I hope you like this chapter, because it didn't want to come out. It really didn't. I cursed the blasted thing and wrote it anyway. Good thing I did, the next part is much more fun to write ^^ Oh! and I wrote over 10.000 words now! I feel happy ^^
warning: the usual. I still can't change the rating, because the site isn't cared for properly. Is there like a greenpeace for websites?
last time: Chichi was a bitch, and Vegeta got Goku out her clutches. Hurray! Goten wasn't happy about the way he did it though, poor Goku. Goku drank himself half to death afterwards. Sort of. Not at all actually, he just drank a bit too much, but I'm a dramaqueen sometimes.
Carrying a drunk Goku around after a day of rigid training is exhausting. Luckily the club isn't too far away from the clearing, not that it soothes Vegeta's nerves in the least.
Vegeta likes beer just as much as any other men, he just doesn't like the way it makes other men act like idiots. Vegeta never has a problem with that specific side effect, at least, he thinks he doesn't. It's not like Frieza wanted to share his extensive alcohol supply with the saiyans, so Vegeta actually has little experience with drinking and what it's effects are on him.
Frieza had no qualms about sharing the stuff with all the other officers, so Vegeta does have his fair share of encounters with drunk people. Tonight was actually the first time he had the chance to get completely wasted, but he had enough sense about him to keep his consummation down, readily expecting Goku to do some stupid shit.
Goku seems to like doing stupid things after all, and tonight is no exception. A drunk Goku tends to forget he needs to focus his ki to fly properly, so he also tends to fall from the sky a lot.
Vegeta needs to catch him every time, and that would be all right, if it didn't make Goku giggle uncontrollably. The third time it happens, Vegeta decides he'd rather carry Goku home than hear him giggling EVER again.
Goku is terribly adamant in his conviction of acting stupid though, since he starts singing – it's actually more like slurring than actual singing – some song about a farmer, his socks and his love of sheep. Vegeta blocks out Goku entirely at that, because that song is not something you want to remember later on.
Eventually, the two arrive at the clearing, and Vegeta drops Goku where he lands. With a bark at Goku to stay outside or be on the receiving end of a final flash, Vegeta goes inside and opens a capsule Bulma gave him.
Vegeta thanks the gods for an amazing woman like her, because in the capsule is much needed furniture. Goku might be an accomplished hut-creator, his carpenter-skills have a lot of room for improvement.
His idea of a bed consists of tying a bearskin between two walls. That's fine for camping and all, but Vegeta is simply not willing to live in a house with bearskins for a bed.
If Vegeta was under the impression a drunken Goku was bad, he clearly never met the hungover Goku. Where the drunken version at least resembles Goku in a way, the hungover version is the complete opposite of the normally nice Goku.
Vegeta is up at the break of dawn, opting to take a swim in the nearby river before doing anything productive with his day. He meets the hungover Goku for the first time when he leaves the house: the man is sitting with his back against the house, glaring at him.
Vegeta ignores him, not feeling up to the fight that will probably ensue should he not. Goku refuses to be ignored though, and he follows Vegeta to the river. The stalking starts to grate on Vegeta's nerves pretty quickly, and before he reaches the river, he turns on Goku.
"What!" Goku narrows his eyes a bit more, and responds in a low voice.
"It was cold outside." Vegeta crosses his arms with a huff.
"Should have thought of that before you drank yourself into a stupor, dimwit."
"You took my home away from me!" Goku starts to radiate anger, and a feeling of unease creeps up Vegeta's spine.
"You could hardly call it a real home..." Goku's fist clench in an attempt to drain off some energy, but he can't stop himself from yelling.
"It was all I had! Where am I supposed to go now, huh!"
Vegeta uncrosses his arms, but he keeps his hands in front of him. He doesn't know what he can expect from the other man, but an angry saiyan never bodes well. Vegeta almost gives in to the impulse to stay quiet and hope for Goku to calm down, but he knows Goku needs to get it all out of his system, so he has to react.
"You can stay here, right?"
"With you here? It's out of the question." Now it's Vegeta's turn to glare. He expected something of the sort, but not this plain rejection.
"You don't want me near? Fine, I'll leave. Make sure you don't accidentally kill yourself, idiot."
Vegeta thought Goku would follow him when he lifts off, but he thought wrong. Goku simply stares at him until he's out of sight, making no move to stop him.
It's 3 days later before Vegeta hears from Goku. After their fight, Vegeta went to Bulma, and he has been staying there ever since. He's been training with Trunks in the gravity-room, but he still can't figure out how to change into super saiyan.
Today, they decided to train outside, and Vegeta only just starts to grasp how powerful he really is. Finding out you can move faster than you can see will trigger that epiphany in people.
He's glad he can sense ki now, or Trunks would have pounded him down a whole lot faster than he currently does. In his defence, Trunks can't beat him unless he goes super, and Vegeta believes that to be cheating. Not that he can do anything but complain about it. On one of those complaining rants, Goku shows up, nervously running a hand through his hair.
"Hi, Vegeta. Trunks."
Vegeta grunts in reply, and keeps sparring with Trunks. It makes the boy confused enough to let Vegeta beat him for once. Vegeta helps him back up, completely ignoring Goku's presence. He can sense Goku's ki now though, so he can feel him deflating, and turning to move. It makes him feel guilty, so he calls out to him.
"Why are you here, Goku." Okay, Vegeta speaks a little too clipped to actually show his guilt, but anyone that knows him well can also make out that he's feeling bad about it. If he didn't feel bad, he wouldn't have called out any way.
"I wanted to talk to you... in private..." With a huff, Vegeta turns to look at him. Vegeta almost expected him to look bedraggled and broken, but he looks just fine.
"I'll see you later, Trunks. Stop transforming, it's cheating."
"pffft! Learn to change too, makes it more fun!" With a sarcastic laugh at Trunks, Vegeta flies off with Goku to their clearing. As soon as Vegeta's feet touch the ground, he lashes out at Goku.
"What is so important that you needed to talk to me in private?" With his hands in his pockets and a general downcast look about him, Goku wanders closer to Vegeta.
"I... wanted to apologize for my behaviour. I know you were only trying to be a good guy, and I shouldn't have made you leave." Goku stays quiet for a moment, thinking his words over. Vegeta can only just keep his patience with the man.
"It was just too much to handle at once but..." Goku shakes his head, as if casting out a thought.
"I guess I should say thank you, even if I'm not all that grateful yet." Vegeta waits until Goku looks at him, before answering.
"Good enough. Anything else you want to talk about? Because that really didn't require much privacy, Goku." Goku looks away again with a frown.
"You're always calling me Goku nowadays, but when we were at my... Chichi's place, you called me Kakarot. Why?" Vegeta looks around the clearing a bit distracted.
"What that brat was saying, it sounded just like what..." He glances at Goku, wondering if he should really tell him. Vegeta shrugs off his doubts, and continues.
"I said something of the sort to Radditz, when he interfered." Goku starts evading his eyes again at the mention of Radditz.
"What did he interfere in?" Vegeta sighs. He really doesn't want to tell Goku the whole truth, so he settles for a short version.
"Saiyan politics. Radditz was right though, to interfere. He made everything work out, at least for a little while. He probably got demoted and send on suicidal missions after that, I don't remember anything yet."
Vegeta looks expectantly at Goku, waiting for his knowledge on Radditz. Goku notices, but he evades the unasked question.
"What does that have to do with you calling me Kakarot?" Vegeta shrugs.
"I don't know. Every time I think about Radditz, I feel obliged to remind you that you're his little brother." With a short laugh, Goku looks up at him.
"That's why you always called me Kakarot? That's an eye-opener."
"I think that's the reason, yes. I haven't got a clue why though."
Goku thinks 'I do', but he doesn't feel up to telling Vegeta about Radditz yet. He probably should, but he doesn't want to loose his only friend yet. After some time of companionable silence, Vegeta asks a quiet question.
"Was she always like that?" Goku seems to shrink in on himself before answering.
"Not really. Before the cell games, she was a loving woman. Sure, she had some anger management problems, but that's why I fell in love with her really. But when I died and came back after so long, she had changed." Goku sighs heavily, before laughing nervously.
"I don't think anybody else noticed the change, so maybe I was imagining things or something." Goku ruffles his hair with another nervous chuckle.
"I told Krillin once, but he said I was overreacting, and that if I didn't love Chichi any more, I should just say so instead of telling lies."
"Who's Krillin?"
The look on Vegeta's face is pretty murderous, so Goku's ready to tell him off, but before he can, Goku notices the ki coming towards them. Talking about bad timing, it's Krillin.
"Hey Goku! What are you doing just standing there?" The look Goku has on tells Vegeta who the guy is, and he turns his murderous gaze on Krillin. The man takes an awkward step back when he notices.
"Oh, hi Vegeta... Please don't kill me... I'm sure I didn't mean to do whatever I did..." All the while, he keeps glancing at Goku to say something. When Goku doesn't do or say anything, Krillin softly asks him for help.
"Goku? Aren't you going to stop him again?" Goku frowns at that.
"What do you mean 'again'?" Krillin swallows heavily before squeaking out an answer. Vegeta is bad, but from what he heard, Goku will probably be just as bad.
"I saw what he did to Chichi and Goten, and you just let him..." Vegeta snaps at that, pulling Krillin closer by his collar.
"What was that! I didn't do anything to that deranged woman or that brat! I stopped her from hurting Goku, something none of you so called friends ever bothered to do! And I didn't even touch the boy!"
Krillin seems about ready to wet himself, and Goku pities him. He softly pries Vegeta's hand loose and puts Krillin on the ground. He keeps in him place with a firm hand on his shoulder though.
"Vegeta's telling the truth, and he certainly didn't do anything to Goten. What happened to him?" Krillin looks between the two men.
"I found them this morning, Chichi is pretty beaten up, and Goten is in Bulma's care now for his wounds. Chichi said it was all your and Vegeta's fault..." Vegeta huffs angrily.
"Like that woman knows truth from fantasy any more." Vegeta has an entire monologue in his head, but when he looks at Goku he refrains from reciting it. Goku looks pretty guilty, and Krillin notices it too.
"Did you do that to them, Goku?" Goku doesn't react, so Vegeta answers for him.
"Don't be ridiculous, Goku isn't capable of putting anyone in the hospital, especially not his own son." Krillin looks guilt-ridden at that.
"Yeah, you're right... But why would Chichi say so then?"
"tssk, Goku told you about it, but you didn't believe him. I did, and I got him out. She probably went all crazy on Goten after that and doesn't want to admit it." Krillin gasps at the accusation.
"She wouldn't! She loves the boy! And he's a strong fighter, she couldn't have hurt him that badly..." Vegeta mumbles something about unobservant midgets, and turns to Goku.
"Let's go to Bulma, and check how your son is doing."
Goku still feels like it is all his fault, but he's glad Vegeta makes the suggestion. Krillin feels like it's a good idea too, so he follows along. Somewhere along the way, Krillin tries to talk to Goku. Vegeta hears the first few words, and decides to hang back and not listen in.
"Goku? Did she really do all those things you once told me about?" Goku doesn't react, and simply keeps looking to the front.
"If Vegeta finds it good enough to put a stop to it, it probably is that bad huh... I'm sorry I didn't believe you... I'm a lousy friend to you, aren't I?" The apology does make Goku look at him.
"It's okay, you're not that bad..." They stay silent for a couple of minutes, until Goku says something to break the silence.
"I just hope Vegeta isn't right, and that it wasn't Chichi. If it was, it was all my fault, and I don't think I can live with that..." Vegeta thought the conversation was over, so he was close enough to hear that.
"Don't be stupid, Goku. Goten wanted to stay there, so it's his own fault." Krillin finds that offensive.
"You can't blame Goten's condition on himself, that's just cruel!" Vegeta huffs.
"He was cruel for 16 years, ignoring what his mother did. I can blame him all I want." Goku speeds up, not wanting to hear their discussion, and the two man need to put in some effort to keep up, making them shut up again.
When the trio arrives at the house, they are greeted by a distraught Gohan. He runs up to Goku as soon as he sets foot on the grass.
"Dad! Are you okay?" Goku grins, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess, why?" Gohan hugs him tight, and keeps babbling.
"Mom is saying a lot of things, and I don't know what's real and what not. She says you did this to them, but Bulma says Goten was attacked with a knife, but mom denies that, and Goten's still out of it, but he'll be fine, and I didn't know where you are, and I thought maybe there was another threat and you went off to save the world or something." Gohan finally takes a breath, and he asks Goku what happened.
"I don't know... I wasn't home..." Gohan's a smart kid, so he knows Goku doesn't mean 'I was out of the house for a second'. He takes a step back to look at Goku.
"Where were you?" Goku pulls a hand through his hair, and looks away.
"I should probably tell you I left Chichi 3 days ago..." Gohan interrupts him.
"As in, divorced?" Goku nods and continues.
"She was pretty mad about it, so I didn't go back to see Goten either... This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left..." Gohan sighs and hugs Goku again.
"Don't worry dad, it's not your fault. I'm actually glad you finally left her on your own. She's a great mom, but she's not a good wife for you."
Goku has the force the tears down. He didn't expect Gohan to understand him, since he didn't know about the last few years. Goten didn't understand, and he was there for the worst years.
Their father-son moment lasts until Bulma comes out of the house to talk to Gohan. She tells Goku and Vegeta to stay outside, because she's scared of what Chichi will do. Vegeta grumbles about it, and Goku just nods and sits down on the grass.
Krillin suggests that he goes inside to check up on the two, and see if Chichi makes some sense yet. When he's gone, Vegeta is free to stalk Bulma and Gohan to hear what they are talking about.
"Gohan, did Chichi ever hurt you or Goten?" Vegeta laughs silently. Bulma gets right to the point, doesn't she. Gohan doesn't find her attitude that funny though, he's flabbergasted.
"No, she never hurt us!" He puts the emphasis on us, so Bulma believes she hurt someone else. When she asks Gohan about it, he huffs.
"You know who." Bulma frowns in thought.
"Goku left her right?"
Gohan confirms that, and it makes Bulma mutter to herself. Without acknowledging Gohan's presence, she starts towards the house again. When she's out of hearing range, Gohan turns to Vegeta's hiding place.
"Are you a stalker now?"
Vegeta steps out with his hands raised. If Gohan thought he'd try to find an excuse, he thought wrong. Vegeta was stalking - although badly - so he won't deny it.
"You are so going to be ashamed of yourself when you get your memories back." Vegeta glares at Gohan.
"And why is that? I'm not doing anything unbecoming." That makes Gohan laugh.
"Really, the prince of all saiyans stalking a halfbreed and getting caught? You're going to lock yourself in for a year, at the least." Vegeta smirks at the man now.
"You call yourself halfbreed a lot?" With a huff, Gohan starts walking back to Goku.
"You're weirding me out, Vegeta."
With a laugh, Vegeta follows him back. After a couple of minutes of sitting on the grass with Goku, Krillin comes out again. He looks agitated about something, so Goku asks what's wrong.
"Chichi is wrong. In the 10 minutes I was there, she told 3 different stories of the same events. And she doesn't even realise she said something completely different before, and then she tries to make me think I got it wrong. It's giving me a headache."
Vegeta makes a lame joke about Krillin's head being too big for not having a headache, but nobody laughs about it. Vegeta mopes about it, until they hear someone yelling inside.
The men immediately rush in, even if Bulma told them not to, and they are greeted by a girl fight. Bulma is wrestling Chichi away from Goten's room, where the boy is leaning against the door frame.
"He is hurt! He doesn't know what he's saying! I didn't hurt him!" Bulma doesn't react to it, she just pushes her into Vegeta's arms.
"Keep her there, will you?" An evil grin spreads over Vegeta's mouth, but it is stopped by Bulma's next comment.
"Or better yet, do that choppy thing to knock her out."
Guess there will be no forceful containment on Vegeta's part, which was what he was looking forward to. Vegeta simply knocks her out, while Goten starts stumbling into the hallway. Goku is deadly quiet when he sees Goten coming straight at him, not knowing what to do.
With her hands free, Bulma can go to Goten. She tries to guide him back into the room, but he 's protesting.
"Just let me do something first, I'll be nice later." Bulma does keep supporting his weight a bit, but she doesn't try to get him back. Goten stumbles over to Goku, and then falls into his arms, crying softly.
"I'm so sorry dad, I shouldn't ..." The rest of his crying is muffled in Goku's gi as he hugs his son close.
./AN: I know it's a lame chapter ending. When my betareader is back, I'll go over the entire story to clean it up, and this will probably end a bit further into the story. I don't do it now because I really don't like writing this part. The next chappie will practically write itself, which is more fun than forcing this thing out.
Oh yeah, you'll get an alert when I rewrite, and I don't want you to get a million alerts about 1 mistake that gets edited out, so I'll clean them all up at once. ./endAN