Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Come ❯ Chapter 27: Tough Love ( Chapter 27 )

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

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

WARNING: See Chapter 1

Kingdom Come
~ Chapter 27Vegeta growled in aggravation as he stomped through the apartment. A small, dark towel was wrapped tightly around his trim waist, catching droplets of water as they slid down his tanned torso. No sooner had he finished his mid-morning shower than had the telephone rung, and since he was expecting a call from one of his club's suppliers, he rushed to get the phone.

"Hello," he answered it sharply.

"Vegeta? Hey, it's Krillin," came the reply on the other end of the line.

To say this wasn't the call he expected would be an understatement. In fact, despite wanting to know how Yamcha was, he didn't really want to talk to the former monk. If Krillin was calling him, then something had to be wrong. No one ever called him unless that was the case. Well, no one that wasn't a business associate. "Hn. What do you want?"

"You... uh... You haven't seen Yamcha, have you?" Krillin asked. "I mean, he hasn't come by the condo or anything, right?"

"No. He's not here. Why?"

The small human chuckled nervously. "Well, um, are you going to be there for a while?"

"I don't know. Why? What's happened?" Vegeta inquired hotly.

"Well, would you mind staying there for a bit? And if he comes by, just keep him there and let me know, okay?"

"Human, tell me what the hell is going on!" demanded the saiyajin.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh! Just calm down, huh?" Krillin suggested. Sighing raggedly, he complied with Vegeta's request. "Look. He's gone. Ran away or something. I dunno. I just woke up this morning and went in to bring him some breakfast, and he was gone. I thought he might've decided to go back to his place, and since you're there, that's why I called you. But since he isn't there, I'm going to get some of the rest of the gang together and go looking for him. I just wanted to ask if you'd watch for him in case he does show up back at his place. Okay?"

"Whatever," Vegeta groused.

"Thanks! Bye."

Hanging up the phone, the short saiyajin took a couple of steps back and leaned against the wall. It had been two weeks since the two humans and Piccolo had returned, and still he'd gotten no peace. He'd been able to sleep, but he continued to wake up restless and irritable. The dreams were no longer there, and that was somehow worse.

What good was sleep if it was only fitful and unsatisfying?

But sleep was nothing to him now. Yamcha was missing. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was worried. He wanted to find him. And he would get no sleep until the human was found. Pulling the towel from his waist, he quickly dried himself off as he walked to the closet, finding his navy blue daily training outfit. Vegeta swiftly pulled on the formfitting clothing then left the apartment.

He didn't care if Krillin and the rest of them were going to look for Yamcha. Vegeta was going to find him first.

***

"Hello?"

"Hi there, Videl. This is Krillin," greeted the bald human.

"Oh, hi, Krillin," came the monotone reply. "I heard you were back. How was the trip?"

"Um... Interesting," Krillin said vaguely. "Say, is Gohan there?"

"Yes."

"... Well, can I talk to him?" Krillin asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"No," came the flat reply.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes, he's here," Videl sighed, "but no, I won't get him to come to the phone."

Krillin frowned. What was her problem? PMS? Trying to keep the confusion out of his voice, he asked calmly, "Well, why not?"

"He hasn't set foot out of his room since New Year's Day," Videl curtly replied. "But he'd better get his ass out of there by the time the next school semester starts, or else I'm breaking down his damned door."

"O-kay. Doesn't that make it hard for you to go to sleep at night if you can't get in?" he wondered aloud into the phone. What exactly was going on over at Gohan's house? The small former monk wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"Are you kidding?" she snorted. "I have my own bedroom."

Biting down a bit on his tongue, Krillin had a feeling he'd just opened a whole can of worms. "Oh."

"Is that all you wanted to call about?" Videl grounded out, a nerve clearly having been jabbed with a sharp, pointy object. "Because Gohan is not coming to the phone, and I won't even try to get him to come out."

"Yeah," the small human male admitted into the receiver. "Um, well, I--" And suddenly the phone went dead in his hand. Krillin pulled it away from his ear to stare in frustrated anger at the receiver. "Hey! That little bitch just hung up on me!"

"Krillin, don't be so melodramatic," 18 sighed. Taking the phone from her husband's fist before he broke it, the blonde android gently hung it up back in its cradle on the wall. She bent down and placed a chaste kiss on top of his head. "Videl's just a pain in the ass. Why do you think Pan's been living with Chichi all this time? Not that she's all that much better, but still. Forget about asking Gohan and call the other two halfwits."

"Huh? Halfwits?"

Hearing her subconscious slip, she quickly covered by saying, "I meant half-breeds. The other two. You know..."

"Oh. Right," Krillin grinned up at his wife. "Okay. Good idea, honey. You're so smart."

***

Chibi yawned as he sat up on his elbows. It was well into the morning, and if he had been living on his own, he would have been up hours ago doing chores. But he wasn't living on his own. He was living with Trunks. And Trunks wasn't about to let him do chores when there were other things that they could be doing.

The lavender-haired youth beside him grinned up at him, running his hand through his hair to get it out of his face. There was no real reason for them to get out of bed in his opinion. It wasn't as if either of them had to be anywhere. Of course, that was just an excuse to spend the entire day together. In bed. He smiled as he looked at Chibi, more than happy with his boyfriend.

Ever since the appearance of the royal demi-saiyajin, however, Trunks' thoughts had been preoccupied. That was all right with Chibi, though, as he often found himself wondering what his other self saw in Piccolo. And, he had to admit, he often found himself wondering what it would be like to have sex with the mysterious namek.

"He kind of reminds me of Dad, ya know," Trunks said as he ran his hands down Chibi's back, simply to touch him. "Only, he's better-looking."

"Yeah, I guess," Chibi said. His brow wrinkled as he thought. "How do you think he likes it here? I mean, he's not a prince here, just like your dad isn't. But at least your dad had your mom to look after him. He has Piccolo. And yeah, Piccolo's a great guy and all, but..."

"But I don't see Piccolo as being the type of person to actually give our little prince some enculturation into our world. Yeah, I know. Piccolo's a recluse," Trunks said as he sat up. "Ya know, I don't really see what he sees in him."

"Who?" Chibi asked.

"Huh? Um, I meant, I don't see what Goten sees in Piccolo. I mean... well... He's... reclusive. Not any kind of fun," Trunks tried to explain.

"I bet the sex is good, though," Chibi responded, almost trying to defend his alter-self.

Trunks responded with a look that severely questioned his lover's sanity.

"Well... He's strong. And with all those special moves of his... I mean, I heard he could increase the size of his body. Could you imagine? And he also knows that special split-form technique... The possibilities are endless," Chibi clarified as he sat up, the comforter pooling around his waist.

"Hmmm. What would you think of two Piccolo's fucking your brains out?" Trunks grinned. He didn't miss Chibi's blush, as the younger demi-saiyajin -had- been thinking of such a thing. Instead of getting jealous or angry, though, he confessed his own fantasy. "Ya know... me, personally, I'd love to have you and your alternate."

"Oh?" Chibi asked in a purr, raising an eyebrow in an almost arrogant manner.

"Mm-hmm," Trunks said, grinning at Chibi's playfulness. He moved so that he was straddling the younger male, pushing him down. "I'd love to have you under me, writhing, begging, on your back. Of course, I'd be so deep inside you that I could taste myself as I kiss you. And then he'd be in me, riding me bareback, hard, too, so that every time he moves, you'd feel it like an aftershock. I think it'd be good."

"I can imagine," Chibi said as he leaned up. "But for now, why don't we work on the part with you so deep inside me that you can taste yourself?"

"Mmm, sounds good to me." Trunks laughed as he dipped his head to slant his mouth hungrily across Chibi's. He was pulled further down by strong arms wrapping around him. They crashed back down to bed, mouths fused together. Before their love play could go much further, though, the phone rang.

Chibi groaned as his head fell back against the pillow. "Aw, man!"

"Dammit," Trunks cursed as he leaned up. He looked at the phone, where it sat on his nightstand. "I don't want to answer it."

"Go ahead, Trunks. I mean, it could be important or something," Chibi sighed.

"It's probably the 'or something', and I don't want to deal with it," Trunks muttered, but as the offending invention continued to ring, Trunks knew he would either have to answer it or blast it to bits. He settled for answering it. His voice was light as he asked, "Hello?"

"Hey, Trunks, it's Krillin. Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"Nah, it's cool. What's up?" Trunks answered, looking over his shoulder at his dark-haired lover who was getting out of bed and already turning towards the shower. He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well, I need a little help," the human began. "Yamcha kinda disappeared. I mean, you know, I think he ran off. And I was hoping you and Goten could give me a hand looking for him."

"Chibi."

"Excuse me?"

"We had to decide on something else to call him. So it's 'Chibi' now. 'Goten' is the prince. 'Chibi' is my boyfriend. Remember?"

"Oh, right, right. Sorry about that. I forgot," Krillin responded. "Well, anyway, can you help?"

"Sure. What do you need us to do?"

"Why don't you guys meet me up at the Look-out? I wanna bring Piccolo and Prince Goten in on this. Piccolo's better at the strategizing stuff. He'll know where to start."

"All right. We'll be there soon," Trunks said, knowing he'd need to take a shower as well. They were going to the Look-out, after all.

"Thanks. See you then."

Trunks hung up the phone and went to collect the clothes he was going to wear that day. He'd need something that would keep him warm at high altitudes and something that wouldn't get in his way. He sighed as he went to go dig out his old training outfit. At least he looked good in it. While he was at it, he grabbed one for Chibi, too.

***

Krillin landed at the Look-out without any overt use of his chi. He had gotten used to using only a minimal amount in that alternate reality, and it wasn't a habit he wanted to break yet. He looked around and noticed that his arrival had gone unnoticed so far. Behind him, he could feel 'Chibi' and Trunks arriving. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming."

"Sure," Chibi replied with a smile. "Yamcha's our friend, too."

"Yeah. So! Let's go find Piccolo and Goten and see about finding him," Trunks said, though he was mostly just interested in seeing Piccolo and Goten together. He would really love to ask Piccolo if he could perhaps -borrow- Goten for a bit, but he doubted the larger male would go for that. He might not have been the brightest, but he did have some survival instincts, no matter what his dad claimed.

"Right," Krillin said as he took the lead towards Piccolo's room. Even though he knew that Yamcha was a grown man and quite capable of taking care of himself, he also knew that was when the thief was in his right mind, and lately, that just wasn't the case. He couldn't believe that he had allowed Yamcha to run out on his own. He was so embarrassed that he only half-noticed that both Chibi and Trunks lowered their chi, masking their power levels.

Yamcha had become increasingly depressed until he became nothing more than a zombie in the past couple of weeks since they came back. He would move if you told him to and would eat if you put food in front of him. But, if left on his own, he would only sleep. Or, if he couldn't sleep, he would stare out the window. If it wasn't for 18 insisting, Krillin doubted that his old friend would bother to shower or shave. Krillin didn't know what to do for him. And in all truth, the state that Yamcha was in scared him. Just looking into the desert bandit's eyes was frightening. It wasn't because they were tear-filled or bloodshot. But it was because they were so... empty. Like everything that Yamcha was had bled out in the tears that Krillin knew he had cried.

The three fighters walked across the bridge that connected Piccolo's room with the Look-out in utter silence. Krillin shook off his anxiety as he neared the doorway to Piccolo's room, knowing that he would have to have a clear head to help with the planning. He took a deep breath to shout out a greeting to the other two warriors as he entered, but the words died in his throat at the scene before him. His stop was so sudden that Trunks and Chibi ran into him, equally stunned.

Piccolo was leaning up against a wall, his turban and cape missing in action. His head was thrown back, and his fangs were digging into his lower lip. He was also missing his shirt and sash, though it was easy to see why. His green fingers were entangled in ebony hair as Prince Goten knelt between his legs. The demi-saiyajin's brown tail moved in time with the motion of his head, as if offering a counterbalance to what he was doing. It took a moment, but Krillin finally registered the soft sound of the prince purring as he deep-throated the green warrior. The short monk backpedaled, forcing his two companions to move with him, as he left the two lovers to their activities.

"I don't think they saw us," Krillin whispered as he dragged Trunks and Chibi back across the bridge. His entire head was a dark blush. "Do you think they saw us? I don't think they saw us. Kami, I hope they didn't see us. We'd be so dead if they did. Yeah, I don't think they saw us."

Even though he was walking away from the room with the view, Chibi could still see his royal self on his knees, obviously enjoying what he was doing to Piccolo. Flushing, he looked to the ground, completely ignoring Krillin's soft tirade. His flaming cheeks weren't from being embarrassed at witnessing the action; more, it was from wondering what it would be like to do the same thing to the namek. The youngest Son thought about how it would feel to take Piccolo into his mouth, sucking and stroking with his tongue. He moved his shoulders in discomfort as his bodysuit quickly became awkwardly warm and constrictive.

Trunks' blue eyes were wide as he stared straight ahead, his mind racing in a small circular pattern. He knew, intimately, how good his dark-haired demi-saiyajin was at -that- particular activity, and just thinking of Prince Goten, so regal and proud and dark, on his knees worshipping him... And with that tail moving in time with his actions! Just the thought of having that brown, furry tail alive and in his hand had the demi-saiyajin harder than he had been since he and Chibi had finally gotten together. Trunks moved to brush a stray lock of his lavender hair out of his face, managing to wipe his mouth at the same time. He didn't think anyone was noticing him, but he didn't want to be too obvious.

"Oh, man, I can't believe we just walked in on that!" Krillin muttered, still rattled out of his wits. He was so flabbergasted by what he had inadvertently witnessed that he momentarily forgot about the reason they had come.

"Man, Krillin. You're really freaking out," Trunks said as he finally took notice of the small human. "Why? I mean, yeah, it was embarrassing, but--"

"But nothing! That was the second time I walked in on them while--"

"You mean you got to see them to do that twice?!" Chibi asked, his eyes bright like Krillin had never seen before.

"NO!" the ex-monk interjected. "The other time they just were kissing, but--"

"Oh. So you didn't get to see them actually having sex," Chibi sighed.

Krillin's face twitched at the sound of disappointment in the youth's voice. "No. And I don't want to. It's not that I have a problem with them being together or anything. It's just... It's Piccolo. And I dunno about you two, but I'm going to try and pretend that I didn't see what I thought I saw in there. In fact, I'm going to pretend that I didn't even go over there and that I just got here. In fact, I'm gonna raise my chi, as if I had just gotten here and am ringing their doorbell, and I suggest you two do the same."

"Shouldn't we wait for them to finish, or something?" Trunks asked, looking towards Piccolo and Goten's room even as he raised his chi.

"Piccolo's done," Chibi answered. "Didn't you feel his chi spike? They're through."

"I'm also going to pretend I didn't hear what you two just said," Krillin intoned, his voice coming out thick and strained.

"Didn't hear what?" a new voice to the conversation asked.

Krillin spun around to smile at his wife. "Nothing, honey. Nothing that I want to remember. So, I guess you could make it after all, huh?"

"Yeah. It was no task at all to call 17 and tell him that I was going to be late to open. He said he could get in, though, and start setting up the club," 18 answered. She raised her gaze from her husband's curious eyes to look at the two figures approaching them across the small walkway.

"Hey, Piccolo! Hey, Goten!" Trunks and Chibi waved, smiling brightly, eyes shining.

Krillin looked in the direction that his wife was looking. But he couldn't manage to raise his eyes enough to look Piccolo or Goten in the face. Instead, he settled for looking at their chests.

"What brings you all by?" Piccolo asked. He noticed that Krillin and the demi-saiyajins with him appeared flushed, which was odd since he knew that the three of them didn't usually exert themselves much when they flew up the to Look-out.

"Yamcha ran away," stated 18. The android always sounded bored, whether or not that was the case. Then again, no one could ever really tell.

"What? Why?" Goten queried.

"We don't know," replied Krillin, shaking his head. "All we know is that when we woke up this morning, he was gone. We were hoping the two of you could help us find him. We brought Trunks and Chibi, too."

"Did you try his apartment first?" Piccolo suggested.

"Called. Vegeta said he hadn't seen him. I'm pretty sure he would've told us if he had. I told him to keep an eye out."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow ridge. "You -told- him?"

"Asked," 18 replied. She crossed her arms and shifted to one foot as she regarded the namek.

"Ah," answered the tall, green warrior.

Goten tilted his head to one side, carefully studying the short human and his android. The way he clung to her side. Krillin was so clearly affectionate with this 18. What exactly was different here from his world? It made him wonder... "I thought you didn't like 18."

"Oh, no, no, no," Krillin chuckled uneasily. Scratching the back of his bald head, he kept up the grin, quickly offering clarification. "I didn't like -that- 18. -This- is my wife. My beautiful, loving wife."

The regal demi-saiyajin quirked up one eyebrow. "They look the same to me."

"I'll pretend you didn't say that," said the pint-sized male, looking very nonchalant.

Turning to Trunks beside him, Chibi snickered, "He's pretending a -lot- today."

Clearing his throat to regain the attention of the gathered bunch, the only namek present looked at them all and quickly thought about the problem. "We'll split up into teams. We can cover more ground that way." Piccolo's brow knit as he eyed Trunks and Chibi, so he added, "We'll go three teams of two, at least one intelligent partner per pair."

Krillin grabbed his wife's arm. "Well, I've got my brains right here."

Trunks nodded. "Okay, so, Chibi and I'll go--"

"He said each pair needs an -intelligent- partner," 18 interrupted.

"Just what are you implying?" the lavender-haired youth asked.

"I'm saying neither of you is particularly bright," the blonde android answered dryly. "One of you should go with Piccolo and the other should take Goten."

Neither Piccolo nor Goten missed the suggestive look on Trunks' face as he slid a quick glance towards the prince. Passing a glance between themselves, Piccolo was the one to speak up. "Trunks, you're with me."

"Come on, idiot," Goten said to Chibi, moving over to him and grabbing his shirt. "Let's go."

"Hey, wait a minute," Trunks protested. "Goten doesn't know anything about this planet. He'll have no idea where they're going."

"But Chibi will," Piccolo pointed out, "and that's enough."

"So does that mean I'm the smart one?" Chibi grinned brightly. When everyone simply looked at him blankly, he sighed. "Sheesh. No senses of humor, you guys. I was just kidding."

"All right," Piccolo began. "Let's just fan out. Krillin, you and 18 take the southern islands. Chibi and Goten, the desert. Trunks and I will hit the northern mountain ranges and then turn south. We'll meet back here by sundown."

***

Krillin and 18 took the air, shooting towards the earth at high speeds. They had a lot of land to cover. Krillin huffed before he set his features into a determined scowl, trying to boost his confidence. Or at least get his mind to get away from the images still playing behind his eyes.

18 knew her husband, and though she knew that he needed time to get his head in order, she also knew that there was no time like the present to ask her question. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Krillin asked, slowing down. "Oh, nothing."

"What was it that you saw and you didn't want to remember?" 18 elaborated, giving him the look that said she wasn't going to stop asking until he told her.

"Oh, uh, um," Krillin stumbled. He looked to the ground, avoiding her eyes. He didn't want to tell her. He seriously didn't want to tell her. If he told her, then he knew that somehow Piccolo would find out that he had seen what he had seen, and then he'd be dead because there was no doubt in his mind that Piccolo would kill him if he knew. It wasn't that he didn't trust 18. Of course he trusted her. But it was just that Piccolo was... scary and smart and had really good hearing. He supposed the namek got that from Kami, who had watched over the world for most of his life. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Yes, I do," 18 answered. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

Krillin sighed in defeat. He knew that his wife wasn't going to let this go. When she wanted something, she went after it until it either died or she got it. "All right. I'll tell you. But this goes no further than between us."

"Who would I tell?" the blond android retorted.

"Your big-mouth brother."

"... Fine. I won't say a word."

"Swear?"

"Krillin, you're trying my patience."

"Sorry, honey. Okay. Well, when I got there, Chibi and Trunks were just getting there, so we decided to go right over to Piccolo's place, but we made a major mistake when we got there because we just walked right on in without bothering to knock because, ya know, we've never knocked before when we went to go visit Piccolo. Well, I think we'd better start because when we got there, we found Piccolo against the wall and Goten on his knees," Krillin said in a rush.

"Were they fighting?"

"No."

"So they were... Oh."

"Yeah."

"... Did Piccolo enjoy it?"

"WHAT?!"

"Well... I just can't imagine Piccolo having sex. I'm trying to, though, and I just wondered if he enjoyed it."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that," Krillin responded with a shudder. After a moment of flying though, he conceded. "Okay, okay. I'm sure they both got a real kick out of it."

"Hmm." Curiosity consumed 18's mind as her eyes scanned the area below them. "How did they get together?"

Krillin sighed deeply. "Honey, that is a long and complicated story about which I know absolutely nothing. But... please don't ask Piccolo. I want to live."

***

Their breath came out in white plumes of fog as they hovered in mid air, shivering in cold. The mountains were coated in snow, and they were high up in altitude. It was cold. Piccolo looked around at the rocks below, wondering if Yamcha would be there this time of year. Close by, Trunks was shivering in obvious discomfort, and the namek was reminded that the most of the others had a lower tolerance for the cold.

"Come on. Let's look for smoke, or a fire, or some sign of heat," Piccolo said as he observed the younger male, making sure he wasn't about to die of hypothermia.

"Yeah. Heat would be nice," Trunks nodded. He looked around, rubbing his arms. "Speaking of heat... how long have you and Goten been together?"

Piccolo was so taken aback by the question that he actually stopped to think about it. He eyed the lavender-haired boy beside him, knowing that Trunks was fully grown but was still a boy, and answered suspiciously, "A while."

"A while?" Trunks replied. The answer didn't satisfy him, not in the least. "So... is that long enough to know all his secrets, or is it still in the 'getting to know your secrets' phase?"

"What?!" Piccolo asked, clearly floored.

"Well, I'm just curious if he's got all the same hidden pleasure spots that Chibi does. Like, does he like to have the back of his knees licked, or--"

"Trunks," Piccolo interrupted. When he was sure he would be able to control his temper and his voice, he continued. "My personal life -- and by that, I mean Goten -- is none of your business. And I mean NONE of your business. And if you so much as utter a single word along the lines of your previous questions, I'll rip out your tongue and shove it down your throat."

The lavender-haired demi-saiyajin paled completely and gulped, nodding vigorously. Whether the namek was stronger or not, Trunks knew Piccolo was dead serious about ending his speaking days.

***

Goten and Chibi looked down at the desert. There wasn't much to see. Or rather, there was a whole lot of nothing to see. The land stretched out before them for miles and miles and miles, sometimes broken up by rocks and the occasional formation. There were also the impacted areas from previous fights and sparring matches. Goten looked around at the impressive display of open land and shook his head. In his opinion, the humans should move their cities to the desert, and make the green land where they were located into farming land. But then, he wasn't about to tell them that. It wasn't his world, after all.

"There's been a lot of battles here," Chibi said as they passed yet another area pockmarked with craters.

"So I can gather," Goten replied. "They were impressive displays of strength, too."

"Yeah," Chibi agreed. "But a lot of the craters are also where Vegeta got pissed off at something and came to vent."

"Does he do that often?"

"What? Get pissed off or vent?"

"Both."

"Oh. Well... Vegeta has a short temper. And no one is... well... No one's good enough for him," Chibi tried to explain. He turned to Goten and added, "He's a lot like you."

Goten started at that, turning from scanning the barren wasteland below to looking at his strange alternate.

Chibi saw the sharp look he got, but he didn't care. He knew he was stronger. And even if he wasn't, he doubted Goten would kill him for speaking the truth.

Goten stopped flying, making Chibi do likewise. "You don't know anything about me. Don't even presume that you do."

"I'm just calling it as I see it," Chibi defended. "And from what I've seen, you two are a lot alike."

Goten glared at him, formulating an argument in his head to what his other said. Before he got the chance, though, Chibi cut in.

"Of course, there is one major difference."

"And what is that?" Goten snapped.

"You've got Piccolo," Chibi answered with a shrug, as if he didn't care. In his heart, he respected Piccolo. Trusted him more than he trusted anyone else besides Trunks. He had grown up with the hero-worshipping stories that Gohan used to tell, and even the few times he had been around the namek, he knew that Piccolo was just one of those people that you followed. After all the thinking he had done, it was just odd that Goten had fallen for the namek, considering that he was a prince and all. "Just how did you two come to get together, anyway?"

Goten regarded his companion carefully, not sure of where this line of questioning would lead. "Persistence."

"Persistence?" questioned Chibi. "What do you mean? You chased him down, made him love you?"

"I did not -make- him do -anything-," Goten snorted, looking away for a moment to scan the area of landscape over which they were hovering before he returned his attention to Chibi.

"Well, that's not what I'm saying." Chibi ran a hand through his unruly spikes, wondering how he was going to explain what he was trying to ask. He just didn't get this alternate version of himself.

"What exactly -are- you saying?" Goten sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was getting a headache. 'And the day had started out so well...' He stopped his futile attempt to chase the pain away and crossed his arms over his chest. As soon as he and Chibi finished their conversation, they could resume their search.

"I dunno. I'm just curious. I mean, Piccolo doesn't really seem like the type to have a boyfriend. And... neither do you, for that matter. How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Are you always accustomed to asking so many ridiculous questions?" Goten snapped, shifting uncomfortably. He narrowed his eyes at the other male, wondering if Chibi was somehow trying to mock or insult him.

"I don't think my questions are ridiculous. Besides, the best way to learn stuff is to ask," Chibi huffed.

Goten grinded his teeth for a moment, trying to get back into that space inside his head that would wash away all of his emotions. It was so easy to get aggravated with his counterpart, which was counter-productive to what they were trying to accomplish. "Why are you asking me these things?"

"You and Piccolo... That's just really interesting to me. I just want to know everything," Chibi shrugged. Before he lost his nerve, he rambled on, asking all the questions that had been plaguing his mind. "Like... How you got together, how long you've been together, what you do together, what you talk about, how the great the sex is--"

"Excuse me?!"

"What?"

"Our sex life is none of your concern," Goten fairly snarled. 'I am -not- going to suffer through more people poking their noses into my sex life. I've lived long enough with father and Gohan doing that, and I don't need anyone from an alternate dimension doing the same.'

"Well, I know, but... I still want to know," grinned Chibi. "I'll bet the sex is just fantastic. Is it? Is Piccolo good? I'll bet he is."

"Now, you listen to me," Goten said as he floated up close to the shorter but stockier male. He barely kept his anger in check as he informed Chibi in clipped tones, "You could not possibly wrap your miniscule brain around the pleasures he gives me. He is amazing. And I'm only telling you this to shut you up. I swear that if you ask a single question more about us, I will cut out your tongue and cram it down your throat. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

"Yeah," Chibi nodded, his eyes wide. Whether or not he was stronger than the royal demi-saiyajin, he knew just by looking into those dark eyes that there was no bluffing behind that threat. He was dead serious. And Chibi knew that if he continued on, he'd be just as dead, but in a different way.

"Good," Goten nodded curtly, before looking to the ground and taking off, continuing their search for the missing fighter, and dismissing the conversation for good.

***

He had searched several bars that he knew Yamcha had frequented, just from some of the photos in his album where the names where in the background or matchbooks had been lying around.

He had tried the baseball fields.

He had tried a few strip clubs.

He had even gone so far as to go see if he was at Capsule Corp with Bulma.

Yamcha hadn't been at any of those places.

Vegeta was a hunter, though, and he knew that Yamcha had to be somewhere. He growled to himself as he checked the condo one more time. Quietly, in case the ex-thief was there, he unlocked the door and strode inside. There still wasn't any sign of the human, only the distant memory of his scent, the same memory with which Vegeta had been dealing for about a year. The saiyajin prince let out a string of curses so foul the paint would have peeled off the wall had it understood the various languages.

The short male closed the door before he leaned up against it. He slid to the ground as he tried to think. 'He has to be somewhere. He doesn't have Kakarrot's damn Instant Transmission technique, so he has to be somewhere. And he's hiding there. Would he hide in plain sight, or would he go for solitude? He's... He's like a wounded animal right now. And when an animal is hurt, it goes someplace where it would feel safe. Where would Yamcha feel safe?' Vegeta sat there, racking his brain, trying to think. And then it hit him. His head shot up so fast, he put a dent in the door. "SHIT!"

Vegeta didn't even remember how he left the condo, all he knew was that he was suddenly flying at a breakneck speed to the desert. Back to where Yamcha had lived when before he had ever met any of his friends. Back to where Yamcha could truly be alone. Back to his past.

It was almost night by the time Vegeta found the place. It was well-hidden, and Yamcha hadn't been broadcasting his chi. But the human had made one mistake. There had been a small light on, and some of it spilt out of a window. Vegeta had almost missed it, but fate had intervened.

Yamcha sat in the only remaining chair in the entire place, which was fortunately the only kitchen chair he had had. He stared into the flickering flame of an oil lamp, ignoring his surroundings. He had gotten so tired of staying at Krillin's place. So tired of being there. So tired of listening to Krillin's soft laughter at his wife. So tired of them trying to convince him to try and live on. So tired of listening to how much they loved each other. So tired of... life. But he couldn't kill himself. He just couldn't. He had no qualms about it, really. For him, suicide could be an honorable out. It was just... he didn't think he deserved it.

He cursed himself mentally, tears sliding down his face. He hated it. Hated it all. But mostly, he hated that he was alone. Softly, unknowingly, he began to sing the lullaby that Geta had taught him.

Vegeta landed outside the adobe home, trying to hide his chi. His footfalls barely disturbed the dusty ground on which he walked. Before he grabbed the handle of the door, he leaned his head against the thin piece of wood to listen in, making sure that Yamcha was indeed in there and not someone else. When he heard Yamcha singing, and what precise song, Vegeta found himself swaying and had to forcibly remind himself to breathe. Taking a few deep breaths, he regained some of his composure and opened the door. The thing slid open soundlessly, only to fall with a crash after Vegeta released it. The thing hadn't even been on hinges; it had merely rested against the doorjamb.

Yamcha tore his gaze from the small flame to look at the entrance to his hideout, having to blink away brightly colored sparks from his eyes before he was actually able to see Vegeta marching in. The short prince strode into the room as if he owned the place, stopping just a few short feet from the human. Crossing his arms, he looked around the small dwelling before returning his gaze to the still sitting Yamcha. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Leave me alone," Yamcha sighed as he returned his gaze to the oil lamp. He didn't want to look at Vegeta. It hurt. It hurt like nothing should ever have a right to hurt.

"Like hell," Vegeta snapped, trying to get a rise out of the other male. It had worked in the past... Well, it had either made him angry or flustered. After a moment's pause, when Yamcha didn't say anything else, just continued to stare at the lamp, the prince growled low and said, "I asked you a question."

"And I said to leave me alone. Go away, Vegeta," Yamcha said, his voice neutral in that empty kind of way. "Just... go away."

"No." Vegeta had never heard that tone of voice from any of the humans, not even from Gohan after his father died the second time

"What do you mean 'no'?" Yamcha asked, turning to look at his uninvited guest again.

"I mean, I'm not going anywhere," Vegeta replied, his anger dropping away, though his voice still remained gruff. "Not without you."

Yamcha regarded the prince for a moment before asking, "How did they get you to help look for me, huh? What did they say? 'Cause we both know you don't give a damn about me."

"Think whatever you want. I can't stop you," Vegeta shrugged. The prince took another pointed look around. He knew he had to get Yamcha out of this... 'hole' would be an overstatement. "But you -are- coming home with me."

"I don't want to go back to Krillin's," Yamcha remarked, turning away again.

"I didn't say his house, did I?" the short saiyajin retorted. "Listen for once. I said 'home'. Your home."

Yamcha rolled his eyes in vexation, trying to figure out how to get rid of the more powerful male. "Give me one good reason why I should go with you."

"... Your plants miss you."

"What? My plants..." the human asked, startled. His head snapped around to regard the still standing Vegeta. "How did you know I had plants?"

"You'll find out. But you'll have to come with me."

"You know what?" Yamcha started, shaking his head. He returned to staring at the flickering light, trying to dismiss Vegeta all together. Wanting to dismiss the entire world if he could. "I don't want to. I want to stay here."

"No! You are coming with me whether you like it or not!" Vegeta growled, moving faster than the human could see, even at his best. And he was definitely not at his best. Still, Yamcha tried to struggle away from the shorter male, which resulted in his shirt tearing. The scarred human landed on his rump, backing up on the ground until he was away from the saiyajin who seemed to be hell-bent on getting him to leave his adobe home.

"Get the hell away from me!" Yamcha screamed, before he turned his back on the prince and ran to the opposite wall... and towards the window. He had both his hands on the windowsill and one foot propped up when a calloused hand grabbed his bare shoulder, preventing his escape by tossing him back into the room.

Vegeta had Yamcha pinned under him belly-down so that he could stare at the brand. He was sure not to put too much pressure on the human's weaker bones, but he didn't want Yamcha to get away. His breathing was slowly turning ragged as his eyes traced the symbol, and it wasn't from any physical exertion. With ease, Vegeta managed to grasp both of Yamcha's wrists in one hand, freeing up the other to trace lightly, almost reverently, at the design.

"Don't!" Yamcha hissed, struggling even though he knew it was futile. "Don't touch me."

"Human... Yamcha..." the saiyajin rasped through an almost closed throat. "Do you... realize that this is--"

"It's a lover's mark," Yamcha said. "And it was Geta's. And I said to get your hands off of me!"

"It's -MY- mark," Vegeta whispered. "It's -MY- mark, and it says that you are mine."

"I am -NOT- yours."

"Yes," Vegeta replied. "Yes, you are. You -are- mine. And as such, you are coming with me whether you like it or not, even if I have to knock you unconscious."

Yamcha stopped struggling, knowing that Vegeta had made up his mind, and about the only thing stronger than the prince's will was his muscles. "I'm not yours."

"So you say," Vegeta replied, easing up when he was sure that Yamcha had ceased his struggles. "But be that as it may, I still claim you, and you are not staying in this… hovel. It's beneath you. You are coming home. Now."

He wasn't sure that he heard the prince right. Had Vegeta actually said something was beneath him? He pushed that thought to the side, though. He knew he had heard the prince demanding he return with him, and that was something far easier on which to focus. Yamcha asked, "You're not going to let this drop, are you?"

"No."

"I can take care of myself," Yamcha said half-heartedly as Vegeta climbed off of him.

"Yes. I can see what a fine job you've done so far," snorted Vegeta. "You haven't bathed today, and I doubt you've eaten. You're a mess. You're much better than this."

The scarred human sighed and bowed his head, finally giving in completely. "All right. You win. Please, just... take me home."

The saiyajin prince nodded his head sharply then followed Yamcha out of the small house. Flying beside him, Vegeta continuously watched the other male out of the corner of his eye, just in case he changed his mind and decided -not- to return to his home. Outwardly, he kept his typical scowl, but a spark of joy enthusiastically jumped around inside him. 'I did manage to get him to come home with me,' Vegeta thought. 'Maybe this miracle business isn't so tough after all.' Studying Yamcha momentarily, he inexplicably asked him, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Sparing only the briefest of glances for his company, the slightly larger man knew his answer without hesitation. "No."

"You will."