| Feeding the Flames part 15 By: Juuchan Trunks was in position for his next move on Gohan, perched on the couch in the living room, a bit before lunch. Of course, he needed Gohan back first. The house wasn't planned out yet, but they'd decided on what materials to use, and Gohan had been circumspectly ferrying them to and hiding them at the site. He settled back into the couch as he felt Gohan's ki approaching. Trunks would wait there, patiently lounging on the couch, an easier position when Gohan gave him ki. It was definitely time for the next step. After that, the last one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gohan landed lightly in the garden at the back of the building, satisfied with the work he'd done today. One more load, and they'd have all the supplies they thought they would need. He also had an idea about hiding/disguising the house, but had to ask Trunks and Bulma if it were feasible. Moving in the house proper, he paused to locate Trunks' ki, followed it, and found him laying on the couch. After general, polite enquiries into how their respective days had gone thus far, Gohan settled down into a now-familiar position, on his knees in front of the couch, one hand extended to Trunks' bare waist. He hadn't been wearing shirts much recently, apparently they felt uncomfortable somehow in his current state, and Gohan had been -trying- to ignore it. Just as he'd tried to ignore they way his tail twitched as he walked, and how watching it inevitably led to eyeing his backside.. Gohan put his mind off of that track. He closed his eyes, redirected his thoughts, and sent his ki to the children. After what he knew was far too short a time, Trunks reached down, grabbed his wrist, and pulled his hand away, breaking Gohan's concentration and connection with his children. He blinked up at Trunks in surprise, a questioning look on his face. "Don't think like that." "Huh?" he still didn't have the faintest idea what Trunks was doing, he was normally a pretty straightforward person. "When you give the children ki, they feel your emotions. To an extent, they rub off on them." Trunks looked very serious. "So.." Gohan's brow furrowed in puzzlement, ".. What don't you want me to think about? That's making them unhappy, or whatever?" Trunks sighed, then brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I can't know precisely what you're thinking about, just how it affects them. Sometimes they end up a bit sad, or oddly guilty, but mostly they think you don't like them." "What?! Why?" He sighed again. "Because, most of the time when you feed them, you're feeling bad or unhappy about something. It may not be in the -front- of your mind but they feel it, because emotion affects ki, and they assume -they're- making you feel like that, since you're concentrating on them." Trunks himself was looking rather sad at the moment. "Essentially, they believe their sire hates them. I can soothe them, but it takes time, and if you could come up with -anything- else to think of that would reassure them.." He trailed off, looking at Gohan expectantly. Gohan was shocked speechless. They thought he hated -them-? His children thought he hated them! Because he'd felt guilty about their conception, and they'd picked up on it. But.. "-How- can I think of something.. good for them? Is there.. something in particular?" Trunks relaxed somewhat at this promising outlook from Gohan. "I think it might go better if you actually focussed on -them-, not the process." He turned thoughtful. "When.. you first touched them, you felt the right kind of way. It was after that first time that the problem started. If you can remember that.. I think this should be alright." He tried to remember the first time. He'd felt.. awed, that these children could be his. So if he could keep that up.. maybe reassure them, too.. He couldn't believe they thought he felt so little for them, but he -had- to correct it! Gohan settled down again, placing his hand back on Trunks' abdomen. This time, rather than settling into routine, he first sent out a little feeler of ki, brushing against the children. They were certainly hungry, but also felt rather.. anxious. He tried to exude positive feelings at them, happiness and warmth. They responded, brightening considerably, and he couldn't help but feel pleasure. They were -definitely- developing, both in strength and, he guessed, in intelligence. They reacted to a far greater extent than they had initially. He ended up on a cycle, feeling pleased and proud when they responded, which created more positive emotions, which they answered. Gohan didn't realize it, but he was smiling, and Trunks observed his interaction with their children with satisfaction. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bulma stood in the doorway to the living room, watching her son wrap Gohan around his little finger. She'd sensed that he was doing something of the sort, but hadn't been certain until now. Bulma shook her head. He -definitely- took after her. She'd pursued Vejiita with much the same determination, albeit with very different tactics. But Gohan and Vejiita were quite dissimilar, as was the situation, so it was understandable. And she certainly hadn't had such a solid hold on him at the beginning of their relationship! She sighed again, then made her choice. This was what her son, her -child- wanted, and she'd discovered in the past few weeks that he was mature enough to make that decision. She'd push Gohan carefully towards him in any way possible. She wanted her baby happy. |