A/N: The last chapter wasn't very good, I know. Hopefully this chapter is more to your liking!

Warning: Language

Facing the Future

Chapter 14

The trip through space wasn't the easiest. Brothers' glared at one another; others' kept quiet and avoided each other. All in all, it wasn't the best atmosphere to be in. It was making Raditz regret even coming on the voyage. He stared up at the ceiling, his hands folded underneath his head. He could hear the prince and that blue haired woman bickering outside the door. A scowl darkened his face as the voices got louder. He practically bounced off the bed, his tail waving tensely behind him as he went towards the door.

"Why don't you just fuck and get it over with!" he snarled as soon as the door opened. There was dead silence as his words resonated down the hall. He turned and stalked back to his bed, sitting down with a small sigh.

Raditz glared at the metal wall, before leaning back and taking up the position he was in before being disturbed. He allowed his eyes to close, not really thinking of anything as he slowly started dozing off. 'Something is missing' he thought, his brows furrowing in agitation. Raditz couldn't quit put a name on it, but he recognized the feeling. It was the same feeling he had when he was just a young cub, when he had found out that his little brother was being sent away, and knowing that there was an almost certain possibility that he would never see the boy; The ache in his chest that didn't go away, the hollowness that didn't seem to fill, and the burning in the back of his throat. It was exactly how he had felt all those years ago…but Kakkarot was on the ship. Raditz' brows furrowed even more. Why do I feel like something's missing?

XXX

He wasn't sure what he dreamt of. Raditz jerked awake, his heart racing and a low growl coming from his throat. He immediately stopped the noise, letting out a low breath as he rubbed his eyes. What the hell did I dream about!? He didn't remember anything, just vague and blurry shadows that didn't make any sense. He rolled his shoulders as he stood, his tail wrapping around his waist as he strode towards the door. Raditz let out a sigh as he made his way towards the control room, not even sure if he wanted to be out of his room. This was beginning to be one fucked up voyage. That blue haired woman was there, sitting in one of the seats, as was his brother. He immediately did an about face and started to leave the room.

"Wait, Raditz!"

Raditz paused, his shoulders' tensing at the sound of his brothers' voice. He glanced over his shoulder.

Kakkarot was standing now, his face showing none of his thoughts. For once. His brother took a step towards him, and Raditz tensed even more. Kakkarot stopped, hesitating before he finally spoke.

"Look," Goku paused, letting a small sigh out, "I apologize for being so mean to you. I was…angry and hurt. Can we start over? After all, we're wishing back Athea when we get home."

Raditz didn't say anything for several seconds, staring at his younger brother before facing forward again. He grunted before muttering "Whatever", stalking out the door.

Goku stared at the empty doorway, absently hearing Bulma's voice. He blinked.

"What?" Goku asked, glancing at the door once more before turning towards his friend.

Bulma shot him a look. "I said so are you and him on speaking terms again?"

Goku's brows furrowed a little, "Not really, but I believe we've come to an understanding."

He heard Bulma let out a little sound before she turned back to the controls. Goku sat back down next to her, thinking of his brother and what happened on Namek. He chewed his bottom lip. Maybe he had been a little mean to Raditz. After all, it's not like he couldn't use the earth's dragonballs to wish their friend back. It just….took him by surprise, the way Raditz had acted.

Goku peeked over at Bulma, his lips quirking for a second. He knew she had a crush on Prince Vegeta, but she was still with Yamcha, so to speak. His brows furrowed once more as he crossed his arms. Man, things were getting complicated!

XXX

Raditz blocked a punch from Vegeta, whipping his leg around to give a hardy kick to the princes' side. The saiyan prince grunted, a snarl escaping his lips as he put his hands together. Raditz glared, bracing himself as light flickered in the princes' palms.

The room shook.

Both fighters froze, staring at each other before racing out the door. Vegeta made it to the control room first.

"What the hell did you do woman!?" he shouted, his hands curled into lethal fists.

Raditz ignored them as he went to the control panel in the center of the room, studying the warnings flashing from the console. He let out a curse, bending and opening the panel underneath.

"What are you doing?" Bulma asked, but Raditz ignored her, disconnecting the wires linking the left thrusters to the computer unit. There was a whirring sound, and the ship tilted. Everyone braced themselves as the ship seemed to suspend in space at a 30 degree angle, before slowly leveling out.

"What's wrong with the ship?" Bulma asked in a shaky voice, her hands clearly trembling.

"Thought you were a genius?" Vegeta snarled, his face showing his displeasure at the turn of events. His lips pressed into a thin line, a dark scowl blanketing his features.

Bulma shot the prince a dirty look. "I didn't get a chance to look," she stated, "before he," she stabbed a finger at Raditz, "disabled the console".

"I didn't disable it you moron," Raditz snapped, standing to his full height, "I disconnected the damaged part of the ship so that it wouldn't keep trying to activate and blow the fucking ship up."

No one said anything for a full minute. Vegeta growled as he stalked towards the main controls, sitting down and immediately started typing. They waited in silence as they all watched, all having the same thought: That hopefully there was a planet near enough to land on.

"We're in luck," Vegeta muttered, "for once. There's a planet not too far from here that we can land the ship on. We can use their resources, if they have any, to repair this damn thing."

"What's the planet called," Bulma squeaked, not really wanting to encounter any more hostile aliens. She about had her share already.

Vegeta glanced down at the screen, before glancing at her. "Yard rat," he muttered, his mouth twisting in displeasure.

Bulma blinked. "Is that the actual name?" she asked, staring at the prince. She watched his face change with his anger.

"Of course it is stupid woman!" Prince Vegeta snarled, ignoring the woman's shout of outrage as he turned back towards the control panel, quickly punching in the coordinates to the planet.

Raditz and Goku watched the interaction in silence, the long haired saiyan finally leaving the room, shaking his head. Goku bit back a laugh at the two, finally leaving as well in search of food.

XXX

Raditz scowled at the damage, his mouth twisting as he crossed his arms. The whole left thruster was completely useless, the obvious culprit still imbedded into the engine. He scowled at the meteorite, thrusting his hand out and blowing it into dust. Damn space rocks! Now he had to endure a longer trip, with the damn bickering of the prince and that blue haired woman, as well as his brother trying to befriend him. He was in hell! Raditz grunted. At least he didn't have to put up with that brat and the little bald shit. They stayed away whenever he was around.

He stomped back onto the ship, glaring at his brother making a fool of himself. Raditz shook his head as he went up the ramp. Kakkarot immediately befriended those weird pink aliens, actually donning one of those atrocious outfits. He glanced back at his brother, shuddering at the spectacle Kakkarot made. The man could keep the pink, frilly outfit. Raditz flexed, grunting in satisfaction. He would keep his saiyan armor. It was more befitting a warrior than those sissy outfits. Even the boy was wearing one. What was wrong with them!? He scowled, heading to his room and pausing just inside the door. He absently glanced around, feeling that something had shifted or been moved. He froze when he saw something underneath the chair in the corner. Raditz stared at it for a second before walking over. He bent down, grunting as he yanked it out from under the chair. It was a shirt. It wasn't his, so whose….His eyes widened as he caught a faint scent. It was hers! The woman's'! Raditz didn't even think about what he was doing as he lifted the shirt to his nose, inhaling the scent that had haunted him for months. The smell was faint, almost completely gone. His hand tightened around the fabric, his throat working as his absently rubbed his cheek against it. Memories came coursing back, how she looked with her hair down, that hesitant and weary look in her eyes as she watched him. How she felt against him, the brief few times he had gotten to hold her. His thoughts turned to Namek. He had thought wishing for immortality would benefit more. How he had felt that not wishing her back just yet was a boon. He was an idiot. Raditz sighed. His brother was right, he was a selfish bastard.

"Watcha doin'?"

Raditz head jerked up, his eyes wide as he whipped his head towards the door. Kakkarots' boy was standing there, his eyes full of curiosity. Raditz quickly stood, absently clutching the shirt in a death grip.

"Get out," Raditz snarled, watching in satisfaction as fear entered the boys' eyes. "NOW!"

The boy fled. Raditz felt his face heat, thinking about how he looked to anyone coming upon him. It looked like he was caressing a fucking shirt! He snarled in embarrassment, flinging the top onto the floor as he stalked out. A second later he stomped back in, jerking the shirt off the floor and stuffing it under his pillow without thinking about what he was doing.

XXX

They finally got the ship back into stable running order, having to scavenge through various mounds of parts that the planet had on the outskirts of their city. It wouldn't win any beauty awards, but at least it ran. Raditz grunted in satisfaction as he reconnected the breaker of the thruster, listening to the whirring as it powered back to life. He smirked, pleased that he could still fix just about anything. Especially when all his thoughts kept returning to the woman and hoping that he hadn't fucked up too bad. The smirk faded. He knew he had made a mistake on Namek, not wishing the brat back. But he wasn't about to admit that out loud. He was glad his brother couldn't read his thoughts.

"Son of a bitch!" Raditz yelled, staring at his brother who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Hi Raditz," Goku said, watching his brothers' face change from shock to annoyance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Where did you learn that?"

Goku swallowed back a laugh at the look on his brothers' face. He was trying to remain annoyed, but Goku could see the interest in his eyes.

"The Yardrat people taught me. They're really nice! You should come out and say hello!"

There was a moment of silence. "No," Raditz clipped voice stated his thoughts on the matter. He turned away, sitting in one of the seats in front of the main control panel. "We're ready to leave anyway."

Raditz ignored the sound of disappointment that came from behind him, powering up the additional thruster and preparing the ship for take-off. He heard his brother walking away.

"Kakkarot," Raditz said, not looking behind him. He kept his eyes on the controls. "I will learn that technique."

He could practically feel the idiotic smile on his brothers' face, grimacing without even checking to see if he was correct. He knew he was.

"Okay Raditz!"

See. Foolish clown. Ugh!

XXX