Another spasm ran through his shoulder and travelled down his back. He grunted and grasped the sink with both hands, hoping it would pass quickly so he could get back to work without his fellow Saiyans noticing his absence.
Vegeta grimaced and twisted his body slightly, drawing a crack from his spine. Gasping from the pain it caused, he grunted again. Goddammit. He grimaced against the factory bathroom sink as the spasms slowly subsided, allowing him to breathe comfortably again.
Once his back had settled and he'd regained his composure, he allowed himself a smirk. No one noticed at least.
A knock at the door made him jump.
"Vegeta? You in there?" Kakarotts voice asked from the other side of the door.
"What?" Vegeta managed to sound more pissed off than he actually was.
"Raditz said you left your station in a rush, I just wanted to see if you were ok."
Vegeta rolled his eyes at the goofy smile he could hear in Kakarotts voice. "I'm fine."
"Sure you don't need help?"
The prince lost his temper and slammed his right fist through the brick wall beside the mirror. "I said I'm fine!"
He could imagine the younger Saiyans disappointment, then he heard a second voice.
"He in there?"
Crap.
It was Raditz, Kakarotts older brother. Completely loyal, attentive to his princes needs, and relentlessly persistent when it came to his health and wellbeing; much to Vegetas disgust.
"Vegeta what's wrong?" The older brother demanded to know in his no bullshit tone.
Vegeta growled to himself before pushing off the sink and hurrying to swing the door open.
"Nothing. Get back to work before we all get in shit." He grumbled at the two larger Saiyans as he stalked past.
Raditz growled quietly, but moved to his station anyway. He tried to keep a close eye on his prince for the next couple of hours until knock off time. The smaller Saiyan was stiff in his movements and wouldn't reach for anything with his right arm.
Shoulder's giving him shit again. The warrior frowned to himself, refocusing as best he could on his own work; threading alternate ends of steel bars.
He'd been with the prince since they were young, since before Vegeta had hit double digits in age.
Despite being killed by Piccolo and Kakarott years ago, he'd rejoined his fellow Saiyans after being resurrected from his stay in hell. It had been a combination of Kakarott convincing the Z squad, and Vegetas internal struggle immediately after Majin Buu had been defeated that prompted Bulma to act on reviving him.
Although that had been just over a year ago, Vegeta was still as secluded as ever.
Kakarott was thrilled to have the chance to get to know his older brother, and they got along well enough to keep them both content.
Coming back to life after being in hell all those years had been disorienting for Raditz. He had encountered Kakarott first, and having only the memory of his little brothers' part in his death, he initiated a battle.
It was only when Vegeta had stepped in and ordered him to stand down that Raditz had calmed down enough to hear the full story, eventually accepting his brothers apology.
It took a few days of both Kakarott and Vegeta explaining the years that had passed, but he accepted the offer of being housed at Capsule Corp in a bungalow.
Bulma had seen the difference in Vegeta immediately; having one of his oldest and closest companions who understood his warrior side had given him something meaningful to fulfill. However, once Raditz was up to date and able to ask about Majin Buu, Vegeta had retreated into himself again.
After trying numerous times to pry it out of the prince, Raditz saw it was only making him worse. He'd stare at his food while the others scoffed theirs, then be the first to leave the table once they were done. The conversations he had with his wife and kids grew shorter and shorter, until they were non-existent. Sparring sessions with Kakarott turned violent and the larger Saiyan called it quits.
Raditz offered to stand in for his little brother, but having his arm broken for the second time in a month had pushed Kakarott beyond the edge, telling his brother he was better off staying away from the "psycho monkey" and that he was still as heartless as when he'd been controlled by Frieza.
Vegeta was lost for words.
Raditz lost his temper.
Kakarott lost another fight; earning himself two black eyes and a broken nose.
Although Raditz had defended his princes' honor so fiercely, he could see the damage had been done.
Vegeta stopped leaving the house. He wouldn't train, wouldn't eat, and barely left his room.
Bulma, lost as to what she could do, had given him space and moved into another bedroom. She only got stared at when she tried coaxing him into conversation, and ignored when she tried to show affection. Two weeks of it saw Vegeta worsen still, and Bulma couldn't take it anymore. For the kids and her own sake, she asked him to move out.
Raditz offered him a space in the bungalow, but Vegeta declined, mumbling about how she just wanted to be able to get back with Yamcha.
So Raditz found them both a house the next town over. Rent was cheap enough that Bulmas' father had paid out the first year for them, to help Vegeta get a job and get back on his feet. Vegeta couldn't find the right words, so Raditz spoke for them both to show their appreciation.
Away from the Z squad and his family, Vegeta seemed to relax a bit more. He didn't need to pretend to be a functioning adult around Raditz. When he was having a bad day, the larger Saiyan would find a movie or get the prince to help him learn to cook to distract him. It took some time for Vegeta to adjust to things like housework, cooking and eating, but seemed to push him into trying to take care of himself and looking for a job.
Raditz had found a job a few days after moving to their new place. The factory work was mind numbingly boring, but it paid decently enough to make it worth his while.
Thinking a position in a factory would involve him having to socialise and integrate with others, Vegeta was reluctant to apply. Once Raditz assured him he'd be left to his own devices in taking care of his station, the prince agreed and filled in a form.
It took some convincing, but he also got Kakarott to apply, reminding his younger brother that Saiyans do better with a pack, and Vegeta needed his support too. After an awkward apology on both sides, the applications were taken in and stations handed out the following week.
Shaking his head at the memory of them both saying they were sorry two weeks ago, Raditz doubled his work pace, trying to get his order load out of the way so he could check in on Vegeta.
Two rods off being done the boss called him into his office.
Great. Raditz grimaced, quickly finishing and shutting down his machine.
"Hey Rad, take a seat." The boss gestured to the chair opposite his desk, not taking his eyes off the computer until he was sitting. He finally levelled the Saiyan with a stare. "Is Vegeta alright? I hope he isn't just trying to coast."
"No that's not how he is." Raditz said definitively. "His back is playing up, we'll get it sorted over the weekend."
"Good, there's a decent physio in North city. Make sure he rests and stretches. If he can't perform it's his ass."
Raditz nodded mutely, not liking that he was threatening Vegetas job. He held his tongue and left the office, making his way straight to Vegetas station. Watching him for a minute was painful. Each movement was obviously hurting him and he wasn't putting on his usual brave front.
The warrior set up the other half of the princes' station and started bending the steel rods into horse shoe shape.
"What're you doing?" Vegeta grumbled across the bench.
"Helping, deal with it." Raditz growled back quietly.
With Raditz doing three quarters of the bending, the station was done by closing time.
The three Saiyans punched out their shift cards and walked back to Raditz and Vegetas place, Kakarott dragging his feet the whole way.
"I'm so tired!" The tallest of the three trudged in behind the others. "Who knew lifting press die would be so exhausting."
"Suck it up little brother." Raditz tossed his keys on the bench and went to the fridge for a beer. He grabbed a few and looked to the prince. "Vegeta?"
"Sure." Vegeta nodded after hesitating a moment. "Thanks."
Raditz tilted his head slightly in bafflement as he handed one over. Vegeta never drank, let alone said thank you.
"Cheers." The bigger Saiyan tossed his brother a bottle and took a swig from his.
The prince took a testing sip before gulping it down.
"Whoa, easy does it." Raditz chuckled, putting his hand on Vegetas bottle to lower it from his lips. He was in bad enough shape as it was, the last thing anyone needed was a drunk Saiyan in pain. He suggested, "Go take a shower? It could help your back."
"Huh?" Vegeta blinked at his companion, not understanding how a shower would help his back.
"Trust me. Make it hot and stand under it a while."
Vegeta glanced toward Kakarott, relaxed already, slumped on the couch in the next room.
"Don't worry about him." Raditz placed a hand on his princes' shoulder gently. "Go relax."
Vegeta tensed under his hand but turned and left quickly to mask his discomfort.
Raditz sighed and moved to the lounge room, frustrated that he couldn't just fix Vegetas back. Even though the touch had been fleeting, it had shown the prince trusted him by not throwing him through a wall.
"Alright baka, I need your help." Raditz said to his younger brother once the shower had turned on upstairs.
"Oh, ok?" Kakarott swallowed his beer quickly and sat up.
"Vegetas back and shoulder are giving him issues again. The boss has noticed, he wants him meeting quota again on Monday or he'll be fired."
"Monday?! Vegetas injuries and issues aren't going away in two days."
"He was ok until he stopped training and stretching. He's not moving the damaged muscles the way he was."
"Oh, but what can I do to help?"
"Get him exercising again, it doesn't have to be fight training or sparring."
"Of course, but how does that get him up to making quota on Monday?" Kakarott buried his face in his hands.
"I'll get him to a physio and trade stations with him at work. Mine doesn't use as much movement."
"Good luck getting him agreeing with a stranger touching him."
"Huh? He always let the medics examine him."
"It's been years since you've seen him injured Raditz. He's different now."
"Think Bulma or Trunks could convince him?"
"Bulma no way. Trunks is off with Goten travelling all the time."
"Great."Raditz slumped on the couch sadly when he heard the shower turn off. "I'll figure something out. Don't mention this, it'd just make him feel worse."
Kakarott nodded and finished his beer. He went to the fridge to grab another for them both, offering one to Vegeta when he came into the kitchen. The prince nodded and exchanged his empty bottle, making his way to the lounge while Kakarott put the recycling in the bin.
Vegeta took a seat next to Raditz as the youngest Saiyan returned and handed his brother the beer.
With another sigh Raditz stretched his neck from one side to the other before resting his head on the couch. He looked to the prince from the corner of his eye. "Feel like watching a movie?"
Looking up from examining the bottle label, Vegeta shrugged amiably.
"I should get home to Chichi." Kakarott began, then noticed his brother roll his eyes and glance pointedly at Vegeta. "Uh, but it's still early, and she'll be mad either way. What're we watching?"
Raditz grinned and saw Vegeta smirk, it was no secret that the prince had little tolerance for the youngest Saiyans wife and her shrieking.
"Any requests?" Raditz moved to the TV cabinet.
"Action." Kakarott spoke up.
"Expendables. He'll like that." Vegeta said quietly.
"Haha awesome!"
Vegeta blinked at Kakarotts enthusiasm, not sure how to respond. Raditz covered the unease by setting up the TV and player. He winked at the prince and grinned. "Good choice."
Hiding his smile by taking a sip of his beer, Vegeta settled back into the couch trying to get comfortable.
Raditz had been right about the hot shower, his muscles feeling better already. He let himself relax as the taller Saiyan returned to the couch next to him.
"Shove over Vegeta, that couch is way more comfy." Kakarott got up and made to join them.
"Hold it. You're not drinks bitch. Grab another round." Raditz held up his hand.
"Aw but Rad!"
"Nup, you're the last to find your seat. House rules."
The youngest fighter trudged to the kitchen again.
Vegeta edged closer to Raditz, a curious look on his face. "Never heard that rule before."
Raditz gave him a sly smirk. "It's a new one."
That got a grin from the prince, who resettled in his new position.
While being in close proximity with others normally made him irritable and uncomfortable, he was more at ease with a few beers in his system.
Kakarott returned with a fresh round and they all got comfortable, stretching their legs out on the coffee table.
Except for the occasional laughter the house was in a companionably quiet state. This and the alcohol were able to lull Vegeta into a relaxed enough peace to doze off. Raditz noticed the prince nodding off and didn't comment or disturb him. He needed all the rest he could get as far as the warrior was concerned.
Raditz tensed up when Vegetas breathing evened out and the smaller body leaned into his, but quickly regained his composure and relaxed again. Making sure not to knock him, the warrior brought his arm down around Vegetas shoulder, hugging him to his body securely in hopes of helping him have a solid sleep instead of the usual tossing and turning he always heard from his room. It seemed to work, the spiky flame of black hair nuzzling closer into the hold.
Drifting off himself, Raditz realized his brother was fast asleep too. Smiling a little at their quiet camaraderie, he settled back into the couch and rested his head on Vegetas, allowing himself to fall asleep as well.