Scars – Chapter 24
Goku scavenged for some breakfast in the fridge and pantry, helping himself to a huge pile of assorted goods, some of which he was clueless as to how to prepare, and so he simply ate them raw, or straight out of the package. For example, one unfortunate can of vegetable soup had the fate of receiving a burn hole in its top, then being squeezed into the saiyajin's waiting mouth like a pasty, and decidedly un-refreshing beverage. Goku shuddered a little at the soup and set the can down, trying a different kind. This one was chicken noodle, and he started choking on the noodles when Mirai Trunks came into the room and took the can out of his hand, pounding him on the back.
"Goku! What are you doing!? That's soup, you have to add water, and cook it!"
Goku blinked his watery eyes and swallowed a little uncertainly. "Well... I was hungry... it tasted fine to me..."
Trunks sighed with due exasperation and patted Goku on the shoulder. "Would you let me make you some real breakfast, Goku?"
"You can cook?" Goku gave an incredulous and hopeful expression.
"Well I don't know if it stacks up against ChiChi's cooking, but yeah, I can cook some. Would you like me to make you some breakfast?" Trunks repeated his question, smiling helplessly at the endearing vulnerabilities that Goku revealed to him.
"Yes, please!" Goku exclaimed, pushing his gathered goods aside and sitting at the ready.
Trunks gave Goku another pat on the shoulder and took the egg carton that the somewhat brainless saiyajin had clearly been intending to eat directly out of in attempt to subdue his appetite. He poked around the kitchen for the frying pan, and began to make Goku the entire carton of eggs. He also put a huge amount of rice in the industrial sized steamer, and furthered his preparations by snatching up some sausage links and putting them in another pan on the stove. Trunks heated the oven up on low, so that he could keep the food warm while he made more, so that there was enough for both himself and Goku to eat. He paused, placing a hand on his hip and considering the eggs that were burbling in the pan.
'Father and younger Trunks will be hungry too, better make enough for everyone.' This was the beginning of a very long cooking session. Trunks hadn't ever done this before, he'd only ever made enough for himself, and his mother to eat. He smiled, thinking that it was a really nice feeling to help other people in a different way from fighting for them.
While everything was cooking, Goku came up behind Trunks and looked hopefully at the items on the stove. Trunks saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hungrily, and twisted around to face the broad saiyajin.
"Goku you've got to be patient, it'll take awhile for everything to cook. Do you want some coffee?" Trunks asked, gesturing to the pot of coffee that had been brewed before either of them got into the kitchen. Goku shook his head.
"Nope, I don't drink that stuff, Bulma explained to me a long time ago that its got stuff in it that's bad for you and makes you hyper, then tired, and moody. Maybe Vegeta drinks lots of coffee? I'd love some orange juice though..."
At this Trunks headed to the fridge and stuck his head in, searching for orange juice. While he was looking for it, Goku snagged a sausage and stuffed it in his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise when it burned his tongue. In effort not to let Trunks see that he'd taken a sausage, Goku grit his teeth and blinked his watering eyes repeatedly.
'Owie....' Thought the foolish warrior, slinking back to the table and seating himself there with a look of regret on his face. Trunks glanced at him from the corner of his eye and presented him with a pitcher of orange juice, which the cheery man gulped down appreciatively, wincing when the cold made his poor abused tongue sting.
Trunks stared at Goku's back for a long moment, returning to the stove and contemplating his cooking while he tended to it every little bit, and guarded it from Goku. Ten minutes later found him switching everything up. He popped the sausage links and eggs into the oven and started more of them on the stove to cook while the others kept warm. He then went to lean against the coulter by the rice cooker, sipping a mug of coffee slowly.
Trunks' mind wandered through various thoughts. He considered the power that he'd revealed to Vegeta the evening before, and wondered still if his father did, or did not approve. He very much wanted the prince's approval, he wanted some sign that Vegeta liked him, even just a little. He again replayed Goku's words in his head, realizing that the only thing he could do was his best and hope that Vegeta happened to be there when he accomplished something significant.
As he was thinking this, Trunks' eyes drifted to rest on Goku, who also seemed to be lost in thought. He had his hands clasped together on the tabletop, and was leaning back in the chair with his feet flat on the floor, legs comfortably spread. The normally cheerful man was almost glaring at the surface of the table, a dark and unpleasant look in his eyes. Trunks straightened himself, closing the space between them. He pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forwards on his elbows.
"Goku, what are you thinking about?" he asked carefully.
Goku blinked up at Trunks. His mind had been replaying to him the way Gohan's expression had flown from hurt, to sorrow, to rage during their conversation the previous evening. He sighed heavily and shook his head as if to clear it. "Nothing... Gohan said I shouldn't tell anybody about it."
At this Trunks' brows lowered in confusion. "What do you mean... is there something that you're keeping to yourself that would hurt other people? You don't seem like that kind of person to me."
Goku shrugged his shoulders and made fists of both his hands, straightening in the chair. "Its complicated. I shouldn't talk about it. Is breakfast ready yet?"
"You'll have to wait a little longer, so that there's enough for everyone. Its rude to eat before everyone else gets to eat too."
"ChiChi says the same thing." Goku looked away, at a piece of artwork hanging on one of the walls. It depicted cheerful flowers, painted in bright and generous stokes that were so fluid they made the picture seem to blow in the wind. He felt like he was choking. Like he was trapped.
"Goku... I won't force you to tell me anything... you just seem like you need someone to talk to. You helped me out yesterday... I thought I could do the same."
"Yeah but Trunks..." Goku trailed, looking at the young man, his eyes again filled with uncertainty and sadness.
"Yes..."
Goku's face was quickly split with a wide grin that didn't touch his eyes. "Oh don't worry so much... everything's fine, honest. Oh, hey Vegeta! Trunks is making breakfast for us... do you wanna spar after we eat?"
Vegeta stalked into the room and immediately poured himself a mug of hot coffee, into which he poured four sugars, and no milk. He set it down on the table and shook a fist at Goku.
"Kakarot! How dare you interrupt me when I am busy with my woman!? Fool... why aren't you at home with your own family? Must you come and annoy mine instead?" Vegeta didn't even look at Trunks, and his cheeks were very red as he glared at Goku vehemently.
Goku pulled his classic smile and scratched behind his head, eternally grateful to Vegeta for walking into the room when he had. He wasn't sure he liked the way Trunks was trying to get him to talk about his relationship with Gohan. He didn't like to talk about himself at all.
"Sorry, if I'd known that's what you were doing I wouldn't have come in, oh well. Hey, sit down, cheer up!"
Vegeta glared at Goku blackly and took a seat at the opposite end of the table, continuing to glare at him while he crossed his arms and his legs, leaning back in his chair.
Trunks felt very strange, caught up between the two extremes of pleasantry and fury. He nervously got up from his seat and slid the chair back into place, skittering to the stove and tending to breakfast.
'Man Father really doesn't like Goku... but Goku never lets anyone see if it hurts his feelings or not. I wonder what ever happened to him to make him this way? Doesn't anything faze him?'
Bulma came into the room, her cheeks pink, and her short hair wet from the shower. She was wearing a fluffy robe tied at the waist, and fluffy slippers to match. She yawned and gave Goku a smile. "Hey Goku, use the door next time, would you? Oh, Trunks, sweetie, you're cooking breakfast? Great...that smells really wonderful, let me see!"
Bulma walked past Vegeta and Goku to her future son's side and looked at what he was making, then went to get herself a cup of coffee. She drank it black. Bulma nursed her mug in her hands while she leaned sleepily against the counter, half a smile on her face. Mirai Trunks looked from Goku, to Bulma, to his father, and went to his mom's side.
"Mom... uhm... could I talk to you?" He asked, looking at the floor.
"Sure honey, what's up?" Bulma replied, blinking her bright blue eyes at him inquisitively.
"Well... I kind of need some things... like... clothes and stuff. And a toothbrush... and deodorant...that kinda stuff. I didn't take any of it with me, I was thinking about M... about... uhm... I didn't take any of that stuff with me." Trunks couldn't bring himself to look at Bulma. It was easy to see Vegeta and Goku and even Gohan... but Bulma... it had been entirely too recent for him...her death, that is. He just couldn't do it.
"Oh... of course! Do you want me to go with you and help you pick out some nice clothes?"
Trunks' eyes widened and he shook his head. "N-no, that's fine, I was thinking of asking Gohan if he wanted to come with me."
Bulma sipped her beverage and nodded in understanding. "Of course baby... here... let me get my purse." Bulma set her coffee down and made her way past Vegeta and Goku, who were trying to glare at one another and ignore one another at the same time. She went into the hall and retrieved her purse from the hall table, which had a large, decorative mirror over it. She rummaged around and pulled out roughly a thousand dollars. She returned to the kitchen, handing Trunks the money.
"There you go Trunks, and if that's not enough you just come back and I'll give you some more... get yourself whatever you want."
Trunks looked at all the cash in his hand and sweatdropped. "Uhm...thanks mom, I'm sure this'll be plenty... I just need a few things... some clothes and stuff.... Uhm... maybe Gohan wants to have breakfast somewhere..."
"Oh you go, I'll finish up breakfast. Have fun!"
Trunks felt really weirded out by his mother's overly niceness. He wondered if she was only like that after she had.. ahem... after she and his father were... together. He blushed terribly thinking about that, and went into another room to call Gohan's house and see if he wanted to eat with him.
Goku scavenged for some breakfast in the fridge and pantry, helping himself to a huge pile of assorted goods, some of which he was clueless as to how to prepare, and so he simply ate them raw, or straight out of the package. For example, one unfortunate can of vegetable soup had the fate of receiving a burn hole in its top, then being squeezed into the saiyajin's waiting mouth like a pasty, and decidedly un-refreshing beverage. Goku shuddered a little at the soup and set the can down, trying a different kind. This one was chicken noodle, and he started choking on the noodles when Mirai Trunks came into the room and took the can out of his hand, pounding him on the back.
"Goku! What are you doing!? That's soup, you have to add water, and cook it!"
Goku blinked his watery eyes and swallowed a little uncertainly. "Well... I was hungry... it tasted fine to me..."
Trunks sighed with due exasperation and patted Goku on the shoulder. "Would you let me make you some real breakfast, Goku?"
"You can cook?" Goku gave an incredulous and hopeful expression.
"Well I don't know if it stacks up against ChiChi's cooking, but yeah, I can cook some. Would you like me to make you some breakfast?" Trunks repeated his question, smiling helplessly at the endearing vulnerabilities that Goku revealed to him.
"Yes, please!" Goku exclaimed, pushing his gathered goods aside and sitting at the ready.
Trunks gave Goku another pat on the shoulder and took the egg carton that the somewhat brainless saiyajin had clearly been intending to eat directly out of in attempt to subdue his appetite. He poked around the kitchen for the frying pan, and began to make Goku the entire carton of eggs. He also put a huge amount of rice in the industrial sized steamer, and furthered his preparations by snatching up some sausage links and putting them in another pan on the stove. Trunks heated the oven up on low, so that he could keep the food warm while he made more, so that there was enough for both himself and Goku to eat. He paused, placing a hand on his hip and considering the eggs that were burbling in the pan.
'Father and younger Trunks will be hungry too, better make enough for everyone.' This was the beginning of a very long cooking session. Trunks hadn't ever done this before, he'd only ever made enough for himself, and his mother to eat. He smiled, thinking that it was a really nice feeling to help other people in a different way from fighting for them.
While everything was cooking, Goku came up behind Trunks and looked hopefully at the items on the stove. Trunks saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hungrily, and twisted around to face the broad saiyajin.
"Goku you've got to be patient, it'll take awhile for everything to cook. Do you want some coffee?" Trunks asked, gesturing to the pot of coffee that had been brewed before either of them got into the kitchen. Goku shook his head.
"Nope, I don't drink that stuff, Bulma explained to me a long time ago that its got stuff in it that's bad for you and makes you hyper, then tired, and moody. Maybe Vegeta drinks lots of coffee? I'd love some orange juice though..."
At this Trunks headed to the fridge and stuck his head in, searching for orange juice. While he was looking for it, Goku snagged a sausage and stuffed it in his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise when it burned his tongue. In effort not to let Trunks see that he'd taken a sausage, Goku grit his teeth and blinked his watering eyes repeatedly.
'Owie....' Thought the foolish warrior, slinking back to the table and seating himself there with a look of regret on his face. Trunks glanced at him from the corner of his eye and presented him with a pitcher of orange juice, which the cheery man gulped down appreciatively, wincing when the cold made his poor abused tongue sting.
Trunks stared at Goku's back for a long moment, returning to the stove and contemplating his cooking while he tended to it every little bit, and guarded it from Goku. Ten minutes later found him switching everything up. He popped the sausage links and eggs into the oven and started more of them on the stove to cook while the others kept warm. He then went to lean against the coulter by the rice cooker, sipping a mug of coffee slowly.
Trunks' mind wandered through various thoughts. He considered the power that he'd revealed to Vegeta the evening before, and wondered still if his father did, or did not approve. He very much wanted the prince's approval, he wanted some sign that Vegeta liked him, even just a little. He again replayed Goku's words in his head, realizing that the only thing he could do was his best and hope that Vegeta happened to be there when he accomplished something significant.
As he was thinking this, Trunks' eyes drifted to rest on Goku, who also seemed to be lost in thought. He had his hands clasped together on the tabletop, and was leaning back in the chair with his feet flat on the floor, legs comfortably spread. The normally cheerful man was almost glaring at the surface of the table, a dark and unpleasant look in his eyes. Trunks straightened himself, closing the space between them. He pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forwards on his elbows.
"Goku, what are you thinking about?" he asked carefully.
Goku blinked up at Trunks. His mind had been replaying to him the way Gohan's expression had flown from hurt, to sorrow, to rage during their conversation the previous evening. He sighed heavily and shook his head as if to clear it. "Nothing... Gohan said I shouldn't tell anybody about it."
At this Trunks' brows lowered in confusion. "What do you mean... is there something that you're keeping to yourself that would hurt other people? You don't seem like that kind of person to me."
Goku shrugged his shoulders and made fists of both his hands, straightening in the chair. "Its complicated. I shouldn't talk about it. Is breakfast ready yet?"
"You'll have to wait a little longer, so that there's enough for everyone. Its rude to eat before everyone else gets to eat too."
"ChiChi says the same thing." Goku looked away, at a piece of artwork hanging on one of the walls. It depicted cheerful flowers, painted in bright and generous stokes that were so fluid they made the picture seem to blow in the wind. He felt like he was choking. Like he was trapped.
"Goku... I won't force you to tell me anything... you just seem like you need someone to talk to. You helped me out yesterday... I thought I could do the same."
"Yeah but Trunks..." Goku trailed, looking at the young man, his eyes again filled with uncertainty and sadness.
"Yes..."
Goku's face was quickly split with a wide grin that didn't touch his eyes. "Oh don't worry so much... everything's fine, honest. Oh, hey Vegeta! Trunks is making breakfast for us... do you wanna spar after we eat?"
Vegeta stalked into the room and immediately poured himself a mug of hot coffee, into which he poured four sugars, and no milk. He set it down on the table and shook a fist at Goku.
"Kakarot! How dare you interrupt me when I am busy with my woman!? Fool... why aren't you at home with your own family? Must you come and annoy mine instead?" Vegeta didn't even look at Trunks, and his cheeks were very red as he glared at Goku vehemently.
Goku pulled his classic smile and scratched behind his head, eternally grateful to Vegeta for walking into the room when he had. He wasn't sure he liked the way Trunks was trying to get him to talk about his relationship with Gohan. He didn't like to talk about himself at all.
"Sorry, if I'd known that's what you were doing I wouldn't have come in, oh well. Hey, sit down, cheer up!"
Vegeta glared at Goku blackly and took a seat at the opposite end of the table, continuing to glare at him while he crossed his arms and his legs, leaning back in his chair.
Trunks felt very strange, caught up between the two extremes of pleasantry and fury. He nervously got up from his seat and slid the chair back into place, skittering to the stove and tending to breakfast.
'Man Father really doesn't like Goku... but Goku never lets anyone see if it hurts his feelings or not. I wonder what ever happened to him to make him this way? Doesn't anything faze him?'
Bulma came into the room, her cheeks pink, and her short hair wet from the shower. She was wearing a fluffy robe tied at the waist, and fluffy slippers to match. She yawned and gave Goku a smile. "Hey Goku, use the door next time, would you? Oh, Trunks, sweetie, you're cooking breakfast? Great...that smells really wonderful, let me see!"
Bulma walked past Vegeta and Goku to her future son's side and looked at what he was making, then went to get herself a cup of coffee. She drank it black. Bulma nursed her mug in her hands while she leaned sleepily against the counter, half a smile on her face. Mirai Trunks looked from Goku, to Bulma, to his father, and went to his mom's side.
"Mom... uhm... could I talk to you?" He asked, looking at the floor.
"Sure honey, what's up?" Bulma replied, blinking her bright blue eyes at him inquisitively.
"Well... I kind of need some things... like... clothes and stuff. And a toothbrush... and deodorant...that kinda stuff. I didn't take any of it with me, I was thinking about M... about... uhm... I didn't take any of that stuff with me." Trunks couldn't bring himself to look at Bulma. It was easy to see Vegeta and Goku and even Gohan... but Bulma... it had been entirely too recent for him...her death, that is. He just couldn't do it.
"Oh... of course! Do you want me to go with you and help you pick out some nice clothes?"
Trunks' eyes widened and he shook his head. "N-no, that's fine, I was thinking of asking Gohan if he wanted to come with me."
Bulma sipped her beverage and nodded in understanding. "Of course baby... here... let me get my purse." Bulma set her coffee down and made her way past Vegeta and Goku, who were trying to glare at one another and ignore one another at the same time. She went into the hall and retrieved her purse from the hall table, which had a large, decorative mirror over it. She rummaged around and pulled out roughly a thousand dollars. She returned to the kitchen, handing Trunks the money.
"There you go Trunks, and if that's not enough you just come back and I'll give you some more... get yourself whatever you want."
Trunks looked at all the cash in his hand and sweatdropped. "Uhm...thanks mom, I'm sure this'll be plenty... I just need a few things... some clothes and stuff.... Uhm... maybe Gohan wants to have breakfast somewhere..."
"Oh you go, I'll finish up breakfast. Have fun!"
Trunks felt really weirded out by his mother's overly niceness. He wondered if she was only like that after she had.. ahem... after she and his father were... together. He blushed terribly thinking about that, and went into another room to call Gohan's house and see if he wanted to eat with him.