Weekend With the Brats

By: Sadako

Part One: Vegeta Opens His Big Mouth

"4,997… 4,998…. 4,999… 5,000!"

With a look of satisfaction on his tired face, Vegeta wobbly rose to his feet. There. He had finally done it. He did 5,000 pushups under 300x gravity. This had to be some kind of record for training; it had to have been better than what Goku could've ever done! Vegeta was once again determined to train harder than and surpass Goku.

He was here in the Gravity Room training every morning and evening, resting only when he eats or sleeps. Of course, this caused some problems with the people he was living with. Dr. Briefs outwardly showed good humor, but deep down, he wasn't sure if he could deal with Vegeta's temper and commands (not to mention his constant threats).

Mrs. Briefs pretty much stayed out of Vegeta's way as well, aside from being yelled at to cook and clean. The family cat didn't even dare to look at Vegeta.

But the two most annoying people of all…

The door to the Gravity Room opened slowly, and a creaking sound filled the hollow room. The sunlight from the outside poured into the room, and a tiny shadow was visible. There was the sound of something hitting the ground, followed by a groan.

"Owwaahh… Daddy, can ya turn that off?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, as he knew who that was. This was the third time Trunks came to see him today, and every time he had something to show him or something to say. They were silly things, Vegeta thought. A blue rock? A colorful feather? A two-headed bug?

So? Vegeta thought. That was completely a waste of time to him. But, pretending to be interested in what Trunks brought satisfied him. And that meant he would finally shut up and go away.

Vegeta crossed his arms. "What in Kami's name do you want now, boy?"

The 5 year old had collapsed and was trembling under the great pressure the Gravity Room exerted. "To…turn that off…"

Vegeta uncrossed his arms and unhappily did as his son requested. Then, with a look of annoyance on his face, he asked, "Now why are you here?"

Trunks wobbly stood to his feet and grinned. "I wanna play."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Trunks giggled. "I wanna play with you, Daddy!"

"No!" Vegeta protested. "How dare you interrupt me to tell me something so stupid!"

The little boy frowned. "But you haven't played with me in a long time. I wanna play with you here."

"Does the Gravity Room look like a place to play to you?!"

Trunks's bottom lip quivered. "Umm…"

Vegeta laughed a little. "You really want to spend some time with your father in here?"

A wide smile was on Trunks's face, and he nodded excitedly. "What game are we gonna play first?" His father smirked. "I promise you'll like this game. It's called 'Who Wants to Be Strong?'"

Trunks frowned. "Huh? I don't wanna train, Daddy."

Vegeta, thinking his game would appeal to Trunks, grew impatient. "Fool! If you want to spend time with me in here, that means you're going to train!! Now get in a fighting stance!"

Trunks shook his head. "But I wanna play. Not train. Mommy said you have to play with me."

Vegeta got in his fighting stance and growled. "You are playing! You're playing 'Who Wants to Be Strong?' And I could care less what the woman says."

Trunks reluctantly got in a fighting stance, his shoulders dropping with disappointment. "I really don't wanna do this, Daddy. We train too much…"

Vegeta glared at him. "You're whining too much, boy! There's no such thing as too much training! You are a Saiyan. You have to be stronger than everyone else!"

Trunks's eyes widened. "Even Goten? He's my best friend."

"Especially him!! You're going to be stronger than both of Kakarot's spawns! If we keep training more often, you can be twice as strong as Kakarot by the time you're Gohan's age!"

Trunks sighed. "This sounds like a lot of hard work."

Vegeta smirked. "But worth it in the end. Now let's start sparring!"

Trunks weakly brought his fists up to guard his face and chest. He looked at his father, trying to read his movements. Concentrating on avoiding as much pain as possible, he started bouncing from side to side.

"Quit jumping around!" Vegeta snapped. "Attack me, boy!"

Trunks nodded. "Ok! Here I come, Daddy!"

He ran as fast as his little legs could take him, and jumped in the air before Vegeta. He unleashed a roundhouse kick to Vegeta's head, but his father was unfortunately faster than he was. He grabbed Trunks's leg and spun him in several circles.

"Ahhh!" Trunks exclaimed. He tried to free his leg from Vegeta's death grip.

"Heh," Vegeta chuckled, and spun Trunks in a few more circles before letting him go. Amused, he watched the boy fly and crash into a padded wall, which contained many imprints of Trunks's body. Another imprint was made in the left-hand corner.

Groaning once he got to his feet, Trunks rubbed his sore head. "Owww…"

Vegeta scoffed. "Pathetic. Why do you always fall for that one? I keep telling you to constantly shift your weight to avoid looking predictable! And you usually put yourself at a disadvantage when you're in the air. Haven't you learned a thing?"

Trunks looked up at Vegeta, still rubbing his head. "Huh?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "My point proven. Now attack me again!"

Trunks clenched his tiny fists. "This time you won't catch me!"

He charged towards Vegeta again, running towards him at an incredible speed. Vegeta waited for just the right moment before sticking his leg out and tripping the child. Trunks fell on his face, which was flushed red with embarrassment.

Growling, he stood up again and turned around, only to be greeted by a fist coming his way. He ducked, but the fist was turned into an uppercut at the last minute. Trunks yelled in pain, as he realized his father's uppercut punch caused him to bite his tongue.

His hands flew to his hurting mouth, which left the rest of his body open to another one of Vegeta's attacks. He slightly kicked him in the stomach, and Trunks collapsed to his knees. One hand was at his mouth, and the other was clutching his stomach. He groaned in true pain.

Vegeta recoiled in surprise. "What? I barely touched you! And what did I tell you about letting your guard down?"

Trunks's blue eyes filled with tears. "You tripped me!"

"You were so focused on offense that you totally forgot about defense," Vegeta explained. "I did what I did to help you realize that."

Trunks sniffled. "But that made my face all red. And…and I still bit my tongue!"

"You let your guard down!"

Trunks added bitterly, "And you kicked me real hard in my stomach. I have a tummy ache now."

"You let your guard down!" Vegeta repeated impatiently. "Now shut up with the excuses and get up! You've been playing too much and now it's time to work for all the play you played!"

"Eh?" Trunks sniffled again. "I've only been playing with Goten lately."

"His weak attitude is starting to rub off on you!" Vegeta exclaimed. "See how you're about to cry? Don't let the weak make you weak!"

"But Goten's pretty strong too, Daddy," Trunks defended his best friend. "He's Goku's kid after all."

Vegeta laughed dryly. "Kakarot's dead. What did he ever do?"

"Well, Gohan sometimes trains Goten. But his mom trains him the most. I saw them when I went over."

"Even worse!" Vegeta laughed. "What a waste of Saiyan abilities. Oh well. Your job of defeating the kid will be easier. Now get up! Our match isn't over yet!"

Trunks grumbled. "But my body still hurts…"

"Guess you need a little help!" Vegeta said, and grabbed Trunks's arm. He lifted him to his feet and let go. "Now let's go!"

Trunks sat down, refusing another painful round of sparring. "Hmm-hmm."

"Come on!" Vegeta yelled, grabbing Trunks by the front of his gi and lifting him in the air. "If you don't come on, I'll-"Suddenly, the door to the Gravity Room opened. The second most annoying person had arrived…

"Vegeta!" Bulma exclaimed, seeing her husband holding her son like that. "What do you think you're doing?! Let go of Trunks!"

"Fine," Vegeta huffed, and dropped Trunks. The child grunted when he hit the floor. Standing up, he rubbed his head again, moaning as if he were going to cry.

"Vegeta!" Bulma exclaimed again, stepping into the Gravity Room to retrieve her son. "What's wrong with you? That's not how you hold our son!"

"I wasn't holding the boy! I was training him so he won't be a weak brat!"

At the mention of the word 'training', Trunks went on to tell his mother of the things Vegeta said and did.

Bulma frowned. "I keep telling you that you're too hard on Trunks! You place too much pressure on him. He's only five!"

Vegeta crossed his arms. "Hmph. I wouldn't have to put so much pressure on him if he wouldn't play so much."

"He's a boy!" Bulma argued. "He's supposed to play, for Kami's sake! Not everyone is obsessed with hurting themselves like you. Don't teach Trunks that obsession."

Her husband frowned. "It isn't an obsession. It's the duty of a Saiyan to become strong! I'm preserving our culture. See, it's educational."

Bulma laughed sarcastically. "Don't give me that educational crap. You don't know a thing about education."

Trunks's tugged his mother's pants leg. "Mommy, can I go now? I wanna go catch frogs with Goten."

Bulma nearly forgot her son was there, listening to her and Vegeta argue. She sighed. "Umm, sure Trunks. Just go…"

The boy ran off, happy to leave his father.

Bulma glared at Vegeta once Trunks was gone. "Look, just because you've had a rough childhood doesn't mean you can give Trunks one."

Vegeta laughed. "Your word games won't work with me. Believe me, training Trunks is giving him a better childhood than others. Those other punks grow up to get beat up in junior high, and they don't know what to do about it. Trunks will be way ahead of the game. So I know what I'm doing when I'm enhancing his childhood! I know a thing or two about what goes on with kids today."

Bulma laughed. "You know nothing! You don't know a thing about kids today, let alone our own son! You can't even make him a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

Vegeta turned away. "Who wants to eat that crap? It's disgusting. This isn't going to turn into another useless talk about child rearing, woman."

"Looks like I'll have to keep talking to you until you know what it's like to properly care for a child."

"I already know how to!" Vegeta argued.

Bulma laughed superiorly. "Really? Well, I'm giving you a chance to prove your words."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "What kind of bet is this, woman?"

"It's not a bet. Think of this as another one of those responsibilities you were talking about. As a father, you should be able to take care of your son. Now I'm going to let you do it without my help."

"…"

Bulma continued, "I'll be going to a conference in South City, and I'll be leaving Friday. I won't be back until Monday evening, so during that time, you'll have to look out for Trunks."

"This is a bet!" Vegeta accused. "What stupid conference?"

"We're going to discuss the formulation of new capsules we're thinking of making. And I'm going to distribute the ideas and-"

"Whatever!" Vegeta interrupted. "Why can't your father look out for the boy?"

"Dad's busy as it is," Bulma explained. "He already does more for Trunks than you."

"Hmph. Why don't you get your mother to look out for Trunks then?"

Bulma's eye twitched. "My mother? She'll kill Trunks! She's not very bright about too many things. Besides, she's not feeling well."

"Heh, heh. I can see this is where the genes come in," Vegeta mumbled to himself. He was amused. He knew Bulma really thought he couldn't take care of Trunks. Hah. He'll show her.

"Ok, woman. You don't think I can handle the brat, but I'll prove you wrong. If I take care of the squirt and everything goes fine, then you owe me complete privacy in the Gravity Room for three whole days. Three whole days of complete, uninterrupted training to myself."

Bulma crossed her arms. "And if you manage to screw up?"

Vegeta seemed thoughtful. "Then I'll buy the boy some candy, take him to the park. You know, nice fatherly crap like that."

"And I'll go with you, so I know you won't take him to the park to train."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine, woman. We have a deal."

To be continued…

Is Vegeta really ready for everything he just agreed to? How well will he be able to handle Trunks for a whole weekend?

Look for Part Two: More Brats?!