It didn't take long for Goku to find out that Frieza was currently on earth, much to said tyrant's extreme annoyance. He hadn't wanted anyone to know, let alone the one person he hated above all other people in the entire Universe.
He had been out and about with Yamcha, browsing at all of the different stores when Goku had spotted them. It had made Yamcha extremely nervous and Frieza clearly pissed off when the saiyan greeted him like an old friend. Seriously? Just because they fought together once, they were suddenly friends?
Over familiarity was one of the things that angered him more than anything, especially from a saiyan.
"So whatcha doin' on Earth? You're not gonna try blowing it up again are ya?"
Though as Frieza snarled, Goku seemed to notice that Frieza was dressed in Earth clothing, and while Yamcha looked absolutely frantic, it was clear that his friend was stronger. And the biting, evil energy that always surrounded the icejin was practically non-existent right now, though it was mostly from Frieza hiding his ki.
"Hey, are you living here now?" he asked,
"Go. Away," Frieza growled. It was taking him every single ounce of his patience to keep his power level sealed.
"Awww, you sure you don't wanna spar with me?" the saiyan whined, "I always said we could be great training partners-"
"I said," the icejin slammed his tail on the ground, breaking the concrete, "leave. Me. Alone."
With that, Frieza jumped into the air and took flight.
Yamcha watched him leave, and then turned back to Goku, "dude, you need to leave him alone."
"Aww, why?" It seemed like Goku was genuinely sad that he couldn't spar against someone so powerful.
"Look, Frieza is on Earth, and he's not going to hurt anyone, but he doesn't really want to interact with anyone but me right now," Yamcha tried to reason with the saiyan.
"Are you sure?" Goku asked with some concern.
"I am," Yamcha nodded with determination, "don't worry. Just… you know he doesn't like saiyans. Don't tell Vegeta or anyone else that he's here for now, not until he's ready, okay?"
"Well, alright," at least Goku was easy to convince. Yamcha was relieved for that, "are you sure I can't train with him?"
"Deadly sure," in more reasons than one.
"Alriiiiiight," Yamcha could only hope that his friend would keep his word, and he took off after Frieza. He knew where he was heading, and right now, he was glad that Puar had chosen to stay with Tien until further notice. He didn't want to think of what might happen if his best friend encountered an angry Frieza in his house.
It took him longer to reach home, but he could feel the faint trace of the icejin's angry ki in the house, so he knew he was there. It didn't take long to spot him when Yamcha entered his own house, and was kind of glad not to walk into a destruction zone. At least his friend had the consideration not to destroy his home in his rage.
It had taken every single ounce of his patience and control to not beat Goku to within an inch of his life.
Frieza didn't want to see those saiyans at all for his entire time on Earth. He didn't want to see any of the Universe 7 fighters. The icejin was already dealing with way too much on his mind, including but not limited to his own place in this Universe.
He was so self assured. He always had been. Frieza knew from the time he could walk and talk that his destiny would be to rule the cosmos. He had once nearly accomplished that, and then it had been reduced to ash.
He rose again, only to be put on a leash and forced to do the bidding of a God.
The only control he had over his life right now was his relationship with Yamcha. It was why he was so damned inclined to keep it that way.
It was… the only thing.
He sensed Yamcha return, and he looked over at his computer. There was a message from him, which made him get up and turn it on. It was from one of his soldiers, simply a report from the field saying that the planet they raided had been successful, and all resources were now being sold.
At least that was good news. He'd have plenty of money to do what he pleased with.
There was a knock on his door, and a soft call of his name. Frieza wondered if he should answer it, because right now he wasn't sure if he wanted to blow the door off its hinges, blow up a planet or just not talk to anyone because right now, he really was in the mood to kill something or someone.
He didn't want that someone being Yamcha, but he couldn't hide forever.
Frieza sighed softly, "come in."
Yamcha did as he was told, caution on his face as he looked at the icejin standing in the middle of his room. He didn't need to be an expert in reading body language to know that every single one of his muscles was wound tight in tension, even through the clothing he was wearing. His tail was perfectly still, as it normally was when he was angry.
"Um…" the human rubbed the back of his head, unsure how to address Frieza when he was in this state, "you don't have to worry about Goku! I took care of it. He won't tell anyone you're here."
"Good," was all the icejin said in reply, his tail twitching in annoyance. Still pissed, huh?
"That's not the real problem."
Yamcha wasn't expecting the soft statement, and he blinked in surprise, "oh… well… do you want to talk about it?"
He had only asked once before what was plaguing his companion, and Frieza had rejected the offer to talk. He didn't think he was really the 'chatty' type unless he was yelling his frustrations to his subordinates with the threat of death hanging over them like a thick cloud, but this time…
This time the icejin looked over at his human companion, as if weighing him up. He knew that oftentimes, venting his spleen helped, but this subject… it was personal and there was no fix to it that he knew of. Nothing could be done to stop what was happening.
Nothing to fix.
Frieza took in a deep breath and sat on the bed. He patted beside him in a silent gesture for Yamcha to join him, which the fighter did. They sat in silence for a while before Frieza began to talk.
"I'm… livid," he said softly, and clenched his fists so hard that he drew a small amount of blood, "for decades, my family and then myself… we ruled most of the known Universe in its entirety. And then in one fell swoop, it had all been taken from me. My top lieutenants, my forces, my life. It had all ended in barely the course of a week ."
"And if that wasn't bad enough, when I return? My army was in shambles, my empire in ruins… and then I'm forced to fight in a ridiculous tournament with the people I hate more than hate itself, and to add insult to the injury," his voice rose and his body shook from rage, "even after saving this pathetic Universe and everything in it, Beerus leashes me like a dog and forces me to become one of his agents of destruction while I can't do anything that I want.
"If I blow up a planet with life on it, I get scolded like a child. If I want to rebuild my empire, I get killed and sent back to Hell. And I am never going back there," he turned his furious gaze on the human beside him, his red eyes burning with absolute anger, "I can't win in this life and I'm being forced into a position befitting a servant, not a PRINCE!"
Frieza took some deep breaths as he tried to calm himself, but that wasn't happening anytime soon, "I'm sick of it. The only freedom I even have now is selling resources on the galactic market, and-" he stopped himself.
The only freedom he had…
The only place he felt free…
He closed his eyes.
"Here."
Yamcha took in everything that his companion said. He knew that Frieza couldn't go back to his diabolical, evil ways. Not now and not ever. Beerus wouldn't allow it, and neither would any of the fighters here on Earth. He knew that - Frieza knew that, and although he agree with his friends on that regard, seeing how it affected the icejin beside him was something different.
He didn't feel sorry for Frieza for losing what was the definition of evil, but what he did feel was some sympathy for his turmoil.
He had remembered the transition of most of his friends who had once been on the forces of darkness. Vegeta, Piccolo, even Tien to a degree… they had all suffered and gone through much to become better people. He didn't know if the being beside him had it in him to become 'good', but what he was right now wasn't evil, either.
"And now that stupid saiyan knows. Vegeta will likely figure it out, and the one place I actually could simply relax and enjoy myself to do whatever I want will be taken from me too."
So that was it. That was why Frieza visited so often. That was why he came to see Yamcha and agreed to have fun on Earth.
Even if it was the one place that had everyone he hated… it was the one place he could also be free.
Free from his turmoil, his reminders of his failures, and from his own burdens. From what he had to do… and what he could no longer do.
Yamcha reached out and placed his hand on Frieza's back. He could feel a small jolt from the contact, but the human could only smile at him, "you didn't just lose things, you know."
"What the hell do you mean?" he was in no mood for games, and if Yamcha thought-
"You have me."
The silence in the room was deafening as the icejin's eyes widened. In the past, merely gaining the human as a companion wouldn't have meant anything to him. It would just be another weak mortal to use and abuse as he saw fit. It wouldn't have meant a damned thing.
But now, it meant everything.
He reached over and gripped the human's shirt in his fist, and he leaned forward to rest his head on Yamcha's collarbone. His companion wrapped both arms around him in a gentle embrace as the icejin's shoulders shook with all the repressed anger, hopelessness and every other negative emotion in the book.
"Thank you."