Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Birth of a Prince ❯ Morning has Broken ( Chapter 16 )

Part 16 Morning has broken

Goku woke to a small bundle of purring warmth curled on his chest. He frowned briefly, wondering how the chibi had gotten there before he remembered the events of the night before. He smiled softly at the tiny child sleeping so peacefully, thumb tucked into a slack mouth, blue-black tail curled around a small hand, and….ewww…a puddle of baby drool beneath the satin cheek. He moved the chibi carefully, setting him down on the mattress beside him gently so as not to wake him and wiped the slimy pool off of his chest with the bed sheet.

Lonely, he remembered. Sage had felt lonely last night. That was why he had come looking for him. Goku was puzzled not only at knowing why the child had come to him, but that the child had come to him, and not his father. He thought for a moment, remembering the layout of the upstairs, and searching for Vegeta's ki. He knew Vegeta's bedroom wasn't far from the nursery, so why had Sage….ah….Vegeta wasn't in his room, he was all the way down the hall with Bulma. The flash of a frown momentarily grazed the bronzed face of the Saiyjin, but it passed without Goku having the slightest idea that it had ever been there in the first place.

"So," he murmured to the sleeping baby. "You were lonely, and tousan was too far away." Goku cocked his head, thinking. How had the baby gotten all the way here anyway? Goku's room was certainly closer than Bulma's, but Sage wasn't quite two months old yet, and yesterday at least he still couldn't crawl. He looked at Sage again, noticing for the first time what looked like burns on the underside of the baby's forearms, and fists. Raw and red, they were almost bleeding in some spots. And Goku suddenly remembered, the odd combat style creeping that Sage had been doing just before they left the campsite. He looked at the baby's arms again; they were carpet burns! Kami, he thought in admiration. He basically slithered all the way here from his room! You are going to be one heck of a warrior, little chukra, he thought affectionately.

As though the sleeping chibi could hear his thoughts, bright black eyes blinked open and fixed Goku with a steady stare. Then Sage smiled. His whole face lit up as he reached for Goku to pick him up. Dazedly, the elder Son complied, wondering again at the surge of paternal warmth that Vegeta's son evoked in him. He had felt it for the first time during the camping trip that first night while Vegeta had been fixing dinner. At the worst possible time, the younger Vegeta had woken up with a howl that had drawn Goku into the kitchen. He could hear Vegeta trying to comfort his son, while simultaneously struggling not to ruin dinner. He knew of Sage's infamous temper of course, so he had been surprised at himself when he picked up the screaming chibi and spoke to him softly and soothingly. He had been even more surprised when Sage quit crying and wrapped his tail around his wrist, snuffling and hiccupping slightly as he clutched at Goku's chest. Over the next couple of days it had happened again, and then again. And even here, last night it had happened at least twice. Once during that disastrous conversation in the living room when Sage had collapsed trying to rise to all fours and he had scooped up the chibi without thinking twice about it. He noticed Bulma's astonished face as she had looked from him to Vegeta, and back, but in the end saying nothing. And again, when he had tracked Vegeta down and taken Sage away from the irate man so that they could both calm themselves.

Sage chirped inquiringly, and Goku grinned as he heard the tiny stomach rumble. "Up for some breakfast, are you?" he asked, tickling the crease in Sage's neck. Sage giggled, his tail thrashing wildly. "I'm a bit gnawish myself," Goku admitted. "What do you say we head down to the kitchen and grab ourselves a bite?" Sage squealed happily and kicked his legs in anticipation. Goku, correctly interpreting that as an enthusiastic "yes," rolled out of bed and thumped off downstairs, Sage cuddled securely in one large arm, tail curled firmly around Goku's bicep.

Vegeta woke abruptly, sitting straight up in bed. For a brief moment, he was disoriented, wondering where exactly he was, and what had woken him. Then he caught her scent. He glanced over at the teal haired woman sleeping on her stomach next to him, one bare hip just touching his. They had made up explosively last night, consuming each other's flesh with lustful abandon, stopping only at actual intercourse. Bulma still had a couple of weeks or so to go before the doctor cleared her for "regular" sex. Vegeta groaned softly. Last night had been fun, but even as Bulma's mouth brought him to a shattering climax, it was Kakkarott's face that flitted across his brain, Kakkarott's scent that tickled his nose as he erupted with a feral roar. A puzzled expression crossed his face as he again tried to pinpoint what exactly had brought his sudden wakefulness. Usually it was Sage, demanding a morning diaper change and or a breakfast bottle, but he didn't hear Sage's insistent voice. He reached out, searching for his son's smallish, but still impressive ki signature, and froze, not finding it where he expected it. It was downstairs, in the kitchen, with…Kakkarott.

Vegeta was up and out of bed, pulling on a pair of drawstring pants as he headed out the door and down the hall before stopping at the nursery, a faint scent tickling his nose and forcing him to pause. Something was….off here.

No one had been in this room recently, save Sage. He could smell Bulma's scent, and his own, probably left over from last night as they had put the sleeping chibi in his crib. Kakkarott's scent was missing from the room entirely. That didn't make any sense, since Sage's ki was clearly with the younger Saiyjin's. There was something though…a small, but distinct trail. It led from the crib, in a straight, unwavering line to the door. It seemed to pause, and then turn to the left, continuing down the hall and stopping at the first guest bedroom. Vegeta sneezed violently, once, twice, three times, as his intense concentration on the small scent trail left him unprepared for a nose full of Kakkarott. Yes, his son had come here last night, how and why was a mystery to Vegeta. He scowled, wondering why Sage hadn't come to him. He raised his head, and then his eyes widened as he looked down the hall, measuring the distance from the nursery to Kakkarott's room and from the nursery to the room where he had spent the night with Bulma. He breathed a sigh of relief. It had been closer, that was all. No doubt had he been in his own room, Sage would have come to him.

Jealous Vegeta, he thought to himself? No, he wasn't jealous. Well maybe he was a little, but it wasn't really much of a shock if you thought about it. For some odd reason, his chibi likedthat bakayaro Kakkarott. Like his father, ne? That idiot, traitorous voice whispered to him. He waved it away impatiently, and set off for the kitchen and his son.

He found them, sitting at the table, Kakkarott trying to eat with one hand, while holding Sage and a bottle with the other hand as Bulma's airhead mother busied herself at the stove, keeping Kakkarott's plate full. Three empty bottles stood in testament to Sage's voracity, and he was hard at work on a fourth.

"Hey Vegeta," greeted the larger Saiyjin cheerfully. "Guess who popped in for a visit last night?"

Vegeta's mouth quirked with a faint smile in spite of himself. "Hai," he replied casually. "Any particular reason Kakkarott?" He didn't really expect an answer, and was startled when the younger man replied.

"I think he was lonely."

Vegeta looked at his youngest son, and then at Kakkarott.

"Lonely? Why do you say that," he wondered.

Goku shrugged. "It's just the feeling I got from him. He was lonely."

Vegeta simply stared at the man. He was quite right; Vegeta could feel the desperate loneliness that Sage had felt last night, his wanting for someone, preferably his tousan to come for him, his determination to not be alone anymore. But how did Kakkarott?

His musing was interrupted as Sage flung the empty bottle onto the floor and screeched for his father.

"I think he wants you," said Goku with a small smile. "Be careful though Vegeta."

"What? Why Kakkarott," asked Vegeta as he reached for his chibi.

"His arms and fists are covered with carpet burns. I was going to take care of them after he ate."

Vegeta cradled his small son close to him, and gently turned over one chubby arm. He gasped at the raw burns marring that petal soft skin. He ran one finger gently across the discolored skin and started as Sage growled softly.

"I'm sorry, chukra," he said quietly in Saiyjino. "But we are going to have to clean these up. You will need to be brave little one."

Sage's eyes narrowed as he contemplated his father. Then without warning, he turned his head, and sank three sharp little blood teeth into his father's arm, blood immediately rising to the surface in scarlet pearls as Vegeta smiled at his youngest son. Behind him, Mrs. Briefs hummed to herself as she prepared more food, stacking pancakes like roofing shingles on platters in preparation for the chibi invasion that was certain to start at any time. And Goku smiled at the exquisite picture the two Vegeta's made, father and son, carbon copies of each other. One with a punctured and bloodied arm, the other with a blood smeared face, both content, and undeniably Saiyjin. A small wistful sigh escaped his chest as he watched the pair exit the room to tend to Sage's injuries, and probably to bind up Sage's latest "love bite."

To be continued…..