Omg I am so sorry. Life threw a curve ball the past couple months and I've barely gotten any writing done this entire school year. But now that things are starting to wind down again, I'm going to try pumping out a chapter a week for EACH of my three stories. Please don't hold me to that, but I swear I'll try! Anyway, onto my pre-chapter note.
There's a...disturbing amount of readers that want Masaomi and Dana to die a horrible death. First, I say that is absolutely hilarious. Second, those comments make me proud that I've developed such an unlikable character when that was my intention. And third, I think some of you need some serious help. Seriously.
Anyway, enough of my soapbox. You've been waiting a long time for this installment, so let's get to the yaoi!
"Ow ow ow, hot sand!" Judai whines as we step onto the beach. Trunks and I agree, hastily throwing our things down and running to the water (well, maybe not hastily, but as fast as we can go without raising too many questions). The others follow soon after, diving into the water.
I shiver as I dive below the surface. The water is too dirty to see very far in front of me, but the shells below are gorgeous. Trunks swims up behind me, picking up an exceptionally colorful shell off the sea floor and poking his head back above. I grin, and follow him.
He holds the shell out to me, still wet from being beneath the cold water for who knows how long. The surface is smooth from the waves crashing down on it again and again, the colors seeming inexplicable. Trunks goes onto explain a chemical reaction that could have caused that, which I pretend to understand. Mostly, I just stare at the shell. And him.
"Here, you keep it," Trunks smiles, slipping the shell into my hand.
"Really?" I gasp, turning the large shell over in my hands. "But you found it, you should keep it."
"Nah, I don't really have any use for it," Trunks shrugs, his smile never faltering. "Come on, Goten, let's look for some more."
And we do. For the next couple hours, Trunks and I are more often underwater than not. We find more shells than we can carry, but none are ever as beautiful as the one Trunks found at the very beginning. I keep that one to myself.
Eventually we start to get cold, so we exit the water to rest. The others got out a while ago, and are all sitting beneath the umbrellas on their towels and lawn chairs. Dana waves teasingly at Trunks, his face already heating up. I simply laugh and take a seat.
Somehow, not even Dana could ruin this for me.
"So Goten, what do you want to do tonight?" Bailey inquires, leaning her head on my shoulder. I groan inwardly, hating her pointless flirting.
"No clue, probably just relax," I shrug. The shrug was an attempt to get her off.
"Aw, that's no fun," Dana jokes. "We should go find a club!"
"No," I snap.
"Why not?"
"Bad things happen when I go to clubs with you two," I laugh, pointing at Trunks and Dana. The two of them blush furiously, scooting away from each other as far as they can. The rest of us laugh wildly.
"Last time was fun, though," Bailey says. "We flew around and stuff, we had a good time!"
"When did you go back to the club?" Trunks asks, turning to me. I swallow nervously, not quite sure how to answer.
"Oh, uh…one day I was bored and decided to go hang out with Bailey," I lie. Well, not exactly a lie. I did decide to go out with Bailey, but my reasoning was a bit…different.
"Oh, okay," Trunks says, turning away from me. I instantly notice Dana giving Trunks a weird look, which I try to ignore by turning back to Bailey.
"So, little bro's gone clubbing?" Gohan teases. I blush furiously.
"It was…a non-alcoholic club?" I offer.
"Suurrrre it was," Videl laughs. Everyone but me laughs out loud while I try to avoid Gohan's gaze. I know he doesn't really care, but I still find myself ashamed that my brother knows that I've drank.
"So it's decided, tonight we hit the club!" Dana exclaims.
"Hold on, nothing's been decided!" I plead, really not wanting to go out tonight. Especially because it's probably going to involve Trunks and Dana wasted.
"Actually, I think it sounds fun," Gohan shrugs, thoroughly surprising me. "It'll be just like old times, huh Videl?"
"Not a mental picture I wanted," I groan. Everyone laughs again, silence reigning afterwards as we look out onto the ocean.
"It's so beautiful," Videl comments, leaning over onto Gohan, who wraps his arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, it really is," Trunks agrees. "We should watch the sunset."
"Then we'll hit the club?" Bailey confirms. Trunks nods, and Bailey grins. "Awesome."
So we wait. Some of us go back into the water for a while to cool down, but when the sun turns from yellow to gold, then to orange, we're all back under the umbrellas to watch it sink over the water.
Fortunately, Trunks and Dana are next to each other but very far away from me. Trying to ignore them as best I can, I turn to watch the orange sun get lower and lower. Then I notice that Masaomi is sitting on my left.
"It would be so easy to tell him," Masaomi muses aloud. I growl at him, but still he doesn't flinch.
"Don't push it, Masaomi," I whisper. "I'll get your money, just leave Trunks out of it."
"Whatever you say, Goten," he laughs. "Let's just hope nothing…slips out tonight."
"What are you getting at?" I growl.
"You're buying my drinks."
"I hate you," I groan. Masaomi smirks triumphantly, knowing that he's got me. But I decide to just go along with it and hope I have enough money.
When the sun is finally out of sight, and the stars are beginning to peek through the clouds, we all head back to the hotel. The guys all just throw on some clean clothes and fix our hair a little, while the girls decide to take their time (with the exception of Videl).
After an hour of preparing and giggling, we're all walking down the sidewalk and looking for clubs. I look half-heartedly, not really wanting to go to a club at all. Eventually, much to my dismay and everyone else's joy, we find one and walk right inside. Oddly, lacking a line.
"I wonder why there's nobody outside," Videl muses as we enter the club. Looking around the dimly lit club, we see nothing really out of the ordinary. A circle of couches and chairs on the far side. A circular bar with several bartenders, only a couple of whom are serving drinks. The rest just wipe down clear glasses with rags and store them below the counter.
Music blasts loudly in my ears, intensifying my headache and making me groan out loud. The other club-goers here seem a little out of the ordinary as well. All the men are in tight shirts, a disturbing amount of skinny jeans clad on their hips. The women are dressed very comfortably for being at a club, I even pick one out in sweat pants.
"Is this…?" Gohan starts.
"A gay bar?" Trunks finishes. Our first hint should have been Bad Romance by Lady Gaga ringing throughout the club, our final confirmation being a short haired girl having her lips locked with a petite blond on the couches.
"We should go somewhere else…" Judai concludes.
"Why bother?" Trunks interjects, surprising us all. "It's like we're trying to hook up, we're just here to get some drinks."
"Trunks…I don't know if I'm comfortable with this. Come on, there's gotta be a million clubs around here," Dana pleads. A few patrons glance over at us, eyebrows raised and wondering if we're going to come in or not.
"Come on, Dana, it's not so bad," Gohan grins. "Come on, live a little!"
Never thought I'd hear Gohan of all people say that. Gohan shoots me a knowing glance, winking obviously. My face reddens just as obviously.
"I think this place is bogus," Masaomi scoffs, turning to leave. "Come on, I'm leaving."
"I'll stay," Bailey smiles, looping her arm through mine. "Who's in?"
In the end, Trunks, Gohan, Videl, and Bailey are the only ones who agree to stay. Dana gives Trunks a quick glare before exiting the bar, sure to result in a fight later. I linger at the entrance as our group splits, nervous to be sitting in a gay bar with my gay crush. Who doesn't know that I'm gay.
It has to be better than being with Masaomi, so I stay in the bar with Trunks and the others.
"Glad you finally decided to sit down," someone comments as we all take our seats in the sitting area. A lanky man with spiked brown hair smiles at me. His arms are draped over the back of his couch, his head leaned back on it. His voice gives off the slight lisp of the stereotypical gay man. He shoots me a glance, clearly checking me out.
One move and I swear I'll rip your fucking head off, I growl in my mind.
"I wouldn't bother, man. Goten's as straight as they come," Trunks laughs. If only you knew…
"Shame. You really are cute," he muses, his eyes drifting over the rest of our group. His eyes hesitate on Trunks, but then return to the ceiling. "So what's a group of straight people doing here?"
"First place we found, and it serves alcohol," Bailey giggles. "Isn't that reason enough?"
"Not really. We tend to turn most people off," the man shrugs. He shoots Trunks a glance. "In more ways than one."
There's an uncomfortable silence at the latest statement, the strange man smirking at our lack of reaction. Trunks is the first to speak afterwards. "So what's your name?"
"Aaron," he replies quickly. "And you?"
We go down the line, all introducing ourselves and finishing with Bailey. Frankly, I'm pretty sure he stopped listening after Trunks.
"I'll get our drinks," Videl smiles, standing. Bailey offers to accompany her and she accepts, leaving all of the guys on our own.
"You're surprisingly cool with this, Goten," Trunks comments, somehow noticing how at home I feel here. Truthfully, I do feel some level of respect for those who have shed their spots in the closet. Or maybe it's envy? I don't really know.
"I don't have a problem with gay people," I tell him. The absolute truth, of course, though my reasoning is different than he would expect. Trunks smiles softly at my comment, a mysterious gesture. I shrug it off as Bailey and Videl return with our drinks.
"Took you long enough," Gohan teases, planting an innocent kiss on Videl's lips as she returns to her seat.
"Sorry, we got hit on by some lesbians on the way back," Videl smiles. "They were pretty disappointed to find out we're straight."
"Well you are beautiful," Gohan grins.
"God, wanna be any more cheesy Gohan?" Videl laughs, smacking the back of her hand on his chest. We all laugh out loud, getting to work on our drinks.
The night progresses pretty smoothly. Gohan and Videl supply most all of the drinks (something I would never have expected from Gohan) and I get more drunk than I'd like to admit.
"Goten, I think we…I mean…uh, fuck," Bailey groans, giggling slightly. The alcohol digs at her brain, muddling her thoughts. She stumbles slightly (I don't know what the hell she drank, because I've never known her to be a lightweight), and I catch her in my left arm. A few of the other customers shoot us strange looks, but soon return to their own drinks.
"We should go," I finish for her, assuming the rest of her sentence. Bailey nods happily, brushing her hair out of her face. "I'll go find Trunks." Bailey points to the back of the bar.
"He went back there…with, uh…Dana, I think," she says.
"Dana isn't here," I tell her. "You must be mistaken." Bailey presses a finger over my lips.
"No no no, I remember specififically," she stutters. "He lead someone back there by their hand. Or their wrist, or…some part of an arm." She wrinkles her nose, trying to get her words straight.
Trying not to jump to conclusions, I set Bailey down on the couch and walk (and stagger at one point) to the back of the club to find Trunks. Gohan and Videl are both sitting at the bar laughing, clearly not as drunk as the rest of us. I nod to Gohan, letting him know that I'm about ready to go. He probably doesn't understand the nod, but I'm sure he understands the stagger.
I look through the back few rooms of the bar, with no luck in finding my purple haired friend. Arriving at the last door, the Men's bathroom, I reason that he has to be in here if he's still in the bar.
I knock on the door, knowing full well that it's not a private bathroom but not wanting to walk into something I don't want to see. "Hey Trunks, you in there?"
"Don't come in here!" Trunks screams back instantly. I try to think of why he'd be so frantic to keep me out of the bathroom, my drinks finally affecting my thought processes. Eventually, I come to one conclusion. I can't think of a single woman in this club that would hook up with Trunks, except Bailey who is back in the main area.
No. Fucking. Way.
All good judgment thrown out the window, I throw the door open with no hesitation against Trunks' wishes. I see Trunks sliding his shirt back on his toned body, Aaron still completely naked leaning against one of the sinks. Goten averts his eyes back to Trunks, who hangs his head in shame.
"Trunks…?" I mutter. Trunks turns away from me, still not looking at Aaron either.
"I didn't want you to find out like this," Trunks says softly, refusing to look at me.
"You're…are you…?" I mumble, trying to form a coherent sentence through both shock, adrenaline, alcohol, and more lust than I'm proud of.
"Yeah," Trunks answers quickly. He pushes himself past me and out of the bathroom, leaving me and the still nude Aaron in the bathroom.
"Way to fuck it up, Goten," Aaron scoffs. "We didn't even get to do anything, you fucked it all up."
Aaron reaches down to pick up his pants, but my complete and utter fury at the man takes over. I sprint over to him at Saiyan speeds, pushing on his chest as hard as I should without killing him. He flies back instantly, breaking through three bathroom stalls and breaking a toilet. Dirty water rains down on his still naked form, consciousness lost.
That's what you get for stepping in on Trunks, I smirk in my head. I turn to exit the bathroom, thoughts surprisingly clear as I speed through the bar. I guess beating the absolute shit out of Aaron really helped.
I grab Bailey by her arm and pull her off the couch rather quickly, causing her to yelp in protest as I drag her to her feet. Slinging one of her arms over my shoulder, I lift to where she only barely needs to walk on her own.
"We're leaving," I tell her.
"Gohan and…Mrs. Gohan went after Trunks," Bailey tells me, leaning in close to whisper for some reason. "They said they'd meet you at the hotel."
Bailey and I step into the cool air, completely shocking me out of my drunken stupor. Bailey's head seems to clear up a bit as well.
"What's that noise?" Bailey groans, cradling her forehead in her free hand.
"What noise?" I ask. Immediately I only hear the bustling of cars on the street in front of us, but listen more intently to see what Bailey's talking about. Sure enough, to our left, looks like a full-fledged protest.
"Are those protesters?" Bailey mumbles. I set Bailey on the concrete, a sinking feeling disrupting my stomach.
"Hey look, there's one!" someone in the distant crowd yells, pointing in my direction. I turn to make sure he didn't mean someone behind me, but there's nobody. Only the half-conscious Bailey and empty pavement.
I walk closer, fists balling tighter and tighter as their signs come into focus. Some of the signs hold religious symbols, such as crosses and depictions of God. Most however, hold a single phrase.
God Hates Fags
No. Not tonight, I am not in the fucking mood.
"I suggest you all disperse right now, or this is going to get really ugly!" I scream at the crowd. Refusing to back down, ignorant of my power, most of the protesters simply laugh.
"We're not afraid of you, fag!" a man yells. His head is balding majorly, his glasses hanging lowly down on his nose. On his shirt is that phrase again, depicted in front of another cross.
"5!" I yell. None of them move, and start yelling even louder about how I'm going to Hell. "4…3…2..."
A single rock flies into the air, my Saiyan senses picking up the stone immediately. Just inches from my head, I catch the rock between two fingers effortlessly.
"One," I growl. I flick the rock back where it came from, connecting with the head of the man who tossed it. It bounces off his forehead, the man yelping loudly as he falls back on the ground. Several people turn to him, gasping over his unconscious body, and then back to me.
"Get out of here, fag! Nobody wants you here! You're gonna burn in hell!" the crowd uproars at different times. They advance on me slightly, my confidence never faltering as the horde of people inch closer. I count out the crowd, eleven men (excluding the one I already knocked out) and no women. That's good. I don't think I could bring myself to hit a woman.
One swings his sign to hit me, which would surely turn out to be harmless to me but I don't let him ever find that out. I punch the wood forming the sign's handle, shattering the plank and sending his sign to the concrete. I plant a solid punch to his stomach, and a kick to his shoulder sends him flying against the wall of the bar. The stone wall cracks under the pressure, threatening to collapse but doesn't.
"What is this guy?" one yells. He takes a single step towards me, but I plant my palm hard on his chest and send him flying back into one of his buddies. Grabbing an advancing man by the back of his hoodie, I swing him around me in a full circle and throw him into three of his friends bowling-ball style. Four left, they all hesitate slightly before taking one step towards me.
"Should we…" one hesitates.
"No, let's just get out of here," another scoffs. He gestures for the remaining men to follow, which I refuse to allow. Flexing my power level a bit, I fly straight over them and land before any of them can blink.
"W-What are you?!" he cries.
"Really, really pissed off," I growl. I punch one in the face, planting a foot on the cheek of the man on either side of the first guy. All three pass out instantly, leaving only a single one left. This one is much younger than the rest, I estimate him to be my age or younger. His eyes are wide with fear, legs trembling slightly as he backs away. Trying to calm my anger, I take a deep breath and turn away from him.
"Get out of my face. Now," I order. He nods, turning to run. "Oh, and one last thing. Never get in with these kind of people again. They're ignorant, intolerant, and stupid."
He nods, and runs out of sight that rivals a Super Saiyan (not literally, of course). I walk over to Bailey and scoop her into my arms, not bothering to try and hide myself as I fly into the air. We arrive at our room's balcony where Videl and Gohan are sitting outside, talking in hushed tones.
"Hey Gohan," I greet as I drop down into the wood. I lay Bailey out on a reclining lawn chair, where she turns over slowly before presumably falling asleep. Gohan nods, but doesn't meet my gaze. "Where's Trunks? I don't sense his energy."
"He's inside. He's just hiding it, hoping you'll go looking for him somewhere else," Videl explains. "They're back, Dana and them. Trunks won't talk to any of them, and Dana refuses to talk to him."
There's a long silence, but Gohan's voice eventually fills the void. "He said he wants to talk to you whenever you got here."
"Yet he's hiding his energy," I chuckle. "Fine. I'm going inside."
Leaving the others behind me, I open the sliding glass door and enter the hotel room. The place is really more of a penthouse (Capsule Corp. paid for it, so no surprise there), consisting of two bathrooms and four bedrooms. One for me and Bailey, Trunks and Dana, Gohan and Videl, Judai and Masaomi. Each room has a queen sized bed, with the exception of Judai's and Masaomi, which as twin beds.
"About time you showed up," Masaomi scoffs as I approach. Throwing him the finger without a second thought, I walk straight up to Judai.
"Where's Trunks?"
"His and Dana's room, right down there," Judai says, pointing down the nearest hallway. I look over to Dana, sulking in the corner with her arms folded over her scantily clad chest. I roll my eyes and walk down the hallway, Trunks' power level slowly coming into focus.
I open the door slowly, letting the luxurious room slowly be revealed behind the wooden door. Centered against the back wall is the twin-sized bed, and end table on each side bearing a lamp. The wall behind the bed is a dark beige, while the rest of the walls are more of a cream color. Trunks is sitting on the end of the bed, his strong hands fisted in his lavender locks in frustration. He looks up at me, not bothering to fake a smile.
I guess it's about time we sorted this whole mess out.
Dum dum dum...that's right! The moment of reckoning is at hand! Thank you all so much for reading this, I'm not sure how many of my old readers still enjoy reading this story. Or if any of them are reading this right now haha. If you're reading any of my other stories, expect an update in my NaruKiba soon as well. Please please PLEASE leave a review, because more reviews makes me want to write more. Thank you so much!
