6: The unavoidable

"You're seriously in some deep, deep trouble, young man!" He'd barely set a foot inside and his mother was already on him like a hawk drawn to its prey. That was what he felt like now, prey. He'd stalled coming home as long as he'd dared, but he knew he had to face them sooner or later.

"Am I?" He knew he could not back down now. Things had to change around here. Trunks glared at his mother, avoiding to look at his approaching father. He could feel anger and impatience emanating from the saiyan prince and dared not look at him straight away. At the same time, though, he felt his own anger grow rapidly.

"You know the rules and you broke about every one of them last night!"

"So? They're your rules that you made up when I was a kid." Trunks told them. "I'm almost fourteen now and I'll be going to high school next semester. I'm old enough to have a say in the rules I live by."

He watched his father getting even more tense, but his mother seemed to actually listen for a change. "And what rules would you suggest, then?"

"Nine thirty is too early to go to bed." Trunks decided to start with. "I can decide for myself when I'm tired and how much sleep I need." He looked at his parents, but neither was speaking so he continued. "And I want to be able to go out on school nights, without having to tell you where I'm going." He crossed his arms and waited for them to speak.

His parents looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation before his mother replied "I'll agree to the bedtime thing if you keep your grades up. But I don't like the idea of you hanging out wherever at night for however long you like. You're only thirteen."

"I'll be in high school soon." Trunks replied. "Nobody has to check with his mummy every time he wants to hang out with friends."

Bulma was about to fight him on that, but to her surprise and Trunks' Vegeta beat her to it. "You can go out on two school nights without telling us where you go." He said.

"When your punishment is over." Bulma added. "But you'll tell us that you're going out and you'll be back by nine."

"Nine?" Trunks asked incredulous. "That's way too early. I shouldn't have to be home until eleven!"

Bulma looked at her son. She was not happy with letting him go out without her knowing where he went at all. "Ten." She offered finally. "Take it or leave it." She knew how to negotiate. Although she hadn't expected to be coming to that stage of his development so soon.

Trunks grumbled something, but he knew he wasn't going to get more out of this now. At least this gave him a chance to prove to his parents he was fine on his own. Besides, ten was still better than nine. "Fine." He'd try again after his birthday.

"What else?" His mother asked.

"I want money to buy my own clothes and stuff."

Surprisingly, his mother nodded at that. "I was expecting that sooner or later." She said. "We'll discuss the details another time because I want to show you some bills first."

Wow, that was easy. "Alright."

"Anything else you're displeased with?" It was Vegeta who spoke now and Trunks slowly turned to him.

"Yes." He was going to walk on thin ice now and he knew it, so he checked to be sure his ki was definitely below that of his father, then he took a deep breath and said with as much resolve as he could muster "You're not going to hit me anymore."

His mother's eyes widened, but his father's eyes narrowed instead. "You're a saiyan, boy!" He said tightly. "I'll be damned before I raise you like you're anything less."

Trunks' eyes narrowed to match those of his father. He knew this would be a crucial point. "I'm only half saiyan and we don't live on planet Vegeta, we live on planet earth."

"That is irrel-"

"It's illegal to hit your children here." Trunks continued. "I won't take it anymore. You can think of punishments that fit the human race if I do something wrong or I will tell someone."

"Feh." Vegeta spat. "Like I would let any weak human take my kid away from me."

"You would if you wanted to keep living like this." Trunks replied. He'd been thinking this answer out last night. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get the company in if anyone got wind of the fact that Capsule Corp. allows child abuse?" He just wanted his father to keep his hands off them. Bra would be old enough soon for his father to start paying attention to her. He knew how he hated it every time the stronger man decided he had a beating coming and he wanted desperately to spare her the same hate.

"Are you threatening me now, brat?" Vegeta growled, but Bulma put a hand on her husband's arm, her other hand covering her mouth.

"I think he's right, Vegeta." She said quietly. "If he says he doesn't want it anymore then it has to stop."

"He's a saiyan!" His father told his mother, but Bulma shook her head.

"He's also human. Like you I thought he was okay with it since you're all so strong, but look at your son. He's completely serious about everything he said."

Trunks blinked at that. She had known what was going on. She'd seen it happen before and she had never once tried to stop it. Why would she be on his side now? He'd been sure she'd choose her father's side. She always did when his father said he wanted to raise his son at saiyan standards. What was different now?

Vegeta fully turned to her. "You're saying you choose your precious company over my way of raising my son, woman?"

"I'm saying I'm choosing my son's mental health and stability over the barbarian ways of a planet long dead." They both saw how his father's eye started twitching at that and for a moment Trunks thought he was going to explode, but his mother continued on quickly. "He's not asking you to stop all the other saiyan stuff you do, only that you don't use physical violence as a punishment anymore."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do instead? Ground him?"

"For example." Bulma nodded. "Take away his computer and tv, make him write lines. Whatever he doesn't like to do will work just as well."

"He needs to feel it when he's gone too far or he'll never learn. If he doesn't like to feel physical pain then he had better behave."

"If he doesn't want to be locked in his room to be bored to death he will have to behave as well." His mother's voice was slightly raised now. "If he doesn't want his privileges like hanging out with friends taken away then he will behave as well."

His father still did not seem willing to give in. "And why is your method allowed while mine is all wrong, woman?" Trunks could feel a big fight coming up and he was starting to feel sorry he'd said anything. He didn't want to be the cause of even more fighting!

"Because your way is making him hate you." Bulma told he husband.

"He's a teenager. They hate the whole world."

"But they're not scared of it. Not like he's scared of you."

"What?" Vegeta growled

His mother actually saw that? If she knew he was scared to death of his father sometimes then why had she not said something before?

"He told Yamcha he thought you were going to kill him for sure this time if he didn't give you time to cool down and Yamcha is no fool when he says he believes someone." Bulma answered, her voice too loud now to be classified as simply talking.

"You're trusting that scar-faced weakling on his word now, are you?"

"Yes I am!" His mother was shouting now. "Why the hell do you think your son is threatening you with child services, huh? If he wasn't afraid of you he wouldn't need to resort to such measures, you blindsided fool!"

Vegeta didn't answer. Instead he caught a glimpse of his son who was looking at the both of them with utter terror in his eyes. His parents were fighting now because of him. They were fighting because he'd told them he didn't want to be beaten anymore and the more their argument progressed the more certain he was his father was going to seriously hurt him and perhaps his mother as well. He'd attacked his father on his saiyan pride and that was always enough to warrant a beating. This time he was sure it was going to hurt so much!

His father still did not speak. Instead he was looking at Trunks as if he only saw him for the first time. Was this how he'd looked at his future version when he found out who he was? Trunks had heard the stories of what happened when he was just an infant.

Trunks took a careful step back, his whole body tense for the outburst he was sure was going to come, but his father just didn't move.

"You fear me."

Was is a question or a statement? Trunks swallowed and his ki dropped so low it was barely detectable. "N-no." Too much defiance. Even he could hear the lie in his answer.

Trunks and his mother both did not speak as Vegeta seemed to be thinking about a whole lot of things at once. The silence was thickening with tension but there was only one who would break it.

"Very well." His father had trouble speaking those words. "But you'd better accept whatever other punishment is handed out without complaint or I will return to my way." Trunks said nothing, but his mother visibly relaxed. "Do you have more demands to make?"

Trunks' mouth moved, but no sounds was coming out.

"Hmph, then get the hell out of my sight, brat!" Vegeta answered, seemingly having regained some of his pride. "And remember, you're grounded for a month."

Gladly, Trunks fled the room.

little princess

I'm not American so I don't know at what age high school starts exactly, but I figured it had to be at age 14 if you graduate when you're 18.

Also, this chapter was inspired by something I read in a magazine. A mother told how her son of about 13 suddenly decided to tell them he disagreed with their rules and wanted part in making them. And she realised that he was actually right. It is what inspired the whole story, because I could see Trunk do such a thing. For now this is the last chapter. I doubt I'll ever pick it up again but one should never say never.