Vindicated

Sorry it took so long to update but I have a new job and it's crazy but I managed to post this, thankfully. I don't know when I'll update but I know it won't be too soon so please, once again bare with me. Thanks.

THIS FIC IS ON HIATUS UNTIL I CAN UPDATE AGAIN THANKS TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN PATIENT AND CONTINUE TO BE.


Vindicated Chapter 6:

One day Kakarot just left.

His Ki actually got up and moved somewhere else. Somewhere far.

Vegeta couldn’t help but wonder, even as he sat across the table from his wife, just where his rival had gone to. It had been days and the younger man hadn’t been back to his home. The Prince was curious. It itched at the back of his mind what the other might be doing. He knew he shouldn’t have even been thinking about it but…it was hard not to.

“I thought you would stop thinking about him.” Her voice was small and apprehensive but he knew she was only calling his betrayal. He said he wouldn’t. Of course, he lied. But then she knew that. Didn’t hurt to try.

Vegeta sighed under his breath and looked up from the plate of food he had been staring at for a while. He smirked.


“Don’t worry about it woman, he won’t be bothering us again.” Another lie, but he had to think he would get over him or he never would. He had to. It was obvious that Kakarot had moved on and gone someplace else. Vegeta didn’t blame him, after all, he had come crawling back to Bulma for his last chance at an obtainable life. He wasn’t going to let the third class mess up what little he had.

Inwardly he felt sorry for his wife because when it came to loving her, he just couldn’t do it and they both knew it. Now they were desperate for something to work for them before it was too late to salvage anything. Bulma had her reason and he was just hiding behind her reason. He might as well have, there was nothing left for him after her. After her he would move on again. There were no third chances, Kakarot had made that quite clear. He didn’t ever want to see him again. It was understandable as Vegeta wasn’t sure it was in his best interest to come back at all. But he had tried, tried to show the other Saiyan how he felt but he couldn’t bring himself to face possible rejection. He would have rather lived without him than be pushed away. Now Kakarot hated him. Just as well, it was for the best.

For the time being, he had Bulma and Kakarot had no one, but one day he too would be alone and he would wish he had said something sooner. The day would come when he would be living all alone and end up like him. They would both be alone for the rest of their lives. Vegeta hadn’t the tolerance to find another mate because the one he already had asked for more than he would give and he wasn’t going to lie again.

“I wish you were happy. It’s hurting you, I can see it and I know that I’m not enough.”

Vegeta closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. She said she wouldn’t inquire about it but she just couldn’t leave well enough alone.

“I said forget about him! This is about you and me, stop bringing him up!” He snapped. Bulma didn’t flinch, instead she looked down guiltily.

“I just want you to enjoy the meal and speak to me just on---

“When have I ever been that way?! I don’t talk over meals, I’m not what you want me to be!” He lowered his voice when the people around him began turning their heads.

“I’m not the kind of man you want me to be, why can’t you just shut up and live with what you have now? You asked for this, and I’m willing to comply but you can’t expect me to magically morph into Prince Charming!” He gritted. Bulma nodded slowly and promptly excused herself from the table.

“Where are you going?”

“I…need some time alone.”

Vegeta snorted and threw down his napkin. A wasted meal.

He had a feeling this would not be the last unpleasant encounter he and his wife would have. He could feel it; her jealousy and inability to leave things as they were was taking it's toll.

Vegeta put his hands over his face and sighed. He would never be happy again. All this time spent fooling himself that he could, when he could have wasted the time and effort accepting that he couldn't.

People looked at him with pity in their eyes, remorse in their conuntenences, and he loathed them. Their eyes softened for him, their heads nodded in shame for him and he did all he could not to snap. Initial reaction for humans. They didn't know him. They didn't know what he was going through.

He stood up. He would go for a walk and maybe that walk would turn into a long trip. He needed the time away.

Paying for the meal he left the restaurant and briskly walked down the street, past people with smiles on their faces and mirth in their eyes. He kept his head down. He would have rather not watch them indulge in the things that he no longer could. Bulma took a taxi home and left him behind and he was glad for the time to himself.

As he walked down the street, the sky tinted with the telltale signs of evening approaching, he wished he could walk forever. He didn't want to go home, he wanted to be alone, and accept his fate early. It seemed that Kakarot had. A pang of jealousy stabbed at the back of Vegeta's mind. He couldn't help it. He had already tried to think of the other Saiyan out on his own suffering and alone, but simply couldn't bring himself to believe it. For the Earth raised Saiyan, it wouldn't be hard for him to move on because he had nothing holding him back. He wasn't fooling himself the way that Vegeta was. He had the chance to be happy. He would get everything he wanted out of life and Vegeta would be left in the past to die alone and regretful.

His father's words echoed in his head strongly, //"Find a good mate son. Saiyan are not meant to be alone. We are a pack race, a race dependant on each other to sustain. You musn't ever forget that son. Do not allow the the Prince of the royal family to be unhappy. You deserve the best."//

Kakarot was the best. He was always the best.

Once Vegeta could proudly say that he hated him, that one day Kakarot would fall at his feet defeated. But that...bastard, wormed his way into the heart he once swore he didn't have and corrupted him. His smile, his cheeriness, his control. Vegeta had none of those things and the younger Saiyan taunted him daily, reminding him that he had yet to be happy as he was. He had tried to have all Kakarot had. He took Bulma for a mate and had children of his own and still he felt empty and alone. Everyone around him, even the bald one had found what he spent his entire time on Earth searching for.

It only took twenty years for him to find it. It was an accident, how he'd stumbled upon it. But it was sneaky, settling itself inside of him, waiting to be discovered. It was ironic. The one person he staked his life on defeating was the person that made him the most content. Vegeta being the person he is, blamed it on a Saiyan bond they had formed as he last full-blooded Saiyans in the universe. He was sure that was it.

Of course he was wrong, as usual.

He began to notice Kakarot's smiles more and more and the more often he saw them the more often he wished they were all for him. Not that he didn't smile for his Prince, but Vegeta had disturbing ways of wiping that grin off the other man's face. And once he opened his mouth to say something, the smile was gone, not having been there long enough for him to enjoy.

Kakarot tried to be nice, but he wouldn't have it, hoping the other man could be the kind of person he never wanted him to be. Like him. If Kakarot were more like a Saiyan, more like him, then Vegeta was very sure he would hate him. Kakarot could never learn to hate, to spit in dislike at anyone who wasnt like him. Kakarot was too happy for that. He was happy far before he had met Vegeta and he wasn't going to let the dark Prince change that. And why should he? Vegeta was a fool for thinking he would, that he could get the gentle man to be as miserable as he was.

It took Vegeta 17 years to realize that there was nothing he could do to change him. Kakarot's smiles would not stop for his dismay. His cheerfulness would not dry up into the dust for Vegeta unhappiness. He would not change for him. Vegeta had spent all of his time on Earth trying to get him to be miserable, but Kakarot's innocence was simply too strong.

Even on the battlefield, the man couldn't help but offer the enemy a chance to change. He did that to everyone, believing that every person deserved a chance to change and that philosophy was what made the younger Saiyan stronger. He even gave Vegeta himself the benefit of the doubt and Vegeta turned on him more times than he cared to remember. He threw the man's kindness back into his face and snorted his dislike. He stomped out his feelings and threw away his smiles like they were a dime a dozen. They practically were. Kakarot almost never stopped smiling.

Over the years, Vegeta became grateful for that. The deeper Vegeta's despair became, the more he craved to see that smile. When Kakarot smiled, he almost wanted to smile to. It was as if when he grinned, people's problems would dissolve like snow on a sunny day. That beautiful smile always made Vegeta feel hope, a foreign feeling to him but not altogether unwelcomed.

He found himself thinking about Kakarot's smile all the time, he just couldn't get it out of his head. It wasn't long before he didn't mind at all. Vegeta stopped walking when he saw a small tavern across the street. He looked at for a moment, wondering about all the broken souls in there drowning out their problems with the burning liquid of obliviousness and numbness. He wondered if it were possible for him to end up like them. He stared at the bar silently for a while, shook his head and walked away.

He ended up going home. He was certain he had told himself that he was going somewhere else, but when he found himself in front of Capsule Corp's gates, he didn't want to leave. He silently stole into the house and walked into the room. Pausing for a moment, he realized that Bulma wasn't home. He didn't really care. All he could think about was Kakarot.

It seemed like he had moved on, tired of living alone and sad. He left to be happy. Vegeta wished he could do that. Most of the time he found himself thinking what it would be like if he were never married at all or if he had left earth after Frieza’s defeat. He cursed himself for not leaving sooner, but he couldn’t help but want to stay and wait for the other Saiyan to be alive. Even then he didn’t want to be alone, even if just for a little companionship. He tried to take Kakarot away from his home and everything that made the third class happy but he failed. And it wouldn’t be the last time he did. No matter his attempts to change him, Vegeta couldn’t make dent on the impression earth left on him and he constantly berated him for it.

He hurt Kakarot’s feeling with his harsh attitude and even harsher words and once, he felt good about it. It felt so good to make the stronger Saiyan grimace in some kind of pain and he was glad to be the one inflicting it. He would let nobody else hurt the other man the way he did, Kakarot’s pain was reserved for him and him only. The thought that he could turn Kakarot's smile into a rueful frown of anger made him feel powerful indeed. Only he could bring out the thirst for violence in him and that made him feel good.

Over the years, his objective wavered and flickered until he no longer wanted to see Kakarot upset. He grew to like that smile, the happiness and even he began to smile every once in a while. It hadn't been too long before he realized he was trying to impress him. And by then the thought didn't bother him. He took it to mean that Kakarot had finally gained his respect and for that he was special in some way. But Vegeta still remained unhappy and alone. Even with all the laughter and good spirited fun all around him, he couldn't find anything that made him feel good. Except for when he was alone with Kakarot.

Vegeta suddenly began making excuses to be alone with the taller man, sparring, camping, hunting, whatever it was, it was the only thing that made Vegeta happy. He could see that their time together also made Kakarot happy too and he liked seeing him smile because of something he said or did.

Of course, Vegeta didn't change very much, still insulting the other Saiyan here and there, but they were light-hearted insults that didn't make Kakarot lose his smile or good-natured humor. He found that he liked to see him happy and thought of every way he could to make it so that he was never angry with him.

After the fight with Janemba, he finally accepted that they were friends, best friends even, though he never told Kakarot so. Vegeta wanted to keep the smile on his face and keep Kakarot happy with him and wanting of his company, he even went so far as to give him little presents like food or a gadget Bulma made.

Vegeta smiled remembering giving his companion a Rubiks Cube to solve and it had take him forever to solve it but when he eventually did, he couldn't stop laughing at the look on Vegeta's face. Vegeta hadn't actually thought he could do it and was shocked that he managed to. For his prize, he took Kakarot to dinner and let him eat as much as he wanted. The amount of money it would cost didn't concern him, after all, it was going on Capsule Corp's tab.

He watched his counterpart all throughout the meal, looking for that smile. When Kakarot looked up, he had bits on food and sauce on his face and he looked so cute Vegeta couldn't help but smile. It was a genuine smile that caught Kakarot off guard. He smiled back and returned to his meal. Since then Vegeta smiled more often and Kakarot commented enthusiatically.

"You look a lot nicer when you smile, Vegeta. You know, at first, I didn't think you COULD smile. You suprise me more and more everyday."

Vegeta felt his chest swell with pride and hope. He wasn't sure what he was hopeful for but he liked the warm feeling it gave him. He vied for Kakarot's approval wherever he could find it and it made him feel better than he ever felt in his life. What he felt was more than friendship.

He wasn't sure of this feeling at first and wanted to explore it further and came to the conclusion that he was turning soft and he actually didn't care. It had been too many years he had spent convincing himself that he couldn't be that way but once again Kakarot prevailed. His smiles did their job and made Vegeta like him. A lot.

Vegeta thought he was the only one with the knowledge of how Kakarot made him feel. But someone else noticed it too. Gohan watched the way he looked when his father was around and was always saying strange things like, "See, he's not so bad. You guys are great together."

Vegeta always ignored the brat and put his words to the wayside. But Gohan's attention to their relationship became more frequent and as the years went by he had more to say about it. One day when he caught Vegeta staring at his father, he walked over with a big smile on his face.

"You like him, don't you?" Vegeta turned to glare incredulously at him.

"Excuse me?"

Gohan only smiled wider and walk away, leaving Vegeta to think about what he said. "Stupid boy," He muttered under his breath.

Again, he went back to looking at the tall buffoon chatting it up with his ever annoying wife. He felt a twang of jealousy. She put her arm casually in his and rested her head on his shoulder. She made Kakarot smile.

Vegeta grit his teeth and turned away from the site. As he did, his eye caught Gohan watching him watch his father with a knowing look on his face. Vegeta sneered at him and walked into the house. Bulma came out of the kitchen and kissed him on the cheek. He cringed. He didn't know why all of a sudden she seemed more annoying than usual, especially when she touched him. Why couldn't he be like Kakarot and smile when his wife held him or kissed him?

For years he and Kakarot kept up their daily routine of sparring and camping. Then ChiChi died and Kakarot just couldn't deal.

The training stopped, the camping stop and the smiles stopped. The woman's death had thrown Kakarot into despair he'd never known and Vegeta's happiness declined with his. Steadily Vegeta saw his friend's life go dark, no longer was the cheerful facade in place, but a mask of sadness replaced it.

Vegeta didn't know what to do. He had never cheered someone up before and didn't know what to do to make his companion's smile come back. He wanted more than anything to see Kakarot happy. He couldn't stand seeing the man he had spent a great deal of his time figuring out how to make smile, so unhappy.

It was then he began to rethink Gohan's question. What if the boy was right? Did he feel more for Kakarot than friendship? If so, then what did he feel? Love? At first Vegeta snorted to himself in slight disgust, but not a minute later did he stop and seriously consider the possibility.

Love...that could have been it. He loved Kakarot. But then again, that was bound to happen to friends, he cared about the other man enough to love him to some degree. At that point, Vegeta never considered that being in love with Kakarot was even a possibility. He strayed away from that theory for a long time before it dragged itself to the surface of his mind and forced him to contemplate it. What if he truely was in love with the third class Saiyan? What was he going to do about it?

Keep it to himself, what else?

For the next 2 years Vegeta avoided his companion on and off until they rarely saw each other at all. When he thought it was safe, Vegeta returned one day to sort out his feelings and inquire about Kakarot's to see if he even had a chance. He would go about it discreetly, just to see.

For the past two years the feeling was practically killing him. All the time spent away from Kakarot didn't do what Vegeta thought it would. Instead it left him battling with his control harder than he ever had in years and in the end, his control had diminished to the point where he had to see the other Saiyan or he thought he would go insane.


The first look hit him like a meteor rock. Their eyes locked. His breath hitched. He was sure of it then. He was in love with Kakarot. It was ironic. It was crazy. It made sense. Vegeta almost ran again. He had to face his problem, because whether he left or not it was still a problem.

"Kakarot."

Kakarot didn't respond at first, only stared at Vegeta with a baleful look.

Resentment? For leaving? Could it be that Kakarot cared? Or it could have been that when Vegeta left he had also left Bulma and his children behind and Kakarot was upset that he hurt his best friends. Vegeta managed to compose himself enough to walk up to Kakarot and was about to say something but someone beat him to it. Gohan.

"You came back. Never thought we'd see you again."

It was then that Vegeta noticed that it wasn't just Gohan there; everyone was there, including his wife, who stood right next to her friend. He hadn't seen anyone, he had been so focused on his feelings for the man in front of him, he hadn't realized anyone else had been there but them.


"...and Vegeta, WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!!!?!" Bulma screeched. Vegeta continued to watch Kakarot, who stared back at him until Bulma stepped in between them and waved her hands in the air.

"I'm talking to you Vegeta!!! Answer me, where have you been for the past 2 years?! I swear...." Vegeta glared at her.

"Move woman." Bulma stopped screaming and a confused look came across her face.

"What?"

"Move. Now."

"You'll have to get past Goku if you want to get into that house. How dare you think you're welcome here after you just up and leave us like that?"

"Who said I wanted to get past Kakarot? Now, you can move woman, or I can make you move." Her eye twitched with rage.

"You mean to tell me that after all this time, you finally return and you don't even acknowledge your own wife?! What do you want with Goku, or is this just a pit stop on your little journey? You can't even give your own son a glance let alone your daughter whose been screaming for you for months and when you finally come back, you walk right past her for Goku?!"

Vegeta turned around to search for Bulla and saw her in tears watching her mother argue. He didn't see her before, so eager to talk to Kakarot that he walked past her without even noticing.

"Move." He said again. She didn't budge. He turned around.

"Kakarot, if you're not busy whining over my disappearance then meet me in the mountains to spar." Kakarot didn't respond. Vegeta took his leave, but not before Bulma got in a good one right in his ear.

"You good for nothing monkey! You come all this way to talk to a man you hate. I can't BELIEVE THIS!!!!" Ignoring her hellish tirade, he left, not even bothering to seek out Trunks who was not more than a few feet away at the time, glaring at his father with resentment.

He would go to the mountains to think and wait for Kakarot, if the man decided to show up. He waited for 6 hours before the younger Saiyan showed.

"Where did you go and why did you leave?" Not even a hello.

"When did sparring even include idle chitchat? Spar with me and I may answer your questions. But right now I need someone's face to crush into the dirt and you'll just have to do." Vegeta smirked in satisfaction when he saw the familiar spark in Kakarot's eyes.

During one of the breaks in their spar, Vegeta couldn't take it anymore. He had to know.

"Kakarot, would you ever consider me to be more than your friend?" He phrased the question carefully, but if Kakarot did feel the same way then he should have had no problem deciphering the meaning.

A confused look broke out across his face. Then a wide, happy grin. "Of course 'Geta you're my friend." He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? Didn't you know that we're friends?"

He didn't get it at all. It was like a punch in the stomach for Vegeta, but he didn't let his disappointment show, instead he promptly spun on his heel and took off into the air without another word.

Since then it was a lonely battle with his pride, his feelings and his control. 4 years was taking it toll on him but he just wouldn't cave. Until one day he did, and that day didn't turn out so well.

Vegeta vowed that he would not chase after the impossible again and go back to the way he was, a blood thristy, power hungry animal with feelings for no one and remorse for nothing. He could not live being the family man he had forced himself to be so he would live his life the way he would have if he hadn't let go of his selfish feelings for power for an unattainable prospect. Bulma was practically finished with him and his children weren't too found of their dead beat Dad, so he was alone again and free to do what he wished.

Come hell or highwater, he would not let his emotions for his rival be the most important thing in life.

TBC....

That's that. Alright, until next time people. Ja'ne.