The bright morning light peered through the now fixed window, illuminating the not-so-tidy room.
The house was quiet, peaceful even, as if nothing had happened just the night before. Though, of course, the memory and guilt of the fight that had broken out would hang over him - adding to the pain of everything else that had been brought back to light...

                                ¤¤¤

          He squirmed feeling the warm light gently hit his face, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and rolling over slightly as he pulled the blankets up to try and avoid the brightness.
          He let out a soft hum as he felt something lazily pull him into a comforting embrace, welcoming it instead of pushing away like he usually would.
          There was something different about this morning. He hadn't minded it, and hadn't even really paid too much attention to it until he realized what was happening.
          His eyelids slowly fluttered open slightly, adjusting to the new light before taking in his surroundings - or at least one of them: a tall man with obsidian coloured hair that stuck out in different directions. Wearing a dark blue long-sleeve undershirt, light blue jeans, a light brown jacket with the sleeves rolled up, and matching brown boots. Goku.
          "K-Kakarot!?" The prince stuttered as he quickly sat up, pushing himself back and away from the other saiyan that he had been cuddled close to. "What are you doing here- what's going on!?"
          "Wha- what?!" The taller saiyan jolted slightly as he was awoken, sitting up on his elbows, panicking for a moment before fully waking up and letting out a short awkward chuckle. "Oh, uh- first off, goodmornin'!"
          Vegeta sat quietly staring at the other man, waiting for the naive saiyan to say something more. This wasn't what he had expected to awaken to, though he didn't necessarily hate it: being cuddled close to someone in a comforting, almost caring way - it was definitely a nice feeling, that he sort of liked; though he certainly would never admit that to anyone. Not even himself.
          "Oh, right! - Why am I here!" Goku laughed as he sat up more, remembering what he had been asked as Vegeta simply glared at him. Though, he could tell that there was no real meaning behind that cold glare the prince wore, but instead there was something deep down that was still troubling the shorter saiyan. "Last night, after you, uh- kinda cried yourself to sleep, I decided to stay here with you - just to sorta, ya know, look after you, or to be there for you if you needed."
          Vegeta stayed quiet, only mumbling a simple 'oh' in response. Usually in a situation like this, he would call Goku an idiot or something of the like, but he didn't this time. He felt like it was unnecessary - like it wasn't right. Goku had stayed by his side when no one else seemed to care, after all; so insulting him felt like it would have been the wrong choice.
          They sat there quietly for a moment, letting the awkward silence consume them. "I, uh..thank you, I guess." Vegeta spoke up after a moment more, his voice soft as he spoke, shifting his gaze down towards his hands as he noticed Goku look over at him with a slightly curious expression.
           "Oh, no problem." The tall saiyan said simply, sounding a little confused about what was just said to him. The prince glanced over at Goku, giving him the 'what?' look. "Sorry, it's just I don't think I've ever heard you say thanks to anyone." He let out a short, awkward laugh as he reached to scratch the back of his head. It was a little odd to hear Vegeta say thank you, especially to him, though he had to admit it was nice to hear something positive from the shorter saiyan for once.
          Vegeta only gave a nod in response as the naive saiyan continued to speak, instead turning his attention back to his wrists as he thought; trying to remember exactly what had happened last night. He remembered waking up and Goku telling him that he went a little crazy and attacked Bulma, only stopping once he passed out. And after that he had let his emotions get the better of him - but what had happened after that? The taller man said that the prince had cried himself to sleep, but that didn't explain why he had woken up being cradled in Goku's arms - and more importantly that didn't explain why Goku had even chosen to stay with him while he had another break down.
          At this point, he had completely blanked out what the messy haired saiyan was talking about; or that he was even talking for that matter. It just didn't make sense to him: why was Goku so caring and kind towards him? He had tried to kill this man and all his friends countless times, and yet it was like he had completely forgotten about that very important fact.
          "Why did you stay..?" The prince asked quietly, his tone cold yet vulnerable; like just asking something like that hurt him on some level. Goku paused to stare at the fragile saiyan next to him, a little taken aback by the question asked.
          He hadn't really expected to be asked why, as it was a simple act of kindness that really had no other intention - but that made him think: sure, originally he had followed his instincts and stayed out of wanting to cheer up his friend, but the more he thought about it the more he felt like there was more behind why he truly stayed. Though he just couldn't put his finger on it; but there was definitely something - some feeling - that made him stay with Vegeta when no one else would.
          "Well, like I said earlier, I was worried about you so I stayed with you." Goku replied cheerfully, giving that signature dopey grin of his as he looked back over to Vegeta; only to be met by a conflicted yet sad glare - which made him feel a little awkward.
          "That doesn't explain why you stayed the night..? You could have left after I fell asleep.." The price mumbled, keeping his saddened and confused gaze on the taller saiyan: cold, tired eyes meeting soft, comforting ones as they sat quietly staring at each other for a moment more.
          Goku stared back as his expression fell to a more serious one, thinking of the answer to the question asked. "...I stayed because I didn't want you to wake up from another nightmare and be all alone, I...I felt bad, I guess." He said softly, shrugging slightly as he finished his sentence then giving another innocent smile as he chuckled quietly.
          Vegeta stared for a moment longer, not really paying too much attention to anything else other than those few words: I felt bad, I guess. He felt bad for the prince? He felt sympathy towards him? He felt the need to comfort and stay by the side of the man who had tried to destroy everything he held so dearly?

              He feels...bad for me..?

          On some level, that thought made Vegeta feel a little better: knowing that someone would be there to comfort him in his time of need, to care for him, to tell him that everything was going to be alright and that he wasn't alone in this. That there was someone out there to be his friend.
          But he, the other part of him, wanted to turn that down. Switch around the meaning and turn it into an insult to his pride, to make it a demeaning comment against him like everything else the other saiyan said. To bring back that oh-so fake arrogance and lash out at him for a fake reason.
          "Ha, I don't need your sympathy Kakarot.." Vegeta huffed, moving to quickly throw the blankets off of himself and scoot to the edge of the bed, giving the dumbfounded saiyan one last glare before getting up to try and stagger over to the door.
          "W-wait!" Goku began, turning to reach out to the broken warrior "Vegeta don't go!" He carefully took hold of Vegeta's wrist - to which the prince only hissed in pain the moment the contact was made - quickly loosening his grip with an apologetic look.
          "What!?" The prince spat, mostly from pain and not anger. He wasn't expecting to be grabbed and brought to a stop, especially not like that, and by someone who seemed to have completely forgotten about his flayed wrists. "What is it you want now!?"
          "I'm sorry." Goku said calmly, still holding that apologetic look in his eyes - it said loud and clear that he only had the best intentions. "I didn't mean to hurt you in any way, and I didn't mean to sound demeaning when I said I felt bad for you."
          Vegeta stayed quiet as he listened, his expression softening slightly at the apology as he looked down. He didn't quite know how to respond: half of him wanted to accept the apology and give his own for lashing out, while the other half wanted to shout at Goku for being so stupid as to forget something like that and then apologize for it.
          "Truth is, I actually feel really bad about this whole thing- you being all sad like this..." Goku sighed, frowning slightly as he spoke. Vegeta shifted his gaze back up to meet Goku's own, his cold tired eyes softening at the words as he stood shocked staring up at the pure-hearted man once again. "You're a good friend Vegeta, and I care about you."
          Vegeta didn't respond, he only gazed up at Goku with a surprised expression. A light shade of pink crept onto his cheeks at the words, he hadn't expected that- he didn't really know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't that!
          It wasn't often people spoke to him like that, not anymore at least, though he certainly wasn't opposed to it and wouldn't say anything to make it seem like he hated hearing those words - they gave a warm comforting feeling that was strange.
          He hadn't felt that feeling in quite some time, and even back when he had he never truly understood what it meant - at the time back then it was a new emotion that he didn't know whether to welcome or try to push away, and he already wasn't very in touch with his feelings. He had trusted that warm feeling, and look were it got him: a painful despair that he could never seem to escape.
          So, was it safe to trust it now? Was there really any point risking it again? What if things turned out the same the moment he listened to that spark?

   Why wouldn't it turn out the same?

          What if this is a mistake..?

          "F-friend..? We're..friends..?" Vegeta questioned quietly, almost as if he didn't want Goku to hear. He only got a quick nod and a happy 'uh-huh' in response, to which he smiled slightly at.
          "Yeah- you're one of my best friends, Vegeta!" Goku laughed, giving that usual bright goofy smile - though his expression soon faded to a more genuine and caring one. His hands moving to carefully intertwine his fingers with Vegeta's own, gently holding the prince's surprisingly soft hands. "And I'll always be here if you need, even if it's just to talk."
          Vegeta couldn't help but smile at the statement, nodding slightly in return as to show he agreed. It was strange: usually he would throw a fit over just someone saying anything like that to him, but this time he just couldn't put himself to be upset about this. It was like something about him was changing - like he was coming to terms with some feeling he couldn't quite identify just yet.
          "Now come with me, I want to show you something." Goku said softly, taking a few steps back - carefully leading the shorter male to do the same as he pulled Vegeta forward. He then lifted one hand, carefully pressing two fingers against his forehead while his other hand tightly held the prince's own before they quickly zipped away to a new destination.

        Maybe this isn't a mistake...

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Hey, Costco here! Quick author's note: the chapters may take longer to update, as I haven't been as motivated as I have been in the past - and I'm on vacation with my family. Despite that, thank you for all the support and love towards this edgy-trash fanfic!

See you in the next chapters, and I hope you enjoy!

                                ~☆~