In Your Dreams

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


Chapter 45


The walk back to their private corner of Capsule Corp was a long and silent one. Goku hadn’t spoken since leaving the lab and Vegeta could tell from the expression on the other man’s face that his mind was working overtime. Rather than attempt to coax the younger Saiyajin into talking, Vegeta instead chose to remain quiet and simply be there by his side in case he needed any support.

Remaining calm and collected was easier said than done though. Vegeta was rather pleased with the news of Kakarotto’s pregnancy, and if his mate had been as happy about it, he would have enjoyed a celebration romp in the sheets. Unfortunately, the furrowed brow and down turned lips spoke volumes about Goku’s current thoughts on the situation.

When they’d finally made it back to their bedroom Vegeta watched as the other man silently opened the door and shuffled inside. Goku almost appeared to be in a trance as he made his way over to the bed and flopped onto the mattress with a sigh. After that he only stared up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

With a sigh of his own Vegeta shut the door behind himself and moved to his mate’s side. The other Saiyajin didn’t seem to object to his close proximity, so he took the liberty of perching himself on the side of the bed within an arm’s length of the silent man.

Black eyes studied Goku, but he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the younger man’s mood. He didn’t really look angry or even devastated as he had during his first bout of morning sickness. No, in fact, Vegeta couldn’t tell what the Saiyajin was feeling at all; and that was disturbing all on its own. This was his mate, and he should be able to read him like a book. If he wasn’t able to do so at this point, what did that say about his ability to provide for his chosen?

Apparently his increasing agitation was picked up by Goku, because Vegeta was broken out of his current train of thoughts when a soft black tail wound itself around his wrist. The tip rubbed along his clenched fist, making the older man aware of how tense he’d suddenly become.

Vegeta watched the tail’s soothing movements for a moment before turning his eyes to those of Goku’s, and he was surprised to find the younger man smiling at him. That wasn’t right though. He should have been comforting Kakarotto, not the other way around.

“I thought you’d be happy.” Goku said quietly.

Vegeta’s hands balled themselves into fists again before he could stop them, and he frowned to himself before scooting closer to the other man and placing his hand on a clothed thigh.

“I am happy. But you are not. I feel as though this was forced upon you, and I cannot be happy about this child when you are so miserable.”

Goku’s eyes widened in surprise before another smile formed on his lips; though he still seemed sad.

“What do you mean ‘forced’? Wasn’t I the one who was trying to rape you?”

Vegeta coughed as he choked on his own spit, and Goku laughed before he could compose himself enough to reply.

“I’m kidding. This is more my fault than yours.”

The older man wanted to object to that, but again the other Saiyajin stopped him before he could get a word out. Goku drew a deep breath into his lungs and drew himself up until he sat facing his mate. Large black eyes seemed to be searching his own, and despite the millions of questions floating around in his head, Vegeta could not bring himself to voice any of them. He had a feeling Kakarotto needed to tell him something important, and he remained silent in the hopes this would encourage him to do so.

Several minutes ticked by and Vegeta’s patience was finally rewarded.

Goku drew in another deep breath and let his eyes drop down and to the side. If not for his excellent hearing, the older man probably would not have heard the words that came next.

“Vegeta... I’ve been pregnant before...”

The silence that followed that statement was deafening, and for a long while all Vegeta could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat and the rush of blood flowing through his veins. His breath caught in his throat, and though he couldn’t visually confirm it, he was sure the fur on his tail was standing on end.

Goku had conceived before? When? With who?!

And then it seemed to click. Kakarotto had told him before that Villa had sent him into an artificial heat not once, but twice during his captivity. That would have opened a window allowing the younger man to conceive, so it was logical that a pregnancy could have occurred during either of these periods.

But if that is what had happened, then why hadn’t Goku said anything before? And where was the child? Had he still been in the lab? No, surely his mate would have said something if his offspring were still trapped there...

It was an eternity before Vegeta was able to speak again. “Wh---What happened?”

He couldn’t think of anything else to ask at the moment, and he nearly winced when Goku’s shoulders slumped and he seemed to flinch. The younger man hadn’t met his gaze since the last time he’d spoken, and he didn’t appear to want to do so anytime soon. That wasn’t acceptable.

Vegeta shoved his shock aside and gently took the other’s chin in his hand. He nudged the other’s head up until he finally had a clear view of Goku’s eyes, and the sadness he saw there nearly broke his heart.

“Kakarotto?”

The younger man’s lip trembled. “I didn’t even know... I had no idea until I woke up feeling so sick a couple mornings ago...It was the same as then...”

Vegeta remained silent as his thoughts drifted back to the morning he’d found Goku vomiting in the bathroom. He’d thought the heart wrenching expression on his mate’s face was connected with his newfound knowledge of the pregnancy... but now... But now he knew it was because that was the same moment Kakarotto had made the connection; that he realized he’d experienced the symptoms before.

Vegeta seemed to already know somehow that his mate’s first child was no longer alive, but he still felt compelled to ask; to get the entire story.

“Kakarotto... tell me what happened.”

Goku drew in another shuddering breath before he leaned forward and tucked his head beneath the older man’s chin. His hands fisted themselves in Vegeta’s shirt and his tail wrapped around both of them.

“I don’t remember much about ‘how’ it happened. I think it was the second time I was forced into heat. Everything was fuzzy and I lost consciousness. When I woke up I felt different and everyone was watching me so much closer. A couple weeks later I began to get sick in the mornings... and Villa kept ordering ultra sounds of my stomach and blood work. ... I thought I just had a virus or something.”

Vegeta’s eyes moved down toward the man he held when Goku stopped, and he could feel fingers tightening their grip on his shirt. He wove his own fingers into the younger man’s hair in the hopes of comforting him a little more. Maybe it worked, because Goku continued a moment later.

“I woke up in the middle of the night maybe another week after that. Sharp pains were shooting through my abdomen. They were so bad it felt like someone was stabbing me. No one was around at the time and it was dark... I didn’t know how to get anyone’s attention so I just tried to ride it out. But then...”

Again Goku paused and sucked in another breath.

“But then I started to bleed. There was so much I thought I was dying. I panicked...and that’s all I remember. They must have found me in the morning. I heard them talking about something... I heard someone say that ‘it was gone’ and that their experiment had failed.”

Goku paused and pulled away from Vegeta so he could look into his eyes. His own were filled with unshed tears. “I didn’t understand, Vegeta! I didn’t even know I was capable of... of...”

The older man sighed and pulled his mate close again. It all made so much more sense now. Kakarotto had been too young to carry before, and his body had been too stressed from both the forced heat and the premature pregnancy. The baby hadn’t stood a chance. Part of him was grateful Goku hadn’t realized what had happened until recently. He doubted the younger man could have coped with such a loss all alone. But now Vegeta couldn’t help but wonder how this trauma would affect Goku’s current pregnancy. Had his body been damaged? Would he even be able to carry this child to term? Was his health at risk if they allowed things to progress naturally?

So many questions.

Vegeta allowed his mate some time to compose himself before he spoke again. “Kakarotto... Do you want to... to try to carry this child or...”

Goku froze for a moment before pulling back to once again look the older man in the eye. His brow furrowed briefly before rising in understanding.

“I don’t... I don’t want to kill it! It’s yours, Vegeta!”

The prince frowned and ran his fingers through Goku’s hair. He struggled to choose his words carefully.

“Yes, it’s mine, but it’s your body. It could be dangerous, and I don’t want to put you at risk, Kakarotto. This is something you need to decide for yourself. I will support you regardless of your decision.”

Goku only looked at Vegeta with wide eyes. He shook his head and lowered one hand to his stomach. His fingers fisted into his shirt. “It’s yours. I won’t kill it.”

Vegeta expelled the breath of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, and he couldn’t stop the smile that formed across his lips. Despite his words he had wanted the child. However, if it came down to it and Kakarotto’s life became endangered, he wouldn’t hesitate to choose his mate over the child.

Still smiling, Vegeta placed his hands on either side of Goku’s face and drew him in for a kiss. It was gentle, merely the press of lips on lips, but it still sent a shudder through his body. At that very moment, he’d never loved anyone more in his life.

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The following week Bulma began collecting blood. The process was long and stressful for Goku, but with a little encouragement from Vegeta, the younger Saiyajin willed himself through it.

Vegeta had privately informed Bulma of Goku’s past miscarriage for the sake of safety. His mate didn’t know he’d done so, which was probably for the best, but even Bulma agreed that the experience put the current child at a higher risk. She’d definitely take extra precautions to ensure the baby and Goku were kept as healthy as possible.

The blue haired woman had already written out a diet designed to provide Goku with the proper vitamins and nutrients to sustain his body, and she’d suggested many forms of exercise that would keep him active and healthy throughout the duration of the pregnancy.

This brought up another question.

“How long do you think the pregnancy will last?” Vegeta asked. He had been standing by Goku’s side for nearly thirty minutes since they’d begun to draw his blood, and he’d been slowly drawing his fingers through his mate’s hair to keep him calm the entire time. It seemed to be working for the most part, save for the occasional twitch of Goku’s closed eyes that indicated his discomfort.

Bulma was still reading through the results of an ultra sound she had done just before drawing the blood. The printed out images clearly showed a developing baby, and based on the measurements, it was growing quickly.

“I’m really not sure. I do know the baby is growing at a faster rate than a human fetus, so I’m assuming it’ll be born sooner too. It’s just a guess, but I’m shooting for another five months, making a total of six months.”

Vegeta grinned and looked down at Goku, but it seemed like his mate hadn’t heard the statement because his eyes remained closed. His grin faded into a frown when he felt out the younger man’s energy. He was awake. Why hadn’t he even acknowledged what Bulma had said?

Unfortunately he didn’t have time to wonder about his mate’s lack of reaction, because a shrill beeping noise sliced through the relative silence a moment later.

“All done!” Bulma chirped and bounced up from her chair before making her way over to Goku’s side. Vegeta shifted so she could remove the needle from the younger man’s arm, and the moment the piece of metal was gone, Goku’s eyes popped open and he sat up.

“Whoa, easy. We just took a pint of blood, so you might be dizzy.” Bulma said. She kept one hand on Goku’s back and pointed to a table with the other.

“Vegeta, can you get that glass of orange juice and cookies? It’ll help him replenish the blood we just took.”

He nodded and moved across the room to retrieve the objects. It looked like Goku was fine now. He was even smiling and had just laughed at something Bulma had said. Maybe he’d simply been in a trace before in order to deal with the needle and hadn’t actually heard what had been said.

Regardless, he’d have to keep a sharp eye on him and report any suspicious behavior to Bulma. There was a lot at risk here, and Vegeta wanted Goku healthy, both mentally and physically.

The prince picked up a napkin holding three cookies and a glass of orange juice, and he returned to the other Saiyajin and handed them to him. Goku waited until Bulma had placed a band-aid over the small hole in his arm before eating the snack.

Vegeta folded his arms and shifted his weight to one side as he eyeballed the other man. There was a question that had been plaguing him for awhile now...

“How will he give birth?”

Bulma jumped when Goku suddenly choked on a cookie he’d been swallowing, and she patted him on the back and chuckled as he gasped for air.

“I’m not sure. My first thought is a C-section, but you never know; Goku’s body might have a way of its’ own. Maybe that will become more apparent the closer he gets to his due date.”

The answer didn’t really satisfy Vegeta, but he let it slide. He couldn’t really expect Bulma to know the answer anyway. Still, if Kakarotto’s body had the natural ability to conceive, then logically there should be a way for him to give birth naturally.

Regardless, Goku was suddenly looking very pale, and Vegeta had a feeling his lack of color was due more to his question than the lack of blood. Perhaps it was time to change the subject.

The prince moved forward and took the younger man’s arm, gently helping him down from the table. “Come on, Kakarotto. You’re going to need more than a few cookies if you want your energy back.”


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TBC