Ch 60

Trunks woke up to the smell of blood. Sitting up, he grimaced in pain, recognizing the fresh wounds all over his nude body. Looking beside him, he gasped at the condition of his mate lying next to him. 'He looks terrible,' he thought as he felt something alarming, the weak ki of his mate.

"Goten, wake up!" he yelled. "GOTEN!" he screamed before he took Goten's pulse. "He's alive, but his pulse is weak. Shit!" he exclaimed as he gathered his mate in his arms and made his way to the medical room he had installed in the house.

Hooking him up to an IV drip and the machine, he heard the sound of steady beats. He got to work on cleaning Goten's wounds and then took care of his own. He decided to use the shower in the medical room to get clean and came out fully dressed. He brought a pair of boxers and put them on his mate as well as a blanket to cover him.

Sitting down by his bedside, Trunks sighed. 'How could I let this happen? I knew I should have gone straight to the guest room when we got home but no I couldn't listen to my rational instincts.'

"Tr—Trunks?"

"Chibi," he sighed in relief as he held his hand. "I'm sorry."

"I—I think I should be sorry," he winced as he shifted his body. "I believe my kiss set us off."

"So we can't even kiss now? This is getting ridiculous," Trunks said as he stood up. "I guess we shouldn't touch each other either or be in the same room."

"Trunks, it's going to be ok and that's a little ridiculous. I know it's hard right now, but it will be worth it. Once we overcome or issues, I think we'll be better off."

"All right I guess we should have some ground rules then until we're better. No kissing, sex, or touching. God what kind of relationship is that?" Trunks groaned in frustration.

"I'm not sure touch is out of the question as long as its innocent," said Goten as he sat up.

"Ok," said Trunks as he sat next to his mate, taking his hand in his and feeling Goten squeeze it. "You know before this happened, I was thinking of talking to my parents today."

"You still should Trunks. You need to resolve your issues, not only for us but for yourself."

"It seems like you're closer to resolution. Are you going to be ok if I leave you to your own devices?" Trunks smirked as he got up.

"I'm not some delicate flower Trunks. I'm half-saiyan to you know."

"I'm half-saiyan to, and I can't help my protective nature. I'll see you later chibi. I love you," he said as he made his way out the door and to his parents' home.

Inside the house Trunks could sense his parents and his grandparents while Bulla's was away from the house and in the city with Uub. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his grandma cooking while his grandpa read the paper at the table.

"Great to see you my boy," said Dr. Briefs.

"You to grandpa."

"Why don't you sit down and join us for breakfast? I'm sure your parents will be down soon," said Bunny as she put some plates on the table.

"No thanks. I'm actually here to to talk to mom and dad. I guess I should let them eat first," said Trunks as he sat down beside his grandpa.

"Have you eaten all ready?" asked Bunny.

"No, but you refused to cook meals for my mate, so I refuse your cooking."

"Young man! I—

"Grandma, please lets not start. Just accept what is and move on."

"What's going on here?" demanded Bulma as she entered the room.

"Mom, I need to talk to you and dad. "You and dad better eat first because this could take a while," Trunks said as Vegeta came through the door.

"Ok," said Bulma.

"Fine," said Vegeta as he dug into his breakfast.

Looking at her son, she felt something was off. "Trunks, what happened?"

"I—I almost killed Goten," he said as he looked at his lap. "He was bleeding out on the bed when I woke up this morning."

"Is he all right?"

"Yeah I got him patched up. He's relaxing at home, but—anyway you know Goten and I have been going to therapy? There's some things I need to resolve with you both, so I can move on with my life with Goten."

"We'd be happy to help, wouldn't we Vegeta?" said Bulma.

"Of course, now let me eat in peace woman."

"I'm just happy to see you and Goten working hard for your relationship," said Dr. Briefs as he is grandson smiled at him. Looking at his wife, he knew Bunny could care less what happened.

Bulma decided her lab was a good place to talk. His parents settled down on the couch she had put in when she needed a break fro her projects. Trunks felt his nerves as he sat down across from them, but he took a breath in and then out.

"I know this isn't easy for you Trunks," said Bulma. "It's all right."

"I'm sorry. I know I haven't always been easy to deal with growing up."

Bulma laughed. "Sweetie you weren't half as much trouble as your father."

"Excuse me!" exclaimed Vegeta. "You're weren't exactly easy to put up with either Bulma."

"Well that's good to know," smiled Trunks. "Anyway I have some things to get off my chest. I—I've been unhappy for a long time, and it has to do with things in my past that I haven't dealt with."

"Oh Trunks, why didn't you tell us? How long have you been unhappy?" asked Bulma.

"I thought I was handling it but even I make mistakes. I remember being young, but I'm not sure when exactly it started. I always felt different from other people. There was and always will be that distance. When I was younger, it bothered me. Thank God I had Goten. He kept me anchored. I just wanted to be like everyone else when I was a kid, but I think it manifested in how I grew up, even now it's hard to trust people."

"We didn't make life easy for you Trunks," said Bulma. "You're a half-saiyan genius that I love very much, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm sorry I couldn't make your life simpler, but I'm willing to help any way I can now," she said as she squeezed her son's hand.

"Thanks mom."

"Your mother's right. Whatever we can do to support you now, we will do," said Vegeta.

"I really appreciate that dad. I—well you're—

"It's no secret that I haven't always treated you the way a father should treat his son. I've made you feel lost, abandoned, and unloved. I can imagine that's why you've been difficult to raise when you hit puberty. You've felt unhappy, angry, resentful, cold, and distant. You've done things you're not so proud of. My pride got in the way of what was important, and I'm sorry Trunks for making you feel like you weren't good enough. You've grown into a fine man and strong saiyan."

"I love you father."

"I love you to Trunks."

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Bulma. "I—I can't believe you said it. I—she hugged her husband.

"The last thing I want to do is broadcast it Bulma. You should all know how I feel by now, but I know you needed to hear from me Trunks. I've always known, but those words have never been easy for me to say."

Trunks walked back to his home in good spirits. Walking in the door, he was surprised to see Gohan had been waiting for him. He could tell by the look on Gohan's face that he was not happy.

"Gohan?" said Trunks as he sensed his mate's stable ki in their bedroom. 'He must be sleeping.'

"What happened to him Trunks? Those wounds look fresh and deliberate."

"They were."

"You look pretty beat up yourself. What's been going on? Goten wouldn't tell me."

Trunks sighed. "It's because he knows you wouldn't be happy with the answer."

"I don't care what the answer is Trunks. I want to know what's going on with my brother now."

"Our sex life has become violent recently. We went with Baba to search for answers of how we could prevent it from happening any further. We're in therapy now, and we're hoping it will help."

"It looks like you've done some real damage to my brother."

"I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. We're taking precautions, so we won't be tempted to sleep together. We sleep in separate room, and we don't kiss. This is what our life has become now until we're healed."

"I'm sorry that you're both struggling in your relationship but what if it's not enough?"

"A book suggested bloodletting, but that's only a last resort because it's more risky."

"It is dangerous. People have died from the procedure," said Gohan.

"Well I hope we don't get to that point," said Trunks as he got up and went to the kitchen for something to eat. "Has Goten eaten? I can try and make him something?"

Gohan laughed. "He was cooking before I came over. I think he left you some food in the fridge."

Trunks smiled as he took out the food container and put them on the kitchen island. "He really is something else. Sometimes I don't think I deserve him."

"It's not true Trunks. You do deserve my brother. You've always been there for him in ways no one else ever could."

"I just love him so much, and I don't want to lose him Gohan."

"I don't think you'll ever lose him Trunks. Your bond is deeper then anything I've ever seen. As long as you two are willing to fight for it, then you can't lose. You're half-saiyan after all."

"Thanks for the encouragement Gohan," said Trunks as he saw Gohan off and watched him take off home.