Peripheral Reality
Chapter 7
A wave crashed over Goku's back, covering him in foaming salty water that rushed into his ears and caused his hair to droop around his face. Gritty sand abraded against his skin; clung to his chest fur and his soaked pants, dragging on him as if trying to suck him into the ground. Blearily, he raised his head, his temples pounding with pain. It was sunset, and he was lying on the beach, the sand around him was dyed orange with the fading light, the water sparkling with the last rays of the sun. He heard a raised voice calling something, but he couldn't make out what it was. Shaking his head quickly to clear it, he tried to get to his feet, his shoes sinking into the wet sand as his exhausted and waterlogged arms shook to support the rest of his weight, his drenched tail giving no balance.
"Dad!" the voice from before shouted, and Goku blinked fuzzily, watching a shadow cross the sand over to him.
"G-Gohan?" he stammered, his mouth tasted like salt.
"What happened?" Gohan asked, "You said you were going to train, what are you doing back here? Why are you in the water?"
Goku stared, completely lost.
"W-what?" he asked bemusedly, "...I was gone... Gohan, I was gone for almost two months, I...!"
"What are you talking about?" Gohan sounded utterly confused, "You teleported to go train and then you just reappeared a few minutes later and fell in the water... Are you okay, Dad? Did you hit your head or something?"
Goku just looked at him with his mouth slightly ajar in shock. Did none of it really happen...? he thought uncertainly...
No... it was real, I'm sure of it...
"The time scale must be different..." he murmured to himself, attempting to stand again. He got shakily to his feet and flicked seawater from his tail distractedly.
"Did you say something?" Gohan asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing," Goku said quickly, shaking water from his hair, "Where's Goten?"
"He and Trunks left with Bulma to get ice cream, remember?" Gohan said, looking just slightly unnerved.
Goku racked his memory, it had been so long ago... And yet no time had passed here at all?
"So..." Gohan began slowly, "You didn't get to train? Where did you teleport anyway?"
Sighing, Goku remembered why he was here; what had happened with Kakarot that had driven him to leave. He couldn't believe how angry he'd gotten; he could barely even remember what exactly he'd said... How could he do that to me? He thought frustratedly, How could he not tell me something that important?
He realized Gohan had asked a question, and hastened to answer.
"It doesn't matter," he muttered, "I'm not going back."
X
Gohan shook his head slowly as he followed his dad back home, the sun disappearing behind the horizon as they flew. Something seemed off about his father; maybe he really had hit his head while training... he was just acting really out of it, as if he had no idea what was going on around him.
I hope he's okay... he thought. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to help his dad if he didn't know what was wrong with him.. Maybe he just needs to sleep it off...
Once the house was within sight, his dad stopped in midair, his red tail swishing slowly in deep thought. Gohan blinked, perplexed, and floated over to him, reading the strange look in his gilded eyes. He was looking at home as if he'd never seen it before, or as if he'd been away for a long time and was just laying eyes on it...
An awkward chuckle left Gohan's mouth as he tried to diffuse the tension, "Uh... Goten'll be back soon, do you want to head inside and wait for him?"
His father seemed to snap out of a daze, and he looked at Gohan with an expression he couldn't describe, "Sure."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, debating whether to ask again if his dad was feeling okay.
As night fell, Gohan's concern deepened as he felt his dad's ki fluctuating strangely as he slept. He peered around the bedroom door hesitantly, unsure if he should try to help somehow. His father was tossing and turning in his sleep, soft sounds of distress escaping between his clenched teeth.
Uncertainly, Gohan approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Dad... Dad, wake up."
His dad blinked, and looked at him with bright golden eyes.
"You were having a nightmare," Gohan said.
Sitting up slowly, his dad shook his head listlessly "No, not a nightmare," he muttered.
Understanding rose in Gohan's chest as he studied his father's face; he'd seen that look before.
"You're missing someone... someone you lost,"
His dad blinked, "How do you know?"
"I've seen the same look on Mom's face a long time ago, whenever she would mention you while you were dead." He was silent a moment before daring to ask, "...Who is it?"
A sorrowful look crossed his face, "It's not important," he lied, and Gohan knew it was a lie.
Gohan wasn't sure if he should say it, but he recognized the new expression filling his father's eyes as well. He'd seen it often enough from Videl, and felt the emotions that caused it himself.
"...You're in love," he murmured.
He seemed startled, and Gohan watched as emotions flitted visibly over his face, watched as his world rearranged itself in his eyes.
"I can't..." Goku said softly, "It's impossible..."
Gohan looked at him steadily, "Go to them," he said, "I don't care who it is, you deserve to be happy."
"I'm not s-supposed to," his dad stammered, looking away.
"Why not?"
There was a long pause, "...He's not mine to love..."
Gohan was only surprised briefly that the person that caused this level of infatuation in his father was male; he'd never seen him so torn up before, and whether it broke the rules or not, he had to help him make it right.
"Dad, tell me everything," he said, "Please, I can help you."
X
Goku told him. He didn't even stop to think about whether his son would be appalled by his father's choice, or even that he wouldn't understand, he just told him everything that had happened since he'd accidentally crossed dimensions to Vegeta-sei. About Kakarot, about how his younger self had admitted to loving him, but how he couldn't return it, and... about his betrothal to Broly.
When he was finished, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but he was also nervous, unsure how Gohan would react.
Gohan looked at him for a long time, and he only said three words.
"Go home, Dad."
Goku blinked perplexedly, and his son continued.
"You can't stay here, I can see how miserable it's making you... I'll miss you, but your heart doesn't belong here anymore. Go after your Kakarot..."
Gohan looked a little bit sad, but his words were empathetic, and Goku was surprised. He'd expected him to be unnerved or even disgusted.
"You... you're really okay with this?" he asked carefully.
Gohan just smiled in understanding, "I really am. It doesn't matter who you love, I think, all that matters is that you tell them before it's too late."
It may already be too late, Goku thought ruefully.
"Goten and I will be fine," Gohan said, "And if what you said about the time being different is true, maybe you can visit sometimes... and bring him with you."
"But... I'm not even sure if I'll be able to make the jump across dimensions again... much less if I'll end up in the same place." Goku protested. Last time he hadn't even had a destination in mind, pure chance had led him to Kakarot. He wasn't sure if he could put that much faith on such slim odds.
Gohan looked at him sincerely, "As cheesy as it sounds, Dad; love finds a way."
X
Vegeta could barely believe what he was seeing. On the edge of his sparring ground, sprawled in the dirt at the base of a cliff, was the form of a person he knew all too well.
He came back... I can't believe it, he came back!
He rushed to the red-furred Saiyan's side, mingled relief and confusion running through him. He was unconscious, just like the last time he'd appeared here; but at least he wasn't seriously injured again.
Shaking the furred person's shoulder, Vegeta raised his voice to wake him, "Goku, get up, come on."
Groggily, the other's red-lidded eyes opened and focused on him.
"Vegeta," he said thickly, his voice dry, and he attempted to sit up, an obviously painful effort.
"You came back," Vegeta breathed, still scarcely believing it, "He always said you would..."
"Who?"
"Kakarot." Vegeta looked at him piercingly, "Even after you disappeared and everyone thought you were gone for good, he had faith that you'd return."
Cautiously, Goku got to his feet, "What happened, Vegeta? What's happened since I was gone?"
Vegeta sighed, "It's a mess, honestly."
"How... how long has it been?" he sounded uncertain, tentative.
Vegeta averted his eyes, recounting everything that had happened in his mind.
"Five years," he said softly, meeting the other's gaze again, "Kakarot is twenty-eight now, he's been mated to that bastard Broly for half a decade. And I have taken a mate as well."
"Radditz?" Goku asked.
Vegeta nodded, "It will be three years since we mated next month."
"But what about Kakarot and Broly? What...? I mean..." he didn't seem sure what he wanted to ask.
Anger sparked in Vegeta's veins and he glared at the taller man, "Broly immediately took control, the second after they were mated, he has dominated Kakarot, forcing him and punishing him..."
"No..." Goku whispered in denial, likely picturing Kakarot's innocent face marred with bruises from how often Broly had taken out his anger on him physically; a sight Vegeta had been forced to look at nearly every day.
"That's not the worst of it," Vegeta growled, "The bastard apparently thought that wasn't enough, and he took full advantage of his dominant rank to violate Kakarot completely..."
"What?" Goku said in disbelief, "You don't mean he..."
A snarl left Vegeta's throat, and his hair turned to gold in his fury; another thing that had happened since Goku left. Vegeta had achieved Super Saiyan just shortly after he found out what Broly had done to his friend.
"For five years," Vegeta said dangerously, "He forced himself on Kakarot, raping him over and over until he was bleeding so fucking much that he couldn't even stand up... How many times the healers had to fix the damage... I lost count somewhere in the dozens... Broly was ruthless; he held him down, he broke his arms, he twisted his tail... He's damn lucky he didn't kill Kakarot, though I think it would have been a relief for him to die after all that..."
"That... monster..." Goku snarled, outrage coloring the words; apparently he was unable to make himself say any more.
"And even then, Kakarot didn't give up on you," Vegeta went on, fixing Goku with an accusing glare, "He still loved you even when his tail had so many breaks in it that he couldn't move it and he was on the verge of passing out from agony, he still loved you when he was detained in the healers' huts from blood loss after being raped unconscious... Do you have any idea how much he fucking cried over you?!"
Anguish and shame warred it out on Goku's face, and Vegeta felt a small rush of satisfaction; he wanted the furred counterpart of his friend to have a least a small taste of the suffering Kakarot had gone through since he'd decided to abandon him.
"No one could do anything," the prince continued, "The law protected Broly from anything we could charge him with, even my father was powerless to stop him."
Saiyan laws were particularly cruel when it came to a dominant mate's rights. It was a bond unbroken except by death, which was probably why Broly was so careful not to kill Kakarot with his brutal ministrations; he wanted to keep Kakarot as his little pet forever.
"And now, Goku," Vegeta said shortly, "What are you going to do?"
The fire in the golden eyes that Goku fixed him with startled him a little.
"I'm going to fix this," the tall Saiyan growled intensely, "I'm going to set things right with Kakarot... and then I'm going to send that monster Broly on his painful way to Hell."
TBC