June 10th, 767

Vegeta once again crawled into Bulma's bed- their bed, as she had shared it with him enough times for her to see it that way. Ever since Trunks left their world to save his other self, about 'a week' prior, the Prince of all of one half-Saiyan found comfort with his mate in a way he couldn't or wouldn't put into words. Listening to his heir' recordings had been comforting too. The baby had begun walking more and more by himself, and Vegeta found himself eager to start training him. Not that he'd actually express it.

The woman complained again about some encrypted files she was trying to break, especially as unlike everything else on her computer, those files were not on the central server. Vegeta didn't care that much about Bulma's hobbies, as long as the training dummies and the Gravity Room were up to date, and since Trunks had left with the spaceship, she couldn't work on the latter, nor test the improvement made on the former.

"Why do you need those damned things, woman," Vegeta grumbled, it had been her sole interest all week.

"I don't need them, thank you," she gave him a slight tap on the arm, before stretching a little and sitting back against the bedhead. The soft melodies still playing, whenever Vegeta joined her in bed, were soothing to the two of them.

"Then work on something else, like a new Gravity Room."

"Vegeta, don't be a selfish jerk," she sighed. "Look, these- alright, these documents are actually big Trunks' files. But future-me is a beast, she encrypted everything."

"Trunks' files?" Vegeta had a dark look for a brief instant. Bulma should've seen danger, but didn't.

"School grades, medical records, some photos, perhaps the Time Machine documentation too.. You know how he guards everything like a hawk, but he left his computer unattended-"

Vegeta didn't need to hear more. The computer was blasted masterfully out of Bulma's lap, only to disintegrate on the ground by another tiny ki ball. Bulma looked at the broken item, then at Vegeta, her surprise and shock turning to anger as she realized the files were lost for good, considering they weren't on the servers anymore.

"What the FUCK, Vegeta! What gives? How dare you?!" She shouted and tried hitting his shoulder, but soon froze when she saw Vegeta's even more dangerous look. He climbed on her, growling a threat.

"She didn't give you permission, woman. You will not go behind my heir's back to fulfill your curiosity," he whispered, his rough hands gripping firmly but not inhumanly so on her forearms.

Bulma had a moment to resist and protest, but she realized Vegeta had a point. Her older self probably had good reason to encrypt everything, after all, she was Bulma fucking Brief too. She didn't give herself permission, else she should have been able to crack it easily.

"I just want to know more about him, about them.."

"The brat will leave and you'll cloud your mind with 'alternate world' useless bullshit."

"But he's my son."

"No, woman, you know it!"

"... You're right," she admitted after a moment of silence.

Her curiosity and desire to know more about her son behind his back, and against her future self' desires and precautions had been wrong. Bulma looked away, relaxing in the hold.

The Time Machine appeared above West City in the early morning. Tora checked her watch, while Trunks closed his eyes, holding onto Tora's hair, and focused to feel people's ki. His senses were promptly overwhelmed with how many lifeforms were in the city, compared to his version of it. He had somehow forgotten about that.

"June 11th, 767," Tora stated, looking at her watch again just to be sure, and maneuvered the Time Machine towards the gardens of Capsule Corp, trying her best to be prompt about it and not attract unwanted attention considering other vehicles that could spot her.

"So we've been gone for about a week?" Gohan noted as he perked up a little from his position, and recognized the familiar Compound, including its vibrant life.

"That seems correct."

There was still a sense of worry about whether the Time Machine would take them back to the right version of 767, so they had to check.

Tora landed and opened the cockpit after turning everything off, and once everyone was out and on their normal sizes, Trunks encapsulated the Time Machine. Leaving it in the open, even if he planned on using it soon, wasn't an option, and he and Tora did want to surprise the past version of Bulma; without her help, the Time Machine wouldn't have been repaired.

On the balcony where Dr Brief and Panchy were having their morning coffee, the older couple waved at them from above and the housewife promptly went back inside to warn the rest of the household. Tora waved back and went to meet Dr Brief on the balcony to give him proper thanks, while the three other travelers walked towards the compound.

Bulma ran out of the house to meet the returning trio, she went right towards them and jumped straight into her alternative son's arms who caught her with wide eyes.

"Trunks! You did cut your hair. Oh you did grow a little taller too?"

Krillin and Gohan quietly laughed. Two Bulmas were tricked.

"I didn't- Ah, uh, I'm not that Trunks, mom," Trunks tried to explain with an embarrassed chuckle, then pointed towards Tora's location.

Tora, having heard Bulma's voice, leaned over the balcony and saluted from above. Bulma's emotional roller-coaster went from confusion to absolute joy at being called mom, to another confusion when she released this 'stranger' that looked so familiar and yet..

"Oh, you're handsome-twenty-year-old Trunks!" She didn't miss a beat, the Brief brain kicking in and patted his arms with pride. "I'm so glad it all worked! You're as handsome as I expected, considering handsome-eighteen-year-old. Future me must be so happy to have you back."

"Yes, thank you for repairing my Time Machine." Trunks, flustered at the compliments, confirmed it all went as intended.

Tora jumped off the balcony with a smirk on her face. Having been mistaken for Trunks reassured her. Bulma should've been able to tell, if only because she had her sword and he didn't. Trunks watched with dread when Bulma tried to pull Tora into a hug. Tora stiffened, then slowly put her hands on Bulma's shoulders to put some more distance between the two of them. Trunks could only imagine how exhausted his alternate self was for enforcing boundaries with such overwhelming people; he had an easier time accepting all of them, but he knew she couldn't. His mother had complained about Tora being distant with her, grumbling something about being 'his mom too', but Trunks stayed tight-lipped. With the child version of Gohan, he was the only one she had accepted in closeness, and Gohan wasn't aware she was a girl.

Chichi came out running to hug her son with the force of a former martial artist, asking about all of the dangers her precious boy must have faced in that strange world, and to never leave her again. Gohan was eager to hug back and reassure his mother, he had missed her and wasn't afraid of expressing it. When Chichi remarked on the dog tags he was wearing, Gohan promptly got red and removed them to return them to Tora, apologizing for forgetting. Tora accepted them back and put them into her pocket.

A minute later, everyone was sitting in the living room. The baby was brought by Panchy and both older versions of him lightened up seeing the little rascal. The baby's scowl went from confused to focused when he saw the two identical adults, and Bulma took good note of her child's reaction. For science of course.

The baby wasn't as easily fooled though, and he extended his arms and more or less fought off his grandmother, babbling 'To'a, To'a' until Panchy put him down. There was no doubt in his mind which one was the babysitter he had known, he walked, a little wobbly, a look of determination on his face, and gripped Tora's leg and pulled until she leaned down to pull him up on the couch with her. She held him while he gripped on her jacket with a pout.

"He's been asking for you," Bulma added.

"Picky baby," Tora remarked, pushing aside the thought of leaving for good. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken that much care of the baby, he might become distraught by her upcoming definite departure.

Trunks moved closer to poke the baby's cheek, quietly laughing at his scowl and his distrustful expression. The baby eventually grabbed Trunks' finger and squeezed it as punishment.

"No doubt about it, that's a Trunks," he commented.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tora half-accused, half-agreed.

"That gaze and the stubborn attitude. Try and pry him off, just to see?" Trunks smirked, knowing full well there was no use trying to fight off a Saiyan grip. Especially his own, Tora's, or the baby's. They were the same in that regard, and Tora didn't even try.

They had a little idle catch up during lunch, followed by delicious pastries, Trunks confirming he wasn't going to stay more than a couple of hours. Tora mentioned she still had a couple of things to do and would probably depart in a day or two, if that wasn't a bother. Krillin was staying until Trunks went back home, to see him off, asked to be called for when Tora was to depart as well, and Gohan and Chichi were staying over at Capsule Corp for the time being anyway. The Gravity Room capsule was returned to Bulma.

Vegeta finally showed up to grab something from the kitchen, he had avoided being social with meals since intruders showed up, and his heir left. He did a double take when he saw two versions of his heir, even if he had felt them. He squinted his eyes at the three Trunkses, then at Gohan and Krillin, and walked out of there without a word.

"Vegeta!" Bulma scolded at the rude demeanor.

Trunks was the first to go after him. Tora would have followed too if not for the stubborn baby holding onto her like a clamp. She tried to hand him over to Gohan or Bulma, but he refused so she had to somewhat accept the situation she knew was going to happen.

Trunks caught up to Vegeta easily, and after a brief glance and boiling second-hand anger, the time traveler went in for a punch, which Vegeta easily blocked with an open hand, twisted the arm and brought Trunks down on his knees.

"Don't try me, weakling!" He snarled a warning, and released, intending to push him away.

"What you did to Trunks is unforgivable!" Trunks growled, his eyes flashed teal the moment he saw an opportunity, and like he practiced with Tora, he managed to turn the tables on his alternative father.

Before it could turn into a full brawl that would surely damage the building, Gohan jumped in to separate them and Bulma's commanding voice told them to stop right fucking now. Thankfully, Trunks was generally speaking a mindful individual who was raised to obey his mother.

"Fight me properly!" Trunks demanded after things settled down a little. He didn't care for the audience, and while he didn't actively fight Gohan's firm hold on his arm, he was tense and ready to pounce.

"Trunks-san!"

"I don't owe you shit, runt," Vegeta hissed, aggressive in his words but oddly calm about the attempts.

"Trunks," Tora had managed to get the baby off of her and into his mother's arms, she stepped closer and put a hand on her older self's shoulder. "My battles are my own."

"Tora-san…" Gohan protested, but she shook her head no.

"Alright," Trunks had to fold when requested by his younger self, and with a brief nod, apologized wordlessly to Vegeta for his outburst.

Vegeta tssked, eyes narrowing on one then the other adult version of his child.

"We do have unfinished business, right, Vegeta-san?" Tora kept her hand on her older self. It was a grateful touch, appreciating what he was trying to do for her.

"We do, brat," he confirmed with a huff.

"Then we'll settle that sometime before I leave," Tora was adamant; their fight ended because the Gravity Room melted on them, after all, and then she left to 787. He had explained that it was how Saiyans apologized, and she started to understand whether this was what he was trying to do.

"Good. As for you," Vegeta looked at the older Trunks with a certain disdain. "Stay out of my way, your scent is unbearable."

Vegeta went on his way without further comment, and Tora gave a glance to a very red Trunks. They both knew what it was about and didn't elaborate when others questioned it, even if a 'oh Kami I can't believe he just said that!', 'Yes I know,' silent conversation happened between the two of them. Bulma's inquiries about what was that all about were ignored.

The baby made his discontent clearer, and Tora and Trunks turned to face Bulma and make amends for the commotion. Tora happily took the baby back and his grabbing of her hair didn't bother her, it was 'deserved punishment' for having gone against his choice of babysitter. 'Stubborn little bugger, soon he is going to rule the entire household,' Bulma lamented, and eventually nudged Tora to the music room, as her 'middle son' mentioned missing playing when they were catching up earlier. This would defuse the tensions, she guessed.

And so Tora was forced into giving an impromptu private concert of sorts. Not that she minded playing, even if she got a little adrenaline rush from the idea of people watching her play, she did want to show Trunks what she could do.

Bulma, her parents, Gohan and his mother, and Trunks actually pulled chairs out to enjoy the concert. Tora tried to shoo most of them off, grumbling something about being far from good at it and that they shouldn't waste their time with such trivial things, but the Briefs and Sons were having none of it. Her baby self wriggled and tried getting down off her, which prompted Gohan to take him. The elder Briefs plainly stated that a little exclusive concert was far from a waste of time and that they should have 'dressed up, actually'.

Tora gave them a wary, tired glance, but decided that it wasn't worth fighting them all and decided to just go with it. After all, Vegeta of all people saw her play already, so she could deal with the rest of the household and a few extras. Stage fright be damned.

She decapsulized her computer to select a few music sheets, warmed up with a child-like melody and played for a solid half hour, doing her best to ignore how many eyes were on her. Even the baby seemed fascinated, which intrigued his mother, but she'd seen Tora take him to the music room and play with him a couple of times, so perhaps he'd learnt to respect the activity. Bulma did sing to her son often enough, so perhaps it was an extension of that.

Bulma was intrigued to notice her alternate son didn't play the 'alien' melody at all, and figured perhaps it was too personal to play in public. She thanked Vegeta silently for having kept her from snooping into the stolen files the previous night; Tora didn't open up to her, she had to accept it as something that wouldn't change by her own sheer willpower.

No member of her audience apart from Bulma had heard her play a full song, and Bulma had only been able to see it through the cameras and listen through the audio recording. Being physically in the same room was just different, and the repetitive, loopy and arguably melancholic melodies Tora gravitated towards were very expressive in lieu of their player.

Gohan could appreciate how much he could learn about Tora just by listening to the chosen melodies. He understood what Tora had shown him, about the 'pedal making the sound good', about the left hand's role.

Trunks, knowing far more about Tora than anyone else, could only feel what it all meant for his alternate hiding self. It was Trunks who first noticed Vegeta was silently listening with a certain fascination from the threshold.

When the two families clapped warmly as Tora turned off her screen, Vegeta left.

Trunks happily hugged his alternative mother and grandparents goodbye, thanked Krillin and Gohan again for everything, wished good luck to Chichi for her pregnancy, and went to decapsule his Time Machine to go back home. Bulma gave him some supplies, which Trunks tried to refuse, but she was having none of it, and despite his altercation with Vegeta, Bulma knew Trunks' heart was in the right place; she deduced Tora must have told him about the Cell fiasco.

Tora walked with Trunks, the baby grabbing onto her jacket barely needing support.

With everyone else at a safe distance from the Time Machine, and Krillin taking that opportunity to slide to Bulma the capsule her 787-self had given him for her, with a little 'hush' sign, the three Trunkses could share a moment alone.

The baby squeezed the index Trunks gave him, a familiar distrustful look on his face as his other hand was firmly holding on to his current favorite servant, before he snuggled against her. The baby wanted little to do with his alternate oldest self, but wasn't outright hostile, which was good news.

Tora held onto Trunks' free hand for a moment, the contact gave her solace and she couldn't deny she would miss her older self.

"Since you're staying a few days, give Seventeen that date and have fun, alright?"

Trunks had to tease, which earned him a quick but painfully well-placed kick on the shin for even entertaining the idea. Trunks took the punishment like a man, but grinned when he noticed how red Tora had turned.

"I have more important things to do," she muttered, embarrassed beyond belief, but sighed in acceptance. After all, she did need to meet Seventeen and Eighteen before going back home, so why not do this thing people used to do before society collapsed?

"Don't think too much and have fun," he encouraged, his thumb caressing her knuckles gently.

"I'll think about it. Stay safe, Trunks," she whispered, eyes closed as she tried to keep her emotions to herself.

"I will. I am glad I met you, and I can't be thankful enough." Trunks had to admit he would miss her, wordlessly, holding onto her hand. He put his forehead on hers, ignoring the difference in temperature due to him being still 'in heat', apparently. Tora had to stay still for a moment, the contact being one she wanted more of.

"Me too," she sighed, opened her eyes, and even with the baby holding himself against her, resting on her arm, she gave him a proper hug and took a deep breath in his neck.

"You'll do amazing," he reassured, breathed in her shoulder too, then slowly parted ways.

"Thank you for giving me a taste of serenity. I will be able to create peace, now," she added with a more confident smile.

Tora fetched one of her dog tags from her pocket and Trunks detached one from his necklace, and after a meaningful smile, they exchanged them.

"Be happy, Tigress," he took her hand one last time, then let her go.

It was goodbye, after all, and Tora stepped back to let him board his Time Machine and start maneuvering.

She rejoined the others and when Gohan took her hand, she squeezed back wordlessly. He could understand the kind of attachment and understanding Trunks gave Tora, and he gave his support to his lonely friend. Soon, Tora would depart as well.

Gohan and everyone else waved goodbye to the flying Time Machine, its occupant waving goodbye. When the Machine vanished, Tora was struck with a sickening sense of loss that she had to contain and distract herself from. There was still lots to do.

Vegeta was also watching over that older Trunks' departure with stern eyes.

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There's a little youtube playlist with the piano "recital" if you'd like:

watch?v=wGiHPY4NclE&list=PL09wRbAeErV6DEwXU7WcrG7xwTmteMFCu

Also please comment your thoughts about the fic! Updating to FF isn't easy, so a little validation goes a long way :)