Bulma stared at the dark sky above her with a dead look on her face. The sparkling stars stared down above her. Exchanging glances with the universe above was usually one of her favorite past times. Countless times she'd laid outside and stared up at the infinite space above her and smiled. But tonight was different. There was nothing for her to smile about. There had been plenty to cry about, and she had, for a very long time. But she didn't have any tears to cry anymore. And so she sat in a chair she'd dragged outside next to the house, staring up at the sky, a look of exhaustion painted on her face. She was completely spent.
It had been hours since they had gone into the gravity room, and she'd been waiting by anxiously ever since. She wasn't sure what to expect at first. Would Trunks be angry? Hurt? Would he cry? Scream? She knew he'd have a big reaction. He was her and Vegeta's son. Big, dramatic, emotional reactions were commonplace with them. But she didn't know what the driving emotion behind it would be. Anger? Fear? Sorrow? She sat for a long time, playing the different scenarios through her mind, when she was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts. Her stomach sank as she heard the loud boom from inside the gravity room. Her heart pounded in her chest and she wondered which of the two most important men in her life had thrown which against the walls inside. She had a feeling she knew the answer to that.
Ever Motherly instinct told her to run inside and stop whatever the hell was going on in there. Every part of her screamed to interfere and make them stop fighting. But she knew there was nothing she could do. Even if she did manage to stop them, it wouldn't stop or get rid of the real conflict that they were dealing with. Suddenly she was drawn out of her thoughts as she heard the gravity room door open. She looked in anticipation as Vegeta walked out. He didn't appear to be hurt, confirming her fear that it was her son that had been thrown against the wall. As if in slow motion, he turned to look at her. His face was pale and he looked completely exhausted. His eyes narrowed and he glared at her with a look of pure hate, a look she hadn't seen from him in years. She stood to go to him, but his words rooted her to the ground.
"I hope you're fucking happy."
With that, he was gone, disappearing into the same dark sky she had been staring at. She fell to the ground, crestfallen. Apparently she was wrong about the tears, since more were currently streaming down her face. She shook her head. She knew Vegeta was only lashing out because he didn't know what else to do. He was hurt and even more, he was scared. Trunks had obviously had a bad reaction to the whole thing, and he had to be terrified of losing him. But it still hurt that he had, once again, taken it out on her. And that look on his face…she shivered at the thought. Wiping her eyes, she tilted her head back up to look at the sky in the direction where her lover had gone.
Trunks stared at the blank wall across from him. How long had it been since his Father had left? Seconds? Hours? He couldn't be sure. It didn't matter, really. Nothing seemed to matter. He had been filled with so much rage before, and now there was just nothing. He was empty. It still didn't make sense to him, not really. How could his Father have done that? Did he really want to be evil again? He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. And instead of talking to him about it, he'd completely freaked out and attacked him. He laughed out loud, though it sounded more like a bark. Surely he was losing his mind if he was attacking his Father. And then he actually acted surprised when he couldn't hit him! Yes, he had to be losing it.
Shaking his head, he slowly pulled himself to his feet. He groaned as his head and ribs ached in protest. He pressed on his ribs gently. They were sore, but they didn't feel broken. He was only eight, but he'd already broken his ribs six times. They hurt, but they didn't hurt as bad as they had before. He sighed. Even when he was attacking his Father and freaking out, he had made sure not to hit him too hard. He shook his head in confusion.
"I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to think right now," he whispered to himself. Sighing, he headed for the door, praying that his Mother was already in bed. Shoving it open, he was shocked to instead find a familiar face dressed in a bright orange gi, smiling mid-knock.
Vegeta stared at the sky above him and thought of his mate. She always loved staring up at the stars. He sighed. He was such an idiot. Why the hell had he said that to her? Now she was probably pissed off at him too. The conversation between him and his son was inevitable. It wasn't Bulma's fault. But of course, in his anger and frustration, and fear, though he would never admit that out loud, he had taken it out on her. The one person who had always been there for him, who had always been by his side, was always the first person he took everything out on. He cursed himself. What the hell was wrong with him?
Images of Trunks's shocked face flashed before his mind and he shivered. One more nightmare to add to the pile, he thought darkly. Somehow he always managed to disappoint people, specifically his family. Specifically his son. For the first time, Vegeta was at a loss of what to do. He had figured out (with Bulma's help) that he pretty much had a cycle when it came to conflict. He lashed out in anger, powered up and frequently hurt others (either physically or emotionally, depending on who he was angry at), and then he ran away. He had managed to keep his anger in place for once, but the latter still held true. He usually stayed away for a week or two before going back, but this time he'd found himself wanting to return as soon as he'd left. He didn't like leaving things the way he had with Trunks, but he didn't know what else to do. Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he was pulled out of his thoughts, though the image of Trunks's disappointed face hadn't left his mind.
"You've got to be kidding me," he growled. He pulled his eyes from the stars above to glare at the idiot next to him.
"Kidding about what?" Goku asked cheerfully, a smile plastered on his face.
"Go away."
"Aww, come on Vegeta! I just wanna help."
"I don't want your help," he grumbled. Goku smiled knowingly.
"Yeah, I kinda figured. But I felt Trunks's energy shoot up. I thought you all might have been training late, but it just kept going up higher and higher so I got a little worried and paid him a visit." Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"I can take care of my own damn family without you interrupting all the time, Kakarot." Goku looked at his feet sheepishly.
"I know, but…he just seemed upset and things are kinda stressful at home right now with trying to get to know Goten and Chi Chi being mad at me and-"
"I don't care." Goku frowned and crossed his arms.
"Well fine, you big meanie. I'll try to help you and your family, but nooo, you don't have to listen to m-"
"Shut up. I have more important things to worry about right now than the latest thing you did to piss your harpy of a wife off." Goku stared at Vegeta for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah. Okay. Bulma told me what happened. About Trunks overhearing you." He glanced at Vegeta, expecting him to tell him to stay out of it. Instead he gave a curt nod. Silence fell upon them for a few moments before Goku continued. "So you told him about becoming Majin?" Again, a slight nod. Sighing, Goku sat down on a rock near Vegeta. Crossing his legs he put an elbow on his knee and rested his head in his hand. "And he didn't take it too well." Another period of silence followed them before Vegeta finally grumbled,
"He took it like I would've taken it." Goku couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. Had he not felt so shitty, Vegeta would've allowed a smirk himself. It was comical, in a way. It sucked that Trunks had reacted so furiously. But with himself and Bulma as parents, what was he expecting? Goku smiled.
"So Trunks inherited his parents' temper, huh? Duly noted." A long silence fell over them, longer than the ones before. Goku glance over at his friend. Yes, he really did consider Vegeta his friend now. After everything they'd been through with fighting Buu, there was no other word for their relationship. He had a feeling Vegeta might protest if he were to mention it out loud. But deep down, Goku knew that Vegeta accepted him now as his friend. And as his friend, he was worried.
Trunks would be fine. Trunks would work through it and move on. He was eight, he loved his Father; he would forgive him and move on. But Vegeta…Vegeta would blame himself. And there was no telling what he would do in his self-loathing. Goku sighed. He needed to try to get him to talk. He looked tentatively at the prince, who was staring straight ahead at seemingly nothing. He was deep in thought, a dark scowl on his face and anger in his eyes. Goku remembered his promise to himself the last time Vegeta had run away. Don't worry, Vegeta, he thought to himself. We're gonna figure this out for you. I promise.