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The atmosphere inside the pod was stuffy and overwhelming, thanks to the presence of an extra person-- one who wasn’t averse to yelling and whining and overloading the cheap filtration system Frieza's old pods came with.
She groaned and shifted- again- in his lap, straining against the seatbelt and elbowing his unforgiving chest as she tried to access the data panels and controls built into the concave wall. Futile.
“Really, woman? I told you, the stasis automatically disables if there are multiple ki signatures in a pod to prevent enemy combatants, pathetic casualties, or infestations from returning.”
“There is no. Way. On. Earth! ” She punctuated each word with a slam on random buttons. “That I am spending a full fucking month in here with you!”
“We certainly aren’t on your ‘Earth’, woman. Nor on Namek either. Be grateful I let you tag along before it blew up.”
The disdainful glare leveled at the controls swapped to him, and his spine tingled without permission. “You mean you should be grateful to me , for dragging your sorry busted ass into here in time!”
Self consciously brushing namekian dust off his tattered and unfashionable armor, he cleared his throat. “The sequence of events does not matter. You claimed to be decent with technology, but can’t parse Galactic Standard or the absolute basics of this ship. Why would I possibly let you dig around in the delicate wirings of my last resort to some semblance of civilization?”
“Because I’m a genius, duh.” She rolled her eyes and settled all too comfortably against his hips, sideways in the chair above him. He barely resisted the urge to shove her legs off the armrest. No, he steadied his breathing and reminded himself. Last time I did that she just tried to kick me and shrieked for several minutes about the durability of tights. A warrior must know patience. Even when the challenges were… unconventional.
The dimmed warm travel lighting was overpowered by a bright flash as the pod shot by a cluster of B-Type stars. Well, as close as most things were in space. Vast objects appearing small meant nigh-unimaginable distances conquered only through absurd technology and the wishes of the powerful.
As the earth woman squirmed to grab a small box from her belt and her back pressed briefly against his front, everything suddenly felt uncomfortably close again.
“What are you doing?” That came out with a crack in the voice. Dammit, I wish I didn’t have to reach over her to access the hydration and rations compartment.
“Entertaining myself, since your crusty and boring self is far from the best conversationalist.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him mockingly. “But I’m sure you pride yourself on that.”
A growl rose from his chest and she started slightly as she felt it. “Earthling, you would best not antagonize me with none of your pathetic friends around to distract me.” Vegeta leaned in, only having to tilt his head for his breath to brush against her jugular. “The difference in our capabilities is, I’m sure, within your genius comprehension.”
He heard her heart rate rise slightly, and felt his own decrease in satisfaction. Good, at least a bit of fear could be effective in getting him some peace and quiet.
Badump. Piercing blue challenged him and flushed cheeks confused him as she turned to face him. “And I’m entirely sure you don’t know half of what I am capable of.” She grinned as she pulled a small tube from her box and threw it against the door of the pod. Fuck.
“WOMAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE-” A poof of yellow revealed a stack of things with obscene images emblazoned on the outside, a tiny folding table, and foreign snacks floating in the gravityless chamber.
“This phase of my life I’ve been relegated to tag along and only play with the new tech when it suits you dumb assholes,” she announced. “So I need to keep myself entertained. And no, you can’t have the chips.”
His gaze flicked back to her and he spluttered. “Wh- No, I am merely concerned about the horrendous mess you just made of my living quarters getting into the machinery and my eyes. ” He wrinkled his nose. “The vents are already struggling without the pungence of all that grease and saline.”
“Excuse you, they taste delicious. What nasty soldier food do you have in here anyway? Not that I'm willing to eat any of it.”
He stayed still for a moment too long, and she stopped leafing through a writing leaflet to look at him concerned.
“Oh no, please don’t tell me I need to share my stuff with a- a ‘saiyan’, right? If you’re anything like Goku-”
Snarling, he finally steeled himself and leaned across her, pressing his shoulder against her- no don’t think about how soft they are- and yanks the rations slot open. After pulling out several bars, he slams it shut and leans as far back away from her as he can. Unfortunately that’s not much.
I need to find another place to put her or I will have to go without food again for the remainder of the trip-
The pod suddenly jolted as it impacted a piece of icy comet, too small to be picked up by automatic sensors. The soft warm light blared into an angry red, and Vegeta screamed.
“Of course! Of course the only way this will all end is with a humiliating death out of battle, fleeing failure with an ingrate of a weak alien-”
He coughed as he was cut off with another burst of yellow smoke, and the woman swiftly donned a similarly hued… Oh no. No no no.
“Woman,” he gritted between his teeth. “You are not going out there. I will attempt to cauterize the impact point and you will stay out of my way .”
“No,” she snapped. “You shut. Up.” The clear dome of her helmet butted against his fevered brow. “And let me do what I want! I can fix that, and I refuse-” She wriggled awkwardly into the last straps and hissing seals as the muffled yelling switched to external speakers. “Fuck, I refuse! To die stuck in week-old clothes in the lap of a stuck up prude who is too busy moaning to get anything done, and too busy being- being full of himself, to let a smart hot woman save his sorry ass!”
She quickly scans the panel and settles a gloved finger on the door button.
His eyes widen.
“How did you-?!”
“I learn quickly.” A cheeky grin flashes over her shoulder, and suddenly he doesn’t want to never see it again. “Now stay put and hold your breath."
Stars are only brightened by being reflected in her blue, blue eyes. "Don’t die again,” she admonishes.
The button indents, his mouth slams tightly shut, the limited air dissipates forcefully from the hatch as she holds the edge and uses the force to swing herself down and slam into the side where the hull was almost torn.
Vegeta slams his heel on the close button. And waits.
He breathes very carefully, because she will re-enter that blasted door or he will kill those worthless fighters on arrival and take the dragon balls they had and-
Her head pops into view through the round window.
A flare of pride for someone other than himself almost bursts through his chest, and he quickly tamps it down when she smiles teasingly at him and holds up a strange tool kit.
God dammit.
He slumps in the chair, it somehow feeling too cold and big, and listens to the reverberations of her working on the pod from the outside. What did she even lash herself to? He had never seen EVA work as ships he came across were either built on the ground or destroyed mercilessly, and never fixed up like this. At least, not that he remembered noticing. He paid close attention to the sounds, assuring himself it was just so he could perform similar maintenance, and ensure she did not ruin the pod, not at all from concern.
He shakes his head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts, and grabs further rations, wolfing them down and enjoying his time alone before she inevitably forces her way back in. The oxygen levels aren’t as bad as he thought, either. The woman somehow moved quick enough to keep from dooming them, though they will have to refrain from screaming the rest of the way back.
Her thick glove raps on the reinforced glass window, and he nods and holds his breath, clenching the armrests tightly.
The pod door hisses and starts to swing open, but she nimbly slips inside and yanks it shut again. The alarm had long ceased. Dim red bathed her flushed face as she pulled off her helmet, and his breath caught in his throat.
"See! I told you I could do it! I'd save us, and I'd come back!"
"And why would I have believed you?" The words came unbidden, and thankfully he caught himself from divulging how isolating his life had been and how suspicious and closed off he'd had to be to survive.
She didn't need to hear about that. It didn't matter.
"Because I said so."
The puzzled look scrunching her gorg- her eyes appeared genuine. She was either very stupid or very lucky. Likely both.
"You better listen to me while we're out here. I'm your best bet of making it back alive." She brushed her skirt slightly down her legs, having been hiked up slightly to accommodate the suit's pants.
And then she settled on his lap again and he stiffened. No, not everywhere. He would not admit that even to himself.
"We still have 32 days- Earth days- until we get back to Earth itself." The woman looked over his snarfed ration wrappers. "Y'know… I do have more emergency food in here. I can share some if you need it.
"I'm fine." This is fine. He had suffered far worse torture for far longer.
"Do you have any reading materials available in… 'Galactic Standard', was it?"
Vegeta nodded dumbly and loaded the ship's manual into the display screen.
She leaned away slightly as she scanned the document, swiftly intuiting the navigation system.
This was... going to be a unique challenge.