Realizations

A cry sounded from the new baby's room.

"Vegeta, will you go change her diaper?", a sleepy Bulma asked.

"Why don't you, woman?" he snapped back. He rather enjoyed the small arguments they had each day. The woman had fire in her soul. He liked that. Today, Bulma Briefs was NOT in the mood for an argument.

"Just go change the freaking diaper!", she screeched. He had noticed she was getting a little stressed lately.

As he was reluctant to enrage his beautiful, quick tempered wife, though he could easily overpower her with little more than a cold glance, he obliged.

"Just this once.", the Saiyan prince said. He then surprised his wife with a loving kiss on the cheek before he left to tend the baby girl down the hall.

He walked down the halls of Capsule Corporation, past his son Trunk's room and into his newborn girl's room. It seemed to Vegeta that she always needed a diaper change at this time, which as he looked at the clock, discove

red was 1 o'clock in the morning. He started changing her diaper, and looked into her eyes.

"You certainly are a beautiful child. Yes, you will have to beat the boys off with sticks one day. Now promise daddy that you will never settle for less than the best." he said to the child in front of him that answered with a giggle.

"How did this little thing get me so emotional? I'm so new to this… UGH!" he sighed. "Oh well, I guess I will have to get used to this whole love thing." He then started making the journey through the twisting winding halls of Capsule Corporation.

While walking the halls, Vegeta passed the kitchen. "What's the harm in a late night snack? I suppose it would be alright." he wondered aloud.

He took an apple from the island in the middle of the kitchen and smiled.

"Its beauty cannot compare to that of the family I have created. I have a gorgeous wife, and two amazing children. Well, I wouldn't mind if my son was more dedicated to his training. I am truly lucky to have stumbled upon Bulma all those years ago. She helped m

e discover love when I could've been trapped in servitude to Frieza". He thought.

He shuddered at the thought of Frieza. He was glad that his son came back in time to warn all of them, causing Vegeta's life to be spared and the world to be saved. He left the kitchen and looked into his son's room, gazing at Trunk's sleeping form. He felt a rush of pride at the thought of his son.

"I have truly discovered the meaning of life and love thanks to all of these people. They have been with me through most of my time on earth and broken through the shell surrounding my heart for all those horrible years while Frieza was my master." He thought as he walked back to the room he and his wife shared.

He crawled into bed, awaking his wife by accident.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

"I did a little thinking before I came back." He said and then relayed all that he had been thinking and feeling.

"I truly think of Earth as my home now, and am grateful that you have shown me all of this that I would have

missed out on." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you, Vegeta" a pleasantly surprised Bulma whispered to an uncharacteristically vulnerable Vegeta.

"I love you too, Bulma," he whispered back, and kissed her then eased himself onto the mattress, "I'm so glad that you are mine."

"Me too." was all that a shocked Bulma could choke out. He had revealed so much, while not expecting anything in return. So she snuggled up to her sleeping husbands form, and while he was sleeping, he gathered her in his arms and didn't let go.

While Vegeta was asleep, Bulma lay awake. "What could have caused this sudden change of heart? Just yesterday he was dead set on not showing any emotion and wouldn't say he loved us if his life depended on it." She thought..

It was sunrise when Vegeta woke up. He discovered that his alarm had been turned off. It was three hours after he was supposed to be up for training! He went into the kitchen hoping to find something to eat before he went to train. He was surprised by Bulma sitting in a chair, with two plates of food all ready for them.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked him as he sat down.

"Actually, yes. Usually you are not up this early, and I am already training. Why did you dismantle my alarm, Woman?

"Because I wanted to catch you before you went training. What was with the whole soul searching thing? You usually are not so open and willing to tell me what's going on. You caught me off guard. You really seem like you have embraced trying to learn love." She gently said.

"Well, you will never get the answer to that" he said with a devious grin.

"You jerk!" she laughed, causing him to wonder if she was sane. He knew he could calm her down if she got too mad, but he didn't really want to have to. Searching for a quick way out, he then took off through the window, for he despised the use of doors.

When he arrived at the Gravity Room, he discovered that his son, Trunks was already there waiting for him.

"Dad, I know you want me to train more so I thought that maybe you could train me today." he said, knowing that it was likely he would be turned down and cast away.

"Well son," Vegeta said, shocked that he would train without force, "That is just fine. Let's get started."

A shocked Trunks hurried to his father's side and they trained until lunch. They finally went inside and discovered that Bulma went for a walk with the baby girl, so her mother Bunny, had whipped up a quick meal that they couldn't refuse. After eating, Vegeta decided that it would be a great bonding experience for the father and son thing if they went fishing, just like Goku and Gohan and even Goten do.

"Hey Trunks, while your mother and sister are out, do you wanna go fishing?" he asked quietly.

Trunks immediately understood that his father wanted to do some bonding, so his reply was "Of course!"

While the boys were fishing, Bulma and her daughter were walking not to far away. "Well, honey I think I see your father and brother not too far away… let's go see what they are up to." whispered Bulma to her child.

Vegeta and Trunks had just caught a gigantic fish, and had just made something to roast it on and lit a fire when Bulma and the baby walked up.

"Hey guys! If I didn't know any better I would say you two are having a little father and son bonding escapade." she giggled.

"Well yes. Yes we are." choked out a flustered Vegeta, with an openly surprised Trunks at his side.

"Well, have room for two more? It's almost dinner, and this is a great opportunity for a family cookout." said Bulma.

"I think that's a great idea." said Vegeta.

They went home after there dinner, and Vegeta called them all into the living room of Capsule Corporation.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Bulma for teaching me how to love, and you Trunks, for helping break down the walls that I had built under Frieza's harsh dictatorship. You have helped free me and even though I told your mom all of this earlier Trunks, I just want you to know that even though I may not show it, I love you guys and will not let anything happen to you." he said, shocking his son, and bringing tears to his wife's eyes.

"Thank you, Dad. I never would have guessed." Trunks said, hugging his father, and shocking the Saiyan. He gathered his son in his arms and squeezed him.

"You are very welcome son." was the heartfelt answer.

Later on, while the couple were laying in bed, Vegeta whispered to his wife, "Still wanna know why opened up last night, or did what I said to Trunks today pretty much sum it up?"

Bulma's reply to that was quite simple. "I actually figured it out when you said all of that to Trunks. You made our son very happy today."

"I know. I meant every word." was the whisper in her ear.

They soon fell asleep and the subject was dropped. He indeed held true to his promise. He always meant it, and for a while, showed it.

A few months later...

While on the outside, Vegeta seemed to have no problems showing how he felt, but unknown to his family, the weight of his short time in the care of his parents, and the care of Frieza, or lack thereof, was tainting his vision of himself.

"Why am I allowing myself to be so weak?" he thought to himself one day while he was alone in the Gravity Room.

"This is ridiculous! I am the prince of all Saiyans!" Deep down he knew that the only reason he was so cranky and thinking like this was that the woman unsettled him. She got so emotional about everything that he knew that the only possible source was all the stress of basically raising the kids alone…

"He takes off whenever he pleases and if he isn't gone, he's training in the GR just like always! We never get to talk, and he hardly ever talks to the children!" Bulma ranted to herself while she was trying to sleep. Vegeta had decided to train all night, and wasn't there to stop her tirade.

"Whatever happened to the promise he made us that night? Well, I know a way that will make him take part." She muttered to herself.

The next day, her parents went on a vacation scheduled last year. They will be gone for a month. "Here is my chance to make him be a part of his two children's life!"

She then booked a trip for just her, while the kids were at school she packed her bags, and left a note for Vegeta on top of the rest of his training clothes. It read:

Vegeta, you are not actively participating in the lives of our children. Remember the promise you made that night to me Trunks and our baby girl? Time to live up to it. I am on a cruise and expect you to take care of them while I am gone. I will be back within three weeks. I love you. –Bulma

Vegeta walked to his and Bulma's room from the shower. Strangely enough he couldn't sense his wife anywhere. He intended on going straight back to the GR after he changed. She must be picking up our brats from school. He thought to himself.

He went to go grab a pair of training shorts, and saw an envelope on top of the stack he kept out for this purpose. He read it and immediately threw it across the room. He knew it was temporary, but really! He then looked at the clock, and his eyes bugged out of their sockets.

It was already 4 o'clock! He was thirty minutes late! If Bulma found out he was dead, whether he could overpower her or not, she would kill him with guilt. He flew through the open window, getting to the school as fast as possible. He went and got his daughter from the daycare his wife insisted on, and then rushed to find his son. All of the teachers gave him death glares for making them stay late to watch the children.

Bulma was having fun, but was constantly worried. When she received a call from Vegeta, she decided to pick up just for the heck of it.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WOMAN? ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE THEM MEET THEIR DOOMS? I DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE GR UNTIL FOUR O'CLOCK! WHY DID YOU THINK THAT I CAN DO THIS ALL BY MYSELF?" was what she was greeted by.

She chuckled. "What's so funny?" he yelled into the phone. "Well, actually I think you can. I did it every day. It's not that hard. You just have to change Bulla's diaper, make sure she and Trunks get fed, and get to and from school, without getting in any trouble. You shouldn't have any trouble." She replied and hung up before she could consider going home.

Vegeta was furious. "How dare she hang up on him, the mighty saiyan prince? He thought. How am I to take care of the brats when I never had to be involved before? I guess I have to for she seemed rather firm on her decision. Ugh. I cannot believe that I must do this. Its so degrading."

So he did as he needed to. He was finally getting the hang of it after a few days, and he didn't get to train a bit.

"I haven't got to train at all!" He thought, furious. "Why did she have to leave for a week? Its not right. A saiyan should be able to train! But I have to be available to pick up the kids, and cook dinner. Since when have I ever had to cook?"

The next day made a week. Bulma was to come home. When she pulled up to Capsule Corporation, nobody was outside. She walked inside.

" I can sense her energy from here. Let's just let her walk in on this scene." he thought.

Bulma thought she heard a noise from the kitchen. "I am rather hungry." she said to herself. She walked into the kitchen. The first thing she saw was her children at the table, along with Vegeta. She giggled inwardly.

"MOMMY!" Bulla yelled. "Hey mom. How was the trip?" came the greeting from her son.

"Hey Bulla!, and pretty good Trunks. How was the last week?"

"Pretty good. Dad cooked for us, he even set a plate for you."

"Hey." came a voice floating from down the table. Vegeta had spoken. "I need to talk to you."

"No problem." she replied. They walked into the living room, and Bulma sat on the couch, while Vegeta stood next to her.

"Why did you leave? You do realize that any harm could have come to them." He said quietly, obviously trying not to let the children hear.

"Because you needed alone time with them." she replied in an equally quiet voice. "You hadn't a clue what they were really like, and you always brushed them off. You needed to open your eyes, and I can see you have."

Vegeta walked over to her, and picked her up. He crushed her in a hug. "I have missed you."

"I missed you too Vegeta."

"From this point on, I will be more involved. Me and Bulla bonded. I helped Trunks with his homework. Being a dad really helped me realize what I was missing," he said. Bulma smiled. Her eyes had a look in them that said she knew. They would never have this misunderstanding ever again.