Chapter Thirty-Six

Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy

v

When Vegeta woke up, something didn't feel right. Something felt different; the environment, it was different. He wasn't in the prison anymore; it looked like some kind of ship or lab or something. It was big, and he was behind an electric glass-like wall in the corner in the room; probably three meters by three meters for space inside. He was so confused.

What the hell is happening?

He sat on the edge of the bed confused. The guard activated the force shield and then gestured for the other guards to leave. When they were gone and the door was closed, the guard locked it and then moved back to stand in front of the force shield. An hour passed of nothing, but silence. He noticed the security camera up in the corner of the room focused down on him. He glared at it, wondering who was spying on him, watching him so closely.

Where the fuck am I?!

v

Vegeta had gone from ruling one of the biggest Empires in the galaxy to living in as a runner and a peasant with nothing to his name. Nothing; he had no money, he had no servants, and he barely had his own health. Some days he wished he had died years prior.

He focused his glare on the guard watching him, studying the man. It was then that Vegeta noticed it; a tail. He had a long brown tail wrapped around his waist and even though Vegeta couldn't see his face because of the black helmet he knew what a tail like that meant. The guard was a God damned, motherfucking Saiyan! It couldn't be…

"You're a Saiyan."

It was the first thing Vegeta had said since they'd arrested him, and he scowled more at the sound of his own voice. He remembered getting knocked out, but when he woke, he wasn't in the same prison cell they first took him to. Why was it different? Where the fuck was he? Who was this guard?

One-hundred and fifty-four or eleven years ago, when he'd almost died, he'd suffered massive damage to his body and it had only been through almost a year of surgery and treatments on a medical planet that he'd been sent away to by his father. By the time he was able to be released his Empire was gone and the Saiyan race was all but dead. The Royal guard that had been with him on the medical planet, some thirty troops, was almost all dead now; his three current companions were all that were left. The Elites were no more. Vegeta hadn't seen or heard from any of them; Vegito, Gogeta, Bardock, Nathan… Kakarot. Despite the healing, there had been some things which they had been unable to repair; his voice had been damaged and was rough and gravelly, and they'd replaced several of his internal organs with cybernetic implants including his lungs, heart and most of his intestines. Luckily, the skeletal and muscular damage had been repaired decently, but Vegeta couldn't help but feel like it had all been in vain. He'd lost everything while they were repairing him on that planet; he had nothing left to live for.

The guard watched him for a moment and then reached up slowly and pulled his helmet off, exposing a face which Vegeta had often seen in his dreams… and his nightmares. A face he loathed and hated and a face in which he had searched for in every crowd for nearly ten solid years.

Kakarot!

He took a step towards him and then came up short when he hit the painful force wall, but every muscle in his body tightened with the kind of rage and hate he'd only dreamed of feeling again.

"You…"

Vegeta couldn't seem to find anything else to say, he could remember the last time he'd seen Kakarot with absolute clarity and it made his blood boil. He'd been helpless and dying and instead of helping him as a loyal subject was bound by Saiyan law to do; he'd left him to die and had taken the woman he… loved? He'd taken me. He'd taken me and he'd run away like a coward, not finishing what he had started. He was for more powerful now, and it was power that Vegeta had only ever dreamed of having. Power that radiated good and evil; wisdom and fear, pride and divinity.

Kakarot smirked at him and strolled closer, twirling the security helmet in his hands, the shiny black surface reflecting the light.

"Surprise…!"

"Where is she?"

Vegeta ignored the goading statement and glared at Kakarot, his hate boiling inside of him as he twisted his hands and tried to break free of the manacles, but the restrains held securely and try as he might, he couldn't seem to break them. He felt like a pathetic, weak child. It was humiliated beyond recognition, especially in front of his greatest enemy, in whose power and energy was that of a God to his. His muscles tensed and his limbs became weak; shaking as his tried to pull his arms apart from one another. The restraints were too strong. He never felt so weak before.

"What…? You didn't miss me?! I'm hurt…"

Kakarot's voice was cocky. Vegeta ignored him and demanded to know where I was.

"Answer the question, Kakarot!"

"Who…?"

Kakarot grinned wider and perched the helmet on one hip as he paused in front of the force screen, inches away from Vegeta.

"Taylor…?"

Kakarot took a step back, twirling his security helmet again and shrugging. Vegeta felt his blood boil red-hot as Kakarot dithered in front of him as though he had all the time in the world, and ignoring his question as though it was of no importance. He hated the man, hated him with a fire that he hadn't felt for a long time. He'd been numb for so long, simply struggling to survive, that he'd forgotten what it was like to feel real hatred like this.

"Oh, is it Taylor now?! See, I was always confused on that because you always liked to call her all different, 'unique' names like 'whore' or 'slut' or 'bitch' or 'your motherfucking slave'!"

Kakarot's voice was very dark, but was still sarcastic and he loved getting Vegeta on edge and riled up.

"Is she alive? Is she okay? You better have not hurt her, you fucking bastard!"

Vegeta again wrestled with the restraints to no avail. The harder he struggled, the more they glowed, draining his energy further and he soon gave up in frustration. Kakarot simply smiled, chuckling quietly to himself.

"I must say, you're a hell of a lot weaker than you were before, Vegeta… Training and fighting battles you couldn't win finally become too much for you to handle, huh, old man?!

Vegeta growled a low, huskily shaky growl.

"Damn you, Kakarot! You left me to die and you took her away from me! Now, WHERE IS SHE?!"

Kakarot simply grinned; that same grin he did the night he took me in front of him; the one that almost gave him chills.

When Vegeta had finally left the hospital planet ten years ago after months of surgery and months of recovery, he'd tried to find out what had happened to the two of us, but after going on a rampage, killing innocent citizens, a price was put on his head and his Empire decimated; Planet Vegeta was quickly and soon after overthrown and his father was assassinated. All he could do was run. As did Nathan; to Nathan's surprise, he was still alive. He managed to escape alone and figured out the controls to an escape pod. He studied three different alien languages, including the entirety of the Saiyan language and travelled from planet to planet, in search of me and hunting priceless jewels to sell for money. Vegeta had heard rumors from time to time about Kakarot being seen here and there, jumping planet to planet, but they were about Kakarot and never about me. Rumors of a shorter, smaller, and presumably female companion alongside him in battle, but he didn't think they were talking about me; I, Taylor, a fighter?! He didn't believe it. He'd driven himself to the break of insanity imagining the things that could have happened to me in the year in which he'd been in hospital. He'd dreamed of me at night and had fantasized about me during the day; but he'd never found me. He still remembered my face, my name, but he'd lost my scent, how I felt, and the soothing sound of my voice; and that hurt him more than anything else could have.

"She's alive…"

Kakarot abruptly straightened and the smile slid off his face, and Vegeta found himself staring at the same person he'd looked at one-hundred and fifty-four years ago when Kakarot had left him for dead.

"I don't like that you're here, Vegeta, but it's not my choice to make… It was really risky getting you out of that prison… surprisingly easy, but still risky; but even if it was hard, we probably still would've managed…"

There was a deep coldness and monstrousness to him that still gave Vegeta those unnerved chills; this was the man who'd laughed when he'd seen Vegeta impaled and had gloated before he stole me away from him for what seemed like it was going to be forever. The monster he viewed him as stared at him for a heartbeat longer than he would've preferred and then put his security helmet back on, his cold black eyes vanishing behind the black screen of the helmet. He turned and headed to the door, but didn't just leave; not yet.

She was alive… She… is alive.

"She'll be along shortly…"

His voice was muffled behind the helmet and Vegeta had to listen hard to catch his words. He did, and continued listening,

"…but I should warn you that you might not like what you see… She's changed, Vegeta… Don't think too highly of that…"

He gave Vegeta a ridiculously friendly wave and vanished back out the door, leaving it open to the dark hallway.

Will she be the same? Will she look different? Taylor…

Vegeta thought briefly.

"Vegeta…"

v

His head shot up to the dark hallway behind the glass. My voice was soft and pleasant sounding to his ears.

Is it really her?

I stood in the shadows of the door way before stepping inside. As I reached out and flicked the light for the whole room on the side of the doorway on, Vegeta recognized the small, fine hand that the moonlight was shining on, and his heart gave a painful lurch as I stepped completely into the room. I was more beautiful than he remembered, or maybe I had simply become more beautiful over the last one-hundred and fifty-four years. Either way, looking at me felt a little like looking at a familiar stranger; he knew my face and knew my walk, but there were subtle differences that only someone who had been physically intimate with me would notice. I was dressed in the same black security uniform that Kakarot had been wearing. He ran his gaze over me, aware he was staring, but unable to tear his eyes away. I was alive. I was fine. I was in front of him. I was curvier than I had been and had lost that waif-like appearance that I'd had when he'd last seen me; I looked like a woman, and not a simple teenager, or, young adult more or less. My skin was still that delicate porcelain white color, even with all the scars and tattoos that couldn't be seen, but Vegeta somehow knew that they were there. (Maybe it was instinct; like the blood-bonding kicking in finally or something.)

My hair was still that short cut that he last remembered seeing me with. He saw it for the first time the last time we ever saw one another again. He couldn't tear the image from his mind. He actually preferred the short hair to the longer hair I once had. It was my eyes that held the greatest change, though. I'd always had such beautifully, expressive eyes; eyes which he'd seen excited, angry and terrified. They were eyes which had haunted his dreams too often over the years, and though my eyes were the same Earthly-blue he remembered from when they invaded; the look in them was focused and assertive, like that of a soldier.

Oh, I was weary of him, he could read it in my body language, but my eyes were no longer the eyes of a submissive servant or of a weak, defenseless girl; I looked at him as an equal, perhaps even as more than his equal; a superior. I looked stronger, tougher… I looked like a true warrior in his eyes. It made him desire me even more.

"I thought you were dead."

No more than whispers, the words were so quiet. Not the words which Vegeta had imagined me speaking to him when we met in his fantasies; he'd always dreamed that I would be frightened when I saw him again; frightened and, yet aroused as I always had been with him. His dreams had always featured me as I had been then, not as I was now. I wasn't afraid of him at all it seemed; there was no fear in my face or voice. I stepped further into the light, slowly, and finally Vegeta could see that the last one-hundred and fifty-four years which had been so cruel to him, had evidently been kinder to me.

"Taylor…?"

He breathed my name gruffly, and it was all he could do to maintain his composure. For so many years he'd wondered where I had gone and what had happened to me. 'Was I alive? Was I with Kakarot? Was I happy?' His life had been in shambles and he'd had so many things to occupy his time, but he'd still thought about me. Thought about me, yearned for me, dreamed of me; he must have looked like such a fool, standing there like a statue, cuffed and caged, and staring at me like I was a vision from the past come to haunt him, but what else could he do? He was struggling to think clearly, let alone summon the will to talk.

"Vegeta…"

There was a ghost of a smile on my lips as I replied with his name, my hips swaying under my black uniform as I crossed the floor and stood in front of him behind the glassy, flickering shield.

"So, Kakarot told you I was dead…?"

He moved so close to the force shield that covered his cell that he could feel the faint electrical buzz against his skin,

"He glossed over the fact that he left me there dying I suppose then…?"

"He told me you were dead…"

I spoke rather assertively.

"…but the last thing I could remember before I passed out completely again was you impaled on the ground. You looked dead, so I guess I was easy to fool…"

My voice was like music to his ears, but as I spoke, my blue eyes looked troubled, even guilty.

"He never gave me the details of what happened after I passed out and it took me a while to work out that he was lying… at least five years, but… I was always naïve, wasn't I?"

I paused, briefly giggling under my breath, and then calmly continued, not caring if he responded to my statement,

"Anyways, by the time I did, there was no point to any of it anymore… By then, I already had my two and a half year old daughter and a six month old son… so, there was no point in even caring anymore…"

I shrugged, crossing my arms; the move surprisingly defensive to him.

"He was never able to confirm that you were alive, though, and once the Empire of Planet Vegeta fell, it became too hard to get much information on the whereabouts of any surviving Saiyans, let alone their Prince… We'd heard rumors about you being the one behind everything that had happened, but even Kakarot thought that was farfetched…"

He tensed slightly when I'd said Kakarot's name, but then laughed softly,

"You…"

He licked his lips nervously before continuing,

"You have children…"

I slowly nodded, not looking at him, though. I glanced up in the peripherals of my vision to see the scar on his arm; my name. I'd completely forgotten about that. It was so long ago, so many years ago. That scar… but, I remembered it; the second I saw it.

Why do I feel… sad?

Vegeta kept his eyes lowered. He chuckled slightly again before continuing,

"Wh-What are their names, if you don't mind me asking…?"

I smiled slightly looking him straight in the eye.

"My daughter's name is Rose, and my son's name is Goten."

Vegeta chuckled softly,

"That's nice… What nice names…"

His eyes began to look glassy, as if he were about to cry, but didn't.

"I bet your daughter's beautiful like you… and your son's strong like… him…"

Man, is he depressed or what?! Holy shit!

I didn't know he was this bad. He was in denial of all of this, I was sure of it… I think. He glanced back up again after a moment of looking sadly down and continued our earlier conversation.

"I almost did die… Unfortunately, by the time I had recovered enough to possibly take my father's throne, the Empire had fallen…"

Vegeta shrugged as though it didn't matter to him.

"Yes, I heard your father passed… I'm sorry for your loss…"

He ignored my comment and instead grabbed the bottom of his battle shirt he wore and lifted it up and over his head so I could see the impressive range of scars across his chest and stomach. The shirt fell down his arms and caught around his wrists from his hands being bound together. The scar tissue was impressive and painful-looking, and if the Saiyan Empire hadn't had such high-tech healing facilities and connections, he would have died. He watched as I came closer, so close that if the force shield hadn't been between us, he could have reached out and touched me. He could smell me, though, and my scent was both wonderfully familiar and strangely alien.

By the Gods, how I've missed you!

He thought as I looked at the scars carefully, my blue eyes tracing back and forth until I had seen every inch of him again.

"You should have died…"

I straightened back my shoulders and looked at him with a faint frown on my face.

"How did you survive the wounds?"

"Cybernetic implants and months of surgery; by the time I left the planet with the hospital I was being treated at, with what remained of the Royal guard the Saiyan race was pretty much extinct and Planet Vegeta had been rendered uninhabitable."

He knew he sounded bitter as he spoke, but he had every reason to feel bitter.

"I only survived because I had the foresight to keep my location a secret… and to find you again."

"Well… you were always clever… even when it was for all the wrong reasons."

The corner of his mouth lifted with a small and hidden grin. He nodded and my eyes followed his hands as he raised them high above his head and let his shirt fall back down, struggling slightly to pull it back down and over his body. I hastily looked away once his skin was covered up again. When I met his eyes again, Vegeta felt his breath hitch in his chest.

"Vegeta… I…"

"I missed you."

Vegeta put his bound hands against the static-like glass, interrupting what I was going to say. Ignoring the heat rushing through his body, he kept his hands against the shield, his eyes entreating as he looked down at me. It was the truth; he had missed me.

"Taylor… I missed you…"

My eyes darkened slightly as I moved closer to the force screen, as though hypnotized, slowly raising a hand up as though I was going to touch him. He thought I would stop, but I didn't; I placed my delicate, but roughly scarred hand against the buzzing electric force screen of glass and Vegeta saw the shield shimmer and spark at my touch. My hand rested over his against the screen. My face was impassive, but he knew it must have hurt; when he'd touched it earlier it had been excruciating… but he was also very weak from losing so much power from not training, barely fighting, and his energy draining from those stupid cuffs as well. My eyes locked with his. He could take pain, especially when he could actually feel me, my touch, through the shield between us. It was the barest of contacts, and one which caused us both a great deal of pain, but it was worth it to see me smile even a little; even if it was out of pity or sadness. I pulled my hand back slowly.

"I… I missed you, too…"

I admitted, for the first time smiling at him in years, instead of hiding behind my defensiveness, it was… okay. I remembered bits of him; enough to admit that I wasn't lying when I spoke those words. I opened and closed my hand as though trying to shake off the numbing pain that still remained, and then I looked back at him.

"I want to let you out, Vegeta, but… I'm a little bit… weary."

He blinked, having been lost in the depths of my eyes.

"I won't hurt you. I can't promise I won't try to murder Kakarot, though… but I won't hurt you… Never… Never again…"

I laughed, and Vegeta felt himself come back to reality with a bang; there was something very Kakarot-like about my laugh.

"You can't hurt anyone… understood?"

He sighed for a moment and then calmly, and rather professionally answered,

"You have my word."

He bowed his head and closed his eyes briefly as he thought the words he couldn't say; please believe me. I want you. I need you. I… no, what was I thinking?! I chewed on my lower lip as I stared at him and then slowly raised my hand to the shield lever and deactivated the force shield of electrified glass with a decisively flick down. It shimmered briefly and then went down and Vegeta stepped straight out. He kept his manacled hands down as he slowly and purposefully came to a stop in front of me. The tension between us was beginning to feel like that electric barrio as it once did before, so long ago, and his body was almost humming with it; he wanted me badly and he could see on my face that to some extent, I wanted him in some kind of way, too.

"I want you…"

He mouthed the feather-like words as they were spoken so quietly that I barely even caught them. He stepped one step closer and before I could react, his lips were on mine. He grasped his fingers into my uniform tightly, holding me close. He kissed me and then tried to kiss my neck before I pulled back and my eyes sought his, my gaze serious. Vegeta could only stare with lust and envy in his eyes, breathing heavily from the few seconds of touching one another. He knew he hadn't treated me very well when I'd been his. He'd treated me as a disposable toy, like Bardock had once said all those years ago, 'a thing, an object; something to be used and then discarded…' or something like that. He'd treated me even worse once he'd begun to care about me, though, resenting the power I had over him and pushing the boundaries with me as he never had with another woman, and all because we were bound by blood. I was the first and only one he had ever mated to, so, obviously, he'd done things to me whom he had regretted, severely; things which he knew had ultimately been the reason why Kakarot had taken me away from him. Even with their fun with me, Vegeta became too jealous, even though all seemed pretty even.

Having fallen from the top of the mountain to his current position, basically a slave in the dirt, Vegeta knew he didn't have a lot left in his life to hold onto or to fight for, but he did have his pride, what little he had left of it, but it was still there. He wanted me desperately, but not at any cost. It was a sobering thought and he focused on me properly as I stood in front of him, shocked at his actions, but also almost expecting it, too. He couldn't stop the smirk that briefly crossed his face as I blinked in surprise; he even blushed a little bit. Evidently, I remembered the old Vegeta, too.

"You can't hurt anyone…anymore…"

Vegeta could hide the naked hate that crossed his features remembering Kakarot's stupid name and stupid face, but I shook my head at him.

"He protected me and made sure I was safe… As much as you hate him, you can't deny that he saved my life by taking me away from you…"

In a way, I was right; if I'd stayed, I would have died, probably. Asking him to work alongside Kakarot would've been too much at that point. The man had betrayed him when he'd needed help. He'd rammed a metal spike through his chest and had laughed as he lay dying. Vegeta had no reason not to put his hate to the side for now; his hate for Kakarot could go in the same internal compartment where he kept his rage at the rebellious Saiyans to whom he heard of; the ones who took over Planet Vegeta.

Oh, the irony…

He needed me back in his life, though. He needed me, to love him again, to teach him again, and to be there until the moment he truly did die. I was… his? No, he didn't own me anymore… He was nothing more than a distant memory I dreamt about every night since I left his side; a stranger's face and an unnerving name; a formless creature; a ghost in of himself.

"I hate him, Taylor… but I can put that to the side for now…"

He paused, exhaling deeply.

"For you…"

I looked into his eyes again; I was lost in thought. His eyes were dark, cold, hollow, and black as night. He showed too many emotions for the strong warrior I remembered from my dreams and few memories. I lost too much memory over the years and, sadly, he was all I vividly remembered other than a few moments with Kakarot. Everything before that, my home, my family, my… my 'mate'… N-Nathan… It was all a blur.

I remembered all their faces, their eyes, the colors and textures of their hair and skin, but… names, voices and places were all gone, unrecognizable. It was like coming home, he thought to himself as he pulled my body against his, my curves fitting perfectly against his more angular body. This, more than anything, was what he'd wanted over the last one-hundred and fifty-four years. It was so stupid that he, a member of the fiercest warrior race the galaxy had ever known, had essentially been conquered by a human woman. He was powerless before me, a prisoner of the spell I'd cast over him years before, a spell he hadn't even known he was under until it was too late and I was already gone.

Vegeta lowered his face to mine and claimed my mouth in a kiss that was all fire and passion again; but this time, it was a kiss that held one-hundred and fifty-four years of longing and hunger.

Unlike Nathan, who had several partners of nothing more than grief and release over the years after I left Planet Vegeta; Vegeta, Prince Vegeta, THE PRINCE OF ALL FUCKING SAIYANS, hadn't been with another individual since I left. Eleven years of loss and guilt, eleven years of sorrow and worry, eleven years of complete and utter… loneliness.

In a way to me, it was quite ironic, actually; one would think it'd be the other way around. Why did I warp men's minds so terribly?!

What is it about me…? Why?

As Vegeta held my trembling body against his own, slowly breaking the kiss, in a passionate, long overdue hug, he realized with razor-sharp clarity that he'd felt this way about me for a long time; he'd simply been too arrogant to realize what it was he felt. I nestled in against his chest, lips pressed to his neck and my eyelashes fluttering lightly against his skin; Vegeta lifted his arms up and put them back down, over my head and around me, keeping us close together from his bound wrists in that longing, embracive hug. It was strange that it had taken him losing everything he thought he wanted for him to realize the truth that had been staring him in the face all those years ago. His desire and obsession for me had been symptoms of something which he'd fought against for years, but deep down he'd known the truth.

My eyes flashed open again; I slowly pushed back and let him go, letting his grip slip from me and he lifted his arms back up and over me. He stood there, like a lost dog with big, sad eyes. I remembered his scent again; his warmth and the difference between he and Kakarot; I remembered, but it was too much, too soon.

He wanted to say it; the truth of how he felt. He wanted to tell me. After all this time he wanted to finally tell me how he truly felt. Kakarot stepped in slowly from around the corner and observed us after our hug, being so close to one another; feeling the tension and almost fear from both our beings. Now, he was almost the jealous one. He didn't say or do anything, he simply watched and waited. He respected my wishes to see Vegeta again, but that didn't mean he liked it at all. Blood-Bonding sucked; even after eleven or one-hundred and fifty-four years of not being with one another, somehow Vegeta's heart was still linked to mine. My connection was surely a lot weaker than his, but it was still there. Kakarot frowned and looked away momentarily, not liking to think about the bond.

I glanced and saw Kakarot becoming slightly impassionate. I just needed to see Vegeta again… and… nothing more. That's all I had to think about; just see, talk, and nothing more. I swallowed hard, holding back all emotions rushing through me and calmly spoke,

"I have to go now, Vegeta… We're going to take you back to the prison. I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do for you… but… life is hard, and I've just finally figured out mine. I truly did miss you, and I needed to see you to know for certain that you were still alive… and you are… so…"

He stared weary-eyed at me; tears forcing to come forth and blind his vision. He fought against it and shut his eyes tightly, looking down and away, clenched his teeth down and fists together. He was a man struggling with his feelings for what was probably the first time in his life, or second, or third… either way, it was strange and almost uncomforting to see Vegeta cry. He was the man of no tears and no pain, but yet, here he was, filled with more of those two things than any other soul in the galaxy.

"You don't know anything about me… Prince Vegeta… and, sadly… you probably never will… I'm sorry… I missed you, but… we all have to move forward… and so do you…"

No, I won't move! I can't! Please, don't go; just teach me! Show me; love me! Please, don't leave… Not… Not again… N-No… Why…? Wh-Where did this come from?

He glanced in the corner of his eye and noticed Kakarot in the same room.

Kakarot… I see…

"Wait… Taylor, I… I…"

I paused as I turned my back on him to leave. He swallowed hard before he could speak.

"Yes…?"

My voice was calm. He paused and swallowed hard again before he finally spoke the words,

"I love you…"

I closed my eyes, holding back the anger, sorrow, loss, and guilt; there was a long, drawn out silence before I finally answered, simply,

"Goodbye… Prince Vegeta…"

He sighed, lowering his head for a second as a took a step away to begin walking out before he mumbled something unexpectedly,

"…you like white roses and to lie under the stars at night…"

I froze and slowly turned around to him. Kakarot's face went blank. He was just as stunned as I was. We were all frozen in place. What had he just said?! His voice was just over a whisper; it was so quiet…

Did I mishear him?!

"Wh-What did you just say?"

"You hate the sound and texture of sandpaper and you don't like it when people see your little toes…"

He chuckled slightly at the thought of me and how cute and flustered I got when he saw my toes and commented on them. My mouth dropped as tears ran down his face; he brought his bound hands up and rubbed the back and side of his neck with one as he continued,

"You love listening to music, dancing, drawing… and even flirting. You can't whistle and your favorite colors are purple and orange. You love sex, but don't like to admit it. You fear mimes, being left alone and fog. You love the smell of men's cologne and coffee in the morning. I know you're self-conscious about your teeth and your smile, but it was always so beautiful to me…"

He choked back the urge to cry harder and continued further into his knowledge of me,

"You hate that you can't stop biting on your finger nails. You had two brothers and a mother and father who were separated. You were the middle child in your household and 'your' first pet was a hedgehog that you named 'Hedgy'. You loved Dragon Ball more than anything else and you always wanted to travel around Planet Earth as a child…"

Tears filled my eyes as I turned back to face him completely. Kakarot stared amazing at the fallen Prince with his jaw dropped. How did he know all of this?!

"Ve-Vegeta…"

"You love candies and sweets and anything sweet or sour. You believe in optimism, and you like to be reckless. You're curious and love trying new things. You love the feeling of pain, but fear the anticipation of it. You love colored hair and tattoos. You love to explore and to learn new things. You love to read and write about the dark and twisted. You love animals and the feeling of being loved. You hate people who are rude and you don't like it when I tell you what to do…"

A slight, quiet chuckle slipped through his dry lips, along with hesitant, shaky short breathes. Tears streamed over his cheeks and dripped down from his chin.

"You hate me… and I love you…"

I could feel more tears forming behind my eyes and beginning to flow down.

Why… Why, Vegeta? It's been… too long…

"How… How do you…?"

"I may have hurt you, and I may have been a bastard to you…"

He looked down now quietly weeping before looking back up into my eyes.

"…but… I always listened… when you would talk to yourself, whether you were awake or sleeping. For those three to four months or so that we were together, I listened to you every day, and every night. Even in your suffering, I listened to your cries and your pain. Even in your happiness, I listened to your laughter and your shyness. Even in sex, I listened to your moans and your pleasure. Even when I wasn't there, I listened to your thoughts and your dreams… I always listened to your voice. I heard you… but you could never hear me…"

"Vegeta, you… you never…"

"I never said anything… to you… That's why."

I hadn't felt this kind of pain in years. The pain Vegeta caused. The pain Vegeta made. It made me stronger, or, so I thought. I guess my heart was still wounded and had yet to be healed. After everything I struggled with in the past, I just assumed it made me stronger, and who I was today. My heart was beginning to ache terribly. Why was he making me feel so terrible?!

Why, Vegeta, why you? Why now?

It wasn't fair. Even Kakarot's heart ached a little. It hurt, seeing not just me struggling with the depressed Saiyan Prince, but the Saiyan Prince himself; he was a broken man, a broken soul… and he had nothing left in his life. He had… nothing.

"Vegeta…"

Kakarot stepped forward and I turned to him when he put his arm around my shoulders.

"Taylor is no longer yours… She's a free woman now, Prince. We have a family now, and you… will not be part of it…"

Vegeta glared into Kakarot's eyes. He was still crying, taking shaky breathes as he was slowly losing himself. I wiped my eyes and pushed Kakarot's arm away.

"Kakarot, that's enough, the man's already been through enough. We're taking him back to the prison. He won't be coming with us…"

Vegeta stared at me, weary-eyed. He fell to his knees and clenched his arms around his stomach and sides as far as the cuffs would allow him.

"I'm so sorry…"

Vegeta glanced up and slowly and hesitantly reached his cuffed hands out and placed them on my foot, in a begging, pleading kind of gesture. He was completely shattered.

"Please… I have nothing…"

"…and that's exactly what you deserve after the things you did to her, and to all of us."

Kakarot reached down and picked him up by the collar of his shirt and held him up by the back of his neck. Vegeta kept his eyes shut and his head lowered. I placed my hands on both sides of his faces and gently pulled his head up to look me in the eyes. I leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead.

"Vegeta… Prince Vegeta; you were a strong, brave and impressive warrior. I looked at you and I saw a God. I saw your true colors, and I saw something different. On Earth, I worshiped you… but then, you took me away from my home, my family, and everything I ever knew and loved. You're arrogant, self-centered and cocky and you are a man who didn't answer to anyone, but also didn't know when to stop. You have temper issues and jealousy issues, too. You have many flaws, but… there's also some good in you, too. I saw it. I saw it on a few separate occasions and I still think about them all the time… those are the things I do still remember…"

Kakarot watched Vegeta carefully as he held him up. I continued,

"You'll always have a special place in my heart… in my mind… but… I'll never truly love you… I'm so sorry, Vegeta. I shouldn't have brought you here… I shouldn't have seen you…"

"…but… I…"

"Take care… Vegeta…"

I slowly let him go, letting his head drop. He whimpered slightly, biting down hard on his lower lip.

"No more…"

His voice was too quiet for either Kakarot or I to hear, but the words were spoken. Vegeta was truly afraid. He didn't want to lose me again, not again. Kakarot pulled him away from me and pulled him out of the room, and down the hallway, back out to the ship.