Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Dégager: The Saiyajin Pet ❯ Epiphany ( Chapter 7 )

Dégager: The Saiyajin Pet

By Orchideater

AU, Gk x Vg

Rated R for some explicit sexuality

DBZ and all DBZ characters property of Akira Toriyama and official licensees

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Chapter 7: Epiphany

As the evening grew long, Vegeta found he could no longer create any excuses to put off Kakarot's mealtime. He entered the greenhouse with a great amount of hesitance that night, but was relieved to find Kakarot acting perfectly normal, as though the events of yesterday had never happened. Pleasant smiles and nuzzles greeted him. Feeling more confident, Vegeta proceeded to reprimand Kakarot about his behavior yesterday and about the bruises on his arm.

The saiyajin just stared at him until he mentioned the bruises. Kakarot was alarmed that he'd hurt Vegeta, even in such a small way, and apologized earnestly. In truth, he was hardly sorry for his tantrum- he considered a rage display perfectly justified for when someone else should come around speaking so intimately of their relationship with his chosen- but bodily harm in such a situation was inexcusable. Not to mention Vegeta sounded quite flustered and frightened by his actions. Why should he be afraid? His friend was so hard to understand at times. But he had already made so much progress with Vegeta- they couldn't backtrack now!

Desperate to repair any interpersonal damage, Kakarot lay down on the ground and curled his body around Vegeta's feet, pressing his forehead to the top of one foot in a supplicating gesture similar to a kowtow, the highest form of repentance among his kind. Vegeta became embarrassed that he'd even brought it up. He was only trying to give him a hard time for being so outrageous the day before, after all.

"Get up, get up!" Vegeta nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't even really that mad, and it's only a little bruise..."

Kakarot hopped to his feet and grabbed Vegeta's hand, nuzzling it fervently, then massaged and soothed the forearm that sported the bruises under the sleeve.

:: Forgive me, Vegeta! I meant no harm. What can I do to earn your forgiveness? ::

"You're forgiven, okay? Just- just calm down. I was only blowing off steam; I never thought you'd take it so seriously. Jeez!"

:: Oh, thank you, Vegeta! Vegeta, my good friend. You are such a good person, so generous. :: he gushed, continuing to caress and embrace the injured arm.

Vegeta slowly tugged his arm out of the creature's grip, but Kakarot only moved behind him and hugged him from the back, rocking gently. Vegeta blushed. The creature was so naive. He was neither good nor generous, but rather cold and heartless. No one who knew him would dispute this fact.

But to hear such an honest compliment from the creature- or from anyone, for the first time in his life- filled him with an embarrassed regret. Sometimes he wished he could be the good person Kakarot described, but thought it impossible for someone like himself. Good and generous people didn't know how to succeed in this harsh world anyway; and there was no place for nice guys in business. Still, he felt guilty that he could not be the person Kakarot thought him to be.

:: Thank you Vegeta- I'm so sorry. :: Kakarot interrupted his train of thought. :: I had no idea you were so delicate. ::

"Yeah, well... Hey, what? I am not delicate!"

Insomnia afflicted Vegeta again that night, and took its toll on his work performance the next day. All his thought patterns seemed to veer back toward Kakarot. He was utterly unable to concentrate on graphs and data and market analysis, and let his VPs do all the work in their latest executive financial meeting. He drove home with his brain on automatic and trudged up to the main doors, exhausted. All he wanted to do was have a Cointreau, feed Kakarot and then hopefully fall asleep reading, but the stars were not in his favor that evening. His head maid met him at the door.

"Sir! Oh, good, you're finally home. I-"

"Whatever it is, not now. I'm too damn tired."

"But sir, it's important! Your father is here; he wants to talk to you as soon as possible."

"Wha- My father? You've got to be kidding, he's in Europe!"

The maid shook her head grimly.

"Ahhhh, shit. What the fuck is he doing back here now... Thinks he can just barge into my house whenever he wants..." Vegeta continued grumbling as he stomped up the stairs, wondering if he could avoid his father long enough to at least change his clothes and take a hot shower. However, Vegeta, Sr. had heard him come in and stopped him in the upstairs hallway, his demanding voice booming from behind his son and carrying throughout the mansion.

"Vegeta!"

Vegeta winced in aggravation. Very deliberately, he turned around and gave his father a death glare. "Father, what are you doing here? I thought you were doing business in Germany."

"I was. And I don't appreciate having to travel four thousand miles to clean up your messes!"

Vegeta's look turned questioning.

"What the hell is wrong with you lately, Junior? You've been skipping important meetings, you're hardly ever at work and when you are you're useless. Some valuable opportunities have gone down the drain because you've been daydreaming and in general letting the company go to shit! Not to mention you've been pissing off important people in our social circle and also our partners, our contacts, our associates- should I go on?"

"I- I've been distracted lately."

"Damn right, you've been distracted! You just blew off the latest stockholders meeting- do you realize how bad that is for our image when the company head doesn't even show up? They think we don't have any respect for them or any sense of responsibility. You've been passing up golf dates and dinners with powerful people who could be essential to us in the future- with the governor, dammit! You snubbed the governor! And you didn't attend the benefactor's appreciation banquet at the college, you didn't go to the Hagan anniversary dinner, or even bother to RSVP- I know the man's boring as a rock, but we need him! I spent over an hour apologizing to him today for that."

"I- I totally forgot." Vegeta's face burned. To have his father reaming him was bad enough, but worse yet, he was doing it so loudly and in the open for everyone to hear. He could see the servants peeking out of doorways, taking in every word of his chastisement.

"Get your act together, Vegeta!" he spat, glaring down at his son with disdain. "Don't forget that I still hold the reins in this company and I could have you demoted to mail clerk if I wanted. So stop dicking around!"

"Father, I didn't mean to let things go around here, I just... I just... I've been preoccupied."

"With what? The servants tell me you've been wasting most of your time in that stupid greenhouse. And I know exactly what you've been doing in there."

"Uh-"

"Stop mooning and brooding over that woman! Strap on a pair and either get her back or forget about her and find a new wife. Her family's no longer useful to us anyway. I'm tired of our family serving as the laughingstock and source of gossip for all our friends."

"All right, all right, Father! You've made your point. Jesus..."

"Hh, well what do you expect. It takes a lot to get through that hard head of yours. I'm staying at the Palace Excelsior for the next week and a half just to make sure things get back on track. I expect you to repair the damage you've made, both at the company and to our social standing. So your woman played you for a fool and ran off with common trash. Take care of it one way or the other! Stop acting like a heartsick teenager and get your mind back on business," he sneered. "You hear me, little man?"

"...Yes, Father."

Vegeta, Sr. gave him one last cold look then turned and left without another word.

Vegeta was left standing, quivering, white with rage. A faint feminine laugh came from several doors down then was immediately stifled. Vegeta spun around in fury. Who was that?! They were fired, dead fired, and he'd make sure they never worked again! But his audience had vanished into the walls.

He clutched his head with both hands and grimaced, his entire body throbbing. Not only had his father insulted and disciplined him like a child, his entire staff had witnessed his shame. He had never felt so utterly humiliated. Hot tears seared the corners of his eyes, but he forced them back, choked back his emotions with a snarl. Real men didn't cry; they never gave in to emotion. Real men got mad.

Vegeta stumbled out of the hallway and down the stairs, trying to go calmly and leisurely even though all he wanted was to run blindly out of there as fast as possible.

Before he knew where his feet were taking him, he found himself inside the greenhouse, slamming the door.

"GODDAMMIIIIIT!!"

The frustrated scream nearly made Kakarot fall out of his tree. He rushed to the entrance, only to find Vegeta venting his rage on a hapless palm tree. Kakarot watched in wonder as Vegeta furiously sent a barrage of frantic kicks to the base of its trunk. Finally he fell back, panting, hands on his knees. He'd knocked off quite a few pieces of bark but otherwise the tree just stood there, unaffected, which only served to make him feel even more incompetent. Kakarot took that moment to approach him.

:: Vegeta, what's wrong? Are... are you angry at me again? ::

"No! No, it's not you, it's my father, he- he just- God, that son-of-a-bitch!"

Vegeta gave the tree another good kick, caught his foot under one of the overlapping plates of bark, lost his balance and fell down.

"FUCK IT!!"

More dejected than ever, he knelt there, heaving, and hung his head low, desperately trying to gain control of his emotions and prevent Kakarot from seeing his face crumple. With a fierce act of will, he forced the imminent sobs back, opting instead to slam the ball of his fist into the ground again and again.

Kakarot grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back, his face fraught with worry. ::Vegeta... Please stop! You must calm down. What's happened? ::

Vegeta slumped in the saiyajin's arms for several minutes before his strength and his senses returned. He told Kakarot of the exchange between his father and himself.

"God! Years and years I work my ass off and sweat blood for this company- I work just as hard as him if not harder, and I've done everything he ever expected of me to hold up the family name, and I have a few little problems and he comes down on me like a neutron bomb! Okay, so I've been ignoring a lot of my duties lately- that's really your fault, you know!- but he didn't have to... to fucking humiliate me like that. Oh, and at the end he just had to slip in that crack about my height. Bastard! He KNOWS how much that bugs me! I know my father thinks it's reeaaaally funny that I'm so short, and he knows how much I hate that 'little man' bullshit. It's not my fault I got my mother's fucking 'short' genes. I get my father's looks and her family's short curse. Haven't I always had the worst luck?"

:: Is being short so bad? ::

Vegeta craned his head around to give him a disgusted look. "Are you nuts? Of course it's bad! No kid says, 'Boy, I hope I'm small and short when I grow up.' They want to be 'big and tall!' This society has no mercy on short people, men especially. In commercials, and movies and TV shows, it's always the little guy who's made to look like a fool. There's no short heros! I notice these things!" Vegeta pulled out of his embrace and began to pace.

:: Vegeta... ::

"It's still fine to make fun of short people, and you're supposed to laugh along like it doesn't bother you. Well, fuck them! Sometimes I wish I was born in some other country where the people tend to come short. Maybe I'd fit in better there."

Vegeta fixed Kakarot with a savage glare. "Do you have any idea what I'm talking about?!"

Kakarot shook his head vigorously.

"Pah! What the fuck do you know?!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air in disgust. "You're as tall as my father. What are you, 6'4," 6'5"?"

:: I don't know... ::

"Probably were king of the jungle where you came from. Tall people like you have no idea what it's like for short guys!"

:: Vegeta, I don't think- ::

"And, and you know, I read about a study they did once that said short men tend to hold less important and less respected jobs, and for every inch a guy is taller than average height- that's 5' 9"- he makes $800 more a year. And there was another study that said almost the same thing. I'm 5'4"! Yeah, I know I make $800 faster than most guys on the planet, but... but sometimes I wonder if I hadn't been born into money and power- if I had to make it on my own from scratch- if I ever would have gotten so far as I am now."

:: Vegeta... ::

"And they did another study! On '60 Minutes,' they did a study- they did this thing where they lined up some guys behind a 2-way mirror, and had this group of women pick which one they wanted, and none of them picked the short guy! At least not until the testers told them he was super-rich and -talented, and made the other guys creeps. You see how it is? I was lucky to have Buruma, and now she's left me."

Kakarot bristled at the name, but decided to let it go for now. :: None of these women could even talk to the men? :: he questioned.

"Well... W-well no... But that's not the point! Instinctively they didn't want a short guy. If you're short you're biologically inferior. The women don't want to pass on their genes with you."

:: Vegeta, you're being ridiculous. ::

"Ridiculous?! You tell me that's not the way it is! I dare you to tell me that's not the way it is in the animal kingdom!"

:: Humans aren't animals, Vegeta. ::

"Hah! That's debatable!"

:: I mean they aren't like other animals. ::

Kakarot sighed deeply. :: In the wild, among monogamous animals, a competent female considers all aspects of a male before she makes her choice of mate. And among species that keep harems the largest and strongest rule, but the fast and intelligent often sneak in to mate with the females when the alpha's back is turned. Being smaller does not make you inferior, Vegeta. Do the human females really find you undesirable?::

"Well... There are always women who hang on me and tell me they want to sleep with me, but I know it's just my money they want, not me. They want to latch onto someone with power to make themselves look good. They don't care."

:: Are you sure about that? ::

"Yes!"

:: Vegeta... :: Kakarot gently pulled him over to sit down upon their usual boulder, and embraced him again from behind. ::I am sorry your father was so cruel, and that your society has made it difficult for you. But I think you make things worse than they are, and create problems where none exist. ::

He opened his mouth to protest but Kakarot continued.

:: Do your people really have no short heros? ::

"No!" he snapped, then thought for a moment. "Well... in the Greek sagas, Ulysses wasn't very tall, and he was one of their most important heros. I always loved his story, when I was a kid."

:: There! You see, you thought of someone right away. ::

"But..." Vegeta sighed and shook his head in despair. "Ah, you just don't get it."

:: No, I suppose I don't. :: Kakarot began grooming him in an effort to soothe, tenderly working his fingers through his hair and over his scalp.

:: But I just can't fathom why you would consider yourself less because you are smaller than most. You are healthy and strong, your features are symmetrical and fine. Your ki resonates so clearly and richly- it sings to me. You are an excellent example of the human race, Vegeta. Very beautiful. ::

Vegeta felt his face burning, and knew he had to be turning beet red.

"M..." He fumbled for words. "M-men aren't beautiful, they're handsome."

:: Very handsome, then. ::

Vegeta went silent. Kakarot talked as though this was simple, plain fact. It unsettled Vegeta to receive such honest and outright compliments from someone without dismissing them as empty praise from a social climber. He'd never received compliments like that from a man. Women, yes, but they always wanted something: sex, or favors, or gifts. The men he worked with and associated with were the first to tease him. Kakarot obviously didn't know how the game was played. Men bonded by competition and stupid jokes. They did not have such... intimate conversations.

Yet, it felt good to unburden himself on someone. Vegeta normally seethed and brooded for weeks after such a battle with his father, but as he sat there leaning against the warm, solid form of the saiyajin, listening to his reassurances, the entire dreadful situation seemed almost a memory. He would have to face his father again tomorrow and repair the damage his slacking off had caused, but right now he felt okay, even relaxed. Amazing, how talking to a trusted friend could work wonders.

Vegeta reflected on this. Kakarot was turning out to be the first real friend he'd had since grade school- possibly his first true friend ever. The saiyajin cared nothing for status or business connections, or political or monetary favors. He asked for nothing from Vegeta except a meal a day and the pleasure of his company. The emotional intimacy Kakarot offered him so freely had terrified him at first. In his mind, opening up to others meant showing weakness, the most disgraceful and dangerous of mistakes. But little by little the saiyajin's loving nature chipped away at his defensive walls. Soon they would be nothing but rubble.

Lithe fingers strayed from his hair, gliding over his ears in swirls and nudges. Kakarot caressed his temples and jawline, slipped fingers under the turtleneck to rub the back of his neck.

Vegeta felt hypnotized by this new addition to the grooming routine. How utterly blissful... What had he been upset about, again? The days without sleep were catching up to him, and he decided to continue the conversation in order to stay awake.

"I suppose complaining like this is pointless. I ought to save my energy for more important things, like figuring out how to get Buruma back."

Kakarot's face clenched and those gentle hands almost fisted in Vegeta's hair, but he held himself in check.

"What do you think I should do, Kakarot? Any ideas?"

:: I don't like her, Vegeta. You don't need her back. ::

"No, no, I have to get her back. I need her. If I can just make her come back to me I'll have one big problem solved, and my father will get off my case about it."

Kakarot stopped grooming altogether as his fury swelled. No no no! Mustn't display, it frightens Vegeta, he told himself. Better to ask him the question that had bothered him ever since Buruma came to the greenhouse. He released all of his tension with a sigh, and half-heartedly resumed grooming.

:: Vegeta... ::

"Mmmn?"

:: Do you... love this Buruma? Is she truly your mate? ::

"She... she's my wife." Vegeta was silent for long minutes before answering the first question. Did he love her?

"No, I suppose I don't. But I don't have to love her, I just need her with me. I feel like a fool and a loser, not having a wife. She broke our contract, went back on our deal."

:: Ah. :: A wide grin stole across Kakarot's features, his tail lashing.

"I'm not good with the dating thing; I've got no patience with it. I went to expensive private boys schools all my life, so I never had a lot of... experience with women. Sure I had a few 'mutual' one-night stands during drunken binges in college, but as for real relationships, Buruma was my first and only. Our parents set us up and pushed us to stay together. We started dating, she seemed to like me and I didn't mind her, so we got married. No big deal. I was out of college; it was time to find a wife."

:: Did you share with her your troubles, as you've done with me tonight? ::

"What? Hell, no! I couldn't say things like that to a woman, I'd lose face. I've never even complained to anyone about being short. When I was a kid in school I had to be twice as hard and twice as tough in order to be respected, to make up for my size. If I admitted it bothered me, that would have ruined my whole image."

Kakarot shook his head, still grinning heartily. :: Vegeta, you do not need to worry about any of these things anymore. You have me to look out for you! ::

Vegeta had to chuckle. Sure, why not? If you're not a big guy, have a big guy on your side.

"I don't need looking after. But thanks for the offer."

They shared an amiable silence as Kakarot continued the grooming. When Vegeta could no longer keep his eyes open, the saiyajin tapped him awake.

:: Vegeta, you are tired. You should go to bed. ::

"Uh? Ahm, yeah. Yeah, I need it," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He said his goodbyes and staggered out the door, still half-entranced from the grooming.

Uhh... hurts to walk. Something's cramped. What's the deal?

Eventually he came to his senses enough to notice:

Oh lord, I've got a hard-on! Go away, go away! How embarrassing. I hope Kakarot didn't see. It was all that ear stroking; I shouldn't have let him do that. But it felt so good at the time...

Vegeta wondered why he suddenly felt such an acute sense of déjà vu.

Soon he crawled into bed, his mind skipping from one topic to another.

I forgot to feed Kakarot! he remembered. But he didn't complain at all, didn't even say anything. I hope those birds are still there in the morning.

Vegeta mulled over the events of the night, and it dawned on him that several times he had heard Kakarot's voice when he'd been several feet away from him. Didn't they have to be touching? Perhaps... perhaps the bridge between their minds had grown stronger, now that they had grown closer than ever before.

Vegeta finally slept that night, slept for hours on end in the warm, womb-like dark of a dreamless sleep. At one point he felt the weightless sensation of being suspended in space, blind from the unrelenting dark. Subtly, almost imperceptibly, solid ground formed under his feet, and he was able to stand. He became aware of his body, then; the weight of his limbs and head returned to him. The rhythm and sound of his breathing became strangely prominent as the pitch night slowly ebbed into gray. Something was coming; some event of great importance was imminent.

Vegetaaah...

A voice called from out of the darkness, and Vegeta spun round toward the sound. Yes, so familiar, so welcoming... so familiar! He knew this voice, knew it well- but where, who? His mind could not make the connection. The identity of the voice taunted him, dancing on the edge of his unconscious.

His fantasy lover had returned. How wonderful. First that healing, sweet slumber and now the skilled hands of his lover offered him release once again. This time, he would learn the identity of his phantom love. He had no idea how he knew this, and didn't question why.

Fingertips glided over his chest, and his body gave a convulsive shiver at the anticipated contact. His mouth opened and his head lolled to the side as he released a low, involuntary moan. Eyes shut and brows slanted upward as the need for contact became desperately strong. Sensing his need, firm arms embraced him, pulled him back to mold against the tall body behind him.

A soft, snakelike entity slithered across his naked body- first coiling one leg, tightening, then releasing and trailing off to conquer the next leg. It meandered over his shuddering stomach in lazy patterns, experimentally teasing his chest and trailing up the most sensitive skin of his neck, tickling almost playfully under his chin. His lover held his right arm out straight, and the appendage coiled the length of his arm like an armlet of ancient design. It squeezed gently, and repeated the action on the opposite side.

I want you, Vegeta pleaded silently. This is all I need; this is all I want. I want to be with you forever... feeling safe... and loved... and free... I want to be set free...

His lover stepped back and the entity streaked slowly down his back in a zig-zag pattern, cupping each buttock as it reached his lower torso, finally settling at his groin and encircling his now fully hard member. It gave a slow, leisurely stroke.

"Haaahhh..."

He felt his lover's grin against the back of his neck. As the appendage stroked him below, a hot tongue flicked out to stroke him above. That talented, wet tip brushed delicately over his ear, following the curve of the outer shell, moving downward to massage the back and lap at the lobe. Lips closed over the tender flesh and sucked insistently. The ear was one of his hot spots, and Vegeta felt himself losing it fast.

Hands explored his chest and waist, kneading the pectorals, rolling and pulling the nipples, sometimes delving lower to grasp at the firm curve of his shapely cheeks. What exquisite torture.

The slow strokes of his member, the caressing hands- and all the while intense kisses planted along the back of his neck, up his jaw and over his shoulders. Sharp incisors lightly pricked the skin in strategic places- a sensual acupuncture- and Vegeta felt electricity spark under each nip before the flat of that busy tongue swept over each abused area.

Vegeta felt himself building, building- moans streamed continually from his mouth, his head swaying from side to side.

Oh god, yes... Break me, and show me your face. I want to see you... to know you...

Light continued to filter into the landscape. He could now make out the leaves of trees and the swaying of branches.

Lips closed over his other earlobe, stroking and swirling and then sucking hard, as fingers fanned over his throat, tilting his head upwards so that he appeared as a saint in rapture.

Vegeta, the voice purred, just tell me, show me, give me the word- and we will be together forever.

Yes, I want to stay with you!

You have to show me...

The warmth at his back vanished, and he felt his hips secured in a strong grip as the molten heat of his lover's mouth swallowed him whole.

The stimulation was too much. He clenched his hands in the long, thick mane of the person below him, and felt the damn break. He came, screaming, into his lover's waiting mouth.

His head swam; his body felt as light as air.

Vegeta opened his eyes to see the sun dawning on a distant horizon, the rays of light falling upon an endless, unbroken jungle.

:: Show me, Vegeta... ::

Hands cradled his face, and he looked down...

Down into the fiery amber gaze of Kakarot.

He blinked, eyes wide. His mystery lover had been... Kakarot? No... no, this couldn't be, this was not what he expected! Was it?

He had been dreaming of making love with a man- not even a human one- and had enjoyed it more than anything.

No, he could not accept this! No!

"NO!" Vegeta bolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding out of his chest. Breath became hard to capture, and he found himself gulping air. He could not dismiss the dream when the evidence of his lust polluted the crimson sheets before him.

How could he imagine such a perversion- with his loyal pet? How could he ever face him again?

The fantasy had become a nightmare...

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A/N Hmm, seems Vegeta's going to have a lot of trouble owning up to his feelings X)! Their relationship is in place, so now I can start building to the climax!

I really do think our society(or at least the media) is hard on shorter-than-average people (a lot of subtle messages as well as outright insults), especially men, and if you don't learn to brush off the teasing and not take it personally it's one of those things that can easily affect your self-esteem. (I'm 5'4" and really dislike the "darling little doll" comments and never being able to just go into a store and find the right length of pants; I'm sure it has to be worse for guys.) So I wanted to explore Vegeta's frustrations with it, since he gets angry about everything and deep down doesn't feel very good about himself to start with. Kakarot will make him feel better! (Conversely, great big guys are teased too, stereotyped as lumbering and stupid- so I guess it can go both ways.)

In chapter 8: Vegeta and Buruma's big fight, and a deadly resolve...

P.S. They brought Paloma into 'Passions'. Ah, a brand new character to loathe. I'm glad I made Vegeta scream at her!