A/N: (inches out timidly) uhh.. sorry? No, seriously, I am! I have a perfectly good excuse! (points to Trunks) IT WAS HIS FAULT!!!!!!!

Trunks: Was not!

Ok, ok… I had my midyears and life has been absolutely insane! I'm going completely crazy!

Trunks: too late.

Oh, bleep off

Trunks: -.- spaz… you are such a dumbass.

Oh put a sock in it!

Trunks: (puts a sock in story)

Gah!?!?

Trunks: (shrugs)

You really are that stupid… ok, I hearby disclaim owner ship of dragonball z. ON WITH THE FIC!!!!

Brat chappie 6: False Starts

Trunks woke up to the artificial sunlight of otherworld hitting his face. With a jaw cracking yawn, he stood to begin a new day in his… uh, death. Right.

Wait… how did I get into bed? Or my room, for that matter?

Deciding that figuring it out cost too much brain power, the young demi left for the dining hall. When he got there, he saw his father, Goku, and Piccolo were already eating/drinking.

"Morning," he greeted. The boy received a spray of half chewed food and a grunt in return. He didn't even glance at Vegeta, knowing that the man would simply ignore his presence, as was his custom. To his great surprise, Trunks heard a gruff "Good morning" from his normally silent dad.

Okie dokie then…

The boy shrugged and sat down, snatching some food before the vacuum known as Goku consumed it. In the next five minutes, the foursome was silent, until Vegeta broke the quiet.

"Son, after breakfast I am going to train. Do you want to spar with me? Shadow boxing gets extremely boring after awhile. Besides I haven't trained properly in a while."

Trunks nearly fell off his chair, and Piccolo was looking at Vegeta as though the saiyan had just grown another head and it was speaking Swahili. Goku, however, either oblivious or unsurprised, snorted.

"What's a while, Vegeta, one day?"

The prince eyed the peasant in mock-bemusement.

"Yes, actually, how did you know?"

"Cuz you have OCTD."

"Meaning..?"

"Obsessive Compulsive Training Disorder."

"Baka. Do you even know what you just said?

Silence.

"Didn't think so."

"You're not nice!"

"No shit Sherlock. Geez it took you that long to figure it out?"

"Hmph!" Goku poked at his remaining food dejectedly, wearing a childish pout on his face. Neither saiyan seemed to notice the reactions of the other two at the table.

Trunks' mouth was nearly going through the floor, and Piccolo's wasn't far behind. Was Vegeta being..playful? Just kidding around? With GOKU!?!?

"Well, brat, are you going to spar with me or not?" Vegeta demanded, turning irritably to his shell shocked son. The pre-teen shook himself out of his daze.

"Uh, yeah. Sure, Dad." He said numbly. With a sudden bubble of joy growing within him, Trunks followed his father to the training arena, leaving Piccolo and Goku behind. As soon as the pair was out of earshot, the namek turned to his burping friend.

"What the HELL was that?" the green man inquired.

"Pancakes, Piccolo." Goku replied, referring to the mess in his mouth.

"I know THAT, I mean, what was up with Vegeta?" Piccolo said, eyeing the mess in disgust.

"What do you mean?" Goku asked innocently.

Groaning, Piccolo put his face in his hands, trying not to think about the pieces of half chewed food that were hitting him at random intervals. Sometimes the earth-raised saiyan was just too stupid for him too bear.

"Never mind."

SOCK

Meanwhile, at the sparring arena…

Trunks hit the ground for the third time in as many minutes. His father was showing no mercy, as usual. The boy was disappointed. He thought that Vegeta had changed. Apparently, he was wrong.

"Get up! You're holding back. Put some effort into it!" the flame-haired prince scolded. Unbeknownst to his son, Vegeta was trying. Trunks stood up and charged at his father in anger, catching the man by surprise and landing a punch, which was immediately returned in kind.

"I.. am!" the child gasped out as his father kneed his solar plexus. For he was really just that; a child searching for his father's affection.

"Well you're not trying hard enough! This is pathetic!" the prince yelled in frustration. Trunks was stronger than this, wasn't he?

Finally, something in side of the boy in question snapped. Trunks saw red as he viciously attacked his 'father.' Vegeta flipped the lilac-haired boy over his head easily, the child's anger making him clumsy. Trunks didn't move from the ground. He stopped fighting all together. Not just this spar, but the losing battle for his father's respect.

"Brat, get up! Defend yourself! No wonder you lost to Jax if this is how you were fighting! This is pathetic! Get up! And don't whine. You're not TRYING Trunks!" the hateful man yelled.

"No, I guess I'm not," Trunks said quietly. He looked up at his father. "I must not be trying hard enough, because after 11 years of trying I have yet to hear you utter a single word of praise! I was the one who was alert enough to sense the monster's presence, I was the one who went through all the trouble of begging King Yemma to let you come here instead of sending you to Hell, and yet you haven't even glanced my way! This is the most time we spent together in, well, ever! I wasn't expecting much, I would've had a heart attack if you told me you were proud of me, but I certainly didn't expect this!" the boy ranted with a steadily rising voice, "All I ever wanted was to make you proud, to be just like you. I practically worshipped the ground you walked on and the sky you flew in. I tried so hard, but it just wasn't enough. It will never be enough. All I wanted was for my daddy to love me, WHY CAN'T I MAKE YOU LOVE ME!?!?!?!!?!!" Trunks screamed, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls, for once looking and sounding like the lost little boy he was.

Vegeta was speechless. Where did all of that come from? He was confused, this fathering thing was harder than it looked.

"Trunks, I.." Vegeta began, not sure of what he should say.

"Forget it. Just stay away from me. Train by yourself." The young demi spat. Without another word, Trunks turned and took off, away from the man he was supposed to call "father." And he didn't look back once.

End chappie 6

A/N: TADA!!!!

Trunks: What the hell was that? It sucked!

Hey, I'm not the one who put a freaken SOCK in the story.

Trunks: Whatever.. Can I go home now?

No.

Trunks: Aw, poopy.

Sayonara! Please review! I love reviews! Pretty please with senzu beans on top?

Oh, check this out: "You're not nice!"

What adult swim show did I get that from? If you get it right, you can give Trunks a wedgie, or something cool like that. But only if you REVIEW!!!