In Your Dreams: Chapter 24

When Goku began to wake up the next morning he had a feeling something wasn't quite right. He could feel the familiar softness of his bed and blankets, but it all seemed... grittier than usual. Not only that, but his head was pounding and his mouth was dry and tasted like the ocean.

Goku opened and closed his mouth a couple of times in an attempt to get some moisture back in it, but the action only served to stir up more sand, which seemed to have packed itself between his teeth. The Saiyajin cracked open an eye and hissed when the bright morning light burned his retina and sent another spark of pain shooting through his head. He grumbled under his breath and sat up a moment later. Sand fell from his hair as he ran his hands through the strands, and when he managed to open his eyes again, it became apparent that his bed resembled a sandbox.

''My, don't you look pretty.''

Goku slowly turned his head and squinted at Vegeta, who was sitting in a chair beside the bed smirking at him. It looked like he'd been awake for awhile and the prince seemed to be in a good mood.

Goku hated him for that.

''Why is half the beach in my bed?''

The older Saiyajin looked amused as he watched the other man sluggishly wipe the gritty particles from his clothes. ''Because you thought it was a good idea to fill your clothes with sand before I brought you home last night.''

''Ugh. What a stupid idea.''

''Yeah, I tried to tell you that.''

Goku rubbed at his eyes in irritation. ''You could have stopped me.''

Vegeta nodded in agreement. ''Yes, I could have. But that wouldn't have been as much fun as it was to watch you attempt to fit the entire beach in your shirt.''

The younger Saiyajin grumbled something under his breath as he stumbled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, and though the prince didn't quite catch what it was he said, he had no doubt the venom he heard in his tone was directed at him.

---------------------------------------------------------

After a hot shower, a date with his toothbrush, and a good breakfast, Goku was beginning to feel better. His mood improved as well, and Vegeta felt it was safe to show his face again without risking bodily harm. He and the younger Saiyajin were currently sitting outside the Gravity Chamber warming up for their planned sparring session, but Vegeta wasn't focusing on his stretching. Instead, he was focusing on Goku's stretching.

The other man probably had no idea how attractive he was, and that was one of the qualities that the prince found so endearing. It was times like this, while watching Kakarotto effortlessly move about the yard in a series of flips, hand springs, and kata, that he felt his control slipping the most. Vegeta's fingers literally itched to touch that enticing body; to feel his warmth and the smooth skin that stretched over hard muscle. He wanted to run his hands through that soft hair and taste that mouth again; but mostly he wanted to pin the other Saiyajin down and ravish him completely.

''Kakarotto.''

----

Goku landed nearly silently on his feet after a series of back flips and turned to address the older man. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the fine sheen of sweat that had broken out on the prince's forehead. That was strange considering they'd only been warming-up.

''Are you ok, Vegeta? You looked flushed.''

Vegeta's tail snapped back and forth behind him. ''Kakarotto, do you remember what you told me last night?''

The younger Saiyajin tilted his head to the side as he thought, shifting through the jumble of foggy memories in his mind. Several images suddenly filled his head, and Goku blushed a dark scarlet when he recalled how he'd petted the older man's hair, used his lap as a pillow, and.... oh.

Vegeta wasn't sure whether or not he should be amused when Goku blushed and began to sputter and fidget, but it was clear that he did indeed remember the information he'd given up in his drunken stupor. That made things a little easier.

''Did you mean that?''

The younger Saiyajin's heart raced, and he could feel the prince's eyes burning into him. He began to panic as embarrassment and indecisiveness left him confused, and he blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.

''It was the alcohol! I didn't mean any of it!''

A heavy silence settled between the two men after that. Even the birds seemed to stop chirping and the wind calmed to nothing.

The hairs on the back of Goku's neck stood on end as Vegeta's eyes suddenly became shadowed and his hands clenched into fists. His mind screamed at him to run from the potential threat the man in front of him posed, but he couldn't seem to move his suddenly heavy body. The prince's ki had gone from light and airy to heavy and thick in seconds, and the younger man couldn't help but jump in alarm when those piercing black eyes snapped up to meet his own.

''So tell me then, Kakarotto. What is it you want from me?'' Vegeta's voice was icy, and Goku visibly shivered.

The smaller Saiyajin's mouth opened, but he wasn't able to get any words out. He hadn't felt an aura like this since Majin Vegeta, and he found himself unable to think about anything except how menacing his 'friend' looked at that moment.

His silence only seemed to infuriate the older man further, however, and he suddenly growled and began to shout.

''Well?! I made it clear what I want from you, Kakarotto, so what have you been doing all this time? Leading me on? Fucking with my head?!''

Goku took a step back when Vegeta took a step forward, and he raised his hands in a calming gesture. ''N---no! I just don't... I'm not....''

The prince took only a second to interpret what he believed to be the meaning behind the jumbled response, and he bared his teeth.

''If you aren't interested, THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL WASTING MY TIME?!''

''Vegeta! Please, just listen!''

''Enough! I've heard enough!'' The older man's voice suddenly lowered into a menacing growl. ''You've known damn well I've been actively pursuing you, Kakarotto; and now I find out you've been TOYING with me this entire time!''

Goku clenched his fists as his frustration reached its' peak. ''I have NOT been toying with you!!''

''Oh, but you have! Last night you told me you'd carry my cubs, and just now you told me you hadn't meant a word you said! Drunk or not, you knew EXACTLY what you were saying! You KNEW what that meant to me, Kakarotto, and you played me for a FOOL!''

''I di---'' Goku gasped and jumped away just in time to avoid being hit with a ki blast that made contact with the ground where he'd just been standing. It hadn't been powerful enough to cause him too much harm, but the fact that the prince had targeted him like that was painful all on its' own.

''Leave, Kakarotto.''

Vegeta's voice had dropped back to its' normal tone, and the fur on his tail had settled from its' previously shagged out state. His ki began to level itself out again and his entire demeanor seemed to change from aggressive to calm and controlled.

Goku was encouraged by the change and straightened from his defensive stance. He started to take a step toward the other Saiyajin.

''I said LEAVE!''

The younger Saiyajin froze again and his tail dropped behind him. ''You... You really mean that?''

Vegeta snarled and his ki jumped again. ''YES, BAKA! LEAVE AND DON'T COME BACK!! IF YOU DO I'LL MAKE SURE YOU REGRET EVER LEAVING THAT LAB!''

Goku's heart constricted painfully at the other's words, and his lip quivered as he struggled not to cry. Vegeta obviously wasn't going to let him explain, so he was only wasting his time at this point. When the older man's temper clouded his head like this, any attempt to talk things out was like waving a red flag in front of an angry bull.

The younger Saiyajin turned and took a few quick steps before launching himself into the air, and he used an extra burst of ki to propel himself high into the sky. Capsule Corp was nothing more than a speck in the distance in only seconds, and when he was sure he wasn't being pursued, he finally let his tears fall.

--------------------

He flew blindly for what seemed like hours before he finally descended to the forested area below. Goku stumbled a few steps when his feet hit the ground, and he angrily wiped away the tears that were blurring his vision. He wasn't sure why he was so upset; he hadn't done anything wrong, after all. Vegeta was the one being unreasonable and stupid.

On the other hand, Goku had been the one to start the entire misunderstanding by lying. He HAD meant what he'd said the previous night about carrying Vegeta's kids, but he'd been mortified that he'd told the prince while he was drunk. He was still so confused about his feelings toward the other Saiyajin, and his head still spun when he thought about the fact that he was capable of giving birth. The entire situation went against everything he'd learned and been told when he was growing up, and he just couldn't get comfortable with the situation.

It was so frustrating when your mind was screaming at you to do two different things.

Goku drew in a deep breath and fisted his hand in his hair. His tail lashed behind him as he glared at the ground. He'd screwed up. He'd screwed up majorly because he was too much of a coward to tell Vegeta he was afraid. Now the prince never wanted to see him again!

~''LEAVE AND DON'T COME BACK!! IF YOU DO I'LL MAKE SURE YOU REGRET EVER LEAVING THAT LAB!''~

The older man's words echoed in his head and Goku's hand moved from his hair to instead fist into his shirt when a sharp pain lanced through his chest. He gasped and stumbled before dropping to his knees.

Did that mean Vegeta would have left him in that place if he'd thought he didn't have a chance to be his mate? Is that all the prince had in mind for him? Was Vegeta really angry with him for supposedly 'leading him on' or was it because he hadn't gotten what he wanted; what he thought was entitled to him?

Did the other Saiyajin really care for him, or did he just care about what Goku could give him..... which was more Saiyajins. The latter seemed to be the more logical answer. You didn't just toss away someone you loved, even if the feelings weren't mutual.

Goku finally let out a strangled sob and curled into a ball on the forest floor. He did love Vegeta. He loved him so much this 'rejection' was hurting him both emotionally and physically.

The younger Saiyajin's heart seemed to skip into an unnatural rhythm each time he thought about what had just happened, and the pain soon became so intense that he lost consciousness completely.

-------------------------------------

Vegeta stood in the same spot staring at the sky long after Kakarotto had gone. He was so angry he was sure his blood was boiling in his veins, but soon both his temperature and temper began to cool.

How DARE that baka screw with him that way! If he truly had no interest in mating with him then he should have had the decency to tell him so rather than play on his emotions the way he had.

The prince had never known the younger Saiyajin to play such cruel games, but he'd said so himself; he hadn't meant what he'd said about carry his cubs at all! That was not something you joked about!

Vegeta snorted and turned to go back inside. He was no longer in the mood to spar. He needed to cleanse his mind of the other Saiyajin. He never wanted to see his baka face again. No one fucked with the Prince of Saiyajins, especially not some third class science experiment!

Despite his rage Vegeta still felt a pang of guilt at the thought, but he quickly brushed it aside. The only one who should be feeling guilty was Kakarotto.

As far as he was concerned, Goku was dead.

To be continie...