Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Dragonball Z and neither do you.

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Chapter Eight: Bonding Time

Trunks awoke to the smell of something burning. Startled, he rolled off the couch, falling unceremoniously in to a heap on the floor. Trunks wasn't entirely sure why he was on the couch in the first place, but he had more important things to deal with. Namely, why did his apartment reek of smoke?

He stumbled towards the kitchen, the source of the smell. Much to his surprise, he saw Akira standing at the stove, staring at a blazing frying pan. It looked to Trunks that, before catching on fire, the pan had contained eggs (still in their shells), an orange, some sort of murky brown liquid, and ketchup. Everything was quickly turning in to a charred blob of unappetizing repulsiveness.

"Akira."

The dark haired man turned to face his host. "Yes, Trunks?"

"What are you doing?"

Blink. "Making breakfast."

"Oh."

"Just go sit down. It'll be done in a couple of minutes." The pan gave a discouraging burble behind him. Trunks grimaced and moved reluctantly into the dining room, praying that the meal would taste better than it looked and smelled. He really doubted it, but he could hope. He sat down to wait.

An hour later, Akira walked in and proudly presented a bowl of cheerios and a glass of milk. He did not say what had happened to the first dish. Trunks did not ask. He simply offered his thanks, reached out for the food, and began eating. His stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten last night…

Oh.

Trunks slowly put down his cereal. He locked eyes with Akira, who had taken the seat across from him.

"You found me last night." It was not a question.

"Correct."

Again. Trunks remembered that Akira was the one who found him the last time it happened. "You brought me home."

Another noise of confirmation.

Trunks smiled bitterly. "You must think I'm pathetic," he said, voice filled with self-loathing. He stared at his breakfast, determined not to meet Akira's gaze. Here was a person that he truly respected, and he was acting like a sniveling weakling.

Akira reached out a hand and gently tilted Trunks' head until their eyes met. His gloves felt cool against Trunks' skin. The sensation caused Trunks to blush almost imperceptibly.

Seventeen noticed the faint pink tinge that appeared on Trunks' cheeks. He smirked. Voice low, he whispered, "You're not pathetic. You are amazingly strong. You practically run the largest company in the country. You are extremely intelligent. You're interesting. Plus, you are incredibly sexy." He added that last part mostly to see Trunks turn a shade that a tomato would have envied. It was true, though. Trunks was a Saiyan, so he was pretty much guaranteed a well-toned body. Even as a kid, the real Trunks had been more muscular than most normal humans Seventeen had slaughtered. Granted, most of the times Seventeen had seen him, Trunks had been beaten half to death (usually by Seventeen himself), but when he wasn't grievously injured, he was very attractive. He had money, which counted for a lot with humans. He had power, something that Seventeen could appreciate. So, from a purely objective standpoint, Seventeen came to the conclusion that Trunks was indeed sexy.

He could probably have almost any girl he wanted. But he didn't. Seventeen wondered why that was. Perhaps that reason was the same reason that Trunks had yet to return to a normal color after Seventeen's less than innocent comment.

After a supremely Herculean effort, Trunks managed to choke out, "What? I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Or I have brain damage. Given how the past couple weeks have been going, I think the latter is more likely."

Seventeen winked. "Don't worry about it." The not-so-subtle look of panic on Trunks' face told him that Trunks would indeed worry. Hm. Not Seventeen's problem. "So…"

"So what?"

"So, I promised I'd train with you. When can we start?"

Relieved that the conversation had returned to what counted for normal in his mind, Trunks smiled eagerly, though he tried to mask it at first. "I'm still not sure that that is a good idea. You could get seriously hurt."

Seventeen waved off his concerns with a flick of the wrist. "Nonsense! I can hold my own against you. Besides," he drawled, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes, "you would never hurt me, would you, Trunks?"

Another blush crept across Trunks' face. His companion was acting rather strange today. Still, not even this oddness could dull Trunks' excitement over their training. He thought that it would be a good thing to spar with Akira; though, if anyone had asked, Trunks could not have told them the source of his eagerness. He wasn't quite ready to admit it to himself yet, much less another person.

Akira roused him from his thoughts. "Where would you like to spar, Trunks?"

Trunks blinked. "What, you mean right now?"

"Why not? Unless you're still hurt from last night…" The concern in Akira's voice sent an odd tingling sensation down Trunks' spine.

"No, now is fine," Trunks answered firmly. "But I'm not entirely sure where to go. I mean, we could fight at Capsule Corp, but that would probably worry some of the employees. Plus, it's not my favorite place to hang around in my free time." The reason why remained unexpressed but acknowledged by both men.

Akira smiled suddenly. "I know where we can go!" In an uncharacteristic display of eagerness, he pulled Trunks to the back door and onto the porch. He was about to take off when Trunks interrupted him.

"You can fly," Trunks remembered suddenly. That's how he'd gotten home last night.

Akira's grin widened. "Just like Peter Pan."

Astounded by the reference, Trunks laughed. "Fairy tales just don't seem like your thing, Akira."

Floating lightly into the air, Akira reached out a hand towards Trunks. "But of course. Just a pinch of fairy dust and we're off to Neverland."

Trunks' laughter rang out over the city as they leaped into the sky. The pair glided past the skyscrapers, making their way out of the metropolis. With Seventeen leading the way, they embarked on a fifteen-minute flight that brought them into the mountains. They arrived in the midst of a copse of trees. Nearby, the sound of a river completely erased all traces of civilization.

Trunks gazed in wonder. "I've never seen this place before." He spun slowly, taking in the picturesque surroundings. He alighted gracefully, his feet barely making a sound as they touched the soft earth.

Seventeen landed beside him. He too observed the grotto, taking note of the blooming flowers and the chirping birds. "It's… changed since I was here last. I think it's fitting, though. So many things have changed. Of all of them, this one makes the most sense. Or at least, it's symbolic of everything else, rather than being its own separate surprise."

"What do you mean, Akira?"

"Don't worry about it. It's just the past, which doesn't matter anymore. What matters it the present. And presently," Seventeen smiled, "I'm going to show you how a real warrior fights."

A feral grin appeared on Trunks' face. "Is that right?" he purred, stepping closer to Seventeen. His smirk widened. "You'll have to catch me first." With that, Trunks took off, flying into the mountain range and out of sight. Thus the chase began.

After ten minutes of gliding low to the ground and weaving in between boulders, ducking into damp caves, and slinking about the mountainside, Trunks was certain that he had lost Akira. He found a well-hidden cave, completely out of sight and about two miles away from his starting point, in which to plan his next move.

Trunks settled down, mentally congratulating himself on a job well done. It would probably take Akira hours to find him again. In fact, he had time for a quick nap. He was still rather tired from the day before, despite what he had told his friend. Closing his eyes, Trunks readied himself for sleep.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

"Boo." Trunks opened his eyes and sprang up in surprise, colliding with Akira. They both fell in to the ground with a resounding thud.

As he disentangled himself, Trunks looked thoroughly put out. "How did you find me so quickly?" he asked, with what could only be described as a pout on his face.

Akira laughed. The laughter bounced around the cave; it seemed like the entire world was in on the joke. "Don't feel bad. I used to come to these mountains all the time with my sister."

Trunks decided that it would be best for his pride if they changed the subject. He did not like being patronized. "So, you have a sister?"

All jubilation instantly vanished from Akira's face. His eyes narrowed. "Had," he replied shortly. An awkward silence fell, lengthy seconds creeping by as Trunks tried to come up with something appropriate to say. Fortunately, Akira saved him the trouble by directing the conversation to a less daunting topic. "Hey, are we going to spar, or just play hide-and-seek all day?"

Trunks pushed himself up off the ground, dusted himself off, and offered a hand to Akira. "Whenever you're ready, my friend." Akira reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling himself up. In one fluid motion, he wrenched Trunk's arm behind his back, forcing him to turn around. Akira leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Go."

Trunks elbowed Akira in the stomach, successfully freeing himself. He followed up with a roundhouse kick. Akira blocked this and responded with a series of punches. They continued to exchange blows in this fashion for quite some time, each man landing and receiving hits powerful enough to kill normal people. Akira managed to kick Trunks in the gut, sending him flying out of the cave and back into open air. Quite without meaning to, Trunks powered up to his Super Saiyan form.

Seventeen grinned eagerly at the sight of the familiar golden aura surrounding Trunks. That was more like it. He flew out to meet Trunks, ready to find out exactly what he could do. Seventeen fired a ki blast, which Trunks easily batted aside. Trunks smirked. "Aww, you wanna play? Then let's go." He launched a larger ki blast back at Seventeen, who managed to dodge. The ball of energy hit the mountains behind them, causing a minor avalanche. The fighting resumed full force, this time with energy attacks thrown into the mix. The pair flitted about the entire mountain range, leaving in their wake crumbling mountains and petrified woodland creatures. Finally, Seventeen slammed his fists into Trunks skull, causing him to drop to the ground in the precise fashion of a rock. Seventeen followed, landing atop Trunks as he struggled to get up.

Keeping a knee firmly planted on Trunks' chest, Seventeen reached out and flicked a stray strand of hair hanging across Trunks' face. "I win," he stated. He then rolled to the ground next to Trunks. Both men were breathing heavily and sported a lovely new collection of bruises and cuts. Trunks powered down. He had a large gash across his forehead, while Seventeen couldn't' move two of the fingers on his left hand.

Trunks rolled over to look at Akira. "That was fun," he mused. "We should do it again sometime."

Akira nodded. "Sounds good. But first…" With an effort, he rose up off of the ground. "Let's go swimming!" He then proceeded to strip down to his boxers, seemingly oblivious to the now-familiar flush creeping across Trunks' features.

Trunks couldn't help staring at Akira. He had seen plenty of guys in various states of undress throughout his life, thanks to martial arts as well as normal teenage activities like gym class and sporting events. Still, a peculiar feeling swept over him at the sight of Akira. Perhaps he was coming down with something. Following that line of reasoning, swimming would not be the best thing for him to do. However, the water looked awfully inviting so Trunks, brushing aside any worries, illness-related or otherwise, followed suit and removed his clothing, which was rather worse for the wear after both last evening and this morning's sparring.

Without another word, Trunks ran to the river bank, Akira following closely behind. As Trunks dove into the water, he felt a sort of elation that had not surfaced for many years and that he really had no reason for feeling now. He rose to the surface with a sigh of pleasure, content to float there until the end of time. He could sense Akira a few feet away, in a similar state of relaxation. Turning to face him, Trunks noticed that his companion was deep in thought. He watched for a few moments, catching Akira's attention.

"What are you looking at?" Akira asked, without a hint of suspicion or sarcasm. Cut off from the city, these mountains seemed to exist apart from outside interference. As a result, there was a peace here that would have been completely at odds in West City.

Trunks smiled softly. "Nothing, really. I was just wondering what you were thinking about."

Turning his gaze to the sky, Akira replied, "The past, a little. The present. Mostly the future."

"Yeah." Trunks closed his eyes. "The future used to worry me. But right now, right here, I can believe that things will turn out okay."

Silence fell. Not an awkward silence, but the peaceful sort that comes amongst friends when words are no longer necessary. The wind was blowing softly in the background. Clouds began gathering overhead. Trunks could feel drowsiness sneaking up on him, aided by the physical and mental exhaustion the last couple of days had brought.

A drop of water fell on his forehead, bringing him back to reality. Trunks opened his eyes and saw that the clouds overhead had turned an ominous shade of grey. Rain was beginning to fall all around them, rhythmically shattering the silence that had surrounded them. As if in response, the wind picked up, shifting from a whisper to a rather audible rush.

Trunks grimaced. "I really don't want to fly back to the city in this." The rain began falling harder even as he spoke.

Akira rose up out of the water, hovering just above its surface. "Let's wait the storm out in a cave." He flew quickly to the shore and gathered up their clothes, which were now wet and muddy in addition to torn and bloody. Together he and Trunks hastened to the mountainside, ducking into the first cavern they could find.

As they entered the cave, a massive thunderclap sounded. This seemed to signal the rain to come down even harder. From inside the cave, the pair watched as the wind ripped branches from trees and their peaceful river swelled up to pull rocks and plants from the shore into its wake.

Suddenly noticing a drop in temperature combined with his damp skin, Trunks shivered. Using a ki manipulation, he created a flickering energy ball that gave off heat. Not quite as nice as a fire, but the best he could do under these circumstances. It did little to brighten the dim cave. "Well, this sucks," he muttered.

Akira, on the other hand, was not saddened in the least. As he stared at the tempest outside, his eyes sparkled, dancing with light reflected from frequent bolts of lightning. "Thunderstorms are fascinating. They have so much uncontrollable power, reshaping the earth, dictating the fate of humans, going wherever they please."

Trunks laughed. "You make rain sound like some sort of almighty destroyer." Akira merely smiled mysteriously. The two settled back, watching the rain rush past, illuminated by the feeble glow of ki and by the unpredictable lightning outside.

Trunks' stomach rumbled, reminding him that he only had a bowl of cereal that morning. It would probably be a while before the weather calmed down enough for them to leave, so he would just have to wait to eat until then. At least it was Saturday, so he didn't have anywhere that he had to be. The day struck a chord in Trunks' memory.

"Hey, Akira."

"Hn?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Shoot."

"It's a pain, but my birthday is tomorrow, which means that my mother is going to throw a huge party for me. She'll invite all of her friends, which means a lot of undesired pleasantries and forced conversations for me. So I would really, really appreciate it if you would come. You know, so I could have someone to hand out with rather than listening to Mother and her friend talk about all the adventures they had when they were younger. One can only sit through the same story so many times without losing interest and falling asleep." Trunks ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of annoyance. "I've tried getting out of these things, but nothing short of a global disaster can stop Mother dearest and her social planning."

Akira chuckled. "Of course I'll come. It sounds like your mother's friends are interesting. Would I know any of them?"

Yeah, interesting. Trunks shrugged. "I doubt it. It'll be darling Mother and Father, Goku and company, Krillin and his family, Piccolo, Roshi…," Trunks continued to name the group that had been together since before Trunks was born, plus the few who had wormed their way in over the years.

As Seventeen heard the names, he felt a growing sense of foreboding. No matter how different this world was, he was certain that he had encountered most of them in the past. They probably would not appreciate seeing him here, with Trunks. Still, seventeen years or so had passed since then. That, coupled with Seventeen's appearance change, should prevent anyone from recognizing him. He would just have to be on his best behavior and not kill anyone, which could jog memories of the genocidal android that they had fought. Seventeen noticed offhandedly that Trunks was still talking. "Well, I guess I'll just meet them all tomorrow."

Trunks grinned gratefully. "Thank you. The party starts at six, but people will probably start showing up around four. Just get there whenever you can." Akira's presence would make the party much more bearable. Perhaps Trunks could even enjoy himself. The thought made him smirk in disbelief. The smirk turned in to an actual smile when he looked outside. The storm had subsided, leaving behind windswept debris and flooded valleys. Above the mountaintops lurked the ghost of a rainbow.

Akira followed his gaze. "That was quick. The weather around here can be very temperamental. Come on, let's go home." With that, they donned their clothes, still damp from the rain, and took off. The sun shone lazily, as if it had enjoyed its nap during the storm and resented being woken up so soon. It dried their clothes slightly as they flew. Trunks was grateful for the warmth the rays brought. Now that the storm was over, the peace of the time on the river returned. Trunks silently promised to come back here as often as possible. Training with Akira was the most fun he had had in ages. Even the rain and the forbidding prospect of tomorrow's party could not ruin Trunks' mood. It was wonderful having a friend with whom he could simply be himself.

Someone he could trust.

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I finally finished this chapter! I hope you like it, dear readers. Oh, quick question: Is the way I switch between saying 'Seventeen' and 'Akira' confusing? If it is, let me know in a review. Also, leave any comments, compliments, questions, criticisms, or suggestions. I love reading reviews and would love to hear from you!

Until we meet again,

Shadow