Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten tears of a Warrior ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

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Forgotten tears of a warrior-SDPG-SSM

The night was the longest that Vegeta could ever remember. The time seemed to stand still as he kept watch over Goku in the wee hours of the morning. Bulma had come down just after midnight to check up on them, but found herself escorted back to the house by Gohan, who was leaving to be with his family. The wall clock read quarter after four, as Vegeta sat back in a chair near the bed. His eyes were heavy, but he brushed the sandman away. He couldn't understand why he was having such a hard time staying awake. When he was still the ranks of Frieza's armies, he could stay awake for days without feeling the fatigue.

"Damn it!" Vegeta growled loudly, raking his fingers through his upswept mane.

"Geta…" The sound of his name said in a low raspy voice startled him.

"Hai, I'm here Kakarot." The prince moved so he was inline of the younger Saiyan's field of vision. Goku's tongue darted out, trying to moisten dry lips. He opened his mouth, his voice groggy and slurred.

"Th…thirsty…" The prince nodded, understanding the younger warrior's request. He went to the small fridge that housed bottled water and juice, taking a small bottle of cool water from the top shelf.

"You're going to have to sit up." Vegeta said, placing his bare palm under Goku's still feverish neck, lifting him slowly. The prince brought the bottle up to Goku's mouth, tilting it so that the cool fluid could flow over parched lips. The younger warrior took only a few small swallows before turning his head away from the offered bottle, water dribbling down his pale chin.

"You need to drink more, Kakarot." Vegeta softly ordered, but only got a whimpering moan instead. He laid Goku back against the pillows watching him close his dark eyes again. He wouldn't force him to drink. He wouldn't force him to do anything until his body was finally free of the horrific drug. There was no need to add more traumas to his already stressed life. The older saiyan picked up the heavily used white towel, wiping Goku's sweaty brow once again.

"Rest, I'll be here when you need me."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Goten was woken by the chiming of the grandfather clock just outside Trunks' bedroom door. He felt weird, like he was just getting over the flu. He felt weak, his head alittle dizzy. There was an arm draped around his waist, holding him securely to the person sleeping next to him. He smiled, noticing lavender silk hair first of his boyfriend curled up against him. What was he doing sleeping with Trunks? He couldn't remember much of anything. The last thing he could remember was leaving school and returning home to hear his parents fighting again. He took the sandwiches out of the refrigerator and left the house. Shit! He must have fallen asleep and Trunks brought him back here. Damn, his mother was going to bawl him out for not telling her where he was. Just the littlest things would throw his mother off on a rant that wouldn't stop.

He carefully pulled his way out of Trunks' embrace, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He put a hand to his head, trying to stop the room from spinning around him.

'I must have the flu.' Goten thought to himself, finally able to get to his feet and make his way to the adjoining bathroom. The light blinded the young Son for a moment, blinking his eyes to get use to it. The reflection in the mirror that greeted him was almost too much for words. His hair was amused, even more so then normal. His skin looked pale, itchy with dry sweat. But he still couldn't get over how his body felt. He had never felt like this since he was little. He decided on a shower, a nice hot one at that. He really needed to get home before his parents, namely his mother blew up at him for hardly any reason at all. If it was still early enough, maybe he could sneak into his room and no one would be the wiser.

Trunks unconsciously reached for Goten, searching for the warm body he was snuggled up close to all night. His hand was greeted with luke warm sheets.

"Goten?" The lavender haired prince cracked his eyes open, finding the bathroom light on, and the sound of the shower running in the background. He looked at the digital clock beside his bed, the display reading 5:20 am. Trunks groaned it was way too early to be out of bed, let alone take a shower. He threw back the sheets, getting himself up out of bed and to the bathroom.

"Oi, Goten. It's too early for you to be taking a shower." Trunks called from just outside the shower door. The dark haired teen jumped, not expecting his koi to even wake up and notice he was in there. Trunks was a sound sleeper, not even a freight train could wake him.

"Sorry, Trunks." The water snapped off and the door opened. Goten stepped out, beads of water running down his chiseled chest. The young prince grazed his eyes from head to toe on the beautiful man in front of him, willing away all the indecent thoughts. There were more important matters at hand then lustful sex.

"Don't worry about it." Trunks said, handing Goten a soft towel to dry himself with. The young prince watched with careful eyes, studying Goten as he teetered slightly while he dried his body. This didn't go unnoticed by Goten, but he played it off as Trunks wanting more then what he was willing to give. He could always use the excuse of not feeling well. Trunks would understand. Wouldn't he?

"Where are my clothes? I have to go home before Mom gets upset with me." The dark haired youth asked, leaning against the sink counter, shaking his head to clear it. The shower had done nothing to clear the fogginess from his mind.

"Well…ummmm you see…" Trunks wasn't really prepared for this to be happening. He never thought about telling Goten what really happened. He just assumed that his koi would know something was up. It was too early to get him upset over what had transpired over the last few days.

"Come on, Trunks! You know how Mom gets when she's pissed. I bet Dad is mad at me too." Goten pushed himself away from the counter, brushing past Trunks on his way out of the bathroom. He stopped, hand grasping at the doorframe, a wave of dizziness past through his body.

"Goten?" Trunks wrapped his arms around Goten's waist to keep the younger demi on his feet as he swayed slightly.

"I'm fine, just alittle light headed. Damn flu." He grumbled out, letting Trunks lead him back to the bed. He fell back against the pillows with a loud sigh, watching Trunks straightening the tangled heap of sheets and blankets.

"You're staying, Goten. You're parents know where you're at. Let's just get some sleep. You need your rest. We'll talk when the sun is actually up." Trunks pulled at the wet towel that was around Goten's waist, discarding it to the floor and crawled in bed next to him. It was a dream come true, Goten naked in his bed, but he only wished the circumstances were different. He sighed, pulling his koi closer so that his head was resting against Trunks' chest. Gently, he stroked the younger demi's back, letting the smell of soap and flowers coax him back to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bulma swore to herself that she was going to have to purchase a camera to leave down in the medical area. This was the second morning in a row that she wished she had one with her. It was just past eight, breakfast would be ready for everyone soon. Her aging mother saw to that. She smiled as she inched towards the bed that Goku occupied, noticing Vegeta snoring lightly, his head down, resting against Goku's upper arm.

"Ok, lets see here." She murmured out, checking all the IV lines, catheter and vital signs. She frowned slightly; noticing one of the tubing lines near the needle was clogged with blood. She berated herself, trying to be careful enough not to disturb both Saiyans so she could fix the problem and be on her way. She knelt down on the cold tile floor, so she could be at eye level of the bed while she worked. Bulma carefully cleaned the line, and attaching it back together. What she didn't expect was Goku to jerk as she snapped the line back together. She must have moved the needle inside the vein or something, but his jerking hand caught her in the face, making her cry out in pain and surprise. The shriek woke Vegeta in a snap. He was up and growling at the blue haired genius that was sprawled on the floor holding the side of her face.

"What the hell were you doing?" He shouted down on her, before turning his back to her to stop Goku from pulling out the IVs that were set in his right arm.

"Don't yell at me! I was just fixing one of the lines. It was clogged. I just didn't expect him to jerk away from me like he did."

"Next time tell me what you're going to do. Damn it, come on onna, you need to get some ice on that before that weakling thinks I was beating you." He pushed Bulma ahead of him, making sure she was going towards the main part of the house before he reentered the med bay. He was taken back slightly at dark eyes staring at him as he stalked towards the bed.

"Out…" It was a simple word, but held a lot of meaning. Goku had raised his right arm off the bed; the prince knew exactly what he wanted. The younger Saiyan wanted all the medical wires and tubes disconnected, probably so he could try and escape. The look in those eyes said it all. Goku was ashamed to be there in that condition. He wanted out, nurse himself back to health. He didn't want anyone else to know.

"No. You're going to stay put and leave those alone. You are in no condition to run off and hide from me, Kakarot. I'd find you, you know that." Goku closed his eyes, turning his head away from Vegeta. He tried to ball his hands into tight fists with his anger. Why couldn't Vegeta understand that he didn't want to be here? What was so difficult about letting him leave? Why should he even care? He was just going to throw this all back into his face when the younger Saiyan was back on his feet again.

"Kakarot, look at me." The words sounded stern, but gentle fingers on his cheek turned his head to face the prince.

"I know what you are going through, Kakarot. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing." Goku closed his eyes again, trying to turn his head away. Vegeta knew! Who else knew of his secret? Did Bulma? Did his sons know?

"Leave…me…alone…"

"Fine, but I will be back in a few minutes. Don't try anything stupid, you won't make it with those drugs in your system." With that being said, Vegeta exited the room leaving Goku to the silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Yamcha, stop it! It's fine." Bulma batted her lover's hand away from her face for the fifth time. She was trying to fix Bura's breakfast plate while Bulma's mother started fixing the teenaged boys' plates.

"It just looks like it hurts. Here, put this on it." The former desert bandit handed her an ice pack wrapped in a dishtowel.

"How disgustingly sweet." Vegeta snorted from the doorway. Bulma glared at him from behind the ice pack, giving him the middle finger before sitting down at the table.

"Good morning…" Came Trunks' voice from the other doorway. Goten was right beside him, hand grasping tightly to the young prince's shoulder to keep him from falling over.

"Morning Trunks. Nice to see you up as well, Goten."

"Good morning, Bulma-san. What happened to you?" Goten asked, shuffling towards the table to take his familiar seat next to Trunks. Bulma smiled, shaking her head.

"Your father. But it's all right see?" She showed her lightly bruised cheek to the crowd at the table. The young Son was confused. Why would his father do something like that to his long time friend?

"You haven't told him yet, have you Trunks?"

"No." Trunks looked away from his mother, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Goten looked more confused by the minute. The whole family seemed tense about something, and he wasn't included in the knowledge they shared.

"Goten, do you remember what happened the other day? You went home after school. What happened after you got home? Before Trunks showed up." Goten looked down at his plate that was sat in front of him. His lip curled slightly, but he took a bite of toast anyways as he thought about Bulma's question.

"Mom and Dad were fighting out in the clearing, so I snuck in the house and put my school stuff away. I grabbed some stuff out of the fridge and left to meet Trunks. That's all. I must have fallen asleep or something. Feels like I have the flu."

"It's not the flu, Goten. You ate what you got out of the fridge didn't you?"

"Yeah, a few sandwiches that Mom left there. I left some in the picnic basket for Trunks."

"They were drugged, Goten. Your Mother had put a lot of sedatives in those sandwiches. You've been here for almost two days."

"Mom would do nothing like that! It's just the flu, nothing else…" Goten shouted, defending his mother's honor. But what he didn't know was the whole story yet. He was about to get a rude awakening.

"Koi, calm down. You're still not up to par yet. That's why you feel so shitty still. The drugs are still in your system."

"You're lying! She might yell and seem nasty all the time, but she wouldn't do that to me. I'm her son."

"She's not lying." Vegeta's voice was calm and serious as he spoke.

"But why? Why would she do that to me?" Goten cried out, looking between Trunks, Bulma, Yamcha and Vegeta. How could his own Mother do something so horrible to him? Was he bad? Did he do something that displeased her?

"She used you in a game, Goten. She was using you to show your Father that she was in control. By hurting you, she was hurting him just the same. There is more…" The young Son shivered, drawing in a shaky breath. He felt betrayed beyond words. He was nothing but a pawn in a game against his father? He lost what appetite that he did have, shoving away the plate in front of him. Shakily, he stood up from the table. He had to get away and think. This was all too much for him to handle.

"Goten?" Trunks was standing now as well, his face showing nothing but concern.

"I need to think…" He stated, leaving the kitchen quickly.

"Go with him brat. You need to bring him down to see his father." The young demi prince nodded to his father, leaving the kitchen the same way Goten had.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It had taken almost an hour for Trunks to calm his best friend down enough to bring him down to the medical area. He knew this wouldn't go over well either, but Goten needed to know what was going on.

"Trunks? Why are we here? I'm feeling better, just a little woozy." Trunks remained silent, grasping Goten's hand tightly as he opened the door. The dark haired demi saw Vegeta first, leaning against the wall with his arms folded in his usual manner. But what he saw next was one sight he would never forget. His father, the strongest man in the universe, the great one that was called Goku was the one laying in the bed with medical equipment around him. Goten gasped, his face becoming paler.

"Goten, your Mom did this as well. He'll be fine, but the stuff your Mom used on him will take longer to get out of his system. Saiyans have a bad reaction to it or something." Trunks words stumbled out.

"Daddy?" Goten's voice was hitched; he covered his mouth to stifled a sob that threatened to spill out of his throat. But before the dam broke, Trunks pulled him into an embrace, stroking his back as the sobs wracked his body.

Vegeta thought the boy was actually taking the news well considering everything that was put on him in just over an hour. The boy would need help as well as Kakarot did. Trunks could provide all the comfort the youngest Son could ever want. But could he provide the comfort that Kakarot would need from him?