Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters, and I definitely don't own Cupcake Wars, but I love that show XD

So, I started writing this over a year ago after my grandma and I watched Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. I honestly had a different idea for this baking one-shot, but I didn't like how it was turning out, so I decided to re-try working on it. It's different style fluff, and actually a big change from past baking one-shots that you guys will either love or hate. I hope you all enjoy. And I have to thank my friend, dragoscilvio who helped me to develop the ideas for how to make my change happen.

I know it's been three years since I had a baking one-shot written, so here's hoping for new inspiration, because I really missed this.

All baking one-shots have that Bulma X Vegeta picture drawn by LacieRhea who is GoodEnoughTheOpenDoor on FFN :3 So happy to have that ^_^

Also, today is my birthday :D And yesterday mom and I got cupcakes :3

"This is Cupcake Wars – Cupcake Champions," the broadcaster announced. "In this brutal war of winners, only one can be the cupcake champion of the world!"

Vegeta had been skimming through channels, holding the remote in one hand and Bra in his other. He was holding the little girl against him. The blue-haired child was sucking her thumb as she watched the baking program nuzzling her head against her father's chest.

Bra was already one year old and had officially dubbed her father as hers calling out "mine" anytime he tried to leave a room. It only annoyed the Saiyan prince when his scheduled training sessions got interrupted because Bra threw some sort of tantrum. When the kid understood the meaning of "timeout," that would be her punishment anytime she gave him or her mother grief...if he could even give the punishment.

Today was not one of those tantrum days and, therefore, not the reason he was tying himself down to one spot for the day. Instead, he was babysitting the tiny princess while her mother was out and her brother was at school. Keeping her entertained didn't prove to be too difficult. He had planned to put on some children's program, but instead he landed on this "Cupcake Wars" show. It reminded him so much of his and Bulma's baking competitions and how they evolved over the years to the point where they weren't so much for competition anymore. Instead, baking became a family thing, and Vegeta was strangely proud that his son and daughter would experience times like this with both their mother and father unlike him who would have to sneak around to bake with his mother. And that was before he was on Frieza's ship.

Well, he hadn't thought on those days in quite a while. Ever since the Majin Buu incident and his faulty mid-life crisis, he had put it all behind him, especially since the dragon deemed him a "good guy." Kakarot hadn't wasted time pointing that out, and that was years ago. Since then, he became more laid back in his life on Earth and didn't dare make the same mistake of going back and changing for the worse. He was perfectly happy with his family, and things were going well for them.

So why was he thinking about Frieza now while sitting with his little girl? He looked down and saw she was still engrossed with the baking battle. A small chuckle escaped his lips when he saw what a mess the contestants were making. It reminded him of his and Bulma's first baking encounter before it became a habit. That was the real competition, the battle that led them to where they were now. He remembered her being covered with flour and their first kiss. Things had certainly come a long way between the two of them since then. She was his mate, the mother of his children, and he found himself feeling a similar emotion to what the humans called "love." He still didn't plan on using the word any time soon, though.

No, the reason he was having lingering thoughts of his past was because it was his birthday. He had never celebrated it much before, and he still didn't now. With all of Bulma's meetings for the company, he didn't know if she even remembered it. It didn't matter to him. All that mattered to him was that he was alive, alive and with his family. He couldn't ask for more than that. But he still remembered times when he wasn't, times when his birthday was just another year serving the lizard who destroyed his planet. It was one of the reasons he hated his birthday. Celebrating it had only gotten slightly better seeing as when Bulma and her family found out, they always made sure to make all of his favorite foods. That was way before he and Bulma were ever an item, a time when he wondered what they had to gain by including him in those traditions.

Now that he thought about food, he was getting hungry. Watching these humans baking thousands of cupcakes for hours wasn't serving to curb his appetite. He knew he'd need to cook something soon. When a commercial came on, he got Bra's attention. She looked up at him with big, blinking eyes. Vegeta couldn't help but smile and chuckle at her expression.

"Well, princess," he said softly, "what do you want to eat?"

The one year old thought on it for a moment before pointing at the TV. He looked at the screen and saw that commercial was over. Bra was pointing to the teams making cupcakes. Well, he had asked and she had answered. He knew Bulma wouldn't approve of feeding their baby daughter sweets as a meal, but that's what she wanted. Honestly, he could go for some cupcakes, too.

"All right then," he responded shutting off the program. "Let's go make cupcakes."

Bra answered only with a giggle that melted his heart. She was certainly the apple of his eye, and he couldn't deny her anything. He disliked how both she and Bulma seemed to have a hold on him. But when it came down to it, his little princess would win out. Bulma's temper and displeasure only served to incite competition between them, which he did thrive on. He smirked thinking how Bulma would not approve, but he would deal with her later. Right now, his princess was hungry and she wanted cupcakes.

So Vegeta brought her into the kitchen and sat her down on the counter next to him. He took out some mixing bowls and ingredients to get started. The basic recipe, he knew, but after seeing "Cupcake Wars," he wanted to get a little experimental. It was quite a challenge after all. Vegeta decided to raid the fridge and take out anything he could think of. His goal: to make three interesting cupcakes that still tasted decent and that would make his princess happy and drive Bulma nuts. He chuckled thinking of how annoyed she'd be at the mess the kitchen was about to become.

"Hm, mangoes, bananas, and apples," Vegeta mused. "I think I can work with those. What do you think?"

He looked over to Bra who had her hand in her mouth. She gurgled an answer, but he had no idea what she was saying. He decided to take that as an affirmative answer and put the three fruit ingredients on the counter. "Alright, let's get cooking," he said with a smirk before he looked to all of the ingredients and tools in front of him.

Yamcha hadn't visited the Briefs' compound in ages. The last time had been for a party Bulma had thrown, and the human still remained separate from Vegeta. He knew their history was bad but, being Bulma's friend, he felt the need to make things right with her Saiyan husband. Their interactions had always been combative at best and other times reclusive on his part. Sure, he had talked Vegeta up to Future Trunks before, to let him know about how Vegeta had defended him. He had still been jealous of the man after that, and took a lot out on him. He had still wanted Bulma, too. But after seeing how both Bulma and Trunks reacted when they heard of Vegeta's demise, he finally accepted reality. He had been there for Bulma as a friend, and he had liked being her friend so much more. He wanted to change, and he wanted to find some middle ground with Vegeta, and what better way was there to get the Saiyan prince to talk than when he was at home babysitting his little girl.

That would probably be the only time he would be able to talk to Vegeta. He could say a lot of things about Vegeta, but he knew for sure that he seemed to restrain himself around Baby Bra. It was actually nice to see him around the baby, especially when she was born and Mrs. Briefs nearly forced Vegeta to hold his daughter. The look in his eyes was something none of the Z Fighters ever thought they would see in their lifetime. It was even better when Vegeta only glared at Krillin for saying, "I told you so."

Anyways, he knew Bulma was out running errands and that Vegeta would be babysitting Bra. Even if the Saiyan didn't like him, he was sure he'd keep his temper at bay while talking in front of Bra. It was his best shot. He hoped Vegeta would hear him out.

So into the Briefs' compound he went. He saw that there was no one in the living room, though the TV was on and some type of food program was showing. That's when he figured out that Vegeta was probably making lunch for himself and Bra.

He entered the kitchen and saw the Saiyan prince mixing batter in a mixing bowl while Bra sat on the counter next to him munching on an apple slice. It made his mind reel seeing as the scene was just so mundane and, dare he say, cute? Bra's gurgles caught Vegeta's attention and the prince looked over his shoulder to make sure she was fine on the counter. The prince smirked at his child before continuing to stir the batter.

But then, something felt off. Vegeta felt he was being watched. Taking a glance around the kitchen, his sights set on Yamcha. The human fighter looked intensely nervous, but still forced a smile. "Um, hey, Vegeta," he greeted awkwardly. "Can we talk?"

"I'm busy," Vegeta replied curtly. Surprisingly he didn't snap or sound vicious. Simply tired. That helped Yamcha to relax a bit. Maybe Vegeta was just as tired with their feud as he was.

"It'll only take a second," the human tried again.

This time, Vegeta sighed and nodded.

Yamcha decided to stand on the other side of the counter, with Bra behind them. Vegeta kept his back faced to him as he pour the batter of apple crumble cupcake into the muffin pan. "I know we've never really seen eye to eye," Yamcha started, "but I wanted to clear the air. I'll be honest. I never liked you."

Vegeta scoffed at that as he grabbed another bowl to work on some banana cream pie cupcakes. He was still trying to create the recipe in his head. Understatement, he murmured in his mind while rolling his eyes. "At first it was because of how you and that other guy came and attacked us, laughing at our deaths and making a game out of us. It was cruel and evil, and I'm sure you know that."

"I do," Vegeta answered, though his voice did not hint to regret or amusement. It was simply as if he was stating a fact. Yamcha was still surprised by how receptive Vegeta was to the idea of them talking.

"After that, things were different," the human continued. "We were all back here and alive, but things couldn't go back to the way they were before you showed up. Bulma and I were never the same and I hated that. As juvenile as it sounds, I was jealous of you. You were living here with her everyday all the while she and I were growing apart. I can see now that we weren't meant to be together, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

"When you died, I thought someone had ripped her apart. I had known this woman for more than a decade and she rarely ever made a sound as ear-piercing as when Goku told her what happened. I know she cried when I was killed by that green thing. I know it pained her, but with you it was like someone destroyed her soul and I couldn't lie about it anymore. She loves you and she's my friend, so I just wanted to clear the air. I know we'll be the furthest thing from friends, but can we at least be civil?"

Vegeta thought about it for a moment, realizing that human had not been there to insult him. He didn't really know, after the human brought up his first visit to Earth, where this conversation was going. It took the Saiyan by surprise, but he refused to let onto it. He refused to say the words the scar-faced fighter wanted to hear.

So instead, he offered a symbolic olive branch…or was it bananas?

Yamcha's eyes widened in surprise when Vegeta handed him an apron. He looked between the fabric and the slightly aggravated prince with questioning eyes. "Well, human, are you just going to stand there and watch?"

The shock quickly dissipated as Yamcha smirked at his best friend's husband. He took the apron and put it over his head before he said, "I'll bite. Let's do this."

Bulma had been running around all day just to make everything perfect. She wouldn't have been surprised if Vegeta had thought she had forgotten, but she hadn't. It was her husband's birthday, after all. Regardless on if he wanted to celebrate it, she had to honor the day he was born. She loved him and she couldn't imagine her world without him.

Their relationship had been rocky as anything, but she knew he loved her. For a while, he had been trying to adjust to new customs and feelings that he had never truly experienced in his field of work. Now, though, he had changed. Even Porunga had seen the change and brought her husband back when the man had only wished for the good people to be brought back. She had no doubt that he had good inside of him, but it was better for him to see that he really had changed and he couldn't hide it.

How could he not be good when he blessed her with two wonderful children? Trunks was still a handful, but most boys were at his age…and forever if they looked at his father's track record. Bra, she was a calm baby that had a warming effect on everyone, including the stubborn prince. Things just couldn't be better for them. For that, Bulma wanted to celebrate.

It came to her great shock and general disbelief when she heard two voices in her kitchen. Two of which she never thought would EVER be able to be in the same room.

"Get that thing away from me!" she heard her husband shout.

"Aw, come on…you have one, too," Yamcha teased. For the life of her, Bulma could not understand what they were talking about.

"Yeah, well," Vegeta stuttered before saying, "I bet mine's better!"

"Let them be the judge of that."

Who's 'them?' Bulma questioned.

"Fine," Vegeta growled.

"Judges," Yamcha called out.

Bulma decided to open the door and saw her baby girl with two different cupcakes next to her. One was yellow cake with a mango puree frosting while the other had a slightly brighter yellow cake matching the color of bananas with an orange colors frosting and a mango on top. In amusement, Bulma watched as her daughter tested the puree cake by Yamcha and grimaced which caused Vegeta to smirk. Then, the child tried the cupcake next to Vegeta and her face lit up. Yamcha looked to his opponent in defeat and Vegeta proudly said, "I know what my daughter likes," bragging about his unfair advantage.

"Eh-hem."

Both men froze at the sound of Bulma clearing her throat. They looked to her nervously as if they'd been caught doing something wrong. Bra clapped and cheered when she saw her mommy and then tried to get to her. Vegeta, though, caught her before she could fall off the counter. He then looked to the stunned baby admonishingly before he walked her over to his wife and handed her off.

"What's going on?" Bulma asked in a sing-song voice, happy to see Vegeta and Yamcha, two big parts of her life, getting along.

"Well, before you interrupted," Vegeta remarked, "we were making lunch. What does it look like?"

"Lunch, huh?" Bulma retorted looking at the piles of cupcakes surrounding the kitchen. Well, at least that solved her dessert problem for the party. The blue-haired woman shook her head in disbelief while laughing in amusement. "Oh, you guys… You look ridiculous. You both better get cleaned up before the party."

"Party?" Vegeta asked in distress. He looked over to Yamcha who sheepishly smiled and shrugged.

"Um…yeah…did I forget to mention that?"

Vegeta stormed out of the room leaving the two humans to laugh. He could hear them even once he reached his room. His annoyed expression softened as a small smile graced his lips.

Yes, the prince, though he hated to celebrate his birthday, gave into the sentiments each year. He was reminded of his past, but only because it was a stark contrast to his present and future. If he had been the same man he was, he would never be thankful that people who once feared and hated him would ever show up to celebrate something as menial as a birthday. But, if he was completely honest with himself and no one else, he would have to admit that it touched him each year.

He would also have to admit that he was different. That he was happy with his life. That he had fully broken away from the Planet Trade Organization Vegeta. He would have to admit that he defeated Frieza in his own way, by not becoming the tyrant he thought he was destined to be. He had achieved his birthright, and now his legacy was carried on by two children that would be just as strong one day, if not already.

His life was not what he ever expected. He had a wife and two children. He had a home where he had finally settled. He had a planet to actually call home, even if it wasn't his to rule. He was a defender of the world alongside his rival whom he had once hated.

And, strangely enough, he was perfectly content with that.

A/N: So, what did you think about the slight change? I thought this installment worked out perfectly and I really hope you thought so, too :D