Author's Note: This one was a lot of fun for me to write. I just love writing with Trunks being the one to view everything. :D If I haven't mentioned it before, 'Piccolo is green' has created a set of one-shots/drabbles based off of these pictures as well and I highly suggest that you check them out because they're awesome. We've also set up a community where anyone else who is doing the same can have their stories posted there and anyone who enjoys reading them can follow our stories there. The link is in my profile underneath the Community tab. :3

Enjoy!

Website: ay-vb . sakura . ne . jp/_top . html
1. Erase the spaces between the words and the periods. Obviously. xD.
2. The website is in Japanese, but that's okay. At the top there is a list of words in English. Click on GALLERY.
3. Left hand panel is a bunch of words, in Japanese. But the numbers 365 are obviously numerical so you can read them. Click it.
4. There's now a drop hand box thingy to the left, and again the numbers are numerical so don't worry about not being able to read the title of the picture. Just follow along with the numbers. Click number ELEVEN for this drabble!

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything like that. That all belongs to Akira Toriyama. I also don't own the pictures I'm using for inspiration. They belong to their respective owner(s).

Like Clockwork (365 Days)

Day 011: the Sting of Betrayal

Trunks was certain that one of the reasons why his parents got along so well was because they both had way too much pride. He was also certain that too much was pride was also one of the reasons why they fought so much. Being nine-years-old, it wasn't hard for him to figure out the way the relationship between his parents worked. They picked on each other, they pushed each others buttons, and they got on each others nerves. They picked each other apart but would beat down anybody else who tried to do the same thing. They butted heads all day long and then at night they would do gross things that made Trunks a little sick to his stomach to think about. On more than one occasion he had caught the two adults in a predicament that was unsuitable for Trunks to witness, and was pretty sure that was why he was so screwed up.

But if there was one thing that his parents were, it was protective. Of each other, and of Trunks himself. Of course his mother wouldn't have any problem admitting to such a thing, but his father would just look at Trunks as if he spouted two heads if he mentioned the idea to him. Not that it mattered. He liked that they were so protective of each other, and he liked that he inherited his parent's pride. Despite the problems their pride had given the whole family, Trunks took the bad with the good and wouldn't have his family any other way. This morning was a bit hectic for the boy, unfortunately.

He had been watching television with his grandparents and his father when his mother came in, pulling out the pins she put in her hair to keep it out of her eyes when she was working. He took notice of her coming in, as did his father, before both men returned to the television. There was currently some movie on about a political war criminal, which was the only reason why Vegeta was watching it in the first place. Bulma passed the four and went into the kitchen, coming back with a bottle of water and sitting on the arm of the couch next to Vegeta. The movie only had a few minutes left, and they passed pretty quickly. When it was over, Dr. Briefs got up and stretched, Trunks hearing a few of his bones pop.

"You going to bed now grandpa?" the boy asked, placing his head in his hand.

"I think I just might," Dr. Briefs replied, looking to Bunny as the news came on.

"Tonight's breaking news focuses on the Briefs family, who is certainly not new to the media life. Heiress to the company Bulma Briefs has once again found herself in the spotlight with only two weeks until the launch of a secret product she's been working on for the past year, the only thing said about the project is that it deals with Capsule Corporations engineering department. We do have a shot of Bulma leaving the Capsule Corporation building in the city, and here's that shot now," the news anchor said, the scene changing from the station to the Capsule Corp building. Bulma stepped out with two well-built bodyguards on either side of her, and she pushed her sunglasses onto her face. With a stoic face she and the two bodyguards pushed past the mass of people that circled around her, the three making their way towards the town car.

"Miss Briefs! Miss Briefs!" one of the news member called out, attempting to shove a microphone into Bulma's face. "Can you tell us anything about this new product you'll be launching soon, anything at all?" the guy asked, getting as close as he could to Bulma while one of her bodyguards held his arm out, not letting the guy in too close. They reached the car and one of the men opened up the door for her, the news guy desperately calling out for her. "Miss Briefs!" he called out, earning a sharp look from Bulma. She took the microphone from him and placed it into the man's shirt pocket.

"It's Mrs.," she explained curtly, getting into the car. The bodyguard shut it and went around to the driver's side, the second man moving around the other side to slide in next to Bulma.

"Mom, you can turn this crap off," Bulma announced, slightly irritated. Bunny moved to get the remote, but the next line stopped her as it went back to the news anchor.

"But what Mrs. Briefs doesn't seem to know is that her company may be facing a potential leak," he explained, causing everyone in the room to stop moving and giving their full attention to the television screen. "It has come to our attention that there is a leak in the Capsule Corporation team who plans to reveal Bulma's ideas and entire process of her new invention to the media. When this member will contact us, we aren't sure, but we assume it will be before Bulma has launched her product," the anchor said, turning to face his co-worker who nodded in agreement.

"Could this be a purpose leak? Maybe some sort of sell gimmick that Capsule Corp is using to launch their product earlier than expected?" she asked him, earning a shrug from the male.

"That could very well be it or there could be a genuine leak in the company. Regardless, it seems Mrs. Briefs will once again be under heavy scrutiny. In other news-" he started, not getting very far because Bulma had picked up the glass vase on the table next to her and threw it as hard as she could at the television, the glass shattering and causing the television screen to crack as well.

"And I liked that TV, too," Dr. Briefs grumbled, already knowing that his daughter was going to destroy it. She was up in a flash and pacing around the living room, visibly shaking from how angry she was. "Bulma, honey, there's really no way to deal with this sort of thing. Every once in a while you hire a bad employee and they slip through the cracks, you couldn't have known," he started, sharing his own experience. Bulma shook her head, feeling so angry that she could scream.

"No, no-" she told him, her voice cracking in anger. "I have spent an entire year working on this-," she continued, trying to find her voice but found that she couldn't. She picked up another object to throw, but a sudden tight grip on her wrist stopped her, the object disappearing. Trunks turned around to back of the couch and peeked over it, watching as his father gripped her wrist in his hands and pinned them to her side.

"Wrecking the house won't help you, woman," he told her gruffly. Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.

"What will you do?" Bunny asked, giving Bulma a concerned look.

"I'm going to find out who it is," she said gravely, her voice low. Bulma placed her trust in each of her employees, and leaks in the company were always hard for her to deal with. It hadn't happened a lot, but the two times it has happened since she's taken over most of the company had left her deeply trouble, and now there was a third potential leak. She didn't take kindly to betrayal and she blinked back tears.

"Sweetheart, it'll be okay. It really will," her father assured her, stepping closer to her. Vegeta released her hands as her father reached for them, gripping them tightly within his own.

"Leaks happen to every company, and we aren't any different. I know you're upset and I know you want to get this guy, but don't do what you did last time. You nearly made yourself sick," he explained. Bulma looked away from him for a moment and sighed, finally looking to the floor and nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay," she told him, sniffling a little.

"It'll be alright," he told her again, pulling her into a hug. "What do you want to do?" he asked her then, taking note of the time. She noticed as well.

"It's too late to do anything right now, so I'll make some calls tomorrow. Call a meeting and figure out what the team wants to do," she said dully. "You guys can go to bed now."

"You sure honey?" Bunny asked, stepping up behind Dr. Briefs. Bulma crossed her arms and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going to put Trunks to bed and then get some sleep myself," she answered. Trunks hopped down from the couch then and ran to his mother, instantly reaching for her hand, which she accepted.

"Okay, well goodnight then," Dr. Briefs said, ruffling Trunks's hair before turning and heading for his bedroom. Bunny kissed Trunks's forehead, and then Bulma's.

"Goodnight sweetheart," her mother said quietly, earning a smile from her daughter.

"Night guys," she called out to them, heading up the stairs with her son's hand in her own. Vegeta followed them up after shutting the light off, stopping to lean against Trunks's doorframe while she tucked him into bed.

"I'm sorry, mama," Trunks told her, still holding onto her hand. She sighed and sat down at his feet, nodding.

"My dad's right, it happens to every company," she explained, but Trunks looked perplexed and then thoughtful.

"Want me to blast him? The police will never catch me," he offered, earning a chuckle from his mother.

"That's quite alright, I don't need to turn my son into a hit man," she teased, leaning in to place a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you though."

"Night mom," he told her, then the boy looked to his father. "Goodnight dad," he called out, watching as his father turned his attention from his mother to him, nodding in response. Bulma shut the lights off and then left, following Vegeta to their bedroom. Trunks let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling, sleep pulling at his consciousness. He knew it was going to be rough in the house for the next couple of weeks, but he hoped this guy was caught before he leaked any information. He knew that despite his mother agreed not to go overboard with this that she would. Her pride wouldn't allow her to do anything else. Curling into his bed and pulling the blanket tighter around himself, Trunks fell asleep.

A week passed and Trunks honestly hadn't seen much of his mother, which was to be expected. He helped his grandmother carry a basket of food out into the backyard, everyone deciding to eat lunch outside today since it was so nice. Vegeta was carrying another armful of food while Bunny hauled out the rest, setting everything up on the picnic table. Dr. Briefs had taken his food the lab, so it was only Bunny, Trunks, and Vegeta eating. Vegeta pulled a huge bowl of nikuman towards him, the pork filled buns being one of his favorites. After Bunny finished she headed inside to begin cleaning up, Bulma walking outside a few minutes later.

Trunks took a good look at his mother and noticed how tired she looked. She had bags under her eyes and she just looked generally unhappy. Sitting at the table and pouring herself a cup of lemonade, she pulled a nikuman out of his father's bowl and began munching on it. Trunks the noticed his father, and got incredibly tense. Vegeta's eyes were narrowed and an angry look clouded his eyes as they were looking directly at the arm Bulma had just retracted. Bulma finally noticed him, and followed his line of sight to the bruise that was peeking out from under her sleeve. She seemed a bit embarrassed as Vegeta dropped his nikuman back in the bowl and held her arm out, pulling the sleeve up. Trunks leaned forward to get a better look, noticing that the bruise looked a bit like a handprint. That wasn't good. His father looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"It's nothing," she said softly, pulling her arm back.

"Bulma…" Vegeta trailed off, his voice dangerously low. The fact that he said her name instead of 'woman' was a clear sign of how mad he was, and Trunks debated on if he should just leave.

"Tomo was the one who was going to leak the information," she started to explain, picking at the bun in her hand for a moment before taking another bite and slowly chewing, eventually swallowing. I found out, and then he found out I was pressing charges and we got into an argument. When I tried to leave, he grabbed my arm to stop me. He wasn't trying to hurt me; he was just trying to talk to me. I was just too mad to listen…you know how I get," she finished, looking from the table to Vegeta. "It doesn't hurt," she assured him, her voice nearly a whisper.

"Where is he?" Vegeta asked curtly.

"Probably with his attorney. We have a court date next week," she answered, placing her nikuman on a napkin and letting her shoulders sag. She looked tired as she pulled her arm back from Vegeta and set her hand on the bench beside her. "I hate this," she admitted heatedly. "I put my trust in these people for years, and then something like this happens and it makes me angry that I can't just run the damn company all by myself. Betrayal sucks," she said, muttering the last part. Vegeta looked at her in silence for a moment before shaking his head and returning to his meal. And then he said something in his native language, which Trunks hadn't fully learned yet, that caused Bulma to stare at him with slightly wide eyes. She responded in Saiyan, and he looked to her with a nod. Trunks looked at them both with confusion and slight annoyance. He hated when they did that.

"Sure you don't want the boy to just kill him? It might make you feel better," Vegeta said then, earning a smile from both Trunks and his mother.

"I'll totally do it, too!" he announced eagerly, but Bulma was shaking her head.

"Stop it, you two are terrible," she said. "I just want to eat and then take a nap. Tomo can rot in hell for all I care," she said bitterly. Trunks agreed and finished up his food, missing the movement of his father. After he chugged the rest of his lemonade, he wiped his mouth off on the arm of his shirt and stood up, holding onto his plate and silverware.

"Feel better, mom!" he announced, heading inside. On the way in he dropped his spoon, and he turned to retrieve it. Upon standing up, he now noticed that his father had placed his hand over his mother's while he continued to eat, Bulma looking down at their joined hands for a moment before smiling and taking a sip of her own lemonade. Trunks turned back around and headed inside, a huge smile plastered onto his face.

Full of pride and protectiveness, Trunks wouldn't have his family any other way.