Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Forgiven ❯ Birthday Morning ( Chapter 2 )

"It's my birthday." Goten peered into the mirror, trying to tell if he looked older. He was officially a teenager now! But his mirror reported that he looked no older than he had before. After a moment of reflection, he wondered when he would start looking older. After all, his dad didn't look all that much older than he was… and neither did Vegeta, who was even older than his dad! "Damn. I'm going to look like a kid for the rest of my life! No one will ever take me seriously!"

He went back to Trunks' room. He'd spent the night with his friend, since his party was to be at Capsule Corp. Chi-Chi hadn't had any trouble getting Bulma to throw it for him, using the argument of not having enough space. He crawled back into the bed.

Trunks grunted. "Your feet are cold, dumbass. Get 'em off me." But he wrapped his arms around the younger boy anyway. "So? Do ya look older?"

"No. Come on, look at our dads. We're gonna look like kids forever!"

"Teens, not kids," Trunks corrected immediately. "And that's not a bad thing. The girls will love it."

"Well, yeah. I suppose." Goten sniffled. "I wouldn't know. I'll probably never know."

"High school, love, high school. The chicks will adore you. What girl can resist muscles covered by a mop of hair that begs to be tousled?" Trunks promptly mussed his hair.

"Hey!" Goten squirmed around to face Trunks. "That's not very nice?"

"I thought it was a compliment? After all, you are solid muscle," Trunks traced Goten's abdomen, , "with a pretty face and mussy hair."

"Awk!" Goten squealed. "Dammit! That tickles!" He twisted away, then pressed closer, so that Trunks wasn't able to move his fingers. "And I'm not pretty," he added crankily.

"Aren't you?" Trunks teased. "Even my father's been heard to describe you as that 'pretty-boy spawn of Kakarot's', you know."

Goten looked up. "Vegeta calls me pretty?" he wailed.

"My father has good taste," Trunks replied with a grin, and kissed the tip of Goten's nose. "With the possible exception of clothing."

"You wore stripes with plaids yesterday. He always wears solids. Blue and black look good on him, and you know it!"

Trunks growled, and Goten found himself suddenly pinned beneath the older boy. "Have you been checking out my father, Goten?"

Goten managed a garbled squeak of protest before Trunks kissed him. He managed a muffled shriek, and Trunks pulled back, grinning. "Whassa matter, Chibi? I can't give you a birthday kiss?"

"What the… kind… birthday…!" Goten spluttered.

"A birthday kiss," Trunks repeated, his grin unrepentant. "Since your mamma isn't here to give you one."

In the light from the full moon, he saw Goten's face go suddenly tight, almost expressionless, before the younger boy turned his head. "Mother's never given me a kiss like that."

"Ah, hell. I didn't mean to make you cry!" Trunks dropped his head, nuzzling Goten's neck. "I'm sorry, Chibi. I shouldn't've brought her up." He sat back on his knees, hauled his friend against his chest. "Damn, Goten… is she still acting the same after all this time? I know we've been busy with school and all and that I haven't been down a lot… but… oomph!"

Goten clutched Trunks, his head tucked against the other's chest, choking back the tears he was way too old to cry. A few got loose anyway, and Trunks began stroking his hair. His voice was a bit strangled when he spoke. "Air, love, I need air! Oh, thanks." Trunks tipped Goten's head back, wiped the few tears away. "It got worse, didn't it, Chibi?"

"She's always yelling at Daddy for being an alien, for being stupid, for fighting all the time, for not having a steady job… not having any job. And when he leaves to go look for work, she tells me in this perfectly calm voice that I… that I'm just like my father, and that I'll never amount to anything. I try, Trunks, I try so hard! My grades are perfect, my attendance at school…. And she looks at the grades and tells me that I'm a waste of space *hic* and unfit for living under her roof." Goten's voice broke on a sobbing hiccup.

"Chibi…" Trunks wrapped Goten tighter, then began stroking his back, trying to soothe. "Chibi, I'm sorry. I should have come more often, invited you over or something. Why didn't you say something before? I'd've helped!"

"Nothing you could do, Trunks. She hates Saiyans. She hates Daddy almost as much as she loves him, but she doesn't love me at all! Anyway, it seems like it. And then she'll yell at him for corrupting me with his music or fix all my favorite food, or something, and I'm not so sure."

"Have you ever told Gohan?"

"When could I? He's trying to work three jobs and still go to school. If he's not at work or school, he's either crashed, doing homework, or trying to train Pan to control herself! Her antics cost him over 12,000 zenni just last month! He's barely had time enough to even come home, and when he does, he has to deal with whatever Pan's done this time."

"What about your Dad?"

"Daddy understands, but there's nothing he can do. He said Mother wasn't always like this, and he doesn't know why she is now. Neither one of us… neither of us show our Saiyan sides around her anymore. We don't fly unless we absolutely have to, and we only train once a month together. We do everything the human way, to try and keep her calmed down… but it doesn't seem to help," Goten whispered forlornly. "She knows what we can do."

"Oh, Chibi…" Once again, Trunks tipped Goten's head. Gently, he kissed away the tears that flowed, the tip of the nose, the corners of his mouth. And slowly, he settled his mouth over Goten's, and began kissing him, making small teasing licks over his friend's mouth, and slipping his tongue inside as soon as Goten opened his mouth. He kissed Goten thoroughly, pulling away at last to realize he'd left the younger boy's lips swollen and nearly bruised. "Chibi…"

Goten let Trunks push him back down to the bed. He could taste the older boy still, almost expected another of those searing kisses. But Trunks lay down next to him instead, pulling him close and snuggling protectively around him. He closed his eyes obediently when Trunks told him to sleep, but lay there with his head spinning. Why did he kiss me?

Trunks stayed curled around Goten until the sun finally rose, unable to sleep. He didn't wake the younger boy when he crawled from the bed, knowing Goten hadn't slept much at all yet. He stared out the bedroom window towards the forest beyond, wondering why he hadn't noticed his friend's distress sooner.

Goten had told him, after all. He'd seen for himself Chi-Chi's dislike of Saiyan ability. Had seen her turn her back on her husband for doing something he'd done for years, while making a tight remark about what a normal man would have done. He'd seen her lips thin when he'd mention flying home - part of the reason he hadn't gone to visit for so long. He'd gotten an after-school job to earn enough to pay for his own aircar, since his mother had flatly refused to give him one.

He hadn't wanted to show up and have Goten's mother give him more grief. Trunks stole a look at the new teen sleeping on his bed, and smiled. Goten had gotten up at the stroke of midnight to go peer at himself in the mirror, to see if he looked any older. The birthday kiss…. Trunks' smile broadened. That, he'd been wanting to do for awhile. He just hadn't intended it to be for consolation.

"Poor Chibi. I'll come by more often. I'll quit the job as soon as school's out, and come see you all summer. Take you out camping or something. I promise, Chibi. You won't have to do it alone anymore."