Characters don't belong to me :)
Also, feel free to share your headcanons! I'd love to hear them.
Chapter II: Midnight Snacks
"I told you, I didn't eat your apple pie, you idiot!"
"Yes you did! You always take a piece of my food behind my back. You're a meanie and I hate you!"
"It wasn't even your food! My grandma made it and she just gave one to you. Stop crying like a baby!"
"Noooo, I want my pie right now!"
"Goodness, what is with all the noise?" Bunny walked into the kitchen to find her seven-year-old grandson glaring down at his best friend who is throwing fits on the floor. From the looks of it, the scene is just one step away from a messy fight those healthy Saiyan boys always get themselves into.
But Saiyan males be damned if it happens in her kitchen. Not under her watch. Even his son-in-law recognizes the fact that wreaking havoc inside Bunny's dominion would mean crossing the line, one that determines his stomach's resilience on unpleasant flavorings, and so he is always in his best behavior during meals. Bunny would always praise him of his table manners, much to his eternal chagrin.
"He took my pie! The one you gave to me," Goten sobbed, brushing the tears from his eyes. He looked at Bunny, lips wobbling in an effort to control his crying. "I just went to the bathroom for a second and when I came back, the pie is gone!"
"I didn't take your pie! Why would I eat yours when I already have mine?" Trunks spat, his thunderous expression reminding her greatly of her son-in-law.
"Then who took it!?"
"I don't know! I was playing video game in the living room. I didn't know you left the pie in here before you went off to poop."
Goten's only response for that is breaking into tears once again. It's just not fair! He wished his big brother is here to convince Trunks to tell the truth but he rarely saw or talk to Gohan since his mother sent him away to Capsule Corp for a temporary stay while his brother's busy preparing for an exam.
"Oh, poor boy. Stop crying. I'll make you another one," Bunny twittered, reaching down to wipe Goten's face with a soft hanky. "In the meantime, you and my grandson can play in his room. The pie will be finished in no time!"
"I'm gonna stay here. I don't want to play with him anymore. Not until he says 'Sorry!'" Goten pouted, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed against his chest, imitating Trunks' unrepentant expression.
"You're such a baby," Trunks glared back. He craned his neck and jutted his chin forward, the way how his father often acts around when his mom's friends come over. Then, his eyes caught something perched at one corner of the ceiling.
"Hey, I got it!" Trunks said excitedly, pointing at the small, dome-shaped CCTV whose lenses slowly pan across the room. "We can check out what the video surveillance system shows."
Goten instantly stopped sulking. "You mean you have cameras on your kitchen?" He looked up in awe at the camera poised above then. "Wow, that's so cool!"
"We have cameras in the living room, our mini-zoo downstairs, mom's laboratory and Gravity Room," Trunks told him, "I can ask the House Droids to get the access code to our Home Surveillance System and we can watch who took your stupid pie while you were gone."
"Just like a TV?"
"Yup! Let's go!" Trunks pulled Goten's arm and led him out of the kitchen. "Grandma, we're just gonna check out the Home Surveillance Computer, okay?" He called back to his grandmother as he sped along the hallway, Goten happily tagging along with a cheer. The boys forgot about their quarrel and imagined themselves as cops in TV digging for clues on whoddunit.
Goten thought that the Home Surveillance Computer is similar to what his big brother uses when doing his homework, but it turns out to be a room as big as his mother's room. A very important room at that. Trunks had to harass a household droid just to give him his password (and by mean harass is threatening a Ki blast at it). Inside is a network of flashing lights and buttons leading to a rectangular screen that covers the entire wall. The two Saiyan boys shivered against the cold blast of the AC which cools down the machine but they soon quickly adapted, propelled by the excitement to solve a mystery.
"Let's see..." Trunks rubbed his chin thoughtfully, studying the keyboard on the panel. "I guess this red button means 'activate'" He decides the biggest and reddest button has to start the whole thing.
The boys let a small cheer when the screen flickered to life. It's almost too easy. "Wow, Trunks. How'd you know which button to push?"
"Really, Goten? Mama said I'm smart for my age after all," Trunks nodded to himself, practically basking in self praise. "You wouldn't understand even if I explain it to you."
"Yeah, yeah. But what do we do now?" Goten asked expectantly as the screen displayed to them the video feed of four areas of Capsule Corp. One for the zoo below, the empty Gravity Room, the laboratory and the spacious kitchen. There they saw Bunny setting the oven to cook the pie.
"Do you think your grandma's finished baking up the pie?" Goten eagerly asked, mouth watering.
"Goten, we barely got here. Shut up and let me think."
"If you're so smart, why can't you figure it out?"
Trunks spotted a joystick on his right. "Look, it's like a video game. You switch monitors with this," He cautiously moved the stick until the video feed is only able to display the one in the kitchen. "See? Easy peas-y!"
"Okay, so how do we play it back?" Goten pointed on the time stamp located below the feed. "There! Maybe you can turn back on time using that."
"Wait, I'm trying," Trunks struck out his tongue in concentration, staring down at the buttons in front of him. "Hold on, this looks like 'playback' just like in Grandpa's stereo."
The video fizzed out for long time and it flickered again. The footage from the kitchen appeared dark and deserted, the timestamp reading 03:10:05.45.
"You've gone way back," Goten frowned at his best friend. "Let me try!"
"I got it!" Trunks snapped at him, trying to block Goten from the controls. "C'mon, Goten. This is not a toy!"
"Let me try, Trunks! You eat my apple pie after all!"
"No, I didn't. How many times do I have to tell you? Besides you're only going to break it!"
"I'm not. Stop trying to be mean and let me try!"
The boys wrestle for a few seconds before Trunks slipped and his elbow accidentally landed to the 'Playback' button. The screen fizzed out and flickered into the same scene, only dimmer than before, along with the timestamp that read 01:00:06.9. This time, the place lighted up in automatic sensor detection as a lone figure walks in.
"Hey look, it's your dad!" Goten looked up at the screen, quickly forgetting his squabble with Trunks and fixing his attention to Trunks' Scary Dad. He looked like he'd just finished training from the Gravity Room. Once he took him and Trunks inside but since they can't withstand the gravity that time, Uncle has to throw them out, saying something about two weak ruts distracting him from his training. Trunks was sullen for the whole day but Goten didn't care. It was one of the coolest things ever!
Trunks watched as his father walked casually inside the kitchen only in his loose, training pants, a towel slung around his neck. He purposefully strode to the ref, like he always does, and got as much as he can out of it, bringing out PB&J, a slice of cake and some leftovers from the dinner before.
"How come your dad had dinner so late?" Goten asked, "My mom said you should eat and sleep on the right time or else, your body will feel weird."
"He just came out of training," Trunks defended, crossing his arms against his chest. "Don't you see? We Saiyans always eat a lot because-" he trailed off when his eyes landed on the screen again to see his mom walking inside the kitchen, wearing a girly pink robe. He can quickly tell she's pissed off at something and whenever she is, his dad is always the reason. Putting her hands on her hips, she began her tirade facing his father that Trunks is thankful the video can't record any sound. As she goes on, his father begins to tremble probably in anger and Trunks spotted the familiar vein throbbing on his temple.
"Your parents are really scary when mad," Goten commented beside him. "How come they're always mad at each other?"
"Who knows? That's typical adult stuff."
The two watched for a few more seconds before Goten finally sighed "This is boring! I wanna know who stole my pie now!"
"Yeah," Trunks agreed, frowning. Besides, his parents fighting is not new, it's as common as Goten throwing a tantrum. He was about to push the flash forward button when he felt something soft caress his ankle. Looking down, it was the family cat, Scratch, mewling for attention.
"How did you get in here, Scratch?" He realized they left the door to the room open and the cat must have sneaked inside too.
Trunks stooped down to get the cat before it goes to something it shouldn't and damages the machine. Or maybe get itself electrocuted. There was one time during Winter when Scratch got itself entangled on the Gravity Chamber's cables, almost destroying the machine while his father's using it. It survived two incidents that day: the overheated engine and his father's subsequent wrath upon finding out that a cat had nearly killed him.
Just as Trunks is trying to coax Scratch into his arms, he heard Goten chuckling from above the panel.
"What's funny?" He asked his bestfriend curiously, still crouched under the panel.
"Your dad is giving your mom some kind of a horsey ride."
The image it projected on his mind is so ridiculous that Trunks just rolled his eyes and continued to reach for Scratch. Goten must be going crazy watching reruns of colorful ponies on TV.
"They're taking their clothes off. I wonder if they're going to take a bath," Goten continued, his voice turning into a disapproval. "My mom said you can't take a bath that late at night or else you're gonna catch a cold."
"Yeah..Whatever." Trunks grunted as he finally got a hold of the black cat, handling Scratch as gentle as possible.
"Your dad seems to like it when your mom spreads peanut butter on his face and licks it," Goten said, pouting a little. "How come he was so angry when I spilled juice on his foot the other day? This is more gross!"
Trunks eased out under the panel, trying to control Scratch on his arms. "What the heck are you talking about? What's gross-"
Just before he can see what Goten's watching, the screen blacked out. Both boys looked up to see Bunny behind them, her hand on the button marked with a giant 'X'.
"Wow, Mrs. Briefs, we didn't hear you coming in," Goten turned to her with a bright smile, "You're like a ninja."
Bunny pinched Goten's cheek fondly. "Your pie is ready, Goten honey. It's on the kitchen. I also made another one for you, my favorite grandson." He pinched at Trunks' cheeks who tried to shrink away but can only do nothing but endure it.
"We still don't know who stole his pie." Trunks frowned at his grandmother who offered to take Scratch from him.
"I already know, dear. It's your mom."
"Mama? Really? How come?"
"Well, she and your father didn't join us for breakfast earlier, right?" Trunks nodded, remembering. His folks sometimes miss out breakfasts on non-school days. "She took it for her and your poor father who must have been so tired last night from working so hard."
"O...kay," Trunks reluctantly accepted the explanation, looking suspiciously at his grandma. "But she should ask next time. Goten was so upset that someone stole his food..." He thought he can get his dad to teach him about sensing Ki tomorrow so that this won't happen anymore.
His bestfriend however doesn't look a bit upset, tugging Trunks out of the room. "C'mon, Trunks! Let's get to the kitchen before your mom gets our pies again."
Bunny watched the two boys dash off, idly stroking Scratch's fur.
"No wonder it was such a mess this morning," she mused with a short giggle, making a mental note to tell her daughter that they should be more careful with their midnight snacks from now on. But the mess they made is something she wouldn't mind cleaning after, if it increases the chance of having another grandchild to spoil in the foreseeable future.
On her arms, Scratch gave a soft mewl of agreement.