Uncharted Waters

Chapter IX


“They’ve gotten close haven’t they?” Piccolo asked, watching the two boys spar on the white tiles of the Lookout.

Vegeta raised a brow, not quite sure he liked the insinuation.

“Oh come off it,” the younger stated shaking his head slightly, “they would be a great match and you know it.”

The prince graced his mate with a stony look before replying.

“I don’t see anng. ng. Besides,” he noted, “they’re still children.” He crossed his arms. “Since when did you start playing matchmaker anyway?”

“I’m just stating the obvious.” He said unperturbed. “They’ve been glued at the hip for the last six months.”

“Since when is that different from before? They’ve always been that way.”

“Precisely.” Piccolo answered as if that would settle the matter.

“Humph, you sound like Bulma.”

“How so?”

Vegeta sighed as if tired of the conversation even though it had just begun.

“She said the same thing last week when she and I had to sign all of that paperwork for Trunk’s college crap.”

The Namek raised a brow.

“You know he’s still pissed at you about that.”

The shorter man shrugged, “He’ll get over it. Personally I think it’s long overdue, if it were solely up to me I would have sent him last year if not two years ago. He was more than ready for cge age at 15, but Bulma has always coddled him.”

“Well it’s obvious he doesn’t want to leave his friends.”

“Who says he has to?” his black eyes settled on the fighting forms in the distance. “He’s not going to another planet, hell he could fly back here everyday if he wanted.”

“Yes, but he’s not going to have the time if he’s attending classes and working on projects.”

“Weekends then. Plus he’ll be making new friends, all he ever hangs around anymore is Goten.”

A flash of insight crossed the green man’s face, “That bothers you, doesn’t it?”

Vegeta looked back up at his mate, “What does?”

“Goten.” Piccolo answered with a knowing smirk, “You can’t pretend that you haven’t noticed how…” he searched for the word, “friendly he and Trunks has become and it bothers you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The tone was casual, but his mate easily picked up on the slight thread of tension behind those words.

“Right.” The Namek said smugly leaning against a pillar, “Trunks has been over to the Son house nearly every day since winter. Sure, they were close before but..”

“But nothinghe She Saiyan said cutting him off, annoyed with discussion, “Look, you’re making something out of nothing. So what if the boy has been over to that moron’s mudhut to visit. Goten needed someone to talk to and now its paid off, he’s doing just fine.” He motioned to the young man on the platform to prove his point. “As you can see he’s more than able to stand on his own feet again. So getting back to the point…if there ever was one,” he shot a look at the taller man and continued before any retort could be said, “Is that there is nothing going on between those two. Bulma’s a romantic and a drama queen to boot so I can see how she would take things the wrong way. You, however, should know better.”

Vegeta could have easily left the conversation there, but he continued to justify himself even further, “Trunks will be off to a real university in three months where he’ll be meeting a wider variety of people and begin to gain the necessities of starting life on his own. Trunks and Goten both know this, so they’re trying to get as much time in as possible, nothing more.” All of this was said in a perfectly reasonable matter, even if the facts didn’t match. However, yet again, the Prince was unable to hide the anxiety or the thoughts behind it from his bond mate.

“You don’t think he’s good enough for your little baby boy.”

“Damnit, Piccolo.” The prince was scowling darkly at the other warrior.

Piccolo was pleased with himself over his triumph. He knew he had been right. Vegeta had indeed noticed how much time Trunks was spending at the Son household and had some reservations about it. Apparently the son of his rival didn’t measure up in the prince’s eyes. This troubled the Namek, Goten was a great kid, and personally he could think of no one better. Sure the kid was young, but if he was interested what was the harm? He had a feeling he knew the answer, however he was hopeful that his mate wasn’t so shallow.

“What’s wrong with Goten?”

Vegeta sighed, “Nothing…I just think Trunks should get out there and meet more people before making any decisions.”

“In other words find someone better. I’m not suggesting they should ‘bond’ or anything.” The prince’s eyes widened slightly at the statement and Piccolo had to brace himself due to the onslaught of baby/toddler Trunks memories and the on-going mantra of ‘Too young… too young …too young’ whirling over and over in his mind.

‘By the demons!’ The Namek sent just as an image flashed behind his eyes of a three year old Trunks toddling over to a two year old Goten to share his favorite toy. ‘Calm down. Gods you’re a sentimental freak.’

“I am not!” Vegeta snapped out loud, disgusted with himself for slipping up. “It’s just that they are young.”

“I know they are.” Piccolo confirmed with a slight smile, both amused and touched by the Saiyan’s mental outburst. “I was simply saying that if it were, I don’t know, a ‘dating’ situation I couldn’t see the harm in it.” He paused to look at the older man who was clearly agitated by the conversation. “However, I get the distinct feeling that it isn’t only age you have a problem with.”

The prince took a couple of steps forward and propped his arms on the railing leaning down to look at the boys fighting each other at super Saiyan level, seemingly matched blow for blow.

“Goten’s a good kid and a great fighter.”

“But?”

Vegeta opened his mouth to speak, stopped, then opened it again.

“I think there maybe someone more suitable, is all.”

The taller warrior’s inkling had been correct, or at least he thought so. It was with a disdainful tone that he asked, “This doesn’t have to do with bloodlines does it?”

Vegeta pushed himself up and looked over his shoulder, a hint of venom in his voice.

“I’m quite aware of your opinion on the matter and of the fact that you cannot possibly seem to grasp why that would be so important to me.”

Piccolo cursed himself for not watching his tone. He damn well did know why his mate would be concerned over the matter of heritage, his entire life had revolved around the idea of a hierarchy.…the younger man mentally slapped himself for his stupidity. He knew he had crossed a line and if he didn’t mend it quick he’d be in the doghouse for a long while.

‘Sorry about that, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I was just curious as to how much status was playing a part in your judgment.’

The Saiyan prince seemed mollified by the mental response, ‘It does play a part,’ he admitted sending the answer back. ‘the idea of a third class solider mixing blood with a elite, not only an elite but that of royal blood, sickens me…and before you bring up Bulma, to me she had the qualities of an elite even if she did lack the physical power.’ He considered the matter for a second, ‘Not that my father would have approved of the match if he were alive, but still she was not a Saiyan thus could not bare the shame of being of a low class.’ Luckily the Namek was not the jealous type, and the mention of Bulma was met without incident. ‘And of course,’ he continued ‘without a doubt, you would be considered not only an elite but one of royal blood. In Saiyan society our pairing would be fully acceptable.’

Piccolo cocked his head slightly, but the elite suddenly answered the question he was just about to ask. ‘Did this factor much into my decision in bonding with you?’ A smirk quickly twisted upon his lips, ‘Not really,’ he confessed. ‘Sure it added to it, but it wasn’t a deciding factor. I wanted you because of who you were.’ He turned his attention back to the teenagers, scanning their techniques for errors before continuing, ‘But Kakarott, despite his freakish strength, by birth is a low level, not only this but my greatest rival. So the idea of his offspring mingling with my own does bother me. However, I think I would be able to look past this if this was what Trunks really wanted… Well I think I could at any rate, as it is not Goten’s fault that he was born to a third class bloodline. No, to be honest, I’m more concerned about Goten himself.’

“Oh?” Piccolo said out loud, startled by the new insight.

“Yes.” Vegeta muttered studying the dark haired youth in the distance with a keen eye, “the kid just doesn’t have any drive. No ambition at all. I’m not talking only about these past months but before his mother had died.” He shook his head slowly, “He doesn’t take anything seriously, not his training or his education and as far as I know he has no clue of what he wants to do in the future.”

“I know what you mean, but, Vegeta, he is only sixteen.”

The prince nodded, “Yes, I agree. That’s very normal for an average sixteen year old boy. But Trunks isn’t average by a long shot. He’s seventeen and will be attending as sophomore at what apparently is a top-notch university. He’s taken on part time work at Capsule Corp doing all kinds of technical crap that I don’t understand and happens to be one of the strongest warriors in the universe.” There was a distinct note of pride in the older man’s voice, and Piccolo couldn’t help but mirror it. He was immensely proud of the boy, who like Gohan, had a balance of brain and brawn. “Goten,” the prince went on, “is a great warrior, I’m not denying that, but he’s still a kid, and Trunks is simply more mature. I guess if Goten were to grow up some I wouldn’t find it so hard to swallow. But I have a feeling that even if he did, Goten would be content to spend the rest of his life here, whereas I know Trunks would not.”

The Namek had to admit that he had not thought of it in those terms. Vegeta was right, Goten was not near as mature as Trunks, but this was before his mother had died. The younger demi-Saiyan had changed, while he had finally gotten over the bulk of his depression he was much more solemn and thoughtful than before hand. The accident had aged him, for better of worse it was still to early to tell.


“What do you suppose they’re talking about over there?” Goten asked dodging a blow to his head.

Trunks shrugged re-aligning his body to dodge the taller boy’s foot to his waistline, “Hell if I know. Half the time they talk in their heads telepathically, so there’s no way of knowing. Get’s kinda freaky sometimes.”

“Heh” Goten said grinning, “Bet they’re comparing war stories…” he took on a mock deep voice, “ Back in the day I used to fight 900 warriors at a time, everyday, just to test myself.”

Trunks laughed and quickly added in his own deep tone, “Oh yeah, that’s nothing, when I was a kid I fought 10,000 warriors at a time, and that was just the morning warm up before breakfast.”

“Breakfast!” Goten exclaimed, continuing the game, “I didn’t bother with any cushy breakfast, I kept on fighting and if I got hungry I just ate one of my opponents, I only slept once a week and that was on the ground.”

“Oooh, you had it good! I only got to sleep once a month and that was on a bed of broken glass and rusted razor blades, and you know what? I was thankful for it.”

They both laughed.

“Quit goofing off you two! Concentrate!”

“Sorry, Piccolo.” the two said in unison still sniggering to one another making more jokes at the expense of the older men situated just out of ear-shot.
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Well, I\'m updating a bit sooner than I thought, as I\'m going to be out of town for a bit.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews and the hits. I\'m hoping you\'re all enjoying this so far.