A/N:

Reviews: Steph7085- Thank you very much! I'm glad you thought so :)

Elianni- Don't worry, I do plan on continuing this! The quicker the updates do depend on reviews though :)

Apollo1147- Thank you so much! That was the most thoughtful review anyone has ever given me! I appreciate it and time and effort you put into it! Characterization wise, yes I went with Kakarot being more like Goku, and Vegeta being a little "nicer" as you put it. My head canon is that the Saiyans were only as mean and ruthless like we saw on the show because of Frieza, and since he wasn't such a problem before in my story, none of the Saiyans are really that evil. I'm also glad you like what I did with Raditz and Nappa! I'm trying to find a way to include them more, since I love their dynamic together. Cute Tarble will also have a bigger role later on.

Now, back to the story. It's starting off five years later.

oOoOoO

Kakarot managed to land another punch right in the middle of Vegeta's face, sending the prince spiraling backwards, and landing hard on the ground. This time, he made no attempts of getting up. He just laid there on the damp dirt in the forest, all sprawled out in defeat.

This wasn't like Vegeta, at all. Kakarot has known him all his life, and not once has his friend ever given up on anything, especially when it came to a fight.

Yes, Kakarot was fully aware of his own strength. The boy was now light years away from what he used to be as a kid, and was able to give Vegeta a better match now that they were older. However, Vegeta was immensely stronger now, too. He should not have been taking nearly as many hits as he had, but today he wasn't able to block even the most basic of attacks. It was starting to worry him.

Kakarot hovered directly over him, cocking his head to the side. "What's on your mind, Vegeta? You've been off all day. Tarble could have even dodged that last attack." He offered his hand to help Vegeta up, but the prince just slapped it away as he slowly sat up on his own. Kakarot sat down and crossed his legs in front of him so they could be on the same eye level.

Vegeta leaned back, supporting his body weight with his hands behind him. What he had to say embarrassed him, and he wasn't sure how to address it with the other Saiyan. After contemplating for what felt like eternity, he decided to just spit it out. "It's about the ceremony tonight" he muffled.

"What about it?"

"Are you going?"

"Of course I'm going! My father is going to be one of the men who receive an award! I wouldn't miss it for the world." Kakarot beamed with pride. Tonight was a ceremony that recognized all those who were deemed some of the bravest, and strongest, warriors in the Saiyan army. The King himself picked only a few men, and awards them with a medal of honor. All the warriors are invited to the palace, along with their families. Bardock, Kakarot's father, was one of those men. The ceremony is held every ten years, so it's a big deal every time it comes around and everyone treats it as such.

Bardock was the first in their family to ever receive such an award. Raditz wants to continue with their family's new legacy and so does Kakarot one day.

"Are you bringing anyone with you?" Vegeta asked as he felt the embarrassment rising up again.

"Yep, Raditz and my mom!"

"That's not what I meant you, moron!" He took his frustration out on the grass as he started yanking out chunks from the ground. His jaw clenched as tight as it could. Sometimes Vegeta thought talking to him was like pulling out teeth. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down again. "I meant are you bringing a date tonight?"

"Oh!" Kakarot exclaimed while he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I am. Chi Chi is going to be my date. I really like her, and if it goes well, I was hoping to ask her out on a real date! Just the two of us."

"You're bringing that harpy?" Chi Chi was Kakarot's neighbor. Every so often Vegeta would fly over to Kakarot's house to spar there, so he would see her sometimes. Those two have had feelings for each other since they were kids. Why Kakarot liked her back though was beyond him. The girl had some attitude on her, not that he didn't, but that wasn't the point.

"She's not so bad, Vegeta. You've never given her a real chance, so you wouldn't know. Besides, I'm sure me inviting her is not problem," he said, quickly changing the subject. "so again, what's wrong?"

The prince shifted around to find more grass to remove and crush. "Well, I don't have a date, and I figured you didn't either, but now you do so this is even more awkward." That wasn't a complete lie, but he definitely shied away from most of the truth still.

"I thought you asked, Bulma?" Kakarot asked innocently, tilting his head again.

Every muscle tensed up at the sound of her name, and he blushed, looking away. He hated how even her name had such an effect on him "Why would you just assume that?" He said it as nastily as he could; trying to save whatever dignity he had left. It pissed Vegeta off that Kakarot didn't even hesitate with his response. His mother had asked the same thing the day before. What, did everyone really think he would ask her to be his date? Why? It didn't make any sense to him. She was just some girl.

A smart, beautiful, perfect girl.

That didn't mean anything though, and it certainly did not mean he would go running to her like some child and ask for her hand for a night. He did have some pride left, despite what everyone thought.

"Because you spend more time with her then I do with Chi Chi, and that's saying something. Bulma's awesome anyway, so why wouldn't I assume that you asked her?"

Before Vegeta could spit out a few rude remarks that were running through his head, the alarm on his scouter went off. Their time was up, so he had to fly back to the palace while Kakarot had to head to his home and get ready for tonight. Kakarot knew better than to continue pressing on the matter, so he didn't bring it up again. They parted their separate ways as they flew home.

As soon as he made it home, Vegeta went to take a shower in his room. He stood directly under the shower head, letting the hot water beat on his back. He stayed there for a long while, trying to figure out what to do. It's been months since he's known about this ceremony, and that's how long he's been debating about asking her. Why did it even matter so much to him? It shouldn't, and he was aware of that, but it still did.

He was a warrior, one of, if not the, strongest on the planet!

He was a prince, one day destined to be king!

He could have anything, and everything, he wanted. It was all within his reach, but not her, and deep down, he knew that was what scared him most. She had too much power over him. All he knew was he had to find a way to stop it.

The only problem was, Vegeta didn't want to, which made the struggle even more difficult.

Vegeta finally got out of the shower and started to dry off and put his clothes on. Bulma should be arriving any minute now, because she usually gets there around this time every day. The second she finishes her father's school work, she flies her air craft over and spends the rest of the day with him.

He opened his door to find Bulma sitting on the middle of his bed, waiting for him with a smile on her face. "Hey, Vegeta! Did you miss me?" She asked playfully.

"No" he said as he rubbed the rest of the water out of his hair with his towel. His tone came out a little harsher then he expected it to, but he made no effort correcting it.

Bulma pouted, ignoring how cranky the prince was acting, "not even a little?"

"No" he repeated again. He could see her fuming from the corner of his eye. A small smirk curled at the corner of his lip. That fire inside her always made him come back for more, especially since he felt so cold without it.

"Damn" she was crossed her arms now that she was finally annoyed with him. "Someone's extra pissy today." Even for her, she thought it was a little too soon for the two to already be arguing. Sometimes he was moodier then she was.

It was her fault that he was! Intentional or not, she was the reason he was so strung up. Of course it didn't help having her in his bed, too, like she belonged there with him.

She kind of did in a way though. Whenever he had a hard day, whether it was with his father's meetings, or new training regiments he was required to do, they found their way back here in his bed. It was their safe place. Bulma would let him hold her, as if she was able to channel his pain and frustrations into her that way so she could share his burden. He didn't have to say a word for her to know how much he valued that time they shared, and her.

Vegeta sat on the corner of his bed, and he hung his head down low. Concern immediately washed over Bulma. She crawled over next to him, and slung her hands around his neck while she was behind him. "Vegeta, what's wrong? Talk to me." She sensed him tensing up, so she lightly stroked the side of his arm, coaxing him to relax and open up.

"Are you going to the ceremony tonight?" He asked roughly.

Bulma slightly pulled back and was confused. "No… I wasn't asked to come since it's strictly a Saiyan tradition, not Aquian. Why?"

"Well, if you're not busy tonight-"

She kissed his cheek before she jumped out of the bed. "I thought you'd never ask! Of course I'll be your date!"

Vegeta folded his arms across his chest, and dipped his head lower to try and hide his burning cheeks. He didn't have time to yell at her for being so presumptuous because she was already out the door. She yelled down the hall that she would return in two hours, all dolled up and ready. He dropped onto his bed, trying his best not to think of how beautiful she was going to look when she came back.

Finally, two hours arrived, and like she promised, was back in the palace on the dot. Beautiful was not the right word to describe how she looked. No word was good enough for her. She was simply breath taking.

She showed up in an aqua blue dress that glimmered almost as bright as her eyes. The dress hugged her body perfectly, and her hair framed her face just right. She brushed her blue bangs out the way. Suddenly, Vegeta felt very inadequate and under dressed. For a formal Saiyan event such as this, it was customary for the royal family to wear their armor, only with a few added details. Like a red cape, and the family crescent ingrained onto the chest of the armor.

"You look so handsome, Vegeta!" Bulma clutched her hands together over her heart. Heat started swelling up in the pit of his stomach.

"You're not so bad yourself." She slapped him across the chest for his mediocre at best compliment. He softly laughed to himself as he offered her his arm. She slightly bowed as she graciously accepted, forgetting how annoyed she was moments ago. He guided her to their table that they would be sharing with Kakarot and Chi Chi for the night. It took some convincing, but Vegeta was eventually able to get his father to agree to this seating arrangement. He was actually kind of excited for the rest of the night now, even if the loud harpy was with them.

The night went even better than expected. The guest enjoyed themselves, the food was great and abundant, and everyone cheered and screamed for the warriors receiving their awards. After the ceremony was over, the crowd started dwindling down until eventually; it was just Vegeta and Bulma. They spent the rest of the time making fun of some ridiculous outfits that some people wore. In the midst of their laughing, Vegeta heard faint footsteps in the distant.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the outline of the person and immediately knew who it was. In a blink, he pulled Bulma under the table. "Don't pop out until I come back and tell you to."

"But-"

"No arguing!" He hissed through his teeth and left the table, and she could hear him walk out the room. Bulma had never seen him like this before, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought she saw fear in his eyes. If his eyes didn't give enough away, the tremble and shake in his voice did. If he didn't want her to leave, for whatever reason, then she wouldn't. She curled up into a ball, and waited.

She waited under that table for what felt like ages until he finally returned for her. Vegeta lifted the table cloth, and waved his hand, signaling her to come out. All color had been drained from his face, as if he had just seen a ghost. She followed him to his room and waited for him to close the door behind him. "Who was that?"

"Frieza." All emotion was gone. He sounded so hollow, so empty.

"Who's that? And what does he want?" No one has ever mentioned that name before. She couldn't help but wonder why.

"He's a monster, a terrible fucking monster. I met him once when I was about five years old. Even back then I could sense that about him. He's a tyrant who takes what he wants. No matter the cost."

"And he wants you?!" She cried out, jumping to the first conclusion that she could make. The room felt like it was spinning and losing oxygen, and fast.

"Not me, just my "assistance" as he put it. I'm not sure what he wants exactly, but I have no choice but to go with him. My father's order." Bulma could hear the slight betrayal in Vegeta's voice when he mentioned his father.

Bulma curled up in a ball on top of his bed. What did that mean? Why did Frieza want Vegeta? What was he going to do? All these questions just kept repeating and screaming in her head. "How long will you be gone" was the only question important enough to ask out of all of them.

"A few weeks I think."

A few weeks were too long, but if it was his father's orders, she knew he really did have no choice. If Frieza is as awful as Vegeta describes, how could his father ever let his son near that man? Clearly Vegeta was terrified of him. What kind of father would put their son through that? Bulma moved over, patting the side next to her for Vegeta to lie down. He climbed in the bed and draped the covers over them. "Please stay" she asked. He never heard her sound so weak and frail.

He couldn't say yes, no matter how badly he wanted to; because that would be making a promise he knew he could not keep. The only thing he could do was wrap his arms around her waist and pull her in closer, and wrap his tail around her arm. He stayed like that until she fell asleep. The moment she did, he crawled out and packed his things. He had to leave in the morning, and it would be easier for the both of them if he was gone before she awake. He didn't have the heart to see her cry, especially when it was because of him.

Before he shut the door behind him, he heard her whisper his name. Whether it was a dream or not, he didn't look back to find out.