𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕖𝕥𝕙 // 𝕘𝕠𝕜𝕦 𝕩 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕩 𝕘𝕠𝕙𝕒𝕟

// 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪-𝕤𝕚𝕩 //

hiraeth - part twenty-six

»»——⍟——««

      Y/n groaned as she peeked a single eye open, the bright light making it nearly impossible to open her eyes. She could see the clear blue sky, almost immediately noticing how thin the air was, struggling to take a deep breath. She could see figures standing at her side, one vaguely green and white, and the other a familiar orange and blue. She weakly reached her hand out for him, catching his attention as he grabbed her hand in his two.

"Y/n! You're awake! I'm so glad you're okay!" Goku exclaimed, sounding as though he was on the brink of tears. He engulfed Y/n in a hug, sighing shakily. "Y-You scared me, I thought it was too late. I'm sorry, I should've been there to protect you..."

His words reminded Y/n of her dream, which she remembered clearly. She wanted to tell him about it, but she couldn't bring herself to utter a single word. She was so weak and tired, she felt as though she could sleep forever. Which, though she was unaware, she had nearly slipped into a coma. She'd lost a tremendous amount of blood, almost to the point Dende, the person responsible for caring for her, hadn't been able to heal her. If Goku had even been a second later arriving, they would've lost Y/n.

"Goku, be gentle. She's quite weak right now, likely not even able to speak," Dende said. Goku flinched at his words, pulling back from Y/n. As her vision began to clear up more, she could see only pure fear in his eyes. He looked so scared and vulnerable, Y/n felt awful that she caused him so much distress. She was the reason he had that look in his eyes. She was the reason he was unable to smile, and felt so uncomfortable.

"I..." Y/n tried to form a sentence, her eyes watering. She squeezed his hand, the lump in her throat making it much more difficult to continue. "I'm sorry."

"Y/n..." Goku sighed, getting down on one knee so he was level with her face. Y/n stared at him with wide, fearful eyes as tears streamed down her face. He regretted everything, she knew it. He regretted coming here with Y/n, he regretted spending so much time with her, sleeping at her side, meeting her. It was her fault Goku was scared. She wished she wasn't such a bother, that she could form friendships properly, that she was just normal.

"Y/n, I don't hate you." Goku said, surprising Y/n. Goku smiled, leaning in so close their noses were nearly touching. "You make me happier than anyone else. You never judged me, treated me differently, or thought of me as anything but your friend, your biggest supporter. And for that, I'll never leave your side. I'll always treat you with the same respect and kindness, not just because you're my best friend, but because I love you."

Goku hesitated, glancing down at her lips, before leaning in and placing a small, gentle kiss on her lips. Y/n stared at him in shock, wanting more than anything to return the kiss in full. But Goku pulled back, smiling at her as he stood up straight.

"Take care of Y/n for me, Dende. I'm going to go gather the rest of the Dragon Balls," Goku said. Dende nodded in agreement, making Goku sigh as he looked back to Y/n. "I'll be right back. Don't fall asleep on me, okay? I won't be long."

Goku placed a kiss on her forehead, before turning around to leave. He looked back one last time, waving. Y/n watched him leave, longing to stay at his side. As he flew into the sky, it felt as though her heart was being ripped out, leaving with him. To the best of her abilities, Y/n focused on his energy, as if her way of telling herself that he wasn't gone for good.