Discussion

For all who do not know, DBZ was my first anime ever! Looking back and watching my old tapes, I realize just how funny it really looks. Good for it’s time, but no longer at my level as I have gone up. However, there is nothing quite like your first love. I feel it is high time that I pay tribute to my favorite and first anime. To DBZ and all of it’s characters: you will always hold a special place in my heart as the first anime I ever watched with the religious regularity of a true anime fan girl. Thank you for all that you did for me, giving me something upon which to base my artistic beginnings and characters to cling to when I had no one.

To my first love.

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“Ready to go again, Goten?”, the purple-haired teen asked quietly though he himself lay panting on the ground. The black haired boy, only a few yards away, was no less exhausted but still determined to at least not appear so.

“You…bet…,” the littler boy wheezed, starting to get up before promptly plopping back onto the springy grass. “I’ll…I’ll even let you have the first attack…”

“No way man…ladies first…” Trunks gasped. They were both horribly bruised from a day of training, which Piccolo had insisted upon. After Gohan had told the two youths how the Namekian had trained him to be such a great warrior, the younger boys had nearly begged the old alien to shape them as he had Gohan. Eventually, the nagging got to be so bad that Piccolo had actually agreed under the circumstance that he heard no whining from either boy. They had asked for it, after all.

Now here they were, burned out and with no will to pickup and carry on like they usually did. It took a moment, but at last the two teens agreed to simply take a moment to lay in the grass. Trunks laid on his back, hands behind his head with the fingers woven together. Goten, on the other hand, was on his stomach, back being warmed by the summer sun. It was a beautiful day outside, hardly a cloud rolled over the blue canvas of sky. Birds could be heard singing all around them, water gently lapping from a nearby river.

“You know, Goten,” Trunks piped up. “Sometimes I wish I could live out here too.”

“Really?”, the younger teen asked, arching an eyebrow. His eyes were closed at the moment, the only thing Goten really wanted being a nap, but his friend had insisted on talking. “I thought you liked living in the city.”

“I do. There’s always stuff to do, it’s always moving, and I’m never really bored but sometimes it feels a little claustrophobic.” He shivered. “So many people always walking about the whole time and always bumping into you. Not at all like when I’m out here,” he added almost dreamily. “It’s so quiet and peaceful, not another human being for miles.” He breathed in deep, soaking in the scent of the trees, the grass, and the smell of the poison-free air.

“Not all it’s cracked up to be,” Goten said quietly, turning onto his side to face Trunks, face in his hand. “It gets lonely out here.” Trunks glanced over at him, a stab of sympathy hitting him in the chest.

“What about your mom? How about Gohan?” Goten shrugged.

“Yeah they’re there, but it’s not the same as say when you’re out here. There’s no one around who’s my own age, I’ve flown all over the place and know it like the back of my hand so there’s nothing to really explore, and mom keeps me on a really tight leash all the time.” He sighed. “It’s claustrophobic in its own way, Trunks.” Trunks smiled faintly in his friend’s direction.

“Tell you what. When we get older, we’ll share a place out in the mountains!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah!”, Trunks declared enthusiastically, sitting bolt upright. “That way, I get out of the city and you have someone around who’s your own age.” He smiled brightly. “It’s a win-win!” Goten sprang to an upright position as well, excitement shining in his eyes as well.

“That’s brilliant, Trunks! You really ARE Bulma’s son!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, sometimes I wonder if you got any of her smarts at all.”

“Hey!”

“You can definitely see your dad, you have his temper.”

“I’ll show YOU temper!”, Trunks yelled, lunging at the black-haired boy. Thankfully, with a squeak, Goten was able to dodge out of the way.

“Chill out Trunks, I didn’t mean anything by it!”, Goten defended, still trying to avoid further blows from his long-time friend.

“Then you shouldn’t have said anything!” They went back and forth like this for another hour or so before collapsing again, beyond even the thought of moving too far too fast. They had ended up, once again, right next to one another. Trunks’ temper had long since simmered and Goten was no longer in fear of an attack. He faced Trunks with a calm smile, laying on his side with one arm tucked under his head. “What?”, Trunks asked upon seeing the look. He was once again on his back, though now his hands were neatly folded on his stomach.

“Did you really mean what you said, Trunks? About us living together, I mean?” Trunks smiled calmly, rolling onto his side and bringing him closer to his friend and sparring partner.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Every word.”

“Any time I brought it up, you got all weird and wouldn’t talk to me for a few days. Why the sudden change of heart?” Trunks took a deep breath, pretty sure that Goten wouldn’t be happy with the answer.

“I sort of…brought it up with mom.”

“WHAT?!”

“Goten, calm down.”

“You told your mom about us?!”

“Relax, Goten,” Trunks said sternly, hands on the smaller boy’s shoulders. “She was okay with it! Really!”

“What about your dad?! Does he know?!”

“Mom promised not to tell him, but I can never tell what he’s thinking anyway, so I don’t think that even if he did know I don’t think he’d be able to tell. He hasn’t been acting different though, so there’s a pretty good chance mom’s kept her mouth shut.” Goten visibly relaxed in Trunks’ arms, letting out a sigh of relief. They had been secretly seeing one another for nearly a year, usually meeting at Goten’s house due to having the mountains to run around in, along with other things. No one would have guessed that on those many sleepovers, which, to the parents, seemed innocent were more like romantic rendezvous. It started simple enough, a movie with popcorn made by the parents. The lights were turned off and the movie played for most of the night. Somewhere in that hour or hour and a half the two would get closer, laying next to each other or Goten snuggled into Trunks’ chest. Something would happen in the movie, either a scary or romantic moment. Goten would then either cling to the purple-haired teen in fright or move closer from a desire for contact. The heat of the moment would swell to an almost unbearable amount, eyes meeting, understanding flashing between them, and then their lips would find each other over and over again until neither boy could stand it any more. Some times they stayed side-by-side, sometimes they rolled over onto one or the other but it didn’t really matter to them.

They were together. That was what mattered.

“So, what did she say?”, Goten asked, curious as to what words of wisdom would make the shaky Trunks so sure about it. Trunks smiled warmly, one hand reaching up from Goten’s shoulder to lightly stroke his cheek, making the other boy turn a shade of scarlet.

“She said that…the only way to know is to know. Then she started asking me questions.”

“Like?”

“Do you think about him all the time? Is he your first thought in the morning, last when you go to sleep? Do you always want to be with him?” He grew deathly serious before continuing, both hands now cradling Goten’s supple face. “She asked me…what I felt when I had to think about not being around you. Didn’t know how to answer at first, I mean, you’ve always been there. I thought about it a while and…” It seemed like it pained him to relive the conversation.

“Trunks, if you don’t want to tell me-“

“No, you need to hear this, I should have said it already.” He looked Goten dead in the eye. The black-haired teen was surprised and even a little scared by the raw emotion he saw emulating from Trunks’ eyes. He had always had Vegeta’s eyes, cold looking and even just plain angry but now…they were his mother’s eyes, filled with love and even a hint of pain. “When I had to think about life without you, I felt a sadness like I had never felt before. I wanted to cry just from the idea.” He smiled lightly. “Then she put an arm around me and said ‘That right there, that tells me that you are ready’. I thought about it a while after we had our talk and…she’s right Goten. I am ready.” He leaned in closer to Goten, leaning his forehead against the other boy’s. “I want to be with you always. If I ever lost you…I just couldn’t live.”

Trunks’ eyes began to gleam in the sunlight, the water that filled those emotional orbs threatening to spill over until Goten closed the distance between them with a mix of a jump and hug. Before either teen knew it, Goten was lying right on top of Trunks, arms wrapped securely around the older boy’s neck, the half-Saiyan resting his palms flat against the small of Goten’s back. When their happy kiss broke, it was only out of need for oxygen, though Goten continued to smile down at his love.

“It’s so good to hear you say that,” he admitted, bumping his nose against Trunks’. The older boy smiled, hugging Goten and smiling right back at him.

“You shouldn’t have put yourself here, though,” he said warningly. Goten blinked.

“Why not?”, he said, pulling his arms back so that his hands rested comfortably on Trunks’ shoulders. Trunks grinned.

“Because, Goten, you of all people should know how easy it is to get me started, especially when you’re even in the room,” he said warningly. This got a little squeak out of Goten when he realized just what the older boy was talking about. “And you also know how difficult it is to get me to stop once I’m started.” He accentuated this with a lighter-than-air kiss to Goten’s jaw, eliciting a delightful shiver from the beauty above him. The fire already burning, Trunks slid his hands up Goten’s shirt, reveling in the sensation of his rough palms against the other boy’s warm skin. He reached up and pressed his lips again to Goten’s in a more passionate kiss than before. He bit gently on the smaller one’s bottom lip, tongue ghosting over the wound before delving into Goten’s willing mouth.

He’d had eggs for breakfast, that much he could tell. Could Goten taste the bacon that Trunks had had?

Neither cared to ask, especially after Goten arched his back, pressing himself more against Trunks. His body was so sinewy, but so small as compared to his own that a wave of protectiveness flashed over the purple-haired Trunks, making him wrap his arms tighter around Goten, pulling them even closer together. The black-haired boy moaned quietly into their shared kiss, feeling both their natural physical reactions between the cloths that separated them.

Without any warning, Goten was lifted off of Trunks by the back of his shirt with a yelp, Trunks following, being held up in an angry green fist by the collar of his own shirt.

“Make out on your own time,” Piccolo yelled at the two boys. “You’re supposed to be training! Now get back to work!”

“Y-yes Mr. Piccolo,” both boys stammered before being tossed into the air where they continued training. It wasn’t until the sun had begun to set that they were permitted to return home. Trunks bid his farewell to Goten and Piccolo before taking off in the direction of Capsule Corp. Watching him leave; the black haired boy couldn’t help but feel a slight tension between the Namekian and himself. He turned to look up at Piccolo, not really sure what to say to him. It was the first time they had been caught.

“Piccolo,” he said timidly. The green one looked down at the boy, easily towering over him and looking even more menacing for the fact that he had his arms folded across his chest.

“What?”, he said simply.

“Um…p-promise you won’t tell my mom what you saw?” Piccolo raised an eyebrow, Goten running his hand through his hair.

“Listen kid, even if I did tell your mom what you were doing she wouldn’t believe me.” Goten let out a breath of relief. He already knew how his mom would react. He was sure that his dad wouldn’t care. Nothing seemed to really bother Goku. As long as Goten was happy and not getting hurt he figured that the older Saiyan would be all right with him and Trunks. Trunks’ family was another story. Sure Bulma was clam about it, she was a modern woman with several gay male friends. It was his dad they both worried about. Vegeta’s mentality from the beginning on love and sex was that it was purely for producing the necessary offspring to continue A) the Saiyan race and B) Vegeta’s (and technically the royal) family bloodline.

“Thanks Piccolo,” he said gratefully. The Namekian smiled a little.

“You should get home. Your mom starts to panic if you’re not in before dark.” Goten nodded and took to the air, speeding home as fast as he possibly could. He got in through the door simply enough. His mom was a little worried, but not excessively so. Trunks got home easily as well, though Bulma knew her son was tough enough to handle himself after dark. Their secret remained safe, no one the wise save for an old friend of the family and he wasn’t telling anyone.

All was well.