It was like an invisible clothe had laid itself upon Capsule Corporation when the calendar had hit December. It made all the women and the oldest male inhabitant alive while the other two males seemed rather annoyed or ignorant to it. An exited yell echoed through the house this third December morning like it had the two mornings before. Bra and Trunks had been told the 30th of November how an Advent Calendar worked, and the first thing Bra did in the morning was to check her calendar-sock for a present.

"Mom," she yelled while running into the kitchen, "look what I've got!" Bulma kept stirring the oatmeal while looking at her happy daughter. She had bought a couple of the advent-presents for her children, but most of them had been handled by Mrs. Brief. Even though she would have liked to buy all of them by herself she simply hadn't got an idea on what to get her children for 24 days – they normally got whatever they wanted or needed without getting spoiled. To her luck her mother was a genius in finding small but still useful gifts.

"Wow, I know what we'll be doing after breakfast, huh?" she said when Bra with great excitement showed her all the different hairstyles in a magazine she could make with the weird-looking tool she had got. Where her mother had found such a thing was a mystery. Apropos mystery Bulma still had to know what Mrs. Brief had got for Trunks – all the gifts had been wrapped when the bags had been placed in Bulma's cabinet and her son had yet to come show her what he had gotten. She knew he took the presents she put in the socks after they had gone to bed because it was always empty, but when he did so and whether he liked them or not was unknown.

"Dad!" Bra ran to Vegeta, who had just entered the kitchen, and showed him with even greater excitement how nice a present she had gotten. Bulma turned her attention to the oatmeal once again to not look at her husband. Vegeta was way too much wrapped around Bra's finger to let him show her how annoyed he got by the mentioning of Christmas at the beginning of the day, but it didn't stop him from sending Bulma bad vibes even when her back was turned.

"Go show it to Grandma and let your father sit down for a minute before you bombard him like that, sweetie." She was still not looking at them but Bulma knew exactly what was happening: Bra would look at her for a brief moment then hug Vegeta with great enthusiasm before running off to find her grandmother.

"You keep on insisting to cook that?" Vegeta said and sneaked his arms around her waist. She was surprised how he didn't mention her way of sending Bra of – he normally came with a mild remark about being able to handle their daughter fine without her help, even though she knew he still after 15 years at Earth had a hard time being seen by others while being close to the people he cared about.

"You eat it when I make it, right?" Even if he wasn't very fond of the greyish porridge he always ate every last bit of it – that was one of the best traits he had given to their children; Bulma would never have to go through the hardship of picky kids at the table.

"I have to get a proper breakfast, woman, I can't go by just eating soup and fruit in the morning." He was standing so close to her she could even feel the vibration of his voice through his chest.

"What about all the missions you have told me about, where you were forced to not eat for days? I do believe that's one of the saiyans' superior traits you've been boasting about, dear," she said and was about to turn her head to look at him when he swiftly tickled her in the side before letting go off her. Bulma tried to hold back her laughter while her body squirmed a bit – whenever he knew someone was approaching them and he had to make a comeback Vegeta would always tickle her briefly before making some distance between them. He had started to do so a few years back, and she had come to appreciate such a simple thing, which she believed could be found in all relationships. Even after being involved with him for more than a decade Bulma could still sometimes wish for Vegeta to be able to show a bit more openly affection – he did more than enough when it was just the two of them. But it was also this very limited open affection that made it mean so much more when it finally happened. Last time he had held her hand when they had been standing in line with Trunks and her parents next to them outside the theater where they should see Bra perform with her dramaclub. Bulma had been overjoyed for weeks!

"I just got a text from Goten, so I won't go home straight after school." Trunks had just walked into the kitchen and was now eating a piece of fruit.

"Yes you will," Vegeta said from across the table and moved an inch when Bulma put down the pot with oatmeal. "You and that brat always chat like women when you're together instead of training. If you don't get home straight from school for an hour of training I will make sure you won't see him before your mother's party!" Trunks was about to protest but stopped himself when he saw Bulma shook her head. Even if they had gotten a boy instead of a girl for their second child Bulma was sure Vegeta would always be harder on Trunks than his younger sibling. Not only was Trunks Vegeta's heir, he had also shown how great potential he possessed during the Buu-saga.

"I'm sure Goku won't mind to make sure they train, Vegeta," she said softly when she could see how disappointed Trunks was.

"I'm not going to ask that tailless freak for a favor," Vegeta growled and started to eat.

"Let's talk it over during the day; I will contact Goku if it's necessary." She cut out an apple and put it on top of a portion of oatmeal for Bra. "Trunks, tell Goten you will settle the details and text him later, okay?"

Her son nodded while Vegeta still scowling ate his breakfast. Bulma sighed. Even in December it was too much to ask for to have a quite breakfast with her family.