Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Barracks ❯ Part 54 ( Chapter 54 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Yaoi_Angel87 & kusostarsforever: thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.

Barracks

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by quatreofdoom

Part 54

It was taking them time to share the loot so that everyone was happy. The Human, though, due to the lack of sleep, had disconnected himself from the outside world as soon as he was belted to one of the chairs. Reyn took notice of the fact that the chair happened to be on Goten’s right side.

“Ha!” Goten exclaimed happily when Onar finally gave in and passed him the necklace he had wanted so much. The third-class checked out the shiny stones with his fingers, then tried to put it on his neck. It didn’t fit – the chain was too short. After some thought, he put it on his arm.

“Looking good,” Reyn sniggered.

“I know you also got a ring in your pocket,” Onar said to Goten bitterly.

“And I know about the three in your right boot,” Goten countered.

“Really?” Lumera turned to Onar.

Goten’s revelation started a new bout of arguments. About fifteen minutes later, when Reyn turned to look at the other third-class, he found him peacefully asleep in his chair. Goten had recently been short on sleep and not even their clamoring teammates disturbed his rest. There was still over an hour’s flight until they reached Mantanko, thus this was a good solution.

The flight officer turned his head when the Human muttered something in his sleep and jerked wildly, waking himself up. He looked around with panicky eyes, then fell asleep again. It was obvious that he was dreaming about those cursed tiny balls on legs. This repeated a few times and Reyn was about to launch his boot at the Human for startling him over and over and not letting him concentrate on his job. Raising it in the air, he turned around and saw Lumera standing behind the Human’s chair, a long hair in his hand, tickling the Human’s face. Reyn launched the boot at Lumera.

“Let him sleep, you idiot!” he cursed at the other Saiyan who was rubbing the place on his head where the boot had struck. “And belt your ass in. No walking on the damn shuttle.”

“Oh, c’mon! It’s just for fun!” Lumera protested.

“Yeah? How about you do that to Goten?” Reyn suggested, turning away and wiggling his toes, thinking that they felt quite nice out of the boot.

Lumera grimaced at the flight officer’s back. “He might tear my head off.”

“Yeah, that would be how I understand ‘fun’,” Reyn grunted. “Leave the poor bugger alone.”

“Mmm…?” Goten hummed through his sleep, reacting to his name. “Mnn?”

“Just go back to sleep.”

Goten mumbled again. It felt as if he were in some kind of a daze. He wasn’t quite asleep but wasn’t awake either. He didn’t exactly understand when they landed on Mantanko either. He only realized that they were back when all of them started climbing out of the shuttle. The captain and crew hardly had any interest in their rescue mission or the Human they’d saved, thus Goten soon found himself at the door of his and Reyn’s cabin. He felt tired and could only think about blissfully sleeping for the rest of the evening. When he opened the door, though, he found out that the cabin had been refurbished in their absence. The rich cream-colored walls with wide windows and yellow curtains, the heavy-looking wooden furniture, and the leather sofas all made the cabin seem as if it were meant for someone distinguished.

With a sigh, Goten humbly stepped backwards and pushed the button to close the door. Someone important must be visiting Mantanko. He wondered where he was going to sleep tonight. Turning around, he thought of asking Reyn what was going on. However, the room he suddenly found himself in after turning around was even bigger and more luxurious. The air was also fresh, free of the usual accompanying stench of used socks. Goten started getting irritated. Where was he going to sleep?

There were two people in this room. One of them was wearing Saiyan armor of high quality, the other a painfully familiar officer school uniform. Goten, fully intending to offer his complaints to them, headed for the table the two were sitting at. His step, however, faltered on the thick carpet when he recognized the people.

“What are you two doing on this ship?” Goten asked the almost faceless figure while his index finger was pointing at the other person with a very distinguished hairstyle. “Is this who I think this is?”

The wannabe Gohan rolled his transparent eyes “You should have noticed by now that this is not Mantanko,” he pointed out.

Goten snorted at him. He didn’t particularly care where he was as long as he got some decent sleep. Again, he looked at the other person sitting opposite his wannabe brother. It was the King Himself.

“He can’t see me, can he?” Goten asked, a little worried.

“He can’t,” the imposter assured him. “He’d like to, though,” he added with a sardonic smile on his lips.

Despite the fact that Goten felt mostly asleep, his face went white and the reality of the situation hit him like a cold splash of water to the face. His body rigid, he stared at the doppelganger threateningly, daring him.

The wannabe Gohan ignored the third-class, his attention going to the King. They were having tea. It had been brewed in a delicate porcelain teapot. Two strangely decorated cups of tea were on the table. Any other time, Goten would have found this amusing but, faced with this ill-fitting luxury, he felt awkward instead.

Feeling completely out of place, he turned around and marched back to the door. He reached for the handle, but it suddenly opened to reveal the crown prince of Vegeta-sei.

“What the hell is going on?” Goten grunted under his breath, stepping away from the door. He wondered if his former shaii was going to join his father and grandfather in this room as well. In that case, he may as well linger around. “Why are they here?” he repeated, turning back to the room where the imposter sat.

“Who?”

Goten’s head slowly turned back to the crown prince, who was staring at him expectantly. “Um, you can’t see me, right?” the third-class asked, checking.

The crown prince gave him a funny look. “What’s wrong with you? Have you been sparring too much with Trunks? Hit your head?”

“Ehhh…” Goten squeaked, breathless. “Probably? Your Highness?” He added, baffled. He edged closer to the door. The prince’s eyes followed him.

“Where are you going?” the prince snapped at him. “Go sit at the table!” he ordered, motioning at it.

“But…” Goten muttered, unsure about the situation. “But… His Majesty…” He turned to the table and did a double take – no one was sitting at it anymore. The prince looked impatient and Goten’s legs moved to the table on their own. Carefully, he sat down on the chair in front of the delicate table set. The prince sat down in front of him.

“Why so tense?”

Goten laughed uncomfortably and nearly choked on that awkward laughter of his. Then he noticed the prince insistently staring at the teapot and realized he was supposed to offer his services. He stretched out his hand to take the teapot. It looked tiny in his large paw. He started pouring the tea.

“That’s enough,” the prince stopped him. “So I hear you come from Yasan?”

Goten nodded, leaning back in the chair, his back still rigid. “Yes, Your Highness.” He sat quietly, watching the prince spoon up some sugar and pour it into his cup. He felt twitchy all over, not certain what to say or do or where to put his hands.

“Go on, have some as well,” the prince said, with a motion at the teapot.

“Thank you, Sir.” Hoping that the tea would help to occupy his hands and mouth, Goten poured himself a full cup, then spiced it up with three teaspoons of sugar.

“So,” the prince said, when Goten was done, “what exactly are you doing here, kid?”

“Uuuu…” The prince’s voice wasn’t exactly hostile, but it wasn’t friendly either, and the third-class blinked at him. “I have got no idea, Sir.”

The prince’s eyebrows rose but he said nothing, taking a sip from his cup instead. “An interesting coincidence…” he said finally, after having lowered his cup. He motioned at the teapot. “Go on, don’t let it cool off.”

“Err…yes, Sir.” Goten sipped carefully, but couldn’t feel any taste, the price’s watchful eyes following his every movement. He lowered the cup. The third-class didn’t dare meeting the other man’s eyes. Everything felt so real and at the same time he knew this was impossible – he couldn’t be sitting here, with the prince, drinking tea from these absurdly tiny cups.

“Umm…Sir?” Goten tried when the silence became unbearable.

“And how is your father doing?” the prince asked.

Surprised, the third-class looked at the prince. His head was starting to spin and throb with these strange formalities and his stomach had shrunk into a tiny ball. “Thank you, Sir, he’s fine.”

The prince gave him an odd look. “If he were fine, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Sir?” Goten asked questioningly. His uneasiness was growing, if that was possible. Something painful set in the pit of his stomach. He raised the cup to sip his tea again. He choked on it and started coughing. Red-faced from the lack of air and embarrassment, he raised his eyes to give the prince an apologetic look.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Sir, I just…”

“No, are you really alright?” the prince asked more firmly, pointing at him.

Confused, Goten looked at himself, and then the smell of blood hit his nostrils. He moved his palm from his mouth to see it covered in red. He stared at it and then winced when a painful pang shot down his side.

“It is a very serious mistake you’ve made by coming here,” the prince stated. “What is your father thinking?”

The crown prince was still talking but through the buzz and palpitations in his ears Goten couldn’t hear him. Agonizing pains now overtook him and he was writhing on the floor, half-conscious already. He vomited on the expensive carpet, but it didn’t make him feel better. Tears of pain were streaming down his face while he was gasping for air. His throat was burning.

“Goten?”

Someone was shaking him but Goten had neither the strength nor awareness to react.

“Goten, wake up!”

With a start, Goten’s eyes flew open and he pushed Reyn away. Gasping, he sat straight in his chair. His hand flew to his throat but nothing hurt anywhere and he had no trouble breathing. Blinking, not really seeing anything, he stared at the main screen in front of him, just trying to get his bearings back.

Carefully, not certain about Goten’s reaction, Reyn touched his sweaty forehead. “You alright?” Gotten nodded quickly, shaking his hand off. “We are on Mantanko already,” Reyn informed him. “Was this one of those?” he asked softly.

“I think so,” Goten rasped out with a nod. “I suddenly fou-” He quieted when Reyn put his fingers to his lips.

“Later,” he said indicating their surroundings with his eyes.

Goten looked around, only now noticing that they weren’t alone in the shuttle. The other four team members were giving him strange looks and Goten realized that he had made quite a spectacle of himself. He offered them a sheepish grin.

“What the hell did you dream about?” Onar wondered. “That someone made you read poetry?”

Goten shuddered in horror. “Ugh… Something like that.”

On shaky legs, Goten left the shuttle. It was the exact opposite of his dream: the entire crew had gathered in the hangar and everyone wanted to know how their mission went. The shuttle was quarantined as soon as the team left it. While they were walking, their full pockets attracted quite a lot of attention, but the Human was the main attraction. First, they were ushered to the medical bay where they were scanned, prodded and scanned again just in case. Then, when it became clear that none of them were infected, they were sent to the captain’s cabin for their reports. Neither Goten nor Reyn were worried about their teammates blabbering about their power levels since the secret included a lot of looted goods.

“So what exactly about this search and destroy mission didn't you understand, Goten?” Indaira asked after listening to their reports.

Goten, who wanted nothing else but to sleep, gave him an innocent look. “Sir, I was certain we were to get rid of infected Humans only. Besides, sir, we also searched and destroyed a lot.”

“Don’t be a smartass with me,” the captain growled at him.  “And you,” he turned to the Human. “You…”

“Guilty of surviving, sir!” Darren said, saluting.

Goten burst out laughing and the other teammates started chortling. The captain rolled his eyes. “You’ve got balls, Human, I’ll give you that.” He turned to his men. “I wish I could throw you all into open space and forget all about you, but since that's not happening, go and write your reports.”

They dispersed to write their reports in their cabins. It became clear at once that Darren was going to stay with Goten and Reyn in their cabin. Reyn didn’t appear too happy about it, but he didn’t seem to mind it much either. Goten suspected that the flight officer quite liked the man already.

While writing his report, Goten fell asleep twice, Reyn having to nudge him in the side to wake him up. He didn’t even bother with the Human who, as soon as he reached one of the empty beds, was out like a light; if Indaira wanted to get his report, he’d better come and deal with the Human on his own.

“Doooneee,” Goten groaned, his shoulders slumping again and head thumping on the desk while he held out the papers for Reyn. “Please, please, please, take this to Indaira?”

“Fine,” Reyn said, taking his report. He took a quick look at it. “Quite a few mistakes, though.”

“Arghhh… Who cares?” Goten whined again, his forehead hitting the desk in frustration. He clambered off the chair and threw himself into his bed. This was heaven.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Reyn warned him. “We have kitchen duty in ten minutes.”

“No. This can’t be. Noooooo!”

When Darren woke up the next day, it was already past lunch. He did a double take at the digital clock above the door. Rubbing at his eyes, he lowered his head back onto the pillow. He had not expected himself to sleep so soundly after experiencing the outbreak on the SUB and barely surviving. Not to mention that he was currently living amongst the mistrustful Saiyans.

Darren sat up and turned his head to take a look at Goten’s bed. The Saiyan was sprawled on his back, his legs sticking out from under the blanket, his tail drooping over the edge of the bed. He was obviously still very much asleep. Darren looked over at the older Saiyan to see him asleep as well. Not certain what to do, Darren got out of bed and put on his shoes. Yesterday, he had no strength to undress and slept with his clothes on. From the lack of reaction he had received from both Saiyans, he understood that they didn’t care.

“Meow?”

“Where are you going?”

With a start, Darren turned around, his hand still hovering over the lock button next to the door. He wasn’t certain what was more intimidating: the half-naked Saiyan with an ill-fitted scouter giving him a mistrustful look, or the black cat that was strolling around in the middle of the cabin.

“I’m hungry and in dire need of a toilet,” Darren said. “Anything in the canteen?” He pointed at the cat. “And where the hell did you get that?”

Reyn yawned loudly. “It’s a long story.” He removed the scouter and put it on the bedside table.

“Meow.”

Darren averted his eyes from the already drowsing Saiyan to the large tomcat that was rubbing itself against his boots, already marking him as a part of his territory. When he opened the door, the cat snuck out into the corridor. Darren tried to catch him, but that had only earned him scratches all over his hands. It appeared, however, that the cat served very well as a guide.

He followed the cat to the toilets, then to the canteen. Since lunch was over already, there were only four Saiyans there, including the two cooks who were arranging something in one of the fridges at the very end of the kitchens. The other two were sitting at one of the empty tables, drinking something. They were holding a light conversation, one of them chuckling at something the other had just said. At the sight of him, the Saiyans quieted.

“Could I get something to eat?”

The two at the table looked at him questioningly and Darren saw them tapping their scouters.

“What did you say?”

“I’m hungry. Anything to eat?”

“Ah,” one of the Saiyans grunted when his scouter translated. He motioned in the direction of the counter. “Just ask the cooks.”

“See? I told you I saw it!” the other said suddenly, pointing at the cat in front of Darren. “It’s been wandering around the ship for about a week already. Is it some kind of pest?”

The other three Saiyans looked at it. One of the cooks came closer and threw something at the animal. It jumped to it and started eating.

“It’s not a pest,” the cook said. “It wouldn’t be wandering around so freely if it was.”

“Maybe it’s a very reckless pest, with balls.”

“Well, he certainly has some,” the cook said.

“It’s a cat,” Darren said. “On Earth, we keep them in our houses. A pet.”

The Saiyans looked at him in unison. “Yours?”

Darren shook his head. “No way. I hate cats. I’m more of a dog lover.”

Now the Saiyans looked at each other and it was obvious that the concept of a “dog” was lost on them as well.

“So what does it do? This cat?”

“Um… I suppose it hunts mice.”

“Mice? That’s awesome. We’ve got a shitload of those in the cargo hold. Shall we stick this cat in there?”

“Err…” Darren drawled uncertainly.

“Forget mice,” the other cook said while putting a steaming plate of something indescribable on the counter. Darren’s nose recognized it as edible. With his head, he motioned at the plate for the Human. “Come, eat.”

Darren walked over to the counter to take the plate. Uncertainly, he turned around, but the two Saiyans were already motioning for him to join them at the table.

“So tell us about your ship. How did you survive?” one of them asked as soon as Darren had put down his plate.

While eating, Darren ended up telling them almost everything from boarding the spaceship to Onar and his team rescuing him. At some point, miraculously, a mug of something alcoholic had also appeared in his hand. It tasted horrible but, for the first time during the last few days, he felt his muscles relax. All five of them were soon sitting at the table sharing one story after another.

“Oh, the cat.”

The voice belonged to a female and all of them turned to the canteen door. Darren blinked at the burly Saiyan female. She was obviously an elite, the white tip of her tail clearly on display. She gave him a look, then motioned at their mugs.

“Whatever you’re having, I want some.”

Darren watched one of the cooks get up quickly and go to pour her a mug from his secret stash. She accepted it with a nod and took a gulp. She grimaced.

“The hell’s this?”

The cook blanched.

“Whatever we’re having,” Darren pointed out.

The elite chuckled. “So, Goten picked up another one? Man, he’s got some talent. I like you already.”

“Awesome! And…another one?” Darren asked.

The female waved it off. “Long story.” She took a long sip from her mug and scowled again. “Disgusting. Anyway, did they find anything valuable on your ship?”

Turning to his side, Goten banged his elbow against the wall, cursed, and opened his eyes. The clock above the door showed four in the afternoon. He still felt sleepy since he had to get up early to help prepare breakfast and then again to make lunch. He had only half an hour left until preparation for dinner began. Goten closed his eyes again. He could hear Reyn moving about in the cabin, but he was already drifting away.

“Ughf!” Goten grunted when something fell on top of him. Automatically, he lifted his arms to push the heavy thing off him, then saw it was Reyn. “Get off! You’re like a ton of bricks.” The other third-class gave him a naughty look and didn’t show any intention of leaving his bed. Instead, his hand snuck under Goten’s cover. “Reyn… I’m tired, I’m sleepy and I’m really not in the… Gah!”

“C’mon, just a quickie before we go to the kitchens.”

“Didn’t you hear anything I said?” Goten grunted out, trying to ignore the hand in his underwear. “Besides, the Human might come back at any second, and you know they are quite weird about stuff like this.”

“I locked the door.”

“You do realize that you’re sexually abusing me right now?”

“I seriously doubt that. I think that only counts as such when you don’t like it,” he said squeezing the hardened shaft in his fingers.

“Gh! You’ve got a point here,” Goten conceded. “But seriously, I’m too tired to do anything. Hmm…” he drawled when an idea occurred to him. They had never done this before, but…

“What?”

“Ride me.”

There was a pause, then Reyn chuckled. “Alright.” He laughed again at the look of honest surprise on Goten’s face. “You’re underestimating me,” he said, lightly smacking Goten on the side of his head.

Goten gave him an awkward grin. “Seems so.” He had not expected Reyn to agree so easily. It was his turn, right, but he rather thought he’d have to fight Reyn about this. He watched the flight officer leave his bed, then walk over to the cabinet and retrieve some supplies. Then he returned to the bed and took his underwear off. Aroused and curious, Goten stared at his naked form.

“So I can just like…do nothing?”

“Well, it would be nice of you to help me to get rid of your underwear,” Reyn said, uncapping the bottle of lube. Just in case, he had taken a few extra bottles from Starcut just as Tamahi had suggested. He looked at Goten, who slipped out of his underwear at the speed of light. “Want to help me out?”

Goten’s pupils dilated at the exciting thought, but the younger male shook his head. “No, I want to watch.”

With an amused grin on his face, Reyn poured a generous amount of the lubricant on his fingers and rubbed them together to warm it up. Then he climbed into the bed and, after some moving about, got on his knees and straddled Goten. The younger male was watching him intently, his gaze hot on Reyn’s skin. His eyes followed the flight officer’s hand as it disappeared behind his back. He couldn’t see much this way, but it aroused him nonetheless. Reyn’s awkwardly arched back and the concentration on his face was a sight to behold.

His breath quickened when, after a few in and out motions, Reyn applied more lubricant to his fingers and his hand disappeared behind his back again. Goten wanted to see more. He raised his eyes to find Reyn watching him from under half-closed eyelids. Goten felt his cheeks heat up and he lowered his eyes to the flight officer’s cock, which was also hard already. He was really enjoying this, both of them were.

“Darn it,” Reyn grunted when the packet of condoms slipped through his well-lubricated fingers. He looked around for something to wipe his hand on. He settled for Goten’s underwear. With his hands now clean, he opened the packet and took a condom out.

Goten tensed, then exhaled softly, when Reyn’s fingers enclosed the head of his shaft. Taking his time, the older man rolled the condom down. Slowly, he smoothed out the creases, then took the bottle of lubricant again. He poured some into his palm and started to stroke the younger man.

Getting lightheaded, Goten lowered his head back onto the pillow and closed his eyes. His lips were dry and he wetted them. Reyn took that as an invitation and leaned in to kiss him. The younger man’s mouth opened wider for him and their tongues joined. Goten had finally become a passable kisser and Reyn took satisfaction in the fact. Besides, what Goten lacked in skill, he compensated for with his eagerness.

Not wanting to entice Goten too much, Reyn stopped stroking him and moved away. Goten had that particular look in his eyes again, the one that always made Reyn want to fuck him senseless. Not managing to contain himself, the flight officer leaned in again.

“Ugh!” Goten grunted in pain when the other man bit his lower lip. He opened his mouth to protest, but Reyn had already retreated and Goten resorted to soothing his throbbing lip with his tongue. Reyn’s fingers rubbed over the tip of Goten's cock, then took a firmer hold of him. Goten watched Reyn slowly descending onto him.

“Umn...” Goten hummed when he felt himself slip inside. Soon all of him disappeared into the tight heat. He wanted to move already, but Reyn didn’t seem to be very comfortable. The older male moved above him, making Goten nearly slip out of him, then lowered himself back down.

Goten’s hands found purchase on the older male’s thighs instinctively. He reached out for Reyn’s cock, but his hand was pushed away. Goten laughed softly and squeezed the thigh in his left hand. He was so turned on by the display that he wondered briefly if he should call off this whole not-touching thing. Reyn, however, soon found a comfortable rhythm for them both, and it all flew out of his head.

Reyn was moving smoothly, rising and falling, every movement making their bodies hotter. His broad chest was glistening with sweat already. He was stroking himself in tune with his rocking body. Reyn was still mostly quiet, only urgent breathing heard. Goten, meanwhile, was grunting with almost every up and down motion. He wanted more and faster, but the older man paid no attention to Goten’s demanding fingers on his thighs. Goten’s undulating hips were ignored as well. He kept the same pace, which was quick, but not quick enough for Goten.

“I’m about to come,” Goten grunted out. With that he knew that Reyn would either increase the pace or stop altogether. He just knew it was going to be the latter.

Without breaking the rhythm, the other third-class regarded him from under half-closed eyelids. Underneath him, Goten looked desperate, flushed, and breathless. It was quite amazing considering this was supposed to be just a quickie. The younger male was still very easy to arouse and almost as fast to come.

Goten’s eyes closed and he moaned softly in pleasure when Reyn upped the pace unexpectedly. Through the heartbeat in his ears he could also hear Reyn panting, an occasional groan slipping past his lips. The other man was also close, and the realization pushed Goten over the edge. When he opened his eyes he was just in time to see Reyn come as well, his body frozen in one spot, but his hand stroking himself madly. Feeling lewd, Goten pushed his hips upwards. He was mostly soft already, but it still got him a reaction, Reyn grunting.

His shoulders relaxing slowly, Reyn let go of his softening cock and looked around for something to wipe himself off. Goten’s underwear served the purpose again.

“You realize that I can’t wear those now, don’t you?” Goten asked, watching the flight officer clean himself.

“I’ll give you another pair.”

Goten rolled his eyes and leaned comfortably back into the bedding. They still had about fifteen minutes to spare until kitchen duty. He felt sated, but sleepier than he had ever been.

“Won’t you finish the job?” he asked lazily.

“What job?” Reyn asked turning to him. “Ah, sure,” he said after seeing the younger male motioning at his soft self nestling between his legs with the condom still on. “Forgive me, your highness.”

“You’re forgiven,” Goten muttered, turning to his side as soon as the condom was taken care of. “Now go free, my slave.”

Reyn rolled his eyes with a huff and smacked Goten on his bare ass, making him yelp. Then he went to the door and threw the condom into the bin there.

“Can we borrow the cat?”

“Sure.”

“No.”

Reyn and Goten looked at each other.

“But that way you won’t need to feed it,” Reyn told Goten.

“That way I’ll never find it again,” the other third-class protested. “And it’s not ours. And we are leaving the ship tomorrow.”

Reyn turned back to the second-class who had asked them to lend him the cat. “Well, you heard the man,” he said with a shrug. “No can do.”

“You can pick up a ton of them on Earth,” Darren told them. “Umm…maybe not,” he added with a thought that other cats probably wouldn’t be as sophisticated as Mr. Elite and would start shitting all around the ship. The Saiyans would just start blasting them after the stench became unbearable.

From the table he was still sitting at with his newly found Saiyan buddies, Darren watched his roommates chopping cabbages.

“Why are you two on kitchen duty?” he wondered.

Almanda snickered. “Yeah, tell him, Goten.”

“It’s not even my fault! It was Reyn’s bright idea!”

Almanda rolled her eyes and sipped from her mug again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah… It’s always the same with you.” She was quite buzzed already; the uncanny taste of the drink had stopped bothering her about half an hour ago. “You damn flirt!” she spat.

“I’m not a flirt!” Goten protested. “I never…”

“You are,” Reyn said firmly.

“I am not!”

“You are,” Almanda confirmed again.

Goten glared at them. “I don’t flirt!” he declared. Then his shoulders slumped under the weight of the obvious lie. “Well, sometimes,” he admitted.

“Reyn, you’re in trouble,” Almanda said. “This guy goes along with everything and everyone.”

“I know.” Reyn grunted. “Well, as long as they don’t fuck.”

“Don’t talk like I’m not here!”

“Yeah, keep him on a short leash.”

“Almanda, goddamit, you’re drunk,” Gotten groaned. “Go to your cabin and leave me alone.”

“Ohh…” Darren drawled in realization. He pointed his index fingers at the third-classes. “So you two are…?”

“Yeah, they are,” Almanda confirmed. “And if you watch closely, you can see Reyn treading carefully… And Goten’s lip is swollen.”

The flight officer’s eyebrows rose at her. “What? Jealous?”

“Argghh!” Goten yelled, throwing a cabbage at Reyn’s head. “Not you too, goddamit!” He gasped as Reyn ducked. “Oh, shi-” The cabbage flew right above the flight officer’s head and into the huge pot with stew. The fountain of cut carrots, chunks of meat and potatoes rose from the pot, splattering everything around it.

“Umm…” Goten mumbled apologetically watching the cooks wiping their wet faces. At least it hadn’t been boiling yet. “Sorry. I really am.”

“Go fuck yourself! This is not a playground!”

“Clean the freaking mess now!”

“Yeah, sure,” Goten said, looking around for a rag. “Sorry.”

“Goten?”

“Yeeeesss ?” Goten drawled uncertainly since the other third-class was glaring murder at him.

“I’ve got potatoes stuck to my back. And my shirt is wet.”

“Ah. Well, you shouldn’t have ducked,” Goten pointed out.

“I’ll fucking throw you into the pot.”

Goten grinned. “I’d like to see you try.”

“That’s flirting,” Darren notified them at once. “That’s totally flirting, Goten.”

“Was not. I was just challenging him.”

“That’s called flirting.”

Pouting, Goten wiped the floor and the cooktops, then washed the rag. He and Reyn finished chopping cabbages and joined the company at the table. Goten kept giving meaningful looks to the cooks but his mug stayed empty. It seemed that only the Human and the elite female deserved to have a drink.

“So you two are leaving the ship tomorrow?” Darren asked conversationally. He took pity on Goten and poured some liquor from his mug into the Saiyan’s.

“Yeah,” Goten said, brightening up. “Thanks!” He took a gulp from his mug and his face froze suddenly. “What the hell is this?” he grunted, moving away the mug from his mouth. He turned to look at Almanda, who had a blissful expression on her face. How could she drink that? He looked at Darren, who was laughing at his reaction. “Here, have it back,” Goten said, pouring the liquid back into the Human’s mug.

Soon the crew and passengers began gathering for dinner and the canteen started humming with conversation. While they were eating, someone remembered that the third-classes were leaving the ship tomorrow. Goten received a few friendly pats on his back and salutations with tea and coffee filled mugs. A few good words were said about him and Reyn, and there were also a few glares sent their way – everything as it should be. Also, something, looking like coffee but smelling like vodka, found its way into Goten’s mug.

After dinner, Reyn and Goten went to do the washing-up. When they were done and returned to the table with Almanda and Darren, the cooks joined them and all of them spent a couple of hours talking and telling jokes.

It was about ten o’clock when Goten and Reyn returned to their cabin. They packed their things for tomorrow. There was barely any packing to do for Goten, whose belongings consisted only of the cookbook, a few socks, and his old officer school uniform.

Later that night, when most people were already sleeping, Goten also moved Mr. Elite into Almanda’s room. The two second-class females who stayed in the same cabin as Almanda had already been informed by the elite and weren’t at all surprised by their new roommate. They watched the cat looking around, sniffing curiously at the chairs and the floor. Finally, seemingly pretty content, Mr. Elite settled under one of the second-class women’s beds. There were three days left till the ship reached Earth but, as far as Goten knew, a long period of quarantine was awaiting the cat.

“I can’t promise he won’t start making noise,” Goten warned.

“That’s not a problem,” Almanda said, motioning in the general direction of the walls around them. “Plenty of space there.”

“But really, you did promise he’d reach Monteira safely,” Goten said, just checking.

Almanda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve got his name and the ship.” She was still quite tipsy and was staring at Goten from her bed. After a few seconds, she flopped sideways on the mattress, making it bounce. “Okay, done here.” She raised her arm and waved it in the air in an unclear gesture. “Fuck off now.”

Reyn and Goten had an early breakfast while everyone else was still asleep and went to the hangar to board the shuttle. A loud hum filled their ears as soon as the door to the hangar slid open. They were surprised to see Draman and the captain already waiting for them. When the third-classes approached the shuttle, the door at the back of the hangar opened and a few more people appeared. There were no hearty speeches or hugs, just a few respectful nods to see Reyn and Goten off. Goten took note that Almanda wasn’t there, but she was obviously still hung-over.

Once inside the shuttle, Goten belted his suitcase to one of the free chairs, then settled into another one. There were two more people besides him and Reyn in the shuttle: a flight officer and a navigator. Goten turned back to the front screen and felt the urge to wave. He doubted he’d ever see these people again. He watched them walk back to the door. Soon partitions slid out from under the ground and separated the shuttle from the rest of the hangar. The air was pumped out quickly and Goten gripped the armrests when the shuttle moved towards the end of the runway. The trapdoor opened and the shuttle took off.

They were going to reach Bruminan Station in two hours. The flight officer piloting the ship was curious and tried asking Goten and Reyn a few times about the purpose of their visit. Reyn quickly generated a story about them being sent to replace a few deceased soldiers.

When Bruminan became visible on the screens, all the anxiousness that had disappeared during Goten’s hearty talk with Reyn returned with a rush. There was hardly any chance that this mission of theirs would end well. He was also worried about Reyn, who had taken a gamble almost blindly. He felt guilty for dragging Reyn into this.

When they approached the station, they had to wait for the center to direct them into one of the free hangars. It took about fifteen minutes for them to dock. Reyn and Goten left the shuttle and headed to the door at the end of the hangar. The corridor that was leading from the hangar soon streamed into an even larger corridor with more people. After that it spat them out into a huge hall, the dome of which hung high above the ground. Goten’s step faltered while he was looking around, amazed. Masses of people were swimming in all directions at once. It was no wonder Bruminan Station had been chosen as the meeting place – almost every ship traveling to Earth stopped here.

Goten grunted as someone bumped into his back. He turned around to face a glaring Human, who obviously wanted to tell him to hurry up. Seeing that the back he had walked into belonged to a Saiyan, the man changed his mind and hurried off without ever voicing his complaints.

The third-class looked at the signboards above the east exit, then cast a look at the adverts above the west exit. The plan was to find a hotel, leave their luggage there, try and find his father, and finally take a look at the embassy where the meeting was going to take place in two days.

Reyn fiddled around with his scouter and finally managed to set it up to the frequency the operators of the mobile network used here. He entered the number on one of the hotel ads but the person in charge said that they had no vacancies. Reyn was also told that it was highly unlikely that they’d find anything in other hotels either. The third person he called laughed outright and told him to come in two weeks’ time.

Quite disgruntled, they turned to the west exit. There was still a possibility of finding a motel in some less respectable part of the station but that was going to take more time.

“Sir! Sir!”

“Mm?” Goten hummed questioningly when Reyn nudged his shoulder and pointed at something behind them.

“Bardock, sir!”

“Eh?” Goten muttered, turning around to see a Saiyan soldier pushing towards them through the throng of people.

“Sir, we checked the list of passengers on Zamari but there…” the soldier trailed off when he got closer to both third-classes. He stared at Goten. “Who are you?”

“Go-”

“We are in a hurry,” Reyn cut Goten off. “If you have no business with us, we…”

“Are you Bardock’s kid?” the soldier asked, still staring at Goten.

“Umm…” Goten drawled uncertainly. “Yeah?”

The soldier shook his head in wonderment. “The similarity is uncanny.”

Goten felt Reyn’s curious gaze on him and shrugged. This was certainly not the first time he had heard this.

“Do you know where my father is?”

“He should either be in the control room or the cafeteria.”

“I think it will be the cafeteria,” Goten said doing a very quick elimination in his head.

“Want me to tell him that you’re here?”

“That would be awesome.”

Through the throngs of people, Reyn and Goten swam after the soldier. They reached the same corridor they had walked down after leaving the shuttle, passed the hangar, made a few more turns and finally reached an area that was nearly void of people. It was a small windowless hall with three white doors. After telling them to wait, the soldier disappeared behind one of the doors.

TBC