Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unlikely Bond ❯ Halfway ( Chapter 42 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters! If I did, the anime would never end and GT would have never happened!

Story notes: This takes place ten years after the Buu saga. The only differences I can think of is that the whole thing with the world tournament in the last episode never happened and Goku didn't leave to train Uub. I wouldn't count on anything from the movies being part of this story's time line either, 'cause I haven't seen them all and they usually don't fit into the show's time line anyway. Especially that Broly crap. Vegeta cried through, like, that whole movie! That certainly didn't happen in this story....but, that's a different rant altogether. Hope you enjoy!

PLEASE heed warning in story description!! If you missed it, this story is not for children! It is also not for people who do not like stories that contain elements of violence, strong language, adult situations, references to sex and sexual activity between men and women, and men and other men. Oh, and fictional alien men having babies...'cause that's a'happen' here folks...

To my wonderful, wonderful beta-reader, Rowina: Thank you, thank you....thank you... ^-^


After nearly an hour of selecting, trying on and paying for clothing, Goku, Goten and Trunks left the store. Mal had gave them a jubilant ‘Thank you for shopping at Manternity!’ and wished Goku and his family well. Goten no longer had to contain his laughter when they returned to the car.

“Man!” he exclaimed, dropping into the back seat. “Was that a bizarre turn of events, or what!?”

Trunks merely smiled.

“Not as bizarre as most, in this case,” Goku replied. Goten shrugged.

“But that guy...man...”

“He was very helpful and...enthusiastic,” Trunks commented, “and you can’t deny that.”

“Oh, I’m not denying it,” Goten said, sitting forward until his father gently admonished him to put on his seat belt. He knew he was only humoring Chi Chi by saying that, since if the Saiyans were in an accident, even walking away unscathed, the first thing out of her mouth would be, ‘Were you wearing a seat belt?’. Goten continued. “I’m just saying, he was a little strange...”

“I think I go to the university with his son,” Trunks added. “I think that may be why he seemed familiar.”

“Oh man, I would drop dead if I had to work in a store called…” He paused for a moment to add mystical hand movements as he finished breathily, “Man-ternity!”

The boys laughed.

Goku silently watched out the window as they drove back to where he and Goten parked the car. If Goten didn’t want to be seen working in a man’s baby store, how must he feel about being seen with him?

Goku thanked Trunks again once they reached his car, and he and Goten headed home. Goku was silent for most of the ride, and Goten watched him, concerned.

“You okay, Dad?” he asked.

“Hm?” Goku asked, started out of his thought. “Oh...yeah...fine. Just a bit tired.”

“Yeah, we shopped pretty hard.” The teen examined his watch. “A little over two hours. You must be starved.”

Goku agreed, then returned to his silent contemplation.

Chi Chi had the door opened before they were halfway to the house and ushered them inside.

“You wouldn’t believe the place we found, Mom!” Goten spoke excitedly. “It was a blast! But they had nice things that Dad liked.”

“Really...” Chi Chi commented, looking at the bags Goten set by the door. She reached into one of the bags and removed from within it a long register receipt. Her eyes widened in disbelief at the total zeni on the bottom of the page. “G..Goku!” she stammered. “How...How did you pay for this?!”

Goku shrugged as he hung up his coat and started toward the kitchen.

“Bulma paid for it.”

Chi Chi turned to her son. Goten nodded.

“She said it was the least they could do, right now...that’s what Trunks said.”

“Well, that’s...” Chi Chi was momentarily at a loss for words. “...that’s...very nice...I mean, and only proper I should say..after all that Goku is going through. I should say it is the least they could do.”

Mother and son joined Goku in the kitchen, and Chi Chi began to serve the warm, hearty meal she had prepared.

“Of course, I’ll have to sew tail holes in all of the pants,” she continued as she placed a basket of steaming hot rolls on the table. “Don’t you have to see Bulma today, dear?”

Goku nodded absently as he filled his mouth without thinking.

“It won’t take me but a moment to do, before you go. And then you can come home, and we will have a nice, quiet dinner.”

Goku shook his head, swallowing hard so he could speak.

“I might be late,” he explained. “I’m training with Vegeta.”

Chi Chi stared at him a moment as though she hadn’t heard him correctly.

“Goku,” she tried to reason, “I understand you are Saiyan. But you are getting too far along to continue such strenuous physical activity.”

“I’m fine, really,” he began before she cut him off.

“Goku, you have to think of the baby.”

Goku clamped his mouth shut. He did think about the baby. A lot. It was getting hard to think about anything else.

He looked from his wife to his son. Goten had his face down turned toward his plate and was eating quietly.

There was a firm pressing in Goku’s abdomen as the baby moved, as if it either knew it was being spoken of or it was trying to get him to continue his meal.

Without another word, he lifted his fork to his mouth.


Bulma sat idly in the lobby of Capsule Corp. waiting for Goku. He had called her moments before, asking if he could meet her in the lab instead of at her home first, as they normally did. She didn’t question him, as he was probably in a hurry to get on to training, and so now she sat waiting.

She didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes of her arrival, Goku entered the lobby.

Bulma’s face lit up when she saw him.

“Hi! How are you today?” she greeted. “Trunks said you had fun shopping.”

Goku kept his contrary thoughts to himself.

“I’m fine. Thank you very much for the clothes.”

Bulma dismissed his words with a wave of her hand.

“Think nothing of it!” She linked her arm through his and led him back to the lab. “It’s our pleasure.”

When they entered the lab, Daikkon greeted them both.

“Good afternoon,” he spoke. “I hope you are well today, Mr. Goku.”

“As well as can be expected, I guess,” he replied, shrugging off his coat.

“You tell us,” Daikkon suggested, coming to stand beside the taller Saiyan who was now sitting on the exam table. Goku shrugged.

“I feel fine, I guess...”

Bulma furrowed her brow, a bit concerned by his answer.

“Any pain or tenderness?” she asked, as she examined his ankles and calves for swelling.

“No,” he stated plainly. “I feel movement a lot now.” He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his mouth when he spoke. “Mostly at night, though...or when I’m trying to take a nap...”

“Been there!” Bulma laughed. “Just wait until he gets big enough to really get moving! Which reminds me...” She picked up the chart on which she had been keeping her notes from his exams. “From our conservative estimates, mind you, you are twenty two weeks. That’s halfway there.”

“Twenty two, huh,” he mused, rubbing his belly. “They went pretty fast...” He looked between Bulma and Daikkon a bit uneasily before he asked. “How much...bigger...do you think I will get?”

Bulma turned to Daikkon expectantly. The younger Saiyan blinked.

“Well...I would say the average Saiyan infant weighs about nine pounds. So, when you consider other weight bearing factors such as fat, fluids, blood and tissue volume, and the fact that you have already gained about twenty pounds...” He sighed. “I would not be surprised if you gained another twenty or more by the time you deliver.”

Goku grimaced as he imagined another twenty pounds of nothing but stomach added to his build.

“Well,” Bulma began, reassuringly, “it’s halfway over. Before you know it, you will have a beautiful little baby, and you will probably lose the weight like it was nothing!”

Goku shrugged. It wasn't the number of pounds that bothered him so much as his expanding waistline hampering his freedom of movement. He leaned back on his palms and stared at his belly.

“Twenty-two weeks...” he mumbled, mostly to himself.

“I’ve read over Daikkon’s notes several times to prepare for the birth,” Bulma told him, pulling a chair up to the table.

“I only hope they are complete,” the younger man spoke. “ I have tried to recall as much as possible.

Goku looked from Bulma to Daikkon and back.

“Are...you going to deliver the baby, Bulma?” he asked uneasily.

“Why not?” she asked. “I went to medical school! I have a doctorate in medicine...er...even though I have never practiced it...”

“I will be there to assist,” Daikkon added, also trying to help ease Goku’s nerves. “..Although...I’ve only ever assisted in...female births...”

Goku gave a long sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

“Goku,” Bulma spoke, standing and placing a hand on his thigh. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He nodded.

“I know.”

But he didn’t like the feeling of being helpless.

“So, from what I’ve read, and from what Daikkon elaborated on,” Bulma explained, “once labor has begun and the incision is made, the uterine-like sac the baby is in contracts just like a woman's would, to push the baby out.”

Goku scrunched up his face in disgust, especially when Bulma began to make hand motions that made it look as though she were squeezing invisible oranges.

“Won’t I bleed to death?” he asked, concerned. Daikkon shook his head.

“With the way the tissue at the mouth of the macogestum thins out during the beginning of labor, there are far too few blood vessels for any significant blood loss.” Goku didn’t look comforted by that information.

“I can teach you some breathing techniques that will help you ...manage the pain, if you need to.”

Both Daikkon and Goku watched with interest as she demonstrated the Lamaze style breathing.

“That is reminiscent of the way most animals pant during labor,” Daikkon observed. Bulma shrugged.

“Yeah...is that what Saiyans do, too?”

Daikkon answered flatly.

“No. Saiyan women usually scream and growl.” He looked to Goku. “I thought that was universal.” Goku gave a slow nod, remembering Gohan’s birth.

“Well, anyway,” Bulma interrupted, a bit irritated, “you went with Chi Chi to birthing classes, right? You should know this.”

Goku nodded again, wearily.

“Yes.” He didn’t want to admit he hadn’t paid attention. Not to mention that was well over twenty years ago. And ultimately, Chi Chi had taken the screaming and growling route.

Bulma reached over and pressed her hand against Goku’s protruding abdomen.

“But I’m sure this little Saiyan won’t be too much for you,” she grinned.

“Especially if I keep up my strength!” Goku added. “So, if we’re through here...I have to meet with Vegeta.”

“Almost,” Bulma told him. She glanced over his chart before lifting her eyes back to him. “Do you have any questions or concerns this month?”

Goku gave the question some thought. He didn’t really, he believed. He really wasn’t in the mood to discuss babies. Actually...the only person he wanted to talk about the baby with was the one person who refused to be a part of that kind of conversation.

“No,” he replied slowly. “I’m good.”

Bulma watched Goku with interest as he stared absently down at himself. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind. He always seemed to take everything in stride and with a cheerful attitude...Did he still feel that way?

“It’s halfway over, sweetheart,” she said quietly. Goku looked up at her and appeared confused a moment before he smiled.

“Yeah,” he replied, but inside he could only think: ‘And then it will just be the beginning...’


Vegeta stood waiting for Goku in the usual place: an open field flanked on one side by a large lake and on the other by an expansive range of mountains. He was near the cave where Goku preferred to spend their breaks, since it was structured so that the inside was consistently an even, cool temperature regardless of weather.

The prince had his arms crossed over his chest, staring blankly out at the frozen lake. Kakkarot was with Bulma right now, but would be heading this way soon. He took a deep breath and exhaled it in a sigh.

He didn’t know how long he could do this. With each passing training session, he felt himself becoming less offended by the other Saiyan’s unSaiyan ways. He could understand his desire to protect the idiot or his compulsion to hunt for food when they took a break...but what he couldn’t understand was his lack of contempt for Kakkarot and everything that he had hated before.

He was afraid that he would just have to chalk it up to insanity.

It was possible, once the child was born and Kakkarot’s hormones and scents returned to normal, Vegeta’s attitude toward him would, too. But he actually found himself wondering, ‘What if it didn’t?’. What if, when the second act of this tragedy came to a close, they could actually become...friends?

Vegeta gave a snort of amusement that he had even entertained the idea for a fraction of a second. He leaned back to rest against the mountain side. He didn’t even know why the idea was worth debating with himself. He had extended his trust to one person: Bulma. And she fulfilled his every need. She was his friend, his lover, his confidant...when he could let himself confide in her. She understood him. She understood everything...or at least she tried to.

He released another exasperated sigh. Becoming close to one person was enough work and a long process. He didn’t need two friends.

He reprimanded himself for dwelling so long on the idea. And now Kakkarot was heading his way.

“Hey, Vegeta,” the younger Saiyan greeted jovially as he landed, coat unzipped and tail swinging idly behind him.

Vegeta grimaced.

“Sorry I’m late,” Goku continued. “Bulma had lots of extra questions today. I’m halfway through, ya know it?” Goku had been eager to get to their meeting place to begin sparring. Now that he was in the prince’s presence, however, he wanted to share his information. “She says the baby weighs around one to two pounds even though I’ve gained nineteen and a half! And it has hair, even on its tail! And it can hear now...and it will begin to know us by our voices...”

He was highly aware of Vegeta’s unwavering gaze. Finding it a little unnerving, he continued to speak to fill the silence.

Vegeta stared at Goku as he spoke, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the taller man. Even if that damn swinging tail hadn't been spreading his scent, announcing to all Saiyans that he was pregnant, his body no longer could be mistaken for just another overweight human. There was a clear definition to the shape of his belly.

Vegeta felt a chill up his spine.

Goku noticed the way Vegeta’s tail pulled tighter to his waist, and his words began to trail off.

“...so...” he spoke quietly. “...ya ready to spar?”

Vegeta shook his head and pushed away from the mountainside.

“No, Kakkarot,” he spoke, to Goku’s disbelief. “I can’t spar with you anymore.”

Goku’s mouth dropped open.

“But...but why?” he asked.

Vegeta gave a wry smirk as he answered.

“Because you’re pregnant!” he stated. “I cannot spar with a pregnant man!”

Goku’s eyes grew wide, and his voice seemed a bit higher in pitch as he retorted.

“I’ve been pregnant for twenty-two weeks! And now you have a problem with it??!” he asked, color and heat rushing to his face.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and crossed his arms again.

“Well, now you look pregnant...”

Indignantly, Goku zipped up his parka.

“How ‘bout now?” he asked.

Vegeta shook his head but could not meet Goku’s eyes. Goku found himself becoming a bit angry.

He felt as though he were being punished.

“Look, Vegeta,” he began, “I can still fight. I know you think these ‘low level’ fights are a waste of your time, but it’s the best I can do!” He was even more irritated that Vegeta wouldn’t look at him. “Vegeta!” he snapped.

Vegeta turned to him, a look of extreme annoyance on his face.

“I said I wasn’t fighting with you anymore!” the prince shouted. “I don’t care how mad that makes you!”

“If I can still fight, I don’t see what your problem is!” Goku railed back. “And I can still fight!” Exasperation was creeping into his tone.

“It’s not a challenge!” Vegeta explained harshly.

“It doesn’t have to be challenging to be exercise!” Goku shot back.

Vegeta clenched his hands into fists. He didn’t want to admit to the buffoon that it grew harder and harder each day for him to force his body to attack someone whom the very same body strived to protect.

“I said no!” he raged.

Goku almost smiled. Now Vegeta was getting angry.

Good.

“What’s the matter, Vegeta?” he asked coyly. “Are you afraid of being beaten by a pregnant man?”

Vegeta made a guttural sound of contempt in his throat.

“Huh?” Goku goaded him, reaching out and thumping the prince on the arm with the side of his fist.

Vegeta scowled.

“Stop it!”

Goku raised an eyebrow.

“Make me.”

Vegeta remained motionless, still scowling at the third class.

Goku reached out again. Vegeta made a motion to slap his hand away, but Goku faked him out and punch the opposite arm this time.

Vegeta took a deep breath.

“Stop it,” he repeated.

Goku crouched down and motioned Vegeta forward.

“Make. Me.”

Vegeta turned his face away and looked up at the sky, ignoring Goku’s antagonism.

Goku reached out to tap him again, but Vegeta’s hand shot out and grabbed him around the wrist. Goku grinned, pulling his arm in sharply, side stepping past the startled prince and pulling him into a headlock.

“Wanna fight me now?” he asked.

Vegeta made a sharp huffing noise, but remained motionless for a moment. His mind raced as he tried to figure out the best way of extracting himself from the larger man’s grasp while causing the least amount of harm.

This was a first for him.

“Kakkarot, I am going to give you three seconds to let go of me,” he growled.

“Or you’ll what?” Goku inquired, tightening his grip on Vegeta’s throat.

Vegeta closed his fingers around Goku’s wrist and used his other hand to apply pressure just below the younger man’s elbow. Goku grunted, fighting against the stinging hum that rushed down the nerve of his arm and forced him to loosen his hold. He dug his heels into the earth, using his free hand to physically hold his arm in place around the prince’s neck. He wasn’t going to lose this battle...without a fight.

Vegeta twisted his leg behind Goku’s and pressed his knee against the other’s, causing Goku’s leg to bend. Goku’s tail lashed out to counter-balance his body’s shift in weight. The sable appendage wound its way around the closest thing for support. Vegeta’s thigh.

Vegeta’s eyes grew wide, and he jerked his leg away. The disturbance caused both Saiyans to tumble unceremoniously to the ground.

“Vegeta!”

Goku’s exclamation halted the prince’s hurried motion to stand.

Goku grabbed Vegeta’s hand and pressed it against the underside of his belly. For a moment, the two were motionless.

“Can ya feel that?” Goku asked quietly. “He’s moving.”

Vegeta pulled his hand away and stood.

Goku sighed, staring up into the blue sky. The snow beneath him began to melt into his clothing, and so he stood as well.

“I will continue to assist you in meditation and ki control,” Vegeta spoke evenly, his back turned. “But I will no longer spar with you....it is pointless.”

Goku nodded sullenly. Vegeta continued.

“That is a job that is more appropriate for one of your oth-...one of your friends.” Vegeta looked over his shoulder at Goku, who stood staring at the ground, a look of extreme disappointment on his face. Vegeta sighed. “Good day, Kakkarot. We will meet tomorrow.”

“Vegeta,” Goku said, stopping the older Saiyan before he could retreat. Vegeta paused, but did not turn. “Did...did you feel it?”

Vegeta was silent for a long moment before answering.

“I felt nothing...”

A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I had a little lull in the writing fires, but it has since rekindled itself a bit. I hope that everyone is still reading and enjoying this story. Thank you so much to everyone who reviews my little (okay, not so little...^-^) fic and let's me know what you think. I can only hope that I will continue to be true to the core of this story, but entertain you with little side tales along the way. *HUGS to you all* -B° P.S. I hope ya'll liked Mal, he is insisting on being in at least one more scene! : )