Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dude Looks Like A Lady ❯ Chapter Fourty-One ( Chapter 41 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Innocence is Futile
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Dude Looks Like A Lady
By Raven Pan and Alison Sky
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Chapter Fourty-One
May 12, 798 (friday)
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Trunks was a little late in getting home. An hour late. There was no call, and Truten had finally gone down for quite a late nap.
Goten was in the kitchen, her head on the counter, arms crossed under it. In front of her was a half eaten dinner... and a plate untouched, meant for Trunks.
The door opened, "Goten? I'm So sorry I'm late!" he closed the door, and dropped his briefcase by it, going straight to the kitchen without doffing his coat and shoes.
Goten's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Trunks, a bit lost, still sleepy enough not to recognise where she was.
"Oh honey," He came to sit beside her, pushing his fingertips gently through her short hair. "I'm so sorry I was late. The meeting went longer than it was supposed to, and I just couldn't get away."
"It's ok..." Goten yawned. "You're going to need to reheat your plate.... I got hungry and started to eat, or I would have waited..."
"No it's alright, I'm starving though, didn't get lunch," he placed his hands beneath the plate, warming it with his ki.
"I can use a microwave, y'know."
"No you can't, and don't get up, it's fine, see?" he smiled, setting down the now steaming plate and starting in to eat. He yelped and drank some water. "Hot!"
Goten smiled, laughing as she shook her head.
"What, I'm still getting the hang of this again, whoever says it's never forgotten, lied," he chuckled, blowing on it and tucking in more carefully. "How was your day?"
"About normal. Chasing the baby, trying to get sleep, chasing the baby, trying to clean the house, chasing the baby. Same old, Same old."
Trunks nodded, "I know that drill... well without the chasing the baby part," he smiled.
"Yeah, but now that you're home, YOU can watch her and I'll get some sleep," she smiled.
"You do that, it's friday night, no work tomorrow, thankfully," he said softly.
"So how come you didn't get to eat?" she asked.
"Oh.. uhm... I had some errands I needed to run."
"What kind of errands?"
"Uhm... just an errand?" he's such a bad liar sometimes.
"Trunks...."
"Yes?"
"What. Kind. Of. Errand?" She looked at him with the 'don't dare BS me right now' look.
"The kind you'll find out about later?" he squeaked.
Goten sighed.
"It's a good errand," he promised.
"That's not the kind of answer I find acceptable."
"Well...." Trunks chewed on his bottom lip.
She sniffled, "Tell me?"
"When I'm done eating," he promised, leaning over to kiss her temple.
She wrinkled her nose at him.
"What!?"
"Eat!"
"Yes ma'am!" he saluted with his chopsticks and swiftly set about finishing his meal. It wasn't long before he was done, drinking the last of his water.
"Now. Tell me," she told him, the moment he'd finished.
"Come to the livingroom with me?" he asked, standing and holding out a hand for hers.
"Ooookay," she raised her eybrow, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the livingroom.
He brought her to the couch, motioning for her to sit down, still shifting his feet nervously, not having taken off his shoes or jacket even yet.
She sat, just watching him.... not sure what was going on.
Trunks fiddled with his hand in his pocket a moment, then knelt on one knee before her, pulling a small white jewellery box from his pocket and opening it to her. "Will you marry me?" he asked simply, blushing slightly - not really sure how to go about it, and any words of speech he'd thought up over most of the day, having flown swiftly from his mind.
Goten burst out laughing.
Trunks frowned, looking confused.
"We already are!"
"Not now we're not!"
"Well... not legally, but... technically, yeah."
"But... the government doesn't, and... well..." he shifted nervously. "Do you even like the ring?"
"Well.. it's beautiful!" She squeaked.
"So...?!"
"Well, I guess I've got no other choice," she smirked.
Trunks pouted.
"I mean, after all, you did knock me up."
Trunks whimpered.
"And I always get what I want," she leaned over and kissed him.
Confusedly, he returned the kiss and leaned back slightly, "Was that a yes?"
She wrinkled her nose at him, like she was thinking.
He pouted, his blue eyes wide and 'innocent'.
She sighed, then kissed his nose. "Of course."
He grinned. "Great!" he cheered, kissing her deeply and slipping the ring onto her finger. "Two weeks?" he asked. "That'll give you enough time to find a dress and-"
"But... dress? Why?"
"For the wedding...."
"You mean... big wedding?" there was a hitch of nervousness in her voice now.
"If we get married, again, without our mother's there, again, we're going to be in DEEP trouble, again."
"I think they'd understand?"
"They'd never forgive us."
"But we already ARE married, they don't have to know!"
"No, Trina and Goten-the-male are... and it was so rushed...."
"But... I mean... it's not the same. I mean... We don't have to have a big ceremony."
"I know, I... nevermind," he shrugged and stood, shoving his hands in his pockets. "We can go to the chapel, get a couple of your 'cousin's' apothecaries to witness, and get the same priest as last time," He said, knowing he'd lost. Trunks hadn't meant too much by it, he just.. wanted to give them a chance to have something less rushed, more... real. Something that would give this next child as good a name as their first.
Maybe someday, if things ever went to the normal they desired, they could do things properly.
She pulled Trunks down to sit beside her. "But I did marry you."
He smiled slightly.
"You're mad at me, aren't you?"
"No... no I'm not," he sighed.
"C'mon...."
"Really, I'm not!"
"Are you sure?" She looked at him worried.
He leaned down and kissed her nose, "I'm sure. Now, how the heck are we going to tell our par-" just then a squalling could be heard from the other room. "Sit tight, I'll change Truten and bring her in here to play," he kissed her nose again and got up, going back.
Goten twisted her fingers as she sat waiting for him. She wasn't really sure what was happening.
It wasn't long before Trunks returned, a giggling Truten soon deposited on the floor with her toys, which she immediately squealed at and started playing with. He sat beside Goten, putting one hand over both of hers. "I'm happy for us... I just... wish I'd known what you were planning. It... " he sighed. "It kinda was a surprise for more reasons than just that."
"Well... I've been thinking a lot about things, and I just... I don't want us to have to put our lives on hold because of this."
"Because you're pregnant, you mean."
"Not just because I'm pregnant, but because... just..." pausing, she wasn't sure how to form what she wanted to say just now.
"Why?" Trunks asked gently.
"Because..." she bit her lower lip.
"Because...?" he prompted, getting worried.
"Because I know that you'd rather we had stayed the way we were before, and you always seem so sad sometimes, and I just wanna make sure you stay happy!"
"I'm happy," Trunks protested, blinking his eyes wide. "What makes you think I'm not happy!?"
Goten looked up at him. "I see the way you sit with Truten sometimes... and I see the jealous look sometimes you shoot at me when you see me holding her...."
"I don't..." Trunks sighed as he saw her close her eyes and look down. "At least... not on purpose," he finished lamely, looking away as he realised the lie he'd been feeding himself had been found out.
"I thought I had everything planned. I was... I was thinking about not going to the hospital to have the kid. We could get some midwives, and then I can have the baby at home, and we can list Trina as being the mother of the kids - y'know, maybe say she dyed her hair or something, and..." she looked up at him. "It could work?"
Trunks smiled slightly, nuzzling her throat. "Yeah... it could work," he said softly.
"And... and that way if you really aren't comfortable doing this..." she looked at the ring. "You don't have to."
"Sure," he stood up and went back to the kitchen, putting the food away so it wouldn't spoil. He knew what she really meant....
Goten sniffled slightly.
Truten looked up from where she was playing on the floor, and crawled over to Goten, pulling herself up and kissing her knee. "Dada?" she asked, her hands up wanting to be picked up.
Goten, realising they weren't on the same page, picked up Truten, half-playing with her while mentally she was whimpering. Why doesn't he understand what I'm trying to do?!
Meanwhile, Trunks was in the kitchen, a calm mask in place while he worked on getting the food put away, and washing the dishes. I see how it is, now.... We only married because you pitied my stance on not allowing Truten to be born illegitimate... it was for her sake... not ours.... He accidentally broke a plate, the glass shattering and imbedding itself into his hands. I was a fool to believe you could love someone who couldn't love you in return. I was a fool....
Numbly he pulled his hands from the dirty water, turning on the faucet and letting it run over the cuts, washing away the blood and some of the glass while he grabbed the tweezers on the shelf above the sink to start working at picking out other, smaller pieces.
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