Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections of a King ❯ Chapter 6

Author: Cleodasia

Summary: Bardock comforts young Vegeta, as Vegeta no Ou looks on.

Warnings: A/U; Vegeta no Ou's POV; references to male/male relationships

Archiving/Comments/Suggestions/Complaints/ Ideas/Flames: You can get in touch with me at cleodasia@yahoo.com!

Thanks in advance for reading/reviewing!

After my assault on Vegeta, the next few hours took on a nightmarish quality. Frieza departed, saying that he would speak to me again soon. I saw him off, then went to find my injured son. He was nowhere to be found. He had not returned to the infirmary, and this concerned me. He was bleeding badly, and because of his small build, I was afraid that he might go into shock. I searched our quarters, Bardock's quarters, the training rooms, every place I could think of. Vegeta didn't want to be found.

Oddly, Bardock was missing as well. He had not accompanied me in the throne room that day, and no one knew where he was. All I could hope was that Vegeta had sought him out, and that Bardock was caring for the child's wounds. Finally, I found them in the gardens of the old palace. I felt guilty for what I had done, so I stayed away from them, observing from the cover of a large copse of trees. Neither was wearing a scouter, so I didn't worry about suppressing my ki.

Vegeta was sitting on a stone bench, facing away from Bardock. The guardsman was stitching up the large gash. Vegeta was talking softly as Bardock worked over his shoulder. "He hates me, " I heard my son say.

"Nonsense, he couldn't hate you. He was angry, and he lost control, " Bardock responded. He was nearly finished putting in the sutures, and his hands were slick with blood. He reached behind him to his bag and grabbed a towel. He wiped off his hands and arms. The towel was completely soaked in crimson.

Vegeta would not be consoled. The pain he was feeling was nothing compared to the damage I had done to his feelings. "It's my fault. I should not have gone in there. I just wanted…"

Bardock didn't answer for a moment. He was tying off the last stitch. He snipped the end with his scissors, and then began gently wiping away the blood from my son's back. "You wanted him to comfort you. That's his duty as a father. To be there for you when you're hurt or scared. You are the Saiyan no Ouji, and as far as I can tell, have just as much right as your father or Frieza to be in the throne room. This was no fault of yours."

"He's crazy, Bardock, " Vegeta continued, "I looked into his eyes, and I couldn't see him. Frieza has done something to him, he's controlling Father's mind."

Bardock picked up the small Ouji, and sat him in his lap. I had never seen Vegeta allow someone to hold him, myself included. I gasped, as Vegeta laid his head against my lover's chest. He looked like a child for once, and the horror of what I had done to him hit me full force. Bardock spoke gently to the boy, "Bullshit. Frieza doesn't have to do a damn thing your father. Ou is more than willing to obey. His ambitions have driven him to madness, not the changeling. But Frieza is definitely using the situation, I assure you of that."

Vegeta put his arms around Bardock's neck. "He's never hit me before, though. Spanked, yes, but he's never slapped my face. I'm telling you, I saw it in his eyes

He hates me."

Bardock kissed the small prince's hair, "Sweetheart, your father has loved you since the moment he first saw you. I think you might have seen jealousy. But there is also an intense pride of you, as well. You'll understand when you're a father."

"I'm never having any children, " Vegeta said.

Bardock just laughed at the statement. "Yes, well, I said the same thing, and now I have four boys."

"What?" Vegeta exclaimed, "Four? I thought you had three sons."

Laughing even harder, Bardock pulled the boy closer to his chest, "Turles, Radditz, Kakarrot, Vegeta. That's four, silly."

Vegeta raised his head and said tentatively, "I didn't know I was your son, too."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that?" Bardock said incredulously, "Of course you are. I've helped to raise you, haven't I? It's common for Saiyan men to raise their children together. You are my son, just as if you shared my blood."

A smile, an honest, open smile, spread across Vegeta's usually stern features. It had been so long since he had looked at me that way…my heart was filled with envy. I wanted so much to be the one holding my son, comforting him.

They sat quietly for a while, and finally Vegeta's high voice broke the silence. "Why does everyone have to bring up the fact that I'm small. That's all I hear. Small, short, little, tiny…I'm so fucking sick of it."

"Watch your mouth," Bardock said mechanically. He questioned, "If you're on the battlefield or in a training drill, and you see an opponent with a limp, what do you do?"

"You work on that…you kick `em, hit `em, whatever, " Vegeta answered.

"Exactly. It's called exploiting a weakness. You're small, that's obvious. Even more obvious is the fact that it bothers you. Sticks out like a sore thumb. And any opponent worth his salt will use that against you. Trick is, you have to learn to control your temper, or at least focus it, " Bardock said.

"How do I do that? It pisses me off when they do that, like I can help being this way, " Vegeta asked.

"First of all, you have to change your attitude towards yourself. It can be an advantage, being small. Your enemy underestimates you, and that's always good. Also, you're quicker, more agile than the average Saiyan fighter. Second, you must know what and who you are. Never forget that you are the prince. When you have nothing else, your pride will sustain you. Third, you have a razor-sharp tongue with a wit to match. You're extremely intelligent, use that. Do these things, and size will not even be a question in your battles," Bardock explained.

Vegeta nodded. I was disgusted with myself. I had never even given a thought to how my words hurt him. How everyone immediately commented on the boy's size, not his strength or his intelligence. Too, I was angry at the domestic scene laid out before me, something I rarely received from Vegeta. I came out of my hiding place, and angrily went towards the pair.

"What the fuck is this, a conspiracy?" I asked. Bardock didn't answer, just moved Vegeta from his lap and stood up. We were standing so close I could feel his breath on my face. We eyed each other, the underlying aggression was tangible.

Vegeta stood up as well, but on the stone bench so that he could see what was happening. He said, "I'm six years old, asshole, I can't even spell conspiracy."

I didn't even glance his way. Bardock raised his chin in defiance, daring me to make a move. He said dangerously, "Ou, I won't let you harm the child any more than you already have. He'll stay with me until we can get this sorted out."

"Fuck you, " I spat, "That is my son, and I'll be damned if some low-class bastard will tell me what I'm to do with my own child."

Vegeta's voice, "Here it comes. Well, I don't know about all that, Father, but I do know this. Bardock may be of a lower-class, hell, he may even be a bastard. But so am I. You've got a hell of a lot of nerve throwing that insult around."

Bardock cut him off, "Yes, I knew it would come down to this. I'm your lover, until I disagree with you, then I'm your whore."

Vegeta again, "Yes, well, you may be his whore, but I'm his new punching bag."

I stopped them, growling low in my throat, "Whatever you may be, I am the king. I command the both of you. You belong to me. Do not fuck with me."

Bardock grabbed my head with both hands and yelled, "I will kill you if you ever so much as look at that child the wrong way! Do you understand? I don't care who you are. Put me in prison, torture me, kill me, I don't care, I will protect that boy with my life. Even against his own father."

Vegeta stepped down from the bench, and pushed in between us. "That's enough. The both of you. I'm going with Bardock and that is that. If you try to harm him in any way, I will raise up all manner of hell. I'm not afraid of you. I will come home when I'm damn good and ready and not a moment before."

I relented, stepping away from them. "Fine, have it your way. I came out here to apologize to you…"

Vegeta interrupted, "Fine. You've apologized. You're very sorry, and it will never happen again. I accept your apology, now get the fuck out of my way."

I tried to stop him, but he just shrugged off my hand. Bardock grabbed my wrist. "Leave him be, Ou, he doesn't need your kind of help."

I watched them leave, and the ache in my heart was crushing. The two of them were so precious to me, yet they couldn't stand to be near me. I didn't know what to do to get them back. I couldn't control them, but I could definitely use my power to make life difficult for them. I could at least make Vegeta come back to me.

Vegeta stayed nearly a month with Bardock. When I returned later that evening, all of his things were gone. It was as if I had never had a son, like he had never been born. I saw him periodically, but I didn't go to him. I had other plans.

The third week came and went, and I was anxious to have my son back with me. Frieza was hounding me about letting the child come with him, but I still refused him. I cut orders which would send Bardock on a mission several systems away. He would be gone for a year, and in that time he would perhaps have forgiven me.

Vegeta was another story. He had a long memory, and he could hold a grudge for years. When Bardock brought him back to our quarters with his things, Vegeta locked himself in his room for five days. I was worried about him not eating, but he had a large amount of ration bars hidden in his dresser drawers. He would sneak out at night to get water, and to bathe. He refused to speak to me, and I thought I would have to him brought out of there by force.

The final morning of his self-incarceration, I woke to a loud THUMP. I could hear Vegeta cursing as usual, but his voice was coming from the floor. I called his name and he didn't answer me. I ran out and brought back one of our guards. Together, we broke in the doors. I pushed him out of the way before he could see Vegeta. The child was lying in a heap near the head of the bed. I rushed to pick him up, and oddly enough, he let me. I sat him on the edge of the bed and surveyed the damage. His knees and hands were skinned from the friction of the carpeting. His lip was busted, and was welling up blood. His nose was bleeding as well. I got a wet cloth and started to fix him up. "Does this happen often? " I asked.

He laughed harshly, "Eating carpet, you mean?" I nodded and he answered, "Only when it's cold out. My knees lock up and I just fall over."

"I'm sorry, " I said, "That you're always hurting. I wish it wasn't like that. I'm also sorry that I added to your pain. I should never have hit you like that."

Vegeta nodded, "No, you shouldn't have. But my big mouth has a way of getting me into trouble sometimes. I'm sorry, too." He hugged me, an action that shocked me. I realized that he didn't know I had sent Bardock away, and that Bardock had not told him.

"I love you, Vegeta, " I said, "I want you to know that. No matter what happens, I will always love you." He said nothing, just pulled me tighter. It wasn't his nature to speak of his emotions, but I knew that he loved me, too.

Again, we went on as before. There was an undercurrent of sadness, though, in our lives. We had changed. He never fully trusted me again, and for good reason. My first loyalty was to Frieza, now. And Vegeta was in more danger than ever. His one hope at salvation was away on a dangerous mission, thousands of light-years away, on my orders. Of course, I told myself that I had no intentions of sending the child away. Even as I was setting the stage for him to be taken from me…

To be continued