Vegeta really didn't know what in the hell was wrong with him. Inside his head, deep in the back of his mind, his pride was berating him for letting the tall, burly Earth-raised Saiyan see so much of what was inside of him. It was scolding him for acting gentle, shy, innocent and all those other things he had to keep well hidden from anyone and everyone. The things that he had learnt to hide from Frieza and all those who sought pleasure from another's pain. Feh, like he cared what that arrogant bastard had to say. Quite frankly, he had had enough of hiding behind a scowling face. He was tired of people calling him mean names like 'bastard' and 'good-for-nothing' and many, many more. As far as he was concerned, Goku deserved to see who was really hiding under that mask. But, he knew, it wasn't like Goku didn't already know. And besides, he knew the gentle Saiyan would never hurt him.
Kakarot. He thought. You always thought of me as another being, someone just like you. You spared my life after I first came to Earth even though I was going to take yours. You defeated Frieza for me, and for that alone I am grateful. Even if I never acted like it, I really did like you. You were always the one who thought of me as another 'person'. I won't be surprised if you had already found out who I really am. What I'm really like.
But then again, you always knew…didn't you?
They appeared in Vegeta's large room in Capsule Corp. On entering, Goku could not help but feel that there was something different about the place. He had been in Vegeta's room a few times before, but that was only because he either had to call him for something or he just wanted a chat.
Something's different. He thought as he glanced around, taking in the scent and everything around him. Something's changed. Goku could smell something that smelt rather earthy. It smelt like…like…
"Kakarot." Goku was suddenly wrenched out of his thoughts when Vegeta's voice cut through the air. He looked down to see two obsidian orbs staring back at him. "I think I should tell the onna that I'm going to live with you. I mean, it may be a few months later that she notices that I haven't been living here, but she'll notice it all the same." Goku smiled at him.
"Sure, Vegeta." He said, not noticing that his fingers were now massaging Vegeta's shoulders. "I'll wait for you here." But someone else had other plans for him.
~Gryuuuyyuyryuyruyruyruyruyuryruyuryruyuuruuuu~
Vegeta's eyes widened as did Goku's. He quickly put one hand to his stomach while he put the other behind his head.
"Umm…may I should go down and get something to eat…so desu ne?" Vegeta only stared before blinking a couple of times and grinning.
"Baka no tenshi," he said as he walked out. Goku was just about to follow when he realised what Vegeta had just called me.
Chottomatte kudasai! Did 'Geta just call me a…a…tenshi? Goku looked up at Vegeta's retreating form. If he weren't Saiyan, Goku would have been sure that he had imagined it. But apparently, Vegeta hadn't realised that he let out his pet name for Goku, and just walked on. Goku tried to fight off the rising heat in his cheek, but they refused to cool down. I…I'm sure 'Geta called me that by mistake. He thought. I mean, he still called me a baka…right? But even though Vegeta had called him a 'baka', the fact still remained that he called him 'tenshi' instead of 'Kakarot'.
Shaking his head furiously, he followed Vegeta out his room and down to the lab.
As usual, Bulma was tinkering away with her tools. Vegeta needn't go inside to be able to tell that. He was planning on telling her face-to-face, but seeing as she had locked her door, he decided to leave her and give the message to someone else.
He walked into the kitchen, knowing that his two little 'fans' were there. But as soon as he had entered, he was knocked down again by something powerful.
"Papa!"
"Vegeta-san!" Vegeta slowly opened his eyes to find that he was now lying on the floor, head against the white kitchen cupboards with two demi-Saiyan's clinging to his waist. He looked down at them, only to be greeted by their huge, shining eyes and happy smiles.
"Where were you, papa?"
"We didn't see you this morning?"
"Did you go somewhere last night?"
"Did you go see my dad?"
"Did you do any drawings?"
"What happened?" Vegeta glanced at each of them; eyes widening as each question was asked one after the other.
"Slow down!" he yelped. "I can't answer questions that fast!! And do you mind getting off me?!" Trunks and Goten blinked a few times before smiling apologetically.
"Ahh…gomen nasai, Vegeta-san." Apologized Goten as he and Trunks let go of Vegeta's waist and got to their feet. Vegeta was soon to follow. "Saa…did ya see my dad?" Vegeta gave Goten his trademark smirk.
"Of course I did." He said. "I promised you, didn't I?" Goten smiled happily up at Vegeta.
"Arigato gozaimashita," he thanked the ouji. "Is he okay now?" Vegeta grinned down at the boy as he did something that was very uncharacteristic of him. He lifted up his hand and placed it gently on top of Goten's head. Goten stared up at his ouji, not sure of what was going on.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
"Ara?" Both Goten and Trunks stared up at Vegeta, highly confused. Suspecting that Vegeta's words were a hint of some sort, Goten slowly turned around. His eyes were filled with surprise when he saw his father standing in the doorway, looking relaxed as ever.
Goku smiled as he gave a little wave to his youngest child.
"Hey, Goten!" he greeted, smiling like there was no tomorrow. "Genki desu ka?" Goten didn't know what to say. It seemed only yesterday that he was visiting his father…
~ Flashback ~
Goten looked to his father. He didn't look well, plain and simple. Instead of the usual happy grin that was plastered to his face, Goten saw something in his father that he couldn't put a word to.
"Hey, tousan?" he asked tentively. "D…daijoubu ka?" Goku's head was hanging sorrowfully as he sat at the other end of the table from Goten. His face looked ashened and there were dark rings under his eyes that symbolized sleepless nights and worry. Goten was really worried about his father. He had never seen him like this. He didn't seem to be happy anymore. Doushita, tousan? He wondered. It can't be kaasan leaving you…can it? "Tousan?" he asked again, a little louder this time.
Goku's bleak eyes suddenly came back into focus as he lifted his head and smiled jovially at his son.
"Hai? Nan desu ka?" he asked in his 'happy-go-lucky' voice. Goten didn't know why, but he found himself cringing at the falseness in his father's voice.
"N…nan demo nai." He said as he moved his gaze from his dad to the cup of cocoa he was drinking. It was strange. He had never thought his father to be the unhappy one. From all the stories his brother, Gohan, used to tell him, his father was never unhappy. His father had never shed a tear before, not once. And here, it looked like he was going to break down weeping, despite the grin plastered to his face. It hurt. It hurt him so much to see his father try and cover up his unhappiness with his loving smile. It hurt him so much to see the pain bleeding from his father's eyes.
It was so painful.
~End Flashback ~
Goten smiled happily as a few tears managed to find their way to his eyelids, but he kept them back.
"G…genki desu." He replied. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He was just so happy to see his father back to his old self again. And it's all because of Vegeta-sama… He paused for a second as he felt the fingers on the hand on his head gently massage the crown of his head. Vegeta knew why he was at a sudden loss for words, and this was his way of comforting him. Though he was grateful, this made it harder for Goten to keep the tears in.
"Trunks, I need to talk to both you and Goten for a minute." Vegeta said.
"Hai, papa." Said Trunks, giving him his full attention.
"I'm going to be moving in with Kakarot." He said, grinning at the surprised looks on their faces. "Seeing as he and I are the last two pure-blooded Saiyan's in the universe, it would be better if we just stuck together." Trunks stared at his father for a moment, his eyes asking him if he was for real. But then he grinned happily, glad that his father was moving on with his life instead of training all the time. Granted, training was only one of the few things that he could do, but he seemed to be rather obsessed with it. And besides, now that he was living with Goku, he wouldn't deprive himself of company.
"Sure…demo," he paused, frowning. "Why are you telling me and not mom?" Vegeta chuckled.
"It'll be Christmas 3004 by the time that onna realizes I've moved out of the house. And…I thought you might like to know first." Trunks smiled happily and nodded his head.
"Hai! Arigtao, papa!" he said, thanking Vegeta.
"You'll both still be able to see me." He said. "I'll just be at Kakarot's place."
"W…when will you be leaving?" he asked.
"Today."
"Sugoi! Can I help you pack your stuff?!" asked Trunks eagerly. Vegeta grinned as he reached a hand out to Trunks and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"I think both you and Goten should. You're the only other ones around here who knows where all my stuff is!" Trunks nodded happily as he took off out the kitchen, follow by Goku.
Vegeta was about to make his way out when he felt something tug at his sleeve. He looked down to see Son Goten holding his sleeve as he gazed at the floor.
"V…Vegeta-sama…" he said. By the tone of his voice, Vegeta could hear that he was trying to control his voice, but was finding it impossible. Slowly, Vegeta turned to face him.
"Hai." A few minutes of silence passed between them, neither of them making a move. Finally, Goten lifted his head a notch as he croaked out,
"A…arigato gozaimashita, v…Vegeta-sama." Vegeta's eyes widened as he caught a sniffle from the young Saiyan.
"N…nani?"
"Arigato gozaimashita for visiting my tousan." He said. "Many months ago, when my kaasan divorced tousan, he began to get depressed. I had never seen him unhappy before, so I thought I was just seeing things. After a few weeks, tousan didn't get any better. I went to Gohan and asked him if there was anything I could do to help him, demo…Gohan said that it was probably just a phase he was going through. I didn't know what to think at the time, so I just did as Gohan said. I watched tousan to see if he improved. Demo…" he paused again. "He…he didn't. He…he…he just got worse! It…it hurt so much…to…to see him pretend to be happy when he wasn't. When I could look into his eyes and see all the hurt staring back at me like a rotting wound!" Vegeta watched as his shoulders began to shake and quiver a bit, trying to control his emotions. Goten lifted his eyes, tears lining the edges neatly as he smiled gratefully at his ouji. "But now…now he's happy again. I can see it. He's happy to be with you, Vegeta-sama. Arigato."
By now, Vegeta's heart was tied in a knot so tight; he thought he might die of blood not circulating through his limbs. He had never, himself, thought that Goku could get depressed. Upset, maybe. Angry at himself, most likely. Confused, definitely. But depressed? It was then that he realised that not only did he care for Goku, but for Goten too. And maybe it was time to show Goten this. He crouched down until he was eyes level with the young demi-Saiyan, both hands on his shoulders.
"Goten-chan." He said softly. "What I did was not only because of Kakarot, but because of you. I know that you love your father very much and that even though you've never known him your whole life, you still care about him. But I…" he paused, wondering if he really should let it out. His pride was waving a bright red flag about, screaming at him not to do it. But he decided it was better if he knew. He didn't want to keep the poor boy in the dark, confused by actions and contradicting words. Swallowing his pride, he looked deep into Goten's eyes and said it. "I care about you too. I always have. You are like my second son. Of all the time you spend at Capsule Corp, it just brings me closer to you. I care about you just as much as I care about Trunks, and in the same way. What I did was because I couldn't bear to see you hurt like that. Both you and Kakarot." Goten stared at him, eyes wide and full of shock. But once the words sunk in, he scrunched his face up to try and stop the tears from flowing. But they fell anyway.
"Ve…ge…ta…" he sobbed.
"It's okay, you can cry." He said. "There's no shame in crying when you need to." And that was the God's honest truth about what Vegeta thought. True, he had always said that crying was a weakness, but that was just words. Vegeta only never cried because he couldn't; because where he came from it was a weakness. A breach in one's defense. But, truth be told, he knew there was no shame in revealing your true feelings through tears. Goten silently agreed with Vegeta as his tears began to flow more freely, and he clung desperately to his ouji. Vegeta didn't mind. In fact, he welcomed him with open arms. Goten buried his head in the crook of Vegeta's neck as he cried, all the while, Vegeta's rubbed little circles by his lower back and stroked the back of his head, caressing the soft sable that was so much like Goku's.
Once Goten felt in control of his body again, he pulled back from the warmth of Vegeta's chest to smile brilliantly at him. His heart sang when that smile was returned. Using his thumbs, Vegeta wiped away the trails of saline his tears had left behind.
"Come on," he said as he stood up. "Trunks and Kakarot will most likely have wondered what happened to us." Goten nodded as he wiped his nose on his sleeve, following behind Vegeta. All the while they walked up to his room, he could not help but think that his father was right. That Vegeta really was an angel in a demon's clothing.
When Vegeta and Goten entered his room, they found Trunks and Goku already packing all of Vegeta's possessions into bags. Of course, there wasn't that much packing to do. It was just a few shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, underwear, washing materials and his gi. What Goku found really amazing was that Vegeta had very little underwear, as in he only had four pairs!! He didn't know why, but this somehow served to…turn him on. But it shouldn't have really surprised him. After all, Vegeta wears his gi most of his life and Goku had never seen any underwear lines…what does that say? [AN: that's sarcasm.]He turned his head towards the door as he heard them enter.
"Oh…hey, Vegeta!" he greeted. "We're just packing all your stuff. It shouldn't take too long to get all your stuff into my house. I mean, you've got very little clothing." Hai…some look like their fit your beautiful body *very* nicely. Goku, for the life of him, did not know where that thought came from. And even if no one else heard that, he was still highly embarrassed of thinking of Vegeta in that way. He quickly turned away from them as his cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. And the pair of ink black jean that he was holding didn't make matters any better for him.
"Hai, maybe so," said Trunks as he folded away a crimson shirt. "But I think it'll take at least about…"
"Four or five IT's." finished Goten as he neatly packed Vegeta's socks.
"Doushite?' asked Goku. "Why four or five?"
"Saa…it'll take one IT to take my clothes," said Vegeta as he counted off, holding up a pair of silky black boxers that he was going to fold. "Another for my futon and pillows, and about two more for my little trinkets." If Goku heard what Vegeta said, he might've nodded his head understandingly. Instead, his eyes were locked onto the pair of boxers Vegeta was holding.
Black silk… he thought as his face flushed and his imagination kicked in. That's kinda kinky…as quick as he could; Goku shook his head, clearing it of all the naughty thoughts that were running around so freely. Yamero! This is not the time to be imagining Vegeta in black silky boxers…shit!!! Where did that come from?! Goku needn't look down to see that he was highly aroused. For the first time in his life, he was glad that the clothes he wore were baggy.
"Hey tousan," Goku quickly turned his head, glancing down at Goten.
"Um…hai?" he asked nervously.
"We will be able to visit you guys, right?" Goku smiled as he ruffled Goten's hair affectionately.
"Of course you guys can! I'd be more than happy to have you visit me!"
"Can we visit you after school so we can do our homework?" questioned Trunks. Vegeta cocked an eyebrow.
"Why can't you do it here like you normally do?" Trunks didn't answer him, but the pink blush on his cheeks said it all. Vegeta smirked. Feh. It seems they have gotten used to my silent company. Inwardly, he smiled. It felt rather nice to know that somebody actually enjoys his company.
Once they were finished packing, Goku used his Instant Transmission to teleport Vegeta's clothes to his house. He then went back for the bed things. Because Goku wasn't really listening to what Vegeta was saying, he didn't question what little 'trinkets' Vegeta owned. It was only when he teleported back when he popped the question.
"Nani?" he asked as he cocked his head to one side. "What's all this?"
"This is my stuff." Vegeta said simply.
"…Vegeta, these are drawing stuff." He said as though Vegeta didn't know. He turned and cocked an eyebrow at the tall Saiyan.
"And what does that tell you?" Goku was going to answer, but then decided that if his answer angered his ouji, Vegeta might change his mind about staying with him. And he didn't want to be alone. So instead, he just shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay." He said as he glanced over the brown paper wrapped canvases and the plastic bags that appeared to be full of tube and pots of paint, as well as a variety of brushes. "This might take about two IT's, but it think I can manage." He said as he looked to Vegeta. He gave his nod of approval.
"Fine. I just have one last bag to pack and then you can teleport me too." Goku smiled at his ouji.
After they had left, Goten and Trunks walked out into the garden to play. But Goten wasn't feeling particularly playful, so they just decided to sit and talk. All the while, Goten had a very strange looking glint in his eyes, as he knew something that Trunks didn't. Because Trunks was the son of Vegeta, he picked up on this very quickly.
"Hora, Goten." He called to his friend. Goten turned to him, a happy little smile plastered to his face. "What's up with you?"
"I'm just so happy that my tousan is okay again." He replied. Trunks snorted.
"I guess," he said. "But that's not the only reason you're smiling like that. What are you really hiding, Goten?" Goten grinned as he shook his head.
"I can never seem to fool you, can I?" he asked.
"Of course not," Trunks smirked. "What kind of a friend would I be if I let looks like that go unnoticed? Well?" Goten grinned as he turned his nose up in the air.
"Hmph!" he grunted, imitating someone Trunks thought he knew. "Like I'm going to tell you."
"HEY! Goten! That's not fair!"
"I don't want to tell you something that might not happen."
"Well, what do you think is going to happen?" he paused for a moment, checking both sides to see if anyone else was listening.
"Listen," he said as he motioned Trunks to come closer. "Don't you find it…odd…that both our dads seem to want to constantly be around one another."
"Sorta…" he admitted. "I mean, I always thought it was because they were Saiyan's and that my dad really hated yours, demo…" he stopped for a second, his already handsome face screwing up in thought. "They seem to want to be around each other too much to just want to spar."
"Exactly!" concluded Goten. "And that's why I think…" he stopped right there. He needn't have finished his sentence anyways, as Trunks immediately caught on.
"Goten! You…you mean…?"
"Hai so desu!"
Red: right! That's where I'm ending this chapter! You think Goten and Trunks have it all figured out? Maybe…maybe not. We'll see in the next chapter…shall we? And, yes, I know I've made Vegeta a little (okay, not a little…) OOC. Forgive me…but it is a fantasy of mine to see Veggie-kun act so affectionately! And I'm sure there are million of other fans out there who'd like to see it as well…just once! So, please, don't tell me it's OOC because I know it is.
Translations
So desu ne: same as the notes before, except you add 'ne' at the end
Baka no tenshi: by now, if you look at the notes before, you'll know that baka means 'idiot' and tenshi means 'angel'. Put them together and you get 'stupid angel'.
Arigato gozaimashita: it's a really polite form of 'thank you'
Ara: huh?
Genki desu ka: how are you?
Genki desu: I'm okay
Daijoubu ka: are you okay?
Doushita: what's wrong?
Tousan: father
Kaasan: mother
Nan desu ka: what is it?
Nan demo nai: ohh…nothing.
Sugoi: cool!
Yamero: this also means 'stop', but this is the one most used by males. So, from now one, instead of saying Yamete, they shall all say Yamero, kay? ^u^