Goku watched the colorless bed sheet flutter in the breeze as his wife leaned over to pick up another to be hung. Ordinarily, he would have been out there with her, watching her movements without a care as he reclined against a nearby tree, but not today. Chichi was alone out in the yard as her husband had self-imposed a short time of seclusion inside their home.
To be truthful, the charmingly sweet atmosphere of the spring weather would only advance the hurting darkness that had descended over his heart. The last words that Vegeta had spat with his own hurt emotions knifed their way throughout Goku's thoughts.
...so don't hold your breath Kakkarrot...a doomed marriage...the 'great' Goku...isn't time you returned to your WIFE now?
Trying to silence the bitterly sarcastic words, the third-class let his eyes shut with a heavy sigh; an idle hand sweeping through the stiff blackness on his head. No matter the solution he came up with, someone was going to be left in misery. Chichi without her husband or Vegeta without his bond mate, and in both cases, Goku was sure his tender heart would break at declaring the judgment.
But Vegeta was right...he couldn't keep stringing the two on. Every comforting word from the taller's mouth melted into poison at the implied infidelity on Goku's part. There was no room for sharing when it came to a game such as this, but he couldn't see how he would make this fair to his spouse. Could he really leave her?
You've left her behind so many other times in the past...
"That's different!" he replied silently to the internal voice. "I left to protect her and Gohan...to protect our home, our friends..."
To protect and save Vegeta? Isn't that why you gave him your blood?
"If there's a way to save the life of anyone, I'd do it...Vegeta's not the only one."
Don't think you can fool yourself...you chose to complete the bond. You may still love the mother of your sons, but your heart...your passion lies with Vegeta...Ending your human marriage now shouldn't be all that difficult. End it now so you can move forward with your rightful mate.
He could feel his eyes misting behind closed lids at the conclusion. As the door swung open to grant entrance to Chichi carrying an empty laundry basket, Goku knew the time had come to confess.
Walking in, Chichi set down the basket to dust her hands of non-existent debris. She glanced over to her husband, sitting sullenly on the couch with an expression of troubled thoughts plainly over his youthful features. She frowned inwardly at recalling the last two days of depression, it was so unlike the usual carefree persona that it worried her deeply.
"Goku? You've been sitting there for hours...is something bothering you?" Without looking at her concerned face, the Saiyan simply nodded. "Well, you haven't been over to Capsule Corp lately...did the 'Royal' get under your skin again?"
"Vegeta only said what was true..."
"Oh Goku, I wish you wouldn't listen to him and his arrogant..." Before the subject got steered off onto the wrong path, Goku interjected in a softly hurting voice.
"Chi...We need to talk." Dread instantly etched itself over her aging features as her hands clasped together to press cautiously against her chest.
"About...?"
"Somethings happened...and I should have told you when it did...I never wanted to hurt you with this but...I..."
"I think I already know what you're going to say." Goku's eyes widened in sparking confusion.
"...You...do?"
"You're about to tell me that you've been having an affair with Bulma." Dark Saiyan eyes met with the similarity tinted human set as full understanding was punctuated with a frantically shake of his head.
"No! Not Bulma...I..." At his words, a swell of relief buckled Chichi's knees, sending her to crumple to the floor with tears welling up in her eyes. With a sense of overwhelming care still present in his heart, Goku rushed over to kneel in front of the quaking woman, steadying her with his hands on her shoulders.
"Oh thank Kami...I thought that...you're always over there and...I know I'm not the most..." Goku quickly silenced her panicking ramble with a soft finger over her trembling lips. A pained frown creased his normally jovial features.
"Stop...please don't say anything more..." Seeing how the news that his extra-martial activity with Vegeta would effect his wife, a few crystalline tears defiantly escaped despite Goku's best efforts otherwise. All he was trying to do was be honest with her, to be able to make an amiable and clean break from each other but doing so seemed to be causing more of an upset than hiding the truth has done.
Chichi delicately wiped the wetness away from her cheeks and peered up at her sensitive husband. Her breath caught in her throat at noticing the same damp streaks adorning the soft flesh of his face. Biting her lip in guilt over her assumption, Chichi gently pressed her fingertips to the side of his anguish ridden expression and used her thumb to sweep away the tears.
"Oh Goku...I'm so sorry I jumped to such an absurd assumption. I don't want it to seem like I don't trust you, but with you over there for days at a time..." Goku's hand slipped up over her hand on his cheek and gripped it with loving sincerity. Fully noticing that her apology hadn't improved his mood, Chichi slowly pressed her lips to his, but received no reaction. "Tell me what's wrong...what did you want to talk about?"
Suddenly the blood in his veins chilled to the temperature of ice water. After witnessing such an emotionally heartbreaking display, he just didn't have it in him to finally confess his affair with the other Saiyan.
"I...uh..." At the worst possible moment, Goku's head emptied of possible conflictions to discuss. "...well...remember that new dish you made yesterday for dinner? I...uh...didn't much care for the new seasoning that you put on the fish..." Of course the statement was a epic lie and it left a rancor taste in the back of his mouth as it left his tongue. The truth was that there really had never been a meal that Chichi had cooked for her husband and his insatiable appetite that he hadn't loved. The new set of spices that had flavored their meal yesterday was a tasty and welcome addition to her cooking repertoire, but it seemed like a small price to pay for her continued peace of mind.
"Oh...really? But you ate the whole thing...you even asked for a third helping..."
"Well...you always go to such great lengths to cook wonderful things for me, it would be rude and unappreciative for not to eat it all!" To punctuate the caring outlook, Goku let a hand sweep through the hair on the back of his neck as the meanings sunk into Chichi's thoughts.
"Goku, that's sweet...but if you don't like something, don't just suffer through it needlessly...speak up! And I think that goes for how Vegeta treats you as well." Now it was Goku's turn to shoot a confused expression to his companion. "I think his degrading ways have gone on long enough and it hurts you more than you are willing to realize." An insipid frown spread across the taller's face, trying to not get angry at the attack on his mate's conduct.
"Vegeta's been through a lot in his life and..."
"...and there is no reason he should be taking it out on you. I want you to go right back over to Capsule Corp and demand a little respect from him. Beat it into him if you have to and as long as it takes to make him understand you are not his underling." An eyebrow raised minutely at the suggested course of action.
"Really? But I thought you didn't want me spending so much time over there..." A slight blush over her cheeks was followed by a distracting roll of her chocolate brown eyes.
"Well, now that I know your not involved with Bulma..." She let the rest of her sentence trail off as they both got to their feet from the tile floor. "How about I whip up a skillet of scrambled frog eggs and wild hog bacon, then you can be on your way to discuss things with his highness?" A deep rolling growl erupting from Goku's midsection was all the answer his wife needed.
With a gratefully satisfied stomach, Goku gathered a change of clothing and teleported himself to the location of Vegeta's ki. The wispy energy that was the prince felt calm and at ease, leaving Goku hopeful that their disagreement was way past time's prime. Several surprised gasps accompanied his arrival, finding himself standing next to the long table in the family dining room.
"Oh Goku-kun! We're so happy you could join us!" Bunny's usual bubbly attitude quickly overturned her surprise as she scooped a helping of a rice casserole onto a plate and handed it to her husband, who nodded in agreement. A cheerful mood began to slowly filter back into his soul as Goku let his eyes greet each family member gathered around the table. Both Bulma and Bra smiled with their similar brand of honey-coated sweetness while Trunks managed a nearly cordial acknowledgment. But when his eyes tried to meet his mate's, Vegeta closed his and turned away; apparently nothing had worked itself out during his absence. "Did you have a lovely time with Chichi?"
Being that Goku's eyes were still hovering over Vegeta's reaction to his presence, he fully noticed the bristling of the other's hair and the squaring of his jaw as his newest rival's name was mentioned. The taller Saiyan's gaze floated back to the hostess to answer her properly.
"Yes, it was nice and quiet. With Gohan out of the house and Goten always going on dates, we had the house to ourselves."
"Just how nice was it?" The unexpected voice was deep and jealously demanding. Goku looked back towards the royal only to be met with a pessimistic scowl.
"She found a new couple of recipes to try out on me...and we did some talking." The frown released it's hold over the elder's face and let a single eyebrow raise in optimism.
Oh Vegeta, how I wish that what you're thinking was true...that I was able to split away from Chichi...but I just can't seem to do it...I can't hurt her...
"Vegeta, please don't walk away from me. I swear I tried to tell her!" Even as the pleading fell on deaf ears, Goku followed closely behind an irate prince as he forged ahead to their room. After entering first, he gave a quick flick of his wrist to slam the door closed, nearly smashing his mate's nose in the process. Paying no mind to the sense of intruding on the wishes of solitude, the third class barged right in to end up staring at the broad back of his lover.
"Tell me EXACTLY how you failed to inform her of your dissolving marriage THIS time." Vegeta turned to face the other Saiyan as he imposingly crossed his arms.
"I started to but she took the conversation in a different direction before I could tell her."
"How so?"
"She thought that since I spend so much time over here that I was going to tell her I was having an affair with Bulma."
"And why didn't you seize the opportunity now that the subject had come up and tell her the truth?!" A crest-fallen expression shadowed over Goku's face.
"You didn't see her face and how she crumpled to the floor at the very thought of me leaving her for another." Vegeta looked away, not giving in to the presented excuse.
"No, but I did have to face Bulma after she found us in bed together." A cynical frown pulled at the younger's visage at the implied equal situation.
"I hardly think it is the same. At least Bulma knew all about your illness, and what my blood did to you. All you had to do was say, 'sorry you found out this way' and she accepted it relatively soon. Chichi, on the other hand, knows nothing of Blood Bonding or the fact that we are mated...it's gonna come to her as a bigger shock, especially since she still expects me to act human." An agitated huff of breath was followed by the falling of heavy arms down to the third-class's sides. "I don't know what to do...how can I tell her without breaking her heart?" The scowl melted from Vegeta's face only to be replaced by apprehension, sensing that an unfavorable solution was only a breath away.
"What are you saying? ...Are you suggesting that we end things between us?" The frown still marring the usually carefree features changed it's tone into one of impending hurt. Only a few seconds of hesitation ticked by without words, but it could have actually been hours by how long and deafening the silence was in Vegeta's ears.
"...No...no of course not. I want to be with you, but not at the expense of others."
"Well then what do you purpose? I won't be able to tolerate your absences much longer."
"I know and I realize it's not fair to ask it of you, but give me just a bit more time to figure out the best way to handle it. Maybe Bulma could help somehow and I think that spending more time over here with help separate us in her mind." An exasperated sigh broke free of of the prince's chest as his arms tighten their hold.
"The longer you delay, the more it will hurt her regardless of your efforts." Goku let a small smile slip out to curl up a corner of his mouth at the implied agreement. He took a step towards the smaller of stature and tenderly brushed a few fingertips over his cheek.
"Thank you for understanding that I..." Vegeta interrupted the grateful speech by pulling out of his mate's immediate reach and turning his focus away from the other Saiyan.
"Do not misunderstand me, Kakkarrot. Things had better come to a resolution quickly for I will be forced to conclude things for you...and I won't be as compassionate as you are hoping to be." Goku reached up yet again to bring his sovereign's expression back to face his and lightly pressed his lips against the other's slightly parted set.
"I know...and thank you for understanding." The taller moved to further the kiss, hoping to take it to a more meaningful and heated level, but Vegeta suddenly backed away with a cautious look about him.
"I start training early tomorrow." Curtly excusing himself from the other's presence, the elder began undressing and making preparations for bed. Hiding his disappointment inside the best that he could, Goku watched his companion thoughtfully turn back to regard him for a moment. "If...if you wish to join me, I'd get some sleep while it's still dark out."
A smiling nod changed the taller's attitude for the better as he began taking the other's advise. While it wasn't exactly as fast as he had hoped, it appeared that things were about to start looking up between him and Vegeta, and Goku couldn't be more pleased.
"I'd like nothing more than to join you tomorrow."