Thinking of You

Part 15

Goku swallowed a large bite of noodles and mushrooms, then leaned forward in his chair. "Can I ask you a question?"

Vegeta nodded without looking up from his bowl, stirring the food around with his fork.

"I've been wondering for a while...what was working with Frieza like?"

Vegeta looked up with his eyebrows raised. "Frieza? Why the hell are you bringing him up?"

"I don't know, it was just something that popped into my head. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I get that it would probably be personal and stuff." Goku said quickly, folding his arms across the table. After their many discussions about piano-playing cats and the expanse of the universe and different ways to train, Goku decided to take the conversation another direction. He wanted to know everything there was about Vegeta. Every detail of his existence, Goku wanted to know it all. Vegeta was a mysterious being, but Goku figured that he could crack the tough outer shell and get to know the real Vegeta underneath all the hot anger and burning pride. While he knew it was a long shot to ask Vegeta such personal questions and expect an answer, he couldn't help but be curious. All he wanted was to get to know the person he liked, that wasn't wrong.

At least, that's what Goku told himself.

Vegeta stared at him with what looked like a glare, but held a softer touch. His eyes weren't as stern, and he looked torn over something. For a moment, Goku thought he had broken Vegeta by bringing up the old tyrant, and he panicked. "Let's change the subject, okay? Pretend I never asked that stupid question, how about that?"

"It wasn't a stupid question." Vegeta interrupted, setting his fork down. Goku froze, holding his breath. He was afraid that he had pushed one of Vegeta's buttons, and he sat on the edge of his chair, staring at the Prince with a cautious, nervous look.

"It...wasn't?" Goku said slowly.

"No," Vegeta replied, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

Goku let out the breath he had been holding, but still remained tense. "Oh...that's good..."

"Why do you want to know?" Vegeta asked, his voice suddenly sounding more curious than usual. Vegeta hadn't expected Frieza to come up in their conversation, and it threw him off. He understood Goku's curiosity, but what he didn't understand was why he was so nervous to ask him. While he did have a tendency to fly off the handle over little things, he figured Goku would at least be able to ask a question without panicking over the result. It actually made Vegeta think. His time working under Frieza was long and filled with competition and planet destruction. His younger, prideful and angry self had enjoyed the spotlight that being Frieza's prized soldier brought. Everyone feared him, and he relished it. Of course, that was mainly because he had worked for Frieza since he was barely a small child, he hadn't known anything other than that. His entire existence was to serve Frieza. It had been a long time since he had thought about him. He didnt remember much of his time on Frieza's ship, though he did recall that he was always...lonely.

It had been just him, Nappa, and Raditz. The only Saiyans on board the entire ship. Most of Frieza's crew looked down on them, claiming that they would just get in the way. Nappa was strong and powerful, and Raditz was cocky and brash. Vegeta was the calm yet intimidating one, and it took no time at all before they were the elites on Frieza's ship. Despite his small size, Vegeta had soared to the top of the ranks, making him a valuable asset to the Frieza Force. But even though he always had Nappa following him around and Raditz asking to train, he always felt lonely. He had ignored that feeling for many years, putting it off as something unimportant. Destroying planets and showcasing his strength was good and fun, but a part of him had wanted more. More of what, he didn't know of at the time. But now he figured that he had just wanted someone to talk to.