Glory, you all like this'n, don't'cha? Well. Let's see here… oh, I nearly forgot. Lemon warnings, written in my gloss the detail style.

Lady Sakura-chan: Which part weren't you expecting? Goten & Trunks? I'm going to be disappointed if so - those two always wind up together. Now, if it was Gohan, I understand. I had a ball writing that part.

Ice Maiden: The last straw? Yep, indeedy. Wait until you find out why. He sounds sane? Bother. He's supposed to be horridly unstable.

RedHairedSaiyanGirl: You are hereby to be further addressed by your initials. Even angst has to have a bout of laughter, don't you think? Besides, I couldn't resist.

Tatoosh: See? I told you you voted for the pregnancy fic. That was the weirdness. As you saw, the headaches were very bad things. Don't worry, Goten stays affectionate. He has to, he's the sweetie in the story! Why do I get the feeling if I were to write a story entitled "Chi-Chi Gets What She Deserves," you'd be first in line to review? J

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He moved back to Capsule Corp. a week later. He couldn't stand sleeping alone anymore. At least at Capsule Corp., he'd thought to have Bulma sleeping with him occasionally. He'd been wrong. She spent the nights in her lab. He'd wait until he was sure she wasn't coming, then go to the GR. Going to the lab had only gotten her angry. He stopped sleeping, except when he passed out from sheer exhaustion, and often forgot to eat. He did not stop training.

"So, how's your dad?"

"Training."

"Normal, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't see him much. Spends most of his time in the GR, only comes out for food."

"Figures." Goten laughed. "Hey, there anything to eat?"

"Of course!" The boys raced each other from the pool to the kitchen, and gobbled down most of what they found. "You sleeping over?"

"If you'll let me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Goten shrugged. "No reason."

Trunks shoved plates in the dishwasher, then noticed the note on top. "Ah, crap. Mom needs me to run some errands for her. Wanna come?"

"Not really. Your pool's calling."

"Have it your way." Trunks looked over the note. "This'll probably take a couple hours."

"Hey, it's okay. I'll swim, sunbathe." Goten stretched. "On the other hand, I may take a nap."

"Alright then. I'll be back later." Trunks dashed upstairs to change, then was out the door.

Goten went back outside, staring at the GR. "There's nothing like making sure something still hurts," he murmured, then headed for the pool.

The pool. Time for some laps. Vegeta shed his shirt, got his shoes and socks off. He swayed a little as he straightened, preparing to dive.

"Don't you dare."

"What?" He spun around, nearly crashing into Goten before he got his balance back. The boy reached out, steadied him.

"When was the last time you had something to eat?"

Vegeta blinked. Eat?

"How about sleeping? When did you sleep last?"

Sleep? He'd passed out yesterday… or was it the day before? "Yesterday?"

"Come with me." Goten grabbed his hand, pulled him toward the house. Vegeta would have protested, but he was having too much trouble keeping his balance. They went straight to the kitchen. Goten raided the refrigerator, pulling out what he and Trunks hadn't eaten. He piled it in front of Vegeta, who stared at it. "Eat, Vegeta."

He managed four bites. "I need to train."

"Oh, that's it!" Goten sat on his lap. "You aren't going anywhere until you eat all this, and then you're going to bed! Understand?"

"Okay." He ate what Goten told him, until he was sure he would be sick. "No more. Please."

Just like when he'd had to feed Vegeta at home, Goten thought. Before he'd gotten better, he'd sounded like that when he wasn't feeling well. When he'd gotten better, he'd just refused to touch anything he didn't want. "You didn't eat much."

Vegeta rubbed his forehead. "I don't want any more."

"Headache?"

"Yes."

"Come on." He wasn't going to go all the way up to the master bedroom. There should be a guest bedroom… there! "In here. Go lay down."

"Alone?" Vegeta said, so softly Goten almost didn't hear him. And louder, "I'm not tired."

"Come on, Vegeta. I know better." He remembered how Vegeta had been, until he'd stopped sleeping with him. Tense, until Goten would curl up with him, then relaxing almost immediately. He changed tactics. "You always went to bed before me."

"You'll stay?" Surprise, and was that hope?

Goten stretched, popping his neck. "I could use a nap."

"I won't be alone?" Vegeta didn't realize what he'd said. Or how hopeful he sounded.

"Come on, Vegeta. We'll lay down for awhile." Goten led the prince to the bed. "You always got in first."

"I know." Vegeta swayed, Goten knocked him onto the bed.

"Can't lay down until you do!" He arranged the blankets over the prince, then crawled in himself. "There we go."

Vegeta shifted, one hand reaching out to Goten.

The boy caught the movement. He moved closer, curling against the prince as he had over two months before. He was rewarded with a quiet sigh, and Vegeta relaxing. The prince was asleep within moments.

Vegeta was still afraid to sleep alone. Goten settled himself more comfortably, running his hand across Vegeta's stomach. He'd gotten accustomed to sleeping with the man, and had had a few not so restful nights until he'd gotten used to being by himself again. He liked this much better. He nuzzled against Vegeta, eyes closing.

Vegeta woke suddenly, whimpering, shivering with reaction to the dream. Goten, still attuned to the prince in spite of the time that had passed, immediately woke. "Vegeta?" he asked softly, running his hand lightly across the other's chest. "Dreams, again?"

"Yes." Vegeta reached for and captured Goten's hand, linking his fingers through the teen's. He didn't remember going to bed. "Where are we?"

A little giggle. Goten squirmed, nuzzling against Vegeta until he was more comfortable. "Capsule Corp., in one of the umpity million guest rooms. I wasn't about to try to get you up the stairs."

His head felt muzzy. "I… don't understand."

"You tried to go swimming when you couldn't even stand up without nearly falling over," Goten explained. "What happened, Vegeta? You look like Bulma's warmed over meatloaf. Only worse."

Hell of a comparison, Vegeta thought. "Happened?"

"To make you look like death warmed over?" Goten propped himself up on an elbow so he could look down at Vegeta. "Although you do look a little better since you slept. Haven't you been?"

Vegeta looked away. "I've been training."

"How about sleeping and eating?" Goten persisted. "Tell me, Vegeta. I know how much you ate before we came to bed. Not even half of what would be a snack. And you fell asleep so quickly. What's wrong?"

"I just haven't been sleeping well."

"No? Doesn't the Valium help you get to sleep anymore?"

Valium? Oh, the dream fogging pills. "I ran out. Besides, I got tired of being drugged all the time."

Just the barest brush of lips against his jaw. "You don't like sleeping alone. Trunks said Bulma's been working day and night on a big project. You haven't slept because you can't. True?"

Vegeta closed his eyes. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" A feather kiss, deliberately applied. "You didn't want to sleep alone. You wouldn't even get near the bed until I said I needed a nap," Goten whispered in his ear. "So don't tell me perhaps." Another small kiss, just below his ear.

Vegeta turned his head, capturing Goten's mouth with his own. A brief, sweet kiss.

"Mmm. Kiss me again." Vegeta complied, pulling Goten's mouth down to meet his. This kiss was deeper, more sensuous.

"You like that?"

"Yes." Goten relaxed suddenly, sinking down to curl against Vegeta's side. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"I shouldn't've done that. This. I ought to go." Goten pulled away, got up. "I'm sorry, Vegeta, I…" He shook his head, ran out the door. It slammed shut behind him.

"Goten! Please!" Vegeta found himself reaching a beseeching hand toward the door, too late. "Please don't go. Don't leave me… not again." His hand dropped, and the Saiyan prince found himself weeping.

What was wrong with him? Goten curled himself tighter under his blankets. He was so cold! That, in spite of the summer sun trying to bake the world, and the high fever he was running. His brother would be there soon, Mother had called him. Good thing he hadn't stayed at Trunks' the other day. He was probably horribly contagious.

Gohan arrived and examined him. It was almost torture for Goten. Gohan told him, "You'll be fine, little brother." But he had a funny expression on his face when he went out the door, and called for their father as soon as it shut behind him.

"What!" Goku's startled shout made Goten jump. "But I don't want to do that!"

A murmur from his brother. Goten wished he could hear what was being said.

"I know what it is! Vegeta told me!" More murmurs. "Why do I have to tell him?" A few more things he couldn't make out, and his father entered the room. "Ah, hi, Goten. Um, we, ah, know what's wrong."

"What?"

"Ah, do you remember what you said happened two years ago, with Trunks?" His father stuck his hand behind his head, shifted his feet. "That. So, um, we have to… to make some… arrangements."

"Made." Goten climbed unsteadily out of his bed. "Trunks agreed."

"No way! Vegeta said… ah, well, um, um…" Not unsurprisingly, Goku floundered.

"I heard what he said. Trunks agreed."

So, Goku took him to Capsule Corp. Vegeta, in the GR, felt him arrive. "What would Kakarot be doing here? He hasn't been by since I came back." He went to investigate. Besides, the woman and his son weren't home.

One look was all he needed. "The change."

"Yes."

"And you brought him here?"

"He insisted."

"Give him here. And go home." Vegeta, scowling, gathered Goten's shivering form from Goku. "Go home. He'll be fine." He spun on his heel, kicked the door closed, and took the boy to one of the guest rooms.

"Vegeta?"

"Of course."

"Trunks… he agreed… to help."

"He isn't here." Vegeta said quietly. "He and his mother left yesterday."

"No. Oh, it hurts!" Goten twisted, trying to escape himself. "It hurts!"

"Yes, it hurts." Vegeta removed the sweat soaked shirt from the shivering boy. "Cold and hot all at once, burning with fever, and so, so cold, like you'll never be warm again." He wiped the sweat from Goten's body, then pulled the teen close. "It gets better."

Goten shivered convulsively, leaning desperately into Vegeta's warmth. "It wasn't like this… with Trunks. He wasn't sick."

His son hadn't been sick? At all?

"I'm so cold."

Flashback. Saying that to Raditz, being cocooned in the older Saiyan's arms. The shocked denial as Raditz told him what was happening, far too soon. He shook off the memory, running warm hands along the boy's back. "I'll keep you warm."

Goten whimpered, his hands clutching Vegeta's shoulders, trembling. He cried out sharply as Vegeta grazed the scar where his tail had been removed at his birth. Vegeta drew back, puzzled. He had never seen Goten with a tail, his own son had been born without one. He turned the boy gently, and looked down, realizing what the scar was for the first time. "That makes things much easier," he murmured, pulling Goten back against his chest. He stroked gently, until Goten moaned in pleasure instead of pain.

"Good, feels good," brushing kisses along Vegeta's chest. "Don't stop."

"It's just the beginning, little one." He scooped Goten up, entered the connecting bathroom. Two sharp tugs removed the remaining clothes, a moment later, he held the boy under a spray of warm water. "Warmer, now?"

"Mmm," Goten responded, rubbing his cheek against Vegeta. "Yes."

Vegeta poured liquid soap into his hand, then began massaging Goten's back. The teen moaned, his hips arcing against Vegeta when he reached the scar. Vegeta shuddered, pulling the boy closer, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Goten was exploring Vegeta's body now, and ran his hand over Vegeta's recently healed back.

"Ahh!" Vegeta dropped to his knees, agony blazing from his back. He forced the pain away; Goten was the one who mattered now. His hands clutched Goten's hips, pulling the boy to his mouth. Goten threw his head back, his fingers laced in Vegeta's hair, his breathing ragged. Vegeta put his experience to good use, and the teen screamed as he released. Goten shuddered, then dropped in front of Vegeta, burying his face against his neck, arms wrapped tightly around the prince's shoulders. Vegeta held him gently, running his fingers through the water soaked hair hanging down Goten's back.

It wasn't until he'd raised them both up and turned the water off that he realized there was something wrong. "Goten?"

"I didn't mean to," he said, though he didn't pull away. And just kept repeating that, as Vegeta carried him back to the bed and toweled him off.

Vegeta couldn't understand what he meant. Unless it had to do with his injury. "It's alright, Goten. Shh." He kissed him silent, ran a trailing stream of kisses along his neck. He laid down, pulling Goten against him for another kiss. The boy returned it eagerly before running his hands over Vegeta's body, then following the path his hands took with his mouth.

Goten woke slowly, stretching sinuously. His fever had broken, and he no longer shook with the chills that had plagued him for the last three or four days. Except for being a little sore, he felt fine. He rolled, putting his arm around Vegeta's waist, and spooned tightly against the man.

"Woke up, did you?"

"Mmm-hmm." Goten nipped the back of Vegeta's neck lightly. "I feel better."

"So I… can tell."

"You like that, do you?"

"Yes."

Goten paused what he was doing. "Want more?"

"You know I do," Vegeta answered hoarsely.

"I do." He continued him ministration, then began moving his hips. "How about that?"

"Mmm, yes." Vegeta shifted slightly, allowing Goten to thrust into him. "Ohhh…"

A leisurely, slow process as Goten experimented with ways to make the other cry out in pleasure, alternately nipping and kissing Vegeta. The prince let him do as he willed, having already been caught by the boy's gentle seduction. Yet behind the soft cries of pleasure, Goten could hear a desperation he didn't understand, and it led him to try to please his prince all the more. Pace and intensity quickened, positions changed. Vegeta, calling Goten's name; Goten finishing with an inarticulate cry, collapsing on the prince beneath him.

They lay that way for some time, before Goten moved off the prince to lay on his back. A mischievous grin on his face, he asked, "Did you enjoy that?"

Vegeta rolled his head to find Goten staring up at the ceiling. But he could see the curve of the boy's lips. Growling softly, he slid his body over Goten's, and kissed him with passion he normally hid. "I did."

Goten pulled him back down, demanding and receiving more kisses. His hands trailed over the prince, though he was careful, now, to avoid Vegeta's tail. Vegeta responded with raw passion, Goten urging him on with hands and mouth and some very sensuous movement. He didn't let the prince pull away as he had before, so he could take his pleasure, but demanded the prince take his own, arcing himself in an invitation Vegeta didn't, couldn't, refuse.

He sat, rocking himself, arms wrapped around knees and head down. His tail limp on the floor behind him, enunciating his misery. He'd hidden his emotions well enough, but could no longer hide the physical changes. Gaunt and thin, because he didn't eat, with dark, bruised eyes because he couldn't sleep. He'd trained, of course, day after day, collapsing from exhaustion, or hunger, always fighting against himself. Now, though, when the training drones fired at him, he didn't even bother to try and dodge. The pain from the blasts was so much less than the pain in his heart, but it was distractive.

How had it happened? How could he have let it happen? Hadn't he been able to show what he couldn't say? He'd tried. Tried so hard, but the words wouldn't come. So he'd…

Failed. Again, only this failure hurt so much. It hadn't been this painful when Frieza had destroyed him on Namek, when Cell had killed his future son, when he had finally learned what it meant to love – and sacrificed himself to no avail. This failure pressed in on him, flattened him. It had killed him, but he still went through the motions of living. Some of them. Sometimes. And it was time to do so again.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, issuing the command that shut the GR down and opened the door. Dinnertime. He took his seat at the table, listening to Bulma babble excitedly about her latest invention, Trunks about events at school. Neither noticed his characteristic silence, or the uncharacteristic rearrangement of the food he wasn't eating. He went to bed, counted the dots in the ceiling tiles. At 3am, he decided Bulma wasn't coming to bed, again, and went back to the GR. When Bulma finally went to tell him breakfast was ready, he was unconscious.