Before I knew it, four years had passed. Time had seemed to completely escape me. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how time had passed so quickly.

The triplets were now five years old. For five years, Vegeta and I had raised three babies into toddlers; and they were still alive, which was the most amazing part.

At lost had happened in the past four years.

We’d grown older and wiser, and, through trial and error, had pretty much figured out how to deal with life’s everyday challenges.

Three years ago, Gohan married Videl; and then the fallowing year, I got my first grandbaby, Pan. She is just as beautiful as all the rest of them; jet black hair, wide dark eyes, a tiny little mouth that quivers whenever she’s upset. She is defiantly one of my favorite people. She was now, really, the only thing that tied me and Chi-chi together.

Chi-chi and I had gotten a divorce; which no one really cared about but her. She threw out all my stuff onto the lawn, waited for it to rain, and then called me to come pick it up. But that’s Chi-chi for you.

The triplets had learned a lot and had grown quiet a bit in the past four years; even though they were a bit small compared to most kids their age. Vegeta said it was because Saiyans did most of their growing during puberty; but I think it’s because Vegeta himself is so small.

But today was a far new adventure.

Today was their first day of kindergarten. We were taking them to Bulma’s house to drop them off. We decided it would be a good idea for the triplets and Bra to all take the bus together, so that none of them get kidnapped.

Well, Bulma and I thought it was a good idea; Vegeta thought it was a waste of time.

When we touched down, and the concept of going to school became more and more real to them, they started asking questions even more furiously than before.

“What are we going to school for?” Lys asked, grabbing onto my hand as we walked up the sidewalk.

“So you can learn things.” I replied.

“Like what?” Vienna asked, taking my other hand.

“Like…” I trailed off. I’d never gone to school. I didn’t know the first thing about school. “Like all sorts of stuff. Like how to read and write.”

“I know how to do that!” Vienna cried and the boys nodded.

“You’ll learn some other stuff too; stuff Da hasn’t taught you yet.”

Their eyes grew wide. “Like what?” Lys asked again excitedly.

I leaned down like I was going to tell them some forbidden secret, and then said, “You’ll have to find out once you get there.”

They all sighed melodramatically. “Okay…” They said in unison.

I straightened once Vegeta opened the door. “Like what?” He asked me as they ran inside to find Bra.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was trying to get them excited about school.”

He frowned. “And here I thought you knew some fantastic secret.”

I shook my head with a smile. “Nope.”

Inside, the triplets had crowded around her as Bra sat on the floor while Bulma was trying to get her shoes on. Every time Bulma put one on, and moved on to the other, Bra would pull it off and laugh.

“Da taught me how to tie my shoes, Momma!” Vienna cried. Bulma smiled and congratulated her before she ran off down the hall, chasing the boys.

Bra turned and saw us for the first time.

“Da!” She hopped to her feet, shoes or not, and ran to Vegeta, hugging him around the leg. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

He picked her up and placed her on his hip. “I saw you two days ago.”

“But only for like ten minutes!”

“It was an hour and a half,” he protested.

She gave him a sour look and then hugged him around the neck. “Are you going to school with me?”

“No; I’m going to stay here with your mom.”

“Will you be here when I get back?”

He nodded.

She turned to me. “Are you going to be here too, Papa?”

All of them called me Papa now; even Pan. Sometimes even Bulma caught herself calling me that.

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be here.”

“Okay! Bye Da!” She kissed his forehead and then wriggled until he put her down. She ran off to play with the triplets.

“Bra, I need to put your shoes on!” Bulma cried after her, but she was already gone. She sighed and stood up. “She’s getting on my last nerves today.”

I laughed. “This early?”

She turned to us with a smile that was no longer awkward or forced; but still distant. “Nice to see you guys again.”

Vegeta nodded in response.

“Is Bra excited about school?” I asked. “The kids have been talking about it for weeks.”

Bulma nodded. “Oh, yes. She’s so excited that now she gets to be a big kid and go to school like Trunks and Goten.”

Trunks and Goten are both in college; Trunks is going into business and Goten doesn’t know what he wants to be yet.

I crossed my arms. “What does she want to be when she grows up?”

Bulma paused for a moment to think. “An actress, a veterinarian, a marine biologist and she wants to work at 7 Eleven because she likes their Slurpies.”

I laughed just as the boys came into the room.

Lysander was chasing after Aizel, who had apparently taken his book bag and wouldn’t give it back.

As they ran past, Vegeta snatched the book back and handed it back to Lysander, who was pretty frustrated as it was.

Like Vienna, Lysander was a little slow to anger. But when he was angry, his wrath came quick and hard.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Lysander?” Bulma asked, crouching a little.

He thought for a moment. “A fireman!” Then he decried, “No, wait, a policeman! And a super hero!” He changed his mind once more, “No, I want to be a crocodile hunter!”

She nodded. “That sounds like fun… What about you Aizel?”

He looked down at the floor, his former bully-like demeanor dropping at once. “I don’t know.” He said quietly. “A painter?”

Before she could respond, Bra came running into the room, Vienna in tow.

“The bus is here!” She cried jumping up and down, “The bus is here!”

Bulma gave a panicked gasp and then practically threw her daughter to the floor and shoved her shoes onto her feet.

“Get your stuff together guys!” She said to the triplets. “What are the rules about school?”

“No fighting, yelling, screaming, running, throwing energy blasts, flying or hitting.” They all replied in unison.

“Good,” She responded, pulling Bra to her feet. “Is everyone ready?”

“My shoes feel funny!” Bra cried, pointing to her shoes, which were on the wrong feet.

Vegeta sighed and got down onto his knees as Bulma pulled off both her shoes again. He helped her get them on the right feet and tie them. They glanced at each other awkwardly.

“Okay, let’s go to the bus, guys.”

Everyone had a buddy; Lysander held Bra’s hand, while Aizel held Vienna’s. It was a perfect system. They walked together while we stood at the front door, making sure they got to the bus unscathed.

I found myself wishing that they would turn around and insist that they never go to school and we all go home and they would not grow up for another few years.

When they did turn, they called out their good-byes. “Bye Momma! Bye Papa! Bye Da!” and then they got onto the bus. The bus sped off, turned a corner, and disappeared.

Bulma sighed suddenly. “They’re so big now;”

I nodded. “I know. It seems like just yesterday they were too little to even walk; now they’re going to school all day.”

“This is parenthood.” She said gently. “One leap at a time.” She disappeared into the house.

I looked to Vegeta, who was still staring off down the street, thinking. “You okay?” I asked.

He cocked his head. “I missed a lot with Trunks, didn’t I? I don’t remember seeing his first steps, or seeing him off to school, or teaching him to do anything. I was there, but… I wasn’t.” He shook his head.

I clasped a hand to his shoulder. “I screwed up with my kids too. Especially Goten. I’m even worst, because I messed up twice on two separate kids.”

He nodded absently and turned to go back into the house. “We’re not screwing them up, are we?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I don’t know. I think only time will tell.”

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang.

Vegeta turned back around as if this were still his house and opened the door.

Gohan stood there with Pan in his arms. There was a frazzled, worried look in his eye. “Videl broke her leg,” He stated simply and motioned to the car were she sat quietly with her arms above her head as if she were in pain, “I have to take her to the hospital. I need someone to watch Pan for a few hours?” He ended the sentence as more of a question.

Bulma rushed by with a bag in one hand and a suitcase in the other. “What’s wrong?”

“Videl broke her leg.” He repeated. “Can you watch Pan for me?”

She had a look of dismay for a moment. “I have a meeting in ten minutes,”

I held out my arms. “We’ll take her.”

“Thanks, dad,” He replied and handed her over. “She’ll take a nap at eleven, before lunch. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He turned to Pan. “Papa’s going to watch you for a little while, okay?”

“Otay,” She said in a casual, unworried tone.

“Mom’s going to be fine, so don’t worry, alright?”

“Otay,” She said again, still unconcerned.

“And Daddy will be right back once-”

“Just go!” Bulma, Vegeta and I said at the same time.

He seemed surprised, and then turned and rushed back to the car. With one final glace back at us, he sped off toward the hospital.

Bulma looked at her watch. “I’m going to be so late,” She muttered and went to her own car. “You’re welcome to stay, but don’t destroy anything! I’ll be back before the babies get home!”

And then, all of a sudden, it was just me, Vegeta, and Pan. All alone. In a huge mansion.

“Uh… What do you want to do now, Pan?” I asked.

“What time is it, Papa?”

I glanced at a clock. “8:13,”

She suddenly became excited. “When the clock says 8, 3, 0, then it’s time for Barney!”

I saw Vegeta twitch out of the corner of my eye. “So you want to watch Barney?”

“Otay,” she said that a lot; obviously Gohan and Videl used it a lot around her.

“Are you hungry?”

She shook her head, and then brightened. “Today, mom made pancakes, and then she dropped an egg on the floor, and it went splat, and then she slipped on it. She told me to go get daddy, so I did, and then daddy took me over here.” She paused. “When’s he coming back?”

I shrugged. “A few hours, I guess.”

She frowned. “Otay, then we got to have a lot of fun before they come back!”

I nodded and set her down on the floor.

She managed to get the TV turned on, and it happened to be the news.

She sat there and stared at it for a moment, transfixed. “That’s Grandpa!” She cried suddenly.

Sure enough, Hercule appeared on screen with his balding head and that wide cocky grin on his face.

Vegeta made a gagging sound, so I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow.

He was talking about the next world tournament, which would take place next year.

I turned to Vegeta. “We should take the triplets to fight in the tournament.”

He snorted. “They’ll only have competition against each other; all those other brats won’t stand a chance.”

I nodded. “But it will be fun. And then we can beat the crap out of each other in front of millions of people; just like old times.”

He didn’t need to think it over. “Sounds like a blast.”

“Can I fight too?” Pan asked, turning away from the TV. “I can punch and I can block! Watch!”

She ran to me, and took a defensive stance.

I mimicked her and crouched down. She threw a few punches that were nearly perfect, and then blocked a few of my attacks. “That’s great, Pan,”

She straightened and then grinned. “My mom taught me that!”

“Did your dad teach you anything?”

She seemed to think about it. “No; he’s always too busy with work.”

My smile faltered slightly.

This casual statement troubled me deeply. Gohan was doing the exact same thing to Pan that I had done to him; he was pushing her away, just like I had pushed him.

I wondered if she was starved for his attention like he had been starved for mine. I wondered if, at some point, she would no longer care what he thought or whether he was even around; like Gohan had stopped caring. I wondered if she would grow to live her life with him on the outside, and feeling like what she did didn’t matter to him, or to anyone.

I sat down on the couch, lost in thought. I had fucked up. I had fucked up more than I had ever realized until now. Not only had I ruined Gohan’s childhood; but I had also made it impossible for him to be a good father to his own child.

I sighed deeply.

Pan didn’t seem to notice my sudden mood swing, and instead turned back to the TV to listen to Hercule some more.

Vegeta sat down next to me. “You alright?” He asked in Saiyan.

By now, I could pretty much speak Saiyan fluently. It was hard at first, but once you hear it enough, it becomes pretty easy. I still didn’t know all the words, but I could guess what he was saying most of the time when I didn’t understand.

I shook my head. “I was thinking about how I screwed Pan over,”

We were speaking Saiyan, but Pan turned at her name. She stared at us for a moment, head cocked, before she turned back to the TV.

“How do you mean?”

“Gohan’s doing the same thing to her as I did to him.” I explained.

He thought about it, and then nodded.

We didn’t say anything for a long time. Eventually, Barney came on and Pan forgot all about Hercule and the tournament.

She stood before the TV, laughing, giggling, and jumping around. It was the perfect show to raise children with; there was nothing scary, nothing profane, and it taught them things.

Before I knew it, it was eleven’ o’clock. We had watched TV for so long, that my mind had partially died and my sense of time had become askew.

Pan was much easier to get to take a nap than the triplets; maybe because she was just one baby.

When I returned to the living room, Vegeta was still there, staring at the TV with hallow, emotionless eyes.

I sat next to him and turned to look at him. We hadn’t talked since that morning, and all day, I had been thinking about Gohan; and Goten too.

“When you left,” he said suddenly in English, “For all that time, I was really pissed at you. I was so pissed that you left your family behind to go ‘play in the Spirit World.’ I was pissed because I never got the chance to beat you at anything. And I was pissed because you didn’t even seem to care that you didn’t intent to come back. So then when you did come back,” He stopped and turned to me, “I was so shocked I couldn’t even be mad at you anymore. I was just glad that you did come back.”

“So…” I trailed off, “You missed me?”

“No,” He spat, “I was just… glad I had someone to spar with.” He crossed his arms, a light blush staining his cheeks. “And I think…” He stopped again, looking away and sinking further down onto the couch. “And I think I fell in love with you way back then.”

I perked up at this. In love with me then? Back before the business of Rut Season had even come up in conversation? “You were in love with me… before Rut Season?”

His chin fell to his chest and he resembled a child who had been placed on time out. “I don’t know. That was before I accepted that love was even a real thing.” He glanced up at me quickly. “But yes; I think I was.”

I grinned, my mind suddenly burning with desire for him. “I loved you too. I’ve loved you for a long time.”

I lifted his chin and kissed him gently. He moved, setting his knees on either side of me; his arms wrapping around my shoulders. I put my hands on his hips, pulling him closer. He nibbled my lip gently.

Before long, the kiss became increasingly aggressive, until gentle nibbles became harsh bites.

I grabbed his ass, unable to help myself. He pulled away, teeth bore.

“Kakorot, every time!” he cried as I dropped to kiss down his neck.

He hesitated for a moment before going on, “Stop trying to distract me; I’m going to…” He trialed off as I reached his collar bone and scraped my teeth across it gently. “Going to…” He shook his head. He pushed my hands off his ass. “I’m going to hurt you if you don’t stop-” He moaned suddenly as I nibbled his ear. He seemed to give up, for he stopped yelling at me.

I pulled at his shirt, kissing over his shoulders and chest. He was shivering; but other than that, he had gone completely still; his back arched towards me, encouraging me to continue. While he was distracted, I snuck my hands back onto his ass. He didn’t seem to notice.

My lips came back up to meet his own. He seemed to have forgotten about scolding me, for he didn’t object to anything after that.

I pulled him down onto the couch and crawled atop him. My hips pressed his own down onto the soft couch. I pulled away to stare at him.

He went to kiss me again but I pulled away to continue staring.

He looked away at once, eyes falling to the floor. He hated when I looked at him like this.

Even after all these years, which seemed short now, I was still in awe of his beauty. I was still stuck by his perfection. I was still so captivated by everything about him; it was hard to find something I didn’t undeniably love.

I touched his face with a few of my fingers and he flinched away out of surprise, before allowing me to continue.

“Have I ever told you…” I asked, running a thumb over his bottom lip, “That you’re beautiful?”

He swallowed hard, uncomfortable. I could see he didn’t know what to do or how to react. He shook his head quickly.

I kissed his forehead softly and sighed longingly. “You’re even more beautiful when you don’t know what to say.”

He took a deep breath, his chest raising and then falling slowly. “Kakorot…” he paused, unsure if he wanted to continue.

I leaned in, staring at him intently. “Yes?”

His voice dropped to a whisper. “Can you move your knee?”

For a moment, I didn’t know what that meant. Then I realized what he wanted me to do, and immediately moved my knee from its position between his legs; where it pressed dangerously against his crotch.

“Sorry,” I said with an embarrassed grin.

He shook his head with a sigh of relief. “No harm done.”

We laughed, the moment completely ruined.

I caught his lips in one last kiss before I pulled away from him and sat back up. “Pan should be waking up soon,” I said casually. I glanced at him.

He was still lying on his back. He had tucked one arm behind his head, and the other rested over his chest.

I wanted nothing more than to go at it right there on Bulma’s couch. I wanted to take off his clothes with my teeth. I wanted to kiss every inch of his body. I wanted to feel him from the inside as he moaned and thrashed.

“I’m not going to have sex with you here,” He said casually, as if he had told me that the cookies were for after dinner and not a moment before.

I shook my head, pretending not to understand what he meant. I stood up, purposely putting my hand on his thigh near his manhood; making it look like an accident.

He gasped, worried it seemed; that I would hurt him; as well as aroused at the same time.

“Come on, darlin’,” I said, ignoring his response, “The babies will be home soon too.”

He sat up to fallow me to the door. “‘Dar-lin’?” He asked, obviously never hearing the word before.

I laughed and looked out the door at the empty street. He would always be my darlin’; even if he’d never admit to it.