Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.
A/N: For the sake of this drabble, just assume that years on Planet Vegeta are the same as Earth years.
Flashes
They always say life flashes before your eyes, just before you die.
Now Nappa knows that it's true.
It was the Prince's look that set it off, that gleam in his eye that told him that Vegeta was up to something. He should have known the younger man wouldn't just help him up.
At least in giving him death, the boy gave him memories of his life. Those eyes the Prince sported- they weren't from his father.
No, it was that same mischievous gleam that first made Nappa fall for her, long before she became the Queen of Saiyans.
She was just a young woman then, only sixteen years old. Not much older himself, he had been enlisted in the army, and had quickly made his way up, until he found himself in the position of palace guard. It was then that he met- well, caught- her, trying to sneak into the throne room after hours.
"I just want to take a peek at where the King sits," she had whispered to him, her delicate hand stroking his cheek, willing him to comply. "Please let me in, it'll only be for a moment."
Nappa was always loyal to his King. He told her so, and refused her entry. Still, it didn't seem to dissuade her, for she came back the next night, and the next, and the nights after that too.
Eventually, Nappa took for granted that she would always be there.
In hindsight, he should have known that she'd catch the King's eye. She was, after all, the most beautiful Saiyan woman alive. Still, it came as a shock to see her on the King's arm, and it pained Nappa to watch as the older man twirled her about in the courtly dances.
But Nappa was loyal to his King, so he stood by, and let fate take its course.
He watched as they kissed.
He stood guard at their wedding.
He was there when the King was away- there as a bodyguard to the beautiful Queen.
"Hold my hand, please," she whispered, as she looked into his eyes. "I'm scared, Nappa."
"It will be fine, Your Highness," he replied, doing his best to mask his own insecurities. Childbirth was within the female sphere, but it was her express wish that he remained at her bedside, instead of outside the door.
"Call me by my name," she hissed as another contraction began. Nappa merely gripped her hand tighter in reply, murmuring words of support in her ear.
Later that day, he smoothed the hair out of her eyes, watching silently as the child in her arms slept.
"He looks like his father," Nappa commented.
"Hmm," she replied. After a pause, she sighed, turning her head to look him in the eye. "I know it's impossible, but I was sort of hoping the baby would turn out looking like you." She bit her lip, looking round quickly to make sure no one was listening. "The man who should have been his father," she added in a hushed whisper.
Nappa didn't reply, but looked down as the baby's eyes opened. Those eyes looked just like his mother's…