Winning the Love of the Handsome Skater
Chapter Twenty-Five: It's Been A While…
They had been standing under the rain with Bulma shivering like a leaf for the longest of times. It was a moment frozen in time, a moment they both wanted to imprint on their memories, to treasure… Neither wanted to say anything, afraid to break the perfect moment, afraid to be the one to shatter the soothing tranquility of their embrace, to ruin the symphony of the falling droplets of crystalline water…
With her head pressed firmly against the side of his neck, his calm chuckle seemed to rumble directly in her own body, sending another shiver down her spine, though this one had nothing to do with the weather conditions. What a pleasant sound his chuckle was… she could listen to him endlessly, laughing, talking, humming… His voice was beautiful…
"Let's get you inside before you catch a cold," he said with another chuckle. She made an attempt to join him in his amusement but managed only a gagged sound and a strangled smile through thin purple lips.
"Since my brain is too wet and frozen to come up with something witty, let's just speed it up a bit, huh?"
This time he laughed full-heartily and—frozen though her facial muscles were—she managed a smile. Yes… his voice was truly beautiful… especially when he laughed… and for her.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
After they had gone inside the house, they had taken a shower—together—but—frozen though her whole body was it had still longed for him for such a long time—they had done nothing but shower—a great disappointment to Bulma, although she had noted with some satisfaction that not all of Vegeta was saying 'no' to her naked body under the streaming water.
She was now in front of her vanity mirror, drying her hair with her towel while her boyfriend was enjoying a few minutes to himself under the shower. He had told her he would be right out and that he needed a bit of time to himself. She had concurred with his plea, if only slightly reluctantly, wondering if he would be alright by himself under the hot water… After all, no matter how strong he was, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything recently and he was certainly feeling faint by the time…
No more than five minutes after the thought crossed her mind, the spiky-haired boy exited the adjoining bathroom, releasing a satisfying amount of hot stream in her room. He shook his head and smothered onyx spikes in an attempt to bring them back up, to their original state. He had just a towel around his waist and she was allowed a full look over his body. She frowned at what she saw. He was thinner than she had ever seen him… Perhaps someone else wouldn't have noticed, but she did. And what she saw she didn't like, at all… Vegeta was the healthiest person she had known her whole life and seeing him like this made her feel bad…
"I've brought you some of my father's normal clothes which he never actually wears. Pick whichever you like and then we go down for supper."
"Is that an order?" he joked while putting on a t-shirt that was several sizes too big for him.
"As a matter of fact, it is." He gave her a skeptical glare. "Don't look at me that way, mister! Look at yourself! You're so thin! You've almost melted away completely! No boyfriend of mine is going to keep getting thinner under my roof. You were perfectly fine when we met. It's time you return your usual form. I have called the chef here today especially for you and I have ordered her to cook your favourite. I expect nothing less but seeing you downstairs and witnessing your plate's contents all gone after you're done." Bulma smiled at the complacent smirk that crossed her boyfriend's lips.
"Wonderful… Let's get downstairs then. I feel like I can eat a few dozen stakes right now." He rubbed his hands together at the prospect but was put to an abrupt—and unexpected—halt by his girlfriend's finger poking his chest and her slender figure blocking his path when he attempted to go down for supper. He frowned firmly. "Now what did I do? Am I breathing too loud for your liking or something?" To his greatest surprise, she laughed at that. It wasn't forced, which was even further puzzling. He hadn't even said anything witty… Something was wrong with her, he deduced.
Bulma, on the other hand, was enjoying the fact that her boyfriend was—indeed, it was obvious even in his speech—that he was truly picking himself up and together. It was a thought that made her laugh and caused tears of joy to sparkle in her eyes. She had been so afraid for him after what he had told her. She had never, even in her wildest dreams, expected that such a person like him could even exist. People made attempts at suicide for even less reasons, went insane for half of what he'd been through and—if they made it through all the stages he had—disturbingly resembled walking corpses. But not him—he was so… energetic and… inhumanly strong mentally. How was he doing it? Even now, he was glaring at her, with his usual intensity, wanting nothing more than to fill his growling stomach, doing as if all those things he had told her about had never happened. She admired him, she adored him, she truly loved him and all of a sudden the desire to embrace him overwhelmed her…
…But she knew better than to "attack" him so suddenly. Although he had possibly bared his soul to her she was certain that he was no more physical of a person than he had been beforehand. So, she was satisfied with just telling him, "You didn't do anything wrong, silly."
She even got a perverse kind of joy from seeing his nose wrench in disgust at the word she had used for him—he hated it and used the same expression on her as if she had just mentioned the "C" word in reference to him, which is to say, cute ("I am not 'cute', woman! I am hot, handsome, gorgeous, whatever, but not cute! Teddy bears, fluffy bunnies and other things that make girls squeal moronically are cute and I am not! Why are you looking at me like that? Stop laughing this instant I tell you!). "But you're in too great of a hurry. She got here just while we were in the shower and she probably hasn't cooked anything yet."
His arms seemed to cross by themselves as his glare faltered slightly while he watched her just as intently.
"I'll go check how she's progressing and you wait for me here, okay?" She pulled herself on her tiptoes and placed a brief peck on his pouting lips and turned to leave, but not before hearing him snort and retort,
"You're treating me as if I'm a troublesome ten-year-old…" he grumbled as he threw himself on her bed and fetched the remote control for her television set.
"Aren't you? Well, perhaps with the difference that you're a troublesome nineteen-year-old, which is—I dare say—worse." She giggled when he threw her a glare with his jaw firmly set.
"Weren't you checking how dinner was going?"
Her laugh echoed down the staircase as she descended. Despite himself, Vegeta smirked at the TV and it had nothing to do with the show he was watching. He turned to a side with his back to the door, resting his head on his arm, eyes glued to the fast moving pictures of the TV… mesmerizing him, making him feel dizzy… Just thinking about the juicy stakes Bulma's chef made caused saliva to pool in his mouth. When was the last time he had eaten? Three days ago… or was it? He had been so delirious at the time he couldn't remember… What had he eaten… Had it been a burger, perhaps…? Or maybe he had cooked himself something… He was such a terrible cook… Well, at least it was acceptable when there was nothing in the fridge… His fridge was… so white…
And, before he knew it, his breathing had become very even and he was fast asleep…
Five or so minutes later, Bulma was climbing the stairs taking two at a time, helping herself with a hand gripping the railing tightly with a huge grin plastered on her face.
"Vegeta, you're not going to believe this!" She exclaimed in an enthusiastic voice. "Bertha's almost ready with your first dish of—" But she didn't get to finish the sentence as she clamped her hand over her mouth when she circled his still body on her bedcovers. He had been so tired that he hadn't even had the time to wait for supper.
Smiling serenely, she fetched some comfortable covers and threw them over her sleeping boyfriend.
Before she retreated, she marveled his sleeping frame. He looked so peaceful… His eye brows were finally—truly—eased… His expression looked almost tranquil and the slow rises and falls of his ribcage in the pose he had taken made him look like a small boy. She couldn't suppress her grin and didn't even try to. Bending over to place a brief kiss—lighter than a touch of a feather—on his forehead and tucking his covers around him before closing the door quietly and deciding not to let Bertha's cooking go to a waste. After all, it was pretty clear Vegeta would stay over for breakfast… at least.
It was about six pm at the time she did…
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Busying herself with as many nonsensical activities as she could, Bulma had spent the rest of the evening outside her bedroom, thinking that, at some point, Vegeta would wake up and would want something to keep him busy as well before he went to bed again. However, when he gave no sign of waking up any time soon about midnight, she decided it would be for the best if she went to sleep as well. After all, he had probably quite strained himself lately and a few hours additional slumber wouldn't do anyone any harm.
Yet when she had to go to the mall around ten am to keep herself busy and not wake him, she started feeling a bit anxious an uneasy… He was alright… right?
Sighing, she climbed in her car and drove towards the towering building, hoping that when she got back, he'd be out of bed. If not, she was going to shake him awake… before he fell in a coma or whatever.
It is astounding how a rocket scientist can adopt such a childlike ignorance in their worry…
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
He had moved no other muscle than the ones he used for breathing for more than seventeen hours now. His form was completely still, motionless on the soft firm mattress of Bulma's bed. But upon closer inspection, you would notice the rapid movements of his eyes below his eyelids…
He was dreaming.
The boy's bloodied fingers trembled in despair. What had he done…? What kind of a monster was he…? Tears trickled down his beautiful infantile face and—despite the blood dripping from his wrists—he buried his head in his hands, willing the gruesome pictures out of his mind. He wasn't a terrible being… It had been his fault for provoking Vegeta! It had been his fault for… for…
A sob strangled his body and mind. He had killed her… Why? What had she done to the bastard? Hadn't she been good enough for him? Hadn't she given him her heart and soul, hadn't she been enough of a support over the years, even though the bastard's abusive nature? She had been an angel, had always been one… She represented everything good in this world to her only son…
… And now… she was gone… Just like that… What did he live for then?
In his anguish, the small boy didn't notice the group of men circling him.
"Hey, kid, what are you doing in our part of the city?" His head snapped up, panicked eyes fixing on the thug that had spoken.
"Yeah, a child like you shouldn't be outside at a time like this." The stars shone mockingly over the second one's repulsing features.
"Why don't you go back home and hide behind your mother's skirt?" They laughed at their little joke and missed the predatory look—the glare of a ruthless killer—crossing the boy's beautiful features. No, he wasn't a murderer… His mother would've been so ashamed of him… He couldn't… Agonizing, the flame-haired adolescent crawled in a small ball, grasping his head as the pain attacked him mercilessly.
"Kid, this isn't funny anymore. Do you know what we're going to do with you?" When the boy paid no attention to him, the guy took Vegeta's arm and hauled him up to his eye-level. "We're going to beat you senseless."
Defend! Defend…! His instincts were screaming at him, trying to force him out of his torpor, but he couldn't move… He didn't want to move… He wasn't a killer, he wasn't a murderer, he wasn't a monster…! He was… he was a good boy, a unique boy… just like how his mother always said… He was just different… He wasn't…
He was going to be beaten to a pulp by creatures far inferior to himself… and he wasn't going to do anything about it. Because he deserved it… because he was a monster…
The thugs laughed while the one holding Vegeta's collar swung his fist back, ready to strike. But he never managed to strike the grieving boy as something caught his arm and gave it a firm jerk… forcing his shoulder out of its joint.
With an ear-piercing brawl, the pathetic creature collapsed to his knees, holding his injured shoulder for his dear life. It took his buddies just a second to regroup and attack the newcomer.
Vegeta's eyes were sightless to the bout and his ears deaf. He was staring at a spot on the concrete, thoughtless, emotionless… when a rough hand took a gentle hold of his shoulder, urging him to look up. So he did, coming face to face with a raven-haired boy with eyes that completely matched his in colour…
"Are you alright?" The voice… So gentle… Vegeta glanced over the crouching boy's shoulder at the thugs with fractures in the most astounding of places in their body and scrambling for their dear lives. His gaze returned to the stranger, his rescuer… Was he alright…? Could he possibly be alright at a time like this? He shook his head and buried his head in his hands again. He was a monster, a monster, a MONSTER! "Go home and fix yourself up something warm for drink. Don't blame yourself for things that aren't your fault, okay?"
With a friendly pat, the boy was back to his feet and sauntered off with a girl that Vegeta had just noticed once his head snapped up at the guy's last words.
"Wait, how did you—" A lucky guess? Vegeta didn't believe in luck or coincidence. This guy knew something about him, it knew about the incident that had occurred tonight… and he didn't like the prospect of it. But before he could question his saviour, the guy was already out of sight.
Still slightly shaky, the spiky-haired adolescent stood on his feet, staring through the darkness at nothing in particular. The ghost of a smile crossed his features. Well, he'd have to live on and see how that guy knew of him, wouldn't he?
No, those weren't his dreams; they weren't creations of his mind…
They were things that had already happened…
Vegeta dragged his feet along the street, impassive expression firm on his face. He was so tired of this business shit. He had work to do, damn it! He didn't have time for school! But grandfather Gohan wouldn't have agreed with his reasoning and Vegeta didn't want to betray the man's trust.
'The old man is dead, for God's sake, and I'm still dwelling over how he would've felt about this or that I do… Tche… My conscience is so pathetic…'
Before he knew it he was already in front of the door to his new class. He sighed in defeat. He was there anyway; the least he could do was enter…
However, upon entering, the first thing his eye caught was the flash of the same familiar raven hair that had haunted his dreams for all these years… There he was, his saviour from that night so long ago, talking to the girl next to him, also a person he remembered clearly, as if he had last seen him yesterday. It seemed that class had already begun because the teacher turned to look at him. She smiled.
"Ah, Mr. Ouji, I am so glad you came." She turned to the class now. "Everyone, please listen here." The talking died down a bit. "This is Vegeta Ouji, he is in our class as of today. Please treat him well." Her eyes focused on Vegeta again. "You may take your seat now."
"Funky haircut dude."
"Where did you get it from? The wall-plug at home?"
"Aren't you a tall one…"
Words that meant nothing to him, words from people he cared none about, words from people who knew nothing about him… Mocking him, taunting him… trying to get to him… He didn't even flinch while he walked towards his seat, slumping down on it with a look of casual boredom while the comments continued. But one thing caught his eye and full attention… That boy… was staring at him.
"What kind of a name is Vegeta?" Another bashing voice laughed.
"It sounds regal to me." It was that boy, his past—and by what it looked like, current—rescuer. Vegeta blinked vacuously. Eh…?
"What? Regal…" The last verbal attacker narrowed his eyes in annoyance and confusion. "Where the hell did you get that kind of idea—"
"You know," the dark haired stranger began, pulling his desk (which was right next to the new guy's, as a matter of fact) closer to Vegeta's, "I know a language in which Ouji means "Prince"." The stranger smirked at the other boy. "Prince Vegeta… doesn't it have a tinge of nobility to it?"
Vegeta was speechless. In all his life, no one after his mother had dared to stand up for him in front of so many people… Even Kakarot, his best friend, couldn't defend him in such times (not that he would've wanted Kakarot to, even if he could), as the fool was hopeless in verbal fights… And now…
"Why are you defending him like that? Doesn't he look weird to you?" someone piped in.
"Some of us have been taught manners, difficult as it may be for you to understand that kind of thing," his saviour leered back at the intruder.
"This has nothing to do with my manners!" the other boy flushed red.
"Nothing ever does, now doesn't it, Zarbon?"
The fight continued
on throughout the whole period, with the occasional interferences and
threats from the angry teacher. And at the end of class…
"I never got to thank you," Vegeta muttered, looking at his desk.
"Well, you are now," the raven haired guy answered him cheerfully, collecting his books.
"I don't mean about today." In that moment their eyes met—matching pairs of midnight endless pools. Then the other boy smiled—not smirked, like he had done the whole day—at his new acquaintance.
"You're welcome, my prince."
For the second time again, Vegeta adopted a very ridiculous in its silliness expression. Was it just him, or his heart had truly leaped at that…?
These were his precious recollections, his reasons for being close to the person in those memories…
…They were his precious memories that he had ruthlessly sealed away in the back of his mind with full intentions of never remembering again…
"What the hell is this?" Vegeta snapped, flipping a large—and rather heavy, if he could add—box in his hands. "What's it for?"
The other boy laughed lightly at that.
"You can stop doing that now. Kakarot told me it's your birthday today."
"He did what…?" Vegeta glared at the opposite wall, submerging into thoughts of the most painful of deaths he could think of making his best friend endure once he got his hands on that goof's thick neck. Oh he was in so much trouble…
"You couldn't have kept it a secret from me for all eternity, you know! Open it already, I'm getting restless!" The other boy joked while sitting down on Vegeta's bed.
"It's a…" Vegeta lost his words once the wrapping was gone. "I thought that you didn't want me to…"
"Well, I could use a bit of serious competition, you know." His friend waved a dismissive hand. "Those guys I'm in the same gang with—they're hopeless, and the word doesn't even cover half of their incompetence while—Hey, what's wrong? You… don't like it?" The boy's eye brows narrowed in… disappointment and… hurt? Since when had he become so close to Vegeta…?
"No… I… don't like it." His counterpart stood up from his seat on the bed, glaring while the flame-haired teen placed his present on the floor before turning to him. Before he could react at all, Vegeta had already embraced him… which was a very eerie thing for the shorter boy to do, being as difficult a person as he was… "I love it! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Without realizing it or just paying much heed to it, his friend released a long subtle sigh of relief before returning the hug awkwardly. If he had known that such a thing could evoke such feelings from his quiet calm friend…
He smiled. He was happy whenever his prince was happy…
One name resounded in the confines of that small place full of memories… It rebounded off the walls in there, it pierced through his skull, and it made his mind agonize…
Rain…
"Rain! Get out of our way!" The brute screamed in malign, glaring at the person at his acquaintance's feet.
"Ha!" The boy called Rain snorted. "Do you seriously believe I would let you keep this up? You're on my property right now and here I say what you do!"
"The little bastard stole from my mother's store, I saw him! Get him, boys!"
One of the ranting guy's cronies managed to land a punch in the Vegeta's gut, but everyone was soon on the ground, moaning and squirming in pain.
"I stole nothing! I am not that kind of a person!" The flame-haired teen defended himself, his eyes burning with determination.
"I couldn't possibly mistake that weird of a—" The guy suddenly fell silent while he watched another weird-haired type approach the pair.
"Hey, Rain, Vegeta! How's it going?" He greeted as cheerfully as ever.
"That's him, boss!" One of the writhing teens on the ground yelled. "That's the guy from earlier."
"Kakarot, did you really steal from them?" Rain asked, half-laughing.
"Steal?"
"You fool!" Vegeta exploded. "Because of you I get called a thief and a cheat! Why I ought to—"
"These things weren't paid for?" Goku scratched his head in a characteristic only for him way. "Gee, I'm really sorry, I didn't know. I'll recover your money right away." He started fishing in his pocket for his wallet, looking as innocent and harmless as ever, making the lying on the ground boys sweat drop. And all that fighting for nothing…
Vegeta's body was trembling in anger. He wanted to wrench Goku's head off his shoulders, stomp hard on it until he could jump no more, and— A hand on his shoulder stopped his train of thought and—although he didn't realize it—made his anger evaporate on the spot when he saw Rain's apologetic grin. He crossed his arms and glared at the orange hues of the dusk.
Well, what was done was done. But what truly mattered was that Rain had once again been there… for him…
He squirmed in his sleep.
Things had gone so wrong… Why…?
The troublemaking trio glared at the boys in the hallway, throwing their fist all over the place, kicking and punching each other's bodies in a berserk of hatred. And to think that those had been two best friends just a month ago…
"I can't believe they can be so infantile!" Rain quirked an eye brow while crossing his hands over his chest.
"And all that because of a girl…" Goku muttered, scratching his head in puzzlement. "Is it so difficult just to go ask her who she likes best and get it done with? What if she wants neither of them?" His eye brows furrowed. He just couldn't understand those people…
Vegeta observed the battling pair bruising each other's faces, trying to beat one another senseless… Insults laced the physical argument, venom and dirt was falling from their tongues with appalling ease for people who had once regarded each other like best friends. His eye brows furrowed. His eyes unconsciously travelled to the boy next to him with his crossed arms, an equally sympathetic look on his face like the one on the third person in their tight little group. Vegeta's eyes narrowed.
"Let's make a promise!" he suddenly interjected with the other boys' thoughts, gathering their attention. Their eyes turned to the guy, utterly puzzled.
"What kind of promise are we talking about?"
"Let's promise we'll never let girls come between us!" Determination shone in the shortest teenager's eye, but his best friends also saw something that someone else who knew him less would've never recognized. It was fear… or at least the closest thing to it that the raven-haired boy could feel. He was afraid… He was so afraid of losing his best friends, his only support, the only reason for his ego to still keep his façade up, and keep facing the day with his head held high. He didn't want their beautiful friendship to deteriorate to something… something as ugly as the display they were being witnesses to.
"I vow!" Goku piped in quickly, a look a childish seriousness embracing his features. A quick smirk crossed Vegeta's face before it evaporated when he glanced at his other best friend. Rain laughed softly beneath his breath. Vegeta needn't make him promise—it was clear as a day! He'd never let anything get in the way of their friendship, he had promised himself that, very long ago. Not his feelings, not his actions, not his words. Nothing would ever tear him apart from his prince, his model, his friend…
"I vow," he said soon, making Vegeta's stiffness dissolve completely.
"I vow too!" Vegeta exclaimed with an uncharacteristic impish grin that attempted to conceal his relief. He believed his friends' words. They had never lied to him before and he knew they certainly didn't plan on doing it any time soon!
If they had promised each other that… why had things still gone so much downhill…?
Whose fault had it been…? Why had they become like that brawling pair in the hall, screaming and kicking each other…? Why…?
"Vegeta, I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did this, I should've talked to you first, I—"
"SHUT UP!" The boy hollered, glaring at his girlfriend… his ex-girlfriend. He felt so much pain right then that he was unable to do anything else than scream at her. Scream at her for being so stupid, for being so daring, for being so ignorant of what she was causing to others by her audacious actions. Did she truly feel sorry? Why weren't her tears convincing then? Why wasn't he crying? Vegeta had always thought that—if the two of them ever fell apart—he'd be heartbroken, that—regardless of how strong he made others believe he was—he'd cry like there was no tomorrow. That he'd cry for the only girl that had seen the good in him, for the only girl he would let in his heart…
…But his eyes were perfectly dry and his heart was utterly cold. He was heartbroken, yes… but he didn't want to cry. Her tears—they weren't reaching him. Her cries—they fell on deaf ears. He didn't want to see anymore, he didn't want to hear anymore.
His gaze scrutinized the other responsible for the scene, his best friend's face completely impassive.
"Aren't you going to defend your lover, Rain? Aren't you going to protect her from the villain?"
"Defending means believing you are right, and I do not believe that." His once lively, cheerful eyes were dull with bitter emotions, each and every one of which Vegeta could easily read when their eyes met. The shorter boy flinched. "I'm going to say it, even though I know it will not fix anything. I'm going to say it because I truly mean it. There aren't words in any language that can express perfectly well what I'm feeling right now, inside… But … I'm sorry, Vegeta…" Rain's eye brow also twitched and his gaze averted from the other boy's. He was losing his cool… "I'm so sorry… for everything…"
His prince's jaw line tightened as his teeth gritted together. His fists were clenched, short nails digging in the inside of his palm, creating small crescent-like shaped lines. Despite himself, Vegeta felt his eyes well up at the sight of his two best friends of the entire world, looking like children caught doing something bad. Their promises… Their vows… His heart… all broken…
"Go to Hell, you lying bastard!" The short boy yelled atop his lungs and sidestepped the couple, running out of his apartment. He didn't want to see anyone, he didn't want to be reminded of those people—he couldn't stand looking at them making fun of him, taunting him, mocking him! He didn't want to have anything to do with those liars, ever again!
What Vegeta hadn't seen was the solitary tear rolling down his friend's cheek and the saddened smile that graced his lips.
"Sayonara, ouji-sama…"
His voice had been so quiet, so low that not even Hailie next to him had heard the foreign words leave her lover's lips and his only audience had been the eerie chilly corridor…
The lids slid up, revealing a pair of onyx orbs struggling to focus on the ceiling above them. They had fallen apart, it was a fact. They had all broken their promises and it had exactly been girls that had come between them. Goku and ChiChi, and then Rain and Hailie… it was all so pitiable…
The boy sat up in the not-so-alien bed in which he had spent quite many nights and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. Everything had become so damn complicated… And even so, he could never forget the fight of those boys in the hall. They had beaten each other up, called each other names, but probably in the end they had still stayed friends once they had cleared out their differences…
But he and Rain had never truly fought… They had never released those pent up frustrations, the anger, the pain… They had never managed to talk about their issues… because Vegeta hadn't wanted to talk. They had never fought… because Vegeta knew he would lose. He didn't believe in himself, he hadn't believed in people in a long time. He had always cursed Rain under his breath, yelled insults at the other boy whenever they met… while his ex-best friend had never—ever—even in his most berserk of fits, called Vegeta anything…
The midnight eyes miraculously found their way to Bulma's bedside nightstand. He noticed a picture of the gang, all together, happy… He sighed deeply and stood up. He had been happy last night, with his woman, in her house, holding her… touching her… But something had been missing, he was still regretting…
It hadn't been his fault; he shouldn't be the one crawling back… but after being so stubborn, he guessed there was no other way to do it.
He smirked over his shoulder at the woman's smiling fact. It was human to be imperfect, to make mistakes…
…But it was divine to at least try to forgive…
…And it was all because of her, all her fault for digging up his wretched soul from the ashes inside him and polishing it… polishing it so that even the tiniest tinge of something divine could have a peak at the surrounding world.
God, how could he have been so blind all this time? He smiled at the picture. This feeling… he could finally recognize it.
He closed his eyes and collapsed sideways on the soft mattress… The serene smile was still on his face as he took in her smell surrounding him.
Thank you, Bulma… His eyes opened, an arrogant determination burning in them. Thank you for everything… Now I know what to do.
He stretched his arms and back, his legs and head. After all, he could go there just like that… that is, if he wanted to win.
He smirked again. And this time, he thought, now that I recharged, I'm really going to win!
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Frankly, just between us, Bulma dreaded coming back home and finding her boyfriend still asleep. Well, sure, it was good news that he was taking a rest or recovering from the last few days of no food and sleep but… this was too much! He had slept for eighteen hours—when she had called her mother half an hour ago he had still been asleep! She bit her lip in worry. He would wake up eventually… right?
As she climbed out of her car and circled the huge dome of her home, she almost felt her knees give away from beneath her in relief as she caught sight of her boyfriend in the backyard.
She opened her mouth to scream at him for worrying her so, or to exclaim her happiness, to get rid of the traces her worry had left but she stopped before she could do such a thing… marveling him and his moves…
It appeared to her that he was training. At least that's the only thing she could qualify it as. He was jumping around, throwing series of punches, kicks… He was doing somersaults, jump kicking the air… His movements were so fast that his hands and feet were just a blur as he moved. He was… like an illusion… So fast… so beautiful… She was mesmerized.
Suddenly, he stopped and straightened his back at her. He turned to face her over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.
"I…" she began lamely, shaking her head to clear it. She was Bulma Briefs, for goodness' sake! She had had that guy in bed so many times before! It was about time her heart stopped skipping when she looked at him! Geez… She pulled herself together. "I'm glad to see you're out of bed." She glared at him as she advanced him. "You got me worried sick about you, you damn aloof bastard! Don't do such things again, you— why are you looking like that?" He smirked while she eyed him warily.
"No reason," he retorted unconvincingly. "What's for breakfast?"
"Nothing." He glared at her. "It's lunch already, you missed breakfast."
"Why do you sound so angry?" He followed her inside the house. "It's not my fault I fell asleep so fast yesterday!"
"You still don't understand!" She screeched slamming her wardrobe shut after throwing her bags inside it.
"Then explain to me what I don't understand!" Why was she so bent on ruining his good mood? What was wrong with her anyway?
"I was so afraid I'd lose you again, you idiot!" She whirled around and her sapphire eyes glared venomous daggers at him. "I was worried, okay! And here you go… going all 'what's for breakfast' on me…" She sobbed, making him blink vacuously at her again. "What's—what's wrong with me anyway? You're okay, I can see that but the tears… just won't stop… damn it… damn it, damn it…" She continued cursing under her breath while she rubbed her eyes mercilessly with her palms. Vegeta's expression softened. She was such a child sometimes…
He caught her wrists and pulled them away from her face, making her teary eyes lock with his. He smirked.
"Do I seriously look sick to you?" It took her a few seconds to pull herself together enough to answer.
"Well, if perversion and being kind of very twisted—" She laughed at his hard glare. "No, Vegeta, you don't." He kissed her mouth briefly before pulling away and letting go of her wrists.
"Then get a freaking hold of yourself, woman! I'm fine, you can ever see that." He changed into one of his own t-shirts that he had gone to take from the mansion. "Now let's go eat, I'm starved."
"Oh, no, you aren't!" She pushed him to the floor, applying all of her weight (and even so she had a lot of difficulty doing it! Weird… Usually when he was caught off-guard he was easy to take down…). He growled savagely, turning around to flip them over—he wasn't comfortable with her atop of him. It… provoked feelings he preferred to leave for the night. "I promised the gang we'll be with them for lunch and you," she poked his chest with a filed finger, "are included in the "we". You're not eating before we go and that's my final." She stood up after that, leaving an air of finality hanging behind her.
"I promised no one such a thing!" He protested noisily, scrambling to his feet immediately after her.
"Well, too bad, because I did and, since you were sleeping at that time, you didn't have a say in it." He flushed in anger.
"How dare you—"
"Are you going to hurry? We're going to be late!" Bulma threw her hairbrush on her vanity table and brushed past her boyfriend on her way downstairs to inform her mother they weren't staying for lunch. Vegeta was still in shock. Was it just him… or she was commanding him? And he was even… even considering the prospect of actually obeying her?
His mind halted and his smile returned to his face. He saw his reflection in her mirror and sighed calmly. Can you hear it? Can you feel it…?
"Vegeta! Hurry up or we're leaving in my car!"
He chuckled as he took the stairs three at a time with slight jumps. The woman surely knew how to push his buttons.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"You shouldn't have been training first thing you got up! What if you hurt yourself?" Bulma argued with her impassive boyfriend while they walked in the cozy little café where they had agreed to meet with the gang. Vegeta rolled his eyes while they sat down.
"I already told you that I had never felt better in my entire life! I'm more agile, faster and stronger."
"Yes, but—"
"We've already been through this!" He sighed in exasperation resting his back on his chair. "I'm fine, alright?"
"I think the question 'how was your day' isn't really of present interest," Juuhachi muttered while slurping her shake from her straw.
"What's up guys?" Goku grinned at his friends.
"He's slept for eighteen hours!"
"You what?" Goku gawked at his annoyed best friend.
"I was just recharging, is it that hard for your puny heads to comprehend?" He snapped, trying to get his hands on a menu.
"And then—after he had just got up, nonetheless!—he went on ahead, training! I don't believe him!" Bulma slammed her fist on the table, glaring at her boyfriend who only returned the expression with a matching ferocity as she had just taken the menu from him, flipping it open angrily.
"I told you I'm fine and that I'm better than ever before, damn this—"
"Whoa, really?" Goku interjected again, making the other boy shake in anger. Why was everyone ignoring what he was saying today? Was he invisible or something? The thought angered him… His periphery vision caught sight of something dark moving by the window. He blinked away his confusion as his eyes found a familiar jet black Lamborghini just like his. He smirked.
"To be honest, I have never seen Vegeta fight…" Juuhachi pouted. She had been his girlfriend, for God's sake! Bulma made a matching expression.
"I should be angry one! We've been together for half a year now and I haven't seen him either. It is something that you pride yourself with, isn't it? Why hadn't you shown us yet then? Hey, Vegeta, are you listening?" But her boyfriend wasn't listening. He was spacing out, looking out the window at some fancy car. Her eye brows narrowed. "If you plan on ignoring me today, you guessed quite wrong, mister—"
"I have to go," he said hastily while picking himself up from his seat and sauntering off towards the exit. Goku took a glance at what his friend had been looking at all that time and his eyes lit up with joy.
"Vegeta, wait for me! I want to be there when you go there!"
"Go where?" Juuhachi snapped, dashing off after them. ChiChi and Bulma shared a somewhat puzzled look before both their eyes narrowed.
"Hey, guys! Wait for us!"
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Bulma looked around. It wasn't exactly a place you could call cozy…
The lights were very dim, the only concentrated lighting in the center of the room where there was somewhat of a… ring? People were fighting around it and currently on it was a tall dark haired guy that she recognized well from the other day in Capsule Corporation…
"What are we doing here?" ChiChi snapped, crossing her hands. "Why are we following Vegeta anyway?"
"Wish me luck," Vegeta dropped off, planning to make his way towards the ring when Bulma caught his wrist and pulled him back. "What?" His eye brows narrowed at her. Why was she stopping him? This was his moment of personal triumph!
"I heard you have never won to him…" Her eye brows were furrowed in worry, twitching ever so slightly. "You just recovered from something quite serious… Do you really think you should strain yourself so?"
By the time the pair on the ring, the dark haired boy and his girlfriend, at whom all of Bulma's friends glared, had noticed Vegeta's presence and both seemed quite puzzled. The boy had been drying his wild shock of midnight spikes but his towel was now around his neck, his hands perfectly still. Was he dreaming? Was his mind playing tricks on him again, like so many times before…?
Vegeta grinned evilly at his girlfriend.
"Don't worry about me. This time, I'll certainly win!" He gave her his thumb up and shrugged her slackened grasp off his hand. He halted in mid-step and turned around to her again. "Oh, yeah, I forgot," he muttered carelessly. She blinked stupidly several times as he gripped her shoulders, bringing him closer to him. And, going against everything he had ever done, he kissed her in front of all their acquaintances. Everyone looked quite shocked at his audacious act… They weren't used to seeing Vegeta so much as hug her! "I'm going, and I'm winning this time for sure!" He winked impishly at her before making his way towards his ex-best friends in the center of the room.
"What the hell was that all about?" Juu cocked an eye brow, making her lavender haired friend shrug her shoulders. Whatever it was, she couldn't wait to see her lover fight—he had taken such pride in his skills before and she still hadn't seen him at it! To tell the truth, she was quite exhilarated.
"Vegeta?" Hailie blinked as her ex climbed on the ring in a swift movement. "What are you doing here…?"
"I want a fight." Rain's cold black eyes flinched slightly.
"And what are we fighting for?"
"Dignity?"
"I can always crush yours easily." The other boy smirked cruelly. "I've done it countless times before, I can do it again. What's in it for me?"
"Rain, please stop it! You're not going to fight!" Hailie protested, trying to slam her fist in his chest. However, her boyfriend easily caught it and jerked her towards the edge, almost making her lose her balance. When she glared at him, she was met by a somewhat apologetic look in his jet black orbs… She knew he had waited so much for that moment… but it shouldn't be that way!
A hand clapped her shoulder and she whirled around only to come face to face with the girl who had promised her to help her with her sickness. Bulma just nodded at her and the auburn haired female sighed deeply in defeat. Boys would be boys…
"What makes you so confident you'll win?" Vegeta asked aloofly, crossing his arms over his chest. Rain snorted arrogantly, throwing his towel to the corner.
"When have I not won before?"
"The past is the past; today is the present and things change over time." The taller boy's eyes snapped wide open. Was he… saying what he thought he was…?
However, before he could react in any way, a fist slammed in his jaw, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. Everyone in the building turned to see what was going on and were instantly hooked—the two best fighters of the gym were fighting! It was something everyone wanted to see!
"Rain!" Hailie screeched, trying to climb on the ring but being held back by a just as concerned-looking Bulma. The boy, however, jumped to his feet immediately, a certain exhilaration burning in his onyx orbs.
"What would you know? The prince had actually begun getting good at this?" He ducked when Vegeta tried to punch his face again, kicking his feet and rendering him off-balance. The spiky-haired boy was quick to react, flipping backwards on his hands and jumping back up again with a complacent smirk.
"Not as confident anymore, eh, buddy?" His smirked was wiped off his face as an elbow slammed in his neck from behind. When had he—?
"Oh, not in the least, my prince!" Rain yelled in his excitement while his series of punches hit their marks all over Vegeta's fallen frame. "This will make my victory ever sweeter!"
"Too bad…" Vegeta caught both of his opponent's fist, making him flinch; "you're not winning then!" He pulled his ex-friend closer and slammed his forehead in the other's face, making him lose his concentration. Then he supported himself on his arms and both his feet slammed in Rain's gut, interfering with his breathing.
The other boy collapsed on his back in a coughing fit, spitting blood as he did. Vegeta got to his feet, looking down at his writhing opponent. However, his antagonist appeared stronger than his counterpart, shifting their positions in just a second. For the second in question, he had managed to grab hold of Vegeta's ankle and lock the guy in a hold from which there was no escape.
"How about you give up the theatro and go home already? We both know you're ten years too early to challenge me, Vegeta, face it." He applied more pressure on his rival's foot, making him squirm in pain. Neither boy paid attention to his girlfriend's desperate cries for them to cut it out. Struggling, the flame-haired boy growled loudly. He wasn't going to let himself be beaten again… He was stronger now, he felt it, he knew it…! He wasn't going to lose, not this time!
Neither the shorter boy— nor any of his friends—could feel that Rain's hand was slowly but certainly getting burnt by the temperature of his rival's body rising… What was going on…? His aura… was somewhat stronger…! Rain gritted his teeth. He wasn't giving up! He couldn't lose…! He had never lost to anyone before!
With a shriek of primordial pain, the taller male jumped to his feet, clutching his palm. Suddenly the energy had burst from his friend's body and had burnt his limb… and, frankly, it was rendered quite useless for the moment.
Before he could compose himself again, he was brought to the ground by a shower of quick fists which were only a blur to the rest of the gang. His opponent was straddling him, pinning him to the ground. He groaned. He couldn't lose, wouldn't lose…
"You should really start seeing a bit ahead of you, Rain, because things really change!" The lying boy released a strangled moan when his ex-best friend's foot pressed his right shoulder to the ground. There was a particular reason why it was so weak and both of them knew it very well. However, it was the first time that Vegeta actually used it against him… Rain smirked. His prince was finally becoming the vicious fighter that his reading all those years ago had prophesized…!
…But how far was he ready to go in order to win?
Rain's eyes were clouded by agony, his focus was appallingly lose and still, when Vegeta's foot rose again to hit him another time, he rolled to his side, kicking the flame-haired boy's support from beneath him, bringing him to the ground as well. With a raw growl, the boy threw himself on his opponent who was fast composing himself again.
For a short while, all anyone could see was a huge tangle of limbs and pair of bodies, but once the two of them jumped back to their feet, both breathing's laboured, Vegeta's torn lip and eye brow was obvious for all to see, while his antagonist seemed to have come out unscratched from the brawl. The taller guy smirked arrogantly.
"It seems not everything changes, Vegeta." He dodged a punch easily and his expression darkened. "Why are you here?" He caught the next fist thrown at him. "Why did you decide to fight, knowing you're likely to lose?" He grabbed the second fist as well, making his friend snort in irritation. "Why have you come to me?" Even if he had wanted to, Vegeta couldn't answer as his world started spinning when his opponent's forehead crashed into his nose with ferocious power.
He shook his head free of the dizziness only to have himself caught by the shoulders and slammed into an outstretched knee, knocking the wind out of him. He groaned and stumbled back only to get chased by his attacker again. However, this time he was completely ready.
He laced an arm over the raging other boy's right shoulder joint and flipped him over, hearing a satisfying crack upon the impact. The pressure he had applied to the guy's arm had been too much for the lose joint which had been broken about three or four times already—before he had never even touched it in fear of causing any permanent damage. Things seemed to have changed truly a lot in the last few months…
"Stop, please, stop!" Hailie tried to reach her boyfriend who was just about half a meter away from her fingers. Just a bit more and she'd be able to pull him off the ring, to the safety of her arms…! She covered her mouth with her hand when her lover released another choked cry of pain as Vegeta's boot pressed to his damaged joint.
"You want to know why I'm here?" The dark-haired abuser rested all of his body-weight on the lying boy.
"Please… Do enlighten me…" was the only thing the agonizing teen managed to wheeze out. However, his answer didn't seem to come as the other male seemed to be too fixated on causing the squirming opponent of his more and more pain.
"Say it!"
"No," the writhing boy said with a complacent smirk which vanished almost immediately upon Vegeta's foot slamming with as much force as he could muster over the healed wound.
"Say it!"
"Stop it, Vegeta, stop it!" Hailie wailed out, trying to climb on the ring this time for real. A recent wound on her lover's shoulder would surely reopen after so much beating!
"SAY THE FUCKING WORD AND I'LL STOP!" A loud crack resounded as Vegeta's lower limb kept colliding with the lying boy's body. The other just chuckled darkly, an eerie grin on his face.
"Never…"
The flame-haired male's expression flushed slightly red in anger and his head was already throbbing with the girls' screams for him to stop. Oh, he'd stop alright…
He stomped his foot hard on the ground right next to the fallen fighter. What puzzled the rest of the gang more was that all those kicks in the place where he had had his limb broken numerous times was nothing compared to the shriek he gave when Vegeta barely grazed his body.
The boy towered over the male on the ground, whose scream had reached a high-pitched sound and was now decreased to mere tearless sobbing. Vegeta knew exactly how it felt to be hit like that—people had sometimes done it without wanting to. But his full intention was to hurt the bastard. Rain had been his support through many years—he had taught him how to trust people (if even partially), how to raise money, how to face the day with his head high… and how to lose. But he had never, ever let Vegeta win—at least not unintentionally. The boy snorted.
"And they say I'm selfish…"
Rain slowly crawled to his unsteady hands in a sitting position; his head slumped, still trying to comprehend what had happened. He could be stubborn no matter how long he wanted—it was a fact. Vegeta had won, fair and square. He smiled to his knees. His little prince… had finally grown up… and had grown out of the need for Rain's guidance…
To be honest, the elder boy had always hoped against hope that Vegeta would some day come to him again, to settle old scores, he'd lose and he'd have to come again, being the stubborn guy he was… and that this way, Rain would always be a step ahead of him… It had been a nice plan… but no longer useful. Vegeta truly no longer needed him… He had betrayed his prince's trust, he had stabbed his back mercilessly, and he hadn't tried enough to mend things… he had broken his vow… But worst of all, he had broken his heart… He could never forgive himself that; he would never forgive himself…!
Suddenly a hand floated in his vision, pulling him out of his reverie. He looked up at the impassive expression of his former best friend. The question swam in his eyes.
"You're not going to stay down there all day, are you?" Vegeta urged him impatiently. The gang around the ring shared puzzled looks. Had they… missed something?
Rain took the hand and got pulled to his feet. He received a slight pat on the healthy shoulder and a smirk from his opponent.
"Let's do this more often—you've lost your touch. Living in the past… is getting us nowhere, don't you agree?"
There was a small uncomfortable pause in which the people by the pair in the centre fumbled with their fingers. Meanwhile, Rain's face had grown into a beaming grin. And before anyone could understand what the two had talked about with their eyes, the larger boy had his smaller friend in a tight quick embrace which was returned reluctantly at first. When they separated they touched the knuckles of their balled fists together, making their way to the smiling crowd now.
The two submerged in the excitement of explanations and celebrations but neither of them would ever forget their little exchange in the short moment of their reunion, whispered in such a low voice no one else but the other could possibly percept anything had been said.
"It's been a while…! I really missed you around, Vegeta! I'm so glad you're back!"
"…Me too, my friend… me too…"
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
All I have to say for myself is that I am back and terribly sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me and, just for the record, I wanted to upload this chapter yesterday, but for some unfathomable reason the damn document manager refused to take it! I just kept spitting it out when I pushed it back in! Haha…Yeah, anyway, this was a dull chapter because their get-together was the main event, but tune in next time for some enhanced-gang-madness! What do I mean? Well, you will have to check to find out!
