Chapter Three: You And I Will Be Painting Pictures In The Sky

(Trunks)

The rest of the tournament was canceled due to Goku and Uub ditching and ruining the tournament bracket, along with the ring. Granted between the flashiness of the fight between and the complete lack of a reaction from the people they came with, the rest of the fighters seemed more than a little bit relieved.

If anything the person who was most upset about the day's events, besides the heartbroken Announcer, was Pan. She had come here for a tournament fighting and would not be satisfied with only one match, indeed she was not mollified until both Buu and Goten both agreed to give her a couple of exposition matches.

The first fight was a wild one, Pan's unstoppable enthusiastic force had met its match against Buu's immovable body, every blow she threw was like punching taffy and every time she tried to knock him down he bounced right back up laughing. The fight only ended after several minutes when the pink Djinn got distracted by some chipmunks and forfeited the match to go feed and/or turn them into candy to eat himself? He ran off yelling "I NEED FOOD!" and Trunks was not quite sure what that meant and didn't care to find out.

Goten was not so easily distracted but he was also not used to fighting a target smaller than him, most of his fights had been the other way around, and Pan managed to slip through his reach and get a surprise punch to his solar plexus which gave her just enough time to kick him out of the ring.

After the matches they headed to the restaurant that Bulma had reserved for them. It was a big place and while their group wasn't going to need all the floor space they absolutely needed the big kitchen that came with it. By now very practiced at what holding a party reservation for their group at a restaurant entailed, Bulma had had them arrange the tables into two long banquet lines for when they arrived.

The topic of choice for dinner was everyone taking a chance to drag Goku, it was the talk of the party table as everyone relished a chance to share gripes about him.

Meanwhile over at the other table in the "Saiyan Section" as it had been dubbed years ago, there was a lot less talking and a lot more eating taking place. Indeed the staff at the restaurant found their attention nearly monopolized by the constant need to replace the multitude of dishes on the table as they devoured by only the six people who sat at it, their seats spread out to provide as much space as possible for the dishes upon dishes of food.

Buu had his own table off in the corner where he was eating as vociferously, but exclusively engaged with the dessert menu. It had been discovered by trial and error that he couldn't be allowed to eat at the Saiyan table lest Pan got distracted by all the sweets and ate herself sick on them.

The two table setup had become standard practice over the years, partly due to practical reasons but also because several of the Earthlings complained that they couldn't enjoy their own meals if the were watching the Saiyans pig out.

While some of them had managed to develop tolerance over the years to the site, Bulma and ChiChi being the most obvious ones, some of the others never did. Indeed, Trunks had seen Piccolo sometimes tinge purple if looked over at long enough. No. 18 continued to insist they ruined her appetite, which was a bit of a suspicious claim given her constitution, but an excuse others took when they could get it.

By the time they finished with dinner, and people besides Buu got a chance at the dessert menu, it was still pretty early so it was decided to move the afterparty back at Capsule Corp. Bulma had come prepared and had several vehicles in her capsule case, and back at home base Trunks was soon helping his Grandma work on mixing up a bunch of drinks to bring out to the party guests outside. Grandma Panchy had spent some of her youth as a bartender and Trunks found her vast knowledge about different cocktails endlessly educational, it was fascinating the way the different alcohols and juices combined in the different concoctions. He'd been helping her mix them for years even if he'd only been allowed in the past year to have more than a tiny taste himself.

Finally they wrapped up in the kitchen and Trunks carried out the third tray full of drinks outside to see the party already kicked into full gear, everyone already enjoying themselves with the earlier trays of drinks. He grabbed a very strong one he'd made for himself, knowing he wasn't going to get more than a little buzzed on it thanks to his constitution, but hey it was a party after all.

He looked around and immediately saw ChiChi and Goten on a bench, ChiChi looked to still be in a right tiff about Goku leaving and had decided the best way to deal was to gripe about it to her youngest Son and not let him leave her side for the rest of the night. Trunks could see the tight grip she had on Goten's wrist, and sure theoretically her strength was no match for Goten's and he could escape but that was ignoring ChiChi's iron will and just how intimidating she could be when she was angry. Instead Goten was placating her as he sat next to her and was pretending to listen.

Yeah Trunks could identify a losing strategy when he saw it, he wasn't going to be able to hang out with Goten for the rest of the night. Instead he decided to wander around to see what everyone else was doing.

There was a game of Cheater's Charades going on with the teams of Puar and Yamcha and Oolong and Dende. Between Puar and Yamcha's nigh telepathic ability to read each other's minds, Dende's actual telepathy, Oolong's underhanded tactics, and Puar and Oolong's shapeshifting abilities there was no way to have a normal game so instead the goal was not so much to get your teammate to guess correctly but for the two to work tag-team to try to mislead the rival team while not getting caught.

Roshi's and Marron's heckling interference only adding a further complication that made the game significantly more raucous. Buu was also watching and shouting frequently, though Trunks doubted he understood the mechanics or mindgames at play and was more just requesting things for Puar and Oolong to transform into, it served the same purpose.

Satan was off talking with Ox-King about his horns and asking the practicality of using prosthetic ones himself to add more gravitas to his stage presence. Why he could tell people it was a side-effect of coming into his demonic heritage, or something like that, Trunks didn't keep up with whatever kayfabe story Satan was currently spinning for the public. Videl was trying futilely to convince her father that he didn't need to add yet another element to his gimmick.

He saw his mom and Krillin at one of the tables surrounded by empty glasses as they were continuing one of their favorite drunken conversation topics, ragging on Goku. Gohan was sitting with them as well but he was less contributing to their conversation and more making the occasional noise of agreement as he kept his face buried in the book he'd brought with him.

Vegeta was off in his usual spot during these types of parties, off to the side and by himself with a single drink in his hand, though he was close enough that he was probably enjoying listening to Bulma and Krillin's conversation. Everyone was pretty used to it by now and knew to give him a wide berth, the only people who really approached him at these things without a damn good reason were Goku or Bulma. Sometimes Piccolo joined him too, but as far as Trunks could tell it wasn't because he wanted to actually converse with Vegeta, more he wanted to get in on the best spot at a party to stand around silently brooding while still technically counting it as some sort of social interaction.

But this evening Piccolo's attention was being monopolized by Pan and Bulla. Apparently someone had told the girls that they technically princesses, and the both of them but Bulla especially had gotten fixated on the notion. Trunks could just tell this was going to do wonders for Bulla's already massively inflated ego but that was a problem for another day.

Instead the girls opted to use their newly dubbed princess powers to bully Piccolo into making them dresses with his clothes beam. Trunks was actually impressed with the elaborate dress designs Piccolo was creating, did he spend some of his free time looking at fashion books? Or maybe it was all the help that No 18 was providing, she had taken an interest and wandered over to provide suggestions. Somehow each new dress having more and more frills and sparkles than the one before it, which was a rather impressive feat by the third iteration.

Trunks decided the best place to sit down was at his mother's table where he could zone-out and contemplate some designs while half-listening to the amusing banter.

"You're not gonna get jealous that Goku's off training with someone else, are you?" Krillin called over to Vegeta, and Trunks only just resisted the urge to facepalm. Yep, Krillin sure had been drinking, he must have liked to make bad decisions when he was drunk.

Vegeta glared in response with enough force that Trunks could see Krillin reeling back and maybe rethinking how good an idea it was to ask the question.

"Kakarot wants a chance to train an Earthling child who has potential, nothing more to it than that. I can tell the difference between Kakarot's passing whims and his long-term interests." Vegeta said, "I know I'm in no danger of being replaced as his favored sparring partner."

Bulma thankfully decided to change the subject. "Oh Gohan, I finished upgrading the planetarium to meet the requirements you asked for, including the plans for our special project."

"Gee thanks, Bulma," Gohan said and put down his book as she tossed him a capsule.

Krillin looked intrigued, "Oh, what's Gohan got a planetarium for? And what kind of special project?"

"It's for my university work," Gohan explained, "I've been working in partnership with the Astronomy professor to try and improve the way the classes are taught for the students, it's kind of hard to just stick with big lectures and textbooks, this will provide a more kinesthetic way to teach students about the subject."

"And the special project?" Trunks asked, he was curious about what his mom had been working on that it needed to be kept on the downlow.

Bulma had a gleam in her eyes, "Well you know what they say, the best explanation is a demonstration, Gohan why don't we give everyone a nice little show tonight so they can see it for themselves?"

"I mean, I was kind of hoping Dad would be here to see it." Gohan said, and oh so he was annoyed about the day's events too.

"Oh forget Goku!" Bulma said. "He wants to run off to the other side of the planet he's going to miss things. We can all enjoy the special project without him!"

"I mean, I could..." Gohan hesitated but it was far too late for backing out.

"Hey everyone!" Krillin yelled, "Gohan and Bulma have been working on a secret project, do you guys want to see something cool!"

"Oh boy, those are dangerous words to hear when we're with this group," Yamcha shouted back in response, sounding more than a little tipsy.

"Oh, what are we exploding now?" Marron piped up as she walked over.

"Nothing is exploding," Bulma said, but Trunks heard her add under her breath "And hopefully no one either."

Everyone gathered around while Bulma threw the capsule into a large open space and the usual domed structure appeared moments later.

The inside was simple and practical, a well-cushioned floor with many piles of pillows in which to sprawl and a centre podium with a projector and computer on it. Gohan went to the podium and was setting up the program while everyone kicked off their shoes by the doorway and made themselves comfortable on the floor and piles of pillows, soon everyone was laying down facing the middle of the room.

Considering ChiChi didn't look liable to let go of Goten any time soon Trunks settled for being with his family for the show. They were right by Krillin's family because he and Bulma were still giggling together like kids.

"So, here is how the sky looks above us right here at Capsule Corp," Gohan began and the projector obligingly flickered a glittering imitation of the starry sky onto the ceiling.

"And here is how the sky looks over at Kame House." A chorus of polite oohs and ahhs as the stars shifted slightly above them, but there was still the eagerness as everyone waited for the real show to kick off. Gohan with a star projector was a promise of something interesting.

"Now here is what the sky looks like over at New Namek."

And the stars dramatically changed as they danced to new locations, Trunks wasn't one for looking at the stars much but even he sense that it was a very different sky they were looking up at.

In the center of the room a spherical hologram appeared above Gohan's podium, "This is a map of our Universe, well the Mortal parts anyways, I didn't want to include Other World or any of those places lest my colleagues think I'm a kook." A gentle laugh filtered through the room before Gohan continued, "Now here is where Earth is and here is where New Namek is located."

Two glowing dots appeared on his projection of the universe and they were quite far apart. A moment later and one of the countless stars above them in the sky started to glow much brighter than the others, "And here is where the Earth is in the sky from New Namek's perspective. Now who wants to see what the sky looks like on a different place most of us have been to?"

A new glowing dot appeared on the very edge of the hologram map while the stars moved above, but unlike before when the entire dome was filled with stars they only filled up half the ceiling, the other half was a void. "And here on the edge of our Universe once stood the nameless planet that we all went on a space picnic to a few years back when Beerus and Champa held that tournament for us with Universe 6."

There was something off about only seeing half a sky above them, Trunks felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Eager to look at something else he glanced around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one unsettled or averting their eyes.

Krillin wasn't looking at the sky at all but the projector in the middle of the room, and spoke loud enough for the whole room to hear, "You know it's funny, I always forget how big the Universe is you know? Like, when we zoom around with Goku's instant transmission or the space cubes, you forget how far apart everything is, or that there is an edge."

There was a smattering of agreement from the room, and Trunks bet he wasn't the only one eager for the sky to change again, seeing the edge of a universe wasn't something one wanted to look at or think about for long. "Hey Gohan do you know where Beerus's planet is?" he called out.

"Yeah, I have the coordinates programed in, just a sec," and moments later a new blinking dot on the map and the sky shifted a moment later.

"Gohan! I have a question!" Bulla interrupted loudly, "If all the rest of the Gods live in Other World, why isn't Uncle Beerus?" The question got a laugh from the room, though it could have just been one of relief at seeing a full horizon of stars above them once again.

"Uncle Beerus, Bulma, why are you letting your daughter call him that," Krillin chided quietly. Bulma blew a raspberry at him before she chose to answer Bulla's question, louder for the rest of the room, "Whis says that Other World is much more condensed and that Beerus finds it stifling. Or I think his exact words were 'bunch of divine busybodies'."

That got another laugh from the room. But not from Gohan, Trunks noted the odd discrepancy, instead Gohan's gaze was fixed somberly on the projector map as a new dot blinkered on, but the sky didn't change with it.

"Should I continue?" Gohan asked carefully in lieu of saying the new location's name. It would have seemed like a non-sequitur if Trunks didn't see that Gohan was looking at the one person the question was actually directed at.

"Do it." Vegeta grunted, and you could hear the sound of the entire room holding it's breath as the stars shifted once again.

"And here is the night sky as it would have appeared on a planet that was destroyed around 43 years ago, known at the time by the designation Planet Vegeta."

Oh, this was very different than all the foreign skies Gohan had shown them prior. For one this was a view of the sky that could no longer be experienced in person, which gave the whole thing a somber air. But for another, this was a more than novel experience for one of the room's inhabitants.

Trunks heard his Dad take in a sharp breath but he didn't say anything, whatever thoughts his father had at seeing the sky of his childhood once again he wasn't sharing.

Bulma was the only one brave enough to break the silence, "Gohan, you want the dial on the right, make sure you only turn it one click."

The room got heavier, and not because of the tension in the air, but literally the entire room suddenly increased in gravity. There was a chorus of surprised noises throughout the room, mainly from people who weren't used to any increased gravity. Trunks meanwhile barley registered it and he bet a number of the people in the room who were in the same position.

"Woah, hey now what's that." Satan's voice echoed through the room.

"Wait is something going on?" Pan asked confused by her human grandfather's reaction. Trunks wondered if she even felt it.

"It's heightened gravity," Gohan explained, "I only have it set for double that of Earth's for the moment."

"And I ask that you keep it there while I'm in the room," Bulma added. "It should be considered more for presentation effect than for training, the room is only capable of maxing out at 10x, anyways."

Wait, didn't Vegeta once mention to Trunks that that was the natural gravity of his birth planet? That meant this had to have been something his mom and Gohan had planned together. Some sort of gift for his dad and Goku?

"Wait so this is what the sky looked like from the planet that Daddy and Uncle Goku are from?" Bulla asked loudly.

"Where are we right now?" Pan piped up. "In the sky."

"Here." Gohan said as he pushed a few buttons and then one of the distant stars off to the right began to glow brighter than any of the others.

Vegeta made a sharp involuntary noise and seconds later his voice boomed throughout the room, "Everyone. Get out now."

He didn't shout it but it still rang out throughout the room with an intensity and the undisputed order and implied threat to his words was something everyone heard.

And moments later everyone was making for the door at once, wanting to leave an enclosed space with an emotionally compromised Vegeta as quickly as they could. "Okay," Gohan said as everyone was scrambling, "that's enough of a show for tonight, how about we get some fresh air."

The room cleared in record time, most everyone not taking the time to trying to locate their own shoes just grabbing a set and getting out the door as quick as possible, and some didn't even do that. Trunks hung back and let others out first, trying to avoid the traffic jam, before he was one of the last to leave.

But he'd only just stepped out of the dome before his mother was grabbing his arm, "Listen, Goku isn't here, so you need to step up and keep your father company right now. You know what, take Bulla and Pan and see if you can get Gohan and Goten to join you guys as well. He can't be in there with just his thoughts, he'll get too tied up in his own head. I don't care how much he blusters, get him talking, keep him distracted."

"Right," Trunks nodded and went back outside to where everyone was trying to figure out whose shoes belonged to who. He spotted Goten talking to his mother and sent a tiny pulse of ki in his direction to get his attention, Goten turned around and when Trunks jerked his head excused himself and ducked over.

"Okay, Mom says we're doing a stupid Saiyan bullshit thing with Dad," Trunks began. "Can you go talk to Gohan about him and Pan staying the night with us in the planetarium, Mom doesn't want Dad to be in there on his own right now."

Goten's eyes widened before nodding a moment later, "Got it, I'll go talk to Gohan, you get the girls, I think I heard Pan say something about wanting to go exploring."

Trunks nodded and noticed the girls, complete in their bedazzled ballgowns, were about to make a run off into the wilderness of the estate, before they could slip off into the trees he'd flash-stepped over and scooped them both up in his arms earning twin surprised "oofs" from them. Amazingly while they both started to squirm they weren't actually putting in the effort they could if they really wanted to escape, probably both intrigued enough to where this was going to allow the manhandling for the moment.

Goten caught up with him as he made his way back to the planetarium, "Okay so, Gohan says he would but he's got a lecture tomorrow and really needs the sleep, but he says it's fine for Pan to spend the night so long as I fly back home tomorrow together with her. Mom was kinda unhappy about it until Videl and Piccolo convinced her that it was a good idea and Vegeta might want need the company right now."

"What's going on, what were you asking my parents and Grandma permission for?" Pan piped up.

Trunks thought quickly, "We're doing a surprise slumber party, only this time we're gonna go do it in the planetarium and keep Dad company."

Bulla was excited, "Oh boy! Slumber party!"

"Oh is this gonna be a Saiyan thing?" Pan asked.

"Probably," Goten laughed and ruffled her hair.

They entered the room, and oh Vegeta had already cranked it up to the 10x setting. He looked up sharply when they opened the door and walked in. The fact that he was surprised by their presence keyed Trunks in to how off he must have been, usually his Dad was always aware of where they were.

"Hey Dad your company is here, per mom's orders, we're stuck with you in here for the night." Trunks called out. "You can talk about whatever you want and we'll listen. Or you can tell us funny stories. Whatever. We're here when you're ready?"

Vegeta only grunted in acknowledgement, which was about what Trunks expected really. He'd leave his dad to his own thoughts for a while, he'd take his time with words. He always did.

He turned back to the girls who were both fascinated with the gravity being ten times higher then what they were used to.

"Oh, wow! I can feel this one!" Bulla said with surprise, though Trunks noted that she seemed only slightly restrained by the amount of additional weight.

"Yeah, a little bit," agreed Pan.

"Pan, look!" Bulla yelled and spun around, and unlike it had outside the room her dress didn't puff out but instead was holding heavily done.

Goten laughed at her amazement, "You know if you wrap your ki around the fabric you can negate the gravity effects."

"Really?" Bulla asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Trunks explained, "it's what we do automatically with our clothes when we fight. Pan, that's why your gi doesn't rip unless you take a blow hard enough that it disrupts your ki. You guys can do it with the pillows too. Give it a try."

This was suddenly enough to gain the full attention of both Pan and Bulla as they started to play with throwing pillows trying to see how far they could get it in the heightened gravity before their control over their ki wavered and the pillows fell with a loud thump. Pan was obviously having a much easier time of it, and it quickly devolved into Pan demonstrating to Bulla how to do it in a little game of monkey see, monkey do.

There, that would keep them entertained for a bit, so Trunks and Goten ducked over to the other far side of the room, as far away from his father as they could get. Trunks threw an arm over Goten's shoulder, a common enough sight that it wouldn't raise any suspicions, but also allowed their faces to be inches away from each other as they had a whispered conversation.

"Thanks for going along with this, I know I didn't exactly give you much choice."

"It's fine," Goten rolled his eyes."I mean, of course I'm going to be here, being forced into stupid Saiyan bullshit is basically our life story at this point. I mean when it's not involving other divine people."

Trunks laughed, before dropping his voice down several registers so only Goten could hear, "We can have the post-Budokai celebrations later. I can't wait to collect my winnings, you did lose to Pan."

"I'm not wearing a maid outfit," Goten protested, in the tone of voice that Trunks knew he meant it and no amount of cajoling was going to get him anywhere, so he went for the backup plan.

"I'll settle for just the stockings and garters," Trunks bargained and at Goten's hesitation continued, "Come on Ten, your leg muscles will look amazing in them."

"Why are you always so interested in getting me in women's underwear?" Goten asked, more than a bit exasperated, because yes this wasn't the first time Trunks had brought it up. Okay, so he might have a little bit of a fetish, but he blamed it on his stupid family naming theme.

"It's not getting you in them, it's getting you out of them where all the fun is." Trunks started to rub Goten's bicep in a persuasive yet hopefully not blatantly un-platonic manner.

"Maybe."

Translation: 'I'll consider it only so long as you drop it for now, and if I'm feeling particularly generous, or it's your birthday.' Which hell yes. Trunks would absolutely take it as a win.

They were interrupted when a pillow came flying at them, and between the surprise attack and the gravity of the room it was actually enough to knock them both off their feet.

"Ow!" "What the f-" "Boy!"

Trunks's mouth snapped shut before he could finish his response. Right, no cursing in front of the girls, even if they were being little monsters.

"Oh that was a really good throw!" Pan sounded more amazed than anything else, clearly this had been better than their previous attempts. Bulla was grinning like a tiny gremlin. "Daddy did you see! I got them both!"

"Yes, it was a fine throw Sweetheart." Vegeta ruffled a hand through Bulla's hair as he walked across the room, before turning a sterner eye to the teenagers getting to their feet. "And it wouldn't have hit if they had been aware of their surroundings."

Trunks gave a grunt of exasperation, "Okay, why would I be expecting an attack when it's just us standing around."

"A Saiyan should always be on their guard," Vegeta lectured.

"Yeah Trunks," Bulla said, putting her hands on her hips, "How can you win if you're not on your guard?"

"Well I mean, I did beat Goten earlier," Pan said, a devilish little smile on her face.

"Okay that's it," Goten said and charged at Pan who squealed and took off running as he proceeded to chase her before tackling her on the other side of the room, by her shrieks of delight he was probably trying to tickle her.

"She is never going to let you live this down, you know that," Trunks called out to them.

"It's not my fault, it's harder to hit a target that's so tiny!" Goten yelled, before finally managing to pick Pan up in his arms and powerbombing her into the ground hard enough that the thickly padded floor cratered beneath her. She was only momentarily stunned before hopping right back up ready to go a second round when Vegeta's booming voice cut them off.

"Let's cease the combat for now, despite the heightened gravity this is not a training room and I believe Gohan needs it intact for his presentation."

"Right, this room is my Daddy's, he wouldn't want us fighting in here," Pan said, as she stood up and dusted herself off. Goten looked a bit abashed when he noticed the crater, "Do you think Gohan will notice?"

"Just pile a bunch of pillows there and if anyone asks he can spin a story about a meteor simulation going haywire," Trunks said.

He looked back to where his father was standing, still running a hand through Bulla's hair, and was it his imagination or was Vegeta looking oddly content? Well content for him anyways, it still was a pretty stern expression, but it was a big change of pace from how he'd been moments before yelling at everyone to leave.

Trunks had a pretty good grasp on how to read his dad, and there was definitely something fond as he watched Pan and Goten try to arrange the pillows to minimize the crater. Maybe Bulma had been onto something about Vegeta needing company while he stood under the forgotten sky of a lost planet. After all they were all Saiyan, even if they were Earthling hybrids.

"Daddy, what were you thinking about when you were looking up at the sky when we came in?" Bulla asked and tugged at his pant leg.

"Star stories," Vegeta muttered.

"Stories?" Pan asked, enthused at the possibility of one of her many favorite things, "Uncle Vegeta, are you gonna tell us stories, now?"

"Yeah, Daddy, tell us stories!"

Well fuck, Mom had told him to get get his dad talking and the girls were doing a better job at it then Trunks could have ever done on his own.

"Yeah Dad," Trunks added his support, "Mom's orders to us were that we were to spend the night in here with you, the least you could do is offer us some entertainment."

At Vegeta's hesitation Goten chimed in from across the room, "Yeah, why don't we all sit in a circle, might make it easier? We can wait till your ready to talk."

They did so, complete Bulla had practically flung herself into her father's lap demanding that he braid her hair. Trunks knew it bothered his mom how Bulla always claimed that Vegeta was "the bestest" at braiding her and how much she resisted it when her mother tried to do it. Bulma had only stopped sulking about the subject when Vegeta had pointed out to her that while Bulla's hair matched the color of her mother's, her hair follicles were still attached to a Saiyan and required different tension and pressure in the technique of it that came naturally to him. Bulma had written it off as a lost cause as she grumbled loudly about "stupid monkey grooming".

Of course that presented a new problem when moments later Pan was clearly getting jealous of the attention. "Trunks, you to do Pan's hair," Bulla demanded. "By order of your princess."

Vegeta let out a snort but didn't say anything instead watching Trunks react with some amusement. Trunks sighed, he just knew that he was going to be hearing that phrase a lot. Goten's only response was to laugh at his suffering, "Hear that Trunks, you've been given a royal order."

"Uh-huh, Marron told me that if I say that then people have to listen to me."

"Marron should keep her mouth shut," Trunks snapped. "You are spoiled enough as it is Bulla, you don't need to go around ordering people."

"The real question is who does she get that attitude from, her mom, her dad, or you," Goten said, shoving an arm into Trunks's side.

Trunks sighed, "Yeah okay, come here Pancakes, I'll do your hair."

Pan happily moved over and into his lap, and Goten was still laughing as he scooted closer to Trunks.

If Vegeta had any thoughts about it he didn't say anything, but he was pretty sure there was another flash of emotion in his eyes, maybe amusement?

He began to run his hands through Pan's hair, and yeah he kind of got what Dad was talking about, it took him a couple of tries but he found a rhythm in how much firm pressure to exert. Pan's hair was too short to do any real braids, so they were more doing small twists of her short locks. "I don't have any of those rubber bands," Trunks says in frustration.

"Oh, I have an idea," Goten said, "it's something I've been working on, gimmie a minute." He was concentrating and he made a small ring of ki before him, it got smaller and came over and held the tiny braid in place like a hair band.

Trunks was impressed, "Can you do multiple ones? How long do they last?" Because those ki bands were giving Trunks ideas.

"I mean as long as I'm concentrating yeah, I can probably do multiples. Plus it's not like they need to be that strong if they're just holding hair, I've been working on single ones that can hold a lot more strength. Uh, I was thinking they might have other uses."

Oh so Goten had already been thinking of the perversion potential of these too, interesting- No. Nope. cool it Trunks, mind out of the gutter, his father and sister were less then a couple feet away, he had a five year-old Pan in his lap, and everyone in here had an enhanced sense of smell. Begone impure thoughts, banish thy demons to Other World, now was so not the time.

But he was absolutely going to thoroughly contemplate the matter when he got a moment of alone time, or better yet he and Goten could-

"So Dad, about those stories," Trunks was pretty sure no one else noticed how his voice cracked as he rushed to get the words out and change the subject as quickly as possible. "You going to share them with the rest of us? Something about the stars?"

"Alright," Vegeta began, "the Stars tell the story of the Universe, a record of events and entities, and sometimes the mortals who are strong enough to shape it. The only exception is of Beerus, as a Destroyer God he doesn't destroy planets he erases them, and their lights permanently. He ends stories and doesn't even leave a record behind. That's why he is to be most feared and respected."

"Well we're doing a great job at that, aren't we Dad?" Trunks jeered as Bulla grabbed for her necklace of a small gold effigy of the Seventh Universe's God of Destruction. It had been a gift from the cat god himself earlier this year, Trunks remembered how Beerus had tried to play it off like it meant nothing, that it was just a complete coincidence that their visit happened to coincide with Bulla's birthday. But of course it would have been rude to leave a birthday girl without a gift and he'd had Whis create it on the spot. Whis had obliged, and laughed at Beerus's attempt to play it off, instead musing about how oddly enchanting the Saiyan children were.

To anyone else in the Seventh Universe, having the God of Destruction ensnared on a string would have been an accomplishment enough, but to Bulla, Beerus was just another one of the many strings she had wrapped around her tiny fingers. Just one part of the game of cat's cradle she played with Pan.

Vegeta didn't say anything immediately, but his fingers continued to work in silence for several moments, till he finally responded, "I'm sharing the stories as they were once told to me, I recognize that certain elements don't quite match our lived experience. I can't say whether this means that these old stories are complete fabrications or just distortions of fact, or perhaps it doesn't matter if they were truths twisted by time or even never true at all, because they're all obsolete to us presently. I have already personally far exceeded the abilities of Super Saiyans and Super Saiyan Gods than even the legends spoke of. Regardless," and he finally looked up and met Trunks's gaze straight on and Trunks felt the menace in his gaze, "you are the one who asked for these stories, and so you will hear and respect them as if they were true. Do I make myself clear, Boy?"

"Crystal," Trunks gulped. Okay got it, no more snark allowed. Trunks needed to be on his best behavior right now. Goten voiced his agreement as well even though they all knew it wasn't him that Vegeta was reproaching.

But then his dad started talking again, "My father used to show me the stars and talk about how Saiyan history was written amongst them, of the battles fought and planets lost to them and how the lights captured the changes. It was an old story that you could tell where a Saiyan died, by seeing the resulting star that was formed, the brightest stars being the supernovas that resulted when two Saiyans met their final end together."

"That's that kismesis stuff right?" Goten asked, perking up. "Can you talk a bit about that? I mean the older stories and stuff, I don't need to hear about my Dad. It's just, you're the only person who I can ask, you know?" And oh, Trunks hadn't really thought about that stuff, the other half of the weird relationship their dads had. It wasn't just that that they had some sort of sexual relationship, which Trunks tried very hard to never think about, but also the strange mutual suicide pact part of it. It was almost enough to distract him from the first time he'd ever heard his father mention his own father.

"Hmm." Was all Vegeta said for a moment, but given his gaze was on the girls Trunks could tell he was probably working on what to say that would be appropriate for them to hear.

"Hmm." Vegeta didn't say anything more for several minutes but neither Goten nor anyone else pressed him for an immediate response, Trunks had a pretty good idea that the hesitation was to try and work out a response that would be appropriate for the girls to hear. He remembered more than a few times of his mother lecturing Vegeta to make sure any talk of kismesis in front of Bulla was spared the "gruesome" details.

Bulla had accepted readily enough the explanation that what Vegeta and Goku shared was a "special Saiyan relationship" with all the thoughtless childhood innocence that came with her age. Not even bothering to question it, much like how she didn't question why her father only ever called Goku by a different name than everyone else, it's just how things were. But how long that was going to last as Bulla grew up was a different question.

Finally Vegeta began to speak again, "It was said that the reason Saiyans had so much ki was because as a species we had stardust in our blood."

"I don't get it," Pan interrupted, "Daddy said everything is made out of space dust, what's the difference between that and stardust."

"Gohan isn't wrong, everyone is made out of cosmic particles, spacedust isn't an inaccurate term, but Saiyans are different and have more than that. What makes Saiyans unique was their innate high levels of ki energy and the ability to push the limits of their strength after a difficult battle. It's called a zenkai boost and ensures that every time a Saiyan got close to death but still managed to survive they would be much stronger than they were before. That's where the saying about stardust originates from.

"And much like how when any mortal dies their bodies return to the elements, the same is true for ki. That is why it's so important for Saiyans to die in a battle while still in their prime, it's to release their ki back amongst the stars they were born from. If you die old and feeble all that ki goes to waste and upsets the natural balance.

At least that's how it was supposed to work in theory, but now we see all too well how the gods like to meddle in mortal affairs and allow those they favor to retain their bodies and ki even after they passed on. But it doesn't diminish the importance of the final battle. The death of a Saiyan is something that should not be taken lightly as the event records their prowess, their power and deeds and might, in a place where previously there was only void. One should only meet Death when facing a worthy opponent and there isn't a better match than one's kismesis."

"But haven't you and Dad already died several times by now?" Goten asked.

"Yes, but those weren't permanent deaths. Now we have the Dragon Balls and other divine magic to tip the scales and allow us to return from death multiple times but that won't be true indefinitely. One day there will come a time to die, a time where there is no point to trying to undo it as the only thing to look forward to is old age and a miserable end. Kakarot may have died before to other opponents, but he understands that his final death isn't allowed to be at any hand but mine."

"Wait, you and Uncle Goku gonna die?" Bulla asked, her voice and lower lip trembling, "for reals? Not just for a while?"

"Everyone dies eventually Bulla, it is the fate of mortal beings. Death is not to be feared but to met face to face. If today is not the day you choose to die, then you must fight to ensure that it isn't. That is the way of warriors. Only the weak and the foolish desire immortality."

Goten looked confused, "You know Piccolo told me that when you first wanted the Dragon Balls you wanted to wish for-"

"Like I said," Vegeta cut him off tersely. "Weak and foolish."

"Ah." Goten focused on Pan's hair and tried to fight a smile, but it was a futile battle. Vegeta ignored him.

"But I don't want you to die Daddy," Bulla said, her patented 'I always get what I want' voice in full effect.

"It won't be for many years, stop your pouting."

At her refusal Trunks tried to offer his own reassurance, "Besides, like Dad said, we've been dead before, it's not that bad. It just means going to Other World, and it's a pretty cool place, lots of old dead people to talk to and places to go.."

"Yeah Dad said they even have fighting tournaments in Other World," Goten added. "There was one where Dad was the secret ringer for King Kai."

"Oh, oh, King Kai?" Pan interrupted. "I know him! Grandpa took me to visit him once, he's short and blue!"

"What kind of blue?" Bulla had a ranking system of the best shades of blue, unsurprisingly her top spot were occupied by "blue like mommy's and my hair" and "blue like Daddy's hair turns".

"Blue like Whis," Pan answered, very familiar with said ranking system.

"Hmm, well what's he even king of?"

"Uh-uh, stuff," Pan shrugged. "But only the north stuff."

"That doesn't sound that impressive. Besides, I live in West City, so he's not the king of me!" Before Trunks could correct his sister that that wasn't how it worked Pan was already continuing.

"Well he also has got his own tiny planet with a car, and he has a pet monkey named Bubbles!"

"Well all right, if he has a monkey I guess he's okay," Bulla conceded.

"If I could continue," Vegeta interrupted, before the girls got off on another one of their tangent conversations which could last for hours.

"The birth planet of the Saiyans was called Planet Sadala, it was destroyed many centuries ago in a great battle between two kismesis, it split the planet in two and caused havoc on the rest of the solar system in which it was located, necessitating relocation. The event was called the Fork of Sadala and it was a worthy end to the planet and was spoken of with respect on the new planet the Saiyans moved to, named after the conquering King and his family line, that of Vegeta."

"What happened to the new planet, the one named after you?" Pan asked, "My Daddy said it has to do with Frieza or something?"

"After moving to Planet Vegeta the Saiyans were recruited by the space empire under King Cold, in exchange for allowing them to claim their new planet. It was seen as a mutually beneficial relationship for a time, with the Saiyans make up in making up in both numbers and strength more than half of the Cold Force, they were part and parcel of it. But that changed when Cold's son Frieza took over control of the empire. He ordered every Saiyan to return to the planet before he destroyed it by his own hand, and with it nearly every Saiyan alive. Afterwards he would perpetuate a falsehood that a meteor had done the job, in order to prevent others from hearing the full truth of his betrayal."

Vegeta acknowledged Pan's raised hand and she asked her question. "Wait, if Frieza wanted all the Saiyans to be on the planet, why were you and my grandpa let go free?"

"We were not meant to have survived. My squad only happened to survive because I ignored the order to return. As for Kakarot?" He sighed and paused for a moment before continuing, "You must understand my memories are somewhat hazy, I was only about 8 years of age by the way Earthlings count, but as I recall the story was that a rogue technician took him from his nursing capsule and put him immediately in a travel pod and sent him to a planet on the edge of the North Galaxy. Planet 4032-877, Earth."

"Why did you make such a fuss earlier during my Daddy's show?" Pan asked.

Yes, thank you, Trunks thought. It was much better that the girls were asking these questions, than him or Goten, it was much harder to get angry at their childish questions.

Vegeta grimaced at the reminder of him losing that control, "I never gave much thought to the course that pod would have charted. I was taken aback to see it as someone on planet would have seen it."

"What was so shocking about it?" Goten asked carefully when it seemed the girls weren't going to.

"I hadn't realized that the path that Kakarot's pod traveled to reach Earth would take him directly along the Fork of Sadala." Vegeta said quietly, like he was admitting something important.

Oh. That was a bunch of stuff Trunks knew he was not going to be able to get his Dad to talk about no matter how much he pressed. It was all to close to the notion of destiny. Trunks had once asked his father about his thoughts on the subject, years back when he was trying to figure out something about how some things just seemed to click together perfectly, made sure to neglect to mention who he was thinking about in particular when he'd asked the question.

But back then Vegeta had been dismissive of the very idea, "A delusion for people who want to believe themselves destined for greatness but don't have the fortitude or determination to accomplish it themselves. Destiny gets no credit for the person I am, I was the one who fought and chose to be where I am now."

And Trunks could see his point, people clinging in desperation to a belief they were destined for more often did ignore what it took to actually get to that end and he very much doubted his Dad was meant by someone to make some of the choices he had. But he also thought maybe his Dad might be a little biased from his own experiences. Maybe Destiny wasn't written in stone or in the stars but more like an opportunity offered that you had to try to work to seize?

Bulla interrupted Trunks's own thoughts with her next question, "Do you miss them? Everyone who died when Frieza blew up the planet?"

"Miss is not the right word, more… contemplate." After a minute of silence where Trunks could see him trying to figure out how to elaborate, he finally offered, "I had a younger brother who was still in the nursery when he died, along with the rest of the planet."

"You had a brother?" Bulla's eyes were wide and yeah if Trunks was a bit younger he'd be as openly surprised as she was. Instead he opted to raise an eyebrow in Goten's direction.

"Yes, but he wasn't marked to be a soldier. We could read the ki of our children and designate their role in society before they were ready to even walk. He hadn't the right readings or nature to be a warrior. I always wrote him off, but as of late I wonder what would he have been like if he had managed to survive."

Vegeta seemed to be weighing his words and Trunks got the distinct impression that he was being deliberately selective when he said, "Siblings amongst Saiyans were seen a bit differently than they are here on Earth, you weren't obligated to accept your relation just because you shared a biological connection. There was more to it than that. It was often said that the ones you fought alongside were considered closer in blood than ones who shared your parentage."

Before Trunk could inquire as to what exactly he meant by that Bulla had already barreled on with her own questions, "Do you wish you had a brother now? Do you wish he had survived?"

Vegeta sighed, "No. I would have been a poor brother for him. I was young and foolish, and wouldn't have seen any value in a Saiyan who didn't want to fight. And it's a far better fate that he didn't have to face Frieza as I did."

No one said anything for a few minutes after that, while the men all lost in thought the girls were beginning to rapidly tire out, the days events and their usual bedtimes catching up to them.

But Trunks could see his father was starting to brood more and Trunks needed to break him out of it fast. "What were you thinking about now, Mom said not to let you get lost in your head."

"What my father would think of the man I've become."

Oh wow, straight for the heavy shit, and Trunks felt a twinge in his spine, as he worried about that. How exactly could he continue a conversation on such a touchy topic? His dad had never, not once, even mentioned his own father to Trunks before now and now he was hearing about him twice in one night?

Trunks wanted to ask some questions but he also didn't want to be the one to ask it, so instead he elbowed Goten and gave him a look trying to communicate without words, and of course because Goten was perfect and got Trunks and how his brain worked, Goten was able to pick up on the unspoken message.

"Do you ever wish that you stayed there, like if Frieza never blew it up or whatever, do you wish you got to be the King of all Saiyans. If it makes it easier, we could say for argument that my Dad still was sent to Earth and that you guys would have met somehow."

"Never."

Now that was a surprise for Trunks to hear, and he could tell Goten wasn't expecting that response either, but Vegeta continued unprompted on his own, not looking up from his braiding of Bulla's hair, "The life I could have had there has nothing in comparison to what I have here. I've known that for a while, but I never put the knowledge in the right context."

"And what was that Daddy?" Bulla asked, sleepily.

"I can't imagine wanting to live a life without the both of you and your mother in it. As an old saying went, Planet Vegeta was where Kakarot and I sprouted but Earth is where we put down roots. I'm more proud of every Saiyan in this room, and on this planet, than I am for the entirety of the Saiyan history that has come before us. Even if some of them are slackers." he quickly tagged on with a sharp look at the boys, lest they think he was being too complimentary.

Whoa.

That was a sentiment loaded with meaning, and Trunks didn't even know where to begin to unpack the amount of baggage in it. He knew better than anyone how his father only admitted to caring for anyone with extreme reluctance. Years of Mom complaining about having to pull words of affection from him was like pulling teeth and even she seemed to get it better than anyone.

Pan was just barely awake as she murmured, "We love you too Uncle Vegeta," before drifting off into actual sleep.

Goten spoke up after a moment, "Hey now that they're asleep, Vegeta if you don't mind I have a question about something you said earlier, that it wasn't just you that ignored Frieza's orders to return to the planet, but there were others?"

Vegeta sighed, "Yes, I was with my - I suppose I could call them companions - at the time. Typical Saiyan squads averaged to be around five in number and that was how it was for us. It was only meant to be a temporary assignment for a few years but obviously became a permanent post after the planet's destruction."

"What happened to them?" Goten prodded, "Because growing up Gohan always told me it was just you and Dad, well I guess also that Broly guy off in space too but we didn't know about him yet."

"Two of them were eliminated shortly thereafter by Frieza to intimidate and force my compliance to his rule. I didn't make an effort to remember their names and thus have long forgotten them. He left the remaining two live so long as we were all subservient to him. They were General Nappa and Raditz."

The names sounded only vaguely familiar, Trunks might have heard them once or twice from Gohan or Piccolo but they weren't a common topic. More often they were simply called, "Vegeta's old friends" if anything. Everyone was very tight lipped about what exactly had happened during the first time his father had come to Earth, even Gohan had never gone into specifics favoring euphemisms and vagueness.

"What were they like, your friends?" Goten asked.

"I wouldn't have called us friends." When Vegeta saw that was not going to be a sufficient answer he continued, "Nappa was the one responsible for the squad when I was younger, as he'd been an old loyal acquaintance of my father and trusted to have my best interests in mind. He'd been the one to request that Raditz be assigned, not because of his strength but because of his age. Nappa had thought it would be better for my development if I had a year-mate." Vegeta rolled his eyes at this, showing he did not agree with the assessment.

"So Raditz was your friend?" Trunks pressed, if Raditz had been about his Dad's age that meant they had probably trained a lot together.

"It would certainly not be recognized as such by Earthling definition, but fine, I suppose you could call him that," Vegeta rolled his eyes. "We were both a bunch of brats and his cockiness aggravated me because he didn't have the strength to back it up. I'm sure he was similarly annoyed by me, though for different reasons."

Vegeta was quiet again, weighing his words before he finally added, "He was also your uncle, Goten.

"Wait what!" Goten yelped and sat back surprise, and it was a good thing Pan wasn't in his lap or she would have been jerked awake.

"Quiet, don't wake the girls," Vegeta admonished sharply, and Goten clamped his hands over his own mouth till he was able to respond in a quieter voice, "What do you mean he was my uncle?"

"He was Kakarot's elder brother, though given the age gap I don't think they ever met before Raditz came to Earth all those years later. Remember what I said about a biological connection not necessitating closeness. Raditz and Kakarot are a perfect example of how different two Saiyans could be. They'd only just barely be considered siblings."

"Still," grouched Goten, "why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"It wasn't anything that concerned you, and that's all that needs to be said on the matter," Vegeta said, "but if you have other questions about my travels I suppose I could answer them."

Vegeta spent the rest of the night talking with him and Goten while the girls slept, telling them stories about other planets and aliens. Trunks couldn't help but notice that the few of them from the time before he had first visited Earth were sparse of details.

It wasn't exactly a secret that his father had probably done things he didn't look back on favorably but the complete absence of any stories was strange. He knew that his Dad hadn't come to Earth the first time with good intentions, and between him and another guy had even killed some of the Dragon Gang while searching for the Dragon Balls. But that all got fixed later didn't it? And hadn't his dad been impressed with Goku and the rest of the Earthlings when they managed to defeat him?

There was a lot that Vegeta wasn't telling them, and not just because Bulla and Pan were in the room, even asleep as they were. And Trunks was naturally curious as to what exactly was being censored from his knowing. He barely mentioned Frieza and he'd been working for him, and he hadn't said much more about his "companions" at all, did he miss them? He didn't hear much fondness when he spoke about them, but what about the one who had been his Dad's age, Raditz?

Trunks had many questions about his dad but he knew he wasn't going to get any answers from him. Well in that case, Trunks finally knew what he wanted to do with his summer vacation.

He was going on a Dragon Ball hunt.