Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were - I'd make more.

Authors Notes: This fik may be suffering a slight case of hiatus but it is not forgotten. See - new chapter ^_^

A Simple Wish

Chapter Four:

"Alright, who's up next?" Bulma mumbled to herself skimming her eyes down the schedule she'd planned out. "Dende and Mr. Popo are finishing up now so it's…" she jerked her head up and looked across the room, "Krillin. It's time for you and Piccilo to take your shift."

"What?!" Krillin sat up quickly in his seat. "Already? But I thought we were the last team! Gokou hasn't had his shift yet."

"No, he hasn't!" Bulma crossed her arms over her chest, "And he isn't going to either."

Krillin moaned, "I should have stayed at home instead of letting Gokou convince me to come up here. But no; I came and now I'm…"

"What was that Krillin?" Bulma glared and leaned in closer to the man.

"No…nothing." Krillin said, backing away.

"I didn't think so." Bulma huffed then looked around. "Now where's Piccilo?"

"He's outside meditating." Gokou said, startling the other two as he stepped into the room with an armload of food. "You ready to go, Krillin?"

"No way, Gokou. He's not going anywhere!"

"Oh, come on Bulma! Dende and Mr. Popo will be fine for a little while longer." Krillin complained and Gokou grinned.

"Oh, I see. It's your turn to watch Vegeta."

"Yeah." Krillin muttered dejectedly.

"Okay! See'ya later!" Gokou freed one had to wave cheerfully then left the room and waltzed off down the hallway in search of a quiet place to eat.

--

"Krillin, don't look so nervous." Piccilo said glancing over at the small man who was doing his best to think of a way out of the situation he was in.

"I'm not nervous. I just don't want him touching me." Krillin grumped then jumped as Bulma leaned over his shoulder.

"Watch out, Krillin. He can smell your fear!"

A cold shiver ran up Krillin's spine at the thought then he froze in his tracks at the sound of shouting and then a loud set of bangs coming from the room they'd been approaching. A moment later the door flew open and Mr. Popo quickly pushed Dende though it then followed on the young man's heels, slamming the door closed behind him.

"No, my love!" They heard Vegeta press himself up against the back of the door, "Come back!"

"Ahhh… I think I left something in the kitchen. I'm just gonna go get…" Krillin began, inching back down the hallway till a firm hand grabbing onto his shirt stopped him.

"Oh no you're not, Krillin." Bulma glowered at him, "Everyone else has done their shifts so get in there!"

"Okay, Okay… Come on, Piccilo!" Krillin said bravely and marched down the corridor.

"Uhmm... Krillin. The room is that way." Dende said and pointed in the opposite direction.

Krillin froze, "Ahhh… Yeah, right. I knew that." Krillin blushed lightly and reversed direction with slightly less enthusiasm.

"Stop being such a baby." Piccilo growled in irritation and, grabbing Krillin by the back of the shirt, hauled him towards the room holding the Saiyan Prince.

Piccilo turned the handle briskly and thrust the door open expecting to be mauled immediately - and stood in shock, his eyes fixed on where Vegeta lay sleeping peacefully on his bed.

"Well, this must be your lucky day, Krillin." Piccilo said, pushing Krillin through the door and slamming it shut behind them.

---

Oh man! This is so boring, what did everyone else do in here?

Krillin sat, leaning against the wall, his boredom beginning to rob him of the will to live.

"Hey, Piccilo! Wanna play cards? Piccilo? Piccilooooooo? Piiiicciiilllooooooooo…………. Ahhhh!!!" Krillin jumped to his feet as Vegeta suddenly appeared as if from nowhere.

"Ve…Vegeta? You're awake?" Krillin stepped back slightly then made a not-so-successful run for the door, barely making it halfway before Vegeta wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Ahhhh!!" WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo? "Piccilo!!" Krillin's cry didn't even make the Namekian flicker an eyebrow, so deep was he in his meditation.

"Krillin." Vegeta pulled Krillin's desperately struggling figure closer to him and gazed into his eyes, "Please, Krillin. Don't fight our love. Let me hold you, you'll see…"

Krillin ripped himself out of Vegeta's grip and made another run for the door, making it in time to pull it open and race out of it. Then he kept on running.

A few seconds later, Piccilo dropped out of his meditation and opened his eyes, "Krillin, what was…"

The Namekian stopped in mid-sentence, rising to his feet as he glared at the empty room, and then stalked out the still open doorway.

--

"Hi, Gohan!" Bulma sat in the front seat of her Capsule plane and twisted the cord from her phone around one finger, "I need you and Videl back up here next week."

The reply from the other end of the line was slightly static-y. //What? Already?//

"I need to be at Capsule Corp. next week so I can't take my shift and Yamcha refuses to do it on his own, the baby!"

//What about Krillin and Piccilo?//

"They're in there now."

//Well, what about my dad? He's still up there and I have a lot of work to do…//

"Really, Gohan. I'd prefer it if he didn't ha…" Bulma trailed off as a coloured blur went passed her window. Was that Krillin? No, he's supposed to be… Bulma's eyes went wide as Vegeta suddenly raced passed her, chasing the figure that obviously was Krillin.

"Ve…Vegeta?" Bulma dropped the phone and jumped out of the plane, taking off at a run after the two men.

On the other end of the phone line Gohan blinked in confusion, "Bulma? Bulma are you there?"

---

"Krillin! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be watching Vegeta?" Gokou greeted Krillin cheerfully as the small man approached him but his expression turned to a frown when the man fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Vege… Vege… He…"

"Krillin?! What happened?"

"Vegeta! He… He's…"

"Vegeta, what? Krillin?"

"He's… He's chasing me!"

Gokou blinked in startlement, somehow expecting something a little more earth shattering than that, then quickly looked around for the Saiyan, "Where is he?"

"I think… I think I lost him." Krillin finally climbed back to his feet and stared nervously behind him, "You'd be surprised how fast I can move when I need too."

--

"So… Where would Vegeta be…?" Gokou muttered to himself later on and stared down a few empty hallways in search. "You can't have gotten fa…" Gokou stopped as a hand fell gently on his shoulder. "Ve…Vegeta? Is that you?"

"Sorry to spoil your day, Gokou," came an irritated voice behind him, "But it's just me."

"Piccilo!" Gokou turned in place and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I heard Vegeta was out so I thought…"

"Never mind what you thought," Piccilo said shortly, "Let's just split up and look for him."

"R…right!" Gokou watched as Piccilo disappeared down a side corridor then decided to do his searching the easy way. Quickly he lifted two fingers to his forehead and, using his instant transmission technique, began to search for the missing Saiyan's Ki-signature.

"Ha! Now I've got you." Gokou said after a moment's search then disappeared, reappearing a second later completely surrounded by sweet smelling wild flowers that reached nearly up to his chest.

"Wh…What?" Gokou stared around in confusion. Had his technique gone wrong? He was sure it was Vegeta's Ki-signature he'd found, but there didn't seem like there was anyone around here anywhere. Certainly not Vegeta.

Gokou began to lift his fingers to his forehead again, then paused as he heard the sound of cheerful humming coming from a few feet behind him and turned to watch a section of the wild flowers shaking and some disappearing.

Must be some girl from a nearby Village. I suppose I could ask her if she's seen… Gokou's thought trailed off as the flowers parted slightly and the person picking the flowers and humming could be seen. Ve…Vegeta?!

"Wh…? Vegeta, what are you doing?" Gokou asked, his voice barely audible, and took hesitant step forward, chest high flowers rustling slightly as he moved; and then stopped. If Vegeta noticed him he'd be lynched again, but he did have to get the man back up to the lookout… Except that he looked quite content here in the field, humming and picking…flowers.

Gokou lifted his arm and ran his hand through his hair in indecision, knocking a section of flowers into sound with the movement. He froze but Vegeta had heard and raised his head slightly in acknowledgement of company.

"Who's there??" Vegeta growled, not looking up from his task.

Well. He was found out now. "It's…umm…me." Gokou began and then clarified, "Gokou. Ahhh…are you…?" Gokou cut off abruptly as Vegeta suddenly leaped up from where he'd been crouched and, catching Gokou in a tight grip, snuggled himself into Gokou's chest.

"Ahhh… Kakorotto I missed you." The prince all but purred.

"You…you have? Well I've been umm…well…"

"Here." Vegeta pulled away from Gokou long enough to retrieve what he'd been working on amongst the flowers and then slid back into his arms. "These are for you, Kakorotto." Vegeta said and presented the taller Saiyan with a fantastic array of the wild flowers that they were surrounded by.

"Gee… umm…" Gokou stared at the flowers trying to think of some kind of reply, "Ahhh…thanks, Vegeta. They're…umm…really…really…"

"I knew you'd like them, Kakorotto." Vegeta smiled up at Gokou then pulled away from him and grabbed his free arm, "Shall we??"

"Shall we…what??" Gokou asked anxiously.

"There's a really nice spot just a few miles down - a river." Vegeta explained as he pulled the other Saiyan onto a path though the flowers that Gokou hadn't even noticed was there. "We can be alone there."

"A… Alone?! Just us two, alone?" Gokou's eyes had gone wide and he had to hug the bunch of flowers Vegeta had given him against his chest to keep from dropping them.

"Of course, Kakorotto." Vegeta transferred his grip from Gokou's arm to his hand, twining their fingers together, continuing to lead him down the path; "It's why you followed me here isn't it? It's hard to be alone," he glanced upwards briefly, "up there, so we can be alone here. No one will find us."

No one will find us? The trip through the flowers to the nearby river was nothing but a blur to Gokou as he contemplated the implications of Vegeta's declaration. No Piccilo to save him this time, no Chichi fainting in the doorway or Bulma making startled exclamations. Gokou shook his head to try and clear it. He had to get Vegeta back up to the lookout and that wouldn't be happening while he was walking hand-and-hand with him to a romantic spot near the river.

"Kakorotto, I've been waiting for this moment for so long now." Vegeta said quietly, jolting Gokou out of his thoughts.

"This moment? What?" Gokou blinked and realised they were standing at the edge of the flower field, about five feet away from the edge of the river. A breath of wind sent the flowers nearby to swaying slightly and Gokou was suddenly engulfed in the sweet smell of them which he'd failed to notice when he'd first arrived in his search for Vegeta.

"Time to be alone, Kakorotto. Time to bask in our love for one another without interruption, to simply enjoy the act of being in each other's company. Time to be held in each others arms." Vegeta moved a little closer to Gokou and brushed gentle fingers down his cheek and added in an almost whisper, "Or more…"

"M…more?" Gokou repeated dumbly.

Vegeta smirked, letting his fingers stray around to twist themselves in Gokou's hair and pressed in close to the other man, his lips brushing lightly against Gokou's jaw as he spoke huskily, "More is always an option…"

Gokou remained silent, staring straight ahead at the river. More is always… More… More?! Finally it hit the tall Saiyan what Vegeta was implying and he reacted before thinking. In one swift movement Gokou had pushed Vegeta off him and made a hurried dash in the opposite direction. Now he knew how Krillin had felt earlier.

"Kakorotto!" Vegeta growled pushing himself to his feet, before pursuing the runaway Saiyan.

Gokou was thoroughly lost in the field of flowers by the time a blur of colour appeared in front of him, cutting him off.

"You can stop running now." Piccilo said before Gokou had a chance to panic.

"I can? No…no, Vegeta is…" Gokou said

Piccilo just pointed back the way Gokou had come from and the Saiyan turned cautiously then paused at the sight of Vegeta warping his arms around Bulma.

Gokou sighed in relief then noticed that Piccilo was looking at him oddly, or rather looking at the perfect bunch of flowers he was still clutching in one arm.

Gokou grinned and put one hand behind his head, "What?"

--------------

High up above the Earth, on Kami's Lookout, the earth's special forces gathered. They didn't gather for battle. They didn't gather for a tournament. They weren't even gathering to keep in touch. No. The Earth Special Forces gathered, as they had done twice before hand on the first day of the new month, to discuss the new Roster for watching over Vegeta.

"Hey, Gokou." Yamcha lifted his hand in greeting as he approached the group, "How's it going?"

"Hey, Yamcha! Long time no see." Gokou returned the wave as the other man approached.

"Yeah, sorry for missing my shift last month but…" Yamcha stopped as he noticed Bulma bearing down on him.

"Oh, so you decided to turn up this time did you, Yamcha?" Bulma said with a hint off anger in her voice.

"I was sick Bulma, what was I suppose to do?" Yamcha protested, backing away.

"Don't you think I'm going to believe that story for a moment, Yamcha" Bulma said crossing her arms over her chest and then, dismissing him, turned to the rest of the group. "Anyway. I've made some changes to the pairings for this month."

Bulma was cut off by Krillin, "What do you mean changes?"

"Well, Videl can't be here this month, and I've got a lot of work I need to do, so I changed the pairings around a little."

"Oh, so I'm still with Piccilo, that's good to hear." Krillin said in relief.

"Well, actually Krillin your with Gohan now." Bulma said, then continued on with her list. "Yamcha you're now with Gokou, and Piccilo you're by yourself. Dende and Mr Popo are still paired, they're finishing up their last shift and are in with Vegeta now."

There was a moment as every one absorbed the news, then Krillin laughed, "Well at least I'm not alone."

"Hey, Bulma?" Gokou said, walking over to the woman. "Why did you pair me up this time? I can watch Vegeta alright without help."

Bulma fixed the Saiyan with a piercing glare, "Why do you think?!" She bit out, then turned and stormed off.

"Bulma… You didn't tell us when our shifts… were…" Krillin said weakly, trailing off as the woman turned to face him.

With a growl, Bulma threw the roster sheet at Krillin's feet and then carried on to her airplane, got in it and disappeared from sight in moments.

When the speck that was Bulma's plane disappeared, Krillin leaned down and picked up the sheet, reading it quickly.

"Piccilo, you have first shift. Then it's Gokou and Yamcha, and then Gohan and I. Then Dende and Mr. Popo take up again." Krillin finished reading then folded the paper over and slipped it into his pocket, but Yamcha stopped him.

"Hey, Krillin. Could I have a look at that? I didn't hear you right."

Krillin looked up, startled and tried to step away from Yamucha. "Wh…what? Hey!" Krillin made a desperate snatch for the piece of paper and then slumped his shoulders as Yamucha read it out loud.

"First week: Gohan and Krillin. Second week: Piccilo. Third week: Gokou and Yamucha. Fourth week: Dende and Mr. Popo."

Yamucha gave Krillin a hard look as the other man slumped before reluctantly following Gohan and going to relieve Dende and Mr. Popo.

"You know, Gohan. Things would be a whole lot easier if we could just find a cage strong enough to hold Vegeta." Krillin mutter, half seriously.

----

Gokou sat alone in one of the many rooms of the Lookout demolishing a giant's portion of food. He'd just polished off his tenth plate when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a capsule plane landing out the window.

Setting down the empty plate, Gokou jumped out the window and walked over to where the occupants, Eighteen and her daughter Marron, were climbing out.

"Hiya! If you're after Krillin, he and Gohan drew first shift this month so…"

Eighteen simply walked passed Gokou as if he didn't exist.

Gokou turned to watch the woman lead her daughter into the shade of the building.

"Hi, Gokou!"

Gokou jumped in surprise and turned.

"Kami! I'd almost forgotten how different it was to fly the old way." Videl said and smiled up and Gokou, "Is Gohan around?"

"Ahhh… He's doing first shift with Krillin." Gokou replied, sounding slightly resentful. "There isn't really anything to do up here you know, and I'm not due to go in for another two weeks."

"Why don't you go home then?"

"Cause I might be needed! What if Vegeta got out? The others wouldn't be able to get him back. Well…maybe Piccilo could."

"Uhmm…right. I'll just go see if Gohan can take a break." Videl said and hurried inside.

"Humph!" Gokou slumped to the ground and leaned back against the plane. There really wasn't anything to do up here at the Lookout, it was okay for Piccilo, he just sat around meditating all day, but Gokou was bored.

Gokou slumped further back and put his arms behind his head, staring mindlessly at the puffy white clouds that passed in the sky above him and tried to ignore the pervasive heat that was making him feel like he was being slow roasted alive inside his skin.

His eyes were beginning to drift closed when he suddenly had the strong feeling he was being watched. Dropping from the lethargy he'd been steeping in earlier, Gokou climbed quickly to his feet and looked around. Nothing.

After a moment or two of seeing nothing more interesting than heat haze, Gokou sat on the edge of the still open door of the capsule plane. Maybe he'd been imagining things, looking for something to do maybe.

The Saiyan's thoughts trailed off as he leant back and rested on his elbows his attention turning back to the sky. The sky fled from his thoughts a moment later though as suddenly two arms threaded through his own and a pair of hands smoothly ran up his chest.

"W…what?!" Gokou sat upright so fast he toppled off of the plane and landed on his hands and knees on the hot concrete of the Lookout and then leapt up, spinning as he stood. "Ve…Vegeta?! You're out?" Gokou's voice was nervous as he stared at Vegeta who was now kneeling where Gokou had been reclining moments before.

"I came to see you, Kakorotto." Vegeta said and flowed from where he had been standing too a point barely an inch from Gokou.

"C…came to…to see me?" Gokou said blankly. "What…what are you talking about?"

"You know, Kakorotto." Vegeta said, now circling the other Saiyan slowly, "I've always wondered what it would have been like if we had met under different circumstances." Vegeta lifted a hand and let it trail along Gokou's lower back, "We could have been so far by now. So close."

"Wha… We…we could?"

"I wonder what you would do," Vegeta said softly, and moved his hand to trail a finger down Gokou's cheek, "if I kissed you right now?"

"Ki - Ki - Ki - Kiss?! What do you…?" Gokou's shocked exclamation was cut short as Vegeta grabbed him firmly by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.

Vegeta was kissing him. He was being kissed by Vegeta. What could he do? What should he do? What were you supposed to do in situations like this? What… Gokou's greater brain functions shut down as he relaxed into the feel of Vegeta's lips on his and he suddenly realised he was enjoying it. Vegeta was kissing him, but that was all right because it felt right. Stopping wasn't an option - but deepening the kiss was.

"Mmm...Veget… Vegeta?!" Gokou suddenly sat bolt upright and stared around with wide, startled eyes. He was still where he had sat down earlier the hot concrete beneath him heating his legs and the cool metal from the plan seeping into his back. What had that been? What…was it…a dream? It must have been… Except…

/Ring, ring/

Gokou jumped in startlement and spun on his knees to stare up at the empty Capsule plane, his heart only settling down from its sudden, rapid beating as he realised it was the capsule's phone.

Jumping to his feet as it rung again, Gokou picked up the receiver and answered. "Ah… Hullo?"

"Gokou? Gokou is that you?"

Gokou recognised the voice immediately. "Chichi. Uhmm… Hi."

"Well?" The woman demanded and Gokou found himself picturing her in his mind, one hand holding the phone to her ear and the other planted firmly on her hip; her foot tapping the floor with irritation.

"Well… uhmm…" he was at a loss. Did he forget to do something again?

"Don't tell me Videl hasn't arrived yet!"

"What? Oh! She got here a little while ago."

"What?!" Chichi's voice raised a few decibels in anger.

"She… uhmm… She went to see Gohan, but she should be back soon. Gohan drew first shift today so he can't be away for to long."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then, "I want Gohan home right this instant, Gokou!!"

Gokou held the phone away from his ear for a moment, "But Chichi, we need him up here."

"He needs to be home, Gokou! What do you think is more important? Your son getting good grades and becoming an amazing professor, or babysitting that Vegeta?!"

Gokou blinked in confusion, "Watching Vegeta, of course."

Dead silence.

"Gokou." Chichi's voice became louder with ever word she said, "If I have to come up there and drag him back home myself, I will! He's coming home to study for his exams, and that's final!"

With a sigh, Gokou agreed.

----------------

End Chapter Four.

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