A/N:

hi guys :D

No real news to say, except that I waited a long time to write this chapter, and I would not have it any other way. Thanks so much to all of my patient readers and reviewers. You guys are incredibly amazing and motivating (as always).

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Thanks for all the well wishes too! You guys are so sweet! And my hits are currently OVER 9000. ...sorry, I'm done now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to DB/DBZ/DBGT. Booooo

Reunion

"Look! There it is!" Krillin pointed out of one of the windows eagerly. They had been stuck on this spaceship for a good month, and everyone, especially Bulma, was starting to get a tad testy. They were using the Namekian 'food supply' as a shower and sink, but that didn't really allow any of them to smell pretty fresh. Bulma couldn't wait to get to Namek and open up a proper Capsule house. First thing I'm going to do is shower. I can't meet the Saiyans smelling like a pig.Her blue eyes blinked at the thought. Wait, why can't I?

No, no. She would take a shower for Yamcha's sake, for all their sakes. Smelly body odor could be distracting in a fight. Not for Vegeta. Who's Vegeta? I don't know any Vegeta.

"...Are you sure that's Namek?" Goku scratched his head rather doubtful.

"Look at it! It seems to be in the right place!" Krillin moved up to the controls, getting ready to land until Goku's hand touched his.

"...I don't have a good feeling about this. Bulma, what did Mr. Popo say?"

Bulma shrugged and moved over to the large front window. She wasn't really sure what Namek looked like, and as eager as she was to land at this one, Goku made her reconsider. "It still seems a bit early. Let's fly around for a few more hours, and if there isn't another planet, we'll turn back to this one."

"Fine." Krillin got up from the control chair, relinquishing the seat for Bulma. "But don't say I didn't tell you so when we waste five hours circling back."

"It shouldn't be that long." Bulma felt her palms sweat. The spaceship's radar already detected another planet. It wouldn't take them more than a couple of hours to land. She slid back down in the chair and gripped the metal handles. There was really nothing to be afraid of. This journey would take no more than a couple of hours. A shame, actually, when the trip here had taken weeks. But what was she thinking? Did she actually want to spend more time away from Earth? Off gallivanting around with Saiyans searching for dragon balls? Maybe I...

"Are we almost there?" Yamcha moved forward from the back of the ship. He stood next to Bulma, laying one hand on her, almost protectively. "I can't wait to meet these Saiyans."

Please don't do anything stupid.

"Ugh. I can. I still have a stupid migraine from your older brother, Goku. And I doubt the other Saiyans are going to be much nicer."

"They won't be." Bulma turned around to face them, removing Yamcha's hand in the process. "No fighting. You guys won't win."

"Hey, Bulma! Goku's been training at 100 times gravity this whole time! Don't make us sound like such wimps." Krillin shook his head.

"I'm not trying to insult you! You big oaf! I'm trying to save your lives!" Bulma turned back to the radar. "Nappa and Vegeta are trained fighters. They've destroyed entire worlds. Just promise me you guys that you won't fight them." She moved some buttons around, increasing the spaceships speed. Half of her mind was filled with dread, but the other half held nothing but anticipation. Maybe she would finally stop dreaming about him. She could confirm visually that Vegeta was alive, and her guilt for leaving him would vanish. She would no longer be plagued by his tortured image in her mind. She could continue her life on Earth with Yamcha, and Gohan safely returned to his mother. This would be the closure she needed. Namek would be the final chapter of her strange obsession with the Saiyan.

Goku pointed ahead. There was a tiny green sphere in the distance shrouded by clouds. "I can't promise that, Bulma." He turned his dark eyes towards her, "They took my son. And unless they only have good intentions, I can't promise this won't end without a fight."

They had an easy landing. A good start to, hopefully, an easy journey. Bulma fiddled in front of the mirror. Her hair had grown out a bit from when Raditz saw her, but it was still short, bangs hidden behind a pink headband. Her hands smoothed out the wrinkles to her yellow and black outfit, and she carefully examined her face in the semi reflective window.

"Trying to look nice?" Goku approached her from behind, making her jump.

She ignored the question, "Are Krillin and Yamcha ready?"

"Are you?"

"Since when did you get like this?" She shifted around, eyeing her friend curiously. "Raditz's beating went straight to your head, didn't it? Or was it Chichi's?"

"I've always been concerned about my friends. You just seem really worried, Bulma."

"Of course I'm worried! We're going after super powerful aliens!" She grunted, frustrated that Goku kept bothering her about this. "The GR was useful, right?"

The fighter nodded. "I let Krillin and Yamcha use it on a lower gravity too. Boy, was it fun trying to get up to 100G. That's some intense stuff."

"I worked out the plans for one that can go up to 300G. I'll be sure to have my father take a look at it when we get back."

Goku shrugged, "Hopefully we won't need it. But with my track record, that sounds like a good plan."

"What does guys? Throwing them the Dragon radar while they hand over Gohan and then getting the Hell out of here? Love the plan. Let's do it!" Krillin held a bag of Korin's senzu beans in one hand and his duffel in the other.

Yamcha came in after and gave Bulma her capsule case and Dragon radar. "Nah, I want to at least meet the bastards." His dark eyes strayed to Bulma for a brief second. "Or at least find out what they want from the dragon balls."

"Maybe we can convince them to wish back Piccolo."

All eyes turned to Goku, incredibly confused by his words. The Saiyan shrugged, "What? He's actually not a bad guy. Plus we'd get the Earth's dragon balls back. We'll most likely need them again."

"Let's not jump the gun, guys." Bulma took the Dragon radar from her boyfriend. "Ready? The ship says the oxygen and gravity levels are equivalent to Earth's so we shouldn't have any trouble in this atmosphere." She waited for all three men to nod before opening the doors.

Namek was Earth backwards. The grass was an interesting shade of blue, looking slightly green when reflected against the pine colored sky. The clouds were a less spectacular shade of gold than Nimbus, looking almost dull in comparison to the three suns perched in the sky.

"Strange. It looked like such a big planet from space."

Bulma turned to Goku, "What do you mean?"

"He means that there's only about a hundred or so ki's on this planet. Not a lot at all." Yamcha sighed and kicked the dirt next to the blue grass.

Tell me Vegeta didn't...

"There's one really high ki over there." Krillin was already hovering slightly, "Think it could be the Saiyans?"

"Maybe. Why don't you check it out, Krillin?" Goku suggested, earning a displeasured look from his long time best friend.

Bulma raised her hand, "I'll go with you!" She bit her lip at her eagerness. "I am the negotiator after all."

"Are you kidding, Bulma? I'll go." Yamcha already dropped his bag on the ground. "Set up camp guys. There's a cave over there." He kissed Bulma gently on the cheek, "See ya in a few."

Krillin grumbled. "Yeah, yeah. If I get knocked into a house again, I'm taking the ship back to Earth. Who knew meeting you guys would mean space travel. Sheesh."

"Thanks Krillin, Yamcha. I'll keep an eye on your ki's. Good luck." Goku gave them a slight wave, and they blasted into the green sky.

Bulma took out her case of capsules and moved into the nearby cave. "Gosh, I really need a shower. How about you, Goku?" Her blue eyes blinked, "Goku?"

Goku was sitting at the edge of the cave, legs crossed. His normally cheerful grin was gone, and his entire focus seemed to be planted on Namek's horizon line. Bulma watched her friend carefully. This past year had been hard for the Son's, and Bulma had no doubt that sometimes Goku wished that there had been another way to defeat Raditz, another option than his son getting kidnapped and brought into the lost frontier of space. "He'll be okay, Goku."

"I can't sense his ki."

Bulma didn't really know what that fully meant, but she just nodded and left her capsule case on the ground. "Can't he suppress it though...or whatever you guys do?"

"But why would he?"

"Maybe he's not here yet." But she doubted that. Vegeta was neurotic, and she suspected he would have gotten here early. "They wouldn't kill him, Goku."

He didn't reply but just retreated back in the cave and waited for Bulma to release the capsule house. She purposely picked the same model they had used all those years ago, after they had first met. It was smaller and much older than the other houses she brought, but she figured it was appropriate. This wouldn't be the only memory she would be reliving, oh no.

That night had been weird. ...That whole time of her life had been weird. She remembered being appalled at Goku's hygiene, about his inability to determine genders, and now the once naïve, smelly boy she went adventuring with was sitting in that same house worrying about his child. Life had a way of sneaking up on her. She was almost thirty, thirty, and all she wanted was to be that sixteen year old girl again.

"Mind if I shower first, Bulma?" Goku already had a towel around his neck.

The fact that Goku suddenly cared about his personal hygiene had her agreeing. "Yeah sure." She grabbed an old magazine from the coffee table. "I'll be right outside."

"Alright! Just shout if you need help."

"Yeah, yeah." She shooed him off and headed out of the Capsule house. There was a nice rock near the entrance of the cave, a perfect spot just to relax and read her magazine. After spending a month on Kami's ship, she relished in this slightly different but still refreshing air.

He was halfway through the air when he decided to stop himself. What the fuck am I doing? Vegeta clenched his fists, head cast downwards. He could sense her. Damn that brat's tricks; he could fucking sense her now. Her ki signature, though weak and incredibly pathetic, stood out on this blue green planet like a blinding light. How did he recognize it so instantaneously? He had never sensed her before; he didn't know that ability then. But there she was, yards away with her puny power level. Vegeta readied his ki to fly towards it when another presence stopped him.

"Uncle Vegeta...are you alright?"

Gohan. "Hmph. Of course I'm alright, boy. I am simply tracking the location of the Earthlings."

"Oh okay." Gohan hovered next to him, mimicking Vegeta and crossing his arms. "Hey! That's my Dad's ki!"

Vegeta speedily grabbed Gohan's hand to stop the boy from flying down. "Brat, do you remember nothing? Tactics. Think before you blindly charge in on your enemy."

"But he's not my enemy! He's my Dad! He's a good guy Uncle Vegeta! Trust me."

Vegeta scoffed, "Unless he intends to help me retrieve the dragon balls and defeat Frieza, he is my enemy. Understand?"

"...But...but you promised not to hurt him."

The Saiyan Prince had nothing to say to that. He wasn't one to break promises, mostly because he wasn't one to make them in the first place. "Then I lied. I promise nothing if he gets in my way."

"But, Uncle Raditz said..."

"Boy! Listen!" His harsh tone demanded respect, and he easily obtained it from the wide eyed Gohan. "I have not waited two and a half decades to have my vengeance stolen from me, do you understand? Frieza will die. And anyone who gets in my way will suffer the same fate."

The half-breed always surprised him. Gohan shook his head, tears slightly swelling. "I won't let you hurt him, Mr. Vegeta." His power level momentarily sky rocketed, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists in unbridled anger.

The Saiyan Prince rolled his eyes, "Boy, do not make an enemy out of me yet. Control your rage. Save it. I have done nothing to wrong you or your pathetic third class family...yet. Do not waste your energy getting angry at things I might do." Vegeta smirked, feeling Gohan's ki go back down to an undetectable level. "Good. Wait for your uncle in the cave."

"...Are you just going to talk to him?"

Vegeta nodded. For now. Besides, Kakarot was not the one he was planning on seeing.

She didn't look up at the sudden rush of wind hitting the ground. Bulma flipped through another page of her magazine, staring at some new swimsuit design that made the model's hips look more like a whale's. No thank you. The fighter grunted in front of her, and she sighed, "What Yamcha? Did you get your fill of the Saiyans? Do you understand me now?" She barely glanced up, confused as to why there was only one person in front of her. "Where's Kril..."

Her blue eyes stopped immediately, frozen upwards at the figure now in front of her. This wasn't Yamcha. Oh Hell no. Her mouth pleaded with her to let out some sort of noise, but nothing came. Nothing except a large scream. "AH!" She tried to stand but ended up falling on her butt, the rough shards of rock sending pain throughout her body.

If this had been Yamcha, he would have immediately ran up to her, picking her up and placing her back on the rock while babying her, asking if she was okay. But Vegeta just stood there, arms crossed, face in that perpetual scowl. He hadn't grown...not a lot...maybe an inch. His hair was still in that characteristic flame shaped style, widow's peak framing his dark eyes. The Saiyan narrowed his brows at her, and she could tell he was examining her closely.

How embarrassing. Bulma managed to steady herself, brushing off the dust as she stood back up. She left the magazine forgotten on the floor, too engrossed with the Saiyan in front of her. He looked older, not because of any fine lines or wrinkles or graying hair, but he had this more mature air. It intermingled with his cocky façade, some sort of experienced presence that he didn't posses the last time she had seen him. He was still incredibly fit, as she expected he would be. He was a warrior, that was his job, his life. Vegeta wouldn't be like most Earth men, letting their bodies go to ruin with time and age. He seemed a bit more muscular, but his elegant movements towards her showed he hadn't lost any of his agility.

Her voice still refused to cooperate. Damn.

Vegeta's smirk grew at her agape expression. He let his arms fall to his side, hands still covered by those familiar white gloves. "So, you actually made it here. Used your father's spaceship perhaps?" Sarcasm stained his voice.

She shook her head. Her hair was an absolute mess, but why was she so self conscious? His rough, deep voice made her voice stutter. "Ve-Vegeta..."

"Don't talk." He vanished, reappearing again inches from her face, their noses barely touching. His hot breath made her spine tingle, the hairs on her neck stand completely straight. "I have managed to finally rid my mind of your insufferable voice. I do not wish to here it again."

She shook her head. Was she crying? Bulma stiffened at the thought. She allowed her blue eyes to take in Vegeta again, fully. Floods of memories poured through her, of disgusting lizard laughs, weird tasting food, and sleeping on a pile of clothes. She could feel the cold metal walls, like they were behind her again. And she could feel his warm touch, his tanned, calloused hand running against her cheeks and hair. Bulma shook her head. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about that. "Vegeta...I need to explain. Please, let me explain."

"Hmph. I do not care about your explanations, Woman. And I do not care about you or whatever filthy Earth scum you brought with you." He gestured his head back in the direction where Krillin and Yamcha had flown. "All I care about are the dragon balls. They can grant me any wish, yes?"

It took her awhile to realize that was a question, "Yes, Vegeta, but..."

His dark eyes strayed over her shoulder, and she turned to see Goku behind them, slightly wet from his incredibly fast shower. Vegeta held a finger under her chin. She could feel his heat radiate even through his glove, but the Saiyan Prince just kept grinning. "I will let you live then, Woman, until you help me find them." He pushed her off with one quick movement, and she was back on the ground, her mind swimming. Vegeta walked forward, a yard away from Goku. "You must be Kakarot." There was this weird tone in his voice, almost mimicking disdain.

Goku nodded, "Where's my son?"

"He's here." Vegeta narrowed his eyes, "Do not come looking for him. I will not hesitate to snap her neck. Understand?"

Bulma scratched at the ground at his words. Vegeta...

"You will not hurt any of my friends, Vegeta."

"So..." His smirk continued to grow at his name, "Did she tell you about me?"

"Why? Did you want her to talk about you?" Goku looked practically devilish, causing Vegeta's smile to instantly vanish.

"Kakarot, we will meet at the Namekian village 20 miles to the west to discuss further plans." He pointed casually in some direction. Bulma could hear the scorn littering his words. Vegeta was holding something back, some kind of teeming animosity towards Goku that Bulma didn't really understand.

Goku scratched his head, "Why there?"

"In two hours. My scouts and yours should be back by then. Any bloodshed before then and our deal is off."

"Same to you."

Vegeta nodded, "Excellent." He didn't give Bulma a second look. "You might not be as much as an idiot as I expected." And within two seconds, Vegeta was already out of her eyesight.

"Bulma?"

He was gone. Just like that. She had waited so many years to see him again, to see that he was okay and not rotting away on some satellite. She had waited and he was already gone, not giving her a second look, not doing any of the things that she had imagined he would have done, that she had wante- I can't believe I'm seriously thinking about that. But it was hard not to. She could finally see his face clearly. It was no longer just a hazy image in her mind, but defined. His pointed chin and nose, his muscled arms and legs (really, he had to wear spandex of all things...), those dark eyes that seemed fully aware of everything.

She needed to stop. This is supposed to be closure, not..not...

Goku was next to her. It was then she noticed that, like Vegeta, he was incredibly warm. Must be a Saiyan thing. She glanced at him, his eyes wide with concerned. It immediately frustrated her. "Yes! I'm fine. Sheesh! Stop worrying about me!"

"But he's...I mean...you..."

She held her head in her hands and shook her head. "Vegeta is nothing, okay? Let's just do this deal and get this nightmare over with." She didn't realize how weird it would be seeing Vegeta again. Okay, so she may have been anticipating this moment ever since Raditz touched down on Earth, but no way was she mentally prepared for that. She had expected him to hate her...and he did, that was obvious. But what she hadn't expected was that his hatred would hurt her so much. Her chest was incredibly heavy, and those light tears from before were threatening to come out in floods. But she wouldn't let that happen. She wasn't some stupid teenager anymore. "You heard him, right? In two hours we'll have Gohan back and we can get off this stupid planet!"

"It can't be that simple though. What does he want from the dragon balls, Bulma?"

She shrugged, "To be stronger I guess. He...he has some issues with this guy named Frieza. He probably just wants to kill him." But how, Vegeta? He wouldn't wish for Frieza just to drop dead. That wouldn't give him any satisfaction. But would revenge? Bulma sighed. Actually, for Vegeta, revenge probably would have been deeply satisfying. She just didn't think he'd want it to be so...artificial. Vegeta had been training his whole life for the possibility that he could kill Frieza. Would the dragon balls really provide him with what he needed? Sure, Frieza would be dead, but then what? What would Vegeta do with all that new power? What would be his goal then?

Goku cringed, "And that's okay? We should just let that happen?"

She wasn't really sure how to answer that. "Frieza's a tyrant. Look, I'll explain more later, but if you think Vegeta is something to worry about, you have no idea."

Goku sighed and looked back up to where Vegeta flew off. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner, Bulma. He hid his ki."

He what? Bulma shook her head, "He didn't know how to do that before."

"Maybe he learned after you left."

Maybe he learned from Gohan. Though why he would want to help his kidnappers was beyond her. Unless they told him about Frieza. "And don't apologize, Goku. I signed up for this. I can handle myself, got it?"

He nodded, "Yeah." Her friend looked back down, face quizzical. "This Frieza guy...he must be pretty strong, huh? He could be a good fight, I mean, if he's really evil and all. Maybe we can help Vegeta."

Bulma's thoughts stopped. In no way would she have ever expected Goku to want to help Vegeta. But it did make sense. Goku was never one to back down from a challenge or let evil just run amuck. And despite that being an incredible option, she knew how strong Frieza was. She couldn't let Goku fight him. He wouldn't survive. "..No Goku. That's not a good idea."

"If you say so, Bulma. You know this stuff better than me."

She nodded and picked up her magazine, still a tad shell shocked. "What do we do now?"

The fighter next to her shrugged, "We wait."

Gohan stared at him curiously when he came back to the cave. Vegeta was sweating, taking off his white leather gloves and practically throwing them on the cave floor. I should have killed her right then...why didn't I kill her? His mind kept spinning. What was that third class rat doing with her?

Vegeta immediately spun around to stare at Gohan, who still had that stupid, worried look on his face. "I didn't kill him." Though every cell in his body really he wished he had.

Gohan immediately relaxed, letting his tail swish and sighing. "He's a good guy! You saw that, right?"

"All I saw was him and that blasted Earth woman."

This caused the brat to blink, "Earth woman?" Gohan seemed to be thinking. "...That's strange."

For some unknown and unwelcomed reason, Gohan's comment managed to catch Vegeta's interest. The Saiyan Prince turned to the boy and then sat cross-legged on the floor, chin raised high. He didn't want to think about what Kakarot was doing with Bulma. For some reason those thoughts made his stomach churn. Any man, let alone some worthless third class, touching her made him want to... He interrupted his own thoughts. "What are you talking about?"

"Back at home, we lived kind of secluded. It isn't like on Frieza's base with all those soldiers around. It was just me, Dad, and Mom. Hey! Do you think Mom came too?" Gohan grinned happily at the older Saiyan.

But Vegeta could only scowl. There was an energy blast already ignited in his hand, bright yellow and shining brilliantly in the darkness of the cave. In a matter of seconds, he was yelling furiously. The noise made Gohan duck for cover, tail wrapping around his waist before he flew outside. Vegeta had already let loose the ki blast, and the walls of the once solid cavern exploded in heaps of rubble and dust. The rocks paused midair, stopping at the sheer energy, and then collapsed down, safely surrounding the prince in his own destruction.

Two pairs of feet landed behind him. "...Um, is everything okay, Vegeta?" Raditz didn't take a step forward, too afraid of the now panting prince.

"Aw, couldn't you have waited just a bit longer before we started blowing stuff up?" Nappa sighed, "I want in on the action too."

Vegeta whipped his body around. "Shut up! Both of you!"

A/N:

thanks for reading guys :D I would absolutely love if you left me a review! they make my days here at good ol' college infinitely better! see ya soon!