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Kakarot relaxed a hand on his hip and held his head askance. Normally Vegeta didn’t mind the few inches in height Kakarot held over him. But those dark eyes pinning him to the spot nearly gave him a heart attack.
“Why’d you bring me out here?” Kakarot’s eyes wavered to the side. Pine trees dressed in a fresh coat of snow surrounded them. Glistening flakes drifted down from the sky and melted into Kakarot’s mane, the few resilient crystals clinging to his bangs and sparkling above his eyes. Kakarot smiled as if he knew how good looking he really was. Vegeta hated when his rationality failed him, propping up saccharine fantasy in its place.
“I wanted you to help me find a—”
“Christmas tree?”
Heat crawled up Vegeta’s neck to the tips of his ears. “Um. Yes.”
Kakarot whipped his head from left to right. “Well…this would be the place to find one!”
Vegeta kicked his boot through the snow on the ground. “Yes.”
Kakarot scratched his head. “Uh, okay. What kind of tree do you want?”
Vegeta wasn’t good at this sort of thing. In fact, he had no experience with flirting at all. “I want a…tall one.”
“A tall tree?”
He stared holes into the ground. “Yes."
Blinking slowly, Kakarot looked around. “All of these trees are tall.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want me to look for the best one?”
“No!” Vegeta grabbed onto the idiot’s raised arm. “I don’t want you to leave me!”
“Eh?” Brow raised, Kakarot studied the strong grip Vegeta had on him. “Are you alright, ‘Geta? You’re acting weird.”
“I need a tree that’s—that’s tall and handsome.”
“What’s that mean?” Perturbed, Kakarot wiggled his arm until Vegeta’s hand fell away. “How can a tree be handsome?”
“It just is. And it helps if the tree’s strong, too.”
“Strong? Like, you want one that has a sturdy trunk?”
Vegeta started into Kakarot’s chest. “Yes.”
“If you don’t mind me asking…Why’s that?”
“I need a tree that will be a worthy opponent.”
Going by the blank expression on Kakarot’s face, Vegeta’s metaphor flew straight over his head. Not that it made much sense in the first place. “You want to fight the tree, ‘Geta?”
“No! I mean, yes! I mean—I’ve fought the tree before—”
“You have?!” Kakarot widened his eyes. “Is there a killer tree here or something?” He glanced around, the edge in his voice betraying the sudden excitement he felt. At possibly fighting a tree.
“No, not at all!” All-consuming embarrassment made Vegeta’s cheeks blush. He covered his face with his hands. “It’s not a killer tree at all. It’s a kind, warm, handsome, perfect tree!”
“I’m starting to think we’re not talking about a tree at all!”
Hidden in the darkness of his palms, Vegeta groaned. “This was a terrible idea.”
“If there’s a tree out here you want to fight, I don’t see why you have to keep it a secret from me.”
“I’m talking about you, Kakarot.”
In the forest away from all civilization, Kakarot’s silence was deafening. Vegeta peered through his fingers to assess the damage he’d done.
Kakarot licked his lips. They were chapped from the cold. “I’m not a tree, ‘Geta.”
“I know that.” Vegeta’s stomach did somersaults as he stared up into Kakarot’s intense eyes. “I brought you here because I thought you wouldn’t be interested in talking to me alone otherwise.” And because I assumed being in the freezing cold would stop me from getting too hot under the collar. I was wrong.
Kakarot sniffled, wriggling his red, frostnipped nose. “So I’m not going to help you find a tree.”
“No.”
Kakarot’s eyebrows rose so high they disappeared beneath his bangs. “Oh! So you were saying all of those nice things about me?”
“Yes.”
Kakarot giggled. “Thanks!” He planted his hands on his hips. “Okay. Should we go home now? I don’t know why you brought me all the way out here just to say that. It’s really cold out and I’m starving—”
“I love you, Kakarot.”
“Huh?”
Vegeta covered his face again. “I love you. I have for a very long time.”
“Oh…um, alright!”
A heavy palm settled on Vegeta’s shoulder. Kakarot lightly massaged the muscle there in the most platonic way possible. “You’re being awfully nice today, ‘Geta.”
“You fucking moron.” Eyes closed, Vegeta leaned up on his tippy toes and pressed his mouth against Kakarot’s face. He missed his mark by a few inches.
Kakarot responded with a soft whimper. “Oh—oh, hey, Vegeta, I didn’t know—”
This was a mistake. Heart beating a mile a minute, Vegeta stepped backwards. Kakarot grabbed onto the front of his jacket, pulling him back into the kiss. Fear turned into shock, and the Prince went limp in Kakarot’s arms.
Kakarot’s lips parted. “Mm, ‘Geta—” His soft, warm tongue pressed into Vegeta’s mouth. Sharing a moan, they made out for a long while until Kakarot stopped to catch his breath. He nuzzled his cheek against Vegeta’s, mumbling nonsense words of comfort into the cold air. “You’re great, Vegeta, you really are…I hope this is okay, I really don’t want to make you mad by being like this—”
“Shut-up, already.” Vegeta wrapped his arms around Kakarot’s neck for support as he hung suspended a few inches above the ground. He felt the joy and wonder in Kakarot’s wandering fingers against his back, and his hips; soon Kakarot made his way to Vegeta’s backside to squeeze him hard through his jeans.
“I love you, too,” Kakarot said, nipping on Vegeta’s earlobe. “I, ahh—” He choked on his words. “I love you a lot!”
Vegeta didn’t want to jinx the moment with his own babbling. Kakarot’s hands continued to roam over him, as if he were brand new and they’d never so much as brushed against each other until this moment.
“Vegeta,” Kakarot sighed, voice all husky, “let’s do something fun. Got any ideas?”
Vegeta froze. “Well…”
“Oh, I know! Let’s get a tree to bring back!” Kakarot hugged him even harder.
Vegeta laughed into Kakarot’s warm chest.