The last battle had been hell itself. Even Vegeta had to admit that as he flew back with the others, a scrap of metal clutched in one hand. When he landed, he threw the worthless chip in the dust and leaned against one leg of the spaceship, thinking, 'I can't believe I'm actually WORKING with them.' He was disgusted with himself, though it WAS his only choice, next to staying on Namek the rest of his life. "Where ARE they anyway?" he muttered as they went into the cave.

As if on cue, the two backed out of the cave. Actually, Krillin RAN out of the cave and hid behind Goku. As loud as the following racket was, Vegeta couldn't make out a thing, but he WAS interested in seeing what could scare Kakorrot so badly.

There was a woman with shoulder-length blue hair and the expression of a monster on her face stomping after them. Now that the echoing stopped, he could hear her like she was next to him yelling in his ear.

"You said you would be RIGHT BACK Krillin! I've been waiting almost a month for you! I am SICK of this place I want to take a shower, I want to go home, and I think Yamcha gave up on me! But instead of being here so we can get off this planet, you go look for the dragonballs. And then never come back!" While Goku had been slowly trying to sneak away, she grabbed him by the ear. "And you! About time you got here! Do you know what they've done to me?! They left me alone, in a cave. ME! In a CAVE! I've been chased by dinosaurs, I had to live in a cave, and the only thing this stupid TV picks up is an bad rip-off alien version of the Brady Bunch. I've HAD it!" She stopped briefly to catch her breath and caught sight of someone standing against her ship. "And you! I don't even KNOW you and you're getting on my nerves!" She adjusted to see him better, and then noticed it was Vegeta. Her anger overrode her fear and she continued to yell at him. "Wait! I do know you! This is all your fault. If you hadn't shown up on Earth as a REALLY bad salesman, then we wouldn't even have to BE on this insane mission! What are you doing here anyway?"

Vegeta straightened, an even deeper scowl appearing on his face. "You dare to talk like that to a Saiyan prince!" he demanded. By then Goku and Krillin had recovered enough to try and tame the wild beast. Goku was edging in between them, but Krillin jumped in front of Bulma before she could do anything drastic.

Goku faced Vegeta and grimaced, jerking his head in Bulma's direction. "Why don't you get out of here? Where's your ship?"

Vegeta spit on the little piece of metal he'd been carrying before. "You make that fly and I'll go."

Goku looked it over. "I think this is beyond Bulma's skills. She's a mechanic, not a miracle worker."

Meanwhile, Krillin tapped Bulma on the shoulder. He winced a little before he said anything and suggested, "Um...Bulma? I DO want to get home, so maybe you couldn't yell at him anymore?"

She sucked in a breath, and Krillin's hands flew to his ears. "First of all, I don't care WHO he is! To me he's the bacteria at the bottom of a pile of dino shit! And second, I'm the only one that can fly this goddamn thing, so if he wants to go ANYwhere, I suggest he learns how to treat a lady!" She glared over the top of Krillin's shiny head.

Vegeta sneered at him, but both Krillin and Goku felt his power drop drastically. "Hey, Bulma," he called over his shoulder. "Are you done yet?"

"No. I haven't even STARTED on Gohan. Hey," she said suddenly. "Where IS Gohan?"

Krillin felt a surge of deja vu as he backed away and hid behind Goku, while Goku rocked uneasily on his feet, suddenly interested in the debris littering the ground, muttering, "Well, uh...you see..."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "That mophead? The boy is dead." Glaring at the other fighters, he asked simply, "Now, was that so hard?"

Bulma was momentarily struck speechless. Then, completely white, put her hands on her hips. Ignoring, or maybe not even hearing Goku's groan, she put her hands on her hips. "There's someone you have to tell about that Goku."

Goku took a step back, a look of absolute terror on his face. "No, Bulma! Please! No! Uh-uh! No way!"

Bulma nodded and pushed Krillin over to him. "Go tell Chi Chi. Krillin, you make sure he does it."

"But-but-but-" Goku protested as his best friend pushed him toward the door of the ship.

Krillin nudged him forward with his thumb. "Hurry up."

While Bulma watched, Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Who's he so afraid of?"

"The worst monster in his state of mind." Vegeta gave her a blank look. "I'm only runner-up. The worst enemy he has is terrible. His wife."

"Kakorrot is afraid of a woman? Why?" Vegeta couldn't help but sneer at the prospect. Even such a low-class Saiyan should still have SOME pride.

"Women. Plural. Two," Bulma said, holding up two fingers to emphasize her point. "Besides, you'll find out why when you meet her." She looked at him, who was only regarding her with a bored expression. "Go and make yourself useful. Go...torment the guys or something. Just get out of my way."

Vegeta shrugged and wandered away to stand under the door of the ship, still looking bored, but Bulma could see his eyes light up at her suggestion.

She shook her head. "He's just like Goku. He only listens when it's going to benefit him." She took her flashlight and headed into the cave. "O, well. All he needs to do is be trained. Maybe dog biscuits will work..." she muttered as she went about the job of cleaning her junk out of the capsule house, which was still in the cave.

Meanwhile, Vegeta stood stupidly on the ground, wondering how to open the door. Finally he flew up to the hatch and tried to pry it open with his fingers. Bulma came out with a pile of clothes and various other things she had stuffed under her bed, so she couldn't see him. That much at least saved the arrogant prince from some embarrassment.

"Piccolo," Bulma ordered, her arms starting to tire. The lid came down, and Vegeta with it. He was almost thrown off balance and clutched onto the door to keep from falling.

"Piccolo?" he wondered aloud, not realizing that also SHUT the door. It clamped back together, his fingers crunched between the pieces of metal. He howled in pain and tried to shake his hands, which were still injured from the fight with Frieza, but they wouldn't come loose. He ordered the ship to open up through gritted teeth. This time he swung onto the platform as it descended, nursing his bloodied fingers.

"About time this thing got down here. What were you doing anyway?" Bulma asked as she dropped all but a few things from her load of clothes.

Vegeta mumbled something under his breath, and the words "stupid woman" made their way to her ears. She hit the whatever part of him was closest (which happened to be his fingers) with whatever was caught around her right wrist. He yanked it away, but that was probably the first, and only, time she would hurt him. Looking down, she saw the pipe cleaner had fallen off and was laying at her feet. She shrugged. 'The power of a woman,' she thought almost smugly.

Still savoring her tiny victory over the prince, Bulma dropped the rest of the pile on the floor and looked at Goku. He was still stammering, but not as pale as he should have been had he actually called his wife.

'Well, he's not dead, he's not even on the floor, and he still has color in his cheeks. Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?' Bulma grabbed Krillin by the back of his gi and pulled him over to her. "I thought I told you to make sure he called!"

Krillin brushed her fingers off his shoulder. "Well, I don't think it would be a very productive conversation when the only thing he can say is 'but.' Don't you agree?" He smirked when she had nothing to say.

"I'm going to get the rest of the stuff out of the capsule house. I'll be back in a few minutes. Then I'll need your help to get that thing down."

Krillin nodded. "Sure thing."

Vegeta looked at them blankly, and Goku stopped muttering to himself. "What house?" Vegeta demanded sharply. He was confused, and he didn't like that feeling, especially after going through it with Frieza.

"You see, we have this house in a capsule. You push the button, throw it, and then you have someplace to live. Everything's there."

"Humans have that kind of technology?" Vegeta was astounded. All along Earthlings had seemed like an inferior race, not worthy of a second glance. But now, with Kakorrot and this woman, he was learning more about Earth than even his home planet.

"No. My family has that kind of technology. My father invented these marvelous little things called Dino Caps. Very useful. Even though they should be, since I came up with the idea," Bulma said, using the same voice she would if he were talking to a 5-year-old.

Goku started muttering, and the only thing any of them heard was "magic witch bombs." Even Krillin had to sigh at that one.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Well, he can say something other than 'but' at least. Goku? Come here." She took him gently by the shoulders and pushed him into a chair. "Sit." She turned to the others. "I'm getting the rest of the stuff out of the house, and if he hasn't called by the time I get back, I'll kill you all."

Vegeta's eyes followed her until the door came back up. "How can you stand that woman?"

"It isn't easy," Krillin admitted. "Goku and me had to take a five-year college course on dealing with difficult women. And Bulma's only a beginner's subject compared to his wife. Huh, Goku?"

Goku, who now was recovered enough to sit up, smiled. "Yeah. Chi Chi's a master's degree." With that, he stood up and stumbled over to the viewscreen. Punching a button, he sat back and waited for someone at his house to answer the constant buzzing.

Moments later, the Ox King's face appeared on the screen. "Why, hello Goku."

Goku greeted his father-in-law. "Is Chi Chi there? Because if she isn't I can call back later," he finished quickly, holding his breath.

"O, that's okay. I'll get her."

"Great," Goku said sarcastically under his breath. He perked up when his wife came on. "Hi Chi Chi," he said, almost cheerfully.

"Hi Goku. How are you. Where's Gohan?"

He hid a grimace. "We're both fine. And he's..." Goku answered with a flash of inspiration. "He's out training with King Kai."

Chi Chi looked like she could accept that. Then Goku blew it. No one had noticed how tense he'd been standing until he relaxed. Then EVERYONE noticed. "Goku, I have the feeling you're not telling me something." Her voice was full of warning.

"Well, um, we...have to...use the dragonballs...to...get him back," Goku said slowly, wincing before he even finished. Before she could blow up at him he said, "It's not an easy road back from King Kai's. It's dangerous."

The speech in Chi Chi's head vanished. The thought of her baby boy traveling a dangerous road was enough to convince her to use the dragonballs. Little did she know that to see him again she HAD to use them.

"Where is this King Kai?" she asked, still a little suspicious. Her husband was known for not giving a straight answer.

"At the end of Snake Way," Goku said with perfect honesty.

Vegeta could see Goku trying to hide fear on his face, but, like any Saiyan, he could be read like a book. Even Vegeta was easy to figure out once one knew what to look for. But his curiosity was sparked when the strongest fighter he knew was cowering in front of women. This wife of his seemed strong. He leaned over so he see past Goku's shoulder at the face on the screen.

"Goku." Chi Chi said. Even though Goku couldn't see all of her, he was sure her foot was tapping. "This is actually a very easy process. I ask you a question, and you give me an answer that doesn't involve beating around the bush. Now. Where is Gohan?!"

"Well...um...you see..." Goku was trying not to cower in front of his wife, or even an image of her, and failing miserably. Luckily, he was saved by yet another one of Bulma's rampages.

"O, what is that smell?" Bulma demanded once she dropped her latest load on the rather large pile of junk compiling at her feet. She walked by Krillin and pinched her nose. "It's you! All of you!" She grabbed Krillin by the back of his shirt collar and pulled him over to the door, plunking him down on it.

By now Chi Chi was almost forgotten. Goku turned around to see what he'd done now. Bulma yanked Vegeta away from the screen and pulled Goku over to his best friend by his hair. "You will go down there and you will bathe." She turned around to see there was someone on the other end of the highly advanced telephone.

Chi Chi was staring at her friend in amazement. "Where are they going?"

"To get a bath." Bulma noticed her father in the background, stirring his coffee slowly with a bored look on his face. "Hey Daddy," she said, blowing him a kiss. He looked up and greeted his only daughter with a bright smile.

"HI, Bulma. How are you?" He sounded tired, but that wasn't unusual for him.

"Great. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of this technology I've come across. Daddy, an nearly invisible ship." She grinned when he looked up sharply.

"Really? How?" He jumped to the viewscreen, almost knocking Chi Chi over in the process.

Chi Chi rolled her eyes. It was less than a minute and they'd already started talking about gadgets and gizmos. She shook her head and went to get herself some tea. This could take awhile.

Bulma's eyes slid to the door, remembering that she still had the boys waiting. "Um, sorry Daddy. I have to go teach these guys the meaning of the word 'bath.' I'll call you back okay?" She blew him another kiss and disconnected them.

Vegeta was standing in his familiar position, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, when Bulma came up to him. He only looked at her coolly and yawned.

"You too! Get down there." When he didn't even so much as look at her, she narrowed her eyes and tried a different tactic. "Either you go down yourself with some pride, or I TAKE you down, and you'll be down to Goku's status." He looked like he was considering it, but not enough to make him move. Exasperated with him, Bulma mustered up all the courage she could and said, "THEN I'll bathe you myself. Ask Goku. I'll do it!" Vegeta glared at her and jumped out of the ship.

Down below, she could hear Goku and Krillin mimicking her. "O, Daddy," Krillin said in a high-pitched voice. "I just love it here."

"Hey!" She yelled to the two friends. They looked up just in time to be hit in the eye by a well-aimed bar of soap. "If you want to live long enough to see me LEAVE you here, I suggest you shut up."

"Yes, sir! Um, ma'am. Um, yes Bulma!" Goku said, snapping to a sorry example of attention.

Bulma rolled her eyes, but led the way to the water, after figuring out how to keep Goku from holding the platform down.


"Does this remind you prison at all?" Krillin muttered as he dropped out of the single-file line to scratch his back on one of the few trees actually on Namek. He itched where his armor had been, but now that anyone that would attack them was gone, they walked freely without it. Even Vegeta was convinced.

"No. Prison is so much better," Goku retorted from the front of the line.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that."

Goku wisely stepped behind Vegeta before he answered. "Prison is better than anywhere with Bulma or Chi Chi."

Bulma spun around to hit him, only to find Vegeta in his place. She stopped herself in time to avoid hitting the energy ball Vegeta had in his hand to block her. "I swear Goku, one of these days I'm going to find a way to hit you and actually make it hurt! And THEN I'll tell Chi Chi!"

Goku mumbled something under his breath, then grinned sheepishly at Vegeta, the only one that could hear him.


When their little parade stopped at the water's edge, Bulma started her orders. "All right. Clothes here, you there." She pointed first to the patch of brown grass at her feet then at the green Namekian ocean. "Think you can handle that or do I have to show you?" At Krillin's raised eyebrow, she commented, "And I'll use you as the example if you say one word." Then she turned around to let the boys undress with some modesty.

A few minutes later, she only heard two sets of splashing feet. Without even bothering to turn around, she said, "Vegeta? Now." When all that replied was silence, she willed back a blush and turned around. Vegeta was waist deep in water, the other two already lathered up. Vegeta scowled and tentatively began to scrub himself down.

When Bulma tried to pick up the clothes, she found the only way she could carry them was to pinch her nose with one hand and hold the pile at arm's length with the other, much to the boys' amusement.

"Think she'll make it in one try?" Krillin asked as Bulma's figure faded.

"Yeah. Don't think she'll want to make two trips with THAT," Goku said with a grin. He scratched at his head. "This is gonna take forever to get the crap out of my hair." Then he glanced at his best friend. "O, sorry Krillin," he said with a little smile.

The monk straightened, trying to make himself taller. "O, shut up! I wasn't offended 'til you said you were sorry. You just like making fun of me." He tried to pout at his serious words, but he couldn't resist smiling back.

"Hey, Vegeta, it won't kill you to talk." He flicked water at the older warrior.

"No," he said sternly, "but I have a score to settle with her, and I would prefer to be dressed before I start another argument."

"So he has a sense of humor. Who knew?" Krillin said to himself. Goku shrugged.

"O, Kakorrot. I meant to ask you something. She told me to ask you about being bathed by her. Why?" Goku's only reply was a blush.

============================================

Bulma collapsed into a corner filled with something she didn't look at too closely. Her mad rush to the ship had left her tired. She noticed the smell still lingered. "Oh, man! Not only do I have to put up with these guys, I have to smell like them too!" She put a hand to her head and sat back. "At least I had my own bath installed. I am a genius!" She raced into her room, eager for some warm water. Moments later, she came back out with a washing brush slung over her shoulder. "A genius who can't fix her own plumbing."

============================================

"Hey! She's back!" Krillin said as he saw Bulma through the constant sheets of water coming from Goku's direction. "Hey Bulma, hurry up! I'm starting to look like a prune here!"

All of the water Krillin dodged was hitting Vegeta. Even his best statue impression couldn't hide the scowl that appeared. Sick of getting splashed, he blasted the choppy green water at the boys. They immediately sidestepped it, only to reveal Bulma on the other side. She squeezed her eyes closed in defeat and let the wave wash over her. Without a sound she dropped the clothes and walked away.

"You're a dead man," Krillin said matter-of-factly. "Not a word. Man, you're dead." He ruffed through the small heap of what used to be clean clothes. "What? No towels?" he called after her teasingly. She yelled back an obscene remark that included Vegeta. Krillin winced and turned his attention back to the wet and/or sandy fighting gear.

Goku shook the water from his hair and sat in the shallow water near the beach. He dug through until he found Vegeta's stuff. "Well, Vegeta. She's started her revenge. Yours are a bit... damp. or should I say soaked? Maybe saturated is a better word..."

Vegeta grabbed his pants from the smiling Goku and tried to put them on. Even though they were like spandex before, now they were smaller and wet and impossible to get on. "That woman..." Vegeta grunted, ripping off the legs to make shorts. "I swear..."

"Yeah, I know. Isn't she a pain in the ass?" Krillin looked down at himself. "And she gave me Gohan's clothes." He looked sad for a moment, then tried to brighten his expression. "And they're still too big."

Goku smiled and shook his head. "Krillin, I think we should've wished for you to grow up."

Krillin looked indignant. "You're one to talk."

Goku shrugged. "But a seven-year-old's clothes aren't too big on me," he shot back. Krillin had nothing to say to that. "Well, now that we got that out of the way, who feels like finding Bulma?"

"Huh? I thought she went back to the ship." Krillin looked around. "Didn't she?"

"Open your eyes, Cueball. She went that way." Vegeta pointed down the left forked path. "But we came from there." Now he was glaring down the opposite path,

"Great," Krillin drawled. "So, who's the lucky guy?"

"Can't we just leave her here?" Vegeta asked.

"If you can speak Namek," Goku said. Vegeta only looked at him. "Didn't think so. So we need to find her to get off this planet."

Vegeta flew over the path he'd chosen. "If I didn't need that woman," he growled to himself. "I would love to blast her into another dimension." His keen ears picked up the sound of water splashing, and he headed over to investigate.

When he found nothing in the water, he turned his back. Below him, Bulma resurfaced and laid back in the lukewarm water. When she opened her eyes, she screamed and ducked back under. Vegeta made no mistake in hearing her this time and searched for ripples in the shallow water.

Bulma came up a few feet away with rocks in her hands. As she had proved earlier with Goku and Krillin, she actually did have good aim; even Vegeta couldn't dodge some of her throws.

"Woman! What are you doing?" Vegeta shouted after one bounced off his head.

"What did it look like I was doing? I WAS taking a bath!" She shouted up and she went even deeper into the water until only her head was still on the surface.

Called by all the noise, Krillin and Goku arrived in time to see Vegeta's new midair dance. "I should've known." Krillin muttered. "If there's a way to get on her bad side, he'll find it."

"Well, he found it, I've been on it for years, so that leaves you." Goku grinned at him. "Or maybe it's just a Saiyan curse." He rubbed his chin in a mockery of thoughtfulness and turned his attention to Vegeta. "Come on. At least we know she's all right."

"All right! Who would live through her! Of course she's all right!" Vegeta exploded from his position over Bulma's shadow. But he couldn't get away fast enough.

"How do you do it?" Krillin wanted to know as they flew back to the ship. "I mean, you keep doing stuff like that, and you're still alive. What's your secret?" Vegeta only glared at him. "Okay... So, Goku. Now you guys have something else in common. Who else but you two would be stupid enough to walk in on her while she's taking a bath?"

"Shut up!" both Saiyans chorused. Krillin only shrugged and grinned again, shaking his head.

============================================

About ten minutes later, a squeaky-clean, sweet-smelling, extremely BAD-TEMPERED Bulma wandered back to the ship. Surprisingly quiet, she walked past Vegeta. Without so much as slowing down, she slapped him upside the head. "That was for sneaking up on me while I was taking a bath!" Then she turned on Goku. "And you let him! What does it take for a lady to get some privacy around here?"

"Some lady," Krillin muttered from under Bulma's bathroom sink. He banged his head on the pipes before crawling out enough to stand. Tucking the wrench in his belt, he came out of her room to stand by Goku and rubbed the back of his head. "I fixed it." He looked down at his water-stained clothes for emphasis.

Bulma sucked in a breath. "Good. Now let's get out of here before something else happens."

"Too late," Vegeta said, staring past her at the gathering black clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see, Bulma groaned and dragged herself to the computer for the ship stats.

"Maybe we could fly through it," Krillin suggested hopefully. A large lightning bolt, clearly outlined in the storm, probably changed his mind.

"Or maybe we could find a bridge to jump off of," Bulma said sarcastically. "It would have the same results. Besides," she said, looking over the nearly undecipherable printouts, "we can't so much as take off let alone fly." She looked over her shoulder lazily, but then her eyes snapped back to the stats. "Abandon ship!" she yelled suddenly. The boys only stared at her blankly.

Rolling her eyes in impatience, she grabbed each Saiyan by the ear and kicked Krillin over to the door. They got out just in time to see a pretty decent fireworks show going on inside the ship. The now pelting rain made quick work of the small fires.

Bulma sunk to her knees. "No. Why me?" she moaned, looking up at the sky. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Goku sat next to her and casually put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry Bulma. I know you'll be able to fix it. But there's nothing you can do now."

Bulma straightened and nodded. "You're right."

"Yeah. There's still the cave," Krillin chipped in. He smiled a little at her and squatted so they were eye-to-eye. "Come on."

"I've spent the last six months in a cave. What's one more night?" Bulma replied, defeated. Goku helped her up and gave her a hug. She smiled back and sighed, leading the way.

About halfway into the tunnel, Vegeta tripped over what felt like a piece of a boulder. He somehow hit Bulma and sent her sprawling across the floor of the main cave. Goku didn't notice until he also ran into her when she was getting up. She swung out in the dark to hit him, but ended up hitting Vegeta. She didn't even know if he felt it, but she sure as hell did. Nursing her hurt hand, she grasped around for her flashlight so they could see,

"Say Vegeta, how far do you think you can push her before she tries to kill you. Actually, why hasn't she?" Krillin asked from somewhere in the tunnel.

"I couldn't see the little bastard," she muttered as the light shone into Vegeta's eyes. Thankful for once that she didn't take down the house, she flipped on the lights. A soft, almost eerie, yellow light floated down the tunnel to reveal Krillin.

Vegeta looked behind to see the little bald man and realized it was his head that he'd tripped over. Krillin stopped searching the floor and looked up, then groaned. He was probably down there looking for the bag of jellybeans Goku had mashed to the bottom of his boot, since that was where his gaze fell.

"Right now all I want to do is get some sleep." Bulma said, opening the door to the house.

"Here, here," Krillin said, following her in. Goku only put a hand to his head and stuck the other one out to stop Vegeta. "Hey, Goku. It's the beetle monster," he called from inside.

Grinning, Goku put his fingers in his ears. Vegeta stared at him with a confused look until he heard Bulma screaming at Krillin. She repeated the same speech she gave to all the boys. "I am a WOMAN! Now get out!" was all Goku could hear once he removed his hands. Krillin stumbled out, dodging various objects Bulma found to throw at him.

Wiping himself off, he glared at Goku. "You knew she was going to do that, didn't you?"

Goku only looked at him innocently. "Well, it's common sense Krillin. Anyway, I was going to warn you until you brought up the beetle monster." He was interrupted by a delicious smell. "What's that?"

Somehow Vegeta got a fire started and was barbequing something over his makeshift bonfire. "Smells good," Krillin commented, sitting by Goku.

Vegeta regarded them coolly, but eventually fed them. "I didn't know you knew how to cook," Goku said between mouthfuls.

"When you get shipped off to another planet at the age of one you learn what to eat and how," Vegeta snarled. "Just eat it."

"It's good," Krillin admitted. "Well, we found something he's good for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vegeta snapped, glaring at Krillin.

"Well, if you'd never come to Earth in the first place, then we wouldn't have to go through this. But now that we're here, you're the only one of us that can cook."

"What about the woman?"

"Like I said, you're the only one of us than can cook." The door opened just wide enough for something else to hit Krillin's head. "I swear, she should've tried out for minor league baseball."

After the basic I'm-better-than-you man talk, Krillin attempted to fluff up a rock enough to sleep on. Goku took the woodpile and Vegeta sat by the fire, not trusting the Earthlings enough to sleep but knowing he was tired. He propped his head on one hand and busied himself by drawing calculations in the sand, trying to find out how long it would take him to get home. He sat back and sighed with the knowledge that he no longer had a home to go back to.

"It takes about two months either way," Goku said from behind him. Vegeta turned at the waist, ready to fight. "Hey, peace," he said, two fingers up as he sat down. Vegeta watched him the entire way. Goku leaned over and corrected some of the numbers. "Now try."

Vegeta worked it out, then stared, wide-eyed at Goku. "How did you know that?" Kakorrot had always struck him a the purely fighter type.

Goku smiled and sat back on his elbows, one foot tucked under his other outstretched leg. "Well, with my wife always pushing Gohan to do his work, you learn a thing or two whether you like it or not." His voice was light, but Vegeta could pick the ghost passing in his eyes at the mention of his son's name. "So, what's it like to be a prince?"

"Why?" Vegeta was immediately suspicious of something going on.

Goku shrugged the best he could while in that position. "I mean you have all this power, people to obey you, and the closest thing I have to meeting royalty is my wife and my father-in-law."

"I don't remember much before Frieza came to get me," Vegeta began. "My life was just a waiting game until I was old enough and strong enough to best my father, then waiting until my son was strong enough to defeat me. It's an endless game on that world." He smiled a little. "And being a prince made me extremely unpopular with the men, but very well off among the women." He sighed and wondered why he was telling Goku all this. Maybe it was because he started to trust him, maybe it was because it couldn't be used against him, maybe... maybe he liked him? No, it wasn't that yet.

Goku rolled over. "You know, you should show your sentimental side more. It won't kill you to have feelings. If it did, you'd be the last living Saiyan anywhere."