Disclaimer: LindaN doesn't own DBZ or the characters therein, she simply writes about them and loves them.

Summary: From this chapter on, we are in the present time. Mirai Trunks has found the time machine and has appeared at the front door of Capsule Corporation and he is launched into his new life in ways that he never dreamed possible. (Kleenex? - maybe, but I have a feeling you're going to laugh some too! (^_~) I'm just so proud of Vegeta! And I hope you will be too. Enjoy!

The Reunion

'Trunks', she would say,

'the heart of a good person is filled with the wings of love

that are just bursting at the seams to take to flight and touch someone else."*

Mirai Bulma

Vegeta stood in the doorway to the kitchen quietly watching his very beautiful, and very round and pregnant wife, and he was torn between fulfilling a promise to Trunks and fulfilling an increasingly intense need growing within his body. And he determined that if he moved quickly, seizing the opportunity at hand, he could do both. So walked up behind his wife and embraced her, pressing into her and making the intensity of his desire apparent to her, and when he scooped her gently up into his arms, she let him. And they were half way up the stairs to their bedroom when their very angry 8-year-old son appeared.

"Where are you going, Poppa?!" his son said with arms crossed and lavender eyes blazing.

"Trunks," Vegeta said with onyx black eyes blazing as well, but for an entirely different reason, "your mom and I are going to go talk to the baby for a little while. It won't take long, and we should be done in about 5 minutes. And if you are willing to wait patiently for me, I shall increase our training time today by 30 minutes. Deal?"

And with that fire put out, the enamored parents hurried up the stairs to extinguish one of a completely different matter.

And 30 minutes later, Chibi Trunks was livid as he waited impatiently for his dad to get done "talking to baby" upstairs with his mom. That's all he seemed to want to do anymore. As soon as breakfast was done, up they'd go to "talk to the baby", after supper, "talk to the baby" and now instead of training sessions with his 8 year old son, he was upstairs "talking to the baby".

"Talking to the baby my little lavender haired ass!" Chibi Trunks said on the verge of blasting something.

"The baby isn't even out yet. I know what you too are really doing up there, I'm not that stupid", he said talking to the ceiling.

"Well, I kinda know, sort of. I WATCH TV TOO YA KNOW! I see what they do sometimes. Poppa! You said you'd be all done in five minutes and that was a half hour ago!"

And Chibi Trunks decided he wasn't going to like being a brother.

And on top of everything else, he was just dieing to find out what they really did when they were up there like that. Well, he kinda knew, well, sort of. And he would imagine ways to sneak in there so he could watch, which he even tried a couple of times, but his dad always detected his ki and forced him to leave even though he said he'd just sit in the corner be real quiet.

And then, as though things couldn't get any worse in his little 8-year-old life, the doorbell rang. As soon as he realized that the lavender haired man standing there was the person he had heard all those 'endless' stories about, and that he was 'the' very person his father went 'ballistic' over during the cell games, Chibi Trunks was hit with an idea for revenge so sweet that it made him tingle all over. In one fatal swoop, he planned to annihilate the new competition for his father's affections which had just walked through the front door, punish his father for ignoring him, and get a quick eyeful before everything came crashing down around him.

And he smiled an evil smile at the lavender haired interloper as he set his own version of the ultimate plan for revenge in motion.

And all the way up the stairs to that bedroom, Chibi Trunks kept assuring the lavender haired man that, yes, of course their father was alone in that bedroom, and yes, their mom was at work, and that yes, their father really did have a work shop up there.

And the unsuspecting parents simply had no idea what lavender shades of evil lurked right outside their closed, but unlocked, bedroom door as they were lost in each other, making love with each other with wild abandon just on the other side of it, never in a million years suspecting what was about to happen.

"Hey Poppa, Trunks is here to see you!" Chibi Trunks said as he pounded abruptly on the door.

"Go away, son, now is not a good time!"

"What are you doing in there, Poppa?"

"Trunks, go away! I'm busy right now!"

"See, I told you so!" Chibi said smiling innocently at the interloper. "He's kinda grumpy right now, but that's our dad! And he's going to be sooo happy to see you!"

And giving his parents just enough time to get back at it, Chibi Trunks flung their bedroom door wide open and shoved the unsuspecting lavender haired man inside with such force that he stopped himself only within inches of the impassioned pair. And when Chibi Trunks saw the look in his father's eyes after he saw the tall lavender haired man standing within inches of him, he knew that he had just annihilated the interloper totally, and then when he saw the absolute look of shock come to his father's eyes over the intrusion, victory number two was in the bag and then, when Chibi finally got to see what they actually did, all he could do was stand and stare, jaw on the ground, dumbfounded, lavender eyes as big as saucers as he finally got his eyeful.

Now, Trunks knew he should do the adult thing and with quiet dignity, turn around and walk out, but he too, was dumbfounded. Not only had he never done what they were doing, but this was the first time his lavender eyes had seen it as well, and it was Vegeta of all people doing it, all he could do was stand and stare with his jaw on the ground, lavender eyes as big as saucers too.

And just when Trunks didn't think things could possibly get any worse, Chibi, with his head sort of tilted to the side asked his father, "Poppa! How are you connected to her like that?!"

"WHAT! CONNECTED!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE NOW !!!"

'This reunion is going really well!', Trunks thought to himself as he and Chibi high tailed it out of the bedroom and ran down the hallway with extreme velocity.

And they made their way back down the stairs not stopping until they were outside safely hidden behind the gravity room. And he was so nervous and embarrassed and shocked, that he began to try to suppress his laughter but got the giggles anyway, and then he made the fatal mistake of looking down at Chibi who was undergoing the same struggle and both of them started to laugh.

"How are you connected to her?! Gees, Chibi, I can't believe you actually asked him that! Did you see the look on his face?!" And for the first time in a long time, Trunks laughed uncontrollably.

But as he lay there in the grass with Chibi, and after he was able to breathe again, he began to replay that scene in his mind. And he was shocked and saddened to realize that the scars he saw on the lower portion of his father's body had not been earned in battle because they were too precise and had been done repeatedly. And Trunks began to weep as he realized that someone, somewhere had tortured his father. And as his feelings of compassion for him began to mix with the love in his heart, Trunks knew that he had made the right decision to come to this time and this place.

"Trunks, are you crying?"

"It's okay, Chibi, something just made me really sad is all". Trunks sighed, wiping his tears away.

"Ah, Trunks? I really got to know, I can't help it! Just how was he connected to her like that?"

"Chibi! You really don't know? He was inside of her, you dope!" Trunks said laughing at him.

And with that, Chibi's eyes returned to the size of saucers as he looked down at himself.

"What! No way! That's just gross, Trunks."

"Trunks?" Chibi continued.

"What now, Chibi?

"Where'd he put it?" And Trunks was about to tell him to go talk to Bulma when the sound of a familiar voice sent chills down his spine.

"What I do, or do not do, with my own body is not any of your concern!" Vegeta said with chilling quietness, as he simply seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"But, you shall never again even think of your mother's body in those terms, I forbid it!! And now, I'm going to the quiet place because I cannot stand the sight of either one of you. Your violation sickens me."

And with that, both Trunks hung their heads in silent shame. But in just a short time, they happened to glance at each other and their shame gave way to gleeful giggles, and then their giggles blossomed into full blown haha's, and soon they were literally rolling on the ground praying that Vegeta wouldn't return and catch them. And walking on the wild side that way appealed to the both of them, in rebellious and childish sort of way.

"How long will he stay mad at us, Chibi?" Trunks asked.

"Oh, forever. But that's okay. He'll forgive us after he's not mad anymore."

"Where's the quiet place, Chibi?"

And suddenly, something quickened inside of Trunks and he knew where Vegeta had gone. With that, Trunks rose to feet and told Chibi that he needed to be alone for a while and asked him to go back inside.

When Trunks arrived at that high mountain valley that he knew so well in his time, he was in shock and moved to tears to see Vegeta sitting high atop one of the magnificent boulders that had gently bordered the makeshift cemetery that existed in the future, and where he had just buried his mom the day before. The idea that this place existed in this time had just never occurred to him.

Trunks stood totally mesmerized, weeping quietly, as he watched Vegeta from a distance. The warrior was sitting with one leg bent and the other stretched out in front of him and he was leaning back on his hands with his eyes closed and his face turned up toward the sun.

And a wild and warm summer mountain breeze surrounded him, and moved over him and it stayed just with him, as the air where Trunks was standing was perfectly still. And without opening his eyes, Vegeta told Trunks to come out of hiding, knowing he was there since his ki was so detectable. Trunks walked over and stood close to that huge boulder and apologized for dishonoring him as he had done earlier, and turning to leave, he apologized for the interruption as well, but he was stopped dead in his tracks when Vegeta told him that he would not have told him where he would be, if he had not wanted him to follow.

And after a time of simply standing there, watching a silent Vegeta continue to sit with his eyes closed in that unusual breeze, Trunks became impatient and finally asked Vegeta what he was doing up there like that. With that, his father opened his onyx black eyes, looked at him, and spoke.

"I was allowing a beautiful little Saiyan Queen to talk to her son from the next dimension".

When the full impact of that statement with all of its implications hit, in combination with the fact that Vegeta somehow knew what had happened to Bulma and seemed to be almost reaching out to him, plus the fact that Trunks was physically and emotionally exhausted, it caused him to collapse instantly.

And when he awoke, Trunks found himself in a strange bed, in a strange room and his clothes been removed and he had been bathed and somehow, Trunks knew that Vegeta had brought him back to Capsule Corporation and taken care of him.

Beside the bed on the nightstand, was a carefully folded change of clothes, and on the tray beside the clothes were several glasses of juice and some fruit. And there was a note on it that read 'Welcome home, Trunks. We're glad you're here". Trunks was so touched and surprised that he was moved once again to tears.

"You're pathetic, Trunks! I think you weep almost as much as I do!" Vegeta said from across the room.

"How did you know?" Trunks asked quietly.

And Vegeta looked at Trunks with compassion in his heart and told him that he knew Bulma had died because he had smelled her death on him yesterday in his bedroom, and by the time he had gotten him back to Capsule Corporation it had become so offensive that Vegeta took the liberty of washing it off, cleansing him of it.

And remembering the release he had experienced when he finally told his wife the story of Anuhea, Vegeta asked Trunks to tell him the story of the woman from his time known as Bulma. And so Trunks did, and as he did so, Trunks looked up to watch those onyx black eyes as he spoke of her. When he told Vegeta about the verse of the song and the inscription that she had placed in the heart of his marker, Trunks could see his onyx black eyes well up with tears and he could not imagine what could have created such a change in the warrior he thought only just a few days ago had had a heart of stone.

And over time, Trunks would come to understand the changes that had taken place in Vegeta, ranging from the subtle to the significant. And unknown to Trunks, and even Vegeta himself at the moment, there would come a day in which Vegeta would share with him the horror of his own childhood at the hands of Frieza.

When Trunks had finished telling the story of Bulma Briefs, Vegeta asked Trunks if the man who fathered him had ever become a part of their lives about 4 years ago. And he told the proud Prince no, but that Bulma would speak of one night that she spent with him, but she thought it had been but a dream.

Vegeta stood to his feet, walked over to the door, and right before he opened it, he turned to Trunks and looked at him for a moment.

"Well, I claim you then, as there shall be will be no fatherless children in my home. And prepare yourself now, son. Chibi has been waiting impatiently right outside your door and as soon as I open it, he will come rushing in here like the very wind itself".

And as almost an afterthought, Vegeta turned back to Trunks and told him that Bulma, Chibi, and he had already determined that Capsule Corporation was now his home and that he was to stay with them from now on. He also told Trunks to think about which part of the house he would like to dwell in and make his own.

And with one hand still on the door knob, Vegeta watched his newly chosen adult son, who had moved to a sitting position in the bed, and he had bent his knees and was embracing them. Vegeta watched as Trunks buried his face there, weeping quietly. And Vegeta could not yet bring himself to open that door and walk out.

"I need to you hug me, now father," his adult son whispered, not raising his head, "please."

With that, Vegeta stood silently and motionless as remembered those times when he himself had used that very same word, in that very same tone, also with tremendous sorrow behind it. And then he remembered watching Kakarrot openly embrace his adult son that day high up on Kami's lookout. Vegeta then realized how different his life would be now, had the simple word 'please' spoken from the depths of the hope within his heart not reached and stopped Kakarrot from brutalizing him, or if Bulma had chosen to not respond to him when she had chosen to leave him.

And Vegeta determined that he would no longer allow his behavior to still be controlled by the dictates of his former life with Frieza. Rather, he chose to embrace and step more fully into his life as a Saiyan Prince and warrior of old and if the great Saiyan King in the next dimension was willing to step down off of his throne to embrace him, a stranger, in front of thousands, then he most certainly could embrace his son in the quiet solitude of that bedroom. And Vegeta was deeply touched by his choice.

With that, Trunks didn't hear his father's footsteps as he quietly walked over to the edge of the bed, and he was completely stunned when he felt the touch of a gentle hand come to rest upon his head, lightly stroking his hair. For a moment, he thought his mom had returned, it felt so familiar to him. And he looked up, only to find himself staring into a pair of onyx black eyes that were already overflowing with tears. And without a word, a legendary warrior of old sat on down on the bed beside him in the form of his father, and Vegeta reached around him, embracing him, tucking him away within his powerful warrior's arms and heart. And never before had Trunks been touched this way, and he realized that it was something he had been longing for his entire life. His father seemed to be literally drawing the tension and the pain out from deep within him. And when his tears had run their full course, his father withdrew and stood beside the bed.

And Trunks took a deep breath and with his heart pounding in throat as he decided this was the time, that it was now or never, to tell his father what he had been waiting all of his life to say to him.

Trunks watched his father watch him as he finally found the strength to say, "I love you" to him.

And then he watched the look in Vegeta's eyes, fearing the worst because he knew his heart would shatter beyond repair if his father rejected him now, and he was shocked to discover how deeply he cared about his father's reaction, and he could barely breathe as he watched for those signs that simply did not come. And he could not believe it when Vegeta began to speak to him, quietly and with compassion in his voice.

"I know you do, son. I could see it in your eyes all those years ago when you hovered me in your time machine, as you were getting ready to return to your time after your defeat of Frieza. But, at that time I did not understand it, and it angered me."

"Then you returned again, and not only was your affection for me increasingly apparent, but I also became aware that you were the adult version of the son I had planted within Bulma's body. And my confusion continue to grow, feeding my anger toward you and to add to it, I found myself seething with jealousy over your affection for Kakarrot. And when it became apparent to me that I was second to Kakarrot, even in the eyes of my own son, I grew to hate you and him and everyone else".

"But then came the day when I saw Cell attack you, and as I watched the life drain from your body, something quickened deep inside of me and that instinctive Saiyan bonding between parent and offspring that Frieza had attempted to breed out of us as a people was reawakened within me. And it was because of that awakening that I lost control and attacked Cell for harming you and it was because of that awakening that I determined to reside with my infant son and allow my affection for the both of you to continue to grow within me."

"Trunks, I simply did not know how to separate out the love that I carry in my heart for Chibi from the love I carry in my heart for you, and so I determined a long time ago not to even try. I merely accepted it for what it was, and I had hoped that the day would come when I could tell you of it".

And father and son decided to stay together in each other's embrace a little while longer that morning in that bedroom at Capsule Corporation and Trunks was both shocked and saddened as he began to realize that for the last eleven years this is what he thought he had been freely given by Gohan that night before the warrior had been killed. All this time, he had believed that his little 13 year old heart and body had been touched by the hands of unconditional love, but he was starting to realize now that it had been an entirely different kind of touch, and Trunks knew he needed to tell Vegeta about it, but not now. Right now, all he wanted to do was bask in the moment as he was safely tucked away within those powerful arms of love.

And when Vegeta finally opened the door to that bedroom and walked out, Chibi indeed came rushing in like the very wind itself and hopped up onto Trunks bed. And Chibi looked at Trunks.

"I'm sorry your mom died, Trunks. Do you need a hug? It's okay to cry you know, at least that what Poppa says".

And Trunks began to realize that the Saiyan warrior who had just walked out of his bedroom was the realization of the hope that Mirai Bulma had seen within his heart and carried within her heart and never let go of all those years, and Trunks felt moved to go to the quiet place and tell her that he had just seen the man that she had fallen so deeply in love with, the one that only she could see at the time because he was so completely hidden within himself.

"Chibi, does your mom have a woodworking shop here at Capsule Corporation? I need to make something special for my mom and I want you to come with me and help me with it, okay?"

"'Trunks', she would say,

'the heart of a good person is filled with the wings of love

that are just bursting at the seams to take to flight and touch someone else".

Mirai Bulma

* Chapter 2 - A Farewell to Fallen Heroes

Sources

Dragonballz by Akira Toriyama

The Shattering by LindaN

(To be continued)