Chapter 24. Reassurance
Vegeta found Turles slouched in the chair with his arms folded and his chin resting on his chest. His eyes immediately opened when Vegeta entered and he knew for a fact that the man hadn't slept a wink while watching over his Captain. Such outstanding dedication.
"My Prince." Turles greeted mutedly in his booming voice.
Vegeta gave a nod in reply. On the bed Akane was sound asleep curled up beneath the covers. "Has she been awake?"
"Not once. She has been sleeping for twenty hours straight now. Looks like her fever dropped a bit. She stopped shivering about an hour ago." Turles reported.
Vegeta was glad to hear that. He was also pleased to see Turles show such competence. He had kept a keen eye on her. The man was a good soldier. The both of them were. It was surprising how tolerable Ringo's company had actually been during the collecting of the dragonballs, the man had a very dry and morbid sense of humor. And Turles, well saying he liked the man went a bit far, but Vegeta could suffer having him around quite well too. He had seen enough of the both of them for now though.
Turles left giving a quick salute when Vegeta directed him out of the room with a simple jerk of his thumb.
"Good work, Turles."
Turles inclined his head in a thankful gesture before closing the door behind him.
Vegeta sat down on the bedside next to his sleeping concubine. She looked less flushed and her breathing was calm. Her bruises were healing fast as well. He reached out to touch her damp forehead. The fever had indeed dropped some, but she wasn't out of it just yet.
He wanted her to be present when they summoned the dragon so the wish would have to wait a while longer. It was no big deal. What was another day? Vegeta surmised he would have enough to keep him busy during the wait. Watching his little concubine sleep so comfortably could well prove to be all he needed to occupy him. And, his ki darted, there was also his daughter to admire. If she continued developing at this rate she would surpass her own mother before leaving the womb.
Perhaps that was why Akane's body was so affected by this. On the other hand, bearing a child that was to develop to its full size in a mere twelve weeks was rather demanding in any case. He could only imagine what strain that kind of toil put on a body. She was going to be working very hard the following weeks, of that much he was certain.
Vegeta removed his armour and boots and climbed in bed with Akane, careful not to wake her, though he suspected even a big bang attack wouldn't be sufficient enough to rouse her at the moment. She looked far too comfortable for that. He was proven wrong when she nudged him, her small rough hands gripping his shirt and evidently trying to get him to move in some way. Her eyes remained shut so she could just as well still be sleeping. He obliged nevertheless, allowing her to push him to his stomach as it appeared she wanted this of him, be it in her waking or sleeping state.
She crawled onto his back, gave a snarl of annoyance and eased up his shirt before resting her burning cheek against his bare skin. A happy sigh and the beginnings of a pur told him that she was satisfied with their position.
Vegeta slipped his hands beneath the pillow and closed his eyes to grab some sleep himself. It took him much will to not heed his hard cock pressing into the bed. He was going to have to get used to this sooner or later. Having her close would probably never seize to arouse him and he couldn't just have it away with her every time she gave him a riser. They would simply never stop fucking again.
After a while her hoarse voice penetrated the silence. "Why do you have to smell so good?"
Apparently he wasn't the only one affected by their closeness.
Her sharp nails traced fire into his skin, making every nerve ending in his body twitch. She pulled her naked body up on his to bring her mouth to his ear.
"Did you miss me, Vegeta?"
Vegeta flooded at his name being uttered in that raspy whisper. He didn't answer. Why tell her that he did when he could just as easily show her?
.
.
.
Vegeta leapt up from the bed at the urgent ramming on the front door. Disoriented for a second he took in the room around him and remembered where he was. The capsule house in the valley. His little concubine was still lying curled up in bed, ever sleeping. He swooped his battle suit from the floor, shot into it and made his way out while pulling on his boots.
"Daddy! Open up, daddy!"
Just as Vegeta emerged from the bedroom Trunks barged in through the front door still calling out urgently. "Dadd… Father!" the boy corrected himself when his watery blue eyes met Vegeta.
Behind his son he spotted Akane's men lounging outside by the firepit again. It looked like they had opted to sleep out there in stead of in the tiny front room of the capsule house.
"What's all this commotion, boy?" Vegeta asked, rubbing his face with a yawn.
He was caught off guard when Trunks dashed over to hug him tightly around the waist and refused to let go again. Vegeta put his hand on his son's lavender-haired head and allowed him to stay the way he was. This was after all the reason why he had kept his battle power raised, so that Trunks would be able to locate him at all times.
"Enough now." Vegeta berated him, though he couldn't quite get his voice to sound stern.
Trunks finally let go and looked up at him with a happy smile.
Vegeta gave him a quick pat on the cheek and motioned him to follow as he entered the small kitchen. He was hungry.
"Give me a hand." He demanded when he started to unload a fresh capsule fridge onto the small kitchen table.
Trunks did and before long they sat down on the two stools to eat breakfast just like any other morning. Vegeta admitted to himself that this was one of the few things he was going to miss from his time on Earth. Just sit and have breakfast with his son. He had made it a priority to do so most days since the woman decided Trunks was old enough to face his father on his own.
"Does your mother know you're here?"
"I snuck out." Trunks shrugged somewhat hangdog. "You didn't tell me where you were going. I thought… I was afraid I would never see you again."
"I promised you that I would let you know where I was." Vegeta pointed out mildly.
"I know." Trunks wiped the jelly from his cheeks. "But mom said you wouldn't come back to us. That you left for good this time."
Vegeta sighed. "I left your mother and the house and soon I will leave Earth, but I will never leave you. You are my son."
Trunks looked at him horrified. "Leave Earth? But you can't! How can I see you when you leave Earth?"
"We'll find a way." Vegeta promised. He didn't know how. There had to be a way for him to continue seeing his children. If necessary he would travel from Vegetasei to Earth and back in a space pod. Whatever it took.
Trunks was on the verge of tears again.
"Listen, it will work out. You just have to trust me." Vegeta spoke reassuringly.
"Where will you go then?" Trunks asked bravely steady.
"To my home planet. We are going to wish it back with the dragonballs." Vegeta answered.
"Can I come with you?"
"Don't you want to be with your mother?"
"Yes, but I want to be with you as well. Can't you just come home?" Trunks pleaded. "Mom says Yamcha might come to live with us, but I can kick him out for you."
Vegeta couldn't help but laugh. That was his son alright. "I can't. My home is on Vegetasei." he halted briefly. "And I think yours is here, with your mother and Bra. For now at least. I will visit you and your sister as often as I…"
Vegeta got cut off by Akane who strode into the kitchen with her wild hair damp from a shower and looking more like her old strong and ill tempered self. "You can visit your father whenever you feel like it, Princeling. Just ask Kakarot to instant transmit you. I'm sure he won't have a problem with that. I gather he will be over a lot himself to visit his brother."
Trunks' face lit up. "That's a great idea, right father?"
Vegeta nodded wordlessly. It was a brilliant idea, even if it meant having to ask Kakarot for favours. He would without hesitation swallow his pride for his son.
"Good morning, Captain." Trunks now cheered with a full mouth and a huge smudgy grin.
"Morning Princeling." Akane grumbled.
"How are you?" Vegeta asked.
"Starving." Akane snarled, her menacing eyes plundering the table. Then she continued a bit less harsh: "My fever is gone."
Her little hands shot out to snatch everything to her likes from under their noses and she leaned back against the counter to eat standing up.
"Well, your mood has certainly improved." Vegeta said. "And you're getting some variation in your diet too."
"Clever." Akane hissed from behind a large peach. "I think I might have overkilled on the chicken. I can't even look at it anymore."
"You have very poor self-control." Vegeta agreed, snickering at the vicious look she gave him. It was just so easy to send her up.
"Anyroad." Akane snarled, holding up the half eaten peach. "I have this craving for sweet things and it's driving me right insane. You save any of these you come across for me."
"So, you'll eat peaches until you overkill on those and move on to something else." Vegeta summerized.
Akane shrugged and munched down the rest of her peach to hide the smile that so obviously wanted to come to her face. How she loved revelling in that foul mood. Her hard eyes found Trunks and at last she smiled openly. She pointed out the too tight, green shirt she was wearing.
"I haven't thanked you for my shirt yet. As you can see I am very fond of it."
"No thanks, Captain." Trunks mumbled in between wolfing down another sandwich.
Akane bent towards him with something that could almost pass for affection in her fierce face. "You sure look mighty handsome today, Princeling." She wiped a smudge of peanut butter from his cheek. "The girls on Vegetasei will be all over you in a couple of years so be sure to visit often. I'll leave you to talk with your father now."
She straightened up and ruffled Trunks' hair on her way out, her free arm piled with fruit.
"The Captain can be so weird." Trunks entrusted to his father in a hushed voice when Akane stepped out of the house to join her men outside.
Vegeta snickered, staring at her retreating back through the open doorway, her round arse bouncing in her skin tight, black shorts. "Tell me about it."