Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Ménage ❯ Saiyan Legacy ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ, Harry Potter, or the creature "borrowed" from The Chronicles of the Black Company.
It was early evening, almost dinnertime, and Goku found himself alone in the castle's kitchen. He'd hurried through the housework Chi-chi had given him, all so he could finally get some much needed time alone with Vegeta, only to have said man called away. That had been two hours ago, and the older still had yet to return. Of course, he'd been warned that Vegeta might be gone all night, and he'd thought briefly about returning home. That kind of thinking only lasted about five minute, though, as he'd rather wander the castle halls then return home.
Who knew what else his wife had in mind. He'd already been through one list, and he had to beg Chi-chi to let him take a break and come over for the evening. So Goku was pretty sure he'd made the right decision in staying here at the castle and exploring. Granted, he had to keep in mind that he wasn't allowed to go in certain rooms and touch the magical objects, but there was still plenty of things that he could do in a place this big.
Plus, there was an outdoor garden that he enjoyed walking through and looking at all the different flowers. Sometimes he would sit and watch the bugs that inhibited the area. Butterflies, beetles, ants, and all other varieties of creatures could easily be spotted if a person looked hard enough. If that wasn't enough to catch his interest, there was also a forest not too far away. The wooded area was a bit more dark and dank than the woods that surrounded his house, but that only meant that there might be much more interesting animals, magical and non-magical, roaming around. He'd never seen anything go in or come out of the forest, but ever since he'd visited the castle, Goku's natural curiosity pulled at him.
He'd been meaning to question Vegeta about the wooded area, but they'd been so busy sparring and, more recently, using their non-sparring time for much more pleasurable activities. Goku felt an unconscious blush rise to his cheeks at the mere thought of being intimate with the older Saiyan. By now the blush was unnecessary, but things were still new to the young Saiyan. He'd never been nor wanted to be so intimate with another man. There was also the fact that both he and Vegeta were married men, granted Vegeta's marriage has been strictly for political reasons the last few years.
Goku closed his eyes for a brief moment before pushing himself up and heading over to the fridge. He'd been sitting at the counter, for he didn't know how long, just going over everything that's happened in the last few weeks. Mostly things revolving around this newfound...whatever he and Vegeta were—friends with benefits, as the older man had put it. However, there were also the occasional thoughts of Chi-chi and his sons. What would happen if or when they found out? He was hoping Goten would take the news fairly easy since the youngest boy seemed to be in a relationship with Vegeta's son.
Just as he opened the door to the refrigerator, he picked up the sound of a suppressed cough. He glared at the source of the noise: the kitchen's entrance. He had not felt any other ki signatures the entire time he was in the room, so he had no clue as to who might be trying to sneak up on him.
The only person he knew of in the castle that wouldn't be sneaking up on him was his brother, Raditz. Raditz didn't know how to read ki, or suppress his own, for that matter. He knew he could only wish that it was Vegeta, but he knew the other Saiyan would play such a trick nor let anything slip to let the younger Saiyan know he was hiding. So, with a sigh, Goku closed the door and focused solely on the area where the cough had come from.
"Trunks, Goten," he finally called out, hoping the culprit(s) would come out from hiding. He heard a bit of cloth rustling together before his son appeared, and no Trunks. Usually when the boys were up to something they always seemed to travel together, yet here was Goten. Unless Trunks had taken off without his knowing.
Goten gave a nervous smile as he approached his father. "What's up, Dad? Did you need something?"
Goku's eyes narrowed only enough to set a curious look on his face. "What were you doing hiding behind the door?"
"Nothing," the teen held his hands up in defense, "And why are you still here? Vegeta's not home, he's at some sort of charity banquet, or whatever Trunks called it."
Goku looked a bit puzzled, "He didn't tell me that,"
Goten's eyes narrowed slightly, "Why would he tell you?"
The older saiyan realized that he might have just said something incriminating, and nervous laughter escaped his lips. "H-he tells me lots of...s-stuff..."
"Uh-huh," Goten said slowly, narrowing his eyes further, "Maybe...Trunks is right..."
"About what?" Goku tried to keep his expression indifferent, but felt as if he were failing miserably. He certainly wished that he were as good as keeping a straight face as Vegeta.
The teen frowned and shrugged, "Nothing," He lied. He still found it hard to believe that his father was having an affair with Vegeta, or even be attracted to men. It was obvious, though, that his father was quite fond of Trunks' father. His reactions to the questions, and just the fact that he's sticking around was evidence enough.
Still, Trunks would love to hear what he had to say. "Well, have fun doing whatever it is you're doing." He said and turned away. He walked across the dining hall and stepped out onto the gardens through the huge glass door that mimicked the one in the main hall.
Trunks sat inside the gazebo, which was covered in lights, that stood in the center of this particular garden. Surrounding it were alternating bushes of red and white roses. Where the other garden was full of cool-colored plants, this one was alive with plants of vibrant colors.
"Did you find out anything?" The older teen asked.
Goten stepped under the lit-up wooden structure. "Well Dad didn't say anything directly, but he's certainly acting funny."
-0-
It was midnight by the time Vegeta agitatedly landed on the castle grounds dressed in his best suit. The charity banquet ended up turning into an all-out party as time passed and more champagne was consumed.
"I knew you'd be here," The prince smirked upon seeing Goku waiting for him in the foyer.
"Y'didn't tell me that you were going out," The younger saiyan pouted.
"Do I have to report to you now?" Vegeta chuckled, "What are we, a married couple?"
Goku's face flushed, and he turned his head suspiciously toward the different entrances in the foyer. They had been acting funny for a portion of the night, what with sneaking up on him, or staring blankly up at the sky. Then, a few hours ago, they couldn't be felt, or seen at all. This made Goku suspicious.
"Those two are gone; Trunks sent me a message at nine telling me he was going to a Booster Draft." Then a roguish grin spread across his face. He didn't have much to drink at the banquet, but what he did have made him more feisty.
"Come with me," He said and practically dragged Goku across the wide room and into the broom closet.
It was an extremely tight fit in the otherwise spacious closet, what with all the boxes and cleaning supplies taking up majority of the standing space. It was a miracle that Vegeta managed to get the door shut behind them.
Goku grunted as Vegeta roughly pushed up against him, which made the group of brooms and mop handles dig awkwardly into his back and shoulder blades. "What're you-?"
"Just keep your mouth shut," Vegeta ordered and roughly pushed his mouth to Goku's. Goku awkwardly placed his arms (the corner of a box stuck painfully into his right one) around the prince's waist, and parted his lips to allow an insistent tongue to enter his mouth.
The amount of friction that the two bodies created made the small space heat up in no time. "Its hot," Goku panted once they broke apart.
"Get used to it," Vegeta said, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping the younger Saiyan's jeans, "It's only going to get worse." He let the pants fall, and then did the same for himself.
The younger half-saiyan felt the older's right thigh slip upward against his left, "Vegeta, how're we...?"
"Don't turn me off with your inane questioning," The prince growled and guided his lover's left hand to grip his thigh. "I want you to fuck me, not run your mouth."
Something animalistic woke up inside Goku at Vegeta's sordid words. He hungrily ravaged the older-saiyan's mouth, and the gesture was eagerly returned. He hitched Vegeta's leg up higher so that it was hooked around his hip and positioned himself, entering shortly afterward.
Vegeta gave a muffled groan and tightened his grip on Goku's shoulders. at the sudden, rough intrusion. He was grateful that his body was able to handle large amounts of pain.
"Did I hurt you?" Goku asked, ceasing his back and forth motions.
The prince said nothing and held a hand over the other Saiyan's mouth. "Shut up and keep going," He growled out, displaying his insistency by tapping on the hand wrapped around his length.
Goku lifted Vegeta up even further, which caused Vegeta to raise up onto his toes. The heel on the foot that barely touched the floor got hooked on the handle of a small bucket. He tried discreetly to be rid of the damned thing, but it only resulted in awkward, and unsexy rattling noises.
-8-
"Its a fucking shame we lost to those basement-dwellers," Goten pouted when he and Trunks landed on the lawns shortly after midnight, "I spent my entire allowance on that stupid tournament."
"Don't be a baby," Trunks scoffed, "I'll give you money."
"I don't need your damn charity," The younger teen huffed and strode past the older up the wide steps to the castle door.
"Well don't be too sad." Trunks reasoned, "Your fifteen-dollar deck versus a three-hundred-dollar deck isn't a fair challenge to begin with. And, hey," He placed a hand on Goten's shoulder before he could step inside, "At least you won a few rounds." He ended his encouraging statement with a wide smile.
"You're not getting in my pants, Trunks, so quit trying to be nice, and admit that we suck," Goten, still moody, said flatly. With that, he stormed into the castle.
They had decided that trying to trail Goku was a waste of time, and wanted to get out of the house. There was a Booster Draft happening at the comic store in Grifton, the nearby town, so Trunks and Goten cockily participated, only to get their asses handed to them by the local gamers. This did not sit well with Goten at all.
Trunks rushed to catch up with his boyfriend, "I didn't mean it like that," He said sincerely, "I was just-" He was suddenly hushed by Goten, who was now standing in the middle of the foyer with his hand held up, as if he were listening intently.
"Do you hear that?" He questioned lowly.
The older teen paused and listened. Muffled grunts were coming from the broom closet nearby, and oddly-fluxuating kis were sensed.
"Maybe one of the servants is stuck?" Goten suggested. The kis were fluctuating so badly, that it was hard to pin-point who they belonged to.
"Oh, someone's stuck alright," Trunks grinned and strode over to the cupboard door. He turned the knob, which was not locked, and pulled the door open. There, four pairs of eyes stared wildly at one another. Goten's jaw seemed to plummet, Trunks looked as if he wanted to disappear into the floor, and both adults seemed to be in shock of being caught. Upon seeing what was going on behind the door, the teen promptly slammed the door back.
As if to validate whether the lurid scene behind the door was a hallucination, and not real, he opened the door once more. "AW, SHIT!" He hollered and slammed the door once more. "Let's dip the fuck out!" He insisted, snatching on his dazed boyfriend's arm.
They quickly flew all the way to the edge of the forest, wanting to get as much distance between themselves and their fathers as possible. All was quiet, except for the sounds of tree leaves in the breeze from the pitch-black forest next to them. The sinister void-like appearance of the forest was quite as unnerving as the scandal that they had just walked in on mere moments before.
"Holy fucking shit, I knew it!" Trunks exclaimed, "Didn't I fucking tell you?"
"Th-that had to be a-a fucking t-trick or somethin'," Goten said shakily, "T-that can'tve happened."
"Are you fucking blind? Of course it did! That was your dad plowing my dad!"
"I'm g-gonna be sick," The younger half-saiyan muttered, and promptly spilled his inner contents onto the dewy lawn. Somewhere nearby, an owl hooted its disapproval. "I can't believe it..." He muttered, breathing heavily. He tried to straighten himself up, but his stomach lurched once more, and he promptly doubled over with another bout of vomiting.
"And I hardly doubt our mothers know," Trunks grumbled, ignoring Goten's continued retching.
"What are we gonna do?" Goten asked a few moments later in horrified whisper. Tears sprung up in his eyes; his father was a good person, he would never forsake his family by selfishly succuming to adultery. He simply could not believe what he had just seen.
-8-
Both adults panted heavily as Vegeta was lowered back to the floor. The older man rested a hand against the younger's chest, since his legs were still a bit shaky.
"SHIT!" The curse easily filled the tiny room as it bounced off the walls and various boxes. "God damn brats," Vegeta muttered as he finally regained his composure and breathing. He looked up at his partner, seeing the horrified look on the taller man's face.
"I," the word was squeezed up and out of the taller man's throat. His mouth remained ajar and his eyes unblinking as Goku continued to look at the closed door. A hard smack to his cheek, however, had his head twisting to the side and his eyes going wider before finally blinking. A hand reached up to rub at the burning flesh as he looked down on the angry prince.
"Fucking hell, Kakarot, get a hold of yourself," the shorter man growled. Vegeta was already pulling his pants back on and fixing his shirt.
"But, I," Goku stumbled over the words again as he only watched the other Saiyan.
"We need to find those damn idiots now before they decide to share the news with their mothers or anyone else they happen to see," the prince spit as he reached for the doorknob. "So either you can stand there like an idiot yourself or follow me to make sure I don't kill those two."
Within a matter of seconds Goku had pulled up his pants and was adjusting his shirt as he exited the small closet with his lover.
Never before has Goku ever experienced such shame and embarrassment. How was he going to face his son now? How was he going to explain what he was just caught doing? Should he apologize? The countless questions seemed to reel quickly in his confused mind. He could only imagine what someone as important as Vegeta was going to do to smooth everything over.
And what if they run their mouths to Chi-Chi and Bulma? What kind of magic did he have to perform to explain his affair to his naturally-suspicious wife? And with Bulma and Vegeta's high-profile social statuses, how were they going to keep the media out of it?
"What are we going to say to them?" Goku asked quietly, wanting more and more to just turn and bolt. He could handle pressure when it came to playing hero, but not when it came to being a responsible adult in the real world.
"The fuck if I know!" Vegeta bellowed, completely unnerved, "I just know that those two better keep their mouths shut, if they know what's good for them!"
Goku sighed pathetically and slowed his pace. He honestly didn't want to be present when almighty Vegeta brought down the lightning upon their two sons. It was so like the prince to want to justify that what he was caught doing was perfectly fine, and that Trunks and Goten were wrong for snooping around.
It was easy to tell two things, especially when walking out onto the lawns: that the boys were lurking around the edge of the forest at the edge of the castle grounds, and that Goten was in some sort of emotional distress. Trunks was smart to keep his ki low, but Goten's felt distraught and jumped wildly.
Both saiyans, with Goku a good distance behind, flew toward the fluctuating ki. Vegeta knew that the boys were merely trying to get far from the crime scene, and not trying to run away.
"Dad?" Trunks asked upon seeing his father's figure fly up and land, silhouetted, before him and Goten. Goten's sniffling ceased at once.
"Didn't fly out far enough, did you?" Vegeta sneered.
"Shut the fuck up, dad; just go the hell on somewhere!" The older teen ground out, feeling a wave of anger pulse through him at the sound of his father's voice. It was bad enough seeing him with his best friend's father, but seeing the bastard act as if nothing happened made him murderous.
"No," Vegeta responded plainly. "You're going to stay here and listen to what the fuck I have to say." He glared at Goten's tear-stained face, "Both of you."
Goten started to shake at the sight of the prince. He wasn't going to let this bastard tell him what to do. He took a step backward, then another; suddenly, a long-fingered hand gripped his wrist, which stopped his backward movements.
"Calm down," Trunks said soothingly, looking sadly at the younger teen. Both boys gazes suddenly switched to a second silhouette: Goku. The second-oldest Saiyan stayed quiet as he stepped up to the group.
His apologetic stare met his son's. The split-second connection was all it took for Goten to go off. His face contorted into a scowl and hot tears sprung up in his eyes. His ki flared dangerously, spiking to a high level-as if his life were at stake. He snatched his hand from Trunks' grasp, turned and ran into the woods at top speed. He wanted to get away from his father as fast as he could.
The quiet darkness fell around him suddenly, as if he were blindfolded and someone held their hands over his ears. Goten's pace slowed to a jog, then to a walk. His heart-rate slowed as well, and his breathing became heavy.
His eyes began to adjust to his surroundings. He could barely make out the outlines of the surrounding trees, even with his heightened Saiyan senses. He whipped around and found that he could not see the lights of the castle. He had no clue how far in he went, due to how fast he was running, nor could he remember what direction he came from.
Trunks always warned him about the dangers of the woods. Even as children, they knew better than to wander around the forest, despite how mischievous they could be. Trunks told him that there were creatures far worse than just wolves and bears hidden in the forest's vastness.
There was a reason why the forest was named Musta Kuolema, or black death; the magical creatures that resided there were quite deadly. There were also quite a few that could not be defeated by mere power and physical strength alone.
Goten didn't believe it, but Trunks reckoned that the creatures here could be more deadly than the ones in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
Still, being alone in the dark forest was not good for Goten's already shot nerves. His rationality and common sense seemed to have flown out the window like his respect for his father.
A twig snapped nearby, and Goten became still. "Trunks?" he asked feebly. A low, sinister growl was his answer. His breath hitched in his throat as he quickly patted himself down for his wand.
"Fuck!" he spat; he didn't have his wand. Then, quick as lightning, he felt the creature leap past him. The beast had to be at least a six-feet-long, well-muscled, compact animal from the amount of energy and power it exerted.
"H-ho, shit," Goten stammered. He fired a blast of ki in the animal's direction. The attack narrowly missed it, but lit the creature up well enough for the half-Saiyan to identify what it was. He gasped and stumbled onto his back; the monster before him was none other than a pitch-black, red eyed, undead were-leopard.
The proper term for such a diabolical creature is the forvalaka. The forvalaka is known for being an extremely deadly, and particularly messy killer. If given enough time with their kill, they drain all the blood and take the heart and liver. It is considered a Class Five creature in the Ministry of Magic archives, therefore highly dangerous to anyone. Only magic can destroy an undead creature, so his ki blasts were virtually useless.
The creature pounced, and Goten rolled, narrowly missing being crushed by two-hundred pounds of muscle. He did, however manage to get slashed across his shoulder by giant, filthy claws.
Goten swore aloud, and dodged the panther a second time. He fired another ki blast, if not to hit the creature, but at least to see where it was. Just as he fired, he managed to hit the animal straight in the face. This stunned the cat and Goten was able to jump to his feet. He formed a ball of ki in his palm and held it out, as if it were a flashlight, and quickly whipped around. The forvalaka was out-of-sight.
"Oh, god..." The teen whimpered. The stealthy panther was fucking with him, probably prowling the perimeter of his standing space, waiting for the chase to begin. Goten stepped backward, crushing a pinecone loudly under his foot.
A low growl resonated through the trees once more. Almost as if his body acted on its own, he ran deeper into the woods, the ball of ki lighting his way. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of heavy paws against the thick bed of leaves increasing in rhythm. He gasped aloud, he was going to be minced meat for sure!
He hollered in fright as he ran through a sticky spider web. Though he shared a love for animals like his brother and father, he hell-hated spiders. Especially spiders that he couldn't see. Now he was running for his life through a demented forest, chased by a wild undead panther, and covered in a disgusting web.
The panther snarled impatiently and swiped its claw-beared paw at Goten's leg, tripping him, and causing his light of ki to diminish. Dirt and leaves filled his mouth as he hit the ground roughly. He groaned loudly as the weight of the big cat pressed him further into the ground. Claws dug painfully into his back, and he felt the creatures hot, foul breath against his neck and hair.
The beast opened its great mouth and closed it around the half-Saiyan's wounded shoulder. A cry of pain escaped the teen's mouth as he felt warm blood pour sickly from the puncture wounds; his bones crushed between strong jaws. He knew he was done for. He was going to be torn limb-from-limb by this horrid monster.
Suddenly, as if some ethereal vision were being played before him, a figure, silhouetted by a bright light coming from some unknown origin, stood a good distance away from him and the panther. The undead monster took little heed of this, and proceeded to pull painfully on the shoulder clamped in its disgusting mouth, trying to rip the appendage from its socket.
"INCENDIO!" The silhouette's owner cried, and flames erupted from the person, covering the panther. Fire was an undead creature's worst enemy. The animal howled in pain, and dashed off, definitely giving Goten up as a bad job.
The fire seemed to not have had an effect on the injured half-Saiyan, save for the heat he felt from the spell.
"It's okay, Goten," Came the familiar and soothing voice of Trunks. Goten's blurred vision was filled with his lover's face, and he could feel the long hair against his skin, "I'm going to help you."
The last thing the younger teen saw was the smile of his hero.
-8-
Goten blinked slowly, his vision was blurred, but quickly adjusted. He looked up at the ceiling, and noted that he was once more in the castle. He went to turn his head, but the action was met with much pain.
"How do you feel?" Trunks asked, suddenly taking up his vision, "You were out for a while, but I couldn't sleep not knowing when you'd wake up."
"Wha' time izzit?" The younger teen groaned, trying to turn his head to look out of the window. Outside, a faint pink streak lit up the horizon.
"It's six-thirty in the morning," Came the answer. "And please don't try to get up," The older teen insisted, gently placing a hand easily on the uninjured shoulder and pushed the body back onto the bed. "You really scared me, Goten." Cerulean eyes met with dark umber ones.
"Everything's so fucked up, Trunks," Goten replied hoarsely; he must have done a lot of yelling in the forest. He could feel shameful tears well up in his eyes, but after everything he had been through, he deserved to cry. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know," Trunks replied in a dead tone. He moved closer to his lover on the bed and clasped his hands firmly in his lap. His nerves were completely shot, as well as Goten's. His sad eyes took in the younger half-Saiyan's wounds. He had a huge square bandage taking up the right side of his face; his whole shoulder was covered in bandages; his arms were covered in scratches, and his entire calf was wrapped up.
"I hate that this happened to you," The older teen finally said. "Why did you have to run into the forest? Your mother's going to flip! Your dad already left here, so he probably told her!" His voice rose with every sentence, and he quickly caught himself. "I'm sorry," He muttered, "I was just scared for you."
"I'm sorry," Goten responded, tears trailing down the corners of his eyes and into his hair, as he was flat on his back, "I know what I did was...stupid, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to be around my dad, and I still don't." Upon recalling the exact reason why he didn't want to be around his father, he let out a small sob, and sniffed loudly.
"Please, don't cry, Goten," Trunks pleaded, "I hate seeing you cry." He bent down and gingerly held his boyfriend in an awkward hug.
The loving gesture only made the injured teen cry in earnest. He loosely wrapped his arms around Trunks' neck and sobbed pathetically. He had no clue as to exactly why he was taking this news of his father's adultery so hard. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that now that there was no imminent threat, and Goku didn't have to fight, Goten was able to get to know his father , who was absent for the first seven years of his life and have a normal family. Now, however, Goku was betraying his wedding vows and cheating on Chi-Chi with another married man. Another married man who happened to be his best friend and boyfriend's father.
The very thought disgusted him. The only reason anyone cheats is because of discord in their marriage. How could things have gotten so bad? Goten couldn't think of a single screaming match between his father and mother. Were they just that good at hiding their fights? What in the world was going on?
The questions flooded his mind as Trunks began kissing the edge of his jaw-line. What was so great about Vegeta, anyhow? A pair of teeth gently grazed his bottom lip, Weren't Dad and Vegeta enemies? His breath hitched at the tickling feeling of cool hair-tips brushing against his bare chest. "Trunks..." He whispered, feeling his lover's warm lips press against the flesh right above his navel.
"Yes...?"
"I think I'm-"
Suddenly, a whirring sound was heard from Trunks' computer desk. Goten quickly turned his head in the direction of the noise, and Trunks lifted his head toward it.
"It's your phone," He said, and handed the younger teen his phone that miraculously didn't get damaged in the forest.
"It's mom," He said curiously, then answered it.
"Why didn't you come home with your father?" The enraged woman shrieked. Goten, as with anyone else who talks to her on the phone, held the device a few inches from his ear.
"I wanted to stay with Trunks," Goten said. "I didn't think it was a big deal," He mumbled the last part.
"What was that?"
"I said I-DIDN'T-THINK-IT-WAS-A-BIG-DEAL! Gosh..."
"DON'T YOU SCREAM AT ME LIKE THAT, MISTER!"
Goten sighed heavily, "Whatever, Mom," You're the one screaming now, He thought out.
"I don't know where you're getting this sudden, horrid attitude, Goten, but we will deal with it when you come home! Which is going to be NOW!"
"Seriously? It's fuck-it's six-thirty! Let me sleep some more and then-"
"NOW!"
The newly-enraged teen huffed loudly and hung up on his mother. He didn't know why he was taking his anger at his father out on his mother. She was just an innocent victim in his eyes. Still, he didn't want to go where his father was.
"Mom wants me home," He groaned, laying back down all of the way.
"Just don't go," Trunks said simply, "What's she gonna do? Besides, you're in no fit state to go flying around such a long distance."
"She's gonna fucking kill me!" Goten said, and then groaning into a sitting position. "And when she sees the state of me, she'll kill your dad!"
"Why my dad?"
"Because he's supposed to be the responsible adult or whatever," The younger teen gritted his teeth from the sharp pain caused by the claw-inflicted wounds on his back, which were covered in bandages. "Fuck, and now I need to go home before any of this shit actually happens." He stood straight up and rubbed his eyes. "Where's my fuckin' shirt?" He asked, looking around on the floor.
"The forvalaka ruined it," Trunks said quietly, "But I'll give you one of mine."
Goten agreed, and slipped on one of his boyfriend's larger shirts. He walked over to the window and opened it. "I'll see ya," He said solemnly.
"Wait, let me see you later on today!" The older said quickly, joining Goten beside the window. A chill morning breeze blew in from the opening. The sun was a bit higher now, causing the clouds to turn orange instead of pink. A thin fog covered the deep green ground below.
"Fine, just let me smooth things out with Mom first, and hopefully get some more sleep in."
-0-
Bulma tapped her nails impatiently on the counter in Yamcha's kitchen. It was late in the afternoon, and she was still exhausted from the previous nights activities. "Not again," She said firmly, mostly to herself.
"What's wrong?" Yamcha asked, leaning over the same counter, then yawning. "I thought you liked Turles and his band."
The blue-haired woman sighed, "Its not them its their lifestyle! I don't mind going out and partying at all, Yamcha, its just that I simply cannot keep up with the rock-star lifestyle. I can't stay up till four in the morning every night, and they're talking about hanging out again tonight? No way."
"But, Bulma, they're leaving for Germany at the end of the summer,"
"I don't care. If you want to hang out with someone, choose a real friend like Goku, not his look-alike."
Yamcha's face fell a little. "Every time I try to phone him he's busy with Vegeta. Of course he invites me to hang out, but you know how Vegeta and I feel about each other..."
"Well, we've been out partying for the past three nights. I don't mind the drinking and devil-music, but the drugs and groupies? That's where I draw the line."
"Its not devil-music..." Yamcha mumbled, "And if you don't wanna go, then I'll go by myself."
Bulma slammed her fist down on the counter. "Dammit, Yamcha! You're making shit very hard for me, you know! I come here hoping that I can get some peace away from Vegeta's craziness, but I get drawn up in some more craziness! YOUR craziness!"
Yamcha flinched at Bulma's voice. "I'm sorry, Bulma, really, but I am not going to halt my entire life just for you. Its not like that anymore. And I hate what Vegeta is doing to you, but aren't you kind of doing the same to him with me?"
Bulma folded her arms across her chest and shrugged, looking away, much like a spoiled child would. What was with everyone and going crazy around her? Wasn't it bad enough that her husband had switched teams, and now Yamcha-the only person who she thought she could depend on-was acting like a college freshman!
She was honest when she said she didn't mind partying, but ever since she had started staying with Yamcha three nights ago, that's all she and he did. The crowd that her current lover decided to associate himself with, in her opinion, was a bunch of immature, arrogant, loud-mouthed spoiled brats.
When she heard the word "party", she immediately imagined adults with class-drinking socially and dancing to music with rhythm. Instead, she was pretty much thrown into a hurricane of chaos.
The five band-mates of the death-metal group, Totenstarre, partied hard. Drugs were passed around on an eighteen-inch cymbal, like some sort of crude communion tray, only instead of putting something in it, you inhaled, smoked, swallowed or injected the contents. Bulma was particularly adamant about staying drug-free, and made sure to give Yamcha plenty of hateful looks as he partook of the mind-altering substance.
"Its just for fun!" He'd reassure her, but her mind still didn't change.
Along with the drugs, alcohol was consumed. And the more that was ingested, the wilder the party became. Multiple times, she had to remind a band member that she was with Yamcha, and no, he wouldn't like to share. That was another thing that got on her nerves: groupies galore; both men and women. Yamcha definitely didn't shy away from indulging in his vice of flirting; unfortunately, Bulma could do nothing to stop this, as they weren't a couple (a fact that she had to continually remind herself of).
All in all, she honestly couldn't see what Yamcha saw in this rowdy bunch. She didn't even know that the guy was into that type of music. Maybe they let in a bit of the excitement he missed when he used to fight all the time? Who knows? Still, she could definitely tell that there was something off with this Turles fellow. Why would he suddenly want Yamcha, a regular guy, not a celebrity, to hang out with him?
"Also, there's one other thing that I've been meaning to ask you," Yamcha said, suddenly scaring Bulma out of her thoughts. "Do you think that there's something up with Goku and Vegeta?"
Bulma blinked, "Do what, now? Something between Vege-that's crazy, Yamcha, why would you say something like that?"
"I dunno..." Yamcha scratched his chin thoughtfully with the tip of his finger, "It just seems kinda funny that Goku spends more time at the castle than at home with his kid and wife."
"I do admit that Goku does spend a lot of time out at the castle, but I highly doubt that something's going on." She gave a skeptical sort of chuckle and shook her head. "You really are full of it, aren't you?"
It was Yamcha's turn to slam his fist upon the surface of the counter. "You don't find it strange at all? Vegeta is having an open affair with another guy! And Goku just so happens to be around an awful lot; I don't think that its a coincidence at all-"
"You know what? Just stop right there. I've had enough of the bull-shit over the past couple of days. Actually, its been like this for a while." She paused for a moment while glaring angrily at the man before her. "I'm leaving."
-0-
Goten and Trunks hung out in Goten's yard together late that afternoon. It took a lot of convincing on Goten's part, but Chi-Chi finally gave in and allowed the older boy over. Of course, this wish wasn't granted for nothing. According to Chi-Chi, since Goten was obviously well enough to have his boyfriend over, then he was well enough to do the page-worth of chores set for him.
He didn't specify what exactly wounded him to his mother. The only thing he told her was that he and Trunks were sparring and he fell out of the sky. And as much as he hated to mention it, he also told her not to fuss, because his father came home in worse shape thanks to Vegeta's abuse.
Still, that didn't settle her worries. She continued to inquire as to why he had to be out so late without permission, and why he and Trunks just decided to start fighting when they hadn't done that sort of thing since they were kids.
Thankfully, though, she gave up her inquiry and let her son sleep. And with the promise that they'd stay either outside or in the living room, Goten was able to have Trunks over.
"This really sucks balls," Trunks whined, leaning against the pole of the clothes line that stretched across the yard.
"I know," Goten sighed his reply. He honestly didn't like his mother treating him like a untrustworthy child, but after all he had done to get Trunks over there, the whining was getting on his nerves more than his mother's mistrust. They could pretty much hang out like they normally would, they just couldn't get physical. Personally, he could go without the physicality for once, whereas Trunks looked like he was going to explode from lack of mouth-to-mouth contact.
Trunks pushed himself off of the pole and sat on the ground next to Goten. "I had an idea that I thought about after you left early this morning,"
"What's that?" The younger teen replied, staring blankly at the ground and tugging grass from it.
The older half-saiyan was grateful for the lack of eye-contact, for what he had so say was rather disconcerting to him. "I was wondering...if you would like to perform the Unbreakable Vow with me?" He let out a loud breath, as if what he said was exhausting, but then continued, once he had Goten's eyes locked on his. "Yeah, um...there's no reason why we shouldn't. I mean, it'll be like a bond between us, and there'd be no way anyone would be able to keep us on a short leash. We'd be bound forever, so there's no point."
Goten was rather speechless at first. He wasn't completely sure about the ins-and-outs concerning the Vow, but he knew that three people had to be involved (two to bind together, and one to create the bind-a witness, more or less) and all three had to be wizards. The only other wizard he knew of was Vegeta.
"Trunks, I don't think your dad would want to create the bind..."
"But we can use your dad! I mean, it should work, he's an untrained wizard. All he has to do is tap the wand against our hands after each Vow we make to each other; there's three in all."
"So..." Goten said very slowly, "You're basically asking me to elope with you...right? And what sort of vows are we going to make to each other? Do we have to be..." Suddenly the boy's face fell. His mother had snuck up on them in the midst of their conversation, it seemed, and it was quite obvious she did not like what she was hearing.
"I certainly hope," She said in a deadly tone that rivaled Vegeta's itself, "That this is just some sort of silly little game of yours." Her anger seemed to be directed mainly to Trunks than her own son, as she was glaring daggers at the lavender-haired teen.
Goten's eyes widened and he looked pleadingly at Trunks, begging him not to say anything that could infuriate his mother more. Trunks did catch the other's gaze and smirked, looking quite Vegeta-ish.
He turned and grinned at the woman standing behind him. "And what if its not?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.
Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed, "I know you aren't planning on marrying my son!"
Trunks stood up. "Perhaps," He said pompously. Still sitting on the ground, Goten buried his face in his hand and dragged his hand down slowly, groaning in annoyance.
"Is this true, Goten?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders, not looking at either of the other two people.
Trunks rolled his eyes at Goten. "Of course its true," He said. "And Goku will be there to let us."
"Oh no he's not! You are not involving my husband, or my son, for that matter, in your devilish little schemes."
"Oh? But Goten wants to make the Unbreakable Vow with me, and you can't stop us."
Chi-Chi's dark eyes glared at Goten. "So this is what you kids are calling marriage now, huh? I tried to ignore the fact that there was obviously something strange going on between you two, but talk of running away and getting married, I cannot."
"We aren't getting married," Goten said quietly, "Its just a wizard thing."
"Oh? A wizard thing huh? And I don't suppose either of you can explain it?"
For the first time, Goten looked up at his mother. "We just make a promise to each other, okay?" He snapped, feeling his temper rise.
"You are not going to talk to me like that! This attitude of yours has gone on long enough!" Her eyes quickly darted to Trunks, obviously believing that he was at fault. She withdrew a phone from her pocket, still glaring at the two boys. She pressed a few buttons and then held it to her ear. "Vegeta? Could you please tell me what this Unbreakable Vow is that your son is trying to dupe my son and Goku into?"
Trunks rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically. If this woman thought he was going to get intimidated by calling his father, she'd better think again. He couldn't care less what his father had to say about the Vow, anyway.
Suddenly, Chi-Chi looked puzzled. "Hello?" She pulled the phone away from her face and looked at it to see if she lost signal. "Ruddy phones..." She mumbled.
Before relief could come over Goten (as he really didn't want Vegeta finding out about his and Trunks' plan, even though he didn't give an answer yet) the very person he feared knowing Apparated before them.
Vegeta wore a horrible scowl on his face, which made Trunks himself look away. Goten looked as if he wanted to simply sink into the ground and remain unseen. Since he couldn't do that, he took to stepping back a few feet.
Vegeta's mouth began to form a word, but then Goku, who had taken to going for a walk in the woods, stepped from within the bamboo grove. His dark brown ones were briefly met with ones just like his, and he asked his son, "What's going on?" Goten said nothing, and showed more interest in staring at the ground than acknowledging his father's presence. It wasn't an unusual response since Goten had been avoiding his father all day.
"That's what I would like to know," The prince said lowly, eyes now boring holes into his son's. "For your sake, boy, I hope you can come up with a damn good excuse for wanting to do something as dangerous as the Unbreakable Vow."
Before Trunks could answer, a loud whirring sound was heard, and Bulma's aircraft landed in the yard a small distance away.
"More interruptions..." Chi-Chi grumbled, watching Bulma step out of the craft's exit.
"I didn't know that you were all getting together today," The blue-haired woman said in a strained cheerful voice. She was still upset at Yamcha, but she didn't want to show it with her husband and son around. Her expression fell upon the negative vibe the group was giving off. "What's up with you guys?" She asked.
"That's what we're trying to figure out, if people would quit coming up here!" Vegeta fumed, glowering at his wife. After he was sure that Bulma would keep quiet (though it didn't stop her from sending hateful glances his way), he rounded on his son once more.
"Its called the Unbreakable Vow for a reason," He said, earning him another eye-roll from Trunks. "And if you can't figure it out in that thick head of yours, it means you can't break it." A small gasp was heard coming from Goku, but it went ignored as Vegeta continued, "Do you realize that if you idiots go through with the Vow, and one day break even one of the Vow's clauses, both of you would die?"
All eyes were now completely on Trunks, and Bulma was the first to speak up, "So you're trying to trap Goten into making a binding agreement with him that he cannot get out of? Trunks, what could be so important that you would want to do something so dangerous to your best friend?"
"They're more than just friends, Bulma," Chi-Chi interjected.
Bulma's eyes widened and Vegeta scoffed. Goku merely said, "I don't see nothin' wrong with it."
"Oh, of course you'd say that," Trunks said to Goku, "After all, you're...never mind." He nearly blurted out what went down the previous night, but decided it was best to say nothing at the last minute. He then proceeded to stare moodily back at his father.
"What are you talking about?" Chi-Chi shrieked. "What do you know about Goku that I don't?"
Bulma's curiosity heightened. She was suddenly reminded of Yamcha's crazy suspicion; surely what Trunks "knew" was something different.
"He doesn't know anything," Goten said, after his long bout of silence. He stepped toward the group. "And stop blaming just Trunks, Mom. I wanted to perform the Vow with him, I just didn't know that breaking it would lead to death."
"That's mighty irresponsible of you," The black-haired woman fussed. "Why would you do such a thing for a boy that obviously doesn't care for you?"
"He does care for me! How'd you think I got bandaged up?" Goten paused for a minute, and glanced at Trunks, who still wore a pout, but was relieved that he was being defended. "Mom," He continued, "I care for him, too."
Trunks' mouth twitched, as if he were trying to smile, but hid it. Never before had Goten said anything to him remotely similar to an "I love you". To him, what his boyfriend had just said was just as good.
"Well, after this," Chi-Chi said, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't think that either of you need to be together." She ignored the boys' cries of outrage and continued on, "Goten's attitude has been horrible since he's been home, and he's hardly ever home. Besides, the both of you are entirely too young to be making such a long-term commitment."
"Let's go," Vegeta said, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, then gripping it roughly.
"But I don't want-" But it was too late. Before Trunks could finish his sentence, his father had Disapparated the both of them.
Goten stared blankly at the spot where both father and son once stood. There was absolutely no way that his mother was going to stop him from seeing Trunks. He felt a hand lightly brush his own shoulder, and he automatically raised his hand up to touch it, but it was removed before he could do so.
The only three people standing there were he and his mother, who looked nothing more than disappointed. "I expected that you'd have more common sense, Goten. Why can't you be sensible like your older brother?" She shook her head and walked off, leading Bulma with her. Bulma shot back an apologetic stare, which wasn't returned.
Anger raced through Goten's veins. He couldn't stand being compared to his perfect older brother, Gohan. This was just fuel to the fire that had already started when his and Trunks' conversation was overheard. Angry tears sprang up in his eyes; he swore through gritted teeth.
He may not have truthfully decided that he wanted to perform the Vow with Trunks, but he couldn't stand watching everyone accuse him of trying to be devious. Yes, his and Trunks' relationship was sudden, unexpected, and was still going to take some getting used to, but that didn't mean that Trunks wasn't his best friend, and that he didn't care. He hated seeing his friend being made fun of, and now he's probably forced to being locked up into his room...or he was doing worse.
He didn't say anything to Trunks about the newest cuts he'd seen on the older teens wrists, but if it happened again, he'd have to step in.
-8-
"You have proven me wrong," Vegeta said, standing before his son, who was on his hands and knees, gasping from not being used to Apparating, even though he took and passed the test. "I couldn't possibly believe that you were capable of coming up with such bullshit, but you rewrite the very meaning altogether."
"Fuck off!" Trunks spat, pulling himself up on his feet, "You're lucky I didn't tell anyone about you and Goku!"
"Its not your business to go spreading that around, Trunks, and it has nothing to do with you making stupid decisions," Vegeta said plainly.
"I don't see how what Goten and I were going to do is stupid. We both just wanted to promise to be together forever."
Vegeta sighed heavily and pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, rubbing them. He seriously was not ready for this talk. He knew his son could be quite amorous, but he never had any problems with any of the boy's other lovers until now. Never once has Trunks been remotely this obsessive over one person; actually, he's never known Trunks to be obsessive at all over anything. Perhaps it was another feeble attempt for attention? Or, perhaps he was Charmed?
"Just listen to yourself for a moment," He said, trying to keep his voice level, "You're not even of age in the wizarding world, let alone the Muggle world, and here you are talking about trapping your best friend."
"It's not a trap. We're just sick of Goku's stupid wife treating us like little kids."
"And let me guess, you figured that the Unbreakable Vow will bring you two closer, and it'll be the next best thing to marriage, and everyone will just allow you two to be together wherever-whenever, right?" Vegeta let out a disbelieving chuckle when his son stubbornly nodded his head. "It doesn't work out that way, boy, and the more likely result will be both of you dying from breaking even one clause of the Vow. Surely, common sense would have told you that."
Trunks' face turned red, and his temper spiked once more. "I'm not stupid, Dad," He ground out, "And besides, who are you to act all self-righteous, anyway? You're fucking Goku, and I knew it all along. So shut up to me about what I'm doing is stupid."
Vegeta didn't want to take it this far, but something was up with the boy. If he didn't do what he had tried to avoid doing, then Trunks might end up going through with the Vow. Goku wasn't the only one around with magical abilities, after all, nor was he the only one dumb enough to agree to be the Binder.
"Give me your wand, Trunks," He said, holding his hand out. "Give it here, or I'll take it from you and break it."
"No way!" The teen protested, instinctively reaching for his pocket and grasping the wooden stick and backing away. "You can't take my wand! I need it!"
"First off, you can't perform magic without being of age, which you are not," Vegeta said, advancing on Trunks. "Secondly, you have just proven that you are too irresponsible and thick-headed to be allowed the privilege of even carrying one, so hand it here."
"You're fucking mental!" Trunks now held his wand tightly in his hand, debating seriously on hexing his dad. He backed up until he felt his heel touch the first step leading up to the castle doors. The sun was sinking now, streaking the billowing clouds in the distance with orange; it was at that transitional period before the flood lights automatically turned on, but it was still a bit hard to see.
"Don't try to pull a stupid stunt, boy, its bad enough that you're forgetting to close off your mind." He stopped, watching his son fall onto one of the stone steps. The hand holding the wand was thrust out as a feeble attempt at catching his balance. "Stupid mistake." Vegeta smirked, and snatched the wooden stick from his son's grasp.
"GIVE THAT BACK!" Trunks screamed, jumping to his feet and trying to snatch the wand back.
Vegeta easily took a step back and watched as his son lost his balance again and fell forward onto his hands and knees. "What a disgrace, you can't even keep your footing long enough to put up a decent argument, let alone fight."
"I fucking wish I was adopted!" Trunks cried, not bothering to pick himself up from the ground. Tears fell from his eyes onto the stone path below him, "I hate you..." He muttered, then turned his face up to glare blurrily at his father. "You fucking take Goten from me, and now you take my wand! I HATE YOU!"
Vegeta stared back coldly, unfazed by his son's dramatic behavior. "I never said you couldn't see Goten. I couldn't care less, really." He strode past his son's heaving body and walked into the castle.
Trunks sat on the ground and drew his knees to his chest. "Fuck this...a-and fuck him..." He sobbed. Everything was so messed up for him, in his opinion. He wished he never even mentioned making the Vow with Goten.
Suddenly, the flood lights flickered on, bathing Trunks in an orange-ish glow. A light breeze rustled the grass ahead, and low thunder rumbled in the distance. A damp, earthy smell mingled in the breeze, promising a heavy summer rainfall.
He dried his eyes and stood up. If he could make his horrible day even the slightest bit better, he'd start by not getting rained on.
He wanted to get as far away from anyone in the castle as possible, so he followed the countless twisting corridors of the castle, each hall becoming less and less adorned the deeper he journeyed.
Finally he made it to an obviously neglected, low-ceilinged room far to the back of the castle. The dim lights instantly turned on for him. The room was wide and had stone pillars with connecting arches at the top throughout the place. The wall directly across from the door was lined with narrow ceiling-tall windows with no curtains.
Taking up a majority of the floor-space were many boxes and ancient, moth-eaten furniture. Paintings of all sizes were propped up against the pillars and walls. Some were blackened around the edges from age, and some others were covered with stained cloth.
Trunks had never been interested in the extra rooms. However, finally being back in one caused him to be naturally curious to know what was hidden back here. Knowing his father, there was probably quite a few Dark heirlooms, or defective magical objects. Perhaps going through some of the junk hidden in the boxes and chests would serve as a proper distraction from what had happened earlier.
He walked over to an extremely dusty container and lifted the lid. Inside looked much like a filing drawer with alphabetized dividers. Upon further investigation of the age-worn paper, he found out that they were Capsule Corp. prototype plans that didn't get put into action. One prototype file that particularly caught his interest was the blue-print for a time-traveling machine.
Trunks lost count of how long he was in the junk room rifling through the boxes. He had found all sorts of curious objects including an old Saiyan scouter (that he had to try on), a battered book that was written completely in rune-symbols (he kept it to translate, as Ancient Runes was a subject he favored), and a ring that seemed to be made out of pure chrome and bore the blood red Saiyan crest (he was quite certain that the ring wasn't exactly made from chrome, but actually some sort of extra-terrestrial precious metal).
He walked to a darker portion of the room where a green cloth-covered painting was propped against the wall by itself. The painting was almost as tall has he was, and he was curious to know who was behind it, and why his father would hide something like this. All of the most important paintings were put out, and surely something this grand was important.
Of course, he knew that the paintings all liked to gossip and talk down to everyone who lived in the castle. Thankfully, though, Trunks was quite used to the jeers, and simply ignored them. If the subject of this painting had anything to say, he'd just throw the cover back on.
"Well, don't just stand there," The painting's subject spoke, causing Trunks to jump, "Pull this blasted cover off!" The voice was a dignified baritone with a sort-of harshness around the edges that commanded obedience at once.
Trunks immediately did as he was told, and had to take a step back upon viewing the painting's subject. The figure within the aged golden frame looked almost exactly like his father, except for the color of his hair, and facial hair. It also seemed like he would be much taller than his father. On the Saiyan armor the man wore was the Saiyan crest. This man had to be his grandfather, King Vegeta.
"I cannot tell you how long its been since I have seen the outside of my own painting," The king continued on.
"You're welcome," Trunk said meekly, unsure if that was the proper thing to say. He was quite intimidated by King Vegeta's presence, despite the fact that he was merely a painting, and could not actually do any physical harm to him.
The king scoffed, "Do not think you are doing me any favors, child, by simply revealing to me the horrid place I have been unceremoniously banished to."
Trunks was beginning to regret ever taking the sheet off of the painting. He didn't much care for his grandfather's snobbish attitude. "I-I'm sorry, I'll put the thing back on if you want."
"If I wanted it where it was, I would not have told you to take it off. Do use your common sense, assuming you have any."
"I'm sorry-"
"The whole lot of you are sorry. My own son, whom I harbored high hopes for has allowed my legacy to go to seed. He should be running this planet, not concerning himself with trivial matters such as governing that school..."
The reason his father hid the painting of King Vegeta was clearer now. Obviously the late conqueror had a very different opinion on how his castle should be run, and Vegeta did not care to listen.
"...And you," The king continued with much contempt, "I've heard of your disgraceful sniffling-"
"How do you know what I do?" Trunks interjected loudly, "Actually, how do you know what goes on here at all? You're stuck back here!"
The king chuckled, as if amused, "You are quite as clueless as you are insolent, aren't you? After all these years, have you not noticed that we can visit other paintings?" He smiled smugly as Trunks' mouth formed a comical 'o' upon realizing what had just slipped his mind. Of course his grandfather would know what was going on in his castle.
"At any rate, I had hoped that there would be a glimmer of hope in you, but from what I had seen and heard about you, I realized I was merely wasting my time. You're about as sorry of a Saiyan as that fool Kakarrot and his boy."
"Don't talk shit about Goten! He's a great fighter!"
"And you are obviously missing my point,"
"I don't wanna know your damn point, because I'm done talking to you." Trunks picked up the green sheet from the floor.
King Vegeta scowled, but quickly regained composure. He was by no means done talking. It had been years since he had conversation with someone aside from other portrait figures, and for some reason, talking to this brat was a positive change.
"How are you getting along with your father's new friends?" He asked, obviously trying to upset Trunks more.
"That's none of your business,"
"Well could you at least humor me? I'm actually particularly curious to find out if you're going to start calling Kakarrot 'mother' now?"
Trunks stopped; he had actually forgotten about his father and Goku since he had been in the room. "That...has nothing to do with me." He finally answered, "And my parents are just going through a rough time; they'll be back together soon."
Cruel laughter escaped the king's lips, "My dear boy, I do hope that this is simply a feeble attempt at hiding from the truth. No? You honestly believe that this is just a silly phase? How pathetic..."
Once more, the half-saiyan fought the urge to cry. He wanted nothing more to do with this horrible man. Did he really blatantly deny the truth and pretend that everything was okay? Truthfully, he didn't want to think about that either.
King Vegeta eyed the boy before him, whose eyes were watering and face was turning red fast, "Oh, do not cry. You are a Saiyan warrior, unfortunately for me and my shattered legacy, so do try to act like it."
"Fuck your stupid-ass legacy," Trunks said, swinging the cloth over the painting, darkening his grandfather's world once more.
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It was early evening, almost dinnertime, and Goku found himself alone in the castle's kitchen. He'd hurried through the housework Chi-chi had given him, all so he could finally get some much needed time alone with Vegeta, only to have said man called away. That had been two hours ago, and the older still had yet to return. Of course, he'd been warned that Vegeta might be gone all night, and he'd thought briefly about returning home. That kind of thinking only lasted about five minute, though, as he'd rather wander the castle halls then return home.
Who knew what else his wife had in mind. He'd already been through one list, and he had to beg Chi-chi to let him take a break and come over for the evening. So Goku was pretty sure he'd made the right decision in staying here at the castle and exploring. Granted, he had to keep in mind that he wasn't allowed to go in certain rooms and touch the magical objects, but there was still plenty of things that he could do in a place this big.
Plus, there was an outdoor garden that he enjoyed walking through and looking at all the different flowers. Sometimes he would sit and watch the bugs that inhibited the area. Butterflies, beetles, ants, and all other varieties of creatures could easily be spotted if a person looked hard enough. If that wasn't enough to catch his interest, there was also a forest not too far away. The wooded area was a bit more dark and dank than the woods that surrounded his house, but that only meant that there might be much more interesting animals, magical and non-magical, roaming around. He'd never seen anything go in or come out of the forest, but ever since he'd visited the castle, Goku's natural curiosity pulled at him.
He'd been meaning to question Vegeta about the wooded area, but they'd been so busy sparring and, more recently, using their non-sparring time for much more pleasurable activities. Goku felt an unconscious blush rise to his cheeks at the mere thought of being intimate with the older Saiyan. By now the blush was unnecessary, but things were still new to the young Saiyan. He'd never been nor wanted to be so intimate with another man. There was also the fact that both he and Vegeta were married men, granted Vegeta's marriage has been strictly for political reasons the last few years.
Goku closed his eyes for a brief moment before pushing himself up and heading over to the fridge. He'd been sitting at the counter, for he didn't know how long, just going over everything that's happened in the last few weeks. Mostly things revolving around this newfound...whatever he and Vegeta were—friends with benefits, as the older man had put it. However, there were also the occasional thoughts of Chi-chi and his sons. What would happen if or when they found out? He was hoping Goten would take the news fairly easy since the youngest boy seemed to be in a relationship with Vegeta's son.
Just as he opened the door to the refrigerator, he picked up the sound of a suppressed cough. He glared at the source of the noise: the kitchen's entrance. He had not felt any other ki signatures the entire time he was in the room, so he had no clue as to who might be trying to sneak up on him.
The only person he knew of in the castle that wouldn't be sneaking up on him was his brother, Raditz. Raditz didn't know how to read ki, or suppress his own, for that matter. He knew he could only wish that it was Vegeta, but he knew the other Saiyan would play such a trick nor let anything slip to let the younger Saiyan know he was hiding. So, with a sigh, Goku closed the door and focused solely on the area where the cough had come from.
"Trunks, Goten," he finally called out, hoping the culprit(s) would come out from hiding. He heard a bit of cloth rustling together before his son appeared, and no Trunks. Usually when the boys were up to something they always seemed to travel together, yet here was Goten. Unless Trunks had taken off without his knowing.
Goten gave a nervous smile as he approached his father. "What's up, Dad? Did you need something?"
Goku's eyes narrowed only enough to set a curious look on his face. "What were you doing hiding behind the door?"
"Nothing," the teen held his hands up in defense, "And why are you still here? Vegeta's not home, he's at some sort of charity banquet, or whatever Trunks called it."
Goku looked a bit puzzled, "He didn't tell me that,"
Goten's eyes narrowed slightly, "Why would he tell you?"
The older saiyan realized that he might have just said something incriminating, and nervous laughter escaped his lips. "H-he tells me lots of...s-stuff..."
"Uh-huh," Goten said slowly, narrowing his eyes further, "Maybe...Trunks is right..."
"About what?" Goku tried to keep his expression indifferent, but felt as if he were failing miserably. He certainly wished that he were as good as keeping a straight face as Vegeta.
The teen frowned and shrugged, "Nothing," He lied. He still found it hard to believe that his father was having an affair with Vegeta, or even be attracted to men. It was obvious, though, that his father was quite fond of Trunks' father. His reactions to the questions, and just the fact that he's sticking around was evidence enough.
Still, Trunks would love to hear what he had to say. "Well, have fun doing whatever it is you're doing." He said and turned away. He walked across the dining hall and stepped out onto the gardens through the huge glass door that mimicked the one in the main hall.
Trunks sat inside the gazebo, which was covered in lights, that stood in the center of this particular garden. Surrounding it were alternating bushes of red and white roses. Where the other garden was full of cool-colored plants, this one was alive with plants of vibrant colors.
"Did you find out anything?" The older teen asked.
Goten stepped under the lit-up wooden structure. "Well Dad didn't say anything directly, but he's certainly acting funny."
-0-
It was midnight by the time Vegeta agitatedly landed on the castle grounds dressed in his best suit. The charity banquet ended up turning into an all-out party as time passed and more champagne was consumed.
"I knew you'd be here," The prince smirked upon seeing Goku waiting for him in the foyer.
"Y'didn't tell me that you were going out," The younger saiyan pouted.
"Do I have to report to you now?" Vegeta chuckled, "What are we, a married couple?"
Goku's face flushed, and he turned his head suspiciously toward the different entrances in the foyer. They had been acting funny for a portion of the night, what with sneaking up on him, or staring blankly up at the sky. Then, a few hours ago, they couldn't be felt, or seen at all. This made Goku suspicious.
"Those two are gone; Trunks sent me a message at nine telling me he was going to a Booster Draft." Then a roguish grin spread across his face. He didn't have much to drink at the banquet, but what he did have made him more feisty.
"Come with me," He said and practically dragged Goku across the wide room and into the broom closet.
It was an extremely tight fit in the otherwise spacious closet, what with all the boxes and cleaning supplies taking up majority of the standing space. It was a miracle that Vegeta managed to get the door shut behind them.
Goku grunted as Vegeta roughly pushed up against him, which made the group of brooms and mop handles dig awkwardly into his back and shoulder blades. "What're you-?"
"Just keep your mouth shut," Vegeta ordered and roughly pushed his mouth to Goku's. Goku awkwardly placed his arms (the corner of a box stuck painfully into his right one) around the prince's waist, and parted his lips to allow an insistent tongue to enter his mouth.
The amount of friction that the two bodies created made the small space heat up in no time. "Its hot," Goku panted once they broke apart.
"Get used to it," Vegeta said, quickly unbuttoning and unzipping the younger Saiyan's jeans, "It's only going to get worse." He let the pants fall, and then did the same for himself.
The younger half-saiyan felt the older's right thigh slip upward against his left, "Vegeta, how're we...?"
"Don't turn me off with your inane questioning," The prince growled and guided his lover's left hand to grip his thigh. "I want you to fuck me, not run your mouth."
Something animalistic woke up inside Goku at Vegeta's sordid words. He hungrily ravaged the older-saiyan's mouth, and the gesture was eagerly returned. He hitched Vegeta's leg up higher so that it was hooked around his hip and positioned himself, entering shortly afterward.
Vegeta gave a muffled groan and tightened his grip on Goku's shoulders. at the sudden, rough intrusion. He was grateful that his body was able to handle large amounts of pain.
"Did I hurt you?" Goku asked, ceasing his back and forth motions.
The prince said nothing and held a hand over the other Saiyan's mouth. "Shut up and keep going," He growled out, displaying his insistency by tapping on the hand wrapped around his length.
Goku lifted Vegeta up even further, which caused Vegeta to raise up onto his toes. The heel on the foot that barely touched the floor got hooked on the handle of a small bucket. He tried discreetly to be rid of the damned thing, but it only resulted in awkward, and unsexy rattling noises.
-8-
"Its a fucking shame we lost to those basement-dwellers," Goten pouted when he and Trunks landed on the lawns shortly after midnight, "I spent my entire allowance on that stupid tournament."
"Don't be a baby," Trunks scoffed, "I'll give you money."
"I don't need your damn charity," The younger teen huffed and strode past the older up the wide steps to the castle door.
"Well don't be too sad." Trunks reasoned, "Your fifteen-dollar deck versus a three-hundred-dollar deck isn't a fair challenge to begin with. And, hey," He placed a hand on Goten's shoulder before he could step inside, "At least you won a few rounds." He ended his encouraging statement with a wide smile.
"You're not getting in my pants, Trunks, so quit trying to be nice, and admit that we suck," Goten, still moody, said flatly. With that, he stormed into the castle.
They had decided that trying to trail Goku was a waste of time, and wanted to get out of the house. There was a Booster Draft happening at the comic store in Grifton, the nearby town, so Trunks and Goten cockily participated, only to get their asses handed to them by the local gamers. This did not sit well with Goten at all.
Trunks rushed to catch up with his boyfriend, "I didn't mean it like that," He said sincerely, "I was just-" He was suddenly hushed by Goten, who was now standing in the middle of the foyer with his hand held up, as if he were listening intently.
"Do you hear that?" He questioned lowly.
The older teen paused and listened. Muffled grunts were coming from the broom closet nearby, and oddly-fluxuating kis were sensed.
"Maybe one of the servants is stuck?" Goten suggested. The kis were fluctuating so badly, that it was hard to pin-point who they belonged to.
"Oh, someone's stuck alright," Trunks grinned and strode over to the cupboard door. He turned the knob, which was not locked, and pulled the door open. There, four pairs of eyes stared wildly at one another. Goten's jaw seemed to plummet, Trunks looked as if he wanted to disappear into the floor, and both adults seemed to be in shock of being caught. Upon seeing what was going on behind the door, the teen promptly slammed the door back.
As if to validate whether the lurid scene behind the door was a hallucination, and not real, he opened the door once more. "AW, SHIT!" He hollered and slammed the door once more. "Let's dip the fuck out!" He insisted, snatching on his dazed boyfriend's arm.
They quickly flew all the way to the edge of the forest, wanting to get as much distance between themselves and their fathers as possible. All was quiet, except for the sounds of tree leaves in the breeze from the pitch-black forest next to them. The sinister void-like appearance of the forest was quite as unnerving as the scandal that they had just walked in on mere moments before.
"Holy fucking shit, I knew it!" Trunks exclaimed, "Didn't I fucking tell you?"
"Th-that had to be a-a fucking t-trick or somethin'," Goten said shakily, "T-that can'tve happened."
"Are you fucking blind? Of course it did! That was your dad plowing my dad!"
"I'm g-gonna be sick," The younger half-saiyan muttered, and promptly spilled his inner contents onto the dewy lawn. Somewhere nearby, an owl hooted its disapproval. "I can't believe it..." He muttered, breathing heavily. He tried to straighten himself up, but his stomach lurched once more, and he promptly doubled over with another bout of vomiting.
"And I hardly doubt our mothers know," Trunks grumbled, ignoring Goten's continued retching.
"What are we gonna do?" Goten asked a few moments later in horrified whisper. Tears sprung up in his eyes; his father was a good person, he would never forsake his family by selfishly succuming to adultery. He simply could not believe what he had just seen.
-8-
Both adults panted heavily as Vegeta was lowered back to the floor. The older man rested a hand against the younger's chest, since his legs were still a bit shaky.
"SHIT!" The curse easily filled the tiny room as it bounced off the walls and various boxes. "God damn brats," Vegeta muttered as he finally regained his composure and breathing. He looked up at his partner, seeing the horrified look on the taller man's face.
"I," the word was squeezed up and out of the taller man's throat. His mouth remained ajar and his eyes unblinking as Goku continued to look at the closed door. A hard smack to his cheek, however, had his head twisting to the side and his eyes going wider before finally blinking. A hand reached up to rub at the burning flesh as he looked down on the angry prince.
"Fucking hell, Kakarot, get a hold of yourself," the shorter man growled. Vegeta was already pulling his pants back on and fixing his shirt.
"But, I," Goku stumbled over the words again as he only watched the other Saiyan.
"We need to find those damn idiots now before they decide to share the news with their mothers or anyone else they happen to see," the prince spit as he reached for the doorknob. "So either you can stand there like an idiot yourself or follow me to make sure I don't kill those two."
Within a matter of seconds Goku had pulled up his pants and was adjusting his shirt as he exited the small closet with his lover.
Never before has Goku ever experienced such shame and embarrassment. How was he going to face his son now? How was he going to explain what he was just caught doing? Should he apologize? The countless questions seemed to reel quickly in his confused mind. He could only imagine what someone as important as Vegeta was going to do to smooth everything over.
And what if they run their mouths to Chi-Chi and Bulma? What kind of magic did he have to perform to explain his affair to his naturally-suspicious wife? And with Bulma and Vegeta's high-profile social statuses, how were they going to keep the media out of it?
"What are we going to say to them?" Goku asked quietly, wanting more and more to just turn and bolt. He could handle pressure when it came to playing hero, but not when it came to being a responsible adult in the real world.
"The fuck if I know!" Vegeta bellowed, completely unnerved, "I just know that those two better keep their mouths shut, if they know what's good for them!"
Goku sighed pathetically and slowed his pace. He honestly didn't want to be present when almighty Vegeta brought down the lightning upon their two sons. It was so like the prince to want to justify that what he was caught doing was perfectly fine, and that Trunks and Goten were wrong for snooping around.
It was easy to tell two things, especially when walking out onto the lawns: that the boys were lurking around the edge of the forest at the edge of the castle grounds, and that Goten was in some sort of emotional distress. Trunks was smart to keep his ki low, but Goten's felt distraught and jumped wildly.
Both saiyans, with Goku a good distance behind, flew toward the fluctuating ki. Vegeta knew that the boys were merely trying to get far from the crime scene, and not trying to run away.
"Dad?" Trunks asked upon seeing his father's figure fly up and land, silhouetted, before him and Goten. Goten's sniffling ceased at once.
"Didn't fly out far enough, did you?" Vegeta sneered.
"Shut the fuck up, dad; just go the hell on somewhere!" The older teen ground out, feeling a wave of anger pulse through him at the sound of his father's voice. It was bad enough seeing him with his best friend's father, but seeing the bastard act as if nothing happened made him murderous.
"No," Vegeta responded plainly. "You're going to stay here and listen to what the fuck I have to say." He glared at Goten's tear-stained face, "Both of you."
Goten started to shake at the sight of the prince. He wasn't going to let this bastard tell him what to do. He took a step backward, then another; suddenly, a long-fingered hand gripped his wrist, which stopped his backward movements.
"Calm down," Trunks said soothingly, looking sadly at the younger teen. Both boys gazes suddenly switched to a second silhouette: Goku. The second-oldest Saiyan stayed quiet as he stepped up to the group.
His apologetic stare met his son's. The split-second connection was all it took for Goten to go off. His face contorted into a scowl and hot tears sprung up in his eyes. His ki flared dangerously, spiking to a high level-as if his life were at stake. He snatched his hand from Trunks' grasp, turned and ran into the woods at top speed. He wanted to get away from his father as fast as he could.
The quiet darkness fell around him suddenly, as if he were blindfolded and someone held their hands over his ears. Goten's pace slowed to a jog, then to a walk. His heart-rate slowed as well, and his breathing became heavy.
His eyes began to adjust to his surroundings. He could barely make out the outlines of the surrounding trees, even with his heightened Saiyan senses. He whipped around and found that he could not see the lights of the castle. He had no clue how far in he went, due to how fast he was running, nor could he remember what direction he came from.
Trunks always warned him about the dangers of the woods. Even as children, they knew better than to wander around the forest, despite how mischievous they could be. Trunks told him that there were creatures far worse than just wolves and bears hidden in the forest's vastness.
There was a reason why the forest was named Musta Kuolema, or black death; the magical creatures that resided there were quite deadly. There were also quite a few that could not be defeated by mere power and physical strength alone.
Goten didn't believe it, but Trunks reckoned that the creatures here could be more deadly than the ones in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
Still, being alone in the dark forest was not good for Goten's already shot nerves. His rationality and common sense seemed to have flown out the window like his respect for his father.
A twig snapped nearby, and Goten became still. "Trunks?" he asked feebly. A low, sinister growl was his answer. His breath hitched in his throat as he quickly patted himself down for his wand.
"Fuck!" he spat; he didn't have his wand. Then, quick as lightning, he felt the creature leap past him. The beast had to be at least a six-feet-long, well-muscled, compact animal from the amount of energy and power it exerted.
"H-ho, shit," Goten stammered. He fired a blast of ki in the animal's direction. The attack narrowly missed it, but lit the creature up well enough for the half-Saiyan to identify what it was. He gasped and stumbled onto his back; the monster before him was none other than a pitch-black, red eyed, undead were-leopard.
The proper term for such a diabolical creature is the forvalaka. The forvalaka is known for being an extremely deadly, and particularly messy killer. If given enough time with their kill, they drain all the blood and take the heart and liver. It is considered a Class Five creature in the Ministry of Magic archives, therefore highly dangerous to anyone. Only magic can destroy an undead creature, so his ki blasts were virtually useless.
The creature pounced, and Goten rolled, narrowly missing being crushed by two-hundred pounds of muscle. He did, however manage to get slashed across his shoulder by giant, filthy claws.
Goten swore aloud, and dodged the panther a second time. He fired another ki blast, if not to hit the creature, but at least to see where it was. Just as he fired, he managed to hit the animal straight in the face. This stunned the cat and Goten was able to jump to his feet. He formed a ball of ki in his palm and held it out, as if it were a flashlight, and quickly whipped around. The forvalaka was out-of-sight.
"Oh, god..." The teen whimpered. The stealthy panther was fucking with him, probably prowling the perimeter of his standing space, waiting for the chase to begin. Goten stepped backward, crushing a pinecone loudly under his foot.
A low growl resonated through the trees once more. Almost as if his body acted on its own, he ran deeper into the woods, the ball of ki lighting his way. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of heavy paws against the thick bed of leaves increasing in rhythm. He gasped aloud, he was going to be minced meat for sure!
He hollered in fright as he ran through a sticky spider web. Though he shared a love for animals like his brother and father, he hell-hated spiders. Especially spiders that he couldn't see. Now he was running for his life through a demented forest, chased by a wild undead panther, and covered in a disgusting web.
The panther snarled impatiently and swiped its claw-beared paw at Goten's leg, tripping him, and causing his light of ki to diminish. Dirt and leaves filled his mouth as he hit the ground roughly. He groaned loudly as the weight of the big cat pressed him further into the ground. Claws dug painfully into his back, and he felt the creatures hot, foul breath against his neck and hair.
The beast opened its great mouth and closed it around the half-Saiyan's wounded shoulder. A cry of pain escaped the teen's mouth as he felt warm blood pour sickly from the puncture wounds; his bones crushed between strong jaws. He knew he was done for. He was going to be torn limb-from-limb by this horrid monster.
Suddenly, as if some ethereal vision were being played before him, a figure, silhouetted by a bright light coming from some unknown origin, stood a good distance away from him and the panther. The undead monster took little heed of this, and proceeded to pull painfully on the shoulder clamped in its disgusting mouth, trying to rip the appendage from its socket.
"INCENDIO!" The silhouette's owner cried, and flames erupted from the person, covering the panther. Fire was an undead creature's worst enemy. The animal howled in pain, and dashed off, definitely giving Goten up as a bad job.
The fire seemed to not have had an effect on the injured half-Saiyan, save for the heat he felt from the spell.
"It's okay, Goten," Came the familiar and soothing voice of Trunks. Goten's blurred vision was filled with his lover's face, and he could feel the long hair against his skin, "I'm going to help you."
The last thing the younger teen saw was the smile of his hero.
-8-
Goten blinked slowly, his vision was blurred, but quickly adjusted. He looked up at the ceiling, and noted that he was once more in the castle. He went to turn his head, but the action was met with much pain.
"How do you feel?" Trunks asked, suddenly taking up his vision, "You were out for a while, but I couldn't sleep not knowing when you'd wake up."
"Wha' time izzit?" The younger teen groaned, trying to turn his head to look out of the window. Outside, a faint pink streak lit up the horizon.
"It's six-thirty in the morning," Came the answer. "And please don't try to get up," The older teen insisted, gently placing a hand easily on the uninjured shoulder and pushed the body back onto the bed. "You really scared me, Goten." Cerulean eyes met with dark umber ones.
"Everything's so fucked up, Trunks," Goten replied hoarsely; he must have done a lot of yelling in the forest. He could feel shameful tears well up in his eyes, but after everything he had been through, he deserved to cry. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know," Trunks replied in a dead tone. He moved closer to his lover on the bed and clasped his hands firmly in his lap. His nerves were completely shot, as well as Goten's. His sad eyes took in the younger half-Saiyan's wounds. He had a huge square bandage taking up the right side of his face; his whole shoulder was covered in bandages; his arms were covered in scratches, and his entire calf was wrapped up.
"I hate that this happened to you," The older teen finally said. "Why did you have to run into the forest? Your mother's going to flip! Your dad already left here, so he probably told her!" His voice rose with every sentence, and he quickly caught himself. "I'm sorry," He muttered, "I was just scared for you."
"I'm sorry," Goten responded, tears trailing down the corners of his eyes and into his hair, as he was flat on his back, "I know what I did was...stupid, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to be around my dad, and I still don't." Upon recalling the exact reason why he didn't want to be around his father, he let out a small sob, and sniffed loudly.
"Please, don't cry, Goten," Trunks pleaded, "I hate seeing you cry." He bent down and gingerly held his boyfriend in an awkward hug.
The loving gesture only made the injured teen cry in earnest. He loosely wrapped his arms around Trunks' neck and sobbed pathetically. He had no clue as to exactly why he was taking this news of his father's adultery so hard. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that now that there was no imminent threat, and Goku didn't have to fight, Goten was able to get to know his father , who was absent for the first seven years of his life and have a normal family. Now, however, Goku was betraying his wedding vows and cheating on Chi-Chi with another married man. Another married man who happened to be his best friend and boyfriend's father.
The very thought disgusted him. The only reason anyone cheats is because of discord in their marriage. How could things have gotten so bad? Goten couldn't think of a single screaming match between his father and mother. Were they just that good at hiding their fights? What in the world was going on?
The questions flooded his mind as Trunks began kissing the edge of his jaw-line. What was so great about Vegeta, anyhow? A pair of teeth gently grazed his bottom lip, Weren't Dad and Vegeta enemies? His breath hitched at the tickling feeling of cool hair-tips brushing against his bare chest. "Trunks..." He whispered, feeling his lover's warm lips press against the flesh right above his navel.
"Yes...?"
"I think I'm-"
Suddenly, a whirring sound was heard from Trunks' computer desk. Goten quickly turned his head in the direction of the noise, and Trunks lifted his head toward it.
"It's your phone," He said, and handed the younger teen his phone that miraculously didn't get damaged in the forest.
"It's mom," He said curiously, then answered it.
"Why didn't you come home with your father?" The enraged woman shrieked. Goten, as with anyone else who talks to her on the phone, held the device a few inches from his ear.
"I wanted to stay with Trunks," Goten said. "I didn't think it was a big deal," He mumbled the last part.
"What was that?"
"I said I-DIDN'T-THINK-IT-WAS-A-BIG-DEAL! Gosh..."
"DON'T YOU SCREAM AT ME LIKE THAT, MISTER!"
Goten sighed heavily, "Whatever, Mom," You're the one screaming now, He thought out.
"I don't know where you're getting this sudden, horrid attitude, Goten, but we will deal with it when you come home! Which is going to be NOW!"
"Seriously? It's fuck-it's six-thirty! Let me sleep some more and then-"
"NOW!"
The newly-enraged teen huffed loudly and hung up on his mother. He didn't know why he was taking his anger at his father out on his mother. She was just an innocent victim in his eyes. Still, he didn't want to go where his father was.
"Mom wants me home," He groaned, laying back down all of the way.
"Just don't go," Trunks said simply, "What's she gonna do? Besides, you're in no fit state to go flying around such a long distance."
"She's gonna fucking kill me!" Goten said, and then groaning into a sitting position. "And when she sees the state of me, she'll kill your dad!"
"Why my dad?"
"Because he's supposed to be the responsible adult or whatever," The younger teen gritted his teeth from the sharp pain caused by the claw-inflicted wounds on his back, which were covered in bandages. "Fuck, and now I need to go home before any of this shit actually happens." He stood straight up and rubbed his eyes. "Where's my fuckin' shirt?" He asked, looking around on the floor.
"The forvalaka ruined it," Trunks said quietly, "But I'll give you one of mine."
Goten agreed, and slipped on one of his boyfriend's larger shirts. He walked over to the window and opened it. "I'll see ya," He said solemnly.
"Wait, let me see you later on today!" The older said quickly, joining Goten beside the window. A chill morning breeze blew in from the opening. The sun was a bit higher now, causing the clouds to turn orange instead of pink. A thin fog covered the deep green ground below.
"Fine, just let me smooth things out with Mom first, and hopefully get some more sleep in."
-0-
Bulma tapped her nails impatiently on the counter in Yamcha's kitchen. It was late in the afternoon, and she was still exhausted from the previous nights activities. "Not again," She said firmly, mostly to herself.
"What's wrong?" Yamcha asked, leaning over the same counter, then yawning. "I thought you liked Turles and his band."
The blue-haired woman sighed, "Its not them its their lifestyle! I don't mind going out and partying at all, Yamcha, its just that I simply cannot keep up with the rock-star lifestyle. I can't stay up till four in the morning every night, and they're talking about hanging out again tonight? No way."
"But, Bulma, they're leaving for Germany at the end of the summer,"
"I don't care. If you want to hang out with someone, choose a real friend like Goku, not his look-alike."
Yamcha's face fell a little. "Every time I try to phone him he's busy with Vegeta. Of course he invites me to hang out, but you know how Vegeta and I feel about each other..."
"Well, we've been out partying for the past three nights. I don't mind the drinking and devil-music, but the drugs and groupies? That's where I draw the line."
"Its not devil-music..." Yamcha mumbled, "And if you don't wanna go, then I'll go by myself."
Bulma slammed her fist down on the counter. "Dammit, Yamcha! You're making shit very hard for me, you know! I come here hoping that I can get some peace away from Vegeta's craziness, but I get drawn up in some more craziness! YOUR craziness!"
Yamcha flinched at Bulma's voice. "I'm sorry, Bulma, really, but I am not going to halt my entire life just for you. Its not like that anymore. And I hate what Vegeta is doing to you, but aren't you kind of doing the same to him with me?"
Bulma folded her arms across her chest and shrugged, looking away, much like a spoiled child would. What was with everyone and going crazy around her? Wasn't it bad enough that her husband had switched teams, and now Yamcha-the only person who she thought she could depend on-was acting like a college freshman!
She was honest when she said she didn't mind partying, but ever since she had started staying with Yamcha three nights ago, that's all she and he did. The crowd that her current lover decided to associate himself with, in her opinion, was a bunch of immature, arrogant, loud-mouthed spoiled brats.
When she heard the word "party", she immediately imagined adults with class-drinking socially and dancing to music with rhythm. Instead, she was pretty much thrown into a hurricane of chaos.
The five band-mates of the death-metal group, Totenstarre, partied hard. Drugs were passed around on an eighteen-inch cymbal, like some sort of crude communion tray, only instead of putting something in it, you inhaled, smoked, swallowed or injected the contents. Bulma was particularly adamant about staying drug-free, and made sure to give Yamcha plenty of hateful looks as he partook of the mind-altering substance.
"Its just for fun!" He'd reassure her, but her mind still didn't change.
Along with the drugs, alcohol was consumed. And the more that was ingested, the wilder the party became. Multiple times, she had to remind a band member that she was with Yamcha, and no, he wouldn't like to share. That was another thing that got on her nerves: groupies galore; both men and women. Yamcha definitely didn't shy away from indulging in his vice of flirting; unfortunately, Bulma could do nothing to stop this, as they weren't a couple (a fact that she had to continually remind herself of).
All in all, she honestly couldn't see what Yamcha saw in this rowdy bunch. She didn't even know that the guy was into that type of music. Maybe they let in a bit of the excitement he missed when he used to fight all the time? Who knows? Still, she could definitely tell that there was something off with this Turles fellow. Why would he suddenly want Yamcha, a regular guy, not a celebrity, to hang out with him?
"Also, there's one other thing that I've been meaning to ask you," Yamcha said, suddenly scaring Bulma out of her thoughts. "Do you think that there's something up with Goku and Vegeta?"
Bulma blinked, "Do what, now? Something between Vege-that's crazy, Yamcha, why would you say something like that?"
"I dunno..." Yamcha scratched his chin thoughtfully with the tip of his finger, "It just seems kinda funny that Goku spends more time at the castle than at home with his kid and wife."
"I do admit that Goku does spend a lot of time out at the castle, but I highly doubt that something's going on." She gave a skeptical sort of chuckle and shook her head. "You really are full of it, aren't you?"
It was Yamcha's turn to slam his fist upon the surface of the counter. "You don't find it strange at all? Vegeta is having an open affair with another guy! And Goku just so happens to be around an awful lot; I don't think that its a coincidence at all-"
"You know what? Just stop right there. I've had enough of the bull-shit over the past couple of days. Actually, its been like this for a while." She paused for a moment while glaring angrily at the man before her. "I'm leaving."
-0-
Goten and Trunks hung out in Goten's yard together late that afternoon. It took a lot of convincing on Goten's part, but Chi-Chi finally gave in and allowed the older boy over. Of course, this wish wasn't granted for nothing. According to Chi-Chi, since Goten was obviously well enough to have his boyfriend over, then he was well enough to do the page-worth of chores set for him.
He didn't specify what exactly wounded him to his mother. The only thing he told her was that he and Trunks were sparring and he fell out of the sky. And as much as he hated to mention it, he also told her not to fuss, because his father came home in worse shape thanks to Vegeta's abuse.
Still, that didn't settle her worries. She continued to inquire as to why he had to be out so late without permission, and why he and Trunks just decided to start fighting when they hadn't done that sort of thing since they were kids.
Thankfully, though, she gave up her inquiry and let her son sleep. And with the promise that they'd stay either outside or in the living room, Goten was able to have Trunks over.
"This really sucks balls," Trunks whined, leaning against the pole of the clothes line that stretched across the yard.
"I know," Goten sighed his reply. He honestly didn't like his mother treating him like a untrustworthy child, but after all he had done to get Trunks over there, the whining was getting on his nerves more than his mother's mistrust. They could pretty much hang out like they normally would, they just couldn't get physical. Personally, he could go without the physicality for once, whereas Trunks looked like he was going to explode from lack of mouth-to-mouth contact.
Trunks pushed himself off of the pole and sat on the ground next to Goten. "I had an idea that I thought about after you left early this morning,"
"What's that?" The younger teen replied, staring blankly at the ground and tugging grass from it.
The older half-saiyan was grateful for the lack of eye-contact, for what he had so say was rather disconcerting to him. "I was wondering...if you would like to perform the Unbreakable Vow with me?" He let out a loud breath, as if what he said was exhausting, but then continued, once he had Goten's eyes locked on his. "Yeah, um...there's no reason why we shouldn't. I mean, it'll be like a bond between us, and there'd be no way anyone would be able to keep us on a short leash. We'd be bound forever, so there's no point."
Goten was rather speechless at first. He wasn't completely sure about the ins-and-outs concerning the Vow, but he knew that three people had to be involved (two to bind together, and one to create the bind-a witness, more or less) and all three had to be wizards. The only other wizard he knew of was Vegeta.
"Trunks, I don't think your dad would want to create the bind..."
"But we can use your dad! I mean, it should work, he's an untrained wizard. All he has to do is tap the wand against our hands after each Vow we make to each other; there's three in all."
"So..." Goten said very slowly, "You're basically asking me to elope with you...right? And what sort of vows are we going to make to each other? Do we have to be..." Suddenly the boy's face fell. His mother had snuck up on them in the midst of their conversation, it seemed, and it was quite obvious she did not like what she was hearing.
"I certainly hope," She said in a deadly tone that rivaled Vegeta's itself, "That this is just some sort of silly little game of yours." Her anger seemed to be directed mainly to Trunks than her own son, as she was glaring daggers at the lavender-haired teen.
Goten's eyes widened and he looked pleadingly at Trunks, begging him not to say anything that could infuriate his mother more. Trunks did catch the other's gaze and smirked, looking quite Vegeta-ish.
He turned and grinned at the woman standing behind him. "And what if its not?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.
Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed, "I know you aren't planning on marrying my son!"
Trunks stood up. "Perhaps," He said pompously. Still sitting on the ground, Goten buried his face in his hand and dragged his hand down slowly, groaning in annoyance.
"Is this true, Goten?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders, not looking at either of the other two people.
Trunks rolled his eyes at Goten. "Of course its true," He said. "And Goku will be there to let us."
"Oh no he's not! You are not involving my husband, or my son, for that matter, in your devilish little schemes."
"Oh? But Goten wants to make the Unbreakable Vow with me, and you can't stop us."
Chi-Chi's dark eyes glared at Goten. "So this is what you kids are calling marriage now, huh? I tried to ignore the fact that there was obviously something strange going on between you two, but talk of running away and getting married, I cannot."
"We aren't getting married," Goten said quietly, "Its just a wizard thing."
"Oh? A wizard thing huh? And I don't suppose either of you can explain it?"
For the first time, Goten looked up at his mother. "We just make a promise to each other, okay?" He snapped, feeling his temper rise.
"You are not going to talk to me like that! This attitude of yours has gone on long enough!" Her eyes quickly darted to Trunks, obviously believing that he was at fault. She withdrew a phone from her pocket, still glaring at the two boys. She pressed a few buttons and then held it to her ear. "Vegeta? Could you please tell me what this Unbreakable Vow is that your son is trying to dupe my son and Goku into?"
Trunks rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically. If this woman thought he was going to get intimidated by calling his father, she'd better think again. He couldn't care less what his father had to say about the Vow, anyway.
Suddenly, Chi-Chi looked puzzled. "Hello?" She pulled the phone away from her face and looked at it to see if she lost signal. "Ruddy phones..." She mumbled.
Before relief could come over Goten (as he really didn't want Vegeta finding out about his and Trunks' plan, even though he didn't give an answer yet) the very person he feared knowing Apparated before them.
Vegeta wore a horrible scowl on his face, which made Trunks himself look away. Goten looked as if he wanted to simply sink into the ground and remain unseen. Since he couldn't do that, he took to stepping back a few feet.
Vegeta's mouth began to form a word, but then Goku, who had taken to going for a walk in the woods, stepped from within the bamboo grove. His dark brown ones were briefly met with ones just like his, and he asked his son, "What's going on?" Goten said nothing, and showed more interest in staring at the ground than acknowledging his father's presence. It wasn't an unusual response since Goten had been avoiding his father all day.
"That's what I would like to know," The prince said lowly, eyes now boring holes into his son's. "For your sake, boy, I hope you can come up with a damn good excuse for wanting to do something as dangerous as the Unbreakable Vow."
Before Trunks could answer, a loud whirring sound was heard, and Bulma's aircraft landed in the yard a small distance away.
"More interruptions..." Chi-Chi grumbled, watching Bulma step out of the craft's exit.
"I didn't know that you were all getting together today," The blue-haired woman said in a strained cheerful voice. She was still upset at Yamcha, but she didn't want to show it with her husband and son around. Her expression fell upon the negative vibe the group was giving off. "What's up with you guys?" She asked.
"That's what we're trying to figure out, if people would quit coming up here!" Vegeta fumed, glowering at his wife. After he was sure that Bulma would keep quiet (though it didn't stop her from sending hateful glances his way), he rounded on his son once more.
"Its called the Unbreakable Vow for a reason," He said, earning him another eye-roll from Trunks. "And if you can't figure it out in that thick head of yours, it means you can't break it." A small gasp was heard coming from Goku, but it went ignored as Vegeta continued, "Do you realize that if you idiots go through with the Vow, and one day break even one of the Vow's clauses, both of you would die?"
All eyes were now completely on Trunks, and Bulma was the first to speak up, "So you're trying to trap Goten into making a binding agreement with him that he cannot get out of? Trunks, what could be so important that you would want to do something so dangerous to your best friend?"
"They're more than just friends, Bulma," Chi-Chi interjected.
Bulma's eyes widened and Vegeta scoffed. Goku merely said, "I don't see nothin' wrong with it."
"Oh, of course you'd say that," Trunks said to Goku, "After all, you're...never mind." He nearly blurted out what went down the previous night, but decided it was best to say nothing at the last minute. He then proceeded to stare moodily back at his father.
"What are you talking about?" Chi-Chi shrieked. "What do you know about Goku that I don't?"
Bulma's curiosity heightened. She was suddenly reminded of Yamcha's crazy suspicion; surely what Trunks "knew" was something different.
"He doesn't know anything," Goten said, after his long bout of silence. He stepped toward the group. "And stop blaming just Trunks, Mom. I wanted to perform the Vow with him, I just didn't know that breaking it would lead to death."
"That's mighty irresponsible of you," The black-haired woman fussed. "Why would you do such a thing for a boy that obviously doesn't care for you?"
"He does care for me! How'd you think I got bandaged up?" Goten paused for a minute, and glanced at Trunks, who still wore a pout, but was relieved that he was being defended. "Mom," He continued, "I care for him, too."
Trunks' mouth twitched, as if he were trying to smile, but hid it. Never before had Goten said anything to him remotely similar to an "I love you". To him, what his boyfriend had just said was just as good.
"Well, after this," Chi-Chi said, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't think that either of you need to be together." She ignored the boys' cries of outrage and continued on, "Goten's attitude has been horrible since he's been home, and he's hardly ever home. Besides, the both of you are entirely too young to be making such a long-term commitment."
"Let's go," Vegeta said, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, then gripping it roughly.
"But I don't want-" But it was too late. Before Trunks could finish his sentence, his father had Disapparated the both of them.
Goten stared blankly at the spot where both father and son once stood. There was absolutely no way that his mother was going to stop him from seeing Trunks. He felt a hand lightly brush his own shoulder, and he automatically raised his hand up to touch it, but it was removed before he could do so.
The only three people standing there were he and his mother, who looked nothing more than disappointed. "I expected that you'd have more common sense, Goten. Why can't you be sensible like your older brother?" She shook her head and walked off, leading Bulma with her. Bulma shot back an apologetic stare, which wasn't returned.
Anger raced through Goten's veins. He couldn't stand being compared to his perfect older brother, Gohan. This was just fuel to the fire that had already started when his and Trunks' conversation was overheard. Angry tears sprang up in his eyes; he swore through gritted teeth.
He may not have truthfully decided that he wanted to perform the Vow with Trunks, but he couldn't stand watching everyone accuse him of trying to be devious. Yes, his and Trunks' relationship was sudden, unexpected, and was still going to take some getting used to, but that didn't mean that Trunks wasn't his best friend, and that he didn't care. He hated seeing his friend being made fun of, and now he's probably forced to being locked up into his room...or he was doing worse.
He didn't say anything to Trunks about the newest cuts he'd seen on the older teens wrists, but if it happened again, he'd have to step in.
-8-
"You have proven me wrong," Vegeta said, standing before his son, who was on his hands and knees, gasping from not being used to Apparating, even though he took and passed the test. "I couldn't possibly believe that you were capable of coming up with such bullshit, but you rewrite the very meaning altogether."
"Fuck off!" Trunks spat, pulling himself up on his feet, "You're lucky I didn't tell anyone about you and Goku!"
"Its not your business to go spreading that around, Trunks, and it has nothing to do with you making stupid decisions," Vegeta said plainly.
"I don't see how what Goten and I were going to do is stupid. We both just wanted to promise to be together forever."
Vegeta sighed heavily and pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, rubbing them. He seriously was not ready for this talk. He knew his son could be quite amorous, but he never had any problems with any of the boy's other lovers until now. Never once has Trunks been remotely this obsessive over one person; actually, he's never known Trunks to be obsessive at all over anything. Perhaps it was another feeble attempt for attention? Or, perhaps he was Charmed?
"Just listen to yourself for a moment," He said, trying to keep his voice level, "You're not even of age in the wizarding world, let alone the Muggle world, and here you are talking about trapping your best friend."
"It's not a trap. We're just sick of Goku's stupid wife treating us like little kids."
"And let me guess, you figured that the Unbreakable Vow will bring you two closer, and it'll be the next best thing to marriage, and everyone will just allow you two to be together wherever-whenever, right?" Vegeta let out a disbelieving chuckle when his son stubbornly nodded his head. "It doesn't work out that way, boy, and the more likely result will be both of you dying from breaking even one clause of the Vow. Surely, common sense would have told you that."
Trunks' face turned red, and his temper spiked once more. "I'm not stupid, Dad," He ground out, "And besides, who are you to act all self-righteous, anyway? You're fucking Goku, and I knew it all along. So shut up to me about what I'm doing is stupid."
Vegeta didn't want to take it this far, but something was up with the boy. If he didn't do what he had tried to avoid doing, then Trunks might end up going through with the Vow. Goku wasn't the only one around with magical abilities, after all, nor was he the only one dumb enough to agree to be the Binder.
"Give me your wand, Trunks," He said, holding his hand out. "Give it here, or I'll take it from you and break it."
"No way!" The teen protested, instinctively reaching for his pocket and grasping the wooden stick and backing away. "You can't take my wand! I need it!"
"First off, you can't perform magic without being of age, which you are not," Vegeta said, advancing on Trunks. "Secondly, you have just proven that you are too irresponsible and thick-headed to be allowed the privilege of even carrying one, so hand it here."
"You're fucking mental!" Trunks now held his wand tightly in his hand, debating seriously on hexing his dad. He backed up until he felt his heel touch the first step leading up to the castle doors. The sun was sinking now, streaking the billowing clouds in the distance with orange; it was at that transitional period before the flood lights automatically turned on, but it was still a bit hard to see.
"Don't try to pull a stupid stunt, boy, its bad enough that you're forgetting to close off your mind." He stopped, watching his son fall onto one of the stone steps. The hand holding the wand was thrust out as a feeble attempt at catching his balance. "Stupid mistake." Vegeta smirked, and snatched the wooden stick from his son's grasp.
"GIVE THAT BACK!" Trunks screamed, jumping to his feet and trying to snatch the wand back.
Vegeta easily took a step back and watched as his son lost his balance again and fell forward onto his hands and knees. "What a disgrace, you can't even keep your footing long enough to put up a decent argument, let alone fight."
"I fucking wish I was adopted!" Trunks cried, not bothering to pick himself up from the ground. Tears fell from his eyes onto the stone path below him, "I hate you..." He muttered, then turned his face up to glare blurrily at his father. "You fucking take Goten from me, and now you take my wand! I HATE YOU!"
Vegeta stared back coldly, unfazed by his son's dramatic behavior. "I never said you couldn't see Goten. I couldn't care less, really." He strode past his son's heaving body and walked into the castle.
Trunks sat on the ground and drew his knees to his chest. "Fuck this...a-and fuck him..." He sobbed. Everything was so messed up for him, in his opinion. He wished he never even mentioned making the Vow with Goten.
Suddenly, the flood lights flickered on, bathing Trunks in an orange-ish glow. A light breeze rustled the grass ahead, and low thunder rumbled in the distance. A damp, earthy smell mingled in the breeze, promising a heavy summer rainfall.
He dried his eyes and stood up. If he could make his horrible day even the slightest bit better, he'd start by not getting rained on.
He wanted to get as far away from anyone in the castle as possible, so he followed the countless twisting corridors of the castle, each hall becoming less and less adorned the deeper he journeyed.
Finally he made it to an obviously neglected, low-ceilinged room far to the back of the castle. The dim lights instantly turned on for him. The room was wide and had stone pillars with connecting arches at the top throughout the place. The wall directly across from the door was lined with narrow ceiling-tall windows with no curtains.
Taking up a majority of the floor-space were many boxes and ancient, moth-eaten furniture. Paintings of all sizes were propped up against the pillars and walls. Some were blackened around the edges from age, and some others were covered with stained cloth.
Trunks had never been interested in the extra rooms. However, finally being back in one caused him to be naturally curious to know what was hidden back here. Knowing his father, there was probably quite a few Dark heirlooms, or defective magical objects. Perhaps going through some of the junk hidden in the boxes and chests would serve as a proper distraction from what had happened earlier.
He walked over to an extremely dusty container and lifted the lid. Inside looked much like a filing drawer with alphabetized dividers. Upon further investigation of the age-worn paper, he found out that they were Capsule Corp. prototype plans that didn't get put into action. One prototype file that particularly caught his interest was the blue-print for a time-traveling machine.
Trunks lost count of how long he was in the junk room rifling through the boxes. He had found all sorts of curious objects including an old Saiyan scouter (that he had to try on), a battered book that was written completely in rune-symbols (he kept it to translate, as Ancient Runes was a subject he favored), and a ring that seemed to be made out of pure chrome and bore the blood red Saiyan crest (he was quite certain that the ring wasn't exactly made from chrome, but actually some sort of extra-terrestrial precious metal).
He walked to a darker portion of the room where a green cloth-covered painting was propped against the wall by itself. The painting was almost as tall has he was, and he was curious to know who was behind it, and why his father would hide something like this. All of the most important paintings were put out, and surely something this grand was important.
Of course, he knew that the paintings all liked to gossip and talk down to everyone who lived in the castle. Thankfully, though, Trunks was quite used to the jeers, and simply ignored them. If the subject of this painting had anything to say, he'd just throw the cover back on.
"Well, don't just stand there," The painting's subject spoke, causing Trunks to jump, "Pull this blasted cover off!" The voice was a dignified baritone with a sort-of harshness around the edges that commanded obedience at once.
Trunks immediately did as he was told, and had to take a step back upon viewing the painting's subject. The figure within the aged golden frame looked almost exactly like his father, except for the color of his hair, and facial hair. It also seemed like he would be much taller than his father. On the Saiyan armor the man wore was the Saiyan crest. This man had to be his grandfather, King Vegeta.
"I cannot tell you how long its been since I have seen the outside of my own painting," The king continued on.
"You're welcome," Trunk said meekly, unsure if that was the proper thing to say. He was quite intimidated by King Vegeta's presence, despite the fact that he was merely a painting, and could not actually do any physical harm to him.
The king scoffed, "Do not think you are doing me any favors, child, by simply revealing to me the horrid place I have been unceremoniously banished to."
Trunks was beginning to regret ever taking the sheet off of the painting. He didn't much care for his grandfather's snobbish attitude. "I-I'm sorry, I'll put the thing back on if you want."
"If I wanted it where it was, I would not have told you to take it off. Do use your common sense, assuming you have any."
"I'm sorry-"
"The whole lot of you are sorry. My own son, whom I harbored high hopes for has allowed my legacy to go to seed. He should be running this planet, not concerning himself with trivial matters such as governing that school..."
The reason his father hid the painting of King Vegeta was clearer now. Obviously the late conqueror had a very different opinion on how his castle should be run, and Vegeta did not care to listen.
"...And you," The king continued with much contempt, "I've heard of your disgraceful sniffling-"
"How do you know what I do?" Trunks interjected loudly, "Actually, how do you know what goes on here at all? You're stuck back here!"
The king chuckled, as if amused, "You are quite as clueless as you are insolent, aren't you? After all these years, have you not noticed that we can visit other paintings?" He smiled smugly as Trunks' mouth formed a comical 'o' upon realizing what had just slipped his mind. Of course his grandfather would know what was going on in his castle.
"At any rate, I had hoped that there would be a glimmer of hope in you, but from what I had seen and heard about you, I realized I was merely wasting my time. You're about as sorry of a Saiyan as that fool Kakarrot and his boy."
"Don't talk shit about Goten! He's a great fighter!"
"And you are obviously missing my point,"
"I don't wanna know your damn point, because I'm done talking to you." Trunks picked up the green sheet from the floor.
King Vegeta scowled, but quickly regained composure. He was by no means done talking. It had been years since he had conversation with someone aside from other portrait figures, and for some reason, talking to this brat was a positive change.
"How are you getting along with your father's new friends?" He asked, obviously trying to upset Trunks more.
"That's none of your business,"
"Well could you at least humor me? I'm actually particularly curious to find out if you're going to start calling Kakarrot 'mother' now?"
Trunks stopped; he had actually forgotten about his father and Goku since he had been in the room. "That...has nothing to do with me." He finally answered, "And my parents are just going through a rough time; they'll be back together soon."
Cruel laughter escaped the king's lips, "My dear boy, I do hope that this is simply a feeble attempt at hiding from the truth. No? You honestly believe that this is just a silly phase? How pathetic..."
Once more, the half-saiyan fought the urge to cry. He wanted nothing more to do with this horrible man. Did he really blatantly deny the truth and pretend that everything was okay? Truthfully, he didn't want to think about that either.
King Vegeta eyed the boy before him, whose eyes were watering and face was turning red fast, "Oh, do not cry. You are a Saiyan warrior, unfortunately for me and my shattered legacy, so do try to act like it."
"Fuck your stupid-ass legacy," Trunks said, swinging the cloth over the painting, darkening his grandfather's world once more.
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