A.N. This is a re-post of an older one-shot, I just fixed some things up. Also, keep in mind the overall tongue-in-cheek vibe of these ficlets and just have fun ;-) Minor spoilers to the Battle of Gods movie.
Trunks to the rescue
Year 781 - Satan City
Story #4
For the last few weeks, Bulma had been acting strangely distant from her husband.
The strange behavior hadn't go unnoticed for young Trunks but the young boy didn't have any clue of the reason behind it. All he knew was that Bulma remained unusually quiet during meals and that she no longer pecked Vegeta on the cheek before going to her lab.
Something was not right about his parent's interactions but he couldn't put a finger on it. The few times he heard them talk was because they didn't know that he was nearby and the minute Vegeta sensed him, they would both go quiet. The eerie silence, the only evidence that a borderline argument had occurred. Not a single time, had he been able to hear exactly what they were arguing about.
Something was definitely not right and whatever it was, most likely Vegeta had caused it. Maybe he'd forgotten another anniversary or maybe a birthday. There were so many options to pick from.
Assuming it was just a matter of time before they made up, the boy dismissed his parent's odd behavior and went on with his life.
In fact, at first he was extremely happy to have the complete attention of his father but as time went by, he began to worry. His parents had never been in a fight for so long, at least not that he was aware of and worst of all, Vegeta had technically moved to the guest house, venturing into the main house only to eat.
"I think I'll have to do something to help my dad get back with my mom" confessed Trunks one day to his best friend.
"Are they still fighting?" asked Goten.
"Yeah"
"Gee... and what are they fighting about?"
"I have no idea and they won't tell me but it's been going on for weeks. I have to figure out something to help them" replied Trunks.
"Huh... what about sending your Mom flowers or chocolates in your father's name?" proposed the youngest of the Son boys. "I've seen Gohan do that with Videl"
"No, I don't think that will work with my parents. Dad would never do something like that and Mom would suspect of grandma the moment she sees the flowers"
"Mmm.. that's a tough one Trunks," mused Goten, a closed fist under his chin in concentration as both boys remained quiet for some time. "Unless…" exclaimed Goten.
"Unless what?"
"Remember when we fought Beerus?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Remember that your Mom was angry at Beerus for ruining her birthday party and she slapped him hard and then he slapped her back and then your Dad went nuts."
"Yeah, I remember that. Dad was angry as hell"
"But remember that when the fight was over and we all went back to the party, your Mom was all excited that your Dad had defended her and she couldn't stop hugging him and kissing him in front of everybody. Don't you remember that?"
"Don't remind me. That very embarrassing for all of us,"
"Well, that's it. We just need to scare your mom off and have your dad show up and save her again. She'll be so happy that she won't remember that she's mad at him"
"Scare her?" inquired Trunks.
"Just a bit" whispered Goten.
Trunks meditated for a while. He didn't want to hurt his mother but on the other hand he was begining to wonder if his father could get out of this one without any help.
Maybe a little scare was not a bad idea, if nothing else worked. "Let's wait a week and we'll see" replied the lavender hair boy, hoping that things would work out in time.
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A week later…
By the end of that week, Trunks realized that things weren't improving at all. Bulma and Vegeta needed his help urgently as he was pretty confident that he knew better than any adult.
But to put Goten's idea into motion, first, they needed to find someone who could help them stage a fake incident, preferably a fake robbery. And this was a tricky part. Trunks needed someone who lacked the morals to object to the plan but at the same time, someone who had enough morals not to hurt his mother if for some reason things went sour. As he looked to the skies, he found his answer "Yajirobe".
At first, Yajirobe refused and said that the idea was ridiculous, not to mention potentially dangerous and asked the boys to leave Karim's tower. However, after much insistence from the boys, he decided to hear them out.
The plan was simple, Jajirobe would pretend to be a burglar and threaten Bulma, giving enough time for Trunks to find his father and warn him that he sensed something wrong with Bulma. Then they would take off to the skies looking for her and when they found her, Trunks would tackle Yajirobe and quickly offer to take him to the police station while Vegeta was distracted making sure Bulma was okay.
Trunks assured Yajirobe that he was faster than Vegeta and that this was a safe plan. To sweeten the deal, Trunks offered Yajirobe a six month supply of gourmet food delivered by his Grandma's chef.
Yajirobe paused in concentration at the kid's offer. It didn't sound bad. Not bad at all. Living in Karim's lookout had certain perks but also involved mayor inconveniences like not having a wide variety of food to choose from to satisfy his Saiyan-like stomach. The possibility of an endless supply of gourmet food was a huge temptation.
"All right brats we have a deal but I'm telling you this, if Vegeta hits me, I'm ratting you out with Bulma", threatened Yajirobe.
"No problem Yaro, you won't regret making deals with us," replied Trunks, padding Yajirobe on the back.
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Three days later…
Trunks patiently waited for his mom to come out of her lab. Bulma usually went jogging in the isolated trails of the forest, nearby Capsule Corp before dinner. This evening however, there had been a small inconvenient caused by android Seventeen, who had arrived early that day, asking for help with some software malfunctions. Unknowingly, Seventeen had delayed the boys' plan in almost half an hour and Trunks was worried that Yajirobe could back down.
Finally, the lavender hair boy got his cue when he saw the android leave the premise.
"Goten, she'll be on her way in a couple of minutes. Tell Yajirobe to get ready", he instructed his friend on the other side of the line.
"Kay," answered the raven hair boy.
Less than fifteen minutes later came a call from Goten.
"Trunks, Hurry up, Yajiirobe didn't wait for the signal. Now your mother is screaming like crazy and hitting him on the head!"
"Oh shoot!" Trunks immediately rushed to the Gravity Room but to his surprise Vegeta wasn't there. Meanwhile his cellphone kept ringing nonstop.
"Take care of it Goten, I gotta find my father" growled the boy.
"That's the problem. He's here already, come quick" warned Goten. Trunks hung up his cellphone and took off to the skies.
When the Saiyan boy arrived to that isolated part of the forest, he found Krillin and Goten hiding behind the bushes. Vegeta and Bulma were arguing a few feet away.
Careful not to be noticed by his father or mother, Trunks slowly descended to where Goten and Krillin were hiding. Surprised by Krilin's presence and not knowing if their plan had been uncovered, the boy decided to act as if he had no idea of what was happening.
"What is going on?," he asked in a whisper.
Krillin was the first one to reply. "I'm not sure. Eighteen asked me to keep an eye on her brother while he was on the city. I was following him when we heard Bulma's cries for help. Seventeen flew in her direction and I flew after him. When we came here I looked for a safe place to land, away from Seventeen, and that's when I saw Goten hiding behind these bushes. Next thing I know Vegeta shows up out of nowhere and charges Seventeen," replied the short warrior in the same low tone of voice.
"Huh?" Trunks turned to Goten for a better explanation.
"We were... I was peeing behind these bushes when Yaji... I mean that masked, fat stranger over there, tried to mug your mom. All of a sudden Seventeen came down from the sky and knocked that guy unconscious with two blows and then your father showed up and tackled Seventeen. He must've thought it was Seventeen who was attacking your mother," murmured Goten.
In the distance, they could hear Bulma and Vegeta arguing. "Quiet guys" instructed Krillin.
"Why the fuck did you get in the way woman?" yelled back Vegeta.
"You idiot, you were trying to kill Seventeen, what was I supposed to do?" she replied.
"Not get in the way! That's what you were supposed to do!" answered the Saiyan Prince
Seventeen lay on the ground, a little disoriented but still conscious. "You caught me by surprise, that's all. I can assure you it won't be that easy next time" he replied.
Vegeta turned his attention to him "Do you really believe you have any chance against me? Your circuits must be malfunctioning again" retorted the Saiyan Prince, getting ready for a second round.
"Enough! Both of you!" screeched Bulma, putting herself between both warriors before any of them had a chance to power up. She then turned to Vegeta "Next time, you should ask some questions first. It was Seventeen who came to my rescue when that horrible man on the ground tried to mug me" she clarified.
Vegeta was taken aback by the woman's revelation. He gave a quick glance at the unconscious form of the fallen man on the ground and then at the android standing a few feet away from him. He soon realized that he had probably overreacted. He "hmpf" at the woman and crossed his arms over his powerful chest.
"Are you happy now?" asked Bulma.
"Quiet fond, you're becoming of your toaster friend over there, aren't you?" he retorted.
"Excuse me" she replied.
Vegeta snorted and let the implication sink in.
Bulma's eyes filled with fire. She'd had enough. Instinctively she put a hand on her waist and walked up to him. "How dare you!" she exclaimed enraged. "How dare you make such a statement, you... Ah!" She tried to poke him in the chest but he grabbed the offending hand and stopped her ranting. She struggled to release her hand but he tightened his grip even more.
Seventeen began to walk up to them. Although the android had had very few interactions with Bulma, he was still very grateful to have found someone who was always willing to help him and he wasn't exactly fond of Vegeta. If there was going to be a fight, he wasn't going to shy away from it.
Sensing the incoming fight, Bulma took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves and regain control of the situation. "That's okay Seventeen, I'm fine. I can handle this, thank you"
Seventeen stared at her, carefully studying her body language.
"I'm fine" she repeated.
After concluding she meant what she said, the android decided it wasn't worth it to get into a fight and so he growled, turned around and took off to the skies.
Vegeta then let go of Bulma's hand.
"You can leave, too. I'll call the police" she replied. "Thanks for your help... There was clearly a misunderstanding and I won't ruin your afternoon over it. "
"I'll take you home" offered Vegeta.
"I can walk"
"Woman, you're not doing this again," he demanded. Bulma ignored him, and just turned around without any reply.
The Saiyan prince snorted, annoyed by the lack of response.
Then he relaxed a bit and sighed before speaking again "If I said yes, would you stop this nonsense?"
"I don't want you to feel forced"
"Believe me, there's no way in hell you can force me to do anything. My years of being ruled by another are long gone. If I'm entertaining the possibility of agreeing to this is because I've been thinking about it and you- might be right"
"Really?". Her tone of voice began to change and she turned to face him again.
"Yes," he exclaimed reluctantly.
Bulma stared at him, a bit incredulous at first but when she realized that he was being serious, she jumped and clapped her hands together. A high-pitched squeal coming out of her chest as she ran towards him and locked her arms around his neck. "Oh Vegeta! This is going to be so great, I swear"
Krillin sighed in relief and then turned his attention to the boys. "All right kids, we should get going too," he murmured as he began pulling both boys away from their improvised peepholes in the bushes.
"Why?, What happened?" What were they fighting about?" questioned Goten.
"That's none of our business kiddo" Krillin quietly explained to the little boy. "Now, come on, let's give them some privacy. They need to have a quiet, long conversation and work up their issues" added Krillin.
"Won't they be fighting again?" asked Goten.
"Nah, a long, nice, heartfelt conversation and those two lovebirds will be holding hands like teenagers"
Krillin's explanations suddenly interrupted by Bulma's voice in the distance.
"Wait, where do you think you're going?" she questioned.
"I'm taking you home"
"And then?"
"I'm going back to train with Kakarot and his brat" answered Vegeta, unaware of the woman's point.
"And what about what you just said?" she questioned him again.
"That would be after I'm done training"
"Are you out of your mind? We can't risk an injury!. This is way more important than some stupid training and we have a lot of work ahead of us"
"Huh?"
"I want my baby. And I want her NOW!" her eyes darkened.
"Wom..." his voice silenced by a thud.
A cold chill began to run down the spine of the bald man hiding behind the bushes.
"What's going on?" asked Goten.
"We better leave now Goten!" urged the lavender hair boy.
"Why?" continued questioning the younger Saiyan boy, trying to take a peek again.
"Oh Vegeetaaa!" a high pitched feminine voice shrieked in delight.
"RUN GODDAMMIT! RUUUUNNNNN!" screamed Krillin at the top of his lungs, pulling both kids by the hand and taking off into the skies as if the devil himself was after them.
Up in the air, Goten tried to speak.
"Krillin..."
"No, just no. Now keep flying and no matter what you hear DON'T LOOK BACK!" ordered the short warrior.
