A/N: Thank you all for the support so far, I hope you continue to enjoy the story and thank you to Cluen for beta reading!
Warnings: None
Chapter Four
While idly flipping through the notes on his datapad from the last Council meeting, a sudden commotion down the corridor caught Vegeta's interest. It looked like several servants running franticly as if they were searching for something by the way they glimpsed down each hallway they darted past. Shrugging it off as none of his concern, since he hadn't been alerted to any troublesome situation, Vegeta walked off in the opposite direction, heading away from whatever potential headache lay in that hallway. Eyes on his screen again, he sighed in annoyance that the council hadn't seen fit to investigate the worlds Kakarot had traveled to during his missions. He would have really loved to purge a few planets to get rid of the built up stress he had been feeling the past week.
Suddenly a slender servant girl ran past him, then quickly came to a halt and bowed politely with an awkward smile before jetting off again. The already aggravated Prince ground his teeth together in an effort to keep calm. 'Just what the hell is going on around here anyway?' But the girl had already bounded off and he didn't feel like expending even the minimal amount of energy it would take to chase after her. He felt certain someone else would come running along eventually anyway and he could just ask them instead.
Glancing idly back at his notes, he continued to make his way towards his father's office. The King had asked for a meeting to discuss the plans for his announcement ceremony and since he was headed in the direction anyway, Vegeta decided it was as good a time as any. He could still hear footsteps running quietly in the background and quickened his own pace in response, certain that if anyone knew what was going on it would be his father. There was almost never this much activity in the castle without his knowledge of the happenings—actually there was almost never this much activity in the castles without him being the cause of it. The Prince smirked at a memory of his younger self going on a rampage because a guest had made the ultimate mistake of stepping on his cape and causing him to trip. Heads rolled for the embarrassment it had caused him and he vividly remembered people fleeing through the halls.
Vegeta let out a small sigh as he came back to the present; acting with such impunity was impossible now that he was older and couldn't hide behind childish precociousness. Being the next ruler in line came with its own share of burdens even though, barring no accidents or unforeseen catastrophes, he would not actually become the King for a long time. When not out in the battlefield getting killed, Saiyans could live exceptionally long. Which left Prince Vegeta with the task of strengthening their bloodline, handling matters too mundane for the King to bother with, and generally doing whatever it took to bring more honor to house Vegeta. The last two were simple enough—he attended boring meetings and discussed boring plans and handled the toughest assignments from Lord Frieza so that the population could think and wonder about how great and powerful he was.
He would have gone on to ruminate on the problems of the first task, but he was suddenly knocked to the floor by someone running into him and the memories of the cape incident came flooding back to his mind. Looking up to put true fear into the heart of the servant that had toppled him, he was instead confused to see a panicked looking Kakarot staring down at him. Before he could ask any questions though, he was grabbed roughly by the arm and hauled into the closest room. Quickly closing the door behind them, Kakarot leaned against it with a long exhale, his expression a mixture of growing relief and receding anxiety.
"What are you doing?" Vegeta inquired with part annoyance and curiosity. First the servants were running amok and now Kakarot was dragging him into strange rooms without warning. Looking around he saw that they were in what appeared to be some sort of storage closet that the servants used. The other Saiyan hadn't answered him fast enough and he was too annoyed to be in a cramped space with someone who had personally offended him, so Vegeta tried to push Kakarot away from the door in order to leave.
"No! Don't go out there! They'll find me!" Kakarot panicked and clutched onto the doorframe tightly as to not be dislodged.
"Who?" Vegeta took a step back and seriously studied the look on his companion's face. "Is someone trying to hurt you?" He knew it sounded ridiculous as soon as he had said it considering Kakarot was most likely only second in strength to himself, but an attack on his mate may as well be an attack on all the royals. He pushed the larger man out of the way, determined to find out who would dare to threaten his future reign.
As soon as his hand reached for the door however, Kakarot tackled him to the side and pinned him to the opposite wall. Grunting from the impact of his face to the hard surface, Vegeta elbowed his captor hard in the ribs, gaining him enough space to twist around and grab the blue collar of Kakarot's undersuit and pull him down to eye level. The sudden jerk downwards caused the bulky man to place his hands on wall to keep him from toppling onto his smaller mate.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? If there's someone after you then we need to go out there and kill them!" Vegeta hissed in frustration at being constantly thwarted in his attempts to rectify the situation.
Kakarot blushed and looked to the side, away from the dark piercing eyes in front of him. "I don't want to kill them, I just don't want them to find me yet is all," he mumbled sheepishly.
"Who? You keep saying someone is going to find you and yet you won't tell me who they are!" It was all Vegeta could do to keep from choking the man in front of him until he got some real answers.
Kakarot bit his lower lip and shyly made eye contact with the Prince before looking away again. It barely lasted a second or two, but it made Vegeta's breath hitch as he suddenly realized the position they were in and how close they actually were. He released the stretchy fabric he had been clinging on to and pressed himself back against the wall, hoping his mate would get the hint and move backwards. However his companion didn't budge, either ignoring the awkwardness of the situation or more afraid that Vegeta would bolt for the door again if he stepped aside.
"Usually people don't follow me around unless they want to fight me, but the last time I tried to punch one of them, they went flying! I didn't know they were so weak! So I figured I'd just give them the slip until dinner! I don't want to get yelled at by that mean old timer anymore!" Kakarot finally answered, speaking swiftly as if that would keep the small Prince's anger at bay.
'He's running away from the goddamn servants?! No wonder they were rushing all over the place!' Running a hand over his face with a sigh, Vegeta locked eyes with Kakarot and gave a firm push on his shoulder to move him aside. The younger Saiyan still refused to budge though, much to his displeasure.
"Kakarot, I told you before that they are here to help you. If they bother you that much, I will arrange it so that the same person stays with you. Will that make you more comfortable with the idea?" That someone could really be that worked up over a servant following them exasperated the Prince, but the ridiculousness of the situation he had been dragged into did much to dull his anger.
Dark eyes brightened slightly at the suggestion and Kakarot gave Vegeta a small curl of his lip and nodded. "Yeah, maybe if it's just one person I'll recognize them better!" His lopsided grin spread, transforming into a legitimate smile.
Something about the handsome features so close to him arranged in such a beautiful way brought Vegeta's ire back to the surface. Planting his gloved hand directly over the offending face and pushing Kakarot backward with his full strength, he finally was free of the offender in his personal space. Crossing his arms in a huff he stared intensely at the wall after glimpsing the pouting look on his partner's face.
"Next time just tell me if you are having a problem instead of dragging me into a closet over something so inane," Vegeta bit out, still not looking at his mate. There was a pause of silence that lasted longer than the Prince was expecting, so he risked meeting eyes with the man on the other side of the small space.
Kakarot seemed to be wavering on whether to speak up or not, his previous smile now dissolved into thinly pressed lips and his previous bright eyes marked by confusion and indecision.
"What?" Something about the look made Vegeta snap at him. It was obvious the third class had never been trained to keep his face a neutral mask.
"Well," he paused and pursed his lips more, "how can I tell you, if I never see you?" Kakarot locked eyes with the Prince for a microsecond before following his lead and staring at the wall.
Taken aback by the unexpected response, Vegeta's breath caught in his throat at the pitiful sight. But any sentimental feelings were then immediately squashed by the indignation of the accusation that it was his fault that the pair had spent the first week of their lives together almost completely separate so instead of reassuring Kakarot, Vegeta scowled at the fidgeting man before him.
"If you have something to say to me then tell your servant and they'll get the message to me! It's not that hard to figure out, Kakarot!" The longer he looked at the petulant Saiyan the more the he could feel his blood boiling. The idea that anyone could reject him and then act as if they were the one being wronged was so repulsive to the Prince that he felt his fist moving forward before he fully realized what he was doing.
Kakarot's head snapped backwards from the heavy blow, when he met Vegeta's eyes again he was no longer sulking, but the wounded surprise was not a positive alternative. "What was that for?!" he yelled out, clamping his hands over his nose as a small trickle of blood ran down to his lip.
Wanting to respond that it was for everything, for entering the tournament without realizing the consequences of winning, for getting Vegeta's hopes up only to crush them with a single misunderstanding, and especially for acting as if it was Vegeta's responsibility to explain these things to him, he realized that saying any of those things would imply he cared. So instead he growled from the back of his throat, "For being a third class clown!" It seemed to get the sentiment across succinctly.
Wiping the blood on the back of his hand, Kakarot pulled himself to his full height which unfortunately left Vegeta having to resort to crane his head backwards to keep his murderous glare trained on Kakarot's eyes. His mate took advantage of their size difference to look down his nose at the petite Prince.
"If I understand right, then I think I'm technically a prince now too," his imposing mate answered with his lips downturned into a frown.
Kakarot didn't explicitly say it, but Vegeta felt that the implication at the end of that sentence was that he was the clown in this situation. It was as good an excuse as any to punch the man again—so he did just that. Curling his hand into tight underhanded fist, he drove it hard into the annoyance's stomach and let it remain there for a brief moment, letting the feeling linger, before retracting it. His mate had double-overed and was now eye level with him as intended.
"You're a prince in title only—inside you'll always be third class," Vegeta goaded him with a snide smirk. Body already primed for a fight, he wanted any excuse to pummel the sulking Saiyan at this second in time.
"Then you'll always be mated to a third class," Kakarot laughed out, his sarcastic voice wavering from trying to recover from Vegeta's blow.
That was the point the Prince grew positively livid. That this bastard—this bastard who hadn't understood what he was getting into—had the nerve to even mention anything about being mated to him was an affront of the highest possible order. Vegeta had no qualms about driving his fist into Kakarot's stomach again. It felt good, exhilarating even, to vent his anger on the ultimate source of it. Pulling his fist back and aiming this time for the face contorted in pain, he was shocked when his opponent blocked it before it was able to reach its intended target.
Spitting a little blood out of the side of his mouth, Kakarot looked into Vegeta's eyes with a glint of excitement at the prospect of a fight. He responded by pushing the Prince backwards and following closely after with a punch of his own. Grunting from the impact, Vegeta's vision ran red at the insolence of his supposed mate. Letting his emotions take control of his actions, he shot his leg out in a forceful front kick that sent Kakarot across the small room and bouncing off the opposite wall from his momentum.
Or maybe the younger fighter had pushed himself off because the next moment he was in Vegeta's face again, throwing swift strikes which were difficult to dodge in the enclosed space. Ducking down to miss a left hook, the Prince was taken completely off-guard when a strong arm wrapped around his neck, keeping him in his lowered position. Before he could react to get out of the compromising hold, Kakarot was wailing blow after blow on his head. Twisting his lower half in response, he hooked his heel behind his captor's right ankle and then punched Kakarot's left thigh while simultaneously sweeping the ankle.
As planned, this threw the larger Saiyan off balance enough to Vegeta to be able to slam him sideways, hitting the door with a loud crack. Wrenching his head out of Kakarot's hold he slammed his hands against the door, pinning his opponent's arms to their respective sides, and drove his knee into an exposed stomach. The damaged grunt he got in response was such a beautiful sound that kneed Kakarot even harder the second time—unfortunately the door was not built to withstand such punishing blows and splintered under the force being applied to it. One more strike from Vegeta's knee and the door's strength buckled sending Kakarot toppling backwards into the hallway and Vegeta falling after him from the sudden loss of counterbalance.
However even falling to the floor with an irate Vegeta atop him, didn't deter Kakarot from continuing the fight. He was quick to turn the tide to his advantage and rolled over so that the Prince was beneath him and used his knees to hold Vegeta's arms against the floor. His two fists took turns connecting with Vegeta's face until the Prince recovered from the shock and remembered to fight back.
Smashing his thighs into Kakarot's back, the bloodied Prince was able to throw the larger combatant off balance enough to wrench his arms free. Wrapping his ankles around the thick neck of the man atop him and pulling backwards towards the floor, he simultaneously grabbed Kakarot's wrists and pulled them forward, locking the straining man in a chokehold. He was determined to drain the life out the bastard who had dared called himself Vegeta's mate. The sight of him straining against the powerful hold on him was one of the loveliest views the Prince has witnessed.
The tall Saiyan was at a disadvantage as Vegeta used his smaller body to try and keep his opponent in place, but Kakarot apparently didn't know when to quit as he struggled against Vegeta's grasp on his arms in order to lean back further. Grunting from the effort and lack of oxygen he was finally able to loosen his opponents hold on him. Once he was able to move his legs again, he wasted no time in wrapping them the Prince's neck in an effort to choke off the royal's air supply in retaliation. The two of them were deadlocked in the awkward position, both determined not to give up until the other had passed out.
As intent as the two were on killing each other at the moment, their struggle had not gone unnoticed by the servants who had been roaming the hallways looking for the lost Kakarot and it was at this time one of them came scampering along with Mentor Cama in tow. One look at the disheveled pair and he let out a loud cough to break up the fight; when that failed to catch their attention, he lost the little patience he had and sent a small blast at the two struggling to choke each other out.
This finally did the trick as Kakarot yelped and rolled to the side as soon as Vegeta's grip loosened. Heaving for air, the Prince was first to notice their audience and stood quickly, straightening out his armor and gloves while his face flared the lightest red hue from being caught behaving so childishly. It took his partner a few more moments to realize what was happening before he too snapped to attention beside Vegeta and bowed, then crossed his arms, then held them rigidly at his sides again with his chin high, and finally just glancing nervously between Cama and Vegeta.
"If you two are quite done making asses of yourself follow me," Cama instructed in a calm, yet stern voice that belied the amount of anger he was experiencing. Nodding glumly, the duo resigned themselves to their fate and followed after the teacher silently.
Vegeta chewed the inside of his lower lip in annoyance as they seemed to be taking the longest route possible to the study Cama occupied. His irritation was mostly aimed at himself, but there was still a large dose directed at the dimwit beside him. If Kakarot hadn't been doing something as foolish as hiding from the damn staff then he would never have been dragged into that closet or that idiotic conversation. Trying to subdue the pounding in his head by rubbing his temples, he did give his mate a little credit—the man could certainly throw a nasty punch.
Finally they reached their destination and both of the younger Saiyans straightened a little as they entered the study, knowing they were in enough trouble without adding slouching to the list. Once they were all fully inside, Cama closed the door behind them then eyed the pair with icy eyes. His face of perfectly composed features never wavered, even as he suddenly reached out and grabbed both of their heads and smashed them into each other.
Having received too many blows to the head for one day, Vegeta felt he was allowed the small stumble he had in trying to steady himself from the impact of Kakarot's ridiculously hard head. He looked over at the offender with a glare to see his mate with both hands on his head and tears of pain welling in the corners of his eyes. It made the pained Prince feel a little better—until Cama's reprimands began.
"May I remind you two that you are princes, not common rabble that can get into random brawls and no one bats an eye over. Not only that, but your announcement ceremony is in three weeks and if this is an indication of how you will behave during that, then I don't think your ascension to the throne will be as secure as you think it is," the teacher warned, weariness and disappointment dripping in his voice.
Kakarot mumbled a small apology, but Vegeta stood silent beside him, still rubbing his temples. He stood by his assessment that he was not at fault in the situation and therefore had nothing to apologize for. However his mentor's accusation that a trivial fight would cost him the throne would have been infuriating if his head didn't hurt so damn much. Besides, Kakarot didn't even die. Vegeta added that to the list of things to be angry about later.
"Do you both understand?" Cama calmly inquired.
Glancing up, Vegeta realized his had missed something while brooding. He looked at his partner out of the corner of his eye—the other Saiyan looked blanched, but he seemed to overreact to everything so it was not a reliable indication of how serious the teacher was about whatever he said.
"Kakarot, did you understand?" Vegeta asked, folding his arms over his chest in a show of faux confidence.
"But when you say all the time, do you mean we have to go to the bathroom together and sleep together too?" He shifted back and forth on his feet and eyed Vegeta nervously.
"WHAT?! That is completely preposterous!" the Prince's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets after hearing the timidly asked question and his hands clenched into fists as a reflex. 'Just what the hell did I miss?'
The mentor sighed and slowly shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant," the disappointment in his voice was palpable. "There will obviously be time you can't be together; after all you don't belong in any council meetings at the moment, Kakarot. But if you two keep avoiding each other and then getting in fights when you do meet up, then that's you'll ever do. I'm sure the sight of our two leaders trying to choke the life out of each other would amuse some, but it does not inspire confidence in your rule." He paused to make sure both of them were letting the words sink in. "But if you two can't at least pretend to get along by the end of a week then I will consider something more extreme."
The imposing figure looked between the two of them with a cold gaze that didn't invite arguments. He seemed satisfied with their somber faces and added, "If I hear about any more occurrences like the one earlier, then I will make it my life mission to make your lives miserable." With a smug smile, he turned and opened the door with a nod of dismissal.
'You're already doing a fantastic job of that,' Vegeta thought as he strode out with Kakarot shuffling behind him. The brooding Prince waited until they were far enough away from the study that there was no danger of Cama overhearing before he whirled on his quiet companion.
"I hope you realize this is your fault, Kakarot!" he hissed while poking an accusing finger into the larger man's chest.
"What? You punched me first!" Kakarot pouted, looking even younger than usual.
"Tch." Vegeta turned his nose up and his back to Kakarot. He still couldn't give away any of the thoughts that had led to the fight, so he crossed his arms and walked off. Hearing the other man trailing behind him, Vegeta addressed him over his shoulder.
"I have to meet with my father. Go bother someone else for a while."
"But he said we had to spend all our time together! I mean, all of our free time anyway." The man behind him protested with a small hint of fear in his voice. Not that Vegeta blamed him; their mutual mentor could be rather imposing when he fixed his stony gaze on you. But as intimidating as he could be in person, he wasn't here right now and therefore couldn't actually impose his orders on the two.
"He said it didn't have to be all of our time, just most. Besides what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I don't need you making a fool of yourself in front of my father," Vegeta ground his teeth together at the thought of what the other man would potentially say.
"No." It was said so assuredly, that Vegeta actually paused in his tracks, surprised at the way his mate could rapidly switch between moods.
"No?" he asked, turning to scrutinize Kakarot's face—he didn't seem mad or afraid, just very convinced that he wasn't going to let Vegeta out of his sight. His companion's dark eyes were staring at him with a serious but uncharacteristically unreadable expression. "And what are you going to do about it, Kakarot?"
"I'm going with you. That's what I'm supposed to do," Kakarot answered, his lips tightening ever so slightly while he waited for Vegeta's reply.
The Prince himself almost wanted to yell at his almost-mate, but something stopped him. He wasn't sure if it was the sudden confidence that the other Saiyan hadn't displayed since the tournament or that his head still ached too much to argue about it. Rolling his eyes with a small shake of his head, Vegeta turned and set off for the King's office again. An almost inaudible sigh escaped his lips as he heard footsteps fall into rhythm behind him. 'Fine, let my father see what an embarrassment you are. Maybe you'll even fuck up enough that he sends you to another planet like Tarble.'
Even though the proud Prince was accustomed to people following him, there was something annoying about the way Kakarot's boots loudly tapped against the marbled floors. His own footsteps were nearly silent in comparison as he strode through the hallways. But the clunking behind him didn't cease or lessen, just continued on in a steady pace that made Vegeta's head throb. Wanting to put some distance between the annoyance and him, the irritated Prince slightly sped up. After a few seconds of a mismatched rhythm, Kakarot was able to adjust again and fell in step once more.
With a short snort, Vegeta quickened his pace even further, a silent challenge for the lagging man to keep up. It only took a few moments for Kakarot to match him, the clamor of his boots growing louder as a result. 'So he wants to test me? I can oblige,' the Prince thought with a smirk. A little faster again, knocking at the threshold of running, and still the young man followed along right in tow. They continued on that way until the next intersection of hallways and Vegeta came to a complete halt, leaning back on his heels to offset the sudden change of momentum.
His game seemed to have worked as he heard Kakarot stumble to a stop behind him. The larger Saiyan must have had a harder time of it as he seemed to be right at Vegeta's back. The petite Prince could feel the intense body heat radiating off his companion and could just barely sense Kakarot's breath as it moved the stray strands of his upturned locks. Lingering in that closeness was absolutely out of the question and with a small twitch of his lip, he ran off at full speed, not listening for the thundering of Kakarot's footfalls because there was no doubt in his mind that the idiot was already right behind him.
Ignoring the strange looks the pair of them received as they ran through the castle, they kept that pace all the way until skidding to a stop in front of the large doors to the King's office. This time, however, Kakarot didn't quite catch himself in time and had to place a steading hand on Vegeta's shoulder to avoid bowling over the short Prince.
Looking up at the oaf in annoyance, Vegeta opened his mouth to reprimand his mate for daring to touch him, but Kakarot just grinned down at him and laughed. Just a simple expression of amusement and nothing more, like their jaunt through the halls had been a game to him instead of Vegeta trying to escape him. Pressing his lips back together into a smirk, he assured himself that the mirthful feelings in the back of his mind were due to a jab at Kakarot's simplemindedness and nothing more. Looking down to grab the handle of the heavy door, he gave his mate one more glance—merely to check if he was composed—before collecting himself and opening the door.
Although his father didn't question it, the eyebrow raised in surprise over Kakarot's presence said enough. Vegeta choose to ignore it though, and instead held his arms behind his back and his chin high.
"Father, you wanted to discuss the upcoming ceremony?" he stated succinctly, wanting this to run as shortly as possible due to their present company.
Nodding, the King started going over the particulars that Vegeta didn't have much interest in, such as color schemes, speeches to be made, outfits that would be custom made for them, and the menu list. The last one seemed to be of great interest to his silent shadow though as each food named made Kakarot fidget more and more until finally a loud growl erupted from his stomach. King Vegeta looked up in shock at the stomach's sudden interjection and the Prince covered his face with a hand in mortification.
Expecting the larger man to simply laugh it off as normal, Vegeta was surprised to hear him utter a coherent apology for the distraction. Letting his hand fall from his face, he wondered if there was some semblance of sense in Kakarot's head after all.
"Kakarot, since you're here, why don't we go over the guest list as well? Your family will present, correct? I'm sure they are proud of your accomplishment," the King addressed him with a courteous smile.
"Ah, I think so," Kakarot poked at the floor with the toe of his boot, "I haven't actually talked to them since all this happened." He scratched the back of his head and let out a rueful laugh.
Both of the royals looked shocked by the admission, but the King was the first to gain his composure and speak up.
"Well a lot has happened and I'm sure it just slipped your mind. But do get in touch with them soon, we should meet before the ceremony occurs so that any questions can be answered," he instructed with a tone that was a tad softer than his normal voice. The Prince briefly wondered if was out of pity or an actual concern, but dismissed the idea as the King moved on to other details of the ceremony that seemed inconsequential to him.
They spoke, or perhaps listened as it was mainly the King talking, for a great while longer until the patriarch seemed satisfied with the decisions that mainly he had come up with. Although pretending to pay attention, Vegeta was often casting sideways glances at the man beside him. Other than the earlier embarrassment, Kakarot had not uttered a word after speaking of his family nor had he done anything else to make an ass of himself. He had simply stood quietly next to Vegeta and listened politely.
If he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes, the Prince would have never believed it possible that this was the same man he had eaten dinner with only a week ago. The etiquette lessons he was sent to seemed to have had a positive effect on him already, much to Vegeta's surprise. Even though his face didn't reflect it, on the inside he was frowning at the way Kakarot continued to surprise him. Obviously he hadn't spent much time with his mate for his own reasons, but now the prospect of spending the next week together didn't seem as nerve-racking as it had before. If he could smile even though they had tried to kill each other earlier and he could act civil now, there might be other interesting things to learn about him.
'Maybe…maybe.' But even though he had just been intrigued by the prospect of getting to know Kakarot better, now he suddenly shirked from it without tangible reason. Stealing a quick peek out of the corner of his eye at the silent Saiyan, he pushed it from his mind and looked back at his father instead.
"One last thing before you two leave," King Vegeta leaned forward in his chair and folded his hands neatly atop each other on his desk, "I assume that I don't need to worry about any further incidents like whatever happened in the hallway? I don't care what you two do in private, but when in public act like the royalty you are." He didn't wait for a response, dismissing the pair with a small nod and wave of his hand.
As soon as the door closed behind them, another growl erupted from Kakarot's belly; though this time he did laugh a little as he held his hand behind his head. Vegeta rolled his eyes and jerked his head in the direction of the dining hall, a small smile flitting across his lips as he considered running the whole way—of course he dismissed the idea, but just the thought amused him anyway.
They didn't talk during their trip, but as they sat down at the table laden with food, Vegeta couldn't help but bring up something that had been nagging at him.
"Kakarot, why haven't you talked to your family since the tournament?" he asked, taking a small bite out of the meat dish before him.
His companion swallowed and laughed nervously, "Well I didn't know what to say. It's strange, right?" He tittered again unsteadily, but didn't elaborate. "I was actually trying to go see them today. That's why I ran from the servants."
Vegeta blinked, trying to process this new information. "You don't have to run away to see them, you could have just gone if you wanted," he replied slowly, frustrated that he had to keep explaining this.
"But I wanted to go alone and that guy kept following me anyway!" Kakarot took a large bite out of his steak and chewed with a frown.
"Why did you need to go alone?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow at the confession; was his mate's family political somehow? It hadn't shown up in the intelligence reports, but they may quietly support some faction.
"I wanted to talk to them in private. Explain things."
Vegeta wanted to have understanding for him, but his brain was wired for suspicion instead of compassion. "What kind of things? Are you ashamed, Kakarot?" He felt that he already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.
"Ah, no, it's not that. I just don't know what to think of everything yet and I wanted to talk to them. Alone," he added as an afterthought.
Looking down at his plate, Vegeta couldn't meet eyes with the other man as he thought about what that might mean. Kakarot was not an eloquent man to begin with, but every mention of their mating would shut him down. There was a sudden misgiving in the Prince's mind and he voiced it before he could fully think about it.
"Is there someone else?"
Kakarot looked around the room before settling his gaze on Vegeta once more, "Someone where?"
Exhaling forcefully, Vegeta had to keep himself from growling at the idiotic response, "Someone else you wanted to be mated with."
Looking startled, the young Saiyan seemed to shrink into himself at the accusation. But he slowly shook his head, "No, I never really thought about it before, you know?" He fidgeted nervously under Vegeta's scrutiny for a few moments before standing and scratching the back of his head, "I'm not really hungry anymore, so I'll see you tomorrow, Vegeta!" Giving one last awkward laugh, he hurriedly left the dining room with a slight heated tint to his skin.
Vegeta sat in his chair and contemplated the food before him as if it would give him insight into the other man's mind. While part of him was glad that it wasn't a conflict of interests holding Kakarot back, it also implied that his rejection was on a more personal level. Raising his glass to his lips, Vegeta let his eyes slide closed as he drank deeply of the rich spirit. He didn't protest Kakarot breaking Cama's order when it was convenient for him; it just felt good not to be the one running off after their conversations for once.