Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Peaches & Cream ❯ Chapter 6

Peaches and Cream-Chapter Six

"'Geta, this isn't-ah!" Goku's gasp temporarily ceased his protestations. "This isn't funny!"

"Oh, but it is," the saiyan prince murmured silkily. Gohan's amused chuckle said he agreed, which only embarrassed Goku further. Vegeta's dexterous fingers danced across his abdomen, pouting lips closing over the puckered nipple he'd just been abusing. Goku whimpered helplessly, unable to stop his body from responding, although by now it was a moot point anyway. The other's roving hand slipped beneath the sheets to wrap firmly around his erection. "You see, Kakarott," Vegeta shifted over his chest to lap intermittently at his other nipple, "you...are very...entertaining. Isn't he, brat?"

"Very," Gohan confirmed, unconcealed humor in his voice. His father would have blushed if his cheeks hadn't already been beet-red.

It was bad enough that he'd woken up with a raging hard-on; fortunately he'd been drowsily poking his mate in the stomach with it, not his son. But His Royal Highness, God of Everything, Prince Vegeta, had apparently decided that Goku needed a little lesson in humility. He had woken Gohan, not to send the boy from the room, but to make sure there was a suitable audience for his work, then proceeded to tease, taunt, and torment his mortified lover. And the worst part was...Goku was enjoying every minute of it.

Well, he would be if not for his deceptively innocent progeny witnessing the whole thing.

The youth in question lay beside him, nakedness covered by the wine-dark blankets, head propped on one hand. Goku glanced at him, trying to forget Vegeta's hand on his cock. Loose black spikes of hair fell about his son's shoulders, a perfect frame for his pale face and rose-petal cheeks. Jagged bangs partially obscured Gohan's eyes, but did nothing to hide their dark glimmer. Goku moaned softly under Vegeta's ministrations. A hint of a smirk tugged at Gohan's lips, and his father turned away, opening his mouth to plead with his mate once more. He was effectively silenced, however, by a hot tongue wrapping around his own. It was all he could do not to writhe with pleasure as the prince stroked his aching manhood.

Finally, finally, Vegeta pulled back, a smug look on his face. Gasping, Goku could only stare at him with utter longing. "All right, brat," the elder saiyan conceded, nodding his head to the teen. "Get out of here so I can take care of this little...problem."

Gohan rose gracefully, his movements fluid. Smiling in an almost sympathetic manner, he gave his father a playful punch in the arm before sauntering out of the room. "Take good care of him, `Geta," he called, pulling the door shut behind him.

And to think I felt guilty for watching them kiss! Goku exclaimed to himself before Vegeta drove him completely to distraction.

The next day was even worse. The prince began teasing him as soon as Gohan was out the door, while pretending he was doing no such thing. At first, Goku was relieved that his son wasn't around to witness it all. But after the third time Vegeta kissed him breathless and walked away, he began to question his dubious good fortune. The two lovers were supposed to be cleaning the house, but the older saiyan seemed to be doing a lot more strutting in his tight black jeans than anything. He kept sneaking up behind Goku, slipping his arms around the taller man's waist, grinding his very obvious arousal against him, then laughing and strolling off as if nothing had happened. While the disgruntled Z fighter attempted to mop the kitchen floor, Vegeta used the broom in a pole dance that was erotic despite the prop. Goku found himself sitting on the damp floor, eyes riveted to the tight curves of the prince's denim-clad ass. He didn't know where his mate had learned to dance like that, but he was good. Very good.

Nevertheless, evening came and Vegeta still would not lay a finger on him no matter how he begged. He was playing some game with Goku, who was beginning to worry about how it would end.

Gohan returned home to find his mate reheating him some leftovers and his father hiding in the bedroom. He sat down to eat his dinner and finish up some calculations he'd brought home, apparently oblivious to the unceasing torment of the elder Son. While he was hard at work, unaware, Vegeta drug a reluctant Goku into the shadowy hallway.

Pressing him back into the wall, the saiyan prince leaned forward to whisper in Goku's ear. "I know what you want, Kakarott. I know exactly what you want." A sharp tooth nicked his earlobe. Goku tried not to pant at the smaller fighter's touch. He had been desperate enough already; now the compact, muscled body he'd been yearning for all day was rubbing firmly against him. "I'm going to make you come so hard you won't be able to stand," Vegeta continued in dark, velvety tones. One finger traced a path down Goku's throat, all the way to the bulge in his jeans. The big saiyan's lips parted as he struggled not to moan. "But you're going to be very quiet, aren't you, Kakarott. You aren't going to make a sound. Because your sweet little boy is right on the other side of this wall, and if you cry out, he'll come running to see what's the matter." A low chuckle. "Unless, of course, you want him to see you shoot your seed into my mouth."

This time Goku did moan, a choked-off noise that sounded more like a whimper. He wanted to run back into the bedroom and let Vegeta fuck him senseless, or, barring that, run back to the bedroom and get himself off as quickly as possible. The thought of Gohan watching while their mate pleasured him, without even the thin screen of the blankets, was absolutely, unreservedly humiliating. It made his cock throb just thinking about it.

"Shh," the prince urged smugly, dropping to his knees at Goku's feet. Eyes wide with panic and desire, the spike-haired warrior stood immobile as his pants were lowered to his ankles. His grinning tormentor ran gentle fingertips across his thighs. Goku squeezed his eyes shut; he was afraid to look down and see Vegeta's lips only inches from his arousal. More specifically, he was afraid of his vocal cords' reaction to seeing the proud saiyan humble himself in such a way. The stroking fingers slid between his legs, forcing him to spread them slightly. He swallowed. After all he'd been through today, Vegeta was still teasing him. If he didn't know better, Goku thought as the other's hand cupped his balls, he would have said Vegeta really wanted Gohan to hear him.

On second thought, he wasn't sure he didn't.

Something hot and wet closed over the head of his erection, and Goku bit down on his lower lip. The unseen mouth began suckling softly, a teasing caress. Little pulses of fire surged through him at each light flick of the prince's tongue. Kami, he wanted this! But he had to be quiet. Quiet. A trickle of blood ran down his chin.

The hand holding his sac began kneading carefully, one finger reaching back to brush the entrance to his body. Goku jerked with pleasure, feeling his knees go weak. Simultaneously, his lover's tongue lengthened its reach. He didn't know how much of this he could stand; he was on the verge of coming already.

As if in response, Vegeta leaned forward and slowly took him all the way into his mouth. The younger saiyan clawed at the wall behind him for support. His lover wasn't even moving, really, just making slight swallowing motions, but his entire body throbbed with each delicious sensation. A tightness began to form in the pit of his stomach, steadily growing to encompass his burning loins. Tears rolled freely down Goku's cheeks as he struggled not to cry out. He couldn't-he couldn't-give voice to the pleasure he was feeling, or Gohan would hear him. Right on the other side of the wall. Oh, light, why was Vegeta torturing him like this?

Abruptly a stifled grunt left him as his mate began a quick, up-and-down movement along his dripping cock. Goku clutched the smaller man's shoulders, holding on desperately as he grew light-headed with ecstasy. Don't scream, he told himself frantically. Don't scream. The pressure began to build. Vegeta sucked harder. Don't scream. The hand closed harder on his balls. Don't scream. Oh, Gohan. I can't scream. Then, without warning, the prince's index finger plunged inside him, a single, quick stroke.

Goku screamed. Head flung back, eyes shut tight, he howled his pleasure into the echoing hallway until his muscles failed him. Then he collapsed into Vegeta's waiting arms, pitch-black eyes staring at nothing as his body continued to convulse. A muted shock of pleasure accompanied each tremor, radiating outward from his loins. His breath came in hitching gulps that he couldn't slow. His mate was petting his back, making soothing sounds, but Goku was insensate to anything but the slowly receding waves of his orgasm. Some small part of him knew that he'd betrayed himself, knew that any second could bring his son rushing in from the kitchen to see him kneeling there, barely conscious, but he could no more have moved than sprouted wings. The pulses became lighter after a moment, and the saiyan's eyes closed, his breathing quiet. He still heard nothing, felt nothing, but the blood pounding in his ears. Goku shivered as his still-erect organ pulsated one final time, then passed out cold.

When he woke several hours later, it was dark. Goku realized he was stretched out quite comfortably in a bed. He felt weak and tired, if sated, and had decided to go back to sleep when he noticed he was not alone.

Quiet whispers broke the stillness, almost too faint for him to make out and obviously designed not to wake him.

"That was really mean of you, `Geta." Gohan.

"Hn. I'm sure he enjoyed himself, brat," Vegeta replied, husky voice barely audible.

"Yeah, I'll bet he did," the teen muttered. Goku blushed, unmoving, as Gohan continued. "And what about me, huh? I just about creamed my pants hearing him scream like that!"

"If he wakes up, I'm blaming it on you."

"He won't wake up," Gohan assured him. His father's blush deepened at the demi-saiyan's seductive timbre; he'd never heard Gohan sound like that before. It wasn't until the mattress shifted and the blankets ruffled that it hit him. Their mate wasn't done giving head for the day.

A moment later, Gohan's soft sigh confirmed it. There was nothing Goku could do but lay there, listening to little gasps and the occasional whimper as Vegeta pleasured his son. A strange fluttery feeling filled his belly, somehow more potent than his returning arousal, as he heard those noises. It was a familiar feeling, but Goku couldn't place it. It filled the big warrior until he had to breathe through parted lips, almost gasping himself. Otherwise he remained as still as possible, trying to ignore what was going on right next to him.

Finally there was a low groan as Gohan came, trembling slightly as the prince swallowed his essence. The scent of it filled the air, yet another thing for Goku to ignore. He was beginning to dread trying to go to sleep at night. Fortunately, he was so exhausted that he fell back to sleep even before the other two.

By the end of the week, Goku had resigned himself to eternal torment. Thursday morning, Vegeta kissed him repeatedly, amused at his attempts to ignore the taste of Gohan's sex on his tongue. Then he made the elder Son scream some more...for most of the night, in fact, although they thankfully kept it in the bedroom. Friday evening, Goku returned from babysitting to catch an embarrassing glimpse of Gohan bent over on the kitchen table, producing a few screams of his own. Saturday, the teen warned him that Vegeta was planning on having a Belgian waffle for supper, and to run if he saw their lover with the whipped cream.

He wasn't fast enough.

On Sunday, however, it appeared that Vegeta had finally had his fill of the game. He took them both out to dinner in what might have been apology, then read through their game of slapjack before going to sleep. Goku stretched out happily in his bed that night, convinced that things were back to normal and all was right with the world. Well, almost. Goten was still at Capsule Corps, but he was having a great time living with Trunks, and Chichi seemed ready to assent to his terms. Gohan was planning to take a vacation after the next week, pleasing his mate to no end. And Goku didn't consciously realize it, but being seen by his son in all sorts of compromising positions was no longer a cringe-worthy event. After the talk they'd had, and since they'd been forced to band together in any case against Vegeta's insatiable lust, he really thought things were settled between the two of them, their relationship clearly established.

A dreamless sleep that night did nothing to warn Goku how wrong he was.

Gohan dropped his spoonful of cereal back into the bowl with a sigh. His stomach felt like it was full of rabid homicidal butterflies; he couldn't choke down another bite.

By all appearances, the demi-saiyan was preparing for just another day at the lab. His unruly black hair was pulled back, his lean form clad in a dark grey suit and pale shirt. He'd woken up nervous, however, knowing that now was the time to do something but unsure what. Vegeta hadn't been any help, either. Gohan couldn't really complain; the prince had been more than supportive of him lately. It was still a bit nerve-wracking, though, to find himself so close to his goal. He trembled slightly as his gut twisted.

The object of his hesitancy sat across the table from him, cheeks stuffed with blueberry bagel. Goku seemed blithely unaware that anything was bothering his eldest son, and Gohan was doing his best to keep it that way. It was almost time for him to leave, and the butterflies were getting worse. He was beginning to wonder if this whole plot was worth the stress.

The teen recalled suddenly how insanely happy he'd been the first time Vegeta had kissed him, out in their front yard. And he remembered his sire's delicious purring the night he'd massaged his back-and how those sleek muscles had felt beneath his hands.

He was jolted out of his brief reverie by a hand on his shoulder.

"You'd better get going, son," Goku said with a warm smile. Looking up past the orange gi and into his dark, kind eyes, Gohan decided that it would be worth much more than the butterflies to make the man his. Then he decided what he was going to do.

Goku took a small step back to give Gohan room to stand. He was feeling especially cheerful this morning, and his exuberance had gotten him kicked out of bed. It was too bad Gohan had to leave, he thought as the teen rose, but he planned to go outside and get some training in before Vegeta got up. Gohan's vacation next week was going to be so much fun!

The dark youth smiled at him-perhaps a touch tremulously-and Goku waited for his morning hug goodbye.

Gohan kissed him on the mouth.

-heartbeat-

Goku's midnight eyes had just started to widen when a moist tongue flickered across his lips. He jerked slightly and gasped -heartbeat- and the tongue plunged into his mouth. His own came up instinctively to meet it, even as he thought to pull away. Gohan's tongue stroked his, once, twice, -heartbeat- the teen's eyes slitted and burning. A slow shiver ran through Goku's body as, just for an instant, he found himself returning the kiss.

-heartbeat-

Then Gohan, cheeks slightly pink, drew back gently but swiftly. His smile returned, oddly relieved. Without pausing, he headed into the living room, collected his briefcase, and opened the front door.

"See you tonight, Dad," he called back, just as he always did, and shut the door behind him.

The whole episode, from that first meeting of lips until Gohan had pulled back, had taken about three seconds. Three short seconds that kept replaying, slow-motion, in Goku's head as he stood there with a racing heart.

Gohan...

It was his first coherent thought. His second was Why? and it repeated itself over and over whywhywhy along with the memory.

Goku's third thought-more of a realization, actually-was quick, sharp, and unbearable. Unfrozen, he took off out the door his son had just passed and fled into the sky.

Dear Kami, what have I done?

He flew for some time, the wind tearing at him not as loud as the rushing sound of his own blood in his ears. Not my fault, he told himself. I didn't hurt him. He kissed me, not the other way around.

Then: He kissed me! My son just kissed me!

And finally Gohan, why? the cycle started over.

The Z fighter was feeling a little better by the time he reached his destination. It was a small, still pool in the woods where he had grown up. The trees here were old and enormous, blocking out the clear blue of the sky and preventing the growth of anything larger than soft grass. His grandfather had brought him here once when he was feeling sad, telling him to look into the water. Little Goku had done so, and asked what he was supposed to see. The source and solution to all your unhappiness, Grandpa Gohan had told him with a mysterious smile.

Gohan.

Kneeling on the cool earthy bank, Goku stared into the water just as he had all those years ago. And saw the same thing he'd seen that first time: himself.

His grandpa had finally explained what he meant-namely, that Goku had to look inside himself to find the answers he was looking for-but only after he'd spent several hours memorizing the curves and angles of his child's face.

There had been a few changes, he noticed ruefully. A slight lengthening of his jaw, a little less baby fat in his cheeks. A stronger cast to his chin. And years' worth of knowledge and experiences in his eyes beyond his youthful imagining.

For an instant, the image before him wavered, and he saw his son's face in the depths of the pool. His sweet little boy, all grown up. And the taste of him lingered on Goku's palate, a sweetness to rival his beauty. The thought came to him unbidden, and the disgruntled saiyan found it impossible to dismiss. It was plain and simple truth, after all; Gohan was as darkly beautiful as Vegeta, the scent of him cloying, his flavor intoxicating. Surely...surely Goku couldn't blame himself for the way he'd reacted? No, he could and would blame himself, no matter who had started it, if Gohan came to harm. He looked guiltily into his son's reflected eyes once more. Then the vision disappeared, and he was alone with his thoughts.

It kept coming back to the same question, however. Until he knew why Gohan had kissed him like that, he wouldn't have a clue how to deal with it. The problem was, Goku didn't even know where to begin.

Well, he thought, I'll start with what I know. If I where him, what reasons would I have to kiss me? He blinked. No, that's too weird. What reasons would I have to kiss someone else. He crossed his legs and propped his chin up with his hands. Let's see...well, obviously I'd kiss someone if I were in love with him. He blinked again and started to brush the idea away; it was just too outrageous to be believed.

Wasn't it?

I guess I have to consider every option, he decided reluctantly. Now what else is there?

But after several long minutes, in silence except for the quiet murmur of birdsong, Goku had only come up with one other possibility: that Chichi had been right, and Gohan was afraid of losing Vegeta if he didn't keep his father happy. But the more he thought about it, the more Goku doubted that that was the case. His son was no fool, and fear wouldn't keep him from realizing that it was Vegeta himself who would stop that sort of nonsense from occurring. And Goku had done everything in his power to keep that fear from materializing in the first place. Finally, on the occasions when he was able to sense the youth's thoughts, he had felt mainly joy and contentment.

Goku sat up in surprise. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that before? If he just reached out, he might be able to figure out what Gohan was feeling right now! Closing his eyes, he concentrating on the feel of his son's mind. It was difficult-very difficult-from so far away, but he could just manage the reach.

Fortunately, Gohan wasn't shielding his thoughts, or the effort would have been futile. The boy was also concentrating, however-probably on his work. Only a very slight feeling of elated nervousness crossed the barrier of distance.

This was not particularly enlightening.

With an extravagant sigh, Goku went back to gazing into the mirror-like waters of the pool. He was just avoiding the real problem, anyway. How Gohan felt wasn't an issue at this point; what mattered was how he felt. Not that that was going to be any easier to decipher. No amount of bellyaching would change the fact that, on some level, he'd enjoyed that kiss. If that had been the only time something like that had happened, the gentle warrior might have been able to dismiss it as the heat of the moment. But all those little incidents, the ones he'd been so quick to discount before, came back to him now. Oh, yes...this was not the first time he'd felt something improprietous for his son. No matter what Gohan's behavior, he couldn't deny that there was something very wrong with himself.

Wait. Gohan's behavior-there was something amiss with that. The incidents he was thinking of, the ones that had affected him so badly-was it possible they had been deliberate actions on his son's part?

Goku sat slowly back in the dewy grass, numb from shock. If that was true, didn't it mean....

A few hundred miles away, Gohan was hard at work, although this was not immediately apparent to the casual observer. He was keeping an eye on the distiller and sipping a cup of lukewarm coffee. He was also doing his darndest to block his link to both his father and lover. Relief that his crush was now out in the open warred with an even worse bout of nerves than he'd had before. How was Goku taking this? He'd responded, certainly. But Gohan hadn't really given him a chance to break it off before he'd done so himself.

It felt so good…

The simple thought quickly turned into a delicious daydream. Once again he kissed his father, but this time he took it slow, exploring the other's mouth as Goku wrapped him in strong, possessive arms. His hands wove themselves into black spikes of hair as he deepened the kiss.

Gohan's dream-self was just about to divest them of clothing when the door to the lab opened. Yelping in surprise, he dropped his mug, pouring coffee into his lap.

"Sorry, Son!" the intruder said hurriedly. "Didn't mean to startle you."

Willing his breathing to return to normal, Gohan picked the up sturdy cup and set it on the table. "That's all right, Stevens," he replied, keeping both embarrassment and annoyance from his voice. Michael Stevens, his lab assistant and fellow chemist, grabbed a short stack of paper towels and brought them over. "What's up?" the teen asked, taking them.

"Just thought I'd ask if you wanted to go grab some lunch in a few." Stevens leaned up against the table and glanced at the distiller. "You're almost done, right?"

"Sure, why not?" Gohan didn't particularly want to socialize today of all days, but it would be a distraction from his brooding. Besides, he still owed Stevens a favor for working after hours. "My treat."

The brown-haired man smiled, gesturing towards the door with one lanky arm. Repressing a sigh, Gohan rose and exited.

About this time, Son Goku decided he was going to go crazy if he tried to puzzle the situation out himself. So, he did the best thing he could think to do under the circumstances: he went home to talk to Vegeta.

He transmitted into the living room, but sensed immediately that the saiyan prince was back in the master bedroom. Taking a deep breath and silently hoping he wasn't about to get the shit beaten out of him, Goku headed for his mate's ki. He was somewhat worried that his prideful lover would be angry with him-and he probably deserved it, if so-but he just didn't know what to do or think, and he needed help.

Knocking softly, the orange-clad fighter stepped into the bedroom without waiting for a reply. Vegeta sat languidly on top of the wine comforter, looking over some papers. Goku wondered briefly what they were, then decided it didn't matter. He closed the door behind him and waited.

The black flame of his lover's hair flickered as his head turned from side to side, reading. A sheet of paper dropped into the pile at his side, and another replaced it. Frowning slightly, the prince dropped this one as well and moved on to the next, obsidian eyes grazing it thoughtfully.

"What is it, Kakarott?" he asked without ceasing his perusal.

Goku moved forward now to sit at the foot of the bed, hands gripping his knees perhaps a bit too tightly. "Can we talk?"

"We are talking," Vegeta pointed out, picking up yet another paper. Goku wondered if he'd felt what had happened earlier; the elder saiyan had a disturbing tendency to read his mind whenever he forgot to block his thoughts.

Deciding that this was the best answer he was going to get, the warrior continued. "Something happened this morning, and I don't know what to do about it."

"And…?" his mate prompted, meeting his gaze at last.

Goku wrung his hands a bit nervously under the other's scrutiny. "Well…Gohan…." He swallowed. "Gohan kissed me."

There was a very, very slight flash in Vegeta's eyes, but Goku didn't see it, and his expression didn't change in the slightest. "And…?" he said again.

He obviously wasn't being clear. Goku tried again. "I mean…he kissed me. Like, with his tongue." His cheeks turned crimson at the memory, but Vegeta didn't so much as flinch.

"And…?"

"And…I think…I liked it," he admitted at last.

The prince was silent for a long moment, his eyes unreadable. At last he replied. "And…?"

Goku stared at him. "Whaddaya mean, `and'? Isn't that enough? I don't know why he did it, I don't know why I let him do it, and I sure as heck don't know why I feel the way I do, but-"

"How's that?" the other asked abruptly.

"Huh?"

"How do you feel?" Vegeta clarified, still not showing any visible signs of emotion one way or the other. Goku couldn't feel anything from him along their bond, either, and it was starting to unnerve him. Nonetheless, he considered the question carefully.

His answer was sheepish. "I don't know."

Now the other's lips quirked slightly in amusement. He sat forward, crossing his legs. "Then let me tell you something. The brat is in love with you."

Goku's heart lurched. "He…what? You can't be serious!" Not Gohan, not his innocent little boy. It just wasn't possible!

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Vegeta retorted. "He's hopelessly, pathetically, head-over-heels in love with you." He grunted. "Reminds me of myself eight years ago. Sad."

Head swimming, the Z fighter looked away and ran a hand through his thick hair. He couldn't even begin to define how he felt about that. It was the truth, he realized. Vegeta wouldn't lie to him, but even if there had been a chance of that, Goku would still have known it was true. It was the only thing that made sense. The heated looks, the innocuous touches, the shy smiles. How could he not have noticed?

His son was in love with him.

"Why?" he breathed finally. "What could possibly have made him…?"

"Are you saying I have bad taste?" his lover asked, sounding insulted.

"Wha-of course not, `Geta! But for Kami's sake, I'm his father! It's not the same at all!"

"Of course it is, Kakarott. You're a person like any other, and he sees you as such. The question is, can you come to see him the same way?"

For the first time since Namek, Goku seriously questioned the other man's sanity. "Vegeta…what are you talking about? You can't...What the hell are you talking about?"

A raised eyebrow answered him.

Once again, Goku decided he just wasn't being clear, so he elaborated. "He's my son, Vegeta! I can't have a…a romantic relationship with him! That's…that's just…I couldn't take advantage of him like that!"

The other looked confused. "Take advantage…what do you…oh." He scowled. "Kakarott, are you honestly going to take that harpy bitch's word over mine? Even you can't be that stupid. Now forget what you think you know for one minute and tell me how you really feel about the boy."

Goku shook his head slowly. He did trust Vegeta, of course, and definitely more so than his ex-wife. He's been reading my mind again. But that was beside the point. "This is all too much," he whispered. "You can't expect me to just…."

"Think about it," Vegeta finished for him. "That's all I expect you to do. That's all he expects you to do."

There was an uncharacteristic gentleness to his voice. Goku gave up trying to object and crawled up to his mate. Vegeta pushed him down to the mattress and embraced him, closing his eyes. For a moment they were silent.

Then the larger saiyan was compelled to ask one final question. "'Geta?"

"Yes, Goku?"

Startled, he looked down at the prince. Vegeta, however, appeared unaware that he'd used Goku's human name for only the second time since they'd met. Finally he finished what he'd been about to say anyway. "What do you think about all this?"

Inscrutable midnight orbs opened. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Gohan have been together for, what, six years? It must feel sort of strange to have him suddenly all over someone else." He avoided the reminder that it was him Gohan was `all over'.

No reply was immediately forthcoming, and Goku feared he had made a mistake by asking. Vegeta closed his eyes again, however, and answered.

"I've never once thought that I would lose Gohan to you. He's always worshipped you, it's just a bit different now."

Goku didn't say a word. It was rare that the recalcitrant saiyan opened up like this, and he didn't want to irritate him.

"I know he'll never forget about me, no matter what."

Another pause. Goku waited.

"It's you I'm afraid of losing."

"What?" It was just one shock after another today. He wondered if he was going to develop an ulcer from it all.

Vegeta's voice turned sullen, almost angry. "He's certainly more suited to you than I ever was, don't you think? Sweet. Talkative. Naïve."

"As opposed to proud, beautiful, strong and caring?" Goku countered. He couldn't believe his prince actually thought Goku might leave him for his son! It was enough to make him chuckle. "Oh, `Geta. I still don't know what to think about Gohan, but I'm not even going to argue with you about this." As best he could, he opened his mind to his lover, reaching out with all his love. "You were made for me," he said quietly, possessively.

Vegeta wriggled closer to him, not answering, but his mate felt the responding flow of emotion. Holding him close, Goku stroked his muscled back, offering rarely needed comfort. His thoughts, however, drifted back to his son and what he was going to do about him. Gohan would be home in a few hours; he had to think of something by then.

When Gohan did return, however, Goku was sent to his room for the night. He was just too confused to deal with the situation as yet, a fact that Vegeta recognized once back to his normal cocky self. Shutting out his link to his housemates, Goku stretched out on his bed and tried to get comfortable.

There was a little hard thing under his pillow. Blinking, the fighter reached back and pulled it out. It was a little blue notebook with a matching pen hooked through the pages. Goku sat up and considered it, this mystery being far preferable to the one he was avoiding. He opened the tiny book with one large hand.

The pages were blank, except for the first one, where someone had written `Dear Diary.' Goku stared at it for a few seconds. Then he removed the pen and began to write.