In Your Dreams

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

A/N - Heeeey! Three chapters in three days! Not too shabby, right? I suppose good things do come from being sick, aside from getting to stay home from work ^.^ This chapter is extra long, so I hope you like it!

CHAPTER 23

For nearly two hours a war was waged within the waves of the ocean. Vegeta and Goku began the battle with a few seemingly innocent splashes that escalated into tsunami sized waves that threatened to carry away anyone in their path. It wasn’t long before Trunks and Goten were pulled into the chaotic water fight, and fathers ruthlessly fought against their sons in an all out aquatic brawl.

Gohan soon entered the fray in an attempt to bring peace between the two sides, but it wasn’t long before he became a casualty in the war, and after being hit by a ki generated wave, the demi-Saiyajin washed up on shore like a dying whale, spitting salty water and sand from his mouth.

After that, no one on shore attempted to stop the four battling Saiyajins, instead choosing to watch the rather impressive show from the safety of their towels.

However, eventually lunch time rolled around, and they all knew it was only a matter of time before the waterlogged men would come crawling back for sustenance, and almost on cue, Goku suddenly popped up between the rolling waves.

The Saiyajin placed his hands in the shape of a ‘T’ and called a time-out before he began paddling to shore. Unfortunately, not everyone wanted to play by the rules, and a purple head slowly trailed after the oblivious man in a sneak attack.

Bulma nudged Videl and pointed out on the ocean. “Should I warn him?”

The younger woman pondered this for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, Goku had a part in trashing my husband. Let him fend for himself.”

All eyes turned toward the shore, and the group watched the drama play out as Trunks slowly closed in on Goku, who was now wading through waist deep water. Then, as if he sensed danger, the pure-blooded Saiyajin’s wet tail bushed out behind him and he turned just in time to witness the demi-Saiyajin fly into the air.

“GAAAAHHH!”

Trunks plowed into Goku and both Saiyajins disappeared beneath the water. The thrashing tip of a black tail occasionally broke the surface, but eventually there was no movement at all aside from the churning of the ocean as the waves steadily moved in and out.

Then, just when the silence was beginning to become too thick, the ocean exploded violently. Those still sitting on shore jumped in surprise and shielded themselves as the salty water began to rain back down upon them. Videl screamed when something particularly large and heavy smashed into the sand only a few feet away from her, and she squinted her eyes against the bright sun in order to identify it.

“Trunks?”

The demi-Saiyajin groaned as he slowly sat up and tilted his head to one side in an attempt to get the water to drain from his ear.

Bulma scrunched her nose up and tossed her son a towel. “What happened? Did Goku do that?”

Trunks scooped up the towel and used it to rub the sand out of his eyes. “No. It was father... And look!” he said as he held up his arm. “He BIT me!”

“Damn right I did!” Vegeta said as he approached the group and sat down on an unoccupied towel. Goku was right beside him and didn’t hesitate to dig into the picnic basket that they’d brought along.

Bulma tsked as she opened a bottle of water and took a drink. “Vegeta, what have I told you about biting your children?!”

The older man crossed his arms. “I had a good reason this time! Kakarotto called a time-out! You can’t attack someone during a time-out!”

“So that makes it ok to BITE him?!”

Vegeta rolled his eyes and snatched a sandwich from the basket and took a bite. “I don’t know what you’re all upset about. It’s not like I broke the skin or anything.”

That’s when Goten suddenly staggered over and sat down beside his purple-haired friend. “I can understand why you bit Trunks, but why me?!” he cried as he pointed to a set of teeth marks on his shoulder.

The prince grinned and took another bite of his sandwich. “That was an accident. I thought you were Kakarotto.”

The older man chuckled when Goku began to choke.

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Goku was feeling lazy after lunch, and so he opted to sit out of the next round of ‘drown the Saiyajin’ and instead lounged on the beach with the girls. Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Goten, Yamcha, and even Piccolo were a little ways off playing an aggressive game of volleyball. It’d only been ten minutes and they’d already deflated two balls and given Yamcha a concussion.

Still, it was entertaining to watch.

“So, how do you feel about him?”

“Hmm?” Goku lazily turned his head and looked at Bulma, who was lying on her side and peering at him over the rim of her sunglasses.

“Vegeta. Do you love him?” she clarified.

“Bulma!” the Saiyajin’s eyes darted to Videl, Pan, Bra, and 18, and a blush spread over his face when he discovered that they had all heard and were now grinning at him like a bunch of hungry jackals.

Videl laughed and sat up on her towel. “Oh, come on! It’s obvious there’s something going on there. We all saw the ‘lotion incident’ earlier.”

Goku sputtered as his face took on a deeper shade of red, but he couldn’t get any words to leave his mouth.

Bra was the next one to speak up as she casually sprayed a tanning lotion onto her skin. “Yeah, daddy used to talk about you ALL the time, you know. I think he used to call you names and pick on you because he liked you. Elementary school boys do that all the time when they like a girl.”

“I’m not a girl!” Goku finally blurted out.

A sly smile spread over 18’s face as she leaned in a little closer to the Saiyajin. “But you would be the one to carry the kids, so technically...”

Bulma gasped when accusing black eyes suddenly turned on her, and she chuckled nervously.

“You told them! You were supposed to keep that to yourself!”

The blue-haired woman raised her hands defensively. “Oh, come on, Goku! It was just a little gossip among women... No harm done! That information stays between us!”

The flustered Saiyajin sat up and looked at Bra and Pan, who were whistling innocently while looking at something interesting in the sky. “Not likely...” he muttered.

Pan laughed and wrapped an arm around her grandfather’s shoulders. “So, when you have babies with Vegeta, can I help name them?”

“Yeah!” Bra added. “And try to have a girl! We need more girls!”

The group of women suddenly began to talk at once, chattering excitedly about future children. Goku could only watch in annoyed silence.

“Don’t any of you find the situation a BIT strange?”

They all fell silent and looked at him.

“It was at first...” Videl said as she tapped her bottom lip. “But you’re a Saiyajin, so what’s abnormal to us is normal to you.”

“I don’t think it’s so normal.” Goku muttered as he folded his arms over his chest and frowned.

Bulma could sense the need for a subject change, so she turned back toward the group of men killing each other with the volleyball. “Mmmm, look at all that man flesh! So hot!”

Though Goku tried to fight it, his gaze followed hers, and Vegeta was the first one his eye strayed to.

“Ah HAH!” the blue-haired woman cried triumphantly. “You looked right at Vegeta! I knew you had the hots for him!”

“Ok, everyone stop talking now!” the Saiyajin shouted as he flopped back down on his towel and shut his eyes. The women continued to snicker around him, and his brow creased in agitation. So much for a relaxing day.

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Eight bruises, four head wounds, ten volley balls, and one Namekian later, the violent game came to an end. Vegeta was declared the victor since he was the only one left standing out of all the participants, and he left the moaning and groaning piles of flesh buried in the sand as he turned and strutted back over to the group of sunbathing beauties, but only one caught his eye.

“Kakarotto.”

“Hn?” Goku raised his sunglasses and peered up at the older man, who was standing above his head.

“Come on. I need you to help me carry some ice back for the brats.”

Goku raised an eyebrow as he sat up, and a sweat drop formed on his forehead as his eyes landed on the twitching bodies of the other volleyball players. “Are they even conscious?”

Vegeta shrugged and turned to begin the one mile walk back to the shops. “How am I supposed to know? I’m not a doctor.”

The younger Saiyajin sighed and slipped on a pair of flop flops, along with a white button down shirt that he left open. He quickly hopped up and jogged after the other man, thankfully missing the ‘kissy kissy’ noises Bra made as he left.

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It didn’t take long to reach the populated boardwalk, but rather than head toward the convenient store for bags of ice, Vegeta instead headed toward the water park.

“What about the ice?” Goku asked as he followed the older man, glancing over his shoulder in confusion.

“I was never intending to bring back ice, Kakarotto. Can’t you tell when we’re ditching?”

The younger man blinked. “So we’re not going back?”

“Nope.”

Goku looked ahead as they came closer to the entry gate to the park. “But... I didn’t bring any money.”

Vegeta held up Bulma’s credit card. “It’s covered.”

“You know... you really gotta stop stealing her card.”

The prince almost looked insulted. “Well, maybe if she stopped leaving it where I could find it, I wouldn’t! Stop being such a goody goody! Now, if you keep this quiet I’ll buy you all the ice cream you want.”

“Deal.”

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The water park was turning out to be far more fun than the beach. Not only was there ice cream, but there was also the absence of a certain group of teasing women, and that made it just perfect.

Currently he and Vegeta were floating down the ‘Lazy River’ in a couple of inner tubes, simply enjoying the peace and quiet. The winding stream alternated between covered groves of plants and flowers and the open sky, changing at just the right time to keep the temperature comfortable.

In fact, they had just floated into an enclosed area when a soft splash made Goku open his eyes. He blinked and looked around for Vegeta, but only his empty inner tube remained. There were no other people on this stretch of river either.

The Saiyajin glanced down into the water, and he was just about to call out for the other man when a sudden pinch on his rear made him shriek and launch himself off his raft. Vegeta surfaced a second later, laughing at the expression on the younger man’s face as he treaded water.

“Vegeta! No pinching!”

The prince smirked. “Oh? Does that mean I can do other things?”

Goku didn’t have a chance to respond before the older Saiyajin disappeared under the water again, only to reappear behind him a second later. Strong arms wrapped around his smaller form and pulled his back against a hard chest, and Goku squirmed a little.

“Quit it! There are people coming! There’re going to see!”

“Only if you’re too loud.”

Vegeta slowly pulled the younger man backwards toward the side, and he maneuvered them until they were hidden from view behind their inner tubes. Empty rafts were common due to people getting out early, so it wouldn’t raise the suspicions of any of the passing humans.

“Vegeta, stop!” Goku said in a hushed voice.

“Shh.” The prince kept an eye on the people drifting by as he leaned in and ran his tongue over the back of Goku’s neck. He smirked when the man he held bit down on a finger to muffle his cry. Any noise now and they’d be discovered.

Vegeta slowly nipped his way along his victim’s neck and down his shoulder before latching onto a sensitive earlobe. He felt the younger Saiyajin’s tail wrap around his thigh as he shivered in response. The prince kept one arm looped around Goku’s waist, but he freely explored the rest of the body he held with his free hand, pinching a nipple and brushing against abs with his fingers.

It seemed to go on for hours, but finally Goku cracked open an eye and watched as the last of the humans drifted out of sight around the corner. He waited only a second longer before twisting around in Vegeta’s grip. The older man was a little surprised by Goku’s grin, but it turned out he was up to no good, because a moment later Vegeta yelped when a hard and sharp pinch was delivered to his own royal arse, making him lose his grip on the smaller body.

Goku laughed as he kicked away and pulled himself back up onto his own raft, using his tail as a propeller to put some distance between them. “Serves you right.”

The prince frowned as he swam forward and hauled himself onto his own tube. “You know you liked it.”

The younger Saiyajin snorted. “I hope you bruise.”

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Several hours later the sun began to set, and the two drenched and wrinkled Saiyajins left the water park in favor of strolling along the boardwalk, which was just coming to life. The many stores and restaurants along the strip began turning on their blinking and colorful lights, and a slightly rowdier crowd was beginning to gather.

Vegeta led the way into the nearest restaurant once they had air dried enough to stop dripping. Luckily the dress code was casual to suit the beach goers, so their lack of clothes wasn’t an issue. It didn’t take long for a waiter to come by with the menus after they’d seated themselves, and the prince casually ordered one of everything on the list, along with a couple pitchers of beer.

Goku wrinkled up his nose after the server dashed off with the order. “I don’t like beer.”

“Have you ever finished a whole one?”

“No.”

“Well, then you haven’t given it a chance. Any alcoholic drink tastes better after the first one.”

The waiter promptly returned and set two pitchers of the yellow drink on the table, along with two chilled mugs. “Enjoy, guys! Your food will be out shortly.”

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30 minutes later....

“Heeeeeeeey, you were right, ‘Geta! The third one IS better than the fifth!”

Vegeta raised his own mug to his lips and watched the other Saiyajin over the rim. His eyes danced in amusement as Goku set down his drink and went to work on a plate of nachos. The younger man had only had one and a half beers. He obviously couldn’t hold his liquor very well.

The prince himself was on his third, though being a seasoned drinker, he was just barely beginning to feel the pleasant buzz that came along with alcohol consumption. Kakarotto, on the other hand, was well beyond the buzz and was currently in the ‘sloshed’ category. Oh, Bulma would have his head if she found out he’d gotten her precious Goku plastered.

He needed it though, Vegeta decided. It hadn’t escaped his notice that the younger Saiyajin wasn’t as outgoing with strangers as he once was, and it was obvious he’d developed some trust issues with people. He couldn’t be blamed really; he hadn’t been able to trust anyone in years. However, now that he was loosened up a little, Goku had dropped his guard some and was even engaging people who passed too closely to their table in conversation. Granted, the conversations didn’t really make much sense, but both parties involved were amused and there was no harm being done, so Vegeta let it happen and chose to silently observe as he ate.

After his latest ‘friend’ wandered back to their own table, Goku turned his attention back to his dinner partner. He smiled brightly and scooted closer to the prince before throwing his arm around his broad shoulders, leaning heavily on him.

“Vegeta, yoooooooouuuu are quiet. Why’s that?”

The older Saiyajin chuckled and slowly pried the other’s drink from his fingers. “I think that’s enough of that for tonight.”

Goku pouted at that, but his shortened attention span quickly had him forgetting about his lost beverage. He startled Vegeta when his fingers suddenly wove into his auburn hair. “Mmm, your hair is soooo soft. Like a cat. I wanna pet it.”

The prince raised an eyebrow when the younger man wiggled into his lap and did indeed begin to ‘pet’ his hair. He wasn’t sure at this point if he should be amused or mortified. Several pairs of eyes were beginning to turn in their direction though, and Vegeta decided that now would be a good time to go.

The older man left a wad of money on the table and dragged a giggling Kakarotto out of the booth with him. He pulled one arm around his shoulders to help support the stumbling Saiyajin as he maneuvered them through the restaurant and out to the open boardwalk.

“Kakarotto, can you IT us home?”

Goku looked at him as if he were crazy before he laughed and lazily ran his hand down the other man’s face. “Silly, ‘Geta! I’d probably end up in Alaska... and I don’t want another cold.”

Vegeta sighed and went to pick up the younger Saiyajin, but apparently a drunken Goku was also a very sensitive Goku, and the simplest touch sent him into fits of laughter. The prince quickly decided that attempting to carry a squirmy Kakarotto while flying probably was not the best idea, so instead he led him back to the beach and set him down in the sand to give him some time to sober up.

The nearly full moon illuminated the empty beach beautifully, and the gentle sound of the waves drowned out any of the noise from the boardwalk. Vegeta had settled into a comfortable spot and was content to just watch the water, but Goku decided the older man’s lap would make a comfy pillow and he rolled over until his head rested on the prince’s legs. Vegeta looked down at the smiling face and couldn’t help but grin back.

Suddenly Goku’s face took on a more serious expression as he stared up into the older man’s eyes, and he brought his arms above his head to wrap them around the other Saiyajin’s waist.

“Do you really want me to have your babies?”

Vegeta nearly choked on his own spit at the abrupt change in mood and the bold question, and his body tensed up as he looked down at the other man.

“Why would you ask me that?”

Goku’s tail lazily drew circles in the sand as he spoke. “Bra wants some girls.”

The prince rolled his eyes as he leaned back on his palms and looked up at the clear sky. “I knew those women were up to no good today.”

A brief silence stretched between them before Goku spoke again, softer than before. “I’d probably do it.”

Vegeta’s eyes snapped back down to the Saiyajin resting in his lap, but the other’s eyes were closed and he had a small smile on his lips.

“Kakarotto, you’re drunk.”

A chuckle. “Yeeeaaahhh.... but I thought about it before. I’d let you do it... but you’d have to buy me flowers first.”

The prince laughed at that as he threaded his fingers through soft dark hair. “Yeah? What kind?”

“Mmm, doesn’t matter. Just not pink. I’m not a girl.”

“I’ll remember that.”

A few minutes passed and it soon became evident from the steady breathing pattern that Goku had fallen asleep. Vegeta watched him with an almost sad smile on his face. Back on their home planet Saiyajins chose their mates by strength alone. There was no ‘dating’, as the humans dubbed it. If you came across a warrior that was pleasing to your eye and battle lust, a brief courtship ensued. That usually meant a sparring match to determine who was the strongest, followed by the claiming. In fact, he remembered many instances when mates hadn’t even known each other’s names before joining together.

It seemed perfectly normal to him then, but now that Vegeta had spent the majority of his adult life on Earth, he’d developed a certain fondness of the natives’ kind of courtship. There was so much more to consider in a mate than looks and strength, and developing a bond with your chosen before the physical bonding makes far more sense. Your mate would be the one to carry on your genes to the next generation, after all, and it was important to choose carefully.

Dark eyes moved over Goku’s features as he slept, and Vegeta gently ran the tips of his fingers over the plains of his face, memorizing the angles and curves. Kakarotto was raised as an Earthling, though his first mate chose a more ‘Saiyajin’ way to claim him, forfeiting the entire ‘wooing’ process and instead skipping right to marriage. The younger Saiyajin tried to hide it, but it had been obvious for years that he wasn’t happy with ChiChi. However, his sense of responsibility and obligation kept him bound to her.

Vegeta wouldn’t make the same mistake. Though he was sure of his choice to be with Kakarotto for the rest of his life, he wanted him to be completely sure too. If that meant being patient and waiting for him to come around, then he was willing to wait around for as long as it took.

Kakarotto deserved it.


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TBC


Oooo, a drunk Goku revealed some juicy stuff! Me thinks someone's gonna have a nasty hangover though... ^.^