To Win A Royal Heart

by Kami Kaze

chapter 17

Vegeta held his breath as the box was triggered, his heart beating madly in his chest as a bright light flashed, a loud zapping noise signaling that the transfer had completed. A cough got his attention, and when he squinted through the smoke, he could see the faint out line of ebony spikes a few feet away. He lurched to his feet just as Bulma raced past him.

“Goku!” Bulm called happily, yanking Gohan to his feet from the chair he sat in.

“Dad! Goten!” Vegeta heard Gohan yell. Then he heard his voice…sweet and relaxed, he greeted them as if he had only been gone an hour. Vegeta snorted.

 “Figures.” He mumbled, staring at the man as the smoke cleared, his head shaking slightly. To his surprise, after quick hugs to Bulma and Gohan, Goku spun towards him and lunged for him, pulling him off of his feet and into a bear hug. Vegeta blinked rapidly, his belly flip-flopping, a strange happiness surging through him. He managed to force the feeling down slightly and scowled, gripping the man’s shoulders. “Ughhh! Kakarotto, what the hell are you trying to do, kill me?!” he growled, pressing his nose to the man’s chest to breath in the scent that had been haunting him the entire time the man was gone. The soft fabric of the man’s blue jumpsuit tickled his nose, Goku’s chest vibrating as he chuckled from above Vegeta.

“Of course not, Vegeta-sama. I’m just happy to be back…and happy to see you again.” Goku said softly, giving one last squeeze before setting the smaller man on his feet. Vegeta’s eyes softened as he stared up at Goku, Goku’s soft smile nearly melting his heart…until an embarrassed cough sounded out from his side. Blinking, both saiyans turned to find Bulma, Gohan and Trunks staring wide eyed with wonder. Goten simply grinned at them.

“Eh..heh…well…” Bulma started, her gaze jerking away from the two saiyans to fall on Goten. “Goten, I hear you got to meet your grandfather! What a trip, huh?” She asked, herding the three young men from the room.

“Yea, it was pretty neat…he’s great…rough around the edges, but once you get to know him, he’s really nice.” Goten said as he walked through the door. Gohan huffed.

“I can’t believe you got to meet him and I didn’t..I’m the oldest, I should have got to meet him first!” the older brother complained. Their voices faded as Bulma continued herding them down the hall and into the kitchen.

Goku turned his head from the doorway and looked down at Vegeta. Where did they go from here? It was obvious that Vegeta wasn’t affected by the trip back, which both relieved and disappointed him. ‘But…I shouldn’t jump to conclusions quite yet.’ He thought to himself, his hand reaching out to rest upon Vegeta’s shoulder.

Vegeta was busy staring at the ground, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Why did he feel so torn in two? Part of him wanted to squeeze Goku and never let him go, the other half wanted to tell him that their world was better off without him and walk away. Of course, the latter wouldn’t be true in any case, but…still. What was he supposed to do…how was he to act? ‘Why can’t I just act like I did before he left? Why the sudden change as soon as he was gone, it’s crazy!’ He growled to himself, shaking his head with disgust. His head jerked upwards when he felt the hand on his shoulder, his throat releasing an audible growl before he wrenched himself away.

“I didn’t say you could touch me, Kakarotto, so keep your third class hands off me!” He snarled, then halted as he caught the look of sheer delight on Goku’s face.  “What?? What’s that look for?” He demanded.

Goku approached him slowly, his eyes narrowed, a small grin pulling at his lips. Vegeta blinked, suddenly comparing Goku to a jungle cat stalking it’s prey. Vegeta crossed his arms and scowled. “Well?” He ground out between clenched teeth.

“Vegeta, I guess you should know that I’m no longer a third class…or any kind of lower class.” Goku said, enjoying the look of confusion that spread across Vegeta’s features. “I am an elite now.” He said softly, his smile widening.

“What…how…who…” Vegeta stuttered, then hissed. “Kisama! Just because you got another chance to prove your worth to them with the strength you have now means nothing! You were born a lower class warrior, and to me you always will be!” He screamed in fury before stomping out of the room, his eyes blazing.

Goku’s brief amusement was crushed under Vegeta’s feet. “How…how could you say that, Vegeta? I worked so hard…so hard…to…” He whispered, his head hanging miserably. Perhaps nothing he had done in the past had changed the future. That was good though, right? He sighed. Good for everyone else but him.

***

Vegeta didn’t stop when Trunks called out to him from the kitchen; he simply kept walking, his fists clenched tightly. Walking into his room, he slammed the door and made his way to the window, where he simply stood staring out into the sky. He was so angry it hurt…over such a stupid thing, too. But this wasn’t as simple as it seemed; the whole time he had known Goku, he had always had that to dangle over the man’s head…his third class status. No matter how good of a fighter Goku was, even if he was better or stronger than Vegeta at any particular moment, Vegeta always had that security: Goku was far below him in class.

Dispite the fact that the man was below him in class anyway, after all, he was a prince; this class difference mattered much to him. It was everything between them; it was the line drawn in the sand that kept Vegeta from getting too close…the invisible barrier that kept him from…from what? Vegeta shook his head. The man was now an elite…well, of course he was. Of course. How could he not be, with his strength and power? He went back to Vejita-sei when it was considered impossible to hold as much power as the orange clad saiyan did…but…if he was given the title of elite, that must mean that he had taken the tests…

Vegeta blinked. The tests. A wave of déjà vu swept over him, and suddenly he flashed upon a scene in his mind:

[flashback]

His mind went blank as he stared at the tall spiky haired man standing next to Bardock; the two men nearly looked like twins, though he noted immediately that the other man seemed to have a much softer nature about him, and the difference was obvious just looking at the different light behind each man’s eyes. Vegeta pursed his lips, rubbing his chin. He knew Bardock had only two sons, Radditz and Kakarotto. Raditz he himself knew quite well, unfortunately; the young man drove him insane sometimes. As for Kakarotto, Vegeta had never laid eyes on him, as he was sent to another planet shortly after birth. Not to mention that the child was only a young teenager by now, and this man was surely older than Bardock by at least a few years, if not more. Perhaps Bardock had an older brother? Vegeta gave a mental shrug. ‘All I know is that he must be the 8^th warrior here for testing.’ He watched the man closely, frowning the entire time. There was something strange about the man…something not quite right, and Vegeta didn’t like the feeling he got. This man would pass the first test. And the second; but the third? Vegeta glanced past his father to his long-time bodyguard, Nappa. ‘Now there’s an idiot if there has ever been one. Excellent fighter, but no brain what so ever. Will that strange man be able to defeat him?’ His musings were interrupted by his father.

“Vegeta. Who is that man with Bardock?” The King asked, his own eyes staring down upon the man with interest.

“I don’t know, Father. Perhaps Bardock’s older brother? I’m not sure. Is he one of the testers, do you think?”

“Mmm.” King Vegeta answered with a nod.

Vegeta gasped, his right hand shooting out to catch himself against the windowsill. “What…what the fuck was that?” He asked, his eyes narrowed. “Damn that Kakarotto…this is his fault!” he hissed turning from the window to sit on his bed. “I’m so tired that I’ve been reduced to having daydreams. Terrific.” He muttered, laying back on his bed. “Need to get some sleep…”

***

“Dad, what’s wrong with Vegeta?” Gohan asked Goku when he rejoined them in the kitchen.

Goku shook his head, trying to give his son a cheery smile. “Oh, you know how he is.”

Bulma giggled. “Yea, plus he’s hardly gotten any sleep since you’ve been gone…and that’s a long time to go with only a few hours of sleep a night. He gets REAL cranky when he’s tired.”

Goku blinked. “He didn’t sleep well the entire time?? He must be exhausted!”

Bulma nodded. “Yea, I tried to talk to him about it, but he would get so touchy about it. I swear, I think he has a crush on you, Goku.” She said with a laugh; she laughed even harder when Goku blushed bright red.

Goten smirked. “If you only knew…” He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Goku’s head snapped up, his eyes wide as he looked at his youngest son. Goten winked.

‘Oh Kami…don’t tell me he knows!’ Goku thought with alarm. Then he mentally slapped himself. Of course, his son was half saiyan; He could have easily smelled Vegeta’s scent all over him when they were back on Vejita-sei.

“What do you mean, Goten?” Gohan asked with a frown.

“Yea, what’s that supposed to mean?” Trunks chimed in, grinning from ear to ear.

“Nothing.” Goten said nonchalantly with a shrug before he turned and walked out of the kitchen. Trunks and Gohan hurried after him, both still questioning the younger man. Bulma watched them with a smile as they walked out, then turned her attention back to Goku.

“So Goku…what happened back there?” She asked as she sat down at the table.

Goku shrugged softly and turned a chair around backwards, throwing one leg over it before sitting. He leaned his elbows on the back of the chair and sighed. “It was strange, Bulma…being around all those saiyans and all; and especially having to serve Frieza.”

“Oh my gosh, I bet that was just WEIRD, Goku!” Bulma exclaimed. Goku nodded.

“It was…but you know, I’m glad I got to see my home planet, and that I was able to be around my own race. I think I needed it, even though I didn’t know it. And my father…wow…meeting him was awesome. I’m really glad I met him.” He said smiling down at the table. A warm hand slid over his.

“Goku…you know he cares about you. He’s just…he can’t show his emotions like the rest of us. Give it time.” Bulma said softly with a wink.

Goku blinked rapidly. “What…why…huh?”

She giggled. “Silly. The way you two were staring at each other earlier…wow…it’s pretty obvious to me now, though I would have never guessed that you two had feelings for eachother. It’s pretty wild to think about, but..” She shrugged. “I guess it’s not that surprising, especially how Vegeta acted while you were gone. Goku, he was going NUTS! He pestered me constantly about getting you back home, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t even train, he was so distracted.”

Goku sighed. “Really? Do you think…”

“Yes, I do. Now, I need to get back to my lab and finish what I was working on BEFORE you got yourself sent back in time!” She said with a grin. “I’m really glad you’re back, Goku!”

Goku grinned softly. “I’m glad to be back…thank you, Bulma, for all your help.”

“Yea, well…you owe me!” She exclaimed as she climbed to her feet and walked down the hall to the lab.

***

“YOU WHAT???” Trunks yelled, eyes wide with shock, his face reddening as flames of anger licked at his insides.

Goten shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal, Trunks.”

“Goten, you fucked your uncle…that’s a big fucking deal!” Trunks exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t believe you slept with someone…especially HIM! I thought we had a deal…” Trunks blushed, his already- reddened features turning scarlet.

Goten threw his arm around Trunks. “We did…and I’m sorry I broke it, Trunks…really, I am. But you don’t know how it felt…it was so…wild…so saiyan! It was weird.”

Trunks snorted. “I should say so.” He responded leaning into Goten’s arm. “I’m sorry for getting so angry, chibi, but…” he clenched his fists and jerked out of Goten’s embrace. “It was supposed to be me!”

Goten hung his head. “I know…” he muttered. He and Trunks had always been close, ever since childhood; after adolesence, they grew closer, and one day when Goten had just turned sixteen, they had revealed to eachother how they truly felt, and sealed it with a chaste kiss. Both young demi-saiyans had felt they were too young to decide if a sexual relationship would be a good thing or bad, as it could ruin their friendship, so they agreed to wait and let their relationship grow, keeping celibate until the day they gave themselves to eachother. Goten had ruined that on a tryst with his own uncle. He sighed, keeping his head lowered.

“Well, chibi, what do we do now?” Trunks asked softly, stepping towards him. His anger had receded somewhat.

“I don’t know. What do you want to do? I’m sorry, Trunks…I just couldn’t help myself. I mean…shit, how can I say this without sounding like an asshole?” He asked, his hands sliding up Trunks’ chest to rest on his shoulders.

“Why don’t you just say it? You’re an asshole anyway.” Trunks replied with a smirk.

Goten chuckled, squeezing Trunks’ shoulders. “I want to say that I regret what happened…but I don’t, Trunks; I mean, I regret breaking my promise…and regret that it wasn’t you that I…had my first time with. But I don’t regret doing it. Does that make sense?”

Trunks appeared to think for a few seconds, then nodded. “Yea, it makes sense. Sort of. And you’re still an asshole.”

Goten suddenly felt like crying. He had missed Trunks so much while he was gone; their verbal sparring just made him ache more, made him realize just how much he had missed his purple haired bishounen. “I missed you, Trunks-kun.” He whispered softly, eyes filling with tears. Trunks cocked his head to one side, frowning slightly before he leaned his forehead against Goten’s.

“Don’t cry, chibi. You know I hate to see you cry…especially if you start really bawling, then it hurts my ears…” He said, brushing his lips against Goten’s nose. Goten shook lightly with a cross between a laugh and a sob. “I missed you too, Goten.” Trunks said, slipping his arms around Goten’s waist and holding him tight, his own eyes misting up as he listened to the other man trying to control his soft sobs.

***

Vegeta’s dreams were strange and jumbled, not making any sense what so ever. Growling, he sat up in bed, rubbing his hand over his face. “Even in my sleep that baka is there! I can’t get away from him!” He cursed, sliding off the bed, blinking as another déjà vu hit him.

[flashback]

Vegeta’s back dropped back to the bed below, hips thrusting upwards taking Goku deeper within him, his wet lips parted slightly, eyes closed. Goku growled as his pleasure increased, his ki spiking abruptly as his power exploded around him in a golden mist. His thrusts became frantic and hard, small animalistic noises tearing from his lungs as he pressed towards completion.

Vegeta gasped, his eyes widening at the memory. “I…I must have dreamed that…perhaps during my nap. Yes, yes, it must have been.” He nodded, shaking his head slightly, glancing down at the horrendous hard on in his lap. He groaned and stood, just as the door was pushed open. Vegeta’s head flew up, eyes narrowing at the figure that walked towards him.

Goku let himself in and approached Vegeta, a smile perched on his lips. “Hey Vegeta! You’re up!” Goku said happily, stopping in front of Vegeta and looking down at him. A slow blush spread across his cheeks as he noticed Vegeta’s obvious arousal; Vegeta followed Goku’s eyes and growled.

“Kisama! Don’t you ever knock?” Vegeta yelled, standing and pushing Goku out of his way.

Goku fell back a step, frowning. “I’m sorry Vegeta…”

“Well you should be! What do you want, anyway?” He asked, turning to look out the window, his own cheeks red with emberassment.

“Well…I…I wanted to talk is all…” Goku mumbled, his hands plucking at the front of his saiyan uniform. Vegeta looked at him, his eyes softening slightly. Why the hell did he have to look so good in that armor? So…saiyan. A shiver ran down his back as he remembered the last déjà vu he had.

“Talk about what?” He asked, turning his back to Goku once again.

“Well…I dunno…you were mad earlier…and…well…I don’t want you to be mad. I…I kinda thought you’d be happy for me…” Goku said softly, looking down at his shuffling feet. Vegeta cringed.

A long silence stretched between them, and minutes later, Vegeta finally spoke. “I am happy for you, baka.”

Goku glanced upwards. “You are?”

“I said I was, didn’t I?” Vegeta growled, turning his head slightly. Goku nodded.

Goku shuffled some more. “Did you miss me?”

Vegeta spun around. “What?!”

Goku blinked. “Did you miss me? You know…when I was gone?”

Vegeta could feel the sweat beginning to form on his brow as he endured under the other man’s hopeful gaze. What was he supposed to say? Vegeta’s mind spun with possible answers he could give, but none seemed to satisfy him. He snorted. “Why should you care? What were you doing all that time, anyway?”

Goku frowned. “I care because I do; and as for what I was doing…well…lots of things, I suppose. I tested on vejita-sei, served on Frieza’s ship, went to another planet…met my father…I was busy, Vegeta.”

“Hn. Obviously.” Vegeta replied, his arms crossing over his chest.

Goku’s frown deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Forget it, baka.” Vegeta replied shortly. Goku was about to respond when the sound of footsteps made him turn and look towards the doorway. Bulma smiled, looking tired.

“I thought I’d drop by and say goodnight; I’m going to bed early, I’m so exhausted!” She exclaimed with a yawn.

Goku smiled and lifted his hand “Goodnight, Bulma…and thanks again for your help.”

After she disappeared down the hall, Goku turned back to Vegeta, who was staring at him strangely.

“Well?” Goku asked, taking a few steps forward.

“Well what, Kakarott?” Vegeta replied softly.

“You never answered my question.” Goku pointed out.

“What do you think the answer is?” Vegeta asked, not believing he was actually playing this little game.

Goku was silent as he met Vegeta’s steady gaze.

“You were gone for a lot longer than I thought you would be..” Vegeta started, then paused, searching for words. “You…I…I…didn’t know if I could get you back or not. I didn’t even know where that damned thing had taken you.” Vegeta took a deep breath and scowled slightly. “I waited…dammit…why does it seem like I waited so long? It was only a few weeks…it seems like it was decades.” He asked himself, confused. Goku was suddenly standing directly in front of him. Vegeta looked up meeting Goku’s eyes; they seemed to be smiling at him, as if they knew something he did not.

“So you did miss me.” Goku stated quietly, a flush of pleasure washing over him.

Vegeta looked away. “Yes. Baka.” He replied, his voice rougher than usual.

“Vegeta…” Goku said softly, his hand stroking the upswept flame of hair, making Vegeta jerk violently, his face turning back to glare at Goku in question.

“Why did you miss me?” Goku asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

“What…what do you mean, why? Hell, I don’t even know the answer to that!” Vegeta shouted, his anger building.

A soft chuckle echoed through the room; Goku smiled at Vegeta, his hand grasping the Prince’s shoulder firmly. “Vegeta…you were with me nearly the entire time, how could you miss me?”