Title: Time

Author: Bazaar Malay

Rating: Fiction Rated : T

Note: This particular piece of fiction was kicked started by Nindy Kyoko Shinretzu, who sent me a very kind PM the other day. The kick in the butt I needed. The next chapter of 'Left' will be up soon, I promise. ENJOY!!

He never spent time with them.

But she knew that, she always did. From the second it had begun she knew this was how it was going to be.

But does that mean she still wasn't a little disappointed?

Hell to the no. She was pissed, and she was extra pissed on this particular morning.

Saturday morning, Trunks was sleeping in, her parents were sitting out on the patio drinking coffee, and Bulma stood in the kitchen, staring at a very large mound of pancakes.

And I know what you're thinking, pancakes? And the answer to your silly question is – Yes, pancakes. Blueberry pancakes. Duh. Saturday, mid morning, nice and breezy outside – It practically screams pancakes.

But that really isn't what's important, who is going to eat these particularly delicious pancakes is.

Trunks? Of course, in fact Bulma should probably hide them before he comes downstairs and eats them all before anyone else can.

Her parents? Yup, especially her mother. You know how Bunny is.

Bulma? It just so happens that blueberry pancakes are her favorite breakfast ever. I know, crazy coincidence, huh?

Now here is the tough question –

Vegeta.

This requires thought, planning, and execution.

Vegeta, at the moment was outside training. Shocker. He'd actually been training for the past three days straight, no breaks, no stopping, no nothing.

Bulma continued to stare. How could she get him out of that damn room and into the kitchen to eat breakfast with the family. His family.

But Bulma couldn't think of one single thing to –

"Good morning, darling!" Her mother squealed, bouncing into the room, Dr. Brief sliding in behind her.

"Hi, mom." Maybe she could –

"Pancakes? Cool!" And then, as if in slow motion, Trunks sprang up into the air and dove straight towards the plate of deliciousness.

But just as he came within inches of his goal Bulma snatched them away. "No, not until everyone has some first – "

"But mom!"

"No! You have to wait, that's what you get for eating everything within a ten foot radius."

He stared at her, confused. But then again you would be too if you were five and had no idea what in the world a 'radius' was. "Okay…" He conceded.

Ha, one point for Bulma. Not that she was keeping score or anything…

Soon the table was almost completely full, except for a certain seat right next to her.

Bulma couldn't help but be saddened that, yet again, Vegeta did not want to eat breakfast with them. Or eat any breakfast at all for that matter.

She stared at the empty seat and sighed. 'I guess today will just be one of those days.' She thought with a tone of finality.

"Mommy?"

She was taken out of her day dream by her son's voice. "Yes, honey?"

"Is Daddy going to eat with us?"

The question struck her. She never thought he noticed it that much.

"No, sweetie, he probably won't, but maybe tomorrow." She tried to reassure him.

He pouted. "You said that yesterday…and every other day."

"I know, but – "

"He never eats with us, or does anything with us."

She didn't know how to respond.

"It's not fair." He said bluntly.

Bulma stared at her son, "No, it's not." She said in a very monotone and inattentive voice.

And then it hit her.

It wasn't fair. He never did eat with them. He was never with them in the house, whether they were watching T.V. or just hanging around, he never put Trunks to bed, or took him to the park.

He never did anything. Ever.

And now he wasn't sitting next to her, but what he was doing was making her little boy think his father didn't care.

And Bulma just would not let that stand. She couldn't.

"Excuse me." She stood up from the table and walked to the door, taking one last look at her son's disappointed face before stepping out onto the grass near the Gravity Room. The ground seemed to sink underneath her.

Bulma could hear the sounds coming from inside the room. The yells and thuds against the walls. She banged on the door.

No answer.

Okay, that was expected.

Knowing that if she called him from the outside he would ignore it she took the opportunity to shut the whole damn thing off.

Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

She could hear him scream in frustration at his precious training being interrupted. She opened that door and stepped into the dark room.

"What!" He shouted at her.

She turned the lights on. "I'm sorry, but you do not speak to me that way."

He squinted in the sudden brightness. "What the hell do you want?"

Bulma's nerves all of a sudden came over her. "I…uh…I want you to…I want you to come eat breakfast with me, with us."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Is that all you came in hear to say, you want me to eat breakfast? You wasted my time with some idiotic question like that?"

"I said – you do not speak to me that way."

They were at a stand off for a moment. Neither willing to budge.

But with Vegeta these things could last forever, so Bulma gave in before Trunks ate all the pancakes and this became pointless.

"Come and eat breakfast with us."

"No." He said flatly.

Why did he have to be this way? He couldn't spare twenty minutes to eat with his family? It wasn't like the Gravity Room was going anywhere.

"Why do you insist on training so much?" She asked, "The androids are dead, there are no imminent threats to this planet. What can you possibly be doing?"

Vegeta looked at her like it was the dumbest question he'd ever heard. And maybe it was, but she needed to know why he stayed in here, day after day.

"I train to get stronger."

"Why don't you just try something else for a change!" She screamed, suddenly angry.

"What else is there?"

What else is there? What else? Oh, she could not believe he honestly said that.

"What else? I don't know, maybe come out with us every once in a while. Go to the park, walk around town, relax at home. Maybe watch a movie with us, or play with your son, or talk to me! Did those things ever cross you mind?"

Vegeta, stood, stunned. "I'm not going to talk about this." He turned around.

"No! No, do not just walk away from me! You can't ignore me Vegeta, I am your wife. The mother of your child. I am not going away no matter how much you want us all to disappear!"

Vegeta's head snapped to face her. "You think that's what I want?" He said in a low voice.

"Of course! When you spend days in this room without even coming out to eat or sleep what do you think I get from that? Huh? What do you think that tells me?" Bulma's voice was hoarse from shouting so much, but her next words were mumbled in a whisper.

"You haven't slept in our bed for a week…" She looked up. "What do you want from me?"

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"What do you want from me? What do you want from out son? He's five years old; he doesn't understand why you won't spend time with him. Every day I see his little smile disappear the second he realizes you're not there - that, once again, he'll have to miss his father for another day."

"I have to train."

"No. Don't do this Vegeta. Come eat…"

Vegeta stared for a long while. And for a moment Bulma thought he was actually going to do this one thing with them, but then came –

"I don't have time for this." And he turned and walked to the control panel.

Her voice cracked. "Eat breakfast with us." She pleaded, and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Please."

Vegeta fingers running across the keys hesitated for a moment.

Bulma half smiled. "I made blueberry pancakes."

A pause.

Vegeta's fingers continued to glide across the board.

She started to cry. This one time, this one time he couldn't stop. Not even for his family. The people who loved him.

She slowly walked back towards the kitchen. Wiping her eyes before entering, she didn't need her parents, and most especially her son, to know she had been crying.

She sat down next to Trunks, he of course had eaten half the pancakes by now.

She took one last look at the empty seat next to her before putting on a smile and eating the delicious food she had made.

After a while she got lost in whatever pointless conversation her mother had began, and didn't notice the figure coming up behind her.

Vegeta sat down next to her.

She stopped.

He looked at her with a blank stare that meant more than anything he had ever said to her and then began eating his breakfast, but not before mumbling – "I can't believe he can eat that many pancakes at once."

Bulma stared at him for a moment.

He didn't seem to notice her. He also didn't seem notice the look of awe he was getting from his son and the smile that soon followed.

But he never did miss another Saturday morning breakfast.

- Bazaar