Nope, I don't own Dragonball Z.
Trunks's eyes drooped and the page in front of him blurred. The teenager rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to clear his vision. He hated to admit it, but his mother was right. He was going to need reading glasses soon. He would be the first four-eyed Saiyan prince.
The teen blinked rapidly until his eyes could focus on the page once more. Spread across his lap was a calculus textbook and his class notes. Tomorrow was the final, the only test given in the class. Trunks couldn't afford to mess up.
The room was dark except for the single bedside lamp. Light crept in from under the closed door. Movement outside caught Trunks's attention. A shadow shifted in front of the door. Then the doorknob turned, followed the creaking of hinges. Bra poked her head in and peered at Trunks.
"What's up, kid?" asked Trunks, setting down the pencil he held in his hand.
Bra slunk into the room. She was wearing one of Trunks's old t-shirts as a nightgown. Her favorite teddy bear, the one Pan had bought her for her birthday, was tucked under one arm. "I had a bad dream."
"Oh?" Trunks tilted his head and watched his sister as she wove her way through the piles of dirty laundry that littered his bedroom floor. She stopped at the end of his bed and turned big, pleading blue eyes to him.
"Can I sleep with you?"
The teenager sighed heavily. "I don't know why you bother asking. You know the answer."
Bra grinned happily and then climbed up at the foot of his bed. She crawled over next to him and squirmed underneath the covers. The small child nestled up next to her brother. "Thanks, oniichan."
"Yeah. Whatever," grunted Trunks. "I'll be up studying some more. Will the light bother you?"
"Nope. I'm afraid of the dark. Goten told me and Pan about how all the evil monsters come out at night and eat up little girls."
The teen scowled. He was going to have to have a little talk with his best friend the following day. He had told his own share of stories that had kept Bra up for weeks at the time, but that was a different case. He was her big brother. It was part of the job description.
Trunks picked back up his pencil and began to scratch out some more equations. The jumble of numbers and letters looked senseless at first glance, but to Trunks they were as simple as addition and subtraction. An excellent grasp of science and mathematics was one of the many perks of being the son of Bulma Briefs.
"Trunks?" interrupted Bra.
He sighed. "What is it, twerp?"
"Is Daddy really a prince?"
Trunks tilted his head to the side and stared down at her quizzically. "Who told you that?"
"Uncle Goku and Mr. Gohan. They told me that Daddy was the prince of all Saiyans. What's a Saiyan?"
"A Saiyan is an alien from another planet. They look like humans with a monkey's tail. They're very strong and have a lot of power."
Bra scrunched up her forehead. "Are we Saiyans?"
"We're half-Saiyan," replied her brother.
"But we don't have tails. Did they fall off?"
"No. They were cut off. That's why we have those funny scars on our backs."
Bra let out an indignant 'humph.' "How dare they cut off my tail! I didn't tell anyone that they could!"
Trunks laughed. "That's because they did it when we were just babies. Saiyans transform during the full moon if they have a tail. You don't want to turn into a giant monkey, do you?"
The small child mulled this over for a minute. "No," she answered sulkily. "But I still want my tail back."
"Well, maybe one day when you're bigger you can find all the dragon balls and wish for it back," answered the teenager.
Bra nodded, obviously pleased with this idea. "So, is Daddy a prince?"
"Yes. He is."
She thought this over for a moment. "If he's a prince, then where is his castle?"
"It was on Vegeta-sei, his home planet. But an evil alien named Freiza destroyed it. He kidnapped Daddy when he was little and then he blew up the entire planet."
Bra's eyes went big at the thought of someone strong enough to destroy an entire planet. She still hadn't grasped the fact that most of the family friends were capable of just that. "If Papa was kidnapped, then how did he end up here with us?"
"Well, he originally came here to destroy this planet. But Uncle Goku beat him up and he had to run away."
"That wasn't very nice," interjected Bra.
"No, it wasn't. But that's before Daddy and Uncle Goku became…friends. Or something like that." Trunks wasn't sure if 'friends' was the proper term. 'Not-so-bitter-of-enemies' seemed to apply better.
"Then what happened?" inquired Bra, squirming up closer to her brother's side.
"Well, then Daddy went to the Planet Namek to find their dragon balls. He wanted to wish to become immortal."
"That's a good wish," commented the little girl.
Trunks glanced down at her warily. "Don't get any ideas, kiddo. Anyway, Mama took Mr. Gohan and Mr. Kuririn in a spaceship to Namek. Papa fought with them to keep the dragon balls away from Frieza."
"Oh! Is that when Mommy and Daddy met!" asked Bra excitedly.
"Yep. But Daddy died on Planet Namek. Uncle Goku came and tried to defeat Frieza. The entire planet blew up and Mama and Mr. Gohan barely escaped."
Bra's blue eyes filled up with tears. "Daddy died?"
"But that's okay! When Mama wished for all the Nameks to be brought back, the dragon balls brought Daddy back too!" explained Trunks hurriedly. "And then Daddy went to live with Mommy here."
"Oh," stated the small child. She thought for a moment then turned back to her brother. "So Daddy was dead, but Mommy used the dragon balls to bring him back, right? And he didn't have to go back and live with that mean Freiza-guy, right?"
"That's right," replied Trunks, smiling.
"So Daddy's a prince and Mommy rescued him. So that makes Mommy a knight, right?"
Her big brother raised his eyebrows. "Yeah…something like that. Now go to sleep Bra. I need to study some more and I'm about to fall over as it is."
"Okay, oniichan," replied Bra as she cuddled up in the blankets. "Night, night. I love you."
"I love you too, twerp."
From outside the door, Bulma wiped away a tear that was trickling down her cheek. Vegeta stood on the other side of the doorframe; he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The pair had overheard Trunks's bedtime story to Bra.
"That was too sweet," whispered Bulma to her husband, nodding her head towards the cracked door.
Vegeta snorted in reply. He pushed off from the wall and began to walk off. As he sauntered past his mate, he gently grasped her arm and tugged, pulling her into his arms. "Come here, my knight," he murmured. He brought his lips to hers in a sweet, slow kiss. Moving away, he beckoned for her to follow him to their bedroom.
"As you wish, my prince," replied Bulma with a smile.
The end.
Trunks's eyes drooped and the page in front of him blurred. The teenager rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to clear his vision. He hated to admit it, but his mother was right. He was going to need reading glasses soon. He would be the first four-eyed Saiyan prince.
The teen blinked rapidly until his eyes could focus on the page once more. Spread across his lap was a calculus textbook and his class notes. Tomorrow was the final, the only test given in the class. Trunks couldn't afford to mess up.
The room was dark except for the single bedside lamp. Light crept in from under the closed door. Movement outside caught Trunks's attention. A shadow shifted in front of the door. Then the doorknob turned, followed the creaking of hinges. Bra poked her head in and peered at Trunks.
"What's up, kid?" asked Trunks, setting down the pencil he held in his hand.
Bra slunk into the room. She was wearing one of Trunks's old t-shirts as a nightgown. Her favorite teddy bear, the one Pan had bought her for her birthday, was tucked under one arm. "I had a bad dream."
"Oh?" Trunks tilted his head and watched his sister as she wove her way through the piles of dirty laundry that littered his bedroom floor. She stopped at the end of his bed and turned big, pleading blue eyes to him.
"Can I sleep with you?"
The teenager sighed heavily. "I don't know why you bother asking. You know the answer."
Bra grinned happily and then climbed up at the foot of his bed. She crawled over next to him and squirmed underneath the covers. The small child nestled up next to her brother. "Thanks, oniichan."
"Yeah. Whatever," grunted Trunks. "I'll be up studying some more. Will the light bother you?"
"Nope. I'm afraid of the dark. Goten told me and Pan about how all the evil monsters come out at night and eat up little girls."
The teen scowled. He was going to have to have a little talk with his best friend the following day. He had told his own share of stories that had kept Bra up for weeks at the time, but that was a different case. He was her big brother. It was part of the job description.
Trunks picked back up his pencil and began to scratch out some more equations. The jumble of numbers and letters looked senseless at first glance, but to Trunks they were as simple as addition and subtraction. An excellent grasp of science and mathematics was one of the many perks of being the son of Bulma Briefs.
"Trunks?" interrupted Bra.
He sighed. "What is it, twerp?"
"Is Daddy really a prince?"
Trunks tilted his head to the side and stared down at her quizzically. "Who told you that?"
"Uncle Goku and Mr. Gohan. They told me that Daddy was the prince of all Saiyans. What's a Saiyan?"
"A Saiyan is an alien from another planet. They look like humans with a monkey's tail. They're very strong and have a lot of power."
Bra scrunched up her forehead. "Are we Saiyans?"
"We're half-Saiyan," replied her brother.
"But we don't have tails. Did they fall off?"
"No. They were cut off. That's why we have those funny scars on our backs."
Bra let out an indignant 'humph.' "How dare they cut off my tail! I didn't tell anyone that they could!"
Trunks laughed. "That's because they did it when we were just babies. Saiyans transform during the full moon if they have a tail. You don't want to turn into a giant monkey, do you?"
The small child mulled this over for a minute. "No," she answered sulkily. "But I still want my tail back."
"Well, maybe one day when you're bigger you can find all the dragon balls and wish for it back," answered the teenager.
Bra nodded, obviously pleased with this idea. "So, is Daddy a prince?"
"Yes. He is."
She thought this over for a moment. "If he's a prince, then where is his castle?"
"It was on Vegeta-sei, his home planet. But an evil alien named Freiza destroyed it. He kidnapped Daddy when he was little and then he blew up the entire planet."
Bra's eyes went big at the thought of someone strong enough to destroy an entire planet. She still hadn't grasped the fact that most of the family friends were capable of just that. "If Papa was kidnapped, then how did he end up here with us?"
"Well, he originally came here to destroy this planet. But Uncle Goku beat him up and he had to run away."
"That wasn't very nice," interjected Bra.
"No, it wasn't. But that's before Daddy and Uncle Goku became…friends. Or something like that." Trunks wasn't sure if 'friends' was the proper term. 'Not-so-bitter-of-enemies' seemed to apply better.
"Then what happened?" inquired Bra, squirming up closer to her brother's side.
"Well, then Daddy went to the Planet Namek to find their dragon balls. He wanted to wish to become immortal."
"That's a good wish," commented the little girl.
Trunks glanced down at her warily. "Don't get any ideas, kiddo. Anyway, Mama took Mr. Gohan and Mr. Kuririn in a spaceship to Namek. Papa fought with them to keep the dragon balls away from Frieza."
"Oh! Is that when Mommy and Daddy met!" asked Bra excitedly.
"Yep. But Daddy died on Planet Namek. Uncle Goku came and tried to defeat Frieza. The entire planet blew up and Mama and Mr. Gohan barely escaped."
Bra's blue eyes filled up with tears. "Daddy died?"
"But that's okay! When Mama wished for all the Nameks to be brought back, the dragon balls brought Daddy back too!" explained Trunks hurriedly. "And then Daddy went to live with Mommy here."
"Oh," stated the small child. She thought for a moment then turned back to her brother. "So Daddy was dead, but Mommy used the dragon balls to bring him back, right? And he didn't have to go back and live with that mean Freiza-guy, right?"
"That's right," replied Trunks, smiling.
"So Daddy's a prince and Mommy rescued him. So that makes Mommy a knight, right?"
Her big brother raised his eyebrows. "Yeah…something like that. Now go to sleep Bra. I need to study some more and I'm about to fall over as it is."
"Okay, oniichan," replied Bra as she cuddled up in the blankets. "Night, night. I love you."
"I love you too, twerp."
From outside the door, Bulma wiped away a tear that was trickling down her cheek. Vegeta stood on the other side of the doorframe; he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The pair had overheard Trunks's bedtime story to Bra.
"That was too sweet," whispered Bulma to her husband, nodding her head towards the cracked door.
Vegeta snorted in reply. He pushed off from the wall and began to walk off. As he sauntered past his mate, he gently grasped her arm and tugged, pulling her into his arms. "Come here, my knight," he murmured. He brought his lips to hers in a sweet, slow kiss. Moving away, he beckoned for her to follow him to their bedroom.
"As you wish, my prince," replied Bulma with a smile.
The end.