The Broken Road

charyon--Wow it really made me happy to see all those parts you liked. You made my day *Hugs* Esp. after the whole shopping spree :-P Yes, Goten is pretty harsh. I would say he has father issues...a little bit, haha. Then again, I think I would, too, if I was him. But I'm so glad to know how much you liked that one paragraph about Goten and Gohan and relationships :-D Well, you have siblings, so perhaps you can relate on a personal level. I'm also happy that you are enjoying Gohan's character in this story and that he's coming off as cool rather than a cold fish :-D That was a really nice compliment, thank you! And wow, Trunks made you blush, huh? That you can write those amazingly hot scenes in WTATOM and Lucid (the shower sex? omg) and still blush at Trunks? ;-) He must be good.

Macha--I'm glad you didn't find Ch. 6 to be *too* full of co-dependent angst. I was actually very aware of that possibility and tried to avoid it, so I'm glad if I succeeded. I loved how you called it a Trunks tornado. That's such a great description! Yeah, Gohan is going easy on him out of concern, but we all know Gohan can only be pushed so far before he pushes back. Sometimes it takes a while though. And yeah...speaking of angst...well there ARE a lot of particularly nasty things that could come of this situation, aren't there? And to think, I started out to write a fun and light story... What the hell happened?!? Haa, well, at this point, it seems some angst will be invevitable. I'm sure you can see where this all is going, but I'll try to have some surprises for you as well ;-)

quatreofdoom--Your review made me beam with happiness :-D I'm so glad you are enjoying it so much. I'm sorry to put you through all those conflicting emotions. Honestly, I'm pretty torn myself. I like the idea of chaining them together :) Well, I hope you don't hate me for whatever ends up happening. But all I can say to ease your mind is that I like happy endings probably as much as you do so eventually there will be one.

Genave--Wow! Thanks for the review. I'm *so* excited to have won over a Goku/Vegeta fan :-D You don't know how much that meant to me. I hope you'll keep reading...and tell your friends, hehe.

Daisy--Thank you so much for your in-depth review. I appreciate your insight as to what is happening. It is interesting to me to hear whose side everyone is on and why. I think you'll like Goten even less after this chapter. I love him and even I found him to be a bit heartless, although I understand why he's doing what he's doing. I'm glad you are enjoying the Truhan moments and thank you for your compliment on weaving them in! There will be a few more of those moments for you in this chapter. You have a good read on them right now though...lust and rebound. We'll see whether it will turn into more. These 3 write themselves really, I feel I have no control sometimes. As far as Gohan knowing the depth of the boys' relationship...he still doesn't, but I agree with you that he should. I'm not sure about scenting--I know that's a common theme in a lot of fics, but I have tended to downplay their "animalistic" tendencies in this fic and make them more human-like. No mating rituals or arousal scents or anything. But I'm sure they still have a heightened sense of smell because Goku always did in the anime... And Gohan should probably have put the clues together by now (like when he heard them doing it in ch. 3), but sometimes I think people only see what they want to see. By the way, you had mentioned updates. If you give me your email address I'll be happy to let you know when I post chapters :)



Chapter 7

Trunks awoke to the sound of that voice that was becoming so familiar to him these days. It was low and close to his ear. “My bed comfortable, Sleeping Beauty?”

He burrowed deeper into the feather pillows that surrounded him. “Mmmhmm,” he breathed drowsily.

Gohan plopped down on the edge of the mattress to slide on his socks. “Yeah, I vaguely remember that.” The workers still had not been to the apartment to fix the broken door in Trunks’ room and he had made himself quite comfortable in Gohan’s.

The younger boy rolled automatically towards the indentation in the mattress that Gohan made as he sat down. Gohan was warm and he smelled good. Trunks squirmed against him, trying to get comfortable for the ten more minutes of sleep he planned on getting.

“Ow!” Gohan complained, as Trunks elbowed his roommate in the middle of the back while adjusting the covers. He drew his legs up so that his body from knees to shoulders formed a big C-shape around Gohan’s seated form.

“Wake me up in ten . . . .” His voice was muffled as he buried his face between Gohan’s leg and the mattress.

“I feel like I have a puppy,” Gohan grumbled to himself.

He knew that Trunks and Goten had always been super comfortable with one another, sleeping in the same bed and sprawled all over each other, as if they were still kids. So he figured Trunks was probably used to having someone to curl up to upon waking, but Gohan preferred the boundaries of personal space.

Tilting his head to the side, he shook his fingers through his dripping wet hair so that the drops splashed on the dozing prince’s head and shoulders. “I’ll be gone in ten,” he informed Trunks, standing up and drying his hair the rest of the way with a towel that was draped around his bare shoulders.

Resigned, the teen sat up and raised his arms above his head, stretching copiously. Then he rested his hands behind him on the bed, propping himself up and attempting to blink away the morning grogginess. He watched Gohan slide on his shirt and button it.

"You know you don't have to sleep on the couch. The bed's plenty big enough for us both." Trunks yawned. "You're not sleeping well, anyway. You look tired."

"Gee, thanks." Gohan made a face. "That’s usually a nice way of telling someone they look like crap."

Trunks snickered as he got out of bed and slid his feet into Gohan’s slippers, but he didn’t offer any kind words to refute his roommate’s observation. Grabbing his roommate’s bathrobe from a hook on the wall, he wrapped it around himself then padded towards the attached bathroom. "It's settled then, you'll come back to bed tonight," his voice echoed from inside.

"Uh, we'll see,” Gohan answered, as he knotted his tie around his neck. "I'm fine where I am, really. Got used to sleeping on the couch a long time ago."

"That's sad." Trunks appeared at the door again, speaking the words around a toothbrush. Gohan seriously hoped he had brought his own toothbrush over from his bedroom. Still, it seemed like Trunks was making himself right at home. "I don't want to be like Videl, kicking you out of your own bed." He disappeared to go spit in the sink.

“Well, let's see what happens," Gohan said, always the optimist. "Hopefully the door in your room will be fixed today." He grabbed his brown leather briefcase from where it rested against the wall. “Anyway, I'm off. See you tonight."

Gohan was already on the phone with the superintendent of the building by the time he got to the elevator. “You’re killing me here, Manny!” he said, as the doors closed. “You really have no idea when they’ll be out to fix it? You know . . . it’s a real hazard!” he insisted. “Anyone could just walk into our apartment from off the street!”

He listened to the super speak for a moment. “Well, yes, I do realize not many people can scale a fourteen-story building but . . . it’s the principle!” Since the gruff old man was unmoved by the legitimate safety concerns, Gohan doubted very much that he would care about the real hazard: the distinct possibility that the displaced Saiyan prince would never go back to his own room. Shopping together was one thing, but sleeping together? This was all getting out of hand!

Gohan clapped a palm to his forehead. “No, I don’t want you to come up and tape plastic wrap around the door frame!” He grimly thought about what Trunks’ reaction to that would be. “Please just tell them to come out as soon as they can, okay?”

With that, he hung up and sighed. He was already getting a headache and hadn’t even reached the front door of his building yet.

***

Goten walked onto the quad later that morning to find Tiffany and Kim had beaten him there. It was a gorgeous fall day, and they were taking a break between classes to enjoy the warm weather. The two girls had spread a thin blanket over the grass and were laying on their stomachs chatting.

“Honestly, Tiff, don’t you think it’s a little bit strange?” Kim inquired of her friend.

“No,” she answered, turning up her nose in indignation. “I think you’re just jealous because I have a boyfriend and you don’t.”

Kim struggled to come up with a retort but she gave up as Goten neared. "Hey guys," he greeted them with curiosity. "What's going on?"

Tiffany shoved her hand out at him, grasping a copy of the school's newspaper. Goten was surprised to see Trunks on the cover. The color picture showed him walking on campus, a slight smile gracing his features. The caption read, "WCU's Most Eligible Bachelor."

Goten narrowed his eyes and started reading the text, but Tiffany quickly summed it up for him. “The article’s just speculating about why he decided to come here for college.” She was looking at Goten with a strange expression.

“What’s the big deal?” Goten asked, blinking.

Kim snorted. “Well in case you hadn’t noticed, we don’t get many valedictorians passing up the ivy leagues for this place.”

“You’re his best friend. What do you think, Goten?"

He shrugged. "We just wanted to go to school together."

Kim shot a pointed look at her friend, pursing her lips as if to say, ‘I told you so.’

The blond girl rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind her, Goten. She’s just cranky because she’s in serious need of a good lay.” Kim’s mouth dropped open at the comment. “Hey,” the blond suggested cheerily, “maybe we could all double date sometime! You, me, Kim and Trunks!” She clapped her hands together in delight.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Goten stammered, “maybe.” He tried to sound enthusiastic, but as he took his place on the blanket next to the two girls he couldn’t help but think what a complete disaster that would be.

“Oh my god, that’d be so great, wouldn’t it?” Tiffany gushed to Goten. “Me and my best friend dating you and your best friend!”

“Heh…” Goten laughed weakly. “My thoughts exactly . . .” Luckily, a friend of Kim’s appeared just then and stole the girls’ attention away momentarily.

There was a time when Goten would have relished the idea of him and Trunks out on the town together with a couple of cute girls. But the idealistic image had not played out well the few times they had tried it. Goten always felt paranoid that his date was more into Trunks than him, and Trunks always managed to make everyone feel like they were wasting his time. The night generally ended with Trunks putting the girls in a cab and whispering to the younger boy to forget about them. Then doing his best back at Capsule Corp. to make sure Goten did just that.

At least it wasn’t a total loss, Goten thought, smiling slightly. But, that was then and this was now.

He glanced down at the newspaper again and felt that familiar feeling of jealousy burning in his stomach. Most eligible bachelor? Goten should be so lucky as to be featured in the school paper as the campus's most worthy catch. And yet he could see as he scanned the article that the other demi had avoided the reporter to the best of his ability. It was the usual story with Trunks. He got all the attention and he didn't even want it.

Goten slid the article back towards Tiffany and studied the pattern on the blanket for awhile. He was surprised when a few seconds later she passed it back to him. This time, there was a note written in the corner. "Want to visit me at my dorm tonight?" it said. Kim was still distracted with her own conversation and Tiffany winked secretively.

Goten flipped the paper over so they were writing on the back cover instead. For some reason he didn't want to look at Trunks when he wrote his answer.

***

The lavender-haired student sauntered across campus in good spirits. He had just gotten out of his morning class, Humanities 101, and the girl from the registrar’s office had proved to be a valuable classmate. She had brought two cups of coffee to class, offering one to Trunks, and her thoughtfulness had certainly lifted his spirits. The caffeine had probably helped, too.

By now, the sun was high over head, warming the city and making for a pleasant fall day. Trunks thought about taking off his tech vest as he stopped to enjoy the sun in a less crowded part of the quad. But then he caught a scene out of the corner of his eye that made him suddenly very cold. It was Goten, sitting in a grassy part of the landscape, surrounded on either side by his two new friends. He was laughing and talking and seemed to be enjoying himself way too much.

Trunks couldn't help but lament the fact that he was alone, leaning in solitude against a light post, trying his hardest to enjoy this beautiful fall day with no one to share it with, while Goten was living it up with his groupies. Just a few days ago, things would have been so different. They would have been sitting together on that blanket; Trunks with his head in Goten’s lap and Goten playing with his hair. Sipping lemonade spiked with cherry vodka and getting intoxicated on each other while they decided on their evening plans.

But no more.

Trunks stared at the scene like a train wreck: he knew it would upset him, yet he couldn’t look away. And then as he watched, he noticed that Goten was still wearing the shoes he had borrowed the last time they went out together.

Trunks gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to growl.

Every damned morning he dreaded going into his room and inadvertently catching sight of some trinket or another that Goten had bought him for a birthday. Or picking out a seemingly innocuous t-shirt only to remember a time when Goten had impatiently helped him out of it in the dark. The memories tormented him.

Yet there the other boy was, wearing his fucking shoes.

Had he none of those nostalgic feelings that Trunks was entertaining daily? Had he no heart at all? And most importantly, did he really think he could get rid of Trunks but keep his shoes? The Saiyan prince was irate. That Goten had some nerve!

The younger demi’s head snapped up when he felt the energy that was emanating from fifty feet behind him. There was only one person it could be coming from and he clearly was not happy. Goten glanced back from the blanket where he was sitting and what he saw confirmed his fears. Trunks was glaring daggers at him from across the quad.

“Hey, um, I’ll catch up with you guys a little later, okay?” Goten quickly lifted himself off the blanket. Trunks looked ready to march across the quad and deck him at any second and he didn't want a scene. Plus Goten knew the other boy well enough to know he wouldn't just calm down on his own. He decided to go see what was wrong. “Oh and uh, I’ll talk to Trunks for you, Kim,” he laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as Kim rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“As if.”

Goten approached the irritated demi not knowing exactly what to expect. It was the first time they’d spoken since that night on the balcony and it didn’t look like it would be a very happy meeting. "Trunks," he said tentatively as he stopped in front of the prince.

"Those are mine," Trunks spat from between clenched teeth, pointing toward Goten's feet.

Surprised, Goten glanced down at what he was wearing before looking back at Trunks. "Wha--?"

"The fucking shoes are mine." He spoke slowly, every word laced with venom. "Give them to me."

The younger boy almost laughed. "Come on . . . ." This was ridiculous.

Trunks’ expression changed to one of innocence for a moment. "Oh, I’m sorry, I'm just trying to help, Goten. I mean, really, how do you expect to define yourself while wearing someone else's clothes?"

Goten had no idea what to say. Identity crisis aside, he didn't have any other clothes to wear. "No way!" he exclaimed, crossing one foot over the other protectively.

Trunks pressed a finger to his mouth as he looked Goten up and down. "Come to think of it, those pants look familiar, too."

Fuck, the younger boy thought. Trunks wasn't kidding. He slipped out of the shoes quickly, not wanting to tempt the other demi into taking the rest of his clothes. He wasn’t sure that Trunks wouldn’t strip him to his underwear right there on the quad. Alarmed, he wondered if he was wearing Trunks’ underwear as well.

The teen prince reached down and snatched up the shoes, shoving them in his messenger bag. "What am I supposed to wear for the rest of the day?" Goten asked, panicking.

"Dunno," Trunks shrugged. "Guess you should have thought of that before you chucked me."

"I can't believe you're acting like this."

His judgmental tone threatened to put Trunks over the edge. "Who the fuck are you to tell me how to act?" He glared at Goten.

The coldness of the words cut the younger boy like a knife. He wondered if Trunks truly hated him. He braced himself for a torrent of hurtful remarks, but Trunks only grimaced and looked away angrily. He wanted to say more, but he wanted even worse to be out of this situation. He turned abruptly, leaving a barefoot Goten to stare at him as he left.

***

Gohan made his way down the city streets as he strolled towards the college. Bulma had sent him to pick up some laboratory equipment that Capsule had loaned to the university. Despite that it wasn't in his job description, she always sent him on these types of errands because he was the only employee who could actually carry the heavy equipment and it spared her the expense of having to hire a moving crew.

As Gohan turned the corner, he ran smack into Goten. His little brother seemed to be in an awful hurry. He looked up, dazed, but then recognized Gohan’s smiling face. “Hey, Goten!” he said cheerfully. But his younger brother only glared daggers up at him before slapping his palms to Gohan's chest, pushing him backwards. "Your roommate is an ASSHOLE," he swore.

Gohan rubbed his torso. "You guys have GOT to stop doing that!" He wasn’t sure how much more of their fighting his ribcage could take. After he had straightened his shirt he regarded his brother. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but what happened?"

"Fucking Trunks," he answered. "He took my shoes." Goten lifted his pant legs to expose his stocking feet.

"Why in the world did he do that?"

"Well, technically, they were his," Goten admitted. "But now I have nothing to wear. I can't go barefoot to class!" He looked up at Gohan with beseeching eyes. Of course, he felt compelled to help.

"Don't worry, Goten," he calmed the younger boy. "Just go to our apartment and take a pair of mine. Any pair you want."

"Really?" Goten's voice was quieter and his face was hopeful. "You’re the best, Gohan!" But then panic crossed his features again. "But what if Trunks comes home while I'm there?"

"Hmm," the older sibling considered it for a moment. "I'll keep a read on his ki and if I sense him leaving campus, I'll stop him. Somehow . . . ." He could form a plan later. For now he couldn't bear the look of worry on his little brother's face. "Take as long as you need, Goten. Don't worry about it. And I'll have a talk with Trunks later, too."

"Thanks!" Goten said sincerely, his face brightening once again.

"Now go on, kid." Gohan patted his brother's shoulder before continuing on to the physical sciences building.

He had almost finished collecting the equipment he had been sent to gather when he did indeed feel Trunks leaving campus and no doubt heading for home. "Shit," he swore under his breath. Then he turned to the lab tech who was helping him. "Just throw the last few in and hurry," he instructed the confused youth.

Gohan ran down the front stairs of the building carrying a stack of boxes that completely obstructed his vision. Somehow he made his way across several streets and intercepted Trunks as he turned the corner just a block from their building. "Trunks!" he called breathlessly.

"Why, Gohan," the younger man said, amused, "you just can't stay away from me, can you?" His self-satisfied smirk made Gohan want to argue, but he could feel Goten on his way down in the elevator. Any minute he would be walking out of the front door of their building and it seemed a good idea to avoid another confrontation.

"Uh, no, I can't manage to live without you," Gohan agreed with minimal sarcasm. "Listen," he said, thinking quickly, "can you help me with these boxes? I'm headed back to Capsule and I can't see a thing."

"Excuses, excuses," Trunks chided. But he did take two of the boxes from his overburdened roommate. "But, sure, I'll help. It would be nice to surprise my mother, anyway," he stated.

Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Trunks." He felt Goten approaching the door of the building which was only a few feet away from them by this point. "Um, we better hurry!" he encouraged the teen. "I'm running late as it is and you know how Bulma can get!"

Nodding with a knowing look at Gohan, Trunks picked up his pace as they headed away from the apartment. Supporting his remaining two boxes with one hand, Gohan wiped his brow. He hoped the boys would work out their differences soon. He felt he would be torn in half if they kept pulling him in opposite directions.

When they had gotten a safe distance from their building, Gohan turned to look at the young demi walking beside him. He cleared his throat. "So, uh, I ran into Goten on my way across campus and he wasn't wearing any shoes . . . ."

He waited, giving Trunks a chance to offer an explanation but his blue eyes only darkened with anger. "Yeah?" he challenged Gohan.

"Well, he said you took them."

"They were mine."

“Spoken like a true spoiled brat,” Gohan noted. “I know you’re hurting, Trunks, but it doesn’t give you the right to treat other people badly. You take things too personally, anyway. He was only wearing your shoes because he doesn’t have any of his own.”

Trunks snorted. "Please. You don't need to feel bad for your little brother. He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I'm sure he'll be in someone else's clothes in no time." Trunks' tone was bitter. "He doesn't need you to stick up for him. We're not kids anymore."

"You know, it’s funny, you keep saying that . . . ." Gohan trailed off thoughtfully.

"But?" Trunks asked impatiently after another moment of silence.

"Well, I guess I'll believe it when I see it. Seems to me you still act like children."

“You don’t know anything about anything, Gohan!” They made the rest of the trip to Capsule Corp. in silence. When they walked into the main lab to drop off the boxes, Bulma greeted her son enthusiastically.

"Trunks!" she shouted, throwing her arms around him. "I haven't seen you since you moved out! My little boy all grown up." She stood back to look at him.

"Mother," he said sheepishly, "it's only been a few weeks."

Gohan left the two to have their reunion and, loading all four boxes back into his arms, made his way to the storage closet.

"Well you look great," she said sweetly. "New outfit?" Trunks nodded. He knew there was a reason he liked visiting with his mom. Well there were many reasons, but mothers as a group were always ready with gratuitous compliments for their children. It was especially nice when one was feeling down.

She poked him in the ribs a few times. "I thought you would be skin and bones by now," she teased. "But it seems you really do know how to feed yourself. I'm so proud of you, Trunks."

"Well, it's mostly Gohan," he felt compelled to admit.

She shrugged happily and went back to her work, content that her son was doing okay. But Trunks was still troubled. "Mom," he asked hesitantly, as he studied his shoe, "do you think I'm immature?"

“Oh, come on, honey. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll learn how to cook eventually.” She hadn’t exactly grasped his point, but he said nothing and let her continue. “Anyway, that’s why I wanted you to have Gohan there with you. See? Sometimes I do actually know what's best for my son."

He indicated his agreement, leaning in to plant a kiss on his mother’s cheek. But he couldn't help thinking that he was taking an awful lot from Gohan and offering next to nothing in return. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take on a bit more responsibility. Especially since his classes at school were so easy. Then he had an idea.

"Hey, mom!" His voice was already more animated. "I recently changed my schedule around a bit and I have Fridays off. Do you think I could pick up a day here at Capsule? Just, you know, to keep me out of trouble?" He flashed all his teeth in a smile.

"Well of course!" Bulma answered. "Your office is still set up, and there's always extra work to do around here."

Trunks crossed his arms over his chest contentedly. It was a perfect solution. He could keep his mind off the mess that was his personal life at the moment, plus he could prove to Gohan that he was mature and responsible.

Bulma cut into his thoughts. Or, perhaps picked up on them. "So how's Goten?" she asked. "Is he upset that you're planning to transfer to Weston?"

Trunks looked at the floor again. "Doubt it," he said, refusing to meet her eye. "He's kind of hanging out with these new people now."

Bulma furrowed her brows and studied her son. It didn’t take a mother’s intuition to hear the sound of hurt so clearly reflected in his voice. She had been angry when he'd turned his life upside down for the boy. But she knew she would have done the same thing. She knew how much Goten meant to him. With age came wisdom, however, and she decided to impart a little of that on the teen.

Making her tone a light as possible, she teased him. "Dende forbid he have any other friends besides you, right Trunks?"

"Well, when you put it that way . . . ." He rolled his eyes, but he had to admit, it sounded a bit silly.

"Come on, sweetie, it's all part of growing up. You boys need to blaze your own trails. A strong friendship like yours will last through anything, but you can't force it." She thought about her own experience. "Do you know how much I used to hate it when we were kids and Goku would leave for years at a time? I thought about him constantly. But Master Roshi knew that he needed to do it in order to learn and grow. Goku’s a better person for all those adventures he had. And we're still dear friends to this day! It’ll be the same with Goten. He’s so much like his dad."

"Try telling him that." Trunks almost smiled but for the sinking feeling in his gut that the adventures Goten was after were not exactly the same as those of his father. But his mother was just trying to help. He sighed and let her pull him in for a hug. "Thanks, Mom."

"Of course," she said, ruffling his bangs like she did when he was little.

Gohan came back from the storage room then and the two decided to take their leave.

"See you Friday!" Trunks said as he waved goodbye to his mother.

"Friday?" Gohan looked confused.

"That's right!" Trunks beamed. "I’m going to be working here again." Gohan slapped a palm to his forehead and groaned. He wondered when he would ever get some rest. "Hey!” Trunks complained. “That's not exactly the reaction I was going for!"

The sounds of Bulma’s silvery laughter echoed through the lab even after the two demis had left.

“Our boys,” she mused quietly, thinking of Trunks, Goten, and Gohan. Whenever she saw one of them, she couldn’t help but think about the strange story of her own life. If anyone had told her when she was a girl that she would befriend a monkey-tailed boy and grow up to marry the prince of his alien race, she was sure she would have keeled over and died right there. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. Still, she was glad no one had ever warned her. Then she might have missed all this.

She was still lost in her thoughts when Vegeta entered the room through the same door where the boys had recently left.

“Woman, the food is ready.” He had a nice way of calling her to dinner. He crossed his arms and leaned against the far wall, but she could tell he was smiling.

Nope, she wouldn’t trade this for the world.

***

"I'm gonna hit the hay," Gohan announced after they'd wolfed down a quick dinner of leftover takeout. "I don't suppose your bedroom was fixed today?"

Trunks trotted down the hall to take a quick look then shook his head apologetically. “Hey, what the hell is all this plastic wrap?” he asked, his tenor rising in annoyance.

“Ugh, I told them not to do that.” Gohan’s voice sounded tired. Glancing at him from the hallway, Trunks saw that he was still seated at the dinner table, staring down at his empty plate, his fingers pressing into his temples. He shut the door quietly and came back to the dining room.

"Come on, Gohan,” he said, putting a hand on his roommate’s shoulder. Trunks couldn’t help but think that the older man needed a good night’s sleep. Among other things. He trailed his fingers through the other’s spiky hair, massaging the scalp beneath. Gohan closed his eyes and leaned his head back at the sensation. “We can both sleep in your bed. It’s no big deal."

Gohan didn’t speak for a few minutes, wanting nothing more than to relax and let those fingers massage away the tension he was feeling. It was only fair, really. It was Trunks who had given him this headache after all. "I don't know, Trunks . . . ."

The fingers immediately stopped their comforting movements and Trunks leaned against the table next to Gohan. Sitting lightly on the edge, he crossed his arms and observed the other demi. "Why not?"

“It’s just . . . I don’t know . . . .”

“Well, I do.” Trunks’ face became a mask of stoicism. "It’s because you think I’m gay."

Gohan nearly choked. "What? No! Of course I don’t--.” Well that wasn’t exactly true. "I mean, it doesn’t matter if you—.” He stumbled over his words, which weren’t coming out right at all. He really would have preferred avoiding the whole topic. “Really, I don’t care about any of that!” he insisted, waving his hands and trying to undo whatever offense he'd caused.

Trunks continued to eye him suspiciously, making every effort to suppress a giggle at the scene his roommate was making. Then he decided to cut him a break. "Relax, Gohan, I'm not going to slit my wrists or anything." But the promise had the opposite effect and Gohan's face drained of all color. By now Trunks had to laugh. "Come on, you idiot," he said, pulling Gohan up from the chair and leading him down the hall. ‘If you don’t come to bed, I’ll assume it’s because of me and I’ll get very self-conscious and weepy.”

“Okay, okay,” Gohan agreed sheepishly, following the younger boy. He really couldn’t articulate a reason that they shouldn’t sleep in the same bed. Except for the fact that they were adults and it was just weird. But that was silly, right? Either way, he didn’t want to make Trunks feel bad.

The teen’s amused grin pulled him out of his thoughts as they reached the bedroom door. “Can we spoon, Gohan?”

“Don’t press your luck!”