Scars - Chapter 02
Mirai Trunks arrived in the other timeline during the night. The co- ordinates he'd set would place him into a time where Gohan was about his age, and where his younger self was roughly half his age. He thought that it would be best to go about it this way because it would give him a chance to chat with the other Trunks. When he had been eleven, Mirai Trunks had known he was really intelligent; it upset him that all of his ideas were wasted on trying to think of ways to kill the androids.
Trunks' co-ordinates for the Time Machine not only included a specific moment in time, but they directed him to a pre-determined spot on the Earth as well. For this journey, Trunks had chosen the backyard of Capsule Corporation, because the only people he wanted to know about his initial arrival were Bulma and Vegeta. He frowned when he felt a fresh wave of tears threatening to consume him and keep him from getting out of machine. He lowered his energy so that his father would not sense him, and took as deep of a breath as he could gather, holding it and wiping his eyes dry yet again.
'I can do this... they are my family, they'll let me stay... of course they will. Dad... I left with his blessing last time... I remember that. He'll let me stay and be a part of their family.... Please, please, please...'
When Trunks was fairly stable, he pushed the release for the top of the machine and it popped open, giving him his first breath of clean, fresh air. He took a second breath and worried that he would start crying again, but he remained calm this time around and climbed out of the machine, re- capsulating it and slipping it into his dino-caps case. Trunks bent down in the dewy green grass and ran a hand over its perfect softness, feeling like something of an escaped mental patient, but being unable to help himself. A glow of light from the large CC dome where Trunks knew his family was caught his attention. Akin to a man possessed, he allowed his shaky legs to carry him towards his....home?
+++++++++++++++
Inside the building, young Trunks was already in bed, sprawled over his covers haphazardly with his fuzzy green ferret plushie curled against him. He always hid the ferret from his father, because he knew it would be frowned upon as a weakness, but he loved it dearly and couldn't sleep a wink without it. Below Trunks, Bulma and Vegeta were still awake, sharing the loveseat in the TV room and looking rather relaxed and sleepy.
Bulma had her head on Vegeta's shoulder and a hand splayed over his middle, so that she could feel his breathing as she struggled to keep her eyes open for the rest of the movie they were watching. Vegeta had his gloves off, which was a rare sight indeed, considering he sometimes even slept in them. His fingers were laced with Bulma's over his stomach, and his other hand curled around her waist to keep her close to him. Such calm and peaceful moments were definitely scarce in the Briefs household, but they did happen every once in awhile, perhaps to keep the heads of the house assured that they needed one another in some way.
The peaceful moment was interrupted by knocking on the rear door. Bulma stirred, removing her hand from Vegeta's middle and yawning as she directed her sleepy eyes to the clock. Vegeta gave something of a growl and removed himself from the couch, donning his gloves and heading to the door with a halfhearted glare. He wasn't quite in the mood to deal with anybody who would be knocking at their back door, because that usually included only z- fighters, namely Kakarot, though he tended not to knock so much as just appear out of thin air.
Vegeta yanked the door open and spat a 'what do you want' at the young man on the other side of it, blinking in surprise when he recognized the creature standing there as his son from the future. He swallowed his surprise and struggled to place a firm expression on his face, but he did look rather bewildered despite his efforts.
Trunks appeared to be exhausted, that was Vegeta's first impression. He was not in bad health -he had his colour and didn't look thin or neglected- but there were dark circles under his eyes, which were puffy and red, obviously from some rather intense crying. Vegeta felt distaste at seeing his son looking so pathetic, but he supposed it was better than if the boy had showed up still crying. He gave Trunks a snort and looked over him slowly, his eyes resting on the two large, angry looking scars that were visible on his face. He wondered what had happened, and stepped aside to allow the brat into his home. He closed the door behind Trunks, catching Bulma entering the kitchen from the TV room. He heard her gasp in surprise and felt Trunks' energy shift significantly when his eyes came to rest upon his mother.
"Mom..." he whispered, his voice cracking. It was much lower than Vegeta remembered it, more similar to his own, except softer, more boyish. He looked at Trunks' long messy hair and his very well-loved, however clean clothes. He was unsure of what to say or do just yet, so he folded his arms uncomfortably and took to watching Trunks and Bulma.
Bulma came awake quickly when she saw Trunks. She looked him over with worry, fearing that he might have come here because of some deadly wound he had suffered, but upon seeing no blood, she made her way to him and folded the large young man into a tight hug. Her hand came up to stroke his hair for a brief space, and she could feel Trunks shivering against her with emotion. His arms wrapped around her and he lifted her a little off her feet so that he could hug her more tightly to him. Bulma began to suspect why Trunks had come here. He was refusing to let her go; she coughed for lack of air and whispered Trunks' name.
"Trunks, honey, what happened?" she asked, regaining her footing and blinking up at him. He had grown, he was taller than her and Vegeta now, closer to Gohan and Goku's height, though not quite. He appeared to be in good health, he looked strong and firm, though his hair was very pale compared to his younger counterpart. Bulma guessed that this was because Mirai Trunks spent so much time under the sun, and his double liked to hide inside and play with machines and computers. Bulma's hands came up to trace the scar on Trunks' cheek. He winced helplessly at the touch and stepped out of her reach.
Trunks pushed his hands into his pockets and looked at his feet, finding it hard to look at Bulma. "M-mom died...." He said finally, his voice cracking against his will. Bulma made a sound of acknowledgement and flickered her eyes to Vegeta for a little help. Vegeta glowered at Bulma with an expression that said 'what do you expect me to do, woman?', but he uncrossed his arms and cleared his throat.
"You will stay here... I will show you to a room, come along brat."
"Thank you father," Trunks said, leaving Bulma's searching focus to follow his father out of the room and up the stairs to a guest room. Vegeta pushed a door open and entered into one of the rooms in a long hall. Trunks followed him obediently. There was a queen sized bed, and a wall of large windows, as this room was on the outside of the dome. A few pieces of furniture filled up the room, and there was a door that Trunks suspected led to a private restroom. Trunks murmured thanks to Vegeta, expecting him to leave, but the prince did not.
"Brat, aside from the woman's death, how have you been?" Vegeta leveled his serious black eyes on his son, who sat tiredly on the bed.
"I've... well a lot of people are rebuilding cities... growing crops... doing a lot of salvaging, though there isn't much left. They'll be alright..."
"I have no interest in what the humans in your time are wasting their lives trying to accomplish, I asked how it has been with you."
"Me?"
"Ah."
"Well... the same I guess... only no androids. They put up a good fight before I defeated them... they tricked me. I was more powerful, but in the time that I spent fighting with everyone here, they kidnapped mom and used her as bait to let them catch me. They gave me these," Trunks gestured to the slice that had long ago healed over his eye and cheek, and to the one that ran from his jaw to his throat, "but in the end I was stronger and I destroyed them. I took mom back home and things were just... I guess peaceful after that. But she was getting older.... I mean.... because of everything that happened, she went gray, and slept more... eventually she died in her sleep a few days ago. I.... I buried her, and came here. I'm not going back there, whether I stay here or not. I'm not going back to that time."
Vegeta studied Trunks in complete silence, tracing the scars on his face with his eyes, and looking over the rest of him. "You have been through enough, you will stay here, you can baby-sit your younger self, whom, I might add, will likely be pleased to have something of a big brother. Get some rest, we will continue this in the morning. Goodnight, brat."
"Thank you father, goodnight."
Vegeta left the room, closing the door with a soft click and returning downstairs to have a snack before bed. Bulma wanted to know what he and Trunks had talked about, but Vegeta remained tight-lipped as he stuffed his face, much to Bulma's annoyance. She headed off to bed, followed roughly ten minutes later by the saiyajin prince.
Mirai Trunks arrived in the other timeline during the night. The co- ordinates he'd set would place him into a time where Gohan was about his age, and where his younger self was roughly half his age. He thought that it would be best to go about it this way because it would give him a chance to chat with the other Trunks. When he had been eleven, Mirai Trunks had known he was really intelligent; it upset him that all of his ideas were wasted on trying to think of ways to kill the androids.
Trunks' co-ordinates for the Time Machine not only included a specific moment in time, but they directed him to a pre-determined spot on the Earth as well. For this journey, Trunks had chosen the backyard of Capsule Corporation, because the only people he wanted to know about his initial arrival were Bulma and Vegeta. He frowned when he felt a fresh wave of tears threatening to consume him and keep him from getting out of machine. He lowered his energy so that his father would not sense him, and took as deep of a breath as he could gather, holding it and wiping his eyes dry yet again.
'I can do this... they are my family, they'll let me stay... of course they will. Dad... I left with his blessing last time... I remember that. He'll let me stay and be a part of their family.... Please, please, please...'
When Trunks was fairly stable, he pushed the release for the top of the machine and it popped open, giving him his first breath of clean, fresh air. He took a second breath and worried that he would start crying again, but he remained calm this time around and climbed out of the machine, re- capsulating it and slipping it into his dino-caps case. Trunks bent down in the dewy green grass and ran a hand over its perfect softness, feeling like something of an escaped mental patient, but being unable to help himself. A glow of light from the large CC dome where Trunks knew his family was caught his attention. Akin to a man possessed, he allowed his shaky legs to carry him towards his....home?
+++++++++++++++
Inside the building, young Trunks was already in bed, sprawled over his covers haphazardly with his fuzzy green ferret plushie curled against him. He always hid the ferret from his father, because he knew it would be frowned upon as a weakness, but he loved it dearly and couldn't sleep a wink without it. Below Trunks, Bulma and Vegeta were still awake, sharing the loveseat in the TV room and looking rather relaxed and sleepy.
Bulma had her head on Vegeta's shoulder and a hand splayed over his middle, so that she could feel his breathing as she struggled to keep her eyes open for the rest of the movie they were watching. Vegeta had his gloves off, which was a rare sight indeed, considering he sometimes even slept in them. His fingers were laced with Bulma's over his stomach, and his other hand curled around her waist to keep her close to him. Such calm and peaceful moments were definitely scarce in the Briefs household, but they did happen every once in awhile, perhaps to keep the heads of the house assured that they needed one another in some way.
The peaceful moment was interrupted by knocking on the rear door. Bulma stirred, removing her hand from Vegeta's middle and yawning as she directed her sleepy eyes to the clock. Vegeta gave something of a growl and removed himself from the couch, donning his gloves and heading to the door with a halfhearted glare. He wasn't quite in the mood to deal with anybody who would be knocking at their back door, because that usually included only z- fighters, namely Kakarot, though he tended not to knock so much as just appear out of thin air.
Vegeta yanked the door open and spat a 'what do you want' at the young man on the other side of it, blinking in surprise when he recognized the creature standing there as his son from the future. He swallowed his surprise and struggled to place a firm expression on his face, but he did look rather bewildered despite his efforts.
Trunks appeared to be exhausted, that was Vegeta's first impression. He was not in bad health -he had his colour and didn't look thin or neglected- but there were dark circles under his eyes, which were puffy and red, obviously from some rather intense crying. Vegeta felt distaste at seeing his son looking so pathetic, but he supposed it was better than if the boy had showed up still crying. He gave Trunks a snort and looked over him slowly, his eyes resting on the two large, angry looking scars that were visible on his face. He wondered what had happened, and stepped aside to allow the brat into his home. He closed the door behind Trunks, catching Bulma entering the kitchen from the TV room. He heard her gasp in surprise and felt Trunks' energy shift significantly when his eyes came to rest upon his mother.
"Mom..." he whispered, his voice cracking. It was much lower than Vegeta remembered it, more similar to his own, except softer, more boyish. He looked at Trunks' long messy hair and his very well-loved, however clean clothes. He was unsure of what to say or do just yet, so he folded his arms uncomfortably and took to watching Trunks and Bulma.
Bulma came awake quickly when she saw Trunks. She looked him over with worry, fearing that he might have come here because of some deadly wound he had suffered, but upon seeing no blood, she made her way to him and folded the large young man into a tight hug. Her hand came up to stroke his hair for a brief space, and she could feel Trunks shivering against her with emotion. His arms wrapped around her and he lifted her a little off her feet so that he could hug her more tightly to him. Bulma began to suspect why Trunks had come here. He was refusing to let her go; she coughed for lack of air and whispered Trunks' name.
"Trunks, honey, what happened?" she asked, regaining her footing and blinking up at him. He had grown, he was taller than her and Vegeta now, closer to Gohan and Goku's height, though not quite. He appeared to be in good health, he looked strong and firm, though his hair was very pale compared to his younger counterpart. Bulma guessed that this was because Mirai Trunks spent so much time under the sun, and his double liked to hide inside and play with machines and computers. Bulma's hands came up to trace the scar on Trunks' cheek. He winced helplessly at the touch and stepped out of her reach.
Trunks pushed his hands into his pockets and looked at his feet, finding it hard to look at Bulma. "M-mom died...." He said finally, his voice cracking against his will. Bulma made a sound of acknowledgement and flickered her eyes to Vegeta for a little help. Vegeta glowered at Bulma with an expression that said 'what do you expect me to do, woman?', but he uncrossed his arms and cleared his throat.
"You will stay here... I will show you to a room, come along brat."
"Thank you father," Trunks said, leaving Bulma's searching focus to follow his father out of the room and up the stairs to a guest room. Vegeta pushed a door open and entered into one of the rooms in a long hall. Trunks followed him obediently. There was a queen sized bed, and a wall of large windows, as this room was on the outside of the dome. A few pieces of furniture filled up the room, and there was a door that Trunks suspected led to a private restroom. Trunks murmured thanks to Vegeta, expecting him to leave, but the prince did not.
"Brat, aside from the woman's death, how have you been?" Vegeta leveled his serious black eyes on his son, who sat tiredly on the bed.
"I've... well a lot of people are rebuilding cities... growing crops... doing a lot of salvaging, though there isn't much left. They'll be alright..."
"I have no interest in what the humans in your time are wasting their lives trying to accomplish, I asked how it has been with you."
"Me?"
"Ah."
"Well... the same I guess... only no androids. They put up a good fight before I defeated them... they tricked me. I was more powerful, but in the time that I spent fighting with everyone here, they kidnapped mom and used her as bait to let them catch me. They gave me these," Trunks gestured to the slice that had long ago healed over his eye and cheek, and to the one that ran from his jaw to his throat, "but in the end I was stronger and I destroyed them. I took mom back home and things were just... I guess peaceful after that. But she was getting older.... I mean.... because of everything that happened, she went gray, and slept more... eventually she died in her sleep a few days ago. I.... I buried her, and came here. I'm not going back there, whether I stay here or not. I'm not going back to that time."
Vegeta studied Trunks in complete silence, tracing the scars on his face with his eyes, and looking over the rest of him. "You have been through enough, you will stay here, you can baby-sit your younger self, whom, I might add, will likely be pleased to have something of a big brother. Get some rest, we will continue this in the morning. Goodnight, brat."
"Thank you father, goodnight."
Vegeta left the room, closing the door with a soft click and returning downstairs to have a snack before bed. Bulma wanted to know what he and Trunks had talked about, but Vegeta remained tight-lipped as he stuffed his face, much to Bulma's annoyance. She headed off to bed, followed roughly ten minutes later by the saiyajin prince.