You like me more than a hamster right?
Just a little ol' something that's been dancing in my head. Hope you enjoy
XXX
"Goten catch!"
Tossing a football to his younger brother, the 7 year old demi Saijin, laughed with joy as he flew across the yard to catch the pig skin. He was tackled abruptly however by his lavender-haired best friend, who wrestled him to the ground and used his body as a springboard to jump up and catch the ball.
"Intercepted!" Trunks cried in victory. He threw the ball to the floor and did a little victory dance and Goten, thinking his friend's behavior was hilarious, joined in on the dance party.
Trunks stopped dancing. "Goten," he said. "I stole the ball from you, you have nothing to celebrate. You should be trying to get it back."
Goten stopped and stood up straight. "Oh." Suddenly the ball disappeared out of Trunks' hand and went long across the yard. "Catch Gohan!"
"Hey!"
From a lawn chair near the house Bulma smiled at her three boys. It had been a little over two years since her family grew from a three person house-hold to a five person house-hold. She sighed sadly at how the circumstances came to be but they had come a long way from where they were in the beginning.
Following a devastating accident that took Chi-Chi's life, Bulma swooped in and had taken the Son boys in as her own, promising to raise them as best she could that would do her best friend proud.
In the beginning it was a little difficult. Actually very difficult if she was being honest. Gohan was being eaten alive from the inner turmoil at losing both parents. He was just beginning to surpass the guilt he felt over his father's death when suddenly, his mother passed too.
The young teen replayed over and over in his mind how it happened, how he could of prevented it. If he had just stayed inside that day; if he had just kept a close eye on his brother like he was supposed to, instead of whining about "having space." None of it would have ever happened.
It had taken a lot of coaxing and a lot of therapy to finally get Gohan to a point where he was functional again. He still hadn't fully recovered but aside from his occasional bad days, he was better.
And then there was Goten. Bulma swore sometimes that the young boy didn't quite understand that he was in her care now and not on a perpetual sleepover with Trunks.
Having being raised in the mountains and home schooled by his mother, Goten was sealed off from a lot of traditional normalcies that kids his age would know about. With her second born, Chi-chi was adamant about keeping him away from violence so he was ignorant to things like martial arts, fighting, training, guns, and anything that would trigger his natural born instinct to fight.
But that unfortunate teaching left Chi-Chi to pay the ultimate sacrifice.
Her young son didn't know what it meant, when four men barraged into the house with loaded weapons, demanding money out of her. He didn't know what to do when they snatched him by his collar, put a metal barrel to his head and began to hit is mama.
He cried out for her but the men were relentless. He had never seen blood come out of someone before. He had never heard the crack of broken bones. He cried harder when she began to fight back. He knew his mother could fight, Gohan told him all the time but he'd never actually seen her and he was afraid she'd get hurt.
Things began to turn around however. She was able to beat two of the guys off of her and the guy holding him began to get antsy. Goten thought she had a chance, he thought she would win.
But then came the loud 'pop,' and his mama fell limp to the ground.
Goten didn't know what this meant. Something struck a chord deep within him and he saw blazing gold before he saw white. He remembered crying, screaming and blacking out, and when he came to, Gohan and his mama's friends where there, and the bad people—or what was left of them— were being shuffled out in body bags.
Everyone kept quiet about what happened to Chi-Chi for a while around him. No one could muster up the courage to quite tell him that she was gone. Bulma had tried on many occasions but she was too overwhelmed by her own grief that she couldn't find it in her heart to break his own.
When the day of Chi-Chi's funeral came she finally sat him down to explain to him what was going on. He was confused at first; he didn't understand what death meant. He knew that his father was dead but he had never met him so he thought people who were dead never got a chance to walk the Earth.
Taking him to his mother's casket Bulma found was a grave mistake. She thought it would help explain things to him but in hind sight, she should have known it was a terrible idea. The young boy completely lost it.
He was screaming and thrashing, crying desperately at his mother to wake up and she wouldn't. Completely heartbroken he was crashing around the room, destroying all the sympathy flowers, windows and pews of the church. It had taken Vegeta three tries to stop the monstrosity before he finally blew a swift chop to the back of the boys head, knocking him out cold.
He spent the rest of the funeral asleep in Vegeta's arms and the next 10 months, attached to Bulma like glue.
Bulma had to take a pretty long leave of absence from work to get Goten and Gohan to adjust to their new home at Capsule Corp. Goten had a perpetual fear of losing his care takers so he spent his days a nights attached to the hip of mostly Bulma, but when he was able to, he latched onto his brother or Vegeta. Bulma spent many days with him, watching him eat, play, lounge and even shower. And at night she spent many nights on a fold out cot in his room, easing him to sleep with her presence alone.
Just like Gohan, it had taken a lot of coaxing and a lot of therapy until the young boy was finally comfortable enough to be alone but he still never ventured far from his primary care-takers.
Now, over two years later, her growing boys were adjusting well to their new living situation and she could only hope she was doing them just as well.
She was after all, doing the best she could. Along with her own son, and her husband, things could get hairy with 4 Saijins under one roof but they made it work.
"Boys!" Bulma called from her spot on the lawn chair. She stood up and shielded her eyes to look at all three boys floating in air. "Who wants to hit the pool?"
"Me!" They all shouted at once, ditching the football and taking off in the direction of the lavish Capsule Corp pool.
Unfortunately for Vegeta, he chose the wrong time to exit the gravity room as a ditched pigskin was a dangerous pigskin and it hit him smack dab in the middle of the face.
He growled and the boys laughed. "Sorry dad!" Trunks called behind him.
XXX
The pool was full of excitement for the afternoon and after dinner it was time to wind down. School would be starting soon and Bulma was adamant about getting the boys to bed a little earlier each night to make the adjustment easier.
After full tummies and a warm shower, the boys each retreated to their rooms, while Bulma and Vegeta—to have a little time and space to themselves—downstairs.
Feeling lonely Goten wondered to his best friends' room to catch a few more hours of play time before bed.
"Hey Trunks, whatcha doing?" Goten wondered in the young Prince's room and found him sitting at his desk scribbling furiously at something under the desk light.
"Sketching something…" Trunks replied, obviously side tracked from his manic scribbling.
Goten pulled up a chair. "What is it? Is it a coloring book?"
Trunks gave his friend a pathetic look and scoffed. "No way, coloring books are so elementary." Goten blinked. "I'm sketching a model of a high tech spit ball machine. That way, when we get back to school, we can totally nail the principal and he'll never catch us!"
Goten laughed. "Wow, real cool Trunks! But uhh….how are you gonna get the machine off the paper? Won't it just turn into its own spit ball?"
Trunks sighed. "The sketch is just a drawing of what it will look like genius. When my mom is out of the lab I'm going to sneak in there and actually build it."
"Ohhhh, well you better be careful, last time Mommy Bulma caught us in the lab she made Vegeta give us 20 lashes."
Trunks nodded. "Yeah, my butt still hurts from that," he rubbed his own backside at the memory.
"So Trunks, can I help?"
"Uhhhhhh…I don't know Goten, this might be a little…much for you. Plus I'm almost done."
Goten hopped down from his chair. "Well do you wanna play race cars then?"
"Not really," Trunks got back to drawing. "Why don't you read a book or something. Mom's gonna be up soon after her show is finished to tell us to go to bed anyway."
Goten looked around his best friend's scattered room. There were of course of plethora of toys to choose from so he could play, but his friend was right, it was almost bed time and he was fond of a good story before bed.
He plucked a book from Trunk's bookshelf and thumbed through it.
Huh. No pictures.
Discarding it on the floor, Goten picked up another and did the same, disappointed to find yet again, there were no pictures.
"Hey Trunks," he asked, continuing to pull through the books on Trunk's shelf, searching for one with pictures inside.
"Yeah?"
"Something's wrong with all your books."
Trunks didn't look up from his sketch. "What do you mean?"
"Well…there's no pictures inside." Disappointed yet again, Goten discarded another book to the floor.
Finally Trunks looked up from his masterpiece to see the disaster his friend had created in his room. "Goten!" Trunks leapt from his seat and snatched the book currently in Goten's hand before it hit the floor. "Look what you did, you made a mess!" Trunks had spent the previous morning cleaning his room so it was spick and span under his father's order. Vegeta hadn't come back for a follow up visit but if he walked in right now he knew it'd be trouble.
Goten looked around him to find piles of books scattered all over Trunk's bedroom floor. He hadn't realized he was pulling them that fast. "Oh, sorry." He said. "I was looking for a book that had pictures in it so I could read better."
Trunks scoffed beginning to pick up the books. "Don't be such a baby Goten, these are chapter books. They don't have any pictures."
"Oh," the demi-Saijin said, and picked up one of the chapter books from the floor. He opened it to the first page and immediately found words he couldn't encounter. Plus the print was small and the pages were dull and gray. He was somewhat of a beginning reader. Having being schooled at home by Chi-Chi he was just learning the fundamentals of reading and when he moved in with the Briefs he missed quite a bit of school while he dealt with his attachment issues. Now picking up where he left off, the youngest Son boy was nowhere near as advanced as his friend, who could read and interpret Hamlet in under an hour. Goten needed pictures and stimulation to get him going. There was nothing about this book that peaked his interest.
"I don't know if I could read these Trunks."
Frustrated, Trunks sighed a hard sigh and snatched that book from Goten's hand as well. "I was reading these when I was two Goten, you really need to catch up."
"But…"
"Look, why don't you go find something to do in your own room ok?" he began hauling him toward the door.
"But I—"
"I swear sometimes Goten, you could be as dumb as a hamster."
And he slammed the door in the young boys face.
XX
Having sadly retreated to his own room, Goten retrieved his favorite book from his own book shelf, taking it with him as he sat on top of his bed to read it.
It was about a family of bears and he liked it because it reminded him of his own family. There was a mama and a papa and two baby bears, and they lived together in the middle of the forest in a tree house.
Goten paused when he opened the book and a picture of his family tumbled out. It was he, Gohan and his mother, enjoying a picnic on a perfect summer day at Capsule Corp a couple years ago. And behind it was a picture of his father. Goten had never met him but his mother made sure to tape the two pictures together back to back, to remind Goten of the proud lineage he came from.
"He may not be alive here, but he'll always be alive in here," his mother would say, and she would tap his heart before relishing him with tickles. "He loves you just as much as I do, my baby boy."
Goten could feel the tears pricking his eyes and the pang in his heart and suddenly he didn't want to be alone.
He took his book with him and padded the hall down to Gohan's room knocking lightly on the door. "Gohan?"
When there was no answer, he pushed the door ajar and peered inside.
"That's great…yeah…I'd like that too," Gohan laughed. "No, no way I don't think your haircut makes you look like a boy. It's really…cute. Yeah, I like it a lot. Love it even!..But..heh, heh, not love it too much of course. Not if you don't want me too."
Goten sighed. His older brother had been acting strange ever since he went to real school last year. He was always on the phone, talking to girls and getting all fidgety. It was something Goten didn't understand but he was warned by Bulma to give him some space. Apparently teenagers like space. So Goten closed the door and retreated back to his own room.
"I'll show Trunks," the demi-Sajin thought to himself. "I'm no hamster, I'm not dumb! I'm smart!"
He climbed on top of his bed, book in hand, prepared to read it out loud, loud enough for Trunks to hear him. But when he opened up to the first page, he could only see the picture of his family staring back at him. And he could only look at the family of bears and think about how that wasn't his family anymore. And he could only remember how much he missed his mama.
So instead of trying to prove a point, Goten clutched the picture close to him, curled into a ball, and laid down.
XXX
"Are the boys all asleep?" Bulma had just exited the bathroom, shimmying into her baby doll nighty as her husband entered the room.
"Don't get too comfortable in that," Vegeta warned as he closed their bedroom door. "It's coming right off."
Bulma winked. "Yes but first, boys? Sleep?"
"The eldest one is still yammering away on that cell phone you bought him. Hate to break it to you but that wasn't one of your better ideas." Bulma waved him off as she lathered her arms with lotion. "Your son was up to one of his maniacal inventions again and I had to pry him off his computer and tie him down to the bed. And the youngest one wasn't moving when I entered the room so he's either already asleep or he's dead."
Bulma gasped. "Vegeta, don't joke like that," she said. "That's not funny"
Her husband smirked. "Oh lighten up woman, he's asleep. He can't hear us."
"You don't know that, did you check on him?"
"I opened the door, he was lying still on his bed, I shut the light out."
"Did you leave the door open for him?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Woman don't be so dramatic—"
"I'm gonna go check on him" Bulma put down her lotion and made a dash for the door. Goten was adjusting well but he wasn't that well yet. The therapist had warned her of precautions to take to ensure the best transition possible and one of them was allowing him an open means of communication. Easing Goten to cope with his grief was taxing but Bulma was dedicated to the job. She knew his triggers and knew that if he felt trapped in a closed room with the lights off, he'd start to panic, and the last thing she wanted him to do was to regress.
"Bulma," her husband's arm on hers, stopped her from leaving the room. "The boy is fine, he's not dead I promise. I can still feel his ki murmuring."
"It's not that Vegeta, I just need to make sure he's tucked in and he's ok. If the hall light isn't on he gets—"
"Hey listen, I know he's Kakkorot's weakling brat but for Christ's sake, the boy is still Saijin. Stop babying him and let him cope on his own."
"He's only seven Vegeta"
"I was seven when I lost my parents. Look how I turned out"
Bulma's eyes narrowed. "Gee, well aren't you the poster child for well adjustment?"
"What I meant was," he began pointedly. "I had the means to cope with the loss on my own and I'm fine. No one was there to hold my hand. Fortunately the boy has those resources available to him but if you over do it, he'll never know how to handle anything himself in the future."
Bulma simmered in this for a moment.
"He's already asleep, just let him be and we'll see if he can make it till' morning on his own."
Bulma sighed, she wasn't quite sure if she liked this idea. But before she could protest any longer her husband was seizing her neck with his tongue, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Bulma leaned into him. "You know, I'm beginning to think you're plan has ulterior motives."
Vegeta smirked in the crook of her neck. "Doesn't it always?" he asked. Picking her up with ease he flew them to their over-sized bed until she was settled comfortably below him. Grabbing her chin in his hand, Vegeta now stole her lips for a kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You know what you do to me when you wear blue woman," he growled and Bulma giggled.
"Well considering I had a blue dress on today and you showed your appreciation for that…" she trailed thinking of their 10 minute romp downstairs before she came up to take a shower. "I thought I'd give you a little encore, you know, quench that insatiable appetite of yours."
Her husband grunted in approval and hiked up the hem line of her baby doll so his hands could cop a feel of her bottom. Bulma rolled her hips into his that had suddenly nestled between her thighs. She relished in the attention he was showing her tonight and when she turned her head to whisper in his ear she got the strange sense she was being watched.
Opening her eyes she found she was.
Eyes widening in panic, Bulma shrieked and pushed her husband off of her, which— despite being heavy—did not expect the action from her so he tumbled off the bed and to the floor with a thud.
"Goten!" Bulma cried and quickly pulled down her baby doll and smoothed her hair. "What are you doing here honey? What's wrong?" From the floor Vegeta groaned partly in frustration and partly in agony. He hit his head pretty hard on the wood floor.
Goten meanwhile was standing in front of his adoptive mother, clutching a crumpled picture in one hand and a book in the other that dragged on the floor because of his short stature.
"Baby are you ok?"
He hung his head dejectedly and approached the bed using his leg to prop himself up before he rolled up and over.
"Mommy Bulma," he began quietly. "Do you think I'm dumb?"
Vegeta rejoined his wife on the bed "Yes" he thought but he bit his tongue. He knew if he was a smart Alek he could count on never seeing the underside of that baby doll until days from now.
"No baby," Bulma said, cupping the young demi's cheeks. "You're the brightest little boy."
Goten was still looking down and tears began to pool in his eyes, splashing on Bulma's hands and hitting the sheets. "And you like me….you like me more than a hamster right? You wouldn't trade me for one?"
When he finally looked up at her Bulma saw all the hurt and pain in his eyes and it took everything inside her not to brake with him.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh," she cooed, opening up her arms and he crawled right in. He was short in stature and small in every sense of the word so when he curled into a ball he fit right in her lap like he was always meant to be there.
Vegeta sighed and stared up at the ceiling from his spot in the bed. Well, he guessed his time with his wife was up for tonight.
"Of course I like you more than a hamster honey. I don't even like hamsters," she said. Goten sniffled in her chest, letting his tears flow freely. "I love you like my very own son. Remember what we talked about? I adopted you and Gohan so you can stay with me and Vegeta. We're your adoptive mommy and daddy and you're our son."
Goten mumbled and buried his face further into her chest. Vegeta quirked an eyebrow and huffed that the runt was getting further with his wife than he was. "Damned brat"
"Honey," Bulma picked up his face by cupping his cheeks. "Where would you even get an idea that we would trade you for a hamster?"
He looked into her eyes, wanting to tell her the truth but he didn't want to get his best friend in trouble.
Bulma signed. "I guess I have a pretty good idea," she made a mental note to talk to Trunks later.
"I know I can't read chapter books, and I'm not as strong as Trunks or Gohan, but I promise I'm trying really hard and if you keep me, I'll do better in training with Vegeta and I'll study really hard like Gohan."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down honey, slow down." She turned him around in her lap so she could cradle him and embrace him in a hug. "You're not going anywhere ok? Your home is here now, and I promise to take the best care of you. Chapter books or not"
Goten looked up at her, tears coming to a halt and she winked at him, kissing him on his forehead. Finally, a smile broke on his chibi face and he nestled back into Bulma's arms, letting his tiny hands rest atop of hers. He knew coming here would make him feel better, despite what anyone said about him.
Bulma let her cheek rest atop his head and embraced him once more before she noticed what he brought with him in the room.
"What's this?" she asked, picking up the crumpled family photo he had and she sighed when she saw the picture. She remembered taking it herself. It amazed her how much has changed since then.
"I miss my mama," Goten suddenly said. Bulma guessed he was looking at the picture too.
"I do too honey," she agreed. Goten took the picture from her hands and flipped it over so it was showing his father. "Mama told me that because Papa wasn't here, he lives in here," he pointed to his heart. "But what about mama now? Is there room for her too?"
"Of course there is. There's room for her and your dad and Gohan, and Trunks and me and Vegeta, and everyone who loves you honey. You have the biggest heart," she squeezed his little belly and Goten relished in her embrace.
"Did you know my papa?" he asked.
Bulma sighed at the memory of her fallen friend. "Yeah, I did. I've known him for a long time. He was kind, and caring, and gentle. And very handsome just like you," she ticked him this time and Goten giggled.
Vegeta had since turned on the TV but he still had an eye on the two, and when his wife mentioned Kakkarot being "handsome" he quirked another eyebrow at her. He knew the man was dead but….Vegeta wasn't exactly chop liver, which he felt like at the moment.
From his spot in her arms, Goten reached out and grabbed the book he had brought with him on the bed. "This is my favorite book," he said. "Mama used to read it to me before bed."
Bulma took the book from his hands. "Well, I may not be able to read it as good as your mama, but I can give it a shot right?" she asked. "Would you like me to read it to you?"
Gotten nodded in excitement and she cracked the book open to the first page. "Oh," he began twiddling his two thumbs together. "And sometimes, she would let me have chocolate milk and cookies while she read it."
Bulma laughed. She highly doubted Chi-Chi would load her son up with sweets right before bed, if at all, but for the night, she'd let it slide.
XX
A few minutes later after the bots brought up three tall glasses of chocolate milk and a plate of cookies, Bulma read to the young chibi in her lap, who laughed at all his favorite parts and turned each page excitedly, ready to hear the story as if it was brand new.
"And then the papa bear said, Where is my porridge? Did you boys eat my porridge?"
Goten laughed again. "That's not how the papa bear sounds!"
Bulma giggled. "Sorry but my papa bear needs a little work. Maybe we should ask a real papa bear," she winked at him and motioned to Vegeta who had turned his back to them so he was facing the TV, almost asleep by now.
Goten nodded excitedly before crawling out her lap and pouncing on Vegeta. The Saijin Prince groaned. What now?
"Vegeta, do the papa bear," Goten demanded. He groaned again and shrugged the kid off of him but he only crawled right back on. "The papa bear Vegeta, do the papa bear!"
Vegeta pulled his pillow over his head and Goten removed it. Now the Prince glared.
Bulma giggled.
"If I do this papa bear, will you leave me alone?"
"Yes," the child nodded simply.
Vegeta sighed a long hard sigh. "What has my life become?" he thought. "Where is my porridge?" he said aloud as lamely as he could. "Did you boys eat all my porridge?"
Goten fell back on the bed with laughter and Bulma joined him. Vegeta meanwhile grumbled and threw the sheets over himself and tried to get some sleep. He'd see who was laughing once dawn came.
XX
Half an hour later with a belly full of cookies and milk and the story finished, Goten was sound asleep in Bulma and Vegeta's bed. He slept on his belly with his arms splayed out over his head, and soft breaths puffed from his mouth indicating his was calm and comfortable.
Bulma continued to rub his back as she did when he was falling asleep and smiled down at the young boy. He was a spitting image of his father, right down to the flaming hair. And he had all the graciousness and tenderness of his mother.
A tear pricked Bulma's eye when she thought of the loss of her friend and she wiped it away. She hadn't agreed to be the boys God parent for no reason. As much as the boys' wonderful qualities reminded her of her two fallen friends, she wanted to make sure they never lost the makings about them.
Looking up at her husband, Bulma was just about to address him when there was a knock at her door.
She looked up. "Come in."
Spikey hair and big black orbs, popped its way into the door way until Bulma gave him a reassuring smile and Gohan fully entered the room.
He bashfully put an arm behind his head. "Oh hey Bulma, I was just looking for Goten. I went in his room to check up on him and I didn't see him there so I just wanted to make sure he's ok."
"He's fine," he smiled, propping herself up in the bed. "Are you ok sweetie?"
"Who me? Yeah, I'm great…just…I'm fine."
Bulma eyed him suspiciously before opening up her arms again and the teen boy feel into them to accept her embrace.
"I love you guys so much," she squeezed him tight. "Both of you. Whenever you guys need me I'm here ok? No matter how busy I am or what I'm up to, I'll always stop for you."
From his side of the bed Vegeta internally groaned. He hoped the two of them didn't make a habit of this.
"Well thanks Bulma but you won't have to for much longer," Gohan said.
Bulma's head perked to the side. "What are you talking about Gohan?"
"Well, I'm going to be eighteen soon," he answered. "And I can't impose forever."
"Yes, please. Keep that ambition up so my son gets the same idea," Vegeta suddenly spoke. "When you're of age, you're out this house." Bulma whacked him on the arm and looked at Gohan to continue.
Gohan sighed. "Plus I've been applying to a lot of colleges. I've been hoping to get into this architectural school abroad but it's kind of far from here. And with tuition cost and living expenses for me and him," the teen pointed at his younger sleeping brother. "I'm not sure all the money I've been saving will cover it."
Bulma shook her head. "No, Gohan, Goten can stay here. Goten will stay here," she corrected. "And you boys are not imposing. Far from it. I promised your mother should anything happen I would take care of you both. And I intend to keep that promise."
"Yeah but Bulma—
"No, you go off to any school you desire. You've been working hard all your life hun. You deserve it."
Gohan sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Yeah but I can't leave him," he admitted. "He needs me; I'm all he has left now."
"Gohan, Goten has me, Vegeta, Trunks, Krillen, Tien, Yamcha…all of us are here for him and we'll take care of him. We love him just like he's ours. And Goten knows that no matter what you're here for him too."
Gohan smiled a small smile. It took him a long time to be able to accept and live with the guilt from the death of his parents. And the last thing he wanted was to leave his brother with that same guilt if he was gone.
But as he watched him sound asleep next to Bulma, just as he had been with his own mother, something told Gohan that his little brother would be ok.
He gave Bulma another hug. "Thanks Bulma"
"Of course honey. And hey, don't worry about tuition costs ok? Where ever you want to go I've got it covered. They don't call me Briefs for nothing," she winked at him.
Gohan smiled again. "Do you want me to take him back to his room?" he opened his arms to receive the sleeping child. "Sorry if he bugged you and Vegeta."
"Yes," Vegeta answered for her and Bulma whacked him again.
As she watched him sleep, Bulma brushed some hair out of his face and he yawned. It had been awhile since she was able to coddle a child as much as she coddled Goten. As soon as Trunks could walk, he shied away from his mother's attention and began asserting his own independence. And when he hit five, forget it. Suddenly Bulma was the most uncool person on the planet.
But Goten latched onto her the moment he's walked through those doors and he never let go. He needed her and Bulma had to admit, it was nice to be needed again. She wasn't quite done snuggling him yet for the night.
"No," she finally said and she continued to rub his back before she picked him up in her arms so she could rock him. "He's ok here, I've got him."
Gohan nodded before something on the nightstand caught his eye. "Say…uhhh is that chocolate milk?" he asked.
Bulma chuckled. He was just like his father. "Go ahead sweetie,"
With her permission the teenaged boy grabbed a glass and swiped a few cookies off the plate before sitting on the floor and watching TV. He took his time to enjoy the sweets rather than devour them in one bite, and he enjoyed having Bulma and Vegeta for company as well.
Suddenly, their bedroom door swung open before they could enjoy the moment's peace and Trunks stood at the entrance, mouth agape at what he saw.
"What's this?" he asked before wondering into the room. "Dad says I'm not allowed to spend the night in your room cause' it's for weakling brat sissies but now there's a party in here?" Much like Goten, he used his leg to get a footing on the high bed before rolling himself on. "And cookies too? How come I never get cookies?—Oof!" Using his foot, Vegeta nudged his son off the bed.
Trunks huffed and hoisted himself back on, glaring at his father who meanwhile chuckled. "Shut up brat. You sound spoiled as all hell. Prince's aren't spoiled." He said.
"Well this one certainly isn't," Trunks retorted. "Mom," he whined. "I know I haven't been through anything traumatic but ever since Goten and Gohan moved in, I've been feeling a little neglected."
Bulma glared as she rocked one of the boys in question. "Trunks Vegeta Briefs"
Trunks looked at her dumbfounded. "What did I do now?"
"I don't know, you tell me. Where on Earth would Goten get the idea that he was a hamster?"
Trunks looked around the room for an excuse. "Uhhhh I don't know"
"Trunks," his mother warned.
"Ok, ok, so I maayyyyy have told him that he was kinda dumb….kinda like a hamster. But I didn't mean it."
"Trunks!"
The lavender hair boy huffed. "Well he was in my room, touching all my things and messing them up. And I was frustrated. All he wanted was to read a stupid book but he couldn't so he made a mess in my room."
"Your room is always messy, what's the difference?" Vegeta asked.
"I cleaned it up this time!" his son exclaimed.
Vegeta snorted. "Yeah right," like he'd fall for that old trick.
"Trunks," Bulma redirected his attention.
The Demi sighed. "I know, I know, Goten has been through a lot and I have to be nice to him."
"No," his mother said. "You are an extremely intelligent boy…and a hot head." He frowned at the later part of her comment. "Not everyone is up to speed with you honey but you have to appreciate others for their differences and show them kindness and respect anyway."
Trunks looked down at the book that Bulma was reading to Goten. He used to like that book too. He supposed it wouldn't be too bad, showing his friend how to graduate to chapter books instead of teasing him for his baby books.
"Fine," he finally bit out. "I'm sorry for calling Goten a dumb hamster."
"Good, you can apologize officially in the morning." Trunks shrugged. "And, don't think I don't know what you're up to with those drawings of yours," she continued. "If I catch you in my lab again I'll chop off all your fingers one by one."
He son suddenly paled and gulped; hard. Vegeta chuckled proudly. He knew he married her for a good reason.
"Sooooo since you've forgiven me and we've established that I'm your favorite child again uhhhhh," he looked at the nightstand and grinned "Is that chocolate milk?"
Bulma rolled her eyes and Gohan handed the boy the last glass of milk and the remaining cookies without question. Trunks gobbled them up with one swoop.
"Ahhhh," he fell back on the bed between his parents and rested his arms behind his head, just like his father. "This is the life, I'm telling ya,"
Out of nowhere, a kiss planted itself between his eyes. "Gah! Mom! Gross. What'd you do that for?"
Bulma smiled. "To remind you you're not neglected. And that I love you very much."
"More than Goten and Gohan?"
"I love you all the same."
Trunks sighed. "I guess I'll have to take it," He grumbled.
"I've been," Vegeta responded. "Ever since you entered this world."
Bulma giggled and it wasn't long before stillness came over the room and all of her boys were sound asleep. Goten in her arms, Trunks snuggled between her and Vegeta and Gohan at the foot of the bed. And when she herself finally fell asleep, she couldn't be happier knowing that she was their mama.
XXXX
End!
I've been thinking about doing a little series of one-shots around this. Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more.