"Is everything outside now?" Bulma's feminine voice shouted through the open door leading to the outside patio, where a man and a boy worked effortlessly, moving large furniture with one hand from place to place.

"Yes! Are we done now?" Vegeta responded irritably as he threw the final piece of furniture, which crashed harshly to the ground.

"Watch it!" Bulma scolded upon seeing the crash, as she ran outside, glaring at her husband. "If you throw everything around like that, you're going to break it, Vegeta!"

"Maybe this planet should produce more durable furniture." Vegeta huffed with a scowl as he crossed his arms.

"Well, until we have Saiyan-proof furniture, how about you try being more gentle?" Bulma remarked snidely as she crossed her arms, mirroring Vegeta's stance. Vegeta sneered at the remark before slowly turning his head and taking in the completed setting for the upcoming party.

"I'll be in the gravity chamber." Vegeta stated as he decided that he was done now, whether the woman agreed or not.

"Can I come too, Papa?" Trunks asked, running a few steps to catch up to his father, who stopped abruptly at the question without turning to face the boy.

"Neither of you are going to the gravity chamber!" Bulma forbid with an arrogant glare. "This party starts in an hour, and you two are not showing up to it sweaty and dressed in Saiyan armor!" Vegeta scoffed at the remark before continuing his walk towards the house. "You better be heading for the shower, Vegeta!" Bulma called threateningly after him. Vegeta paused and frowned deeply, wanting to disagree with her. But finally he relented, giving a curt nod and a growl of aggravation as he marched into Capsule Corporation to do as he was told. "That goes for you, too, Trunks." She added as she placed her hands on her hips with satisfaction and turned to face the boy.

"Aww, Mom. I'm not even sweaty." Trunks complained as he pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.

"Right now!" Bulma yelled, pointing with an extended arm into the house and tapping her foot stubbornly. Trunks huffed and crossed his arms as he turned to the house, muttering unhappily to himself with the task put before him. "Good. Now that's done." Bulma said with a smile as she checked her watch for the time. "Oh! We have less than an hour now! I'd better hurry and get to work!" Bulma exclaimed as she ran to a control panel on the wall, quickly pushing a series of buttons. She sighed in relief as a group of robots approached her, and she programmed each one with the push of a few buttons. "There!" She heaved another sigh as she crossed her arms and watched the robots set to work, energetically cleaning, cooking, and setting out food and drinks while one headed to the door, prepared to greet the expected guests. Trunks came running downstairs, dressed and ready a moment later. Bulma smiled at the sight.

"Great, Trunks! I'm glad you're ready." She said as Trunks met her and she reached for her son, straightening the collar of his shirt. "Don't you look handsome!" She gloated proudly as Trunks blushed and frowned in embarrassment. "Now I need to get dressed. You wait here in case anyone shows up before I come down. Understand?" Bulma asked sternly as Trunks frowned, pushing his lips out in disinterest. "Trunks." She reasserted firmly as Trunks finally nodded in agreement.

"Okay." He huffed as he put his hands in his pockets and propped his back against the wall coolly. Bulma nodded to him as she reached the stairs, then quickly climbed them, heading to her room. She opened the door and frowned in disappointment upon finding it vacant. "Where is Vegeta? I thought he'd be in here." She mused quietly to herself before closing the bedroom door and heading to the closet.

"It's about time, Bulma. I was wondering if you'd ever get here." An arrogant voice said from behind her as Bulma smiled and spun to face him. Vegeta moved in quickly, wrapping Bulma possessively in his arms as she giggled and kissed his lips.

"Mmmm, Vegeta." Bulma said as she kissed him more deeply and the pair engaged in sensual caresses. Vegeta held Bulma's face as he kissed her longingly, and Bulma squeezed his butt with one hand while running an open palm over his muscular chest and shoulder with the other. Vegeta moved his mouth to Bulma's neck, nipping gently with his teeth before Bulma moaned and reluctantly pulled away. "We don't have time for that. Everyone will be showing up any minute now, Vegeta. I need to get dressed." Bulma said as she attempted to turn to the closet, but Vegeta spun her back into his arms.

"You think I care about greeting your scientific snobs? Let them wait." Vegeta said, kissing Bulma again and groaning in disappointment as she once again pulled away.

"Vegeta, this isn't a Capsule Corporation party. This is personal." Bulma said, sounding aghast at Vegeta's lack of knowledge of the event as she once again pulled away to face the closet. Bulma began searching through the clothing as Vegeta allowed her this time, his thoughts now distracted.

"Personal?" He asked warily. "You mean..." He added as he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms while Bulma pulled a dress from the closet.

"The gang. I thought I told you about running into Gohan and Videl at the mall the other day." Bulma said disinterestedly as she slipped off her current clothing and began slipping the dress on. Vegeta huffed and raised his eyebrows in surprise before glaring at Bulma.

"You did not tell me this was for them!" He said angrily. "Why not?" He asked accusingly.

"Sorry, your highness." Bulma remarked facetiously as she slipped into some shoes. "I guess it slipped my mind. What's the big deal, anyways? Now you know you can be yourself today." Bulma said dismissively as she headed for the bedroom door. "Now let's get downstairs. We can't leave Trunks to host the party." Bulma said with a laugh. She swung the bedroom door open and made her way down the hall as Vegeta leaned through the doorway into the hall, frowning thoughtfully as he heard Trunks' voice calling loudly and excitedly from downstairs.

"They're here!"

"So…why did you say Goku was late again?" Krillin complained, looking quite bored as he waited for his friend, supporting his head with his hand as he slightly leaned it to the side.

"Ugh!" Chi-Chi scoffed with a deep frown. "She decided to spend the day in the woods, doing who-knows-what."

"She just…forgot." Goten said helpfully lessening the tension he felt arising from his aggravated mother.

"Why couldn't you just…I don't know…tell her not to go in the woods before my party?!" Bulma complained irritably as she forcefully poked her fork into her food. She growled contemptuously as she poked the fork so hard that it made a screech against her plate. The meat she was targeting flew forcefully across the table, landing in Yamcha's glass with a splash. Yamcha and the people near him recoiled from the spray with deep frowns of surprise before Yamcha turned to Bulma with a scowl.

"Hey! Calm down, Bulma! I'm sure Goku will be here." Yamcha complained as he flicked the water off his sleeve. He grimaced at his water glass as he used a fork to retrieve the meat, placing it dripping on his napkin. "Can I get another drink?" He added as he turned to a nearby serving robot.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Goku does this all the time, and I've had it with her." Bulma complained as she tossed her fork on the table and crossed her arms, fuming quietly to herself. Vegeta growled and abruptly left the table as everyone was distracted by Bulma's tantrum.

"She came home just in time to leave for the party, but she was covered in mud!" Goten exclaimed with a laugh as Bulma rolled her eyes dismissively. Vegeta quietly slipped from the room, his position, distant from the others, making it easy for his exit to remain unseen.

"Her loss, right?" Bulma added with a shrug as she turned to 18, resuming a pleasant conversation and continuing to enjoy herself, whether all of her invited friends bothered to show or not. Vegeta flew away from Capsule Corporation, deciding to confront Goku and find out what her problem was. She had been making excuses to stay away for months now, and he had expected her to do the opposite. He was too proud to pursue her; it should be the other way around. But now, in the face of this blatant avoidance, Vegeta was done waiting.

Vegeta landed in the forest surrounding Goku's house, approaching the domicile on foot as he emerged through the shade of the trees. He smirked at the sight of a metal tub over a pile of burning twigs just outside the house, with a cascade of black hair and two arms extending across the rim in a relaxed manner. The woman in the tub quickly startled just as Vegeta emerged, and turned to face him with a disbelieving frown.

"Vegeta! What are you doing here?" She asked in alarm as she sank herself lower in the tub, concealing herself below the waterline.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you coming to the party?" Vegeta asked accusingly as he slowly approached her.

"Stay back, Vegeta!" Goku warned, glaring forebodingly as she raised her hand towards him in threat. Vegeta stopped and balked in disbelief at her audacity. She couldn't be serious. He continued stepping towards her while Goku's scowl deepened. Without hesitation, she fired a small beam of ki at Vegeta, hitting him in the shoulder as he stumbled backwards and grimaced in pain at the unexpected attack. She used the moment of surprise to spring from the tub, grabbing her towel on the way out and sprinting into the house in a flash. Vegeta held his injured shoulder and growled furiously, yelling after her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He shouted as he removed his fist from his shoulder to shake it at her. Goku hurriedly secured the towel around herself and turned, prepared to face Vegeta with her fists balled tightly by her sides. Vegeta stood outside the house, his pride forbidding him from following her any further, even if she did think it was her warning that held him back.

"You know what's wrong with me!" Goku yelled angrily, remaining in the house as the two argued through the open doorway, just barely able to see each other through the door frame where they both remained firmly planted.

"No, I don't." Vegeta said blatantly as he crossed his arms, hissing at the momentarily distracting pain in his shoulder. He frowned as he heard Goku's scoff from inside the house.

"And you're the one always calling me an idiot." She said in a low and dangerous tone. Vegeta pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment as Goku remained silent. Now that he thought about it, she seemed upset the last time they talked, that day in the gravity chamber. Could it be that she really was angry about that? Vegeta slowly approached the house, his voice softening as he addressed her again.

"Kakarot..." He breathed, frowning and turning his face away from her glare in disappointment with allowing himself to show any weakness to her. Goku became on guard again, in spite of Vegeta's gentler approach, as she quickly stepped back and assumed a defensive stance.

"I said stay away, Vegeta." She said quietly, lowering her chin as she continued glaring at Vegeta's stealthily approaching figure. Vegeta paused and bit his lip in frustration.

"Kakarot, you really feel threatened by me?" Vegeta asked in open disbelief, dropping his hands to his sides and peering into the doorway, only inches from Goku now. She slowly raised her eyebrows at his question, and subconsciously allowed his continued approach.

"Threatened?" She asked as she crossed her arms around herself protectively. Vegeta nodded and stepped forward, inwardly sighing to himself as he now stood in front of her, and she seemed less guarded. She hesitated as she distractedly searched for an answer, seemingly undecided about that question. Vegeta took the opportunity to reach for her during her hesitation with a gentle touch, and as his hand brushed against her waist, Goku immediately reacted in utter surprise upon the contact.

"Don't touch me!" Goku yelled as she reflexively planted her fist in Vegeta's unguarded face forcefully, and he grunted at the impact before falling straight to the ground from the unforeseen attack. Goku assumed a fighting stance, readying herself for the retaliation she was now expecting from Vegeta after that move. She frowned down at Vegeta, waiting anxiously to see what he would do, and thinking in hindsight that it probably wasn't a good idea to hit him inside her house. After a few tense moments, her eyes widened in surprise when the man at her feet remained still.

"Vegeta?" She called experimentally as she leaned forward to get a look at his face. Goku frowned and arched an eyebrow as she lightly kicked at Vegeta and realized he was out cold. She laughed guiltily as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oops. Guess I put a little more into that than I thought." Goku reached down to grab Vegeta's shoulders, rolling him over so he lay face-up, and pulled back thoughtfully as she placed her hands on her hips. "Well, can't say you didn't deserve it." She decided with a shrug and mischievous smile. "Looks like I don't have to see you at the party today after all." She decided as she smirked deviously and hoisted Vegeta's limp form over her shoulder, flying from the house.

Yamcha was approaching the exit of Capsule Corporation, supporting a staggering Master Roshi with his arm wrapped securely around the older man as he grabbed his keys in preparation for leaving. The party wasn't quite dying down yet, but Master Roshi was already a drunken wreck, and Yamcha had offered to bring him home. Just as he was about to reach for the door, the sound of a familiar voice halted him in place.

"Goku?" Yamcha questioned as he turned around to see his friend smiling with a very brief verbal greeting. "Goku! I thought you weren't going to make it!" Yamcha exclaimed as he crouched lower to catch a sliding, agitated Master Roshi.

"Goku?" Master Roshi questioned confusedly as he inclined his head toward his former pupil from his slumped position in Yamcha's arms. Upon seeing the woman before him, Master Roshi's eyes widened in surprise and he began cackling to himself. "Goku, you're a woman!" He exclaimed before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, Oldtimer. I know." Goku agreed with a confused frown.

"I...better get him home, Goku. He's had a few too many. But I'm glad I saw you before I had to leave." Yamcha said with a smile as he forcefully pushed Master Roshi through the door while the old man kept turning towards Goku as if he wanted to keep talking. Goku shrugged as she watched the other two leave, then turned to head to the room where the others would all be gathered.

"Goku!" They all cried as she walked in the door. After the usual greetings, a hug from Goten, a wink from Bulma, big smiles from Krillin and Tien, stoic nods from 18 and Piccolo, and some harping from Chi-Chi over her tardiness, Goku quickly settled to eat and join the party. As she sat eating, Bulma sat beside her.

"Goku, do you know where Vegeta is?" She asked as Goku's eyes widened with a curious questioning hum. "Because he left the party a while ago. The jerk didn't even tell me he was leaving. I thought maybe he went looking for you." Bulma said hopefully as she met Goku's eyes with a wide-eyed gaze.

"Really?" Goku asked. "Why would he need to look for me? Chi-Chi and Goten knew where I was." Goku remarked unflappably as she took another bite. Bulma frowned with dissatisfaction at Goku's answer.

"So you haven't seen him?" Goku swallowed her food and turned to Bulma with a smug smile.

"I'm sure wherever Vegeta is, he's perfectly fine." Goku said, reassuring Bulma as she accepted the second plate that Chi-Chi kindly offered. Goku smiled with satisfaction as she basked in the attention and admiration of her friends and family who had missed her presence earlier. This party turned out better than she expected.