In Your Dreams

Title: In Your Dreams
Pairing: Vegeta x Goku
Author: Moi

A/N - Sorry this chapter is a little shorter. My doctor says I'm not supposed to even be typing for the next couple days due to a sudden flare up with my carpel tunnel.... but I listen to NO ONE! However, this was all I could manage today ^.^' Next week will be longer, I promise!

Chapter 56

It took another several days for Goku to fully heal from giving birth, and though he was still feeling sore by the sixth day, he was determined to do a little training to stretch his muscles. The Saiyajin was pleased to see that his stomach had already flattened back out on its own, and he didn’t have any of the dreaded stretch marks Bulma had described to him. The woman had been a bit miffed by his ‘stroke of luck’ as she called it, but he wasn’t going to feel badly about it. He’d already developed an unhealthy amount of insecurities, and he didn’t need to add another to the list.

Everything continued to go well with the baby. She was growing like a weed and had already reached the size Trunks had been when he was born. However, the growth spurts were leaving the tiny Saiyajin cranky, and as a result Vegeta was once again spending the majority of his time in the nursery with her. Goku understood, of course, but he was beginning to feel a little neglected himself again. Yes, his mate was sleeping in the same bed again, but that was about it. Aside from the occasional peck on the lips or stroke of the hand, there hadn’t been much physical intimacy between them.

Well, he’d fix that today.

Goku’s lips curled into a small smirk as he pulled on white Saiyajin-style boots with golden tipped toes, just like Vegeta used to wear. He’d also donned a pair of skin tight black spandex pants and a matching tank top. He usually didn’t care for such restrictive clothing, but he was trying to get noticed here.

The Saiyajin strutted over to the full length mirror sitting in the corner of the room and placed his hands on his hips as he studied his reflection. He twisted from side to side and swished his tail around his legs as his eyes took in every detail, and it was only after several minutes of scrutiny that he smiled to himself and nodded his approval. Now all he had to do was work up a sweat and Vegeta would be like putty in his hands.

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An hour later Goku was indeed sweating, as well as breathing heavily through his mouth as he twisted and flipped around the Gravity Chamber. He’d set the gravity at only two times Earth’s normal level, but his muscles still burned and screamed in protest. Apparently the pregnancy had taken more out of him than he thought. The Saiyajin felt just as out of shape as he had when he’d first trained after returning home from the lab.

Despite the minor setback though, the exercise felt good. The stitches along Goku’s stomach had all but dissolved, and the healing flesh showed no signs of tearing again. His blood pumped heavily through his veins, and his skin flushed pleasantly against the steadily warming air around him.

After stilling for just a moment to catch his breath, Goku sucked in a lungful of air and quickly spun on his heel as he threw out his left arm to strike an invisible enemy, but a sudden splash of color caught his eyes, and the Saiyajin gasped and shifted his weight in order to stop his forward momentum.

His closed fist stopped just short of Vegeta’s nose.

For a long moment neither man said a word, and Goku blinked himself out of his stupor and pulled his fist back as he straightened and relaxed his stance. For some reason the older Saiyajin didn’t look happy, and he wasn’t sure why.

“Baka!”

Goku almost flinched as the insult was spat at him, but he managed to avoid it at the last moment, choosing instead to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Vegeta growled in annoyance and grabbed the smaller man’s wrist before he turned and dragged his baffled mate outside and back toward Capsule Corp. “You were supposed to feed Momoku nearly a half hour ago! You should know the schedule by now!”

Goku frowned and suddenly dug his heels into the grass to prevent the other Saiyajin from pulling him any further. The older man paused and snapped his head around to glare at the younger man, but Goku was ready for him.

“Why didn’t you just come get me?!”

“You’re a big boy, Kakarotto! I shouldn’t have to remind you of these things! You may have gotten away with this crap with your other children, but not this one!”

Ouch.

Goku was so surprised by the other man’s words that he hadn’t even realized he was being pulled forward again until he was inside Capsule Corp. The younger Saiyajin quickly regain his composure and tore his wrist from the other’s grasp with a snarl. His sudden change in mood must have surprised the prince to a certain extent, because he paused in mid-step and looked at his mate with a raised eyebrow.

“I can walk, Vegeta!”

The older Saiyajin’s expression immediately morphed back into that of annoyance and he pointed toward the stairs. “Then get your ass up there and feed your daughter!”

Goku’s tail bristled and his fists clenched at his sides as his anger bubbled to the surface, threatening to spill over if one more word was said. Thankfully, Vegeta chose to remain silent as he stomped past him, and even better, the older man did not follow.

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Goku was still seething when he reached the nursery, and he paused in the entryway and gripped the doorframe as a small whimper drifted from the crib. Momoku could obviously sense his foul mood, and he was determined to calm himself down before he even touched her. It wasn’t her fault Vegeta was an ass.

The Saiyajin drew several deep breaths of air into his lungs in an effort to calm himself, and though he was able to eventually relax his knotted muscles, he could still hear the wooden doorframe cracking under his grip.

“Vegeta being a little disagreeable?”

Goku gasped and jumped violently as his eyes shot up from the spot they’d been focused on, and they immediately darted to the being sitting in the corner of the room.

Victor was sitting there with a soft smile on his face as he rocked in a chair silently. The Saiyajin was shocked that he hadn’t sensed him, but then again, his attention had been elsewhere.

The younger man sputtered incoherently before he was able to form any words. “What... what are you doing in here?” Goku’s eyes moved from the man to the crib that held his daughter before moving back again.

Victor shrugged his shoulders casually. “ChiChi is downstairs visiting with Bulma. I got bored with their conversation pretty quickly, so I decided to come see the baby. I’ve heard so much about her I wanted to see her for myself.”

Goku watched intently as the other man suddenly stood and crossed the small space to the crib. He smiled down at the infant and placed his hands on the railing. “She’s got a powerful set of lungs on her. I’m sure she’ll be strong.”

Despite his relatively friendly history with the man, Goku felt a sudden surge of panic wash over him as Victor leaned over his child and reached into the crib to rub her back. Momoku squirmed and let out a small whine under his touch, and the distressed sound triggered something inside the Saiyajin that had him moving to her side in an instant.

Faster than either of them could even register, Goku had scooped up the baby and was now cradling her protectively against his chest. A small coo bubbled from Momoku’s lips and her tiny tail immediately wrapped itself around his wrist. Goku’s own tail remained slightly fuzzed as he took a step back from the crib to place more distance between himself and Victor.

The other man didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he didn’t even appear to acknowledge the protective behavior and continued on as if nothing had happened. “Try not to let yourself get too flustered by Vegeta. He’s stressed out right now. Bulma said he acted the same way when Trunks and Bra were born, though he wasn’t quite as ‘hands on’ as he is with Momoku there.”

Goku frowned a bit. “What’s he stressed about? He’s not the one who had to give birth or...” The Saiyajin blinked and looked down at his chest as Momoku’s fingers ran over his shirt and her mouth latched onto the material in an obvious effort to suckle. His face turned red immediately as he became more aware of the other man’s eyes on him. “...or nurse...”

Victor, however, didn’t seem affected by the unusual circumstances. “No, but you must remember Vegeta’s past. Before he came to Earth he lost everyone he might have considered close to him; including family members. Despite living in relatively peaceful times, he’s always going to have that subconscious fear of losing people he loves. As a result he’s become extremely protective, which, as you’ve already begun to see, can be a little overwhelming for everyone involved. He uses the first emotion that comes naturally to him; and that’s anger.”

Goku cocked his head to the side as he regarded the other man with a curious and suspicious gaze. “How do you know so much about Vegeta?”

For the first time since their conversation began, Victor looked a little surprised; but he quickly covered it with a grin. “I’ve had a lot of time to talk to Bulma over the years...” The man chuckled for reasons unknown to Goku and casually placed his hands in his pockets as he moved to the door. “I’ll give you some privacy now. Obviously little Momoku is getting impatient for her meal.”

Goku’s face flushed again as his eyes dropped down to the baby, who was still fisting her hands in his shirt in an attempt to get to the flesh beneath. When the Saiyajin looked back up, Victor had already disappeared.

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After settling himself in the rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room and wrapping a blanket around Momoku, the child was finally able to nurse to her hearts’ content. Her excited gurgles clearly reflected her approval and enthusiasm at finally being able to fill her belly, but Goku’s thoughts had drifted elsewhere as his glassy gaze focused itself on the floor.

Vegeta hadn’t even noticed! The older man’s eyes hadn’t strayed to look at his clearly displayed body and his nostrils hadn’t even flared to indicate he’d caught his scent.

Goku sighed through his nose as he gently rocked in the chair. It was beginning to seem like the prince viewed him as the parent of his child and nothing more. The younger Saiyajin had been hopeful that things were getting back to normal a few days ago after they’d talked, but there had been no progress since. In fact, Goku felt like they were going backwards again. The entire situation was becoming old; and fast.

A sudden hiccup followed by a barely audible burp from Momoku broke Goku’s concentration away from his current train of thoughts, and black eyes instead focused on the infant in his arms. He certainly felt more accepting of the child, but he still didn’t feel as close to her as he thought he should. Granted, the Saiyajin had felt a sudden desire to protect her when Victor had gotten too close, but that same instinct had all but vanished, and now all Goku saw when he looked at the child was just that... a child.

With a small frown Goku readjusted his shirt and stood from the chair. He crossed the room and placed the now sleeping infant into the crib gently, making sure she was covered and warm before he stepped back and stared down at her for a moment. And then, much to Goku’s dismay, a sudden surge of jealously reared its ugly head; and it was directed at the small sleeping being.

The Saiyajin gasped at the sudden wave of negative emotion, and he stumbled back from the crib for several steps before he was able to stop himself. Wide eyes stared straight ahead for a moment before Goku turned and shuffled out of the room without so much as backwards glance.

At this point, he didn’t know whether to knock some sense into Vegeta, or himself.


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TBC