Barracks

Yaoi_Angel: Well, I can imagine that if Trunks tried to forcefully split up Goten and Reyn, Goten would have really been pissed off with his audacity. That’s just something you don’t do to a couple. This is a kick bellow the belt so to speak, and it seems that Trunks hasn’t fallen so low yet. On the other hand, he probably has, it’s just that he’s afraid that Goten would start hating him. That’s probably the only thing he’s afraid of ^_^
Thanks for following Barracks throughout all this time. I hope to keep you entertained for quite some more time ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.
A/N: Thanks to my friend White_Youkai for the idea of Reyn and a pillow in Goten’s head.

Barracks

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by quatreofdoom

Part 60

They left Bruminan Station about thirty minutes after boarding the Imperial Destroyer. From the chair where he had belted himself in, Reyn gave the other third-class a look. Goten was pale and was obviously trying not to get sick. One would think that Goten would have gotten used to take-offs after all this time, but he hadn’t and was probably never going to.

The ship stopped jolting and the flight smoothed out. The loudspeaker above the door crackled.

“We’ve successfully cleared Bruminan’s atmosphere. Do not unfasten your seatbelts. Engaging hyperjump in two minutes. Commencing automatic countdown.”

“One fifty-nine. One fifty-eight. One fifty-seven…”

Goten closed his eyes and tried taking deep breaths to calm down his frantic heartbeat. That only resulted in excess oxygen in his blood and soon he felt lightheaded.

“…Twenty-one. Nineteen. Eighteen…”

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Goten grunted unhappily. “I just fucking hate flying! Hate! Hate! Hate!”

“…Eight. Seven. Six…”

At the count of one, Goten braced himself and felt the familiar shift of surroundings. The ship kept shaking lightly for about a minute, then suddenly stopped quivering and evened out. At about the same time as Reyn unfastened his seatbelt, the red light above the door disappeared and the loudspeakers crackled.

“Hyperjump cleared successfully. You can resume your activities. We’ll be entering Vegeta-sei’s atmosphere in forty-seven hours. Out.”

“‘Activities’ he says,” Goten sniggered, still lightheaded. “The only activities I can do now are lie on the bed and try not to be sick.”

“Then stop whining and lie down,” Reyn, who had heard similar complaints only too many times, said. “Where is that blasted captain with our documents?” he muttered; he wanted to look around the ship and was just as enthusiastic about it as Goten, if not more so.

The documents were returned about ten minutes later by the same mechanic who took them. Curiously, he peered into the cabin to see Goten sprawled listlessly on one of the beds. Reyn took the documents and closed the door before the mechanic could find an excuse to enter the cabin.

“Well, let’s go look around?” he said, tossing Goten his identification card. He spared the cat a glance but, fatigued by the constant changes in his surroundings and the hyperjump, Mr. Elite was asleep in his box.

The halls and corridors were mostly empty. The third-classes found their way back to the hangar and went down to look around. There were five mechanics working on one of the shuttles. After making themselves familiar with the hangar, they returned to the upper deck. Goten was surprised by the large number of Humans working on the ship. Three of the six mechanics he had seen were Humans and the number kept rising as they continued down the halls.

They were passing one of the corridors when an aromatic whiff of air made them falter and turn their heads. The third-classes met each other’s eyes. The canteen. Despite their large food supplies, the thought of a warm, fresh meal was much more appealing.

The canteen was almost empty but for a few Humans and two second-classes. It was no wonder since the ship had just taken off. It was more surprising that the canteen was open at all. Reyn and Goten went to the counter to take a look at the available meals. They were pleasantly surprised to see that the cooks were Humans. You could say many things about Humans, most of which weren’t good things, but, generally, Humans made wonderful cooks.

The third-classes’ enthusiasm faltered somewhat when their plates were filled with strangely shaped steaks. Without questioning, they thanked the cooks and quietly went to settle at one of the empty tables. Goten went back to grab some drinks, then sat down. Reyn was already eating.

Curiously, Goten inspected his steak, then looked over at Reyn’s. “What’s with this shape?” he wondered.

The flight officer speared his steak with his fork a few times and shrugged. It was edible and tasted good, too. In fact, it was much better than he had eaten in ages. The strange shape didn’t bother him.

“It’s a heart.”

The third-classes looked over at two Humans at the adjacent table. Two males, seemingly about thirty years old, were having lunch, too. They were wearing scouters as well, but the peculiar design was similar to those that Goten had seen on the drifting SUB 316 infested with the alkani. One Human was quite buff with short dark hair, while the other was lanky with orange-colored hair and freckles all over his white face. The Humans had already eaten their meals but one of them was holding a bun of the same strange shape.

“A heart?” Goten repeated. “That’s not what a heart looks like.” Next to him, Reyn nodded in agreement.

“Well, it represents a heart, feelings. It’s just a symbol for Saint Valentine’s Day,” the lanky Human explained.

“What’s that?” Goten asked. He prodded his steak again. It was becoming more and more suspicious.

“Um, it’s a day when you’re supposed to express your love. Usually, it’s spent with your loved one.”

Goten’s eyes travelled to the dark-haired Human, who waved his hands in front of him. “No, no. We aren’t like that. It’s just a celebration. Well…a bit like Christmas?” he tried.

“What’s Christmas?” Reyn asked.

“Uh. It’s a religious celebration.”

“Oh, religion.” Goten nodded in understanding. That was something he could identify with. There were quite a few religious groups amongst Saiyans as well.

“Don’t you think their Valentine’s Day is similar to our Alignment’s?” Reyn wondered, grinning at the Humans.

The Humans, who vaguely knew that Alignment’s was usually a free orgy for all and sundry, flushed red. “Not exactly,” the freckled one said. “You just do it with the one you like.”

Goten tried to wrap his mind around it, then just shook his head. “I don’t get it. Isn’t that what we usually do?”

“Well… It’s just a special celebration day for couples.”

“A day where sex is guaranteed, right?” Reyn speculated. “Like you can’t refuse?”

“It’s not like I ever refuse,” Goten muttered, not understanding. “This Valentine’s Day is some kind of bullshit.”

“Uh. You just like…” the orange-haired Human drawled, thinking. “You appreciate each other during this day. Exchange gifts and confirm your feelings.”

Goten gave Reyn a look. “Gifts?” Now this was more interesting.

“Gifts?” Reyn seconded.

“Well, like flowers or chocolate.”

The two Saiyans stared at each other, thinking, then concentrated back on their food.

“Total bullshit,” Goten muttered again. “Why would I need flowers? The hell would I do with those? And chocolate? That’s not a gift. That’s food.”

“Wouldn’t know what to do with flowers either,” Reyn concluded as well. “Chocolate would be nice, though.” He looked at Goten. “Should we buy some?”

Goten shrugged. “Do they have any here?”

The orange-haired man was giving the Saiyans a curious look. “I doubt it. The closest to chocolate you can get here is probably coffee with milk.”

“Hmm…”

“By the way,” the freckled man continued, “you put the flowers in a vase with water and they brighten up the room.”

“Do they?” Goten wondered. “I’ve seen flowers once. Red ones and they smelled funny. Gave me a headache.”

“They rot pretty fast, too,” Reyn agreed with him. “You just throw them away.”

“Oh, there are many colours and types of flowers.”

“Yeah? I saw only red ones.”

“There are different meanings to flowers, too.”

“What meanings?”

The dark-haired Human elbowed his friend in the ribs to stop him. Mathew liked teasing Saiyans and could keep similar conversations going for hours. There was something innocent about the way most Saiyans reacted to various cultural differences. Most of them tried to find pragmatism in them and had difficulties grasping the concepts. In the end, they would simply get confused about them just like this Saiyan couple. One of these days Mathew was going to end up with a broken neck.

“Coffee and milk it is, then,” Reyn concluded.

“I want tea,” Goten said. “And a bun.”

Reyn shrugged.

ooOoOoOoo

“You think he was making fun of us?” Goten wondered while they were walking down the main hallway.

“No more than we were making fun of him.”

“Fair enough, then.”

The hallway opened into the hangar and the sight that opened below the ramp made Goten freeze.

“Stop!” he hissed at Reyn, grabbing at his arm.

“What?”

“Shh!” Goten hissed at him again, pointing down. Quietly, he sidled up against the nearest steel pillar and pretended that he didn’t exist.

Without even checking, Reyn followed the other third-class’s example instinctively, then stole a glance from around the pillar. He rolled his eyes. Down below, Prince Vegeta and his son were discussing something. Their escort, five royal guards, was lounging about, trying to pretend that they weren’t listening in. The purple-haired bastard was as lively as ever, explaining something to his father in a heated tone, waving his hands about. So not cool.

Goten pursed his lips in distress. From high above, he wasn’t able to hear what they were talking about, but he could presume. Now he also understood why the transfer date had been so sudden and why this ship had appeared to be so conveniently ready for the journey to Vegeta-sei. It was no wonder no one gave two shits about the cat either.

“Screw you,” Goten muttered, angry. He felt manipulated and betrayed, but it was all permeated with uncertain fondness, which irritated him even more. “Screw you sideways, prick!” Goten repeated.

Reyn glanced at the other third-class. These past two days he’d had various scenarios running through his head about waiting for the purple-haired bastard somewhere around a corner and beating the crap out of him. It had only been his imagination. Now, he had an opportunity. The urge wasn’t smart at all, he realized that. Yet, it was how Saiyans dealt with things when talking gave no results and he was no different. The problem was that there was nothing to talk about with this purple-haired bastard. Goten and the prince were so far removed that it was supposed to be impossible to even imagine something happening between the two. And yet, here they were, heading to Vegeta-sei to muck about in the palace as royal guards just because the damn princeling had an itch only Goten could scratch. Discussing something like this, demanding he leave Goten alone, was ridiculous. No matter how dense the prince was, he obviously understood his own foolishness. He just needed the right, and clearly quite painful, encouragement to drop the idea.

“What’s his power level?”

Goten turned to Reyn. He shook his head worriedly; this was what he had been dreading. “Don’t even think about that!” he told Reyn.

“He pisses me off.”

“Yes, I know that,” Gotten muttered. “He’s been extremely good at that recently and I’m no less pissed off but… He’s a damn prince and… Err…his power level is about a million.”

There was a long, shocked pause then Reyn said, “Ah.”

Feeling foolish and guilty, Goten scratched the back of his head. “Well, at least he said so. But I don’t think he lied.”

“Then, beating the crap out of him is not going to work,” the flight officer summed up. “A pity.”

“I’m afraid that it’s not going to work even if it’s the two of us against him. His fighting skills aren’t dazzling but with that kind of power level we won’t be able to even put a scratch on him. He’d wipe the floor with us and then leave the rest for the guards to finish off. Not that there would be much left to finish off. Frankly, any kind of attempt to beat some sense into him is futile. He won’t…”

“I get it, I get it already!” Reyn grunted angrily. “I’ll just have to talk to him, then.”

“Err…” Goten scratched his head frantically; it was only too easy to predict any kind of conversation between the prince and Reyn ending in a fight. “That’s not a good idea either,” he said. “He doesn’t listen. He just says what he wants and expects you just do what he says.”

“He does seem the type,” Reyn agreed morosely. “What the fuck did you even see in him?”

Goten shifted uncomfortably. “Errm…” Reyn was still staring at him expectantly and the younger man felt his face starting to heat up. “Well, he…”

The flight officer glared at him. “You do realize that was only a rhetorical question and I really don’t want to hear it?”

“Then don’t ask me!”

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

“Fine!”

With a snort, Goten concentrated back on the royalty. They had stopped arguing and were now discussing something in much lighter tones. There were rumors of unknown origin that the father and son didn’t get along. Similar rumors implied that the prince was on much better terms with his grandfather, the king. Maybe it was like the rumors suggested, but Goten could also remember his conversation with the youngest prince where he had complained about his grandfather trying to force him to marry in order to form more alliances. In fact, Goten was surprised that he still hadn’t. It was a sensible decision and, no matter how cornered or discontent the prince felt, he had an obligation to the Empire. Refusing to form alliances with suggested forces had probably had a negative effect on the prince’s and his grandfather’s relationship. It was certainly having a negative effect on the whole Empire. Goten could only imagine how conflicted his former shaii felt. He had lost some weight too, even though one couldn’t notice that over the Saiyan armor that he was currently wearing. Yet, Goten had noticed it in the hotel room.

ooOoOoOoo

Goten lifted his dirty uniform out of the suitcase and frowned at it. It smelled. He had nothing to change into but his body felt itchy already.

“Hmn?”

Goten turned his head to Reyn, who shifted in his bed, turning to him. “Sleep,” Goten said, “it’s still early. I’ll go take a shower.”

Reyn yawned and rolled over on his back. “You can take one of my uniforms.”

“I can’t. They’ve got officer’s stripes on them.”

“No one gives a fuck. Just take one and wash yours.”

“Really?”

“Really. You can just cut those bloody stripes off. Take it and get the hell out of the cabin. And take the damn cat with you. Can’t freaking sleep in this noise.”

“Sorry, thanks a lot!” Goten blurted, darting around the cabin to grab the uniforms, a few toiletries, and the box with Mr. Elite. He rushed out of the door.

It was about six in the morning and most crew was still asleep. Goten and Reyn had an early night yesterday. Besides, Goten had slept for an entire day before coming to the destroyer, thus he didn’t feel like staying in bed any longer.

The bathroom was empty. Goten lowered the cat onto the tiled floor and reached out to the wall to brighten the dim lights. Once done, he took the cat and walked to the very end of the bathroom where he set the box down again. Toilets and showers were on opposite walls of the bathroom. There were five shower cabins along one wall, separated by thin panels of stainless steel. Out of reach of the shower’s stream, a basket for storing toiletries and clothing hung on each of the panels. Yellow labels of universal washing liquid were visible through the grates. Goten chucked all his belongings in the basket and started undressing.

A soft hiss emitted by the door indicated that someone else had entered the bathroom. The footsteps headed to the other side of the bathroom, towards the toilets. Goten shrugged his jacket off and started working on his belt. He kicked his boots off and got out of his trousers and underwear at once. Moving to the side, out of the shower’s range, he reached out to turn on the water. Yipping softly at the cold droplets that still caught him, Goten waited until the temperature became bearable.

Someone was watching him – he could clearly feel eyes on his lathered and frothy back. With a bottle of universal liquid in one hand and a sponge in the other, Goten turned around. He nearly dropped both of them at the sight of his former shaii. They stared at each other for a few seconds then, slowly, the prince turned away.

Stunned, Goten kept looking at his back. Seriously, in the bathroom? There were a hundred of other places where they could have met, and yet, a shower, where he stood bare-assed.

“Have you been staring?”

“What? Of course, not,” the prince said, somewhat indignantly.

Goten rolled his eyes. “Liar.”

The prince pursed his lips, but any possible excuses evaded him. There was no point in lying anyway. He had recognized Goten as soon as he saw the familiar back. The cat in the box next to the shower stall had helped a great deal as well. He knew he should have either stopped watching or stopped Goten from undressing in front of him but did neither. It was unprincipled behavior, but he couldn’t care less, just like he hadn’t cared when Goten had been in the regeneration tank back on the base.

“Dress,” he said softly, without turning around. Then, thinking that the third-class might have not heard him over the flowing water, he cleared his throat and repeated the order.

“I just got in,” Goten protested. The silence he received in answer made it clear that the prince wasn’t having it. “What are you gonna do? Arrest me for pissing in the shower?”

“No, I’ll arrest you for falsifying orders. Did you know that it was me who sent you to Bruminan? I, for one, didn’t.”

“Ah. That.”

Goten dressed in about seven seconds. With the cat in the box, he followed the prince out of the showers and down the corridor towards the prince’s cabin. The third-class was wearing Reyn’s uniform and it was sticking to his wet body and constricting him in various places, but he barely felt it. While following the prince, Goten kept his eyes downcast, watching their feet move on the metallic ground. In a few minutes, his eyes rose to the prince’s waist and settled on the purple tail resting there. It did look exotic, even after all this time. The way it was brisling in anger and confused agitation was very satisfying.

Before they entered the cabin, the guard at the prince’s door gave Goten a mistrustful once-over. The cabin was three times the size of Goten and Reyn’s cabin and, naturally, much better furnished. The third-class gave an annoyed look to the potted plant on one of the enclosed shelves at the far wall.

A freaking potted plant on a warship.

But then, he was lugging a cat around.

The cat had a purpose though. What purpose did a plant have but to show off?

Interested, the prince watched the rainbow of emotions flit over Goten’s face. He motioned at the leather couch with a coffee table in front of it. The motion drew the third-class out of his reverie. He set Mr. Elite’s box onto the floor and went over to flop onto the far end of the couch. He looked rather unpleasantly surprised when he was nearly swallowed into the leather. The prince wished he could set a chair opposite the coffee table to be able to face the other man but everything was wired to the floor and he had to content himself with sitting at the other end of the couch.

The distance from one end of the couch to the other was about two meters. Solemnly, the prince measured the huge gap between himself and Goten – mentally, it felt about the size of the Grand Canyon on Earth. He hoped that his actions didn’t look like he was trying to oppress Goten. He didn’t want to make that kind of impression on Goten; instead, he hoped that the third-class could think about it all …differently. On the other hand, that was exactly what he was doing – trying to oppress Goten and hoping that the man would actually be happy about it.

The prince was made to marvel at his own stupidity. No one had warned him about how complicated and out of hand things like this could get. His only saving grace was that he really believed that Goten was happy about it. One way or another.

In deafening silence, Goten inspected his fingernails. They badly needed cutting. Maybe he could borrow scissors from someone.

“Was it Ranvera who falsified the orders?”

Goten frowned at the amount of dirt under his fingernails. Then he frowned in general. He was pissed off and tired and…and just… He shrugged indifferently.

“I have already checked, you know.”

“What are you going to do, Sir?”

It was amazing how respectful Goten could be when it concerned his friends. The prince found himself giving the third-class a rather irate look. The prince sighed and tried to school his face into a neutral expression. They weren’t going to get anywhere like this. Or rather they would, but not where he wanted them to get.

Trying to get his back muscles to relax, the prince leaned back into the couch. Goten was wearing his boyfriend’s uniform, the officer’s stripes most annoying and, what should be even more important, unsanctioned. Goten’s hair had almost grown back, but now it was wet and mostly plastered to his scalp. It was also dripping down his collar. Good.

“Was it you who asked Ranvera to transfer you?”

Goten nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Why didn’t you just ask me directly?”

Goten had already heard this question from Ranvera. It still sounded just as stupid as it did back then and he gave the prince an uncomfortable look. “Would you have transferred me, Sir?” Goten asked in a way that was closer to an answer than a question.

The prince’s blue gaze turned shifty. “Well, maybe. If you…” Goten rolled his eyes and he trailed off, dropping the subject. “Why did you suddenly decide to go to Bruminan?”

“That’s because I saw it explode in a dream. The same way I had seen you die. So I thought I’d give it a shot and somehow stop it and your father from exploding. The way I saved you twice, you know?”

The prince was giving Goten a careful look, not certain how to react. “Umm…”

“I bet you wouldn’t have transferred me if I had told you that, would you?”

There was something about the control in Goten’s voice that kept the prince from reacting in any way. The younger male’s determined eyes were daring the prince to protest. Goten was simply waiting for him to tell him stop talking nonsense. Goten wanted him to deny it, to pull his rank or status on him and just tell him to shut up.

“And then, you know,” the third-class continued maliciously when the prince just sat quietly, staring at him, “I also had this dream where your granddad or your father poisoned me. And there was another one where I was smothered by a pillow in my sleep. All of that probably happened in the Royal Palace. Exactly the place you’re trying to take me to. Do I need to add that I’m not very enthusiastic about going there?”

There was a long spell of silence, then the prince asked softly: “How much of this is true and which parts have you made up?”

Goten was staring at him with something akin to a researcher’s interest in a mouse deliberately taking the wrong path to get to the cheese. “All of it.”

“All of it is true?”

“The cheese is on the other side,” Goten advised him. “All of it is made-up.”

The prince glared at him. “Lay off the sarcasm. I’m not a bloody mouse and you’re starting to seriously piss me off. I did have that strange vision when I was nearly killed on the base. I saw myself lying dead on that damn asphalt in a puddle of blood with half of my face missing.”

Goten wondered if the prince really believed him. He was rather stunned and found that once anger and cynicism gave way to uncertainty, he was suddenly left without anything to say. “Umm…” he mumbled hesitantly. “You don’t really believe it, do you?” The lethal look the prince’s face suddenly acquired informed Goten that he’d better ask something else or, even better, not ask anything at all.

“So all of it is true, right?”

The third-class nodded dumbly.

What irked the prince most now was that Goten had readily expected him to simply call him an idiot and dismiss anything that came from his mouth. Anyone else would have. But not him. For one, there had been too many coincidences. Second, he had seen himself dead and alive at the same time. One could chalk it up to some kind of a hallucination from exhaustion or stress but that wasn’t what it had been. He instinctively knew it wasn’t.

“Now what was that about my grandfather and father trying to poison you?”

ooOoOoOoo

The prince had decided to see him back to the showers. Why exactly the shaii was following Goten, he didn’t know and didn’t question. It was awkward. The third-class was vaguely aware of curious looks sent their way. It was already eight o’clock in the morning and the ship was waking up. The gazes didn’t bother Goten, though. The world had lost its focus, had retreated, and it was only the two of them walking down the halls. He was more bothered by those few centimeters between himself and the prince that felt as if they were charged. It felt strange - it was awkward, it was odd, and it was exhilarating.

Goten felt guilty for the harsh words he had said on Bruminan, for badmouthing the prince in front of Reyn, for the whole situation in general, but, at the same time, he knew that there was no point in apologizing. If he did, he would be giving his permission to return to how things had been. On the other hand, there had never been anything.

There was a group of officers walking in front of them and Goten moved aside to make way. “Um, sorry,” he said as his shoulder bumped against the prince’s. The other man gave him a look but said nothing. The officers streamed past them and then they were alone in the hall again. Goten dried his sweating palms on his uniform. Some things never changed.

Once they were back in the showers, the prince awkwardly lingered around for a minute or so then left. Feeling silly, Goten resumed his shower, this time dried himself then, using the universal washing liquid, washed his uniform. It didn’t seem to clean clothes well and frothed too much but Goten hoped at his uniform would, at least, stop stinking.

When Goten entered the cabin, Reyn raised his eyes off the pamphlet he had been reading. The guilty way Goten’s eyes slid past him without really looking at him, made the flight officer grit his teeth.

“You saw him,” he stated.

Goten set the cat down. “We talked,” he said, crossing the cabin to hang the damp towel on the chair at the desk. He turned to the other chair to arrange his wet uniform there.

“About?”

Goten took his time answering. Reyn watched him placing his wet jacket and trousers over the chair. The other third-class smelled like universal washing liquid. Taking a shower had been exactly what Goten had intended to do when he had left the cabin, but now it could also mean that he had washed away the traces of any suspicious scents. The flight officer didn’t believe Goten could be unfaithful. Even if, in a bout of wild passion, he did sleep with the prince, that would only be a onetime mistake. Yet, the possibility of such a mistake made Reyn furious.

“I told…”

Reyn was suddenly right behind him and, alert, Goten turned to him, not finishing the sentence. The flight officer pushed at Goten’s chest, making him stumble. He shoved him again, driving the younger man backwards until his back hit the wardrobe.

“We just talked,” Goten said, aware how annoyed and jealous Reyn was. “About the dreams.”

This fact, for some reason, irritated Reyn even more. “And?” he grunted. “Did he believe you?” He was astonished when Goten nodded, confirming.

“I’ve saved his life before. Seems that, like you, he had the identical experience of being dead and alive at the same time.”

The flight officer didn’t like the thought of having anything “identical” with that man. Yet, it was clear to him now, the prince’s weird fondness for the other third-class. “Amazing,” he snarled. “So did you tell him about the king and Prince Vegeta trying to poison you?”

Goten nodded again. “Yes. We came to the conclusion that it’s not going to happen now since I dreamt about myself dying in bed. Something has happened that’s changed the course of events. Now…well…” he trailed off, uncertainly. They hadn’t actually agreed on anything.

Reyn stared at him in disbelief. He chuckled darkly when Goten’s eyes turned shifty and slid past his shoulder, avoiding his. He planted his palms at Goten’s sides, caging him against the wardrobe. “And that’s it? Isn’t your precious going to send you back to Starcut or just somewhere as far away from Vegeta-sei as possible?”

“He isn’t my precious!” Goten protested vehemently, glaring at him. “And… He’s done it before. It didn’t exactly work.”

“It was him who sent you to Starcut?”

“I think so. I think he lied when he said that he didn’t know why I was sent there.”

Reyn rolled his eyes. “So now he’s trying to keep you close to him instead? You know, there’s really something wrong with his head.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Goten agreed softly and felt guilty again. There really was something wrong with the prince’s head, there was something wrong with both of their heads. He understood why the prince was doing this. He also understood why he shouldn’t, and yet…

Reyn kept Goten fenced in against the wardrobe, and the younger male inhaled sharply when Reyn’s body pressed against his. The flight officer’s thigh slipped in between Goten’s legs and pushed against his crotch. The younger male tensed at the contact at first. The thigh continued to rub him through his clothes, stimulating, and his shoulders set back against the wardrobe. He could feel Reyn hardening against him. A little uncertain, Goten lifted his arms to wrap them around the older man’s waist.

Pushing himself away from Goten, Reyn started working on the other third-class’s belt. Goten reached out for his as well but Reyn batted his hands away. He heard a soft chuckle and raised his eyes to see an amused look on Goten’s face. Irritated, he grabbed the younger male by his arm and tugged him off the wardrobe to lug him towards his bed.

“Wait a sec,” Goten mumbled when his trousers started slipping down his hips. He stumbled, then held his trousers. Reyn’s iron grip on his right bicep didn’t let up even when he stumbled again. The older man just hoisted him up and then Goten’s back hit the mattress, air leaving his lungs in a rush. Inhaling again, he looked at the flight officer’s face hovering above him. It was Goten’s turn to be on top but it was obvious that pointing that out would only result in an even bigger bout of anger and jealousy.

Resigned, Goten sat up with the intention to take his boots off. He huffed when his back was suddenly pushed back into the mattress, his head barely missing the iron headboard. He wasn’t certain how to react to that: Reyn’s antics felt amusing and, at the same time, annoying. Yet, his lower part clearly loved it – he was hard. The front of his underwear tented even more when Reyn kicked his boots off and climbed into the bed to loom over him.

The flight officer eyed Goten’s unruly cock then set to taking the younger man’s boots off. Goten was easy to excite and he was already giddy with anticipation. Goten was clearly missing the point here. He couldn’t exactly teach him a lesson when Goten was so eager and willing. With an inward roll of his eyes, Reyn tossed the younger man’s boots down to the floor.

“Take your trousers and underwear off,” he commanded.

Goten complied in a blink, lifting his hips and slipping out of both at once. He threw the clothes over the headboard. His eyes widened and he inhaled sharply when Reyn cupped his balls and squeezed him. It was on the brink of being painful. Reyn rolled them in his palm for a few seconds, then let go and turned his attention to the jutting cock. He gave it a few offhand strokes and let go.

“Turn around.”

Feeling awkward but no less aroused, Goten got to his hands and knees. Reyn pushed his jacket up his back so it would not get in the way, then moved his tail aside. Goten heard the familiar sound of a universal washing liquid bottle being uncapped then, in a few seconds, fingers pressed against his anus. They pushed in without any hesitation and Goten tensed at the invasion. It didn’t hurt but it didn’t feel pleasant either.

Reyn pumped his fingers in and out a few times, then pulled them out to pour more liquid on them. The digits slid in easily for the second time and he scissored them a couple of times to make certain that he had smeared his walls with the lubricant well.

When the fingers left him, Goten looked over his shoulder to see the flight officer wiping his fingers. The older man was still wearing clothes and only now unzipped his trousers. He pushed his trousers and underwear down his hips, freeing his heavy erection, and positioned himself against Goten’s entrance.

The blunt head popped into him and, with it, the rest of the length glided easily inside. Their bodies came flush and Goten was amazed at how effortlessly he took it. He felt stretched lightly, his hole somewhat itchy with the pleasant sting. Reyn wasn’t wearing a condom again and it added to the numbing sensation of the penetration.

Reyn pulled away slightly, then pressed back in. Trying to relax his muscles, Goten let out a soft sigh and lowered his shoulders down onto the bedding, his backside rising up, giving better access to the other male.

“You’re shameless,” Reyn grunted, pulling away again, then sliding back in. “How am I supposed to make a point when you’re like this?”

Goten chuckled into the cover. “Don’t worry, I am already aware of all the points you’re trying to make.” He let out a content hum when Reyn’s hand rounded his waist to stroke him. “Now you can just concentrate on fucking me,” he advised, laughing.

“Shameless,” Reyn repeated, grinning. He marveled at the feeling of Goten’s muscles clutching at him spontaneously while the younger male laughed. He squeezed the shaft in his hand to tease the other third-class while slowly grinding against him.

Reyn’s jacket was hindering the view, not to mention it was going to get smeared with the lubricant, so the flight officer paused to take it off. Meanwhile, Goten kept stroking himself leisurely. Reyn’s jacket flopped down to the floor to join the rest of the clothes and Goten’s hands fisted into the bedding above his head when the older man’s hand returned to massage his cock.

For a few minutes, he stroked Goten in tune with his shallow thrusts, then let go of him again. Leaning back, he took a firmer grip on the younger man’s hips and increased the pace. Goten let out an appreciative groan. Transfixed, Reyn watched his glistening cock disappear into and reappear from between the two globes. He could hear Goten panting shallowly against the mattress. He was jerking himself off now, obviously nearing his peak.

Goten swallowed, the noise loud and booming in his ears. His ass was burning with the quick thrusts now, the pleasure spreading all over his lower body and up his spine, to his chest and neck where it blossomed pink. He groaned loudly at one particularly well-placed thrust against his prostate. Out of breath, he stroked himself just as fast as Reyn was pistoning in and out of him.

“Mnnah!”

Goten’s ass was grinding against Reyn’s front desperately now, the younger man trying to get Reyn’s cock as deep into himself as possible. It took nearly all of Reyn’s self-control to stop thrusting into Goten. The other third-class let out a protesting whine, then continued to spear himself onto Reyn’s cock over and over. Overwhelmed by the sight, Reyn suddenly leaned over him to bite his back. Goten let out a startled yelp, then moaned loudly when the flight officer resumed thrusting into him.

Panting, Goten blinked his eyes at the bedding in front of his face. He was almost there. His body felt heavy and weightless at the same time. He was out of breath. Goten suddenly wondered if it was possible for Reyn to smother him in the bed in the heat of the moment.

A little surprised, Reyn watched Goten’s back shake with laughter then, without a word of warning, the younger male started coming. Cursing, Reyn looked around for a rag, but there was nothing he could use and, when he concentrated back on the younger male, it was already over, Goten’s shoulders relaxing.

His chest heaving for breath, Goten turned his head aside to give the cabin a blank stare. He rubbed his face against the bedding to wipe the sweat off. If Reyn hadn’t been holding his hips up, he would have probably collapsed. The older man was still inside him, hard and throbbing. Goten took a few deep breaths and willed himself to relax. Reyn gave him a few seconds, then tried thrusting again.

“Mn!”

“Sorry,” Reyn panted impatiently. His hands were gripping the younger male’s hips so hard that the skin was white around his fingers. He released his grip somewhat; the skin was going to bruise. He tried pushing again and this time he sank deeper, Goten withholding any protests. It felt very tight now, Goten’s limp body trembling lightly. In and out, carefully. The slow pace was maddening. Any other time, Reyn would have pulled out and just stroked himself until he came. He was trying to make a point now, though. Probably.

Reyn bent over Goten’s back again and sucked on the skin, fully intending to leave a hickey there. The other man didn’t protest. He sighed softly and raised his hips, wishing for Reyn to come faster. If the flight officer continued to play like this, they were going to have a second round and Goten wasn’t certain he would be able to walk straight after that.

The younger male had become much looser now and, leaving his back alone, Reyn resumed thrusting. He was rocking Goten’s entire body now, his hips slamming against the other third-class’s ass forcefully. The soft grunts that were leaving Goten’s mouth every time he’d hit his prostate made Reyn chuckle darkly. He knew Goten was oversensitive now and it probably felt disagreeable instead of pleasant.

Goten felt the other man stiffen against his backside, then he was coming while still continuing to haphazardly piston into him. Once he was done, Reyn went on thrusting into him leisurely for several seconds before pulling out. Goten felt the mix of semen and lubricant run down the other side of his balls. Reyn chuckled at the sight and patted the abused hole that had given him so much pleasure. The other third-class turned his head to give him a curious and amused look. That earned him another fond rub over his anus.

Goten pushed himself up, kneeled, and looked for something to clean himself off. His ass throbbed lightly. He saw Reyn inspect the sheets with a regretful look on his face. They’d soiled them, but it wasn’t any of his fault. It had been Reyn’s idea.

Goten left the bed and went to his drying towel to clean himself. His feet were somewhat shaky and he leaned against the chair for support.

“What were you laughing about?”

Goten turned to the flight officer. “When? Oh, that. I just suddenly thought that you’re about to smother me in bed, just like I saw in my dream.”

The flight officer’s brow rose. “Someone fucked you to death? That’s not what you told me before.”

Wiping himself off, Goten shook his head. “No, they just killed me with a pillow, no sex involved. It just somehow…resurfaced while…”

Wondering about Goten’s peculiar imagination, the flight officer shrugged. He climbed out of the bed and pulled the cover off. It was dirty anyway and he wiped himself and his hands on it. Sex with Goten wasn’t out of this world but Reyn loved it nonetheless – they felt good together. Goten was growing bolder with every time, too. This made him always anticipate the next time. The other thing that he liked was that Goten didn’t have anyone he could compare him to.

Goten gathered his clothes off the floor and dressed. He sat down on his bed and lowered his hands to his sides to grasp at the edge of the mattress. “You see, I don’t think it matters whether I’m on Vegeta-sei or not. It seems like I can’t avoid that last dream. It’s going to happen one way or the other no matter the place. At least that’s what he told me.”

The flight officer grunted in indignation. “Who? That purple-haired bastard? Now look here, he’ll tell you anything to make you…”

The other third-class shook his head. “Err…no, not him. It’s… I don’t really know. Just this guy that looks like my dead brother. I often see him in those dreams.”

“Your brother? Gohan?”

“Yeah, but it’s not Gohan, just someone that looks like him.”

“Hmm.”

“I know it sounds strange, but that’s how it is.”

Reyn nodded dismissively. The whole ‘precognitive dreams’ thing was beyond him. The only thing he could do about them was support Goten. Those pillow-killing bastards would have to get past him first if they wanted a piece of Goten.

TBC