Romance Evolving

They continued the kiss for several seconds, savoring the taste of one another's lips and the deep emotion they found there, and the welcoming warmth of each other's arms. Then the rest of reality caught up with them.

"Well, well!" came the Announcer's magnified voice. "Looks like the best friends are more than just friends, seems we have a romance going on here!" He chuckled softly.

They exchanged a horrified glance, their faces going pale.

***

Gohan and Mirai also blanched, their hearts going out to their brothers. They looked at their fathers--took a second look at Vegeta--and hurriedly fled to the relative safety of the bleachers, where their wives were waiting. Granted, their mothers were also up there, but they should be able to handle Chi-Chi with all four of them together. They hoped.

Vegeta's teeth had clamped together, a soft choking noise occasionally escaping between them. Trunks and Goten had always been close, of course, but this...!

"Huh, look at that," Goku said, sounding a little bit puzzled. "I wonder why they're kissin' so much like that. Reminds me of me and Chi-Chi, or Gohan and Videl..."

"Kakarotto, you idiot! Can't you tell? Our sons are," and he spat out the words, "in love."

"Well, yeah, I've known that for years. But....oh. Oh!" Goku's eyes widened in realization and he looked out at the ring again. The boys had gotten their prize money and were walking towards them, shoulders slumped over, all the previous joy drained from their expresssions. As they approached, Vegeta stalked off toward the bleachers, not looking back even once. Trunks's face had become a frozen mask of despair, and it looked like Goten was fighting back tears. Goku tried to think of something to say to cheer them up, and as he clapped them on the shoulders, he said what he would have said anyway.

"Great fight, you two!"

***

As it turned out, Chi-Chi was very easy to deal with.

Once she had seen them kissing, she had fainted. Videl and Jennifer were trying to bring her around with cool drinks. Bulma, meanwhile, was running her hands through her hair and rapidly recovering from the shock, the scientific part of her brain running things until her emotions had settled enough to start doing their half of the work again. She looked at Mirai, who had just arrived and rested his hands on Jennifer's shoulders. Then she looked down at Trunks, who had taken (perhaps unconsciously) Goten's hand.

"I guess," she whispered to herself, "that answers the old nature or nurture question."

***

Several silent minutes later, everyone was onboard the capsule plane that had brought them there. Yamcha was piloting, and most everyone was seated in the front section of the plane. Goku, Chi-Chi, Vegeta, Bulma, Gohan, Videl, Mirai, Jennifer, Goten and Trunks had all gathered in the rear compartment, the door closed as this was deemed a private matter for the two families to handle by themselves. Pan, Boxa, and Bra had been left up front to play with Roga, the Ox King and Dr. and Mrs. Briefs; the latter three all seemed totally happy and content about their grandsons' relationship. Bardock and Raditz, meanwhile, had declared it was not their place to get involved. Privately, neither wanted to be part of what they were sure was going to be one hell-raising argument.

Of course, just because they didn't want to be involved didn't mean they weren't curious.

Ironically, Piccolo, the one there with the sharpest hearing, was the one least interested in what was going on, and had refused all requests to relay what was going on behind the door. So it was that almost everybody was leaning close to the door, straining their eardrums.

***

"Well, what do ya'll have to say for yourselves?" thundered Chi-Chi, unconsciously slipping back into the backwoods dialect she had been trying hard to overcome lately. Trunks and Goten were seated, holding one another's hands like they were life preservers in a storm-tossed sea. Everyone else was standing, pacing, or leaning against the wall.

"Mom, try and relax," said Gohan soothingly.

"Relax? Relax?!" she snapped. "How can I relax with THIS going on! My own son going around, seeing his delinquent BOYFRIEND behind my back, keeping secrets from me!"

"I should have known better," Vegeta snarled. "It was bad enough I let you be friends with the son of a lower-class, but I tolerated it, put up with it but now you've gone and made him your mate!"

Chi-Chi's chest swelled up with angry pride. "Who're you callin' low-class?"

Mirai could see a fight coming on, and tried to defuse the explosion by giving them both a common enemy. "Calm down, you two! We didn't react like this when we found out!"

That did it. "You KNEW?" both of the combatants said in surprise, whirling to face him.

"Yes, we know," Jennifer spoke up. "We've known for about a month now."

"Why didn't you tell us?" said Chi-Chi.

"Because we knew you'd react like this," replied Videl, letting a little of the anger she occasionally still felt for her mother-in-law creep into her voice.

"And because we felt it was up to them to decide when to tell you," said Gohan in a more conciliatory tone. "This is about them, not us."

"They're right," said Bulma softly. She walked over to Vegeta and wrapped her arms around him. "Besides, at least he's mated with a Saiyan. He's not like some Saiyans I could name, who mated with aliens." She grinned, and he snorted softly. He looked down at Goten, and his emotional shields briefly down thanks to Bulma's comments, saw the boy with kind wide eyes who had called him Uncle Vegeta, and remembered how -- so gradually he hadn't noticed it until it happened -- it had stopped being annoying and started being endearing. He saw the friend, who, more than anybody else, had always been able to make Trunks grin. And he saw the warrior who had been able to battle his son to a standstill, and wondered if maybe, just maybe, he'd have to revise just what counted as lower-class.

Not that he said any of this out loud, of course. Instead, he turned his gaze away, and muttered, "Fine, fine. You two do whatever you want to, I won't try and fight it. It's not like anyone could ever keep you apart anyway..."

Goten and Trunks blinked softly. Had that just happened?

Apparently they weren't the only ones who were surprised. "WHAT?" shrieked Chi-Chi. "You're accepting this? You're--"

"Chi-Chi." Goku took her shoulder, squeezed it gently, and knelt down to look into her eyes. "They're good boys. They make each other happy. They've always made each other happy. They're not hurtin' anyone...so why not just let 'em keep making each other happy, hmm?" Caught off-guard by the gentle sincerity in his words, she looked down at Trunks, and saw the boy who was always so polite (to her, at least) and called her Chi-Chi-san. She saw the friend who had always had the gift to make Goten laugh and to cheer him up no matter the situation, no matter how down he might have been. And she saw the genius who had been able to take the most difficult, complex school lessons and help her son understand them with almost no problem, and wonder if maybe, just maybe, she'd have to revise just what counted as delinquent.

"Well...I don't know..."

"And think about it," said Gohan gently. "You'll have your two sons, both romantically involved with members of the two richest families in the world."

That did it.

"You know," Chi-Chi said quickly, "You two do make a cute couple."

Trunks and Goten blinked again.

"Well, glad we have that settled!" Bulma said brightly. "Let's go and let the boys have some time to themselves." She gave Vegeta a peck on the cheek and gently steered him toward the door (causing all the eavesdroppers to jump away hurriedly and attempt to look nonchalant). He grunted softly, and after throwing back one last glance, allowed himself to be led back into the front compartment. Chi-Chi and Goku followed soon after.

"I don't believe it," Trunks said, sighing in relief.

Goten leaned back, finally starting to relax. "We didn't have to say anything! How did you all do it?" he asked, looking up at the others.

Jennifer smiled. "That's what you should always do when you're on trial. Just sit there, don't say a word, and let your defense attorneys take care of everything." She leaned down and took them in her arms, and soon Mirai, Gohan, and Videl had followed suit, all of them embracing in a loving group hug.

"Thank you so much," Goten said softly.

"We'll never be able to repay you," whispered Trunks.

"Oh, yes you will," said Mirai. "Just stay together and keep each other happy."

"What he said," Gohan agreed.

"And just try and maybe needle Chi-Chi a little?" Videl added. They all laughed, and the two older couples walked back up to the front, leaving the teenagers alone. They leaned into each other, closing their eyes.

When the plane landed at Capsule Corp., thanks to the timezone difference it was nighttime, the lights of West City glittering all around them. Bulma looked out the window, scanning the lawn.

"No reporters," she said to herself. "Looks like we outflew the gossip pipeline. Better hurry before word gets around." She walked back to the rear compartment and opened the door.

Trunks and Goten were leaning against each other and snoring loudly. The rhythmic vibration of the plane, and the release of all the tension from the fight and then the family confrontation, had apparently combined to knock them out. She had to stifle a laugh. It was so cute, just like when they were children...

She pulled out her camera from her purse and took a quick snapshot, then gently shook them. "Hey. We're back now, time to get up."

***

"Well, this sure was an interestin' day," Goku said. He was seated on the edge of the bed in the guest room they'd been given at Capsule Corporation, pulling off his boots. Chi-Chi was slowly shuffling around the room, sighing softly.

"My babies," she whispered. "Both of my babies are grown up now..."

Now he was taking off his gi. "It's not bad. Trunks's a good boy." He was still a bit (all right, a lot) unclear as to how the whole thing worked with two guys, but if they had the same kind of relationship as Gohan and Videl, that was fine with him. The two had always been a good pair. He would admit that he wasn't huge into self-analysis or introspection, but even he had realized that as a kid he had been even more naive than he was now. Goten had never been quite that naive, and Goku was pretty sure it was because of his friendship with Trunks.

"I know," she conceded, shrugging out of her robes and sliding into bed with him. "But they...they don't need me anymore..."

He patted her softly on the back. "Hey. You're their mom. They'll always need ya."

"Ya sure?" She sniffled softly. He drew her down onto his chest, reaching back around his head with his other arm to tap the light switch.

"I'm sure," he replied as the room darkened.

***

Bulma yawned as she began to remove her dress. Vegeta was off in the corner, facing away from her, muttering something to himself as he stripped off his fighting garments. She couldn't hear what he was going on about, but she had a fairly good idea. After she had finished undressing, she walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It was a good fight, at least," she said softly, a smile spreading over her face.

He tilted his head just enough for her to see his eyes, and she nearly gasped. They were revealing a deeper level of his emotions than even she usually saw, a vulnerability she had seen only a very few times in all the years they had known one another.

"He's not a child anymore," he said in a husky whisper. "You saw that fight, I don't have many lessons to teach him now. And it was because of him...them...that I have all this." He waved, the gesture meant to encompass all of Capsule Corp. "Mirai, well, I didn't...didn't treat too well the first time around, though I've tried to do better with him this time. And with Trunks, I did, I think, do better from the start, and it changed me without my even realizing it. And once I did realize it...I found I'd liked it. But that's over now."

She began to caress his face softly. "Now now, that's not true. It won't be over as long as you're still their father. Goten'll take care of him just like Jennifer takes care of his brother." And, she thought, he already had been taking care of him. Over the decades she had come to recognize her genius had made her quite arrogant, and Vegeta's strength had done the same for him. Trunks had inherited both the genius and strength, and a lot of the arrogance as well...but he didn't have nearly as much as his parents. His friendship with Goten, she believed, was almost certainly why. "And besides, we've still got little Bra."

The familiar smirk began to spread back across his face. "Hah. Yes, that's true. We've still got her to raise, and I'll see if I can't do even better with her. And as for you..." He turned around and planted his lips on hers. She kissed him back deeply, as one of her hands found its way to the light switch.

***

Mirai, Gohan, Jennifer and Videl made their own nighttime preparations. With everyone that was staying due to the Tenkaichi Budokai, even Capsule Corp.'s guest bedrooms had been pushed to the limit. As the two couples were the best of friends, the Briefs had invited the Sons to share their bed. The four of them were removing their clothes, and they were so close friends by this point that only the very lightest blushes were sprinkled across their cheeks.

"You think everything'll be all right for them?" Jennifer asked. No question who 'they' were.

"I think so," said Gohan. "Mom seems to have accepted them, and gotten over the worst of it."

Videl nodded. "She'll probably be dramatic about it for a while, but she'll eventually calm down."

"Same for Dad," Mirai added. "You know how he can be, but a lot of the time it doesn't really mean anything."

As the foursome hit the light switch and climbed into bed, cuddling, they all wondered what exactly the young couple was thinking right now.

***

It would be difficult to express the couple's thoughts in words. Their minds were full of just one thing, an overwhelming cloud of relief; relief they didn't have to hide their feelings anymore, relief that everything had gone better than they had ever expected, and above all, relief they still had each other.

They stripped off their clothes, used the light switch, and climbed into bed. They were too worn out, both physically and emotionally, to make love this night. They contented themselves with a soft kiss, and snuggling close together, as they almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.