Rock Your World
Part 8 – The Prince And I
I thought about the kiss constantly. No matter what I did, I couldn't keep my mind from returning to that one shining moment; of the prince's taste, his smell, the ragged hitch of his breath on my face.
Even when I was alone, my thoughts were of him; and it struck me many times how little I knew about Vegeta. Sure, I knew his best fighting moves, I knew his strengths and weaknesses, I knew his short temper and how little it took to scratch his pride. But I didn't know anything about his life before Planet Vegeta had blown up, I didn't know his favorite food, his favorite color – though I suspected black or cobalt – or even how old he was. Some days I would just lie in the wilting autumn grass and think; something I didn't usually do until now.
It was early November, one of the last warm days of the year, and I decided to get answers to my persistent questions about the prince.
I located his energy signal and IT'd to his location. The amount of exposed, honey-bronze muscle I was greeted with startled me. Wearing nothing but black spandex shorts, the prince stood half-in, half-out of the gravity room, one foot still raised mid-step as he stared at me, a towel draped over his sweat-kissed neck. The image was nothing short of erotic.
"What do you want, Kakarot?" the question could have been a lot harsher, and I relaxed slightly. His dark eyebrows were furrowed in a quizzical look and he didn't seem angry, just confused. He set his raised foot down and crossed his arms; tail sweeping slowly.
Suddenly I had a hard time saying what I'd come to say.
"I…uh… that is… if you aren't busy, I…um…" Very smooth, I thought grimly, Can't even spit out a full sentence without stammering like an idiot.
"I was wondering if, since today's likely to be the last warm day of the year," Better, I thought, my confidence returning, "You might… want to… go somewhere… with...with me…."
Vegeta looked like he could have laughed at the blush crawling across my face.
"Kakarot, are you asking me on a date?" he smirked, swiping the towel from around his neck and sponging his forehead.
I mumbled something I won't bother to translate; it was straight gibberish.
Then the prince actually did laugh, throwing back his head as his mirth exploded in a burst of sound that was far from unpleasant. I realized I'd never actually heard Vegeta laugh before. Chuckle evilly, sure; gloat arrogantly, absolutely; sneer, smirk, and snarl, almost every day; but I'd never heard him genuinely laugh for no reason other than pleasure. It surprised me then that his laugh sounded lighter, higher, in comparison to his deeper, rasping voice. I liked it, and resolved to do anything I could to get him to make that pleasant sound again.
"Is that a no?" I asked in a quiet voice, reining in my smile.
Vegeta smirked again, "Kakarot, no one in the universe has the power to resist your puppy-dog eyes, what makes you think I'm any different? Sure, Kakarot. Take me somewhere. Show me a good time."
I stared. I wanted to jump for joy, but I couldn't seem to convince my body to move. Eventually I broke into a huge grin and looped my tail around the prince's.
"Well then. Get yourself dressed, Your Highness, we're going out tonight."
The sound reached us first; the deep, throbbing pulse of a bass backbeat. Then the smell hit my nostrils and I noticed a wistful smile grace Vegeta's face at the scent of cooking food and fire. We landed side by side in a grassy field that sprawled into a beach nearby, leading to the sea. People mingled on the shore, in the grass, in the water, as the sun set. Some dancing to lively music thrumming from enormous amplifiers, some playing volleyball on the sun-stained sand, some eating, chatting, laughing; some simply lying back on towels to watch the first stars wink into the sky. The beach and field were lit with woven-grass high torches that towered overhead like a Hawaiian scene. The palm trees scattered along the shore cast the tropical mood even more; and though the sun was halfway down, there was a blanket of heat draped over everything. It made even the November evening feel like a summer night.
Vegeta's gaze swept over everything before his eyes met mine.
"Interesting choice, Kakarot. A beach party?" he snickered.
"No, it's an equinox bonfire," I corrected, "A little late in the year to be celebrating the autumn equinox, but this is how the locals set off one last bang before winter sets in."
"They dance on the beach and play that weird net-game?" the prince smirked at me, showing that he was actually pleased.
"That's volleyball," I said, "And you'll see why it's called a bonfire when the sun sets completely. In the meantime, I promised to show you a good time."
"Don't make me dance, Kakarot, or I swear this first date will be your last." This time Vegeta's voice was dead-serious, I nodded, respecting the prince's boundaries.
There was enough food to serve an army of Saiyans, and that was not a small feat. I think even Vegeta was impressed with the quantity as he sampled this and that, commenting now and then as we walked leisurely among the people; two aliens in a sea of humans, not quite fitting in, but welcome by silent or unaware consent.
The sun took its sweet time going down, lingering on the horizon and dying the sea and the sky the color of new blood and fire. The surf crashed as we strolled along the coastline, the waves lapping at our ankles. I felt at peace, finally content, just being allowed to bask in the presence of the prince. He even laughed again, that higher, clearer sound, when I tripped over a wedge of driftwood and fell face-first into the water; and I chased him teasingly through the surf, not relenting until he was as soaked as I was.
When at last the sun disappeared and the sky bled to a deep cobalt, the prince and I stretched out on towels that were open to anyone's use, and watched the people gather and settle into groups and pairs, chattering idly and sipping various drinks. The color of the sky reminded me why I'd offered to take Vegeta out in the first place.
"Vegeta, what's your favorite color?" I asked abruptly.
He looked at me with amused disdain.
"Why do I need a favorite? I honestly don't care what color anything is, so long as it's useful."
I almost laughed out loud at his reasoning. It was just so… Vegeta.
"What if you had to pick a favorite?"
"Definitely not the color of your shirt," he smirked. I glanced down at my T-shirt. It was a bright, tangerine orange. It occurred to me that I wore orange a lot, even with jeans instead of a gi.
The prince then actually seemed to consider the question, and I found a new respect for his patience.
"I'd have to say… the color of the sun,"
"Yellow?" I asked, surprised, I'd expected something dark, like the prince's attire; he'd worn a black sleeveless shirt and denim jeans with a hole to allow his tail its freedom.
"No. Not yellow. Yellow is nauseating."
I couldn't help myself, the look of disgust on his face was so genuine that I collapsed in a fit of giggles, tail thrashing as I subsided into slower laughs, catching my breath.
"I meant the color of the sun when it set tonight: fiery, golden and orange; glowing from within and painting everything with a thousand hues of red and violet," his gaze drifted as he spoke and he just sat there for a moment, lost in thought. Then he seemed to realize what he's said and sat up straighter, dusting sand off his shirt with an embarrassed look on his face.
I snapped back to awareness, I'd been lost in the prince's eyes, in his words spun from a rough, baritone voice and brilliant mind. I realized my mouth was slightly ajar and closed it quickly.
"That was beautiful," I murmured eventually, meeting his gaze honestly, "I didn't expect that to be your answer, I thought it'd be black or dark blue."
"What about you, Kakarot? What's your 'favorite' color? Surely not orange," he smiled as he spoke, and I realized he was serious.
"Green," I said steadily, without hesitating, "I like dark, rich green like the trees."
"Why?" Vegeta asked sincerely.
"It's calming, it reminds me of everything on this planet and every other planet in the universe that breathes and grows and lives." I realized I had all but waxed poetic, just like Vegeta had, and blushed.
We were silent for a while, watching the people around us with the detached air of being another race. Vegeta's sharp intake of breath drew my attention and I followed his gaze to the center of the beach where a column of wood and dried grass had been torched, dousing everything around it in a wave of heat and light.
"That's why it's called an equinox bonfire," I murmured in his ear, smiling at his avid expression. Seeming unconscious of what he was doing, he leaned back into my arms and I embraced him gently, stroking his arms with my tail.
He lay this way for a while, watching the flames lick at the column in hypnotic tongues of fire.
"Thanks for this, Kakarot," he said quietly, "For taking me out with you,"
"My pleasure," I purred, coiling my tail around his shoulder and bicep lightly.
The moon was halfway into the sky by the time the prince fell asleep in my arms and I teleported him home.
TBC