All the Stars Ahead.
Hi everyone! You asked and now I'm giving! Here is the sequel to Spatial Divergence and, as always, enjoy! I welcome positive and critical reviews.
Nappa is awoken at three in the morning by a loud crashing sound. A sigh escapes his lips as he stretches out of his sprawled position and lumbers over to the window. He's pretty sure Vegeta is still training in the Gravity Chamber, pushing his body in a brutal fashion. Vegeta has never been good at taking care of himself. He pauses on the way out of his room to check for the cries of the newest prince of a long-dead race. Despite everything, Trunks has managed to capture his heart.
The same can't be said for the boy's father however.
Nappa scowls at the thought while making his way down the stairs as quietly as he can. Childless as he is, Nappa wants his Prince to be a better father than King Vegeta was. He'd tried to instil the Saiyan sense of community (the old way, not the perverted version developed under Frieza) into Vegeta when he was young, but the Prince has always preferred to do as he pleases, often at the cost of everyone else.
He'd nearly killed Nappa once, on Namek.
He remembers the cold expression on Vegeta's face as Reecome broke his spine. Only Goku's intervention saved him. He wonders if Raditz would have suffered a similar fate.
Nappa's been distant from Vegeta ever since and he's not entirely sure the younger Saiyan has noticed or cared.
With the frown still in place, the giant crosses the lawn and finds the door ajar, light spilling its golden rays on to the grey concrete around it.
If Vegeta's injured and passed out again - !
Stepping inside brings forth no sign of the royal Saiyan and Nappa rubs his bald head.
Great, if Vegeta has already wandered off to bed and left the damn thing running, Nappa will happily go back to bed.
Flipping off the lights, Nappa turns to leave and realises that the lights of the Chamber's living quarters are turned on. Apparently, Dr Briefs had converted the Chamber into a space ship before Vegeta got hold of it, including the comfortable living space within the process.
Sticking to the shadows and waving that idle thought aside, the hulking Saiyan approaches the door and narrows his eyes at the sight before him.
Vegeta is packing a small bag, and checking the mechanics around the room, his back to the Saiyan now leaning silently against the wall. He looks like he used to when they left their quarters at the PTO to purge a planet (busy and anxious, tail whipping around) and there is a familiar gleam in his ebony eyes.
He's leaving.
His Royal Highness is travelling into space and not giving a shit about the mate and new-born son he's leaving behind.
It doesn't look like he's going to ask his bodyguard to go on this jolly jaunt with him either.
Nappa bets a million zeni it's to do with becoming a fucking Super Saiyan, to outdo Goku. Sure, he wants to become a Super Saiyan too, but he hasn't become twisted over it.
For a moment, he's so angry that his throat seizes up. Then he forces himself to remain calm – a hard feat for his legendary temper.
But he's certainly not going to keep quiet anymore.
"So, going anywhere fancy, Your Highness?"
Vegeta jumps and Nappa files that reaction away smugly. Few people get the drop on this guy, after all.
There is a short pause as Vegeta recovers enough to say;
"None of your business,"
His tone is short and the other grits his teeth.
"When the last in the Royal House of Vegeta decides to try and fuck off to space at three in the morning without telling anyone, I THINK that becomes my business!"
Vegeta lets loose a low growl in the back of his throat and swivels round to finally face him.
"Guess what? You're not needed for this trip. Go away."
He turns away again, clearly dismissing Nappa and the Saiyan's blood boils. It hums with rage, fear, all the hurt and war-mongering left unspoken.
"Did it occur to you that a new member of the Royal House was born recently?" he asks in a deceptively light voice.
Vegeta grunts, placing some ration food into a back pocket.
"What about the brat?"
Nappa remembers the feel of wet tears on his collar bone when Vegeta thought he could be strong for his absent father at six years old. He recalls the giggles and silky-soft hair of Trunks.
Two pairs of eyes stare into his own until they mingle into one sad navy pool.
Deliberately, slowly, Nappa uncoils from the wall and moves with all the grace of a panther to the night stand. An empty glass sits innocently on the top and the former General picks it up, turning it over in his hot hands. The cool material feels pleasant to the touch.
Abruptly, without a word, Nappa hurls it at the wall, where it shatters clearly and leaves a cracked dent. A deathly silence fills the room as the scant dregs of water remaining dribble down the white paint.
He wonders if Vegeta is shocked or merely angry…most likely the latter.
"Do you remember when your father gave you away?"
Whatever words Vegeta is going to say die on his tongue – or not, for he's still not looking at the Prince, so he has no idea.
"I do. I remember watching you have a tantrum, become eager for different training and be brutally cold when you eventually put yourself back together," Nappa whispers, his voice hoarse. "And you were just a child and your father, the King, forgot our traditions, our pride."
Neither of them move – Nappa's hand is shaking. He has to make Vegeta understand the King's folly, he must.
"He forgot to give a damn about you and it hurt you, even though you refused to show it. Then he died and I had to raise you; me, a fucking war general, raising the Prince of all Saiyans!"
Finally, his wild eyes burn into Vegeta, staring with the force of a ki-based fire.
"Do I have to do the same thing again? Do I have to raise YOUR son now?"
Suddenly, he's roaring at the Prince of all Saiyans, because he really doesn't care anymore. He's never been more disgusted.
"WELL? Are you going to be a deadbeat father?! You're running away to space to chase a fucking dream and you're throwing away the chance to have pride in your offspring and the only woman in the entire universe who's ever given you her attention!"
Vegeta bares his teeth, obviously affronted at what he's implying, but oh, Nappa's not finished yet.
"How DARE you spit on your heritage! You are NOT allowed to flee like a coward while your weaker mate raises your son her own and proves herself to be stronger and better than you!" the large man shouts in fury and then stops to sneer. "But then again, like father like son, eh? Responsibility was always something I could never pound through that thick skull!"
Vegeta snarls and Nappa shows his teeth right back.
No more.
Vegeta has had this coming since Namek.
No, wait, make that years.
He's tried so hard and Vegeta is disappointing every bone in his body. Every nerve, every vessel right now HATES the spoiled son of a bitch standing in front of him.
He raised him.
He cared for him.
Vegeta was like a son.
But after this, after everything Nappa has been through, something has snapped.
The bigger Saiyan isn't sure he can think of Vegeta as a son anymore. He's not certain he can be his guardian. He's struggling to accept that everything he has done for Vegeta is in vain.
Vegeta's never given a flying fuck.
He's devastated.
"What in hell's name do you want, Vegeta?!" he cries, reaching out and grabbing the smaller Saiyan by the shoulders, shaking him.
A small part is surprised that he managed to catch him off guard long enough to do that.
The rest of him just laughs.
"When are you going to open your fucking eyes?! When will you realise that there will always be someone stronger than you - ?!"
He's hurled into the wall before he can finish, Vegeta howling in seething rage.
"Don't you touch me, you low-life trash!" he snaps, charging up a ball of energy. "I knew I should have finished you off on Namek!"
Nappa slumps into a messy sitting position, blinks up at the short Saiyan towering over him and, without warning, begins to laugh hysterically. The other pauses, clearly confused.
"Oh, go on then! You might as well wipe out everyone who dares to not put up with you shitty tantrums! We can't have someone telling the truth to your face now, can we?"
Vegeta's shivering, his anger spiralling, and Nappa stands, his hands balled into tight fists.
"Mark my words, boy, I am NOT letting you leave your son. I won't be the one telling him that his father never cared, not this time. Trunks deserves better!"
He lashes out and catches Vegeta full on in the face, sending him reeling. He is stronger and faster now, and he intends to use that. Vegeta throws out a fist with a wordless yell and Nappa swats the resulting energy ball aside, turning the nightstand to ash.
"Not the answer I wanted," he rumbles loudly, stomping forward ruthlessly as Vegeta sends attack after attack at him.
There's something ridiculously exhilarating about all of this.
Then he's upon the Prince, grabbing him viciously by his hair and making the Saiyan cry out, his body swinging to free himself. He punches him once, twice in the face and ribs, hearing a sickening crack before tossing him right over the other side of the bed.
Vegeta's not the only person to train in the Gravity Chamber – and the Prince is still healing from tonight's session.
He expects the Prince to come screaming at him and he tenses, adrenaline pumping and waiting for the inevitable real fight, for broken bones. It doesn't come and Nappa steps forward cautiously. All he finds is Vegeta curled up in a ball, panting over broken ribs and nursing a bleeding forehead.
Suddenly, all fight drains out of him the longer he stares down at the small Saiyan. It's been a long time since he's actually had to physically punish Vegeta – and it was only the once.
He's done.
Nobody can convince Vegeta to stop obsessing over something – not the birth of his son, nor his own bodyguard.
"I'll raise your son. I'll tell him exactly why you aren't here for him, Vegeta. Because you're just going to leave anyway, aren't you?"
The prolonged silence gives him his answer.
"But let me tell you something – one last ultimatum, if you wanna call it that."
The black-haired Saiyan starts to raise himself up painfully and Nappa folds his big arms, voice and expression dead.
"If you leave tonight, don't fucking come back."
NOW Vegeta is surprised, his eyebrows shooting up. However, this night has probably been full of surprises, such as Nappa defying him in the first place.
"Don't come back here and give Bulma and Trunks false hope. And I won't want to see your ugly face again," Nappa continues relentlessly, refusing to show how this is breaking his once hardened heart and seeing Vegeta's eyes widen. "You want to be the big bad Super Saiyan on his own? Suits me! I won't have to grovel at your feet anymore!"
Nappa spins on his heel, taking a glance at the ruined room.
"You should clean this up."
There's nothing more to say to this vain bastard.
But his eyes fill with angry tears anyway. He's lost the one person he called his son.
No.
They were never friends to begin with.
Yeah, a bit (read: a big) of a breakdown in the relationship between Nappa and Vegeta. I honestly think Nappa would have become more independent from Vegeta's control, especially now that they don't really have to rely on each other for survival like they used to. I also think there would be unresolved issues that would crop up eventually too. Plus, Nappa would try as hard as he could to prevent Vegeta from neglecting his son – with mixed results, as we all know how stubborn and vain Vegeta is.
If you all want a sequel to this, let me know.
Love Lily. X