Welcome to DBZ Love Garden

► A New Life 1     A New Life 2     A New Life 3     A New Life 4     A New Life 5     A New Life 6     A New Life 7     A New Life 8     A New Life 9     A New Life 10     A New Life 11     A New Life 12 Vegeta hovered undetected in the clear blue sky, watching from his spot above the Son's home as Goku slowly walked to the shiny new car he'd bought to satisfy his screeching harpy. The prince had witnessed this same scene every morning for the past month, and it was beginning to annoy him. This new ritual of the other Saiyajins� interfered with their usual spar, and the prince hadn't even been able to find out WHERE it was the man was going.

All he knew was that Goku left with a frown on his face and came back looking even more miserable. The entire process took between three and four hours on average.

Vegeta's lips turned downward as he watched the other Saiyajin climb into the car. A few seconds later, he was no more than a speck in the distance. On several occasions he'd question the younger man about his trips into town, but all the baka did was smile and say he was only running errands for his shrew of a wife.... not in those words, of course.

Didn't Kakarotto know he was a terrible liar?

Regardless, Vegeta was tiring of the whole routine, and he was determined to find out where his punching bag was 'really' going everyday. Without another thought, the prince lowered himself to the ground and approached the Son's home. He raised his fist and knocked non-too-gently upon the door, rattling the entire house.

He folded his arms against his chest and impatiently waited until the door swung open, revealing a rather irritated ningen woman.

That annoyed expression tripled in intensity as her eyes narrowed at her visitor.

''Goku's not here!''

The Saiyajin growled as ChiChi began to close the door again and he moved his foot to block it. ''I'm aware of that, woman! I'm here to find out where the baka has been going for the past month!''

An almost cruel smirk appeared on the woman's lips. ''He finally got a good paying job. I suggest you do the same, unless you're ok with the fact a human woman is supporting you.''

Vegeta bit down on his tongue as he fought the urge to introduce the ningen to his fist. With possibly the most incredible display of self-control ever shown by the prince, he ignored the statement and continued his investigation.

''What job could he possibly keep for an entire month without screwing up?''

For some reason, ChiChi found his question to be incredibly funny, because she broke into a fit of laughter, which left Vegeta raising an eyebrow in question. That question, however, was never answered, because the woman never stopped laughing.

With a growl of annoyance, the prince gave up and instead tracked his fellow Saiyajin's ki, which he had learned was always kept at a minimum during his outings. This also piqued his curiosity.

Vegeta cast the still laughing women in front of him a final glare and flew off toward Goku's lowered ki. His questions would all be answered soon enough, one way or another.

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A half an hour later, Vegeta spotted Goku again. He'd parked his car in the driveway of a house the prince had never visited before in the residential area of the city. When the Saiyajin exited the vehicle, he was in his Super Saiyajin mode, though his ki was still suppressed to the level of a common ningen. And like all the other times Vegeta had seen Goku leave for his 'job', he was wearing normal human clothes rather than his orange gi.

He watched as the younger man slowly walked up the sidewalk and rung the doorbell. Almost immediately the door swung open and the Saiyajin disappeared inside.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he descended from the sky. He wasn't stupid, and he knew what kind of job this 'looked' like, but was Kakarotto capable of such a thing? Did he need money that badly?

The prince's eyes never left the front door as he leaned against the side of the other Saiyajin's car and folded his arms over his chest. He could wait.

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Three hours later, the door finally opened again and Goku emerged from the house. A few quick words were exchanged with someone within, someone Vegeta couldn't see, and then the younger Saiyajin closed the door behind him and started down the sidewalk to his car. His eyes were downcast as he walked, and the prince watched as he tucked a wad of cash into his back pocket.

As Goku got closer, Vegeta cleared his throat in annoyance. He didn't like not being noticed. The other's eyes finally rose to meet his own, and Goku immediately froze in shock.

''Vegeta? What are you doing here?''

The prince's eyes narrowed as he took in the other Saiyajin's appearance. His clothes were wrinkled, and they hadn't been three hours ago. And, despite being in his Super Saiyajin mode, a mere human had managed to leave bruises upon the skin that was visible to Vegeta.

''I think the better question is, why are you here, Kakarotto?''

''Oh, uh...'' Goku's hand went up to rub the back of his head. ''I was... just visiting a friend.''

''A friend? A friend you have sex with?'' Vegeta countered, nearly laughing at the horrified expression on the other man's face. This wasn't a laughing matter, however.

''Wh- What are you talking about?!''

Vegeta growled and grabbed the younger man by his shirt, pulling him close. ''I can smell him all over you, Kakarotto! What the hell do you think you're doing?!''

The shocked expression disappeared and was replaced with an angry one. Goku batted away the prince's hands and walked around him. ''Guess I just decided to go ahead and become that 'third class filth' you're always claiming I am.'' he muttered bitterly as he opened his car door. ''Don't follow me again, Vegeta.''

The prince watched in shocked silence as the other Saiyajin started up his car and drove away, leaving him to stew in his thoughts.

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Four months had past since the prince had discovered Goku's new occupation, and though he knew he shouldn't care, and that it was none of his business, he couldn't suppress the anger he felt. He was angry with the other Saiyajin, yes, but the majority of his fury was directed at his harpy wife, who had obviously been the one to talk Goku into taking the 'job'.

Vegeta growled. Now he understood why she'd laughed at his question.

He was also angry with humans in general... or rather, the ones who had dared lay their filthy hands upon his subject. Yes, Kakarotto was his in the technical sense, and he wasn't about to deny that, even though there were several times he'd wish the younger man would drop off the face of the planet... though after he HAD done that a couple times, he'd found life rather boring without a worthy sparring partner.

Or was it more than just the sparring he missed?

Vegeta frowned and brought his kata to a halt, quickly flipping his gravity machine off. He certainly wasn't going to get a good workout when his mind wouldn't shut-up and concentrate.

The prince grabbed a towel and threw it over his shoulder as he stepped outside and into the fading sunlight. More time had passed than he'd thought.

Four months. It'd been four months since he'd seen Kakarotto. Obviously the other Saiyajin was avoiding him, and it was easy to understand why. But this was Kakarotto! Vegeta didn't even think it was possible for the baka to avoid pestering him for so long. Quite frankly, the prince was becoming bored without his annoying presence.

With the flick of his wrist, the prince tossed the towel to the ground and ascended into the sky. Perhaps it was time for a visit.

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By the time Vegeta had reached the Son's home, night had fallen, but he could still see some changes to the residence even in the moonlight. An addition had recently been added to the west wing of the home, and everything had a fresh coat of paint. The lawn was sporting some new and expensive looking yard furniture, and the garden was filled with exotic flowers and shrubs.

The prince folded his arms and snorted as he approached the door. It looked like the woman was enjoying all the extra money. She no doubt had a new wardrobe too. He wondered if Kakarotto had bought anything for himself, though he doubted it since the younger Saiyajin wasn't big on material items.

Ignoring the time of night, Vegeta rang the doorbell, another new addition, and waited. His keen hearing easily detected the screech of ChiChi.

''Goku! Get the door, I'm in the tub!''

New bathroom too, eh?

He heard a mumbled response and the sound of shuffling feet before the door swung open, revealing a sleepy Goku, who was rubbing his eye lazily.

''Vegeta?''

The prince didn't wait for the younger man to say anything else before he spoke. ''Looks like you're doing rather well, Kakarotto.'' he said as he glanced into the house, which was decorated with all new furniture. He looked back at the other Saiyajin. ''Is it worth it?''

The sleepy expression on Goku's face was quickly replaced with an angry one. ''What do you want?'' he spat. Vegeta was slightly taken back by the icy tone, which he'd never heard the other man use before.

''I want to talk.''

''About what?''

''Come now, Kakarotto. Not even you are that stupid.''

There were a few seconds of silence before Goku sighed and stepped outside beside the prince, closing the door behind him. He continued past him and comfortably seated himself in a sun chair, and Vegeta did the same.

The prince smirked. ''Oo, comfy. How many jobs did it take to afford this set?''

He immediately regretted his sarcastic remark as a flash of pain flickered over Goku's face. Any further emotion was concealed as the younger man bowed his head and concentrated on the ground.

''Did you just come to mock me, or did you really plan on talking?'' came a low response.

Vegeta sighed in annoyance that was directed at himself. ''Kakarotto, were you really so desperate for money that you had to resort to selling yourself to these filthy ningens?'' Try as he might, the prince could not mask his disgust at the situation. Goku, however, felt the disgust was directed at him.

''No!''

This surprised Vegeta. He didn't have to question him however, for the younger man continued.

''But ChiChi... She wanted more. She wanted to live like Bulma and Videl and Gohan. She wanted everything they had. I told her I couldn't possibly earn that kind of money. All I knew was fighting. So she told me it was about time I finally became a good husband... and... made sacrifices.''

Vegeta waited in silence when Goku paused. His face was still hidden by his bangs and shadows, but he could clearly see he was shivering, and that his hands were gripping the arms of the chair he sat in tightly.

''She arranged everything.'' he finally said. ''Kami, I didn't even know what was expected of me! I didn't know people did that sort of thing. ChiChi said I wouldn't have to do it for long; only until she had the money to buy a few new things. But she keeps wanting more and more!''

Vegeta swore he could feel the steam rising from his skin as he became even more furious with the baka's woman. All this suffering for her own greed??

''Kakarotto, you can stop whenever you want.''

''I know. But I feel like I owe this to her. And I know I'm the baka you say I am, but I can't help it! For years she's been lecturing me; telling me how horrible I am; what a bad father and husband I am; what a failure I am. You can only listen to these things for so long before you believe them!''

Goku paused and finally looked up at the prince with sadness in his eyes.

''Since I've been doing this she's changed. She's been so much more loving and tells me I finally found something I can do right; that she doesn't see me as a failure anymore. Do you know how long I've been waiting for her approval? She's happy now, so I can be happy.''

Vegeta frowned. ''You're not happy, Kakarotto.''

Goku shook his head and stood, taking a few steps toward the house before stopping. ''Think what you want of me now, Vegeta, but please don't let the others know what I'm doing... I don't want them to look at me the way you do.''

With that, Goku disappeared into the house, leaving Vegeta to stare wide-eyed at the spot he'd stood in. ► A New Life 1     A New Life 2     A New Life 3     A New Life 4     A New Life 5     A New Life 6     A New Life 7     A New Life 8     A New Life 9     A New Life 10     A New Life 11     A New Life 12