Peripheral Reality

Chapter 5

((Okay, there's going to be a new pairing introduced here upon request (for you, MegaKat, who asked that I make Radditz a whore), just letting you know. I'm not going to go into too much detail but if you don't like the idea just skip over it. Just know there will be some mentions of Radditz/Vegeta in here. I do have a reason for this, and it's not just an excuse to hook Vegeta up with someone, it is part of the plot... he has a plan to keep Radditz quiet...))

Something was up. Radditz blew his hair out of his eyes irritably and sat on a toppled over tree limb, crossing one leg over the other and flicking his tail in thought. His brother was acting different, talking different, vanishing without explanation on occasion and giving evasive replies when asked about it. And Kakarot wasn't the only one acting strange... Vegeta was too. The prince was actually being polite when he spoke, and there seemed to be something bothering him... bothering both of them. It must have had something to do with that stranger Goku showing up, everything was normal until he came along.

But why hadn't Kakarot told him about it? It was unusual for his brother to be secretive, especially around his older sibling, whom he would tell just about anything to. All he knew was that Kakarot was being jumpy, flinching when someone addressed him in conversation and avoiding the people he used to spend most of his time around. Yes, it must be that Goku... but what about him? And why was everyone keeping Radditz in the dark about this?

True, Radditz wasn't really known for being good at keeping secrets, but if it concerned his brother, he would want to help. Didn't Kakarot want his help? With every other problem the younger Saiyan had come in contact with, he had asked his brother's advice... why not now?

Sighing, Radditz stood and took to the air. The only way he'd know what was up with Kakarot would be if he asked him directly, but every time he'd asked, Kakarot had completely avoided the question.

He landed in front of Kakarot's door and raised a hand to knock when he was interrupted by a voice behind him.

"A little late to be out and about, isn't it?"

Radditz turned to see his prince fixing him with an expression that was extremely hard to describe. Something like accusation and light inquiry mixed with indecision and reluctance. Vegeta had his tail curled defensively around his waist, but he had braced one hand on one hip in an attempt at appearing casual, his eyes were dishonest, and they darted like a cornered animal's.

Case in point, Radditz thought in confusion, Both he and Kakarot are behaving strangely.

"A little late, perhaps. What do you wish of me, Highness?" he asked carefully, appealing to Vegeta's princely side in an attempt to get him to lower his guard.

It didn't work; if anything, Vegeta's nervous, distrustful expression became more pronounced.

"A word, please," the prince said swiftly, turning and walking away, making a gesture for Radditz to follow over his shoulder. Radditz blinked. It was a rare occurrence to hear the word "please" from Vegeta's lips. He followed the prince though, his curiosity piqued.

"As you wish."

X

Kakarot purred in satisfaction as Goku gently kissed down the side of his throat, nuzzling the sensitive skin and brushing his tail along his arms. The two had scarcely been apart since Vegeta had found them out, and rather than heed his warning, if anything they had become even more closely involved, and Kakarot had heard Vegeta mutter to himself about their insatiability more than once. Kakarot himself had instigated much of this more frequent intimacy, feeling he had to squeeze in as much time with his furred counterpart as he could before the day of his arranged mating dawned, enjoying the pleasant period of time for as long as he could. Apparently Goku had no complaints, and Kakarot wondered often why the red-furred Saiyan was so willing in the first place. It was as if he would like nothing more than to spend his time with Kakarot, and he didn't seem the least perturbed by the new exuberance Kakarot presented him with. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it just as much as Kakarot did.

Goku paused in his quiet worship of lips and tongue when the soft sound of lowered voices sounded outside the door. For a moment, the furred Saiyan just looked in the direction of the voices with the air of a predator in a hunting crouch, and then the fur along his shoulders bristled as he tensed.

"It's Radditz," he breathed, and Kakarot whipped around, listening as well.

He could make out his brother's voice, as well as Vegeta's, but after a few seconds both voices fell silent and Goku relaxed slightly next to him.

"They're gone." he said.

Kakarot sighed with relief. He knew Vegeta was covering for them. He'd asked why this was so more than once, and he rarely got a straight answer. It was perplexing to him. Why was the prince on their side? It seemed the harder path to take, to keep their secrets and cover their tracks. It would be much easier on the prince to go with the law than against it, especially considering his royal status.

He couldn't say he wasn't grateful, and the diligence Vegeta showed when he deflected Radditz's questions and alerted the selfsame Saiyans if something was amiss was a display of loyalty that Kakarot wouldn't soon forget. And he tried to show his gratitude and repay the favor whenever he could.

"Now," Goku purred in his ear, "Where were we?"

X

Vegeta's tail uncoiled from his waist, lashing nervously as he lead Radditz away from Kakarot's house. That had been a bit too close; if Radditz had entered without knocking or if Vegeta hadn't been there, the long-haired Saiyan would have walked right in on Kakarot and Goku and all Vegeta's work would have been for nothing. There had to be something he could do to divert Radditz's suspicion. To distract him...

"Why do you want to speak to me, my prince?" Radditz asked as Vegeta stopped in the shadow of a moonlit glade.

Vegeta tried to think of a reason on the spot, honestly unsure what he planned to say. Fortunately, working under pressure was a certain specialty of his.

After a few seconds' thought, he said the first thing to come to mind, and he instantly regretted how close he came to brushing the subject he was trying to avoid.

"I wanted to discuss your brother," Since his thoughts had rarely strayed from Kakarot and his worry for how long he could hide the young Saiyan's involvement with his counterpart, his mind was virtually blank at the moment aside from that particular line of thought.

"Kakarot? What about him?" Radditz asked skeptically.

Dammit, I think I just made him more suspicious. Vegeta cursed silently.

"A-about his mating with Broly." he amended hastily, trying to steer the focus of the conversation in a direction that wouldn't lead to Kakarot and Goku's exposure... hopefully.

Radditz blinked once, "Is there something wrong with the arrangements Father made?"

"N-no, nothing like that..." Vegeta stammered, kicking himself mentally. Pull yourself together, you idiot!

"Well then what's the problem?" Radditz asked coolly, his dark tail flicking.

"I... I was wondering if it was possible to call it off." He could barely believe that those words left his mouth, and he wanted to take them back the instant they did before they could cause unrepairable damage to the precarious situation he found himself in.

The long-haired soldier before him stared for a good three seconds, his eyes very wide.

"Call it off?" he asked, "Impossible, you know the law as well as I, Your Highness. Especially because the peace of Paragus's family and mine rests on this union."

"L-laws can be changed," Gods, you just keep making this worse for yourself. Say something sensible, you're a prince, aren't you?

"Not easily," Radditz argued, "And it's too late now to change the plans, the mating is in less than two months. Why would you want to mess with this now? You have something against Broly?"

No, just the fact that he's going to be bound to Kakarot. For once, he kept the unwise words silent, and thought carefully before responding.

"Shouldn't Bardock's eldest son be the one who is betrothed for the sake of two families' unity?" A risky, risky question... he thought uncertainly.

Radditz laughed shortly, "You're suggesting I take Kakarot's place? While I may outmatch him in terms of age, his status is greater than mine. Think about it. He's a Super Saiyan, and so is Broly. He'll be twenty-three in two months, and so will Broly. It's the perfect situation of equality, why do you think my father was so eager to seal the deal with Paragus?"

Vegeta sighed. He knew all of that, he'd asked as a last-ditch effort.

"Forgive me," Radditz began tentatively, "But are you feeling alright, Highness? You're not usually like this."

"Like what?" Vegeta snapped instinctively.

"Well... it might just be my imagination... but you've been acting strangely, sir..." there was a blatant question in the tall Saiyan's eyes, an anticipation Vegeta wished he could disregard. He thinks I'm about to explain everything to him... Shit...

He was out of options, and before he could come up with some kind of excuse that would likely get he and Kakarot into even more trouble, instinct snapped awake in his brain and he pulled Radditz down and kissed him.

X

Radditz knew he'd backed Vegeta into a corner when the prince tensed, anxiety and frustration written on his face. He was sure he was about to find out why Vegeta and Kakarot had been acting so weird. What he hands-down did not expect was for his prince to reach up, snag a hand in his thick hair, and pull him down, laying a kiss on his lips.

He should have been confused or even offended, but for some strange reason, the action came across as an explanation of its own. It would make sense that the prince was acting shifty if he were harboring a crush, and asking for a word with Radditz alone may have just been an excuse to make his intentions plain. He knew how difficult it was to win over prince Vegeta, and being kissed under the moonlight by Saiyan royalty was something Radditz couldn't deny he enjoyed.

A deep purr rumbled from his chest and he added his own pressure to the kiss, pleased he'd come to an answer at last. It didn't quite explain why Kakarot was jumpy too, but it could just be pre-mating jitters, or maybe Kakarot knew that Vegeta desired Radditz and was covering for him until he was ready to tell. Yes, that would make sense...

Vegeta's gloved fingers threaded through Radditz's long hair, and the prince's tail coiled around his bicep, his mouth moving feverishly against Radditz's own. Radditz was a willing participant, unable to deny that the prince was appealing, and knowing that what Vegeta promised with exploring fingers and gentle bites to his lips would be well worth the wait.

X

I can't believe that worked, Vegeta thought, feeling Radditz relax and almost hearing him emptying questions from his mind. If all it took to distract the long-haired Saiyan from prying was a kiss, he would have done that from the start.

Vegeta didn't think anything special of Radditz, but if seducing him meant Kakarot and Goku were safe, then Radditz was going to get his ass seduced. Vegeta almost grimaced at how accurate that thought was. It seemed Vegeta had to somehow feign infatuation... and that wasn't something he was particularly good at. Indeed it wasn't something he had ever actually done.

He could sense Radditz growing restless, and the tall warrior was getting a little too enthusiastic with his participation. His wandering fingers introducing themselves to Vegeta's skin a little too closely. Vegeta could guess what the end result of this would be, and his last thought before he threw in the towel and gave in to his accidental plan was;

Damn you, Kakarot, you owe me big for this.

X

It was a rare occurrence that Goku powered down around Kakarot for an extended amount of time, but the blonde didn't seem to have any repercussions as Goku curled up next to him in his normal state, exhausted from the night's activities – exhausted to the point of releasing his transformation.

For perhaps the first time since he'd gotten here, his thoughts turned to his family back on Earth. Maybe it was his fourth level's animal nature that had kept him from thinking of such things – or indeed, thinking of much else aside from food and sex - but as he lay next to Kakarot that night he thought of Gohan and Goten, and how they must be missing their father. Of ChiChi in Otherworld, and what she would think about her husband's current partner.

Kakarot stirred slightly, wrapping his arms around Goku's shoulders and embracing him gently; without the slight variance in size and the fur, they could become so close that they nearly melded into one being. It was an action that made Goku's thoughts even more conflicted. He liked being with Kakarot. He enjoyed seeing the homeworld he'd never known in his life. But he knew he had responsibilities to his family too, and yet he'd shamelessly left them behind, hadn't even told them he was leaving them... not that he'd had the time or means to tell them before he was swept here on accident... but still, thinking of his sons and his friends made him guilty, more now than before.

"Goku, go to sleep." Kakarot muttered without opening his eyes, "You're so tense you're like a brick of Katchin."

Goku laughed quietly at Kakarot's hyperbole's reference to the hardest metal in the known universe.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," he murmured, allowing his body to relax in Kakarot's arms.

"About what?" Kakarot said tiredly, as if not really expecting a response.

"Certain...choices..." Goku said evasively.

To his surprise, Kakarot sat up and fixed him with his sharp green gaze calculatingly.

"What choices?" Now his tone of voice was controlled and alert. Goku wondered what he'd said to wake his counterpart up so quickly.

"Just... about staying here... leaving my family..." he supposed he should be honest; he wasn't a very good liar and it wouldn't do him any good to try to lie to Kakarot anyway.

A mixture of guilt and dismay clouded Kakarot's emerald eyes and he lowered his head slightly, his blonde bangs shadowing his forlorn face.

"You regret staying here with me," he said in monotone. It was not a question.

Goku hesitated. He wasn't sure he regretted the time he'd spent here, he just wasn't sure he'd spent it justly. ...Was that the same as regret?

He must have hesitated too long, because Kakarot sighed shortly and dropped his gaze even lower.

"I knew it." the young Saiyan said bitterly, his gold tail slashing once. He swiftly got to his feet, still keeping his face too low for his expression to be read.

"Kakarot, wait!" Goku said, snatching the blonde Saiyan's wrist before he could leave.

Kakarot looked at him for a moment, and Goku caught a glimpse of the tears welling in his eyes, suppressed as the younger Saiyan blinked forcefully.

Goku tried to say something, thinking of what he could possibly say. He sat there for a moment, his mouth slightly open as he scrambled for speech to voice his thoughts.

Kakarot watched him expectantly for a few seconds, but when he said nothing, the young Saiyan wrenched his wrist out of Goku's grip, looking angry and conflicted.

"I was wasting my time," he growled, "You never wanted to stay..."

"I did," Goku reproached, forcing his mind to keep up with what was happening, "I still do," he amended.

"Why?" Kakarot snapped sharply, "You'd rather go back to your own world, and you don't belong here anyway. Why don't you just go back then? If you're unhappy here?"

"I-I'm sorry," Goku said, "I shouldn't have said that. It was thoughtless of me..."

"But it's true isn't it?' Kakarot muttered, "You said -"

"If I was given the choice," Goku said carefully, "I would stay here. This is my home, where I was born, and I want to stay with you."

"Not good enough." Kakarot said shortly, crossing his arms.

Goku swallowed, knowing what Kakarot wanted him to say. He still couldn't say it though, although he wasn't quite sure what was holding him back now.

"I... I love being with you, and -"

"Still not enough." Kakarot interrupted.

"I want you, Kakarot." Goku implored, trying to say something to convince the other.

A sound came from Kakarot's throat. At first Goku thought it was a dismissive snort, but then he realized it was a short laugh.

"Why can't you just say it?" Kakarot said, "Is it so hard? You've said just about everything else, why is it so wrong for you to love me?"

Because I don't. Goku knew it would be unwise to say that, and that it would definitely make Kakarot leave if he did at this particular moment.

"I need you," One last attempt to win the other Saiyan over, "You hear me, Kakarot? I need you."

For a long moment, Kakarot stood firm, glaring at Goku with bottle-green pools of indecision.

At last he sighed and sat back down on the bed.

"I guess that's good enough for now." he conceded quietly, "But you're going to have to say it sometime, you know."

Goku looked at him for a moment, wondering why he'd been so desperate to convince him not to leave. Did Kakarot really mean that much to him? They were the same person, it seemed illogical, especially in such a short amount of time. But when Kakarot had gotten up, turning to depart, possibly for good, something inside Goku had panicked, and he'd been frozen with terror at the thought of the young Saiyan not being there.

Goku smiled just slightly, "Yeah," he said with a soft laugh that sounded like an exhalation,"I know."

TBC

((Jeez, I have a whole plot in my head for this story, but I only update once or twice a month. Pathetic. Had to add the Radditz/Vegeta as per request, which I think I mentioned, and I think some uncertainty was needed between Kaka and Goku in order to maintain their relationship. This story seems to have a way of pacing itself extremely quickly, kind of like Gravity and RYW.

Heheh, can't wait until Broly comes in, that shit's gonna be epicccc. And if you think the above scene is drama you just WAIT.

So excited for this story to pan out, I haven't been this happy about a plot in a long time.

Thanks as always for reading and reviewing.

-Shinsun))