Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Catch of the Day ❯ Chapter 14

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

CATCH OF THE DAY: Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except for Kage-chan, Ocarina, and Olenji.


Three days later, Goten stood next to the bed gazing down at Vegeta. The full Saiyan had barely eaten anything in that time, and when he did, he usually ended up throwing up. He also seemed to sleep all the time.
Goten leaned down to gently stroke Vegeta's hair when Olenji started fussing. He bit his lip, wondering what he should do. Olenji's crying always woke Vegeta up. //I don't know what's wrong with him, but he needs to be up and about as much as possible.//
Goten sighed and headed for the door. //Maybe Mom will know what's wrong with him,// he thought as he left the room.
...
Vegeta blinked his eyes open when he heard Olenji start to cry. He got up slowly, yawning and stretching out the kinks in his body.
"Gah. I'm stiff. I need to start training again," he muttered. Strangely though, training was completely unappealing. He swallowed hard, all the color draining from his face. //What the hell is wrong with me?! I'm a Saiyan, damn it, fighting and training is what we live for.//
Olenji started wailing even louder then, and Vegeta was immediately standing beside the crib, reaching down to pick her up. He cradled her in his arms, his nose wrinkling from the smell. "You need a diaper change."
He took her into the bathroom and set her down on the sink counter and got the necessary supplies. He pulled off the little red pajama bottoms she was wearing and efficiently changed her diaper, making sure there was a hole for her tail.
Then he carried her back to the crib and set her down in it, leaning against the railing so he could just look at her. She was a cute little thing, with long, spiky black hair.
He shivered slightly. It seemed strange that something so sweet and innocent looking could come from him. //I'm supposed to be a destroyer of life, not a creator of it.//
Of course, he had two other kids, Trunks and Bra, but he hadn't had much to do with them beyond conception. Olenji had actually been inside of him, his body protecting hers from the outside world.
//She was supposed to have two more siblings,// he couldn't help thinking. //And because of that low class father of hers, she won't have any near her own age. Just Trunks and Bra.//
He felt that peacefully numb sensation once more. He shivered again, suddenly feeling thirsty. He fished the key to his room out of the dresser and went out the door, locking it behind him. He didn't want anyone to be able to get at Olenji while he was gone.
...
Piccolo was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when Vegeta came in. The Saiyan prince blinked as the tall green form blurred and shifted, becoming someone else.
"Nappa?" he muttered, looking confused.
Piccolo turned at the sound of Vegeta's voice, frowning slightly.
...
Nappa turned around to look at the young boy snarling at him.
"Damn it, Nappa, Frieza wanted that part of the planet left intact!" the thirteen-year-old prince yelled.
"I...I'm sorry, Vegeta, I forgot," Nappa said sheepishly, looking down at his feet.
"You forgot? Damn it, Nappa, I'm going to be punished for your incompetence."
"Hey, Vegeta, what's with all the yelling?" Frieza asked in a strangely goofy voice, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
Vegeta stood up proudly, knowing he was going to be brutally punished. He wouldn't let Frieza know how frightened he was. Frieza took a step towards him and his resolve crumbled.
He didn't want to be beaten again for something that wasn't his fault. He didn't want Frieza to throw him down on the ground and ...and.... Vegeta screamed as Frieza grabbed his shoulder.
He twisted away from the tyrant, his breath coming in short, gasping pants. "Stay away from me, Frieza."
"Now, now, my little prince, no back talking," Frieza said coming over to him and scooping him up in his arms.
...
Goku was heading for the kitchen to get something to eat when he heard Vegeta yelling something about Nappa and Frieza.
"Hey, Vegeta, what's with all the yelling?" he asked as he entered the kitchen. He didn't really know how to act around Vegeta anymore.
He felt awful about what he'd done, but he didn't know how to make it up to him. Apologizing wasn't going to fix things. It wouldn't bring back the easy friendship that had begun to form between them before this entire mess had started.
Vegeta turned to look at him, straightening his posture and glaring defiantly. Goku took a step towards him, and Vegeta's defiant look was replaced with one of stark terror.
Goku hesitantly walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Vegeta screamed and twisted away from him, panting heavily, his eyes wild.
"Stay away from me Frieza!" he snarled.
"Frieza?" Goku said, confused.
"He's been calling me Nappa and accusing me of doing something stupid," Piccolo said from the sink; he was starting to get over his shock.
"Vegeta, are you all right?" Goku asked, moving closer to him. The smaller Saiyan started shaking violently, his knees starting to give out on him.
Goku scooped him up in his arms. Vegeta was beginning to trash wildly. The partial bond flared to life from the physical contact, making him feel whole and completely sane for the first time in months.
"Dad, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Goten snarled from the doorway, Chi-Chi standing right behind him.
"I didn't do anything, Goten," Goku growled.
"He's telling the truth," Piccolo said before an argument started. "Vegeta came in here and started yelling and calling me Nappa. Then he thought Goku was Frieza."
"Shit!" Chi-Chi spat. Everyone stared at her in shock. Chi-Chi never cursed. "Hallucinations only come with extremely severe cases."
"Severe cases of what?" Goku asked, still clutching an armful of hissing and kicking Saiyan.
Chi-Chi sighed. "I'll explain in a minute, Goku. Just hand Vegeta over to Goten first."
Goku held onto him tighter, growling softly. "No, he's mine."
"He doesn't belong to you, Dad!" Goten yelled, glaring at his father.
Vegeta yipped, clutching at his head. Their animosity was making his head hurt.
"Now, Goku!" Chi-Chi ordered, a frying pan suddenly appearing in her hand. Goku swallowed and handed the still struggling prince to his son.
Goten left the room, and Chi-Chi turned her attention back to Goku and Piccolo. "Vegeta has a very bad case of post partum depression," she explained. "Caused by sudden hormone changes and probably made worse by the crap he's been through recently."
Goku hung his head in shame. "Is...is there anything we can do?"
"Yes. Leave him alone," Chi-Chi said bluntly, glaring at him.
...
Goten carried the writhing prince up the stairs to his room and tried to open the door. It was locked. He slipped a hand into one of Vegeta's pockets and pulled out the key, slipping it into the lock.
He dragged Vegeta into the connected bathroom and threw him into the bathtub, turning the shower on with freezing cold water at the same time. Vegeta yowled as the half-breed held him under the spray.
"Let me go, Koneko!" he yelled, trying to jerk out of his grasp. Convinced that he was back in the real world again, Goten let him go and began filling the tub with warm water.
Vegeta huddled against the back of the tub, shivering violently. Goten added some bubbles to the water and stood Vegeta up, stripping him as the water level rose. He lowered him back down, glad he had thought of the bubbles. He didn't know if he would be able to control himself if he had a full view of Vegeta naked for more than a few seconds.
Vegeta leaned against the edge of the tub, near Goten, as the young man grabbed a washcloth and began to gently wash him with it. Vegeta twisted and got up on his knees, leaning his head on Goten's shoulder.
Goten swallowed and started moving the washcloth in gentle, circular motions. His eyes went wide as Vegeta nuzzled his neck. He was obviously still out of it, though he didn't seem to be hallucinating anymore.
//The cold water must have shocked him out of it, like I hoped.//
"Bulma," Vegeta mumbled quietly. He moved his head and pressed his lips to Goten's in a passionate kiss.
//Or maybe he still is hallucinating,// Goten thought dazedly as Vegeta's hot tongue slid into his mouth. Goten forced himself not to respond to the kiss. Vegeta was delusional and didn't know what he was doing. Goten ached to touch him, but knew he shouldn't. Not in this situation.
Vegeta instinctively followed the partial bond into Goten's mind. Then he froze as the fogged cleared from his mind, informing him that it was Goten he was kissing, not Bulma.
He looked up at him, his eyes cloudy with confusion. Then he just sighed and rubbed his cheek against the young half-breed's shoulder, searching through his mind. He jerked back a little in shock at what he discovered.
He had thought that the young man's obsession had been a recent thing, no more real than what Goku thought he felt towards him. He had been wrong. Goten had been in love with him since he was a small child. Sexual attraction had been added later, once the boy had hit puberty.
He rested his head on Goten's shoulder, too tired to hold it up. He just couldn't believe that anyone could love him that much. It didn't seem possible. Not even Bulma had loved him that much. He slumped against Goten, his eyes sliding closed.
Goten scooped him up out of the water and wrapped him up in a towel before taking him into his bedroom. He slipped a large t-shirt over his small frame and laid him down in the bed then pulled the blanket over him.
Vegeta shifted onto his front and slid an arm under his head, seemingly fast asleep. Goten gazed down at him a minute before a soft cry from Olenji caught his attention. He went over to her and cradled her in her arms.
...
Kage-chan jumped up onto the bed and padded over to her pet's head, gently licking her cheek. Like all of her kind, she could sense emotions. Her Little One was unhappy and sick.
Her pet opened her eyes slightly and gently grabbed her, holding her close. Kage purred softly, snuggling with her pet.
...
Vegeta woke up a little as his cat licked his face. He pulled her to him and watched Goten out of half-lidded eyes. He didn't like anyone else even going near his daughter much less touching her, but Goten had never bothered him.
"Hey, kid," Goten whispered softly. "You should have a couple of siblings you know. One of them would have mine. I wish it had lived and that you two could've been friends."
He sighed sadly and gazed down at the child in his arms. She was lovely. //But what could you expect considering who her...well...mother, I guess...is.//
"I wish I could have some kids. But I love Vegeta and even if he accepted me we couldn't have any. I don't have the equipment for it and Dad hurt Vegeta too much for him to ever be able to carry anymore kids. At least you'll have Ocarina as a friend. I just wish you could have met the brother or sister that was mine."
Vegeta pressed his face against the pillow, drawing in a deep breath. Thinking about the other two children as well as the fact that he couldn't have any more made the numb feeling come back, as well as sharpening the ache in his abdomen, which had yet to go away.
He pressed his face even more into his pillow, letting it absorb the tears that slowly slid down his cheeks. He felt himself falling even deeper into the black pit his life had become in the past few days. He felt like no one gave a damn about if he lived or died.
//Goten cares,// part of his mind pointed out. //You saw it in his mind. He's cared about you for a long time.//
He drifted down into sleep with that thought echoing in his head.