Welcome to DBZ Love Garden

"Thanks, Uub. You did just great!" Goku said, stopping once they were a few hundred miles away from the stadium. The boy grinned, rolling off the tall saiyajin's back and into the thin air in front of him. Goku's good mood was infectious.

"Do you think it will work?" Uub asked. He'd been dubious when Goku-sensei had first gone over the plan with him. Surely no one could mistake his master for such an idiot. It had turned out exactly as Goku had said it would, though.

"Absolutely!" The saiyajin grinned at him.

"I don't understand those people," Uub said. "They never heard of me before. You just suddenly announce you're leaving with a total stranger, and none of them were suspicious at all!"

Goku fondly ruffled the young boy's wild hair. "I told you how it used to be with them. No more, though. No more."

He looked up as he detected a faint flair of ki in the distance, then turned back to his long-time student. "You get going, and I'll see you in three days, just like we planned. Go have fun now; you deserve it!"

Uub smiled and bowed. "See you then, sensei!" he called as he flashed away toward his home. Despite his act at the tournament, he had long since mastered the art of flight.

Goku smiled fondly. He'd been training Uub secretly for about five years now, and the boy was meeting his every expectation. They had practiced and planned for the display at the tournament for nearly six months, and Uub had played his part perfectly. Goku was certain that his friends and family had already written his bizarre behavior off as 'just Goku' and were beginning to move ahead with their lives.

Being dead twice and having a reputation for childishness were paying off for him at last.

He stretched and let his tail out, fishing it through the small hole in his pants. He'd switched to long, belted tunics to help hide the appendage, and no one had seemed to notice. He'd had his tail back for a year already, but he rarely got to flaunt it in the open air. It was another one of his many secrets.

Chichi knew, but since he'd otherwise been the obedient, unremarkable husband she'd always wanted, she hadn't complained. He'd relied on her compulsive need for her family to seem normal and human to keep her quiet about it. She hadn't said a word, even to their sons.

Especially not to their sons. She did everything she could to counteract any example he set for them.

To be honest, he wasn't going to miss Chichi very much, but there was something endearing about having someone so predictable around. He was definitely moving into less certain territory now.

He'd barely been able to wait so long.

Savoring his first taste of freedom, he let himself fall almost to the treetops before taking control and skimming just above them, startling birds and setting a small herd of dinosaurs to flight. There was time to kill, and he did it much as he always had, playing.

He had all the time he needed now to do what he really wanted, away from the stultifying, stifling expectations of his friends and family.

Happy Goku. Irresponsible Goku. Goku, the world's worst father and greatest hero.

Goku the almost-ningen.

Goodbye to all of that.

Whooping, he wreaked innocent havoc on the landscape.

After awhile, he found a wide, comfortable tree limb to settle on. The tree was huge and must have been ancient, yet it didn't stand out much in these woods. Lounging along the branch, he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. It was comforting and uplifting at the same time to hear the world around him. He let his senses extend to pick up the ki of the tree he was in and the animals around it, all woven with that of the earth below. It was a web, a tapestry he would never tire of exploring.

Of course, the light sound of Vejiita breathing soon broke him free from his reverie. The other saiyajin had suppressed his ki after giving that faint, acknowledging flare earlier, but there was no way Goku could miss him. Even his scent was so welcome as to be overpowering. Slowly, he opened his eyes to the vision before them.

Vegeta stood in the air with his arms crossed and his eyes gleaming. He was wearing the same shirt and sweatpants from earlier, yet there was something in his bearing so regal that he could have been wearing imperial robes. Keen eyes swept up and down the form of the saiyajin in front of him.

"Hiding, Kakkarot?" His voice was rich with amusement.

"From you, Vejiita? Never," Goku returned with a smile. "How'd it go?"

"Just as you planned, though I'm certain Bulma suspects something."

Goku laughed and crossed his legs, sitting up. The branch was wide enough that he could sit like that without much trouble. "She's always been a pain in the ass."

"That's my wife you're talking about, asshole," Vejiita said dramatically, settling down on the branch in front of him.

"So sorry, ouji-sama," Goku said lightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Is there any way I can make up for having offended you?"

Vejiita sank his hands into dark hair, cupping Goku's face between them. "I'll think of something," he murmured before brushing his mouth across the lips he'd been aching to taste all damned day.

It was a gentle kiss, the first they'd had in weeks. Vejiita enjoyed the freedom he had now to touch and taste, playing his tongue over the other, softly sucking and licking. Goku allowed him every liberty, responding with the same tender eagerness.

"Missed you," he breathed when the prince finally let his mouth go to nibble on his throat.

"No longer," Vejiita said solemnly, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I agreed to your plan. I'll even wait a few months before I leave for good. But I will have what is mine, Kakkarot."

Goku closed his eyes and nodded.

"Tonight you will be joined with me, as I swore you would be."

"Yes." The word was whispered, but there was no mistaking it.

The two of them were still together for a few moments, a tableau of a prince and his lover facing an overwhelmingly important moment together. Then Goku smiled shyly and Vejiita's mouth quirked up at the corner, and the kissing began again.

They had been lovers for nearly two years.

It all seemed so inevitable now.

Goku had been training Uub in secret, masking the boy's ki with his own and working primarily on technique. He spent days and weeks in the boy's home village or camping in the woods, secluded from the world. He had relished the time away from Chichi and the rest of his real and extended family. He never felt so much at home as when he was far away from it.

He loved his sons, and his friends, but facts were facts. To a large extent, he remained the wild child who had grown up in the woods and emerged only to cause chaos as he traveled the world. When he'd first met Uub, he'd seen a boy with much the same spirit. Once he'd realized the boy's strength, he hadn't been able to resist training him.

The secret freedom had forced him to do some thinking about his past and his future. He'd come to the realization that he wasn't going to change, no matter how old he got or how much effort Chichi put into it. More than that, he didn't want to. Simply put, he was not domesticated, and never had been.

His secret life had given him a great deal of joy. It was perhaps inevitable that Vejiita would catch him at it.

Their confrontation had evolved into a fight, and the fight, perhaps because of its feral nature or its ferocity, or maybe because it was simply time, had evolved into passionate lovemaking. When their sons had been drawn to the site of the battle, the two of them, naked and entwined, had suppressed their ki and hidden from the others, and from the unspoken summons back to family and routine.

After the searchers had finally left, Vejiita had realized that he could not, and would not, lose the wildness he had just found in the other saiyajin. He would not be parted from Kakkarot. The force and power of their coupling itself had astonished and exhilarated him. He felt alive again; he'd felt saiyajin again.

Goku had made him promise to hide it all from their families. He had been worried about hurting them, about revealing things that would forever split them all apart. Vejiita had capitulated only because Goku denied him nothing else. Nothing else.

Maybe it had been simple lust at first. Reckless, feral sex in the wilderness had been all the release they had craved. At first.

Even as they'd gone home from that first coupling, they'd carried the knowledge that it wouldn't be the last. The longer they were apart, the more they hungered for that wild, ferocious touch, that taste of saiyajin blood and freed lust. Their trysts in the woods, at the beach, in the mountains, or even once in a storeroom at Capsule Corps didn't entirely satisfy this new hunger for each other, but those brief hours were all they had.

Otherwise, they pretended nothing had changed. The absence burned.

The sterile, habitual avoidance of each other became intolerable. Vejiita had finally forced the issue, and Goku had come up with today's plan for the tournament. He would make a show of going to train Uub. People would believe the giddiness of it simply because it was Goku doing it. Then Vejiita would wait awhile and join him in training the boy.

From that moment on, they would live openly as the lovers they were. Eventually they would be found out, but only after the length of their absence had softened the blow.

Vejiita didn't like the plan. He didn't think it was necessary. Goku thought it would cause less hurt than telling the truth right away. There would be less outrage, less interference if their families didn't know yet.

Vejiita didn't particularly care if anyone liked or disliked his decisions. Even at this point in his life. But Goku had talked and kissed and stroked and tickled him into it. In a few years it wouldn't matter anyway. The truth would come out over time.

At the moment, though, the prince wasn't concerned about any of that. He was going to collect his price for cooperation in a few hours.

In the meantime, they could play. Smiling like a shark, Vejiita kissed the tip of Goku's nose and then pushed him off the branch. The taller saiyajin almost hit the ground before he recovered from his surprise and charged upwards, thinking delicious thoughts of retaliation.

*****

The sun had set, but there was still light. The sky had a remarkable, clear luminosity about it that would fade all too soon.

High in the topmost branches of a tree, Son Goku let himself savor the beauty spread around him. Gorgeous sky overhead, dramatic mountains to the west, and a lush carpet of forest all around. It was perfect.

It was time.

He was afraid, but the fear was fine, this time. It gave a certain raw edge to everything. He was afraid through his own choices, and there was a certain delectable quality to that simple fact.

He could feel dark eyes upon him from below, and with a faint shiver, he began to climb down. Of course he could have flown, but that didn't feel right. It was better to use hands and feet and the simple strength of his body. The blood surged and the muscles flexed; the air moved through his throat. Alive.

When his feet touched the ground, he turned to find Vejiita waiting for him. He wore nothing but his pride and the weight of his heritage. His dark eyes and stern face gave away nothing.

"Follow," the prince said. Vejiita had left to prepare almost an hour ago.

Goku obeyed. He knew almost nothing of what was about to happen. Vejiita had told him almost a year ago that he meant to lay claim to him, that it was his right. Something inside Goku had whispered that this was so, and he had agreed. He couldn't say he understood, but neither was he ignorant. A delicious dread was upon him.

There was a fire, hot and well-established, in a small clearing near the edge of the forest. There was little undergrowth here, and Goku felt like he was walking among the pillars of a cathedral as he followed Vejiita through the maze. He could scent water, and see what looked like a small house nearby. A flicker of his senses told him no one was there.

He stood near the fire and looked up. The spreading branches and leaves high above took the sight of the stars away from him, making him feel as if he was in a secluded place, a private and protected place here in the midst of the wilderness. Vejiita's realm, tonight.

"There are many ways this can be done," Vejiita said slowly, pacing around the rough circle of the fire while Goku stood still. "I might hunt you down in the forest to show you my skill. I could challenge you to a fight, to show my strength. I could destroy your enemies, to show that I can protect you, or slay an animal to show that I can provide for you. Many ways."

When that husky voice came from behind him, Goku had to repress a shiver. He couldn't, however, stop the fitful lashing of his tail as a ki-sharpened fingernail suddenly cut the sash at his waist in two. As the sash fell to the ground and his shirt drifted open, Goku shrugged it off and then toed his boots off. He breathed deeply of the warm air, trying to ease the tightness in his chest.

"Nervous, Kakkarot?" The whisky voice was dark with something like mirth.

"Yes," he said openly. There was no point in denying it. He couldn't seem to get control of his tail, and Vejiita must be able to scent his fear by now.

"You should be..."

Warm hands suddenly slipped around his waist, untying the cord that gathered his pants. Nimble fingers slipped underneath the waistband and slid gently over his hips, chasing the fabric away until it pooled at his feet.

"After all these years, Kakkarot, I think I've proven myself to you a hundred times over," Vejiita said, moving around him to look into his eyes. "I declare my claim on you. Will you accept it? Or will you fight?"

He wanted to joke around, to rub the back of his head and say something about having accepted Vejiita for years, giving the whole thing a sexual twist that would let him pass this whole thing off as a lark. He wanted to let his eyes go wide and innocent, to grin like a fool and let the tension bleed out of the moment. That's what he'd done in the past with Chichi.

Yet he knew that Vejiita would never, ever forgive him for it.

And the days of being a ningen clown were over.

"I will not fight you, Vejiita," he said hoarsely. "I accept your claim."

A hand, strong and elegant, moved slowly up his chest, the palm cherishing the soft skin and the hardness of muscles underneath. "So be it," the prince said, his voice low and rough.

A nail parted flesh as it made its slow way down again. A scarlet-black drop built and trembled, then rolled downward until it was collected by the sudden heat of a nimble tongue. Goku hissed as Vejiita licked up the errant drop and sealed the path he had opened. He couldn't seem to move. The warmth of the fire was nothing compared to the heat of Vejiita's flesh where it touched him.

A hand reached up and fingers were woven into his hair. He was pulled down into a kiss as warm and carnal as anything he had ever experienced. The taste of Vejiita's mouth... He realized after a small time that he was being offered a taste of his prince's blood with that kiss, and he took it, sucking at the sweetness of the wound Vejiita had made for him.

A sweet exhalation and a moment of rest as lips touched gently before parting.

"The blood is a symbol... You are mine, and so you will become mine. Your ki, your scent, your soul... all will bear my mark. None will dare touch you again without suffering my wrath."

Vejiita's voice was low and quiet, yet it was the only sound that Goku could hear. Nothing else mattered. The ownership in Vejiita's voice sent a subtle thrill of delight through him.

"Desire... intent... lust..." the prince said, walking around Goku slowly, the fingers of one hand trailing across his skin. "These things will bring us closer, until the moment of abandon joins us."

A strong hand took hold of his tail and stroked it firmly, not letting go when the sensations became so strong that Goku tried to twitch it out of his grasp. The shifting pressure and the soft movement of the fur combined to create a rush of feelings he couldn't help but find erotic. Even more arousing was the moment of vulnerability. He understood exactly how much pain Vejiita could cause him now. A few degrees rougher and those pleasing strokes would make his world blacken with agony.

But he trusted Vejiita.

And Vejiita would not harm what was his.

"A fine, thick tail," Vejiita said admiringly before letting go of it. He felt it curl around his thighs in a silent plea for more attention. Ruffling his fingers through the fur again, he slid a hand to the base of the tail, feeling for the tiny musk glands.

There was such pleasure in being with his own kind. He had been with ningens for too long. For a saiyajin, sex was more than pleasure of the flesh. Oh, much more.

He brought his fingers to his nose and scented the faintest hint of Goku's musk. He bared his teeth, well-pleased, as a rush of adrenalin and lust hit him. The musk was strong and would flow soon, as he'd suspected. Vejiita had deliberately avoided this in the past, knowing the reaction it would provoke from himself. He hadn't been ready before. Now he was.

There. Tiny and sensitive, hidden by thick pelt and a small fold of skin, the musk glands were hardly noticeable in an immature saiyajin.

Which Goku was, despite his age. Without his tail, his body simply hadn't ever been triggered into full adulthood. He was capable of sex and fathering children, but certain qualities lay dormant, awaiting the change. His body had reached maturity. The rest of him had not.

On Vegetasei, the simple presence of other saiyajins would have made his tail grow back and prompted maturity. Here, on Chikyuusei, he needed help. Vejiita didn't know why Goku's tail had returned, but it was an opportunity not to be missed. The tall saiyajin had had his tail back for a year or more, but he had little knowledge of the full significance of it.

He began, softly at first, to stroke the treasure he had uncovered. Goku stiffened and gasped almost immediately, and Vejiita couldn't resist a hidden smirk. He knew the younger man's cock was twitching at the unfamiliar feelings Vejiita's touch was unleashing. The musk glands were essentially sexual in nature, releasing the oily scent that a saiyajin tail spread to mark territory or lure a partner closer. Touching them was the most exquisite, intimate foreplay.

Vejiita doubted very much that Goku knew he had them. Time for his lesson.

First musk, the first time a unique, sexual scent was coaxed from a willing body, was the hallmark of adulthood. Sometimes the young helped each other, their groping embraces sparking enough passion. Sometimes, less often, an adult would help, guiding and bringing the young one over the edge.

Vejiita smirked as a flutter of fingertips made Goku jump and moan. It was simply his duty to help out a fellow saiyajin.

"What... ?" Goku managed, the word hanging quietly in the air, almost drowned out by his harsh breathing. "Vejiitahhh...."

Vejiita said nothing, but knelt suddenly and ran the damp velvet of his tongue over the tiny buds, tasting spice. His own body shuddered in reaction, and he let go of the tail to grasp the firm, round flesh before him. He ran his tongue down quickly into the cleft, merely teasing, before returning to the tail for another long, slow tasting.

Goku cried out in pleasure that bled into pain. Slow and wet, the gentle roughness slid over this new place, this spot so sensitive that his muscles quivered at every tormenting touch. He moaned Vejiita's name, wanting to ask him to stop yet afraid that he would. Another lick, then another, and his knees gave way.

He found himself on the ground with Vejiita kneeling behind him, one hand gently stroking his cock while a fingertip traced slow circles over that place under his tail. He didn't know it, but his musk was flowing now, slowly seeping out to scent his tail and slick Vejiita's fingers. His whole body seemed to feel that touch, as if the expanse of his skin was being so carefully tended to, rather than just two tender places.

A few slow strokes. One delicate bite at the back of his neck. More swirling caresses from careful fingers.

Scalding pleasure.

Nearly sobbing, Goku came, his body thrashing in the strong arms of his prince as he threw his head back against Vejiita's shoulder and roared. Fire ran under his skin, scorching and soothing him, and the world lurched and spun wildly before suddenly deserting him altogether.

Vejiita laughed as Goku slumped in his arms. Always so dramatic, he thought fondly, brushing the hair back from his lover's brow. He pulled the rich scent into his lungs, well pleased. It would have intoxicated him even if it hadn't been his lover's first. His saiyajin lover, who would be so much more so after this.

Feeling something move against him, he looked down to find the fragrant tail now coiled firmly around his waist, even though its owner was unconscious. He pulled at the thick loop, but it tightened, the fur rippling as the muscles flexed to keep him close. Another whisky laugh sounded through the clearing.

"As if I would leave you now, after all that work," he said, gathering the saiyajin up and holding him to accommodate the possessive tail.

With the formalities out of the way, there was only the best of everything left to do.