Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Stealing Time ❯ Anger Boils Over ( Chapter 4 )

Stealing Time

Chapter four

After finishing his homework Trunks took a quick shower and headed downstairs to start dinner. On his way past the living room he found his father standing by the large mahogany bookshelf. It went a few feet up from the floor and stretched across arms length. Vegeta was staring at something Trunks couldn't see from his angle. He could also hear words coming from his dad's mouth but couldn't make out what the man was mumbling. 'Huh?' Deciding it was a "Vegeta thing" he kept on going to the kitchen.

By the bookshelf Vegeta stared sharply at a framed group photo of himself, Trunks, Goku and his boys. Almost mimicking the one on the side table by the couch. The Saiyan seemed to be angry with the picture as he suddenly reached out and knocked it face down on the shelf. 'Once I'm rid of them.' He began laughing quietly to himself. Turning away he began walking but stopped after taking two steps from a small throbbing in his head. "Rrr, damn you." Holding his head for probably the hundredth time that day Vegeta struggled with the pain. He managed to get himself over to the couch and sat down. "Huuugh," His breathing became heavy again, chest heaving with every intake and release of air. He leaned over resting his head on his knees. After a minute of this he regained control of himself and the pain dulled down.

"Hey, I'm making a stew is that alri-"

Trunks emerged from the kitchen entry way a large pot in hands and white apron tied around his neck and waist. Not seeing his father anywhere he froze. Vegeta sat up slowly hand on head he was feeling confused and a bit disoriented. 'It happened again. Damnit!' He cursed himself silently for allowing whatever this was to keep affecting him. He's Saiyan, strong and proud not weak and out of control.

"Dad are you alright?"

Vegeta became stiff at the sound of his sons voice startled that he wasn't alone. "...I'm fine Trunks go back to what you were doing." The teen watched his father for a moment, noticing the slow and uneasy way he stood up.

'Goku was right, he might really be sick.' Going back into the kitchen Trunks put the pot down under the sink faucet. He turned the cold water on and left it there to fill up. Then he headed to the back of the kitchen near the pantry and grabbed the phone that hung on the wall beside it. Knowing he'd never get an answer from the receptionist, he dialed Gohan's personal cel-phone number and waited. After a minute or so there was an answer.

"Make it quick I'm in the middle of a rush." Came Gohan's subtle but impatient voice.

"Gohan it's me."

"Trunks? Is everything o.k?"

"I'm good, it's Vegeta though, I think he might be sick and I don't know how serious it is. He's been really out of it today."

"Oh yeah. My dad came around here earlier saying he was acting strange."

"Could you come by later and check him out for me. I could never convince him to go to the hospital and he definitely won't let anyone else near him."

"Sure Trunks, I'll see if I can find time tonight if not I'll be there first thing in the morning o.k- oh gotta go."

"Thanks Gohan." The last thing Trunks heard was a few more words exchanged by Gohan and someone else in the hospital near him before the line went out. Sighing he hung up the phone and stood there staring blankly at the floor. 'Maybe I should hold off on discussing our family relations tonight. If he really is sick I'm sure that'll be the last thing he wants to deal with.' He sighed again ready to lean against the wall but the sound of water spilling over into the sink brought him back to earth. "Oh right." He ran over to the sink shutting off the water. Lifting the heavy pot with ease he dumped some of the excess liquid down the drain then took the pot over to the stove.

"Maybe I should make a soup instead of stew." He pondered his menu while turning the burner on.

In the living room Vegeta stood staring mindlessly at the blank television screen. 'These damn headaches are going to be the end of me.' His hand came up letting his index and thumb massage his temples. Feeling the brief relief he sighed. "I have to get rid of this now." He made his way around furniture obstacles and walked past the kitchen peering in at his son. Trunks was at the counter by the stove engrossed with chopping already peeled potatoes.

Vegeta snuck by into the downstairs bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. "Now where are those damn pills?" He moved this bottle and that out of the way looking for something to ease his pain. "Ahah!" Snatching the medicine he accidentally knocked a few items from the cabinet. "Damnit." He looked behind him out the door hoping Trunks hadn't heard the noise from the kitchen. The last thing he needed was anymore concern and he was in no mood for explaining himself. Picking up the fallen items and placing them back he took what he needed and closed the mirror.

"Non-drowsy, perfect." Repeating an action he'd done times before that day Vegeta took his pills and left the bathroom. He went back into the living room taking a seat and turning the television on as a distraction. He flicked through the channels not knowing what to leave on. He never cared much for TV entertainment to begin with so it didn't matter. Trunks called from the kitchen that dinner would be ready in thirty minutes. Vegeta lifted an unseen hand in recognition that he'd heard him.

At the thought of dinner his stomach rumbled in anticipation. 'I forgot I hadn't eaten anything today.' He put a hand over his stomach applying pressure to cease the offending noise. 'that might explain why I've been having these strange attacks.' He checked the wall clock for the time, he could survive another half hour without food and with the medication he shouldn't be having anymore "attacks" for the rest of the day. "I just need to relax." He lied back against the couch and closed his eyes, sighing.

In the kitchen the lavender haired teen dropped large chunks of vegetables into the pot of boiling broth. 'Sure wish I'd had some help things would go a lot quicker.' Once that task was done he began cleaning up the mess tossing everything into a large rectangular bin. Then he carried that to the back door where the trashcan stood. Using his foot he pushed the little pedal down lifting the trash lid and dumped the contents in. Returning the bin to a place beneath the sink he stood and wiped his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. "That's done." Checking the pot one last time and putting a lid on, he took off his apron and hung it on a hook by the pantry.

A moment later Trunks came out into the living room to join his father, while the stew finished itself off. He sat down beside Vegeta who peeked an eye open at the sudden sinking in of the cushions. Trunks gave him a small smile and Vegeta closed his eye back.

The teen let go of the breath he'd been holding becoming slightly bitter at the way he'd been acting lately. 'I've gotta stop being so paranoid it isn't right to feel uneasy around my own father.' Having scolded himself Trunks allowed his mind to calm down. He slipped the remote from Vegeta's loose hold without any protest from the other and changed the channel to a program of his preference.

For a while his mind wandered as he also closed his eyes. The warmth and good smell of stew coming from the kitchen eased his senses. For that moment he allowed himself to believe that things were perfect in Capsule Corp. He imagined himself coming home from school and his father greeting him from outside, where he'd been out training. They'd both go inside together and discuss the days events, maybe even make plans for later. Trunks had visions of the two of them in the kitchen preparing the nights meal together and then relaxing on the couch as they waited for it to finish. They'd watch T.V together talking about whatever show was on. That to him would have been a perfect life.

Opening his eyes Trunks smiled still feeling the hold of his fantasy embracing him. Having Vegeta resting beside him now made it seem all the more real to the boy. Everything felt so right the way he'd always wanted it to be. Until he accidentally pushed down on one of the remote buttons causing the channel to change. Loud laughter from the TV broke him out of his mental haze and the fantasy was gone.

Vegeta made a low grunt of displeasure at the sudden noise disturbing him. After fumbling with the device, Trunks aimed the remote at the screen turning it down quickly. His eyes became teary with the realization that things weren't as perfect as he'd like them to be. He'd even settle for imperfect but what he had was nothing at all. Standing to check on the stew he quickly dried the forming liquid beneath his eyelids and went into the kitchen.

Vegeta could feel the cold intensity in the air as Trunks exited. "Huh what's his problem?"

_________

"Hahahahaha." Goku laughed all the way to the door that had just been knocked on. Goten, also laughing, paused in his humorous story of an event that had taken place during school earlier. Goku calmed himself to answer the door revealing the Chinese take out delivery boy. He was a strange looking man with tan skin, blue jeans and a blue jacket a size too small for his scrawny figure. His black hair was a greasy mess hiding beneath a red and white cap, matching the sneakers he wore. "Great you're here." Goku smiled politely fishing the money out of his pocket he handed it to the man. "There you go. Thanks." He waved.

"Enjoy." The man bowed taking the money and turning away heading to his delivery car. Goku closed the door back and headed into the kitchen where Goten was already pulling out bowls and chopsticks going to the table. Goku took the food containers from the bag while Goten retrieved drinks.

"To Gohan," the young half Saiyan said and raised his chopsticks. "For paying our way."

Goku joined him raising his own sticks in salute to his eldest son. Since moving out Gohan had made sure to send a check every month to his family to help them out. Since Goku wasn't much of a working man, though he'd occasionally help out anyone in town or the city that needed it at the moment for a small fee, it wasn't enough to support them. And Goten's little part time soda shop job wouldn't pull for the both of them either. The two promised not to use up the money for wasteful wants instead of important needs. However, on occasion they'd indulge themselves in a good meal and an unnecessary item or two. But they always appreciated the young doctors help.

Once they were set up, utensils in hand, food out, drinks opened they dug in. "So go on with the story, what happened to the kid?" Goku asked pausing between a bite of egg roll.

"Right. Well..."

__________

At C.C Trunks had finished setting up the table and spooning stew into two medium sized bowls. Placing them on the table he was about to call Vegeta in but he was already on his way. They both sat down with the sound of chair legs scraping the floor accompanying them. "I hope its good. I tried something different with the flavoring this time." Trunks said picking up his spoon.

"I'm sure its fine." Vegeta replied doing the same they both began eating. More silence shrouded the room interrupted by the occasional clanking of spoons against bowls.

Trunks felt his food going down his throat harder and thicker than he'd have liked it to. Almost as if the discomfort in the room was choking him off at the neck. Vegeta was eating a lot faster then he'd intended to, hungrier than he'd realized. Trunks watched for a moment wondering if he was rushing to get away from him or if he actually liked the food. 'Or maybe he's just hungry.' Deciding on that he turned his attention back to his own meal. Taking a drink first hoping it'd stop the choking feeling.

Vegeta let his spoon dangle over the bowl for a moment. He stared into the vegetable chunked stew feeling suddenly nauseas. As if one more bite would do him in. 'What is this?' Still looking into the bowl right before his own eyes the broth started swirling mixing the veggies with it. 'Huh?' He shut his eyes tight hoping they'd focus upon reopening but nothing changed. 'I must be dizzy from hunger. Or I shouldn't have taken that last pill.' He shook his head a little and the swirling stopped. To keep from being conspicuous he kept eating despite the nauseas churn in his stomach.

Luckily Trunks hadn't noticed a thing having been busy staring into his own bowl. The tension filled quietness was getting to him. It was almost as bad as the quiet stares before a fight broke out and the slightest noise or movement would set someone off. He stabbed at the potatoes with the tip of the spoon breaking the pieces in two. 'I should say something, anything.. but would he listen or care for that matter. Rrrgh He should be the one trying to make conversation, not me. Why should I be the only one uncomfortable?'

Trunks looked up from his food and cleared his throat hoping the other man would get the hint and respond. Vegeta made no attempt to acknowledge him he was too enthralled in the food in front of him. 'That figures. It's now or never Trunks.' Coaching himself on the teen forced his mouth to open and try sparking up some kind of conversation that would hopefully lead to the discussion of their family feud.

"So school was alright today.... Some kid really got it in gym you should have seen it." He laughed uncomfortably. "Goten and the other guys really got on him about it. You see we were-" As Trunks went on explaining the comedic anecdote Vegeta couldn't make out a word he'd been saying no matter how hard he tried to. His head and stomach were spinning, he could see his own hand shaking as he held onto the silver spoon. Almost gripping it, as if he let go he'd fall over. Trunks paused in the story waiting for any kind of sign that his father had been listening but there was none. For some reason at that very moment he couldn't take it anymore. Slamming his hands down on the table, the noise startling Vegeta, he stood pushing the chair back with his legs and glared at the Saiyan prince.

"That's it! This has been going on for too long dad." Vegeta's head came up slowly to stare in bewilderment at his angered son. "I don't know what your problem is with me but damnit, I'm your son. Your only son!" Vegeta's breathing began to quicken as heat rose to his head and it dropped back down again. He could still barely make out what Trunks had been saying, he just felt too sick to focus. "The least you could do is pretend to have an interest in what I'm saying or doing. As hard as I've tried to please you this is what I get in return? Well I'm done!" As he turned away Vegeta spoke a barely audible "Trunks." but the boy was already out and slamming the kitchen door.

Vegeta stood wearily gripping onto the table top for support. The moment he attempted to move away from it something welled up inside of him 'Oh god.' He stumbled away from the table running over to the trash can but not making it he threw up on the kitchen floor. Doubled over he let it all out until his insides had been completely emptied. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood going to the sink to rinse the left overs out. Once he was finished he headed for the living room. Vision slightly blurred the path to the other room began swaying and he passed out on the kitchen floor.

________

After dinner the full and satisfied Saiyan father and son cleaned up the kitchen. There was a loud harsh knocking on the door. Both stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in the direction it came from.

"Goten!"

The two looked to each other. "Trunks?" Goten dropped the empty carton into the trash and ran to the front door flinging it open.

"Gote-"

"Hey! I'm here. What's the matter?" Trunks' hand froze mid-air once there was no door to pound on.

"Sorry, I just- are you ready to go?" Seeing the desperation and pain in his boyfriends eyes Goten knew not to ask anymore questions.

"Yeah gimme a sec." He ran back into the house retrieving his shoes and managed putting them on while still moving towards the door. "See ya later dad Trunks and I are going out." Goku appeared from the kitchen drying his hands on a dish towel.

"Alright but not too late."

"Yeah I know, school night." Trunks' eyes narrowed slightly at the father and son interaction that came so easily with the two. But he quickly softened his features hiding the jealousy welling up inside of him. "Alright let's go."

.........

The walk to town was unusually quiet for both boys. Goten, feeling nothing but isolated tension coming from Trunks, didn't want to make things worse so he kept to himself. Trunks was wrestling with his own thoughts of anger and jealousy trying to calm himself down. What he really wanted to do was go back home and lock himself in his room. Not see a movie but he did promise Goten and chances were he'd run into Vegeta if he went home now and that would just open another mental door to a room of bad feelings. 'Don't be like him Trunks you're better than that.' He told himself.

"So what'd you have for dinner?" It was the best thing he could think of at the moment to break the tension in the air. Goten was a little shocked at the out of the blue question and having been absorbed in the silence he missed what the other had said.

"Huh- What?"

"It doesn't matter I was just starting conversation." Trunks replied.

"Oh, that's good. I thought if I said anything you might blow up or something."

"Funny... but I understand. Guess I didn't come to the door in the politest way."

"Not really. So I take it the talk with Vegeta didn't go as planned." After his question, mostly statement, Goten bit his tongue hoping he hadn't over stepped his boundaries. Just because the other boy was ready to talk didn't mean he wanted to talk about what had upset him in the first place.

"Worse than that it didn't go at all." When Trunks responded Goten mentally sighed of relief and let his tongue free from its prison of teeth. "I tried talking to him first about everyday stuff but he wouldn't even pretend to be interested. It-it was almost like he wasn't even there. Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I got angry and stormed out."

"That's harsh but maybe- well I don't know but you shouldn't give up yet."

"Easier said than done." The tightness in his body began to rise again as he remembered the dinner incident and other ones like it but less harsh from previous times.

"Then for the time being put it out of your mind. Come on the theaters getting closer." He grabbed his boyfriends hand and ran him the rest of the way. "We can even see a horror flick and you can pretend Vegeta's one of the victims."

"Or the monster." Trunks added and despite how much both boys respected the man they laughed. They got into town shortly after a brief run and spotted the big theater sign glowing in neon red. They slowed their pace walking the sidewalk with the other pedestrians. Trunks always enjoyed being out at night. The little town had nothing on the night life of West city but it was pleasant all the same. He was already feeling slightly better and told himself once he got home he'd apologize to his father and make peace. For now, however, he'd try to put it all out of his mind just as he'd done times before.

_________

Vegeta groaned on the floor writhing slightly as he tried to move and regain consciousness. He knew he wasn't asleep, so why couldn't he open his eyes? 'I have to before it happens again.' He tried willing his eyes to open but failed, it was too late he could already hear his name being whispered in the hollow of his mind.

Vegeta.. Vegeta.. Screwing up again. Face down on the ground where you belong.... You're so pathetic!

'I won't listen, I don't hear you!' Hahahahaha. Let us help, do it right for once.

Alone in the darkness Vegeta suddenly felt surrounded but having no clue of by what. He couldn't see it, he couldn't see anything but he felt them- arms and hands reaching out for his still body. "No." Panic took over him and his eyes finally shot open. "Aah!" He sat up fast enough to cause whiplash and began to tear at himself. Scratching and pinching skin or parts of his clothing, trying frantically to remove the hands and arms from his body. He stopped and stayed perfectly still panting heavily. He was in a kneeling position, hands flat against the floor as he sat back on his heels. The Saiyan strained his ears to listen, for something anything but all he heard was the dim sound of the light above softly buzzing.

"They're gone.. gone." He looked around and spotted the unsightly hurl on the floor not too far from himself. His stomach wrenched at the sight and he looked away. He stood slowly holding his abdomen from the lingering pain and nauseasness he felt. Spotting the two bowls of half eaten stew on the table he wondered why they were still there. "Trunks, where the hell is that boy?" He walked himself over to the table carefully so as not to exert his body anymore than it already had been. "No matter, It's probably better that he wasn't here for.... this." He spoke of the slop sitting unwanted on the kitchen floor and the little show he just put on with himself. Taking the bowls to the sink he dropped them in, food and all then proceeded to get a sponge and water to clean up the mess.

Down on hands and knees he wiped up every bit of his innards until the floor showed its linoleum blue. He stood and tossed the soiled sponge into the garbage. Going to the sink he washed his hands then something inside himself told him to stop. Black eyes gazed down into the sink looking over the pot, and bowls with silverware sitting idly in the sink. "Trunks," he thought back about dinner and could only remember the lavender haired boy standing and yelling something until he walked out. "He was upset and I'm guessing at me." He looked back down at the mess and figured he'd clean it up to make up for whatever he'd been accused of. "Just this one time." Even though he felt strange and slightly out of body he went to work cleaning up almost as if someone else were wielding him to do it.

_________

After dropping Goten off from the movie Trunks headed home alone and solemn. He enjoyed himself, sure, but he couldn't keep his mind off Vegeta most of the time. Wondering if he were upset with him, what would happen once he got home. How will he apologize, should he even apologize. He'd even started feeling guilty half way through the movie for leaving Vegeta alone like that in his condition. All this was distracting him from the movie and from Goten which made the walk home a little awkward. Trunks had apologized to Goten once they got to his house, for being distant and boring. Although Goten said it was alright, Trunks could tell he was hurting too.

'This mess just keeps getting worse and the last thing I want is to pull Goten down with me.'

Getting to the door of Capsule Corp he walked in to darkness. All the lights had been turned off and the TV. He found his way through the blackness to the kitchen and flicked the switch up. "Huh?" Looking around he noticed that everything had been cleaned up and put away. "Did he-?" Suddenly feeling guilty about the scene he'd made earlier Trunks left the kitchen to find his father. Getting up the stairs he went to the room at the end of the hall and slowly opened the door.

"Dad?... You in here?" He turned the light on hoping it wouldn't wake his father up if he were asleep. Spotting Vegeta in his bed he turned the light off immediately. "I'll just apologize in the morning, maybe I can try talking to him again tomorrow." Smiling to himself he backed out of the room leaving Vegeta to his peaceful slumber. Unaware that the Saiyan prince wasn't actually sleeping peacefully at all but struggling with another unwanted nightmare.