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

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

“Kakarrotto…” he murmured solemnly, peeling back the covers just enough that he could slip beneath them.

“Vegeta?” Goku whispered, both curiosity and comfort in his voice as he took the prince into his arms. Vegeta curled up beside him, nuzzling against Goku's chest and gingerly wrapping his own arms around him. “Did it happen again?” The slight sensation of skin slipping against his chest suggested a nod.

The same thing had happened for him, too, of course, after Chi-Chi's death, and that's when the tradition had started. Well, if it could be called a tradition. During that time, when Goku's outward appearance suggested that his assumed resilience had taken effect, he continued to mourn his wife's passing quietly, secretly, so that those around him could move on.

Vegeta wasn't a dense man. He'd known; he was the only one who'd noticed, and—much to Goku's surprise—he'd even asked about it. And it was then, through some miracle that he'd yet to understand, Goku had found himself buried in Vegeta's comforting tones. Perhaps Vegeta was so uncharacteristically soft and gentle during this time because he understood the loss—understood that he, too, would have to go through it soon enough. And maybe he'd thought ahead and known that his efforts to assuage Goku's pain would be repaid in kind, when the time came.

What Goku did know, though, was that after Bulma's death several months ago, Vegeta had started appearing beside him at night, apparently woken from the same nightmares as he'd had. They weren't so much nightmares as…dreams with overwhelmingly depressing overtones. Sometimes, they didn't even involve the one who'd died. Vegeta's especially seemed to follow this pattern.

But, nonetheless, at that point Vegeta had begun to imitate Goku's previous behavior, though perhaps with some exceptions. Goku hadn't dared approach Vegeta in the middle of the night, knowing full well that while he himself no longer had someone to share a bed with, the prince did. So he found his comfort during the daytime, after sparring sessions and whenever he could get Vegeta to agree to having a picnic lunch with him.

It was Vegeta, however, who had started this new habit of showing up at night. Of course, it made sense; he would be more willing to run to Goku with the dreams fresh in his mind. Still, it always shocked Goku to find Vegeta cuddling up beside him.

It happened so much more often, and had been going on for so much longer for Vegeta, too. Goku speculated that perhaps he'd had a stronger bond with Bulma, and that was why.

“It's all right, Vegeta,” he stroked the prince's cheek.

“I know,” Vegeta muttered, curling his hand into a small fist.

Familiar with the routine, Goku laid his hand over Vegeta's. “You'll be fine.”

“I know.”

“What was…?” he began to ask, but trailed off as if thinking better of it.

“It was about…a…about you again,” Vegeta hesitated, pressing his eyes shut. “I dreamt that Buu killed you when you were already dead, and you…disappeared.”

“I'm here,” Goku responded warmly.

Somehow, even though it was a statement of the obvious, Vegeta seemed to find the words comforting. He moved closer to Goku, stretching his legs out so that the whole of his body pressed against the other Saiyajin's. He eased into a more relaxed position, his balled fist loosening.

“Hey, Vegeta…?”

“Yes?”

He'd been hesitant about asking it, because he knew from experience how easily damaged Vegeta was. Still, he was curious. “The really bad dreams…only lasted a month or two for me. I was wondering why it is that you're still having them.”

“I was closer to Bulma than you were to your woman,” he nearly growled back, a distinct edge in his voice, but still he hugged closer to Goku.

Goku nodded; it seemed his thoughts were right, then. “Oh. Okay.”

And then Vegeta seemed to lapse back into the state he'd been in upon arriving; perhaps thinking about it had brought him back to the dream. “Kakarrotto,” he repeated softly.

“What is it, Vegeta?”

“Kiss me.”

Goku's eyes shut and opened slowly as he considered the words. “You're confused right now, Vegeta. The dream just scrambled you up a bit.” He wouldn't do anything that Vegeta could get angry with him for later. The prince would surely regret asking for a kiss from his rival.

Shuddering at the response, Vegeta simply nodded as he tried to squeeze the tears away from his eyes. “Okay,” his voice quivered, as if perhaps he were trying to accept the statement. Soon, though, his apparent sadness seemed to calm down, as he nuzzled Goku's chest again, twining his legs around the other Saiyajin's.

Goku blinked. This was new. He hugged Vegeta tighter, tilting his head to the side to breathe in the scent of the prince's hair. With a smile, the man noticed that Vegeta's eyes had fluttered closed; he'd drifted off to sleep. He shut his own eyes, thoroughly enjoying the moment. If only he'd known, years ago, that this was where he'd be. Vegeta accepted things about him that Chi-Chi never had. He pondered whether the woman might have been almost as proud as Vegeta, in some ways, and in this found it interesting that Vegeta had opened up to him so much more than even she had. Perhaps it was because now Vegeta had no one to turn to with his frustrations. He imagined that back in his early days on Earth, the prince might have ranted not only to himself about how much he hated his rival, but also to Bulma.

Even if this hadn't happened, if Vegeta had had only himself to talk to…Goku knew the prince had softened since. Now, the younger Saiyajin was the only person Vegeta had left to talk with. Maybe he'd been forced to forfeit a bit of his pride in order to maintain some of his sanity. Goku fiddled with Vegeta's hair. He was glad to know that some good things had come out of the death of his childhood friend.

One night, he'd made the mistake of asking Vegeta what they were, what the state of their relationship was. Vegeta had spat out some response that Goku could no longer remember—all he could recall was that it had hurt. The other man had avoided him for the next few weeks, until Goku had finally found him at home, whimpering alone in his bed as his nightmares kept him from sleep.

Despite what was surely this ultimate blow to Vegeta's pride, the prince did not recoil so tightly this time, instead gingerly accepting Goku's affections. Perhaps he'd realized that if he was going to have any happiness at all—if he was going to survive, even—he would have to let Goku back into his life.

Goku was stirred from his musings when Vegeta let out a small yelp. The man's eyes were still closed; he was still asleep…but he was clutching tightly at the covers upon him, snarling as watery beads spilled down his face. The larger Saiyajin tried to make sense of Vegeta's utterances, but all he could hear was the raging sorrow behind them. The prince's mouth moved, forming words that did not issue from it, and now he was jerking his arms and legs around, perhaps trying to escape from the bed. Goku watched helplessly, but was finally overcome when a pained cry echoed in Vegeta's throat. He leaned over Vegeta and put a hand on either shoulder.

“Calm down, Vegeta…” he murmured. “It's all right. It's just a dream.”

Vegeta clenched his teeth, and more tears cascaded over his cheeks. He gasped in a shaky breath, and cried out again.

“You'll be fine. Shh.”

He continued to tremble and whimper out incomprehensible sounds at irregular intervals, and then shouted something out, jolting violently and curling up into a ball.

“Vegeta!” Goku nearly snapped, and tilted his head forward quickly to dip his tongue into the prince's open mouth. Vegeta's eyes shot open, and he stared in shock for a few moments before complying under the kiss, letting his tense muscles loosen. He wove his fingers through Goku's hair and wept a silent thanks into the other man's mouth, his chest still quivering from remnants of the dream.

“Are you all right?” the younger Saiyajin finally asked. Vegeta shut his eyes, nodding quietly as Goku let himself edge off of Vegeta, lying beside him once more. Goku marveled at this helpless, almost childlike side of Vegeta. How the prince confided his feelings in him…! Even if he didn't speak about them often, the salty droplets on the pillowcase were enough to indicate an open shedding of emotion.

“Kakarrotto?”

“Yeah?”

“I think…if we stay like this…maybe I'll never have a nightmare again.”

Goku smiled. Of course Vegeta was joking, but it was a pleasant sentiment. “Really?” he chuckled.

“I mean, I'll never have one of those nightmares again,” Vegeta amended.

The other Saiyajin blinked. Vegeta was being serious. Goku's smile warmed, and he wrapped a hand around Vegeta's. “If we stay…like this, you mean?” he spoke quietly, lifting their tangled fingers above the covers.

Vegeta inspected their interwoven hands for a few moments. He squeezed lightly. “Something like that. Yes.”