Landing quietly in the grass, Ikari made her way into the Son residence. Delicious smells met her as she walked into the kitchen. Many different kinds of food were spread out on the table-Chi-Chi had obviously prepared well to feed so many saiyans. Some dishes she recognized, others she didn't but everything looked fabulous. Goten waived enthusiastically from where he sat when he noticed her and Gohan pointed at his cheek and giggled, goofing on the large bruise she carried there. Ikari flipped her middle finger at him before choosing the chair opposite of Goku, who did nothing but drool and stare at the food- sporting a bruise mirror to her own.

"Hello Ikari!" Chi-Chi exclaimed as Ikari sat down. "It's so nice to finally have you- GOKU STOP IT!" she snapped suddenly, smacking the aforementioned saiyan across the side of his head.

Goku rubbed the side of his face pouting. "Oh come on Chi-Chi, I'm hungry," he whined, pouting. The others giggled behind their hands till a stern look from their mother silenced them all.

"You're not the guest here. Ikari is and she gets to choose her food first." Chi-Chi smiled as she turned back to Ikari. "Go ahead dear. Pick whatever you want."

Ikari looked at all of the food in front of her and couldn't even begin to decide. After a moment she chose some spicy curry and sweet rolls and started eating. Soon as she made her choices, three hungry saiyans dove in and began devouring what they could. Chi-Chi huffed at their manners before sitting down and beginning to eat herself. When mouths were not full of food, conversation was light and cheerful.

Ikari groaned loudly and dropped her forehead to the table when Chi-Chi mentioned the up-coming shopping trip for a dress to the Capsule Corp annual celebration. Gohan mimicked picking up the edge of a skirt, causing Chi-Chi to throw a napkin at him before beginning to clear the table. Gohan rose to help. Snaking her hand across the table, Ikari felt her way to the last sweet roll. Her head shot up when she encountered another hand instead of her intended target and her eyes connected with its owner. On their feet, chairs squealing across the kitchen floor, Goku and Ikari began to stare each other down. As their little showdown became more intense, Gohan watched with barely contained laughter as they eventually were forehead to forehead, electricity almost crackling between their eyes. He kept drying the dishes his mother passed him, wondering who would actual win the prized pastry.

"Mine," Goku whispered threateningly.

"Mine," Ikari whispered back, just as darkly. Both darted their hands at the same time towards the roll, each hoping to snatch the roll away from the other…

The two saiyans cried out in surprise and mild pain as their hands smashed together over an empty plate. Shaking their hands wildly, they stared dumbfounded at the empty plate. They looked at each other bewildered…till the sound of a chair slowly scooting back from the table broke the silence. They whipped their heads to see Goten, roll in hand, slowly backing away from the table. Goten, quickly biting down on the roll, turned and ran with Goku and Ikari in hot pursuit. Surprisingly quick, the little saiyan managed to deftly avoid his father and sister around the kitchen.

Goten stopped on one side of the table opposite the two full blooded saiyans, panting heavily around the roll he still kept clenched between his teeth. Tense seconds ticked by, every time one of his pursuers twitched he readied to run the opposite away. Ikari suddenly bolted to one side and Goku the other. The boy panicked, spinning from side to side in an attempt to figure out where to run. Realizing he wasn't going to escape, Goten began to quickly shove the entire roll into his mouth.

"That's…"Goku cried, diving in an effort to snatch the roll from his son's grip.

"My…" Ikari yelled at the same time, making her own leap in an attempt to secure the prize first

CRACK!

Both saiyans stopped mid leap and crashed loudly to the floor as Chi-Chi brought her fists down on their heads at the same time. They cried out and grabbed ahold of their heads, kicking and whining like babies. Gohan, who had scooped up Goten at the last second, was having trouble holding onto him due to laughing so hard. Goten, as well as he could, laughed around the food stuffed in his cheeks, spraying crumbs all over the kitchen floor.

"Chi-Chi what was that for?" Goku whined as he finally rose to a standing position, still rubbing the sore top of his head. Gohan finally released Goten, who promptly ran for the safety of his room as his older brother helped Ikari off the floor and to her feet.

"You know there is no running in this house Goku!" Chi-Chi snapped, wagging her finger in his face before whirling around to face Ikari, who immediately snapped to attention. "And you…you may have been raised by that baka Vegeta but that doesn't mean you will act like him. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am…I mean mom," Ikari responded, eyes wide in a mix of surprise and fear. She had always wondered how Goku could be bossed around by a human woman but after being the target of her mother's fury, she wondered no longer.

Goku let out a yawn that looked like it should have unhinged his jaw and stretched. "Now that I'm full it's time for me to sleep," he mumbled, rubbing his half-lidded eyes.

"And just who is gonna help me clean this mess up?" Chi-Chi demanded, gesturing towards the kitchen. Goku simply shrugged his shoulders and shuffled back to their room.

"We will," Gohan offered, snaring Ikari in a head lock and grinding his knuckles into her already sore head. She let out a squawk in surprise before slamming her heel into his foot and grinding it in. he released her to tend his now injured foot.

Chi-Chi snickered and hugged Gohan before turning to Ikari. "Remember the shopping trip is tomorrow. Get plenty of sleep now. We are going to have so much fun!" she exclaimed happily.

"It will be…fun. Just nothing to frou-frou," Ikari responded with a sigh, shrugging her shoulders as she resigned herself to her fate.

Chi-Chi hugged her and left to join Goku in their room. Ikari and Gohan finished cleaning the kitchen with a sponge fight thrown in for good measure. He pointed out the hall closet that held some extra clothes so she didn't have to sleep in her now wet ones. Turning down the offer to sleep in his old room, Ikari declined for the couch. He ruffled her hair good night and turned in. rummaging through the closet, Ikari came across a pair of sleeping shorts that would fit her but due to being more built in the upper body none of Chi-Chi's tops would fit her. She begrudgingly settled on one of Goku's orange training gi tops. It would be baggy but still comfortable enough for its purpose. She flipped on the TV after changing and curled up on the couch to drift off to sleep.

Goku wandered out some hours later. Tip toing stealthily to the fridge. He had just bit into a large turkey leg when he heard a sound. Peeking out from behind the door he caught the glow of the TV on the wall. Quietly, he closed the fridge and began to tip toe back to his room when he heard his name muttered. Goku crept out into the living room to see Ikari tossing on the couch. She was clearly having a bad nightmare. He clicked off the TV and knelt by her head. A stray tear slipped from beneath her closed eyes. He gently brushed it away and lightly stroked her hair hoping to calm her so she would settle into a more restful sleep. It seemed to work as her features smoothed out and her entire body relaxed. Goku pulled up her blanket up over her shoulders as her breathing assumed a more even pace.

He quietly took his leave. Goku hadn't gotten very far when he heard a word uttered almost too faint for his ears to even register. He turned and regarded the sleeping form with a look of mild shock on his face that slowly morphed into a large smile. Wiping a happy tear from his own eye, he finished the journey back to his room. The grin never faded, even as he fell back to sleep.

In the silence of the dark living room, Ikari mumbled once again in her sleep, almost sighing the word as she entered into a good dream…

Daddy…

Vegeta fidgeted and unbuttoned the top button of his dark blue dress shirt. He hated when Bulma made him get into this kind of fancy dress. The black pants itched and the matching black shoes felt too tight. Bulma shot him an irritated look and the Prince growled, crossing his arms over his chest. She might be comfortable (and look extremely good) in her clothes, a sleeveless to the floor dress that matched the color of his shirt, but that didn't stop him from shifting about irritably. Damn these stupid functions and damn her for always dragging him to them. The rest of the employees milled about, laughing and eating. Bulma left his side to go chat up a group of five people and Vegeta made his way to the bar.

Yamcha waved at him on his way but Vegeta ignored it. Goten and Trunks weaved in and out of the crowd, amusing themselves by chasing one another. He spotted Goku leaning against the bar, squirming in his own fancy clothing. Vegeta snatched a champagne glass from the bar top and joined the taller saiyan in leaning against it.

"What's wrong clown? Feeling a little twitchy?" he taunted, drinking from his glass. He looked at Goku's attire from the corner off his eye and rolled both eyes. He was dressed in a black dress shirt and black pants, which was alright, but he had on the ugliest orange tie. "Can't you ever not wear that disgusting color when you dress yourself?"

Goku finished adjusting the tie and finally got it to loosen up. "What's wrong with the color orange?" he asked innocently. "At least Bulma didn't dress you in pink…again," Goku snickered, picking up his own glass and drinking from it.

"Shut it Kakarot," Vegeta snarled in warning, turning his attention back to the crowd. "Where is your woman anyways?"

"Something about finishing Ikari's hair or something girly," Goku answered, scanning the crowd for them. "Hey there she finally…wow."

Vegeta looked in the direction Goku was to see what stopped him mid-sentence and his mouth dropped open slightly when he found it. Chi-Chi had indeed arrived, dressed in a knee length yellow dress but that wasn't what he was looking at. Dressed in a white corset-style sleeveless top and a matching skirt that came down to the floor in the back but only to her knees in the front was Ikari. Small flowers had been woven into her raven hair, her eyes done with dark eye shadow. She spotted his and started towards him, the skirt flaring out nicely behind her and he exhaled, unaware he had stopped breathing in the first place. She stopped in front of him and Goku, who wore the same expression, and shyly clasped her hands in front of her like a small child.

"Do this look okay Ouji-sama?" Ikari asked him shyly, blushing an interesting shade of red. She looked his chest, too nervous to even look him in the eyes.

Vegeta finally found his voice and just snorted. "I guess even you can clean up alright," he shrugged, ignoring the thudding in his chest. She looked hurt for a second, then smiled as she knew that was a pretty good compliment from him, and that thudding feeling intensified.

Ikari gave a small wave to Goku and opened her mouth to acknowledge him when Bulma suddenly appeared, latching onto Ikari with a hug. Vegeta could tell she was well on her way to drunk. She thrust a drink into Ikari's hand and practically forced her to drink it. Grabbing her hand, Bulma dragged Ikari out into the crowd. Ikari glanced over her shoulder at Vegeta before engaging the people Bulma was introducing her to.

Ikari finished her drink while making idle chat with some employees. Goten and Trunks went running behind her and she stuck her foot out, tripping Trunks and sending him sliding. Bulma and Chi-Chi dragged the two half-saiyans by their ears back over to the table to sit them down. She giggled and turned to look for Vegeta, who had relocated to a back wall, observing the people with a disinterested expression on his face. She felt another drink pushed into her hand and turned to face Yamcha and began to talk with him. The band who had been playing faster songs all night struck up a slow tune. Yamcha tilted his head in the direction of the dance floor and arched his eyebrows in a silent question. Ikari shrugged, downed her drink and followed him out to the floor.

He couldn't understand why, but Vegeta felt a wave of anger and jealously flare up in his chest when he saw Ikari in Yamcha's arms dancing. It shouldn't bug him in the least but it did. He pushed it aside and let Bulma lead him out to the floor to dance. Not able to stop scowling at the pair, he finally turned his eyes to his wife to find her with a large grin across her face. He scowled and it seemed to only make the grin worse.

"Jealous much?" Bulma taunted evilly.

A blush crept over his face as he averted his eyes. "Like I care. Why do you insist on dragging me to these stupid things each year," Vegeta grumbled tightening his arms around her waist.

Bulma could only snicker and watch him hastily make his way back to his spot on the wall when the song ended. She knew full well, even if he wouldn't admit it, what he felt for the saiyan girl and was having way too much fun teasing him about it. The music picked back up and Goten and Trunks rushed out to Ikari and Yamcha. They were trying to teach her the dance for the song, Cupid something or other and she was failing miserably. Bulma joined Chi-Chi, Goku and Gohan at the buffet to relay her husband's jealous episode to Chi-Chi. The woman erupted in laughter and Gohan left to join his siblings, leaving Goku to wander over to Vegeta and join him in leaning against the wall.

The evening was progressing nicely when the band announced they were taking a break, opening the stage up for karaoke. Yamcha was first up, belting out some song horribly off key. Vegeta would have rather stabbed his eardrums with a fork then listen to that again. Goten and trunks were next, doing three songs before getting into a fight over what to sing next. They were lead off stage by their ears, Bulma and Chi-Chi scolding them the entire way. Several other employees took turns, some good some bad. Half empty champagne bottle in hand, a slightly inebriated Ikari drug Gohan on stage to make him sing some songs. He did some song by a guy named Michael Jackson, Beat it, Vegeta thought and wasn't too bad. Bottle now empty, Ikari shooed him off the stage and took the mike for herself. She sang to songs, "Hero" and "Monster", by a group called Skillet. Vegeta only recognized it because Ikari worked out to them all the time. For doing songs sung by a man, she did surprisingly well.

Ikari went to leave the stage and everyone cheered so much that she stayed and kept singing. She started off with some upbeat number in Japanese and everyone started to dance. Bulma had made her way over to Vegeta's side and leaned her head on his shoulder, remarking how good Ikari was. A derisive snort was his response. Vegeta watched as she performed, dancing while singing to get the crowd really going. He hadn't actually seen her that happy and relaxed and couldn't help but admit to himself how good she looked that way. Something tugged at his chest again and he squashed it. About four songs later Ikari switched gears into a much slower, sad song. He found he actually knew that song rather well. Bulma had dragged him to a show, Phantom of the Opera, a few years ago and this song was from that show. He glanced over at Bulma who was staring enraptured at Ikari's performance. Her voiced carried clearly, and Vegeta thought she did just as good as the other singer had. He turned his attention back to the stage, the weird tugging in his chest growing stronger as Ikari sang her sad song.

You were once my one companion

You were all that mattered

You were both a friend and father

Then my world was shattered

Wishing you were somehow here again

Wishing you were somehow near

Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed

Somehow you would be here

Wishing I could hear your voice again

Knowing that I never would

Dreaming of you won't help me to do

All that you dreamed I could

Passing bells and sculpted angels

Cold and monumental

Seem for you the wrong companions

You were warm and gentle

Too many years fighting back tears

Why can't the past just die?

Wishing you were somehow here again

Knowing we must say goodbye

Try to forgive, teach me to live

Give me the strength to try

No more memories, no more silent tears

No more gazing across the wasted years

Help me say goodbye

Help me say…

Stopping suddenly, Ikari's head dropped, hiding her face from view. It almost looked like she had fallen asleep standing up but her shoulders started shaking. Vegeta wasn't sure how to react-he was still trying to make sense of what that song had done to him. He was sure it was directed at him, but at the same time to his future self as well. Her voice had carried such emotion and sadness that he was caught completely off-guard by his emotions. The prince wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling; sadness, pity and something else he couldn't, didn't want to name pulsing in his chest. Not even aware of it, a rogue tear had actually slid down his face without them realizing it.

Ikari slowly lifted her head, red faced from crying and the wine. Tears still streamed down her face as she scanned the crowd till her eyes fell on Vegeta's. A hand flew to cover her mouth as she saw the tear slide down his cheek. Taking a step back, Ikari tossed the mike aside and ran, her emotions too much. She just had to get out and away from everyone and busted through the side door.

Vegeta stood glued to the spot, not knowing what to do or how to react. He looked to his right in surprise as he felt a warm hand on his arm. Bulma smiled gently at him and tilted her head in the direction of the door. Sprinting into the crowd, he heard Bulma start to get the evening back on track for the rest of the guest as he ran, an unknown feeling pushing him forward, out into the raining darkness of the night.