A/N: Woooo you guys are awesome! I have to work tomorrow and I'm going to a party Saturday so hopefully this holds you over until Sunday. ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
The Ties That Bind
11
The rest of my week in Goku's world went by painfully slow.
As expected, he acted as though nothing had happened and became even more withdrawn from me, choosing to spend the days sparring with Vegeta while I hung around with Videl and Gohan. We never went to Bulma's to figure out what the demons were and I didn't get a chance to ask why she had been giving us such strange looks. I tried to stay content asking questions about things Goku had mentioned, like Other World and the Dragon Balls. Videl was more than happy to answer them since I was considered 'one of them' by that point. Gohan filled me in on the Saiyans.
It was time to leave before I was ready to go. None of my most important questions had been answered and Goku looked forlorn when he teleported us back to my reality. I was afraid to touch his arm during the process: what if he thought I was trying something? Everyone besides Vegeta waved as we vanished into the space-time continuum, dragged back through dimensions until we arrived in my little apartment. Goku immediately teleported away again leaving me alone to my own devices.
There was a ton of messages on my cell phone from both Craig and Erin, who hadn't known I was going to be gone for an entire week. I sent them both texts to let them know I was fine and Erin admitted to breaking into my apartment to take Peter home with her. I sighed with relief. My poor cat would've starved to death if Erin wasn't so nosy. She let me know she was heading over and I made my way to the kitchen to make some tea and relax. I'd have to go back to work the next day so I wanted to take advantage of my last real day off.
Ten minutes later there was a knock on my door and I shuffled over to open it, expecting to see Erin holding Peter in her arms. Craig was standing there with a bouquet of roses in hand and a huge smile on his face. I made an excited kind of squealing noise and he laughed as he walked inside, resting his hands on the belt loops of his jeans. I shut the door and offered him some tea as he took a seat in the living room, which he politely declined. Forget Goku. I was swearing off married men.
"Erin and I were worried," Craig said. "We thought something happened with your brother."
"Oh, he just brought me on a surprise visit back home. It was nice seeing everyone again, anyway. We're gonna go every other week. These roses are gorgeous!"
"I'm glad you like them. Are we doing dinner tonight?"
I walked out to the kitchen to trim the stems and put them in some water for a good drink. Dinner? Of course! I had been so busy with Goku I totally forgot I promised Craig we'd have dinner together. I nervously set the flowers up, wondering how Goku would react to me going ahead with Craig. He warned me it was a bad idea and he was pretty good at reading people. But what was the worst that could happen? Craig would be a little clingy sometimes? I could deal with that.
"Sure," I said, bringing the vase of flowers out to the living room. I set them down on the coffee table and took a seat beside Craig. "Do you want to go out? Or we could do something here."
"I'll go home to get dinner ready and I'll pick you up around six. It's starting to get cold out so make sure you bring a jacket and maybe a toothbrush." Craig winked and rose from the couch.
"We'll see," I said. "See you later tonight."
"I'm looking forward to it, Naomi."
Craig walked himself out and I heard him talk briefly with someone at the door before it shut again. Peter came bounding through the living room and leapt into my lap, meowing desperately like he was actually worried he'd never see me again. Erin more or less did the same thing, wrapping me in a hug so tight I couldn't breathe. She let go when I started smacking her back and Peter nestled down in my lap, closing his eyes as a sign he was ready to be petted.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," Erin said, sitting next to me. "It took everything in me not to tell Craig that Goku isn't really your brother. He kept calling me to see if I had any idea where you went. But… where did you go? Really. I know you didn't bring him home to meet the parents."
"We uh… went to Florida for the week. He's crazy; he wants to go on little vacations every other week when his wife isn't home. Is Vic made at me? I hope I didn't get fired."
"Goku already talked to him, I guess. You're still getting paid and everything, you lucky bitch. What'd you do in Florida? Swim with the dolphins? Why didn't you bring me! Are you gonna tell Craig you're secretly rendezvousing with a married guy from a different continent? He's really into you. Speaking of which, why was he here? Are you two gonna get it on later?"
"Erin, chill out."
"Sorry, you know I get excited about these things."
"I need to take a shower and get ready to go to Craig's. I promise we can talk when I get home later, okay?"
Erin stood up when I did and gently touched my arm. "Are you okay, Naomi? You look seriously stressed out. Maybe you should stay home and relax instead of going out."
I shrugged her off and walked away to my bedroom to get some clothes ready for my night with Craig. Erin sighed audibly and left, shutting the door quietly behind her. Peter came in my room to watch me getting things together and tried following me into the bathroom but I pushed him out with my foot. Erin was wrong. A night with Craig would make me feel much better and it would help me get over my growing feelings for Goku. I needed to be with a real man, not a married guy from another dimension.
The shower cleared me head a bit and I was in a much better mood afterwards. I put down some food for Peter and opted for a skirt with a sweater for our dinner. It wasn't too fancy but it was better than a tee and jeans. I curled my hair and put on a bit of makeup to brighten my face up a bit, admiring my handiwork in the mirror when I was done. Craig texted me a few minutes after I was done to tell me he was waiting outside, so I grabbed my purse and keys and headed out.
Craig drove a glossy black Audi that looked like it cost him his soul. I quickly got in and was happy I had dressed appropriately—he was just wearing nice pants and a dress shirt. He whistled and put the car in first gear to pull away from the curb, making the quiet street come to life from the growl of his car's engine. I settled in my heated seat and straightened my skirt. It would be easy to put up with him being a little clingy if I could drive his Audi every once in a while.
"I'm gonna be opening up my own department store," Craig said. "It was doing well where it was, but like I said, I missed Kennebunk. You and Goku don't look related, you know. Is he adopted?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, my parents adopted him because they thought they couldn't have kids. He's always been a loner so we don't really talk about him. As a matter of fact, I have no clue where he went to. Normally I can tell when he wanders off on his own."
"I see. Well, enough of that. I made chicken alfredo and a few other things to go with it. It's unfortunate that you have to work tomorrow. We won't be able to talk for very long after dinner."
We arrived at Craig's apartment a little while later and he slid a card key to be allowed into the gated community. He parked and escorted me inside, up an elevator to the top floor and into his moderately large apartment. It was definitely bigger than mine but not gigantic. It didn't have to be. He had leather furniture, a huge flat screen TV, a new computer, and a stainless steel kitchen off to the left. My apartment suddenly seemed inferior when before I had been perfectly fine with it.
Craig led me into the kitchen where a dinner table was set for two and three candles burned in the middle. He shut off the lights and pulled out my chair, smiling when I sat down. The food was already out on my plate but I waited patiently for him to sit across from me before I ate. It looked delicious—the chicken in the pasta was cut up into small chunks and he'd made some mixed vegetables to go on the side. After Craig was seated I politely cut up portions of the pasta to eat.
"Have you seen anyone since I left?" Craig asked.
I almost choked on my pasta. "Um… no. I've been too busy working, to be honest."
"Same here. I had a few short relationships but none of them really went anywhere. That's why I came back here. I want to talk to you about something very important."
"Important? How important?"
"I was thinking and… well, I'm pushing 30 now and you're still working at the same job with no real hopes of moving up. Maybe you could move in with me and we could have a few kids. You could still work a few days a week and I'd let you have whatever you wanted. I really want a family, Naomi, and you're the only woman I've met who I would even consider starting one with."
It was hard to swallow the food in my mouth slow enough that I could put off Craig's insane question. He was staring at me intently as I took my time replying, trying to decide whether or not I should leave. Was he crazy or just desperate? We dated for a little while, yeah, but we didn't know one another well enough to settle down and have kids. I was only 22 so I had no interest in being stuck at home all day with screaming babies. My thoughts raced wildly. Was Goku right yet again?
Craig suddenly laughed a bit and set down his fork. "I'm sorry, that was a bit forward. That might all happen with time but I know you're still young and want to wait. So how about we start from square one, hm? We can see where it goes from there."
"Okay," I said, "that sounds a lot better."
Throughout the entire night I was paranoid that Craig was going to kidnap me. Goku could sense if I was afraid and hopefully he'd come to the rescue but the outright way Craig asked me something so serious made me a teeny bit nervous. We finished dinner and went out to the living room to watch a movie before I had to go home. I relaxed after a few minutes and rested my head on his shoulder, strongly considering falling asleep and calling into work. Craig gently stroked my hair.
I didn't fall asleep for very long.
My wedding day wasn't very fancy. I was wearing a plain white gown and had a veil obscuring my face as I examined myself in the mirror. Videl was standing to my left and Erin to my right, crooning over how perfect I looked and how I was marrying the right man. I raised a hand to look at my ring finger—a pretty gold engagement ring was settled there like it belonged on my skin. It caught the candlelight and sent it in all different directions across the walls. Perfection.
Soon the bells tolled and they led me out to the hall where I would walk to my groom. I put out my arm for my father but he wasn't there. When did that happen? Before I could ask questions I was walking forward against my will, no longer capable of controlling my own legs. But another woman was standing up on the stage; she had long, black hair… I knew who it was and struggled to stop. No, no, what the hell did I think I was doing? What twisted dream had I gotten caught up in?
Chi-Chi turned along with Goku. She had tears streaming down her face as I continued walking forward. She threw her bouquet on the ground and ran away, nearly knocking me over in the process. I tried to turn around; I wanted to run back home and stay out of their lives. Goku suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me on stage, grinning widely with eerie malevolence.
"You both can't have me," he said, "so Chi-Chi is out of the picture. We were gonna divorce, anyway! She's totally fine with it and so are Gohan and Goten."
The two boys were standing beside the priest with their heads bowed, trying not to look up at their father and I. They didn't look like they were okay with it. It looked more like they were going along with whatever Goku said because he made them. I struggled in Goku's iron grasp but no one in the congregation wanted to interrupt our wedding. I didn't want it. I didn't want to be married, I didn't want to break him and Chi-Chi apart.
"This isn't what I wanted," I said. "I can't help what happened."
"You could've stopped yourself from making out with me the other night, but you didn't. We're meant to be together, Naomi. How did I find you across all these dimensions? Why were we tied together? Why do I find it so hard to resist you? Why can I only sleep when you're in bed with me?"
"It was a freak accident!"
"It was fate!" called a voice from the crowd.
Goku and I turned to see Bulma standing up but she quickly sat down. She tried to hide her face but the damage was done. She knew something and it was important. I tried to free myself… I was desperate to know why I had been chosen as part of a covenant between two worlds…