In Your Dreams: Chapter 35

Goku ended up sleeping the entire night at ChiChi's house. The storm had shown no signs of stopping, so his ex had insisted he stay put until morning. He'd resisted at first, feeling a little awkward staying in the same home, but he'd been tired, and he'd finally given in the moment he looked outside and saw the howling wind and freezing rain.

Goku had woken up early that morning. He'd slept heavily and he felt much better than the night before. He was sure Vegeta was wondering where he was, so he decided it was time to head home.

Drawing a deep breath into his lungs, Goku sat up and pushed the heavy quilt that covered him aside. ChiChi had set him up in Gohan and Goten's old room. She hadn't changed a thing from the last time he'd seen it; which was years ago. Being surrounded by such familiar things had been nice and had brought back many good memories. Maybe that's why he'd slept so well for once.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Goku glanced at the edge of the bed and smiled when he saw his outfit from yesterday neatly folded there. ChiChi had given him a spare pair of night pants and had insisted he let her wash and dry his still damp and slightly muddy clothes. Now, as he slipped into the clean and soft garments, he was glad he'd let her have her way.

Once he was fully dressed and had slipped his boots back on, the Saiyajin quietly opened the bedroom door and peered down the hallway. The master bedroom's door was still closed, and Goku couldn't hear any movement from within. Obviously ChiChi and Victor were still asleep.

He carefully tip toed down the hall and slowly made his way down the stairs, taking care to skip the steps he knew would squeak. When he reached the bottom he quickly padded to the front door and slipped outside, silently closing the door behind him with a nearly inaudible 'click'.

Goku felt his entire body relax as soon as the cool morning air hit his skin. The breeze carried a sweet and fresh scent along with it; something he only noticed after a heavy rain. The Saiyajin, now wide awake, took a few small steps away from the house before launching himself into the air. A small grin spread over his lips as his thoughts turned to Vegeta. He felt he owed the older man an apology. His mate's intentions had been nothing but good, and Goku had doubted his loyalty from the beginning. It wasn't fair. Granted, he wasn't as trusting of others as he had once been, but still, he needed to make it up to Vegeta.

And he would.

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Vegeta had spent the night tossing and turning, and he continued to do so well into the morning. More than once he'd caught himself reaching for Kakarotto, only to have his hand fall onto the cold sheets beside him. The lack of a warm body left him irritable, and he'd spent the majority of the night grumbling to himself.

The sun was already beginning to rise on the horizon when the prince finally began to drift off again. Alas, it was not meant to be, for just as he was about to fall into that blissful oblivion, someone rudely hopped into the bed and comfortably settled themselves on top of him.

Vegeta's brow twitched and his hands had already begun to ball themselves into fists with the intent of bashing the offender over the head, but a familiar scent washed over him a second before he threw the first punch.

Instead a deep rumble erupted from his chest and Vegeta wrapped his arms around the lithe body on top of his own. He heard Goku chuckle, most likely because of the tickling sensation the vibrations from his purring caused.

Without opening his eyes, Vegeta tangled his fingers in soft hair and pulled his mate down for a kiss. The younger man's lips yielded to his own immediately, and his purr increased as his tongue explored the other's mouth, delighting in the sweet flavor that was uniquely Kakarotto.

The prince gave Goku's bottom lip a small nip before releasing his mouth completely, and he arched his neck when the other man began to suck on his earlobe.

''Kakarotto... where have you been?''

The smaller man didn't respond for a moment, seemingly reluctant to release the sensitive bit of flesh he was currently torturing, but a slight tug on his hair made him stop.

''I went to see the boys yesterday and got caught in the storm. I stayed over at ChiChi's.''

''Ngh.'' Vegeta grunted and tilted his head back when a hot tongue began to lavish the skin along his throat. ''You should have called.''

A low chuckle. ''Were you worried?''

Finally the prince poked open one eye and looked down at the man on his chest. Goku was grinning back at him and his tail was swishing back and forth behind him.

''Hn. You're a big boy, Kakarotto. I just would have found someone else to sleep with in your absence.''

Vegeta nearly laughed when the younger man's expression changed from amusement to disbelief, but before he could protest, the prince rolled them over and settled himself down comfortably on the smaller body.

''Quiet. I didn't sleep well all night without you here. I'm going to make up for that now.''

Goku squirmed and whined. ''But I'm not tired!''

Vegeta only tightened his grip. ''Tough!''

The other Saiyajin huffed in annoyance and glared at the ceiling.
''....Can we at least spar later then?''

The prince grunted only once before drifting off to sleep and Goku decided that that was a 'yes'. He grinned at his mate and ran his fingers through the flame of hair. So Vegeta couldn't sleep without him? That was interesting.

For a long while Goku let his thoughts wander, but inevitably he too succumbed to sleep, lulled by his mate's soft snores and nearly inaudible purr.

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''Vegeta, you're holding back!''

Goku growled in frustration as he batted aside a weak energy blast and rolled to side to avoid a slow punch. His tail lashed behind him as he propelled himself at the older man and threw a series of punches, all of which were blocked or thrown aside. The younger Saiyajin went to throw another punch, but at the last second he opened his fist and delivered a ball of ki directly at the prince's face. With his opponent temporarily blinded by the sneak attack, Goku dropped to the ground and swept Vegeta off his feet with an outstretched leg. He pounced on top of the larger man the second he hit the ground and threw one last punch, which he stopped only a hair's width from his mate's face.

Goku glared down at Vegeta and dug his knee into the prince's ribcage, making him wince.

''You're toying with me!''

The older man sighed and gently pushed the shaking fist away from his face. The younger Saiyajin huffed and pulled himself back to his feet before folding his arms over his chest in a very 'Vegeta-like' gesture. He was clearly waiting for an explanation.

''Kakarotto, I'm not toying with you.''

''Then what is this?! Pan gives me a better spar than you do! You... You aren't even raising your ki to match mine!''

Vegeta slowly walked over to the control panel and switched off the low gravity he'd set. The slight pressure on his body was suddenly lifted and the lights within the chamber faded from a dark red to a more natural yellow light. He tapped his fingers against the cold steel for a moment as he struggled to come up with a believable explanation for his poor performance, but apparently he was taking too long.

''Vegeta! Answer me! Is it because you don't want me to get any stronger? Are you enjoying this or something?!'' Goku paused for a moment to wait for an answer, but when none came, he continued his rant. ''You ARE! You don't want me to reach Super Saiyajin again, do you?! Damn it, Vegeta! If that's the case then I'll just go spar with Goten or Piccolo until you get over your ego tri---''

''You can never be a Super Saiyajin, Kakarotto!!''

Goku, who had been in mid-stride on his way to the door, froze. Vegeta turned to face him just as the younger man whipped back around.

''What do you mean by that?''

The prince drew a deep breath into his lungs and lowered his voice before speaking again. This wouldn't be easy for the other Saiyajin to hear.

''Kakarotto, when you suffered that heart attack awhile back Bulma did a full examination on you while you were unconscious. Villa did a number on your body. Your heart is extremely weak and your immune system is about as strong as a normal human's now. You cannot physically handle the power that comes with being a Super Saiyajin. Your body would be burned from the inside out.''

Vegeta paused for a moment to gauge Goku's reaction to the news, but the other Saiyajin was only staring at him in disbelief.

''It's the same as when you first began to show signs of the heart virus; the moment you went Super Saiyajin to face the androids your body began to fail. It couldn't handle that kind of power in its' weakened state... and it can't handle it now. It never will. The damage is permanent, Kakarotto...''

Vegeta trailed off as Goku's expression fell. The younger Saiyajin's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He seemed to be in shock.

The prince took a few steps forward to close the distance between them and placed his hands on the other's shoulders. ''That's why I haven't been pushing...I didn't want you to reach a level your body couldn't handle...''

For a moment Goku didn't say anything, so Vegeta was surprised when angry eyes turned on him and his hands were shoved away. ''So when were you going to tell me?! Why didn't you or Bulma say anything?!''

The older man frowned. ''You were dealing with enough as it was.''

For a long moment the younger Saiyajin only stared up at Vegeta. His mind was racing, though whatever his thoughts were, he didn't seem ready t voice them just yet. Instead, Goku spun away from his mate and stormed out of the Gravity Chamber.

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''I had a right to know!''

Bulma sighed as she watched Goku shuffle through all the medical files she'd gathered on him. He was angry, and he had a right to be. However, she only wished he understood her intentions had been good.

The Saiyajin's grip on the papers tightened as he read through them, and he finally slammed them down on the table and glared up at the women with shimmering and angry eyes.

''I had a right to know, Bulma...'' he repeated, though this time his voice was strained and it cracked in mid-sentence.

''Yes, you did have a right to know. I'm sorry, Goku.... I was going to tell you when the time was right...''

''And when was that going to be? Were you going to wait until I fell over from a heart attack before you said 'oh, by the way...'''

''Kakarotto...''

Vegeta's warning tone made Goku turn his head toward his mate, and the younger man sneered at him in a way the prince had never seen before. ''I bet you're eating this up, aren't you, Vegeta? I'm finally stuck with a third class power level to match my third class status.''

Bulma caught the slightly hurt expression that flashed over Vegeta face for only a second, and she felt her own temper flaring.

''Goku, that's enough!''

Both Saiyajin's paused and looked at her in surprise.

''I know you're upset about this, but that's no excuse to take it out on us! We were only trying to protect you and we still are! Stop throwing this temper tantrum and get it through your thick skull that our intentions were good!''

A heavy silence fell over the room after that, and Goku swallowed hard before dropping his gaze to the floor. His tail dropped behind him and the tip curled inward just a little, like a dog's would when he was reprimanded.

Vegeta went to move forward to comfort the man, but the younger Saiyajin raised a hand to stop him.

''No, she's right.'' His voice was small and lacked any of the anger he'd previously displayed. ''I'm sorry.''

Both Bulma and Vegeta watched as the younger man turned and left the room, and it wasn't until the door clicked shut behind him that the prince turned accusatory eyes on the woman.

Bulma shuffled her foot and her expression was full of guilt. ''Don't look at me like that... I didn't know he'd get that upset.''

Vegeta rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and took a deep breath. ''You'd better get your mother.''

''Hm? What for?''

''So she can start cooking. The only thing that can get Kakarotto to stop moping is a good meal.''

Bulma's eyes lit up and she nodded. ''I'm on it!''

To be continue...