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title: Daddy's Girl
series: Dragonball Z
characters: Bejita, Buruma, Bura, and mentions of Torankusu
count: 551
notes: (03/21/08) Just an exploratory Briefs family drabble. Bejita settling down and becoming a family man tickles me.
"Be careful," Buruma warned, shouldering their newborn daughter into her husband's arms. Bejita grunted, but managed to tuck the child into the crook of his elbow without incident. After a moment he straightened, allowing Buruma to slide off the couch and climb painfully to her feet. The baby yawned, rubbed a mittened fist across her nose, and stared at him. He frowned. After a moment, she frowned back. He blinked, surprised. He never could hold Torankusu's attention, at that age, unless the kid was screaming for something. But Bura just pushed that same fist into her mouth, regarding him with half-lidded eyes as she chewed.
"Why can't you get your mother to watch her? I'm busy," he complained half-heartedly, prodding that hand with a fingertip. Bura growled around it, warning him to back off. He couldn't help but be transfixed by those piercing, baby blues. She really was the spitting image of her mother.
"It's only for a few minutes, hon. I just need a shower," Buruma reasoned. "Play with her. She likes you."
Bejita flushed, then scowled. "You don't know that."
"I do know that," she grinned, kissing his cheek. "All it took was one look at your face and our son couldn't stop screaming!" She giggled at the strangled expression on his face. "Babies can sense evil, you know."
"Tch," he grumped, hooking a fingertip underneath Bura's wrist and tugging the mitten out of her mouth. It was wet.
"Come on," Buruma cooed, already halfway out the door, "bonding is a beautiful experience—and don't think for a second that I didn't catch the way you were looking at her! Anyone can see that you're absolutely crazy about that little girl, Bejita." She held up a hand, cutting off his protest. "And there's nothing wrong with that. Just enjoy being a daddy, okay? You only get one chance to be the most important man in her life."
Then she was out the door, leaving him to digest that on his own. A small noise caught his attention, and he looked down again to find that Bura had tugged his finger into her mouth to chew on instead. His daughter grumbled, disliking the rougher texture of his gloves but unwilling to release him. He couldn't help a small chuckle. "You're Saiyaijn, alright."
He regretted to recall, momentarily, that his son had been this exact same way as an infant. How easily he'd written him off as a half-breed. And just how easily Torankusu had proven him wrong. But even a few years had wrought visible damage on their relationship, and he doubted that he could fix their fundamental differences at this point. He wasn't keen on repeating that mistake.
He had to wonder if his sudden attachment to his children was remorse, or if it had something to do with their dying bloodline. There were only a handful of children between himself and Kakarotto. And of that, Bura was the only female—perhaps the first to be born in over thirty years. Rarity that their women were, he wondered if this wasn't an exaggerated instinct to protect his only, precious daughter.
She batted his hand away and yawned, turning her face against his chest. No matter the reason, somewhere beneath her cheek, the Prince's heart was melting.