-1This idea isn't totally original in itself, but I put a little twist on it. I created a new enemy for the "Z fighters" to face pre-Android Saga. What/who it is will come to light in later chapters. Enjoy the more humorous beginning of the story for now (it will get darker later on). It is told from Goku's perspective as well as Vegeta's and Bulma's, but don't worry, there will be plenty of B/V scenes minus Goku. I had to put Goku in this story… he's just too damn lovable. Thanks, R&R, hope you enjoy. Italics = thoughts. P.S. New chapter to be posted at least once a week.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. (That's just stating the obvious… is this thing really necessary?)

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Chapter One - Slip Up

***

Gosh, I sure hope Trunks made it back to the future okay… Goku thought as he lay next to Chi-Chi, unable to sleep. His wife had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and he watched her as she smiled contentedly in her slumber, just happy to have him back.

It had been quite an eventful day for Goku, and his mind was racing. Amidst the happy reunion with his son and wife, he had a daunting task ahead of him: training to become stronger than a pack of virtually unbeatable super robots. When Trunks had pulled Goku aside and told him that he would soon die of a virus and leave the androids to destroy his future, his family, and his friends… it was difficult to comprehend.

Trunks… the son of Vegeta and Bulma.

Goku smirked in spite of himself. Perhaps if he were more observant, he would have called that pairing months ago. They're perfect for each other. Those tempers…

Bulma was throwing a little party at Capsule Corp next week to celebrate Goku's return and give everyone a chance to relax before the intensive training began… he was definitely going to look out for the 'signs' between the two.

If, that is, Vegeta bothers to show his face in public. I can see it now… Vegeta and Bulma going to the movies. Vegeta and Bulma getting married. Vegeta and Bulma Christmas cards.

Goku snickered, and moments later, finally fell asleep.

***

"MOM!" Bulma yelled as she scaled the vast hallways of Capsule Corp. "Mom, have you seen the dragon radar? I swear I'm about to gather the dragon balls and wish this party were over already!"

She was carrying two heavy boxes of decorations--streamers, banners, balloons, etc.--trying to figure out a suitable place to hang them. She hadn't even decided whether she was hosting the party inside or outside yet.

In her decision making, or lack thereof, she had forgotten that the second box she carried was directly blocking her line of vision, and consequently she lost her footing on an upturned rug she couldn't see. "Oh, crap!" she squealed as she began tumbling backwards onto the floor, waiting for the deafening crash the decoration boxes were sure to make.

Bulma waited, but the crash never came. She willed herself to open her eyes, and saw the boxes suspended in the air above her. She gritted her teeth and moved her head farther back to see who had caught them.

"Vegeta?" she said, slightly surprised to see him outside of the gravity chamber.

"Earthlings are so graceful. Honestly, we Saiyans could learn a thing or two from your example," he said, chuckling. Bulma picked herself up, cheeks burning, anger rising.

"Oh, I see how it is, you save the boxes and let me fall? Real gentlemanly of you, Vegeta," she said. Vegeta huffed, releasing his grip on the boxes and letting them crash to the ground. The decorations spilt out and spread across the floor.

"Is that better?" he said. "By the way, I punched a hole in the gravity chamber and now the damned machine won't let me increase gravity. I'll need it running back in perfect condition in two hours."

Bulma gawked after him as he began heading in the direction of his room, sweaty from head to toe, still in his training shorts. If he thinks I'm tearing myself away from getting the house ready for this party he's crazy. Two hours? Everyone is supposed to be here in two hours!

She stared at his retreating figure a little too long, and blushing for no reason in particular, began cleaning up the mess she would have made even if Vegeta hadn't intervened.

***

"Oh Bulma, it looks beautiful out here!" her mother said, praising her decorating skills. Bulma stood beside her mother, hands on her hips, quite proud of herself and the task she'd accomplished in less than one hour. She'd chosen to keep the party outside after all.

"Oh, good, the caterers are here!" said Bulma, and after she directed them where to set up and serve, she began heading inside to get ready. Just before she disappeared through the front doors, however, Yamcha arrived.

"Bulma! Hey babe!" he said, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her into an embrace. She resisted the sentiment, however.

"Nice of you to finally show up, Yamcha! I told you to be here at ten, it's almost one o'clock! Set up is done, I'm going to get ready now, so you're just going to have to wait for the party to start," she said.

Yamcha knew he was in trouble. "Sorry hun, I got caught up! I can help you get ready…"

"I DON'T NEED HELP GETTING READY!" Bulma said. "Why don't you go stand by the entrance and take people's coats or something?"

She began muttering expletives about good-for-nothing boyfriends as she entered Capsule Corp and headed straight for the shower. Once she was inside the bedroom-sized bathroom with the door locked, she realized she hadn't brought a change of clothes with her. Or a towel, for that matter.

Oh well. My room's right next door, she thought. She began peeling off her blouse and jeans and stepped inside the shower, turning the knobs until she found the perfect water temperature. She stepped back out of the shower and started to get fully undressed when she heard a shuffling noise behind her.

She turned slowly and nearly fell back into the shower when she saw Vegeta standing there, a faint crimson blush glowing on his cheeks. He had nothing but a towel around his chiseled abdomen, but that was nothing compared to the mere satin black bra and panties she had yet to remove.

A long, awkward silence thickened the air between them. They stared each other down, somehow unable to avert their gazes, until Bulma finally found her voice.

"Are you really so out of touch with the human race that you don't even know how to lock a door? Jeez, Vegeta, you could have told me you were in here before I started stripping down."

He scowled. "Woman, this place has at least fifteen bathrooms, did you have to choose this one?"

"Oh please, Vegeta, what are you implying? I didn't follow you in here, you know!"

He ignored her and began shuffling out of the bathroom.

"By the way, Vegeta," Bulma said before he could leave. "I'm not going to have time to fix the gravity room until after the party, so you have to wait."

"WHAT? Where exactly do you expect me to train in the mean time?" he growled.

"I don't care! Why don't you come to the party, I'm sure everyone will be absolutely thrilled to see you!"

After that, Vegeta stomped down the hallway in a huff and disappeared behind a corner, never replying or looking back at her. Yamcha made his way upstairs at that moment.

"What was the yelling match about this time?" he asked, clearly amused. He had expressed to Bulma many times his displeasure about Vegeta living with her, and he never failed to rejoice when he saw just how inharmoniously they got along.

"Nothing! Go tell my mom I'll be downstairs in twenty minutes." Bulma slammed the door in his face, leaving Yamcha bewildered and alone in the hallway.

***

That blasted woman, Vegeta thought as he shifted through the pile of "human" clothes Bulma continuously supplemented for him. He eyed his pink Bad Man shirt and quickly tossed it aside with a disapproving grunt.

I can't believe I'm going to this party. Damned planet is making me weak. A true warrior has no time for such trivialities.

He settled for a rather ordinary plain blue long sleeve and green cargo pants. Matching wasn't one of his strong points.

His thoughts trailed back to Bulma, and how she had barged in on him in the bathroom and immediately began undressing, giving him no time to escape. The way her nearly naked body looked bathed in the sunlight that filtered through the bathroom window…

That BLASTED woman, he thought again, in an effort to interrupt his unseemly daydream.

If she would just fix my gravity room I wouldn't have time to go to this stupid party!

His stomach growled, reminding him of the reason he had resolved to attend the party in the first place. Knowing Bulma, she probably wouldn't let him eat unless he went.

***

Goku, on the other hand, was all too eager for Bulma's party, and much to Chi-Chi's surprise, was fully dressed and ready to go when she announced that it was time to leave.

"Wow, Goku, this is certainly a first!" she said, turning to Gohan. "Your daddy is finally growing up, Gohan!"

The young half-Saiyan chuckled.

"Haha, gee, thanks Chi-Chi, I'm really trying," Goku said, grabbing his wife's wrist and using his free hand to grab Gohan's shoulder.

"Alright, let's go!"

He used instant transmission, and the family was standing outside Capsule Corp a split second later.

"Oh my…" Chi-Chi said. She knew her husband was capable of many great things, but she never imagined instantaneous movement would be one of them.

The three made their way into the back yard. Everyone was there already; Yamcha, Puar, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin, Oolong, Master Roshi… even Piccolo. Bulma and her parents were also in attendance, of course, and much to Goku's amusement, Vegeta stood characteristically off to the side, trying to make his annoyance with his very existence on Earth as obvious as possible.

Wow. Bulma's already got him going to parties. Christmas cards are next.

Then Goku spotted his favorite thing of all…

"FOOD!"

The greetings he received from his friends upon his arrival disappeared somewhere between the first and seventh course.

"Hey, Goku, think you could save some for the rest of us?" Krillin asked, however jokingly.

Once the food was gone, the group fell into conversation and laughter, reflecting on the past and revealing hopes and worries for the all-too-imminent future. Goku eventually broke away from the nostalgic conversation to speak with Vegeta.

"How's your training going?" he asked. Vegeta eyed him suspiciously.

"Why? Trying to copy my training techniques, eh, Kakkarot?" He smirked.

"Haha, whatever you say, Vegeta."

Goku turned to Piccolo next, who, like Vegeta, had also separated himself from the group and stood alone on the other side of the yard in an apparently meditative state.

"So, Piccolo, what do you think about Bulma and Vegeta?" Goku asked.

Thanks to Piccolo's super Namek hearing, he too knew about Bulma and Vegeta's eventual coupling. He heard every word Trunks and Goku had said, no matter how many yards separated him from them.

"I think that if you keep talking about it, Trunks will never exist in this timeline," Piccolo said.

Goku covered his mouth and looked around to see if anyone had been listening. "That wouldn't be very good!" he said.

Piccolo opened his eyes and fixed his stare on Vegeta's back.

"Bulma will soften Vegeta. Maybe she can bring out the potential for goodness in him, the way Gohan did with me. Perhaps a day will come when we don't have to worry about him turning on us."

"You're right. Not to mention, having a warrior like Trunks in our ranks could really help us against enemies in the future," said Goku. "Yeah, it definitely wouldn't be good if they don't end up together. I sure hope Trunks coming to this timeline didn't affect anything."

"If anything is standing in their way, it's you, Goku. Just don't talk about it."

After his exchange with Piccolo, Goku wandered over to partake in a tug-of-war between Gohan and Oolong on one end, and Yamcha, Krillin, and Master Roshi on the other. He grabbed the end of Gohan's rope, gave it the slightest of tugs, and sent Yamcha, Krillin, and Master Roshi toppling over each other.

"Jeez, Goku! Give us weaklings a fair shot, would ya?" Yamcha said as he tried to untangle his hair from Krillin's jacket zipper.

Goku just laughed. "So, Yamcha, how did Bulma handle it?" he asked.

Yamcha looked confused. "Handle what?"

"The break-up! You guys haven't said a word to each other all afternoon!"

"We're just fighting. I was supposed to help Bulma set up for the party but I came too late. You know how she gets…"

Shrugging, Goku folded his arms, turned away from Yamcha and muttered to himself (though not as quietly as he imagined), "Guess Bulma and Vegeta haven't happened yet."

Yamcha was dumbstruck. "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BULMA AND VEGETA?"

He yelled so loudly it caught the attention of everyone present at the party, Bulma and Vegeta included. Piccolo groaned and slapped his hand against his forehead.

Goku… what have you done?

***

Chapter Two - Compromise, coming soon! Vegeta leaves Capsule Corp as a result of Goku's actions, and with nowhere to go, is forced to train, sleep, and eat in the forest. When Goku finally finds him, he has no luck convincing the proud prince to return… that is, until he makes an offer even Vegeta can't refuse.

Please R&R. It'll give me more motivation to write… :P