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As Loyalty Can Be	By : Kimmy Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 6353 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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(2)
With a content sigh, Goku
leaned back in the garden chair, causing it to creak under his weight. He
closed his eyes, feeling the warm sun on his face and breathed in the sweet
scent of the grass and the slightly bitter scent of the birch leaves.
Earth.
How he had missed it. He hadn�t really realized how much until just now.
�Hey Goku! Are you falling asleep? Hey Goku!�
�Hm, Krillin?
Just closing my eyes for a moment.�
Goku�s
childhood friend was looking at him with at quizzical expression, his raised eyebrows,
obscured under bangs of black hair. Seeing him like that felt kind of weird,
and Goku wondered briefly if Krillin
had decided to let his hair grow back as a deliberate message, saying �fighting
is no longer foremost in my life�. As if reading his mind, 18 turned around,
breaking up her conversation with Bulma and Chichi,
and gave her husband a small, secretive smile. Goku
watched how Krillin�s cheeks turned slightly pink.
One of Bulma�s housekeeping
droids appeared by his elbow. �More comestibles, sir?�
Blinking at the construct�s choice of words, Goku
turned around and came to stare straight into a large plate filled to the brim
with deliciously smelling mini-sausages, still sizzling from the grill.
�Alright!�
Goku grabbed the plate with both hands and placed it
on the table in front of him.
�You can�t possiblly eat all
that by yourself,� Yamcha said doubtfully, looking up
from his own plate.
�What? You want some?� Goku
asked.
�Never mind.� Yamcha sighed in slight exasperation.
Goku
let his gaze travel around the large garden. Tien was
standing by the grill, having a discussion bordering on an argument with master
Roshi. The green-clad man towered over the old turtle
hermit, who smiled toothily, not daunted in the least. Chaozu, Tien�s
tiny white-faced friend, floated by his side, staring at the old man with
blank, button-like eyes.
Goku
looked around for Piccolo and discovered him lying on his back, way off by the
trees where the grass was high. He rested his head on his crossed arms and one
ankle was comfortably laid over the other. Flowers nodded gently and traced
delicate shadows over the Namek�s prone form. Goku felt a sudden longing to join him there.
Happy shrieks drew his eyes to the nearby blanket
where Gohan and Videl were
being attacked by a laughing Goten, accompanied
Trunks. A short chaotic struggle followed, before Goten
disentangled himself and bounced away with his prize: a large ham sandwich.
�I wonder where Vegeta is,� Goku said to no one in particular. He hadn�t seen him since
the fight with Buu. Why wasn�t he here? It almost
felt like the other Saiyan was avoiding him. Goku was pulled from his musings when he noticed that the
people around the table had become strangely silent.
�Where do you think he is?� Bulma
said cuttingly. �He�s training of course.�
�And keeping away from us all like we had the plague,�
Yamcha muttered. �Just as well.
Gatherings like this have a tendency to turn sour when Vegeta
is around.�
Goku
frowned; feeling like he should say something in Vegeta�s
defense, but Bulma spoke
first.
�That�s ridiculous, Yamcha,�
she sighed. �And unfair. Vegeta�s
not all that bad.�
�Yeah, right,� Yamcha
whispered so low that Goku was sure that he was the
only one who had heard him.
A wave of unhappiness and confusion rose up inside him,
and Goku looked down at his plate, unsettled by the
strength of his own emotions.
Covering his confusion, Goku
grabbed a couple of the cute baby sausages and put them in his mouth. Biting
down, he closed his eyes in pleasure when spicy juice exploded over his taste buds, once again he was struck by the subtle difference of being
alive. Food with the Kais had been plentiful and savory,
and yet the difference was there, intangible but distinctive.
Grabbing another handful of the sausages, his thoughts
drifted back to Vegeta. He had used to think of Vegeta as hard. Ruthless. Now...
he didn�t know. There had been a moment during their fight with Buu when Vegeta had seemed to
take all that bitterness and anger that he had always so violently projected
and just... let it go.
And then there had been the fusion. He didn�t remember
much, but he remembered the power, the incredible feeling of being whole.
Complete, one might say. Afterwards though, a feeling of uneasiness lingered,
whispers of screams, echoes of darkness. It was hard to explain.
�Goku!� Chichi�s shout seemed to come from a faraway place. �Don�t chew with
your mouth open, it�s disgusting!�
�Huh?� He looked groggily at his wife, who stared back
at him, reproach mixed with embarrassment on her face. Realizing that his mouth
was hanging wide open, Goku rapidly closed it and
swallowed the half-chewed food in one huge gulp.
He noticed the other�s amusement. Krillin
gave a snort and Yamcha laughed outright.
�Same old Goku,� he chuckled
and reached over to pat him a few times on his shoulder. �You just never
change.�
�Aw, give him a break,� Bulma
said, herself wearing a wide grin. She took a few sips from her glass filled
with sparkling water while giving him a level stare. As so often before, Goku felt slightly uncomfortable under her silent scrutiny.
Her blue eyes seemed to be windows to her brilliant, knowing mind, seeing
things that no one else could see.
Unexpectedly, Bulma put her
glass down and walked around the table to give him a warm hug. �I�m so happy
you�re back,� she said in a low voice. �I�ve missed you, Son-kun.�
It felt really nice. But Goku
had hardly begun to lean back into her hug, before she let go of him.
�Come on,� she said with a peppy smile. �Let�s go see
how the dessert is coming along.�
�Uh... ok.� Goku rose from
the chair, which gave another ominous creak. He padded along with her to the
long buffet table and the scurrying droids. The table was fast filling up with
a wide variety of pastries, each and every one looking like a work of art.
Mouth watering scents stood like a cloud around the waiting sweets.
A gust of wind drew through the trees and disturbed
two small birds, which flow by with fluttering wings. Goku
followed them with his eyes until they disappeared out of sight.
�Bulma... about Vegeta,� he began, not really sure what he wanted to say.
�I�m breaking up with him,� Bulma
said abruptly.
�What?� He turned to meet her eyes. She looked calm,
and a bit sad. She nodded slightly, as if to say that, yes, he had heard her
correctly.
�I have though a lot about it, and I�ll talk with him
tonight.�
�But Bulma...� Goku struggled for words before spontaneously settling for
his greatest concern, �He will be hurt.�
�I know.� She raised her chin. �That can�t be helped.
I�m not staying together with him just to avoid hurting him. I have needs too,
you know. Oh, come on, Goku. Don�t look so sad.� She
patted him comfortingly on the arm. �This is not easy for me either, but in the
long run I know it is better. You see... I realized that this is as good as it
gets. Me and Vegeta... I loved him, a part of me
still does, but I just don�t see a future together with him. Do you
understand?�
Goku
nodded. He understood what she was saying, but he was still worried about Vegeta. It seemed so cruel somehow, to do this. Wrong.
�Hey, everybody!� Bulma suddenly shouted. �Cake
on the table, if you want it!�
As Krillin, closely followed
by Goten, moved in to grab a plate, Bulma leaned over to say in a low voice, �Thank you, Goku, for listening. I just had to talk to a friend.� She
left him to get a plate of her own.
---
Goku
was playing with his youngest son. They laughed together as Goten
dangled from his arm, to suddenly scramble up his back and settle himself on
his shoulders. Tiny fists gripped tightly into wild hair. He jumped up and down
a few times and Goten whooped excitedly. Reaching up
to hold the boy more securely, Goku got ready to jump
really high, but he stopped short when he saw who had just entered the
garden.
It was Vegeta. Back straight
and head held high, he walked towards them. He was dressed in loose gray slacks
and a black sweater and his hair appeared slightly soggy as if he had just
stepped out of the shower. As he went by, conversations fell silent and smiles
faded away.
Goku
felt his heart came to a standstill, a pause that was almost painful, before
resuming its normal beat. He rubbed slowly at his orange-clad chest. What was
that about?
Vegeta
stopped by the buffet table and looked around, his eyes dark and his expression
guarded. Tien and Chaozu,
who had been standing nearby, decided to take their business elsewhere.
Standing alone by the table, Vegeta shifted his
weight from one foot to the other in a slightly uncertain manner, before
crossing his arms over his chest and turning his attention to the pastries as
if that was all that interested him.
Reaching above his head, Goku
grabbed Goten under his arms and gently lifted him
down on the ground. He started walking up to Vegeta, but was interrupted by Krillin,
who grabbed his sleeve.
�Wait, Goku,� his short
friend said imploringly. �Perhaps it�s best to leave him alone for a bit. He...
did try to kill you, remember?�
�Don�t be silly, Krillin,� Goku said, and although his voice was light, he freed his
arm free with a little more force than necessary. �I�m just going to say hi.�
Vegeta
turned to stare at him as he approached. Goku came to
a halt a few steps away, and they eyed each other under silence. Goku searched the other man�s eyes for the hostility,
almost frightening in its intensity, which had always used to greet him. He
didn�t find it; Vegeta�s eyes were completely
unreadable.
�Kakarott,� Vegeta said, in acknowledgment.
�Vegeta,� Goku smiled. �I�m glad you decided to join us.�
�Hmf,� was all the answer he
got, but Goku was astonished to see how his words had
affected Vegeta, who looked at the side for a moment,
biting his lip. Goku hardly noticed Yamcha and Krillin appearing to
hover protectively on either side of him, as Vegeta
turned towards him again, staring him full in the face.
�Kakarott,� Vegeta said, each word cut short. �Would you like to spar
with me sometime?�
�And by that he means fight,� Yamcha
broke in. �It doesn�t sound like a very good idea if you ask me.�
�Shhh!� Krillin whispered through the side of his
mouth. �Don�t make him mad.�
�Never mind!� Vegeta snapped. �I don�t care either way.
I�ll... I�ll go back inside now.�
He turned abruptly and started to walk towards the
house. He glanced back, once, his mouth a straight line.
�How about that,� Krillin
said wonderingly. �I actually believe we hurt his feelings. I didn�t know that
was even possible. You think I should apologize?�
Goku
finally got himself to move, and he ran to catch up with Vegeta.
�Vegeta!� He waited until the other man stopped walking and turned to face him.
�Of course I like to spar with you. I think it�s a great idea!�
Vegeta
stared at him expressionlessly, before the smallest of smiles turned up the
corners of his mouth. �Very well, Kakarott. We�ll
talk about it later.�
�Ok, Vegeta,� Goku beamed, exuberantly happy suddenly.
Vegeta
just scowled at him and turned to walk back into the house.
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