Shock to the System II
He had waited for the little girl that they called Bra to leave before he went into the lab. He did not want to have any interference. He just wanted to see her alone.
"I'll give daddy a kiss for you," The little girl that looked like Bra said as she bounded towards the main house on the Capsule Corporation property. She sure reminded him of his own daughter but that was a nagging doubt in the back of his head that he did not want to think about right now. He wanted to think of Bulma.
Tell her that he was sorry without feeling like a sap.
He had opened the door and she was already elsewhere in the building. He was surprised at how neat the lab was. She never had a neat lab but she always knew exactly where everything was.
She must be between projects.
He could hear some music playing in the next room and her voice humming along with it. He used to tease her about that. He wouldn't do that anymore here though.
He pushed open the door and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed with her eyes closed. She was braiding her long hair with the deft movements of her fingers that he doubted that he could accomplish.
He walked silently in.
After all this time. He did not know what to say to her. He just looked at her as she was braiding her hair and humming to whatever awful tune was playing on the CD player. He had stopped in front of her and just stood there until she had opened her eyes.
Her hands fell away from the braid. It slowly began to unravel as she stared at him for a bit. She blinked her eyes a few times as if she were trying to clear her vision. He couldn't help but smile. She looked just so… so… well… he couldn't find the right words.
She rose slowly from the bed and her hands shook as she slowly reached up and touched his cheek.
"I'm back." He had said simply and reveled in the sparkles in her eyes and the warmth of her touch on her cheek. Even if that sparkling moment was brief and the familiar fury flashed in her eyes and a hand sharply struck his cheek.
She screamed and hit him for about a half hour he guessed and gladly let her do so.
When she was finally clamed down, through tears, "Are you back from the dead?"
He pulled the capsule out of his pocket to show her. It was easier than trying to explain and he really did not come here to explain why he was here right now. She took the capsule out of his hand and examined it.
"Did something happen? Is there going to be something bad happening again?" she said as she examined the capsule and then his face.
"I missed you," was all that he was able to say and he had said it in a whisper. He didn't want to explain and had no intention of doing it right then and there. He took a step towards her and kissed her. He wanted to stave off the questions for a while yet.
He was very glad that it worked.
It worked really well.
Of course though, morning came. The questions were due now. He had no idea how he was going to tell her. He never thought of that before. He just wanted to see her again.
He stared at her for a bit, before she woke up. How could he still feel so sad, when she was right beside him? She woke up and gave a start.
"I thought it was a dream." she said. "You have no idea how much I have dreamed about you." There was that sadness in her eyes. He felt that pang of guilt. This Bulma was so alone.
"I'm sorry," he said as he looked at her. His voice was low. He wanted to say more, but he could not put the feelings into words. That was never his strongest point. He was better with actions, even if they were sometimes faulty too.
"Sorry? For what?" she said and looked at him confused.
"For… for everything," he said and looked away. Damn it. He didn't think it was going to be that hard to talk to her. He felt his hands clenching the sheets that were draped over his bare legs.
Bulma repositioned herself on the bed. Closer to him. He felt her hand touch his face and directed him to look at her. He allowed it. "What happened in the other time? I thought we were together."
"I lost you," he said. He could not say the other word. He could not say what truly happened to her. He did not want to tell her what a fool he had been or what he had done in the state of grief.
She seemed to think over what it meant. He did not interrupt her. He enjoyed the closeness, her smell, the softness of her skin, the slightly tousled hair from their activities the night before, and the blush that formed on her cheeks as he stared at her.
She looked straight in his eyes, the only woman that had ever been able to do so, and said. "I guess you found me." Her hand went through his hair and he marveled at how much he had missed her.
They spent the day together. They hardly talked. It didn't matter. He was back with her and she was back with him. He totally lost track of time. He was in heaven in that little cozy room with her.
That was until he heard Trunks voice calling for her. Of course, he heard the voice to late.
He did not expect the door to open.
They were not in that bad of a situation. At least they were still covered by sheets. Trunks face turned bright red and he put a hand over his eyes and shakily excused himself. Her face went crimson as well.
She looked at a clock. "Oh my!" she said and hastily began to dress and straighten her hair. "Get dressed you fool!" she said and threw his pants at him.
"Mom!" Trunks raised voice game through the door. "Um… you can invite your guy friend to dinner if you want." He sounded awkward. He knew how he felt after all, he was the one that had discovered the secret relationship that he had with Pan… talk about reversal of roles or what? Maybe he shouldn't have been so hard on Trunks back then. Of course, he was pretty sure that he did not see who he was, for his back was turned and the shock of seeing… Man, he really should not have been so hard on Trunks. He seemed to be taking it easier than he took his discovery.
He grabbed his clothes and dressed.
"I thought Bra was joking when she said that you had a boyfriend," he said stumbling over his words with an awkward laugh. He heard his son stumble over something and crash to the floor. A few curses and a moan.
Bra? That must have been that little girl. He was going to have to get filled in on the history over here. Things obviously were different now from the one that Soyna and Junior came from.
Bulma sighed and gave him a kiss and then went out. Trunk's was on the floor looking rather worse for wear. He had stumbled over a stool. He looked a little weakened. Had he been in a battle recently? He looked like he took one hell of a beating.
He followed after Bulma and saw the utter shock on Trunk's face.
"Father?" his voice was barely a whisper. "What are you doing here? Did something happen? Is Soyna okay?" His voice rising with each question with more urgency. Also, his injuries no longer seemed to bother him. He was no longer concerned about the scene that he had interrupted. He stood up, even though his shoulder did droop a little but he looked as if he were preparing for bad news. "Is there going to be another enemy?"
"No," he said simply.
"Then why are you here?" he said with his eyes darting back and forth between then both, looking for an answer. "What happened to bring you here?" His eyes were thick with worry and his whole body was tensing up, as if he were getting ready for a fight.
"Trunks," Bulma said and standing beside him. "You shouldn't get yourself all worked up in your weakened state." And then the Bulma he knew took over and made Trunks act like he was a little boy again. "And what are you doing out of your bed anyway? You are in no condition to be barging into my room anyway."
She was so good at changing subjects.
"But…" Trunks said.
"Come on now. I will help you to the house. You will be joining us, right Vegeta?" she said and he nodded.
"Good." She said with a beaming smile and started for the door dragging Trunks a little behind her. Trunks looked like he was lost. He felt like he was home again.
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"What the hell were you thinking?"
Trunks just put his head in his hands and stared at the floor. He could not think of why he had hit Goten. It was stupid for him to loose his temper on him. Soyna was the one that slapped him. He just didn't understand where the outburst come from and he regretted it as soon as he pulled it.
"Well?"
He looked up at Pan. She was furious at him. He couldn't blame her either. Hitting Goten like that was a low blow. It didn't solve anything but create more problems. Crystal had yelled at him and flew into her grandmother ChiChi's arms. Goku had held back Goten, while Gohan held him back.
He felt like a fool.
"Why the hell did you hit me?" Goten said. "I understand that you are angry at Soyna, but that is no reason to lash out!"
"Oh, so it is alright for her to lash out but not anyone else?" he had said. That was stupid of him to say. Gohan was trying to talk him down and Goku was trying to talk down Goten. They had not listened.
"Since when did you become king?" Goten had growled.
Again, the words he yelled back, he regretted. "Since she killed my father!"
Oh. Those were stupid words. Stupid, stupid, stupid things to say! Oh. He had never seen such hatred on his friends face before. Especially directed at him and that is where it struck.
Bra was weeping in Raymond arms and Raymond looked scared as he watched on. He remembered want to yell at Bra to stop her blubbering but Goten stopped his words as she shook his arms from his father. "I am going to go to my wife!" His words sharp and cutting, his tone meaning, he did not plan on coming back.
"Goten," Goku said and tried to follow him but Goten just shook his head and said. "I know where I am needed."
Damn. How could he have been so stupid?
A smack across his already red cheek brought him back to his angry wife. She was glowering at him. He wanted to run and hide and forget about what he had just done.
Oh. What had he done?
………………
Cyrus hardly slept at all. He kept on having the most horrible dreams that forced him to wake up and even after having a scalding bath and removing all signs of the powder from that silver ball off of his skin, his skin still itched and burned.
He was lathered in cream right now, wish stopped the burning sensation, as long as he didn't move.
He didn't dare tell mom or dad who seemed to be in their own worlds right now. Dad was ranting something about what Trunks did and was calling him a bastard and a prick. He thought they were friends?
He didn't want to go to school today.
He really didn't want to go to school today.
"I don't feel well mom," he whinned. He didn't feel well, but he didn't feel sick really. He didn't know how to describe how he was feeling. He just felt different.
"Well, you could take of those layers of clothes and I am sure that you would feel better," she said and tugged on his shirt and pulled it off over his head. There was a flash of searing pain for a moment but the cool air seemed to make it feel better.
He didn't know why his mother gasped or Dad jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
Not until Flint spoke with a mouthful of toast, "Hey! When can I get a tattoo like that?"
….
Short, but I think it was poignant.
Soyna