Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Sins of the Past ❯ Indoor Plumbing ( Chapter 6 )

Couple of quick things here: Piccolo- thanks for putting up with all my crap, don't know what I would do without you, dumas. Puar-screw you, hippy. And last but not least Zarbon- it's saga, not saGA. Hope everyone is enjoying the story, as always let me know what you think.

Chapter 6

Indoor Plumbing

Bulma paced back and forth across the living room. The woman had said Vegeta should be awake in a few hours and then she would be allowed to see him. It was driving her insane, she needed someone to talk to, but she was told the deal would be off if she told anyone. She couldn't risk it. It's a good thing money is not an issue, she thought, I'm probably going to have to replace the floor by the time this is over. She couldn't think of a damn thing to take her mind off the situation. Luckily Goten had come over and he and Trunks were busy in Trunks' room. At least then she didn't have to explain things to Trunks. She had never thought much about telling Trunks anything about Vegeta's past, he never asked too many questions, and when something did come up, he was always willing to accept the explanation he was given. She glanced at the clock; it had to have been a few hours by now. She was half tempted to storm across the lawn and demand they let her see Vegeta. Instead she went to the kitchen and dug her cigarettes out of their hiding place. She had been so good for the last year, rarely smoking at all, and definitely not where Trunks or Vegeta could see her. Of course, with their saijin sense of smell, they knew when she did, but since it wasn't often, they didn't hassle her about it. She sat at the table and debated on a drink.

The kitchen door opened slowly, and she rose to her feet, anxious for word on Vegeta. Her heart sank when she saw it was Goten. She waved her hand wildly, to brush the smoke from the air and hid the cigarette behind her back. "What are you doing outside?" concern overtaking her as she realized what he could have been doing, "I thought you were in Trunks' room."

He smiled nervously, and scratched the back of his head, "I, um, went out for some fresh air." He stammered.

"How did you get out without my seeing you?" he and Trunks were up to something, she just knew it.

"Hey, Bulma, your back's on fire!" he cried and scrambled off when she turned to try to hide the cigarette.

Bulma growled, put the cigarette out in the sink and stormed up the stairs to find out what the two boys were up to.

Amma reclined in her chair and rolled her neck trying to relieve the tension. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get the saijin prince to tell her the truth about the crimes he was accused of, but she didn't think he could be that stubborn. What kind of idiot refuses to admit they were wrong to save their life? She thought, which only made her headache worse.

"Your mess is cleaned up, Commander Glutton." Sousan announced entering the room without knocking. "In a day or so when that extra layer of fat you were working on kicks in, you can safely hibernate."

"Thanks, Sousan," she answered absently.

Sousan sighed, he had so many good insults ready and she wasn't taking the bait. She was obviously too upset. He came up behind her and started massaging her tense shoulders. "What's the matter? You set yourself up for many insults, I've lost count, and now you're upset so I can't take advantage of the situation. I take it things didn't go well with the prince?"

"That's a bit of an understatement. He refuses to speak, he wants us to take him to the Tribunal."

Sousan shrugged, "So we take him to the Tribunal."

`That's a death sentence and you know it."

"You told him that right?"

"Yes, but it didn't make any difference to him. Hell, I even offered to give him a reading, and make my decision based on what I felt. He turned that down too."

"Screw him then. We have better things to do than beg that arrogant asshole to save his own life."

"That would be my first thought too, except, some asshole had the prince's wife touch me."

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be a joke. I didn't think you would take it so seriously."

"Her emotions were so overwhelming." She shook her head to clear her thoughts; "They made me physically ill. Then like an idiot I promised her I would help."

"You also told her you made no guarantees. If he won't cooperate, there's nothing you can do."

"I can't let this one go." With a sudden grin, she started to the door, "And you're wrong, there is something I can do."

"I shudder to think." His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Talk to his wife."

"Take Ab with you."

"Why?"

"So if you two start fighting he can come and get me, so I can watch." He grinned at her.

"Fucking pig." She snarled as she left.

Goten and Trunks sat on Trunks' bed close together so they couldn't be overheard. "What was it like in there? Did you see my dad?"

"No, the lady didn't let me see him, but she was going to see him when I left. She was really nice, she even let me eat lots of ice cream." Goten told him.

"Really? She seemed kinda crabby to me." Trunks couldn't imagine the woman he'd seen in the kitchen being nice and giving kids ice cream. "My mom didn't see you come in did she? She'll be mad if she knew you went to the ship."

"Well, she was in the kitchen when I came in and…"

"Why didn't you just come in through the window?" he couldn't believe how stupid Goten could be sometimes.

"I didn't think of it. She was in the living room when I left. How was I suppose to know she would go into the kitchen?"

There was a quick knock on the door and Bulma entered, "All right, what are you two up to?"

"Just talking, Mom, that's all." Trunks gave her his most innocent grin.

"Goten, where did you go when you went outside?"

"I, um…" he stammered.

"He had to go to the bathroom." Trunks said, quickly.

Bulma sighed, rolling her eyes, "Trunks, I'm not in the mood for this today…"

"C'mon, Mom, you know the Sons don't have indoor plumbing." Trunks protested while Goten glared at him, "Goten's afraid of our bathrooms."

"I've had enough of you!" Bulma cried, frustrated, "Now quit lying and tell me the truth."

"I was hungry, so I went to get something to eat." Goten said, quickly. It wasn't a lie, at least not entirely.

"We have plenty of food here, why didn't you just ask?" Bulma didn't believe that was the whole truth.

"Last time I did that, Vegeta got mad, so I thought it was better not to ask."

Bulma watched him for a moment, what he said made sense. After all, Vegeta was never one to share anything, so why would he be different with food. "How did you get back here so…"

"Hey, Mom," Trunks interrupted, before she could finish her question, "That lady is coming back."

Forgetting the boys, she hurried downstairs for news about Vegeta.

The moment she was gone, Goten punched Trunks; "We do too have indoor plumbing."