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If there was one thing that Vegeta was never able to enjoy whilst in his adolescence, it was winter.
Sure, he’s experienced winter many times. He’s blow up planets and eradicated entire races while surrounded by piles of snow and the bitter cold air. He’s felt it creep between the gaps of his armour and freeze him to the bone. He’s seen falling snow pile on Nappa’s head and soak Raditz’s mane.
But he’s never been able to enjoy it.
The thought has never occurred to him on Earth either. The climate in West City is too humid. There’s only been one downpour of snow in the years that Vegeta has been on Earth, and at the time he was too busy being dead to even consider it.
He mentions once it to Kakarot during one of their training sessions. They’re down by the islands of South City to train. It’s safest there with only water surrounding them and no one else in sight, but the constant sand in Vegeta’s boots drives him mad. Bulma had flipped him off when he’d asked her to clean them for him. Something about not being his wife anymore means she doesn’t have to clean up after him. Vegeta had trekked sand all through her side of the house in response.
They’re perched on a pair of rocks breathing heavily as they take a break when Kakarot mentions his home. He rarely speaks about it and Vegeta finds his ears prick up despite Kakarot’s clear moaning.
“I’ve been trying to properly insulate Grandpa’s Hutt since I moved in, but that old man built it like a damn fortress. I’ll have to rip off all the panels if I want to do anything else, and I mean the snow isn’t that bad-”
“Snow?” Vegeta interrupts Kakarot’s bemoaning, and he glances over to see Kakarot raising an eyebrow in his direction.
“Yeah, snow,” Kakarot repeats before he blinks and frowns. “You’ve never seen snow? You know, cold white fluff?”
“I know what snow is, Kakarot,” Vegeta grouches, rolling his eyes and turning back to the sea with a huff. “I thought the Earth’s climate was too humid for snow.”
Out of the corner of his eye he can see Kakarot blinking stupidly for a moment before there’s a huge grin on his face. It’s the same smile that always appears whenever he’s excited over the most menial of things, like baking muffins and taking a child to a park. Coincidentally they’re all the same things Vegeta has never done, and Vegeta refuses to acknowledge that smile as the ‘teach Vegeta new things’ smile that Bulma had helpfully dubbed it.
“That’s West City,” Kakarot says brightly. “I live at the bottom of Mount Paozu. It’s freezing there during the winter, enough to snow most days. Chi-Chi and I use to argue about how she wanted to move further South. Out here it’s nothing but sunny beaches almost all year around.”
Vegeta just side eyes Kakarot and eventually gives him a brisk nod. Despite himself, he does enjoy seeing that smile on Kakarot’s face and the nod keeps it there.
“You know…” Kakarot murmurs before he shimmies across the space between their rocks to share Vegeta’s. Vegeta is used to it enough that he just huffs and shuffles over a little to give Kakarot some space. Kakarot has never appreciated Vegeta’s personal bubble. “If you wanted, you could come over sometime? We’ve got plenty of snow at the moment… and I mean, it would be fun? We could have hot chocolate and build snowmen?”
“That sounds stupid and childish,” Vegeta mutters, and he refuses to acknowledge the slumping of Kakarot’s shoulders. Nope, he’s not guilty, not at all. He internally groans as he sees the smile starting to slip off Kakarot’s face and he sighs before giving Kakarot his own small smile. “But I’ll think about it.”
The smile is back in full swing, and Vegeta feels his stomach do a weird little lurch at the sight. He tries not to think about it as Kakarot hops off the rock and beckons Vegeta forward.
“Come on then,” he jeers with a wink. “I bet I can kick your ass before the sun goes down!”
When Vegeta drags his ass through the door later that evening it’s with too many bruises and a solid dent to his ego. Bulma raises an eyebrow at him as he enters the kitchen and she just rolls her eyes before pointing him in the direction of the table. He flops down beside Trunks with an audible groan and ignores the way Bulma’s shoulders shake in barely suppressed laughter.
“You look like your ass-”
“Trunks.”
“-was handed to you, Dad,” Trunks continues, ignoring his mother’s reprimand. Vegeta scowls down at him, but when Trunks glances away he reaches over to ruffle his son’s hair. He can’t be mad at his son’s observation skills, even if they deal another blow to his pride.
…
Kakarot’s offer lingers in the back of his head for a long time, easily breezing through a week with the words replaying over and over like the most untempting yet still appealing offer. Vegeta tries not to think about it too much, although when it comes to Kakarot he’s never been able to think of much else. Trunks and Bulma clearly pick up on his distraction, but Trunks never says a word and Bulma just rolls her eyes every time they make eye contact.
“You’re worse than a lovestruck teenager,” she scolds him one evening when they’re bonding with Trunks. “Just take him up on his offer. This is painful.”
Vegeta glares at her but turns back to the model kit they’re working on, the tips of his ears burning. Trunks glances at him and Vegeta watches the way he tries not to giggle before he too continues with the model.
“Got something to say, brat?” Vegeta snarks, ignoring Bulma’s smack to the arm and staring at his son. Trunks freezes, his neck and ears turning as red as Vegeta’s no doubt, and slowly he glances at his father.
“Well, it’s just…” he hesitates and looks at Bulma helplessly, and Vegeta feels a hint of satisfaction as Bulma holds up her hands and clearly abandons their son. Trunks shoots a glare at her before turning back to Vegeta with a weak smile. “I was talking to Goten yesterday and he said his Dad is moping just as much as you are right now. We think,” he pauses and glances down at his hands shyly. “We think that you two are being silly not just admitting you like each other already.”
Bulma lets out a surprisingly loud “hah!” and when Vegeta glances her way she just looks ridiculously satisfied and smug as she pats Trunk’s shoulder.
“Knew you got my smart genes,” she says happily. “I was worried that you got your father’s dumb ones, but you’re my little man.”
Vegeta genuinely feels like he’s floundering for air as he stares at the two. Trunks still won’t make eye contact, and Bulma seems like she’s trying to communicate an entire conversation with just her eyes.
It’s too much to handle right now.
“I’m going to bed,” he mutters as he stands up, letting the model kit pieces he had in his lap shower Trunks. Bulma starts squawking something about family night, but Vegeta ignores her as he wanders off to go hide in his room for a bit.
Damn his son for being so perceptive, and his ex-wife for being a meddling menace. He hunches below his bed sheets to allow himself a momentary pity party before he really starts to think about what the other two said. It’s frustrating to finally be at that point in his life where there’s not just one or two people ready to call him out on his crap, but a whole horde. He has no doubts that if he talks to any of the others in their self-named Z Fighters group, they’ll all be scolding him for not already being on Kakarot’s doorstep.
So, in the morning when it’s barely even dawn, Vegeta climbs out of bed and goes to Trunks room. He takes a bare second to have a fatherly moment watching his son sleep, before he rips the sheets off and startles Trunks awake.
“You know where Kakarot lives, don’t you?” he demands as he dumps the sheets to the ground and stands over Trunks. Trunks is just rubbing his eyes as he wakes up and he blinks blearily up at Vegeta.
“Well, yeah,” he mumbles. He’s definitely inherited his mother’s trait of being a groggy morning person. “I mean, I know where Goten lives and his Dad lives next door after his parents split. I think it’s his great-grandfather’s-”
“I know,” Vegeta interrupts before hauling his son out of bed. “Come on. We’re getting you some breakfast and then we’re going over.”
Trunks blinks a couple more times before grinning hugely. “Really?” he says, suddenly very much awake. “That’s so cool! We’re gonna need some warm clothes though, Dad. It’s really cold up there!”
“Already sorted,” Bulma’s voice calls out from the kitchen, and Vegeta pulls Trunks in to see Bulma staring miserably into a mug of coffee. She glances up and pins Vegeta with a horrendous growl. “One day,” she snaps, “you’ll do things like a normal human instead of these stupid crack of dawn decisions.” She stands up and stalks towards Vegeta, pausing to shove a capsule in his hands and leaning down to kiss Trunks on the top of his head. “Enjoy yourself, honey,” she tells him, “make sure your father gets his head out of his ass. If you need a ride home because your father is ‘busy’ let me know.”
Her quotation marks are a blatantly seedy comment, and Vegeta narrows his eyes as she stalks past. God, he loves her still, but damn there are days he could kill her.
“Come on then,” he barks at Trunks who seems to be rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes. “Lets get ready to go.”
After a rushed breakfast, a pile up of warm clothes, and a brief argument over whether Vegeta should wear a scarf and hat, they’re finally ready to go. Saiyan’s naturally run hotter than humans, so Vegeta only opts for a warm coat whereas Trunks is loaded with every extra bit of clothing Vegeta could shove on him.
Not that it matters. Trunks sheds one of his coats the moment they take to the air, and Vegeta tells him he’ll have to be the one to explain that to his mother.
The flight to Kakarot’s home is reasonably long, close to an hour. The whole time Trunks warbles away about school and friends, and Vegeta listens with one ear. He loves his son, but the amount of babble firing from the boys mouth would rival Kakarot when’s he’s particularly passionate about something. Like food. Or fighting.
He can tell they’re getting closer when they fly headfirst into some snowfall. Trunks lets out loud whoop and twirls in the air, grinning at Vegeta as he plays, and Vegeta can’t help his little smile as he watches. The snow is landing on his face and it feels refreshing, cold immediately and lingers long enough that he has to shake it off. He can feel the cold too as it seeps in, and he glances at Trunk all decked out in his scarf, mittens, and beanie and thinks that he was stupid to not do the same.
He’ll never learn though and, instead of lingering on his thoughts, he challenges Trunks to keep up with him as he flies off in the direction he can feel Kakarot’s ki flaring up in. Trunks lets out another yell and pelts after his father, and Vegeta can’t stop the fatherly affection brewing in his chest. Not that he’ll show it.
Soon they’re hovering over a small clearing amongst all the pine trees, and Vegeta isn’t surprised to see Kakarot milling about in his bright orange outfit. Trunks calls out a loud hello as he zooms forward, not waiting for Vegeta. He watches as Kakarot glances up and raises a hand in hello, and if Vegeta were to guess he has no doubts there’s a stupidly large grin on Kakarot’s face.
When he touches down on the ground its to see Trunks and Goten already rolling around the clearing, squawking and yelling at each other as they go. Vegeta can see Gohan nearby, trying to reign the two in, and he leaves Gohan to suffer as he turns to the quickly approaching Kakarot.
“You came!” If Vegeta wasn’t mistaken he’d think that Kakarot sounded breathless. “I’m glad!”
Vegeta looks over the idiot, the way his cheeks are brightly flushed, how he has a ridiculously long multi-coloured scarf wrapped around his neck, that what Vegeta thought were his normal clothes is actually a huge orange jacket that looks incredibly warm. He can’t help his own shiver at the thought of being toasty warm. Already the cold chill is starting to settle in under his coat.
“Yes, well,” he replies after a moment, “Trunks kept moaning about the snow and-”
“He’s lying!” Trunks suddenly bellows, and Vegeta’s eyes go wide as he stares at his son. “Dad just really wanted to come and see you! I think he likes-”
Trunks doesn’t get another word out as suddenly Gohan tackles him, slamming him to the ground with a loud ‘oof’ and Goten quickly piles on. Vegeta will have to give Gohan some form of gratitude later on, maybe a nod of acknowledgement or something.
“Likes what?” Kakarot asks though, and Vegeta freezes. Of course the oaf was actually listening to Trunks. He doesn’t resist when Kakarot’s hand lands on his elbow and tugs him around, but he refuses to make eye contact. “Or likes who, Vegeta?”
“Don’t listen to him,” Vegeta mutters under his breath. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
He doesn’t receive a response from Kakarot, and a little part of him dies at the thought that Kakarot doesn’t press the issue more. Maybe if he did Vegeta would snap and just blurt out his feelings. That’s the way he’d prefer it.
But Kakarot doesn’t and there’s an awkward silence for a moment before Vegeta hears the rustle of clothing and then a sudden weight is being settled around his neck and shoulders.
He glances up in time to get a face full of multi-coloured wool as Kakarot tightens the scarf around Vegeta’s neck. He has a satisfied look on his face, and the colour on his cheeks has deepened to more than just red from the cold.
“Kakarot…” Vegeta starts to say, his hand coming up to touch the scarf as he stares at Kakarot’s bare neck. He can’t say anything else though as Kakarot reaches out to grab his elbow and pull him forward.
“I promised we’d build a snowman,” he says joyfully. “I’m sure the boys will help.”
The boys, in fact, do not help as they instead start up a snowball fight. Kakarot steers the two of them out of range of the missiles and closer to his hut. Vegeta lets himself be led, and when Kakarot drops his arm to start building up a large snowball, Vegeta only takes a moment to wonder just what is his life before he crouches down to assist.
They don’t speak, just work silently side by side while their sons squeal behind them. Vegeta finds it soothing to be working with Kakarot in a non-violent situation, even though he’ll never admit it aloud. Although, he can’t help but goad Kakarot after a while, the temptation unable to be resisted. He sniggers when he purposefully drops a handful of snow down Kakarot’s jacket, and he yelps when Kakarot pins him down to shove a handful down the front of Vegeta’s shirt. There’s a brief moment where they chase each other around their half completed snowman before their sons barrel over and join in.
It turns into an all out war with Vegeta snagging Kakarot by the back of his shirt and hauling him behind their snowman to protect themselves from their devil children. They’re still pelted no matter what though, and Vegeta surprisingly can’t help but laugh along with Kakarot.
He refuses to blush when he sees Kakarot’s eyes on him as he laughs, and he definitely refuses to acknowledge the soft smile creeping up onto Kakarot’s face.
Eventually he realises they won’t win. The boys have too much energy, but it’s satisfying to watch as they inevitably turn on each other. He sees a way of escape behind Kakarot’s hut into the trees, and he reaches over to snag Kakarot’s wrist before pulling him away from the debris and screeching children.
“Vegeta!” Kakarot squeaks as Vegeta tugs him hard enough to drag him through the snow briefly. He climbs to his feet quickly though and jogs after Vegeta as they disappear around the corner. They can still hear the boys, but Vegeta wants to be away from them as he leads Kakarot into the trees.
He’s not expecting the gentle shove though, and he blames the unexpectedness for him toppling into the snow. He’s immediately soaking wet as he lands with a ‘oof’ but when he rolls over to glare at Kakarot it’s to see him jumping forward to lunge at him.
Of course, Kakarot has as much energy as the boys, and Vegeta grabs a handful of snow to lob at Kakarot’s face before he hits the ground. With a snort he starts to move away but is promptly tackled by Kakarot who laughs loudly as he starts to cover him with snow from the ground.
Another snow fight is instigated as Vegeta responds with his own handfuls of snow, and soon the two are rolling about in a wrestling match as they shove snow down each others shirts and in each others face.
It’s fun, it’s more fun than Vegeta’s… well, ever had, and he can’t hold back his laughter as he willingly rolls around with Kakarot. He lets go, he decides to enjoy himself, and for once he’s not the Saiyan Prince or one of the strongest warriors on Earth. No, for once he’s just Vegeta, and the little kid that use to want to play in the snow instead of freeze in it is whooping in delight.
It takes a while, but finally they collapse side by side. Both breathing heavily, and in the distance Vegeta can hear their sons still being rambunctious. But right here, right now, it’s just the quiet sound of their heavy breathing and their bodies slowly relaxing after losing the adrenaline rush.
After a decent amount of silence, Vegeta hesitantly breaks it as he turns his head to the panting Kakarot.
“Thank you,” he says, and the words sound foreign on his tongue. He’s not thanked many people in his life, and Kakarot was never expected to be on that list. Kakarot rolls his head to the side to look at him though, and that familiar stomach dropping feeling comes back with a vengeance as Vegeta looks at Kakarot’s sopping hair, the flush on his cheeks, and the overall blissed out look on his face.
Kakarot doesn’t say a word though, just maintains eye contact, and after a few beats Vegeta watches as the smile slowly turns into something softer.
It feels perfectly natural to wait as Kakarot leans up onto his elbow to close the space between them. Vegeta’s eyes close at the last moment before he feels Kakarot’s lips on his. They’re wet with the salty snow, but they’re warm and tender as Vegeta reaches up his bare freezing hand to tangle in Kakarot’s hair. Kakarot makes a small whimpering noise at the frozen hand, but Vegeta just holds tight and drags him closer.
When Kakarot pulls away, its languid and gentle, kissing Vegeta briefly a handful more times before he stops, and Vegeta opens his eyes to see Kakarot leaning over him with the smallest but warmest of smiles.
“Hey,” he says quietly, barely loud enough for Vegeta to hear. “I like you too.”
Vegeta watches him for a brief moment before he smiles too and pulls Kakarot down for another kiss. Kakarot lets out a noise of disbelief, but it’s quickly smothered between the two of them as Vegeta reels him in.
Before he promptly slams a handful of snow on Kakarot’s head.
“Oi!” Kakarot barks as he pulls back, and Vegeta can’t help his laughter as Kakarot glares down at him. It’s cut off very quickly though as Kakarot lets out a battle cry and tackles Vegeta right back into the snow.
Later, much later, when they’re tired of the freezing outside, when the boys are curled up together in front of the fire after much needed hot chocolate is distributed, Vegeta thinks its okay to nudge in under Kakarot’s arm to lean against his body.
And no, he doesn’t melt when Kakarot presses a kiss to his forehead, thank you very much.
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