Alrighty! A new fic from yours truly! This fic so far is over 70k words long, I'm working on it diligently, and I may or may not bump the rating up to M later on, depending on my Muse and how smutty she wants me to get. There is foul language in here, but nothing I wasn't saying at 14, so I'm not too worried about it. BUT, if you don't like language and some mild sexual situations, then I strongly suggest that you fuck off!

Also, this is a VERY long story! So if you're looking for some romantic resolution in the first couple of chapters, YOU'RE IN THE WRONG PLACE! But I promise you, the ride will well be worth it, so jump on the short bus with me if you're feeling brave!

Thirdly, HUGE friggin mucho thanks to Ana Frost, who is just AWESOME. She read over 50k words in two days, gave me opinions and ideas, and is just AWESOME! Thanks to Topaz Dragon as well, who also let me bounce some ideas off of her, and never bitches when I call her and bother her with storylines! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH! *HUG*

Toma shook her head and hid a smile when her mate scowled at the sight of their brats curled up tightly together. "They're just infants, Majesty; I see nothing wrong with it."

Vegeta shook his head and glared at his queen. "No, woman. I accepted your daughter into my household because I care for you, but this is unacceptable. The only companions of a Saiyan warrior are other Saiyan warriors." He reached into the crib and scooped up his son, only for the male brat to cling tightly to his sleeping companion. So tightly that King Vegeta was lifting them both into the air. "What the hell is this?"

Toma merely shook her head again and continued to hide her smile. "I tried to tell you, beloved, but this is what happened when I went to take Prince Vegeta back to his room." Her eyes sparkled when the prince snarled at his father when he tried to pull them apart, and only clung tighter to the blonde female.

"My son should not be this attached to a second-class half-breed female. What happens when they're older, Toma? This will not end well."

She sighed and took the bundle of tangled up Saiyan brats from her mate, placing them back in the crib. Both of them cooed and only held each other tighter. "Raise them as brother and sister. Afterall, they'll share a baby brother in nearly six months."

King Vegeta's face lit up a bit at that statement, and his hand went out to caress her flat belly. "Yes, I suppose it would not be a scandal if they're raised as siblings. Your Usagi will be a playmate for the royal princes. Not a princess, though. Not in name, anyhow. But she can be raised as one, and possibly mated with one of the Saiyan Elite when she comes of age."

Toma kissed him affectionately, running her fingers through the fur of his tail. Such a thing was a very high honor for any female, let alone the half-breed daughter from her first pair-bonding. Usagi would be a beautiful woman, there was no doubt, but her ki level was low, even for a second-class warrior. The only thing that kept her from being classified as third-class was her mother's rank and social status.

She tucked a blanket around both of the infants and chuckled when the crown prince growled at her invasion of his personal space. Or maybe he just thought someone was going to try and separate the two of them again.

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"Gee-Gee!"

The crown prince turned just in time to catch the bundle of blonde as she launched herself at him, kicking and punching and giggling her head off. He easily countered all of her blows, but unlike his other sparring partners, he always took care never to hit her back. The one time he'd done so, when they'd started their training a few months ago at the age of four, she'd cried so hard he'd been convinced he'd nearly killed her.

Usagi hadn't cried because he'd hurt her, she'd cried because he'd hit her. Vegeta had never hit her in all of their lives, and something in her couldn't comprehend that they were training, not playing. She was just too naïve, too innocent, to understand.

So Prince Vegeta had remained her sparring partner whenever she was in the ring, despite the cold glare from his teacher, Nappa, and the jeering from the Saiyan Elite. He endured it all simply to keep her from getting hurt, the little light of his life, the only true friend he'd ever had.

He flared his ki, pulsing it in a way to signal her to stop, and she hovered above him like a bumblebee, her silver ki glowing around her like a halo. Gee-Gee rose up to poke her chest, right over the mark of the royal family that was stamped into her armor. "Father approved that?"

"Uh-huh!" She cried in excitement. "It's so pretty, it matches my hair!"

Vegeta snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're such a girl, Usa."

"Am not!"

"Are too. You're excited about the stamp being gold. You're not excited about the fact that Father's letting you actually wear armor. I'd be a lot more excited about that… even if the armor's purple." He wrinkled his nose at the color, much preferring the royal colors of red or blue.

"Oh, I'm excited about that, too, Gee-Gee! I just thought it was awesome that we matched!" She jumped on him again, hugging him tightly. She was completely oblivious to the snickers and snide remarks directed at the crown prince. If she had known, she would have likely yelled at them all and cried her eyes out.

Vegeta flushed, both with embarrassment and with pleasure. If Usagi was hugging him, all was right with the world; he just wished to the gods that she wouldn't do it on the training field. "Come on, girl," he grunted. "Your flying still sucks, we need to work on it."

"Yeah, Gee-Gee, go teach your little girlfriend how to fly, and leave the sparring to the men!"

Usagi spun immediately, her blue eyes flaring with righteous anger. "Shut up, Raditz! I'm not his girlfriend! You're just mad because you smell so damned bad that no girls will even come near you!" She yelled, flinging a pitiful ki blast at his head without even thinking.

The ki ball was easily deflected, and opened up a small hole in the ground where it landed. "You're not even a Saiyan," the spikey-haired boy snorted. "And you fight like a girl."

"At least I don't smell like a Saibaman," she retorted. "Go wash your nasty ass, Radu."

"At least she swears like a Saiyan," Nappa chuckled. He found the girl child annoying most of the time, but her verbal sparring with the other brats more than made up for her lack of combat skills. At least she was entertaining.

Usagi's eyes widened and she crossed her arms over her chest, erecting a weak ki shield. It was no match for the blast that Raditz was aiming at her, but she knew it was coming when she'd seen his jaw jump; she'd gotten to him, as was her intention. No one teased Gee-Gee. Unless it was her, of course.

Vegeta snarled with rage and immediately leapt in front of Usagi, catching the ki blast as it flew at her, and whipping it right back at its owner. He smirked and folded his arms over his chest when Raditz took his own energy right in the gut and went flying back, his armor cracked in several places. "Who fights like a girl?" He snorted in contempt. "Third-class weakling." His eyes twinkled with amusement when his step-sister blinked at him in surprise; she had been ready to take the hit despite her low power level. "Shall we? I won't have you bobbing up and down in the air like that. It's embarrassing."

Grinning ear to ear, she nodded emphatically, and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Gee-Gee," she whispered in his ear.

"Feh. Don't worry about it. Now get off of me. You're a warrior, and warriors don't hug other warriors." He sighed in exasperation when she only hugged him tighter and giggled. Oh well, at least none of the other brats in their squad knew about them still sharing a bed at the ripe old age of four. That would be the death of him, if anyone ever found out about Usagi's nighttime ventures into his room, just to snuggle up against him. "Ugh, girls."

Once they made it out into the desert a little way, the crown prince smirked at her, and Usagi's eyes widened in something close to fear. She knew what was coming. "No, Gee-Gee!" She yelled, bobbing into the air, summoning up as much of her ki as she could to get some speed. "Don't! Please don't!"

Vegeta laughed and easily caught her by the ankle with one hand, while the other went straight for the back of her knee. "Say it, Usa! Say it!"

"Nuh-nuh-noooooo!" Usagi laughed, wiggling around in the air as he mercilessly tickled her. "Lemme go, Gee-Gee, please!"

Laughing evilly in a miniature imitation of his father, he drug her to the ground and moved to her ribs and sides, making her laugh even harder and squeal loudly as she continued to beg him to let her go. "Say it, Usa!"

"Pleeeease Gee-Gee! I—I—I'm gonna peeeee!"

"Then you'd better say it fast before I make you piss yourself!" He cackled.

Damn it, she really did have to pee, and he was only tickling her harder now, making her laugh so hard that she was crying a little. "I—I bow—b—before-hahahaha! Please Gee-Gee! I—I can't say it if you keep—" Usagi let out a sudden rush of air when he stopped tickling her, and found herself looking up into the grinning face of a warrior in training.

"You were saying, girl?" Vegeta asked expectantly.

Taking another deep breath and trying not to giggle, Usagi finally spoke. "I bow before the King of the Saiyans. I'm not worthy of his presence. He is awesome! I eat mud and smell like a Saibaman!"

He snorted after a moment, clearly not satisfied. "All of it, girl. Or I yank that armor up and get you under your arms."

"Gods, no!" Usagi laughed. "If you do, I really will pee myself! Ok, ok! I love Gee-Gee with all of my heart, with whipped cream and strawberries on top, and I will worship my prince forever!"

"Much better!" Vegeta cried triumphantly, yanking her to her feet. "Now. Let's fly." He pointed at a bush as an afterthought. "Go pee first," he advised. "Because I think I'm going to have to tickle the shit out of you again before this is all over."

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"Bring it, pretty boy."

Pushing his ki down to her level, Vegeta flew at her so quickly that she barely had a chance to keep up with him. They weren't babies anymore, but he still couldn't bring himself to hit her with full force whenever she left an opening. Usagi had to learn sometime that she was going to get creamed if she didn't improve her fighting style, and Vegeta would rather be the one hitting her, despite the fact that he inwardly cringed at every little bruise he inflicted, no matter how small. At least it was him, and not Nappa. Nappa would beat the shit out of her; he'd done it once before, and the crown prince would take the beating in her place before he ever let it happen again.

She was too pure, too perfect, and too innocent to be subjected to such violence. Even if she was half-Saiyan.

After sparring, they both stripped down, showered, and changed, just as they always had. Together. Vegeta couldn't help the growl that emitted from him when the other brats in their squad looked at her. Yes, they were children, but lately a lot of the other boys had been glancing at her with hints of interest, and that did not sit well with him at all.

Their squad mates quickly looked away the moment he caught them looking, a feral glint in his eyes. He subtly positioned himself under the spray in such a way that most of her was shielded from view, and finally allowed himself to relax under the hot water so he could wash his thick, untamable hair. He helped Usagi wash hers when he was finished, since it would otherwise take her forever on her own. Those golden locks came to her knees now, and it was getting more and more difficult for her to keep it pinned up during training. She still stubbornly refused to cut it, though, and Vegeta was secretly pleased that she kept it long. Gods, she was going to be a vision by the time she was sixteen, which was when he planned on claiming her.

He'd expressed that wish to his father only a year before, and while it hadn't gone over well, the crown prince always got what he wanted. Usagi would be his one day, whether his father liked it or not, damn it.

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"Gee-Gee, your father's going to beat you black and blue if you keep sneaking in here," Usagi teased lightly. The softness and gratitude in her smile reached all the way to her eyes when she turned to face him and snuggled tightly into his chest.

They both sighed in contentment; Usagi couldn't sleep without someone in the bed with her, and had managed only three hours a night after the king had forbidden her from ever again sharing the crown prince's bed. Never mind that they'd only been sleeping together for the last nine years, ever since they'd been infants.

Her training had suffered, and she'd been punished severely by Nappa for dozing off on her feet one morning. The next time it had happened, Vegeta had taken the beating for her, and she had ignored the risk of punishment that night to sneak into his room to heal him.

That was their little secret. The only other person who knew was Tarble, the brother that they shared. And recently, Raditz, who had started out years ago as a bully and mutual enemy, but had suddenly become a friend when he'd defended Usagi in the city against some older brats. In her gratitude, Usagi had healed his cuts and bruises, pleading gently with him not to breathe a word about her odd gift.

She couldn't fight for shit by Saiyan standards, but she could damn near bring someone back from the brink of death. At least something about her was useful, she'd mused to Vegeta on more than one occasion.

Feeling her shiver, Vegeta pulled the covers up around her tighter and wrapped his tail around her, using his ki to warm her. "The old man won't do shit," he snorted in contempt. "I passed his power level months ago." But that didn't mean the king wouldn't try and punish Usagi for his son's disobedience. He frowned at that thought, it was the only reason he'd been so careful not to let anyone find out about his nightly forays into her room.

"Just be careful, Geta," she whispered tenderly. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. It would break my heart."

"Feh, you're such a fucking girl," he groaned. "Go to sleep."

With that, the little bundle of blonde hair yawned and kissed his cheek. "Night, Geta. Love you."

The prince rolled his eyes at that word; gods, she was such a girl! But she was going to be his mate one day, when they grew up. He supposed he'd have to just accept that annoying little quality about her. As soon as he knew she was fast asleep, he snuck a quick kiss, blushing all the way to his ears. Thank the gods she'd been asleep for that, she would have teased him to no end about it for the rest of the week.

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He flew to her balcony and tapped on the glass, tempted to pound on it when she didn't answer. "Usa, open up!" He shouted, knowing damn well she could hear him through the open window a few feet over. Vegeta growled in impatience and simply flew through that window when she still wouldn't answer him.

"Usa?" The prince scowled, looking very much like his father, and cast around in search of her ki signature. His eyes widened in alarm when he found it unusually low, even for a sissy like her, and he sped with all haste to the bathroom door. "Usagi, are you alright!?"

"I'm fine."

The meekness in her voice was completely unlike her. Normally she would have yelled at him to piss off and leave her alone while she was trying to pee, but she sounded almost… embarrassed. "Why aren't you outside in the ring? Nappa's going to sling you down by your braid if you don't get your ass out there right now. Shit, he may do it anyway," he snickered.

"Go away, Geta." The tears in her voice were unmistakable.

Ok, now he really was worried, but only the way his jaw twitched would have betrayed it to anyone that knew him. He'd learned how to school his features like all of the other Saiyan warriors, despite Usagi's constant abhorrence of that particular tradition. "Tell me what's going on, or I'm opening this door, Usa," he ordered.

"Geta, no!" She cried out indignantly. "Don't! I'm—gods, just go outside and spar, and I'll see you in a couple of days, ok!?"

Alright, there was no mistaking the embarrassment in her voice that time. "What, girl? Did you grow tits overnight or something?" He teased. "Because I recall you being just as flat chested as ever when I crawled into bed with you." He immediately wished he could take the words back when he heard her sob. "Usa?"

Vegeta cracked the door open carefully, prepared to take a blow to the skull, but only found his friend curled up, sitting on the edge of her spacious bathtub. "Usagi, I didn't mean to—" His eyes immediately went wide when he smelled the change in her scent. "Oh. Oh."

The blonde blushed brightly when she looked up at him. "That's right, you insufferable prick. I'm a girl now, so go ahead and poke fun at me or whatever."

Vegeta eyed her carefully before snorting and rolling his eyes. "You're not a girl, you stupid brat. You're a warrior. Girls have tits, and you don't. You're just bleeding a little; it's not like you don't bleed everyday as it is, with the way you fight." He knew he'd said the right thing when her crying eased back a little and she tried to give him a watery smile.

"At least I don't hit like a girl," she managed.

He laughed at that before scooping her up and carrying her to her bed. "Yes the fuck you do. But we'll work on it. You're getting a little stronger every time you fight that third-class jackass, I can tell. Now get some rest, and I'll see you on the training field in a few days."

Usagi pulled him down for a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best, Geta. Thank you."

"Feh. Just don't expect me to sneak in here to sleep when you're… you know." Vegeta blushed at that and shook his head. Damn girl.

"What?" Usagi grinned devilishly, her tail waving in the air as she proceeded to tease him. "Is the great Saiyan prince scared of… blood?"

"Just that blood," he replied with a disgusted tone. "Besides, it wouldn't be proper." He didn't know how he knew that, but with her bleeding, she suddenly didn't seem so much like a child anymore. Which made him feel like one.

"Proper?" She snickered. "You're my brother, you retard."

"Not. Your. Brother." How many fucking times did they have to have this argument? Vegeta secretly suspected that she only said things like that to get under his skin, since she found his temper "cute." Damn it, he was a Saiyan prince, he was not cute!

"Whatever you say, Geta." That laugh of hers was gone, but Usagi still wore a smug smirk, knowing she'd successfully annoyed him. Just like a little sister should.

"Fucking girls," he muttered, but he still gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze before flying out of her window to return to his early morning warmups.

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"Usa?"

The twelve year old blonde murmured something in her sleep and only snuggled closer to him, comforted by his warmth and the skin-to-skin contact.

Vegeta sighed, and stroked his hand down her jawline. Guilt washed through him as he shook her a little bit in order to wake her. He couldn't not wake her up; he had to say goodbye to the only person he'd ever truly cared about. "Usa," he whispered.

"Geta?" Blue eyes blinked up at him as she just barely made his face out in the dark. "What's wrong?" She asked slowly, steeling herself for the worst. Vegeta wouldn't be waking her unless it was something downright serious, and the set of his jaw only confirmed her fears.

"I'm leaving in the morning. Father has sworn my service to Frieza."

Usagi could only gape at him in horror as her eyes welled up with tears. No. No. No. This wasn't real. It was some ridiculously horrible nightmare, and she was going to wake up from it any moment. There had been rumors as of late, but… no.

Gods, she was going into shock. Vegeta pulled her tightly against his chest and used his ki to warm her, shivering at the feel of her ice-cold skin against his body. "It'll be alright, Usa. I've been conscripted for only three years. That's nothing compared to what other warriors have to endure. Raditz got seven."

Raditz, too? What next? A noise finally came out of her mouth, something that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a sob.

As if reading her thoughts, he scowled and hugged her closer, wrapping his tail around hers and running his hands up and down her bare back in a soothing motion. "Nappa, too. Father insisted that he come with me to watch my back. Don't worry about Raditz, either. His father's going with him, and between myself and Bardock, no one will fuck with him."

Usagi couldn't even form words as the tears finally came, spilling out onto his shoulder. The dam fully broke when he tried to hush her, and she was suddenly sobbing uncontrollably, her breath hitching as she tried her hardest not to scream and wail out in her anguish.

Vegeta would never admit it, but a few of his own tears leaked out into her hair, a product of seeing and hearing her in so much emotional agony. "It's only three years, Usagi," he finally choked out an hour later, once her crying had lost that terrifying violent edge to it. "I'll try and sneak off to contact you on my scouter whenever I can," he added, when she only cried harder. "I know they let Bardock call his mate and brats on occasion the last time he was conscripted."

She was only able to nod weakly, her arms tightening their hold around him. "I love you, Geta," she whispered, so softly that he barely heard it, even with his superior hearing.

Gods, if only she knew why he'd agreed… "You too," he managed, unable to say that word, even as a child… even if he felt it. He opened his mouth to say more, but she cut him off with a kiss, and he was more than happy to return it, a simple pressing of lips. He only wished that they were a little older, so that it might not be such an innocent gesture on her part.

A little older… gods, they'd be fifteen when he returned. Would she welcome him back with a kiss, too? Despite her grief, he found himself sighing happily at the thought. He'd be a warrior at fifteen, and she'd nearly be a woman. They would lose these three years, yes. That was two years he would lose to court her, once they turned thirteen, but he would still have an entire year upon his return to make up for it before they turned sixteen and he could claim her as his mate.

Usagi's thoughts weren't even close to what he was thinking. She was only concerned for the man her brother would become under Frieza's command. "Don't let them break you," she choked out. "Don't let them make you cold, Geta. I've—" She fought not to sob again, and swallowed down the fresh tears that were welling up. "I've seen warriors come back from their time with that bastard, and many of them aren't the same. You—you have a kind heart. Don't let them kill that part of you, Vegeta."

"I won't," he vowed. They could kill whatever softness he had inside of him, except for what he felt for her. That was all that mattered to him, anyway. "You stay safe while I'm gone. Sleep with Tarble at night; I've already spoken with Father, and he won't forbid you from it. With Nappa gone, Father will take over yours and Tarble's training until a new commander can be found. Listen to everything the old man tells you, Usagi. He's a great warrior, and he'll teach you well."

"I will, Geta." Unable to stop herself, she tugged him back against her when he tried to slip out of her bed. "No. Stay with me."

With a heavy sigh, he wrapped his tail around hers again and cradled her to his chest. He still had things to pack before his departure after breakfast, but there wasn't a chance in hell he could deny her what comfort he could give. "Sleep, Usa. I'll still be here when you wake."

Vegeta eventually slept as well, and was woken by the feel of a heavy hand on his shoulder. Still half in dreamland, he instinctively snarled at whoever had the gall to disturb him while he was curled around his future mate.

A soft chuckle came from behind him. "I knew I'd find you here. I have to admit, she's quite the vision now, at only twelve. I can only imagine her beauty in a few more years." The king smirked a little when his son buried his face possessively in the girl's hair. "She'll be waiting for you, I swear it."

"I know, Father." Vegeta lightly nipped at her shoulder, and kissed her forehead when she purred a little in her sleep. "I expect you to beat the shit out of anyone that tries to court her, too."

King Vegeta laughed a little at that, and shook his head. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that, brat. She's yours, she just doesn't know it yet. The two of you have been imprinted on each other since you were infants, and as much as I tried to keep that from happening, I see now that I couldn't stop it." He removed the hand that was still resting on his oldest son's shoulder, and looked towards the door. "I'm heading down for the morning meal."

"Fuck." It was that late already? "I'll wake her in a moment, Father."

The king nodded in understanding. He'd let the boy enjoy his last moments with his beloved while he could. He was a child now, and he wouldn't deny him the very final minutes of childhood he could spend with Usagi. Because when his son returned, he would be a man, and the gods help that little bundle of blonde Saiyan when the prince came home.

At least it would be entertaining to watch her dodge his interest, the king thought with a grin.

And first, a shameless plug from your author! For those of yall that like storylines of the M nature, I have a fic called the Golden Stranger, which is an Usa/Trunks pairing, and is nearly finished! I have one last chapter to write; the ending, and then a few epilogues, once for each girl, pretty much. Yeah, Ana conned me into it… x_X

And please remember yall, ALL authors on this site work VERY hard on their stories, so even if you hate it, leave a review! Any comment at all is welcome, and I always appreciate one, even if it's just a couple of words! A few moments of your time can absolutely make us smile!

Ok, for those of you that are going to stick with this fic, this is basically just backstory to get things going. Everyone's going to be an adult in the next chapter, but it's going to be a very long time before this fic is finally over. And if you haven't figured out the obvious pairing by now, I'll slap you with a herring!