Meditation

Gohan didn't usually come with his wife to these things. Normally when Bulma invited the women over for this sort of gathering, Gohan always managed to find something else to do. But this time he felt it was important to go to Capsule Corps. That nagging suspicion that had been in the back of his mind for years now, that he had been able to ignore until recently, was screaming for him to go. So he sucked it up and even offered to drive his mother, wife and daughter over. He was surprised they didn't think it was suspicious, but that was probably for the best.

When they arrived, they made their way straight to the large kitchen at the back of the Compound. Bulma was busy setting the table while Bulla was setting up the cakes, biscuits and other desserts. Marron was talking energetically with Bulla, the two giggling every now and then. 18 was leaning against one of the far walls, flipping through a magazine and looking less than amused. Probably there because her daughter had asked her to make an appearance.

The three women around the table squealed in delight as they saw the four enter the room. Chichi, Videl and Pan hugged their friends happily, everyone talking about how "long" it had been, never mind that they had seen each other earlier that week.

Gohan just stayed in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the women begin their chatter and gossip. 18 looked at him lazily, not quite interested in him or the other women, before getting dragged into the conversation by an overly polite Videl. The only other woman that seemed to take any notice of Gohan was Bulla, who raised an eyebrow at him. He merely nodded a slight acknowledgement, waiting for her to be distracted. She shrugged slightly, though obviously still curious, and went back to whatever inane discussion was at hand.

Once he was sure none of them were paying any attention to him, he turned and went straight to the Gravity Chamber.

The uneasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach grew stronger as he got closer to the GC. He wasn't halfway down the corridor when he could feel Vegeta's ki spiking and falling in unusual waves. When he got to the door, he considered knocking but figured there was no point. He checked the gravity reading – it was off – before entering and closing the door behind him.

Vegeta was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his back to the door, not more than twenty feet away from where Gohan now stood. His arms were crossed in front of him, and even from behind, Gohan could tell that the man was frowning.

He was actually surprised that Vegeta wasn't powered up. The energy spikes he could feel rolling off the Prince were more than enough to go Super, but Vegeta seemed more interested in keeping his energy low. His energy would shoot up drastically, then slowly, with a deliberate force, go back down. Gohan couldn't remember Vegeta ever needed to exert this much effort to control himself.

"Vegeta?" he asked tentatively, hoping the interruption wouldn't earn him a punch in the face. Vegeta had warmed up to him over the years, but the man was still highly unpredictable in a lot of ways.

"Gohan," came the terse, somewhat strained answer.

Gohan started to feel awkward. He didn't want to be here, but his gut said he should be. "What are you doing?"

There was a short pause. "Meditating."

"I can see that," he said slowly. He really didn't want to ask. Really didn't want to get into this. Really. He'd almost rather go back to the kitchen. He slowly let out a breath. "Why?"

There was a short hmph. But then Vegeta seemed to feel the need to add more. "I'm meditating so that I will be able to restrain myself from killing your idiot brother."

"Why would you want to kill my brother?"

This time a short growl. "You know why," he said darkly.

Gohan sighed heavily. It was finally time to give weight to all those suspicions. "Yeah. Yeah, I might have an idea."

Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he turned his head slightly to appraise the other Saiyan. His look said it all. So you know?

"They haven't actually said anything to me, but I'm hardly blind." Vegeta seemed to calm slightly – apparently he believed his ignorance. Gohan shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "How long have you known?"

"I have had my… suspicions for some time. They have been more careless lately." There was a long silence as they both thought about this. Yes, they had been careless. More time together alone. More lingering glances. Less restrained emotions, less careful words. Of course Vegeta had noticed. Hell, he was surprised more people hadn't.

Vegeta interrupted Gohan's musings. "I suspect he will tell me soon."

If Goten was actually going to talk to Vegeta about this, then it was much more serious than he had given Goten and Bulla credit for. Goten wouldn't brave the Saiyan Prince's wrath unless he was absolutely sure it would last with her.

"What will you do if that happens?"

"That's why I'm meditating. I am trying to get used to the idea so that I will be able to suppress the urge to tear him apart limb from limb."

Gohan cringed slightly at the mental image. Honestly, he was thankful Vegeta was putting the thought into it ahead of time. If it had come as a surprise, he had no doubt that would have been the only possible outcome. "Sooo… how's it going?"

Vegeta's power level spiked again in answer. It took him considerably longer to drag it back down. Gohan could feel Vegeta struggling to do so, the concentration he was exerting.

"I. Do. Not. Approve."

Gohan felt for him. This was obviously difficult for Vegeta. He loved his daughter, and had long ago decided that no man would be good enough for her. He would naturally dislike anyone she picked as her mate. He did happen to have problems with this particular choice - his father, the age difference between them, just to name two. But, loathe as he might be to admit it, Vegeta cared about Goten too. The boy had looked up to him like a father, and Vegeta had in some respects taken him under his wing. He had trained both him and Trunks when they were younger, though he had obviously put more effort into training the latter. And over the years, he had been stuck looking after the two demi-Saiyans several times throughout their childhood. Although Vegeta would probably die before admitting it, he was the one Goten had first come to with questions about "the birds and the bees" and he had reluctantly given him the answers. He didn't want to kill Goten, and he didn't want to admit he was good enough for his daughter, either.

Gohan figured he should probably try to make it easier. He wasn't happy that the role had fallen to him, but he figured his dad's presence would only set Vegeta even more on edge and Goten's self-advocacy would not help either. "Why not?"

He could hear the sneer in the older man's voice. "I would prefer my blood not to mix with Kakarott's."

"Bulla's hardly going to remain alone her whole life. Would you rather her marry some random human guy?"

A long pause. Gohan took that as a no.

"Don't you want her to have someone that's actually able to protect her if the world comes under attack again?"

Another pause. Should he assume that was a yes?

"You already sort of like Goten." After Vegeta snorted, Gohan smiled as he amended, "Or at least have been able to tolerate him for the past three decades. Could you say the same for any other guy on this planet?"

Vegeta internally groaned at his. He could count the number of people on this mudball he actually liked on both hands. The likelihood of finding another was negligible.

"You know that with two half-Saiyan parents, any kids they had would be able to wipe the floor with any enemy or rival they encountered."

He didn't even wait before landing the final blow. "Don't you want Bulla to be happy?"

Vegeta sighed. He had already gone over all these things in his head. He knew Goten was a good match for his daughter. He knew he could protect her and make her happy, could handle her moods and temper, and even he had to admit that any children they might have would be strong. Didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

"I am aware of all the considerations," he snapped at the younger Saiyan.

Gohan just smiled. Vegeta's ki was much more under control. Even if Vegeta had thought about it all already, hearing it from someone else was probably what he really needed.

They let the silence drag on between them. Vegeta seemed to be much more in control, much more at peace. For Gohan's part, his stomach had finally settled and the terrible since of foreboding he had felt the last few months was gone.

"I will still beat the crap out of him," Vegeta said finally, slowly getting up.

Gohan just laughed. "Honestly, Vegeta, I'd have been disappointed in you if you didn't."

"Let's spar," he said, turning to face him. "Set it at 400x."

"Sure thing."

As the two felt the increased gravity start to pull their limbs down, as they got into their fighting stances and started circling each other, Vegeta smiled dangerously.

"I'll do my best not to imagine your brother's face as I beat you into a pulp."

Again, all Gohan could do was laugh as he charged.

Videl was about ready to go. They had been there for hours already and the sun was starting to go down. They would have already left, but Gohan hadn't reappeared yet. She hadn't even noticed him leave. It had taken her a few moments to track his ki down, and it seemed to becoming from the general direction of the GC.

Big surprise, she thought, rolling her eyes. Of course he'd end up sparring. I could've told him he'd be bored to tears.

Eventually, though, her husband found his way back to the kitchen. She frowned at him, noticing the black eye and the multiple cuts and bruises. He was favoring his left side and she was pretty sure he had a slight limp. But he was wearing that infamous Son grin, looking quite pleased with himself, so she let it go for the moment.

As Chichi said her good-byes to Bulma, and Pan to Bulla, Videl took her husband aside and cornered him.

"You look like shit," she said bluntly.

He smiled that one smile she always found irresistible. "I was sparring."

"Yeah, but you look much worse than usual. What gives?"

"Vegeta just had some… frustration he needed to work out."

She frowned, concerned. When Vegeta got worked up, it usually fell on Goku to help out. None of the others were really strong enough to handle it unless they worked together. Even then, she'd seen Trunks and Goten get their asses handed to them even when double-teaming Vegeta.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly, putting his arm around her. "Things are fine." He chuckled and whispered, "You'll probably find out why I let Vegeta kick my ass soon enough." And with that, he looked meaningfully at Bulla, who was frowning in his direction.

Videl rolled her eyes. These Saiyan men were such idiots. Bulla had excused herself to the bathroom during their girl's day, and all of them had instantly started gossiping about the only topic that had been of any interest to them the past year. While none of them had any specifics, it wasn't like they were blind. Bulma and Chichi were particularly excited.

Did they really think they were the only ones that knew?