title: Kisses
series: Dragonball Z
pairing: implied ToraToraTen
count: 565
notes: K+; Valentines Day with Torankusu and Goten. And Tora. (mild language)
(05/26/08) This ficlet has been sitting in my drives for almost ten years now, in one form or another. It was meant for Valentines Day, but since I seem to forget every year, I finally decided 'to hell with it.' There's no actual statement of pairing, but if you squint hard enough, there might be a hint of a 3P between the lines. ;)
Set eleven years after Buu. The children are nearly adults. D:
"Come on, Tora," Torankusu growled through his teeth, taking an unsuccessful swipe at his older self when he passed within arms' length. The time traveler dodged easily, balancing a large bowl of chocolates on his hip. The smallest, teasing smile touched his face, and Torankusu wanted to snatch that away, too. The bastard wasn't the least bit apologetic—but he supposed he only had himself (and Goten) to blame. They'd been a little too successful in chilling him out over the last several months. "It's Valentines Day. Don't be a prick—"
"Tch," Tora clucked. "Watch your tongue. There are women in this house."
"You are pissing me off."
"Hey now, is this a day of love or cavities?" came the unruffled reply. "You've had plenty already. If you don't slow down, you're going to get a stomachache. And anyway, there won't be any left by the time Goten-san gets here—and you said you'd share!"
"Yeah, yeah, I share my haul with him every year," Torankusu sulked, "I think I know how to pace myself by now. And besides, aren't you even paying attention? He's practically at the door! You can't keep holding my candy hostage, you jerk—"
"Oh, stop being such a kid, kiddo," Tora teased, happily ignoring his indignant sputtering in favor of answering the front door. Torankusu scowled at his retreating form, suddenly wanting back those awkward first months when his 'older brother' had still taken himself so seriously that he'd apologized for everything. The weather sucked. Someone else sneezed. Take-out places closed at midnight. He remembered wanting to wrap his hands around the man's throat and throttle him until all of that excessive politeness poured out of his ears like candy from a piñata. But at least he'd still had a mental edge over him—really, the only thing he'd had.
His alternate personality was disgustingly perfect. He was kind, compassionate, attentive... stacked like an Egyptian pyramid... liked furry frigging animals and organic whole foods. What wasn't to like about him? Maybe he'd also enjoy a nice, long, candle-lit walk off a short pier.
"Goten-san, welcome!" he heard Tora greeting his best friend. Rolling his eyes, he made his way over toward the front entrance just in time to see Goten spy the candy bowl with unguarded interest. "You're just in time!" the older man was saying warmly, "Would you like a hug?"
The youngest son blinked, caught off guard. "Um, sure... it is Valentines Day..." he allowed, a slow, coy smile curling his mouth. "But, you know, what I'd really like is a kiss." He waggled his eyebrows for effect.
The blank stare he received made Torankusu want to smack his own head against the wall. Talk about dense.
"...Of course!" Tora finally chirped, but Goten peeked around the eldest demi-saiyajin with an expression that clearly said that he'd missed the punchline. Torankusu just shrugged and folded his arms, watching wordlessly while his dark-haired counterpart chuckled and stepped across the threshold. He wrapped an arm around Tora's waist just as he finished fishing through the chocolates. "Hey, I think I go—mmph!" he jerked, eyes flying wide as a mouth settled over and invaded his, completing the moment.
Behind them, Torankusu watched in dismay as the bowl tipped, spilling all of those precious, foil-wrapped candies to the floor. He sighed loudly and bent to rescue his chocolates from beneath their boots. "...Damnit."
note: For those of you who missed the exact miscommunication, the "hug" and "kiss" were supposed to be references to Hershey's Hugs and Kisses.