A/N: Getting a desire to write another affair story. Hmmm. Or perhaps Goku/Bulla or Goku/Pan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

The Ties That Bind

16

The first thing I saw was a clawed hand holding a glass of red wine. As my eyes opened fully I could see Scoria sitting across from me, both of his red eyes watching me almost lazily. I sat up and held my aching head, looking around the familiar room and shivering in the cold. He took a sip of his wine and placed the glass on the coffee table positioned between us. Scoria smiled pleasantly, offering me a nice view of his fangs, and inclined his horned head neatly as a polite gesture.

"Welcome, Naomi," he said. "As you know, my name is Scoria. My associate is having a very important discussion with Goku right now so you won't have the pleasure of meeting her. I was interested in touching base with you on recent events. You've put the puzzle together quite nicely, just a bit faster than your new lover. I'd hoped we could settle things when my people arrived on your planet."

I shook my head. "No, I haven't figured anything out. Goku and I both know you two are up to something fishy and I have a feeling you deliberately put him and I together. Other than that I'm still in the dark. I think I prefer it that way to be honest. Whenever I open my eyes to something I regret it."

Scoria grinned widely, thoroughly amused by my rambling. "Isn't that the nature of humans? They love turning a blind eye to the things they're uncomfortable with or they dislike. It makes them so much easier to control and dominate." He steepled his talons and watched me with growing excitement. "I'll let you on in a small secret to calm some of your fears. Yes, it is I who caused instant transmission to break through the dimensions. My original intention was for him to meet an older woman but then I realized it would be so much more fun to watch him squirm for a decade waiting for you.

"The very nature of your connection was not created by me, however. Many calculations told me something akin to it would happen but I cannot influence the universe itself. Goku shattered time and space; he violated a basic law of nature and thus, the two of you were permanently tethered. One cannot exist without the other. You are two sides to the same coin. That is non-negotiable at this point."

"What do you want from us?" I asked. "Do you send us the dreams?"

"Yet another thing I cannot control. As I said, all I could do was set things in motion. I managed to weaken the wall between our worlds enough that Goku could travel between them and meet you. The dreams are caused by your own inner fears and desires, or perhaps it's the universe influencing you to do what it wants. I'm very close to getting what I want. Soon the gateway will be opened and our worlds will become one. All we need now is the catalyst to facilitate the connection."

"You didn't answer my question, Scoria. What do you want from my world? How will Goku and I make a catalyst that lets our worlds connect?"

The demon only smiled. "Now why would I tell you that? It will ruin all this fun we've been having. Anyway, when you awaken you'll be confronted with a slightly different Goku. He's been talking with Fiamme for a while now so he should be ready. I highly suggest you tread lightly around him from now on. As a Saiyan, he's naturally possessive but we wanted to… exacerbate that."

"Were you telling him not to let me up earlier? I'm so sick of asking you questions and getting a ridiculous, long-winded answer that doesn't help me at all. If my relationship with Goku will bring you to my world then I guess I'll have to cut things off with him before it's too late."

"It's been too late for ten years, Naomi."

Sunlight blinded me upon waking and I turned on my side to keep from having my eyes completely burned out. Someone was knocking on the door, adding to my current issues and I somehow stumbled out of bed to answer it. I felt around for Goku and was relieved that he was actually pretty far away. It made my heart hurt but I didn't want to confront him about holding me down against my will. He had his own visions to deal with so it'd be better for both of us to hold off on talking.

Halfway out the room I remembered I was totally naked and hurried back to throw on my pjs. My body ached like I'd been working out for too long and I groaned when I saw hickies all over my neck. All the pain throughout me started crying out for attention at the same time, the most notable of which was between my legs. I'd have to get Plan B later on after I was done dealing with whoever wanted to see me. I wasn't dealing with the dread of a positive pregnancy test on top of everything else.

When I finally came out to the kitchen, almost tripping over Peter on the way, I opened the door to see Craig wringing his hands nervously. He made a choking sound when he saw me and I was soon enveloped in an insanely tight hug that caused me even more pain. He pulled away to examine me and shut the door gently to keep Peter from sneaking out into the hall. Sweet Jesus, how was I going to explain how terrible I looked? Even worse, how would I explain my mysterious disappearance?

Craig sat down on the couch with me, visibly shaken. "I had an insane dream you were at my apartment last night and just vanished. Are you okay? You look really pale. Where did you get all those hickies? From me? I'm sorry if I did that, I get kind of weird with alcohol."

"No, I'd rather not talk about it. I'm fine and that's all you need to know."

"If you say so. Erin's worried about you so you might want to give her a call. I brought your phone over. You have a few missed calls from your parents and siblings but other than that no one's tried to contact you. Do you want me to bring you to the hospital, Naomi? You look really sick."

"I said I'm fine. I need to rest, though so if you wouldn't mind heading out the same way you came I'd be much obliged. My brother should be home soon to take care of me."

Two big hands settled on my shoulders from behind. "I'm home, sister. Nice to see you have company."

"Oh, hi Goku. I just came over to check on Naomi. I don't mean to intrude." Craig looked a bit nervous so I could only guess as what sort of expression Goku had on.

"That's… so kind of you," Goku said. "But my sister really needs her rest so we'd both appreciate it if you'd go on home to let her do just that. We both had a long—" He dug his fingers into my shoulders for a less than gentle message—"long, night. Oh, and please ask Erin to politely mind her own business. I'm more than capable of taking care of Naomi."

It had the intended effect. Craig nodded quickly and got up to leave, seeing himself out before I could say another word. An uncomfortable tingle traveled down my spine as Goku dropped his hands from my shoulders and walked around the couch to sit beside me. He was back to wearing a full black outfit that accentuated his muscles and didn't look to be in the mood for chatting. One of his arms wound around my waist and he tugged me close to his side, scowling.

"I could practically smell his intentions," Goku said, sounding a little paranoid. "I told you he was suspicious. Don't let strange men into the house. I already went to your job and told them you're quitting. You have to stay home with me from now on so I can protect you."

"Uh… first of all, you better be joking about my job. Secondly, it was Craig, not some psychopathic rapist. Thirdly, I'll have to throw you out if you ever hold me captive in my own bed again. What the hell was up with that? It doesn't just absorb into my uterus after. I also had another vision with Scoria but he said Fiamme was talking to you. How'd it go?"

"Fine, fine. Nothing interesting to report. We should relocate to my world permanently, though. If we're together now I need to keep you safe and I can't do that here when my power is weakened. I've already talked to Chi-Chi and she screamed at me good for a while but she's doing okay now. You can still say goodbye to your family and stuff before we leave."

I turned to face Goku and noticed he was looking haggard. "You need sleep. You're losing your mind. Come on, I'll make you a quick snack and you can sleep this off for the day. We don't want you doing anything weird."

"No, no, we need to go. I've been waiting a decade for you and I'm not risking anyone taking you away from me." His fingers drummed on his knee frantically. "Then again, Gohan is around your age and if he leaves Videl that means you're the first one he'll consider. Goten is getting older, too. Vegeta always wants to stick it to me so I can't leave you alone with him, either."

"Will you please relax? You're freaking me out."

"No, I need to make sure you're safe before one of them takes you."

"Oh my God you sound totally fucking—"

It wasn't a good idea to prod an unstable Saiyan. Goku suddenly grabbed my throat and hoisted me up off the couch, dragging me back to the bedroom. He threw me on the bed and shut the door while I coughed and spluttered for air, heart pattering faintly in my chest. My very aggravated lover paced back and forth until I tried to get up, which sent him back into an angry rage. The next thing I knew my neck was being crushed to the mattress by Goku's huge hand. I struggled desperately. What the hell?!

Goku smiled broadly. "Shh, calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you. Just do what I say and everything will be fine. I promise nothing bad will happen if you behave, okay?"

I stared at him blankly. Something serious had transpired while I was passed out in bed and he was too frazzled to tell me exactly what that was. It could've been his argument with Chi-Chi that made him snap and go over the edge, or it could've been whatever Fiamme did to him. Regardless, I was caught in the middle which was not a good place to be. I reached up and pried Goku's hand off my mouth to lick my lips, making him shift in response.

"Tell me what happened," I said.

"I went back to talk to Chi-Chi and she was all sorts of mad at me. She said I was a liar and an adulterer while Goten stood on the stairs and watched us argue. I felt bad but what was I supposed to do, keep lying about our relationship? Anyway, I came back here and had another vision about the demons and the one female talked to me about my fears. She didn't seem too bad and she brought to my attention the other men who are interested in you or may be in the future."

"Oh please, get a grip. We've already been over this time and time again. Our bond is way too strong to be broken so why worry? If you'd like to visit your world again we can do that but I'm not staying there permanently. I like my own realm, thank you very much."

"Promise you're mine." Goku took my face between his hands, searching my eyes. "Promise."

"I promise. Now let's see if we can find these demons and get some answers out of them, okay?"

The Saiyan leaned back to let me up and nodded, quickly pulling me into a passionate kiss when I was sitting before him. He was still kneeling on my bed when I left, gazing at the wall blankly.