"Alright, got it."
Raditz sighed as he pressed the button on his scouter while running next to Vegeta. The prince glanced over at him as they hopped over a hedge wall with a lifted brow.
"Nothing yet." The long haired saiyan huffed in frustration. "Father said that he was going to keep an eye out from the air while we stick to the ground."
"I don't know if that's good or bad." Vegeta muttered just loud enough for the other alpha to hear. "We need to find them before someone or something upsets them. I don't know how Kakarot will react, and I know he would be devastated if he accidentally hurt anyone. Also..."
"Also what?" Raditz asked when Vegeta trailed off.
"It's Kome." Vegeta let out a huff. "He won't react very well if he's pushed hard enough. I can't believe that I forgot to set him up for some training."
"Why would he need training? He's just a boy."
"You didn't see him in the labs, hairball." The prince gave a mirthless chuckle while ignoring the annoyed growl Raditz gave over that particular nickname. "He nearly-"
The sudden beeping of the older alpha's scouter interrupted him. When Raditz checked the info, he nearly choked on air.
"What the hell?!"
"That's either Kome or Kakarot!" Vegeta immediately snapped. "Which direction?!"
After the guard pointed the way, both alphas took off to the source of the power surge hoping to get to the boy before anyone was hurt.
They were very close to the pair already when all it took was a couple of minutes to get to part of Vegeta's growing family.
The prince quickly saw Kakarot and Kome sitting under the tree after he and Raditz turned a corner. They both looked to be physically fine, and Vegeta tried to move closer to the pair under the willow tree. He and Raditz could see Kakarot holding a sobbing Kome, and he moved to go to them when the guard held him back.
"Don't." The prince growled jerking his arm free.
"Don't tell me what to do when my mate and cub are upset!"
"I'm telling you because this is something they need to work out on their own. Call it the voice of experience. Kome has our father's temper and I think he's angry at my brother about you."
"What, why!"
"Don't be an idiot." Raditz huffed out in slight annoyance. "Surely you must have noticed that Kome has been glaring at you like he wants to set you ablaze for the past few days."
"What are you talking about?" Vegeta growled out. "Kome hasn't done anything like that…"
The long haired alpha slapped his hand over his face and slowly pulled it down to look at the younger alpha incredulously.
"You can't be serious…Are you telling me that you've been so distracted making goo goo eyes at my brother and dealing with my father's overprotectiveness that you have missed Kome trying to kill you with his eyes!?"
When Vegeta still had that confused expression on his face, Raditz nearly punched his prince. He knew his brother was beautiful and that they were mated, but that still didn't excuse Vegeta's ignorance to the world around him.
"Just…give them a minute to themselves." The guard finally stated. "Think Vegeta, he's an alpha coming into his growth spurt as has serious problems trusting older alphas. I might not mention I know what you and Kakarot have been up to since that's your business but maybe you should make sure the door is shut. And if that didn't tip Kome off you two smelling like each other would certainly tell him something is going on. The boy knows what sex is Vegeta, what do you think he might assume with that knowledge?" The royal frowned as the implication sunk in.
"Shit, he probably thinks I'm trying to get Kakarot pregnant."
"Meaning he won't believe anything you say. Kakarot has to make Kome understand you aren't a threat, especially if he's half as stubborn and hard headed as our father." Vegeta frowned
"I don't understand, I haven't treated him any different from the other cubs have I? I thought letting him have some space would help."
"It's not you that's the actual problem." Raditz said watching the others with a distant look. "He's scared Vegeta. He has almost nothing familiar right now. Just my brother and Seba, and even they are different. Seba doesn't cling to Kome any more and he isn't solely responsible for Seba's safety or the other cubs. His Tama is acting and looking different than before. Kome's struggling to accept all the changes even if they are good for him. So far he's done really well adjusting, better than I expected or Father even but this meltdown has been awhile in coming. It needed to happen. He's probably is terrified he'll lose Kakarot somehow and with all that anxiety bottling up with no physical source he's fallen back on one thing he knows to be true, that men, alphas hurt him and his family simply to give that anxiety a cause to cope with it. I doubt he's even doing it consciously."
"How do you know all that? It sounds like something Paragus would say."
"I've been seeing him for therapy too." Raditz admit softly while looking away from is brother in law. "I just...I was angry all the time. I didn't want to hurt Kakarot or the boys if I lost my temper."
"You could have told us hairball. We wouldn't have thought less of you."
"You have your hands full with my brother and the cubs." The larger male brushed off. "Besides I'm almost done with my sessions according to Paragus. But no, I see a lot of myself in Kome. We have a lot of similar situations and traits so I guess I can understand him a bit more than you or my father."
"I partly raised Kakarot, and until my father got his promotion when Kakarot was around five I watched him come in from missions with all kinds of injuries. Once or twice it was bad enough they weren't sure he'd make it. I know it wasn't near as bad as what Kome has been through but it's close enough I can understand I think."
"I didn't know things were that hard for you and Kakarot."
"He doesn't remember, I think he was too little. He remembers the small things, the times father was home and took care of us. I'll admit I wasn't the best big brother to him when he was young. But it never mattered to Kaka. I swore I'd do better by him and then he disappeared...I felt like I failed as a brother and when I found out Father basically drove him off with that stupid argument I was so desperate to blame someone else I blamed him and nearly destroyed the relationship with the only family I had left." He sighed running a hand through his hair. "Look the point is, Kakarot and Kome need to sort some stuff out right now. It certainly won't hurt if you have a talk with him later but let my brother have his turn first."
++break++
Once Kome had stopped struggling, the beta turned him around so that the boy could latch onto his shirt and cry into Kakarot's shoulder. Kakarot just purred and slowly combed his fingers through the unruly spikes on his eldest's head until Kome had cried all his tears out. After a moment of sitting there, he began to speak.
"I haven't been a very good Tama lately. I should have noticed you were this unhappy." Kakarot said as Kome calmed down.
"I shouldn't have said that." Kome replied frustrated. "I was so...angry...I don't understand...why are you letting Alpha hurt you..."
"Kome what did you see?" Kakarot asked finally.
"You were in his lap and your mouths were together. You whined when he started touching you and you didn't try to make him stop."
"This is...hard Kome. Geta, he's not hurting me. It's not bad, not like it was back...back there." Kakarot tried to explain. "Geta, we bonded. He's my alpha, my mate. Mates...touch each other like that."
"Alpha said he wouldn't hurt you." Kome growled back. "He's going do the same thing and make you have more cubs, just like they did."
"He didn't. Kome I kissed him first. I wanted Geta to touch me. I promise he won't make me have cubs unless we both want them."
"No more cubs?" Kome asked softly.
"Why don't you want more siblings Kome?" Kakarot asked confused. "I thought you loved Seba, Rahi and Amara?"
"I do!"
"Then why are you upset? I don't... I can't help without knowing what bothers you Kome."
"You weren't you anymore..." Kome said softly. "Every time you had cubs...You quit talking. You changed. Don't want you to change again or get sick again. Why weren't we enough? Why couldn't I make you better?" Kome shouted as the root of the problem finally came out. The beta sighed and pulled his cub to him. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with his cub. He only just brushed the surface with Paragus. Not even Geta or Teti had asked him this.
"I was...very sick." He tried to explain as his arms tightened around his cub seeking and offering comfort. His finger tapped the side of his son's temple. "Up here. Kome, I was in the...the bad place a very, very long time. Teti said was it was 15 years...it felt so much longer..." Kome frowned. Fifteen...that was before he or Tarble were born.
"Do you remember...I'd get taken somewhere. They'd...they'd make me...play very bad games. That's what C-cold One called them. They did that since I got there Kome. They kept trying to make me have cubs, even when I couldn't because I was too young." Kome heard how thick the shame and pain was in his Tama's voice as he got a distant look in his eyes for a moment.
"Kome I almost died...a lot. I tried to make Bad...Z-zarbon...kill me long before you were born." He explained pointing to the scar on his neck. "I hurt so bad and was so tired and scared. I just wanted it to be over."
"What changed? You weren't like that when I was little."
"I had you." Kakarot said with a grim smile. "I had you and I couldn't give up anymore. I needed to be strong for you. I wanted so badly to escape and take you away from there but there was nothing I could do. If I didn't do what they wanted they'd hurt you."
"I lost so many cubs Kome. Brothers and sisters for you, I felt them all." He tried to explain. "So many of them might have lived. You might not have been my first...they didn't stop hurting me Kome. You know that, so I started getting sick up here again. Or maybe I finally got worse..." He tapped his own temple not meeting the cub's gaze.
"Tama..."
"I couldn't leave you and Seba, but I couldn't bare to start everything over again...and then they took you and Seba both..." tears flooded Kakarot's eyes. "I was with you the only way I could have been. I don't think there was anything you could have done to help me Kome. Paragus, he said fixing hurts like mine, it's hard and you need someone who knows how to help. Even he isn't sure how much he can really help with how bad it was.
"Having you...you and Seba gave me a reason to keep breathing Kome. I couldn't bare to leave you in that place and not protect you. Toa, the other part of me that's what he was born to do, protect us. I would have died to get the two of you somewhere safe without thinking anything about it. You two were my world for the longest time...and it's not good to keep doing that now."
"But why is it bad to be with us now?" Kome growled.
"When I was your age, I wasn't with Teti all the time. Even when I was little like Seba, I went to training, lessons, I played outside. Raditz would watch me like you do Seba until I was big enough. Cubs wander away from tamas if it's safe as they get older. It's how things work. It's good for you to do things without me or Seba. Because it teaches you to care for yourself when you grow up."
"...But I don't want to leave you..." Kome whispered before burying his face in Kakarot's chest and hugged back tightly.
"You aren't. I won't make you leave cub. You've got years before you're ready. And I think when you are you'll know. You're so smart and strong Kome, one day you'll do something very special and important. You and Seba both. I just want you to be happy and have things the way they should have been for you. Having your friend and playing with him. Exploring outside not being afraid everyone you see is going to hurt you."
Kome remained silent after hearing that. He could see what Tama was talking about, but he tightened his hold on the beta even more. He didn't like the thought of leaving even if it was normal.
"I still don't want to leave you…"
Kakarot smiled down at the top of the cub's head before using his tail and fingers to tickle Kome's sides. The boy squirmed for a few seconds before he started to laugh. He pulled back some to get away from the sensation before looking up at Kakarot.
"You'll always be my little cub." The beta softly said as he cupped the side of the young alpha's face. "Even when you are bigger and stronger than me, you'll still be my little boy. I love you and your siblings more than anything in this world and that will never change."
Kome just stared at his tama's face before the realization hit him hard. Like he thought before, there was no way that Tama could heal while in the Bad Place. If they had stayed there, there's no telling what would have happened to all of them.
His tama had done the best he could to make sure that he was still there in some way for Kome and Seba even if it meant that he ended up like he did in the end. The cub's eyes watered up once more, and he buried his face in Kakarot's chest again.
"I'm sorry, Tama."
"Shh…" Kakarot moved them so that Kome was sitting in his lap once more with his head tucked under his chin. "It's ok, Kome. I know. It's ok."
"Kome does it really bother you that much if Geta is touching me?" Kakarot asked quietly. He loved how he felt with Geta...but he loved his cubs more. Kome twisted his fingers into his Tama's shirt.
"Alpha promised he wouldn't hurt you or us. He promised. He even lied to them at the bad place for us. I thought...I thought he lied. That he could lie and I couldn't smell it and that he was hurting you like they did."
"I promise he isn't hurting me Kome." Kakarot said nuzzling his cub. "It's different...mates...touch like that, and it's ok. It's still new to me too. I didn't know it could be like that with Geta. Geta, he doesn't do more than I want, even when I can tell he really wants more sometimes...he's a very good alpha."
"So it's ok...no more cubs for awhile?" Kakarot smiled.
"No, I think we have our hands full with Seba and the twins at the moment. Maybe when they're bigger though."
The beta hugged his eldest cub with a smile on his face. He brushed a few of the spiky bangs out of Kome's face as he pulled back.
"Let's head home. The twins have something to show you." Kakarot moved to stand and his son moved to follow with a small yet somewhat sheepish smile.
"I didn't scare them?"
"No. They were playing with Teti. Amara was really looking forward to see you when you got home." Kakarot had a knowing expression on his face. The young alpha tilted his head in confusion, and he started back to the house with his tama when a voice called out.
"Kakarot! Kome!"
The pair turned to see Vegeta and Raditz fly over to them with Bardock following a half minute later.
"Are you two alright?" The prince asked as he moved closer to examine them. "Bardock told me about someone being taken to the med wing."
"We're fine, Geta. But…" Kakarot glanced down at his son as he trailed off with the rest of them doing the same.
Kome shrank down under the gaze of the older alphas and his tail wrapped around Kakarot's leg.
"How much trouble am I in?" He asked just barely more than a whisper. Kome wasn't stupid, he knew what happened when he mauled someone back in the bad place, he had a feeling that wasn't allowed here either.
Vegeta and the others shared a look at how scared the cub was. They could smell it rolling off the cub as he clung to Kakarot in a way he didn't normally.
"Well that depends." Vegeta said softly as he knelt to be on the same level as Kome. "Why did you attack them? And did you know what was happening?" Kome shook his head and held tighter to his tama.
"They're the ones in class, they make fun of me and call me baby all the time. I tried to leave but Onon...he kept pushing me when I tried to pass. Then he started saying bad things about Tama and I just..."
"You lost your temper." Vegeta finished. "I can understand why you lashed out Kome. I would prefer you hadn't but it wasn't your fault. You tried to do the mature thing and leave rather than get in a fight."
"I'll say one thing cub, I don't think you have to worry about Onon and his little flunkies giving you lip again." Bardock said. "You beat the tar out of him. He won't call you baby again, not after that."
Kome looked back down at the ground with a hint of red on his face as Kakarot ruffled his hair.
"Let's head back home." Raditz huffed as they all started to walk back. "I think we're all done for the day."
The group walked up the stone walkway to the garden in the back of the house where Chorri was playing with the twins. As soon as the pair saw their parents and eldest brother, they squealed in delight and started to toddle over to them.
Kakarot made it to them first and scooped the twins up in his arms with a loud purr. Rahi and Amara gave their tama tiny purrs in response as they nuzzled into his warm hold.
"Thank you for watching the cubs, Chorri." Vegeta said as he looked over the beta's shoulder. He brushed their hair with gentle fingers and got bright smiles in return.
"Anytime!" The Matu woman chirped. "They are wonderful little angels for me when I take care of them!"
Amara pulled back and finally saw Kome and immediately reached out for him with a big smile on her face.
The young alpha gently took her into his arms with a chuckle only to freeze when she placed her chubby hands on his face and squealed.
"KoKo!" The little girl patted his cheek with one hand. "KoKo!"
Kome looked up at Kakarot with disbelief in his eyes, but the beta just smiled in response before nodding. The older cub couldn't believe that his name was his sister's first word.
"KoKo?" Amara murmured softly as she patted his cheek again making Kome realize that he had a few tears that had slipped down from his cheek.
"Good girl, Amara." The words were almost whispered in a raspy tone. He gave her a big smile that had the little girl giggling and purring. "My smart little sister."
The young alpha cuddled Amara close to his chest feeling overwhelmed that she thought of him so much. He felt guilty for his earlier feeling, but the happiness from hearing the cute giggles and his name overpowered that for the moment.
"Thank you…" Kome whispered in her hair. He tightened his hold on her gently before walking into the house with the rest of the family.
++break++
Vegeta sat on one of the couches facing the older cubs. Kakarot was at his side and their parents sat either next to them or the cubs. Rahi and Amara were with Chorri and Tasik in the nursery. Tarble was sitting beside Yasi anxiously.
"There's some things we need to talk about." Vegeta said calmly. "I'll start by saying I'm sorry, I've let you down Kome."
"What?" The young alpha was confused.
"Kome I should have made sure you had training to at least control your power. I saw what you were capable of when angry in the labs. I shouldn't have forgotten that even when you hadn't shown that tendency again."
"Are you...are you taking me from Tama?" Kome asked afraid.
"Of course not." Kakarot said firmly. "Geta, he wants to get you training, lessons so you don't lose control. It's not bad Kome."
"You have a lot of power cub." Bardock explained. "More than most cubs your age and no training at all on how to handle that power. You're very strong Kome. Sometimes cubs like you have problems when they tap into their strength and they lose themselves in their instincts. When you get mad what are you thinking and feeling?" He narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Nothing, at least...it's not a thought really. It's like everything is...red. I just...I need to bite and claw..."
"That's your instincts Kome." Vegeta explained. "You feel that way when someone threatens your Tama or Seba mostly right? Or when you were really scared?" The cub nodded.
"It's not good to leave you where your instincts are so hair trigger." Bardock explained. "It leads to more incidents like the one earlier today. What I've proposed after talking to Vegeta and Kakarot is giving you some basic training in focusing and using your strength. That way you get used to it and when you get upset you don't slip up and hurt someone."
"I don't wanna hurt anyone."
"We know, Kome." Kakarot said smiling at him. "Will you let Teti and Geta train you? I can't..." The beta's eyes darkened slightly and Kome understood. His Tama couldn't hit him or try to hurt him even in training. He might have his own episode.
"I can do that." Vegeta smiled.
"Good. Now the next thing. This is something I want to ask you and Seba both." The younger cub immediately perked up. "I want to adopt the two of you."
"What's adopt?" Seba asked as his little nose scrunched up in confusion.
"It's something we can do where I would become your father the same way I am to Rahi and Amara." Vegeta explained to the little cub. "I see you both as my cubs already but this is a little different. You would have my blood and be considered full saiyans. I want you to understand even if you say no, I will still see you as my cubs either way. I love you both the same way I love your brother and sister already. This is just a formality to make sure everyone else knows that as well."
"You'd be our Teti?" Seba asked softly.
"I would be your Teti if that's what you want." Seba squealed and jumped at Vegeta purring. He wanted Alpha to be his Teti ever since Tasik told him about tetis and he met Tarble's Teti and Tama's teti. That was how it worked right, a Tama and a Teti? Kakarot smiled as Vegeta let Seba cuddle into his chest.
"Kome, Geta won't change." Kakarot tried to ease the apprehension his eldest had. "Geta cares about you just as much as the twins, even if you say no."
"If you want, you don't have to call me Teti. You can still call me Vegeta or Alpha if that makes you feel better." The alpha said with a grin. "But there's another reason for the adoption. If we do this, there will be a mark that appears. This mark will match one I have and it only appears if no one is forced into the adoption. It can be a reminder and proof I care about you."
"Okay." Everyone blinked.
"Okay what?" Seba chirped.
"I'll do it too. I don't know what I'll call you yet...Teti, it's not right..." Vegeta smiled and shifted Seba so Kome could join them. The older boy seemed hesitant but a gentle nod from Kakarot had Kome hugging Vegeta as hard as he could.
"You can call me whatever is most comfortable Kome. Do you want to do the adoption now?"
"We can?" Seba chirped as he perched on his new teti's shoulders. Vegeta chuckled softly.
"It's actually a very simple ritual. The only rule is it needs to be night."
"Yeah." Kome said quickly. He didn't want to lose his nerve or have Alpha change his mind.
Vegeta nodded and took Kome's right hand with his left and gently cut the boy's finger tip and then one of his own before locking their hands together with a firm grip. His other hand rested on the cub's chest.
"Mine by desire." He said looking Kome in the eyes. "Mine by right. Mine by blood." Kome's eyes widened as he felt the blood on their hands warmed and a faint silver glow surrounded their palms. Vegeta grinned softly.
"I name you Kome, eldest of my cubs and scion of House Vegeta."
There was a flash of silver light that make Kome shut his eyes, but he soon opened them once he felt a warmth encircle the wrist of the hand that was pressed against Vegeta's hand.
Around his wrist was a mark that looked like a five strand braid in royal blue with the mark of the royal house in crimson on the center of the back of his wrist. The young alpha admired the mark before looking to see a matching one on Vegeta's wrist. The only difference was the mark on the prince's wrist was the royal symbol was smaller and there was a space beside it for another mark.
"There." Vegeta ruffled his hair. "You are my son now."
"Oh! Oh!" Seba moved off the prince's shoulders and fell on his lap making the group laugh. "Me now!"
The ritual was repeated and soon the younger cub had a mark around his right wrist as well. Seba just looked fascinated at the colors on his skin and traced the pattern with his fingers before launching himself at Vegeta's chest with a loud squeal.
"Teti! Teti! Teti!" He kept saying over and over again as he hugged the prince's neck in happiness nuzzling into the alpha's shoulder.
Kome just hugged his new father with a small purr while his tail fluffed behind him. He stayed that way for a moment before he gasped and clutched at his chest. A warmth had started to almost burn under his skin and Kome pulled at his shirt to find out what was happening.
"Kome?" Kakarot asked worried as he pulled his shirt off finally. "What is it?"
"Hot…!" The warmth was becoming uncomfortable, and Kome fought to keep from clawing at the source of the heat.
Just as he was about to cry out over the heat under his skin, a golden sun blazed into view on the skin of his chest in a flash of golden light before the heat vanished. Uncertainly shown in the cub's eyes when he looked up at Vegeta. The alpha hadn't said anything about another mark appearing. His grandfather and uncle however had a look of shock on their faces.
"Tama, what happened? Is something wrong?" Kome wouldn't deny he was scared.
"What is that?" Seba asked confused while pointing at Tarble. Kome and the others turned to see his friend's chest glowing under his shirt. Tarble also looked anxious as he tried and failed to cover the glow with his hands.
Yasi quickly grabbed the cub and pulled his hands and shirt away to reveal a mark similar to his own. The normally calm beta was shaken up.
"Tarble how long have you had this." The beta said.
"...a while..." the cub's tail was frizzed out as it nervously coiled around his leg.
"Tarble!" KV snapped making the cub flinch. "How long have you been hiding this!"
"...about eight..." he mumbled the rest under his breath.
"Weeks?" Yasi asked rather impatiently
"Months..." Tarble gulped. He knew he shouldn't have waited this long. "I was scared! I didn't want to lose my friend."
"Tarble told me about the mark yesterday. He wanted my help to tell you about it." Vegeta said getting the other adults' attention.
"What's so bad about this mark?" Kome asked in a soft voice.
"It's not a bad thing Kome." Vegeta said ruffling the older boy's hair. "It's actually something very special." Kakarot's own eyes widened as it finally made sense to the beta. He smiled happily and hugged his cub nuzzling into his hair.
"I told you, you'd do something special Kome."
"But what is it?" Kome asked again.
"Have you learned about the Saibai-sha and Tau-aurai?" KV asked calmly.
"They are the holy ones right?" He asked a little confused.
"Correct, the saibai-sha are the speakers of the gods and the tau-aurai are their protectors. It's a very high honor to have one of those marks."
"But you were mad at Tarble." Kome said a slight growl in his voice. The beta was his only friend.
"We're mad he hid this from us Kome." Yasi explained. "He knows better and should have told us after his mark showed up."
"Kome didn't have his." Tarble said quietly. "I didn't want..."
"Want what?"
"Kome saibai-sha and tau-aurai have a very unique bond. They are very close and remain together throughout their lives. Usually the sha, or submissive of the pair choose their tau. In this case, Kalious the king of the gods, chooses for his sha." KV explained gently. He'd wondered for years if his beta son was going to become a sha. Beta's born to the royal line were rare, and often marked by Kalious. He never expected having to have this conversation with his own alpha grandson.
"...He picked me?" The adults felt a small pang of sadness at the disbelief in Kome's voice. His tama wasn't the only one with low self esteem it seemed. "Do...do you not want me to be your...your tau Tarble?"
"You're my best friend. Of course I do!" Tarble blurted out as a blush spread across his cheeks. "I didn't…..I was scared you wouldn't like me if you knew you had to be my Tau. I wanted you to have a choice…."
"You're my only friend, I wouldn't tell you no." Kome answered as his own faint blush colored his cheeks. Their parents shared a knowing glance. The boys would be just fine once they formed their bond in the future.
"Looks like you have a busy time ahead cub." Bardock said ruffling his hair. "You're gonna be a force to be reckoned with when Vegeta and I are done training you. It'll be up to you when you're both grown to protect Tarble while he's using the power Kalious gives him, but that won't be for a long time. I think this will be better for you than going back to teaching with me as often. I do want you to help me test the idiots though. It'll be a good reminder to them to not underestimate anyone." Vegeta saw Kome frown.
"Kome, it's not because you did anything wrong." He said putting a hand on the cub's shoulder. "You and Tarble will have your own lessons to attend together and learn everything you need for your roles. You aren't going to have time to go teach with Bardock and train and still have time with your siblings and to just have fun. You and Tarble are still cubs, we aren't going to let you take on more than you can handled. I get the feeling you don't enjoy teaching the recruits either."
"I didn't hate it. I like teaching, I'm used to it. I just don't like them calling me a baby and making such a big deal about my age. I don't understand why its such a big deal."
"You are so smart Kome." Kakarot said hugging his son. "All of you are. But sometimes people don't like that."
"What your tama is saying is that you are smarter than most people cub." Yasi explained. "Sometimes other people get angry about that but its nothing you should ever be ashamed of."
"If the little ingrates spent half as much time studying as they did whining they'd be that much smarter if you ask me." Bardock growled.
"I'm glad you're so smart Kome." Tarble said climbing to sit beside his friend. The young alpha blushed a bit but smiled as Tarble hugged him before hugging him in return. Spending time with Tarble was going to be a lot better he decided.
++break++
Bardock grinned as Kome rushed him throwing a string of punches.
"Excellent Kome. Keep moving." He encouraged despite blocking every blow with open palms. His grandson was taking to this about as well as Kakarot had. Kome was going to be powerhouse one day. The cub was relaxed showing no signs of slipping into a more feral mindset and even grinned back clearly enjoying himself. Suddenly the cub jumped releasing a spinning kick that made the adult grimace at the contact with his hand. His tail snagged the cub's ankle before tossing him to the side.
"Very good, excellently done cub!" Bardock praised helping him up. "You're a natural Kome."
"Really?" The cub grinned.
"Oh course-" The doors to the training hall slammed open. Nion, Onon's father stormed in with a furious look on his face.
"Where is he! Where is that little bastard!" Kome bristled next to Bardock but that's all he did. "I'm going to wring his neck for what that unren piece of shit did to my son!" Kome flinched.
"There he is!" Bardock stepped between the enraged father. "I have a right to met out punishment. Hand over the little cur." The door shut behind them then getting Nion's attention as Bardock gained a feral gleam in his eyes. Vegeta stood from where he'd been sitting on a bench against the wall watching Kome's train.
"What did you just call my son?" Vegeta bit out with a growl.
The prince stalked over to stand beside a snarling Bardock, and Kome ducked to hide behind his newly adopted father. The cub peeked around Vegeta's hip while lightly resting a hand on his back to let the older alpha know where he was.
"What? That low class trash doesn't have-!" Nion almost snarled out before he saw just who was talking to him. He quickly bowed to the royal saiyan. "Your highness!"
"Well?" Vegeta snapped.
"Sire, I don't know what lies have been told to you, but this…mutt!" He pointed to Kome which made the cub back down to hide further behind the prince. "Attacked my son for no reason and put him in the tanks! I demand justice!"
"How dare you call my grandson-!" A raised hand from the shorter alpha stopped Bardock from continuing. The general just growled but backed down to let the younger man handle this.
Vegeta's tail brushed against the boy's side as he crossed his arms over his chest. He had a thunderous expression on his face and his fangs were showing from under his upper lip.
"I don't care what happened, but I won't stand for you to disrespect my son." He could feel Kome shift closer to his back and his tail curled around the cub in a loose hold as it flared slightly.
"Wha… what?!" Nion gaped once he saw the band of color around both Vegeta's and Kome's wrists. "But…you adopted this low class runt?! Why, your highness? The only thing the third class is good for is cannon fodder and breeding bitches."
"Is that right?" A cold yet calm look was on Vegeta's face, and as soon as Bardock saw it, he took a few steps back while placing his hands on Kome's shoulders to gently pull him back with him. Unfortunately, Nion didn't sense the danger he was in and continued to speak.
"Yes, sire." He glared at Bardock and Kome with a sneer of his face. "They are weak and not worthy of the liberties that they have. The only things good about that class are their numbers and their carriers. I don't know why your father hasn't passed a law that requires all lower class carriers to be given to the upper classes so that we can grow our own ranks. After all, you have your own third class whore-ACK!"
Vegeta's fist slammed into Nion's face sending him flying back into a wall. The man bounced off the wall, and the prince just started to viciously punch and kick at Nion. The blows were so fast that the other saiyan couldn't even defend himself. With one last kick to the gut, Vegeta managed to embed Nion into the wall.
Blood fell to the floor in streams from Nion's broken nose and mouth. He let out a wheezing groan as the prince stalked over to him with fire in his eyes.
Vegeta grabbed Nion by the neck in a crushing grip and pulled him harshly out of the wall. The younger alpha pulled him close to hiss in Nion's ringing ears.
"Never. Call my mate that again or I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable." Vegeta snarled out softly. "Your son made the same mistake before Kome beat him soundly. One would think that the father was more intelligent and would not make the same error in judgment."
Without another word he strode to the door and opened it before throwing the bleed saiyan into the hallway hard enough to knock him unconscious as he collided with the wall. The guards out side stared in shock at the absolute livid look on the prince's face.
"Get that piece of garbage out of my sight. If he's not dying a few days in the cells ought to teach him to mind his treasonous tongue before my father or I rip it out." With that he slammed the heavy door. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he faced his father in law and son. Bardock was bristling in rage but had an approving look on his face before he nodded. Kome was watching him with a calculating look while his tail twitched anxiously.
"I'm not going to do anything Kome. He should have never said that about Kakarot and you. I will not tolerate such blatant disrespect from someone that clearly should know better." He growled softly.
"You didn't lose control." The cub said with a tilt of his head. Vegeta smirked.
"It takes more than garbage like that to make me rage out cub. I can't punish him for his filthy opinions but he has no business calling you impure or a low class. You have more power than his idiot brat and your tama might just be as strong as myself. No one will ever have the right to call you and your siblings bastard, or your tama a whore. If they do you have my permission to beat them within an inch of their life so long as they live through it to learn their lesson."
"Does that extend to me too?" Bardock asked with a smug grin, his fangs peeking in a bloodthirsty manner. Vegeta smirked back.
"I wasn't aware you needed my permission or cared to have it." He ruffled Kome's hair. "Now back to work. Lets go through the form you grandfather showed you again." Eyes bright Kome nodded and slid into the stance beside his father who mirrored him and slowly guided the cub through the exercise.