And chapter 9 is here! This is where it starts to get really fun ;)

I have taken an artistic liberty in this chapter. Goten's birthday is mentioned, but it isn't on the correct date. Right now the story is moving through July, though Goten's birthday is in February. I changed this because it was convenient and because I wanted to. So don't come to me with all of your facts and statisitcs, I know what I'm doing :)

Now please read, review and enjoy!

Time was a strange thing. Goten could swear that he had only started school in South City two weeks ago. The calendar told him otherwise; the end of July was coming on strong, which meant that he had spent his first entire semester in a public school.

The summer holidays were just around the corner. The days at South City high were becoming less stressed, the teachers were becoming more lenient, and the amount of homework that they had to see to was diminished significantly. Goten couldn't complain. While he liked school, he too felt like vacation was due. It would mean that he could spend his days writing and making music and playing BlasterSmash. Without interruption, that was.

Now he just had to live with the fact that he had a curfew. Not that he heeded it a whole awful lot.

"Right corner, behind the door," Goten muttered as his eyes followed BansheeBlues. The sound of explosions told him that Trunks had managed to land a perfect shot. The clock on the wall was ticking away without either of them noticing it. Midnight was creeping in fast.

Hanging out with Trunks had become a rather solid part of his routine. At least two or three times a week they would come together, whether to play BlasterSmash or not. Some afternoons they would spend by Beaker's pond, Goten scribbling away at notes for his story and Trunks drawing whatever the guy drew these days. Goten hadn't raised the point with his friend, but something told him that Trunks was still caught up in sketching him. He would feel the boy's fleeting stares in the back of his head, as if Trunks was trying to decipher the tangles of his hair, read his body language.

It was flattering in a strange way. Not to mention that Trunks had managed to sneak his way into Goten's creative outlets as well.

Just last week he had been busy telling the tale of Hugo, the boy from his novel who stepped through a mirror to find everything going backwards. Hugo had been confused for a majority of the story; he could not follow this strange world where everything was inverted, from people speaking to the numbers on the alarm clock by his bedside. But one day, as Hugo contemplates his existence as well as a possibility of returning to his old life, he sees a boy walking in the opposite direction of everyone else. He's going against the stream. Hugo has no idea who this boy is, but he can spot him from a mile away.

Because this enigmatic boy has purple hair.

How freaking obvious do you have to be?

Goten contemplated all of this as he threw grenades in the game, no longer really seeing what he was doing. The whole matter had taken up a lot of his thoughts for a few days. He had been forced to ask himself why the boy sitting next to him right now kept appearing in his subconscious. The question could be spelled out easily and Goten had no desire to ignore it and pretend it had never existed to begin with.

It did suck like hell, though. So he was developing a new crush. Great. Bloody fantastic. He mused to himself that he was as hormonal as your average teenage girl who wrote the name of another celebrity along the lines of her notebook every month. First there had been Jasper, though that had turned out to be little more than pure physical attraction. Some people were just made to lust after, even though there was very little to go on in terms of emotional satisfaction. Not that his escapades with Jasper hadn't been fun. Quite on the contrary, he loved being able to still seek solace in Jasper when he wanted to. He was young and spirited, so it was almost to be expected.

Yet now that he was beginning to harbor a growing infatuation with his best friend, it seemed a lot less appealing. He would have to let Jasper know that their frisky business would have to end soon. It was a pity, but it had to be done. And it wasn't even the hardest part of it all.

Goten stole a glance to the side to see Trunks hunched over forward, his tongue clamped between his lips and his face contorted in concentration. Just the sight alone made Goten smile. No, the hardest thing was that Trunks was his best friend. It almost felt like a violation of their bond just thinking of Trunks in a romantic sort of way. One slip up could bring a lot of pain and misunderstandings between them, something that Goten had no desire in causing.

"Got it! Yes!" Trunks shouted in glee and tossed the controller onto the table in front of them. Goten had hardly noticed that they had won their so manieth consecutive match of the day. His mind was working overtime. It was playing out scenarios, working out dialogues that would never happen in real life.

When he thought about it, thought about it long and hard, the whole idea wasn't so unrealistic. It was perfectly possible for him and Trunks to end up in a relationship together. Around the time that Goten had allowed his mother to find out that he was playing for the other team, Trunks had done some figuring out for himself. Goten had gotten the full report from Sadie and it had him reduced to tears of laughter. The girl's brash approach had managed to make Trunks see reason. Now, slowly but surely, Trunks was getting into an 'out and proud' state of mind. He was still a long way of screaming to the heavens that he liked fucking boys, but at least he now knew what he was all about.

Goten enjoyed getting a rise out of him with it.

He'd suddenly shove his phone under Trunks's nose, showing him photos of models or actors or musicians that were, so to say, appealing to the eye. It was very, very amusing to see Trunks try and keep his composure, for he had never really admitted to liking a man for his looks. It would come though. And maybe then would they be able to admit other things to one another, things of a much more private nature.

Until then Goten could only wait and see. He despised waiting.

"I don't know about you, but I think I've played enough for today." Trunks's voice snapped him from his musings. Goten looked up and gave a nod of agreement. He watched as his friend turned off the gaming system and retrieved his drawing materials from beside his desk. Once settled in, Trunks's eyes immediately moved to Goten, before he began to scratch at the paper in a dull and uneven rhythm.

"Still haven't run out of the stuff I got you?" Goten asked to break the silence. Trunks's eyes on him were a bit unnerving when he otherwise kept silent.

"Uh-huh," Trunks said, his tongue back between his teeth. Suddenly his pencil stopped and his eyes widened.

"I totally forgot to ask..." he breathed to himself.

Goten raised his eyebrows. "Ask what?"

"You have a birthday to, I can only assume." Trunks said, twisting his pencil between his fingers in a manner that was reminiscent of the way Jasper handled drumsticks. "I was wondering when it was."

"Well I'm turning seventeen in less than four weeks, if that is what you're asking," Goten said. He then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have any plans, though. I haven't really celebrated my birthday the past two years."

Trunks pursed his lips. "Hmm. Well I can understand not celebrating, but why not for the past two years?"

A sad sort of smile tugged at his lips. "Because my dad died the day after I turned fourteen." There was nothing happy about it, but still it felt comforting in a way. He would rather spend the day thinking of his father than of himself as it was. He didn't feel like he was missing out on anything.

Trunks sucked in air between his teeth. "Oh damn, man, sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything bad."

"It's not your fault," Goten said, smiling at him. "You had no way of knowing."

"Okay, but you understand that I can't let you off the hook?"

Goten blinked. "Excuse me?"

Now Trunks was smiling as well. He had even stopped twiddling his pencil. "Well I'm obviously going to make sure that you have the greatest birthday ever. I'll have to repay the favour, of course."

"Oh no, please don't." Goten shook his head. "I prefer to take the day to remember my Dad. I don't mind not getting any of the attention."

"Well we can do that too," Trunks said. "I'll find us a way to do both. But mark my words, I will make sure that your birthday will be about you too."

Goten wanted to protest this point more, but Trunks had risen from the sofa and he had retrieved his phone. He was already talking even before Goten got a chance to say anything.

"Hello, Sadie?" Trunks spoke into the phone. "Yeah, it's me. I'm going to need your advice on some things. Uh-huh. Yeah. Goten's birthday is coming up. Uh-huh. Yeah, I know, it's a great opportunity. Yes, I''ll try. No, I will not call you that. Nor will it call you the Captain. Okay, thanks!" Then he hung up.

Trunks looked at him with a smirk. "And the plans have been set in motion."

Goten rolled his eyes. Okay, why the hell not. Let him try if he wanted to. If Trunks could make Goten forget about that unpleasant period in his life, he would kiss him on the spot.

Probably.

Bulma's eyes had always been so searching, so prying, so desperate to peel away your secrets. Trunks could feel their stare in the back of his head as he sat at the edge of the pond, tossing flakes of bread into the water. Beaker was sitting by his side, his flippers tucked away beneath his feathery body. Trunks stroked the creature as a means to lead away his thoughts. It wouldn't do; after a while he heard his mother scrape her throat.

"Not that I mind getting out of the house for a change, but would you mind telling me why I had to come along so badly?"

Trunks sighed and turned to her. Bulma was sitting on one of the benches with her legs crossed, her hands neatly folded on her knee and a waiting expression on her face.

"I wanted to get you away from Dad before I talked to you," Trunks explained. "No offense, but he isn't the best conversational partner."

Bulma snorted into her fist. "That's saying it lightly."

"Okay." Trunks exhaled sharply. He just had to go out and say this. His mother was sure to understand. That still didn't make it any easier to speak the words, though. "I wanted to tell you a few things. And I want to ask you some other things."

His mother nodded but said nothing. Good, so it was all on him.

"Okay, here goes. So, Mom, remember when you asked me when I was going to start chasing skirts?" The words almost caught in his throat. His cheeks were already beginning to glow, so he looked down at his feet to hide them. Beaker had waddled up to his side and was now pressing his head against his calf.

"I think I recall something like that, yes," Bulma said. "You aren't telling me that I have a daughter-in-law now, are you?"

"No I'm not!" Trunks reared his head up and he looked at his mother, his face spelling pure astonishment. In hindsight the reaction had been much fiercer than necessary. "No, there is no daughter-in-law." he was silent for a second, then threw caution to the wind. "Nor will there be."

Bulma needed a few seconds to let the words register in her brains. She blinked as if she didn't understand, then her mouth fell open into a perfect O-shape.

Trunks had expected a lot of confused stuttering, maybe even exclamations of how she had never expected this, oh, how could she have been so blind. But that didn't happen. All she did was smile at him.

"Who made you realize?" she eventually asked.

It felt as though a brick had just been lifted from his stomach. "Sadie did," he replied, a happy smile spreading across his face.

"Ah, such a sweet girl," Bulma mumbled. "I should send her some flowers, don't you agree?"

Trunks shrugged. "Do what you think is best. It might be a bit strange, though. Don't forget the card that says 'thank you for helping my son find out he is a homosexual'."

Bulma glared at his snarky remark, but soon her smile was a mirror to his. "Don't be a smart mouth. Now..." she uncrossed her legs and leaned over. A joyous glint appeared in her eyes. "Anyone you have your sights on?"

Trunks said nothing, but he scratched the back of his head. This made his mother gasp.

"Ooooh this is perfect!" she squealed. "Gohan will be so happy when I tell him!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"That you have a crush on his little brother, of course!" Bulma beamed. Trunks was about to sputter something incohesive, probably about how there was no possible way for her to have figured that out, but Bulma held up a hand to silence him.

"It's obvious too," she said, talking to herself more than to her son. "You already have his mannerisms. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Gohan scratch his neck like that, and I'm dead sure that Goten does the same."

"... Are you kidding me?"

"Are you telling me that I'm wrong?"

"Well, no, but how in the name of all that is good and holy are you able to tell that from me scratching my neck?"

Bulma smiled and winked at him. "Call it a mother's intuition."

"I'm calling it creepy."

But Bulma wasn't listening. She had gone full crazy. Trunks could see it in her eyes. It wouldn't be long before she started doing the same as Goten, try and get him to talk about handsome guys in order to make him feel uncomfortable. That or she would deem it necessary to give him a proper lesson in sexual education. Perhaps suicide was the only way out.

"Oh, I bet I can get Gohan to help me set you guys up, no problem," she mused to herself.

"You don't have to," Trunks interrupted her. "Sadie's already claimed that role."

"Curses," Bulma said, shaking her fist in mock defeat. "I should've known. That girl is far too hands on for her own good."

Trunks had to suppress a bout of laughter. Heh, if only she knew.

"Well that actually brings me to what I wanted to ask you," Trunks said. He had almost forgotten that he also had a plan to set in motion. "See, Goten's birthday is in nine days and I wanted to do something nice for him."

"So you want to borrow my credit card?"

Trunks shook his head. He sat down on the bench next to his mother and pulled Beaker into his lap. The bird closed its eyes straight away, relishing in the warmth of the sun. "No," Trunks said. "I want to borrow your phone."

That puzzled Bulma just like Trunks had expected. "Huh, how come?"

"It's kind of sad, actually. It turns out Gohan and Goten's dad died the day after Goten's birthday, three years ago."

Bulma gave a tiny gasp of horror. Trunks nodded. "Yeah, I know. So the guy hasn't celebrated his birthday in almost three years because he wants to dedicate the day to his father. Still, I want him to have a proper birthday. I want to do something for him and I think I might have an idea. But to make sure that everything will go okay, I have to give Gohan a call."

He looked up at his mother to find her smiling. "You really are a good kid, you know that?" Bulma said as she rummaged through her purse. She handed him her phone. "So what are you going to do?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Trunks said while searching for Gohan's name in the list of contacts. "It's a great idea, really. Well, two ideas, actually. I hope you don't mind, because I kind of want to toss some money into this. The second idea especially."

"Will it bankrupt us?" Bulma asked, a most ridiculous question.

"Oh yeah. It'll destroy us completely. Probably have to take out a loan for a two-story cardboard box after I'm done."

"Good," Bulma said. She rummaged in her purse some more and retrieved a wad of cash, shoving it into Trunks's hands. "I don't know if this will be enough. If you need any more, just tell me."

Trunks had meanwhile found Gohan's number. He dialed it and held the phone to his ear, simultaneously stowing away the money into one of his pockets. As the simple, monotonous tone rang from the device, Trunks mused that he would have to thank Sadie for her brilliant idea. He would never, ever, ever admit this, but perhaps she was the Great Goddess of Matchmaking.

"Hello, Gohan speaking."

"Oh, hey, Gohan, this is Trunks. I hope you don't mind me calling, but I have a few questions that I wanted to ask you..."

The summer holidays had rolled around faster than Goten had been able to blink. Just like that he had eight weeks of pure freedom to his disposal, not a care in the world.

Though strictly speaking that wasn't entirely true. For the last three weeks he had been racking his brains in an attempt to figure out what Trunks had in store for his birthday. His friend had sounded so enthusiastic and so sure of himself. He was planning on something big and it pleased him to no end to do so right in front of Goten, making phone calls and sharing information in the perfect amounts, enough to make Goten curious, but not enough to have him figure anything out.

It was, simply put, infuriating.

Thank god all things came to an end. It finally became clear what Trunks had been concocting the day before Goten's actual birthday. He had spent the previous night playing Banshee until the late hours, so by the time his head had hit the pillow the sun was already creeping its luminous fingers along the horizon.

Sleep had come easy, but it hadn't been meant to be. Maybe an hour or two after he had laid himself to rest the door to his bedroom flew open wide, smacking against the doorframe and waking him so roughly that he was sitting bolt upright before he registered what was happening.

Still sleep drunk he rubbed his eyes. When the world came into focus he saw Marron standing in the doorway. The grin on her face spelled trouble, though it was nothing compared to the stereo that she was holding out. It was already too late to protest.

"Hellooooo, Goooooo!" Never in his life had he hated a sound more. That was until Marron hit the play button on the stereo and a very a-musical rendition of 'Happy Birthday' made his eardrums sore. He clapped his hands to the side of his head and watched as Marron did a one-person conga line though his room. Only when the entire song was over did she stop.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Marron cheered. She appeared to be fully awake and ready to take on the day. Goten tossed a pillow at her.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He sure didn't, but a glance at the alarm clock revealed the hour to be eight in the morning. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Was my musical hint not subtle enough for you?"

Goten grumbled and tossed another pillow. "It's not even my birthday!" he pointed out. "That's not until tomorrow."

"I know, I know." Marron said. "The thing is, though, you have a busy day tomorrow, so I'll have to give you your present today."

"What do you mean, I have a busy day tomorrow?"

"Oops, I guess I said too much," Marron replied, a wide smirk curving her lips. "Anyway, you better get your ass out of bed. I have a present for you and when you're done unwrapping it we're going somewhere. And don't even ask, it's a surprise."

Goten sighed. "Fine. But get the hell out of my room. I'm not wearing anything."

"Ooh, sexy..."

"Marron, fuck off."

"Fine, fine..." Marron raised her hands in a defensive manner. "Geez, I thought you had a sense of humour."

"Not at eight in the morning."

"Sure, whatever," Marron said, leaving the room. "Just hurry up!"

Goten contemplated the idea of dressing as slowly as he possible could, just to irk Marron for a bit, but he decided against it. Marron, sweet as she was, had a knack for pushing people's buttons. If he rubbed her the wrong way once she would never let him forget it.

When he came downstairs he found Marron sitting in the living room. Not even his mother was up yet; the rest of the house was silent. Beside the couch that Marron was sitting stood a large wooden crate that reminded Goten of Sunday morning cartoons. It was the kind of box that would always contain large amounts of dynamite that would blow up as soon as someone assaulted it with a crowbar. More often than not the side would read 'NOT WEAPONS'.

Needless to say, when Marron handed him a crowbar without giving any explanation at all, he gulped.

It took a decent amount of violence to get the lid of the crate. It came loose after a few tries, the wood groaning and splintering every time Goten put his weight down on the tool. When it finally popped off he was actually very eager to see what was inside. When he saw it he squealed. No joke. He literally gave a little squeak of joy.

With a lot of difficulty he opened the sides of the crate. Five minutes later he could see his new Fender Bassman in its full glory. God, what a fine piece of machinery... Goten was perfectly silent as he studied it from all sides, taking the sight of it in and trying to make sure that this wasn't all a dream. When he had determined that yes, he was in fact awake, he pulled Marron into a hug so tight that he heard her ribs crack.

"Glad you like it," she wheezed, rubbing at her sides.

Goten released her and took to staring at the Bassman again. "Like it? I fucking love it!" He allowed his fingers to roam over the equipment, to take in the craftsmanship. This was just amazing. There were no words for it.

And, like Marron had told him, this was only the beginning.

She reminded him of this when she thought that he had gotten enough time to get aroused over a piece of machinery. Reluctantly, Goten left the Bassman behind, instead grabbing his keys and phone and following Marron outside of the house. A splendid white limousine stood parked in the driveway.

Goten gave her a confused look. "Okay, I don't know what the hell you are planning on, but it seems like it cost a lot."

"Pfft, please," Marron snorted. "This is our second limo. We only use it in case the first one breaks down or is being used. This is the cheap model." Cheap meaning that it had gilded door handles and, Goten could spot this through the open door, velvet seat covering.

Marron scared him when she approached him from behind. There was no sense in fighting back though, so he allowed her to do as she wished, and god that sounded wrong in his mind. It wasn't at all helpful that Marron went about tying a blindfold in front of his eyes.

When Marron was sure that he couldn't see a single thing. She guided him towards the limousine with her hand on his wrist. He couldn't help but be nervous; he had a feeling that Marron was in cahoots with Trunks on this one. And all that he could do was wait and see.

Trunks wasn't one to feel nervous quickly. For the majority of his life he had been able to do things at a slow crawl and there had been very little to worry about. Yet for the past several months he had basically been a trainwreck. Of course, they had been exceptional months and he had learned a lot about himself, but they had destroyed his nerves nonetheless.

Today that gnawing sense of dread was worse than it had ever been. Trunks sat outside the place to be for the day, just staring out into the sea of people who were making their way towards their jobs or whatever they did to fill their days. He had found a fountain at the corner of the street and he was now sitting on the edge of it. He stole glances at his watch every few seconds, as if it could help him speed up time. It was only a few minutes to half past eight, so he wasn't exactly pressed for time, but still he felt annoyed with the waiting.

Planning out Goten's birthday presents had gone as smoothly as he had hoped it would. He had built out on an idea that Sadie helped him come up with, a plot that the girl had been sure would bring him and Goten closer together. And, Trunks had to admit, it really was a good plan. At the very least he would be able to knock Goten off his socks.

Gohan had been very cooperative. He had told Trunks everything there was to know about the area, so there was no possible way for any nasty surprises to pop up. Gohan had also shared a few stories about his father with Trunks, so now Trunks had a bit more an idea who Goku Son actually was. Hearing what Gohan had to say about him was heartwarming.

Goku had been the true definition of a family man, if the stories were true. He had always supported his family by living off the land, so there had never been a necessity for money. All the food they ate they grew themselves. The meat came from animals they hunted in the forests around their house. Their only expenses had been rent, insurance and gas, water and electricity.

Furthermore, Goku had always been the supportive parent. He had worked three hours a day extra to make sure that Gohan was able to pursue his academic career until his scholarship kicked in. And when Goten had first gotten Banshee Goku would sit in Goten's room and endure the horribly incohesive strumming that was Goten's playing back then. He wouldn't say a bad word about it. Goku had always been Goten's biggest fan.

When the man had passed away they had buried him behind the house of his grandfather, a stone's throw away from the house where Goten had grown up. Until this very day there was a shrine with Goku's photo perched on top, though now there was no one to keep it clean and to light the candles. Chi-Chi had been unable to get all the work done to raise enough money, and so she had been forced to seek her business elsewhere.

Goku Son sounded like an amazing man and it was not hard to see how he had managed to raise such amazing children. Like other great men he had been taken before his time, but not before he was able to instill some of himself in his own kin. Goku lived on through his sons and he did so with as much ferocity as he had done during his living days. That made Trunks feel all the more compelled to honour him.

Another look at his watch. Five more minutes had slipped by. Trunks was getting antsy; Marron had texted him that they were on their way a little while ago, so they should be arriving any moment now. To be truthful, Trunks was surprised that Chi-Chi had agreed to this part of the plan. He had taken her for someone who didn't agree with 'rash choices' like these, and she probably was, but it seemed as though Chi-Chi was now becoming more lenient with her son. She was beginning to see that Goten had to develop in his own way and at his own pace.

His coming out might have had something to do with that.

Trunks grumbled. Couldn't these people hurry up? Was Marron taking the scenic route? He lit a cigarette to kill time, an action that proved to be unnecessary. Just when the tip began to glow red and wisps of smoke were filling his lungs, a white limousine turned around the corner. It parked right in front of him.

Marron exited the vehicle first. She stepped out with a huge smile on her face and she winked when she saw Trunks. That girl could do a lot of things, but being inconspicuous was not one of them. Goten stepped out second. He had a tea towel wrapped around his face and Trunks involuntarily thought of how Sadie had put him in a similar situation. If only she Marron hadn't gotten frisky with Goten...

It was a good thing that he was blindfolded for now, because at the sight of him Trunks's face glowed a deep scarlet. Shit, he had almost forgotten how bad this crush of his was. The past few weeks had given him the time to make matters worse. At first he had been captivated by Goten in every which way, though he still had some semblance of control over himself. Now he began to blush just at the thought of those dark eyes looking back at him. The red on his cheeks would stay for only a few seconds. But he'd rather not have it at all, lest he betrayed himself with something as foolish as a facial expression.

Marron took away Goten's blindfold. While he was busy adjusting to the sunlight falling into his face she hopped into the limo. Before Goten could even take a second to look around, Marron had gone, exactly according to plan.

Goten wheeled around on the spot, completely lost with what was currently happening. After shifting his gaze over his surroundings he spotted Trunks, the relief obvious in his form. Goten paced over, giving a cheerful wave.

"Hey!" he said as he approached. "I take it that you are responsible for this part of the surprise?"

Trunks nodded. "Right you are. Actually I have two surprises."

Goten gave a puzzled frown. "Two?"

"Two," Trunks confirmed. He patted on the edge of the fountain. Goten joined him, crinkling his nose when he caught a whiff of Trunks's cigarette.

"The first present you will get today," Trunks explained. "The other you will get tomorrow, so that will be a surprise until then."

"I don't think I like where this is going."

"Trust me, you'll love it," Trunks assured him. "It took me some planning and some phone calls, but I managed to pull everything off." Trunks reached into the pocket of his summer jacket and took out a sheet of paper that was folded over once. "Here," he said, handing it to Goten. "Present number one."

Goten took the paper from him with eyebrows arched high. He unfolded it and immediately gave a sharp gasp. Trunks felt his insides glow with pride.

"This is amazing..." Goten almost whispered. "Did you make this? It doesn't look like a photograph, although it also does. I mean... you get what I mean, don't you?"

Trunks smiled and gave a nod. "Yup, my handiwork. Glad you like it."

"Don't take this the wrong way, cause I said the same to Marron, but like it? Fuck no, I love it!" Goten had a smile on his face the size of a canyon, his dark eyes taking the time to take in every single detail.

Trunks had given him a drawing of Banshee. Trunks had done his best to make the drawing as realistic as he possible could. It showed Goten's guitar from the point of view of a bug crawling on the floor; Banshee seemed gigantic and looming tall. Every tidbit, every dent, every scratch, Trunks had incorporated. A cable ran out the back of the guitar and was plugged into a Fender Bassman amplifier.

"That's not the only thing, though," Trunks said. "See, I remember you telling me that if you got your first tattoo, you would get a portrait of this beauty right here. So I made you a design to take to a shop."

"Oh wow," Goten breathed. "I would've just taken a photo with me, but this is so much better! Thanks a million! Too bad that I won't be able to talk Mom into letting me get a tattoo just yet."

Trunks held up a hand in a 'wait a minute' kind of gesture. He tapped a few buttons on his phone, meanwhile pulling at his cigarette. He found the video he needed and tapped play, showing it to Goten.

At first there was nothing but the dining room at Goten's house. Then Chi-Chi strolled into frame. Goten watched with large eyes as she seated herself at the table and looked at the camera. Then she began to speak.

"Hey Goten, it's me, Mommy! I can't believe that you are this old already, I really can't. You've grown so much... Now, you are probably wondering why I am making this video. Well, your friend Trunks is here with me and he asked me to help him arrange your birthday present. Or presents, if you will. He told me that you will get the second present tomorrow, and I must say that he has some amazing ideas, that kid. You should be blessed with a friend like him.

He wanted to give you two presents, though. It took Trunks a while to talk me into it, but in the end I decided to let it go. Like I said, you are no longer my little boy anymore and you can make your own decisions very well. I'm so proud of you for that. This is something that you will have to decide for yourself, but I think I already know the answer. Trunks showed me the drawing he made and it does look good. And even though I'm not crazy about the idea of you getting stabbed thousands of times and injected with chemicals, I know it is something you want. Goten Son, if you want to get a tattoo, you hereby have my permission."

The video ended. Goten sat completely still, his mouth open in shock. It made Trunks laugh. After a while his friend found the words the voice his thoughts.

"Okay, so you drugged my mom and made her say that, right?"

Trunks laughed even harder and shook his head. "Nope, that was all genuine."

"So I can actually get a tattoo?"

"That's what she said, yeah."

"Shit! I'm going to start saving right away. Now that I have a design I want to get it done as soon as possible. How long do you think it'll take? With my allowance I can probably save it up in six months... Maybe I can get Gohan to chip in a bit, make it four months..."

Trunks took a casual look at his watch. "How about in ten minutes?"

Goten looked at him as though he had just proclaimed his undying belief in unicorns. "Wait what?"

Trunks smiled. "See that tattoo shop over there?" he pointed towards a building with a brightly coloured front and with traditional dragons decorating the windows. "That's where Mizuki Nagasaki works. She's the greatest tattoo artist in the country when it comes to realistic colour portraits."

'Yeah, I've heard of her," Goten said. "They say she can do a full portrait in four hours or less."

"That's right," Trunks confirmed. "And I booked you an appointment for this morning. We can walk in five minutes from now. You'll have your tattoo by the end of the day."

All Goten could do for a little while was blink, as if he couldn't comprehend what he was being told. "Are you serious?" he said eventually.

"Dead serious," Trunks said. "I'm paying for the whole thing, so you don't have to worry about money. And don't go mouth me off on it either. You know perfectly well that I could wipe my ass with money, as smug as it might sound. I might as well use it for something good."

Goten's mouth opened and closed, words befalling him.

"So are you going to get it?" Trunks asked.

Goten winced at this. "Well, I really, really, really want to, but you're kind of dropping this one on me, man. If you had shown me yesterday I would have had my mind made up today."

"So that's a yes?" Trunks queried, hopeful that this was going where he thought it was going.

"Eh..."

"You know what?" Trunks asked. "I'm going to chip in another surprise, one I just thought of." He showed Goten the cigarette he had been smoking. It had almost burned down to the filter, only a drag or two remained. "If you get my art on you today, this will be the last cigarette I will ever smoke."

Goten's lips twitched into a smile. "You've convinced me," he said. "Fine. I'll do it. But only if you sign it, so that I can give the artist the credit he is due."

"Deal!" Trunks took the final drag from his cancer stick and tossed what remained of it aside. No more smoking for him. He grabbed a pencil from his pocket and signed the tattoo design. When he handed it back to Goten, his friend pulled him into a crushing hug that made him feel warm all over. Damn infatuation.

Ten minutes later they walked into the tattoo store. Goten was looking anxious, so Trunks placed a hand on his shoulder to soothe him. He almost died of laughter when Goten whispered to him "Sorry, I'm terrified of needles."

Mizuki Nagasaki was one of the friendliest women that Trunks had ever met. It was easy to let your eyes do the judging; Mizuki was covered in ink from her throat to her toes. To any passerby she might look menacing, but when she noticed the two boys coming into her shop she smiled warmly at them.

Everything had already been taken care of. Chi-Chi had signed the permission slip days before and Trunks had managed to pickpocket Goten's ID card to make a copy of it, so they had that too. They weren't even inside for ten whole minutes and Goten already had the stencil on his arm. Banshee would be eternalized across the entire length of his lower arm. It would take a while to finish, but Mizuki assured Goten that she would be able to finish it in one session. That was if he could do it too.

Goten was indeed scared of needles. The first half hour of the session was very nerve wracking, but after a while the boy became accustomed to the feeling of being stabbed and filled with chemicals. Soon enough he was just lounging back as Mizuki worked, saturating the colours in Banshees body and absolutely nailing the portrait she was doing, getting all the hues of blue in to a point of perfection. Trunks was very much impressed by her work.

The whole thing took about six hours. When Mizuki was done she wiped Goten's arm clean from any ink residue. Then she wiped it over with a cooling balm to support the skin in its healing process. When that was all seen to Goten was allowed to check his reflection in the full-length mirror.

He drew in his breath as soon as he came into frame. His left arm was a little red from all the abuse it had seen, but through the irritation Banshee came forward like a musical giant, looking pristine down to the gleam on her body and the jauntily loose strings. Goten studied the tattoo for several minutes, checking every inch and every little detail. It was all exactly as how Trunks had designed it. Mizuki hadn't missed a spot. She had even managed to make an exact copy of his signature.

Trunks walked over to stand beside Goten. He smiled at him when their eyes met through the mirror and Goten smiled back. Trunks was about to wish him a happy birthday, but Goten silenced him with a hug.

This embrace was unlike any they had shared before. This one seemed so much more personal, so much more saying. Trunks could feel it in the pit of his stomach, this creeping sensation that assured him that this wasn't any ordinary hug. This was confirmed to him when Goten's hand found his hair, sending a tingling feeling into his scalp.

Trunks leaned back but did not release the hug. He found Goten's eyes and became lost in them. Their dark depths were pulling him in, hypnotizing him and taking away his ability to function. He didn't even realize that he was holding his breath.

Goten gazed back, his lips twitching up into a half-smile. Trunks felt his heart pounding in his chest and temples. They were so close together that he could sense Goten's warm breath on his face. When Goten finally laid his hand against his jaw, Trunks gave in.

He pressed his lips against Goten's, losing all sense of reality in a split second. The world around him simply crumbled away, leaving nothing but the two of them in their own little universe. Goten returned the kiss, his thumb sliding over the stubble on Trunks's chin, his other hand buried deep in lavender locks.

And just like that Trunks felt whole.

They released their lips, but the embrace remained. Both boys were breathing heavier, their faces flushed and their gazes locked onto one another. A million different thoughts and sensations went through Trunks's mind. Most of all he wanted to know: how had it made him feel?

The answer was perfect. Simply perfect.

When Goten kissed him again, he knew this for sure.

The second kiss was much longer, more catered to the both of them. Now that the edge was off it was time for them to test the waters. As Trunks leaned in he was surprised by how rough Goten's lips were, how masculine the taste of him was. It made his head swim. One of his hands landed on the small of Goten's back without his consent. The other curled its fingers into Goten's shirt to pull him in deeper.

When both of them needed to breathe again they broke apart. Times and places had gotten lost them. This became painfully and embarrassingly clear when they realized where they were.

In the middle of a tattoo parlor.

Mizuki did not help. Somewhere along the line she had finished packing up her materials. Just as Goten and Trunks stepped apart, they heard her coo "Awww, that is so sweet!"

Needless to say, both boys grew a fiery red. And that had nothing to do with kissing whatsoever.

Okay, maybe a little bit.