"Unexpected Romance: Changes"
Chapter 1- "Home, Sweet Home"
By- Tiny
Gohan kept shooting awkward glances behind him as he flew with his mother in his arms back to their home on Mount Paozu, the Saiya-jin prince hot on their heels all the while. It felt unnatural to be inviting someone who, just over a year ago, had been trying to kill everyone on the planet into their family's home, but at the same time was a thrilling prospect for the young hybrid. The prince of a race Gohan belonged to, yet knew virtually nothing about save that they were amazing fighters, was going to living in the same home as him, at least for a short while.
Vegeta was indeed a great warrior, a fact that had been made more than evident on Nameksei when he was knocked down over and over again, yet always came back into the fray even stronger than before. If it hadn't been for the warrior prince, not to mention Piccolo and Krillin, Gohan wasn't sure that they would have survived Frieza's wrath for half as long as they had. They owed Vegeta a great deal, even if he had been their enemy some time ago and tried to kill them all, and Gohan just wished that the others could see that as well as he could.
The Son residence was coming up into view now as the young warrior increased his pace across the sky, both to get home as quickly as possible and to test how much faster Vegeta's increased ki had made him. Much to his surprise, Vegeta was able to quite easily keep up with the young hybrid, though never going too close for fear of getting another tongue lashing from his rival's wife. This was something Gohan found humorous, that such a small and seemingly weak woman could strike such fear into even the most savage warriors, but he wasn't about to let Vegeta know that.
"Brat, we've been flying over this worthless mud ball for close to an hour now!" Vegeta snarled, his energy rising slightly in annoyance, "When are we going to reach your little home?"
"It's right down there, I was just about to tell you to land," Gohan called back nervously, "It's the little white house next to the forest."
"Hmph, little is the word," Vegeta mused, watching the hybrid descend through the sky, "Suitable that a piece of low-class scum like Kakarot and his abomination offspring live in such a hovel!"
"And I should warn you not to call our home a hovel either, unless you want mom to hit you," Gohan's voice popped up, "I forgot to mention, battle techniques aren't the only thing Piccolo taught me."
"I'll make you pay for intruding on my thoughts brat," Vegeta grumbled, his eyes narrowing as he touched down, "Don't you forget who your superiors are."
Gohan didn't bother with a response to that last statement, either mentally or using his smiling lips, but rather sat his mother down on the soft green grass and then ran inside to change his clothes. His old gi was pretty torn up and he really needed the change in clothing before he ate anything, as Chi-Chi wasn't going to let him touch her food or even her tableware without being clean first. Vegeta found the young hybrid's sudden desire to clean up absurd, as he began heading for the house to rest a bit before he ate himself, but never quite made it inside.
A loud clang sounded throughout the mountain valley as a heavy metal pan, held by a very angry looking Chi-Chi, came down hard on the Saiya-jin prince's head with a force that not even Frieza could rival. The pain was excruciating as Vegeta hit the ground, clutching his head in agony as Chi-Chi tossed a capsule case down to him, courtesy of Bulma. The prince barely paid the capsule case any mind as he rose to stare down his rival's wife, eyes ablaze with fury, but backed off slightly once she started waving the pan in his face.
"Nobody eats or sleeps in my house until they have washed up and are clean, I don't care who you are!" Chi-Chi huffed, "Bulma was nice enough to send you some clothes in those capsules, they should fit you. Our washtub is behind the house, just start the fire underneath it and you should be fine, and make it quick, cause I'll have dinner ready soon!"
"Who are you to order me around, woman?" Vegeta growled, snatching the case off the ground, "I am Vegeta, prince of the Saiya-jin!"
"And I am the woman of this house and you will do as I said or I'll just tell Bulma that SHE can watch you!" Chi-Chi retorted, "And since I know you don't want that, then I suggest you wash up and get ready for dinner!"
Vegeta was stunned at just how brazen the human woman was to defy him in such a manner, directly to his face without any fear whatsoever, but didn't let as much show as he skulked off behind the Son house. The washtub for the people of the house was most accurately described as very crudely put together, consisting of a large metal barrel full of water, heated up by a fire underneath. Vegeta wondered how in the hell he was supposed to get cleaned up in such a cramped up space, but figured it was better than a cold creek somewhere and simply stripped off his armor and climbed into the tub.
Much to his surprise, it was really quite warm and cozy, sending a very relaxing sensation through the prince's body as he let the warm water cover his entire body, including his wild locks of dark hair. All the tension that had remained from his battle with Frieza disappeared almost instantly, his aching joints relaxing to the point that he felt he might drift off to sleep. That might not have been a bad idea either, since the prince was feeling slightly tired as it was, but he remembered he was under the water and moved up out of the warm sanctuary into the cool, evening air.
The sun was setting on the horizon over the mountains that surrounded the area the Son family called home, the gold's and reds of the sunset reflecting off of the tub water as Vegeta watched in awe. He could hear animals in the forest, some going off to sleep for the night and others rousing for their nightly prowling, the insects filling the air around the Saiya-jin prince with musical hums and clicks. He hadn't enjoyed a sunset like this since he was a boy back on his home planet, when he and his father had watched the twin suns setting from the balcony of their palace.
"This world...it is not Vegetasei, it will never be Vegetasei," the prince sighed heavily, reclining his head back, "But yet...I could find myself coming to like this place...and to call it home."
And with those thoughts in mind, Vegeta's eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep in the setting sunlight, dreaming of a new kind of life that he wouldn't remember when he woke up later that evening...
Chi-Chi was working diligently in her kitchen, making dinner for herself and the two savagely hungry Saiya-jin under her roof, when she heard the back door swing open beside her and Vegeta walked in. He seemed considerably more relaxed than he had been when they arrived at the house, his posture considerably less rigid and his face not quite as tight as it had been. He still had a deep scowl on his youthful features and a his eyes were narrowed, as they had been since the moment Chi-Chi laid eyes on him, but he definitely looked different after his bath.
Adding to the difference in his body posture was the clothing that had been sent over with him by Bulma, seeing as Vegeta was quite a bit too short to possibly fit into his larger rival's outfits. They couldn't imagine he'd want to wear Goku's clothes either, seeing as the young prince hated the other man with a passion that nobody could seem to comprehend, since Goku had decided ultimately to spare his life. He was dressed only in a pair of dark jeans with a very tight black shirt over them, his feet bare except for a pair of white socks he had decided to put on.
Unlike his rival, who usually went over to the table immediately and watched Chi-Chi cook the meals until they were ready, Vegeta surprised the human woman by walking over to the counter and stirring a pot of rice she had forgotten about. It would have burned within a few moments if he hadn't done so, but thanks to the prince's handiness it was good again and would be ready soon. Everything else was close to ready as it was, the meat having cooked in it's own warm juices for almost three hours now and all the veggies steamed to perfection. It was enough to make even Chi-Chi's stomach rumble, so she could just imagine how her two dinner companions were feeling.
"Thank you for stirring the rice, I completely forgot about it," Chi-Chi gulped nervously, setting food out on the table, "I didn't know that you Saiya-jin even knew how to do anything but eat in a kitchen."
"There is a lot you pitiful humans do not know about my race, considering the only model you've had for behavior is that third class moron," Vegeta grumbled, gazing out the window, "Besides, I don't like burnt food."
"The guy doesn't know how to take a compliment," Chi-Chi shook her head, "Well, there's a lot that you don't know about MY race either Vegeta, but that would be because you won't take the time to learn."
"I know that your people are, primarily, a pitiful race of weaklings, despite the handful of powerful warriors you've produced," Vegeta half-spat, "In the universe only the strong survive...your race would perish and nobody would bat an eye."
"Have you ever considered that there may be more to we humans than just our fighting ability Vegeta, or are you Saiya-jin that blind?" Chi-Chi bit her lip, trying not to blast Vegeta twice in one day, "Can you not name one good quality about our race except how we've produced 'a handful of powerful warriors'?"
"Hmph, what a stupid question," Vegeta chuckled, "I can only think of one thing, woman."
Chi-Chi looked almost curious about what the Saiya-jin was going to say, but that curiosity turned almost instantly to fright as he unfolded his arms and walked over to stand just half a foot away from her. At that close of a range, she could see the tight muscle that was tucked up under the dark folds of his clothing, not to mention the deep scarring along his right and left arms. Even his face looked different from this vantage point, with his eyes dancing as they gazed into hers, a mixture of hurt at the insult to his race and amusement at her fear of him.
Power could be felt coursing through the room, even to the human woman who could not sense ki, but the presence of the Saiya-jin prince was so overwhelming that you couldn't help but feel intimidated. The only person who had ever stood this close to Vegeta without cringing in some way had been his greatest rival, the low-born warrior that he despised with all his being. Chi-Chi didn't want to show any sign of weakness towards the prince, who barely rose over her nose in height, but eventually gave in to her fear as he leaned forward slightly and she jumped back a few steps.
"Your race has only one good quality, and that is in part owed to my own species genetics," Vegeta smirked, hearing little footsteps outside the doorway, "You produce a powerful hybrid...and that is the only reason any of you are still alive."
Chi-Chi was shocked that she was even still alive after Vegeta had gotten so threateningly close to her, though she knew inside that the shock would be more likely to kill her than he would. Still, the little prince who now sat at her table awaiting the arrival of his rival's son had actually managed to shake the normally unshakable Chi-Chi's nerves and make her afraid. Fear was something she had not known since her youth and she had forgotten just how overwhelming it could be, her heart still pounding heavily when her son came into the room a few minutes later.
"Hi Mom, Vegeta, I'm all finished with my studies!" Gohan beamed, sitting down near the prince, "Can we go ahead and eat yet?"
"Umm...yeah, go right ahead Gohan," Chi-Chi nodded, seating herself as far from Vegeta as she could manage, "It might be the last meal that we get to eat..."
"Foolish woman, thinks I'm actually going to harm her," Vegeta almost laughed, eyeing how wary Chi-Chi was being of him, "Oh, life on this planet is going to very interesting indeed..."
Author's Notes: In case you didn't notice, Vegeta actually was trying to be sincerely nice to Chi-Chi in this chapter, but he doesn't really know how to be so he screwed it up big time. He won't get much better with time, but after a while you'll start to realize when he's trying to be a nice guy and when he's just being the arrogant, pompous asshole he usually is. And to answer one reviewers question, who has been very faithful to this story, yes I am starting over.
The next chapter will focus on Vegeta beginning to train with Gohan after a week of living in the Son household, the prince trying to bring out the full extent of his young subject's power. It will be a lesson in humility for both the prince and the pauper, but they will not be the sole focus of the next chapter, what with the humans beginning to train for fear of Vegeta's awesome powers. You won't get to see how far they are willing to take that training until next time, so I hope to see you all then! Keep reviewing and see ya next time!