Prince of all Fuck Ups

            Marron didn’t mind waiting. She was patient above all things, especially with Trunks being as busy as he was. It really didn’t bother you. Trunks slipped in without her noticing and before she could say hello he pressed a kiss to her cheek and her face turned bright red. Damn, it was too easy to fluster her. 

  “It’s okay. I know how busy you are.”

Marron gazed to the side, holding her sleeve to her face for a moment and wait for the heat in her face to die down. It didn’t take too long; she knew Trunks too well to be nervous. 

“I’m glad you’re here now,” 

A small noise of relief escaped him when Trunks saw that he hadn’t missed anything. The play wasn’t something that he cared about, but he knew it had been something Marron had been looking forward to. Simple logic meant that it was important to him then. It was nice being able to share something like this with her, and to actually be a part of her memories when she looked back on this moment. 

“A threat? That is a waste of time, for you speak like I intend her harm.”

His words didn’t seem to phase her one bit, only eliciting a sigh and a sharp glare. Retty wanted this woman who knew the gods of this realm rather intimately - or rather her knowledge.

It was for the best of all the universes that she get that knowledge.

“If you are so concerned about her, then why not come with? I crossed into this universe from my own, so she should also be able to operate this… company from a distance.”

As much as she despised negotiations at times, she knew that a willful worker was far more productive than an unwilling one.

What...

She had crossed into this universe. From her own. 

He was... confused, at best, and alarmed at worst. The idea of there being multiple universes wasn’t unfamiliar to Trunks, but he couldn’t recall intersection between any of them being truly allowed. Even if it was, there was no truly easy way to travel between two of them short of a God being involved.

And this woman was speaking as if she was just able to... cross the border between two of them with a snap of her fingers. 

There was a quick spark of what he recognized as mild annoyance at the continued shrugs, but it faded soon enough. Whis paused with a sigh, thinking over his options.

“…Very well– I think it means you think it takes someone distinctly inhuman and aloof, someone that would find little issue with breaking someone like you into pieces. And therefore I think that is what you see in me.”

“Either that or it’s your obtuse way of saying the capability exists in all of us, which is true enough.”

Trunks found himself smiling softly at the angel. “Well you’re the all knowing one here, aren’t you? You should know which one I mean. In fact, why don’t you tell me?”

He was being obtuse and difficult on purpose, and if he were called out on that Trunks would see no reason to deny it. There certainly was some fun in acting this way too, but it wasn’t like there was no purpose behind his infuriatingly vague comments. Trunks was simply... curious.

    Goten rolled his eyes. Truthfully, he didn’t really like how Trunks manipulated him into saying such things, but that was Trunks for you. He figured it was rather easy to do, considering Goten wasn’t good at keeping up the ‘mean friend’ charade for long. 

 “Okay. What do you want?”

It was underhanded and manipulative, there was no denying it. There was also no denying that Trunks felt like he had to twist Goten around to get him to admit such things, though. Actually asking to hear that the other wanted to spend time with him, that he missed him, that he felt lonely without him-- 

It was bad enough he was dating the son of a third class warrior. It’d be even worse if his father ever found out that he-- that he wanted, needed reassurance, and that the opinion of others actually mattered to him.

“... thanks...?”

“You know, I’m pretty sure I could use you as evidence that there’s feline genetics in saiyan ancestry.”

She was made to give pause as she heard what this time machine had done. The obvious change in her stance shifting to very clearly not wanting to arrest this woman now, but still having to do so.

“Then you’ll have to forgive me for this.”

In a movement with speeds clearly far above most people, her hand grabbed his face. With a small whir from the gears, a harsh light came from it with the clear intent and imitation of the blinding powers of the sun.

Seizing this opportunity, she kicked him hard enough to not only move him out of her way, but to firmly leave a hole caused by his body in the wall. The sound of her feet against the tiles of  his home’s interior was the best sign of her small victory over him.

“Your mother seems to have good intentions, and I will try to make sure that her sentence is light as a result, but to mess with time is something not even the Gods are allowed, so I’m afraid that your mother is not above this law.”

His vision (and his face) seemed to explode into painfully bright lights, and he found himself letting out a grunt of pain as his back collided hard with the wall behind him. Trunks felt it shatter from impact, jagged pieces pressing hard against his spine. “Fuck...”

He shifted to push himself into a crouched position as one arm came up to rub at his eyes. Fuck, fuck. A flashbang from point-blank range-- yeah, that was really going to leave a fucking mark...

It was going to take him more than a few minutes to collect himself again, giving the strange robocop plenty of time to head inside for Bulma. However, Trunks was hardly the only line of defense she had and, in all honesty, he was hardly the best. Keki wouldn’t be able to get far before a hand would clamp down on her shoulder, ripping her back and tossing her effortlessly back into the hall that she had left Trunks in.

     “Oh -! Yeah, sure thing.” She tilts her head momentarily and gives a confused frown. “If it’s about GOTEN, I’m sworn under sibling oath to keep my mouth shut. So, of course, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”  

     She was teasing of course, but still, he’d never asked to talk alone before. She hoped everything was ALRIGHT. “Is, everything okay?” 

While her initial comment was amusing, Trunks was (surprisingly) not here to get dirt on Goten. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to file those remarks away for future blackmail though. It was good to know he would have an easy source if he ever needed to dig anything up on the other.

“It isn’t.” Blunt and to the point. Trunks gestured towards one of the chairs in the meeting room, indicating for her to take a seat.

“I have been... struggling to adjust to the business side of being CEO.” As he spoke, he took a seat across from her. “Nevermind all the pointless paperwork, there’s far too much people pleasing that has to happen. Half of my job is meeting with potential contractors and buyers and whining and dining them into agreeing that Capsule Corp is the best choice for them.” They were the best, but they were also the most expensive-- and people didn’t like to part with their money.

“Arresting the leader of an empire is a poor idea in and of itself. To explain to you  how I got in here would take too much time, so I won’t do that.”

The woman in question was simply idly examining the objects in the labs - as if taking in every detail mentally to use the information for her own purposes. Either way, the hand on her chin remained and her steely gaze didn’t even turn to face the younger man in question.

“Your mother is quite the intelligent person, much better than most of my own scientists. I was considering attempting to have her come and join me for a little bit and put her talents to my universe’s greater good.”

She didn’t mince her words at all, every one of them carrying a tone of harsh sincerity.

The woman’s words, in an unsurprising twist, did little to ease the anxiety that felt like it had taken a seat in Trunks’ chest. Rather, he felt a sharp sense of anxiety as she spoke, and he became increasingly aware of the delicate situation they were in. He was powerful, but fighting here would risk damaging some incredibly delicate equipment. 

Oh, and the press would have a field day with it.

 “Yeah!     Except you could play those video games with me. You won’t be working or taking me out. Just spending time with your boyfriend who is sad when he doesn’t get to spend time with you,” 

And there it is. Trunks was comfortable enough to admit that he liked hearing that. There was comfort in knowing that Goten was sad when he wasn’t around and it helped him to feel... well. Useful? Needed? Something more than just a placeholder for his mother?

A light kiss was pressed against the other’s cheek as he grinned. “I win. And sure. Let’s grab some take out first though.”

“Chiyori.” He had thought over this for awhile now. Well, for a few weeks, but Trunks came to his decisions fast.