Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Bound ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Why do I write one of these every chapter? You'd think people would have figured out by now that I'm not even Japanese, much less do I own DBZ.

Author Notes: This is the final chapter of my fik 'Bound'. I was planning on there being one more chapter after this, but then I decided that that would be ever so slightly mean, since I'd end up leaving off at a very big cliff hanger. I hope everyone enjoys it; it'll probably be long.

Chapter notes:

~: Blah. : ~ = Mind Speech

Chapter Seven:

~: Wake up. Wake up, wake up; wake up! : ~

Vegeta sat at Kakorotto's bedside and tried to suppress the dark, sick feeling that sat like a lead balloon in the bottom of his stomach.

After Kakorotto had passed out, he hadn't woken again. No matter how much Vegeta had ordered, demanded, poked or shook him, Kakorotto had remained stubbornly cataleptic, not even issuing so much as a pain filled grunt.

Later that morning, to Vegeta's carefully hidden relief, Bulma had appeared and, under a fierce glare from the short Saiyan, had flown them quickly to Capsule Corp. It wasn't till they finally arrived that she managed to see Kakorotto's wounds though, and she had disappeared immediately, muttering about getting Gohan and the pouch of Senzu.

Vegeta had ignored her, concentrating instead on settling the taller man into the same bed he'd occupied last time he'd been injured. That had been almost two hours ago.

Bulma still hadn't returned, and Kakorotto hadn't done anything to prove he was still alive, except for his erratic, shallow breathing.

Vegeta watched the slow, almost invisible, rise and fall of the other man's chest and then tried, once again, to reach him in the only way left to him.

~: Wake up, Kakorotto! : ~ He hadn't wanted to use the 'side effects' that the Bond had produced, but he'd run out of choices. Talking and yelling at the man hadn't helped. Deliberately provoking his wounds hadn't either.

Getting into his thoughts, breaking through the muffling blanket that covered the other's mind; that's what Vegeta had to do.

~: Kakorotto! : ~

He wasn't sure why, but he needed to get Kakorotto to respond. Of course, so long as the man was still breathing, the Senzu would heal him, but Vegeta needed too, had to get a response. Something, anything to prove to him that Kakorotto could still hear him; that he was all right.

~: Damnit, Kakorotto! Wake up! …Just…just wake up! : ~

Vegeta moved his eyes up to the unconscious man's face with an expression he would never acknowledge was pleading, and felt a surge of triumph. It had been brief, but Vegeta had seen the other man's eyes flicker.

~: Kakorotto?! : ~

Again, the flicker!

Vegeta moved from his chair to sit on the side of Kakorotto's bed and half leaned over him.

He'd done it! He'd broken through the other's haze of unconsciousness and gotten a response. Kakorotto was all right.

Vegeta could 'feel' him now, too. A gentle pulse in the back of his mind that had been achingly absent while Kakorotto had been stuck in his abnormal sleep.

Quickly, Vegeta lowered his eyelids slightly and lifted his hand to Kakorotto's cheek, concentrating as the touch made the Bond all that much stronger.

There was pain around the edges of what Vegeta could feel, pain and restlessness. And worry. Kakorotto was still worried about Vegeta, his mind battling against itself, grasping towards consciousness despite the pain that lay there, only focusing on the man that, under the circumstances, was the other half of himself.

Vegeta found himself leaning further forwards, his hand caressing down the other man's cheek as he felt these emotions.

~: Kakorotto… Kakorotto I'm… : ~

Vegeta broke off from his reassurance suddenly, snatching his hand away from the other man as if it had been burned and leapt to his feet. A second later, the door burst open and Gohan rocketed into the room, his face a picture of worry as he immediately dived for his father when he saw him and completely ignored Vegeta.

"Dad? Dad!?"

Vegeta was vaguely aware of Bulma coming in after the boy and moving to stand next to him, maybe even speaking, but he ignored her as he watched Gohan with a sharp eye. The boy was fumbling with the ties of the pouch of Senzu, seeming to take forever before he got them undone and scattered them across his palm, quickly selecting the biggest there and pouring the rest back into the bag.

"Dad, you have to eat this. Dad, can you hear me?" The boy pleaded and placed the Senzu into the man's mouth. There was a moment of stillness, then Gohan's expression grew tighter and he leaned forward and tilted Kakorotto's head backwards and gently began to massage the Senzu down his throat.

Vegeta had his jaw clenched so hard it ached as he watched, the process taking far to long in his estimation and the results long in coming. It was a small eternity before Gohan sat back, satisfied, and Kakorotto's body began to knit itself back together. And it wasn't until the man's breathing was smooth and steady and that his eyes were flickering open that Vegeta finally unclenched his jaw and allowed himself to breathe.

"Dad…?"

Kakorotto groaned and lifted a hand to his forehead, "Go…Gohan? What…?"

The man's eyes suddenly flew open and he sat bolt upright, nearly knocking his son to the floor.

"Where's Vegeta?!" he demanded.

"Right here, Idio…" Vegeta cut off his remark with a sound of surprise as he suddenly had an armload of Kakorotto, the man squeezing Vegeta against him so hard he could barely breathe. "Kak…Kakorotto. Let go…Idiot!"

"You're okay." It was almost an inaudible litany. Kakorotto was chanting it under his breath as if it were his lifeline.

Vegeta scowled, "Kakorotto! I said let me go!"

And Kakorotto laughed. Laughed with delight and released the smaller man, a beaming smile on his face.

"Sorry! Guess I got carried away." He quickly turned to his son who had been watching the entire show with an unreadable expression, "Thank you. Both of you! I'm not sure how I got here, but I bet it has something to do with Bulma." Kakorotto grinned again, "And 'thank you' for the Senzu, son."

Without seeming to think about it, Kakorotto brought his son in for a crushing, one armed hug, and Vegeta felt an irrational surge of jealously. Scowling further, he ignored it and levelled his glare on Bulma.

It took her a moment, but she finally realised she was the focus of the Saiyan princes' attention and glared back, "What?"

Vegeta scowled deeper still, "Well don't just stand there woman, make yourself useful. Bring us some food!"

Bulma bristled, but instead of arguing, as Vegeta had half expected, she turned tail and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind her.

Good. It was about time she did something useful, without complaint.

He turned his gaze back to Kakorotto who was rubbing the back of his head and looking at his son sheepishly. Vegeta had obviously just missed something.

"Well that…uhmm… Yeah, well. We thought we'd be alright, I guess."

Gohan didn't look happy. "You should have taken us! That's why we've been training, to help you two! What if you'd died? We didn't know where you'd gone, as soon as you left, Domino's 'Ki' disappeared and we couldn't follow. You're lucky Bulma thought to check the news or else no one would have found you!"

"Go…Gohan!" Kakorotto protested but the boy cut him off.

"We were worried! Doesn't that even bother you? Lately all you've been doing is focusing on Vegeta and Domino, but what about the rest of us, we're here too! Or do you not want our help anymore!?"

Kakorotto's mouth was working silently, "G…Gohan!"

"I'm going to help Bulma." Gohan suddenly stated, and slammed out of the room, leaving the last two occupants in silence, Kakorotto's mouth still working silently as he attempting to think of something to say.

In the end Vegeta said it for him.

"You have allowed that one to spend too much time around your woman."

"I…I… Gohan's never… Have I really…?"

"Kakorotto!" Vegeta snapped and then paused until the man turned to look at him. "It isn't your fault if those weaklings failed to keep up with us and lost the sense of our 'Ki'. And it's not even important, what is important is what happened! Tell me." He demanded.

Kakorotto's expression went from slightly hurt, to pained in an instant.

"What…what happened? Oh… Oh, well…" He paused and turned to look out the window then shrugged a little, as if trying to rid himself of something annoying, "You fell. It knocked us out of the range of the Bond and you passed out. Domino seemed to think it was funny that I managed to keep myself from passing out, so decided to use me as a punching bag. I think he was trying to make an example of me."

Vegeta blinked as Kakorotto suddenly turned back from the window, looking angrier than he'd ever seen him.

"He's not going to get what he was hoping for though, I won't let him play with me like that, and I certainly won't let him hurt you." He flexed his fingers, "I'm stronger now, thanks to him, and he hasn't realised that we have one thing we haven't tried yet." Kakorotto's fist clenched. "Once we're finished here, we're going up the Lookout to see Dende and see if he can get in contact with Kaio-sama. If anything, one of them might have some information on Domino. And if we're lucky they can help us defeat him."

---

Trunks and Goten were bored.

Not just any kind of bored mind you; it was supreme, catatonia inducing, death defying boredom. They had nothing to do at all; at least nothing that they wanted to do.

Everyone was fretting over the disappearance of the two boys' fathers, so they'd been left with the strict instructions of not to go anywhere and had been studiously obeying for at least an hour now. That, of course, was because the one in charge was Chichi, and both boys knew full well not to make her mad.

Being good was beginning to take its toll though. Both boys were fidgeting so badly it almost looked like some form of comical dance, and their eyes kept darting around looking for potential escape points.

It was Trunks who finally ventured to break their boredom induced silence with some words of seeming wisdom.

"They…wouldn't mind if we went and did some training, right? We can stay close and train, cause we need to train. Right?"

Goten nodded rapidly, already darting to his feet at the mere mention of having something to do.

"We have to remember to stay close though." Trunks lectured with a worried look back to where Chichi could be heard lecturing about her 'irresponsible husband' quite clearly.

Goten nodded rapidly again and the two took to the air, determined to 'stay close'. Of course, how close really was close when you were two bored boys who could fly right around the planet in less than an hour?

--

"Ha! You're 'It'!" Goten tagged Trunks hard on the shoulder and then, flipping end-over-end in mid-air, shot off in the opposite direction.

Righting himself from the hard push, Trunks was only a second behind his friend and they shot out across the deserted countryside at lightning speeds, creating breezes passed trees when there was no wind, and knocking rocks down hills when there was apparently no one there to do so, all the while giggling gleefully.

It wasn't until Goten lost his balance and tumbled headlong into a boulder the size of a small house, knocking pieces of the rock in fifty different directions, that the two finally stopped for a breather and sat down on the rubble strewn ground.

"Goten, you're such a klutz." Trunks complained, as he idly kicked small pieces of rock around with his feet. "You're lucky that wasn't someone's house. We'd be in big trouble now if it had have been. Both of our Mum's would be yelling at us, not to mention the owners! And…" Trunks trailed off from his lecture as he realised that Goten wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Goten!"

"Trunks! Look at this!"

Trunks sighed and prepared to have a three-eyed frog, or something of the like, shoved in his face.

"I think it was stuck in the rock!" Goten exclaimed and Trunks blinked, his eyes suddenly going wide at what he saw.

"Goten, is that…?"

"It's the 4-star Dragonball!" The smaller boy crowed triumphantly.

By far, Trunks was quicker on the uptake then his best friend was, and while the particulars of what was going on with Domino hadn't been intimately discussed with him, he still had a good idea of what was going on.

"Go…Goten! We have to take this to Gohan! Our Dad's need to have it!"

Goten blinked for a moment, clutching the ball to his chest. "Do we have too? Can't we find the rest and…"

Trunks jumped up and shook his head, "Come on!"

Reluctantly, Goten stood up too and the boys leapt into the air, heading back to Goten's house on Mt Paozu.

--

"…You're Father gone all night and then Bulma has to show up looking for Gohan and the senzu because he's injured and I look around for you and you're not here!" Chichi paused for breath and Goten and Trunks flinched, almost wishing they hadn't bothered coming back. But how were they to know that while they were gone their father's would be found and that Trunks' mum would show up to take Gohan to them? Now they just needed to get away from Chichi and find out where Gohan had gone.

"Uhmm…where did they go?" Goten asked, completely without tack, but it somehow seemed to derail the ranting woman.

"Go?" Chichi sniffed slightly, "They went to Capsule Corp. of course. Instead of bringing Gokou home, where he could recover, surrounded by his family, Bulma took Gohan there."

Trunks and Goten looked at each other for a moment then nodded.

"We have to go there then!" Goten declared and Chichi's eyes narrowed.

"Oh no you don't, mister. You two are staying right here where I can watch you! You'll not go hooning off again!"

Goten looked crestfallen. "But Mum! We found a Dragonball!" To demonstrate he pulled the orange orb out of where he'd put it safely in his top and waved it at her. Behind Chichi, three sets of previously unconcerned eyes suddenly snapped onto the item in the boy's hand and then moved to Chichi's side.

"Look Goten," Yamucha spoke quickly, "You have to listen to your Mum, right. Why don't you give it to me or Krillin, and we'll take it to Gokou for you."

"Good!" Chichi snapped, "And that'll get you no-good layabouts out of my home!"

Goten clutched the Dragonball in his hands and looked uncertain. Beside him Trunks' eyes narrowed, giving him a sudden, uncanny resemblance to his father.

"We found it, we're going to take it!" Trunks declared and yanked on Goten's shirt, pulling him backwards. "Come on, Goten."

"But Trunks…"

"Come on!" Trunks hadn't missed all the sudden interest once the Dragonball was mentioned. He expected it from Yamucha and Krillin, but not from Deejay. That was just suspicious, and his father had always told him; if something seemed suspicious, then it probably was.

Dragging Goten by the arm, Trunks took off into the air, ignoring Chichi's yelled demands to come back, and put in an extra burst of speed, flying as fast as he could towards Capsule Corp.

--

Trunks was close to tearing his hair out.

"What do you mean they're not here?!" he demanded, jumping from foot-to-foot.

"Just what I said, young man. And you mind your tone with me. Too."

"Sorry, Mum. But we have to find Dad!"

Bulma shifted another piece of paper into a mounting pile on her desk and then levelled a look at her son.

"What is so important that you have to chase him halfway across the planet, and shouldn't you and Goten be up at Mt Paozu with Chichi?"

"Well…yeah… But…but…"

"We found a Dragonball!" Goten exclaimed.

"You what?" Bulma exclaimed at the same time as Trunks yelled; "Goten, stop telling everyone!"

There was a moment of silence.

"They went up to the Lookout." Bulma said.

"Thanks, Mum!" Trunks exclaimed, then grabbed Goten by the back of his shirt and dragged him outside.

----

Dende's expression was a picture of shock once Gokou had finished explaining to him what had been happening down on Earth over the last few months.

Slowly, his shock disappearing enough for him to get his voice working, the young Namekian spoke.

"I…I had no idea… I knew the Dragon had been summoned, but I felt the Z-senchi there and assumed everything was fine. I… Gokou, I'm sorry. Other than gathering the Dragonballs I don't know of any other way to sever the Bond."

Gokou scratched the back of his head. "Well, it was worth a try. Do you know anything about Domino?"

Dende shook his head.

"Of course he doesn't!" Vegeta snapped, "Just hurry up and ask him to contact Kaio-sama."[1]

"Oh! Oh, of course! He'll probably know something." Dende exclaimed and his expression turned to a frown of concentration.

~: You don't need to try so hard, Dende. I was already listening. : ~

"What do you know of Domino?!" Vegeta demanded the instant Kaio-sama had stopped talking and the feeling from the mind voice became cold, as if offended.

"Please?" Gokou added hurriedly, shooting a glare in Vegeta's direction, "We…uhhh…know you're the only one wise enough to know anything…"

~: Well of course I am. : ~ There was a pause, ~: Well I don't know anything about Domino himself, but I know a little about his race. They come from the North Quadrant, so he's a little far from home. I've heard that the people from his Home Planet aren't the nicest of people which I suppose doesn't matter since, a little over five years ago, they and their planet were destroyed. : ~

"Destroyed?" Gokou demanded, "But he got away, he's the soul survivor? Then why is he bothering us?"

~: Well he's probably been searching for a new home Planet. : ~

"But why is he trying to destroy us? We'd willingly let him live here if he were peaceful…" Gokou trailed off frowning.

"Perhaps he doesn't want to concern himself with the insects from this planet." Vegeta said into the silence, "This is a nice planet and would be perfect if the human's were eradicated."

"Vegeta!"

Vegeta glanced at Gokou with one eyebrow raised, "It's a correct assessment, and probably the correct answer."

~: He's probably correct, Gokou. : ~ Kaio-sama said. ~: You won't be able to approach this man peacefully. : ~

~: At the rate things are going you won't even be able to confront him successfully. Especially if this Domino character chooses not to show himself again until your Bond has diminished all the space left to you completely. : ~

Everyone went completely silent as the second mind voice joined the conversation.

"Who…"

~: Forgive me. I was observing the planet and over-heard your conversation. I am Kaioshin. : ~[2]

The mind voice of Kaio-sama spluttered, ~: Kaioshin-sama!? Why are you…?! : ~

"Who's he?" Gokou butted in and suddenly cringed as he felt Kaio-sama's mental 'glare' on him.

~: This is Kaioshin-sama, from the planet of the Kai's! He's much higher up in the afterlife than even I am. Be respectful to him! : ~

"Oh…"

~: I didn't mean to intrude, as I said, I was merely checking on a few things here on Earth and overheard. However I think that our interests coincide slightly. You wish to defeat this Domino character, and I agree. The power from this man is great, and if he is not defeated soon his power will grow. If it grows much more then it will endanger not just your planet, but also your entire universe. I have no wish for the kind of power this man will gather to himself to accidentally awaken… him. : ~

Gokou stared in a vaguely upward direction, confused. "Awaken…him?"

~: It is of no concern to you. However I think I have a means for you to defeat your enemy quickly, before it is to late. The Bond will not interfere with it at all. : ~

"What?" Vegeta snapped out the word impatiently.

~: Among my people there is an item that allows two people to fuse into one being. The fusion is permanent, yet it gives to the new entity a strength far surpassing the two single beings. If Gokou and Vegeta use it, they will become unbeatable. : ~ Kaioshin-sama explained.

"Fuse?" Gokou blinked, "Into one person?"

"Never! I can barely stand to be near him, you want me to become a part of him? Never!!"

"Vegeta…"

"No! I refuse. We'll come up with another way!" Vegeta snapped, his eyes slightly wide.

~: There probably isn't another way, Vegeta. : ~ Kaio-sama cautioned.

"We'll find one!" Vegeta took a step towards the edge of the Lookout and glared at Gokou, "If this is the kind of suggestions we're getting then we'd be better to spend our time training."

Gokou stared after Vegeta helplessly as the shorter Saiyan turned his back and began walking away and then, with a quick look back towards Dende, he rushed to catch up with the other man.

~: Oh dear… Should I not have offered to help? : ~ Kaioshin-sama asked hesitantly.

"I think he's just frustrated." Gohan said from where he'd been, remaining silent during the entire conversation. "The Bond hasn't made things easy for my Father and Vegeta and what you just proposed is almost worse than the Bond is."

~: Yes, but it may be your only choice to defeat Domino. I really urge that someone speak to them - would they far sooner die than defeat their enemy? : ~

Gohan bit his lower lip for a moment then nodded, "I can speak with them. Vegeta is stubborn, but maybe further down the track when he doesn't have any other choice, he'll agree."

~: Then my servant, Kibito, will bring the artefacts to you. : ~

Dende let out a gasp of startlement as a tall, longhaired man appeared suddenly beside him, an expression of supreme disapproval on his face.

"They have only to wear one each for the fusion to take effect." He said stiffly and held out his hand to reveal a pair of earrings shaped like globes.

Gohan nodded slightly and took the earrings, quaking slightly under the man's stern glare. An instant later the man disappeared again.

~: Good luck to you. : ~ Kaioshin-sama said. ~: I hope you are able to defeat your enemy, for everyone's sakes. : ~

And his voice faded from the conversation leaving the rest in silence.

Gohan looked down at his hand and examined the earrings. They seemed fragile, but when he tapped them experimentally it was as if they were made of titanium steel.

"Will you try to give them to Gokou and Vegeta immediately?" Dende asked.

Gohan looked up, "I don't think so. The way Vegeta is, he'd crush them and make them unusable. I'll probably have to wait a few months, till they're within one or two feet of each other, before he'll even think about it."

Dende nodded then looked passed Gohan and blinked.

Gohan turned and then frowned.

"Trunks, Goten. Why are you two up here? You're supposed to be at home."

"We found a Dragonball!"

Gohan and Dende's mouth fell open simultaneously, and Trunks suddenly rounded on his companion, grabbing him by the front of the shirt and shaking him.

"Stop telling everyone!"

"B…but Tr…Trunks… I thou…thought w...we were looking for Go…Gohan!" Goten managed to get out between shakes and Trunks suddenly stopped shaking him.

"Oh yeah…" He suddenly turned around and looked up at Gohan, "Where are our dad's!? We have to show them! I mean, isn't it weird that we found a Dragonball after they were used only three months ago!"

"That means there as only one wish made." Dende said, startled. "If you make only one wish, then you can re-gather the Dragonballs in only three months, instead of having to wait a year." [3]

"We…we have to take this to Dad!" Gohan exclaimed and grabbed Goten by the back of the shirt, pulling him towards the edge of the Lookout, trusting Trunks to follow. "Thanks, Dende!"

----

Gokou and Vegeta had gone home before running off to train, at Gokou's insistence that he couldn't possibly train without having had a good meal.

Vegeta protested, but Gokou was insistent, so back to Mt Paozu they went, Vegeta scowling all the way.

Fusing. Into a single person. Vegeta's scowl grew deeper. How could anybody possibly suggest that, much less to Vegeta? Hadn't they realised that the main goal was to get rid of the infernal Bond, not do it one better!

"Vegeta…" Gokou said the other mans name hesitantly. "If it'll defea…"

"No!" Vegeta bit the word out before the other man could finish, "I won't do that. Fusing with you is the most abhorrent thing anyone could have possibly suggested. It's bad enough that I'm bound to have to be around you like I am, I will not, ever allow myself to become part of you."

Vegeta kept his habitual scowl on his face and ignored the hurt silence that the other man exuded and concentrated on flying the last distance to the Son household.

They landed on the lawn in front of the house in complete silence and then stood still, looking at where Yamucha and Krillin stood on either side of the front door curiously.

"Yamucha. Krillin." Gokou said, frowning a little. Something was wrong.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he looked around, "Where are the children?"

Gokou's head snapped up and he looked around quickly, using his senses to help, "And Chichi."

Yamucha leaned back against the doorframe and smirked, "We think you know where the children are. Chichi though, she's with us."

Vegeta looked from one man, to the next and glared. Both Yamucha and Krillin's eyes had a glittery purple sheen to them. The same shade of Domino's own eyes.

"Domino has taken the woman. Why?"

Krillin crossed his arms over his chest, "We want the Dragonball. We'll take it, in return for her safe return. Domino-sama estimates it shouldn't take you longer than an hour to retrieve it from where you've obviously hidden it, and the children. You have exactly that long to get it and bring it to the island 200 clicks north from west city. If you're late, then all you'll be collecting is a corpse."

Then, with speed Vegeta knew the two men didn't normally possess, they took to the sky and disappeared from sight.

Vegeta took a few steps in the same direction, then stopped and glared back at the other man who hadn't moved the entire time.

"Kakorotto!"

"I…I didn't think he'd go after Chichi. I… This is my fault."

Vegeta growled in exasperation, "Then we should go before he does anything to her."

Gokou suddenly turned around and levelled a glare at him, "We can't just go!" he snapped, "They said Domino wants the Dragonball, we don't have a Dragonball! Why would he even ask for one? If he's made his wishes then the Dragonball's will remain regular stones for a year!"

"Except if he only made one wish." Both Vegeta and Gokou spun and stared at where Gohan landed with Goten and Trunks close behind him.

"Dende said that if Domino only made one wish then the Dragonball's would reappear after only three months. Goten?"

Not sure what exactly was going on, but finally glad to see his father, Goten rushed over to the man and pulled the four-star Dragonball from his top and held it up to him.

"The… four-star ball… Where… did you find this?"

Goten grinned, "I hit a boulder, with my head. The Dragonball was inside it."

Slowly, Gokou crouched down and took the Dragonball from his youngest son and felt the weight of it in his hand. It really was one of the Dragonballs…and Domino knew they had it; had taken Chichi to assure he could get it from them.

Slowly, Gokou looked up at Vegeta and met his gaze; if they could defeat Domino now, then they could get the other six Dragonballs and un-wish the Bond. For a moment, Gokou felt a pang in his chest at the thought. There'd no longer be a reason for Vegeta to stick around, he'd leave again to be alone, whether it was the other side of the Planet, or the other side of the galaxy, and Gokou would go back to being by himself. He'd gotten used to Vegeta being around constantly and now that the possibility of Vegeta leaving was right in front of him, it almost made him leap forward and crush the man to his chest, begging him not to go.

He suppressed it though. In Vegeta's eyes he could see the frantic desire to be rid of the 'curse' and he had no choice but to bow before that wish. Gokou wouldn't, couldn't hurt him. Now he had to give everything he had towards getting them free.

"Gohan." Gokou finally looked away from Vegeta's hungry gaze and up at his son, "Domino took your mother, as ransom for the Dragonball. We're going to go now and get her back."

Gohan had instantly gone pale and Goten had clutched the front of Gokou's shirt.

"Where did they take Mum?!" the small boy demanded and Gokou looked down at him and patted his head.

"It's alright, we're going to get her, now. And if he hurt her…"

"We'll kick his arse!" Trunks yelled and everyone turned to look at him. "Taking someone hostage isn't the right way to fight!" he said, defending himself, and Vegeta nodded slightly, then suddenly looked up.

Above them came a wurring sound and then a plane hurtled down out of the sky, landing with a bump and the cockpit flew open, revealing a slightly bedevilled Bulma.

"Where's Trunks?!" she looked around wildly, then threw herself out of the plane and clutched the boy quickly and glared around, "What on Earth is going on?! I got this ridiculous letter saying that I had better get the Dragonball radar and find you two or else Trunks' safety couldn't be guarantied!"

Gokou blinked and then his expression went hard. "Domino kidnapped Chichi," he stated quietly, "to get this." He held up the four-star Dragonball and then moved to stand on his feet. "We were told to take it 200 clicks North of west city. We don't have much time now; we'd better get going."

Bulma nodded then herded the two children into her plane and jumped into the cockpit, taking off and preparing to follow along behind Gokou, Vegeta and Gohan.

---

200 clicks North of West City, Gokou and Vegeta stood, side-by-side, glaring across the short distance at a very relaxed Domino.

"Where's Chichi?!" Gokou growled the question and Domino smiled.

"With my Servants, of course. I would not worry; Deejay seems to have taken quite a liking to the woman. I doubt she would allow any harm to come to her. Probably."

"Domino…!"

"Do you have the Four-Star Dragonball, Son Gokou? That was the condition of your woman's release, you will not even see her before I have it."

Gokou stood, his head down and his hands fisted at his sides, "Not until I've seen her! Not till I know she's safe! Then I'll get you the Dragonball."

" 'Get me' the Dragonball." Domino tsk-ed, "Please tell me, Son Gokou, that you were smart enough to bring it with you." His eyes moved to stare over Gokou's shoulder for a moment, towards where Gohan, Bulma and the children were hidden, and then he smiled, "Oh good. You did bring it with you. This makes things much simpler. Now I will simply take it."

"We won't let you have it!" Gokou growled and fell into a fighting stance, preparing to fight.

Domino laughed. A clear, delighted sound, that instantly had both Saiyans on their guard.

"I am sorry, Son Gokou, but if you will pay very close attention you will see that you do not have a choice in the matter."

The smile on Domino's face grew broader still as, back near the hidden group, there was the sound of a plane taking flight and then the unmistakable sight of Bulma's airplane, with Bulma in it, flying overhead and disappearing into the hills on the other side of the Island.

Domino chuckled at their shocked expressions. "I win."

Gokou barely registered when a panting Gohan and the two children showed up behind him. He could only stare at Domino.

"Bulma…"

"Has been under my control for some time." Domino finished for him. "At least four years now. She, and her genius, was perfectly positioned for me to gain the best information of you and your little circle of friends. Anything I have ever needed to know, Bulma Briefs has been able to find out for me effortlessly.

"And in your naivety you trusted her completely, allowing me to monitor the progression of your Bond and your training so that I could adjust accordingly. You were doomed to lose from the beginning Son Gokou. I have been, and will continue to be, one. Step. Ahead."

It happened fast. Vegeta leapt forward, growling and determined to wipe the stupid, self-satisfied smirk off of Domino's face, but instead met with a hand grasping him out of mid-air and holding him off the ground for an instant, then a second hand slammed into the side of his face, sending him flying through the air.

For the second time in 24-hours, Vegeta was assaulted by the soul ripped feeling of being too far outside the limits of the Bond. He barely registered hitting the ground, the agony of the Bond ripping into him and tearing at his insides, making his vision go black.

He grit his teeth. He wasn't going to give in to it this time; wasn't going to prove his weakness. Forcing the darkness back from his vision, Vegeta pulled himself to his knees, then staggered to his feet. He could feel Kakorotto, to the right of him, pain filled, desperate. He forced himself to move in that direction.

One step. Two steps. It felt like an eternity before he'd moved far enough towards Kakorotto that the pain began to recede.

Vegeta paused, taking a deep breath before he moved again, then his head snapped up in shock at what he heard now that the throbbing pain wasn't blocking his senses.

"Don't touch my Dad!"

"Goten!"

"No! Trunks, Goten stay out of it! Damnit, dad you have to get up! Dad!"

Vegeta rushed the last steps he needed to get back to Kakorotto's side and grabbed the man by the arm, ignoring the rush of relief that swept through him and pulled the other man to his feet.

"Vegeta?" Kakorotto sobbed the word with relief and clutched onto the smaller man's arm for dear life.

"Damnit, Kakorotto. The children attacked Domino!"

Gokou's head snapped up instantly as he searched the area for the children and gasped. "Damnit!"

"Dad!" Both Vegeta and Gokou's gazes snapped to Gohan and the boy looked apologetic, "I couldn't stop them, they wouldn't listen. Are you alright?"

Gokou nodded numbly, "We have to stop Domino. He'll kill them! They're only kids." He took a slightly unsteady step forwards, still trying to regain his bearings but Gohan put an arm out and held them back.

"But you can't help! Not if you both dissolve when he hits you out of Bond range!"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "You have another suggestion, or would you like us to just stand here and watch?"

"Use the item's Kaioshin-sama offered you and fuse!" Gohan answered promptly.

"No!" Vegeta growled.

"So you'll let the kids die?! Because you're selfish! You can't say it's because you don't like my father; I've watched you both over the last three months and you like each other just fine! You're just selfish and you don't care if we die, so long as you get your way!"

"Gohan!" Gokou bit out, shocked at his son's outburst, "That's enough! This is not the time. If he said no, then we find another way!"

"I'll do it." Vegeta said quietly then glared at the other two who stared at him. "I said I'd do it, now give me the damned thing."

"Ahhh… Oh!" Gohan fumbled in his pocket and pulled the earrings out, holding them out to the two men. "You…you each wear one."

Gokou took one slowly, while Vegeta stared at them for a moment, before snatching it as if it would run away.

"…Vegeta, are you sure?" Gokou asked hesitantly and found himself on the receiving end of a bitter glare.

"Let's hurry this up. The kids won't last much longer." Vegeta changed his glare to Gohan, "Get out of the way. If this works or not, as soon as Domino takes his attention away from the kids, get in there and get them out of the way."

Gohan nodded, then backed away quickly.

"Thank you, Vegeta." Gokou said quietly as he fastened his earring to his right ear.

"Shut up, Kakorotto." Vegeta growled and shoved his earring roughly onto his left ear.

There was a moment of stillness; then Vegeta felt as if his world exploded.

----

Chichi was incensed.

First her husband had gone missing then, when he'd been found, her son had gone missing. Then when he was found, or rather, came home, he had run off again, ignoring her as if she wasn't the one who had raised him from a babe, feed him, clothed him and taught him all his life. And if that wasn't enough, straight after he'd left, Yamucha had grabbed her and, muttering something about holding her for ransom, he, Krillin and Deejay, who she'd thought was her friend, had dragged her off to this kami-forsaken island in the middle of nowhere! Now she was tied up securely, with Deejay watching over her, not four feet from the obvious cause of all this hoop-la, the six other Dragonballs.

Wriggling slightly in her bindings, Chichi glared at Deejay and would have given the girl a good tongue lashing, if the girl hadn't have had the audacity to gag her.

She was just beginning to make the girl feel good and uncomfortable with her glaring when there was the sound of a plane flying close by, then landing a few feet away. Chichi glared at the plane until the driver became apparent, then sighed with relief. Bulma had obviously come to rescue her.

It was with a feeling of complete chagrin that Chichi watched Bulma get out of the plane and then, smugly, place the seventh Dragonball alongside the others. Wasn't the woman supposed to be on Gokou's side? So she had turn-coated as well, just like Krillin and Yamucha. So much for depending on life-long friends.

Chichi's glare became, if possible, ten times as deadly and, seemingly for the first time, Bulma noticed the other woman.

She smiled. "Chichi. I see you get to be here as Domino-sama's final wish is granted. You certainly are lucky; with this wish, Domino-sama will become invincible and there will be nothing that Vegeta, or your precious Gokou can do."

Chichi glared and sincerely wished that she wasn't gagged. If she could just get the piece of material out of her mouth she'd tell that double-crossing harpy exactly where she could shove her damned 'Domino-sama' and his wish. In fact, if she could just get enough leverage, maybe she could kick her. That would certainly knock her down a peg, a good solid kick.

Chichi wiggled around a little, trying to loosen her bindings again, then suddenly stopped as Bulma dropped to the ground by her feet and lay there, unconscious.

"She certainly took her time." Deejay muttered and looked down at Chichi for a moment, then smiled and quickly crouched down to untie Chichi's bindings, babbling the entire time.

"I'm sorry Chichi, I had to go along with everything until this one," a gesture towards Bulma, "showed up with the final Dragonball. I didn't mean to upset you. I mean, I was one of Domino's people, but maybe he didn't change me right cause after a while I didn't really feel like following his orders any more and I know I wasn't supposed to be able to think for myself cause he brainwashes people but I really got to like you, you're really nice, and I didn't want to betray you and so…well... I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Chichi blinked at the other girl as she climbed to her feet, barely really understanding half of what she was talking about, then simply shrugged. "Can we get the Dragonballs to my husband? So he can get rid of that infernal Bond to Vegeta?"

Deejay nodded, "Gohan is on the other side of the island, near where everyone is fighting. We'll get the Dragonball's and go straight there."

--

"Who is that and where is Gokou?!" Chichi demanded the instant she climbed out of Bulma's plane, which she and Deejay had stolen to get across the island.

Gohan ignored the question and, along with Goten, caught the surprised women in a crushing hug.

"Yes, yes. I'm happy to see you two are all right as well, but where is Gokou and who is that out there?" She pointed in the vague direction of the open field where a blonde man, who fit the descriptions she'd heard of Domino perfectly, and a strange man with slightly spiked black hair were facing each other.

Gohan fidgeted, "Uhmm… that is dad, out there… err… And Vegeta." He was beginning to quake under his mothers incredulous glare, "They…used an item that fuses them together, into a single person, so they could become powerful enough to defeat Domino."

Chichi's eyes narrowed, "So he thinks that'll save him from the talking too I'm going to give him when he gets home, does he? Well he won't get out of it that easily. Just as soon as he undoes this fusion thing, he's hearing from me!"

Gohan went silent, staring at the ground, then mumbled, "He can't undo it, it's permanent."

"What?!" Chichi screeched and Gohan winced. "Don't be ridiculous, of course it's not permanent. Now, we," she gestured to where Deejay was hovering near the plane, "brought the Dragonballs so let's get rid of this annoying Bond, right now!"

Gohan nodded rapidly and helped Deejay, only sparing her a brief, curious look, get the Dragonballs from out of the plane and set them on the ground, then, taking a deep breath he raised his arms. "Shenron, Eternal Dragon; I Summon you!"

----

Domino was wary. "What kind of trick is this?" he demanded.

Vegetto smirked and spoke, his voice a curious merging of Vegeta and Gokou's, as if the two men spoke as one, "No trick, Domino. This is your demise."

Domino frowned then laughed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, "What? You expect to beat me simply by merging into a single person? True you no longer have to worry about the effects of my Bond, but that was simply for my own entertainment." His eyes hardened, " However, now I grow weary of this game. It is time to terminate you both."

Vegetto laughed, a short bark of delight that ended with him once again staring at his opponent seriously, "You can try."

Domino growled and then his eyes flicked to the sky above as everything began to go black. Now he smiled.

"No matter what you try to do now, it won't matter! My Servants have summoned the Eternal Dragon and my second wish can finally be realised. Once that wish is made, you will never be able to defeat me."

Vegetto smiled, "Then I'll simply have to defeat you, before the wish is made." And he leapt forward, Domino's smiling face set in his sights.

----

"Make your wish!" The Eternal Dragon demanded, staring down at Gohan.

Gohan nodded, "Eternal Dragon. We wish that the wish you last granted, to Bond one Son Gokou and one Prince Vegeta, be reversed!"

Everyone stood in silence as they waited for the Dragon to respond, then stood in shock when it did so.

"Your wish cannot be granted."

"What?!" Chichi demanded. "Why not!"

"The entities known as Son Gokou and Prince Vegeta no longer exist."

The silence that followed was deathly.

Then; "No…longer exist?" Chichi repeatedly, slowly.

"It…must be because of the fusion." Gohan muttered and Chichi rounded on him.

"Then undo it!"

"They can't undo it, it's permanent!" Gohan protested.

"Then make it un-permanent!" Chichi demanded and turned to the Eternal Dragon. "You can do that, right?"

"That wish can be granted."

"What?!" Gohan exclaimed. "No, you can't…"

"Then grant it!!"

The Dragon's eyes glowed red. "Your wish has been granted."

Gohan stared in horror as the Dragon disappeared and the Dragonballs rose up into the air, then shot off into the distance.

"Oh…no."

----

Vegetto twisted in mid-air and, enjoying the freedom of movement he hadn't felt in a long time, kicked Domino out of the air and followed him downwards, crushing him into the ground as they reached it and then flipped backwards through the rain of debris, then settled his feet on solid ground and waited for Domino to pull himself to his feet.

"Aren't you getting up again, Domino?" The fused man taunted and smirked when the rubble moved slightly as Domino dragged himself from where it had almost trapped him.

Staggering upright, the blond man shook his clothes free of dust and small stones and lifted his bright purple eyes to glare fixedly at the other man. "You have not won yet. You…"

Vegetto growled and darted forwards, catching the man with a firm punch to the stomach, doubling him over.

"I have won." Vegetto's eyes narrowed, "You won't survive this attack."

Taking a few steps backwards, Vegetto lifted his arms in front of him, palms outward and began to gather his 'Ki'.

"Say 'Hello' to Enma for me, Domino. Big Bang Kamehame~Ha!" [4]

As he said the words, the 'Ki' in Vegetto's hands surged outwards, gathering into a giant ball in front of his palms, lightning arc's of energy pouring off it in waves, then he released it.

Three things happened at once.

Vegetto released his 'Ki', blasting Domino with his ultimate move.

Chichi made her wish and the sky lightened as the Eternal Dragon went back into his resting place and the Dragonballs re-dispersed themselves.

And Domino made a last-ditch effort to save himself. Channelling his remaining 'Ki' into a shield to protect himself.

Dust flew up into the air in great billowing clouds and the watchers, from where they were placed all around the island, were forced to cover their mouths and noses, and some of the closer ones even had to turn away and cover their eyes.

Slowly, the waves of dust began to settle and Gohan, ignoring the remaining dust all around him, raced out onto what was left of the field, searching for his father.

It seemed like a short eternity to him before, choking, hacking and attempting not to breathe, he spotted what looked like two forms through the dust-clouds. Racing towards them, Gohan nearly lost his feet twice, slipping and sliding on loose rubble before he finally broke through to the centre of the explosion, where the dust didn't seem to want to fall.

"Dad?!" Gohan shouted the word as he moved into the circle of clear space and raced to the where the man was breathing hard, half leaning on Vegeta who was having a coughing-fit.

"Go…Gohan?" Gokou half wheezed and blinked up at his son.

"Where…where's Domino?" Gohan asked and glanced around, still on guard in case the man were about to leap out of the settling dust.

"Got 'im." Vegeta managed through his coughing-fit and pushed himself into a more up-right position but still leaning hard against Gokou's shoulder. "He tried to protect himself, but even with the fusion dissolving, we managed to put enough 'Ki' into the blast to kill him. You won't even find his hair band."

"How…how come we're separate?" Gokou asked quietly, and Gohan looked embarrassed.

"Uhmm… That's because Mum made a wish with the Dragon…"

"What?!" The exclamation came from both men and Gohan stepped back slightly.

"Deejay helped mum get away from Domino and brought the Dragonballs with her. We tried to undo the Bond, but we couldn't because you'd fused…and so mum undid the fusion. Is…is the Bond still… there?"

Vegeta let out a humourless laugh and Gokou nodded slightly, "It's…shortened slightly, though."

Gohan's eyes went wide. "It…it what?"

Vegeta laughed again and looked up at Gohan, his expression set in a humourless half-smile, "There is no space anymore. You think we're glued to each other like this because we want to be?"

"No… no space?"

"None." Gokou confirmed, "We'll have to wait again…for the Dragon. I guess."

"What…about the fusion. Can't you use the earrings again?"

"They were destroyed," Gokou explained, "when the fusion dissolved."

"Oh…no."

" 'Oh, no' indeed…" Vegeta said quietly, bitterly and ignored where Gokou gripped his wrist reassuringly.

"Gokou!" The three looked up, surprised to see the dust had finally managed to settle and that Chichi was marching resolutely towards them.

Vegeta groaned, his hand lifting to rub at his forehead. "Great, just what I don't need right now."

"Vegeta…" Gokou protested and Vegeta turned away slightly.

"She's your wife, deal with her and keep her quiet."

Gokou flinched, as if the other man had thrown a particularly painful insult at him, then turned his gaze towards the woman who was baring down on them.

"Chichi…"

The man was cut off immediately, "Gokou! Do you know what I've been through because of this entire Bond thing!? First you go missing, Goten goes missing and Gohan is dragged away, then I'm kidnapped by your delinquent friends and held hostage so that some madman can try and get the Dragonballs to take over the world. Then I find out that you're stuck to him," she gestured dismissively at Vegeta, "through the Bond because you were irresponsible enough to start playing around with strange magical items and we couldn't un-wish it. You're just lucky I was around, or you'd be fused to that man forever!"

Gokou's expression had turned to a frown as the woman ranted, and by the end of it he was almost scowling. "Chichi." He said calmly when the woman paused for breath. "Because you used that wish to dissolve our fusion, we almost couldn't beat Domino, and we're under the influence of the Bond again, except now there isn't the luxury of having 10-feet of distance between us. It's all gone now, Chichi. We may as well be fused."

"What?" Chichi demanded, "Shouldn't the Bond have disappeared when Domino died?!"

"A wish isn't dependant on the one who wished it, Chichi. You know that. I think… We think the fusion ate up our space. We have to be touching at all times now, Chichi."

"You mean I have to keep allowing that man to live in my house?!" Chichi almost screamed and glared at Vegeta's turned, apparently oblivious back.

Gokou stiffened and his eyes narrowed, "Of course not, Chichi. We'll go somewhere else, away from you and your precious house. It'll be better that way, anyway."

"Better? What do you mean 'better' ?"

"He means," Vegeta finally turned around and glared at the woman, "away from your endless hours of harpy screeching."

"Vegeta, don't." Gokou lifted a hand to Vegeta's shoulder and then stood up, forcing Vegeta to stand with him.

"This isn't the time for this." He looked at Deejay for a moment, "Could you take Chichi and the kids home, please. And Gohan, could you go look for Bulma. I think Domino's influence will be coming off of people now he's gone."

Chichi scowled, mainly at Vegeta, but allowed Deejay to pull her away, back to where Bulma's stolen plane waited, Goten and Trunks hesitantly following behind them, and Gohan left in search of Bulma, and anyone else he knew.

For a moment, Gokou and Vegeta stood in silence, listening to the sounds of the Island slowly coming back to life with bird and ocean sounds. In the distance the sound of a plane taking off signalled that Chichi and the kids were on their way home.

"And what are we supposed to do now?" Vegeta asked finally, breaking the silence.

"What are we supposed to do? We live for another year, as best we can, and hope that Shenron can remove the Bond when the time comes."

"And what if he can't?" Vegeta demanded and glared up at the other man, his eyes narrowed as he examined Gokou's every slight movement.

Gokou closed his eyes for a moment in thought and then opened them to look at Vegeta and grinned, putting his hand behind his head, "Then I guess we're stuck like this forever."

A knot of tension that had been curled up in the base of Vegeta's stomach from the moment that the fusion had dissolved suddenly decided to release and the Saiyan prince almost smiled, catching it at the last minute he turned it into an almost affectionate smirk.

"Idiot." He muttered and rested the hand, from the arm that the other man wasn't clutching tightly by the wrist, on his hip. "So, we're essentially stuck like this forever." He murmured half to himself. Maybe the idea wasn't half as bad as he'd imagined it was. Being fused with Kakorotto, even if it had been for barely half an hour, Vegeta had learnt, beyond a shadow of a doubt how the other man felt about him. And maybe, just maybe he felt it back. That wasn't to say he'd say anything of course, or even act differently. No…because Kakorotto, the insufferable idiot, had duties. Family, friends; none of which would ever accept Vegeta any more than they already did, which was to say; they tolerated him because Kakorotto said so.

And then he felt it. Vegeta had almost forgotten, in all the rapid events that had been happening lately, that because of the Bond, Kakorotto could project his thoughts and share them with the other man; and he was doing so now. He was using the ability to do his talking for him. Vegeta felt friendship, protectiveness, possessiveness and …the other he was hesitant to even think. Had the other man taken leave of his senses? Had he forgotten about his family and friends, they would never accept the emotion that Kakorotto was directing at Vegeta at that moment.

And what did he think Vegeta's reaction would be; to welcome him with open arms? He was still a prince and Kakorotto was still a third Class moron. He couldn't expect Vegeta too… damnit, he could. Just as Vegeta had been fused to Kakorotto, Kakorotto had been fused to Vegeta. He would know all about the way Vegeta had been struggling inside for the last few weeks'…months… Kakorotto would know how the feelings of… feelings of… how those feelings had been working their way into Vegeta's blood, into his soul and forever corrupting him.

He could feel Kakorotto's eyes on him, waiting patiently for an answer. No, not for an answer - but for a specific answer. Kakorotto, damn the man, knew exactly what Vegeta's answer would be, and they both knew it. Kakorotto was in love with the smaller Saiyan and Vegeta felt the same thing back.

"Damnit!" Vegeta cursed, finally relenting and glaring up at the other man, "I'm not saying it!"

And Kakorotto smiled. Smiled as if a thousand suns had risen at once, making Vegeta's chest uncomfortably tight, and then grabbed him into a crushing hug.

"Alright. Fine!" Vegeta growled and tried to push the other man away, his eyes darting around for prying eyes, even though he couldn't sense anybody nearby, "You can let go n…"

Vegeta trailed off suddenly as he felt something deep in his chest lurch slightly, then simply dissipate, as if it had never been there. It took him an instant to figure out what it was, but he suddenly realised he could no longer feel the presence that said 'Kakorotto' in the back of his brain.

A quick look up at the other man revealed that he had felt it too, and was equally missing a familiar sense in the back of his mind. Vegeta blinked then suddenly shoved the other man from him, tensing as their skin separated from one another expecting to be assaulted by pain…

And felt nothing.

"Kakorotto…" Vegeta's startled eyes darted up to meet the other mans, "Does…does it hurt?"

Kakorotto shook his head and Vegeta took an experimental step backwards, waiting.

The other man shook his head again and Vegeta paused then held up a hand, "Five steps back, Kakorotto. Take them."

The other man nodded and, moving together, they both took five steps backwards, each step expecting the pain to come back to assault at least one of them. It never came.

"The…Bond. It's gone?" Vegeta couldn't help but ask the question hesitantly, being bound with an invisible chain for over three months almost making him forget what it had been like without it.

With an unreadable expression on his face, Kakorotto walked back towards him and nodded slowly, "I…think it is gone." He said quietly, his eyes examining the first genuine smile he'd ever seen on the other mans face.

Vegeta didn't even notice the intense look, his mind running over the moment the Bond released over and over, looking for the clues that would tell him why of all the times it could have disappeared, it had done so now.

He reluctantly realised that it didn't take a genius to figure out what had caused the Bond to dissipate, but it did take him a few moments longer to figure out why.

"Hatred." Vegeta muttered the word then looked up at the other man and met his blank look. "Domino delighted in watching the Bond pull us closer and watching us struggle more frantically to get free each month. The more we hated the Bond, and the more I hated you, the stronger the Bond would become."

For once the other man seemed to grasp the concept quickly, "But…because we just did the opposite, it dissolved instead of growing stronger. He set a loophole he thought we'd never figure out for his own amusement."

"It was a good notion." Vegeta mused, "It kept us occupied in more ways than one and by creating a weakness he could control he prevented there from being a weakness he couldn't control."

Gokou grinned, "But he didn't count on us fa…not hating each other." At a glare from Vegeta, the taller man neatly sidestepped what he was about to say, his grin only getting wider, then it faltered slightly. "You still…don't hate me…right? Even though the Bond is gone?"

Vegeta tensed slightly and he realised how easy it would be right now to slip out of it, to say it was all because of the Bond and to leave, going back to his impersonal shell and being the silent Saiyan Prince; like he should be. Then he lifted his eyes and saw the look on the other mans face. The part of him that reminded himself a hundred times a day that he was a Saiyan Elite screamed at him to take that easy way out, to sneer and then walk away. But another part of him, the part that had come to the surface with his close association with the other Saiyan, that he had moments before given in too and accepted, it pointed to the hopeful eyes that were barely holding back their fear of rejection, the slightly desperate expression that was trying to stay neutral; and he realised he couldn't do it. Couldn't walk away, as if he hadn't accepted what he felt. It was simply to late. Perhaps it would have happened eventually anyway, without Domino to push it along. And perhaps it might hurt some people, but that hurt wouldn't last for long, and in the end, two people who hadn't even realised how lonely they were, would be very happy.

"I thought I said I wasn't going to say it. Idiot." Vegeta turned away slightly at the last word, which came out slightly more affectionately then he had intended, but he still found himself engulfed in another crushing embrace. This time he simply sighed and leaned back into it, letting his eyes close slightly.

Yes, it wouldn't be easy at first, but he supposed… he could get used to this.

/End Chapter

/End Bound

[1] Kaio-sama = King Kai

[2] Kaioshin-sama = Supreme Kai

[3] *sob* yes, I know it's actually Four months, but I messed my times up a little so had to change it

[4] Enma = King Yama. Big Bang Kamehamaha = A move SSJ4 Gogeta uses in DBGT. -_- I can't remember if Vegetto ever uses it. But I always loved it so here it is.

End Bound Author Notes: x_X OMG, I've been writing all day. And wow, it was long, longer than I expected, before I added these end author notes my word count was 10346. *sags into chair* But now it's done. For a while there (mainly about 4 hours ago) I thought this story would never end but it has. I'm Proud and I'm jittery. I've never completed a fik before, so I'm nervous about the outcome, so PLEASE remember to review!

'Thank you's go out to everyone who stuck with the fik, you know who you are ^_~ (I won't list you all since I'll end up going on forever.)

Uhmm… Oh, and for the interests of a 'poll' my sister is interested in, if anybody was reading this chapter and suddenly got so interested they accidentally spilt food and/or drink into their laps, please mention it in a review. She says it's scarily easy to do when the fik is interesting enough, yet I've never managed to do it. ^_^.

Anyway! R&R! This is Vanyel-san signing out for the last time for Bound.