Author's Note: Hello again!

This time I'm coming around with a short fanfiction approaching Goku's feelings about fighting. The idea of this story originally came to me along with the thought: "Have Goku ever felt that he differed from the rest of his friends (considering his alien origins)? If he ever did, would he find some sort of connection to Vegeta?"

But in short, I wanted to express his passion for fighting, and maybe mix a little Saiyan in there.

Enjoy!

xxx

Goku had always loved fighting. Speaking with his fists rather than his words had always helped him express himself better. Fighting made him feel alive. It excited him beyond words, especially when he was faced with an opponent greater than himself. That was when he utterly thrived. Struggling, loosing, training hard until his body broke down, and then trying again – and winning; it was utterly thrilling.

At first he had thought that his friends shared the same burning passion for the fight as he did, but as the years passed and his passion only grew, theirs faltered. He could sense it; how he surpassed them and kept on growing, while their development slowed until their strenght reached a certain point – and then it stoped growing completely.

He always wondered, deep inside himself, why they never pushed themselves beyond that point – but the answer was simple; they couldn't. They were different from him, and Goku first realised this when Raditz payed Earth a visit.

Many questions about him were answered then. Not only was his passion towards fighting different from his friends; he was different. He was alien – Saiyan, to be exact.

Goku never understood much about how being Saiyan made him different from his friends. Except for the tail he had sprouted in his younger years and the crazy transformation he was no longer capable of, he appeared no different from his companions – at least at first glance. He shook it off. Being Saiyan changed nothing. He was still Goku.

And Goku didn't understand the difference completely, until the second time he ran into Vegeta, at Namek. He noticed almost immediately the change of power inside the other Saiyan. Had his strenght progressed…? That was the only thought he was able to pay, before the chaos around distracted Gokus attention to the matters at hand.

After that, he continued to take note of the persistant Prince who came to live on Earth. Unlike every other person around him, Vegetas strenght never ceased to evolve. He kept pushing his limits, bending his boundries, and forced his power levels higher each time he trained. Goku liked to take note of Vegetas increase in power, while he himself never ceased to continously train in persue of greater strenght.

It took Goku some time, and many battles with the other Saiyan, before he realised he and Vegeta were the same. Exchanging fists and blows with each other, pushing their limits and struggling to keep going even after they've reached it – they thrived while fighting. It was exhillirating, for both of them, Goku realised. Winning, losing – nothing mattered, except for the fighting itself. It kept them alive and living.

Tasting blood, aching bodyparts, serious and minor wounds, burns and scratches – it didn't matter. Hearts beating, blood pumping through their systems, power itching to escape their system and express itself in any form necessary, is what had them addicted. Addicted to fighting, to progress. Little else pleased them the way fighting did. It was euphoric.

Because of this, fighting Vegeta was different from fighting anyone else. Goku could feel the same things he felt radiating off the other Saiyan male's body; the thrill, the excitement – everything he had ever felt about fighting, he could sense in Vegeta too. That alone had him more excited each time they clashed than he had ever been.

They had a connection – something Goku could not feel with anyone else. It wasn't something like with a friend, or even a lover – it was different. He felt it the strongest when they fought, sending each other flying into the ground, breaking each other's bones. This connection was through fists, through fighting, and not words.

Sometimes Goku wondered if Vegeta could also feel it – their connection.

After a violent spar, the two beaten Saiyans were catching their breath in the scenery on the ground. Goku sat in the grass, leaning back on his hands and trying to catch his breath as his eyes exhaustedly gazed at the clouds above them.

Vegeta stood a few meters away, arms crossed over his chest, head dipped, and eyes closed as he, too, regained his breath while meditating his ki back to base.

Looking over at his companion, Goku sensed the waves rolling off of the smaller Saiyan's body. Vegeta too felt at ease – content – after their intense battle, Goku noted.

After the battle with Buu, Earth had remained peacefull. While the peace was welcomed and cherished by many, Goku had been quick to grow restless. Watching his sons' growing up and getting accostumed to a normal, everyday, Earthling life, he felt happy but also lonely in his quest for stronger opponents. The only other person who kept at their old ways, like he had, was the Prince. Stubborn, yet determined, he kept challenging Goku to battles and spar sessions, which Goku felt more than happy to accept.

And so they met up somewhere desolated and fought until one of them bled, or was unable to continue.

Today their match and been unusually even, and had ended with a silent truce as the two Saiyan's had tired each other out.

Having caught his breath long ago, Goku continued to watch his companion from where he was sat, utterly content with the quiet and peacefull atmosphere that surrounded them in the clearing. Vegeta stood still with his eyes shut and shoulders relaxed. Together they listened to the brave birds – which had stayed in the forest throughout their explosive performance in the sky above – as they chirped, and the nearby sound of a steady current of a stream running through the forest.

Finally, Vegeta felt he had regained his ki levels back to normal and opened his eyes, unfolding his arms. Instantly noting the other's stare at his person, the shorter Saiyan snapped his head sideways to glare at Goku.

"What?", sneered the Saiyan Prince rudely to his companion. Used to Vegetas gruff ways, Goku rewarded the other with a laugh at his comment.

"Nothing!" He answered, beaming with his entire face, offering his rival a toothy grin. The other Saiyan's eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping into the onyx orbs as he eyed Goku warily from where he was standing. Letting out a sattisfied sigh, Goku threw himself to lie completely on his back in the grass, hands going behind his head as he closed his eyes.

He enjoyed moments like these. Feeling utterly spent and content after a blazing battle, lying down to enjoy the feeling of his pulse slowing and his body aching after some well placed kicks on Vegetas part, just being, feeling and breathing – it was life.

Deciding to disregard his rival's previous actions, Vegetas glare relaxed. "Hn." He grunted before he too made his way to lie in the grass.

Sensing the other flop down a few steps away from him, Goku opened one of his eyes and peered at the other Saiyan male out of the corner of his eye. Stretching his arms above his head, Vegeta let out a groan as his back popped before he lied down in the soft grass. He brought one hand to support the back of his head, while the other lazily rested on his abdomen. Huffing, he came to a comfortable position and closed his eyes as he relaxed into the ground beneath him.

Goku watched Vegeta's chest rise and sink rythmaticly, hearing from the close distance as the Prince brethed in and out. Sitting up now, leaning on his right elbow, Goku turned his body slightly to his side so that he was facing and could watch the other Saiyan properly. Once again Vegeta sensed Goku's eyes on him and a scowl found it's way over his face. Without saying anything, the Saiyan Prince slowly opened his onyx eyes and let his gaze slip to the side and meet Goku's innocent stare. Disgruntled, he scrunched his nose.

"…What?" He growled, slight irritation directed towards the taller Saiyan present in his voice. Goku pouted his lips and pondered as he studied at the other's face. Brows furrowing, Vegeta sat up and leant against his elbows as he fixed Goku with a proper glare. Goku scrunched his brows together in thought, remaining silent. Growing impatient, Vegeta growled warningly at his rivals infuriating silence.

"For Kami's sake, what is it, Kakarott?" He ground between his teeth, his ki rising slightly as irritation flared within him. Ignoring his rival's usual sour mood, Goku took his time voicing what was on his mind.

"I…" He began, capturing the full attention of his irate companion. Sitting up and crossing his legs underneath him, he cleared his troath into his hand. Following his motion, Vegeta sat up, deciding to lean on his hands instead of his elbows. He folded one knee towards himself, and bowed his head slightly as he kept his gaze at the other Saiyan. Feeling the attention the other was giving him, Goku decided to try again.

"I've always loved fighting." He began stating the obvious, earning a raised eyebrow from the male glaring across from him.

"I've never really thought about it seriously. I've never wondered 'why', or 'how come' I loved fighting – because to me, it's always been a part of whom I am as a person." Relaxing slightly the Prince leaned back onto his elbows, lazily listening to and watching the taller Saiyan cross his arms out of the corner of his eyes.

"It's… not the same as enjoying to cause someone pain." Goku reasoned, brow furrowing further as he concentrated on how to explain his thoughts properly. "The fighting… it just… It's pleasing in a way that nothing else is to me. It's thrilling, really." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward. In front of him, the Prince remained quiet as he listened to the other Saiyan. Regaining a more serious look, Goku continued,

"It came naturally to me; to fight. Like inventing comes naturally to Bulma, and being perverted comes naturally to master Roshi – " The shorter male snorted at this. Goku let a small smile slip onto his face at the sound, watching the other Saiyan regain his composure before he continued.

"I always felt alone in my persue of strenght beyond what I already knew. I could feel that my passion for fighting was different from everyone else's. I sought after trouble, after stronger opponent's, because the feeling of defeating them was really…" He searched for a word that fit to describe the sensation he felt whenever he came out victorious. "… Addicting." He finished lamely, in lack for any other word. He looked to Vegeta under his bangs to find the other male staring absentmindedly ahead, eyes distant in thought.

"..." Goku watched him in silence for a few moments, halting his sudden monologue as he did so. After half a minute in silence, he decided to continue his awkward confession of sorts.

"That is, until I met you." This startled the other Saiyan out of his thoughts as he hastily blinked and snapped his head to the side and locked eyes with the taller male. Having Vegeta's full attention now, Goku shrunk somewhat under the intense stare he was receiving, awkwardly averting his eyes before shyly daring to look into the onyx orbs again.

"It's different with you." He said, boldly staring back into Vegetas eyes with a newfound determination. "When we fight, I can sense that you feel the same way. Don't you?" This time Vegeta was the one to avert his eyes briefly as he grunted and clicked his tounge, turning to face the forest ahead. Soon his eyes slipped back to meet with Goku's own onyx orbs. Realising Vegeta wasn't denying it Goku straightened up slightly, feeling more confident.

"Both you and I get a kick out of fighting with someone – winning and losing doesn't matter, because to us it is the fighting that gives us what we need." Uncrossing his arms, Goku looked down to his flexing hands. "It's completely thrilling to feel your knuckles graze as they collide with something, feeling your body fill completely with pure excitement and anticipation over the beating to come – giving or receiving." He couldn't help the smile that crept over his face as he lived along with his words.

"Your heart beats faster and your every nerve feels like it's on fire, your body is screaming to you – 'do it, fight!' – so you do." Looking up from his rant, Goku looked to the Saiyan Prince with eyes glistening full of excitement. "And it's like nothing you can ever feel outside of a battle." He could feel his heart do a small flip as he imagined the way his body felt in the midst of a battle, his smile almost hurting his face.

"It's just – "

"Absolutely, freakin' amazing." Goku startled when the gruff voice interupted him. Feeling embarrassed after suddenly being cut off after having gotten so into his rant, he looked to the smaller Prince with heated cheeks. Vegeta looked surprisingly unimpressed – almost bored – with his preaching. Hoping he hadn't read his passion for fighting wrong, Goku stuttered as he tried to come up with something to say. However,

"I know." The Prince continued with slight annoyance in his voice, eyeing Goku lazily and confirming the other's observations.

Considering that he had already wasted enough precious time listening to Goku's unneccesary and one-sided conversation, Vegeta got to his feet intending to head back to Capsule Corp's buildings. Hearing the idiot stumble to his feet behind him he scowled to himself, as he knew Goku did not share his feelings that the conversation was over.

Watching the shorter Saiyan abruptly get to his feet, Goku blinked as he hurriedly made motion to go after him.

"W – Wait!" He squeeked, trying to keep up with the Prince's rapid movements. Realising Vegeta had the intention to leave he grasped the shorter male's upper arm to stop him. Easily shrugging the hand off of him, Vegeta turned to face Goku sideways and gave him a hard glare.

"I'm sorry Kakarott," he spat. "I simply fail to find this conversation as giving as you seem to think it is, and would much rather spend my precious time doing something else entirely than listening to a low-class imbecille like you." Letting the rude tone slide right past him, Goku held his hands up and offered a sheepish grin towards the agitated male.

"Got it, I got it." He said merrily, laughing at the annoyed growl Vegeta sent his way. "But – " he held the other Saiyan back from leaving as he continued their conversation. "I'm not wrong, am I? You do feel it as well when we're fighting, don't you?" He asked, determined to receive an answer before leaving the Prince alone.

Turning back towards Goku to glare at him, Vegeta met eyes with the other Saiyan and a silent battle ensued between them as they stared the other down. Feeling a headace come on, the shorter of the two finally relented, sighing and clicking his tounge irritably as he did so.

"You're a god damn hand full, do you know that?" He said, glare hardening when he received a stupid smile in response. The Prince rolled his eyes. "As to your pestering question; yes, of course that is how I feel." Goku shone up at his answer, feeling giddy that he had been right – that Vegeta and he were the same. Feeling annoyed with the taller Saiyan's ignorance, the shorter male continued.

"And it shouldn't come as so much of a surprise that you do as well." He said. At this Goku looked slightly confused, as he didn't understand what the other was getting at.

"What do you – "

"It's a Saiyan thing, you moron!" The Prince snapped, his tone biting as he told Goku the reason he felt like he did while in battle. "You sure are a special kind of dense, aren't you, Kakarott?" The Saiyan continued, glaring at Goku as it dawned on the taller male. "It is part of who you are, because that's how our race is! It is in our blood to fight, to become stronger, to survive." The shorter male lowered his tone, steeling Goku with a serious gaze.

"Our Saiyan blood pulse inside of you as well as it does inside of me, igniting whenever we're in battle because that is who we are. Of course you never sensed the same lust for battle in your Earthling friends – " He spat the word. Then he straightened his back and crossed his arms over his chest, his stance showing off his stubborn – but familiar – Saiyan pride. "Because they are not like us." He finished haughtily, sticking his nose in the air.

Mouth hanging open, Goku enveloped Vegeta's words inside his mind. No wonder, he realised, that he only felt the same passion emitting from inside Vegeta – because there was none other than Vegeta who was exactly like him; who was Saiyan.

A huge smile spread across Goku's face as he felt his heart jump at the newfound knowledge of the root of their special connection. "Cool!" He announced happilly. Vegeta frowned at him and his silly glee, but Goku was – as usual – unaffected by the shorter male's personality. Uncrossing his arms, Vegeta sighed irritably at the other's obnoxious good-hearted nature.

"Whatever. I'm leaving." He announced, leting his ki flare up around him as he became ready to take flight.

"Hey." Goku's stupid smile hadn't left his face as Vegeta cast a glance towards him. "See ya' 'round, right?" Eyeing his cheerfull companion, Vegeta narrowed his eyes.

"Hn. I'll see you for our next sparring session." He said gruffly, earning an even more unbearingly bright smile from Goku before shooting off.

Waving after his Saiyan rival, Goku felt happier than he had in a long time. He now knew why he thrived so much from fighting as he did. It was in his blood to boil as he was pushed into the cracking earth – and so it was for Vegeta, too.

Feeling excitement spread throughout his body already, Goku turned to head home. With a skip in his step and a bubbling sensation in his heart he thought of Vegeta and their shared bond.

He couldn't wait until their next fight.

xxx

Thank you for reading!

I thouroughly enjoyed writing this short story.

I am aware that Goku's Saiyan name is properly spelt "Kakarotto" with an 'o' at the end (as seen in the Japanes scans) However, growing up, I first stumbled upon DragonBall - and read it - in my native tounge, and for some reason the Swedish translation of Goku's Saiyan name ended up being spelt as simply "Kakarott" (minus the 'o' at the end.) This stuck with me, and even now I struggle to get used to "Kakarotto" as his name, because to me, it sounds strange.

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Thank you for taking your time to read, enjoy your day!