Vegeta heard voices around him, and his eyelids flickered as he slowly rose from the dark depths of sleep.
"Oww…my head," he moaned. He felt a weight settle itself next to him on the bed. As his eyes opened, he was greeted with the widest grin he'd ever seen. He never knew that it was possible to show every tooth in a grin.
"Welcome back, Vegeta."
Vegeta rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, then looked around. He saw Dende, Piccolo and Popo, all smiling and looking rather relieved.
"How long have I been out?" he rasped, his throat dry.
Goku counted on his fingers.
"About three days. We thought that you might need the rest, after that transformation. Besides, you almost drowned, but I used a little transmission to get you out. You did a brilliant job of wiping out that android! I'm really proud of you."
Vegeta smiled, glad to hear praise from Kakarot. Then he caught the full gist of Kakarot's words.
"Transformation?"
Goku nodded happily.
"Yeah! You transformed into Super Saiyan three! Didn't you notice?"
Vegeta shook his head, as he sat up, dressed in what appeared to be one of Kakarot's baggy shirts and huge pyjama pants.
"I didn't. That's brilliant! I guess it's amazing what a little encouragement can do, hey, Kakarot? I would never have done it if you hadn't yelled at me to stop feeling sorry for myself."
Goku turned to Piccolo.
"Won't you guys give us a few minutes?"
Piccolo nodded, and left, Dende and Popo following his lead.
Goku turned back to Vegeta, who fell back against his pillows, hands resting on his stomach. Goku shifted himself so that he was facing Vegeta properly.
"Vegeta, I'm sorry."
Vegeta raised his eyebrows.
"What? Why? You haven't done anything wrong."
Goku sighed.
"I should have told you a long time ago that you're my best friend. I shouldn't have waited until the heat of battle to do it. I don't want you to think that I don't enjoy being 'kidnapped' by you, or spending time with you. I realised this a few nights ago while I was raiding the fridge at two in the morning. I realised that I really do care about you as my best friend. I just wanted you to know that."
Goku gave Vegeta his lopsided grin, and watched as Vegeta absorbed this news. Vegeta looked down at his lap, biting his lower lip. Goku started feeling worried. He was being silent for a little too long. Granted, Vegeta was usually quiet, but not after anyone told him anything important. Then Vegeta looked up, and gave Kakarot the best, most honest, happiest smile he could muster.
"You don't know how much that means to me, Kakarot. I just needed to hear that. And, yeah, you're my best friend too. You may be my only proper friend, but you're still the best friend any soul could ask for. And I can't give you any more praise than that."
Goku, always the open, loud, friendly, kind one, hugged Vegeta, the quiet, introspective, moody and loyal one as tightly he could.
And it was one of the best moments of Vegeta's life.
