Disclaimer: *raises a brow* Do I even need to go into this with you today?

AN: ^_^

* * *

Vegeta readjusted the gold strap over his shoulder and frowned at the mirror. That couldn't be right. He tried fixing it again but how the thing connected was lost to him. Giving up, he gave the rest of the outfit a disapproving glance, from the white gold tip boots all the way up to the clingy blue spandex-like material to the white breast armor. The people of Vegetasei couldn't possibly seriously dress like this everyday. Could they?

"I see you tried it on. Thank you."

Vegeta's eyes met the smiling black eyes of his mother in the glass. Turning, he walked over to her and relieved her of the boxes she carried, setting them on the floor. "I look ridiculous."

Argana smiled as she stepped up to fix the strap. "You know, you used to say that every time I made you try something new." She chuckled softly. "Especially the year I made you wear that Christmas sweater."

Vegeta frowned. He remembered that quite well. He turned back to the mirror as she finished her work and looked the outfit over again. No, it wasn't anywhere as bad as that damn Christmas sweater with the light up nose on Rudolph the Stupid Ass Reindeer.

"There's a hole in it," he commented.

Argana frowned. "Where?"

"In the back," he said touching the circular hole just at his waist in the middle of his back.

Argana's eyes touched the hole and she smiled sadly. "It's supposed to be there," she said, reaching out to brush it lightly with her fingertip. She could just make out the soft pink scar through the hole, almost faded with age but not quite. "It was for your tail," she continued softly.

"My what?" He frowned over his shoulder at her.

"Your tail," she restated. "All Saiyans are born with tails. However, if the tail is removed before the age of three, it will not return without direct contact with light from one of the full moons of Vegetasei. We removed Radditz's upon arrival here and yours and Kakarot's at birth." Her voice softened still as she continued. "You cried for three day afterwards..."

The painful regret in her voice tore at him, but unable to offer words of comfort, he posed his next question. "And what of yours?"

"We removed them before leaving. They would have returned on their own. However, Bardock concocted some shot that we took once a year since arrival to keep that from happening. Hopefully they will return when we return home."

"Hopefully?" he questioned.

"Yes," she said as she seated herself on the unmade bed. "It had never been tested before. We're not sure it hasn't thrown our systems completely off balance or not."

"And if they don't return? What happens then?" he wanted to know.

She frowned deeply before sighing slightly. "Your father will be devastated. A Saiyans' tail is very, very important to him."

Vegeta scowled a moment before grunting. "And I'm sure he'll take his disappointment out in your hide."

She looked up at him, hurt written all over her face. "Your father's changed, Vegeta."

"People don't change," he said offhandedly as he grabbed one of the boxes and moved to his dresser, where he began packing the various medals and trophies he had acquired over the years of athletic and academic success.

"Vegeta, you just don't understand," she started. "Your father was completely lost after the move. He felt like a failure for leaving his people behind, for not being able to stop Freiza himself. I watched over those first few years as he slowly slipped further and further away from us. And then at some point he realized there was no way he could raise you to your full potential, not with the meager resources available on this planet. It tore him a part inside and the drinkin-"

Vegeta decided to cut in before such dribble made him vomit. "If you don't want to help I'll finish packing on my own," he said as he placed another medal in the box.

Argana closed her mouth then stood and picked up one of the boxes. Giving his back a saddened once over, she looked around the room for a place to start. It appeared that he hadn't started packing at all, so she decided the other dresser on the opposite side of the room was just as good a place to start as any. They continued to work in silence for almost thirty minutes before she finally sighed in the heavy silence. "Will you always be so ashamed of me?" she questioned over her shoulder from her place on her knees before his bottom drawer.

Vegeta, by this time, had moved to his closet and was lifting hanging clothes off their bars and over to the bed for packing. "What are you talking about?" he asked glancing in her direction.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she said causally, years of grace and breeding for the crown coming into play at a moment that was anything but causal. "You've always resented the fact that I stayed with your father even after everything that happened. How long will your shame continue to haunt me, son?"

Vegeta frowned at the question a moment then he shook his head slightly in disbelief before continuing his packing. He wasn't even about to have this argument with her.

"I stayed because he needed me," she spoke up when he said nothing. "The bond between Saiyan mates can not be broken, and when one mate is troubled the other must-"

"Spare me all that sentimental crap, will you?" he interrupted. "Any 'bond' that calls for one spouse to be subservient to the other and to be beaten into a bloody pulp at another's whim is not worthy of keeping sacred."

Argana bit her lip at his easy dismissal of his culture. "You don't understand what you're sayin-" she started softly.

"Oh, believe me I do," he half-snarled finally turning to her. "I watched for years as he treated you as if you were below the dirt on his foot. And you let him," he said in disgust. "Even when I stood up for you, you stuck by his side. It's repulsive to even think about how you defended him all those times with blood running down your face." He growled angrily and turned back to his packing, tossing things into the box without much care or grace.

She swallowed the lump his angry words caused in her throat. "I had to keep us together. I could not let our family fall apart-"

"Family?" he turned to her, his tone filled with incredibility. "You call this a family? You're not serious are you? What kind of family beats the living shit out of each other every night? In what family have you ever seen the mother send the child away so he won't have to see his father punch her in the face simply because it made him feel better? I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is not, nor has it ever been, a family."

She lowered her eyes, examining the gray carpet. Never before had he mentioned his stay with the Sons with such bitterness. It took several moments for her to gather her thoughts before she took a deep breath and spoke softly. "I had to send you to Bardock and Lyneaxa. With your father-" She sighed as the lump returned and started again. "This was no place for a child..."

"But it was the place for me at eleven-years-old?!" He whirled on her, his anger only growing. "You should have left me there. Anything would have been better than staying here and watching you- you-" he growled in frustration, unable to find words he wouldn't regret later. He was quickly losing grip on his cool. Listening to her defend his father yet again was about to push him over the edge of control.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she kept her eyes averted, easily hearing the struggle in his voice and identify it for what it was, but found herself unable to stop the words of justification for an undeserving man that were coming. "I- I had to bring you home. Your father was miserable without you. He nee-"

"Damn it!" he half-roared as his patience with her snapped. "It's always about him! The only reason he would ever want me here is for a punching bag when you stopped moving!" he yelled, in his rage stalking over to her.

Argana shook her head against the words; tears streaming down her face. "That's not true! He needed you. He needed us both-" She gasped in surprise as he gripped her roughly by the shoulders, shaking her.

"Bull shit! And you know it! You ruined both our lives because you were too weak to stand up to him," he growled at her as his hands tightened on her arms.

Sobbing now, she turned her tear-streaked face up to him. "I made the only decision I thought I could!"

"Well you made the wrong one!" he yelled back. He watched her close her eyes in pain, and when they opened to him again he saw reflected in them the last thing he ever wanted to see. He saw his father.

Releasing her as if he had been burned, he stumbled back. "I- I'm sorry," he rasped in a voice not even he recognized, still backing away as he did.

She followed his steps, holding one hand out to him as the other covered her mouth. "No, Vegeta, I'm sorry. So, so sorry," she sobbed, still moving after him.

Shaking his head, he continued backing away from her. "Stay away from me." He held up his hands as his back touched the dresser on the other side of the room. "I can't look at you. Leave me alone," he almost whispered as he turned to face the dresser.

She stopped in her tracks as a new set of tears began to flow, her eyes caressed his back a moment before she slowly nodded and left the room.

Resting his elbows on the dresser top, he settled his forehead in his palms and took in several deep breaths, feeling as if he could not find enough air. Maybe he never would again.

* * *

ChiChi tied the knot tight before resting her hands on her knees. "There you go kiddio. Now, go catch Kenny before he drowns."

Kimmy glanced down at the knot in her swimsuit wrap and smiled. "Thanks Sissy," she said before running into the surf to catch her brother.

ChiChi watched her, as she stood to her full height, and then turned to the two girls waiting silently behind her. "We can walk a ways," she spoke over the waves. "They'll be fine." The other two nodded and fell in step beside her as they walked.

Heaven didn't create many days like this, ChiChi silently marveled as the end of her sundress was caught up in the gentle breeze, which kept the beaming sun tolerable. The same sun reflected off the water as it caressed the shore over and over again. No, such days were not common, and meant to be cherished, with cherished friends.

Birds, making lazy circles in the sky, caught her interest as she cleared her throat. "So tomorrow's a big day," she stated, causing both sets of blue eyes to stray from their own interests to her. She smiled, though she did not look in their direction. "My last therapy session is tomorrow. I'll be officially cured." The sarcastic undertones in the last statement were not hard to detect. "Hooray," she added on a humorless chuckle.

Bulma looked up from the shell she'd been idly kicking along and gave her a small smile. "Congratulations," she said simply.

"Thanks," ChiChi muttered, still not looking at her. When she finally shot the girl a glance she cleared her throat. "Tomorrow's also the night the ship comes to pick up Vegeta's family. We're all going to the send off."

Bulma's eyes immediately returned to the ground as she searched for a new shell. "Oh."

"What happened to it coming tonight?" Juu spoke up.

ChiChi frowned slightly at the blonde, knowing that she was moving the conversation off Bulma. She'd never understand why Juu was so determined to help Bulma ruin her life. "Some delay in the ship reaching earth's atmosphere. Extreme space turbulence or something. How am I suppose to know?" she finished on a shrug.

"Then I don't need a ride to the ship off since Jay's dinner with Nijuu is tonight. He'll probably want to see Vegeta off himself now. I'll ride with him," she said, tucking a blowing lock behind her ear.

"You not going to dinner with him?" Bulma questioned, jumping on the subject change.

"No," Juu said simply, gazing off at a group of kids as she crossed her arms.

"Jay been hassling you to go?" Bulma asked. When Juu shook her head, Bulma smiled. "Well, that's good."

A half - snort came from the blonde. "No, we just have a deal. I told him I'd go with him to tell the man bye tomorrow morning. His plane leaves for the states tomorrow afternoon."

"You think you're ready to see him again?" ChiChi asked.

"Who said anything about seeing him? I told him I'd go with him. I never said I'd get out of the car," she said offhandedly.

ChiChi shook her head at the girl as disbelieving chuckles came from Bulma. Juu was something else.

They fell into silence then, each girl lost in her own thoughts. The quiet broke when Bulma released a few soft humorless chuckles. When both girls turned their attention to her, she spoke.

"We're so sad," she started. "Here we are, Orange Star's most popular girls, officially free women as of yesterday, and we're absolutely miserable. We've got you, the drug addict," she said motioning to a surprised ChiChi. "And the blonde with abandonment issues," she continued, getting a raised brow from Juu. "And then there's me. The spoiled little princess with the easiest problem among us, and the only one not doing a single thing to fix it." She gave another un-amused snort. "You have to admit it all sounds like a cheesy teen drama," she finished, giving them a sad smile. "It's really kind of pathetic."

A small smile touched ChiChi's lips as well. "Yes, I guess it is."

"Well," Juu spoke with a smile of her own. "At least none of us got pregnant."

Bulma actually laughed at that before shaking her head. "Yeah. I guess we should count our blessings."

"With the way this year is going one of us still might, so we better not celebrate just yet," ChiChi joked.

"Speak for yourself," Juu grunted.

"I have to agree with Juu since my only chance of such an unblessed occurrence will be flying through space tomorrow." Bulma frowned and shook her head. "Now it's a cheesy sci-fi teen drama." When the girls snickered, she paused and lifted her wrist. "You guys want to see something?" Blonde and brunette alike paused beside her as she opened the little silver locket hanging from her wrist. The girls examined the picture, each smiling at the look on Vegeta's face as Bulma kissed his cheek.

"Where did you get this picture?" ChiChi asked, looking up at her friend again.

"Goku's party," she said softly. "Krillin took it."

"Oh," ChiChi said, not sure what else to say as the other girl was obviously fighting to keep her emotions in check.

Bulma looked over the picture for several more moments, as her friends watched her just as closely, before she spoke up. "He's really going to be gone," she whispered, her eyes glassing over as she did. "He's going to be gone, and I don't know what I'm going to do."

ChiChi's eyes connected with Juu's before she rested a light hand on Bulma's shoulder. "Why don't you come to the ship off and say goodbye Bulma? It might make it easier," she coaxed gently.

Bulma was shaking her head before the sentence even finished. Closing her eyes, she shut the locket. "I can't," she whispered as a tear slipped down her pale cheek.

"Why?" ChiChi pressed.

"Be- because I'll breakdown if I do and only make it harder on him. I just can't do that to him. I'm sure I've all ready made things hard enough," she finished on a sob. She took a deep breath as the tears began to fall and the sobs came faster. "An- and I love him so, so much. I can't watch him leave me. I- I just can't, Chi. Please don't ask me too." As she sobbed those last broken words she turned and buried her face in ChiChi's chest.

Naturally, ChiChi wrapped her arms around the other girl as she cried her heart out. She looked up to meet Juu's eyes again just as the other girl laid a comforting hand on Bulma's back. Turning her head slightly, ChiChi rested it on top of Bulma's head and consoled the girl the only way she could, by simply holding her.

* * *

Nijuu placed the last shirt in the case as he listened to his boss' voice on the other end of the phone. When the message ended he hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. He zipped up his bag then carried it and set it by the door. Checking his watch he realized he had two hours before his plane left. He really should get started to the airport, but he just couldn't leave until-

He turned at the knock and made his way over to the door. As he opened it he smiled as blue eyes, so much like his own, met him.

"I was running late," Juuanagou said, not sounding at all apologetic.

Nijuu stepped aside smiling. "No, it's fine. Come on in." As the boy entered, he could not help glancing into the hall as he closed the door.

"She's not out there," Jay said simply from behind him.

Nijuu turned back to him. "No, I didn't guess she would be," he said with a sad smile. "So, what are you up to?" he said as offhandedly as he could. Though they'd spent sometime together, he still found himself nervous around the boy's unflinching gaze.

"You asked that I stop by before you left, so here I am," Jay shrugged.

"Well, I appreciate it. I really do. Would you like to sit?"

Jay shook his head. "I can't stay long. I just wanted to stop by and say goodbye..... I'll be staying with mom next year, while I go to the local university," he said after a moment. "So you know where to find me if you ever come this way again," he finished casually.

Nijuu nodded. "Right. Oh," he said, as if something just hit him, and he moved to the desk and scribbled something on a sheet of paper. Afterward he handed it to Jay, who gave it a curious look. "That's my address and number in the states," he explained. "If you ever want to talk or anything feel free to call; collect even, if you want."

Jay frowned at the paper a moment before nodding. "All right."

Nijuu watched him a moment before speaking again. "Give it to your sister will ya?"

Jay nodded, slipping the sheet into his pocket. "If she'll take it."

Nijuu lowered his eyes at the comment and nodded. "Yeah. If she'll take it."

Neither man knew what to say next as they stood in awkward silence, reminding Nijuu once again of all he had missed. In the time they'd spent together, he'd learned what a handsome, intelligent, and witty young man this boy he'd abandoned had become. And he didn't know the first thing about how the boy had become such. So much he'd lost to stupidity. So much.

Giving the boy a small smile, he extended his hand to him. "Well, I guess there's not much else to say is there?"

Jay looked at the hand almost warily before taking it. "No, I guess not."

"Thanks for giving me the chance to get to know you again. It's meant a lot to me," he said sincerely.

He would have sworn the boy flushed slightly as he pulled his hand away. "Well, I guess you're just lucky I'm more like Mom than Juu."

"Yeah," Nijuu said, looking at the ground again. "I hope one day she'll come around."

Jay watched him a moment before walking over to the door. He stepped just outside and lifted a white tube from beside the door. After shutting the door, he handed it to Nijuu.

The older man undid the string around the tube, glancing at his son curiously as he did. It took a few moments for him to unroll the white paper, and when he did he blinked down at the portrait. The picture of a family of four was done in beautiful watercolors, each brush stroke obviously taken with great care. The portrait itself showed himself, so much younger he almost didn't recognize the person, and Rei sitting as they played with two children no older than two-years-old, one in a little pink jumper, the other in a blue one.

Nijuu's eyes caressed the happy memory before he looked up at his son. "You?"

Jay shook his head. "No, Juu's. It was one of her first watercolors. She did it from an old picture when we were freshmen. It's been in her closet ever since." He paused as Nijuu looked down at the picture again. "She wanted you to have it," he said causing the man's head to pop up. "Said it was for the flower ... whatever that means. Now you're even and she owes you nothing. Said you'd know what she meant."

Nijuu looked down at the paper again, and shook his head. "No. We'll never be even. I owe her too much to ever be even," he muttered softly.

Jay shrugged after a moment, once again unsure what to say as he slipped his hands in his pockets. "Well, I have to go. I'll give you a call," he said as he turned back and headed to the door.

Nijuu looked up, realizing it would be sometime before he saw his son again. There was so much he wanted to say, none of which he knew how. "Juuanagou," he called, causing the boy to pause with one foot out the door. "I- I'm very proud of you. Of both of you," he said. The words that followed it were soft. "Even if I have no right to that pride."

His son looked at the hallway carpet a moment before looking back at him. "Who knows? Maybe one day you'll prove you have that right." With those words he was gone, closing the door softly behind himself.

After a few minutes, Nijuu's eyes left the door and fell back on the drawing in his hand. He remembered the day shown here well, but most of all he remembered the feelings that washed over him as he'd watched those two at play together on the carpet. He'd felt complete. Something he'd never felt before or since then. He'd been such a fool.

That thought, a common one of late, carried him over to the window. He peeked out just in time to see Jay open his car door. As the boy climbed in, he squinted against the sun at the passenger seat when he noticed movement. As if she felt him looking at her, his daughter's eyes suddenly met his there in that second story window. Lifting one hand, he waved at her. Even from this distance he saw her frown. He was sure she would ignore him when she lifted her own hand and waved back, it wasn't much of a wave but a wave nonetheless.

The smile that touched his lips couldn't be denied as Jay backed the car out and drove off. He watched the vehicle disappear before stepping out of the curtain. He glanced at the picture one last time as his cell phone began to ring. Sighing, he rolled the picture back up as he made his way over to the bed to answer.

* * *

Well, you people have come a long way with me and honestly it makes me question your sanity. However, instead of calling the little men in white lab coats to get you, I'll let you in on something. The FINAL chapter of My Friend will be post in a couple of weeks. Now, don't tell anyone I told you and I'll see ya in a few. Thanks for reading.