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A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! They are all appreciated and have been re-read countless times!

I've been lacking the will to write lately because from now on it gets really hard. But I watched DBZ movies 7 and 12 and got a much needed fix! lol, but before that I tried reading DBZ fiks and looking at fanart and I am now traumatized for life. So yeah, that didn't help.

Also, this chapter is going to be shorter than the others because...the other stuff doesn't fit in this chapter lol

Chapter Thirteen:

Gokou managed a total of three hours sleep before he was awoken by a sharp tug on his foot causing him to he crash to the floor in a tumble of blankets and pillows.

"Umphf!" The Saiyan lay there for a moment, his mind muzzy as he tried to think of what had awoken him.

"Dad! Dad, Wake up!" Goten said urgently.

Gokou groaned, what could his son possibly need at this time of ni-

"Goten!" He shouted as he sat up a little to fast, the room spinning for a second before he was able to focus on his the demi-Saiyan. "What are you doing here?"

"Trunks wants too see his Dad...why are you sleeping on the couch?" The dark-haired boy added, a look of confusion on his face.

The earth raised Saiyan blinked, why was he sleeping on the couch? He and Vegeta had made up...Gokou blushed at that and in reply to his sons question mumbled something under his breath and looked at Trunks who was standing a little off to the left, "Vegeta's in the bedroom." He said pointing down the hallway.

Trunks gave the smallest of nods before running down the hall.

Goten peered at his Father, "Why are you sleeping out here Dad? Did you and Mr Vegeta have a fight?" He asked, curious.

Gokou smiled at him, "Yeah, but it's okay now..." He trailed off, ruffling Goten's hair.

"But you still love him don't you?"

"Err..." The older man stuttered before quickly changing the subject, "What was so important that you two had to come here in the middle of the night anyway?" He asked and watched, shocked, as his son's expression changed to a much darker, angrier look.

"Bulma - she's cheating on Mr Vegeta." He stated, his tone very serious.

Gokou's eyes widened as he stood up quickly, making to step toward the hallway but paused mid-step, "Are you sure, Goten?" He asked, almost sternly. The demi-Saiyan nodded gravely.

Gokou kept his eyes on his son for a moment longer and then turned back to the hallway in time to hear a loud yell from the bedroom, followed by a muffled thump.

He and Goten were in the room before they even had a chance to think about it.

"What?! What is it?" Gokou asked as he looked around the room for any signs of danger and not seeing any, focused on the room's occupants.

Vegeta sat in the bed, a faint look of interest on his face while Trunks stood to the side, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

An uncomfortable silence fell.

The tall Saiyan fidgeted with the cord of his track pants, his gaze slowly making its way around the room until landing on the prince. Has Trunks told him the news? He certainly doesn't look like he's just been told his wife is having an affair.

After a moment Goten slowly walked to his best-friend's side, his eyes clearly showing his concern as he stopped just out of reach of the other boy, wanting to help but not sure how too.

"Dad..." Trunks said softly, a hint of pleading in his voice.

Vegeta stared at his son for a long moment and then spoke. "Trunks, your Mother and I..." He looked around the room, trying to find the right words, "We..." He stopped when his eyes met Gokou's and he smiled before turning his gaze back to his son. "You have the right to be angry Trunks, but how is it any different to what I'm doing?"

Trunks snorted, "Well, I haven't walked in on you two having sex now have I?"

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly and Vegeta half launched himself off the bed in alarm.

"You walked in on them?!" He exclaimed, vaguely registering Gokou's startled gasp from the doorway.

"Yeah..." The lavender-haired boy said, shuddering at the unwanted memory.

"Right." The Saiyan prince said firmly, throwing the blankets off him and standing up, "I think I need to have a talk with Bulma. Boys, stay here."

Trunks brightened a little and turned to Goten, a slight smirk on his face.

Gokou watched with growing unease as Vegeta dressed; caught between wanting him and Bulma to work things out and not wanting him to leave.

"Kakarotto?" The taller Saiyan jumped, blushing when he realised he'd been caught staring at his prince and quickly looked away.

"Kakarotto." Vegeta repeated, stepping towards the man in question. "I'll be back soon, make sure our boys get some rest." Then without another word he left, heading to Capsule corp. at high speeds.

Gokou sighed and headed back to the lounge; he didn't like the thought of Vegeta and Bulma alone somewhere, he knew he shouldn't be feeling like this - but he couldn't help it. He walked to the window, staring off into the distance before coming to a decision.

"Boys!" He said, "Time for bed."

The two boys went to Goten's room with the minimum of fuss and were soon sleeping like the dead.

As soon as he was sure they were asleep, Gokou left the house and took to the air; heading after Vegeta, towards Capsule corp. - after all...Vegeta hadn't once said he couldn't follow.

-

Piccilo watched as Dende took a seat across the table from him, his patience running out when the guardian insisted on tea before they got back to their discussion. The Namekian had come back to the lookout not long after the scene at Krillins house but Mr PoePoe had kept him waiting, saying Dende was busy - but what the hell was he busy with? Sure he was Kami, but Piccilo couldn't remember ever seeing him busy as such; being guardian of the earth these days looked like a piece of cake.

"So," Dende started, "what were you saying?" He said, referring to their talk earlier that day, before Vegeta had decided to go walk-a-bout.

"Vegeta has been acting a little...different lately." Piccilo stated.

Dende gave him an odd look but let him continue.

"I'm sure you saw the…incident at Krillin's?" Piccilo waited for Dende's slight nod before he continued, "Then I won't need to explain what happened. What happened at Krillins isn't the only time that Vegeta has…relapsed back into his un-wished personality; it happened earlier in the day as well."

"Earlier in the day?" Dende repeated, "When?"

"Before I brought Vegeta up here today."

Dende paused in the act of taking a sip of his tea and clunked it back down onto the table. "Why didn't you tell me this then?" he demanded.

"Because Vegeta disappeared before I could." Piccilo stated blandly.

"Oh." Dende smiled sheepishly, "Of course. So it's happened twice now…"

Piccilo interrupted him, "I'm sure it's happened more than that. But I've only seen it myself twice."

Dende leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face, "And you're sure that it's the 'real' Vegeta?" he questioned, "Not just another part of the wish?"

"I'm sure it's not." Piccilo stated firmly. "It was the real Vegeta."

"So…what does this mean?" Dende asked, slowly. "If Vegeta is fighting the wish, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Not necessarily. You, of all people, should know how powerful the Dragon is; Vegeta fighting the wish could be causing irreparable damage."
"Surely not…" Dende began uncertainly but trailed off at a hard look from Piccilo.

"I left the situation between Gokou and Vegeta alone because I didn't see the harm in it, but I think Gokou is the reason Vegeta is fighting the wish so hard; it would probably be for the best if they weren't together for the rest of the time left on the wish."

Dende looked back down at his cup of tea for a moment and then nodded, looking back up. "Yes, you're right. Could you please go and have a talk with Bulma, Vegeta and Gokou? We'll need to get Vegeta into the safest environment we can as soon as possible - with his wife would be best."

Piccilo climbed to his feet quickly, having already half-expected Dende's decision. "Vegeta will be at Capsule Corp. by morning." Piccilo stated and, in a swirl of white cloak, was gone.

-

Gokou hovered above a nearby house, watching as Vegeta entered Capsule corp. and then slowly made his descent; landing softly on the grass surrounding the building. He skilfully masked his 'ki' as he traipsed around the outside of the house, trying to keep track of Vegeta's energy while still hiding his own.

Vegeta stopped somewhere to the far right of the house, obviously finding Bulma.

Gokou quickly realised he was on the wrong side of the building and made his way around to the other side, silently praying for an open window so he could listen to their conversation.

His prayers went unanswered.

When he reached the other side, Gokou found himself staring at nothing but the wall of the house and a closed window one story up...and that lead to a guest room. So unless the two were-

"No." The tall Saiyan said to himself; he knew better to be thinking like that, Bulma and Vegeta were just talking.

Then what the hell are you doing here, Gokou's inner voice questioned, if they're just talking?

"I'm just here to make sure Vegeta keeps his cool." He reasoned with himself as he begun to walk toward the backyard. It's not like he didn't trust Vegeta - because he did, he trusted Vegeta with his life and the Saiyan prince wouldn't do anything that could change that, it's not like he'd-

Gokou froze mid-step. Was he just convincing himself that Vegeta wouldn't sleep with his own wife?!

Kami...he was. He needed to get over this, sure he knew what he felt for the prince but that did not in any way allow him to do...do this!

"Oh, for the love of-" Gokou cut himself off in frustration; what the hell was he doing here? Following Vegeta around like a jealous wife! Kami, how embarrassing.

Shaking his head, the Saiyan continued walking, he couldn't believe his behaviour - if Vegeta ever found out, the 'real' Vegeta that is, he was sure the man would make damn sure everybody found out about it.

"...I know that...b-but I'm just so happy we've sorted this out Vegeta."

Gokou froze yet again and turned his head slightly to his left - he had found them.

He ducked quickly, barely keeping upright, and held his breath, waiting for either of them to speak again.

"Hn. It took a lot to get where we are today, there's no point throwing it all away." Vegeta didn't sound angry, which surprised Gokou - had they sorted it out? Already? And what was that supposed mean 'no point throwing it all away'? Were they..?

"Well," Bulma started, sounding immensely relieved. "Would you like a cuppa?"

Gokou stayed in the same position for what felt like hours before he finally gave in and moved, leaning against the outer wall. The pair inside hadn't really spoken much, well not about anything important...but Vegeta didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon either.

Gokou heard the sound of a door closing and slowly peeked through the window, no one was there. He inwardly cheered; finally he could go home and get some sleep.

Walking to the front of the Capsule corp. the sleepily man waited for any sign that Vegeta was coming out and after a while reached out with his 'ki' checking to make sure he hadn't missed the other man.

Nope.

Vegeta was definitely still in there but he wasn't anywhere near the door.

Gokou continued his search until locating exactly where in the large building he was, ahh - he was in Bulma's lab, probably getting a lecture on how to build robots or something. Great.

Sighing, the tired Saiyan gave up waiting and slowly rose up off he ground, casting one last look over his shoulder before flying into the dark sky.

No matter how he looked at it he came out as an utter fool tonight.

Gokou laughed suddenly as he flew, thinking of how ridiculous he must have looked, crouched outside the window for so long. He laughed again, this time about the fact that he was the only one that knew...well, maybe one-day he'd share this with Vegeta...

He stopped laughing, a frown forming instead.

From the bits of conversation he'd just heard it didn't look like he would be sharing anything with the older Saiyan, maybe...No. This was so frustrating; he felt as through he was having a relationship with an invisible friend that could disappear at any moment! The 'real' Vegeta would...well he didn't know what he'd do but it certainly wouldn't be anything he was hoping for.

Gokou paused as a soft rain began to fall from the sky, making him realise for the first time that he had left wearing nothing but his track pants. Now he was really glad no one had seen him.

Flying on, Gokou powered up slightly to keep the chill off and continued on with his inner musings.

He didn't even know when he had started to feel this way for the Saiyan prince, had he had these feelings even before the wish? And if he did then was he taking advantage of Vegeta's situation? The former didn't seem far off from the truth.

It was so frustrating, he could tell Vegeta he loved him every second of everyday for the next nine months and hear it back - but it wouldn't be true; and he sincerely doubted the words would ever leave the other Saiyan's mouth once he was back to normal. Or, at least, they wouldn't be aimed at him.

The rain begun to pour, causing Gokou to raise his power again to keep warm.

He was in an imaginary relationship that would never become a reality.

This was all he could ever have.

At that thought Gokou speed up, hoping to out run any further thoughts on the subject.

Reaching home no more than five minutes later, the troubled Saiyan headed straight for the bathroom for his second shower of the day and then, deciding to stay up till the other Saiyan arrived he set himself up on the couch once again and waited.

Gokou awoke the next morning to a loud crash in the kitchen followed by his sons voice.

"Trunks! Look what you made me do!" The demi-Saiyan whined and looked longingly down to the floor that now had what was supposed to be their breakfast along with several smashed bowls smeared across it.

Trunks stared at it a moment before clapping his hands and grabbing Goten's hand. "I know! Lets go catch some fish for breakfast!" He said excitedly.

"I dunno..."

"Come on! We'll catch really big ones and then bring them back to share with our Dads!"

"Yeah!" Goten agreed and bounded off out the door, dragging Trunks with him.

Gokou smiled to himself as he sat up, already looking forward to the feast the boys were likely to bring back - hopefully very soon, he thought when his stomach grumbled loudly.

Yawning, he stretched, hearing several cracking noises as he stood up. "Last time I sleep on the couch..." He mumbled to himself, walking over the remains of his dining table and taking a seat next to the counter.

I wonder if Vegeta's up yet...

Wait...

Gokou stood back up and ran to his bedroom.

Vegeta wasn't there; the bed hadn't changed since the other Saiyan had left the night before which meant that...

Vegeta had never come home.

Chapter End

End Author Notes:

An interesting bit of information about this chapter, or more precisely a piece of this chapter: Picture the scene where Piccilo and Dende are talking about Vegeta. Now picture a Piccilo Burger King toy with a bell tied around his waist (to give him some balls), a SSJ Gokou (coloured Bronze) Burger King toy wearing a white and blue glasses cleaning cloth as a Toga, a pink hair-tie around his neck and a black TwistyTie as a belt and a little Krillin Burger King toy wearing a dark green glasses cleaning cloth on his head as a turban, a light green glasses cleaning cloth as billowing pants, another pink hair-tie as a belt and a piece of white plastic from an old plastic bag as a vest. Now picture these three standing around a book on reading Japanese Kanji which is balanced on top of a Japanese-to-English dictionary.

…This is how my sister and I worked out how to write that scene. We even put a curtain hook on the 'table' to represent a teapot. It helped…a little bit…kinda…sorta…maybe…

Well it made us laugh. And Krillin really did end up looking like Mr.PoePoe.

And so we all know, the bell around Piccilo's waist also has a large red, green and gold Christmas bow on it. He looks lovely.

R&R!!