Dragon Ball Z Dynasty

by Feraligreater328

When travelling along Snake Way, Son Goku suddenly finds himself plummeting down to Hell. There, he meets a surprisingly familiar ghost from his past that promises to change everything about his life going forward. How will the Saiyan react to this sudden, positive change in his life? Find out in Dragon Ball Z Dynasty.

129. Chapter 127: Prince Vegeta's Struggles

Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 127: Prince Vegeta's Struggles with Friendship

Friendship. A state of mutual trust and support between two separate living beings. For some, it is a concept as easy to grasp as the wind, the sea, or the color of the sky. For others, it is the sort of thing that keeps them up at night. And yet still, for some it is a concept so foreign it defies belief. How does one acquire these friends? How does one maintain these friends? What behaviors are acceptable? What behaviors need to be modified? Why should one change a single thing about themselves for another? What gain is there in that?

Thus, we arrive at our subjects in this little story. Let us review them briefly.

Prince Vegeta Briefs IV (he took his wife's name in the marriage) is a man in his mid-thirties. Most would politely describe him as an asshole. He is the type of person that holds himself and his own interests paramount. He is also the type that would not describe anybody in his life as a friend. He has a family. He has rivals. He has cohorts. He even has a wealth of enemies. But he would never describe a single person in his life with the dreaded f-word. From Nappa and Raditz, the people who had known him the longest, to the most recent additions to his life, they all fall short of that standard for him through some loophole or the other. He wears this friendless status seemingly as a badge of pride. He has managed to make it this far without having to rely on anyone. But, the surface view of a complex object like Vegeta is often deceiving.

Lazuli Lazarus (for the love of God do not call her that!) is a woman in her early thirties. Since a certain point in her life, she had come to be known as Android 18. This has slowed her aging process to such a degree that she still appears to be in her twenties. It has been a hard life for her. From being abandoned by both parents at an early age, to starving and struggling on the streets to survive, to being offered a shred of kindness by an old man at a diner only to wake up a prisoner and a lab rat. Life has been nothing but betrayal after betrayal for Android 18, so extending trust in the form of friendship is not high on her agenda. Having only recently become close enough to her own partner to try and sleep in their house, this sort of thing was still quite hard for her. Unlike the previous subject, Android 18 does have people she would consider friends. But those friends were forged in flame. Making a connection with someone with the presence of peril was an action she could not comprehend. Android 18 is a powerful woman with a deeply-rooted anxiety for the entire world around her.

The question is thus: can these two strange creatures truly develop a meaningful friendship?

Story #1: Building a New Life

At Krillin and Android 18's new condominium…

Vegeta spoke with a smirk in his voice as he stared at a set of instructions gripped in his hands. "Ah yes~! That's a fine-looking entertainment stand…"

That levity quickly fell to despair as he lowered the instructions and saw the mess that he and Android 18 had somehow made of this prefabricated kit. "WHY DOESN'T OURS LOOK LIKE THAT?!"

As Vegeta groaned into his hands, falling to his knees in despair, Android 18 rolled her eyes on the brand new sectional sofa that had been delivered that morning. "Are you, like, good at anything?"

Vegeta turned to her, a snap in his voice. "You're the one who was failing at this when Bulma and I showed up!"

18 turned her head away and blushed. "Sh-Shut up…"

Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs. "BULMA!"

Bulma shouted back. "I'M BUSY! IF YOU CAN'T PUT TOGETHER A DAMNED ENTERTAINMENT STAND BY YOURSELF THEN JUST LEAVE IT AND I'LL DO IT LATER!"

As Bulma's voice went quiet, the high-pitched whine of a power drill started up again and Vegeta sighed. He stood up off the floor and flopped down onto the couch at the far end from Android 18. The room was quiet. Krillin had gone out to pick up the television that he and 18 bought earlier in the week, as well as dinner for everyone from the local Chinese place.

Vegeta sat in silence, uncomfortable without something to do. He hated visiting other people's homes, less some who he just couldn't say he gelled with. Every few minutes, he stole a glance out of the corner of his eyes at 18 and wished he could just leave. But that was sure to get him an earful from Bulma. He continued to steal glances, with 18 either unaware or uncaring, only to eventually see something that confused him.

18 reached down into a box next to the sofa, pulling up a binder containing plastic sheets, a large chest with multiple compartments, and a stack of three smaller boxes. She popped the first box open and grabbed out a foil packet, gently prying it open and pulling a small stack of paper cards out. She divided the stack in half and then placed the bottom half onto the top half. Then she began to draw them off of the stack as if she were drawing cards from a deck, nodding as she set them into neat little stacks next to her. She continued along with this until the first of the boxes was empty of foil packs. Then, she began to sort through her stacks, placing some of the cards into the binder in her lap and some into the chest next to her, and then some back into the original box which she quickly set aside.

And then she started the process over again.

As 18 continued along, seemingly in a blissful sort of trance, Vegeta finally spoke up. "What the hell are you doing?"

18 flinched, giving a little start. She scowled over at Vegeta. "I'm opening Magic booster packs. What the hell is it to you?!"

Vegeta cocked his head. "You're doing what?!"

18 cringed, turning back to her hobby. "I won't be made fun of by you. If you're going to be a gadfly, get lost."

Vegeta sneered. "How can I be a gadfly when I have no idea what the hell you're actually doing?"

This gave 18 pause. She set down what she was doing and turned back to the Prince. "...are you saying that you aren't aware of what trading cards are? How could you not know what trading cards are?"

Vegeta answered. "I have lived on this planet for less than half a decade. There is no such thing as trading cards in space, as far as I'm aware."

That really seemed to catch 18 off-guard. Vegeta groaned and turned away. "But, I was working under Frieza all that time so who really knows…?"

18 sighed. "It's…a fun hobby, ya know? When 17 and I were out on our own, before Gero, we could never really afford toys. And a lot of toys were hard to steal. Most of them were too big to sneak into your pocket. These were easy to take, so I became kind of obsessed with them…"

All was quiet again for a moment. Quickly, 18 worked through the rest of the second box and started sorting and organizing as she did before. Vegeta spoke up. "So, what are they? Just pretty collectible pictures, or-"

18 cut him off. "No. That would be stupid by itself. They're cards for a game that you can play…"

He turned and watched as she continued to sort. "Is there any reason why you're dividing them up?"

She responded. "If I get a rare rarity or higher, or if I get a foil of unique card art, I put them in a binder for collecting purposes. If I get cards that I think would make my Oathbreaker or Fire & Fury decks better, or would help to make a good deck of a different style, I put them in my chest. All the others I put aside to take back to the TCG shop and trade for store credit or other cards I might want."

Vegeta scooted closer, watching as 18 worked. "Sounds like you have a full system."

18 nodded. "Recently developed. With Gero dead, Cell dead, and my life suddenly so much easier because of Krillin and the money I lucked into, I've been trying to get more and more into hobbies that will help me relax…"

Vegeta nodded. "Hm."

And, once again, silence filled the room. The only real noise being the occasional whine of a power drill and the sound of thin cardstock flapping down. 18 finished her work on the second booster box and quickly began on the third. She could feel Vegeta watching her and it made her prickle a bit at first, but he eventually just became another piece of furniture in her periphery. 18 continued her hobby, unsuspecting of the next thing the Prince was going to say. "...will you teach me how to play the game?"

18 flinched. "Wh-What?!"

Vegeta was sheepishly turned the other way, his arms crossed. "...the cards I've seen look interesting. Would you teach me to play?"

18 looked at him, frozen in place. She had never been asked that before. 17, while more than willing to help steal something to make his sister happy, actively hated Magic: The Gathering. And Krillin had never really shown an interest either. 18 wanted to be snippy, but some new feeling overtook that urge like a tidal wave. She murmured. "D-Do you really want to learn…? You'll play with me…?"

Vegeta shrugged. "If you'll teach me. It's better than sitting her in obligated discomfort…"

18 wanted to play it cool, but an impulse in her head utterly destroyed any chance of that. Faster than Vegeta could process, 18 pulled two TV trays over and set out two playmats. She pulled two decks of cards from her case and thrust one to Vegeta without really stopping to observe which one it was. Vegeta shuddered as 18 pulled out a rulebook and cracked it open. "Okay, so, a lot of these rules can sound complicated and overwhelming, but it flows so much more easily when you're actually playing. Let's start with game flow and then I'll teach you strategy as we go along!"

Vegeta nodded, taken aback but not discouraged. "O-Okay…"

And so, an afternoon quickly drifted away to an early evening. Bulma came out from the back of the house, having finished anchoring several wall mounts and rewiring a blown light socket in the master bathroom. At the same time, the front door opened and Krillin walked in with a television balanced on his shoulder and three bags of Chinese food gripped in his hand. "Ugh, sorry I'm late. That electronics store took forever to find our order…"

Bulma shrugged. "It's okay. I've gotten a lot done and both of our spouses have been quiet-"

Vegeta shouted. "GODDAMMIT!"

Bulma sighed. "Until now…"

Bulma and Krillin quickly rushed into the den area, expecting to see a hellish fight breaking out, only to be stunned at the sight of 18 and Vegeta hunched over what was their eighth game of Magic in a row. Vegeta gripped his fist so hard his knuckles popped. "I almost beat you that time! Shit!"

18 looked smug. "Yeah, well, looks like you just came up short. Figured you'd be used to that~"

Vegeta glared at her. 18 snorted. "Maybe if we were doing something you were good at, you'd be closer to winning. Too bad~"

Vegeta's eyes went wide. "Oh yeah?!"

18 nodded, a playful smile on her face. "Yep~"

Vegeta nodded back. "Okay! Bet!"

This sudden assertion caught 18, Bulma, and Krillin all off-guard, though Vegeta refused to clarify exactly what he meant by it as they ate their dinner. So ended a day where both the Prince and the Android had opened up more than they ever intended. Little did they know that this one day of card-game based fun was the spark that would light the fuse leading to something neither had ever expected.

Story #2: Karaoke

At the High-Dine Lounge and Karaoke Bar…

Android 18 stood there, staring in confusion and disbelief as she watched Vegeta fiddle with the outfit he was preparing. Truth be told, she didn't even know why she was here this evening. Krillin has a police union meeting to attend, so she was just here because she had nothing else to do, she supposed.

18 cocked her head. "The 'thing you're good at' is...dance karaoke?!"

Vegeta scowled, correcting her. "Performative karaoke! It's not a mere silly dance! It's an artform! A respectable artform!"

18 was nonplussed. She cocked her head again, watching as Vegeta cleaned the two outfits in front of him. "And...you do this enough that they have a dressing room here with your name on it...?"

Vegeta nodded. "Of course!"

18 had heard of this place before: The High Dine. It was a trendy restaurant that had popped up during her time under Gero's thumb. She could hear the party atmosphere going on in the dining room outside. "And you and Bulma are going to buy me dinner, right...?"

Vegeta nodded. "Yes. After our performance. We-"

BOOGIE BACK~

Instantly, Vegeta picked up his phone and answered. "Where the hell are you, Bulma?!"

Vegeta grimaced. "A-A meeting?! But what about..."

His face became red. "Dammit, woman! We've been planning this for months! To hell with the stockholders!"

18 watched as the argument went back and forth. She watched as Vegeta's face went from pure anger to a mixture of anger and annoyance. She almost wanted to laugh...but then she saw that anger and annoyance shift to annoyance and disappointment. Vegeta's shoulders sagged. "Fine...next time...I guess..."

The Prince hung up his phone and sighed. And, in her chest, 18 felt the weirdest feeling well up: pity. She didn't know why, because it made no sense, but she actually felt a twang of pity for Vegeta of all people. She looked at the two outfits that he had prepared, matching trendy suits: a black suit with an orange shirt and a blue suit with a red shirt.

18 thought it over in her head. She didn't mind the thought of singing karaoke...and it wouldn't kill her to indulge this guy just this once. After all, he had invited her and offered her dinner. 18 sighed, and then she marched up and placed her hand on the blue-and-red trendy suit. "...what are we singing?"

Vegeta flinched, but then a smile spread on his face. His normal smug grin, but a smile nonetheless. "So, you want to sing with the Great Vegeta~?"

18 scowled. "Don't push it."

A few minutes later, the stage was alive. The crowd was watching on and cheering at the top of their lungs as these two performers, Vegeta and 18, sang their hearts out on stage,

VEGETA: WOW, BREAKIN' THE LAW
BREAKIN' THE WORLD kowase
Android 18: (breaking the world)
kirisake TENDERNESS

ANDROID 18: WOW, BREAKIN' THE RULE
roppou zensho ja shibarenai
Vegeta: (breaking the world)
hanran bunshi sa

BOTH: furiageta
nigiri kobushi ga oretachi no
JUDGEMENT

Story #3: Parenthood

Fold. Fold. Fold. Tuck. Stick. Stick.

It had been several months since the evening of Magic: The Gathering and of karaoke. And somehow, despite their personalities, Android 18 and Vegeta had found themselves unconsciously drawn into each other's company. What had begun as two couples taking time from their weekends to meet up and do couples activities had grown into Vegeta and 18 actively seeking each other out. And now, here they were at midday on a Tuesday just sitting in Vegeta and Bulma's den. In that intervening time, Bulma had given birth to a bouncing baby girl.

That girl was the young Princess Bulla Eschallot Briefs.

Vegeta finished applying Trunks' new diaper with an almost surgical precision and then set the boy aside. Trunks cooed and smiled, watching as his father stood up and walked into the kitchen to dispose of the foul-smelling, older diaper.

On the couch, Android 18 watched this all happen with a look of pure awe. "Th-That was...wow..."

Vegeta cocked his head. "What are you on about? Did I do something that impressive? It was just a shitty diaper..."

The Prince reached into the cabinet and pulled out a jar of baby food and a little packaged lunch. He moved back to the couch and flopped down next to 18. First, Vegeta pulled the top off of the packaged lunch and set it on the ground next to his toddler. Trunks greedily plunged his grabby hands into the tray of nutritious, easy-to-chew morsels and ate them with a contented smile. "Watch him while I feed Bulla. Tell me if he starts to choke."

18 nodded. "R-Right..."

Vegeta nodded and picked up Bulla. The little girl happily cheered as her father popped the lid off a jar of mushy bananas and started to feed her by the spoonful. 18 watched with a pensive little frown. She felt a tug at her pant leg and looked down to see Trunks offering her a dried piece of fruit. She took it with a half-smile. "Th-Thanks..."

Vegeta continued to feed Bulla. "What's wrong with you?"

18 flinched. "Huh?!"

Vegeta turned to her. "You're acting moody. And not in the normal infuriating way. What is the issue?"

18 sneered. "Since when do you know me well enough to judge my mood?!"

Vegeta flinched, nearly fumbling the jar. He glared away with a burning glow on his cheeks. 18 shook her head, pressing her palm to her face. "I'm...not trying to be a bitch. Sorry..."

She sighed. "Our wedding is in a few days...mine and Krillin's..."

Vegeta nodded. "It's in our front yard, yes. Bulma has been working on it around the clock..."

18 nodded, looking from Vegeta, to Trunks, to Bulla. "It's just amazing. And scary. Wedded life...that walk down the aisle..."

She mumbled. "The two of us having a Trunks or Bulla of our own..."

Vegeta glanced over at her. 18 smiled a nervous smile. "I'm excited. I wanna grow old with him and live a life worth living. I'm just...scared..."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Since when do you know me well enough to confide in me...?"

18 glared, but then sighed. "Guess I deserve that for yelling at you..."

Then, Vegeta spoke again. "Child care isn't easy, but you can definitely do it. And if you need help, I suppose I owe you for helping me out today. Feel free to bring any of your children here, whenever those children might happen..."

18 looked at Vegeta for a long, quiet while. He just continued to feed Bulla. Finally, 18 cleared her throat. "N-Need a favor..."

Vegeta turned to her. "Hm?"

18 mumbled. "Bulma is our wedding manager...Goku is Krillin's best man...I have 17 and 16 giving me away...and I don't know anyone else that well..."

Vegeta cocked his head. "What are you mumbling about?"

18 was bright red. "It's...a bizarre request. But, uh...would you...be my M-Maid...er, Matron...of Honor...?"

Vegeta cringed. "Y-You want me to do that?!"

18 bit her lip and nodded. She looked nervous enough to throw up. "P-Please...I'm sorry...I...I don't have anyone else..."

Vegeta was taken aback. He looked from the shuddering 18 down to his daughter. She smiled up at him. After a long silence, Vegeta closed his eyes and nodded. "Fine."

18 gasped. Vegeta spoke clearly. "It would...be my honor..."

Story #4: The Wedding

"Here Comes the Bride" started playing on the organ and the door to Bulma and Vegeta's house swung open. Everyone sat on the lawn turned and watched as Vegeta stepped out in his royal blue suit. He cleared his throat and motioned, but no one else came from inside the house.

Vegeta sighed and gazed out towards the other end of the yard. Standing there was Krillin, beaming and practically bouncing in place. Behind him, Goku and Yamcha both stood with a smile, both of them wearing crisp black suits with Kame-Sennin orange undershirts. On the other side of the aisle, next to an empty spot, stood Android 16 and Android 17, each wearing a crisp black suit and an undershirt in 18's favorite shade of pink.

Piccolo stood behind the podium, Dende standing next to him, reading what appeared to be a Holy Bible with a look of confusion and disgust. He leaned over and mumbled to Goku. "Do humans really subscribe to this nonsense?"

Goku whispered back. "I've never read that book. What's it about?"

Piccolo's face adopted a look that seemed to suggest he had almost expected something more. But then he shook his head and sighed, going back to passing his time as they all waited for one of the key players in the event.

Today was the day of Krillin and Android 18's wedding.

So far, everything had gone perfectly. Not a single slip up to be remembered. But now, as they stood on the precipice of the rest of their lives, Krillin and 18 were both stuck in limbo.

Krillin was starting to get antsy. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Y-You think she's having second thoughts...?"

Yamcha, Android 17, and Android 16 all spoke in unison. "No."

Goku leaned down and pat Krillin on the back. "Don't be nervous. When Chi-Chi had us do this, she needed a minute too. And she's the one that wanted to do it~"

Krillin silently nodded, trying to calm down.

On the other end of the yard, Vegeta stuck his head back in through the door. "Hurry the hell up! Everyone is waiting on you!"

Android 18 stood just to the side of the door. Her veil was pulled over her face and her hands shook as she held a bouquet in her hands. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "What? Are you too much of a coward to step out? Are you really going to do that to the little cretin?"

18 shook her head. "N-No...it's just...V-Vegeta..."

Vegeta sighed. "What?!"

18 motioned him into the house. Vegeta stepped in, glaring up at Android 18. It annoyed him how she was just slightly taller than him. "Quit wasting time, already!"

18 nodded. And then, she lifted her veil. Her eyes were shimmering, but her ruby-red painting lips were curved into a smile. "Vegeta..."

Vegeta cocked his head. "Again, what?!"

18 leaned forward, planting her lips briefly on Vegeta's forehead and then pulling back. She almost seemed surprised at what she had just done, but it was a good surprise. She spoke softly. "Thank you again. I... think I'm ready now~"

Vegeta grumbled and wiped his sleeve across his forehead, shoving his entire hand into his suit pocket and arching his arm out. "Just grab onto my arm and let's go..."

18 gripped on tight, and then the two walked out into the shining sun, to the cheers of all of their friends in attendance.

The ceremony following was both beautiful and fleeting. 18 marched down the aisle to her loving husband-to-be, Dende and Piccolo presided over the ceremony together, and then in an instant, Krillin and Android 18 were wed.

And thus, the foolishness began and Vegeta knew he was not due a peaceful sleep this evening. The various fools were gallivanting around the Capsule Corps grounds, drunken and reveling. Vegeta groaned and leaned back in his chair, observing them.

Krillin was surrounded by his friends: Kakarot, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, the Lecher, and Android 17 had all become dangerously inebriated and were horsing around with various stupid displays of their martial arts.

Android 18 was lost in a mire of her new, fellow wives. Chi-Chi and Bulma were both front and center, lavishing her with attention and Raditz's woman was coming in hot with even newer and more potent liquors for them to enjoy.

All of the children had been ushered inside to spend the evening in the care of Panchy, Dr. Briefs, that Ox fellow, Android 16, and Gohan.

So here was Vegeta, feeling out of place and uncomfortable in all of this. The Prince had never been a social butterfly. He hated gatherings like this. But he knew that Bulma would be pissy if he just sulked back to their house when he was supposed to be "enjoying himself".

Vegeta growled under his breath and looked down at the sleeve of his suit, a suit that Bulma had paid a lot of money to have made for him. He saw the stain of red lipstick on the cuff from where the Android had kissed him on the head. That stain filled him with concern and annoyed anger.

Why had she done that?!

It couldn't be because she had those sorts of feelings for him. She was happily married to her weakling husband and Vegeta was happily married to his Bulma. It wasn't as if 18 was his mother, so why would she do such a thing?!

Vegeta sneered. But then a cold bottle was placed on the table in front of him. He turned and was met by the smiling visage of Gine. Gine chuckled. "Vegeta. It's been too long. I wish you wouldn't be such a stranger~ You're always welcome at my house, ya know~?"

The Prince jerked his head away, glaring towards the grill where Piccolo stood in attention. Yajirobe was whining at the Namekian. "Hurry up! I'm hungry!"

Piccolo slapped Yajirobe in the back of the head. "DO NOT! Interrupt the Grill Master!"

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest. Gine sighed. "I swear. Kakarot is the only one of my kids who wants to have fun these days..."

As she took a drink, Vegeta turned to her. "Speaking of...where the hell is Raditz?"

Gine set her bottle down. "Investor's meeting. He's really starting to shift the business upward since Bardock left. He insists that he couldn't cancel it or reschedule it, but..."

Gine's face went sullen. It was clear that she was just as lost on how to deal with her oldest son's pain as everyone else was. Vegeta snorted. He briefly thought about Raditz' issues, but then he quickly pushed those thoughts away. That was never a good mental rabbit hole to jump down, in his experience.

Seeing that Vegeta wasn't going to drink it, Gine popped the cap on his beer and started on it as well. "So...I was looking at your sleeve..."

Vegeta tensed up. Gine smirked. "...Bulma isn't wearing red lipstick tonight. So, who could have made that stain~?"

Vegeta was instantly defensive. "What the hell are you implying?!"

Gine sighed. "So defensive..."

She shook her head. "I'll be clear with you. I'm not implying that you've gone and cheated on your wife. I know you wouldn't. I'm just teasing because...I think this is all sweet~"

Vegeta snarled. "What's sweet?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Gine sighed again and took a swig. "You, Vegeta. I think you and what you did today are sweet. Going out of your way to be there for 18. Her being grateful enough that she'd plant a smooch on your forehead..."

Quickly, Vegeta started wiping at his forehead again, assuming he missed a spot. Gine chuckled. "It's just nice to see, especially remembering you on Namek. You and 18 my really have a lot of trust in each other~"

Vegeta gritted his teeth. "Don't comment on things you don't understand!"

Gine smiled. "Vegeta...all I'm trying to say is that I think it's sweet that you and 18 are -~"

And that single word at the end of that sentence made Vegeta's ears burn.

Story #5: Friendship

In the den of Krillin and Android 18's condominium…

It had been months upon months since Gine had whispered in Vegeta's ear that word that he genuinely detested. And ever since then, the Prince had been on edge around Android 18. Seemingly, the Android had noticed this and had responded in kind. The slowly warming nature of their relationship had suddenly plateaued and, while they weren't any more unkind to one another than usual, they both realized that something had altered for them.

And now, here they worked alone together just as they had on that first day when 18 had broken out her card. They were in the same room as before, prepping for a four-person movie night, making sure that snacks were at the ready and drinks were on ice while their respective husband and wife went out to pick up pizza.

Once everything had been properly set up, 18 flopped onto the sofa and sighed. "So, where are your kids?"

Vegeta shrugged. "With their grandparents. When Boxer and Panchy aren't getting up to whatever they get up to, they're always more than happy to take the children from us."

18 nodded. "Ah. I worry about our kid when it comes to that. Krillin's an orphan and I guess I am now too. Who'll babysit our eventual kids when that time comes?"

Vegeta quickly responded. "Mine and Bulma's door is always open…"

18 smiled but didn't respond back. Vegeta smiled as well, hidden away to himself, at the thought of taking in Krillin and 18's child. And that smile seemed to confuse him more than anything else. Why the hell was he excited at the thought of caring for someone else's brat?

Eventually, after pouring a bag of chocolate candies into a bowl, Vegeta sat down as well. Except, rather than putting the distance he had before, he sat right next to 18.

The room was silent. Both loners had something that they wanted to say bulging in their throats, but neither was willing to say it. Neither knew how. Because, the thing was that Gine was right. The Saiyan mother had never shared the thought she shared with Vegeta with Android 18, but 18 felt that feeling just as strongly.

She looked over at Vegeta and Vegeta looked over at her. Both of them blushed and looked away. This was awkward.

How exactly were you supposed to say it?

Without either meaning to let it happen, thirty minutes of cold silence slipped by. Friday evenings in East City could be busy affairs, so it was just as likely that Bulma and Krillin had gotten caught in traffic. 18's hands were clasped in her lap. Vegeta's arms were crossed, his finger tapping on his bicep.

How to say it?

And now, we arrive at the climax of this little tale. As Android 18 and Vegeta sit on a sectional sofa, staring at an entertainment center they had both failed to build, they both face a major turning point in their lives. But, before we approach this moment, dear reader, I feel it necessary to remind everyone reading this of one thing...

This is hard for them.

Harder than any battle either has ever fought. Harder than any sort of training, trial, or tribulation. Because, no matter how many walls they put up or how much distance they try to maintain between themselves and the world...Vegeta is simply just a kidnapped boy, stolen from his parents. And Lazuli is simply just a kidnapped girl whose parents never loved her to begin with.

And so here they sit, each on a metaphorical threshold, struggling not to stare one another in the face as they fight against every realization that is trying to push them forward. To be happier. To be better. As they desperately fight against all of those meaningless, overly sappy words that they've come to realize they would happily use to describe one another.

As they fight those feelings of mutual respect, of adulation, of platonic...

Lo...

Love...

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Will you be my friend?"