*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.
Warning: Violence, self harm, suicidal thoughts, angst and character death.*
"So, why do you look so much like Goten's dad, mister?" Trunks asked.
"Oh! Trunks we should let the others know we found Gohan!" Goten exclaimed.
"Oh, right," the two children quickly raised their power levels, but not too much. Bardock paid them no mind, staring at his elder grandson, who was now sitting, rocking back and forth, shaking as he hugged himself.
"Something's really wrong with that child," Bardock muttered to himself, dragged from his thoughts by the sound of someone's feet hitting the ground.
"Dad! Look, we found Gohan!" Trunks yelled, waving at his dad. Vegeta scowled and walked closer, almost instantly recognising the man stood by the two children.
"Well well well, if it isn't the low class warrior, Bardock," Vegeta smirked, knowing that this soon to be reunion was going to be interesting.
"Prince Vegeta?" Bardock asked, shocked.
Vegeta merely laughed at Bardock, his attention was grabbed, however, when he felt a tug on his armour.
"Uncle Vegeta? Can you please look at Gohan? I think he's broken," Goten asked, pointing at the teen rocking back and forth. Vegeta followed the pointed finger and sighed at the sight that greeted him. A pain filled groan drew his attention, his eyes widening slightly at the man laying on the ground.
"What happened?" Vegeta asked, still staring at the man.
"That boy happened. Shugesh was going to attack Trunks when Gohan punched him," Fasha explained. Vegeta frowned, reminded of what had happened the previous day.
"Kakarot better hurry up, he's son's completely losing his mind!" Vegeta spoke angrily, staring at Gohan. As if on queue, Goku landed a few feet away, soon followed by Pikkon, Olibu and Piccolo.
"Gohan?!" Goku called worriedly after seeing the man.
"Your son's over there, Kakarot," Vegeta pointed out. Gine felt her breath hitch at the sight of her youngest son. It was the first time she had seen him grown up and it hurt to realise that she had missed a lot of things with him. She gasped slightly as she realized this, though she was completely ignored as Goku rushed right passed everyone and towards his own son. She stared longingly after him. Piccolo stared at Bardock, slightly confused as to why the man looked so much like his best friend's father, though he pieced it together when he noticed the woman stare longingly after Goku.
"You're Goku's parents, aren't you?" He asked, gaining their attention. Bardock nodded slightly, knowing exactly who Piccolo was talking about.
"Gohan and Goten are our grandchildren," Bardock stated.
Vegeta snorted, chuckling to himself before smirking.
"You're in for a lot of drama with that one," Vegeta said, gesturing to Goku and Gohan.
"About that. I was hoping you could fill us in?" Bardock asked. Piccolo took in a deep breath as Vegeta's smirk slipped from his face, replaced, surprisingly, by a rather sad look.
"It's a long story," Piccolo said, closing his eyes, preparing himself for all the memories to come.
Goku watched sadly as Gohan rocked himself, quietly muttering 'It's all my fault,'
He knelt down next to his son, gently touching the boy's cheek, his heart breaking when Gohan flinched away from his touch. Goku didn't give up and grabbed the boy, hugging him tightly to his chest. Gohan struggled viciously.
"Let go! Let go of me! Please," Gohan begged before he stopped, breathing heavily.
"It's alright now, son, I've got you," Goku spoke, gently rocking them back and forth.
"I'm okay now, dad," Gohan said after a few moments, his voice void of all emotion.
"Alright. Let's get you home, okay?" Goku looked down, watching as Gohan nodded.
Bardock felt his heart clench at the story, knowing that he only got one side and that he needed to hear Gohan's. The group looked up at the two approaching, Gohan staring at the ground as Goku looked forward, frowning. Gine felt her heart nearly jump out of her chest.
"Alright, I think we should go," Goku said, getting ready to leave.
"Hold on, Goku, I think these people might have to come with," Piccolo said softly.
"What? Why?" Goku asked, confused.
"Kakarot, this is your mother and father," Vegeta said, gesturing to Bardock and Gine.
Goku's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat.
"R-really?" He asked, staring at his parents in disbelief.
"Oh, Kakarot," Gine cried, rushing forward and forcing Goku into a hug. Bardock merely smiled at the two, not necessarily knowing what to do. After a few moments, Goku decided to return his mother's hug. Gohan shook as he watched them, slightly jealous, though he couldn't figure out why. The teen nearly jumped out of his skin when an arm was thrown around his shoulder. He looked to the side, noticing Fasha looking at the scene with a small smile.
"Hey, you okay, kid? You're shaking like a leaf," she stated, turning her attention to Gohan. The teen stared blankly at her, almost dazed.
Fasha rose a brow at the boy as he seemed to be staring right through her.
"Not to interrupt the touching moment, but your son seems to be having some sort of break down, again," Raditz spoke, glaring half heartedly at Goku.
"Right, we should go!" Goku said cheerfully. Everyone gathered, holding onto him, well, everyone that came with him.
"C'mon, mom, dad, just grab on!" Goku smiled. The saiyan's held on and they disappeared, reappearing right in front of Bulma, who screamed and fell over.
"You're back!" She exclaimed as she quickly got to her feet.
"Guys! Their back!" Bulma called. Chi-Chi came rushing out of the house, completely ignoring the new comers as she rushed at her children, instantly enveloping them in a crushing hug.
She let go of Goten placing her hands on Gohan's cheeks, she tried to make him look at her, though it seemed that he was rather looking through her.
"Oh, my poor baby!" She yelled, crying. Gohan merely stared ahead, completely ignoring everything and everyone around him. He was numb.
"Gohan?" Goten asked, tugging at his brother's pant leg.
Gohan glanced down, anger welling up inside him and he didn't understand why.
"What?" He asked, looking questioningly at his brother
"Are you okay now, Gohan? Are you fixed? I thought you were broken," Goten asked.
Gohan smiled, though it was obvious to most that it was fake.
"I'm alright," Gohan replied softly.
Chi-Chi was angered by this, how many times had Gohan said that and ended up killing himself.
"You listen here, Gohan, you will not lie! I have had enough of this! What happened the first time you lied about your feelings? Gohan, you killed yourself! Don't do this again," Chi-Chi begged, constantly grabbing onto her son, but was only shrugged off.
"You're going down that same path again, Gohan," she said, tears forming in her eyes as she forcefully grabbed his wrist and turned his arm, revealing multiple scars of the cuts he had made. Gohan snatched his arm back, glaring furiously at her.
"So what?! You didn't care before, so why now?!" Gohan yelled angrily.
"Gohan, calm down," Chi-Chi said, trying to calm him down so that they could have a proper conversation.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Gohan yelled, flaring his Ki as he pushed his mother away and took to the air, flying away from the confrontation.
Goku was standing, staring at his parents as they told him about their own journeys and fights. Goku was mesmerized, completely oblivious to his wife and son's argument. He was just so happy to finally meet his own parents, that he completely forgot about his own problems with his son. Their attention was quickly grabbed when Gohan yelled at his mother and pushed her away as he took to the air. It was then that Goku remembered that he needed to have a talk with his son. Frowning, he placed his fingers to his forehead and disappeared. Bardock sighed as he took to the air, following after his son and grandson. He needed to follow, he just had a feeling that his son didn't know how to deal with this type of situation. Not that he did either, but he already noticed that he had some sort of pull or control or something over the child. Bardock was pulled from his thoughts as Vegeta raced passed him.
Goku reappeared in front of Gohan, stopping the boy in his path. Goku didn't know what to do, so he decided to take on a more stern like approach seeing as he had tried the gentle approach and it didn't seem to work.
"Gohan, enough of this! Your behaviour is unacceptable!" Goku yelled. This angered Gohan.
"You have no right to come and tell what is exceptable and what isn't! I've had enough of your bullshit, I don't want you here anymore! You'll just leave like you always do and I'll have to pick up after you!" Gohan yelled, overcome by emotion. His words hurt Goku deeply and he didn't know what to do, so he settled for the one thing he knew how to do. Goku rushed forward, catching Gohan completely by surprise as the saiyan pulled back his fist and punched his son in the stomach, hard. Blood splattered from the teen's mouth as his eyes widened, breath leaving his lungs quickly as tears built up in his eyes. He leaned forward, succumbing to his pain for a moment before he decided to fight back. Grabbing Goku's arm, Gohan used his strength to spin them around for a moment before he let go, throwing his father into Vegeta, who had just arrived, as they crashed to the ground.
Bardock flew up to Gohan.
"Gohan," he said calmly.
"Don't come near me!" Gohan ordered.
"Okay, okay," Bardock said, raising his arms and showing his grandson his palms. Gohan breathed heavily as he watched the man before him, slowly calming down.
"What is it that you want, Gohan? What would make you happy again?" Bardock asked as he slowly approached the boy.
"I want everyone to leave me alone! I want him to leave!" Gohan said harshly, briefly closing his eyes. Bardock took that moment to move faster and fly towards where he was right in front of his grandson.
"Is that really what you want?" Bardock asked softly. Gohan opened his eyes in surprise, not having expected the man to be so close to him, though he couldn't bring himself to move away. Is that really what he wanted? Bardock placed one hand on Gohan's shoulder, the other ontop of his head. Gohan stared into his grandfather's concerned eyes and shook his head, tears coming to his eyes.
"Then what is it?" Bardock asked, feeling as though he was making a lot of progress.
"I want-I want everyone to stop. I just want them to stop staring at me like I'm some kind of monster! I just want them to love me, for me and not be so scared and careful around me. I want him to stay," Gohan cried, bowing his head. Bardock smiled and pulled the boy to him and hugged him to his chest as he descended to the ground, quickly falling to his knees as he clutched the boy to him. He knew now, all Gohan ever wanted, was love, he was just so hurt that he had to find a way to protect himself and settled for pushing everyone away, that way he wouldn't get hurt any more. He just needed to heal.