Chapter 20

Lots of time had flown by since the joyful reunion between Goku and Goten. The whole Son Family had arrived back at their respective table with a set of drinks, deciding to get some food later on when they were really hungry. Eighter was doing his best to enjoy the company of all the z warriors as they all seemed friendly and welcoming enough of his presence. He decided on a break after a long while, and so he was sitting on a bench near the yard where he could still view everything taking place.

Meanwhile, Eighteen had just picked up Marron from the table where she was playing her game and was taking her over to the buffet for a bite to eat. Once they were at the buffet, the blonde android turned to her young daughter with a loving smile and asked, "Marron honey, what do you want to eat?"

The little girl looked through the whole selection of foods, appetizers, desserts, candies and drinks as she was slowly coming to a decision. "Hmm… I want…" Before she could finish, she noticed someone sitting at a bench close to the yard. "Mommy, who's that?" She pointed at the big android curiously.

Eighteen looked to where her daughter was pointing. "Well, let's go say hello."

Krillin came up behind them, holding a plate full of food in one hand and a drink in the other. "Alright, you two are free to go if you want. I'll stay here eating something, if you don't mind."

"It's not a problem, honey."

"Ok, take care!"

Eighteen left the buffet with her daughter while her husband returned to their table with his food and she made her way towards Eighter who was sitting far away from the rest of the party. Marron then tried to extend her small hand towards him. "Hey mister!"

Eighter broke away from his thoughts when he heard Marron's small voice calling out to him, and he looked into the eyes of the innocent girl. "Oh… hello… little girl."

"Who are you?" Marron asked out of curiosity.

"Ah… I'm a friend of Suno and Goku."

"My name is Marron!"

He smiled lightly, "That's a… pretty name."

"Thank you, mister!" She points to her android mother with a bright smile. "And this is my mommy!"

Eighter decided to stand up, showing his tremendous height. But even so, he made a bow in respect to Eighteen. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

The android shrugged it off and holds out her hand for him to shake. "No need to be so formal. I'm Eighteen!"

Eighter was still a little nervous but even then, he slowly extended his huge hand to Eighteen's and shook it softly.

"It's really nice to meet you. Goku mentioned earlier that you're from Jingle Village. I think it's pretty cool." Eighteen said to strike up a conversation.

"You think so?"

"Of course, it is!"

"Well… you said your name is Eighteen, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Goku already told me… about you."

Now that tiny bit caught Eighteen by surprise. "He did? What exactly did he say?"

"Well… he mentioned that… you were an android."

"Yes, I am."

"I'm a… a robot."

She stared at him dead in the eye, wondering for a moment if he was joking. "A robot? You were created?"

Eighter said with a nod, "Yes… I was built by… very bad people."

Eighteen already had a feeling she knew who those 'bad people' were. "Let me take a guess… you were created by the Red Ribbon Army, weren't you?"

That question definitely caught Eighter off guard. "Yes, but… how did you know?"

"I wasn't always an android." Eighteen started to explain, "I used to be a human but I was turned into an android by an evil scientist named Dr. Gero who was also part of the army."

This caused Eighter to sit down again as he never thought that the RRA were able to continue with those experiments after the fall of General White years ago. "Oh… that's… not what I was expecting…" He managed to say through the shock.

"I have a twin brother Seventeen." Eighteen continued her story. "He was also turned into an android, just like I was."

"And you two were created with bad intentions?"

She took a deep breath, finding it hard to relieve those memories. "We were both programmed to kill Goku."

That caused Eighter's eyes to open up wide. "What?! Kill… Goku?!"

"Exactly that."

Eighter blinked, trying to get over his shock. "Whoa… that's… terrible. But how did you change?"

Eighteen smiled and glanced over at her husband who was eating at their table. "Well, my husband played a huge role in that."

"Suno and I met him already. He's Goku's friend too."

"Uh-huh. They're childhood friends."

"He seems like a really good man."

"He truly is. We eventually got married, decided to start a family together and…" She pats her daughter's head lovingly. "here we have this little ball of sunshine!"

Eighter smiled down at Marron. "She does look like her father."

"She truly does…"

"And where's… your brother?" Eighter asked out of curiosity.

A sigh escaped the female android. "I have no idea. It's been a long time since I've heard from him."

"If he changed… just like we did… he must be doing good things now." Eighter said, pondering on her words.

"I'm sure he's out there doing some good for himself. I hope to see him again one day."

"Well… I have no brothers, but I'm sure that you'll see each other again."

"Thanks." Eighteen said in appreciation, before noticing how her small daughter was trying to reach a hand over to the bigger android. "And Marron over here seems to like you a lot."

"You two are the first people I talked to outside Suno and Goku." Eighter admitted.

"Really?" Eighteen asked.

"Yes. I never really got out of Jingle Village unless I was running errands for Suno's parents or the elderly people. I only know the village residents…" Eighter explained slowly. "but Goku and Suno invited me to come."

Eighteen nodded in approval. "I think it's good for you to leave the village every now and then."

"That's what both Goku and Suno think too."

"I couldn't agree more."

There was still more that Eighter wanted to get off his chest about his past life in the RRA. "Actually… I was supposed to… kill Goku too, but I refused and they thought I was useless."

Eighteen also sat down on the same bench and patted a free spot, indicating that her daughter should sit down next to her. "No way… you were cast aside like nothing!?"

Eighter sighed at that memory. "Well… they locked me up. They always called me 'Robot Number Eight' and they only opened me up to kill people."

"That's insane…"

"Yes, but… I never wanted to kill anybody and Goku wanted to help me… and I helped him back then."

"And how did you do it?" Eighteen probed for more information.

Eighter started to explain, remembering the rage he felt years back. "My creator General White shot Goku from the back but when he shot again… I got in the way. I was really furious… and I punched him and sent him flying away."

"Woah… he died from that punch, didn't he?"

"I think so… I never saw him again. And then Goku took me to a scientist named Dr. Flappe who also lives in Jingle Village. He took out a bomb I had in my body."

"No way…"

The change in her expression didn't go unnoticed. "What's wrong Eighteen?"

"Seventeen and I also had bombs implanted in our bodies, and there was this remote that was supposed to blow me up once you press this red button." Eighteen said. "Instead of just blowing me up, my husband destroyed it and spared my life."

It took a bit of time for Eighter to process that. "My creator had the same remote to threaten me if I didn't follow his orders." Now that he thought about it, they both almost had the same exact story.

Eighteen slowly nodded before continuing her story. "Later on, we had our bombs removed from our bodies after my husband made a wish on the dragonballs."

"He made… a good deed."

"It's a good thing your creator didn't do the same thing to you." The blonde android said in relief.

"That's because he never had the chance. Goku saved me from that fate."

"Goku certainly did a good thing."

Eighter smiled at the mention of him, "He's a great friend."

A hand was placed on his shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that Goku impacted your life in a positive way."

"He saved me. Suno and her parents helped me. They took me in after the fall of the RRA." Eighter added.

"Good to know that there are people by your side." Eighteen then looked around and remembered that they were the only ones in this immediate area. "So… have you just been sitting here this whole time?"

"Yes… I have."

Eighteen stood up from her seat. "You should enjoy yourself a little bit. Why don't we go and join my husband? My daughter really likes you and I think he does as well."

He thought about it for a moment and in the end, he agreed. "Okay, let's go."

Marron clapped her small hands and jumped up from the bench. "Yay! My daddy is over there, mister!" She pointed a finger to the buffet, where Krillin was now seen serving himself some dessert.

"Thanks… little girl." Said Eighter as Marron grabbed his huge hand.

The three of them walk over to the buffet where Krillin was. "Hey, you're all back!"

"Daddy, Daddy, look who we brought with us!"

Krillin was thrilled to see the android. "Eighter! Come sit with us!"

The four of them started to talk between themselves as Eighteen was serving a reasonable amount of food for her daughter, picking whatever choice Marron wanted. Krillin was surprised to learn of Eighter's story but he didn't think any different of him and was glad he was on the good side now. Eighter was becoming more and more used to their company. As this was taking place, Goku and Suno were looking at him, happy that Eighter was finally making some new friends. They both knew that it had been a good idea to remind him about Eighteen as they had almost the same backstory. Now they were glad that he was truly enjoying himself outside of the village.

...

Goku was at the buffet on his own, mouth drooling at the wide variety of food options. Him and the boys were planning on eating a little later, but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to take a look at what was available, so he just strolled away to the buffet. The old him would have certainly dived straight into the food but here he was, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and just moving along.

Just before Goku could return back to his family, he noticed Vegeta standing from afar away from the rest of the party and with his arms crossed, staring off into the distance at the nice view that lay ahead. He decided to go over and say hi, as he hadn't even thought about his rival the entire time he had been at the party. He started to walk away from the buffet and towards the Saiyan Prince.

He appeared right behind him with his hands behind his head in a carefree manner, and laughing nervously. "Hey Vegeta! It's nice to see you again!"

"Tch… yeah, whatever Kakarot." Vegeta didn't make any move to face him despite being aware of his presence right behind him.

"So…" Goku thought of what to say to get the conversation rolling between them. "what's been going on with you lately?"

Thinking about what he went through during the time they hadn't seen each other made Vegeta angry beyond words, and he certainly wasn't explaining any of it to his rival. With his arms crossed even tighter he simply grumbled, "Not much… just training with Trunks… and… this party."

"Oh, that's great to hear!"

He shot a one-eyed glance in his direction. "I would like to think that you trained during this time, right?"

Goku once again scratches his head and says cheerfully, "Well… not really. I haven't done much these days."

"Tch!" Vegeta became irritated at the response of his idiot rival. "It's like I told you time and time again, as a Saiyan warrior, you don't fall victim to such weaknesses. Find the strength to move on!"

Goku's shoulders sagged forward. "Hey, I haven't been depressed! I have moved on, you know?"

"Oh, did you?" Vegeta asked, finding the response intriguing.

"Yeah, I did. It's all thanks to Suno and her family. They helped me move on from this." Goku said softly.

"If that's true, then you should get back to training. Otherwise, your body will lose its physical condition."

"I will. Once I'm back home with the boys." Goku stated firmly.

He grunted, "You better. We do have a rematch coming up, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten about that. Man, it's been such a long time since I've been in an all-out battle. I think I'm going to win this one!" Goku smirked, smashing both of his fists together.

Vegeta finally turned around to face his rival and returned that same smirk, "We'll see about that then."

"Aren't you going to enjoy the party like the others?"

"You already know that I'm not a festivity man. This is all for you, so you should be the one who has to enjoy."

"Hehe… if you say so. See ya later!"

Vegeta gives him a little smirk and turns his attention back to the view while Goku headed back to the rest of the party, rejoining his sons back at their table but occasionally catching up with his friends.

...

The whole Son Family finished drinking whatever it was that they had on the table, while laughing and chatting together. When they were all done, they pushed aside all their empty cups and straws so there was more space on their table.

Goten sat back up in his chair and moved closer. "Hey daddy… I forgot to ask, what have you been up to lately?"

Goku let out a sigh as he solemnly gazed into his empty glass. "After the day you left along with Gohan, I stayed in Mount Paozu for a while, but then I decided to leave. I couldn't stand to remain there for one more minute."

"Oh…"

"You don't need to worry though." Goku lifted his son's chin to make eye contact. "I've been doing okay despite what we all went through." He received a silent nod from him.

Gohan eagerly asked, "Where were you staying dad?"

"In Jingle Village. I first flew to a park in West City to clear out my head, and then Suno ran into me… and invited me to her home in Jingle Village to help take my mind off the separation for a while."

Goten looked confused, having never heard of the place before. "Jingle Village?"

"Yeah." Goku clarified. "It's a little town up in the north. Lots of snow there too, the town is pretty peaceful, and the inhabitants are welcoming people. I've had a pretty good experience so far."

"Wait… there's snow over there!? That's so cool!" Goten slammed his hands on the table.

Goku beamed. "It is, right? You like snow, don't you?" If his older son loved playing in the snow during the wintertime as a little kid, then the same thing would definitely be said for his younger one.

He held his arms out in the air. "Are you kidding, daddy? I LOVE SNOW!"

"Haha, well you might want to visit Jingle Village when all this is over." Goku reached over to mess with his son's spiky hair.

"I'd love that daddy!"

Goku looked over at his oldest who hadn't said a word during their exchange. He started to frown a little, "Is… something the matter, Gohan?"

"Dad, remember when you and I were training in the hyperbolic time chamber seven years ago?" Gohan questioned excitedly, hardly even able to get his thoughts together.

He was very confused as he didn't even know where his son was going with this, but still nodded his head. "Oh yeah, I do. What about that?"

Gohan started to explain quickly, "Well, we were having a bubble bath together when you told me about a girl named Suno who saved you from a deadly snowstorm. I asked if you had met any other girl aside from Chichi-" He froze up after realizing his slip-up and quickly corrected himself before his father noticed. "I meant to say mom and that's when you mentioned Suno and how you saved the mayor of her village from Muscle Tower."

This left Goku deep in thought. He couldn't really remember anything at first, but now he was starting to have vague recollections of when he explained everything. "OH YEAH! I DO REMEMBER NOW! IT'S TRUE, I TOLD YOU ABOUT SUNO BACK THEN!"

'Huh?' Suno was just about to serve her food when she heard her name being mentioned. She looked over and saw her boyfriend and his sons sitting together at the same table, and realized that they must be talking about her. Putting her plate back at the buffet table, she started walking over to their table. "Hi guys, what's going on?"

Goku waved over at his partner. "Hey! I'm over here, catching up with the boys! Come sit with us!" Without having to move, he pushed open the free chair beside him, making it available for her to sit on. Once she sat down, he pushed the chair forward and made sure she was comfortable.

She smiled widely at them while holding her hands together in her lap. "I still can't believe that I'm meeting the boys after you spoke so highly of them."

"That's right." He placed a calm hand on his oldest son's shoulder and smiled proudly. "I haven't had the chance to personally introduce you guys. This is Gohan, my oldest son." then he picked up his little boy and placed him on his lap, ruffling his hair like a proud father. "And he's Goten, my youngest." With an arm around the shoulder of his love, he said to the boys, "Guys, she's Suno, the one who I was staying with after I left Mount Paozu!"

As expected of an innocent child, Goten became very friendly towards her. "It's nice to meet you, miss Suno!"

Suno waved it off and patted his head. "Hey, you can just call me Suno!"

"Oh okay, I will."

"And it's nice to meet you, Gohan!" She offered her hand to him.

Gohan accepted the handshake. "I think the same, Suno! We were just saying that my dad already told me about you before!"

"Wait a minute… he did?" She froze in place but slowly removed her hand.

Goku took over with telling the story after noticing her confusion. "Back in the days we were training to defeat Cell, I told Gohan about how I ended up in Jingle Village in the RRA days, how you saved me and how we met."

She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that, as all sorts of emotions were going through her head. "Ohh… ummm… well… I think it's great that you told him!"

"It is." Goku noticed the brief change in her expression for a brief second, and easily figured out what she had been thinking. "Too bad I couldn't pay you a visit back then but… I sacrificed myself so I could save the earth. In the end, it was this boy…" once again putting a hand on Gohan's shoulder and flashing him a proud smile. "who ended up saving everyone."

Forgetting about being slightly hurt, Suno turned to her boyfriend's son and smiled, praising his heroic actions. "It's pretty awesome that you saved the world back then. You must be pretty strong if that's the case!"

"Well… I didn't actually do everything by myself." Gohan turned away from her in embarrassment. "My dad helped me from the otherworld, talking to me and giving me the confidence to win. To say I'm really strong though… would be an exaggeration."

"You can't be serious Gohan!" Goku butted in, as if offended. "You surpassed me back when we fought Cell!"

"I mean yeah, but…"

"And then you surpassed me again when we fought against Majin Buu!" Goku countered back once more.

"I guess you're right."

He grasped his son's shoulder, looking him dead in the eye. "So don't ever feel bad about yourself. You should be proud of how far you've come, because it makes me proud of you as a father."

A smile returned to his face. "Thanks dad."

He opened his arms, inviting him for another embrace. "Come here, my son." They both share a heartwarming hug, while Suno was looking at them with big crystal eyes. 'Awww, it looks like they have the best relationship…'

After they broke free of the embrace, Suno turns to face the little boy who was now sitting back in his seat. "You look so much like your daddy!"

Goten blushed at that and scratched his head. "Well… everybody tells me that."

"And you look like the sweetest boy ever!" Suno gushed at the sight of him.

"Well… thanks… Suno…" He was even more blushed now; it wasn't every day that someone told him he looked cute.

Suno lifts the boy from his seat and pulls him into a motherly embrace, spinning him around in the air, squishing his cheeks and giving him kisses all over his face, messing around with his hair, just doing what she could to lift his spirits even higher. Goku and Gohan watched them with a smile, finding it to be wholesome. This was like a mother spending time with her son. Gohan already had a good feeling about his father's childhood friend despite the fact that they had only just met. He already knew from the story his father told him that Suno was kind-hearted, but he just couldn't shake this feeling away.

"Woah dad… do you see that? Suno really loves Goten… and Goten has already become attached to her…" Gohan commented with a smile.

"She really does, alright." Goku said softly as his significant other was playing around with Goten, hearing the happy and excited giggles coming from his little boy. "When I told her about him, she was just so excited to meet him."

As Suno was holding him in her arms, Goten couldn't help but think to himself, 'Whoa… this feels so nice… being beside her feels really good, unlike that monster.'

She finally put an end to it, setting Goten down on her lap and pulling him close to her. "You must really look up to your daddy, huh?"

"I do! He's the strongest man in the whole universe!"

That touched her heart. "Awww…"

Goku scratched the back of his head. "Well, you're overreacting Goten."

"Still, it's really adorable how much he looks up to you."

"And the craziest thing is that we didn't spend the most time together."

Goten spread his arms wide. "It doesn't matter, because I love you daddy!"

He would never get tired of hearing those three words from either of his sons. "And I love you too, son." He takes Goten from his girlfriend's lap and sets him on his shoulder once more. "Alright, so we should all join the party, what do you think, Goten?"

"YEAH!"

Goku looked around their area in search of someone and asked, "Gohan, where's Videl?"

"She's having a girl talk with Bulma and Tights." He jerked a thumb towards the three ladies sitting in a corner and just chatting about random stuff.

"Oh right! I guess that you would like to join them, right Suno?"

"That would be great." Her stomach rumbled slightly and she winced. "After I eat something, of course. I'm really hungry!"

Goku stood up. "Alright, so let's eat something and then you can join them, right Gohan?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

"What do you think, Goten?"

"I don't have a problem with that."

"Alright, let's go eat! I'm starving like crazy!"

The four leave their table and head for the buffet together as a group. While they were picking out what they wanted for the appetizers, main courses and dessert, Goten asked his father if he would be willing to have a food eating contest with him. Goku laughed at the idea but had to decline, explaining to his youngest that he had recently learned to eat more quietly but reassured him that he would still eat with him, and they could eat as much as they wanted. The four of them soon arrived back at their table with their food, drinks, dessert and just ate together like a happy family.

...

Bulma, Tights and Videl spent most of their time chatting and laughing together like the three cheerful ladies they were. The trio found a free table which they had all to themselves. They spoke about a number of different stuffs ranging from their hobbies and interests, how peaceful their lives were and the Briefs sisters had even shared stories of how their childhood was like as Videl became curious about their relationship. Without question, they were enjoying each other's presence.

"Wow, this is a great party, for real." Bulma set her fork down and took a sip of her drink.

Videl took a final bite of her meal before pushing her plate aside before turning to the older sister. "Uh-huh. You really know your stuff about party planning. Good job setting all this up!"

"Why, thank you." Tights glanced over at her little sister who was sitting right beside her, placing a loving arm around her. "Me and my sister we always say, if you're going to do something, do it well."

"I couldn't agree with that even more."

Bulma looked around their festive environment and over at her parents and Trunks who seemed to be having a great time together. "So how's the party been for the both of you?" She questioned, turning her attention back to the two females.

"I really am enjoying myself! The music's pretty great and the food is out of this world." Videl said, diving straight into a slice of cake she picked out for dessert.

Tights chuckled as she looked ahead at the Son family sitting at their table and devouring their meals. "I can definitely badge about the food. Both Goku and Gohan are really enjoying it! I'm glad I took the extra steps in making sure that there was more than enough food for everyone. You certainly weren't kidding about their appetites, sis."

As she was enjoying her dessert, Videl just stared at the youngest while resting her face in her hand. "Goten is just scarfing down piles of food like there's no tomorrow!"

"Well, after what he's been through, you can't blame him. I think this is the first time he's really happy. With his dad, brother and his friends." Bulma spoke softly.

Videl replied as she was finishing up her dessert in record time, "He deserves this…"

"He really does." Bulma took another sip of her drink. "Even if I had the idea, my sister was the one who made it all real for us today."

"You really don't have to thank me, sis."

Bulma shook her head as she pushed her cup aside. "No, I have to. And I'm not the only one here."

"If it wasn't for this idea of a party, I would have never even thought of paying you guys a visit that was long overdue." Tights reasoned with her sister.

"I'm happy that you're finally here, sis. Not just with me, but with all of us as well."

Videl's heart started to swell in her chest as the two sisters embraced each other. "Aww, you two have such a lovely bond…"

"It's been such a long time since we were together as a family."

"It's really sweet…"

Bulma sent the younger one a mischievous smirk. "But not as sweet as the one you have with your lover's."

Videl blushed. "Bulma!"

"Oh come on, Videl. What's the big deal?" Bulma shrugged it off. "We already know you're with Gohan."

The blush on her face became even redder. "I mean yeah, but…"

"Come on, enjoy it. I mean, you're with the man you love, and you know it. If both of you are happy, then we will be as well."

Now she couldn't help but let out a smile, "Thanks Bulma, I appreciate it."

It was at this moment, that Suno decided to stop by and have a chat with the ladies after finishing up her meal as she was seen strolling along and approaching them. "H-Hi guys… what's up?"

Bulma waved at the guest and pointed to a free seat beside her. "Hi Suno! Come join us for a little bit."

"Sure, not a problem. I was just stopping by anyway." Suno walked over and took the free seat next to Bulma.

"We were just talking about how happy Goku looks tonight." Videl said so the new guest wasn't kept out of the loop.

"Oh really?"

Videl replied with a smile, "Yeah, and we all think he needed a day like this one."

"I think so too." Suno looked on ahead at her boyfriend and his sons who had gone for more rounds of food, which was so like them. "When we met again, he was just so sad, totally depressed."

Bulma let out the saddest sigh as she thought back to when she learned of Goku's separation and upcoming divorce. "I do remember that. Vegeta and I paid him a visit in his home… and he didn't even want to talk to us." She would never ever forget the horrible condition of the family home upon their arrival.

"Well, I did my best to be there for him whenever I could." Suno said softly, eyes still on her boyfriend and his sons.

"And so far, you're doing it. He looks really happy now, thanks to you and now that he's finally reunited with Goten." Videl spoke in appreciation.

Suno continued with a heartfilled voice, "All he wanted was to be with Goten again…"

"I can tell that he makes you really happy, even if I don't know too much about him." Tights commented to the red-haired woman.

"That's the entire truth."

Tights turned to the three ladies. "I think that Goku has been very important for all of you, am I correct?"

Videl chimed in, "He's sure done a lot for all of us."

"He's my oldest friend." Bulma added with a heartfelt smile. "I met him when I was a teenager and even if he got on my nerves sometimes, he became the closest thing I had to a brother."

"Aww…"

"Goku helped us a lot over the years. Without him, none of us would be here now." Videl added.

Tights responded with a nod. "Glad to hear that."

"But not only that." Bulma thought about other people who had contributed along the way. "Both my husband Vegeta, and Videl's boyfriend Gohan, helped a lot too."

"It's great to hear that he's had a positive impact on you all."

"He really did, sis. And all you've done today… it's for him. He gave us a lot all these years. Now he's got to enjoy, right?"

Tights smiled as she and the ladies started to clear their plates. "He truly deserves this party."

Videl turned to the Jingle Village resident, "He really does, right Suno?"

Suno rested her face in her palms as she agreed, "Uh-huh. He deserves to enjoy himself with everyone here…"

The four ladies were looking at Goku, who was chatting and having fun with Gohan, Goten and even Trunks, who had left his grandparents to join the Son family. It seemed like they were having the time of their lives. Bulma started to notice that her best friend's eating habits were different than before, almost like a normal person's. When she brought this up, Suno explained that he had worked really hard to break his old habits which left the other ladies impressed and they commended her for the effort she put in to help the Saiyan. After watching them for a while, the three decided not to be left out on the fun.

"Maybe we should join them, right?" Bulma looked between the ladies to see if they were all on board with the idea.

Suno shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "I don't see why not."

Videl also stood up and pushed her seat back. "I do want to be with Gohan and Goten."

"And I want to see my nephew." Tights did the same as the other two and was soon out of her chair.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Suno took the lead and moved ahead of the others, excited to rejoin her boyfriend and his family.

Bulma couldn't help but laugh. "Haha, you do sound a lot like Goku when you say, let's go!"

Suno stopped in her tracks for a moment as she considered Bulma's words and chuckled, "I guess you could say he's rubbed off on me a little bit."

Then they took off, leaving their once occupied table vacant.

...

The four make their way towards Goku, Gohan, Goten and Trunks, navigating through the huge crowd of jubilant guests at a relaxing pace while enjoying the endless chatter among them all. Tights asked everyone how they were finding the party so far, and she was pleased at hearing their positive responses. As Suno was moving along with the other ladies in glee, out of the corner of her eye she caught a quick glimpse of someone standing far away from the party under a big tree with his arms folded in an extremely irritable manner, and staring ahead at the distant view before him. She paused for a moment, wanting to get a closer look at this man and try to figure out who he was. His back was turned, but he seemed disinterested in being present at the party and socializing with everyone. 'Who is that guy? He seems to be- hold on… that's…' Her pupils widened slightly when she realized who it was.

The other three ladies ceased walking once they saw that Suno wasn't on track anymore and was a bit distracted. They were all confused as neither of them had a single clue as to why she just stopped right there. "Uhh… Suno? What's wrong?" Bulma questioned with the same bewildered look as the others.

She took a step forward and squinted her eyes. "Wait a minute, is that… Vegeta?"

Bulma looked towards the exact spot in the gardens where her husband was standing under the shade. She crossed her arms and scoffed, "Yeah, he's my stubborn husband, Vegeta."

"I really wish he'd enjoy the party. All that standing around has got to be tiring for him." Tights sighed.

On the other hand, Suno had an idea formulating in her mind as she slowly turned to them while twiddling her fingers. "Maybe I could… go over there and talk to him."

At the mention of this, all three ladies stared at her wide-eyed as if she were insane. They just couldn't understand why she had come up with such an idea. "Y-You want to speak with him?" Tights asked, looking mortified at the thought.

Bulma winced as she added on, "Suno, I really don't think it's a good idea. My husband isn't the friendliest person."

Despite knowing about this, Suno was still adamant. "Yes, Goku already told me about that, but at least I have to try and convince him to join the party."

"Are you sure about this?" Tights placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to talk her out of this absurd plan. "Because he is kinda intimidating and he might also make you uncomfortable."

"Well, at least I have to try." Suno persisted, taking a step forward in his direction. "I know that you prepared everything for Goku, but he has the right to enjoy too, even if he doesn't like Goku that much."

Bulma looked back at her husband, then back at Suno. She still didn't think it was a good idea for them to talk, but Suno seemed to be dead-set on wanting to go and there was no changing her mind on this. "Okay, if you're sure…"

"Go ahead, I'll join you in a minute."

Videl slowly nodded, also on the same side as the Briefs sisters but she knew as well that there was nothing she could say that would talk her out of doing this. "Alright, sounds good…"

The two sisters and Videl watched hesitantly for a moment as Suno started to walk briskly towards Vegeta. They were all uneasy about how this would turn out, but they eventually hurried to join the rest of the Saiyans. They were happily welcomed to the table and when asked about Suno's whereabouts, Bulma could only point in the direction she was heading in. Goku, Gohan, Goten and Trunks were all in shock and they looked between each other thinking the same thing, 'This can't be good.'

"Uhh Suno? You want me to go with you?" Goku called out to her, also worried about the outcome of this.

Suno cupped her hands and hollered back, "I'll be fine by myself!"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, if you say so…"

"You don't have to worry so much, I'll be fine. I'm just going over to talk with him a bit and then I'll come right back. This won't take long."

Goku looked ahead at his rival before slowly turning to his girlfriend in worry. "Alright. But I'll be watching, just in case Vegeta says something out of line. If I see that you're feeling uncomfortable, I'll come right away." No buts there.

"Okay, sounds like a plan!" Suno gave him a thumbs up.

The couple waved at each other and then Suno continued on her way to the more secluded part of the gardens, all the while thinking of what she could possibly say to initiate a conversation. It took a short while for her to reach the exact location of the Saiyan Prince, and it hadn't taken him long either before he became aware of her presence. The moment his senses picked up on her approaching, he slowly cocked his head back without having to move from his position and briefly made eye contact with the cold, not-so-friendly expression aimed at her. "Tch!" Then he turned his attention back to the view, arms still folded across his chest as if she weren't even there.

Noticing this, Suno finally stopped her flight when she was right behind him but made sure to create some distance between them. With both hands at her sides she greeted with a friendly smile, "Hey there, ummm… you must be Vegeta."

It took a while for him to say anything, but he finally responded with extreme difficulty in his tone, "Yeah… that's who I am… and you must be… Suno, right?"

"That's me!"

"Tch… it's a pleasure… to meet you." He grumbled, still struggling to speak fluently.

As soon as she picked up on that, Bulma peered over at the gardens to watch their exchange. Much to her relief, her husband didn't seem to be frightening the new guest in any way but he did seem to be struggling with a fluent conversation, which she found adorable sometimes. With a teasing smile she said, "Aw Vegeta, you don't have to be shy…"

"Shut the hell up, I'm not shy!" He turned to glare at his wife with his hands clenched, unamused with her antics, then he remembered that a guest was still there, and he turned around with his arms folded once more, embarrassed. He mumbled under his breath, "Sorry… it's just that… I'm not used to talking to other people besides my family."

"It's fine, don't sweat it." Suno shrugged off the apology and continued, "You know, Goku told me so much about you!"

Vegeta's body stiffened at that but he managed to keep his cool. "And what did Kakarot say about me?"

"Well, he told me about how-" then her mind registered what he just said and she asked in confusion, "Hold on… did you just say Kakarot?"

"Yeah… it's his real name. His Saiyan name, actually."

Suno blinked, as she was completely lost now. "Oh, I didn't know that. He told me a lot of stuff including how you and him met and fought for the first time and what you two had been through over the years, but he never mentioned anything about having a Saiyan name."

"Well, you all know him for the name Goku, but Kakarot is his real name as a Saiyan. He denies his Saiyan past, that's why he doesn't use his birth name." He begrudgingly explained with his arms folded.

"Oh… okay."

"Tch… so… what did he say about me?"

There were many things she could have gone into detail with, but she decided to just keep it brief. "He told me about how you sacrificed yourself for Bulma and Trunks back when you guys fought Majin Buu, and despite your huge pride, you're a great guy deep down."

It was a good thing his back was turned, as a small blush formed on Vegeta's face. "Tch! That… that was a long time ago!"

"But still, what you did back then was pretty admirable. Anyone would be proud of that."

"Tch… well… I just wanted to… to… protect my wife and my son… and I thought it was the last resort back then." He sputtered out, still with the blush on his face.

Her expression changed into one of a soft smile and she took another step forward to express her gratitude to the prince, "You did a great thing for your family, you know? I really do think you deserved this second chance you got at turning your life around. Your family is pretty lucky to have a guy like you who's willing to put his life on the line for them. Sure on the outside, it may seem as if you're stubborn and hard-nosed, but on the inside is a guy who truly cares for others. You've come a long way and I won't lie, I'm proud of that. There's no denying how great you are."

That definitely struck a chord with him, as Vegeta turned around and stared at Suno with his classical grimace for a while. "Tch… thank…thank you…very much…for that. I… appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." Suno glanced back at everyone partying like crazy, then she looked back at the lonesome prince. "Aren't you gonna come enjoy the party?"

He grumbled out, "I'm not a… festivity man…but…I'll go and eat something in a while."

There didn't seem to be anything that would make him change his mind, so she decided to concede and return to the party. "Alright. I just saw you standing by yourself and thought I'd just pop by and say hello. It was really nice meeting you, Vegeta."

"Tch… nice to… meet you… too." He said, with his arms crossed as usual and once again looking the other way, avoiding her gaze.

Goku came into view wearing his usual trademark grin and he stood under the tree beside his human girlfriend, placing a gentle arm around her shoulder. "See Vegeta? She's really great!"

"Kakarot! Well… I can see that she really cares about you…"

He mumbled softly, "She sure does…"

The prince sent a hard stare in his direction. "You better take care of her, understand!? Because I will not tolerate to see you miserable and depressed again!"

Goku whined, not understanding why that had to be brought up again. "Oh, come on Vegeta!"

Vegeta didn't budge, the no-nonsense tone still present. "I won't hear any more. Now go back to the party, clown!"

"Okay, okay…" Goku raised his hands up in the air. "See you later!"

Suno found herself pondering on his words. 'He may get annoyed with Goku most of the time, but he does care for him.' She then asked her boyfriend, "Are you ready to head back?"

Goku looks at the Saiyan Prince one last time with a little smile. "I am. Let's go."

The romantic couple started to head back to the party after their encounter with Vegeta. As they were taking their sweet time returning to everybody else, Goku couldn't help but express his relief, "Thank goodness that went well. I was worried that Vegeta wasn't being friendly with you, so I came to make sure you were okay."

A smile tugged at her lips as they walked side-by-side together, "He's awesome!"

"He's really great… deep down."

"I think so too."

Both had finally returned back to the party and headed straight for their table consisting of Videl, Gohan, Goten, Trunks and the Briefs sisters. They all expressed their extreme relief over how surprisingly well the encounter between Suno and Vegeta went, with Trunks even commending Suno for her bravery in approaching his father. From there, they went back to having a fun time with one another just laughing, chatting and goofing off.