Over the next year or so, Gohan discovered that Trunks' appetite for kissing him didn't lessen at all. He had now grown accustom to facing Trunks while they slept. The lavender haired prince always kissed him before they fell asleep, sometimes for quite a while. Gohan himself, well, he usually was able to handle it fine. Usually.
When he had been Trunks' age, he'd had a very important goal he was working toward to distract him. Plus, there weren't a whole lot of others around out at Bardock and Toma's place. They did live a quarter of the way around the planet. Members of their team from the old days would stop by with some regularity, but they were his sire's comrades. Gohan would never have felt comfortable initiating anything sexual with them.
Sure he masturbated a lot more than the other males around him, but that was to be expected. Or so he had thought. The young were full of hormones, right? He didn't realize anything about himself was different in that regard until coming to the palace. Being around saiyans more his own age made it too obvious to ignore though.
Sparring, training, showering off afterward... There were plenty of opportunities to be exposed to the norms of saiyan sexual tendencies. Most males wouldn't hesitate to relieve themselves if they needed to while showering with the other guards. Gohan stopped doing it around them when comments about how often he was plagued with the need started surfacing.
Apparently doing it every other day or so really stood out when the rest of the males only did it once every week...or two... With all the sparring the guards did, that was enough to get the blood flowing, right? Gohan just took care of things in their private bath these days. Though with Trunks kissing him to sleep each night, it was more like every single day now...
~/~
The morning of Trunks' fifteenth birthday was the first time Gohan was ever woken up with a kiss. A soft, gentle pulling at his lips dragged his consciousness from the depths. The prince did have a lot of practice at this point.
"Morning..." Trunks said when he saw Gohan's eyes finally flutter.
"Good morning... Happy birthday" Gohan answered, smiling, and only half awake. The kissing continued then, which Gohan was happy to let go on for a little while. At least until Trunks rubbed his hardened length against Gohan's thigh.
They were both more than familiar with waking up to the stiffness of erections pressed between them. Gohan had made it very clear from the beginning though, that that was off limits. Like an older male should, he had walked Trunks through the basics the first time it happened to the young cub. But that was it. Those kinds of things were always taken care of separately, especially after the King's order.
Gohan broke the kiss and began to gently pull away, not wanting to make a huge issue of denying Trunks this. He really shouldn't be asking anyway. The prince's arms latched around his torso though, preventing Gohan from moving back.
"Trunks..." he said, a chiding tone forming already.
"It's my birthday" Trunks said sullenly, nuzzling at Gohan's neck.
"What does that have to do with it?" Gohan asked.
"I'm fifteen now, I'm old enough" Trunks' voice had a bit of pout in it, as if he knew how this conversation would end, but he was going to try anyway.
"You know your father said to give it a few years" Gohan frowned. He had figured he'd have to deal with this eventually... So why not on Trunks' birthday? Sure.
"Yeah, and I was thirteen then, and I'm fifteen now" Trunks purred, rubbing against Gohan's leg again. Gohan put a hand on the smaller male's hip, stopping his action.
"It's been less than a year and a half since then" Gohan countered, and to his surprise, Trunks bit him. Not an angry, retaliating bite, but a slow, sucking bite on his neck. It sent a jolt through Gohan's system.
"Fuck..." he said, as an exhaled breath.
"Yes..." Trunks' voice answered in a groan, "I want to fuck."
Rubbing himself against Gohan didn't seem to produce nearly the effect that stimulating his neck had. Trunks knew his best chance to get his bodyguard on board was for Gohan to be as hot and bothered as he was. Reaching down between them, he palmed the front of Gohan's light sleeping pants. The firmness he knew would be waiting there bucked against his hand. Trunks smiled into the renewed kiss they were sharing.
"No" Gohan broke the kiss abruptly, realizing he was letting Trunks stroke him through their clothes.
"Look me in the eye and tell me that" Trunks said sarcastically, heat pouring off of him. All Gohan wanted to do was melt against him at the moment, but he had more self control than that. He tipped Trunks' chin away from where he was trying to descend on his neck again.
When he locked onto the blue of Trunks' gaze though, he was surprised to find that water could burn.
"...No..." he still managed to get out, but with a small waver in his voice and much less force.
Victory flashed in Trunks' eyes, and Gohan knew he was in serious trouble if he didn't find a way to divert this now.
Trunks rolled on top of Gohan and straddled him, pulling off his shirt with a sweep of lavender hair.
"Fuck, you're going to get us killed" Gohan groaned as Trunks helped him out of his shirt as well.
"My father's not going to kill us for having sex" Trunks countered while he pulled off Gohan's pants.
"He might if he's in a bad mood..." Gohan grumbled, but it was having less and less protest behind it.
"No, that's your dad" Trunks smirked at him, examining Gohan's naked hips with a brush of his fingers. This may be the only chance Gohan would get. Acting quickly, he flipped them over so that Trunks was beneath him. Then he began removing the younger male's pants for him.
Trunks didn't have time to make any judgments on the new position. Gohan's mouth just suddenly slid over his length. His body came alive in ways he hadn't even dreamed of, and he threaded his fingers through Gohan's hair. Fuck, this was really happening... Breathless moans fell from Trunks' lips, one after another. His tail swished dangerously against the sheets, before finally wrapping around Gohan's arm.
Trunks' hips tried their best to rock upward into the warm tension of Gohan's mouth. The dark haired male had them mostly pinned though, so it was difficult. He used his hands in Gohan's hair to urge him to take in more and more. It was so good, Trunks' entire body wanted to squirm, and he let it.
Getting such a reaction, Gohan knew he had Trunks right where he wanted him. Thank the moon. Not that he had any experience with blow jobs, but he had hoped it would prove enough to distract the adamant male from his true goal. Picking up the pace of his sucking, Gohan heard Trunks make an almost desperate sound above him.
Well, maybe he would give him just a little bit of what it was Trunks claimed he wanted... Making some of his saliva run down Trunks' shaft on purpose, Gohan let it coat his finger. He slid the single digit inside Trunks with a smooth, gentle motion. Trunks came in his mouth with a shout. Several shouts. Slim hips arched into Gohan's throat as he felt the prince clenching his hair almost frantically.
Gohan only choked a little bit, to his credit. He felt he'd done pretty good with swallowing things for a first attempt. He pulled his face off of Trunks, and then immediately stood. His bond mate was laying against the sheets, boneless, with his eyelids fluttering. Gohan was so hard he thought he might explode. Crossing the room quickly, he left Trunks to lay there and locked the door of the bathroom behind him.
Gohan leaned against the wall, facing the shower, and roughly grabbed himself. Trunks' most intimate taste and scent still filled his senses, and he came from only a few strokes. He groaned and grunted with the force of the imagery in his head. It all degraded into a low growl at the end, as he squeezed the last few drops of liquid from his length.
Trunks had noticed Gohan's absence, but was having difficulty keeping accurate track of time with his eyes closed. When he heard the grunts of Gohan cumming in the bathroom though, his eyes flew open.
"Bastard..." he said in the direction of the door, knowing immediately that he'd been played.
The bathroom door jolted as Trunks hit it with his palm. Gohan had pretty much been expecting that though.
"Hey! I may still be, … " Trunks gave just the slightest pause in his sarcastic declaration, "Mostly a virgin, but I know that wasn't sex, Gohan."
"You're an asshole, Trunks" Gohan lobbed an insult he'd heard Trunks' mother use time and time again against the King, knowing it would have just as little effect. Trunks snorted from the other side of the door, and Gohan could practically see him crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too" the prince replied, and suddenly the atmosphere changed drastically.
It wasn't like Gohan hadn't already guessed. It wasn't really a surprise to him that the prince loved him. Never mind the inversion of the wording, Gohan could hear the soft truth underneath it. The surprising part was hearing it right now, that he would say it out loud like that. From the edge of panic that wafted through the air suddenly, Gohan would bet he hadn't meant to.
He turned and opened the door, catching Trunks with his hand raised toward the wood. Blinking, the prince blushed in the most attractive way Gohan had ever seen. Without a word, Gohan pulled him into a kiss, wrapping him up securely in his arms. He could feel all the tension drain out of Trunks' body when he did.
"I do love you" Gohan gazed earnestly into Trunks' upturned face. Trunks nodded, fighting back several different emotions right then, and not trusting his voice.
"It's ok, I understand" Gohan added, making sure Trunks knew neither the odd delivery or the fact that the love existed bothered him.
"I know you do" Trunks managed to clear his throat and get them out as complete words. He gave Gohan a quick kiss and then buried his face in his larger bodyguard's shoulder.
"Sixteen" Gohan said, letting out a resigned sigh. "It may still be too early to be in full compliance with your father's wording... But if you still want to go all the way then, we will" Gohan relented. He could feel Trunks' lips smiling against the skin of his shoulder.
"Ok... I guess I can make do like this until then" Trunks confirmed with a slightly mirthful sigh.
"Uh, don't think you're getting a blow job every morning for the next year, brat" Gohan said gruffly, feeling a playful mood settle back over the room.
"But I'm the prince" Trunks said with a sweet smirk. Gohan had a much better immunity to that tactic though.
"Well then you must give royally good ones yourself" Gohan shot back, rubbing his thumb over Trunks' cheek. Trunks looked up at him with heat rapidly being added to the smirk.
"How presumptuous..." he said in his most condescending tone, then added, "I like that in a guard."
"Get in the shower, we're going to be late for breakfast" Gohan kissed the tip of Trunks' nose as he rolled his eyes. Then he promptly hauled him the rest of the way into the bathroom.
~/~
Expecting a slight interrogation, because of the smell, Gohan and Trunks prepared for the rest of their day. Even after showering, such a thing still lingered to a saiyan's nose. Certain people made it their business to watch for the combined smell on them anyway...like every single other guard in the palace. Low murmurs and even a few whistles rose up behind them as they made their way to breakfast.
Gohan couldn't make the same claim this time, of not having really 'done' anything... They walked straight to the King's side instead of sitting, earning themselves a raised eyebrow. Then the scent caught up to Vegeta's nose, and he tossed his roll down with a sigh. Gohan hoped it would help that they were being honest about it up front.
"Now, it's not what you think..." Trunks started. Gohan was hesitant to let him do the talking, but he had insisted, and Gohan couldn't refuse.
"We didn't have sex, Gohan just gave me a blow job for my birthday" Trunks declared with a grin. Gohan hit him upside the head.
"What the hell? Don't say it like that!" he rounded on the teen. Trunks was obviously trying to look sheepish, but not at all sorry, his eyes lighting up playfully. Did he not know this was serious?
The look on Vegeta's face was as stoic and not giving of a damn as usual, and Gohan hoped that was a good sign.
"Sit the fuck down and eat your breakfast" he commanded with a tone that indicated he found their display ridiculous on several levels. Vegeta shook his head as he picked his food back up. He heard Kakarot chuckle beside him as the cubs made their way to their normal seats. The bulkier saiyan started to open his mouth, and Vegeta grimaced to think of what he might be about to say.
"Wow, that certainly does bring back mem-"
"Kakarot" Vegeta cut him off, "Do not make me order you to break all your own limbs" he said in a warning tone. After their eyes met in a brief flash, Kakarot went back to chuckling instead, and Vegeta to eating.
~/~
Bulma pulled Trunks aside after the meal to give him her own present, and Gohan a 'look'. He couldn't tell though, if it was one of 'I'm watching you', or one of approval...
Upon seeing Trunks' relative disinterest in human methods of entertainment, like music, movies, etc., Bulma stuck mostly to gifts of food now. This year it was a large box of chocolate covered marshmallows and strawberries.
They had a fruit very similar tasting to strawberries here, but chocolate was another off world introduction. Given the way they usually inhaled food, most saiyans didn't take the time to do any fancy cooking. If you were rich enough to import a chef and ingredients from other planets, it was certainly enjoyed though.
The humans, with their smaller stomachs, seemed to invent their dishes based on getting the most flavor out of each one. Trunks was extremely pleased with the gift, partly because he knew Gohan had developed a bit of a weakness to chocolate. They were about to return to deposit the gift in the safety of their room, when Bulma stopped them.
"Oh, by the way, you wouldn't mind doing a tiny favor for me today, would you boys?" she asked sweetly.
~/~
Gohan and Trunks had not been planning to go into the city that day, but it was ok. Bulma asked her son to inspect a shipment of parts for her from the Tylek planet. They were a tedious and slightly underhanded race. The last batch she had gotten from them wasn't correct when she received it, and they had a policy of no returns once the order was signed for. From then on, someone who knew what all the little pieces were had to be present when the cargo ship touched down.
Bulma had thought about starting a war over it, but decided it would be a waste of resources in the end.
She would have done it herself, but the ship was coming into the main port later than it was supposed to. Trunks certainly understood about conflicting schedules. He never minded getting out of the palace for a bit either. It wasn't like they needed any special clearance or extra guards, so it was actually easier for them.
Gohan was, approximately, the second strongest being on the planet, and Trunks somewhere around fourth. It was best not to get into actual 'strongest power level' matches with their fathers, for many reasons. Personally, Gohan suspected Trunks held back just as he did, not wanting to appear stronger than the King.
It wasn't an appropriate accusation to make aloud though, even when they were alone. It was actually one of the most backhanded insults that could be leveled in saiyan society. To say that your opponent must be holding back implied they couldn't possibly really be this weak... So Gohan let it lay.
~/~
Arriving at the port brought back a lot of memories for Gohan. Trunks had been here a few times over the course of his life, but only as an observer. Bardock and Toma had taken Gohan off planet multiple times though. They loved to pit him up against creatures and conditions that couldn't be found on vegeta-sei.
Gohan knew they had liked the feeling of adventure it gave them personally too. It was pretty damn close to when they'd been an active squad, traveling the galaxy and kicking ass. Gohan had heard so many stories of 'the good old days' around camp fires on other planets, he could probably still recite them word for word.
Of course, it was the reputation the saiyans had earned doing that which brought Frieza to their door in the first place... Gohan didn't dwell on that aspect of it too greatly though. Most didn't. Missions under the PTO's rule had catered just as much to the saiyan's natural mentality. It was the underlying shame of having been subjugated that left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Gohan studied the markings on the different ships while he thought, noting which were from the planets of long time allies. Many races were also present at the port which wouldn't be in the rest of the city. Gohan stayed close, but not too close, to Trunks' side while they were there.
Once the shipment was looked over, with several 'discrepancies' cleared up and initialed, they were finally free to go. It really was like stepping between two different worlds, going from the spaceport back to the city. Cautious, interplanetary trade bustled along there. The way saiyans lived their day to day lives was much more primitive though.
"Hey, Gohan, let's take a walk for a bit..." Trunks suggested, instead of heading straight back to the palace.
"You mean walk back in the port, or in the city?" he asked.
"Just around here" Trunks replied, his tail brushing against Gohan's under their capes.
"I take it by 'walk', you mean find a place to make out for a while before heading back then" Gohan said with a smile, catching Trunks' tail with his own.
"Well, if that's not enough for you, we could always trade blow jobs in the back of a seedy bar" Trunks' face lit up with a mischievous grin. Gohan shook his head and steered Trunks off the main thoroughfare that lead to the space hub.
"Don't push your luck" he said with a growl. He didn't exactly let his guard down, but the both of them were more comfortable in this part of town. There was much less trouble they could get into among their own kind.
~/~
They did not trade blow jobs, or go into any bars, though Trunks did tease him about it a few more times. Most people didn't realize it was the crown prince and his bodyguard walking along the street until they noticed Trunks' hair. They certainly weren't incognito, but without a huge procession they stood out a lot less.
He and Gohan even found a secluded spot an the back of a random shopkeeper's store, to make out in for almost half an hour. Thankfully the shopkeeper's brats kept coming by every few minutes to spy on them, so it kept Trunks in check. They purchased a large amount of dried jerky from the place as thanks for the use of their 'facilities' afterward.
When they stepped back out on the street, Gohan could smell blood in the air.
That alone wouldn't be enough to raise any alarms in a saiyan population center. But the nearly empty streets were. Lively would have been a polite term for how they had been when Gohan and Trunks went into the store. Not so now. They weren't completely silent though. There was a fight of some sort going on to their left, a couple hundred feet away.
Fights were hardly uncommon, and in fact still the way most disputes were settled on vegeta-sei. Gohan sniffed the air though, and just felt all kinds of wrong about what was happening. He and Trunks both headed in the direction of the scuffle without even saying a word to each other.
"What's going on here?" Trunks demanded to know, his deep voice cutting through the din of the scuffle easily.
"Mind your own business" one of the older males from the outer ring scoffed without turning around, "Or else you'll be next."
This wasn't right. Gohan knew immediately if they'd been dispensing some sort of valid beating, they wouldn't have responded like that. Trunks raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head to the side, examining the male who'd spoken.
"I'd like to see you try, Bega" Trunks said with an icy tone, recognizing the saiyan elite. Red flags were popping up all over this mess. Gohan looked closely, and found several other high ranking saiyans in the group. These males weren't just elites, many of them were the current sire's of their lines. No wonder the area had emptied out. When Trunks turned super saiyan right there on the street, Gohan felt it was justified.
Now he had their attention.
All movement stopped, which meant they had already passed the point of this 'fight' being a real fight anyway. Males didn't live to be as old as these were, in this society, without knowing how to act in a pinch though.
"Your highness" Bega gave a small bow, and the others followed suit. "We were just finishing up a personal dispute" he finally answered Trunks' question. His tone was light, as if he hadn't done anything wrong. The arrogance of this male was unbelievable. Gohan swallowed down the anger that wanted him to go super saiyan and pound this moron into oblivion. It was Trunks' place to handle this, Gohan was just his guard.
"Oh? Well, from the lack of movement from your opponent, I'd say the dispute's been settled..." Trunks said blandly, "Unless of course you're implying that this one male issued a death match challenge to all eight of you at once?"
No one answered him.
Trunks' eyes flashed, and the lesser males in the group shifted uncomfortably, but remained silent.
"Move" Trunks ordered, the glow of his aura demanding obedience. He got it. Somehow, Gohan felt a wave of relief that he did. This was insane. For this level of passive defiance to be shown the King would have had Vegeta ordering people in chains left and right. If not beating them to a pulp with his bare hands...
As the crowd parted to reveal their prey, Trunks walked forward to get a closer look. Playing politics was one thing, but not if twice this many elites had attacked him would the prince have worried. He certainly felt no fear in their midst, though he knew Gohan wouldn't like the tactical issue of him being 'surrounded' by them. As expected, his bodyguard moved too, staying at his side.
The marred form huddling on the street struggled to move as they approached. Bruises and broken skin covered the young male's back, and blood matted his hair. This was the main city of vegeta-sei though, so he still tried to find the strength to kneel for the prince. As he moved, another form was revealed beneath him, one with bright red hair and a tiny tail.
That explained the cub-like female smell. She couldn't have been more than three, and was shaking as she clung to the male's side. That explained the thick fear riding the air as well. When the male finally made it to a position where he could look up at them, his eyes were a startling green. He coughed up a little blood before being able to speak. It was obvious that things inside him were just as damaged as his back.
"Your highness" he said, tilting his head back down in a bow. Gohan was sure it was the best he could do right now.
"...Son of Kra... Casey..." Trunks said after studying him for a moment. The male's eyes went wide that the prince would know his name. Gohan felt a swell of both affection and pride for Trunks, even in the middle of all this. He had obviously taken Gohan's advice seriously all those years ago, on being more familiar with the program.
"You're only, what? Twelve years old?" Trunks asked him, but his gaze was resting on the young female with him.
"Yes, your highness... This is Bran, my sister" he said, introducing her properly.
"Is she ok?" Gohan spoke out of turn, but he was beyond caring for that right now. He took a knee and placed his hand on the cub's back, trying to assess her ki. Casey let him, though, he wasn't in any shape to argue.
"She was being bullied … by some males a few years older than her. I don't think she's seriously hurt though. I stepped in and stopped it" the green eyed male hacked up a little more blood while he spoke, and Trunks knew they didn't have an incredibly long amount of time to sit around debating this.
"Well, unless any of you other elites would care to speak up, I'm going to have to take this male's version of events..." Trunks announced. It was clear that these bastards had decided to beat him up simply for being a half breed that out-fought a few full blooded whelps. It went against everything Gohan had ever been taught, that he should be punished for being strong. That kind of retaliation wasn't allowed in personal disputes.
When a pack member was attacked unfairly, you were well within your rights, even required, to intervene. Same with bond mates. Even if the brats who had 'bullied' her were related to these elder males, Casey having bested them should have ended it. It further riled Gohan to know that this male's father was an elite just like the rest of his attackers. It wasn't even low-class bickering that just got out of control.
These were just cubs.
The group of males around them was still silent. Gohan didn't hold out hope that any of them might feel shame for what they'd done some day.
"Very well then, you're all going to the palace immediately for sentencing" Trunks gave a vengeful smirk, knowing justice dispensed by his father would mean infinitely more to them. "Too bad for you he's in a foul mood today..." he added, knowing it would be harsher as well.
It was one thing to be silent, but outright defying the order of a super saiyan was unthinkable, let alone impossible. Even if they didn't respect Trunks' breeding, they had to bow to his power. Forming a line, they did have the audacity to hold their heads high though.
It was then that Gohan noticed the streets were no longer empty. He was shocked to see that a few of the faces around them were openly in commiseration with these arrogant males. Nowhere near the majority, but still, it was a sobering observation.
"See that this one gets to the tanks" Gohan said to the keeper of the shop they'd been in earlier, motioning toward Casey. The walkways were lined with saiyans who had come back out to watch once the prince got involved. What must have been the shopkeeper's breed mate, made a scoffing sound at his request. The whelp on her hip was trying to climb up on top of her head as she stared challengingly. Gohan paused and raised an eyebrow.
"They won't take him" she finally said, her eyes flitting from Gohan back to the prince, "Something should be done about that too..."
Her posture, the low tone in her voice, her breed mate's reaction...they all told Gohan just how much she risked by having said that aloud. It made him feel physically ill.
"We'll take care of it then" he said quietly, dismissing them after all with a nod. Going back over to Trunks, he pulled gently on the prince's elbow, and whispered into his ear.
"One of us has to take the brat, but I don't want to get separated..." Too many things were happening too quickly to change Gohan's perspective on reality right now. Trunks hadn't heard the conversation with the shopkeeper, but he trusted Gohan's judgment completely. He didn't bother to keep his voice down when he responded.
"Oh? Perhaps we should just slaughter them all right here then" he said pensively, gesturing toward the line up of criminals. Gohan smiled and played his part, but knew that wasn't really an option.
"Now, now, how would you explain that to the King?" he said for the audience's benefit.
"You don't think he'd believe I just had a fit of rage?" Trunks had real playfulness in his eyes now, "He does it all the time."
"You can't just go around killing everyone if things are inconvenient, even your father doesn't do that" Gohan pointed out as he knelt next to Casey and Bran again. Suddenly Trunks' power spiked, and in the blink of an eye, the entire line of attackers was spilled over, laying limp on the ground. Gohan put the bloodied half breed's arm over his shoulder, but then changed his mind when he saw the pain it produced.
Carrying him in his arms instead seemed like it would be less stressful to his system. Gohan pulled gently on the little female's tail with his own, a silent gesture for her to climb on his back. He was afraid that her weight on her brother's chest while he was carried would only do more harm.
"Was that really necessary?" Gohan raised an eyebrow at Trunks, seeing what he'd done.
"What? I only knocked them out, they're fine" Trunks turned from the line of prone warriors and dropped out of super saiyan, "It's my father they'll have to worry about when they wake up."
A few bystanders who were known to be trustworthy were picked out to transport the criminals. Gohan and Trunks took to the skies toward the common use tanks right away. They flew in silence. The city's healing tanks were maintained and paid for by the palace. For someone to have decided the half breeds would be denied the use of them, spoke of more than just discrimination. It was outright lawbreaking.
The staff were beyond shocked to see the prince and his bodyguard arrive with such a load. Of course Casey was given a tank immediately. Miraculously he was still conscious, and Trunks promised him they would wait with Bran. Eventually one of their parents would come to look for them, likely long before Casey was done healing all that damage. Gohan hoped it was their father, for their sakes.
With the streets having apparently degraded to this, Gohan wasn't even sure a human should be walking down them.
~/~
When a parent did come, hours later, it wasn't Casey's father. It was Gohan's.
"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" he said sarcastically, finding them eating jerky and playing with Bran on the floor in front of the tank.
"Jerky, Kakarot?" Trunks held up a chunk of it to the frowning warrior. Gohan's father walked over and swiped it out of his hand, not ever one to turn down food.
"When unconscious elites started being dumped at the palace gates, we expected you two back shortly after that" Kakarot said, chewing forcefully.
"No one's come for her yet" Gohan said quietly, even though the few staff members around were all on the other end of the hall. With a roll of his eyes, Kakarot turned and bellowed to the nameless functionaries across the way.
"You! Go find Kra, son of Yham and bring him here. Now!"
The male he had pointed to dropped what he was doing and scurried out the door immediately.
"You couldn't have done that four hours ago?" Kakarot smacked his son upside the head in reprimand. Gohan took it good naturedly, he knew how his father was.
"You'd be surprised" Trunks spoke evenly, his tone carrying only far enough for them to hear, "At the number of things we've discovered half breeds can't do today."
"What do you mean?" Kakarot's demeanor shifted noticeably.
"The full details of our day are something more for my father's ears, I think..." Trunks said. Not that he wouldn't tell Gohan's father, but he was indicating it should wait until they were in the palace. Trunks looked absently at Bran hiding from Kakarot in Gohan's cape, knowing she could understand what they were saying, but wasn't old enough to understand.
~/~
A few hours after that, they were finally able to turn the cub over to her father. Trunks wondered if he should tell him to stay and watch over his healing son too, or just let it go. In the end the prince decided it wasn't his call, and he didn't want to come off as too pretentious. Casey had definitely been healed of any internal injuries by that point anyway. A good deal of the external ones were starting to close up as well. Even if 'they' drained and took him out right after the more powerful males left, he'd survive...
~/~
It made Trunks angry that his father didn't seem surprised by the violence.
It made him uneasy though, that he was about the tanks.
"What do you mean the half breeds are being turned away?" Vegeta scowled, sitting up straighter and leaning forward a bit.
"The female said that they wouldn't take him, like it was common knowledge" Gohan confirmed. "She also acted like she knew she could get in a lot of trouble for telling me that..."
A quick look of concern passed between the King and Kakarot. Then it was gone. Gohan went on. "Trunks 'looked' through the main system's attendance records while we were there too. I find it hard to believe there hasn't been a single half breed who needed to visit the city's tanks in the last year."
"What are you going to do about this?" Trunks demanded to know, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl.
"Fire Paragus" Vegeta said with clipped distaste, swirling the drink in his glass rather than look at them.
"I was thinking more like end him" Kakarot said, his tail coiling around his waist as if getting ready for battle. Vegeta sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"We can't just kill everyone who opposes us, Kakarot."
Trunks and Gohan shared a look that time, only it was more of a suppressed smile.
"Why not?" Kakarot asked, his tone almost pouting, but still offering it as a serious suggestion.
"Why not?..." Vegeta set down his glass and raised his arms, sweeping them wide, "Why not just go back to living as oozaru in the wild? Hmm? Why not tear it all down! Fuck civilization!" he gestured toward the stained glass window at the end of the room. It was the only physical layer between them and the rest of the city at large below.
This was going to get them nowhere.
"Why fire Paragus? He's not in charge of the tanks..." Gohan asked, hoping to bring the King's attention back to a more sane track. Gohan assumed he was just venting when he said stuff like that, but, it was Vegeta...
"He's not, but his bond mate's brother is" Vegeta said tiredly.
"Why don't you fire his bond mate's brother then?" Gohan asked politely.
"Because he's not the root of the problem, Paragus is" Vegeta said in a snippy tone.
"But, do you have any proof he ordered it?"
"No, but everyone knows how he is" Vegeta sighed.
"You can't just do that without proof of something though" Gohan said as meekly as possible, more like a reminder.
"Why am I debating this with you?" Vegeta suddenly looked up at Gohan, as if he was just discovering the ridiculousness of this situation.
"Um... Because Bardock's not here?" Gohan offered.
Vegeta gave him a flat look. Gohan waited to see what the King was going to do. Vegeta's eyes glanced over to Trunks, and then he picked up his glass again, downing the rest of the liquid.
"Get out, both of you" he ordered as he set it back on the table.
"Father-" Trunks began, risking a little defiance.
"Do not think so little of me" Vegeta warned, his tail swishing angrily, "I am not so stupid as to really take actions based solely on heated words" he reprimanded them. "You will go now, and I will fix this."
They both bowed and left silently after that, glad to have their skins intact.
~/~
Later that evening, they got a surprise visit from Gohan's father. A regular guard would have knocked before entering their rooms, but not him. They assumed because of that, that it was either him or the King. Or him and the King... Trunks was in the middle of changing, and Gohan brushing up on the various improvements Bulma had made to the healing tanks.
As soon as he heard the click of the doorknob turning, Trunks tossed the shirt he was discarding over the holocube. It interrupted its display, but did leave a slight blue glow emanating from the spot. Gohan flipped the corner of the cloth over with equal casualness as the door swung open. The doubled layer muted it much more thoroughly.
Trunks moved toward Gohan as if something else entirely was being walked in on, blocking view of the device just in case. Not that he needed an excuse to straddle his bodyguard's lap.
"The King wanted to make sure you knew not to repeat the assumptions he made during our little talk earlier" Kakarot said, eyeing them seriously.
"I can assure you that your son and I are the very souls of discretion" Trunks nodded slowly. Gohan sighed, mentally. He hoped his father didn't know Trunks well enough to catch the subtle layer of condescension in his reply.
"Also, I changed your schedules to allow for longer sparring times, starting tomorrow" Kakarot crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. "So make sure you get a good night's sleep, because you're going to need it" he said smugly. Both of them nodded once in acknowledgment, and submission. They let out a collective sigh of relief, and resignation, once Gohan's father was gone though.
~/~
Much later that night, orders had been issued and punishments set to be given out in the appropriate manners. Now the King lay in bed, trying to fall asleep after a disturbing day. He could tell his bond mate was awake too, both of them still thinking. Kakarot drew a larger breath than normal after a few moments, and pierced the silence.
"Do you think he knows?..." he asked quietly.
"Paragus?" Vegeta clarified, moving to rest his head on his bond mate's arm.
"Yeah... If he's been denying them access to the tanks..."
Vegeta closed his eyes and let Kakarot's other arm move to curl around him.
"No, I don't think he does. Paragus is a petty, vindictive male, I doubt it was anything more than that..."
