Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Young Man's Heart ❯ Don't You Believe It ( Chapter 16 )

This One Here I Like To Rub
It has been quite a long break between updates. I apologize. Life has a way of running away with me at times. I will endeavor to finish this story. I don't plan on giving up on it. Thanks to everyone who's keeping track of me and poking me at the most startling times.
On Dark And Stormy Nights

 

Stone Sour - Made Of Scars

This one came from looking
This one opened twice
These two seem as smooth as silk, flush against my eyes
This one needed stitches and
This one came from rings
This one isn't even there, but I feel it more because you don't care

Yeah, Cut right into me
Yeah, Cause I am Made Of Scars
Yes I am made of scars

This one had it coming
This one found a vein
This one was an accident, but never gave me pain
This one was my fathers and
This one you can't see
This one had me scared to death,
But I guess I should be glad I'm not dead!!

Yeah, Cut right into me
Yeah, I am made of scars
Yes, I am made of scars

God, Don't you believe it

And I will find a way
Everything you are I will betray
Oooh, I swear that I will find a way
Everything you are's inside me

This one was the first one
This one had a vice
This one here I like to rub on dark and stormy nights
This one was the last one,
I don't remember how
But I remember blood and rain
AND I NEVER SAW IT COMING AGAIN

Yeah, Cut right into me
Yeah, Cause I am made of scars
Yes, I am made of scars

That's what I'm made of!!!

 

 

 

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Derek set a hand on Gohan's arm and one on Lian's back. The girl was shaking and she looked up at Gohan with angry tears in her eyes. The blond closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she let it out again it was as if every ounce of tension and rage just vanished along with that one breath and everything was fine again. As if it never happened. when she looked up at him again, it was with sober concern etched on her worried face. “Let's get you to the hospital, huh Angel?”

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Warnings: Drugs and alcohol abuse, Yaoi, male/male intimacy, adult situations.

Characters: OC's Lian and Derek, random medical staff, Goku, Chichi, Goten.

 

Don't You Believe It

 

 

He tried to protest, but the Lian and Derek firmly dragged him to the ER. His shirt was soaked in blood by the time they walked in and so was the wadded cloth he held over his nose. He was sure he looked gruesome, but the bleeding had nearly stopped now and he wasn't willing to give in to their constant assurances that his nose was broken. There was no possible way that Videl could have broken his nose with a book of all things. Even if it was Honors Anatomy…which, come to think of it, would have been so very ironic.

 

Despite this certainty, however, the triage nurse informed him that his nose was broken. He just stared at the woman for a speechless moment and she called another nurse to lead him to an examination room where he sat on a paper lined gurney in stunned silence and stared at the wall. He barely paid any attention to the new nurse as his blood pressure was tested and a light was flashed in his eyes. Follow the finger…yeah, yeah, whatever…

…Videl…had broken his nose…………with a textbook. How the hell did that happen?

 

How the HELL did that happen???

 

Then he realized the nurse was asking him something. Had asked something. “Huh?”

 

“I guess it was a wild night at that party. We've already gotten two other students from there.” The nurse gave a long suffering smile at having to repeat his question. “How much have you had to drink tonight?”

 

Gohan blinked, feeling suddenly on the spot. “Uh…Uh…I…just a few beers… I dunno.” He hedged self-consciously with a lopsided shrug.

 

The nurse just nodded and continued with his tests. “Alright. How are you feeling? Dizzy? Headache? Nausea?” He paused, eyeing the strange way Gohan moved when he shrugged. “Is there something wrong with your arm?”

 

Gohan licked his bloody lips and shrugged again. Crap. That was exactly why he didn't want to come to the hospital. He shook his head. “Uh…well…not really. I, uh, had surgery a few months ago.”

 

“Oh yeah? What kind of surgery?”

 

`Jeez…just fix my nose, damn it, forget the shoulder.' “Just surgery. On my shoulder,” he replied reluctantly.

 

“Okay. So do you know if you hit your shoulder when you fell? Does it hurt?”

 

This guy was all business, wasn't he? Gohan grimaced. “No…I don't think so.”

 

“Well, we probably ought to have that checked just incase. You don't want to take any chances.” Gohan thought he was finally done, but the nurse just had to ask one more question. “Have you taken any medication or drugs we should know about tonight?”

 

“What? …no…” The nurse looked at him a little oddly so he repeated the answer a bit more decisively. “No.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Gohan huffed in frustration. What the hell was wrong with this guy? He had said no! That should be enough, shouldn't it? “Is someone going to fix my nose, or what?” He snapped in exasperation.

 

The nurse finally nodded and left. “The doctor will be over in a few minutes.”

 

It seemed like forever before a doctor came into the room to check him over. He flipped open a chart and stood there silently reading it until deigning to give Gohan some of his hard pressed attention. “So you had recent major reconstructive surgery on your shoulder. When did you get the cast off? There isn't any record of it here.”

 

Gohan just grimaced and sighed. “I don't know, a few weeks ago, I guess.”

 

The doctor frowned and flipped through the papers one more time and then finally nodded. “It says here that this was an accident you had tonight, not a fight? You were hit in the face with a textbook?” He didn't wait for a reply. “Well, considering the seriousness of your recent surgery and the fall reported here, I think some x-rays are in order. Then we'll see if we can set that nose for you.” Then the doctor was gone and Gohan was left waiting all over again. He groaned and slumped back on the gurney. This really was going to take forever!

 

~

~

 

Eventually they did discharge him, though at first it didn't seem like they were going to let him go at all. They said something about him being a danger to himself if he was going to blatantly cause himself harm by doing stupid things like taking his own cast off after major surgery. But he had healed so much faster than they expected that they couldn't really hold him on that reason alone. They also said that his muscles were so tensed and cramped throughout his back that it was putting an unhealthy strain on the reconstruction and causing the prosthetics to be pulled out of alignment with his spine. The explanation for the numbness in his arm was that the tension in his back was causing a nerve to be pinched. And what could they do about it? Apparently not much, according to what the doctor said. He gave Gohan the impression that pinched nerves don't get better, which made absolutely no sense to him. If his muscles loosened and stopped pinching…wouldn't that mean he wouldn't have a pinched nerve anymore? All in all, it was a completely un-encouraging experience.

 

They had also tried to make him stay until he sobered up, but he was not about to put up with that! It wasn't like he was underage. He was an adult. He was over twenty-one and he was not going to stay here! He assured them that his buds were in the waiting room and they would make sure he got home in one piece. At least, he hoped so. It had been such a long time that he wasn't sure if they would still be there.

 

At long last he managed to walk out of the ER into the waiting room with a bright white bandage on the bridge of his nose and a new sling cradling his arm close to his side. So maybe it wasn't all bad. His arm felt better and he had been given a bottle of muscle relaxants for his shoulder, some more pain medication, and an appointment with physical therapy to try and realign his spine again. Then he looked up and saw his dad.

 

“Hey, Gohan! Wow. You look almost like I did right after my fight with Vegeta the first time.”

 

It never ceased to amaze Gohan how his father always sounded so damn cheerful. Lian leapt up from where she and Derek had been sitting next to his father and ran over, throwing her arms around him in a gentle hug. He hugged her back stiffly as his dad walked over. “Um…I think that's kind of an exaggeration, dad.” He shrugged uncertainly, looking anywhere but into his father's face. He desperately didn't want to see whatever expression the older man wore.

 

Goku patted him on the back, giving him a good look over and seeming not to notice how Gohan refused to look back at him. “Well, maybe a little. Are you sure you're okay?”

 

Gohan nodded and smiled crookedly under the bandage. “Never better, dad. Really. I get smacked around with homework all the time…just usually not on the nose.” He looked down at the ground as if there were something extra interesting about his shoes. He knew his dad was wondering exactly the same thing as he himself had been all night. How in the world could a book break his nose? “It's alright, dad. I'm fine. It's no big deal. …Why are you here anyway?”

 

Goku smiled at Jared as the short student came up and gripped Gohan's good hand and congratulated him on not contracting brain damage. “Oh. Well. I guess Videl called up Bulma. Something about some appointment you missed going to, or something. And then Bulma called your mom and your mom asked me to come make sure you're okay and bring you home.”

 

Gohan stiffened visibly. “Dad… I can take care of myself…”

 

His father just gave a sheepish grin and ran one large hand through his short, unruly hair. “I know that, Gohan. But your mom's worried and you know how she is about things. You gotta admit, you've been getting hurt kinda a lot recently. She's just worried.”

 

The older man had a look on his face that said Chichi wasn't the only parent that was growing concerned. Gohan glanced at Lian and Derek who were looking between himself and his dad curiously. “Come on, dad. There's nothing to worry about. Really. I just wasn't prepared for Videl to go all homicidal on me. It was a stupid thing really. You don't need to bring me home. I mean…Lian and Derek spent their whole evening making sure I was okay. I can't just…take off like that…”

 

Goku looked at the two friends and smiled. “Yeah… Yeah, I guess so… We had plenty of time to get to know each other while you were in there. I guess you've got a point there.” He hesitated and looked at Gohan for a moment, torn between dealing with his wife's wrath and disappointing his son and his son's friends. “…alright… Tell you what. It's pretty late anyway and you guys have had a long day. Why don't you come over tomorrow, okay, Gohan? Your mom can wait till then and we can all catch up and maybe talk about what happened.”

 

Gohan gave a soft, rueful laugh and sighed in relief, shoulders sagging slightly as he was momentarily saved from a confrontation he was not prepared to handle and couldn't begin to imagine going through. “Thanks, dad. I will.”

 

Goku patted his good shoulder again, giving it a very slight squeeze. “Good. And…promise you'll be a little more careful, huh, Gohan?” He leaned down to try to get a view of Gohan's eyes beneath his long, limp, shaggy bangs.

 

Gohan laughed dryly and nodded. “Yeah, okay, dad. I will.” He couldn't put into words how happy he was that his dad hadn't pushed the issue.

 

“It was great to meet you, Mr. S.” Derek patted Goku on the shoulder with a grin and Lian stepped up and threw her arms around Goku in a hug. “Yeah, you're such a sweetie. I wish my dad was as cool as you are.”

 

Happy or not, he couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge as he watched his father leave. It sure was easy to dodge that bullet. His dad didn't try at all as hard to corner him as his mother or Bulma or Videl would have. Maybe that was because he knew that it was useless. Why expend the energy when it would just be wasted? It wasn't like he was capable of any better, he'd proved that so many times in front of his dad. He watched his father walk away, a heavy, guilty unhappiness weighting his gaze down to the ground. Then he looked to his two buds who really seemed so very happy to find him in one piece and tried to force a hollow smile onto his lips. “So…what time is it anyway?”

 

~

~

 

It was nearly one in the morning when they walked back up the steps of Hope, cracked open a few beers, and found a dark room with enough unused space for the three of them to collapse in. Gohan tried awkwardly to get his pill bottle open, but he couldn't will enough strength into his hand to master the childproof lid. Derek opened it for him and fished out one of the new muscle relaxants he'd gotten from the hospital's late night pharmacy. At this point, Gohan didn't care what it did to him. He just wanted something to make the sharp pain in his side ease.

“I really…hate this…” He grumbled as he tried to find a comfortable position on the couch that didn't make it feel like there were ants squirming through the flesh of his back.

 

Derek slid up beside him and lit up one of his homemade paper rolls before leaning in, eyebrows lifting high in questioning concern. “You want me to rub it, Angel? I'm good at that.”

 

Gohan drew back instantly as if the very thought made the pain worse without Derek ever having to touch him. Then he caught himself and checked the reaction, shaking his head and looking away self-consciously. “No…I don't think that's a good idea. Seems like every time I touch it just makes it get worse...”

 

Lian patted his thigh, reaching over for a quick drag on the cigarette. “He really is good at it. It might help, you know. That's just what they'll do in therapy. A little stretching and a massage.” She held up the joint for Gohan and he took it without any hesitation. Then she patted his thigh encouragingly before excusing herself saying that she had promised to meet someone and was late now.

 

Gohan blinked and blanched guiltily. “Oh…I'm sorry, Lian…that's my fault, huh?”

 

Lian just smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Naw. It's all good, Angel. It's no biggy. Getting you all fixed up was more important. Don't be sorry. I'll see you guys later.” She pressed a kiss on Derek's cheek as well before jaunting from the dim room.

 

Gohan sighed again and took a deep drag from the joint, his lungs only trying to heave a couple times and not enough to make him choke. He managed to hold his breath for a good ten seconds and then whistled softly as he exhaled because that was really…good… Kris had been right. It did help. He looked back to Derek who was emptying his beer while he still waited for an answer. Finally he shook his head. “Nah. Maybe sometime, but not just now. I don't think I can deal with any more numb, crawly-ness. Thanks, though.”

 

He handed back the burning stick and Derek passed him another beer and they just buzzed in the dark. “So like…what was it like to do Hercule Satan's daughter?” Derek suddenly asked out of the dark, that same hint of wonder back in his voice that had been there when Videl had first appeared earlier that evening.

 

It actually made Gohan laugh, though thinking about Videl brought back a menagerie of very low feelings. “Tsk. Not as great as you seem to imagine it must have been.”

 

Derek laughed with him. “Tshyeah, but even if she's a bitch, there's gotta be something to say for the bits that don't talk.” The freshmen scooted in to peer at Gohan suggestively through the dark.

 

Gohan grimaced, lips opening and closing as he rethought his answers a few times. One would think it wasn't that hard a question to answer. “…I dunno… Shit, Derek, I don't know a lot of things anymore.” After a short pause he laughed again, more of a self depreciating laugh. “I'm starting to think that I never was really that into her and I was just too scared to tell everyone. …She's too much like my mom.”

 

Derek chuckled and poked him playfully in the stomach. “Crap, man. I probably would be scared too if breaking up with her was gonna break my nose. And remind me to never meet your mom.” Derek grinned and raised his beer in salute. “But I don't mind telling you that you're dad's a hottie. I thought he was, like, your brother or something till you called him dad.”

 

Gohan gasped as the word “hottie” entered his ears and turned to stare at Derek in horror. “Awe! No… Awe, don't say that…that's just…wrong…” He drank down the rest of his beer to try and clear that horrible suggestion from his head while Derek laughed. Swallowing, he looked up to find Derek's grinning face inches from his own.

 

“Definitely too old for me, though. And too tall. So…you're not into miss prissy martial artist…and you're not into our Lian…” Derek looked questioningly at him through the gloom and the quiet of the room suddenly took on a completely different aspect to Gohan. As he looked back at the teen he realized how close they were and how strongly he could smell musky smoke and liquid barley hanging in the air around them and, beneath that, the ever present scent of kitchen spices that clung to Derek like it was part of his skin.

 

“Think you could be into me?”

 

Gohan stuttered, once again put on the spot and not at all ready for it, his face flushing hotly in the gloom. “Um…uh…I mean…” Why was it that he had all these guys…doing this…to him all of a sudden?? Weeks ago, he never even considered being…attracted to…and now… What was it that had changed that had these guys suddenly being all…interested…and stuff…?? Granted, these were the sorts of guys he'd never hung out with before but still it just seemed so…normal…to them…if that was so then why hadn't he ever encountered this sort of thing before? What had changed for him that actually had him thinking about this stuff?? He finally shrugged, looking down at his hands which were twitching nervously in his lap. “…I dunno…” He chanced a quick glimpse at Derek's face.

 

Derek smiled shyly at him through the dark and just shrugged, echoing his movement. “Whatever. That's cool.” He said accepting Gohan's uncertain, non-committal, half answer without question. Instead of pursuing it, Derek kept his shy smile and pulled another beer from the case at their feet to hand to Gohan.

 

Early, or rather very late into the morning, Gohan didn't know what time it was, the edges of the window began to glow gray against the gloom of the room. Gohan groaned and shifted from where he had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch. His tongue felt thick and slow with the taste of stale beer and ashes heavy on it, but at least he was numb rather than in pain. That was a blessing in itself. Fumbling weakly, he picked up one of his new pill bottles, peering blurrily at it before struggling to remove the lid. Coherent thoughts aside, the only thing in Gohan's head was that it was morning and he was pretty sure he was supposed to take another muscle relaxant…it didn't matter that he couldn't remember the specifics of the prescription. All that mattered was that at the moment his arm didn't hurt and he hoped to keep it that way. Swallowing the pill, he washed it down with the remnants of a warm beer and then slumped over onto his side, sprawling against Derek's skinny back. The smaller student murmured and blinked drowsily as the shifting weight woke him.

 

Gohan watched sleepily as Derek twisted and rolled until he faced him and then tucked up close, nuzzling his face up under Gohan's chin, practically cuddling up. Gohan just grunted softly and let his weak arm lay over Derek's body and fell back asleep. It wasn't until sometime later that he really woke up, consciousness easing over him with the pleasant feeling of warm, soft lips caressing his throat and sliding upwards to brush his lips. Still, it was a long time before he roused enough to open his eyes, enjoying the unobtrusive feeling of a mouth gently, chastely touching his own. Not pressing or pushing, but just a nuzzling, sleepy caress. His tongue slid lazily forth, wetting his lips and brushing lightly against those foreign ones and the slick slippery heat of another tongue met it, following it's slow journey. That was when he finally opened his eyes, but there was nothing to see besides the unfocused blur that was Derek's sleepy face.

 

It didn't occur to him that this was any particularly strange way to wake up. It was nice. It was soft and warm and comforting and…and…arousing…and as Derek's tongue coiled slowly with his he moaned and closed his eyes again, letting the warmth wash through him to pool in his groin. This was different from the kisses he had shared with Kris. Those were shy and experimental and sometimes uncertain kisses. Kissing Derek was like everything else with the teen: slow and calm and casual. There was no nervousness here, just a lazy diversion of exploring something new and untried.

 

*

***

*

 

It was after noon when Gohan slogged his way up the walkway to fumble at the door to his apartment. It took him a moment to realize that the reason he couldn't get it unlocked was because he'd never locked it in the first place. He let his forehead thump against the cheap wood and sighed numbly before turning the knob and pushing through. Continuing his slow, heavy, slogging movements, he moved to his room and began stripping off his clothes and dragging on whatever was still clean in his closet. He had showered at Hope and his skin smelled of the faintly musky soap that lent it's presence throughout the old fraternity house on the bodies of its most loyal denizens. Once he had pressed himself into a pair of slightly baggy khaki pants, he then managed to maneuver his arm into a loose plain white t-shirt with only a small groan.

 

Dragging on his jacket again, not caring how warm it was, he trudged to his beloved recliner and slumped into it. Once there, he fished out a single little pill and dry swallowed it, then melted into the cushions to wait for his throbbing head to clear. Or vanish. Whichever came first. He knew he was supposed to go home today. He had stretched his parents' good will far enough already without standing them up again. But at the present time he couldn't stomach the idea of flying and there wasn't any other way to get out to the wilderness up in the foothills where his old house sat. So he resolved just to not think about it just yet. He was perfectly content right here. Why should he move now?

 

He almost didn't feel the air change, but the disturbance tugged at his consciousness and he forced his eyes open to see his dad standing in the living room looking at him. He groaned.

 

“Hey, Gohan! Did I wake you up?” His father's light voice sounded so damn carefree.

 

Gohan's own voice was low and flat, though he tried to keep it conversational. “…no. I was just getting ready, dad. Just…gotta get my shoes…” He forced himself to sit up, leaving the warm, comforting embrace of the chair to gather up his shoes and struggle with the laces. Meanwhile, his father smiled brightly and began telling him all about the morning he had spent with Goten and Trunks. It sounded like a grand old time fishing and swimming in frigid mountain streams and beating each other up. Gohan rolled his eyes as he stared down at his laces.

 

“…Anyway, Chichi was getting anxious and asked me to come and see if you needed to be…um, how did she put it? …oh yeah, `rousted out of bed'. I told her you were fine, but you know her.”

 

Gohan nodded. He did indeed know. “Yeah, that's expected. Well, I'm ready, dad. You could just transport us, right?” He looked up at him in relief now that he wouldn't have to work out the travel logistics on his own anymore. His father was only too happy to comply, of course.

 

The house was just like he remembered it. He was willing to bet that his room was still the same and without even a spec of dust. But it felt strange being here. As he looked around it occurred to him that he hadn't come home since Christmas, even just to visit. That was over half a year ago, he realized with a small pang of guilt. It seemed like such a long time while at the same time it had just flashed by. And as much as this place had stayed the same, everything else had changed. He had changed. He didn't fit here anymore. Kami, had he ever?

 

His mother appeared, presumably out of the kitchen, to throw her arms around his neck and hug him fiercely and for a moment, through the sharp pain, an oddly bland and numb curiosity slid through his mind. He wondered if she was about to break his neck, she was a strong woman after all. But the moment passed and she let go and the muscles in his neck and shoulder groaned in protest before settling into a dully tingling throb. “Hi, mom. Sorry, I'm late,” he croaked out.

 

He turned to look at her and her happy smile turned horrified. It took him a moment to understand what the problem was, then he remembered his nose. He hadn't actually looked in the mirror that morning. It didn't hurt so much anymore, so he hadn't thought anything about it. From the look on her face, though, he was sure it must not be pretty. He reached up and touched his still slightly tender, but healing nose. “It's okay, mom, really. I hardly feel it now. It'll be fine in a couple days at the most.”

 

His mother sniffed and eyed him as mothers do when they want to make sure their offspring know that they are not happy with them whatsoever. “At least you're here now. Come along. Lunch is going to get cold.” At the mention of food, his father disappeared with an enthusiastic exclamation into the kitchen where Goten was already attempting to clear the table of anything edible. Gohan just trudged obediently along.

 

*

***

*

 

After a look in the bathroom mirror to see what Chichi had reacted so strongly to, he wasn't sure what the fuss was about. Sure, his eyes were shadowed with some light bruising that would have probably been two black eyes on anyone else, but it had already mostly faded away. Now, barely an hour later, he sat listening to his mother rattle on and on about anything and everything and he was struggling to stay alert and focused. He had tuned her out after the first fifteen minutes, but he was attempting to at least look like he was listening. Still, he could handle his mother's never ending chatter. Growing up with her had offered plenty of practice doing so. It was the looks that his sixteen year old brother kept sending his way that had begun to rub him raw. Finally he turned and caught Goten frowning at him again and frowned right back, keeping his voice low enough to not to disturb their mother's monologue. “What?!”

 

Goten just looked away, shrugging. “Nothing.”

 

Gohan shook his head, but left it at that until he found Goten staring once again. This time there was a bit of growl in his voice. “What?! Do you mind? What the hell is your problem?”

 

Goten frowned harder this time and glared back, not bothering to keep his voice down. “You look like the stoners that hang out behind the bleachers at school.” The teenager leaned in and sniffed at him and made a face. “You smell like them too.”

 

Gohan tensed and glanced at their mom who was blissfully oblivious of the conversation going on behind her back. “Shut up.” He snapped at his little brother. “You don't know what you're talking about.”

 

The younger boy looked insulted and huffed, kicking back his chair and standing up to leave. “Yeah, whatever. But you know everything as usual, don't you?” He stalked away. “Dad!”

 

Gohan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he watched his little brother go in search of their father. What was he…? He… He wouldn't...! Gohan lurched to his feet, his chair scraping back as he followed Goten, forestalling his mother's confusion with some half muttered, half thought out excuse that likely didn't make any sense. He caught Goten outside, but there was no sign of their father. “Where are you going? What are you going to do?” He snapped sharply.

 

Goten turned to glare at him. “What? I wasn't going to do anything. Don't get all uppity. I don't know what I'm talking about, right? I never see stoners hanging out behind the bleachers. I made it all up.” He retorted sarcastically.

 

The older Son grimaced and shrugged lopsidedly. How was he going to get his brother off of this subject? He was far too close for comfort and just the fact that Gohan found himself thinking along those lines made him that much more tense. “I didn't mean it that way, okay? I meant that it's just not like that.” He forced a self-depreciating smile onto his lips. “You know…the meds they have me on kinda mess with me. …Even…” He searched around for something more to say. For something truthful that he wouldn't hang himself up on, since he was such a terrible liar. “…even Vegeta said I smell like chemicals. I just… I shouldn't have reacted like that. …Sorry.”

 

Goten finally started to relax and turned to face him, looking a little sheepish, the resemblance to their father was uncanny. “Yeah…yeah, okay…you do smell like chemicals.” He still had trouble looking directly at Gohan, though, digging the toe of his shoe into the grass with his hands clasped behind his back. “But…I know what that smells like. I…tried it once...”

 

Gohan's heart plummeted into his stomach. What could he say to that? There wasn't anything he could say, so he just watched his little brother silently, waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him to swear he was going to tell their parents. He waited for him to become self-righteous and condescending and mocking of his nerdy, goody-two-shoes, older brother for hanging out with “stoners” and being such a weak and worthless failure. He waited for it, but it didn't happen.

 

Goten looked up at him guiltily and then turned his eyes back down to the ground. “Only once… Everybody else there was, so…ya know…” He shrugged again, his toe digging a hole in the lawn. “I didn't like it, though. It made me act all stupid and it felt really…” He finally looked at Gohan and grinned embarrassedly. “I already take after dad, I don't need help to look stupid…ya know?”

 

It still took Gohan a few moments to realize just what Goten was getting at. His brow furrowed as he realized that the teen was actually confessing to him. Goten was making a confession to his big brother and looking for…what? For forgiveness? For acceptance? For support? Why did Goten think that he could get anything like that from him? Why did he want it from him? The answer to that question was relatively simple…who else could he get it from? Their parents? Not likely. No…what better person than your stiff-necked, anal retentive, straight and narrow, superhero big brother because if he smells like pot when you tell him…at least he can't look down on you. Maybe he'd understand. It was safe to tell him. He certainly wouldn't tell on you.

 

Gohan relaxed and finally nodded soberly. “…There's nothing wrong with that, Goten.”

 

The younger boy looked at him with some surprise at that statement, as if he had still expected some sort of rebuke. “Yeah?”

 

Gohan smiled reassuringly at his little brother. “Yeah. It happens. Everyone's tried it once. There's nothing wrong with that. It's normal. The important thing is how you feel about it. You live and learn, right? You made your own decision about what's right for you. Do you feel okay about it?”

 

Goten looked thoughtful for a moment, his brow furrowing as he went over the question in his head and then looked back at Gohan with so much more self assurance that Gohan's smile widened. “Yeah. Yeah, I do feel good about it. I didn't like the stuff. I won't ever do it again, that's for sure.”

 

Gohan shrugged and glanced away. Somehow Goten's answer made him feel uncomfortable. “Well… That's really all that matters. As long as you're happy it's all good.”

 

The teen seemed so much more content now and nodded happily. “Yeah.” Then his expression grew a little more sober again and he looked questioningly at Gohan. “What about you?”

 

Gohan's eyebrows rose in purposefully daft seeming ignorance. “Hm? What about me?”

 

Goten glanced back at the cottage for a second. “Mom and dad are worried about you. They don't say it, but…ya know…I can tell. And…well…you do seem kinda off…” He shuffled his toe in the grass again, looking down at his feet. “I was at Trunk's house and Videl was there…she was saying some stuff to Bulma about you…”

 

The older brother kept his face purposefully impartial as he carefully thought over what he was going to say. “I know. See… You know how you knew right off what was the right thing? Well you were better at it than I was. It's taken me a lot longer to figure that out and now… Now I'm finally figuring it out and…well…I know a few people are going to be upset with me. Like Videl. She's really upset with me right now. She may say some things she doesn't really mean. So don't worry, okay? Everything is going to be fine. I'm fine. Just…a few things are gonna change and that's always hard for people to accept. That's all.” He gave his brother another reassuring smile. “You trust me, right, Goten?”

 

The younger brother frowned as he listened and then slowly nodded again. “Yeah, Gohan. Of course I trust you… You're sure you're okay…?”

 

Gohan chuckled. “Yes. I'm…so much better. Especially knowing I can count on my awesome not-so-little brother.” He patted Goten's shoulder and then pulled him into a loose hug that the teen returned instantly with a grin. “Thanks, Goten. It means a lot.”

 

Goten clicked his tongue and smiled. “You know I'm always here for you, big bro.”

 

Gohan pushed back, completely reassured that at least his brother was on his side if no one else was. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” The brothers parted ways then, Goten to freedom and Gohan back to the house to finish his mandatory visit.