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Vegetta came to Quesadilla Island for a long-awaited vacation… or something along those lines. Truth be told, he didn’t remember much about his past. There was just this feeling he had, this need to take a break.
So how exactly did making deals with the Devil qualify as taking it easy? It didn’t, but the guy had his reasons, okay?
He could live without raiding dungeons for hours and mining every ore there was to find, but what about the emptiness he felt when thinking about his childhood? Or the confusing dejavú feeling he had when trying supposedly new experiences? And don’t let him get started on those very realistic nightmares about failed weddings…
What Vegetta wanted was knowledge, and the Devil had whispered sweet nothings about how they knew each other in some past life. Therefore, he made sure to land in his good graces to try to find out who he really was.
If that entailed defeating a so-called greater demon in exchange for necromancing powers, so be it.
Lilith, the infamous succubus, had grifted an amulet that the Devil used to stay in the mortal plain for far longer than the average demon. Because of it, he couldn’t get it back easily, which is why he turned to Vegetta, who turned to Maximus –not the fiercest warrior, but someone trustworthy enough for the cause.
All they needed to do was attract Lilith’s attention while the Devil sneaked in her base to get the amulet back. Allegedly. In reality, they found themselves killing hundreds of mobs who regenerated if not burnt to crisps, for weeks. When the actual battle was in front of them, they were more frustrated than anything else.
They still managed, of course.
Vegetta was teleported to the front of his tower with an ancient tome on the art of necromancy and a hefty bag of valuable rewards. Under normal circumstances, he would open the door, store his bounty meticulously, and go to his study to decipher the book.
After the two and a half weeks worth of adventure though, all he desired was his bed. Yes , he would go up his elevator, take the ladder and then-
“Ha! Take that you idiot!”
Huh.
As he stepped into his living room, Vegetta found it to be a living mess. There were numerous empty beer cans on his rug, a half eaten extra large pizza box by the fireplace, and a loud ass TV he definitely didn’t set up. To finish up, his partner was slouched against one of the loveseats with a controller in his hands, using his headset to badmouth whoever fool he was playing games with at these unholy hours.
He laughed.
Maybe it was the sleep deprivation getting to him, or maybe he was just too whipped for this silly man. In any case, the current situation didn’t bother him in the slightest. It was so ridiculous and out of the blue that it was simply hilarious.
“Vegetta, mi amor!”
[Vegetta, my love!]
Vegetta, who was almost literally doubling over in laughter, was suddenly engulfed in the tightest bear hug ever. His feet left the ground as he was spun around by his dear and very excited Foolish. Soon enough, kisses were added to the display of affection. All over his temples, cheeks, and even nose, saving his lips for last.
“Hueles mal.” He tsked fondly, covering Foolish’s mouth with both hands to avoid the kiss.
[You smell.]
The demigod murmured something unintelligible against his palms, his brows furrowed with what seemed like concern. Vegetta freed him, intrigued. “Tú no me amar ahora?”
[You don’t love me anymore?]
“Why you say that, love?”
“‘Cause you leave for months and then reject my kisses! Tú vas y no me besas, tú pendejo!”
Vegetta chuckled softly, his boy was always quite eloquent wasn’t he? He covered his lips one more time and kissed the back of his hands, “Happy?” There were still lines of worry among his partner’s eyebrows, he kissed it better. “I am here now, no? Papi volvió.”
[Daddy came back]
When he realised the whole Lilith business was going to take longer than he expected, Vegetta sent a messenger hawk to reassure his family he was just off on vacation. ‘Papi volverá’, he had written, with a double meaning of course. It wasn’t just Leonarda who called him as such, after all.
Foolish’s green eyes darkened, his grin becoming cheeky. Oh, that hadn’t been his intention this time around, though he should’ve known better. There were violent drunks, sleepy drunks, affectionate drunks, and his partner was…
“Shut up! Y’all are jealous pieces of shit. I’m so sorry to have a hot husband that loves me very much. Now excuse me as I go get railed, woo! Adiós, pendejos!”
[Goodbye, assholes!]
…a horny drunk.
While he didn’t fully understand the drunken English rambling towards whoever his partner had been playing with, his next actions cleared any doubt. Foolish let his grasp around him go, carelessly threw his headset away, brushed off some of the crumbs on his clothes, then picked him up with ease, bridal style, and took off towards the main bedroom.
Once in there, the demigod trapped him against the duvet and began tracing kisses along his neck. Vegetta wanted to indulge in the feeling after so many days apart, but his exhaustion was getting the best out of him. He started to drift off to sleep, hoping his partner wouldn’t take this the wrong way in his current state.
Just before he was pulled to the land of dreams, the older man felt some added weight to his chest. Foolish, as inebriated as he was, had noticed his unresponsiveness, and decided he was content with only cuddling for the night.
“I’m so glad you are back,” the blond murmured, grabbing Veggeta’s arm to wrap it around himself. “And just in time for the wedding too…”
His heart skipped a bit –not in a nice way. He must have heard that wrong, right? Yeah, his English wasn’t great and his brain was too tired to translate correctly. Why else would he hear his bfriend, with whom he shared a wonderful committed relationship, talk about such unnecessary stuff like weddings?
Then again, he did acknowledge him earlier as his ‘hot husband’. And how did the saying go? Drunks and children always told…
“Wedding? Boda?” He asked, wanting to get to the bottom of it. Sleep suddenly became the last of his priorities.
Foolish perked up at his voice. “Sí, sí, boda, Roier and Cellbit's. It’s tomorrow, well, I guess today? What time is it? Anyways, ayudé a construir el… uh… venue, I’d love your input. Me guste- gustaría tu ayuda, por favor.”
[Yes, yes, wedding, Roier and Cellbit's. It’s tomorrow, well, I guess today? What time is it? Anyways, I helped to build the… uh… venue, I’d love your input. I like- I’d like your help, please.]
While still confused on how his adopted son had gotten engaged in less than a month, that was a matter for another day. He breathed out a sigh of relief, nobody was rushing him. His paranoia had gotten the best of him, ha.
They were still on the same page, as always, and would cross that bridge when they got there –hopefully, way too many years in the future.
“It looks beautiful, if it’s your construction.” Vegetta commented, squeezing his partner for reassurance.
“You betcha! I had to make sure it had an amazing setting for my proposal.”
He blinked, startled. His what now? This had to be another misunderstanding, right? Proposal wasn’t English for propuesta, it had to be a case of ‘false friends’. For all he knew it could mean propósito, maybe building a chapel had been his life purpose; nothing else.
“You are gonna love it, slow music starts to play as hundreds of petals from several shades of purple lead you to a very elegant gazebo in where-”
Vegetta didn’t think about it twice, he covered his lover’s mouth for the third time that day. This wasn’t something he could hear, not yet, or not for a good while at least. He could already feel his heartbeat accelerating past the normal level, damn it, damn it, damn it.
It was unfair. He knew he was in love and who was ‘the one’ for him. ‘Only you and me in this life’, he had told his partner and he meant it. Yet he couldn’t even bear the thought of making it truly official. And why was that? He didn’t even know! His damned ‘gut’ knew stuff he couldn’t even recall, it was pathetic. HE was pathetic.
Foolish deserved so much better.
As if he had read his mind, said man snuggled closer –and with that, completely stopped his dangerous train of thought. Right, even if he wasn’t the picture perfect lover, it was his partner who had the final say. His partner, who was always so supportive and caring about him and his feelings.
From wanting to pass out as soon as he got home, he didn’t sleep a single bit that night. Instead, his mind was occupied for hours, thinking about how he was going to address this conversation with the demigod in the morning. That was what Foolish deserved.
He had to wait until the sun rose and Leonarda woke up. After taking care of his little girl who had missed him almost as much as he had missed her, he sent her on a ‘special zoo mission’. That guaranteed the two adults a nice moment for a proper talk.
“I say no today, and will too say no in the boda of Roier.”
A pin could’ve dropped on that room, they’d have both heard it. For a whole minute, that seemed to last an hour, nobody said anything. Vegetta looked closely for a reaction, but couldn’t find much besides the slight pout his partner did when he was deep in thought.
Maybe it wasn’t the fairest conversation to have with a man who had drunk two detox potions to get rid of his raging hangover. Maybe he just didn’t remember what he had said yesterday and this was his ticket out. Maybe he could get therapy like Maximus had recommended and only then proceed to talk this stuff out.
Maybe he just had to man up.
“If I- no, cuando yo -, when I say yes to you, it will be because I’m ready to marry in that second… or years after planning a boda, the perfect wedding. I can’t say yes with only ‘hope’, I want certeza, I want to really know. Te mereces eso y más.”
[If I- no, when I-, when I say yes to you, it will be because I’m ready to marry you on that second… or years after planning a wedding, the perfect wedding. I can’t say yes with only ‘hope’, I want certainty, I want to really know. You deserve that and more.]
“And you are not certain now… no estás certo? Certez? ” Foolish asked, enunciating word for word, probably to prevent his voice from quivering. His gorgeous green eyes looked shiny, tears were threatening to come out at any second.
It was painful to see him like that. He wanted to hug him and take back everything, but that was only delaying the inevitable. Vegetta nodded. “I’m not, not yet. Our relation is good, thanks to you. Eres increíble, hombre, lo mejor que me podría haber pasado. Guárdate eso, nunca lo olvides. Solo… I’m not- I’m… I’m not there yet, not today.”
[I’m not, not yet. Our relationship is good, thanks to you. You are incredible, man, the best thing that has ever happened to me. Store that, never forget it . Just… I’m not- I’m… I’m not there yet, not today.]
His partner opened his mouth as if to object, but no sound came out –he chose to think better about it. He reached out for his translation device and carefully read what was said. It wasn’t what a man who had a ring ready to propose wanted to hear, but he was more than that.
Foolish was someone who cherished his lover as much as he respected him, and who didn’t need a ceremony to prove that. He would love one, of course, but he didn’t need to push for one when his partner wasn’t ready. The gazebo was going to still be there if needed, as well as their family and, most importantly, their unconditional love for one another.
“How about…?” Green met violet intently, a lot was transmitted during that short exchange. Notably: understanding. “If not today, how about tomorrow tomorrow? I never mind waiting when it comes to you."
The two men shared a warm laugh and embraced each other to seal the promise of an eventual future together.