Disclaimer: I don't own Dbz.
Thanks to a. moonbeam for beta-reading the chapter!
Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! A special thanks to Princess Marauder, Prats 'R' Us, Razamataz22, tess4aria, tetisheri, xdevil-childx, The Darkest wizard, Trich, maidance and Haik.
Sorry for the wait, everyone. Please forgive me ^.^
Chapter 54. "Light me up when I'm down."
Gohan stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Turles, who was leaning against the wall with closed eyes, looked sideways. "What's up?"
Gohan frowned a bit. He didn't like them keeping watch over him. They did this in case he needed something but he couldn't get used to it. He couldn't even move. He ignored Turles, who noticed this and closed his eyes again. Nappa walked in and yawned. "Damn, it's getting pretty boring here." He muttered as he sat down next to Turles. Gohan pulled a face but ignored him. Nappa looked at Gohan. "How are you feeling, Half-breed?" Gohan shrugged as an answer. Turles noticed no answer coming in words and smirked.
"Half-breed lost his voice." He said opening his eyes and looking at Nappa. The bigger Saiyan gave a thoughtful glance.
"That would explain a lot. He wakes up screaming every night though. His voice seems to be fine if you count that." Nappa answered looking at the teenager. Gohan growled.
"Piss off."
"Sorry Whelp. I have to look out for you for now." Turles answered still smirking. "You can't really move so I have to protect you."
Gohan turned away from the two Saiyans. Turles and Nappa looked at each other and shrugged.
() **** **** ()
Gohan sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He was itching to do something but every movement he made hurt. He already noticed it got less with the day but it was still better to stay lying.
The others were eating and Katy walked closer to Gohan. " Here." She said with a smile. "We made you something to eat."
Gohan gave a small smile back and got up, pulling a face. Katy bit her lip. "Are you alright?" She asked concerned as she put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine." Gohan snarled back. Katy pulled away immediately and nodded briefly. She pushed the food in his hands and walked away. Gohan sighed. He felt bad for snapping like that but she annoyed the crap out of him.
Everyone annoyed him actually. Gohan hated the fact he couldn't move properly and the others made this worse with taking care of his every movement. He didn't want to push them away but it just happened...
Gohan watched Katy sitting down with a frown. She grabbed her food and started eating, ignoring Gohan. The half-breed looked out the window and leaned his head against the wall.
"You know... Something is wrong when a Saiyan stops eating."
Gohan turned around and watched Raditz sit down on his bed. Gohan shrugged and got back at staring out the window. Raditz frowned, thinking he usually would have received at least ten different counter attacks on that sneer.
"Not hungry?" Gohan shook his head. Raditz wasn't giving up without a fight. "So. How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
"Wrong answer." Raditz said pulling on Gohan's uniform. "Come on. I just want to talk." Gohan didn't even look back at him. He kept staring out the window, leaning his head against the wall. "Tell me how you're really feeling."
"Terrible."
"Well... at least we're getting honest answers." Raditz muttered frowning. He looked back at the others, who were sitting on the ground. "Why don't I help you to the others? It's a lot cozier there."
"No thanks."
"Half-breed. Humor me. You've been sitting here for three days." Raditz whined towards the teenager. He and the others were getting agitated by how silent and inactive Gohan was. He wanted to change that but Gohan wasn't helping.
"I can't do anything more." Gohan yelled back at him. The others looked up and directed their gaze towards the two Saiyans. Gohan noticed this and sighed. He leaned back again and turned to the window.
Raditz gave up and got up. He walked towards the others and sat down. Vegeta looked at him. "No success?"
Raditz shook his head and looked at the teenager. "He's not even eating now." He muttered frowning. "He doesn't want to talk."
Vegeta moved his bowl. "Just leave him alone. He'll come around after a few days." He answered looking down. After this he growled. "What am I saying?" He muttered frowning.
"Why don't we just move him here?" Turles asked. "He won't be able to fight us anyway."
Raditz shook his head. "If we do that he'll just sit here and stare at the ground. It won't do anything good. It's just like how he answers our questions. He knows not to ignore us because that would make us angry."
Vegeta smirked. "We'll get him back. We don't give up so easily. I have an idea." He muttered as he looked up. The others looked at him and they moved closer to each other. A few of them gave quick glances at Gohan but the half-Saiyan wasn't interested in them. He'd placed the bowl on the ground and was now lying in his bed, hidden under the sheets. "Okay." Vegeta started. "We're going to force him to talk to us. We'll just sit with him all day and try our hardest to get him to talk. He has to crack. We always get our way." Vegeta looked at the other Saiyans. They all nodded.
"I don't know." Justin answered frowning. "He's too smart for that Vegeta. He'll notice we set him up within seconds."
"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, traitor." Vegeta hissed as he passed an angry glance at the boy. "You're still very high on my bad side." Justin looked away and shrugged. Katy placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, trying to soothe everything.
"Calm down, Vegeta." Raditz muttered towards the prince. "Arguing isn't going to help." It wasn't like he cared about Justin, he'd love to see that boy beaten up, but he knew they couldn't afford to fight. They needed Justin for food and information.
Justin pursed his lips and frowned. He was hoping the Saiyans would come around after a while but they were as mean to him as ever. Gohan didn't even want to talk to him and the Saiyans loved to chase him away when he got to close to the half-Saiyan. Katy was the only one who was remotely nice to him.
"Okay. We'll start tomorrow." Vegeta whispered. "I'll begin right after breakfast. I'll stay with him for an hour or so. After that it will be Raditz's turn. Then we'll have Turles, Nappa, Kittycat and the little traitor." The two teenagers frowned at him. "Maybe we should give him a few hours off after that." Vegeta suggested. The others nodded. "Good. Then that's a plan."
Raditz nodded. "It's all fine by me." He said as he got up. The rest made agreeing sounds and all sat back. Raditz stretched for a second and smirked. "But for now… Everyone has to eat their dinner." He said as he walked towards the half-Saiyan.
The next morning Gohan was woken up early by Vegeta. "I'm not hungry." Gohan muttered when the man handed him a bowl with soup. "You should eat it. You need your strength to fight if the soldiers catch us here."
"Oh shut up." Vegeta answered as he sat down on the bed. "Eat it. You need your strength to get better."
Gohan frowned and placed the bowl on the bed. Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Eat it, Half-breed. Or do I need to force it down your throat? I will do it, you know that." Vegeta threatened. Gohan decided to grab the bowl again and started eating. After bringing the bowl to Raditz, who had to do the dishes that day, Vegeta walked back to Gohan and fell down on his bed again. After this he started talking about the things that happened to the Saiyan team while Gohan was at the war. He tried to get Gohan's opinion about it but he only received short answers or shrugs.
After an hour Vegeta left, grumbling about his recent failure and Raditz walked in ten minutes later. The uncle started talking about the gossip he'd heard the passed few months and he asked Gohan if he'd heard the same stories. He received the same response as Vegeta and after an hour, he left too.
Turles walked in ten minutes later and sat down next to the half-Saiyan, forcing Gohan to move closer to the wall. Turles told stories about his time in camp and asked if Gohan experienced the same things. The main answer he received was: "No.".
Nappa started off by asking Gohan if he wanted to move to another room. When Gohan declined for this he sat down on Gohan's bed and tried to bring back memories with him. He told the half-Saiyan he was afraid the torture blasts might have damaged his long term memory. Gohan's answer to this was that his memory was fine.
Katy didn't get very far either. She tried to talk to Gohan and the Saiyan was gentler to her. She even managed to get a few smiles out of him but Katy could tell: They were all fake smiles.
An hour later Justin walked in. This was to the surprise of Gohan since the Saiyans used to chase the teenager away from their comrade. The half-Saiyan wasn't in the mood to talk to Justin and mostly just ignored him. After an hour, Justin gave up and walked out the room.
Gohan already got a hunch when Raditz followed Vegeta and prepared for the Saiyan prince to come back.
Two days later
"Do you still remember that?" Vegeta asked as he looked sideways. Gohan was sitting on his side of the bed. He had his legs crossed and was leaning on them with his elbows. Vegeta was sitting at the other side of the bed. He was leaning against the wall next to the bed and his legs were stretched.
"No."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the teenager. The man was getting quite desperate. His technique hadn't worked and the others were thinking about giving up on it. Vegeta wouldn't do this though. He had to get Gohan back to his old self. "Come on." He tried. "You know what I am talking about."
"Not really."
"Why won't you talk?" Vegeta asked as he crossed his arms. "Why don't you stop being so annoyingly stubborn and just work with us?" Vegeta snarled at him.
"…."
Vegeta stared at the teenager as Gohan turned his sights back to the world outside. He wasn't able to see what happened on the battle field. His window was on the other side of the building. He now watched the trees shiver every time an explosion hit. It was interesting to see how nature reacted on the war. He noticed animals shying away every time something happened. Leaves from the trees fell to the ground as the days grew colder. It was better than talking to the others. Gohan didn't want to act like everything was okay. Nothing was okay in his opinion. They were stuck in a hospital. Gohan wasn't able to move. They'd defied both Zarbon and Freeza and if they ever showed their faces; they would be dead.
"Fine. You know what…" Vegeta started when Gohan didn't answer him. "I'll just start brining the memory up. I bet you'll remember it once I start talking. You'll have to fill in a few gaps though. I don't know everything." Vegeta said thoughtfully.
"Don't bother." Gohan muttered back.
Vegeta resisted the urge to punch the teenager and took a deep breath. The man closed his eyes and made a mental note to beat the boy up once he was better. Gohan wasn't making friends like this. "I still remember that we were fighting on that planet. I don't remember the name, do you?" Vegeta looked at the half-Saiyan. Gohan shook his head. "Right. Well, it doesn't matter. We had to fight very strong opponents but we defeated them, of course. After this we left the planet but you lost consciousness when we were traveling back to planet Freeza. You went off course because of that. We heard you talking to someone that day. Who was that?" He asked.
"Nobody."
Vegeta tore his gaze away from the half-Saiyan and cracked his own neck. "Fine. Different memory." He muttered defeated.
"Oh yes, shoot. Then you can continue to talk about that memory for the rest of the hour." Gohan complained with a frown.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" He asked innocently.
"Don't act innocent." Gohan snarled at him. "Don't think I didn't notice your little game. You all come by one by one. You stay with me for an hour or so and then leave. During the hour you try to get me to talk. I don't know why. I already noticed this when Raditz left on the day you guys started it. You were never this interested about me, except about camp." Gohan crossed his arms.
"You caught it right away, huh?" Vegeta asked with a smirk. "Darn it, Justin was right after all." He muttered after that.
Gohan looked at him. "What?" He asked frowning.
Vegeta shrugged and brushed some invisibly dirt off his blue uniform. "He said you would get it immediately. I guess he still knows you better than we do." Vegeta answered.
Gohan smiled slightly and looked down. "That's kind of logical, isn't it?" Gohan asked after that. "He's known me longer than you have." Gohan looked up again and his tail moved towards his own hands. There Gohan started to play with it. "You reminded me of my time in the war though. Rilope and the others kept asking me about you four."
"They asked you questions about us?" Vegeta asked interested. The man shifted on the bed so he could look at the half-Saiyan better.
Gohan nodded and smiled again. "They've all fought with you once and you probably made a good impression. After telling them I was trained by you, I gained quite a lot of friends. "Gohan continued as he leaned back. "I had a few good fights myself and I noticed how popular guys like us can get. All the warriors assumed we're good fighters just because we're Saiyans."
Vegeta nodded with a smirk. "Yes. I've noticed that. So you were popular at the war?"
Gohan shrugged. "A bit, I guess. I didn't really notice. I only heard others saying something like that." Gohan answered. "You know the Ginyu Force was there for a few days?"
"O really?" Vegeta asked as the victory smirk on his face widened.
Gohan nodded enthusiastically. "They didn't last very long though. They noticed I was there and at first they tried to pick a fight with me. A big group of warriors backed me up and they gave up on it. They decided it was a bad idea to be my enemy there so they started spreading the word that we were actually allies."
Vegeta watched as the sparkle returned to the teenager's eyes. "That was until they had to prove it. I heard about the rumors but I didn't really comment on it when someone asked me. Then one day Jeice and Burter were forced to actually talk to me. You should have seen their faces when I denied ever even being on the same side as them. The word spread immediately and the Ginyu Force left the same day." Gohan chuckled. "It was priceless."
Vegeta stretched and reached out. "It's good to have you back, Half-breed." He said as he tousled Gohan's hair. After this he looked at the doorway. "Mission accomplished." He announced to the five people there.
Gohan followed Vegeta's gaze to the doorway and widened his eyes. The three adult Saiyans, Katy and Justin had come running down when they heard Gohan's voice speaking up. Gohan then noticed their mission really succeeded and scoffed: He was never one to win from the Saiyans.
"What happened to that Rilope you talked about?" Vegeta asked as he leaned back again.
Gohan bit his lip and looked down. "He died." He whispered back.
They noticed Gohan's mood descending again and five glares were sent towards Vegeta. The Saiyan looked their way. "What?"
A day later, Katy was kicking and punching in the air. She narrowed her eyes and handed out a punch before she landed a kick. Her invisible enemy had a hard time blocking her attacks. She smiled, took a deep breath and continued beating up her opponent.
Gohan watched her every move and sighed. He was lying on the bed next to her and sighed. He wanted to be able to move like that too. He wanted to be able to walk around and run around again. He would give anything to be able to train again.
It was Katy's turn to watch Gohan at the moment. She didn't mind taking extra turns watching him though. They all knew Gohan hated to be confined to the bed. They also knew he loathed the fact that they had to protect him. Katy was the only one who left him alone when she had to watch him. The Saiyans tended to try to get Gohan out of his bed. They did this by teasing him and taunting him for the fact that he wasn't able to move. Gohan actually attacked Vegeta once but he didn't get very far. His body gave out on him when he'd walked a few feet and he lost consciousness. It gave Vegeta a small scare and they decided to stop it for a while. This morning Katy noticed Raditz standing over Gohan while he was insulting him for being weak. That's when Katy decided it was her turn and she chased Raditz away.
Gohan pouted. "Katy." He whined. "Can you stop doing that?" He got annoyed by the fact he wasn't able to see her movements. Katy stopped and looked at her boyfriend.
"Why?" She asked amusedly.
"I can't see your movements and it's annoying me." Gohan whined. Katy smiled and sat down on the bed. She brushed through Gohan's hair.
"Gohan. I need to get stronger." She answered with a sigh. "I know I can beat Justin and probably a part of the soldiers here. I can't even face you or the other Saiyans and they know it. I don't really feel safe around them. I noticed the looks they're giving me." Katy shivered slightly.
Gohan grinned. "You should be used to those looks." He answered innocently. Katy punched him in the shoulder and Gohan chuckled. "Hey, I'm just a guy. I'm your boyfriend, remember? I'm allowed to think like that."
Katy rolled her eyes. Gohan looked at the doorway. "They won't do anything though." Gohan continued, his tone of voice turning serious. Katy looked back at him. "Saiyans have respect for each other's relationships. Don't get mad at me for saying this, but you did come here for me. You are my girlfriend and thus off-limits for them. They tend to share their trophies but they know I'm pretty serious with you." Katy placed her hand on his hand. "Besides, with what happened to me…" Gohan looked down. "They respect me enough not to do anything like that to you." Katy smiled and gently squeezed in his hand.
Turles walked in and stepped towards his own bed. Gohan looked up and sat straight. "Hey Uncle." He yelled.
"Hey Nephew." Turles answered as he knelt down next to his bed and opened his box. After this he started looking around in it.
"Would you do anything sexually with Katy?" Gohan asked bluntly. The female hit him on the head. "Hey, I just thought: Why not?" He answered with a smile.
Turles looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Why? Is she offering something?" He asked as his eyes traveled to Katy. The girl blushed and placed a hand on her forehead.
"No." Gohan answered. Turles looked back in his box and got something out. He placed it on the bed before he closed the box. After this he got up and turned around again. "Would you do anything against her will?" Gohan asked while Turles was rummaging through his box.
Turles scratched his head and pulled a thoughtful face. "Well… My philosophy used to be that females could always be brought into the mood." He answered as his lips curled up. "I never tried that though. And I never will try it. I want my partners to be with me willingly."
"Thanks." Gohan said dismissively. Turles raised an eyebrow but then turned around and walked out the room. Gohan looked at Katy. "See?"
Katy growled. "Thanks a lot. I bet I'll hear about that later." She snarled at him. "Darn it. I bet they're going to continue harassing me. Vegeta keeps touching me and I really don't know what to do about it." Katy whined. "They're going to be my downfall."
"I can talk to them if you want." Gohan suggested. "That would buy you some time. If you want their respect you would have to earn it yourself. I can protect you but I think you would want to be able to protect yourself." Gohan continued as he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You just have to stand up to them."
"I tried that." Katy answered desperately. "And it earned me this." Katy pointed to her black eye and frowned. "I won't try that again."
"That's exactly what he wants." Gohan answered with a smirk. "You just have to try again. He'll push you back but if you keep trying he will give in. Trust me. I've been there." Gohan put his hands up. "Not that Vegeta stopped beating me up, but according to him: I have a special place in his heart." Gohan ended bitterly. Katy snickered.
After this she got up again and started stretching. She organized her light pink hair and pulled it in a knot. "Okay. If you let me train for the next hour without interruptions; I will spend the last hour with you in the bed. Deal?" She asked as she looked back at him.
Gohan nodded eagerly. "Deal." He said before he lied down and placed his hands under his head. Katy smiled at her accomplishment and walked to the central of the room to continue her training. An hour later Gohan looked up. "Time's up." He announced. Katy stopped in mid-kick and looked his way. She placed her foot on the ground.
"You've been counting?" She asked amused. Gohan nodded. Katy smirked and walked closer. "Well. I guess I should keep to my side of the bargain." She said as she sat down on the bed. After this she lied down next to the half-Saiyan and turned on her side so she could face him. "What do you want to do?" She asked.
Gohan grinned and curled his arms around her body. "Are you sure you want to ask me that?" He asked amused. Katy smiled as he pulled her closer. "Are you sure you want me, a Saiyan, to take control?" He whispered in her ear.
"O yes." She whispered back. "I am definitely sure about that."
An hour later Turles walked inside. The man smirked and placed his hands on his hips. Gohan and Katy were busy exploring each other's mouth and they hadn't noticed Turles coming in yet. Katy was lying on top of her boyfriend and her arms were leaning on the bed. The man walked closer and leaned over the two. Gohan opened his eyes and frowned up at him.
"Go away." Gohan snarled at him. Katy looked sideways and sat up, now straddling Gohan's waist with her legs. She blushed slightly as Turles handed her armor to her. The female got off the bed and quickly pulled it on. Turles knelt down and grabbed Gohan's armor. After this he handed this to Gohan. The half-Saiyan returned his smirk and changed into the armor.
"What's going on?" Katy asked when she was done organizing her clothing. The man shrugged and answered: "Nothing really. It's just my time to take over. Vegeta wants to see you for your special mind-training." Katy nodded and turned around to walk away. Gohan raised an eyebrow.
"Did I miss something? What's that mental training you're talking about?" He asked as he looked at Turles. His uncle shrugged and stepped closer.
"Do you think you can get up?" Turles asked as he eyed Gohan's body.
"I can't get up without help." Gohan answered, frowning a bit. He still didn't like the fact that he couldn't walk yet. Turles grabbed Gohan's arms and pulled him up.
"Can you lean against the wall without help?" Turles asked innocently. Gohan frowned at him but nodded. Turles placed Gohan with his back against the wall. After this he knelt down and looked at Gohan's legs.
"What are you doing?" Gohan asked curiously as Turles started pushing and prodding his left leg.
"I'm checking if everything is alright. The torture blasts can sometimes destroy certain muscles if they are directed at the same place too long." Turles answered as he continued his work. Gohan nodded. "Can you flex your muscles for me?" Turles asked as he looked up. Gohan looked down and did as asked. Turles nodded approvingly and continued his scrutiny.
Gohan watched Turles for a second and said: "How long do you think it'll take me to be able to walk normally again?"
Turles pursed his lips and his hands held still for a second. "I don't really know. You received those blasts everyday for fourteen days. That's quite a while. Next to that you endured normal torture and several beatings. It's hard to tell." Turles got on his feet again and grabbed Gohan's broken arm. "It looks fine though. Your arm is healing pretty fast." Turles smirked as he looked at the arm. "You're a real Saiyan all right." Gohan grinned back at him. He took that as a compliment these days. "I'm not a real expert but I think that, if you start practicing soon, you should be able to walk within a few days." Turles muttered thoughtfully. "We'll take it from there."
Turles moved Gohan's hurt arm around a few times and the half-Saiyan watched it without feeling any pain. "Good. Now we'll play catch for a while." Turles grabbed the half-Saiyan and helped him back to the bed.
"We?" Gohan asked with big eyes. Turles snickered.
"Yes, we." Turles answered as he magically made a small blue ball appear. "I can't play catch alone."
Gohan nodded and got ready. This was the first time one of them actually asked him to do something with them. Until now all he did was lying around while the others either talked to him or trained by themselves. The fact that Turles wanted to do something with him probably meant he was getting better. Turles tossed the ball gently and Gohan caught it. The teen tossed it back. After repeating this for a while Turles stepped back. The two Saiyans were still tossing the ball around when Raditz walked in the room. The man sat down on his bed to change his boots.
Turles stepped a few steps back. "Okay. Let's see if you can throw this far." He said as he held out his hands. Gohan threw the ball but put too much strength in the throw. The boy bit his lip as it flew away, passed Turles, and bumped right into Raditz's head. The Saiyan growled and looked back at Gohan. Turles laughed and Gohan gasped.
"Sorry!" He yelled. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm just not used to my strength yet and I can't throw normally yet and…"
Raditz grabbed the ball and narrowed his eyes at Gohan. "Your strength? Yeah right, your lack of strength you mean." Raditz sneered. Gohan stopped talking and frowned at him. Raditz threw the ball back, hard. Gohan widened his eyes and before he knew it, the ball landed in his stomach. Gohan coughed up blood and gasped for air. Turles scratched the back of his head, thinking Raditz shouldn't have done that. He would have done the same thing though. "Sorry." Raditz said with a smug expression on his face.
"That's not fair." Gohan gasped. "I didn't do it on purpose." He leaned on the bed with his hand. "My aim was off."
Raditz shrugged and turned around. "My aim was off too. I was aiming for your head." Raditz mentioned before he walked away. Gohan growled and muttered a few things under his breath. Turles smirked and held out his hands, gesturing for Gohan to throw the ball again. Gohan sighed and complied with it.
() **** **** ()
"That's mine." Raditz said as he grabbed a few cards. The others; Gohan, Turles and Justin, frowned a bit when Raditz grabbed the cards. He was winning the game and they didn't like it.
The game wasn't about winning though. It was about loosing. Everyone looked back at their cards. Turles and Raditz were both sitting on one bed and Justin and Gohan were placed on another one. They all put their cards down and snatched cards from others away. Justin pouted. "Darn. I lost." He muttered as he placed his cards on the table.
Gohan snickered while the two adults smirked. "Again?" Turles asked, tilting his head innocently. Justin nodded once. Raditz recollected all the cards.
Gohan looked at Justin. "You know what happened, right?" He asked with a smirk.
Justin nodded. "They cheated." He muttered as he looked at the cards Raditz was organizing.
"Don't worry." Gohan answered. "When I was fourteen I must have lost a hundred games because they were cheating." Gohan leaned on his hands. "That just means you are in Phase One of their 'I-like-you' process." Gohan nodded when Justin raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're still stuck in Phase Zero, right?" Turles sneered as his eyes moved to the half-Saiyan.
"O no." Gohan answered with a grin. "I graduated right away. You all liked me the moment you saw me."
Raditz smirked. "Dream on, Nephew. The only reason we kept you around is because you're family." He sneered. "I want to play again." He said after that.
"Family, yeah right. So nephews go before brothers, huh?" Gohan asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Raditz glanced at Turles. "He's whining about me killing his father. He's back to normal all right." He said amusedly.
Justin tilted his head. "You were the one who did it? I knew it happened but I didn't know which one of you actually did the job." He said as he looked at Gohan. The half-Saiyan shrugged and grabbed the cards Raditz gave him.
Raditz nodded as he handed his cards to Justin. "O yes. It was easy too. The one giving the biggest fight was the pest over there." Raditz pointed at Gohan with his thumb. "Kakarot wasn't worth anything."
Gohan narrowed his eyes. "He did manage to slow you down though." Gohan sneered at his uncle.
Raditz shook his head and smirked. "No. You managed to slow me down." He answered as he pushed against Gohan's forehead with his finger. "I was busy finishing Kakarot off when you jumped out of that Space Pod. I was hurt more by your attack than Kakarot's whole assembly."
"Really?" Gohan asked thoughtfully. The teenager looked down and thought about that day. He didn't remember much about it. He only remembered his dad screaming out. The last time he saw his mother. A faint flash of an island with a pink house was seen in his memories. The Space Pod… Gohan received a smack against his head and flinched. He shook his head and looked up. "What?"
Vegeta, who probably walked in while Gohan was lost in his thoughts, was glaring at him. "You ignored me." He announced.
Gohan pursed his lips. Vegeta was mad at him for being so quiet the past few days. Gohan knew about it. "Sorry. Can you repeat what you said? I kind of dozed off." Gohan answered shortly.
Vegeta crossed his arms. "Are you planning on eating with us tonight?" He asked as he looked at the doorway. Gohan thought about that: He wasn't able to walk so he had to be transported there if he wanted to eat with the others. He didn't like that. Gohan didn't want to eat alone either. That was getting pretty boring now. He really wanted to eat with some company.
Gohan was still thinking with a frown on his face. Vegeta looked at Raditz. "Hit him again, will you?" he asked annoyed.
Raditz nodded with a smirk. "With pleasure." He answered before he pulled back a hand. He went to hit the boy but his hand was stopped in mid-air, inches from Gohan's hair. The others all looked at Gohan's hand as it blocked Raditz's attack. Gohan widened his eyes and gave a harsh groan while he pulled his hand back.
"Auch. Auch. Auch. That hurt." Gohan muttered as he rubbed over his aching hand.
Turles looked at the other adults. "His reaction is coming back." He announced. Vegeta nodded but he was still frowning.
"I still didn't receive the answer." Vegeta said in a raised voice. Gohan looked up at Vegeta.
"Vegeta. You can stay mad at me but I was just in a bad mood. I couldn't help it. Besides, you know how it is to have a bad mood." Gohan muttered, already regretting the last part of his utterance.
Vegeta turned around. "He's not eating with us." He announced as he walked away. Gohan watched him go and sighed. After this he placed his cards on the bed opposite his.
"I think I am going to take a nap." Gohan muttered as he pushed his legs under the sheets. "I think playing this game tired me out." Justin got up when Gohan's feet pushed him away.
Raditz rolled his eyes and got up too. Turles looked at Gohan as the others walked away. "Softy." He sneered when he met Gohan's eyes. Gohan shrugged and lied down, turning his back on Turles. The older Saiyan shrugged and walked out the room too.
Vegeta, Nappa and Katy looked up when the others walked in the room. "What's wrong?" Katy asked as Justin sat down on a chair. The boy brushed through his long green hair as he watched the others walk across the room.
"Vegeta is what's wrong." Turles answered with a smirk as he grabbed something to eat and sat down on the ground. "The prince is bothering the half-Saiyan."
"He deserves it." Vegeta growled back. "He wasn't nice to us the past few days, so I don't have to be nice to him now."
Raditz walked closer and grabbed Vegeta on his arm. "You are slowing down his healing process." Raditz said as he pulled Vegeta up. "So get up and make it up. He's sorry." Raditz started pushing the prince towards the doorway.
"I am sorry too. That he is such a spoiled little brat and that we didn't work hard enough to beat that out of him." Vegeta snarled back. Raditz pushed the growling Vegeta to the room Gohan was in and pointed towards the bed.
"Go." Raditz said.
Vegeta sighed and turned around. After this he walked towards the bed. Gohan was lying on his side with his back turned to Vegeta. The prince growled to show Gohan he was there. The half-Saiyan turned on his back and widened his eyes. He sat up. "Vegeta. What's up?" He asked uncertainly.
Vegeta leaned against the wall next to Gohan's bed and looked down at him. "Since I was forced in here by your stupid uncle to make up with you; I am here to do that." Vegeta muttered defeated. He was willing to make up with Gohan but his pride was keeping him from it. It bothered him that Gohan wasn't even remotely glad to see them when they saved him from the dungeon. , that he ignored them the days after that. The boy had to be more grateful in his opinion.
"So…" Vegeta continued as he continued to look down at the teen. "Give me one good reason for your behavior last week." He ordered.
Gohan shrugged and looked down at his lap. "I think the time in the dungeon just got to me." Gohan answered. "When I was there I felt like nobody really cared. Justin betrayed me, Zarbon …" Gohan closed his eyes and shivered slightly. "I hadn't heard from you guys throughout the whole war. I just thought nobody even tried to get to me. I felt lonely."
"I guess I was shocked when you showed up. I didn't think you would go through all the trouble, just to get me out." Gohan continued as Vegeta turned his eyes forwards and closed them. "After that life just wouldn't work with me. I was hurting all day. I kept having those nightmares. I couldn't move. It's terrible to be so weak. I especially didn't like it since you guys were around. I felt vulnerable and you've always told me that I shouldn't show weakness in front of others." Gohan said as his tail moved towards his hands. He was now fidgeting with the tail, something he did when he was nervous.
"So you decided to push us away." Vegeta stated, still closing his eyes.
Gohan nodded slightly. "I didn't do it on purpose, not really. I just wanted to be left alone and you never leave me alone." Gohan leaned back against the wall and sighed.
Vegeta opened his eyes and thought about Gohan's words. He had to admit that they never really left Gohan alone. They were always like this. Gohan had to be used to that. 'He couldn't have wanted to stay in bed all the time, doing nothing. That's not the Half-breed I know. He used to be so enthusiastic and annoyingly restless. Then why did he want to be alone the past few days? He felt weak? We've said he wasn't weak. Of course Half-breed never listens to what we say… Maybe he thought we said that because we didn't want him to feel bad.' Vegeta shook his head. 'He doesn't trust me yet. He said he did but there's still something in there. It's something that's blocks our relationship. It's the same as the camp thing. He was hesitant in telling us about his time in camp because he was afraid we would laugh at him. Why would I laugh about something like that? I know what happened to the pets on camp and to think that Half-breed lived through that as a young boy.' Vegeta frowned. 'I can't believe it. Two years ago I hated him and look at me now…'
The man looked sideways and watched as Gohan was fidgeting with his tail. The man knew that Gohan was nervous when he did that. He also knew that only he, the other Saiyans, Katy, Justin and Boris knew about Gohan's nervous tendency with his tail. The man's tail unwrapped and it curled around Gohan's tail. His tail pulled the younger tail out of Gohan's hands before he let him go. Gohan hands fell down on his lap as his tail lashed behind him.
"Okay. You know what?" Vegeta started as he looked down at the half-Saiyan. "I'll forgive you this time. You'll have to do something in return though." Vegeta pushed off from the wall and turned towards the half-Saiyan.
"Sure what is it?" Gohan asked as he looked up at Vegeta. The teen winced slightly when Vegeta raised his hand but it only landed on his head and tousled his hair.
"Don't doubt our relationship again." Vegeta answered. "The biggest mistake you made in that dungeon was thinking we forgot about you. You should have expected us to come, Half-breed. We Saiyans looked out for each other."
Gohan smiled and nodded. "Thanks Vegeta." He muttered.
"And stop playing with your tail like that." Vegeta continued with a smirk as he pulled his hand back. "How many times do I have to tell you that?" Gohan rolled his eyes and nodded again. Vegeta turned around and walked towards the doorway. "Now weren't you taking a nap?" Vegeta questioned out loud. Gohan scoffed and lied down. Vegeta turned around in the doorway and watched as Gohan shifted in the bed and after a few minutes, fell asleep.
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Title: a line from the song "Light me up" from the Pretty Reckless.
I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know what you think!
