A/N: I don't own DBZ or the characters, that honour belongs to Akira Toriyama. I use British English spelling.

Raditz slammed two short glasses of green liquid on the table in front of Vegeta and Elrik. "Drink!" He commanded.

Elrik let out a whoop and tossed his drink back. "Raditz, you keep those drinks coming and we'll be good friends in no time."

Vegeta rolled his eyes skywards, cursing his luck. Raditz and Nappa had both decided to 'swing by' Jalak before the next mission, since it was on the way. Elrik had been thrilled at having more new people to party with, especially since Vegeta had flat out refused since he arrived. Now that the other Saiyans were here, Vegeta had found himself dragged out in the middle of the night to a beach party teeming with people.

Both Elrik and Raditz looked at Vegeta, waiting expectantly.

"No." Vegeta glared at Raditz. "Last time I drank with you, I was sick for three days." He turned to Elrik. "And you remember what happened on Guunya."

Elrik shuddered, but then grinned. "Tonight is a new night, V. Time for new, more pleasant memories!" He pushed the drink closer to Vegeta with one finger.

Vegeta hesitated, but he had to admit that drinking and forgetting about everything else for once was tempting. "I hate you both." Vegeta picked up the glass and drank the alcohol quickly, grimacing at the bitter taste and trying not to cough after.

Elrik and Raditz both cheered, and a bright flash of light made Vegeta squint. When his sight came back he realised Nappa lurked behind the others, pointing a camera to them.

"What do you think you are doing?" Vegeta asked, a low growl emanating from his throat.

"Getting proof," Nappa said with a toothy smile. "Our young Prince, letting loose. The miracle had to captured or no one would believe me!"

Vegeta threw the empty glass at Nappa's head. The giant Saiyan didn't even flinch as the glass shattered on his bald forehead, and only grinned harder.

Four drinks later and Vegeta found the feeling of being constantly surrounded by people less daunting. There were five bonfires lit up and down the beach, and somehow Elrik had organised a tank the length of the beach and three people tall to be brought down and filled with water and unusual sea creatures to create a wall.

Elrik had disappeared to play host while Nappa had gone in search of the strongest alcohol he could find. Raditz slung his arm around Vegeta's shoulder and leaned on him. Normally Vegeta would have shrugged him off then punched him in the face for good measure, but Raditz handed him another drink so he had that instead.

"That girl's here," Raditz hissed in his ear.

"What girl?" Vegeta asked. Raditz went through girls like he went through food.

"The hot one. Elrik's sister."

Vegeta glared at Raditz. "Touch her and die."

"That why I'm telling you." Raditz laughed and nodded in her direction. "I saw the way you looked at her. You totally want to go there. A pity she's clearly not interested in you."

Vegeta started to retort to that jab, but then spotted Kalyana not too far away, looking at a blue creature with multiple waving tentacles in the tank. She wore tight, shiny black pants, chunky black boots, and an oversized black shirt with rips up the side. Even Vegeta, who had never been to a beach party in his life could tell that it wasn't beach attire. Elrik had provided Vegeta with the blue shirt and loose grey trousers he currently wore, and had forbade him from footwear with threats to his life. Clearly Kalyana had somehow got past Elrik's fashion security check.

"Listen, Vegeta," Raditz said. "You are better at me than most things. Fighting, numbers, languages… getting the shit kicked out of you and surviving."

"I glad you think so highly of me," Vegeta said, jabbing Raditz none-to-gently in his ribs.

Raditz winced, but stayed where he was. "However… not only am I your elder-"

"Barely," Vegeta pointed out.

"-I'm better at you in three things." Raditz held up three fingers on the arm around Vegeta's shoulders and stared at them as if counting. "Number one. Drinking."

Vegeta couldn't deny that one. Raditz might have been leaning a little heavier on him than should have been necessary, but he'd drunk more than anyone else at this party.

"Number two. Reaching things off tall shelves without flying."

Vegeta swiped Raditz's arm away then landed a surprisingly accurate punch to the low-class Saiyan's face considering his own current sobriety levels.

Raditz landed on his back in the sand and started laughing. He sat up and wiped the blood off his mouth. "Hear me out, Vegeta!"

Vegeta folded his arms and glared at Raditz. "Do you have a death wish?"

Raditz took that as his cue to continue and help up three fingers again. "Number three-"

"Oh look, you can count," Vegeta retorted.

"Number three," Raditz repeated. "Getting the ladies."

Vegeta almost walked away, but despite Raditz being a complete moron, he did have an unusually high success rate with getting girls into bed, and had done since he figured out the differences between males and females a few years ago. Vegeta had always wondered what his secret was.

"Since we are friends…" Raditz said, climbing to his feet and brushing sand off his clothes.

"Are we?" Vegeta asked with a snort.

"I'm going to teach you a few tricks to help you land that girl." Raditz clapped Vegeta on the back. "Because man, you are wound tighter than Frieza on a bad day and I'm sure getting laid will solve all your problems."

"Of all the problems I have, you think that is the most important to solve?" Vegeta shook his head. "I have more important things to think about, like keeping us alive on a daily basis."

"Yeah, yeah." Raditz waved his hand. "I'm aware our lives are complete fucked. But I don't see the point in worrying about what I can't control. That's your job. Now you getting it on with a nice girl… that I can help with."

"Alright, I'll bite," Vegeta said with a sigh. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do at that moment. "What should I do if I hypothetically wanted to, as you do crudely put it, get laid?"

Raditz bared his teeth into a grin. "What's the first thing you do when you get handed a mission."

"Reconnaissance," Vegeta answered immediately.

"And the next?"

Vegeta eyed Raditz warily, unsure where he was going with this. "Determine your enemy's weakness and the best method of exploitation."

"And then… wham!" Raditz threw a fake punch, which Vegeta blocked with his hand. Raditz pulled his hand away then waggled his eyebrows. "You attack."

Vegeta folded his arms. "Where are you going with this?"

"Getting a girl is the same." Raditz bent forward in an exaggerated bow. "Allow me to prove my method, your royal highness."

Vegeta smothered a smile, and waved at him to get on with it. Raditz leaned on the table next to Vegeta. More drinks had appeared and Raditz picked one up and had a slow sip, scanning the people surrounding them.

"What are you doing?" Vegeta said, bored already. "If I have to spend much longer around these drunken idiots, I'm going to blow this party up. Literally."

"Reconnaissance," Raditz replied. "And Elrik would kill you, then you'd never get in with his sister. Now, check out that one." Raditz nudged Vegeta with his elbow and sloshed the drink in his glass in the direction of the closest bonfire. "Jalakal girl with green hair in the orange getup."

Vegeta spotted the girl, but couldn't see anything special about her. He shrugged and picked up a drink of his own. "What about her?"

"Her friend is slobbering all over that tall blue guy who kind of looks like a weakling version of Zarbon. My extensive experience in loving the ladies tells me that that sideways glance Green Hair keeps giving them is one of jealousy."

"A weakness," Vegeta said, having a sip of his drink. "Alright, I can see that. But how will you exploit it?"

"Compliment her. Maybe throw in a comparison to her friend that implies Green Hair is prettier without actually saying it outright." Raditz put down his glass. "Subtlety is key. Watch and learn."

Raditz sauntered over to the girl and started talking with her. Vegeta laughed and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Kalyana asked, coming up behind him.

"Radtiz." Vegeta handed her a drink from the table, which she took, but didn't drink. She tapped the glass with her long nails. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I was hoping to bump into someone," she said casually. She looked in Raditz's direction and frowned. "What is he doing? Wow, is she… yes that is her tongue down his throat."

"Raditz is attempting to show me how to convince a girl to hook up." Vegeta took a sip of his drink, watching Kalyana closely over his glass. "His method is surprisingly effective."

Kalaya snorted. "What is his trick? Toss his long hair around and wait for a girl with hair-envy to find him?"

"He seemed to have quite the battle strategy," Vegeta said. "Observe, evaluate, exploit, attack."

"Interesting." Kalyana took a slow sip of her drink. "And do you think you need his advice?"

Vegeta shrugged. "You tell me."

Kalyana smirked and put her drink back on the table, then slowly leaned forward until her lips brushed his ear. "I think you did just fine the other night," she whispered.

Vegeta smirked as Kalyana pulled away and then sauntered off. She glanced at him once over her shoulder, throwing him a smile before disappearing into the crowd. "I should hope so," Vegeta murmured to himself.

"Trunks is fed and down for his morning nap." Bulma announced as she wandered back into the kitchen.

Vegeta grunted in response. As if he cared a whit what the infant's feeding and sleeping cycle was. They had ended up falling asleep on the couch in the lounge adjoining the kitchen (or rather, Bulma fell asleep and Vegeta dozed lightly, only staying because he had been too comfortable to move) until the baby's piecing cries had Bulma leaping up and dragging her clothing back on.

Sensing that everyone else's kis were low enough to be sleeping, Vegeta had pulled his own clothes back on and decided it was safe to cook without Mrs Briefs appearing and catching on to his skill. Not that it mattered since he was still determined to leave once Cell was defeated.

He served up their breakfast and slid Bulma's plate and coffee cup across the breakfast bar towards her, then began plating his own.

"I'm surprised you didn't try and get one last trainings session in the GR before going off to the chamber," Bulma said, having a sip of her coffee. "Instead you decided to spend your morning with me. I didn't know you could be so romantic."

"You wish, woman," Vegeta said, shaking his head. "I'm just hungry."

"Uh huh," Bulma murmured, shaking salt over her eggs.

Vegeta frowned at he slid his own plate next to hers. "The eggs already have salt. Don't ruin my food."

Bulma ignored him, and started adding pepper as well. "You know, I've been thinking."

"You've decided to start using your brain again?" Vegeta stared at the coffee pot and contemplated pouring himself one to try. It smelt good, but after the tea incident he'd avoided Earthling hot drinks.

Bulma stuck out her tongue at him before continuing. "Maybe because time works differently in the chamber, your symptoms won't come back."

Vegeta decided against the coffee. He sat down next to her then started eating his own breakfast. It wasn't too bad considering he hadn't cooked in months. "With my luck the chamber will make the symptoms worse, not better."

Bulma took a bite of her eggs and moaned. "Kami, Vegeta, I forgot how much I love your cooking. My mother is a brilliant cook, but I swear your eggs are better than hers."

Vegeta looked sideways at Bulma, trying to work out if she was exaggerating. When she took a second bite, closing her eyes in rapture, he tasted his own eggs, then decided to add more salt while she wasn't looking.

They ate in companionable silence for a while, before Bulma started glancing at him with every bite.

Vegeta put his fork down and glared at her. "What?"

"Will you please get out of the chamber if it comes back like last time?"

Vegeta threw her a glare. "I won't leave early."

Bulma reached out and touched his hand. "And what are you going to do if it does come back?"

"I lasted nearly a year last time."

"How long has it been since…"

Since he last killed. Vegeta hesitated. She had to have known what he'd get up to in space, so why did he feel uncomfortable admitting that he'd slayed more of Frieza's supporters? "A few months," he muttered, staring at the hand lying on top of his. "I'll be fine. I need to train, and the chamber is my best chance at-"

"Mom?"

Vegeta yanked his hand out from under Bulma's and cursed inwardly as he felt teenage Trunks' ki in the doorway. He glanced up and met Trunks' gaze. The boy kept looking from Bulma to him with an expression of confusion on his face.

Vegeta contemplated making a quick escape, but he still had food on his plate. In the end, he sat on his stool, shovelling in food but ready to leap up at a moment's notice.

"Trunks!" Bulma's mouth widened into a smile. "Come join us for breakfast. There's-"

"Cereal in the cupboard," Vegeta said, glaring at Bulma. As if he was going to share his food with the brat!

Bulma's eyes narrowed, but she didn't argue. She took a long sip of her coffee instead.

"Cereal is fine," Trunks said awkwardly.

When Trunks sat down on the other side of Bulma, Vegeta ate his last bite then stood up. "I'll meet you there," he said to the boy. He glanced at Bulma. "See you tomorrow."

"What! Where are my flowers?" Bulma asked, placing her hand over her heart. "My long goodbye speech?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," he repeated with a sigh.

"It's a year for you!" Bulma said to his retreating back.

Vegeta turned his head to look back at her and smirked. "A whole year without your complaining. I can't wait."

Bulma stuck her middle finger in the air.

Vegeta couldn't remember exactly what it meant but knew it was a human gesture that was some kind of insult.

"Don't kill our son," Bulma said casually, but Vegeta recognised the undertone of a threat.

Vegeta glanced at Trunks and smirked. "No promises."

Trunks watched his father leave the room. Since he had met him, Vegeta had seemed more like an indomitable mountain than an actual person. He might have been small in stature, but the Saiyan carried himself like a man three times his size. His solid frame was always tense, his back always straight, and gaze ever watchful.

But, when Trunks had walked in on Vegeta and Bulma eating breakfast together, his father had been caught off guard by Trunks' appearance. The man had even seemed relaxed, even though he wore his usual scowl and appeared to be arguing yet again with Bulma.

"Is this what you two do?" Trunks asked his young mother when he was sure Vegeta was out of earshot.

Bulma cocked her head with a puzzled expression.

"You and him… your only way of communicating is to argue," Trunks said.

Bulma glanced at the door Vegeta had disappeared through and giggled. "Oh, we communicate in lots of ways."

Trunks paled when he realised what his mother meant, and gagged on his cereal.

"Sorry!" Bulma laughed and passed her plate, which was still piled with food, over to Trunks. "Here, take mine. You need to eat before committing yourself to a year with that man."

Trunks accepted it gratefully. Cereal was not a suitable breakfast for a Saiyan - even a half one.

"It's hard to remember you are my son, sometimes," Bulma said. "And I'm still young you know. How do you think you came along?"

"So gross." Trunks shuddered, then started eating some eggs and toast off Bulma's plate. They were surprisingly good. He didn't know his mother could cook well. The food in his time was all bland and dried, since food was hard to come by.

"So, uh… what happened 'last time'?" He asked in an attempt to turn the subject away from the horrifying idea of his mother doing that with Vegeta. "What would he need to leave the chamber early?"

"You heard that, huh?" Bulma took a sip of her coffee. She put the mug on the table and curled her hands around it, then looked up at Trunks. "It's not my place to tell you the details, but Trunks… please look out for your father. If the headaches start again, I know he won't leave, but force him to take the pills I gave him."

Trunks straightened in surprise. "Is he sick?"

"Not exactly…" Bulma sighed. "But if he stops acting like himself, keep a close eye on him."

"How am I supposed to know if he's acting like himself?" Trunks asked. "I don't know him at all, and he ignores me most of the time."

Bulma grinned. "He can't ignore you forever. Keep trying. You have a year."

A year. Trunks groaned inwardly at the thought. A year with only Vegeta, the most uncommunicative person he'd met, for company. He was more likely to go mad than build any kind of relationship with his father. And at this point he wasn't sure he even wanted to get to know the man.

Trunks looked at his mother. She seemed to be able to get him to talk, even if it was mostly yelling at one another. "How long did it take you before you felt like you knew him?" He asked.

Bulma waved her hand airily. "I don't think anyone can ever really know Vegeta. It took me months to really break down enough barriers to have a civil conversation. Maybe longer." She grinned across the table at Trunks. "And as you can see, civil conversation is still a rarity for us."

Trunks' heart sank even further. If it took his bright, vivacious mother months to get Vegeta to open up, he was screwed.

"It will be fun, getting to know your father!" Bulma said brightly.

Trunks raised his eyebrows, holding back a snort. "Yes. Fun."

"Hey Vegeta!" Kakarot waved enthusiastically as Vegeta touched down at the lookout.

"What are you doing here?" Vegeta snapped.

"I wanted to see you and Trunks off. Man, I am so excited - I can't wait for my turn!" Kakarot hopped from one foot to the other like an idiot.

"I go first." Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the other Saiyan.

"Of course!" Kakarot scratched the back of his head and laughed.

The sound made Vegeta wince. Kakarot sounded so much like his brother when he did that. He and Raditz were physically quite different from each other, but sometimes the way Kakarot gestured, and how he sounded when excited felt like a kick in the gut to Vegeta. He was so much like Raditz used to be, back when the two of them were only a little older than Trunks… before Vegeta's cruelty twisted Raditz beyond recognition.

"Where's Trunks?" Kakarot asked, glancing around the lookout.

Vegeta shrugged. "How would I know? I'm not his keeper."

"You are his father." Kakarot laughed, and then cleared his throat at Vegeta's glare. "Well, you are!"

The intonation in the other Saiyan's voice made Vegeta clench his fists. He had to forcibly prevent himself from flying forward and attacking. All he could hear was Raditz's voice over the scouter comms, asking for help. You killed him, he wanted to scream at Kakarot, even though he knew it was the Namekian who had dealt the killing blast, and that if it was anyone's fault that Raditz died, it was Vegeta's.

Vegeta felt Trunks' ki approach, and started walking towards the chamber. He glanced at Trunks as the boy caught up. "I won't go easy on you," he warned. "Last chance to back out."

Trunks jutted his jaw out defiantly. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Vegeta smothered the smile threatening to appear on his face. No attachments, he reminded himself, even though he'd gone way beyond that line with Bulma already. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"See you tomorrow!" Kakarot shouted out.

Vegeta responded with the rude gesture Bulma had given him, then entered the chamber, sensing Trunks' nervously buzzing ki following close behind.