Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Abrupt Revelation ❯ Abrupt Revelation ( One-Shot )

    Vegeta rapped on the door, crossing his arms and tapping one booted foot.  Yes, he was ready.  He was up to it.  Had he ever turned down a challenge?  No, especially not one involving Kakarrot.
    But this, this wasn't quite the same.
    Still.  It was time to quit avoiding the situation and face it like the proud prince he was.
    "Hi Vegeta-san!" Goten's head popped out the door.  He swung it open for the Saiyajin to enter.  "Come in!"
    Vegeta growled to himself as the present state of things demanded the gears in his head churn out a plan.  However, the occupant of the house he’d been seeking quickly captured half his attention.  "Hey Vegeta!" Goku chirped, leaping up from the couch to greet his friend with a hug, which seemed to be the norm nowadays.  He snorted as his limbs stiffened within the embrace.  "How're you?"
    "Fine," he brushed his shirt off when Goku released him.  Vegeta turned to Goten, "By the way, the brat was ranting earlier today about inviting you to a sleepover."  As Goten cheered and bounced out the door without another word, the prince smirked to himself.  One obstacle down, at least.
    "Hah," Goku chuckled to himself as he watched Goten leave.  "He's a cute little guy, huh?  So full of energy!"
    "Just like his father," Vegeta mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  Goku laughed a bit more at this.  "So, where would the rest of your family be?"  For now, he tiptoed around things, hoping the question sounded casual.
    "Hm?  Oh!  Well, lessee, Gohan's at school...oh, and Chi-Chi went out to get groceries, again," he scratched the back of his head, grinning guiltily.  "The kids and I really cleaned the fridge out last night."
    "I see," he nodded.  Well, there was luck for him.
    "I'll bet she'll be back soon, though.  Why d'you ask?" he placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head curiously.
    Vegeta shrugged, frowning.  All the more reason to be quick about it, then.  He opened his mouth, but felt some inexplicable force slam it shut again, as soon as he'd mustered up the will to force words from it.
    "Hmm," Goku pursed his lips thoughtfully as he stared at the prince and contemplated his behavior.  His expression then bloomed into a wide, warm smile.  "Oh, I'll bet you wanted to tell me something important!"
    Shocked, Vegeta raised his eyebrows.  "What makes you think that?"
    "'Cause you always act like this just before you say something dramatic!  Well, go ahead, spit it out!" he grinned.  "You know you can tell me anything, Vegeta!"
    Turmoil burned away at his insides, but he nodded.  "Listen carefully.  I'll never repeat it."
    "All right," Goku nodded vigorously, his eyes eager with anticipation.
    So, he spit it out.  "I love you."
    And he flew off.


    Goku bit at his knuckles as he paused his pacing long enough to take a seat on the couch.  No, no, no, no, no!  It wasn't true!  This just wasn't possible.
    He had no idea what to think.  It was as if a huge wall had appeared right in front of him.  He couldn't chip away at it; he couldn't see halfway through it...he wasn't even sure if he could beat it down.  And did he want to?  How dare Vegeta put him in such a position!  Flying off like that, leaving him to think about things all by himself...how could he?
    Goku briefly considered chasing Vegeta down and asking him more.  It was so sudden -- so abrupt and unexpected.  And in everything but the bluntness, so...not like Vegeta.  He sighed and sunk more deeply into the couch's cushions.  He couldn't go anywhere until Chi-Chi returned; doubtless if she came back and found the house empty without knowing why, she'd have a fit.
    Besides, who knew what sort of a state Vegeta would be in after admitting that?  Well, no one knew better than Goku, but...  More likely than not, he'd assume Goku thought him an idiot, and had chased him down just to tell him so -- little sense as that made.  The Saiyajin sighed, massaging his temples.  For now, he might as well work out the thoughts in his head.  And what was better for helping to sort out ideas than food?  At this, he leapt up and dug around the kitchen for whatever edibles remained, finding a bag of chips and contentedly munching on them as he took a seat once more.  It was amazing how much snacking could help in these situations.
    So...so.  He confronted it directly.  "Vegeta loves me," he mumbled to himself, a strange look spreading over his face at the odd sound of the words.  Chalk one up to cluelessness, but he'd had no idea.  Sure, he'd been a great ally during battles, and they'd worked together closely.  When they sparred, their contact often went beyond casual -- but that was fighting.  He could almost hear it coming from Vegeta's mouth: "There you go just molding to human standards, Kakarrot.  Warriors can't abide by the rules of politeness and personal space in the heat of battle!"  So of course he'd thought nothing of it when the prince brushed against him when they fought.
    Chi-Chi spoke those words to him so often that he was sure they wouldn't mean anything to him anymore, but when Vegeta had said them, it sent a chill through his body.  He wasn't sure what kind of a chill, really -- but his stomach had turned over, and that was a much stronger reaction than he'd ever gotten from hearing any other phrase uttered by the prince, or anyone else.
    And...what would he say to Chi-Chi?  Maybe nothing would be best.  After all, he wasn't going to act on Vegeta's words anyway, so why did she need to know?  It might just worry her, and then what if she didn't want Vegeta over anymore?  What would happen to their sparring sessions?
    The pit of his stomach turned to lead.  What would happen to their sparring sessions?
    What would happen to them?
    What if Vegeta started treating him weirdly?  Or worse, what if he started avoiding him?
    What if he kissed him?
    The questions shot through his mind in the form of bullets, ripping ruthlessly through the flimsy drywall of his perception of life.  But the last question almost came to a halt, mocked him as it slammed through the wall in slow motion; forced him to watch with wide eyes as it toppled.
    What scared him more than anything was that he almost wanted to find its answer.
    "Goku?  Goku, dearie, are you all right?" Chi-Chi ran a hand over her husband's forehead.  "Your skin feels so clammy!"
    "Oh!  Hey Chi!  Sorry, I must've spaced out," he laughed.
    She rolled her eyes.  "Yeah, I can tell.  Where's Goten?"
    "Went over to visit Trunks," he smiled, as his insides twisted around, wondering if the boys had seen Vegeta since...  "I think he's going to sleep over there."
    Chi-Chi sighed and put her hands on her hips.  "That boy.  Ah well, are you going to help me unload the groceries, or what?"
    "S-sure!" he answered politely, his tense muscles twitching as he itched to leap out the window right beside him and find Vegeta.  Not that he knew what he'd do once he met the prince...but still, it would be better than fretting like this.  As quickly as he could, Goku emptied the bags of groceries, attempting to organize them the way that Chi-Chi liked them.  He'd learned recently that the crisper drawer was actually for fruits and vegetables -- not chips -- and couldn't help but laugh to himself when he remembered the expression she'd worn after finding them there.  His amused smile faded when the task was done.  "Um, Chi-Chi, I think I'm gonna go visit Vegeta, 'kay?"
    "All right," she shrugged, the corner of her mouth turning down to make a half-frown.  "At least you helped me put everything away.  And try not to miss dinner."
    "Okay," he nodded.  Either he'd be back sooner than Chi-Chi expected anyway, or...  Well, there was no telling.  But he had to speak with Vegeta.  There was nothing else he could do.


    The flight toward his ki was excruciating.  Vegeta, as it turned out, was indeed at Capsule Corporation.  But he had to fly; he needed the time.  The thoughts in Goku's head continued to battle as he turned events over in his head.
    He still couldn't believe what Vegeta had told him.  Maybe it was a joke?
    But that was something far too humiliating for Vegeta to admit, for it to be a joke.  The prince was above that sort of thing.  The Saiyajin smiled and let a laugh escape his lips.  Vegeta, it seemed, was above everything.  He was too good to speak with anyone else, to eat with anyone else, to train with anyone else.  Well, except Goku.  The man felt mixed amusement and elation at this.  The prince's aloofness was difficult for most to put up with, but once Goku got past the frustrating aspect of it, he rather admired Vegeta's strength of character -- even if he was proud to the point of absolute nonsense.  Vegeta had personality.  He spoke his mind.
    Well, obviously.
    But Goku's smile did not fade as he continued to remember how firmly Vegeta stuck to his thoughts and beliefs, how he radiated biting sarcasm.  Most found him uninviting, but Goku knew that all it took to like Vegeta was some getting used to him.  He really was an interesting guy.  One just had to become the kind of person that he'd be willing to put up with in order to get to know him.
    And Goku knew he had a special place in Vegeta's heart -- oh, he knew now more than ever.  But even before, he was aware of the fact that the Saiyajin spoke his deepest thoughts to him, let out his most grating frustrations.  More than Vegeta had probably meant, he'd bled emotion onto Goku.
    It only made sense, that he'd gone and told Goku so bluntly.  After all, what was to be expected of the prince?
    Goku chuckled to himself, and let his mind continue to drift.  It drifted back to his worries of before -- what would Vegeta do; how would he treat him?  He brought a hand to his lips, wondering what a kiss from Vegeta would feel like.  With the same hand, he smacked himself, shaking it off.  Poor Chi-Chi; if she had any idea of what he was pondering...
    What if something did transpire?  Would he tell her?  Well, he'd have to.  But...  Goku pictured her face, anxious and shocked about hearing Vegeta's confession, and then hurt and angry as he told her where his mind had wandered.  He pictured Vegeta's face, hurt and angry as Goku told him his intention to inform Chi-Chi of everything, and then pictured it changing to a soft, grateful expression, if he instead promised to keep it a secret.
    So, he wouldn't tell her.
    He spun in a few circles, enjoying the clear afternoon air.  So, now that that was all reasoned out, there was the thing he feared to face most -- how did he really, truly feel about Vegeta?


    Goku still did not have an answer when he rang the doorbell.  Bulma smiled, inviting him in, and the Saiyajin found his son chasing Trunks down the stairs, giggling.  His happy shouts rang through the air, and Goku couldn't help but let an expression of utmost warmth overcome his features.
    From the kitchen, Vegeta shut his eyes tightly, trying to ignore the other man's presence, his irresistible charm.
    The younger Saiyajin spotted him.  Noticing that he was looking over her shoulder, Bulma spoke to Goku.  "Oh, you wanted to talk to Vegeta, right?"  She leaned in to whisper to him.  "He's been in a really strange mood since he came back from your place.  Any idea why?"
    Taking in a deep breath, Goku shook his head no.  His eyes darted toward Vegeta, who inclined his head slightly.
    "Well, all right then.  I'm going to see what those guys are up to," Bulma motioned to the stairs that led to the basement.
    "Okay," Goku nodded, grinning to Bulma before stepping over toward the kitchen.
    Vegeta didn't speak as Goku pulled a chair up and took a seat at an angle from the prince, not quite across from him, but not beside him, either.  He expected Vegeta to say something akin to not meaning what he'd told him before.
    As if he knew exactly what the taller man was thinking, Vegeta spoke sternly, "Obviously it would be insulting to assume that I wasn't aware of the impact of my words."
    "Okay," Goku mouthed, but no sound came.  "Um, Vegeta," he rasped through his tight throat, "I...I wanted to talk with you about that."
    "As I assumed.  You're here, after all."
    And there it was, that somehow captivating aloofness.  Part of Goku glowed at the cool, knowing expression on the prince's face.  "Y-yeah...um...so..." he trailed off, realizing he had no idea what he wanted to say.  "Y-you really feel that way?"
    "I said that it would be insulting of you to assume I didn't know of the effect the phrase would have."  More words scratched relentlessly at his throat.  Like, 'Well, how do you feel, Kakarrot?' or 'What are you going to do now that you know?'  He didn't allow their escape, instead awaiting the other Saiyajin's reaction.
    "Right," Goku nodded, licking his lips as he searched for something more to say.  His mind wandered once more to how Vegeta would feel against him, and a deep blush covered his features.  "Umm.  Well I, I don't really...know...how I f-feel...about...that..." he stuttered.  Would Vegeta take this as an answer?  Would he understand?
    Vegeta frowned, but a small smirk graced his features as he continued to watch the other Saiyajin.  He leaned in close, his lips dangerously near the other man's, and, observing the deep red of Goku's face, chuckled.  "Really?  I think I do."