Rating: M

Story: 3 of 30

Setting: Human AU - Vegeta and Goku were childhood companions, separated by culture and hospital visits, and now adulthood has come, bringing them back together.

* This is fluffy.

Spice

"Can I take your order?"

"Yeah- Bra, stop."

It had been a relatively normal day. Vegeta had gone out with his son and daughter, holding onto the little girl's hand as she decided to bang it on the table for the tenth time. Bra was excited to be with her father during their scheduled time away from her mother and step-father, but Vegeta could only handle so much excitement. He was thankful that Trucks was older and intelligent enough to mind social norms.

"Wait... Bra? Trunks? Vegeta?!"

At the question, Vegeta looked up, and he blinked at who he saw.

"Chi-Chi?"

The woman, who wore a badge that stated "Manager" in bold letters, lifted her head up and recognition flashed through her dark eyes. She looked good for her age, though she had only just reached her mid-forties, if Vegeta remembered correctly.

"Vegeta! Long time no see; I haven't seen ya since Gohan was... eleven?!" Chi-Chi greeted Bra and Trunks warmly, the children greeting her kindly in turn.

Gohan had been their older son, Vegeta remembered. He had met Goten, the younger, when he brought Trunks over to meet the Son family at his ex-wife's request. He remembered that Chi-Chi had been crying out of happiness and sadness.

Goku had gone to the hospital again for a heart surgery.

"Yeah. How are your sons... and Kakarotto?"

It had been strange for them, their small community, as Kakarotto's family took them into the realm of the world's humanity for assistance with their youngest son, rather than let him die like the other sickly ones before him. Vegeta remembered the small boy in their community, the one with a sweet smile and fierce determination to become stronger. He remembered Kakarotto...

"Goku-sa? He's in the kitchen right now, actually. He's the sous-chef here when he's not training. Gohan visits sometimes and I take Goten to visit sometimes." Chi-Chi smiled proudly.

Vegeta chuckled at that. Of course, Kakarotto would work with food.

"Papa, are we ordering food then?"

"Oh, yes. I'll take your orders back right away! Goku-sa prepares them really fast and well!"

It often made him wonder, Vegeta remembered, how Kakarotto had managed to fit in with the human society that lay outside of their mountainous home, a society that lived off of the land and their own blood. Chi-Chi was a very traditional country girl that managed to move them into the city and raise their sons there. Kakarotto, or Goku as he was called after he had been adopted by the kind nurse that cared or him for the first time, had retained their traditions and culture, even after adapting to metropolitan human society that was repugnant towards country bumpkins and wild men. After so many years, it had been interesting to see what the rural and urban settings had treated his comrade.

He wondered, sometimes, if Kakarotto still tasted the same after all these years.

"3 of the tilapia-"

"One soup-"

Orders were filling his ears, but Goku found himself moving as quickly and accurately as he did in tournaments. His hands grabbed equipment and ingredients without difficulty, creating food that people would surely enjoy. It reminded him of his mother, who had passed on after contracting the virus that had done in his father and almost had gotten him. She would move around the rooms, turning and making food in a way that looked like dancing. His father would often help her, bringing in fresh meat for her to clean and cook.

"Goku-sa!" The man turned around and smiled at his wife. What a night to be understaffed again. "I just got some orders from a friend - Vegeta. He has his Trunks and his daughter Bra with him!"

Goku smiled, and he felt his heart stir. A daughter now, too? Time was going too fast. As he took Vegeta's orders, he wondered how many words he could have smelled from the older man's breath, and how many things he had missed for all of his cardiac surgeries. He assured Chi-Chi he would get these done right away.

Goku smiled... He could put something extra on Vegeta's plate.

"A bit of personal touch doesn't hurt a dish."

Vegeta prodded Trunks for a short while, asking if what Chi-Chi had said meant-

"Yeah, Goten said that his mama and papa separated," Trunks said matter-of-factly. He took another ice cube from his empty water glass, bringing it to his mouth of suck on it before picking up the water pitcher again to fill his glass. "He said that his papa lives by the training gym in downtown and has been for about 8 months now."

"West City?" So Vegeta could have seen him at any time.

"Here's your meal!" Chi-Chi's voice rang in their ears. Vegeta could hear his own stomach growl at the thought of a meal. Their meals were laid out before the small family, and Chi-Chi handed Vegeta a paper before leaving them to eat.

"What is this?"

Chi-Chi smiled.

"You decide what to do, Vegeta."

With that, the family was left to eat. Vegeta frowned and looked down at the paper. He felt a small smile bloom on his own face.

There was Kakarotto's phone number and address.

Dinner sometime?

He chuckled to himself and dug into his food. He smiled at that, too. It had the spice that his mother would use.

October 10, 2015 - 11:01 PM - 1 hour