"Wow, Dad. You’re a lot stronger." Goten said through deep breaths as he fell back on the worn ground, causing a small cloud of dust to rise up.
Gohan was more than a little surprised to see how well his little brother was able to hold his own. Surely, Goten was equal to him in strength if not stronger.
It was the last day of their weeklong sparring trip in the wilderness just south of South City. The whole thing had been strange.
Flashback:
"Otosan?"
Gohan slowly lifted his head form his pillow to see his little brother sitting up wide-eyed, looking at their father.
They’d brought along a capsule house because of their mother’s protests, and all shared the only bedroom of the small dome-shaped house.
Wiping his eyes, Gohan sat up, "Goten, what are you doing?"
"I woke up cause I was thirsty and when I came back he was actin’ like this…" the boy said, gesturing towards their father.
Gohan scooted closer to see that their father had the thin futon mattress balled in his fists. He was sweating and it was obvious that he was gritting his teeth due to his tensed jaw.
End flashback.
"You’re not bad yourself." Goku said as he plopped down on the warm earth, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of a hand.
Flashback:
"Dad, you okay?" Gohan said, leaning back in the tall grass.
"Why do ya ask?"
"Well, we’ve been out here for four days, and you haven’t been sleeping well. At first you weren’t even concentrating on our training." Gohan explained, glancing to his right to see his father’s profile.
"I think it’s cause of the bond. When Jita and I are separated stuff like that happens. It’s hard to explain." Goku said in a calm, quiet voice.
"Bond?" Gohan questioned curiously, watching his father’s face for any expression, ignoring the fact that his father was using a pet name to refer to the arrogant Vejita.
"Yeah. It happens only between two pureblooded Saiyajin. I didn’t understand it at first either. Jita had to explain it to me." Goku said, sitting up when he felt his youngest son’s ki approaching.
"Hiya, brother… Otosan… Look what I caught at tha river!" Goten exclaimed standing to the side to let them see the huge fish he’d obviously dragged all the way back.
"Hmm… That looks good." Goku said, rising to his feet.
End flashback.
"Wow. It’s getting’ pretty late… It’ll be dark soon. I guess I should get you two home. You’re mom will be worried." Goku said, gazing up at the darkening evening sky.
---------------------------------------------
Chi-Chi sighed as she bent and lifted another article of clothing from the heaping clothesbasket. It was strange how peaceful she felt doing her routine chores. The wind picked up and she cracked a smile as the clothes of a variety of colors billowed under the warm sun... Wait a second. The sun was already starting to set… Where was Gohan and Goten?
"Hiya, Mom!"
Chi-Chi turned, a look of confusion crossing her face for just a second before she saw her youngest son sprinting towards her.
"Hey, you’re back." She said, smiling down at the boy as he hugged her legs. Turning her gaze upwards, she stiffened somewhat at the sight of her incredibly handsome husband… Ex-husband.
"Have fun, Gohan?" she asked, trying her best to hide her insecurity.
"Yeah, it was great." Gohan said, stepping over to help his mother finish up with the clothes before it got too dark.
-------------------------------------
"Hey, Dad, you going to the Capsule Corp. party?" Gohan asked, referring to the annual party held for the employees along with friends and family.
"Oh, wow. I forgot about it. When is it?"
"Bulma called a while back… She said it’s the ninth. That’s…" Gohan said, pausing to look at the digital date on his wristwatch.
"It’s tonight." Chi-Chi said, answering before her son had the chance. She hadn’t planned on letting Goku know about the party, even though Bulma had instructed her to.
"Dad, why don’t ya come with us? Mom said we’re goin’." Goten said, grinning from ear to ear at his great idea.
"I… Uh… If it’s okay with your mother…" Goku said, looking to Chi-Chi.
Chi-Chi sighed, "I guess so. Come on. I still have the box of clothes you left."
Goku was a little worried. Chi-Chi was surely on the verge of anger. He could tell that she didn’t like being in his presence. How was she going to react with him riding with them to the City of the West and spending the evening in the same room? Goku tried not to think about it as he followed his sons inside. Chi-Chi led him to a large cardboard box in the hall closet before leaving to get ready in her room. Gohan and Goten remained to help him decide on what to where. That’s when it dawned on him that he needed to let Vejita know.
Vejita stretched, straightening his posture as he entered the home he shared with Kakarotto through the back door. The backyard that was once part of the lush forest was now worn training ground of dark, rich soil with a few tufts of grass remaining.
The prince had been training practically the entire time Kakarotto had been gone. It was difficult to be separated from the man for so long.
‘Jita.’
Vejita was surprised to hear his mate’s voice in his head. He didn’t think that the bond was strong enough for them to communicate so easily at such a great distance. That’s when the prince realized that Kakarotto wasn’t in the south, he was closer. Stretching out his sense, Vejita searched for that familiar life force. Much closer… He was… He was with his sons and that demented woman at their home.
‘Jita? Can you hear me?’
‘Baka, of course I can hear you.’
Goku cracked a small smile, ignoring whatever it was his sons were saying as he continued to communicate with his love, ‘Bulma’s Capsule Corp. party is tonight. Goten asked that I go with them…’ Goku left the sentence hanging, waiting for Vejita’s answer.
Gohan continued to dig through the large box of ridiculous clothing that his father had left, purposefully. Luckily his mother hadn’t thrown them out yet. Glancing up, he was surprised to see that his father had a blank expression, but looking at his eyes, it seemed that his mind was quite the contrary.
‘Chi… Fine.’
‘Are you goin’?’ Goku questioned, trying to sound as sweet as possible.
Vejita could just imagine the puppy-dog eyes that normally accompanied that tone of voice, ‘Fine.’
‘Thanks, Jita! See ya there.’ Goku exclaimed happily, waiting respectfully for the prince to cut the connection before he did.
"Dad! Earth to Dad!" Gohan repeated, waving his hand in front of his father’s face.
Goku snapped back into reality, chuckling as he placed a hand behind his head, "Sorry, guys."
"You ok?" Goten asked with a confused look on his face.
"Yeah, I was just lettin’ Jita know about the party."
"You were talking to Vejita just now?" Gohan asked, impressed with the strength of this "bond."
"Uh-huh. He’s gonna meet us there," Goku said, spotting a familiar brown material, "Here it is." He said, pulling the one dress suit he owned out of the box as he stood.
"Go ahead and change in the bathroom. Goten and I’ll change in our rooms." Gohan said, before retreating to his room to get dressed.
As Gohan pulled on his black suit jacket, he thought about what had just taken place not ten minutes ago. His father had had a telepathic conversation with Vejita right in front of them. Who knew what all they were talking about.
--------------------------------------------
Vejita smirked, adjusting his suit jacket and giving himself a quick look in the mirror. He remembered back when he lived with the blue-haired woman… The week before one of her company parties was always hectic. She insisted it be bigger and better than the one the year before. One of the first parties she’d ever thrown while he was living under her roof was a disaster. Since the guest list wasn’t very long, she and Chi-Chi had decided to cook all the dishes themselves. Of course, the Briefs had practically been eaten out of house and home. Mainly because of Kakarotto. Vejita smirked, thinking of his beautiful fool. It was amazing how much he was capable of packing away. No food was safe from his mouth… His delicious, sweet, talented mouth.
Just then Vejita realized how much he missed him. It felt odd for him to feel this way. Normally he would just damn the fool, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not anymore.
