngest of the Son's gaped at his friend in awe. Highly impressed despite the obvious bluff. It was that glint of admiration in the boy's eyes that stroked the heir's ego. The lavender-haired boy had to then explain his situation with the girl. She had called him crazy and was ready to reject playing along until Bulma's birthday party was mentioned. Then, the lie kind of spiraled out of control and then there they were, always together.

That was just how Trunks Briefs was.

He could never forget the twinkle in his best friend's eyes. Even when Trunks cheated during the Martial Arts Tournament, Goten had been more excited that his best friend was labeled the Junior Division Champion than he was hurt that Trunks had broken his promise and cheated to win. Trunks had always been grateful that Goten, much like his dad, could never hold a grudge. Had Goten inherited more of his mother's personality, well, Trunks was Already afraid of one Chi-Chi. A younger, half-saiyan version would have only made things worse.

Life was well for the heir at the age of thirteen. Trunks was rich with a royal lineage. Everything he wanted was immediately handed over. He had a best friend who looked up to him and a pretty girlfriend. So, why was he so pissed now? Well, Goten had stopped looking at him.

When his future-self first appeared, Trunks had been quite excited. It was obvious that his grown-up self was a great and mature fighter. His story of having single-handedly defeated Buu was not something that should be written off either, and he had been taking care of his future completely on his own. In all honesty, Trunks was pretty proud of his future-self and felt like a peacock when he caught Goten's eyes sparkling when they heard his future-self's stories. At first. Then, the pride quickly faded into envy as he realized that Goten was admiring someone other than him. Why was Goten so excited about the future Trunks when his current best friend was right next to him?

Even Mai, his newfound girlfriend, blushed whenever she interacted with the older man. Although, since her face would grow a deeper crimson when she glanced over at the younger Trunks, realizing he would grow into that same man, Trunks could forgive her. He could live with that, but not Goten's betrayal. Why was his best friend so obsessed with his older self, anyways?!

He sighed and tried to calm himself as he neared the Son's residence. He landed in front of their house and called out for his best friend. His usual smirk pulled at his lips and his body readied itself to catch the excited child he knew would be bouncing into him. Tackling him to the ground with a giant grin on his face as his best friend finally had time for him. However, his entire mood dropped when the door was opened calmly by a rather confused Chi-Chi.

"Oh, Little Trunks." She smiled. The nickname pissed Trunks off immediately as she only ever called him that whenever his future-self was around. Why was that guy back? "What a surprise! Goten said you were coming, but I thought he meant your older self."

"And why would he mean him?" Trunks scoffed. Following her inside the house.

"Well, because he's already here." Chi-Chi led him into the living room. Sure enough, his older self was on the couch with Goten. The two playing video games as though they had been friends for years.

Whenever he and Goten played, the aggressive teasing between the two would quickly escalate until they were both in their super forms. Their gold energy spiked as they accused each other of cheating. However, that tension was absent between Goten and his older self. There was still some level of teasing, as they were both fairly cocky, but it was immediately followed by praises and gentle laughter. That was when Trunks, as the third wheel, had the displeasure of seeing his best friend show an expression he had never caused before: Goten blushing.

The closest the young heir had gotten to seeing that was the flustered frustration he often caused Goten to express. The boy, helpless to anything Trunks did, would often pout and turn a deep red out of anger.

The goofy smile and sheepish nature Goten was displaying now was all new, and it angered Trunks. More than anything, it angered him that he was never the cause of such a reaction, and he ended up snapping when Goten finally noticed him.

"Oh, hey Trunks! You're here! Sorry we started without you."

"I'm not even late." Trunks grumbled.

Goten gave an awkward smile in apology. One Trunks knew already. That only angered him more. "Sorry. I thought Mai was with you since T came by him—"

"T?" Trunks almost gagged.

His future-self stepped in then. "Oh, yeah. I asked him to call me that since he kept confusing himself whenever he told me stories of you guys. That way you get to keep the name."

The wink at the end was unnecessary and Trunks felt his anger rise. A tense silence followed after and filled the room until Goten could no longer stand it. He had to speak, "Gohan was here earlier and left his controller. You can join us."

"Where's my controller?"

"Oh, sorry. Here you go." His future-self offered awkwardly. "Since Gohan and Goten had their own controllers, Goten let me use yours. I can use Gohan's instead."

Trunks huffed and snatched his controller from himself.

"C'mon man, don't be rude!" Goten scolded him before apologizing to his future-self in his stead.

Trunks only felt his annoyance keep rising. Why was Goten apologizing? Even as they played a few rounds, Trunks felt particularly salty about all the times he lost. Especially against himself. This tension continued to bubble until Goten blurted out he wanted to go sparring. Noticing that the sun had gone down significantly, Trunks figured it was about time for Mai to come back from wherever her and her pals snuck off to and decided to head home. He was about to decline when his older self accepted. A wicked thought crossed his mind and he smirked at his best friend. "Hey, Goten. We haven't fused for a while."

"Are you insane?!" Chi-Chi screeched as she helped with their wounds. While future Trunks had a few bumps and scratches, Goten and Trunks had seen better days.

"It's not my fault." Goten mumbled. "Trunks kept going."

"Hey, we were fused idiot! It takes two to control Gotenks!"

"Don't call my son an idiot!" Chi-Chi finally huffed and shook her head. "Regardless, you both should know your limits. Even Goku knows when to tap out and he hired someone to kill him." She seethed at the memory. There had to be a limit to Goku's idiocy when trying to test his own strength.

Both Goten and Trunks gave her a disbelieving look. Goku did not know his limits in the slightest, and the incident she just mentioned should be proof enough of that.

"Sorry Mrs. Chi-Chi. I should have held back more." Future Trunks spoke up.

"Yes, you should have!" Chi-Chi now turned her attention to him. "They're just boys! You're the adult here!"

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry."

Trunks was pleased to see his older self get told off by Chi-Chi, but he frowned when Goten spoke up.

"Mom, it's not his fault! He was just protecting himself from Gotenks! Remember when I came back with a black eye cause Gohan defended himself from me during training?"

Chi-Chi pondered over the memory and gave in. "Fine, but you better be more careful next time. All of you! Trunks," she paused as both looked over at her. She giggled before turning to the younger one. "Trunks, I think it's time for you to go home. Your mom may get worried if you're late."

"Alright. C'mon me. Let's go."

"Actually, I'm staying."

Trunks froze. "What?"

"Yeah!" Goten chimed in, excited. "We're gonna have a sleepover at Gohan's!"

Trunks could feel himself deflate. "Oh, really?" Goten never mentioned any sleepover. How long had it been since they last spent the night together? Probably sometime around when Mai first showed up. Did Goten not miss him anymore? "That's cool. Well, I'll get going then. Have fun." Without me.

"Sure thing. See ya, Trunks!" Goten waved before turning all his attention back to the older Trunks.

That night, Trunks tossed around in his bed. Suddenly aware of how easy it was to sleep with Goten next to him, and how hard it was without him. He kept remembering how the youngest Son's heartbeat would create a calm rhythm that would rock Trunks to sleep, and how the warmth that Goten radiated was enough to keep them warm during the cooler nights out on Mt. Paozu. Then, he realized that all of that would now be experienced by not him.

He growled and sat up. Throwing a pillow across the room right as his mom walked in.

"Whoa! You doing okay, buddy?" Bulma arched a brow as she watched the pillow hit the wall next to her. A few inches to the left and it would have hit her instead. The dent in the wall proved that it would not have been a fun experience.

"Oh, sorry mom. I didn't think you'd come in."

"I know. Not sure how happy I should be about that yet." She smiled, gesturing to the dent. "Wanna tell me what happened? I thought you'd have a fun time with Goten."

"I did." Trunks lied. Bulma cleared her throat with a look that told him to try again. Trunks huffed and crossed his arms. "Well, I would have. If he wasn't there."

"Who?"

"Me."

Bulma felt the dread pool in her stomach. "Trunks is here?" Due to the whole time-jump taboo, Future Trunks had agreed to keep his visits exclusively to whenever there was trouble. However, she reasoned he must have broke that promise considering that her son was sulking instead of panicking. That, and she knew that her future-son's first destination would have been Capsule Crop. if he really needed something.

Trunks arched a brow at his mom, "he didn't tell you?"

"Honey, your future-self is a grown man. He hardly needs his mom's permission anymore. Especially not from one who technically isn't really his mom. Why was he there?"

"I guess he was having a sleepover with Goten over at Gohan's place."

"Well, that sounds fun. You didn't want to go?"

"They didn't ask me."

Oh. Bulma swallowed hard. She could feel the tension and disappointment in her son's tone. It had been a long time since he even got to see the black-haired boy that had grown up with him. Bulma had agreed to let him skip class to see Goten in hopes of raising his spirits but had accidentally managed to upset him further. She bit her lip as she thought of what to say. "Well, I'm sure Goten was just trying not to bother you. You've gotten really busy getting ready for college, and Mai is your girlfriend now. Top that off with training every day with your father and it sounds like you've got a full plate. If Goten's anything like Goku, then he probably doesn't know how to ask you to hang out more." She brushed back her son's hair and leaned down to look him in the eyes. "He's not replacing you, sweetie. He's just excited his best friend is a grown-up, and it's not like Trunks was there to visit Goten particularly. The Gohan from his future was his best friend, and he misses him a lot. I'm sure Trunks is here to see Gohan, not Goten."

"They were playing video games mom! He was using my controller! And my character!"

"Trunks Briefs, do not raise your voice at your mom!"

"Sorry."

Bulma sighed and tried again. "Sweetie, he is you. He's going to like a lot of the same things you do. He's also dating Mai in his future, remember?" She then pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head. "Don't worry, sweetie. Goten's still your best friend."

"Thanks mom." Bulma bid her son goodnight and turned off the light on her way out. Leaving Trunks deep in thought.

His mom's words repeated in his mind long after she left. It made sense that he would share some interests with his future-self. After all, they were both raised by Bulma and were somewhat exposed to Gohan, even if in different amounts. He guessed it made sense, then, that he would also be drawn to Goten. He was a really nice kid and his smile was contagious. Trunks had a hard time saying no to Goten when he flashed that smile.

There was also that part about Gohan. Trunks never hung out with Gohan on his own. Even when he waited for Goten, he avoided the older of the Sons, but his future-self would have visited Gohan specifically. Goten never came to exist in his future's timeline. The only Son left was Gohan and only he could have trained his future-self to be the next defender. Therefore, the only interaction his future-self ever had with Goten was when he came to visit Gohan.

Yeah, Trunks sighed as he closed his eyes. His spirits lifted again. Goten is mine.