Left at the helm, all Trunks could think about was how serious Seventeen's trauma was. He had two deaths haunting him, and he seemed to have been reliving them both interchangeably. All those memories of his past must've hit him hard.

It was hours before Seventeen came back and sat in the passenger seat. Trunks glanced at him, noticing that he actually looked tired for once. He must've been really stressed.

"Feeling better?"

"I didn't want anyone to see me like that."

"Trust me, it would've been harder for you if you were alone."

"Why did you help me?"

Trunks turned to look at Seventeen and said, "I couldn't just watch you suffer. You're still human."

"...You knew my name. Your mother mentioned Gero's blueprints. You-"

"That's right. I went back to the lab."

"You must've done a shoddy job trying to blow it up when we met."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. I should thank you for even trying. That place… I never want to see it ever again."

"Don't worry, I made sure to finish the job. There's nothing left of it."

"But you saw it. The room where he took us apart. Did you know I was conscious the first time? He sedated me, so I couldn't move or scream. He told me I wouldn't have to watch next time, because he would just make me sleep at the touch of a button. Lazuli… I could hear her screams from the lab. She was begging Gero to spare me- to take her instead..."

Trunks' fists were practically breaking the wheel from his grip.

"You were children?"

Seventeen shrugged.

"Preteens, I guess."

"I always thought- I didn't know you didn't have a choice. I get why you would kill Gero given the opportunity."

"For someone who said he couldn't care less, you sure seem to care."

"I'm not heartless, you know. Your feelings- what you've been through… it's made me see you as a person now."

"You're really so dense that you needed to see me vulnerable to get it?"

"You weren't vulnerable. If it was me having flashbacks, I'd have seriously hurt you."

"What's your baggage then?"

"I've been haunted by two androids my entire life. But I can definitely say now that you're not one of them."

Seventeen twirled his hair his fingers, hesitant.

"...In that case, you don't have to call me Seventeen anymore."

"Huh?"

"If it'll help you separate me from him, you can use my name."

Trunks felt really light for some reason.

"I guess you're right- I mean- if that's alright with you."

Seventeen sheepishly glanced away.

"I wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't alright."

"Right, okay… Lapis."

"I should've said this from the start, but thanks for… being there for me."

"It was nothing, don't even mention it- ever- to anyone."

Trunks' new acquaintance named Lapis smiled. He had only known cruelty on that face for so long- this person truly was something else, to smile so warmly.

They disembarked in the outskirts of a town surrounded by forest. Lapis ran his hand ran along each tree. He seemed to know exactly where to go despite the absence of a trail.

He's been here before...

Lapis stopped to pick wildflowers whenever he could.

"Didn't know you liked flowers."

"...They're not for me."

Trunks wasn't sure what he meant until they arrived at their destination. He eyed the graves nervously, feeling as though he was back home.

Lapis stilled in front of a tombstone. He kneeled and propped the flowers up against it.

"...This is my mom," he said.

Trunks remained silent and noticed Lapis was shaking.

"I had forgotten her. Her voice, her smile. I forgot it all."

"You loved her."

Lapis glanced back at Trunks, confused.

"Love…?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it? To remember her."

Lapis touched her name on the tombstone.

"Love… yes, that's what she taught me. She wanted me to love this world, but… I started to hate it."

"What made you hate it?"

Lapis hugged his arms together and started to pant heavily.

"These emotions I'm feeling… are like fresh wounds. My memories are bringing back so much pain with them. I can't-!"

Trunks kneeled next to Lapis and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I know how painful memories can be. Talking about them will help lessen the burden."

Lapis scoffed.

"Aren't you burdened enough?"

"Tell me why you hated the world."

Lapis lowered his head, hiding his face from view beneath his dark hair.

"She died from an illness. My father went mad and-," Lapis seethed, "he- he killed himself. We thought we'd be blamed for it, so we ran away, just took the car and drove. The world I saw then… that I had to survive in… I could never forgive it for what it took from us..."

Trunks held his breath. Whenever Lapis spoke about his feelings, it always hit close to home. Replace 'world' with 'androids' and they were the same.

"Do you still feel that way?"

Lapis stared at his mother's grave.

"I was a child. I blamed the world for everything. But she… she wouldn't have wanted that."

Trunks sighed.

"Your tolerance is stronger than mine, then."

"Why's that?"

"You relived all that pain all at once and yet you're not angry. You're not taking your anger out on anything."

Lapis exhaled a shaky breath.

"I was angry. I saw what humans were capable of on the streets. In dark alleyways were no one would care if I died. That's the world I hated. Her world… hers was far from the cities. Hers were the cool streams she'd stand in while my sister and I splashed around her. The fields of flowers where she would nap with us..."

Lapis' breathing calmed as he closed his eyes, content washing over him.

"The wind… I remember how it made the fields dance around us. And yet, we didn't feel cold. The sunlight would be warm enough. If there were clouds, she'd hold us close. If there was rain, she'd love it just the same. Dad would scold her for getting us covered in mud, and she would laugh. He'd indulge her, taking us to the beach often, even though he knew we'd track back the sand. She loved the ocean. She'd sit on the shore for hours, watching us and smiling. Even when she was dying… she never stopped smiling for us."

Lapis blinked and felt something on his face. He touched it with his fingers and it felt wet.

"She sounds like you," said Trunks. "Never taking anything seriously."

Even though his eyes were watering, Lapis gave a small laugh.

"That's what my dad would say."

"She would've liked Sixteen."

Even though his face was flushed, Lapis turned and smiled at Trunks.

"She would. Dad would've been jealous."

With one look at those tears, Trunks couldn't help himself from trying to think of something to cheer him up.

"...There's somewhere I want to take you."

Trunks stood up and offered his hand.

"I think she would've liked it."

Lapis stared at him quizzically.

He took his hand.

The both of them were warm.

Trunks didn't need a map to take them there. He had memorized the place by heart. It was where he went to train, where the rest of the world felt separate.

Lapis could hear the roaring water before he even saw it. Trunks led them right on top of it, so he could see the water flow through the valley, off a cliff side and into the ocean. The sky was blue and orange and pink.

Lapis pressed a hand against his mouth, completely in awe.

Trunks wasn't looking at the valley. He only saw its reflection in Lapis' eyes. The way Lapis looked at it was so genuine, it made Trunks realize he'd been taking for granted.

"It's so beautiful," Lapis whispered.

"It is," said Trunks. "I could never look at it the same way again."