A Collection of Short DBZ Stories

The Spaces Between

Scenario: Goku and Vegeta get into an argument that, for once, doesn't involve physical fighting. Angst & some cursing.

They had dinner as one big happy family today; both Briefs and Sons alike. Chichi cooked plenty of food of course and everyone came on time except for Goku and Vegeta. They were only a few minutes late which was quite an accomplishment for the two. The excitement of dinner totallg distracted her, even with Gohan and Videl helping out.

Soon enough the meal was laid out with everyone talking and laughing excitedly for no particular reason. It's nice we can all get along. Chichi thought as she scooped another spoonful of food into her mouth. Even little Pan and Bulla chatted happily in that baby language of theirs. They seem to get bigger everyday. The matriarch of the home mused. Her eyes continued to observe the people she loved. First it was Bulma scolding Trunks and Goten for kicking each other under the table. They were 15 and a lot taller now that their Saiyan growth spurts kicked in. Normally Chichi would join in the scolding, side with her best friend and tell the two that they were far too old to be behaving this way but instead she smiled. Piccolo sat with the rest of them too, he was the big green uncle of the group, looking as stoic as ever. She gave him a few slices of watermelon knowing namekians didn't consume anything except water. At least he won't feel left out..though I doubt Piccolo cares much for anything.

Gohan and Videl sat near the end of the table, the two of them still looking as youthful and in love as ever. Chichi was glad to add a strong woman to the family and the child they created was just as perfect. Her heart filled with warmth at the sight of them until her eyes fell upon Goku and Vegeta. She would've applauded them for being such good teammates, not even she would use the word friends, but something was off between the two this evening.

The ex-prince wore his usual scowl except his black eyes seemed more interested in Goku than the food set before him. Weird. Maybe he's salty cause he lost a match. Her naive eyes observed her husband and witnessed the same emotion. Except he looks pretty stiff. I wonder if it's some mind game. But a part of her brain resisted the idea, it was definitely something more.

"Earth to Chichi! What're you looking at?"

The lady in question turned her head slightly, eyes remained locked on the pair of Saiyans. "Bulma," she half whispered, "do ya notice anything weird between those two? They look tense."

Her blue hair swayed in the direction of interest. It took less than a second for the conclusion to be made. "Yeah, you're right. Usually they'd eat half the meal by now. Maybe it's just—"

A slam against the table made everyone in the room freeze. The flame haired saiyan stood with anger written all over his face. "...don't wanna admit it, huh Kakarot? I can't fucking believe you right now."

The one being yelled at stood with a strange combination of guilt and defensiveness engraved on his normally innocent face. "That happened years ago, Vegeta. Years. You need to stop living in the past."

"It doesn't make a difference if it was 40 some years ago or yesterday. Those were our people. How hard is it to understand damnit?!"

"Yeah and our people murdered and ravaged the land of others. They're all dead now and we're here. So what does it matter?"

Vegeta's fist clenched, it looked like he just got punched in the stomach. "You speak as if the Saiyan race getting blown to smithereens is justice for their crimes but aren't you the one that taught me two wrongs don't make a right?"

Goku winced with eyes glued to the table before him. "Look, I'm all for giving people chances but only if a change happens. The Saiyan race had eons of violence under their belts. None of them were improving so it only makes sense that they got what was coming to them."

"Yeah, we couldn't improve because Frieza was controlling us." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know in your little fantasy world all it takes is one person to speak up, right?" Silence was an indication for yes, all eyes remained on Vegeta and the wives were deciding their place; either to stop the argument that they had no information on, or wait till it reached a dangerous climax. Chichi knew for sure she didn't want her house in ruins so she hoped it wouldn't reach that point. "He was so much stronger than thousands of us combined. You...you have no idea how hard it was for us to stage a revolt. I've seen that lizard bastard kill saiyans while I was under his foot." His voice became eerily soft and distant, not even the Briefs family had heard such a solemn tone. "He literally tore anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way into pieces. We were...afraid, lost, vengeful." For once, the mighty prince looked sad and broken, the look in his eyes said it all as he recalled the trauma of the past. "Did you forget what Frieza said about your father?"

There was a moment of silence as the normally praised warrior averted his eyes in shame. "N-no, but what the hell do you expect me to do? Try and kill someone who is infinitely more powerful than me?"

He ignored that little outburst, having already planned the perfect reply. "I thought you'd remember. We've been inside each other's heads, we've shared the same memories, not even a halfwit like you could forget the sacrifice Bardock made."

"Stop it." The name Bardock always instilled some type of guilt within the younger pure-blood. Vegeta knew of this but never exploited the weakness till now. It was a name Goku revered, or so the prince thought. Not giving a care for the sudden shift in ki and change in attitude, the shorter man continued.

"He was a third class warrior just like you, as well as a father of two boys. He was a murderer, a follow of Frieza,"

"Vegeta don't—" the Earth raised alien grew uncomfortable when met with the truth.

"But he realized how disgusting Frieza was, and on the day we 'got what was coming to us' Bardock fought back against the bastard. He fought when he knew he couldn't win for shit. And you know what his last words were?" The heavy silence ensued, Goku looked more pathetic than ever. His jaw was clenched with tension, he knew there was no stopping Vegeta from his little speech so he merely gave up. The whole room was just as uneasy. "My son lives on." A chill ran down the audience's spines, the spiky haired saiyan turned around, not able to stomach anymore of this pain. "Here you are Kakarot—or should I call you Goku, because right now it seems that you're giving up on your heritage, your race, your saiyan pride for fuck's sake."

"Vegeta I—" why wouldn't the words come? Why did he feel so dirty? I betrayed my people. His fist twitched in anxiousness. I can't believe I went so far to deny the truth. "You're right. I...didn't mean it that way but what do you expect me to do?" It sounded more like a plea than sarcasm.

This new tone pleased Vegeta. Now he finally accepts it. "I expect you not to be Beerus' puppet. The last thing we want is for history to repeat itself." The dejected alien thought about this carefully, allowing the words to swirl through his clouded mind. He had to watch his back from Beerus, no matter how much he wanted to believe that he changed, a destroyer was always a destroyer. Goku placed a hand on the doorknob, he needed some time to think but before a move could be made the ex-prince's words echoed for the last time. "Oh, and don't ever let me hear you talk that way again. Understand?"

The authority in his voice was enough to make even Trunks sit up straight.  Though the teenager wasn't the one being scolded at, it was a tone he was all too familiar with respecting. No one expected Earth's hero to obey a command by the arrogant Vegeta, and yet here he was nodding his head slowly, a certain spark of rage igniting in those usually calm eyes. "Yes." He replied like a soldier and headed out.

A moment or two of silence passed before Bulma broke out into question. The husband remained as stoic as ever, having a lot more on his mind than a nagging wife. "Beerus was behind the saiyan race's extinction the whole time. He ordered Frieza to have us all killed like rats." The expression he wore was confident like that of a king. "And Kakarot and I are getting our revenge."

10.15.19-10.26.19