"Boy, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Vegeta's voice was soft, but that only made the menace in his tone more palpable. His ebony eyes flashed, sparks leaping through them, and Trunks felt his mouth go dry. Words stuck in his throat. Hastily he swallowed and forced himself to speak.

"Exactly what it looks like, Father." Damn! He hadn't meant that to come out like that! The last thing he needed right now was for his father to think he was being a smartass.

Before he could take back his hasty words, Vegeta spoke again. "Hn. It seems like you're not as soft as I gave you credit for. Be that as it may." He shot a dark look at Gohan, who trembled slightly. "Kakkarot's brat? I would've thought my son had better taste." With that scathing remark Vegeta turned and blasted off, leaving behind a shocked Trunks, a hurt Gohan, and a perplexed Goku.

Muttering an angry oath, the lavender-haired teenager released his beloved and followed him. The eleven-year-old watched him go anxiously. As the older boy faded from sight, he sighed and turned to face his father.

Goku's face held a variety of emotions as he regarded his son. Caution and concern were dominant, but there was a trace of sadness in his sea-green eyes. "Gohan?" he asked. "Do you want to tell me something?"

"Yes, daddy," Gohan almost whispered. "Me and Trunks . we're . we're in love." Nervously he looked up at his dad from under his shock of spiky blonde hair.

"Love?" repeated Goku. "But Gohan, you're only eleven years old. How can you know?"

The same old argument. *It's so unfair* thought Gohan miserably. *Everybody thinks I'm too young! If I was only a few years older nobody would care. Just because I'm a bit younger than Trunks, they think I can't fall in love. Well, I can and have* "I just know, daddy," he said out loud. "It's . it's something age can't effect."

"I don't want you getting hurt, Gohan," said Goku firmly. "Trunks is much older than you. You're too young to be experiencing these things."

It was all Gohan could do not to stamp his foot childishly and prove his father right. "Dad, listen to me. It doesn't matter how old I am. It doesn't matter how old Trunks is. We're in love. Age has nothing to do with it!"

Goku sighed. "I'd like to believe you, Gohan, really I would."

"It's true," said a voice. Father and son spun around to see the young Guardian of Earth looking at them solemnly from between two pillars off to the side. Dende stepped forward as he spoke, supporting Gohan. "I have searched both Trunks' and Gohan's hearts. He speaks the truth, Goku, they are in love, just as you are in love with Chi Chi. Their feelings cannot be denied by age."

"I love him, daddy," added Gohan earnestly. "And he loves me, too. We're meant to be together." The soft insistence in his voice, the unwavering gaze with which he held Goku's eyes finally convinced the pureblood Saiyan of his son's sincerity. Coming to a decision, he drew Gohan into an embrace, smiling a little wistfully.

"Then I'm very happy for you, Gohan," he said. The two Super Saiyans shared a smile and the watching Namek quietly turned and left them alone.

***

Trunks sped after his father, his speed making his long lavender hair whip out behind him as he flew. Angrily he pursued the Saiyan prince, furious at him both for insulting Gohan and for refusing to even hear them out. The teenager cursed his father's stubbornness imaginatively under his breath.

With a burst of energy he powered up to Super Saiyan and flew in front of his father, cutting off the older Saiyan's flight. Vegeta stopped short and scowled at him. "What do you want, boy?" he snapped.

Trunks struggled to stand his ground. He was taller than his father, but somehow Vegeta always managed to intimidate him. Fighting to keep his voice steady, he said, "I want you to take back what you said about Gohan." His mother had taught him about bargaining - start off with a totally outrageous request and let them back you down into a middle ground you're happy with. For Vegeta to back down on something he'd said was extremely outrageous.

Sure enough, Vegeta snorted derisively and said, "You must be joking. I stand by what I said."

"So you're telling me that you have no problems with the fact that I'm with a guy?" asked Trunks, to see what his father's reaction would be.

"Saiyans have none of the human prejudices toward same-sex relationships," said Vegeta loftily, and Trunks gaped incredulously. "You are merely behaving according to your instincts - why would I have problems with that?" It was more a statement than a question.

"And the fact that Gohan is eleven years old doesn't matter?" the teenager persisted.

The prince folded his arms dismissively. "More human prejudices," he said contemptuously, expressing his opinion of the human race. "On Planet Vegeta is was coming for Saiyans as low as ten years of age to take partners in adolescence or older. No, the kid's age doesn't bother me. It simply proves that you two, at least, have not forgotten your Saiyan heritage."

With the prince's words, Trunks' suspicions were confirmed. "So the only reason you won't accept it is because Goku is Gohan's father?"

"Yes." The straightforwardness of Vegeta's answer took Trunks off guard, but in hindsight he figured that such frankness was to be expected from the King of Not Caring about Other People's Opinions. At the same time his father's mule-headedness angered him. Vegeta was refusing to accept Trunks and Gohan's relationship just because he disliked Gohan's father.

"Well that's a pretty cruddy reason!" he exploded, startling the black- haired Saiyan. "Listen, Father-" he spat the name out furiously "-you need to stop being so preoccupied with yourself! I can't believe you'd be so selfish as to blame Gohan for who his father is! It's not his fault you don't like Goku so don't take it out on him! I want you to accept us but believe me, it's not necessary. I love Gohan, and we'll be together no matter what you think. So tell me, Father, what'll it be? Are you going to show how much power 'Kakkarot' has over you? If he can effect your decisions without even being here or doing anything it just points out how much he bothers you. Well? Enlighten me, Father, I'm ~dying~ to know." Trunks paused and gulped a lungful of air.

Throughout his son's speech Vegeta had barely reacted, just raising one eyebrow as the teenager got steadily more worked up. However, a hard gleam came into his eye as Trunks made his point about Goku having power over the prince, and spread as the demi-Saiyan wound up his monologue. As Trunks stared at him and tried to get his breath back, the gleam intensified until he spoke.

"Kakkarot will never have any power over me," he snarled, cramming into one sentence how much he detested his fellow pureblood.

"Then prove it," snapped Trunks. "Forget for a moment that Gohan is his son. Forget that he even exists. Goku doesn't have anything to do with your decision. So say what you truly think about us, Father. Say you accept us.

The two Saiyans from different times stared at each other, electricity seeming to crackle through their gazes. An inner debate was evident on Vegeta's face as two principles warred; on the one hand, his son had fallen for the spawn of the person he hated most in the world. On the other, if he were to truly prove that Kakkarot had no power over him he had to disregard the other warrior's involvement. Trunks was imploring him to dismiss Kakkarot's very existence and simply express what he thought of the boy's relationship with Gohan. Vegeta met the teenager's stare, saw the strength behind his gaze that he himself had instilled in the boy, saw the depth of Trunks' feelings for the younger half-Saiyan.

"You have my consent, but don't expect me to attend a wedding!"

Trunks had felt the power four small words the previous night when Gohan had said, "I love you, Trunks." Vegeta's statement affected him just as deeply. Utter relief overwhelmed his senses and he bowed his head, murmuring, "Thank you, Father." He couldn't find the words to express how much Vegeta's approval meant to him. The father he'd never seen, his mother's only love, someone he'd longed to meet ever since he was a child. When he'd come back to this timeline to help fight the androids, Vegeta had refused to acknowledge him. None of Trunks' efforts would make his father notice him.

Then came that unforgettable year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, when Trunks had matched and exceeded his father's strength. Finally he'd managed to gain Vegeta's respect, only to lose it because he was in love with 'Kakkarot's brat'. Now, at long last, the prince appeared to have accepted his son. The knowledge made Trunks smile inwardly as Vegeta, his part played, flew back to the Lookout.

Trunks tailed him more slowly and came upon Goku and Gohan sitting on the front steps of the guardian's place, talking cheerfully. The Saiyan teenager hesitated, wondering if he should interrupt the cosy father-son chat, but even as he did so Gohan sensed his presence.

Excusing himself, the blonde eleven-year-old left his dad and sped up to meet Trunks, anxious about how his crush's meeting with Vegeta had done. He'd been worried when the two royal Saiyans flew off, but had then been distracted by convincing his own father that his feelings for the teenager (and vice versa) were genuine. Now that it was clear Goku didn't object, it occurred again to Gohan that Vegeta was very different to the younger pureblood. He flew straight up to Trunks and asked nervously, "Well? What'd he say?"

The purple-haired teenager smiled. "He's okay with it. He gave his consent."

"Yay!" Gohan cheered. He threw himself at the older boy and hugged him delightedly, feeling Trunks' arms wrap tightly around him as he returned the sentiment. "This is great," the younger demi-Saiyan grinned. His voice was somewhat muffled by Trunks' hair in his face. "My dad said he was happy for us, too."

Trunks twisted his head to kiss Gohan deeply. The younger boy's hands fisted in his lavender hair as their tongues tangled and Gohan sighed in contentment. For some reason, everything seemed just a little bit better when he was with Trunks.

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