It had started out as an ordinary day at capsule corp, well as normal as days as capsule corp got. Bulma had finally convinced Gohan to take up an internship there after weeks of telling him how good it would look on his college resume. He had finally broken when his mother had joined in the cajoling. So he had started helping Bulma in her personal lab before and after school. Which is where he is today. Doing some of the fabrication for project H4 when Bulma shrieks and drops something to the floor with a clatter.
He drops what he is doing and gets into a fighting stance scanning the room for threats, when he senses none he turns to Bulma. "Everything okay Bulma?" She still looks a little shaken but she steps forward and reaches behind Gohan and grabs something, something that he can feel. "What the…" and she pulls it forward ….. His tail! "What the… how did this?" He starts in confusion but trails off.
Bulma drops his tail and Gohan grabs it himself to examine it. " Your Dad's tail grew back a few times, but never when he was this old. But maybe…" and just as Bulma was about to speculate further an explosion rocks the living quarters of capsule corp. Bulma and Gohan give each other a look and then make their way towards the source. As they get closer they see it came from the gravity room. There is no visible damage on the outside but when Bulma calls through the intercom there is no response, so she overrides the system and opens the door.
The first thing that meets his eyes is the whole aft wall is scorched and just barely holding together. But then his eyes track down and he finds Vegeta sitting on the floor holding his tail in his hands Gohan has a slowly growing suspicion that someone made a wish on the dragon balls and he has a pretty good guess on who is behind it. As soon as Vegeta sees them enter he stands up and wraps his tail around his waist. He opens his mouth to talk and then closes it when he sees Gohan's tail waving behind him.
"Well, there goes the theory that your tail grew back naturally," Bulma says ruefully. Just as Vegeta says "Where are Trunks and Goten."
Gohan closes his eyes and scans the compound and goes as far out as the city limits and when he doesn't find them he says "I don't sense them nearby, I think we should get in contact with my Dad, both to see if he has his tail back, and to quickly collect the kids."
Vegeta nods in agreement and walks by both Bulma and Gohan as he leaves the gravity room. Gohan sighs and pulls out his cell phone. He dials home and it picks up on the first ring. "Hey Mom, is dad home?"
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His mom had not been happy in the least to find out that not only did Goku have his tail back, but Gohan did as well and Goten likely did as well. She insisted that Goku bring her to capsule corp before he went out to collect the troublesome duo. Gohan was incredibly thankful that Bulma had managed to distract Chi-Chi from fussing over him with talks of how Goten and Trunks were going to be punished. He had taken the opportunity to leave and walked into the adjoining room where he found Vegeta. The other man was standing in the corner looking off into the horizon. The higher levels of the building had a beautiful view through the shining spires of the skyscrapers of West city. Gohan walked over to join him and caught the scent of something unfamiliar, something dark and woodsy. He looked around but couldn't find where it was coming from. He shrugged and turned to Vegeta.
"I know this isn't the most convenient timing, but are you glad to have your tail back?" Gohan inquired. Vegeta looked at the younger Saiyan without turning his head and then returned his gaze to the city. 'While I would not have chosen this myself, it is true that a Saiyan is not complete without his tail." He stated proudly, Gohan waited for him to continue but he stayed silent and seemed to deflate.
"I know the threat of going Oozaru is one we can't ignore, but that doesn't mean we have to cut them off again. Goten and Trunks are old enough that we can probably get them to stay inside during the full moons." Gohan says while nervously rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't ever think he would be in a position to actually have to comfort Vegeta. He knows the prince is only, for a lack of a better word, human. And in retrospect, the loss of his tail, one of the last links to his dead race must have been a terrible blow and he finds he wants to do whatever he can to let the man keep it. "Plus my Dad is pretty fond of his tail, now that he has it again, I don't even think my mom could convince him to get rid of it."
Vegeta finally turns to look at Gohan and there is something inscrutable in his eyes when he asks "And you boy, would you keep your tail? Or cut it off to blend in with the humans you love so much?"
Gohan takes a breath and bites back his immediate response and actually thinks about what he wants to say. "You know I don't actually know that much about my heritage, the Saiyan half that is, what with my Dad's memory loss, I never had anyone to ask. But I would like to know more about my Saiyan half. I blend in really well as a human, and I know that pisses you off, you think I'm ashamed of my Saiyan half, and maybe for a while I was, but when I saw what you Raditz and Nappa did, how death followed you like a shroud, I never wanted that. But I see you now and how you are so proud of your race, and how you are a protector now instead of a destroyer and I think maybe being a Saiyan isn't that bad. I want to learn if you would be willing to teach me. It's important to document the past, and I know you think my wanting to be a scholar is a disgrace, but in this case, it could be a benefit, I could record your" He stumbles for a moment "our heritage for posterity, and so no one can ever forget."
Vegeta looks taken aback by the sincerity in Gohan's voice and he opens his mouth to respond but then closes it not knowing what to say. The silence stretches out for a long moment before Gohan laughs nervously and says " And I'm not exactly a boy anymore, I turned 18 three months ago, some people would say that makes me a man."
That seems to break the serious mood and Vegeta looks back at Gohan and smirks, "If you say you are a man, be prepared to be treated like one." And there is something predatory in Vegeta's eyes, in the stance of his body, but before the Prince can say something more there is a sharp popping sound and Goku appears with one hand on Goten and Trunks shoulders, each one of them has a tail waving behind them and Gohan does a double-take, and yep Trunk's tail is definitely purple. The boys are vibrating with excitement and Goten wriggles his way over to Gohan.
"Look Gohan, I have a tail now!" He says excitedly.
"I Know squirt, so does everyone else," he says as he ruffles Goten's hair. "I assume this is your guys' doing."
And here Trunks nods emphatically. "Yeah, we borrowed the dragon radar and made a wish! The dragon was so cool and-" But before he can finish Bulma and chi-Chi walk into the room disapproval practically rolling off of them in waves. "Uh, hi Mom!" Trunks says nervously while Goten just tries to hide behind Gohan.
"Don't you dare mister, you are going to answer for your actions, and your older brother won't be able to protect you from the consequences of your own actions." Chi-Chi scolds and Goten sulkily comes out from behind his brother to face his mother's wrath.
"So who said you could borrow the dragon radar?" Bulma asks, arms folded and foot tapping.
"No one said we couldn't" Trunks mumbles defiantly, holding the dragon radar close to his chest.
"Don't even try to pull that one buster" Bulma growls as she snatches the Dragon radar out of his hands. "You know damn well you need to ask permission to borrow things. Just because no one said you couldn't doesn't mean you have permission."
"And Goten." Chi-chi tags in "Did you think to ask anyone else if they wanted their tails back? This wish doesn't just affect you. What is Gohan going to say to his friends at school when he suddenly shows up with a tail?"
"I Didn't think about that," Goten says with tears in his eyes. "Are you mad at me Gohan?"
And Gohan was a bit miffed, but seeing his brother's tear-stained face makes him deflate. "No, I'm not mad Goten, but I am concerned. Now none of us will be able to go outside when the moon is full, we Can't just destroy the moon again, the last time it was done it put a lot of stress on a lot of different ecosystems and a lot of people had to work very hard to make sure some animals didn't go extinct." Gohan explains.
Bulma opens her mouth to continue but Trunks interrupts her. "We just wanted tails, we didn't want to turn into big dumb monkeys." He says and Vegeta looks sharply at his son, probably he was going to explain the proud tradition of Oozaru or something, but Goten interrupts.
"Yeah, we didn't want to accidentally hurt someone so we asked the dragon to make it so Earth's moon wouldn't do that anymore," Goten says proudly.
Chi-Chi deflates a bit, not quite as angry anymore. "And that was very smart of you boys, but it was still wrong of you to do this without asking the others first."
Trunks perks up at that sensing that the scolding is about done and that they are probably going to get off lightly, but Goten still looks distressed.
"Aw Chi," Goku cajoles "I don't mind, I'm glad I have my tail back, I'm sure Vegeta feels the same" Vegeta just makes a tch noise but doesn't disagree. "See everything's fine.
"Just because you two lug-heads don't care doesn't mean everything is alright, what about Gohan?" Chi-Chi gestures towards him. And Goten once again looks like he is going to cry.
"Well I won't lie, this definitely is gonna make things harder at school" Goten sniffles and tears start running down his face. "But" Gohan quickly continues, "I'm not mad, having my tail back is sort of cool. Next time before you do something like this just remember to ask."
Goten wipes his face and nods. "Okay brother, I will."
"Now about your punishment" Bulma starts.
"What that's not fair, everything worked out." Trunks yells pointing at all the Saiyans around the room.
"You still took the dragon radar without asking, AND left the premises without telling anyone, AND made a wish without permission. So one week of grounding. And don't complain, I think you're getting off pretty lightly." Bulma says.
"But, But," Trunks says looking around the room, his eyes land on his father and he gestures towards his mom.
Vegeta snorts "Don't ask me, I would have grounded you for longer. Is that what you want?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no" Trunks shakes his head emphatically, "One week is fine."
"And the same goes for you Goten," Chi-Chi says. "Even though everything turned out all right, what you did was still wrong. During your grounding I want you to think about what you did okay?"
"Okay, mom" Goten quietly agrees.
"Now come here and give me a hug, you scared me to death," Chi-Chi says as she crouches down and holds her arms out. Goten runs into his mom's arms and hugs her fiercely.
After a moment Chi-Chi stands up and puts her hand on Goten's shoulder. "Well, now that everything's sorted I think we should be going home. Goten ran out on his studying and Goku you still have some farming to do."
"Aw man, but Chi-Chi," Goku whines "I was gonna see if Vegeta was up for a spar! I haven't gotten to spar in forever!" He pleads.
"Go home with your wife Kakarot, we can spar tomorrow." Vegeta placates him.
"That sounds great, okay then Chi-Chi, let's go! Gohan you coming with us?" he asks.
"No, Bulma and I were in the middle of something when this all started. I'll probably be spending the night here for the next few days, I'll see you guys on the weekend. Okay?" Gohan says
"Sure thing son, see you later!" Goku replies cheerily and with a pop, they were gone. Bulma and Gohan make their way back to the lab, but not before Gohan sent one last curious look at Vegeta, wondering if the man would take him up and teach him about his other half.
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The day after the incident happened he took Videl aside at her place and showed her his tail. He expected a freak-out or something, and she was shocked but calmed quickly. "It makes sense, the footage of your father in the twenty-first and twenty-second worlds martial arts tournament show him with a tail. What happened to it, you obviously weren't hiding it til now."
Gohan blushes at the reminder that they had been intimate, "Well it was cut off, Saiyans with tails turn into a giant ape under the full moon so it was deemed too dangerous." Videl turned green so Gohan rushed to assure her "For Goten and trunk's second wish they asked to make it so Earth's moon won't affect us that way. So there's nothing to worry about."
"Can I touch it?" Videl asked softly, eyeing the new appendage.
"S-Sure." Gohan said nervously "Just be careful, It's really sensitive." Videl leaned forward and took it in her hand and gently pet it.
"Wow, It's so soft!" she exclaimed. Then she looked up at Gohan through hooded eyes and said softly "Wanna find out just how sensitive it is?" And Gohan turned the shade of a ripe tomato.
"I - I um, Okay, sure if you want to," he said stumbling over his words.
Videl laughed. "Your so bashful about this, we've done this before, more than once," she said.
"I'm sorry I can-" Gohan started but Videl interrupts him.
"Don't be sorry, it's cute." Then she grabbed his hand and led him up to her bedroom.
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The rest of the week passed in a blur, at school he hung with Videl and her friends and took notes diligently even though he knew most of the material already, he spent most evenings after school at capsule corp. Every once and a while he would catch that woodsy scent again and try to locate it but he could never pinpoint it. All he knew was it made him feel warm, set his stomach swooping and made his head dizzy.
When he went home that weekend Gohan was ecstatic to have someone to play with so he spent a large portion of his time either sparing or playing with his younger brother. That Sunday Goten scrunched up his nose and told Gohan "You smell funny."
Gohan sniffed his underarms, but he had just taken a shower so it wasn't body odor." Do I smell bad?" he asked, maybe he should change his shampoo or his soap.
Goten shook his head. "No not bad, just funny. Ever since Trunks and I wished our tails back My Nose smells things a lot better, so maybe you've always smelled like this and I never noticed, but you smell sweet, Like flowers. Dad's noticed it too."
Gohan tried smelling himself again, but he couldn't find the smell, so he shrugged it off and took a fighting stance again. Okay then squirt don't let my delightful smell distract you from the fight, I want to win fair and square.
Goten jumped up from his sitting lotus position and protested "You aren't gonna win at all Gohan. I'M Gonna beat you!".
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The weekend passed by in a blur and soon enough he was packing his stuff to go back to capsule corp. "Gohan do you have to stay there, why can't you just commute? " Chi-Chi asked, wringing her hands worriedly.
"Mom, we're close to a breakthrough in this project and every second helps. so staying there is only logical. You want me to get into a good college right?"
"Yes but I miss you, I miss having my baby boy around the house." She said tearfully
"Aw mom, I promise to come home this weekend, and I'll make sure we get some quality time together okay?" Gohan said, pulling his tearful mother into an embrace.
"Okay Gohan, but listen here, if you don't come home next weekend I'll give you what for, ya hear?" she said jabbing his chest with her pointer finger.
"Yes Mom, now I gotta go, I need enough time to get to Bulma's before school starts okay?"
Chi-Chi sighed. "Okay, be safe!"
" I will mom" and then Gohan was out of the house making his way to capsule corp.
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Gohan was surprised when Vegeta approached him that thursday. But he was ecstatic to actually start learning about Saiyan culture.
"Hold on, let me get a notebook and a pen," Gohan said, scrambling to his backpack. Vegeta made a face but didn't start until Gohan had returned to his seat.
Vegeta leaned against the wall with his arms crossed looking away from Gohan but addresses him nonetheless. "What do you want to know?" he asks. And Gohan has to wait a minute to think, there is so much he doesn't know, this is a whole different culture and he doesn't know where to start. He thinks of Videl and blushes.
"What can you tell me about courting customs and marriage." The idea of sharing that part of his culture with Videl makes him feel warm all over.
"On planet Vegeta the strongest were the most desirable mates, this earthling obsession with looks and love "he scoffs " was not something Saiyans bothered with. And Gohan can believe that strength was desirable among Saiyans, but the way Vegeta treats Bulma clearly proves that love does have some part to play in Saiyan relationships. He decides not to bring that up because if he does it will start a fight and Gohan would rather hear more about his culture than debate the finer points of the Prince's relationship with his wife.
"So strength was king in looking for a partner-"
"A mate" Vegeta interrupts.
"A mate," Gohan continues smoothly, "What did a courtship consist of?"
Vegeta looks contemplative for a moment. "I was young when I left planet Vegeta so I never got to witness a drawn-out courtship myself, but I was taught the basics. The vast majority of Saiyan courtships were short. The beta would challenge an alpha to a fight, and if they won they would fuck."
Gohan takes note of the terms Vegeta is using for males and females and makes a note to ask for further clarification on them later. He also blushes furiously at the crude term Vegeta uses to describe being intimate.
"What boy, does frankness embarrass you?" then Vegeta smirks deviously "Or does the idea of fucking embarrass you, have you not made it that far with your woman?"
Gohan's blush deepens and travels from his ears all the way down his chest. "I- no, that's not- that's none of your business Vegeta." Gohan stammers waving his hands frantically, the pages of his notebook ruffling as he does so. Vegeta throws his head back and laughs at the display, and a small part of Gohan notes that the Prince looks good when he is amused. He wonders what he would look like if he was truly happy. He banishes those thoughts from his mind and clears his throat. 'Anyway, my love life isn't the topic at hand, we were talking about Saiyan culture.
Vegeta looks like he is going to push the issue, but thankfully he lets it go and returns to the topic at hand. "Not every coupling ended in a mating bond. Many Betas and alphas would stay together until the child was old enough to fight and then go their separate ways."
"What age was that?" Gohan asks, furiously writing in his notebook.
"Six or seven, sometimes ten if a beta was particularly sentimental" Vegeta clarifies. And Gohan's stomach sinks, apparently, he was left on his own to learn to fight even earlier than an all warrior race would send their children off. He tucks that bit of information far away as something to process later. "Of course there were children like your father who were sent off at a young age as invasion babies, but those were usually less promising children."
"Was it always like that?" Gohan asks "I mean were" He pauses and swallows down his distaste "less powerful children always sent away?"
Vegeta pauses to think for a moment. "I think the practice was started when we partnered with the Planet trade organization. But that was long before my time so I don't know how they were treated before then."
Gohan has a sharp pang of loss, not only was a whole culture wiped out in a moment, but all their writings and histories, Vegeta could tell what he knew, but there was still so much lost to the ether. The younger man composes himself and continues with the conversation. "So what did the people who did decide to stay together do?"
"There were different customs depending on what class the Saiyans were. I know third classes had a small ceremony, but what it entailed I don't know. Elites generally had a lot of arranged unions that would start with statements of intention and trading of small gifts, The royal family did this as well but on a larger scale." Vegeta says thoughtfully.
"And what did a marriage ceremony consist of?" Gohan asks, looking up from his notes and meeting Vegeta's gaze.
The Prince waves his hand dismissively " Saiyans didn't get married, they had mating ceremonies. There was an exchanging of vows and then they would exchange marks."
Gohan stops writing and asks curiously "Marks?"
"A mating bite." Vegeta motioned to his shoulder, they parties would bite each other here, deep enough to leave a scar. It would signal to others that they were taken. Mating was also seen as a battle of sorts," Vegeta smirks here "Betas could be rough in bed, leaving behind marks, sometimes scars in the heat of the moment. So the bite was seen as a mark of victory over that particular battle." Gohan blushes and squirms in his seat, and he starts to get the feeling that embarrassing him is amusing to Vegeta, so he fights his blush as best as he can.
"The mark was more than symbolic, I was taught it was a mechanic born of survival. Planet Vegeta was a harsh place, and the linking of the minds the bite afforded helped a mate know if their partner was in danger."
Gohan's head shoot up and his body jolts in shock. "Wait you mean there is a telepathic component to this bond!" He says fumbling to recover his pen.
"So I have been told. I have never experienced it myself." Vegeta confirms.
Gohan has a whole slew of questions, but his mind focuses on the fact that hesaid he had never experienced it. He wants to ask why he never bonded with Bulma but before he can open his mouth he thinks better of it, that sounds like it would be a touchy topic, so he decides to continue the conversation with something else. But before he can speak a sharp pop resounds in the room and his dad appears.
"Hey Vegeta, you ready for that spar?" Goku asks, bouncing in excitement.
"I guess that brings our lesson today to an end," Vegeta says dismissing Gohan, then walks over to his dad. "I assume you have picked out an appropriate spot?" he says while offering his arm.
"You bet!" Goku says and grabs Vegeta's arm. They disappear in an instant without Goku even saying hello to his son. Gohan rolls his eyes, that's his dad for you. He closes his notebook and stands up stretching.
"Well better get back to working with Bulma, that healing pod Isn't going to build itself," he says to himself and heads off to the Genuis' lab.
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Gohan felt off. His body felt amped up like it was waiting for something, and he felt hotter than normal like he was running a fever. He had tried taking a cold shower, and he got some relief from it, but his body still felt like a live wire, and his body heated up soon after. He had excused himself from Bulma's lab the third time he accidentally soldered a wire to the wrong circuit, telling Bulma he needed to clear his head. At first, he had tried to take a nap, but his mind was rushing and his body wouldn't relax. So he decided to talk a walk around capsule corp. The facility was huge and hopefully, some movement would help.
On his walk, he caught that earthy scent that he had been smelling on and off the whole time he had been there and this time he stopped to inhale it, it was divine, he knew instinctually that whatever the smell was, it would help with his fever and the tenseness in his body. So he followed it and it got stronger and stronger. Eventually, it led him to the gravity room and it hit him, it was Vegeta's scent. And then another thought floated through his mind, A fight would be a great way to get all this excess energy out. So he turned the comm on and said "Vegeta, It's Gohan, would you let me in?" He waited for a few minutes, but when the pressure valves didn't hiss to let the gravity retabalize, Gohan growled. He wanted, no NEEDED, to be in that room.
A wave of unreasonable anger was building in him, he had enough sense left to not break down the door, although a growing part of him said that that would be a fantastic idea, it would get him inside and it would get Vegeta's attention. But he crushed that part down and opened the panel at the side of the door. Bulma hadn't given him the override code, but he knew enough about the machine to override the controls and make the door open so he did just that.
In a few minutes, the valves hissed as the pressure was reset to normal and the door swung open. Gohan quickly stepped inside and was met with an irate prince. "What the hell do you think your doing brat" he yelled, and Gohan knew that he was taller than the man, but having him right up in his face, spitting angrily was just a reminder of it. The blood started pumping through his veins faster and faster and finally, he picked up his right hand and let loose a punch at Vegeta's face. Vegeta wasn't expecting it and he took the full force of the hit. He skidded back a few feet. After a moment The prince stood back up to his full height and spat some blood out of his mouth.
"Unless you want to get a beating that would make Buu look like playtime you need to leave now." Vegeta said, fire burning in his eyes and all Gohan did was smile back at him viciously, and then faster than the eye could follow he was on him. Letting loose another punch followed by a knee to the stomach. Veget caught both of them and smirked.
'Do you really think you are a match for me boy? You haven't trained seriously since before Cell." Vegeta taunts, but all Gohan does in response is bare his teeth and headbutted Vegeta to make some space between them. Vegeta let him make the space and returned his feral grin.
Gohan appears in the air over Vegeta going for a downward strike but the prince easily dodges it, and that should make Gohan mad, having his attacks being evaded so easily, but for some reason, it only makes him more excited. His distraction costs him as Vegeta grabs his leg and slams him to the ground, knocking the air out of him, he moves to roll out of the way, but Vegeta was right, the older Saiyan outclasses him in every way, and he pins him, grabbing both of his wrists with one hand and keeps his hips down with his thighs. And at that it's like something in him is at peace, he feels no need to fight back, his whole body relaxes and he feels the need to concede completely, so he bared his neck, and after that everything goes fuzzy.