Warning: sap, but NOT very GOOD sap.
Trunks, Trunks, Trunks, and Trunks (being held by the thirteen year old) all sat on the bed in the back room. Vegeta stared at them. He felt dizzy as he looked from one to the next, having absolutely no idea what to do with them while the fourteen year old took the future Vegeta to go kill the monster. How long would this take? The sooner he could get HIS Trunks and himself back to his own time, the better. But in the meantime he had to keep these four from leaving the time capsule.
They were all staring at him, even the baby.
"So...maybe we oughta play twenty-questions," the thirteen year old broke the silence with a smirk.
Vegeta eyed him, but that gave him an idea. "As long as we're all stuck here, perhaps we could put that game to a little bit of use. Instead, you can each take turns asking whomever you want, within this room, any question and that person is required to answer truthfully."
Nine year old raised an eyebrow. "That sounds kind of stupid to me."
"I'm game," there was a look of mischivousness on the thirteen year old's face. "I've had plenty of things I've wanted to ask fro quite some time now."
"All right fine. You start," Vegeta looked at the four year old.
"Me? What do I do?"
"Ask anyone in this room any question you like."
"Ok...how come you're always so mad?" the four year old looked at the nine year old.
"Me? ...I'm NOT always mad!"
"Yes you are! You're alwasy yelling about soemthing."
"Well I don't KNOW why," Trunks was irritated and he scowled.
"All right, your turn," Vegeta looked at him.
Trunks grumbled for a few seconds. "How come you always send me out of the room?"
"Yeah!" the thirteen year old was quick to agree, quite amused. "GOOD one!"
"I don't ALWAYS send you out..."
"ALMOST always!"
"Today is was because I didn't wnt you distracting me with a bunch of questions. Other times it's because I want to talk to somebody else about soemthing private that isn't any of your business."
Trunks scowled, folding his arms.
"Ok, my turn!" thirteen year old piped up. "Can I have a car when I turn sixteen if I stop being a brat at that age?" he glanced at his younger counterpart.
"Not likely. You," he looked back to the four year old.
"When am I going home?"
"I don't know when, but soon."
"Why do we have to play this game?" nine-year old took his turn.
"Because I said so."
"That wasn't an honest answer," thirteen glared.
"All right, fine. Because I was hoping something constructive may come of it. And it's MY turn now. You've all had two turns already."
"I haven't."
Vegeta glared at him shortly, then turned to the nine-year old. "If I were to change one thing about the way I treat you, what would you like it to be?"
"What are you talking about, Dad?"
"Tell me ONE thing you want me to do differently."
Trunks thought for a few seconds. "Don't yell at me all the time!"
Thirteen year old nodded smugly.
"All right, you ask another one and then I get to go again," Vegeta directed.
"Did you mean everything you said when Majin Buu first came? Beofre you got blown up?"
Vegeta's eyes widened a little bit. "Of course I did," he was rather puzzled to hear that question, especially from the young teen. "Ok, here's another one for you," he finally turned his attention back to his own Trunks. "Other than yelling at you, what would you change about me?"
"...Uh...being left out of everything."
Vegeta pondered that for a second. He wasn't completely sure if he believed him. The boy was probably too young to even KNOW what he really wanted anyway. The four year old child looked bored as could be and the baby was starting to get fussy. Vegeta decided to take them into the other room and let them play in there for awhile.
"My turn?" his nine-year old asked when he returned.
"Yes."
"What the heck were you talking about last night?"
"Oh, I know!" thirteen interupted with a smile. "Now."
Vegeta thought on it for a few seconds. "I'm not sure I can answer that question just yet. Let me ask one first," he turned to the thirtten year old. "If there were two things YOU could go back and change about how I treated you when you were nine, what would they be?"
"Me?" he was surprised to be asked. he looked nervously to the younger child, then back. "I don't know if I want to answer in front of him..."
"Too bad, it's not an option. You HAVE to answer and right here."
"Ok, I'll answer if YOU answer one quick question. Did you care about me when I was nine?"
"YES! Of course I did!" Vegeta was almost indignant.
"Ok, then...I would have...made you...uh...I don't know...outward about your feelings? I can't think of another way of saying it. And I would have...made you less irritated by me. I guess kind of the same as he said. Not mad all the time."
Vegeta let that sink in for a second before he went back to his own child's question. "Ok, I think I can explain now, Trunks. Last night, I was trying to tell you that I want to do just what he said... I want to be able to express my feelings more outwardly toward you."
"I still don't get it."
"He's saying he CARES!" thirteen rolled his eyes.
"Hush! Let me say it myself!"
Trunks looked from his older self to his father, feeling uneasy and very small all of a sudden. "I think you're all crazy and this game is stupid!"
"All right!" Vegeta stood, his eyes narrowing. "How's THIS for changing the past? Trunks," he looked directly at the younger boy, "what I'm trying to say is that I love you."
Both boys looked at him in shock.
"...That...uh...changes things...," thirteen muttered.
Vegeta looked from one to the other and rested his eyes on the older one. "Well, I didn't wait until you were eleven now."
"Well...no..."
Vegeta's gaze shifted to the younger one, who was staring at him almost suspiciously. "What?!" he was rather irritated and incredibly self-conscious.
Trunks blinked, flinching just slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Stop staring at me like that! It's not THAT big a shock!"
Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding?!" the thirteen year old snorted. "I'm four years in the future and I'M shocked!"
"Why?! You've heard it before..."
"But only when I was eleven. I mean...you've been a lot better since then, but STILL... those just aren't words in your vocabulary," he tried to hide a smirk.
"Great. You're going to go from arrogant to attitude. That's just wonderful," Vegeta muttered. "Ok, ok, that's enough of this. YOU, out. Go in the other room and make sure the baby's all right."
Once the young teen was gone, Vegeta turned his attention back to the speachless child sitting on the bed. "Trunks, the reason I wanted to go back in time in the first place was so that I could talk some sense into my younger version. The one when you were four. I wanted to make things easier between us NOW. Do you understand?"
"...Not really," Trunks admitted.
"*Dangit*! I want to HOLD you, I always DID! But you won't let me because you've come to think it's embarrassing. I wanted to talk some sense into my former self so that he would hold you when you were YOUNGER and then you wouldn't be so adverse to it now!" Vegeta was thoroughly frustrated. There seemed to be no way of getting this accross to his son, and it wasn't something he wanted to talk about out loud anyway.
Trunks blinked a few times, completely stunned. He understood now, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. His father had NEVER come even CLOSE to saying such things before. It was entirely uncharacteristic for him. And it didn't seem to make any sense either. How could his father yells at him and act so irriated if this is what he really felt like? The two just didn't reconcile.
"Do you have any comprehension for what I'm saying?"
"...what's comprehension?"
"Do you UNDERSTAND?"
"...sort of..."
"What DON'T you understand?" Vegeta would give it ONE more try.
"...Why do you yell at me so much?"
Vegeta's eyes widened for a moment as he was thrown off-guard by the question. Was THAT what he didn't understand? "Because I'm angry a lot and I have a bad temper. And you just happen to be there. And I get MORE angry when I'm around you because I can never treat you the way I WANT to, so I end up yelling at you."
"Well what did I do?"
"All kinds of things, but I'm usually just yelling because I'm mad at myself and it's the only reaction that surfaces."
"...ok..."
Vegeta sighed, putting a hand over his forehead and shutting his eyes. "I have a headache!" He let out a sigh of frustration. "Why does this have to be so difficult?"
"Dad, when are we going home?"
"As soon as we possibly can."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I get the feeling this story is coming out bad because I'm kinda forcing it along a little and that's not something I regularly do. This chapter is...odd, I guess it the best way I can put it. Oh well, I'll try to salvage the rest as best I can. Where I was origionally going has been blurred because there were too many unanswered questions. I'll try to get another chapter of this done tomorrow (or later tonight and POST it tomorrow...).
Trunks, Trunks, Trunks, and Trunks (being held by the thirteen year old) all sat on the bed in the back room. Vegeta stared at them. He felt dizzy as he looked from one to the next, having absolutely no idea what to do with them while the fourteen year old took the future Vegeta to go kill the monster. How long would this take? The sooner he could get HIS Trunks and himself back to his own time, the better. But in the meantime he had to keep these four from leaving the time capsule.
They were all staring at him, even the baby.
"So...maybe we oughta play twenty-questions," the thirteen year old broke the silence with a smirk.
Vegeta eyed him, but that gave him an idea. "As long as we're all stuck here, perhaps we could put that game to a little bit of use. Instead, you can each take turns asking whomever you want, within this room, any question and that person is required to answer truthfully."
Nine year old raised an eyebrow. "That sounds kind of stupid to me."
"I'm game," there was a look of mischivousness on the thirteen year old's face. "I've had plenty of things I've wanted to ask fro quite some time now."
"All right fine. You start," Vegeta looked at the four year old.
"Me? What do I do?"
"Ask anyone in this room any question you like."
"Ok...how come you're always so mad?" the four year old looked at the nine year old.
"Me? ...I'm NOT always mad!"
"Yes you are! You're alwasy yelling about soemthing."
"Well I don't KNOW why," Trunks was irritated and he scowled.
"All right, your turn," Vegeta looked at him.
Trunks grumbled for a few seconds. "How come you always send me out of the room?"
"Yeah!" the thirteen year old was quick to agree, quite amused. "GOOD one!"
"I don't ALWAYS send you out..."
"ALMOST always!"
"Today is was because I didn't wnt you distracting me with a bunch of questions. Other times it's because I want to talk to somebody else about soemthing private that isn't any of your business."
Trunks scowled, folding his arms.
"Ok, my turn!" thirteen year old piped up. "Can I have a car when I turn sixteen if I stop being a brat at that age?" he glanced at his younger counterpart.
"Not likely. You," he looked back to the four year old.
"When am I going home?"
"I don't know when, but soon."
"Why do we have to play this game?" nine-year old took his turn.
"Because I said so."
"That wasn't an honest answer," thirteen glared.
"All right, fine. Because I was hoping something constructive may come of it. And it's MY turn now. You've all had two turns already."
"I haven't."
Vegeta glared at him shortly, then turned to the nine-year old. "If I were to change one thing about the way I treat you, what would you like it to be?"
"What are you talking about, Dad?"
"Tell me ONE thing you want me to do differently."
Trunks thought for a few seconds. "Don't yell at me all the time!"
Thirteen year old nodded smugly.
"All right, you ask another one and then I get to go again," Vegeta directed.
"Did you mean everything you said when Majin Buu first came? Beofre you got blown up?"
Vegeta's eyes widened a little bit. "Of course I did," he was rather puzzled to hear that question, especially from the young teen. "Ok, here's another one for you," he finally turned his attention back to his own Trunks. "Other than yelling at you, what would you change about me?"
"...Uh...being left out of everything."
Vegeta pondered that for a second. He wasn't completely sure if he believed him. The boy was probably too young to even KNOW what he really wanted anyway. The four year old child looked bored as could be and the baby was starting to get fussy. Vegeta decided to take them into the other room and let them play in there for awhile.
"My turn?" his nine-year old asked when he returned.
"Yes."
"What the heck were you talking about last night?"
"Oh, I know!" thirteen interupted with a smile. "Now."
Vegeta thought on it for a few seconds. "I'm not sure I can answer that question just yet. Let me ask one first," he turned to the thirtten year old. "If there were two things YOU could go back and change about how I treated you when you were nine, what would they be?"
"Me?" he was surprised to be asked. he looked nervously to the younger child, then back. "I don't know if I want to answer in front of him..."
"Too bad, it's not an option. You HAVE to answer and right here."
"Ok, I'll answer if YOU answer one quick question. Did you care about me when I was nine?"
"YES! Of course I did!" Vegeta was almost indignant.
"Ok, then...I would have...made you...uh...I don't know...outward about your feelings? I can't think of another way of saying it. And I would have...made you less irritated by me. I guess kind of the same as he said. Not mad all the time."
Vegeta let that sink in for a second before he went back to his own child's question. "Ok, I think I can explain now, Trunks. Last night, I was trying to tell you that I want to do just what he said... I want to be able to express my feelings more outwardly toward you."
"I still don't get it."
"He's saying he CARES!" thirteen rolled his eyes.
"Hush! Let me say it myself!"
Trunks looked from his older self to his father, feeling uneasy and very small all of a sudden. "I think you're all crazy and this game is stupid!"
"All right!" Vegeta stood, his eyes narrowing. "How's THIS for changing the past? Trunks," he looked directly at the younger boy, "what I'm trying to say is that I love you."
Both boys looked at him in shock.
"...That...uh...changes things...," thirteen muttered.
Vegeta looked from one to the other and rested his eyes on the older one. "Well, I didn't wait until you were eleven now."
"Well...no..."
Vegeta's gaze shifted to the younger one, who was staring at him almost suspiciously. "What?!" he was rather irritated and incredibly self-conscious.
Trunks blinked, flinching just slightly, but didn't say anything.
"Stop staring at me like that! It's not THAT big a shock!"
Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding?!" the thirteen year old snorted. "I'm four years in the future and I'M shocked!"
"Why?! You've heard it before..."
"But only when I was eleven. I mean...you've been a lot better since then, but STILL... those just aren't words in your vocabulary," he tried to hide a smirk.
"Great. You're going to go from arrogant to attitude. That's just wonderful," Vegeta muttered. "Ok, ok, that's enough of this. YOU, out. Go in the other room and make sure the baby's all right."
Once the young teen was gone, Vegeta turned his attention back to the speachless child sitting on the bed. "Trunks, the reason I wanted to go back in time in the first place was so that I could talk some sense into my younger version. The one when you were four. I wanted to make things easier between us NOW. Do you understand?"
"...Not really," Trunks admitted.
"*Dangit*! I want to HOLD you, I always DID! But you won't let me because you've come to think it's embarrassing. I wanted to talk some sense into my former self so that he would hold you when you were YOUNGER and then you wouldn't be so adverse to it now!" Vegeta was thoroughly frustrated. There seemed to be no way of getting this accross to his son, and it wasn't something he wanted to talk about out loud anyway.
Trunks blinked a few times, completely stunned. He understood now, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. His father had NEVER come even CLOSE to saying such things before. It was entirely uncharacteristic for him. And it didn't seem to make any sense either. How could his father yells at him and act so irriated if this is what he really felt like? The two just didn't reconcile.
"Do you have any comprehension for what I'm saying?"
"...what's comprehension?"
"Do you UNDERSTAND?"
"...sort of..."
"What DON'T you understand?" Vegeta would give it ONE more try.
"...Why do you yell at me so much?"
Vegeta's eyes widened for a moment as he was thrown off-guard by the question. Was THAT what he didn't understand? "Because I'm angry a lot and I have a bad temper. And you just happen to be there. And I get MORE angry when I'm around you because I can never treat you the way I WANT to, so I end up yelling at you."
"Well what did I do?"
"All kinds of things, but I'm usually just yelling because I'm mad at myself and it's the only reaction that surfaces."
"...ok..."
Vegeta sighed, putting a hand over his forehead and shutting his eyes. "I have a headache!" He let out a sigh of frustration. "Why does this have to be so difficult?"
"Dad, when are we going home?"
"As soon as we possibly can."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I get the feeling this story is coming out bad because I'm kinda forcing it along a little and that's not something I regularly do. This chapter is...odd, I guess it the best way I can put it. Oh well, I'll try to salvage the rest as best I can. Where I was origionally going has been blurred because there were too many unanswered questions. I'll try to get another chapter of this done tomorrow (or later tonight and POST it tomorrow...).