Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters.
Okay, I got this idea from coloring pictures of leprechauns with the kids at the aquarium I volunteered at on Sunday. After coloring three normal ones, I decided to color one with black ground and a red sky (how most of us describe Planet Vegeta XD). So I figured, why not write this little one-shot based off of the colors I used. I know it's a few days late, but I hope you still enjoy it.
Vegeta was training in what he claimed to be his GR as per normal. The only difference about today was that it was another Earthling holiday, and yet another one Vegeta didn't care for. Still, he had been lectured enough by Bulma about how he acts towards the holidays. After all, with an impressionable young boy like Trunks who idolized his father, she did not want Vegeta's holiday hate rubbing off on their son.
He didn't mind this lecture, though, but only because of what he was being asked to do. Not for the first time in his life, he was being asked to lie. Why, you might be wondering? Well, Bulma didn't want Trunks to hear the true reason his father hated Earth holidays. The truth, which he was "forbidden" to tell, was that he found those days pointless and preachy. If he were to tell that to Trunks, it only made sense that Trunks would have a similar view. So, for the sake of allowing their son to have those "important childhood experiences," Bulma asked Vegeta to make up some other excuse. Vegeta smirked at the fact that he would be able to indulge himself in some lies, and also have a little fun doing it.
It was time for his son to join him in training, and the knock on the door was right on time. Vegeta grunted and moved to decrease his normal gravity level so it wouldn't crush the boy before opening the door and allowing him in. Trunks nearly zoomed into the GR once the door was open and was wearing a smile on his face that made Vegeta sneer. "What are you so happy about, boy?" he growled.
Trunks' smile didn't waver as he answered his father. "Because it's St. Patrick's Day and mom is taking me to Goten's later to celebrate."
Of course the woman would promise the boy something so ridiculous that would distract him from his training. "This day is nothing but a waste of time," Vegeta replied coldly making Trunks frown.
"Dad, why don't you like St. Patrick's Day?" Trunks asked innocently.
There it was, his opening to tell a little lie, but how would he explain it to Trunks without letting his animosity shine through. Then he thought back to an old Saiyan folklore that his father used to tell him as a child to scare him into becoming stronger. Then Vegeta realized it was a total crock, but it could apply in this situation.
"You know those leprechauns?" he asked Trunks. Trunks nodded and Vegeta smirked. "They remind me of gremlins."
"Gremlins?" Trunks questioned. "What are those?"
"They look exactly like leprechauns, but they have Saiyan coloration," Vegeta said to start his tale. "They were a race of shorter Saiyans, shorter than the bald midget your mother is friends with. One day out of the entire Saiyan calendar, they would come out of hiding with these blood red pots and would go home to home robbing the Saiyans of important treasures, like armor or the iron currency we used."
"Why would they steal from you guys?" Trunks asked, enraptured by the story.
"Why else? To exert power over weaklings," Vegeta continued. "In fact, my father always told me that I needed to train to be strong because when the gremlins were done stealing from others, they would kill anyone they deemed too weak and then escape on a neutral-colored rainbow.
"They'd where the Saiyan uniform, blue, but it was accented with brown, not white. When I look at those little statues your crazy grandmother decorates this place with make me nauseous because it just reminds me of that folklore. I want to blast each and every one of them."
"I can see why," Trunks said nervously. "Um, dad…can we train later. There's some things I need to do."
Vegeta's brow quirked, confused by his son's request, but he nodded wanting to get back to some serious training. Trunks left the GR and he increased the gravity again and continued with his exercises for hours before he heard banging on the metal door. Growling softly, he turned the gravity off, sensing Bulma's ki outside.
He opened the door and crossed his arms, silently demanding an explanation. He was surprised to see Bulma standing the exact same way waiting for a response.
"The hell kind of story did you tell our son?" she snapped.
"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked, playing dumb.
"Don't start with me, mister," Bulma continued to berate him. "Our son just spent the last hour breaking mom's leprechaun decorations and then locked himself in his room saying that gremlins were not going to get him."
Vegeta stared blankly at Bulma, blinking a few times, before a mischievous grin appeared on his face and he started laughing in a deep voice. "Are you telling me the boy is scared of a little story that three year olds on Planet Vegeta were told at bedtime? The boy is too soft. I'll need to up his training a bit more."
"Oh no, you don't!" Bulma yelled. "He trains enough with you in that room. He's at a very impressionable age, Vegeta. He'll believe anything you tell him to be fact because he idolizes you. Don't you get that?"
Vegeta glared at her and shook his head. He did not really understand the concept of being idolized, nor did he know much about children or the way they were raised on Earth. "Woman, the boy is fine," Vegeta assured her. "He'll get over it when you go to the party. Now leave me to train."
Vegeta slammed the door in her face before she could answer and decided to go back to his training. He was a little more than irritated at yet another confrontation with the woman so he decided to uncover a spare armor he always kept in the GR if he was ever going to do intense training. He went to the compartment and opened it up to find it empty and sighed. "Every year," he grumbled before he heard the sound of a giggle in the distance. "Whatever," he growled at his own imagination before he resumed his training.
A/N: Was it his imagination? XD Lol, who knows. Anyway, random ideas due to coloring usually turn out to be strange. I hope this at least entertained you. Thank you to all the people who read and review my stories :3