A/N: I just want to say thank you for all the reviews, faves and follows. It means a huge deal to me. First, just a couple of things: I had Trunks mention that the past 17 was dead. It's been a while since I saw the episode, but as far as I'm aware, Trunks doesn't know that 17 was revived. I could be wrong, so feel free to correct me if so. As for Ocarin being in another fanfic, no that wasn't me. I think I know the story that was mentioned and that's probably where I got his name from. Secondly, this chapter was quite difficult to write and fingers crossed that it's nicely set up, well-written and everything's good for the next chapter. Let me know. Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!
First Month.
The sheer intensity was too much for her and she had no idea how she was going to survive for an entire year when she wanted to call it quits already. But Lazuli was not a quitter and she endured the torment the Room threw at her, while Trunks thrived in the chaos. It was like he was expecting her to fail and she was determined to prove him wrong.
Sharing quarters with him was a completely different matter altogether. While at Capsule Corporation, Lazuli could at least get away from Trunks and have time and space to herself. Here, she was constantly stuck with him, forced to co-exist in such a small living area and it grated on her nerves. Not to mention that the half-Saiyan constantly appeared to be on edge around her whenever they weren't training. She also noticed that he was sneaking glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking and when she tried to catch him out on it, he would look away with a faint blush and try to act indifferent, keeping his distance from her.
"Is there something wrong?" Lazuli snapped one day and Trunks balked at her outburst.
"What are you talking about?"
"You keep looking at me when you think I won't notice, but I'm not an idiot: I've caught on. Again, I repeat: is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. I don't even look at you," Trunks objected, eyes darting everywhere but at her as if to prove his point. Lazuli rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Whatever. I'm going to train because you're acting like a little boy."
She flew out into the vast whiteness and Trunks rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. The past month had been torture in that he was actually starting to realise Lazuli was definitely all woman. He knew that before, but he had always seen her as a heartless Android first and then a powerful ally and nothing more than that.
But since his nosebleed, Trunks' dreams had been infiltrated by apparitions of a potentially naked Lazuli and what she would seductively do to him. More than once, Trunks had woken up in the middle of the night, recognising the slow-growing tension that she was oblivious to that required cold showers for him. Determined to not let her get to him, Trunks doubled down on his focus in his training, trying to do his best to purge the dreams from his mind and keep Lazuli at a distance.
He was slowly losing that battle. His constant glances were evidence for that.
He'd never lived in such close quarters with a woman as stunning as Lazuli before and while she had plagued his dark fantasies as a young teen, her murder of Gohan completely erased those thoughts. Now that he was an adult and training with her in such close spaces, those old thoughts were leaking through the cracks of his control that her beautiful physique was breaking.
Trunks kept telling himself that it was Android 18, the one responsible for his miserable childhood and deep trauma, but he knew the excuse could only go for so long, when she had proven herself to be completely different from the 18 of his childhood. He could admit that she was gorgeous, but he was desperately trying to deny his own attraction to her.
This entire year was going to be torturous.
Deciding to follow suit and get her off his mind, Trunks travelled into the depths of the Chamber, transformed and allowed the hellish fires and sub-zero frost to consume him, as if the sheer intensity could purge him of Lazuli's wicked influence.
He returned to the living quarters in defeat.
-X-
Second Month.
Lazuli could remember the one time she had walked in on Trunks while he was taking a shower, seeing everything he had to offer on display. Since then, she put that memory at the back of her mind, mostly due to how Trunks regularly irritated her with his general presence and the knowledge that another interaction like that never happened again.
Now they were in enclosed space, it was bound to happen once more. After a particular gruelling day of intense training, Lazuli was aching for a bath, but Trunks beat her to it and so she was forced to wait. But sitting at the table in her sweat and grime, her agitation amplified as the filth on her body started to wear on her and after thirty minutes, Lazuli had enough. Without a single care in the world, she barged into the bathroom and Trunks floundered in the tub in shock, water splashing onto the floor.
"What the hell is taking you so long?" Lazuli hissed, ignoring the fact that Trunks was desperately trying to cover up his nudity. "You're not the only one in here, you know."
"What the hell are you thinking, barging in here like that?" Trunks demanded, trying to cover his embarrassment with fury. "Can't a man have some privacy?"
"Sure, but you've been in here for half an hour and I'd hate to tell your mother that after everything you've faced, you ended up drowning in the Time Chamber. I'm filthy and I desperately need to be clean. Maybe I should join you instead so we don't have this problem?"
Red flushed Trunks' cheeks and he waved with one hand as he stammered, "No, no, that's completely unnecessary. Can you please wait outside? I'll be done in a minute."
Lazuli gave him a tight nod, glanced at his covered groin and flashed him a grin. "If you need help with that, just let me know."
He floundered in the water again, most likely trying to drown himself as Lazuli left the bathroom. True to his word, he came out after a minute, averting his gaze from her while his cheeks shined brighter than Bojack's Full-Power hairstyle. She smirked at his predicament and proceeded to carry out her cleansing. As she lay in the tub, soaking up the relaxation of her soothing bath-bubbles, she replayed the interaction and something about it made her wonder. It wasn't an important question and it was none of her business, but she didn't care much and she was curious
When she finished and came out, Trunks had disappeared to the bedroom, pretending to be asleep. Lazuli decided to let it slide for now and she didn't get a chance until two days later. During that time, Trunks took measures to completely avoid her, waking up before her (he did that anyway) and training far, far away from her. So when he offered a sparring session, she saw her chance.
"Are you a virgin?" Lazuli asked as she dodged his fist.
"Huh?" Trunks replied, the sheer surprise of the question catching him off-guard and she had to admit, he looked cute with a confused look. So much, in fact, that she almost felt bad by taking advantage of his distraction and kicking his face.
Almost.
"Are you a blushing virgin?" Lazuli asked again.
"What does it matter to you?" he muttered as he blocked her kick and threw a punch. She dodged it, noting that he was distracted, completely thrown by the bizarre request. "It's none of your damn business."
"Ah, so that's a yes then," Lazuli smirked in delight as she parried his fist, hit him in the gut and socked his jaw. "Well, that explains a lot."
Trunks glared at her with his green eyes and with a shout, he flared his aura and struck Lazuli to the ground. She groaned and sat up, as Trunks landed before her in a golden flame of fury.
"I'm sorry it's such a funny matter to you, but I was too busy trying to save the world from your murderous spree," the half-Saiyan growled. "I had no time for anything like that!"
"Jeez, I just asked a question," Lazuli said as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Don't take it so personally."
"You asked me a highly personal question and it's because of you that I'm still a virgin. It's not like I could form attachments, not when they kept getting killed, not when all I could think about was defeating you and your brother," Trunks said. "So yeah, it's basically your fault. If it wasn't for you, my life would have been a lot different. I'd have a father, maybe a sibling. I'd have a girlfriend. Pan would have her father, but because of you and your brother, I have none of that."
She was tempted to offer that she could change that for him, but he was angry and she knew that if she said that, it was set him off completely and she did not want to get obliterated for a careless comment. Instead, she offered something else.
"Well then," Lazuli said. "I'm sorry."
Trunks frowned. "Sorry that I'm a virgin or sorry for killing people?"
"The latter. I don't expect forgiveness, I expect nothing, but I wanted to say that to you. I was waiting for the right time, but is there ever a right time for apologies? So I'm saying it now."
The hybrid was thoroughly confused. One minute she was playfully asking about his virginity and the next she was sombrely apologising for the atrocities she committed. He had to come to the conclusion that he would never understand women, no matter how long he lived. But he could read Lazuli's body language and see that she was genuine in her apology and he had to wonder if it was possible for him to forgive her.
She had taken so much away from him, but he wasn't truly without nothing. He had his mother, he had Pan, 16 and Ocarin…and her, now she had proven that she was a valuable ally. But the scars she'd inflicted on him…they ran deep and Trunks didn't know if they'd ever go away.
He was in a state of confliction and didn't know what to say, but Lazuli didn't give him much of a chance: she took his silence as some kind of sign and decided to leave him be, flying away until she couldn't be seen any more and Trunks heaved a sigh, Gohan, his father and his mother's friends flashing in his mind. They would never go away, but perhaps it was time to move on. And if so, when?
Apart from the odd sparring session that remained silent and never lasted for long, Trunks and Lazuli stayed far away from each other for the next two weeks.
-X-
Third Month.
Learning how to sense energy wasn't as hard as Lazuli thought it would be. Of course, it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, requiring all her focus to hone her senses. She kept it quiet from her roommate, training her senses in secret. No doubt he was doing his own kind of secret training, so there no need to tell him about it. Once she was satisfied with her new ability, Lazuli revealed it during a sparring match when he teleported behind her and she tracked his movement, allowing her to surprise him with a thump to his chest.
"Wait, you can sense me now?" Trunks asked, surprised.
It also helped that she noticed her increased strength and that made the training worth it. The suffering, the intensity, the trying moments that made her want to throw in the towel and quit: it was paying off and it made her realise how much she needed this. She needed to persevere.
"Took me twenty years, but better late than never," Lazuli commented. "Only reason why you survived for so long is because it wasn't something 17 or I ever gave much thought about learning."
"I'd like to think a bit of skill and luck was involved as well."
"Hm. Remember that time you first fought us as a Super Saiyan and we beat you real bad? I could have killed you that day, but I didn't. I held back. I just made it look convincing."
Trunks frowned. "I thought I was just lucky to survive. Why didn't you kill me? You never showed anyone else any mercy before."
She shrugged, unsure why she was even telling him this. Why did she feel this need to be honest with him? "Maybe I didn't want to deprive us of another plaything so soon after killing Gohan. Maybe I thought your self-righteous anger made you look cute and I didn't want to waste that. Maybe I just wanted to see how far you'd get before we finally got bored of you. Doesn't matter really, because in the end, you killed us. Definitely an oversight on my behalf."
Trunks nodded sagely. Well, if they were being honest. "You know, I've been giving it a lot of thought lately, your apology, and while I feel like it's too early to say you're forgiven, because if I were to say that, it'll feel like I'm betraying Gohan's memory, but…I don't hate you. I mean, we're not friends or anything by any means, but I think I can call you an ally. Who knows, maybe one day, I can completely trust you as well."
Lazuli agreed, not wanting to admit that she was somewhat touched. "Shall we keep sparring? All this outpouring of honesty is making me antsy."
He nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."
They trained heavily for the rest of the day in the depths of the Chamber. When they returned to the living quarters, Lazuli went for a bath while Trunks prepared dinner. It was always for himself because Lazuli didn't need to eat, although on rare occasions, she might join him if the mood struck her fancy. Not only that, but cooking distracted Trunks from the thought of a naked Lazuli in the bathroom, his dreams still haunted by her. He kept telling himself that although he didn't see her as the cruel Android of his childhood, nothing could ever happen between them because if he did, then he would definitely be betraying the memory of his father and Gohan. And he couldn't allow that to happen.
But then, three nights later, something happened.
In the middle of the night, Lazuli woke up. At first, she didn't know the reason why, but then she noticed Trunks tossing and turning in his bed. Annoyed that he was the reason her sleep was interrupted, Lazuli was simply content to ignore him and go back to sleep, but then he spoke.
"No, Gohan, don't."
She froze. No doubt Trunks was reliving a memory that involved Gohan and if the dread that filled her body was any indication, it was the night she murdered the older half-Saiyan. Guilt crashed into Lazuli like a raging ocean and unable to ignore her roommate as he suffered a nightmare, she got up from her bed and padded over to his.
"Trunks, wake up," she whispered to him, but received no response. He continued to shake in his sleep and again, she felt the guilt. She had done this to him. This was all her fault. She decided to try again. "Trunks, wake up. You're having a nightmare. It's no real."
Nothing. Although Lazuli was tempted to blast him awake, she instead tore his sheets away, gripped his shoulders and hauled him upright. Immediately, his eyes snapped open, blazing orbs of green and his hair spiked up, but remained lavender, as he acted on instinct and shoved her away. His consciousness kicked in and he breathed deeply as he forced himself to relax. His hair dropped and his eyes returned to blue as Lazuli picked herself up from the floor.
"Are you alright?" Trunks asked, feeling guilty for what he did, even though his nightmare involved her.
"I'm peachy," Lazuli drawled. "You're welcome."
She made to head towards her bed, but in his nightmare-driven delirium, Trunks didn't want to be alone and he seized her hand. She frowned at him, her bright blue eyes piercing his own and he wondered what the hell had gotten into him.
"Stay?" he asked, sounding more like an upset child than a full-grown fearless adult.
His touch sent sparks through her body and she wanted to turn him down, wanted to return to her own bed and ignore him, but she could see it in his face: he didn't want to be alone and it was a sentiment Lazuli could agree with. So instead, she climbed into the bed with him and he curled up into a ball, his body still shaking from the effects of his nightmare. It was insane, his mind thought, to be in the same bed as the person who had caused his nightmare, but right now, Trunks didn't care. He just didn't want to be alone and with Lazuli's body next to him, he soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
When Lazuli woke up several hours later, he was gone and if it wasn't for the fact that she was in his bed, she would've thought the whole thing had been a really pleasant dream.
She wondered what it meant, but her attempt to discuss it with him was stonewalled and so she left him be, content to pretend it didn't happen.
-X-
Fourth Month.
She was haunting him, every day and every night. He could not get her out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. Why did he agree to this? He did not want to have fantasies about the woman who'd ruined his life. And yet, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes upon.
Her stunning blue eyes, capable of freezing a man's soul with a fear-inducing glare, but could light up brighter than a perfect blue sky when she was happy or excited. Her dazzling blonde hair, far more glorious than any golden beach, curled around her index finger as she read a women's magazine in her relaxation. Her perfectly rounded lips and the way she bit her lower lip that sent shivers through his body as he watched her. Her flawless curves and lithe physique that hid immense power and would make any man beg and prostrate himself for the tiniest scrap of her attention that she would never give. She had the gorgeous looks that would tempt a man into Hell and Trunks was both embarrassed and perturbed with himself to learn that he was attracted to her.
Kami, what the hell was wrong with him?
She was poison. That was the only conclusion he could come up with to justify this attraction to her. It was purely physical, as she worried her lip as she read and Trunks wondered how they would taste – he immediately tried to clear his mind of such impure thoughts. She killed Gohan! There was no way in Hell that could ever happen. His mental fortitude was too strong to allow it.
But he was a hot-blooded young man. A virgin, but still a man with needs and urges that did not couple together well with his Saiyan primal instincts and he was stuck in an enclosed space with the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. It was natural to reason that something would develop and there was no doubt in Trunks' mind that his father would be rolling in his grave if he knew of his son's desire. He couldn't escape the Android, no matter how deep he went into the Chamber, but the need to purge her from his system drove him deeper than he'd ever gone before, forcing him into unimaginable territory.
Despite the sheer intensity there that could drive any man, even a Saiyan, insane, it wasn't enough to rid her.
It was all because he had a moment of weakness.
Nightmares used to be quite common for Trunks when he was growing up, but after defeating the Androids, they became few and far in between. Nowadays, nightmares were rare and he'd hoped it wouldn't happen in the Chamber, but some things can't be helped. And in his delirium, in a moment of weakness, despite the fact that Lazuli was the cause of his nightmare, he'd invited her to his bed to help comfort him, instead of pushing her away like he should have done.
Under normal circumstances, it would've never happened, not in a million years, but because he'd been weak and lonely, he had allowed it happen. Now, his mind was screaming at him for his foolishness, yet his body's need for another had found the moment pleasant. He wasn't sure if he hated himself because he asked her to his bed or if because he actually enjoyed sleeping beside someone.
Trunks needs to get away, get far away from Lazuli as he could and he left the living quarters, flying deep into the dimension. Again, he travelled deeper than he'd ever gone before, where the air was so thin it was a struggle to breathe, his mind begging for oxygen as he forced his transformation and began to train. The harshness of the terrain saw his body licked by flames hotter than any sun and frozen by ice colder than arctic region and he continued to train. He needed to get her out from under his skin and the severity of the Chamber pushed him on. Howling winds and blistering hailstorms pelted him as he tried to rid himself of the poison. His lungs screamed for oxygen, his body wanted to quit under the cruelty of the Chamber and he pushed on.
Lazuli consumed Trunks' mind as he fought against the heat waves that made his body buckle and bend, his stomach roiling like it wanted to throw up its contents and dizziness took hold of him, the lack of air finally getting to him. The green faded from his eyes as they rolled into his head, his aura fizzing out like a candle in the wind as he collapsed under the frost-bitten winds, the Android the last thing he saw before he finally passed out.
When he woke up, he saw the reason why.
"You idiot!" Lazuli growled at him. "What the hell were you thinking, training out there like that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"What are you talking about?" Trunks asked, his head woozy as he made to get out of bed, but the Android easily shoved him back to the mattress.
"Do not move. You nearly died. If I couldn't sense you, you surely would have. Lucky for you, I was able to save your stupid butt. You're welcome."
"It's because of you I'm out there like that," the half-Saiyan retaliated and her glare turned hard.
"What do you mean?" she asked coolly and any other man would've shut up right then and there. Not Trunks.
"You! You are all I damn well think about! Even before I let you sleep in my bed, but it's gotten worse after that!" Trunks snapped. "I don't want to think about you and yet, I can't stop it. It's frustrating and I'm trying to purge you from my mind, but nothing's working!"
Lazuli folded her arms across her chest, her features stoic and her posture giving him nothing. "The exit is just there if you want it so bad. If I'm that much of a burden on you, you can leave. Or better yet, I can leave. It's completely up to you."
Trunks hesitated. He wanted her gone so he could train in peace and hopefully get her out of his mind, but once he was finished and returned to the normal world, what then? He'd still have to put up with her and nothing would have really changed. On the other hand, she was good company and his body yearned for her, but he. Could. Not. Betray. Gohan.
Instead, he buried his face in his hands and ran them through his hair in frustration. "I don't know what I want," he whispered, sounding like a little boy and hating it.
"Well, I have no desire to leave here just yet, so perhaps we can just agree to stay out of each other's way for the next eight months. Train at different times. Does that sound better?" He gave a half-hearted shrug in reply, unable to really commit to an answer and Lazuli nodded. "Fine. It's settled then. See you in a few hours."
She walked out of the bedroom and Trunks collapsed on the bed, the tears slowly coming to him as his pent-up frustrations finally got the better of him.
-X-
Fifth Month.
The agreement started out well at first. Because he hardly saw Lazuli while he was training or relaxing, Trunks was somewhat able to get her off his mind for a while. But then he found himself wondering what she was doing while he was gone and despite his mental fortitude, he found that he was longing for her. The lust had not gone away, despite his best efforts and out in the unknown of the Chamber, Trunks had to finally admit defeat to himself.
He could not forget what she'd done, but he wanted her, oh he wanted her so bad. Throw two good-looking people into a small space for several months and something was bound to happen. But he knew that despite his acknowledgment of his desire for the Android, she might not return the same sentiments, even though she had once admitted she found him attractive. His outburst surely didn't help matters, but he couldn't fathom the idea of anything happening with Lazuli, whether he wanted it or not. He was still holding on to the past and the thought of anything carnal with the Android sent cold shivers down his spine.
He was attracted to her, he wanted her, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. Gohan's death wouldn't leave him alone, plaguing him as much as Lazuli did, no matter the number of times Trunks tried to reason to himself that she had changed. He knew that, he'd witnessed that, but it was like there was something stopping him, something holding him back from acting out on his desires and he couldn't tell if he was thankful for it or not.
Tumultuous thoughts crashed through his mind as he trained, this time, not within the unknown. He'd learnt his lesson there, but that short time had improved his power so much and he was tempted to try it again, see if he could withstand it for longer. Of course, that might set off the Android and Trunks wasn't quite game for another argument with her.
His training coming to an end, Trunks decided to return for a light morning tea, but when he arrived at the living quarters, he found Lazuli sitting at the table, combing her wet hair. She was clothed only in a pink bathrobe and the oddly domestic sight her sent a heat burning through him.
How far had he'd fallen?
"Hey," Trunks said tentatively.
"Hey yourself," Lazuli murmured, focused on her brushing. "Training well?"
He shrugged. "As well as expected."
He made to move past her so he could start preparing – and he caught hold of her scent. She used some kind of bath soap and the smell only served to fuel his desire for her. He stopped beside her, his mind warring between want and reject. Lazuli quickly noticed his still presence beside her and she set her mirror and comb down to give him a quizzical look.
"Trunks, are you okay? You look-"
She was cut off when he brushed his hand against hers, a flutter breezing through her. The contact fired sparks through her body and her breath was caught in her throat. She wanted him, but was always unsure about his wishes and so kept them to herself, never giving it much thought. But sitting here now, seeing the want in his eyes mixing with the confliction in his face, Lazuli was unsure of what road Trunks would take, but at least she had some idea of his attraction for her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, her voice a breathless whisper.
"Yeah," Trunks said slowly, as if he was coming to his senses and had made his decision. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He made to walk away, but she had never been one to back down from what she wanted. Making a decision and not giving a damn about the consequences, Lazuli spun Trunks around, grabbed his face and planted her lips on his.
She was rewarded when he threw one arm around her waist and the other hand reaching to her nape, pulling her close to his body as if he was thankful she made the decision for him.
A/N: See you all in 2018.