In Your Dreams

Title: In Your Dreams
Pairings: Vegeta x Goku
Author: CrimsonTide


Chapter 20


As the adrenaline that pumped through his body finally began to subside, the fridged temperature of the air around him began to take its’ toll. Goku, still kneeling in the snow, shivered almost uncontrollably as a particularly strong gust of wind ruffled his hair and chilled him to the bone. His wet clothes did nothing to warm him, nor did the people arguing around him.

“Some rescue squad you all turned out to be!” Vegeta shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at the group in front of him. “First you leave us to be burned alive and THEN you nearly drop a plane on our heads!”

Piccolo, who was still in a foul mood due to the abuse that had been inflicted upon his ears, growled and came nose to nose with the fuming prince. “Shut it, short stack! If not for us you’d both still be a couple of lab rats! And speaking of botched rescue missions, what the hell did you think YOU were doing, huh?!”

Goku rolled his eyes as the two continued to shout over the wind, though he could hardly hear them over the chatter of his teeth. In fact, he’d become so focused on trying to warm himself up that he didn’t even notice Trunks by his side until the demi-Saiyajin draped the coat he’d been wearing over his shoulders. He looked up at the younger man and smiled his thanks, and he received a nod in return.

Goku had just pulled himself to his feet when a sudden gun shot rang out. The Saiyajin jumped and squeezed his eyes shut in a natural reaction. Vegeta and Piccolo had fallen silent, and when he opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find Trunks’ enclosed fist directly in front of his face. The demi-Saiyajin opened his palm a second later, revealing the still smoking bullet that would have otherwise pierced his skull had he not caught it.

There was a moment of stunned silence among the group before Vegeta managed to tear his wide eyes away from the younger man in favor of finding the person responsible for the attack.

“There!” Gohan pointed to a figure in the distance just before it disappeared behind a snow bank, and Vegeta was the first to tear off after them. The rest were quick to follow, but Piccolo held up his arm as a sign to halt. All eyes turned to him in question.

“Let Vegeta take care of this.”

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Despite still having his ki restrained by the bands around his wrists, Vegeta’s anger and determination to catch Kakarotto’s would-be killer granted him the speed he needed to close the distance between himself and his target.

The man he was chasing after had spotted him already, and his movements were becoming sloppy as panic and fatigue began to overtake him. This brought a smile to the prince’s lips. Apparently he wasn’t so tough when it came down to it.

With an added burst of speed Vegeta dove forward and tackled the man to the ground. Their momentum caused them to tumble down another snow bank, and the prince managed to pin the man below him as they slid to a stop. For the first time since he gave chase Vegeta was able to look him in the eye, and another wave of fury overtook him when he recognized that face.

Dr. Villa.

The scientist was covered in dirt, mud, and blood. His glasses were missing and his normally perfectly combed hair was unkept and sticking out in all directions. He panted heavily as he glared up at the Saiyajin who pinned him.

Vegeta snarled as he balled his fists into the man’s shirt and roughly slammed him into the frozen ground. “You fucker! You tried to kill Kakarotto!”

Dr. Villa laughed bitterly. “No, I tried to kill you. Unfortunately, I’m not the best shot without my glasses.”

The prince violently slammed his fist into the other man’s face. An audible ‘crunch’ was heard as his cheekbone fractured, and he spat blood into the snow. The scientist went to raise the gun he still clutched in his hand, but Vegeta easily knocked the weapon from his grasp.

“I’m going to make you suffer for what you put Kakarotto through. I won’t give you the luxury of a quick death.”

For the first time fear flashed through Dr. Villa’s eyes as the seriousness of his situation finally hit him, and he began to struggle to free himself from the Saiyajin’s hold. Vegeta laughed at his pointless struggles as he grasped the man’s flailing hand and slowly began to break each of his fingers, one by one. The screams that accompanied each snap of a bone sent chills of excitement down the prince’s spine, and his tail waved back and forth behind him like a predator’s would when they were particularly pleased with themselves.

It wasn’t long before all ten fingers were broken and mangled. Dr. Villa drew gasping breathes through his blue lips, and Vegeta was able to pick up broken pieces of what sounded like a beg for mercy. Fire flashed in his eyes as he began to rain blow after blow down on the dying man.

“Bastard! How many times did Kakarotto beg for mercy?! Did you grant him that?! No! You continued to torture him for your own amusement, and I will do the same!”

Vegeta spat out curses as he pummeled Dr. Villa without mercy. The snow around them slowly turned pink as it became saturated with blood. Screams of pain became nothing more than strangled gurgles, and still the prince didn’t think his suffering was enough. He wished he had access to his ki; then he could really show the man the meaning of pain.

Vegeta drew deep breaths in as he examined the mangled mess that used to be a human being. It was impossible to tell at this point if he was even conscious, let alone alive. However, the blood that continued to pump from his wounds was evidence enough that the man’s heart still beat. The Saiyajin gathered the rest of his waning strength and fisted his hand in Dr. Villa’s torn shirt, pulling him upright for the next round of pummeling.

However, before he could even draw back his fist, another shot rang out and a hole appeared almost directly between Dr. Villa’s eyes. Blood and small bits of brain matter spattered in all directions. Vegeta’s own eyes widened as the body he held became dead weight, and he looked over his shoulder as he dropped the bloody burden.

“Kakarotto?”

Goku stood several feet away, still pointing the smoking gun he held at Dr. Villa. The murderous expression on his face almost made Vegeta shiver, but in the blink of an eye, the cold expression was gone and replaced with one of relief. Goku lowered the gun to his side and smiled at the prince as the older man slowly trudged to his side.

“Well, I guess he was yours to kill anyway. Still, I could have drawn that out a little longer.”

The younger man shrugged and turned to begin back toward the group, who were waiting for them several yards away. Bulma had arrived with the van, and she waved at them through a window and motioned for them to hurry up.

As they closed the distance between them, Vegeta noticed that there was one extra body among the others. His eyes narrowed and a low growl left his throat. It was the man who had helped them escape from the cages. Still, he had been involved at the lab, and that couldn’t go unpunished.

The prince paused when Goku placed a hand on his arm, and he turned to look at his fellow Saiyajin. The younger man shook his head and made a calming gesture to indicate that the man was no threat and was to be left alone.

Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms. “For now. I want an explanation later though, and then I’ll decide if he lives.”

Goku let out an exasperated sigh, but they’d reached the van by now, and he and Vegeta stepped inside behind the others who had already piled inside. The younger Saiyajin sighed as the warm air washed over him, and he threw himself down on the nearest chair as he felt the last of his energy drain away.

Bulma was at his side in an instant. “Gohan, you drive us out of here while I check these guys out.”

The demi-Saiyajin nodded and took his place behind the wheel. Everyone else found a place to sit as the vehicle slowly began to drive back home.

Bulma looked down at the shivering man in front of her, and she frowned when she noticed that his clothes were literally dripping wet. “We need to get you out of those clothes, Goku.” The woman went to take off his coat, but the flash of metal caught her attention. Her blue eyes moved to the gun the Saiyajin still clutched in his hand.

“Goku... you can let go of that now...”

Black eyes opened and looked at the weapon he still held, and Bulma soon realized that he actually needed help putting it down. She carefully pried his fingers off of the handle until she was able to take the gun and set it aside, and she vigorously rubbed his nearly frozen hand between her own in an attempt to bring some warmth back into his flesh.

By the time she managed to get the blood flowing back into the appendage, Goku had fallen asleep. Bulma sighed and looked at Vegeta, who was trying his best not to show that he was just as cold as the other Saiyajin.

“I’m going to need your help.”

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It took several hours to get back to Capsule Corp, but by the time they’d arrived, everyone had changed into dry clothes and were well on their way in the de-frosting process. The ki bands had also been removed, much to the prince’s relief. However, Vegeta had been less than thrilled when Bulma had brought out a familiar orange and blue gi for Goku to change into. Apparently she’d come across a smaller sized one the younger man had worn when he was a teenager, and she thought it’d be the perfect thing to bring along. Frankly, the prince was eager to see the other Saiyajin out of it.

He himself had changed into a simple pair of black gi pants and a wife beater. The human they’d brought along, Dr. Yoshima, had been given a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Goku had remained asleep for the entire trip back the Capsule Corp, so the prince took the opportunity to drill the man about his involvement in the lab. Apparently Dr. Yoshima had been just as much a prisoner there as Goku had been. The man claimed that he’d been forced to work there, and had been banned from leaving the lab or even contacting anyone outside. He’d had no access to any phones or computers. Many of the other scientists had been in the same situation; all had been forced to work under Dr. Villa and his henchman. The man had been paranoid about information leaking about the Saiyajins, so once you were in, you were in forever.

Dr. Yoshima seemed genuine enough, but Vegeta refused to let him leave until Goku confirmed his story to be true. Until then, he’d be a ‘guest’ at Capsule Corp.

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It wasn’t until several hours later, after the sun had gone down, that Goku had finally woken up. He confirmed Dr. Yoshima’s story and the man was allowed to leave. The scientist apologized to the Saiyajin for everything before he departed, promising to never expose or speak of what had occurred over the years. Vegeta was hesitant to let him leave, but Goku insisted he be let go.

The prince only rolled his eyes and handed the younger man a senzu bean once the human was gone. “Here. No reason to walk around looking like a crash test dummy.”

Goku grunted in agreement and popped the bean into his mouth. The wounds on his legs and hands instantly healed, as did all the bruises and scrapes he’d acquired out in the blizzard. He was also slightly surprised to feel his ki return to him. He’d gotten so used to having his energy drained during his confinement to the lab that he’d expected to have to start over again in his training like the last time. Dr. Villa had learned early on that a Saiyajin’s ki increased each time he healed from an injury, so rather than keep restraints on him, the man had built a machine capable of literally draining the energy from his body. He was then able to convert the ki into usable energy to power his lab. Goku always found it ironic that the machines that they used to torment him were actually functioning on his own power.

Vegeta grinned as he watched the younger man’s wounds heal, and he reached forward to begin unraveling the now useless bandages on the other’s hands. “That’s better. Now you just look like a dummy.”

The prince chuckled at the low growl he got in response to his comment, and he wound his hand around Goku’s wrist when the younger man tried to pull away. Their eyes met and all anger drained out of Goku when he saw the expression on the older Saiyajin’s face. He could clearly see lust in those eyes, but if he looked hard enough, he could also see relief, happiness, amusement, and maybe even love.

That last one threw Goku off guard, and his tail lashed around behind him as he became nervous. Now that the pressure was off, the younger man wasn’t sure he wanted to hop in bed with the prince; not so soon anyway. He was sure he had feelings for Vegeta, but he was still confused by it and he suddenly felt a certain obligation to the other Saiyajin. He didn’t like that feeling because it was the same feeling he had with ChiChi. He didn’t want to become trapped in a relationship he didn’t want again.

Vegeta seemed to sense the conflict going on in Kakarotto’s mind, and he placed his hands on the other’s shoulders and gave him a small shake to break him out of his thoughts. He waited until Goku’s eyes met his own again before speaking.

“Don’t feel like you owe me anything, Kakarotto. I don’t expect anything from you. If I haven’t been clear about my intentions, then I will be now. I want you. I want you as a lover; as a mate. However, I will not force the issue on you. Just know that I can provide you with anything you need and want, and if I haven’t proven it already, I’d do anything for you.”

Goku blinked owlishly as he absorbed the older man’s words. The hands on his shoulders moved up to run through his hair before they left his person altogether, and the Saiyajin could only watch as Vegeta cast him one last look before turning and walking away. Goku watched him until he’d left the room, and he stumbled over to the couch and heavily collapsed on it as his knees went weak.

He had a lot to think about.


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TBC

A/N: Let the wooing begin! WOOING!!!

You guys have been wonderful with your reviews and as I stated before, I love you all for it ^.^ I know a couple of you have asked about crossovers, but I must admit I'm not a huge fan of them... ^.^; I most likely won't be writing any, but I'll certainly point you in the right direction if I find any good ones!

Also, many of you have been contacting me on DA asking if it would be alright if you drew some fanart based on this story. My response.... OF COURSE! I'd LOVE to see it! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :P