Possibilties

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or its characters. They respectfully belong to Mr. Akira Toriyama (sorry if I spelled it wrong).

Author's Notes: This takes place after my other songfic, "Face the Music". This is about Goten and Trunks' relationships with their parents, especially their fathers. Warning, songfic alert!

Morning Hour

Goten was alone in his room. He was back home and glad that his mom and dad managed to patch things up between them. But during his dad's visit, he managed to spend only less than a few hours with him for a sparring session. Couldn't his dad spend some more time with him?

Goten's happiness turned to bitterness as he thought about his relationship with his father. He realized that Goku was never around for him, and that he only fought by his father's side than actually bonding together.

His reverie was broken when he heard the sounds of his mother and father. He got up and out of his room to see his parents playfully chasing each other around the room. He watched them giggle and the love between them, but he also saw that love and joy as being temporary.

He couldn't take it anymore, he suddenly exploded. "Stop that!"

His parents stopped their game and stared at him.

"Stop what, Goten?" asked Goku. He then pulled Chi-Chi close into a hug.

"That!" Goten pointed out. "You do this every time! You make it look like we're going to be a family, but then you have to leave!"

"We *are* a family. I don't have to make it look like anything."

"No! Ever since I was born you were never there. And how I was born, that's another thing! You screwed mom and then you abandoned us!"

Goku's voice began to rise. "I did no such thing! First thing, your mother and I made you out of our love. Second, I died, to protect you, your brother, and your mother!"

"Like that did any good. My brother did a better job saving our asses. And he had a better childhood!"

Chi-Chi was in Goku's arms, and all she could do was watch. She broke free from her husband's embrace to speak up. "Goten! Don't speak to your father that way! You know that what he told you is true!"

"Mom, why are you standing up for him? You know that he's going to leave us again!"

"Goten, please, I understand why he has to go. I don't like it either, but I've accepted it. And you have to do the same too."

"Yeah, I get it. I have to understand and accept the fact that my father would go off to raise and train some strange kid because he has a lot of potential than me, his own flesh and blood. Save your bitching for another time, okay?" Goten just stormed past his stunned parents and out the door.

Chi-Chi collapsed into Goku and cried.

Trunks was waiting for the storm to pass in his room. His parents were having another fight. It seemed that there was rare moment when they weren't ready to kick each other out of the house.

The fight had been going on longer than usual, so his parents probably calmed down and forgot what the fight was about, or they were ready to kill each other.

How did it all start? Was it his father complaining about his mother's cooking, his mother complaining about his father's obsession with training in the Gravity Room, or was it both? All he knew was that from downstairs, the track record of the fight was not going well.

Their yelling crescendoed to shouting and then on to outright screaming. This was getting worse, Trunks had to do something. He burst out of his room and down the stairs.

"Woman, the reason I eat so much is because I train all day in the Gravity Room!"

"Well, Vegeta, if you're so hungry, then I'm sure that you'll appreciate whatever I feed you!"

"I'll appreciate what you cook when you learn how to!"

He cautiously approached the battlefield. He was ready to be the buffer between his parents, that tactic sometimes worked. Sometimes.

"Vegeta, keep it down, or else the kids might hear us."

"Too late. One of our brats is here. What do you want?"

"I was just, uh, oh to hell with it! Just shut up and stop fighting!"

Both of his parents stood shocked and stared at him.

Vegeta managed to recover first. "How dare you talk back to Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans!"

"Dad, we're nearly extinct, okay? I just want you two to stop doing this everyday! I thought that I'd get used to this after all these years, but I'm sick and tired of thinking that every fight that my parents get into will lead them to a divorce!"

Bulma tried to calm her son. "Trunks, come on. You know that your father and I love each other and you."

"Fine! If you two really love each other, dad would actually show some emotion once in a while, and you would stop playing 'Bitchy McSnipe' with him!" Then Trunks just grabbed his coat and stalked out the door.

Goten was flying high above the city. He needed a bar, or some place to clear his head. In the distance, he saw another familiar flying figure. He sensed that it was Trunks.

It seemed that his friend noticed him too. They both flew to each other.

"What are you doing here?" asked Trunks.

"I'm just flying around. You know, looking for a good place to drink away my troubles," replied Goten.

"Huh, me too."

"What did you do? Blow up at your parents?"

"Yeah. Let me guess, you too."

"Yep. Did you make a scene in front of the entire family?"

"Nope. Fortunately, Bra was out with Marron. She hates the fighting as much as I do."

"So that's what it was about. Yelling at your parents for yelling at each other. I yelled at my folks for not spending too much time together."

"Wanna trade? Better to have parents that can at least spend time together without always having to argue about something."

"Yeah, and at least the neverending bickering will remind me that they're always there."

Both friends laughed lightly and flew off towards the woods.

The boys managed to find a secluded little clearing in the middle of the woods. They lay in the middle of the grass, staring up at the sky.

"Hey, when you were staying at my house, my parents didn't really fight as much. I guess an extra guest forces my parents to act polite, so thanks," said Trunks.

"No problem. Heh, it was pretty funny with the little CD mixup between you, your mom, and Bra," said Goten.

"Hey, that little CD helped patch things up between your folks."

"Please don't remind me."

"Hey, if your mom did that for mine, I don't know what I'd do, but I know I'll be really happy."

"Anyways, did you get the tunes that you wanted?"

"After banning Bra from touching my computer ever, and then surfing through a billion music pages. Yeah, I did get the tunes."

"Alright. Can we listen to them?"

"Hold on." Trunks reached into his pocket and pulled out a CD and a capsule. He pressed the top of the capsule and let explode open. Before them was a CD player, so Trunks inserted the CD.

"So, who'd you get on?" asked Goten.

"Still some of that pop music chart crap that Bra recorded, but some alternative music," answered Trunks. He then pushed the play button.

Goku and Chi-Chi sat at home. It was about an hour since Goten had left, and Chi-Chi was all cried out.

"I think that I should go after him," said Goku.

Chi-Chi just nodded her head in agreement and left to get some sleep.

Goku went outside, and started to fly. He sensed Goten's ki, and also Trunks' ki. He followed that sense until he reached the clearing. He landed outside the clearing, and decided to watch the boys behind the trees.

He walked around the perimeter of trees until he bumped into another figure.

"Vegeta! What are are you doing here?"

"Shut up, Kakarrot. As for my presence here, it's none of your business."

"Well, I'm here because I'm looking for Goten. It seems that we had a little argument."

"I'm also looking for my brat. We also had a disagreement. Now shut up, I'm trying to listen to what they're saying. Probably mocking me."

Suddenly some music was heard. Both Saiyans parted some of the tree branches to see what was going on. They saw both boys lying down with a CD player.

It was getting late into the night, and both of them just lay beneath the stars and listened to the music.

Goten finally spoke up. "Thinking of heading home in the morning?"

"If my dad is still pissed at me, and knowing him, yeah, then no. But, I think I can take the punishment," responded Trunks. "As for mom, I think that she'll be working in her lab."

"Knowing my parents, it's gonna be like they forgive me, we get talking, then my dad leaves again. And we're still not a family."

"We gotta go home sometime. And when I do, they're gonna force an apology out of me. I mean, I know that they love each other and stuff, but can they just not love each other so much that they can't stand one another?"

"I know, I know. As for me, I love my mom, and I guess my dad, but would it hurt him to at least pay some attention to me?"

"Why don't we do the same thing my mom did? You know, use a CD to say we're sorry."

"I don't know if I wanna say sorry yet. Later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"But it is a good plan."

Harsh guitar cords were played as a male voice sang out like a whine.

"You're leaving pieces of family, how you gonna help them understand? I'm screaming, 'You're stealing babies!' Why'd you wanna knock us down again? Why? How should I say, 'I'm so sorry'?..."

"Sounds like the little situation that I'm in," commented Goten. "Why does he have to hurt us again?"

"Hey, remember, there's me too," said Trunks. "But let's try to figure out how we should say we're sorry."

The hard rock subsided into music that was like dripping water.

"Eve stands alone by the knock on the door. By the thin in her bones, she's courageous and loving. Exhausted and cold, she's not ready to go..."

"And this sounds like our moms," said Goten.

"With all they've been through, they're Eve," added Trunks.

The song wound down with the drums and guitar playing on and on until it faded away.

It was hard to eavesdrop on the boys with all that music, but they happened to get the gist of things.

Vegeta spoke up. "Well, if they're going to give us an apology, then why don't they give it to us now?"

"Vegeta, you know what they're going to do, but let them do it in their own time," responded Goku. "Right now, I have to go do some serious thinking about what Goten just said." With that, Goku took off flying.

"Hate to admit it, but I think that baka's right. I guess I also have to do some thinking myself." Vegeta then flew home.

Goten and Trunks had just finished the CD. But it wasn't even dawn. They still had some time.

"Hey Trunks, some of that pop music wasn't all crap," said Goten as he got up.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Trunks replied. He dusted some stray blades of grass off of his clothes. "So, do we go home now?"

"No, not yet. I think I know how we can get that plan of yours into action."

"Yeah, I'm listening. So, how do we pull it off?"

"I hope that CD player of yours has a remote control. And I think I have a pad and pen with me somewhere." Goten then started rummaging through his pockets.

Trunks just sighed at his friend's unorganized manner.

Goku spend the rest of the night just sitting in the living room, thinking. He thought about what Goten had said. He really did have to spend more time with Goten too. He never had this kind of problem with Gohan when he was growing up.

His thoughts were broken when he heard a knocking sound on the door. He hoped that it was Goten. He opened the door to find no one there, except for a note.

The best place for Vegeta to think was to get back into the Gravity Room. But this time, he didn't train, he just sat inside. The reason he never did show his feelings was because he had his pride! But then again, how many times did his pride get him into trouble?

Vegeta looked up to see what was outside the windows, and caught sight of some lavender hair. He rushed out to greet Trunks, but instead, found a piece of paper before him.

Vegeta held a sleepy Bulma in his arms. He had followed the notes directions to bring him and Bulma to the clearing. He found the clearing to be empty, except for the CD player to still be there.

Coming down into the clearing was Goku and Chi-Chi. Goku let Chi-Chi down and took a note out of his pocket.

"Woman, wake up. It seems that we have company," said Vegeta as he tried to shake Bulma awake.

Bulma lazily opened one eye. "Huh? Is Trunks here?"

"No, just Kakarrot and his mate. I guess they're here for the same reason we're here."

Bulma, fully regaining concsiousness, got out of Vegeta's grasp and stood on the ground.

Trunks and Goten huddled behind a thick area of trees around the clearing. They watched their parents standing around.

"Do you have the remote ready?" asked Goten.

Trunks took it out of his pocket. "Yeah, I got it. Do I start now?"

Goten looked at his watch, the time read 3:30. "Yes."

Trunks held the remote steady and then pushed one of the buttons.

The CD player came to life. The red power light turned on. A recording of the boys' voices came on. It caught the adults' attention.

"Mom, this is Goten. I'm really sorry that I yelled at you. I guess I just let my anger get out of hand."

"This is Trunks. I hope that you're listening mom, because I want to let you know that I'm also sorry."

"We hope that this will make up for what we did," the recording said in unison. Then the music played.

"She says it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat. She's always worried about things like that. She says it's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault. And she only sleeps when it's raining, and she screams and her voice is straining,

She says, 'Baby, It's 3 am I must be lonely.' When she says 'Baby,' well I can't help but be scared of it all sometimes, says the rain's gonna wash away I believe it."

Bulma thought about what Trunks' wanted. The screaming part in the chorus was his little reference to the arguments that he always heard. She could have made an effort to at least stop bickering with Vegeta and at least give Trunks some closure that they really did love each other.

Chi-Chi listened to the lyrics and thought about their meaning. Before Goku came back, Goten must have known about her loneliness, and he was scared that he couldn't do anything about it. Now that his father was back in their lives, he was afraid that it would happen again.

Both Chi-Chi and Bulma were deeply touched by the song that their boys chose. So much, that they didn't notice that tears were streaming down their faces as the song went on.

As the song ended, the boys' voices came back on. Trunks spoke first. "And for our next number, this is for our dads. I'm sorry that I yelled at you too, dad. But for once, can you not let your pride get in the way of things?"

"Yeah, we know that we can't force you guys to do anything. But at least think of what we have to say," added Goten. "So dad, before you do anything, think of who it might affect." Soon, another song began to play.

"I walked around my good intentions, and found that there were none. I blame my father for the wasted years, we hardly talked. I never thought I would forget this hate, then a phone call made me realize I'm wrong.

If I don't make it known that I've loved you all along, just like the sunny days that we ignore because we're all dumb & jaded, and I hope to God I figure out what's wrong."

Goku whispered to Vegeta, "I guess we finally got their apology."

Vegeta smirked. "I would have expected something different, and direct."

The song finished and the adults waited for the boys' voices to come back on. Instead, the CD player turned off, and Goten and Trunks walked into the clearing.

The crying mothers ran up to hug their sons. They were recieved with open arms.

"Goten, I forgive you, honey," sniffled Chi-Chi.

"Trunks, you know that I'll always love you," whispered Bulma.

"I love you too, mom," replied the boys. They let go of their mothers and approached their fathers.

"So, dad," started Trunks, "what do you think?"

Vegeta stepped towards his son. "You're not being beaten to a bloody pulp by me. What does that tell you, br- Trunks?" He then pulled Trunks into a hug.

"I hope that you can forget the hate towards me," said Goku. He opened his arms, waiting for Goten.

"And a visit from you made me realize I'm wrong," paraphrased Goten. He then walked into Goku's embrace.

Bulma and Chi-Chi, drying the tears in their eyes, joined in. As each family was in a group hug, the orange rays of the morning sun shone on them. Goku and Vegeta softly hummed the tune of their song.

END

Additional Disclaimer: I don't own Matchbox 20 or Our Lady Peace's music. Again, I thought that these would be appropriate for this fanfic.

Additional Author's Notes: Yes this was another songfic. I was given the title of songfic writer, so I have to earn the name, dammit! Anyways, the titles of the songs were "3 AM"(by Matchbox 20) and "4 AM"(by Our Lady Peace), thus giving the title of the fanfic as "Morning Hour". Please, send me your comments, I enjoy the criticism.