Pairing: RaditzxZarbon
Rating: PG
Warning: Shounen-ai
Summary: Zarbon find some use for Raditz's hair on a planet with extreme sub-zero temperatures.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in connection with the characters used in this fanfiction.
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Cold Night
Having decided that fate was a complete bitch, Zarbon went on to curse each and every deity he'd ever heard of.
Upon the young Vegeta's insistence, the three Saiyans had been sent on a simple clearing mission. Later, a report had been received of all three space pods breaking down. It was Zarbon who was ordered to go after them, which he hadn't objected to at the time. Any excuse to reprimand the little monkey prince was always a good one.
Zarbon had known that this particular planet was far away from any sort of sun, therefore had sub-zero temperatures. He hadn't counted on said temperatures being extreme enough to freeze the engines of the space pods. After identifying the problem as something he wouldn't be able to fix himself, (and wondering in frustration why Frieza wanted this planet), Zarbon had managed to send back a report via scouter before that too succumbed to the climate. He had managed to include the cause of the problem so that special precautions could be taken, and now the only thing to do was wait and plot the gruesome murder of Vegeta.
He glared at the Saiyans as they slept by a small fire they had made. It was all their fault. If Vegeta hadn't been so instant on going off-base for a mission then he wouldn't be here. Of course, it just had to be a place where he was wary to even blink incase his eyes should freeze shut.
His gaze was drawn to the fire and Zarbon found himself considering his options. In their frozen states, the space pods were definitely out. Curling up with the Saiyans would be a horrendous blow to his pride, even if they did all appear to be asleep. The last choice was to stay where he was, at a reasonable distance away, and shiver all night.
Hypothermia would not be a good look.
It seemed that the Saiyans were now Zarbon's only option. Perhaps his luck would turn and he would wake up before them, enabling him to slip away without them ever knowing he was there. Comparing a nasty sting to his pride and freezing to death, Zarbon decided that the Saiyans were definitely the lesser of two evils this time.
Vegeta was curled up in a tight ball, so close to the fire that a twitch of his tail may result in it being scorched off. Not surprisingly, Nappa was very close by. Zarbon noted, with some amusement, the very few hairs that were left on the burly Saiyan's head. He could somewhat understand. Who wouldn't be losing their hair after having to keep a constant watch on the fiery brat? Then there was Raditz, who had stretched himself out just enough to ensure that there was no space Zarbon could take without getting too close to either of them.
Zarbon looked from the fire to the long, thick hair of the Saiyan. As hideous as he thought the hairstyle was, he began thinking about how it may prove itself useful after all. Should Raditz complain, threats to break his tail in several places and then rip it off would surely shut him up. Zarbon knew that the Saiyans could get rather defensive over their tails, and violence was a language they understood very well.
Seeing as it was the only way of ensuring he wouldn't freeze to death in his sleep, Zarbon finally moved towards them. There was an odd tingling in his legs as the chilled muscles were made to work again.
He decided upon settling just behind Raditz, turning his back on him as well. To his relief, the Saiyan appeared to remain asleep as there was no reaction to Zarbon pulling some of the long hair over his body. When he was satisfied, he allowed his body to relax and fall into sleep.
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When Zarbon woke up, he found that he didn't become alert as quickly as he usually would. That was something he put down to the cold. At least he hadn't frozen.
As he became more and more aware of his surroundings, he realized that some things weren't as they had been. For one thing, Zarbon couldn't recall falling asleep with an arm draped over his waist.
Something twitched against his leg. Zarbon lifted his head enough to be able to see the tail that was wrapped around his thigh. That definitely hadn't been there when he had fallen asleep.
He didn't have to look for himself. The warm breath coming on the back of his neck was enough to tell Zarbon that the Saiyan had rolled over at some point during the night, and now their bodies were rather embarrassingly close together.
Realising that his own body had started turning towards Raditz while he had been asleep, Zarbon started praying to each and every deity he'd ever heard of that the Saiyans were still asleep.
His prayers were not to be answered.
"You could have just asked," came a voice very close behind Zarbon. He turned his head to see one open eye that appeared to be studying him with interest.
"Let me up," was all Zarbon said, along with fixing the Saiyan with a glare that implied a horrible death if his command wasn't instantly obeyed.
To Raditz's credit, (Zarbon supposed), he got the message. The tail was unwound from his leg and the Saiyan rolled over to turn his back on him. As soon as his leg was freed, Zarbon stood. Glancing to the other side of the noticeably smaller fire, he saw that Nappa and Vegeta at least appeared to genuinely still be asleep.
"If this is mentioned to anyone again, I'll make sure your death is slow and very painful," Zarbon spoke in a low voice, receiving only a twitch of Raditz's tail in reply.
It was good enough for now. With his eyes narrowed, Zarbon went to stand back where he had been at the mouth of the cave and resume his plotting.
His face felt much warmer all of a sudden.
END