Across Time: Book One

Chapter 5 [Revision #1: 08/07/04 | Revision #2: n/a]

A few of the meals he'd eaten that day gave him the urge to slap the cook. They were, to put it frankly, a crime against good chefs everywhere. Others were absolutely fantastic, decidedly sinful, and thoroughly palatable. They left him craving more and very disappointed because there was no more to be had. He was amazed to discover that, after checking the number attached to the dish against a list of names, one of the good cooks was Sen. After the conversation they had earlier, Kilan had believed that his offering would be better left to dogs.

It would only help his overall score. Not that he was going to choose anyone else, but he needed a good reason for his father. Sen gave him a big smile when he told him he was in the top five and a happy hug. Kilan felt as if he would melt into a puddle of goo on the spot.

"Okay, um..." He backed away, completely embarrassed and unsure of what he had been about to say. He turned to the girls behind the poisonous substances and said, "I'm sorry for all of this. Thanks for trying." A few nodded tearfully before heading upstairs to retrieve their belongings. The remainder had a few spiteful words to say in parting -- some even had a few rude gestures. He rubbed idly at the brusises left by palms and by fists.

Now it was time to address to the finalists. "You should all get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."

***

He stirred and slowly awoke, angry at the vanishment of his dream. Senneth had been on his mind a lot lately and Kilan wished that he could have the real thing instead of the fleeting images his mind produced. Sighing deeply, he turned onto his side and attempted to return to sleep -- and blissfully torturous dreams.

Just as he was on the verge of slumber, he felt a gentle pressure on his leg. As quickly as the butterfly-light touch made contact, it retreated as if it had never been. Thinking that maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, Kilan dismissed it as only his imagination.

The feathery touches returned to drift up his legs above the bedcovers, pausing to hover above his midsection as if considering how to proceed. As quickly as they ceased, the movement continued until his chest was reached. Slowly, the light sheet that covered him was drawn down to his knees.

For several agonizingly long moments nothing happened. Kilan lay there, eyes clenched shut and completely exposed, wondering what was going on and silently begging the mysterious person to continue. This was the most human contact he'd felt since childhood. When he felt the touch again, it caused him to stiffen in absolute shock as his tail was gently stroked by soft hands. Kilan's face slackened in bliss and he was unable to stop the deep moan from escaping his body. He thought that nothing could be better than what he was currently experiencing, and was promptly proven wrong when one hand ceased to pleasure his tail to begin pleasuring another certain part of his anatomy where no hand save his own had ever gone before. Electric waves of ecstasy were flowing up and down his spine to quickly be joined by those emanating from his groin. His underwear became confining as he grew firm.

If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

His underwear disappeared to land somewhere on the other side of the room. The air caressing his flushed body did nothing to cool him down. Then his body ignited even further when liquid heat swallowed him whole.

All thought fled his mind until all that remained was pleasure. The glorious sensation built slowly until his body was filled to bursting. His world exploded in a series of brightly colored points of light that left him temporarily blind and deaf and on the verge of passing out. When the aftershock tremors subsided, he opened his eyes to see who had given him a gift of such profound proportions and found no one. The need to know who'd made him feel more alive than any other time in his life warred with the need for rest -- losing valiantly. Kilan slipped beneath a sea of lethargy to dream sweet dreams about the boy called Sen.

~*~

"Aw, c'mon! Don't stop there!" Goku whined. "Things were getting really good."

Vegeta cleared his throat and went to the kitchen for a large glass of water. "I'm hoarse, Kakarotto. You can wait until tomorrow. Honestly, you're like an onna watching a soap opera."

His mate was silent for a short while, thinking. When he spoke again his face had acquired a red tint. "He sure knows how to please someone. I thought that Sen was a virgin."

"I do believe that you're blushing," was the comment. "How old are you again?"

"You know that talking about sex-related things usually make me do that."

Vegeta smirked. "I'm guessing he did what felt good to him... with a few modifications, of course. Besides that, how do you know it was him? Some onna could have snuck into his room."

"I just know," Goku responded. "Kilan wouldn't have let it happen if he didn't subconsciously know it was him."

The book was placed onto the table beside the others. "Well, unless you suddenly learn how to read Saiya-jin, you have to wait until tomorrow." After placing a kiss on his mate's lips, Vegeta yawned and went to bed.

Goku grinned in the darkened living room, eyes alight with an idea. He waited until he could feel Vegeta's wild-tinged ki settle down to a steady rate before placing two fingers to his forehead. "'geta's gonna love this," he chuckled to himself before vanishing.

***

Vegeta rolled over in bed and began to stir when he didn't feel another warm body beside him. In fact, the left side was cold as if Goku had never come to bed the night before. The small Saiya-jin's sleepy mind processed this information and thought maybe he'd just gotten up early. There was no reason why Goku wouldn't have wanted to sleep beside him.

He stretched his lean-muscled body and threw off the sheet. While scratching his balls, he pushed himself up to his feet with his other hand... and promptly fell to the floor, his nose making painful collision with the carpet. He groaned and cursed vehemently. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Then he felt it. Something soft brushed against his forehead teasingly, causing him to wonder if he was losing his mind. Vegeta sat up and grabbed the thing hovering before his face and examined it. Looked like his tail; it even felt like it! Taking the brown-furred length in both hands, he stroked it firmly and shuddered when lightning bolts of pleasure surged throughout his entire body. "It's real, all right," he panted. "Never thought I'd see this again."

"Vegeta!" Goku called up the stairs. "Breakfast's ready!"

At the sound of his voice, a slow smile spread across his face. He had an idea how his tail had returned and figured everything would be confirmed when he went downstairs.

Goku grinned as he piled two places high with breakfast food, the front of his body covered by an apron that read: "Warning: it has been declared that kissing the cook is hazardous to your health." Everyone who saw it chuckled and then proceeded to glance over at Vegeta. "Ohayo, 'geta." He kissed him soundly before turning back to the counter. "The coffee will be ready in a minute."

Moving behind the humming Saiya-jin, he zeroed in on his gi-clad butt and the lump at the base of his spine. "Aha!" he crowed. His fingers nimbly untied the sash, grabbed the waistband of Goku's pants, and yanked them down. Through a newly created hole in pale-blue boxers emerged a long brown tail. Goku smiled at him sheepishly.

"I was jealous," he explained simply while returning his pants to their proper place.

After the meal, Goku was quick to run to the living room and open the book. Before Vegeta could take it from him, the other Saiya-jin began to read. "The next morning--"

Vegeta interrupted, one eyebrow raised high at Goku's sudden ability to read the Saiya-jin language. "You were really busy last night. I wonder if there are more surprises waiting for me." Goku grinned and continued.

~*~

The next morning, Kilan awoke happy and refeshed after a very nice dream. He stopped dead in that line of thought. "Maybe that wasn't a dream, after all..."

The covers were quickly pulled off and he checked to see if he was still naked. He wasn't. In fact, there wasn't even the tell-tale stickiness that a wet dream would have left behind. Usually a dream that graphic would have spilled over into the real world.

His mind filled with conflicting thoughts, he quickly bathed and dressed. He had a feeling that he was late to breakfast and that could be potentially painful.

Four out of five finalists greeted him from the dining room table. He wondered were Sen was -- because he had a profound passion for food -- and smirked to himself when the boy stumbled into the room yawning. His hair was shaggier than usual and he was still dressed in pajamas. The false breasts were crooked as if hastily stuffed into place. "Good-" His mouth opened very wide in another jaw-cracking yawn. "-morning."

Nari looked him over carefully. "You appear to have gotten very little sleep last night."

"Yeah... Um, what's for breakfast?"

Kilan constantly glanced over at him as he was pulled into one conversation after the next by the girls. Every time he did so he could swear that Sen had just been doing the same thing. Casually, as the numerous dishes were being cleared away by servants, he said, "I had the strangest dream last night..."

Water threatened to erupt from Sen's nose when Kilan's words reached his ears. He coughed until tears came to his eyes. "Really?" he queried weakly.

"Yes," was the response. Then his voice was lowered as he leaned in closer. "It was a really hot one."

Now Sen was squirming slightly in his chair. His voice quavered slightly as he attempted to remain calm. "Oh. I guess we all have them sometimes."

Voice now barely audible, he began describing in crude detail exactly what he went on in his dream. By this time, Sen had caught on and wasn't the least bit amused.

"How dare you say such disgusting things to me!" the teenager said with excessive loudness in the most offended tone of voice he could muster. Heads turned as he caught the attention of everyone in the room. "I'll have you know that I am, most definitely, not that kind of woman!"

Redness rose in Kilan's cheeks, a color that turned even deeper when he realized that Sen was exacting revenge. He tried to smile charmingly at the girls, but it came out as more of a wince. Thoroughly embarrassed, he quickly moved on to that day's challenge, not missing the sly smile Sen flashed his way.

"You are to find three special things before dinner tonight and bring them back here. Be ready to explain your choices." As everyone filed out of the room, he stopped Sen. "For the record, you were great." He then uncharacteristically grinned and headed off to another day of torture.