Everybody Loves Vegeta

Chapter 17

"I never knew Namekians made great babysitters." Vegeta gently landed in Mr. Satan's backyard.

Piccolo glared at him from across the lawn. Cradled between his hulking arms sat a tiny baby with a messy mop of black hair. Vegeta laughed; Piccolo barely fit in the wicker lawn chair he rocked back and forth in.

"What're you doing here," Piccolo growled. Baby Pan awoke at the unsettling noise and started crying.

"Just checking up on you." Vegeta walked across the soft grass. "Is that so wrong?"

"You want something. What is it?" He bounced Pan up and down against his chest. "Or did you get bored using Goku as your boy toy and decided to bother me now?"

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. "Don't get it twisted. I love Kakarot."

The frown on Piccolo's face softened. But Vegeta knew the alien was still wary of getting too chummy with the Prince. "Why are you here?"

"I want to spend some time with you."

Piccolo scoffed. "Why should I be around you when I don't have to?"

"Listen. I really came to ask..." Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose. "Would you like to start sparring with me?" Piccolo's strong gaze was hard to read. Vegeta averted his eyes and kicked a tiny pebble in the grass. "Kakarot will be on a journey until next summer. I don't use the Gravity Room anymore. So I need a partner."

Piccolo's mouth warped into a strange shape Vegeta couldn't interpret. Is he thinking about it? Piccolo stared up into the sky. "Why...should I?" he said slowly.

"Oh come on." Vegeta suppressed the urge to point out Piccolo would benefit the most if they sparred together. But the alien would demand he leave if he said that. "You enjoy fighting as much as I do. It'd be fun."

"Fun? With you?" Piccolo blinked. "This isn't some trick to kill me, is it?"

"Heh. You don't know me well, do you?"

Piccolo looked down at Pan. "I can't do it now. Not with the kid."

A shit-eating grin crossed Vegeta's face. "Not that this helps free up time for sparring. But I'd be happy to babysit her sometimes."

Piccolo flew backwards in the chair. "What? Are you insane! Gohan and Videl will kill me if I give you their baby!"

"Unlike you," Vegeta spat, "I've actually had a child. At least let me help her stop crying. You're holding her all wrong."

A purple blush spread across Piccolo's face. Hesitant, he handed Pan off into Vegeta's open arms. Vegeta cradled her, making sure to keep her head elevated. Pan opened her eyes wide to stare up into Vegeta's face. Her crying faded into a soft coo.

"Oh, so she likes you all of a sudden?" Piccolo said.

"Heh." Vegeta tapped her small nose. "Very cute."

"That's nice. But I still can't let you take her without Gohan or Videl's permission."

"Fine. Then let's go somewhere together."

"What?" Piccolo curled his lip into a sneer. "Like where?"

"I don't care. How about a walk? A ritzy neighborhood like this has be interesting, right?" Vegeta asked.

Piccolo got up out of the chair. "You lead the way."

While the premises were sprawling, it was a short walk down the path leading to the main street outside the mansion. Vegeta expected the surrounding neighborhood to be fancy—but he didn't anticipate all of the paparazzi and tourists. A large tour bus careened around the street corner and skidded to a stop in front of them.