#also Gohan playing with the baby you know he's the best big brother in the world to both those boys TT^TT

[shannonsketches]

one more while I'm on my 'why did toei decide this was competitive' brain beef, but Yamcha's dialogue here always implied to me that he was also surprised to learn who the father was, and Bulma's dialogue seems to imply that today is Trunks' debut for all of them.

Like I read this as Bulma having arrived first, and Yamcha and Tien having arrived together either around the same time or shortly after.

Although I mean I guess Bulma's 2-Seater could've been her and Yamcha flying together but I guess I just assumed 'Baby in a Car Seat' ? Maybe I'm just biased because that image is too cute kalsdlkasj

And I read this as him learning about this ~40 minutes ago and everyone else just having moved on from that lore drop while he's still reeling from it.

Idk I know I'm biased because triangles aren't my thing anyway, but I really really enjoy that their hooking up and Bulma actually going through with a pregnancy (especially with all the body damage pregnancy can cause) came as a shock to Everyone, including Vegeta and Bulma.

Well, everyone except Piccolo, who truly could not be paid to give a fuck.

If you are enjoy a heartache connoisseur, however, I do invite you to consider what a "Yamcha Just Found Out An Hour Ago" flavor packet does to this moment after Vegeta shows up:

[nella09archive]

Marriage. 64

Chapter 64: Teach me

My baby is look stress out lately, and he won’t tell me why. When he gets home, from a long day of school and crimefighter, he looks so worn out. I try to make my boys the best meals, and make sure they leave full and sleep full. But I’m starting to feel it’s not enough. Goten at least tells me about his day, but Gohan seems off. I even feel bad when I ask him to run errands, when he gets home. But what can I do? I can’t really send Goten. Not yet, anyway.

As Gohan sits for dinner, I notice he’s wearing a smile this time. I wonder what got my boy smiling like that. “What’s with the smile?” He just tells me how he has a group project to do, and it’s on his favorite subject. But somehow, I don’t feel that’s the reason for the smile. Ever since his first date, he been spacing out a lot. Almost as if, he’s thinking about something or someone. Maybe that’s it. Maybe my baby is heartbroken, and is trying to hide it. That’s it. I’m making his favorites for lunch tomorrow, and I’ll make extra for snack when he gets home.

…

Another day, and she’s following me again. What is with her? So what, if I so happen to not be in class when Saiyaman shows up. So what, if I live five hours from school. Why all of sudden she wants to know my every move? I rather she follow me as Saiyaman, since I get to mess with her. Like this I have to be careful. I have to be the closes thing to human. But that’s getting very hard.

Another weekend of catching robbers. And she’s following me. Wow! She cut me off, for once. I can get out of here easily, but I’ll humor her. I can’t believe it! I touched her cheek. My hand was gloved, but still. I touched her cheek! All I was trying to do was take dirt off it. I don’t know why I did that. I also don’t get why I’m excited about it. Now that I think about it, I didn’t touch Angela during our date. Maybe that’s why I’m excited. Probably because it’s my first time touching a girl, that isn’t my mom.

I can’t believe I was still smiling, and mom questioned it. I wasn’t lying about the group project. I am excited about it, but I didn’t want to admit my other excitement. Mom would probably yell a lung if I told her. Now I can’t sleep. I wonder what Videl cheeks feels like without my gloves. They look soft. CRAP! So, what about how her cheeks feels like. That’s not important. If I have the energy to be up, I’m going to start on the group project. I wonder if Videl would like my idea for the project. I just slapped myself. What is wrong with me?

…

Gohan is smiling today. It’s probably that girl. Why did he say it’s because of a project? Is Gohan lying to mom? I can’t wait to tell Trunks. Whoever this girl is, is sure making Gohan smile a lot. I can’t wait to meet her. I wanna know what’s so special about her, that got my big brother acting weird.

Today school is close for a teacher’s meeting, whatever that is. So, mom is allowing me to go play. I’m going to visit my favorite pterodactyl family. Even Gohan is free today, and is joining me. If Gohan is right, the baby should have recently born. I want to go see, and play with them.

When we get there, no one in the nest. This is bad. Baby pterodactyls can’t fly yet. But Gohan says it’ll be already. That maybe Chobi is with his parents. Maybe Gohan is right, but I have a bad feeling about this. When we get home, Gohan decides to put on the news. He’s been doing that more since becoming a superhero. As we watched the news, we see Chobi. I just knew something bad happened. He’s being held by a mean circus, and I just look at Gohan. “You just gotta save him. You just have to!” Even mom agrees with me. And Gohan promises he’ll do so, first thing in the morning.

…

She just had to figure it out. Now not only do I have to enter a tournament, but teach her to fly. I tell this to Bulma and she’s laughing at me. Then something both amazing and shocking happens. It’s dad. DAD! He tells us that he’s coming back to the living for a day, and even joining the tournament. Dad is coming back! DAD IS COMING BACK! For that moment I completely forgot about the whole issue with Videl, and rushed to tell everyone about dad. Vegeta is even joining the tournament. Forget the tournament. I get to see my dad again! Mom gets to see dad again! Goten get to… to… MEET DAD!

This is so incredible! When I tell Krillin, he’s super trilled. 18 ask if Krillin is even joining, since she’ll join. Mostly due for the prize money. Krillin doesn’t want me to tell Piccolo, but it wouldn’t be fair. As I fly home, is when I remembered one little problem. I haven’t even asked mom if I could even join. But I have to join, or Videl will tell everyone who I am. What could I say that would convince mom to let me join?

As we eat, I tried to tell mom about the tournament. I then mention how if I win there will be huge prize money. She gets all excited, and talks about how it’ll go to my college funds. As I take the next bite of fish, I finally tell her about dad. Now mom is beyond excited. She’s even in her own little world. She’s even hugging Goten to death, saying he finally gets to meet dad. Now for the million-dollar question. “So, you don’t mind if I take a few days off, form school, to train?” She was in the middle of talking about how she’ll get all pretty for dad, and then stopped. She gave me the face that usually came before a no, and instead yes.

…

Well, here goes nothing. Oh wow, is that Gohan’s voice. Wow, it’s deeper than I remembered. He sounds so happy to hear me, and even more from hearing the news. With that out the way, I could finish my last bit of training. I really wish Baba would just let me see how everyone looks. But same time I’m glad she doesn’t. Soon, very soon.

King Kai had been doubling my weights every month, and I’m up to 10 tons each. It feels great training like this. But I feel I could do more. Either way, I can’t lose focus now. It sound like Vegeta stood on earth, after all. So, now I know for sure I’ll be getting a good fight back home. Another thing to be excited about. I finally get to see my kids! I get to finally lay eyes on my perfect Chichi! I get to hold my family! And now, there’s a little rematch I get to look forward to.

…

I get to meet dad. Wow. I’m scared. What if he doesn’t like me? What if what Gohan and mom say about him isn’t true? What if they only say those things to make me like him? But what if they telling the truth? And if he’s as nice as everyone tells me, then what do I have to fear? Maybe the fact that I don’t know him. Everyone is so excited about him coming, and I feel left out in the excitement.

At least I got to spend more time with my big brother. Mom was allowing me to enter the tournament, too. Maybe I could make mom proud and make it to first place. But then I remembered that Trunks was now going to enter. So, if I could make it to top two, than I would be happy. I get to show mom how much stronger I am. I get to make mom and Gohan proud of me. Even though, they say it, but I want to do something that would make them proud. And I will even get a chance to show dad, too. Now there’s a thought.

What would dad think of my fighting? Will he praise me? Or will he be like uncle Vegeta and tell me where I went wrong? Maybe even point out my weakness. Gohan and mom do say that dad is the strongest man in the world, maybe the whole universe. Gohan say that even though Mr. Piccolo was his first real teacher, he learned way more under dad’s teachings. Mr. Piccolo taught him by beating him every day. Dad watched him, and pointed where to work on. Then showed him the proper way. Almost like how mom been teaching me. She shows me, and then when I try it, she corrects me.

That thought got me excited to show dad what I can do. Even though he’s only going to be alive for a day, I’m going to try to learn as much as possible from him. I’m going to watch all his moves, and try my best to memorize everything. Maybe if he got time, he could watch me and point out where I can improve. “Earth to spurt!” That’s when I finally looked at Gohan. “Hey, bro. You ok?” I nod. “Are you ready for our sparring match?” I got into my stance, and began.

…

Just as I’m telling Goten that I’ll teach him to fly, his classmate decide to make herself know. She’s flying to my home. Oh great! I almost forgot all about her. Well, time to face her wrath. Somehow, I’m actually can’t wait to see her angry face. I don’t get why that excites me. I race Goten back to the house. Of course, I can win, but I let him beat me this time. When I get home, she’s arguing with mom. Great, just great. Wonderful first impression. It took me a moment to tell mom about Videl, and how she’s the one who convinced me about the tournament. Mom is allowing me to teach her to fly, thank goodness. Now, I can’t stop laughing at mom and Videl making faces at each other. This is just too funny.

Sadly, we have to go to a field near the house, since Videl can’t keep up easily. Goten keeps looking at her, and then back at me. He then gives me this evil smile, and runs ahead of us. What was that about? I don’t like this. I stop a moment, to let Videl catch up. When she does, I continued walking. She asked how for is the field. “Not that far now. Just pass a small creek, and we’ll be there in no time.” She then asked where is Goten. That’s when I quickly sense for him, and he’s behind us. “I don’t know, but if he times anything funny, it’s not my fault if something goes missing.” That’s when I feel him stop. Jerk. Don’t push it squirt.

When we get to the meadow, I tried to explain that you use ki to lift yourself up. It took Goten to show what ki was, and she still didn’t believe it. After some more explaining, and sending Goten off, I tried to teach Videl about ki. For the first time in a long while, I had to think back to how dad taught it to me. I was so happy he taught it to me like that. It was somewhat easy to explain to her. When I did the ki ball, she was coming really up and close to me. I was feeling nervous.

She’s super close. Close enough for her scent to pass my nose. This is the first time I smelled it so clearly. It was nice. Even the smile she gave me was nice. She never smiled at me like that. Well, since I’ve known her, she rarely smiled. When she did, she looked angry or ready to beat someone up. This smile made her eyes shine. I found myself wanting to see it more often. And the way her voice sounded with that smile, was really wonderful. CRAP! Need to focus!

I told her to try bring her ki out. It took a while, and she look like she’s forcing herself. She looks so sad that she can’t get it. Did I just see a tear? We can’t have that. I told her to relax, and let it come out naturally. To not force it. “Just relax, and feel it being pulled out.” After a while she finally did it, and the smile she had after left me speechless. We then went home for lunch.

There Videl made a comment about mom’s cooking, and then mom made a comment about me marrying Videl. “WHAT THE HELL MOM?” I swear I was going to die from that very comment. Goten even comment if that meant that Videl is his big sister now. I swear my family is trying to kill me. What made it worst was that Videl didn’t say no or fight back what they were saying. That’s it. Today I’m going to die. If not by my family, it’ll be because Videl killed me.

As we went back to the field, I dragged my feet. I can’t believe mom did that. Now Goten is walking along Videl, and talking about it’ll be so awesome if she was going to be his big sister. Dende kill me. My family is embarrassing. Wait, why hasn’t Videl snapped yet? Could she being waiting to give me an ear full? Or didn’t want to be rude to mom, since she cooked? Either way, I’m a dead man. I hope I live long enough to see Goten’s face, when he meets dad. Now that I think about it. What would dad think of Videl? Wait! Why am I even wondering that?

“Earth to Gohan! Is someone in there?” The moment I stopped I fell into the creek. This day is sucking the more it continues. Now I could stay in these wet clothes, and go back home and change. Forget it. I’ll just deal with it. I got up and watched, a now angry looking, Videl walk my way. When she reaches the edge of the creek, she reminds me to pay more attention. That angry face is starting to grow on me, for some weird reason. As we continue our walk, I found myself just looking at her. Doesn’t she ever relax?

[ishades]

truten hcs 1/?

trunks catches videls bouquet with his face at her and gohans wedding. (she sort of accidentally threw them at him on purpose) goten laughs and picks them up for him

trunks was the first to fall in love. hed liked goten since he was 8 but it was just a crush he didnt actually consciously recognize. he first realizes hes in love with goten after goten goes on his first date at thirteen and comes home broken-hearted. 

he comes out as bi to his grandma paunchy first. and she laughs and just says “oh you really do take after your mother.”

he comes out to his mother next and she tells him she figured and that it was fine. she still loved him there was no need to worry about rejection over something like sexuality in this family

he comes out to his father last. hes reassured his father won be mad at him at this point. but that fear of dissapointment hes always carried when it comes to his father persists. vegeta takes is surprisingly well

“its none of my business the nature of your attraction.” and they continue training together. after theyre done and taking a breather, vegeta pats his back and says in his gruff voice “love is what makes a person strong. loving another is the most powerful thing anyone can do. much more powerful than super saiyan 3. im proud of you.” he wont look at trunks but he can see his fathers a little red in the face, eyes misty. he doesnt try to make fun of his father for it.

just hugs him as tight as he can and vegeta makes a big stink about it grumbling at first but letting it happen. he rests an arm around his sons shoulders and they just sit like that together for a minute. 

its just like the first time his father hugged him. but different. because this time he really knows his father loves him

vegetas more than a little miffed about trunks being in love with “kakarots spawn” and insists goten “seduced my son”. he gets over it soon enough and becomes on of his sons biggest supporters only rivaled by gohan and paunchy. goku... gokus really up there too tbh

gotens really scared to come out to his mother but chichis really understanding and accepting. “i want you to be happy son. i married an alien and had two children with him. you being in love with a man is small potatoes. love is love.” much like vegeta shes kind of disappointed in his taste in men but gets over it quickly. shes known trunks since he was a baby. life goes on. she gets trunks and goten to join that years couples holiday picture 

goten works at a zoo in his teens but later becomes a nurse. if the zoo ever calls him for help hes on it though no questions asked. he loves feeding the baby raptors

also worked at a wcdonalds... can no longer eat food from wcdonalds

their first kiss is in trunks’ room. when theyre 16. theyre listening to a daft punk album while goten vents his dating woes to trunks. “she told me i kiss like a drunk walrus. its not my fault it was my first kiss” trunks asks if hed like some practice, palms sweating. 

trunks leans in, heart racing and goten doesnt pull away. instant crush plays in the background. gotens date was right: he does kiss like a drunk walrus.

“have you kissed other boys before?” goten asks when they separate, cheeks red. trunks wipes his mouth with his wrist.

“have i kissed boys before? youre kidding right? im irresistible, and dont you forget it son goten” he strikes a silly pose and all the tension evaporates in the room.

they eat dinner with trunks’ family that evening and they try not to think about the kiss. trunks does pretty well on that department until he gets back to his room after goten leaves and just holds a pillow to his face screaming. 

the two fake practices afterwards are really anything but. goten finally admits the third time that he wished they did it more often.

trunks asks him out after like a week of internal and external debate (vegeta keeps telling him to get to it). he ends up blurting it out when theyre playing video games one afternoon

they literally get married the day after goten graduates. goten argues he should get two cakes instead of one. chichi doesnt budge

theyre completely functional apart but hate being separated for long. theyre each others best friend! just being in the same room togethers bliss.

when they argue... boy. trunks yells and then clams up and gets really quiet. goten has a mix of goku and gines temperament so stuff usually... takes awhile to build up for him. 

they make up really quick.

trunks is trans bi and gotens cis bi.  

trunks springs the question on goten randomly one day. (”hey. do you wanna have a baby? with me.”) and goten really really does he wants a family with a kid.

asks trunks to let him think about it (he goes over their finances and checks out how long they could be on paternity leave for their respective jobs)

then they go see shenron. and ask for a baby of their own who takes after both of them. it takes shenron a day to magic up that baby but then theyre literally holding their own child swaddled up in their arms by the time dinners ready.

they name her son korusetto daikon vegeta-briefs (korusetto like corset and daikon like the radish. vegeta gives her that name) yes shes got liek three last names and she owns it

she has black and purple hair because shes literally a fusion of her fathers.

tfw you and your husband have to perform the fusion dance to get your daughter to stop crying for thirty minutes but vegeta can hold her and shell perk up or calm down immediately.

bras 15 when they make the wish and she launches into aunt / big sister mode immediately.

gohans best uncle hands down

they make uub and marron little daikons godparents and theyre both so excited. 

trunks and videl have lunch dates like once a month and just kind of bond. videls the older sister he never had and now that hes older shes not the gross girl dating his best friends brother. shes a cool woman with a wicked sense of humor he can vent about what a hassle it is to date a son with.

they renew their vows ten years after they get married and its mushy. they terrorize the party goers 

theres more but thats just a little bit

[shamelessmudfish]

Like what would happen if Future Trunks drops by for a visit in the Present Timeline....

And meets Bulla for the first time?

The blue sky gave birth to a column of light that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Within seconds, the familiar Yellow Time Machine materialized, landing gently to the vast backyard of Capsule Corp. Trunks smiled widely at the sight of Capsule Corp’s familiar dome glinting under the bright afternoon sun.

“Five minutes!” It took Lady Chronoa a bit of convincing but he finally managed to gain her permission to take a detour from one of his Time Patrol errands and visit the preset time line. 

Meeting the Supreme Kai of Time and explaining to why they made the Time Machine has got to be one of the most mortifying moments Trunks had the 'pleasure' to experience. He can’t remember much except profusely apologizing to the three-foot tall woman (three and half, he imagined her yelling) with a pink hair and blazing dark eyes. Before he knew it, he found himself agreeing to work under her in one of the closely-guarded realms in the Universe, the Time Nest.

Being under Lady Chronoa’s service, he and Mai had been busy with lots of things that the thought of paying a visit to the Time Line where Goku-san and the others are still alive didn’t cross his mind until years after. To gain Chronoa’s permission, he offered to be her representative in the Supreme Kai Convention, a painfully boring event, and she accepted his deal begrudgingly.

Trunks hides his machine inside a capsule and begins looking around, sensing the energy of his father or present counterpart while suppressing his own Ki at the same time. He quickly detected his father’s energy inside, humming rhythmically in slow pulsing spike as if he’s asleep. The energy of his present version is far from here. However, he detected a slightly powerful Ki near him, beside the man-made lake that nearly compasses the compound’s ‘backyard’, and wondered if it’s Goten-kun or even Pan-chan. He couldn’t wait to see how strong they must have grown, now that Goku-san and Gohan-san are around to train them.

He walked around the pagoda and as it turns out, he’s the one who isn’t prepared for the sight waiting for him.

Crouched beside the lake is a blue-haired little girl looking down the water, clutching tightly a stuffed toy cat on one arm. She is eagerly throwing crumbs on the lake, her soft giggles over feeding the fishes sending warm flutters on his stomach.

Sensing her presence, she looked up at him with a smile. Trunks froze and he can’t tear his gaze off this little girl, the spitting image of his mother.

Could she be…?

“Brother!” She leaped to her feet and dashed towards him. “You’re back! Did you buy the things Mama needs for her new invention? How about the cheesecake you promised you’ll take home, huh?” She tried to peek around him to see if he’s hiding the cake behind his back.

Trunks knelt to her eye level, unable to fight the smile splitting his face. “I forgot something so I came back. What are you doing?”

“Feeding the fishies,” She wrinkled her nose at him, looking at his Time Patrol attire, “What's with your clothes? Mama won’t like it if he sees you all dirty like that.”

“I guess she won’t,” He said, laughing a little. “Is Mama here?”

“She’s still in the lab making stuff explode,” She raised her hands in an emphasis of something blowing up. “Papa still sleeping cos he was up training late last night and she wants me and Pan to play outside so we won’t wake him up.”

As if on cue, Pan landed from the sky behind him, her shoulder-length hair wild and frizzly because of the tremendous speed of her flight. “Bulla-chan, I circled the world again!” She declared excitedly to her friend. “Told you I can do it in five minutes,” And proudly held out five grubby fingers.

She noticed Trunks standing nearby and a confused expression crossed her face. She must have figured out that he isn't the Trunks she knew. Her being adept in sensing Ki at such an early age didn't surprise him. Back when he last met her, she had been a precocious baby with extraordinary potential.

“Uh, hello,” she greeted him a little uncertainly, eyes shifting.

“Hello, Pan. I can’t believe you’re all grown up,” he smiled down at her, “The last time I saw you, you were just a baby pulling my hair. How old are you now? Have you started training already?”

Pan smiled a little shyly, sensing he’s no threat. “I’m six and Grandpa says I’m old enough to train with him in King Kai’s planet!”

“And I’ll be five next summer, right, brother?” Bulla piped in eagerly. “I’m gonna catch up with Pan soon.”

Before Trunks can reply, he sensed a presence coming out of the building. Could it be his mother? Should he hide? But what would the girls think? While Pan and Bulla squabble about age and catching up, Trunks debated with himself whether he should meet his parents or not.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you girls!” Trunks stood up as a pretty golden-haired girl walk towards them, hands on her hips. Her big dark eyes blinked at Trunks. “Uh, Trunks? You’re back already? And what’s with those clothes?”

Trunks unconsciously scratched his head, remembering the cute, pudgy girl laughing on Krillin’s arms. “It’s nice to see you again, Marron. You may not remember me much but I fought with your father countless times in the battlefield. We go a long way back.”

He also fought against her mother in his timeline but chose not to say it. An awkward laugh escaped from his lips.

Marron’s eyes widened. “You’re Trunks from the future! Of course, I’ve heard so much about you from Dad and Uncle Goku.”

“Trunks from the Future? Then you’re the mister who killed Frieza like this?” Pan made a quick slashing move complete with a sound effect of sword cutting through the air.

Trunks laughed. He can’t remember the last time he felt like this. “Yes. You’re quite an energetic girl. I can sense you’ll be a great fighter in the future. You can even learn to use a sword if you want.”

“Trunks, your folks would be thrilled to know you’re here,” Marron said, getting over from her initial shock with maturity that is rare around her age. “I know Mai-chan will too. She used to say you’re the ‘dreamiest’ guy she ever met, even in front of our Trunks.” She laughed a little. “C’mon, let’s get inside. Mai-chan prepared a very delicious lunch!”

“Uh-huh! C’mon, Brother from the future,” cried Bulla as she tugged his arm, completely disregarding the fact that he isn’t the brother she grew up with. “I’m going to show you my pet kittens.”

Trunks felt really tempted to do so. He also wants to know what his family and friends are up to in this time line. Heck, he even wants to know if his younger present version is keeping up with his father’s training. Sparring with his father in the Gravity Chamber even for just a while seems a really tempting idea too.

But…he is still in the middle of a mission and he promised Chronoa he’d only stay for five minutes. If anything else, he is a man of his word.

“I would love to, but I can’t this time,” He gently patted Bulla’s hair. “I’ll come back and I’m gonna play with you guys more, is that okay?”

“Promise?” Pan asked, getting a little upset to see him go.

“Promise,” he replied and offered his fist to her. Pan smiled and bumped her own little fist to his.

“We’ll take your word on it,” Marron said, nodding at him. She shepherded the girls back as Trunks produced a capsule from his jacket and threw it into the air to open the Time Machine. All three gasped in admiration when the Machine materialized in front of them.

Trunks turned to Bulla whose eyes are so big and blue as the vast sky above. “Because of this, I can travel through time and go on many adventures. It’s Mama who made this. She made the impossible possible.”

“It’s becos’ Mama’s the best. Papa always say so.” the girl grinned up at him. “Could you tell Mama from the Future that I say hi?”

He turned to look at the Machine before any of them can notice the tears welling up in his eyes. “I will,” he managed to choke out. The door to Time Machine opened and he flew inside. His five minutes are almost up.

“Uncle Trunks from the Future!” Pan called out, hands cupped around her mouth. “When I grow up, will you take me to your adventures too?”

“Sure, but promise me you’re gonna train to be stronger, okay?”

“I will! See you, Uncle Trunks from the Future! Be well!”

Says the girl who shares the same pair of eyes brimming with passion and courage as his late master Gohan.

“Be careful out there!”

The girl, the daughter of an enemy he fought in his time line, calls out. An enemy who somehow found peace and happiness with one of his friends, and surely enough, with this child.

“Come back and play with us, okay!”

The blue-haired girl who could have been his baby sister waves happily at him.

Chronoa once told him that the reason why time traveling is a serious crime is that mortal beings are often tempted to change the flow of time according to their foolish desires. As it happens, time is not meant to be controlled by the lesser beings and instead of changing the past, they end up creating another world that cannot be their own, for they belong in a different reality. A world they desire for themselves but cannot have. By trying to change the past, one has to be purely selfless, a trait she admits she rarely finds across the Universe. It took Trunks some time before he realized that she’s complimenting him for the sacrifice he did to make this time line a better world to live in.

The ultimate act of heroism, as she said.

He’d been called a hero many times by countless species across multiple Universes, after successfully completing his missions and defeating strong foes. He brushed their compliments and accolades with a smile, because a part of him, in the deep recesses of his mind, keeps on saying that he still failed his original world, his original time line. That no matter how many quests he completed, the lives he saved, he cannot think of himself a hero in the truest sense of the word.

A true hero will not always know that he is one. He remembered Gowasu’s parting words, on the day Future Lord Beerus destroyed Zamasu.

Trunks gave one final wave and smiled down at Marron, Pan and Bulla who are still cheering him on. And for the first time since the destruction of Zamasu, after a long, long while, he finally felt as one.

[sarahw-world]

My first fanfic: A Dark Heart

Chapter 9 : A New Generation                        

Summary: Bulma visits an old friend...

          Bulma knocked at the door of her friend’s little house in Mount Paozu as she held baby Trunks in her arms. While she waited patiently for Chichi, she realized that it had been a long time since she’d last visited, and she felt a tinge of guilt course through her. Apparently, her child seemed to be feeding off her nervousness, since he was wide awake, watching her with curiosity while he played with his mother’s hair.

Suddenly, she heard some steps approaching her and Goku’s wife opened the door.

“Hi, Bulma!” she greeted her.

“Hi!” Bulma replied as she gave Chichi a friendly hug; “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” she continued.

Chichi nodded and she made a welcoming gesture, encouraging the scientist to enter. Bulma gratefully accepted the invitation and she walked through the small living room until she was able to take a seat on the old couch.

“I’ll bring us some tea”, Chichi said politely.

Bulma smiled and she nodded in acceptance. While she waited, she took the time to observe her surroundings. It always surprised her how humbly her friends seemed to live, certainly a big cry from her luxurious and busy life, and she briefly wondered whether Chichi would feel unsatisfied or even bored with the simple life that she was living. Perhaps that might have been the reason why she kept pushing Gohan towards an academic life, in order to rise beyond their current circumstances. Before she knew it, the raven haired woman had come back with a teapot and two cups.

“Boy! Trunks sure has grown since the last time I saw him”, Chichi said, cooing the baby and making him giggle.

Bulma grinned, she took a sip of her hot drink and she felt her smile falter a little as she took in her friend’s appearance. She didn’t look well. She appeared to be tired, and she was actually wearing makeup, no doubt in order to try to conceal the dark circles under her eyes. For an instant, she felt tempted to ask if she was OK, but then she thought that it might be impolite to ask such things, especially considering that the reason was probably the fact that her friend was missing her deceased husband.

“Is he walking already?” Chichi asked.

“Uh? Um… no, not yet. But Trunks has been really active lately, and I think it might happen soon” she replied.

“It will, I’m certain. Saiyan babies develop fast and they become quite independent at an early age… I’m sure Vegeta will want to start training him as soon as he starts to walk”, she continued.

Bulma took another sip of her tea, trying to control her emotions. Obviously, Chichi wasn’t aware of her current situation.

“Well,” she started, “Vegeta did mention that Saiyan babies begin their training as soon as they can walk, some of them even learn how to fly before that, but I don’t think Vegeta’s going to train him anytime soon, anyway”.

“Oh? And why is that? I thought after the Cell Games Vegeta had started to show an interest in his child” Chichi cautiously said, having the feeling that something wrong was going on.

“Um, well, Vegeta… he kind of” she sighed tiredly, “He kind of left about a month and a half ago…”

“What?! Are you serious? Did he tell you when he’ll be coming back?”

Bulma shyly stared at the floor and she shook her head, trying to hold back her tears.

Goku’s wife nodded in understanding and she didn’t ask any more questions. She put her hand on top of her friend’s and she rubbed it in a comforting way.

There was a silence as both women drank their tea, and it hit Bulma that, if someone could understand her current situation, that would be Chichi. After all, they’d both had the misfortune of falling in love with a couple of emotionally stunted alien warriors, and both women surely knew what it felt like being the second most important thing in their men’s lives, fighting being the first one, of course.

As Chichi unsuccessfully stifled a small yawn, Bulma took it as an opportunity to finally try to find some answers about her friend.

“Are you alright, Chichi?” she paused briefly, unsure about whether she should continue or not, but her concern towards the woman made her carry on with her questions.

“I hope you don’t take it the wrong way, but you look tired, are you OK?”

Her best friend’s wife exhaled in frustration and she shook her head. Then, she looked at Bulma with a sad smile on her lips.

“It’s that obvious, uh?”

“What’s obvious?” the blue haired woman replied with curiosity.

“Well… I was actually trying to keep it a secret for as long as I could, since it’s still really early, but…” she sighed again, “I guess you could keep the secret for me, right?”

Bulma felt her concern begin to grow. So there was something wrong going on with Chichi… Her guilt came back with full force, knowing that she shouldn’t have stayed away from the Son family for so long, especially after Goku’s death. Ironically, that was the real reason why Bulma hadn’t visited her friend’s family for so long. The death of her best friend, whom she’d considered a little brother for so many years, had affected her deeply. She still didn’t fully understand the reasons why he’d decided to remain in Other World, and she could only hope that Goku had really known what he was doing when he’d made that decision.

“Bulma,” Chichi whispered, pleadingly holding her friend’s hand, “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone…”

Bulma squeezed her hand delicately but firmly.

“Of course, Chi, you can tell me anything”, she said softly.

“I’m pregnant”

The scientist remained silent, dumbfounded, and she blinked a few times as she tried to assimilate the news.

“Wow, Chichi!” she finally said, “That’s… great! Congratulations!”

The black haired woman nodded and she smiled, and Bulma’s heart broke a little as she saw her dark eyes fill with unshed tears. Maybe this wasn’t such great news?

“Dende, Chichi…” she whispered, “Are you alright? You aren’t happy about it?”

“Oh, no!” she replied quickly, softly touching her abdomen. “It’s not that, it’s just that…”

Goku.

Of course; ‘How could I be so stupid?’ Bulma thought. What woman would be happy about having her dead husband’s child? It certainly was a less than ideal situation.

“Oh Chichi, I’m so sorry…” she said as she got closer to her friend, sitting next to her and holding her with one arm as she held her boy on the other.

Chichi buried her face in her neck and Bulma felt some moisture on it as Goku’s wife allowed her tears to fall now.

 ‘Shit!’

Bulma kept soothingly rubbing Chichi’s back, and she remained quiet, letting her friend cry and release her emotions freely. She felt a knot in her stomach and she experienced a brief moment of déjà vu as she recalled the day she’d discovered she was pregnant with Vegeta’s child. Her man had also been far away from home back then, but at least she’d had the certainty that the Prince was eventually going to come back to Earth, if not for her sake, at least for the sake of his promise to take part in the fight against the androids. But now it was different, now her friend knew her husband was never coming back.

Bulma felt her child move and she realized her little boy was trying to hug Chichi as well.

“Aww, baby… Do you want to hug Chi too?” she said lovingly.

Her words made the other woman stare at the child and smile softly.

“May I?” she asked Bulma.

“Of course! Be my guest…” the heiress said as she carefully put Trunks in Chichi’s now opened arms.

Trunks hugged Goku’s wife and he giggled, making both women grin. It was as if he knew what to do to make them feel better.

“Chichi, whatever you need, you just have to ask…”

The black haired woman nodded.

“I know Bulma, and I really appreciate that, but I’m doing OK I think… At least, considering the circumstances… It’s just…” she sighed, “I guess this pregnancy is already feeling a bit rougher than my first. Maybe it’s because Goku isn’t here. I don’t know…”

“Yeah, I know… I’m guessing it’s still early, since you’re not showing.”

“Yes. I’m only about eight weeks pregnant. I visited my doctor last week and he said everything’s fine. I also had to tell Gohan, although he already suspected something was going on because of the morning sickness. It’s been pretty bad…”

Bulma understood what the other woman was talking about really well… Her first three months of pregnancy had been hard on her body, to the point where she spent entire days resting in bed and she even lost some weight due to the fact that she had no appetite and that whatever she ate didn’t last long inside her body anyway… I was only after the first three and a half months that she started to feel well, really well actually, and she felt her desire for food increase.

The door opened all of a sudden and Gohan entered the house, closely followed by Piccolo. The young Saiyan was carrying a huge fish and his sensei held a huge basket filled with what seemed to be some kind of wild berries. By this time both women seemed to be in a better mood, and Bulma noticed that Chichi was trying to put on a brave face for her son’s sake.

“Bulma!” the young boy said happily, “I didn’t know you were here! We went fishing, look!” he said, proudly lifting the large animal with a bright smile that was just like his father’s.

Bulma smiled.

“Wow, Gohan! That is quite a fish! I’m sure your mom is really proud of you!” she said as she ruffled the kid’s hair.

Gohan offered her another brilliant grin and he looked at the baby.

“Hi, Trunks! Wow, you’re so big!” he said clutching the little boy’s hand. The baby giggled and he stretched his arms towards him.

“Can I play with him for a while, mom?” he asked.

Chichi nodded.

“Sure, just make sure you come back in time for lunch”

“Sure, mom!”

Gohan picked up the baby and he went outside, followed once again by Piccolo. But before the green warrior left the house, he gave Bulma a questioning look, almost as if he was wondering about whether she’d already made her decision or not. Bulma looked at him and she nodded, letting him know that she’d talk to him later.

Both women stayed inside the house, talking and sharing their little stories. Bulma noticed that Chichi really seemed to show a lot of interest about what life in the city was like, and she enjoyed the heiress’ juicy tidbits of gossip about some of her parents renowned friends. She figured that the life of the rich and famous looked like a different world to someone like Chichi, and she indulged her with as many tales of the metropolis as she could. Every now and then, she’d look out the window, where she saw Gohan and Piccolo playing with her little boy, well, if you could call making little Trunks chase tiny balls of ki “playing”. The scientist was amazed at how happy and engaged her child looked, and she felt her chest constrict at the possibility of Vegeta not being the one that would eventually train the purple haired boy.

“Dende! It’s so late!” Chichi suddenly said. “I must start making lunch. Would you like to stay, Bulma? I’m sure there’s plenty of food for all of us.”

Bulma shook her head.

“I can’t Chi. I should really get back home. There’s a project I’m working on and I don’t have much time to waste…”

The other woman nodded politely.

“I understand,” she said slowly standing up, “I’ll let you go back to your busy life…”

“Oh, it’s busy alright!” she chuckled. “Anyway, thanks for everything Chichi, I hope I’ll see you again soon…”

“Can you ask Gohan to get inside so that he can wash before lunch, please?”

“Sure thing.” Bulma said, and she reached Goku’s wife for a hug. “Stay strong” she whispered in her ear.

Chichi squeezed her back and nodded.

“You too, Bulma. Don’t lose hope, maybe Vegeta will come back. You never know with those Saiyans…” she smiled sadly.

The two women said their goodbyes and Bulma exited the little house, walking towards Gohan and Piccolo. To her surprise, Trunks had finally stopped chasing the tiny ki ball and he looked unusually sleepy. When the baby saw her, he extended his arms towards her, silently asking to be held again. She indulged him and she brought her baby into her arms as she turned to Gohan.

“Well young man, your mom wants you to wash before you two get to eat that big fish you caught…”

Gohan smiled and assented.

“Are you leaving, Bulma? You’re not staying for lunch?”

“I can’t kiddo. I’ve got a lot of work to do… I’ll be visiting you guys again as soon as I can, alright?” she promised.

The young boy gave her a hug and he waved goodbye before he run into the house. Bulma waited until the door was closed and she turned towards Piccolo, whom had been silently witnessing the conversation, no doubt waiting for Gohan to leave in order to talk to the woman.

“How is he doing, Piccolo?” Bulma said, seemingly deep in thought.

“Gohan?”

“Yeah…”

“He’s doing alright I suppose. Given my little theory about the Saiyan bond, I was actually expecting him to do a lot worse”, the green warrior replied.

Bulma smiled shyly and she looked him in the eye.

“I think it’s because he has you, you know?”

The Namekian raised an eyebrow in question.

“Aww, come on, Piccolo! You must surely know by now that Gohan sees you almost like a second father…” she giggled, amused by the sight of the large man blushing.

Piccolo cleared his throat before he continued.

“Perhaps… Although I believe that the fact that Gohan’s going to be a big brother soon has something to do with his behavior as well. It’s almost as if he has already accepted that he’s the man of the house now”.

Bulma grimaced at those words. In moments like these, she actually felt anger towards Goku and his inability to fully understand the emotional consequences that his actions had on other people. For a man that was so intelligent on the battlefield, he sometimes behaved like a big child.

“Did you already know, Piccolo?”

“About what?” he asked in confusion.

“About the pregnancy. Did you know Chichi was pregnant when we last met on The Lookout?” she asked again.

“No, I didn’t. I suspected that Goku’s woman had some kind of mild human illness at the time. I only started to feel the boy’s ki a few days ago.”

“You already know it’s a boy?!” Bulma asked in surprise.

The warrior nodded.

“Yes. It’s male, and quite powerful already, although not as strong as your son.”

He thoughtfully looked at Trunks once again, who had already fallen asleep in his mother’s arms.

“Trunks is unusually strong Bulma. He can already handle small amounts of ki”.

“Is that what you guys were doing with him while I was inside the house with Chichi? I thought you were playing some kind of game with him…” she said as she affectionately caressed her child’s soft hair.

“I suppose to your child it might seem like a game, but it could be a pretty effective way to teach him how to handle ki and to help him release his pent up energy. Haven’t you noticed how calm he looks now?”

She nodded and she sighed sadly.

“So you were right. He needs his father to help him learn how to control his energy…”

“That would be the ideal scenario, Bulma.”

The heiress exhaled in frustration and she picked up the capsule she kept in her pocket. She opened it and she released it at a safe distance, revealing her air vehicle.

“My ship will be ready in about a week”

The green man smirked.

“So, you’ve finally made your decision.”

“Yeah… I had a conversation with my father and we discussed the things we all talked about in The Lookout. Don’t worry, he’s trustworthy, whatever he knows stays in the family…”

“I understand Bulma, it’s quite alright.”

“I told him about your Saiyan bond theory and I’ve already warned him about how difficult things could be for Trunks when I leave the planet. I also told him about your offer to try to help my baby while I’m gone, so feel free to come by whenever you want. You’ll always be welcome at our home.”

The warrior silently nodded in agreement.

“Piccolo”, she whispered, “If… if anything happened to me…”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Bulma. Have faith.” He said firmly.

“I know but… It’s just… If anything happened to me, I want you to promise me that you and Gohan will teach my child everything he needs to know in order to be a strong warrior and to be able to use his full potential…”

“You have my promise, Bulma”, he declared solemnly, “but again, you have nothing to worry about. Goku used to talk about you from time to time, and if the stories he shared with me are true, I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

Bulma chuckled melancholically.

“Well, someone has to bring that Saiyan back home. I figured I’d at least give it a try… Right?”

She proceeded to walk towards the plane but she suddenly stopped as she recalled something.

“By the way”, she turned again towards the Namekian, “he gave me this,” she said clutching the blue pendant than hung from her pale neck.

Piccolo’s eyes widened in curiosity and he slowly approached the woman.

“May I?” he asked, looking at the jewel.

She nodded, and soon the warrior was softly holding the pendant, examining the stone with curious eyes. Finally, he released it and he looked into the woman’s eyes.

“Does it have some kind of special meaning to you?”

“Not really. My dad and I run some tests in the lab and we found out that the materials are not from Earth. It also appears to be quite ancient, possibly more than three hundred years old”.

‘Well, well’ he thought with a smirk, ‘Who would have thought the Prince of All Saiyans was that sentimental…’

As if reading his thoughts Bulma said, “Please, don’t tell anyone about it. If it’s something that has some kind of emotional value I doubt Vegeta would be happy about people finding out…”

“Don’t worry, Bulma. Your little secret is safe with me”. And if she didn’t know who she was talking to, she’d swear there was a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Alright then, I gotta go, I have much work to do if I want to leave as soon as possible.” She paused, as if she was forgetting something. “Um, by the way, it’s better if you don’t tell Chichi about my trip, she doesn’t need the stress in her condition. Also, if anything happened to her, feel free to let my parents know and they’ll be able to help her. I know she’s a proud woman…”

“Do not concern yourself with such matters Bulma. Bringing Vegeta back should be our first priority right now,” he said with conviction.

“Alright then. Take care Piccolo…” Bulma said as she entered her vehicle. Before the door closed she quickly asked, “Will you come to see me before I leave?”

He nodded.

“I’ll be there”.

The scientist smiled and she waved goodbye. Holding her child in her arms, she set the autopilot, she closed her eyes and she tried to relax for the first time today. She could have tried to put Trunks in his little chair, but she kind of wanted to hold him as much as she could right now. After all, who knew for how long she’d be gone and how successful her trip would really be.

As she flew back home, she couldn’t help the slight feeling of guilt she had in her gut. Yes, she should actually be pissed that her plan hadn’t worked out. After all, that was the main reason why she had decided to finally visit the Son family, in order to convince Chichi to allow Gohan to join her in her new adventure. But as soon as she looked at the poor woman, she hadn’t had the heart to ask such a thing, and she hadn’t even told her about her future trip into space.

She felt like an idiot. No, she felt like a selfish idiot. Now, holding her baby, she realized that she didn’t have the right to ask a mother to give up her son just so he could help fight someone else’s battles. It was hard enough that Gohan now seemed to have the responsibility of protecting the Earth, especially considering the fact that Goku’s son had never really seemed to have the heart of a warrior, and he only fought whenever he felt that he had no other choice.

So it seemed it would be just her and Krillin. She knew her old friend wasn’t as powerful as a Saiyan, but he certainly was one of the strongest humans she knew, and his presence next to her would make her feel a bit more secure. She was surprised that it hadn’t taken her too long to convince the man to join her in her trip; to be honest a part of her had actually thought that he’d try to convince her to give up on the idea. She hadn’t given him all the details about Vegeta’s current circumstances, only that Dende had told her that it would be a good idea to bring the warrior back to Earth and that she also wanted him back, especially for Trunks’ sake and because she still believed that the warrior could officially become one of the good guys and act as one of the protectors of their planet. Her friend had agreed with her and he hadn’t asked too many questions, and Bulma had the feeling that deep down he’d known that one of the main reasons for this mission was that she loved Vegeta and she missed him too, but that she was probably too proud and stubborn to discuss her feelings in public. She’d always been like Vegeta in that way.

As Bulma’s plane was getting closer to Capsule Corp., her phone rang. It was her father.

“Bulma?”

“Yes dad, what’s the matter?” she asked worriedly. Her father very rarely called her unless something was going on.

“Um, well, I was wondering… Uh, when will you be home?”

“I’m on my way dad. I can already see our house. Why? What’s going on?”

“Uh, we have a visitor…” the old man said uncomfortably, and then he whispered, “he’s one of your friends and he’s not happy…”

            Well, well... We've found out that a new Saiyan will be born and now we also know that Krillin will join Bulma in her adventure.

In the next chapter, Bulma will have a very heated conversation with that angry friend that just visited her and she'll finally begin her space journey...

You can also find it at Archive of Our Own:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/9066958/chapters/21008846