Disclaimer: Please refer to other chapters cause if I have to write it again I'll go insane and steal it.

'Sister of the Author' 's Notes: I apologise for what my sister did to Vegeta. -_-; He's such a wuss-y pussy in this chapter. It pains me to type this out. It really does.

A/N: But it's so amusing to see Vegeta like that. ^_^ I apologise for this chapter taking so bloody long. I went to sleep last night thinking my sister would never get it done and when I woke…she'd finished it!! WOOT!!

Chapter Nine:

A week had passed since the scene at the Lookout, and what a good week it had been. Vegeta had been well behaved, and he and Gokou had been getting along fine.

They even had a routine. Each morning they would wake up; together, showered; not together, and had breakfast; then they usually went for a walk around the mountain, going a different way each time. Sometimes Vegeta would insist they hold hands and he could get quite mad if he wasn't getting his way.

When they would arrive home they would have lunch and after that they would train. They weren't training for anything in particular; they simply did it to pass the time.

Secretly, Gokou loved the training the best. He would see glimpses of the 'real' Vegeta then and he found himself missing that personality more and more as time went on. Though there was a drawback to their training together. If Vegeta thought he'd injured Gokou in any way then the rest of the afternoon would be wasted inside with Vegeta fussing over him like a ruffled housewife.

In the evening, they would talk, mostly about the past, and then fall asleep; they hadn't spent a night apart. It was…comfortable.

Now it was the middle of the night, about two or three in the morning, and Vegeta lay awake, staring at his 'love'.

It was great to be alone with him, but sometimes he could feel the uncertainty of the other Saiyan, he would pull away or…

Vegeta blinked suddenly, then his eyes narrowed. Where was he?

The Saiyan prince attempted to sit up, but was pulled back down by an unidentified source. Looking to his side he found himself nose-to-nose with his rival.

"Kakorotto?" Vegeta whispered more to himself than aloud, trying to convince himself it was a dream…or a nightmare.

What the hell was going on? What had happened?

Lifting his head a little he scanned the room, or what he could see of it. Where was he?

Vegeta tried to sit up again, but it seemed that the other man wasn't going to give up on his iron grip. He studied the other man's face for a moment. He looked…content and…peaceful.

Vegeta tested the iron grip again then, deciding he obviously wasn't going to be going anywhere soon; he settled back down and was soon fast asleep.

-

Bulma marched through her living room, her mind clearly somewhere else as she tripped over the coffee table.

"Damn it!" The aqua haired woman cursed under her breath as she bent to pick up what she'd knocked to the floor and set everything back in its place. After the awful scene up at the Lookout, she and Chichi had returned to Capsule Corp. and, after a moment of awkward, tense silence had both gone their own separate tasks.

Bulma's was to track down their wayward son's and have a word with them. Namely finding out exactly what the wording of their wishes had been so she could hopefully find out what on Earth was happing to Vegeta.

Bulma sighed lightly as she finally spotted the boys' sitting at the dining room table, gulping down food greedily.

"Boys." Bulma stated clearly in a voice that clearly said 'don't even think about trying to run away this time'.

Both Goten and Trunks gulped audibly, their food forgotten as they turned to regard her with wide eyes.

"Boys." She repeated, softly this time. "I need you to tell me what you wished for; all three wishes." Bulma pulled out a chair and sat down facing the pair, her expression earnest, "The exact wording."

-

Gokou slowly opened his eyes, blinking to remove the sleep from them.

At first he couldn't recall what had woken him, but after a moment he figured it out as his eyes finally focused and he found himself looking straight into a pair of deep black orbs. He jumped a little, slightly startled, then settled back into his pillow.

"Vegeta." The Saiyan stated sleepily.

Just as he'd done every morning for the past week, Vegeta had woken up before Gokou and by the looks of him he'd already showered.

Sitting up again, Gokou ran his hand through his hair, then shook his head slightly to try and clear it.

"Kakorotto?"

Blinking still, Gokou forced himself to get to his feet and turned a questioning look on Vegeta.

"Are you well?" Vegeta asked softly, furrowing his eyebrows in worry.

"Of course! Just a little sleepy." Gokou laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Vegeta smiled and stood up from where he'd been sitting on the bed, then left the room, probably going to start breakfast.

Stretching enough to make his bones pop, Gokou headed to the bathroom. A good shower was what he needed.

-

Trunks and Goten stared at each other, each trying to make the other speak first by shear Will alone.

It was Goten who finally gave up and, turning guilty eyes to Bulma, began to speak.

"Well, T-Trunks wished that Vegeta was nice and caring, a-and that he loved y-you…" Goten trailed off, still looking at Bulma.

Bulma had turned to look at Trunks, her expression softening slightly. So he'd been trying to help, in his own way.

Trunks blushed slightly and looked down at the table, taking a deep breath, "W-well then Goten thought it would be more helpful if, maybe, you know, D-dad loved…loved everybody, so err… yeah…" he finished lamely.

Bulma's gaze flickered between the two demi-Saiyans before finally resting on an increasingly nervous looking Goten.

"What exactly did you say?" She asked, trying not to snap.

"J-just, 'I wish he loved everybody'." Goten remembered.

Bulma stared. Not out of anger, she just plain stared. It was, when she thought about it, quite funny, though this was no time for laughing, and definitely not in front of the children.

"Okay, boys. Thank you." Bulma stood calmly and walked towards the door, but paused before she passed through and looked back, "But don't think you're off the hook yet."

-

It was now mid-afternoon and the two Saiyans could be found snuggling under one of the many trees on Mt Paozu. The morning had gone smoothly and the afternoon was looking to go the same.

"Kakorotto, what are you thinking about?" Vegeta murmured and snuggled closer.

"T-thinking about?" Gokou started. What kind of question was that?

"Are you thinking about us, my love?"

"No!" Gokou said a little to fast.

Pulling away from the other man, Vegeta stared at his one and only love in a way that could only be described as 'pouting'.

"Well, err…" Gokou was at an instant loss. Was Vegeta, the overly proud, completely ruthless Prince of the entire Saiyan race, pouting at him?!

…It sure looked like it.

Pulling away completely, Vegeta sat Indian-style in front of Gokou.

"Kakorotto." Vegeta hesitated before continuing, "You know how I feel for you but…why do you keep pulling away from me?"

-

Gohan couldn't believe what had happened a week earlier at the Lookout. He had heard from his mother that his father was now taking care of Vegeta all by himself and even though the woman hadn't gone into details, Gohan had gotten the picture.

The black haired woman had been muttering under her breath at breakfast a few days ago and what she'd said (Gokou and Vegeta in love, and Gokou choosing Vegeta over Chichi?) had left him completely confused. He had no idea what to make of everything he'd heard; but he was about to find out. It was all going to be explained, by his father.

Gohan had managed to slip away from his mother and his schoolwork and he was now on his way home to ask some serious questions.

-

Gokou stared, unblinking, at Vegeta.

/Why do you keep pulling away from me?/

Oh, Kami-sama; were they actually going to have this conversation?

"Err…" Gokou opened and closed his mouth a few times but nothing intelligible came out.

"I know you need time to get used to us, love, and I've given it too you." Vegeta said. His voice was soft, but his eyes were intense, compelling. "But I need to know once and for all, Kakorotto. Do you love me?"

-

Gohan smiled as the familiar sights of his Mountain home came into view; still the same as it ever was.

The demi-Saiyan sighed. With all that was going on lately, it was a surprise he'd passed this weeks exams. He guessed he had his mother to thank for that, never letting him goof off.

Thinking about his mother, Gohan slowed down. He was worried what this entire situation was doing to her - she'd never acted like this when his father had gone away. Hell, not even when he'd died.

And the thing that really got him was that when he'd arrived at Capsule Corp. yesterday he had found his Mother crying; really crying. As if everything she'd ever cared about had been torn from her in a heartbeat with no hope of return.

And all signs pointed to Gokou.

-

"I…I…Well…" Gokou felt like a fish out of water. What the hell were you supposed to say to something like that?!

Well 'no' would be a good answer, his mind said promptly.

Yeah… Gokou looked up, into Vegeta's eyes. No… …But he couldn't do it. Hope was shining from the prince's eyes, how could he crush that?

Opening his mouth, Gokou began trying to put together an answer.

"Vegeta, I…I respect you and-"

"Is it because we're both men, Kakorotto?" Vegeta asked bluntly.

Where the hell did that come from?!

Gokou caught the breath he'd lost at the question and thought about it to stall. Well, it wasn't so much that they were both male; mainly it was the fact that it was Vegeta. It wasn't like it was just any ma- Wait! What the Hell? What was he thinking?!

A warm hand on his cheek snapped Gokou out of his thoughts and he blinked twice before tuning into what the other Saiyan was saying.

"…We can't help who we fall in love with. Love doesn't care for gender, age or race…all that matters, Kakorotto, is that we cherish the love that we've found in each other…"

-

Gohan landed a little away from the house and breathed in the fresh, Mountain air. He missed home; it was always so peaceful up here…

-

"Cherish…" Gokou repeated the word in a kind of stunned trance, staring at the other man for a moment till he could gather his wits. "V-Vegeta, I…I think, well I…" Looking down, Gokou muttered something.

The smaller Saiyan smiled at this cute display of embarrassment and, putting his hand under his loves chin, slowly tilted it up till their eyes met.

"What was that?" The prince laughed, his hand now cupping Gokou's cheek.

Smiling lightly, Gokou made to repeat himself but was distracted as he heard a loud exclamation from behind them.

-

Gohan stared. And then he shook his head and stared again.

Right there, right there, in front of him, his father and Vegeta were having what looked like a very romantic moment.

His dad was lazily leaning back against a tree while Vegeta sat before him, leaning forward to rest a hand lightly on the taller man's cheek; and to make it worse, they were smiling. At each other. Happy, tender, sappy smiles.

He had to stop this! Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Gohan stepped forward ready to give the two men what for.

Or at least tried too.

"Oomph!"

Someone had grabbed him from behind, dragging him backwards away from the two men by the tree.

Once released, Gohan spun on his heel furiously to see who had snatched him from his intended path, and stared.

"P-Piccilo?" Gohan stuttered.

The Namekian stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk playing over his lips that disappeared an instant later as he focused on something behind the demi-Saiyan.

"G-Gohan, is that you?" Gohan heard his father asking uncertainly.

Spinning around, Gohan started straight into the eyes of his father. He didn't know why but suddenly everything came crashing down on him. What the wish was doing two everyone, but mainly his mother; hearing her crying over it all, seeing his father do…whatever he had been doing, hell, even the pressure of exams, everything just hit him, almost knocking the breath from his lungs.

Feeling Gohan's 'Ki' rising, Piccilo put a hand on the boy's shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

"Gokou. I'll talk to him first." He stated calmly and led Gohan to an out-of-the-way spot.

"I know what that looked like, Gohan," Piccilo began, "But you can't take everything at face value."

"Face value?!" Gohan began heatedly then snapped his mouth shut abruptly at the quelling look Piccilo gave him.

"Mum was right…" Gohan muttered under his breath.

"You know your Father, Gohan. He's just doing what he thinks is right - or at least what he feels is right."

Gohan closed his eyes and sighed at the words, the tension draining out of him slightly. Piccilo was right, as always. Damn it!

"What are you doing here anyway, Piccilo?

Crossing his arms over his chest, Piccilo studied Gohan silently before answering.

"I've been keeping an eye on Vegeta and your father."

"Why?" Gohan asked, without thinking.

"Because," Piccilo started patiently, "Your father might be getting in over his head. I've been watching him and sometimes there's this…" He trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain what he'd seen over the last month. He wasn't good with human emotion.

"This what?" The youth asked quietly, the tension in his body going back up a notch.

"Hn, sometimes it seems like its Gokou following Vegeta around like a love sick puppy." Piccilo replied before he could stop himself.

Whoops.

A love sick puppy?! Gohan thought angrily. While his mother spent her days worrying and crying, his father was out here doing…doing Kami-sama knows what!!?

Gohan spun on his heel and, before Piccilo could react to grab him, stomped back towards the house.

Gokou sat leaning against the doorframe leading into the house; fidgeting.

He didn't know what Gohan had seen exactly, but it can't have been good.

Looking up from his worried thoughts, Gokou saw his son walking, wait make that stomping, towards him and he scrambled to his feet.

He looks just like his mother. Gokou almost laughed aloud but stifled the urge and instead turned slightly to look into the house. Vegeta had gone inside to make some snacks and Gokou wanted to be sure the man was still inside, he could only make things worse at this point.

Reaching his goal, Gohan took a deep breath. He had never said anything bad to, or about, his father considering how much he had worshipped the man while growing up. The prospect was actually quite scary.

Steadying himself, Gohan pointedly looked into his father's eyes and tried to say something coherent.

"You…you…what are you doing?!" Gohan gave up trying to be mature about this. "Do you know how Mum's doing through all of this? Do you even care? She's at 'home' worrying herself sick, crying all the time and you're…you just…"

Gohan felt a large pang of sudden guilt as he looked at his father, the Saiyan who had saved the earth many times, who had been through more than any of them, and realised that his father didn't know. He didn't know what he was doing.

When Gohan had asked (yelled) the question for a moment, there in the man's eyes, had been the answer. Gokou was lost and was just doing what he always did. He was following his heart.

Gohan's shoulders slumped and his anger drained out of him suddenly, leaving him drained.

"Gohan." His father started tentatively, "I know what it must have look-"

"Dad." Gohan interrupted, "Just don't hurt her anymore." And with that Gohan took to the air, glancing at his father briefly with an unreadable expression before taking off at full speed.

Gokou stared at the spot his son had been in blankly as the words repeated in his head.

"I didn't mean too." He said quietly, softly.

"Gokou." The tall Saiyan started at the sound and he turned a confused gaze to Piccilo.

"Piccilo? Gohan just left…"

"I can see that." Piccilo said laconically, "Where's Vegeta?"

"Vegeta? Oh, inside."

 Taking a few steps till he was standing directly in front of Gokou, looking down at him slightly, Piccilo gave the man a hard look.

"Be careful, Gokou. This situation could very easily get out of hand." He stated.

"Kakorotto, I made some…" Vegeta stopped as he spotted Piccilo, glancing between the two.

"Piccilo." The Saiyan Prince acknowledged.

Nodding once, Piccilo turned to leave. "Remember, Gokou." And he was gone, leaving Gokou more than a little confused.

And so the day continued, Gokou forcing all thoughts of what had happened out of his mind and focusing only on himself and Vegeta.

End Chapter Nine. Yatta!!!

End A/N: Okay, now I know I take forever to update, even when I say it will be out soon, it never is. Well I'm going to put this fic on hold for a while because nothing is working out; I'm not where I was supposed to be up to and…Istartedanotherfic. *hides*  Please don't hate me. I'm still working on this though…

R&R