A/N: Thanks to all you nice people that reviewed my story. I'm going to post the rest of the chapters I have done now. I'm going to have another one done shortly too, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to post it since I'm posting two others now anyway (I have them done yesterday, I just stopped posting because I wanted to see if people would review first. And people did! Thank you people! Especially Lucky_babe and ChibiRay-chan!
Vegeta fingered through his box until he found the writing Trunks had read. He remembered having written it, but it had been a LONG time since he'd read it. The child had mentioned all he saw was a few pictures and that letter. It must have been true because that's just what was in the top layer of the box, which meant he hadn't really gotten to the stuff that was very deep. All the things Vegeta had kept in regards to his son were on the bottom and he was more concerned with those remaining hidden than a few pitures of him and Bulma.
As he read through the things he had written that day, he frowned. The feelings about his father hadn't changed, and he still regreting having said those things infront of Kakarot and the others. What he'd forgotten about however, were the thoughts he'd recorded about having children of his own. He couldn't bring himself to tell Trunks any of his true feelings about him yet, but he certainly couldn't let the child think he didn't want him. It was true, at that time he didn't, and even when he was born he tried to continue like he didn't, but things were completely different now. The only reason he even had him here NOW was because of how MUCH he wanted him... Vegeta sighed heavily, waiting a few minutes to try and figure out what to do while at the same time giving Trunks some time to recover from his humiliation.
Trunks turned onto his back, still clutching the pillow over his face while the thoughts of the later part of what he'd read swirled around in his mind. He choked on another sob as a wave of abandonment rushed quickly over him. He wanted SO much for his father to love him, though he never admited to it. He looked up to Vegeta like nobody else in the whole world. The thought of Vegeta not wanting him was completely unbearable.
"Trunks, we need to discuss a few things."
Trunks was almost startled to hear his father's voice at the door. He didn't want to look at him, but he knew he would have to. Slowly he sat up, still holding his pillow close to his chest and trying to hide behind it as much as he could. His face was puffy and red and that alone was embarassing to him.
"First, when I tell you not to do something, I expect you NOT to do it. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Trunks voice was small. He almost let out another sob, but pushed hard to instead hold it back.
"You may be a child, but you are old enough to know better than to disobey me," Vegeta finished.
Trunks wondered how it was possible that his father was making him feel even
lower than he already had, as he lowered his head a little closer to the pillow.
"And second," Vegeta held out the paper to him. "Is this what you read?"
Trunks hesitated before taking it from him. "Yes," he quickly held it out for his
father to take back.
"Did you read ALL of it?"
Trunks nodded, unable to choke back a small sob.
Vegeta sighed. So much for getting out of this. He felt like yelling at the boy to stop his crying. Mostly because it was ripping him apart to see it, but nobody else would ever know that to be the reason. "There's something you need to know about this record.
I wrote this only a short while after I had been free from Frieza's army. I spent years under the control of Frieza, killing millions of people, just as I had been instructed. Being the strongest in the universe was the ONLY thing that mattered to me at that time and I regarded emotions as weakness. Pride was the only thing I could keep while under Frieza's control. Pride in myself alone. Things are different now. I don't feel the same as I did then," Vegeta paused. He wanted to be sure his son was listening. "I want you to know I do not regret that you were born. It's true that you're only half Sayain, but that no longer matters to me. No child is produced of one person alone, and whether you're full Sayain, or half, you are still my son."
Trunks stared up at him, still sulking, his mouth hidden behind his pillow and tears rimming the edges of his eyes, which were almost hidden by his long violet bangs.
"Now," Vegeta hardened his stance, almost as if snapping back from a moment of vulnerability. "Dry your tears and come into the control room where I can keep my eye on you. We have a few more things to discuss," he turned at the doorway before leaving the room.
It was only for a split second, but Trunks didn't miss it. There was look of love and concern in Vegeta's eyes just before he left. Well...concern anyway. Trunks could never really say for sure what a look of love in his father's eyes looked like since he had nothing to compare it too. His father had never uttered those words at any time he could remember. Even so, he felt better...considerably better, but still humbled. His pride had taken a bit of a beating, any way you sliced it, and he could still feel the stinging.
Sighing, and feeling as if a lot of weight had been lifted from him, Trunks rubbed the remaining tears from his eyes. He hadn't lost his father's aproval completely. There was still hope for gaining his love and for making him proud.
* * * * *
Bulma stared intently at the screen in her lab. "There you are!" she exclaimed, a deep frown on her face. "What the...?! Where is he taking my baby?!" she looked at the
blip on the monitor. "He's not heading back here...They're getting FARTHER away! That no good, pile of...!"
"Bulma, honey, lunch is ready," Mrs. Briefs interupted.
"Not now, mother!"
"Have you gotten the tracing device to work?"
"Yes! Mother, Vegeta's had my baby for an entire week now and they're only getting farther away!"
"Hmm, well that's odd. Oh well, I'm sure..."
"Oh button it!" Bulma interupted, standing abruptly and storming over to a group of capsules on the shelf. "Don't you realise you may never see your grandson again?!"
"I don't think it's all that bad, dear... Vegeta will come back, and Trunks will be fine..."
"He most certainly will, because I'm going after them!" she grabbed the capsule she'd been looking for and stormed out of the room.
* * * * *
"Tomorrow we will be making a stop on the planet Heiron."
"Heiron? Is that where we're going? ...Wait, I thought it was Ghandis?"
"We ARE going to Ghandis, but that's still a long way off. Tomorrow on Heiron I am going to buy you some text books and you will be given a schooling schedule to follow for the remainder of the trip," Vegeta explained.
"What?!" Trunks' eyes widened. "School? But why?" he complained.
"Because I want you to learn about your heritage and because no son of mine will turn out like that know nothing idiot, Kakarot. His CHILDREN are already more intelligent than he is," Vegeta shook his head with disgust. "Besides, if you were back at home, you would be attending school right now. Not only will this help fill your day," 'and keep you out of my things!', "but it will keep you up on your studies."
"How much longer will it be until we get to Ghendis?"
"Three weeks and a two days, assuming it takes that long on Heiron to find what I'm looking for."
"THREE WEEKS! But that's so long! And what about Mom?"
Vegeta's features hardened at her mention. "Your mother can get along fine without us!"
"How come she didn't come with us?"
"She wouldn't be able to get that much time away from her inventions, you know that. She has a business to run," Vegeta thought of the only excuse he could without telling the real reason.
Trunks sighed and stared out the window, sulking. "But I already miss her now," he muttered.
Vegeta caught his words, just barely, but chose to ignore them. "As long as we're on Heiron, we will also get a radio to occupy you and I was thinking...perhaps a kitten. You like animals, right?"
"A kitten?" Trunks immediately purked up. "For real?" his eyes began to shine.
"As long as you promise to take full responsibility for feeding it and cleaning its waste..."
"I will!" Trunks quickly agreed.
"Then yes, for real."
"Wow!" Trunks clenched his fists with excitement. "My very own kitten!"
"Now remember, you WILL do your studies exactly as I tell you, do you
understand? And if that kitten distracts you from them, I'll take it away..."
"It wont, I promise!" Trunks quickly defended. "What should I name it?" Trunks spoke to himself.
Vegeta glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. He didn't even HAVE the thing yet!
"Hmm...," Trunks thought out loud. "Truasei!"
"What?!" Vegeta raised an eye brow.
"Truasei! That's my kitten's name! And I'll call him Tru for short! Or maybe Sei."
"Who says it will be a him?"
"Oh, well...it doesn't really matter. Truasei could be a boy or a girl...Hey Dad...since it's MY kitten, does that mean I'm its Dad?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "No."
"Why not?" Trunks seemed disapointed.
Why not? There wasn't a way Vegeta could really explain it to him without going into the details of life...then again, he'd heard of adoption and those people considered themselves fathers...But this was an animal, not a person! Vegeta shrugged. The boy was only eight. "If you want to consider yourself its father, so be it." He couldn't help but smirk as he rolled his eyes. The thought was rediculous to him, but he was an adult and looking through the eyes of a REAL father.
"Well...if it's MY kitten, and it's ME that has to take care of it...I'M its father," Trunks concluded with a smug smile.
"Why Truasei?" the name left a bad taste in Vegeta's mouth. It was a terrible name in his opinion.
"After me, of course," Trunks stated simply. "Tru for Trunks."
"And sei?"
"Because Vegeta-sei was destroyed, so I figure there can't be another one of those
and since I'm next in line, it would have to be Trunks-sei," Trunks liked the way that sounded. A planet named after him! Cool idea.
Vegeta almost laughed, now understanding his son's logic. "Ok, so why add the 'a' in there? Why not just Trusei?" Trusei sounded a LITTLE bit better then TruAsei.
"Well...," Trunks toyed with whether he wanted to tell his father that part or not.
"Well what? Trusei sounds better, so why add the a?"
"I suppose I could just add a middle name and that would be even better, huh?" Trunks thought out loud to himself. "Yeah...I like Trusei better too."
"Why does he need a middle name? Just take the stupid a out."
"I will, but then he has to have a middle name. It's only proper."
"What then?"
Trunks sighed. "Well, the 'a' was for the end of Vegeta. So he can just be Trusei Vegeta instead. That sounds better and it's more royal anyways."
Vegeta looked at the proud expression on his child's face without turning his head. A small smirk overcame his face and he almost smiled. He suddenly was feeling full of pride. His son wanted his kitten to carry a piece of Vegeta. What greater compliment could there be to a father? The thought of Bulma crossed his mind, momentarily staling this great feeling, but it was short lived. It should have been obvious to her that he would never even THINK of leaving this child!
Vegeta fingered through his box until he found the writing Trunks had read. He remembered having written it, but it had been a LONG time since he'd read it. The child had mentioned all he saw was a few pictures and that letter. It must have been true because that's just what was in the top layer of the box, which meant he hadn't really gotten to the stuff that was very deep. All the things Vegeta had kept in regards to his son were on the bottom and he was more concerned with those remaining hidden than a few pitures of him and Bulma.
As he read through the things he had written that day, he frowned. The feelings about his father hadn't changed, and he still regreting having said those things infront of Kakarot and the others. What he'd forgotten about however, were the thoughts he'd recorded about having children of his own. He couldn't bring himself to tell Trunks any of his true feelings about him yet, but he certainly couldn't let the child think he didn't want him. It was true, at that time he didn't, and even when he was born he tried to continue like he didn't, but things were completely different now. The only reason he even had him here NOW was because of how MUCH he wanted him... Vegeta sighed heavily, waiting a few minutes to try and figure out what to do while at the same time giving Trunks some time to recover from his humiliation.
Trunks turned onto his back, still clutching the pillow over his face while the thoughts of the later part of what he'd read swirled around in his mind. He choked on another sob as a wave of abandonment rushed quickly over him. He wanted SO much for his father to love him, though he never admited to it. He looked up to Vegeta like nobody else in the whole world. The thought of Vegeta not wanting him was completely unbearable.
"Trunks, we need to discuss a few things."
Trunks was almost startled to hear his father's voice at the door. He didn't want to look at him, but he knew he would have to. Slowly he sat up, still holding his pillow close to his chest and trying to hide behind it as much as he could. His face was puffy and red and that alone was embarassing to him.
"First, when I tell you not to do something, I expect you NOT to do it. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Trunks voice was small. He almost let out another sob, but pushed hard to instead hold it back.
"You may be a child, but you are old enough to know better than to disobey me," Vegeta finished.
Trunks wondered how it was possible that his father was making him feel even
lower than he already had, as he lowered his head a little closer to the pillow.
"And second," Vegeta held out the paper to him. "Is this what you read?"
Trunks hesitated before taking it from him. "Yes," he quickly held it out for his
father to take back.
"Did you read ALL of it?"
Trunks nodded, unable to choke back a small sob.
Vegeta sighed. So much for getting out of this. He felt like yelling at the boy to stop his crying. Mostly because it was ripping him apart to see it, but nobody else would ever know that to be the reason. "There's something you need to know about this record.
I wrote this only a short while after I had been free from Frieza's army. I spent years under the control of Frieza, killing millions of people, just as I had been instructed. Being the strongest in the universe was the ONLY thing that mattered to me at that time and I regarded emotions as weakness. Pride was the only thing I could keep while under Frieza's control. Pride in myself alone. Things are different now. I don't feel the same as I did then," Vegeta paused. He wanted to be sure his son was listening. "I want you to know I do not regret that you were born. It's true that you're only half Sayain, but that no longer matters to me. No child is produced of one person alone, and whether you're full Sayain, or half, you are still my son."
Trunks stared up at him, still sulking, his mouth hidden behind his pillow and tears rimming the edges of his eyes, which were almost hidden by his long violet bangs.
"Now," Vegeta hardened his stance, almost as if snapping back from a moment of vulnerability. "Dry your tears and come into the control room where I can keep my eye on you. We have a few more things to discuss," he turned at the doorway before leaving the room.
It was only for a split second, but Trunks didn't miss it. There was look of love and concern in Vegeta's eyes just before he left. Well...concern anyway. Trunks could never really say for sure what a look of love in his father's eyes looked like since he had nothing to compare it too. His father had never uttered those words at any time he could remember. Even so, he felt better...considerably better, but still humbled. His pride had taken a bit of a beating, any way you sliced it, and he could still feel the stinging.
Sighing, and feeling as if a lot of weight had been lifted from him, Trunks rubbed the remaining tears from his eyes. He hadn't lost his father's aproval completely. There was still hope for gaining his love and for making him proud.
* * * * *
Bulma stared intently at the screen in her lab. "There you are!" she exclaimed, a deep frown on her face. "What the...?! Where is he taking my baby?!" she looked at the
blip on the monitor. "He's not heading back here...They're getting FARTHER away! That no good, pile of...!"
"Bulma, honey, lunch is ready," Mrs. Briefs interupted.
"Not now, mother!"
"Have you gotten the tracing device to work?"
"Yes! Mother, Vegeta's had my baby for an entire week now and they're only getting farther away!"
"Hmm, well that's odd. Oh well, I'm sure..."
"Oh button it!" Bulma interupted, standing abruptly and storming over to a group of capsules on the shelf. "Don't you realise you may never see your grandson again?!"
"I don't think it's all that bad, dear... Vegeta will come back, and Trunks will be fine..."
"He most certainly will, because I'm going after them!" she grabbed the capsule she'd been looking for and stormed out of the room.
* * * * *
"Tomorrow we will be making a stop on the planet Heiron."
"Heiron? Is that where we're going? ...Wait, I thought it was Ghandis?"
"We ARE going to Ghandis, but that's still a long way off. Tomorrow on Heiron I am going to buy you some text books and you will be given a schooling schedule to follow for the remainder of the trip," Vegeta explained.
"What?!" Trunks' eyes widened. "School? But why?" he complained.
"Because I want you to learn about your heritage and because no son of mine will turn out like that know nothing idiot, Kakarot. His CHILDREN are already more intelligent than he is," Vegeta shook his head with disgust. "Besides, if you were back at home, you would be attending school right now. Not only will this help fill your day," 'and keep you out of my things!', "but it will keep you up on your studies."
"How much longer will it be until we get to Ghendis?"
"Three weeks and a two days, assuming it takes that long on Heiron to find what I'm looking for."
"THREE WEEKS! But that's so long! And what about Mom?"
Vegeta's features hardened at her mention. "Your mother can get along fine without us!"
"How come she didn't come with us?"
"She wouldn't be able to get that much time away from her inventions, you know that. She has a business to run," Vegeta thought of the only excuse he could without telling the real reason.
Trunks sighed and stared out the window, sulking. "But I already miss her now," he muttered.
Vegeta caught his words, just barely, but chose to ignore them. "As long as we're on Heiron, we will also get a radio to occupy you and I was thinking...perhaps a kitten. You like animals, right?"
"A kitten?" Trunks immediately purked up. "For real?" his eyes began to shine.
"As long as you promise to take full responsibility for feeding it and cleaning its waste..."
"I will!" Trunks quickly agreed.
"Then yes, for real."
"Wow!" Trunks clenched his fists with excitement. "My very own kitten!"
"Now remember, you WILL do your studies exactly as I tell you, do you
understand? And if that kitten distracts you from them, I'll take it away..."
"It wont, I promise!" Trunks quickly defended. "What should I name it?" Trunks spoke to himself.
Vegeta glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. He didn't even HAVE the thing yet!
"Hmm...," Trunks thought out loud. "Truasei!"
"What?!" Vegeta raised an eye brow.
"Truasei! That's my kitten's name! And I'll call him Tru for short! Or maybe Sei."
"Who says it will be a him?"
"Oh, well...it doesn't really matter. Truasei could be a boy or a girl...Hey Dad...since it's MY kitten, does that mean I'm its Dad?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "No."
"Why not?" Trunks seemed disapointed.
Why not? There wasn't a way Vegeta could really explain it to him without going into the details of life...then again, he'd heard of adoption and those people considered themselves fathers...But this was an animal, not a person! Vegeta shrugged. The boy was only eight. "If you want to consider yourself its father, so be it." He couldn't help but smirk as he rolled his eyes. The thought was rediculous to him, but he was an adult and looking through the eyes of a REAL father.
"Well...if it's MY kitten, and it's ME that has to take care of it...I'M its father," Trunks concluded with a smug smile.
"Why Truasei?" the name left a bad taste in Vegeta's mouth. It was a terrible name in his opinion.
"After me, of course," Trunks stated simply. "Tru for Trunks."
"And sei?"
"Because Vegeta-sei was destroyed, so I figure there can't be another one of those
and since I'm next in line, it would have to be Trunks-sei," Trunks liked the way that sounded. A planet named after him! Cool idea.
Vegeta almost laughed, now understanding his son's logic. "Ok, so why add the 'a' in there? Why not just Trusei?" Trusei sounded a LITTLE bit better then TruAsei.
"Well...," Trunks toyed with whether he wanted to tell his father that part or not.
"Well what? Trusei sounds better, so why add the a?"
"I suppose I could just add a middle name and that would be even better, huh?" Trunks thought out loud to himself. "Yeah...I like Trusei better too."
"Why does he need a middle name? Just take the stupid a out."
"I will, but then he has to have a middle name. It's only proper."
"What then?"
Trunks sighed. "Well, the 'a' was for the end of Vegeta. So he can just be Trusei Vegeta instead. That sounds better and it's more royal anyways."
Vegeta looked at the proud expression on his child's face without turning his head. A small smirk overcame his face and he almost smiled. He suddenly was feeling full of pride. His son wanted his kitten to carry a piece of Vegeta. What greater compliment could there be to a father? The thought of Bulma crossed his mind, momentarily staling this great feeling, but it was short lived. It should have been obvious to her that he would never even THINK of leaving this child!