Thanks for the reviews! They're sooo very appreciated!

Nika, in answer to your review: Nope, I don't plan on abandoning this story! And I'm happy that you like my Vegeta! :D Also, I know that Goku's problems are quite few in comparison to what the prince has been through, but don't worry... I haven't forgotten that, and plan on delving deeply into it.^^

Hey everyone! Read this first: I thought it was about time to get to Vegeta's POV! So, this entire chapter will be in his POV. I'm considering alternating back and forth between their POVs with each chapter. Feel free to offer your input in this matter.

BONUS: I made this chapter a bit longer :) Enjoy!

Chapter 3

(in Vegeta's POV)

---

"Vegeta, wake UP!"

I woke up to a familiar blue-haired woman breathing heavily in my face. I blinked at her and sat upright, immediately wide awake. Bulma was standing in front of me with an aggravated expression on her doll-like face.

"How dare you wake me, woman?!"

"Honestly, you can sleep through anything, Vegeta!" She snapped. "I've been trying to wake you up for like a minute."

"Hmph...Only things worth sleeping through." I crossed my arms and stood, glancing out the window. The sun was still pretty low in the sky, but it was about time to train. I started to walk towards the open window, and then felt my stomach grumble. Food first, I supposed.

"Vegeta!" Bulma put her hands on her hips, and bounced around agitatedly. "Hello, I'm trying to talk to you?!!"

I turned back to her, impatient to start my day. What could she want to talk about? We rarely talked these days. It wasn't that we didn't get along, we just...had run out of things to talk about. A long time ago. It only got worse after everything that happened with Buu. She stopped trusting me. Now we had seperate bedrooms, and seperate lives. It was tolerable, though, especially since we still had sex once in a while, when we were both horny.

She sighed dramatically, running her fingers through her hair. "Hmph, saiyans.. So easily distractable."

"Ha..I simply had no further interest in conversing with you."

"Oh, you are too much sometimes." She shook her head, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

"....That's why they call me the prince of all Saiyans." I answered with a bit of a smirk. "So, did you want to tell me something or not?"

"Ugh, FINE! Look, you know Goku and his wife have split up?"

I thought back to the other day, when Kakarrott had had a minor meltdown. It had been rather startling to see him as something other than his chipper self. Tears did not suit him. He was a damn Saiyan warrior after all. The best of the best.

I smirked to myself. Strange, how far we had come. From mortal enemies to... friends, I supposed. I didn't wish him harm, at least. I even looked forward to seeing him, most days. Friendship... Now that was something I had never known before. Not real friendship, anyway. It was something I had always considered to be soft, beneath me. I had grown up having teammates and subordinates; other warriors like myself, but they were always disposable. I never cared if they lived nor died, as long as I got stronger....The need to defeat Frieza was always there, in the back of my mind.

But in the end, it was Kakarrott who turned Super Saiyan and defeated Frieza at last..

Feh. What was the point of drudging up these memories? It was the distant past, after all. I had forgiven Kakarrott during the battle with Kid Buu. Yes..I had found a strange peace with him at last. "You are better than me, Kakarrott."

My thoughts turned to our fusion. Being in one body had forever changed us. For a brief moment in time, I had known what it was like to be him. I had felt what it was like to no longer feel hatred or obsession. To simply be happy, always living life in the best interest of loved ones. I felt his love for everyone around him, his ceaseless energy and goodness.

My unending anger was appeased, somehow, while we shared a body. A feeling I thought I would never know; would never want to know. I had known hatred my whole life; it was what spurred me on to become harder, better, faster, stronger. It was what made me me.

But in that body...

For a brief moment, I had felt whole.

Bulma was staring at me, an exasperated look on her face. I realized I had gotten lost in my memories, and nodded to her to let her know I was listening.

"He spoke of it to me, yes."

"Oh, did he? What did he say?!" She was interested. I didn't see what the fuss was about. Kakarrott would get over it eventually. Nothing could keep him down. And I know that better than most.

I shrugged slightly. "Nothing, really. Does it matter?"

She threw her hands up. "Yes, it matters! This is our friend we're talking about... Two of our friends, really.. Chichi's not doing so well. We-"

I growled vehemently. "No fucking way is that abominable woman even remotely close to being a friend of mine. Feh... The mere thought makes me want to puke."

"Whatevers! Anyway, Chichi and I had coffee this morning. I guess he moved out a few days ago. Chichi's worried, though she likes to pretend she's doing just fine... We don't know where he is, and I was wondering if you could go find him, check up on him, talk to him even?" She looked at me carefully, her hair falling in her face. "This is a really difficult time for him; Goku will need a friend right now more than ever. Please, Vegeta?"

"...Fine." I nodded at her, and she smiled tearfully.

"Thanks. You know this means a lot to me."

"Sure," I said with a tiny smile, and flew out the window to find the idiot in question. I sensed him deep in the forest east of his home, and headed in that direction.

---

Kakarrott hadn't been by lately, and I had given him some space, feeling his ki spike and fall with his emotions. After that damn hand-holding incident the other day, I hadn't been keen on seeing him. He had no right to offer me comfort; I was his prince. I did not need anything from him, least of all pity.

I reached the forest and flew through it, looking here and there for him. I found him at last, training among the trees. He was completely focused on what he was doing, and didn't notice me. I watched his speedy movements, and found myself admiring him from above. He was nothing less than a genius on the battlefield. Amazing, since he is a damn clown most of the time...

Suddenly he stilled, blinking up at me. "Vegeta!"

"Kakarrott." I acknowledged him with my customary smirk.

He beamed. "Hi there! Nice of you to come visit! I was just about to stop and go for a swim to clean up a bit.. Ya wanna join?" His eyes held a slight plea. He really wanted company.

I shrugged my indifference, and we flew a few miles away to a large, dark pool of water. We landed beside the water, and he began stripping down to his boxers. I stared at his large, compact body without thinking about it, my eyes roaming up and down. He was certainly built well, even for a Saiyan. He was attractive, even.

Feh...

"I didn't bring anything to wear..." I realized, my thoughts turning back to the water.

"Eh, just wear your boxers. Are you wearing any?" He turned to look at me curiously, now wearing nothing but a pair of red boxers. I noticed that the red looked particularly good with his fair skin and dark hair.

The simple question surprised me, and I felt an immediate twinge of embarrassment. "Kakarrott! What sort of question is that to ask your prince?" My cheeks felt red, and I glowered at him.

He smiled at me innocently, a flicker of something I couldn't place in his eyes. "Uhhmm... it's no big deal, 'Geta. We are going swimming after all... That usually requires shorts...Unless, of course, you were planning on going commando?" He winked at me.

He dares to tease me! I saw the amusement in his face clearly now, and it infuriated me. Idiot! Buffoon! "NO, I have no desire to go naked!" I knew my face was completely red now, and that pissed me off even more.

He stared at me, a smirk growing on his face. "..Ya sure?" He asked in his best innocent voice.

Fucking unbelievable. His latest question didn't even deserve a response, and I didn't give him one.

And then I had an idea. If he was going to tease me, then I would tease him right back. Why not? Could be fun. I slowly and methodically took off my training outfit, my eyes on his.

I noticed his eyes widen when I revealed nothing under my outfit but a fully naked body, and he swallowed, looking uncertain for the first time.

I smirked at him, putting one hand to my hip. "Well, well. Looks like I wasn't wearing boxers after all."

He exhaled, staring at me.

I turned and dove into the pool of water, feeling strangely exhilarated at the thought that Kakarrott's eyes had seen every inch of me.

---

More than six months sped by. In that time, Kakarrott and I trained nearly every waking moment of the day. We had greatly improved in every possible way. Whenever we weren't training, we would cleanse ourselves in a river or lake, catch an animal for supper, and then I would fly back to Bulma's for the night.

It was an excellent way to spend six months, and I couldn't recall a time that I felt happier or more at home. As a Saiyan, I lived and breathed fighting. Kakarrott was my superior in the battlefield, but I threw my heart and soul into improving every day, and could often get the better of him by using his own tactics against him. It was such a rush whenever I was close to winning a session, but then Kakarrott would find some sort of loophole and ram me. Our fighting sessions went on for hours on end with no breaks. We could read each other like a book.

There were times when it seemed like he was teasing me, possibly even...flirting with me. I didn't know what to make of it, and so I ignored it most of the time, although there were times when I was in the mood to tease back, like at the pool. Whenever I did respond to it, it caught him off-guard, and I would win the exchange. I admit those little exchanges were growing on me... Especially the winning part.

I arrived home late one night to find Bulma sitting on my bed, staring up at the ceiling quietly. She leapt up energetically when I arrived, and I knew something was up.

"Hey, Vegeta! I was wondering when you would be home." She exclaimed cheerfully.

I grunted. "What for?"

"Wellllllll, if you must know... I have an idea!" She barrelled on before I had time to reply. "We should throw a party!"

"Feh...You know I don't give a damn about parties, Bulma."

She stopped to scowl at me. "Oh, hush! You'll want to be part of this one."

That piqued my interest, and I leaned forward. "Oh? And why might that be?"

"Because it's going to be a party to celebrate Gohan and Videl's upcoming nuptials!! And I want Goku to be there. Will you invite him for me? I know you've been with him a lot lately, and I really appreciate you being a friend to him... But I think it will be good for him to interact with all of the old crowd, as well... And I'll invite a few of my single girlfriends...He might even hit it off with someone!" She said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "Oh, how nice that would be!"

I narrowed my eyes, contemplating this.

The thought of Kakarrott with another woman greatly irritated me. I pushed it aside, as there was no reason why this should be so. He would have to move on from Chichi eventually, after all. That woman was not his equal; it was quite likely that no woman on earth was good enough for him.

She cocked her head at me. "What are you thinking, sweetie?"

Ugh.

"The party's fine." I said shortly. "But what about that harpy? If the party is for Gohan and Videl, surely she will be there."

She blinked at me. "Oh! Right, I forgot I haven't told you... Firstly, the divorce IS finalized. I don't know if Goku mentioned that... But anyway, Chichi has found someone who makes her very happy!! He's a business man, and actually really nice. Oh! And he owns several-"

"WHAT?!" I was outraged. "Does Kakarrott know?"

"I don't know, but he's going to have to find out sometime." She shook her head. "I mean, I feel really bad for him, of course.. he's our Goku! But he and Chichi are broken up, so there's no reason why she shouldn't be happy. She wasn't happy for a long time..."

"I can't fucking believe this," I grumbled.

Bulma looked befuddled at my reaction.

"Kakarrott's my friend, woman."

At this, she laughed loudly. "Your friend?! Oh, Vegeta, I don't think I've ever heard of you refer to him like that!" She was overjoyed, and I crossed my arms with a scowl, a little embarrassed. "No, seriously, Vegeta... this is great! Anyway, will you please just invite him? Chichi will most likely be there, so tell him that, too."

"I'm not a damn messenger boy!" I exploded, angered by the way she was talking to me. "Do it yourself!" I flew out of the window without looking back. I heard her call my name more than once, but ignored her, instead flying as fast and far as I could.

Idiots! Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by nothing more than fools and weaklings. Why was I even on this ridiculous planet anyway? I could be out in space right now, exploring and fighting other species of life... Conquering planets. Being revered and feared. Like the old days. I was going soft here! Caring about the feelings of a third-class warrior! I had changed... Oh, I had changed.

I circled the earth a few times in my rage, before falling to the ground in exhaustion. I had already overworked myself today; this was too much. I wearily decided to get into bed.

I flew home and landed rather heavily in my room, and walked forward to fall onto my spacious king-size bed. As I crawled under the silk sheets, my fingers brushed against a piece of paper. I groaned, and grabbed it.

"Dear Vegeta, you WILL invite Goku to the party, and you WILL make sure he knows about Chichi. Furthermore, you WILL make him come. This is a time to celebrate Gohan and Videl's future, and Goku needs to be there. I am very busy making all the other arrangements, so you can and WILL do this one thing for me. Thank you, sweetie! Bulma."

I groaned a second time, thoroughly irritated by her note.

Well, it was true that Kakarrott would have to be told about Chichi, and I supposed he should be at the celebration..

Fine, then. I would tell him. It would hurt him, but...he would just have to deal with his foolish ex-wife. What did I care if he was hurt, anyway? He was too damn sensitive.

A/N: Yup, I used the words "Harder, better, faster, stronger" from the song....If anyone noticed ^^

Next up... The party, Beatles music, drunken Z fighters, and quite a few twists! Should be quite a fun chapter ;) I'm working on it now.

Thoughts so far? If you wish, please leave a review ^^