Chapter 19

It wasn't so much that Goku was disappointed in his oldest son. (After the past couple of years, he didn't think his opinion of Gohan could sink any lower, so it was safe to say it wasn't disappointment.) But he wasn't happy with him. Especially not since he was holding him up with one arm while Radditz set about cleaning up the remains of the Vegeta's sobering punch.

Both him and Vegeta decided that since Radditz was having sex with Gohan he should have to clean up after him.

Gohan had his arms around Goku's shoulders and his head was lolling loosely against his shoulder. He tried very hard not to notice the fact that his child was drooling on him, and thus far had proven the stalwart nature of his resolve rather admirably. He still just wanted to smack the kid. Radditz had shown up at their house (half-naked) and told them that some 'ugly wench' had shown up at Gohanouseouse and 'screeched' something about lying whores and sons of bitches. Then Gohan disappeared, and Radditz didn't think that this was a good idea.

The very fact that his bastard older brother was concerned about HIS--GOKU's--child was enough to make his teeth grind. But he calmly reminded himself that Radditz was trying to be helpful (there had to be something in it for him) and he had focused on Gohan's ki, popped them over to Roshi's and found this happy mess.

"I don't really hate you," his son mumbled to his armpit, (and Goku was sure his armpit was very pleased to hear this.)

Vegeta was keeping his prissy distance. There had been a single bit of slime on his arm and he had taken four minutes to scrub it clean. It was truly amazing that Trunks hadn't turned out as neurotic as his father. "Hurry up," he said finally.

"Really..." Gohan continued. "I mean...so what if your--" he seemed to have lost his train of thought again. Not that it mattered, his words were mostly slurred together anyway. "Stupid," is what he finally came up with. "You always--sort of...save...stuff."

Radditz finished his assigned task, picked up the towels with which he was cleaning and carried them into the kitchen. There was the sound of running water, and when he returned, he took Gohan from Goku.

Well, he tried. Gohan decided to be clingly and jumped on Goku, wrapped his arms and legs around him and shouted: "No!" It reminded him of when the kid was little and he used to hang onto him all the time. It was cute then, but Gohan was a lot bigger now, and his breath was really rancid. Radditz was not deterred by Gohan's display, he just curled his arm around his son's waist and chest and yanked him off, held him as Gohan struggled and the whole set of them wandered out of Roshi's house.

"What are you going to do with him?" Goku asked.

Radditz answered this question by dropping Gohan on his ass on the ground outside. "Not my problem."

"Make it your problem," Goku said. He wasn't exactly sure why he said that, but Gohan looked up at him and flashed him a sloppy smile. Turned to look at Radditz (who he was sitting in front of) and lolled his head back so it was stuck between the man's knees. Then he giggled.

"I can't fuck him like this," Radditz said, pushed Gohan's head out from between his legs and shifted a little further away.

Vegeta snorted. Goku ignored him.

"There's more to it than just sex, Radditz." p>
p>
"No there's not," Gohan said helpfully. He rolled over onto his knees and climbed to his feet. Once there, he closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Shit," he said, then looked at them. He looked at Goku and Radditz and then at Vegeta. Then he sighed. "I'm not drunk enough." Then he fell on his ass.

Now, Goku couldn't quite say why this statement bothered him. He had officially given Gohan's future up to whatever fate looked after assholes but looking at his oldest child sitting there, head down, hair hanging over his eyes with that expression--broken--on his face, he felt something. Something painful in his stomach and his chest. Like he failed. Like he hadn't paid attention or didn't care, and now look at it.

Gohan looked up. "She won't ever let me see Pan again."

Radditz looked confused.

"It's his daughter," Vegeta explained.

Gohan ran his hands through his hair and pulled his legs up and crossed them, leaned forward and hunched so he was small there in front of them. "I... I've lost her."

Radditz looked bored now, he glanced at Goku (like asking permission or something) and he just shrugged because this was way out of his field of expertise. It was not (apparently) out of Radditz' because he reached down, curled his hand in Gohan's hair and yanked him back to his feet, turned him around and kicked him so he went sailing through the air and landed in the ocean with a resounding plop of bare skin on water.

"Ow," Goku whispered. Vegeta moved up next to him.

"Come on Kakarot." Smaller hand on his arm, pulling him away as Radditz moved down toward the edge of the water. He didn't want to leave, but he wasn't sure he could do anything here. So he went with Vegeta.

~~~***

"Fucking BASTARD!" He screamed when his head broke through the surface of the water. His whole body throbbed in objection to its recent flight and he struggled to find his footing in the water, but the waves lapped against the back of his knees and he almost fell, tried to open his eyes but the salt water stung and he reached out his hands as he went down again. Water surged over him, washed back into his mouth as he gasped for breath and he ended up with a lungful of water.

Radditz grabbed him again, by the arm, hauled him forward through the water so his head was above the water and his knees in the wet soft sand, and he hacked up the water out of his chest.

His head throbbed, and he tried to get to his feet, but his coordination was gone, he only ended up slipping again, fell back into the water and the hands grabbed him, pulled him up again and forward across the water more, to the beach before dropping him on his back.

"Stop," he said feebly. His head hurt too bad to offer more of an objection, and he rested his hand on his chest, kept his eyes closed and figured whatever happened next wasn't really his choice anyway. That was the point wasn't it? To relieve the guilt by removing his ability to take the blame?

Radditz made a noise. One of those snide noises. Vegeta made noises like that because he thought he was just so much fucking better. Gohan looked up, saw Radditz looking down at him.

"You are truly a pathetic child."

Oh, like he hadn't heard that before.

"I remember how you cried for you daddy. I was going to kill you then."

Heard that too.

"You weren't worth it then."

Gee--did all the people that hated him get a script? Have a fan club?

"That was then."

This part was new.

"Get up off your back. You're not a fucking baby anymore. You're a man--a Saiyan. Your time for whining is over." And a hand curled up on his arm again and pulled him to his feet, turned him around so he was looking at Radditz. He shivered, felt the cold wind on his back, the weight of the water and the spinning in his head.

"What now?" he asked, felt his jaw hanging open--he was such a bad drunk--"Going to hit me?" That's what they did. His father, his brother, hell--even Chichi had hit people. They were violent people but it worked for them. Blood and broken bones and all that. Saving the world, letting Satan win the contests, fighting aliens.

"Does that ugly bitch have some power that isn't apparent?"

It took a minute to figure out he was talking about Videl. "No. She's just a human." He stumbled back, caught himself and looked at Radditz. Realized, looking at him, that this was the longest conversation he'd ever had with anyone. Not ever-ever, but recently. It would figure it would be the big bastard.

"I can't fuck you when your drunk," Radditz informed him. "Stop drinking."

Gohan nodded. He was too tried now to fight, and he was cold, and he sniffled, shivered and felt the very nice tip of blackness in his mind, stumbled forward and fell against Radditz before the world went all dark around him.

It was hot when he woke up. Really hot. Blankets, heater turned on, skin against his--hot. He narrowed his eyes, found to his great joy that his skull wasn't throbbing in pain anymore, and he tried to roll onto his back, but his path was stopped by the sleeping mass of Radditz behind him. He licked his dry lips and pushed the covers off his chest, felt the tail wrapped around his thigh fluff and then relax and the arm around his chest moved, frtiprtips over his skin and Radditz mumbled something.

"You sleep too much," was what the man said.

Gohan opened his eyes finally and looked around for something to drink, but the glass that normally sat on his beside table was gone. "It's called depression," he croaked and tried to wiggle away from the heat of Radditz, but he was pulled back.

"Stay."

"I'm thirsty."

Radditz tighted his arm on Gohan's waist and rolled them over, so he was lying on his opposite snow,now, and there was a whole glass of water sitting on the table on this side of the bed. He picked it up and sat up enough to drink it. Gulped the water down until it dripped down his chin and chest. Then he set it on the table and laid down again, kicked the twisted covers off his legs and even the open air was too warm.

"I'm hot," he said.

"Yes, I know."

He rolled his eyes. "No. It's hot in here. Let me go." He was uncomfortable here, now, with Radditz against him, the black hair tickling his skin and the undiluted memory of Videl screaming at him. This had been her bed once. She slept here once, right where he was lying now.

"No."

"I can make you let me go," he snapped, twisted his head around and glared at Radditz, but the man was just laying there, eyes closed, face expressionless.

"Sure." Radditz yawned, shifted, slid one of his bigger legs between Gohan's and pressed against him tighter,e ofe of their skin rubbed. "But if you were going to you wouldn't have said it."

Gohan sighed, relaxed against Radditz. But the taller man didn't loosen his grip, he just took advantage of the looseness to roll him where he wanted him, move his leg between Gohan's and leaned his head forward so he could breath against Gohan's shoulder.

Bastard.

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Goku: Wow! Check out the unresolved ness of that chapter!

Vegeta: *sigh* It's chapter 19 again. Is the fic almost done?

Gohan: *rolls eyes* Stop complaining. You're so whiny.