Are You My Father?

After letting it continue for several minutes straight, he could no longer ignore it. Two piercing black eyes turned down to glare at the small child tugging on his pants. His lip raised in a sneer when the boy wasn't intimidated.

"What the hell do you want?" he snapped, kicking the boy away.

The boy, no older than four years, tumbled away and landed in a heap of tangled limbs and wild black hair reminiscent of his father's. Rather than bursting into tears at his harsh treatment, he grinned and flipped himself over and sat on the floor looking up at the towering figure of the saiyan prince.

"Uncle Vegeta, where's my dad? Why does Trunks have a dad and I don't? Where'd he go? Gohan talks about him a lot, but I've never met him. Did you know him? What's he like?" he spouted off his questions in a slurred jumble of hurried words that 'Uncle Vegeta' could hardly understand.

Vegeta clutched his head with his hands and growled as the boy's incessant questions continued. He hoped that Kakarrot's younger brat would run out of air and pass out soon. Even the questions he could understand he didn't want to answer. Finally, when he couldn't stand it any longer, he stomped his foot down on the ground, cracking the tile floor and snapping the boy into a stunned silence.

"Brat, would you shut the hell up?" he shouted. He crossed his arms over his chest in satisfaction when the boy's mouth shut and he nodded. He smirked as he made his decision to answer some of the questions. "You don't have a dad because your idiot father chose to stay dead instead of having to put up with you, your brother, and your banshee mother."

Goten's eyes started to well up with tears. "You mean my daddy didn't love us?"

Smirking wider, Vegeta replied, "That's right. He left you because he doesn't care for you."

Thoroughly pleased with himself, Vegeta turned on his heel to leave his rival's younger brat with the ideas he planted in his innocent mind. He didn't get very far before he heard the Goku clone call out to him. "But Uncle Vegeta, Gohan said he loved us a lot!"

The saiyan prince had to restrain himself from blasting the child into another dimension. He couldn't care less what the brat's brother told him. No one would leave his family for eternity when given the opportunity to return to them if he really cared for them, would he? The scent of salty tears permeated the air, making Vegeta feel nauseous. He couldn't stand weakness, especially in a saiyan. Even a demi-saiyan child should always be strong, which meant no crying. Rolling his eyes, he turned back around and grimaced at the boy's disgusting display of emotion.

"Stop your crying, brat," he commanded firmly. "It doesn't matter what Gohan told you. The truth of the matter is that your father left you by choice and he's never coming back. If you want to know why you don't have a father, why don't you ask him?"

Goten continued sniffling, but wiped away his tears and tried to be strong, at least in front of his best friend's father. He wasn't so stupid that he didn't notice the man always pushing him away, but he looked up to him anyway. Aside from his older brother, he thought Vegeta was probably the coolest guy in the world and he aspired to be just like him when he grew up. He didn't have a father, but Uncle Vegeta was his role model. Still, he didn't like what he was being told about his real dad. His mother and brother always described him as a great hero, so how could he have willingly left them? Heroes don't abandon their families.

Vegeta watched the confusion clearly written across Goten's face and shook his head. He didn't have the time or patience – or desire – to console the boy. He just told it as it was. He never withheld the truth from anyone, regardless of how painful it was. Vegeta wondered where his son had run off to. Normally the two boys were inseparable, and he was desperately wanting to rid himself of Kakarrot's spawn before he was forced to kill him to preserve his own sanity.

"So was my dad a hero?" Goten asked quietly, tentatively. He knew his Uncle Vegeta wouldn't lie to him. He needed to know the answer to his question, and the best person he knew to ask was someone he could trust.

The innocent question caught the saiyan prince off-guard. He stared at the boy dumbfounded for a moment before returning to his schooled stoic expression. He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm himself down. He was quickly losing patience with the mini-Kakarrot and wanted to leave, but he knew that would be a bad idea because the child would probably manage to wreck half his home if left unattended. Finally, he calmed himself down enough to answer Goten's question, deciding it would be the last.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists at his sides as he prepared to give the answer that would shame him. He hated admitting it, but he answered honestly, "Yes."

Goten furrowed his brow as he considered what Uncle Vegeta just told him. His dad willingly left him and his family, but he was still a hero. That didn't add up in his young mind. Heroes were always there for their loved ones when they needed them. "I don't think he was."

Vegeta was dumbstruck for the second time in five minutes. First the brat was defending his clown of a father, now he was the one attacking his honor by saying he wasn't actually a hero. He couldn't figure the brat out if his life depended on it. Shaking his head again at the hopelessness of having any effective communication with the boy, he turned and left the room. His home be damned, he could practically feel his brain cells dying the longer he was in the presence of his foolish rival's son.

A few minutes later, Vegeta was busy training in the gravity room when he heard someone knocking on the door. He immediately knew it wasn't his mate because it wasn't loud enough and there wasn't any screaming coming from the other side of the door. He sensed the ki and groaned when he realized it was the little brat again. Sliding his hand down his face, he reluctantly turned the gravity back to normal and strode over to the door and swung it open.

"What, brat?" he bellowed. He had already had enough interaction with him for one day.

Goten, who nearly fell on his nose when the door was flung open, regained his balance and grinned up at the angry saiyan. He rubbed the back of his head, a gesture that mirrored his father's even though he never knew him. It made Vegeta's stomach turn. He hated how alike they were. It was as if his rival had come back from the grave in the form of a small boy just to haunt him and continue making his life miserable. The worst part was there would be no honor in killing the child who would be unable to defend himself.

"Uncle Vegeta –"

"I'm not your damn uncle!" Vegeta barked, interrupting the boy. He didn't know when he started being referred to by that ridiculous name, but he hated it. He wasn't in any way related to the boy and resented the term.

Goten continued as if he hadn't been yelled at, "If my dad's never coming back, then will you be my dad?"

Vegeta's eyebrow raised slowly as he ran Goten's request through his mind several times over, trying to figure out what he heard wrong. Vegeta was sure the child was crazy. Why would he want to be his dad, even if he could be? He was certain he never gave the impression that he cared about him. He didn't give him attention, avoided him whenever possible, wasn't gentle with him, didn't spare his feelings. How did any of that add up to being a father? He hated the kid! He hated his whole family! Snarling at the idiot child, he slammed the door shut and reactivated the gravity console, determined to continue his training without more distractions.

"Foolish boy!" Vegeta muttered to himself as he started his kata, "To think he would ask me to be his father! Insolent little brat."

Goten felt his heart breaking as he trudged away from the gravity room. He felt as if he'd lost two fathers in one day. Abandoned by one and rejected by the other. Hopelessness began to thread its way through his mind as he took one last glance back at the closed door that symbolized his rejection and disappointment. Tears stung his eyes as he made his way back to the main part of the Capsule Corp compound in search of some comfort. Maybe his Aunt Bulma would be around. He always liked seeing her.

Trunks was still playing video games in the living room when Goten went in to see if he could find his friend's mother. Goten, for once, wasn't interested in joining his friend in playing any games. At four years old he felt as if his life lost meaning when he learned neither of his fathers wanted him. Goten left the living room when he didn't see who he was looking for and continued his search in the kitchen. He found the nice blonde lady baking cookies. Normally, he would have stolen a few with his super speed, but he wasn't hungry for the first time he could remember. No, the only thing he wanted right now was love.

With a determined gait, Goten headed down the hall of the compound that would lead him to the place where he could always find Aunt Bulma when she wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. She called it her lab. He didn't know what that meant, but he knew he would find her there. He also knew she didn't like being bothered when she was there, but he couldn't wait. He had to see her immediately.

Stopping in front of the metal door, Goten looked up at the keypad next to it and felt a rush of despair run through his veins. He didn't know the code to get in. For a moment he considered turning back, but he was hurting too much. So, with only a hint of hesitation, he raised his small fist and knocked as loudly as he could.

"Aunt Bulma?" he called through the door, "Are you there?"

Bulma cursed under her breath when the surprise of hearing someone knocking on her lab door caused her hand to slip, ruining the computer chip she was fixing. She exhaled slowly before stomping up the stairs to the door to open it.

"What is it, Goten?" she asked testily before noticing how distraught the child was. Her heart instantly softened when she saw the tears in his eyes and the pain in his features. "Oh, honey, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders.

Goten shook his head furiously and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "No, Uncle Vegeta said my dad didn't love me. And then he said he wouldn't be my dad since my dad's gone and isn't coming back."

"He told you what?" Bulma asked incredulously.

"He said my dad didn't love –"

"I know what you said, Goten," Bulma clarified. "I just can't believe he told you that! It's not true, not at all. Goku loved you very, very much."

"But Uncle Vegeta said –"

"What he said isn't true," she interrupted again. "Don't believe a word he said. Vegeta was just being nasty."

Goten looked at his Aunt Bulma in wonder. He was more confused now than ever! He trusted his Uncle Vegeta, and now he was being told he shouldn't. He shook his head again and tried again. "Uncle wouldn't lie, Aunt Bulma!"

Bulma sighed and hugged the young demi-saiyan tightly and rocked back and forth. "Oh, Goten, he wasn't trying to lie. He just doesn't understand what love is. Now what's this about him not wanting to be your dad?"

"I don't have a dad, and Uncle Vegeta is Trunks' dad, so I thought he could be my dad too. But I don't think he wants to be," Goten explained.

The blue-haired scientist chuckled as she ruffled Goten's hair. "Don't worry about that, Goten. Vegeta might never express it in words, but he will always look out for you." Bulma smiled and stood back up. 'I think he will, anyway,' she added mentally.

"Wow, really?" Goten shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. "You mean he's my dad?"

Bulma couldn't tell the beaming little boy that he misunderstood. She just nodded and pushed Goten toward the living room, encouraging him to go play with her son. She felt like she might need to talk to Vegeta about this before Goten went and had his hopes crushed again.

Vegeta growled with frustration when he heard his mate banging on the door to the gravity room and screaming at him to come out and talk. He hated having 'talks' with her, especially when it was about some trivial little thing. He was sure he already knew what this talk would be about and already wanted it to be over. Surrendering to the unavoidable confrontation, he turned off the gravity simulator and opened the door of the gravity room to let Bulma come in. He figured he might as well get it over with sooner rather than later.

"What do you want, Woman?" he asked tiredly, going over to the gravity console to lean against it with feet and arms crossed.

Bulma followed him over and leaned against the console next to him. She found that he was generally easier to talk to when she wasn't facing him. It seemed to make him less defensive. She waited a moment, trying to think of the best way to broach the subject on her mind.

Finally, she voiced her thoughts. "So Goten told me he asked you to be his dad, and you apparently weren't too keen on the idea. But I told him you'd look out for him. Because I think you do care about him, at least a little bit." She chanced a glance his way and saw his discomfort.

"What would have ever given you the foolish notion that I care about that brat?" he asked, his voice deadpan. She hated when he made himself so unreadable.

"Well, there was that time you threw him out of the way of your own ki blast when he ran into the gravity room," she reminded the prince.

Vegeta scoffed. "The blast would have killed him."

"You could have let him die."

"And have had his harpy mother scream at me until my ears bled?"

Bulma smiled and shook her head. Of course he would have an excuse ready for doing anything nice. She thought of another example of caring for Goten. "What about the time you made him and Trunks lunch when I was out shopping with my mom?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "If I hadn't, they would have destroyed the kitchen trying to find food. You know how impish they are."

"Or the time he fell and scraped his knee and you put a band-aid on it?"

"It was that or listen to him whining the rest of the day."

"The time you put him to bed when he and Trunks stayed up so late they fell asleep on the couch?"

"It was that or…" Vegeta stopped mid-sentence, trying to think of an excuse for that one. He was genuinely stumped, but he didn't want to admit he did it out of the kindness of his heart. "What was I supposed to do, leave him there?"

Bulma shrugged and tried to hide her triumphant smirk. "You could have."

Vegeta pushed away from the gravity console and paced around a few times, clearly agitated. He couldn't admit to himself that he cared for the boy. He hated him, right? He's just the spawn of Kakarrot. He meant nothing to him. Maybe he should have let him die when he was a toddler. Then he wouldn't be having this stupid conversation right now. He shook his head and went back over to the console where Bulma was still standing.

"Whatever, Woman. Get out so I can train," he grumbled.

Bulma nodded and kissed his cheek as she passed him on her way out of the gravity room. She glanced at him over her shoulder as she reached the door, catching the rare sight of the proud saiyan's shoulders slumped in embarrassment and a tinge of red in his cheeks. Yes, she knew he cared at least a little for Goten, even if he'd never say it out loud, even if he'd never let himself realize it. Goten was practically a son to him. He was around enough.

"You're doing a great job raising those boys," she said softly right before the door closed behind her.

The slightest ghost of a smile played on Vegeta's lips as he resumed his training.