Going Gold

Chapter 25

Tesserot

I couldn't say I slept that night, but I was snapped out of whatever sense of peace I'd found in the silence when someone shook my shoulder.

"Tess, wake up," Veito's voice was hushed, like usual, but it was also trembling with sounded like fear.

I blinked and looked over my shoulder at him. He was standing at my bedside, his black eyes unnaturally bright, as if he was on the edge of tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He hesitated, like he was afraid of sounding stupid, "...I'm... I'm scared... can I... can I sleep with you tonight?"

I tilted my head a little, perplexed. "Why aren't you asking Dad and Tӫtka to help?"

Whenever Veito had had a nightmare or something in the past, he'd gone to his parents for comfort... why not now?

His gaze dropped to the floor, and he mumbled something I didn't hear.

"What?" I asked.

"I said..." he stammered, meeting my eye, "I said Dad's the one who's scaring me..."

I was surprised, and I sat up after a moment, "You're afraid of Dad?"

"Not him," Veito murmured, "His ki... can't you feel it?"

Uncertain, I extended my senses... and I wondered how I could have missed it. Where Dad's strong, bright ki would usually be, instead I sensed some dark, steely mess that I couldn't interpret; absent of anything resembling my father... it was as if he'd disappeared entirely. I sensed my mother's ki as well, but it was low and fearful, nearly frantic with terror.

It was that dark ki that unnerved me though. It seemed a little familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"What's going on...?" I murmured.

Veito shook his head, "I d-don't know, but..." he looked at me pleadingly.

I sighed, "Alright, come on in." I pulled the blanket aside and Veito crawled, relieved, into my bed. He curled up next to me with a small, grateful purr, and I absently wrapped a hand around his shoulders and looked at the ceiling. It was the job of a parent to calm their kids down, not mine. Still, it was gratifying that Veito felt safe with me, more so than he did with his mom and dad. Granted, I doubted I would feel safe in the midst of the chaos in the other room, but I couldn't help but smirk a little as I thought of how clingy Veito had always been to my mother. Seems I've replaced you as his favorite, I thought to myself.

Veito was warm; his scent like mint and cinnamon, his tail wrapped loosely around my arm. After a moment, I drifted to sleep next to my brother.

It seemed to be mere seconds before I was awoken again. This time by the entire room shaking. My eyes snapped open, but the tremor had already passed... and the ki signals of my parents down the hall had stabilized... nothing to suggest a disaster or anything. I glanced at Veito beside me; he was still asleep, oblivious to the goings on, his face nestled against my shoulder. His silk black hair brushed against my face, and I felt a soft purr rising unbidden in my chest. I let my eyes slip closed and was about to fall sleep again, when something else disturbed me.

"Big brother...?" a tentative little voice asked.

I looked over the side of the bed to see Kísta standing unsteadily in the doorway of the room, her thumb in her mouth and her short tail flicking hopefully.

"What is it, Kísta?" I blinked. She must have gotten out of her crib. I knew she could do that, but I didn't know she knew how to climb stairs, "You want to come in here too?"

She blinked her large, innocent eyes once, "Please?"

I couldn't sense anything to be scared of right now, and the dual ki signals of our parents were peaceful and twined with sleep... why was Kísta awake?

My tail uncurled resignedly from its light grip around Veito's wrist, "Sure, why not?" I muttered, scooting over so that my sister had room on my other side to crawl in.

She clambered into the bed and snuggled up against my chest, "Thanks, big brother..." she sighed happily.

"Any particular reason why you didn't go into Mom and Dad's bed?" I asked her. After all, there wasn't anything to be scared of now...

"Tried," Kísta yawned, showing her tiny, perfect teeth, "...door's locked..."

So that was it. I quashed a small twinge of irritation towards my parents; instead tuning my ki to be soothing for my younger siblings, an arm around each of them, trying to find some semblance of sleep for myself.

X

I awoke once again to the sunlight streaming through the window, birds chirping outside. Veito and Kísta were curled up on either side of me, fast asleep, both of them purring contentedly. I felt a surge of pride, knowing I could so soothe my siblings with my presence... And then I noticed something... While Kísta was cuddled up to me in a sweet, innocent way that would be expected from such a young child, Veito was equally close to me, pressing his whole self into an embrace that seemed to seek something from me, as though he needed me to be near him... But Veito was twelve years old, he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself... why did he need as much comfort from me as a one-year-old toddler? The protective stirring in my chest told me that I enjoyed the contact, but I wasn't entirely sure why.

Careful not to disturb either of them, I slipped out of bed, stretching and flicking a kink out of my tail. I had not slept that well, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep now that it was morning.

I walked unhurriedly down the stairs, stopping a few steps from the bottom with my tail resting on the banister. I had assumed no one was awake, but it seemed I was wrong. My dad was up, dressed in loose sweatpants and a T-shirt; flipping pancakes deftly, his gaze elsewhere. I felt conflicted. The irritation from last night mixed with a strange sense of pity when I glimpsed his expression. Something between weary and lost. I wondered what exactly had happened during the night; I'd only been able to sense a portion of it through ki, and I didn't know what had essentially wiped out my father's energy signal for a while there...I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

I stepped down the remaining stairs and wandered over to the kitchen, swishing my tail so that my dad would catch my scent and know I was there.

He looked up from the skillet he was watching and blinked at me once, his tail unguarded, a clear conveyer of his emotions; suspended low over the floor, sweeping slowly with uncertainty. He was nervous around me, but I didn't know why. I was less than half his height, even less so his age, what did he have to be nervous about? It should be the other way around. I used to be one hundred percent sure that despite my father's strength, he would never hurt me... But since that incident that had resulted in Veito's death... I didn't know what to think anymore.

"What are you doing?" I said flatly, giving nothing away; leaning against the wall and bracing one foot against it.

He raised the spatula in his hand a little, "Making breakfast..."

I fought back a disbelieving snort, "For the kids you scared to death last night?"

He winced, but tried to feign ignorance, "What are you talking about?" he turned back to pouring batter into the pan, averting his gaze from me.

Guilty conscience? I thought, wondering what he was trying to hide... how much it would take to push him past that indifferent facade...

"Nice foresight," I muttered, "Locking your children out so they wouldn't be able to bother you."

He didn't respond, and for a moment I wondered if he'd heard.

"Of course, you couldn't very well suppress your ki for their sake," I went on, jabbing at the barrier he'd put up, trying to bring it down, "That would be a bit too much to ask, huh?"

Again, no answer, but he turned one of the browning pancakes a little too murderously to be believable for his passive act, and I could see the handle of the spatula bending slightly in his grip. I was getting to him. It was somehow satisfying to know that I could.

"So what was it then?" I pried smoothly, knowing I was igniting anger in him with the casual accusation, "A new power level? A moment of insanity?" I wasn't sure if I should try my last attempt, unsure if he knew what I had guessed; but I did know why the room had been shaking before... I wasn't a stupid little kid anymore. "...An excuse for you to get lai -?"

He cut me off, "WHY DON'T -" the first two words were very nearly a shout, but he caught his temper after they left his mouth, "-you go find something more productive to do than antagonizing me?"

I sighed and crossed my arms, "But where's the fun in that?"

Dad was silent, but I saw his eyes flicker angry blue for a moment before returning to their usual black.

I decided to cut to the chase, "What are you hiding, Dad?" I snapped.

Switching off the burner under the skillet and slapping the bent spatula down on the counter, he left the half-cooked batch of pancakes on the stove and walked away from me pointedly, tail lashing.

Curiosity overtook me, and rather than make a scene going after him, I followed at a distance, undetected.

He didn't go far, he stopped on the edge of the woods outside, closing his eyes frustratedly and taking deep breaths. After a few moments, his tail slowed from its previously furious lashing, and a lot of the tension melted from his stance, leaving him looking bereft and tired.

Much of the spite I'd been feeling drained suddenly, to see my supposedly indestructible father look so... vulnerable. I supposed I had been pretty horrible to him, and it didn't occur to me that he might have been scared last night too... he'd nearly died, just hours before that strange ki had surfaced... But I wasn't used to associating the idea of fear with my dad. He was supposed to be perfect; not confused and flawed like everyone else... like me...

Before I could change my mind, I'd taken a hesitant step towards him; and I followed the impulse, rushing to his side and hugging around his waist, feeling rather like I was a small child again. And I supposed I was, still.

"I'm sorry." I said into his shirt, not knowing what else to say.

I could feel that he'd gone rigid the moment I came near him, but the moment's panic had turned to only surprise, and one of his hands gradually ran through my hair, a patriarchal motion he hadn't done in a long time.

"I'm sorry too." he murmured.

There was probably a lot more that needed to be said... but I couldn't think of anything right off hand. I was just glad to have my dad back, even if it had been me that had pushed him away to begin with.

XXX

Vegeta

I smiled to myself. From my place by the upstairs window, I had a perfect view of the beginnings of reconciliation between my mate and son, by the edge of the woods. I was glad something between those two had been fixed, I was tired of them glaring at each other like a couple of hotheaded dominant animals all the time. They probably wouldn't snap back into being caring father and loyal son like they used to be, and things might be awkward for a while... Both of them were socially awkward these days, I supposed that had something to do with status. Still, only time would tell. I just hoped nothing catastrophic would put them on the verge of killing each other again... and I hoped Kakarot would tell Tess how to get his awakening monster under control before it got as out of hand as his own could be.

Much as Kakarot had my undying love, and much as he'd changed... he could still be an idiot sometimes. He didn't know how to ask for help when he needed it, and I hoped Tesserot wouldn't develop the same problem. Housing a mental monster was bad enough... but with Tess being a hormonal teenager, I had a feeling it would be worse for him. As long as he knows his family is there for him...

I sighed and turned away from the window. One problem fixed, but there were still more to go before anything of significance was solved.

TBC