Disclaimer: I am far too lazy to come up with quite a complex series such as Dragon ball Z. I don't own it, nor do I wish I owned it, because that sounds like a lot of work...

Summary: 31 drabbles about Goten and Trunks' winter as a couple.

Word count: 1356

Rated M for language, sexual scenes, etc.

Our First December

I don't explicitly say it, but the solstice is the first day of winter, which is the same day as Marron's birthday (at least in this fic, I don't know if she has a canon birthday).

Drabble #21- The Solstice (Revised)

Goten smiled, but it wasn't genuine. If Marron noticed, she didn't let on, and only smiled back and hugged him tight. Goten felt bad that he didn't have a gift for her, but money was, as usual, rather tight for him right now. He made a mental note to take her shopping later, when his wallet wasn't emptier than a school building on a Sunday.

Despite the uplifting atmosphere of the party, his foul mood refused to budge. He smiled when he was spoken too and laughed at jokes he would have normally thought of as funny, but once he sat alone on the couch in the Kame House's living room, he couldn't keep the hardened look off his face. They only one that knew of his piss-poor mood was probably Trunks, he supposed, because he felt no desire to pretend otherwise for him.

So, he scrolled through the internet on Gohan's cellphone he was borrowing, sipped his orange soda, and wallowed alone in his irritation.

Or at least he was alone, until Trunks plopped down beside him. Goten keeps his gaze on the cellphone, though he can feel his boyfriend's eyes on him.

"I can't believe Marron's fourteen. I swear we just celebrated her last birthday," Trunks says, conversationally.

Goten hums in reply.

Trunks is quiet for a moment, before he tries again, "Krillin said they are singing 'happy birthday' soon."

"Alright," Goten says, as he scrolls his thumb against the screen.

Silence. Goten thinks he's going to stop talking altogether, until he hears, "Are you going to come over tonight to watch movies like you said?"

"No," he said that a bit harsher than he intended, but he can't find it in himself to really care. He's angry, and he's done pretending that he isn't.

The silence that follows is almost unbearably uncomfortable, but Goten doesn't care. He feels Trunks gaze piercing him, but he ignores it. He knows Trunks wants to speak, but he doesn't have anything to say to him.

He's so in tuned with the cellphone that he doesn't notice tan fingers curling around his wrist. The grip yanks him to his feet and pulls him into walking. He protests as he's dragged along, but Trunks ignores him, and continues to guide him up the stairs. When they approach the second floor, Trunks directs them into Marron's empty bedroom. Pulling his hand free, Goten walks further into the room as Trunks closes the door.

Trunks whips around and crosses his arms. "Alright, Goten. What is it?"

Goten's arms cross as well. His eyes are narrowed as he stares back at his boyfriend, but he can't will the words out.

"Come on, Goten! You've been mad at me since we left your house this morning. What the fuck did I do?"

Goten gives an incredulous huff of laughter, his eyes trailing up to the ceiling in utter disbelief. He wonders how much longer he can contain the rage he's feeling.

Not long at all, apparently, when Trunks says: "Why won't you tell me?"

"Why should I?!" Goten explodes. "Why should I, when you didn't tell me?"

Trunks gapes at him, and the confusion on his face is infuriating. "What?"

Goten restrains a growl while his hand digs into his pocket. He pulls out Gohan's cellphone, and clicks on the tab to the latest social media app. He then shoves the phone into Trunks' face.

On the screen is a photo. Trunks, clad in a t-shirt and shorts, stood in where Goten recognized as the rear of the high school building. The sun blurred out a bit of the image, but one could still see Trunks' arms wrapped around a tall, blond boy's neck, and that their lips were connected. The photo was clearly an older one—definitely not taken within the last year—but the date it was posted was recent. Conveniently recent.

'I See What Brief Gets Up Too After Hours. O_O' read the caption underneath.

"Oh, God," Trunks groans. His hands go to cover his face.

Goten ignores him, and swipes to the next photo. This one is Trunks sitting at a desk in one of their high school classroom. His eyes are focused forward, with his yellow pencil clenched between his teeth while he concentrates. Again, completely oblivious to the camera.

"'I bet he's a pillow-biter'," Goten reads aloud, before swiping to the next one.

In the final photo, there's a different boy from the first one. This one has dark brunet hair, a smug smirk on his face, and his palms gripping Trunks' backside from behind. Trunks' mouth is open, his brows narrowed, and his cheeks are flushed from what could be assumed is surprise or embarrassment. His fingers grip the wrists behind him, presumably to push them away.

"'Slut up for grabs'," Goten reads through his gritted teeth (he thinks idly that the catcall at the mall makes a hell of a lot more sense now).

Next to the captions is the username: AkGee310.

Akeno Griever.

"Goten, I get it, okay!" Trunks huffs, exasperated.

"No, it's not okay." Goten can hear the seams rip when he roughly stuffs the phone back into his pocket. "This isn't something to be suspicious of? This is none of my business? You think this is nothing?"

"I know that it's something, alright?!"

"Don't even look at me like that!" Goten shouts, nearly tearing out his hair when his frustrated hands run through it. "Don't you dare stand there and act like I shouldn't be pissed with you!"

"Well what the fuck was I supposed to do, Goten?!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe say something along the lines of, 'Akeno is posting creepy pictures he shouldn't even have of me online that make me look like a slut!' Did you really not think this was something I needed to know?"

Trunks' eyes seethed. "And what can you do, Goten, that I can't? You didn't know, because it's none of your business!"

"None of my business?" Goten expresses in disbelief. "You are my boyfriend. You can't be serious right now!"

"It's not that big of a deal, Goten!" Trunks throws his arms into the air.

"It is! It absolutely is! Do you think I didn't see all those texts from assholes asking to fuck you? Or all the comments on the pictures laughing about how much of a whore you are? You don't think there's a problem with any of that? You think it's okay for Akeno to start all this, and that I should just let him get away with it?"

Trunks' jaw hardens. "You aren't doing anything. I don't need you to fight my battles. I'm not helpless, so stop treating me like I am."

"You lied to me," and that's all it really was, wasn't it? "You told me not to worry about Akeno. You told me that everything was fine, and you lied."

Goten swallows around the pain in his chest. "You promised me that if something was wrong, you would tell me. You promised me."

Trunks says nothing, his hands clenching where they rest at his side. His mouth twitches, but still no words come.

Goten lets out a heavy breath. He closes his eyes, because he doesn't know if he can fight the sting he feels growing within them. "I know I overreact, and that I can and be overbearing, and that sometimes I say things without thinking, but I would never lie to you. I thought you wouldn't either. I thought if I could trust anyone, it would be you."

Goten marches towards the door. "I was wrong."

He hears Trunks croak and, "Goten, wait!" but he doesn't. He goes downstairs and rejoins the party. He sings Marron 'happy birthday' and gives her a hug and kiss. He eats her cake even though he can't taste it and gives her the best smile he can while she opens her presents. He hopes that his bad mood did not ruin hers, but he doesn't know if he's succeeded.

Finally, with no word to anyone, he goes home, wondering all the while who he really is angry with.

End

In case I didn't make it clear, Trunks didn't cheat on Goten. The photos were old.