Chapter 8: Something More

Goten had been flying around aimlessly hoping he was going the right direction. The scenery was very foreign to him and he did his best to home in on Trunks's ki. It was a week until Trunks decided to call him back and give him the okay to fly in and visit his apartment abroad. Goten couldn't really complain, Trunks was juggling a lot of studies and didn't have much free time. Plus, it was Goten that insisted they meet in person, uncomfortable with them catching up over the phone.

"Bingo," Goten stopped in midair before speedily descending to the correct building. Fortunately for the demi-saiyan he had the cover of night on his side to avoid being easily spotted and climbed inside through the unlocked window.

"Did somebody order a stud?" He said with a grin once his feet were on the floor.

"Clearly they got the order wrong and sent me a dud instead." Trunks whirled back to face him on his computer chair, his father's smirk on his lips.

"Hey..! I'm not a dud." Goten responded with a pout.

"Come here, you jackass." Trunks chuckled and got up to greet his long time friend with a man hug.

Goten returned it with as much affection. "Missed you too," he smiled.

He ushered for him to have a seat on the bed. "So I take it you found yourself a good place?"

"Yeah, real good, kind of reminds me of home." Goten scratched his cheek and smiled.

"What is your bedroom the size of a broom closet there too?"

"Not funny," he scowled.

"So what's so important you just had to see me about?" The lavender-haired teen inquired as he got comfortable in his chair.

"Well, I just happened to have made some new lady friends, who're total babes by the way. Maybe one of them could be your future girlfriend?" He grinned and gave him a wink.

"Uh huh, if they're all such babes, why isn't one of them your girlfriend?" Trunks cocked a brow. "Are you turning into a playboy?"

"N-No, not really, I was hoping you could give me some advice." Goten looked down and twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Oh, I see how it is. You're looking to get laid, aren't you?" Trunks smirked.

Goten turned beat red. "What? No! I mean, yes. I mean, eventually!" He stammered. Sure, he wasn't going to broach the subject of sex but that didn't mean he wanted to stay a virgin forever.

"So what do you need? I could give you some rubbers and tips if that's what you're here for." He said and rolled his neck.

He shook his head. "Nah, we haven't even gone out on a date yet."

"That's never stopped me before." Trunks shrugged.

Goten huffed, "Yeah, I know. Rub it in, why don't you?"

"Oh I shall, and laugh at you while eating this delicious steak." He cackled mockingly and sliced off a piece of meat before consuming it. He was purposely going as slowly as possible to taunt him.

Goten's stomach grumbled and his face changed into a sour expression. "You suck!" He whined, wiping the drool off of his chin.

"Here, you can have it. I ordered 10 more anyway." Trunks said and pushed the plate to him.

"I take it back then," Goten beamed and took a bite, savoring the juiciness. He was lucky to have a friend that shared as much as Trunks did.

"So tell me about these lady friends of yours." Trunks said as he came back with two plates of the same steak order. "And try not to talk with your mouth full," he added.

"Well, there's Makoto she's an aspiring chef, kind of the big sister type. Ami's the quiet one of the bunch but she's really smart, you two could really hit it off. Then there's the two blondes Mina and Usagi, they're both really spunky and fun to be around most of the time. Lastly, there's Rei, she's the one I live with and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Goten! Hold up, you two live together?!"

"Not like that! You see her grandpa let me stay in the spare room at their house as long as I work for them." He said and finished the last bite of his steak.

"Oh okay, that makes sense." Trunks breathed and passed him a second helping.

"Like I was saying, Rei's a pretty girl -beautiful even- and she's real feisty. One big temper but she's pretty mysterious at the same time. I don't know if that's the right word. She spends a lot of her time working and acts pretty frigid sometimes. It's just so strange." He said as he finished his meat quickly.

"Yeah, I'm sure someone like you would find someone with good work ethic 'strange', Goten." Trunks snickered.

"Hey, I'm not over exaggerating. She gets up as early as 4AM for crying out loud!"

Trunks cocked a brow and his face bared an expression of interest. "Well, that definitely sounds like the kind of girl I can bring home to my dad." He deadpanned. Vegeta always got up before sunrise to train daily.

"Don't joke about that, Trunks!" Goten narrowed his eyes.

"Why? Isn't she single?" He pressed on.

"Yeah, but…" His features softened. "She's," he mumbled, looking more defeated as he realized he had no feasible argument to deter his friend's interest in her.

"Sounds like you might like her." The older one of the two said with a knowing smile.

Goten looked up at him in surprise as his cheeks turned bright pink. He felt like there was a lump in his throat. "I," he paused and tried to swallow.

"Looks like you like her a whole lot. It's all right, buddy. I think it's great." He placed a hand on his shoulder with an encouraging smile.

"What do I do, Trunks? I don't think she feels the same way. And if she does," he sighed "I don't want to risk messing everything up between us." He hung his head with a glum look on his face.

"You must be in serious L word if you're scared to lose it." Trunks smirked; he could tell he had it bad.

Goten thought back to the tender look in Rei's eyes before he hugged her for the first time. His heart was a flutter at the mere memory. He would have given anything to have her look at him with those eyes again. She felt so nice to hold in his arms too.

"You've only known each other for what, a couple of weeks, barely a month?" Trunks asked.

The black-haired teen nodded, looking overwhelmed with his sudden epiphany.

"All right, this is going to be the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. But for now, I recommend you keep your tongue tied."

He looked up at his best friend, eyes wide with confusion.

"It's not the right time for you to confess your feelings. If you told her you loved her right now, she'd spook like a horse."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Hey, that's just how love is. Rei sounds like the guarded type, so it won't be a picnic to earn her trust. People like that rather act frigid to shut people out than get hurt. Pace yourself and try to get to know her better, one day at a time. You'll know when the right opportunity arrives. Until then, have fun! Maybe once she sees what a great guy you are she'll warm up to the idea of being something more than friends." Trunks winked.

Goten nodded, feeling more at peace and confident. "Yeah thanks, man. I feel a lot better now."

"What are friends for?" He said, giving the love struck fool a pat on the back. "I'm always a call and fly away if you need anything."

"Speaking of which, can I borrow some money?" He grinned with his hand behind his head.

Trunks fell over and grumbled about how no one liked having a moocher for a friend. Regardless, Trunks handed him a couple of bills from his wallet before they said their goodbyes.

Makoto stretched as the credits rolled on Rei's TV before lying down on the blanket covered floor. "Thanks for letting me watch the movie here, Rei." She smiled while turning it off with the remote.

"No problem." Rei said before picking up one of her friend's homemade snacks and taking a bite. Makoto loved showering people with her cooking and insisted on making special trades if they did her any favors.

"You didn't have to make so many for me, you know. I doubt I can finish all of this." Rei said modestly. She was nothing like Usagi; she wasn't accustomed to stuffing herself until she nearly made herself sick. Even if she did, she wouldn't have even eaten half of the amount Makoto brought.

"Oh, I know. I didn't expect you to eat them all. So I made the rest for Goten-kun." Makoto snickered. She enjoyed making big quantities and with Rei's new tenant she occasionally got to do that a lot more every time she came to visit. "I am his big sis, after all." Goten was older and taller than the brunette. Yet he referred to her as his beloved older sister since he would turn into an overexcited child around her when she'd bring him food.

"Don't encourage him or we're going to have a repeat of yesterday." The miko rolled her eyes.

"I really did not expect Goten to be so grateful that he would get down on his knees and kiss my feet." Makoto snorted.

"He's an idiot," She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"May I ask what's with the curtain sheet?" The warrior of thunder grinned shamelessly.

"Goten had a klutz attack and broke the sliding doors." Rei sighed. Now that it was brought to her attention, she really should consider calling someone to replace them. Then there was also the issue of money.

"Uh huh," the green-eyed woman's smile grew wider. "I'm sure you enjoy being able to share all this space with him. You two share beds too?"

"D-Don't be silly, Mako-chan!" Rei huffed.

"Has he asked you out yet?"

The priestess flinched at the question. "No, why would he?"

"You know why."

"Mako-chan," Rei took a deep breath.

"Come on, I just want to know, why aren't you taking the plunge? It's so unlike you; usually you're always the one to dive in head first. And now that Grandpa's better," Makoto shrugged, seeing no reason for pause.

"It's complicated." Rei answered.

"Tell me why you think it's so complicated." Her arms folded at her chest in a subtly demanding posture.

"Things are already weird enough, you know?" Rei blushed, recalling how their first meeting went.

"There is nothing weird about the situation. He's a good-looking guy, well maybe not as good-looking as my ex boyfriend, but he's funny and kind. Why not let him sweep you off your feet?"

"It is weird; I'd be dating somebody I live with. He'd never have to go home and we'd rarely get space for ourselves." The only place she seemed to get total privacy was the bathroom.

"That's the best part of it! You guys can get to know each other, and if you get tired of him, you can send him away on 'errands' or whatever. You're technically his boss and he has to do what you say anyway." Makoto argued with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. It sounds so unprofessional. And I've never had a serious boyfriend before." Rei then grumbled. "What if I want more time to myself than enough to do errands? He'd get them done real fast too."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Rei, I'm not telling you to declare your undying love for him. I'm just saying to give him a chance. You never know unless you try."

"How can I? I mean I'd only be doing it because he saved my grandpa and me. I-It's not like I like him or anything...we're just friends." Rei looked to the side, blushing.

Makoto looked pointedly at her friend. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Look, I get you're trying to help, but I don't think now's the right time." A glum frown graced her lips. She wasn't ready to let somebody else in and probably had no clue on how to start. It was written all over her face and Makoto caught on.

"All right, fair enough, but mark my words. One of these days Rei, one of you is going to crack. I just hope you show the poor guy some mercy if he does first." She smirked before getting up to head out on her merry way.

Goten was finishing up cleaning the gutters when his stomach grumbled. "I know, I know." He verbally comforted his complaining tummy. Rei did say she would be coming home from school late that morning. "I think she packed some leftovers in the fridge for me." A smile tugged on his lips as he climbed down and washed up.

Once he was clean, he decided to take a snack break on the porch outside his room. Rei's crows flapped their wings and landed next to him. "Are you hungry too?" He asked with his mouth full, grinning when they cawed eagerly.

"Here you go," he said and tossed some excess grains of rice from his onigiri. The crows pecked at the floor as he reached for the next ball on his plate to find it missing. "That's weird, could've sworn Rei made 5 of them."

A small feminine pair of hands from behind suddenly covered his eyes, startling him slightly. "Guess who," the rice ball thief muttered with the treat still in her mouth.

"Usagi-chan..?" Goten blinked. The scent and voice was on par and she was the only girl he knew that would sneak someone's food and talk with her mouth full. He was rather guilty of that himself.

"Bingo!" She grinned and raised her hands away from his eyes. "Here you win a candy stick." She said and handed it to him.

"Wow, thanks!" His face lit up with glee.

"Candy makes everything better." The blonde quipped, eating the last bite of his rice she stole.

He downed the sweet and handed her another of his rice balls when she gave him the puppy eyes. "What brings you here? Rei said she wouldn't be home until later."

"Oh I knew that," she smiled mischievously. "It's why I'm here." She added after downing the second rice ball.

He blinked and looked at her wondering what her motives were.

"Can you keep a secret, Goten-kun?" She slid closer to him with a whisper.

"Sure, I guess," he answered honestly. He wasn't the best at keeping secrets but he'd try not to blab too soon.

"Rei-chan can't know I was here because I need to borrow something from her room."

"Oh, borrow what?"

"Let me show you." She snickered and grabbed him by the hand to lift him up to his feet. The blonde tugged him along into his room and stopped dead in her tracks. "What happened to the doors here?" She asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah, that's my fault…" Goten frowned.

"Goten, have you even asked Rei out? According to my novellas, it's way too soon for you two to be rolling in bed together at night, shame on you!" The moon princess scolded.

"What-No! I haven't done any of that with Rei." He said as the tips of his ears turned red.

"Then what's with the curtain?" She pointed at the sheet dividing the rooms.

"I fell down one morning and broke the doors." He mumbled sheepishly. "We haven't got them replaced yet, that's all."

"Oh, okay. I understand, it happened to me once too but I just made a hole in the paper with my arm. I guess you just made a much bigger one." Her tone went back to being cheerful.

He chuckled and nodded in response. "Yeah, that's about right."

"So how's everything going with you two? She's not still mad over this is she?" Usagi said as she stepped towards the edge of his room towards Rei's.

"I think she's over it. She took it pretty well when it happened. She didn't yell once, just took a deep breath and told me to fix it the best I could." Goten scratched his cheek.

"Really, that's how she reacted?!" She gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah, weird isn't it? I thought for sure she was going to tear me a new one." He cringed.

"It sounds like she's really warming up to you," a sly smile crept on her pink lips.

"You think so?"

"Yep, Rei only watches her temper in public or around people she's fond of when she knows they didn't do anything on purpose. I noticed that myself in middle school when I met her." She explained in a matter of fact tone.

"You two met in middle school?"

The girl with buns on her head nodded.

"Wow, with how close you all are, I would've assumed you knew each other since birth or preschool at least."

"We do seem that close, huh? I guess it feels longer than one lifetime." She smiled knowingly. "But it's true; you're probably starting to grow on her."

"Yeah, like a fungus." Goten snorted.

"A fungus of love," she grinned teasingly.

His face went beat red.

She giggles and lifted the curtain, ushering him over. "Come on; let me show you something cool."

Goten froze in place, recalling the last time he intruded in Rei's bedroom. "Um, I rather not," He gulped.

"Why..?" She blinked.

"She caught me in her bedroom once and it took her a week to forgive me. I don't want a repeat of that." He frowned and looked at the floor.

"What were you doing in her room, looking for her panties?" Her eyes narrowed at him.

"No, nothing like that," his hands flailed nervously. "I was looking for ointment and I found this old picture. She seemed really mad about it when she saw me holding it."

"What was the picture of?"

"A girl that looked like the spitting image of her, only her hair was wavy."

Usagi was still until her eyes suddenly widened in realization and concern.

"You know who it is?"

She gave a small nod.

"Is it Rei's mom?" He asked.

She nodded once more. "She doesn't talk about her."

A silence fell over the room as Goten felt a pit of dread in his stomach fearing for what harm he might have caused the shrine maiden unknowingly.

"Anyway," Usagi put on her big bright smile. "Let me show you that cool thing. It'll only take a sec, I promise. I know exactly which one I want." She tugged him by the wrist and pulled him into Rei's bedroom.

"I don't think we should be in here, Usagi. Don't you think we should wait until Rei comes home? I don't want us to get in trouble with her." He asked nervously.

"It's fine, trust me. She'll never know we were in here." The blonde slid the closet door open and pushed the hung dresses aside to reveal a chest. "Behold, the hidden treasure." She grinned and cracked it open.

"Is that…manga?" He rubbed his eyes in astonishment at the plethora of comics stacked neatly in the chest.

"Isn't it neat? Rei has a big collection. She hasn't updated it in the last two years though. But some of them are so good I like reading them again. I think I've read all but 5 of them." She rambled as she pulled out bunches and handfuls of books out.

Goten knelt down and began looking through them eagerly as if it really was treasure. "Wow, I would have never pegged Rei as a comic book type of girl. This is so cool!" He beamed. This somehow made him very excited. Then he recalled a conversation he had with Trunks at age 10. When describing the perfect girlfriend he mentioned how they'd play games from sunrise to sunset and read comic books before sleeping under the same blanket. A silly childhood dream yet it left him blushing over this new discovery.

"Yeah, she likes to act like she's above something as awesome as comic books. But she's a hell of a collector. Some of these were signed by the writers themselves." She pointed out as she lifted an autographed copy. "And here's the Sailor V omnibus of the whole series."

"She liked Sailor V?!" He grabbed the book and flipped through it. "I remember playing the video game with Trunks all the time. I wanted to read the comic but they were always sold out in stores." He pouted.

"Yeah, same happened to me too." Usagi matched his pout. "That is, until I met Rei. She has more superhero stuff. Look, this one's really old: The Great Saiyaman Volume 1."

His eyes were suddenly as big as saucers. "What did you say?!"

"The Great Saiyaman Volume 1: Enter the Defender of Satan City." Usagi repeated with a dramatic voice while posing with her hand.

"That's my brother!" He exclaimed through his laughter.

"Eh?" Usagi blinked.

"I mean, that's totally my big brother Gohan's favorite superhero." He cleared his throat. "He mimicked his poses and everything."

"Oh well yeah, Rei picked it up when she was a little girl. She must've considered him a favorite too if she read it this much. That's why the spine's all bent. I never heard of him before I read this in middle school. It's funny stuff, too bad it got discontinued. Ami-chan said it's because the publisher's went bankrupt that year. It's kind of amazing Rei has it since only a short number of these were sold. And that was 10 years ago, give or take."

"Whoa," his smile then slowly faded. "You know, things like this prove me right on how little I know Rei. I thought she was only into fancier stuff classic literature or poetry. We live under the same roof but she's one big puzzle most of the time. She hardly talks about her personal life, now that I think of it." He would've never even known she had so many friends if they hadn't come visit her.

"I know how you feel." She replied with a sad smile. "Rei-chan isn't the best at sharing things about herself. You won't always get her to open up when you want her to. But she's always there to listen whenever you're in a pinch. You just got to be there to listen when she needs it." She said affectionately.

Goten let what she said sink in. So she wasn't shutting him out. Rei was guarded in general, even with friends. He couldn't help but feel a little sad. It was normal for him to say what was on his mind and heart. He always felt that it was safe and welcome. If Rei had to stay reserved from her own friends, he wondered why.

"You know what would help?" Usagi's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "You should ask her out. Dates are great for getting to know one another. If it's just the two of you she might let herself unwind." She collected her loot and stepped out of the closet while following him back to his room.

"You really think that will work?" He asked uncertainly as he held the sliding door open for her to step back out on the porch.

"I know Rei-chan better than anyone; she always has her guard up. But when it's just her and me, it makes opening her heart easier." Her eyes were cast down with a bittersweet expression on her face. "Besides, how else are you supposed to romance her if you can't whisk her away to someplace more intimate?" Her gaze came back up to him with the cheerful expression back on her lips.

'And she's back.' Goten thought when he smiled with amusement in response, a modest blush on his cheeks. "You have everything you came for?"

"Yes," she stepped outside but then turned around slowly. "And Goten," she paused.

"What..?" He paused.

"If you ever hurt Rei-chan, we will never forgive you." She stated grimly.

Goten froze as a chill went up his spine over the sudden change in her tone of voice. It wasn't like the way she sounded at the sleepover. Then he knew she was joking. Now, there was no arguing how dead serious she was.

He opened his mouth but before any sound had come out a bow case lightly whacked the golden haired schoolgirl upside the head.

"I should've known you'd be here, Odango." Rei fumed.

"Ouch Rei-chan, that hurt!" Usagi whined as her eyes welled up with tears.

"I barely put any strength in it and you know it!" The miko balled her fists in defense. "Don't try to cry your way out of this with your crocodile tears! I know you're here to steal my manga."

"You didn't have to be mean and hit me, Rei-chan!" She wailed.

"Maybe if you didn't go behind my back I wouldn't have to. You know better than to go through my stuff, even this blockhead does." She crossed her arms and nodded at Goten's direction.

Goten cracked a nervous smile. "Yeah, I learned my lesson the first time."

"Did you?" Rei eyed him.

"Yeah, he did. He warned me and everything. I just chose not to listen." Usagi smiled, sneaking him a wink while she rubbed the back of her head.

Goten gave her a smile of gratitude for covering for him.

"Ugh, that is so like you! Get over here!" Rei lunged for her but Usagi sprinted away screaming. A chase ensued between the two high school girls. "Usagi..!" Rei growled.

"But I wanted the next issue!"

Watching the two girls running back and forth on the grounds had him laughing before his mind started to reel in what he should do next. 'Just ask her out. Everyone makes it sound so easy,' he thought, mentally debating to follow through with Usagi's advice or not.

Rei finally pounced on the shorter girl and pulled at her cheeks. Both her and Goten shared a laugh at the funny faces she made before stopping the horseplay.

At the end of the day, Usagi was able to leave with the manga she took on the condition that she take care of it and that all her borrowing was checked in with Goten when Rei wasn't home.

AN: And that concludes chapter 8 everyone! Will Goten make his move next chapter? How will Rei take it? Stay tuned!

So sorry this took a lifetime to update, everyone! My laptop was stolen around June and then recovered only to find it wiped clean of the files I originally had in there, including this chapter. I had to rewrite this and the latest chapter of The Crowning Curse all over again. I've been dealing with a lot on my plate but I'm still going to do what I can to continue with this story.