AN: Hooray! Lots of wonderful reviews!

Saiba: Ah, a new reviewer! Well, I will update, and I thank for your review!

Viper-Vegeta: Yay! You're back! I've missed you since Goku's Priorities! The odd-pairings thing can be anything from a one-shot to smut (which I love) to an epic! If you have a contribution I'd love to keep the competition running! And the pun was brilliant, even if it wasn't intended. Greetings, Chibi! I hope you'll be around for the rest of this story, and I did go all out on it…glad it shows!

Yami Persephone: heh… "Perversity is our Specialty". I think that's brilliant! And what does a vegan chocolate taste like? Is it nutty? Well…you'll just have to see what happens. Don't want to spoil anything…

Wildgirlxyz3: In a way, I'm doing the fanservice that Dbz didn't do. I mean, all we ever wanted was for Kakarot to give Vegeta a little credit. Yes, GT gave us the all-out fight with the two Saiyans, but I think we all wanted closure between the two and WE DIDN"T GET IT! Waaah! We wanted more between them, and we got some during Kid Buu and the Internal Buu bits but it wasn't enough! And yes, I am being cruel. But hey, I'm a Taurus. I blame the zodiac. I'm glad you found the 'birds and bees' talk so funny! I liked writing that and it just hit me one afternoon and I had to write it down while I was at work! Hmm, I'm going to do the bedtime story as a side-story to put at the end of this one because I actually haven't written it! And I also haven't seen DB so I'm glad that this still does the Dbz series justice!

John Perry: Aw, arigato, man! I've got many chapters still to come and thank you for retuning to the crew!

Nitara: Aww, thank you so much! But I think I've got a hell of a long way to go! I'm nowhere near the ranks of Card, Xero Sky, Chuquita, Gutterball, Camaro and Rena Sama! They're the ones that inspire me and give me something to strive for! You can find all of these amazing authors (including the ChiChi Slaughterhouse and she is awesome too at saiyanhideaway dot us! And I'm there too! I'll keep up my work! Thank you for the review!

Clarobell: This chapter hurt to write but I hope I'll salve the wounds somehow. I update on Sunday nights after work, so for the American reviewers this chapter is there to brighten their Monday mornings (I'm two hours plus GMT) and my Britons have a bedtime story if they log on after 11pm!

Elenek: bows deeply thank you for coming back and for your review! I'm also trying to find manga I hope someone can give me a link! And I know that decent writers don't flame and thank you for the enlightenment! Arigato!

Omnimalevolent: Hmm, I think the best chapter is still to come. This chapter is a little bit of a filler but it does put in some background and it also sets up for later action. The plot will speed up soon enough and a lot will happen in a few chapters! Heh, I can just imagine Vegeta trying to explain sex to Trunks without swearing or being crude…and then trying to tell Kakarot that his tail is an extension of his, uh…

Yeah. Moving on…

And they're kinda old! I think Vegeta's around 47 or 48 here. Don't worry, plenty of pain and fighting and Kakarot's final exam is still to come!

A Random Fan: Ooh, but the drama is still to come! No spoilers, but after this chapter the shit will hit the fan!

And in closing

Thank you for all your great reviews! Some old friends have returned, the wise have spoken and I've got many ideas!

Here's a question: what story did Vegeta tell Kakarot? Any ideas? I'll write the best idea and put it as a side-story! And does anyone have an age chart anywhere? I just know that Vegeta is about 7 or 8 years older than Kakarot…and that Kakarot was only about 18 when Gohan was born…you go, Kakarot! Chichi the teenage mother…people tend to forget that…

Ahem.

And please could someone give me links to DB manga downloads? Or if you have, please share! In return, I have the Neko Majin manga that Toriyama wrote after DB. I also have yaoi doujinshi (untranslated, unfortunately) and lots of pictures!

Many thanks!

Have a semetastic® week! (That's Chuquita's word, not mine)

Zogeta

Chapter Nine:

Forced day off

"Morning, Kakarot. Time to get up."

I poke my head into his room and spot a lump under the duvet. He pulls the blanket down from over his head and gives me a wretched look.

"I think I'm sick, Vegeta. I must have picked up a cold from the water last week."

I bend down and rest my hand against his forehead. Damn. He's practically ready to combust.

"This isn't good. What other symptoms do you have?"

He groans and leans against my hand, presumably because it's cooler than his skin. "My joints ache and my nose is stuffed and my head feels like its going to implode…"

I frown and crouch down next to the bed. "Sounds like you picked up a virus of sorts. There are quite a few around here; I got sick a couple of times when I was here as a kid. Well, all you can do is stay in bed and stay warm. Training when you're sick can put severe stress on your heart and muscles. Just take the day off and you'll feel better by morning."

He nods and burrows down into his blankets, tail sweeping the mattress and looking for me. I grab the furry appendage and rub it, hoping that it makes him feel better. I look over my shoulder and see dark eyes peeking over the blanket at me.

"There's no need to be so melodramatic, Kakarot. You've simply caught the equivalent of the Earth's flu."

He pouts and buries himself amongst the tangle of sheets and blankets, his tail curling around my wrist and tightening.

"I still feel miserable."

"And so you do, but I expect your ass out of bed soon so that we can continue training. Do you feel up to eating?"

He ponders for a moment. "I can't smell anything, not even you, so eating is kinda pointless...but yeah, I am hungry."

"I'll organise something. You can't fight this bug on an empty stomach."

The tail uncurls and retreats under the blanket. "Kay, Vedge."

I shake my head and move up to the kitchen. What the hell is 'Vedge'? I suppose he was bound to give me a nickname sometime soon.

"A…ah…AACCHOOOO!"

"Dammit, Kakarot!"

I can just catch a chuckle from here. Clearly, he isn't that miserable.

KGKGKG

Ugh…I hate being sick.

After emptying a whole box of tissues, I'm staring at the ceiling while sweating or shivering. Vegeta sits against the side of the bed, meditating and keeping me company in his own stoic way. I lean over the edge and watch him. He's pretty cute when he isn't frowning. His eyebrow keeps twitching.

"Enjoying the view, Kakarot?"

Damn.

"Uh…"

"Smooth, Kakarot. Go to sleep."

I flop onto my back and fold my arms. "But I'm bored."

"So meditate."

"Can't."

"Or won't?"

He has me there. I put a wet facecloth on my forehead and close my eyes. "Didn't you bring any board games?"

He grunts and shifts. "Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate."

An idea hits me. "Hey, will you tell me a story?"

He frowns at me over his shoulder. "You fell asleep the last time I told you one."

I rub the back of my neck. "Aw, I was just so tired that night. But I remember all of it! Come on, you're such a great story teller."

"Stop appealing to my ego."

He turns back to his meditation and I sigh up at the ceiling. "Being sick sucks."

"I'm sure it does, Kakarot."

I cover my eyes with my arm. "You're not helping."

He finally gives in and sits on the bed next to me. "Alright, enough with the whining. Any particular type of story you want to hear or something about me you want to know?"

There are so many things I want to know, but I settle for something that I've always been curious about.

"Tell me about your first girlfriend!"

He stares at me, blinking once or twice. "What?"

I sit up against my pillows and get comfortable. "Oh, come on, Vedge. You must have had trails of women after you!"

Vegeta looks at his lap, and I can swear I can see a blush.

"Kakarot…I was such an awkward, ugly bastard. Skinny and short and arrogant and…gawky. I was pretty unpopular and feared, so to be honest, my first 'girlfriend' was Bulma. She couldn't stop laughing when I told her. She wouldn't believe me…then she remembered what a bad kisser I was at the start."

A sly smirk.

"Of course, I'm much better now."

I scratch the back of my head. "So, bad subject choice. Will you tell me about our home planet?"

A misty look comes over his eyes, and I can see that the topic makes him nostalgic. "Our home planet was beautiful, but a hard place to live in. The animals were strong and tough and the weather was often the equivalent of natural disasters on Earth. The sky was blood red and the seas were deepest purple. The architecture was almost…I've seen some similar buildings on Earth…our buildings were like Earth's cathedrals. I think it's called 'Gothic'."

He looks away, eyebrows drawn down into a frustrated frown. "I wish I could remember more, but I last saw home when I was eight; my father gave me to Frieza a few months after my eighth birthday. He promised me he was going to rescue me but even I knew that it was goodbye for good; he was just trying to reassure me, I suppose."

I reach forward and rest a hand on his knee. "It's alright, Vegeta. I just wanted some idea of my birth planet and that is enough. And it must have been so hard for your father to hand you over to Frieza; I'm sure that he tried his best to get you back."

Vegeta shrugs, his eyes dropping to the floor. "Maybe, Kakarot. But I wish we had stood up to Frieza as a whole race…we might have had a chance. And it would have been better to go down fighting rather than being blown up."

I feel bad for opening up old wounds. Me and my big mouth.

"I didn't mean to bring all this bad stuff up, Vegeta. Maybe I should just go to sleep."

He looks up from the floor and smiles, although it doesn't go further than his mouth.

"It's alright, Kakarot, I know you didn't mean to do it on purpose. I'm just a sentimental Saiyan with a few issues still on my mind and I really do wish I could tell you more about home."

Sometimes I just want to do something to take the hurt out of his eyes. But I can't erase all the damage done to him; hell, I don't even know what to say at the best of times without sounding like an idiot. A few words from a week or so ago drift into my mind.

"You know nothing of the unadulterated hell I have been through in my life...You, Kakarot, have never held dying comrades in your arms or been lonely or forced to survive on the flesh of fallen enemies. You haven't had to fight wars despite broken limbs and concussions and any other injury you can think of. You don't know what suffering really is. You never grew up with a deranged Ice-jin who did unspeakable things to his own warriors!"

Did Frieza ever hurt Vegeta? I want to know, but I'm scared of the answer and I don't wish to upset or anger Vegeta. It's a private matter that maybe Bulma doesn't even know about and it isn't my place to ask. I can't imagine how I would feel if everything I knew was obliterated and I was the last left.

I'd probably want to die.

"Vegeta…I…I'm sorry too. About our planet. Maybe we can wish it back someday, and you can see it again. If it would make you happy…"

His tail sweeps once in a wide arc, then freezes as he considers what I've said. "I would like that, Kakarot…it would make me happy to see home again. To see my castle and the seas I used to swim in, and the royal orchards where I used to eat fruit all day…"

But for some reason, there seems to be despair in his aura. Why? Does he really miss it that much? But I don't think it's that…something else is bothering him. Oh gods, have I said something wrong again? To hell with talk; I just keep screwing up. I lean forward and wrap my arms around his shoulders, feeling him stiffen for a moment before relaxing. I rest my chin on his shoulder and close my eyes.

"Vegeta…we'll go hunting for dragonballs, and we'll wish your home back and we'll visit it whenever you want. I want to see your home, and you can teach me our language. Just please tell me if that will help heal some of your wounds. I just…

I just want to make you happy."

VVVVVVVVV

Has anybody ever wanted to give me such a gift?

I would dearly love to go home, to feel soft, red beach sand between my toes and see the gardens and orchards I so loved in my childhood. But I won't live to see this dream, won't get to see home. Now the opportunity is there, but will I be able to step foot on my home planet before I die?

"That would make me…better, Kakarot. Thank you for…wanting to heal me."

How did we get to this point? From a fierce, harsh rivalry to this? To this tentative friendship that I wish I could enjoy for longer? When did things change?

And when did I change enough to accept this?

He leans back and grins at me, so full of honest happiness and warmth. It really means so much to him how I feel, what makes me happy.

"Then it's settled! When we get home, we'll go hunting for dragonballs! And maybe that evening we can have dinner on Vegeta-sei! What time does the sun set at home?"

Whew, a lighter topic.

"There are three suns, and the days are eighteen hours long, and the nights ten hours long. So, I don't know how that works out in Earth hours, but we can watch the suns set. It's the most beautiful sunset in the universe; three suns of different ages and colours setting together and they create this incredible plethora of colours ranging through the whole spectrum."

He grins and falls back against his pillows. "I love sunsets and a Saiyan sunset sounds wonderful."

I lean back on my palms. "Indeed they were…are…will be."

He smiles and nods. "We won't be using the future tense for long, promise." He yawns and snuggles down into his blankets. "I'm tired now…all this emotional stuff wears me down."

I can't help smiling as I stand and tuck him in. "You big baby. Go to sleep then and get better. If you need me, give me a shout."

He winks at me then buries under the covers, tail squeezing around my knee before retreating under the blanket.

"See you later, Vedge."

"Sure, Kakarot."

I go to the door and turn out the light, closing the door behind me. I walk to my room and sit on my bed to think.

It would be perfect if I could see home just one last time…