Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ 28 Stars ❯ Arm Wrestle ( Chapter 5 )

28 Stars

 

Disclaimer: According to Wikipedia, I do not own DBZ. Pity, that.

 

Authors Notes of Spewing: Thanks go to The Chichi Slaughter House for beta'ing, and to all my reviewers. ~waves hanky melodramatically~

 

 

Chapter 5. Arm Wrestle

 

Yanking his hand from the larger Saiyan's rather eager pull, Vegeta growled softly at him in protest, glaring up at him, only to be ignored as the other walked at a brisk pace down a hallway, tail waving around in excitement, leaving Vegeta to follow him. Vegeta looked about himself, taking in the light blue walls, and pale orange carpet, making a face of distaste before pacing after him, following him through another door into a medium sized room, sadly (to Vegeta at least) with matching décor to the hallway. Against the centre of the far wall of it was a rather large table, spread with a variety of pleasant smelling savoury foods liked well by both Saiyans, as well as bowls and plates. Next to it all, Goku was standing with a huge smile on his face, looking over at Vegeta.

 

“Do think this will do, Vegeta?” Goku eyed him, and then looked to the food-laden table, his stomach growling. He furrowed his brow slightly, producing a pair of simple, backed chairs on opposite sides of the table, pulling his out and sitting down, looking up at Vegeta expectantly.

 

“It…is adequate Kakarot.” Vegeta mumbled, pulling his chair out from the table and sitting down facing Goku, watching in silence as the other Saiyan grabbed a giant, red striped bowl of chicken fried rice and chopsticks, digging in with enthusiasm, the odd grain of rice flying renegade onto various surfaces- his tattered gi, the table and his face among them.

 

Almost wincing at the display, Vegeta looked away, reaching for his own food- a bowl of steaming noodles- and chopsticks, eating more neatly, despite his speed as he pulled the noodles into his mouth. Hands reached around the pair as they drew food closer, the plates piling up around them slowly disappearing as they were forgotten by the pair, only wanting easier access to the rest of the food, effectively clearing the overloaded table. Soon, the plates had been cleared, save one, upon which lay a lone egg roll.

 

Chopsticks raised, the two Saiyan looked over the table at each other, eyes narrowing in challenge, neither wanting to give up the morsel; Vegeta's pride and Goku's love of food clashing unseen over the tabletop. The tails of the pair were twitching in provocation as they both waited for the other to give in, letting seconds drag on, it becoming more apparent to each that neither would.

 

In a flash of movement, there was a clacking noise as the two pairs of chopsticks collided on their move for the egg roll, stopping deadlock above it as their owners strained to overcome each other, only for Vegeta to deftly twist his own chopsticks away from Goku's, dipping back down again and snatching the egg roll before the other Saiyan could react. He held it away from Goku's reach, chest puffed out in triumph, a smug smirk plastered into his face.

 

“Maybe next time, hmm Kakarot?” He drawled, sitting back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other in an expression of extreme cockiness, ready to consume his prize.

 

Goku frowned, trying to reach over with his chopsticks, leaning onto the table in his attempt, only to have Vegeta slowly lean back, grinning as he teased, raising the egg roll away and out of reach. Goku mock-pouted at him, leaning further forward, his tail waving out behind him as he wobbled, body propped up by one shaking arm, before he overreached, toppling to the table with a dull thud. Vegeta blinked, lowering his arm in shock, before chuckling at the Saiyan lying face down on the table, reaching down with one hand and patting him on the head- he was kind of endearing, in a way.

 

Goku's head snapped up at he looked up at him. “I thought you'd want to prove yourself better than that Vegeta.” He pouted in fake anger- he could get another egg roll, perfectly easy enough, but that wasn't the point; the other Saiyan was confronting him, and he was far from being the one to stand down. Eyeing the lowered egg roll, rather than making a grab for it- he doubted even Vegeta would resort to that- he pulled back to his own chair, dropping his elbow onto the table, holding his hand up with a grin.

 

Vegeta looked at him, his expression passive as he pulled the plate over to his side of the table, lowering the egg roll onto it, but keeping it well within his own reach, not trusting the other, nor understanding his gesture.

 

“What in blazes are you doing Kakarot?” He growled out the comment, eyes narrowing as Goku tensed his arm, displaying his bicep, before rolling them with sarcasm in an attempt to shield his ignorance. “I am well aware it is your arm, clown.”

 

Goku snickered at Vegeta, tail swaying behind him in amusement. “No Vegeta. Haven't you heard of arm wrestling? You know…” He braced his arm, pushing sideways against an invisible opponent as he tried to demonstrate the idea to Vegeta. “You hold hands with the opponent and try to force each other back like this…”

 

The other Saiyan looked sour, his distaste for being laughed at coming to mind, as well as holding hands with Goku- although maybe he'd seen his grandsons arm wrestle before- it seemed quite pointless really. He scowled. “What?” He snapped. “Arm wrestling? Hn. Is that some pathetic human practice or something?” Vegeta frowned, vague memories coming really, if someone only used their arms, what where they to do with the rest of their body? Sounded more of a waste to him- a true challenge pitted everything against everything.

 

Goku beckoned him, smirking. “Yeah, I guess it is Vegeta. You just put your arm on the table like mine, so our hands face, and then push against me, until one of us hits the table.”

 

Vegeta looked at him with suspicion, and back to the egg roll. “Why should I Kakarot? I already have the egg roll, and I have already made you look foolish.” He smirked at him, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have it in the bag Kakarot, why should I bother? If you want the egg roll so much, then just make another one.”

 

“Because I thought the Prince of all Saiyans never turned his back to a challenge. I challenge you to this Vegeta.” Goku grinned at him, pointing to the egg roll, meeting Vegeta's eyes. “Winner gets to keep and eat the egg roll.”

 

Vegeta growled in frustration at being backed into such a corner, slamming his arm onto the table, hard enough to make it wobble, with a growl. “Fine Kakarot! Let me smash your arm through the table then.”

 

He grasped Goku's hand, steeling himself at the contact, swallowing as he felt the warmth of the other man through his glove, before enclosing his fingers, gripping firmly. Goku looked over to Vegeta, their gazes meeting as the Prince's eyes flashed and narrowed in challenge. With a pair of nods- neither wanting to follow in the footsteps of the other- hands clenched roughly, pushing against their partner and shaking with the force both exerted and received by each. Biceps bulged as the Saiyans strained against each other, neither wanting to give in.

 

Vegeta growled as he felt himself tilting sideways, his arm gradually giving under the pressure of the other, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he pushed back harder, squeezing Goku's hand as the tendons on his wrist tensed. The more he tested the other Saiyan, the more he got pushed back, feeling his joints crack under the pressure they were put under, being squeezed together by Goku's grip.

 

He couldn't lose this, no. Vegeta drove harder, frantic in his attempt to overcome the grinning Saiyan, his tail bristling as his entire body tensed, and the veins on his arm popping out, along with the one on his temple as he grit his teeth. Goku matched his effort easily, pushing Vegeta's hand down gradually; making the smaller Saiyan's should twist in an unnatural position as his arm started slanting to the table. Goku smiled over at the struggling Prince, confident as he forced Vegeta's arm down, his neck straining with the effort, his own hand visibly shaking. Vegeta's eyes widened in realisation as he watched the other Saiyan's knowing face; he wasn't going to make it, Goku would overwhelm him. He leaned forward, trembling…

 

Goku blinked, gazing up at the withdrawing Prince in shock, his arm going slack, whilst the other reached up to rub his own cheek, their challenge forgotten as his fingers brushed over the spot, lingering there. His bemusement was delayed however, when Vegeta- grinning like a maniac- twisted his shoulder back into position and went on to drive Goku's arm into the table with a resounding bang, pressing him down for a few seconds to make sure, before meeting the surprised gaze of the other. He picked up the egg roll, not breaking the confused gaze of the other Saiyan, his own grin of elation fading from his face, washing away, leaving him numb as the egg roll slipped from his fingers, forgotten, back onto the plate. All of a sudden, he felt an intense need not to be here, here specifically, near Goku specifically. He smirked again, building up his façade as he stepped to his feet, his flicking tail having to be wrapped around his waist tight, the movements were so out of his control. Picking up the egg roll again, he turned, walking with an apparent calm as he opened the door and exited, not give Goku any time to react.

 

Goku stared into the space Vegeta had occupied, one hand still raised to his cheek, touching the place where Vegeta had kissed him. Why did he do that? Confusion flooded him- Vegeta didn't hate him, but he wasn't going to kiss and hug him, was he? And why did it have such an effect on him? Goku's fingers brushed the same spot, before lowering his hand, a pink tint tracing over his cheeks, his hands resting in his lap as he stared down. Vegeta was just trying to trick him, wasn't he? He wanted to win, he was after the egg roll, and so he just resorted to a dirty trick, didn't he?

 

He could have used another method to cheat. He could have used his other hand, his could have stood up, he could have simply grabbed the egg roll and disappeared. Goku shivered at the thought- Vegeta wanted to do that to him. He swallowed, standing up from the table, wondering (and somewhat dreading) when he'd encounter the Prince again. He swallowed his uncertainty, dismissing it for the time being as he walked out of the room, exiting through the same door as Vegeta, yet into a completely different place to where the Prince went. Stepping down the blue hall once more, Goku opened another door, stepping into a matching room- his bedroom he'd waited in earlier- and paced over to the bed, sitting on the side with a heavy sigh. Pulling at the hems of his shirts, he tugged the tattered- mending your clothes didn't particularly occur to him- apparel off pulling them over his head and tossing them aside carelessly, before moving onto his trousers. After the fight, and egg roll episode, a peaceful rest would go down well, to give his mind a bit of a shutdown if nothing else.

 

Vegeta's hands went to his hair- the egg roll long dropped and forgotten- running them through it in his apprehension while he paced down the dark passage- the walls arched over him, dark and foreboding as he stumbled through it, there being no apparent end. What made him do that to the other? He grit his teeth in frustration. He wanted to win, that was all- and he did. He succeeded, and beat Goku. Vegeta smirked outwardly, stopping in his advance. He beat Goku- no matter how, for he still did it himself; that's what is important. If the other Saiyan let himself get caught by such a cheap trick, that was his fault, wasn't it?

 

Vegeta's tail lashed out behind him, as the Prince ran the thought repeatedly over in his head, attempting to convince himself, although without much success, as his mind kept stringing questions- questions he'd rather not hear, let alone answer. He wanted somewhere quiet; he needed to block out such thoughts- they wouldn't amount to anything but another brick towards his destruction. Sighing, his closed his eyes, not particularly bothered as to where he went, as long as it fulfilled his need.