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“I’m giving you the crown, making you the new king of the North.” Vegetta spoke up, his voice piercing through the stale air. The man stood tall, despite the despair that reflected, from his deep amethyst eyes. He held the hand of his king consort, the eternal love of his life, gently. The grand beast man tried to distract himself from the heavy grief, keeping his focus towards the shark totem that stood in front of him.
“...What?...” Foolish was barely able to mutter. His emerald eyes were dull, they hadn’t been this empty since losing Leo. He tried to lose himself in the purple eyes of his other half. A desperate attempt to stabilize himself, to keep up hope against the dread eating Foolish alive from the inside.
Over his lifetime he had met many people that emanated that once lovely color, only to have every last one of them stripped away. After escaping the first island, the undying totem couldn’t escape that lingering curse of his. It hadn’t been a full cycle of the sun, since Juan had tragically died from Aldo’s betrayal. Yet still, Foolish was too terrified to let go of Vegetta’s steady hands. He knew his desperation never changed a thing, the man never learned.
“...Our children… Our kingdom… I failed them all…,” Vegetta muttered, “As a leader… No…As a father… I am the one that failed… The responsibility falls upon my shoulders… It only stands the punishment to fall upon me… Aldo his actions are echoed by my own…” He attempted to let go of his estranged love, step away from him. Foolish’s grip was too strong, one that Vegetta couldn’t make himself fully fight against. All he could do was look away, hiding his face from view.
“He is an adult, and it was his actions. Aldo pulled away despite the family’s attempts to stop him. Yes you have been busy ruling the kingdom… You weren’t there for yesterday’s events… But stop talking like this! If you think I will be a wise ruler, especially with my history, then fine! I’m not gonna let you slip away Vegetta! Partners are supposed to deal with things together, I agreed to be by your side raising this kingdom!” Foolish exploded on the mighty wolf. It wasn’t exactly his plan, but words can’t be taken back so easily. His inner emotions he had been dealing with so long, that even during their chats never got discussed, were now out in the open. Being the type to always blame something, Foolish just blamed it all on his grief. Everyone lost control when in mourning, it didn’t matter that he was an immortal that never learned.
“You were the one that said we were over, I was not the one to make that call Foolish." The immortal beast muttered, still refusing to meet the others' eyes. He knew those words weren’t a good defense, the man already knew what Foolish would tell him in return. Staying in silence, not saying a single word, that was somehow worse.
“Because you left me alone to raise Leo! She was so much like you, a living reminder! I let my guard down because unlike everyone else you couldn’t die on me! I don’t care if your precious Karmaland needed you, if that is even true! I doubt it with how easily you made a new land here, how easily you try to push it onto me now! You weren’t there when I had to go through purgatory and almost lost our daughter! I didn’t have you to lean on when Leo was taken away from me!” The immortal shark hybrid screeched, his anger continuing to bubble up. His hand reached forward, fingers wrapping around Vegetta’s prickly chin tightly. Foolish forced the other to look him in the eyes, to watch the tears rain down his golden cheeks.
“Look I wasn’t trying to run away then, I had no choice! I visited once! I tried! I swear I tried! I made the North for our family! To fix it! I can’t fix it! I failed! It’s better if I go!” Vegetta exclaimed, as his own tears rained down in heavy clumps of sorrow. He hated people seeing him so weak, and vulnerable. Vegetta had to be someone that others could look up to. Yet right now in this moment, he is forced to let the love of his life see how much of a mess he really is.
Despite being an immortal wolf, the alpha that came down from the stars itself, here he was feeling so small. Having what he regrets, laid right in front of him to accept. He had a duty to he was forced to head the call of, even if it meant leaving his dear family behind. There wasn’t a moment he didn’t think of him, though he did lose track of time's flow. When he finally returned it was too late, Leo was gone, and everything was ending.
That was the moment he really left, after reuniting with Foolish, he couldn’t deal with the bubbling guilt that had surfaced. In all the commotion Vegetta left, he didn’t follow his partner, he made his own path. The beast man went back home, to what he knew. After trying so hard to get away from it, he threw it all away the moment things got too hard. He saw the North kingdom as a second chance; where he could mend wounds, and win back the love of his life. Even now Vegetta was trying to run away again, the moment things got hard.
“How is leaving me again, gonna fix anything!?” Foolish questioned, pushing a finger against the other’s chest, “Have me deal with the hard parts of our children again! It is not fair to the kingdom, or to me!” Did you really think this was a good idea!”
His throat hurt with each passing word, the pain compared nothing to how his heart felt. The man’s breath was heavy and staggered, yet he stood tall. The undying totem looked to his other half, desperate for any kind of answer.
“...If Aldo deserves exile… Then I deserve one as well…” Vegetta muttered, as he finally fell to his knees. With knees weak, and heart feeling on the verge of exploding, he felt human for at least a small moment. A hand gently wrapped around Vegetta’s, it was a warm familiar touch.
“...Just shut up…,” Foolish muttered as he bent down, to the true king’s level, “You aren’t leaving me again. Your punishment is helping me fix this.” He knew phrasing it that way was the only way Vegetta would truly listen to him. Foolish knew him better than almost anyone else, that included all of the man’s flaws.
Vegetta didn’t say a word, he finally let the silence surround them. He curled up against the totem’s chest, desperate for such a sweet embrace. His lips gently pressed up against his partner's golden skin. Vegetta didn’t like being so vulnerable, even with those he loves, but in this moment he couldn’t make himself pull away. Maybe for once he could stay, instead of running away once again. To stop letting the pain that others inflicted on him control his life, and not inflict those same wounds on the one man that stayed.