Dedicated as always to my koishii tsuin Dasia, without whom half the stuff I write wouldn’t exist!!

To For-chan, for slaving away over my page on her website and making it all pretty, and for just being her cookie-ful self.

And once again to bakayaro onna, whose tireless efforts find my punctuation, grammar and *ahem* definition mistakes and banishes them forever from my poor prose. And without whom, you would all be forced to read way too many superfluous “that’s,” so all bow before the onna!!! AND let’s not forget to mention the snippet of a picture that if you can’t see, it’s NOT my fault!!!

Warnings: I own Sage. Period. He doesn’t just play with anyone you know…I do not however own any of the other DBZ characters. *sighs* Mores the pity. NC-17 Angst, blood, bitchy Vegeta, LEMON, lemon tarts, consensual sex with a minor.

Now, on with the fic!!!

First Heat

A BOAP Chibi Tail

By Talon

Chapter Two

It was going well, mused Goku as he headed towards his bedroom the third night of Sage’s heat. His tail waved behind him happily as he thought over the past three days. The gravity room was closely monitored, and they had all seen, time after time, Gohan overcoming Sage’s fear, hesitance and reluctance to enjoy, even to participate in his first heat. Considering the effect heat-musk had on Saiyjins and demi-Saiyjins alike, Gohan’s patience and gentleness was a marvel in and of itself. It had been only in the last day, really the last few hours when a difference had been spotted. Sage had initiated an encounter. Fully initiated it. Roused Gohan from a sound sleep and attacked him. Goku smothered a smile as he recalled the look on his eldest son’s face as he was awoken by an armful of hot, horny, barely-teenager licking and sucking on his nipples.

He pushed the door to his bedroom open; it was dusky dark inside. Goku’s eyes adjusted easily enough to the dim lighting, his nose placing his prince’s position long before visual confirmation occurred. He stalked playfully to the balcony where Vegeta was leaning on the railing looking up into the night sky. Goku had plans to snatch and ravish his prince until he was pleading for release when something in Vegeta’s scent stopped him dead in his tracks.

Fear.

“We have a problem, Kakkarott.” Vegeta’s voice cut through his distracted daze with the clarity of a finely rendered ki-blade.

“Nani?” was all he could manage as he joined his mate on their balcony.

Wordlessly Vegeta pointed to the sky and Goku’s stomach plummeted to the lowest sub-level on the Capsule Corp compound. A silvery disk of radiance hung in the sky, sprinkled generously with pinpricks of starlight.

The moon.

And it was nearly full.

“What…what does this mean, ‘Geta?”

The ouji’s voice wavered only slightly as he answered. “I’m not completely sure, Kakkarott. But I know it will complicate matters. Sage cannot go Oozaruu as long as he is ki-restrained. But Gohan can. We’ll cover the windows from the outside tomorrow to combat that possibility.”

“That’s not what you’re really worried about, is it, Vegeta.”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Vegeta swallowed. ” With the full moon, there's a chance Sage’s heat will trigger Gohan to go into heat…or worse…into a mating rut. I don’t know…this…the full moon during a heat…it hasn’t happened with any of the other boys yet. Maybe nothing will happen.”

“You don’t believe that, do you, Vegeta,” said Goku quietly.

Vegeta was silent for a moment, then, “No, koi. I don’t.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do? Maybe separate them for the full moon?”

“Can’t be done.” Vegeta’s voice was flat. “For one thing, Gohan is stronger under the influence of the heat-musk…and he’d die defending Sage right now. Actually…he’d probably kill us. For another…it could be damaging to both of them even if we could manage to subdue Gohan without hurting him. And then there’s the risk of triggering Sage. Even ki-restrained, he’d be a force to be reckoned with.”

“Hai,” agreed Goku with a weak smile. “He’s quite gifted in hand to hand combat….would we even be able to fight him?”

“Probably not. Not through the heat-musk.”

“Hn.” A pause. Then, “The moon will be full tomorrow night.” It wasn’t a question, and Vegeta merely nodded in assent.

“And there’s nothing we can do.”

Vegeta shrugged. “Nothing besides warn Gohan and make sure the windows are covered.”

Goku frowned. “I don’t like this, Vegeta.”

Intense black eyes flashed through the star-dusted night. “You think I’m overly thrilled about it? That’s my baby in there…in the middle of his first heat, with a full moon rising tomorrow night!!! Added to which he’s ONLY thirteen and still dealing with the molestation that happened when he was six!”

Goku took a step backwards, away from Vegeta’s overwhelming frustration and anger at being unable to “fix” the situation. He put both hands up in a pacifying gesture that was lost on the fuming prince. “’Geta,” he said quietly. He didn’t get a chance to say anything else as he watched the proud Saiyjin no Ouji crumple into a heap on the balcony bench, his face in his hands. Goku waited a few seconds before cautiously joining his mate.

It was a minute or two before he realized Vegeta wasn’t crying. That was a relief, thought Goku. Vegeta cried so rarely…never really…Goku wasn’t sure what he would do if his ouji HAD been crying. He put a large arm around Vegeta, and after stiffening for a moment, Vegeta leaned into the comforting circle his mate’s limb provided.

“I just feel so helpless, Kakkarott. Like he’s six again, but this time I know what’s going on with Burns, and I still can’t do anything to stop it,” whispered Vegeta.

Goku gently stroked Vegeta’s stiff-soft mane. “Lover, this is nothing like when Sage was molested. He’s in there with Gohan, and if there is anyone besides you and I who would go to the ends of the universe to protect Sage, it’s Gohan. You know that, koi.”

Vegeta didn’t answer.

Goku left the silence for awhile, before asking, “What else is bothering you. Really. Please don’t brush me off, Vegeta…Gohan and Sage…they’re both our sons…what is it?”

Vegeta sighed. “You know how I felt when Gohan decided to marry Videl.”

Goku nodded. Vegeta, though he never said as much to Gohan, had disapproved of the match, and the reason for the marriage. Although he liked Videl, and was delighted she and Gohan were going to have a child together, he didn’t see that as a reason they should marry. As friends, Gohan and Videl were well matched, even to an extent as a couple. But married…well there was a reason he himself had never married Bulma, and why Kakkarott had in the end, divorced Chichi and banished her from his and his children’s lives. The simple fact of the matter was that a Saiyjin required a Saiyjin mate. Period.

“Well, that’s my problem. That’s what’s bothering me. Gohan is still married to Videl.”

Goku looked quizzically at his mate.

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Kakkarott…feel along the bond to Sage…and then to Gohan and tell me what you sense.”

Puzzled, Goku did…and was shocked. Utterly shocked at the intensity of emotion along the two bonds. It was reminiscent of the feelings he and Vegeta shared, that Trunks and Goten shared, indicative of a burgeoning bond beyond that of the sibling bond they had shared most of Sage’s life.

“You knew about this?” he accused Vegeta.

“Baka,” said Vegeta disdainfully. “Of course I didn’t. Not until Sage went into heat. Before that, he simply wasn’t interested in anything having to do with sex, you know that.” He shrugged. “It’s like Goten and Trunks. Brothers ninety percent of the time, during full moon and heat, insanely driven sex monkeys. I told you, Saiyjin teenagers aren’t interested in sex, not unless there is a catalyst. Full moon, or a heat or rut…other than that, they just don’t think about it much.” He shrugged. “One of the side effects of our long life-span, so I was told. Why do you think it took so long for Gohan to knock Videl up? He was well into his twenties. Twenty three, in fact. But this…I had hoped for this after seeing how close the two of them were, especially after the situation with Burns.”

Goku answered, with dawning comprehension, “Gohan never bonded or claimed Videl.”

Vegeta shook his head. “Iie. But he married her. And the way he is…he’ll feel obligated to keep those vows he made to her regardless of how he truly feels.”

His mate groaned. “How do these things get so complicated?”

Vegeta snorted. “There’s never anything straightforward about a Saiyjin in heat, Kakkarott.”

Goku sat back, musing. “Gohan and Sage. You’re right, Vegeta…they are well suited for each other.”

Vegeta was smug. “Thought you were the matchmaker in the family,” he smirked at his lover, the tension breaking up.

Goku smiled, kissing the smirk off from his mate’s face. “Watch it, koi,” he said nuzzling Vegeta’s neck. “Sage is too young to be mated though.”

“Hai,” whispered Vegeta, rapidly melting under Goku’s skillful lips. “But…but wouldn’t it be nice…if eventually they got together…” he groaned quietly as his lover’s mouth descended on his claim-mark.

Then it stopped. Puzzled, he looked up at Goku, whose eyes were big and shining in the almost-full moonlight.

“What the fuck is your problem, Kakkarott?” he growled.

“Oh, ‘Geta…just think of what ADORABLE babies Gohan and Sage would have together!!!”

Vegeta groaned, in affectionate exasperation this time and leaned his head into the younger Saiyjin’s chest.

In the gravity room a sweaty Gohan and Sage were cuddled together in the aftermath of mutual orgasms. Sage was still shivering, and Gohan purred soothingly to the younger boy.

“You all right, Sage?” he asked quietly.

“I…I think so, Go-chan.”

“You’re cold.”

“Just a little.”

Gohan raised his ki slightly, enveloping them in a bubble of warmth, and slowly, Sage’s shivers stopped and he sighed.

“’smatter, chibi?” asked Gohan. Lucid moments like this were few and far between during heat, as he himself well knew.

Sage shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. I just feel strange. Like…I’m not the same anymore.”

“You aren’t.” Gohan’s voice was serious. “You will never be the same again, Vegeta. This heat…your first, is merely the first step in becoming an adult demi-Saiyjin. Everything is changing for you chibi…right down to your scent.”

Sage frowned. “I don’t want my scent to change,” he objected. “I thought that was just the heat-musk.”

“Baka-brat,” said Gohan affectionately. “Didn’t you notice the change in Truten’s scent after their first heat? It’s a subtle conversion…a shift really, from a child’s scent to an intermediate adult, so to speak. But that’s not really my point.”

“Then what is, niichan?”

Gohan’s arms tightened around his bond-brother as he considered his answer. “After this heat is done, you are going to see things completely differently than you did before. The moon will affect you more than just making you antsy and aggressive. Your reactions to familiar things may change.”

“But when Trunks and Goten had their first heat, things didn’t change. They’re still the same!”

Gohan shook his head. “They aren’t. Some things do stay the same. Unlike human teenagers, we aren’t sex-crazed bundles of pure hormone. As Saiyjins, we want what we want, when we want it. If we want sex, then we get it, and move on. Goten and Trunks have changed, but it’s on the inside. Their perceptions have changed, and it’s hard to spot that from your position, because after all, aside from when Goten had you cornered when he first started his heat, their position with you hasn’t changed. You’re still the baby. But they changed, towards each other; even if it’s not something you see everyday. Their bond changed from a sibling bond, to something more, something deeper even before they claimed each other. Heat changes you, Sage…you might even think of it this way, when you have your first heat, you’re reborn.”

Sage frowned. “But they still act the same…like brothers.”

Gohan nodded. “They’re not ready to become full adults. It takes awhile longer for us. In a sense they are the same. But they’re not. There’s nothing straightforward about a Saiyjin heat, chibi. And for us…since there are so few of us it gets confusing. Our choices are limited and closely intertwined.”

Sage groaned and clutched his head. “I can’t think, damnit…I feel so fucking stupid.”

Gohan chuckled. “You’re not stupid, chibi. Your brain chemistry is a little bit one-track just now.”

Sage snuggled into Gohan. “That’s another thing,” he remarked drowsily. “I never in a million years thought I’d want sex….”

“Shhh, Sage,” soothed Gohan, kissing dusky-black hair. “It’s the heat, nothing more.”

“But Gohan…”

“What is it, brat?”

“I wanna do it again.”

Nuzzle. “You’re half asleep, bratling…”

“So?”

“Twist my arm why don’t ya.” A quiet smirk.

Yawn. “I’m too tired to twist your arm…but I can’t sleep with this…” Gohan looked down, and sure enough, there was a very solid point of evidence to Sage’s statement.

“Why don’t I just take care of that for you, ne?”

A soft, contented sigh was his only answer as Gohan gently settled Sage back on the mattress, took his slender hardness into his mouth and proceeded to relieve the heat-engorged youngster. It was over quickly, and Gohan, smiling affectionately, moved back up to hold the already sleeping Sage protectively until he woke. Sage turned in his sleep, his tail wrapping around Gohan’s arm as he buried his face into the older demi’s chest. A soft, very contented duet of purring vibrated around them both as Gohan too slipped off into slumber.

Gohan awoke the next morning, after a night’s sleep, interrupted occasionally by sex, to an unfamiliar sound.

He blinked and looked around, before focusing on the intercom. It was blinking red…and buzzing. He groaned and stood, unwrapping Sage’s blue-black tail from his thigh, and covering the boy lightly with a sheet. He padded softly over to the unit and pressed the “talk” button. “What,” he said shortly.

His bond-father’s voice broke clearly into the room. “It’s a full moon tonight, Gohan, we’ll be covering the windows from the outside later on. Be…careful. We don’t know what effect this will have on Sage’s heat.”

Gohan sighed. “Is that all?” he asked irritably, his unseen tail switching furiously through the air. “You woke me up to tell me that?”

On the other side of the intercom Vegeta sighed and rolled his eyes. Normally his intellectual bond-son, the doctor, and the only living expert on Saiyjin and demi-Saiyjin biology and physiology would have been not only fascinated by the news, but somewhat concerned. Shows what a whiff of heat-musk does to a Saiyjin brain, Vegeta thought ruefully. Turns it into mush, that’s what it does. Pressing the button again, he reminded his bond son he had to be careful, Sage was ki restrained, but he was not…there would be NO heat-influenced Oozaruu rampaging around tonight. Gohan agreed then clicked off the connection as Vegeta heard Sage stirring in the background. Shaking his head, and smiling slightly he thought again at what an impressive pair the two of them would make. The eldest Son and the youngest Vegeta. There was a symmetry that couldn’t be denied. His stomach rumbled, and he headed off to the kitchen for breakfast. The full moon was already making him itchy…he’d had Kakkarott screaming his name just before he came downstairs. Heh.

Early in the afternoon, Trunks and Goten were securely covering the windows of the gravity room with an opaque black material when a familiar figure strode up the walkway to the main house. They looked at each other uneasily.

“Do you think she’s gonna make trouble, Tru-chan?” asked Goten, his breath puffing out in small clouds.

The lavender-haired demi watched with narrowed eyes as Videl entered the house. “I don’t know, Goten…but I’m sure Papa will handle it.”

His mate sat back on his heels atop the domed roof of the gravity room. “You know,” he said slowly. “I never understood why Sage was so mad when Gohan and Videl got married...”

“Hai…I know, me either. But it makes sense now, ne?”

Goten nodded, and looked in the last uncovered window at the pair. They weren’t quite finished…ah…there they went. “He’s passed out again,” he reported. He tilted an onyx head and squinted at his lover. “I wish they could be together, Tru-chan,” he said wistfully. “I mean, heat aside…they belong together. I can feel it.”

“I know.” Trunks sighed. “We’ll just have to wait and see. Besides, Sage is too young for anything like that. They’ve got time…look how long it took for our fathers to get together!”

There was a dark chuckle. “Hai…good point. And they’re both at least as stubborn and hardheaded as their respective fathers….”

Trunks smirked. “Oh?” he said, quirking a heavy, amethyst brow.

Goten groaned. “Don’t do that,” he pleaded. “We’ve got to finish this…” he was cut off by a mouth he knew as well as his own covering his. “Kami-sama, Trunks, can’t you wait…”

“No,” growled the elder Ouji. And Goten smiled at his lavender lover and gave in to the inevitable. Well, they could cross “roof of gravity chamber” off their list….

Meanwhile, a VERY heated argument was taking place in Bulma’s lab.

“I insist on seeing my husband,” said Videl. “It’s been four days, and I want to know what’s going on…how he is. For Dende’s sake, I just want to see him!”

Bulma sighed. “And I told you, Videl, I’ll be happy to show him to you. We have the gravity room closely monitored, and it’s no trouble at all to take you to the observation room.”

Videl shook her dark head. “Not good enough. I don’t want to see him on security screens, I want to see him in person.”

“Look, we’ve been through this, Videl,” Goku’s usually patient voice was thin with barely disguised anger and frustration. “It isn’t safe for you to go in there now. Hell, it’s not even safe for US to go in there. We only go when we have to, in order to make sure they are fed.”

Videl glared. “What do you mean exactly, by it’s not safe? Gohan is my husband, he’d never hurt me…and Sage is just a boy, ki-restrained at that you said.”

Bulma rolled her eyes, and Goku stared at his daughter-in-law. “Haven’t you been listening? The Gohan in the gravity room right now is NOT your husband. He’s NOT the man you married, and the person he is right now is quite capable of hurting you, or killing you, Videl. I thought we’d gone over this enough since you and Gohan decided to marry. He’s not human. WE’RE not human. Right now, his Saiyjin half is fully in control, and is undergoing one of the most volatile experiences a Saiyjin can live through. Chances are he won’t even recognize you as his wife, only as a threat to Sage, or as competition.”

Videl folded her arms. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, glaring around her, first at Bulma, then at Goku who was glaring back, and finally at the silent ouji. “I demand to see Gohan NOW,” and she punctuated her demand with a stomp of her foot, like a petulant child.

Goku and Bulma exchanged pained glances. They liked their daughter-in-law. Loved her in fact. She was a good person, and a good wife to Gohan. She was devoted to the family as were they all, to a lesser extent to be sure, but all the same, very willing to step in when needed. She was an excellent mother to Pan, and everyone (except Sage) hoped they would have more children someday. But one aspect of her personality shone through, no matter what she did. She was stubborn, obstinate to the point of pain. Once she decided something, nothing could move her from that path. That inflexibility had probably resulted in their marriage. Videl decided early on she was going to marry Gohan, and stuck with it until she did. And now…she was stuck on seeing Gohan. They turned, preparing to try one more time to dissuade her when Vegeta’s gravel-tinged voice cut through the air.

“That’s enough. Fine. You can come with me. I need to take them lunch at any rate. But I warn you now. You stay by me. Period. You’ve insisted upon this, don’t expect sympathy when you don’t like what you see.”

Videl looked stunned. Goku and Bulma were holding onto each other, neither was sure which was actually holding the other up.

“Um, ‘Geta…is this really a good idea?” Goku’s voice was squeaky with shock and concern.

Vegeta’s face never left his daughter-in-law’s. “No,” he said clearly. “This isn’t a good idea. But it’s either this, or else she’ll find some way to sneak in when we’re not looking. At least this way I can drag her out of there before Gohan goes on the offensive.” He stood up from where he had been leaning against the file cabinet, and jerked his head towards the door. “Come on. If you’re going to put yourself and me in danger, you can at least make yourself useful. You can help get the lunch cart ready.” He turned, his tail accenting his curt voice. It snapped fiercely from side to side, betraying the agitated prince’s true state of mind. Without looking to see if she followed, he stalked out the door.

In the brightly lit kitchen, Mrs. Briefs was humming as she finished the cart for Sage and Gohan. It was loaded with high protein, high carbohydrate fare. But on the second shelf…

“Did you make any more of these or are they all going to Gohan and Sage?” asked Vegeta, peeking under a napkin at a plate of pastries. Coming from anyone else, his tone of voice might have been called wistful. As it was, the Saiyjin no Ouji quickly straightened to a knowing look from his children’s grandmother.

“There’s another batch of lemon tarts in the oven, dear,” she said, smiling. “And yet another ready to go in. I don’t know what it is about you boys and lemon, but when the full moon hits, you can’t seem to get enough of it!”

Vegeta merely smirked, and grabbed the finished cart, beckoning to Videl to follow him. Outside the door to the gravity room, he stopped and turned to face her. “You can still back out. You aren’t going to like what you see, I can tell you that right now.”

Videl squared her shoulders and looked calmly at her father-in-law. “I’m not afraid, Vegeta-san,” she said. “I just want to see my husband.”

Vegeta grunted. “If that’s the case, you should go home and watch some family videos. We’ve tried to tell you, that isn’t your husband in there.”

Videl glared at him. “And I’ve told you, I want to see him. Are we going to stand here all day? Or are we going in?”

Shrug. “Don’t come crying to me then.”

He unlocked the door, and motioned for her to stay outside for the moment while he adjusted the gravity in the room a bit so she wouldn’t be flattened to the floor. He noted the positions of his sons as he made his way back to the doorway. Good. They were both on the mattress at the far end of the room. Sage at least was deep asleep, Gohan less so. He was sitting up, holding the smaller boy close to him, tails twined around arms, Sage’s legs stretched out between Gohan’s, his face buried into Gohan’s chest…altogether, a very kawaii, cuddly sort of scene. Vegeta nearly smiled, but caught himself. This was a dangerous position to be in. He sighed and got on with it.

“Come on,” he said softly. “Be quiet. Gohan knows we’re here…sort of. But we don’t want to wake them.”

She frowned, but obeyed, staying with him until they had switched the carts, craning her neck trying to get a good look at Gohan. They were almost in the clear, when she got a full view of them and gasped. She had known…on the surface what to expect. But knowing her husband was going to be having sex with his thirteen-year-old brother didn’t prepare her for the naked truth…so to speak.

She found she was completely unprepared to see her naked husband snuggled with his equally naked brother. Gohan’s eyes flew open and met his wife’s. She forced a smile, and started forward, saying “Gohan,” in a loud, falsely cheerful voice. Vegeta’s hand closed hard on her arm as a strange sound filled the room. She looked up, shocked at Gohan. He was…growling!!! Just a second ago, he had looked happy and peaceful, contented really….the Gohan she knew. But now, he was a snarling, savage…something, as he gathered Sage closer to him and growled darkly at his wife.

“MINE!!!”

Videl stopped, shocked to the core of her being. “But Gohan,” she began. The growling increased in volume, and Gohan started flickering gold around the edges.

“MINE!!!”

A voice, warm in her ear said, “Don’t you know when to shut up, onna? Come on….don’t turn around, just back out. Stay with me, we don’t want him to go Super Saiyjin just now.”

Mute from shock and disbelief, Videl allowed herself to be guided from the gravity room. Just before they reached the door, Sage’s eyes opened, and glanced around the room. As Videl backed away, the boy crawled closer (was that possible?) into Gohan, his face buried at first into Gohan’s chest, then just before the door closed, his mouth lifted to Gohan, who, his eyes still on the retreating figures, leaned down and kissed him deeply. As the door closed, she swore she could see tongue.

As the door hissed shut, she only vaguely heard the clicking of the locks as she slumped to her knees.

“Wha…what was that?” she asked numbly.

Vegeta snorted. “THAT was what we’ve been trying to tell you. THAT is what happens to a Saiyjin when he’s with another Saiyjin in heat. You almost got yourself killed in there. If you had been listening to what Kakkarott and the onna had been telling you, you would have understood that approaching them set off Gohan’s protective reflexes. You’re damned lucky he warned you first instead of just attacking.” Vegeta looked down at his stunned daughter-in-law. “Get up,” he said coldly. “You were forewarned, and I told you not to expect any fucking sympathy from me. I’ve none to give you. You endangered my sons just now. Get the fuck up.”

Videl struggled to her feet, using the wall for support. “You were right,” she said, her voice low. You were right. That isn’t my husband in there…I don’t know who that is.”

“That is Son Gohan, eldest child of Vegeta no Ouji and his bond-mate Kakkarott. He was born a demi-Saiyjin, but raised a Saiyjin. Never forget, Videl, you married a hybrid.” He glanced up and noticed Bulma walking down the hallway.

“We were watching, is everyone ok?” she inquired, looking hard at Videl.

“Hai,” said Vegeta. “Everyone’s fine, and I think Videl is ready to listen to that lesson you were trying to give her earlier.”

“Hn,” said Bulma as she took note of the white and shaking human. “Ok Videl, c’mon,” she said putting her arm around her daughter-in-law. “Let’s go back to my lab and talk, ne?”

Bulma was restless. So many years of living with a house full of Saiyjins and demi-Saiyjins had sharpened her awareness of the waxing and waning of the moon. She sighed as she unnecessarily consulted one of her lunar charts. It told her what she already knew…moonrise in less than an hour, and the respective pairs of Saiyjins had already retired for the night. She chewed her pen nervously as she thought of her youngest. Vegeta, well, he hadn’t been exactly cagey about how this would affect Gohan and Sage, but he hadn’t been completely straightforward with her either. She was relieved he had taken steps to ensure Gohan’s transformation didn’t happen, but there was more than he was telling her. She had cornered Goku about it, however all he had told her was they really didn’t know what effect the moon might have. And she believed him…but she had a feeling Vegeta suspected something specific was going to happen. And she was frustrated with herself she hadn’t been able to get it out of him. She moved back over to the computer and pulled up the files she had been going over for the past two hours, hoping to find something that would ease her mind. But the files from Gohan’s research and the information from Vegeta’s pod told her nothing she hadn’t read dozens of times before. Her ears twitched as the sound of breaking furniture reached them; she reminded herself to take the earplugs with her when she went to bed, otherwise she’d never get ANY sleep. It was clear from the sounds issuing from upstairs, the contingent of Saiyjins NOT in heat had completely forgotten about the occupants of the gravity room.

Gohan paced. Sage slept. Every so often the older brother would pause, look at the boy sleeping on the mattress, start forward, then stop. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead; they went unnoticed by the tall demi.

Gohan burned.

He had noticed it later in the afternoon, the familiar burn in his blood, the scent of his own musk mingling with Sage’s, the nearly unstoppable urge to screw Sage senseless again and again. What he couldn’t figure out, when he had managed to fuck Sage until he passed out, cooling his inferno somewhat, was how. It wasn’t anywhere near the time when he should be going into heat. And Sage’s heat shouldn’t trigger him this strongly anyway. It was like nothing he had experienced before. Gohan didn’t know it, but it was the beginnings of a mating rut.

In the semi-darkness of the round room, Sage stirred. Something delicious and arousing flitted past his nose, urging him to full wakefulness instantly. He sat up, groaned slightly and looked around almost panic-stricken for Gohan. In a breath, Gohan was there, holding him and purring.

“I’m here, I didn’t leave, I wouldn’t leave you, Sage.”

Sage’s arms went around Gohan as he searched the elder’s eyes for confirmation. “You promise you’d never leave me, Gohan?” he asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Gohan nuzzled Sage’s fragrant hair. Kami, the boy smelled so good…so ripe…so arousing….

“I promise, Sage. I’ll always protect you.” With that, he captured the boy’s mouth with his own, both of them scenting the sudden spike in arousal in their respective musks. Outside, unbeknownst to them, the full moon, large and orange on the horizon, was beginning to rise.

Inside the protective walls of the gravity room, Gohan and Sage were exploring their bodies, almost leisurely. Hands roamed, tongues twined and tasted succulent skin in innumerable places, exploring various dips and swells in the flushed bodies, tails stroked and teased, tickling in some caresses, firmly fondling in others. All of it pleasing to the two players, and all of it exceptionally arousing.

Sage’s smaller, almost slender form melded perfectly to Gohan’s taller, muscular body, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the larger demi as he paid careful attention to the boy’s neck, Sage writhing on top of him. Wrapping long arms around Sage, Gohan abruptly rolled the both of them over, trapping the younger demi beneath him, and feeling the fire in his veins flare hotter as Sage’s heat-hazed eyes glittered up at him. He could feel the transcendent adoration from his younger partner…no sibling…no…partner…it didn’t matter. What mattered was the realization he didn’t want to be separated from Sage…ever. He wanted to hold him, love him, protect him, always. No one else could protect Sage, he was certain. And he would kill anyone who even thought of harming his beloved. Gohan growled possessively as he once again claimed Sage’s mouth, his arousal nudging forcefully at Sage’s somewhat battered entrance. Obligingly, Sage opened his mouth, in a clearly submissive gesture, trusting and accepting his lover's dominance, purring as he widened the spread of his legs, inviting Gohan to take him once again. The sweet, thick scent of the onkru’kah lubrication tickled Gohan’s senses, and slowly he eased into Sage’s slightly stretched, profusely slicked passage.

Sage cried out as he was filled again, not in pain, but in consummate bliss. He burned, oh he burned so hotly…his flesh fired against Gohan’s sweat-streamed skin as Gohan’s arousal retreated, then slammed into him again, nudging the fleshy knot within him and helping along that delightful squeezing sensation as his childbearing glands constricted and oozed more of their lubrication, easing the journey of Gohan’s shaft as it moved slowly in, slowly out, in a maddening rhythm. The mingled scent of their sweat and semen on the mattress and on their skin, combined with the twin musks made Sage light-headed as Gohan whispered unintelligible words to him, his onyx eyes glaring down, his entire stance protective, loving….Sage screamed as Gohan altered his angle, increasing the overwhelming tactile pleasure Sage was undergoing by uncountable measures.

“Mine, mine, mine,” chanted Gohan under his breath to the steady tempo of his thrusts, to the burn in his blood, the beating of his heart, somehow thumping in close time with Sage’s heartbeat. He could feel the blood pulsing in his ears, scent Sage’s heat musk mingling with his own, creating the perfect fragrance. As long as he lived, he knew, there would never be a scent as pleasing to him as the one being formed now. And outside, the moon continued it’s pre-destined path, ascending towards the heavens.

It was all instinct and hormone now, the sweaty bodies joining together in perfect symmetry, the cries echoing from two throats, one forceful, protective, loving, the other accepting, submissive, passionate….the drive spurring them on was beyond reason, beyond rational control. The rut brought out their deepest desires, latent wants and bared them before the pale moonlight streaming over the covered windows. Gohan thrust deeply into Sage, not seeing his thirteen-year-old heat-crazed brother, but his partner, his lover, his soul mate. Sage, accommodating Gohan’s impressiveness felt protected, loved, cherished….safe.

With a howl that would have surely made his Saiyjin grandfather’s proud of their half-breed grandson, Gohan came hard, and sunk his teeth into the junction of Sage’s left shoulder and neck, biting fiercely, feeling the sweet, coppery, somehow sagey taste of the youngest Vegeta’s life’s fluid filling his mouth. He swallowed, and felt something shift and open as he was bonded, inexplicitly, unconditionally and permanently to the boy who gazed up at him with wide, infinite onyx eyes.

Leaning low over the man-child, Gohan tenderly laved the wound he had created with a gentle tongue, feeling Sage’s hardness bob against his stomach. “I love you, Sage,” he whispered. “I’ll always protect you, my koibito.”

“Gohan,” whimpered Sage, almost afraid to act on what his instincts were screaming at him to do.

Smiling, Gohan leaned his head to the right, flexed his still rigid shaft within Sage’s body and invited his mate silently to complete their bonding. With a groan, Sage fastened his teeth to Gohan’s tightly corded flesh and made a mirror claim mark, filling his own mouth with Gohan’s scarlet essence as he erupted squishly between their pressed bodies.

“Gohan,” whispered Sage, tears in his eyes.

“Shhh, chibi,” said Gohan quietly, smiling as he wiped errant droplets of salt and wet from his mate’s face. “I promise, ne? I’ll love and protect you forever. You’re mine…now and always.” He carefully extracted himself from Sage’s body, limp now, the return claim had caused him to climax once more, and gathered the slight form of Sage into his chest, purring protectively and reassuringly.

And Sage, feeling for the first time since he was six years old, completely safe and protected, fell asleep in his lover’s arms.

To be continued….