Hello! Chapter two. I still don't own anything, does anyone really care if I don't say that? I dunno. Bit shorter this one, but let me know what you think, comments and suggestions always welcome!

Chop
x

Goten looked hard at Trunks for a second before lifting himself out of bed. Trunks was momentarily stunned before he regained his bearings.

'I'm not having this fight with you again, Goten. I feel like you have it on DVD or some shit and sometimes when I least expect it you just throw it on for a laugh. It's literally the same. There's nothing to go over. No new information. I don't want to tell them yet. You do. We have a problem, but it won't be this way for ever.'

'Won't it?' Goten sighed, with a pained expression.

They eyed each other for a second, something in Goten's face was different this time, resigned and sad. The fight seemed to dissipate out of him before Trunks' very eyes.

'I can't man. I can't do it.'

'Why do you keep saying that? What does it even mean?'

'I feel like you and this, it's like a dream; it's not real, and it's not permanent, and it's just- I can't live like that. I need to feel like we're fine and we're secure and I don't, I feel like we could be upturned at any given moment and I can't just smile through it like we're fine because we're not.'

Goten threw on some pants and a t-shirt while Trunks seemed to look on, stunned, unsure of what to say. He retrieved his backpack, threw a few t-shirts in it and slung it on his back. He tried not to look at Trunks as he made a comment about coming back for more stuff, what was there to say? He made to move towards the door and half expected Trunks to try and stop him but he didn't seem capable of words either, he did however manage to join him in standing up. Goten found his eyes were surprisingly dry.

'Goten, god, fine.' Trunks shouted after him. The tone had changed completely by the end of that short sentence. It became scared, like a little boy caught in a wrong-doing. Trunks looked at his feet.

Goten turned around, his heart seemed to catch in his chest and he became wary, this wasn't the reaction he was expecting and it frightened him. A still eternity seemed to pass before Trunks spoke again.

'Goten, I already told him.'

Goten looked at him incredulously, taking this in.

'You did what?'

Trunks swallowed. 'I know we said we'd do it together man but I was so scared of what he'd do to you. Or maybe of what he'd do to me and then what you'd try to do to him in return. And I couldn't stand the wait, my dad is my dad, when can there ever be a right time? So I did it.'

'And?' Goten pressed, quietly and furiously.

'And he didn't take it well.'

Goten tried not to let his feelings show as his heart sank, he supposed he expected that, and in a way he wasn't sure it mattered any more, but it still sucked to hear.

'Why the hell wouldn't you tell me? All this time I've been nagging you. Fuck me, I could have helped you man, instead of getting on your case about it, we're in this together you don't have to carry any weight on your own. I feel like an ass now.'

'I'm the ass. I dunno, I guess I hoped he'd come around, I hoped I could just keep you in the dark and then bring you in once he'd had some time to embrace it.'

'You should have told me, I can't believe you did that. I know you thought you were doing it for the right reasons but you were just so wrong I can't even-'

Goten paused abruptly, thinking. A eureka expression formed on his face and he pointed at Trunks accusingly.

'That's why you've been avoiding them! Fucking hell I'm so stupid I knew something was up and I just glossed over it. You know what Trunks, I've got half a mind to walk out of here.'

'Wait Goten,' Trunks couldn't believe he was about to make this worse, he figured it was time to be honest though; in for a penny, in for a pound, 'there's more.'

Goten's eyes narrowed dangerously and Trunks flinched under his gaze.

'I hope you're about to tell me he has embraced it and you were going to tell me so. I really hope that's what you're about to say.'

Trunks hesitated and then the words seemed to wrench themselves out of his mouth against his will.

'My dad, he- he made me swear I'd stop seeing you…'

'…AND?'

Trunks opened his mouth and no sound seemed to come out. Goten's expression morphed into disgust.

'I can't fucking believe you.'

'Goten you don't understand he was on his way here, he was going to kill you, I had to say it. I told him I'd be living here but we'd just be friends.'

'So that's why I couldn't tell my dad, eh?' Goten took a deep breath. 'The worst part about any of this, Trunks, worse than lying to him, worse than the fact that you went behind my back, is that you didn't even respect me enough to tell me about any of it. Not one little part of it. You just let me go on and on about wanting to tell people, would have let me go on about it forever presumably. I'm just- I'm done.'

Goten didn't look back as he wrenched the bedroom door open and stormed through the apartment. How thoroughly Trunks had fucked up only really hit him when he heard the front door slam.