Goku X Vegeta Oneshots

Shadows

*Vegeta struggles with his worst enemy since Frieza. Himself.*

Vegeta ignored Bulma's angry voice as she prattled on while pulling shards of glass out of his knuckles. This was the fourth time this week that he'd punched a mirror. She didn't understand. He didn't think she ever would. Absently he rubbed his forehead, a nervous habit that had formed very quickly in the past month.

Bulma slapped his hand away. "Vegeta, please. You've got to stop doing that. There's nothing there."

She didn't understand. She couldn't feel the faint burning there, the sensation that felt like blood or ink running down his face in the pattern of that mark... Shivering, he pulled away from her and rubbed his forehead with both hands, just trying to make the feeling go away.

"Vegeta, stop it." Bulma caught his hands and tried to pull them away from his face, but Vegeta growled at her savagely. She let go and stepped back. She wasn't afraid, not yet, but she was wary now. "Vegeta. Vegeta, look at me." Finally he did, forcing himself to stop if only for a few moments. "You're fine. I don't know what's gotten into you, but this is absolutely ridiculous."

She never saw the mark up close. And even when he had been even in sight of her, his back had been mostly what she'd seen. All she knew was what she'd been told, that he had been possessed and forced to fight the others.

That's what they'd told her. She didn't know that Vegeta had, for the most part, resisted the magic and focused that madness only on Goku. That madness had led to evil deeds, things that should not have happened. Vegeta couldn't even look at her the same way, not after what he'd done. What they'd done. Goku had agreed and taken full part in what happened.

Bulma shook her head. She went back to pulling glass out of his hand and bandaging it. There was going to be scars left behind. "I don't know what's wrong," she said softly, taking his face in her hands, "but I wish you'd let me help you, Vegeta. I'm scared for you. You barely train anymore, you don't even go see Goku." He flinched at the name, but she seemed not to notice. "I don't know what happened, but I really do want to help." She kissed his forehead and left.

Vegeta immediately went to the bathroom and studied the mirror desperately for any sign of that ugly mark. There was nothing- for now- but he could still feel the slight burning. He groaned and rubbed his forehead again. He scrambled to find a washcloth; even with hot water and enough soap to clean an entire room, he could not make the feeling go away. He sat down on the floor, almost collapsing, and rubbed harshly at his raw skin.

Suddenly there was a gentle hand on his arm. "Vegeta, don't." Oh gods, not him. Not now. Just his voice stirred up those confused feelings that had assaulted him during his possession.

Vegeta shook his head weakly, still clawing at his forehead. "No, no..."

"Vegeta, you're hurting yourself." Goku gently pried Vegeta's hands away from his face. "Please. Stop."

"Why are you here?" Vegeta growled, his voice cracking. He tried to pull away, but Goku held him still and even pulled him closer. It felt far too intimate. "Go away."

Goku huffed, his eyes glittering with amusement. "Vegeta..." he murmured chidingly, as if speaking to a misbehaving cub. "You avoid me. When I seek you out, you send me away."

He'd changed. Something was very different. Goku had become Kakarrot.

"Why?" Goku let go of Vegeta's hand and brushed his fingers through the older Saiyan's soft hair. "Do you not want me?"

Yes, yes, I want you. I shouldn't, but fuck, I want you. Vegeta again tried to pull away. Goku held him tighter. "Answer me. You're in no position to oppose me." Oh, he was definitely Kakarrot. Completely, horrifically, perfectly Kakarrot.

Vegeta nodded. He whimpered out an agreeing sound and didn't fight when Goku kissed him with lips as smooth as lily petals. "Then why oh why have you been hiding from me?" Goku rumbled, his hands trailing up Vegeta's arms. "But perhaps that's not what you need right now." More intuitive now, Goku sat back. He ran his thumb over Vegeta's forehead. His raw skin burned and he flinched. "He's still stuck in there," Goku whispered. "I can feel him... I know you can too. He has dark ki; I can feel it infecting yours. I don't think he's trying to break free. He's just having nightmares."

Vegeta watched Goku, confused. "What do you mean?" His voice was as quiet as Goku's, a somber feeling permeating the air.

Goku looked into Vegeta's eyes, but Vegeta distinctly felt that he was not the one being looked at. "You can't feel ki the same way I do, so it's hard to explain. This part of you, the part that was brought back to life, it's in pain. It's in the dark. Suffocating in a way. He... He can't see."

Vegeta's heart ached. Finally words matched the feeling gripping his soul. Shards of the demon still clinging to life, crying from the pain and the isolation. It wasn't truly him that was suffering this horribly. It was the shadows left behind from his possession. It was still alive, barely.

Goku sensed the sudden growth of pain inside Vegeta and held him closer, gently running two fingers over Vegeta's forehead, as if soothing both Vegeta and what resided inside him. "Shh, it's gonna be ok, Vegeta. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

Somehow Vegeta relaxed into Goku's arms. It burned less. It burned less when Goku was there. So he let himself be held and just breathed. He felt better.