Vigilante Angel: Fraternity

Disclaimer: Ya really think I own Dragonball Z? Then by all means, continue to do so. I don't mind. /Grins teasingly/ Yeah, yeah, I don't own DBZ. /Flaps hand flippantly/

A/n: This one-shot was the "deleted" scene that I left out of Chapter the Thirty-fifth in the main story, Vigilante Angel. Like I said in that author's note, this contains some brotherly kawaiiness, and it's actually a little angsty, at least for Goten. Poor little guy, he's going to go through so much. /Sniffs/ Kami, the things I do to my characters…. Although Gohan will be there! He'll fix things, and everything will be all right, but first he has to find out what the problem is. Yeah…. /Teases/

Oh, fine! I'll let you read and see what I'm talking about. Enjoy!

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Second Rest Day, Er, Night (Heh!)

That night, as Gohan prepared for his return to Otherworld, he was approached by an unusually timid Goten.

"Yeah, squirtling?" he replied to his brother's call. He turned around to see Goten standing in the hallway behind him. The demi-Saiyan was standing in such a way that he had a shadow darkening the right side of his face, while the left side was lighted enough for Gohan to see that there was a hesitant tilt to the end of his brother's mouth. Gohan grew curious as to why his brother suddenly ducked his head and scuffed his foot on the thick red carpet, and also became a little worried. Goten never acted this way unless he was embarrassed.

"What is it, bro?" Gohan walked over to the seven-year-old and knelt before him, forcing Goten to look at him. "It's all right, you can tell me. I won't laugh."

"You promise?" Goten asked, his voice small. Gohan looked at his brother and considered his face. Goten's eyebrows were drawn together, creating a crease in the skin between them. Likewise, Goten's black eyes were worried; devoid of the bright sparkle that usually dominated them, those eyes appeared sad and depressed. The small demi-Saiyan's nose was also slightly pinched, and his mouth was quivering, other signs of Goten's peculiar anxiety.

"I promise," Gohan said at least. Goten's face didn't relax, however. Instead, the young boy looked at his feet in an attempt to avoid his older brother's searching eyes.

"Willyoustayovernightwithme?" Goten suddenly blurted out. Gohan blinked as his brother shrunk even more into himself, as if expecting Gohan to be mad at him. Gohan's forehead furrowed slightly at Goten's strange actions, but he responded positively.

"You want me to stay overnight? Sure, I can do that."

Goten's head shot up. He looked at his elder brother squarely in the face, voluntarily, for the first time since Goten had first appeared. Gohan could see that a hopeful expression had just made itself known to Goten's ever-mobile face, and he wondered why. He would have to find out.

"Really?" asked Goten, his voice wavering. "You would really stay with me?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" he asked in turn, trading a question for a question. Goten scuffed his foot on the carpet again, his countenance now sporting a slightly wistful look.

"You were gone all day. You didn't spend any time with me at all," Goten said, a whine coming into his pre-puberty soprano voice. "So…"

"So you thought that I didn't want to be around you anymore, is that it?" Gohan asked, gently. Goten's head, topped with its wild mess of black spikes, nodded, although reluctantly, Gohan could tell. The very emotion was pouring off of Goten, and, truth be told, Gohan was feeling the same way. He squashed the feeling mercilessly and forged ahead, knowing that this would never get resolved until they got to the end of it.

"Why would you feel that way, when I come and see you every day? Can you tell me, why you would think that way?" Gohan proceeded, a lump coming into his throat at the thought that his little brother would ever think a thing like that. Poor little guy. Poor Gohan, for that matter. This was hard for him, too, although he was beginning to understand Goten's view of things. Poor little guy.

"It's your job to do that, isn't it? To check up on me every day? You are my gar-guard-"

"Guardian?" Gohan supplied, knowing what his brother meant.

"Yeah. It's your job to do that," Goten finished, now studying his brother's face instead of his feet. He was worried again, but was also hopeful, hoping that his brother could reassure him that everything was all right. In fact, Gohan could, but he wanted to get everything straight before he addressed it.

"Actually, my job as your guardian is to come and rescue you if you're in danger. I don't have to come and see you every day, you know," Gohan started slowly. Goten's eyes widened, and he stared at Gohan with breathless fascination.

"I love you, Goten. I come by every day because I love you, not because I have to. I enjoy coming around, it's fun being with you, and Trunks too," Gohan amended, not wanting to leave Goten's best friend out. But Goten wasn't thinking about that, he was considering something far more serious.

"Then how come you didn't even come near us today?" Goten whined, a pout coming across his face. He crossed his arms, managing only to look like a sulky child, which, in Gohan's opinion, was better than a worried Goten. Gohan smiled, amused, at his brother, using the moment to think over his answer.

Finally, he came up with, "Hey, Goten, you know when you play a game, and after a while you get tired of playing it?" Goten nodded in response, allowing Gohan to continue with,

"Well, it's kind of like that with me. Only I will never, ever get tired of you. Ever. Do understand me, Goten? Never. Don't ever think that I'm tired of you. If you want me to be with you, just call me. You know how to do that, right?"

"Uh-huh, with my mind," Goten replied, his normal exuberant self beginning to shine through in his answer.

"Good. Are we all right now, squirt?" Gohan asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at the light of his death (SP: Not the light of his life, as Gohan's dead, but the light of his death. Get it?). The person in question bounced on his heels energetically and nodded in a birdlike way, causing Gohan to Grin™ heartily at him.

Gohan hoisted himself up and ruffled Goten's already messy hair, happy that Goten was happy. There was nothing better than having a happy Goten, not even food (SP: O.o Oh my Kami. Did Gohan just think what I thought he did?). Yep, food didn't even come close to having a joyful Goten on his hands (SP: Oh wow. I think I need to sit down. /Does so/). Although, Gohan thought ruefully, sometimes having a happy Goten was a little too much. He sweatdropped inwardly.

Then Goten suddenly yawned, a big huge yawn, right in front of Gohan. Gohan managed to get in, "Tired, lil bro?" before he, too, yawned, and his yawn was every big as large as his brother's.

Goten rubbed his eyes sleepily, which was all the answer that the dead warrior needed. He reached out a hand and turned a suddenly lethargic Goten in the other direction where he knew his brother's room to be. Tonight he would stay with Goten, because he'd promised, and maybe even go to sleep, although he didn't need to. Hey, he was dead, and the dead don't have any need to waste several hours on dreaming when they could enjoy being dead.

But still, Gohan had a tendency to sleep whenever he was around sleeping Living World mortals, and as Goten was about to fall asleep on his feet right then and there, Gohan was tired too. Darn Sandman. He just has to take the dead along for the ride, doesn't he? That's real nice, thanks a lot.

Gohan swore he heard laughter in his head the next moment.

As the Son brothers trudged into the room that they were going to share for the night, a yawning fit overtook them both at the same time. Goten fairly toppled into Gohan's arms after that fit ended, and even starting snoring lightly in his elder relative's embrace. Gohan merely shook his head and trooped over to the bed in the room and tucked him securely into it. Goten struggled a bit to get his arm free, then relaxed as he flung it across the space next to him in an apparently comfortable position.

Laughing softly at Goten's antics even as he lay asleep, Gohan turned and sat in the rocking chair behind him, which was also the only chair in the room. He adjusted it so that he could face Goten and rocked back in it, quietly observing his brother.

Goten. Without Goten, Gohan was sure he'd still be struggling through the death of his dad. He'd started to make progress in the two years (or was it four? Gohan couldn't remember) before he met/introduced himself to Goten, but he still had had his doubts beneath his most-of-the-time happy and confident exterior. But then he had met Goten, and everything had changed.

Gohan then had had something other than his dad's sacrifice and fencing to think about, and he'd subconsciously committed himself to making his little brother as happy as Goten could be and not want for anything. Gohan had no idea of whether or not he had done this successfully; it seemed to him that Goten was all right, but one could never know. Children could hide a lot of things behind that innocent exterior they had, and the older people around them wouldn't ever know (SP: Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. /Grins cheekily/).

Along the way of making/keeping Goten happy, Gohan had realized, deep down, that whenever his younger sibling was cheerful, he was happy. Whenever Goten was sad, Gohan was sad. When Goten complained about how much studying he had to do, Gohan listened with a sympathetic ear, wincing as he remembered his own experiences in the academic area under his mother's tutelage. Whatever Goten felt, Gohan felt, and if Gohan didn't like what it was he felt, he worked extra hard to make his brother happy (happier), a feat that was surprisingly (or not) not hard to do.

It seemed to him, and the conversation that he'd just had with Goten supported this, that Goten considered his day incomplete without seeing his brother more than once. This made him wonder what the future was going to be like, since he, Goten, and Trunks had all heard of a plot (cooked up by Chichi, they had no doubt about it) to send Trunks and Goten to public school when the two were ten, an age only two and three years off respectively.

Once at the school, would Goten continue to want him around every day? Or would his sibling get interested in having new friends and not notice if Gohan decreased the frequency and length of his visits? Gohan shrugged. Worrying and wondering about the future was not going to get him anywhere. What would come would come, and what wouldn't, wouldn't. All Gohan could do was to take it in stride and hope nothing too major happened because of what happened and what didn't.

Still, it sort of scared Gohan, thinking of Goten going off to public school without him, and at the same time, it made him sad, too, for exactly the same reason. The squirt would have Trunks with him, yeah, but it wasn't quite the same thing as actually being there and knowing what had gone on in a particular moment.

Yeah, Gohan was feeling sentimental at the moment. He shook his head mournfully at himself, then smiled again as he caught sight of the still-sleeping Goten. Oh, how small and innocent he looked right now, when in reality he could take on the biggest, baddest, and strongest human around, and even more than a few aliens too, without missing a beat. Gohan felt a sudden overwhelming urge to protect his brother from everything harmful and to any lengths necessary. He pushed it aside forcefully, knowing that Goten would have to face the world by himself sometime.

And he'd be prepared for it, too, Gohan thought. Between him, Trunks, Dad (he knew what was on his father's mind when he saw him looking at Goten for a long length of time), Mom, Bulma, Vegeta, and Krillin, Goten was going to learn a lot about the world before he went out into it. Already Goten was losing the innocent childishness that so characterized his father's mannerisms. It wasn't so evident now, but Gohan could detect flashes of maturity in his brother from time to time, although those never really lasted long. Of course not; his brother was only seven. Plenty of time to be immature. But still, Goten was growing up.

Kami, he was getting emotional again! Gohan rolled his eyes, even as a part of him said that for Goten, it was okay to be mawkish. Gohan's other part was forced to agree, and even Arikeru joined in on the vote, although it disappeared rapidly afterwards. Gohan sighed and dropped into a light meditation to get away from himself. This proved to be a mistake, for this meditation soon gave way to a deep sleep, the proof of Gohan's earlier theory (1). However, the night was not complete just yet. For Goten still had something to do, something of the utmost importance.

Still asleep, the youngest demi-Saiyan climbed (with difficulty, I'll add) out of the bed. He dragged the big thick comforter of the bed with him as he tottered over to where his brother's huge ki power was. He awoke just enough, while keeping himself from falling out, to haul himself into the rocking chair Gohan was slumped in, effectively seating him in Gohan's lap, and to cover himself and Gohan's lap with the comforter.

As he fell back asleep, Gohan's arms formed a warm cradle around him that he snuggled into, a content smile on his face. As the rocking chair rocked, the smile lingered, even as he started slumbering again with his face tucked into Gohan's right arm and the comforter held up over his shoulder and under his neck. Gohan shifted the next moment and resettled the limp Goten in his arms and his lap, blanket and all, and slept on, only partially aware of the events to happen the next day, and completely unaware of the adorably cute picture he and Goten made as they dozed.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this picture was no exception. For with the arrival of the next morning, Gohan, then Goten, would wake up, and each would smile at the other, one amused, the other sleepy. Then their stomachs would start to wake up as well, and the day would be off to its usual start with a hearty breakfast.

But for now, the moment remained, and in Upper Heaven, two Kaios, one old-looking with a gangster style, the other the only dead Kaio still in existence, and one witch, five hundred plus years old and sitting on a crystal ball, smiled.

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(1) "But still, Gohan had a tendency to sleep whenever he was around sleeping Living World mortals, and as Goten was about to fall asleep on his feet right then and there, Gohan was tired too" ("Fraternity" 3).

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A/n: Uh, I see that this one-shot turned into something more than a few angsty moments for both Goten and Gohan. Heh! (Sweatdrops)I guess I got carried away and turned it into one of my frequent "philosophical pieces," as I call them. Heh! (Sweatdrops again) Yikes….

As this one-shot is not included in the main story, I will not include responses to reviewers, but I still expect reviews. As I get those reviews, I will eventually revise this one-shot to include responses to those reviews I get, but please note the word "eventually". It's there for a reason, LOL:

I seem to always end my "philosophical pieces" with someone smiling, normally from the heavens above. Jeez, what's up with that? Can't I be original and find some other ending? No! Oh, okay, I guess not. /Sighs/ Works for me.

So Gohan's getting soft! Not bad for a kilashiwen, eh? Not bad at all. /Grins/ Poor Goten, though. He thought that his brother was tired of him and that's why he didn't see Gohan at all that day. Poor little guy. Oops, I said that three times, already, didn't I? It's true, though! (Hugs Goten) At least Gohan's got that straightened out. What was the deal with the reflection time afterwards, though? Huh, huh? Although the question of how Goten's going to fare without him in public school is a very interesting one. I wonder how I'm going to address that. (Glows) You have to admit, you gotta love one-shots. They're so cool. (Glomps philosophical piece) :D

Ahh! Where's my new DVD for The Incredibles! (Searches frantically) Oh, there it is! (Clutches DVD tightly, looks furtively around) I love this movie, although I think the director (or whatever his position is) is an uninteresting chatterbox. Sheesh! My favorite character is Violet. She's so cool, and not just because of her powers, either. COOLNESS! (Pumps fist) My second fave character is Frozone, and not just because he's Iceman, either. I actually hate ice. Heh! Too slippery for me, thank you! Hee!

All right, all right, I'll stop talking about The Incredibles. Review please! I would appreciate it greatly if you did. It can only be a few lines, saying in no uncertain terms that this one-shot sucks, but it's a review! Thanks in advance! (Bows)

Sayonara!

TheShadowPanther and Aline, from AASN

AASN; Writing is what we do for you at AASN. Enjoy.

Updated 03.19.05

The Legacy of the Angel is To Be Continued….