Chapter Text
"A whole week?!" Goku groaned, his arms flailing dramatically as he looked at his wife, who stood before him with her hands firmly planted on her hips, and giving him a stern look.
Vegeta, sitting next to Goku with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow at the two women glaring down at them. "This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath. "Babysitting for an entire week? As if I didn’t have enough to deal with... Now I have to do it with Kakarot ."
"Hey!" Goku frowned at him.
Vegeta didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he maintained his attention on the women, who were rubbing their temples in exasperation. “Can’t you take them with you?
“No, Vegeta,” Bulma replied, shaking her head as he raised an eyebrow in response. “It’s only for one week. I’m sure you two can manage.”
“Says you,” he scoffed,and pulled a face listening to Goku whining next to him.
"Can’t Piccolo take them instead?" Goku pouted, crossing his arms.
"I deserve a break too," Piccolo said as he walked in, frowning at the two Saiyans while cradling Pan sleeping in his arms. "You two will be just fine without me," he added, carefully handing Pan to Goku in an attempt not to wake her.
Goku puffed out his cheeks, glancing down at his granddaughter before shifting his gaze to Chi-Chi. "I guess it can’t be that hard."
"Exactly," Chi-Chi said with a satisfied smile. "Just keep them entertained, fed, and out of trouble. I’m sure you two can handle that."
Bulma smirked at Vegeta. "Don’t worry, Vegeta. I’m sure you’ve got this. Just think of it as… a new challenge."
Vegeta scoffed, standing up and stretching. "They’re kids, not warriors. How hard can it be?" he said with his usual arrogance. "Fine, we’ll do it. But I expect a break in return—especially since I also have to deal with Kakarot."
"Wait… what?!" Goku frowned at Vegeta, nearly waking Pan in the process.
Bulma and Chi-Chi exchanged a knowing glance before turning their attention back to their husbands, while Piccolo helped carry their bags.
"Just stay out of trouble," Chi-Chi instructed, following Bulma out the door.
The men sighed, casting each other a reluctant side glance. Watching over three kids all the while keeping their sanity intact was a challenge neither of them felt remotely prepared for.
"So," Goku puffed out his cheeks, attempting to break the awkward silence settling between them, "we should probably check on our sons."
“They’re likely keeping themselves entertained already,” Vegeta replied dismissively, “I doubt we need to check on them just yet.”
"Yeah," Goku sighed, glancing down at Pan peacefully asleep in his arms. "I guess this won't be so bad after all."
"Of course not. It's not hard to keep them entertained, just like it's not hard to keep your simple mind entertained."
"Thanks," Goku replied dryly.
"You're welcome," Vegeta smirked.
Silence settled between them again, almost deafening in its stillness. Goku sighed, his gaze fixed on Pan, who was smiling peacefully in her sleep. He couldn't help but smile back; she looked so content, and it gave him a glimmer of hope that the rest of the week would go smoothly.
While Goku remained focused on the sleeping baby, Vegeta's mind raced, running through every possible scenario. It felt like a mission, one where he and Goku were tasked with ensuring the kids stayed happy and out of trouble. He knew exactly what their sons were like — always up to something, and whenever they were quiet, it usually meant they were up to no good. His eyes widened as he glanced at Goku, who was cooing at his granddaughter.
"Kakarot, our sons have been unusually quiet."
Goku glanced back at Vegeta, furrowing his brows for a moment as he tapped into the boys' ki, then shrugged, earning him a sharp glare from Vegeta. "They're still here, at least. They're probably keeping themselves entertained like you said."
"They're up to something," Vegeta muttered, his eyes narrowing as he glanced toward the door. "I just know it."
“Maybe you’re just being paranoid?” Goku tittered as Vegeta shot him a deathly glare, as though he had given him the worst insult known to man. “Well, do you want to check on them then? I would but–” he gestured to Pan sleeping in his arms, “don’t want to wake the baby up.”
“It’s fine, I don’t need your help checking on our sons, I am perfectly capable of doing it alone.”
“If you say so,” Goku shrugged and went back to focusing on his granddaughter cradled in his arms.
Vegeta chose to ignore the comment as he stormed out of the room, and raced down the corridors. He heard the sound of giggling from outside and followed it, raising an eyebrow as he saw Trunks and Goten with their backs to him, filling water balloons using the garden hose.
At first glance, it seemed harmless, but their laughter seemed very suspicious to him, so he watched silently as the two remained unaware of his presence.
"Alright, got yours filled?" Trunks smirked, tying off his balloon and holding it up to show Goten.
Goten's eyes widened in awe as he finished tying his own balloon. "Wow, Trunks, that’s huge!" he exclaimed, amazed at the size of the balloon, then held his own up to compare.
"Okay, now we just have to wait for that old man to walk by again, and then we’ll throw our balloons at him!" Trunks grinned with excitement, and the two peered over the hedge, eagerly anticipating their unsuspecting target.
"What do you two think you're doing?!" Vegeta roared, making the pair jump and drop their balloons, which splattered on the ground.
"Uh, this old guy insulted us earlier, so we thought we'd prank him," Trunks admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"For the love of—" Vegeta paused, pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief.The last thing he needed was a complaint from the neighborhood about two misbehaving kids throwing water balloons at old people, which would inevitably get back to his wife to which he wouldn't hear the end of it. “Get inside, now!"
"But—"
"That’s an order! Get inside right now!"
Trunks and Goten exchanged a look, both sulking as their fun was abruptly interrupted. With their shoulders slumped, they reluctantly sauntered inside. Vegeta clicked his tongue in annoyance, folding his arms as he followed them, his mind racing through different scenarios.
He briefly entertained the thought of duct-taping the two to the wall and pretending it was some sort of game. Maybe he could even convince Kakarot to join in, taping him up too, with his mouth sealed for good measure.
Unaware of the smirk creeping onto his face, Vegeta chuckled to himself as he trailed behind the boys into the lounge where Goku was. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he realised all eyes were on him. Goku was staring at him with an arched brow, bouncing Pan on his knee, while the two boys exchanged glances.
“See, even dad found our idea funny and he had to ruin it,” Trunks sulked.
“That’s not what I was—” he paused, then sighed, “Never mind. I just want you two to stay out of trouble while your mothers are away. The last thing we need is to attract unnecessary attention.”
“So, what can we do for fun?” Goten whined.
“I didn’t say you can’t have fun, just avoid throwing water balloons at people or any other pranks you two might think up,” Vegeta said, giving them both a stern look as they pouted in response.
Goku furrowed his brows, Pan giggling and clapping her hands as he bounced her on his knee. “I mean, it’s not like water balloons are going to hurt anyone, right? It could be worse.”
“Seriously?” Vegeta gritted his teeth as the kids started to giggle. “Are you telling me you’d be fine with our sons throwing water balloons at innocent people?”
“You make it sound like you’ve never done worse,” Goku shot back, raising an eyebrow with a smug grin that made Vegeta bristle. “Besides, it’s harmless fun, something you should do more of.”
Vegeta clenched his fist, his patience wearing thin. “You’re very lucky you have your granddaughter in your arms right now.”
Goku laughed, then turned his attention to their sons. "But honestly, Vegeta's right. We need you two to stay out of trouble. Throwing water balloons at people might seem funny to you, but they might not find it so amusing, and it could really upset them."
“But the old man insulted us first!” Trunks frowned.
“Yeah!” Goten said in agreement, nodding his head.
“What did he say?” Goku asked.
“Nevermind what he did or didn’t say, it doesn’t matter, it’s not an excuse to throw waterballoons at him!” Vegeta cut in, causing the whole room to look at him.
“Well now we don’t have anything to do!” Trunks pouted.
Vegeta arched his brow at his son, no matter how many toys this kid had he was always whining about being bored and he couldn’t understand how when he had unlimited entertainment around him.
“Hey, I got an idea,” Goku chimed in, bouncing Pan on his knee, “how about we go out for some fresh air?”
“Like that’ll be entertaining,” Vegeta muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.
“Come on, it’ll be fun, Chi-Chi and I would take Gohan out for some fresh air all the time when he was small,” Goku smiled while the kids shared the same unimpressed expression as Vegeta,“hey, we could go for a drive or something? Since we agreed we wouldn’t grab too much attention from the public.”
“A drive to where?” Trunks asked in curiosity though his unimpressed expression didn’t shift.
“Oh oh I got an idea where!” Goten beamed, raising his hand in excitement, “we could go to the zoo!”
"The zoo?" Trunks made a face.
"Yeah, why not? I really want to go!"
Goku smiled at his son while Pan clapped her hands excitedly. "Sure, we could—"
"Absolutely not!" Vegeta interrupted, nose turned up in disgust, as everyone in the room frowned at him. "We can find something else to do. I will not sit in a car with you, playing happy family while we take our children to the zoo. Over my dead body!"
—
After a few minutes of pleading, they were all in the car, heading toward the zoo in the convertible. They’d tried to buckle Pan into the baby seat, but she kept protesting and flying out, so to keep her safe, Vegeta had the boys grab a small dog harness and leash that his in-laws always kept on hand for their pets. Surprisingly, the harness fit Pan snugly, and she seemed content flying above them with the leash attached to it, which Goku held onto.
While the two boys happily smiled, headphones on, listening to music in the back seat, Goku grinned up at Pan, who was joyfully soaring above them. Vegeta, wearing shades and gripping the steering wheel tightly with a frown, did his best to keep things under control. Everyone was dressed casually, doing their best to look as normal as possible for a family trip to the zoo.
Suddenly, blue flashing lights appeared in the rearview mirror, and Vegeta let out a grunt as he reluctantly pulled over.
“What now?” Vegeta muttered through gritted teeth.
A young officer slowly approached the car, his face filled with shock as he glanced up at Pan, then back at Goku and Vegeta. “Uh, excuse me, sirs, but I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there’s a baby flying above your car?”
Vegeta raised an eyebrow at the officer, then looked up at Pan, who was happily hovering above the car and waving at the officer. He turned back to the officer with a deadpan expression. “No, I hadn’t noticed.”
The officer swallowed nervously, holding out a notepad and pen, his eyes darting between Pan and Vegeta. “Right, um, well, for safety reasons, we advise that you have your baby strapped into a car seat.”
Goku chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “We tried, but she—” He paused as Vegeta nudged him in the ribs. “Ow, hey!” he frowned at him, rubbing his side.
Vegeta, ignoring Goku’s glare, smirked at the officer, “You think this is an actual live baby?” he asked, gesturing his thumb towards Pan.
“Uh,”the officer glanced up at Pan waving at him,“Yes?”
“I see,” Vegeta said, bringing the officer's attention back to him, “and since when can babies fly?”
“Then what is that?” The officer asked, pointing towards Pan.
Vegeta sighed, calmly removing his shades and staring the officer directly in the eye. Just as he was about to speak, Goten leaned forward.
“It’s a balloon!” Goten declared matter-of-factly, a big grin on his face.
“Yeah!” Trunks added enthusiastically from the backseat, leaning forward to look at the officer. “It’s one of those fancy balloons my mom got for me. Pretty realistic, don’t you think?”
A nervous bead of sweat formed on the side of Vegeta’s head as he smiled awkwardly at the officer, who blinked in confusion. There was no way the officer was going to be this gullible.
“Oh, wait, you lot are from Capsule Corp?” the officer finally spoke with a chuckle, shaking his head as Vegeta stared at him in disbelief. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Go on ahead,” he said, gesturing for them to drive off. “God, those guys come up with the craziest inventions.” The officer chuckled to himself as he made his way back to his patrol car.
A bit taken aback by the officer's response but not wanting to waste any more time, Vegeta drove off, glancing at the rearview mirror where the boys were high-fiving each other.
“A balloon… seriously?” Vegeta raised an eyebrow at them.
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?” Trunks smirked, while Goten nodded proudly.
“For now,” Vegeta sighed, shooting a glare at Goku from the corner of his eye as he watched him struggle to pull Pan back into the car, only for her to blow raspberries at him. “Seriously, Kakarot, you need to be more authoritative with your granddaughter. She’s going to get us into trouble, and then we’ll never hear the end of it from our wives.”
“You try then!” Goku pouted at him.
“She’s not my granddaughter!”
“No, but you’re like an uncle to her so close enough right?”
“What?!”
“Could you guys tone it down a bit, me and Goten here are trying to listen to our music.” Trunks snapped.
“Tsk, give me the leash!” Vegeta held out his hand toward Goku, keeping his other hand on the steering wheel. Once Goku handed him the leash, he gave it a light tug. “Alright, fun time’s over, time to get back in the car.” He yanked the leash harder, pulling Pan down to his level. She shot him a glare, and before he could say anything, she punched him. Vegeta growled as the others laughed. “She can stay out there for all I care!” he pouted, handing the leash back to Goku while Pan happily soared above them, giggling.
Goku chuckled, glancing up at Pan. “Well, she seems pretty happy about that.”
“Of course she does,” Vegeta muttered, clearly annoyed, as he kept driving toward the zoo, dreading whatever might go wrong next.