Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s not like Goten isn’t familiar with kissing or the concept of girls, or whatever. Sure, it took a while to understand why Gohan and Videl kept not inviting him to stuff. He walked in (flew, technically) on them making out a couple of times out in the woods. 

At age seven, he doesn’t really get how that’s more fun than sparring. Especially since Gohan makes him swear not to tell anyone. It’s not one of those big fun secrets, like, the Great Saiyaman, or play fighting with his brother (and Goten likes Videl—she’s nice and it’s almost funny when she has spouts of anger, but he knows Gohan isn’t holding back as much when they spar.) 

Dad gets it. Dad thinks the fighting is cool—even though Mom can get frustrated with him.

Trunks gets it, too. Which is why Goten likes Trunks. They get to fight and beat each other up, then play video games that are hard to get in the countryside. 

Hanging out with Trunks more is the only good thing about Gohan ditching him for Videl. Trunks lets him sulk about it, too, over a nice hot fudge sundae built with, like, every flavor in existence. Trunks is cool like that. 

“It’s just because they want to make out, Goten,” Trunks says, in that grown up, wise beyond his years kind of way. Sometimes, Trunks knows what he’s talking about. 

“What’s so fun about making out? All you do is use your mouth. I could be using that to eat.” Goten drowns his sorrows with a scoop of ice cream bigger than his head, and Trunks offers a half shrug. 

“Dunno, it’s just like a grown up thing or something. We’re supposed to like it when we get old, like Gohan.” Trunks shrugs. “We’ll start liking girls and holding their things and call them pretty, or whatever. And they reward us with making out and kisses.”

Goten stares at his best friend, hysterical as he wipes his whipped cream mustache. “That sounds so boring.” 

“You wouldn’t get it, Goten. You’re just not a grown up, like me.” 

“No way.” 

“Yes, way. Trust me, Ten. I’m an expert.” 

Usually, I’m an expert is Trunk’s way of ending a conversation. Goten’s never had a rebuttal because—he definitely isn’t an expert, and Trunks always gives good advice. 

Even if this piece just sounds so utterly boring and pointless. 

“What if we dated?” Goten prompts. “You and I already spend all our time together, and we like to play fight, and we don’t have to do boring stuff like make out. I can call you pretty. Like, sometimes after training you smell pretty bad.” 

Trunks shoots him this look, where his eyebrows just disappear under his lavender fringe, and Goten can take the silent victory of stumping his best friend. Like, Goten definitely asked a question too smart for even the smartest person he knows. 

“Us date?” Trunk repeats. ”No way.” 

He says it with all this confidence, like he normally does, but that one hurts. 

“Why not?” Goten asks, genuinely offended. “We’re best friends.” 

“Because—because, well—” Trunks does this thing where the wrinkles are pretty clear above his eyebrows. Goten always has a good laugh when he thinks about it, because this proves Trunks isn’t always cooler and older and wiser. 

Except, this time, Goten’s offended because he thought it was a pretty good idea. “Is it because I said you smell? You don’t always smell.” 

Trunks rolls his eyes. He pulls the ice cream bowl away, which is met with a cry of protest. 

“Because you’re weaker than me, and it’d be embarrassing to date someone who can’t even hold his own in battle. I’d need someone on my level and intellect.” Trunks rouses, confident. “No way, Ten.” 

At the tender age of seven-and-a-half, Goten’s never felt more heart break. 

(But then after that, Trunks distracts him from being upset by showing him the new Luigi’s Mansion game and some fancy chocolate.) 

*

He doesn’t really think about it again. Mostly—because the chocolate was good, and Goten bests Trunks at Mario Kart, so that was cool. Trunks insists his controller must be busted. 

Gohan’s all busy being gross and lovey dovey with Videl, but the good news is, anytime Gohan goes to the city to see his girlfriend, he offers to take Goten to Trunks first, and Mom lets them. Or, Dad and Trunks’s dad want to spar, so Dad takes Goten along. Or, their moms want to hang out and go gossiping or whatever girls do when they don’t. 

The point is, Goten gets to hang out with Trunks any time someone’s going to the city, and Goten decides he has the quiet victory. 

(Goten doesn’t tell Trunks—not like when they play games and Goten beats his best friend at something. That’s when Trunks insists he let Goten win, so Goten shouldn’t get a big head.)

He decides to save bragging rights for later, when Trunks gets a big head—because there’s something cool about stumping the smartest person Goten knows—including popping that big head of lavender hair like poking a balloon really hard. 

Because technically, he hasn’t lost his argument. Really, he just proposed dating Trunks so they could just keep spending time together like they already do, and just keep hanging out. 

And they’re doing that—anytime Goten comes to the city with his brother or his mom or his dad. He gets to hang out and spar with Trunks and have sleepovers to spend even more time with Trunks—which is all he really wants. No need to waste their time calling girls pretty and making out instead of doing something cool—like eating huge sundaes. 

They’re hanging out, like best friends are supposed to. So, Goten technically won. He let Trunks think he loss because he likes seeing Trunks happy. But he definitely wins because they’re still hanging out, and they have years to start liking girls and kissing like Gohan. And years away really just feels, like a really, really, long time. 

Goten wins because he still has his best friend all to himself. 

Until he doesn’t.

*

It’s another few years before Gohan and Videl get married. Something about college courses and research and stuff. But, eventually they start making plans, and then boom, Goten’s suddenly in a tux.

Gohan asks him and Trunks to be his groomsmen, along with a proud-but-disgruntled Piccolo and this blond guy from high school, Sharpener. Goten feels a bit out of place in a suit—especially since their Mom gushes and cooes. 

Dad’s late to the important event, like always—probably from a powerful and cool fight where every second counts. When he appears, Dad’s in the top half of the suit Mom got him, laughing boyishly and smiling apologetically. 

Gohan’s too endeared by their dad to be annoyed. Goten doesn’t blame him—their dad is cool. He’s literally made a life out of martial arts. When Goten was little, he thought his dad was living the dream. And Goten will definitely ask what the cool fight was about, later. 

Dad instant transmissions them to the chapel, where the wedding coordinator (a fiery woman who dares to challenge Mom) is furiously ushering everyone to take their places in time. 

Trunks and he almost run into each other head first. He makes a comment about Gohan being fashionably late—which Goten isn’t too sure he agrees with. The way Dad rocks the orange gi and tattered dress shirt is way cooler in Goten’s opinion. 

Goten says that out loud and Trunks just calls him a kid. Then, Trunks is looking at him. Not the upturned snobby kid kind of look, but with this confusion that’s different from their idle evening games of Guess that Smell. There’s more tilt to his head, and he’s eying Goten like he’s trying to scan for power level. 

“You look different,” Trunks remarks. 

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m in this monkey suit.” Goten feels out of place. It’s all form fitting and fancy and snazzy, but he isn’t exactly mobile in it. 

Obviously Trunks looks a thousand times better in his suit. The bow tie just brings out the blue in Trunk’s eyes and vibrant pastel of his best friend’s hair. He’s all mature and handsome looking, especially in the blue fabric. Goten’s tempted to say something—because he was told that no one should ever outshine the bride at a wedding.

“No, like, your hair. It looks different.” 

Goten groans dramatically—because Trunks once told him that weddings were supposed to be full of drama. He turns red and cradles his hair. “My mom made me brush it this morning. It hurt so much.” 

Trunks gives him a confused look. “Why would it hurt?” 

“Is it not supposed to?” 

“Obviously not. When’s the last time you brushed your hair, Ten?” 

That just makes Goten confused. “Why would I brush it?” 

Trunks’s jaw drops, and in all the time Goten’s known his best friend (which is his whole twelve years of life), he’s never seen that look. “Why wouldn’t you?” 

It leads to this whole argument like it always does, where Goten presents his case (because it gets knots in it) to Trunks rebutting (that maybe if he brushed it more then it wouldn’t get so many knots) to Goten learning the reason Trunk’s super pretty pastel hair is always so soft and nice is because Trunks brushes it and puts all this perfume-y stuff in it compared to the homemade shampoo that Grandpa Ox brings them. 

“Okay,” Goten insists, “but that’s my point. You don’t have knots in your hair, so you don’t understand what I mean when I say I don’t like to brush mine because I do.” 

It’s a cycling argument where Goten just wishes Trunks would just agree the purple hair and the suit just look better on Trunks anyway, and that they don’t need to talk about how brushing his hair is waste of time if Trunks is just going to show up to every event always looking better than the bride because Goten has accepted he’ll never look as good. 

(Except Goten doesn’t say that out loud, because if Trunks doesn’t get the hair thing then he definitely won’t get the suit thing.) 

Eventually, Trunks places finality over their argument, because he’s the expert. 

“My point is,” he huffs, “you look good. I like it.” 

Trunks always knows how to flip Goten’s mood. So do Mom, Dad, and Gohan, but Trunk’s approval always makes him brighten. 

“Yeah?” Goten asks, and he glows a bashful red. “It was really weird. Dad looked at me and was so confused because I didn’t look like a mirror.”

Trunks snickers. 

“I don’t look like him as much,” Goten remarks. He leans to look into a mirror. Where his massacred, frizzy-and-dandruff free hair stares back at him. 

Trunks’s laugh stretches a little longer, and he slings an arm around Goten. 

“No,” he agrees. “But who cares? I’ve known you way longer. Your dad should be bummed that he doesn’t look like you anymore.” 

Goten gets a burst of energy for some reason, as though he’d suddenly eaten Trunk’s compliment like a senzu bean. 

“I like it,” Trunks says again. It’s not snide or snobby or teasing. Or maybe it is. 

Honestly, it makes Goten like his own hair a little more, too. 

*

“Who’s that?” Trunks asks at the reception—and Goten tears his attention away from the wedding cake long enough to look in the direction Trunks is pointing. It’s not one of those, made you look, geez, stop being so naive, Goten, questions, either. 

It takes Goten a moment, but he recognizes her eventually. “Oh, one of my cousins on my mom’s side.” 

It doesn’t take long to remember her name—but Mom’s side of the family is definitely much harder to remember than Dad’s. 

“She’s been looking at me.” 

Goten stares at him. “You don’t have any snot on your face.” 

Trunks rolls his eyes. “No, like, she’s cute, you dummy.” 

That puzzles Goten more. He looks back at her to see what qualifies as cute—which turns out to be the standard look on his mom’s side of the family. Black hair and blacker eyes—nothing like the sheen of Trunk’s hair and natural blue eyes that don’t require a super saiyan transformation. 

Trunks suddenly tenses, like he’s preparing for battle. “She’s coming over here.” 

“Hi Goten,” says Goten’s cousin. But she’s clearly looking at Trunks instead. “Who’s your friend?” 

“This is Trunks. My best friend.” Goten gestures, and Trunks does something different with his mouth. No smug smirk or a nose wrinkle—just a happy smile. 

Huh. 

“Hi,” Trunks says—and he stands upright, too. “Want to dance?” 

Huh. 

“Yes!” She glows, turning a pleasant shade of red. 

“Hold onto this, Ten.” Trunks passes off his Nintendo 3DS without a second thought. 

Goten’s too stunned to be excited that he’s finally getting to play Trunk’s new game. 

Trunks dances with his cousin. Goten thinks it’ll be one or two songs, but then they keep chatting and hanging out.  Maron eventually asks if Goten wants to dance, too, but Goten doesn’t get all weird like way Trunks looks.

Goten assumes it must be fun, because Trunks hasn’t bothered to come back yet. Dancing isn’t bad, but it definitely doesn’t feel as coordinated as sparring.

He thinks the only dance that he’ll really ever like is the fusion one. At least that one makes sense. 

*

The weird thing is, the girl talk doesn’t really end from there. Maybe it’s because Trunks goes to some fancy prep school, and Goten is at home daydreaming instead of studying his prep materials.

Trunks keeps looking at his phone when they’re playing games, and he’s just throwing their games. 

“Is there a cooler game on your phone or something?” Goten asks eventually, because playing video games with Trunks isn’t exactly fun if he’s not into it.

“No, just this girl at my school.” Trunks has this big smile on his face, one that Goten isn’t used to seeing. 

“She has a game for you?” 

“No, we’re hanging out this weekend.” 

Goten stares at Trunks, offended. “But we’re hanging out.” 

“Don’t worry, Ten, she has a friend. It can be a double date.” 

A date. 

Now that feels like a sneak attack. 

“What do you mean a date?” Goten asks, certain Trunks has a fever. “We’re not old enough to date.”

Trunks rolls his eyes. “Don’t be such a kid, Goten.” 

“I’m not. Gohan didn’t even date until he got to high school.” 

“Yeah, ‘cause he didn’t have a social life out in the mountains. Lots of kids our age go on dates, Goten.” 

Goten frowns. But, he doesn’t have a rebuttal. “They do?” 

“Yeah, duh. Obviously.” Trunks would be easier to take seriously if his eyes weren’t glued to his phone. “Look, Ten. Your mom said you could start school in the city next year, right?” 

“Well…yeah.” Admittedly, Goten forgot because he was bummed he couldn’t transfer to Trunk’s school. 

“It’s social suicide if you’ve never been on a date. Look at your brother—Gohan married the first girl he saw.” 

“But I like Videl.” 

“Yeah, she’s scary.” Trunks looks back at him, finally. “But you and me—we’re cooler than Gohan. We should go on lots of dates in high school. That’s how you get into the cool crowd.” 

“I already think you’re cool,” Goten protests. 

“Yeah, so we have to work on you.” Trunks pats him on the shoulder. “Trust me, Goten. I know what I’m talking about.” 

“Fine,” Goten concedes. “But I’m sleeping over afterwards. And we’re having chicken nuggets for breakfast. The fancy kind shaped like dinosaurs.” 

“Duh,” Trunks says—which makes Goten a little less annoyed. Duh, he’s sleeping over. Duh, they’re going to eat the fancy chicken nuggets—the ones that Mom says aren’t a good source of protein. 

Still, Trunks doesn’t let up on his phone. 

Goten decides to remedy the situation by smacking Trunks. 

(It’s the best way to get Trunks’s attention—because Goten knows he’ll always smack back.) 

(The texting is forgotten, and Trunks rightfully focuses on beating Goten again.) 

*

Goten doesn’t think going on a date is a big deal, but Mom apparently does. He candidly asks permission during dinner that night if he could sleep over at Trunks’s, because they’re gonna have dates before that. Mom flips out. 

“My baby, going on his first date?” She asks, starstruck. 

“You mean I have to go out on more than one?” Goten asks, annoyed. He just said yes so Trunks would put the phone down and actually pay attention to him.

“What’s her name? How did you even meet her? Is she good enough for you?” Mom continues, getting gradually more annoyed. 

“I don’t know,” Goten says, and he looks to Gohan and Videl for help. “Trunks just said show up and look nice.” 

“A first date is really exciting, buddy.” Gohan smiles at him. 

“Where did you go on your first date?” Goten asks. 

Gohan’s in his twenties, married, and he still looks bashful. Videl and he exchange looks and shrug. 

“We never really went on a date,” Gohan admits. “We just hung out a lot.” 

“Nothing really beats helping save the world,” Videl continues. “Going to the movies just kind of falls flat in comparison.”

“Dad?” Goten prompts. 

Dad stops mid-bite long enough to get caught up in Mom’s gushing. 

“We went on a ride on Nimbus and then we sparred,” Dad says. “Then your mom said she wanted to get married and I said sure. I thought it was just something to eat when we were done.” 

Goten is mortified. 

“I can’t get married on this date,” Goten protests. “What if I actually want eat?” 

Gohan laughs and ruffles his hair, like he’s still a kid. Their mom his swept up in the story now—the one where Mom and Dad fought at the World Tournament and Dad re-proposed. 

Goten still doesn’t really get it. Apparently he’s from a family that’s never really gone on dates, and fall in love during the World Martial Arts Tournament after saving the world from imminent destruction. 

And if that’s the case then Goten’s already got most of that covered. He fights with Trunks, like, all the time, and they fought against each other in the junior division years ago. Plus, they’ve saved the world at least twice. 

By Son Family standards, Goten’s pretty set. 

How was he going to get lucky a second time and find a girl who could fight and save the world the way Trunks and he did? 

*

The date’s okay. Goten faces his inner demons and split ends by brushing his hair again, since Trunks instructed him to look nice. Trunks notices for about two seconds—then he spends the entire time fawning over this girl, Felicity. 

Goten’s nice and respectful towards his date because Mom didn’t raise any sons without manners. Dad said don’t kick her in the armor unless she wants to spar. His date isn’t dressed to spar, but his mom is always ready to throw a punch no matter what she’s wearing. 

It’s not bad, Goten’s just bored. And Trunks is acting all weird, nodding and asking Felicity how she feels about things. It’s just weird. Trunks is all gross and doting, which wouldn’t be a big deal, except Goten came to hang out with his best friend, so he wishes Trunks was more considerate. 

Their dates get up to go to the bathroom together, which is when Trunks kicks him under the table. 

“Ow,” Goten whines, because Trunks knows how to hit. “What was that for?” 

“Pay attention to your date, Goten. She likes you,” Trunks says. 

Goten doesn’t understand. “She does?” 

Trunks rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you numbskull. You’re doing a good job. But you need to stop being such a space cadet.”

“But I’m bored,” Goten laments. “When are we going home?” 

“Soon, Ten. But keep your game up.” 

Goten sighs because it’s the worst game Trunks has ever made him play. 

The mood gets a little better when they go to a bowling alley. Goten does have to watch his strength after accidentally rolling a ball too hard. He expects Trunks to berate him (give him any attention), but somehow Felicity and Trunks end up at their own lane, cuddling, while he shows her how to bowl. Then bowling just isn’t as fun anymore. 

So, Goten and his own date wander off. They lock eyes on a drop claw machine almost immediately. 

“That cat looks like a dessert,” Goten says. “That’s—”

“Nyan Cat!” His date squeals, elated. She shakes Goten. “We have to get him!” 

Goten’s surprised that she’s excited about a toy—since Trunks suddenly said toys were a baby thing and not something they should be interested in. But, Goten decides to take it as a win and starts popping tokens into the machine. (He’s pretty sure Trunks gave him so many so he’d stop complaining.) 

In the end, he gets really into it—because duh, how can you not like a cat and a dessert? 

His date squeals and throws her arms in the air as the claw finally latches onto Nyan Cat. Goten doesn’t realize he’s screaming, too. 

When he gets it out of the machine, they both jump out of excitement. She stares at it in awe—and yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s as big as Trunk’s dad (but that isn’t saying much.) 

“Do you want it?” Goten asks. 

She stares at him in awe, her cheeks glowing to match the shade of her dress. “You won it for me?” 

“Well, yeah. You were cheering me on.” Normally, Trunks gives him the prize because Goten sulks for not being able to get it himself. But it’s nice to give it away instead. Maybe that’s why Trunks always gives him the prize, because it’s nice to see her smile. Trunks can’t make fun of him for not being a good date now. 

She blushes even more, like when Gohan says something completely normal and Videl looks as red as ketchup. 

Then she takes the plush cat and puts her mouth on his. For like, a second. 

It’s as unexpected as an underhanded punch from an enemy. 

And she looks at him even more bashfully. 

“Why’d you do that?” He asks, confused. 

“Because you’re so sweet,” she says. Then her face twists, panicked. “Why, was it bad?” 

“No—just—unexpected.” The only kisses Goten’s ever received are from Mom, or when he was a kid and Gohan would affectionately ruffle his hair. Never on the lips. “Thank you.” 

Mom and Gohan told him never to be rude to a lady. 

She glows pink and squeezes Nyan Cat harder. “Wanna do it again?” 

Goten completely forgets about kissing his date when the night finally ends, and Trunks and he can retire for the night. 

“You have a good time?” Trunks asks on the flight home. 

“Yeah,” Goten admits. “Can we eat though? I’m starving.” 

Trunks snorts, looking more like himself as the ki ripples around him and makes both his hair and clothes flutter. “Seriously?” 

“Trunks,” Goten says, hoping his extra emphasis will win his best friend over. Most of the time it does. 

“You and your stomach. Here.” Trunks pulls something out of his pocket and flings it at him.

Goten catches it, and his eyes widen. “Hello Panda? When’d you get these?” 

Chocolate, too. His favorite.

“I won them in the machine.“ 

“You didn’t give them to Felicity?” 

“Nah. I was saving it for you. Figured you’d get all fussy if you weren’t my first choice for food.” 

First choice. Yeah, he’s still Trunks’s first choice. Goten grins and rips the bag open, giddy. 

They skirt the block where Trunk’s house is, and Goten decides to press his luck. 

“Trunks,” he says. “I want tacos.” 

“Tacos?” Trunks asks. “Seriously?” 

“Please?” Goten asks. He may not be seven and shrimpy anymore, but he still presses up against Trunks mid-flight and nuzzles his face into Trunks’s, trying his best to butter up his best friend.

“Hey—cut it out,” Trunks snaps and literally shoves a hand in Goten’s face. 

Goten doesn’t mind it. It’s far more familiar than how suave Trunks was trying to be during their double date or whatever. “Aw, c’mon, Trunks. Pleeeaaaase?”

“Fine, whatever.” Trunks rolls his eyes and Goten yips before they start changing coordinates for the nearest taco shop. “Don’t say I never did anything for you.” 

Of course not. “You’re the best, Trunks!” 

After all, Goten is Trunks’s first choice. 

Two and a half dozen tacos later and Goten finally feels satiated. He remembers his date, at least. 

“Kissing’s not as bad as I thought it was,” Goten remarks. 

“What?” Trunks looks at him, suddenly confused. “You kissed her?” 

“She kissed me. Didn’t Felicity kiss you?” 

Trunks doesn’t blink for a long second. Then he leans back in his seat, with the taco wrappers crunching on the table. He looks smug. “Of course she did. We kissed a bunch. Like, twice.” 

“Only twice?” Goten’s eyebrows knit together, while his best friend’s only seem to raise. 

“I—well—” Trunks looks stumped, which Goten doesn’t know why. Then he shrugs nonchalantly. “Felicity and I are keeping things cool. Trina was probably trying to be nice since it was your first date.” 

Goten doesn’t know if cool and mature is worth it if he’s the one who ended up with Trunk’s drop claw prize. “You get different numbers of kisses on each date?” 

“Totally.” 

“How do you know that? Have you been on a lot of dates?” 

“Yeah, Goten. Having a lot of dates is a good thing.” Trunks crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve been on a bunch.” 

When they were younger, anytime Trunks flexed how good he was at something, Goten thought it was cool. He doesn’t know why, but this isn’t one of those times. 

“That sounds exhausting,” Goten says. 

“Of course you’d think that. You gotta stop thinking like a kid, Ten.” Trunks rolls his eyes. “How else are you gonna get dates on your own?”

Who cares, Goten wants to say. Instead, he just frowns. “I can get a date.” 

“Uhuh.” 

“I so can,” Goten insists. “I can get more dates than you.” 

“Trees in the mountain don’t count, Ten.” 

Goten huffs. Truthfully, he doesn’t care for dates. He’d much rather just hang out with Trunks, but Trunks would apparently rather be a boring grown up. 

He sulks long enough for Trunks to turn the other way. 

“C’mon, you know what I mean,” Trunks says next.

Again, Goten harrumphs and nurses his wounds with his twentieth taco. 

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry, Ten, what can I do to make it up to you?” Trunks asks. “You’re a knock out for any tree and any girl. Any branch would be lucky to have you.” 

“Can we just stop talking about dates?” Goten asks. “You told me we could hang out now.” 

There’s a brief pause, where Trunks’s shoulders fall in relief. Then, he laughs and leans in close, giving Goten his full attention. Finally. “Fine. What do you want to do?” 

“Literally anything. So long as it’s just the two of us.” Goten puts extra emphasis on that. “No phones.” 

Trunks looks like he’s about to argue—but then he shrugs. “Okay.” 

Goten tries his luck some more. “And pizza.” 

“Okay,” Trunks says again, nonchalant.

“Then we go all out in the gravity chamber,” Goten continues. “And then we play video games—oh, and maybe get ramen, and watch that new movie that just came out—”

“Okay, okay,” Trunks says. He puts a hand out. Goten doesn’t realize he’s leaning across the table until Trunks pushes him back. But he’s grinning. Not some dumb, suave grin like with Felicity, either. “Geez, are you trying to kill me?” 

“Maybe in the new Street Fighter game.” 

“You wish.” 

“Bet.” 

*

The dating thing doesn’t really go away. In fact, Trunks seems more glued to his phone than ever in the months that come. Trunks just assures Goten that he’ll get it when he starts high school, too. 

Goten doesn’t actually want to get it, he just wants his best friend to hang out with him. Trunks tries to get him to go on another double date, but, honestly, if Trunks wants to hang out, then they should just hang out. 

Except Trunks just starts hanging out with girls instead of him. Going on dates with Felicity or other girls. Gohan’s busy with his research and Videl does…well, whatever scary girls do. 

Goten’s own dating prospects fizzle out—mostly because he doesn’t have a phone to text from the mountains, where they don’t get great reception, anyway. If he did have a phone to text, it’d be to get Trunks to actually pay attention to him. 

Dad offers to remedy his boredom with sparring, which works for a bit. Except Goten’s so bummed about Trunks blowing him off that when he hits the hilltop, he just lays in his dirt imprint, sullen. He starts making dirt angels before Dad realizes he’s spent. 

“C’mon, son, I know you’ve got some fight left in you.” Dad descends to the ground and stares at him from above head. “Hungry?” 

“No.” Not yet, anyway. 

He must sound pretty pathetic, because now Dad is blinking at him in confusion. 

Dad plops down next to him. “What’s wrong, buddy?” 

There’s really no way to sugar coat it. So, Goten explains, “You’re not Trunks.” 

Dad looks even more confused. “Well, no, but I’ve gotten pretty used to being Goku.”

Goten laughs despite himself, but only a second. He’s still bummed. “Trunks and I used to fight all the time, and now all he wants to do is hang out with girls.” 

“Girls who fight?” 

“Girls who make out and who he can hold purses for and stuff. Who make him add all weird and—and nice.” Goten wrinkles his nose. “What’d you do when your best friend got a girlfriend?” 

“Oh, that’s easy.” Dad leans close. “When Krillin and 18 got together, I was already dead.” 

Goten considers it. “Did that make Krillin pay more attention to you?” 

“Well, no, he started a family and grew his hair out.” 

Goten considers that, too. Trunks has nice hair. Goten bets it’d be even nicer longer. Then he realizes what his father says. Goten sits upright. 

“You mean Trunks is going to start a family?” Goten asks, horrified. “What did Krillin do when you and mom started dating?” 

Dad tilts his head thoughtfully. “I don’t know, actually. Your mom and I got married and we didn’t see them for a couple years. Gohan was pretty young.” 

Goten makes a another horrified noise. “Dad—”

“Hey, Goten, don’t sweat it—” Dad laughs because the crisis of Trunks getting married and starting a family and not even telling Goten isn’t something for him to worry about. “How about we ask?” 

*

“Wow, Goten!” Maron plops beside him on the couch at Kame House. “I really like your hair.” 

“Thanks. I’ve been brushing it.” At least someone noticed. 

“Not looking much like your dad these days, huh, sport?” Krillin remarks, while Dad laughs. 

“I don’t even know if my hair can do that,” Dad admits. 

“It can,” Goten promises. “With the worst pain in the world.”

Krillin and Maron exchange looks. Goten considers asking if Krillin had to teach himself how to brush his hair again after being bald for so long. 

“Well, what brings you here?” Krillin asks. “Not that I need a reason to see you, but—“ 

“It’s a matter of life or death, Krillin.” Goten inches forward, and he knows he startles the little man. Then again, Goten’s seen his dad sneeze and Krillin fall into combat mode. 

“Oh—no, are we facing another threat?“ Krillin asks, alarmed. 

“Girls,” Goten explains. “And what they’re doing my best friend.” 

“What they’re doing?” Krillin parrots—and he immediately looks back to Dad. “Goku, you didn’t seriously bring Goten here to give him the Talk, did you? Marron, sweetie, go see if Mommy needs help with something—“

“Okay,” Marron says. 

“Talk? What talk?” Dad asks, puzzled. 

“What do you mean what talk?” Krillin scratches his head. “Look, you got away with it the first time with Gohan, being dead and all, but Piccolo’s still pretty traumatized by that—“

“Krillin, what did you do when my mom and dad started dating?” Goten asks. “How’d you get Dad to pay attention to you and stop hanging around Mom?” 

Krillin stares at him, then slowly turns his head to Dad, who shrugs. Maybe they’re sharing some sort of telekinetic mind reading thing. Goten feels like he used to be able to do that with Trunks. 

“You’re my dad’s best friend, right?” Goten asks. Before Krillin can answer, Goten continues, “You didn’t like it when Mom and Dad started dating, right? Tell me you told him it was a bad idea and you and he just hung out instead. No dating or making out or anything.” 

Krillin scratches his head. “I mean—no offense, Goten, but if it was a ‘bad idea,’ then you wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

It takes Goten a minute to figure that one out. 

In that minute, Krillin assesses the situation. 

“Well, for once in your dad’s life he was thinking about something other than his stomach and fighting,” Krillin remarks. “I didn’t believe it until I saw your brother, Goten, but Goku turned into a total family man for like, a second. We didn’t see each other for a good four or five years.”

Dad laughs good-naturedly. “You have no idea how long it took for us to figure out how to wrap a diaper around a tail.” 

(Note to self: ask Gohan later if Goten was born with a tail. Also, cool.)

“So you’re all out of sorts because Trunks started dating? Is that kid really old enough to date now? Wow.” Krillin scratches his head. “Don’t worry, kid, you’re a looker. You’ll start dating soon enough.” 

This conversation isn’t going anywhere near Goten’s liking. 

“Or, maybe you’ll be like your old man and brother and marry the first girl you see,” Krillin remarks next. 

Goten doesn’t want to date. He hates this conversation. “I just want Trunks.” 

“Trunks’ll come around,” Dad promises. “You know, when he needs something to eat or wants to fight.” 

“Five years from now?” Goten asks. “Marron, do you want to date?” 

Marron stares at him, confused, while Krillin suddenly makes a noise. 

“Hey now—when I said date the first girl you see—”

“No,” Marron answers whole-heartedly. “You’re nice, Goten, but you’re not a very good texter.” 

Goten stares back at her, confused. “I don’t own a phone.” 

“That too,” Marron says sagely. “We’re better off as friends. Plus, my mom would kill you.” 

Yikes. If Goten did have a tail, it’d be tucked between his legs. “You know what, she absolutely would.” 

“Wow,” Krillin says in awe. “My little girl, a heartbreaker.” 

“Oh, I have an idea,” Dad says eagerly. “A really good one! Why don’t you date Trunks?” 

Goten stares at his dad. He thinks he’s a big word that his brother used once for class. Dissociating. 

He lays between the couch cushions, defeated, while Krillin and his dad carry on some animated conversation. 

“…I mean, why not—?” “You’re really not seeing the issue, huh big guy?” 

*

Sometimes, having Mr. Satan as an in-law has its benefits. Dad asks if Mr. Satan can get Goten a phone, if that’s the only thing keeping him from getting a girlfriend. There’s a lot of features and games—but Goten does the first thing that comes to mind. 

Text the only number he has memorized. 

You: I asked Marron on a date. She said no. 

Goten eagerly presses send and awaits Trunks finally paying attention to him. Finally picking up his phone to pay attention to Goten. Finally!

Except it doesn’t happen. 

A minute passes. 

Ten minutes pass. 

Goten tries to busy himself by counting the dots on his ceiling. Then he gets bored. 

Trunks, he texts. 

You: Truuuunks

He’d worry about not having the right number if Trunks hadn’t bragged years ago about getting a cellphone. Goten was so excited to be able to call his best friend directly so they could watch TV shows at the same time, instead of having to ask Bulma to give the home phone to Trunks. 

The three ellipsis finally show at the bottom. 

Who is this? Trunks finally texts. 

Goten feels his heart accelerate excitedly. 

You: Goten

Trunks immediately calls him. 

“Trunks!” Goten greets. “Hi!” 

“You got a phone?” Trunks asks him, incredulous. 

“Yeah. Dad asked Mr. Satan to get me one so I could text girls or something—”

“You asked Marron out on a date? Our friend Marron?” Trunks interrupts him. Something about his voice seems odd. “So what, you two are dating now? Boyfriend and girlfriend?” 

“No, she turned me down and said 18 would kill me,” Goten says. “But anyway—”

“You got a phone to text girls?“ Trunks asks.

Goten makes a face—but then he remembers Trunks can’t see him. “Yeah, but you’re the only number that I have memorized.” 

There’s a sudden pause, where Goten can’t tell if he lost reception or not. 

“What about Marron’s?” Trunks asks next. 

“What? No,” Goten dismisses. “I told you, 18 would kill me if we dated.” 

“But you want to.” 

“I don’t want to, and Marron doesn’t want to. We both think you’re weird for wanting to.” 

Finally, Trunks laughs. Goten doesn’t know how long it’s been since he’s heard it. 

“Says the guy who finally joined the rest of us in the twenty-first century,” Trunks muses. 

“Right?” Goten agrees. Maybe he’d be upset, but he’s just happy to hear Trunks’s voice for the first time in ages. “Hey, can you send me one of those memes? The one with the big text? How do you send one of those gifts?” 

“A gift? You mean a gif?” 

“Yeah. The cartoon but for your phone.” 

Trunks laughs again. Cackles, even. “Goten, you sound like my dad.”

“No way. Your dad sounds shorter.” 

Trunks loses it over the phone, and Goten’s face hurts from grinning. 

He lets the other thought slip from his mouth. “I miss you, Trunks.” 

Trunks’s laughter ceases. It gets so quiet that Goten has to check and make sure his friend didn’t hang up. 

“Trunks—?” 

“Aw, c’mon, don’t get so sappy on me, Ten. What do you expect me to say to that?” 

“I don’t know—maybe you miss me too?” 

Goten can practically hear his best friend’s forehead wrinkle, stumped. He wishes he could see it. 

“Look, you have my phone number now—just text me when you want.” 

“Are you gonna text back?” Goten asks. 

“Yeah, Ten.” 

“Promise,” Goten instructs. 

“Promise,” Trunks mimics. “Now good night. Some of us actually have school in the morning.” 

“But you’re the one who—” 

Trunks hangs up. 

“Called me first,” Goten mutters, annoyed. Offended. 

(Until Trunks sends him a meme.)

*

Goten hits his growth spurt right before high school starts. Like, an actual growth spurt, basically overnight.  He looks into the bathroom mirror and screams. 

“What?“ Mom comes in, shouting and holding her frying pan. “What’s the matter? Who’s hurting my baby? Oh—Goten!” 

Goten stares at the shocked face reflected in the mirror. His jaw falls, agape. 

“You hit your growth spurt!” Mom remarks. 

“L-Like a carrot?” Goten stammers. 

“Oh, you look so handsome—just like your father!” Mom squeals. “We’ll have to go shopping. I know just what to get you!” 

It turns into a whole ordeal. Mom throws him in some of Gohan’s old hand-me-downs—and that’s a weird thought. Goten’s always heard remarks about how he looks like their dad. Filling in Gohan’s literal shoes feels weird. 

Then they go to Gohan and Videl’s residence. It’s a whole ordeal. Dad’s there, sparring Buu. They all look at him. 

“Whoa, Goten.” Gohan studies him carefully, like one of his entomology projects. Pan is fascinated by him, so Goten picks her up. “You’ve really come into your own, huh?” 

“I don’t remember you going through this,” Goten remarks. Then again, his brother’s always been big to him. That’s what the big in big brother stands for. 

Gohan laughs in a whole-hearted timbre. Goten forgets how much he misses it—along with how Gohan used to ruffle his hair growing up—until his big brother does so now. 

“Maybe I’ve just always been big to you,” Gohan remarks. 

Goten rolls his eyes. He’s happy, though—because Gohan gets it. His big nerd of a big brother. 

“How about you take your brother shopping for school clothes?” Mom asks. She’s busy cooing over Pan. 

“Really?” Gohan asks, surprised. “Isn’t that more your speed, Mom?” 

“Nonsense,” Mom reassures. “Someone needs to get some fresh air and keep his nose off his computer.” 

Gohan stares at her. Then looks behind him. Then at Goten. “Is she talking about me?” 

Goten’s also confused. He has to check behind himself, too. After all—his own reflection scared him this morning. “I actually think so.” 

“C’mon, Gohan—it’ll be fun. When’s the last time you and Goten did anything together?” Videl asks. 

They both really have to think about it—which pretty much solidifies that plan. 

They take a car to the mall. 

“Sorry I’ve been so busy,” Gohan says on the ride there. He’s always genuine in his apologies. “I’ve been—”

“Doing research, raising Pan, participating in the Tournament of Powers, dating Videl, going to high school,” Goten finishes for him. “I know.” 

“Oh, wow. Sorry, little guy, it’s really been a whirlwind, huh?” 

“It’s okay. Really.” Goten peels away from the phone in his hand to meet his brother’s gaze.

Normally, Gohan looks sheepish. He turns, looking genuinely surprised. “Guess I haven’t been a very good brother these days.” 

Goten shrugs. “You’re busy being a dad. Apparently that’s what comes after dating, anyway.” 

“A couple more steps—usually. Hopefully. For you, I really hope.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Uh, nothing.” Gohan clears his throat. “Hey—when did you get a phone?” 

“Dad asked Mr. Satan to get me one so I can text girls.”

The car nearly veers out of the sky. “Dad got you one?” 

“Yeah.” He can tell it’s one of those statements Gohan wants more context for, but it doesn’t happen. 

“So,” his brother says instead, “um…are you texting girls?” 

Goten looks back at his brother, puzzled. “I don’t know any. Well, except for Marron, but she didn’t want to date.” 

Gohan makes another noise. “You asked Marron on a date? When was this?” 

“I don’t know. A while ago?” Goten shrugs. “She said I was bad at texting, but I didn’t have a phone back then. And her mom’s scary. Weird, right?” 

Gohan does shudder—and the thought of 18 as an in-law probably sounds terrifying to him, too. “So…who’ve you been texting then?“ 

“Trunks.”

“Oh. Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” Gohan clears his throat. His knuckles are white over the steering wheel, and he must be trying his hardest not to accidentally break the car. “Well, if you ever need advice about girls—“

“I don’t want to marry the first girl I see,” Goten protests. He crosses his arms over his chest. 

Gohan laughs again. Nervously. “Well—that’s not why I married Videl. She’s my best friend.” 

“I thought I was your best friend.” 

“You are. And my brother. And Dad’s my best friend. And Piccolo—but like, in an estranged uncle-slash-dad kind of way.” Gohan shrugs nonchalantly. His voice softens. “I just got to the point where I realized I couldn’t imagine life without her. You know?” 

Goten considers it. “Trunks is my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without him.” 

“That’s good, buddy.” Gohan smiles at him as they park. “Cherish that.” 

Goten doesn’t know why, but the advice hits him hard. It’s better than what Mom, Dad, and Krillin have told him, at least. 

You : Has this happened to you too?

 

Trunks : Has what happened? 

Goten sends a picture he took in the bathroom mirror this morning. 

Trunks : WHAT? What the hell, Goten?? 

 

You : is that a no? 

 

Trunks : of course not! 

Goten ponders why he might’ve hit his growth spurt before Trunks. 

You : that makes sense. Maybe you won’t get taller 

 

Trunks : what makes sense? 

 

You : your dad 

There’s a long pause. Then Trunks sends him the middle finger emoji. 

*

High school starts a few weeks later. And—it’s actually kind of fun. Goten’s reminded he’s not often around kids his own age. He keeps a low profile, which proves to be hard in a classroom setting. Goten isn’t used to sitting still for long periods of time. Mom used to make him spar to get all that energy out before going back to studying. 

Gohan is certain Mom’s just softened with the times. Goten can’t imagine that she used to have a shorter fuse.

Goten’s gotten really used to shouting the answer when he’s studying with his mom or Gohan. He doesn’t get into the habit of raising his hand until third period, but then that seems pointless in art class. 

“Getting the hang of things?” asks a guy in gym class. 

“I think so. I just wish I didn’t have to raise my hand to go take a leak,” Goten mutters—and the guy laughs. 

“You’re like one of those people from Stardew Valley, Goten.” 

Goten stares at the other kid, then down to his shirt, confused. “I thought this was Orange Star High School.” 

The guy laughs again. “No, man. I’m talking about the video game.” 

Hold the phone. Goten stares at the other kid, shocked. “You know about video games?” 

His classmate looks puzzled. “Well, yeah. Do you know what game I’m talking about? You move to the countryside and start new life on a farm. And you meet people. Except, you’re already one of the NPCs already. You said you and your family run a farm, right?” 

“Yeah.” Goten’s shocked. 

“What kind of games do you like, Goten?” 

“I dunno. I guess all of them?” Trunks has a whole library of games. Being born to the richest family in the world kinda helped with that. 

“Have you been to the arcade?” 

“What's an arcade?” Goten’s eyebrows furrow. “Is that where our next class is?” 

The boy laughs. “You’re a riot, Son. Okay, that settles it—we’re going after school.” 

*

The academic part of school isn’t hard, but isn’t necessarily stimulating, either. Goten’s forced to learn some social cues to follow along with his new friends—but he has them. Friends. They’re not the sparring type—but games and manga are still cool. Movies, too. And it’s…really fun, actually. 

It feels like a completely different part of his life, when Trunks and he reunite a couple of months into the school year. Trunks and his mom pull up in a Capsule Corp hovercraft with Krillin and 18. Something about fate of the world and kidnappings. 

“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Li,” Goten says. “Let me know if you figure out our math homework, ‘kay?”

Li stares at him, gobsmacked. “You know the Brief Family? Bulma Briefs, and Trunks Briefs?” 

Goten stares at him and Mina, who look shocked. “Yeah, he’s my best friend. Oh, I guess I should introduce you—“ 

“Hurry up, Goten!” Trunks shouts from the window—and the sound of his voice sends an entire jolt through Goten’s body. An eager one, like when they were kids. 

Goten’s mesmerized for a moment, as Trunks is in a perch out the window. His hair sways in the wind and only looks more vibrant with his purple vest. He smirks, and Goten’s immediate reaction is to grin back. 

“Yeah okay,” Goten shouts back. “Bye guys! See you in gym tomorrow!” 

He leaps into the air with a spring in his step. Li and Mina make a noise of shock—but Goten’s already got a backup excuse. Parkour. Li’s shown him enough TikToks about it. 

“Holy crap, Trunks, you grew.” Goten can’t hide his awe. He cuts Bulma’s explanation off—but she doesn’t seem upset. 

“Oh, I guess it has been a while since you boys have seen each other,” she remarks. “ChiChi told me you’re excelling in school, Goten. Is that true?” 

“Yeah, I really like it.” Goten doesn’t blink. He’s transfixed on Trunks, like a really cool level on a video game. 

Trunks arches an eyebrow, and the corner of his lip curls. “What?” 

“You look like…you know. The other you.” Goten can’t stop staring. 

“Well, we are the same person. Sort of.” Trunks smirks. The beats in their conversation don’t feel awkward. “Geez, Ten, take a picture, it’ll last longer.” 

Goten does just that. Trunks startles at the flash. 

They catch up a little in the back, while Bulma flies them elsewhere. There’s a mumble from the adults up front—something about kids in their own little world, but Goten tunes them out in favor of Trunks. 

“You look cool like he did,” Goten says. 

Trunks looks away, all cool and suave like that other Trunks, too. “Who was that girl with you?” 

“Who? Mina?” Goten shrugs. “A classmate from school. She’s really cool, she knows how to draw.” 

“You two dating?”

“What? No.” Goten’s eyebrows knit together. 

“She keeps texting you.” 

Goten looks down to his phone, which has mostly been ignored in favor of Trunks. “Oh, they were freaking out because I knew you. Are you famous or something?” 

Trunks stares at him. And shrugs. “I mean, I guess.”

“Cool. I knew you were rich—I didn’t know you were famous, too.” Goten texts a meme back, and then notices Trunks glancing at his screen. “What?” 

“I don’t see my name,” Trunks points out. He gestures to the message screen, where Goten’s recent texts are listed out. 

“You’re right there.” Goten points three rows down. 

“You don’t have me added to your contacts?” Trunks asks, sounding even more disbelieving. 

“Why would I? I have your number memorized.” Goten arches an eyebrow, confused why it’s even an issue. “I only put numbers in if I know I’m going to forget them.” 

Which, of course, is everyone else. 

Goten can tell he’s stumped his best friend. That didn’t change. 

“Okay,” Trunks says. No snide remark or something arrogant. Goten stares at him once again. 

“You’re even being cool like him,” Goten insists—and Trunks looks genuinely surprised by the comment. Goten’s called Trunks cool plenty of times in the past, but this one gets that stumped look on Trunks’s face. 

“Well—he was fourteen or whatever when he showed up here the first time. And I’m fifteen. Simple math, Ten.” Trunks taps him on the head thoughtfully, like a meme Mina once sent Goten. Teasingly, he adds, “I had no idea you had such a crush on him.” 

“Well, yeah.” Trunks has always been cool in Goten’s mind, except for when he’s being a jerk. So that Trunks was obviously just as cool, if not cooler. 

But again, Trunks looks taken aback by the response. 

Before they get into it though, they make it to Red Ribbon Academy, where Gohan, Piccolo, and Pan are. 

It’s a whole thing, and Goten is reassured that 18 is definitely too scary to have as a mother-in-law. 

Trunks and he fuse for the first time in ages—and also unintentionally screw it up—but it works out in the end. Gohan reminds Goten of one of Li’s memes—the duality of man. Nerd and badass. 

Who taught you the word badass? Trunks asks when they’re Gotenks. 

School, Goten explains, with no actual context. 

Once the world is saved, Pan enlightens everyone by flying for the first time. Goten hasn’t been this emotional since she learned how to say his name. 

“Good thing Piccolo was so distracted by Gohan,” Trunks remarks later, on the ship ride home. “He’d beat us up if he realized we weren’t keeping up with our training.” 

“No way,” Goten says. “He’s been so soft since Pan was born.” 

“What was that?” They hear on the far end of the ship, where Pan is fast asleep. 

Goten and Trunks flinch. 

“N-Nothing, Piccolo.” Goten and Trunks grin nervously. 

“Hmph,” is the big guy’s winning argument. 

“Hey, we should practice fusing again and surprise everyone,” Goten reasons. “C’mon, like old times.” 

“Really?” Trunks asks, surprised. “Why?” 

“To spend time together. Duh, dummy.” Goten nudged him in the elbow. “What do you say, Trunks? How about this weekend? We haven’t sparred in forever.” 

Trunks looks contemplative—but in the end, he shakes his head. “No, I don’t think I can. Mai and I are hanging out this weekend.” 

Goten deflates. That hurts more than he expects. 

Rejection.

“Hey—why the long face?” Trunks asks, confused. 

“No reason.” For a moment, Goten forgot that Trunks has a life outside of them, too. 

“No, seriously,” Trunks says, and he leans close. Goten’s reminded of his old qualm—how girls have brought out this weird emotional intelligence in his best friend. 

“Seriously, nothing,” Goten grumbles. He fires Trunks’s question back from earlier, mostly to be petty. “So are you two dating or something?” 

He doesn’t actually expect Trunks to turn red and get flustered. 

“Uh, yeah,” Trunks says, looking all humble and bashful in a way Goten’s only known with his own brother. “I think we are.” 

(Maybe things would have been better if they got blown up by Cell Max.)

*

Goten’s in another slump. An even worse one. At least with other girls Trunks was interested in, they died out quickly. Trunks always had time to text him. 

But with Mai, even Goten knows that Trunks has had a crush on her for, like, ever. And Trunks doesn’t text back this time. Not to any memes, or any TikToks, or anything. Goten sends a picture of Pan and him pretending to do the fusion dance, with him nearly breaking his back from having to bend so low. 

He tries to goad on Trunks’s teasing by mentioning Pan called him older than Gramps. 

Nothing. For weeks. Goten was banking on Mai and Trunk breaking up after a few days—but it doesn’t happen. Trunks just leaves him on read—and Goten’s classmates have informed him that it’s super rude. 

Li catches him sulking at lunch. “Still checking your phone? One of the teachers might confiscate it if you don’t put it away, man.” 

“I can’t help it.” Goten’s gaze is fixated on his screen. 

“Well, it’s Trunks Briefs. I still can’t believe you know him, Goten. Maybe he’s just busy being rich and famous and—”

“Not for me,” Goten cuts off. He peers back up, sulking. 

He must look angrier than he intends, because Li flinches. 

“Sorry,” Goten says next. He puts his phone away because he knows it’s rude to have it out mid-conversation. 

(He wishes Trunks realized that.)

“Hey—it’s high school. People break up all the time. And he’s a celebrity, so—double that speed. They’ll be broken up in, like, a second.”

“Not in my family,” Goten mutters. “Both my dad and brother married the first girl they ever dated.”

Li stares at him, stunned. “Uh…wow. That’s…intense?” 

“And then they didn’t even talk to their best friend for like, five years. The next time I see Trunks, he’s probably gonna have a kid. Maybe two.” Goten thinks a pet dog would be cheaper, but cheap isn’t in Trunks’s vocabulary. 

“Um…” Li apparently runs out of optimism. “Girls are overrated?” 

“Thank you,” Goten laments. Because someone finally gets it. 

Li grins, pleased. “Hey, wanna hang out tonight? Just the two of us?” 

“No Mina?” 

“Nah,” Li says, and he leans in eagerly. “You know she doesn’t like the arcade as much as we do, anyway.” 

Goten ponders the thought. “Okay. Yeah. Just the two of us.” 

*

Goten’s long accepted his school friends aren’t going to share the same love of martial arts like the rest of his family and circle. He’s okay with that, since Li and Mina and a handful of other classmates share other hobbies with him. Goten isn’t really supposed to show off his super strength or ability to fly, but games are enough keep his attention. 

It’s the same mentality that got him through the double date with Trunks a really long time ago. And—it’s really not bad. Li’s really good at the drop claw game. 

“You play that before?” Li points to a machine with a bunch of arrows. “Dance Dance Revolution?” 

Goten looks at the game curiously. It’s different from joysticks, steering wheels, and button mashing. 

“C’mon, Goten.” Li grabs him by the hand, so Goten obliges. 

It’s not a very hard game. In fact, Goten catches on really quickly with all the steps. The arrows and the music keep getting faster, but Goten barely has to tear an eye away. The score climbs past the number sitting on the marquee, and a bell rings miraculously. 

“Wow, Goten, you’re really good at this.” Li grins at him. “Want to try duo mode?” 

Goten grins back. “Yeah!” 

Duo mode is a little faster. And—honestly, reminds Goten of fusing with Trunks. Their moves have to be in sync to make the score climb higher. Goten has no problem working the machine—but Li does. 

Eventually, it gets too fast. Li trips over the platform, into Goten. 

“Careful.” Before Goten can help himself, he catches his friend, and still moves to the arrows on his screen. Li’s screen is filled with X’s. 

“Crap,” Li says, jostling with Goten. “Looks like we’re not going to beat the doubles score.” 

“That’s okay.” Goten finishes up the level. “You okay?” 

Li stares back, steady in Goten’s arms. Then he kisses Goten. 

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. 

Goten pulls his head away, surprised. And suddenly, Li looks paler than ever. 

“Sorry,” Li says. “Oh geez, sorry, I thought—this was a date—and we both said—girls are overrated—“ 

“Li.” 

“—yeah?” His classmate looks like he wants to get swallowed up by the great Shenron. 

“I didn’t not like it,” Goten reasons. He feels his face heat up. 

“Oh,” Li says slowly. Numbly. Then he perks. “Oh.” 

*

So, making out isn’t as bad as Goten thought it was. He did like it when Trunks’s classmate kissed him way back when, but it’s not as weird and coquettish with Li. And, Goten doesn’t have to give away his prize from the drop claw machine. 

They find a dark place to makeout—which suddenly explains why Goten can never spot a couple doing it in public. It presents a new adrenaline that coincides with the thrill of battle—except, this one feels very different. Less life-threatening. 

Eventually, the arcade closes. Goten and Li don’t realize this until they hear the lights shut off—then they have to sneak out of the photo booth, past the security guard, and avoid getting caught being out past curfew for minors. 

Man, he’s glad he’s sleeping over at Gohan’s tonight. 

“So,” Li says shyly—much more shyly than when they were playing games in the arcade, “I’ll…text you?” 

“I’ll text you back,” Goten promises. He’s giddy. Maybe this is why people kiss. 

“Cool,” Li says, and he looks as giddy as Goten feels.

“Cool,” Goten echoes. 

After they part ways, the reality hits him. 

Did Goten just land himself a boyfriend?

*

Dad beats Goten up good the next day in Gohan’s backyard. Same game, different dirt angels as Goten craters head first into cobblestone. Pan’s cheering from the sidelines—but who knows for who. 

“C’mon, son—how do you expect to win the tournament with this attitude?” 

Goten stares at the sky, at a loss. So his dad flies down and inspects him. Even with the taunts, Dad is smiling. 

At least one of them is. 

“Dad,” Goten says, “I kissed a boy yesterday.” 

Dad blinks, looking confused. 

“Does this mean I have to marry him?” Goten continues, hoping the clouds would provide an answer. 

“You kissed Trunks?” Dad asks, which makes Goten feel worse. 

“No, a different boy. A classmate of mine,” Goten says. “Where would we even have the wedding? Here?” 

“Well—the battlegrounds makes a good venue.” Dad admits defeat and sits cross legged beside him. 

Pan runs to them with water and plops in Dad’s lap. “That was awesome, Grandpa! Uncle Goten hit his head hard!”

“He’s not into martial arts,” Goten informs his dad. “We like the arcade.” 

“Oh—I bet Mr. Satan had an arcade in his mansion. Bulma, too.” Dad leans in. “You really like him, son?” 

Goten flushes red. He’d spent all night thinking about it. And—honestly, it was the first time in a long time that Goten wasn’t staring at his phone, trying to will a text from Trunks. 

In fact, Li and he sent memes all night. He didn’t have to worry about Li not texting back because he just did. 

Gohan eventually makes his entrance with his laptop and trips over Goten’s body. He stumbles and catches his laptop, while Pan retrieves his glasses. 

“Thanks, sweetie.” Gohan puts his glasses back on. “Why are you all on the ground?” 

Goten stares at his brother sadly. 

“Goten kissed a boy and it wasn’t self defense,” Dad explains. “We’re trying to pick a wedding venue.” 

Gohan has that sleep deprived look on his face, like he’s reading his dissertation in midair. If the sky can turn his brother into a scholar, then Goten hopes it can help him with his love life, too. 

But, a cog in Gohan’s head turns, and he shuts his laptop. He sits down next to them, too, looking contemplative for the first time over something other than bugs. 

“Wow,” Gohan marvels. “Really? You kissed a boy?” 

“Yeah.” Goten peers at his brother, who thankfully presses rewind on the conversation before he has to write out vows. “I mean, I’ve kissed girls, too, but—”

“What? Kissing and turning Super Saiyan young?” Dad interjects, shocked. “You’re really killing it, huh, son?” 

“—I don’t see a difference,” Goten admits to his brother. “I didn’t like either less than the other. But I like Li. I didn’t know I could like Li that way.” 

He looks back at his brother, who’s now staring at him, surprised. 

“When did you kiss a girl?” Gohan asks, perplexed. 

Goten has to think about it. “Two years ago?” 

“He also asked Marron out,” Dad explains helpfully. 

“What? Krillin’s Marron?” Gohan breaks composure, slack-jawed. 

Goten huffs. He turns to his side to Pan and their dad. “Pan, you wanna be my flower girl?” 

“Mmhmm!” She nods. 

“We could do next Thursday. Fall break starts then. I’ll be done with classes for the week—”

“Wait.” Gohan yanks Goten by the back of his shirt and turns him around. He looks perplexed. “Goten, no one’s getting married.” 

Goten makes another face. “Well yeah, not right now. That’s why I said next Thursday.” 

“Oh, I bet King Kai would come,” Dad offers. “And Beeris, and Whis—“

“Goten.” Gohan smiles at him sheepishly. “You don’t have to marry the first guy or girl that you kiss. Especially if it’s causing you undue stress.” 

“You and Dad did,” Goten reasons.

Gohan laughs in that normal, affectionate timbre, and ruffles his hair. “Dad and I had a different upbringing. After everything that happened, Mom just wants us to live peaceful lives. That’s why she was okay with you starting your freshman year with other people.”

Goten makes another face. Thoughtful. “So I don’t have to marry someone that helped me save the world?” 

“No way, bro. Dating should be fun and exciting. And if there isn’t a world that needs to be saved, then that means you don’t need to worry about losing them,” Gohan reasons. 

“Why didn’t you date more?” Goten asks. 

Gohan blushes—which is absurd after how long he and Videl have been married. “I just found my person young, Goten.” 

Goten ponders that. 

“Man. When did my son get so wise?” Dad remarks. He ruffles both their heads. 

“Came with the growth spurt,” Gohan muses—and Goten laughs until his face hurts. 

When the laughter subsides, Goten catches his brother staring at him again. 

“Something on my face?” Goten asks. He smears dirt off his cheek, but ends up adding more. 

“Maybe not.” Gohan scratches his head thoughtfully. “I guess…I always imagined that if we were going to have this conversation, it was going to be over Trunks.” 

Huh. 

“Hey, that’s what I said.” Dad looks proud of himself. 

Goten is dissatisfied. 

He lays back on the ground, contemplative. 

*

So, Goten and Li date. And honestly? It’s fun. It’s not as awful and dreadful as Goten expected. The only shopping they do is for new manga or video games. And they make out. A lot. 

Mina happily congratulates them when she finds out and said they were very obvious. Goten wishes he knew what they were doing to be called obvious. 

Mom meets Li the same time Goten comes out. 

Primarily because Goten’s introduction lacks forethought when she shows up to surprise him after school one day. “Mom, this is my friend Mina and my boyfriend, Li.” 

Gohan didn’t really prepare him for this conversation—where Mom’s cheerful smile twists into absolute shock. 

“Boyfriend,” Mom says slowly. She points to Li, whose hand is intertwined with Goten’s. Then she turns to Mina, awed. “Not girlfriend?” 

“No ma’am,” Mina reports politely. 

“Boyfriend,” Mom repeats. She points between Goten and Li. “Boyfriend.” 

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Li says nervously.

“Oh—yeah. Mom, I hope you’re okay with me dating. Dad said it was okay.” Actually, Dad was still confused why they couldn’t just get married. Gohan informed him Goten had too much homework to plan a wedding. 

It’s exactly what Goten expects his mom to say, too. He suddenly gets flashbacks of Videl and Mom meeting for the first time. 

Mom is silent. Then, “Your report card?” 

“All A’s,” Goten informs her. 

To anyone else, Mom looks like she may explode. But she doesn’t. Instead, she ceases and her shoulders fall. 

“Very well,” Mom concludes. She leers in Li’s direction with a motherly smile. “Treat my son well, will you?” 

“I—yes ma’am, he’s amazing.” Li’s knees are bucking. 

Aw. Goten beams. 

“He sure is,” Mom agrees. She gives Goten a hug tight enough to squeeze his organs out. 

“Mom—“

“You’re welcome anytime at our home, Li. You too, Mina. Mom’s politeness fades until it’s sharp. “But absolutely no sleeping in the same room, ever! And you can forget about ever having your door shut.” 

Goten turns red immediately. “Mom—oh my god!” 

*

Over winter break, Dad thinks it’s a good time to pick up the intensity on training. He says two week crunches are when he gets his best upgrades. Dad drags him to the Briefs Household early in the morning, where he and Vegeta start their warm up with a bickering match. 

Goten takes refuge in a patio chair, snapchatting Li. 

“Goten!” Bulla squeals and plops in his lap. “It’s been forever!” 

“Hey, Bulla! Want to make silly faces with me?” 

“Who are we sending it to?” 

“My boyfriend, Li.” 

“Okay!” 

The next fifteen minutes are spent with the dog filter and some other weird ones. Goten makes sure to angle the phone away from their dads terraforming with ki blasts in the backyard. 

Li sends him three hearts and a heart-eye emoji before Goten notices Trunks coming out of the house in the background.  

Trunks stares at him, surprised. “I didn’t know you were here.” 

Goten shrugs. “You know my dad—he never knocks.” 

“What are you doing?” Trunks asks—and Bulla pipes in. 

“Sending funny pictures to Goten’s boyfriend!” She explains. 

Goten tenses. He sees the way Trunks’s eyes widen, surprised—and somehow, this is way scarier than when Mom surprised him at school. 

“Did girlfriend number 8 sneak out the window okay?” Bulla asks—and Trunks’s composure immediately breaks. 

“Bulla, her name is Mai—”

“Out the window?” Goten echoes, surprised. 

Trunks stares at him in a dead halt. And asks, “Boyfriend?” 

“BOY!” Vegeta barks from above. “QUIT YOUR DILLYDALLYING AND GET UP HERE TO TRAIN!” 

Geez. It’s a wonder if Vegeta even has or needs a phone with his loud he is. Goten wonders what he’d sound like full of helium. 

Trunks sighs tiredly. He throws his gym bag on the ground and eyes Goten. “Ready?” 

“Always. Oh—hold on.” Goten texts Li, gonna be busy for a bit, before placing his phone on the table. He looks up in time to catch Trunks watching him. “Okay, now.”

They aren’t nearly as destructive as their dads. When he was younger, Goten would’ve loved to dedicate all his time to training, like Dad. He’s never been more grateful that Mom and Gohan just want him to live a peaceful life. 

Still, there’s a certain adrenaline that comes from sparring with Trunks—and only with Trunks. Dad makes the comment later that instead of making dirt angels, Goten got back up and went straight into battle. 

Vegeta makes a stray comment when Goten gets a good punch in. “MAYBE IF YOU WEREN’T SO BUSY FIDDLING WITH YOUR DEVICES AND THAT GIRL YOU’D BE ON GOTEN’S LEVEL!” 

Dad laughs. “Hey Vegeta, has Trunks shown you that TikTok with corn? Goten’s boyfriend showed us, and that kid really gets it—” 

Trunks gets serious, and missiles towards Goten, using the concrete like a springboard. Goten narrowly dodges a kick to the face. 

There’s an afterthought in their dads’ loud conversation. 

“Your brat found a mate?” Vegeta asks. 

“Yeah. And it’s not Trunks,” Dad emphasizes. “Took me a while to figure that one out.” 

“Kakarot, you’re a waste of a brain cell.” 

(At least, that’s how Goten assumes that conversation ended. He’s too fixated in his match with Trunks once they get serious.) 

It’s around that time that Goten gets a good punch in. Their dads have stopped their own sparring match to observe. Goten can hear his dad’s cheering, and Vegeta barking. 

Eventually, they’re spent. Bulma shows up with lunch, so they take a break. Goten checks his phone, only to find an onslaught of snaps from his boyfriend. He checks his phone eagerly. 

“You have a boyfriend,” Trunks reiterates, before Goten can get too excited. 

“How does he fight?” Vegeta asks. 

“He doesn’t. At least I don’t think he does.” Goten shrugs. “Normally we just play games and read manga.” 

And, kiss and stuff, but Goten’s learned he can’t candidly say that around parents. Or Piccolo. 

“What kind of mate doesn’t know how to fight?” Vegeta berates. “What a waste.” 

“Mama doesn’t fight,” Bulla points out. 

“That’s why your dad has me,” Dad chimes in. 

“Yeah, that’s what Trunks is for,” Goten says. 

“Then what do you do with this mate?” Vegeta asks, clearly unimpressed. 

Goten ponders the question. “I guess whatever you do with Bulma, sir.” 

Trunks spits out his orange juice, and Vegeta slams a hand on the table, mortified and red. 

Goten looks to his dad, confused. 

Luckily, Dad always has his back. Dad shrugs, also confused. 

*

Trunks texts him for the first time in a while. 

Trunks : let’s go on a double date 

 

Trunks : you and me. Li and Mai. 

Goten stares at his phone. 

You: Who’s Mai? I thought you were dating a girl named 8? 

Trunks texts him a middle finger. 

*

Their date starts off at the Jasmine Dragon, owned by Li’s uncle. Li brings a round of boba tea to the table, along with a special cannister. He hands it to Goten. 

“Wow—more tea?” Goten grins. 

“A new blend. I told my uncle what your mom was like and he assembled it himself.” Li scoots in beside him. “Also a rejuvenating blend, for your dad.” 

“Thanks, Li.” Goten places the cannister in his backpack. Trunks and Mai look at them from the booth, taking it in.

“So your uncle owns this tea shop?” Mai asks. 

“Yeah. He used to be a great general. Now he’s retired. All he wants to do is run this tea shop.” Li smiles. “He says boba tea is a young person’s game, but I’ve caught him downing the tapioca pearls.” 

“Sounds like my dad with any food,” Goten remarks. He leans over to take a sip of Li’s drink. “How is it? Do you like it, Mai?” 

“How much sugar is in this?” Mai asks, inspecting her unopened drink. 

“You’re better off not knowing,” Goten confesses. “What about you, Trunks?”

If he didn’t know any better, Goten would think Trunks was watching his every move. 

“You ever play a Capsule Rift, Li? My mom invented that. It basically revolutionized the whole gaming industry. VR.” Trunks leans in, unblinking. 

“No. We can’t afford one of those,” Li confesses. 

“Not on a teetotaller’s pay, I’m sure,” Trunks says. 

“That’s okay. I can’t afford one either,” Goten reassures. “You try the snapping pearls, Trunks? They explode in your mouth.” 

“They’re okay,” Trunks mutters. 

“Where’d you get the idea again, Ten?” Li asks. “Fish eggs?” 

“Yeah, roe. Mom likes to harvest them and cook them separately.” Goten leans in and grins. “They’re salty. So I wondered what they’d taste like sweet. Cool, right?”

Goten expects him to call it a dumb idea. Trunks stares at them, troubled. Stumped. 

The rest of their double date is smooth. They grab Korean barbecue, go watch a movie, and head to the arcade. Goten and Li run into a few classmates from Orange Star High in between. They insist on watching the new Avatar movie. Mai wants to watch a romantic comedy instead. 

“It’s date night,” she insists. 

“It’s Zuko,” Li insists. “And Sokka, and Azula—”

“Trunks?“ Mai defers to her boyfriend. 

Trunks looks between Goten and Mai, clearly at a loss. 

“If you really want to watch that movie with your lame friends,” he says slowly. 

“Lame? Hey, take that back.” Goten frowns, offended. “Mina’s really cool.” 

“Yeah, that’s disrespectful.” Li also frowns. 

Trunks blinks, clearly not expecting that. For as terrible as his bark is, he’s quick to rescind. “I—well—“

“The run time is the same,” Mai says. “Let’s just meet up afterwards. If you guys really want to miss out on some culture. Right, Trunks?” 

“Uh…right,” Trunks says. In that weird, passive way that always sounds so fake to Goten. It only happens around girls. Goten doesn’t get it. 

“We would’ve just been making out anyway,” Goten admits, and Li smiles bashfully. 

Trunks and Mai are waiting outside for them after the movie ends. Mai looks bored. Trunks is pacing. 

Goten and Li are excitedly recounting the details of the movie as they exit the theater. 

“Finally. What took so long?” Mai berates. 

“We had to stay for the stinger,” Goten says. “It was really cool. You would’ve really liked it, Trunks.” 

Trunks perks at his name, and shrugs nonchalantly. “Maybe it’s not my style.” 

“Suit yourself,” Goten says. “Hey, I’m hungry again. Can we eat?”

“Seriously?” Mai says. 

Trunks tries to interject. “Well—”

“The arcade has pizza, Ten,” Li says. “We can order two supremes and play some games.” 

“Great.” Goten grins. “What were you going to say, Trunks?” 

His best friend looks annoyed. And deflated. “Nothing. That, I guess.” 

Goten has a real penchant for the arcade now. Li and he play every game. Mai seems nonplussed over the whole situation—especially after Goten insists on a third pizza. Goten knows if he begs long enough that Trunks will foot the bill. Luckily, it only takes two pleases. 

“Yes!” Goten cheers happily as Trunks charms the waitress. 

Li taps him on the shoulder. “How about we play some games in the meantime?“ 

“Yeah,” Trunks says. “We should. Mind watching the table, Mai?” 

“Sure,” Mai says, deadpan. “Why not?” 

It’s definitely a different change in tune to the last double date that Trunks dragged him on. Goten was so annoyed by the pace of that date that he was counting the seconds for it to be over. The only redemption that night were the tacos Trunks allowed him. 

Now, Goten and Li have fun taking selfies in the machines. Trunks rear ends them in one of the driving simulators. 

“Pretty cool, right?” Trunks gestures to the Capsule Corp logo on the machine. 

“A little dizzying,” Goten admits—and Trunks gives him a look. “Too many flashing lights.” 

“Ten, you’ve literally taken ki blasts—”

“Hey, Ten, the Whack-a-Mole game is free.” Li poins down the aisle.

“Oh, cool.” Goten allows his boyfriend to drag him to the Whack-a-Mole game. There’s two machines available. Li picks up the first mallet—and Trunks snatches the second before Goten can. 

“Hey!”

“Bet I can hit more moles than you,” Trunks rouses. 

“Bet,” Li says back. “Sorry, Goten—did you want to play?” 

“No, I’ll play victor.” Goten tries to bite back a pout, but it doesn’t work. Instead, he crosses his arms and stands aside. He kisses his boyfriend on the cheek. “Good luck, Li.” 

Trunks looks huffy for the first time all evening. 

“Jealous?” Li taunts. 

“No way. Like that kiss would do anything.” Trunks pats the mallet head against his palm, probably waiting to brag about it being owned by Capsule Corp, too. 

Goten shrugs. 

The game ends up being a lot more intense than Goten expects. Li’s a lot better at the retro game than Goten anticipated—but one or two of Trunks’s whacks seem to actually snap the moles in two. Goten catches wind—and yanks Trunks’s collar carefully. He drags his best friend elsewhere. 

“Hey, will you cool it?” Goten hisses in his ear. “Li doesn’t know about all the fighting and ki blasts and stuff.” 

Trunks just looks huffier. He looks more like a bratty eight than a cool and old fifteen. “How lame.” 

“Trunks.” 

“Fine,” Trunks grumbles. 

They find Li waiting for them at DDR. He perks at the sight of Goten. 

“Hey, our game’s free,” Goten remarks. 

“Yeah, wanna play?” Li asks. “I’ll sit this round out. You can go first.” 

Trunks is already waiting on the machine for them impatiently. Goten nods emphatically and kisses his boyfriend for good luck. 

BLACKPINK barrels out of the stereo. There’s no question for them to change it to hard mode. The steps aren’t hard to follow. The screen glows with PERFECT! and GOOD JOB! between both of them. 

They must flip through at least nine or ten songs before breaking a sweat. The machine is definitely Capsule Corp quality because the arrows just reel in faster. 

“What’s the matter, Goten?” Trunks taunts. “Can’t keep up?” 

“Can too,” Goten protests. From the corner of his eye, he catches Trunks smirking. Goten charges forward on the machine with each machine. A crowd gathers. 

“Face it, Ten,” Trunks says, “I’m a better fighter and a better dancer! And a better—”

“Ahem.” 

At the corner of the platform, Mai stands with Li, annoyed. 

“Oh, Mai. Oh yeah, the pizza—” Goten takes one wrong step—which quickly turns into two, three, seven—

The screen eventually turns into one giant X and labels Goten an epic FAILURE!!! 

“HA!” Trunks barks. He directs a finger at Goten. “In your face! I told you I was better than you and your stupid boyfriend!” 

“Stupid?” Goten cries—and he’s back on his feet immediately. 

“Wanna get your ass beat, Casanova?” Trunks turns smugly to Li, before he sees his girlfriend. “Oh—Mai—”

“I’ve been waiting with the third extra large supreme pizza at our table for an hour,” Mai snaps. “The waiters worried you dined and dashed and made me foot the entire bill.” 

“Oh,” Trunks says, turning pale, “um—”

“Did you eat all of it?” Goten asks—which is immediately met with a glare. 

“Don’t worry, Mai,” Trunks reaches for his wallet—

“Forget you, Trunks Briefs!” Mai marches out of the arcade after giving him a disdainful shove. 

“MAI!! Wait—”

“Trunks,” Goten interjects, “you owe my boyfriend an apology—”

“Not now, Goten,” Trunks snaps—and he tails after her. 

“Goten,” Li says, “that was awesome.” 

He gives Goten a hug that’d normally remedy everything. It doesn’t. 

“He shouldn’t have called you stupid,” Goten says. 

Li shrugs. “No biggie. He’s got bigger fish to fry.” 

Goten’s only more annoyed. “I’ll be right back, okay?” 

He marches right after Trunks, too. 

*

Trunks isn’t hard to find. He’s dead center in the parking lot while Mai takes off with their ride. 

Goten can’t stomach his own irritation. “Hey! What gives?”

Trunks doesn’t budge, so Goten only raises his voice. 

“You owe Li an apology! You don’t get to call him stupid!” Goten yanks Trunks by the collar again. 

“Not now, Goten.” 

“Yeah now, Trunks—you’ve been an ass to my date all night! What’s your deal?” 

“Mai just dumped me.” 

Goten freezes. Well—that’s definitely not how he expected this conversation to go. “Well—”

Wait—no—he needs to focus. 

“You still need to apologize,” Goten protests. “Li knows you’re my best friend, and he even paid for your bubble tea—”

Trunks has the nerve to scoff. He reanimates, and he rolls his eyes emphatically. He bats Goten’s hand away, which just makes him more annoying. 

“Trunks,” Goten presses again, growing more irritated. 

“I just got my heart ripped out and you’re seriously throwing a fit over me making your boyfriend cry?” Trunks shoves him away. “What do you even see in that dweeb, Goten? He can’t even fight! What’s he gonna do, pay for your dates with tea leaves?” 

Goten squares his jaw. He shoves Trunks. “That’s so rude! Take that back!” 

“You’re going to get bored of him,” Trunks continues. “Why don’t you just dump him, Goten? You and I can just go back to hanging out and texting now that I’m free. You can’t seriously tell me you enjoyed this date—”

“Shut up.” Goten goes for a kick to the face. 

Trunks, of course, dodges. He blocks the next punch. “What the hell, Goten? Keep your anger in check, you’re going to turn super—”

“You know what?” Goten huffs. “You don’t get to call my boyfriend stupid, or my life stupid, when you’ve been stupid!” 

“What?” Trunks snaps back—but Goten’s already in fury. 

“YOU’RE stupid!!” Goten shouts, hands in the air. 

He accidentally shoots a ki blast in the air, like a firework. There’s some ooh-ing and aah-ing—but Goten gets a reality check. Whoops. 

“I’m walking my boyfriend home now,” Goten declares. “One of us still has a relationship, stupid.” 

He saunters back into the arcade and refuses to look back. 

Stupid. 

* 

You : Are you sure you’re okay? 🥺

Li : Yeah, I’m fine. You’re sweet, Goten. 🥰❤️

*

Trunks : You’re the stupid one, dumbass. You shot a ki blast in front of a bunch of people. 

* 

Trunks : Mai and I talked. We’re better now. You can stop sulking. 

*

Trunks : Are you still giving me the silent treatment? Don’t be such a baby. 

*

Trunks : The new VR Capsule is ready, why don’t you come over to play it? 

*

RealPrincessBulla01: You have a 104-day Snapchat Streak with my sister? Seriously? 

Goten stares at his phone. 

He sends Trunks a picture of his middle finger. 

A second later, Trunks sends a middle finger back. 

* 

Trunks : I thought we made peace. Seriously, why are you giving me the cold shoulder? 

*

14 missed calls 

* 

Trunks : Fine. I know when I’m not wanted. 

*

Trunks : Seriously, Ten?? 

*

Gohan, Videl, and Pan, make a surprise visit to the countryside the following week. Mom and Dad coo over Pan, per usual. Videl informs everyone of Pan’s developmental growth, and Mom hounds them on when they’re going to get a second grandchild. 

Gohan evades the conversation by pulling Goten outside for a sparring match. 

“You? A sparring match?” Goten asks, aghast. 

“Yeah,” Gohan says, and he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “Gotta keep things up, you know?” 

“Yeah, alright.” Goten sends Li a quick, Bonding with the brother, brb text and sets his phone aside. 

Sparring with Gohan brings Goten back to being a kid, and hero-worshiping his brother. Gohan stretches and takes deep breaths—so Goten follows in suit. 

He takes out a few frustrated punches from last week’s festivities on his brother, who delivers his fair share of blows. They get a little too into it when Goten blasts too many trees in the woods—so Mom resigns them to log-collecting duty. 

“Trunks came to see us the other night,” Gohan remarks. 

Goten pauses mid-timber. “Really.” 

“He’s trying to figure out how to make things up to you.” Gohan tilts his head and moves the log to his other shoulder. “You two get into a pretty bad fight?” 

The anger coils in Goten’s stomach again. He really could go Super Saiyan. “He called Li stupid. It was rude.” 

“Did he apologize?” 

“No, he called me a dumbass.” Goten huffs again, and nearly whacks his brother with a tree. 

“Oh…kay, this isn’t how I imagined this conversation going.” Gohan dodges out of the way of Goten’s tree once more. 

“Did you tell him to go away?” Goten asks. 

“No,” Gohan admits. “But he does really want to talk to you. He seemed upset.” 

“Good.” 

“Do…you want to talk to him?” 

“Not really. It’ll blow over eventually.” 

“Can it really blow over if you two aren’t talking to each other, bro?” 

Goten halts before they make it to the house and scrunches his nose. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. 

“When’s the last time you two got into a big fight like this, anyway?” 

Goten twitches. “He didn’t split the last cookie with me when we were ten. Now he always makes sure there’s at least two left.” 

Gohan makes a noise. Some endeared chuckle. “Seriously?”

“What do you do when you get into a fight with your best friend?” Goten asks. He turns around and stares his brother in the eye. 

The corner of Gohan’s lips lifts, and he shrugs. He rubs his neck thoughtfully. “Well, I’m staring at him. So…usually a noogie.” 

Goten huffs. 

He doesn’t want to keep fighting with Trunks. 

He’s just not sure if he’s ready to let go of this anger yet, either. 

*

Trunks : Did Gohan talk to you?

*

This dilemma is worse than Goten’s calculus homework. He gets in trouble for glaring at his phone from first through third period. 

He’s still angry at Trunks. 

He doesn’t want to be angry at Trunks. 

But he also doesn’t want to just forgive Trunks. 

So he needs to get Trunks to apologize, but he doesn’t want to have to tell Trunks to apologize. 

“Hey, Goten, could we talk?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Goten drops everything for his boyfriend by the time school lets out. Mina and the rest of their friends have all gone home. 

Li squirms a little, which doesn’t seem right. He rocks on his heels. Then, “I think we should break up.”

Oh. Goten blinks rapidly. 

“It’s just—”

“Is it because of what Trunks said?” Goten asks. 

“—you’ve been obsessing over what Trunks said all week,” Li finishes. “Which is…sweet, but I don’t need you to do that. But I can tell it bothers you.” 

Goten is flabbergasted. 

“If I can get a guy that gets half as jealous as Trunks did over you, then I’d be lucky.” Li smiles sheepishly. “Maybe he can continue that family tradition of getting married right away and stuff. Like the rest of your family.” 

“But—we—” Goten’s at a loss. “Did I do something wrong?” 

“No! Of course not, Ten.” Li looks really thoughtful. “I just…I can’t like you the way your friend does, but I can definitely be that good of a friend to you. Is that okay?” 

Goten’s never been dumped before. There’s a lot less rain than in Mom’s K-Dramas. And a lot less yelling. 

“We’re still friends?” Goten asks finally. 

“We just won’t be making out,” Li informs him. “It was a hard decision.” 

“Oh.” 

“Is…that okay, Goten?” 

“Yeah! Yeah, it is. So long as we’re still friends.” Goten smiles back. 

Strangely enough, it doesn’t really hurt. 

*

Eventually, Goten pays Trunks a visit. But he makes sure to stand his ground—because he is angry. With good reason. 

He flies to Trunks’s window and knocks obnoxiously against the glass. Trunks falls out of his chair, phone tossed into the air out of surprise. Goten snickers—before he remembers why he’s there. 

Trunks turns around, annoyed—but then his entire face changes. He scrambles to the window and opens it. 

“Goten! I—” Trunks is eager, smile on his face—before it disappears. His demeanor twists, and he pushes hair out of his face. “Finally. What took you so long?” 

Goten bites back a snarl. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares. 

Trunks tries to keep his nonchalant scowl—but not for long. He twitches. “Are you going to apologize for ignoring me, dummy?” 

“You treat me like shit.”

That throws Trunks for a loop. His poker face dissolves, and his eyes widen. “Wait, what—?” 

“You ignore my text messages and my memes, and my Snapchats—“ Goten throws his hands in the air—but is careful not to set off another accidental ki blast. “—and when I finally grow up and get a boyfriend like we’re supposed to, you make fun of my friends and treat me like shit.” 

“Goten—you—” Trunks looks baffled. An eyebrow raises beneath his hair. “You’re telling me you’ve been ignoring me because I hurt your feelings?” 

Goten can’t help his aggravated noise. “You don’t get it.” 

“What do I not get?” Trunks rebukes. “You’re mad because I left you on read on a few memes? Some of them weren’t even funny.” 

“Are you—ugh—“ Goten’s nearly at a breaking point as he leans into the window pane, nearly smacking Trunks in the forehead. Instead, he retracts. “You know what? Forget it.” 

He turns around—but Trunks snatches him by the ankle. 

“Goten—wait—”

Goten turns to get a glimpse of distress on Trunks’s face. But only for a second. “Trunks—“

“Look—good on you for growing up—just—“ Trunks’s expression shifts, pained. “Did it have to be a boy?” 

Goten stares at him, flabbergasted. “That’s where you go with this?” 

Trunks seems alarmed by his own question “No—wait—“ 

“Fuck off, Trunks.” Goten kicks Trunks’s grip off his ankle, and kicks Trunks out of the way. He uses his (ex)-best friend as a springboard and shoots off in the direction of home. 

Except—Trunks only latches on tighter. More angrily. His eyes flash a familiar turquoise, and his hair billows in the wind. A scowl mars his face. “I said wait, Goten.” 

Goten swings with his other leg—but Trunks snatches his other foot. “Let go.” 

“No!” Trunks barks, and his ki flickers with his anger. He throws Goten back into the bedroom, and Goten crashes into a desk full of paperwork. It explodes into the air and crackles. 

Goten is stunned. Then—“You wanna fight? Fine!”

He ignites in a golden glow and propels towards Trunks. Goten swings and Trunks blocks. Trunks kicks, and Goten dodges. 

They make up two halves of a punch—and Trunks coils a fist into Goten’s shirt. Goten—tries to recover, but Trunks’s grip is tight.

“You forgetting how much stronger I am?” Trunks taunts. “Face it, Goten—you lost when you showed up. Admit defeat.” 

Geez, why was he always so annoying when he got a big head? 

Oh—head. Good idea. 

Goten reels his head back—then slams it into Trunks. 

“Ow—!”

“Too bad that strength didn’t help you keep Mai,” Goten snaps. 

Trunks snarls—and as he lunges towards Goten again. 

Goten swivels and grips Trunks from behind. He lifts Trunks off the ground and suplexes him overhead. Trunks makes another noise—

“What the fuck, Goten—” 

Trunks slams head first into the bed frame—which splinters into two. The floor trembles on impact. 

“Just trying to help you get your head out of your ass,” Goten rebuts. 

He knows he has Trunks bested, because Trunks’s comeback is just, “AGHHH!” 

The bedroom door opens with a might greater than a Kamehameha blast. Bulma sticks her head in. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing in my house?!” 

“M-Mom—!” “Bulma—!“ 

“IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT LIKE BUFFOONS, TAKE IT OUTSIDE!” 

*

Goten can’t remember the last time they broke out in a match in Trunks’s bedroom. It was definitely when they were kids, and there was definitely less at stake. 

Bulma yelling at them makes their fight lose momentum. Luckily, she’s never been the one to tell them to stop fighting—but she is giving them a lecture on how there are designated areas on the property where they could fight, and Trunks’s bedroom was absolutely not one of those areas.

There’s also a lecture in there about being old enough to know where those areas are—and admittedly, Goten zones out. 

He apologizes profusely because he knows better than to piss off Bulma Briefs. Meanwhile, Trunks is sulking like a child, hunched over with his arms crossed over his chest. 

Eventually, Vegeta wanders into the kitchen, worn for the day while Bulla toddles behind him with what appears to be a new giant teddy bear. Goten would know—he’s been in this house long enough to count all the toys his own family couldn’t afford. 

“What are you blathering about, woman?” Vegeta grumbles. 

Woman gets Bulma started on a whole new rant—one that makes both Trunks and Goten both flinch—but the details open a whole new can of worms. 

“I caught our idiot son ruining his bedroom and getting into a fight with Goten for no reason, when there are plenty of other options—”

“Hold on—our son voluntarily chooses to spar and you’re upset over a few scuff marks on the floor?” Vegeta berates. “Are you mad?” 

“Scuff marks on the floor?” Bulma echoes—and the ire climbs into her voice. “That’s rich! With all the damage you Saiyans do, I’d be lucky for it to only be a mark on the floor!” 

“Why on earth are you yelling at me? You blather on and on about positive reinforcement—well, I’m positive that Trunks should be beating the snot out of Kakarot’s brat!” 

“Oh—this is just like you—”

Goten raises a hand. 

“What?!” Both husband and wife screech. Goten squeaks. 

“I was actually just trying to leave, Bulma.” Goten’s shoulders are to his ears. “I can get out of your hair—”

“No!” Trunks finally pipes in, panicked. He cowers as both his parents look his way. Trunks grits his teeth with a look of despair. He looks constipated. But, emotionally.

He takes a deep breath. And looks blue. 

“Spit it out, boy,” Vegeta snaps. 

“I,” Trunks says slowly, “wasn’t trying to fight you, Ten.” 

“Really? Because you talked a lot of shit,” Goten mutters. 

“Sometimes I have to work through shit to say the right shit, okay?” Trunks snaps. “Ow!” 

He’s immediately bopped upside the head by his mother. 

“Stop saying shit at my kitchen table,” Bulma scolds. 

“This is excruciating,” Vegeta mutters. 

Trunks looks up at the sky, like he’s waiting for the next big alien to come down and threaten all life again. 

“Trunks and Goten were fighting, Daddy,” Bulla interjects sagely. “But their words are their fists.” 

There’s no other way to read Vegeta’s expression than, are you shitting me, but he relents with deadpan. “Saiyans are trained in all forms of combat.” 

“That Saiyan was definitely losing,” Goten mutters. 

“Like father, like son,” Bulma agrees solemnly. 

Vegeta quickly rouses for another fight, but Trunks dramatically yanks at his own hair and hands his head. 

“This is so embarrassing,” Trunks laments. “Can’t you all just leave?” 

“Gladly,” Goten agrees. 

He stands up and heads towards the door. 

“Wait—Ten, not you—“

(Not without saying goodbye to Bulla and thanking Bulma for her hospitality, of course.) 

*

No texts or missed calls this time. Trunks shows up out of the blue later that evening, after Goten finishes his shower. He stands up from Goten’s bed, hands close together like one of those door-to-door salesmen. Goten rustles the towel through his hair one last time and stares at the other teen skeptically. 

“My mom let you in?” He asks slowly. 

“I snuck through the window.” 

Goten’s brought back to when they were younger and they both learned how to fly. Trunks would occasionally fly over in the middle of the night with some new game from Capsule Corp so they could both play together. They were definitely loud enough to rouse his mom and brother—but never got in trouble. 

“You still keep it unlocked,” Trunks remarks. 

“You used to come by more,” Goten replies nonchalantly. 

Trunks wrinkles his nose, the corners of his lips etching into the beginnings of a scowl. 

“Look,” Goten relents, as he goes to his closet to get a fresh t-shirt and underwear, ”if you want to get your ass kicked again, it’s gonna have to be outside. My mom is twice as scary about breaking furniture—”

“I’m sorry.” 

Goten pauses. He pokes his head out of his closet and looks at Trunks—who is now staring at the wooden floor for penance. Goten wonders if he was hit in the head too hard. 

“Like,” Goten starts slowly, “you’re…‘sorry I got mad,’ or ‘sorry I didn’t take your punch well,’ or—”

“My god—” Trunks seethes, hand to his face. “I’m sorry I’ve been an ass okay, Ten? I’m sorry I’ve been a dipshit, selfish moron and a shitty friend.” 

Goten stares. 

“Is that what you want to hear?” Trunks snaps. 

“Well, yeah.” Goten scratches his head. “I thought you were going to keep going.” 

Trunks looks ready to punch him in the face—so it’s a complete shock that he doesn’t. Instead, Trunks taps his foot into the ground and bows his head again. There’s finality in the way he looks back up. 

“I didn’t—I didn’t mean what I said,” Trunks continues. “Or—what I mean is, it came out the wrong way—“ 

“Your apology?” 

“No, dumb—“ Trunks stops himself. He seethes again. “When…I asked why that guy had to be a boy. I’m—that’s not what I meant.” 

“That guy’s name is Li, Trunks.” 

Trunks grits his teeth. “I didn’t like it when you got kissed by Felicity’s friend either, okay?” 

Goten stares at Trunks, appalled. “Trunks, that was two years ago. And you’re the one who insisted that we grow up and, like, get chest hairs and stuff—”

“I know,” Trunks cuts in. He huffs, like he’s gonna barf. “Like—I want to date, and I want you to date so we can date together, but—I don’t want other people to date you.” 

Goten knows he’s not as smart as Gohan—but that’s definitely the biggest load of bullshit he’s heard in a while. “Are you kidding me?” 

Trunks has his hands splayed out, like saying, nope. 

“Trunks—not even you can pay someone to have it both ways, unless your mom’s suddenly invented a cloning machine.” Goten pauses. “Has—?”

“Not that I know of.”

Goten sighs his relief. He sits down beside Trunks on the bed. “I just miss my best friend.” 

Trunks’s gaze darts back to him. 

“That’s all I want from you,” Goten says—and he nudges the other teen. “Can you get your head out of your ass long enough for that?” 

He raises a fist for a truce bump. 

Trunks looks conflicted. But then he bumps back. “I’ll…try to be nicer to your friends and boyfriend.” 

Goten stares at him, unimpressed. 

“I will be nicer to your friend and boyfriend,” Trunks corrects. He weakly bumps Goten’s arm in confirmation. 

Goten makes a content noise. “Just friends now. Li and I broke up.”

Trunks looks frozen for a second. “What?” 

“Yeah. He said he’d be lucky to find a boyfriend that gets half as jealous as you.” 

“Really?” Trunks looks pleased with himself, until Goten shoots a look. “I—I mean,  I’m sorry.” 

Goten shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s fine.” 

“You…okay?” 

“Yeah. Li and I are still friends. I probably just had my head too up in the clouds for him.” 

“You think you’re ever going to date again? A girl, or…” Trunks sounds hesitant. “Another guy?” 

“I dunno. Li kind of just fell into my lap.” Goten shrugs. “I wasn’t expecting it.” 

“Did you ever like guys before?” 

“No. Yeah. I mean, sort of.” Goten lays down and crosses his arms. “There was you, but that never worked out.” 

Trunks jolts off the bed so hard that Goten almost falls to the floor himself. “What?” 

Goten nods. 

“What?!” Trunks says again, making an incomprehensible noise. “You—what? When was this?” 

“I was…seven? So you were eight?” Goten scratches his head. “You didn’t like my grand plan, remember? I said we should date each other and that I could tell you that you smell pretty bad.” 

Trunks’s jaw falls to the ground, which means no, he probably did not remember. Goten huffs. 

“C’mon, Trunks, this is exactly what I mean about being disrespectful—”

“I didn’t think you were serious you numbnut—”

“Really asshole—? With the name calling—”

“Goten?” Mom pokes her head in the door. “It’s the middle of the night, why are you so—”

“MOM!” Goten shrieks and scrambles to cover himself. 

“Oh, please, I changed those diapers—wait a minute—Trunks?” Mom looks abhorred. “What on earth are you two—?” 

“Oh,” Dad pokes his head in the door, too. “Hey, Trunks! Goten, why are you naked?” 

“I just showered!” Goten protests. 

“Naked!” Mom gasps, hands on her hips. “With a boy in the room! Goten—you’re in so much trouble—!” 

“It’s just Trunks, ChiChi. Don’t worry, they’re not dating—“

“I’ll take my leave now,” Trunks announces. He sprints to the window. “Have a good night, ChiChi. You too, Goku. I’ll—I’ll text you, Ten.” 

Goten looks towards the window. “But—“ 

“GOTEN!” Mom shrieks. “Have you been sneaking through the window?! You know I’ve raised you better than to have a sex buddy—“

“Mom! Don’t say sex!” 

“I think it’s good that they can still be buddies and have sex,” Dad reasons. “Vegeta and me are fight buddies—“ 

“Can I please just have some privacy so I can put some underwear on?!” 

*

Trunks: Let’s go out on a date 

Goten stares at his phone. He puts it away during class. 

Two full minutes later, he received another text. 

Trunks: don’t leave me on read 

 

Trunks: c’mon, ten 

 

That’s even worse. Goten tries to keep his surprise mute. 

You: youre serious???

 

Trunks: yeah???

 

You: ***NO***

 

Trunks: WHAT 

 

You: UR SO WEIRD ON DATES 

 

Trunks: ***WHAT***

A shadow casts over Goten. He looks up to the sight of his biology professor at his side, one disappointed eyebrow in the air. 

“Care to join us in the lesson of asexual reproduction, Son Goten?” She asks. 

Goten swallows hard. “I’m—homosexual, actually.” 

That gets a few laughs out of his classmates. 

And his phone taken away. 

*

Later, his teacher gives him his phone back. Trunks has sent him twelve more texts, which Goten barely reads. There’s a couple of middle fingers and capslocked ***GOTEN***’s, but Goten makes it to the end. 

Trunks: Fuck you, I’ll take you on the best date you’ve ever been on 

Goten snorts. He waits until classes are over and calls Trunks on the flight home. 

“Well?“ Trunks prompts pompously on the phone. 

“You do realize they’re gonna call my mom over this, right?” Goten asks, annoyed. “And that I’ve already had two talks with her about how you and me aren’t friends with benefits?” 

“What?” Clearly, that thought didn’t cross his mind. “It’s not my fault you were naked!” 

“You had a whole conversation with me to remind me my dick was hanging out,” Goten protests. He stops mid-conversation. “And why the hell do you want to take me on a date all of a sudden? To prove you’re not bad at them?” 

Trunks falls strangely quiet over the phone. Goten wonders if he has bad reception. 

“To prove I’m worth all this trouble,” Trunks says finally. “Please?” 

Goten wonders if this is a joke. But, Trunks’s tone hints at otherwise. 

“The best date I’ll ever have?” Goten recites. 

Trunks is confident. “Bet.” 

*

Goten gets a text in the following morning.

Trunks: I’ll pick you up 

He’s not really sure what to wear. Trunks always waits hand and foot on his girlfriends, and pulls out their chair and stuff. When they were younger, Goten yanked a chair from under Trunks and they pummeled them snot out of each other. 

He decides on a changshan and to brush his hair—then helps Dad split firewood in the back. 

“No plans today, son?” Dad asks, hearty as ever. 

“Trunks and I are hanging out.” 

“Oh—you two made up!” 

“Sort of.” Goten makes a face—then he shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s been weird.” 

“Did he start snapping at you? Vegeta gets aggravated all the time—over the smallest thing. Usually it’s nothing.” 

“I think I did the snapping. I definitely did the snapping.” Goten frowns. He splits firewood open as Dad throws it his way. 

Dad arches an eyebrow, looking genuinely concerned. “He’s not trying to take over the world, is he? Because I always figured that gene would go down to Bulla—“

“What? No. I mean—not since we were little.” Goten scratches his head. “He’s just weird on dates.” 

“Oh—so you are more than sex buddies! Good, your mom’s been worried about you—”

“Dad.” Goten flushes red and huffs. “It’s not like that. He’s been weird on dates with other people.” 

“So he’s good with you?” 

“No. I don’t know.” Goten punches through another block of wood. “I just want him to be normal.” 

“Okay,” Dad agrees. “Then tell him to be normal.” 

Sometimes Goten wonders if living in the woods was just easier back then for his dad. Dad makes it all sound so simple. 

On cue, they both catch sight of Trunks descending on a Capsule Corp hover bike. Trunks lands beside their pile of wood. 

“Hey, Trunks! Nice wheels.” Dad waves goodnaturedly, absent from their conversation. “Or…nice no wheels?” 

The bike is all shiny and new. Goten marvels at the way it shines in the sunlight—but only for a second. 

“Like it? The new prototype. Mom hasn’t even announced it in stores yet.” Trunks is smug again.

“Why’d you bring it?” Goten asks. 

“For our date.” Trunks looks even more pleased with himself. 

“We can fly.” Goten crosses his arms.

“And miss out on the sick engine on this thing?”

“Yeah.” 

Trunks deflates ever-so slightly. “Goku, help me out here.“ 

“Might be good for you, Goten,” Goku says. “Oh! Take Nimbus! You two could race. Plus—you don’t need a driver’s license for that.” 

Goten’s resolve wavers ever so slightly. It has been a while since he hitched a ride on Nimbus. 

“Well,” Trunks says for whatever reason, “the bike is a two-seater—”

Oh, god, Trunks was actually trying to flex with this dumb bike. 

“Race you,” Goten declares instead. “Bet I’m faster than you.” 

Luckily, that shuts Trunks up before he can get all dumb and weird. Trunks arches an eyebrow. 

“Can your mom’s latest technology keep up with an ancient magic flying cloud?” Goten prompts. 

“Do you hear yourself?” Trunks retorts. “New and ancient?” 

Goten spins on his heel and looks toward the sky for their family friend. “You’re more fun when you go along with it.” 

Trunks makes another face. And huffs, to Goten’s satisfaction. “Okay, fine. You’re on.” 

*

It’s been a long time since they’ve hung out one-on-one. It’s been even longer since Goten flew on Nimbus—since Goten actually learned how to fly, and could get to Trunks’s house even faster. Before those days, Goten happily sat in Gohan’s lap as a little kid and enjoyed the ride. 

Now, he’s on Nimbus again, shooting across the mountainside while Trunks races him on some fancy hover bike. 

Goten peeks below him and catches Trunks staring. Trunks makes some hand gestures.

“What?” Goten asks Nimbus to take him down. “Mad I’m beating you?” 

Trunks pops the visor from his helmet—which is funny, since he should be used to getting bugs in his eyes. “Do you even know where we’re going?” 

Goten and Nimbus stop. Trunks gets a good couple feet ahead of him before making a u-turn. 

“No,” Goten admits. 

Trunks snorts and rolls his eyes—but weirdly, it doesn’t feel as condescending as usual. He points south. “There’s an island a little further that way.” 

“An island?” Goten repeats. “What, like a private island with a fancy chef and stuff?” 

“Well, yeah.” Trunks arches an eyebrow. “Something wrong with that?” 

“I guess not.” Goten’s eyebrows pinch together. “Like, one of those fancy restaurants where everything is too small and you pay four times as much?” 

“Yeah?” 

Goten frowns. Eventually, his dissatisfaction makes Trunks uncomfortable. 

“Do you not want to do that?” Trunks guesses. 

“C’mon, Trunks, I already know you’re rich. Flexing that isn’t going to make me want to kiss you,” Goten laments.

To his surprise, Trunks actually looks bristled by the comment. Goten’s taunted Trunks plenty, but that’s never turned his best friend as red as he is now. 

“Right,” Trunks says slowly. Reluctantly. He scratches his head. 

“The best fucking date I’ve ever been on. Right?” Goten asks. 

Trunks is contemplative. Goten recognizes that look plenty, from when they used to scheme. 

“Right,” Trunks agrees again. He hops off his bike and shrinks it back into a capsule. He’s airborne now. “Okay, this way.” 

He points east now. Goten grins contently. “Where to?” 

“Only way to find out is to keep up,” Trunks retorts. 

Goten grins wider. “You’re on!” 

“Ready? Set—go!” 

*

A conveyor belt sushi place. It’s never as fresh as the fish that Goten catches from the river—but the blinking lights and fancy sushi suddenly makes his mouth water. They take a booth, and Goten notices on the gachapon machine above their table. 

“Pretty cute, right?” Trunks asks. He’s smug again—but Goten lets him have this one. Sort of. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” 

“You just called something cute,” Goten points out. “You. Trunks Briefs. Son of the Prince of All Saiyans—“

“Yeah?” Trunks huffs—and he’s flustered again. “So?” 

“Nothing—just not very princely of you,” Goten remarks. Trunks makes a face. There’s probably a snide remark ready—but Goten beats him to it. “That’s cute. I like it.” 

Trunks never makes it to whatever mean remark Goten’s prepared for. 

“How do you get a toy?” Goten asks. He feels more five than fifteen right now—but the machine holds trinkets from the new Demon Slayer movie, and he has to have them. 

“Why don’t you just eat and find out?” Trunks muses. 

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Goten reaches for a sushi plate. 

They clear ten before the waitress comes back with their water. There’s a small slot to dispose of their plates. It swallows each one. Once they get it the fifteenth—the iPad screen beside them changes. 

“Whoa—“ Goten jumps—and then suddenly, some cartoon shows up of Godzilla and a chibi superhero. The main chibi says the only way to defeat Godzilla is to feed the hero weapons—sushi plates. 

Trunks is grinning wickedly across the booth. “Like it?”

“Does that play every ten plates?” 

“Nope—a different one. If we get to twenty-five then we get a reward.” Trunks points to the machine. 

“Only twenty-five?” Goten asks. “Easy.” 

“You’re right. We should get to a hundred.” 

“Two hundred. Each.” Goten grins.

Trunks tosses his head back and laughs. “Okay, bet.” 

They eat every plate on the conveyer belt before the chefs have a chance to roll more. By the time their stomachs are satiated, the toys have all been won. There’s one final animation of chibi Godzilla defeated with the power of shrimp tempura. Goten doesn’t get it—but he likes it. 

Also—he wins. 

“Your stomach is a blackhole,” Trunks says, defeated at his one-hundred and ninety-seventh plate. 

“Thank you,” Goten says—and Trunks rolls his eyes. 

Trunks snickers—and the sound buzzes between Goten’s ears. Then, Trunks points with his chopsticks. “Your black hole missed a spot. There’s a whole glob of rice in your hair.” 

“Aw man—that would’ve been bad.” Goten plucks the sushi rice out of his hair and drenches it in soy sauce. He plops it in his mouth. 

Trunks rolls his eyes. He doesn’t even flinch when it comes to paying the bill. 

Goten reaches out, and wipes the corner of Trunks’s mouth, which is stained by soy sauce. 

Goten licks the remnant sauce off his finger while Trunks stares at him. 

“What—was that for?” Trunks asks, stunned. 

Goten shrugs. “Your mouth was dirty.” 

“Uhh…huh.” Of all the ways Goten has put a hand on his best friend, this one apparently shakes Trunks the most. 

Goten opts not to linger—otherwise Trunks will try to get the final laugh. “Now what?”

*

They spar. Like, actually spar. Goten’s never been happier to not be in some sequined dress as they make it back to the woods. Goten thinks back to the days Bulma would bring Trunks by to play fight when they were kids. Those days would pass quickly and bleed into the evening, where Goten begged Bulma and Trunks to stay a little longer, until the both of them could hold a convincing argument for a sleepover. 

Goten has Trunks’s undivided attention as they throw punches and kicks—and looks of approval or smirks when Goten does something satisfactory. 

He doesn’t have to worry about holding back or hiding his powers when he’s with Trunks—it’s what made Trunks such a great friend. 

“Not bad,” Trunks remarks after a sleek uppercut. 

“Speak for yourself,” Goten retorts in good humor from the sky. “Not your best, either.” 

Trunks breaks into a wiley grin—past that rich boy hot car persona. Then he smirks, one hand behind his back. 

Goten knows exactly what Trunks is doing. Trolling him, like usual—but in a way that’s haunted him for years since their junior martial arts tournament. 

Luckily—Goten’s gotten less naive since then. And, there are no arenas for him to accidentally go out of bounds. 

Goten grins and waves back. Trunks arches an eyebrow—and in the millisecond in between, Goten tilts into a dive. 

He’s faster than when they were seven and eight. Goten can accelerate with much more ki control—even if it was never the focus with Mom. He can tell Trunks is still surprised as the golden glow of his ki shines in the reflection of Trunks’s eyes. 

As he falls dangerously close, Trunks shoots to the left. Goten shoots a ki blast in front of Trunks—halting the other teen from escape. Then he uses his other hand and propels himself with another blast. 

“Whoa—”

Goten collides into Trunks head first—and accidentally drives both of them into the ground. 

“Fucking hell, Goten—” Trunks wriggles beneath him. He reaches out. 

“Don’t even.” Goten keeps Trunks pinned to the ground. He snatches Trunks by the left hand, so that trick doesn’t happen again. “I’m winning, fair and square this time, you dick.” 

Trunks makes a face—but relaxes beneath Goten. He even smiles. Smiles! “Fine. You win.” 

Goten grins. 

Then—Trunks kisses him. 

It’s not a quick jab or a punch—but it’s definitely unexpected. Goten doesn’t know how he keeps getting into these situations—but suddenly he reels back—a good five, ten feet—stunned. 

Trunks sits up. Goten gawks. 

“What—what kind of sneak attack was that?” Goten stammers. He’s afraid to blink, in case Trunks tries something like that again. 

Unfortunately, that smile falls from Trunks’s face. Now he looks at Goten with something else Goten isn’t used to. Given isn’t even sure how to describe it. 

“What do you mean sneak attack?” Trunks asks slowly. 

“You—you’re trying to cheat again!” Goten snaps. “What the hell, man?” 

“You think—“ Horrified. That’s what Trunks looks like. “You think I was trying to one-up you?”

“When aren’t you?” Goten points out. 

Thankfully Trunks’s demeanor shifts into something Goten’s actually used to—that almost-comforting are you stupid? look. “Goten, we’re on a date.” 

“Yeah because your ego can’t handle me telling you that you suck at something!” Goten points out now.

“No, you idiot!” Trunks snaps. “We’re on a date because I like you!” 

Silence. 

Goten goes slack-jaw. A sucker punch to the gut would’ve been less shocking. 

Trunks glares at him, patiently waiting for Goten to get it. 

Then, he seems to turn red. And—Goten’s still not sure if he gets it. 

“You like me,” Goten repeats slowly. “Like, like-like me.” 

Trunks presses a hand to his face like he used to when Goten said something stupid when they were little. At least when they were little, Goten could expect this scenario to never happen. 

“I should go,” Trunks decides finally. 

That’s not what Goten expects, either. “Wait—“ 

“No.” Trunks turns to face him again. 

Goten grimaces and prepares for a snide comment. 

It doesn’t come. Trunks’s shoulders raise to his ears—and then they fall. 

“Um, bye, Goten.” 

Then he leaves, not one mean remark exchanged between them. 

*

Goten’s approach has always been different from Trunks’s. He has to think about the last time he made Trunks angry, and—well, it has definitely been a while. He doesn’t want to deal with the silent treatment again because this date reminded him how much he actually misses Trunks. 

So he gives it a day. Then he asks Bulla where to find Trunks to set things straight. 

To no one’s surprise, Goten finds Trunks at one of the Capsule Corp buildings talking up that stupid bike to the press. Goten has to sneak past security before finding himself at the very back of the interviewers, while Bulma and Trunks are talking and gesturing to the hover bike. 

Trunks doesn’t look upset—but the boring schematics on the PowerPoint probably help with that. 

Goten waves over the crowd.

He catches Bulma’s attention first. She looks at him curiously, then touches Trunks’s arm. 

Trunks glances Goten’s way for a second. Then he looks away. 

Goten frowns. And waves his hands harder. “Trunks! Truuuuuunks!” 

He’s starting to get the attention of the interviewers. And Goten knows Trunks is purposefully ignoring him now. 

Trunks stares him dead in the eye and makes a zip it motion with his thumb. 

Goten huffs. He pushes through the crowd, bobbing and weaving. Security guards try to stop him, but Goten glides out of their way. He hops onto the stage and pushes the microphones out of the way. Trunks jumps at his sudden appearance—but also tries to look all poised and adult-ish. 

“Goten!” Bulma scolds. “We’re in the middle of a press conference! You’re on TV!” 

“Oh—hi.” Goten waves at a camera. Wherever it is. Then he turns back to his best friend. “I want to talk about our date and kiss yesterday.” 

“Goten!” Trunks turns red, flustered, while Bulma gasps. 

“Please?” Goten begs. 

There are way too many flashing lights behind them. Trunks looks over to his mom—who has the same exasperation Goten’s mom gets when Goten, Gohan, or Goku do something silly or Saiyan-related. 

“The world’s not going to end, Bulma, I promise,” Goten reassures. “I just want to talk about Trunks’s feelings for me.” 

“Oh my god,” Trunks laments. “Mom?” 

Bulma presses a hand to her face, tired. Then she makes a gesture with her hand. That must be where Trunks gets it from. 

“Thanks, Bulma! Whoa—!” 

Trunks yanks him by the collar of his shirt. That’s definitely something inherited by their moms, too. They end up in one of those offices with all the computer monitors and a paper shredder. 

“Well?” Trunks asks him impatiently. 

Goten tears away from the boring office stuff. He looks back at Trunks and huffs again. “You ambushed me.” 

Trunks makes another noise. “I ambushed you? I asked you out on a date!” 

“How was I supposed to know it was a romantic date?” 

“Are you—what other kind of date is there?!” Trunks looks ready to shake him again, but Goten would rather not get another earful about property damage. 

“Play dates!” Goten rebuts. “We had them all the time growing up!” 

Thankfully, he stumps Trunks. Trunks looks as exasperated as Bulma did. 

“Look—you didn’t let me say anything before you left,” Goten says. “It’s not like I ever thought you’d like me back, you told me I wasn’t good enough for you!” 

Trunks stares back at him, gobsmacked. “Goten, I was eight.” 

“Yeah, and you still pull the same negging bullshit you did back then too,” Goten reasons. “And you’ve been hellbent on dating and being this rich boy Chad or whatever ever since we started high school. It’s been so annoying. I wouldn’t believe that you wanted to date me even if you asked me up front. And you did!” 

Goten throws his arms in the air again. 

Surprisingly, the longer he talks, the less annoyed Trunks looks. In fact, he might even be easy to reason with. 

“You,” Trunks says slowly, “really didn’t think we were on a real date?” 

“C’mon Trunks, if I knew we could’ve been making out the entire time then we would’ve been.” 

Trunks stares at him. “What?” 

Goten arches an eyebrow and holds up his hands. 

“You…” Now Trunks looks flabbergasted. “You want to kiss me?” 

“When have I ever said I didn’t want to kiss you?” Goten’s eyebrows knit together. “I asked you to marry me when I was seven, Trunks.” 

Trunks flushes red again—and Goten finally realizes where he’s seen that face before. When they were kids. 

“Goten, you were seven.” 

“So I wasn’t supposed to believe what you said when we were kids because you refuse to believe what I told you when we were kids?” Goten refutes. 

“Well—Yeah.” 

Goten’s irritation only grows. “So you don’t want me to like you back?” 

“I—” Trunks halts. His eyebrows furrow, troubled.

It takes him a long time to muster a reply. Goten knows the best choice is to wait. 

“How did you get there so fast?” Trunks asks. “And make it look so easy?” 

“I—why wouldn’t it be?” Goten asks. He scratches his head. “You were my first friend, Trunks. And we do everything together—being teenagers and being Saiyans. You’re the only person out there that gets me. Except Gohan and Dad, but—I know they’re gonna be in my life—barring that there isn’t another apocalypse or something. I wanna make sure you’re there too, you know?” 

He watches Trunks’s face morph with each word. 

“You got all of that at seven?” Trunks asks. “You didn’t even know what a wizard was.” 

“You’re deflecting,” Goten reasons. 

“No, I’m—not.” Trunks huffs. And he looks more self conscious now. Less suave. 

“Trunks—I like you. And if you like me, that’s great.” Goten reaches out and claps his hands over Trunks’s shoulders. 

Trunks’s eyebrows furrow once more. “What about Valese? And Li?” 

It takes Goten a moment to remember Valese was the name of that girl that Trunks set him up with. The one who took the Nyan Cat plush. “Had to find someone else if I wasn’t good enough for you.” 

“I told you—”

“And I told you.” 

Trunks falls quiet once more. It’s cute, honestly. Goten grows giddy because he can actually call Trunks cute now. 

“You’re so cute,” Goten gushes. He grins—and Trunks’s eyes widen in a different way. 

“Excuse me?” 

“You’re excused.” 

“Don’t call me cute,” Trunks berates. “You don’t get to call me cute. I’m supposed to call you cute.” 

“Oh my god, you think I’m cute?” Goten’s heart flutters giddily. He grins—and Trunks looks even more flustered. 

“Shut up,” Trunks snaps. “I didn’t—”

Goten reaches out and kisses him on the cheek. Trunks jumps from the sudden contact—-and it actually disarms him. 

Trunks stares at him, big blue eyes and all, stunned. 

“I—” Trunks stares at Goten. “What was that?” 

“Sneak attack.” Goten grins and tightens his grip over Trunks. 

“Sneak attack,” Trunks echoes. 

“I should’ve known the other day wasn’t you trying to cheat,” Goten admits. “Otherwise it would’ve been a better kiss.” 

Trunks snaps out of it. Of course he does. 

Trunks knows Goten well—but that means Goten knows Trunks well, too. 

“You think you could do better?” Trunks huffs—all grumpy and cranky. And flustered. And cute. Cute! 

Goten only grins wider. He pulls Trunks close, wrapping his arms around Trunks for the first time in a way that isn’t a headlock, and stares the other teen dead in the eye. 

“Bet,” Goten promises. 

He seals it with a warm, affectionate kiss. 

*

So, dating Trunks isn’t much different from being friends with Trunks. Well—it’s different from Chad Trunks, and much more like Goten’s favorite Trunks. The one that actually pays attention to him and responds to his messages. 

Except they get to make out and go on dates, too. Granted the dates are pretty similar to how their outings have always gone—eating a bunch of food and sparring, but they end in fun makeout sessions. Goten points out this just means they’ve been dating since they were babies. Trunks says it’s stupid—but Goten’s learned he’s easy to disarm just by flirting. And calling Trunks cute. A lot. 

Maybe Dad was right—it is a good battle tactic. Goten considers passing it on the next time Vegeta and Dad spar. 

They lead a sparring session a few weeks later in the Briefs backyard. Goten delivers punches and blows, while Trunks does the same. 

“Is Gotenks, like, our son?” Goten asks halfway through the battle. 

Trunks is flabbergasted. Long enough for Goten to deliver a high kick. 

Vegeta is barking from the ground. Dad’s laughter is infectious. 

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Trunks says. 

“Shame,” Goten says. “I was hoping we could practice more.” 

“Practice?” 

“You know. Fusion. Fusing.” Goten shrugs. “We could do that without Gotenks if you want, though. Might not want to repeat that childhood abandonment with our own son, though.” 

Trunks flushes red. He aims for Goten’s face. “Shut up, Ten.” 

Goten dodges—and takes an extra second to admire his boyfriend. Boyfriend! “Make me.” 

Far down below, neither of them hear the conversation amongst the adults. 

“They seem like they’re flirting more than they’re fighting,” Videl remarks. 

“Wait—” Krillin’s eyes widen. “—are they dating?” 

“Kakarot,” Vegeta snaps. “Tell your son to stop messing around and fight.” 

“Why?” Goku asks, puzzled. “I think he’s winning.”