Crossroads

chapter 19

The night of Raditz's wedding came. It was held at a beautiful mansion the Prince rented out exclusively for the guests. Its location was not in the city, but not too far from it, in case some people decided not to stay. The grounds themselves were surrounded by gardens, which were rare on Planet Vegeta, and there were several outhouses for the close family and friends who planned on staying the night to sleep in, specifically made for couples, aside from the rooms available in the mansion itself to the rest of the guests. There were several amenities, including a pool, hot tubs, a game room, and all the works. Apparently this was a very sought after spot for the wealthy to get married in, and Minala was grateful beyond words for the Prince's thoughtfulness in gifting them with such a destination, not to mention paying for all of the food and decorations, as well as servers and entertainment. It was sure to be a night to remember.

Saiyans and weddings weren't always a thing, but over time it's become more and more popular, and since the custom originally came from Earth, Saiyans tended to follow the general rules accompanying it, up to and including embarrassing games and overdrinking.

Raditz was a little buzzed before he ever said I do, and so was Minala. All of their friends were likewise, as well as their families, including Goku. Even Geredi was a good bit tipsy by the time everyone was making their rounds to congratulate the couple and their parents, and he laughed right alongside of Bardock. It appeared as though the two of them were life-long friends, when they've only known one another for a short seven months. Bardock had a way of doing that to people, though, bringing out the best in them, and causing them to behave in ways they wouldn't ordinarily. It's his best trait.

Even Prince Vegeta couldn't stay his normal grouchy self for long. He spent a fair amount of his time speaking with Raditz and Nappa, and then another good bit of it by Tarble and his date, which he did in fact have, before venturing out by himself a little, walking around casually, and even stopping to speak to several people that Goku didn't think he'd talk to, at least, he'd never seen him speak to them before.

Actually, he's never seen Vegeta willingly go up and speak to anyone; stand around and listen, maybe, join in on the conversation when someone else is there to buffer, sure, but go up to someone and start a conversation? No. It was almost strange to see that he could, when he wanted, behave normally. Although his standoffish nature was still very obvious, he was more relaxed this night than any other.

Goku bit his lip as watched him from afar. He was never alone for long, though, and neither was Vegeta, and he was grateful to be almost constantly surrounded by people he knew and liked, even without trying. Rictor and Halise were there, along with many of his friends from the Guard, and he wasn't feeling as forlorn as he thought he might. As long as others were around he wouldn't be able to afford himself the inexcusable consequence of standing alone long enough to be intercepted by anyone he didn't want to speak with, or, and possibly more precisely, he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts long enough to consider trying to get the attention of a certain someone he knew he shouldn't speak to. Aside from that, Goku was in a splendid mood, and he didn't let the man in question bother him but instead found joy in the overall happiness of the event.

As the night wore on, they ate, and drank, and danced, and then drank some more. Minala did the strange Earth custom of tossing a bouquet to find the next bride to be and Raditz did the one where he finds the garter from under her dress and throws it behind him for the men, much to the delight of the crowd. The only thing it did was give everyone something else to laugh about. They weren't superstitious to believe in such a thing, but they played along for the fun of it. It was about that time that the bride and her bridesmaids changed into something more suitable to dance around in, and all the men started loosening up their ties and taking their jackets off so they could dance, too.