A/N: Read, review...enjoy:D
Chapter Three: Family Affair
'Almost home!' the young man exclaimed in his mind, releasing a long breath as he finally made it out of traffic. The lighter haired man sitting next to him smothered a grin to a smirk.
"You sure look happy. I mean, I can understand why you are, but still…"
Dark eyes flicked off the road momentarily to his best friend. "Are you kidding me? We've been gone for three days, and have one more night of duty to fulfill. Aren't you?"
"Of course I am!" The smirk eased into a pleased smile. "I'll finally get to see Pan again. Feels so weird not seeing them every single day of our lives, eh?"
Goten nodded, scratching the back of his head. He easily pulled into the long, gravel driveway of the dome that pretty much had been his second home since birth. The inhabitants of Capsule Corp had, inevitably, become his second family as well. Trunks had been (and still was, of course) his best friend, and even another older brother. Bulma's parents were the grandparents he wished to have known (next to his mother's father). Bulma had been another mother-figure, slightly freer in thinking, and definitely one to enjoy the simple things in life. Then there had been Vegeta…
A small smile crept onto his young face as he parked the car behind his wife's sports car. The Prince had been the father he hadn't known. Sure, he habitually brushed aside "Kako-clone", but in the small moments that had counted, Vegeta had always been there.
Trunks patted Goten on the back, bringing the younger man back to reality. "Home," he declared, typing in the code to open the door to the main hall of the house. They easily walked down the corridor, letting their boots click rather loudly against the steel floors of Capsule Corp. The site that greeted them was a very warming one indeed…if you discounted the choke hold that Chichi had on Goku, reminding him that they were still waiting for two more family members.
"DAD!" cried the two chibi-troublemakers. They jumped up from their chairs, bounding over to the unsuspecting fathers.
Goten was the first one to hit the floor. He had gotten used to this by now, of course. Bura used to pounce on him too, until she found out that she was going to have another baby…then she would just squeeze him till he turned blue.
Trunks managed to catch himself, holding on to Goku Jr. as the child expressed how happy he was to finally see that dad was home. Pan walked over, hugging Trunks and landing a soft peck on his cheek.
Bura waddled over to where they lay, Vejita Jr. going on and on about the funny things they had done to "gramps". Vegeta huffed from his seat at the table, glaring at Goten.
"Uh, what did I do?"
"Where else could he have learned that? Certainly not from Bura, she was much better behaved than the two of you when you were his age." Vegeta crossed his arms, making his point clear.
The young, pregnant Princess stuck her tongue out at he father, causing Vegeta to sputter. "Leave him alone Dad! He just got home," she smile down at the still sprawled out form of her mate. "Missed you."
Goten smiled. "Missed you too. The both of you," he stated, standing back up. "Well, let's eat!"
Bura swung her leg lazily over the space between the porch floor and her swing chair, the other leg tucked securely under her opposite knee. Vejita Jr. was currently sparring with his grandfather, enjoying the fact that his mom was letting him go Super. Goten wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.
"The lil' guy is pretty strong. Both him and Goku Jr. are gonna be stronger than we were when we were that age." His eyes proudly watched each kick, each blast.
Bura chuckled, brushing aside stray strands of hair. "No doubt about that. It's amazing how each generation gets stronger and stronger than the last."
"Probably has to do with the fact that we were stronger than our parents were when we had them." He glanced down at her, rubbing her ever-growing belly.
"True. Seems like hybrids are always stronger. One thing's for sure, they'll never be as lazy as their dads were!"
Goten opened his mouth to retort, but shook his head. A pregnant woman, a pregnant Briefs-Ouji woman…a pregnant Saiya-jin Briefs-Ouji woman was better left in peace. He had no desire to go back to duty at the base with a black eye. He'd had enough trouble explaining the last one.
Glancing at his watch, he sighed, realizing that he and Trunks had to leave. "Well Babe, looks like I gotta head off."
"So soon?" She glanced up, tightening her grip on him. "Hey, look at it this way: I'll be home sooner. Hopefully before you usher off the boys to school." He offered a smile, which she returned.
"You'd better go say goodnight to Veji…or else he might pay you back later," she smirked, laughing an all too evil laugh that he knew every member of Vegeta's family possessed. He shuddered, walking towards the near-clones. Both paused, breathing hard.
"Were you watching me Dad?"
Goten ruffled the perfect flame of hair. "'Course I was Squirt! You're awesome, that's for sure. But I came over here to say goodnight."
"Aww," he crossed his arms, "do ya hafta?"
"Yep, but I'll be back in the morning. Plus, they're giving your Uncle and me three days off. Imagine that, three days of torturing me!" The glint in his son's eye startled him somewhat, but he brushed it off. Duh, of course the blood of Vegeta would hold that look. He looked at his father-in-law.
"Later! Don't hurt yourself."
Vegeta's eye twitched, but he said nothing more, smirking instead at the mini-version of him.
Trunks' voice carried over to where they were standing. "You ready?"
"Coming!" Goten shouted, running off to where the lavender-haired man stood.
A/N: Hope y'all liked that chapter! Update later…sometime soon hopefully. Review please!
Ja Ne: Pearl
