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“No.” The answer is short and feels like it doesn’t leave any room for arguments. Goku had always a hard time picking up on things like that though.
“What do you mean,
no
?”
“We’re not letting some guy ‘with a jiggling belly when he laughs’ and has a hobby of trespassing into our house!” Goku’s mouth opens and closes for a moment, before he takes a deep breath. And people say he is the unreasonable one.
“It’s Santa Claus , Vegeta.” The unimpressed look Vegeta throws Goku’s way speaks volumes and Goku bites his lip.
“And I’m the prince of all Saiyans. And I still don’t go to other people's houses in the middle of the night without the intention of killing them all.”
“Aaaactually-”
“Shut up, Kakarot.” Vegeta hisses, his hands curled into fists by his sides and he sends Goku a quick glare, before his head turns back to stare out of the window.
“I guess you feel strongly about that, huh?” Goku mutters, thinking of the red costume hidden in the depths of their closet. Gohan told him about the guy and Goku thought it might be fun for the kids. So he told the story at the dinner, everything, including the sleight and the red nosed reindeer and presents and with each word out of his mouth he noticed Vegeta glaring more and more. The kids looked excited though, to the point of leaving milk and half eaten cake out for ‘Santa’ before hurrying off to their beds.
When Goku came back downstairs, he found Vegeta by the window watching like a hawk and… well. Here they are. He could come clean to Vegeta and explain but… just as much as he wants to surprise the kids, he wants to surprise Vegeta too. Show him that he’s a good guy as well, that he came a long way. Sure, he is grumpy and hard to get along at times - at least according to some of their friends - but he’s also the most overprotective person Goku’s ever seen. He dotes on the kids, training with both Trunks and Goten. Something that Goku knows Vegeta enjoys, even though he complains about how much energy the two of them have together and how they lack concentration. There is still the proud smirk on his lips when he talks about them getting better though and Goku could listen to him for hours. It feels like their little family is… complete then.
Vegeta’s eyes are still scanning the darkness outside and Goku’s sure the guy’s planning to stand guard the entire night. The ‘animal’ instincts were always stronger in Vegeta than in Goku, and Goku isn’t sure he could talk him out of protecting his pack. He sighs and steps closer, his chest pressing against Vegeta’s back as his arms curl around the other’s waist, his face pressed against Vegeta’s hair. He loves everything about this man, his fierceness included, but that doesn't mean it’s not making Goku’s plan a bit harder right now.
He can feel Vegeta tensing up at the touch, ready to fight the threat off, but the man takes a deep breath, then one more and another, before his shoulder relax and he leans back in Goku’s embrace, making Goku smile as he lifts his head, resting it on Vegeta’s hair and glances out himself.
“Did it snow on the planet Vegeta too?” If Goku wasn’t holding Vegeta, maybe he wouldn’t even notice he asked something he shouldn’t have. But since he is, he can feel Vegeta’s quick intake of breath, and his slight uncomfortable twitch in his arm. He wants to take it back, wants to laugh and say something else, point something else, something dumb out, but Vegeta’s answering before anything comes to Goku’s mind.
“I… don’t remember.” The words are quiet, almost not even there and Goku licks his lips.
“Geta, I’m so-”
“I don’t really remember a lot about the planet.” Vegeta continues, and Goku’s not sure if he’s ignoring him or not, but still. It feels like this is something that Vegeta might need to get off of his chest so Goku bites his lip and lets his arms tighten around the other. “Most of what I know I learnt from Nappa or the archives on Frieza’s ship.” Vegeta spits out as if it burns Vegeta’s throat and he’s trying to get them out as fast as possible. “Pitiful, isn’t it? One of the few last Saiyans. The prince of that planet and I can’t remember a single sunrise. Can’t remember a single lake, tree, garden or a house. The only thing I do vaguely remember is the stone wall of the throne room.” The words are self-deprecating, aimed to hurt - Vegeta’s trying to punish himself for something he has no control over and Goku can’t listen to it anymore. He turns the man around and presses a kiss to his lips, his hands coming up to imprison Vegeta’s face there, his thumbs brushing over Vegeta’s cheeks.
Goku knows he’s not good with words - he was always the act first think about it later kind of guy, so he kisses Vegeta over and over, soft small kisses turning into the deeper ones, where he lets his tongue teaser Vegeta’s lips open and guides the other to the sofa and pushes him down. If all he needs to do is keep Vegeta in the present, to stop his mind from wandering the past he isn’t responsible for and can’t change, well. Goku is sure he can figure something out.
It’s hours later that Goku’s eyes slip open, his mind content and happy as it usually is when he has Vegeta in his arms. He smiles and glances outside, noticing the first rays of light run across the place. Oh. He should hurry. The kids might be down any minute, and he didn’t finish last night. Good that he had that costume - he could just tell them their house was the last call before the North Pole if they managed to catch him.
He slowly moved away from Vegeta, pressing a soft kiss to his temple before pulling the blanket over him, hopefully preventing him from feeling the loss of Goku’s own body heat. The man muttered something in his sleep, turning on his side and curling in a bit more on himself and Goku smiled, before disappearing in their room.
While Goku expects someone to catch him in the act, he expects it to be the kids. And he certainly doesn’t expect being caught while he’s halfway buried in the bag, trying to pull out the last of the presents. However, he is wrong at both of his expectations, as he’s suddenly tackled and pushed to the ground, strong thighs clasping around his hips, holding him still as the bag is pushed out of the way and Goku catches a glimpse of an angry glare as Vegeta’s fingers clutch at the white beard. “I got you. I don’t care what Kakarot says, but only a freak comes in the middle of the night to-” the fingers pull at the beard and there is a second that confusion flickers over Vegeta’s features, before his eyes narrow.
“Kakarot.” Vegeta glares down at Goku, one of his hands still curled into the fake beard. “You better explain. Now.” He hisses and Goku laughs before he swallows nervously under Vegeta’s glare and does as he’s told. It’s not long that Vegeta calls him a fool and an idiot, but hey, they are kissing too, and Goku will happily take a few insults for that . After all, they sound like pet names nowadays, more than anything else. And the way Vegeta’s lips move against his own, punishing and demanding at first until Goku tames them into sweet and soft with his own is worth it too.