Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ What Binds Thee? ❯ No one can ever know. ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: What Binds Thee?
Chapter: 4/???
Rating: R (No plans for NC-17)
Warnings: Yaoi, violence, murder, references to self-harm
Pairing: Trunks/Goten. For now. Hints of others.



During the early evening, Gokou and Vejita slumped on the couch after a good meal provided by Bulma’s dozen chefs. Goten sat at the table with what remained, distracted from the delicious food in worry. Every few moments his eyes would glance out the window towards his home, where Trunks was locked away.

Trunks had changed over the last few years. It started slowly, with sudden fits of rage. Now, Trunks was having nightmares and was haunted by something in his subconscious. Goten was worried about his friend and loved one, but when he reached out to help, he was thrown out.

In the next room, Vejita had flipped the television onto the news, where Capsule Corp’s men were being shown returning from one of the many outside worlds. Some of them were in ill, limbs broken, blood on their clothing. Gokou noticed this and was frozen in shock.

The newscaster spoke, though Goten could barely hear from where he sat. “…Briefs could not be reached for comment… we have learned… twelve lives were lost in… do not know what caused… further information as available…”

Goten winced as Gokou stepped into the kitchen, looking furious. “Tell me that Trunks didn’t do this.”

Swallowing nervously, Goten shook his head. “Of course not, Dad.” Vejita stepped up behind Gokou, his eyes narrowed towards their home through the window. “Yo-you know Trunks would cause do anything like that. The news lady said herself she didn’t know what happened. It couldda been some bad alien person that attacked his men or something!”

Gokou nodded, assured but still concerned. “That must be it,” he muttered, glancing back to the television. The woman had moved onto a different story.

Goten glanced at Vejita, noticing that the Saiyajin Prince’s eyes had not turned away from the window.

Was Vejita suspicious of Trunks?

As if sensing his thoughts, Vejita turned and glared at Goten. The young half-breed flinched and turned back to his food, staring at the cold meat on his plate. He could still feel Vejita’s eyes seeing right through his bones.

Vejita knew.

Vejita knew, he had to… and he was pissed.

“I’m going to go talk to Trunks.”

For a second, Goten though those words came from his mouth… or Gokou’s… or from the television… from anyone or anything but Vejita. It was a hopeful thought.

**

“I am going mad.”

Those words escaped Trunks’ lips as he glanced up from the toilet bowl. His head throbbed in pain, his brow was covered in sweat, and the temperature of the room ensured his flesh would soon drip from his bones. His stomach cried like a newborn and felt as if acid had been poured down his throat.

Pulling himself away from the porcelain god of happiness, he laid down on the cool linoleum floor, thankful for the chilliness his feet usually detested. He rubbed his cheek against the square panels and sighed in brief relief.

This lasted mere seconds before the images returned. Aliens, skin colored odd shades of the rainbow, covered in their own bodily fluids, screaming for mercy… babies crying in the distance, explosions, fire, death, heartache, confusion, mercy ‘please mercy I beg of you’…

He jumped, gasping for breath, blinking away the cold darkness and returning to the heat. He was burning up in fever; his stomach lurched again. The voice, that poor creature… why…

Trunks returned to his porcelain god and vomited again. His throat burned, and he had trouble breathing.

How could he remember that creature’s begging so vividly when he couldn’t even understand their language?

He groaned and slid over to the bathtub half a foot away. Reaching up and turning on the water proved to be as difficult an effort as defeating Majin Buu, but somehow he succeeded. Cold water splashed down into the tub and down the drain.

Gingerly, Trunks reached out with his hands and splashed water onto his face. ‘Man, Goten, where are you?’ he thought silently. It seemed like his best friend was only around to provide a nuisance instead of actually being helpful.

Trunks had never drawn innocent blood until two days ago. He hadn’t done it on purpose… he thought that one creature could withstand the blow, but they attacked, all of them, at once… and a little weakling jumped into the line of fire.

Sure, the takeover had become somewhat violent, people had died in result, but the humans couldn’t help themselves. The employees of Capsule Corps had to defend themselves against rebels, and innocents died. But never had Trunks killed someone innocent…

It was haunting him. For two days, it had haunted him… nonstop. Instead of food, he saw alien entrails. Instead of water, he saw blood. Instead of peaceful sleep, he relived its death again and again.

The negative publicity was difficult to control. Reports ached for the dark side of the expansion, for anything to blacken Capsule Corporations name. Thankfully, humans had prices and their silence was bought. The businessmen who worked for him were happy to follow this corrupt leader, although everyone seemed to have different motives.

For now, the only important thing to Trunks was to keep his family in the dark.

To do that, he had to grow a spine.

Trunks pulled himself to his feet and washed his face. His cheeks were pale and green, his eyes bloodshot. He was disgusted with himself. Vejita had killed thousands upon millions without blinking an eye… and Trunks’ life was turned inside out from the death of some alien weakling?

He pulled himself out of the bathroom and swallowed down the vile that threatened to rise again. All he needed was a good nights sleep. He was determined to return to work and training by the morning.

He crawled into the bed and beneath the covers. The warm blankets caused him to sweat, his body grew hot and his skin dry from lack of water, but his body ached for peace and allowed him to drift off.

Some time passed; maybe it was a minute, maybe an hour, but footsteps outside his bedroom door eventually woke the Saiyajin prince. Trunks rubbed his eyes as he looked towards the door, sitting up from his moist sheets. He froze as he saw his father standing in the hallway, hand grasped on the doorknob.

Vejita only stood there for a moment before he turned and walked away.

“I am going mad,” Trunks whispered, lying back down and assuming it to be a dream. He had no nightmares that night.

**

Trunks sat in silence at the breakfast table, staring at his father across the room. Vejita stood at the fridge, shuffling through the crowded shelves for something. Gokou, Goten, Gohan, and Bulma all sat at the table, surrounded by food stacked on top of food. Bulma and the robot maids had gotten quite skilled at the art of fitting army-loads of food on small tables.

Rapid chatter about Bulma’s latest discovered and inventions and ideas rushed across the table. Goten and Gokou nodded blankly in confusion, asking for explanations every few minutes, but Gohan was almost as excited as Bulma.

Trunks sat in silence, pretending to be focused in his food. He barely paid any notice to what he was eating, though. All his thoughts were on his father. Had Vejita really been outside his door last night? Why? Did he make a mistake, had it been Goten checking in on him… or…?

“TRUNKS!” Bulma shouted suddenly, causing everyone to jump. The lavender-haired Saiyajin blinked and turned to his angry mother. “The Capsule Corps research lab…” he blinked in frustrating as Bulma ranted about facilities she needed to use later that evening. He turned back to his father, and froze as he saw Vejita looking right back, eyes narrowed.

He had not been mistaken. Vividly, he could see his father’s frame in the doorway, cloaked in shadows, the slim and almost girlish shape, but toned and muscular.

Vejita paused, a carton of milk clenched in one fist. Their eyes connected. Trunks was too shocked to look away. Vejita… just observed.

Trunks almost felt like a child’s science project, as if he was being analyzed or studied.

Goten noticed, and his blood boiled with possessiveness. He quickly turned to Trunks. “Hey, want to spar this afternoon? You’ve been working out a lot more and you’re gonna leave me in the dust if I don’t keep up!”

Trunks didn’t hear him.

Gokou grinned. “Trying to surpass dear old Dad, eh Trunks?”

Trunks didn’t notice them.

Vejita grinned, his eyes gleaming with sadism as he stared at his son. “That sounds like a great idea, guys.”

“Wha…?” Trunks blinked.

Goten frowned, glaring at Vejita. The Saiyajin prince barely took notice.

Gokou had already begun begging Bulma to make a picnic out of the event, but the scientist had other plans. She did agree to make food for the guys. Gohan also refused his invitation.

No one seemed to notice the triangle between Vejita, Goten, and Trunks.

There was something that seemed almost… proud in Vejita’s eyes as he gazed at his son. Goten felt his place threatened, but he wondered… did he ever belong at Trunks’ side… or had that position been filled for years?

**

Goten opted out of the fight later that evening, bringing his college books along with him for an excuse. With Trunks’ help and cleaver cheating methods, he was acing most of his classes, so studying was rarely an issue. But today, he couldn’t tolerate the thought of working at Trunks’ side against their fathers.

They weren’t a team anymore. They hadn’t been for years.

While sitting in the cool shade of a tree, Goten observed the battle. Gokou and Vejita took on Trunks together, and amazingly enough, Trunks was holding his own. He would not be victorious if the two full bloods ascended beyond the second level, he wasn’t that powerful, but he was close… so close.

How long and how hard had he been training without Goten? Trunks had far exceeded his best friend.

Goten tried to hold back the tears as he watched the battle. Reality had slapped him hard. Trunks was not his. They would never be lovers again, and they would never become mates. Logically, he’d always known this… but… he had hoped.

A tear escaped his control. He wiped it away before anyone noticed.

What was left? Goten wondered. He felt the old scars on his wrists itching. What tied Trunks and Goten together? It wasn’t love…

Friendship, he reminded himself. Brotherhood.

Whoever had stolen Trunks’ heart from him could not take their bonds. He glared up into the sky. Who was it?

For years, Goten had tried to unravel this puzzle. Each time he thought he knew, something small happened that made him second-guess himself.

Years had passed when he thought it was Gohan, and for all those years he hated Gohan with an unparalleled passion. Even now, he hadn’t ruled out his brother.

But there was something so strange going on between Trunks and Vejita… ever since Gokou and Vejita had mated.

Goten blinked. When Gokou and Vejita had mated, Trunks’ behavior shifted. He was quick to anger, impatient and controlling.

Goten was familiar with those tendencies, because for years he had been struggling to control them.

Jealousy.

Trunks was in love with Gokou, and he was jealous of Vejita. It seemed so obvious now. All the hurt, the pain, the anger, the self-loathing that Trunks had been coping with… why Trunks refused to tell. How could he admit that he was in love with Goten’s father? How could he tell Gokou, the naïve Saiyajin probably wouldn’t even understand what it meant.

The eye contact, the strange behavior between Trunks and Vejita was that of competition and passiveness, the behavior of two animals fighting. Trunks knew he could not defeat his father, but the desires were obvious on an instinctual level to creatures like Saiyajin.

Goten continued to ponder the theory for the length of the evening, and the more he thought about it, the more sure he was.

He decided to tell Trunks he knew the truth. Goten thought that by letting Trunks know he’d figured it out, he could strength their friendship, give Trunks someone to confide in, a shoulder to cry on.

The fight ended in the late afternoon. The three Saiyajin, starving, sweaty, and bruised came down to the ground with a truce. Goten volunteered to help set out the food, and he asked Trunks to assist.

They opened the trunk of the car. The sweet smell of Italian and Mexican foods drifted out, and in response Trunks’ stomach rumbled in anticipation. Goten paused then, grabbing his friend’s arm. “I have something to tell you, Trunks.”

“Huh?” warm blue eyes blinked in response… the same eyes that Goten had been lost in so many times in the past.

“I figured it out,” he whispered. He let go of Trunks’ arm… the same arm his hands had gripped in passion.

“Figured what out?” Trunks’ brow narrowed.

“About Gokou. I figured it out. He’s who you’re in love with. He’s the one who stole you away from me.”

Silence was the only response. Goten looked into Trunks’ eyes, and he could tell. It was obvious.

He was wrong.

“If not… then…?”

Trunks turned to the car and grabbed a few baskets of food. He refused to look Goten in the eye. “Stop, Trunks!” Goten exclaimed in a whisper, grabbing Trunks’ shirttail. His clothes were tattered from the battle, and the shirt ripped in Goten’s hand.

“Leave it alone, Goten!” Trunks growled, yanking himself free. The shadows of the tree nearby covered his face, but Goten could sense the shame. “You can never know! No one can ever know! Do you hear me?” he turned away and returned to the picnic area.

It wasn’t Gokou. It wasn’t Gohan. Who was left?

**


TBC!