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

“Mm?” Goku opened his eyes slowly, running a hand through his hair. There was no light striking his lids, no scolding voice ringing through his ears, reprimanding him for not getting up early enough to send his sons off to school. Why was he up so early? But it couldn't be too early…no, because there was no Chi-Chi resting softly to his right. She must already be up, he decided, making breakfast for the boys so they can get to school. But it's dark…must not be any later than six.

 

He stretched out and prepared to flip over, in order to continue his snooze, but as he rolled onto his side, the reason for his early waking became clear.

 

“Vegeta?”

The prince was perched upon the edge of the mattress, gazing at the other Saiyajin thoughtfully. Goku tried to decipher the look. Vegeta's eyes seemed defiant, but hurt. “Vegeta, are you all right?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Yes, Kakarrot,” he whispered, sarcasm sharp and lacerating despite the quietness of his voice. “I showed up beside your bed in the middle of the night because I'm just fine.”

 

“That's weird,” Goku blurted.

 

Groaning, Vegeta lifted a hand to his forehead. He massaged it momentarily and heaved a sigh. “I'll just leave.”

 

“No! Wait! Vegeta!” the younger Saiyajin screamed in his loudest whisper, catching the prince's wrist.

 

Vegeta turned back to Goku, a curious, questioning gleam in his eye.

 

“Get back in the—on the bed,” he pleaded, his blush invisible in the morning yet without dawn. “Tell me what's wrong. Why'd you come? Why now? When did you show up?”

 

“I got here just as soon as I sensed the harpy getting up,” he muttered, taking a seat once more. “As for why I'm here…”

 

Goku tilted his head. It was now that he noticed Vegeta's clothing - a hastily buttoned dress shirt that almost matched his obsidian eyes, and a tight - alluring? - pair of khaki-colored pants. He was barefoot, and for once was wearing no gloves. Goku's eyes skimmed up Vegeta's body once more, and rested on his eyes. They were rimmed with red and glass, shining as if desperate to show proud tears that the prince dared not shed. And there was…a bruise on his jaw.

 

As if aware that the other Saiyajin was staring at it, Vegeta turned his head to the right, so that it was no longer visible. “I'm here because…I found the last straw.”

 

“What?” Goku complied with the impulse to move closer to the other man.

 

The prince's whisper was soft as to make a feather jealous. “Bulma kicked me out.” He lowered his head.

 

Moved by the air of shame, of humility, surrounding Vegeta, Goku placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Vegeta,” he muttered. “Why?”

 

“She overreacted…to something I said. She'll come to her senses tomorrow, or next week, but what I told her won't change. It will hover over her head like a curse.”

 

“What did you tell her?”

 

Vegeta opened his mouth to answer. He took in a breath, but before a sound parted from his lips, his eyes darted to the doorway. Without a word, he gave a short nod to Goku and disappeared behind the bedroom's closet doors.

 

“Goku! You're up! Wonderful!” Chi-Chi's eyes sparkled as she swung the door open and entered the room. “Gohan and Goten are both about to head off to school - do you want to say goodbye to them for once?”

 

Glancing uneasily back at the doors behind which Vegeta hid, and then returning to Chi-Chi's gaze with a smile, Goku nodded. “Sure! Just let me get dressed first.”

 

“Just be quick!” Chi-Chi advised him, and then took to the kitchen once more.

 

Goku cracked the closet doors open, pulling out a gi. “Let's talk about this somewhere else, Vegeta,” he addressed the man. “That way we don't have to whisper. Let's meet…remember where we sparred last week? Wait for me there.”

 

Vegeta nodded, brushing his lips against Goku's cheek before dashing to the window, glancing back one last time and then jumping out.

 

Half-dressed, Goku froze. Questions failed to ask anything that could help him answer the confusion in his mind. His heart struggled to break the prison bars of his ribcage. His hands shook madly, finding difficulty in knotting his gi sash. But, brimming with new, impatient energy, he finished the task and sprinted into the kitchen. “Hey, guys!” his voice was chipper as ever. “Good morning!”

 

“Daddy!” Goten chirped. “You're coming to show n' tell today, right?”

 

“Oh! Er…” his nervously skipping heart plummeted and doubled its pace. “Erm…that is…when is it?”

 

“First thing! You can go to the city with me and Gohan and come to school with me!”

 

Goku ran a hand through his hair. Why today? He couldn't let Goten down…but he had to see Vegeta. Something was wrong; he needed Goku's comfort…and besides… The Saiyajin tapped his cheek musingly. “Sure, son! Just gimme a minute; there's something I need to take care of first.” Without another word, he desperately searched for Vegeta's ki and teleported.

 

The prince was leaning upon a rock face, hands and forehead resting against it. As Goku paced closer, he found streaks down Vegeta's face. “Vegeta,” he breathed. “I…I promised Goten that I'd go to his show and tell today. Can we talk later?”

 

He gasped as more clear beads streamed down Vegeta's cheeks. “Vegeta?”

 

“Go ahead, Kakarrot.”

 

“Will you be all right?”

 

Vegeta didn't answer, instead turning to face Goku. “Don't be late to your offspring's show and tell.”

 

“I need your word, Vegeta…promise me you won't do anything drastic while I'm gone.”

 

A lengthy, uncomfortable span of silence ensued. “…Fine. But…allow me this one drastic action before you leave.” Not giving Goku time to respond, Vegeta leaned forward and sunk his lips into the taller Saiyajin's. Just as quickly, he pulled back. “Go!”

 

Unable to do anything but comply with the order, Goku teleported back to his home.

 

“Dad, are you all right?” Gohan questioned, slipping his Saiyaman watch over his wrist.

 

“I'm fine!” Goku replied, licking his lips unconsciously. “You `bout ready to go, kid?” he smiled to Goten.

 

“Yeah!” the child pumped a fist in the air.

 

“It's so wonderful seeing you spending time with the kids, rather than Vegeta,” Chi-Chi beamed.

 

At the name, Goku's body stiffened, but he relaxed when his mind registered t he context that went with it. However, as it did so, a mild anger shone in his eyes. “Hey, what do you mean?”

 

“He's a bad influence on you, dear. Besides, you don't need him.”

 

“But he needs me!” Goku blurted. Chi-Chi cocked an eyebrow. “I mean…I think I'm a good influence on him, Chi.” It was probably true, too. But that didn't really matter…Chi-Chi would get angry with him for saying he needed Vegeta, so he made sure to say it the other way around.

 

“Oh, I see. Well, that may be true, but you need to spend more time with your sons! Even Vegeta at least eats breakfast with Trunks. Bulma said so on the phone a few weeks ago.”

 

Goku winced. Vegeta…

 

“Do you understand me?” Chi-Chi placed her hands on her hips.

 

“Yeah,” Goku nodded, still letting the overwhelming, confusing thoughts of Vegeta sweep through his brain. First, he had shown up near tears at his bedside, saying Bulma had kicked him out. Then the kiss, and more tears, and the second kiss. Why? Why was Vegeta acting like this? He was upset, no doubt, but…

 

“Let's go, Daddy!” Goten took his father's hand, dragging him out the door.

 

 

 

Goku shifted uneasily as his son spoke about him. No, he wasn't saying anything odd, but…Vegeta…

 

“And he always takes me fishing!” Goten grinned. “And that's why my dad is the greatest!” At the applause of his classmates, the young boy bowed. Goku grinned, scratching the back of his head.

 

“I oughtta go now, Goten,” Goku tousled his son's hair.

 

“Aw, can't you stay for everyone else's show n' tell?”

“Well, I wish I could, but…”

 

“Why can'tcha?”

 

“I promised Vegeta I'd talk to him this morning.”

 

“Ooh, about what?”

 

“Well, I've gotta go find out,” he nodded. “I'll see ya later, `kay?”

 

“All right! Bye!”

 

 

 

As soon as he reappeared beside the prince, Goku threw his arms around him. “Vegeta…” he rested his head on the man's shoulder. “Now, talk to me. What…what did you tell Bulma?”

 

Vegeta leaned into the younger Saiyajin. “I…” his head sunk. He said nothing more.

 

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…but…I want to know why you got…” he lifted his hand to brush his knuckles against Vegeta's bruise.

 

“I let her hit me.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I shouldn't have opened my mouth,” he mumbled.

 

“Is that why you're so upset?”

 

Vegeta frowned thoughtfully, the shining glass returning to his eyes. “That's part of it. I just…being kicked out, it's a blow to my pride. But in practicing a little empathy, I understand why she did what she did.”

 

“Then…is there something else?”

 

“It's just too much,” he ran a hand through his hair. “I'm not ready to live through the consequences of what I blurted out at her last night. Your woman will undoubtedly find out soon enough…and…I don't want you to get hurt because of my actions, Kakarrot. And I don't want you to hear it from her, either.”

 

“What is it, Vegeta?” Goku found himself whispering, even though they were alone.

 

“You'll turn away from me. You'll…you won't be able to treat me the same, whether consciously or not.”

 

He placed his hands on the prince's shoulders, massaging them, and stroked Vegeta's jaw line with his thumbs. Goku moved his hands back to the other man's shoulders, and then let them fall, skimming along Vegeta's arms until they met the prince's hands, and gripped them reassuringly. “No matter what you say, Vegeta, I won't think any less of you. There's nothing you can say that could make me hate you.”

 

Spurred on by Goku's comforting gesture, his kind words, the tone in his voice that gave Vegeta hope, the prince exhaled slowly. He marveled at how important the third-class Saiyajin had become to him, as he considered the lengths to which the other man - unknowingly, most likely - had pushed him. “It's…it seems simple enough, but…the endless consequences…”

 

“I'll help you through it, whatever it is, Vegeta.”

 

Vegeta bit his lip, as if in pain. “I have…feelings for you, Kakarrot.”

 

“Like…what kind of feelings?” Goku muttered. He doubted his voice could be heard over his fiercely pounding heart.

 

“I told Bulma…well, we'd gotten into a shouting match over something stupid. She was yelling about how I spend more time with you than with her…and I…I spat back that…”

 

Goku breathed as deeply as he could, but felt no air coming into his lungs. “What did you say?” he whimpered.

 

“I…the exact thing I screamed back at her was… `Well, that's because I wish Kakarrot were my mate!' I…could've acted like I was kidding…but when she asked if that was true…I told her yes.”

 

“So…it is true?”

 

“She smacked me and promptly kicked me out. …Yes, Kakarrot, it's…” he choked out. A forceful hug from Goku interrupted him, but he could hardly be angry.

 

“You're right, Vegeta. There are a lot of consequences for saying something like that.”

 

Vegeta shivered. Here it comes…

 

“But one thing you don't have to worry about…is what I think, Vegeta.”

 

“…What?” Vegeta looked up, a spark of hope in his eyes.

 

“And we can fight through the rest of the problems together,” Goku whispered. He laced his fingers through Vegeta's and smiled.