Expedition

The long-maned warrior stared up at the dusky red skies of planet Vegeta, enjoying the quiet of the dawn until his scouter began to beep and alerted him to the fact that "He's late."

The man's tail tightened irritably around his waist as he began to fiddle with the device perched on his ear. He continued until the crackle of static cleared to a cheerful but muffled voice greeting, "M'rn'n!"

The man pinched the bridge of his nose, "Kakkarot, explain to me why you're not at the capital's launch area yet."

He heard a throaty gulp over the line before Kakkarot answered, "I was too hungry to fly. Needed to fill up on breakfast first."

"Gods give me strength," the man muttered beneath his breath. "Are you at least on your way? You know how testy the prince gets when he's kept waiting."

"Is he already there, Radditz?!"

Radditz smirked at the audible fear in the young man's words, "Why don't you come and find out for yourself?"

"Last time you said that, I ended up spending a whole day in a regen tank."

"You wouldn't need to worry if you just woke up when you're supposed to."

"But I asked you to wake me."

"I'm not your damn babysitter, Kakkarot!"

"Yes, but you're my big brother."

Radditz pressed a hand to his face and pulled down, trying to maintain his patience. "Just get your tail over to the launch area within ten minutes."

"Want me to bring you something to eat?"

"No, I-"

"On my way! And I brought some for the prince too! Hey, is Mr. Nappa going to be there? Maybe I should go back so he can-"

"Kakkarot! Ass. Here. Now!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh." The line went dead.

Radditz could only shake his head and grumble, "I swear, Kakkarot, one of these days you will be the death of me." Knowing he was going to be stuck with his little brother for years, Radditz was going to enjoy what little peace and quiet he could get.

Nappa wasn't supposed to be on this mission. His battle prowess would have been put to better use in a skirmish against a hostile race of Frieza-loyalists instead of this covert task. But the big brute was also the crown prince's personal bodyguard and could be deceptively stealthy despite his bulky frame. And though these past two years he was a guard only in name, Nappa felt his chest swell in pride when the prince insisted Nappa be there at his side while they searched the cosmos for the tiny planet...

Blast it, what had that soothsayer called it? Urf? Urgh? Something like that. Bardock said he would have all the necessary information sent to their scouters. The bald elite was about to check when his scouter detected a high power level.

"Prince Vegeta," Nappa said as he brought a closed fist to his heart and bowed. Even without the blood red cape trailing behind him or the ornately gilded armor with the royal family's crest emblazoned on the breastplate, there was no mistaking the teenaged prince.

"Is everything ready for our departure?" the young man asked.

"Yes, my prince. The coordinates have been set for... the planet," Nappa managed to keep himself from betraying his ignorance, "And the scanners have been primed to detect potential worlds to add to our empire."

"Excellent, let's not waste another moment. The sooner we find those Dragon Balls, the sooner we can finally be out of Frieza's employ. And then we can be rid of him along with the rest of his wretched ilk." The prince smirked.

"And once we have him out of the way, there'll be no stopping us Saiyans from conquering the rest of the universe!" Nappa supplied as he and his liege rose to the sky. But his delight was short-lived once he remembered the two third-class warriors he would be sharing the honor of attending to the prince with. He didn't even bother to hide the scowl on his face.

"What is it now, Nappa?" Vegeta asked.

"I know I'm overstepping my bounds, but why of all the warriors to bring along did you pick Radditz and Kakkarot?"

"Don't be so insecure, old man, it doesn't suit you," Vegeta laughed. "I chose Bardock's whelps because if this mission proves to be a waste of my valuable time, I can vent out my frustration on his sons before I take it out on their father. Besides, I've heard that some of the lower class warriors go into a berserk rage whenever a member of their squad is felled in battle. I'd like to witness that at least once. Why else do you think I always bring at least two lower class warriors with us?"

Kakkarot managed to arrive at the launch area before the prince and was understandably relieved he wasn't going to be pummeled for his tardiness. The young Saiyan didn't understand why his brother was so upset with him though, it's not like he didn't bring enough food to share.

"Besides, it's not like this is the first time we'll be going on a mission with Prince Vegeta," Kakkarot said in between mouthfuls of meat.

"Yes, but during those missions we were simply assigned into his squad to fill in a rank quota. This is the first time he chose us specifically, Kakkarot. And the last thing we want is for you to embarrass father by behaving like some sort of country bumpkin instead of the proud warrior you're meant to be."

What was so embarrassing about sharing food with others? Was this that politics thing Radditz and their father often talked about? It probably was. At fourteen years old, Kakkarot could only rub the back of his head in confusion and go along with whatever Radditz said.

"So I shouldn't offer them my food?"

"Wh- th-that's not..." Radditz pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just finish eating your breakfast before the prince gets here."

When both their scouters began to beep, Kakkarot all but inhaled the food he brought and nearly choked on a piece of bone. Until his brother's tail roughly slapped him on the back and dislodged the chunk of calcium from his throat.

"For gods' sake, pull yourself together boy!" Radditz said through grit teeth, tail winding back around his waist as he scanned the horizon for the owners of the high-leveled readings.

After finishing his coughing fit and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Kakkarot stood to attention in perfect mimicry of his brother.

"On time for once," the young royal smirked as he landed. Despite the fierce expression on Kakkarot's face, the fact that the youngest Saiyan barely reached past Radditz's waist had Vegeta dubbing him as "Runt."

The bald, mustachioed giant of a man laughed, "Guess your last session with him finally got through his thick skull."

"Prince Vegeta, Nappa," the two third-class Saiyans greeted.

Radditz immediately said, "My father has already sent the decoy message to Frieza. The lizard will think you've taken the initiative to conquer new worlds in his name."

"He does enjoy having his ego-stroked," the prince snorted. "But at least this way he won't be too suspicious of our mission."

Kakkarot opened his mouth to ask what exactly their mission was, but his brother planted a heavy hand on top of his head and squeezed. He understood what the painful gesture meant and held his tongue, deciding it was yet again because of that tricky politics thing. Funny how it was always an issue whenever the prince was involved.

Before Radditz released his hold, Kakkarot felt the tips of his brother's fingers twitch when they lightly touched the deep, old scar on his scalp. There was a brush of fur against the youngest Saiyan's leg, then a gentle, covert pat behind his knee from his brother's tail, the gesture the siblings' unspoken version of I'm Sorry. Kakkarot wanted to reassure Radditz that it was alright but his brother had already climbed into his one-man pod before he could say anything.

A/N: I know I said that this chapter was just in the works and would take some time to finish but my hand slipped so here you go! I promised Goku and Vegeta and here they are. You also get bonus Nappa and Radditz. Reviews are loved and appreciated, thank you! Also I am taking a bit of time off (for real this time) to work on my gift-fic for the Secret Santa exchange over at the We're Just Saiyan community. Thank you for understanding.