Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
WhatWhat123: Glad you liked the reunion :3
Blueflower1594: Eh, it's Goku. We're lucky if he knows what it means for something to happen ;)
VegetaBulma Fan: I'm glad you like the stories. Next week, once I'm home and settled for college, I'll start working on Visions again :3
KKsaiyancat: I'm glad you're enjoying. And aw, I wish I had a puppy to sleep on my foot X3
DaniellaDBZ4ever: Thanks; here's an update ^_^
VegetaLove2012: I haven't mentioned what happened to his dad yet, but he's alive and well. Nothing will really happen to Tarble's family. You'll see in this chapter, and next chapter. Vegeta can't take his brother away, nor would he because he's not a jerk like that (at least not in my stories). Paranoia won't be over for a while, although yesterday (I think it was yesterday) I updated so that the first arc of the story is coming to a close :3
KimiruMai: Yeah, had to give them a little cute, kissy moment XD
Name was taken: I know that there is an episode of Bardock. I haven't gotten the chance to watch it, but this semester I am determined to get through the rest of the Dragon Ball franchise, movies and all ^_^
Middlekertz: Aw, thankies friend :)
Nessie-boo: Thanks, glad you like it :3
Fate: Yup, good ol' Veggie-kun has got a crush. And it's okay. Rant about Tarble's cuteness all you want ^_^ Thanks, I'm glad you like the story.
Dark Shining Light: I'm glad you like the B/V interactions. It's fun writing them ^_^ The meeting is gonna be a little emotionally trying. Fair warning.
Princess Caramel: Long lost brothers is right o.o" lol, more romance to come.
Smile-bestthingintheworld: I will explain all in this chapter :3
Miikodesu: Yup, some Bulma TLC for the next few chapters. Then they have to help each other, because Bulma's mom won't be gone for long.
Sonia-s.a: I will explain the "rules" he set for himself in this chapter.
Moka-Chan8: Yes, yes he is ^_^
Vegeta locked himself in his room for the rest of the day. He didn't even come out when Bardock was saying his goodbyes. He wasn't going far, Vegeta reasoned with himself. He knew that, with both his kids being there, he would be seeing the elder man more recently. Right now he just needed and wanted to be alone.
Things had been tough for him since his mother had died. Vegeta had never gotten along with his father, but that was because his father always worked and never paid much attention to him. Taking care of him after his mother passed was a chore. Vegeta would be dropped on relative's doorsteps for months at a time. The only reason they accepted was for the large allowances his father sent for him. They were never used on him; however, there were plenty of donations for the family beach house Vegeta hated.
Needless to say, Vegeta was very close with his mother. She had lost her family when she was his current age, but she managed to make a life for herself. She had truly loved his father, but he just saw her as a "trophy wife." His father had never been a family man, and everyone on the planet knew it.
When his wife became pregnant again, he ordered her to hide it from everyone except their eldest son. That also meant that she didn't go to doctor's appointments often. Honestly, Vegeta blamed his father for his mother's death.
He remembered when she was in the hospital after his brother was born. She asked him to look out for the boy she had yet to name. After he agreed, her life left her, leaving Vegeta alone with a man who could care less about him and a baby brother he would have to raise.
Vegeta went to go find his baby brother, but he couldn't find him. He asked his father where the baby was, and his father just insensitively told him that he sold his brother to a couple who he had promised him to. Yes, Vegeta blamed his father for his mother's death, but he also blamed him for the fact that he could not keep his only promise to her.
Because of his failure, Vegeta felt that let his mother down. It was hard for him, not having her in his life, especially when his father became stricter with him. He never let Vegeta go out, except to prep school and study groups. He wanted to breed Vegeta to be a businessman. Vegeta was never allowed to date, not that he wanted to. He felt that if he ever did, he would end up like his bastard of a father and treat a woman like dirt or that he would end up losing that person like he had his mother.
All Kakarot knew was that his father put his brother up for adoption and his mother died from giving birth. He didn't want to taint his innocent mind with such details which is why he understood how Bulma felt before this whole ordeal. Even now his father was still in control, though he barely had to deal with him anymore. His father mandated everything in his life, like where he was to go to school, but Vegeta was still rebellious deep down. His father wanted him to study business; however, he could not declare Vegeta's major. Vegeta decided to major in psychology which angered his father greatly, but Vegeta knew how to handle himself. It would suck for the press to find out that such a prestigious businessman had a dropout son. Vegeta didn't need to worry about being cut off after he told his father that.
His past shaped him to be hardened and closed off to the world, but ever since he ran into his best friend's sister, everything changed. He opened up a little more, if only to let the girl know she wasn't alone. Seeing her hurt made his chest tighten. Knowing that she was emotionally scarred angered him. He was feeling emotions he had thought he had buried after his mother's funeral. And now she did something so wonderful for him; she found his brother.
He didn't know what to do about that either. Tarble…that's what the couple named him. The only thing Vegeta knew about him other than that was that he would be ten in a few weeks, the anniversary of their mother's death, and the kid didn't even know.
Vegeta wanted to see him, even if it was just for a minute, just long enough to see that he was okay, happy, and healthy. Then he could rest peacefully knowing that he kept his promise to his mother. But by that logic, he would need to be with him as much as he can. But now he had to deal with the boy's parents, and he still had his own father breathing down his neck about his private business.
"Vegeta?" he heard from the other side of his door after a soft knock. "I brought food."
Vegeta sighed knowing that he couldn't just avoid Bulma forever and leave her waiting out there for him. Even though she was starting to recover from her years of "enslavement" as he saw it, she still had the habit of making sure he and Kakarot were well taken care of. He got out of bed and went to open his door.
Bulma was shocked that he looked so exhausted. She had just given him the news that morning and he was already a mess. "Oh Vegeta," she sighed. Then she took his hand and started dragging him towards the kitchen. He tried to pull away, but she just said, "Come on; let's go."
Vegeta grunted and crossed his arms, but didn't fight her. She forced him to sit down as she placed the dish down in front of him. He looked at her, keeping a flat expression, but she just kept piling food on his plate and got him some water.
"Eat that," she told him. "I'll be in the living room. When you're done, come inside and we'll talk. I'm not going to bed until you do, so if you want me to get any sleep tonight, don't even think about hightailing it to your room."
Vegeta glared at her, but started to eat without taking his eyes off of her. She definitely knew how to get him to listen, that was for sure. Bulma smirked knowing that she had gotten through to him and left him to go wait in the living room.
When Vegeta finished eating, he silently moved to sit on the couch next to Bulma. "What," he bit out coldly.
Bulma sighed. "Vegeta, you shouldn't hold yourself up in your room all day," she said softly. "It's not healthy."
"So what?" he replied crossing his arms and looking away from her.
Bulma shook her head. "You've been so good to me, Vegeta. I just don't want to see you hurting. You can talk to me. I swear; I won't judge you for anything you say."
Vegeta cast Bulma a sideways glance. He could tell that she was worried, but shrugged it off. "I have nothing to say…at least not now."
"You don't have to come with me tomorrow," Bulma said bluntly. Vegeta looked taken aback by her words. "If it hurts you too much, I could go alone tomorrow and you can come some other time. I just wanted to help."
Bulma got up and started to walk away with tears in her eyes. She thought she had been helping him, but he was so torn that maybe her gesture had hurt him instead. Vegeta stopped her by grabbing her wrist and she almost felt back on him. She turned to face him as he sat her down. "You aren't the cause of my hurt," he told her as he wiped the tears from her eyes. "If anyone, it's my father that causes me pain."
"I'm sorry," Bulma said quietly as if she still believed she were at fault.
Vegeta sighed in defeat and relented. "I will go with you tomorrow." Bulma looked over to Vegeta with worry shining in her eyes. He shook his head and stood up. "Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."
"Yeah…" Bulma muttered as Vegeta left the living room.
He returned to his room and threw himself back on the bed, head resting on his hands. He closed his eyes and sighed. He would take things one step at a time. First he would meet his brother, and then he would focus on whatever his feelings for Bulma were. It was a win-win, as long as he stayed rational about it. Hopefully all those psych classes would pay off.
Bulma had gotten permission from Tarble's parents to bring a friend with her since it was so late and they worried that she'd be bored when Tarble was in bed. She had been nervous the entire day, and it didn't go unnoticed by Kakarot. She was even more convinced that he could become a lawyer, especially because he could read people so well.
When Vegeta woke up, they had to assure him that nothing was going on that he needed to worry about. Bulma hadn't been contacted in any way by her mother, who, most likely, could no longer trace her. It didn't stop him from asking questions, though, which ended up causing more stress for Vegeta. When it was time to go, Vegeta bolted out of the house with Bulma chasing after him and apologizing for her brother's line of questioning. He didn't respond as Bulma drove off to the Swifts' home.
"Good evening, Bulma," Mrs. Swift said. "Where's your friend?"
"He's in the car," Bulma replied. She looked back with slight worry. "He's just making sure he didn't drop anything on the floor." It was the best lie she could come up with on short notice, but the woman bought it.
"Oh, alright," Mrs. Swift responded. Before she could let Bulma in, Tarble shot out the door and grabbed onto her leg.
"Hi, Bulma," he greeted happily.
Bulma smiled and ruffled his hair. "Hey, kid. How've you been?"
"Good," Tarble cooed.
"Hun, are we ready to go?" Mr. Swift asked as he came out of the house. When he saw Bulma, he smiled. "Oh, hello there. You must be Bulma."
"Um yeah." Bulma saw him looking around and said. "My friend's still in the car. His name is-"
"Vegeta?" Mrs. Swift asked in horror. She remembered the man who sold Tarble to them and panicked. What was he doing there? They had done everything he asked, and he had left them alone for years. All of a sudden, she became angry and pushed Tarble in the house. She and her husband came outside and closed the door. Curious, Tarble went to the window and stared outside as he watched his mother and father yell at his babysitter's friend. He looked sad as they yelled at him before running away from the house completely. Then Bulma ran after him, shouting his name.
"You have some nerve showing up here after all these years!" Mrs. Swift shouted angrily. Vegeta jumped back at the force of her words. "You are the one who gave us your kid! How dare you send some girl to spy on us and take him back?"
"What?" Vegeta asked in shock. "But I'm not-"
"You better get your ass off of our property before we call the police," Mr. Swift said calmly yet darkly. "Leave us and OUR son alone."
Vegeta shook his head in shock. He didn't expect Tarble's parents to be so…bitter. It didn't help much that he looked exactly like his father minus a beard and mustache. Vegeta cast one glance to his little brother before taking of in a sprint. Bulma called after him but he didn't stop. He just needed to get away from the hate. He couldn't bear it.
Bulma looked back to the two in front of her. They were glaring at her, but her glare held more power. "How could you be so cruel?" she snapped. "That wasn't Tarble's father. It was his brother. He just wanted to meet the little boy his father gave away after their mother died. How could you be so insensitive?"
Before either could respond, Bulma took off after Vegeta on foot. She'd come back for her car later. The Swifts watched as she ran off. Mrs. Swift looked up at her husband with guilt plastered on her face. He too felt guilty. They never thought that they could hurt someone so much, and now that they couldn't take their words back, they regretted it. They looked back into the house and saw Tarble staring out the window.
Mr. Swift sighed. "We better talk to him," he said. His wife could only nod as she mentally berated herself for going off on a teenager.
Bulma found Vegeta on a nearby park bench. He was gasping for air, obviously trying not to cry. Something horrible had to have happened with this whole situation or else those people wouldn't have been so mean to him. She sighed when she saw the first few tears fall down his face. She walked over to the bench and sat down next to him, forcing him into a hug as she pat his back. "It's okay, Vegeta," she whispered. She knew it wasn't okay, but she just wanted to calm him down.
"I hate him," Vegeta growled out as more tears fell. "I absolutely hate him."
"Who, Vegeta?" Bulma asked softly as she gently rocked him.
"My bastard of a father," Vegeta replied. "You heard what they said…they hate him too. And I look so much like him. They just assume I'm like that heartless monster."
"Well," Bulma started, "I know you're not."
Vegeta pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes. She gasped at the lost and hurt look he gave her. In response, she placed her hand against his cheek stroking his jawline with her thumb. He put his hand on hers to stop her, but continued to stare at her as if her eyes held all of life's answers.
"You don't even know what my father has done," Vegeta finally said. "You can't tell me that I'm not like him."
"I don't have to meet him or know what he's done to be able to tell you that," Bulma replied. "From what I've already seen, he's done something unforgivable, and you've suffered because of it. Yet when you randomly saw me working in a bar, you turned your life upside-down just to reunite me with my family. If you were like your father, would you have done that?"
Vegeta shook his head. "No," Vegeta agreed. "I would have either let you pass by, or I would have blackmailed you or threatened you into staying away." He looked down to the ground and sighed. "My mother loved him with every fiber of her being, but he didn't love her at all. He saw me as an inconvenience. He saw the baby…Tarble…as an inconvenience, so much so that he convinced my mother not to tell anyone about the pregnancy. Because he was so well-known, doctors were out of the question. There were…complications." Vegeta started to shake a little bit in anger, but relaxed when he felt Bulma's hand on his arm.
"You don't have to tell me the rest right now," she cooed while rubbing his arm. "But I am here whenever you feel strong enough to tell me the rest. Right now…I think we should get back home."
"I don't want to go home," Vegeta whispered.
Bulma flashed him a half-smile and said, "Then we'll just drive for a while. That'll help us both clear our heads, okay?" Vegeta nodded in response. "Alright, let's go back."
"I have a brother?" Tarble asked. He looked back out the window. "He was my brother?"
"Yeah, son," Mr. Swift said.
Tarble frowned and looked back to his parents angrily. "Then why did you yell at him? What did he ever do?"
"Nothing sweetie," Mrs. Swift said. "I was just afraid…he looks so much like you father did. We were afraid he was coming to take you away from us."
Tarble just looked confused. "Why?" he asked. "You adopted me, so that means he can't take me away."
Mrs. Swift looked over to her husband with a worried expression. There was a lot of stuff about this situation that they had to worry about. But first things first, they had to apologize to Vegeta for how they treated him. He was just a boy looking to meet his brother, to hold onto whatever family he had left. They couldn't fault them for that. They honestly hadn't expected the son of Vegeta Sr. to show up.
When they saw Bulma and Vegeta walking back hand in hand to her car, Mrs. Swift bolted to the door. "Wait!" she cried out effectively stopping Bulma and Vegeta from getting in. Bulma glared at the woman, but Vegeta just looked to the floor of the car, refusing to meet the woman's gaze. "Please," she said desperately. "Why don't you come inside?"
Vegeta looked hesitant to accept her invitation, but Tarble pushed his way out of the house, ran to Vegeta, and hugged his leg. The elder brother was shocked, eyes wide, when he felt his little brother's arms around him. He didn't really know how to respond, so he put one of his hands on Tarble's shoulder to return the hug. Tarble looked up at Vegeta with a bright smile on his face. "Hi," he said in a cheery voice.
His cheery mood was contagious because it made Vegeta smile. "Hey," he replied.
"So your name is Veggie?" Tarble asked tilting his head to the side.
"Well, Vegeta, but close enough," he answered back.
"And you're my big brother?"
Vegeta hesitated and looked over to his parents. Mrs. Swift nodded at him, as did her husband. He responded by picking Tarble up and giving him a bear hug. "Yeah, I'm your big brother."
Bulma looked to the two parents skeptically as they started walking over to their car. Vegeta cast them a worried glance, but relaxed when they spoke up.
"We'll be back by nine," Mr. Swift said calmly. "Make sure Tarble is in bed by eight. Have fun, son."
Tarble smiled and used Vegeta's shoulders to leverage him so he could see his parents. "I will. Bye, mama. Bye, dad. See you in the morning."
Tension was high after Vegeta and Bulma went into the house with Tarble. The little boy didn't seem to notice as he brought a ton of games and toys down into the living room. His jovial and naturally friendly disposition distracted Vegeta and Bulma from the whole situation. It was clear that Tarble didn't grasp the situation too well because he was treating Vegeta as if he had known him all his life. Vegeta didn't know how to react to the acceptance, especially when it was clear there was some animosity between him and the Swifts.
Eight o'clock came quicker than anyone realized. "Okay," Bulma said in a cheery, "you heard your parents. Bed by eight."
"Aw," Tarble slightly whined before going over to hug Vegeta. "Good night, Veggie."
Vegeta returned the hug. "Good night, Tarble."
"When will I see you again?" Tarble whispered.
"I don't know, yet," Vegeta told him. "But I'll try to get back here soon."
"Okay," Tarble said excitedly.
Bulma smiled and held her hand out for Tarble. "Let's get you into bed, okay?"
"Okay, Bulma," Tarble agreed smiling back at her.
Vegeta followed them up the stairs and watched as Bulma took care of changing Tarble and getting him into bed. His heart felt light as he saw Tarble hug Bulma and Bulma responding by giving the little boy a kiss. "Good night, sweetie."
"Night, Bulma. See you soon?"
"Yeah, kid. I'll be back." She looked over to Vegeta and smiled. "We'll both be back." Tarble nodded before he released a small yawn and curled into his blankets. Bulma walked over to Vegeta and turned off the lights. She quietly and gently pushed him out of the room. After closing the door noiselessly, Bulma sighed and hugged Vegeta close to her. "How are you holding up?"
"Fine," Vegeta said with a shrug. They both knew he wasn't fine, but he didn't want to talk about anymore at that moment.
After the two of them picked up all of the toys, they sat watching the TV for another hour until the Swifts came home. No one said anything, but Mr. Swift did try to give Bulma money. She refused to take it, and she and Vegeta started to leave.
"We'll…call you again sometime," Mrs. Swift said as they were leaving the house. "We'd really like it if you both came back again."
Bulma said, "Okay," quietly and Vegeta just nodded before they left and made their way to her car. As soon as they were inside and driving away, they both let out a breath of relief they had been holding in all night. Bulma turned on the radio to drown out the silence, but still neither she nor Vegeta said anything. They only casted the occasional glance to one another, and when they got home they went into their respective rooms and threw themselves down on their beds. They fell asleep instantly after such an emotionally trying day, but they both knew that they were going to have to deal with both of their repressed feelings the next day or else things would get a lot more hectic.
