Author's Note: There are hints of something that happened(I won't say what)and it will leave a lot to your imagination as to how it happened. So don't flame me over it.(Now let's hope my author's note made sense! lol) ;)

A green finger with a pointed white nail slowly depressed a rubber button with an upwards-pointing arrow painted on it's surface. The television screen scrambled, then changed to show various images. A man and woman standing on the very front of a gigantic boat with the man holding the woman's arms out to the side was one of the images. The next image was of some baboon standing on the edge of a cliff and holding up a lion cub. Another image was of some really dorky looking purple dinosaur yapping it's messed up looking mouth. A tipped-up green nose wrinkled at that image as the finger pushed the button again. Funny images of a brown coyote falling off a cliff while chasing a strange blue and purple bird came up.

Tategoto stopped on that channel and watched the crazy action. He couldn't hear any of the sounds, but since a Wile E. Coyote cartoon rarely had any dialogue, it really didn't matter. Pretty soon, Tategoto was laughing his head off and pointing at the screen. Bulma watched the little Namek amuse himself, grinned and went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

"Darn. All out of bottled water…" Bulma sighed in annoyance and twirled a strand of her sea-blue hair between her fingers. She glanced up just in time to see hair that looked like a motionless black flame pass the window. Seconds later, the door banged shut, and she said, "Hey Vegeta?"

"What is it woman?" Vegeta replied, covered in more then one layer of sweat from such a hard workout. His thick eyebrows drew together as he assumed his usual scowl.

"I need to go to the store and get some bottled water. Could you keep an eye on Tategoto while I'm gone?" She turned to him, batted her long eyelashes and smiled her sweetest smile. He grimaced. She batted her eyelashes more.

"I'm no baby-sitter!" He shouted, ripping the towel off from around his neck and throwing it down. Because he had no shirt on, his powerful upper body was fully visible. Strong, powerful arms, a sculpted abdomen and seemingly flawless pectorals glistened with the sweat that gave him a sparkling sheen as he stood in the doorway.

"Oh please, Vegeta? Just for a few minutes?" Bulma's voice took on a begging tone, and Vegeta's hair seemed to stand up even more as he got more annoyed.

"Fine! Just get the hell out of my face!" He snarled, picking up the towel and mopping the sweat off his face.

"Thanks!" She bent her head and brushed her lips against his cheek, then slung her purse over her shoulder and headed out. Vegeta glanced back and watched her rear end moving around under the tight dress she was wearing, a smirk pulling at his lips. Then he looked into the living room to check on Tategoto and saw that he was still in front of the TV set.

Well, as long as he stays like that, he's fine! Vegeta thought as he huffed and went to go take a thirty-second shower.

Thirty seconds was all it took for Tategoto to get bored with the TV, get up and go outside. He spotted the gravity room, dashed over and went inside. His little brown slipper-like shoes made no sound on the smooth red floor as he walked over to marvel at the spectacular gravity machine. When Vegeta came out of the shower and went into the kitchen, the TV was still on, so he didn't notice right away that the little Namek was gone.

The wild-haired Saiyan walked into the living room with a sandwich. He stopped dead and fell over when he saw the spot in front of the TV was empty. Picking himself up while putting the plate down and practically inhaling the sandwich, Vegeta ran a stream of mental curses through his head that would scare his own father. Then he proceeded to look behind the couch, in the hall closet and all the rooms in the house. When he couldn't find Tategoto, he started muttering curses under his breath and went outside, looking both ways as if he were going to cross a street. His hands balled up into fists as his frustration level started to rise further.

"Hey kid! Where the hell are you!?" Vegeta yelled, then slapped his forehead when he realized that the child couldn't hear him yelling. "Dammit! OK…think…where could that kid get to?"

Inside the gravity room, Tategoto was standing on his tip-toes to look at the smooth, shiny buttons on the gravity machine, being just barely tall enough to see the top of the panel. Being a kid full of curiosity, he reached up and pressed a button. The gravity level went up to two, but it didn't do anything because the machine was turned off. Giggling quietly, Tategoto pressed the button several times, watching the number go up until it passed one-hundred and finally stopped on two-hundred.

Outside, Vegeta was about ready to blow a gasket. The blood vessel on his forehead stood out so far that it seemed like it was going to explode, and if he could frown any more then he already was, his eyebrows would be touching the tip of his nose. A giggle from somewhere got his attention, and he turned just in time to notice the door to the gravity room was open.

"Oh shit!" He hissed, dashing for the open door in a blur of motion. "If that kid turns on the gravity, he'll crush himself!"

Tategoto's finger lingered over the activation button, the blinking light it gave off having gotten his attention. His finger was lowering, and his pointed white nail was just a millimeter from the button's surface when a hand grabbed his wrist. Tategoto gasped in surprise and whipped his head around to see a very angry Vegeta glaring down at him with feral looking eyes.

"ARE YOU INSANE!!!!!!!?" Vegeta yelled at the top of his lungs, as if yelling loud enough would breach the deaf boy's eternal world of silence. As he yelled, he dragged the child out of the room.

Tategoto yanked his arm out of Vegeta's grasp, watching him yell and feeling the vibration of his voice. He soon discovered that he could read Vegeta's lips, able to know words because most people spoke as they signed to him. It would be awhile before he would figure out how to speak, however, if he ever learned at all.

Sighing angrily, Vegeta picked up a rock and made sure Tategoto could see it. He tossed it into the gravity room and turned on the gravity so Tategoto could watch the rock crumble until it had been crushed into dust. "See that?" The Saiyan pointed to the mess that was once a rock, "That would have been you, kid." He pointed at the young Namek, hoping that he would understand.

When he saw what happened to the rock, Tategoto bit his lip and stepped back from the gravity room, which caused Vegeta to laugh. How can that man go in there if the room can crush things? Why didn't it crush me? Experimentally, Tategoto picked up a rock and threw it through the open door. The rock was immediately slammed into the ground and exploded into dust! He could see Vegeta was laughing, and watched him touch a red button identical to the one on the machine inside. The little Namek threw another rock into the room and watched it bounce and skip until it slammed against the far wall. Oh! I see! It turns on and off just like the TV!

"Got it now?" Vegeta growled.

Tategoto lost interest in the gravity room, his cape rustling slightly in the breeze as he looked up at Vegeta. He took on one of the many fighting stances that his father had taught him, doing a 'bring it on' gesture with his hands. Vegeta smirked, pointing to himself and Tategoto.

"Kid, I'd tear you apart." He muttered when the child nodded.

Taking on a fighting stance, Vegeta watched Tategoto's every move, waiting to see what he'd do. When he didn't move, Vegeta sneered, rushed forward with his fist pulled back for an uppercut. His fist only impacted the open air, and only after receiving a kick to the back of the skull, did Vegeta realize that he'd just hit an after image. Damn kid is fast! He turned to face Tategoto again and continue the spar.

Onyx eyes slowly dragged themselves open, then snapped shut again as a sliver of sunlight shined into them. The eyelids slowly lifted again and squinted. Rustling sounds punctuated the silence as bedsheets were disturbed. Two green feet with long toes and pointed toenails gently came to rest on the floor. The feet padded slowly past two piles of clothes before stopping near the source of the sunlight.

Piccolo slowly drew the curtain aside and the golden sunlight illuminated the curve of his face. He turned his head slightly and looked over at Yasmine's dark shape, curled among the wrinkled sheets. She was still asleep, smiling slightly with contentment. The tall Namekian turned back to the window and licked his lips. Why did I do what I just did a while ago? Why have I never felt this way before? Am I just going soft? Heh, maybe I am…but I will not let myself become weak. I will not depend on her…

"Mmm…how long were you awake?" Yasmine murmured without opening her eyes right away.

"Not long." Piccolo replied, half turning to look at her as he assumed his usual arms-crossed stance. The only difference was this time he was still totally nude, and he really had a body that seemed too perfect beyond words. There was no fat or flab anywhere, just a lot of hard, curving and rippling muscles.

Sexy is too simple a word for him. Yasmine thought in amusement as she stood up and walked to his side, her long hair falling over her shoulders like a cloak. "What are you thinking?"

Piccolo shook his head halfway as he reached down and started putting his clothes back on, "Just trying to make sense of my emotions." His eyes narrowed momentarily at all the sentimentality, a crease forming on his brow. "Being sentimental is not my thing."

"You don't have to be sentimental," said Yasmine as she brushed some of her hair back and started to climb into her clothes as well. "Just knowing you have the feeling is all that matters. Everybody has their own way of showing it."

Liquid white fluttered around momentarily as Piccolo lifted his heavy shoulderpads and swung them around before slipping his head through the collar. His cape settled behind him and he smirked as he watched Yasmine struggle to lift his turban and hand it to him. He easily plucked it from her trembling grasp, brushed his antennae back and settled it onto his head with a smirk. "Heh. Whatever."

"Hey kid, you're pretty good." Vegeta commented in amusement as Tategoto's punches slammed into the palm of his hand. He moved his hand slowly and the child's punches never changed speed as they adjusted to the changing height, and pretty soon, the Saiyan's hand was getting sore. He pulled his hand away and held up the other one. "Try kicks." He said, throwing a weak kick into the empty air to show what he meant.

"Aieehah!" Tategoto cried, a sound he always made when a move was a tad difficult to do, as he threw a roundhouse into Vegeta's hand. His white cape billowed around him as the kick shoved Vegeta's hand way out to the side.

"You're making my hand sting." Vegeta smirked, actually finding this kind of fun as Tategoto performed several front kicks against his hand. He could see the flame behind Tategoto's eyes, the warrior's spirit that his father had. Kid, your father must be proud, the wild-haired Saiyan thought silently. He looked down just in time to see the young Namek hold up his hand and point to it. Vegeta punched his own hand, and Tategoto nodded in understanding. "OK, kid. Your funeral."

Again, Tategoto held up his small hand, which was smaller then Vegeta's fist, and held his ground as the first punch slammed into his palm. Vegeta's wild hair looked like it got even more crazy as he started to let loose, becoming more and more surprised by the young Namek's strength. Tategoto was standing up to his punches like they were nothing, and the sound of skin slapping skin continued for a long time. Then the young boy's palm was finally too sore, and he lowered it.

You kick hard. Tategoto signed.

"Nani?" Vegeta said aloud, only succeeding in getting Tategoto to laugh at him for not understanding. Then young Namek stuck his tongue out briefly, then composed himself and crossed his arms as the Saiyan added on, "What's so funny?"

Tategoto shook his head, got down on the ground in the push-up position and looked at Vegeta. Let's rock. He thought silently as his opponent settled down next to him and gave him that typical scowl. The young Namek started to piston himself up and down as he started his push-ups, and Vegeta went right along at the same speed.

Ten minutes later, Bulma came back and found the two still having their push-up contest. She chuckled quietly and leaned on the doorframe, just watching them as the wind blew a few strands of her blue hair across her face. Tategoto was still going the same speed he'd started, and Vegeta was moving right along with him. Their moves looked synchronized, and one could almost count the seconds by watching the rise and fall of their backs. Nearly an hour after starting their push-ups, both Tategoto and Vegeta flopped onto their backs, tired and breathing hard. They looked at each other, all sweaty, and started to laugh at the fact that the contest ended in a draw.

"You surprised me, kid." Vegeta snorted after his brief laughter had passed.

Tategoto just threw his hands up and signed, Father trains me hard every day.

Vegeta sat up slowly as a few blades of grass fell out of his wild hair. He leaned back, brought his knees close to his body and kicked his legs up, throwing himself back onto his feet. Tategoto performed the same move, and his cape settled behind him as he crossed his arms, shifted his weight to one leg and looked at Vegeta with a smirk showing across his young face.

"Ha!" The Saiyan laughed, "What are you? A Namek version of Mini-Me? You're so much like your father that it's almost frightening."

Picking up the last part of what Vegeta said by managing to read his lips, Tategoto signed, Thank you.

Vegeta reached over and pulled Tategoto's turban down over his eyes, then crossed his arms and laughed as the boy pushed the turban back up, laughing as well. Just then, Bulma came outside with a glass of water for both of them, seeing as they were both all sweaty and tired.

"Well, Vegeta, I see you had a good time. Maybe I should leave you alone with Tategoto more often, if Piccolo brings him by anymore after this."

The usual scowl returned to Vegeta's face. "Whatever, woman." He snatched the glass of water from her hand and chugged it down as he walked over to Tategoto and tapped his shoulder. Tategoto looked at him with half the glass covering his face since he was drinking, but he quickly finished and wiped his upper lip. "Good work," commented the wild-haired Saiyan, holding his hand out. The young Namek got the idea, the two slapped hands and promptly winced in pain afterwards. Their palms were still sore from the punches and kicks earlier.

Tategoto spotted another shadow on the ground, grinned and turned to see Piccolo coming in for a graceful landing, his white cape flapping in the wind behind him. Hello Father!

Hello, was Piccolo's brief reply as he crossed his arms while looking at Vegeta and Bulma. "So I guess you could handle him after all. Heh." He smirked as his miniature twin came up beside him and assumed the same arms-crossed posture.

"The kid's a bad-ass." Vegeta snickered, "No, really. He is."

"I can see where he gets it from." Bulma muttered under her breath, then plugged her nose. "Vegeta. Shower. Now! You smell like an old gym sock!"

Vegeta snorted and went back inside, but not before turning back and flashing a quick thumbs-up to Tategoto. Tategoto grinned and flashed one back, then grasped his father's hand to be carried back out into the valley.

To be continued…