A/N: Thank you for the reviews, faves and follows so far. Trying to develop the relationship between Trunks and 18 will be tricky, to say the least, but I hope I can do it right.

Eyes closed, Trunks clenched his fists and he transformed into Super Saiyan 2 once more. He needed to control and master this form and purge it of any weaknesses. The only drawbacks he'd so far discovered was the hot-headedness and rage that overtook his instincts and he'd been working on curtailing those traits to enable his usual calm mind for the transformation and reduce the energy required to prevent the strain on his body.

Nearby, Ocarin hovered in the air in his meditative state, his body surrounded by energy, while Super Saiyan Pan traded blows with 18, the Android easily deflecting the young girl's attack, the newly redesigned gravity chamber humming all around them.

To say the past two weeks had been difficult would be an understatement. There was still a huge amount of hate and mistrust between 18 and everyone (save for 16, of course, who often tried to be friendly towards 18, even if she didn't reciprocate) and despite Bulma's high security room she built for 18 that was effective in keeping her locked up during the night (ki dampeners worked wonders), Trunks and his mother were often paranoid each and every night when they went to bed.

The Android's mere constant presence frequently had mother and son on edge, always trying to guess what she planned to do, but 18 had kept to her end of the truce and had not lifted a finger to harm anyone for the past fortnight, although her sarcastic attitude almost brought her and Trunks to blows quite a number of times. If she wasn't training or shopping (dragging poor, reluctant Trunks with her), the Android either wandered the premise's gardens or kept to herself. She rarely entered the house and only when accompanied by Trunks, Ocarin or 16.

Of course, just because she promised not to harm anyone didn't mean she held back in training.

If there was one positive, it was definitely the training. While 18 had no formal martial arts training, her endless energy, brute strength and a power level second only to Trunks made up for it. For the Android, being able to show dominance gave her a twisted sort of pleasure and it made her feel somewhat content, especially whenever she sparred with Ocarin. The Namekian made no secret of his disdain for her and 18 always made sure she got the last laugh by regularly defeating him.

Sparring with Gohan's brat was a different matter. In some ways, the feisty young girl reminded 18 of the man she slayed, seeing the echoes of him in her features and fighting style. Pan was bubbly and bright, yet fierce and resolute and as she sparred with the girl, 18 wondered if she knew the truth about her father's demise and who was responsible. Pan didn't seem to show any contempt towards 18 and was always willing to spar with her, but that was about as far as their interactions went.

In the end, however, 18 wondered why she even cared.

Then there was Trunks. The animosity between the two often set the gravity chamber ablaze with sparks during their sparring matches and while Trunks was always victorious, 18 felt herself get stronger with each passing day. She still had trouble with the intense gravity pressure at times, mostly when Trunks upped it without telling her, but she was slowly adapting. In return, she forced him to accompany her on shopping trips and while he complained the whole time and she hated him for it, she found she could endure his presence.

Weird.

To say they got along was a lie. But ever since she kissed him on the cheek, they basically skirted around each other unless training or shopping was involved. The kiss was never acknowledged, but 18 knew it made Trunks uncomfortable and she could tell he often thought about it because he would sometimes get all flushed and awkward around her.

She hated him, but it was…endearing. She hated him, but she couldn't deny that he was physically attractive and not only that, but there was this one time when she'd accidentally walked into the bathroom just as he was getting out of the shower.

Oh, he'd squealed like a little girl, but she saw what he was packing. She made a joke about it later on in regards to his sword and Trunks nearly died of embarrassment and he avoided her for a day or two, until 18 forced him into a vicious sparring match to get over it.

In that regard, that was as far as anything got and 18 wondered if something was wrong with her, because sometimes she thought about the purely physical side of things and pondered if it were possible.

What would it be like to let their hatred consume them into utter nirvana?

Yep, something was wrong with her and she always shoved that idea (desire?) into the recesses of her mind, never to be released again until the unfortunate times when Trunks would train shirtless and that idea (desire) would be unleashed once more.

She would kill him for making her think such thoughts like that about him.

For Trunks, the past fortnight had been quite an adjustment, to say the least. He wasn't used to 18 's constant presence, he wasn't used to 18 not killing and destroying, he wasn't used to looking at 18 as anything other than a heartless monster, but this was the predicament he found himself in.

Was it because of that damn kiss? A small kiss on his cheek that was only meant to mock him?

He was not romantically experienced. His entire life had been spent fighting for survival and trying to find a way to destroy the Androids for good and therefore, it didn't leave room for courtship, particularly when the human race dwindled day by day.

Even after the threat was extinguished and the world started to rebuild, Trunks tried a couple of dates, but they never went well. His inexperience made him too nervous around women and he often struggled to find something to talk about. There was only so much you could talk about of repairing the world before it gets repetitive.

At least he and 18 somewhat understood one another. They hated each other, they trained and sparred together and on occasion, he was forced to join her on a shopping spree (after the third time people ran for their lives when the Android show up, Bulma made a televised announcement that 18 could be considered harmless to the population, although most people weren't going to accept that too quickly. Trunks didn't blame them).

But the idea of anything romantic with 18 nauseated him and he knew that nothing like that would ever happen. He hated her too much, she hurt him too much and she was only alive to help him, nothing more. And yet…there were a few (rare!) times where Trunks actually didn't mind 18's presence. Sure, he wanted to blast her to smithereens, usually when she got too snarky, but the shopping trips weren't always as bad as he made them out to be; an ongoing joke she had was to flash women's underwear in his face and laugh at his horrified expression, however.

In those tiny moments when he actually tolerated her (and they actually got along), Trunks forgot all the evil she committed. Then, the reminder would slam back into him and he felt nothing but shame and guilt for forgetting her atrocities, at night begging for forgiveness from his father and Gohan. He tended to avoid her after those moments and he was thankful that she seemed to…respect his privacy in that regard and leave him alone until she got bored and wanted to train.

It was a massive adjustment he wasn't used to and he was pretty sure he never would.

With a calm breath, Trunks relaxed his Super Saiyan 2 state and his stomach rumbled loudly enough that 18 and Pan stopped their sparring and Ocarin opened his eyes with a frown.

"Sorry, guys," Trunks chuckled. "It's been a while."

"Only a few hours," 18 said. "You mean to tell me you got hungry just from standing there the whole time we've been in here? Were you thinking about food?"

"Not all of us have an unlimited energy source."

"Tch, whatever," 18 said and she flicked her palm up to block Pan's fist. "Time's up, kid. As it turns out, Trunks has more important things to do."

"Great. I'm starving," Pan grinned as she resumed her base form.

The Android rolled her eyes. "Saiyans and their food."

She'd seen Trunks eat and it disgusted her with the way he inhaled food like it was air, consuming vast amounts in a short span of time. When he was at home, she would stay outside while he ate, but when they went shopping together, she had no choice but to sit with him and try not to watch him. And as it turned out, Pan was no different, although she didn't eat as much and she was somewhat civil about it; Trunks ate like a pig. It made 18 wonder where the hell they put it all.

Trunks powered down the gravity chamber and the Android smirked at Ocarin when he shot a glare at her on his way out, closely followed by Pan who skipped alongside him.

"I need to go shopping again," 18 said as Trunks joined her.

He groaned audibly. "Again? Didn't you go shopping just two days ago?"

"It's a post-training relaxant. Does it not keep me out of your house and away from your mother?"

"Yes, but-"

"And I can think of other post-training relaxants that I'd like to try out," 18 said with an obvious glance towards his crotch and a wicked smirk on her face. Trunks blushed profusely.

"No, shopping it is," he mumbled in embarrassment.

She patted his shoulder and went her separate way outside, leaving Trunks to go alone into the kitchen in confusion. Did she just…flirt with him? Or, like the kiss, was it another attempt to play with his head? A dark, unbidden thought came forth, 18 in the lingerie she liked to flash in his face and horrified, Trunks cursed the Android and hurried to the kitchen.

18 wandered into the gardens, lovingly tended to by Bulma when she got the chance, and while the Android would have looked at the green life in disgust and destroyed them back in the day, now, she didn't really care for it much. She could admit, only to herself, that the gardens did look stunning and it did give her a sense of peace whenever she entered. Like shopping, for some reason, it always calmed her down.

She found 16 in his usual spot, tiny birds fluttering and resting upon him, a big content smile on his face. He would quite literally be there for hours, silently communing with nature as if it was the only thing in the world that mattered to him.

"Hey, big guy," 18 said, approaching him.

The birds fluttered away and while a squirrel remained, a look of disappointment overcame 16. "You scared them away."

"I scare a lot of things away. It's a specialty of mine."

"Perhaps you should try other specialities."

"I do. It's called kicking Ocarin's ass and giving Trunks a headache with my crazy spending."

The faintest of smiles ticked 16's face. "You are learning to live with the humans."

"No, I'm just sparing their lives until I'm ready to kill them. There's nothing special about them."

"So what is stopping you?" 16 asked. "You could have done it multiple times over the past two weeks and yet you have not lifted a finger to harm anyone."

A blue butterfly hovered nearby and whereas 18 would have blasted the insect before, instead she held up a hand and the butterfly landed on her outstretched finger. It felt…serene to have the butterfly gently touching her as she pondered 16's question. Yes, she still hated humans and wanted to kill them, Trunks especially (despite her inability to), but the past two weeks living and interacting with them had made her…'tolerant' of her former victims.

Did that make her weak? What would 17 think of her? What would he say?

18 shrugged her shoulders. "Like I said, I'm not ready yet."

"They may seem weak and fragile, but they are also strong and resilient," 16 said sagely. "They do not possess strength like us, but their strength comes from within. Had it not been for that, they would not have survived your carnage or rebuild the world after your deaths. Do not discard them so easily, 18. There is more than them than you think. You have to take the time to learn."

The butterfly flew away and 18 looked at the giant Android. "Is that how you put up with them?"

"My mission was to kill Goku, but he is long deceased. I had no other purpose, so I instead protect the world I have grown to care for. Perhaps that means there is a flaw in my programming, but I have learnt this: life is not about death and destruction. In the end, that leaves you with nothing. Life is precious and is about joy and happiness. Love what nature has provided us."

"We're both freaks of nature, thanks to Gero's madness."

16 tilted his head. "This is true. However, I have overcome his madness. Will you let it continue to control you?"

18 frowned and watched as the squirrel in 16's hands climbed up his arm and curl up on his collar. A tiny, weak creature trusting a larger being with its life even though its life could be extinguished in an instant if 16 so wished. And yet he didn't. He enjoyed the squirrel's existence.

Could such a scenario ever be possible for 18 and the humans?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Trunks call for her and she left 16 in the garden, going to the front yard where Trunks had prepared the jet. And he wasn't the only one there.

"Since when is the kid coming with us?" 18 questioned with a glance at Pan.

"Apparently, she wanted to come," Trunks said. "And her mother eventually agreed to let her."

"Uh…okay?"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Pan added.

She had murdered children in the past. Killed them for fun. Children were seen as a bonus point in her and 17's games. She interacted with Pan only for training and nothing else. So the idea of dealing with Pan outside of sparring put 18 in a kind of dilemma, but she refused to look weak.

"Fine. Squirt can join us," the Android said as she climbed into the jet. "Dibs on the front seat."

She reclined in her seat, put her feet up on the dashboard and Trunks glanced at her as he lifted the jet into the sky. "Take your feet down."

"Or what? You go blonde? Besides, these boots are clean. I bought them two days ago. Remember?"

"Ugh, whatever," the half-Saiyan muttered and she smirked in reply.

-X-

"Sir, we have arrived."

"Hm, so this is Earth. I guess it's a nice enough planet, despite being in the backend of nowhere."

"What are your orders, sir? We lost the energy signature, but there is another one that is similar. It's not as strong, but it still has potential."

"Let's see if it is worth our time. If not, Earth will make a fine addition to our collection. Captain, prepare the invasion," Frost ordered.