Again: for purposes of storytelling, this fic diverges from canon. Vegeta and Bulma are already together when Trunks arrives to warn them about the androids.

Ties that Bind

III - Father

The past was so different from everything he knew that Trunks was overwhelmed. The land was yet untouched by the sullied hands of the machines, the people were yet careless and blissfully ignorant to the horrors threatening their lives. Everything was so bright, so new and so pure that he had to catch his breath. Not for long, however, for Frieza's presence was already disturbing whatever peace he found in that place.

The fight was brief, too brief for his liking. He heard stories about the ice demon for years, and he hated him as much as he could ever hate someone, as much as he hated the androids. That monster murdered his entire race, enslaved and tortured his father and even killed him in Namek. He only wished he could have stretched the fight for a bit. But he learned that time could be the difference between life and death, and he wasn't a gambling man. In this regard he was much different from Vegeta. And, although brief, the fight satisfied his need to avenge his father, and prove himself to him. When it was over Trunks flown towards the z warriors and gracefully landed in front of them. He could see that their faces were full of fear and mistrust, but his task depended on gaining their trust, so he said, in the friendliest voice he could muster:

"Hey guys! It is nice to finally meet you all. I heard a lot of stories about you"

That didn't really helped his cause much, as it only made them look to him even more quizzically. It was the namekian who finally broke the silence, the one his mother told him was once a part of Kami.

"And who exactly are you?" asked Piccolo.

Trunks knew so much depended on this mission. He couldn't afford to tell them the whole truth, so he tried to play a different card: denial.

"I can't say"

"You are a saiyan…" his father stated more than asked, and the sound of that voice sent a pang of pain through the boy's chest. There he was: the husband, father, warrior, murderer, protector. Vegeta: the man who gave his life so that Trunks could one day become earth's last hope. He realized that he couldn't let the question unanswered, and besides everyone saw him transform, so this time he settled for the truth:

"Half-saiyan, actually."

"Where do you come from?" his mother asked this time, and he took a moment to look at her, really look at her: she was, indeed, the same woman who raised him, only a little younger and brighter. She wasn't yet touched by the sorrow that came with the loss of almost everyone she held dear.

"I can't say that either. I am sorry for being so… secretive, but I promise, I am a friend. I mean no harm to any of you. In fact, I am here because I need to talk to Goku, and I know he will be here soon, so please, bear with me…"

None of the warriors was happy about it, but after some arguing they agreed to wait and see. There wasn't much they could do besides that. So, for half an hour Trunks mostly dodged any question that could potentially reveal his identity, all the while stealing glances at his father. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help either. He was fascinated by the presence of the strong and willful prince that he wanted to know for so long. After a while Vegeta stood, walked right up to Trunks and said:

"Hey, boy, I wanna talk to you. In private."

Trunks was at loss of words, but he found himself nodding. Piccolo stepped in to ask Vegeta what he was planning, but the prince only said that he wanted to make a few questions and didn't felt like doing it in front of the "other weaklings". Piccolo didn't really believe him, but he let it go anyway. Vegeta and Trunks took flight and landed some meters away, far from earshot. When they landed, Vegeta turned to the boy, inspecting him from head to toe before saying:

"So you are half saiyan…

"Yes" said Trunks, knowing too well that he couldn't say anything else, but finding it hard to fight the impulse to tell his father everything.

"Who is your father?" was the next question, and Trunks couldn't say he was surprised. After all, his father wasn't an idiot. He could do the math. With Nappa and Raditz gone, only two full blooded saiyans remained in the whole universe: himself and Goku. Nonetheless, Trunks couldn't really tell him anything, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I can't say"

"Your mother?"

"I can't say either."

Vegeta smirked before speaking again:

"That's the only thing you can speak: 'Can't say'?"

"Well…" Trunks was fighting to find the right words to answer without giving too much information when the next question caught him totally off guard:

"You are not from this time, are you? You are from the future."

"What?" the boy asked in a very small voice, the blood letting his face suddenly. He felt dizzy, he felt weak. "How am I going to get out of this without ruining everything?" Before he could say anything else, his father continued:

"How else would you know that Kakarot will be coming back today? None of us knew about that, that's for sure. And I know you didn't get this explanation from Kakarot himself, because if the moron could communicate with anyone in this planet to let them know that he is coming back, he would probably contact one of his stupid friends, not a stranger. And I know that you are from earth because you are all clad in Capsule Corp gear, so it is not possible that you met Kakarot in space… You seem to be at least 15 years old, and yet no one ever felt your ki around here before today… it's bloody unlikely that you have been living here for so long unnoticed. You seem to know us, and yet we don't know you. That's because you haven't been born yet, right?"

His father's words were pounding in the boy's ears. He felt his throat go dry, unable to speak anything. He wanted to deny everything, he wanted to lie, but suddenly, in the presence of his father, of the man he wanted to know for so long, he was unable to.

"So, it's true. You are from the future." it wasn't a question. Vegeta could read the boy as plainly as a book. He didn't need to hear a confirmation, so he continued:

"And with your saiyan genes, your colored hair and all that Capsule Corp gear I can only assume that you are my son… mine and Bulma's. Correct?"

Trunks remained silent for a while. He could still deny everything, but to what end? The truth was written plainly in his face, as clear as the day. And if Vegeta took a closer look into the lavender haired boy's features, so like his own, he would realize that they were related. Trunks suddenly felt a wave of relief shake his body: he didn't have to hide the truth anymore; he didn't have to lie to his father. He wasn't going to be born into this timeline, that's for sure, but at least he could tell his mother that he didn't said anything, that he was busted. Resigned at once, he quietly spoke:

"Mom always told me you were brilliant as a warrior, but she never told me you were so cleaver about everything else."

Vegeta paused for a moment before replying:

"I will take that as a compliment"

"It was meant as a compliment."

"What is your name, boy?"

"Trunks. Trunks Vegeta Briefs."

"Trunks?"

"Well, this… naming tradition sorta runs in my mother's family... But you agreed to it, or so I was told."

"I think it's bloody unlikely."

Silence fell. Trunks did not know what to say next, or if he was expected to say anything at all. Then Vegeta spoke, his face serious again:

"So, you are my son from the future. But you act like you never saw me before. Why so?"

There was no easy way to tell this, so Trunks gave a straight answer:

"I never really met you in my time. You died when I was still a baby."

There was a brief pause before Vegeta spoke again.

"How did I die?" The anxiety in Vegeta's voice was unmistakable, but understandable. It must be overwhelming to learn at once that you have a son from the future and that you are not included in that future whatsoever.

"You died in battle, father, protecting us from terrible enemies."

The prince was silent for a moment, considering the answer. After a while, he asked:

"Did I achieve anything by that?"

"Yes. You fought to protect us, and mom and I are still alive. And by saving us, you gave earth another chance. I grew up to become a warrior and mother built the time machine so I could come here and warn you about what is going to happen, so maybe you can change the turn of events."

It was going better than he expected. Vegeta looked really calm and collected, so Trunks did his best not to panic. After all, he wanted more than anything else in the world to make his father proud, and he wouldn't do a good job at it if he freaked out. The prince spoke again, his face unreadable and his voice steady.

"Tell me everything."

And so he did. Trunks told his father everything about the threat of the androids, and the impending doom of the Z fighters by the hands of the killing machines. When he finished, he could see his father was absorbed. After a while the prince asked:

"What about Kakarot? You didn't mention him."

"Kakarot? Oh, you mean Goku."

"Yes. What happened to him?"

"Goku died of natural causes, about six months before the androids. He never got to fight them. After his death you became like an earth's protector in his stance."

"Earth's protector?"

"Well, that's what mom says. She figured that if I succeeded in coming back here, I could save Goku as well. The disease that killed him was unknown at that time… I mean is unknown at this time, but in the future she made an antidote, so hopefully he can be saved as well."

"I see." was Vegeta's only answer. For a long time they stood there, in total silence, while Vegeta carefully considered everything that Trunks said, and Trunks considered carefully the implications of having said those things in the first place. After a long while, finally the boy couldn't bear the silence any longer, so he asked:

"May I ask you something?"

"Didn't you already?" was Vegeta's reply, but Trunks wouldn't be wavered. Since he told Vegeta the truth about his birth, something was bugging him, something in the deep of his mind and he couldn't quite place what. When realization dawned upon him, he was left uncertain and hopeful, all at the same time:

"Before I came here, mom told me it would be best if you didn't know about me being your son. She said you weren't exactly thrilled when you found out she was pregnant. Yet, you seem to be coping pretty well with having a son from the future and all… why is that?"

Vegeta sighed, as if looking for the right words to explain his actions. Trunks was expectant, the moment rushing and slowing all at the same, time itself stretching and compressing to encase both the eternity and the brevity of their encounter. When he finally found the explanation he seemed to be looking for, Vegeta spoke:

"I just saw you single handedly kill Frieza, King Cold and his soldiers… I've seen you turning into a super saiyan, you are far stronger than me, although I know I can get there with more training. But that's not the point." Vegeta concluded "My point is: you are an outstanding fighter, and although your technique is far from flawless… you are in every aspect a fine warrior, and no man could be more proud of his offspring than I am right now."

The young saiyan looked to the older one with wide eyes, His heart was beating so quickly and loudly that he could swear anyone could hear. So long has he waited to see his father, and now not only was he there, but he was saying the same words Trunks wanted to hear from him since he was a child.

"So you are… proud of me?" Trunks asked, in an almost hushed tone. Vegeta nodded before elaborating:

"How could I not? Besides, if you really managed to get so strong with a puny training, imagine what you could achieve if you were to be trained by me? I do feel very thrilled about the prospect of training my son"

And there it was again, his cocksure smirk. Trunks has known Vegeta for less than an hour, but he was already noticing things about the prince and creating a whole new image of his father. He was indeed much like the picture Bulma painted, but the memories of his father that Trunks were building from that moment were his own. Yet he couldn't resist the temptation to tease his father. He laughed before saying:

"You are just like mom says"

"And what is that?" Vegeta asked, and it was impossible not to notice the hint of curiosity in his voice.

"A fierce, proud and dedicated warrior…" and then Trunks gave his father a smirk of his own "and an arrogant prick."

For a moment Vegeta stood stoic, but Trunks held his stare just fine, never wiping the smirk out of his face. Finally Vegeta gave in, smirking in a way that perfectly mirrored Trunks' face, and said:

"That sounds like something your mother would say."

"She is no different from you, you know, although she hates when I say that. I guess I am not that different either."

They stood in a comfortable silence for a while. But soon, Trunks felt the need to ask one more thing:

"So, you won't stop me from being born?"

Vegeta seemed stunned by the question. He looked at his son with brows furrowed, and said:

"Of course not."

"And you will train to fight the androids?"

And then Vegeta smirked again, his dangerous smirk, the one that he reserved for battles, the one that usually was the very last thing his enemies would see, and replied:

"I will smash these stupid machines like maggots. They don't even stand a chance against your father, boy."

Trunks couldn't be happier with this turn of events.

Never before he have felt so much hope as he did right now.

- The end -

Thanks for your time. I hope you liked.

xX Aya Wolf Xx