Welcome to Boxer & Rice

Wrapped in a towel and wearing bath sandals, Goku followed his mate through the hall and up the stairs. Since everyone else was asleep, Vegeta walked naked with his arms crossed. His hair, still wet from their shower, showed signs of standing straight again, although the ends still curled downwards. He kept his eyes shut, as if ignoring Goku would make him shut up.

"No."

"But Vegeta--"

"No."

"It'll be fun--"

"No."

"I promise--"

"You said that the last time!" Vegeta spun around, nearly sending Goku down the stairs, and landed a punch in the center of his chest that smacked him against the wall. "You said the carnival would be fun, the finale would be fun, the spaghitto would be fun...is this going to be as much fun as those?"

"Spaghetti," Goku said as he stood. He readjusted the towel around his waist before it could slide off his hips.

"Whatever the hell it is! It sticks to everything." Vegeta turned and walked back up the stairs. "We'll be cleaning that shit out for days. Don't you dare ask for anything."

"But Vegeta--" Goku transmitted in front of him, grabbing his wrists when he tried to punch again. "It's free, it's in an amusement park, we'll get lots of free food, and I promise there'll be no Cell re-enactments."

"And what the hell is an amusement park?" Vegeta struggled in Goku's grip, finally settling for planting a double kick on his lover's chest that sent them both stumbling into their room. "Sounds infinitely boring."

Goku shut the door with his foot and tossed Vegeta onto their bed. "It's not boring. There's rides and games and shops and lots of things to do."

"Sounds like that stupid carnival."

"Well, a little," Goku said. A small lamp stood on the nightstand beside the bed, and he turned it on. The room filled with a warm glow. "But it's bigger and better." He sat down next to Vegeta and waited to see if the prince would attack or relent.

The smaller Saiyan flopped back on the pillows and shut his eyes. "Is that screeching harpy going?"

"No."

"Humans?"

"Just a few with invitations. Yamcha and Bulma. I think Mr. Satan's still in the hospital, but maybe Videl..."

The mattress tilted a few inches as Goku leaned back and slipped off the towel. When he lay down he put his arm around his mate, and he grinned when Vegeta didn't smack him or growl or curse. "Goten and Trunks'll be coming."

"Good, keeps the brats out of my way."

"Please, Vegeta..." He began kissing his way from his mate's shoulder to his throat, scraping his teeth across the claim mark that stood out like a half-necklace on Vegeta's skin. "I wanna go...and there's fun things to do there...and then we can sit in the back of the theater..."

"Your eldest brat and the Namek will probably beat us to it," Vegeta said. Goku's hands felt warm holding his own. He closed his eyes and focused on his mate's mouth, now placing a kiss in his palm.

"So will you come? Bulma says we wouldn't even have to dress up."

Silence for a moment, and then the prince cracked his eyes open a bit and glanced at Goku. "It'll turn out like the last time."

Goku stretched out and lay his head on the pillow, tugging his prince closer so that Vegeta could nestle in the crook of his arm. For awhile he lay still, only running his fingers through his mate's still damp hair. He sighed and looked out the window at the stars. Vegeta's chest rumbled softly. Goku smiled. His mate rarely purred, and whenever he did, it was silent, only discernible by that quiet vibration. He stroked his mate's hair a little slower.

"It won't be. None of them'll show up, and even if they do, I promise--"

"What? That you'll let them insult you and your mate and your brats--"

Goku's fingers pressed against his lips, quieting him.

"--that I won't let them hurt you again," Goku said. "I love you, and if it means cutting off ties with my friends...then I guess they weren't my friends after all."

Vegeta's eyes lit up and he rose up on one arm, staring down at his mate. "And you'll stop acting like a human?"

"Mmm..." Goku grabbed Vegeta's shoulders, flipped him back onto the mattress and leaned over him, holding him still with his weight. "You sure that's what you want? Kakarrot likes to bite."

A smirk spread on the prince's face and he let his eyes half-close. "Kakarrot talks too much."

Goku turned off the lamp.

*

The city lights came on as the sky turned purple and the stars slowly appeared, sparkling in the rising heat waves. The city sprawled beneath them, stretching out for miles in all directions, busy with people on their way home or out for the evening entertainment. A violet glow spread over the horizon, and the full moon crested bright and silver over Dream Land's glass dome.

Two Saiyans and two demiSaiyans rode the escalator that spiraled from the ground to the dome. Trunks and Goten edged as close as they could to the glass, staring at the landscape far in the distance.

"We're so high up," Goten said, looking down. "They all look like bugs."

Arms crossed, Vegeta followed their looks. "What's so damn interesting? You've flown higher."

"But it's neat riding up here," Trunks said. "I didn't think this escalator went so high. It's weird that we never came to Dreamland when we live so close."

"It's ridiculous, that's why."

Goku put his arm around Vegeta's shoulders, careful not to squeeze. "Why do you mind amusement parks so much? And it can't be just that it's full of humans."

His usual reply cut off, Vegeta looked away and stared at the city below. "Going with you to anything involving carnivals, circuses or amusement parks is simply asking for trouble."

"Circuses?" Goku asked. "We've never gone to the circus."

"Um, we have," Trunks said. "Mom got Papa to take me and Goten to the circus when we were smaller."

"Oh yeah." A smile spread over Goten's face. "I remember that day. I got to pet the tigers."

"And we chased the clowns all over the tent, zapping them," Trunks said. "And we ate all their cotton candy and popcorn."

"And tipped over their port-a-potties," Goten said.

"And flew circles around the acrobats," Vegeta said. "And baited the cops, and started a food fight, and blew the main tent into the sky. They made the local news. Little brats nearly got me kicked out of the house for a week."

"That reminds me," Trunks said, grinning at his father. "The circus is back in town finally and--"

Vegeta lowered his eyes and glared at him. "No."

"Aww..."

The tunnel's sides turned dark and began to flash different colors, turning their skin blue and green and red. Goten and Trunks opened their eyes wide and held their hands up, watching them turn purple and yellow, but the light show caught Vegeta off guard and he pressed close against Goku.

"Relax," Goku said. "You're jumpy tonight."

A blush spread over Vegeta's cheeks, and he was glad the colored lights hid it. "Why don't we just skip this?"

"Skip the new Saiyaman movie?" Goten asked. "Are you crazy?"

Goku leaned down to Vegeta's ear. "Don't answer that."

"We have to go," Trunks said. "Do you know how many people would kill for our tickets?"

"As many as I want to right now?" Vegeta shrugged his mate's hand off his shoulder, but he didn't move away. "What's so damn interesting about a movie?"

"It's a Saiyaman movie," Trunks said.

"So?"

"So," Goten said, "they're all like those movies they always show at the tournaments. Rubber heads, lousy effects, guys in suits stomping on miniature cities, and this time, the Great Saiyaman is actually gonna show up at a premiere."

Trunks snickered. "With the Great Green Bean."

"Then why would you want to see it?" Vegeta asked.

"It's kinda like staring at a train wreck," Trunks said.

The escalator stopped and a girl dressed in a blue uniform smiled and held her hand out. "Welcome to DreamLand. Do you have your invitations?"

"We're on the list," Trunks said. "Vegeta and Trunks Briefs, Son Goku and Son Goten."

She checked her list and checked off four places, then backed away so they could go through the entrance. "Thank you for coming. The movie won't start for a few hours, so please enjoy yourselves at all of our rides and games."

"Cool," Goten said as he went in, his eyes growing wide as he looked from ride to ride. "A theme park all to ourselves."

"Almost," Trunks said. "Let's do the Curling Caterpillar first." He grabbed Goten's hand and led him towards the roller coaster.

Vegeta shook his head once and started towards the dome's edge, but Goku had already found the nearest food venue.

"Ooh, ice cream!" Goku took a few steps, then turned. "I'll be right back, 'Geta. Don't leave, okay?"

Without looking at him, Vegeta shrugged once. While the three ran off, he walked to the edge of the dome and looked out. The skyline reminded him of a planet he'd long forgotten the name of, if he ever knew it, but something seemed off. The mountains in the distance were the same shape, the city the same shimmer of tiny lights, but the sky...he shook his head. No wonder. The other sky had been a pale orange.

A few of the stars glowed bright enough to be seen through the city's glare, and he put his hand on the glass. He'd stared at space like this in Frieza's ship, a few inches of clear plastic between him and the vacuum. A small ki burst could have shattered any window in the ship and sent him to where Frieza could never hurt him again.

"I would've done it," he whispered. He let his hand fall and looked at the cars passing by below. "But you would've survived."

Screams shot up into the air behind him, but he only glanced over his shoulder. Screams no longer startled him. A few humans waved their hands over their heads as they rode in a steel caterpillar on a track that ran in loops and corkscrews. In the front seat Goten clung to Trunks' body and yelled as the caterpillar dropped fifty feet and spun around. Trunks couldn't yell, simply trying to breathe as Goten tightened his grip. They zoomed out of sight and Vegeta glanced at the clock inside the coaster operator's little shack. Another hour before the Saiyaman movie premiere. He sighed and fidgeted in his black jeans and sneakers.

"At least the woman didn't choose these," he said, looking down at himself. His mate had picked their clothes for this trip. "But why was Kakarott drooling over them?"

"Geta!" Goku walked closer, a huge ice cream in each hand. "Here, I got you one, too."

"What is it?" Vegeta asked, and held the cone as gingerly as he could. It felt like it might crumble and fall apart.

"Ice cream," Goku said as he took a lick.

"I know that. But what's it on?"

"Oh, that. It's a cone. You eat it. I know you like chocolate, so it's four scoops of that."

"Ah." He nibbled the cone, found it not unpleasing, and continued. "What time is it?"

"Seven. The movie doesn't start 'till nine." Goku looked out the glass at the sky. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just remembering." Vegeta whirled and started walking away. "Why are we here if it doesn't start for another two hours?"

"To have fun," Goku said. "It's been a long time since I've been here. Careful, don't let the ice cream drip."

While they walked Vegeta glanced at his mate. Like him, Goku wore human clothes, a white shirt and jeans so tight Vegeta wondered if he could fight in them, but Goku also wore a long coat that hung past his calves. He shook his head. He'd be swallowed up in the coat that barely covered his mate's shoulders.

Green and orange lights flickered over them and they looked up. A fifteen foot green and orange Saiyaman sign blinked and flashed twenty feet above the dome. His white gloved hand waved back and forth as he grinned. Every few seconds, the lights rimming his sunglasses lit and flickered in circles.

"A pity the Great Green Bean isn't up there too," Vegeta said.

"I think he's gonna be in the next one. Poor Piccolo." Goku felt a pressure on his side and looked down. Vegeta had leaned against him, fitting perfectly against his shoulder, and Goku put his arm around his mate. Vegeta's skin seemed cooler than usual and he hugged him closer, trying to warm him up. He watched him finish the ice cream in seconds and smiled. If he plied Vegeta with chocolate, the prince would let Goku hold him throughout the night, and that was worth the pissed mood he'd have come the next morning.

A crowd of well-dressed premiere goers, all sipping champagne or drinking wine or retouching their makeup, came closer down the path. They all smelled of alcohol and sex. Vegeta pressed a little harder against Goku. The crowd passed by and he tensed, turning his face towards Goku's shirt and closing his eyes. His mate's fingers curled around his cheek and gently brushed his knuckles across his skin. When he couldn't hear them anymore, he looked back up and found Goku looking at him. He stared back at the ground, waiting for his mate to ask questions, root out painful memories, drag him through another humiliating conversation--

Goku hugged him and kept walking. After a quiet minute, Vegeta smiled and kept his eyes on the cobblestones.

"Look, it's a Tunnel of Love."

"What?" He looked up and found a pink heart shaped gazebo and swan boats bobbing in a stream that led into a dark tunnel. "Oh no."

"C'mon, it'll be neat," Goku said and pulled him forward. "It'll be quiet and dark and no one can see us..."

Swans bumped each other in line as a couple stepped into one boat and floated into the tunnel, and the two Saiyans stared at the empty gazebo for a moment. Vegeta made a noise like a short moan and shook his head. Goku whispered to his mate, "should I bribe you with more chocolate tonight?"

"Hm. It might help." He leaned against him again. Goku whispered in his ear, and Vegeta smiled. "Impossible."

"Have I ever lied about chocolate ice cream?"

"Mm. No." Vegeta allowed Goku to tug him through the pink gazebo. "I really hate this color."

"But I love my little bad man--ow!" Goku jumped as his mate punched his arm.

"Don't you dare call me little."

"Sorry, sorry," he said, rubbing the sore spot. "Ow. I think that's gonna bruise."

"Quite whining, baby. I didn't hit you hard at all."

The Saiyans walked up to the edge of the artificial stream and waited a few seconds for the next swan to come. Set on automatic, the swans floated down into the tunnel on a regular pace. The white fiberglass thunked on the concrete side and paused, water sloshing around the edges. Goku stepped inside first, but the tip of his boot caught on the swan's edge and he tumbled face first onto the seat.

"Kakarrot...honestly." Vegeta grabbed the scruff of Goku's shirt and hauled him back up. "Earth's champion defeated by a swan."

"Ow..." Goku rubbed his nose and sat down on the bench seat. "That hurt."

"Maybe we should enter it in the next tournament." Vegeta stepped down into the swan and noticed that his side of the bench was wet, but before he could drag Goku off again the swan started to float away from the gazebo. "Hell."

Goku looked up at his mate. "What's the matter--whoa!" He leaned back as Vegeta plopped himself down in his lap and leaned against him. "You okay, 'Geta?"

"Fine. I just don't wanna get wet is all." He closed his eyes and lay his head on Goku's shoulder, smiling as he caught his mate's scent. "Warm."

The artificial breeze picked up as they went into the tunnel, and Goku noticed that his lover's skin felt even cooler than before. He put his arms around Vegeta and let the edge of his coat slip over his mate's legs.

"You get cold so quick," Goku whispered.

"Do not. You're just so damn big."

"And I wore something warmer than a leather jacket."

"S'warm enough. 'Sides, you picked it out." He yawned and cracked one eye open. "Why's it so dark?"

"'Cause it's a tunnel?"

"Idiot." He looked over his shoulder but couldn't see anything except a slight shimmer on the water. "Is the whole thing so dark?"

A spark and a whiff of powder were their only warnings as flames spurted up beside the boat and lit a set of gaping jaws and fangs that came towards them with a screech like metal scraping metal. Before the flames could die down, Vegeta yelped and tightened his grip on his mate so much that Goku's eyes bugged. The jaws disappeared and Goku hugged Vegeta back. A moment later he gently nudged him.

"'Geta...c'n't...br'th..."

"Hmph." Vegeta let him go and sat straight again. "Why the hell do they call this a tunnel of love if things like that jump out at you?"

Glad that the darkness hid his grin, Goku hugged his mate and found one of the prince's hands, and he held it against his chest. "Because they startle some people and make them jump into their mate's arms. And they're so dark no one else can see them."

"Mm. First good idea they've had on this planet." Vegeta's uncaptured hand slid down Goku's thigh and into the hem of his pants. "How long will we be in here?"

"Umm..." They only heard the swooshing waves, the edge of the boat as it knocked the tunnel edges. "Maybe five minutes?"

"Five? I've never seen how fast I can do this..." He yanked Goku's pants down. Without any light to help him, he ran his hand down Goku's thighs, feeling his way down, then up. His mate whimpered and bucked once, nearly throwing him off. "Settle down, Kakarrot. Or do you want me to stop?"

No movement. Vegeta smiled and began, kissing the only man who'd ever trusted him to be so close.

*

The Caterpillar came to a rest with a hydraulic hiss and the safety bars settled back into place. Goten jumped out of the car and stretched. Behind him, Trunks stepped out and wobbled sideways.

"That was awesome," Goten said. "The way it went upside down and corkscrewed and went straight down. Did you--Trunks?"

Ignoring his friend for the moment, Trunks leaned against the railing on the exit ramp and put his hands over his eyes. He groaned, and the people walking off the ride walked on the other side of the ramp in case he was sick.

"Are you okay?" Goten asked. He put his hands on Trunks' shoulders. "Are you gonna throw up?"

"No, just a headache." He leaned against Goten's side and let him guide them down the ramp towards a bench.

"Headache? Trunks, we've flown loop de loops harder than that."

As they sat down, Trunks leaned back and looked up at the dome's ceiling. He took a deep breath. "Yes, but you weren't squeezing all the oxygen out of me then."

"Oh, oh geez, I'm sorry, I didn't think I was hugging you that hard," Goten said and hugged Trunks again.

Trunks' eyes bugged and he managed a strangled groan. Goten gasped and let go again.

"Ah, I'm sorry!"

"S'awright," Trunks said. "I'll be okay." He lay one hand on his mate's thigh and squeezed. "You can make it up to me later."

Goten opened his mouth to speak, but he was drowned out by a crackle of thunder and a flash of golden light from inside the Tunnel of Love. They both turned in time to see smoke wisp out from the opening. A minute later out floated a blackened swan, its head gone and the wings melted like candle wax on the boat's side. Goku straightened his shirt while Vegeta leaned back next to him, smirking as usual, running one hand through his hair.

"I was right," Vegeta said to Goku, although his voice was loud enough for anyone to hear.

"About what?"

"Even you cannot defeat the hooded swan." 1

While Goku furrowed his brow, Vegeta stepped out of the swan and started towards the food court.

Goten and Trunks glanced at each other and started to chuckle. "Ewww!"

*

Up in the sky, beside the birds and below the altitude of planes, Gohan and Piccolo sat on top of the DreamLand dome and gazed out over the darkening landscape. A cold breeze rushed over them and Gohan pressed against Piccolo. The Namek spread his cape around Gohan's shoulder and hugged him.

"I don't understand why they want to make movies about me," Gohan said. "It's kinda stupid."

"As stupid as going to the premiere?" Piccolo asked.

"Better than staying home and getting mom's phone calls all day." He hung his head and sighed. "I have to do something about her, but I don't know what."

Piccolo laughed. "Threaten to stop studying."

"Piccolo..."

"I know, I know. Still, you're gonna have to do something, even if it means disowning her."

"No way, that'd be even worse." He looked at the Saiyaman sign, smiling and waving above them, and thought about blasting off its head. "Things were a lot simpler before."

"No they weren't, you just remember them that way. Or would you rather be back in high school?"

"Sweet Kami, no," Gohan said. He started to laugh. "That's true. No matter what happens, at least I'm not in high school anymore."

They fell silent for several minutes, watching the city move beneath them. Made up of lines of light in darkness, the city seemed to breathe on its own, like a living creature they could barely sense.

"It's cold up here," Gohan said. "We might as well drop in until the movie starts."

"We don't have tickets. Unless you wanna go in our costumes--"

"No problem, watch." He flared his ki a few times and waited.

A few seconds later, Goku appeared in front of them. "Hi Gohan, Piccolo. You coming in now?"

"Just a sec." Gohan tapped the watch that made his costume disappear, and beside him Piccolo did the same, leaving them in semi-formal wear. "Okay, we're set."

"Great. I don't think Vegeta'll wait for me long."

"How'd you get short shit to come?" Piccolo asked. "I thought he hated being around humans."

Goku grinned. "I had to promise a lot of ice cream." He put his hand on Gohan's shoulder and put his fingers to his forehead. The city disappeared, replaced by a yellow and green tent with a shooting gallery and baby dolls as prizes.

"Darn, he left," Goku said, looking around. "I guess he got impatient."

"We'd better find him," Piccolo said, "before he destroys something."

"I'll find him. You go have fun," Goku said and transmitted out again.

Gohan and Piccolo exchanged glances.

"Food court?" Piccolo asked.

"That'd be great," Gohan said, smiling broadly. "How'd you know I was hungry?"

"You're a Son. You're always hungry."

*

Arms crossed, Vegeta stood at the edge of the dome again and stared outside. The sparkles of light in the rising heat made the city look like a life form he'd seen once on a distant plant, something like jellyfish but crystalline. They had been dark blue, not black, but their bioluminescence rippled like ribbons of lights along their bodies. Over a hundred feet long and spread out over the planet's oceans in schools that ran for miles, the glowing creatures had looked like a city moving in darkness, one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. And he'd vaporized them all.

"Hey 'Geta!" Goku's bit eyes blinked at him.

Even as Vegeta fell backward he cursed himself. He landed on his ass and glared at his mate. "Kuzo, Kakarrot, nezo kadde o!"

"Huh?" Goku tilted his head. "You okay? I didn't startle you, did I?"

"Diiratta ne gezi--" The Saiyan prince bared his teeth and raised his hands into a familiar blast technique. "Big bang--"

"No!" Goku dived on top of Vegeta, squashing his hands down and holding him still until he finally stopped kicking. As his mate growled deep in his throat, he looked into his eyes. "Y'know, you're starting to make this a bad habit."

"No worse than that damn technique," Vegeta said. "Get the hell off me."

"Promise you won't blast anything?"

"Yes."

Goku relaxed his muscles, then tightened again. "And you won't blast me?" The last time he'd forgotten to secure that promise, his mate had pounded him into the side of a cliff.

Vegeta turned his head. "If you insist."

"Okay then." He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry I surprised you. I just wanted to come quick and I forgot how you don't like instant transmission."

"Brainless third class..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll never figure out how you survived your childhood."

"Lots of food. Oh yeah, I forgot." With a broad grin, Goku looked down the row of rides and game booths to a smoky tent on the other side of the park. "We've gotta get to the Smoky Chicharone before everyone else gets there."

"Smoke what?"

"Smoky Chicharone, it's Mexican. C'mon, get up. No, better yet--" He put his fingers to his forehead. "Let's go now."

"Kakarrot, no--"

They appeared sitting on top of a table under the Smoky Chicharone sign, a bright yellow arrow pointing at them and flashing on and off. Goku jumped off of Vegeta and ran to the window, ordering so much food the owner cheered and told his staff they'd all take vacations after tonight.

Vegeta lay still on the table. He found he had a good view of the stars and the area around him was relatively quiet. None of the stars were familiar, but from this view they looked the same as when he'd camped with Raditz and Nappa on dozens of dead planets.

A green head popped into view. "Hey, short shit. You still alive?"

Vegeta tilted his head. Piccolo had on black sunglasses and a hat covering his ears. "Why the disguise? There aren't many seven foot tall green beans on earth."

Beside him, Gohan blinked and looked at Piccolo. "He has a point."

"I got the food!" Goku said.

Vegeta slid off the table and into his seat as his mate plopped dozens of burritos, enchiladas, and other variations of meat and cheese in a tortilla. Food began disappearing into Goku's mouth, and Vegeta rushed to fill his own stomach before it all disappeared.

"What are these?" Piccolo asked, poking a skillet full of still sizzling meat and a pile of tortillas.

"Fajitas." Goku rolled the meat up and inhaled it. "S'good."

Gohan made one and tried it. "Not bad."

"Thought you'd become a vegetarian," Vegeta said as he finished off the last one. Everyone stared at the prince.

"Vegetarian?" Gohan asked.

Vegeta couldn't force the smirk back. "All you seem to eat now is green beans."

Piccolo snarled. "You little--"

Gohan wrapped his around Piccolo's waist and held him in a grip so tight the Namek's face started to turn purple. At the same time, Goku put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder and transmitted out just as a ki blast singed the chair.

When they reappeared on the other side of the park, Vegeta couldn't stop laughing. He leaned against his mate and snuggled, and Goku looked down on him with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

"Vegeta, what is wrong with you?" He grabbed his mate's shoulders and shook him once.

"Wrong?" Vegeta laughed louder. "What makes you think--?"

"This!" Goku said, breathing faster and wondering if his lover had gone insane. "You never laugh like this. Or get angry as fast as you did, or act like that with Piccolo, at least not that bad. I mean, I know you have mood swings, but never like this."

"It's nothing..."

"So it is something."

"Oh yes," Vegeta whispered. "A wonderful secret."

About to ask another question, Goku stopped as Vegeta dropped his ki so low he could hardly feel it. Only a soft glow in his abdomen--

Freeze.

That's not Vegeta.

He knelt and lay his hands on his mate's stomach, feeling the tiny glow that was their child. "You...how long?"

"Not long. A few weeks."

Fortunately no one else was nearby as Goku, champion of the earth, fell to his knees and felt all his muscles start to shake. "We're gonna have a baby...we're gonna have a baby. I'm gonna be a daddy again. I'm...wait, but how--?"

"Kakarrot, you have three children already. Do I really have to explain the ins and outs?" Vegeta knelt and put his hands on Goku's face, steadying him. "Quit shaking already. One more isn't going to be a problem."

"Won't be a problem, that's not why I'm shaking." Goku smiled. "This is wonderful. Our own baby..."

"Another brat, yes."

As Goku hugged Vegeta again, a thought wormed its way through his happiness. "Vegeta," he asked, "why didn't you tell me?" Goku asked.

Vegeta half-shrugged and stood. "I didn't think the mood swings would be so bad. Nor those seriously strange cravings for different foods..." He sighed and shook his head, turning away from Goku. He started to walk away. "Come on, it'll be time for that ceremony to start soon. If you rea--"

The only reason Goku didn't squash him on the ground was that he was afraid it would harm the child inside his mate. Instead he lunged before Vegeta could get far and wrapped his arms around his waist, then yanked his mate backwards. With a yelp, Vegeta stumbled into Goku's lap and his tightly wrapped arms.

"Kakarrot! Have you gone crazy?" He tried to get up, move his arms at least, but Goku had him pinned. He moved to kick him and Goku pinned Vegeta's legs down with his own. The prince turned his head, about to bite his mate's cheek, but Goku twisted one of his hands in Vegeta's hair, yanking his head back. "Kakarrot!"

Before speaking, Goku took a breath and calmed himself down. Growling at his lover would only make him angrier. He brushed his lips against Vegeta's ear and nipped. The sting didn't draw blood, but it warned Vegeta to stop fighting and he did.

"Listen, my prince," Goku whispered. In his grip, Vegeta shuddered and breathed faster, mouth slightly open and head tilted back on his shoulder. "You're not walking away from this. You should've told me, not left me to guess. Why didn't you?"

"Kakarrot--"

"Yes, Kakarrot, your mate. The one who likes to bite."

Vegeta swallowed. His mate's teeth were so close to his throat.

"I asked you a question. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I..."

"Yes?"

Above him, the glass dome shimmered, reflecting all of the inside lights into one glare that blinded him. He closed his eyes, but he could still feel his mate breathing against him. He shook his head as best he could. "I can't--"

His mate's hand tightened his hair, tilting him closer to his teeth. Familiar fangs grazed his skin and he shivered. Goku's grip around his body tightened so much he thought his arms might break.

"Were you just going to wait for me to figure it out?"

"Kakarot, dekette maket." The words came in a whisper, but so close, they sounded like shouting. "Dekette maket teyo."

Goku paused. He hadn't thought he was hurting him, Vegeta had taken a lot more from him than that and come out laughing, but he loosened his grip anyway. "I'm not trying to hurt you," he said. "But I want to know why you tried to keep my child a secret. My child, 'Geta. I can't let you walk away on this one."

Any sounds of the rides and screams under the dome were gone. All they heard was each other's breathing.

"Narokk, ask'ta narokette." Vegeta felt his mate shift underneath him.

"Angry?" Goku closed his eyes and tried to fathom how his prince's mind worked. It only made him more confused. He let go of his mate but made him turn around. On his knees, Vegeta lowered his head and wouldn't meet his eyes.

Goku sighed. "I'm not angry. You should've told me--oh...oh, you thought being pregnant would make me angry with you?" He put his hands on Vegeta's face and made him look up. "Why would I be angry?"

Nothing. His prince only shrugged and wouldn't look at him.

"I wish I knew how your mind works sometimes," Goku said and smiled. "It's not fair making your idiot try to figure out a prince."

Vegeta couldn't help a short laugh, and he looked into his mate's eyes. Goku brushed his knuckles against Vegeta's throat.

"I'm not angry," he said. "I love you. And I'll love our child."

For a moment Vegeta held still, not saying anything. Then he slowly crept forward and pressed himself against Goku's body, resting his head on the same shoulder he'd been held against. He closed his eyes and breathed out as he felt his mate's arms fold around him. Goku's heart beat just a few inches away and he listened to it, put one hand on Goku's chest to feel its faint vibration.

Now that Goku knew about it, the new ki inside his mate glowed strong enough to feel even when Vegeta wasn't lowering his own. Goku squeezed Vegeta gently. "It'll be okay," he said. "Don't worry. I'll always take care of you." A sharp nip came at his throat and he yelped.

"I don't need taking care of," Vegeta said, licking blood from his teeth.

"You bit me!"

"Kakarrot's not the only one that likes to bite."

Forgetting where they were, Goku put his hands on Vegeta's shoulders and pushed him flat onto the ground. He briefly wondered if his prince would tense up again, but Vegeta only smiled and reached his hands around Goku's neck. The taller Saiyan grinned. "Oh, we'll see who's biting who--"

"Goku, geez! Cut it out before someone sees you!"

Both of them blinked and looked around. When they didn't see anyone, they looked up. Gohan and Piccolo, now in their green and orange costumes, hovered near the top of the dome. Piccolo looked down without shame, but even under his mask, Gohan was obviously blushing.

"Can't you two wait 'till you get home?" Piccolo asked.

Vegeta pushed Goku onto the ground and stood up. "Look who's talking. I'll bet you two got a quickie in the chainging room."

"That's...um, not true," Gohan said. He wondered if they could see his face burning bright pink.

"Behind the restaurant, then?" Vegeta smirked.

"Hey, you stay out of--" Piccolo started.

"That's it." Gohan grabbed his mentor's arm and jerked him one way. "We're going, Great Green Bean."

"Huh? But--"

A green and orange streak was all that was left as Gohan pulled Piccolo towards the DreamLand movie theater. Vegeta laughed and looked down at his mate.

"Well, come on. You don't want to be late, do you?"

As the prince walked away, Goku rolled onto his stomach and watched him for a few seconds. "Five months of mood swings," he said to himself. "Kami, I don't think I'm gonna survive."

*

Although some reporters might have noticed the two fighters in the back strongly resembling the Cell fighters, or the one who looked like the Pansy without his petals, all of the tv cameras focused instead on the two superheroes in front of the flashing cameras. The Great Green Bean stood behind the Great Saiyaman and kept an eye out for screaming girls.

"Are you going to act in the next movie?"

"Turn this way!"

"Have you heard any more from the legion of terror?"

"Turn this way, Great Green Bean, turn this way!"

Smiling, Gohan waved his hands and answered in his deep superhero voice. "No to both, actually. We're fighters, not actors. As for the legion of terror," he glanced quickly at Vegeta, Trunks and his little brother, all standing in the back, "I think they might have learned their lesson that good always triumphs over evil."

The legion of terror frowned and stared back at him. Goten stuck his tongue out, and Trunks and Vegeta both snarled in unison. Gohan cleared his throat and looked back at the reporters for the next question.

One microphone nosed its way ahead of the rest. "Saiyaman, is it true that you and the Great Green Bean are romantically involved?"

Silence. Everyone stopped talking. All they could hear was cameras still flashing. Gohan and Piccolo froze.

"Ah...wha--?" Scenes passed through Gohan's mind, images of what life would be if the entire world knew that he was in love with his wise Namek. The name calling, the anti-gay-hero movement he knew would pop up, the tabloid headlines, the switch from screaming fangirls to screaming fanboys...the catcalls on the street.

Thinking Gohan was at a loss, Piccolo took a deep breath and shook his head. "Where in hell do you--"

"Yes."

The Namek stared at Gohan, his jaw dropping. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Piccolo smiled. Both of them did.

For a moment, the cameras stopped flashing. A couple people coughed. In the audience, Bulma and Yamcha stared at them with open mouths. Goku grinned. And the legion of terror smiled. For a moment, Vegeta felt proud of his mate's son. Across the city, the sound of a thousand female groans reached the Saiyans' sensitive hearing.

Someone started clapping, and the sound woke everyone out of their stupor. The crowd started cheering, and the reporters had to yell to be heard over them. Cameras flashed even faster now, zooming in as Gohan took Piccolo's hand in his. Their capes swirled together as they stood closer.

"Great Saiyaman, turn this way!"

"Will this influence your next movie?"

"Have you set a date?"

"Great Green Bean, turn this way!"

"Who's on top?"

Gohan looked up at Piccolo, his face lightly tinged purple. When Piccolo saw his lover's grin, though, he grabbed Gohan's shoulders, bent down and forced a rough kiss from him. The crowd cheered louder and the cameras clicked so fast the light from their flash didn't die down. Knowing the entire city was watching, Gohan at first tensed every muscle in his body, but then relaxed so much that Piccolo had to hold him up. When he broke away, Piccolo held him against his chest with one hand and held up the other to the cameras.

"I think that's enough of a story for tonight," he said, and turned to take the boneless Saiyaman into the theater. Of course the cameras zoomed in on their clasped hands.

Bereft of their main story, the reporters descended on the crowd, asking for reactions and commentary. While everyone else was questioned, Vegeta pulled Goku behind the cameras and slipped inside the theater, just behind Bulma, who was also tugging Yamcha with her. They stopped at the open concession stand, everything free for one night. Yamcha leaned on the counter before he noticed Vegeta coming closer with a scowl.

As Yamcha rushed behind Bulma, Trunks and Goten zipped in his spot at the counter and ordered several tubs of popcorn and enough hot dogs to make a pile as big as their heads. Goku noticed and got behind them, eager to order something before they finished everything off.

Ignoring Yamcha for a minute, Bulma stepped close to Vegeta and lowered her voice. "Did you put Gohan up to that?"

"Up to what?"

"That little stunt outside? The coming out, the kiss, everything. Or are you gonna tell me it was Piccolo's idea again?"

"I had nothing to do with it," Vegeta said. "The brat's finally decided to be honest with himself is all."

"Mm." Bulma glanced at Gohan and Piccolo, both walking towards the theater followed by several reporters and celebrities. "Well, he does seem happy."

"I got the food!" Goku said, his arms loaded with popcorn, nachos and hot dogs, with two drinks balanced in his hand. "'Geta, could you give me a hand?"

The prince stared at Goku as if he were insane for suggesting it. "You're so keen on taking care of me, you carry it," he said and walked away.

"Aww..." Goku followed him, trailing popcorn behind himself.

Half an hour later, Goku sat cuddled up with Vegeta in the back of the darkened theater. He had a feeling Vegeta had fallen asleep, since the prince had said nothing about the bad effects or big rubber heads for several minutes now. The last scene featuring Saiyaman defeating the fighters who'd appeared at the Cell battle, one of whom had sported a flame-like hairdo, would normally have drawn at least a sarcastic comment from him. Instead Vegeta snuggled against his shoulder, partially covered by Goku's coat, listening to his mate's heartbeat.

"'Geta?"

"Mmf?" Vegeta cracked one eye and looked up. The movielight shone blue on Goku.

"You asleep?"

"Baka..." He eased off of his mate's shoulder and leaned more against his chest. "Not anymore."

"Oh. I thought you were. You were so quiet."

Vegeta thought about biting Goku, but decided against it. He sighed and closed his eyes again.

On the screen, a rubber-headed Saiyaman blocked clumsy punches from the Gold Fighter. Every time he landed a hit, a giant Pow! or Boff! popped up for a second. Gohan shook his head and put one gloved hand over his masked face.

"What's the matter?" Piccolo whispered, trying to fight down a smile.

"I can't believe this," Gohan said. "I'm fighting myself..."

"Pretty Jungian." Piccolo watched Gohan groan and slide down in his seat. "Hey, it could be worse."

"How?"

"Could be Freudian."

"..." Gohan would've answered eventually but noticed something strange on the screen. "Is it me, or is the screen starting to glow?"

Piccolo looked back at the screen. Sure enough, the colors of the action onscreen were starting to turn yellow, gradually fading into a solid gold that grew brighter and brighter. As it got brighter, the theater looked as if the lights had been on. People started to murmur to one another and ask if it was another effect.

"Yes," he said. "It's ki energy, and it's not stopping!"

"Everyone," Gohan said in his superhero voice, flying out of his seat, "clear the theater. It's gonna blow!"

People screamed and rushed the doors. When the exits didn't open immediately, Piccolo blasted them. The audience ran out, eventually leaving no one but several brave reporters, Goku and Vegeta in one corner and Yamcha and Bulma in the other. Chunks of the ceiling came down, and the reporters dove for cover. The couples making out didn't stop.

"Hey!" Piccolo yelled. "Quit making out already!"

Startled, Bulma leaned back and readjusted her gown straps while Yamcha sat straight. "Huh? What? Hey look, we're so good we bring the house down."

Gohan glanced over his shoulder at the pairs. "Man, and I thought the terrible chibis would be the worst ones."

"We're not chibis!" Goten's voice came. There was the sound of Trunks falling on his back and yelping, and then Goten looked over one of the chairs in the very back row, his shirt on backwards. A second later Trunks' head popped up, his hair mussed as he put on his shirt.

"Look out!" Trunks said, pointing at the screen.

As Gohan and Piccolo turned, the screen exploded, sending the pair into the far wall. The Saiyans and demis all flew into the air, waiting for the smoke to clear. Trunks turned and looked at Yamcha. "Get my mom out of here, okay? We'll handle this." Yamcha nodded and scooped up Bulma, flying with her through one of the smoking exits.

"That's weird," Goku said. He frowned and peered into the smoke. "Was it me, or did that ki feel kinda familiar?"

"A little," Gohan said, turning golden under his costume. "But it's different, too. I don't get it."

"That's because you're not thinking," Vegeta said. He blasted the smoke, clearing most of it. "It's not one ki, it's several."

"Who--"

Wisps of smoke disappeared, and through the blasted screen they could see an exploded part of the theater wall, and standing there, wearing white fighting gi's and masks, were seven familiar people.

Gohan blinked. "Mom?"

*

"Remember," Krillin said, "just like we practiced."

"Right." Chaotzu nodded and looked up at Tien, whose mask had three eye holes. "Ready?"

"Ready," Tien said, smacking his fist into his open palm. "Time for some payback. Great Saiyaman, prepare yourself! Your 'legion of terror' may have been holding back for you, but we won't!"

"What the hell?" Piccolo asked. He looked back at Goku and Vegeta, then at Goten and Trunks, but all of them shrugged. "Is insanity contagious on this planet?"

"We're not the insane ones," Roshi said. He floated on a nimbus, cane in hand, his mask nearly pushed down by the weight of his Jackie Chun wig. "I know three of you are from different planets, but that gives you no right to influence the boys. They're just chibis!"

Now with their clothes fully on, the demiSaiyans flew in closer. "We're not chibis," Goten said.

"You're confused is what you are," Roshi said.

"We're not confused!" Trunks said, and stomped his foot. Since they were in the air, though, his foot cracked a chair in half.

"Don't worry, though." Chichi readjusted her mask and smiled. "It's okay, boys. You may be confused, but I haven't given up on you."

"That's right," Krillin said. "We're gonna take you to some of the best doctors we could find. They'll get you back to normal."

"But I am normal!" Gohan yelled. "I'm not gonna change, no matter what."

On the floor, a cameraman sat back in one of the unbroken seats and wiped dust from the camera lens as he turned it on. Behind him, one of the reporters got to her feet and clutched the mike to her face. Gray with dust and her head lightly streaked with blood, she coughed a few times and wobbled beside the camera. "T-T-This is Angela H-H-Harker, from in...in..." she coughed again. "From inside the DreamLand theater. There's b-been an explosion...the legion of terror...but different, there's more of them." The camera zoomed in on the glowing shapes both in the air and where the screen had once been. "I don't know if you can see them...I can't make them out, the smoke's too thick..."

"Saiyaman's facing them," the cameraman said.

"Can you see Green Bean?" she asked. "It looks like there's more than just two in the air..."

Hovering in the thickest part of the smoke, Gohan glanced at the two humans and spotted a few other reporters, unconscious in the debris.

"We shouldn't fight," Gohan said. "There's still people here."

"So?" Vegeta said. "They're too dumb to get out of the way."

"Vegeta!"

"Reporters, right," 18 said, crossing her arms. She shook her head. "Wouldn't wanna embarrass the Great Saiyaman."

Everyone not wearing white tensed. If it had only been the humans, it would've been no problem, but the androids were a real threat. "Why are you two here?" Gohan asked.

17 shrugged and tilted his head towards his sister.

"I asked him to come," she said. "Krillin wants me here, and if I'm fighting Saiyans, I want backup a little better than just these humans."

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Piccolo said. "What do you care what Gohan does?"

"It doesn't even affect you," Vegeta said. "The harpy, maybe."

"Why are you doing this?" Gohan asked. "I don't understand."

"Look at yourself," Roshi said. "Running around in costumes, pretending you're something you're not."

"That's not true," Gohan said. "I became Saiyaman so I could be who I really am."

"You were dating girls before," Krillin said. "I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't try to help you."

Tien smacked his fist into his palm. "This isn't just for you. I'm here for payback. I'm gonna beat Freiza's little bitch into the ground!"

A ki blast slammed into his head, sending him crashing through the DreamLand glass dome and off the edge. Chaotzu screamed as he watched his friend disappear and flew after him. Everyone's jaw dropped, even 18's. At first they looked at Vegeta, expecting to see one hand raised. Instead they saw the prince staring at Goku's upright hand, smoke still trailing from his palm. His familiar smile was gone, replaced by his pissed off battle face.

"No," he said. "This isn't play. This isn't a game. You want to threaten my family and my mate, then you deal with me. He's made his choice. The boys love each other. Vegeta is mine. It has nothing to do with you. Go home, leave them alone, and this never happened."

"They're my sons too," Chichi said. "And I'll be damned if I see them perverted. Get 'em!"

As they rose into the air, Goten and Trunks dove towards them, clotheslining Roshi off his cloud. Goten flew up towards the dome's top, but Trunks turned and blasted Krillin on the way up.

"Dammit," his wife said. "Don't tell me they burned your hair off again."

Krillin rubbed the top of his head, feeling the inch long locks carpeting his scalp. "No, it's still there!"

"Kakarrot, Namek, you take 17," Vegeta said. "The brats can handle the humans."

Without questioning his tactics, Piccolo and the boys focused on their chosen targets. "What about you?" Piccolo asked.

"18's mine."

"You sure?" Goku asked. "You're fighting for two, remember."

Vegeta gave a small smile and put one hand over his stomach. "I can't forget. Not to worry. My strength was lower when we last fought. This time I rearrange her damn parts!"

"'Strength was lower'," Piccolo mumbled to himself. "He'll never actually say he was weaker than anyone." Shaking his head, he flew side by side with Goku, streaking towards 17. When the android flew backwards up toward the glass dome, they followed, firing blasts that made bits of glass shower down on him.

In the theater, only Gohan and Chichi, 18 and Vegeta were left, but each pair didn't notice the other. 18 smiled and crouched, ready to lunge. Vegeta matched her stance.

"Last time we fought, I nearly took you apart," she said. "Think this time'll be any different?"

"Tell me, woman," he said. "Are you fighting because you agree with your husband, or because you thought he'd be killed if you weren't here?"

The smile disappeared. "I just saw Goku blast Tien out of the park."

"That's what happens when you insult a Saiyan's mate."

"So it's true then. You forced yourself on him."

A yell, and then she was dodging a ki blast that left a crater in the floor she'd been standing on. More followed her up and over the crowd of premier goers huddled near the exits. "Idiot!" he yelled. "I forced nothing on him."

"Hit a nerve, huh?" She fired her own blasts, taking out a dome over the people.

Glass rained down on the humans, stopped only inches from them as Yamcha blasted it all away. He took a deep breath and looked around for injuries.

"This is insane," he said, about to join the fight. "They'll end up hitting bystanders."

"Wait," Bulma said, grabbing his arm. "Don't go. You're the only thing between us and flying debris."

Another explosion, this one destroying another wall in the theater, pelted them with brick fragments that Yamcha blasted.

"Dammit, you're right. Can't they evacuate the park any faster?"

Bulma looked at the exit ramps. "I think the power to the lights was hit. They're trying to walk down in the dark."

"Well, you're a genius. Can't you fix it?"

"Um...I don't have any tools, but I guess I can try." She rolled up the sequined sleeves on her gown and opened up a gray box bolted beside the exit doors. Multi-colored wires sparked and fizzled as she gingerly eased them aside.

For a minute, Goku and Piccolo and 17 zoomed overhead, the Namek tossed backwards but the move giving Goku a chance to kick 17 into the pavement. They all dived out of sight.

Left behind in the rubble, the cameraman stumbled around broken chairs and blocks of masonry as he followed the fighters outside. Angela followed after him, limping out of the cloud of smoke and into the cleaner air outside the walls. "What's going on?" she asked. "Can you see them?"

"I've got Great Green Bean and...someone else...fighting...wait, there's two others fighting over there! It's like a second legion of terror," he said.

*

Left alone in the empty wreckage and vaguely aware of a battle raging around him, Gohan walked close to his mother until they were only a few feet apart. The glow of his ki spotlighted them in the darkened wreckage. "Mom, you have to stop this."

"You're the one who can stop it," she said. "Agree to come home and bring Goten with you, and say you'll try to get better."

"There's nothing to get better from. I love Piccolo. And Goten loves Trunks."

"I knew you'd say that." She looked up at the sky and watched the three battles rage. "That's why I brought them. Once they've finished off Vegeta and Trunks and that green monster, we'll bring you back. Then you'll see why we had to do this."

The word 'monster' stuck in his head. "Did you call you Goten a monster?"

"What? No, that green--"

"Not Piccolo. Before, when you first saw Goten's tail, did you call him a monster?"

She frowned. "I don't remem--"

"He does. He said you saw it and called him a monster. Your own child."

"He had one of those awful tails," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "My sweet little Goten, and he had a tail, just like Vegeta and Goku and you."

"Being half Saiyan doesn't make him a--"

"No!" She stood straight and stared at him, her eyes bright and unblinking. "He's human. You're human. Your father may be alien, but you're not. I won't lose you."

"And you won't," Gohan said. "I'll always be your son. So will Goten. You'll always be our mom."

Grinning widely, Chichi grabbed his hands and held them. "Then you'll come back peacefully? You'll be my little Gohan again?"

"I..." He looked back up at Piccolo, still fighting 17 with his father. A ki bolt took out the wall behind them. "I love you, mom, but I can't leave Piccolo."

"Oh, if you really want, you can still train with him," she said. She tightened her grip on his hands. "You'll see, when the doctors are through, you won't even feel a--"

"No." He stepped back, pulling out of her grip. "No doctors. No trying to change me. I love Piccolo--"

"That's not true," she said.

"--Goten loves Trunks--"

"Not true."

"--and dad loves Vegeta."

"No!" She slapped him as hard as she could.

He didn't expect the hit and couldn't react in time. Both of them heard bones crunch as her hand struck his cheek. She cried out and fell to her knees, holding her hand against her chest.

"Mom--" He bent to touch her.

"Stay away from me," she said, shying away. "What are you? You're not human. You're a monster, just like them."

"Mom, I'm not...we're not--"

"No," she whispered. "Don't touch me. Monsters...I've given birth to monsters..."

Paralyzed by her voice, he watched her for several seconds. He shook his head and looked away. She heard the bricks turn under his feet as he turned and flew. She whipped her mask off and put one hand over her face, crying so that her tears slipped between her fingers.

*

"You see, that's your problem," 18 said, blasting Vegeta again. The prince staggered back a step, blood streaming from a gash in his left arm. "You get so pissed off in battle you act stupid. Didn't like hearing the truth?"

"What truth?" He fired a blast just to force her back and give himself some room. "I've only heard lies."

"I heard you forced yourself on Goku." 18 dived down, smashing her foot into the ground Vegeta had been standing on seconds earlier. "That you're so desperate for action that you're manipulating him."

A gallic gun attack exploded against her, sending her through a corner candy shop. Melted lollipops and licorice coated her face and hair as she stood up in the smoking rubble. She ripped off her mask, leaving a candyless patch around her eyes.

"Then how does that explain the brats and the Namek?" Vegeta landed a few feet in front of her.

She shrugged. "I don't know and I don't really care. I'm just here to make sure Krillin isn't killed."

"And for that you'd destroy six lives?" Seven, he thought. He spit out a bit of blood. "It didn't occur to you to keep him at home?"

"You know men," she said and smirked and crouched again. "Call 'em short and they go ballistic."

Stones and candy flew up as Vegeta's ki surrounded him and burned bright. Anger, indignation, hurt, all familiar friends, filled his head, fueled by his rocketing energy. Stop her from mocking him, stop them all from insulting him and his mate and his children and...as he powered up, his child's ki joined his.

One hand, still clenched into a fist, touched his stomach. His child's ki sparkled in a small burst, already imitating his own, growing angrier. He looked back at 18, about to throw her next punch. His anger faded and he breathed normally, the hatred and wounded pride stinging less than they had before. A thought hit him, one he'd felt before but never so keenly.

"I'm going to win," he said, more to himself than her.

"You wish."

A flurry of punches aimed towards his head all missed as he dodged back and forth. I only cared about the fight before, he thought. But I ascended because I grew angry at Kakarrot. I ascended because of my anger, my emotions. When they'd fought Frieza, he'd had nothing left to lose, but Kakarrot had everything. It isn't soft-heartedness, it's...

On the battlefield, my feelings are my guide.

He watched 18's face between her punches, cold and purposeful. She started kicking again, and he blocked them as he usually did, but now he blocked them not from himself but from the child inside of him. And the thought of her damaging his child, causing the least amount of pain to him--

His normal clothing burned away as he ascended to the second level, leaving behind his familiar black training suit. Screaming, he grabbed her outstretched arm and yanked, driving her face into his fist. As her head snapped back, he clasped his hands together and doublefisted her down into the concrete. Before she'd finished landing, he dropped like a stone onto her arm. The crack of bone echoed over the sound of pulverized rock. He grabbed one of her ankles and picked her up, then slammed her back into the floor. Her head bounced on the hard surface and blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. One eye was beginning to swell shut.

As she groaned, her good eye opened and focused on him. Points of light sparkled in her sight, shapes blurred and wavered. She saw the blur of his body come closer and one arm come up.

His hand opened and faced her. She couldn't look away. She didn't look into his face, didn't look for Krillin, didn't look for something to hide behind. The world focused into her sharp breaths and his hand, open and ready to fire. He'd never moved so fast before. Something had changed and she didn't know what, only knew that she wasn't going to see Marron that night. She tried to close her eyes but they wouldn't obey.

And then his hand relaxed and fell to his side. "Go home," he said, his voice tired. "Go home to your daughter."

Feeling like something dark and awful had passed over her, she watched him turn and walk through the wreckage. She didn't challenge him again.

*

"Shouldn't we go help them?" Goten asked.

Across the remains of one of the largest candy shops in DreamLand, Trunks munched on an almond chocolate bar and shrugged. "Nah, I'm sure they're okay. Their ki's all over the place. Besides, if we fly out right now, the reporters might get a good shot, and then mom'll go nuts." He tossed Chaotzu, squirming and dazed, through the air towards Goten.

They both hovered near the top of the last two standing walls, the type storeowners would need extended poles for to reach the displays, each covered in shelves of different kinds of candy. Several feet beneath them, Roshi had given up trying to blast them and instead tried to climb onto his nimbus. Laying half over a chunk of masonry was Krillin, dazed spirals spinning in his eyes.

"I guess you're right." He caught Chaotzu, held him up, then threw him back at Trunks. "Still, I feel like we're missing all the fun."

Trunks caught Chaotzu, who screamed and fired small ki bursts that tingled against their super Saiyan skin. "Maybe, but they're missing all the chocolate."

"True, that." Goten found a box of sticks full of powdered candy. While he caught Chaotzu in one hand, he used the other to pick up one stick. He bit the end off and swallowed all the powder in one go. Then he threw Chaotzu back again.

"Dammit!" Roshi fell on his butt again. As he rubbed the soreness out of it, he swung his cane at the nimbus cloud that refused to let him on. "You rotten, good-for-nothing, useless piece of crap!"

"Gee, no wonder he can't get on," Goten said.

"Hey, you think we could?" Trunks said.

"I don't think you could." Goten blinked as his mate frowned. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you usually can't get on anyway. And we've been tossing Chaotzu around for awhile now. That can't be good."

"Hmm." Trunks hefted Chaotzu up to his face. "Well, clown, you gonna stop pestering us and let us be?"

Chaotzu growled, and his face reddened despite the white look. "The minute I get my hands on you'll I'll rip your--"

"Guess not." Trunks tossed him back to Goten. "We're not hurting him. It's self-defense. I think you could still get on the nimbus."

"You think?" Goten caught Chaotzu and flung him back. "Nimbus!"

The nimbus sailed out of Roshi's reach and floated up beside Goten. With a deep breath, he plopped onto the soft, cool cloud...and didn't sink. He smiled and puttered the cloud over to his mate. "Cool!"

"That's great." Trunks looked around at the mess, Krillin and Roshi on the ground and Chaotzu squirming in one hand. "It's pretty boring here. Wanna go help 'em anyway?"

"What about the reporters?"

"Oh yeah...forgot about them..." His eyes lit up and he reached into his jacket. "I only have the masks and a few capes. I didn't really think we'd get a chance to use 'em."

"Capes?" Goten took the offered items and slipped the mask on. Large enough to cover most of his face, the mask conformed perfectly to his skin. The black cape fit comfortably around his shoulders and covered his clothing. "Cool, it'll be like one legion against the other."

Also masked, Trunks looked back at the small emperor in his hand. He didn't want to hit him again, but he didn't want him on his tail either. Winding his arm like a pitcher, he whirled Chaotzu around and around before flinging him out of the shop, out of the dome and out of sight. A split second later they saw the usual sparkle of light that meant he'd fully blasted off.2

"Great, let's go!" He plopped down in front of Goten and sank straight through. He was so surprised only Goten's hand fisting into his shirt kept him from falling.

"Guess they're right about you." Goten hauled Trunks back up and onto his lap. "You are perverted."

"Pervert!" Roshi yelled, pointing at Trunks. "You're a corrupting influence!"

"Like you can talk, you withered sex fiend." Trunks crossed his arms and scowled at his mate. "And you...you're just as bad as me. You just don't know it. The butterflies haven't told you yet."

Goten grinned and kissed his nose. "See what I meant? You're as bad as your father sometimes."

"Just get us out of here."

With Goten holding Trunks securely in his lap, the pair took off to find Gohan. Before they made it to the theater, though, they spotted Vegeta walking out of the crushed pink and white wreckage of the candy shoppes. His jacket was gone and his shirt torn and bloodied, but if he was walking and 18 was nowhere near...

"Fly this thing lower," Trunks said.

Goten guided the nimbus down until they pulled even with Vegeta, floating just a few feet from the ground. The prince glanced at them, then shook his head and groaned. "Not those damn masks again. Does everyone have some kind of sick fetish about masks?"

"Mmm," Goten said. "That would explain why Trunks can't sit on the nimbus..."

"It's 'cause of the reporters out there--" Trunks started.

"That reporter excuse will only work so far, brat."

"I'm serious, that one woman nearly got pictures of us." Trunks grinned and played his trump card. "Of course if you want mom to see you unmasked on national tv--"

The threat of the woman's anger did the trick. Vegeta caught the mask tossed to him and fit it over his face. Soon he had the cape around his shoulders and the cowl over his head, and unlike the two demi-Saiyans, he seemed swallowed up in the shadows left by all the broken lamps and lights around the park. He flew a few feet into the air, keeping beside the nimbus as they rose over the park for a better view.

Camera flashes sparkled beneath them, and they glanced down at the throng of reporters still at the entrance of the amusement park.

Closer to the fighting, the female reporter and her faithful camera man huddled under a doorframe, earning serious promotions. "We can still see the Great Green Bean," Angela said, her voice finally steady again. "I think he's got the Pansy with him now...but I don't know who they're fighting. Whoever it is has shown no regard for anyone else, and our heroes have been forced to destroy huge chunks of exploded bricks to keep them from killing bystanders. There's still no quick way out, even though Bulma Briefs herself is repairing the emergency systems. We're all trapped and--oh my God, Green Bean's hand has been shot off!"

In the air, Goku and Piccolo hovered on one side of a demolished souvenir shop, 17 on the other, all three nursing bloody injuries and the Namek trying to regrow his hand. Piccolo chuckled and glanced at his friend. "Feels pretty damn familiar, doesn't it?" he asked. "Except he doesn't have a tail to grab."

"If only I could use some real attacks," Goku said, "but anything stronger and this whole park'll come down."

"We could really use another pair of hands right about now."

"Maybe Gohan--"

"Gohan's got his own mess to deal with," Piccolo said. "He's in no shape to fight."

"And you? Can you still fight?"

His severed hand lay on the ground below them, and his stump dripped profusely, but he nodded. "I think so. But all this pounding isn't doing much but destroying things."

They both stared at 17, who stared right back. "There's gotta be another way," Goku said, "but how can we use our full power without killing everyone?"

"Are you two really that stupid?"

The already cool air seemed to drop several degrees as they looked over their shoulders. In front of the demi-Saiyans on the nimbus, Vegeta floated with his arms crossed and his cloak pulled tight around his body. Most of the lights nearby were dark, leaving him in nothing but moonlight. His face hid in the shadows of his cowl, making him look like death itself.

"Hey, you won!" Goku said. "I can't believe it!"

"What do you mean, you can't believe it!" Vegeta snapped. "I defeated 18 easily."

Seventeen flinched.

Floating backwards out of the reach of his mate's hands, Goku looked down at Vegeta's stomach. "She didn't hurt the--"

"No, it's fine." Vegeta hoped Goku wouldn't bring up his pregnancy again, at least not in front of the Namek. He glanced at Piccolo to make sure he didn't suspect anything. "If you two can't defeat this piece of junk, then I will."

"No, wait!"

Just as Vegeta flew forward, Goku grabbed his cloak and yanked him back. Vegeta nearly choked and turned around, taking a punch at him. "What the hell? Let me go!"

"We can't use strong attacks," Goku said. "People could die."

"I mated a fool," Vegeta muttered. "You think too much about strength, you never think about speed."

"Huh--?" Goku suddenly found himself holding a torn edge of Vegeta's cloak, and his prince already blurring in front of 17. A cold chill ran down his spine. For all his mate's bravado and strength, he'd never actually seen him win against anyone, and even though he'd just defeated 18, he was still carrying their child...

The camera on the ground couldn't follow the fight, catching only blurs and streaks of light. In the air, no one had ever seen Vegeta move so quickly, seeming to surround 17 and yet dodge every punch and kick sent his way. His speed meant he sacrificed some of his brute strength, but each blow he landed jarred the android's head and wore him down.

"You couldn't have defeated my sister," 17 said, trying a roundhouse that swept harmlessly through Vegeta's afterimage. "She beat you last time."

"Things change." With the android's confidence shaken, Vegeta used the same move that had sent 18 down, grabbing 17's punch and using his momentum to double the impact of his fist. A quick kick and 17 landed in a crater in the concrete. Dust shot up in a cloud around him, so thick he couldn't see anything. Before he could move aside, Vegeta's boot planted hard in his back and pinned him there.

"I let her go back to her daughter," the prince said, growling out his words. "The only thing keeping me from killing you are the brats watching us."

"Goku has nothing to do with it?" 17 said. Despite the pain, he smirked.

"Smart ass robot..." Vegeta ground his heel down a few times before backing away. "18's gone, so you might as well take off."

"Didn't wanna fight anyway..." 17 got to his feet, wobbling back and forth. "You won't blast me in the back?"

"If you don't leave now, I will."

As the android left, the dust around Vegeta cleared, leaving him standing in the middle of the crater and giving the reporter her best scoop ever.

"The other torture twin!" she screamed into her microphone. "He's just saved the Great Green Bean and the Pansy!"

Fortunately for his pride, no one could see his face his eyes widened as far as they could and his jaw dropped. He clutched his cloak tighter and looked for an exit, but everything was flattened rubble. Still in the air, the others noticed her for the first time.

"What the--we've been recorded?" Piccolo said.

"It's not true," Vegeta whispered. He wanted to shout, but the shock crippled his voice. "I'm still evil, I am."

"And look," she kept going, "the terror twins on the side of angels!"

"Trunks..." Goten couldn't stop staring at her. "She's looking at us."

"Mom's gonna kill me." Trunks hid his face in Goten's shirt and tried to disappear.

With his usual grin, Goku waved to the camera and gave them a victory sign. Vegeta groaned and flew up to his mate, blocking him from the camera, and smacked his head.

"Bad enough I'll have to listen to the woman rant about this," he swept his arm back over the flattened park, "but now you're on national tv!"

"But 'Geta, so are you."

"Not unmasked, I'm not! Argh!" He grabbed Goku's wrist and yanked him across the sky, followed close by the brats and the Namek. "Fate cursed me with a dumb mate..."

"'Geta..."

*

From his seat on the ruins of the main theater, Gohan leaned back against the wall and listened to his mother cry on the other side. She never said anything through her tears, but though she tried to stop several times, Gohan heard her start crying again and again. He hugged his knees against his chest and stared at the stars. He'd removed his Saiyaman costume and sat in his usual outfit, brown pants and a white long sleeve, but he didn't think to look around for reporters or bystanders who might have noticed him. His eyes started tearing up, and his wet eyelashes made streaks on his glasses that blurred the stars. As he wiped them off on the edge of his shirt, several blurs descended in front of him. He blinked the last tears away and put his glasses back on.

"I guess the fighting's over?" he asked.

Piccolo nodded once. "Yeah. We won."

"Oh. That's good." He stood and looked up at him. "This'll happen again, won't it? Krillin and Roshi and Tien aren't gonna give up..."

"Well, Tien has different reasons," Piccolo said with a glare at Vegeta, who ignored him. "But yeah. As long as they think they can change you, they won't stop."

"But I don't wanna live like that. Them always trying to get me to be straight, I mean. And they'll inevitably get hurt." His mother started to quiet down again, but they all heard her sniffling echo between the ruined walls. "No. I'm ending this today."

Vegeta smirked. "Dibs on Triclops."

"No," Gohan said. "No killing. This started because I tried to hide who I am. Not anymore." He flipped on his Saiyaman costume again and took Piccolo's hand. "Let's go meet the reporters."

Trailing behind the small group, Goten glanced into the theater. "What about mom?"

"It's okay," Trunks said. "It's better if she doesn't have to see us. Someone'll find her and think she got hurt in the first blast."

The yells and screams from the crowd still at the blocked entrance had quieted now that the blasting had stopped, and the humans watched as the Great Saiyaman led his newly increased team out of the dust cloud. Their clothes were torn and singed, they were bruised and a little bloody, but they each walked as if there was nothing left to fear and the atmosphere lightened as the crowd cheered.

"Why are they yelling?" Goten asked.

"'Cause we stopped Roshi an' Krillin and everyone."

"So we're heroes now?" Goten asked.

"Ah, no big deal," Trunks said. "Just means you can blow stuff up and people like you for it."

"Oh." Goten grinned. He loved blowing things up.

Trunks shook his head and leaned against his mate, wondering how he stayed on the nimbus.

On the left of Saiyaman, Goku spotted a bit of movement and glanced at the edge of the shattered dome. "Wow." He watched 18 grab Krillin's shirt and drag him into the sky out of sight. "How'd you do it?"

Vegeta watched her, but seemed to look through her at the sky he'd been staring at before. "I...I haven't had something to lose in a fight before."

"Huh?" Goku scratched his head and looked at his mate, confused by the strange expression on his face. Or what he could see of his face, since the cowl was still down. "We've lost people before. We were just lucky to get them back."

"More than their lives." His head lowered and he shrugged. "I don't know. I still don't understand it. My anger always hurt me before. I learned to ignore my feelings in a fight."

Not pressing for more, Goku put his arm around Vegeta's shoulders and hugged him closer as they walked.

Questions started as soon as they came within earshot and the undamaged cameras zoomed in on the small group as they stopped slightly behind Saiyaman and the Great Green Bean. One reporter in particular, streaked with blood and gray dust, pushed her way through and put her mike out front.

"Saiyaman, has the legion of terror changed forces and joined you?"

The sound of the three villains choking didn't reach her, but they made Gohan grin. Despite everything that had happened, he still had to fight back laughter. "They sure have! I'm pleased to say they've all seen the error of their ways and joined the forces of good."

Almost on instinct, both Goten and Goku grabbed their respective mates before they could fly off. Trunks still managed to pull Goten off the nimbus, but Vegeta didn't fight much so as not to lose his cloak. In the back, Yamcha snickered. Bulma's shoulders shook with silent laughter as she finished up the last repairs to the electrical system.

"Saiyman, who was this new enemy? Another legion of terror?"

"In a way." He took a deep breath and stepped closer so everyone could hear him. Across the country, anxious viewers watched a close-up of him as he spoke. "They were a group so strongly opposed to me being with...who I love...that they were willing to endanger hundreds of lives in the hope that they could destroy mine." He held a hand up to stop their questions. "We defeated them, yes, but I think this battle goes farther than just a handful of villains. We have the ability to protect ourselves, to defend our right to love who we want. As the Great Saiyaman, I can live inside my mask and love whoever I want, be who I am, and for awhile that was enough."

Under his cape, he slipped one hand over the watch that would change his costume again. "But it's not enough anymore. I can't live behind a mask forever. It's who I am underneath it that matters, and this fighting will only end when I'm strong enough to be who I am without it. This...this may be the hardest thing I've ever done but..."

With a press of a button, his costume vanished. Camera flashes threatened to burn out as the entire nation saw not Saiyaman but Son Gohan standing in front of them, unmasked and glowing with power.

"My name is Son Gohan. And this is who I am."

He turned and grabbed Piccolo's hand, dipping him down for a long kiss. Bulma chose that moment to flip the lights back on, and the glowing exit tunnel spotlighted the two.

The cheers now made their earlier applause seem tame. Beside them, Goten whooped and tugged his own mask off before grabbing Trunks' mask. The purple haired demi-Saiyan shrieked and tried to turn around, but it was too late. Dozens of photos had been snapped.

Any cameras not turned on those pairs now switched to the Pansy and the shadowy person next to him. Vegeta glanced aside and flipped them off.

"Aww, don't be like that," Goku said, reaching for the cowl. He yelped and drew his hand back instantly, sucking on his bloodied fingers. "Quit biting me!"

Wiping a bit of blood from his lips, Vegeta snarled. A moment later he was pinned growling against his mate's body in a tight hug.

*

The next week, the picture on the front of Nakayoshi Magazine was not a photo from the cameras but a still frame from one of Angela's cameraman's shots of Son Gohan dipping Piccolo backwards with Goten and Trunks on one side and Goku with his "mysterious partner" on the cover's folded inset. Inside were articles ranging from Son Gohan's life and how coming out had changed how his students treated him ("enrollment is up fifty percent!") to speculation on how Trunks Briefs was juggling life as his mother's corporate assistant, student and supervillain-turned-hero all at once ("grounded doesn't begin to cover it").

In-depth coverage and a first hand account by Angela Harker of the damage done to DreamLand included how the newest Saiyaman movie's profits would go to help rebuild, as well as the new Saiyaman coaster that would be the tallest and fastest in the world. An interview covered a typical day in the life of the Great Green Bean and his dietary habits. A selection of the Pansy's favorite recipes followed and an entire section had been devoted to who the mysterious partner (now dubbed the Saiyashadow) could be, including photos of him flipping off the crowd, being snuggled in the Pansy's arms and an earlier picture of him fighting the group now suspected of being the second legion of terror at a local carnival.

In order to appear fair and balanced, the magazine also included an editorial about how superheroes used smoke and mirrors to accomplish their seemingly amazing feats, but sadly Mr. Satan was not an engaging writer and was shunted near the back of the magazine, next to an ad for male enhancement pills.

*

A few months later, Piccolo sat at the base of the waterfall near his home, the spray just light enough to take the edge of the summer heat. He'd snaked his arms around Gohan's waist and held him in his lap, enjoying having him close.

"Roshi called me again," Gohan said.

"About the nimbus?"

"Yup."

"But you've told him you don't have it."

"I know." Gohan lay his arms over Piccolo's. "But he can't call Goten and Trunks' secretary screens his calls, so he yells at me."

"Mm."

"Krillin called, too."

"More yelling?" Piccolo asked.

"Actually, he apologized and asked me to thank Vegeta for him."

"What? No-nose wants to thank Short-shit?"

"Yeah, whatever Vegeta said to her, it's made her stop training. She's concentrating on raising Marron now." Gohan laughed. "Krillin said he's not bruised all the time anymore."

Piccolo chuckled. "Nice that one of 'em stopped obsessing over what you're doing."

"It's funny. I thought it'd be harder, but it wasn't so bad. Even the ones who didn't approve at first."

"No one can change in one night," Piccolo said. "You just have to be willing to give them time. Everyone's got prejudices in some way. You can't judge them for it."

Gohan smiled at him. "When'd you get so wise?"

"Probably around the same time this little clumsy brat taught me how to be friends."

"'Brat'?" Gohan smacked Piccolo's shoulder and veered just enough to avoid his own smack. "You've been hanging around Vegeta too much."

"He's got some good points, far and few between." He reached up and gently plucked the glasses off Gohan's face. "He occasionally gives some good advice."

"Oh? Like what?"

Piccolo leaned down until his lips brushed Gohan's. "Lemme show you."

*

In the back of a local comic book shop, Goku and Vegeta transmitted quietly in and looked around. There was no one else except a lonely virgin paging through his comic at the cash register. Vegeta nodded to his mate and took him to a set of shelves in the corner. One by one he examined each comic, skimming the pages and setting an occasional one aside.

"What are these?" Goku asked. He stood behind his mate and put his arms around him, lightly touching his mate's distended stomach as he looked over his shoulder. "Why'd you wanna come get them?"

"I wanted to," Vegeta said. "I like some of these."

Realizing it was probably just his mood swings, Goku glanced at the inside of the comic Vegeta was holding. His eyes widened when he saw the two drawn figures in a twisted sexual position. Then his jaw dropped when he saw who they were.

"Oh my God, that's us!" He grabbed another book and looked through it. For half the comic, the Pansy, trapped in an enemy's tight and painful bondage, was forced to play dog for his captors until the Saiyashadow dropped in, destroyed the enemy in one panel, and then merely loosened Pansy's bonds and took his "reward" for freeing him. The bonus story in the back showed the Pansy as a flower growing in the Saiyashadow's backyard, nurtured and taken care of until he was ready to be plucked. "Oh my God..."

"These are the best," Vegeta said, placing that one on a growing stack. "If it's not rated X, it's usually not any fun."

Faintly disturbed by these unauthorized stories, Goku noticed covers including Gohan and Piccolo, Goten and Trunks, Trunks and Piccolo, Goten and Piccolo, Trunks and Goten and Piccolo, Goku and Piccolo, Goku and Trunks, and he wondered why Vegeta was hardly in any of these.

And then he noticed that the second shelf was devoted exclusively to stories of the Saiyan Shadow. He picked one that looked half-decent. On the cover, Goku stood with a surprisingly accurate Vegeta cradled in his arms. Inside was a more romantic story as the Pansy saved the Saiyashadow from an evil enemy and nursed him back to health. With a warm and fuzzy feeling, Goku flipped the page and found a splash page of the Saiyashadow caught in an enemy's tight and painful bondage until the Pansy came in, killed the enemy in one panel, and proceeded to take his reward for saving him.

"You're right," he said, "these are neat. Do the others know about--"

"No. The woman found these, that's how I know."

*

And late that night, in Bulma's bed, Yamcha lay with his eyes closed while the genius used a reading light clipped over a comic. She giggled as the Pansy and the Saiyashadow danced a ballet.

"And he didn't explode?" Yamcha asked.

"Nope." She turned a page. "He asked where he could get them and then went to find Goku. Aren't pregnant Saiyans weird?"

Yamcha would've said something about pregnant women being weird but held back. Bulma finished her comic and turned off her light, easing under the covers for the night. Several silent minutes went by.

"You're sure it's not contagious?" Yamcha asked.

"Oh, for heaven's sake...you can't catch gay, Yamcha." Bulma shook her head and turned on her side to face him. "Besides, they're Saiyan."

"Piccolo's not."

"Mm, you have a point. It is a little weird statistically." She looked at him as she mulled that over. "Maybe it's Saiyan hormones. They could affect Nameks. I'd have to try a few experiments to find out. Or maybe it's just their high ki levels." She giggled behind one hand. "In which case, you have nothing to worry about."

"Hey!"

The End