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"What in the hell is that." Vegeta deadpanned as he exited the gravity chamber, craning his neck in an attempt to peer around the other man's broad shoulders. Goku stifled a smile, curling the chattering ball of fur closer into his chest to hide it from Vegeta's view.
"Nothing." He grinned, pivoting away from his friend. "If you wanted to see it, you could have helped me catch it instead of bothering about cleaning up the training room. I even asked you to help, and you said you didn't care about seeing a baby raccoon. Probably because it's too cute and cuddly for your cold, unfeeling heart to handle." He teased, shuffling to the left in order to continue thwarting Vegeta's repeated attempts to see what he was hiding in his arms. The ball of black and tan fur gave an angry hiss, and Vegeta edged away.
"Tch. I don't care about seeing it - I care about the possibility that you're going to bring some feral animal other than yourself into my home. Now put it back where you found it so we can go in and eat." Vegeta snapped, wearily eyeing the beady black eyes that had emerged under Goku's arm to peer at him.
"Aw, Bulma won't be mad if I share some food with a little baby raccoon. Look at it, 'Geta, it's all cute and snarly, just like you!" Goku giggled, picking the ball of fluff up by the tail and holding it out towards the other man. The raccoon was, indeed, hissing out little growls and scrabbling around in an attempt to extricate itself from his grip. Goku privately thought its impotent fury was actually kind of cute - not unlike that of someone else he knew. He watched the color rise on Vegeta's cheeks at his words and grinned.
"Fuck's sake, Kakarot - put the damn thing back before the mother comes looking for it!" Vegeta hissed, swatting away his rival's outstretched arm.
"Oh, don't be such a - OW! Hey, no biting!" Goku admonished the angry raccoon as the creature sunk its sharp little teeth into his wrist. "Aw, man, Vegeta - you scared him. You didn't mean to do that, did you?" Goku simpered, stroking the spitting raccoon and glaring at Vegeta.
"Oh for -" Vegeta snarled, striding over to pry the animal off of Goku's arm and chucking it unceremoniously back into the bushes, where it landed with a 'thump' before skittering away.
"Hey!" Goku whined, glaring at his friend. Why did Vegeta have to go and ruin his fun? It was only a tiny bite, and it didn't even hurt very much. But Vegeta only made an exasperated sound, and then he was all but frogmarching Goku into the house, muttering to himself in between calling for Bulma. When they finally found her ensconced in her lab behind a stack of paperwork, she glanced up from a particularly confusing schematic diagram and arched an eyebrow at them.
"What, Vegeta? This had better be important, I specifically asked you guys not to bother me while I try to figure out this programming loop. Did you break the gravity chamber again? Because -" She began, but Vegeta cut her off.
"No. Kakarot was bothering the wildlife, and the wildlife bothered him back." Vegeta huffed, grabbing Goku's bleeding wrist and displaying it to his wife as explanation.
"Oh, Goku - really?" Bulma gave them both a disapproving look, but rose with a long-suffering sigh and steered Goku across the lab and over to a paper-covered exam table in the med bay.
"What species?" She asked perfunctorily, bending down to peer at the array of punctures on the underside of her friend's wrist.
"It was a baby raccoon. It was really cute, too, Bulma, but Vegeta wouldn't let me bring it in to show -" Bulma rolled her eyes, letting go of his wrist suddenly and causing him to cut off the story with a startled yelp of pain.
"For God's sake, Goku - next time at least pick a species that isn't as likely to carry rabies." She chided, perching on the edge of the exam table and glowering up at him. "Opossums, for instance. They're pretty cute, and their body temperatures are so low that them having rabies is incredibly unlikely. Raccoons, however…" She trailed off pointedly.
"Woman, he does not need a damn list of what wild animals are acceptable to play with - he needs to cultivate the sense to leave them all alone." Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms and shooting the other man a glare. Goku stuck out his tongue in response - Vegeta was just sore that this was cutting into their dinner plans. The other man always got hungry and grumpy after a spar.
Bulma shot her husband a look, then sighed.
"Well, it's a good thing you're here, at least. We keep rabies prophylactics stocked in the lab as a precaution for the guys in the research division who work with live animals - I'll go send a requisition down to the pharmacy. Vegeta, flush that bite out while I'm gone, will you?" She commanded, not waiting for a response as she breezed out the door.
"Tch. I cannot believe that I have to not only babysit you, but play doctor now. Give me your arm, you imbecile." Goku did, not wanting to argue, but stuck out his bottom lip obstinately. He did feel a little bad for dragging Vegeta into this - but then again, Vegeta had also been the one to cause the raccoon to panic in the first place, which made this partially his fault.
He watched as Vegeta tore open several packets and began wiping a gauze pad soaked in brown liquid over the punctures in his wrist, the cloying smell of the betadine making them both wrinkle their noses. It stung a little, but Goku said nothing, too intent on watching the other man work.
"How come you're so good at this?" Goku hummed, swinging his feet as he watched Vegeta crack open a bottle labeled 'saline' and pour the contents over the wound on his wrist.
"You think Frieza let filth like Saiyans into his precious healing tanks on a regular basis? I sewed myself shut on missions in the Frieza Force more times than I could count, Kakarot - rinsing a bite wound is child's play." Vegeta huffed, swiping another pad of the brown antiseptic liquid over the whole area around the bite. "There. That should be fine - Bulma will probably tell you to wash it several times a day and keep antibiotic ointment on it, but there's really no need. With our metabolism, it should heal by tonight."
"Thanks, 'Geta." Goku said, beaming at his friend.
"Tch. You won't be thanking me when you realize that the treatment for rabies has to be administered with a n-"
"Got it!" Bulma crowed, cutting off the rest of Vegeta's comment as she reentered the medical bay and plunked down five glass vials on the wheeled metal tray table next to them. "Okay, so it's a four part prophylactic series. Two are for today," - she held aloft two of the vials of clear liquid - "one of the series of four, and one immune globulin, which is basically just an antibody cocktail boost to encourage your immune system to fight. Then you just get boosters of the main rabies prevention series again on days 3, 7, and 14. Easy peasy." She smiled.
"Cool! Do you have a cup or something, though? The mouths of those bottles are awful small, and I don't wanna spill and mess up the treatment." Goku grinned good-naturedly, then watched with confusion as Bulma and Vegeta exchanged a look.
"Um, here's the thing." Bulma placated, laying a gentle hand on his uninjured arm. "I know how you feel about this. You know if there was another option, I'd get it for you. But there's not, Goku. It has to be this way. The other option is - well, quite possibly you getting rabies, which is not a chance we should take, however slim." She said firmly, holding his eye as he blinked in confusion.
"Has to be what way?" He asked, cocking his head to the side and studying the innocuous little bottles of medicine.
"They're injections, you moron." Vegeta bit out. Goku stiffened, his eyes swinging between his friends as he attempted to digest this information. Bulma shot her husband a furious glare, and he rolled his eyes at her in return.
"Vegeta, you can't just go and spring it on him like that! You know how he is about…needles." She hissed, the last word little more than a whisper. Goku felt his body clench at that, panic seizing his muscles as he clung, white-knuckled, to the bed. The fear only compounded when he saw Bulma, tight-lipped and determined, turn and begin drawing the liquid up into a long, lethal-looking syringe. His stomach rolled, nausea punching into him like a fist, and he looked away.
"No." He managed, his voice perhaps an octave higher than normal. "No needles."
"For gods' sake, Kakarot - your other choice is death. And not only your own, might I add - I'm sure this rabies disease would play merry hell with your Saiyan instincts, and you'd likely manage to take several of us with you. So don't be a coward - now what's it going to be?" Vegeta said testily.
"Death." Goku managed to squeak out over the galloping staccato of his heartbeat in his ears. "I choose death."
"Don't be absurd." Vegeta snarled, moving to stand in front of him when he tried to scramble down off of the bed. His wide eyes searched Vegeta's face, finding nothing but grim resignation as his friend placed himself squarely between Goku and the lab door, his one means of escape.
"Vegeta, please." He heard himself whisper above the pounding pressure in his ears.
"Kakarot, the vaccine has to be administered within 24 hours of the bite - the longer we wait, the less effective it will be. What do you want me to do, let you die?" Vegeta reasoned, but Goku wasn't listening - his wide eyes were locked over Vegeta's shoulder, where Bulma was waiting patiently with both syringes at the ready. He sucked in a steadying breath, casting about for something, anything that could get him out of this nightmare -
And brought two fingers to his forehead, ready to instant transmit somewhere, anywhere that the needles weren't. Unfortunately, it was difficult to focus his energy with his entire sympathetic nervous system screaming at him to run, and Vegeta shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist before he could so much as locate a ki target to transmit to.
"No, Kakarot. No running. If you use instant transmission, you'll be taking me with you, and I will just drag your cowardly ass back here - after I render you unconscious, that is." He growled, wrenching Goku's uninjured arm down and away from his forehead. True to his word, he didn't let go, either, his fingers pressing bruises into the underside of Goku's wrist.
"Can you do that right now?" Goku asked hopefully, wide panic-dark eyes taking in Vegeta's face. "Just knock me out?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Goku." Bulma chided. "This will take two seconds, it's just two shots in your deltoid. You'll hardly feel a thing!" Her voice was too chipper, and Goku didn't miss the look she shot at Vegeta, the way their eyes met and a moment of silent communication passed between them. He felt his hands begin to shake, and he was sucking in short shallow breaths, making his head spin. Then,
"Hold him" Bulma commanded somberly, advancing on him even as Vegeta spun, leveraging his hold on Goku's wrist and pulling him off balance and backwards on the table, wrestling him into a perfectly executed rear naked choke.
He felt panic well up as Vegeta's legs cinched his own down and the other man levered his arms back, effectively locking Goku into place with an arm around his throat. He began to flail his head wildly, the corrosive gnawing of irrational, instinctual fear overtaking him.
"No! 'Geta, please, no! Don't let her - Please, 'Geta!" He cried, propriety abandoning him as Bulma stepped in to swipe an alcohol pad over his upper arm.
"Kakarot, stop. You're fine, I'm here, now stop struggling." Vegeta's voice was rough and warm next to his ear, grounding him, and Goku felt the tension in his body ratchet down, if only just. Vegeta seemed to notice that he'd stopped struggling and continued speaking, keeping his voice low and even.
"This will all be over before you know it, and then we can go eat dinner. You're fine, Bulma would never hurt you - I wouldn't let her."
Vegeta's voice was a hypnotic murmur, and Goku only jumped slightly when he felt Bulma remove the alcohol pad. He wanted to turn his head to look at what she was doing, but before he could Vegeta's hand came around to cup his chin, forcing him to turn his head to the right, away from - whatever was happing with the needles. And then he felt Bulma's hand holding his arm steady, and the panic flared bright again behind his clenched eyes, his stomach rolling over itself and filling his mouth with saliva. He whimpered and heaved, his stomach threatening to empty its meager contents as he heard the cap of the syringe being removed. Then Vegeta was growling in his ear, a low, feral snarl of warning.
"If you vomit on me, Kakarot, there will be hell to pay. Don't look over there, you keep your attention here, on me, you understand?" He commanded, punctuating his words by cinching down his fingers on Goku's jaw. Goku whimpered, his pathetic attempt at acquiescence, and Vegeta hummed out his approval. Then Goku felt Vegeta's face against his temple, rubbing against him, catlike. The contact was so unexpected, so unlike Vegeta, that it completely diverted Goku's attention and, despite everything, he felt himself relaxing back against Vegeta's body. Vegeta wouldn't let anything hurt him - not unless the other man was the one with the pleasure of inflicting the injury, anyway.
And then Bulma was chirping "All through!" and Vegeta was moving away, releasing his crushing hold on Goku and creating space between their bodies that Goku suddenly wasn't sure that he wanted.
"Oh." He said, glancing down at the bandaid on his arm. When had that gotten there?
"You did great, Goku." Bulma was saying, patting his arm as she turned to drop the syringes in the sharps container on the counter. "Now just promise me you'll come back in three days for the next dose, and I'll let you two go eat."
Goku nodded reluctantly, sneaking a glance over her shoulder at Vegeta, who was already halfway out the door.
"Promise her and come on, Kakarot - you've delayed dinner long enough." Vegeta snapped, brusque demeanor already back in place.
So Goku flashed Bulma a smile as he followed Vegeta out of the lab. "I'll come back in three days. Promise."
***
He wasn't going back.
Somehow, in the past seventy-two hours, Goku had realized that the prior not-completely-horrible experience with the injections had been a fluke, a complete coincidence, and that next time was likely to be terrible beyond his comprehension. There was no way he could go back- he'd just have to trust that the initial treatment had done the job, regardless of what Bulma had said about the whole course of medication being required to ensure that he didn't get sick. She was probably overreacting.
Satisfied with this decision, he set to work in the fields, content to plow repetitive patterns into the dirt in order to get his mind off of things. It was effective, at least until early afternoon when he suddenly felt Vegeta's ki streaking across the sky towards him. Not a moment later, the man landed in the middle of the plowed field, disdain apparent on his face.
"This is what you've been doing instead of keeping your promise to Bulma? And here I thought you'd have a halfway decent excuse." Goku hopped down from the tractor and eyed him, not falling for the baiting remark.
"I'm not doing that again, Vegeta. I can't go back there and let Bulma stick me, I just can't. I hate needles, okay? Always have. Even just looking at one makes me sick to my stomach. Thinking about going back there on purpose and letting her stab me - ugh. It's not worth it."
Vegeta waited patiently for him to finish, then seemed to consider his words.
"Well, I suppose that's it, then. It's decided."
"What's decided?" Goku asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Which of us is the strongest. When you die, there will be no question that it's me." Vegeta said haughtily, fixing him with a look.
"Come on, Vegeta. I'm not gonna die." Goku huffed, crossing his arms unhappily. Vegeta took two quick steps forward, poking him in the chest with an accusatory finger.
"You might - left untreated, rabies has a zero percent survival rate, Kakarot. But I suppose that's not important to you - you've probably already considered that your death would impact not only you, but everyone - your wife, your sons, your granddaughter…me, even Earth. But that's clearly something you've thought out already, right?" He asked sardonically, meeting Goku's sheepish expression with a cold glare. A long moment of silence stretched between the, and then Goku sighed, capitulating. He raised two fingers to his forehead and held out his arm to Vegeta, who rested a hand on his friend's elbow, looking smug.
"You don't fight fair." Goku pouted, looking hurt.
"No, but I do tend to win." Vegeta grinned as Goku instant transmissioned them to the lab.
Bulma barely glanced up at their arrival in her office, elbows deep as she was in a charred, twisted mess of metal that appeared to have once been a robot.
"I'll be there in a second - go ahead and take a seat on the exam table and roll your sleeve up for me, 'kay Goku?" He nodded, but paled noticeably as they made their way to the med bay to await Bulma. By the time he levered himself up into the paper-topped table, his legs were noticeably shaky. This wasn't helped by the sight of the syringe lying on the metal table across the room. He blinked at it, stomach rolling unpleasantly but unable to look away. Vegeta scowled, noticing the direction of his gaze, and moved to stand in front of him, effectively blocking the sight of the syringe where it lay on the table.
"Kakarot, this is just like last time - you're going to look at me and no matter what, I don't want you to look away, do you understand?" Goku nodded shortly, privately hoping that Bulma got engrossed in her work and forgot all about him.
His hopes sank when she emerged from her office moments later, looking sour as she wiped grease from her fingers onto a stained rag.
"Gods, Vegeta, next time you need to vent some frustration, take it out somewhere other than on my training robots, okay? I'm never going to get that one back to normal." She huffed, pausing to wash her hands in the sink and snap on gloves before maneuvering over to the table to prepare the medication. Goku felt his chest go tight as he watched her shake the vial, his breaths coming quick and more choppy, struggling to fill his lungs - and then Vegeta was there, hand cupping Goku's chin as he directed his gaze away.
"Look at me now, Kakarot." Vegeta growled, his dark eyes boring into Goku's. The weight of the other man's gaze should have been uncomfortable, should have compelled Goku to pull away, but instead he found himself drawn to it. Had he ever looked at Vegeta before? It seemed like a silly question, but he wasn't sure he'd ever seen the other man like this, or at least he hadn't bothered to see this even if he had been looking. He almost didn't feel the cold swipe of the alcohol pad, lost as he was in the dark intensity of Vegeta's eyes. Then there was the familiar sound of the syringe clicking open, startling him from his reverie and throwing his brain straight back into panic mode. He sucked in an unsteady breath, ready to turn his head but Vegeta was yanking him back, thumb rubbing along his jawline.
"No, Kakarot. Eyes on me." Vegeta's voice was gentle, and he stepped in close and crowded Goku's field of vision. Goku took in the sharp planes of his rival's face, his gaze flicking down unbidden to Vegeta's lips, even as he felt the slightest pressure in his arm. Before he could protest, Vegeta was letting go of him, stepping back, and Bulma announcing,
"All done!"
And then Vegeta was gone, retreating from the lab as Bulma said something that Goku didn't hear about the next injection. Goku said nothing, merely giving her a perfunctory wave of thanks and instant transmissioning home, his mind whirling.
***
On day seven, Goku came willingly, knocking on the door of Bulma's lab before the sun was even fully up.
"Oh, Goku! I didn't expect you so early. You might have to wait for a bit, I haven't taken the vaccine out of the refrigerator yet and you don't want me to administer it cold. Hurts." She explained, striding over to the cold storage unit under the long lab table and pulling out the now-familiar vial. She seemed to consider him for a moment, then brightened. "Hey, why don't you go bug Vegeta while you're waiting? He's been in the training room pretty much nonstop for the past week - he could probably use the company." She smiled, then went back to fiddling with the knobs on the 3-D printer that was occupying most of her desk.
Goku let his listless legs carry him over to the gravity room, which turned out to be locked. Vegeta was probably training in gravity, or else just didn't want to be disturbed - likely both. But neither had ever stopped Goku before, and it seemed silly for Vegeta to continue to train alone when they had time for a spar, so he raised two fingers to his forehead and locked on Vegeta's energy.
Goku reappeared near the central gravity mechanism, immediately drawing Vegeta's ire as his appearance interrupted what was sure to be an impressive combo move - Vegeta managed to coerce three robots into a shooting spree that would have left all three incapacitated had Goku not landed smack in the middle. He had barely managed to avoid the wave of blasts by leaping to the right when Vegeta barreled into him, sending them both sprawling. The room, sensing their temporary incapacitation, powered down, the robots cessing their barrage and slumping to the floor.
"Ow, 'Geta, why'd you do that?" Goku complained, sitting up and rubbing his temple where it had collided with Vegeta's shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kakarot. I assumed, since you intruded so rudely into my training, that you might want to train." Vegeta quipped as he extended a hand that Goku accepted, hauling him to his feet.
"Well, sure, I guess. I actually came to get the - to do the next dose of medicine, but Bulma said it isn't ready yet."
"Yes, I suspect she anticipated my having to drag you here kicking and screaming again, so she delayed preparing it." Vegeta grinned, shooting his friend a knowing look.
"Hey, I've gotten way better about it!" Goku whined, defensive.
"Yes, I very nearly didn't have to hold you down, last time." Vegeta said waspishly.
"Well, you won't today either. You don't even have to come - I'll be just fine with Bulma." Goku snapped, regretting the words before they'd even left his mouth. He wanted Vegeta to come - he'd thought of little else in the last few days, and he'd been counting on more of the weird fuzzy feeling that fluttered though him when he remembered the way Vegeta that had looked at him, had touched him, before.
But Vegeta only shrugged. "Fine. Saves me the trouble." And with that, he turned back to the control panel, dialing the gravity up to triple digits. Goku said nothing, recognizing the dismissal but feeling rather stung over Vegeta's indifference. He'd thought that, if nothing else, the agony of the injections had been an opportunity to see that other side of Vegeta again. Clearly Vegeta hadn't seen things the same way, he thought miserably as he shut the gravity room behind him.
When Goku wandered back into the medical bay, Bulma was waiting for him. She quirked an eyebrow but didn't remark Vegeta's absence, merely gesturing for him to take a seat on the table. He did so, studiously avoiding looking at the implements on the metal tray table and rolling his sleeve to give her access to his arm.
"Okay, Goku - I'm just gonna wipe your arm with the alcohol wipe, okay?" Bulma said, and Goku felt his stomach lurch at the familiar antiseptic stench. He flinched when the cold wipe touched him, sucking in a breath that made his head spin and nausea clench in his guts.
"Uh, Bulma? Can you maybe just give me a minute?" He said, voice level despite the panic flooding through him. He chanced a glance at her and quickly regretted it, his gaze zeroing in on the uncapped syringe in her hand.
"Are you sure? You were doing so good -" She began, taking a step towards him and sending him scrambling towards the opposite end of the bed, away from her.
"Nononono, I don't think I can… I don't - I can't -" He breathed, the words shuddering out of him as he pressed himself away from the needle glinting in her hand. He couldn't do this, he couldn't, he'd thought he could, but he was wrong-
And then there was a firm hand on his shoulder, sudden warmth enveloping his shaking body as Vegeta climbed onto the table and slid his arms around him, pulling Goku back against his solid chest.
"Go on, Kakarot. You were doing well." The words, completely devoid of Vegeta's usual biting ire, rumbled up his spine and Goku let his eyes close, breathing a sigh of relief. He let his head loll back on to Vegeta's shoulder, grateful for the other man's steadying presence, and canted his face up and away from where Bulma was approaching with the injection. When he squinted one eye open, he was surprised to see Vegeta's face so close to his own. The other man was watching him, his dark eyes appraising as Goku focused on calming his breathing, purposefully syncing it to Vegeta's. This time, when Bulma announced that she'd finished, Vegeta didn't immediately vault away. Instead, he allowed Goku to finish his breathing exercise before glancing down at him again.
"Better?"
"Yeah. Thanks, 'Geta." Goku mumbled, more relaxed than he remembered being in a long while. Vegeta only hummed an acknowledgement, and Goku slid from the table, absently rubbing his arm where Bulma had jabbed him.
"Well, see you guys in a week." He said, giving Bulma a small wave as he raised two fingers to his forehead. Chancing a last glance over at the bed, he saw that Vegeta hadn't moved, still sitting with one arm draped over the knee he had pulled up in front of him, his head leaned back against the wall, watching Goku intently. When their eyes met, Vegeta raised two fingers in farewell.
Even after he had instant transmitted home, Goku could still feel the warm press of Vegeta's body against him.
***
The day of the final injection came not a moment too soon, in Goku's opinion. Though he had made great strides with his fear of needles, it was a tremendous relief that the last course of the medication would be done with today.
When he arrived at Capsule Corp, Vegeta was already sitting on the exam table, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for him. Neither acknowledged the other as Goku crossed the room with sure steps, levering himself up between Vegeta's legs with no hesitation and letting himself relax against the other man's solid chest. Vegeta said nothing, only brought his arms up and around the other man, pulling Goku flush against him. When Bulma finally broke away from her research on nanoparticles, she paused for only a single second at the sight that greeted her in the med bay - Goku was very nearly seated in Vegeta's lap, her husband's arms encircling her friend protectively. Goku' head rested in the crook of Vegeta's neck and shoulder, and both looked more content than she had ever seen them. She stifled a smile, afraid that acknowledging it might ruin the moment, and got to work.
"Definitely forgot to take this one out of the fridge, Goku - sorry in advance. I have a meeting in the city with some potential donors for the nanotechnology project in an hour, though, so we can either muscle through this or it'll have to wait until this evening when I get home." She said, watching them out of the corner of her eye as she prepared the injection. Goku huffed out a breath, disliking the idea of postponing - he badly wanted to get this over with, to be free of the oppressive worry about the next dose. Bulma saw him glance at Vegeta, who tipped his head in a way clearly meant to indicate that the choice was Goku's.
"Let's do it." Goku decided, the false bravado in his voice fooling no one, himself least of all.
"Okay. It's going to hurt more this time, because it's so cold - so Vegeta, I need you to make sure he doesn't move. The last thing I have time for is extracting a broken syringe." She explained, catching her husband's eye.
Goku paled at her words, but squeezed his eyes shut and said nothing as Bulma swabbed his arm with alcohol. He was trying not to picture what she'd described, and failing - knowing that this shot was going to hurt worse was making the anticipation worse, too - his head was already feeling woozy with trepidation. Vegeta's arms tightened around him, a clear reminder that he was safe.
"Breathe, Kakarot." Vegeta's steady voice murmured in his ear. Goku obliged as best he could, the feel of Bulma holding his arm steady making his teeth clench and his stomach lurch.
"Okay, 3, 2, 1…" Bulma counted down. Goku stifled a pained whimper as the needle pierced his skin, a sob building in his throat as the frigid medication entered his veins.
It felt terrible, not like the other times at all. …Maybe something was wrong, this time. Maybe the - the needle had broken off in his arm, and Bulma would have to take more needles and poke him open and get this one out and it would hurt, hurt worse than this - and that was hard to imagine because this hurt, and he didn't think he could stand it -
Goku's breathing grew ragged, and he began to shake. Vegeta shot a panicked glance at his wife, but Bulma just huffed impatiently.
"I can't go any faster - it would be helpful if you could make him relax."
And suddenly Goku felt his head being tipped back and to the side, then warm lips met his own. His eyes flew open, body going boneless as Vegeta's mouth pressed into his. Vegeta deepened the kiss immediately, licking into his rival's mouth, tasting him, drawing a shaky moan from Goku. When Vegeta finally broke the kiss and drew back, Goku found Bulma leveling a look at them, eyebrow arched. He braced himself for the inevitable, the guilt clenching in his gut not nearly able to drown out the desire to draw Vegeta back into the kiss, to turn and pull the other man down onto the table - Bulma cleared her throat pointedly.
"Well, your methodology is questionable, Vegeta - not that I mind, I just hate having to dash when I should be making you admit that I was right all along." She said, turning away from them to dispose of the injection. Goku saw Vegeta shoot his wife a sardonic grin, which she returned.
"Have fun wooing your bureaucrats, woman. We'll be here when you get back."
"Have fun wooing my best friend, Vegeta - and I sincerely hope you aren't, because I will kill you both if you make a mess of my lab." She singsonged as she gathered her briefcase from her office, heels clicking across the floor as she made her way from the lab Once the door had clicked shut behind her, Goku turned to look at Vegeta, his face anxious.
"Oh, man - I didn't think…I guess I should have asked her permission before - is she mad?" Goku stuttered, guilt twisting in his stomach.
Vegeta snorted derisively.
"Probably, but she's not mad about what you think. She's upset about two things: One, that there are no cameras in here for her to indulge in later - her lecherous little mind can't stand not knowing what I'm about to do to you. Two, she now owes ChiChi a very large sum of money for betting against me being the one to make the first move - which, as far as I'm concerned, serves her right." He said haughtily.
"Our wives had a bet about us getting together?" Goku huffed out a disbelieving laugh.
"Yes - the vulgar women have been scheming about this for years." Vegeta said, rolling his eyes.
"And you knew all this time and didn't tell me? I'm hurt." Goku grinned, arranging his features in an exaggerated mock pout. Vegeta's eyes flicked down to his full bottom lip, the energy between them suddenly shifting into something electric.
"Are you? Show me where, then, Kakarot - I'll kiss it better." He murmured against the other man's lips as he pulled him down into another heated kiss.