Thinking of You

Part 35

At Beerus's outburst, the two Saiyans froze and turned their heads, realizing that everyone, including the fighters from the other universes, were staring at them. Vegeta's face flushed a bright red and he shoved Goku away, jumping to his feet despite the pain it brought him.

Champa burst into laughter, pointing a finger at Beerus while holding his stomach. "HA! Your strongest warriors are in love! With each other! Burn, Beerus, burn!"

Yamcha slapped his hands together, a wide grin on his face. "I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

"Huh?" Goku asked, tilting his head. "What do you mean? I never said anything to you guys."

"Oh, come on! You two have been acting super strange for weeks. It wasn't hard to piece together." Yamcha said with a shake of his head. "Besides, I figured it was due time for you guys to end up together. It's not like it's the strangest thing I've ever seen."

Goku was surprised by this. Yamcha seemed completely unfazed by the fact that his oldest friend was currently in love with their once strongest enemy. He had figured that they'd be angry or confused. But Yamcha wasn't, which was a start. Goku was glad that so far, one of his friends was okay with the news they had accidentally shared. Vegeta still looked wildly embarrassed, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Goku wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but he figured that now wasn't the best time for that.

"Dibs on telling Krillin." 18 said, shooting her hand up. "He's gonna love this."

"When the hell did this happen?" Caulifla asked, her eyes wide and her face taking on a unique form. Not of anger, but of curiosity and confusion.

"It's...kinda a long story..." Goku said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, you better explain something." Piccolo said, crossing his arms. "How the hell did you two manage a relationship? In secret, no less."

"AND HOW THE HELL DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!?" Beerus snapped from the spectator stands, jumping down to stand before the two Saiyans on the arena floor.

"To be perfectly honest, Lord Beerus, you don't exactly pay attention." Goku said with a nervous smile. "And Whis told us not to tell you."

"Whis?" Beerus turned to look up as the Angel floated down to stand beside them. "You knew about this and didn't tell me?"

"Of course, my Lord. I knew you'd overreact and panic and shun them, so I made sure it was kept a secret until they were ready for exposure. It seems they've deemed themselves ready now, I see." He gave Goku and Vegeta a wink, and Goku smiled wide back at him. Vegeta still remained fixated on the ground, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life. Not that this was entirely a bad thing, but the idea that everyone had seen them not only hold hands and hug, but kiss! He had never done such a thing before, especially not in front of so many people. Goku seemed perfectly fine, but Vegeta felt like curling into a ball and hiding from humanity. It shattered the reputation he had held for so many years. Now everyone knew that he and his once rival, Goku, were romantically involved with one another. Things were truly turning into some strange rom-com on a channel nobody watches.

17 still looked lost, tapping his chin as he looked both Goku and Vegeta up and down. "So that's why Goku's been absent for so long, huh?"

"I'm confused..." Cheelai said, resting her chin in her hand. "So...but...I thought you two hated each other."

"We did, but I think my charm kinda won him over." Goku laughed, no longer feeling nervous or scared. Nobody seemed angry, except Beerus, but it wasn't saying much because he was always angry. He felt relief swell in his chest, and the smile he wore was genuine, making his eyes shine.