Welcome to DBZ Love Garden

When Gohan had lost his arm Trunks had taken him back to Capsule Corps to be healed. So, when Chi-Chi saw Trunks standing outside her door with Gohan in his arms, she’d known. It had taken all of her strength to open the door and let him in.

She’d known the boy would be upset but she hadn’t expected him to be so lost, devastated, sobbing into her arms as she opened the door. She wept with him.

When they’d both calmed down, she took a look at her son’s body. He was so terribly cold.

Trunks had washed the body and dressed him in a clean gi.

“Trunks, you didn’t have to….”

“I … I couldn’t leave him like that.”

She should have been angry at him, so angry, for letting her baby die. But his emotion was too much for her, sorrow and anger and self-loathing so intense she could almost feel it.

“He wouldn’t let me go with him,” he said, so softly it was almost a whisper. “I could’ve … maybe I….”

“Shh,” she said and took him into her arms again.

***

Later, much later, she talked to Bulma about it. “You don’t think they ever….”

“Gohan didn’t know,” Bulma said. “I … I tried talking to him about it once, and–” She gestured, flying a hand over her head. “No clue.”

“Well … you know, he was his father’s son and Trunks is so young.”

Bulma nodded. “Though he seems a lot older now, with Gohan gone.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “It was so much easier then. I knew Trunks would be all right, because Gohan would….”

“He did,” Chi-Chi said.

“I always wanted him to be safe but I never dreamed….”

“I know. I know the last thing anyone wanted was….” She blinked at her tears and tried to think of something else. “How’s the time machine coming?”

“Not fast enough.”

“I hope it works. I mean, I want my boys back but most of all … I want our sons to have had a better life. To not have to have lived like this. They deserved better.”

She remembered the look on Trunks’s face when he’d brought Gohan’s body to her house.

No child deserved to suffer that much pain.

***

Heaven was okay. It was comfortable and friendly and his dad was there.

Gohan had made some new friends in the three and a half years he’d been there; there was a really nice girl– well, maybe nice wasn’t the right word– named Videl, and her dad was okay once you got to know him, and he spent a lot of time with his dad’s friends, too.

And he read a lot, and trained a lot, and … it was okay.

The androids were dead now– they’d celebrated for days after that– but he still went to King Kai to see how Trunks was.

King Kai smiled at him today. “I suppose you’re wondering how that student of yours is.”

“I suppose I am,” Gohan said.

“He’s just fine, Gohan. He’s taking a trip with a friend.”

He was glad Trunks had a friend but it seemed to be taking a long time, and usually King Kai supplied more detail, which made him a little nervous. “Still?”

“They’re on their way home now.” King Kai puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “The boy’s fine. Now, I thought Goku was looking for you?”

Gohan smiled a little sheepishly. “I was kind of hoping he wouldn’t find me, if you want to know the truth. All the training we do … it just seems like of pointless here, you know?”

“Your dad might disagree with that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“He told me to have you meet him at Piccolo’s house.”

At least the fighting took his mind off things. It was easier now that the androids were gone; for a while, his anxiety was terrible. He’d driven them all crazy at first. “I don’t know how he can survive, he’ll be so angry and he’s all alone, and he’s not even a Super Sayajin yet….”

“Gohan,” Goku had said, gently touching his back. “We need to tell you….”

“He is,” Piccolo said. “He found you.”

He’d thought of his student finding him there in the filth and he’d cried then, sobbed, for the first and only time in the afterlife. His dad held him and Piccolo rubbed his back and told him that Trunks was a smart kid and he’d be okay and he’d tried so hard to believe them but he knew so many things had already gone wrong … all he could think of was little Trunks left alone to face the androids.

He’d failed him. He’d failed him utterly.

He wondered, later, when the purpose of his life had changed from saving the world to looking after Trunks.

Piccolo and Goku still gave as good as they got, and they pushed him hard. They’d been sparring for a day or two when King Kai appeared and said, “It’s time.”

Goku brightened up. “He did it?”

King Kai nodded.

“All right!” Goku grinned and slipped an arm around Gohan. “I guess we’ll be saying goodbye, huh?”

“What?”

Krillin jumped down from the roof of Piccolo’s house, where he’d been watching the fight. “We didn’t want to tell you in case he didn’t make it back in time but … it’s time for you to go home.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Trunks went to New Namek,” Goku said. “He brought Dende back with him.”

“And a new set of dragonballs,” Piccolo added.

“Dragonballs–”

“They can only bring you back if you’ve been gone less than four years, so we can’t go back,” Goku continued. “But you can.”

“I– I’ll miss you guys.”

“We know,” Goku said. “But we’ve had a great couple years, huh? And you’ll see us again.”

“When it’s really your time.” Piccolo hugged him. “Take care.”

“Thanks,” Gohan said, and Krillin and Goku hugged him too. “Say goodbye to the others for me … Dad, I–”

“I know, son, now go home.”

***

And then he is looking around at a different world. It takes him a second to orient himself; they’ve been rebuilding and–

Someone green is looking back at him, smiling. “Dende?”

His old friend laughs. “Hello, Gohan.” He was so tall now. “I thought I’d never see you again but I guess fate had other plans.”

“Wow– it’s great to see you!”

“I hope it’s not just great to see me,” Dende said and tilted his head.

Standing a few feet away was a teenage boy with a black jacket and purple hair….

“Trunks!?!”

He knew things had changed– it was more than three years, now– but–

When Trunks leaped up in his arms, he was heavier, too.

“Gohan!” And his grip was pretty strong.

“Hey, there, take it easy–”

“Sorry,” he said, and released him instantly.

“Hey, it’s okay, I missed you too. Let me look at you … damn.” They stood at arms’ length, Gohan’s hands on Trunks’s shoulders. Trunks looked … Trunks looked really good. Trunks looked great. “You look so different.”

“You’ve been gone a long time. I spent an extra year in the hyperbolic time chamber, training with my dad.”

“With Vegeta, huh? Wow.”

He looked so happy … and so anxious. “I’ve … I’ve changed a lot, Gohan. I met you, too, when you were little … I want to tell you so much.”

And they were hugging again. “I’m so proud of you, Trunks, you have no idea–”

“I missed you so much, Gohan, I missed you every day….”

“I missed you too, little bro.”

“You sure I’m still your ‘little bro’?” He had a point. He looked … well, older for sure. And a little more tired and haunted, but … he didn’t look like a little brother any more, at any rate.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve changed.”

“Yeah, Mom said you wouldn’t recognize me.”

“I’d know you anywhere.” He squeezed Trunks’s shoulders again … with his hands. His hands?

“Trunks?” He held up his left arm. “You…?”

“I had another wish,” Trunks said sheepishly.

“You shouldn’t have wasted it on me–”

“I rebuilt as much of the world as I could and I brought everyone I could back, and … you lost that arm protecting me. You needed it back.”

He pulled the boy back into his arms. “Oh, Trunks.”

They talked for hours; about the strange past Trunks had lived in, about the androids, about the world they were in now. Trunks was a little bit reticent, like he was keeping something back but Gohan didn’t push him; he had time to find out, now.

It felt so good to be alive again.

“I gotta get you to your mom,” Trunks said finally. “She helped us, you know, as much as she could. She missed you so much….”

“Yeah,” Gohan said, feeling guilty for having forgotten about her.

***

He moved back in with his mom. Trunks would show up every morning to train. Once in a while he even woke Gohan up.

“What happened to you?” Gohan demanded one morning. “I used to have to drag you out of bed…”

“Guess I grew up,” Trunks said. “You want me to meet you out there or do I have to get you into the shower, too?”

“I’ll meet you out there.”

Trunks still acted a little off, though. It bothered Gohan; he wanted Trunks to finally be free of worries. Of course, with his being out of commission for over three years, he wasn’t sure he was going to be much help anyway. The younger boy had changed so much. He wasn’t even that much younger now. Everything had changed so much–

“Hey!” Trunks yelled. “C’mon!”

“I’m coming!”

***

At breakfast, they talked about work. They were both volunteering time to help rebuild things: Gohan was hoping if he caught up with his studies, he could teach at the new high school.

“I think I’m a lost cause for school,” Trunks said, shoving in a few more pancakes. “Mom wants me to work at Capsule Corps but….”

“You know, you could study with me.”

“I never learned anything more than I had to,” Trunks said.

“You’re smart. You’ll learn fast and things have changed now.”

“I don’t know–”

“Come on, after all these days of pounding my face in the dirt, you owe me. Let me teach you something again.”

Trunks looked into his eyes for a second and Gohan tried to figure out what he was thinking. “Okay.”

The days passed quickly; training, breakfast, work. They studied in the evenings. There were gaps in Trunks’s learning you could drive a truck through but he was the same fast learner he always was, and once he’d overcome his self-consciousness, he was eager to do it. Gohan still felt so angry at the androids, at the world that had let Trunks grow up the way he had, where survival was the only thing that mattered. Living with Bulma and her dad had helped a lot– once in a while they’d both be surprised at the way Trunks grasped a concept– but there was a lot of work to do too, in math and poetry and everything else.

Training was fun but there was something sweet about this, too; being so close to Trunks, talking together about so many things, his arm brushing against his younger friend when he reached for a pen or another book.

He was aware, on some level, of the pleasure he felt when they touched but he put it aside. Trunks was just a kid, still, whether he admitted it or not and he could find far better partners than Gohan.

Everything was pleasant enough and the rebuilding of the high school was almost done, they’d both signed up for their respective exams, but … there was still something wrong with Trunks and it killed him that he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Maybe Dende would know; he saw everything and he had flown back from New Namek with Trunks.

It was worth a try.

***

Dende seemed amused. “You really don’t know?”

“No,” Gohan said irritably. “I don’t.”

“Then I don’t … I mean, it’s not really my place to tell you.” He looked at Gohan. “What can you tell me?”

“He … he just seems so lonely and I don’t understand. He’s got me back now, and….”

“You think that’s all he needs?”

“No,” Gohan said. “No, it’s just … I can’t figure out what he does need.”

“Where’s he sleeping at night?”

Gohan was confused. “Well … I … uh … oh.”

“He’s not a child any more, Gohan and sometimes you need more than a friend.” Dende looked worried. “I’ve … I’ve probably already said too much, Gohan. I … I don’t want … I want you to be happy, Gohan. I don’t want to… oh, dear….”

“I don’t understand.”

“No,” he said, smiling. “You don’t, I guess you Sayajins really are kind of dumb.”

“Hey!” He grabbed at Dende and then they were horsing around again like they had when they were kids, and everything was better for a while.

***

The next day they worked at the school together and he noticed a dark-haired girl with blue eyes taking a special interest in Trunks.

Maybe that was the answer, he thought.

He did a little digging and found out her name was Ilena. She was right around Trunks’s age and she’d lost her dad to the androids. She seemed really sweet. Gohan brought her up that night. “She really seems to like you.”

“Guess so,” Trunks said, shrugging.

“You think you should…?” Gohan tipped his head.

“What?”

“You know … ask her out.”

“I–” Trunks gave him a look that reminded him uncomfortably of his last conversation with Dende. “Gohan … I–”

“What?”

“She’s….” He was blushing. “She’s a girl.”

“Oh.” Oh, shit. “Trunks, I’m sorry, I–”

“I thought you knew.”

“I–” Maybe I should have. “Shit.”

Trunks laughed nervously and he laughed with him and then they stopped laughing.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

“It’s just … it’s just that you’re so lonely and … and you should be happy. You deserve it.”

“I am happy,” Trunks said. “You’re here.”

And something in Gohan’s mind gave him an inkling of what Dende had meant but he pushed it away. “Have you ever even had a– a boyfriend?”

“No,” Trunks said. “But you haven’t had anyone either, have you?”

“I’ve been dead for three years.”

“Before that.”

“There … there was never a chance.” He closed up his book; he was never going to be able to concentrate after this conversation and he doubted Trunks could either.

“Yeah.” Trunks pushed his bangs back from his face. “Same here.”

“You ever…?”

“What?”

“You know, with anybody.”

“Yeah.” Trunks said and turned his face away.

Gohan realized he was near what Trunks had been hiding. He touched his friend’s arm. “Trunks?”

“Twice,” Trunks said, so low that Gohan had to strain to hear him. “The first time … the first time wasn’t exactly my idea.”

The bottom dropped out of Gohan’s world. “Trunks….”

“It’s all right. He’s gone now.”

“It wasn’t … oh, Trunks–” It had to be, though, didn’t it?

“Seventeen. Yeah, it wasn’t that long after you died. They … they wanted to humiliate me. And with you gone … I guess my pride didn’t matter that much.”

Gohan had to stop himself from exploding with rage. “Trunks–”

“He’s gone now,” Trunks said. He hadn’t moved his face. “It’s over.”

He reached out and touched Trunks’s shoulder. Every muscle he could feel was tense. “What about … what about the other time? Was that….”

“When we were fighting Cell, I was just … I did die but I was afraid I wouldn’t come back and … I didn’t want that to be my whole life, you know?”

“You don’t have to be ashamed of … you didn’t sleep with Krillin, did you?”

Trunks laughed a little at that. “No, geez … look, Gohan, I don’t want–”

“You can tell me. It’s all right.”

“I– I don’t– I just– I was lonely, and you were gone, and–”

He reached out and turned Trunks’s face back toward his. “It’s all right.”

“I…”

“You act like it was your dad or something–”

The look on his face gave it away.

“Trunks?”

“He … he was so kind to me, Gohan.”

“You slept with my dad?”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and I missed you so much….”

Gohan couldn’t even begin to deal with all this, so he reached out and put an arm around Trunks instead. “I’m sorry, Trunks, I’m so sorry….”

“And you’re back again and I should be happy and–”

And you slept with him because you couldn’t have … because you couldn’t have me. Gohan found Trunks’s chin and tipped it up. Blue eyes met his.

“You know, you’re beautiful.”

“Gohan?”

“I … I never realized.”

“Gohan, I–”

“I guess you Sayajins really are kind of dumb.” Yeah, Dende. You can say that again.

Gohan leaned down and kissed him.

Trunks was a wild and passionate kisser and Gohan was damned if he knew what to do but Trunks was out of the chair and sliding into his lap and Gohan was hard, harder than he’d ever been in his life, and Trunks’s desire– his love– was so intense it was almost physical, the kissing and the hard-on and the hands sliding into his hair aside, and it wasn’t like it was hard figuring out how to kiss him–

Neither of them heard the door open.

“Boys, I–”

They broke apart; Gohan felt his face heating up.

Bulma stood in the doorway. “Uh… boys?”

Trunks was the first to recover. “Yeah, Mom?”

Gohan risked a glance at him. He was leaning casually back in his chair, one arm over the armrest. Aside from the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks, it could have been any night of the week. Gohan was impressed.

“I … I just wanted you boys to know I was headed to bed. Don’t … uh … well, good night!” She disappeared, slamming the door behind her.

They stared after her in shock.

“What … what do you think she was actually going to say?”

“I have no idea.” Trunks finally dared a glance at him and they giggled like kids, relieved, the weird pressure between them finally broken.

Gohan reached out and pulled him back into his arms, and they kissed again, Gohan getting the hang of it after a while. Trunks got out of his chair again and slid back into Gohan’s lap again, more slowly and deliberately this time, his erection pressing urgently against Gohan’s stomach.

Trunks tasted good. He tasted wonderful and he sure as hell knew how to kiss. Gohan found himself wondering if his dad had taught him to kiss like that but he pushed the thought out of his mind. There were more important things to think about right now.

He’d never been so close to sex before. He never dreamed he’d do anything with little Trunks.

Not little any more, he reminded himself. Judging from the pressure on his stomach, not little at all.

They broke apart for a few seconds, needing air.

“Your room?” Gohan asked. “Or should we–”

Trunks slid out of the chair and pulled Gohan down with him to the floor.

“That’s okay too,” he managed to stammer before Trunks was on him again, straddling his body, pushing against him hard and urgent and eager, his hands pulling at Gohan’s gi.

“Let me get it,” he said, pushing Trunks’s hands away. “You–”

“‘Kay.”

They stared at each other for a minute once they were both naked. Trunks had changed so much, his body leaner and more muscular, with scars Gohan didn’t recognize. His pubic hair was still purple but it was darker than the lavender on his head, and his cock was heavy and thick … shit. Shit.

What the hell was he doing?

And why hadn’t he realized he wanted it this much?

Trunks was so beautiful. His cock was so beautiful.

Gohan’d never wanted anything this much in his life.

He put his head down and licked Trunks’s foreskin. It tasted all right.

“Gohan … you don’t … don’thaveta–”

Gohan pulled his foreskin down and licked again.

“oh–”

Musky and salty and a little sour; Gohan licked him, tasted him, finally took the tip of the head into his mouth and sucked gently. Trunks gasped and thrust up a little and there was something incredible about this, about this power, making Trunks just lose it. “Please, yes, please–”

He slid Trunks’s foreskin back and forth, slow, careful, loving the way he shuddered and moaned. Trunks reached down and stroked Gohan’s hair, his fingers brushing against his scalp. There was pressure against the back of his throat but it was manageable; worth it, all worth it, everything, for his arms on Trunks’s hips, Trunks moaning and cursing and saying his name….

“Love you,” Trunks whispered. “Gohan–”

He responded to everything, every touch, every breath on his skin. Gohan drank it in, loving the taste of salt, wanting more, more of this–

“Go– Gohan, please … close, so– oh–”

Trunks came violently into Gohan’s mouth, the pressure in the back of his throat almost making him gag but he held on, swallowing, looking up in time to catch Trunks’s eyes, to see the look on his face.

Gohan remembered the way Trunks used to look at him. This … the devotion was still there but it was different, deeper.

That had been hero worship.

This was love.

Gohan couldn’t quite believe it was all for him.

Trunks smiled and pulled Gohan up to his face, kissing him again, cupping Gohan’s ass with his hand. Suddenly the pleasure of blowing Trunks was paling behind the burning need in his own body. Trunks pushed him down, stroked his hands down his chest, and Gohan was lost to the sensation, his cock screaming for touch.

Trunks kissed his way down Gohan’s body, Gohan aching, reaching for him, hard muscle under his fingers.

And then Trunks’s mouth was pulling at his dick, hot and wet and the best thing Gohan’d ever felt in his life and the world was flashing white and black under his eyelids; he came hard, thrusting his hips up helplessly as Trunks smiled around his cock and swallowed hard.

Trunks let go and rested his head on Gohan’s hip. Gohan reached over and stroked his hair, feather-soft against his fingertips. Gohan sat up so he could see his face again.

“Thank you,” he said. “Not … not just for this.”

Trunks kissed him at the join of his leg and hip. “Can you stay?”

Gohan thought about it. “I probably shouldn’t leave Mom … she still worries a lot. Could you come back with me?”

“If you want me to.” Trunks’s head was starting to feel heavy on his thigh.

Gohan reached out and pulled his body up against his. “Yeah, I want you to. I wanna sleep with you and wake up with you. And–”

“Yeah.” Trunks squeezes him. “Me too, I’ll leave my mom a note, okay?” He pulled his pants on and ran out to the kitchen. Gohan thought about stopping him and decided against it; reports of naked flying men on the evening news were probably not a good idea. He’d get to see Trunks naked again soon enough.

They had time, now.

Gohan pulled his own pants on and waited for Trunks to come back.