Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ At Odds ❯ Love Heals All Wounds ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, cause if I did, Vegeta would rule the world and I would rule him.

 

Thanks to everyone for all your patience the last several months and your encouraging reviews. I can't promise that it will get better, but I am trying. Mommyhood is turning out to be harder than I thought. I can promise that no matter how long it takes I will finish ALL my fics.

 

Thanks so much to LisaB for her tireless efforts to make me a better writer.

 

Chapter Sixteen

Love heals all Wounds

 

Delia stared wide-eyed at the screeching black-haired woman who was throwing pans haphazardly around the kitchen. She was obviously the main chef, and she was mightily displeased about something.

 

She trembled, not daring to enter further into the kitchen. She had been dropped off by Kets with a curt order to introduce herself and get assigned to her new duties, but when she entered, she found a war zone. Most everyone in the room was cowering from the banshee's wrath, and Delia noticed more than one lowly looking slave sliding out the back door.

 

“She's in a real twist this time, isn't she?”

 

Delia glanced up at the man who had managed to sidle up next to her unnoticed. All the spit in her mouth dried up, and her knees began to shake at the sight. Raditz stood next to her, radiating comforting heat. She skimmed over his face taking in the newly formed fine lines at the crease of his brow and the corners of his mouth. He looked tired and strained, as though the weight of the world was upon him. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to reach up and caress those lines away.

 

Raditz looked her way, frowning down at her. She quickly wiped the adoring look from her face, praying that her disguise as an old woman would fool him. His thick chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, freezing Delia where she stood.

 

“Are you new here?”

 

All she could do was nod mutely, too afraid to do anything else. His eyes took on a faraway gleam as he looked down at her, making her heart clench.

 

“You remind me of someone I used to know. You smell like her.”

 

Delia was sure that her heartache was apparent in her face, but a large crash drew his attention away from her.

 

The black-haired woman whipped around, catching sight of Raditz in the corner. She instantly stilled, her anger ebbing away. Her eyes flickered down to the laden tray that he carried in his arms.

 

“Is he still not eating?” she questioned harshly.

 

“Being imprisoned is hard on him, Chi Chi.”

 

“You are imprisoned too, but that doesn't stunt your appetite. Maybe he thinks he's too good for my cooking.” She sniffed delicately while palming her rolling pin. Raditz winced as he limped forward to set the try on the counter.

 

Delia had to contain herself before her jaw dropped onto the floor as she watched him. His left leg dragged behind him slightly, unable to move beyond a momentary twitch. Her tall, strong Saiyan had been badly wounded. His injuries hadn't healed properly leaving him nearly incapacitated.

 

“Raditz,” Chi Chi murmured softly, motioning towards the floor. Delia looked down, and she had to fling her hand over her mouth to contain her gasp.

 

His once proud tail was trailing behind him in the dirt, completely limp and lifeless. Raditz's cheeks turned pink as he dipped his head in shame while reaching back to wrap his tail around his waist. He secured it to his belt with a piece of string, the tip dangling down his side.

 

Raditz ignored the concern on Chi Chi's face, his cold demeanor straightening his spine.

 

“The Lord will eat when he wants to. It is not our place to dictate to him.”

 

Chi Chi slammed her rolling pin down on the steel counter, causing Delia to jump at the crash.

 

“That man is just waiting to die, and you are letting him.”

 

“Watch your tongue wench and mind your own business.”

 

Raditz turned and lumbered away, brushing past Delia.

 

“You know it's true, Raditz.”

 

Raditz's shoulders twitched, but he didn't pause as he left the room.

 

Chi Chi's black eyes centered on Delia who remained mute at the doorway.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Delia quickly explained her purpose for being there, and she was promptly assigned to wash the endless dishes that were piled up at the sink. She went to the back of the kitchen as if in a daze. Over and over, Raditz's look of devastation when he had glanced down to see that his tail had fallen unnoticed to the floor played in her head.

 

The entire time that she had known Raditz he had been nearly as arrogant as his prince. He only showed moments of enduring vulnerability when they had been alone together, but otherwise he had always been a proud Saiyan warrior. However, his slumped shoulders and sagging tail told a story of a different man. A man that was broken.

 

Within a few hours Delia was able to glean information from her fellow slaves, and what she found out nearly broke her heart.

 

Nappa was dead. He had died during a battle with the Ice-jin. Even now his body lay rotting under a pile of rubbish where they had left him. Delia knew that Elle Grier, Jarrell's nursemaid, would morn his loss deeply. Although he had been gruff and crude, he had always been kind to Delia, and for that she would miss him.

 

Vegeta had been defeated in battle and was forced to fight in the slave pens. Delia was stunned by the news that there was another Saiyan in existence by the name of Kakarot---Raditz's brother! It was said that he had beat the Saiyan king into submission. That was something that Delia could barely comprehend. She had though that there could be no one more powerful than the cruel lord she so desperately feared, but there seemed to be another---one just as dangerous.

 

Raditz, to her despair, had irreparable spinal damage. His leg and tail that had been severely broken during his capture had never healed properly. He had partial feeling in his left leg and absolutely no motor control in his tail.

 

Along with his broken body, his pride had suffered monumental damage as well. The slaves described him as being soft spoken and unassuming. He served his master silently, hardly raising his voice to anyone except for Chi Chi, whom Delia found was his sister-in-law. Delia was in shock. Her strong Saiyan lover had always been aggressive both in bed and out. Now he was only a mere shadow of himself.

 

After a few inquiries, Delia was able to find out where Raditz's quarters were. Although he served Vegeta, he was not kept in a cage like his lord. In his weakened condition the Ice-jin felt he was of little threat. He was kept around only to bring Vegeta food, serving all of his needs while he was imprisoned. Delia had no doubt that once the Ice-jin disposed of Vegeta they would do the same to Raditz. They had no use for a lame slave who was nearly powerless.

 

After she was excused from her shift in the kitchens she was given a map to her own quarters, but she bypassed them, heading for Raditz's room instead. After a long walk that twisted through dirty streets Delia finally stood outside Raditz's door, trying not to cringe as a drunken reptile slithered past her. His quarters were in the slums of the city, no more than blocks of ice built on top of each other, hollowed out into ten foot cubes. Hesitantly she knocked on the door, quickly checking to make sure that her disguise was solidly in place.

 

Behind the thin wood door she could hear shuffling, and then suddenly it opened up to reveal the towering Saiyan. Delia was struck dumb for a moment as she stared up at her lover, her heart constricting at the sight of his sunken eyes and ashen skin. He was still impossibly tall, but he had lost his majesty. He seemed smaller, folded in on himself, as if he was trying to disappear from sight.

 

“You're from the kitchens.”

 

Raditz's voice startled her from her thoughts, reminding her that he didn't recognize her.

 

“Yes, my name is Rashel. I am a slave from Zenth.” Delia stuck to her cover story. She had no intention of revealing herself to Raditz. She had no idea how he would react to the news. Although in her heart she had no reason to believe that he would hurt her, she had no reason not to believe it either. He could very well blame his current situation on her. His pride, his very being, had been broken. She didn't want to be on the killing end of his wrath.

 

Her eyes were drawn to the limp tip of his tail that hung with dejected sorrow towards the floor. A wave of sympathy swept through her again. She knew that she couldn't leave him, not when she had the ability to fix him. She could do this one thing for him, no matter the cost.

 

“Well, what do you want?” Raditz's dark eyes bored into her, demanding a reason for the disruption.

 

“Chi Chi told me where I could find you.” Delia started lamely, but Raditz's lack of response prodded her on. “My race is that of healers. I thought I could help you.”

 

The door was slammed in her face so fast that she had to blink a couple of times before she realized what had happened. Apparently Raditz didn't appreciate her offer of help. Stupid Saiyan pride.

 

She knocked on the door, irritation bubbling up inside of her. When it didn't open, she began to pound on it, all of her frustrations pouring out of her. Her nerves were strung taunt from the last couple of months. First she had to flit around the palace avoiding near death from Vegeta coupled with Raditz's icy cold anger. Then she had been trapped for weeks in a two man ship with Bulma and her erratic mood swings, and now, to top it off, her offer of help was being rudely rejected. She was at the end of her rope.

 

The door jerked open with such force that it struck the wall, bouncing back to hit Raditz in the shoulder. He ignored the blow as he scowled down at Delia, the harsh set of his mouth promising pain.

 

“What?” he growled.

 

“Do you want to stay a crippled, useless, has-been warrior the rest of your life, or do you want to get better and serve your lord?” The words spilled out of Delia's mouth before she could stop them, her aged, watery eyes widening in shock at her own audacity.

 

Before she could run, Raditz's hand shot out with Saiyan speed, his strong fingers wrapping themselves around her slender neck. He pulled her up against his chest, ignoring her small, flailing fists that pounded into his shoulders. He was an unyielding wall of muscle that was impenetrable to her pathetic attack. He may be crippled, but he still was far stronger than she.

 

“How dare you,” he snarled into her face.

 

Delia wanted to say that she dared because she loved him, but her disguise prevented her from doing that. Even if she was standing before him as Delia, she didn't know if she could say the words. Being rejected by Raditz hurt more than words could say. It hurt more than being Frieza's slave.

 

Raditz's nostrils flared, his body forming a rigid line of disapproval as he held her. His eyes narrowed to angry slits as they slid down her body. To him she appeared as a tired old woman who had known too many days and nights of hard work, but no amount of DNA recombination could change her scent.

 

Raditz dropped her abruptly, whirling away to face the cold, slate wall. Delia took the opportunity to slip inside his apartment, her eyes taking in the sight. The small cube of ice was walled with slate in consideration for Raditz's non-reptilian breeding, but the black stone seemed to make the room colder, not warmer. Most of the room was taken up by a single wide cot that was pushed up against the wall. It wasn't nearly big enough for the immense Saiyan to sleep on, and his feet surely hung over the edge. A nightstand stood next to the bed, a hotplate perched on top. Lastly, in the corner was a pile of clothes. Whether they were clean, dirty or both, she didn't know.

 

“Is something wrong?” she asked while closing the door behind her. Her goal was partly completed. She was inside; now she needed to stay there.

 

“You smell…never mind. Get out!” He turned on her, herding her towards the door.

 

She raised her hand to his chest, surprised when he came to a stop. She looked up at him, willing sincerity into her eyes.

 

“I can heal you. Do you dare to pass up the chance and live like this the rest of your life?”

 

“Nothing can heal me, not even the regen tanks.”

 

“I can.” She made her claim softly, letting her eyes do the talking for her.

 

“Why should I believe you?”

 

“Because believing in me is better than having failed in your duty to yourself and to your king. Because you lose nothing in trusting me, if only for an hour while I heal your body.”

 

Raditz's eyes darkened as he glared at her, uncertainty and mistrust brewing in their depths.

 

“Why would you do this?”

 

How could she answer that question without giving away who she was? How could she tell him that it broke her heart to see him that way? It wasn't just his body that was broken. His entire being was destroyed.

 

“I can't stand to see any creature in pain,” Delia whispered, hoping that he couldn't see the truth in her eyes.

 

“Bleeding heart,” Raditz muttered quietly, and Delia nodded mutely. He stared down at her for a long moment, before he reluctantly inclined his head.

 

“Good.” She smiled up at him. “I need you to take off your clothes.”

 

“What?” Raditz's eyes went wide, and Delia couldn't help but to chuckle.

 

“What's the matter? Afraid of showing your goods to an old lady?”

 

Raditz snorted, turning his back on her to strip off his clothes. His shirt came off slowly and Delia licked her lips as the firm layers of his bronze muscles gleamed in the lamplight. His pants came off even more slowly, but instead of smiling Delia frowned when he leaned against the wall for support as his left leg nearly buckled beneath him. Without anything to hold his tail in place, it dangled down between the cleft of his butt cheeks, dragging on the ground like an unnoticed piece of toilet paper on someone's shoe. Normally, his naked rear end would have made her salivate, but the sad sight of his tail made her want to cry.

 

Delia choked down her sadness, pointing to the bed, forgetting that he couldn't see her. “Lay on the bed, face down.”

 

He complied, and she sat next to him, near his hip. He tensed the muscles of his back contracting at his nearness. Something made him want to trust her, but he didn't have to like having his back to her.

 

Delia took out a vile of golden liquid and poured it into her cupped palm. She warmed it in her hands as she thought back to her childhood and her time spent with her grandmother. She hadn't lied to Raditz. Her race was known for its gift of healing. They were weak, with no fighting power of which to speak, but they did have one skill: the ability to channel ki into the body. Without surgery or the need of a regeneration tank, a skilled healer could enter the body with their ki to repair broken limbs, severed nerves and reverse paralysis---all with the power of their mind.

 

Delia allowed the memories of her grandmother to flow through her, meticulously recalling the healing chant that she had taught her. Slowly she whispered the words, becoming more confident as she felt her ki warm her hands. Like rivers of liquid gold, she could feel her power streaming through her body and out her palms. She laid her hands on Raditz's lower back, ignoring his soft warning growl.

 

The room filled with a warm glow, making the cold walls look almost inviting. The light reached out, wrapping its warmth around them both, making them feel safe and protected. It gave a sense of home that otherwise didn't exist on the frozen planet. If Raditz could see her in her true form he would see the golden scales that lined her hairline begin to glow then fade as she channeled her power.

 

Delia closed her eyes, willing her ki to enter Raditz's body, seeking out his damaged spinal cord. She ran her hands over his smooth skin, leaching the pain from his body and filling him with a dull sense of pleasure. As her hands slid down the curve of his back and over his hard butt cheeks, Raditz began to purr uncontrollably as the pain left his body for the first time in months. He relaxed his muscles, resting his head on his folded arms as his eyes drifted shut.

 

Delia felt sweat form at the crown of her head and beads of it ran down from her temple. She had never had ample amounts of ki. Before now her experience in healing had been limited to scraps and bruises: nothing of this magnitude. She worked her hands down Raditz's left leg, rebuilding the withered muscle to its former strength. He would have some stiffness for a couple of days, but he would never again walk with a limp.

 

She felt her strength drain out of her like water through a sieve, and she desperately grasped at the last, lingering strands. She could not stop; she would not leave him half done. Gently she wrapped her warm hands around the base of his tail, momentarily relishing the feel of his soft, thick fur in her fingers.

 

She felt Raditz tense again, but she ignored him as she ran his tail through her hands, sending the last remnants of her ki into the bundle of nerves that connected his tail to his spine. She stroked him intimately, reawakening his dormant senses so he could feel once again. The tip of his tail began to twitch, then sway like a contented cat as she restored all control and feeling in his proud appendage.

 

She lessened her ki to a trickle, but she didn't pause her stroking. Raditz hadn't relaxed during her ministrations; in fact his muscles became even tighter beneath her soft hand. Unexpectedly, he reared back, his hand lashing out to grip her around her wrist, pressing her Recombinator painfully into her flesh.

 

“You have to stop now!” he barked at her, and she felt a moment of indignation that he would treat her so shabbily after she risked everything to heal him. Before she could respond, she was distracted by his thick arousal pressed into her thigh. She glanced down, swallowing hard at the sight.

 

Raditz quickly let go of her wrist, whipping the sheet up over his thighs, his cheeks turning crimson in mortification. As he tore his hand away, he took her Recombinator with it and Delia watched with a muted sense of horror as it fell to the ground. She stared down at it, willing it back on her wrist, but it remained on the floor, the clasp broken.

 

Silence descended on the room, and she knew that her disguise had fallen. She was now exposed to the angry eyes of her ex-lover, her fate signed and sealed.

 

“Delia.”

 

Her name was softly spoken. She couldn't tell if it was a threat or sheer surprise, all she knew was that it sounded wonderful coming from his lips. She folded her hands in her lap, keeping her eyes firmly on her knotted fingers. Briefly she wondered if she could make it to the door before he caught her, but she quickly discarded that idea as impossible.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Healing you.” Delia played her sympathy card, hoping that the reminder of what she had just done would buy her leniency. The course growl that rumbled up from Raditz chest told her otherwise.

 

“Trunks is here. Bulma is trying to free him,” she muttered, wishing desperately that she was anywhere but there.

 

Raditz shifted, and before Delia could control her fight-or-flight instinct she was up off the bed and half way to the door. He caught her, and for a moment she was flying as he lifted her up off her feet. She landed on her back on the bed, three hundred pounds of solid muscle pinning her down.

 

She pressed her hands frantically against his chest, but all at once she felt drained, unable to fight. She had used all her strength to heal Raditz, and she only had a few reserves left. Raditz didn't seem to notice her exhaustion as he glared down at her, his black eyes boring into her soul. He shifted, and Delia became very aware of the hard prod in her thigh from his erection.

 

Delia had the frantic urge to explain herself, to make him understand why she had left. She scrambled to make excuses for herself like a kid caught playing hooky. Although in her case, her punishment would be far worse than a spanking.

 

“Please understand I didn't want to leave, but I had to go. If I hadn't left with Bulma, I would have been dead by dawn.” When Raditz didn't respond Delia stilled beneath him as she felt the last of her energy drain away. Sadness filled up her lavender eyes, and she looked away, staring blankly at the pile of clothing in the corner. “You know it's true. You would have never believed that I didn't help her to escape,” she whispered, wishing that it wasn't true.

 

“If you believed that, then why did you tell that boy of yours that he should come to me if he ever needed anything?”

 

As Raditz's cold voice washed over her, she shuddered. She felt her heart constrict at the mention of Jarrell, and her eyes darted back to collide with his.

 

“Is he okay?”

 

“Answer my question and I'll answer yours,” Raditz spat back.

 

Delia squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to look him in the eye while she made her confession. “I knew in my heart that you would never hurt Jarrell. You would never hold something I did against my innocent child.”

 

Raditz's low snarl made her body tense beneath him, and she felt his fingers dig into the soft flesh of her upper arms. “Why do you so readily believe that I would have executed you, Delia? Why do you have so much faith that I will protect some brat child that's not even mine, but murder his own mother? Why do you think that I am so unfeeling?”

 

The last question was asked with such anguish that Delia's startled eyes flew open, searching Raditz's face for any hint of betrayal. Her already pained heart grew heavier as a wave of nausea washed through her stomach.

 

“No! No, it's not like that Raditz. I believe that you are a proud and honorable man. I believe that you would serve Vegeta until your dying breath. You are his man.”

 

Raditz let out a muffled roar of anger as he reared back to kneel between her legs. He yanked on her arms, pulling her up into his lap with ease. He glared down at her, shaking her like a small child. Her gold hair become unbound, waving down around her hips. Some loose strands became tangled in Raditz's fingers, and he accidentally pulled them while shaking her.

 

“Why didn't you ever give me a chance to choose you? You haven't trusted me from the beginning. You set us up to fail. You never gave me the consideration I needed to be the man you wanted. You didn't allow me to be your man.” He spat the last word with such bitterness that it stabbed Delia in the gut.

 

Delia looked up at him wide-eyed and stunned. His face was twisted into such a look of yearning agony that it struck her across the heart.

 

“But Vegeta…”

 

He shook her again, cutting her off before she could finish.

 

“For you…,” he choked on his words as he tried again to force them out. “For you…” He couldn't finish; the words couldn't find their way out of his heart. Instead he pulled her up against him, burying his face in her silky white gold hair. He couldn't say what he knew to be true in his heart. For her he would have denied generations of breeding and duty. For her he would have defied a kingdom and scorned a king.

 

Delia could feel his anguish ripple though his body, as helpless tears flowed down her face. She wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders, winding her fingers through his long hair. She cried brokenly against his shoulder while he held her tightly against him. For one moment she felt like she was in heaven. She was in the arms of the man she loved, and he would never let her go.

 

After long minutes, Raditz pulled away, embarrassed at his momentary loss of control. When she could finally talk, she tried to distract him to save him from his discomfort.

 

“You never answered my question,” she said softly.

 

He looked at her a second before he remembered what she was talking about. “The boy is fine. He misses his mother though.”

 

Delia lowered her head, longing for her child echoing through her. She felt a gentle grip on her jaw, prodding her to raise her head to look at Raditz.

 

“He is not the only one,” he whispered meaningfully.

 

Delia couldn't stop the tears that squeezed out from the corners of her eyes. How could she have ever doubted this man? Why had she kept him at arms length for so long? Of everyone, Bulma, Jace, all of her so-called friends, he was the only one she could truly trust. As long as he lived he would do everything in his power to protect and cherish her. All she had to do was open her heart and her arms to him.

 

Delia reached out, wrapping her small hand around a strand of his black hair. “Can you ever forgive me?” She whispered back at him.

 

Raditz looked down at her hand then back up at her face. A slow wolfish smile spread across his handsome features, Delia shivered again, but this time in anticipation.

 

“I think I might, but first you are going to have to do some penance. Long, slow and hard,” he said wickedly.

 

Delia smiled up at him, more than willing to do all the penance that he wanted. She tugged on his hair, pulling him down over her as she lay back on the bed.