Chapter 4 - Married With Children

"TRUNKS!!!". Oh no, he was going to get it now. He had over slept and forgot he had chores to do. His father crashed into the room.

"I thought I told you to cut that grass yesterday!"

"You did!" Trunks raised his forearm in front of his face in fear that his father was about to hit him.

"Then why didn't you do it?"

"I don't know!"

"WHAT!?"

"My alarm clock didn't go off!"

"Since when do you rely on alarm clocks to wake you up?"

"Since when do I not!?"

Vegeta snatched the clock up and threw it out of the open window.

"Never rely on something to do something for you! It makes you weak!"

"What the hell are you talking about, 'it makes me friggin weak'!?"

"Don't use words like that with your father!"

"Hell hell hell! Frig frig frig!"

Bulma listened to the argument rage on and couldn't help but laugh. She remembered the arguments she used to have with her parents over chores. She used to do the same things Trunks was doing, scream and mock. She popped some bread in the toaster and got out 5 plates from the cabinet above it. Now she was a mother and a house wife. Anyone who knew her when she was a teenager would have never seen this coming, but people change throughout time. It certainly happened to her. She always used to be out on some adventure, chasing after dragon balls, dodging pitfalls, getting kidnapped, the list goes on. But now she was doomed to be a homemaker for the rest of her life. The strange thing was, though, she didn't care.

"Don't you go through the kitchen boy! Go straight out the front door.!"

Trunks rolled his eyes, turned around, walked out the door, and slammed it behind him. Bulma didn't even realize that he was in the room with her, she was so deep in thought.

"AND IF I DON'T HEAR THAT MOWER IN 5 MINUTES I'M GONNA BE REALLY PISSED OFF!!!!!"

"Calm down Vegeta!" Bulma said with slight laughter behind her voice. Vegeta sat down ate the chair opposite her on the 6 foot diameter, circular kitchen table.

"He needs to learn to do his chores when I tell him to."

"Hey! Veggie head! It's nine o'clock! You told him to do it when he wakes up!"

"No, I told him to do it at 7."

"You can't expect him to get up that early! Especially when his alarm clock is broken."

"What is with you earthlings and alarm clocks?"

The mower started in the background.

"It's called 'we like sleep'! Get used to it!" Bulma, still laughing under her breath.

"Oh, so he got the idea from you!"

"Or maybe it's in his blood!"

"I don't believe this! This is so typical of you humans. You sleep late, you're lazy, you have no self discipline."

Now Bulma was getting annoyed, "Wait! Is this about that fighting thing again!?"

"No, it's about him becoming a decent individual."

"What the hell does that have to do with chores?!"

"He has to respect his parent's orders! If he doesn't do that then kind of person is he going be?"

"The fuck Vegeta! It's 9 on a fucken Sunday morning! He's fucken 12 years old!"

"Well when I was his age I went through worse!"

"That doesn't mean you have ta put him through it!"

"I'M NOT!!!...I'm trying to make sure he has it better than I did."

Things got quiet for a minute. Bulma spoke up first. "Sorry."

Vegeta was looking at the ground shaking his head "Ughhhh.you don't have to be. Hmph. I.I'm just trying to make it so that he grows up knowing a family unlike I did. I'm showing him discipline the only way I know how. Maybe next time I should talk it over with you." He flopped into a chair at the table. "I don't know how you guys handle this shit here." He was feeling really confused at the moment. He thought he was doing the right thing and only got scolded for it.

Bulma sat down in the chair across from Vegeta. "Vegeta..uh.." her eyes circled the room as she thought about what to say. "You heart was in the right place, but you went about doin' it the wrong way..You shouldn't have jumped down his throat before he even wakes up. Let him do that, and eat, then make him work next time. If he gives you back talk, then you can yell at him."

Vegeta wasn't looking at her, but he was listening. He was processing the new information in his head. Maybe she was right. He sighed to himself and looked at Bulma.

She looked back with these sad, puppy dog eyes.

The toast in the toaster popped up.

Bulma and Vegeta both leapt across the table at each other and started making out uncontrollably, knocking down dishes and cups while they went at it. Unlike most parents with an adolescent child, they still acted as if they were teenagers. And they went rough. Vegeta swept everything off the table behind Bulma, not caring that the end result was several broken plates and glasses, and literally slammed her on the table. She smiled up at him as he ripped open her button up shirt, exposing her bra. The started, once again extremely roughly, making out. Bulma was squeezing him tightly with her arms and legs while he was caressing the back of her head with his right hand and her back with his left. For a good minute, they did nothing else. Then, Vegeta pulled away for a second and looked into Bulma's eyes. She looked back and smiled. Vegeta crooked an eyebrow and quickly turned his head to the kitchen window. A look of concern shot across Bulma's face.

"What's wrong?"

Vegeta got off her and darted for the back door. He ran around to the side of the mansion where the tool shed was. Just sitting outside the open shed was a running sit down mower, sitting still, with no one on it.

"SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!" He powered up and took off into the air.

Bulma rushed outside with her arms around herself to close her shirt around her, and made it out just in time to see Vegeta in the air and disappear over the tree line. She surveyed the scene. Mower running, no one on it, Vegeta blasting off at the speed of light. Trunks ran off to Goten's.

* * *

Vegeta was flying so fast that if his face hit a bug, it would go through his eye socket and out the back of his skull. He was so mad at his son right now that if he got a hold of him, he would rip off his head and shit down his neck! The air was rushing around him it was like lying in a wind tunnel with Gale force winds. How could his son even fathom pulling a stunt like this? He deliberately fooled his father for the sole reason of making him mad. Well, now he did and he was going to regret it. He reached the main land mountains and went blazing over the peaks to Goku's house.

Oh shit, he all of the sudden remembered. Chi-Chi lived there too. Ugh, he didn't need her shit right now. He had taken on some of the worst guys in the universe, but Chi-Chi was something he couldn't handle, especially now that he was on her bad side. He would have to play it Bogart, and hope she didn't get in his way. He started coming up on the house. He gritted his teeth and began to descend.

He landed a few feet away from the front door. Gohan was leaning in the doorway with a somewhat angry look on his face. He seemed to be waiting for Vegeta. Vegeta examined the scene, looked Gohan up and down, and then looked him straight in the eye.

"What!?" He blunted out.

Gohan closed his eyes and pulled from behind his back a certain purple haired 12 year old and lifted him to eye level by his collar. Trunks struggled to get free, but to no avail. Vegeta snatched the boy up and grunted ,"Thanx."

Vegeta put his son on the ground and slapped him across the mouth.

"What the hell did you do that for!?"

"Don't give me that shit! Now you get your ass home before I really lose my temper!"

Trunks started walking in the general direction the mansion was in.

"NOW DAMNIT!!!" He threw a small ki blast at his feet to get him motivated. When it exploded on the ground behind him, he blasted off into the air towards home. Vegeta was about to go too until Gohan spoke up.

"Vegeta, uh., are you guys playing cards anytime soon?"

"Why?"

"Coz I wanna swing by."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Been kinda board recently and am looking for somethin' to do. I'd hang out with Videl, but she's at some promotion with her father."

Vegeta looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head as he thought up an answer. "Well.we play Thursday night. Just show up and we'll see. It's not my call." Before Gohan could thank him, he blasted off in a burst of air and sound. Gohan thought it typical and went back into the house. Goten was sitting on the living room couch, watching TV and eating potato chips from the bag.

"You're lucky mom wasn't her to bust your chops," Gohan, scolding Goten.

"Why? It ain't my fault he got in trouble."

"Yeah it is! You brought him over!"

"We planned to get together today yesterday!"

"Well, next time you go over there and he's doing chores the plans are off!"

"You better not get me in trouble."

"You keep talking to me like that and I will."

"You do and I'll tell mom that you are goin' out gambling instead of with Videl."

"I'm not gambling, I'm going ta find out what happened to dad."

"Why?"

Gohan paused for a second and answered truthfully ,"Coz mom won't tell us."

Why the fuck did that son of a bitch want to come to the game, Vegeta thought to himself. He didn't think Gohan was telling the truth. That "nothing to do excuse" may have been an alternate motive, but there was definitely something else on his mind. Vegeta was coming up to the city now. He began slowing down and flying closer to the ground to avoid being noticed. He told Gohan that him joining the game wasn't his call because it wasn't, it was Yamcha's. He started the thing a bit after the whole Buu fiasco, probably because he was board since he didn't want to fight anymore. He asked Bulma if once a month he could get all the other Z fighters together and play cards in her billiard room in the mansion basement. It was fun, every once in a while. Sometimes, subjects would come up that would either annoy him or piss him off. It was at times funny, though. Krillin got drunk once or twice before. The first time he did, Yamcha told a short guy joke and Krillin took it completely personal. He jump up and said ,"Are you calling me a pussy!?" . Yamcha gave him the most confused look that Vegeta has ever seen, and Krillin jump across the table and sucker punched him. When they finally pulled Krillin off Yamcha, he vomited all over the place. Vegeta couldn't stop laughing for 2 days. Drunk people were funny, he thought to himself.

Vegeta landed to the pleasant sound and sight of Trunks moving the lawn. He figured he would let him finish before he would hound him. He walked inside through the backdoor and into the kitchen, where he ran into Mr. And Mrs. Briefs; not who he was looking for.

"Good morning, Vegeta." Mr. Briefs said politely.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Where were you at all morning?", Mrs. Briefs asked.

Vegeta was about to open his mouth and say something smart when Bulma came in the room.

"Oh, you're back."

"Um, Bulma, what was all that commotion we heard early this morning?", her mother asked.

"Vegeta and Trunks got into an argument about chores. Then he ran off to Goten's. He's gonna get punished for that."

"Well, he should be for breaking all of those plates and glasses," Mr. Briefs said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Vegeta and Bulma both looked up at eachother, as if trying to communicate by thought. They were mouthing word to each other, but neither of them could read lips very well. Bulma shrugged her shoulders, and slightly shook her head. Vegeta closed his eyes, palmed himself on the forehead, and mouthed an F word that Bulma did recognize.

"That was me Mr. Briefs. I will replace them," Vegeta admitted.

"Why? What happened?", Mrs. Briefs asked.

Vegeta and Bulma went through the a similar ritual to the one they just had five seconds prior, only this time, with two spectators.

Bulma spoke up. "Um. It.uh.was.uh.Vegeta's unique way of making up for an argument we had?". It was meant to be a statement, but came out as a question. All three people in the room gave her a look that had "What the hell?" written all over it.