Separated

Living Through You

Jin-Jer and Vegeta jerked their heads around to find Trunks standing in the doorway. "Trunks! I thought you were asleep."

"What's Jin-Jer doing here?" he asked.

"We were training and I got injured." she answered quickly, "Your father was just checking if I had any more injuries is all." she lied with ease.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked with a little concern in his voice.

"I'm much better."

Trunks shrugged, not thinking much of what he just saw. Explanation seemed pretty reasonable. "Dad, I'm hungry. And mom left about an hour ago for deliveries. Can you make me something?"

"I don't cook." Vegeta turned his back on the boy and started walking away.

Jin-Jer crossed her arms. "I'll make something for you Trunks."

Vegeta turned around, "He's old enough to make his own breakfast, you know."

"I don't mind. I loved cooking for my s... I mean-" she cleared her throat, "Just let me do this, Vegeta."

He dragged out a sigh, "Fine." Vegeta approved then went out to the gravity chamber.

"Can you make pancakes?" Trunks asked, already having a bowl and whisk ready.

"Only if I could add." she reached behind and grabbed a bag from the counter, "Chocolate chips!"

"Awesome!" After Jin-Jer helped Trunks make the batter, she poured it into the pan. The boy turned the knob to turn on the fire.

"Oh I don't need the stove."

"You can't make pancakes without fire, y'know."

Jin-Jer giggled and snapped her fingers. Between her thumb and pointer finger was a small flame in which she held underneath the pan. Trunks' jaw fell agape at the sight of Jin-Jer's power to control fire. "See, all done." she smiled, placing the food on a plate for him.

"How did you do that?!"

"Lots of practice." she told him, "I'm never going to be as good as my husb... Uhh, the people that taught me how to do this."

"That's really cool. I wish I could play with fire!"

Jin-Jer chuckled, "It's not something to play with. Manipulating the elements takes a lot of responsibility."

"Wait... So you could do more than just control fire?!" At this point Trunks already forgot about his rumbling tummy. All he wanted to know about was the other powers that Jin-Jer possessed. She told him everything she could do and showed him how she could control wind, water, and earth as well. "Wow, you are so awesome!" Trunks sat down and finally started to eat his breakfast, "For a Saiyan, you're actually really nice. I mean... There's Goku but he hit his head as a kid. Which is why he didn't turn out like my dad. I figured you would act like him too."

"It all depends. I've been away from my race for so long that I even forgot for a while how a Saiyan should behave." Jin-Jer walked over to window and she saw glimpes of Vegeta training in the gravity chamber. "It's not until I reunited with your father that I actually felt the need to want to get stronger again."

Trunks wiped syrup off of his mouth with his forearm. "What was my dad like when he was my age?"

"Well," Jin-Jer leaned back on the wall and tried to think back. "He was very stubborn and demanding. A little drama prince was what I always called him." Trunks laughed with her. "Of course I never said that to his face though. But your father was so strong for his age. There was something special about him. He was the embodiment of a true Saiyan warrior. I always feared that his pride and arrogance would get him killed one day, but he seems to be doing just fine."

Trunks leaned lazily into Jin-Jer's arm. She looked down and kneeled to his level to notice tears in his eyes. "I wish I could be like him... Sometimes I think he's ashamed to have me as a son. That I'm just a half breed. Not a real Saiyan warrior. Maybe then he would treat me like I was his son."

"Hey..." she wiped his tears away, "Don't say things like that. I'm sure you make Vegeta very proud. With a power level like yours, what warrior wouldn't be? You may not have your fathers attitude but you sure as hell have his strength."

Trunks looked up with a wide smile and sparks in his eyes. "Really? You think so?"

"I know so." she ruffled his hair playfully. "It's just really hard for Saiyans to show affection. But when there comes a moment where we have to protect the ones we love, then it becomes a whole lot easier for us to really show how much we care. That's what makes those types of moments so special for us."

"Thanks Jin-Jer." Trunks hugged her tightly, "You're the best!"

The Saiyan was caught by surprise. She patted Trunks on the back, "No problem." Jin-Jer stood up and rubbed her eyes that were tearing up. She didn't even notice that she had gotten emotional. Thank goodness, Trunks didn't notice. "We should umm... Clean up. Before your mother gets mad."

"I got it. Thanks for the breakfast by the way. It was great."

"You're welcome, Blayze."

Trunks gave her a confused look, "Huh?"

Jin-Jer tensed up when she realized her mistake. "Trunks. I said Trunks."

Vegeta went back outside quickly before Jin-Jer found out that he was eavesdropping. Maybe having her around wasn't such a good idea after all. It seemed as though being around Vegeta and his family only brought back memories from Jin-Jer's past that she wanted to forget.

Jin-Jer found Vegeta outside, giving his muscles a quick break. She walked out timidly, rubbing her arm. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah." she nodded, "Your sons very sweet. Super strong too."

"You can tell, huh?" he smirked.

"Mhm." Jin-Jer stared back at the window to see Trunks cleaning up the kitchen, "Maybe you should let him know that."

Vegeta looked down. He knew what she was trying to do. After all, he did hear her conversation. "I will. When the time comes."

"Just make sure you're not too late." Jin-Jer floated off the ground, getting ready to take off.

"Where are you going? Don't you still want to train?" he asked, following her up into the sky.

"I think you should train Trunks a little more, okay?" she turned around, "And about what happened between us earlier... Please forget that ever happened."

Vegeta gripped her wrist, forcing Jin-Jer to face him. "What's bothering you? Why are you acting like this?"

"It's nothing. I just don't want to intrude on what you've been graced with. And quite frankly, I don't like how much of my family I see in you and your son and it only reminds me of how much I miss them." she tried to flash away but Vegeta's strong grasp wouldn't allow her. "Let go!"

"What do you mean by all this?"

"I mean that I'm leaving. I can't handle being around this anymore, Vegeta!" she shouted out of hurt. "You should have never confronted me at that tournament."

"I will not lose you again!"

"You have people that love you. You don't need me anymore." Vegeta's grip began to loosen. "Good bye, prince."

Vegeta stared up and watched the only person he's ever considered to be a friend, fly away and not want anything to do with him anymore.