Heya! Chapter six is done and ready for your reading pleasure!
It surprises me to see how fast this story is going. It has been a while since I have been this productive for a story. Not that y'all will mind, of course.
Now please read, review and enjoy!
"Gohan, no, come back!" Goten shoved Jasper aside. He buttoned his blouse on the way to the door. When he glanced down the hallway, Gohan had already gone. Goten cursed.
Jasper sat and watched him for a while, saying nothing. It wasn't until Goten tossed him his shirt that he started to move, pulling the garment back on. His silence was unnerving; Goten did not know what to do right now. There was no sense in barging after Gohan right away, that would only serve to look suspicious. On the other hand, the longer he waited, the more explaining he had to do. And Jasper keeping quiet wasn't helping in the least.
Goten gave an exasperated sigh and sat down on his bed, running a hand through his hair while contemplating his options. He did not protest when Jasper moved in behind him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, kissing the top of his head.
"Are you okay?" Jasper asked while nuzzling into his locks.
"I suppose so," Goten grumbled. "Gohan won't do anything rash. He'll want to talk to me first."
"Do you think he'll mind?"
Goten shook his head. "No, Gohan is as kind as they come. The only thing that he'll mind is that I haven't told him sooner, which I get. It must suck to find out this way."
"Yeah, I suppose," Jasper said. "Why don't you talk to him after dinner? I bet he'll appreciate if you go to talk to him."
Easier said than done, though. Dinner was a most awkward affair that evening. Goten hardly ate, stealing glances at his brother between bites to gauge his behaviour. Once or twice he found Gohan staring back, which made him lower his head to his plate in the blink of an eye. Jasper sat by Goten's side. Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze below the table every now and again, which helped, if only a little. The rest of the people present seemed to be oblivious; Chi-Chi never ceased her ranting about her work in the local grocery store and Videl fed this drive of hers by asking a thousand and one questions. Pan kept herself busy by talking nonstop about her new toys and whatnot.
All in all it went okay. Goten didn't get too many hard questions sent his way and neither did Jasper, which they took in their stride. When dinner was over and Chi-Chi and Videl were busy cleaning the dishes away, aided by an enthusiastic but not very helpful Pan, Goten sought out Gohan. He found him sitting in the backyard. Goten approached his brother with Jasper close in his wake.
"There's still a lot of work to be done here," Gohan said when he noticed the two boys. He gestured towards the yard, which was mostly barren, save for a few lawn chairs. "Maybe a nice patch of flowers will brighten things up, or else something like a pond for fish, if Mom will let me pay for it."
"Good luck trying to pull that off," Goten replied. "You'd have a better chance taming a bull."
Gohan sniggered. "True. I could do it as a surprise though, you know, lure her out of the house for the day and get a crew to do all the work."
Goten said nothing to this. He pulled up a lawnchair and sat down by Gohan's side. The scraping of plastic legs told him that Jasper had copied his actions.
While the Son family had a history of naivety, Gohan was very quick on the uptake. He loosened his tie and turned to his younger sibling. "So, I guess that you want to tell me something."
Goten nodded and gave a weary sigh. "Yeah, I owe you an explanation."
"What makes you say that?"
This puzzled Goten. "What do you mean? Don't you have any questions?"
"Sure I do," Gohan answered. He turned to Jasper, who bolted upright in his chair, not prepared to be dragged into the conversation this early on. "You, Jasper. I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind."
Jasper blinked. "Eh, sure, fire away."
"How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen."
"And how long have you and Goten been... involved?"
"I think for about a week or two," Jasper replied. "Though we met about a month ago."
Gohan hummed in understanding. "Okay, and am I going to have to do this whole 'protective brother' thing, or are you going to make it easy on me?"
Jasper frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah Gohan, you're not making a whole lot of sense," Goten added.
"Oh, I thought I was being pretty clear," Gohan said. "Ah well, fine, I'll explain." He sat upright and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his gaze firmly trimmed on Jasper. "I mean, do I have to go through this whole charade where I ask you what your intentions are with my brother? Do I need to press the fact that if you hurt him, you'll have me to deal with? And, of course, do you think that I should threaten you in some way or form to make clear how serious I am? Let's say... 'If you do anything to upset Goten, I will come to your house at night and break everything you own'?"
Goten could only gape at Gohan. Jasper was feeling much the same; his lips were forming words, but they did not leave him as sounds.
"G-Gohan," Goten asked. "Are you saying that you don't have a problem with, well, us?" He gestured between himself and Jasper.
"Of course not!" Gohan replied. "Why would you even think that? Goten, you are old enough to make your own decisions and I know that you're a smart kid. If this is what you want, then there is nothing I can do to stop you."
"Well that makes things easier," Jasper commented.
"So, just to be clear, you have no issues with me being into guys?" Goten asked, still not really believing what he was hearing. He had suspected that Gohan would be fine with it, but he hadn't counted on him being so aloof.
"Only if I have to walk in on you doing stuff with said guys," Gohan clarified. "Goten, don't take me for an idiot, please. There's nothing wrong with being gay and you know it perfectly well, and so do I. I don't care if you choose boys over girls. All I want you to do is fall for the right person, regardless of their gender." Gohan's eyes flashed over Jasper for a second.
"O...kay..." Goten said. "Well, I suppose that clears things up. Thanks for being so understanding."
"No problem, squirt."
Goten smiled, now relieved. "Well I guess that I have to reintroduce you. This is Jasper," he said, gesturing at the boy who was wiggling in his seat awkwardly. "He's..." he paused for a second. "He's my boyfriend."
It felt strange, giving it a name, this whatever it was he had going on with Jasper. Goten had liked the vagueness of it all. It felt good to have no real obligations within the confines of what could be seen as a relationship, to have what was essentially total freedom. Yet, saying a word such as this one out loud made everything much more real. It took away any lasting illusions. Goten stole a glance at Jasper in the hope to see his claims confirmed. Jasper took Goten's hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.
Okay, so far, so good. He actually had a boyfriend now, killer. Strange day, today.
Gohan nodded at Jasper and graced both boys with a smile. "Hey Jasper, nice to actually meet you. Not doing anything bad to my little brother, are you?"
"No sir," Jasper responded. "No sir, not at all."
"Good," Gohan said. "Because if you do I have to break you like a twig."
Jasper laughed. "And it would be fair if you did."
"Speaking of breaking people like twigs, what do you think Mom will say when I tell her?" Goten felt that a second opinion might do him some good; perhaps he was being too judgemental about his mother.
Gohan had to think that one through. "Well, I think that you'll have to ride out a bit of a storm first. She might cry for a bit, because now her little boy isn't in the market for a good wife anymore. But I also think that once she's had a chance to get used to the idea, she will be fine about it. As long as you don't deprive her of a chance of getting any more grandchildren, I'm sure you'll do alright."
Goten sighed. Gohan was right, of course. Chi-Chi loved her own children far too much to let something like this get in the way. Still, he felt no immediate desire to go and tell her. He conveyed this to Gohan, who agreed with him.
"You're right," Gohan said. "Mom is still a little stressed out from the move. Give it a little more time before you say anything."
Goten nodded. "Right. Anything else I need to keep in mind?"
Gohan nearly choked on his coffee. "Yes. Lock your door if you plan on getting nasty."
Alcoholism was a tough job. Trunks realized this the moment that he walked into the liquor aisle at the local supermarket. Rows and rows of wine, beer, hard booze, so on and so on. The labels were looking his way and luring him in with their coloured letters, goading him into purchase. More than once he'd reached towards one of the bottles, stopping just before taking it off the shelve.
He wasn't much of a drinker, he never had been. He'd taken the occasional glass of wine during one of his parents' fancy dinners and he was no stranger to a beer or two, but as it turned out he had never actually bought alcohol himself. Now that he was surrounded by it, he was stumped as to what he should buy.
Thankfully he had brought along some help.
"Ooooh. Trunkie, look at this one!" Marron's voice cooed at him from down the aisle. Trunks resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He expected her to have found another bright pink or purple bottle filled with some sweet, girly drink. She had bothered him about getting something of the sort several times already. If this was another one of her attempts to 'pink up' his party, as she put it herself, he would just indulge her. Anything to speed this along.
As it turned out, he was off on his prediction. Marron had spotted the stash of chocolate liqueur, something that managed to rouse the boy's interest. Good, the first drink had been found. Now for the rest.
"Say, who are you going to invite anyway?" Marron asked him. "You know, so we can decide how much else we are going to get."
"I dunno," Trunks said, which was the truth. He reckoned that no matter who he decided to ask, they would all gladly come. Not a whole lot of people were given the chance to attend a party at Capsule Corps, so they would all jump on it granted the opportunity. The thing was, Trunks wasn't exactly jumping for joy to let just anyone into his house.
"You can come, of course," Trunks told Marron. "And I was thinking about maybe inviting some other people from our class. Neve and Sadie are alright, I suppose, and Tito can come too if he wants."
"And what about Goten and Jasper?" Marron pointed out.
"Oh yes, sure," Trunks answered. "But they were going to be invited anyway." He took down two bottles of white wine that he recognized from his mother's collection and dropped them into the shopping cart he had been pushing around.
"Speaking of," Marron said, her eyes perusing the shelves for more liquor. "Who do you think is doing best so far? Me or Jasper?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"With our bet, Trunkie," Marron sighed. "Don't tell me that you forgot already."
"Oh right," Trunks said. "That. I have no idea." Only that wasn't the truth. Trunks was no fool. He spent most of his classes sitting next to the boys in question. He hadn't caught the two of them doing anything... well, intimate, but Trunks would wager his parents' fortune that something was going on between Goten and Jasper. It was just too obvious. They were always talking to each other with such excitement, not to mention the way they passed notes whenever they couldn't use their voices. And the way they looked at one another, it was sweet enough to make your teeth rot.
Yes, if Trunks were one to judge, he'd say that Jasper wasn't only on the winning end of their bet, he was knocking the damn thing right out of the park. Recalling that the two of them had band practice this very moment, Trunks had to bit down a giggle; they were probably sucking face that very instant.
He told none of this to Marron. There was no need to give her more reason to speak. If he defied her point of view now, one where she was the ultimate seducer and she was slowly winding Goten around her little finger, she would go off like a bomb. He'd never hear the end of it.
"Oh, sure you know," Marron said, slapping him on the arm. "You're such good friends with him after all. C'mon, tell me, what kind of girls is Goten into?"
He had to resist with all his might to not say 'girls with a penis'. Instead he just shrugged. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?"
"Of course not, silly!" Marron said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That would take away the fun of the game. You'd think with all the BlasterSmash you play, you would be a bit better at understanding how games work."
"Right," Trunks quipped. "But then again, BlasterSmash isn't about tricking some poor guy out of his pants."
Marron rolled her eyes at him, causing irritation to swell up inside of him. Her and her goddamn ego. "I don't like to look at it like that," Marron said. "I think of it more as a new version of Capture the Flag."
"What, like Capture the Dick?"
"Oh haha, aren't we being funny."
"Better yet, I am hilarious."
"You just laugh," Marron said, wagging a finger at him. "I'll get that boy, mark my words. And I know just when I am going to make my move."
"Oh god," Trunks sighed. He steered the shopping cart towards the register; though they hadn't bought much, they would have enough for the small selection of guests that Trunks would be inviting. "Just warn me before you do, though. I want to know when everything will blow up in your face, so I can stay clear of the explosion."
Marron glared at him, but it only sufficed to make him laugh. Trunks wasn't sure what he liked better, Marron's determination to, in her words, 'make her move, or the knowledge that whatever she would try would be futile. Sure, he complained about his life a lot, but sometimes even he got his little pleasures.
Mean as they were.
South City wasn't the worst place to live. Goten reasoned this to himself as he sauntered through the streets, just giving his eyes a chance to take it all in. He'd only been here for about a month and he was still discovering things about it, landmarks that helped him find his way, or stores that he made a mental note of to check out. He'd spotted several music stores already and seeing how he was in the market for a new amplifier -a Fender Bassman, obviously- he couldn't get enough of all the window displays.
Today though he had his sights set on something else entirely. Goten was still a mountain boy at heart. It was hard not to be. He had played in the woods by his house for years whenever he was not wailing on Banshee's strings. He had gone camping with his father and brother more times than he could count. He missed those things a lot despite the luxuries that city life brought along. He wanted to go and find some semblance of nature in this concrete jungle.
Trunks had told him that South City had a very large park. It had sounded like something worth checking out. Thus, Goten had slung Banshee over his shoulder on a clear afternoon and had set off towards South City Park.
The place was easy enough to find. The entrance was a wrought iron gate in a Victorian type of style, hinting that the park itself had been here for longer than most of the city. Goten took a second to appreciate it before heading into the sea of green before him.
In here it was much, much better. Goten would not find out until later that someone had been bright enough to build noise-deflecting walls around the park, so there was no sound of traffic to be heard, nothing but the serene silence of nature itself. That and the screaming children. Pan really was the exception to the rule; Goten despised children. Go and yell your head off somewhere else, people come here for their rest, geez.
A neat gravel path cut the grass in two. Goten followed it. He'd see eventually where he would end up, as long as it offered some peace and freaking quiet.
It wasn't long until he reached a pond full of ducks. Goten looked around, happy to note that there were no screaming little assholes over on the side of the park. The ducks would be sure to make a racket as well, but they were much easier to ignore. Goten was already marching towards one of the benches on the side of the pond when he noticed someone sitting on it. Someone with purple hair.
"Hey!" Goten chimed.
Trunks looked up from the notebook in his lap. He appeared somewhat surprised to see Goten, but he returned the greeting nonetheless. The older boy put his pencils away and gestured for Goten to come sit beside him. Goten took him up on the offer.
"So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Trunks asked.
"Following you up on your advice," Goten replied. "You were right, it is a nice place. I can see myself coming here more often."
"Well, join the club," Trunks joked. "I like coming here as well, especially this pond. I guess it helps me get away from it all, you know."
"Uh-huh," Goten agreed.
"So is that the lady I've been hearing so much about?" Trunks jabbed his thumb at the case on Goten's back.
"Oh, right!" Goten slung Banshee from his shoulder and opened the clasps on her case. He lifted his darling out with utmost care, laying her across his lap. Trunks gave an appreciative whistle when he laid eyes on her.
"Thank you, thank you." Goten said. He caressed her sleek body with his fingertips. "She loves the compliments, by all means, keep going."
Trunks gave an exasperated sigh. "Ugh, women."
This made Goten laugh. "Hey now, she might be a lady, but that is no reason to be sexist." His gaze shifted towards the notebook between them. "What were you drawing, anyway?"
Trunks flipped back to the page that he had been drawing on, showing it to Goten. Much like the drawing Goten had seen in class, this one pictured ducks by a pond, the very pond they were sitting by right this moment. Just like before the white duck made an appearance.
"What is it with you and ducks?" Goten asked, genuinely curious.
"That's kind of a long story," Trunks said. All of a sudden he did not quite meet Goten's eyes.
"You can tell me, I promise," Goten said, giving a small wink. "Besides, I bet it's not as strange as the mountain boy who treats his guitar like it is a person."
He got a chuckle out of the other boy with that. "Eh, sure, why not, but don't judge me, alright?"
"I always judge you on a million things, but on this I will not."
Trunks lowered his eyebrows. "You judge me? On what? My fashion choices?"
"Among other things, yes. Now stop trying to change the subject."
That earned him a roll of the eyes. "Fine," Trunks huffed. "But I warned you. Okay, so here's the thing. As you may or may not know, I'm not that great at making friends."
"I may have noticed something like that, yes."
"Okay," Trunks continued. "Well, that's mostly because a lot of people around me want to be friends with me for their own gain. You know, money-grubbers. It was kind of bumming me out a year or two ago, but then one day I went to this pond and saw the ducks. I fed them my leftover bread and ever since I have been coming here almost daily. I guess I like the routine."
"That's not that weird," Goten said. And he was serious; most people had much stranger habits or quirks. Feeding ducks was very tame in comparison. "But it still doesn't explain the white duck, though."
Trunks broke out into an unexpected smile. "And that is where it gets weird," he admitted. "Watch." He rummaged through his bag and retrieved a sack filled with old slices of bread. He took a few and began tearing them apart. He also handed Goten several slices, who was quick on the uptake. They sat together and let it rain flakes. The ducks sped for the feast, almost knocking each other over in an attempt to gorge themselves. It made Goten smile.
This went on for a while, when Trunks suddenly became very excited. He pointed towards the edge of the pond, where a splendid white duck was just crawling onto the bank. Goten watched it waddle over to them, sizing them up with brilliant red eyes.
"This is Beaker," Trunks explained. "He's been here from day one and he always comes to say hello." Trunks tossed the albino a full slice, which it gobbled up like it hadn't eaten in days.
"Wow, he's really pretty," Goten said. He watched the bird ruffle its own feathers for a while. It caught him off guard by jumping onto the bench and nestling itself between the two boys. Goten sat as if frozen, terrified that he would do something to frighten or hurt it.
Trunks laughed out loud. "Don't worry, Beaker is as harmless as they come," he said. "I don't know why he does it either, but I love it either way." Trunks reached out and began petting the bird. It closed its eyes and nestled between their thighs a little deeper, clearly content with this position.
Goten was mesmerized by all of this. He hadn't taken Trunks for someone so... what was the word... sensitive? While it had been clear to the younger boy that Trunks had some difficulty socializing, he had never imagined this. Trunks was the kind of person to keep up a front built from sarcasm and a good sense of humour. Goten had been wondering what would be lurking behind these defense mechanisms, but this still came as a surprise.
It was really, really sweet. Cute even.
"So, now it's your time to share," Trunks said with a sharp exhale.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh please," Trunks scoffed, laughing. "I'm sitting here, pouring my heart out about how I am some sad little kid who can't make friends other than a duck. Did you honestly think that I'd let you get away without sharing something about yourself?"
"And what would you have me do?" Goten asked. For as far as he could recall he wasn't really hiding anything, and there was nothing that Trunks wasn't allowed to ask him.
"You keep bragging about how well Banshee sings the blues. Well, I'd like to hear it for myself. Or no, damn, you don't have an amplifier in your back pocket, do you?"
Goten couldn't help but grin. "Allow me to surprise you." Goten hadn't just been carrying Banshee with him when he came to South City Park. He also had another bag with him that resembled the ones used by businessmen, all square and grey and ugly. He heaved it onto the bench, finding it hard to position it right, with the guitar there, not to mention two boys, a notebook and a freaking bird. He managed it in the end, zipping the bag open and retrieving a miniature amplifier. It was a bright orange and it looked worse for wear.
The confused look on Trunks's face only sufficed to make the whole thing better.
"This is an amp that works on a nine volt battery," Goten explained. "So that means that I can take it with me wherever I go. I wanted to come to the park and play Banshee for a bit anyway, so I thought I might as well bring it along."
The required cables were in the bag as well. Goten hooked her up and was delighted to hear, on the first strum of her strings, that she did not need any tuning. He said nothing, but rather just began to play.
Once again it struck him as odd how much her song was changing. Over the past month her tones had become much more cheerful. Yes, she was still a blues child and she still wailed like one, but even so there was a lot less heartache to her voice. Today she seemed to reflect the weather, her song mingling with the singing of the birds and the quacking of hungry ducks. It was a strange song to Goten, but it still flew off his fingertips without him having to really try. It just came to him.
Trunks watched him in silence, a small smile playing his lips. Goten took this as positive feedback and continued, wondering where this particular anthem would end up. Banshee took him into a realm of happiness, a place not yet fully known to him, so he was eager to explore it more.
Of course he had to stop playing eventually, or else he would be very much antisocial. He ended Banshee's song on a high note. When he unplugged her and put her away, Trunks gave him a polite applause.
"Thank you, thank you," Goten said, smiling. It was still kind of hard to deal with compliments; the only people who had ever really heard him play were his family and his bandmates.
"That was pretty damn good, man," Trunks said. "Seriously. No wonder that the band was so quick to take you in."
"Heh, thanks, I try."
"I bet you do," Trunks said. "Now I really do want you to write the intro to my animated series."
They laughed together, but Goten was quite suddenly interrupted by a buzzing noise coming from his pocket. He freed his phone and read the screen. Sadie was calling him.
"Hey, this is Got-"
"Uh-huh..."
"Yeah, that's right."
"Uh-huh..."
"Oh my god, really?"
"Well Sadie, don-"
"Yeah sure, of course. Give me thirty minutes, okay?"
"Good, I'll see you in a bit."
He hung up and released an enormous sigh. Trunks was looking at him with his eyebrows raised.
"That was Sadie," Goten explained. "That asshole she had been seeing broke up with her. Said he's been involved with another girl for a while and 'that he couldn't do something so unfair to her."
"Oh shit, is she alright?"
"Afraid not." Goten sighed again. "She's a bit of a mess right now. I'm gonna go over there and see if there is anything I can do for her. Wanna tag along? I don't think I have the energy to deal with a heartbroken girl right now."
Trunks didn't know how to respond to that. Never before had he been asked to act as emotional support. "Eh, yeah, sure, I guess so. Do you think she won't mind?"
"Not at all," Goten said, and then a little smile broke his face in half. "She's been saying for a while now that I ought to drag you along to her house sometime. I think she has a bit of a crush on you, Trunkie."
Trunks glared daggers at him, making him laugh. "You better shut up if you know what's good for you."
"Oh, Trunkie, you know I'm only joking," Goten said. He rose from the bench, making sure that he didn't bother Beaker in the process. "Now c'mon, we have someone's name to slander and a tub of chocolate ice cream to eat."
Another week went by faster than anyone could keep up with. Before long it was Saturday again. Trunks had lived through the past few days on autopilot, using most of his brainpower planning for his birthday party the following week. He had to have everything in order, because he was and always had been a control freak. He'd have to thank his mother for that, though he suspected his father also had a hand in that particular character trait.
He praised the heavens that he had managed to befriend Goten. The boy was a genius when it came to tying all the loose ends together. This particular Saturday Trunks had gone over to Goten's house in order to finalize all the plans. It was a little weird, he had to admit. Other than Marron he had never been over to a friend's house before.
Goten's mother had been a peculiar one. She had been over the moon that Goten had brought company, immediately asking Trunks if he would like to stay for dinner. He had taken her up on her offer, in part because he feared that he would step on her feelings by declining. His own mother had seen no issues with this; like Chi-Chi, Bulma felt that Trunks could do with some socializing.
So they had worked for most of the afternoon, looking over the plans that they had drawn up for the party. If everything went according to how they envisioned it, it should be one hell of a night. Bulma had allowed him to use the entire ground floor, so that meant that the kitchen, living room, and den were all available. Seeing how he hadn't invited a whole lot of people, he figured that they could do with just the kitchen and the living room. Not only did it save space and cleaning work, but it also decreased the chances of something breaking. It would take half a day alone to move everything valuable from the living room, so Trunks would do whatever it took to make sure that his parents' prized possessions stayed intact.
With the plans seen to, it was about time for some relaxation. They had already played a few games of BlasterSmash, but right now there weren't many people online on the servers, so that meant very little competition. There were only a few players left who could really pose a challenge for the amazing tag team that was BansheeBlues and Captain Underpants and none of them were online right now. They had breezed their way through a handful of Deathmatches before they had decided to leave the game alone.
To kill some of the boredom Goten had taken Banshee into his lap. He was playing something random, but Trunks didn't mind. Goten really was an excellent guitar player. Besides, he liked the background music while he was drawing.
Two weeks ago he had been arguing with himself over just what he should be drawing. It was real good and all that he knew how to draw ducks now, but that wasn't going to cut it. Ever since he had been looking for a new subject, and he had actually managed to find one. For now though; he reasoned that it was only temporary.
Goten was sitting at just the right angle, his back to the wall, one leg up and the other stretched along the length of his bed. The afternoon sun fell through the window and onto Banshee's gleaming body, her ethereal shine appearing and disappearing with every strum on her strings. Goten himself had a look of utmost concentration, largely concealed by the hair falling into his face.
Trunks tried to grasp as many details as he could. It surprised him how easy it turned out to be. He hardly had to try to capture the way Goten's locks swayed back and forth as he poured himself deeper into his own creation, nor did it bring him difficulty to etch the lines of his physique as he bent over the instrument, holding her in an unparalleled, intimate embrace.
He did not know why this particular image of Goten appealed to him so much. He just knew that he had to draw it. His pencil darted all over the paper, adding shading in Goten's face or adding to the intricacies of his clothing. Goten had been right. Once you found a subject, the entire thing became a lot easier.
He had been more engrossed in his work than he had realized. Goten's voice snapped him back to the world of the living.
"What're you drawing?"
That particular question had become so familiar to him; Goten asked him this every time he saw him at work. Trunks enjoyed it, because at least someone other than himself was interested in his creations. It gave his ego just the littlest bit of a boost, one that he needed more than he realized.
"I'm not ready to show yet," Trunks said, his voice muffled with his tongue clamped between his teeth. Honestly though, while he was perfectly ready to share his work any other day, he wasn't so sure whether or not he should show this one to Goten. What would the guy think? The drawing was proof that he had been staring at Goten for well over an hour, which, if you thought about it, could be interpreted as a bit creepy.
"Ah, c'mon," Goten said, pouting his lip. Trunks couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Please?" Goten asked, doing his best to give something along the lines of puppy eyes. It wasn't too bad of an attempt either.
Trunks sighed. "Okay, fine, but don't freak out, okay?"
"What could I freak out about?"
Instead of telling him, Trunks merely showed him the drawing. He heard Goten suck in his breath and he waited for the final judgement. He thought it was creepy, no doubt about it.
"Holy shit, that is so cool!"
Trunks had to blink twice. Had he just heard that right? "I'm sorry?"
"I said that it looks cool!" Goten said. "Better yet, it's amazing! I can't believe how much detail you managed to get in there. It looks just like me, and Banshee looks like Banshee. Awesome man, awesome!"
Trunks raised his eyebrows. "So you're not creeped out that I've been watching you from the corner of my eye the past hour?"
"No, of course not! Okay, maybe a very little bit, but still," Goten looked at the drawing, his eyes as large as dinner plates. "This is so cool, man. Can I have it when you're done? Please?"
"Sure," Trunks said, not seeing the problem with that. "Just hold still for a little while longer though, I have to creep on you some more if I want to finish this."
"No problem," Goten said with a large smile. "And don't worry about the creeping, I will just take it as a compliment."
This made Trunks think of something that had popped into his mind earlier in the week. He had managed to repress it then, but now he felt compelled to ask. So he did.
"Hey, Goten, can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, shoot."
"Okay, first off, don't take this the wrong way, okay? I don't mean to offend you or whatever."
"Ooh, this is getting exciting."
Trunks exhaled and steeled himself. "Okay, so I'll just get this over with. First off..." he hesitated a bit, not sure how to put it. He eventually decided on the not so subtle approach. "Are you gay?"
Goten did not bat an eye. "As gay as two unicorns fucking on a rainbow, yes."
It was a good thing Trunks hadn't been drinking anything. Before he knew it he was laughing so hard that he was actually wheezing. Goten laughed along with him. It took him a while to regain his composure.
"Okay, hehe, okay," Trunks said, still trying to get his breathing back under control. "Thanks for being so honest. Now for my second question."
"I'm waiting."
"Are you and Jasper, you know... a thing?"
Goten's lips twitched upward into a dreamy smile. "Is it that obvious?"
"To me it is," Trunks admitted. "But I think you're doing a pretty good job of hiding it for the rest of the world."
"Okay, sweet. So, has your hunger for knowledge been seen to?"
Trunks bit his lower lip. Truth to be told, he had other reasons to ask Goten these questions. Goten seemed to pick up on it.
"Hey, is something wrong?"
Trunks waited a second to reply. He had a choice here, deny all or admit all. He chose the latter, knowing that his friend would appreciate it in the long run.
"Okay, Goten, look," he began. "I think you should know something. Before you came to school here, Marron and Jasper decided to start a bet. And I don't know how to put this, but... well... the bet was to see who could get to you first."
Goten looked back at him with a puzzled frown. Seeing it felt like a pang to the heart. "What do you mean, exactly?"
Trunks sighed. "Well they were both talking about how they wanted a boyfriend, see, and they decided to make you their, what should I call it... prize, if you will."
Goten stayed silent for a very long time. He just sat there, fiddling on Banshee's strings and filling the room with her sad tones. Trunks already wished that he hadn't told Goten anything; the smile had fallen away from his face and his eyes seemed contemplative now, as if he wasn't sure what to believe in anymore.
Eventually he did speak. "Thanks for telling me," he said, the smile returning for half a second. "I really appreciate it."
"So what now?" Trunks asked. "I didn't mean to meddle in anyone's relationship, but I really think that you had a right to know."
"I'm not sure," Goten answered. "Of course I'm not happy that Jasper approached me because he wanted to win a bet. I'm definitely going to have to talk to him about that."
"I feel a 'but' coming."
"But..." Goten said. "We've also been an actual thing for about three weeks now. Don't you think that if the bet was all he cared about, he would've rubbed it in Marron's face already?"
"Huh," Trunks said. "You have a point there."
"I guess I don't know what to think of it," Goten explained. "I mean, I really, really like him a lot. I guess that if he feels the same way, it will all turn out in the end."
"Phew," Trunks fake-wiped the sweat from his brow. "I was already afraid that I had broken up a relationship."
Goten chuckled at that. "Nah, if anything I'm glad you told me. Now, hurry up with that drawing already, I want to put it up on the wall."
Stress, stress and even more stress. That was what today was all about. Despite the fact that it was his birthday, Trunks was running all around the ground floor of his house, putting things out, putting things away, putting things up and putting them down again. In a little under an hour his party guests would be arriving and there was still so much left to do. He could hardly take it. He cursed himself for going through with this, because he wasn't certain if he could deal with all the pressure.
He was musing this to himself as he stood outside smoking a cigarette. He was thankful that there was still that little voice in the back of his head that told him that all would be well, that as as soon as the party had taken off, things would work themselves out. Still, it did nothing to quell his nerves.
The one thing that did help ease his mind was Goten's presence. Goten had arrived halfway during the afternoon to help him set up for the night. He had been a great help; most of the arrangements had been seen to and now it was only a matter of waiting for the guests to arrive. His parents had already gone away for the evening, so they wouldn't be of any bother.
"You really should knock it off with those things," Goten remarked when Trunks crushed the butt of his cigarette beneath his sole. "Trust me, it'll help you reel in the ladies if your breath is nice and fresh."
"Maybe tomorrow," Trunks said. "Tonight I'm planning on getting shit-faced, and I smoke like a chimney when I'm drunk."
"Sure, sure," Goten said. "At least now I know what I can buy you for next year. How does a box of nicotine patches sound?"
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Like you're a goddamn smartass."
"Of course I am," Goten replied. "What else would you have me be?"
"How about quiet?"
"Yeah, no. Not gonna happen."
Trunks glared at Goten, then started to laugh. He really was blessed with the guy, he had to admit. A month and a half ago he would've told anyone that he had no real friends, only people that he could stand to be around. But Goten was his friend alright, the real deal. He would never say it out loud in fear of being cheesy, but it was the best gift he could've wished for.
The doorbell rang. Some of the guests were early, it seemed.
Goten caught his eye. "You ready?"
Trunks exhaled and nodded. "As ready as I am ever going to be. Let's just hope that tonight will turn out alright."
"I bet it will."
Too bad neither of them could really tell the future. If they had, they might've been able to do some damage control.