Alright everyone! Enjoy a cute little one-shot about the guys babysitting while I work on some Chapters! ^w^ Be sure and check my profile for updates on up and coming works! (You can skip all the unnecessary readings above the story updates. ^^'' My Profile is being worked on after a long absence.)
The Babysitters
Bulma frowned in worry, as she put the last of the necessary paperwork in her briefcase and tugged the strap up over her shoulder. Should she really be attending the opening of the new Capsule Corp Hospital? Granted, it was her Family Company, but Gohan could surely take over, couldn't he..?
No, no. Bulma shouldn't be selfish. She couldn't force Gohan into leading what wasn't his to lead. Besides, it would do them all some good to get out without the kids for one night! Bulma smiled softly and pushed her chair under her desk and dropped a few empty Capsules into her pocket before walking out of her office, pulling it closed and pressing the lock on the keypad.
The shouts and squeals of laughter could be heard from down below in Bulma's lab and she smiled, it was good to hear the kids having fun. She made her way upstairs and smiled brightly at the scene in front of her.
Vegeta was sitting in the brown recliner, perpetual frown etched on his face as he flipped through the television channels. Bra and Marron were giggling and playing their toys in the center of the room, with in view of the adults chatting on the other side of the room, as Trunks was sprawled across the couch on the phone.
"Goten, seriously! How do you have a date and I have to stay home and babysit?! This is completely unfair!" Bulma rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time as she bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead.
"Mommy will be home tomorrow evening, alright? You be good for Daddy and Trunks, alright, Bra?" The girl nodded and went back to her dolls with a bright smile. Bulma flicked her son on the nose before kissing his forehead and walking over to Vegeta. He frowned up at her.
"Must you really leave the brats with me..? I'm sure they'd be fine in a zoo for one night." Bulma laughed and kissed his cheek.
"One night, Vegeta. I'll be home tomorrow evening. I'm sure you can handle Bra and Marron for one day. Besides, Trunks is here to help." Vegeta rolled his eyes at that as his son hung up the phone with a heaved sigh.
"Help. Right." Bulma laughed.
"The number to the hotel is on the fridge if there's an emergency. I'll be back." She kissed his cheek once more before standing and walking to the group near the door. Gohan smiled as she approached.
"Everything ready?" Bulma nodded and started out the door.
Eighteen and Krillen gave Marron a small hug and kiss each, both telling her to behave before fallowing the group out. As they made their way to the cars, Eighteen moved close to Videl.
"How much do you want to bet the house is wrecked by the time we come home..?" Videl laughed and shook her head.
"I don't think it'll take that long. I'm banking on a few hours." The two women laughed and parted ways for their separate cars. It was going to be a nice vacation...
Trunks groaned and covered his face with his arm. This was just torture. Goten, Goten Son, had a date. A date! And Trunks was stuck at home babysitting his younger sister and Marron who was pretty much his cousin. His half-android cousin. What even was his life? He shifted his arm down slightly as he felt eyes on him and jumped when he came face to face with Marron. He pulled his face back, wide eyed and sat up.
"Can I help you with something, twerp?" The eleven year old stood and brushed out her pink dress.
"Bra and I are hungry." Trunks gave her a blank stare, causing Marron to roll her eyes. "So make us food."
Trunks sighed heavily and turned to stare at his dad. Vegeta simply stretched back in his recliner and raised his eyebrow. Marron frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Bra and I aren't going to get less hungry just because you ignore me." Trunks rolled his eyes and stood up before grabbing Marron around the waist. He ignored her squeak of surprise before he dropped her on top of Vegeta's stomach with a raised brow.
"The girls are hungry. What do you want to do about lunch?" Vegeta glared, first at the head of blond hair now on his chest and then at his son.
"How should I know? Do I look like a serving wench?" Vegeta grumbled as he pushed the footstool down and shifted Marron under one arm like a luggage case, ignoring her complaints and causing Bra to giggle from her place inside the massive toy chest.
"Pastaaaaa~!" The smallest cheered. Vegeta allowed the smallest of smirks to pass over his face. If his little girl wanted pasta, she would have pasta.
"You heard the Princess. She wants pasta. Go make pasta, Brat." Vegeta motioned at the kitchen. Trunks scoffed.
"Me? Make pasta? Have you forgotten the last time I tried to cook, Dad..? I set a pot of water on fire." Marron makes a strangled noise in Vegeta's arms and cranes her neck to look up.
"How is that even possible?!" Vegeta, too, stares at his son in horrified amazement for a moment as Trunks turns a light pink before shaking his head.
"The fact that you can still find ways to disappoint me amazes me, Trunks." He mused aloud as he started into the kitchen. As Trunks glared at his father's head, willing it to explode, he felt a tug on his hand. Upon further inspection, he saw Bra, in her orange frilled dress, pulling on his hand. He crouched down to her level and smiled softly.
"Hey, B. What's up?" The four year old smiled brightly and touched her forehead to her brother's before placing her hands on his cheeks.
"Daddy loves you, Trunksie. Pinkie-Promise." Trunks smiled softly and nodded. Bra had such innocence. She saw the world through such rose colored glasses. She didn't know the harsh realities yet. Trunks scooped her up and swung her around, causing her to squeal with joy. As he tossed her high into the air, he hoped she didn't have to know them anytime soon.
Vegeta dumped Marron into a chair at the table and walked around to the pantry, sliding open the large door. Marron leaned in the chair, to see into the food filled cabinet and flailed as she ran out of room, barely catching herself on the edge of the table.
Vegeta glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes before reaching in and grabbing a package of macaroni noodles. From here he went to the stove and flicked on the burner, to make sure it was hot quick enough.
Marron leaned the other way, making the chair creak. Which instantly became fun. Marron grinned and leaned back and forth, squeaking the chair and giggling. Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"Heathen, be still." Marron made a face and climbed out of the chair, making her way to stand behind Vegeta as he bent down to grab a much-too-large-for-just-one-package-of-pasta pot from the cabinet. With the pot in hand, he turned around and nearly tripped over his feet trying to stop from running into Marron.
"Child!" Marron giggled as Vegeta glared at the girl. He filled the pot with water and set it on the stove before dropping the noodles on the cabinet and grabbing Marron has he previously had. He dropped her onto the chair she had previously vacated and fixed her with a stern look. Marron tilted her head slightly and smiled innocently as Vegeta glared down at the young eleven year old. With one hand on his hip, he pointed at her.
"Sit." Marron smiled brightly before sliding off the chair on to her feet.
"No." Vegeta glared harder and picked her up, setting her back into the chair.
"I. Said. Sit. Sit here while I make this infernal pasta." Marron crossed her arms and pushed her chin up before leaning back and forth in the chair, causing the chair to let out the squeaking noises it was before. Vegeta felt his eye twitch. He was about to wring this child's neck. He could feel it...
Goku yawned up at the blue sky and smiled as a shadow passed by the corner of his vision. He closed his eyes and hummed softly to himself, waiting for the inevitable pounce.
"Raaaaaahhhhh!" With a shout, Pan dropped herself from the air and landed on Goku, head first. It didn't really hurt, but Goku played along anyways.
"Oh! Oh, Panny! You got me!" Goku grabbed at his stomach and gasped, sitting forward as Pan giggled and bounced up and down triumphantly.
"Yeah! Winner, winner, winner!" Goku smiled and wrapped her in a hug before standing and starting towards the small cottage just up the hill. Pan pried her way out of his arms and monkeyed her way up to sit on his head, causing Goku to grin.
It was just him and Pan for the afternoon, as Chichi had gone grocery shopping today and wouldn't be back for a few hours. He was taking those precious hours to do all the important things with Pan... Like teach her fighting!
"Grampa, I'm hungries." The two year old leaned down and stared at Goku, very seriously. Goku nodded, deep in thought. Yes, this was a serious problem. It was around lunch time and he was feeling a bit hungry too... However, if Chichi wasn't a home, he wasn't allowed to touch the stove. The last time he tried making food, he had nearly burnt the house down and Chichi had forced him to sleep outside for a week.
Of course, he could always go out and go fishing or hunting. Sometimes he didn't even need to cook it! But... Goku stopped and looked up at the two year old perched on his head. Pan simply smiled back.
"Pan, what does Papa normally feed you..?" Pan frowned, clearly in deep thought.
"Papa makes nommies." Goku frowned in confusion, pulling Pan down to look her face to face.
"He makes what?" Pan looked at her grandfather as though he was stupid.
"Papa makes nommies. With... Stuff!" She exclaimed, as she flailed her hands wildly. Goku nodded and furrowed his brow in confusion. Pan nodded her head once, determined, and turned to face the cottage.
"Let's go, Grampa!" Pan cheered, as she pointed towards the cottage. They were almost there. Goku grinned at Pan's enthusiasm. She was just like Gohan at that age.
Upon reaching the door, Pan floated out of her grandfather's grasp and ran inside, straight for the kitchen. Goku followed her in, slightly slower and stopped at the pantry. Pant huffed with her hands on her hips.
"Grampa! There's no nommies!" Goku frowned and crouched down beside her.
"What do you mean? What do nommies look like?" Pan put her chin in her hand and thought for a moment.
"There's different kind'sa nommies, Grampa! But none of these are nommies!" She waved her hands at the items in the cupboard and frowned at the bags of beans, rice and other food items. Goku looked up at the shelves himself and nodded.
There wasn't anything he could do about it then. He'd have to go hunting. Maybe Pan would like fresh caught fish, who knew?
"Pan, how about fish for lunch? You could come help Grandpa catch a fish and then we can eat it!" Goku smiled brightly as he picked Pan up. Pan, having never been fishing before, was overjoyed.
"Really?! Yeah! Let's go fishing! Let's go! Yeah! Catch some fishes!"
Fifteen minutes later, however, saw Goku holding Pan to his chest as she sobbed her eyes out because she finally found out what going fishing meant.
"W-whaadya me-*sniff*-an you gotta stab the fishie?! Why's the poor fishie gotta DIE?!C-can't we j-just eat him a-alive, Grampa?!" Goku smiled sadly and patted her head.
"No, Panny, we can't eat the fish if they're still alive. It would hurt your tummy to eat them like that. That's why you have to stab them with the stick, then cut their head off-" Pan wailed.
"THAT'S SO MEAN! SO MEAN! FISH CRUELTY!" Goku gave up trying to talk and just held the toddler until her sobs and wails turned into hiccups and sniffles. Goku sat her forward and brushed the black hair out of her face and wiped the tears off her cheeks before smiling softly.
"So, no fish for lunch..?" Pan shook her head violently as Goku laughed softly. "Alright. Well, I have an idea. Maybe we should go see what Vegeta is having for lunch, eh?" Pan brightened immediately. Vegeta meant Bra and Trunks. Goku stood and Pan flew up to her spot on top of Goku's head, taking a tight hold of his hair and squeezing her eyes tightly shut.
Goku smiled slightly and placed one hand on Pan's back as he searched for Vegeta's ki signature. He wasn't going to risk flying that far with Pan on his head, but she didn't know that. As he placed two fingers to his forehead and focused on Vegeta's energy, the thought passed his mind 'Vegeta and Trunks couldn't possibly be having a worse time than me.'
Vegeta was done.
Vegeta was so done with this shit, you did not even know.
He had turned around for not even one minute to open a bag of macaroni noodles, pour them in the water, stir them and turn around. When he looked back, she was gone. Not just moved, but gone.
Vegeta blinked.
Twice.
Vegeta groaned, loud and frustration filled, before storming into the living room. Trunks was laying on the floor on his stomach beside Bra, watching a children's cartoon with a coloring book open in front of Bra.
"Where's the other one?" Vegeta barked. Trunks startled and turned to look at his father. He looked around the room before looking at his dad, confused.
"I thought you had Marron..?" Vegeta glared at the teenager tossing his hands out in front of him.
"Well I obviously don't now! Did she come this way or didn't she?" Trunks stood up and shook his head, looking around the room once more, as though he might have missed something.
"No, I didn't see her. She must have snuck right past me. Maybe she went upstairs?" Vegeta frowned but nodded.
"I'll check the upper floors, you chest the rest of the lower rooms. If you find the menace, use the intercom and let me know." Trunks nodded briskly and the men started off their separate ways. It was important to keep a watch on Marron while she was inside the Capsule Corp home because aside from the fact that Capsule Corp is huge and you could very easily get lost, Bulma had large labs with special equipment that was dangerous for young children. Who knows what Marron might damage?
Vegeta stomped upstairs, slamming doors open and feeling for a ki signature. But, of course he couldn't find one. Because, of course Eighteen would teach her child how to suppress her ki. Vegeta grumbled to himself as he shut another door and stomped down the hallway. He flung the door open to the bathroom and after finding it completely empty (the cabinets too) he realized he needed to pee. He hadn't been for hours.
Vegeta shut the door and started to unzip his jeans as he made his way over to the toilet to 'do his business'. As soon as Vegeta had pulled his boxers down, he heard a strange noise. Aside from a small confused frown, he paid it no mind. Until...
"It's a booty!"
"AH! Pan, don't look! Cover your little eyes!" Vegeta's eyes went wide and he looked over his shoulder to see Goku behind him, blushing madly and covering a giggling Pan's face as he looked everywhere but at Vegeta.
"KAKKAROT?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BATHROOM?!" Vegeta flushed and hurriedly covered himself before moving to glare daggers at the taller man. Goku, still slightly red, smiled slightly and held a giggling Pan up. The younger girl had been pulling at Goku's fingers trying to "peek".
"W-well, Panny had wanted to come see Bra and Trunks. And, er... Your ki signature was the strongest so I used it when I Instant Transmissioned... And um... You were.. Uh... In the bathroom, obviously." Pan took that moment to jump up and hover, giggling like mad.
"I saw your booty, Veggie! Now I have to get it! Turn around!" Vegeta stared at the child, bewildered. Pan grinned and made little grabs in the air with her hands.
"You're going to do what to my what?" Vegeta stared at the toddler, bewildered.
"My mama says that she has to get my booty when she sees it nakies~! So, I get to get your booty, Veggie. Gonna, pinch it like a crab! Crunch-Crunch!" Pan made pinching motions with her "crab claws". He really couldn't handle another brat today.
"No. No, no-no." Vegeta could practically feel the vein in his forehead about to burst as his eye twitched. He turned around and was starting out of the bathroom when a weight settled on his head and a small face was in his line of sight.
"You didn't wash your hands, Veggie. Mama says I has to wash mines, so you should too." Maybe if he glared hard enough the child would catch on fire. Goku laughed behind him and turned on the water faucet.
"I'd just go with it if I were you. It makes things a lot easier." Vegeta frowned as Pan pulled her head out of his line of sight and he turned to wash his hands, quickly.
One quick but efficient hand wash later and Vegeta was finishing his search of the house, with a Pan on his head. He had debriefed Goku (meaning he said: "I'm looking for a Brat.") and they were both looking in the upper rooms with no luck. Trunks came bounding up the back staircase, biting his bottom lip.
"Did you find her?" Vegeta leveled him with an unimpressed stare.
"Did I call you on the intercom..?" Trunks rolled his eyes and sighed. They had searched the entire inside of the Capsule Corp compound. Maybe she had gone outside..? Before he could voice this opinion, Bra came climbing up the stairs with her coloring books, setting them up in front of the window. Trunks knelt down beside her and ruffled her hair.
"Hey B, what are you doing coloring up here? Why not color in the living room?" Bra shrugged and looked over at Trunks and her father.
"The living room is too cloudy. I can't see my colors." Vegeta's eyes widened and he made a dash for the stairs, only to be stalled by the feeling of tiny hands in his hair.
"Whoa! Where are we going, Veggie?" Vegeta pulled Pan out of his hair and shouted a quick "Catch!" to Trunks before throwing Pan and racing down the stairs again. As he hit the bottom, he heard Pan squealing in delight and Trunks' head hit the wall.
Vegeta frowned when he saw all the smoke and waved his hand in front of his face to clear it out before moving into the kitchen, where he knew the source was. Vegeta hurried over to the stove and turned the burner off, like it even mattered anymore. The pot was charred black where it used to be shining silver, the water having boiled out long ago. The noodles were burnt to the pot, black and crispy, some flaking off as he watched. Vegeta growled and went to grab the pot, but shouted as it burnt him.
"Son of a-!" Vegeta was so done. He grabbed the handle and flung it across the kitchen and followed up with a "GALLIC GUN!" The pot was completely gone before it touched the floor. Vegeta shoved his hand under the water to cool the burn as Goku poked his head into the kitchen.
"Everything alright in here?" Vegeta shot him a boiling look, causing Goku to wince.
"I guess not. I've got the kids opening the windows and things. It's a nice day out." Goku opened the window above the sink and started trying to fan some of the smoke out with a cup-towel when there was a thump from the pantry.
Vegeta squinted at the door for a moment while Goku tilted his head at it curiously. After a second thump, Vegeta's glare intensified and he silently walked up to the pantry, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Marron looked up as the door opened and smiled brightly, not even trying to hid the half eaten package of chocolate chip cookies from Vegeta. The older man took a deep breath and tipped his head back, letting it out slowly.
"Have you been here... The entire time..? Eating cookies!?"
"Yes. Yes, I have. I also ate a Pop-tart and some marshmallows." Vegeta promptly turns and hits his head on the wall. At this point, Goku can't contain his laughter any longer.
Trunks chooses that moment to walk into the kitchen, Pan clinging to his head and Bra propped on his hip. After noticing the damage done to the stove, the burnt spot on the floor, the pile of ash, the cookies in Marron's lap and his father who was apparently trying to bust a hole in the wall with his head, his he sighed and smiled.
"Who's up for pizza?"
Two hours later saw the Saiyans (and half-android) dropping their plates and napkins into the trash before finding a spot to lay in the living room. Pan, who had refused to let go of Trunks since arriving, was curled on his chest as he lay stretch out on the couch, trying to keep from dozing off. Bra had settled into Vegeta's lap and, after making it perfectly clear that she was not tired, fell asleep.
Marron was at the other end of the couch from Trunks, clearly having a hard time keeping her eyes open and focusing on the show on TV. Her head would droop forward before she would blink and she would jerk it up quickly, trying to stay awake. After about four tries, her head finally drooped and hit the arm rest with a dull 'thud.' She was down.
Goku had no qualms about sleeping. He was sprawled across the living room floor on his back, snoring softly with his mouth open. Vegeta rolled his eyes. Didn't that idiot know he needed to stay awake and alert? He should be more like Trunks and himself!
Vegeta looked over to Trunks. The younger man was sleeping softly, one hand on Pan's back to keep her from rolling off the couch and the other above his head. Vegeta frowned and let out a sigh, causing Bra to shift minutely. He looked down at the sleeping four year old and his face softened.
What harm could a nap with his little Princess really do..? He curled the girl closer to him and leaned the chair back further before closing his eyes and relaxing, letting the peaceful sound of his daughter's heartbeat lull him to sleep.
"C'mon shhhh! They're asleeping!"
"Yeah, but mask your ki, Bra. Like, for emergencies. Because, that makes it more fun." -little giggles-
"Right! But, Pan can you do that?"
"Course I can! Grampa taught me lotsa cool stuff! And I can go 'POW' and 'BOOM' and-"
"Yeah, that's great, but let's not. We've gotta hurry before they wake up. Remember, stay quiet, mask your ki. Got it? Any questions?...Yes Pan?"
"Can I have some of the cookie nommies you had earlier..? Grandpa and Grandma have no nommies."
-little gasps-
"None at all?"
"None! I went in their food thingy and there were just these bags! No nommies at all!"
-smack-
"...Marron, why did you hit your face..?"
"..No reason." -sigh- "Come on... Let's get some cookies and go hide.."
"Vegeta! Vegeta, wake up! We lost the kids!"
Vegeta's eyes popped open and after shoving Goku's worried face out of his, he scanned for their ki's. He frowned when the search turned up with nothing.
"Damned brats are hiding their energy again..." He stood and frowned as he looked around the room.
"They're hiding. They want us to find them. It's called 'Hide and Seek', Dad." Trunks sat up from under the coffee table and waved a note. Vegeta grabbed the note and, sure enough, written in Bra's sloppy, misspelled four year old scrawl was "We R Hideeng! U Hav To Find Uss!" with a large smiling face drawn beneath, signed with a B, Marron's much neater hand writing, and a scribble that he supposed was to pass for Pan.
Vegeta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Really?
Really?
This was not how he wanted to spend his day. He had planned to shove the two, two brats!, off on Trunks and spend the rest of the time doing whatever else he pleased. But now, Other-world help him, he was being forced to lay children's games.
Goku grinned and looked around the room, sparing a glance at the clock. It was nearing four in the afternoon. With a shrug he started towards the front door.
"Hey guys, why don't we go train for a while?" Trunks sputtered.
"What? Right now? We have to find the kids!" Goku simply smiled and waved him off.
"Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine. They'll probably come out of hiding after a while. I'm sure they'll get bored when they figure out no one is looking for them!" He laughed and hopped off the front porch, starting into the grass to do warm up stretches. Vegeta nodded slowly, as it did seem reasonable. After all, why hide for a game if no one is coming to find you?
He stripped his shirt off, not wanting to ruin another one and face Bulma's wrath again, and started out after Goku, only stopping when he realized Trunks wasn't following.
"Are you coming, Trunks?" The younger man gnawed at his inner cheek. They probably should be looking for the kids... Who knows what kind of trouble they could get in to..? But, he did want to train. It had been a while since his father had offered to spar one on one with him. Passing up this opportunity would be like passing up an all you can eat buffet!
Trunks nodded and jogged past his father out the door and to the yard to start stretching beside Goku. Vegeta left the door open, and with one last glance and ki search, he hopped into the yard to start sparring.
Three hours later, Trunks, Vegeta and Goku were laying shoulder to shoulder, trying to catch their breath. It had been a good sparring session. The three men were sweaty, hot, sore, and exhausted. Goku was the first to stand, offering his hands to the two men still laying in the grass.
Vegeta brushed his hand away, not unkindly, as he pushed himself up and popped his back and shoulders. Trunks, however, accepted the hand gratefully and groaned as he levered himself up. Goku grinned and clapped Trunks on the back, causing the younger man to cough and stumble, trying to catch his balance.
"You did really good today Trunks! That training with Goten must be working! Keep it up!" Trunks flushed a light pink and nodded, smiling at the praise. Vegeta looked up to the sun, the almost completely set sun, and motioned towards the house.
"We should head in now. I'm sure the Brats have come out of hiding." Without waiting for a reply, he started in, ignoring the stretching of his newly sore muscles.
Trunks and Goku followed Vegeta, Goku happily and Trunks stiffly. To be honest, his training sessions with Goten weren't much training... They were more video games that led to fights. But, hey, whatever they wanted to think, right?
Upon entering the living room, Vegeta frowned. The only light on was the television, and there were no children there. He flipped on the light switch and searched for their ki, only to find the same as before, nothing. Goku stopped beside him, frowning in worry.
"They're still hiding..? Hm. Maybe they got stuck somewhere..? We should probably look for them, Vegeta." Vegeta leveled Goku with his best 'look'.
"No, Kakkarot, I figured I'd just leave them there. Let them sort themselves out. If they're not found before the women are home, we'll presume them dead." At Goku's horrified look he scoffed and rolled his eyes "Yes, you idiot! We should look for them!" Goku nodded and rubbed a hand over his face.
"So. Where do we start?" Vegeta flung his hands in the air and waved them a bit. As if he knew proper protocol for missing children! What did he look like, a detective?!
"How should I know?! Just- Go- Look somewhere! Where the little heathens could hide! They're small, so they fit in tiny places, so look everywhere, Kakkarot!" Goku nodded determinedly and started across the room, lifting up the couch. Vegeta slapped his palm to his face.
"Not there, you imbecile! How would they get under there?! There's two inches of crawl space!" Goku smiled sheepishly.
"Oh... Right." He set the couch down gently before heading towards the kitchen. Vegeta rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long night.
After checking every room on the first and second floor and making Trunks check the basement labs, the children were still nowhere to be found. It was nearing eight and Goku was starting to panic.
"Guys, I gotta find Pan! I can't lose her! Chichi will never let me live it down if I lose her. I mean, this is worse than those times I lost Gohan!" Trunks cracked a grin at Goku's words.
"They have to be inside somewhere, Goku. Maybe we just missed them somewhere..? Where haven't we checked?" They were in the laboratory looking at a digital set of blueprints of Capsule Corps that Trunks had pulled up.
"I checked... All of these rooms here." Goku made a line across all of the rooms he had checked, being most of the first floor. Trunks nodded.
"I've searched the second floor thoroughly." Vegeta stated and Trunks made marks through the rooms on the second floor. All the basement rooms and the Lab they were in had been untouched, thanks to his mother's keypad, and Trunks was now stumped.
"Then, that's all the rooms, guys... Is there a chance they-" Trunks was cut off by Goku's hand shooting across the screen.
"Wait! What is that area there?" All three men leaned in as Trunks turned the image.
"Oh, that's the attic. But, the girls wouldn't have been able to reach it. The door to it is from the second floor ceiling so unless you had a step ladder." Trunks shrugged and made to zoom out but Goku grinned and shot back from the table.
"Pan can fly."
Goku opened the attic door and was prepared to rush in and scoop his little Panny up, because she mush have been so scared, she was there for so long! But, what he saw made him smile and wait instead.
The three girls had indeed gotten bored of hide and seek and had take it upon themselves to play in Bulma's old clothes and make-up. They had obviously gotten hungry too, given the empty juice bottles, chip bags and cookie containers. But, what had made Goku smile the brightest was that the three girls were curled together on a small couch, asleep, all wearing Bulma's old clothes and some smeared make-up, with chocolate and Cheese-puff dust on their made-over little faces.
When Vegeta pushed his way up beside him and huffed out a small laugh and grin, Goku turned to him and smiled even brighter.
"We should probably clean them up." Vegeta nodded but held up a finger for Goku to wait. He dropped back down the ladder and after a moment came back up with a camera, causing Goku to smile once more.
"Bulma will want to see this tomorrow, I guarantee." Vegeta stated as he captured three quick pictures (one for each parent) and shook the developing Kodak pictures.
After setting the camera and pictures somewhere safe, the three men each aimed to grab a child. Goku was forced to take Marron down stairs because even in sleep, Vegeta claimed that the child would still cause him problems. Trunks picked up Pan, who cuddled right against him, and Vegeta was left to carry Bra.
The real problem began once the kids were downstairs. Now that they had them down, were they going to simply wipe them off, or bathe them? Should they even be woken up? Did they really want to take that risk again..?
It was taken out of their hands when Pan began to whine and twist in Trunks' arms.
"Hey, Panny, what's wrong?" Pan looked up at Trunks, still half asleep and sat up.
"Mmm, I don' feel so good... My tummy.. My tummy is kinda icky." She screwed her face up and curled against Trunks as he rubbed her back worriedly.
"'Icky'? Icky how, Pan?" She shrugged halfheartedly.
"Like... Like, I'ma 'frow ups... Like- right now-" Pan ended her sentence with a gag and a mouthful of vomit all over Trunks' shirt. Vegeta looked up from his discussion with Goku and saw his son's wide eyed horror and the mess on his shirt. Vegeta couldn't stop the laughter that erupted if he tried.
Goku smiled sadly and laughed a little too. He knew how awful it was to be the one puked on. Thank Kami it wasn't him this time!
Pan coughed a little and rubbed at the tears in her eyes as she sniffled. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't. Trunks swallowed thickly, it wouldn't do any good to puke when he still had to clean Pan up.
"Panny, do you feel better now?" She nodded silently and Trunks nodded back. "Then let's go get cleaned up, alright..? You can borrow one of Bra's sleep shirts." Pan nodded once more and they started out of the living room, Marron slowly blinking awake as Vegeta's laughter still boomed.
~*~*~*~*~*
Trunks set Pan on his bed before quickly stripping out of his shirt and dropping it in the laundry hamper, barely suppressing a shudder. Pan stood on his bed, pushing her toe into the comforter almost shyly.
"Sorry for throwing up on your shirt, Trunksie..." Trunks turned from his search for a new search and smiled at Pan before ruffling her hair.
"It's alright, Panny. You couldn't help that your tummy was upset. Let's get you cleaned up though, alright?" She smiled brightly and nodded, pleased that Trunks wasn't mad at her. Trunks pulled on his shirt and scooped Pan up, walking down the hall to Bra's room to grab a sleep shirt and a pair of panties. Which made Trunks think...
"Hey Pan, you haven't been to the bathroom all day today, do you need to go?" Pan's eyes widened and she nodded vigorously.
"I gotta go I gotta go I gotta go!" Trunks eyes widened and he took off to the other end of the hall, and nearly dropped Pan while fumbling for the light switch. Pan was bouncing up and down, and wiggling every which way, trying to get Bulma's old t-shirt up so she could pull her panties down.
"I'm gonna pee mahselffffff~!" Trunks finally pulled the shirt up for her (which was really a dress on Pan) and she cheered as she got her panties down and on to the potty but frowned as she saw Trunks just standing there.
"What..?" He asked. Pan wiggled on the potty and glared at him.
"You can't watch meeee! I can't peeeee if you're watching meeeee, Trunks! Don't look!" Trunks rolled his eyes and turned around, nearly braining himself on the door he forgot to close and looked the other way.
"Sing a song!" He sighed heavily.
"Pan, I'm not even looking-"
"DON'T LISTEN EITHER!" Pan screeched as she flailed her little legs. Trunks huffed and started singing one of the songs he had heard on TV the other day. Finally he heard a flush and feet hitting the floor.
"You can look now." Trunks turned around and Pan was grinning, her face still covered in cheese-puff dust, chocolate and make-up. He couldn't help but smile back.
"I pee-peed in the potty~!" Trunks nodded and clapped.
"Congratulations. Now it's time for a bath." And with that one word, the whole world was shifted onto it's axis. Pan's smile dropped into a frown and her eyebrows dropped. She could've been mistaken for Vegeta's child. Trunks took a deep breath as he closed the door and prepared himself for the fight of his life. He might hurt worse after this than he did sparring with Goku and his father...
Goku came in from the back yard to find Marron (who had used the down stairs bathroom to shower), Vegeta and Bra (who was curled in her father's lap) frozen in place on the couch and staring at the ceiling as though it would fall in at any moment. Goku tilted his head up to look and after finding nothing glaringly obvious he turned his attention back to the trio.
"What's wrong guys..?" Marron blinked, still staring at the ceiling with wide eyes.
"It suddenly went silent..." She paused. "There was crashing and thumping and shouting, and fighting definitely. But... It just stopped suddenly." Goku blinked and looked up at the ceiling before it clicked. Pan was getting a bath. He nodded slowly and turned to face the stairs as he heard a door open and foot steps above them.
Trunks appeared on the stairs, mostly soaked and looking miserable with Pan sitting on his head, fully cleaned and dressed and grinning brightly. Goku grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Looks like you took a bath too, Trunks!" Trunks frowned and trudged the rest of the way into the living room grumbling. As Goku laughed.
"Well, don't worry, I've got dinner just about wrapped up. While the girls were washing up, I went fish—er uh..." He flicked his eyes over to a distracted Pan before continuing, "I caught some dinner, aha." He rubbed the back of his head with his famous Son grin, before starting out the back door, everyone else cheering (the children) and following.
By the time everyone had stuffed themselves full of fish, the children were yawning and rubbing at their eyes. Goku stood and stretched, ruffling Pan's hair before yawning himself.
"Alright everyone, I think it's about time we get some sleep." With Pan already fighting to stay awake in Trunks' lap, Goku knew it wouldn't take much before all three were down for the count. Trunks started inside with the sleepy toddler, followed closely by Bra and Marron. Vegeta stood, and after rolling his shoulders, followed as well.
Goku, however, took a moment to just enjoy the night sky. After a deep breath in, he went inside Capsule Corp, shutting the door behind him.
Marron was tucked in on one end of the couch, Trunks on the other end with Pan curled against his side. Vegeta was stretched in the recliner with Bra nestled on his chest, already beginning to doze. With a small smile, Goku flicked off the lights and turned the television off before resuming his position from nap time, the floor. He sighed happily and closed his eyes, allowing his body to relax and shut down, drifting off to a peaceful slumber.
Vegeta woke to the sounds of muffled laughter just before dawn and he opened his eyes, already frowning. The children shouldn't be up this early. He looked across the room to see the other adults, Eighteen, Videl, Gohan, Bulma and Krillen, smiling at the group in the living room.
"Well, what do you know? I guess the house wasn't completely torn to shreds, Videl." Eighteen smirked and cocked her hip as she placed her hand on it. Vegeta rolled his eyes and sat up, being careful not to disturb the sleeping child on his chest.
"Of course not. The Prince of All Saiyans was here. Did you expect anything less than perfection..?" He raised an eyebrow at the group, causing Bulma to roll her eyes fondly as she picked up the coloring books, Videl to scoff, and Eighteen to roll her eyes as she smirked.
"Never you mind my greatness," Vegeta continued, earning him another eye-roll from Eighteen as she carefully picked up Marron, trying not to wake her up, "weren't you all supposed to be gone until this evening..?" Bulma nodded as she quietly closed the toy chest and smiled at her sleeping son.
"We were, but when Gohan got a panicked call from Chichi that Goku and Pan had gone missing while she was at the grocery store, and no amount of convincing her that Gohan could sense their ki and that they were fine would help, she wanted proof." Videl sighed and held up the end of the phone cord, disconnected from the wall.
"This was why no one could get a hold of Capsule Corp., the phone wasn't even plugged in!" Vegeta shrugged.
"It makes too much noise." Videl pinched the bridge of her nose as Gohan smiled awkwardly. Bulma simply shook her head.
"Anyways, since Chichi couldn't get anyone on the phone and we couldn't either, we started to get just a little worried so we came home directly after the opening instead of waiting overnight and driving back in the morning." Vegeta nodded in understanding as Videl pried Pan's fist's off Trunks' shirt and Gohan shook his father awake. Krillen and Eighteen were already saying their goodbyes and gathering what little they had brought indoors, so Vegeta stood, carrying Bra, and stared upstairs.
"Oh, Vegeta? Would you mind putting Bra in her bed please? I'm just gonna see everyone out and then I'll be up to bed. I'm so tired." Bulma smiled up at him and he allowed the faintest of smiles to trail over his face before climbing the stairs and making his way to the bedrooms.
After tucking Bra in bed, closing her pink curtain so the light wouldn't wake her up too early, and setting her favorite plush toy beside her, Vegeta kissed her forehead and smiled at her softly. He wouldn't tell anyone, because then he would have to murder them and five others to bring back his masculinity, but he loved this part of the bed time routine, when he could watch his little Princess sleep so peacefully. She was beautiful, just like her mother.
After one more kiss to her forehead, he eased out of her room, leaving just a small crack in the door and started to the room he now shared with Bulma. He grabbed the camera from on top of the dresser and the three photos from earlier that night and set them in the top drawer of Bulma's night stand, where he knew she would find them. Next, he went about stripping, throwing his clothes haphazardly around the room. He knew the woman would have a fit but let her. He wanted a shower and dammit he would get one!
Vegeta grabbed a towel from the linen cupboard and set it next to the shower and cranked the hot water to the max before stepping under the spray and just standing there for a moment. As he was reaching for the shampoo though, he heard a scream.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY KITCHEN?!"Vegeta couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out if he tried. Ah, life was good~
~Owari~
*Wasn't that adorable? ^x^
Alright Lovlies, you know the drill; hit that little review button and tell me how I did! I'll see you in the next story! Ja ne~
~GCL