"Hey, get off of me!"
"Hey, you're the idiot who tripped over his own shoelaces!"
The two children wrestle for a moment, the smaller of the two kicking and fussing. They stand up quickly, glaring at each other. The smaller has jet black, spiky hair, wide onyx eyes, and a soft, peachy face. His eyes are narrowed right now, glaring at the slightly taller boy in front of him. He has short, lavender hair and sky blue eyes. He is wearing a scowl, and crosses his arms.
"That wasn't very nice!" the smaller boy huffs.
"Goten? Goten, where did you run off to?" A worried and questioning voice is breaking through the chatter of passerby throughout the mall they're in. Goten, the black-haired child, feels his face heat up as the other boy starts laughing at him.
"Aww, is your daddy looking for you?" the boy taunts, and Goten huffs again at his rudeness. He is searching for a clever comeback, something to get this boy to stop being so mean, when another voice cuts through the atmosphere.
"Trunks! You'd better get your ass back over here right now!" the voice is deep and harsh, and the lavender-haired boy jumps. Goten laughs in return, making "Trunks" flush in embarrassment.
"Ha, your name is Trunks?" the lavender-haired boy growls, and before Goten can react, Trunks moves forward and shoves Goten. He stumbles for a moment, almost falling back before righting himself with a glare. He doesn't think about it, doesn't give himself time to rationalize his decision; Goten punches Trunks in the face.
The boy reels back with a shout, eyes watering as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Goten's eyes widen in shock as he sees the boy's nose begin to bleed, and he begins to panic.
"Goten!"
"Trunks!"
Goten spins around to be greeted with the sight of his dad running towards him, obviously angry but also relieved at finding his son. His dad looks exactly like Goten; same unruly hair, dark eyes, and light skin. As a grown man, he has a powerful build, tall and muscled underneath a tee shirt and jeans. As he reaches Goten, his gaze drops to Trunks, who is now sitting on the floor and sniffling, trying not to cry. Goten turns to his dad with wide eyes, very much regretting his rash decision.
"Goten, what do you think you're doing?!" his dad snaps, and Goten shuffles his feet as he looks to the ground, ashamed.
"I ran into this boy who fell on me, and we started fighting and I got mad because he was making fun of me!" Goten peeks up at his dad through his bangs.
"I was so mad I hit him, but I'm really sorry!" His dad raises an eyebrow, and inclines his head towards Trunks; his sniffles have died down, but he is still holding his nose and trying to stop it from bleeding. Goten shuffles towards the lavender-haired boy, who looks up at him with tears in his eyes still. Before Goten can muster up the courage to apologize, another person joins their small gathering.
"Trunks, what's going on?!" Another man is kneeling behind Trunks now, a hand on the boy's back. He isn't quite as tall as Goten's dad, probably a few inches shorter, but somehow he is much more intimidating. His hair is tall and spiked, tapering down into a widow's peak, with narrow, jet black eyes and a deep set scowl. He is just as muscled as Goten's dad, with tanner skin under a tank top and skinny jeans. The man is obviously Trunks' dad, and Goten steps back in fear of the anger in his eyes.
"Hey, you!" the man snaps, and Goten yelps in fear as he leaps behind his father's legs.
"What is the meaning of this? Your scrap of a kid almost broke my son's nose!" Goten's dad offers a sheepish grin, running a hand through his hair as he laughs, a nervous edge causing his voice to break at the end of his laughter.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, sir. Goten has a bit of a temper, I'm sure he didn't mean to," Goten's dad laughs nervously again, but Trunks' dad only narrows his eyes. He picks up his son and stands him up, checking to see whether he might have sustained any other injuries. Trunks' dad rolls his eyes.
"Hmph. You've got some nerve letting your child run off like that, and then he just goes and hurts someone else!" Goten's dad flushes in shame, and he turns to his son.
"Goten, don't you have something to say? Especially since you're grounded?" Goten squeals in protest, but with slow and deliberate steps approaches Trunks again, who is surprisingly quiet in this altercation.
"Trunks, I'm really sorry for hitting you. I-I didn't mean to! It was all my fault." Goten casts his eyes to the ground, cheeks burning pink as Trunks offers a soft smile.
"It's okay, Goten. My nose will be fine, and it doesn't even hurt anymore!" Trunks grins in triumph, and Goten blinks.
"Wow, really? You must be really strong for it not to hurt anymore!" Trunks chuckles, and gestures to the food court.
"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome. Hey, how about we go get some food?" Goten nods excitedly, and the two parents watch on in shock as the boys run off, laughing and shoving each other in a display of playfulness. Trunks' dad turns to Goten's, an eyebrow raised as he crosses his arms.
"Well?" he snaps. Goten's dad jumps, eyes wide in fright. He chuckles again, running a hand through his unruly and spiky hair. He tries to meet the other man's eyes, but finds himself unable to. He is so amazingly perplexed by this man; his vibe is so standoffish and cold, one would never believe that he has a child. His body, his face, his voice… he seems to be an enigma. There is just something to this man that Goten's dad can't put his finger on. He snaps out of his reverie as Trunks' dad lets out a short 'hmph'.
"Oh! Well, mister, I"m sorry my kid punched your kid in the face." Goten's dad offers a smile with as much sincerity as he can. After a moment, an idea pops into his head. It's sort of crazy, especially since he knows nothing about this man. For all he knows, Trunks' dad could be a biphobic ass. But a quick glance shows him that the shorter man isn't sporting a wedding band, so Goten's dad decides to take the next step.
"Ah, I'm sorry my kid punched your kid in the face!" Trunks' dad rolls his eyes.
"You already said that."
"Can I make it up to you over dinner?" Trunks' dad stops short, expression unreadable as he processes the other man's words.
"Excuse me?" Goten's dad nods.
"Yeah, why don't I take you out to dinner as an apology? We could go somewhere nice, I have a friend who wouldn't mind watching your son-"
"Just-just hold on a second! You can't just plan a dinner date with someone you've barely met!" the shorter man interjects. Goten's dad blinks in surprise, then flushes in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away." he holds out a hand, still smiling. His jump seems to be going well, and Goten's dad considers himself lucky. The shorter man doesn't seem disgusted by the idea; maybe a little surprise and discomfort over having been asked on a date by a stranger, but not looking like he's ready to run.
"My brother and father call me Kakarot, since that's my birth name, but all of my friends call me Goku!" Goku smiles, and the shorter man eyes him suspiciously as he reaches forward to shake his hand. His grip is firm and warm, callouses brushing against Goku's palm as he looks into the other man's eyes.
"Vegeta," the shorter man says. Goku tilts his head as a vague memory surfaces. "Vegeta, huh? That name sounds familiar!" he exclaims. Vegeta raises an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Now that I think about it, your names sound familiar as well. Hmph. No matter. What exactly did you have in mind in regards to dinner?" Goku's smile returns in full force at this, eyes shining as he rushes to respond.
"Oh! Well, I was thinking maybe we could go to a restaurant, but not too fancy, because my appetite isn't exactly… classy." Goku smiles sheepishly, and Vegeta chuckles.
"Fair enough. I have a bit of an appetite myself." Vegeta shifts with a faint tinge of red staining his cheeks, and Goku's stomach lurches. This guy is cute, too! Oh my god, I've hit the jackpot! With an ecstatic, lopsided grin, Goku scrambles at his pockets for his cell phone.
"Great! Hang on a second, let me just-" Goku hands his phone to Vegeta, smile still in place as he tucks his hands into his pockets. The shorter man's blush darkens, and with fumbling fingers he punches in his number before handing back the phone. He then fishes out his own phone, and Goku takes it to enter in his number. They put their phones back in their pockets in a somewhat awkward silence, and after they straighten up they look into each other's eyes again. Goku's smile is almost loopy compared to Vegeta's smirk, but whatever the two men seem to be looking for is found in their eyes. Goku finds that Vegeta's eyes are very expressive, shining in curiosity and a tinge of hopefulness. The taller man isn't quite sure what his own eyes are conveying, but he's convinced they're lined up with his thoughts.
"So, Kakarot. How about the restaurant down town, next Saturday?" Goku laughs nervously at the use of his birth name, but for some reason isn't bothered by it. Vegeta seems to be different. He seems to have an effect on Goku. Because of this, his resolve settles; he is going to pursue this man. For some strange reason, Goku feels as though Vegeta will change his life for the better. Goku smiles at him, face flushing again.
"Great! Pick you up at seven?"
"Sounds perfect."