Rock Your World

Part 6 – My Words, Your Words

Ongaku needed to be… tuned, and such …before I even attempted to write a song again. After its last use, most of the strings were burned or rusty and two had snapped completely off. I replaced all six of them just to be safe, and twisted the knobs holding them in place to tighten them appropriately. When I was satisfied, I sat cross-legged on the floor of what had once been Gohan's room – don't ask why my guitar was in there, it had been during my month of semi-insane solitude – and strummed a few times to get used to the feel of thin metal vibrating against my fingers again. Then I took out the page with the lyrics Vegeta had circled; still amazed by the unbelievable gesture, even then.

The first line was easy enough, but it was a bit longer than the other three that formed what I hoped would be the first verse of this new composition. "I pretend not to care, but it hurts to hold up the mask." I took out a pencil and messed with the sentence structure so that – with the help of Gohan's Thesaurus - it read "I feign triviality, but it's a painful mask" which meant pretty much the same thing, and still rhymed with the rest of the verse. The other three lines were relatively the same length and structure, so I took out the sheet of blank notebook paper I'd taken from Gohan's desk and wrote down the first verse, smiling despite myself.

Two hours came and went without my noticing as I strummed, scribbled, and amended with single-minded determination. Eventually I had a melody and a refrain, as well as solid verses that were medleys of the lyrics I had written over a month ago mixed with newer, more accurate words. I looked over my work and almost laughed. I had erased a hole through the paper, and there were many smudges and scuffs that spoke of my increasing frustration over the course of my writing. But I had a song.

By the time the song had actually made it into sheet music, Vegeta showed up outside. I knew it was him from his energy; and he must have come here following mine. I stood up from Gohan's desk and finished the last word with flourish, setting down my pen and stretching languorously. I was happier now than I had been since before ChiChi's death, and I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I cleared the flight of stairs in one jump and opened the front door before Vegeta could knock.

The prince's eyebrows rose as he took in my appearance. I noticed then that I wasn't wearing anything but a pair of dark blue gi pants, and that my hands and possibly my face were smudged with pencil graphite – one of my fingers was cut from strumming too hard.

"You knew I was here all along didn't you?" he muttered awkwardly.

"Well, yeah. I can sense energy just as well as you can, Vegeta," I replied smoothly, "Why, were you trying to sneak up on me?"

"No," Vegeta said quickly, "I just…"

"Do you want to come inside, or do you want me to come outside? Or would you rather just stand awkwardly in the doorway?" I said bluntly, smirking. The expression didn't feel at home on my face, but it sure got a reaction out of His Royal Highness.

Vegeta's mouth remained ajar for a good three seconds before he regained his poise and crossed his arms defensively.

"Did you get my… the…the…" he stammered, his eyes not leaving mine as he traversed the threshold and stepped inside, still searching for a word.

"…My lyrics?" I offered, "Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. It was nice of you to return them."

Oh, that wiped the calm expression of the prince's face faster than anything I'd said thus far. I resisted an urge to laugh as he scrambled for his tact.

"I just – I ...Well…" he sputtered, obviously alarmed at being called "nice".

"And I noticed your commentary, too." I continued, leaning against the wall in the living room, one hand on propped on one hip, "Very thoughtful," I added with another smirk, it was so much fun to make His Highness squirm.

"And you …?" he prompted, shifting his stance nervously, "You used them?"

"Yep," I grinned, "But it doesn't have a title yet, I wanted to ask you first."

True enough. Also I hadn't had time to think of a title.

"You wanted to ask me?" the prince asked incredulously, "Why? They're your lyrics, I just…"

"But you gave them to me, and you circled the ones that created the first verse."

Vegeta didn't have an argument for that.

He was silent for a moment, staring at the floor, seeming to be memorizing the pattern of ChiChi's carpet.

"Can…can I…?" he began, blushing – blushing! – and shuffling his hands behind his back, "W-what I mean is… would you..?

"You want to hear it?" I asked, rescuing him from the apparent torture of finishing the question.

He blinked, looking up, his strong cheekbones and royal nose still painted with blush.

"Yes." He breathed; the word less than a whisper.

I felt a smile soar across my face. Progress at last! Vegeta didn't hate me, and he wanted to listen to the song he'd helped me write, even found the courage to ask, in his own way.

Ongaku laid down a smooth, light rhythm and my tail all but wagged in anticipation as I watched the prince watch me, using a pick instead of my bare fingers this time to avoid cutting myself again.

My voice shook a little as I began the first verse, but it didn't betray me otherwise until I got to the refrain where I found my confidence, closing my eyes as the music washed over me.

"At the end of the night, I've all but lost my mind

The sun hides for a lifetime

But I don't hide on my own time

A wish, a hope, not voiced, but true

I wish you were here with me

I feel so much saner with you."

Vegeta was silent throughout the whole song, except for a small, appreciative noise at the end. He studied his own hands for the longest time, and eventually spoke, his voice hushed; the low rasp contrasting to the high, tinny sound of the guitar and my own, more tenor voice.

"You wrote this about me?"

I hesitated. I remembered the last song he'd overheard, and his response then had been far from pleasant.

I decided to be honest; come what may.

"Yes."

"The other one… the other song… was about me too?"

"Yes." I repeated.

Vegeta sighed and looked up, his gaze unreadable.

"I don't understand you, Kakarot; how can you play something so full of hate one day, and something so… so much sweeter another day? How can you think both such things about the same person?"

I swallowed. That's love, I answered silently, but that was probably the last thing the proud prince wanted to hear.

"You're a contradictory person," I said eventually, the prince's eyebrows rose at my use of a five syllable word.

"Why? Why did you write this one in such a different voice than the other? What I mean is… the lyrics I circled were just as cruel, if spoken in the right tone; in the right situation. Why is this song so much more upbeat?"

I gave him a small smile, it was all I could manage, I was nervous as hell.

"You showed me a nicer side of you, so I wrote a nicer song," I was shocked at my nerve, amazed that Vegeta hadn't blasted me into oblivion at the first word.

"One more question," the prince said raggedly, his brow furrowed, "Did you mean everything you said? Did you really feel that way?"

"That's two questions," I pointed out, "and…" I sighed, I couldn't dig myself in any deeper than I already was, might as well be honest, "Yes. I meant every word. I said it before: my lyrics don't lie."

The prince fell silent again. I expected him to get up and leave, I half-hoped he would.

The other half of me prayed that he would stay and keep talking, it was such a novelty, even now, to get a straight, serious answer out of him with no spite.

"Your words," he said in a quiet voice.

"What about my words?" I asked, perplexed. Was he criticizing my lyric choice?

"No, no, Kakarot; 'Your Words' should be the name of the song." He corrected.

"Really? Why? I never mentioned that phrase,"

"Because I gave you back your own words to write it, because you wrote about me in the same way I wish I could write about you, because you took the words right out of my mouth."

I hadn't expected such an elaborate answer. "Because you wrote about me in the same way I wish…"

Wait, what?!

Realization crashed over me with the force of a sledgehammer, no, with the force of an Oozaru's stomping foot. That I could say from experience.

Vegeta felt the exact same way I did. He even said I took the words right out of his mouth.

Did that mean he loved me back?

TBC