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CHAPTER 6:
Temptation

Twenty-four days after Goten and Havana began to arrive at the Capsule Corp garage every weekday, Trunks had been experiencing changes in his mindset and outlook for their arrival. Emotions were attaching themselves to Trunks' thoughts, and it was harder for him to feel comfortable. The growing feeling inside him took a darker turn.

He started to feel resentment. But it wasn't toward Goten or Havana - rather, it was toward Goten and Havana's interactions.

Havana only kissed Goten on the cheek, and he seemed happy about it. There was never any pressure to go further, or express feelings any more deeply than that, at least in front of Trunks.

It started to trigger his memories of Mai.

Trunks had thought he had gotten over Mai. For weeks, he had just put her out of his head as if he could just put his memories in a box, shove it in a mental oven, and burn it.

It had been fine to not think of her. Life was better without thinking of her. Without Mai in his life, Trunks had been experiencing new things, learning, meeting people, hearing stories, and growing in ways he never had done while he was with her.

His head had been so engrossed in his car that Trunks didn't have the headspace to even think about Mai. He had worked long days, waking up early and crashing early at night, that Mai was truly the last thing on his mind.

But twenty-four days after Goten and Havana started visiting, the routine started to open up Trunks' thoughts, and memories of Mai somehow crept back into his mind, clawing their way out of his mental burn-box, twisting tendrils of his grieving process.

Trunks had begun to start comparing Mai with Havana more and more.

And then he started comparing how Mai had treated Trunks versus how Havana treated Goten.

The difference was a stark dichotomy. They were like polar opposites.

The thoughts made Trunks' thoughts grow more and more bitter - no, worse - rancorous toward thoughts of Mai, as he hid his green-eyed envy behind his blue-eyed smiles.

But those feelings paled in comparison to how Trunks was starting to feel covetous, without ever knowing the meaning of the word… until now, as his longing to be touched by Goten's girlfriend stained his emotions like a bitter, black coffee.

Trunks kept seeing Havana kiss Goten's cheeks and play with Goten's hair cowlicks. Trunks' eyes kept falling on how Havana rubbed Goten's shoulders, and the way she stroked Goten's arm as she flirtatiously talked to him. Havana would often side-glance Trunks with a provocative grin as she'd teasingly wriggle Goten's pencils or books away for laughter-filled attention.

Trunks would notice each time Havana drank from her punch drink, her tongue slowly licked her lips and then puckered them at him. She didn't even seem to care that Goten was right there. Goten simply failed to see.

Trunks tried to work on his car, and was unable to truly focus on his instinct with his work. Trunks was frustrated because he sacrificed the pace of his project in exchange for more chances to see Havana, and witness her bend dramatically to wrap her arms around Goten's neck and nuzzle cheek to cheek as he sat in the chair. She would slowly sway her caboose in undulating movements, as if performing for Trunks as she did it.

And Goten was none the wiser.

Havana was extremely entertaining to watch. And the imbalance of Goten's affections started to weigh on Trunks.

Trunks' eyes were distractedly captivated by her, yet Goten's eyes were often looking down at his books or games. He looked up to laugh and interact, but often his mind was distracted by his schoolwork and trying to get ahead.

Trunks had grown more and more frustrated, watching Goten hold back from Havana. He knew how Goten could be more affectionate and close, from how he was with Trunks.

He felt like Goten wasn't trying hard enough to impress Havana.

In fact, Trunks couldn't believe how little Goten was doing to maintain his relationship with her. Sometimes Trunks felt like Havana was putting most of the effort into keeping herself latched to Goten. And Trunks viewed this as unsustainable.

He didn't understand how Goten could expect to keep someone like Havana long-term if he didn't put his full efforts into dating.

Trunks' emotions lingered and simmered and churned about it. And, he compared Goten's actions with how Trunks treated Mai.

Trunks knew how he had put everything into his relationship with his ex, Mai. He bent in pretzels over her. Trunks would have done anything for Mai, and she knew it, too!

And even with all of Trunks' efforts with Mai, she never gave him a fraction of the kind of affection he saw Havana giving to Goten. And Goten wasn't giving a fraction of the kind of effort that Trunks knew that he would put in, if he were in Goten's shoes.

Trunks' thoughts continued to darken as he considered Goten's luck. He wondered how Goten, of all people, landed the sexiest vixen ever, only weeks after even putting himself on the market… and Trunks, had been stuck with a scheming, greedy pig for three frustrating years…

The bitter feeling within Trunks was akin to the energy that sparked his tempers.

It began to manifest as a grudge.

Trunks wanted to spite Mai, and be able to prove that he could impress another, hotter, better girl than Mai.

Trunks wanted to impress Havana with his finished car, so that she could flash him one of her sultry smiles.

So, with great fervor, Trunks dove into getting his car into working order as quickly as possible.

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Over the following few weeks, Trunks' already-intense production schedule began to bleed into long days, nights and weekends. Chagrined and concerned, his mom Bulma, claimed that Trunks was overworking and that there was no need for such extreme enthusiasm, saying that "even with a full, experienced team, a car can take months to build from scratch."

Bulma kept reminding Trunks that there was no rush; he didn't need to beat himself up so hard over it.

But, Trunks was devoted to his work, and he was supercharged with a dark, yet powerful energy he had never felt before. He was channeling it as productively as he could.

He worked best alone, in silence, and in a meditative state. Working hard, he pushed through some intense, sleepless weekends so that he could make up for lost time during his friends' visits.

Trunks knew his mother didn't understand that all Trunks wanted to do was impress Havana and show off to her. In his way, he wanted to show her how much harder he'd work for her than Goten.

No one ever riled Trunks up before… like Havana. And all of his feelings were kept in secret. As long as nobody knew, there was never any issue.

However, his body knew. He couldn't stop his body from reacting around her. He had to angle himself in ways as he worked to prevent people from noticing.

He tried to resist his desire for her, but his heart knew what his heart wanted. And the truth is that his heart wanted her to keep coming around.

He wanted to see more of her body. He wanted to see more of the way she carried herself… the way she swayed her hips… the way she puffed up her voluptuous bluish-black hair to give extra bounce. And when it came to her cleavage - no matter what shirt she wore, she slayed with her sinuous, tantalizing curves.

Havana was a ten out of ten - an arm candy trophy.

And Goten had her.

Trunks didn't know how to sort out his feelings. He didn't want to act on any of them.

He kept remembering that his Grandpa viewed Havana like a "side dish," and so he tried not to pull his eyes away from her when he found himself staring. Trunks kept reminding himself that he'd find his main "Pan-chan" someday.

But, every time Havana came over with Goten, she kept giving eyes to Trunks that roiled his blood like a treacherous sea.

In the summer heat, she side-glanced him with toothy, viperous smiles.

His attraction continued to rise to new power levels.

And he galvanized all of it into his car.

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On Friday, July 2nd, six weeks into his total car build, Trunks' car was finally ready for her first test drive. It wasn't finished - Trunks still intended to install some modular additions and to program computer software to modernize the design. All of that was planned for his "second stage" of his car build.

The first stage was complete. His car was now road-ready.

In celebration, Bulma ran a yellow-orange ribbon across the garage for Trunks to cut in front of Goten and Havana when they came that day, and they had a small barbecue. Trunks' whole family joined, including his Grandma Pan-chan, Grandpa Brief, and even his freshly-lightened blonde Aunt Tights, who drove in from the beach.

Five year old Bra, accompanied by Vegeta, explored every single nook and cranny of the new car, and even she had been stumped as to how Trunks had made it.

Bulma had wanted to invite the Son family to the party, but Goten had stopped Bulma, requesting that she please not invite his mom, because he was afraid she might not approve of Havana. Bulma insisted, and then Goten began to plead.

"Please, Bulma, please," Goten tugged Bulma's sleeve with desperation on his face, "Don't invite my mom, please ." He bemoaned, "If my mom finds out, she's going to kill me."

"What, why?" Bulma was confused as to Goten's urgency. She had not known Chi Chi to be irrational, as to hold something against a girl before meeting her.

"She won't understand," Goten pleaded, "Just please give me more time."

"Understand what?" Bulma tilted her head. "And what about inviting Gohan?"

"Nobody knows, okay? Please," Goten's eyes looked pained.

Bulma was surprised by the strange expression in Goten's eyes, and she wasn't sure if she was seeing things.

"Okay," Bulma said, and promised "to not invite Chi Chi to the party."

Then, she took a serious glance toward Havana, who was laughing and flirting with her father, Dr. Briefs, right in front of her mother, Panchy. They were all laughing by the smorgasbord of barbecued meats

Everything otherwise seemed okay. Goten's reaction seemed hyperbolic.

Yet, as Bulma went back to managing the party robots, she couldn't quite place why something felt a little off.

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After the party, Trunks finally took his brand-spanking-new red convertible car out for her first spin.

Goten and Havana were both jovial in the backseat of the convertible as Trunks played the "pilot," as he rocketed them around the town.

They laughed with glee as Trunks sought out every single roundabout in West Capital City to drive around as in circles and waves.

His decision to make his car stick-shift was the best decision Trunks ever made. He could feel his car purr under him. He felt one with his work. And it all-the-more justified how much he wanted to do exactly this growing up. He wanted to build more cars like this. Heck, maybe he'd even build a spaceship one day. Trunks felt his opportunities were endless, and they all started here, with his brand new car.

It was thrilling and joyous and fun, and Trunks cranked up a music playlist he had put together. He showed off his "bass-to-the-face" speakers that shook the heavens with their epic, blasting beats.

Goten remarked that this was a superhero's car, and now it just needed a cool cave, and a cool name.

"You need a name for your car!" Goten had shouted in laughter as Trunks did a spin, and Havana's hair whipped all around.

Trunks had ginned, and proposed to best friend, with all the love and joy in his heart, "Why don't you name it?"

Then, Goten named it "Van," because it was hilarious and ironic.

Trunks joked that they were in a "Vanmobile."

They all laughed in the wind about it.

And then, Havana kissed Goten on the cheek for such an honor.

In good spirits, Trunks offered to drive Havana home in his brand new car, now also named "Van."

Havana instead asked Trunks to drive them to the beach cliffs.

So, Trunks drove them to the shoreline. It was a thirty-five minute drive, but Trunks felt invincible and sped there within twenty-five minutes. He wove between cars and was an absolute spoiled-rich-kid on the road, but it was thrilling to embrace that side of himself for a little while.

Trunks was fearless, and felt on top of the world. Besides, he knew if there ever were a real accident, Goten, with his quick reaction time, would easily be able to protect her. Trunks liked knowing that Havana always had a good guard by her side.

They were a secret superhero duo, with their superhero car, with a supermodel girl.

As Trunks whisked them to the cliffs in his spiffy red convertible, everything felt super.

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When they made it to the ocean, Trunks drove them to an area called "Shounen Jump," which was five-mile span of cliffs just south of the beach. It was known its hotels, restaurants, entertainment, and for drawing in a lot of adventurers.

The hotels around Shounen Jump were globally known for their dinner-show entertainment, in which cliff divers would jump into the ocean water at least 30 feet below the rocky cliffs, doing diving performances such as flips and twists along the way down.

It had an almost island-vibe, with thatched roof hotels and beach resorts that spanned the entire five-mile stretch of the low cliffs with restaurants. No matter where you walked along those cliffs, there were sounds of undulating, crashing waves.

It was almost sunset by the time arrived at West End, a peninsula that jetted out into the ocean from the cliffs. The clouds on the horizon had taken a purple and pink hue, and the silhouette of West End's lighthouse stood as a dark contrast to the beautiful colors of the sky.

They sat along the cliffs, listening to island-themed music played from a local hotel's restaurant that was doing a wedding reception with white wooden tables set up along the nearby cliffs.

The wind was warm, the air smelled like a sea breeze.

And then Havana giggled and took out a rolled joint of dragonweed from her purse. As it turned out, Trunks and Goten were already very familiar with dragonweed.

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When they were both fifteen in late summer, Age 783, Trunks and Goten decided to spar in the "middle of nowhere" for fun. This was a common occurrence for them, especially as late-blooming adolescents with hormones that gave them a lot more energy to let out.

They often tired of the gravity room, finding it fairly boring and monotonous. In all of their video games, they liked to change up the battle settings, and they were ready to start thinking of how to change up their sparring zones.

The boys both loved to fly while sparring, but they were constrained by a need to spar without witnesses or any danger to local towns.

Trunks and Goten generally stuck to the desert whenever they got into one of their flying-spar moods, but that day, they decided to change things up in celebration of Goten joining Trunks in the same high school starting in several days.

They ended up in a place called Bird Mountain, locally called Toriyama, located in an unclaimed and undeveloped central part of the Southern Continent, south of the Caribou Archipelago region.

They had assumed that the landscape had been safe because of all its greenery, but they made a folly - they hadn't realized there had been a recent dry spell.

One of the fields along the mountain had caught on fire after it was ignited by a wild ki blast - they never figured out whose - and it soon became a wildfire that needed emergency superhero intervention.

Trunks always carried around a spare empty capsule in his pocket for a "just in case" scenario. And this was exactly a case scenario where Capsule Corporation technology saved the day.

Trunks managed to capsulize almost an entire lake nearby (he kept some lake water so he didn't kill all the fish and destroy the ecology; he wasn't a monster!), and in a team effort with Goten, managed to guide the water to douse the fire.

In addition to the water poured over the fire, they also fought fire with fire by razing the jungle around the fire, to starve it of energy and prevent it from spreading.

It was while they were razing the jungle that they came upon a massive field of the stinkiest, highest-quality Seven-Leaf dragonweed.

They didn't know what it was at the time, so they burned part of the dragonweed field in their controlled fire, to prevent the spread of the larger approaching wildfire.

It was within the stinky smoke of that field that everything became very funny.

They were lucky that they finished their job by the time they reached that field, because after that, all they wanted to do was eat snacks, listen to music, and just lounge around in the weeds talking and laughing about how they saved the world from the biggest wildfire ever.

They had so much fun that Trunks decided to use his empty capsule and collect all of the smelly weeds in the field. Goten had joked that he had collected enough for a lifetime. Trunks probably did.

What Trunks didn't know at the time was that those premium dragonweed fields, in the tropical jungle, were not wild…

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As Havana and her two superhero admirers sat along the cliffs watching the sunset, Havana pointed to the West End lighthouse at the end of the peninsula.

Havana told them both about how, for some reason, she always really liked lighthouses. She held positive associations because of her adventures as a pirate.

She also said she was attracted to things that could surprisingly light up and glow. Trunks and Goten had exchanged looks and knowing smiles.

She said she wished she could fly and just sit on top of lighthouses to watch every sunrise and sunset, or at least be able to have a room in one to experience it in her life.

Trunks abashedly grinned, and confessed that when he had recently been doing beach hotel research to spend time with his now-ex, he saw that it was possible to rent a room, through AirDnB, in a similar lighthouse overnight.

It all was food for thought as they smiled and made a lasting sunset memory along those West End cliffs, listening to the mesmerizing waves crash along the cliffs at Shounen Jump.

And then Goten remarked that it was starting to get late, and he needed to get home to his mom.

They both agreed to drop off Havana together, and Goten would leave from there.

They got back into Trunks' convertible and drove back to the city, where Havana pointed the way through a serpentine path.

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When Trunks got to Havana's home, they parked in front of a round, two-story white house. They were in a residential area near downtown. The neighborhood seemed safe and affluent.

Considering all of Havana's gripes about how she was raised in such terrible conditions, perhaps the state of her house should have been a red flag to Trunks, but he was sheltered and uneducated about such things, so he never noticed anything strange, and neither did Goten.

They all got out of the car so Trunks could escort Havana to her front door with Goten.

After Goten and she shared a quick kiss peck on the lips goodbye, Goten called down Kinto'un, and flew off, waving to her and Trunks.

That should have been where it ended.

Trunks finished the first stage of his car. The extra, modular designs were optional add-ons at this point, and could be completed later, at any other time in his life. His mother was right - there was no urgency, and now, the car project was done.

It could have ended there. He realized that.

While standing on the suburban sidewalk, with mild foot-traffic around them, Trunks said goodbye, as a "See you later," not because he truly wanted to see her later, but because he was good.

He gave a last smile, and was good. He made a mental picture of Havana, to remember her.

He turned and opened the door to his car, because he was good.

And then, Havana touched Trunks' arm to stop him.

He didn't react. Everything was somehow good.

Her lips were red, and her eyes so big.

And then things were suddenly…

… not good at all. It was bad.

Goten wasn't there.

He was touched.

It sparked.

Trunks felt small shocks along his skin as her hand stroked his arm, igniting his energy.

In his heightened state, his blue eyes widened vulnerably into her intense stare.

There was a long moment of pause, as they each looked into each other's eyes, and Trunks didn't know what words to say.

He felt his body want. He felt his heart say no. He thought of Goten. He thought of Havana's red lips. He thought of where he had been wanting those lips to go…

… And then Trunks heard the words, "Don't do it."

… And time stopped, just for a moment.

Something about the voice gave him pause. It was like Goten's accent, and it sounded like Videl.

His eyes shifted to observe the back of a short, dark-haired lady who passed by on the sidewalk.

The stranger wore an orange headband, cropped red jacket, and greenish-gray jean shorts as she walked away.

Something about the stranger felt familiar and awry… It was as if someone could have come back in time, in some kind of patrol, to relay a message to him.

He wondered, for a moment, if this moment could be a crux in time.

But then, he realized, in his heightened emotional state, he had been daydreaming. The stranger had just been on the phone, speaking into an earpiece as she had walked by. She continued talking to whoever was on the line, and kept walking.

It was all just a coincidence that she seemed familiar.

Trunks' mind snapped right back to Havana, who was still right in front of him, by his car, and who had stopped him from entering his vehicle.

On that sidewalk, Trunks' head had cleared just a little bit. He should have considered his gut feeling, and his doubts.

He was instead caught up in shock and denial at her touch, as Havana again stroked his arm.

Trunks unable to process what was happening.

Then, Havana gently moved her hand down to his, and his eyes and body were fully distracted by her contact.

Wordlessly, she bit her lip, and her big, beautiful dark eyes sparkled, captivating Trunks in their depths.

All of his thoughts went away.

He was lured in her dark, abyssal gaze. Sirens wailed as waving thoughts hit the cliffs of his mind.

He was lost in her eyes.

And with a hand as gentle and alluring as a fishing rod, Havana reeled Trunks in like a bullhead catfish.

Snatched and in a daze, Trunks hypnotically followed Havana as she alluringly invited him inside.

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–1/10/24–

A/N: Follow the story if you're starting to feel the suspense! There's a lot to come.