Everybody Loves Vegeta

Chapter 14

Vegeta thought Goku would come back.

The clock on the mantle beside his guest bed read 12:00AM. The perfect time to have a bout of insomnia and guilt.

Krillin was kind enough to offer him a room on the second floor of his home. Never before had Vegeta been offered such an extreme act of goodwill. Bulma had let him live at Capsule Corp, but that was markedly different. He'd never expressed to her that a company building wasn't the same as a home. It wasn't cozy and intimate like the Son house. Krillin's home had a similar warmth that enveloped all who entered.

Getting used to that homey feeling all over again was hard on him.

When Krillin asked Vegeta earlier if he wanted to eat dinner with them, Vegeta declined. He simply rushed upstairs with his things, showered, and crawled into bed. Downstairs he could hear them gossiping about him and Goku. Marron, bless her heart, explained things the best a teenage girl could. Earlier that day, Vegeta simply told her Goku betrayed his trust. None of the gritty details were brought up. Krillin and 18 were insatiable and wanted to know more. Vegeta was sure he'd have to deal with a round of questions in the morning.

Goten was asleep in a different room down the hall. The thought brought previously dulled anger back to the surface. Kakarot, how could you abandon your son?

The boy was only a few months shy of seventeen. Earth children had to be coddled for much longer than what was accepted on Planet Vegeta. Was he expected to be Goten's father now?

Vegeta rolled over onto his stomach.

He thought Goku would come back.

The guilt returned. He'd never been good at arguing. In the only other relationship he had, it worked perfectly fine to scream whatever hurt Bulma the most to get her to shut-up. A few hours after every fight, things predictably returned back to normal.

So why isn't that working now?

Goku's little plot to trick him into mating had pissed him off. Immensely. He hated having secrets kept from him. It reminded him of when he was in Frieza's army. Goku didn't know it, but Vegeta had killed people for less offensive acts of betrayal. Telling the third-class he didn't love him anymore felt like the closest thing to murder.

But now Goku was gone. Possibly for good.

"Kakarot, where are you?" he asked aloud. As if speaking the words might summon him. Goku could come back if he really wanted to. So why hadn't he? Vegeta counted on Goku to always fight for his love. During their argument, he assumed Goku would give him a few hours to blow off some steam, then happily come running after him. The arrest complicated things, sure, but that wasn't his fault Goku was in trouble. He expected Goku to be here, right now, groveling and begging for forgiveness. Admitting he was wrong. Vegeta wouldn't give in to him just off the bat, but the Prince deserved to be pampered before bestowing his mercy!

Right?

Vegeta smashed his face into his pillow. Maybe if he sat like this long enough, he'd smother himself and get put out of his misery. "I'm fucking stupid," he groaned.

Someone gently knocked on his door. He heard a pitter-patter of feet, before they quickly disappeared. He dragged himself from bed and looked outside. Near his feet sat a bowl of vanilla ice cream, two fortune cookies, and a note. He picked up the heap of items and returned to bed.

I'm turning into a fucking slob, he thought drearily as he shoved the ice cream into his mouth. He wanted to hate his body and starve it, but he couldn't deny how delicious the confection tasted on his tongue. With his free hand he opened up the note. It was written on cute anime stationary: