Chapter 8

When they got back Sunday afternoon, clean and showered and ready to die, they came outside and found that Bulma was having a barbeque for their friends, though not many people had shown up yet. Normally these were a fun and boisterous affair, but nobody was smiling as Chichi and Goku yelled at each other across a picnic table.

"Fine! Whatever Chichi!" Goku fumed, "Take it all, I don't care about all that material crap, I hope it keeps you warm at night!"

"It will better than you ever did! You've spent more of our marriage off training or fighting or playing dead then you did with me! Go to hell you idiotic bastard!" That sounded particularly bad, even for his parents, thought Goten. Bulma was standing off to the side of the yard, with Yamucha's arm around her waist, shifting nervously from side to side. Kurillin and his family had obviously gotten there not too long before they had, and were just hanging up their coats and hats, Kurillin nervously looking from Chichi to Goku and back again. 18 didn't really seem fazed, but nothing really ever seemed to fazed her... Vegeta just stood there and glared at them.

"Wait a minute Goku!" Bulma said with a jump, "You can't just sign that without even reading it, you have no idea what it could say!" Chichi gave Bulma the look of death, but she wasn't put off, she just stared back at her one-time friend. Goku had a pen in his hand, and was rifling through a stack of papers.

"I just want it to be over with Bulma, I'm sick of this – the way she treats me, the way she treats our son..." Goku clenched his fist in anger.

"What's going on guys?" Goten ventured from the sidelines. Chichi was the first to respond, and quickly regained her composure.

"Come on son, we're going home, I'll explain everything to you in the car" she said as she walked towards him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Goku said. When Chichi didn't answer him, he walked over to her, grabbed her by the arm and spun her to look at him.

"You are NOT taking my son away from me, he is not leaving here with you!" he practically growled in her face.

"This is exactly the kind of behavior that I'm talking about Goku! You're acting like a half-crazed animal, and you're a horrible influence on him!" She pulled her arm out of Goku's grasp, because he let her, because he had to let her, it was just who he was, and she turned to Goten once more.

"Your father and I are getting divorced" she said with a mock calmness.

"Divorced?" said Goten, "When did you guys get married again?" Vegeta snorted. Chichi paled. Goku looked at him with an almost lost expression on his face.

"Well, divorce is a legal proceeding, right? But mom stopped being legally married when her husband died, so you can't undo something that's already been undone..." he explained his reasoning. Vegeta was actually laughing now, kind of creepy...

"I am your mother Goten, and I know what's best for you, you don't really want to go live in a cave with your father anyway, so stop arguing and get in the car" she said patronizingly. Trunks decided that there was no need to ask for any of Chichi's help with the upcoming pregnancy.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Goten spat out. But before Chichi could respond, Gohan touched down in the middle of the yard.

"Hey everyone, how's it going?" he started to say with a smile, until he felt the tension all around him.

"Hello sweetheart," Chichi turned away from Goten, and advanced on Gohan now, "I'm so sorry you have to walk in on the middle of this, but well, your father and I are getting divorced." Her eyes were misting up as she spoke to him.

"Divorced?" said Gohan, confusion flowing over his face, "what do you mean?"

"Well, I don't want to go into all the details here, but it basically boils down to that I just can't take it anymore, putting up with him, the way he is, so we are going to be getting divorced." Her voice was soft, like she was soothing a baby...

"Ok...," said Gohan with a frown, lifting his hand to the back of his neck subconsciously, "Well, everyone and their dog knows that you and Dad haven't been getting along since he came back, what I meant was that I didn't know you could divorce a dead man..." Vegeta, who had just managed to die down to a snicker, burst into near hysterics, tears were forming in the corners of his eyes as he spoke between laughs.

"Too bad Bardock's intelligence obviously skipped a generation Kakarot! I believe this is the part where I say 'I told you so'!" he continued to laugh. Chichi was red in the face; she looked from Goku, to Gohan and then back, seeming to make up her mind, then strode to her car and took off without even saying goodbye.

"Wow," said Gohan, "looks like I missed all the action..."

"No," said Trunks, "we're actually just getting started..." Gohan gave him a quizzical, yet piercing look, and Trunks sighed loudly.

"Well, I doubt anything else is going to top that for the rest of the night" said Yamucha.

"Seriously, are you ok Goku?" said Kurillin with concern.

"Yeah guys, I'm ok, I'm just sorry you had to see that – I'm going to go home real quick & grab a few thing before she can get back – everything I've ever owned will probably be in a fiery pile on the lawn if I wait too long..." He walked over to Goten and Gohan and pulled them into a giant hug. Just stood there for a moment with what was left of his family, then finally pulled back.

"I'm going to go back to get some of my things too, Dad" Goten said. Goku nodded and smiled.

"You won't, of course, be living off in a cave somewhere," Bulma said to them, "You're going to stay here for the indefinite future, no buts about it" she said firmly.

"Gee, thanks Bulma, that's really nice of you, I'm sure Goten will love getting to see Trunks all the time" Goku said. He noticed Goten's blush, but Trunks jumped in before he could say anything/think about it too much.

"I'll come help you guys pack, it'll be faster that way, hopefully we can be done and back by the time dinner's ready!" he winked as he said it.

"Yeah, that would be good, lets go" he said. Trunks grabbed on to Goten's shoulder right before Goku disappeared with them, and the two of them ran off to Goten's room as soon as they arrived. It didn't take long to grab Goku's stuff, he didn't really have much he cared about, just some clothes to wear, his four star dragon ball, and the dusty power pole that was hanging on the wall. Goten's stuff took two trips of everyone holding as much as they could to get it all over to CC, but they still made it back before the burgers were coming off the grill. They were all stuffing their faces, surprisingly carefree without the thought of the constant bitching that usually awaited them afterward. Trunks figured that they would wait until everyone was done to bring up their own announcement... no sense dying on an empty stomach. As soon as he thought it though, he couldn't help but get nervous, which spread to Goten automatically, and Goku noticed the change in his son after a few minutes. He stood and motioned for Goten to follow him.

"Come on son, you look like you need to talk."

"No, Dad, sit back down," Goten said as he pushed his empty plate away, "it will actually be easier if we just get this over with in front of everyone all at once..." Goku frowned, concern etching his face, and sat.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" he said. Trunks put his arm on Goten's shoulder for support, gave it a little squeeze. Gohan was glaring at him. Goku noticed the little interaction between the three of them, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Seriously, what's going on guys?" he said a little more firmly. Goten looked him in the eye, sat up straight and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"I'm pregnant" he said evenly, his voice barely shaking at all, but his eyes belied his own confusion on the matter. Everyone but his Dad, Vegeta, and Gohan, burst into laughter. As they were cackling and congratulating Goten on keeping such a straight face, Gohan decked Trunks. Goku jumped out of his seat as Trunks rolled backwards out of his chair. When Gohan lunged for him, he used his own momentum to flip him over and Gohan landed on the grass with a thud.

"You're out of practice" he said, returning the glare.

"Bastard!" Gohan yelled at him as he got to his feet, "What the hell did you do to him?"

"It's not his fault" Goten stepped between them, "neither of us had any idea this would happen, who the hell could have? Don't do this Gohan, please." He had his hands pressed to his stomach as he spoke, his eyes wide and pleading with his older brother; the brother that had been like a father to him all those years growing up; pleading for him to please calm down, please accept this, because he really needed his support right now. It was like Gohan could hear Goten's plead/fear/thoughts in his head, it was kind of weird, but he didn't take the time to dwell on the 'how' aspect of it, Goten had always been different like that. The anger drained from Gohan's face and the fight went out of him. He walked over and pulled his brother into a hug and just stood there embracing him until Goku spoke.

"You knew, Gohan? That something was going on between them? You knew, and you didn't say anything?"

"I just found out on Friday," he said, squaring his shoulders, "it was sort of an accident, but yes, we all agreed to not say anything afterward."

"Why?" Goku said with a puzzled look on his face; an angry energy was starting to come off of him.

"Because I'm gay too" Gohan said. Goten looked up at him in awe, knowing what that display of solidarity cost him. Goku powered down with almost a crash, and stared at them silently for a long minute.

"So, even though you only found out about each other recently, you both have been hiding this from me for longer than that? Why? For how long?" his voice sounded like it was in pain. The boys had not expected such frankness, but maybe the ordeal with Chichi had gotten to him more than he let on. Gohan was the first to answer him, knowing his brother's side of it was a bit more complicated.

"I realized it when I was 11" he said with a sigh. Everyone looked at him in shock, even Vegeta.

"I don't mean I started having sex at 11, Kami, get your minds out of the gutter people..." he said blushing profusely, "I just meant that's when I knew I preferred guys over girls." Goku nodded his head and looked relieved, then fixed his gaze on his younger son. Goten sighed himself, and found that he couldn't keep the tears back – damn it, he was crying entirely too much lately. Trunks stepped over, pulled him from Gohan and embraced him, not saying anything, just comforting him with his touch and scent.

"What do you think you're doing boy?" Vegeta's question was half a growl, but the look on his face didn't match it.

"I don't really know" Trunks answered honestly.

"Did you bond with Kakarot's whelp?"

"Yes" Trunks replied without hesitation.

"Did the baka know what you were doing to him?" Vegeta growled again. Trunks was a little confused, because he only ever called Goku 'baka' but it seemed like he should have been referring to Goten, so he chose his words carefully.

"I explained it to Goten."

"Hmf. You're just children, how could you possibly think you had any idea what you were getting yourselves into?"

"I don't usually do this, but I'm going to have to agree with Vegeta on this one," Goku said, "you're just kids." Goten pulled back from Trunks' comforting embrace to turn on his Dad.

"Wait, you knew what the bond was, what bonding is, and you didn't tell me?" Goten was mortified. Even though both Vegeta and Gohan had known, and neither bothered to tell him, it wasn't really their responsibility. But it was his Dad's.

"Like I said Goten, you're just a kid, you aren't anywhere near ready to be picking a mate and having sex yet. I was going to tell you when you were old enough to handle it." His eyes flicked to Trunks as he said that last part.

"Don't look at him." Goten said angrily, "Don't look at him like that and blame him, not even a little bit. If you want someone to 'blame' for this, blame yourself."

"It is not my fault that you decided to have sex with Trunks, Goten – bonding or no bonding." Goku was in stern parent mode, for probably the first time in his entire life outside of training them.

"Well that's where you're wrong – we didn't bond each other because we got carried away with the sex," Goten said, blushing even through his anger, "we had sex to finally finish the bond that the fusion started." There, it was out. He wasn't going to share any more of the details of it with them now, that was between him and Trunks. They could go fuck themselves if they didn't like it. Anger and rage seethed below the surface of his skin. Vegeta clapped his hands together loudly, startling him, and motioned to Trunks.

"Trunks, calm him down, do not let him go SSJ, there's no telling if the child could survive that, but my guess would be no." Goten paled when he heard that, and immediately powered down. Trunks wrapped his arms around him again, and pulled the collar of his shirt away to nuzzle the scar on his neck. Instantly Goten felt warm and fuzzy with his mate doing that – he wished he had a tail to wrap around him to show his appreciation...

"But your fusion is different..." Goku said quietly "I, I didn't know... You guys have been connected this whole time, and you only just now gave in to it?" he asked sorrowfully. Goten didn't answer him, but took notice in what his father was saying, even though his eyes were now closed and he was beginning to purr softly – Trunks held onto him but didn't respond either.

"I'm sorry," he continued, "I'm so sorry, I never ever meant to do that to you boys, I didn't know..." Goku was crying now, and he dropped to his knees on the lawn, covering his face with his hands. Goten just looked at him, wanting to go to him, but his legs were frozen in place. Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and lifted his face up to the sky, slowly letting out the deep breath he had drawn. He had a scowl on his face as he walked over and, no shit, put his arms around the crying baka and pulled his head to his chest, slightly rocking his body back and forth. When Kakarot's tears finally dried, he tilted the baka's chin up and kissed him gently. There was the sound of a glass shattering behind them somewhere, but no one moved to look at it. All eyes were on them as Vegeta pulled back and whispered to the man before him.

"Don't you think you've made me wait long enough now? Haven't I been more than patient Kakarot? None of your trifling arguments are left anymore. " Goku nodded his head up and down, but brought a hand up to stop Vegeta from leaning in to his neck.

"Not here." Vegeta looked into his eyes and nodded, pulling the baka to his feet. Vegeta turned to Trunks and addressed him.

"Just keep him calm, fed, and warm until we get back" he said gesturing to Goten. Trunks nodded with a frown, as if he wouldn't have known to do those things for his mate... And then they were gone. IT'd to who knew where, left them all standing around dumbstruck by what they had just seen.

"Well, I actually feel a lot better" said Gohan, "I guess it could even be considered hereditary now..." as he grinned at Trunks and Goten. They three burst into laughter, more from the tension dissipating than humor, but it was relaxing just the same.