This Simple Feeling

Chapter 9

Two years later.

As he stretched he felt a tear in his uniform.

"Oops..." he murmured he chuckled, waiting for the little pod to dock with the ship.

He needed a shower, new clothes and food. A lot of food.

Being part of Project Alatus was fun and he'd adapted to his new routine quite quickly. In the end General Nappa was his friend- although the big man still denied it, he was right in thinking that the Patrol wasn't the best place for him. Kakarot was a free spirit who made trouble, he couldn't stay too much in a box... Project Alatus moved in a gray area that left him room for manoeuvre.

It wasn't all pleasant... actually the first few times Kakarot had been sick, but he preferred not to think about it and divert his thoughts to training and the next fight. Thinking about how many intercourse he could skip without getting in trouble. But his reports were so colorful and messy and he didn't think they were so expected.

He scratched his belly as he jumped into the hangar. Some friends greeted him as they continued their work. Two impeccably dressed saiyans approached.

"Hey Kakarot, I see you had fun!" chuckled one of them, pointing to his condition. "We were going to lunch, do you want to come?"

The other nudged him. "Or let's go have a fight, huh?"

"Hehe, you guys are so nice!" smiled Kakarot, "Unfortunately I'm busy, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"It's a date, huh!"

"Kids where do you think you're going? You were in control this morning, run to the Sickbay!" yelled the disheveled old doctor, then looked at him, checking that he didn't have any life-threatening injuries. "Welcome back son, don't think of escaping it, I'll wait for you in the Sickbay!"

Kakarot chuckled scratching the back of his neck, not wanting any medical gear on him, "Eheh, hi Doc!"

And who would have thought that they were the same people who had pointed and accused him a few years earlier? They were so friendly. They never failed to look for him. Krillin murmured of disappointment but Kakarot didn't see anything wrong with it. Oh yeah, it would have been nice to see his best friend... but he was mh --- on leave, right? What month was it? He had lost his compass!

Kakarot greeted other people while humming and happily wagging his tail, walking naturally through those corridors, without hesitation towards a precise destination.

He tapped the writing on the sliding door "Admiral Vegeta" just for the fun of it, and the computer let him in. He had to call his parents... how long had it been since the last time? His mother had left him a message but he still hadn't replied and Vegeta's father too... he managed to fill his mailbox in no time and always seemed happy to repeat everything adding details. It was funny, he liked him so much!

In the large shared room, there was Vegeta in his Intergalactic Patrol Admiral uniform, sitting in the comfortable chair at the desk in the living area wearing his reading glasses reading reports and overseeing documents from various padds.

Vegeta was so concentrated in his clean and tidy surroundings. He could see that he had been missing for a while!

"You'll never guess who I met, 'Geta!" he trilled happily.

Without even looking up, Vegeta growled. "Didn't you have a backpack?"

"Oh? Ah yes, it was on fire!" he waved as he pulled off a boot half-eaten by a flesh-eating grub, "Remember that guy who swore to kill me?"