Bardock ²

I slammed my boot against the ground. Once. Again. By the third time, anger was boiling in my chest, thick as molten lead. But I didn't move. I stood there, fists clenched and jaw set, watching her smile. That damn smile. The same one she usually kept just for me. The one that took my breath away even in the midst of chaos. But today... it wasn't for me. Today, it was for him. For that disgusting lizard with the arrogant voice and rotten power: Frieza.

She pretended well. I knew it. I knew she hated him, that she could barely stand having him around. But I also knew she was willing to sacrifice her dignity if it meant protecting her own, her planet, her people… her damn army. He laughed, confident. He approached her as if he had the right to touch her. As if he could even look at her without being burned by her. And the worst part was… everyone else accepted it. Celebrated it. Looked at them as if they were a power couple. As if they were hope.

And I... swallowing every word, every murderous impulse, pretended it didn't hurt. That I didn't want to rip her head off right there and drag her far, so far, until I made her remember who I was. Who we were. I wanted to scream. I wanted to claim her. Because she was mine. She had been mine in the shared silences, in the battles fought side by side, in the nights where the universe seemed to stop between her hands and mine.

But nobody knew. Nobody would ever know.

And there I was. Watching her sell a lie for the greater good. Watching my pride shatter... while Frieza smirked.

That night I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the castle and climbed through her bedroom window like a thief. And there she was, with her back to me, shedding her fake queen disguise.

I looked at her silently. With anger. With desire. With pain.